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Robert Bosch, the founder of the BOSCH company, used to emphasize that trust is more important than money and that companies need to guarantee the quality and the value of their products.
Many years later, this German company still adheres to the same principle, cooperating with companies which share their values.
When your earn trust through quality, an old client gladly becomes a new one. The cooperation between BOSCH and Armont SP thereby continues to the satisfaction of both.
After the successfully realized project of laying down facade and roof covers on the BOSCH production facility in Pecinci nearly 6 years ago, Armont SP is now in charge of the exterior of the new production facility of BOSCH's largest factory for the production of wiper systems in Europe.
Armont is once again leaving its unique stamp, successfully realizing 15,000 m2 of roof covers and 6,000 m2 of facade covers on the factory near Belgrade within deadline.
Both companies maintain their good reputation through new successes, ambitious projects, investing in modern technology and new knowledge.
The mutual trust between the old-new partners is confirmed once again, and the results of joint projects are increasingly visible. Each year, the BOSCH factory in Serbia realizes a constant growth, and Armont is increasingly often recognized in the country and abroad as a leader and considered synonymous with innovations, reliability and quality.
The long-term partnership of BOSCH and Armont has proven to be remarkably successful, showing that the skill of choosing the right business partners is equally as important as expertise in one's own domain.


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Wall Street brokerages forecast that Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) will report sales of $4.00 billion for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Nine analysts have issued estimates for GAP’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $3.82 billion and the highest estimate coming in at $4.10 billion. GAP reported sales of $3.84 billion in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 4.2%. The company is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 15th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that GAP will report full-year sales of $16.49 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $16.15 billion to $16.73 billion. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the firm will report sales of $16.92 billion per share, with estimates ranging from $16.52 billion to $17.50 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that that provide coverage for GAP.
GAP (NYSE:GPS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. GAP had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $39.00 target price on shares of GAP and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 27th. MKM Partners lowered their target price on shares of GAP to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 29th. Citigroup raised shares of GAP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on shares of GAP from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 25th. Finally, ValuEngine raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 24th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.74.
GPS traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $28.96. 398,100 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,207,605. GAP has a fifty-two week low of $25.28 and a fifty-two week high of $35.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.62.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 9th. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. GAP’s payout ratio is 45.54%.
In other news, Director William Sydney Fisher sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.37, for a total transaction of $32,370,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,760,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,314,018.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 27.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $634,000. Pendal Group Ltd increased its stake in GAP by 52.9% during the second quarter. Pendal Group Ltd now owns 18,629 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Suntrust Banks Inc. increased its stake in GAP by 83.3% during the first quarter. Suntrust Banks Inc. now owns 37,506 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 17,043 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in GAP by 25.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,542,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $391,339,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575,906 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its stake in GAP by 227.7% during the first quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 58,139 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 40,399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.67% of the company’s stock.
GAP Company Profile
Gap, Inc operates as a global apparel retail company. It offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women and children. The company operates through segments: Gap Global, Old Navy Global, Banana Republic Global, Athleta, and Intermix. The Gap Global segment includes apparel and accessories for men and women under the Gap brand, along with the GapKids, BabyGap, GapMaternity, GapBody and GapFit collections.
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. experienced a significant 5% drop in its shares following the announcement of its quarterly revenue miss, even as the Chinese e-commerce giant revealed a substantial $25 billion boost to its share buyback program. The news, which sent ripples through the financial markets, underscores the complex challenges facing the company amidst a slowing Chinese economy and increasing competition within the tech sector.
Despite the anticipation surrounding Alibaba’s performance, the company reported revenue figures that fell short of analysts’ expectations. This discrepancy highlighted the hurdles Alibaba faces, including regulatory pressures and consumer spending shifts within China. The revenue miss is particularly notable given the context of Alibaba’s efforts to diversify its business and invest in new growth areas such as cloud computing, digital media, and entertainment.
In a move to reassure investors and signal confidence in its long-term value, Alibaba announced a substantial increase in its share buyback program, from $15 billion to $25 billion. This expansion of the buyback plan represents one of the largest in the company’s history and reflects a strategic effort to bolster shareholder value amid market uncertainties.
