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On-demand car service Uber is looking to raise another big round of funding, this time led by private equity firm Texas Pacific Group we’re hearing. And so is Dan Primack. And Liz Gannes. The round is expected to be between $150 million and $200 million, at a valuation of about $3.5 billion. The round hasn’t closed yet, but it’s close to being completed, or so our sources say.
The funding comes as Uber is growing fast, expanding into new territories and adding lower cost services. AllThingsD reports that the company is expected to pull in $125 million in revenue this year, which is higher than had been expected.
Uber is now available in more than 35 cities around the world with its on-demand black car service. But it’s quickly adding lower-cost options in many of those markets. In several cities, that means lower-cost hybrid cars taking passengers, while in others, the company is partnering with local taxi companies to use its e-hail service. With the funding, it will likely expand even more quickly.
TPG isn’t your typical tech investor, although it has held stakes in companies like SurveyMonkey and Travelocity parent company Sabre Holdings. But it has done a fair amount of investing in travel and leisure companies, including a number of airlines and hospitality businesses.
On that front, Uber seems like a good fit, as it’s not your typical tech investment. The company is looking to disrupt the urban transportation industry, which has been stifled by decades of regulation. But it’s also built a logistical framework that could be used for any number of things: in the past it’s experimented with barbecue and ice cream delivery, and it’s even been used to order canal boats in Amsterdam and water taxis in Sydney.
Google Ventures is also expected to be an investor in the round, according to Gannes and Primack, though we hadn’t heard about that.
Uber has raised $57 million since being founded in 2009. Its most recent funding round was for $37 million in late 2011, and came from investors that included Menlo Ventures, Jeff Bezos, Goldman Sachs, Benchmark, CrunchFund*, and Troy Carter. Other investors include Benchmark Capital, First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Founder Collective, and a whole bunch of angels.
Uber, TPG, and Google Ventures all declined to comment for this story.
* DISCLOSURE: Some time ago, Michael Arrington founded TechCrunch. Later, he founded CrunchFund. And at some point after that, CrunchFund wrote a check to invest in Uber. But that all has nothing to do with why I’m writing this story about someone else possibly writing a check to invest in Uber.


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The 5th round of negotiations on the terms of concluding an agreement on preferential trade with Turkey was held at the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan in a videoconference format, the MIFT press service reported.
The purpose of the agreement is to strengthen trade-economic relations by creating more favorable conditions for trade between manufacturers and exporters of the two countries. The parties noted that it is an important and effective tool to increase mutual trade up to $5 billion.
In particular, with respect to certain commodity items, customs duties will not apply or their rate will be significantly reduced.
“The negotiations allowed us to comprehensively consider the articles of the draft agreement developed by the parties, as well as to study in detail the lists of goods of Uzbek and Turkish production, for which it is planned to apply the preferential trade regime in mutual trade operations,” the press service said.
Along with this, the Turkish side announced the readiness of the Ministry of Trade of Turkey to provide the necessary technical assistance on issues of Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization, including advice on the application of anti-dumping, countervailing duties, protective measures, as well as mechanisms for subsidizing business entities in the agriculture sector.

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TAVISTOCK — Girls got a chance to model American Girl apparel for fun and for a good cause over the weekend.
In its 17th year, the American Girl fashion show is the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey’s most popular event and featured 125 young girls modeling while hundreds of guests enjoyed the show, an ice cream tea party, party favors, raffles, door prizes and complimentary photographs.
The show was Saturday and Sunday at Tavistock Country Club.
Teddy Thomas, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, said the house typically raises more than $50,000 through the event.
“We’re having a wonderful time,” Thomas said. “The little girls and moms and grandmoms and aunts really enjoy dressing up and coming to see the show and entertaining their children with something that’s really fun and involves their dolls and history and what women were like in those periods of history.”
American Girl provides the commentators’ scripts and clothing for the program. American Girl is a line of 18-inch dolls released in 1986 by Pleasant Co. The dolls portray 8- to 11-year-old girls of a variety of ethnicities. They are sold with accompanying books told from the viewpoint of the girls.
The models carried dolls wearing matching outfits. One of the dolls “lived” during the War of 1812, another during the Revolutionary War, and another was enslaved.
“I think it’s great that somebody thought that writing books and telling stories about how little girls in history actually lived,” Thomas said. “Growing up, going to school, going to church, maybe sharing times with their siblings.”
Along with the historical garb, girls modeled modern girl outfits, such as a gymnast, ballerina and horse rider.
The weekend included five shows, three Saturday and two Sunday.
While American Girl was not available to Thomas when she was a little girl, all of her children and grandchildren have them. Eight of her granddaughters modeled Saturday.
Each show had about 25 models between 5 and 10 years old and there were about 100 volunteers at each one.
About 350 people were in the audience at each show. The $35 ticket cost covered the show and treats. Raffle tickets were sold as were American Girl products.
Also, dolls’ hair could be done in a salon.
Thomas said most attendees come from the tri-state area but she sees grandparents and other older relatives coming from farther away.
Judi Fox, model coordinator for the American Girl fashion show, has been involved with the event nearly 16 years. She resides in West Deptford.
She said her whole family volunteers: her husband has been the attorney for Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey for 25 years, her teen son is on the advisory council for the house (a group of high schools students from throughout South Jersey who volunteer on behalf of the Ronald McDonald House), and her daughter also volunteers.
“I love it,” Fox said. “The girls are fantastic and it’s just an organization that I want to be part of.”
She said the most rewarding part is when the girls get a chance to see the kids who stay at the house.
Elena, 17, a senior at Moorestown High School, has been involved for the past few years, and serves as president of the teen advisory council. She was a commentator during a Saturday show, reading scripts on the runway about different historical styles.
Elena said she wants to work with kids as a pediatric nurse practitioner.
“I really fell in love with the energy and the smiles” from the children at Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, especially during their difficult times, she said. “They really inspired me to work with kids in my future career.”
This show was a first for 9-year-old Olivia.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the girls go down the runway,” she said, noting she likes fashion shows. “I just like all the clothes and all that stuff.”
Olivia proudly introduced her American Girl doll, Lucy, who came into her life just this year.
Sammy, 9, has had her American Girl doll, McKenna, for “probably” two years.
“Mostly I want to come to this to have some fun and I like fashion a lot,” she said. “My favorite part of a fashion show would probably be seeing all the fashion.”
Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey provides a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families. In addition to its residential facility in Camden, Ronald McDonald House operates Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, specially designed waiting areas in pediatric units of nine southern New Jersey hospitals, to assist families whose children are being treated in those facilities.
Sean Patrick Murphy: 609-871-8068; Email: email@example.com


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Inertia partners with PayTabs Egypt and valU to provide E-payment solutions for home improvement financing
The partnership marks the Egyptian real estate sector’s first venture into digital payment solutions and efforts to accelerate contactless real estate sales during the pandemic
Cairo: Inertia and EFG Hermes’ NBFI subsidiaries – PayTabs Egypt and valU, the leading fintech buy-now pay-later platform (BNPL), announced today that they have entered into an arrangement that will allow Inertia’s clients to process payments online. This includes scheduled maintenance and unit reservation costs processed through PayTabs Egypt’s payment gateway.
Additionally, valU aims to provide ultimate affordability to Inertia’s clients with its home improvement financing proposition, where financing facilities extend to include property finishing and furnishing costs backed with easy installment payment plans that may range over 12 to 48 months for an amount up to EGP 2.4 million per customer.
The agreement is the first of its kind in Egypt’s real estate sector and aims to utilize digital solutions to provide convenience and affordability, as well as maximize adherence to pandemic-related precautions. The signing ceremony was attended by the General Manager of PayTabs Egypt Hany Soliman, Chairman of Inertia Ahmed El Adawy, and Mohamed El Feky, the Chief Executive Officer of valU.
“We are delighted to pioneer a new solution within the real estate sector alongside Inertia and we believe that this step is the first of many towards digital integration for a more seamless large-scale payment experience,” said Soliman. “Through such partnerships, we aim to widen the scope of our products and services that allow the Egyptian client to securely and effortlessly use our comprehensive online payment methods and promote digital transactions as the future of cashless payment processes in Egypt in collaboration with Banque Misr.”
Inertia is keen on providing integrated benefits and solutions through easy-to-use platforms for its clients. While these advancements were already part of the company’s service expansion framework, they have become especially important in response to drastic changes that global and local real estate operations have undergone following the spread of COVID-19.
“This partnership complements Inertia’s strategy to establish futuristic, smart cities that cater to growing lifestyle changes,” said El Adawy. “Real estate is now witnessing unprecedented levels of digital transformation, which has grown into a necessity across many sectors due to the challenges posed by the pandemic. We believe in e-commerce and online payment services’ undeniable role in helping the country achieve financial inclusion and lately have supported curbing the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining successful business continuity.”
“Our commitment to providing the market with a full-fledged buy-now-pay-later platform will be reinforced through this strategic partnership with Inertia,” said El Feky. “As valU’s client-centric business model brings tailored solutions to a market with wide-ranging financial needs. By enabling Inertia’s clients to get financed to complete their homes’ finishing and furnishing, we are empowering them to achieve the lifestyle that they aspire to.”
The collaboration forms part of EFG Hermes’ strategy to boost synergies between its business lines and promote cross-selling opportunities across its NBFI platform to provide its clients with bespoke, comprehensive financing solutions.
Established in 2017, valU is the leading consumer finance fintech solutions platform offering premium, customizable financing plans. With more than 3,500 points of sale, valU offers access to a wide network of retail and e-commerce across a diverse array of sectors including residential solar solutions, education, fashion, travel, electronics, and home furnishings, among others. As the first platform of its kind in the MENA region, valU customers are able to receive instant credit decisions through their devices and gain access to the platform’s partners.
About PayTabs Egypt
PayTabs Egypt Solutions is Egypt’s most innovative provider of digital payment solutions. The company is a joint venture between PayTabs, MENA’s award-winning provider of fintech and B2B payment solutions, and EFG Hermes, the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets (FEM). PayTabs Egypt provides merchants with the market’s leading online payment gateway solution. It further supports alternative digital payment methods, white labelling platforms and a range of other e-commerce, m-commerce and social commerce solutions.
Inertia was founded in 2007, as a subsidiary of Inertia Holding Group. Inertia is a leading Egyptian real estate developer dedicated to offering distinctive, valuable, and dynamic projects across Egypt. Through venturing into diverse geographical locations such as the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, Inertia provides today’s cosmopolitan clientele with integrated communities that offer exclusive homes and gratifying lifestyles. Inertia’s current portfolio includes 8 developments that span across Cairo, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean offering residential properties, a fully integrated town, as well as cutting edge health care and commercial facilities. Our projects include Jefaira in the North Coast, G Cribs in El Gouna; Joulz, West Hills, Soleya and Brix in Cairo, Veranda in Sahl Hasheesh, and Medipoint, the company’s first medical project in Sheikh Zayed City.


