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Hue is growing its retail initiative on two fronts: the U.S. and China.
The trendy legwear brand, which specializes in fashion tights, leggings and socks, opened a 210-square-foot, high-tech shop-in-shop on the mezzanine level of Macy’s Herald Square in November, and plans to roll out three additional “Huetiques” in the U.S. in 2014. The brand currently maintains 40 in-store shops and 130 soft shops nationwide, said Julia Townsend, executive vice president and general manager at parent company Kayser-Roth Corp.
“The new shop design embodies the Hue culture of color — the heartbeat of the Hue brand — and represents a benchmark for Hue shop-in-shops on a global basis,” said Townsend, noting that the in-store shop at the Macy’s flagship in New York is being supported by outdoor advertising on buses and kiosks throughout Manhattan.
The new shop design was created to enhance a shopping experience that is “fashion-forward, energetic and rooted in Hue’s New York City heritage.”
In August, Hue opened its first freestanding store in Shanghai at the Cloud Nine shopping mall. The 661-square-foot unit also embodies the brand’s new retail format of matte-and-shine textures and colors, laminated tiles, acrylic accents on fixtures, a video wall and images of Hue’s embossed flower symbol, as well as the brand’s iconic checkerboard pattern. There’s also a mannequin holding an illuminated ticker tape reader board reminiscent of the New York Stock Exchange that says something fun and whimsical like “Wear red leggings today.”
Townsend described the updated look as “simple, clean and contemporary, but also interactive and engaging…a concept that’s fashion-forward, energetic and rooted in Hue’s New York City heritage.
“We went to great trouble to make sure each material and texture was special, modern and unusual. There are 12 black 3-D cylinders on the video wall and inside each is a separate video screen with different brand images and colors. The images are not necessarily product images, but they are images that reinforce our brand DNA of color,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Townsend said the company is embarking on an aggressive retail rollout in China, where Kayser-Roth has 10 shop environments at department stores in metropolitan areas such as Beijing, Shenzhen and Chengdu. As reported, Kayser-Roth has a joint partnership with retail powerhouse E-Land Group China to launch Hue products. E-Land Fashion China operates more than 5,000 shops in Mainland China with 42 top brands, including partnerships with Kate Spade, New Balance, Berghaus, Nike Golf, Guess Jeans and Wrangler.
Regarding the profile of the Chinese consumer who buys legwear, Townsend said she is young, sophisticated and fashion savvy,
“The Chinese consumer has absolutely been responding to the Hue brand, and we’re learning a lot about her. She seems to have an appetite for colors that are bolder, and she responds even more to color than consumers in the U.S. I think it’s because she’s somewhat a younger consumer, 18 to 25 versus 20 to 40 years old,” said Townsend.
She added that 2014 will be a pivotal year for Hue in China.
“We plan to open 35 more shop-in-shops and stores in shopping malls in China, and we’ll be opening a store in Hong Kong in May,” she said.
EXCLUSIVE: @tomford is opening its first-ever beauty store. The boutique, which opens November 20 in London’s Covent Gardens, was designed with the over-the-top glam Ford is known for. Read the full story on WWD.com, link in bio. #wwdbeauty #wwdnews (📷: Simon Wagner) #TomFordBeauty
New York-based DJ @harleyvnewton threw a party to celebrate the holiday collection of her dress and pajama line @hvn at the Ladurée Beverly Hills. It Girls @katebosworth, @rashidajones and more joined in on the fun, which included cocktails, croque monsieur sandwiches and a photo booth. #wwdfashion (📷: Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com)
For the holidays, @Burberry partnered with 20-year-old artist @blondeymccoy on a series of three outdoor murals in downtown Manhattan. The murals are McCoy’s interpretation of a Christmas eve party, the idea of charity and the spirit of family. His third mural, pictured here, is the most personal. The image depicts McCoy’s grandparents and father in London’s Trafalgar Square in the Seventies. “My work often features lots of sentimental objects.” #wwdeye
For spring 2018, designers applied bold colors and cartoonish motifs on everything from sneakers and belts to key chains. See all the top men’s accessories trends on WWD.com. #wwdtrends (📷: George Chinsee; Prop Styling by @rnasti; Market Editor: @luiscampuzano)
The @dior-sponsored @guggenheim international gala pre-party has a history of drawing cool-girl musical acts to serenade the crowd –– and last night was no exception. @haimtheband performed songs both new and old, and lured a star-studded audience with the likes of Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Mamoudou Athie and more. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
In a partnership between the @metopera and the @englishnationalopera, “Marnie” was born. The opera, with costumes sponsored by @mrporterlive, is an adaptation of the 1961 thriller by Winston Graham. Arianne Phillips, who created the costumes, is no rookie: She’s styled Madonna for her tours and created costumes for a myriad of films in the past. Read WWD’s interview with Phillips, where she talks about her inspiration for the opera’s costumes on WWD.com #wwdfashion
@barneysnyc took a different approach to their holiday windows this year. Instead of Christmas decor, Barneys tapped @thehaasbrothers to tell a story of positivity, gratitude and inclusivity via heartwarming silliness and humor. “It’s about kids and it’s about coming together and being family and loving each other,” said Simon Haas. #wwdfashion (📷: @joshuascottphoto)
Beauty influencer @kandeejohnson makes her foray into hair care with a collaboration with @ogx_beauty — making it the first time that OGX has teamed up for a product creation. The collab includes shampoos and conditioners in three scents. At 39 and a mom, Johnson is a different profile than the emerging social media stars, but is considered one of the pioneers of the digital beauty influencer world. Read WWD’s interview with her on wwd.com, including the strangest beauty product she’s ever tried #wwdbeauty


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Looking for trending technology in 2020? To help you out, below is the list:
7 Big Technology Trend in 2020 Are here
1- Autonomous Driving
We are still not reached at the stage where we can expect to routinely travel and see autonomous vehicles in 2020, But they are undoubtedly continuing to generate good amount of excitement.
Tesla chief Elon Musk has said that he expects that the company expects to create a truly complete autonomous vehicle by this year. In addition to this, other in-car systems will not be directly connected to driving like security and entertainment functions. It will become increasingly automated and dependent on data capture and analytics. For your information, Google’s sister-company Waymo has completed a trial of autonomous taxis in California and they transported more than 6200 people in the first month
2- Artificial Intelligence as A Service
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the evolving technologies of all time. evolutions of our times. The majority of the businesses are using AI to improve the customer experience and to make their business operations smooth. In 2020, people will increasingly become used to working along with AIs, designing, and deploying own AI-based systems in great proportion for the majority of the businesses.
3- 5G Data Networks
The 5th generation of mobile internet connectivity is here and it will provide us super-fast download and upload speeds with more stable connections. 5G mobile data networks are becoming available in 2019 but they are still expensive and limited to functioning in confined areas or major cities. But 2020 will be the year when 5G really will start to fly and comes with more affordable data plans and improved coverage for everyone.
4- Personalized and Predictive Medicine
Technology is also going to transform healthcare. Our ability to gather data from wearable devices like smartwatches enables us to predict and treat health issues in people earlier they experience any symptoms.
As far as the treatment is concerned, we will see more personalized approaches. This is also referred to as precision medicine that will allow doctors precisely prescribe medicines and apply treatments. All thanks to a data-driven understanding of how effective they are likely to be for a specific patient.
5- Blockchain Technology
Blockchain, without any doubt, will be a digital ledger used for recording transactions in a more secure way. This will be possible due to its encrypted and decentralized nature. In 2019, some commentators are saying that this technology is over-hyped and it may not be useful. Despite the fact, investment by the likes of FedEx, IBM, Walmart and Mastercard in 2019 will likely show real-world results. And if they are able to prove it, then this could lead to an increase in adoption by smaller players.
6- Computer Vision
In computer terms, vision will involve a system that is able to identify items, places, objects or people using visual images collected by a camera or sensor. This technology will allow your smartphone camera to identify which part of the image it’s capturing is a face, and will powers technology such as Google Image Search.
In 2020, we are definitely going to see computer vision equipped tools and technology rolled out for an ever-increasing number of uses.
7- Extended Reality
Extended Reality (XR) is a term that will cover several new and emerging technologies used for creating more immersive digital experiences.
Virtual reality (VR) will provide a fully digitally immersive experience where you will enter a computer-generated world using your headsets.
Augmented reality (AR) overlays the digital objects in the real world through smartphone screens or displays just like Snapchat filters.
Mixed reality (MR) is an extension of AR, this will allow users to interact with digital objects placed in the real world.

domain: news


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TOKYO -- Toyota Motor announced on Tuesday, that it has revised its full-year earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2019, expecting a 4% increase in operating profit than initially projected. The rise is thanks to a promising outlook on global car sales, as well as a company-wide cost-saving initiative that has boosted profit. A weaker outlook for the yen also helped.
The company also reported a 15% increase in operating profit for the six months ended September, which led the company to bump up its earnings projections for the full year. Revenue increased 3% year on year to 14.6 trillion yen ($129 billion), a record high, while group global car sales rose 1.5% to a record 5.29 million vehicles.


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It's been a huge week for Deftones! Fresh from receiving a bunch of well-deserved 2022 GRAMMY nominations, the band have just unveiled a brand-new endeavour: cannabis.
The Sacramento alt.metallers' new Passenger Box arrives first for customers in California, and contains buds, edibles, cannabis concentrate and vapes.
"Throughout our career, it has been an ongoing mission to provide our fans with quality products," they say. "Whether it’s music, beer, or tequila, we put in the time, care and effort to make sure we’re delivering merchandise to the market that have been thoroughly scrutinised by all of us.