The share price decline following the revenue announcement and the expanded buyback program has sparked a broad discussion among analysts and investors about Alibaba’s future growth prospects. Some view the buyback as a positive sign of Alibaba’s financial health and its commitment to returning value to shareholders, while others remain cautious, pointing to the ongoing challenges in the Chinese and global economies that could impact the company’s performance.
Alibaba’s management expressed optimism about the future, emphasizing the company’s resilience and adaptability in the face of evolving market conditions. They highlighted strategic investments in key growth areas and efforts to enhance efficiency and innovation across their operations as critical components of their long-term strategy.
We know that Alibaba is going through some difficult times right now because of their own mismanagement as well as the competition from others and the market’s reaction to its revenue miss and the aggressive expansion of its share buyback program will be closely watched. Investors and analysts alike will be keen to see how the company adjusts its strategies to maintain its competitive edge and drive sustainable growth in the ever-changing landscape of the global digital economy.


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SID Display Week is the ideal place to show off new display innovations, and this year Samsung Display came prepared. Samsung’s South Korean screen subsidiary unveiled an OLED display on Monday with built-in cardiovascular and fingerprint sensors, allowing both readings to occur anywhere on the screen.
Most devices have designated sensor spots, meaning you must tap or rest your finger on a specific part of the device to get a reading. These sensors typically comprise their own module and are placed under the display panel, offering the illusion that the sensors are built into the screen. Samsung Display’s new “Sensor OLED” takes this illusion and turns it into reality. By embedding a light-sensing organic photodiode (OPD) into the display panel, Samsung Display has enabled users to scan their fingerprints, track their heart health anywhere on the screen, and even read both simultaneously.
Credit: Samsung Display
Samsung Display says that obtaining an accurate blood pressure reading requires both arms. (Because hardware companies aren’t the be-all and end-all of medical advice, you might be pleased to know that the American Heart Association says the same thing.) Rather than having a user obtain one arm’s blood pressure score and then the other, the Sensor OLED allows the user to place one finger from each hand on the display. The built-in sensor can then pull readings from both fingers simultaneously. Samsung Display says the sensor can also measure the user’s heart rate and “stress level,” though it’s unclear exactly what biometric data it’s using to refer to the latter measurement.
Though there’s never a guarantee that technology introduced at a convention will appear on shelves, it’s hard to imagine why Samsung wouldn’t eventually put the Display OLED on its phones. It showed off other explicitly smartphone-related tech: The new “Flex In & Out” display can be folded both inward and outward 360 degrees, creating the potential for an even bendier Samsung Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung Display also shared its scroll-like roll-up display called “Rollable Flex,” a 77-inch QD-OLED TV, and two QD-OLED desk monitors.


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By Planet Retail2011-10-27T07:00:00
Metro Group-controlled Media-Saturn is to cut 61 of 139 jobs at its headquarters. The electronics retailer said the decision has been prompted by the economic crisis that has led to a drop in consumer confidence, the rise of internet sales and the cost structure of the headquarters.
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CBA supported Viterra to refinance its $800 million syndicated Sustainability-Linked Borrowing Base Facility (SL-BBF) and introduce a new sustainability target focused on promoting grower engagement with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and purchasing BCI-certified cotton. Convened by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Better Cotton Initiative is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder governance group that promotes better standards in cotton farming and practices across 21 countries.
The new target is in addition to Viterra’s original targets, which focus on:
- Grower engagement with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC)
- Purchasing ISCC-certified Australian-grown grain
- Securing protein meals for import into Australia and other jurisdictions that are sourced from overseas farms that follow sustainable agricultural practices, including non-deforestation.
Due to the positive progress made through its initiatives to date, Viterra has committed to increase its original targets further, to ensure they maintain ambitious, impactful goals. This includes revising higher the annual trajectories of targets 1 and 2, and broadening the scope of target 3.
Commonwealth Bank worked with Viterra to structure the market-leading SL-BBF, which ties Viterra’s cost of inventory finance to its achievement of the above sustainability targets. Like a traditional trade finance facility, the inventory financing allows Viterra to use the Australian-grown grain and cotton it holds on hand as collateral to unlock capital the company can use to further support its activities.
