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Your Wednesday Morning Coffee: the top mobile stories from the past 24 hours, good to the last drop.
Facebook Earns 58% More Per Ad Than Last Year, Mobile Ads Clicked 4X More Than Twitter Ads (via TechCrunch)
In addition to having higher CPMs, mobile ads, which were only introduced in June 2012, for now seem to also be impacting overall click-through rates, too. These were up by 31 percent compared to a year ago.
The coming automatic, freaky, contextual world and why we’re writing a book about it (via Scobleizer)
A new world is coming. It’s scary. Freaky. Over the freaky line, if you will. But it is coming. Investors like Ron Conway and Marc Andreessen are investing in it. Companies from Google to startups you’ve never heard of, like Wovyn or Highlight, are building it. With more than a couple of new ones already on the way that you’ll hear about over the next six months.
Socialcam Founder: There Will Be No Instagram of Video (via PandoDaily)
Socialcam CEO and founder Michael Seibal argues that few on his team bought into the hype. “Anyone who knows the video sharing space intimately knows that the comparison to Instagram was a fallacy from the beginning,” says Seibel – apparently someone forgot to tell Viddy’s backers that. “Photography has been mainstream for decades, even before computers. Video creation is still not mainstream. Accordingly, this has always been more of an uphill battle and a long term opportunity than photo sharing.”
PayPal buys credit card scanner Card.io (via GigaOM)
Developers will still get access to Card.io’s video swipe technology, but it’s unclear if that will always be the case. Card.io’s technology allows developers to capture credit card data by having users scan their cards with a smartphone camera. PayPal Here, PayPal’s small business product and Square rival, offered the scanning service to merchants, giving them another way to take credit card payments without the use of a card-reading dongle.
With $6M in Funding, Twist’s App Launches to Tell People When You’ll Arrive (via BetaKit)
Twist does one relatively simple thing, but it does it in an elegant way that takes advantage of the smartphones most people are carrying around in their pocket these days. The app provides ETAs for you and anyone you want to share that with, making it simple to let someone know when you might be arriving and keeping you updated on your progress.
With Crazy-Popular iPhone App, Changba Wins While It’s Singing (via PandoDaily)
On May 31, Zuitao released a sophisticated karaoke app called Changba. Five days later, it was the number one free iPhone app in China. In the month and a half that has since elapsed, it has never left the top five, and on Monday, it was sitting pretty at number three.
AT&T’s Next Ridiculous Move Is Going To Outrage iPhone Users (via Business Insider)
News broke today that AT&T will likely charge iPhone users extra to use FaceTime video chat over cellular (3G or 4G) networks. The change will take place once Apple’s new mobile operating system, iOS 6, launches for iPhones and iPads this fall.
Kiip Raises $11M to Extend In-App Rewards Beyond Just Mobile Games (via BetaKit)
With Kiip, app developers are provided with an entirely new way to advertise to mobile users by providing them with tangible rewards for their mobile achievements. Developers integrate Kiip’s code into their game or app, and then Kiip helps them to identify these key achievement moments, whether it’s passing a level or amassing a certain number of points. Brands can then begin distributing rewards to their intended demographic.
The mobile operator’s dilemma (and opportunity): The fourth curve
The mobile industry is set to hit what I call its fourth revenue curve, where they will derive their sales from providing services such as payments, software and mHealth as opposed to providing voice, texting or bulk data. How they handle this fourth curve will determine if operators continue to dominate the value chains or become irrelevant. Here’s what’s at stake.


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The PSL is Back!
Starbucks has announced an official early start to the fall season with the reintroduction of the Pumpkin Spice Latte — or “PSL” to its fans. However, the early return of the autumnal beverage was connected to customers solving clues Starbucks left online for PSL fans to discover a.....
Starbucks has announced an official early start to the fall season with the reintroduction of the Pumpkin Spice Latte — or “PSL” to its fans. However, the early return of the autumnal beverage was connected to customers solving clues Starbucks left online for PSL fans to discover a special password. After the first customer at each Starbucks solved the clue, the beverage would be “unlocked” at that location. Fans can keep up with the famous latte by following @TheRealPSL on Twitter.
(The Huffington Post)
Burger King has struck a deal to buy Canadian doughnut and coffee chain Tim Hortons for $11.4 billion. This would make Burger King one of the biggest fast-food operations in the world. The joining of the two companies would form a new global company based in Canada, according to the official release.
McDonald’s USA Announces New President
After 41 years with McDonald’s, Jeff Stratton will be retiring from the company. With his decision the board has named a new president of McDonald’s USA, Mike Andres, who will take over when Stratton retires Oct. 15. Andres is a former McDonald’s executive and most recently was the CEO and chairman of Logan’s Roadhouse Inc.
It’s Bonus Day for The Dwyer Group
After private-equity firm TZP sold its majority share in The Dwyer Group to The Riverside Co., Dwyer Group principals have decided to share the wealth and split $1 million in sales proceeds among the company’s 500 employees. On a meeting on Tuesday employees learned that they will be getting a bonus in their paychecks this Friday.
California Supreme Court Releases Domino’s Pizza from Liability
It may now be harder for plaintiffs to hold corporations responsible for the actions of franchise employees in California. This follows the California Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision to release Domino’s Pizza Inc. from a sexual harassment claim brought against a franchisee in the Golden State. This marks the first time California Courts have decided a franchisor’s liability for sexual-harassment claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

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Amazon announced on Thursday that the Kindle Fire has officially "sold out."
The company issued a press release stating its 7-inch, $200 tablet com...
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iPhone 7 a ‘pleasant surprise’ that will drive Apple higher, strategist says
Google searches for the iPhone up by as much as 10 times in the first few days of pre-orders for the latest model
Apple shares continued to rally and analyst Shawn Harrison thinks the tech giant’s run will continue thanks to strong demand for the iPhone 7.
That demand can be seen not only in pre-order spikes at T-Mobile and Sprint in the US, but in his firm’s proprietary research, the senior analyst with Longbow Research told CNBC’s “Power Lunch.“
“Google search trends for the iPhone, which is typically predictive longer term of demand, are up significantly year-over-year relative to the iPhone 6 over the first few days of … pre-orders, 5 to 10 times,” Harrison said.
He believes the iPhone 7 turned out to be substantially better than everyone was expecting.
“We view the phone to actually be a pleasant surprise. Many of the features had been leaked, but the extra battery life, the performance, the additional speakers were a nice surprise,” he said.
He has a “buy” rating on the stock and a US$130 price target.
Apple launched the new phones last week and said Wednesday initial quantities of the iPhone 7 Plus have sold out globally . The smaller iPhone 7 has sold out in the jet black color.
Verizon has said its iPhone 7 pre-order volume is within the normal range. However, both Sprint and T-Mobile have said demand is up significantly.
Sprint announced pre-orders of the new iPhones were up more than 375 per cent in the first three days compared with last year. T-Mobile said pre-orders are up nearly four times compared with preregistrations for the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6.
Harrison noted that there are about 700 million iPhone subscribers exiting this year and a lot of them could potentially upgrade their phone.
He said other potential catalysts could be the supply chain raising its production forecast heading into October, ahead of the earnings period. Plus there will be the refresh of other products, like the MacBook, in the fall, he added.
Apple shares have rallied over the past few days, and were up more than 3 per cent Thursday in afternoon trading. If the stock closes 2 per cent or higher, it would be the fourth day straight of doing so. That hasn’t happened since April of 2009.
However, despite the recent rally, shares are still trading at a discount to the S&P 500, Harrison pointed out.
— CNBC’s Anita Balakrishnan and Peter Shacknow contributed to this report.


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“Technology has come such a great distance over the past decade yet dating apps are still primarily based on seems. The CryptoRom rip-off artists goal iPhone users of dating apps including Tinder and Bumble. As a substitute, fraudsters will ‘match’ with their victims, pretend interest until they build a foundation of belief, and then they will ask for money — only to vanish quickly after. Almost 80 p.c of small builders are energetic throughout multiple international locations’ storefronts and have earnings from users in greater than 40 international locations, with Apple mentioning how the App Store facilitates secure worldwide transactions, localized storefronts, and cost processing. 40 p.c of app downloads from small builders came from users outdoors of the builders’ house countries, and practically 80 p.c of small builders are energetic in multiple storefronts. The world’s oldest international fixture has by no means felt more alive. Whereas the religious experience is nice and all, the latest preview gets even more elemental, with a glance at the country’s water.
Analysis Group’s research checked out how the App Store ecosystem shifted amid the pandemic in 2020, highlighting the methods Apple’s platform helped small developers (these with lower than one million downloads and less than $1 million in earnings), as well as exploring how the App Store has benefitted builders over the course of the final 5 years. They’ve designs on successful Euro 2020, whereas Scotland are extra involved about prolonging their keep at a first main finals in 23 years. The App Store ecosystem facilitated an estimated $643 billion in billings and gross sales in 2020, a rise of 24 % yr-over-12 months, in line with an Apple-commissioned examine finished by Analysis Group economists. Bumble Inc.’s February 2021 IPO raised $2.2 billion and the corporate says the App Store and iOS ecosystem are “inextricably linked” to its success. Greater than 200 million folks on Facebook determine themselves as single, he stated, and the new service will let these folks join with one another from within the company’s main app. If the Fee or the U.Ok.’s CMA finds evidence of wrongdoing, they can then file formal charges-but if not, they are saying they may also drop their instances. So sure there’s an answer for it and that is vashiKaran manta, although nothing else goes best for you and you’re really depressed in your life then vashiKaran mantra might end up being a really good thing for you.
The 2 competition watchdogs said they might coordinate their investigations. At the same time, the U.K.’s CMA has opened investigations into Google’s announcement that it’s going to retire third-occasion cookies, a know-how advertisers use to trace web customers, and whether or not Apple imposes anticompetitive situations on some app builders, including the use of Apple’s in-app cost system, which can be the topic of a lawsuit in the U.S. Facebook and the Commission have squabbled over access to internal documents as a part of those investigations. The 26-yr-outdated, from Bournemouth, revealed that he met his girlfriend before he went on the fact dating present, but added that she gave him her blessing to participate. Google spokesman Kay Oberbeck stated that Google’s collection of members in Information Showcase “is primarily based on goal and non-discriminatory standards, and partner content material is just not given preference in the rating of our outcomes,” and that Google will cooperate with the investigation. Separately on Friday, Germany’s competitors regulator introduced that it’s opening an investigation into Google’s News Showcase, during which the tech firm pays to license sure content material from news publishers.


