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Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
Try the businesses making headlines in noon buying and selling.
Alibaba — Shares of the Chinese language e-commerce big jumped greater than 4% after CNBC’s David Faber reported billionaire founder Jack Ma is not missing and he is simply laying low in the interim. There had been speculations about Ma’s disappearance after his Ant Group noticed its record-setting IPO suspended by inventory exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Ma was final seen at a public occasion in October.
JD.com — Shares of the Chinese language e-commerce big rose greater than 9% after a Stifel analyst upgraded them to purchase from maintain. “JD.com stays one of many main eCommerce platforms in China with quite a few secular progress traits to help wholesome long-term progress and ongoing margin growth,” the analyst mentioned.
China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom — Shares of the three Chinese language telecom giants popped after the New York Inventory Change mentioned it no longer plans to delist the shares from their alternate. Shares of China Telecom and China Cellular rose greater than 9% every. Shares of China Unicom rallied greater than 14%.
Diamondback Energy, Exxon Mobil, Chevron — Shares of the oil and power giants rose on Tuesday after U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, broke above $50 for the first time since February. Shares of Diamondback Vitality surged 10%. Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose 5% and three%, respectively.
First Solar — Shares of the photo voltaic firm tanked greater than 9% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the inventory to promote from purchase. The Wall Avenue agency mentioned earnings and income have already peaked for this cycle.
Roku — Shares of Roku gained almost 4% after Wells Fargo hiked its price target on the streaming media firm to a Avenue excessive of $414 from $275. The financial institution mentioned there’s a huge runway for Roku’s progress amid a push into monetizable video-on-demand content material. The brand new worth goal would translate right into a 25% rally within the subsequent 12 months.
Uber — Shares of the experience hailing big popped almost 3% after Needham named Uber a top pick. The Wall Avenue agency mentioned the Covid-19 restoration just isn’t absolutely priced into Uber’s inventory.
Papa John’s International — Shares of the pizza chain gained 2.7% after funding agency Longbow named the stock a top pick. The agency mentioned in a word to purchasers that it’s bullish on new merchandise within the firm’s pipelines and inner enchancment carried out by the comparatively new administration group.
Coca-Cola — The beverage inventory slipped slightly below 1% after Guggenheim downgraded Coca-Cola to impartial from purchase. The funding agency mentioned in a word to purchasers that the corporate goes by way of a “transition” yr and its shares are pretty priced.
— with reporting from CNBC’s Yun Li, Jesse Pound and Pippa Stevens.


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After nine months of testing, Amazon Web Services is now offering its Aurora database as a full commercial service, positioning it as a high-performance alternative to the widely used open source MySQL database.
“For the majority of workloads, we’re recommending Amazon Aurora for database use,” said Matt Wood, Amazon Web Services general manager for product strategy. “We’re expecting customers will use Aurora as their default choice.”
The company claims Aurora can run five times as quickly as a standard MySQL deployment, while offering the reliability of a high-end commercial database.
Amazon unveiled Aurora last November as its Reinvent conference. It adapted the interface of MySQL but used its own back-end cloud technologies to give the system a powerful performance boost.

domain: news


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Wendy's sees sales bump from menu changes
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Changes to its menu appear to be a recipe for success at Wendy's International Inc.
The Dublin-based hamburger chain reported Wednesday its same-store sales at company-owned outlets increased 0.6 percent in the second quarter, compared with a year ago. Franchised restaurants saw sales at outlets open at least a year increase 1 percent.
"Our second quarter represents the best same-store sales period for the Wendy's brand in more than a year-and-a-half," interim CEO Kerrii Anderson said in a release.
Wendy's attributed the improved sales to the nationwide rollout of its Frescata line of deli sandwiches in April. The company's June same-store sales, which increased by 0.4 percent compared to the previous year, was its first monthly sales gain in 14 months.
Among several other changes at its restaurants, including a switch to a healthier oil for french fries, Wendy's said it will be introducing a vanilla Frosty to its menu in August.
Despite the upbeat news for the flagship brand, the company's Baja Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants continued their dismal performance with same-store sales falling 5.5 percent from a year ago.
Tim Hortons Inc. (NYSE:THI), still majority owned by Wendy's after a March initial public offering of stock, reported an 8.3 percent increase in same-store sales in the United States and a 6.1 percent increase at its Canadian outlets. Following the company's (NYSE:WEN) announcement that it will sell its remaining 87 percent stake in the Ontario, Canada-based chain, Standard & Poor's cut the company's credit rating to junk status, saying the spinoff would risk lack of diversification for Wendy's.
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Men sell vegetables at their makeshift stalls at the Empress Market in Karachi. File/Reuters
Pakistan’s former finance minister Asad Umar said that the federal government would conduct separate surveys for urban and rural areas to measure the inflation rate.
The Asian Development Bank has projected that Pakistan’s inflation rate would slow down to 8.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21. “Inflation is forecast to decelerate to 8.3 per cent in FY2021 with the central bank
Pakistan’s consumer price inflation eased to 9.5% in April, its statistics office said on Friday, extending a months-long decline as the economy tanks due to the coronavirus crisis despite three interest rate cuts.
Well renowned personality of Maritime Sector Chairman Pakistan Ship’s Agents Association (PSAA), Vice President Pakistan Stevedores Conference Ltd (PSCL), and Former Vice President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & amp; Industry (FPCCI) Tariq Haleem says that the Pakistani nation,
Lufthansa announces a 20% cut in leadership positions and the reduction of 1,000 administrative jobs,
Following a Monday slide, the greenback was steady on most majors and clung on near a two-week low against a basket of currencies , tracking the mood in equity markets.
By category, production of machine tools were up 27.6 per cent on the month, intermediate goods stagnated at 0.1 per cent and consumer goods were up slightly at 1.4 per cent, the Destatis official statistics agency said.


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Industrial designer students at CPUT were treated to a free talk at a special DRAW session last week Friday, 7 November, when two Swedish Industrial Designers, Hans Tollin and Ralf Rosenberg, visited the university. The Swedish visitors aimed to increase the connection between Swedish design education and similar educations in South Africa.
The design duo have been working together for almost 40 years at their company Designkonsulterana in Gotherburg, Swededn. Their clients have been Swedish industries where they have worked on products such as trams, trains, busses, fork-lift trucks, products for the disabled, among others.
In the last 10 years, both members have also worked in the education sector. Ralf Rosenberg has been engaged as a lecturer at Chalmers Technical University in Gothenburg, responsible for the Master’s program in Industrial Design Engineering. Hans Tollin has worked as a lecturer and supervisor at HDK (School of Design and crafts at the University of Gothenburg.
The special DRAW session took place at Roeland Street and the speakers gave students insight into the industrial design industry from a Swedish perspective. They discussed how Scandinavian design is well known around the world as a functional related way of design by describing cases from their own business and experience.


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When consumers think of wearable personal health devices, they likely picture smartwatches or other wrist-worn gadgets. But as Forbes pointed out in a Nov. 26 article, new headphone-type wearables—dubbed “hearables”—have already grown into a $5 billion market and offer unique capabilities.
Like other wearables, hearables can measure heart rate, track activity through motion sensors and provide fall detection for older patients. They may also be used as hearing aids, measure body temperature and allow users to listen to music while automatically tracking their activity, including speed, activity time and calories burnt.
Read more from Forbes below:


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Samsung is currently cooking up its next version of the s-pen that we find i devices like on it’s Galaxy Note devices and this has not stopped the Korean tech giant from patenting their ‘innovation’. This next generation of s-pens seems to be more smart than the previous versions as features an improved protruding grip, and a slew of communication gadgetry within.
There will be a speaker and a mic allowing it to take phone calls and we highly suspect S Voice and Google Now commands to be supported as well. From the drawings we dont see the final design of the S Pen, although its shape doesn’t seem to bare much changes from what we currently see on the current generation of s-pens.
What we wonder is how thick the final s-pen device will look like, as it seems to pack a lot of communication chips with in. All we know for real, is that Samsung is aiming to make taking calls on large-screen phones and tablets much easier. We saw this same concept of receiving calls on a stylus with Asus Pad in 2012 we only hope Samsung not just copy and paste.


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One day after Washington’s attorney general filed a lawsuit to block Albertsons from giving a $4 billion payout to its shareholders, three more states have filed suit.
The attorneys general of Washington, D.C., California and Illinois on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to bar Albertsons from paying out its “special dividend” on Monday.
Last week, attorneys general from five states and Washington, D.C. called for a formal investigation into the proposed $24.6 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons, while also demanding Albertsons put the brakes on its shareholder payout because to do so could limit Albertsons’ ability to operate and compete against Kroger.
“Albertsons’ rush to secure a record-setting payday for its investors threatens District residents’ jobs and access to affordable food and groceries in neighborhoods where no alternatives exist,” D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement Wednesday. “This would have a particularly devastating impact on struggling people and families with access to fewer grocery stores during a time of historically high inflation.”
On Tuesday, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a similar lawsuit, seeking to block the payout from going forward.
Boise-based Albertsons, in a statement to WGB, called Ferguson’s suit “meritless” and without a legal basis to postpone or block the shareholder payout.
"The allegation that this dividend will somehow hinder our ability to compete in the marketplace is also meritless,” the Albertsons Cos. Spokesperson said. “Given our financial strength and positive business outlook, we are confident that we will maintain our strong financial position as we work toward the closing of the merger. Additionally, payment of the special dividend will not hinder Albertsons Cos.’ ability to continue investing in our stores and technology to provide an even better shopping experience while we continue to operate as an independent company, and it will not impact the agreements that we have made with unions representing our associates to increase wages and benefits.”
Kroger and Albertsons announced merger plans last month, as well as Albertsons’ plans for the $4 billion “special dividend” payout to go out to shareholders on Monday.
If the merger goes through, it would create a grocery giant well-positioned to compete with Walmart, with nearly 5,000 stores, 66 distribution centers, 52 manufacturing plants, 3,972 pharmacies, more than 2,000 fuel centers and 710,000 workers.
Washington D.C. labor union UFCW Local 400, which represents Safeway workers, applauded Racine’s lawsuit.
“If allowed to occur, this payout will leave Albertsons largely depleted of liquid assets and put the livelihoods of countless grocery workers in jeopardy,” UCFW Local 400 President Mark Federici said in a statement


