text:
Bilateral and transit trade set to boom in the wake of rapidly growing Russia-China commerce
Sergei Glaziyev, a member of the integration and macroeconomics panel of the Eurasian Economic Commission, has been speaking about bilateral trade relations between Russia and Mongolia at the “Russia-Mongolia: Partnership in the New Reality” forum, which is being held in Ulan-Ude, near the Mongolian border.
He stated that Russia and Mongolia will draw up a plan for trade, economic and investment cooperation for the period through 2025 within the next few months. “We would like our new plan for cooperation until 2025 to pave the way for new achievements, new opportunities to broaden our trade, economic, cooperative, and investment relations. Our mutual trade is modest today, standing at a mere US$2 billion, but it shows a strong growth tendency.”
Russia-Mongolia trade increased by 30% in 2021, Glaziyev said, adding that there were also…


text:
McDonald's has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the small, white worms that were reportedly crawling throughout a customer's meal (video below).
Jasper Lee, an IT freelancer in Singapore, discovered something while eating a Big Breakfast meal from the fast-food franchise on Oct. 20. The meal comes with toasted English muffins, a hash brown, scrambled eggs and a sausage patty. He had already started eating the meal when he says he noticed that something else was also part of his meal that morning.
"I had already eaten a few mouthfuls when I spotted something moving, and it turned out to be worms," said Lee, who also sent a complaint through McDonald's online feedback form.
Lee had ordered his food through the restaurant's McDelivery service around 7:15 a.m. His food was delivered to his home an hour later.
"It came as a shock to me -- I've eaten the same meal many times and this is my first time encountering something like this," Lee said. "I totally lost my appetite after that."
Although he says he saw the small creatures on the sausage patty, Lee believes they may have come from the eggs. He reportedly found several worms inside a small section of scrambled eggs that he dissected.
"They're small and they're white, so it's difficult to spot them amid the yellow if you don't look closely," he explained.
McDonald's Singapore's Director of Operations Patricia Yong said the company had been in touch with Lee and had launched an investigation to establish the cause of this incident.
"Food quality and safety are our top priority and we take all customer feedback very seriously," Yong said. "We have been in contact with the customer and are looking into this matter very closely. At the moment, we are doing everything we can to establish the facts of the matter."
According to The Straits Times, McDonald's staff went to Lee's home to collect the rest of the meal. The remains were sent to a laboratory for testing.
"McDonald's has been pretty quick in responding to my complaint, but I hope they do their checks and find out the cause soon," Lee said.

domain: news


text:
The annual inflation rate was 15.8 percent in December, 0.4 percentage points lower than November’s 16.2 percent. On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices remained the same as in November. For the whole of 2022, the average inflation rate was 15.1 percent. The Czech Statistical Office (CSO) published the data on Wednesday.
As in the previous two months, government measures to curb energy prices had an impact on the December data.
“The average inflation rate for 2022 was 15.1 percent. This was the second-highest figure since the establishment of the independent Czech Republic. It was higher only in 1993, at 20.8 percent. Prices of goods rose by 16.8 percent and services by 12.3 percent in 2022, according to Pavla Šedivá, head of the consumer price statistics department of the Czech Statistical Office.


text:
Amber Valley Borough Council has been awarded £113,425 from the European Regional Development Fund’s Welcome Back Fund to help local businesses and the visitor economy to bounce back after Covid. It is designed to help councils attract people back to town centres.
The fund will be used for activities that will help keep high streets and town centres alive and vibrant, as well as boosting the look and feel of the towns, giving people safer and more attractive options to meet with friends and relatives.
The Welcome Back Fund is an extension of the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund for which the council was awarded £113,425. This funding supported several activities in Amber Valley this year and last year, including the 'shop local' campaign and appointment of the high street ambassadors to help businesses adapt to the pandemic and its restrictions.
Working with partners such as Alfreton Town Council, Belper Town Council, Ripley Town Council and Heanor and Loscoe Town Council, Amber Valley’s Welcome Back Fund projects to date include:
Boosting the town centre appeal through weed and graffiti removal.
Installation of bunting during the months leading up to Christmas and an extension of the Christmas light display in areas not festooned before.
Extended Christmas light switch on event with the addition of entertainment across the town.
Events such as the recent 'Sunday Stroll' an occasion that increased pedestrian areas in the town through road closure permissions, this was complimented with the addition of variety market stalls traders and low key entertainment to make the town an even more enjoyable and a pleasant place to visit and relax.
The towns public conveniences have had additional cleaning scheduled to take account of the increase of visitor numbers.
Hosted a recent musical event to liven up the town centre and encourage visitors.
Hosted a Halloween event comprising of a Halloween trail, where clues were displayed in retailer's windows and/or market stalls, complimented with entertainment to encourage visitors across the town.
Installed winter planting scheme across the town.
Entertainers in the town centre on the lead up to Christmas.
Enhanced Christmas light switch on event with the addition of entertainers across the town.
Worked with a local consultant to create branding and messaging that builds on placemaking and which was centred around shopping and dwelling to be printed on temporary banners to mask unsightly areas, to boost the look and feel of the market. The run up to the re-branding launch was publicised through social media and balloons and badges were produced, linking to the banner messaging.
Beautification of the market with temporary faux fauna to improve the presentation of the market.
Procurement of temporary 3D floor art installation at the rear of the market to encourage visitors to engage with the installation and post images on social media with the purpose of attracting new visitors to the market and across the town centre offer.
As part of the Welcome Back Fund, Amber Valley Borough Council has invested in promotional campaigns to support the town's business community. Recent activity has been a photography campaign for retailers, capturing shop front and interior images that have been shared for town centre promotion. Images have also been used to create montage posters for businesses to display and showcase what is on offer in the towns.
Contact the team directly on 01773 570222 or email firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced the launch of a sub-4-metre SUV in addition to a 3-row midsize SUV for the Indian market. Likely to be launched in 2022, the sub-4-metre Jeep will be manufactured at FCA’s Ranjangaon facility and sit below the Compass and the upcoming Renegade. The upcoming SUV, Jeep says, will increase the facility’s production by up to 50 per cent to 2.4 lakh units annually from 1.6 lakh units. At present, this facility is the manufacturing and export hub for right-hand drive versions of the Compass.
The sub-4-metre SUV is likely to share its platform with the next-generation Fiat Panda and 500, and will take on the Ford EcoSport, Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Tata Nexon, among others. Expect it to feature traditional Jeep DNA like butch styling and off-road capability. In terms of powerplants, it is likely to be equipped with petrol and diesel engines that displace less than 1200cc and 1500cc, respectively, to qualify for the tax benefits afforded under the ‘Small Car’ rule. FCA is also likely to add PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) versions of the sub-4-metre SUV as well. A petite SUV powered by turbocharged internal combustion engines or plug-in hybrid should also find favour in markets such as Asia and Europe, where small crossovers and SUVs have been outselling conventional sedans and hatchbacks for the past couple of years.
Now, it seems Jeep wants to utilise this trend to its benefit. It’s been 10 months since the launch of the Compass and the carmaker has already reported sales of 31,000 units, out of which exports account for 8,000 units. The made-in-India Compass is exported to markets such as Australia, Japan, Ireland, the UK, Singapore, Indonesia, Cyprus, Malta and Brunei. Expect Jeep to do the same with the upcoming baby SUV as well.
As for the 3-row mid-size SUV, Jeep has announced that it’s been earmarked for the Latin American market. However, India could play an important role in production of components for this SUV that could go up against the Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner in terms of off-road ability and pricing. With FCA spelling out its five-year plan, what is most evident is the fact that, from henceforth, Jeep will lead the charge for the company in India. Could this be the end of the line for Fiat then? Well, only time will tell.
Source: Zig Wheels
For more news updates Follow and Like us on Facebook


text:
ESPN wants a pretty backdrop when it comes to town during the upcoming Final Four, so the City Council on Tuesday could approve some temporary restrictions for the streets and sidewalks around Sundance Square.
ESPN chose Sundance Square for broadcasting during the 2011 Super Bowl because of heavy foot traffic, and it’s coming back in 2014 for the same reason, said Tracy Gilmour, director of marketing for Sundance Square.
“They needed a place that had lots of people and lots of energy. They visited a lot of other locations around North Texas when they were making their decision for the Super Bowl, and they found what they were looking for in Fort Worth,” said Gilmour.
The city, to do its part to help with Fort Worth’s most significant tie to the 2014 Final Four, could approve a “clean zone” effective from 12:01 a.m. April 4 through 11:59 p.m. April 7.
The zone would limit several activities on public streets and sidewalks around the square and down Main Street to the Tarrant County Courthouse, including construction, outdoor sales or distribution of food except by businesses with a permit, outdoor displays and outdoor distribution of public literature.
The city “has been asked to assist in ensuring that ESPN’s broadcast headquarters and outdoor broadcast backdrops are consistent with the festive image associated with the NCAA Final Four and related activities,” according to a staff report provided to city council.
Gilmour said revenue for restaurants and retail shops on the square increased dramatically during the Super Bowl, with several hitting record highs, and she expects revenue and foot traffic around the square to increase during the Final Four.
Robert Jameson, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Fort Worth hotels should be completely booked that weekend with the Final Four events, the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and a citywide convention booked the same weekend.
“I think it will be another one of those events that is a benefit to all of us,” said Jameson about the Final Four and North Texas.
The college basketball semifinals and the championship games are April 5 and 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, but fans are expected to start arriving in North Texas as early as March 20 for Final Four-related events.
Visitors are expected to bring $276 million to the Texas economy, according to an economic analysis commissioned by local event organizers.
This report includes information from Star-Telegram archives.


