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Cartwheel, 1010data partner to bring shopper data to retailers
MORRISTOWN, N.J. Cartwheel, a developer of shopper-based marketing programs, has partnered with 1010data, a data management platform, to deliver shopper data processing and storage capability for retailers to better utilize their shopper data to increase sales.
1010data, which currently provides data processing support to such companies as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, offers high–performance, web–based service for analyzing and managing large volumes of data, allowing for a more cost-effective data utilization for Cartwheel.
“At Cartwheel, we have spent the last four years developing an in depth understanding of how to look at, and use, retailer shopper data. Along the way we realized the importance of having the right data processing technology. We believe we have found it with 1010data,” said Larry Aronson, president and chief executive officer of Cartwheel.
1010data recently branched out from the financial sector, providing services for retailers Pathmark and Drug Fair and CPG giant Procter & Gamble. “At Drug Fair, we made a decision to launch a loyalty program in early 2007. We selected Cartwheel and 1010data as our partners in that effort,” said chief executive officer Tim LaBeau. “Since making that decision we have successfully launched the We Care program and have begun to use our shopper data and the analysis provided by Cartwheel to influence key marketing decisions.”
“[1010data’s] technology allows us to work with large volumes of data easily and without significant set-up time or expense,” Aronson stated. “This positions us to measurably improve the business results that our retail clients can generate from their shopper information,”
Middendorf appointed CFO of Arcadia
INDIANAPOLIS Arcadia Resources, a provider of home health care, medical staff, durable medical equipment and specialty pharmacy services under its proprietary DailyMed program, has appointed Matthew Middendorf as its permanent chief financial officer, effective Feb. 1.
Middendorf succeeds Lynn Fetterman, who has been employed as interim chief financial officer since February 2007. Fetterman will remain with the company through the conclusion of his employment agreement on May 24.
“On behalf of Arcadia HealthCare, I want to thank Lynn for contributing significantly to Arcadia’s turnaround. I am pleased that he will continue to assist us to ensure a smooth transition. We wish Lynn well in his future endeavors,” stated Marvin Richardson, president and chief executive officer of Arcadia. “We are excited that Matt is joining our executive team as Arcadia’s permanent chief financial officer. Together, we will work to build Arcadia’s long-term value and to continue our mission of keeping people at home and healthier longer.”
Middendorf previously served as a consultant to Arcadia HealthCare, providing day-to-day financial and accounting support to the interim chief financial officer and working on special projects for the chief executive officer.
In February 2007, Arcadia Resources acquired all of the membership interests of PrairieStone Pharmacy—a move that completed PrairieStone’s transition from an owner to an operator, manager and service provider to pharmacies. Before being named president and chief executive officer of Arcadia in May 2007, Richard served as president and chief executive officer of PrairieStone.
NRF panel stresses sustainability
NEW YORK Brenda Mathison, director of environmental affairs at Best Buy laid it out to store operators at the National Retail Federation convention, when she said that, as regards the sustainability issue, “You are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
Becoming proactive on sustainability is critical if retailers are to participate in the development of a greening commercial environment and, at the very least, be prepared for the inevitable rules and regulations emerging all over the globe, said the speakers at NRF’s Creating the “Green”: Protecting the Environment and Your Bottom Line seminar.
Mathison noted that Best Buy is developing a new green initiatives in focus stores that the company gradually will expand as it opens new units. She pointed out that Best Buy is taking a more comprehensive look at green issues. Energy efficiencies, transportation, recycling, green facilities and green products all are elements that Best Buy is incorporating into its sustainability efforts. Critically, Best Buy is building measurement into each element of its green push to provide standards, verification and, ultimately, a way to satisfy observers and its own employees that the company is committed to sustainability as a method of making it not only a better corporate citizen, but a better retailer as well.
Kevin Hagen, director of corporate social responsibility for REI, noted that the sporting good retailer has discovered, through its own sustainability initiatives a range of new opportunities that have made it a more efficient retailer. REI has looked inward as it has sought methods of becoming greener. Although charitable donations have been part of REI’s historic commitment to social responsibility, giving even several million dollars in contribution ultimately doesn’t have nearly as big an impact as spending $300 million in various investments the company has to make as it pursues it business. For that reason, the company has reviewed various practices from building to buying introducing green innovations that sometimes pay off immediately in terms of cost savings and some that will provide long-term returns as REI gets ahead of resource markets and inevitable environmental legislation and regulation.
Justin Doak, manager, LEED Retail Sector, U.S Green Building Council, noted that the group is bringing its preliminary examination of specialized practices to a close. It plans to offer LEED rules tailored specifically to retail in the fall, which not only will provide guidelines for concerned retailers but also will solidify the outlook for cities that are or will adopt LEED concepts as part of their building codes.
Additionally, Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Chicago’s Department of the Environment Commissioner, noted that her city is encouraging innovation across the board from government to retail and putting into place incentives for companies to adopt green practices. In terms of construction, that has included waving permit fees for green building projects. The results already are becoming apparent. She cited the care study of manufacturer F&F Foods, a company that conducted a green redesign project on a 150,000 square foot building. F&F spent $63,000 for an environmental audit and $722,000 for a retrofit. The result was a $296,000 cost savings annually and a pay back time of 2.65 years. The numbers suggest, as did the panelists, that green initiatives can generate returns beyond good will.


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July 22, 2022 06:47 GMT
- NBP Glapinski recently mentioned that the central bank will run monetary policy in a ‘responsible way’, balancing between inflation and growth.
- Policymakers have started to consider growth (again) as part of their equation as the sharp tightening in financial conditions we have seen in the past year has been pricing in a significant deceleration in the economic outlook.
- Even though consumer confidence ticked higher in July, it is still standing at historical lows and pricing in a plunge in the economic activity.
- Yesterday, it was reported that Polish Senate will approve Joanna Tyrowicz as member of the MPC (to replace Sura).
- Joanna Tyrowicz is a labor market economist and has been a critic of current governor Glapinski.

domain: news


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Tag Archives: eventus international
- Only one month left for the much-awaited Cyprus Gaming Show second installment
27 April 2018
Eventus International is stirring with excitement as the second instalment of the Cyprus Gaming Show (CGS) is drawing closer.
- Eventus International thanks everyone for attending SBEA 2018
20 April 2018
Over 250 Delegates were part of the discussions surrounding the latest regulations, business opportunities and technology in East Africa.
- Eventus International announces latest exhibitors and sponsors for the much-anticipated Cyprus Gaming Show 2018
17 April 2018
Eventus International is ecstatic to announce the latest exhibitors and sponsors for the second instalment of Cyprus Gaming Show (CGS).
- Eventus International announces new dates for Montenegro Gaming Show 2018
6 April 2018
Eventus International will go even bigger with the first-ever Montenegro Gaming Show, and decided to reschedule the Summit to the 11th & 12th of Sept 2018.
- Eventus International announces eggscellent easter discounts on SBEA 2018
27 March 2018
The Eventus International design team has hidden a very eggciting Easter egg on their newly revitalised website.
- Only four exhibition spaces left at SBEA 2018
21 March 2018
Eventus International announces the current sponsors and exhibitors for the upcoming 4th Annual Sports Betting East Africa Summit 2018.
Eventus International discusses all African Gaming events for 2019
27 November 2018
BetConstruct at Sports Betting East Africa
11 April 2018


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Apigee: Mobile apps a stumbling block for businesses
Businesses across the online space are failing in the mobile space, specifically in the app space. That is the takeaway from new data out from Apigee, which indicates fewer than 10% off IT decision makers are having success in building and deploying apps on-time and on-budget.
More and more brands are looking to the mobile space to connect with their core consumer base. Unfortunately, the mobile and app space is defeating many brands. According to new data out from Apigee nearly half (45%) of IT decision makers have missed on the quality of apps, on budgets, time and even the business impact of their brand's apps.
"Traditional IT is no longer viable for the new world of apps. IT as we know it has been heavily conditioned by the legacy of a control-oriented approach used to build and manage the systems of record of the past," said Bryan Kirschner, director of Apigee Institute. "But this approach is incompatible with the new business imperative to deliver systems of engagement at the pace the market demands. We've found that those who are succeeding in app deployment have a strikingly different approach to their IT departments. They recognize the strategic value of leveraging external expertise to maximize their agility and adaptability--this fundamental shift is called 'outside-in IT' and is a competitive necessity for every IT leader hoping to deliver digital experiences faster and better."
Some interesting takeaways from the report include:
• 1 in 4 IT decision makers of brands attempting to deploy apps have failed on timelines
• 1 in 5 have failed on budgets
• 5% failed to produce the apps
• 8% say they've 'exceeded expectations' of building/deploying apps
Of those who are having success in the app space, however, look for even more attention to be focused on mobile. The research shows most (85%) App Masters plan to push farther into the cloud; on average App Masters are moving or have moved about 80% of their infrastructure to IaaS (Infrastructure as a service).
Image via Shutterstock
- Report: Post-purchase contact key for future engagement
- Ad Roundup: Customer-focused releases
- UK retailers need to improve returns process
- Shoppers want more in-store tech
- Resolving customer issues quickly leads to greater brand loyalty
- Top 3 benefits for ecommerce success
- Research reveals extent of secondary revenue generation among UK retailers
- Report: Bot attempting to steal gift cards
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Consumer price index forecast to edge up slightly in July, while US retail sales also awaited
After last week’s market turmoil caused by North Korea and the US being at loggerheads, an easing of the tensions between the two countries has seen a sense of calm return. Not only does North Korea appear to be toning down some of the belligerent rhetoric, but China has stepped in to comply with UN sanctions against the country.
So after Monday’s gains, markets are expected to move higher again at the open:
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
A busier day for economic figures sees the release of UK inflation data and US retail sales figures for July.
When the last set of inflation numbers were released in June they showed a sharp fall in headline CPI from 2.9% to 2.6%, a welcome decline at a time when consumers have been feeling an increasing squeeze on their incomes. This fall raised hopes that inflation may well have peaked and today’s July CPI numbers could well go further in reinforcing that belief, though most expectations are for a tick back higher to 2.7%, while core CPI is also expected to rise to 2.5% from 2.4%.
A rise would be at odds with the recent softening in recent PPI numbers, which have slipped from 20% at the beginning of the year and could come in as low as 6.9% in today’s July numbers, but in line with the Bank of England’s forecasts which suggest we could see 3% before year end.