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20 September 2002 -- Vectronics Ltd - which is located in Herzelia, Israel - is to become the sole distributor for the MEMS-based optical switching components of San Diego-based OMM Inc in the Israeli market.
"Vectronics has an established track record in selling next-generation optical solutions in a region where we see significant potential for our products," said OMM's director of sales Ken Falta.
"Their product portfolio has enormous potential in the telecom equipment market in Israel," adds Moshe Balasiano, vice president of sales for Vectronics.
OMM's commercially available products include optical add-drop switch arrays, 4x4, 8x8, 2x16, 16x16 and 32x32 all-optical switching modules. Also, in July OMM and Lightwave Microsystems Corp announced an agreement to develop a new generation of wavelength management and switching products based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and planar lightwave circuits (PLCs).


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Post New York Alliance (PNYA) to Highlight “The Future of Post Production” in Next “Post Break” Webinar
Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2020
Post New York Alliance (PNYA) will explore post-production in a post-COVID world in the next edition of its weekly webinar series Post Break.
Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2020
Two of New York’s most talented young colorists will share their insights on working with Rec.709 workflows in the next edition of Post Break, the weekly webinar series from Post New York Alliance (PNYA).
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020
When New York City began Phase 4 reopening of its economy, it paved the way for the resumption of film and television production under restrictions designed to forestall the spread of coronavirus.
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020
The heads of two of New York’s leading animation studios will discuss prospects for their industry in the next edition of Post Break, the weekly webinar series from Post New York Alliance (PNYA).
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020
Career advancement in the highly-competitive world of post-production can be challenging.
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020
What lies ahead for New York’s post-production industry in the wake of COVID-19?
Tuesday, Jul. 7, 2020
Post New York Alliance (PNYA) is expanding its popular weekly video conference series Post Break, which has been providing New York’s post-production industry with critical information and a sense of community during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.


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Today, the Federal Communications Commission took measures to redefine broadband as 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up in the United States. This is wonderful news for internet users, and will hopefully lead to more broadband availability for everyone in the US! The increase to 25/3 is up from 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up which was the previous designation. Our customers use their upload stream when backing up to Backblaze so having access to larger upstream pipes is great news.
Of course, simply changing the definition of what “broadband” means doesn’t actually change anything, but as Gizmodo points out: “The redefinition of broadband should increase competition between ISPs and cable companies as well as encourage the development of better infrastructure.”
As a backup company, we are absolutely in favor of increased internet speeds and infrastructure for everyone, as it helps the overall state and speed of the internet. For instance, at the old broadband definition of 4 Mbps it would take roughly 10 seconds to download a song, at the new definition, that’s closer to two seconds. HD movies would take about 50 minutes at the 4 Mbps, at 25 Mbps that’s nearer to 10 minutes. As the United States is shifting towards online streaming (with the latest company to offer streaming video being Nickelodeon), a shift towards more available bandwidth is welcome.
We love seeing the global average internet speeds increase. Right now, the United States ranks 11th with an average internet speed of 10.5 Mbps (you can test your bandwidth speed here). First place is South Korea, with 23.6 Mpbs as their average internet speed. That’s astonishing, and we hope that speeds continue to increase in the US, so that it can one day catch up with South Korea!


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A unique platform where businesses in Fiji and New Caledonia can trade with each other has been launched by the Minister for Commerce and Trade Faiyaz Koya.
The Fiji-New Caledonia eTrade Expo is a business-business platform targeted to both buyers and sellers in both countries.
Koya says the Fijian Government is not letting the border closures hamper the determination that people have in terms of making Fiji the ideal investment destination.
He says during this period Fiji has expedited and prioritised reforms so that it continues to be a competitive and preferred trade and investment destination.
He adds that he is proud to say that Fiji is one of the pioneering Pacific nations engaged in such rigorous reforms to realign and move towards digitalisation.
French Embassy Charge d’ Affaires, Rene Consolo says the contacts initiated by the two countries will pave the way for greater connections, trade and transactions once the pandemic is over.
Consolo says France welcomes the initiatives of the Government of New Caledonia in building stronger economic ties within its neighbourhood.
Investment Fiji Chief Executive Officer Craig Strong says a lot of potential exists for businesses in the New Caledonia and Fiji to trade with each other.
The CEO adds that the expo provides Fijian businesses with an opportunity to connect with new markets and build strategic relations benefiting both countries.
You can check out the Fiji-New Caledonia Trade Expo www.fjnctradeexpo.com
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations


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Business as usual.
Regional WA electrical retailer, Mitchell & Brown, has re-joined the Retravision group after a 13-year absence. In an exclusive interview with Appliance Retailer, Mitchell & Brown managing director, Steve Nanninga (pictured below), the decision for him and his business partner Greg Brown to re-join the Retravision group made sense for the future of the business.
“It can be challenging to be a single independent over here in regional Western Australia in terms of having that really close contact with suppliers. So by joining Retravision, this gives us some power and strength.
“In a tough market, we can see some synergies to be part of the Retravision group and to grow our brand alongside with what they are doing throughout Western Australia. From our perspective, nothing has changed in our business other than we have added Retravision back in,” Nanninga said.
David Dorsett-Lynn, who acquired the licence to exclusively franchise the Retravision business in Western Australia, has welcomed the Mitchell & Brown business back into the group.
“Retravision is very pleased to have an exceptional retailer like Mitchell & Brown join with us and both Steve and Greg provide outstanding service in the Geraldton and surrounding areas,” Dorsett-Lynn told Appliance Retailer.
The Mitchell & Brown business opened almost half a century ago and over this time has transitioned from a Retravision member, to a member of the Narta buying group and now back to Retravision.
“Colin Brown and Doug King started off as King & Brown 48 years ago, before becoming Geraldton Retravision and then Mitchell & Brown when Barry Mitchell was brought into the business and we started selling computers and mobile phones 22 years ago. For the first 35 years we were members of Retravision and in 2004, we became standalone members of Narta as at that time we could see synergies in that decision. But the market has changed again and it is good for us to go back to where we started.
The Geraldton-based retailer is also one of the most remote with a large catchment area representing a significant portion of Western Australia
“We have a strong name in the mid-west community and we invest in a lot of local sponsorships. We are lucky that we have a loyal customer base with a reach up to 500km north, 450km inland and 300km south, while also being 50 metres from the ocean,” Nanninga said.
“From our perspective, nothing has changed in our business other than we have added Retravision back in.”


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Therefore, while Bitcoin has waffled over $49,000 over the last few days, definitive movement over $50,000 could be imminent. I expect demand to surge and see bitcoin prices hitting at least $70,000 by. As recently as Monday, he noted, after prices had climbed to. PlanB’s Bitcoin Price Prediction ($288,000) The creator of the Stock-to-Flow model – a pseudonymous investor who is known simply by the name “ PlanB ” – has used the innova ann bitcointalk model to forecast that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by December 2021, and will bitcoin could reach as high as $288,000 The popular Stock-to-Flow model estimates the future price of Bitcoin by taking account of its existing supply. Bitcoin is the world’s first digital currency, and it has been very popular over the last year!A lot of people have made large profits by buying Bitcoin at a low price and then selling it for a high price Bitcoin (CCC:BTC) got one heck of a boost on Monday and some expert predictions claim the price could go even higher. For some, Bitcoin is the single greatest investment in their lifetime. India's friction with Bitcoin.
India has had a tricky bitcoin guide pdf relationship with Bitcoin and crypto companies in the past. Now today’s rise has some crypto investors wondering just how high bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise has also sent its momentum indicators into an overbought area, which typically amounts to a downside correction in the medium-term Bitcoin is a new paradigm underpinned by a new technology - the Blockchain - which we’ve never interacted with before. Transactions are added to "blocks" or the links of code that make up the chain. Bitcoin is a new currency that was will bitcoin created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. For others, it’s a speculative bubble that will crash to zero Bitcoin isn’t a good alternative asset because governments will eventually outlaw it, according to billionaire investor Ray Dalio The biggest cryptocurrency by market cap is also problematic because of its volatility and the inability to spend it on everyday goods, Dalio said in an interview with Yahoo Finance over the weekend Dalio, who runs the world’s biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater.
Transactions are made with no middle men – meaning, no banks! 3. Buying pressure appears to be mounting in Bitcoin markets, according to will bitcoin the so-called ‘Coinbase Premium’, which measure the difference in BTC’s. Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Creek Digital Assets, said bitcoin could hit. For some, Bitcoin is the single greatest investment in their lifetime.
3. Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment. Bitcoin and its peers are, quite simply, going to be part of the mainstream financial universe sooner will bitcoin rather than later. The currency began use in 2009 when its implementation was released as open-source software.: ch. Bitcoin's Roots. At press time, the. Bitcoin also has a stipulation—set forth in its source code—that it must have a limited and finite supply. In April 2018, the Indian central bank effectively banned banks from working with crypto companies.
Bitcoin is built on the blockchain, a public ledger containing all the transaction data from anyone who uses bitcoin. 1 Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without.Bitcoin “has been and remains extremely volatile,” said Joe DiPasquale, CEO, BitBull Capital, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund. Like all new technology that emerges over time, Bitcoin and the Blockchain both have tremendous potential - however, that does not mean to imply that either are without risks Bitcoin is coming to the end of one of the biggest years in its short history The bitcoin price has surged through 2020, reclaiming its 2017 all-time highs after finding support from Wall Street. This made it exceptionally hard for crypto companies to continue to operate in the region, with many exchanges shutting down.. Before starting to predict bitcoin projections, let's go back a little to the basics.I assume, as you are reading this guide, you must have heard of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment. For this reason, there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins ever produced Bitcoin has been in the news a lot. For others, it’s a speculative bubble that will crash to zero The last Bitcoin halving took place on May 11, 2020, and the next halving will likely occur in 2024.What is the halving, how does it affect the price, and what does it mean for miners and the. Here's what you need to know about the cryptocurrency 3. Bitcoin (₿) is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. A recent price explosion in the Bitcoin market has pushed its costs to over will bitcoin $52,000 per token, more than double its December 2020 nadir.
Bitcoin has surged over the last will bitcoin few months and surpassed $50,000 for the first time this week.


