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Two food processing factories and a grocery store were closed for 14 days as ordered by the Penang Health Department due to unsatisfactory cleanliness level.
According to the department’s Food Safety and Quality Division Environmental Health officer Mohd Wazir Khalid, they had collaborated with the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) to carry out raids on the premises that were also issued compounds of RM20,000 each for various hygiene-related offences.
The first premises was a factory that processed ‘mi sua’ noodles in Kampung Selamat located opposite a pig farm and was operating without a licence, reported Bernama.
“This factory was previously raided in 2012 and up until now it has been operating illegally, Mohd Wazir Khalid said.
“From the Health Ministry’s perspective, we are against the location as it can cause food contamination. I leave it to the licensing department to take action.”
He said that the noodles from the factory were being processed on the floor and dried in an open area where there was a high chance of contamination with foreign elements like bird droppings.
The second premise was a coconut processing factory located in the same area. The premises was found to also be operating without a license and in a dirty condition.
Factory workers were seen stepping on dried coconut while the coconuts were stored in dirty containers and placed near a toilet with the risk of being contaminated with bacteria that can cause cholera and typhoid.
The third premises was a grocery store located in Tasek Gelugor. The raid found rat droppings and items being sold way past their due dates.
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Levy boards pitch in with beef campaign to aid carcase balance
A major £1.2 million national consumer campaign encouraging consumers to “Make It” with beef is being launched by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).
Running for 12 weeks with TV, video on demand, radio and social media, the campaign aims to inspire consumers to create restaurant-style meals in the comfort of their own home, using a variety of high-quality hindquarter cuts.
The campaign will be supported with ‘how to’ videos and cooking tips, and influencer-driven content. It builds on a social media push launched earlier in April by the three levy boards.
It aims to reach 85 per cent of UK households and deliver a three-to-one return on investment, well above the industry average.
“This is a unique joint effort by AHDB, QMS and HCC which we hope will drive an uptake in steak and roasting joint sales in the run up to barbecue season.”
The move is a joint response to carcase balance challenges faced by the beef supply chain in the wake of Covid-19, which has seen a surge in demand for beef mince in supermarkets. Meanwhile some more expensive cuts, more commonly favoured in restaurants, have seen demand plummet as the lockdown has taken hold.
To meet the demand for mince, processors are having to mince higher value hindquarter and steak cuts, which leads to a drop in the overall retail value of the carcase and a subsequent drop in potential returns back to beef farmers.
A joint statement from the levy boards said: “This is a unique joint effort by AHDB, QMS and HCC which we hope will drive an uptake in steak and roasting joint sales in the run up to barbecue season. It’s a fantastic opportunity for everyone to get involved and create some amazing dishes in their own kitchens.”
The campaign is being funded from the £3.5 million fund of AHDB red meat levies ring-fenced for collaborative projects which is managed by the three GB meat levy bodies – AHDB, HCC and QMS.
The ring-fenced fund is an interim arrangement while a long-term solution is sought on the issue of levies being collected at point of slaughter in England for animals which have been reared in Scotland or Wales.

domain: news


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Messaging giant WhatsApp has reportedly been granted permission by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to develop in-app payments and money transfers using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). A report by the Times of India stated that this is the first time that the NCPI have granted a mobile app to enter into multi-bank partnerships for digital payments.
Speaking to the Times of India, AP Hota, MD and CEO, NPCI confirmed that Whatsapp had received a nod from the payment institution. “We have permitted multi-bank partnership as Whatsapp did not want all transactions routed via one bank when payment loads are high. They are now talking actively to leading banks now,” Hota said.
While Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been looking to integrate UPI into the messaging app, Google is also in the race to receive a nod to implement the UPI system into their Android Pay platform. Hota said, “Players like WhatsApp, Google are very large in size and thus partnering with multiple banks makes sense to ensure a smooth payments process. Google is now waiting for the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to go live on UPI.” Online merchants like Amazon and Uber are also in final stages of testing before enabling
The report also claims interest from the likes of Amazon and Uber who are also said to be in their final stages of testing before enabling customers to make payments using UPI. The NPCI CEO, however, did not provide a timeline citing that the RBI could take a while in granting the final permission. We had reported back in April that WhatsApp could be planning a UPI-based payment system.
The NPCI CEO, however, did not provide a timeline citing that the RBI could take a while in granting the final permission.
WhatsApp some money now..!


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Was not expecting this. AC Odyssey sales were down by 25% in the UK compared to Origins last year, and they seemed to be down in the US as well, based on Amazon and Gamestop's online charts. Guess continental Europe sales were up by a large margin over Origins? Also, I assume console digital was way up this year.
It appears to me, based on numbers we see from time to time, and based on common sense, that digital sales are rapidly increasing as a percentage of overall sales. Unfortunately, that makes it a hell of a lot harder to track sales numbers independent of what Publishers tell us.


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After the period of wait since the discontinuation of the popular Perodua Viva Elite last year, a newer and sophisticated model from the line will hit Lankan roads this July.
The Perodua Axia, which is the tenth model from the range, is currently sold in Malaysia and will be launched by early July in Sri Lanka, United Motors Limited (UML) CEO Chanaka Yatawara said.
“The Perodua Viva, which was moving extremely well in the local market, was discontinued last year and we haven’t marketed a successor since then. For its replacement is the new Perodua Axia and we expect it to deliver much more,” stated Yatawara.
The Perodua Axia is a five-door hatchback and is Malaysia’s first energy efficient vehicle (EEV). The car takes over the title of being the most affordable car in Malaysia from the Perodua Viva. It is the first model to début from Perodua’s all-new second factory in Rawang, Selangor.
According to Yatawara, the Axia has been highly successful in the Malaysian market and the same outcome is expected in Sri Lanka.
“It’s a new design altogether. It is not a rebadged model. In Malaysia there is a long waiting list for the car. The vehicle is moving very fast, its acceptance is high despite it being priced higher than the Viva,” he noted.
Although the price for the Axia is yet to be confirmed, Yatawara shared that Perodua’s latest model will be within the range of Rs.2.5 to Rs.2.7 million.
Commenting on the impact on profits due to the discontinuation of the Perodua Viva, Yatawara said if the model had remained the profits recorded for the year 2014/2015 would have been higher.
“If the manufacturer stops the product then we will have to face it. Unfortunately there was quite a gap between the discontinuation of the old model and the launch of a new one. If United Motors had that product on top of how we performed, it would have been additional profit. However, in the absence of it we have been able to look at other opportunities and get our existing business to perform better,” he said.
For the year 2014/2015 United Motors Limited recorded a profit of Rs.1.26 billion, a drop from the Rs.1.6 billion recorded in 2013/2014.
With the launch of Axia, Yatawara expressed confidence in the model help bridge the profit drop. “We are hopeful that the new model will be successful. With the price being affordable, coupled with the low interest rates, we are expecting the volumes to be quite encouraging. With that we will make additional profits this year,” said the confident CEO.


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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A roaring fire ripped through a row of stores with apartments above overnight, forcing firefighters to tackle the blaze during brutally cold weather.
At some points, the smoke was so heavy it was hard to even see the building that houses a strip of stores at 207th Street and Broadway. Firefighters soaked the intense flames with a steady stream of water, but hours later the fire was still burning.READ MORE: Paterson, N.J. Doubling Down On Vaccination Efforts As Omicron Variant Inches Closer
Firefighters were forced to back away from the building when the roof collapsed.
1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg reports from the scene of the fire
Nine businesses, including two banks, laundromat, dentist’s office, and pharmacy, were gutted by the smoke and flames.
“I feel really bad because the hardware store is new, the pet store is new, and hopefully they’ll rebuild right away so people can go back to them,” one man told 1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg. “It’s a sad loss for the neighborhood.”READ MORE: Giving Tuesday: 12-Year-Old Chelsea Phaire Helps Prepare Dozens Of Gifts For Homeless Children
All of the sloshing, splashing water used to fight the blaze created a new hazard for firefighters: Ice. It was everywhere at the scene, on cars, roofs and of course on the ground, where it was most dangerous.
Fire Chief Chief Michael Massucci told CBS2’s Kristin Thorne that due to the threat of a collapse nobody is allowed inside of the damaged buildings and that they may have to be torn down, although that decision will be in the hands of the Building Department.
Firefighters used salt from the Sanitation Department to help with traction.
More than 100 firefighters responded to the fire, which broke out on the first floor of the building at around 11 p.m. Tuesday night.MORE NEWS: Supply Chain Issues: How Are Global Shortages Affecting Local Customers?
Fortunately, nobody was reported inside any of the stores at the time and only two firefighters sustained minor injuries battling the blaze.