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Intel Arctic Sound is the code name for the upcoming discrete graphics solution by Intel. This is not the first time that we are going to get a discrete graphics card from Intel but this might as well be the first time that Intel is going to step into the discrete graphics space at a very large scale. The Intel Arctic Sound graphics are going to be coming out in 2020.
Intel Arctic Sound graphics will target gaming as we have seen that hinted in the teaser trailer. Intel has been having some issues taking on AMD in the CPU market and we know that Intel is lagging behind when it comes to the 10nm process. We also know that all the CPUs that are going to be coming out this year are going to be based on the 14nm process.
— Intel Graphics (@IntelGraphics) August 15, 2018
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how Intel is going to compete with AMD in the CPU market, while on the other hand, compete with Nvidia and AMD in the graphics market as well. The teaser seems to have plenty of the words that Raja Koduri used when Vega and Polaris were going to be launched. It seems that he is going to pick up where he left off and continue his work at Intel. He might be able to pull it off this time at Intel.
From what we can see from the trailer, the Intel Arctic Sound graphics card seem to be a single slot GPU and it might have a metal fin fan. But keeping in mind the Intel Arctic Sound GPU is not due until 2020, it is more than likely that the design of the card is not even final yet so I would not take the hints from the trailer to heart. There is still a lot of time before the graphics card comes out and plenty of things can change in this window of time.
It will be interesting to see how well Intel Arctic Sound is going to compete with Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.


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The world has reopened and the first fledgling travellers have taken flight again, but destinations must welcome visitors in a new way. Amanda Cassidy reports.
It feels like a lifetime ago that locals in tourist-saturated areas were complaining of cramped infrastructure and unwelcome intrusion into their local culture.
However, as travel resumes, after vaccinations have woven their protective shield, a new and more sustainable travel industry must await.
Increasingly, travellers are seeking out experiences that are not only unique but which are sustainable. Visitors understand that they can’t continuously pilfer the precious gems of a community, but instead can enjoy their gleam and leave them back, polished, for the next visitor – back for those who live there to also enjoy.
Eco-travel is no longer a dirty word. It is intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial mass tourism. And it comes in many forms – to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation or to empower local communities as you reap the escapist glow of wanderlust.
Arundhati Roy wrote in the Financial Times recently that “historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world.”
Never has it been more important to reimagine a new world when it comes to tourism. Eleni Andreadis is the Director of Sustainability at the Sani Resort in Greece which was named as the World’s Leading Luxury Green Resort at the World Travel Awards 2020.
“It pushes companies like ours to always do better”
More than green-washing
It’s leading the way when it comes to sustainable travel at the higher end of the market. The resort’s electricity usage comes from entirely renewable sources and it has already achieved almost a 50% reduction in water use per guest since 2016.
Andreadis explains that committing to environmental responsibility isn’t just paying lip service.
“Sustainability is an increasingly vital part of travel, and people want to get more involved. We are seeing that from forums like trip advisor that our visitors are also more knowledgeable and savvy. Gone are the days when you could just say something general about what you are doing when it comes to protecting or giving back to the local environment and we welcome that, it pushes companies to do much better.
We have environmental education for our guests even in our kid’s clubs, for example about the biodiversity of the area, the wetlands, the birds. We showcase products from our local communities – the olive producer, cheesemakers, beekeepers. We are seeing increased participation in our eco-guided lists.
Andreadis says that the change has come gradually and from different directions.
“The culture at Sani Resort has always been to be a positive force. 80% of our staff is local, we have around 60% of our produce locally sourced. I think that nowadays people, guests who chooses a certain company dont’ just expect green operations, they expect you to be a force for good within your community. It is something that isn’t’ just a nice nod, it is expected. So I think the culture of our company has always been us wanting to give back but it is also that there is an increased interest from guests about what we are doing.”
Many now believe that the effects of the pandemic have sparked further interest in the issue. In fact, new research shows that 58% of people now more interested in making more sustainable choices when it comes to travel.
Andreadis says the trend was always there but people are taking it more seriously. “More of us have had the time to reflect and understand that we can’t be healthy on an unhealthy planet. We need to be making better choices and I hope the pandemic will make that a faster change and our guests even more demanding.
That sense of urgency is there for us too. It is very clear that we have limited time to act on issues like plastic pollution, or climate change. And in keeping with our commitment as leaders on environmental issues in Greece and the Med, we plan to escalate our efforts even further.”
The suspension of travel due to the pandemic has also been an economic tragedy that has impacted the local communities so many of us are so keen to assist. The sooner we resume our exploration of the world around us the better for so many different reasons.
But as we do finally re-emerge from our homes out into the travel sphere, here’s hopeing that it will be with a bright and clear road map for its green future in hand.
Image via Sani Resort


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CEDAR MILL - A convenience store was robbed at knifepoint this morning for the third time this month, and authorities suspect the same man committed each holdup.
The robbery at the 7-Eleven store at 12595 N.W. Cornell Road happened at 4:29 a.m., said Sgt. David Thompson, spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office in a statement released this afternoon.
A man entered the store and, armed with a kitchen knife, demanded money from the register, Thompson said. The suspect made off with about $20.
Deputies and a police dog from the Beaverton Police Department searched for the man without success.
Thompson said the suspected robber was wearing a blue-and-white baseball cap, a red bandana, a dark-colored jacket, dark gloves, dark pants and black shoes. After the robbery, the man headed south on Northwest Cornell Road, Thompson said.
The same store was also robbed May 4 and 14, Thompson said. A jacket and ski mask thought to belong to the robber were found near the store by deputies investigating the earlier robberies.
Thompson asked that anyone who recognizes either garment contact investigators at 503-846-2500.
- John Snell;


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Ford is working hard to help produce medical equipment and supplies, ranging from face masks and face shields to the PAPR devices we talked about this morning. Ford has now announced that is helping with something that many states and communities are running short of. Ford will be assisting a company called Thermo Fisher Scientific to scale the production of COVID-19 test kits.
The Thermo Fisher engineering team located at its Lenexa, Kansas, facility is leveraging the manufacturing expertise of the engineering team at Ford’s nearby Kansas City Assembly Plant. Working together, they are setting up additional collection kit production machinery. The Ford team also helped Thermo Fisher convert machinery that currently runs glass vials for other products to run plastic vials required in drive-through COVID-19 test kits.
John Reuss, Senior Director, microbiology business for Thermo Fisher, said that Ford’s engineers brought a “fresh perspective to production expansion.” Reuss also says that together the company would more than triple the number of collection kits it can deliver each week starting on April 20. The executive also said that it’s “great to see” different industries coming together to solve a common problem.
There is no indication from Ford’s press release that it is directly manufacturing any collection kits at Ford facilities. It appears that Ford simply lent engineering expertise to help convert the machinery to help increase the production of critical coronavirus/COVID-19 testing kits. Ford is also ramping the production of face shields, masks, and ventilators to help treat and prevent coronavirus infection. Ford recently reported its eighth worker death due to the coronavirus pandemic.