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Cobalt Market to Get Hotter Spurred by Mounting Demand
23 Oct 2018 • by Natalie Aster
LONDON – Cobalt is one of the most significant metals of the 21st century. Many countries view it as a strategic metal because it is critical to a wide range of industrial applications and essential for modern, sophisticated technologies. Moreover, this metal is not going to be replaced anytime soon. Strong demand along with limited supply has resulted in remarkable gains for the cobalt market this year, and the future outlook is very promising.
Presently, batteries present the largest application sector for cobalt, accounting for appr. 41% of the world’s cobalt demand. When added to nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries, cobalt helps to improve its efficiency and stability and also tackle such problems as corrosion, battery explosions, and reduced life cycle. The surging demand for mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.), electric vehicles and large-format rechargeable batteries acts as the major growth engine of the cobalt consumption.
Another important end-use sector of cobalt in the production of high-strength, wear-resistant, magnetic superalloys which grab a share of around 16% of the overall demand for cobalt. Carbides and diamond drills present the third biggest application of cobalt with a share of nearly 10% of the world’s demand.
Structure of global demand for cobalt by end-uses, 2018
Today, only 2% of the world’s total cobalt output come from primary cobalt production, whilst around 60% are sourced as a by-product from copper mines and 38% - from nickel mines.
The volume of the global cobalt production demonstrated continued growth during 2013-2015 and climbed to 126,000 metric tons as of 2015. However, it experienced a moderate decline in 2016 and totaled some 123,000 metric tons. In the year 2017, the world’s cobalt production volume continued following a downward trend and decreased to 110,000 metric tons.
World’s cobalt mine production during 2008-2017 (in thousand metric tons)
Globally, DR Congo tops the list of the world’s leading cobalt producers by a large margin outpacing other producing countries. Congo grabs a 58.5% share of the world’s total mine production of cobalt. In 2017, the volume of the cobalt mine production in Congo run to about 64,000 metric tons, registering a slight YoY decline. In the wake of the rising demand for cobalt, more attention is given to Congo as cobalt mining in this country is associated with human right abuses and horrible working conditions. However, despite all challenges faced by the country’s cobalt industry, Congo will continue attracting significant amounts of foreign investments in the foreseeable future due to high-quality of minerals mined in the country and low production costs.
Top 10 countries in world’s cobalt mine production during 2015-2017 (in thousand metric tons)
Russia ranks the second leading cobalt mining country in the world. Russia’s cobalt mine production was reached 5,600 metric tons in 2017, which is equivalent to appr. 5.14% of the world’s total output. With concerns regarding cobalt mining in Congo running high, the demand for cobalt from Russia could receive a considerable boost in the coming years – the only question is whether Russia will be able to satisfy the mushrooming demand. Whilst the country’s cobalt reserves are estimated at nearly 250,000 metric tons, Russia still remains well behind Congo in terms of cobalt production.
The third sport on the list of the world’s dominating mine producers of cobalt is held by Australia, accounting for a share of appr.4.59% of the global output. The country’s mine production of cobalt come to around 5,000 metric tons in 2017. The Australian cobalt industry is also receiving more attention from investors in the wake of the increasingly challenging environment in Congo.
COBALT MARKET FUTURE OUTLOOK
The increasing number of cobalt uses along with shifting market forces has resulted in a breathless rally in the value of cobalt. Besides, both soaring demand and mounting concerns over a global supply shortage have prompted the cobalt market to tighten substantially during the recent past, which in turn has heated up cobalt prices. However, on the back of the cobalt prices easing this year, questions have arisen whether the cobalt rally is eventually over; but, the production/consumption balance expected for the coming years suggests otherwise.
With demand from the key end-use industries (especially lightweight electric vehicles, medical, aerospace, electronics, amid others) poised to keep on rising at a brisk pace, and the demand from the battery application slated to see double-digit growth in the next 10 years, the world’s cobalt market is anticipated to enjoy an unprecedented upturn. By the year 2030, the world’s cobalt demand could be more than 45 times higher than it was in the year 2017. Meantime, the global cobalt market is projected to witness further tightening on the supply side. Therefore, whilst the demand for cobalt ramps up and supply struggles to keep up with consumption – an increasing supply/demand gap is expected to emerge, by the year 2021 it could reach 12,000 metric tons. If such a deficit will materialize in the coming years, cobalt prices will likely rise sharply.
© MarketPublishers.com, 2018


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Jetwing Travel Expands Promotional Network to Jakarta, Indonesia
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Embassy in Jakarta facilitated a Business to Business (B2B) Travel Agents Gathering in collaboration with Jetwing Travel and Sri Lankan Airlines to promote tourism in cooperation with Indonesian tourism entrepreneurs, a statement by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Jakarta said.
The gathering was held at the Embassy premises on 3 November 2023 and was attended by around 30 leading travel agent companies in Indonesia.
Sri Lanka Ambassador to Indonesia and ASEAN Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage expressed his hope that Sri Lanka – Indonesia cooperation in the tourism sector will be a long-term, sustainable collaboration and mutually beneficial for both countries.
The delegation from Jetwing Travel made a presentation regarding tourism packages to Sri Lanka with three options; general tour, umrah tour, and Buddhist pilgrims tour with different types of tour packages. The Sri Lankan Airline Deputy Manager in Indonesia discussed continued collaboration with Indonesia in tourism sector, presenting daily direct flights from Jakarta to Sri Lanka with many connectivity options.
Travel agents in Indonesia expressed keen interest to hold collective consortium meetings to further discuss the on-going collaboration in tourism sector.


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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - Amgen Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit jumped 30 percent due to higher sales for nearly all its drugs, an acquisition and a tax benefit.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Amgen Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit jumped 30 percent due to higher sales for nearly all its drugs, an acquisition and a tax benefit.
The world's biggest maker of biologic drugs says net income was $1.02 billion, or $1.33 per share, up from $788 million or per share a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Amgen says earnings amounted to $1.39 billion, or 1.82 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting $1.69 per share.
Revenue totaled $5.01 billion, up 13 percent. Analysts expected $4.81 billion.
Sales were boosted by Amgen's $9.7 billion purchase of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. as part of Amgen's strategy to become a major player in the market for pricey cancer drugs.
The company, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., forecast 2014 adjusted earnings per share of $7.90 to $8.20.


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As I’m sure you will now be aware, Apple has finally showcased its upcoming iPad, complete with the Retina display, A5X chipset, and 4G LTE.
No sooner does the tech world get a chance to digest the new features, does the fruit company reveal that its latest and greatest tablet is available to pre-order almost immediately. If you’re an owner of an iPad or iPad 2, the chances are, you’ll want to purchase this next one, which takes things to a whole new level – no matter which tasks you use your current iPad device for.
The display moves e-reading up quite a few gears in terms of clarity, and browsing photos and videos will be a more crisp and colorful experience. Of course, with a new, 5 mega-pixel camera sat on the back of the device, those photos and videos will also be much sharper than the rather hazy performance of the iPad 2.
The new and improved chip certainly ups the performance of the device as a whole, and means apps will respond quicker and run more smoothly than ever before. Additionally, gaming, which is already immensely popular on the Cupertino-based company’s tablet, will improve dramatically -making App Store titles even more serious challengers to the big consoles from Microsoft and Sony.
Tim Cook’s company has finally taken the bold step and dipped its toe in the ocean of 4G LTE technology. Having sat back and allowed rivals to be the early adopters, Apple now believes it has the means to accommodate the chip, which will see connection speeds fly through the roof.
Unless you reside stateside, finding a carrier (and living in a compatible area) may be a little bit of a challenge, but by purchasing the new iPad, you’ll have the technology ready and waiting.
The pricing as you’d expect remains the same, starting from $499, except that the former 3G versions are now world devices which carry support for 4G LTE.
Apple has held back in the past due to concerns about maintaining the slick form factor, but looks to have nailed it this time around. The new iPad is essentially indistinguishable from the iPad 2 visually, but once you turn it on, it’ll be a different ball game altogether.
To pre-order yours, head over to the official Apple Store site via this link.
We’ll be keeping tabs on any more info as it breaks, so stay tuned!