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Recently, the US ban on Huawei has caused tensions in the supply chain. Among them, Taiwan's supply chain will be affected. Some insiders said that the most affected Huawei suppliers will shrink by 30% this year.
On May 21, in order to prevent stock price from being affected by irrational factors, Taiwan's electronic component manufacturers have issued clarifications, including microwave component manufacturer Universal Microwave Technology, Inc. (UMT). Previously, there were media reports that sales to Huawei accounted for 21% of UMT's total revenue.
UMT emphasizes that its products are designed and developed by themselves, not subject to other companies, and do not use any related technology in the United States. The technical aspects are independent, so there is no restriction on the supply of customers. In addition, the products shipped to Huawei are used in microwave communication equipment in communication equipment, not in base stations in mobile phones or communication equipment.
UMT said that in 2012, the United States has banned the use of microwave communication equipment produced by Huawei. In such microwave communication products, the ban is only a continuation of the past ban, not new restrictions, so there will be no additional impact. In addition, Huawei's share of UMT's revenue is only 11.68%, far below the 21% reported by the media.


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Tesla has unveiled its first articulated electric lorry with production due to begin in the US in 2019.
Elon Musk, the company's billionaire chief executive, said the Semi truck is capable of travelling 500 miles on an electric charge.
The tech entrepreneur also said it will cost less than a diesel counterparttaking into consideration fuel savings, lower maintenance and other factors.
"We're confident that this is a product that's better in every way from a feature standpoint," he told a crowd of Tesla fans in California.
Mr Musk did not reveal the vehicle's price but said customers can put down a 5,000 dollar (£3,778) deposit.
The truck will have Tesla's Autopilot system, which can maintain a set speed and slow down automatically in traffic.
It also has a system that automatically keeps the vehicle in its lane.
Mr Musk said several Tesla lorries will be able to travel in a convoy, autonomously following each other.
The company also plans to create a global network of solar-powered "megachargers" that could get the trucks back up to 400 miles of range after charging for only 30 minutes.
The electric car maker also surprised fans with an updated version of its first sports car, the Roadster.
It said the new edition will have 620 miles of range and a top speed of 250mph.
The car, due in 2020, will have a base price of 200,000 dollars (£150,000).
Tesla has been making cars for more than a decade - and more recently, solar panels.
It now looking to diversify into big trucks to help its goal of shifting to sustainable transport.
Mr Musk is involved in many other projects and announced plans he says could allow his SpaceX company to colonise Mars in September.
The tech entrepreneur's projects also include high-speed transit, artificial intelligence research and a new company that is digging tunnels beneath Los Angeles to alleviate traffic congestion.


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Ovum has released its predictions for the mobile payments industry for 2014, with a focus on innovation, disruption, and consolidation.
According to the analyst’s 2014 Trends to Watch report, 2014 will see continued technology and service innovation, particularly around location-based applications in the mobile payments space.
The report identifies outstanding issues in most mature markets, linked to low consumer uptake and the use of m-payment and digital wallet services.
Ovum predicts that consumers will lean towards financial brand-affiliated services. This is backed up by the results of the analyst’s Consumer Insights Survey, with 43% of respondents choosing banks as their most trusted m-payments service provider, followed by credit card companies with 13%, online payment providers with 9% and 6% selecting mobile operators.
“Overall revenue growth for mobile payments in 2014 will be slow and steady rather than spectacular, at least in mature markets,” said Eden Zoller, principal analyst with Ovum’s Consumer Practice. “The different dynamics at work in emerging markets will make for stronger growth among unbanked users. We expect to see much consolidation in the digital wallets space in 2014. There has been an explosion in digital wallet launches over the last two years and this is not sustainable going forward. Consumers will not adopt multiple digital wallets and instead will focus their loyalty and spending with one or possibly two services. The best positioned will be those associated with the financial brands that consumers trust most and are familiar with. It is digital wallets of this kind that have the best chance of achieving scale, and also attracting the advertising dollars that are needed to bolster the business model.”
Key predictions from Ovum for 2014 include an indication that the analyst does not believe near-field communication (NFC) payments will take off in either 2014 or 2015, due to existing alternative technologies being available at a lower cost to merchants and consumers.
However, Ovum has also suggested that there is a chance of hosted card emulation (HCE) helping NFC over the coming year. HCE provides a cloud-based model for NFC, which simplifies service provisioning for issuers, developers, and other third parties. Ovum believes this has the potential to open the NFC market to more innovation and competition.
According to Ovum, consolidation in the mobile point of sale (mPOS) market is increasingly crowded and commoditised, and will only proliferate in 2014. The report suggests that mPOS providers will need to achieve scale and address larger enterprises where they will need to compete with traditional point of sale vendors, which could prove difficult for smaller mPOS providers.
The report also predicts the eminence of Bluetooth low energy (BLE), which will expand the use of BLE beacon payment services and hyper-location retails applications.
And finally, the 2014 Trends to Watch report indicates the potential for a sharp rise in tablet-based mobile commerce in both 2014 and beyond. With consumer tablet adoption growing quickly, and provide a different visual element to displaying of goods. Ovum’s IAB survey of US brands indicated that more advertising spend on tablets is likely in 2014, with 75% of respondents indicating that they expect to see their use of tablets increase during 2014 and 2015.
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Crocs store in New York City.
Michael Brochstein | SOPA pictures | LightRocket | Getty Images
Crocs stock rose more than 8% on Tuesday after the shoe maker increased its full-year sales outlook and posted record sales in the first quarter.
CEO Andrew Rees said global demand for the Crocs brand is “stronger than ever”. Some have dubbed Crocs the “It” shoe of the pandemic as the clog has become a staple for consumers seeking home comfort. Thanks to popular collaborations and limited drops with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Priyanka Chopra, however, the momentum had already increased before that.
Here’s how the shoemaker developed for the quarter ended March 31st, compared to analysts’ expectations based on data from a refinitive survey:
- Earnings per share: $ 1.49 adjusted versus 89 cents expected
- Revenue: $ 460.1 million versus $ 415 million expected
Crocs’ net income rose to $ 98.4 million, or $ 1.47 per share, for the first quarter, compared to $ 11.1 million, or 16 cents per share, last year. Without one-off adjustments, the company earned $ 1.49 per share, well above the 89 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue rose a whopping 64% from $ 281.2 million last year to $ 460.1 million. This exceeded Street’s expectations for $ 415 million.
According to Crocs, digital sales increased 75.3% to 32.3% of sales compared to 30.1% in the same period last year.
For the second quarter, Crocs is now asking for revenue growth between 60% and 70% year over year. According to Refinitiv, analysts were aiming for growth of 39.2%.
For the year, an increase in sales of between 40% and 50% is now expected. Revenue growth of 20% to 25% was planned for February. Analysts had called for an increase of 25%.
While Crocs said there is strong and sustained momentum in America, it sees the greatest long-term growth opportunity in Asia, the world’s second largest footwear market.
It continues to experiment with new designs that build on its classic clog, including the Crocs platform for women. The company told analysts and investors on Tuesday that it will launch more sandals in the future.
Crocs stock is up more than 260% in the past 12 months, making it one of the best-performing stocks in retail during the health crisis era. It has a market cap of $ 5.5 billion.
The full press release from Crocs can be found here.


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Fiat is going to have a big presence at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) next month in Vegas -- the second year the brand, whose U.S. office is under the roof of Chrysler, LLC, has had a presence there. But Fiat is using next month's auto-customizing and aftermarket show as much to get electricity flowing on social media platforms as on the showroom floor in Las Vegas. After all, SEMA -- unlike traditional auto shows -- is not open to the public.
Fiat's efforts around SEMA show how it uses social to proselytize for its lifestyle. Take the SEMA program, "Confessions of a Customizer," accessible at facebook.com/Fiat, www.fiatusa.com/en/social/, Fiat's blog and FiatUSA.com. A parody of those addiction confession ads -- where a subject, whose face is in shadow, lays bare his or her addictions -- the video series has people talking about their addiction to customizing Fiat cars. Linked is a sweepstakes ending this week, where the best uploaded "confession" gets the car-customizing "victim" and a guest a four-day trip to Sin City (where hopefully they will keep their other addictions in check) and entrance to the 2012 SEMA Show starting Oct. 30.
Casey Hurbis, head of advertising and communications for Fiat North America, has a "Customizers Anonymous" meeting with Marketing Daily about social strategy.
Q: Why is Fiat making hay of its SEMA show?
A: People love to customize and accessorize [our cars.] Last year was our first time at SEMA, and we got a huge reaction. This year we will have multiple customized cars there. So we started looking at it as a way to build the Fiat brand. We have gotten to hear peoples' stories -- enthusiasts, owners, intenders. And not just professional customizers -- we have seen folks from every walk of life participating in this. It's a unique opportunity to speak with them and hear their stories.
Q: Is social media an ad platform for Fiat?
A: While we are fortunate to have a huge social footprint as a platform for building brand awareness, we also use social to educate and engage, and it allows us to have conversations with people in that space to get input and suggestions on everything from products to marketing. It's a two-way conversation -- as much as we talk to them, we want to hear back from them as well, so we monitor the space to better understand how our programs and products are being perceived. We use social sites like YouTube as defacto focus groups. For example, we wanted to get consumer feedback on the Charlie Sheen commercial [for the Fiat 500 Abarth performance variant, an ad that was pulled at the last minute for a tamer one]. In a sense the interest and engagement we got running on YouTube gave us confidence to run the commercial in the Super Bowl. [The ad has gotten some 4 million views on YouTube]
Q: How much have you grown your audience on social media?
A: People who want to be Fiat owners are buying into a lifestyle. We knew that coming over to the U.S. And, really, that's where social plays well. Right now we have about 530,000 fans on Facebook, and 58,000 on Twitter. On YouTube this year alone, we have gotten about 16 million views of Fiat content. We are getting 900,000 visits per month to the Fiat Web site. Our new blog, Fiat Backstage [blog.FiatUSA.com, launched in late June] is yet another great forum for additional stories. And we have had some 300,000 people come to that already.
Q: Are you getting those kinds of numbers in the mobile space?
A: In mobile, we have seen a sharp increase in Web site traffic over the past six to eight months. It's growing very quickly, so we are concentrating on the digital creative and media space in terms of how to invest wisely; the percentage of smartphone users is increasing fast.
Q: What about tablet and mobile apps? Isn't there an inherent "download and forget" problem with apps if there isn't compelling, updated content?
A: We do have a Fiat app we update several times a year, because if you launch it and put it out there and don't keep people engaged, they will forget it and not come back. So we are always putting more interesting content and experiences on the app.
Q: The big challenge for marketers now has to be sifting through all of the digital options, and dealing with endless pitches from third-party "solutions" people.
A: I have five people standing outside my door right now who want to come talk to me. There are 15 mobile media companies who have set up Detroit offices in the past year and a half. But what I find interesting is how fast everything is moving, and the challenge is how we can tag along for that ride. It's so refreshing to sit in room with bright people and see how media space is expanding. That's probably the most exciting part of the job.


