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A $28 Million T-Rex Skeleton Was the Undisputed King of Christie’s Otherwise Muted $341 Million Contemporary Art Auction
Christie's added a fair amount of theater to the hybrid event, including live commentary by two of its specialists.
Christie’s 20th-century evening art auction, which included one major and notable non-art item (more on that below), was conducted via livestream from Rockefeller Center on Tuesday night, and realized $340.8 million, squarely in the middle of presale expectations of $277.3 million to $401.4 million. (Final prices include premiums; pre-sale estimates do not.)
Expectations were revised downward after four lots—including a heavily marketed Brice Marden painting titled The Golden Pelvic (1993–95) that was estimated to sell for $12 million to $18 million—were withdrawn just before the start of the sale.
Forty-six of the lots offered (86 percent of them) sold by lot; 96 percent sold by value, according to the auction house.
Auctioneer Adrien Meyer, chairman of global private sales, conducted the sale in a room full of specialists on phone banks. He also fielded phone bids from salesrooms in London and Hong Kong, and online via Christie’s website.
There was a fair amount of added theater, as specialists vied to convey some of the “in real life” tension that takes place in the auction room. Christie’s added an extra layer of atmosphere with the inclusion of elaborate set designs and background music that seemed aimed at filling in some of the pauses in bidding. Some specialists were even decked out in jewels to be featured in forthcoming auctions.
There was also the novelty of live commentary by two veteran specialists. Informative but low key, it seemed to work just fine, though there was an element of “golf” chatter to the proceedings.
Of the 55 lots on offer, 14 were guaranteed, including two that found backing immediately before the sale opened. In a sign of how third-party guarantors are often wheeling and dealing right up to the start of a sale, the number of third-party guarantees rose from eight to 10 earlier in the day.
Bidding was solid if rarely heated throughout most of the night, suggesting that buyers were clear on what they wanted and at what price. The cautious tone further underscored the need for securing guarantees on the selling side. Some experts suggested that the early-season date of the sale, well ahead of the usual November auctions, was what led to quieter bidding on presumed trophy lots.
Alex Rotter, head of the 20th- and 21st- century art teams at Christie’s, conceded that the timing of the sale was quite deliberate, considering the forthcoming US election and further potential health concerns this fall.
“Are we thinking about these things? Absolutely,” he said in a press conference following the sale, adding: “Obviously it works: 280,000 viewers and $340 million worth of sales. I’m good with that.”
The grand finale of the evening—the unprecedented auction of a T-Rex skeleton named “Stan” that carried an estimate of $6 million to $8 million—is likely to linger in everyone’s memory. Christie’s even brought out a separate auctioneer, Tash Perrin, to auction the lot, one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever discovered. It was offered without a reserve or minimum.
After Perrin opened bidding at around $3 million, it was chased mostly by two Christie’s specialists up to the mid $20 million range. But their pursuit was interrupted periodically, and rather bizarrely at times, by Rotter, whose client sent the price several million dollars higher at several points, instead of sticking to the $500,000 increments the two other competitors were adhering to.
In the end, it was won by Christie’s specialist James Hislop, head of its science and natural history division. “Stan” hammered down for $27.5 million, and Hislop declined to say whether it sold to a private or institutional buyer.
Back in the fine-art realm, two of the highest-performing lots of the night were blue-chip trophies reportedly consigned by billionaire businessman Ronald Perelman, whose recent offloading of art and other major assets have the world wondering if he faces some dire financial situation.
Mark Rothko’s 1967 Untitled, a deep crimson painting with a $30 million to $50 million estimate, sold for $31.3 million with premium, just clearing its low estimate. It went to Christie’s deputy chairman for Asia, Xin Li. Given that the lot was also the subject of an 11th-hour third-party guarantee announced at the sale, there’s a good chance it went to the guarantor. The Rothko last sold at auction for $1.2 million in 1998, according to the Artnet Price Database. Perelman reportedly bought it privately in 2002.
Another top lot reportedly consigned by Perelman was Willem de Kooning’s Woman (Green) (1953–55), which was estimated between $20 million to $30 million, and sold for $23.3 million with premium. It hammered down to Rotter at the $20 million low estimate and did not have a guarantee.
All in all, it was not a bad day for Perelmen, whose major Gerhard Richter abstract painting garnered close to $28 million at a Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale of contemporary art earlier in the day.
Other top lots at Christie’s included Paul Cézanne’s watercolor, Nature morte avec pot au lait, melon et sucrier (1900–06), which sold for $28.6 million, a record for a work on paper by the artist, against an estimate “in the region of $25 million,” according to the auction house. The painting came from the collection of the late Edsel and Eleanor Ford and had the added allure of being featured in the first-ever show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1929. Edsel Ford acquired it in 1933.
It’s no secret that museum deaccessioning has been a hot-button issue in recent months, with some institutions opting to take advantage of relaxed Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) rules allowing sales of collection works to sustain museums in difficult times.
Other museums are selling artworks for different purposes: the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York, for example, sold off a major Jackson Pollock to fund its efforts to diversify its collection. Proceeds from the sale of the Pollock painting, Red Composition (1946), which was estimated at $12 million to $18 million, will fund acquisitions of artworks by artists of color, women, and others under-represented in the museum’s holdings.
After Meyer opened bidding at $9 million, it hammered down to a Christie’s specialist for $12 million, or $13 million with premium.
Another institutional seller was the Springfield Museum, which tellingly emphasized in the Christie’s catalogue that it was selling Pablo Picasso’s La Poule (1950), which went for $4.3 million, to support the care of its collection and to fund further acquisitions.
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This is what you save by teleworking, according to the OCU
The pandemic paralyzed the world in 2020 completely. Billions of people saw how overnight leaving home became a ban for the elderly. The workers essential, however, they enjoyed that feeling of semi-freedom even if it was only to go to their job.
Thus, practically in hours the world experienced an unprecedented situation to date. Because lives gave a unexpected turnaround everything seemed new, also the work. Since those months many aspects have changed and others had to be fit quickly so as not to lose distance with the competitors.
That being the case, from that moment the telecommuting. Without the possibility of going to the office or other places, the employees had to start working from home every day. Now, after more than two years of this new reality, rlittle by little recovering the previous tasks although working at home has been established.
Due to the different rises in energy prices, many have begun to consider saving in different fields. Teleworking, for example, generates doubts in homes, so the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has analyzed how much is saved with this way of working.
Saving while we telework
The energy crisis seems to have no end in sight. Therefore, the OCU has calculated the costs of commuting to work compared to what it costs to light or air-condition a home while we carry out the work. Thus, they have been able to produce a report that highlights a saving of almost 70% for not going to work and doing it at home.
to obtain the data the OCU has compared what it would cost to go to work in a medium-sized car against the cost of 50 trips with public transport in the most expensive city (Madrid) and in the cheapest (Albacete). In addition, two comparators have been developed where it is calculated if the work is close (about 25 kilometers a day) or far (about 80).
After the analysis the OCU argues that: “with just two days of teleworking a week, you can spend 40% less”. In addition, the organization highlights that “fuel spending could return to pre-price levels.”
Despite saving on travel, the organization also details how much different items cost us. For example, the computer in an eight-hour day costs about 50 cents while air conditioning with current prices can be up to 2.5 euros per day.
However, according to the data provided by the OCU, it will be better to work at home. According to the organization: “At home you will spend at most 3 euros a day, and that in the worst case, during the summer with a heat wave or on a very cold day”. Even, during spring or autumn this could be reduced to one euro.
On the other hand, if we we displace By car, this is around five euros on average, although, according to the OCU, can be up to eight. Finally, the organization also highlights that the cost can increase if we eat or have breakfast at work because it is always cheaper at home.

domain: news


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‘A Very GRAMMY Christmas’ adds two new faces to brighten the holiday extravaganza.
Adele, One Direction, Bono Lead Band Aid 30 to Raise Money for Ebola Crisis in Africa with New Version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’
The legendary 1984 single is being updated with another cavalcade of music stars, including Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Chris Martin and more.
In the spirit of the holidays, several artists have joined forces for a good cause.
All Mariah Carey wants for Christmas is you — to attend her Christmas concerts in New York City.
The nominations for Album of the Year at next year’s GRAMMYs will also be announced during the broadcast.
Taylor Swift’s love for music and baking is no secret. So on a recent visit to England the country-turned-pop singer met up with chef Jamie Oliver for a proper bake-off.
If spending your holidays with the Crawleys sounds like a dream, then things are looking up: Christmas at Downton Abbey is coming your way.
It’s only May, but Seth MacFarlane is getting in the Christmas spirit.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Some stores opened their doors early Thursday to mark the start of post-holiday shopping and experts are predicting day after Christmas sales will be better than first thought.
Today’s Toy from Chris was the Nerf N-Strike Mega!


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August Burns Red is preparing to get back to live music in a huge way as they will embark on a two month tour in celebration of the ten year anniversary of Leveler, which was released by Solid State Records in June 2011.
According to an announcement on Facebook, the tour will feature fellow heavy music bands Fit For A King, Erra, and Like Moths to Flames.
General Admission for all dates and a VIP upgrade to include a meet and greet plus photo opportunity can be purchased at https://soundrink.com/#/tour/august-burns-red.
The tour kicks off in the bands’ home state of Pennsylvania on September 9 and runs through Halloween.
Leveler sold 29,000 copies in its first week on the market in 2011, and in May was re-released on ABR Records as an anniversary edition featuring Fit For A King vocalist Ryan Kirby on a new version of “Poor Millionaire.”