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Hyundai Motor Group's independent Genesis brand said on Thursday that it will launch only hydrogen fuel cell or battery-powered vehicles from 2025 in line with ..
The worker unions in two major foreign automobile makers have welcomed the Madras High Court's order to the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health to inspect aut..
Automotive giant Fiat has announced that it plans to move entirely to electric vehicles by 2030 and plans to phase out combustion engine vehicles starting in 2025.
The iconic SUV, Mahindra Thar is made by using a unique process called Barbeque Framing at the Nashik facility.
Barbeque framing is not something to be seen at car man..
Jaguar Land Rover India on Tuesday announced the launch of the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE in India with a starting price of Rs 105.9 lakh (ex-showroom India).
Luxury car manufacturer Audi on Monday launched 'new Audi S5 Sportback' in India priced from Rs 79.06 lakh (ex-showroom).
According to the company, the four-do..
Toyota Corolla Altis got launched in India on and from 2003 and can be said to be one of the highest selling cars in India in the sedan segment. Over the years, this car ..
Lamborghini Urus is a combination of a functional SUV and a super sports car. It was launched by the Italian company in the year 2018 as the first sport..
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What do you have in your mind when you first here the name “Audi”? It is quite obvious that this name makes everyone go “wow”. To keep up with tha..
The Toyota Etios was introduced in the year 2011. The new-gen upgraded Etios was launched in 2016, where the existing model got restyled.
The Toyota ..
Vehicle price hikes coupled with cost rationalisation measures taken by OEMs will limit the impact of rising input cost but these might not be adequate enough to sustain ..
Rupee falls 10 paise to 73.94 against US dollar in early trade
Rupee strengthens against US dollar on Tuesday
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Daily Market Commentary 27th September 2021 by Mr. Siddhartha Khemka, Motilal Oswal
Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Copper, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Aluminium Commodity Report of 27 september 2021 By Geojit Financial
Sensex, Nifty inch marginally higher on Monday
© Copyright 2017 - investmentguruindia | All Rights Reserved. | Crafted By - Digi Interface


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Protect-A-Bed started with a mission to make sleep healthy and ended up creating an entirely new product category. Now, more than 18 years later, the company that developed comfortable mattress protection has expanded its portfolio to offer a wide array of unique sleep accessories—and is recognized as a category leader. While...
Protect-A-Bed recently expanded its sales team to support an increased demand across the business. New faces and an improved sales structure bring energy and excitement to the brand. “Much of the industry has seen flat to negative performance so far in 2018, however Protect-A-Bed and our retailers have experienced many positives this year....Read more
Marking the continued expansion of the REM-Fit brand and continued growth of sleep-focused sales, Springfield, IL furniture retailer and FMG member, Barney’s recently added a REM-Fit brand store to its showroom. “We have been on a positive growth curve and nothing makes me happier than to bring REM-Fit to Springfield,” says Kevin...Read more
Protect-A-Bed, a proponent of healthy and comfortable sleep environments, supported the expansion of the Greenville, South Carolina Ronald McDonald House through a donation of mattress protectors.


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SHARON, Pa. (WKBN) – All Paws Matter decided last minute to host a cookie walk and bake sale right before Christmas. But it isn’t just treats. There are raffle baskets and last-minute gifts to buy your furry friend.
Another component added this year is similar to an angel tree. There are five different organizations that will have a tree.
Each one has ornaments of animals that are either up for adoption, sanctuary pets, may require additional medical treatments or have some special needs.
Those in attendance can sponsor a pet and send a monetary donation for the animal to the shelter.
“You can take each one of the pictures off of the tree and on the back it will have the pet’s name, it will have what rescue they are from and you can send a monetary donation directly to the rescue,” said Kim Burdick of All Paws Matter.
The bake sale and cookie walk starts is from noon until 4 Sunday at the Sharon American Legion on East State Street.
Cookies will be $10 per dozen.
There will also be home made dog cookies part of the sale as well.
The organization will also have several baskets they will raffle off and last minute gifts on sale to give your furry family member. Organizers say it’s important to continue supporting the shelters.
They say inflation has been a big reason to the shelters being full.
“The money and donations just aren’t there for anybody. And of course, in the rescue world, when people have to cut back, unfortunately a lot of the pets end up in the shelters and the rescues,” said Burdick.
All Paws Matter is donating all the proceeds to help our valley shelters and the animals they care for throughout the year.


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Apple beats class certification bid by iPhone buyers
Plaintiffs who accuse Apple of violating antitrust laws through its sale of AT&T-locked iPhones failed to provide sufficient "properly analysed, reliable evidence" to support class certification, a California federal judge held last week.
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US gamers could be in for a PlayStation 2 supply shortage, because thieves have stolen a truckload of the consoles in Florida. According to a report by website Sony Insider, police in the city have begun investigating how thieves managed to steal 28 pallettes of the console from a tractor-trailer while the driver was grabbing …
They initially found the truck full of 360's
but they left them, as most of them were likely faulty, and more trouble that they were worth.
Get back under your bridge.
Inside job or just some lucky thieves?
Some lucky thieves: Yeah right!
Inside job: Hmm, let me see...
OK, I'm leaving now.
That's a lot of doors they can now keep held open....
I STOLE THEM ALL!
I have 427 PS2's, 3,000 PSone consoles and I am most of the PS3 userbase.
and most of them are stained
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(UnitedVoice.com) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set new supermarket guidelines in hopes of easing the public’s fear of becoming infected with COVID-19. Earlier studies revealed the virus could stay in the air for three hours and be able to live on stainless steel and plastic surfaces for up to three days.
Now, the FDA is reassuring customers the packaging for the food they buy is safe and there’s no need to wipe it down once it’s back home.
As a way to help everyone stay safe while shopping at supermarkets, the FDA has provided some recommended tips everyone should follow:
- Make a list in advance before heading out to the supermarket
- Wear a protective mask or face-covering in the store at all times
- Stay 6 feet away from everyone and practice social distancing
- Wash your hands before and after you put away your groceries
The information on the FDA website also explains that the coronavirus is spread person-to-person and causes respiratory illness, unlike foodborne viruses that make people sick because the food is contaminated.
Keep in mind, this is only a recommendation by the FDA. It’s important you take any precautions you feel are necessary to keep you and your loved ones safe from becoming infected with COVID-19.
Copyright 2020, UnitedVoice.com


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HTC announced its newest flagship HTC One M9 smartphone in March, but it hasn't been released on a wide scale just yet.
Now, however, it looks like HTC has a new phone to showcase in the coming days. Details of the mystery handset have appeared online, shedding light on an impressive set of specs.
Apparently, the device in question, HTC A50AML, is likely to be a mid-range handset. The news was broke by popular Twitter spy @Upleaks.
The upcoming will come with a MediaTek MT6752 chipset with octa-core CPU clocked at 1.6 GHz. Leaked hardware specifications point to a 4MP UltraPixel front-facing shooter, which would be in the same class as that of the HTC One M9.
Furthermore, it's being speculated that the device will arrive in two versions - a standard and a premium version. Going by local media reports, the main difference between the two will be the front camera: the basic model will come with a 13MP sensor, without UltraPIxel technology.
The new Desire range handset is tipped to come with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of native storage and Android 5.0 Lollipop. There's no indication as to whether the above mentioned handset will come to India or when it will be released.
HTC One M9 has been announced, and it's going to be made available in India next month. In addition, HTC is rumored to release as many as five new devices in the next few days. The HTC One M9 Plus and the One E9 are expected to be unraveled on April 8 in Beijing. Meanwhile, HTC's comeback tablet is said to flaunt an 8.9-inch QHD display. In addition, we might get to see the Butterfly 3 for the Japanese market.


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What the quark? A yoghurt with a nutritional profile that beats almost everything else on the beautifully-lined shelves of Whole Foods. According to British-startup Nutrii, it’s time for Brits to restock refrigerators with a Scandinavian inspired source of protein. Sascha O’Sullivan reports.
So really, what is quark? And what is it doing for the gut?
Quark is one of those quirky (quarky?) kind of foods frequently found in pantries of Northern Europeans –the Scandis, Nordics, and Germans. But it seems Brits have only recently discovered the trend. It is a protein-rich dairy product made from milk.
Nutrii’s Founders, Juhani and Akvile – both from Nordic and quark-loving countries – established the brand out of a loving nostalgia for the stuff. Luckily for them, demand is rising for protein-rich snacks.
The demand for protein based snacks has been increasing steadily with reports of the rise in the UK being widely publicised over the last 12 months (and demographics also widening). Nutrii is making waves in this sense; their basic goal is to cut the crap and get rid of all the nasties some other ‘high-protein’ yogurts have.
‘We wanted the [yogurts]to be for the health-conscious person looking for protein alternatives, or simply trying to replace yogurts that contain high sugar levels,’ says Akvile. ‘Nutrii was simply born out of a love of sports and inspired by a Nordic heritage,’ she adds.
The British company, which proudly used British milk, is scaling rapidly to respond to consumer demand, in the midst of expanding in to new flavours and new distribution channels.
Yet another step forward for the healthy snack industry offering sugar-free alternatives.
Discover more about Nutrii and quark here: www.eatnutrii.co.uk


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Wall Street opened higher on Thursday on the release of positive U.S. manufacturing data, but gains were slightly offset by a decline in oil prices.
Durable goods orders jumped 4.9% last month, beating economists’ projections of a 2.5% rise. Crude prices fell further as oversupply offset growing demand for gasoline in the United States. Investors are also concerned about the impact of slumping oil prices affecting the financial sector, as banks prepare for a string of defaults from energy companies.
In morning trading, the S&P 500 gained 7.88 points (0.41%) at 1,937.68. The Dow Jones was at 16,555.05, gaining 70.06 points (0.42%). The Nasdaq Composite jumped 13.41 points (0.3%) to 4,556.01.
Of the S&P’s 10 major sectors, eight were higher. Financials lead the gains, with banks pushing the sector higher.
Jobless data released on Thursday showed unemployment rose more than expected, reaching 272,000 last week. Despite the jump in claims, numbers still remain below levels that are consistent with a tightening labor market.
Salesforce (CRM) was one of the biggest movers, surging 11% to $69.38 after posting higher-than-expected revenue and boosting its forecast for the year.
HP Inc. (HPQ) lost 6.2%, falling to $10.15 after forecasting profits that were lower than analysts’ estimates. The company also announced that it would be accelerating its restructuring program.
A separate report from Bloomberg showed customer sentiment held steady last week at a near three-month high. The Consumer Comfort Index was at 44.2, virtually unchanged from the previous week’s reading. Over the last six weeks, the gauge has remained within narrow 0.6 range.
Improved job security and lower gas prices are boosting sentiment. But the gains in consumer confidence are being offset by concerns over weak global demand, volatility in financial markets and a slow increase in core inflation.
Bloomberg’s confidence gauge is not in line with the Conference Board’s report, which showed a decline in confidence to a seven-month low amid concerns about employment and the grim economic outlook.
Consumer Confidence data shows that optimism among full-time workers fell last week after soaring to its highest level since April. Part-time workers were the most pessimistic.