text:
Overall, online gambling has had a 43% increase since April 2021. Some European countries saw these increases as an opportunity to reform their online gambling laws and relax their online gambling regulation. For instance, prus changed its laws and licensed online casinos. Likewise, Belize amended its laws and made online gambling acceptable. And, Nicaragua legalized online gambling and certified it as a regulated activity by the Department of Public Safety. This means these European countries have joined the bandwagon of legalizing online gambling.
In the United States, however, online gambling companies still do not have permission from Congress to operate out of the country. The U.S. Conference of Directors of Consumer Protection has urged the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to work with local and state officials to develop legislation that would authorize online casinos. The states already have enacted laws authorizing online casinos but the federal government is blocking them from opening. This means there are legal gray areas where the traditional brick and mortar casino and mobile gambling market overlap. This gray area includes gaming taxes, which online gambling companies would have to pay if they were to open in these states.
One way that the online gambling market has tapped into the global market is through online gaming websites, also referred to as web sites. These gambling websites allow people in different countries to play gambling games, including poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and others. The players have to be residents of the country where they want to play or they will be charged a corresponding gaming fee in their own currency. The players can play for real money or they can wager real money through credit cards or electronic payment accounts. While the global market for online gambling has not yet reached U.S. shores, it has surpassed the U.S. market in terms of visitors.
In the U.S., the online gambling industry is flourishing at about three times the rate it did a decade ago. One reason for this growth is the global market for online gambling companies revenue. Because the online gambling industry is based in the U.S., it has made an effort to advertise in English and offer its services to people across the globe. This has increased the amount of revenue available from U.S. gambling establishments. Other reasons include the relative lack of regulation of the U.S. internet and the fact that people from other countries to travel to the U.S. to gamble.
If the U.S. begins opening up its online gambling space to offshore companies, there will be fewer people from within the U.S. that can access it. Without the same level of regulation and oversight as our own laws give us, this will mean an increase in crime and an increase in revenue for organized crime. As criminals are able to use the online gambling space to do more illegal activities, the need to regulate these sites becomes even more important.
There are already many world leaders in this industry. The World Professional Billiard Association (WPA) was founded in 2021 as an organization to improve the quality of the game in international gambling. The US-based World Lottery Commission (WLS) was founded in 2021. Both these organizations are already well established, which makes expanding their territories or expanding their member's countries easier. But if the U.S. begins allowing companies that are not located within its borders to operate on its soil, then this opens the door for cyber-offense, which is a whole different kettle of fish.
Gambling is illegal in most countries, but this does not mean you cannot have gambling companies that are based in different nations open an account with the same company. If an illegal activity is occurring on one of these accounts, the host country (the country where the gambling is taking place) can press charges and those companies will be forced to close their operations. As previously mentioned, this can lead to a global pandemic, which we are all very well aware of.
Just like the U.S. stock market, the Nasdaq is open twenty-four hours a day and this means investors can trade even when there is no business going on in Las Vegas. In order for an online gambling company to make it on the Nasdaq, it has to be established as a legitimate business. This means it has to be properly regulated, has a professional licensed executive management team, and has a sound financial model and accounting practices. In addition to having these elements, a company should also have a website and be listed on the Nasdaq. So, although it may not be possible to take advantage of the over the counter market during your first few months on the Nasdaq, holding onto your stock ticker throughout the process is going to be crucial.


text:
Donald Trump attends a Japanese business leaders› event with William Hagerty in Tokyo on Saturday. Reuters
European and Asian stocks unravelled Friday, resuming a midweek slump, with investors spooked by a ratcheting up of trade war clouds after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on all Mexican imports.
Trade talks between the US and China broke up on Friday with no agreement, hours after President Donald Trump more than doubled tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he was in no hurry to sign a trade deal with China as Washington imposed a new set of tariffs on Chinese goods and negotiators entered a second day of last-ditch talks to try to salvage an agreement.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is considering the introduction of digital bank accounts for overseas Pakistanis, the central bank’s governor, Reza Baqir, said.
General Motors (GM) is developing an electric van aimed at business users, joining a growing list of carmakers planning EVs for the same segment which includes customers such as Amazon.com and United Parcel Service, five people familiar with the plans told Reuters.
Global passenger air traffic rose 30% in May from a very low level in April, as airlines cut domestic fares by an average 23% to encourage customers to return, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday.


text:
Affirm IPO Highlights Rapid Growth of 'Buy Now, Pay Later'…
Affirm is expected to kick off trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, amid what has turned out to be a good year for “buy now, pay later” companies. Subscribe to …
Affirm stock rockets 90% after IPO
Affirm Holdings Inc. shares are surging in midday trading Wednesday after the financial-technology company made its public debut.
Affirm hits $100 on opening day after listing at $49 (Updated)
Affirm priced its IPO shares higher than expected even as it faces questions about profitability.
Affirm IPO Stock Soars As Trading Begins, Raising $1.2 Billion
The Affirm IPO raised $1.2 billion with an initial public offering that priced above expectations. Shares jumped by double digits as trading began.
Max Levchin's Affirm pops more than 100% after market debut
Founded in 2013 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, Affirm has become prominent in the "buy now pay later" space that offers point-of-sale loans.
Affirm doubles after starting to trade despite strong IPO pricing
Today shares of Affirm, a buy-now-pay-later unicorn, started trading above $90 per share, far above its $49 per-share IPO price, a figure that was already miles …


text:
The benefits of mobile phones in Africa, the big US corporate polluters and Wal-Mart moves on employee benefits access
The power of phones in Africa
There are nearly 400 million mobile phone subscribers across Africa – far surpassing Europe and the US. Africa is one of the largest and fastest growing mobile markets in the world.
According to a new report by sustainability research and consulting company Manifest Mind on Africa’s mobile telecommunications market, the proliferation of mobile phone use throughout the continent has resulted in some impressive cultural, social and economic developments. But it also warns of several major environmental and infrastructural problems on the horizon.
On the positive side, the mobile phone has served as the technological gateway for many in Africa, helping to increase literacy rates, provide critical market information to farmers and growing businesses, boost awareness about women’s rights, increase health knowledge through new mobile apps, enable online banking and social networking, and spread local and global culture.
At the same time, mobile phone use has significant room to grow – 60% of the population still lacks access to a mobile phone. This raises concerns about Africa’s infrastructure ability to cope with demand.
While the continent has increased its electricity capacity over recent years and received support from programmes such as the US’s Power Africa scheme (worth $9bn), it’s unlikely that Africa will have sufficient investment or capacity to build the infrastructure needed to support the growing demand for electricity. Carol Stimmel, chief executive of Manifest Mind, says: “Energy poverty is a global health crisis and should be treated with the same attention that deadly diseases are.”
The report also highlights growing e-waste from the improper dismantling and disposing of mobile phones, which contain about 60 different elements, many of which are hazardous. Without the right recycling systems in place, Africa could soon face environmental and health repercussions.
However, if African countries can efficiently develop processes to save the precious metals used in mobile phones that are currently being discarded, Manifest Mind believes Africa will not only “contribute to a more sustainable world,” but also significantly profit from the savings.
The report concludes that these issues require coordinated, high-level planning and investment to expand the continent’s electricity grid and improve mobile recycling systems. Renewable energy such as solar and wind power can help bridge the gap.
Additionally, the report stresses the importance of ongoing financing and business support for early-stage African mobile companies, which have already helped educate and empower so many.
“Mobile technology improves the delivery of health services, helps raise the standard of living, and is driving overall economic growth in the region,” Stimmel says. “Africa is indeed poised for extraordinary growth, but requires a unique strategic view for both short- and long-term advantage.”
Biggest US air polluters revealed
Precision Castparts, DuPont, Biomet, Bayer and Dow Chemical are the largest corporate air polluters in the US, according to the fifth edition of the Toxic 100 Air Polluters report by the Political Economy Research Institute (Peri) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The Toxic 100 Air Polluters ranks corporations on current Forbes 500, Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor’s large company lists, and relies on publicly available and self-reported facility data used in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s risk-screening environmental indicators (RSEI).
The primary figure used to rank companies’ air pollution is the “toxic score”, which takes into account the quantity of chemicals released, their estimated toxicity, their modelled dispersion into the area surrounding the facility, and modelled population exposure.
The largest polluter, Precision Castparts, has a toxic score of 16.6 million, and releases 110,000 pounds (50 tonnes) of toxic pollutants. DuPont’s toxic score is 7.1 million, and it emits 10.94m pounds (4,960 tonnes) of toxic pollutants. Compare that to the 99th and 100th ranked companies, Hess and Newell Rubbermaid, which had a toxic score of 89,830 and 84,553 respectively.
Peri researchers point to several big areas of weakness with the publicly available data. For example, facilities may report incorrect or imprecise data; the figures address long-term health effects but neglect short-term health risks. And while the data covers 600 toxic chemicals, it does not include other chemicals that often pose major health risks, such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.
“RSEI scores should encourage people to communicate with regulators and companies regarding the nature of the releases and population exposure,” says Michael Ash, professor of economics and policy at Amherst. “Our hope is to encourage dialogue and public participation to make best use of right-to-know data.”
Thinx has a mission
A New York-based social enterprise is helping women tackle mishaps that occur during their monthly periods, and supporting women’s empowerment in the developing world. The Thinx underwear brand was inspired by the founders’ personal experiences of distress caused by an unexpected period.
Additionally, through their travels in the developing world, the founders met girls who were too ashamed to attend school during their periods because they were too poor to buy protection. Founder Miki Agrawal says about 67 million women worldwide lack proper protection during their periods, and millions of girls are at risk of dropping out of school because they’re so behind from missing classes.
Through two successful crowdfunding campaigns and three years of product development, Thinx launched its first collection of four styles that use soft, super-thin materials that are stain and leak resistant, wick moisture and provide antibacterial support.
Thinx has also partnered with the Ugandan social enterprise AfriPads, which employs local African women to produce reusable sanitary pads. Each purchase of Thinx underwear will fund the production of seven pads. Agrawal says her organisation is also working with the BlinkNow Foundation to produce sanitary pads for women in Nepal and India, providing protection and helping to build a sustainable local economy.
“The future of entrepreneurship is social entrepreneurship,” says Agrawal. “Anyone can create a product, but can you elevate the conversation by giving people the opportunity to talk about a global issue through a sexy, beautiful product? That’s our mission.”
Tech giants promote global web access
Only one-third of the world’s population has access to the internet. A new organisation called Internet.org, founded by tech giants including Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung, is working to connect the billions of people without internet access through a series of individual and joint programmes, and by mobilising governments, academics and others to take action.
The organisation will focus on three areas: making internet access more affordable, investing in tools that make data more efficient (for better internet experiences), and helping businesses make it easier for people to access the internet.
“Mobile [technology] has helped to transform many people’s lives in the emerging regions where often a computing device will be the first and only mobile experience they’ll ever have,” says Paul Jacobs, chairman of the board and chief executive of Qualcomm. “Having shipped more than 11bn chips, Qualcomm is a market leader that is committed to the goal of bridging the digital divide. We’re pleased to be a part of internet.org and to be working with key players to drive this initiative forward.”
Wal-Mart extends health coverage to same-sex couples
America’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has added same-sex-couple health coverage to its latest roster of full-time employee benefits. In a leaked memo, Wal-Mart’s senior vice-president for benefits, Sally Welborn, says the company-wide change was a “business decision, not a moral or political decision”.
“The Affordable Care Act inextricably linked health insurance with employment,” the memo says. “As such, for our associates for whom we offer health insurance, we want to be sure we are providing access to as many individuals and their families as possible.”
The memo acknowledges that 28 out of 30 key Wal-Mart competitors already offer spouse/partner benefits to their employees. And some observers say the cost of expanding coverage was a major factor behind Wal-Mart’s delay.
Responding, a Wal-Mart spokesman says: “We’re continually working to keep costs down – for both our associates and the company. Our benefits team and executive leadership evaluate our health plans every year and take many things into consideration when determining if we will make any changes. Since we operate in all 50 states, we thought it was important to develop a single definition for all Wal-Mart associates in the US so that we’re able to ensure consistency across the country.”
The change will be implemented on January 1 2014.Africa BrandWatch mobile phones Wal-Mart