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To date the Nokia smartphone brand under HMD Global's leadership has focused on producing mid range smartphones which aim at the Chinese market as they believe that there is a lot of potential for growth there. The web site Nokia Power Users, which uncovered the certification on Wednesday, says the alternate version of the Nokia 6 is likely to be destined for global markets beyond China.
If Nokia does intend to announce an Android device for the United States, would you consider picking one up?
Also, another thing to note down from this revealed Nokia 6 Silver variant's TENAA listing is that the new Nokia Android phone carries the codename TA1000.
We just saw the company's first Android smartphone in years launch over in China, but in a new Facebook post, it looks like Nokia isn't done just yet with the Android market in regards to how soon we can expect these new devices.
"The Nokia 6 is a result of listening to our consumers who desire a beautifully crafted handset with exceptional durability, entertainment and display features", Arto Nummela, CEO, HMD Globalsaid.
This is enough to prove that another Nokia 6 variant may be on the way. It pairs a 5.5-inch display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chip with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The Nokia 6 has a dual SIM capability while be powered with a 3000mAh non-removable battery. HMD is talking of global ambitions but the Nokia 6 isn't actually destined to leave its home country. There's dual amplifiers speaker with Dolby Atmos technology for sound output. Talking about the price, the Nokia 6 has been priced at 1,699 CNY (roughly Rs. 16,750) and will be made available "in early 2017".
The breaking off, or calving, of ice shelves is a natural process, but global warming is thought to have accelerated the process. A almost 2,000-square-mile section of the Larson C ice shelf is hanging on by a thread .
The services that will be used of the company include Azure IoT, Microsoft dynamics, Cortana Intelligence Suite and Office 365. The company also recently announced a project with TomTom, HERE, and Esri to create more intelligent location-based services.
"Had Mahi taken the decision one year or even six months earlier, I would have been a bit anxious ", Prasad said on Thursday. This series will test the Kohli's Captaincy as ODI team captain and will be his first series as Indian Cricket Team Captain.
Preston started the game strong and got their reward in the sixth minute as Callum Robinson scored from close range. Two clubs with FA Cup history, we should be set for ideal Saturday evening entertainment.
However, the relocation plan was postponed over concerns about soil pollution and other problems connected to the new site. That was well above last year's winning bid of 14 million yen, but half the record 155 million yen paid in 2013.
The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the core personal consumption expenditure index, is now around 1.7 per cent. Chair Janet Yellen said the USA central bank was "operating under a cloud of uncertainty".
Jamie Foxx lost a tooth on the set of " Sleepless " when his co-star Michelle Monaghan accidentally punched him in the face. But Foxx wanted to let his fans know what went down, and took to social media to explain the situation.
Using an Amazon Echo device in the house, Ford owners will be able to do things like remotely lock or start their vehicles. Ford actually tested this out past year but is now moving quickly to implement it in as many vehicle models as possible.
Inside, the cars get standard sport seats finished in leather and Alcantara and feature GTS logos in the headrests. All GTS models also come with the new Porsche Track Precision App as part of the standard Sport Chrono Package.
Media may attend the briefing at Johnson or ask questions by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:45 p.m. NASA still has a few more sets of lithium-ion batteries and adaptor plates it needs to send up to the station for replacement.
The language in each bill is a bit different, but both would require people to use restrooms based upon their sex at birth. Make no mistake - the invidious intent of SB6 is to deny transgender Texans the ability to participate in public life".
Verified Twitter Users May Be On WikiLeaks' Radar
Users accused the organistation of threatening to publish private material online (aka dox) of people who disagreed with it. Even though, WikiLeaks Task Force account is a verified one, there is no information regarding their locations and family.
Norway's controversial radio switch-off
To do so, they'd need to buy a digital audio broadcasting (DAB) receiver, which costs the equivalent of $175 in USA currency. For some of you reading this, the word "radio" evokes the image of an icon you press on your smartphone or tablet.


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The organization unveiled a new connected smart camera and 24-hour support line for drivers of ride-hailing apps as CES 2023 kicked off in Las Vegas on Tuesday evening.
Bosch said it is collaborating with ridesharing and delivery app Gridwise to undertake research and verify whether the products are the right fit for the market.
“What takes the Bosch RideCare companion beyond a simple dashcam is that it is paired with a service that provides active help by trained call center specialists when required”, Christoph Hartung, president of cross-domain computing solutions for Bosch, said in a statement.
Every ride is tracked. The footage, which contains encrypted data like a timestamp and location, is only transferred to the cloud if the driver hits the SOS button or requests a transfer. A lighting component on the front notifies drivers and riders that the service is operational.
According to Bosch, data is managed per applicable data privacy rules. The camera has a variety of tamper-resistant features and will transmit an alarm if the device’s field of view is compromised or obstructed.
A spokesperson said the device would be ready for purchase in early 2023. Bosch will sell the camera to both drivers and fleets. The organization did not disclose a price tag for the hardware and support service.
This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes place in Las Vegas from January 5 through 8. Thousands of companies showcase new and upcoming products during the event. Techzine is reporting on the news. Navigate to this page for an overview of important announcements.


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The Starbucks next to the Red Mill on West Dravus in Interbay closed for good on Sunday.
“As we continue to take steps to make sure we’re meeting customer’s needs, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our location at 1609 West Dravus Street in Seattle,” the Starbucks press team told My Ballard when we asked what happened. “We’re happy to confirm that all Starbucks partners (employees) working at that store have transferred to nearby locations.”
As you can see from the map above — that green dot in the middle of Interbay is the store that closed — Magnolia is down to one location. Central Ballard has 5 Starbucks (3 are inside other stores), and the newest location on 15th gets a heavy amount of drive-through traffic.
“From time to time we make adjustments to make sure we’re providing the right blend of both convenient and premium options to choose from,” Starbucks explained. “Nowhere does this show up more clearly than in Seattle where our stores can feature the convenience of the core Starbucks menu, our immersive coffee bars and the premium Starbucks Roastery on Capitol Hill.”
Of course, there are many other coffee shops in Ballard and Magnolia — many of them independent — so there are always plenty of places to get your coffee fix.
(Thanks Kay for the tip!)


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Balance, a Tel Aviv, Israel- and NYC-based leader in B2B marketplace and eCommerce payments, has announced a $56 million Series B fundraise, bringing the company’s total funding to $87M.
The round was led by Forerunner Ventures with support from Salesforce Ventures, Hubspot Ventures, Lyra Ventures, and Gramercy Ventures. Notable leaders in B2B eCommerce also participated in the round as angel investors, including former Shopify CMO Jeff Wisener, Faire CTO & co-founder Marcelo Cortes, as well as previous investors Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Avid Ventures, Upwest, and Jibe.
The balance will use this funding to expand its offerings to new, global eCommerce platforms and enable B2B merchants to grow their digital revenue.
Company: Balance Payments, Inc.
Round: Series B
Funding Month: July 2022
Lead Investors: Forerunner Ventures
Additional Investors: Salesforce Ventures, Hubspot Ventures, Lyra Ventures, and Gramercy Ventures, Shopify CMO Jeff Wisener, Marcelo Cortes Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Avid Ventures, Upwest and Jibe
Company Website: https://www.getbalance.com/
Software Category: B2B eCommerce Payments
About the Company: Founded in 2020 by PayPal alums Bar Geron and Yoni Shuster, Balance is the top B2B eCommerce payments company offering the first online checkout with omni-channel support built for businesses. With Balance, companies can process any payment method, offer flexible terms, and get paid instantly — all in one place. With offices in Tel Aviv and New York City, Balance has partnered with dozens of B2B marketplaces to shift traditionally offline industries like food, steel, chemicals, and apparel to an eCommerce model that resembles B2C. Balance has over 300 merchants, marketplaces, and customers combined, including a notch, Everywhere Apparel, Bryzos, Felux, Vallourec, and more, as well as partnerships with Shopify Plus, Fabric, and Magento