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Ever since the days whenever cockfighting had been legal in brand New Mexico, the Legislature has struggled throughout the problem of payday advances.
This might be the situation this 12 months also. Two Democrats in the Roundhouse вЂ” Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, and Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque вЂ” have actually introduced identical bills that will cap the humongous rates of interest on the short-term, high-interest loans that focus on вЂ” critics say вЂњprey onвЂќ вЂ” low-income folks who donвЂ™t be eligible for regular loans from banks.
But loans that are payday held it’s place in the news headlines in current days.
Simply week that is last Utah, that stateвЂ™s House of https://americashpaydayloans.com/payday-loans-de/ Representatives unanimously voted to shut a huge loophole with its pay day loan regulations. Based on the Salt Lake City Tribune, here presently is just a 10-week limitation for вЂњrolling over,вЂќ or extending, these high-interest loans, which often start off as two-week loans. But Utah Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, stated payday loan providers discovered a вЂњsleight of handвЂќ method around this by persuading their clients to obtain completely brand new loans, telling them it helps avoid appropriate action or ruining their credit.
вЂњTo the debtor, it appears to be just like a roll over,вЂќ the Tribune quoted Daw. вЂњBut to your loan provider, it restarted that 10-week clock so they are able to continue steadily to move within the loan.вЂќ The paper stated that research has revealed payday interest levels in Utah average 458 percent.
That Utah workaround is comparable to just what a court discovered a payday that is dallas-based operation ended up being doing in brand brand New Mexico.
In November, state District Judge Francis Mathew of Santa Fe ordered the Fastbucks loan that is payday to reimburse customers $32 million for unlawful company techniques. That comes from case filed years back whenever Gary King ended up being attorney general.
From then on choice, present Attorney General Hector Balderas stated, вЂњOur workplace is working expeditiously on an idea for New Mexico customers to get their restitution. But, our company is asking for consumersвЂ™ patience as we function with the appropriate process to have them what they’re owed.вЂќ
We wonder just what rate of interest hawaii is asking Fastbucks on that $32 million while the restitution plan is hammered away.
The Soules and Roybal Caballero bills вЂ” Senate Bill 15 and home Bill 26, correspondingly вЂ” would establish an interest that is maximum limit of 36 per cent each year, unless or before the U.S. prime financing price surpasses ten percent. The bills require also the calculation of great interest include interest, finance fees, other services or products, and costs or charges which are within the regards to the mortgage. Any loan made after July 1 with an interest rate over 36 percent would be void if passed and signed into law by the governor.
Neither bill happens to be planned for a committee hearing yet. But there currently is a financial effect report in the bills, therefore perhaps you will have hearings into the forseeable future.
The impact that is fiscal cites some interesting data.
A 2013 survey that is national the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation discovered that nearly 30 % of the latest Mexico households reported utilizing more than one вЂњalternative monetary solutionsвЂќ such as for example non-bank cash requests, non-bank check cashing, non-bank remittances, pay day loans, pawn store loans, rent-to-own loans and refund-anticipation loans. Households that reported utilizing a number of of these had a tendency to be Hispanic, 25 to 34 years old, used, disabled and вЂњunbanked.вЂќ Many users are not home owners, lacked a senior school level and reported household earnings significantly less than $15,000 per year.
And right hereвЂ™s another reality: in accordance with data through the nationwide Institute on cash in State Politics, pay day loan organizations and their industry businesses have actually spent almost $520,000 on brand brand brand New Mexico politicians since 2010.
We suspect thatвЂ™s nearly $520,000 a lot more than the total efforts from pay day loan customers.


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A detailed report from The Information about Amazon’s streaming services reveals that Apple will be upgrading its TV app in April to add the ability to subscribe to streaming services directly via it.
Right now, one has to subscribe to HBO Now, CBS Go, and other streaming services from their respective Apple TV app or from their website. With the upgraded Apple TV app, users will be able to subscribe to these streaming services directly from the TV app.
Apple is informing companies of a mid-April launch and telling them to be ready by them. It is unclear if Apple will be launching its own streaming service platform in mid-April or not as well.
This is a behavior that Amazon already offers for its Prime Video subscribers. Dubbed Amazon Channels, it allows one to sign up and subscribe to over 200 different streaming services right from the Prime Video app.
A mid-April launch means that we will likely see Apple talk about this feature and release an updated version of tvOS with some other new set of features in March this year. The company is expected to unveil a refreshed version of the 2019 9.7-inch iPad, iPad mini 5, AirPods 2, and AirPower at the event.
This move from Apple will definitely provide users with a better user experience, though the end result will depend on the number of streaming services that are available for subscription from within the TV app.[Via The Information]


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As many parts of the country begin to recover from what was a substantially extended winter season and the first signs of spring began to show, racquet unit sales in the pro/specialty retail channels increased 2% in April.
"In what has been a challenging environment for the pro/specialty channel over the past year to year and a half it's an encouraging sign to see this uptick in racquet unit sales as tennis season kicks into high gear across the country," says TIA Executive Director, Jolyn de Boer.
Dollar sales in the same category were up 5% in April of 2013 over the same period the previous year, an encouraging sign for the pro/specialty segment. Through the end of of April 2013, year-to-date racquet sales are flat versus the prior year and dollar sales are up 1%.
The TIA's monthly pro/specialty retail audit measures tennis racquet sell-through in brick and mortar retailers across the country and tracks units sold, dollar sales, average price, in addition to the top selling brands. If you are a retailer and interested in participating as a member of the TIA's retail audit panel please contact the TIA's research department at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Most investors looking to branch into the world of retail real estate investment trusts (REITs) will likely look to mega giants like Simon Property Group, Kimco, or Realty Income first. After all, their strong track record and sizable portfolios definitely make them appealing investment options, but their returns and price tags don't always make them value buys.
That's why some investors may look to smaller players, like Saul Centers (NYSE: BFS), to gain access to a smaller, more focused portfolio of retail assets while earning a higher return. If you're considering buying Saul Centers, find out whether it's a buy right now.
The case for Saul Centers
Saul Centers is very niche-driven, earning 85% of its operating income from the greater Washington, D.C./Baltimore area and deriving 75% of its income from shopping centers. Currently, it owns, leases, and manages 50 neighborhood and community shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties, totaling 9.8 million square feet of leasable space under management. And with four developments underway, this REIT is growing.
In April 2020, the company added The Waycroft, which is its largest mixed-use investment property. The development includes residential apartment units and retail shops anchored by Target and is 99% leased to date. The growth in leasing -- from 90% at the time it opened to 99% now -- has boosted revenues by $2.1 million for the second quarter when compared to the year prior.
The company was definitely impacted by the pandemic, having a number of retail tenants close temporarily, but 2021 is showing positive signs of recovery. For Q2 2021, 98% of its portfolio rent was paid, and 92% of the $8.22 million in rent deferrals has been paid. Funds from operations grew $0.05, and net income per share increased 7% for the six months ended 2021 compared to the prior year.
The case against Saul Centers
Being super focused on one market can be beneficial if you become a dominant player, but you're also exposed to major market risks. New York City-focused investors are struggling right now as demand weakens for city living and leasing -- a perfect example of why market diversification can pay off big. While Washington, D.C., hasn't suffered the same fate, things can change, and that puts Saul Centers in a vulnerable position.
Another case against Saul Centers is its debt ratios. As of Q1 2021, the company's debt-to-total-capitalization ratio was 42.3%, not unreasonable given the current market's performance but slightly higher than I'd personally like to see.
The company doesn't disclose its debt-to-EBITDA, a common metric used to help determine debt-to-earnings for REITs, although it's believed to be over 7x, which is high by most REIT standards but not out of line among the retail sector.
The good news is that the company's next major debt maturity is in 2022, and with $203.8 million in its revolving line of credit and $10.1 million in cash on hand, it should be sufficient to help cover its debt obligations, including dividends.
Is it a buy?
Sauls Center definitely has a defined niche and seems to be operating well within its prospective market, but scale and diversification will really help the company and its shareholders grow in the coming years. Personally, I would love to see its mixed-use portfolio increase to help balance some of the volatility in the retail market and the challenges of competing with e-commerce.
The company recently increased its dividend, bringing its return to 4.8% -- definitely appealing compared to other retail REITs right now that fall below 2%. I think Saul Centers could be a worthwhile buy for more risk-tolerant and patient investors, but I believe other value buys in the retail sector offer more diversification among markets, especially when it comes to share price.