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When companies began tightening their belts as the most recent recession hit, advertising budgets were slashed in an effort to minimize losses in the short term and weather the storm. This behavior had a significant impact on companies that generate significant revenues from advertising, and broadcast television networks endured one of their leanest years in decades. But as markets have steadily recovered over the last 14 months (the recent tumultuous stretch aside) and consumer confidence has climbed, companies are beginning to loosen the purse strings, and the advertising dollars are once again flowing. After enduring last year’s famine, media companies may be preparing to feast once again.
The upfront market for the new television season has gotten off to a hot start, advertisers already gobbling up significant air time. “It’s a major reversal from last year when talks dragged on through much of the summer in a harsh economic climate,” writes Suzanne Vranica. “The pace of deal making is being buoyed by increased ad spending by the telecommunications and auto industries.”
Beyond the anecdotal reports of increased activity from ad buyers, there is some statistical evidence that the ad market is coming back to life. Kantar Media reported this week that first quarter ad spending on major media increased 5.1% to $31.3 billion, the first quarterly increase since 2008 and the largest gain since early 2006. The resurgent automotive industry is a major drivers of the uptick in spending; ad sales to car companies rose almost 19% in the first quarter. After nearly collapsing under its own weight, the U.S. automotive industry has executed an impressive turnaround, with many of the major players even turning a profit (see Why We Need An Automotive ETF).
Media ETF: Ready To Surge?
The blue skies ahead could be good news for the PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio (PBS), one of the best ways to establish exposure to a basket of television networks, publishers, and digital media companies. PBS tracks the performance of the Dynamic Media Intellidex Index, a benchmark that includes about 30 companies engaged in the development, production, and distribution of goods or services used in the media industry.
PBS’s top holdings include diversified media giants such as Viacom, Walt Disney, News Corp., and Time Warner. The fund also holds more targeted companies such as DirecTV and HSN, and even has a moderate allocation to Google (see a breakdown of PBS holdings).
The media ETF has been on a wild ride over the last two years. Between the start of 2008 and the bear market lows in march of 2009, PBS lost nearly 60% of its value as ad spending plummeted. But on the way back up, PBS has been one of the top performing equity ETFs; the fund has gained more than 125% since bottoming out.
Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.


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This Article first appeared on:
In 2009 RJ Scaringe had his eyes set on starting his own automotive company. Fresh out of MIT with a Masters and PhD in mechanical engineering, RJ’s passion towards technological innovation in the automotive sector, led him to passion projects aimed at improving existing “lean manufacturing” methodologies.
After the first two years after founding the company, RJ became more involved with electric vehicles, having recognized their potential for simpler design architectures over traditional vehicles with an internal combustion engine.
In 2011, RJ changed the name of his electric car company to Rivian Automotive and began to establish a presence in Florida. At that time, the only electric car company perceived to have early market penetration was Tesla. Rivian began operating in “stealth” mode – placing the necessary infrastructure in place to succeed. The company has yet to discuss their funding – broadly alluding to strategic investors that will assist with bringing the vehicles to market.
In 2013, Rivian moved its headquarters from the Space Coast Florida area to Livonia, Michigan to be close to strategic suppliers and other automotive companies. The company employed roughly 100 people at the end of 2016, but has since increased their headcount to somewhere north of 160 employees. Outside of their facility in Livonia, the company has a research office in the Bay Area working on their self-driving technology as well as other engineering operations.
Rivian is planning on entering production of their first vehicle in 2019 at their factory in Normal, IL. The company purchased the facility in January of this year and also acquired nearly all of the plant’s assets for an undisclosed price. Unlike other EV start-ups, Rivian already has a factory, putting them a heck of a lot closer to production than Lucid Motors, Faraday Future, or NIO. It’s worth noting that Faraday Future has walked back from their plans to build their own facility, securing a lease on a former Pirelli factory in California this week. It’s hard to believe that Lucid and Faraday aren’t thinking back wishing they had purchased the near production-ready facility in Normal, IL.
We’ll have more to share about Rivian and other companies emerging in the mobility sector, sign up below to get notified when more information drops.
“They have substantial liquid assets. They are well-positioned financially,” said a person familiar with the company’s finances in December 2016.


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The work of Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL) director and kinesiology professor Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., has been cited in three publications today, from the prestigious New York Times to the Minnesota Daily.
The New York Times article (online and print) titled Feeling Woozy? It May Be Cyber Sickness discusses the growing prevalence of digital motion sickness, or cyber sickness, which causes a person viewing digital moving content to feel nauseous, faint or light-headed. In the article, Stoffregen points out that the more realistic the content, the more likely the viewer is to get sick, and several of his research articles and findings are cited throughout the story.
In the online Tech Times, the article Feeling Dizzy While Scrolling Your Smartphone? It Could Be Cybersickness focuses on how digital motion sickness can affect people using cellphones or watching fast-action films. Stoffregen’s research on the relationship between motion sickness and its higher incidence in women as well as in people with a medical history of concussion or migraines and Type A personalities is cited.
And in the Minnesota Daily, Stoffregen and his research were featured in the article Virtual Reality Needs Tweaks about the Oculus Rift, a motion-sensing headset that creates an interactive gaming world. Stoffregen has shown in studies that the Rift’s technology can cause motion sickness, particularly in women.