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I would like to extend an invitation to you to join me in Melbourne on 23 October to experience insights into the challenges businesses face as they scale up and order volumes increase and how easy, inexpensive and simple it is to meet these cha
Coupons are very much alive and more coupons than ever before are being used by marketers and redeemed by customers.
Online allows customers to comparrison shop relatively quickly however with more choices than ever, the time to purchase h
The inaugural Online Retailer New Zealand to be held at ANZ Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland Wednesday 29 October 2014 will showcase the latest eCommerce technology and e-retailing solutions in conjunction with a compact one day conference. This lau
What was previously considered a pureplay online retailer of electronics and related accessories, eSold.com.au has taken its ongoing growth strategy in a surprising direction – by opening its first bricks-and-mortar store.Effectively what is now a
Justus Hammer, co-founder of Spreets.com.au, and Bjorn Behrendt, co-founder of StyleTread.com.au, have joined the advisory board and participated in a seed funding round of Melbourne-based online jewellery startup Gemjoli.com.au. The two serial entre


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NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – SurModics said yesterday that it has acquired the CodeLink Activated Slide microarray business from GE Healthcare for an undisclosed sum.
The slide business was the one piece of the CodeLink business that GE retained when it sold the CodeLink products and assets to Applied Microarrays in April 2007.
Eden Prairie, Minn.-based SurModics makes the PhotoLink technology that is used to create a three-dimensional matrix that enables the attachment of biomolecules, including DNA, RNA, and proteins, to form microarrays. Its technology has been used to create CodeLink Activated Slides for several years.
“Selling these products directly will allow us to get closer to our customers and offer a broader range of products, which is consistent with our strategic growth initiative of diversification,” said Bruce Barclay, president and CEO of SurModics, in a statement.
The firms did not disclose annual revenues for the Activated Slides business.


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J&J forecasts 2023 profit above expectations on pharma strength
Jan 24 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) on Tuesday forecast annual profit above Wall Street estimates, as steady demand for its drugs such as cancer treatment Darzalex is expected to help ease pressure from inflation and a strong dollar.
Shares of the drugmaker, however, fell 1% to $166.12 in premarket trading as fourth-quarter sales missed analysts' estimates due to lower demand for its medical devices.
J&J also expects sales of its medical devices to be lower in the first half of 2023 than in the second half, as surging COVID-19 cases in China limit medical procedures in hospitals.
Overall, the healthcare conglomerate posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by demand for Darzalex and its COVID-19 vaccine.
J&J expects to earn between $10.45 and $10.65 per share on an adjusted basis for 2023, above analysts' estimates of $10.35 per share profit at the midpoint.
The higher 2023 profit forecast also reflects better-than-expected cost controls by J&J, Edward Jones analyst John Boylan said.
J&J's large pharmaceuticals business is its major profit engine and the company is betting on that and its devices unit as the healthcare conglomerate prepares to spin off its consumer health business by the end of this year.
Pharmaceutical sales of $13.16 billion for the fourth quarter beat estimates of $13.14 billion. Darzalex sales were $2.08 billion, while analysts were expecting $2.02 billion, according to Refinitiv.
J&J also recorded $821 million in COVID-19 vaccine-related costs, which were related to changes in its research program and manufacturing capacity.
Excluding items, J&J earned $2.35 per share, above analysts' average estimates of $2.23 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.


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After several rumours and fan theories, Dead By Daylight has finally announced its newest chapter: Alien. Taking to Twitter this afternoon, the asymmetrical horror game dropped the news that the infamous xenomorph will be joining the ranks as a killer.
There will be plenty to look forward to, and since in space, no one can hear you scream, we thought we'd collect all of the information for you in our guide, instead.
When is the release date for Dead By Daylight Alien?
As is typical with Dead By Daylight, we didn't get a fully confirmed release date from the teaser trailer. What we did get, however, is the confirmation that more information is due to drop on August 8, 2023. This means the release date will hopefully come shortly after.
What are the Alien's perks?
We don't have any information regarding the Alien's perks as we only have the teaser trailer to go by, but that hasn't stopped fans of the sci-fi monster from creating their own concepts in the past, and one such Reddit user has even taken to mapping out a whole list of perks and abilities for the creature.
This fan concept naturally includes the presence of face-huggers, grisly xenomorph offspring that attach themselves to a victim's mouth and bury their larvae inside the host's body. Everyone knows the infamous scene of a baby Alien bursting out of a person's chest, and it would stand to reason that Dead By Daylight's iteration of this creature will remain true to the source material. The same could be said for when Dead By Daylight introduced Nemesis to the game, along with his trusty zombies.
For now, however, we're left to theorise like every other Dead By Daylight fan until more information is given on August 8. Be sure to check back, as we'll update this Dead By Daylight Alien guide as soon as we have new information!


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Play to Earn Crypto, GameFi, Games Surpasses DeFi in Popularity.
DappRadar has come up with interesting stats on crypto about the users and their wallets. DeFi is trendy nowadays and users associated with crypto are well aware of it.
However, it is GameFi where all the action is taking place for the past couple of months. There are interesting facts and figures which show how GameFi has taken the center stage over time.
According to DappRadar, more than 50% of active cryptocurrency wallets were connected to decentralized applications associated with gaming. The report also shares that users active cryptocurrency wallets attached to DeFi dropped to 45% last month. This is for the first time in many months that DeFi is taken over by GameFi.
GameFi’s popularity soared thanks to Axie Infinity which allows players to earn real money by winning battles, selling monsters as well as digital assets. The player database is increasing rapidly for Axie Infinity because many crypto enthusiasts are also regular gamers.
Quickly, the meaning of GameFi;
GameFi is an amalgam of two words: gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi). It is also referred to as play-to-earn (P2E) games. Almost all of these blockchain-based games are accompanied by a corresponding in-game currency, a marketplace, and a token economy, usually managed and governed by the community.
DappRadar’s Pedro Herrera said, “We see around 80-100 million transactions in games daily, it’s just impressive to see the evolution that blockchain games have experienced this year.”
Axie Infinity is having an explosion as the report also shares that in the past 24 hours the game was played by another 104,000 players.
Besides Axie Infinity, there are several other games that had made it to the limelight like Alien Worlds, Splinterlands, and CryptoMines. These games have a massive number of players and the numbers are growing with every passing day.
The top five gaming dapps have an accumulative investment balance of $14 billion. On the other hand, top five DeFi apps have $130 billion over the past 30 days.
Players have erected their own micro-economies as they rent, sell, and purchase digital assets. Michael Bohnen, owner of EOSUSA, said, “There’s much more opportunity in the gaming space than there is in the DeFi space.
“There’s only so many banks, but there’s always a brand new game of the week. It’s much more of an expansive space in my opinion There’s more opportunity to potentially make money.”


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In today’s weird transportation news, Elon Musk’s car company just offered to buy Elon Musk’s solar energy company.
The deal has yet to be approved by shareholders, but Tesla’s board of directors has offered to swap SolarCity’s remaining stock for Tesla’s stock at $26.50 to $28.50 a share.
The total stock-for-stock deal amounts to about $2.8 billion, based on where Tesla stock was trading before the proposal was announced.
According to Musk, it’s a “no-brainer.” That’s because it’ll bring his two companies closer to achieving their goal of accelerating the transition to using sustainable and renewable energy to fuel everything we do.
Think: A one-stop-shop for your electric-powered car, the solar-powered battery that helps you charge the car and the solar-powered battery pack that will help you power your entire house.
But the deal might also be “blindingly obvious,” as Musk said, because Musk and his family stand to make a good chunk of change from the transaction.
Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla and chairman of SolarCity, personally owns 22 percent of SolarCity’s, or 22.2 million shares. So if the acquisition goes through, Musk would personally reap around $587 million to $632 million worth of Tesla shares.
Correction: An earlier version of this story suggested that Musk and his family members would “take home” $700 million in this deal. As Musk writes, that’s not the case:
@Recode Article is misleading to readers. No one is "taking home" anything. In a stock for stock transaction, nothing comes off the table.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 22, 2016
To be clear, the entrepreneur won’t be cashing a check from the acquisition, but he does stand to gain by owning more shares of Tesla. That also goes for anyone in his family who owns SolarCity shares.
Musk’s cousins Lyndon Rive (SolarCity CEO) and Peter Rive (SolarCity CTO) each own about 2.3 million shares, according to the company’s investor relations site. That would represent about $65 million each in Tesla shares.
At the low end, this brings the Musk family’s total holdings from this deal to more than $700 million. At the high end, more than $750 million.
Because of this conflict of interest, Musk recused himself from voting on the deal at Tesla’s board meeting, and will do the same when SolarCity’s board votes.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.