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In what’s being dubbed ‘an innovation of mile high proportions’, secret plans have been discovered to open a Flight Centre branded pop up store on board an Emirates Airbus A380 in mid-flight.
The secretly leaked plans, found left on a table in ‘The Coffee Club’ on Ann Street in Brisbane feature transforming the cocktail bar area on the Business Class upper deck of an Emirates A380 into a pop up Flight Centre store at 35,000 feet.
Details in the plan include Emirates cabin crew being replaced on their breaks by two Flight Centre Consultants, bar shelves that slide down to reveal brochure racks, a digital airfare special board and even a specially created ‘Captain’s Martini’ (shaken not stirred) served with a red olive that passengers could enjoy as they’re buying travel.
The plan stated the special Martini would be ‘Unbeatable’.
Details as to whether the Flight Centre Captain would actually fly the plane and serve Martini’s on the same shift weren’t clear, as the plan highlighted potential IATA challenges around licensing and ‘responsible serving of packaged travel products’.
Where exactly the A380’s will fly to was also not revealed in the plans, though insiders speculate that Brisbane to Dubai would be the obvious choice as a first test route.
Whilst the plans remain unconfirmed an inside Flight Centre source said that preferred agreements were quietly being drawn up by contracting as to which high end land wholesalers they would sell mid-flight.
Some initial challenges were also raised including how they would deal with hosting buzz nights as well as in-store EXPO’s in the pop up – something, which the plan stated ‘could become problematic for other Business Class passengers trying to sleep’.
The plan also featured a few self-proclaimed ‘crazy ideas’ such as a slip ‘n’ slide down the aisles in Economy and the use of the galley post meal service as a potential Healthwise pop up gym.
What do you think of Flight Centre’s latest innovation? Crazy or awesome?
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a KarryOn Comedy article and is obviously satire. It should not be taken seriously, certainly before flying any airplane.
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New company launches European speedboat in U.S.
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- Brian Bandell
For his first marine company, Xavi Dalmau wants to make a big splash with a boat known for keeping its occupants dry.
Dalmau found a longstanding European line of boats that was unavailable in the United States and hopes to brand it as the Porsche of speedboats. Austrian-made Frauscher boats have navigated the waterways of Europe for 75 years. Marketed as a luxury boat with a smooth ride, about 250 of these boats are sold in Europe each year, Dalmau said.
The brand caught his eye at the Cannes Boat Show in France as Dalmau was visiting shows around the world seeking the right model for his new company, Miami-based Luxe Marine.
Dalmau, 36, has spent most his professional life working in executive roles for his family's business - the cosmetics company Cosmly - until the family sold it. He decided to turn his longtime passion for boating into his business.
One of his favorite changes is traveling around Europe and Asia to all the boat shows, rather than sitting behind a desk most of the time.
"The challenge of building a brand in the United States is very exciting," Dalmau said.
Luxe Marine holds the exclusive U.S. rights to sell Frauscher and can sell the boats here through other dealers, as well - something Dalmau plans to do eventually. For now, he is rotating display models at the Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables, with plans to showcase them in other high-end malls later. The official launch will be Feb. 15-19 at the Miami International Boat Show in a booth in the tent outside the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Luxe Marine will offer three of Frauscher's models: the 606 Riviera ($104,000), the 686 Lido ($126,000) and the 757 Tropez ($181,000). They are between 20 and 25 feet.
E-mail staff writer Brian Bandell at email@example.com.
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Piccadilly Holdings LLC plans to open the third unit of its smaller To Go location May 1 in Olive Branch, Miss., as it continues to hone the predominantly carry-out version of the 75-year-old cafeteria brand.
The Baton Rouge, La.-based company introduced Piccadilly To Go in 2018, offering a 1,300- to 1,500-square-foot version of the 12,000-square-foot cafeteria that had been the brand’s bread and butter since 1944.
Unlike typical cafeterias, the To Go units also offer drive-thrus for order pickup. The original To Go location in Cordova, Tenn., which opened last year, was carryout-only and didn’t include seating, but the company is seeing demand and accommodating a few on-premise diners.
Photo: Piccadilly’s servers line up in 1944 at the original cafeteria in Baton Rouge, La.
“We have just begun testing limited seating eight to 16 seats (two and four tops), as there has been some demand during the lunch daypart,” said Max Jordan, Piccadilly’s vice president of marketing.
The To Go unit offers Piccadilly menu classics like Southern fried fish, smothered pork loin and carrot soufflé that can be picked up at the store or ordered in advance online or over the phone.
“We have seen growth in our target demo of [age] 25-44 families and even seen an uptick in young Millennials and Gen Z guests,” Jordan said.
Photo: The Piccadilly To Go interior space ranges from 1,300 to 1,500 square feet.
Piccadilly, which reached 270 restaurants in 1998 after the acquisition of competitor Morrison’s Cafeteria’s, has gone through several bankruptcy downsizings, including one in 2003 and the most recent in 2012-2013.
Now at about 40 units in seven Southern states, the company is looking to tap into its long regional history but in a smaller format. It has 14 units in its home state of Louisiana as well as nine in Georgia, seven in Tennessee, four in Mississippi and two each in Alabama, Florida and Virginia.
The company said take-out orders now account for more than a third of total sales, which prompted the To Go concept expansion.
“This is one of the sharpest trends we’ve ever seen. Families are just as busy as ever, but they want the quality and freshness of a home-cooked meal,” said Piccadilly CEO Azam Malik, who also serves as CEO and president Dallas-based Falcon Holdings, in a statement. “Many of those families are finding what they want with takeout from Piccadilly.”
Piccadilly was founded in 1944 by Tandy Hamilton with a single, cafeteria-style restaurant in downtown Baton Rouge.
“Tandy’s idea was serving liberal portions at the highest quality for fair prices,” Malik said. “That sounds common sense these days, but his ability to put all that together in a family-based atmosphere was well ahead of its time.”
Jordan said response to the To Go concept has been positive.
“We are able to expand our geographic coverage to guests who do not normally have easy access to Piccadilly,” Jordan said. “We continue to look for ways to meet the needs of today convenience minded consumers.”
In addition to its retail units, Piccadilly offers contract meal service for larger clients like business parks and schools and serves as a disaster-relief contractor in Louisiana and Georgia.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless


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Looks like someone deployed the new profile for App Store too early? Want to guess what “https://t.co/nhhpJFmZbJ.Mind” is on watchOS? pic.twitter.com/BarzoJtovq
— Khaos Tian (@KhaosT) June 5, 2021
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has already said that the next watchOS update will include health related features and it appears as though an app called “Mind” might be offered to Apple Watch users as a way to improve their mental health. The “Mind” app’s listing in the App Store manifest doesn’t include “nano” which means that the “Mind” app could be available for watchOS, iPadOS and iOS devices.


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It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India today that a fake website has been created at http://www.rbi-inonline.org/savings.html by some unknown persons offering various banking facilities and asking members of public to apply on-line for opening RBI Savings Account.
The Reserve Bank clarifies that as India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India does not offer services offered by commercial banks, such as, savings bank account, current bank account or credit cards. As such, the question of the Reserve Bank offering online banking services, as is indicated on the fake site, does not arise. The Reserve Bank has cautioned members of public not to fall prey to spurious offers made by the fake website. The Reserve Bank has further cautioned members of public that applying on line on that website could result in compromising one’s own crucial personal information, that may be misused to cause financial and other loss to them.
Members of public may visit the official website of RBI at rbi.org.in and see press releases issued earlier which are made available as scrolling headlines for more information about various kinds of fictitious offers of huge moneys sent in the name of the Reserve Bank or its Governor and other senior officials and what to do in case of receiving such offers.
Principal Chief General Manager
Press Release : 2013-2014/2290


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Outotec says it has been awarded a contract for the delivery of filtration technology and services for a lithium processing plant in Australia.
The order, expected to total around €12 million ($13.7 million), has been booked in Outotec’s 2019 March quarter order intake.
The mineral processing equipment company’s scope in this order includes design and delivery of proprietary Outotec© Larox pressure filters as well as installation and commissioning advisory services and spare parts, it said.
When complete, the plant will convert spodumene concentrate into lithium hydroxide.
Kimmo Kontola, Head of Outotec’s Minerals Processing Business, said: “At Outotec, we have expertise to offer sustainable solutions for extracting lithium from brines and spodumene ores up to battery-grade lithium salts. We are well positioned in this growing market for lithium processing technologies.”


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Interior designer The Gettys Group included some subtle nods to Dolley Madison in the design.
Signia is McLean-based Hilton’s 17th flag. Each Signia, as they open, will have at least 500 rooms and 75 square feet per room of meetings and event space. That’s at least 38,000 square feet of meetings and events space per property.
Hilton, based in McLean, is among seven Maryland and Virginia companies to make Fortune’s list.
Experts are finding modern travelers want more from their accommodations than the usual amenities. Now, Hilton is building a new brand to meet these demands.
Hilton developed the new Motto brand after extensive market research that found a growing segment of travelers who want reasonably priced, less traditional hotels in central locations.
Four companies with D.C.-area headquarters make a list of the top 40 companies hiring for flexible jobs, which an analyst calls an increasingly important aspect of work.
Forbes Magazine’s inaugural list of Best Employers for Women includes a dozen Washington area companies in the list of 300, including four that made the top 100. Check out which local companies made the cut.
If you are going to Ocean City and plan to stay in a hotel, you have more choices this summer. Major hotel chains have opened new locations in the Maryland resort town, and more will open later this year.
The new hotel at the Pike & Rose complex in North Bethesda offers samples of local craft beers, produce from Maryland farms and even honey from a local beekeeper.
By way of bragging rights, four of the top 10 loyalty programs are at hotel chains with Washington-area owners.
After a year of converting the first floor of its McLean headquarters, Hilton’s “The Social” features a food hall, co-working spaces, a Starbucks and an outdoor terrace — all of which is open to the public.
A boutique hotel in Georgetown, known for its rooftop lounge with sweeping views, will be the latest addition to Hilton’s new Tapestry Collection.
A major financial services company in McLean, a giant defense contracting company in Bethesda and a D.C.-based conglomerate all landed on a new list of “America’s Top Public Companies,” released by Forbes
Hilton has opened its first Curio Collection-branded hotel in D.C. The Darcy, in Logan Circle, includes offerings from local chefs and businesses.
Hilton just opened Hilton Linzhi Resort, between the Himalayas and the Yarlung Zangbo River, on 800 acres at an elevation of about 9,800 feet.
Recreating the District in video game form was no small task. Here's how the developers did it.