text:
ZTE Corporation hosted the first overseas online “Leading 5G Tour 2020- Exhibition Hall Overview” workshop in Bangladesh jointly Teletak, the only state-owned GSM, 3G, LTE based mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.
Face to face communication between ZTE and customers has been canceled due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia. Through the online platform, the conference realized the simultaneous access of peak 40 ports, ensuring the participation effect of more than 13 people's stable communication.
ZTE has invited customers to visit the exhibition hall of the Shenzhen headquarters remotely to show and explain ZTE's self-developed chips, the latest wireless base station, and core equipment etc. The main highlighted part of the workshop has been the ZTE open lab and headquarters. ZTE SDN/NFV Joint Open lab and Shenzhen headquarters is mainly for exploration and verification of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G technology and virtual architecture, including the integration of ZTE's products and compatibility test with partners.
ZTE Bangladesh Chief Marketing Officer, Pang Wei, and customers have delivered speeches respectively. They have reviewed the long-term cooperation history of both sides, and expressed the vision of further mutual benefit and win-win on the 5G development road in the future. After that, a high-level expert group from ZTE headquarters has given a 5G special lecture.
The senior management of both sides has gone through an in-depth discussion on the development trend of the communication industry, Teletalks’ future development strategy, 5G evolution and deployment, etc. In addition, the online atmosphere has been very active as customers participated in the discussion as well as the technical presentation meeting. They have listened to experts of ZTE about customized topics such as 5G progress, development strategy, deployment suggestions, etc.
ZTE is a provider of advanced telecommunications systems, mobile devices and enterprise technology solutions to consumers, operators, companies and public sector customers. The company has been committed to providing customers with integrated end-to-end innovations to deliver excellence and value as the telecommunications and information technology sectors converge. ZTE sells its products and services in more than 160 countries.


text:
The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today published a new credit support deed for Islamic hedging transactions in response to global margin requirements for non-cleared trades.
The ISDA/IIFM Wathiqah Hamish al Rahn al Naqdi (Credit Support Deed for Cash Collateral (VM)) governs the exchange of collateral for hedging transactions under the ISDA/IIFM Tahawwut (Hedging) Master Agreement and follows the rollout of variation margin requirements for non-cleared transactions in multiple jurisdictions from March 1, 2017. The regulatory push for initial and variation margin exchange is part of a Group of 20 commitment to make global financial markets safer and more resilient.
The new credit support deed is the latest initiative by the two associations to provide the Islamic finance industry with documentation and product standards to manage and mitigate the risk arising from currency and rate-of-return mismatches. Islamic hedging transactions are widely used to help manage the exposure of Islamic financial institutions and mitigate risks associated with capital market instruments, trade finance and corporate banking activities. Use of Islamic finance is extending to new jurisdictions and territories, and this has led to a pressing demand for Shari’ah compliant hedging products, as well as collateral documentation in order to manage credit risk.
Recent regulatory requirements for the exchange of variation margin on non-cleared derivatives transactions has created an urgent need for the Islamic finance industry to develop standard credit support documentation.
The ISDA/IIFM Credit Support Deed for Cash Collateral (VM) will undoubtedly benefit all stakeholders of the industry, and the efforts of IIFM and ISDA are commendable achievements,” said Khalid Hamad, Chairman of IIFM. —Agencies


text:
“We are proud to look back at the last 10 years and see all that has been accomplished” managing partner Steve Palmer said through a release. “We are extremely grateful to this community for the support over the years.”
On Wednesday from 5 pm – 9 pm, guests are invited to join Oak Steakhouse for its celebration with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, cake, and a champagne toast.
For more information visit the official website.
Holiday Pop-Up Shop Event Set for December 9th at Bodega
On Friday, December 9th, from 11:30 am to 2:20 pm, a Holiday Pop-Up Shop Event supporting the The Together While...


text:
Sustainability in Singapore: Stale news or refreshed beginnings?
8th August, 2014
All you need to know about sustainability committees
6th August, 2014
Winds of change for Southeast Asia’s businesses?
8th July, 2013
In today's #responsiblebusiness and #sustainabilitynews:
•Amazon, Ikea and Unilever pledge #zerocarbon shipping by… https://t.co/EOUTApEe9g
In today's #sustainabilitynews:
•Some large UK firms will have to disclose #climateimpact
•U.K. unveils £3.9 billio… https://t.co/LMMcUAq5Zd
Last week we shared an overview of how #doublemateriality sits within wider #regulatorydevelopments. A special than… https://t.co/wXSgmJSgFE


text:
Microsoft finally launched Windows 11 earlier this week, proving that the operating system update isn’t what many feared — a Windows 10 paint job. Windows 11 comes with a new user interface that puts the start menu front and center, which is the kind of visual transformation that would qualify as a Windows 10 theme makeover. But Windows 11 also brings over various new features that users will be excited about. There’s a new way to arrange and manage windows that might improve multitasking and productivity, a new Microsoft Store experience that introduces support for Android apps on Windows, improved tablet features for laptops with touchscreens, and brand new gaming features borrowed from Microsoft’s Xbox universe. Add to that Microsoft’s claims that Windows 11 will be faster to wake and boot, that updates will be significantly smaller, that browsing will be faster in Edge, and that Windows 11 uses less energy than before and is the most secure version of Windows so far, and you end up with an OS update worth installing on your PCs.
The best part about Windows 11 is that it’s available free of charge, which means Windows 10 users will be able to update their devices without paying any upgrade fees to Microsoft. However, some people will have to shell out extra cash for Windows 11 because Microsoft has stricter compatibility rules that exclude many older computers from running the new OS.
Microsoft will officially support 8th Gen and newer Intel Core processors and Apollo Lake, and newer Pentium and Celeron processors, reports The Verge. Over on AMD, you’d have to have Ryzen 2000, Ryzen Threadripper 2000, or Epyc 2nd Gen or later to run Windows 11.
It’s unclear why Windows 11 needs these new CPUs, but it’s not unexpected for new OS releases to require certain hardware. Otherwise, some experiences might be unavailable to users or they might run into performance issues. That’s just speculation at this point, as Microsoft hasn’t explained it yet.
Strangely, Microsoft said the CPU generation is just a “soft floor” limit for Windows 11 installs. The installer will warn you if your CPU isn’t supported, but you’ll still be able to install Windows 11, which is bizarre. Hopefully, you won’t have to downgrade to Windows 10 if something fails to work properly.
The Verge points out that Windows 10 users have been downloading Microsoft’s PC Health App, which can quickly tell them if Windows 11 works on their systems.
Also, Windows 11 now requires a TPS (Trusted Platform Module) of 1.2 support or later as well as UEFI Secure Boot. This should help improve protection against malware and ransomware. And Microsoft did say that Windows 11 will be more secure than ever.
Almost every CPU in the last 5-7 years has a TPM. For Intel its called the "Intel PTT" which you set to enabled. For AMD it would be "AMD PSP fTPM". TPMs have been required for OEM certification since at least 2015 and was announced in 2013: https://t.co/1qwfwKSrdd
— DWIZZZLE (@dwizzzleMSFT) June 24, 2021
Laptops and PCs without TPM support in BIOS might run into Windows 11 installation issues. David Weston, Microsoft’s director of enterprise and OS security at Microsoft, said that “almost every CPU in the last 5-7 years has TPM.” He advises users to ensure BIOS options for “PTT” on Intel or “PSP fTPM” on AMD are enabled. That certainly doesn’t make it sound like the upgrade will be a user-friendly experience.
If your computer fails to pass the Windows 11 upgrade checker, then your CPU might not be good enough for the new OS and you’ll need to buy a new computer in order to use Microsoft’s free Windows 11 upgrade. On the other hand, if you happen to have an older system that’s already struggling with Windows 10, you should probably consider upgrading anyway.