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Aldi employees are set to benefit from a wage rise next month as the German retailer has announced it will pay its staff the recommended Living Wage of €12.30 an hour.
The news will come as a boost to a number of their employees who will see their pay jump from €11.90 per hour.
Aldi has said the pay rise will come into affect from February 1, 2020 - the same date which the national minimum wage will increase from €9.80 to €10.10 per hour.
Some Aldi Store Assistants will earn up to €14.10 per hour.
The Living Wage is an independently assessed and recommended rate of income considered necessary to have a socially acceptable standard of living.
Back in November of 2019, a similar commitment was announced by one of of Aldi’s top competitors Lidl.
The fellow European retailer announced that some 800 employees would avail of the wage rise, however they are yet to implement the increase.
Currently the company is still advertising positions offering wages below €12.30 but a spokeswoman for Lidl Claire Moran said they expect to introduce the wage increase one month later on March 1, 2020.
Meaning Aldi is likely to beat them to the title as the first Irish retailer to implement The Living Wage Technical Group’s rate.
And there’s also good news for job-seekers as the firm also announced that it has plans to hire an additional 550 employees in stores across the country this year on top of its nearly 4,000 strong workforce.
Positions are available at Store Assistant, Assistant Store Manager and Store Manager levels across its 140 stores nationwide.
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Giles Hurley, CEO for Aldi UK & Ireland said of the announcement: “At Aldi we pride ourselves in being one of the best employers in the country, employing almost 4,000 staff from across Ireland and paying them accordingly for the quality work they do.
“That is why we are delighted to announce that Aldi will again meet the Living Wage Technical Group’s recommended minimum wage of €12.30 per hour, in addition to our plans to hire 550 new staff throughout the year.”
According to Kantar Worldpanel data, Aldi is one of Ireland’s fastest growing supermarket for most of the last ten years, achieving a 11.3% market share, while rival Lidl currently holds 11.9% of the Irish grocery market.


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State Street disclosed a 9.3% stake in troubled crypto lender Silvergate Capital (SI) as of Dec. 31, according to a filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Custodial banking giant BNY Mellon (BK) has promoted Caroline Butler to CEO of Digital Assets, the lender announced Thursday.
Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase were up 21% on Thursday. A lawsuit against the company was dismissed by a judge on Wednesday afternoon. The post Coinbase stock up 21% following lawsuit dismissal appeared first on The Block.
Berkshire Hathaway’s bitcoin bashing barrage doesn’t show any signs of letting up.
Web3 games have recently exploded in popularity because they introduce a novel concept to players: the ability to own and trade provable digital assets. In MegaWorld, players build NFT structures that run on the resources generated by other players’ NFT structures, with all the operations being performed by smart contracts deployed across three main blockchains
Bitcoin.com: Smart Contract Token Market Soars to $332 Billion; Defi Value Reaches High Not Seen Since FTX Collapse
The smart contract token economy rose 5.6% against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, reaching $332 billion. Additionally, the value locked in decentralized finance (defi) increased to nearly $50 billion, a record high not seen since the collapse of FTX. Smart Contract Economy and Defi TVL Bounces Back On Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, the top smart
Crypto trading venue Orion Protocol is down $3 million after an apparent exploit drained pools.
PRESS RELEASE. FIO Protocol, the leading decentralized solution for global blockchain usability, has announced the launch of FIO Domain wrapping on the Polygon blockchain. Wrapping is the process of taking a token from one blockchain and making it available for use on another. This launch moves FIO Protocol into the $31.4 billion NFT market by
The Block: January NFT data wrap: ETH volumes rise nearly 50% as BAYC leads blue-chip brand expansion
NFT trading volumes rose in January, painting a more optimistic picture as the year kicks off. The post January NFT data wrap: ETH volumes rise nearly 50% as BAYC leads blue-chip brand expansion appeared first on The Block.


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THE CBI yesterday joined the growing number of groups predicting a UK recession before the end of the year.
The business lobby group predict the economy will shrink by 0.2 per cent by the end of September, with a further 0.1 per cent decline in the fourth quarter.
And the organisation also slashed next year's growth forecast by one per cent, predicting the economy will grow by a "feeble" 0.3 per cent during the whole of 2009 - the lowest rate since 1992.
CBI director general Richard Lambert said: "Over the past year our forecasts for economic growth have been shaved lower and lower as the UK economy continues to struggle with the twin impact of higher energy and commodity prices and the credit crunch.
"Growth in 2009 will be feeble at best. Having experienced a rapid loss of momentum in the economy over the first half of 2008, the UK may have entered a mild recession that will hopefully prove short lived."
The group also predict unemployment will top the two million mark next year, up from 1.67million out of work between April and June this year.


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Tops swings to 4Q, full-year profit
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The parent of Tops Markets LLC reported a fourth-quarter and full-year profit on Friday as the Buffalo area’s largest supermarket chain also saw an increase in sales.
Net income for the fourth quarter was $1.18 million compared to a loss of $13.77 million in the same period of 2010.
Amherst-based Tops Holding Corp. said sales improved 1.7 percent to $540.1 million from $530.8 million.
Unlike 2010 when Tops’ bottom line was saddled with absorption costs related to purchasing the financially-ailing Penn Traffic chain of supermarkets, the grocer was able focus much of last year on growing existing market shares, its on-going store renovation program and strategic purchases of existing family-owned markets in places like suburban Rochester.
“Our operating income increased more than 540 percent this year, which was a direct result of our ability to successfully integrate Penn Traffic into the Tops business model while effectively maintaining cost discipline and implementing operating efficiencies throughout our organization,” said Rick Mills, Tops senior vice president and chief financial officer. “As a result, we have enhanced our cash-generating capability, strengthened our balance sheet and positioned the company for future expansion.”
Net income for all of 2011 was $5.8 million compared with a net loss of $26.9 million in 2010, directly related to the Penn Traffic acquisition.
Full-year sales the Tops rose 4.3 percent to $2.36 billion from $2.26 billion the previous year.
Tops operates 124 full-service supermarkets in Western and Central New York and Northern Pennsylvania and has five franchised outlets.
James Fink covers real estate, commercial development and government
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The period of strong sell-off in the stock markets is approaching. The first half of the year was terrible, not only on the Polish stock exchange, but also on the global stock markets. In the latest episode of the “Fundamental Analysis of WSE Companies” program, Konrad Książak took a closer look at two companies that have been heavily discounted. I’m talking about Atende and CD Projekt. Is most of the bad news in the course of these companies?
Sale of a subsidiary and distribution of dividends
“Atende is a company that has changed a lot. In early 2021, they sold part of their business. Atende Medica was not a big department when it came to the company (1.2 million PLN), but apart from this sale there was also another much bigger and rather enigmatic department, because 6-7 months earlier, the president of the company said Atende software is the segment they want to invest in. Anyway they sold the company and it was a very big sale (52.5 million PLN)”- Konrad Książak recalls.
As the author of the program points out, Atende Software’s results had a very significant impact on the results of the entire group. We are already seeing a major negative impact on net profit. Aside from losses, the analyst also negatively evaluates the allocation of much of the funds from sale to the payment of dividends. The question now is: what will the company do with the rest of the money raised?
It’s getting worse
After a weak 2021 in terms of results, the start of this year also brings net losses. The results are therefore becoming an increasing problem for Atende. There are no significant positive assumptions for the coming quarters yet. Lack of positive information, after one contract, is reflected in sharp declines in bids. The discount doesn’t stop there.
An even larger scale of declines has been observed for some time with the leader of Polish gaming – CD Projekt. The price has been falling since the premiere of the key game “Cyberpunk 2077”. Since then, negative news has prevailed, or rather no significant positive news. The company is also disadvantaged by the fact that it is the leader of the KNF short sale register.
First better news from CD Projekt
“In the first quarter, they released “Cyberpunk” for the latest generation of consoles along with a major update for all platforms. Patch 1.5 will positively impact the perception of the game and its sales, especially on consoles. the largest production capacity focused on developing a major expansion pack for the game, which will debut next year” – points to Konrad Książak.
According to him, these are the first reasons for investors to slowly start positioning. The most important moment may be to give the exact release date of the add-on.
The improvements to the game so far have made the reviews on Steam quite positive as of today. This year, the resources for further improvements will be smaller. In turn, a lot of bad news can already be in price. Other than the addition, the partnership with Epic Games should positively impact the company’s experience.
“It can be said that most of this negative information is already heavily priced and we don’t expect any further bad news” – says the author of the program.
The chart should start to change when the largest positions start to disappear from the short sell register. In turn, the impact of new games on the track is a matter of years to come. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find arguments for a further decline in quotations.
If we compare Atende with CD Projekt, we still have negative information on Atende’s side, while in case of CD Projekt, there is a chance that the company is going down the path of providing positive information. The supplement to be released next year will be key to the listing.
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Vogueme Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates the interactive video platform Toch, has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series-A round led by Hyderabad Angels, Mumbai Angels and high net worth individuals.
The platform provides monetisation tools for over the top (OTT) video players using artificial intelligence and deep learning technology for meta tagging objects, people, emotions, locations, scenes and activity in real time.
“We have automated the decade old meta-tagging opportunity and look to keep growing our revenues by 4x this year,”said Vinayak Shrivastav, CEO of Toch. “Toch currently enables meta-tagging for live sporting events, live shows and library-based content for streaming platforms, and is venturing into broadcasting meta-tagging simultaneously.”
Founded in 2017 by Shrivastav, Alok Patil and Saket Dandotia, the Mumbai-based company makes videos on YouTube and Baidu shoppable, enabling e-commerce sites and partners tag their products in the videos. It also works with video ads and tech start-ups for content analysis and dashboard monetisation.
The company will use the fresh capital for enhancing technology and scaling operations.
“With Live commerce becoming the centre in the country after China, Toch has positioned itself as a platform to enable the new-age live discovery solution for users,” said Rathnakar Samavedam, portfolio manager with Hyderabad Angels.
Other deals in the segment
The OTT space has seen investor interest and consolidation in equal measure over the last year, with monetisation being a key concern for the non-subscription based models.
June 2019: News and native language content platform DailyHunt acquired hyperlocal news, video and information platform LocalPlay.
February 2019: Video analytics platform Vidooly raised Rs 15.14 crore from Alibaba and existing investor Times Internet.
Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent and Alibaba-backed digital wallet app Paytm have been in talks to invest $100 million in Times Internet-owned MX Player, according to media reports.