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This is the first look at the new Jaguar XF, set to be unveiled next week and shown next month at the New York Auto Show.
Jaguar really is the master of the teaser image, this from-above shot telling us almost nothing about what the Audi A6/BMW 5-Series/Mercedes E-Class rival will look like.
Design director Ian Callum is effusive about the new XF’s styling though. “I believe the all-new XF will be the best looking car in its class,” he said. “Elegant, handsome and with proportions that imbue a great sense of integrity – [it] will be true to the strong tradition of sporting Jaguar saloon while being completely of its time.”
All we can really divine from the image is that the XF may have a similar face to the recently-launched XE, going by the lines on the bonnet.
It is based on the same aluminium-intensive architecture as the XE, which Jaguar claims will lead to segment benchmark weight and efficiency. Indeed, it says the most efficient models will be capable of over 70mpg.
Jaguar will give the XF a suitably dramatic unveiling. Veteran British stuntman Jim Dowdell will drive the car on a high-wire (two 34mm-diameter cables) over water in London, to “highlight the lightweight and agile credentials” of the car.


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Google’s Inbox app was initially launched as an alternative to the regular Gmail app back in 2014, although it never really took off on the same level as the latter. Despite this, however, the app has gained a loyal user base but, to the disappointment of some, it’s been confirmed that two features are being deactivated.
After filling the low-end with the G6 family, it’s time for Motorola to work its way upwards in the 2018 phone crop by announcing the successor to its successful Z2 Play midranger from last year, dubbed lovingly… the Z3 Play, what did you expect.
While Motorola has upgraded specs where it matters, like the processing power, and the camera area, the biggest changes from last year’s generation, to the new Play, are in the design. Sporting the trendy tall an narrow screen aspect ratio, the Z3 Play manages to fit a 6” 1080 x 2160 pixels AMOLED screen in the same dimensions it has …
Google has been talking a lot about Lens in the last couple of months and many smartphone makers have already adopted the search giant plans to expand the app’s availability on as many products as possible.
The last Google Lens related announcement belongs to Sony, as the company confirmed Lens has been integrated into the camera app of two of its smartphones, the Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact.
Today, Google made it even easier for Android users to take advantage of what Lens has to offer. A new standalone Google Lens app is now available for download in some countries. If the …
*Image made as representation. By @MilenYanachkov / PhoneArena
For a while now, we’ve been hearing reports about this year’s Google Pixel phones. From the rumor that there may be three new handsets this time around — with one supposed midranger to be added to your usual flagship duo — to exact leaks pointing out that the Pixel 3 XL’s display would have an OLED panel made by LG.
We also keep hearing about the notch. Allegedly, the Pixel 3 XL will have a cutout at the top of the display, housing not one but two selfie cameras, while the regular Pixel 3 would keep the classic …
Some of us already like screaming at our Xbox when things don’t go our way, but you might be able to make those vocalisations useful.
As first reported by Windows Central, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice assistants are on their way to the console, giving users an additional option on top of Microsoft’s Cortana.
A screenshot from an upcoming version of the Xbox One software shows a digital assistants section in the console’s preferences menu, where it also asks users to add Xbox related skills via the Alexa app. Read more…


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Princess Cruises upcoming cruise ship the Regal Princess will debut 13 days earlier than was first announced. The large ship was originally to launch on June 2nd but will now launch on May 20th instead.
So the maiden voyage will begin on May 20th and Regal Princess will sail from Venice, Italy to Athens in Greece. The cruise line will add an extra two weeks to its maiden sailings. After the first voyage there will be another departing on May 27th 2014 which will end back in Venice.
The Regal Princess will be the sister ship to the Royal Princess which already launched early 2013. Regal Princess will be 141,000 tons and carry 3,600 passengers. The ship will also feature the popular SeaWalk which was first introduced on Royal Princess.


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Cramer believes leveraging long-term themes is a shrewd way to invest. Especially if you get in early.
And the Mad Money host believes the rise of craft beer is a major trend that's sweeping not just the nation, but the entire globe.
According to the website run by the Brewer's Association, a craft beer is a beer made by a brewer who has either an all malt flagship or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.
"This is a real business—exports of craft beer soared 72% last year, and the markets in Canada, Brazil and Japan more than doubled.
And competition is growing at a rapid rate.
"Privately held Brooklyn Brewery, the company behind a craft beer called Brooklyn Lager, sold 176 thousand barrels of beer," Cramer said.


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In a time when a barrel of oil can cost less than a … barrel, the EV market suffers. Market leader Tesla Motors saw its shares take a dive this month after it reported sales in the bottom range of its forecast for the 2015 fourth quarter. So, how can Tesla, Nissan or any other player in the EV space right now protect themselves against fluctuating oil prices.
When the price is high, the EV market flourishes and, conversely, goes down with oil that sells for pennies. Tesla’s boss, Elon Musk, has this covered: he wants to make electric cars so exceptional that you won’t care anymore about how much a full tank costs.
Speaking at the “StartmeupHK” event, Musk said the company is hiring 1,600 software engineers to mature “Autopilot” — Tesla’s autonomous self-driving feature which the company hopes will be ready by 2018. Another interesting feature is “Summon”. Musk said earlier this month that it will be possible to summon your Tesla to come pick you up from anywhere in the country, even if you’re in NYC and the car sits idle in San Francisco. Sounds audacious, but really the only thing that can seriously hinder this plan is legislation. The technical challenges aren’t as hard you might think (not for Tesla at least).
“What we’re aspiring to do is to make the cars so compelling that even with lower gas prices, it’s still the car you want to buy,” said Musk.
“If you go long, long term my guess is there isn’t (going to be) a steering wheel in most cars, it would be something that you’re going to have to special order.”
There are a couple of market and economics of scale challenges that Tesla needs to address before people can safely ignore oil prices. For one, Tesla’s cars are expensive. The Model 3 seeks to address this by expanding the company’s reach. The Model 3 will be 20 percent smaller than the Model S, but will cost half as much, expecting to sell for $35,000. Production is scheduled for 2017. The GigaFactory will also help level the costs by dramatically reducing battery-related expenses. Infrastructure-wise, Tesla is adding hundreds of Supercharger stations throughout the country each year. By 2018 you will be able to drive your Tesla anywhere without fear of having nowhere to plug it. To me at least, it seems like Tesla is on the verge of a tipping point. If it can climb and pass it safely, it will become one of the most prosperous companies in the world.


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SAC Capital Advisors, the hedge fund run by Steven A. Cohen, increased stakes in Target to 2.36 million shares and Dollar General to 2.41 million shares in the third quarter.
The US Postal Service said yesterday it has lost $5.1 billion in the past year.
Citibank yesterday reported declines in the rates of default and late payments by its credit-card customers for October. But JPMorgan Chase reported upticks in both the rates by its credit-card customers.
Navistar said it reached an agreement with billionaire investor Carl Icahn to start electing directors on an annual basis. And Icahn’s top health-care investing executive, Alex Denner, has resigned from Icahn’s firm, said a person with knowledge of the decision.
Home Depot reported third-quarter profits that topped analysts’ estimates. Net income rose 12 percent to $934 million, or 60 cents a share.


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Android is now the world’s most popular operating system
Move over, Microsoft Windows. Thanks to mobile, Google’s Android is now king, as it has become the world’s most popular operating system for getting online.
Web analytics firm StatCounter reported that, for the first time ever, Android topped the worldwide OS internet usage market share. In March, looking at combined usage across desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile, Android usage hit 37.93%; that was enough to narrowly overtake Windows’ 37.91%.
“This is a milestone in technology history and the end of an era,” said StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen. “It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide of the OS market which it has held since the 1980s. It also represents a major breakthrough for Android which held just 2.4% of global internet usage share only five years ago.”
StatCounter, which gets its data from 2.5 million websites, ranked iOS as the third most popular OS for getting online with 13.09%; only .75% of internet usage came from Linux.
A hefty chunk of Android users came from locations others than the US; last week, StatCounter reported that mobile internet usage in India was at 79%, which was more than double that of the US (37.2%) or UK (34.8%).
The firm’s analytics shows Android dominating the worldwide mobile OS market share with 71.61% in March. iOS had 19.5%, while Windows had a measly 1.01%; that isn’t surprising considering how poorly the Windows Phone platform has been received.
Windows still holds the title as the world’s most used operating system on desktops and laptops. With a 39.5% market share in March, Windows is still the most-used platform in North America. The iOS platform is next with 25.7% usage in North America, followed by 21.2% of Android usage. In Europe, Windows is on 51.7% of devices. Yet in Asia, Android is on 52.2% and Windows is only on 29.2% of devices.
“Windows won the desktop war but the battlefield moved on,” said Cullen. “It will be difficult for Microsoft to make inroads in mobile but the next paradigm shift might give it the opportunity to regain dominance. That could be in Augmented Reality, AI, Voice or Continuum (a product that aims to replace a desktop and smartphone with a single Microsoft powered phone).”
Android apps secretly steal data without your permission from other apps
Elsewhere, in other Android news, Virginia Tech researchers are warning that some Android apps that don’t ask for overreaching permissions are actually stealing personal information from other apps.
“Researchers were aware that apps may talk to one another in some way, shape, or form,” said Assistant Professor of Computer Science Gang Wang. “What this study shows undeniably with real-world evidence over and over again is that app behavior, whether it is intentional or not, can pose a security breach depending on the kinds of apps you have on your phone.”
After analyzing 110,150 Android apps over a period of three years, the researchers “found thousands of pairs of apps that could potentially leak sensitive phone or personal information and allow unauthorized apps to gain access to privileged data.”
The study, funded by DARPA, took 6,340 hours and used DIALDroid software; DIALDroid is open source and available on GitHub. The team is presenting its findings at the Association for Computing Machinery Asia Computer and Communications Security Conference in Dubai. You can read the full report via the research paper “Collusive Data Leak and More: Large-scale Threat Analysis of Inter-app Communications” (pdf).