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Posts Tagged blackberry
BlackBerry’s future as a phonemaker came into question yesterday when Reuters reported that CEO John Chen would consider selling its handset division. Naturally, the company sought to set the record straight… with a blog post from Chen himself published earlier today.
“I want to assure you that I have no intention of selling off or abandoning this business any time soon,” he wrote, noting that his comments were taken out of context. So what exactly did he mean? Chen quietly crashed a reporter’s roundtable with BlackBerry enterprise chief John Sims this morning (apparently in search of a cup of coffee) — here’s what he told us about the Reuters interview and the future of BlackBerry’s phones.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Inside BlackBerry
T-Mobile head honcho John Legere’s assuring its BlackBerry-toting subscribers they’ve got nothing to worry about despite the companies’ falling out. But, just in case they are worried (or just want to try other platforms), he’s also offering them a $100 credit toward any device. Legere made the announcement in an open letter, where he also reminded folks they can also open a new T-Mobile line for a BlackBerry if they bring their own unlocked device.
By the looks of it, BlackBerry chief John Chen wasn’t appeased by T-Mobile’s attempt to make peace — in fact, things have only escalated: T-Mobile will no longer carry any BlackBerry device. In a press release today, the company formerly known as RIM announced that it has chosen not to renew T-Mobile’s license to sell its products when it expires on April 25th, 2014.
BlackBerry has had a positive relationship with T-Mobile for many years. Regretfully, at this time, our strategies are not complementary and we must act in the best interest of our BlackBerry customers. We hope to work with T-Mobile again in the future when our business strategies are aligned
If you’re wondering what exactly happened between the two companies, it all started when T-Mobile encouraged BlackBerry-toting customers to switch to the iPhone. Obviously, that didn’t sit well with Chen, so the magenta network launched a promo for existing BB owners, giving them $200 to $250 if they’re upgrading to another BlackBerry device. Those who decided to do so need not worry, though: the two promise not to let this nasty divorce get in the way of supporting their current customers.
Admit it: sometimes what you need to say is best expressed through the image of a WWE character. Now you can send that wrestler, or a picture of Shaun the Sheep (if you’re feeling a little less hostile) to friends via BBM. Following rumors we heard a few weeks ago, today BlackBerry launched stickers for the messaging app, similar to what
all some other messaging apps have been doing for a while now. The company is opening a new BBM Shop where you can pick up a variety of sticker packs (with 20-25 icons each) now for $1.99 or less a pop, with more expected to come on a regular basis. If the addition of stickers isn’t quite enough for you, today’s update also brings the ability to share photos with friends in multi-person chats, so you can make sure whole crew gets that #groupie at the same time.
In commercial terms, BlackBerry’s much-hyped BB10 phones barely made a dent. The manufacturer’s financial health has actually been propped up this whole time by sales of its older classics, Bolds and Curves running on BB7. It’s pretty incredible how long those models have lasted, but BlackBerry’s latest earnings report reminds us that nothing lasts forever: BB7 sales have fallen 50 percent year-over-year to 2.3 million units, which is double BlackBerry 10 sales, but not nearly enough to help the company stay in the black. Of course, the collapse of legacy hardware isn’t news to the CEO, John Chen, who has promised to support BB7 devices “for as long as there’s demand,” but who has also set about rebuilding BlackBerry as fast as he possibly can.
Last week it was reported that the White House was testing both Samsung and LG smartphones for what could be the end of BlackBerry. You really didn’t think that would happen did you? I am almost certain that if the White House ever dumped BlackBerry, it would be in favor of the iPhone. Even so, it doesn’t look like either is up for the challenge because a White House spokesman has made it clear that the Executive Office of the President is not testing non-BlackBerry phones.
I think the White House is BlackBerry’s last customer. The Pentagon, Capital Hill Offices, the State Department, the National Security Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security all allow employees to use a Samsung Android phone or iPhone. I guess we will have to wait until 2016 for BlackBerry to leave the White House.
source: Washington Post
Come comment on this article: Is President Obama switching to Android?
It’s been a rough few years for BlackBerry, but America’s highest office remains a dedicated customer — for at least a few more months. According to a Defense Department spokesman quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the White House is currently testing smartphone replacements from other manufacturers. Android appears to be the OS of choice, with the agency’s internal tech team evaluating handsets from LG and Samsung. As for BlackBerry, while the relatively small White House is hardly a significant customer from a financial perspective, the symbolic move would clearly be a significant blow. Though according to the aforementioned spokesperson, any move away from BB is still “months away.”
(Photo credit: Associated Press)
BlackBerry has been signalling for weeks that it would sell most of its Canadian offices in order to save some badly needed cash, and today it reached a deal to do just that. The pact will see the company sell over 3 million square feet of property in its homeland, leasing some of it back; the Waterloo headquarters should remain intact. Everything should wrap up before the end of BlackBerry’s current quarter, which ends in May. The agreement should help BlackBerry focus on its core business (whatever that may be), although the move may not be enough when major customers like the White House are thinking of jumping ship.
It looks like BlackBerry will finally be losing its status as the secure mobile platform of choice of the US government. This after reports have come out that the White House is said to be testing smartphones from Samsung and LG for internal use.
A person who is familiar with the mater yet wishes to remain anonymous said that the testing is still in its initial stages. Conducting the tests are the White House’s internal technology team and the White House Communications Agency. It will take months before the tests will be completed and right now there is no indication that President Obama will give up his modified BlackBerry.
A defense department spokesperson however gave a clue that indeed there are tests being conducted right now to find a suitable replacement for the BlackBerry platform. “We can confirm that the White House Communications Agency, consistent with the rest of the Department of Defense, is piloting and using a variety of mobile devices.”
Samsung did not comment directly on this development saying only that “We have seen strong interest from the government sector and are working closely with various agencies to deploy pilot programs.”
A spokesperson for LG on the other hand said that the company is not aware that their devices are being tested as a possible replacement for BlackBerry.
A BlackBerry representative said when asked to comment about this said that “For more than a decade, BlackBerry has been securing the U.S. government’s mobile communications and only BlackBerry is designed to meet the high-security needs of U.S. and allied government agencies.”
It is also interesting to note that the White House is considering the Android platform as a replacement and not the iOS platform. President Obama however said in the past that he prefers to use an iPhone. He even uses an iPad for reading although it isn’t part of the testing program.
BlackBerry was once the most popular platform among government personnel and during its peak cornered an estimated half of the total North American market. That number has now dwindled to only 0.6 percent as reported by the IDC.
BlackBerry is trying to regain its lost glory and in the past months have made some changes in the way it operates. It is also trying to win back its government customers by opening a security innovation center in the Washington D.C. area later this year.
The post White House Tests Samsung, LG Smartphones As Possible Replacement For BlackBerry appeared first on The Droid Guy.
A few lucky Verizon BlackBerry buffs got the long-awaited 10.2.1 update back in January, and now Big Red is starting to push that new build to all its Z10, Q10 and Z30 owners. The new version number doesn’t sound all that impressive, but the changelog is heftier than the label lets on: there’s loads of UI tweaks to dig into, to say nothing of an offline reading mode, better support for group messaging and FM radio functionality… if you’ve got a Q10 or Z30. BlackBerry also made it easier to install Android APKs, if you’re into that sort of cross-platform witchcraft. Verizon is the second major US carrier to make this update available (T-Mobile took the gold this time), but there’s still no word on when AT&T and Sprint will get their respective acts together.
Filed under: Mobile
To say that BlackBerry’s had it tough these past few years would be putting it mildly, if not too delicately for a company emerging from a period of willful ignorance. The Waterloo-based outfit, formerly known as Research in Motion, played an embarrassing game of catch-up in the mobile space it once dominated. An uphill rehabilitation that saw it acquire QNX to build a new operating system, release a half-baked tablet, rebrand as BlackBerry in search of a new identity and, tellingly, hire Alicia Keys as a creative figurehead.
And none of it mattered — not even the forced infusion of Ms. Keys’ questionable zeitgeist-y influence. The BlackBerry of today has so far failed to resurrect sufficient interest in its fledgling mobile platform and devices, leading to the ouster of former CEO Thorsten Heins, the very recent installation of John Chen and a redoubled focus on the enterprise set that once was core to the company’s business. So why does the company still seem to be engaged in an internal tug-of-war over its identity? I had a chance to speak with Gary Klassen, longtime BlackBerry employee and principal architect, here at SXSW in the hopes he could shed some light on what the Blackberry of today stands for and where it’s going.
Blackberry is in sharp decline, that much we know. Having been on a downward spiral for years, the company was outraged at a recent T-Mobile promotion offering current Blackberry owners incentive to upgrade to an iPhone. T-Mobile tweaked the promo to be more Blackberry friendly, but it didn’t help the Waterloo OEM. Reports suggest around 94% of blackberry owners jumped ship.
If you’re not familiar with the brouhaha, we’l recap it quickly. T-Mobile offered Blackberry users a promotional deal on an iPhone upgrade, to which Blackberry enthusiasts (both of them) took exception, along with the CEO of Blackberry. T-Mobile backed off the iPhone angle a bit, instead offering Blackberry users a chance to upgrade to anything they liked — Blackberry devices included. T-Mobile Blackberry customers would get a $200 incentive to upgrade, and an additionall $50 should they get a Z10 or Q10.
Sounds pretty great, right? Upgrade to a brand new Blackberry device and get $250 in credit! Wrong. A resounding 94% of Blackberry users on T-Mobile took the chance to get something else entirely. While we don’t know how many Blackberry devices were traded in, T-Mobile notes a 15-fold increase in Blackberry trade-ins.
While the initial “iPhone-only” thing may have been a slap in the face from a carrier, 94% of users taking advantage of the offer to get away from Blackberry should tell the company something. This also comes after T-Mobile has decided to transition away from carrying Blackberry devices in-store, so it seems Blackberry is losing on all fronts. At least they have BBM.
- Blackberry denies the Play Store will be on their devices
- Blackberry COO and CMO are leaving, CFO being replaced
- Blackberry loses two more executives
- Blackberry down $4.4 billion in Q3 2013, saw 40 million BBM downloads in 60 days
- Blackberry CEO says he’d take $19 billion for BBM, makes us all laugh
If you worship at the BlackBerry altar and are in dire need of a cloud storage service that isn’t Dropbox, Box or Mega, today’s your lucky day. Now you can dump your files in Microsoft’s OneDrive by way of a newly released BlackBerry 10 app. Like the Android and iOS versions before it, this OneDrive app lets you automatically upload your photos and videos as well as share your files with far-flung cohorts. Just be mindful of your limits: OneDrive (which went by “SkyDrive” before Microsoft got hit with a lawsuit) offers up 7GB of free storage to new users. That’s still better than the 2GB that Dropbox gives away gratis, but Box and Mega offer 10GB and 50GB of free space, respectively. Choose wisely… or sign up for all of them and surrender yourself to the cloud.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: BlackBerry World
In an interview with CNBC at MWC this week, Blackberry CEO John Chen was asked about the WhatsApp purchase. Considering he runs a company that exists almost solely as a messenger service for consumers, putting him in direct competition with WhatsApp, his opinion is of interest. The answer to the question was unsurprising, as Chen said he’d gladly accept a similar offer.
Chen says he’d gladly take $19 billion for BBM, should someone come forth with an offer. “I know there is a lot of value in our messaging service” Chen said. When asked about selling BBM, Chen said “If someone came to me with $19 billion, I would definitely sell it.” Of course, he cautioned that such a decision is up to the board, but there would likely be no hurdles there.
Blackberry was nearly sold for just over $5 billion not long ago, but investors balked after the initial agreement to sell was struck. A $19 billion payday would be far and away more than BBM is worth, which CNBC points out could be right around $3.4 billion when compared to the WhatsApp purchase.
Chen also says BBM is tied into their enterprise service pretty closely, and the company is concentrating on building it out before entertaining any valuation. That’s probably a smart move, as a $3.4 billion valuation based on a terribly inflated WhatsApp purchase is likely overreaching. To their credit, Chen says Blackberry is focussed on their customers right now, and isn’t worrying about selling just yet. That, or nobody is asking for a sit-down to talk acquisition.
- BBM Channels and Voice Calling arrive for Android beta users
- BBM for Android will soon be available on Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread
- BBM updated to allow you to ‘Find Friends’ on the service or invite others
- BBM rolls out ‘Voice’ and ‘Channels’, allows for better Dropbox integration
- BlackBerry releases BBM for Android for Gingerbread devices
Wearable devices seem to be a hot trend in the wireless industry right now, but BlackBerry isn’t taking the bait… at least, not yet. When asked about his company’s plans at Mobile World Congress, CEO John Chen was very straight-forward in confessing that he has no current plans for bringing a wearable device to market. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen down the road at some point, of course, but it’s clear that this particular market segment isn’t really an area of interest or focus right now — considering the company is working hard to bring out fresh devices and is in the midst of getting back to becoming profitable, and it appears that BlackBerry doesn’t believe that such a device would really make a dent in its bottom line yet.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen is here at MWC and has some device news. The executive announced progress on the Z3, the phone codenamed Jakarta (shown off above), which will be coming out to Indonesia in April. The company plans to sell the 5-inch device, which is a collaboration between BlackBerry and Foxconn, for under $200. The initial model will be 3G-only, but Chen also tells us that there will be an LTE version coming out to other parts of the world at some time in the future; joking, Chen mentioned that it would come out “sometime before I die.” We’re also told that BlackBerry plans to do some interesting new stuff with BBM. Update: we got a few up-close photos of the Z3, which you’ll find below. The Z3, which runs BB 10.2.1, definitely has the trademark look and feel of a BlackBerry. It’s a sleek all-touch device with a ridged soft-touch back cover. Unfortunately we weren’t able to hold the device, so we can’t speak to how comfortable it is. We’re also told that we’ll be quite happy with long battery life, but no further specs were given. BlackBerry has put up more info about the Z3 on its blog.
Additionally, Chen also officially confirmed that a device known as the Q20, aka the Classic, is in the works, and will be coming out alongside BES 12 sometime before the end of the year. The Q20 will be a QWERTY device that will feature the “tool belt,” which means you’ll see a classic trackpad and function keys. Speaking of BES12, the new update will be backwards-compatible to older BlackBerry devices and will support iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
Lastly, Chen confirmed that BlackBerry is working on a few high-end phones for later this year, but he was unable to offer any additional details at today’s event. However, we shouldn’t expect to see any wearables from BlackBerry anytime soon; Chen has no plans — “at least, not yet.”
BlackBerry is slowly, but surely covering all its bases in an effort to turn BBM into a cross-platform messaging monster. The quest to return the standard bearer to its former glory started with iOS and Android, but this summer it’ll be coming to Windows Phones as well. According to the Canadian company it will ship with all the same functionality as its counterparts on other OSes, including stickers and voice. More importantly though, BBM Groups (which allows you to chat with up to 50 people at once) and Channels will be included as BlackBerry works to fight off challenges from the likes of WhatsApp and Hangouts. Sadly that’s all the details we have for now, but hopefully Waterloo will lock down a release date sooner, rather than later.
Good news! BlackBerry has finally figured out how BBM will pose a threat to messaging giants like WhatsApp. It’s… stickers. Yes, of all the things the company could do to improve its chat app, it’s introducing the same sort of purely cosmetic decals that everyone else offers. As with rival services, those using a new BBM beta can buy themed sticker packs to express themselves in creative (and very cutesy) ways. In all fairness, the addition may help BlackBerry court younger chatters. However, we hope that the phone maker has a lot more up its sleeve than this — me-too upgrades can only go so far.
Via: The Verge
Source: Inside BlackBerry
If you hadn’t heard, BlackBerry chief John Chen isn’t happy with T-Mobile — he believes the carrier fired a shot across the bow when it enticed BlackBerry users to switch phones in a recent promotion. To mend that bruised relationship, the magenta network is launching a limited-time trade-in offer that gives loyal users a strong incentive to upgrade. As of February 21st, T-Mobile will give you $200 for your existing BlackBerry, and $250 if you’re upgrading from a T-Mobile BlackBerry to a BB10 device like the Q10 or Z10. The payout is the same regardless of the device’s age, so long as it’s in good condition; if you’re still rocking a Curve 3G, you’ll get the full amount. Market share trends suggest that there won’t be too many people upgrading to new BlackBerrys, but the olive branch is welcome all the same.
True their promise, BlackBerry has just made its messaging, and now voice call, app available to more Android users. Now even those running on an ancient Android 2.3 version will be able to enjoy the rebirth of the BBM phenomenon.
Late last month, BlackBerry announced that it was working on a Gingerbread-compatible version of its messaging app. This, according to the company blog, was in response to requests from users who are still stuck with that version of Android. And that represents a considerable amount of potential users, as the last Android distribution chart puts the entire Android 2.3 line at 21.2 percent of the market pie.
BlackBerry is making true its word today and delivering an update that adds support for Gingerbread. At the moment, there is no word if there will be some BBM features unavailable on this older Android platform, though we can presume that there will be feature parity across all Android versions. That means that Android Gingerbread users will also be able to enjoy BBM Voice and Channels that was just rolled out to the public last week.
This also means that existing BBM users will have a larger pool of friends and strangers to pick from, perhaps using the new Find Friends feature. Owners of Android 2.3 devices can simply go to Google Play Store and look for the official BBM app, or hit the link below, to download this updated version.
One week ago we asked you about how your smartphone factors into your dating, romance, and sex lives. And while we expected quite a response, we didn’t expect this much of a response. More than 17,000 of you took part in our survey in the past week, and the results were interesting, to say the least.
There are plenty of interesting correlations and divergences based on age groups and platform choice. Some are not at all surprises, others caught us by surprise. For example…
- When on a date, those aged 18 to 24 years are 35% less likely to actively use their smartphone while on a date than those 35 and older.
- Opinions of relationship statuses drop quickly, with 27% of ages 18 to 24 believe them to be asking for trouble, vs. more than half of those 55 and older. BlackBerry users are 22% more likely to believe so.
- All age groups hold an ideal of an in-person break-up being ideal and using a phone call, text, or email as less so, yet the actual rates show hypocrisy in practice, though the younger you are, the more likely you are to have been in a breakup over text messages.
- Nearly half of those who carry sensitive photos of their significant others on their smartphone do so without the protection of a PIN or password.
- Men are 50% more likely to want to receive frequent sexts than women (no surprise there).
- Universal platform agnostic solutions like MMS, email, and Skype are the most popular for sexting, except that BlackBerry users show a preference for BBM. Skype is also the overwhelming favorite for cybersex, although iPhone users prefer FaceTime by a slim margin.
- Men are 78% more likely to look at porn on their smartphones than women.
- BlackBerry, iPhone, and Windows Phone all have a shortage of porn apps, so users get their porn predominately through web browsers, Tumblr, and Reddit.
Check out the huge interactive infographic below (it’s huge, it’ll probably take a little while to load) — several of the charts allow you to cycle through data displayed by age groups and platform choice — and let us know what you think in the comments!
BBM For Android v2.0 Goes Live: Free Voice Calls Between BBM Users, New "Channels" Feature, Content Sharing, And More
Say what you will about BlackBerry’s viability as a company, but the Canadian smartphone firm’s messaging app is quickly shaping up into a powerful client. Today, BB announced that BBM 2.0 for Android is out now, and it adds a whole lotta stuff to the app’s growing feature resume.
Of most interest to users is probably BBM Voice, which is exactly what it sounds like – you can now call BBM contacts directly from the app (still no video chat, though).
- Blackberry Announces BBM For Android And iOS, Coming ‘This Summer’
- T-Mobile UK Says BlackBerry Messenger For Android Is Coming June 27th [Update: Nope!]
- Goodbye, Voice Minutes? First Signs Of Google Voice VoIP Emerge
- Viber Hits v4.2 With Number Blocking, Native Contact List Integration, And More
BBM For Android v2.0 Goes Live: Free Voice Calls Between BBM Users, New "Channels" Feature, Content Sharing, And More was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
If BBM has yet to fall out of favor with you in terms of messaging apps, then you’ll want to listen up: a pretty big upgrade is headed our way. Most full version jumps tend to be underwhelming in this day and age, but Blackberry wanted to make sure BBM 2.0 blew everyone away. Let’s not even waste any time digging into the following list of new features:
- BBM Voice: free voice calls between BBM users on Android, iPhone and Blackberry 10.
- BBM Channels: public BBM groups for fans of specific topics to get together and chat. Available for users and businesses alike.
- Location Sharing: powered by Glympse, you can share your location with whomever you want.
- Improved photo, voice notes and other attachments
- Dropbox integration for sending and receiving files to and from contacts
- 100 new emoticons to choose from
- Increased BBM group size: now up to 50 people
It sounds like Blackberry spared no expense in bringing this upgrade to the masses, though some contend they could be doing even better. Specifically, we’re still missing video-based features that those on Blackberry 10 have been enjoying for quite some time.
Those features include quick video messaging, as well as full-on Skype-esque video calls. Let’s hope our boys in Waterloo have some of that in store for what should be a great 3.0 update at some point down the line. In the meantime, stay on the lookout for the upgrade as Blackberry says it should be rolling out at some point later today. Get a look at the new goods in the video above.
BBM is about to become considerably more useful to Android and iPhone users — even if they don’t have many people on their contact lists. BlackBerry now says that its promised Channels and Voice support should reach the BBM apps for both platforms later today. As on BlackBerry 10, Channels lets you chat about hot topics with fellow users, whether or not they’re already friends. Voice, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the tin: you can make internet-based calls to your BBM buddies. Whether or not you find much use from these two biggest features, you may still appreciate other significant additions like Dropbox file sharing integration, Glympse location sharing and expanded BBM Groups. We’ll let you know when we see the Android and iOS upgrades reach their respective app stores.
The latest market share report has been released by IDC. This report is offering a look at the numbers for the fourth quarter of 2013, and also for the year as a whole. Some of this, such as how the charts are being dominated by Android will come with little surprise. But there is also the other side of the chart to consider, the bottom, which details the further decline of BlackBerry.
The list has Android sitting on top with iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Others rounding out the top five. In regards to BlackBerry, while technically in the fourth position overall, they are actually sitting with slightly less market share as opposed to the other category. The Q4 2013 market share for BlackBerry is 0.6 percent. This accounts for 7.4 million in terms of shipments, and had BlackBerry dropping from 3.2 percent for the same quarter in the previous year.
Shifting back to the top of the list and we see Android with 78.1 percent market share. This is an increase from 70.3 percent as compared to Q4 2012. Rounding out this list is iOS with 17.6 percent, Windows Phone with 3.0 percent and the others category with 0.7 percent. Interestingly, iOS dropped a bit in the year-over-year, going from 20.9 percent for Q4 2012.
Moving away from the Q4 2013 numbers to the year as a whole and we saw a similar structure. That is to say the market share numbers for all 2013 include Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Others. The associated percentages are as follows; Android at 78.6, iOS at 15.2, Windows Phone at 3.3, BlackBerry at 1.9, and Others at 1.0. Both Android and Windows Phone saw growth as we moved from 2012 to 2013.
Android went from 69 percent in 2012 to 78.7 percent in 2013. Windows Phone went from 2.4 percent to 3.3 percent for the same time period. Otherwise, iOS dropped from 18.7 to 15.2 percent, and BlackBerry dropped from 4.5 percent to 1.9 percent going from 2012 to 2013.
Breaking Android down and we once again saw some dominance from Samsung. The IDC report mentioned how “Samsung led all Android vendors with a commanding 39.5% share of shipments for the year.” Huawei held the number two position, however honorable mentions came for LG, Lenovo, Coolpad, and Sony. And interestingly, now that the Motorola and Lenovo deal has been made official, it should be interesting to see where Lenovo sits in the charts for 2014.
SOURCE: Business Wire
- IDC: Samsung and Android showing large year-over-year tablet growth
- Android leads smartphone race in IDC Q2 2013 figures, iOS share could rise
- Tablet shipments set to topple PCs in Q4 2013, says IDC forecast
- IDC: Q3 2013 smartphone shipments account for record breaking quarter
- Android eats up 81% of smartphone market, average prices falling, says IDC
To say that the release of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) was underwhelming would be a bit of an understatement; while it retained many of the things that BlackBerry users have gushed about, it was decidedly old-fashioned compared to some of our more recent messaging clients like Whatsapp. Though perhaps the most infuriating aspect of picking up BBM for the first time was the inability to add your old contacts and friends by any conventional means. Instead, you were burdened with the old fashioned BlackBerry PIN, which I would liken to physically handing out your phone number. Fortunately, BBM is being updated with a feature called ‘Find Friends on BBM’ which should make a whole world of difference to those who have hankered for it.
From tomorrow (or today for some of you), the BBM app will be updated on Android to include ‘Find Friends on BBM’, a feature which will allow you to quickly assess which of your friends are already on BBM and give you options to send them your PIN. As for the friends that haven’t fortuitously keep BBM on their phones after its October release, or tried it at all, you can send them an invite via email or SMS.
Personally, I think this update is too little, far too late. This feature should have been available from day one and its effect may be minimal now seeing as many people will have simply uninstalled it when they realised how unintuitive it was to add people. Maybe I’m wrong and this will fuel a resurgence for BBM, which may do considering that BlackBerry says they are working on BBM v2.0, but I think BBM has a lot of catching up to do before it becomes a number one choice among messaging circles.
What do you think about ‘Find Friends with BBM’? Are you likely to try BBM out again now that this feature has been added? Let us know what your opinion of BBM is.
BlackBerry Messenger got an important update today. Rather than have to share a PIN to chat with another BBM user, we now have the ability to search for our contacts via a ‘Find Friends’ feature. Handy, but like most things BBM, it may be too late to the party.
The Find Friends utility will pop up when you first install the app, but is also available to existing users. Under the “Invites” menu, FIndFriends has made it’s home for use whenever you like. The feature is in the newest version of BBM, which is available now. If you don’t see it right away, BlackBerry says it will be rolling out in the next 24 hours or so.
This works with your contacts that already use BBM, or those who don’t yet. Those who do will simply be added to your BBM contact list. Those contacts without BBM will be sent an invitation, at your request. Handy, but too late for anyone to care?
This is a feature that comes standard on just about any social app. From Twitter to Facebook, Hangouts to — well, anything — this is standard fare. BlackBerry is once again behind the times, and trying to make it seem as though they’ve caught up. They haven’t. Finding friends on BBM is great, so long as your friends still use it after perusing it when it came out, then getting back to reality — and messaging apps people use. BlackBerry is also noting they have a refresh to the app coming up soon, but offer no timetable for release.
- BBM will soon be preloaded on select LG smartphones
- BBM for Android to get Voice and Channels support in 2014
- Blackberry down $4.4 billion in Q3 2013, saw 40 million BBM downloads in 60 days
- BBM Channels and Voice Calling arrive for Android beta users
- BBM for Android will soon be available on Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread
Did you know BlackBerry was still around? Their stranglehold on the smartphone industry may be a distant memory, but the beleaguered company is still committed to supporting its existing products. Need proof? One of them, BlackBerry Messenger for Android, is the target of a minor update today.
The headline feature of the update is Find Friends, which allows you to identify those of your friends and family that use BBM (and are probably too embarrassed to admit it). The app will scan your contact list for BBM users, and then allow you to send a PIN invite. You can invite non-users, but they’ll only receive an e-mail message or SMS to download BBM.
BlackBerry continues to devote resources to improving BBM, which makes sense considering the service’s relative popularity overseas. The company teased version 2.0 of the app, which it says will include “lots of great new features.” And BlackBerry will soon release a version of BBM compatible with Gingerbread devices.
Any BBM users excited about today’s update? Any BBM users period?