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Presented by the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association, the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) offers concentrated brewing education and idea sharing to improve brewery quality and performance, it says. The conference brings together 13,000 brewing industry professionals for more than 70 different educational seminars led by the top minds in the beer world and access to BrewExpo America, the largest brewing trade show in the U.S. featuring more than 700 vendors.
For 2019, the annual tradeshow and expo will take place April 8-11 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
As small and independent craft brewers face unique opportunities and challenges in the marketplace, the CBC allows them to connect with their colleagues and comrades to share ideas and learn about relevant topics ranging from brewery operations to sustainability and government affairs, while shopping for the products and services they need to run their breweries, the association says.
The event will feature 84 educational seminars and attendees can choose from 12 educational tracks to personalize their schedules.
Attendees also will get a chance to hear from keynote speaker Bruce Dickinson. Dickinson is the lead singer of Iron Maiden, a commercial pilot, brewmaster, entrepreneur and creative business thinker. He was a pilot and marketing director for Astraeus Airlines, a company that leased aircraft to other carriers, and is the chairman and founder of Cardiff Aviation, which specializes in heavy maintenance of Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft. Dickinson will share the parallels between his music and business careers, and the lessons you can take away from both success and failure, it says. BI


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LG has launched the V60 ThinQ 5G smartphone – its latest competitor to the foldable devices from Huawei and Samsung.
The V60 ThinQ 5G has a 6.8-inch FHD+ display and a second detachable “screen accessory” of the same size and specifications.
This second display allows users to multitask by operating a different app on each screen.
Alternatively, users can turn the device around and use the second display as a keyboard, allowing them to use their V60 ThinQ 5G like a laptop.
“Our strategy is to introduce differentiated 5G devices to meet the rise in consumer demands as the global 5G market matures,” said Morris Lee, president of LG Mobile Communication.
“The LG V60 ThinQ 5G with the Dual Screen is the ideal device for consumers who love to create, consume and share content in the 5G era.”
Performance and camera
This isn’t LG’s first dual-screen smartphone – the LG G8X ThinQ launched in December 2019 and the V50 ThinQ 5G device launched in May 2019, both with dual-screen configurations.
However, the V60 ThinQ 5G offers improved hardware and performance over its predecessor.
It sports 8GB RAM and up to 256GB of storage space – improvements on 6GB and 128GB respectively.
It also uses Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 865 processor – which is the same chip used in certain regions for the Samsung S20 series – and X55 5G modem.
The large 5,000mAh battery is important, too, as it is likely necessary to have such a large battery to power a dual-screen device.
The LG V60 ThinQ 5G smartphone has a dual-lens primary camera system including a 64MP primary lens and a super-wide 13MP secondary lens. This camera system also has a ToF sensor.
LG has not provided pricing for the device, but it said the V60 ThinQ would launch in March in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia.
|LG V60 ThinQ 5G|
|Display||6.8-inch 2,460 x 1,080 + 6.8-inch 2,460 x 1,080|
|Rear camera||64MP + 13MP + TOF|
|Connectivity||802.11ax Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1|


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The Automotive Revolution
By James Soutter May 2016
The word disruption is verbosely thrown around when any new technology hits the street and promoters want to grab a sexy headline. That said the automotive industry is going through an upheaval not seen since the first affordable mass-made cars rolled off the Ford production line in 1908. We have come a long way since the Ford Model T; however the future of the car as we know it is more blurred than ever before.
Car manufacturers from Europe, Asia and the US are grappling with differing technologies, environmental considerations and consumer preferences, meaning that the divergence in automotive offerings that consumers will see over the next decade will be extensive and diverse.
The poster child of electric cars, Tesla, will want you to believe that Electric cars are the future, with other traditional manufacturers such as General Motors and BMW now allocating significant R&D spend to this area. However, hybrid cars (cars that use batteries and combustion engines) go a substantial way to meeting environmental regulations while their ease of use relative to pure electric cars cannot be overlooked.
However the debate doesn’t stop with the method of propulsion. Perhaps the more important threshold question is whether our children will actually drive a car? The era of the “autonomous car” is just around the corner and there is no shortage of companies lining up to be the first to bring an autonomous car to the mass market. The key is to firstly work out who these companies are, and then secondly which of these companies is likely to be the winner.
Car manufacturing is no longer confined to the large global brands consumers have identified with for a long period of time. New companies are consistently entering the market, some with significant balance sheets that will cause major disruption. One such example is Apple’s Project Titan which is currently testing autonomous vehicles with a goal to produce cars by 2020. Google is soon to commence building its own cars with a production target also in 2020. BMW has teamed up with the Chinese internet giant Baidu to gain access to Baidu’s mapping platform with testing currently underway outside Shanghai and Beijing. Mercedes in 2013 tested an autonomous car driving at 60 miles on a German Autobahn (speed unknown!) and has approval to test cars in California. Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla has stated publically that he expects driverless cars to be ready for consumers in the next five years.
K2 Asset Management sees both winners and losers during this period of hyper-accelerated change, new corporate partnerships are forming and those companies that do not invest and adapt will be left behind. Although it will be some time before the autonomous car becomes a commercial reality, the plug-in electric car is already upon us. Tesla is at the forefront of Electric cars with its battery technology possibly revolutionising the industry, however the company’s shares are currently trading on a 2016 P/E of 204x, and therefore, as George Michael said, “I gotta have faith”. Although we see Tesla being one of the key winners of this revolution, we also believe existing automotive companies such as General Motors, (which trades on only 5.5x 2016 P/E), with its Chevy Volt and Chevy Spark and BMW with its I-Series will continue to play a key role in the automotive market for a considerable time.
Electric car adoption is gaining pace, increasing by 70% from 2014 to 2015, with 550,000 vehicles sold worldwide. Although this figure in absolute terms is small relative to total global car sales of 74.3m in 2015, it is a trend that exhibits significant growth and continues to cause disruption to the broader automotive market. This trend was particularly noticeable on a recent research trip that emphasized the willingness of Parisians to embrace electric vehicles. Paris has over 720 charging locations with in excess of 5,500 charging points, highlighting the extensive impact electric cars have had.
Cars are constantly evolving and as both investors and consumers we must be able to adapt in order to gain benefit from this automotive revolution and not simply continue as a passenger.
Source: Bloomberg Data
Source: Deloitte University Press
James Soutter is a Portfolio Manager at K2, specialising in international equities.
If you would like further information about the K2 International Strategies, please contact a member of our distribution team on 03 9691 6111 or visit www.k2am.com.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is produced by K2 Asset Management Ltd (“K2”) AFSL: 244393 in good faith and is intended as general information only and is not complete or definitive. K2 does not accept any responsibility, and disclaims any liability whatsoever for loss caused to any party by reliance on the information in this article. Any advice in this article is general in nature and does not consider your individual objectives, needs or financial situation. You should consider your individual circumstances before making a decision about any of the financial products discussed in this article. K2 is the issuer of a number of managed investment schemes. A product disclosure statement for the managed investment schemes referred to in this article can be obtained at http://www.k2am.com.au or by contacting K2. You should consider the product disclosure statement before making a decision to acquire or continue to hold an interest in the managed investment schemes.


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As many growers coast to coast know, freight rates have spiked for produce shipments.
“Transportation costs have drastically impacted the celery market. There is a lot of pressure for lower FOB prices to make up for exorbitant freight costs,” says John Chobanian, commodity account manager with Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms.
Over in Scottsdale, AZ, Justin Bootz of Legend Produce LLC adds that there is a struggle currently to find trucks, even though rates are at all-time highs. “Two years ago in the time before COVID-19, you could find a truck going to the East Coast for maybe $6,000-$6,500. Now that same truck probably costs $10,000-$11,000,” says Bootz.
Lead time an issue
Part of the problem is the lead time involved when pulling quotes together for pricing. “We have to quote a customer to bid on the domestic season very far in advance. So when we’re figuring out what our delivered costs are going to be, we have to get estimates from the freight companies months and months in advance and they’re doing their best guess,” says Bootz. He adds that when it comes time to get those programs going months after that initial quote, carriers are reporting they can’t load goods at the same rates previously quoted because it’s costing an additional $2,000-$3,000 on top of the quote. “Gas prices are also going up and there are also driver shortages. The freight has never really come down or stabilized even since COVID,” says Bootz.
This is on top of a number of other cost-related issues growers are contending with coming out of the pandemic, including the increasing costs of packaging and shipping materials such as pallets. “But looking ahead, our biggest issue this season is going to be the historically high freight rates,” says Bootz.