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Argentina's farmers take hit as fuel prices surge
By Maximilian Heath
BUENOS AIRES, May 10 (Reuters) - Argentina's farmers are facing a sharp increase in transportation costs after fuel prices were hiked in recent months, dismaying a sector that has been one of center-right President Mauricio Macri's biggest allies.
Shortly after taking the reins of Latin America's third-largest economy in December, free-market proponent Macri dropped the trade and currency controls applied by his leftist predecessor, Cristina Fernandez.
He eliminated corn export duties and reduced soy export taxes, winning the favor of the farming sector.
But his government, blaming exchange-rate corrections, has also overseen a jump in fuel prices, up 31 percent so far in 2016.
That has boosted the cost of ground transportation for Argentina's grains producers, most of whom rely on trucks to transport their harvest to the country's ports.
"As of today, fuel prices have already neutralized the gains of the tax reduction," Eliseo Rovetto of the Argentine agrarian federation told Reuters.
Although Macri has won plaudits on Wall Street for his economic policies, the rapid adjustments are causing pain for many Argentines and sending his approval ratings down.
The fuel cost situation is especially troublesome for farmers in Argentina's northern provinces, many of whom have to cover as much as 1,200 km (750 miles) to reach the country's ports. Nearly 80 percent of agricultural products are shipped from the central port of Rosario.
Argentina's farm belt is concentrated in the country's central provinces, but about 11 percent of the 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of soy plantations for the 2015/16 season are in the north, as well as 19 percent of corn plantations, according to the Buenos Aires grains exchange.
For farmers in the north, the cost of shipping to Rosario can represent over half of what the shipment is worth, said Ernesto Ambrosetti, an economist at Argentina's Rural Society, which represents large farm owners.
Argentina is the world's top exporter of soymeal livestock feed and the third-biggest exporter of raw soybeans. (Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Peter Cooney)
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Aircash, a leading European payments service provider, has become the first company to join the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) as an associate member. EGBA, the Brussels-based association representing Europe’s leading online gaming and betting companies, recently introduced new membership options for companies within the sector’s ecosystem, including payment service providers.
Based in Croatia, Aircash is a prominent digital payment platform provider in Central and South-Eastern Europe and offers seamless and compliant financial services that adhere to the range of regulatory requirements in Europe. As an associate member of EGBA, Aircash will contribute its expertise to shape the association’s awareness and positioning in the payments landscape.
Hrvoje Ćosić, CEO, Aircash: “We are proud to join EGBA. As one of Europe’s leading payments platforms, we’re committed to providing secure, frictionless, and compliant financial experiences to those operating within the gaming industry and are excited to help drive this mission forward within EGBA.”
Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA: “We are delighted to welcome Aircash as our first associate member. Their insight and experience will be invaluable in helping EGBA shape its understanding and positioning within the payments landscape. By opening our membership, to include companies such as Aircash, we aim to better unite the industry’s voice and improve our understanding of how different regulatory issues impact various parts of our sector.”


text: |After countless false reports, assurances of development, and mysterious stories, The Last Guardian is still in development. Team Ico’s stunning adventure game intrigues millions of Sony fans to this day, as the developer has yet to put out a truly new game since the breathtaking Shadow of the Colossus graced stores in 2005. E3 2014 came and went without so much as a hint that The Last Guardian is on its way, leading many to wonder if the game is truly in development at all. Though Sony continues to insist that the stunning cross-species cooperative adventure game will eventually be released, The Last Guardian is clearly in trouble. Likely to be the winner of the “Missing in Action” title until a follow-up to the 2009 reveal trailer is shown. After seven years of development, the end of perhaps the biggest video game mystery is still nowhere in sight.


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iQiyi (NASDAQ: IQ), dubbed the Chinese Netflix, is slated to report third quarter 2019 earnings results on Wednesday, November 6, after the market closes. Analysts expect the company to report a loss of $0.72 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.63 per share reported in the year-ago period. Revenue is expected to grow by 2% to $1.02 billion.
iQiyi’s topline numbers could benefit from strength in content distribution and membership services in the third quarter. The company has been investing in original content and this strategy can help drive growth in revenues and subscribers. Last quarter, the company’s subscriber base grew to 100.5 million, of which nearly 99% were paid members.
Content distribution revenue declined by 4% in Q2 2019 but this was due to the delay of certain content launches in the quarter. The weakness in advertising is expected to continue, taking a toll on the results. The economic environment in China is also likely to impact the quarterly results.
In the second quarter of 2019, iQiyi reported a 15% increase in revenues to RMB 7.1 billion ($1 billion). Loss per share came in at RMB 3.22 ($0.49). Membership revenues rose 38% while online advertising services revenue fell 16%.
For the third quarter of 2019, iQiyi expects revenue to be between RMB 7.21 billion ($1.03 billion) and RMB 7.63 billion ($1.09 billion), representing a 4% to 10% growth from the third quarter of 2018.
Shares of iQiyi have gained 21% year-to-date and 9% in the past one month. The stock was up 1% in afternoon hours on Monday.
Last month, the IPO market was in a full swing. IPOs of Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) and JFROG (NASDAQ: FROG) had an impressive opening day in September, the former creating a
PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) beat market expectations on both revenue and earnings for the third quarter of 2020. The company saw the momentum continue in its snacks business while the
With more and more people turning to virtual entertainment sources, amid the virus-related movement restrictions, video game publishers like Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) are witnessing unusually high demand. Not surprisingly,


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Quantum Break is set to release on April 5 for both Xbox One and Windows PC; but don’t expect the latter to be available on Steam.
Confirmed on the Major Nelson podcast, Xbox Games’ head of marketing Aaron Greenberg said that the PC version of the game will be an exclusive on the Windows Store.
“We always want to hear people’s feedback, we’re always listening. While they might not always agree with 100 percent of everything we do, we love the feedback,” Greenberg said in relation to the decision.
“Please do not let the fact that we are also launching a game on the same day on Windows 10 change your perspective on the importance of the console business [or] our commitment to innovating on console,” Greenberg continued.
It was revealed last week that Quantum Break was receiving the cross-buy treatment, with pre-orders of the Xbox One version coming with a free PC version too. The pre-order pot is also being sweetened with bundled copies of Remedy’s previous titles Alan Wake and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare.


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US eBay trading centre franchise Auction it TODAY has granted an international franchise to Kuwait City businessman Barrak Alfadhel. The move marks the start of an international expansion programme which will see the company establish further stores in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the UK and Canada.
Alfadhel has invested in the franchise with two partners - brother Ahmad Alfadhel and Ali Alanda. "Kuwait is a small country of 2 million people," he says. "If you want to sell something you had, there are limited channels for you to do that. While garage sales are popular in America, they just don't occur in Kuwait."
Auction it TODAY has 114 franchised stores across the US, and last year, in its second year of operation, reported a turnover of US$15 million.
Published: 1 June 2006
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Source: Fido Alliance
The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, an industry consortium revolutionizing online authentication with the standards for strong authentication, today announced that Bank of America, has joined the FIDO Alliance and been appointed to the Board of Directors.
Among the world's leading financial institutions, Bank of America is committing to FIDO standards for strong authentication, along with other leaders in the financial sector, including Discover Financial Services, MasterCard and Goldman Sachs.
"Providing our customers with a convenient, secure digital banking experience is a top priority for us," said Dave Godsman, Bank of America Digital Banking Solutions & Operations Executive. "As the world rapidly changes, our involvement in the FIDO Alliance will help ensure we continue to provide the convenient and secure solutions our customers want."
"Bank of America is counted among the world's leaders in financial services. As an institution responsible to secure high-value interests and relationships across consumer, government, enterprise, and business, Bank of America is among a select few 'Relying Parties' ideally positioned to drive adoption of FIDO standards at Internet scale," said Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO Alliance. "We welcome Bank of America to our Board of Directors at a pivotal point in FIDO Alliance history. With our review draft specifications just publicly released, and the marketplace poised to deploy 'FIDO Ready' certified solutions in 2014, both users and those who serve them are eager to embrace simpler, stronger FIDO authentication."
"Historically, strong two factor hardware authentication has been too costly and complicated to scale for mass markets," said Stina Ehrensvard, CEO and founder of Yubico. "We are pleased to see an ever-increasing number of large online services and financial institutions joining the FIDO Alliance and addressing the issues. FIDO certified devices offer better security and a greatly improved user experience over traditional software-and-hardware based authentication technologies."
FIDO Alliance members commit to share technology and collaborate to deliver open specifications for universal strong authentication that enables FIDO-compliant authentication methods to be interoperable, more secure and private, and easier-to-use.
FIDO specifications will support a full range of authentication technologies, including biometrics such as fingerprint and iris scanners, voice and facial recognition, as well as further enabling existing solutions and communications standards, such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPM), USB Security Tokens, embedded Secure Elements (eSE), Smart Cards, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and Near Field Communication (NFC). The open specifications are being designed to be extensible and to accommodate future innovation, as well as protect existing investments. FIDO specifications allow the interaction of technologies within an interoperable infrastructure, enabling authentication choice to meet the distinct needs of users and organizations.