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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International reported growth in revenues for its fourth quarter and full year for fiscal 2014.
For the quarter (end-December 31), the company had revenues of $2.3 billion, an increase of 10% from $2.1 billion compared with the same period last year. For the year, the company reported total revenues of $8.3 billion, an increase of 43% from $5.8 billion from 2013.
Fourth-quarter revenues from its dental business grew 38%, from $29.8 million to $41.1 million, compared with the same period last year. For the full year, total revenues for the dental business grew to $123.4 million, an increase of 13% from $109.6 million, compared with the previous year.
"Valeant's relentless focus on building diversified, durable businesses with strong organic growth platforms, coupled with disciplined business development, is paying off for all of our stakeholders," said J. Michael Pearson, chairman and CEO, in press release.


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Bullish on outcome of government talks5 min read . Updated: 16 Oct 2010, 12:46 AM IST
Bullish on outcome of government talks
Bullish on outcome of government talks
With over five years of experience in the Indian market, Research In Motion Ltd (RIM) wants to popularize its BlackBerry phones from the boardroom to the classroom, and capturing everyone in between. Frenny Bawa, managing director, India, spoke in an interview about why the Canadian firm is optimistic about the market, what its 11,000 application developers are working on, and the dispute over access with the government. Edited excerpts.
What agreement has RIM reached with the government regarding intercepts? Does it compromise the secured communication channels that BlackBerry users have come to expect from RIM?
We operate in nearly 200 countries globally. We respect the laws of each one of those countries and we certainly respect and understand the national security concerns that India has.
Just like we work with other governments around the world, we are working with Indian officials and we don’t disclose the details of the talks. Suffice it to say that we are quite bullish that the outcome will be positive.
We’re very encouraged by the reception we have got from our partners in India.
About a year ago, BlackBerry was ostensibly available in four or five cities in all of India. In a year’s time frame, it’s available in over 75 cities. And from tens or hundreds of points of presence, we are now at thousands of points of presence.
So, if you gauge the intensity with which we have expanded here, (that) should give you some indication also of the traction we have got in the Indian market.
About 52% of RIM’s sales is outside of North America. Where does India figure?
Let me just say that India’s share in that 52% is continually growing.
It is certainly a market of great interest for RIM and I think the fanfare with which we did the Torch launch shows our commitment.
Is the latest effort to break out of the serious business user’s phone image working for BlackBerry?
There’s no question that our heritage is from the enterprise space, which is still a key, important segment for us. But of the 50 million or so subscribers that we have globally, now about half are from the consumer space. If I bring that to India, I can tell you that the growth that we’ve seen since we launched BlackBerry in the open market through our relationship with (distributor) Redington in the consumer segment has been phenomenal. We shifted from the enterprise-led consumer to, the prosumer—the professional consumer—segment, which had been growing.
But with the ubiquity of the availability, the BlackBerry, the launch of our entry-level Curve 8520, the launch of BIS (BlackBerry Internet service) Lite, and now the launch of prepaid services, has made BlackBerry the phone of choice for consumers starting at age 10 to the college campus to mums who are organizing play dates for their children, to families who are dispersed globally who use BlackBerry Messenger to keep in touch with each other.
So when I hear stories from people, that “my 10-year-old son says his life would end because everybody who is anybody at school uses BlackBerry messenger to communicate", of course that is music to my ears! It is exciting when I hear from a school that in a particular class everybody uses BlackBerry, that the teacher and the students discuss their assignments on BlackBerry! So, when we launched the 8520, we had an expectation that we would see greater interest from the youth segment and I can tell you that my expectations have been far surpassed. It’s been more significant than we expected, and the key drivers are obviously affordability, availability, approachability, relevance, BlackBerry Messenger, the right (mobile service) plans—97% of Indian subscribers are prepaid users. Till recently, when some of our partners launched prepaid plans, we were playing only in 3% of the market, and of course the right colours (smiles). We will definitely have our ear to the ground to see how we can bring this aspirational product to a larger segment of the Indian population.
How serious is the competition from rival platforms such as Android and Windows 7?
In any type of business, when you have a market that is growing at the rate the smartphone market is growing, it attracts new entrants. It’s actually good for the consumer and good all around…it brings more attention to the space, expands the space and it certainly keeps us on our toes from a competitive perspective, we have to keep innovating.
RIM’s rivals had a head start in creating robust communities around app stores. What’s BlackBerry doing to bridge that gap?
We have 11,000 application developers from India and they are developing apps not just for India but for RIM globally. When we launched App World in India, we did not want apps that were relevant just for North American or West European users. We were very specific about ensuring that there were relevant apps like Hungama, CNBC and a number of others. And that number is growing by the day. Our direction for the application space is, yes, we want more applications because that’s what will allow us to be more relevant to Indian consumers. But we are not going to get into the numbers game about how many (apps) do we have versus somebody else. My interest is to leverage the 11,000-plus app developers here to develop applications that are most relevant to our consumers.
RIM is getting into different form factor devices such as Playbook. Any other such devices that we can expect from BlackBerry, perhaps a flip phone known as the Oxford?
We’re very excited about the Playbook and the response is very positive. It will be launched in the US in early first part of FY11. One of my missions as the managing director for India operations is to reduce the gap between the first launch and the Indian launch, days or weeks and not months.
And the flip phone?
We don’t disclose product details before we are ready to launch the product. But we are undoubtedly committed to continuing to innovate to bring new products to India.
You said the 8520 was developed with emerging markets like India in mind. Anything new in the pipeline?
We recently had a person travel around India to figure out our localization strategy, what languages do we need to launch and in which priority. We’re serious. So localization is on our roadmap. Similarly, there are—and I won’t be specific about it—certain features and functions that India users look for and haven’t been available on the BlackBerry.
It is all about business, right? The more relevant a particular market becomes for a manufacturer, the more attention you are going to get.


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Avenue Supermarts’ billionaire promoter Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani has sold 47.30 lakh shares of the company for over Rs 643 crore, through an open market transaction.
According to the bulk deal data available with BSE, Damani offloaded 47.30 lakh shares, amounting to 0.76 percent stake in Avenue Supermarts, which operates D-Mart stores, PTI reported.
According to a PTI report: The shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 1,360.2, valuing the transaction at Rs 643.37 crore, the data showed.
At the end of March quarter of 2017-18, Damani held about 24.60 crore shares or 39.41 percent stake in Avenue Supermarts.
The buyer(s) of the shares could not be ascertained immediately.
Damani, a low profile investor, made his way into the billionaire list and among the top 20 richest Indians, with a blockbuster listing of Avenue Supermarts last year.
Last week, the company informed stock exchanges that Damani would sell the equity shares of the firm in order to comply with the requirements of minimum public shareholding.
As per Sebi norms, every listed firm needs to maintain a public shareholding of at least 25 percent.


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Smart-phone sales have already increased by 75.5 percent in the last year to 37.4 million units, and will grow by a further 66 percent during 2006, according to data released last week by the analyst firm.
Sales of PDAs also continue to rise, racking up a 5.7 percent increase in the last year to 7.4 million units. Growth of 6.3 percent is predicted for 2006, as PDAs continue to be eclipsed by more voice-centric smart phones.
The distinction between PDAs and smart phones is increasingly unclear, as both product types gain new features and converge on each other.
Gartner defines a smart phone as "a large-screen, voice-centric handheld device designed to offer complete phone functions while simultaneously functioning as a personal digital assistant." It defines a PDA as "a handheld computer that serves as an organizer and electronic notepad."
But these definitions are less clear than they may appear. Gartner reported that 53 percent of all PDAs shipped in the first half of 2006 featured integrated cellular capability, up from 46 percent during the same period in 2005.
"We classify them after looking at the primary purpose of the device, which is reflected in the design of the device," Roberta Cozza, a co-author of the report, said on Monday. "There are users that make their buying decisions after looking at the form factor."
Cozza conceded that "all categorizations are, at the end of the day, arbitrary," but insisted that Gartner's classifications reflected differing trends between types of devices. She noted that the Symbian operating system dominates in the smart-phone market, while Microsoft's mobile software has the lead in the PDA field.
"PDAs started as a consumer phenomenon, but are now being more chosen by enterprise users, and this is being driven by wireless e-mail. With regards to smart phones?we see that the market is currently still mostly driven by consumer purchases. What we would expect to see going forward, as Microsoft gets its act together, is more enterprise-grade smart phones in 2007."
The only market where sales of PDAs continue to outstrip those of smart phones is in North America, which represented 45 percent of the worldwide market for PDAs in the first half of 2006, according to Gartner.
The worldwide market leader across both device types continues to be, which accounted for 42 percent of PDA and smart-phone sales in the first half of 2006 and which represents half the global smart-phone market.
However, the fastest growing smart-phone vendor is . It saw shipments rocket by 103.5 percent in the first half of this year, thanks to sales ofin China. The report's authors note that Motorola's Microsoft and Symbian-based devices have had relatively lackluster success.
BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion continues to command the PDA market with 13.5 percent year-on-year growth, but Palm's share fell as the company shifted its focus to sales of its Treo smart phones, which accounted for 57 percent of Palm's mobile device shipments in the first half of 2006, according to principal Gartner analyst Todd Kort.
David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.