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How publishers wring new value from old content
Creating original editorial content is expensive. That’s why modern publishing is as much an exercise in dusting off and repurposing old content as it is creating fresh posts.
There are a few ways publishers squeeze more out of their content. One is the approach BuzzFeed has honed, to keep iterating. One way it does this is with what it calls “hot frames.” It may write up a post with a certain frame, and if does well, try it again across different platforms and geographies. So a 2013 post that publisher Dao Nguyen once wrote, 27 Signs You Were Raised By Asian Immigrant Parents (2.3 million views) was based on similar ones and could be adapted to other immigrant communities. The idea also could be adapted into a video or illustration and translated into other languages.
BuzzFeed also spins existing content into new forms. It has posts that are turned into videos and the other way around; posts that have quizzes along with them. Its Facebook pages, Tasty and Nifty, grew out of an adaptation strategy where it applies learnings from editorial to videos and franchises out of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures.
Having well-tended evergreen content — timeless fare like how-tos and recipes — also helps publishers in search. At About.com, which gets some two-thirds of its traffic from people Googling topics like health, finance, evergreen content is so much its essence that its writers spend as much if not more time updating articles as they do producing new ones, CEO Neil Vogel said. Its health vertical, VeryWell, has about 50,000 pieces of content, with an average age of 285 days, the most popular of which get the most updating.
“When we write something, it has to be good for probably six months to three years,” he said. “We’re not a breaking news site; we are content that helps you solve problems. So we’ve always had an eye towards making evergreen content.”
Part of the increased interest in evergreen content is the rise of Facebook. The average lifespan of a post (when an article reached 90 percent of its pageviews) is about 2.6 days, according to Parsely, a publishing analytics firm. That’s not a ton of time, and it means that publishers have to create a lot of content to sustain their traffic, and evergreen content can do that, said Sachin Kamdar, Parsely’s CEO.
News publishers may have a bias in favor of the new, but they’re also learning evergreen tricks. The New York Times has been experimenting with ways to repurpose archived content for the past couple of years, since its 2014 Innovation Report pointed to the need for it. Recently, it introduced a new section on the home page and apps, Smarter Living: Tips for Daily Life, highlights service journalism pieces in areas like health, food and tech.
“Many of these stories offer advice that holds up over time — months or even years after they are published,” said Clifford Levy, assistant masthead editor at the Times.
Vox.com built a site around explainers that have a long shelf life, like this article, “10 simple tips for making your home wifi network faster.” Originally was published in December 2014, it was then updated and reposted in July 2015.
“The main thing is that if we have good stories that become relevant again, we should use them again,” Matthew Yglesias, Vox.com’s executive editor. Yglesias cited a story he wrote about HUD Secretary Julian Castro being on Hillary Clinton’s shortlist for vice president. Most of the story is biographical information about Castro and the strategic choice Clinton is facing. If there are new Castro developments, Yglesias said, he can repost the story with a new lead but basically keep all the background information.
Publishers tread into questionable ethical territory when they try to pass off older articles as new, though. Business Insider has been known to dust off stories and repost them with a new headline, barely changing the copy. Vox.com is known to have reposted articles long after their original publication date, and giving them a new date even if there’s no indication they were updated. Asked about the practice, Yglesias said that’s a function of Vox.com’s feature story template and that because the practice applied to stories that aren’t newsy or time-bound, he didn’t think it was confusing anyone.
Image courtesy of Fotolia.
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Ubisoft is showcasing new content from some of its highly-anticipated titles and announcing several exciting new games at E3 today. Set in Ancient Egypt, you play as Bayek - an Egyptian Medjay and possibly the very first Assassin ever within the franchise's world and timeline. You can register for The Crew 2 beta at http://www.thecrewgame.com/beta until the game's 2018 release.
The viewer is reminded that the tests "Can't hurt you", so you know something is going to go horribly wrong.
It looks glorious to behold and this game play trailer gives us a great idea of what to expect.
Saudi coalition says Yemen rebels fired missile at UAE ship
The source added that the vessel had been carrying out acts of aggression within the territorial waters of Yemen . The military aggression has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people, a lot of them civilians.
With the successful release of the Nintendo Switch it's expected that this conference will look to bolster the games selection available on the console as it now runs a little thin. There are still no details on gameplay or a release date, but we do know it's a prequel and at least have confirmation that the project is in active development. The original Crew game was an enormous flop, with hardly anybody feeling that it made good on the promises it made to players a couple of E3 conferences ago. It launches on October 27 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Producer Matthew Rose announced Starlink: Battle for Atlas.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas is set to launch in Fall 2018, and will be playable on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and even Nintendo Switch.
Using the Nintendo Switch controller as a test device, a player placed a dockable ship on top of the controller to make it work in the game.
Conor McGregor savagely trolls Floyd Mayweather after super-fight is confirmed
McGregor received a California boxing license previous year but is still waiting for his Nevada application to be approved. Prior to that, Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao in what became the highest-grossing pay-per-view fight of all time.
Another pirate game. It's the year of the pirates apparently. Plus it's amusing to hear people say the title of this game seriously.
Much has been revealed already about the next installment in the Far Cry series, so Ubisoft laid back this time and introduced us to the protagonists of the game.
Set in fictional Hope County, Montana, the game's story features a religious cult taking over part of the state in order to exact a violent, ritualistic vengeance. Not only did they reveal more on the long-awaited campaign but it also stunned audiences with gameplay from the legendary Darth Maul. At a glance it sounds like an empty corporate handshake, but the gameplay video shows what appears to be a deep tactical RPG in the vein of XCOM.
Ubisoft does its best Inception impersonation (sans the iconic horn) for The Crew 2 cinematic trailer.
Scalise had 'severe internal bleeding,' needs several more operations: hospital
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The spectacular trailer for Beyond Good And Evil 2 was a big surprise at Ubisoft's E3 show, with the original game having come out and cemented itself as a fan favourite 14 years ago.
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It’s been a productive few months for 500px, the popular Toronto-based photo community powered by creative people.
Last month they raised a massive $8.8 million Series A funding round from Andreessen Horowitz and Harrison Metal. Even before that the company had increased its community by over 150 percent in less than a year, to 2.5 million photographers. It now gets over a billion page views and API request per monthacross the platform.
Today the company has brought on a few “tech heavy hitters” as executives. Andy Yang joins as their new COO, formerly the managing director of Extreme Startups. Meanwhile Patrick Lor comes on as a new board member. Lor formerly cofounded iStock Photo, the company that exited for $50 million nearly a decade ago.
Yang, previously of Netflix, Chegg, Goldman Sachs and Accenture, made a big dent in the Canadian startup world through his work at Extreme Startups. There the former managing director oversaw three successful cohorts of startups, including such names as Shoplocket, Picatic, Instaradio and Koge Vitamins.
“Andy brings a depth of strategic and business management expertise to 500px,” read a release. “He’ll be overseeing company’s operations, financial direction, and growth and strengthening organizational policies and processes.”
Meanwhile Lor is well known for cofounding the immensely popular iStock Photo, which was acquired by Getty Images in 2004. After that Lor moved on to start Dissolve, a stock footage company that helps brands tell better stories with video. As a director Lor will help with the commercial licensing marketplace that 500px is expected to roll out in the New Year.
Lor had some nice things to say about the startup that he is now helping. “500px is one of the most beautiful sites on the Internet,” he said. “People spend hours browsing amazing images and soaking in the creative inspiration from the community. Evgeny and Oleg and their team have an opportunity to disrupt the commercial photo space and help photographers earn a lot more money from their work. I’m excited to help 500px execute on this goal.”
In “Evgeny”, Lor is referring to founder Evgeny Tchebotarev, who moves on to the role of chief product officer. “He will supervise the product teams as they innovate and improve current offerings and create new products that add value for photographers.”
Finally Renat Gataullin, one of the early partners in the company, rejoins as CTO. A serial entrepreneur, Gataullin recently graduated from the prestigious Y Combinator Accelerator program in Silicon Valley. As CTO, he’ll map the platform’s development and ensuring its ability to quickly scale amid expansion.
Cofounder Oleg Gutsol said that “big ideas demand big thinkers”. “We’ve assembled a team of bright, innovative leaders who will help us push the boundaries of 500px as we work to achieve our goal of being the best photographer-centred platform in the world.”
500px has been so impressive mainly because the company hardly tried to monetize before it meteoric rise and subsequent huge series A round. The photo licensing space has long been an industry with a fairly straightforward business model and a straight path to make money.
Founded in 2009, the company “has grown to become the premier platform with the highest quality photography worldwide.”