“Viterra continues to break new ground and lead the market with its commitment to promoting sustainable agriculture in its supply chain, and we are proud to support Viterra in this important work that propels Australia’s transition to a sustainable economy,” said Alex Toone, Executive General Manager, Commodities, Trade and Carbon, at Commonwealth Bank.


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MediaTek Helio P15 true octa-core chipset is launched
The MediaTek Helio P15 is manufactured by TSMC using the 28nm process. MediaTek says that it provides a 10% jump in performance compared to the Helio P10.
Late last month, MediaTek unveiled the Helio P20 which includes eight Cortex-A53 cores running at a max clock speed of 2.3GHz. That is accompanied by a Mali-T880 MP2 900MHz GPU, and support for dual-channel LPDDR4-1600. This chip is produced using the 16nm process. The buzz around the water color suggests that the Xiaomi Mi 5c will be the first handset to sport the chipset. That phone has not yet been introduced by Xiaomi.
source: MyDrivers (translated) via XiaomiToday


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Regulators said they will not intervene to stop fintechs accessing banking data via the process of "screen scraping", providing a green light to the practice continuing despite the concerns of the Commonwealth Bank.
In a Senate committee hearing on Thursday evening, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it was not planning to stop the controversial practice, which involves customers sharing banking passwords to allow start-ups to read their bank account data. ASIC said it was not aware of any harm caused by the practice, which is widespread in the market.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also said that while it understood bank concerns about password sharing, screen scraping should not be stopped as the consumer data right - which will ultimately regulate the practice - is developed.
The ACCC also backed the "write" power for the consumer data right, which is currently being considered by King & Wood Mallesons partner Scott Farrell after a referral from Treasury.
Providing non-banks with "write access" would have a dramatic impact on the balance of power in the financial sector, allowing them to make payments and activate the switching away from banks' products.
In a letter to the committee read out by chairman Senator Andrew Bragg, Mr Farrell, who wrote the original report on open banking, said the open banking regime will ultimately replace screen scraping but there is no urgency to intervene with drastic measures to stop the practice - which allows fintechs to operate.
“We aren’t planning to do anything drastic either," Tim Gough, ASIC's head of financial services, told the committee.
ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes said the corporate regulator knows of no damage that has occurred from customers sharing banking passwords with any fintech to allow access their banking data.
“There is no evidence that we are aware of, of any consumer loss from screen scraping,” Mr Hughes said.
ASIC's new regulatory guidance on responsible lending recognises screen scraping can help with responsible lending compliance, and Mr Hughes said the e-payments code does not prohibit it.
The comments come despite Commonwealth Bank writing to its customers who are sharing passwords with fintech, warning of security risks. Competitors have described the warnings as anti-competitive.
The committee may make a recommendation endorsing the practice, which might restrict CBA from making its warnings.
The ACCC said it had discussed the CBA warnings informally with other regulators, but was not aware of any formal complaints being made by any start-ups. However, FinTech Australia told the committee on Friday morning it had written to the ACCC expressing concerns about the CBA warnings.
ASIC's comments may encourage start-ups whose customers are receiving the CBA warnings to complain to the ACCC.
Bruce Cooper, general manager for the consumer data right at the ACCC, said screen scraping should be allowed while the consumer data right is being developed, given the CDR will initially only apply to the big banks and include a relatively limited set of products when it switches on on July 1.
"To outlaw screen scraping too early, before the consumer data right has had the opportunity to mature and pick up those additional products and banks, would be disruptive both to consumers and industry," he said.
Widening open banking
The ACCC also said it will widen the consumer data right's (CDR) accreditation scheme to allow "intermediaries" to provide data to unaccredited parties. This will allow smaller businesses who are not able to meet the insurance and security standards of the CDR to still receive the benefits from data analytics.
"There is strong interest and a willing market with participants who want to engage in the CDR - our job is to facilitate that,” said Paul Franklin, head of the consumer data right at the ACCC.
"We are considering measures to use intermediaries and [introduce] lower tiers of accreditation where appropriate, and consider the disclosure of information to non-accredited parties."