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canada plans to ban single-use plastics, joining growing global movement
Canada joined a growing global campaign on Monday to ban singles
Lighting environment using plastic.
Announce a ban on the lake at the picturesque St. montegault Nature Reserve
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Hilaire outside Montreal says he wants his children to be able to play on the beach or swim in the lake without the memory of dead birds or fish killed by pollution.
\"It\'s enough to see parks and beaches covered in plastic,\" he said . \".
\"As parents, we are in the middle of taking our kids to the beach and we have to look for a piece of sand without straws, foam or bottles.
This is a problem we must solve.
\"The World Economic Forum estimates that 90% of the plastic in the ocean comes from 10 major rivers and currently has 50 million tons of plastic in the world\'s oceans.
Environmental experts say plastic bags can take centuries to degrade. [
Do you want more Canadian insurance in your inbox?
Registered correspondence Canada. ]
Canada\'s move comes as countries and cities around the world seek to ban or gradually stop using plastic products, especially plastic bags.
New York state has announced plans to ban most types of singles
After similar bans were imposed in California and Hawaii, plastic bags were used for retail. Mr.
Trudeau noted that Canada is throwing away plastic materials worth $8 billion a year.
According to the Canadian national environmental agency, the Canadian organization for environmental and climate change, the organization has more than 34 million plastic bags per day.
Recycling and reuse of plastic
Trudeau said the country could reduce pollution, create 42,000 jobs and protect the environment. Mr.
Trudeau\'s announcement comes as he prepares for a general election at the end of this year. It is expected that climate change and environmental issues will become prominent issues and will be seen as resonance issues for voters, especially the younger generation.
The government says it will conduct scientific analysis long before 2021 to determine which plastic products are prohibited. But Mr.
Trudeau said that Canada will follow the EU\'s example, and the EU voted to ban 10 orders.
Use the most common marine plastic, including plastic cutlery, plates and cottonswab sticks.
The group introduced the legislation after its research showed that plastic accounts for 80% of marine litter on European beaches, threatening the coastal environment.
Some retailers in Canada have become creative in trying to stop consumers from using plastic bags, including humiliating them.
Shoppers at the East and West markets in downtown Vancouver decide to pay for plastic bags and they get a bag with an awkward logo, like \"walk into the weird adult video Mall\", \"Dr.
Wholesale Toews ointment \"or\" colon care company\"Op.
\"It\'s hard to remember reusable packages forever,\" the store wrote on its Facebook page . \".
\"We redesigned our plastic bags to help you never forget.
To reduce pollution and waste, in 2015, the British government charged five pence for plastic bags for most groceries, raising concerns among angry shoppers about \"bag rage.
But the government says the cost will help reduce the cost of garbage disposal by £ 60 million, or $76 million, in 10 years.