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Electrical appliances will occassionally contain faults that have slipped through the product testing process unnoticed. These products are recalled by the manufacturers once the faults have come to light. There have been instances where products that were subject to a recall notice have caused deaths, severe injury, and damage to property. According to the Electrical Safety Council (ESC), the majority of recalls in 2012 for household appliances were because the items were at risk of catching fire or causing electrocution.
Earlier last year, a fire in a house in Dorset was caused by a faulty dishwasher that was from a batch that had been recalled by the manufacturers because of a known fire fault. The owners of the house, however, were unaware of the product recall notice and had therefore not returned their appliance.
For a list of products that have recently been recalled by manufacturers, click the following link:


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|Product Name||:||Oppo A94 5G|
|Screen Size (In Inches)||:||6.43|
|Screen Resolution (In Pixels)||:||1080 x 2400|
|Rear Camera Megapixel||:||48 + 8 + 2 + 2|
|Charging Type Port||:||Type-C|
|Finger Print Sensor||:||Yes|
|Weight (In Grams)||:||173|
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Oppo A94 5G is announced to be launched in April 2021 & will run on Android 11 OS. The Smartphone will be available only in one color i.e. Black & will also have a built in fingerprint sensor as the primary security feature, along with the host of connectivity options in terms of 3G, 4G, GPS, Wifi, NFC Bluetooth capabilities. The phone will come with 128 GB of internal storage.
A 8 GB of RAM will ensure phone runs smoothly
Oppo continues its streak of launching new phones in India with the new F19 smartphone. Oppo says the F19 is a sleek device that packs a massive 5,000 mAh battery and support for 33W fast...
Oppo is launching the F19 in India on April 6. The phone comes to India after the launch of the OPPO F19(₹ 18990 at amazon) Pro and OPPO F19 Pro+ in the country earlier last...
Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy S20 FE 5G in India. The phone comes to the country after the launch of the 4G variant of the phone in India earlier last year. Samsung's latest smartphone...
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G will go on sale from March 30 in India, as per the latest leak. The Galaxy S20 FE 5G was launched back in September 2020 globally and now it looks...
Digit caters to the largest community of tech buyers, users and enthusiasts in India. The all new Digit in continues the legacy of Thinkdigit.com as one of the largest portals in India committed to technology users and buyers. Digit is also one of the most trusted names when it comes to technology reviews and buying advice and is home to the Digit Test Lab, India's most proficient center for testing and reviewing technology products.
We are about leadership — the 9.9 kind Building a leading media company out of India. And, grooming new leaders for this promising industry


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South Africans continue to gain greater access to the diverse range of European food and beverage products since the EU-South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC – EPA) was signed in June 2016. The European Union is therefore undertaking promotional efforts to help more businesses leverage the quality, safety, authenticity and sustainability of European products in order to win loyal customers in South Africa.
Moderated by popular cookbook author and MasterChef South Africa presenter Pete Goffe-Wood, a special ‘EU Seminar on Standards for Agri-food Products’ will be held over one and a half days at the Wanderers Club conference venue in Johannesburg on 18-19 May 2022.
This interactive seminar will focus on the EU’s Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) system for animal and plant agri-food products, which offers consumers some of the highest levels of food protection in the world, while supporting the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities and ensuring that European products exported into South Africa remain safe, traceable and of high quality.
HE Riina Kionka, Ambassador of the European Union to South Africa; and John Clarke, European Commission’s agriculture department’s international affairs Director; along with further European and South African representatives will host presentations and discuss agri-food relations, sustainability and the EU food quality and safety system. They will also share insights into the EU single market’s operations when it comes to food production, food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare.
Roundtable discussions and breakout sessions will explore what these strict standards mean in terms of product benefits, as well as understand how their business can benefit from the SADC – EPA, which saw the removal of customs duties on 86% of imports from the EU amongst other provisions facilitating trade and sustainable development.
The first day will debate how to boost EU-South Africa agri-food trade, followed by presentations and breakout sessions on the EU’s food safety and quality systems, including its Farm to Fork strategy to accelerate sustainability. Popular chef and TV presenter Katlego Mlambo will then show off his culinary skills with a live cooking show to bring quality EU ingredients to life.
With the EPA also including the protection of 249 European Geographical Indications (GIs) covering foodstuffs, beer, spirits and wine, the second day will take a deep dive into the reciprocal trade benefits and opportunities of the GI system, using EU cheese as a case study. Other presentations will cover organic farming opportunities and product-oriented sessions.
Open to public and private sector food professionals, including retailers, importers, distributors, HoReCa, consumer organisations and related media, this free event will cover the EU food and beverage products across the following categories:
- Cheeses and dairy products
- Wines, spirits, and beers
- Animal products: bovine meat, pork, processed meat products
- Fruits and vegetables, olive oil
Registrations close on 11 May 2022.


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LG’s G Watch was a perfectly usable smartwatch, with features that you can easily acclimatize to, but that was before people started noticing corrosion issues on the five exposed contact points behind the watch, which was for
You might remember that we wrote about some complaints regarding the newly launched premium tablet of Samsung, the Galaxy Tab S – where the users say that the device’s processor was overheating and was causing deformation on
Some reports from users are coming in that Samsung’s newest Super AMOLED tablet – the Galaxy Tab S – may be suffering from overheating issues, causing the flimsy plastic back cover to deform because of the heat. Could it be
It seems that some users of Sony's flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z1, are getting a curved smartphone experience, but not in a way that anyone would desire. A number of users are sending in complaints of some amount of bending
The brand new Nexus 7 tablet from Google and ASUS is a mighty fine tablet. Especially considering it only runs users $199 for such an awesome device. We love ours and you can see for yourself in our full review. Sadly it appears
Planning on purchasing an Acer Iconia Tab A510 any time soon? You might want to put those plans on hold: Acer's German Facebook page has announced that the tablets that Acer has on hand are defective due to a faulty component.


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“We are very proud of the success of our company in providing affordable life insurance coverage to individuals,” said Jason Schwartz, Marketing Director. “We are excited that people are starting to understand how vital a
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 13, 2011
InternetMarketingCompany.biz announced today that after two consecutive quarters, they have had an increase in quote requests for life insurance. Individuals who purchase over 30 Year Term Life Insurance or Over 50 life insurance can log on to the site and request a quote for life insurance.
“We are very proud of the success of our company in providing affordable life insurance coverage to individuals,” said Jason Schwartz, Marketing Director for the Internet Marketing Company. “We are excited that people are starting to understand how vital and necessary life insurance is to safeguard family and property.”
Internet Marketing Company delivers effective and cost-effective SEO services that help companies compete and attract new customers driven by listings among the top search engine results. Our professionals have the expertise and experience to enhance exposure of a business on major search engines. And the better a brand’s exposure, the better the company’s message can reach the customers and prospects who rely on search engines every day to research, find, and buy new products and services. With SEO from Internet Marketing Company, a brand will see results—fast, easy, and guaranteed!
Fore more information, please contact http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz


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Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced legislation mandating the City of Philadelphia to install LED lighting during every major municipal renovation or new construction project.
LED lights consume up to 90 percent less electricity and lost much longer than traditional bulbs, said Reynolds Brown. The upfront costs of switching are made up by long term efficiencies. Recently, the City replaced its 85,000 traffic signals with LED lights. According to Reynolds Brown, that switch has saved Philadelphia $1 million annually.
It’s unclear how necessary this legislation is, though.
“In many cases, new construction or large renovations of City buildings are already incorporating energy efficient LED lighting into the scope of the project,” said Mike Dunn, a spokesman for Mayor Jim Kenney. “This legislation will ensure that energy efficient lighting is budgeted for, and evaluated for inclusion, in every City project.”
The lighting industry began to phase out incandescent bulbs following passage of the federal Energy Independence and Security Act, which increased light bulb energy efficiency standards in 2012. Most incandescent bulbs do not meet the improved standards, leading many manufacturers to switch production lines from incandescents to LEDs and other energy efficient bulbs.
Today, it’s harder to find an traditional incandescent bulb than an LED or a compact fluorescent bulb; IKEA stopped selling incandescents in 2011.
McKinsey & Company estimates that LEDs make up over 40 percent of the North American general lighting market today, with other types of energy-efficient bulbs making up most of the rest; incandescent bulbs are just 4 percent. LED market share is expected to only grow in coming years.