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To understand why some of the regional Bell companies want to team up with Michael Ovitz, the Hollywood superagent, visit the gleaming new digital video production center of the Bell Atlantic Corporation in Reston, Va.
There, Bell Atlantic plans to produce and disseminate television programming for its Middle Atlantic telephone network. Many of those programs may eventually spring from the venture with Mr. Ovitz, Nynex and Pacific Telesis that is expected to be announced next week.
Construction workers are still putting up plasterboard and pulling thigh-sized bundles of cable through the ceilings. But the new 32,000-square-foot center is already rigged with supercomputers, digital cameras, editing bays and computer systems to keep track of every movie each person buys. In total, the center's cost approaches $200 million.
All this -- just to crack into the cable television business?
No, Bell Atlantic's ambitions are much grander. Company executives, convinced that they must distinguish themselves from today's established cable programmers, say this center is designed to go beyond staples like Home Box Office, Nickelodeon or CNN and offer more customized entertainment and shopping.
Thus, the company has tied together a computer system that, almost like Orwell's Big Brother, could monitor the movies a person orders and then suggest others with the same actors or themes.Continue reading the main story
Going a step further, the system would enable advertisers to send commercials directly to customers known to have bought particular kinds of merchandise. Thus, people who bought camping gear from a video catalogue might start seeing commercials for outdoor clothing.
"Our charter is to offer a differentiated product that will allow us to compete with the cable industry," said Stuart Johnson, chief executive of Bell Atlantic Video Services. "This is not a trial. This is a real business."
The scale of the new center, with its capabilities for producing and editing as well as distributing programs, makes clear how serious Bell Atlantic is about the venture. What is missing is the creative material from producers and advertisers, and that is what people like Mr. Ovitz and Creative Artists Agency, which he heads, are to help deliver.
"We want people from all over the country to be making games and new applications, so that eventually we have an insanely great collection of programming," said Michael Lasky, director of digital production at the center.
Using their telephone networks, modernized with fiber optics and electronics to allow transmission of digital video programming to television sets, the three Bell companies eventually intend to provide interactive entertainment and information to as many as 46 million businesses and homes.
But the most immediate needs are mundane -- like being able to create promotional ads for new video-on-demand services and to design on-screen program guides.
Supercomputers made by the N-Cube Corporation can each store roughly 400 movies on digital hard-drive disks and will be able to pump them out to as many as 6,000 customers, once Bell Atlantic has laid the fiber optic and coaxial lines.
In this environment, simply offering movies will not be enough. Bell Atlantic executives want to be able to customize the on-screen guide to promote particular programs -- like a Halloween special of "Nightmare on Elm Street" or to provide advertising that blends television with the features of a computer on-line information service.
Just when all these new services become available remains unclear. Bell Atlantic hopes to conduct a market trial with 1,000 homes in January or February, and to gradually expand that by next summer. If the Federal Communications Commission approves its applications to build networks around the region, the company hopes to begin wiring about 100,000 homes a month by early 1996 and to reach more than eight million homes by the year 2000.
The new center will serve in part as an electronic clearing house, distributing broadcast and cable television networks. But a more important role is to store movies in digital form on big computers called servers.
The center now has an inventory of 700 movies, and the server now in place can be loaded with about 360 titles. The servers are massively parallel supercomputers that string together thousands of inexpensive microprocessors and can be expanded to accommodate more material as the need arises.
The Reston site will also serve as a production center for promotional material and other new programming, and will include at least one "blue screen" room, where a producer can superimpose images and create special effects.
Virtually all video material used in the center will be kept in digital form and stored in computer work stations rather than on videotape. The idea, company executives say, is to make it easy for producers to freely mix and match images, music and graphic material.
The video server computers will be tied into other large computers that are responsible for processing all the transactions -- whether logging a customer's order, selecting which server will transmit the program wanted, or handling billing for the transaction.
The new center will also be the hub of Bell Atlantic's new navigation system, called Stargazer, which gives customers a menu of offerings and helps them sort through the choices. Among other things, customers would sift movie listings by category and then call up previews.
Though not yet completed, company executives say the system will also allow a person to fast-forward, pause or rewind a program as if it were playing on a videocassette recorder. The company hopes to have that ready by the end of the year.
One facet of the Reston operation that may raise concern about invasion of privacy is the extensive customer data bases that Bell Atlantic would be able to compile. Adapting a software system developed by Electronic Data Systems, Bell Atlantic executives say they have developed an interactive marketing environment. The system automatically tracks the transaction pattern of each customer, allowing tightly aimed promotional efforts.
"It brings the targeting ability of direct mail to television," said Robert Townsend, head of interactive media at the center. "It will aggregate the experiences of groups of people and direct specific messages or program advertisements to that particular group."
Privacy-rights advocates have long been concerned about the ability of phone companies to use customer information for marketing.
That issue re-emerged in a new form several weeks ago when members of Congress complained about plans by America Online, the computer data service, to sell its customer lists to direct marketers.
Larry Plumb, a Bell Atlantic spokesman, acknowledged the sensitivity of privacy concerns, but said that the company's own self-interest would be harmed if customers began to feel intruded upon.
"We're the newcomer here," he said. "If a person doesn't like what we're doing, then he's going to go back to over-the-air television, or back to cable, or back to the video-rental store."Continue reading the main story


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Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay’s Genting Hong Kong is looking at potential asset sales and debt restructuring to help its loss-making cruise liner navigate the challenging business environment brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The wealth of the country’s 50 richest on the 2020 Forbes Malaysia Rich List fell for a second straight year due to a weaker ringgit and a nearly 10% decline in the country’s benchmark stock index. Their collective net worth of US$79 billion is down 7% from a year ago.
From airlines to manufacturing and property to delivery services, business has not been good for many of Malaysia’s top tycoons as the country’s economic growth rate slowed. Overall, 30 tycoons on the 2019 Forbes Malaysia Rich List saw their wealth shrink while only 11 enjoyed gains.
SINGAPORE (March 8, 2018) – The wealth of tycoons on the 2018 Forbes Malaysia Rich List soared over the past year. A 6.6% rise in the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index over the past year and a 13.1% appreciation in the ringgit’s value against the dollar helped boost most of the [...]
Despite Genting Chairman Lim Kok Thay embarking on a fierce overseas investment drive, it's a family feud over the empire's fortune and ownership that is making the headlines. Last year several family members took their battle to court.
Robert Kuok retains the top spot for the 12th consecutive year SINGAPORE (March 2, 2017) – Malaysian businesses faced many headwinds in the past year, from a falling currency to political uncertainty. Despite the tough times, most tycoons on the Forbes 2017 Malaysia Rich List appeared unfazed - more than [...]
Malaysian tycoon Lim Kok Thay is investing heavily in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics through Squaw Valley partner Genting Secret Green Garden Resort. (ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images) An alliance with the host of the snowboarding and freestyle events at 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is expected to boost business from China back at home [...]


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When it comes to tracking down DIY electronics project ideas, you’ve got a lot of solid web sites out there. Codemade is a web app that gathers a bunch of those sources together. Read more...
Len McCluskey Worzel Gummidge The Politics Home web site scored a bit of a coup the other day when it predicted that Unite boss Len McCluskey would launch an unusual 'power grab' within his own union. Kevin Schofield wrote on 30 November...Show More Summary
Percona announces the release of Percona Server for MongoDB 3.2.11-3.1 on December 7, 2016. Download the latest version from the Percona web site or the Percona Software Repositories. Percona Server for MongoDB 3.2.11-3.1 is an enhanced,...Show More Summary
Vivaldi is working on version 1.6 of the web browser currently and pushing out updates to the developer channel regularly that introduce new features. You have probably come across sites in the past that use the page title to indicate that updates are available. Show More Summary
Over at Cato’s Police Misconduct web site, we have selected the worst case for the month of November: The Albuquerque Police Department, (APD) which is now under investigation, once again, for misconduct. Here’s the background. A few...Show More Summary
Lawmakers in France have voted to ban supposedly “misleading” pro-life web sites and the reaction to the vote from pro-life advocates there and around the world has been swift. After a heated debate, the French National Assembly passed a bill to outlaw websites supposedly spreading misinformation about abortion. Abortion activists have accused Pro-Life campaigners of […]
After publishing a McCarthyistic “black list” that smears some 200 Web sites as “Russian propagandists,” The Washington Post refuses to apologize — and other mainstream media outlets pile on, writes Norman Solomon. By Norman Solomon We still don’t have any…Read more ?
If you are running a home improvement and remodelling company, you should seriously consider creating a professional web site right after your company’s email address and phone are set up. An SEO optimized home improvement and remodeling web site is key to generating more leads for any contractor. Show More Summary
Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, […]
Lawmakers in France have voted to ban supposedly “misleading” pro-life web sites. From a European news web site: After a heated debate, the French National Assembly has passed a bill to outlaw websites spreading misinformation about abortion. Pro-Life campaigners have been accused of pretending to give neutral information while putting pressure on women not to […]
Whereas tech companies use signed messages to flag government demands for data, criminals are trying to use them to warn of compromised sites.
Not everything on torrenting sites is illegal to download, in fact there is a lot of stuff that you can legally download without worrying. Finding some of the stuff around the web can be hard, but torrent sites do a great job of rounding...Show More Summary
Yesterday, Kellogg Co., which manufactures popular breakfast cereals and other products, decided to pull its advertising from Brietbart News, which reports conservative news — including pro-life news. The company claimed the web site’s conservative readers are not “aligned with our values as a company.” “We regularly work with our media-buying partners to ensure our ads […]
The Tor Project issued an urgent patch for a new exploit targeting some users of the Tor Browser.
The Internet Archive is probably the most important site that most people have never heard of, much less used. It is an amazing thing: not just a huge collection of freely-available digitized materials, but a backup copy of much of today's Web, available through something known as the Wayback Machine. Show More Summary
The Washington Post’s McCarthyistic conspiracy theory implicating some 200 Web sites in an alleged Russian propaganda network continues to spread across mainstream media despite being debunked, as in Patrick Henningsen’s report. By Patrick Henningsen The mainstream media’s post-election hysteria has…Read more ?
Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: How do you know if a conservative message is effective? When the Left tries to shut it down! That’s the position our friends at 2nd Vote find themselves in after they launched aShow More Summary
Today, Google announces strategic partnerships with Visa and Mastercard to bring Android Pay to more places on the mobile web. Android Pay users will soon be able to pay on hundreds of thousands of new sites where Visa Checkout or Masterpass are accepted using their preferred device authentication method - like fingerprint recognition. Show More Summary
"With the Alfred & Scott Web site, we are embarking on new ways to increase awareness of the target group for our commercial portal,” she said.
Analyzing Site Attacks with the PHP Web Application Firewall Proxy By Roman Shneer PHP Web Application Firewall is a package than can block malicious requests by acting as a proxy script. It uses a white list to let Webmasters determine...Show More Summary