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In an effort to bring all user feedback together, Microsoft is going to shut down its UserVoice sites for Windows and Windows Phone in favour of the built-in Feedback app.
User voice RSS
Microsoft posted on their User Voice page that Cortana is now integrated with Wolfram Alpha - but it only works for basic math, and it's still using Bing, so is it really integrated?
Are you bored of the Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones' design? A Windows Phone enthusiast has created a concept of what he believes could be the ideal OS, a design which may please everyone.


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If you want to get a new Xbox One for the starting price of just $299, you only have about a day to jump on that discount. Microsoft has once again confirmed that the current $50 price cut on most of its Xbox One consoles in the U.S. will indeed end after Saturday, April 30.
Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's Head of Xbox Games Marketing, gave us the definitive answer via his Twitter account:
You can still get that discount from now until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on April 30 (2:59 a.m. Eastern Time May 1). Most Xbox One bundles come with at least one free game, with the 1TB Spring Bundle available with four free game downloads for $349.


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Robert Mason Co. stationery shop to take part in Moonlight Market
The Columbus Dispatch - May 06, 2014 11:25 AM
An April 15 fire may have wrecked the Robert Mason Co. stationery shop, but the local business will be open Saturday night for the May Moonlight Market.
While the building remains closed, Robert Mason will set up shop in front of its former store at 11 E. Gay St.
Because the fire consumed the store’s inventory, Robert Mason will offer some special items for the Gay Street nighttime street fest. One will be a Robert Mason/Zeroz dual branded wallet.
Zeroz, which produces its own slim wallets, is in a shop next door to Robert Mason. Proceeds of the co-branded wallet sales will help Robert Mason’s efforts to return to business full time.
Other products on sale during Saturday’s event include: Robert Mason T-shirts featuring Mason in a Columbus Fire Department helmet; Robert Mason double wrap leather wristband with the word Inspired and the Robert Mason signature; and Mother’s Day cards.


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Stock video footage, B-roll goes 4K in a big way
DetailsMichelle Clancy | 12 July 2015
4K may be making headway in the entertainment realm, but B-roll and stock footage is seeing its effect as well.
According to Pond5, a marketplace for royalty-free video footage, more than three years of internal data from the company's network of 40,000 contributing artists shows that after two years of sluggish growth, 4K uploads surged in 2014 and into this year. Since the first quarter of 2014, Pond5 has seen a near tenfold increase in the number of Ultra HD video uploads.
Because of the growing popularity of drones, a significant portion of these clips consist of 4K aerial footage, which has grown swiftly along with overall 4K uploads. Aerial 4K uploads have increased by a multiple of five since the first quarter of 2014.
"At Pond5, we've always strived to stay at the forefront of new technologies and trends in video production," said Pond5 cofounder and CEO Tom Bennett. "We've made sure that we offer the largest collection of 4K+ resolution video clips in the world, and as consumers and video producers grow to expect the highest quality video available, 4K will remain a top priority."
In addition to its unrivaled collection of royalty-free 4K footage, Pond5 recently introduced Backlots and Backlots+ video formats — 160-degree green screen backlots with an effective resolution of 8K.


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Researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have successfully created electricity-generating solar cells with chemicals found in shrimp cells.
The cells are made from chitin and chitosan which are found in the shells of shrimps and other crustaceans and are significantly cheaper to produce than expensive metals, such as ruthenium, which are currently used for making nano-structured solar cells.
The efficiency of solar cells made with this material is currently fairly low, but if it can be improved the cells could be included in everything from wearable chargers for tablets, phones and smartwatches to semi-transparent films over windows.
Researchers from QMUL’s School of Engineering and Materials Science used a process known as hydrothermal carbonization to create the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from the chemicals found in crustacean shells, which are widely available and cheap. The researchers then coated standard zinc oxide nanorods with the CQDs to make the solar cells.
“This could be a great new way to make these versatile, quick and easy to produce solar cells from readily available, sustainable materials” said Dr Joe Briscoe, one of the researchers on the project. “Once we’ve improved their efficiency they could be used anywhere that solar cells are used now, particularly to charge the kinds of devices people carry with them every day.”
Professor Magdalena Titirici, Professor of Sustainable Materials Technology at QMUL, added that the new techniques mean that it is now possible to produce new materials from organic by-products that are already easily available. These sustainable materials can be both high-tech and low-cost. Biomass, such as algae, can also be used to make supercapacitors that can store power in consumer electronics, in defibrillators and can be used for energy recovery in vehicles.


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Yahoo Search has been experimenting with colors, features and layouts, as the company tries to determine the correct mix to boost clicks across properties and query traffic on its search engine, as well as increase revenue per thousand searches (RPM).
A light-screen purple background highlights the search page with a cleaner look, along with tabs at the top of the page rather than under the search bar. Ads appear in the query stream under "Personal Results for You." Several searches serve up multiple configurations depending on the query, specifically using a Firefox browser.
"Yahoo is continually developing and testing new product concepts in an effort to offer the most delightful experiences for users and advertisers," according to a Yahoo spokesperson. "We don't have anything new to announce at this time."
The Sunnyvale, Calif. tech company has a few announcements forthcoming. If Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has her way, purple will become the hot color as the company makes the Internet a more creative canvas.
Yahoo has been pushing for search users to log in even with a Google or a Facebook account. But the one-sign-in model creates more questions than the companies are prepared to answer. Signing in allows users to customize the categories of information they received about Yahoo products and services or opt out of each, but which owns the data when logging in to Yahoo Search from a Google or Facebook log-in?
Do the companies share the data? Can the two target ads across company platforms? There is also the issue of where Microsoft Bing comes into the mix, since it supports the back-end technology for Yahoo Search.


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New businesses are about to start popping up in downtown Baraboo.
Looking to boost traffic around the courthouse square and give fledgling businesses a shot in the arm, Downtown Baraboo Inc. is sponsoring three “pop-up shops” for the holiday shopping season.
“It’s a way to add some excitement, some new shops during the holiday season,” DBI President Lacey Steffes said. “It gives them some exposure and creates more traffic downtown.”
With support from the city’s Business Improvement District and the project’s lead sponsor, the Cross, Jenks, Mercer & Maffei law firm, three businesses will set up shop in vacant storefronts. Lodge Coffee Roasters, Urbanwood Studio and From My Porch will open Oct. 7 during the fall Fair on the Square, and remain downtown through year’s end.
Lodge Coffee Roasters, which specializes in hand-roasted coffee, will get its first shot at operating a brick-and-mortar store, after starting with online sales and farmers markets.
“This presents a unique opportunity,” co-founder Ryan Ramnarace said.
The company plans to share its new space with local artists such as Tierra Jackson.
“We want to utilize the opportunity we have to give exposure to other artists and musicians,” Ramnarace said.
Jackson works in a variety of media, creating designs for posters, rubber stamps, tote bags and skateboards. She’s working on an updated version of her children’s book, “Crazy Carrot Curls,” and sells prints of her paintings.
She started creating art as a business 1 1/2 years ago, selling items online through Etsy and other sites. Jackson learned during a month-long exhibition at Con Amici Wine Bar that doing business from a public location has benefits.
“It was great to hear the feedback from everyone,” Jackson said.
Exposure was another plus, and it’s a key component of the “pop-up shop” concept.
“I think a lot of people in town don’t even know that I do this,” said Jackson, a graphic artist who has branched out into other media. “It’ll be a nice opportunity to sell local artwork as gifts.”
Urbanwood Studio designs and creates hand-sanded wood furniture. From My Porch sells repurposed home décor. Those two businesses, along with Lodge Coffee Roasters, saw their applications for “pop-up shops” selected by DBI. In addition to free rent, they’ll get access to advice from DBI members, including the law firm sponsoring the project.
“We’re hoping there will be a lot of collaboration downtown,” Steffes said.