The ACCC also backed the introduction of "write access" into the consumer data right, which will be confronting for the major banks.
“It is a sensible development,” Mr Franklin said.
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One useless after automobile crashes into Boston-area Apple retailer US By Newsworldpress Last updated Nov 22, 2022 Share The SUV struck a number of folks after smashing by the glass facade, with 16 taken to hospital after the ‘unthinkable’ incident. This text was initially printed by scmp.com. Learn the unique article right here. Share
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Increase in import duties on Truck Radial tyres will help domestic Industry: JK Tyre MD
Commenting on the the Budget presented today, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & MD, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., and Vice President, JK Organisation, “The Budget 2018-19, as anticipated, has put major thrust on the Agro Rural economy. The allocation of nearly Rs. 15.7 lac crores to this sector, which is almost 10% of the GDP, is many times higher than that in the previous year. The various measures to put in place a mechanism to boost farmers’ income, higher credit for agri sector, creating clusters for horticulture crops and supporting food processing, will give a tremendous boost to agro rural economy. This in turn will indeed improve their buying power and will encourage consumption. Health protection programme envisaging medical care and hospitalization for 10 crore poor families is indeed a bold step forward in ensuring health care for all.”
“Increase in import duties on Truck Radial tyres is a welcome move, which will help domestic Industrym” said Dr. Raghupati Singhania.
“The credit support and lowering of tax rates for MSME sector will indeed boost the sector which plays an important role in the economic activity of the country. The renewed emphasis on infrastructure development, in particular large outlays in the railways, will keep the economy ticking,” added he.
“The Corporate sector was hoping that the Finance Minister will live up to his promise of reducing corporate tax from 30%. On the other hand, surcharges have been increased, thereby making effective rate even higher than hitherto.”


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Xbox Game Pass netted Microsoft $2.9 billion last year, according to a document from the Brazilian market authority. It would be more than Nintendo and Electronic Arts have earned from gaming subscriptions. The stated amount does not include PC Game Pass.
Microsoft itself has converted the amount of almost three billion euros with the Brazilian market regulator CADE shared. It’s all about how much Microsoft has earned from console subscriptions worldwide; the PC Game Pass subscription is therefore not part of this. It’s not clear whether the Ultimate plan, which allows users to play both PC and console games, will be included.
According to CADE, Microsoft has a market share of 30 to 40 percent. According to the market authority, the American company is in second place, behind Sony. This company has a 40 to 50 percent market share in the console gaming subscription market. Sony itself has shared with CADE how much it earns from this, but did not want this information to be made public. Microsoft’s estimates for Nintendo and Electronic Arts are visible. Both companies don’t earn nearly as much from console gaming subscriptions as Microsoft does, the latter thinks.
Microsoft shared these amounts with the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica. This Brazilian market authority has investigated Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. CADE has now approved the acquisition.


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Quick, name two of the most exciting things in the world.
Okay, I admit that new cars probably didn’t make your list. Still, when a new car is expected to arrive on the scene, people tend to get giddy while discussing what it might look like and how it might perform. While that’s especially true for all-new models hitting U.S. shores, a refresh of a long-loved model is sometimes equally appreciated.
Lucky for us, we’ve got a little of both to share.
First, take a look again at the top of this story. I can’t imagine you missed this on the first look, but that picture is a teaser for an upcoming Bugatti (Autoblog says it could be a sedan) with EIGHT tailpipes. If a million-dollar family hauler with an 8.0-liter, 1,000-horsepower W16 engine that can hit 60 miles per hour in about 3 seconds is in your budget, the Bordeaux could be for you. While there is very little official word on the new Bug, odds are if you’re going to pony up the money, you can get one in the States.
Getting back to Earth, Lexus has released a drawing of a potential new hatchback. In the past I’d have assumed a car like the CT would be designated for the European market only, but with the changing attitude in the U.S. regarding small hatches, there’s a real possibility we’ll see something like this from Lexus in the coming years. More evidence that the new Lexus is U.S. bound comes from Autoweek, which says,
Lexus has patented the names CT 200h, CT 300h and CT 400h in North America.
Looks like it’ll be a hybrid, huh?