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The battle of the sexes is finally over — and it’s bad news for the guys. According to the results of an unscientific experiment of a game of Trivial Pursuit, women are smarter than men.
Five months ago, makers of the game organised an online version that took place on a global scale, in nine languages and saw some 15. 1 million questions asked and answered.
The balance of power shifted repeatedly between the sexes, which were sometimes just a few correct answers apart, but ended with the women clinching victory. They correctly answered 4.088 million compared to 4.077 million by the men.


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It looks like lovers of car-sharing apps can sleep well tonight. Representatives from two of the three companies hit with cease-and-desist letters from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation suggested they will continue to operate.
Both Uber and Lyft cited the California Public Utilities Commission, which earlier this year cleared both companies to operate in the state of California. Sidecar, which was also hit with a letter from Los Angeles, also is permitted by the commission to operate, though company officials did not respond to my request for comment.
“We already signed an agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission explicitly stating that Uber services, including the eco-friendly uberX, are authorized to operate statewide,” an Uber spokesman wrote me in an email. “In this case, it’s the state PUC who has jurisdiction, and the PUC has explicitly given the authority for these drivers to operate.”
A Lyft spokeswoman sent a statement from company founder and president John Zimmer.
“Yesterday’s cease and desist letter from a taxi regulator within the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is similar to what we received when we first launched in San Francisco one year ago. Since that time, we have
signed an operating agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which allows us to operate legally throughout California. The CPUC operating agreement clarifies that we are not a taxi and demonstrates that this is a state issue.”


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One of Apple’s biggest iPadOS 16 updates is borrowed from Android
Apple’s new iPadOS 16 software brings a new virtual memory swapping feature that Android users have been enjoying for some time.
The company unveiled iPadOS 16 on Monday at WWDC 2022, bringing with it major new updates to multitasking, external display support, collaboration, and more.
Several major updates have been reserved for Apple’s iPad M1, iPad Air, and iPad Pro M1 (2021), including a new virtual memory swapping feature that will be very familiar to Apple Android and Windows iPad users.
Powered by the performance of the Apple-designed M1 chip, Display Zoom now allows users to increase the pixel density of the screen so they can see more in their apps, which is especially helpful when using Split View. With Virtual Memory Swap, iPad storage can be used to expand available memory for all applications, providing up to 16 gigabytes of memory for the most demanding applications, making multitasking absolutely seamless.
Virtual Memory Swap takes storage space on the iPad and converts it to virtual memory, unlocking more RAM for really intensive tasks and improved multitasking, a very important feature now that iPad supports a much wider range of multitasking options, including expanded compatibility with full screen.
As noted, this requires the power of the M1 chip, so you’ll need to use one of Apple’s best iPads to take advantage of it. The same goes for Stage Manager, borrowed from macOS Ventura as a new way to manage true multitasking and resizable windows on iPad.
The first developer beta of iPadOS is now available!
This is everything Apple announced at WWDC 2022
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The recipient will receive the message as soon as he enters Skype. Before sending a video, you can view it and, if necessary, overwrite it.
The message will be available only to the recipient, company representatives emphasize. Users of smartphones and tablets will be able to record video clips with both the front and back camera of the device, and also change the cameras directly during recording. In this case, unlike video service Vine, integrated into Twitter, video message in Skype can not be looped (make it constantly repeating). The new Skype feature has a lot of limitations that can reduce its popularity among users.
For example, one video can not be sent to several recipients at once.
Users can not share audio messages, as well as video from the memory of a smartphone or tablet.
In addition, the user will not be able to save the posted audio on their device.
And, finally, sent video messages, unlike usual text messages in Skype, can not be canceled.


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Throngs of people queued up outside Raintr33 Hotel even before doors were opened at 11am to get their hands on furniture, furnishings, and assorted knick-knacks that are all going for cheap as the establishment has closed down.
Bargain hunters in Singapore are not deterred by pre-loved goods or murmurings about getting more than they bargained for.
One middle-aged woman told Mothership she arrived at the premises at 10:15am.
There was already a queue of about 50 people when she got there, she said.
She said she wanted to check out the items on sale as these were used in the hotel, meaning they were at least of a certain quality and make.
Another man said he arrived at 9:45am and there was already a queue.
He wanted to look at the furniture on offer and he would go for lunch once he was done.
An elderly couple said they arrived at 11am, but they regretted as the queue was very long and their legs were aching.
However, they said they would continue waiting.
Hotel furniture popular
Before Raintr33 Hotel closed down, it was known for sprucing up its colonial building setting with contemporary furnishings.
The hotel is known for its spacious rooms and balcony, albeit having a weird sink arrangement that is outdoors.
Queues of about 150 people were seen on the premises when Mothership arrived before 12pm.
There was also a queue on the previous day, Nov. 10.
Deck chairs, plates, potted plants, frames, and cutlery and dining ware were all on sale.
Photos are self-explanatory.
The sale will run till 7pm daily until all items are sold out.
Photos by Syahindah Ishak
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Car shoppers conducted over one million daily searches, averaging around 30 million searches per month, with the platform producing over 4.2 million leads for its customers over the past 12 months, an impressive increase of 14%.
During the same period, AutoTrader also created thousands of pieces of useful content, resulting in millions of views, specifically designed to assist shoppers throughout their vehicle-buying journey.
AutoTrader’s CEO, George Mienie, says, “The number of searches on AutoTrader can be equated to filling Soccer City with 100,000 people, 10 times daily – every day of the month.”
He adds, “The hundreds of millions of rands invested in marketing and technology over the last five years is reaping rewards in delivering value to our customers through a seamless car shopping experience."
Mienie says as the company looks to the final quarter of 2019, the business is proud of what has been achieved.
“Our website and the customers we serve are at the heart of what we do – and it is here we have seen sound business growth,” he concludes.


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Ready for more Forza? Good news! Forza Horizon 2’s standalone expansion pack, Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious, is now available! Continue reading Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious Out Today
If you booted up your PlayStation sometime the past three days, you’d notice that the latest firmware update (2.50) aka Yukimura is now live. Continue reading Latest PS4 Firmware Now Live Which Adds The Long-awaited Suspend/Resume Mode
This year marks the 20th anniversary for the Tales series, which is one of the biggest JRPGs out there. Continue reading Tales Series Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Sony will be offering a 10% discount on all single-cart purchases made at the PlayStation Store this weekend.
Microsoft revealed April’s Games With Gold line up, Final Fantasy XV‘s director explained why they wanted an all male cast, and Konami released another statement regarding Hideo Kojima! Continue reading Final Fantasy Boy Bands and the Kojima Saga Continues! — News From Nowhere (March 26, 2015)
After weeks of rumors, theories, and conspiracies, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has finally made an official statement about the Netflix Legend of Zelda collaboration. Continue reading Nintendo Discusses Live-Action Show