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Tag: united fresh produce association
United Fresh releases Fall ‘Fresh Insights for Foodservice’- General News
The fall 2021 issue of United Fresh’s Fresh Insights for Foodservice is now available.
United Fresh Start Foundation to host “Back to School” discussion series- General News
The United Fresh Start Foundation will host a “Back to School with Fruits and Veggies” Discussion Series the week of July 26-30.
United Fresh Produce Association announces scholarship application period open- General News
United Fresh Produce Association is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2021 Frieda Rapoport Caplan Family Business Scholarship is now open.
United Fresh elects new Chairman of the Board- General News
With the recent decision of the Board of Directors and endorsement of the membership to combine with the Produce Marketing Association to form a new association in 2022, the current United Fresh Board of Directors, market segment boards and expert advisory councils will remain in place and continue to guide the association through 2021.
PMA/United merger: what you need to know now- General News
At a virtual press conference held on April 1, leaders from both organizations shared some insight into why they’re coming together now, after decades of speculation and nearly a decade after previous negotiations fell apart.
Private label: The elephant in the room- Featured
How does a brand marketing conference tackle retail pressure to private label?
Foodservice needs more help to rebound- General News
While it’s no secret that restaurants have suffered the past 10 months, those in the day-to-day business say their stories still aren’t being heard enough.
United Fresh kick starts 2021 with new programming- General News
Ten thought-provoking sessions will bring together peers across the industry. Each curated experience has been developed to be able to learn from experts, but then also engage each other immediately in peer-to-peer break-out discussions.
Packaged produce continues growth in latest retail report- Retail
Packaged produce is more conducive to click-and-collect shopping, as well as a faster, more value-conscious shopping experience in-store for consumers.
Making progress to speed up traceback- General News
Food safety work in the produce industry continue to make strides, as recent investigation pilots showed a path toward a quicker, more streamlined traceback process.


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- Rep. Tlaib, the Only ‘Conspiracy’ is that Government Relies on Smokers for Revenue - October 24, 2019
- CDC to Spend Millions Combatting E-Cigs after States Link Hospitalizations to THC - October 22, 2019
- Shady Companies and Black Market Substances, Not JUUL, Are Causing Hospitalizations - October 10, 2019
On Tuesday, HB 2342 advanced from the Pennsylvania House Committee on Finance with a vote 19-4 to alter the Commonwealth’s new tax on e-cigarettes and vapor products, which is set to take effect October 1.
The vaping tax, a “40 percent tax on the wholesale price of electronic cigarettes” was included as part of a $1.3 billion tax increase which passed in July. Since then vape shop owners have been facing uncertainty, and some have even shut down their businesses. The day before the house committee vote, advocacy groups rallied at the Capitol and told Dave Marcheskie of ABC27 News that 50 vape shops in Pennsylvania have closed due to the tax.
An alternative tax sponsored by Representative Jeff C. Wheeland (R-Williamsport) introduced in August would substitute the 40 percent tax with a 5-cents-per-milliliter tax, creating a much more manageable tax for vape shop owners and consumers.
In a memorandum, Rep. Wheeland expressed his concern over the impact that the tax would have on vape shops, stating “[i]f these small businesses do decide to close and lay off workers, not only will the new vape tax revenues fall short of estimates, but the state may lose significant sales and income tax revenues.”
Bob Dick, senior policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation commented that the “tax unfairly targeted one industry to the point of near extinction. We’ve already seen approximately 50 vapes shops close their doors because of this tax, and more will follow unless it is repealed.”
In August, Heartland interviewed Chris Hughes, owner of Fat Cat Vapor Shop, LLC, a vape shop in Montoursville, Pennsylvania for a podcast. During the interview Hughes expressed fears that he would have to shut down shop due to the tax. In September, Fat Cat Vapor Shop did shut down its doors “and will remain closed unless a fix to the 40% tax is implemented soon.”
The committee’s vote today is a positive step for vaping consumers and small business owners who are facing extinction with this very misguided tax. As tobacco harm reduction products, electronic cigarettes and vaping products have helped thousands of smokers quit traditional tobacco products. More importantly, they have created a new industry that adds to the economy. The proposed 40 percent tax would decimate the industry and could force those who quit smoking and have switched to vaping to switch back to smoking traditional cigarettes, which are significantly more harmful.


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FILE PHOTO: Cans of Dulux paint, a brand of Akzo Nobel, are seen on the shelves of a hardware store near Manchester, Britain, April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble
March 14, 2022
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch paint and coatings maker Akzo Nobel expects its four plants in Russia to shut down within months due to economic sanctions and shortages of raw materials, its chief executive told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday.
“We are quite realistic that this will lead to a gradual, if not normal, cessation of business over a month, two month period,” CEO Thierry Vanlancker said of Akzo’s Russian operations.
“Either because the raw materials are no longer available, or because the main customer somewhere cannot pay.”
The products Akzo makes for retail and industrial customers in Russia are not subject to any sanctions regime, company spokeswoman Diana Abrahams told Reuters.
However, she said that the company’s supply chain in Russia has been affected by the effects of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries.
“…it is clear that even products that are not sanctioned are and will be hit. The entire chain from delivery to the customer is broken,” she said.
Abrahams said Akzo is reviewing daily what it can do to help its 640 employees in Russia and its 17 employees in Ukraine, without giving further details.
Akzo’s four Russian plants generate annual sales of around 200 million euros ($219 million), or just over 2% of the total sales of 9.6 billion euros last year.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Susan Fenton)
https://www.oann.com/akzo-nobel-expects-its-russian-plants-to-go-out-of-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=akzo-nobel-expects-its-russian-plants-to-go-out-of-business Akzo Nobel plans to close its Russian plants


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The Alliance News Network is a brilliant marketing strategy for Mass Effect 3
In one of the most brilliant uses of social media marketing ever employed, Bioware has taken on a kind of role playing with the Twitter account The Alliance News Network just pre-launch of Mass Effect 3.
In light of Mass Effect 3 being officialy released in, oh, almost now, Bioware has taken it upon themselves to start using Twitter as a means to rally the community around the game’s release. The Alliance News Network has been in full effect all over the place as Emily Wong, the plucky reporter featured in the Mass Effect games has been giving what looks to be a first hand account of the Reaper invasion.
Using the hashtag “solcomms” on Twitter, the account has sparked the entire community, all of whom are excited for the release of the third installment of the Mass Effect series, to participate. Everyone seems to be rooting for Emily Wong, and for Humanity as a whole. Other game lore related accounts have also popped up to play along and I have to say this is one of the most fantastic displays of social media marketing I have ever seen.
With several midnight launches on the way, including a livestream event, there is huge excitement in the air in the wee hours before all of us common-folk get our hands on game.
I have to say, everyone – this has been really fun and exciting. If you get a chance to look at all the feeds on Twitter, please do. It’s an excellent extra flavor to the already nice storytelling of Bioware. I have personally found myself genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of the fictional character of Emily Wong and all whom she encounters. The Reapers are here, everyone – and Bioware is making the most of it.


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A&K Travel Group (AKTG) has revealed plans to build four new Crystal Cruises ships by the end of 2029.
The group, which acquired the line last year after it entered bankruptcy under the ownership of Genting Hong Kong, will build two expedition ships and two standard ships to join Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, which have both been refurbished under AKTG.
AKTG chief executive Cristina Levis made the announcement at a press briefing held on the shakedown cruise for Crystal Serenity on July 29, ahead of its inaugural sailing from Marseille on July 31.
She said: “We are working closely with our lenders, with naval architects and with two shipbuilding companies in Europe to build four more ships.
“Our aim is to have the four new-builds completed by the end of 2029. [There will be] two expedition ships and two classic ships.”
Levis revealed plans are “quite advanced”, with construction for one of the expedition ships and one of the regular ships expected to start in spring next year, but stressed the company has not yet signed a ship-building contract. The group hopes the first ship will be delivered in 2026.
Crystal Cruises senior vice-president of hotel operations Bernie Leypold and his team have been working on developing the quartet of new ships while refurbishing Serenity and Symphony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste, added Levis.
The Ice-class expedition ships, which will each have a capacity of about 220 passengers, will offer itineraries in the Arctic and Antarctica but will not be restricted to the polar regions.
The other two new builds, which will each carry approximately 650 passengers, will be similar in style to Serenity and Symphony but with a slightly more relaxed feel, revealed chief marketing officer Peter Chipchase.
Chipchase, who joined A&K in December 2022, believes now is the perfect time to expand and “elevate” the line’s fleet.
He said: “You can see from the way the cruise industry is moving, with new players coming in from the hotel space, that it is in a real growth phase.
“These new brands will come in and pitch their product at an ultra-high level. We feel that, where the market currently is, there’s a space in between luxury and ultra-luxury.
“We think we can elevate our product to ensure we still appeal to our current customers, who we’re still really focused on, while attracting new people to Crystal.”