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Black Friday shopping at Best Buy will kick off at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, the company said in a release. Stores will then remain open until 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29. Best Buy said customers wanted to shop on Thanksgiving evening last year, so the Richfield-based company is catering to that trend.
This week’s snow has added to an already wet crop, and that means a lot of farmers will rely on grain dryers to dry out their corn. “You can’t dry it, you can’t combine it, and you can’t get it done,” said Peter Leuer of Leuer Farms.
A new Census report shows that Iowa and several other Midwest and Plains states have the lowest poverty rates when cost of living is factored into the calculation. The report released Wednesday showed that Iowa had the lowest rate at 8.6 percent. The national rate under the new measure is 16 percent.
Minneapolis travelers looking for a cheap trip now have four more cities to choose from through Spirit Airlines. On Thursday, Spirit Airlines announced nonstop seasonal service between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO), Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) and Tampa (TPA).
It could be considered a sign of the digital times we’re in as a popular video rental franchise announced its shutting down. Blockbuster Video has announced its closing all of its rental stores and its latest DVD-by-mail service.
When our cell phone bill comes each month, many of us just pay it without a second glance. But if you read it closely, you’ll see we’re all paying a bunch of taxes, surcharges and fees.
Best Buy has a new strategy and is excited about the holiday shopping season. But just 12 months ago, many business analysts wondered if the iconic Minnesota retailer would even survive. The stock was in free fall, the former CEO was accused of having an affair with an employee and was ousted, and the founder of the company was attempting a hostile takeover.
Drive down any residential block in Minnesota and the hidden risk of radon is there. That’s because according to state health experts, 40 percent of all homes have radon levels above the danger threshold.
A long-awaited updated environmental review of the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota has been delayed by last month’s federal government shutdown.
Minnesota disabled Veterans looking for work might turn to Drexel Hamilton. The financial services company is based in Philadelphia, but was in the Twin Cities talking to an industry group.
Tuesday night’s snow may be the best thing that could’ve happened to your future Christmas tree. Growing Christmas trees can take a lot of patience and Deb Krueger of Krueger’s Christmas trees knows it well.
A Minnesota company that’s been making pottery for 140 years is on the verge of closing. The owner of Red Wing Pottery says he is planning to shut down at the end of the year, unless a buyer comes forward to take over the business. He says it’s just become too expensive to keep operating.
The apartment business in Uptown is getting competitive. One new building called Lime Apartments is trying a unique ad campaign to catch the attention of renters.
Cargill Inc. says it will start labeling beef products that contain finely textured beef, an ingredient that came under attack as “pink slime.”
Delta Air Lines wants a $5.9 million forgivable government loan to refurbish a call center in northern Minnesota that was mostly built with government money in the first place. Delta’s loan application says the call center in Chisholm employs 418 people. It says the renovation would add 107 more.
Following months of anticipation, Target and Neiman Marcus unveiled their unprecedented holiday collection. The collection, which features 24 of America’s preeminent designers — all members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America — will be available Dec. 1 at all Target and Neiman Marcus stores, as well as online at Target.com and NeimanMarcus.com.
WCCO’s Esme Murphy went shopping at five popular stores for the same five makeup products and found price differences as great as 50 percent. See the price changes for yourself!
Sever’s is one of the biggest corn mazes in Minnesota. Check out their from the past 15 years!
The Minneapolis Farmers Market runs down Nicollet Mall from 5th Street to 10th Street. It starts at 6 a.m. and goes till 6 p.m. every Thursday. The market has a plethora of shopping options: locally […]
Check out which companies started in garages and as tiny start-ups, and which heavyhitters owe their riches to a lucky break.
There’s no doubt about it. Celebrity sells. That’s why companies that make everything from drinks to makeup to credit cards pay millions for stars to endorse their products. Here is a look at some recent […]
Clint Eastwood just passed over the opportunity to film a Minnesota-themed film in Minnesota. Take a look back at some of the successful movies that have made us their production home.


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30th December 1998 Archive
Browse by publication date, or search the site.
The company's litigation isn't stopping for Christmas...
Business 30 07:55
Can the company get the lid back on for another 12 days?
Business 30 07:56
But it hasn't actually been filed yet...
Business 30 07:59
Hey, maybe Steve Ballmer's been acting all this time as well...
Business 30 08:03
We analyse the Satan's use of the word flaw
Business 30 08:42
Resigns as Citrix VP of worldwide sales
Business 30 08:57
LG Semicon owes seven trillion won,US antitrust fears grow, foreign projects put on ice
Business 30 09:43
Island could lose loadsa OEM business
Business 30 10:27
US company super cools chip
Business 30 12:01
- 'Kim Kardashian snaps naked selfies with a BLACKBERRY'. *Twitterati gasps*
- Crawling from the Wreckage THE DEATH OF ECONOMICS: Aircraft design vs flat-lining financial models
- Pics Facebook's Oculus unveils 360-degree VR head tracking Crescent Bay prototype
- Bargain basement iPhone shoppers BEWARE! eBay exposes users to phishing vuln
- Google+ GOING, GOING ... ? Newbie Gmailers no longer forced into mandatory ID slurp