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(PRWEB UK) 13 June 2013
JFE Nissan will be attending the Super Weekend this coming weekend (Friday June 14 to Sunday June 16). The event, held at Princess Gardens in Torquay, will feature a host of displays and activities for motoring and live music fans to enjoy.
As an event exhibitor, JFE Nissan will be present throughout the weekend, displaying a Nissan GT-R, the Japanese brand’s celebrated high-performance model. Staff from the dealership will be on hand to show visitors the car and talk them through its key features and performance stats.
Re-engineered and more powerful than ever, the new GT-R features a 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine that delivers astounding performance, reaching 60mph from a standing start in just 2.8 seconds. Equipped with all the latest technology too, it’s a driving experience that offers pure thrills.
Steve Chamberlain at JFE Nissan said, “The GT-R is the perfect car to display at Super Weekend. The event celebrates high performance cars, boats and bikes, and the GT-R’s exhilarating drive makes it the ideal car to exhibit.
“Many people think of Nissan as a brand that only makes family-oriented vehicles, but this model shows off the manufacturer’s more daring side. We expect to get a lot of interest from visitors over the course of the event.”
Super Weekend offers attendees to see some of the most powerful vehicles on the market, as well as watch Jetovator and Zapcat racing displays and enjoy the views of the ‘English Riviera’ from a big wheel. The show opens at 10am on Saturday and Sunday, with live music beginning at 4.30pm until 9.30pm on Saturday, and playing during the daytime on Sunday.
For further details on the Super Weekend, visit http://www.thesuperweekend.co.uk/ or to find out more about the Nissan GT-R, contact JFE Nissan today.


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We don’t take enough time to thank the various employees in the food industry. Rigorous health inspections that restaurants and food manufacturers go through are basically everything that stands between customers and many diseases. Every now and then a large food distributor will recall its contaminated products. Even so, if the workforce in a particular restaurant or food distributor were really sloppy, such incidents would be much more frequent. However, any time a recall or contamination occurs, it is almost enough to discourage you from completely eating out.
A woman from Billerica, Massachusetts, suffered a terrible tragedy while on vacation in Florida. During her journey, a woman who claims she was 11 weeks pregnant at the time ate contaminated ice cream made from Big Olaf. It was later discovered that the ice cream was linked to a listeria outbreak that eventually led to the woman’s miscarriage.
Billerika’s mother sues the ice cream company after she said the miscarriage was caused by a listeria epidemic related to their products. The woman said she was 11 weeks pregnant when she was eating Big Olaf ice cream in Florida. She fell ill two weeks later and found out about her miscarriage. Since then, Department of Health officials have linked ice cream to the listeria epidemic. The woman is asking for more than $ 30,000 in damages.


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Fiat SpA (NYSE: FIA)(ISE: IT0001976403), an Italy-based automaker, is planning to launch its Panda 4x4 Antartica
at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Books: new coffee fable booked entitled Beyond and the Element available from March Presentations: Where earth meets sky, Antartica
Himalaya Eiger Faszination Berg For information, please see: www.
Apart from Antartica
, I've played golf in most parts of the world," said Baldwin, "but South America will be something brand new for me.
A recent count included one in Antartica
made by local resident Noah Stryker.
He says "we are heading to an abyss" and not moving fast enough to stop an acceleration in the melting of vast icefields in Greenland and Antartica
In many countries ecotourism is a major industry of the national economy, such as in Antartica
, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, Kenya and Madagascar.
GROWING tree ferns isn't difficult if you choose a hardy type such as Dicksonia antartica
, which tolerates sub-zero temperatures.
The operator specializes in small ship cruising in South America, Africa, the Mediterranean and Antartica
Marathons: New York City (1994), Boston (1995-2001), Melbourne, Australia (2006), Soweto, Africa (2006), Chiule, South America (2006), Dubai, Asia (2006), Miami (2006), Valencia, Europe (2007), Antartica
Coldest place on Earth: Vostok, Antartica
, -129[degrees]F (on July 21, 1983)
The Brazilian brewer of Antartica
and Brahma brands had profits of $430 million on sales of almost $2.
One of the largest glaciers in Antartica
is thinning according to satellite measurements.
The acquisition was AmBev's second since it was formed last March through a merger of Companhia Cervejaria Brahma and Companhia Antartica
In the building that most recently housed Antartica
, Kung Pao fills a need for its area, one that doesn't offer too many full-service, sit-down Chinese restaurants, especially those considered inexpensive.
Discovered in Antartica
, this remarkable document was damaged in its recovery.


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For Mary J Blige, Nelly Furtado, Lifehouse or any of the other major artists recording on the Geffen records label, the Internet has always represented a massive opportunity to connect with fans. And a massive threat from pirates looking to steal their work.
Until now. And the possibilities could be huge.
“Fairly soon, you'll have hundreds of million of compatible programs for people to accept our feeds,” said Aaron Foreman, Geffen New Media vice president. “And our hope is that it's bigger than email.”
Geffen is offering a new service that will feed informant about bands like tour dates and artist diaries, exclusive photos and video, merchandise, and someday even downloaded music, direct to subscriber computers. Not as e-mail, but via robust Web sites and small pop-ups using a technology called RSS from a company called Feedburner.
“All of those things become much easier to do once Geffen is running those feeds through Feedburner,” said Rick Klau, a Feedburner vice president. “And using a platform we've built to add that interactivity to that content."
The intriguing part of this new technology is not only what it provides Geffen artists, but Geffen itself. Record labels now want a way to electronically appeal directly to the most likely buyers of their music – a way someday to end-run online music sites like Apple Computer’s iTunes juggernaut. Some see that as the key to breaking Apple's ruthless controls on pricing if labels decide to start selling music themselves.
“To date, we haven't entered that side of the market in a big way,” said Foreman. “And doesn't mean we won't ever, and doesn't mean that if we ever did, this RSS feed technology wouldn't help us a lot. But it isn't necessarily happening immediately.”
What Geffen says is happening immediately is a new way for artists, like newcomer Matt White, to connect with fans and use social networking -- think myspace.com, but for music -- to build fanbases far faster.
“I just think it's the most revolutionary way of connecting people in the history of multimedia,” said White.
And it’s a technology the recording industry can use to make history, rather than becoming history.


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The selling of tickets for the Barcelona-Sevila Super Cup game scheduled in Tbilisi for August 11 at Dinamo Arena has caused much dissatisfaction among Georgian football fans.
Georgian fans say Football Federation cheated them
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, July 14
There are no tickets left for sale and fans do not doubt that the Football Federation has cheated them.
Groups of fans were protesting the process before the Football Federation building in Tbilisi on July 13.
They stated that they were standing in line for two days and it was impossible the tickets to be sold so shortly based on their calculations.
100 men went to buy the tickets. 1,000 tickets were left to be sold. Each of them had a right to buy 4 tickets at maximum. Then suddenly the area blackout and we were told that there were no tickets to buy, one of the fans said.
Some others revealed their suspicion that the tickets were sold to patrol policemen without queues and there were calls from the politicians as well.
The Football Federation leadership dismisses the speculations, saying that the process was transparent.
Vice-Premier Kakhi Kaladze said that not all the fans would be able to buy the tickets as they were quite small in number.
Now the main challenge is how we will host the game. The stadium is completely ready for the match, Kaladze said.
22,000 tickets were allocated for the Georgians fans and they could buy them at Micheil Meskhi stadium box-offices since the authorized web-page biletebi.ge failed to sell the tickets online as it was said owing to technical shortcomings.


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It’s 2020! Did Electric Vehicle Sales Tank In 2019?
The charts and analysis are so confusing. Are electric vehicle sales up or down? Are all of the other countries seeing a rise in electric vehicle sales except the US? Did electric vehicle sales tank in 2019?
The standard response to the number of EV sales in the US is 2%. It’s 3% in California. That’s the bottom line. Supposedly. So why are all of these manufacturers going down the electric highway? Mercedes-Benz of all manufacturers has even said it no longer does any internal combustion engine development. The company most look to as an engineering dominant manufacturer no longer develops internal combustion engines. That’s astonishing.
Ford took its most iconic brand and named its EV for it
When Ford was developing its first EV model it chose to take the most iconic American brand name and attach it to the EV. We’re talking “Mustang.” Its new EV will be a MUSTANG. Not only that but now Ford has announced it will no longer be accepting reservations for the Mustang Mach E because it’s sold out. Its first EV has sold out its entire first year’s worth of production before it has turned a bolt.
We’ve seen the same with the Tesla Cybertruck. According to an Elon Musk tweet, it took 250,000 reservations in just a few days. It was so startling it bumped up Tesla stock in the days and weeks after the reveal by quite a lot. If you bought stock in August you have doubled your money today.
Where’s the electric revolution if it’s only 2%?
So what’s happening if sales in the US are only 2%? 3% in California. Sources like cleantechnica.com see sales in the US flattening for 2019. Others like Bloomberg see a steady rise that started in 2015. According to them, sales have steadily risen by one million a year-mostly in China and Europe. It says five million sold worldwide at the start of 2020.
General Motors has seen fairly flat sales of its hybrid offerings in the last few years. Now, it says it’s abandoning hybrids and going all-in on fully electric vehicles. Don’t forget, GM adopted hybrid technology across many model lines including full-size trucks and SUVs.
The false equivalency of hydrogen power over electric
Toyota, on the other hand, tried to leapfrog over electric vehicles from hybrids like the Prius to hydrogen power. The problem with early adoption of new propulsion is that there needs to be a choreographed development of infrastructure. That has not happened with hydrogen, and so it has stymied adoption. From a high of 1,800 Toyota Murai hydrogen-powered cars in 2017, sales have slipped in 2018 and again in 2019 to around 1,600.
In some ways, the hydrogen vehicle is a false equivalency. To produce hydrogen you must process fossil fuels. It’s expensive and it still takes lots of energy. Not only that but for the same cost as gasoline you can only go about one-third the distance. So, it’s expensive, inconvenient, and only a transference of energy usage, not an elimination as it has been touted as being.
Europe is driving the electric vehicle revolution
Europe is driving the EV revolution for a number of reasons. First, severe fines for going beyond stricter pollution limits means manufacturers are forced to offset big sedans and SUVs with non-polluting electric vehicles. Some countries are looking to ban all internal combustion engines by 2030. Companies like Audi are cutting the workforce to free up development money for EV production. Then there is the abandonment of diesel, brought about by Volkswagen cheating on pollution control devices globally.
That helps to explain VW’s zeal for leaping into the EV market. According to the New York Times, it sees climate change as real, and also needs to burnish its tarnished reputation after the scandals of the diesel debacle.
In the US 2020 will foretell if the electric revolution has caught on or is wallowing. If the interest in the Mustang Mach E and Cybertruck are any indication we’ll soon see EV sales ramp up. If not, then what do all of these companies plowing into EV development see that the market doesn’t?