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One of the big headlines last week was the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI by Microsoft Corporation MSFT. The deal marks the largest in Microsoft’s history and will create the third-largest video game company by revenue if approved.
Investors who bet on Activision when it merged two of the biggest names in the industry have previously enjoyed strong returns.
What Happened: Video game publisher Activision was a strong player in the console space but was seeking to add growth and exposure to the PC segment, which led to a merger to create a video game giant.
On July 8, 2008, Activision agreed to merge with Vivendi Games in an $18.9 billion deal. The deal brought the Blizzard portfolio of games that included “World of Warcraft,” “Starcraft” and “Diablo” under the Activision Blizzard umbrella.
“World of Warcraft” was the number one subscription-based MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online role-playing game) at the time and was the fastest-selling PC game in the U.S. when it was released in 2004.
“We have created the world leader in online and console games with this transaction and the combined strengths of the two businesses offer immense growth potential,” Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said at the time of the deal.
Vivendi held a 52% stake in the new Activision Blizzard company after the deal. Years later, Activision Blizzard would buy back shares from Vivendi.
Activision Blizzard is being acquired by Microsoft for $68.7 billion, or $95 a share. The deal will bring the iconic Activision and Blizzard games to the owner of the Xbox console and other game studios.
Investing $1,000: Investors and gamers who recognized the potential value of the combined Activision Blizzard company and its portfolio of games have seen a strong return over the past 13 1/2 years.
A $1,000 investment in ATVI shares on July 8, 2008, could have purchased 63 shares based on a high price of $15.87. Those 63 shares would be worth $5,038.11 today based on a price of $79.97 for ATVI shares.
Investors would have realized a gain of 404% in their investment of ATVI shares from the time of the merger with Blizzard, representing an average annual gain of 29.9%.
The investment could be worth even more if the deal with Microsoft is approved and shares are bought for $95 each by the tech giant.
Photo: World of Warcraft, courtesy Activision Blizzard
© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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- A new, official-looking render shows the design of the Pixel Watch.
- Google's first Pixel smartwatch could come with a round and bezel-less display.
- Google Store adds Watches category.
Last year, we've been served by a big Pixel Watch leak shared by fabled leaker, Jon Prosser. The marketing image leaked this week confirms the purported circular look of the Google Pixel Watch. In addition, the different colors for both the lower casing of the smartwatch and its straps were also a topic back then.
Google Pixel Smartwatch could feature round, bezel-less OLED display
Fast forward today, a new render of the Pixel Watch adds credibility to last year's claim of the smartwatch's design. The new image shared by 91mobiles suggests major details about the smartwatch of Google.
The familiar rounded face display that stretches all the way to the back is present together with a digital crown button at the ride side. Different health functions are also shown including the heart rate and step count common to pretty much all modern fitness trackers.
Like most premium smartwatches, the Pixel Watch could also feature an always-on OLED screen. There is also an indicator positioned at the bottom center of the screen with a yet unknown functionality. In terms of other specs, the Pixel Watch could be powered by a Samsung Exynos chipset, and it is expected to run on the latest Wear OS based on the previous rumors surrounding it.
Redesigned Google Store adds 'Watches' category
A design change on the Google Store website has also been spotted: a watches category has been added. Clicking on the tab brings you to the entire Fitbit wearable lineup being sold by Google. However, this could also mean that the redesign is meant for the upcoming products of the company including its first Pixel smartwatch.
- Find out: Top fitness trackers to buy in 2022!
All of these will be confirmed next month during the Google I/O Developer Conference where the budget Pixel 6a smartphone and Android 13 are also expected to be introduced.
Which features of the Pixel Watch are you looking forward to? Hit us in the comment section.


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Malaysia’s esports environment receives a boost as Galaxy Racer invests $10 million into it- In the past few years, the esports scene has developed tremendously across the world. The Southeast Asian countries have also seen the growth of esports across many gaming titles. Malaysia is an important part of the region as it has produced many notable esports players, especially for DOTA 2. Still, other games are also becoming popular here. There is good news for Malaysian players as the country will be getting a major sponsor to boost its esports ecosystem.
— Yahoo Esports and Gaming SEA (@YahooEsportsSEA) January 13, 2022
Malaysia’s esports environment receives a boost as Galaxy Racer invests $10 million into it
Galaxy Racer is one of the fastest-growing esports, gaming, and lifestyle organizations globally. Its headquarters are in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. They have now planned to expand into the Asia Pacific region and will have a regional headquarters in Malaysia. To make esports more prevalent, Galaxy Racer has announced that they plan to invest $10 million into the Malaysian esports scene.
The organization plans to do this by investing in different esports competitions and events of various games that will be held here. This amount will be slowly pumped into Malaysia’s esports ecosystem over the course of 5 years. This cooperation was made official when the officials from Malaysia’s government and the top brass from Galaxy Racer met in Dubai and released a Memorandum of Understanding exchange.
Galaxy Racer sees huge growth potential for Malaysia in future
Paul Roy, the Founder, and CEO of Galaxy Racer have commented that Malaysia has a strong vision to become a large economy and developer of digital solutions in the future. He is excited to establish his Asia Pacific headquarters here and looks forward to helping the Malaysian government facilitate more foreign investments into the country.
Galaxy Racer has announced that they plan to focus on six different sectors related to gaming. It will be new content, formation of esports teams, helping content creators, organizing esports and gaming events, providing attractive merchandise, creating a music label, and finally an animation studio. Such a grand plan will surely boost the gaming industry in Malaysia and provide opportunities to more local talent.


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FedEx keeps rolling with acquisitions, snaps up Bongo International
FedEx has had a big week, from its announced acquisition of reverse-logistics firm GENCO to an increase of profits and revenues in 2014. The latest good news to come from its Memphis headquarters is the purchase of Bongo International, an international delivery solutions firm that will help the company boost its capabilities shipping parcels around the world.
Bongo is a company that sports more than 250,000 clients and 2,000 retail partners, according to a FedEx press release. While international delivery was one of the major market segments where FedEx boosted profits this year, the company clearly isn't finished building out its services. Bongo offers assistance with customs, compliance, money conversion, fraud protection and tax/fee estimations for packages shipped between countries.
Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Bongo will operate as a subsidiary of FedEx's growing international shipping section.
"Bongo International's end-to-end cross border enablement capabilities will greatly enhance the FedEx portfolio of global e-commerce solutions and provide customers with unmatched flexibility to establish and expand their international business and customer base," said Michael Glenn, FedEx Corporation Executive Vice President, Market Development and Corporate Communications.
The two acquisitions this week present a couple of lessons for entrepreneurs looking to sell their companies. First, acquisition strategy can have multiple parts, with several mergers designed to help a corporation grow in separate target areas. Second, the rise of ecommerce around the world demonstrates that FedEx's recent purchases are driven by an evolving marketplace with ever-more-demanding customer expectations for service and quality assurance.
With strong growth figures for 2014, FedEx is now primed to achieve further success in expanding its presence around the world. Bongo could ultimately have shareholders and customers heralding a major "bingo."


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Elon Musk has sold another 19.5 million shares of Tesla, the electric car maker worth $3.95bn (£3.4bn), filings with the US financial watchdog show.
The news comes less than two weeks after the world’s richest man completed his $44bn takeover of Twitter.
Tesla’s share price has fallen by more than 50% since the start of this year.
BBC reports that Tesla is recalling just over 40,000 of its vehicles in the US because of a potential problem with their power-steering.
The reason for the latest sales, which took place in the last week, has not yet been disclosed.
The latest sale brings the total value of Tesla shares sold by Mr Musk to almost $20bn.
He sold $8.5bn of Tesla stock in April this year and around another $7bn worth in August.
Writing by Chinasa Ossai, Editing by Omotola Oguneye


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India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has called for tax deductions on lithium-ion batteries to help the country’s growing electric vehicle and renewable energy storage markets.
Not content with a tax cut, IESA has gone a step further in also calling for a sales ban of internal combustion engined two and three-wheelers in highly polluted cities.
In 2020, the goods and service tax (GST) council reduced the rates on electric vehicles from 12% to 5%. Battery with solar is at 5% and the GST for lithium-ion stationary storage batteries is at 18%.
Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, president of IESA, told Indian news outlet Telangana Today: “Thus, a level-playing field for GST on batteries for all energy storage technologies and applications is the need of the hour. We request the Finance Ministry to consider allowing stationary energy storage systems used in the hybrid projects to avail the 5% GST allowed for renewable energy devices and related systems.”
India’s battery use in stationary and motive applications is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade.
The electric vehicles (EV) market in India hit around 4.98 lakh (million) units last year and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 36% by 2026.
The total capacity of energy storage added in 2018 was around 4.75 GWh and is expected to grow to 28GWh by 2026.


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In the early years of mobile phones, Nokia established itself as a household name. The company eventually released other products which got the same attention as its mobile phones. However, Nokia lost its touch many years ago. Nevertheless, after HMD Global took over, the company is bouncing back but the ride has not been easy. Nokia is not giving up and it keeps throwing its hat into the ring. In the past, Nokia has previously launched gaming phones such as the N-Gage in 2003. However, the company did not continue to explore this field, even though gaming phones have been proven to have a large market. But, recent reports reveal the upcoming Nokia gamepad.
Gizchina News of the week
The Nokia gamepad appears on the Bluetooth certification database as we can see from the screenshots. This could represent the first time the Nokia brand will launch a gamepad-like product, thanks to StreamView’s brand licensing partnership. StreamView has launched many Nokia TVs and streaming media devices in Europe. Now, there are multiple models of Nokia Game Controllers that have passed Bluetooth certification and support Bluetooth 5.0 functions. According to reports, the Nokia gamepads will likely launch in the near future.
Nokia PureBook Fold / PureBook on their way?
In addition to the Nokia gamepad, another Nokia branded licensee, “Offglobal”, has submitted applications for Bluetooth certification. The submission is for the Nokia PureBook Fold and Nokia PureBook Lite laptops. This suggests that they will launch the Fold and Lite series of Nokia PureBook laptops in Europe under the Nokia name.
At present, Offglobal has launched the Nokia PureBook Pro notebook computer in Europe. This includes the two screen sizes of 17.3 inches and 15.6 inches notebooks. These notebooks come with the Intel Core i3-1220P processor. In addition, this device also comes with 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of internal storage.