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When Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan raised interest rates recently, he was confident that his decision would slow impending inflation. Curbing inflation actually does help people retain the value of their hard-earned money. But higher interest also increases the cost of credit and makes people's day-to-day lives harder by increasing debt payments.
That said, not everyone is frowning when consumers struggle. One group surely cheering is the ever-increasing and omnipresent lenders to the working poor--the non-prime lenders. For these lenders, interest rate hikes are a boon because money becomes more expensive--and borrowing more costly. The lender coffers grow even faster than the rate of inflation.
In a nation of debtors where most individuals are already stretched thin, higher monthly payments will strain family budgets and lead to an increase in defaults. Eventually, bankruptcy filings and mortgage foreclosures will increase. In response, some of those in the working class will respond by borrowing from non-conventional, high-cost lenders.
These high-cost lenders are happily waiting in the wings to offer their "help." This non-prime market is like quicksand--easy to get into and hard to get out of. This is because while credit availability used to be the central problem faced by low-wealth borrowers, credit today is readily available. However, it is both the form and terms of that credit, not access, that pose the greatest economic risk to these people.
Who are these expensive lenders? They are debt consolidators who are willing to reduce a customer's monthly payments for an exorbitant ongoing fee; new credit card companies offering balance transfers from existing multiple credit cards while disingenuously promising protracted decreased monthly payments; extenders of high-cost home equity lines of credit (if that source has not already been tapped out) who, unlike credit card companies, take an interest in your home to ensure repayment. If these expensive forms of "extra credit" prove inadequate, even more expensive alternatives are available: payday loans, auto title loans, pawnshops, rent-to-own, refund anticipation loans and overdraft loans. Rather than paying prime plus up to a dozen points for these "privileges," people pay upward of 200 percent in annualized interest--sometimes as much as 800 percent. The price of credit is supposed to be correlated to the risk of non-payment, but these predatory lenders have long abandoned that approach.
Recent data suggest the severity of Americans' debt disaster. The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that predatory lending strips $16 billion in wealth from people annually. In 2003, consumers paid $4.3 billion to borrow $25 billion from payday lenders. In the last two decades, the number of rent-to-own stores increased four-fold. And the data are clear: The primary users of this high-cost credit are those least able to afford it--the working poor, immigrants and minorities. In New Mexico, for example, in 2000 more than 75 percent of new mortgage loans to Native Americans were issued by non-prime or manufactured-home lenders.
By raising the interest rate, Greenspan has made life more, not less, difficult for America's most vulnerable citizens. As in the 1990s when the benefits of a rapidly growing economy did not filter down evenly to all socio-economic strata, today the cost of increased interest rates will not be evenly distributed either. The burden will be heaviest for women, the elderly, the working poor, immigrants and minorities. Meanwhile, America's lenders (especially the most predatory) have never been better off.
Solutions to predatory lending are not simple. But perhaps consumer advocates can find some comfort in the Democratic Party's nomination of John Edwards as its candidate for vice president. Edwards' home state, North Carolina, has enacted one of the nation's most beneficial consumer anti-predatory lending laws, and Edwards has worked hard to preserve those benefits in the face of the federal government's effort to gut them by diminishing state consumer protection laws. That deserves a cheer too.


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Closing offices selling unlicensed wireless communication devices and confiscating their contents[/rtl]
[rtl]Release date:: 2019/8/20 19:47 • 32 times read[/rtl]
BAGHDAD: The Information and Communications Commission, on Tuesday, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency, a search campaign on unauthorized entities that sell and circulate wireless communication devices.
According to a statement issued by the Commission, (Euphrates News) received a copy of it "on the basis of judicial orders were closed offices violating the confiscation of all unlicensed devices and deposit shop owners in detention until the completion of legal proceedings."
"Most of the shops selling and trading wireless devices operate without obtaining a license to sell and trade devices from the Authority despite warnings and directives issued by the Authority, which warns unlicensed parties to continue working before taking the fundamental approvals."
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When scientists first discovered 3D-printing, the sky was the limit on their potential. They could quickly and uniformly make anything in the world from plastic parts to full houses and everything in between.
It was even theorized that 3D-printing was going to bring in a new chapter of space exploration as scientist delved into using rocks and dust from the moon to construct useable space parts.
Science can go anywhere…
According to a video from WREG News Channel 3, an inventor has created a rice protein-based, 3D-printed, vegan “steak.” The paltry “steak” is fully edible and takes 10 minutes to print and another 2 minutes to cook.
“Who’s ready for a little rice protein, pea protein and algae fiber squeezed out of a 3D printer into something that this guy claims resembles a steak?” Twitchy asked.
Check it out:
This is a 3D-printed vegan steak. It takes about 10 minutes to print, two minutes to cook, and its inventor hopes the steak can take the place of beef steak because the vegan version is better for the environment. Would you give it a try? pic.twitter.com/yp9MIHTn5I
— WREG News Channel 3 (@3onyourside) March 1, 2019
The “steak” represents only a first prototype of what 3D-printing is capable of, the inventor said, adding that future versions of the “steak” would be “meatier” and thick.
Other inventors and companies are already looking to seize on the idea of printing edible food, it seems the future is here.
All3DP reports, “3D printed food could enable us to reinvent our culinary ways on many levels, from texture to shape and artistic vision.”
“The new technology also offers many possibilities to make the consumption of products like meat more sustainable and space travel more comfortable by introducing new ways of preparing a meal in space,” the report continues.
And, “The possibilities are endless and are sure to continue to surpass our expectations in the future to come.”
Tech Republic reports the invention may soon make its way into homes and restaurants across the country:
Imagine stepping into the kitchen of the great smart home of the future. Sitting between your connected stove and IoT-enabled toaster is a 3D food printer, able to print and cook your favourite meal with a single touch of a screen.
According to 3D food printing company Natural Machines, this concept is not far from becoming a reality. Others, such as pizza printing specialist BeeHex, believe it is a matter of years before it becomes a common feature of not only the home, but in restaurant kitchens and commercial enterprises as well.
Here’s what some people are saying:


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Aldi to launch new footwear range following popular clothing line
Aldi launched sportwear and loungewear collections in April and the clothes turned out to be a huge success. Now, the discount retailer has turned its attention to footwear.
Aldi has followed its first ever clothing line with a footwear range.
Now, fans of the supermarket’s branded hoodies and pyjamas can wear them with white trainers or comfortable sliders.
Aldi Mania was launched on April 29 and included hoodies, pyjama sets, and underwear emblazoned with the retailer’s instantly recognisable logo.
Similar to some of its Specialbuys products, Aldi’s garments were limited edition and sold out quickly.
READ MORE: Amazon Prime Day 2021: Best home and kitchen appliance deals
They also feature a strap with the supermarket’s logo in pale blue.
The shoes will be available in sizes four to 10 and are unisex.
Meanwhile, Aldi Mania’s white trainers look similar to Nike’s Air Force One design and feature the supermarket’s logo.
The logo is striped and multicoloured.
The trainers are vegan friendly and made from recycled materials, with a memory foam effect insole for extra comfort.
Like the sliders, they also come in sizes four to 11 and are unisex.
In other Aldi news, the supermarket has announced it is looking for hundreds of sites around the UK to build new stores.
The supermarket is looking for 400 sites in England, 30 in Wales, and 20 in Scotland.
The sites in England are all over the country, from the north-east to the south-west.
Meanwhile, the Welsh towns currently on the list are mostly in the south of the nation, with some in North Wales including Pwllheli and Caernarfon.
Aldi is the UK’s fifth largest supermarket, and it has drastically expanded over the past decade.
Aldi opened its first UK store in 1990, and since then it has competed alongside Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Lidl as part of the UK’s six biggest supermarkets.
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Preview the new Bond flick; 100 online games
Fox is auctioning a necklace worn by Calista Flockhart on Ally McBeal
and three items from 24 online this week. To bid or learn more about
the loot, read this
Here's an interview
with Trading Spaces carpenter and Philadelphia native Amy Wynn Pastor.
On her sudden fame: "Sometimes it makes shopping a little difficult. Only
at certain times, though. At this point, I guess it's so new to me that it's
still very enjoyable."
Former Felicity cast member Amy Jo Johnson, now starring as Janis
Joplin in an off-Broadway show, was
robbed less than 24 hours before her debut. Talk about bad timing.
The first trailer for upcoming James Bond adventure Die Another Day is
now online. Click
here to see it.
Salon's Cintra Wilson explores the long, winding career of Mickey Rourke
story remembers make-up artist Kevin Aucoin, who died last week at
age 40. Aucoin painted the faces of numerous celebrities, including Cher,
Gwyneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey.
Got some extra time? Here's a list of the 100
greatest online games, courtesy of FHM magazine.
Hip Clicks is a daily entertainment Weblog; click
here to visit the archive. E-mail Whitney Matheson at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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LG G6 News And Update: Here's How The LG G6 UX Will Look Like
The Korean technology company is set to introduce its newest smartphone later this month. LG G6 is the latest line-up for the G-series. LG is expected to feature a waterproof design for G6 and a new user interface.
It would be interesting since the company has not released any waterproof phones before, which other companies have been highlighting on their products. The G6 will offer an up to date multi-tasking feature just like typing a note or a memo on one side while the other side is used for surfing the internet. In addition, users can turn the phone in a horizontal position and will display a calendar on the left side of the window and the schedule dates with details will be indicated on the right side of the screen.
Aside from the standard features, the smartphone will highlight its latest user interface. Recently, the Korean conglomerate has shared a teaser on YouTube showing the UX 6.0 interface. It will be utilized in the 5.7-inch QHD+ full display with an 18.9 unusual aspect ratio, as per Droid Life.
According to Tech Crunch, LG has confirmed that users will be able to view multimedia contents from games, movies and other applications for an 18:9 ratio. The updated UX will also include a system that will enable the users to quickly view a 16:9 ratio existing content in 18:9 formats.
The LG UX 6.0 will also feature a square camera, which is capable of dividing an 18:9 display in two perfect squares. With this capability, users can capture images in 1:1 format. This trending format can be experienced on different social media applications like Instagram.
This UX interface also comes with a food mode-shooting mode that can let the users create their own GIF files quickly by simply gathering over a hundred images in a loop. The new handset, expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 on Feb. 26, will offer one-hand usability. The new interface is tailored specifically to the company's new Full Vision.
YouTube Rolls Out Material Design Update With Light And Dark Mode Options
YouTube has rolled out a new design UI to its desktop platform that follows the material concept along with an option for a light or dark mode.
Uber App Now Available On Android Wear 2.0
The Uber app is now finally available on Android Wear 2.0 powered smartwatches.
LG G6 News, Update: Rumors Suggest Flagship To Be Powered By More Than 3200 mAh Battery
The 2017 LG's flagship G6 will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) with a better specs and powerful battery.
Hyundai, Kia Motors and LG Chem Launch Contest to Invest in EV and Battery Startups
Start-ups that have working prototypes and are building technologies in EV charging and fleet management, power electronics and components, personalization services and battery management, systems, materials, recycling, and manufacturing are strongly encouraged to participate.
LG To Include FM Radio Support In Future Smartphones
LG has announced a partnership with NextRadio’s holder TagStation that will have them enabling the FM radio for upcoming LG smartphones.
MORE IN ITECHPOST
Upgrade Your Zoom Experience with the New MmHmm!
Tired of your boring Zoom meetings? The new MmHmm makes things more interesting!
CEO Peter Beck’s Apology Has Elon Musk and Other Competitors Support After Launch Failure
After the failure of the 13th attempt to reach orbit with Electron, Rocket Labs CEO Peter Beck has given out a public apology on Twitter. This has led to competitors, which include Elon Musk, to offer their support.
Doing the 'OK' Hand Gesture in 'Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare' Is Now Impossible
The 'OK' hand gesture is now impossible to do in 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' and 'Call of Duty: Warzone' due to it being removed. But why did the developers remove it in the first place?
Wolverine: Not MCU Ready Says Avengers Endgame Director Joe Russo
Endgame's director Joe Russo wants to respect the time and effort that was put into the current iteration of Wolverine we have in the film, so the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to refrain from using the character for a while.


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LANSING, Mich. — After months of being unable to splurge on things like a vacation or even a night at the movies, experts say many Americans have hit a point of "frugal fatigue" and as Alicia Nieves shows us, the data is backing that up.
Most of us can’t go out like we used to but it isn’t stopping many from spending like they id before the pandemic, and some of us even more.
A news report shows impulse spending is at the highest ever. With store closures and in-person shopping concerns, many consumers have moved more of their spending online. On average: now spending 25% of their discretionary income there.
“When people are cooped up at home, there’s the tendency for impulse buying.” Greg McBride is the chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com “I think the pandemic has moved us forward seven years in the last seven months in terms of certain trends particularly towards digital.
”While online shopping has been around for a long time, McBride explains, in the last seven months more retailers have gone online and those already there have invested significantly in making their shopping experience easier and more convenient. So, people could spend more and more often without the old buffer of getting in their car, driving, and browsing around their favorite stores. the old way that provided time to reconsider a purchase or how much to spend.
“The tendency for emotional or impulsive purchasing can be really devastating towards your financial goals and unwind a lot of progress you may have otherwise already made.”
A little impulse spending won’t hurt, but these numbers are concerning to some experts like McBride. “It’s really important to identify what is your trigger? is it sadness, is it boredom, is it keeping up with the Jones’? and then developing strategies that can distract you from that.”
Two simple strategies he has 1) don’t shop without a list (that goes for in store and online). 2) set a price and wait 24-hours to buy anything that costs more so that you have time to sleep on the financial impact of bigger purchases, especially now.
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Avid readers of the New York Times knew this day would come. The publisher has detailed its first mandatory digital subscriptions for voracious content consumers – available today in Canada and scheduled to roll out in the U.S. and globally on March 28.
As of those dates, visitors to the NYTimes.com website consuming more than 20 articles per month will be asked to pay for access. Subscription benefits are offered at several levels: $15 gets readers access to NYTimes.com plus a smartphone app; $20 gets access plus a tablet app; $35 provides full access to all digital platforms, including the site, smartphone app, and tablet app.
Like the Wall Street Journal before it, the New York Times has built some search and social permeability into its paywall plans. Readers arriving on article pages through links from search and social media will be given access even when they’ve surpassed their monthly reading limit.
The Times will impose a daily limit on search traffic from Google; users will be able to click through a maximum of five times a day. Bing and other engines meanwhile have no such restrictions. A spokesperson declined to comment on whether the Times has a specific arrangement with Bing.
“It’s an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform,” Publisher Arthur Sulzberger said in a note on the site.
Other details of the Times paywall are as follows:
-Print subscribers retain full access to the site and all apps. E-reader editions for devices such as Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader are not free to print subscribers.
-Access to the homepage and site index pages will remain free, as will classifieds and blog “fronts,” or main pages.
-Canadian users only have one subscription option today. Others will be made available with the global rollout later this month.
-New subscribers will not pay full price. Unspecified promotions will be offered, and college students, faculty and school administrators will enjoy discounts.
-Readers will be notified via pop-up alerts when they are approaching their monthly limits.
-A full rundown of the subscription plans and related questions are available in the Times FAQ.
The Times bought a Twitter Promoted Trend to publicize its subscription plans. The paid placement didn’t appear to go live until mid-morning, when the publisher first revealed details of its paywall.
Google sparked a small firestorm last week as reports surfaced that its intelligent assistant device Google Home delivered an unsolicited advertisement to unsuspecting owners.
Every year, the average business spends thousands of dollars on Facebook ads but has little or nothing to show for it. If this is true for your business, what can you do about it?
Twitter's own statistics say that videos are six times more likely to be retweeted than photos, and three times more likely than GIFs. But what is it that makes video on Twitter so effective?
Web push notifications are an interesting addition to the marketing mix. To help you understand what they mean for you, we've put together a guide with everything you need to know.


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It's one of the most hotly anticipated collaborations of the year, and although Prada has been tight-lipped thus far about its upcoming collection with Adidas, the Italian fashion house has just revealed a sneak peek of what's in store.
Taking to its Instagram page, Prada shared that on December 4, it will release a limited-edition version of the Adidas Superstar sneaker, complete with shell toe and signature three stripes, and featuring the Prada logo on the back.
A bowling bag is also being released, and the classic shape has been given a sporty once-over thanks to the Adidas logo sharing valuable real estate with the Prada one.
Both items, which are made from calf leather, will also be numbered, 1-700.
While no price details have been released, we've no doubt that the limited-edition drop will sell out in seconds. You have been warned!