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Home > News > Nation
Wednesday April 16, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Wednesday April 16, 2014 MYT 7:21:11 AM
KUALA LUMPUR: A peeping tom, who spied on a graphics manager while she was in a toilet at a mall, has been jailed for five months.
Magistrate Erry Shahriman Nor Aripin sentenced factory worker Mohamad Gunawan, 23, after he pleaded guilty to peeping on Koong Choy Yoke.
According to the facts of the case, Koong had spotted the top of someone’s head peeping from the cubicle next door while she was using the third floor women’s toilet in the Intermark Mall on Jalan Tun Razak, at around 8am on April 4.
Kong then called out to the person, who at first refused to exit the stall.
When the person exited, Kong asked why he was in the women’s toilet, to which he replied that the men’s toilet was full.
She then called the building’s security manager, who detained the man and later handed him over to the police.
According to police investigations, Mohamad admitted to following Kong into the toilet to peep at her, but did not manage to make any recordings of her.
Police checked the man’s three phones and confirmed that he had not recorded anything in the toilet.
Tags / Keywords:
Courts Crime, peeping tom, erry shahriman
Man bashed up over borrowed motorcycle helmet
Police to investigate news portal’s chief editor over articles
Cement truck rolls down hill, crushes car in freak accident
Man in Kelantan killed by flying fire extinguisher
MIC Youth wants stern action taken against provocative social media posts
MIC's interim Central Working Committee to intervene in MIC-ROS suit
Trio deny rape and robbery charges Three face jail and whipping over alleged offences against Indonesian woman
Tian Chua arrested ahead of Saturday's #KitaLawan rally
Nestlé rewards consumers with biggest promotion ever
The great South Australian adventure
Living away from Malaysia can trigger a lot of different longings
Latisha Anderson blazes a trail as paraplegic nurse
Amazon in talks to buy online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter: Forbes
Czechs grab late goal to salvage 1-1 Latvia draw
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Area residents check out boats Friday during the 29th annual Twin Lakes Radio Boat & Outdoors Show at the Baxter County Fairgrounds. The show continues today.
If you want to see the boat creations of the Twin Lakes Area, the ones hundreds of thousands of water lovers the world over cannot resist, go to the Baxter County Fairgrounds today.
Twin Lakes Radio's 29th annual Boat & Outdoors Show continues 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kristen Speer, sales representative for Twin Lakes Radio, said all major boat dealers and manufacturers in the region are exhibitors at the show. ...


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Hosted Session: ESDA
Panel: Innovating for the Future! Electronic System Design – Where Microelectronics Begins
- Rick Carlson, Vice President of Sales at Verific
- Dean Drako, President and CEO of Drako Motors and IC Manage
- Ted Miracco, CEO at Cylynt
- Anna Fontanelli, Founder and CEO of Monozukuri
- Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S
The Electronic Systems Design ecosystem may be the smallest spoke in the $2-trillion global electronic products market hub, but it could be the mightiest. That’s because it all starts with electronic system design. It tracked Moore’s Law, for example, for 56 years, providing chips designers with innovation after innovation to keep it alive. From the conventional view, it might appear that Moore’s Law is slowing. Not so. New innovations in system design, automation tools and IP including chiplet assembly and 3D IC design are powering Moore’s Law forward.
While the ecosystem continues to ably serve the worldwide microelectronics market, creative entrepreneurs use their talents to solve the intractable challenges of chip design. Others use their expertise to conquer new market segments. Five entrepreneurs will share their experiences on how they made their mark in the electronic system design ecosystem and describe how they are still doing so in surprising new ways.
Consider D2S. Aki Fujimura and other founders steeped in the electronic systems design ecosystem created a way to better tie design to manufacturing.
Cylynt, led by Ted Miracco, spun out of an analog design software company to become a leader in license compliance software. Cylynt now protects from theft the software IP of many of the best-known system design and semiconductor companies.
Dean Drako is building a reputation for Drako Motors, an electric car company with a small production run of electric luxury sports cars incorporating novel electronic controls. That’s in addition to serving as CEO of IC Manage, a company that produces design data and IP management software for hardware and software development efforts.
Verific is known for its flexible licensing model to help system design startups get their first product to market, as Rick Carlson will explain. An innovative corporate culture and an emphasis on quality are why Verific’s software is in production and development use throughout the semiconductor industry. It’s also why DARPA invited Verific into its recently announced DARPA Toolbox.
Anna Fontanelli is an expert in IC/package co-design who leads Monozukuri. Its recent announcement of GENIO brings a holistic design environment for 2D, 2.5D and 3D multi-component systems.
Join moderator Nitin Dahad from embedded and EE Times as he explores the fertile innovation space within the electronic system design ecosystem and learn just how mighty this little spoke is as it innovates for the future.


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The pressure to meet short-term estimates has contributed to a fall in the number of US public companies, wrote Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), and Dimon, who is also the chairman of top executives' lobbying group Business Roundtable, in an article on Wednesday.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos have chosen a CEO for their health-care venture.
In the latest appeal, they said companies often hesitate to spend on technology, hiring, and research and development to meet quarterly earnings forecasts that can be affected by seasonal factors beyond their control.
"In our experience, quarterly earnings guidance often leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth and sustainability", they wrote.
Lewis Hamilton concerned Mercedes engine setback could ruin victory chances in Canada
Ferrari are also expected to use an upgraded engine for all their teams, but this has not yet been officially confirmed. In the morning session, Williams driver Sergey Sirotkin spun and hit a wall, but was able to continue.
Besides their positions as business executives, Dimon is chairman of the Business Roundtable, an organization of about 200 top executives.
Business Roundtable President & CEO Joshua Bolten said, "An outsized emphasis on quarterly earnings per share projections undermines the importance of investments in infrastructure, workforce development and other crucial capital expenditures that drive sustained USA economic growth".
Securities laws require quarterly reports on profits, revenue and other information but do not require quarterly forecasts. Without company guidance, analysts' estimates are likely to vary more, making share prices more volatile at the same time that estimates become less valuable to investors and, horror, not worth paying for. Missing "the number" can often result in big, short-term stock moves.
But McKinsey & Co. found in a 2006 study that quarterly guidance didn't affect valuation multiples and didn't reduce share price volatility.
"Short-term-oriented capital markets have discouraged companies with a longer view from going public at all, depriving the economy of innovation and opportunity", Buffett and Dimon wrote.


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Exclusive: With an Eye Toward China, Pentagon Weighs Slashing Global Hawk Drone With an Eye Toward China, Pentagon Weighs... Just months after Iran shot down an expensive U.S. surveillance drone over ...
We bring together the very latest drone news from hundreds of sources across the web! Product releases, reviews
& videos combined with help on finding some of the very best drone deals from stores and online outlets!
Constantly updated through the day - every day -
the site has everything for the beginner right right through to the seasoned drone professional!


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This probably isn't the headline Konami wanted to see.
The most controversial element of the recently released Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes has been its length. An early Game Informer report said you could finish the prologue in under two hours.
Since then, we've seen varying time estimates from different sources, but the latest won't make gamers feel any better: Eurogamer has a video up that shows a 10-minute speed-run. Yep, 10 minutes. They "finished" the game in that ridiculously short span of time.
Of course, it should be noted that the player knew exactly where to go and what to do, and he skipped all the cut-scenes and side missions. Obviously, Ground Zeroes will take you longer than 10 minutes. But the mere fact that it can be completed in less than a quarter of an hour won't go over well with the gaming community.
During the initial backlash, Konami dropped the price of the physical copies of the PS4 and Xbox One versions by $10 each. Hasn't stemmed the negative tide, though.
Related Game(s): Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes


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Sonic Solutions? announced today the opening of a new facility in Burbank, California, which has been established in response to the growing demand for Sonic DVD technology, including InterActual Technologies' advanced web and bonus feature products for commercial DVD releases as well as Sonic's new authoring developments for the emerging HD formats.
Strategically located close to major motion picture studios and high-end DVD production facilities, the Hollywood office will allow Sonic to provide its customers, channel partners, and the InterActual? developer community with a convenient, state-of-the-art location where they can experience the latest trends and technologies destined to reshape the future of DVD.
"High-definition formats for next-generation DVD production are being developed at a rapid pace, and Sonic's Hollywood operations will allow us to collaborate even more closely with key industry and technology partners as we deploy new solutions for the professional authoring market," said Rolf Hartley, senior vice president and general manager of Sonic's professional products division. "In addition, the new facilities will provide InterActual's expanding developer community with even closer ties to engineering and the first-of-kind ROM technology required for today's cutting-edge DVD releases."
Dick Sowa Appointed Business Manager for InterActual at Burbank Facility
The new Sonic facility will serve as the InterActual business office under the direction of industry veteran Dick Sowa, who will manage business development, marketing services and research, as well as programming projects for InterActual's developer community and producers.
Mr. Sowa joined InterActual in April 2000, focusing on strategic business initiatives within the home entertainment and consumer electronics industry. Prior to joining InterActual, Mr. Sowa served as a senior executive in the entertainment and media industries, specializing in new technologies. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Sowa was executive vice president of Divx Entertainment, where he negotiated and managed all long-term license agreements with major motion picture studios and coordinated the business relationships with consumer electronic licensees. Mr. Sowa also served as the chairman of the Entertainment and Media Division of the Japan America Society of Southern California.