text:
September 3 (Renewables Now) - Danish fibre-based products manufacturer Roblon A/S (CPH:RBLN-B) has reached a standstill agreement with client Senvion SE (ETR:SEN) in relation to payment claims made after the struggling wind turbine maker failed to fulfil terms in an existing contract.
Senvion, whose main unit Senvion GmbH filed for self-administration in April, has in place a three-year project contract with Roblon that includes conditions for minimum purchase amounts in its first year -- between April 2018 and April 2019. After curtailing production at its blade factory, Senvion has not been able to meet those conditions, slapping Roblon with costs the latter estimates at USD 3.6 million (EUR 3.3m).
The standstill agreement will be effective until October 4, 2019, during which time Roblon will take no further legal action with respect to Senvion’s non-performance of the agreed purchases.
Roblon noted it has suffered “major losses” as a result of Senvion’s financial hurdles as it is one of the Danish company’s largest clients. It added that the outcome of the above mentioned agreement is for now “subject to significant uncertainty.”
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.914)


text:
Based on Transak, customers of the Coinbase self-custody pockets in South East Asia can now use its Web3 onboarding platform “as a fiat on-ramp to purchase crypto.” Transak’s integration with the Coinbase pockets is coming at a time when extra customers have gotten “conscious of the significance of holding their belongings secure, safe, and of their management.”
Overcoming Limitations to Non-Custodial Wallets
Transak, a Web3 onboarding infrastructure supplier, not too long ago stated that customers of the Coinbase pockets can now use its platform “as a fiat on-ramp to purchase crypto.” Based on a press release, the mixing “eases [the] onboarding” of customers in Southeast Asian international locations like Thailand and the Philippines.
As per a Nov. 29 assertion, the Coinbase pockets integration announcement adopted Transak’s reported latest addition of native fee strategies that allow customers within the two international locations to beat obstacles to non-custodial wallets.
Within the Philippines, customers can now purchase crypto on Transak utilizing native fee strategies corresponding to Gcash, Maya, and Grabpay or by debit and bank cards. Equally, customers in Thailand should purchase crypto on Transak with their debit and bank cards and thru financial institution transfers as nicely.
The Rising Inventory of Self-Hosted Wallets
Commenting on the Coinbase pockets integration with Transak, Hassan Ahmed, the regional director at Coinbase in Southeast Asia (SEA), sought to spotlight the rising significance of customers controlling their very own funds. He stated:
Self-hosted wallets are on the rise, particularly as extra folks grow to be conscious of the significance of holding their belongings secure, safe, and of their management. Coinbase Pockets, with its world-class safety and ease of use, now built-in with Transak makes it even simpler for SEA prospects to entry crypto and Web3 with peace of thoughts.
For his half, Sami Begin, the co-founder and CEO of Transak, stated his platform’s integration with Coinbase makes it “extra intuitive for customers to take part.” Alternatively, the inclusion of native fee strategies means customers in these areas can onboard extra effectively whereas incurring “lesser transaction charges total.”
What are your ideas on this story? Tell us what you suppose within the feedback part under.
Picture Credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This text is for informational functions solely. It’s not a direct supply or solicitation of a proposal to purchase or promote, or a suggestion or endorsement of any merchandise, providers, or firms. Bitcoin.com doesn’t present funding, tax, authorized, or accounting recommendation. Neither the corporate nor the creator is accountable, straight or not directly, for any harm or loss precipitated or alleged to be attributable to or in reference to the usage of or reliance on any content material, items or providers talked about on this article.


text:
Kinetic12 consulting has announced the launch of its Emergence Operator Group, which consists of more than 75 relevant, emerging restaurant and growth chains between 20 and 400 units in size.
Emerging restaurant and growth chains are redefining the industry because of their entrepreneurial culture combined with their unique and compelling menus and business models that have captured consumer interest. Suppliers are eager to learn more about the needs of these chains and understand how to grow their business with them.
Based on surveys and interviews with these chains, Kinetic12 will publish comprehensive quarterly reports to provide foodservice suppliers, distributors, agencies, and private equity firms with insights on how to tailor their go-to-market messaging, innovation, analysis and selling efforts. The company also plans to run regional roundtable meetings where operators and suppliers can connect and interact in a different format than a traditional sales meeting.
“We are excited to have published our first Emergence report this March and to help our clients better understand and grow their sales to this influential group of restaurant chains,” said Tim Hand, partner at Kinetic12 consulting. “We now have senior leaders at more than 75 emerging chains who have committed to being part of this important effort.”
The first report covers more than a dozen topics and explores facts such as:
- 72 percent of chains identified the high cost of delivery as a top business issue
- The #1 area of innovation investment is optimizing take-out and delivery packaging
- The top issues around labor are three-fold: cost reduction & management, finding good people and improving employee engagement
“The response to Emergence has been tremendous from both the suppliers and the chains. There is a strong interest from both sides in collaborating as suppliers often possess unique capabilities that can help address the needs of these operators,” says Bruce Reinstein, a partner at Kinetic12. “This first set of survey results are especially important because they give us an inside look into how operators are facing the future and the areas of concern they are choosing to address.”
Additionally, restaurant industry suppliers can subscribe to Emergence and will receive four quarterly reports and access to ongoing collaboration events. The next report comes out in June 2021. New chains between 40 and 400 units are also welcome to join.
Kinetic12 partners are regularly featured speakers at operator, supplier and industry conferences. Contact Tim Hand at firstname.lastname@example.org, or Bruce Reinstein at email@example.com for more information.


text:
Swiss chocolate manufacturers made record sales of SFr1.53 billion ($1.23 billion) last year as a result of a marked increase in exports.This content was published on February 7, 2007 - 12:20
But demand at home stagnated and imported products now amount to 30 per cent of all chocolate consumed in Switzerland, according to the Union of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers.
Sales increased by just over four per cent while sales by volume grew nearly five per cent, according to a statement by Chocosuisse on Wednesday.
Exports rose by more than eight per cent to 98,727 tonnes last year and account for 58.7 per cent of the Swiss production. Neighbouring Germany remains the main export market ahead of France, Britain and the United States.
"Swiss chocolate was particularly successful in Belgium, Italy, Norway, Poland and Sweden, as well as in Brazil and Canada," the statement said.
As in 2005, figures were less sweet on the domestic front. Sales in volume terms remained flat and grew only marginally to 69,523 tonnes last year. The overall value dropped by 1.2 per cent to SFr793 million.
The continued favourable consumer climate had a positive impact on the domestic market, including the segment of chocolate products for tourists, but the industry noted a dip during two hot summer months.
Sales of Christmas and Easter specials were particularly successful, Chocosuisse said.
However, the industry said foreign cocoa producers are increasingly eating into the Swiss market. In 2006 imported products made up 29.8 per cent, up 2.4 per cent on the previous year and nearly ten per cent on 2000.
Consumption per person increased by about three chocolate bars to 11.9kg, but is still short of the record 12.3kg in 2001.
In its outlook for 2007, Swiss chocolate manufacturers said they aimed to further boost exports through high quality products and maintain their share of the Swiss market.
swissinfo with agencies
Chocosuisse was founded in 1901 and represents the interests of the Swiss chocolate industry, including brand names such as Lindt and Cailler.
The organisation has 18 members, companies involved in manufacturing chocolate products, as well the largest importers of finished products.
The main products made by Chocosuisse members are chocolate bars (51%), confectionary (20.8%), semi-finished products (18.5%), small-format products (5.2%) and others including Christmas and Easter products (4.5%).
The main exports are Germany (19.5%), France (12%), Britain (10.4%) and the US (7.6%).
Chocolate industry 2006:
Sales: SFr1.53 billion (+4.1%)
Sales by volume: 168,250 tonnes (+4.9%)
Exports in terms of volume rose by 8.1%
Domestic market sales by volume grew by 0.8%
In compliance with the JTI standards


text:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville, Ark., recently declared its intention to create a "packaging scorecard" to reduce packaging across its global supply chain by 5 percent by 2013. The criteria are designed as tools to help its 60,000 suppliers determine how their packaging innovations, environmental standards, energy efficiencies and use of materials match up against those of their peers. On Feb. 1, Wal-Mart will share the scorecard with its global supply chain. Later that month Amy Zettlemoyer, director of packaging for the retail giant's Sam's Club warehouse chain stores, will update the program's progress and aims when she delivers the Executive Forum's opening keynote address, "The Wal-Mart/Sam's Club Packaging Vision."
Zettlemoyer, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., worked for Kraft Foods Inc. (where she was granted patents for her work on the DiGiorno deep-dish pizza package), Eastman Kodak Co., E&J Gallo Winery and Clorox Co. before joining Wal-Mart. She also is a founding member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals' Ozark Chapter in northwest Arkansas. She currently is responsible for packaging for Sam's Club and for sustainable packaging for Wal-Mart Inc., whose total corporate sales may exceed $300 billion in 2006.


text:
January 24, 2013
Lego has been accused of racism by the Turkish community over a Star Wars model that supposedly resembles one of Istanbul’s most revered mosques.
Austria’s Turkish community said the model was based on Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul and that the accompanying figures depicted Asians and Orientals as people with “deceitful and criminal personalities.”
The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria released a statement calling for Lego to apologise for affronting religious and cultural feelings.
The anger was provoked by “Jabba’s Palace”, a model of the home of Jabba the Hutt from Lego’s Star Wars product range based on the blockbusting series of science fiction films.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!