As Toyota works to increase Lexus’s product offering, it also needs to supercharge its Scion lineup. That’s where the tiny new 1.3-liter 4-cylinder iQ should come into play. The European version gets 66 mpg. Scion dealers say it’s coming in 2010, but Toyota hasn’t made an official announcement, saying priority is on a redesigned tC, which is also good news for Scion fans. We could see a needed power jump from 161 hp to 200 out of a new 2.7-liter engine.
Sources are saying to expect only four-cylinder powerplants, including a turbocharged model after the initial launch. This is probably a smart move on Hyundai’s part seeing how sensitive Americans are to MPGs these days. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the next Tucson get close to 30 mpg highway, with an equally impressive 20+ in the city.
Are there any U.S.-bound cars you look forward to seeing, or any you think should appear on these shores?


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Not interested in shelling out the big bucks for Apple's overhyped iPad?
Well, Archos has introduced two new Android-based tablet devices with a fairly reasonable $200-$223 price tag.
One search engine to rule them all and in the darkness bind them!
A boat built from 12,000 plastic bottles it to set sail this month, with the aim of crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Twitter is believed to be planning a new advertising system similar to Google's AdWords.
Cities across the Northeast and Atlantic Coast are breaking snowfall records and scientists are now rescinding claims of global warming-induced hurricanes. It all leads to growing skepticism over the climate change phenomenon.
The writing may be on the wall for newspapers - or on the screen, at least. A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project says that online news has taken over from print as the third most popular way for Americans to get their news.
PlayStation 3 users around the world have been left unable to connect to the PlayStation Network, with Sony still unable to identify the source of the problem.
More than half of Apple's suppliers visited in a recent audit have been overworking staff, and three have been using underage labor, the company has admitted.
Hoping to quash concerns that the Android platform has been getting pulled apart and lacking consistency, Google is reportedly going to bring the next major update to all Android devices. The move will hopefully add uniformity to the operating system that is now available on nearly 20 handsets.
When Grooveshark, an Internet radio provider that allows users to listen to MP3s for free, tried to bring its service to the iPhone, it was rejected by Apple. So the company did what any snubbed publisher would do - it made the app available for jailbroken iPhones.
With a veritable wealth of video games in existence, one doesn’t often spare a thought to those that didn’t quite make it, but a recent interview with game developer David Jaffe provides some insight into what could have been a highly controversial first person shooter based on George W. Bush's polices abroad.
Final Fantasy XIII is not even out in the US yet, yet publisher Square Enix has already begun talking about what direction the game's sequel's sequel will take. The company has already apparently begun brainstorming about what kind of game Final Fantasy XV is going to be.
There is a new product in the Apple App Store today that will solve the problem that secret agents and bitter lovers alike share. TigerText claims it is the first app that allows users to delete text messages from the recipient's handset.
Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein has outlined a new strategy to buoy sinking sales of its smartphone line.
Haleron has taken on Apple's overpriced iPad with an Android-powered tablet that features a 800 x 480 TFT LCD touchscreen along with a VIA 600 MHz processor.
The US Secret Service is reportedly shackled by outdated computer systems and an ancient mainframe dating back to the 1980s.
It's always pleasant to get a sexy message from your heart-throb, and Twitter followers of British energy minister Ed Milliband had a nice surprise this morning.
Facebook has been granted a patent that covers large chunks of the entire social networking news feed concept, potentially stopping other social network providers in their tracks.
It's much, much more fun being old in Japan. While we get boring old wheelchairs, they get flying ones.
Nobody likes to be photographed when they're not looking their best. So it's got to be good news for everybody that EU data privacy regulators want Google to warn people before sending its Street View vans out on the roads.
As the European Commission opens an anti-trust enquiry into Google, the company has revealed details of how it ranks its search results.
The calving of a massive Antarctic iceberg is expected to affect ocean circulation worldwide, causing colder winters the other side of the world.
Two new Tivo models have shown up in Best Buy's inventory system, showing specs for one model that appear to indicate it will have a whopping one terabyte hard drive. The Premiere HD and Premiere XL HD Tivo set-tops will come out next month.