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Imagine sipping an espresso (or something stronger) on a 70-meter-long office terrace - your office terrace – with sweeping views of Stockholm. This is the essence of ROOFTOP, a modern penthouse office to be opened in 2017 at Fleming7, with access to gym, conference facilities and more. Open is delighted to be helping promote these two top-modern floors of premium office spaces close to the stars.
Open Communications is proud to announce that Daniel Askergren has joined its Stockholm creative hub as Senior Account Director. From strategy to brand activation in multiple channels, he brings deep knowledge of both B2B and B2C brands with more than 15 years of international experience. Welcome aboard Daniel!
We're thrilled to announce that Daniel Askergren has joined our growing pool of international talent at Open Communications as Senior Account Director. Daniel has an extensive background in the agency world, having worked previously as Account Director at Ottoboni, one of Sweden's largest digital agencies, and at DDB as Nordic Client Services Director.
With all due respect to PPT and printed brochures, many sales teams today are taking advantage of interactive brochures with embedded video, diagrams and more that allow them to address customer challenges. With a mere swipe and click, customers can drill down to relevant content and mail it too. Open was pleased to create such a presentation for Sandvik's oil and gas business - an industry first.
Sometimes its the smallest customers that have the highest demands. Sensitive to particular flavors, they need their food to be the right consistency, easy to digest and 100% pure. This is just one of the countless separation challenges being solved by Andritz Separation, the Austria-based industrial separation specialists, that is now launching a global campaign developed by Open Stockholm.
Industrial separation is used to produce so many things - beer, olive oil, chemicals and more. But what if you're the world leader in this area and few have heard of you? This is something that Andritz Separation, the Austria-based pioneer in industrial separation, is now seeking to change through an awareness campaign covering 40 markets worldwide.
Industrial separation is used for so many things in life - beer, olive oil, chemicals and more. But what if you're the world leader in this area and few have heard of you? This is something that Andritz Separation, the Austria-based global leader in industrial separation, is now seeking to change with an awareness campaign targeting 40 markets worldwide.
Just about everything around us has been separated in one way or another: Beer, olive oil, chemicals and more. But what if you're a global leader in this area and people don't know your name? That is what Andritz Separation, the Austria-based industrial separation specialists, is seeking to change, with a new campaign breaking in 40 global markets.
Beer. Olive oil. Chemicals. Just about everything has been separated in one way or another. But what if you're the world leader in separation and few know your brand name? This is something that Andritz Separation, the Austria-based leader in industrial separation technologies, is intent on changing. Together with Open in Stockholm, they're launching a new communications concept in 40 countries.
A highly versatile and skilled graphic designer, Jeanette worked previously at MullenLowe (Lowe Brindfors), King, Grey and Paradiset DDB. She brings with her 20 years' experience and hundreds awards to her name through her work on traditional and digital communication for clients like Saab, Pharmacia, SAS, Swedbank, BMW, Ericsson, Tiger, Spendrups, Telia, Gevalia, Arla, Thomson Travel and more.


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ThyssenKrupp AG will reportedly gain more than $350 million from the sale of its Krupp Seeschiffahrt shipping unit. The unit, which has annual turnover of about $200 million, will be sold to General Ore Intl., which is a U.S. based company. - (Reuters)
The European Union and South Korea said last week that they had reached an agreement aimed at allaying European concerns that South Korean shipyards charged unfairly low prices. The EU and South Korea have held several rounds of talks in the last few months after the EU accused South Korea of using western subsidies to sell ships at below construction cost and of putting European rivals out of business. EU and South Korea said in a joint statement that they had reached an agreement which aims
A multinational shipping firm that has signed a deal to have its ships built at an Indian shipyard, which is still under construction, has already sold the ships, an indication of growing demand for ocean-going vessels. This is the first time such a thing is happening at an Indian shipyard. The yard, Pipavav Shipyard Ltd, is under construction and will not start building ships before February 2008. On 19 March, the Bermuda-based Golden Ocean Group Ltd
The European Union is considering taking action against South Korea under the World Trade Organization, accusing the country of using western subsidies to sell ships at below construction cost and putting European rivals out of business. "The sector is facing a critical situation worldwide with very low prices and a serious overcapacity caused by the Republic of Korea," EU industry ministers said after a regular meeting where they discussed a European Commission report on the world
Odfjell has entered into an agreement to sell the coated parcel tanker MT Bow Maasslot (38,039 dwt/built 1982) for recycling in India by the end of January 2010. The sales price is close to the book value. The vessel has Green Passport and buyers undertake that the recycling yard shall submit a working plan corresponding to IMO guidelines for ship recycling.
BULKERS Molat - (built 1977) 37,836 dwt sold for $1 million. Sea Resource - (built 1977) 27,000 dwt sold to Taiwanese buyers for $1.35 million. Neptune Akabar - (built 1986) 21,650 dwt sold to Chinese buyers for $5.3 million. Top Concord - (built 1984) 21,362 dwt sold for $4.25 million. Bravo - (built 1988) 15,900 dwt sold at auction for $950,000 with delivery as is laid up in Immingham. Alpha Accord - (built 1985) 7,015 dwt sold for $1.7 million. TANKERS
Shipsales Some of these sales may not be final – (Reuters) . BULKERS Western Team - (built 1984) 43,296 dwt sold to Greek buyers for $6.9 million. Lara - (built 1985) 8,517 dwt sold to Italian buyers for $2.1 million. Lady Danielle - (built 1978) 21,310 dwt sold to U.S. based buyers for $1.4 million. SOLD FOR DEMOLITION BULKERS Hellenic Confidence - (built 1977) 17,616 dwt sold for $192 per light displacement tonne delivery India. TWEENDECKER
In accordance with the objectives of the 2003-2007 strategic plan, BOURBON is disposing of its nonmarine service operations and is selling its sugar assets in Vietnam. Following the incorporation of Sucrerie de Bourbon Tay Ninh (Vietnam) as a joint stock company, Bourbon is announcing the sale of 49% of its stake, with a commitment to retain the balance for a period of three years. Firstly, 24% of the shares have been sold today to strategic Vietnamese investors and
New online service by YachtX.com eliminates brokerage commission & simplifies the sales of pleasure boats YachtX, Inc. launch the boating industry's first online yacht exchange. YachtX.com removes the obstacles that have inhibited owner-managed selling of high value boats and yachts – rendering the expense of commission-based yacht brokerage obsolete. Selling a boat is a specialized process. Until now
Interesting week for dry S+P market according to shipbrokers, research analysts, Clarksons The report is as follows: Chinese buyers (Winning Group) have acquired two Capes; the modern M/V REGENA N (180,277 dwt 2006 blt Imabari) at region US$ 33.9m and the vintage M/V CAPE AMERICA (149,515 dwt 1991 blt CSBC) at US$ 8.5m. On another sale, undisclosed Greek buyers acquired the M/V IRON YANDI (169,963 dwt 1996 blt Daewoo) at US$ 13.5m.
While much of the focus on Ballast Water Management issues is on the big ship, blue water fleet, there is a growing large need for BWMS on large modern offshore vessels, too. Hyde Marine has long been active in the worldwide effort to control the spread of aquatic invasive species in ballast water
Edward R. Sacks Named as President of North American Operations On 10 May 2013, International Shipyards Ancona (ISA) announced the grand opening of its North American operations with an office at the Portside Yachting Center on at the 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale
Nam Cheong International secured sale contracts for an Anchor Handling Towing Supply (AHTS) and four Platform Supply Vessels ( PSV's). The total value of the contracts is $110 million. The 12,000 brake horsepower (bhp) AHTS vessel was sold to a new customer in Indonesia
Experts from the offshore energy industry around the world came together May 6-9 for the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference at Reliant Park in Houston. Attendance at the conference reached a 30-year high of 104,800, the second highest in show history and up 17% from last year.
The Finland PM is hopeful that a strong new owner can turn around the prospects of the cash-strapped Finnish shipyards. This past week, the South Korean parent company STX announced it plans to sell off the Rauma and Turku shipyards as well as its half-share in the Helsinki shipyard
StealthGas Inc., has increased the size of its stock offering, & will sell 10-million shares at $10 each using the proceeds towards purchase of 5 ships. The gross proceeds from the offering before the underwriting discount and other offering expenses are $100,000,000
Foss Maritime Co. will lay off its 60 workers and leave the Columbia River, OregonLive.com reported. OregonLive said the Seattle company will sell its Columbia River business to Tidewater Barge Lines, which moves grain and other cargo along the Columbia-Snake river system
Denmark's TORM agreed to sell five MR product tankers to a company controlled by Oaktree Capital Management as part of an earlier restructuring agreement. The sale is a consequence of the specific option rights, which one bank group exercised in connection with the Restructuring Agreement.
Diana Containerships Inc., a global shipping company specializing in owning and operating containerships, announced that it signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 1989-built vessel Maersk Madrid (to be renamed
Bourbon and ICBC Financial Leasing (China) signed an operating lease, framework agreement for up to $1.5 billion (USD) corresponding to the sale and bareboat charter back for 10 years of up to 51 vessels Bourbon is rolling out a transformation plan for its future growth
Ballast water treatment equipment manufacturer Hyde Marine provides systems for all sizes and manners of vessels, but increasingly, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Calgon Carbon Company is being recognized for its work with offshore operators – here and abroad.
Otto Marine's shipyard has sold the multi-purpose offshore support vessel 'Otto Explorer 3' to RY Offshore Ltd. for about US$ 50-million. Upon completion of the sale, the buyer will charter the vessel to the Ottto Marine Group subsidiary, Go Marine Group Pty Ltd
A dry bulk carrier has been delivered to the buyers & the contract for sale of a product carrier tankship has also been signed. The Great EasternShipping Company Ltd. (G E Shipping) has delivered its 1995 built Panamax dry bulk carrier Jag Arnav (about 71,000 dwt) to undisclosed buyers.
The 'SS United States' is sending out what may be its final distress call. The conservancy working to secure a home and purpose for the 990-foot-long ship tells the Associated Press that it could be sold for scrap within two months unless they can raise $500
The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) sells 'Saudi Diriyah' for recycling. The sale of the general purpose cargo vessel raised the sum of SAR. 30,257,136 generating a net gain of SAR 19,523,391 after deducting its book value and all expenses associated with the sale.