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The Greener Gadgets Conference (PHOTOS): 10 Notable Gadgets Of The Future
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Each year, the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York awards the most innovative product concepts out there in terms of energy efficiency and sustainable design. The competition this year included everything from a mobile phone food app to an automan/sound system. According to Treehugger, the judges were not as impressed by certain gadgets that didn't necessarily make our lives more sustainable, but just added more stuff to our lives.
Take a look-- which designs do you think are most useful, and which are extraneous?


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Apparently Zora Neale Hurston managed to get an interview with the last surviving man who came to the United States on a slave ship around 1930. After an 80 year or so wait, the book will be released May 8. Amazon will have the hardcover for only $14.99.
(and just to be 100% clear here, what's cool is the interview, not the man being kidnapped and taken into slavery)
The globalist failure. - There is an ongoing conflict between the globalists, who want all nations to merge into one, and the nationalists. It does not help that many of the global...
2 hours ago


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Facebook has agreed to strengthen its privacy controls as part of a settlement with a US regulator, after founder Mark Zuckerberg admitted the company had made a "bunch of mistakes".
The world's biggest social network has been severely criticised over the years for changing the way it manages the personal data of its more than 800m users worldwide without giving adequate notice.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that Facebook had made claims about its privacy policies that were "unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law".
Facebook was also accused by the FTC of having "deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public".
The FTC said that Facebook has agreed to a number of measures to tighten its consent rules on privacy, including the shutting down of access to deleted accounts within 30 days or less.
Criticism of Facebook began in 2009 when the site changed the settings that made public the details that members had previously denoted private.
The FTC said that Facebook has now agreed to seek users' approval first before changing the way it manages their data. It said that the site will be "barred from making misrepresentations about the privacy or security of consumers' personal information" and is "required to prevent anyone from accessing a user's material more than 30 days after the user has deleted his or her account".
The company must also gain consumers' express consent "before their information is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established".
Facebook did not admit guilt and was not fined by the regulator, but it was barred from "making any further deceptive privacy claims" and will undergo regular, independent checks on its privacy policies for the next 20 years.
"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the FTC.
"Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."
In a blog post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that the company had made a "bunch of mistakes" in its privacy policies, but claimed that the criticism had overshadowed the site's other good work.
He also claimed that the company had already complied with most of the FTC's requirements.
"I understand that many people are just naturally skeptical of what it means for hundreds of millions of people to share so much personal information online, especially using any one service," said Zuckerberg.
"Even if our record on privacy were perfect, I think many people would still rightfully question how their information was protected. It's important for people to think about this, and not one day goes by when I don't think about what it means for us to be the stewards of this community and their trust.
"Facebook has always been committed to being transparent about the information you have stored with us - and we have led the internet in building tools to give people the ability to see and control what they share. But we can also always do better. I'm committed to making Facebook the leader in transparency and control around privacy."
Zuckerberg added: "We're making a clear and formal long-term commitment to do the things we've always tried to do and planned to keep doing - giving you tools to control who can see your information and then making sure only those people you intend can see it."
The Facebook privacy settlement follows similar FTC agreements with Google's social network Buzz and microblogging site Twitter over their use of members' personal information.


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It’s been a few days since SAPPHIRE NOW 2014, but we’re still reeling from the excitement. It was an exhilarating time for us, as this year’s event was extra special for attune. Here’s why.
SAP Fashion Management hits the center stage
After countless hours of design, development and testing by the teams at SAP, attune and a few selected fashion brands including Adidas, Armani and Luxottica, the new SAP Fashion Management solution (FMS) is now available to fashion companies.
SAP announced the general availability of its Fashion Management solution on the 27th May with the plans to demonstrate it at SAPPHIRE NOW 2014.
— SAP News (@sapnews) May 27, 2014
The CIO panel discussion was one of the highlights following the announcement. attune was privileged to be a part of the panel, where our Chief Innovation Officer, Marshall Gordon addressed the need for vertically integrated solution for fashion companies.
Check out a few highlights from the panel discussion below:
One of the key drivers for SAP FMS is the need to synchronize supply with demand.
The SAP Fashion Management solution will be a foundational element of omnichannel retail fulfillment; an opportunity to evolve the processes of our industry.
The Fashion Management application helps to achieve operational excellence across the entire value chain and not just within an enterprise.
SAP FMS is also built on SAP HANA, enabling customers to leverage its powerful analytics engine for real time insights.
Another topic we took on during the panel discussion was questions relating to existing SAP AFS and/or SAP IS Retail clients following the launch of the new SAP Fashion Management solution. As the co-innovation partner of SAP Fashion Management, we provide a host of personalized services – including migrating SAP AFS and/or SAP IS Retail or a legacy system to SAP Fashion Management.
To learn more about what's new on FMS, the underlying architecture and more importantly, how it can impact your business, download our solutions brief.


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When the trimming process is over, roughly 700 of the company's 1,400 employees will be laid off; an unprofitable consumer electronics division at its Dum Dum headquarters in Calcutta will be shut down, reducing GRAMCO's annual turnover (1981 sales: Rs 20 crore) by 20 per cent and a number of unprofitable, superfluous or redundant operations at its seven branch offices will have been drastically slashed or dropped altogether.
For 87 years the logo of a dog with ears cocked at a gramophone trumpet adorned records and equipment made by GRAMCO in India. Of late, however, the ears have become increasingly droopy and bedraggled as His Master's Voice (HMV) was hit first by the competition from Polydor (now Music India), and more recently by the ubiquitous music pirates.
In the last three years, although GRAMCO's annual reports have continued to show an overall profitability due to booming music sales (India Today, July 15), sections of the company's operations have been gradually squeezed by market pressures, till last fortnight it was clear that they were in danger of completely caving in.
In fact, last fortnight's cuts by the music industry giant were the desperate austerity measures of a company in deep financial distress. Although GRAMCO executives were unwilling to disclose details, it was apparent from events in Bombay and Calcutta that a severe liquidity crisis confronted the company.
The sophisticated recording studio at Bombay's World Trade Centre was hastily disposed of for a reported sum of Rs 47 lakh; unable to pay for its mounting stockpiles of unsold record-players, the Consumer Electronics Products (CEP) division at Dum Dum slashed production by 80 per cent and the lay off of employees in both cities helped cut expenses further. The unstated reason for the cuts: working capital loans for over Rs 1 crore were being called up by banks for repayment.
Drooping Sales: At the root of the crunch lay GRAMCO's CEP division. Set up 35 years ago with the specific objective of popularising cheap record players and thereby boosting the company's disc sales, it has never been a profitable unit. But the losses were budgeted for, since GRAMCO's management reckoned that the 60,000 record players sold annually would generate enough record sales for the music division to make it up.
In the last three years, however, competition from the cheaper cassette players sharply eroded record-player sales, driving the unit further into the red. Sales of the best-selling 'Fiesta' model dropped rapidly from 40,000 units a year to zero this year, and the sturdy 'Calypso', used largely by bajawalas at weddings and festivals, from a peak of 30,000 to an estimated 15,000.
One reason, of course, is that the HMV range of record players were technologically far inferior to more progressive rivals like Philips, Bush and positively archaic compared to the higher-priced music equipment range offered by companies like Sonodyne and Cosmic. Said one GRAMCO watcher: "They should have seen the writing on the wall and done a long time ago what they're doing now in a crisis situation. But because they consistently made profits in the near-monopolistic music market, their errors and inefficiencies never came to light."
Even the increased losses on consumer electronics - last year the division suffered thrice its budgeted loss of Rs 70 lakh - might not have resulted in the unit's closure if it wasn't for the company's crippling shortage of cash. Market reports indicate that GRAMCO' has about Rs 5 crore tied up in unfinished production, unsold stocks of record players, and dealer outstandings, much of it unrecoverable. Production in the CEP division, as a result, is at a virtual standstill, and in the next few months the unit will close down.
Although they anticipate trouble from the 600 employees who will be laid off in the process, GRAMCO's management is determined to push it through. At least 250 workers nearing retirement age have already been asked to accept voluntary retirement. "The market has been wiped out in less than 18 months", admitted Anil Sud, GRAMCO's young managing director, "and unless a miracle happens and we have a sudden boom, we have no choice but to phase out the record player manufacture".
Unfortunately for GRAMCO, the crisis comes at a time when both sales and overall profitability are threatened by a steep rise in music piracy. Till March, 1982, the music business was booming - cassette sales for the giant had shot up from around 50,000 to 140,000 per month - and the company was forced to augment its own cassette recording facilities by farming out production to independent recorders. But early in April the effects of an 18 per cent hike in excise on audio cassettes was felt, and the bottom soon fell out of the market.
Lower Prices: In a bid to combat pirate recordings, both GRAMCO and Music India had kept the price of their cassettes deliberately low: at Rs 40, they were Rs 12 cheaper than the discs. But the inflated excise level pushed pre-recorded cassettes to Rs 50, driving consumers towards the vastly cheaper pirate copies, which retail in the Rs 20-30 range, it is difficult to estimate the precise benefit to cassette pirates as a result of the levy, but Sud insists that today more than 85 per cent of all tape recordings available are illegitimate copies.
Finally, two months after the price hike, both companies decided to absorb the excise and defend their markets. Music India slashed its retail cassette price to Rs 38,and GRAMCO to Rs 44. The markets were restored, but increased pressures on profitability made it imperative that GRAMCO set its liquidity and cas flow problems in order.
Critics in the record industry insist that GRAMCO's troubles are largely of its own making, and could have been avoided by a more efficient management. Insisting that the giant had been too complacent to notice the switch in consumer preferences, an industry executive explained that the company had been tardy in shifting to cassettes, had not developed independent recorders to augment its limited capacities, and had tried to promote outdated record players.
He said: "There is no reason why the company's liquidity should be tight. In fact they have been starving the market of cassettes even though it's clear that they are in demand, and sticking instead to records and record players which nobody wants."
Music industrymen also accuse GRAMCO of bad financial management and misguided investments. In the past few years the company has diverted its boomtime profits into high-visibility investments, a number of which turned out to be duds. The prestigious recording studio at World Trade Centre, set up ostensibly to enhance the recording activities at GRAMCO's central Bombay office, was an ill-conceived project which never broke out of the red.
In the late '70s moreover, the company spent large amounts on adding to its dismanufacturing capacities, while virtually ignoring cassettes: Both at Dum Dum and Dombivli, modern highspeed presses ensured that the company would have, large underutilised recording facilities. Commented a music distributor: "These were just luxuries they had allowed themselves. But today the decision to pare off these activities is realistic, and in two years time it should be a thriving company."
Last fortnight GRAMCO was paying the way for a quick come-back. In Bombay, record dealers, artistes, film producers and industrymen were brought together on September 6 for a promotional audio-visual show which promised better days to come. In addition, a near-total reshuffle of top management staff around the country was undertaken to revitalise the sleepy organisation.
Faced with plunging sales figures, flourishing piracy, and the threat from CBS Records, which will appear on the market next fortnight, it was eminently clear that GRAMCO did not propose to give in without a fight.