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Festive trading failed to bring Christmas cheer for the UK retailer sector, as new figures reveal the UK experienced the worst December performance since 2008.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), total retail sales showed 0% year-on-year growth during the month, the worst December performance in a decade.
The latest BRC-KPMG report said that retailers’ price cuts over the period – which start earlier and earlier each year – failed to encourage shoppers.
BRC chief executive, Helen Dickinson, shares: “Squeezed consumers chose not to splash out this Christmas, with retail sales growth stalling for the first time in 28 months.
“The worst December sales performance in 10 years means a challenging start to 2019 for retailers, with business rates set to rise once again this year, and the threat of a no-deal Brexit looming ever larger.”
She added: “Retailers are facing up to this challenge but are having to wrestle with mounting costs from a succession of government policies – from the apprenticeship levy, to higher wage costs, to rising business rates.”
The non-existent year-on-year growth in UK retail over the last month was the culmination of a challenging year for the sector, in which shoppers stayed away from the high street on what is usually a peak trading weekend before Christmas.
Experts say consumers remained cautious even over Christmas as the UK remains in a state of uncertainty.
Business on the high street is only set to get tougher as Brexit deadline looms.


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Doing this the apps will appear as if they have been purchased from the app store and even presumably get update notifications. Apparently the hack only works for apps that don't fully implement Apple's recommended verification techniques, so itís up to developers to take make sure their software isnít susceptible to this simple trick. Apple could also test for this in its application approval process to avoid such issues.
Meanwhile a group known as Hackulous, which has previously broken the copy protection systems used by the iPhone and iPad, says it has developed a program called Kickback that can break the protection on any piece of App Store software. They donít plan to release their work until at least next month when the store's been established, because they ďdon't want to devalue applications and frustrate developers.Ē