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DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- Ford's newest EcoBoost ® engine is expected to deliver the best fuel economy of any non-hybrid car sold in America
- Ford's patented 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will be the most refined and powerful in its class
- Global sales of EcoBoost engines are at 520,000 units and growing fast
The new 2014 Ford Fiesta on sale next year will be the first vehicle available in the United States with Ford's award-winning 1.0-liter EcoBoost ® engine. Though the car has not yet undergone EPA testing, it is expected to be certified as the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid car available in the United States.
The smallest engine available in its class, Ford's patented 1.0-liter EcoBoost won't be short on power, torque or refinement. The smooth, quiet-running engine is projected to produce 123 horsepower and peak torque of 148 lb.-ft.
"Customers are going to be pleasantly surprised at what the smallest member of the EcoBoost engine family can do," said Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of Powertrain Engineering. "Most customers are not going to be thinking about the number of cylinders under the hood when they drive the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost Fiesta. They'll notice an extremely smooth and quiet idle, terrific acceleration accompanied by a sporty sound at high revs, and – most importantly – outstanding fuel economy."The newest member of Ford's global EcoBoost engine family, the 1.0-liter will join the most fuel-efficient lineup in Ford Motor Company's history. Next year, Ford will offer eight vehicles rated at 40 mpg or higher – double today's total, and more than any other automaker. Ford tops Toyota in fuel economy in every segment in which both companies compete.


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Manila, Philippines – Fresh off from an NBA Championship Title for the Warriors, two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Stephen Curry is set to visit the Philippines for the second time in September.
The good news was revealed by the official Twitter account of Under Armour Newsroom on Wednesday. Under Armour is an international fashion line which the Golden State Warriors guard endorses.
4 years. 3 World Championships. 2 MVPs. @StephenCurry30 continues to work hard each day to prepare for next season. And on September 5, @UABasketball will bring him, his mindset and his will to win to the Philippines, China and Japan. Manila, Wuhan and Tokyo – get ready! pic.twitter.com/x0DBGMW8yr
— Under Armour News (@UAnews) July 11, 2018
Aside from the Philippines, Curry will also visit China and Japan as promotional tour for the fashion brand.
Below are the Curry’s schedules of visit to the three cities:
- September 6 – 8, 2018: Manila, Philippines
- September 8 – 10, 2018: Wuhan, China
- September 10 – 12, 2018: Tokyo, Japan
Details such as the venue, itinerary, and line up of activities for his visit, have not been divulged yet.
This is not the first time that the NBA Superstar is going to visit the Philippines. Curry visited the country last September 2015 to promote his shoe the “Curry Two” under the Under Armour shoe brand.
His team mate, Kevin Durant, also visited the Philippines few days ago as part of his endorsement deal with another shoe brand.
The reigning two-time Finals MVP conducted a training session with select Hyper Court players, held a short meet-and-greet with fans, and put on a show at the Araneta Coliseum along with some collegiate stars.


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Public spending propels Africa's fastest growing economy Ethiopia
By Staff Writer
Feb 06, 2016 03:55 AM EST
Feb 06, 2016 03:55 AM EST
Ethiopia is leading the group of fastest growing economies not only across the African continent, but also in the world. Ethiopian economy is growing over 8 percent annually. The encouraging growth of Ethiopia assumes significance in the wake of sluggish global economy amid drop in commodity revenues and currencies.
Ethiopia, the East African country, registered 8.7 percent economy growth for 2015 and is poised to grow at 8.1 percent for 2016, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF). Only Papua New Guinea grew 12.3 percent in 2015 among the world economies. Several African nations are suffering from falling revenues in commodities and weaker currencies.
Bloomberg reports that the main driver of the economy is the government. Ethiopia's exports are in limited range when compared with its African peers. Ethiopia's currency Birr is able to retain its value despite sluggish global economy. Ethiopian government is spending heavily on infrastructure projects and this is the key driver of the economy.
When everything is going well, environmental issues pose a major challenge. El Niño dried up the rainfall. The country is facing very bad drought as it was in 1984. The farmers are suffering from crop loss and livestock death. The Ministry of Agriculture is distributing food to rural people. The government already spent over $380 mln (£260mln).
According to a report by BBC, Ethiopia has been doing well for 15 years and it's the world's fastest growing economy. Why it needs international funding when drought conditions are hitting hard. Millions of Ethiopians have come out of the poverty clutches as economy is flourishing. This is propelling business investments as well.
The State-owned companies are playing a vital role in economy growth. The public sector companies such as the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Ethio Telecom and Ethiopia Electric Power contributed 70 percent to the capital investment during the past three years. The total investment was recorded at Birr155.2 ($7.3 billion).
Ethiopian economy is attracting investments from the US and other African nations. The latest initiative 'Doing Business in Ethiopia' is giving more insights into economy for foreign investors. Industry experts advised Ethiopia to develop human resources and focus on education, as per a report in All Africa.
Getachew Teklemariam, an independent economist based in the capital, Addis Ababa, said: "The fact is that much of the spending is on capital projects. It is unimaginable to think of Ethiopia as one of the fast-growing countries in the world without government spending."
Ethiopian government is keen on infrastructure development including industrial parks, sugar factories and power lines. Since the collapse of military rule in 1991, the Ethiopian government is leading the economy development continuously. The ruling coalition won entire 547 federal Parliament seats in the elections held in 2015.
© 2023 VCPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.


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Leeds Building Society announced this week that it is adding its popular range of three-year fixed-rate mortgages to its list of products featured in the lender’s New Year sale.As part of the sale, the Leeds is waiving the £800 completion fee, plus adding a standard property valuation worth up to £335 and offering free legal services for customers seeking remortgages. With the right combination of incentives, mortgage customers could save themselves up to £1,100 on these deals – a “market leader” according to the building society, as the following example shows: with a three-year fixed-rate deal on a mortgage with a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 75 per cent, customers will enjoy a 3.04 per cent rate of interest. Customers taking out a mortgage at 85 per cent LTV will have a 3.99 per cent interest rate.
Leeds Building Society sales and marketing director Kim Rebecchi commented: “We are delighted to get 2012 off to a great start by converting our three-year fixed-rates into a market leading New Year sale mortgage range. The removal of the £800 completion fee and the addition of a free standard valuation up to £335, on rates beginning at only 3.04 per cent means it really will be a Happy New Year.”
She added: “The opportunity to minimise the cost of the biggest monthly outgoing will be welcomed and this sale product provides this. These fees assisted products are ideal for purchases and remortgages alike.”
For its part, FT Adviser revealed today that the Abbey bank, now part of the Spanish finance giant Santander is planning to extend the range of mortgages it offers through third party advisors and brokers, via its Abbey for Intermediaries arm. The company’s managing director Miguel Sard, managing director of Abbey for Intermediaries, told FTAdviser told the magazine: “The intermediary channel is a key distribution channel for Santander and we want to expand the range of products we sell through intermediaries next year, helping intermediaries to provide a more holistic service to their clients.”


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What you need to know
- Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon 768 — a successor to the 765.
- The 768 has a faster CPU and GPU, along with support for 5G connectivity.
- Xiaomi's Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition is the first phone to get the new chip.
One of the most talked-about processors in the Android space right now isn't Qualcomm's most powerful 865 — it's the lower-end 765. The Snapdragon 765 delivers flagship performance and 5G connectivity at a lower price than its more expensive sibling, and while we've yet to have a phone launch in the U.S. with the fascinating chipset, it already has a successor.
On May 10, Qualcomm officially unveiled its new Snapdragon 768 — building upon what makes the 765 so interesting and making it even better.
The two big talking points about the 768 are that it's more capable from a processing and graphical standpoint. The Kyro 475 CPU Prime now has a clock speed up to 2.8Ghz, which is an improvement over the 2.4Ghz on the Snapdragon 765. The GPU is still the Adreno 620, but it now offers up to 15% better performance.
On the note of graphics, the Snapdragon 768 features Adreno Updateable GPU Drivers and is the first 7-series chipset from Qualcomm to do so. This is something you'll also find in the Snapdragon 865, and it allows you to have more control over your phone's GPU driver updates/settings to get the best performance possible. Pair that with support for 120Hz displays, and the 768 is shaping up to be a really compelling chip for gaming.
Other highlights of the Snapdragon 768 include sub-6 and mmWave 5G connectivity, along with Qualcomm's latest AI Engine and X52 5G Modem-RF System for improved camera, audio, and voice performance.
The Xiaomi Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition is the first commercially-available device with the Snapdragon 768, but it remains unclear when we'll see a phone hit the United States with the processor.
It's been heavily rumored that Google's upcoming Pixel 5 will be based on the Snapdragon 765, and while the 765 is still a perfectly capable chip, it will be interesting to see if Google pivots to the 768 or not.
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I'd be inclined to say no given how far along the company likely is in the development process for the phone, but only time will tell.


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By Aude Mahy, Garance Dekeyser
In its opinion dated 25 July 2018, the Advocate-General advised the CJEU to not allow the flavour of a food product, i.e. the taste of a spreadable cheese in the case at hand, to be protected by copyright.
Levola Hengelo BV (“Levola”) filed an action against Smilde Foods BV (“Smilde”) for copyright infringement. According to Levola, Smilde breached its copyright on the “Heksenkaas”, a spreadable cheese, by producing another spreadable cheese, the “Witte Wievenkaas”, which would allegedly have the same taste.