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The Federal Trade Commission will make an announcement in its long-running investigation of Google at 1 p.m. EST.
The agency is expected to announce an agreement with Google that ends the nearly two-year probe, according to people familiar with the matter. Google is expected to make some changes to its search practices and will also settle FTC concerns that it has misused mobile-device patents it acquired when it bought handset maker Motorola Mobility, these people said.
Worth noting: Fair Search, an alliance of tech and internet companies encouraging the FTC to take stronger action against Google, thinks today’s announcement is premature. Here’s what they have to say about it:
As the FTC returns to business in the New Year, it’s important to remember that reports indicate that the European Commission is expecting a detailed, formal offer from Google this month to resolve its investigation of Google’s anti-competitive search practices.
The FTC has every reason to consider Google’s proposal to the EC before deciding how to resolve the FTC’s own investigation to ensure that US consumers and innovators get at least the benefit of the remedies that are implemented in Europe.
A key question for the FTC is whether it has all the relevant information in hand when it makes its enforcement decision.
FairSearch remains convinced that US consumers and innovators deserve the same protections that the European Commission may adopt in Europe. Consumers will fail to reap the benefits of a truly competitive online marketplace if Google is allowed to pick and choose where it biases its search results.
If the FTC fails to take decisive action to end Google’s anti-competitive practices, and locks itself out of any remedies to Google’s conduct that are offered in Europe later this month, the FTC will have acted prematurely and failed in its mission of protecting America’s consumers.
Who are Fair Search? Here’s the backers. It includes companies like Microsoft, Expedia and Oracle.
The FTC say the comprehensive settlement with Google was agreed on a bipartisan basis, with votes of 4-1 and 5-0 in favour.
This investigation was a big one. How big? They received 9 million pages of testimony.
“Evidence does not support a claim” that Google was abusing placement of search results, but Google have agreed to modify some of its search practices.
On the other hand, Google have agreed to stop preventing competitors from accessing Motorola patents it has acquired.
FTC coming down pretty hard on the patent front. Google is getting a quite a slap. They are using an iPad as an example, saying devices like it were “under threat” by the patents.
Google has to offer a license to any company wanting to use its Motorola patents. So that’s that. “Committments to make patents available on reasonable terms. Company’s cannot just make this committments when it suits them”
It was wrapped in some caveats, but the word “extortion” just popped up in discussion of the Google/Motorola patents.
On to search now:
The FTC investigated allegations that Google scraped content like restaurant reviews and led consumers to believe it was their own. When content owners complained, they allege Google threatened to remove them from search results. As you can imagine, this would be bad juju if true.
The outcome: Google has agreed to let websites opt out of having their content scraped without being punished in overall search results.
Competitors called for regulation of Google’s search algorithms, so-called “search bias” against competitors. This investigation has been closed and the FTC don’t seem very worried about these allegations.
Stuff like we outlined in this WSJ story back in 2011 seems to be at the centre of the allegations of search bias. The FTC isn’t buying it.
Google Inc, long considered the gold standard of Internet search, is changing the secret formula it uses to rank Web pages as it struggles to combat websites that have been able to game its system.
The Internet giant, which handles nearly two-thirds of the world’s Web searches, has been under fire recently over the quality of its results. Google said it changed its mathematical formula late Thursday in order to better weed out “low-quality” sites that offer users little value. Some such sites offer just enough content to appear in search results and lure users to pages loaded with advertisements….
Question from the press about the European Union investigation into Google. “We have great respect for the EU”, but “we apply our own laws faithfully” in a timely manner. They decided to close the case now rather than wait for the EU probe to be concluded.
Worth noting: while the resolution on patents is legally enforceable, the resolutions on scraping and search practice are not.
(All the committments are enforceable, the FTC reminds us, but the patent settlement seems to be the tightest of them)
Will the FTC be monitoring Google’s search algorithm for bias? No. Unanimous decision that there was no violation of antitrust laws or FTC regulations. Pretty conclusive. “The facts weren’t there”, FTC says.
If you opt out of being scraped, Google has agreed that it cannot demote you in the search algorithm. But how can the FTC find out about the demotion if they can’t monitor the algorithm? The answer is ambiguous, at best. It’s unclear how this committment will be enforced.
With today’s agreement that it will not wield Motorola’s mobile patents as weapons in the industry-wide patent war, Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of Morotola Mobility ($5.5 billion of which was the price of the patents) its looking particularly pricey.
Jan 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Thursday the time was not right for Google Inc’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, and New Mexico’s former governor, Bill Richardson, to make a planned trip to North Korea.
“We don’t think the timing of this is particularly helpful,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters, citing North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket in December, which raised tensions in the region.
She said both men were well aware of U.S. concerns about the timing of their planned trip.
Great quote here from a story about to go up on WSJ.com:
FTC Commissioner Thomas Rosch dissented from some of the commission’s actions. “[A]fter promising an elephant more than a year ago, the Commission instead has brought forth a couple of mice,” he said in his dissent.
Google have posted a quick response from their chief legal officer, David Drummond, on the company blog. Exerpt:
As we made clear when the FTC started its investigation, we’ve always been open to improvements that would create a better experience. And today we’ve written (PDF) to the FTC making two voluntary product changes:
- More choice for websites: Websites can already opt out of Google Search, and they can now remove content (for example reviews) from specialized search results pages, such as local, travel and shopping;
- More ad campaign control: Advertisers can already export their ad campaignsfrom Google AdWords. They will now be able to mix and copy ad campaign data within third-party services that use our AdWords API.
In addition, we’ve agreed with the FTC (PDF) that we will seek to resolve standard-essential patent disputes through a neutral third party before seeking injunctions. This agreement establishes clear rules of the road for standards essential patents going forward.
To our great shame, we posted the wrong stock ticker earlier. Google stock is actually up 0.75%
Antitrust Investigations Take Too Long for Technology Cycles. It took the FTC 20 months to determine its investigation was largely fruitless. 20 months is nearly a full generation of technology development in the Internet industry. A few major developments during the past 20 months that (individually and collectively) undermine the investigation’s rationale:
* Siri. Search is increasingly moving from the web to mobile, and Siri is picking up searches from mobile devices that used to go to Google.
* Pinterest. Pinterest is the fastest growing website of all time, and about 2 years ago it emerged from nowhere to become a major source of referral links. Pinterest reminds us that major Internet competitors can develop really quickly–in ways that no one, and certainly not regulators, can anticipate.
* Social Networking. Increasingly, consumers are using social networking site links (like recommendations from Facebook friends) as substitutes for keyword searches.
* Home-grown Apps. Websites are getting increasing traffic from their existing users who have installed the website’s propriety mobile app. For example, Yelp ($YELP), a vocal Google critic, recently reported that “45 percent of searches on Yelp come from its apps.”
In general, Internet innovation necessarily will outpace antitrust regulatory procedures, such that the marketplace’s structure will change meaningful during the investigation’s pendency. We had already learned that lesson from the Microsoft case; the Google case shows that even a 20-month antitrust investigation period is longer than prevailing innovation cycles.
The WSJ’s Matthew Lynley has put together a piece on what this FTC ruling means for search users, over at the Digits blog:
As an example, Yelp could opt out of having its site’s local reviews appear next to a location in Google Maps.
But, realistically, not much will change when it comes to the end-user experience for Google searchers. Google already offers an option for websites to opt out (as referenced below in its blog post), and in 2011 it scaled back its practice of using “snippets” of text from other sites in search results related to local businesses without permission.
The FTC’s decision is a big win for Google. The company has an incentive to keep users on its search page and other properties, like Maps — the more eyeballs there are on search results, the higher the likelihood that they will click on an ad that is run by Google.
This probably stings Microsoft a bit. After being dinged big time for its own practices at the height of its imperial power, the company is now playing the role of underdog in the markets for search, mobile and more. A harsh ruling by the FTC today might have given the company a glimpse of momentum in markets it is clearly struggling to compete in.
Thursday’s resolution is likely to come as a significant disappoint to Microsoft Corp. MSFT -1.10% and other technology firms that pushed the FTC to bring a broad antitrust case against Google, similar in scope to the landmark case the Justice Department brought against Microsoft in the 1990s.
Some spicy words from FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, in a note dissenting against the majority decision (PDF) to settle complaints about search scraping and online ad practices:
“The Commission’s mission is to protect competition and consumers. The proposed “settlement” here will do the opposite. The Commission’s acceptance of a commitment letter to resolve an alleged violation of the antitrust laws is an unjustified and dangerous weakening of the Commission’s law enforcement authority. Going forward, parties under investigation are likely to demand similar treatment. Failure to do so would imply that Google has received preferential treatment in this investigation.”
Here’s what a disappointed Yelp spokesman has to say about today’s settlement, via the WSJ’s Pui-Wing Tam:
“Today’s announcement by the FTC that it is closing its investigation into Google’s anti-competitive behavior in search represents a deeply disappointing missed opportunity to protect innovation in the Internet economy, and the consumers and businesses that rely upon it. We look for the regulatory bodies continuing their investigation to have greater success.”
Some words indirectly for the likes of Yelp, Microsoft and others hoping for a big Google smackdown? “the FTC’s mission is to protect competition, and not individual competitors”
“The evidence the FTC uncovered through this intensive investigation prompted us to require significant changes in Google’s business practices. However, regarding the specific allegations that the company biased its search results to hurt competition, the evidence collected to date did not justify legal action by the Commission,” said Beth Wilkinson, outside counsel to the Commission.
“Undoubtedly, Google took aggressive actions to gain advantage over rival search providers. However, the FTC’s mission is to protect competition, and not individual competitors. The evidence did not demonstrate that Google’s actions in this area stifled competition in violation of U.S. law.”
Fun times! Not long after the FTC announcement concluded, a trading glitch hit the Nasdaq stock market, leading to problems trading a bunch of stocks including — you guessed it — Google.
From the WSJ’s Jacob Bunge and Matt Jarzemsky:
Traders on Thursday reported a technical issue affecting securities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market that resulted in unusual price moves and problems reporting transactions.
While Nasdaq-listed stocks continued to trade, brokers reported anomalies in the prices of some securities and lengthy delays in the reporting of trades to the so-called “consolidated tape,” the record of securities transactions across all U.S. exchanges.
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ), which owns the Nasdaq Stock Market, notified traders at 1:42 ET that its staff were looking into “an issue with stale data” on certain information feeds. A second notice, sent at 1:53 ET, said that the issue had been resolved.
A spokesman for Nasdaq OMX reiterated that the issue had been resolved and declined to comment further.
FactSet data showed no trades in Nasdaq-listed stocks News Corp. (NWSA), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) for about a 15-minute period ahead of 2 p.m.
News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire.
The timing is likely coincidental, but Google has listed the former headquarters of Motorola Mobility for sale, it was reported today:
Google has put up for sale Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.’s 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters in Libertyville.
The asking price for the property is not being disclosed, according to a spokeswoman for Binswanger, exclusive agent on the property.
The 20-year-old corporate campus, which was used for office space and research and development labs, consists of four connected, multistory buildings and includes a daycare center, cafeteria, full-service gym and other recreational facilities. Renovations to the buildings were undertaken in 1998 through 2005. There also is parking for 3,400 vehicles.
We’re about to wrap up. Here are the highlights of the FTC-Google settlement:
+ Scraping: Google agreed to refrain from misappropriating, or scraping, content from rival’s websites, such as restaurant reviews
+ Opt-Out: Google will allow websites to opt out of its Google’s vertical services, such as shopping or travel, without affecting their rankings in Google’s core search engine
+ AdWords: Google will give online advertisers more flexibility to run ad campaigns on AdWords and rival ad platforms
+ Patents: Google agreed to allow competitors reasonable access to Motorola patents based on wireless industry standards
+ Search Bias: The FTC didn’t find enough evidence that Google manipulated search results to favor its own products to pursue a lawsuit.
OK, we’re done. Thanks for reading, and may your content remain unscraped and your patents licensed on fair and reasonable terms. Peace.


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SOCIAL NEWS: LinkedIn launches Sponsored Updates
Sponsored Updates will allow companies to promote business content, including videos, presentations and product news, in the newsfeed of LinkedIn members clearly marked as ‘sponsored'.
Posts will appear across desktop, tablet and mobile and will be available to marketers both on a CPM and CPC basis via a bid-based auction. Companies can track their campaign’s effectiveness through comprehensive analytics to glean insights and fine-tune strategy in real time.
Plus, members can engage with the content via ‘Like’, ‘Share’, and ‘Comment’ options and they can also ‘Follow’ the company that generated it.
Josh Graff, director of marketing solutions in the UK and EMEA for LinkedIn said: “Content marketing is at the heart of LinkedIn’s arketing solutions strategy.
“Our goal is to develop a definitive professional publishing platform and create opportunities for marketers to drive business results by sharing relevant content with our members.”
Companies can promote updates in 20 languages across 200 countries and territories.
Image courtesy of LinkedIn


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Golden Krust abandons Rockland plans, puts land up for sale
Golden Krust has abandoned its plans to bring its headquarters to Rockland and is selling its land in Orangeburg.
A company spokesperson this week confirmed the nearly 18-acre parcel was on the market.
The company declined to provide the asking price for the land at 622 Route 303, which the Jamaican baked goods company bought for $3.1 million in April 2016.
Following last December's death of CEO Lowell Hawthorne, the new management team decided the timing wasn't right for an expansion and was focusing on its Bronx operations as the company marks its 30th year, Amend said.
Golden Krust's ambitious Rockland plans included erecting a $37.2 million facility to consolidate its manufacturing, distribution and corporate operations.
The headquarters was to accommodate 190 employees, 83 of whom would be filling new manufacturing jobs in Rockland.
Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day noted the site is zoned for light industrial uses, which could accommodate a warehouse, theater, offices, kennels, automotive sales or repair facilities.
Other purposes such as a mixed-used development, skating rink, filling station, terminal or nightclub would require a special permit or conditional approval.


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Is Waymo’s Driverless Car Protected? Hacker Noon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s self-driving automotive unit Waymo and a number of other teams are launching a marketing campaign geared toward convincing skeptical Individuals of what they are saying is the worth and security of driverless vehicles, as Congress considers how it will regulate the know-how. Full improvement of self-driving automobiles nonetheless raises numerous questions and considerations on behalf of drivers, so it’s Car Shopping unclear how full adoption of the expertise may be. Drunk driving incidents should decrease, as a result of there’s no designated driver needed when the car drives itself. As this new poll shows, People have severe security issues about AVs and wish the U.S. Division of Transportation (U.S. DOT) to train its authority in overseeing them.
One other secret of aviation’s file is that it is among the many world’s most rule-bound industries. Features corresponding to adaptive headlights are proof that automobile-to-automobile communication is feasible, by adapting headlight brightness for oncoming visitors and when following vehicles. How that might have an effect on a new set of driverless regulations that California officers plan to unveil by the end of the 12 months is unclear.
There’s a much less of a concern about taking the keys away from Grandma when she will get too old to drive rigorously- the car will maintain her! Waymo, which began as the Google self-driving automobile venture, stated the campaign ATV will start on Monday in Arizona, the place the company is testing self-driving vehicles. When activated by the human driver, the automobile takes full control of all points of driving in slow-moving traffic at up to 60 kilometers per hour.
Companies are all the time keen on new product development and taking the business ahead by a step, as indicated by the seven corporations who requested permits for self-driving automotive improvement in California alone. Risks when it comes to self driving automobile safety concern many, attributable to the truth that there will likely be limited or no potential for human intervention if one thing had been to go improper. Although widespread use of driverless vehicles is not less than a number of years away, automakers and know-how companies are making speedy progress, and options — similar to automated braking and adaptive cruise control — are already out there on many new automobiles.
The popularization of self driving car safety features prompted the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) to create a ranking system which ranks autos primarily based on their autonomous safety options. Waymo is certainly conscious of this concern amongst policymakers, and the Safety Report that it launched earlier this month appears partly aimed toward addressing them. Chao, who has expressed similar issues in the past, said she’s working carefully with Congress on the matter.
Just having the ability to function a self-driving car would require an schooling on the driving force’s half, in response to Teletrac Whereas the computer takes over as soon as the car is operational, the motive force would still be required to keep up some data about the best way to function it safely. Ultimately, behavioral security is intimately linked to the concept of Operational Design Area (ODD), however we’ll come again to that.