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The TCL Plex marks the arrival of a new and serious smartphone player
The TCL Plex was unveiled during IFA 2019 and it’s an interesting phone.
This wasn’t the most premium, feature-rich, or best phone announced at IFA. Although that matters less compared to what the TCL Plex represents.
This is a phone that confirms there’s now a new smartphone player in town. One you will want to pay attention to.
TCL stepping up to the smartphone plate
TCL is not new to the smartphone game. After all, it is the company who brings Alcatel and BlackBerry Mobile branded phones to the U.S. market.
The TCL Plex, however, is something different altogether. This is phone arriving under the TCL brand banner and that makes it an entirely different proposition. It’s not attempting to trade on the Alcatel or BlackBerry Mobile names, but on the company’s own merit instead.
It’s also only the start of what’s to come from TCL smartphones and that makes it all the more exciting. TCL has already confirmed 5G and foldable devices are coming.
Plex is the building block for future TCL phones
In a world where phone brands try their hand at TVs, TCL is moving in the opposite direction. TCL TVs are popular options and many of the company’s TV design elements can be directly seen in the Plex. The display being the most obvious example.
TCL actually announced the Plex by stating it was bringing its “display expertise to smartphones.” That’s no small claim, and one the company appears to be backing up.
For example, TCL brought out all the marketing guns when announcing the Plex. The company notes how the phone features “a dedicated display engine,” “advanced display optimization,” “enriched color, clarity and contrast enhancement,” “SDR to HDR real-time conversion,” to name a few.
While there’s plenty of display keywords here to dazzle you, TCL is also keen to protect your eyes from all the dazzling. Drawing on how the Plex’s 6.53-inch FHD “Dotch” display and its 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, comes with features to protect against eye strain. These include a variety of different modes, such as “Adaptive Tone,” “Reading Mode” and “Eye Comfort Mode.”
More than just a display
While having a good display is great, the ability to capture good content to view back on that display is equally important. And a point not lost on TCL as the cameras are the other big Plex selling point.
First up, there’s a triple rear camera setup in play. If you need the hard numbers, then the setup is comprised of a 48-megapixel main sensor coupled with a 16-megapixel super wide-angle sensor. The third is a 2-megapixel sensor specifically designed to improve low-light capturing.
There’s plenty of software tweaking in effect here too, including the use of an algorithm that TCL states will improve the output when shooting with the camera’s AI-driven auto-mode enabled.
The overall point of this part of the Plex’s IFA announcement is the phone is designed to capture the best images possible and then let you view them in the best possible light on the phone’s display.
The TCL Plex is a display-first phone and that’s a good thing
Again, TCL could have simply pumped the Plex full of specs that on paper would be the main selling point. However, TCL knows what it is good at and wants to offer products that specifically tap into those strengths.
That’s an approach that’s not often seen anymore with most phone brands simply adding as much as they can in a bid to be a catch-all product. By utilizing an approach like this, many companies run the risk of their products lacking an identity.
That’s unlikely to be the case with TCL smartphones if the company sticks to the “Display Greatness” philosophy set out by the TCL Plex.
Not to mention, one of the additional benefits of focusing on one’s own strengths is the pricing. While many will label this as a mid-range phone, that also means it priced in the mid range.


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03 Mar Equinix wraps $335M Bare Metal buy | Light Reading
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. Equinix, the global interconnection and data center company, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Packet, a leading bare metal automation platform. The transaction, announced on January 14, 2020, accelerates Equinix’s strategy to help enterprises seamlessly deploy hybrid multicloud architectures.
As a part of the $335 million transaction, the combined company will operate the existing Packet business as “Packet, an Equinix company,” while developing new solutions for enterprise customers that combine Packet’s leading bare metal automation technology with the rich ecosystems, global reach and interconnection fabric of Platform Equinix. Zachary Smith, former CEO of Packet, will serve as managing director of the bare metal business.
By leveraging Packet’s innovative and developer-oriented bare metal service offering to accelerate its organic bare metal solution development, Equinix aims to create advanced solutions for enterprises to rapidly deploy digital infrastructure at global scale with differentiated performance and robust integration to the public cloud. Businesses will be able to deploy advanced IT infrastructures via the physical or virtual consumption model of their choice, enabling them to more easily reach everywhere, interconnect everyone and integrate everything that matters to their business.


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£200k investment boosts mushroom firm’s growth
A mushroom company in Co Armagh has announced an investment of over £200,000 as it sets its sights on export markets.
O’Neill Mushrooms in Newtownhamilton produces around 80,000 fresh mushrooms every week but now wants its new facility to develop added-value products for export.
The firm’s operations in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan and Newtownhamilton produce nearly 30,000 lbs of mushrooms every week for retail, catering and wholesale in the UK and Ireland.
Invest NI is contributing £32,000 towards O’Neills’ investment. Chief executive Alastair Hamilton said: “This investment is an immensely important development in a rural community and will focus on the manufacture of added-value products for retailers outside Northern Ireland.
“The new facility has been developed in response to strong growth in the demand for O’Neill Mushrooms’ quality and innovative products, particularly from Great Britain, where the retail market is currently worth around £350m.
“The decision to locate this business in Newtownhamilton is another significant endorsement of Northern Ireland as an ideal location for food processing businesses dedicated to building export sales. The investment has already created 60 new jobs in recent months with a further 10 expected by 2013.”
Michael O’Neill, who founded the company eight years ago, said: “Newtownhamilton was an obvious choice of location for us. There is a strong heritage of mushroom growing and processing in the area, a readily available and experienced workforce, and a ready-made plant previously operated by Monaghan Mushrooms. These factors enabled us to ‘hit the ground running’ and to start supplying customers quickly.


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Sign up For our Mailing List Stay in Touch About Contact Returns Shipping FAQS Terms & Conditions Read our blog Copyright ©. Posted in Uncategorized Nude Fitness Models Natalie Thomas See Natalie Thomas Pink Episode And Pics Here The ninth of our nude fitness models is Natalie Thomas. ??Related articles Public launch of Purple Hound unleashes the potential of the purple pound Yesterday saw the launch of Purple Hound www.
'ADA' by Karina Smigla Bobinska, Helium balloon, charcoal stick: Change in Direction By sherry cuttler on June 28, 2012 11:27 AM 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false The content of this blog is changing. The Safe Harbor Trailer??has been featured at many boat shows and outdoor consumer shows and has offered a glimpse of our project. Daily Mail, 18 February 2016 in Business Meagre pay rises for British workers suggest Bank of England is unlikely to raise interest rates any time soon British workers are pinning their hopes on at least another year of rock bottom interest rates to make up for meagre pay rises.
The currency in Croatia is the Kuna, so you'll undoubtedly get a better rate for exchanging Dollars into Kunas (if you do need to exchange cash). View more news Mortgages New lender enters buy to let market 5th February 2016 8:22 am 5th February 2016 9:00 am news Mortgages BoE: Mortgage approvals up 21% 1st February 2016 2:58 pm 1st February 2016 2:58 pm news Mortgages Challenger bank eyes RBS spin off Williams &. General Mills first client at Port Salford hub By Rod Addy+ General Mills has become the first client to sign up to use supply chain firm Culina Group's 26,000m2 Port Salford tri modal logistics facility.


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Skelewu crooner Davido has ordered a brand new 2013 Mercedes Benz G Wagon several months back.
However, the luxury jeep, which estimated cost is over N30million, has been delivered to Davido’s residence just days ago.
Check out the PHOTOS of the happy owner and his brand new ride below:
A nice Christmas present for Davido, isn’t it?
Follow NL on Social Media


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In the US, sesame has now been included in the list of food allergens. Companies will have to warn of the product being sesame and allergic to it. US President Joe Biden has signed the Faster Act related to it.
So far, nine foods have been listed in the US, including sesame, as the cause of allergies. If they are added to a product, then the company will have to inform them about the danger.
The remaining eight foods include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and tree nuts. According to the US government, these nine foods are responsible for 90 percent of the allergens caused by food items in the country.
Experts believe that after changing the law, people suffering from sesame allergy will get a big relief. Till now it was not included in the list, because of this, the people of allergy used to take the product of sesame in unknown and had to go to the hospital.
Must write on the label by 2023
Under the Faster Act, the growers have been given 20 months. They will have to write a warning of allergies to the product and allergies from January 1, 2023. However, some companies started giving this information from now on. Actually, this law related to food allergies came into existence in 2004. Now it was revealed that there is also an allergy to sesame seeds.
Indian experts say ... not particularly
Herbal expert and scientist Dr. Deepak Acharya says that there are no specific reasons for allergy to sesame. Many people are allergic to different things, someone may be allergic to a compound. Sesame is included in the US Grass Status. It is rich in lignan, omega three, and vitamins.
1.1 million people allergic to America
According to a study done in 2019, about 11 lakh people in the US are allergic to food. About 25 percent of them are suffering from sesame allergy. They also have children younger than five years old.