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Since 2014, the annual list of CoinDesk for the “Most influential” people in the digital currency space has been a year-end vacation tradition 2014.
It is their way of recognizing the finest and those shipping the most popular products. CoinDesk praises people who require digital currency the most and established a high standard for us all. The crypto news site celebrated individuals who were well-known in the crypto space but famous outside it.
However, this year, the news site has a slightly different plan. They are still planning to publish the list in December but the trend has changed. In 2021, crypto transformed into a global phenomenon from being a financial asset. It seems cryptocurrency is disrupting and starting to replace everything else.
Definition of influence has changed
Earlier, “influence” in digital currency meant creating an impact on a system, which was relatively enclosed. It could now mean transforming the world. For instance, NFTs or non-fungible tokens are still items for speculation. The technology is quite popular with culture makers.
Famous media brands such as The New Yorker, Fortune, and The Economist are experimenting with these exceptional crypto assets to collect funds for charity and also for the business operations of the publishing industry. The same is applicable for scientists, artists, and musicians.
In 2020, Bitcoin featured on the balance sheet of some Fortune 500 tech businesses. However, BTC has ended up being a treasury asset.
The increasing popularity of crypto assets or stablecoins created to maintain a stable value is compelling governments to make changes in their currency for the 21st century. Only a handful of nations have issued CBDC or central bank digital currencies, and many countries are contemplating them.


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US Stocks gained for the week as concerns over Turkey’s crisis snowballing across the globe eased and earnings were solid. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Dow gained 1.4% for the week. Abroad, Japan edged down 0.1% and Europe sank 1.2% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ended the week at 2.87% up slightly from the previous week. Article
China’s fixed asset investments hit their lowest level in close to two decades over the first seven months of the year.
US retail sales rose 0.5% in July well ahead of forecasts and are up 6.4% from a year earlier.
US factory output rose 0.3%.
US and Chinese officials have discussed resuming talks to try and end the trade standoff prior to a meeting between the leaders of both countries in the fall.
Walmart reported sales rose at the fastest pace in over a decade in the past quarter. Article


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How will students satisfy their late-night cravings this semester, with the changes to campus dining due to the coronavirus pandemic?
Duke Dining facilities will be open in the fall but with reduced indoor seating, according to Duke’s reopening FAQ posted July 26. Multiple locations will offer delivery and takeout options, and hours for some locations will change. Dining will take additional safety precautions, like making all dishware “to-go” and removing self-service options.
How have dining options changed?
Dining will introduce a “rotating assortment of food trucks to various locations”, according to the reopening FAQ. One of these locations is outside of Marketplace, which will itself offer extended hours for dinner, according to a dining FAQ.
Trinity Cafe will also expand its hours for first-year students to purchase dinner equivalency. The Keep Learning FAQ states that Marketplace meals will no longer be self-service and that students will be encouraged to take their meals to go and to use expanded outdoor seating.
Physical spaces will also be adjusted at all dining locations to allow for social distancing.
How does my residential status impact my meal options?
All students living in Duke housing will be required to have a meal plan, as in previous years. Off-campus students will not be allowed to enter dining facilities or use mobile ordering and pickup services.
Merchants on Points, which lets students order food from local restaurants with food points, will be expanding its usual hours, and students living in Duke-provided off-campus housing will be able to use the service, according to the dining FAQ.
Blue Light and Avana residents will access to food trucks and merchants on points, while students living at the Washington Duke Inn will be able to use their food points there.
Graduate and professional schools are working with dining to find food options for their students, according to the reopening FAQ.
The dining FAQ also states that “care meals” will be provided to students who are in isolation.
How can I order food?
Students will use an app called Duke Dine-Out to order meals for pick-up from 15 on-campus locations. As of Aug. 3, 10 of these locations—The Loop, McDonald’s, Beyu Blue, Il Forno, Ginger & Soy, Au Bon Pain, JB’s Roast & Chops, Thrive, Trinity Cafe and the Freeman Center for Jewish Life—were listed on the app.
Before campus shut down in March, Duke Dine-Out was already accepting mobile orders for select locations. To order, customers selected their items from a menu and paid through the app. The customer would then receive a notification when their order was ready for pick-up, and upon arrival at the dining location they would scan a QR code to receive their order.
In response to the pandemic, Dining planned to implement a drop-off option through the app, Aris Marten, associate director of retail operations, told industry news site Food Management. Students would have the option to enter a drop-off location along with their phone number and workers would deliver meals to the drop-off locations while wearing masks and gloves. However, a notice posted on the app Jul. 27 stated that the drop-off program would be suspended starting Aug. 1.
All mobile orders will have a packaging seal to indicate tampering, according to Dining’s COVID-19 response page.
Dining is also establishing contactless pick-up locations on West Campus, according to the COVID-19 response page, but these are yet to be publicized.
What safety precautions are in place?
Drink stations, condiment stations and other self-service options have been removed from dining facilities. There are also additional hand sanitizing stations at each location, and all dishware will be made to-go. To encourage social distancing, there will be line markers placed six feet apart.
In addition, Dining has mandated employees to wash their hands every 20 minutes as well as between tasks. Workers will also undergo additional training on avoiding exposure to COVID-19 and review the “sick employee policy,” according to the dining FAQ.
Dining has also established an “internal task force” to monitor the workplace environment and provide guidance. Third-party inspections will be conducted virtually by Steritech, a food safety auditor.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify where students living at the Washington Duke Inn can use their food points.
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Nadia Bey, Trinity '23, was managing editor for The Chronicle's 117th volume and digital strategy director for Volume 118.


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- 1 min ago Top Car News Of The Week: Here Are The Top Four-Wheeler News From The First Week Of December
- 12 hrs ago Top Bike News Of The Week: Important Highlights In Two-Wheeler Segment From Previous Week
- 14 hrs ago 2021 Jeep Compass Facelift Spied Testing Ahead Of Launch: Spy Pics & Details
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This week in two-wheeler space there were a couple of scooters that were launched in the Indian market. Yet again we are noticing more affordable electric two-wheelers launching in the Indian market targeting intracity commute and last-mile connectivity.
We also have information about a couple of motorcycles that will be soon arriving in the Indian market. Here are the highlights that happened in two-wheeler auto industry in the past week.
Honda Grazia 125 BS6 Scooter Launched
Honda has updated its final product to BS6 standards in its 125cc segment. The Grazia 125 was recently launched and is offered in two variants: Standard and Deluxe. It retails at a starting price of Rs 73,336, ex-showroom (Delhi).
The new Grazia 125 features a host of updates including LED headlamps, new instrument cluster, ACG starter motor, and LED taillights; among others. It comes powered by a BS6-compliant 124cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine that produces 8bhp and 10.3Nm of torque — here are more details.
Gemopai Miso Mini Electric Scooter Launched
India two-wheeler Gemopai Electric has Miso scooter in the Indian market. The company is marketing as India's first social distancing electric scooter. The Miso mini electric scooter retails at a starting price of Rs 44,000.
The brand has also announced that they are accepting bookings for the mini electric scooter at the time of launch. The electric scooter features 48V, 1kW removable battery, a Hexa headlamp design, and an LED battery indicator — here are more details.
Honda Livo BS6 Motorcycle Teased Ahead Of Launch
Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India (HMSI) is gearing up to launch a new BS6 motorcycle in the Indian market. The company has teased the upcoming BS6 Livo on its official website and is expected to be launched sometime next month.
The new Livo is expected to feature a host of new updates on the BS6 model including an improved engine. The updated engine is currently powering the CD110 Dream motorcycle and produces a maximum power of 8.7bhp at 7500rpm and a peak torque of 9.3Nm at 5500rpm — here are more details.
2021 MV Agusta F3 800 India Launch Timeline Revealed
Italian performance two-wheeler manufacturer confirmed the arrival of new F3 800 in the Indian market. The new supersport motorcycle is expected to go on sale sometime in early-2021 and will be sold by a new retailer in India.
The upcoming motorcycle is expected to feature a host of new equipment and updated electronic rider assistance. However, the new motorcycle is expected to use the same in-line three-cylinder 798cc engine from the current-gen models — here are more details.
2020 Honda Africa Twin Deliveries
The 2020 Honda Africa Twin adventure motorcycle was launched in India back in March this year. The company started accepting Bookings for the motorcycle, however, the deliveries were delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the latest reports, the company is expected to start the deliveries of the 2020 Africa Twin manual variant next month. The DCT variant is still sometime away before it reaches the customers. The 2020 adventure motorcycle features a host of new updates — here are more details.
Thoughts About The Top Bike News Of This Week
A couple of scooters were launched in the Indian market this week. We are seeing more electric scooter arriving in the Indian market. The sales of these electric scooters are expected to increase in the post-COVID-19 world. Manufacturers are still in the process of updating their line-up to BS6, which could have been delayed owing to the current conditions.