With over 300,000 copies of the cutesy-gory zombie-killing game sold in just nine days, Plants vs. Zombies has become the fastest-selling product in the history of the iPhone App Store. For 8 days in a row following its launch, it was ranked as the top-selling game.
Imagine if your private conversations with family, friends, coworkers, and romantic interests were accidentally being sent to random people instead of you. Well, that's exactly what happened to "a small number of users" during an unusual Facebook glitch late Wednesday night.
A Pennsylvania teen today confessed in court that he injected a virus into Sony's online gaming Web site. The 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released because he is a minor, will face sentencing for the misdemeanor.
Italy could shoot itself in the foot and seriously harm freedom of speech and the Internet according to Google, which recently saw three top execs convicted in absentee for content hosted briefly on YouTube which had nothing to do them.
Sprint has confirmed plans to expand its 4G mobile broadband service to several major cities during 2010, including Boston, Denver, New York and San Francisco.
Steve Jobs has reportedly told company shareholders that Apple's $25 billion cash war chest will allow the corporation to take "big, bold" risks in the future.
Redmond has reared its ugly head and roared, slamming government document tipster site Cryptome with a DMCA notice and getting the site taken down by its hosting provider, Network Solutions, all because it dared to post Microsoft’s boring and standard surveillance compliance policy.
A talented programmer known as thunderbird2k has successfully ported Quake 3 to the Android OS.
Northrop Grumman has successfully flown the first in a new series of Bat unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
They're cuddly folk at Wal-Mart, and they don't like mucky stuff - they won't even sell CDs with sexually explicit lyrics. So it's no surprise that, right after buying video start-up Vudu, the retailer has shut down its adult section.
A Wisconsin teenager is facing 15 years in jail after being convicted of using Facebook to blackmail dozens of classmates into sex.


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Love Island and Made In Chelsea stars to appear at Made Up Leeds Festival this weekend
The full celebrity line-up for the Leeds' first festival celebration of beauty has been announced.
Running this Saturday and Sunday, the city-wide Made Up Leeds festival aims to showcase some of the biggest names in beauty and feature dozens of offers from cosmetic shops, restaurants and bars.
Former Made in Chelsea star Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo and ex-Love Island contestants Kaz Crossley and Alexandra Cane were among those already confirmed for appearances during the free event.
Now organisers have revealed that male beauty vlogger Lewys Ball, drag queen star Michael ‘Gisele’ Allan and celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton will also be attending.
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They will join E4’s Body Fixers star Danny Richo and mother-daughter make-up artists and Instagram sensations Shaheen Kauser and Sanna Nosheen – known as Mummillion and Lookamillion.
The festival, backed by LeedsBID, will also see involvement from Leeds' retail sector, including John Lewis, Debenhams, Trinity Leeds, The Merrion Centre, St Johns Centre, Harvey Nichols and The Light.
Andrew Cooper, chief executive at LeedsBID, said: “Made Up Leeds aims to celebrate beauty for all and we’re incredibly proud of the diverse line-up for the first ever event.
“It’s fantastic to see such big-name brands and retailers join forces to create something really special for the city, and we’re expecting thousands of people to head to Leeds for the jam-packed event.”
Where and when will the stars appear in Leeds
Vlogger Lewys Ball, 19, will answer questions about cosmetics, life and growing up on his YouTube channel LookingForLewys, which has over 325,000 subscribers, Lewys will be at Trinity Leeds’ Beauty Room at noon on Saturday. It will be followed by a meet and greet.
Hairdresser to the stars Andrew Barton will join his former 10 Year Younger co-star, and British makeup artist, Ruby Hammer to discuss updating looks. They will also appear at The Beauty Room at Trinity Leeds, from 1pm on Sunday.
Leeds drag queen star Michael ‘Gisele’ Allan will host a makeup masterclass and share industry tips and tricks at The Beauty Space, in Briggate, at noon on Saturday.
Mother-daughter make-up artists Lookamillion and Mummillion will speak about their key make-up looks, and how to get the most out of makeup at any age, at The Bottle Room, at Harvey Nichols, on Sunday.
Headline speaker 'Toff' will lead a talk at The Beauty Room at Trinity Leeds from 3.30pm on Saturday.