text:
We all know how Ford, much to the chagrin of the Obama Administration,declined the taxpayer funded bailout boondoggle, and thus be under the thumb of BO and the Unions. Instead, they did what any corporation in trouble would do - namely tighten their belts, shed unprofitable lines and delivering products the public wanted. You would think that this would make Ford's employees happy since they averted disaster and increased both sales and profits. I'm sure that would be the case if Ford was a non-union workplace, but alas, they are not. The UAW apparently can't stand the fact that management at Ford did what the stakeholders paid them to do and came out of the recession in flying colors. This from Fortune Magazine (emphasis mine):
"Ford is the most likely to get whacked, because Ford is doing the best of the three companies," says a U.S.-based executive of a foreign automaker. "Mulally got the fattest pay package. And don't forget, the government saved Chrysler and GM, in part for the sake of the union, so it would be ungrateful, if not incredibly self-destructive, for UAW to put the squeeze on those two."
GM's stock will never exceed what the taxpayer's paid for it. Secured bond holder's got screwed in the deal in favor of the Unions and now GM makes cars that nobody wants. Sounds like a good business plan to me. Whereas Ford busted their tail getting their house in order, kept their obligations to the Unions. And now, in gratitude, the Union threatens to go on strike:
But all that success may now bring Ford some serious pain. The Big Three are hurtling towards a September 14 contract expiration with the United Auto Workers (UAW). For the first time, GM and Chrysler are protected against UAW strikes thanks to agreements stemming from the government's $100 billion bailout, bankruptcy and reorganization of the two automakers in 2009. Ford is not. (Its union workers rejected a ballot initiative granting it a similar exemption the same year.)
Absolutely perfect. They can't go after GM or Chrysler so let's get Ford. Okay, Ford does the right thing, not only for the shareholders, but for their Union workers as well. And how do these numbskulls repay the company - Why by striking of course! Idiots.
These morons jumped the shark years ago, and just the optics of a strike after what Ford went thought to stay solvent (much less increase profit by 13% during a recession) will do more damage to the UAW image than anything else. Oh, and by the way, these ungrateful ingrates make more than other auto maker employees as well. This from the same article:
Ford says its labor costs, including benefits, are about $58 an hour, 16 percent more than the going rate at Toyota's and other U.S. transplants.
Just a quick reality check. A Volkswagen plant recently opened up in Chattanooga where 80,000 workers applied for a few thousand (non-union) jobs. So knock yourselves out fellas, make yourselves even more irrelevant than you already are. There are a lot of folks out there who would love to have a job, even one paying a bit less than you're making now.


text:
Latest News Headlines
Syncrolite Kicks off Grammy Awards with a Bang
USA – It is only natural that when the world’s biggest musical talents gather to honour their craft and creativity the world’s brightest lights would be invited to the party. Syncrolite was proud to be part of the 57th Annual Grammy Awards and to be working with one of the lighting industry’s brightest stars, Full Flood, Inc.
Bob Dickinson of Full Flood and the lighting designer for the 2015 Grammy Awards chose Syncrolite fixtures for the opening act of this year’s show. Dickinson remarked after the show that: “The crisp clean look and the punch provided by the Syncrolite fixtures complemented the energy of the AC/DC performance and set the mood for the night.” AC/DC’s hard rock medley was backed up by 12 SXL 7ks hitting the Staples Center audience with Syncrolite's signature solid beam of light.
Joining Dickinson in making the evening a non-stop avalanche of lighting artistry were Jon Kusner and Noah Mitz as lighting directors, Andy O’Reilly, Harrison Lippman and Patrick Boozer as lighting directors/programmers and Mike Berger and Madigan Stehly as associate lighting directors. Rounding out the distinguished lighting crew were Matt Cotter as media server programmer' Robert Lindsay as gaffer, Alen Sisul as best boy, James Beaghan as PRG crew chief and Travis Slater as Syncrolite technician. The Syncrolite equipment was provided through Arc Light Efx, Inc., Syncrolite’s west coast depot partner.
Jonathan Adamson, chairman of Syncrolite commented: "It is always great to be associated with talent like the team at Full Flood and we appreciate the opportunity to showcase the unique features of our products in a world-class event like the Grammys.”
27th February 2015
© 1999 - 2021 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories


text:
In a recent tweet, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has hinted at a new project with internationally renowned football star, Cristiano Ronaldo. The tweet included behind-the-scenes photos from an ad shoot featuring Ronaldo. It appears that Binance and Ronaldo are teaming up to launch an exciting new project, which is sure to pique the interest of fans around the world. Currently playing for the Saudi football league club Al Nassr, Ronaldo’s worldwide popularity is expected to generate significant interest in the collaboration.
We’re working on something with @Cristiano Ronaldo.
Here’s a behind the scenes look at what we’ve got coming up. pic.twitter.com/7n8NnBlGui
— Binance (@binance) May 26, 2023
The announcement has received a positive response from the crypto community, with many hoping that Ronaldo’s massive social media following and universal appeal will help improve public perception of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
This is not Ronaldo’s first foray into NFTs. In November 2022, he released a collection on Binance NFT which sold out almost immediately. The rarest NFTs from the collection fetched an impressive average of $22,800 at auction. To enhance the NFT experience for collectors, Ronaldo also held an on-camera chat with the holders of the rarest NFTs.
Going forward, Ronaldo will continue to use his celebrity status to engage with fans and foster a sense of community within the NFT space.
Compiled by Coinbold


text:
Home Tags China
Reddit has released the most ‘upvoted’ posts of 2019, and it shows how much trolling is part of the platform’s culture
Reddit recently released its year-in-review report highlighting the most popular posts, active subreddit communities, and viral trends.
A Uighur Dutch woman admitted to leaking secret Chinese cables on Muslim oppression. She’s going public to stop China’s death threats.
Asiye Abdulaheb told the Dutch De Volkskrant newspaper that she had a role in disseminating the explosive internal documents on Xinjiang.
Mysterious automated calls, vanished relatives, and sinister Facebook comments: How China intimidates Uighurs who don’t even live in the country...
Though China's brutal campaign is most active in Xinjiang, many Uighurs living abroad say they've been targeted by Chinese agents.
Top US Marine says young troops should not be blamed for using TikTok, responsibility is with senior leaders
"That's not their fault. That's on us," the Marine Corps commandant said of concerns over the app, adding, "I don't blame them for that."
Only one cryptocurrency is outperforming bitcoin this year — and its exchange has pioneered the practice of destroying coins every quarter
Binance Coin faces pressures from a rumored November police raid in China and new firms entering the initial exchange offering market.
TikTok’s chief is heading to Washington to defend the video-sharing platform against censorship and privacy concerns as lawsuits and investigati...
TikTok faces mounting pressure over concerns it censors content deemed offensive to the Chinese government and poses a threat to US national security.
British GQ dropped China’s President Xi from its ‘worst-dressed’ list after comparing him to ‘the mass murderer Chairman Mao...
China's Xi Jinping and Thailand's Maha Vajiralongkorn were removed from the British GQ's worst dress list out of fear of causing offense.
"We believe Nike is on the cusp of a sharp acceleration in EPS growth," a team of Goldman Sachs analysts led by Alexandra Walvis wrote Thursday.
Many of NATO's longstanding problems were under discussion at its leaders summit this week, but the agenda included a relatively new challenge: China.
The Nintendo Switch will launch in China December 10, bringing the world’s fastest-selling video game console to the world’s biggest video...
China, the world's most valuable gaming market, is expected to spend more than $36 billion on video games this year.


text:
On Thursday, Apple’s stock went down by 2.9% because of news that China wants to stop iPhones from being used by government-related organizations and businesses. This is causing concern among investors about how the world’s most valuable publicly traded company will continue doing business in China, the world’s second-largest economy.
On Wednesday, Apple’s stock (known as AAPL) had its biggest one-day drop in over a month, resulting in a loss of about $200 billion in market value in just two days. Right now, Apple’s stock is performing the worst in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
These bans are worrying for Apple. China is the company’s biggest market outside the United States, accounting for about a fifth of its total revenue last year. Although Apple doesn’t disclose specific iPhone sales by country, analysts estimate that more iPhones were sold in China than in the United States last quarter. Plus, a lot of iPhones are made in Chinese factories.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, plays a significant role in Beijing’s economy, which is why it has typically been seen as safe from government restrictions in China. But these new bans raise a critical question: Is the government changing its stance?
iPhone Bans and Impact on Tech Industry
As reported, China has banned central government officials from using iPhones, and managers are informing their employees about this ban through chats or meetings.
On Thursday, these bans have now been expanded to include state-affiliated companies like the huge energy company PetroChina, which employs millions of workers and has a big impact on various parts of the Chinese economy.
Analysts from Bank of America noted on Thursday that it’s interesting timing for this potential iPhone ban, as it coincides with the launch of a new high-end smartphone by the Chinese company Huawei.
On Tuesday, the US government announced an investigation into Huawei’s new smartphone. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that they need more information about the phone’s features and components to determine if it violates American restrictions on semiconductor exports.
In response to all this news, technology companies saw their stock prices drop. The Nasdaq Composite, which includes many tech firms, fell by about 0.9% on Thursday, and the semiconductor industry saw a decline of over 2%.
Apple and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comments but hasn’t received any responses yet.
iPhone, China bans have sent shockwaves through the tech industry, with Apple’s stock plummeting and concerns about its future in China growing. The expansion of bans to state-affiliated companies like PetroChina adds complexity, while the timing aligning with Huawei’s new smartphone launch raises questions.
A US investigation into Huawei further underscores the uncertainty, leading to declines in technology stocks. Responses from Apple and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs remain awaited, leaving the situation in flux.