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Taylor Swift performs at Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour in Japan presented by Fujifilm instax at Tokyo Dome on November 20, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jun Sato/TAS18/Getty Images)
Ticketmaster is in the spotlight on Capitol Hill following its Taylor Swift tour debacle, which saw droves of fans unable to secure tickets to her wildly popular upcoming tour.
Why it matters: It took an artist as big as Taylor Swift to get the conversation about why Ticketmaster controls so much of the live event industry going again, and now lawmakers have their sights on Live Nation, the site’s parent company.
- In a time of unprecedented antitrust scrutiny over big companies, especially tech, LiveNation is set to be grilled by lawmakers eager to notch wins for consumers.
Details: “LiveNation is so powerful that it doesn’t even need to exert pressure, it doesn’t need to threaten, because people just fall in line,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who during her opening remarks said young people should have the opportunities to go to concerts like she did when she was young.
- “Restoring competition to our markets is about making sure that fans get fair prices and better service,” she said.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) urged LiveNation’s CEO to do more to root out bots and if the previous agreement allowing the two companies to merge isn’t working for consumers said there should be structural remedies like breaking LiveNation and Ticketmaster up: “Your approach seems to be it’s everyone else who’s responsible here, not us. I hope that approach will change in the future.”
Driving the news: Joe Berchtold, president and CFO of LiveNation, which owns Ticketmaster, is testifying Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the state of competition in the ticketing industry.
- “The recent onsale experience with Taylor Swift, one of the world’s most popular artists, has highlighted the need to address [ticket scalping] issues urgently,” said Berchtold. “We were hit with three times the amount of bot traffic than we’ve ever experienced… This is what led to a terrible consumer experience, which we deeply regret.”
- “We apologize to the fans, we apologize to Miss Swift. We need to do better.”
- Other witnesses include: Jack Groetzinger, CEO of SeatGeek; Jerry Mickelson, CEO and president of JAM Productions; two antitrust scholars and a singer-songwriter.
What they’re saying: Ticketmaster has previously blamed the Taylor Swift “Eras” tour debacle on bot attacks and unprecedented demand and interest.
- A group of fans sued Ticketmaster last December for alleged fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations, and accusing the company of “intentional deception” for letting resellers buy most of the concert tickets, according to Deadline.
Flashback: LiveNation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010, in a deal that was brokered by former President Barack Obama’s Justice Department. Senators suggested during the hearing that the deal should be re-examined.
- “As long as LiveNation remains remains both the dominant concert promoter and ticketer of major venues in the U.S., the industry will continue to lack competition and struggle,” said SeatGeek’s Groetzinger. “Our industry provides a cautionary tale about how behavioral remedies cannot solve the problems inherent in an anti-competitive merger.”
- Groetzinger said venue owners fear losing out on LiveNation concerts if they don’t use Ticketmaster, and the two companies should be broken up.
Go deeper: Ticketmaster blames bots, demand for ticket issues
Ticketmaster cancels general public sale after Taylor Swift shatters record
Editor’s note: This story is developing and will be updated.


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The Scotts Company (UK) general manager Sheila Hill says buying the Solus business and own brands was not the wisest investment but that the addition of birdcare brand Chapelwood will make Scotts a stronger business.
Scotts Miracle-Gro today confirmed that it plans to sell all bar one of the Solus own brands it purchased when the garden wholesaler went into administration last year. While Yeoman, Joseph Bentley, Botanico, Garden Nation and Bermuda are now up for sale, with several unnamed parties already expressing an interest, birdcare brand Chapelwood will remain in Scotts' portfolio, with the company planning a relaunch this summer.
Talking to DIY Week today, Ms Hill said of Scotts' decision to purchase the brands: "In hindsight it probably not the best thing we've ever put our money behind."
However, she added that Scotts there are no hard feelings and Scotts is now looking to invest in and develop the Chapelwood brand in order to strengthen its existing offer to garden retailers.
"Our original vision when we bought the brands was to keep all categories and create a one-stop shop to meet retailers' gardening requirements but the market is pretty crowded now and very aggressive on pricing. We need to look at keeping brands that we can invest in long term.
"I was personally not involved in the decision to buy the brands but our attitude is very much 'that's business'. We did our very best but you can't win them all and sometimes it doesn't work out. We've had to re-adjust our original vision....We will come out as a stronger business at the end of this."
Scotts believes Chapelwood is a good fit for the business and is investing in new packagaing, merchandising units and advertising to support a relaunch this summer.
Ms Hill said: "The brand has a lot of resonance with the industry... We are going to take Chapelwood out to our customers and do what we do best and add some value to help drive category growth."
Scotts is now entering into talks to sell the other brands, which could potentially result in job losses. She told DIY Week: "All of our efforts and concentration have been on the consultation process on the other brands until now but we are ready to see what we can sell. There are a few interested parties and we can start negotiations with them."
She added: "I can't comment further on job losses at this stage, as we are still in the consultation process but we will provide an update when we know more."
Read more in the June 12 issue of DIY Week


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The #AUGMENT program was rolled-out across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific and other emerging markets to a range of marketers at various levels. Through online learning and tailored workshops, learners boosted their digital knowledge and gained certification.
The impact on marketers has been significant. “It motivated them and helped them to embrace the digital marketing journey. They created this community that is really important to drive digital marketing and people exchanging about ideas, strategies, templates, and there's a lot of energy now in the marketing teams that are involved,” stated Utz.
It has also had an impact on they way Straumann Group achieved their business objectives. With digital now at the heart of their marketing strategies, there is no way a major new product would be launched without a strong digital marketing campaign with the clear objective to drive lead generation to their sales teams.
On completion of the program, the feedback from learners has been phenomenal. After conducting a survey, employees rated the workshops and learning an average of 4.5 out of 5 making it a hugely successful initiative for the company.
Thinking on the collaboration itself, Straumann Group believes the partnership has always kept the unique needs of their business and workforce in mind. “The collaboration with the Digital Marketing Institute was a fantastic one, openness, really reacting on the individual needs that our company has, but bringing in a lot of the experience that they gathered in the market. We gained a lot and are looking forward to the future,” concluded Rainer Schlegel, VP Global Head of Marketing Communications.


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The world’s first bitcoin blockchain & Conference will be held in Philippines in Manila
The block chain before 100 large coffee, before the 500 lawyers will attend held in Philippines Manila the world’s first bitcoin blockchain & conference. In addition, the conference will also discuss the encrypted digital currency in e-commerce and cross-border remittances, as well as the role of the digital economy. There is no doubt that many celebrities and global currency circle circle chain will gather in Philippines.
The world’s first bitcoin blockchain & Conference will be held in Philippines City
In January 25, 2018, Philippines block chain & bitcoin conference will be held in Manila, the conference will focus on the encryption of digital currency, block chain and ICO. Participants will discuss how to affect bitcoin e-commerce, cross-border remittance, and digital money going to help the transformation of the global economy. This conference will attract many experts from the United States, Britain, Germany and Philippines to participate in.
When the electronic commerce met bitcoin business
When bitcoin, e-commerce industry, what changes will happen? This problem will be described as a JimmyNguyen, with 21 years of experience in the industry occupation managers and lawyers, he worked in the fields of multinational companies and start-ups, JimmyNguyen will be explained in detail in the bitcoin integrated into the e-commerce field involved in the supervision methods, and how to change the field of IT.
Lawdragon magazine has called the JimmyNguyen “outstanding talent”, but also because of its excellent leadership, Jimmy DiversityMBA magazine as “top 100 outstanding leaders under the age of 50”. Now, he served as head of the nChain block chain industry Research Development Corp.
The encrypted digital currency and cross-border remittances
This conference is another topic – encrypted digital currency effects on e-commerce, the theme will be “by the author LuisBuenaventura bitcoin cross-border remittance” a book for remodeling this. He will explain in detail how to introduce to the center of the technology to change the cross-border remittances.
Luis has nearly ten years of financial industry of science and Technology entrepreneurial experience in Philippines, he is currently the chief scientific officer of BloomSolution company, responsible for providing software solutions for the traditional cross-border remittance business, including the integration of block chain technology, provide customer service chat robot, the development of global real-time payment universal application interface. In addition, he also encrypt the digital currency industry well-known media website Bitsonline has opened a column, write the article.
Digital tokens will bring what effect?
IsmailMalik is a block chain industry renowned experts, has been named RiseGlobal 100 industry professionals the most influence in the field of chain block. He will explain digital tokens and ICO industry development and prospects. IsmailMalik has 20 years of experience in related fields, including asset management, encryption of digital currency, and emerging markets such as mobile payment. In his speech, he will discuss digital tokens of the impact on the economy and its importance.
Ismail currently serves as the founder and chief executive officer of BlockchainLab, they are also the only one in the Canary Wharf Group (CanaryWharfGroup), the world’s largest financial chain block technology venture to accelerate the project’s Level39. In addition, Ismail is also encrypted digital currency investment media website ICOCROWD editor.
The impact of digital tokens on the global economy
KambizDjafari is the founder of the Edgecoin.io block chain, the company provides users with an education platform based on Ethernet fang. At the same time, he is also a professional consultant and ICO encryption digital currency industry.
KambizDjafari believes that the future of real assets digital tokens is inevitable. At the meeting, he will explain the basic functions and advantages of digital tokens, and explain the 2018-2019 years which will be digital tokens to subvert the industry. As a block chain of industry experts and early investors, Kambiz will regularly report in the international financial activities in science and technology.
The supervision of the Philippines block chain industry
The conference will set up a special discussion group, Philippines authorities will take what regulatory measures to block chain industry, this part will be made by the software company MergeCommit JamesFlorentino, the director responsible for the company focused on providing the block chain technology based products and services. As a block chain of industry experts, James will coordinate the discussion, so that each participant can discuss activities related to legal matters in Philippines.
Prior to founding MergeCommit, James worked in service design and software engineering industry for ten years. In 2013, he became the co-founder of Philippines’s first bitcoin exchange BuyBitcoin.