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Core-Mark (NASDAQ:CORE) was downgraded by equities researchers at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.
Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Sidoti upgraded Core-Mark from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 3rd. Loop Capital set a $40.00 target price on Core-Mark and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 7th. ValuEngine raised Core-Mark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 9th. Zacks Investment Research raised Core-Mark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 6th. Finally, TheStreet cut Core-Mark from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, December 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.71.
Shares of CORE traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 255,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,519. Core-Mark has a 12-month low of $17.10 and a 12-month high of $40.12. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.99.
In other Core-Mark news, CFO Christopher M. Miller sold 2,678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.74, for a total transaction of $66,253.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,657.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher Hobson sold 5,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total value of $178,602.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,701,059.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Core-Mark during the second quarter valued at about $3,466,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Core-Mark by 19.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 100,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 16,623 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Core-Mark by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,668,000 after acquiring an additional 18,407 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management bought a new stake in Core-Mark in the third quarter worth about $280,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Core-Mark by 15.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 73,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 9,580 shares during the period. 93.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Core-Mark Company Profile
Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc markets fresh and broad-line supply solutions to the convenience retail industry. The company sells and distributes various food/non-food products, including cigarettes, fast food, candies, snacks, groceries, fresh products, dairy products, breads, beverages, other tobacco products, general merchandise and equipment, and health and beauty care products.
See Also: Systematic Risk and Investors
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Pallet injection molder Greystone Logistics Inc. has diversified into extrusion with its recent acquisition of the assets of Paradigm Plastic Pallets Inc.
Now, Greystone CEO and Chairman Warren Kruger can make pallets as large as he likes.
"Customers kept asking for large pallets," he said April 25 by phone. He got requests for products as large as 96 by 48 inches, but didn't have the ability to make them with injection molding.
"As many times as I've been asked about odd-size pallets, this was the perfect [solution]. … We're excited about the extrusion [product] line. We can serve lot of customers looking to convert from wood. It's a good opportunity for us."
Paradigm operated out of a 50,000-square-foot facility in Jasper, Ind., where it extruded hollow profiles for its pallets. Among the assets Greystone purchased are two extrusion lines, robotics and associated equipment that will remain in the Jasper plant.
Kruger said Greystone may use the Paradigm name as a brand, but that hasn't been decided.
Financial details were not disclosed, but Kruger had said in a mid-April call with investors that struggling Paradigm's backers wanted to liquidate the equipment. "They just spent $3 million plus on brand-new equipment back right before COVID" clobbered the market, he said.
Greystone will continue using 100 percent recycled high density polyethylene for almost all its pallets, but it does fill rare requests for products made with polypropylene or recycled/virgin mixes, Kruger said. Its customers include companies in automotive, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and consumer markets.
The injection molder's corporate office is in Tulsa, Okla. Its plant, in Bettendorf, Iowa, houses 20 presses with clamping forces of 300 tons to 3,300 tons.
The company is adding two more 3,300-ton machines in an undisclosed partner's facility in Missouri for a project that involves producing fire-resistant pallets. Chief Financial Officer Bill Rahhal said in the investors call that those machines will able to produce about 200,000 pallets a year, "so that's additional capacity of close to $400,000 per year."
Greystone employs more than 200. The publicly traded company reported sales of $74.2 million and profit of $4.7 million for the fiscal year ended May 30, 2022.
Kruger is also chairman and non-executive president of thermoforming major Kruger Family Industries LLC in Portage, Wis., which owns Penda and TriEnda. The companies make automotive, agricultural, packaging, consumer and industrial materials-handling products including pallets. KFI ranked No. 11 on Plastics News' thermoformers ranking, with four North American plants generating relevant 2022 estimated sales of $380 million.


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Consumer prices in Canada rose by 3% in July this year compared to the same month last year after rising by 2.5% a month earlier, according to the country's Department for Statistics. Compared to the previous month, the price increase in July was 0.5%. Food products rose in annual terms by 1.4%, housing prices - by 2.4%. Transport expenses increased by 8.1% for the year. At the same time, prices for clothing and footwear decreased by 1.5% compared to last year. The prices for gasoline have grown for the year by 25.4%.
HSBC reports 2019 annual profit, falls 33% short of forecasts11.02.2020
China’s inflation rate rises following Lunar New Year and virus outbreak06.02.2020
Bank of Canada says virus outbreak could worsen already shaky Canadian, global economy29.01.2020
Australia inflation climbs but remains below target


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Premier Foods on Tuesday unveiled plans for a rival to Pot Noodle in the latest move by the Mr Kipling maker to boost sales and reassure shareholders it was right to spurn a potential takeover offer this year.
The manufacturer came under fire when Schwartz spices owner McCormick walked away from an indicative £537 million, 65p-a-share offer, for Premier Foods.
Instead Premier Foods agreed a tie-up with Japanese noodles firm Nissin, which has built up a near-20% stake in Premier Foods.
Chief executive Gavin Darby said: “Nissin is more than just a shareholder. It is an investor which can help drive more sales and profits for the business.”
He added that Nissin will aid US expansion and provide the intelligence to produce “Batchelors Super Noodles in a pot”. They will be sold from next year.
Jefferies analyst Martin Deboo welcomed the update: “Instant noodles is a hot market right now. The Pot Noodle colossus is ripe for attack.”
Sales fell 1.8% to £348 million in the 26 weeks to October 1.
The pre-tax loss widened to £8.7 million from £5.1 million.Reuse content


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OnePlus is all set to launch the OnePlus 9RT 5G smartphone in India on January 14, 2022. The company had already launched the phone in China in October last year. The new OnePlus phone will be an affordable flagship phone replacing the OnePlus 9R. OnePlus will be offering the flagship Snapdragon 888 5G chipset along with other top-end hardware specifications.
OnePlus is hosting a virtual launch event for the same and the company will be streaming the same live on the OnePlus website and official OnePlus YouTube channel. Along with the OnePlus 9RT 5G, the company will also launch the OnePlus Buds Z2 in India.
How to watch OnePlus 9RT 5G launch event in India live
The OnePlus 9RT 5G and the OnePlus Buds Z2 launch event in India will be livestreamed at 5PM IST on 14 January 2022. To watch the keynote, one can tune-in to the OnePlus website on this link and to watch it on YouTube, readers can use this link to tune in.
WATCH VIDEO: Sony WF-1000XM4 Review: The Best TWS Earbuds From Sony At Rs 19,990
OnePlus 9RT 5G smartphone expected price in India
The OnePlus 9RT 5G is expected to cater to the price segment of between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000. There will be multiple memory/storage variants and the base version is expected to start at around Rs 40,000.
To recall, the OnPlus 9’s price in India is set at Rs 49,999 for the base model, while the OnePlus 9R 5G costs Rs 39,999.
OnePlus 9RT 5G specs
In terms of specifications, the OnePlus 9RT 5G comes with a 6.62-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz refresh rate and a hole-punch cutout for the 16-megapixel front camera. The selfie camera has EIS support for sharper selfies.
Its triple rear camera setup includes a 50-megapixel camera with OIS support, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle snapper. The OnePlus 9RT 5G does not come with Hasselblad cameras that are available on the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro.
WATCH VIDEO: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Review: Should You Buy It At Rs 54,999?
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset comes paired with an Adreno 660 GPU, up to 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of UFS3.1 storage. Coming to connectivity options, the OnePlus 9RT gets Bluetooth 5.2 support, NFC, 5G, and dual-band Wi-Fi. The phone is backed by a 4,500mAh battery that supports Flash Charge 65T fast charging.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here.


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El Cajon, CA (XETV) -- Black Friday is more than a week away, but some people are already lining up outside stores to score big bargains.
Rhiannon Buckingham and Alicia Gomez are making sure they don't miss out on the deals.
They're the first in line at this Best Buy in El Cajon, California.
In fact, the store manager says it's the earliest they've seen a line start to form.
The deal seekers say it's worth it, but others were shocked to see the shoppers lined up.
Last year, Black Friday saw record sales. According to the National Retail Federation, the average shopper spent nearly $400.


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Steed's Dairy Farm is opening the gates to show local consumers where food comes from and what it costs to get it to you. (March 25, 2011 / WRDW-TV)
News 12 This Morning at 6 o'clock / Friday, March 25, 2011
GROVETOWN, Ga --- As the cost of food continues to rise, some consumers are asking just how far their food travels, and at what cost.
One dairy farm in Columbia County is opening their gates to you to raise more awareness about food production.
The sights and sounds at Steed's Dairy Farm are rare in a world full of computers, smart phones, and advanced technology. Farmer Jim Steed wants to remind his visitors this is where it all starts. "A lot of kids just think their food comes from the grocery store. Just magically appears on the shelf, but it doesn't," Steed said.
His ten-acre dairy farm is one of the last dairy farms in Columbia County. Steed loves showing adults and kids how a farm operates. The educational farming experience includes a tour of the farm, a petting zoo, and demonstrations.
When students come for a tour they find out about the milking process. They are able to see how the milk is collected from the cow and they learn about how it ends up on their breakfast table.
Dr. Tommie Shepherd , an Argi-Business Economist with the University of Georgia, says, "It's excellent education for young children who have really gotten away with where their food is produced, and where it comes from."
For visitors, it's a way to reconnect with the land, but the tours also give Steed the opportunity to stay in business and promote locally grown products.
"It has less of a carbon footprint," explained Steed. "Now milk, by the time it gets to the stores, it's probably a week old. That's why shelf life is slowly going down."
High gas prices and greater food demand across the world are making food prices at the store soar. Now some consumers are turning to local farms like Steed's dairy.
"It supports local economies in the sense that it keeps the suppliers in business. Supports the local feed store, the local vet, there's a trickle effect for the entire economy," added Dr. Shepherd.
Steed says the tours and other forms of argi-tourism allow small farmers to compete with large companies that have dominated the market. He also plans on starting a farmer's market to include other small farmers in the area.
Steed's dairy farm tours meet the Georgia Performance Standards for public schools. If you are interested in a field trip for your students you can sign up at this website or by calling Steed's Dairy Farm at (706) 855-2948.
Have information or an opinion about this story? Click here to contact the newsroom.
Copyright WRDW-TV News 12. All rights reserved. This material may not be republished without express written permission.


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Why smart utility meters are a particularly smart idea right now
Smart meters boast a myriad of benefits for consumers, according to a recent paper by the R Street Institute, based in Washington, D.C.
One potential benefit is lowering the existing cost of competitive supply. Costs to serve large commercial industrial customers can vary significantly, so they’re billed based on actual interval usage data. However, residential consumers often have their usage costs based on average data profiles rather than their own. Shifting away from fixed rates enables customers to respond to price signals.
Research by R Street has found that residential consumers currently on competitive supply could save approximately $250 million per year under smart-meter rates.