text:
New Zealand dollar trades above 63 US cents
Monday 8 May, 2023
Daily Currency UpdateThe Kiwi dollar is stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback. Last week the Kiwi dollar reached the highest levels in a month, up half a percent and trading above 63 US cents heading into Friday’s European session. The Kiwi dollar remains supported after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised markets in April, with its decision to increase interest rates by another 50 basis points to 5.25%, against expectations for a smaller move. NZ Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated to 6.7% y/y in the first quarter and the lowest level in more than a year, but remains close to its three-decade highs (7.3%). Last week NZ unemployment rate steadied at 3.4%, not far from the historic lows (3.2%).
Fairly quiet week ahead on the local data front in New Zealand. On Thursday Statistics New Zealand will release Food Price Index (FPI). Although food is among the most volatile consumer price components, this indicator garners some attention because New Zealand's major inflation data is released on a quarterly basis. On Friday Business NZ will release the Performance of Manufacturing Index a survey of manufacturers that asks respondents to rate the relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will release the quarterly Inflation Expectations a survey of about 100 consumers that asks respondents where they expect prices to be 24 months in the future. Finally, on Friday Statistics New Zealand will release the monthly Visitor Arrivals.
Key MoversThe latest employment report in the US the Nonfarm Payrolls on Friday showed that hiring in April exceeded estimates as the economy added 253K. This reading came in better than the market expectation for an increase of 179,000 in the aftermath of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) 25 bps rate hike on Wednesday. Following the Fed’s decision, market participants quickly began to price in rate cuts. The US jobs report revealed that Average Hourly Earnings rose 0.5% MoM, exceeding 0.3% forecasts, while the Unemployment Rate edged down to 3.4% from 3.5% in March. Finally, the Labor Force Participation Rate remained unchanged at 62.6%, compared to the market expectation of 62.5%. Once the data is in the rearview mirror, investors expect the Fed to hold rates unchanged for June’s decision.
The Pound Sterling, meanwhile, continues to be underpinned by UK monetary policy divergence with the US based on much higher inflation in the UK. Not since 1977 have British households faced food prices rising at a faster pace, while the headline rate of inflation is stuck above 10% higher than in any other G7 nation. Despite this, economists predict headline inflation will fall rapidly when figures for April are published later this month. With all eyes now on next Thursday’s Bank of England (BoE) monetary policy meeting with many forecasting the central bank will raise interest rates for a 12th consecutive time on Thursday, with predictions for a quarter-point rise from the current level of 4.25%.
- NZD/USD: 0.6200 - 0.6400 ▲
- NZD/EUR: 0.5600 - 0.5800 ▲
- GBP/NZD: 1.9950 - 2.0150 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0600 - 1.0800 ▼
- NZD/CAD: 0.8300 - 0.8500 ▼


text:
Back in September, Chipotle released an ad featuring Fiona Apple covering “Pure Imagination”. As it turns out, Apple only recorded the whimsical classic after Frank Ocean had dropped out of the campaign. Now, that little move could potentially cost Ocean thousands of dollars as Chipotle is suing him over it.
As TMZ reports, a lawsuit was filed in L.A. County earlier today, acknowledging that Ocean had signed a $425,000 contract for the advertisement campaign. According to the suit, after Ocean viewed a final cut of the animated commercial, he raised concerns about the company’s logo being featured at the end. When Chipotle wouldn’t make his requested revisions, Ocean promptly backed out of the deal.
The suit adds that the restaurant later received an email from Ocean and his representatives. In it, the R&B singer asserted his belief that he had final approval of the end product and assumed Chipotle was the one in breach for not fielding his requests. Chipotle is seeking repayment of Oceans’s $212,500 advance.
Below, revisit Apple’s absolutely delightful version. But, boy oh boy, just imagine what Ocean could’ve done.
Battles with a burrito franchise may not be Ocean’s only time spent in a court this year. As TMZ learned, Ocean is changing his name…. to Frank Ocean. The man born Christopher Edwin Breaux filed court documents recently to legally change his name to the much sleeker moniker. Before the change is official, though, Ocean will have to take out ads in four newspapers over the next four weeks announcing the new name.
If legally allowed, though, I suggest Ocean makes a revision to his request by spelling it Fränk Öcean.


text:
Have your Kalk and ride it, too
American pollution laws are set to stifle Ducati’s new flagship Panigale V4 R.
Bicolore Lambretta V-Special Scooter
Lambretta Australia has announced the limited release of the Bicolore Lambretta V-Special Scooter. The scooter is a modern tribute to the Italian classic Bicolore Lambretta of the 1950’s and 60’s (Bicolore is Italian for bicoloured or two-tone colour scheme). Lambretta Aus
2020 SUZUKI KATANA – AUSTRALIAN PRICING ANNOUNCED
Last October at the International Motorcycle Show (Intermot) Cologne, Suzuki Motor Corporation unveiled the 2020 KATANA. Forged to perfection and polished to a magnificent radiance with sharp lines and design cues paying homage to the iconic 1981 GSX1100S KATANA, the new KATANA
Bell and Toby launch new lid
Bell Helmets has added the new Eliminator helmet to its Culture Classics range and had our two-time Dakar winner Toby Price on hand to help out. The new Eliminator boasts plenty of great features such as Bell’s new dual-pane anti-fog ProVision shield, however star of the show w
Moto2 for the road!
Triumph caught testing road-going Moto2 proof of concept
A new trademark application has opened a Pandora’s box of anticipation. Triumph is finally moving forward with the name ‘Trident’.
Honda Goldwing GL1800 Airbag Inflator Recall
The global Takata airbag inflator recalls have affected tens of millions of vehicles globally across many manufacturers including Honda. Honda Goldwing motorcycles have also been affected in the Takata air bag recall. Honda Goldwing motorcycle’s MY 2008 to MY 2015 currently hav
The Suzuki GSX-R750 has arrived in Australian dealerships, in two striking new Gloss Sparkle Black / Pearl Glacier White and Metallic Matte Black / Gloss Sparkle Black colour schemes with red accents and rim decals. Currently available under the ‘Own The Racetrack’ special
KTM’s fat twin
Spy pic shows new 1290 Adventure design
Honda CB500F now available
Honda’s new CB500F hits dealerships around Australia this week and will be available for an MLP of $7,599.
Honda's 50th Birthday
Honda Australia is celebrating its 50th birthday this year by covering a range of its models in a one-off golden finish. Originally set up in Australia to sell cars, Honda gradually brought together all its products under one sales roof. This diverse range of products now incl


text:
[HD videos below] The Singapore Tourism Board has unveiled
programme details of TravelRave 2010.
Spearheaded by STB, TravelRave, which takes place
between 18 - 28 October 2010, brings together various sectors of
the tourism industry with six landmark co-located events: Asia
Travel Leaders Summit, ITB Asia - the Tradeshow for the Asian
Travel Market, World Savers Congress, Web in Travel (WIT),
Aviation Outlook Asia and the Singapore Experience Awards.
“This is an exciting time to be in the travel and tourism sector
as the industry continues to experience positive growth,
especially in Asia,” said Ms Melissa Ow, Singapore Tourism Board’s
assistant chief executive of the Industry Development II Group.
“In creating and hosting TravelRave, STB seeks to propel the
industry forward by providing a platform to foster collaboration
and accelerate growth in the Asia-Pacific tourism industry. The
coming together of Influential speakers and leaders will be a
meeting of some of the best minds in the industry and encourage
tourism players to share ideas, develop solutions and collaborate
to leverage Asia’s economic vibrancy.”
Delegates of TravelRave can look
forward to a series of prominent speakers ranging from A-list
celebrities to high-ranking leaders in the tourism industry.
American writer and futurist Alvin Toffler will kick off TravelRave with a keynote address at the inaugural Asia Travel Leaders Summit (18-19 October). Toffler, who largely created the
role of the futurist with his ground-breaking work Future Shock,
will provide a glimpse into the future of Asia and the travel
Lending further insights at the Summit are global
thought leaders such as Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President and
Chief Executive Officer of the World Travel & Tourism Council;
Randy Tinseth, Vice President of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; and
Julian Persaud, Managing Director of Google Southeast Asia.
Summit’s series of talks and panel discussions will examine timely
issues including Asia as a growth engine over the next decade, the
evolving needs of the modern Asian traveller, tourism talent,
sustainability, and the future of online travel.
Web in Travel
(19-22 October) will delve into the changing customer in Asia
against a backdrop of a very dynamic online travel market, and the
factors contributing to the growth of online travel in the region.
The prestigious World Savers Congress (19-20 October) by Conde
Nast Traveller, will also bring in Academy Award winners Mira
Sorvino, and director Louie Psihoyos. They will be the keynote
speakers to start the Congress’ discussions on global social
Held outside the United States for the first time
since its inception in 2007, the World Savers Congress will
discuss initiatives on the environmental impact of tourism,
health, education and the economic well-being of communities
The Congress will feature five panel sessions,
including a CEO Travel Industry Panel, a panel exploring success
stories of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and others
focusing on poverty relief and education, health, preservation and
Asia (20-22 October) for example, will enable international
exhibitors, leading companies and emerging small and medium-sized
enterprises from the Asia Pacific to meet with top buyers from the
MICE, Leisure and Corporate Travel markets.
Aviation Outlook Asia (20-22 October) will explore business
trends in the aviation industry.
TravelRave will culminate with the Singapore Experience Awards on 28 October 2010.
Recognising individuals and organisations from sectors
encompassing hospitality, retail, dining, entertainment,
attractions, education, healthcare, business travel and MICE, the
Awards celebrates the industry’s contributions to providing
outstanding customer experiences and enhancing Singapore’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.
CNBC in Asia, one of the
primary partners for the Asia Travel Leaders Summit, will also be introducing an inaugural award for those in the Travel and Tourism
industry. More details about this special award will be revealed
during the Summit's gala dinner on 18 October 2010.
HD Videos from World
Savers Congress 2010 in Singapore
Human trafficking and the travel industry -
Nicole Conner of UNODC @ World Savers Congress
2010 in Singapore.
Interview with Mr. Lee Tabler, CEO of Abu
Interview with Mr. Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and
Chairman of Six Senses Resorts & Spas.
Interview with Dennis Pinto, MD of Micato
Many more to come, so do check back.