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SHREEKARNI CORP LTD Q3 RESULTS
Birla Corp Q3 profit at Rs 27 crore on higher sales
Ebita expanded by close to 50 per cent to Rs 217.7 crore.
Key takeaways from Hero MotoCorp’s Q3 earnings
Hero MotoCorp posted 4.51% YoY fall in profit at Rs 769.10 crore for December quarter.
Hero MotoCorp Q3 revenue rises 7.5% to Rs 7,865 crore
Total expenses during the quarter rose 9.8% to Rs 6,914.04 crore.
Hero MotoCorp reports 4.5% YoY drop in Q3 profit at Rs 769 crore, announces dividend of Rs 55 per share
Hero MotoCorp's revenue increased 7.53 per cent YoY to Rs 7,864.82 crore in Q3FY19.
Nifty earnings, excluding corp banks to see 5% decline in Q1: Gautam Duggad
Duggad pointed that the quarter will be predominantly led by financials.
Vedanta Q3 revenue falls 3% to Rs 23,659 crore
On a quarter on quarter basis, Vedanta’s net profit was up 39 per cent.
PFC to complete REC takeover this fiscal; posts 53% rise in Q3 profit
Net interest income rose by 12% to reach a figure of Rs 2,435 crore as against Rs 2,180 crore.
Birla Corporation Ltd reports a consolidated net profit of Rs 27.4 crore for the third-quarter (Q3)
The company’s consolidated results include those of RCCPL (Reliance Cement Company Pvt Ltd), its wholly-owned material subsidiary.
Maruti Suzuki earnings preview: Dalal Street pricing in a weak Q3 show
Brokerages are expecting a subdued show from Maruti in light of a volley of headwinds.
Demand pain to show up all over in Q3 earnings of top auto firms
ICICI Securities said volume growth was affected in Q3FY19 due weak market sentiment.
Are we heading for more pain in auto stocks? Q1 earnings projections bleak
Nomura expects June quarter be the weakest one in recent times for the auto sector.
Delta Corp scales all-time high on solid Q3 results
Its revenue for the third quarter of 2017-18 grew by nearly 57% YoY to Rs 162.2 crore .
Mr Market disappointed with Q3 early birds; so, what is in store?
Investors are advised to be on the sidelines and book profits at higher levels.
Expect Sensex to touch 50,000 over next two quarters: Manish Sonthalia, Motilal Oswal
There is a latent demand which will fructify over next 2-3 quarters, says Sonthalia.
Copyright © 2019 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service


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The latest results from Estée Lauder Cos. and Coty Inc. exposed a shift in the beauty business: Millennials aren’t willing to invest in expensive skin creams that have been big profit drivers. Instead, younger consumers want makeup or masks with more immediate effects.
“Millennials are much more about immediate results than saving for the future,” Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda said in an interview. “The 30-year-old today gets more photographs of themselves in a day than their mother did in a year, so they care about what their skin looks like now, not when they are 40.”
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With improved VRM design
All motherboards updated
Following the announcement of ASUS, ASRock and MSI, Gigabyte has released a BIOS update for its AM4 motherboards. The new BIOS includes AMD AGESA Code 18.104.22.168 support for Raven Ridge APUs. Other improvements have been delivered alongside this compatibility update. Unlike ASRock, Gigabyte has released an update for all the motherboards.
Cryptocurrency mining is having a weird effect
Very clean looking
Gigabyte has announced the Aorus AC300W Lite case, which offers support for ATX motherboards and one 360mm radiators. The Aorus AC300W Lite is a mid-tower chassis that's been made from steel and ABS plastic. Although there is a well-thought internal layout and a very reasonable number of features, the Gigabyte Aorus AC300W Lite should come with an attractive price tag.
Another high-end model
During CES 2018 and the first Webinar Gigabyte has shown an upcoming AM4 X470 motherboards. The upcoming AMD X470 chipset will support out of the box the second generation Ryzen "Pinnacle Ridge" and Ryzen "Raven Ridge" APUs, in addition to current-gen Ryzen chips. Since this board has been equipped with an armada of features it's going to be an upcoming high-end model.
A mix of a GeForce GTX 1070 and GTX 1080
Right after the announcement from Inno3D, another company is now offering a new graphics accelerator card designed specifically for cryptocurrency mining. This graphics card is a Pascal-based GPU and it's a mix of a GeForce GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 with its specifications. Furthermore there aren't video outputs.
With 5GB VRAM
With WindForce 3X GeForce cooler
Compatible with Core i9 7980XE processor
Gigabyte today introduces the AORUS X299 Ultra Gaming Pro, a similar revision to the originale X299 Ultra Gaming. The Gigabyte X299 AORUS Ultra Gaming belongs to the high-end series and it's recommended for Core i9 processors like i9-7980XE and i9-7960X CPUs. This board is quite similar to the X299 AORUS Gaming 7, but features WiFi module.
With black shroud
Compatible with Core i9 7980XE processor
With WindForce 2X GeForce cooler
First Gigabyte Z370 mini-ITX motherboard
With silver color scheme
With triple-fan cooler
As you might already be very well aware of, NVIDIA currently working on a GTX 1070 Ti in order to respond to AMD's RX Vega 56. At the moment there isn't a lot of detailed information available on this topic but nevertheless there is finally information on custom models. Current rumors suggest that the GTX 1070 Ti will be available as a reference as well as custom graphics card.
Facts can change
Stocks not expected until mid-October
Over the past weeks we have heard several reports regarding the lack of custom RX Vega 64 graphics cards. According to an anonymous AIB rep, there won't be any custom graphics cards because there is simply no stock until mid-October. Following a report over at Tom's Hardware, it looks like Gigabyte won't even release a custom RX Vega 64 card.
Called Aorus GTX 1080 Gaming Box
External graphics card docks are not that common, yet there are many reasons why this could change. During this year’s Computex, Gigabyte has shown their Aorus GTX 1070 Gaming Box and it looks like one of the best solutions so far. The box not only comes pre-packed with an ITX-sized GTX 1070 it's also one of the smallest external GPU cases out there. Today the company is ready to announce a more powerful model based on GTX 1080 graphics cards.
On a Facebook post
A few days ago, we have posted a rumor from the Chinese website Mydrivers showing a picture of an alleged GTX 1070Ti STRIX O8G. Although this could have also just been a typo, it looks like NVIDIA is working on a GTX 1070 Ti in order to respond to AMD's RX Vega 56. Meanwhile Gigabyte have confirmed via Facebook that such a card is really in the works.
And silver color scheme
Gigabyte has finally revealed the X399 Designare EX motherboard, which is the first motherboard that comes with a Thunderbolt port. On top of that there is a whole bunch of other features as well as an exceptionally good looking color scheme. The Designare EX series currently represents Gigabyte’s flagship motherboards.