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'Bundles' spark 8pc rise in UPC customers
UPC, the cable television company that rebranded after buying Chorus and NTL, said it boosted customer numbers by 8pc in the second quarter of the year as more customers subscribe to bundles of two or three services, including internet and phone, and move to digital services.
UPC said it now has 742,400 customers, including 170,000 broadband customers and 78,000 phone customers. The number of subscribers wanting digital television increased 12pc to 366,000.
"This quarter has been an excellent quarter for growth across all products," said the head of the Irish unit, Robert Dunn. "We successfully rebranded to UPC and commenced a new marketing campaign with Craig Doyle as our new brand ambassador."
UPC is digging up streets in many parts of the country to lay down a fibre network that will allow customers to download films and computer games in a couple of minutes. The company hopes that the extra speed will win subscribers from satellite television and phone customers from Eircom.
UPC will soon launch a 100MB service which will speed up internet use several times compared with most standard packages available to home users. The company can also offer phone services to half a million homes.
"Digital television growth continues with over 366,000 customers enjoying UPC's digital offerings," Mr Dunn said yesterday. "Year-on-year digital subscriber numbers increased by 12pc which was helped by increasing our product proposition and inclusion of ESPN, HD content and technology."
Meanwhile, Liberty Global, the company that owns UPC and operations elsewhere in Europe, said that its second-quarter loss widened on foreign-currency transactions.


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Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners is likely to lead the new round, which is expected to see the valuation of the company cross Rs 1,400 crore, four people involved in the deal told ET.
“The round with Bessemer closed in the last week of December,“ said one of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“Even though BigBasket has enough cash in the bank, the valuations and attention it's getting from investors is making it raise more money .“
The deal will make BigBasket one of the most valued vertical players in the segment after fashion etailer Jabong, which is pegged at over $500 million or more than Rs 3,100 crore.
The development comes af ter BigBasket raised Rs 200 crore from Helion Venture Partners and Zodius Capital in September 2014. “The deal is mostly an extension of the previous round. Bessemer has committed to invest more in the company ,“ said another person.
Other investors include LionRock Capital, Ascent Capital and serial entre preneur K Ganesh's star tup factory GrowthStory .
The company had raised a total of Rs 278 crore in funding before this transaction.The official announcement may be made after a few more new investors come on board, a third person said, adding: “BigBasket has exceeded all revenue and growth targets it set for itself and without spending too much cash on customer acquisition. This makes it an attractive opportunity for investors. “An email sent to BigBasket cofounder and CEO Hari Menon did not elicit a response till late Sunday evening.
Bessemer's India managing director Vishal Gupta declined to comment on ET's queries.
Bessemer Venture Partners has backed companies like Snapdeal and TaxiForSure in the country. Its US portfolio includes Blue Apron, one of the largest ready-tocook meal delivery service players.
BigBasket, which operates in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune, plans to venture into Delhi and Chennai in the coming months. It handles more than 6,000 orders a day on its peak days, with Rs 1,500 per order on average, indicating an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) of about Rs 200 crore. The company's founders VS Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, VS Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari had given grocery etailing a shot in 2001 when they founded Fabmall. But they soon turned it into an offline retail store chain, which was acquired by Aditya Birla Group in 2006.
“We were able to do the due diligence without meeting the CEO, which is very rare,“ said an investor who backed the company last year.
Among the factors that work in the company's favour is that its competitors including EkStop, LocalBanya and ZopNow have not been able to expand beyond their single cities yet. While organised retailers make up only about 2% of grocery sales in India, the market is expected to grow 118% to $847.9 billion (about Rs 52 lakh crore) by 2020, according to food and consumer research firm IGD. This underlines the attractiveness of the sector for entrepreneurs and investors.
Several brick-and-mortar retailers such as Aditya Birla Group, HyperCITY, Spencer's, Reliance and Trent have been expanding in grocery etailing, but these firms together accumulated losses of more than Rs 13,000 crore in 2013-14, according to credit rating agency Crisil. While Reliance has launched online grocery delivery in Mumbai, others are looking at this channel.
Private labels could be the key to profitability as BigBasket has found out, with this category accounting for 40% of its sales in fruits, vegetables and meat. “Globally , major retailers generate 20-30% revenues from private labels. In India the proportion is currently negligible,“ said Crisil report.


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MADISON (WKOW) -- The results of a study for the state Department of Tourism show growth in Wisconsin's tourism industry.
The state saw a 7.6 percent rise in visitors from 2010 and the tourism economy grew as a whole by nearly 8 percent.
The study also shows visitor spending generated $16 billion in total business sales, up from $14.8 billion in 2010.
A 2011 advertising campaign called "Picture the Fun" motivated more than 2.1 million visits, helping to generate an additional $257 million in tourism spending and $22 million in tax revenue.
More than 95 million visited Wisconsin, which helped support 181,000 jobs. Columbia, Fond du Lac and Monroe counties experienced more than a 20 percent increase in visitor spending. Overall, visitors generated $1.3 billion in state and local revenue and $950 million in federal taxes in 2011.


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The share of air ticket bookings to these countries doubled in August
South Africa and India are becoming increasingly popular tourist destinations for Russians. The share of flight bookings to these two countries has doubled in Russia compared to July. This was reported by TASS, citing a study by OneTwoTrip. Experts analysed bookings with departures between 1 and 31 August and compared them to bookings made for July.
In addition, in the last summer month Russians more frequently chose Asian destinations - the share of tickets purchased to Vietnam and Thailand increased by 71% and 67% respectively.
According to the travel planning service, Indonesia (up 60% in bookings in August), Israel (+20%), the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan (+15%) also made it to the top destinations. In addition, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Belarus made the list - demand for each of these destinations increased by 12%.
Recall that on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in June, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his intention to continue working on the tourism recovery, noting that "travellers from other BRICS countries accounted for 65% of all arrivals to South Africa in 2018". He noted that tourism was one of the biggest sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.


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BRIEF-BlackBerry CEO comments on revenue growth
March 28 (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd : * Says expects to see revenue growth beginning to kick in during fiscal 2016,
after launch of bes 12, "classic" device * CEO says new Bold manufacturing run is primarily aimed at tiding the company
over until launch of "classic" device * CEO says expects canadian real estate asset sales to close around may, or
© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved.


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Motus Motorcycles Set To Hit The American Motorcycle Scene
TheKneeslider reported today that startup Motus Motorcycles will soon sell a V4 sport touring motorcycle. Did some digging and found a sketch by Brian Case, one of the owners of Motus. It does not look like a sport touring bike and I have not idea if it has anything to do with the Motus bike but it is interesting to see his designs. Well, besides “the box” crushing Wraith.
Motus appears to be working with venture capital firms and looking to raise $900K in funding.
The target market for the bike looks to be the 15K to 20K touring niche held by the Yamaha FJR1300 and BMW K1300S. According to theKneeslider they want to do something much more radical. Can’t wait to see what they do. Very happy to see American companies starting up with innovation in mind. Can’t wait to see the bike. I hope it gets as much coverage as the American auto industry demise.
Picture Source: http://cbcase.blogspot.com/2008/12/test-sketch.html
Motus Motorcycle Forum


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How American populism is reshaping economic policy
Clip: 05/10/2018 | 7m 26s
If President Trump has had one consistent message since the beginning of his campaign, it's that America is getting a raw deal in the global economy. Policy changes like import tariffs and reworking NAFTA, and the people who support them, are all part of a rising wave of populism. What’s fueling the fire? Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.
Aired: 05/10/18Video has closed captioning.
The full episode is no longer available for online streaming. Why?
Please continue to enjoy extra(s) from this episode.


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NEW YORK -- Delivery trucks in the city may be replaced by pedal-assist cargo bikes. The bikes have four wheels and are wider than delivery bikes currently on our roads.
But some people are pushing back against the plan to roll them out.
New York City residents love their deliveries. As many as 80% of households get at least one delivery per week, according to the Department of Transportation.
If the DOT has its way, new wider pedal-assist cargo bikes will roll across the five boroughs. They're easier on the environment than trucks.
"Anything energy efficient for the city would be fabulous," Upper West Side resident Heidi Hopperfeld said.
The pedal-assist cargo bikes are 10 feet long and 4 feet wide and are sturdier than current ones that are 3 feet wide and three-wheeled.
Some people worry they could make the roads even more crowded.
"I think it's gonna give more chaos. It's already congested," Upper West Side resident Louis Munoz said.
City leaders say two of the bikes can replace one traditional delivery truck, adding the number of big delivery trucks could be greatly reduced by having the new cargo bikes start at the rivers to line up and load up.
"Down at Pier 92, which is by the river, there's a discussion of bringing the cargo in there on the ships and then bringing the bikes from there," Councilwoman Gale Brewer said.
Brewer likes the plan but only with fixes to infrastructure and much better traffic enforcement.
"First, enlarge the bike lanes. You have to make sure that the cargo bike do not unload at the sidewalk. They have to unload in the street and, three, the rules of the road have to be enforced," Brewer said.
The Department of Transportation will get public input on the plan on Wednesday at a virtual hearing that will begin at 10 a.m. Comments will be taken via DOT email.
"I think this is a good thing," Upper West Side resident Drusilla Capers said.
"I think it's a bad idea because we have enough problems right now with the bike lanes," William Guzman added.
CBS New York found a divided public on the extra pedal power, with a final council vote that is still down the road.
for more features.