text:
One of the cards reads: "Mary just needs to admit she slept with someone else".
Another card says "Sorry your December birthday is overshadowed by a bloke that wore socks with sandals".
The owner of Love Layla said the company does not set out to upset anyone.
Stacey Dennis said: "We've really pulled out all the stops for this year's Christmas range as this is what our customers want with some designs providing much more of a playful edge.
"And with the way this year has panned out, people are in real need of a laugh and a giggle.
"Christmas isn't just about religion it's also about having fun and enjoying ourselves.
"We're just trying to be original and funny by catering for all different types of humour, we don't set out to deliberately upset anyone."
James Mildred, communication manager of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) said this is something that is deemed "deeply" offensive to many Christians.
According to the Independent, he said: "It highlights a fundamental hypocrisy that Christianity is seen as fair game to mock, disparage and insult.
"As Christians we believe it is vital to exercise respect when sharing our views and listening to what others think. This card is the opposite of respectful.
"Sadly, this happens every Christmas, which is such an important time in the Christian calendar. It is just another sad example of the kind of under the radar discrimination Christians around Europe and currently facing."
Dennis added if the cards do not fit people's taste, they have plenty of other options.
"If they want a more traditional Christmas card or something more mainstream then they shouldn't be looking at our range," she said.
"There's plenty of choices available out there for those who believe Christmas and comedy don't mix."
Listen to James Mildred speaking with Ruth Sax on Premier News Hour here:
Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.


text:
During the run up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, eBay plans to match discounts by rivals.
The online marketplace will match or beat announced sale prices on a limited number of items between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 from retailers like Macy’s, Walmart, Kohl’s and JCPenney.
From Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) to the end of Cyber Monday (the following Monday), eBay will match deals on certain new items sold online by Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. The retailer says it will offer “50,000 deals with no blackout periods.”
EBay said in a press release that it wants customers to be able to keep the best parts of Black Friday—sales on holiday gifts—and skip the worst—long checkout lines in stores.
Planned price cuts includes the Apple Watch Series 3 for $325, which usually starts at $329, and a five-quart KitchenAid Stand Mixer for $249.99, similar models at KitchenAid.com retail between $429.99 for $459.99.
In order to guarantee these prices, “eBay works closely with our sellers to source top-quality and in-demand deals at the best prices available,” Jesse Kiefer, Director and General Manager of eBay Deals, explained to Fortune in a statement.
“Our goal is to unlock a variety of deals from the world’s top brands and merchants—across a variety of categories including, electronics, home & garden, clothing, shoes, and accessories—and get inventory into the hands of shoppers,” Kiefer continued. “EBay’s Deals program connects consumer demand with quality supply—with limited-time offers. Of note, many brands source these deals directly.”
Fortune has been tracking the best tech Black Friday deals here.


text:
Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 10X last year, alongside its Surface Neo dual-screen device. Windows 10X is an ambitious effort to redesign the operating system for devices that have dual screens and even foldable displays. We’ve started to see some of this hardware at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, but it’s all lacking the key software element: Windows 10X.
While Microsoft has promised Windows 10X devices from Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus, most of the PC makers aren’t ready to show what they’re planning just yet. Lenovo unveiled its ThinkPad X1 Fold this week — a $2,499 PC with a folding OLED screen — but it will crucially ship this year with Windows 10 Pro instead of Windows 10X. Lenovo is promising a Windows 10X version later, but it’s unclear when exactly that will happen.
Lenovo’s X1 Fold looks like a primary candidate for Windows 10X, but the Chinese PC maker is pressing on with a launch without it. That either suggests Microsoft is behind on Windows 10X or Lenovo is pushing ahead aggressively and likely prematurely.
Windows 10X is key to a device like the X1 Fold because Microsoft is building in a variety of ways to handle apps across multiple displays directly into the operating system. Lenovo has instead built its own software to sit on top of Windows 10 to make it more friendly for separating apps, but that’s exactly what Windows 10X is supposed to offer natively.
Microsoft has been working on 10X for years, mindful that Intel and other OEMs were pushing toward foldable and dual-screen hardware quicker than Windows could keep up. Microsoft wants Windows 10X to be ready for PC makers to take advantage of this new wave of hardware, but it’s clearly still months away from being ready.
Asus, Dell, and HP have also not yet revealed any dual-screen or foldable Windows devices, but most of them are playing around with some prototype ideas. Dell introduced concept foldable and dual-screen laptops this week, and Asus introduced a smaller 14-inch dual-screen laptop. All of these devices, including Intel’s folding concept, are also running a standard version of Windows 10 that’s not designed with this new hardware in mind.
It’s fair to say that Windows 10 looks janky and awkward in dual-screen and foldable hardware demonstrations. It reminds me of the early days of touchscreen laptops, back when Windows 7 wasn’t designed and built around screens you could touch. Microsoft then went all-in on touchscreens with Windows 8 to much criticism, and is now taking a careful approach with Windows 10X.
PC makers look set to announce more of these foldable and dual-screen devices this year, but any haste will be met with the realization that these machines desperately need something beyond Windows 10. During my brief time with the Surface Neo, it was clear that Microsoft has solved a variety of potential pain points with this hardware by running Windows 10X. PC makers and Microsoft also have to weigh up what multiple displays do to battery life, how apps run, and the pure weight and thickness of a device.
We’ve already seen Samsung rush to market early with a foldable Android device that needed to be re-engineered before it even hit store shelves. If PC makers like Lenovo rush into foldable and dual-screen hardware without Windows 10X, they need to have some stunning software alternatives to avoid souring the market.
A lot rests on Windows 10X being a success for these devices. There’s no guarantee it will even be good enough for this hardware, or get the app support it requires. Microsoft needs to deliver the software and experiences that make dual-screen and foldable hardware shine. We’re still waiting to hear more about 10X, but 2020 has only just begun and Microsoft’s Build developer conference kicks off in May followed by Computex in June. For now, all of the potential hardware for 10X looks lost without it.


text:
Islamabad, October 21, 2014 (PPI-OT): In line with directions of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the government has decided not to burden the electricity consumers with new tariff for the year 2013-14 as determined by NEPRA and maintain it at the level of current tariff. The average national tariff for the year 2013-14 as determined by NEPRA is Rs. 13.81/Unit while the current average national tariff is Rs. 11.52/unit.
It may be recalled that recently the government has notified 29 paisa/unit equalization surcharge which has been decided to offset with a reduction of 30 paisa/unit due to fuel price adjustment resulting in zero impact on the consumers. It has also been decided to continue pay subsidy for the domestic and Agricultural consumers to lessen the burden of expensive energy mix in the power generation.
The decision has been taken by the Prime Minister to provide relief to the consumers specially the domestic consumers. The power generation in the country is predominately run on expensive fuel which results in higher generation cost and higher tariff to be paid by the end consumers. The government is making all out efforts to absorb the impact of the higher tariff and pass on minimum impact to the end consumers.
The power generation mechanism has also been lined up to ensure running of least expensive plants first and more later to ensure that minimum fuel charges are passed on to the consumers. New projects with a expected capacity of about 10400 MW are being pursued based on cheaper sources of fuel like coal and hydropower which will result in reduction in cost of generation in the coming years.
For more information, contact:
Haji Ahmed Malik
Principal Information Officer
Press Information Department (PID)
Tel: +92-51-9252323 and +92-51-9252324
Fax: +92-51-9252325 and +92-51-9252326


text:
When it comes to dining out the US and GB are oceans apart [July 2016]
Brits are more impatient than their US counterparts when it comes to dining out.
For Americans their biggest frustration is the wrong order being taken [32% v 24%] and for the British it’s all about speed of delivery [44% v 31%].
The GO Technology report findings from Zonal Retail Data Systems and CGA Peach, show that UK diners are more focused on speed of service and in the US it’s more about quality of service.
Not being able to pay quickly is a bugbear in the UK with 14% citing it as their number one pet hate, whereas in the US only 9% express this as a major issue.
“From our experience of the US hospitality market they are definitely behind the times when it comes to adopting technology to support the customer journey. In the UK technology is considered central to an operator’s infrastructure and this is supported in our research findings. In the UK we experience fewer mistakes when it comes to orders being taken, so it’s less of an issue. In the US where there is huge service culture, consumers are less forgiving when it comes to receiving incorrect orders.”
Stuart McLean, Zonal’s chief executive
However, the biggest opportunity for food operators is take-out. In the US, 40% of consumers order food to go at least once a week, with 54% choosing to collect their order from the restaurant. Only 29% opt to have their food delivered.
In the UK there are signs that we are adopting the take-out trend, but still fall short of the US with only 14% of consumers having food delivered at least once a week (6.7 million or 1 in 7 GB consumers).
As the demand for take-out is on the up, so is the use of smartphone delivery apps such as Just Eat, Hungry Horse and the fastest growing app, Deliveroo. Around 5.6 million people are opting for these third party delivery services.
“High street restaurant brands have recognised the potential of take away as part of their overall service offer and we will see this grow in the coming months and years as the market matures with more delivery providers entering the market. To support this, the demand for app technology is also on the up with consumers feeling increasingly comfortable to book a table, order food and pay for it from their personal devices.”
Jamie Campbell, director of CGA Peach
Working in partnership with Zonal, the CGA Peach GO Technology report tracks consumer attitudes and experiences with technology when eating and drinking out. The research is conducted quarterly to gain an insight over a period of time to measure consumer behaviour and trends, helping operators to keep one step ahead.