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San Jose's Skytree. 2 others win at Plug and Play Expo
Three startups won top honors at Plug and Play’s Summer Expo Thursday, and they couldn’t be more different.
The winners at the event ranged from a big data company to a music lesson provider. They were among 30 whose pitches were judged by 75 venture capitalists.
The local company that won, San Jose-based Skytree, uses machine learning to analyze huge amounts of data. You can think of it as an expansion of a technology like what Netflix uses to analyze customer’s movie choices and ratings to recommend other things they would be interested in. Skytree’s technology can be used for essentially any type of data, to segment people into groups, look for outliers or make predictions based on historical patterns. I wrote about the company in February, when it launched its product and announced it had raised $1.5 million.
Another winner was Music Prodigy, a Los Angeles-based startup that is making a “gamified Rosetta Stone for music.” They make game-like music lessons for the iPad that can tell whether you’re hitting the right notes on a guitar or even if you’re on pitch while you’re singing. It’s like a Guitar Hero where you can actually learn how to play.
The third winner as OfferUp, a Seattle-based company that makes a mobile online marketplace. It looks like a very simple mobile-oriented eBay meets Craigslist. People post pictures of a product, you enter an offer, set up a time to meet through the application, and then use the mobile app to pay for the item.
Diana Samuels covers technology, cleantech, biotech and venture capital. Her phone number is 408.299.1835.
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Posted by Dale Buss on November 20, 2012 11:41 AM
Nissan's Facebook page says it all: "Doing things right is hard work." And Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Renault-Nissan, is encouraging his executives to roll up their sleeves and keep working on ambitious market-share targets that he still maintains for Nissan's growth in America.
He has held out Nissan's US market share goal at 10 percent, while its current share is just shy of 8 percent. For the year to date through October, Nissan sales were ahead of year-earlier levels by more than 10 percent, including about a 20-percent boost for the Infiniti luxury brand — despite effects of Hurricane Sandy that disrupted Nissan's crucial northeastern-U.S. market, and despite the strong comebacks of arch-rivals Toyota and Honda.
Ghosn, of course, is setting the bar higher. "We are still not at our potential," Ghosn told Automotive News. "We can be at a much higher operational performance level. We're driving to that. When we approach [the necessary levels] we can [attain] 10 percent market share."Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on November 7, 2012 12:41 PM
Thanksgiving is coming up. And while cans of vegetables will last for years, Del Monte decided that the timing couldn't be better to remind American consumers about the easiest way to elbow onto the Turkey Day table with side dishes worthy of the buxom bird: get them out of a can. Preferably a can of Del Monte vegetables.
So the brand is launching its most extensive and expensive ad campaign in a decade, under the tagline "Bursting with Life." The idea is to emphasize the freshness of Del Monte vegetables — an attribute that consumers don't naturally associate with foods that have been preserved in a cylinder of metal for weeks or months.
While they're not trying to make eating your veggies (let alone canned veggies) sexy, Del Monte hopes to claim a bigger share of mind stomach of a collective American household that at least is thinking more about vegetables these days, and the nutritional value of consuming them.Continue reading...
Posted by Shirley Brady on November 5, 2012 06:04 PM
Chrysler released a trio of new "Imported from Detroit" commercials touting the 2013 Chrysler 300: "Show up," above, and below, "A Title You Can Earn" and "Advice." The automaker is planning a special edition of the Chrysler 200 with Eminem, whose 2011 Super Bowl commercial for the brand introduced the tagline.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on November 2, 2012 12:59 PM
Chevrolet has been coming up with one spiffy new car model after another. Its Cruze, Sonic and now Spark small cars have been big hits; its Equinox crossover continues to sell well; the Volt plug-in now is reaching nearly 3,000 sales a month; and the Chevy Silverado continues to sell strong.
Yet for October, GM's monthly sales tally showed that Chevrolet had the lowest sales uptick of any of the four GM brands, just 2.7 percent, while Chevy's overall sales rose by 4.7 percent over a year earlier. For the entire year to date, Chevy did outperform each of its siblling brands.
But the question remains: Is there some reason Chevy isn't doing better as a brand amid ever-rising gas prices that favor its largely fuel-economic fleet?Continue reading...
Posted by Shirley Brady on October 22, 2012 11:22 AM
Despite our objections over the poor grammar, Barack Obama's campaign is promoting "Gotta Vote" as its voter registration slogan with GottaVote.com and new spots released today featuring Barack and Michelle Obama.
Posted by Shirley Brady on October 16, 2012 10:17 AM
Timed to tonight's townhall debate with CNN's Candy Crowley moderating, the Obama presidential election campaign released this commercial starring Jay-Z, titled "The Power of Our Voice." That voice, as described by the campaign:
Gotta vote? Go here: http://OFA.BO/7WVtHh
Jay-Z shares why it is important to exercise your right to vote and how President Obama represents the power of our voice.
As Jay-Z shares:
"For so long, there was this voice that was silenced out there as far as exercising your right to vote. I think it was a voice that was silent because people had lost hope. They didn't believe that their voice mattered or counted."
"Now people are exercising their right, and you are starting to see the power of our vote. He made it mean something for the first time for a lot of people."
So is "Gotta vote?" the new "Got milk?" And why is it a question instead of a call to action — "Yes, you've got to vote!"
The commercial highlights Obama's cameo-by-video during the performer's Bud Light-sponsored Made in America Festival concert, which took place last month in Philadelphia, where the Brooklyn Nets co-owner was emblazoned with logos for the team.
There's also an iPhone hoisted (by Beyonce - watch for the blue nail polish - at the :34 mark), and of course the Obama-Biden logo at the end.
Posted by Dale Buss on October 12, 2012 03:31 PM
Chrysler was relying on smoke and mirrors for a while as it bid to come back in 2009 and 2010 from its bankruptcy and rescue by the U.S. taxpayer and Fiat.
But increasingly the company is turning out worthy brand-new or substantially overhauled models, such as the Dodge Dart and the new Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee. And it's those new vehicles that are fueling the company's continuing ability to post year-over-year healthy monthly sales increases after many pundits thought the strong comparisons of 2011 would be too much for Chrysler to overcome.
To build on that momentum, Chrysler is developing what it's calling "buzz packages" — special versions of nameplates that connect in a pyschographic or marketing sense with subsets of the overall markets for its increasingly successful nameplates. In its buzziest buzz package, Chrysler will roll out an 8 Mile edition of the Chrysler 200 sedan in partnership with Eminem.Continue reading...
brand vs. brand
Posted by Dale Buss on October 5, 2012 03:33 PM
Yes, making gains at breakfast is nice. So is the fact that nobody talks about the hit job on Taco Bell's beef from a while back. But now the Yum! Brands stalwart is finally getting the kind of feedback that brand stewards really have been craving all along: Americans are mentioning "Taco Bell" in the same jalapeno-laced breath as "Chipotle." Thanks largely to the Cantina Bell menu that it introduced in July, Taco Bell perceptions are climbing among American consumers, according to new research by the YouGov BrandIndex.
Created by celebrity chef Lorena Garcia — featured on the recent season of Top Chef Masters on Bravo, which hyped her Taco Bell tie-in during commercial breaks —the chain's new Cantina Bell menu brings eight new ingredients to Taco Bell including whole black beans, cilantro rice and fire-roasted corn salsa — exactly the sorts of staples that have garnered Chipotle's fresh-Mex menu such high regard. Garcia even recently visited fields in California to show where and how Taco Bells gets its cilantro.Continue reading...


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According to rumours, Tecno will soon introduce a new smartphone in India. Cell phones from the company's Spark and Camon series have been introduced. Later this year, it will introduce the Tecno Pova Neo 2 in India as its latest entry-level smartphone. Paras Guglani, a tipster, provided the information. He said the device would be a 4G product and launch in international markets, including India. The precise launch date was not provided by the tipster. Guglani, however, has provided a summary of the important details regarding the impending Tecno smartphone. Let's examine the Tecno Pova Neo 2's features, specifications, and other information.
Tecno Pova Neo 2 Specifications
The Tecno Pova Neo 2 is anticipated to go on sale in India and other countries very soon. Online specs for the 4G smartphone have been leaked. Guglani claims that the new Tecno smartphone will be available in Cyber Blue and Uranolith Gray. The gadget might put its emphasis on providing a good multimedia experience and a lengthy battery life. The Pova Neo 2 will have a sizable 7000 mAh battery inside, according to leaked specifications. Additionally, the phone will have a big 6.82-inch screen with Full HD+ quality. It is unknown if the phone will have an IPS LCD or an AMOLED display. Details about the phone's refresh rate are also unknown.
The Pova Neo 2 will have a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC inside. The entry-level model will have 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM. Additionally, the phone will include 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of RAM. The phone will include a dual-camera arrangement on the back. It will have a 2MP secondary sensor in addition to a 16MP primary camera. The Pova Neo 2 will have an 8MP front camera for taking pictures and making video calls. We may anticipate the device's price in India to be under Rs 15,000 based on the specs provided.


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Home Tags Employees
Disturbing footage appears to show a worker urinating on the production line at the world’s largest pork producer, forcing the company to destro...
Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork and hog producer, destroyed more than 50,000 pounds of its product after a worker allegedly urinated on the production line.
Here are some signs that you are an excellent manager that don't require asking for employee feedback.
Experts say a variety of signs could indicate that an employee may be about to quit their job, including a change in how they dress, how they interact with coworkers, and their behavior in meetings. Keep reading for a full list of indicators that an employee may be about to quit.
Amazon will phase out pay incentives as part of raising all wages to $15 an hour nationwide. A company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider on Tuesday that employees will still have metrics to meet, but they will no longer be tied to pay.
Dunkin' employees were fired for dumping water on a homeless man after a video of the incident circulated online. The man said he was planning to charge his phone and call his mother in the coffee shop.
Telltale Games, the company behind games like ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Game of Thrones,’ has laid off almost all of its employe...
Telltale Games is reportedly laying off a significant number of employees, and will retain a crew of about 25 people. Last August, Telltale Games told Eurogamer that it employed about 400 people.
Walmart is expanding its program to train employees using VR headsets, and it will ship between two and four headsets out to every US Walmart store by the end of the year.
CVS’s notoriously long receipts have been turned into memes, made into Halloween costumes, and lampooned on national TV — but employees sa...
CVS promised to do away with its super-long receipts in 2016. But most shoppers say they're still around. Business Insider talked to five CVS employees from around the country to see if anyone uses these super-long receipts.
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn spoke to the Financial Times about an important leadership lesson he learned early in his career and discussed the strategy he uses to turn "lazy" employees into truly committed workers.
Apple is now worth $1 trillion. Here's a look at some of the benefits and perks the tech giant gives its employees, from celebrity-studded "beer bashes" to discounts on Apple gear.