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Walmart Will Kicked Of Cyber Monday 2016 Earlier Than Ever
Walmart reveals Cyber Monday deals for 2016 and details for the biggest online shopping day of the year!
Yes, Walmart is at it again! It should come as no surprise that Walmart will be starting their Cyber Week on Black Friday Nov 25th, 2016.
According to a press release that was released today by Walmart Corporate. Walmart plan to triple its online product assortment this year from 8 million to more than 23 million items – it will be their largest Cyber Week assortment to date.
Walmart will feature thousands of deals, specials and surprise brands for Cyber Monday 2016. We do expect Walmart to release a Cyber Monday ad scan in the upcoming days as they did last year. However, Walmart did reveal some of the deals that will be on sale for Cyber Week and Cyber Monday in the press release – check it out below.
Free Shipping will continue at Walmart.com on purchases of $50 or more as well as Free Store Pickup.
A few highlights for Walmart’s upcoming Cyber Week & Cyber Monday sale for 2016 are following. A Samsung 60″ 1080p HD Smart LED TV for $579 with $80 Walmart Gift Card ($1,120 savings) valid on Cyber Week Nov 25th. Black + Decker Robotic Vacuum for $196 ($103 savings) valid on Cyber Week.
For Cyber Monday beginning on Nov 28th at 12:01 – here are few standout highlights. The Samsung 65″ 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV for $999 ($1,200 savings). Also, the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming Edition Laptop PC will be on sale for $999.99 ($300 savings). Handbags from Rebecca Minkoff, Michael Kors, Kate Spades, Fossl and more will see huge markdowns.
Walmart will officially start their Cyber Week sale on Friday, November 25th at 12:01 est and their Cyber Monday sale on Monday, November 28th at 12:01 est at Walmart.com/cybermonday.
Here other deals that will be available at www.walmart.com beginning Nov 25th Cyber Week 2016:
Cyber Week Deals 2016 starting Friday, Nov. 25 at 12:01 a.m. EST
- Samsung 60″ 1080p HD Smart LED TV for $579 with $80 Walmart Gift Card ($1,120 savings)
- Google Home for $99 ($30 savings)
- Promark P70 VR Drone for $99 ($50 savings)
- Quadrone Hybrid Drone for $99 ($30 savings)
- Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S Instant Camera (includes Mini Film 10pk) for $49 – Walmart exclusive bundle
- Black + Decker Robotic Vacuum for $196 ($103 savings) – Walmart exclusive
- bObsweep bObi Pet Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for $249 ($83 savings)
- Polaroid Cube+ Action Camera with WiFi for $109.99
- 6V Spider-Man Speed Coupe for $79 ($70 savings)
- 6V Trolls Speed Coupe for $79 ($70 savings)
- Ozark Trail 28-Piece Premium Camping Combo Set for $149 ($50 savings)
- 55″ My First Trampoline with Lightpad and Enclosure for $59 ($10 savings)
- Lifetime 44″ Portable Adjustable Basketball System for $89 ($30 savings)
- Gold’s Gym AbFirm Pro for $49 (savings of $30)
- Ozark Trail 30-Ounce Double-Wall, Vacuum-Sealed Tumbler for $9.74
- Boots for the family starting at $14.88
- Activewear for the family starting at $5
- Denim for the family starting at $10
Cyber Monday Deals 2016 starting Monday, Nov. 28 at 12:01 a.m. EST
- Samsung HDTVs over 50 percent off MSRP
- Samsung 65″ 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV for $999 ($1,200 savings)
- VIZIO 50″ 4K Ultra HD SmartCast Smart LED TV for $379.99 ($148 savings)
- Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming Edition Laptop PC for $999.99 ($300 savings)
- Call of Duty Dragonfly Drone with Camera for $89 ($10.99 savings)
- Drones from DJI, Parrot, Autel, Yuneed and more starting at $199
- Nerf N-Strike MEGA Mastodon Blaster with Free Blaster for $51 ($28 savings)
- Sunglasses from Prada starting at $99.99, with other savings on brands like Ray-Ban, Gucci, Miu Miu, Cartier and more on Marketplace
- Watches from Michael Kors starting at $99.99, with other savings on brands like Omega, Movado and more on Marketplace
- Handbags from Rebecca Minkoff starting at $71, with other savings on brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Fossil and more on Marketplace
- Boots from brands like Frye and UGG starting at $135 on Marketplace
- Outerwear for the family starting at $9
- Diamond jewelry savings up to $3,000


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Not a day goes by without yet another report of massive high-tech layoffs and lowered financial expectations — not to mention the economic slowdown, stock prices in steep decline and the ongoing series of dot-com closures.
But underneath most radar screens, a group of e-commerce sites are getting ahead in the New Economy. These e-businesses are not only surviving the shakeout, but making money. For them, the question is not when profit will be reached, but how much.
In this special report, the E-Commerce Times takes a look at six profitable Web businesses and examines the reasons why they have avoided the pitfalls of the faltering pack.
The success of brick-and-click firm The Sharper Image in the online space can be attributed to two keyfactors: value proposition and gross margins.
Sharper Image’s product line — backed by the brand name developed at their exclusive brick-and-mortar stores — gives Web shoppers a powerful motivation to visit and buy from the Sharperimage.com site. In contrast, many Internet retailers realized too late in the game that their visitors were not buying because the products being offered online were the same products customers could easily buy just about anywhere.
“The value proposition that The Sharper Image offers is in some ways unique,” Yankee Group online retail analyst Paul Ritter told the E-Commerce Times. “It offers products to consumers that are not found readily — or at all — on otheronline retailer sites.”
The Sharperimage.com site has seen a significant boom in online sales. In fiscal 2000, Web sales for the company increased 111 percent to US$60.2 million, up from $28.5 million in fiscal 1999. In addition, thecompany’s annual net earnings for the fiscal year increased 87 percent to$17.4 million, or $1.33 per share.
According to Ritter, Sharperimage.com is planning to improve profits by merchandising more of its own Sharper Image products, in comparison to products designed by other companies. Sharperimage.com also recently announced the opening of international online stores in Europe and the U.K.
Another dot-com winner is Internet real estate giant Homestore.com, whose dominance makes it a formidable foe for any company looking to step into the Web home sales market.
Homestore.com’s family of Web sites include, among others, Realtor.Com, which lists approximately 1.4 million homesfor sale, and HomeFair.com, which offers relocationservices.
Although not a typical brick-and-click operation, Homestore has leveragedits exclusive relationship with the National Association of Realtors to become the most visited real estate network on the Web. However, it is Homestore’s profitability and grossmargins that really distinguish this dot-com.
Homestore.com ended its first full year as a publicly traded company with213 percent year-over-year growth in pro forma revenues, and fourth quartercash profitability of 4 cents per share. For the full year 2001, the companyexpects to generate revenues between $340 and $350 million and pro formaearnings per share between 37 and 40 cents.
How did Homestore beat the shakeout blues? The company followed a traditional business motto: if you don’t want to go head-to-head with your competitors, buy them. With that principle in mind, Homestore has built its own powerhouse with a series of major acquisitions, including the recent pick-up of Move.com.
Homestore.com has also leveraged its relationship with America Online, through which Homestore.com is the exclusive U.S. provider of professional home and moving services for the giant portal.
Another brick-and-click, the Internet arm of catalog apparel firm Lands’ End, also deserves a nod for making money in cyberspace. According to Landsend.com, the company has been profitable since it began in 1995.
Landsend.com has been lauded by industry analysts for its leadership in the customer service arena, in particular its ability to create an excellent Web shopping experience for its consumers.
The site offers several much appreciated online features, such as an inventory alert, ordertracking services, and a “personal shopper” that helps consumers find particular products.
These goodies helped Landsend.com’s Internet sales revenue grow almost 60 percent over the lastfiscal year, from $138 million to $218 million. In its lastfinancial statement, the company said it expects to see its gross profit margin to showcontinued improvement. Landsend.com also forsees an increase in diluted earnings per share of atleast 20 percent for the next fiscal year.
Click here for Part II.


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Palm Desert Certified Farmers’ Market Announces Change For Upcoming 2022-2023 Season.
The Original Palm Desert Certified Farmers’ Market is pleased to announce an exciting change for its upcoming 2022-2023 season. The Market, which has been held on Wednesdays for the past thirteen years, will now be held every Sunday from 8am to 1pm, beginning on October 2nd. The Market is located in the Entrada Center right next to the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce, at 72559 Hwy 111.
As the second longest-running farmers’ market in the Coachella Valley, the Original Palm Desert Certified Farmers’ Market has close ties to its community. The change of days has been long requested by Palm Desert residents and the Palm Springs Cultural Center is thrilled to be able to accommodate this request.
Now with the move to Sundays, the Palm Springs Cultural Center hopes to extend its reach to provide even more access to fresh, farm-direct produce to community members. Customers can expect to see their longtime favorite farms and vendors along with brand new faces, and fun family friendly activities throughout the season.


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Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar AKA ‘God of Cricket’ was seen wearing traditional clothes at a wedding that he attended this week. Sachin even posted a video of himself wearing ‘Pheta’ (Marathi Traditional Turban). In the video, Sachin can be seen sitting on a chair, while a person is helping him wear the turban.
“It is the wedding of my big brother Nitin’s daughter. For that, I am wearing this traditional pheta,” Sachin can be heard in the video. Meanwhile, former India cricketer and close friend of Sachin, Yuvraj Singh posted a funny comment on the video. “Oye Sachin Kumar ehhh,” Yuvraj wrote in the comment box of the video.
Meanwhile, Sachin was spotted driving his Porsche 911 992 Turbos S with Techart kit, which it a distinct appearance and makes it easy to spot even amidst a crowd. It is to be noted that the Techart kit for the 992 costs lakhs of rupees adding to the car’s value.
The video of Sachin Tendulkar driving his Porsche in Mumbai was posted on YouTube by CS12 Vlogs. The Turbo S owned by the former Indian cricketer might look like a normal Turbo S at the first glance but has got multiple enhancements in its looks because of the Techart kit. However, it is hard to determine what parts have been used by Sachin from the list of products Techart offers. The list of products includes alloy wheels, diffusers, spoilers, and other things.