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In the Nashville-area, Soles4Souls and Macy’s will distribute more than 250 brand new coats from Macy’s to students from Metro Nashville Public Schools during a coat event on Saturday, November 19 at Nissan Stadium.
This year, working in partnership with local charities and service organizations in a number of cities across the U.S., Soles4Souls and Macy’s volunteers will be distributing the much-needed cold weather clothing to men, women and children in need throughout the season, providing warmth, hope and dignity.
This is the tenth year of the partnership between Macy’s and Soles4Souls, resulting in more than 300,000 people receiving new coats nationwide since 2013. Macy’s, through its 2022 “Buy a Coat and We’ll Donate One” campaign, donated 10,000 brand new coats nationwide to Soles4Souls.
Visit soles4souls.org for more information.
- Saturday, November 19
- Parade: 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- Fair: 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Nissan Stadium
- 1 Titans Way
- Nashville, TN 37213


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Rising COVID-19 cases have left much of the investing world less optimistic about the coming months.
The German economy has been producing mixed signals of late with downbeat business and consumer morale figures suggesting growing concern about coronavirus infections and the impact of supply chain snags. Wednesday’s retail sales index for July may do little to brighten the picture with most analysts expecting a sharp fall from the bounce they got the month before – and some analysts even expecting a fall month-on-month.
U.S. payrolls for August, eurozone inflation, and Asia purchasing managers surveys – here’s a quick look ahead to next week’s top economic events and themes to be covered by Reuters bureaus. It’s all about jobs next week with nonfarm payrolls for August on tap on Friday morning ahead of the long weekend for the Labor Day holiday.
In Europe, the most eagerly anticipated news is the first estimate of eurozone inflation for August on Tuesday. Market expectations are for 2.7% year-on-year, above the July figure of 2.2% and moving ever further away from the ECB’s target of close to but not exceeding 2%. Still, it is unlikely that this alone will prompt a re-think of the current ECB view that price pressures are transitory and that stimulus policies can continue well into next year.
Britain has been suffering more than most from supply and labour shortages as COVID-19 and semiconductor-related factors are compounded by a post-Brexit exodus of skilled workers. The final and complete read-out of Markit/CIPS index of Purchase Managers’ views of the economy – both for manufacturing and services – in August may offer further clues to its overall health on Friday.
With almost two million new jobs created in the past two months, Friday’s nonfarm payrolls data for August could prove key as investors assess just how close the Federal Reserve is to scaling back emergency stimulus. A Reuters poll forecast a 763,000 payrolls increase versus a 943,000 rise in July that gave the economy a powerful boost as it started the second half. But the Delta COVID-19 variant has cast a shadow over the growth outlook, July retail sales fell sharply and one survey showed consumer sentiment slid in early August to its lowest in over a decade.
|Netflix has released downloadable games for its subscribers in Poland as an initial test of concept. The entertainment service is looking to add video games to its list of entertainment, with no plans for ads, only expanding its offerings.|
|Black Widow brought in $125 million bolstering the argument for making streaming releases more prevalent.|
|Apple has made sweeping changes to the App Store rules as part of its response to a class-action lawsuit. The decision could allow developers to advertise other ways of paying for services that are offered through apps, something that has been banned on the iPhone until now.|


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Mobile money has been growing rapidly over the past few years, and with 255 services in 89 countries, mobile money is now available in 61% of developing markets.
GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) reports says Mobile network operators (MNOs) have led in the provision of 149 of these services, demonstrating the important and growing role they are playing in the development of the mobile money industry. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the birthplace of mobile money, over 50% of all MNOs have already launched a mobile money service and by December 2014, 23% of all mobile connections there were linked with a mobile money account.
Mobile money continues to transform the way people access financial services: in three-quarters of the markets where mobile money is available, agent outlets outnumber bank branches and in 25 markets, there are more than ten times as many mobile money agents as bank branches. The report shows that the number of active mobile money users continues to grow rapidly year-on-year, with more than 100 million accounts active as of December 2014, compared to 73 million in December 2013, an increase of 41%. Half of all new mobile money launches took place outside of the Sub-Saharan Africa region; for instance, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of active accounts increased by 50% over the year, demonstrating the significant traction that mobile money is gaining globally.
In 2014, operators in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tanzania interconnected their services to allow their customers to send money directly to mobile wallets on other networks, following in the footsteps of operators in Indonesia, where interoperability was implemented in 2013.
Providers are expanding into new business areas for mobile financial services, enhancing their mobile money proposition through provision of products such as mobile insurance, mobile savings and mobile credit. As of December 2014, there were 100 live mobile insurance services in 30 countries around the world, accounting for 17 million policies with unbanked customers.
For more data on the Unbanked access CardData®. For information and commentary on the Unbanked visit the searchable CardFlash® Library of more than 58,000 articles published since 1995. RAM Research® forecasts on the Unbanked are available exclusively through CardWeb.com.®


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Following the high-profile visit of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week, stocks related to advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, augmented reality and display panels are gaining attention.
In a report on Friday, Korea Investment and Securities suggested eight stocks, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, that would benefit from Zuckerberg's visit to Seoul.
Traveling to Korea for the first time in about a decade, Zuckerberg met with President Yoon Suk Yeol and business leaders during his three-day trip, including separate meetings with Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong and LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan, to discuss ways to expand cooperation in cutting-edge technologies.
"Zuckerberg visited Korea for the first time in about 10 years. Meta plans to reduce its reliance on Nvidia's GPUs and secure its own AI chips," said Kim Dae-joon, market analyst at Korea Investment and Securities.
"Here, Samsung Foundry may supply the AI chips needed to operate Llama 3, Meta's LLM model."
On Meta's partnership with LG Electronics on XR technology -- combining AR and virtual reality technologies -- Kim said the tech giants might be interested in OLED on Silicon display panels, which increases the pixels per inch for ultra-high-resolutions and reduces the space used for physical panels.
The demand for camera modules and 3D sensing modules used to identify people and animals to prevent road crashes is also expected to increase, so the stocks related to these technologies are also thought to benefit from Zuckerberg's visit, Kim said.
In the list of firms expected to benefit from the visit are Samsung Electronics, EO Technics, a wafer marker and laser application systems supplier, and Soulbrain, a chip, display and secondary battery parts firm.
The Korea Investment and Securities report also included LG Electronics and LG Innotek, which produces substrates for semiconductors, LG Display developing OLEDoS panels, Namuga, a 3D sensing camera technology firm and OLED evaporation equipment system firm Sunic System.
The tech leader also reportedly held talks with five local startups here, including Upstage, FriendliAI, MathPresso, Devs United Games and Stoic Entertainment.
Rounding up his three-day trip in Seoul, Zuckerberg left for India on Thursday.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Michelin ML, +0.07% said Thursday that it's recalling about 6,500 of its Pilot Sport 255/35ZR20 97Y Extra Load tires in the U.S. and Canada. The company said its internal quality control system indicated the tires don't meet its quality standards.
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The wooden Jacob’s ladder, a classic folk toy re-imagined by Toronto-based visual artist Gary Taxali, is the sort of item the country’s biggest bookstore says will help it compete in the toy market this holiday season.
A series of flat wooden blocks connected by ribbons that allow the blocks to flip in surprising ways, the Taxali version is exclusive to Indigo Books & Music Inc. and priced at just $4.95.
As such, the item embodies many of the values that Trevor Dayton, Indigo’s vice-president of toys and entertainment, says define the company’s approach to toy specialty retailing, a category it now claims to dominate.
Toys R Us also bills itself a specialty toy retailer and with 69 superstores across Canada easily outdistances Indigo in selection and sales. But Dayton said Indigo is comparing itself more to other independent toy retailers, like Mastermind and Scholar’s Choice.
“When I talk about specialty, I talk about a curated selection. Not carrying everything. A strong emphasis on educational toys. Lots of toys from specialty manufacturers who don’t sell to the mass market. It’s more about the service experience and curation of the selection.”
Having embarked on a “pretty aggressive” renovation path this year, Dayton said, the country’s biggest bookstore chain now has toy sections in 52 of its superstores across Canada, making it the country’s largest specialty toy retailer.
With the popularity of e-readers, like Indigo’s Kobo, freeing up more shelf space, a number of book retailers are expanding into new categories to boost sales.
Indigo’s revenue rose 7.8 million to $214.8 million in the latest three month period despite a challenging quarter for its core retail book business, which was up against some very strong titles the previous year, the retailer noted on Nov. 9.
But it was offset by strong growth in its digital, toy and gift business, Indigo said.
“Our gift and toy businesses continued to show significant growth and reinforced our decision to expand these categories meaningfully in a majority of stores moving forward,” Indigo’s chief executive officer Heather Reisman said in a statement.
Barnes & Noble Inc., the second largest U.S. bookstore chain, has also devoted more floor space to educational games and toys as customers switch to e-readers.
Canadian sales of e-readers are expected to reach 500,000 by the end of this year as prices plunge, according to market research firm IDC Canada. With amazon.com’s Kindle now at $139 U.S., and the Kobo at the $149, e-readers are closing in on the magic $100 price point at which they become an easy gift choice, said senior analyst Krista Napier.
To compete in the toy market against mass merchants like Walmart, Zellers and Toys R Us, Indigo says it has carved out a niche more familiar to customers of such independents as Mastermind Toys and Scholar’s Choice.
At 4,000 square feet, the toy section at Indigo is about two-thirds the size of the average Mastermind store, but Mastermind has just 11 stores so far, all located in the Greater Toronto area.
Indigo’s toy customer is the book lover, Dayton said, who is looking for quality toys that will hold the child’s attention beyond a few days.
They’re looking for environmentally friendly toy, retro toys they remember from their childhood and toys that are made anywhere but China, he said. The latter is the toughest expectation to meet.
“The realty is 90 per cent of toys are manufactured in China, regardless of whether they’re sold in specialty toy stores or mass retailers,” Dayton said.
Indigo does carry a line of U.S.-made toys by Green Toys, of San Francisco, which uses reclaimed milk jugs and natural dyes, he said.
Indigo avoids having to compete on price with the likes of Wal-Mart by stocking its shelves with items consumers don’t see in the larger retailer’s weekly flyers, Dayton explained.
“Having said that customers are looking to stretch their dollars as far as they can. We make sure there are always some great offers in the store, from $2 to $200,” Dayton said.
Indigo also aims to provide an “experience” in its stores, Dayton said. From the play table featuring a Thomas the Tank Engine layout to the Starbucks outlets in Indigo’s stores “it’s a compelling place to come. Somewhere mom and dad can get off their feet for an hour while the kids play.”