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The report was based on data from a survey conducted between April 10 and April 24, 2020, among 301 marketing professionals who work in a wide variety of industries.
Some 45% of marketers say COVID-19 has a moderate impact on their brand and content strategies, 31% say the pandemic has had a strong impact, 18% say it has had an extreme impact, and 6% say it has had no impact.
Most (53%) marketers say their highest branding-related priority right now is developing messaging, content, and campaigns for a marketing pivot and current COVID-response campaigns.
Some 26% of marketers say they have somewhat increased the number of campaigns they are running because of COVID-19; 25% say they have decreased the number of campaigns significantly; 24% say they have neither increased nor decreased the number of campaigns; 17% say they have somewhat decreased the number of campaigns; and 10% say they have increased the number of campaigns significantly.
Some 57% of marketers say COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on their branding efforts but that impact will not be transformative; 17% say the impact is only short term; 13% say COVID-19 has permanently changed branding; and 13% are unsure.
About the research: The report was based on data from a survey conducted between April 10 and April 24, 2020, among 301 marketing professionals who work in a wide variety of industries.
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By BERNAMA / Pic By ISMAIL CHE RUS
Malaysia’s economy is going strong and the GDP is expected to expand a further 4.9% in 2019, albeit a decline in inflationary pressure.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the January 2019 Consumer Price Index (CPI) decline was not caused by recession or any kind of weak demand.
“Strong economic growth numbers, with the economy expanding by 4.7% in 2018, immediately dispel any deflationary fears following the drop in January 2019 CPI by 0.7%, the lowest in nearly 10 years.
“The CPI decline proves that the government’s policy of abolishing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and replacing it with the Sales and Services Tax, and stabilising fuel prices with a ceiling price mechanism works by expanding the economic pie to benefit both businesses and the people,” he said in a statement yesterday.
While saying that the January 2019 price decline was different from the 2009 deflation, he added that it did not arise from any weakening of demand or economic growth, instead, the decline was largely caused by supply factors in the form of cheaper input cost, specifically cheaper fuel prices.
Price of RON95 petrol, for instance, was approximately 13% cheaper in January 2019 compared to a year ago and this has positively affected the prices of goods and services that are free from GST.
The fuel price stabilisation policy, in particular, passes the savings from cheaper fuel prices directly to consumers immediately, while the ceiling price mechanism protected them from high and soaring petrol prices.
“The price decline should improve the purchasing power of Malaysian consumers and add to economic growth.
“The low inflationary environment has encouraged private consumption to grow at a fast pace of 9% and 8.5% year on- year, in the third quarter (3Q) and 4Q of last year respectively,” he added.
Lim also said another proof that the economy was healthy was the fact that the Nielsen survey showed Malaysia’s consumer confidence stood at 118 points in the 4Q of 2018, 24 points higher from a year ago.
The jump is the highest among all countries surveyed and it placed Malaysian consumers as the seventh most confident among 64 economies.
Additionally, approved manufacturing foreign direct investments for the first nine months of 2018 rose to RM48.8 billion or 249% higher than the same period in 2017. — Bernama


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Updated: Jul 24
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Security News & Reviews - Page 3
More Security News
Third-party applications that require the OAuth service for user data access are now subject to a new daily new user cap, company says.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW: HPE OneView is an infrastructure automation engine to simplify operations, increasing the speed of IT delivery for new applications and services.
Though the deadline for GDPR compliance has already passed, there are still many organizations that are not compliant, which is why IBM wants to help with a new tool to identify private information.
DAILY VIDEO: A U.S. government botnet report warns about the lack of security tool use, and Google says Pixel 2 encryption thwarts even privileged insider attacks.
Baffle is updating its Advanced Data Protection Service, enabling organizations to keep all data inside a database encrypted, while still enabling full data use.
What e-commerce enterprises need to understand about their compliance standards and the steps they must take to protect their customers’ data.
VIDEO: SonicWall CEO Bill Conner details how his company has grown since spinning out from Dell, building our new product lines to enable real-time breach detection and prevention.
DAILY VIDEO: Two Canadian banks report breaches exposing customer data, and Google and AT&T will offer a new connectivity option for cloud customers.
The open-source Helm project is now its own stand-alone project in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, providing a package management system for deploying applications into a Kubernetes cluster.
MAY RECAP VIDEO: The public blockchain that’s at the core of crypto-currency and the internet’s “WHOIS” domain name identification function may run afoul of the EU’s GDPR data privacy regulations.
An encryption feature available with Google Pixel 2 smartphones ensures even an attacker with highly-privileged access to a mobile device won’t be able to access data.
DAILY VIDEO: The FBI recommends router reboots to limit the VPNFilter malware risk, and Microsoft invests in deep learning to improve image search results.


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This news sure is going to gladden the hearts of all movie lovers. Optical disc manufacturer Moser Baer has ventured into the home video market and in a bid to combat piracy, has priced film VCDs and DVDs rates as low as Rs 28 and Rs 34, respectively.
The company aims to be the largest title owner in India by acquiring nearly one-third of all movies, including regional language movies, produced in the country.
Speaking at the launch of its Entertainment Business division, of Moser Baer’s CEO – Entertainment, Harish Dayani, said, “Home video hardware penetration is just 26 per cent now, but is poised for growth with falling hardware prices. While home entertainment is a key revenue driver in the international markets, India is way behind as the availability of titles is a problem. As the movie industry is dispersed across the country, there is no single company to bind all these together and provide them on a single platform. We have arrived at a vision to provide quality products at affordable prices and at places near to the consumers.”
Explaining the marketing plans for this new initiative, Dayani said, “We want to be as close to the consumer as possible, so we will try and make sure that we are available in almost any shop in the market, just like an FMCG product. For this, we will be adopting a strategy similar to an FMCG, like having glow-signs and banners in shops, providing free accessories with bulk purchases, and providing a money-back guarantee for the discs.”
“With the patented and proprietary technology with us, we are able to provide the customer great quality at such affordable prices,” explained Ratul Puri, Executive Director, Moser Baer India. Puri also announced the company’s plans to have exclusive rights of almost 40 per cent titles produced in the country in all Indian languages by the end of FY07. They also have plans to raise this to 50 per cent by FY08. According to Puri, “Moser Baer is planning to invest close to Rs 400-500 crore for content creation and acquisition.”


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The interoperability trials for mobile money set to start this Monday promise to re-ignite hope that the competitive telecom industry is ready for self-regulation.
This is after Safaricom and Airtel, who have engaged in a fierce battle for control of the mobile money industry in Kenya for over a decade, agreed to work together in testing the systems starting Monday.
Interoperability is expected to further revolutionise sending money by phone and expand it further, given that a customer can send money or receive money across all networks, seamlessly.
Information Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said on Friday that mobile money interoperability will improve access and efficiency in the industry.
“This is a service that will make sending and receiving money across networks seamless and will have a lot of benefits for the users who will not be limited in their options,” said Mr Mucheru.
The ICT Cabinet Secretary also said there will be more competition, which could lower the prices of the services.
Telkom Kenya, the third mobile operator, is expected to join the scheme later after completing redeveloping its mobile money platform that it withdrew from the market last year.
“Lack of interoperability has been highlighted as a major barrier to the development of the mobile money market. The strongest reason for enabling interoperability is the dramatic increase in mobile money transactions that will result,” a report by eServGlobal, a financial transactions technology company says.
The trials will test the technical ability of the two systems from Safaricom and Airtel to interoperate. The pilot will involve 200 participants, with each operator contributing 100 employees.
The testing was arrived at following months-long commercial negotiations. It is an outcome of self-regulation among the players who would otherwise be locked in stiff competition.
The beginning of the trials will see Kenya join other East African countries such as Tanzania and Rwanda who have walked the same path of connecting their systems.
In Tanzania, operators Vodacom, Airtel, Tigo and Zantel linked their mobile money platforms to one commercial network in early 2014.
Currently, if an Airtel Money customer wanted to send money to a Safaricom M-Pesa subscriber, the Safaricom customer will receive a notification via text message but the balance will not reflect on his M-Pesa statement. To get the cash, the Safaricom customer will have to find an Airtel Money agent to withdraw the cash.
But with interoperability, it means that if the Airtel Money user sends money to an M-Pesa user, the M-Pesa user will actually receive the money on their account and can transact with it or withdraw from an M-Pesa agent.
A report by international telecommunications lobby GSMA published last year says that support for interoperability has grown despite initial apprehension on the loss of brand identity among some operators.
The main players in the telecoms market are banking on the success of interoperability to help eliminate barriers in the mobile money market and eventually shift the market dominance debate to partnership and a need to let free market forces reign.
This is after it was proposed as one of the remedies to deal with competition challenges in the market. At the moment, Safaricom controls the biggest share of the mobile money market.
But players in the sector have started demonstrating that they can eat into Safaricom’s market share, following increased activities by Equity Bank’s mobile money service, Equitel, which is powered by Airtel.
Equitel appears to be getting a footing after its users transacted Sh322 billion in the three months to September, according to the latest report by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). This is nearly a quarter of what Safaricom’s M-Pesa moved in the period, having transacted Sh1.3 trillion in the period under review.
M-Pesa services posted a market share of 80.8 per cent during the quarter under review.
This saw Equitel Money’s market share grow to 6.8 per cent while Mobikash stood at 6.3 per cent. Airtel Money and Mobile Pay Limited attained 5.8 and 0.3 per cent market shares, respectively.
The growing traction by Equity into the mobile phone space, coming at time when other banks are pushing their own mobile money transfer service, may also dent Safaricom’s hold on the market.
Safaricom has fought efforts to declare it dominant for more than year, as rivals wait on the wings for an opportunity to cash in on such a declaration.
The firm has said on several occasions that it does not believe dominance in itself is a crime. It argues that it cannot be blamed for inefficiencies of its rivals, even as it maintains that it has never abused its dominant position.
Mr Mucheru says that mobile operators have also begun discussions on national roaming and tower sharing, which is also expected to further lower the barriers to entry.
This will provide other avenues for collaboration and sharing infrastructure among the operators and could cut costs of investments.