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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators proposed on Thursday a 25% tax credit for investments in chip production in the country. The proposal is an addition to the $52 billion semiconductor industry funding plan approved by U.S. legislators last week, showing a large push to boost support for domestic chipmakers.
The Facilitating American-Build Semiconductors (FABS) Act proposes a 25% investment tax credit for investments in semiconductor manufacturing facilities and in production of fab tools.
Currently, only 12% of global chip output is made in the U.S., down from 37% in 1990. Meanwhile, the vast majority of chips are designed in the U.S. Bringing at least some of the chip production back to the U.S. could create tens of thousands of well-paid jobs.
However, building semiconductor production facilities is expensive. A state-of-the-art fab tends to cost well over $10 billion, so companies like Intel or TSMC usually receive significant incentives from governments to build fabs in Israel, Ireland and Taiwan. By contrast, the U.S. government (unlike state governments) has been reluctant to provide substantial compensations, until now.
“As much as 70% of the cost difference for producing semiconductors overseas is driven by foreign subsidies, rather than comparative advantages,” U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), one of the senators who proposed the act, said in a statement.
There are a number of companies from the U.S. that have developed chips in the country and sell them to local clients, including Intel and Micron, that will welcome the tax incentives. In fact, foreign companies, like TSMC and Samsung Foundry, which are on track to build advanced fabs in the U.S. in the next couple of years, would also benefit from the act. Furthermore, fab tool producers, like Applied Materials and LAM Research, would also take advantage of tax credits.
“Our bill would provide a significant investment tax credit to companies that build chips here at home, rather than overseas,” U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) said. “The United States can’t allow foreign governments to continue to lure companies’ manufacturing overseas, increasing risks to our economy and costing American workers good-paying jobs.”
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and SEMI have applauded the proposed law.
Increasing chip production in the U.S. clearly has its potential benefits, but virtually all U.S.-based semiconductor companies assembly and test their products in South East Asia. As a result, even with some chip manufacturing moving to the U.S., the industry will continue to rely on Asian chip packaging and testing facilities.
The FABS Act is co-proposed by Crapo, Ryden and U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan).


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Spectrum Bridge Inc. today announced it has partnered with Carlson Wireless to expand adoption of TV white spaces.
The aim: to extend broadband access in rural parts of the country by helping wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) reach so-called "last mile" customers in areas that are geographically unsuitable for deploying fixed or fiber-based broadband services, the companies said in a joint statement.
"Many parts of the country and the world lack high-speed broadband access, due to the physical limitations of traditional wireless network technology," Spectrum Bridge CEO Rod Dir said. "Carlson has been one of the staunchest advocates for rural broadband deployment in the U.S., and we are proud to partner with them as they pave the way in delivering solutions to this underserved market with TV White Spaces."
Carlson's RuralConnect products harness the non-line of sight (NLOS) capabilities of TV white space frequency bands to deliver speeds comparable to traditional wireless networks. That is up to 16 Mbps in the current generation.
Meanwhile, Spectrum Bridge will provide Carlson guidance during the FCC-certification process for RuralConnect and future products and services.
Spectrum Bridge is based in Lake Mary, Fla. Carlson Wireless is headquartered in Arcata, Calif. Both are privately held companies.
- see the release
Is white space the next frontier for mobile operators?
TV white space offers a blank slate for innovation


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Google has announced that its YouTube Kids app is now available on Apple TV and families can now download the app from the App Store.
The Kids app works on both the 4K and the HD versions of the streaming media player.
Once downloaded, to open the app, one can say “Hey Siri, open YouTube Kids.” One can also sign-in with their YouTube account for parent controls and settings.
“Once you have downloaded the app on your Apple TV (4K or HD), you can choose whether or not you want to sign in. If you choose to sign in, simply follow the prompts on your TV and enjoy. To open the app, you can use the Siri Remote and say “Hey Siri, open YouTube Kids,” Google said in a statement on Wednesday.
“If you choose to sign into the app on your TV, your parent controls and settings will transfer to the YouTube Kids experience on Apple TV. If you want to change any of your settings, you can do so in the app on a tablet or phone,” the company added.
YouTube Kids was first unveiled in 2015 as part of an effort to provide age-appropriate video content to children.
In the succeeding years, the app was introduced to various smart TVs such as LG’s webOS TVs and Samsung Smart TVs. (IANS)


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Leisure boat owners illegally selling fish in Sharjah markets
DUBAI // Fishermen in Sharjah have asked the Ministry of Environment and Water to clamp down on leisure boat owners who are illegally selling fish at markets in the emirate.
Crews from fishing boats say they are having to compete for sales with owners of private speedboats and yachts who catch fish without a licence.
“A large number of leisure boat owners, residents or nationals, compete with fishing boat owners, going out to sea under the pretext of a leisurely journey whilst they engage in fishing activities and sell their catch,” said fisherman Khaled Mohammed. “Upon informing the Coast Guard, no action is taken to put an end to these infractions due to the absence of a clear law that prevents them from fishing.”
He said the number of boats was increasing.
Abderrahman Bushabs, from the Sharjah Fishermen Co-operative Association, said the problem was getting worse each day, adding that the number of leisure boats going to sea to fish had grown to more than 400, more than three times the number of fishing boats, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic language sister paper of The National.
Published: December 17, 2014 04:00 AM


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Plastic waste recycling company Coliba Ghana Limited and bottled water producer Voltic on Saturday inaugurated a permanent plastic buy back centre at Mpoase, a suburb of Glefe in the Greater Accra Region.
The centre, which is the first of its kind, follows months of work by the two organisations in 17 coastal communities, collecting and buying back plastic waste from residents.
The centre would be manned by a permanent manager, who will be assisted by six additional workers to weigh and collect the plastics, which can be brought to the centre all year round. In places where there is sufficient t space, 40-foot containers will be placed to facilitate the collection of waste.
Unlike in previous exercises, the permanent buy back centre will not pay out cash to residents each time. Rather, they would be given membership cards as is currently being done at their collection centres at Fadama and Abeka.
The centre will also work with three schools in the community to ensure that the children who will be engaged in the collection of the plastic waste will not get money to spend frivolously. Rather, these monies will be channelled into the payment of their tuition and feeding fees.
Chief Executive Officer of Coliba, Prince Agbata explained that the rationale is not just to give money to these children, but their aim is to improve the lives of these children by ensuring that they can afford to stay in school, have full meals, help parents to buy food items, provide life insurance cover and give cash to the parents for the upkeep of their wards.
He also revealed that it is the aim of the two organisations to set up a community collection centre every month, with the rationale of collecting plastic bottles which are generally disregarded by individuals in the plastic collection business since these bottles are not seen as profitable. It is for this reason that Voltic and Coliba are setting up these centres.
Chief of Mpoase, Nii Obedeka II thanked Coliba and Voltic for setting up the centre in his jurisdiction. He thanked them for their work and for trying to clean up the Mpoase environment and also for their efforts in creating jobs in the plastic waste value chain in Mpoase.
There were solidarity messages from Fanmilk Ghana Limited and the United Nations Development Programme. They congratulated the two for establishing the centre.
Head of Public Affairs at Voltic Ghana, Joyce Ahiadorme explained to The Finder, “Our goal is that we want to create a world without waste. We want a world where after you are done with our products, we do not want to see our bottles on the street.
“Our business must sustain, and the environment is key for every business, for every living thing, and for every human. We are taking it upon ourselves to say that we are not just responsible for refreshing Ghanaians, but we are equally responsible for the post-consumer waste.
“For us, we want to be able to ensure that right from production our packaging are lighter, for which reason we’ve reduced the amount of plastic in the bottle. After the product is consumed, we want to ensure that it is equally managed out of the environment.
“We cannot just give the people refreshment and forget about where the plastic waste ends up. Our hope is that as we create a world without waste, none of our plastics will be found on the streets, in the gutters, in our oceans. It will find its way back into the circular economy.”
Source: Selorm GBORBIDZI,thefinderonline.com


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Video: Tonga whales above and below by Simon Buxton
Simon Buxton of UWUHD and NAD Lembeh has posted a short film combining underwater 4K footage shot with a RED Epic, some clips from Panasonic GH4 with aerials shot with a DJI Phantom 2 with GoPro Hero 3+. The footage was all shot in Tonga and features the humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) which migrate each year from their feeding grounds in the Antarctic to the warm, sheltered waters of Vava’u to mate and calf.
BBC adopts Final Cut Pro X
After the initial desertion from Apples Final Cut Pro X (FCPX), it seems that pro editors are gradually making their way back to the NLE. Fcp.co has announced that the BBC has chosen FCPX for all its news editing and the article suggests that other departments within the organization will follow suit soon.
Keldan announces the LUNA 4X video light
Keldan is now shipping a 6,000 Lumen video light with a 110° beam angle with a color rendering index of 82. The 4X has a burn time of 45 minutes at full power with batteries that can be changed in the field.
Panasonic announces the HC-X1000 4K camcorder
Panasonic has announced the HC-X1000 4K camcorder. Capable of recording digital cinema 4K at 60p/50p (150 Mbps) onto internal SD cards and a high performance Leica lens. Perhaps even more remarkably, the camera will retail for $3,499.99 when it ships in mid October.
Sealux ships housing for the Sony AX100
Sealux has announced their housing for the Sony FDR-AX100/HDR-CX900. The housing features a monitor back plate that allows for viewing of the camera’s LCD, and a large 90mm bayonet mount to allow for the 74° wide-angle lens.
Sea&Sea announces housing for the Sony a6000
Sea&Sea has announced their housing for the Sony a6000 mirrorless camera. The company has designed a new ML mount for ports and provides support Sony 16mm f/2.8 Wide Angle lens, Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macro lens, Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom lens and Sony 10-18mm Wide Angle Zoom lens. It offers support for fiber optic strobe triggering and the camera’s LCD can be tilted 10° for improved viewing.
Two viral videos about the amazing Mantis Shrimp
As underwater photographers, we know enough about mantis shrimps that we exercise caution when photographing them. But did you know mantis shrimps and Pringles potato chips share something in common? Here are two viral and informative videos about these amazing critters that took over the internet this week. (Image from Shutterstock).
Video: The Great Blue by Howard Hall
- Huge drop in Hong Kong shark fin trade (via )
- Scientists find life in Antarctic ice mud (via )
- GoPro updates its Studio to version 2 (via )
- Hawaiian tiger shark fall migration discovered (via )
- Issue 12 of Anima Mundi Adventures in Wildlife Photography is… (via )
- Report on the Blenny Challenge week 3 (via )
- Composite split shots breakdown (via )
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- Kodak exits bankruptcy (via )