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Unlike traditional manufacturing, 3D printing allows people to create all kinds of objects and shapes that might not be possible through traditional methods. To that end, we’ve seen how 3D printing can be used for medical purposes, like 3D printing living tissues or custom casts. We’ve also seen it being used to produce vehicles, like a motorcycle.
IKEA, the Swedish company known for their affordable furniture, is expanding on the company’s focus where instead of just making affordable furniture, the company wants to be able to cater to a variety of lifestyles. More recently, the company announced plans to explore robotic furniture for small apartments, but they’re not stopping there.
With last year’s iPhones being more or less a rehash of the iPhone X’s design, it is expected that Apple could introduce a new design for its iPhones this year. We don’t really know what to expect, although earlier, alleged production molds of the 2019 iPhones have given us a clue as to what we might be able to expect.
Curing heart disease can be tricky because in some cases, the only way for a person to survive would be to get a heart transplant. Unfortunately, finding a suitable donor is difficult, not to mention there is a waiting list as well, and there are also complications with regards to the body accepting the new organ.
One of the features of the Samsung Galaxy S10 is the use of an in-display fingerprint sensor. What makes this different from other in-display sensors is that Samsung is said to have used Qualcomm’s fingerprint sensor which relies on ultrasonic technology. This is said to be more secure compared to regular fingerprint scanning, but maybe it isn’t quite foolproof yet.
The problem with furniture making is that it takes time, and if you need something that’s custom-made, it can be expensive. For the most part most of us can get by with regular furniture, but what if you’re disabled? What if you need specialized furniture? That’s where it gets a bit tricky.
3D printing has been used in the medical industry before, where we have seen the tech used to 3D print cartilage and skull implants. Now it seems that Russian researcher Oleg Kononenko has successfully managed to 3D print living tissue, but here’s the kicker: not only is Kononenko a researcher, but he is a cosmonaut as well, and this 3D printing was actually done in space.
Facial recognition technology in smartphone isn’t new. Android had a similar feature way back in the day, although admittedly it wasn’t exactly a robust or secure feature that could be easily bypassed by a photo. However it was in 2017 that Apple introduced Face ID, its own take on facial recognition that the company claims is near-impossible to fool.
There is a lot more that goes into a reproduction of a painting that goes beyond just copying how it looks and trying to recreate the colors, but it seems that researchers are getting closer to being able to successfully reproduce paintings through the use of AI and also 3D printing, the latter of which is used to help better recreate certain colors.
The concept of 3D printing is amazing. Being able to “print” out your creations sounds ideal as it lets people come up with all kinds of unique ideas that would have otherwise been harder to create normally, and take longer. For example earlier this year we saw how the US Marines have taken 3D printing technology to construct concrete barracks in 40 hours, a job that would have otherwise taken […]
When we think of the construction of buildings, this is usually a process that is seen as taking a while, at least not as far as as makeshift buildings are concerned. However it appears that the US Marines have managed to figure out a way that will allow them to 3D print concrete barracks in as little time as 40 hours.
There are probably many out there who after seeing Doctor Octopus or Spider-Man’s latest suit in Avengers: Infinity War, wouldn’t mind two extra pairs of hands to help them do things. In the case of a 10-year old boy, it seems that his wish came true as he is the recipient of a working Doctor Octopus-like exoskeleton.
3D printing is an amazing piece of technology and we’ve seen it used for artsy stuff and also used for medical and industrial purposes, allowing companies to create customized components in a shorter span of time. Now it looks like General Motors (GM) will be leveraging that technology to help advance its electric car efforts.


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Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi has shared additional thoughts on the PlayStation 3, this time to Japan's PC Impress Watch technology site. Kutaragi's latest comments concern the flexibility of the PlayStation 3 platform and some of the changes Sony has made to its studio structure.
The PS3 is a "meta format," Kutaragi has stated in previous interviews. This means that the PlayStation 3 platform can exist in various hardware configurations, as long as its meets certain base specifications and can run the same basic games. The two configurations that will be available at launch provide a perfect example.
Kutaragi joked in this latest interview that the PS3 could be made on a "Built to Order" basis, although he noted that such a scheme would bring about difficulties in distribution. Kutaragi also joked that new configurations could be offered on a yearly basis, noting that Apple and Dell use a similar business model.
Whatever the case, "All configurations are the PS3," Kutaragi stated, suggesting that all meet the same basic level of memory and CPU specifications required to play PlayStation 3 games. But Kutaragi did not leave out the possibility of increased computing power in some configurations. "It's possible. If our ambitions rise, this will naturally happen. Of course, this all depends on how far our ambitions increase."
Kutaragi was also asked for his opinion on why Sony's first party PlayStation 3 products lead the way at E3, above the typically strong third party offerings. In response, Kutaragi stated that during the PlayStation era, the biggest titles were arcade games, which is why companies like Namco lead the way. "Games were made with arcade games as the standard."
On the PS3, Kutaragi believes this to no longer be the case. "On the PS3, I believe that all standards have been crossed. Because of this, we felt that if we don't confidently show what the standard is, others will not know where to go. First party responsibility is not just for the platform, but to show all areas of software as well." Kutaragi expects the standard that Sony set at E3 to increase even further as the system approaches its November world launch.
In addition to Sony having intimate knowledge of its own hardware, Kutaragi also pointed to the company's new studio structure as reason for its first party success. Sony Computer Entertainment brought together its various development studios half a year back. At E3, Kutaragi said, the studios "made demos with the idea of sharing information, engines and know-how."


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It is not only an issue in the workplace, but an issue in post-secondary school admissions as well. There have been situations where students have been forced to give up their social media passwords to school administrators. There are inadequate laws to protect a student's social media privacy, and organizations such as the ACLU are pushing for more privacy protection, as it is an invasion. They urge students who are pressured to give up their account information to tell the administrators to contact a parent or lawyer before they take the matter any further. Although they are students, they still have the right to keep their password-protected information private.
Social media often features in political struggles to control public perception and online activity. In some countries, Internet police or secret police monitor or control citizens' use of social media. For example, in 2013 some social media was banned in Turkey after the Taksim Gezi Park protests. Both Twitter and YouTube were temporarily suspended in the country by a court's decision. A new law, passed by Turkish Parliament, has granted immunity to Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) personnel. The TİB was also given the authority to block access to specific websites without the need for a court order. Yet TİB's 2014 blocking of Twitter was ruled by the constitutional court to violate free speech. More recently, in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, the public was explicitly instructed not to 'share' or 'like' dissenting views on social media or face prison. In July of that same year, in response to WikiLeaks' release of a secret suppression order made by the Victorian Supreme Court, media lawyers were quoted in the Australian media to the effect that "anyone who tweets a link to the Wikileaks report, posts it on Facebook, or shares it in any way online could also face charges".
It has been estimated that some 81% of Americans used social media as of 2017, and increasingly so. Over one-fifth of an individual's online time is spent on social media, according to one estimate. In 2005, the percentage of adults using social media was around 5%. Globally, there are roughly 1.96 billion social media users. That number is expected to rise to 2.5 billion by the end of 2018. Other estimates are even higher. According to the Pew Research Center, social media users tend to be younger (some 90% of people ages 18 to 29 used at least one form of social media), better educated and relatively wealthy (earning over $75,000 per year). The United States and China lead the list of social media usage:
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Like podcasting, webinars can be a cost-effective revenue model for influencers and content creators. A webinar is essentially a seminar conducted over the internet and is usually for an educational purpose to provide information in an engaging, tutorial-style format. Webinars can either be live, or they can be pre-recorded and shared across video, blog and social media platforms.
Facebook jumped by 100 million monthly active users from 2.13 billion in December 2017 to 2.23 billion as of June 30, 2018. The rate of growth seems to continue at 15 million active users per month. So, by the end of the year we should see 2.35 billion Facebook monthly active users. Here’s the post where Zuckerberg announced the news about reaching the 2 billion milestone:
According to writer Christine Rosen in "Virtual Friendship, and the New Narcissism," many social media sites encourage status-seeking. According to Rosen, the practice and definition of "friendship" changes in virtuality. Friendship "in these virtual spaces is thoroughly different from real-world friendship. In its traditional sense, friendship is a relationship which, broadly speaking, involves the sharing of mutual interests, reciprocity, trust, and the revelation of intimate details over time and within specific social (and cultural) contexts. Because friendship depends on mutual revelations that are concealed from the rest of the world, it can only flourish within the boundaries of privacy; the idea of public friendship is an oxymoron." Rosen also cites Brigham Young University researchers who "recently surveyed 184 users of social networking sites and found that heavy users 'feel less socially involved with the community around them.'" Critic Nicholas G. Carr in "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" questions how technology affects cognition and memory. "The kind of deep reading that a sequence of printed pages promotes is valuable not just for the knowledge we acquire from the author's words but for the intellectual vibrations those words set off within our own minds. In the quiet spaces opened up by the sustained, undistracted reading of a book, or by any other act of contemplation, for that matter, we make our own associations, draw our own inferences and analogies, foster our own ideas... If we lose those quiet spaces, or fill them up with "content," we will sacrifice something important not only in ourselves but in our culture."
Mobile social media refer to the use of social media on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Mobile social media are a useful application of mobile marketing because the creation, exchange, and circulation of user-generated content can assist companies with marketing research, communication, and relationship development. Mobile social media differ from others because they incorporate the current location of the user (location-sensitivity) or the time delay between sending and receiving messages (time-sensitivity). According to Andreas Kaplan, mobile social media applications can be differentiated among four types:


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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Apple chief Tim Cook previously announced that the tech giant will be purchasing chips for its iPhones, Macs and other key products made in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) new factory in Phoenix, Arizona. It seemed like a huge win for the Biden administration, which signs the CHIPS Act into law last year to boost manufacturing in the US and lessen its reliance on overseas suppliers. Now, The Information has reported that even though the components for Apple's chips will be manufactured in the US, they'll still have to be sent back to TSMC's home country for assembly.
Apparently, the manufacturer's factory in Arizona doesn't have the facilities to package its customers' more advanced chips. "Packaging" is what you call the final stage of fabrication, wherein the chip's components are assembled inside a housing as close together as possible to enhance speed and power efficiency. The iPhone, in particular, has been using a packaging method developed by TSMC since 2016. Chips for iPads and Macs can be packaged outside of Taiwan, but the iPhone's will have to be assembled in the country.
[...] Seeing as the government recently established (PDF) a National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing program to boost chip packaging in the US, it's aware of the need to bring the process into the country, as well. Apple and all the aforementioned TSMC clients aren't the only companies whose chips have to be sent overseas for assembly, since manufacturers aren't making enough products in the US to justify building packaging facilities in the country. However, that program is only getting $2.5 billion in funding under the CHIPS Act, and the Institute of Printed Circuits told the publication that the amount shows packaging isn't being prioritized. As for TSMC, The Information's sources said it has no plans to build packaging facilities in the US due to the huge costs involved, and any future packaging method it develops will most likely be offered in Taiwan.
« Serious Brain Trauma Starts Well Before Young Athletes Go Pro | Was Warfare Responsible for the Fall of Small-Scale Societies? »
TSMC is in talks with Arizona officials to build its chip packaging facility in the state, Katie Hobbs, governor of Arizona, said in Taipei after visiting the world's No.1 foundry's headquarters, reports Bloomberg. If the plan comes to fruition, then TSMC's will have a vertically integrated chip production chain in the USA for the first time ever.
TSMC has built Fab 21 in Arizona and is currently installing production tools there. The company is also building up the second phase of the fab and has approved plans to invest $40 billion in these two production facilities. But the company apparently does not want to stop there and is discussing the possibility of building an advanced packaging fab in the state, too, as this will help it to assemble complex system-in-packages for its clients from the U.S. on American soil.


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According to stock exchange filings by the three fuel retailers, the losses were due to erosion in the marketing margin on petrol, diesel and domestic LPG.
The Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV, the first car to be built by Toyota as part of a global alliance with Suzuki Motor Corp, will compete with Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors in a segment that accounts for the bulk of auto sales in India.
The new model will be a "game changer" in the electric auto space in India, Vikram Kirloskar, vice chairman of local unit Toyota Kirloskar Motor said at a launch event in New Delhi.
While green investors have criticised Toyota, the world's largest carmaker by sales, for slowness in moving its product line-up to all electric vehicles, the company has said hybrids make more sense in markets where it needs to offer a variety of choices depending on the energy mix and local needs.
Toyota last year committed to spending $60 billion by 2030 to electrify its range of vehicles, but only half of that is for the development of fully electric models.
The car, to be manufactured at a Toyota plant in Karnataka state, will be sold in India and other global markets including Africa. Suzuki will take the SUV from Toyota's operation in southern India and sell it under its own label.


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The Obama administration has vetoed a US sales ban placed on older iPhone and iPad models by the United States International Trade Commission last June. The move was made over the weekend, and reverses a ruling that would’ve marked a victory for Samsung in its ongoing legal battles against Apple.
Two months ago, the ITC said that Apple had infringed upon a mobile communications patent owned by Samsung, specifically in the AT&T models of its iPhone 4, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. It ordered the Cupertino clan to halt the import, sale and distribution of those older models in the US as a result.
The patent in question, number 7,706,348, deals with the encoding and decoding of information on CDMA wireless networks. It is considered an SEP, or “standards essential patent”, which means that Samsung was required to license it as its own.
The ITC’s final ruling was briefly postponed last week, but would’ve gone into effect today, August 5, unless the President vetoed the decision. He did, and now President Obama is the first Commander in Chief to overturn an ITC product ban in 26 years.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman officially announced the Obama administration’s decision in a letter to IDC chairman Irving Williamson. In it, he expresses concerns over product bans that revolve around SEPs, as well as the SEP holders that may assert the patent “to exclude the implementer of the standard from a market to obtain a higher price for use of the patent than would have been possible before the standard was set, when alternative technologies could have been chosen.”
Essentially, Froman is saying he doesn’t want companies to unfairly leverage essential patents for their own monetary gain. He asks that the ITC “to examine thoroughly and carefully” whether or not its future decisions regarding SEPs are “in the public interest.”
As expected, Apple was pleased with the decision. “We applaud the Administration for standing up for innovation in this landmark case,” an Apple spokeswoman told AllThingsD. “Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way.”
Also as expected, Samsung felt just the opposite. “We are disappointed that the U.S. Trade Representative has decided to set aside the exclusion order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC),” the company told 9to5Mac. “The ITC’s decision correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license.”
If it went into effect, the sales ban most likely wouldn’t have done huge damage to Apple’s share in the marketplace. Its newer and higher-selling products, such as the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad 4 and iPad mini, all do not infringe on the patent, but the decision still would’ve marked a notable win for its biggest mobile rival. Samsung, meanwhile, has new ITC issues to attend to, as it will face a verdict this Friday on whether or not some of its products should face import bans for infringing on Apple patents.


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Ripple currently has over 20 ODL markets open and continues to drive global coverage.
RippleNet GM Asheesh Birla With Strike’s Shopify integration, we used Twitter to uncover some “misunderstandings” about Ripple’s ODL.
Last week, Strike, a digital payment platform built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, announced its integration with Shopify. This will allow merchants to receive Bitcoin payments in US dollars from customers around the world. Some Twitter users argued during the comparison that this could adversely affect Ripple’s ODL.
I’ve seen some tweets comparing Lightning-based cross-border payment apps with Ripple’s on-demand liquidity product (with XRP). More players focusing on this issue is good for IMOs in the industry, but let’s get rid of some misconceptions.
— Asheesh Birla (@ashgoblue) April 11, 2022
In a tweet thread, top executives of Ripple’s digital assets as Ripple teams show market expertise on ultra-hard, flat destination currencies (PHP, MXN, etc.) and solve liquidity challenges by strengthening them. Its customers state that its use is one component of the ODL solution. He also opened more than 20 ODL markets as Ripple continues to drive global coverage, despite specific challenges such as volatility and regulatory concerns related to cryptocurrency liquidity. It states that it is.
With Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), customers can instantly move money around the world at any time without the need for a pre-funded account.
He concludes: “Exchange only the cryptocurrency portion of the solution is like suggesting that GM is using an Energizer battery and ready to compete with Tesla. There’s still a lot to consider here.”
Recent updates on Ripple Case
In a recent update shared by defendant lawyer James K. Polk, US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn dismisses a motion to reconsider a deliberate process privilege (DPP) decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Did. Former federal prosecutors claim it is a “very big victory” for Ripple.
The court ordered the SEC to submit an email containing a draft of the infamous Ethereum speech given by former SEC Chief Executive Officer William Hinman, among other documents. In June 2018, Hinman said at a meeting in San Francisco that Ethereum is not security.
The SEC claimed that these documents were still protected by DPP for tax withholding. However, the judge commented that the personal views of the agency staff were not protected by privileges.


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India-Russia trade is reaching the peak of its potential. Within 9 months of this financial year, bilateral trade has increased by more than 200 per cent in YoY terms. Apart from strengthening bilateral relations, it has also set the tone for Rupee-Rouble trade.
India-Russia trade in Rupee-Rouble
Russia’s VTB bank has launched a mechanism to receive direct payment in Rupees. VTB is the second largest bank of Russia and the Russian government has a major stake in it. With the new system, Russian businesses will be able to transact with Indian companies in Rupee. It has eliminated the need for including Dollar and Euro in bilateral trade.
The move is a promising one since India-Russia trade within the first 9 months of this financial year clocked $27 billion. It is easily expected to cross $30 billion at the end of this year. The numbers surged because India drastically increased its imports of coal, oil and fertilisers from Russia. Due to this, India has a trade deficit with Russia, since more than 90 per cent of bilateral trade is dominated by Russian exports to India.
India has raised this issue and Russians have been positive in their approach to India’s concerns. The bonhomie is another good sign for Rupee-Rouble trade.
Boost to de-Dollarisation of currency system
Bilateral trade in local currencies is a joint vision of both countries. Even before the war, they had taken serious efforts to drive it. Before 2019, we used to settle more than 50 per cent of India-Russia trade in Dollars, but in 2021, 53.4 per cent of Indian payments to Russia was made in Rouble while Dollar’s share came down to 38.3 per cent. Russia had agreed to receive payment of $5.2-$5.6 billion in Rupee for delivery of the S-400 Triumf air defence system.
But it is not only Russia. Vostro accounts with respect to Sri Lanka and Mauritius have already been opened. Moreover, India is currently in talks with at least 35 countries for bilateral trade in local currencies. These include key trading partners like UAE and Saudi Arabia.
If bilateral payment settlements in local currencies gain traction, it will be a big boost to the prospects of BRICS currencies as well. Currently, the GDP of this group comprises 23 per cent of Global economy. 18 per cent of global trade is dominated by this group. With increasing trade ties between India-Russia, Russia-China and Saudi Arabia keen to join the group, the de-Dollarisation of this group will set a big precedent for other groups and countries.
Also read: The Rouble-Rupee combo – An effective solution to the menace of petrodollar
Only a beginning though
Despite these trends, a word of caution is needed. Until and unless Indian products do not dominate the international market like that of Chinese, the move will fall flat on its face. For that Indian manufacturing and services will have to rise up to occasion. Otherwise, India will end up emptying its Rupee reserve to accommodate foreign imports.
Rupee-Rouble trade is an excellent beginning, but it is only a beginning.
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