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Chaos Group has announced the Phoenix 3D plugin for 3ds Max has received an upgrade so animators can create even more realistic fire, liquids, smoke, and more without needing a PhD in Fluid Dynamics.
I’ve been really digging Cinema 4D over the last couple of years. I’m hoping to get the new version that is available today, and will have a couple new reviews on the way as well.
Here’s a really great GIF that shows how simply changing the motion graph, or using Ease In/East Out on your keyframes can drastically affect your animation.
— Anisa Sanusi ✈ GDC (@studioanisa) March 11, 2016
MAXON today announced a new update to Cineware (3.0) for the latest version of Adobe® After Effects® CC, a key component of Adobe Creative Cloud®. The Cineware Live 3D pipeline first introduced in After Effects CC offers improved workflow and greater performance. OpenGL rendering is now available within the Cineware effect, providing increased speed and higher quality results than the software render option. Users can now choose to automatically sync the After Effects and Cinema 4D time sliders. The new Cinema 4D Take System, introduced in R17, the latest Cinema 4D release, is also supported: After Effects artists can now choose to render specific Takes in a Cinema 4D project file.
Maxon has announced that the new release of Cinema 4D (17) is now available for everyone to purchase, install, and start generating awesome animations.
Stephen Schleicher runs through the new Motion Tracker in Cinema 4D R16, and shows how you can track 3D objects into your shot without the need of an additional application.
This tutorial walks the student through the creation of The Want List intro for the popular web series.
Autodesk has announced Maya 8.5 is now available for Intel-based Macs. This is the first Universal application for Maya and should work really well on the multi-core MacPro workstation.
Maya Complete 8.5 is 1999, while Maya Unlimited 8.5 is selling for $6999.
via Autodesk (link)


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The Deal Makers
Donald Trump boasted that the crowd assembled for his inauguration was the largest in history, thus introducing “alternate facts” into our lexicon. In like fashion we have been told that Canadian livestock producers have achieved a great breakthrough with the CETA trade agreement.
If I have my facts, or “alternate facts” anywhere near right Canada has negotiated a quota access agreement for beef that will rise from a 15,000 to 65,000 tonnes over a six year period. But European access to the Canadian beef market is FREE and unrestricted by QUOTA from the beginning. How is that fair? Belgian farmers protested claiming that this quota would damage their prices even though Canadian exports at the full final quota level would not amount to 1% of their market.
Not many will remember the days back in 1983-85 when the EU, burdened with a mountain of surplus beef, used generous export subsidies to send large quantities of beef to Canada. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association protested and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal sided with the CCA, finding this “dumping” of product injurious to the Canadian Industry. I recall two things about that incident which may be applicable today. First, the Canadian Government had tried to dissuade the CCA from proceeding with the case arguing that there was no chance of success. (actually the Minister of Agriculture of the day told us that his experts put our chance of success at 4%) Second, I recall the vehemence with which the European side argued both sides of the street at once, pointing out that export subsidies were necessary to take price depressing surplus beef out of the EU market, a market with a human population of over 400 million at the time, while also contending that sending that export subsidized product to the Canadian market of less than 30 million could not possible cause price damage in our market.
So, with this experience behind us, how does one find any sense of balance, or fairness, in a deal that gives the huge European Union immediate duty and quota free access to a market that is less than one tenth as big as their own and in return the EU grudgingly agrees to a gradual scale up over a six-year period to a limit of 65,000 tonnes?have This makes no sense at all and signals that there had to have been some trade off that we know naught about. This has to be true because it would be idiotic to sit down at a negotiating table and trade instant unlimited access for delayed and restricted access.
There may be another angle to this lopsided deal. Conceivably, an analyst could have looked at the Canadian Beef Industry and reported to negotiators that Canada exports most of its product to the USA and, given the size of its national herd, cannot, in the foreseeable future ever fill the quota granted; especially so when other restrictions, such as the limitation of access to “hormone free” beef remain. So why fight for reciprocal access when the Canadian Industry is presently incapable of filling the present quotas? On the other hand, if the argument that Canada cannot possibly fill a quota larger than 65,000 tonnes, a point I dispute, why would the EU have insisted upon a quota?
I would like to make three concluding points. First, there is a large potential to increase beef production in Canada but assured access to foreign markets may well be a necessary signal to producers to increase output. Second, it is sheer folly for Canadian negotiators to accede to a deal as lopsided as this one without some very worthwhile trade off and, if the trade off was worthwhile, it should be admitted. Third, of course, one should ask why the Europeans would brazenly insist on unlimited access to the Canadian market while simultaneously insisting on sharply restricted access to their own. I learned in 1984 they could do so shamelessly. No change there.


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17th May 2019 - 1 min read
(Image: Soya Cincau)
The full implementation of Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) at toll plazas will be postponed due to flaws in the system.
Currently, concession companies are working with Touch ‘n Go (TNG) to get feedback from the users of the RFID pilot project. “We find that some improvements have to be made during the trial period before it can be officially launched. They are the barcode detection levels from car stickers and the link with the ‘e-Wallet’ application,” said Smart Tunnel Deputy General Manager Mohd Noor Ali.
Other feedback received include app crashes, the RFID failing to lift the barrier, delayed detection, and overcharging. The government will only announce the official launch date once these problems are fixed.
The RFID system uses a radio frequency chip in a sticker attached to the vehicle and it is intended to replace the use of SmartTAG device. At present, there are 167 RFID lanes available at 58 toll plazas on 23 highways in the country.
(Source: The Sun Daily)
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Target's (NYSE: TGT) second-quarter results are out, and they easily beat expectations. The solid quarter sent shares higher on Wednesday, with the stock closing the trading day up 3%. The well-rounded quarter featured a lot to like, including record customer traffic growth, surging e-commerce sales, and a more optimistic outlook from management for full-year earnings per share.
The stock's gain on Wednesday adds to a bullish run for the stock recently. Shares are up 52% in the past 12 months, leading to a pricier valuation. With the stock trading at a significantly higher price-to-earnings multiple than it was a year ago, investors would be wise to give Target's performance a good look to see whether the company is living up to its frothier valuation.
Here are some of the most insightful metrics from Target's second quarter.
1. Revenue increased 6.9%
This year-over-year growth rate marks a notable acceleration from Target's 3.4% revenue growth in its prior quarter.
Unsurprisingly, this sharp revenue growth meant Target handily outperformed the consensus analyst estimate for the key metric. The retailer reported second-quarter revenue of $17.8 billion. On average, analysts expected revenue of $17.3 billion.
2. Adjusted EPS climbed 20%
Adjusted EPS increased 20% year over year to $1.47.
Notably, however, this growth rate benefited from a lower tax rate this year compared to last year. "Second quarter 2018 effective income tax rate from continuing operations was 21.8 percent, compared with 31.4 percent last year, primarily due to the impact of recently enacted federal tax reform legislation (the Tax Act)," management explained in its second-quarter earnings release.
Adjusted EPS beat a consensus analyst forecast for $1.40.
3. Comparable store sales rose 4.9%
Target's 4.9% year-over-year growth in comparable store sales compared to 0.2% growth in the year-ago quarter and 1.9% growth in the company's prior quarter.
4. Customer traffic went up 6.4%
Helping drive Target's comparable store sales growth was a strong increase in customer traffic. Target's 6.4% traffic growth was a sharp acceleration from 3.7% traffic growth in Q1. Furthermore, Target's Q2 year-over-year customer traffic growth rate is the highest the company has seen since management started reporting the metric in 2008.
5. Comparable digital channel sales soared 41%
Highlighting Target's increasing emphasis on growing its e-commerce sales, comparable digital channel sales jumped 41% year over year -- an acceleration from 28% growth in Q1. Adding these sales to Target's 4.9% comparable store sales growth during the quarter, Target's overall comparable sales increased 6.5% -- the highest comp growth Target has achieved in 13 years.
6. A 30.3% gross margin
Despite Target's 6.9% increase in revenue during the period, gross margin fell from 30.4% in the year-ago quarter to 30.3% in the second quarter of 2018. This reflected "pressure from digital fulfillment costs, partially offset by the benefit of merchandising strategies including cost-savings initiatives and efforts to improve pricing and promotions," management said in its second-quarter earnings release.
7. Target expects full-year EPS between $5.30 and $5.50
With this momentum behind it, Target raised its outlook for full-year EPS. Management now expects 2018 EPS between $5.30 and $5.50, up from a previous outlook for 2018 EPS to be between $5.15 and $5.45.
Overall, Target's results show a strong underlying business, helping justify the company's higher stock price.
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