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In just a matter of days, the S&P 500 managed to produce a sell-off of more than 6%. The equity strategy team at Jefferies concede that the recent correction in share prices has raised concerns that the market is about to enter a bear phase. While stocks certainly do not look cheap to them, it would require a significant change in monetary and credit conditions before stocks became trapped in a bear market. This earnings season will let the market have a better look if the argument for multiple or price-to-earnings expansion is warranted. The Jefferies team thinks that the likelihood of an extended, vicious sell-off is unlikely.
In their report, they had a list of some of the top names that took the biggest hit during the sell-off. We screened their list for some of the top names that are favored across Wall Street. Some of them have backed up to very attractive entry points. We have listed those by the highest percentage decline.
E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) got stung to the tune of a whopping 15.75%. The company is known for its online trading platform, and it has swapped the talking baby from its commercials for hot Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey, the star of House of Cards. In the first ad of the campaign, which began running recently, a range of city workers from a doctor to an amateur basketball player sing a song about being “Type E,” or investing with E*Trade. The Thomson/First Call price target for the stock is $23.50. E*Trade closed Tuesday at $19.98.
TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) took a large hit of 12.4% during the short but heavy sell-off. The company is the world’s largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching more than 260 million unique monthly visitors in 2013, and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.7 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The consensus price target on Wall Street is $97.14. TripAdvisor closed Tuesday at $86.07.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) had just posted solid earnings for the quarter before it got knocked down 10.84%. The company, which is a leader in DRAM chip sales, has seen a nice streak of beating earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. Micron has beaten estimates by at least 35% in both cases, suggesting it has a nice short-term history of crushing expectations. The consensus price target is $28.30. Micron closed Tuesday at $22.21.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) has absolutely exploded pricewise over the past year, and more gains are expected, especially after a nasty 9.81% sell-off. The company provides travel products and services to leisure and corporate travelers, offline retail travel agents and travel service providers through a portfolio of brands, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Expedia Affiliate Network, Classic Vacations, Expedia Local Expert, Egencia, Expedia CruiseShipCenters, eLong and Venere.com. Investors are paid a 0.8% dividend. The consensus price target is $76.59. Expedia closed Tuesday at $70.02.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has been knocked down 21% from peak levels and 9.2% in the recent sell-off. It now trades at the same forward price-to-earnings multiple that it did last year, adjusted for extra shares and dilution. The social media giant has ramped up mobile advertising earnings and has crushed earnings in the past three quarters. Wall Street analysts think that Facebook is becoming more central to the overall Internet marketing funnel, gaining share of marketing spending with interest from branding, public relations, direct response and CRM functions, as well as online search and display budgets. The consensus price target is $73.96. Facebook closed Tuesday at $58.19.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) is a top biotech name that was sold off to the tune of a large 8.16%. Its new drug VX809 has a 50% chance of succeeding in Phase III trials. In February 2013, Vertex began two six-month, international Phase III clinical trials of Kalydeco and VX-809 in people with two copies of the Delta F508 mutation ages 12 and older. The combination drug is for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded Kalydeco and VX-809 “Breakthrough Therapy Designation,” which is intended to speed the development of select potential therapies that treat life-threatening diseases or conditions. The consensus target is $91.66, and Vertex closed Tuesday at $65.35.
Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) is another top tech stock that was manhandled to the tune of 7.65%. The company recently announced the availability of Lightroom mobile, a companion app to Lightroom desktop software, only available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. The new Lightroom mobile app brings powerful Lightroom tools to the iPad, delivering photography essentials — such as non-destructive processing of files — and utilizing new Smart Preview technologies to free professional-class photo editing from the confines of the desktop. The consensus price target for this top name is $73.14. Adobe closed Tuesday at $61.82.
Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is another top technology name that was knocked down 7.46%. The company has started to expand its presence in the critical security market and has aspirations to expand to ancillary areas. The company sees its recent Prolexic acquisition as very different but adjacent to its Kona suite and could look at additional network-based security capabilities to address the area between the application and end user; technologies that cover DDoS appliances, app changes, identity management and analytics. Combined with the company’s huge server business, this could make it a top name for investors, especially at reduced prices. The consensus price target is $63.47. Akamai closed Tuesday at $54.45.
Many of these top names are top technology names. Most of the Wall Street firms we cover have listed the technology sector as one they expect to excel the rest of the year. While it is very possible that a resumption of the intense selling could start again, the positive overall metrics of the economy, combined with the beginning of earnings season, may hold the sellers back of now.
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The new Nintendo Switch games bundle won't be coming to the UK
Last week saw a new Nintendo Switch bundle released that caught the eye of a lot of gamers.
This was due to the fact that it only contained the items needed to play the console in handheld mode.
It did not have the Nintendo Switch games dock, or any of the cables required to hook it up to a TV.
It also featured a reduced price, making it a tantalising offer for those planning on using it for just that purpose.
The Switch bundle was only released in Japan, but there were hopes that this might be a new soft launch from Nintendo.
Trying out the popularity of the new deal in one market before releasing it further afield could mean it eventually arriving in the UK.
However, Nintendo have released a statement on the subject to US Gamer, which seems to pour cold water on that idea.
While not commenting on the UK directly, it did seem to rule out a dockless Nintendo Switch bundle coming to this area of the world.
In the new statement, Nintendo confirmed they "have no plans to release this configuration in the Americas.”
So for anyone who was interested in checking out the new deal, it seems unlikely you will get the chance anytime soon.
But while that new Nintendo Switch bundle might be ruled out, we could be getting another intriguing product hitting the market in 2018.
The N64 Classic Mini has been widely rumoured to be following up the SNES Classic Mini and NES Classic Mini in 2018.
And now a trademark recently filled by Nintendo could have revealed the existence of the N64 Classic Mini.
The application, reported on by Japanese Nintendo, is for an N64 trademark in Japan.
The filling lists the purposes for the trademark and includes a video game programme, controller for game machine, joystick, TV game machine and more.
Since 2016 Nintendo has on a yearly basis been releasing classic editions of their home consoles, and going in chronological order.
First up was the NES Classic Mini, which sold like hot cakes - regularly selling out in a matter of minutes.
The product was eventually discontinued by Nintendo before a re-release in 2018 was announced.
While last year the SNES Classic Mini was released by the Big N.


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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's staff has found AT&T's proposed US$39 billion acquisition of rival T-Mobile USA to be contrary to the public interest, with officials there saying the deal would result in the largest single concentration in the U.S. mobile market in history.
- Dell, Lenovo, HP will patch hundreds of devices affected by Intel's buggy embedded CPU
- As unencrypted data becomes “negligence”, business leaders are taking encryption strategy away from IT
- Uber, ABC cloud data breaches put Australian companies on notice about cloud security
- Fake Symantec blog spreads macOS malware
- 5 missteps that could cost CISOs their jobs


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I read a good article by Nathan Weinberg about how "Google ends year on sour note". It was an interesting article about how Google has lost credibility in some of its core areas including deleting all mails from 60 gmail accounts (even worse they don't have any backup).
Even though I have an email account, I primarily use my yahoo account but have been thinking for some time now to permanently to switch over to Google. But this will make me think a while before making the decision.
It's bad that even orkut was down for around 22 hours over friday and saturday. To add to the misery Blake Ross of firefox came out against google for promoting its own products for tips as part of search result.
I personally don't think that the quote by Nathan "By the end of next year, no one will like Google as much as they do today" is going to be a reality in a year from now. I believe google is a company with good vision and they will take a quick steps to regain the trust of end users.
2007 is going be an interesting year with some of new enterprenaurs like Powerset entering the search market. We have to wait and see who the next google is going to be...


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Provisional tariffs on Chinese towel imports which the government says protect the domestic towel-manufacturing industry have had a dramatic impact, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The volume and value of towel imports from China have dramatically declined over the past two months, the ministry said in statement released yesterday.
The ministry started slapping a provisional 237.7 percent duty on the top of an existing tariff of 10.5 percent on Chinese towels on June 1, citing damage to the local towel-manufacturing industry.
Statistics provided by the ministry's customs department show that the import volume shrank from 776,647kg in May to 195,032kg in June, and declined even further last month to 2,427kg.
The value of the imports has also dwindled, from NT$63.22 million (US$1.9 million) in May, to NT$16.18 million in June and NT$321,000 last month, the ministry's customs administration department said.
These numbers compare with the figures from a year ago, when Taiwan imported 642,303kg -- worth NT$41 million -- of Chinese-made towels in June last year, and 668,540kg worth NT$43 million in July last year.
The customs department said the unit price has also increased by 60 percent since the provisional anti-dumping duties were imposed, with made-in-China towels costing NT$81 per kilogram in May, rising to NT$83 in June and to NT$130 last month.
This is the first anti-dumping action against Chinese imports since Taiwan acceded to the WTO in 2002.
After receiving evaluation reports from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the finance ministry is expected to reach a final decision on the tariffs by Sept. 12.