text:
Hot on the heels of the launch of the Redmi 8 in India, Xiaomi announced the date for when it will bring the Redmi Note 8 Pro to the country. This “64MP quad camera beast” made its debut in China in August, and has now been scheduled to make its way to the Indian market on October 16. Since Xiaomi tends to release non-Pro variants of its Note series alongside the Pro models, we expect the Redmi Note 8 to also debut next week.
The announcement for the Redmi Note 8 Pro’s India launch was made during the Redmi 8’s launch live stream. This was followed by a tweet by the brand where quite a few of the phone’s features were teased. After the launch of the Note 8 Pro in China, Manu Kumar Jain had said that it would take two months for the company to bring the phone to India. As such, it was expected that the handset would arrive here well after Diwali. With the new announcement, however, the brand is releasing the phone well ahead of schedule, giving it enough time to release the phone during the festive season.
Since the Note 8 Pro is already up for sale in China, we have a good idea for what to expect from the phone in terms of its specifications and price.
Redmi Note 8 Pro Specifications, Features
The Note 8 Pro is the first Xiaomi phone to feature a 64MP Samsung GW1 sensor on its back. The phone has a total of four rear sensors, with the other three being comprised of an 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. The front of the handset comes equipped with a 20MP selfie shooter.
With the Redmi Note 8 Pro, the phone maker has moved over to a MediaTek Helio G90T chipset that is paired with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128Gb of internal storage. For its display, the phone makes use of a 6.53-inch IPS LCD that bears a Full HD+ resolution and a 19,5:9 aspect ratio. Here you have a waterdrop notch up top, Gorilla Glass 5 protection, and support for HDR content. Powering the phone is a 4500mAh battery that charges over a USB Type-C port.
Redmi Note 8, Note 8 Pro Expected Price in India
Xiaomi recently announced that it sold am astronomical 5.3 million handsets in just 7 days during its Diwali with Mi campaign. The launch of the new Redmi Note handsets should just help increase this number further. As far as their pricing is concerned, the Redmi Note 8 Pro should cost about the same in India as it does in China, which is 1,300 Yuan (approx INR 14,000). The Redmi Note 8, on the other hand, retails for 999 yuan in China, which translates to about INR 10,000.
Thanks for reading till the end of this article. For more such informative and exclusive tech content, like our Facebook page


text:
Mbali Mkhize has taken to her social media to debut her new look.
The star has decided to join the new year new look gang and many of her fans are loving it.
Well, she looks really cute in it and taking this bold step is what she loves to do best when it comes to hairstyling.
Apart from wearing extensions, Thuli’s hair was actually pretty long.
Mbali had been fed up with her hair and wanted to try something new, so she opted to cut it.
In other news – VIDEO: SA rich kid drives Porsche to school
Yesterday was the first day of school for many Mzansi learners and the day was quite eventful as always. A Grade 12 learner is currently trending on social media after she posted on Instagram how she is showing up to school.
The leaner who goes by the username @Yanda.Woods took to social media to show off that she was driving to her first day of matric with a Porsche, carrying a Christian Dior bag for her books and wearing Louis Vuitton shades. learn moreInfluencer Mbali Mkhize goes bald – Photo


text:
Below are highlights from the recently released trade data from the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis. To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca.
Overall trade flows were largely stable compared to December 2022. Total trade flows through the state’s ports were off by only 0.2% in nominal terms. For the year as a whole, the nominal value of the trade flows was down from 2022, but up slightly compared to 2021 and substantially compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
However, above normal inflation, although diminishing, is still with us. In real terms, the 2023 trade flows were essentially flat compared to 2020, up only 0.5%. Compared to 2019, flows were off 3.6% as global trade overall now appears to be softening.
This trend has important implications to the state’s broader income goals. Trade was the only middle-class wage blue-collar industry that grew during the pandemic and that has continued to produce these jobs especially in Southern California. Without Trade jobs to support these income levels, the question remains as to what other industry can. The primary other growth industry producing jobs for workers with a high school diploma or less remains Food & Drinking Places, but these jobs have substantially lower wages and average hours worked per week. The pending increase in the applicable minimum wage effective April 1 is already causing these businesses to restructure their labor needs through operational changes and automation.
The often-vaunted solution of green/clean energy jobs has shown no significant change in the estimated total of around 500,000 jobs statewide, a figure consistently reiterated in reports spanning the past 15 years. However, even if we accept this number, a large share—more than 40% in some of the reports—of these 500,000 positions consist of temporary roles in construction and installation, alongside a considerable portion of preexisting jobs that have been reclassified as part of this category. While the high-tech sector, now apparently undergoing a process of rightsizing as it matures, has traditionally offered well-compensated employment opportunities for individuals with college and graduate degrees, trade has remained instrumental in sustaining middle-class incomes for the broader population.


text:
Expected to serve as an updated entry-level audio option.
The Italian imprint also released a $460 USD GG Marmont AirPods pouch.
Earbuds manufactured prior to October 2020 will be eligible for the worldwide initiative.
Both will carry new wireless chips.
Charge your AirPods, Apple Watch, and iPhone in one go.


text:
by Scott Ronalds
General Electric is breaking up.
One of the most renowned companies in American history announced last week that it’s splitting into three businesses: aviation, healthcare, and energy. Each will be a separate public company, starting in 2023 with the spinoff of the healthcare division.
To some, it’s a sad day. For much of its 129-year history, General Electric was a fixture in everyday life. A bastion of Americana. It made everything from light bulbs to washing machines to TV’s to jet engines. And it did it well for the most part, living up to its slogan, “We bring good things to life.”
To others, though, it’s a welcome move. GE has struggled over the past two decades and many investors have been lobbying for its breakup, arguing that its various divisions need to be independent and refocused on their core strengths to better maximize shareholder value. It’s a case of the parts being worth more than the sum.
The company expanded aggressively in the mid to late twentieth century into a range of new fields including media, medical devices, consulting, technology infrastructure, and financial services. Jack Welch, its legendary CEO from 1981 to 2001, shepherded much of this expansion and was considered by many to be the greatest corporate leader of his time. Undeniably, Welch produced immense shareholder wealth during his tenure.
Yet, the firm’s subsequent leaders couldn’t produce the same results, and GE’s broad expansion turned out to be one of the key reasons for its downfall.* In particular, the finance division (GE Capital) suffered significant losses during the 2008 financial crisis and had to be bailed out.
Perhaps the split will serve as a warning shot to other large conglomerates. Indeed, three days after GE’s announcement, Toshiba unveiled plans to break up into three separate companies. The Japanese conglomerate, which is nearly 150 years old, likewise stressed that a split was in the best interest of investors. From a company statement: “The decision allows each business to significantly increase its focus and facilitate more agile decision-making and leaner cost structures.”
On the same day as the Toshiba news, Johnson & Johnson joined the bandwagon. The 135-year-old healthcare giant declared that it’s spinning off its consumer products division from its pharmaceuticals and medical devices business. The Band-Aid is being torn off to appease restless shareholders.
It was a busy week for corporate lawyers, to say the least. There’s a business lesson there about sticking to your core competencies (don’t look for us to expand into crypto, insurance, or lending anytime soon). A reminder, too, that bigger isn’t always better.
*GE shares reached a peak of over $450 in 2000 and now trade at just over $100. We do not own shares in GE, Toshiba, or Johnson & Johnson in any of our funds.
We're not a bank.
Which means we don't have to communicate like one (phew!). Sign up for our blog to get the straight goods on investing.


text:
Dollar General to Hire Up to 50,000 New Employees to Support Operations
March 23, 2020
Major retailer plans to increase hiring efforts to support community and customer needs
“We are proud to serve as one of America’s essential retailers, and we believe our customers are relying on us now more than ever to provide an affordable, convenient retail option,” said Kathy Reardon, Dollar General’s senior vice president and chief people officer. “The Dollar General family continues to do its part in helping our customers and neighbors during these unprecedented times. We invite individuals looking to start or grow a career, as well as for those whose job may be temporarily impacted by COVID-19, to apply for opportunities to help further our mission of Serving Others.”
Dollar General currently operates more than 16,300 stores in 45 states, and approximately 75 percent of the American population is within five miles of a Dollar General. The Company also operates 17 traditional distribution centers, five DG Fresh cold storage facilities and its private fleet network. Candidates can learn more about a variety of opportunities across the Dollar General network and apply for available openings here.
Dollar General is proud to invest in its employees as a competitive advantage. In keeping with that commitment, the Company provides employees with competitive wages, world-class and award-winning training and development programs and expansive benefits including day-one eligibility to telemedicine, health insurance coverage options, 401K savings and retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, Dollar General’s Employee Assistance Foundation, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and much more.
While Dollar General currently anticipates the majority of these roles to be temporary, the Company has a strong track record of career growth and anticipates providing long-term career growth opportunities to some of these new employees. In the past five years alone, Dollar General has added approximately 35,000 net new jobs to the American economy, growing its workforce from 105,000 employees in February 2015 to more than 143,000 current employees.
Dollar General was recently listed among Fortune magazine’s 2020 list of World’s Most Admired Companies and named as Mass Market Retailer’s Retailer of the Year.
For additional information, photographs or items to supplement a story, please visit the Dollar General Newsroom or contact the Media Relations Department at 1-877-944-DGPR (3477) or via email at email@example.com.
Donny Lau: (615) 855-5591
Kevin Walker: (615) 855-4954
Crystal Ghassemi: (615) 855-5210
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is proud to serve as America’s neighborhood general store. Founded in 1939, Dollar General lives its mission of Serving Others every day by providing access to affordable products and services for its customers, career opportunities for its employees, and literacy and education support for its hometown communities. As of March 3, 2023, the company’s 19,147 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico provide everyday essentials including food, health and wellness products, cleaning and laundry supplies, self-care and beauty items, and seasonal décor from our high-quality private brands alongside many of the world’s most trusted brands such as Coca Cola, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, General Mills, Hershey, J.M. Smucker, Kraft, Mars, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Learn more at DollarGeneral.com.


text:
Verizon Wireless has introduced a new offer that will entitle any customer who buys a Motorola Droid 3 with a two-year contract, to a second Droid 3 absolutely free. The buyer, however, will have to shell out a two-year contract for the free smartphone as well.
At Verizon, the buyer will just have to add the Android-powered smartphone to his cart and confirm whether he will apply for the deal or not, according to a Phonearena.com report. The Droid 3 was released earlier this month, and has received mixed reviews for the smartphone’s build-quality and battery life.
The 4-inch smartphone packs a rear 8MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera. The device runs on Android 2.3 or Gingerbread juice, and is powered by a dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP4 processor.
The Apple's expected iPhone 5 will run on iOS 5 and is expected to dominate a fair share of the market just by Apple’s brand name power. Apple also has a reputation of revitalizing damaged relationships with customers with promises of lower price tag, better applications and good customer service.
Apple’s 3.7-inch 4G LTE-compatible iPhone 5 is expected to arrive with an 8MP camera with dual-LED flash, A5 processor and glasses free 3D viewing.