How to take part
All of the events are free to attend but limited tickets are available.
Festival-goers need to sign up to get their free ‘Glamour Passport’ and goody bag, which can be picked up at collection points across the city centre.
They include a full list of offers, samples and information on speakers and demonstrations for the weekend.
Visit www.madeupleeds.co.uk/programme for details.


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Gap Inc. Stock Look Set For A Fresh Rally
A 5% jump on Thursday made shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) among the best performing of US equities.
A 5% jump on Thursday made shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) among the best performing of US equities. It came off the back of a fairly sudden reversal from recent highs, which were set only earlier this month. But the 15% drop ran out of steam at yesterday’s open as a strong bid was present in the shares of the San Francisco headquartered retailer right through the close.
It seems Wall Street isn’t willing to let Gap get too cheap for too long. They were arguably one of the stronger performing retail stocks last year as management performed an impressive pivot to digital channels in light of the COVID pandemic. For context, Gap shares were above their pre-COVID levels by early October and have run another 50% since then.
Fresh Digital Channels
Investors clearly quickly bought into the post-pandemic recovery potential and this has only expanded as the global vaccine rollout has kicked off. Gap’s Q4 earnings from earlier this month confirmed as much. Revenue was down just 5% on the year which is more than a lot of non-retailer stocks can say, while EPS was comfortably in the black and well ahead of what analysts were expecting.
This current dip, which yesterday helped reverse somewhat, could end up being a peach of a buying opportunity in hindsight if the economic reopening momentum continues at this pace. Wells Fargo has been running a monthly poll on consumer shopping behaviors and has identified a consistent theme of pent-up retail demand that’s likely to start coming to fruition by the end of Q2. They’re also seeing a permanent shift to online shopping, and as noted above, Gap have been among the leaders of those that made the pivot to digital.
Wells Fargo’s recent price target update to Gap’s shares underlines the present opportunity; at $40, that suggests an upside of some 40% even after yesterday’s jump. In a note to clients earlier this month they highlighted the potential, noting there’s “a lot to like, see bull case building from here, stay long. With a solid 4Q print now behind us, we believe the bull case can continue to build from here. We continue to see an undervalued portfolio - led by Old Navy and Athleta (which by themselves should be valued at $35+ per share) - with a call option on the Gap brand (first positive comp in US in 4Q since 2017, Yeezy launch upcoming) potentially adding gravy to thesis."
This is some solid sentiment to have behind you, especially when shares have just bounced off some solid support around the $27 mark. There’s every reason to think yesterday’s bid will continue into the weekend and unless fresh headwinds appear in the form of new restrictions, it’s hard to see Gap’s momentum going away anytime soon.
They’re coming out of the pandemic stronger than when they went in, and while their financials are just about back to pre-pandemic levels it’s their longer-term potential that is vastly improved. This has been helped mostly by their emerging digital channels, and that’s the key factor for investors getting involved to be considering. The recent dip affords an interesting entry point and investors would do well to at the very least keep Gap on their watchlist.
The Gap is a part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks some of the largest publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs.
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Seven Mile Market update
Those of you waiting to shop at the nation's largest kosher supermarket will have to wait a little longer.
Seven Mile Market doesn't expect to open its store before October.
When the Pikesville kosher market announced plans in February to move and nearly double in size, owner Hershel Boehm told The Sun he hoped to open by summer.
I'd heard recently that those plans had been pushed back, so I phoned the store this morning and asked to speak with the owner or manager.
"We’re looking at no earlier than October," said the man who came to the phone.
(It wasn't clear if he was the owner, manager or someone else. He declined to give his name.)
The market, which opened in 1988, plans to move from its current, 28,000-square-foot location on Seven Mile Lane to a 55,000-square-foot former Safeway on Reisterstown Road.
Seven Mile Market owner Hershel Boehm. Sun photo by Kim Hairston


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Megan has more than eight years of experience in economic consulting. Over the course of her career, Megan has assisted clients on matters related to antitrust disputes, intellectual property and patent infringement disputes, class certification, damages analysis, and regulatory matters.
Megan’s experience spans a range of industries, including technology, consumer packaged goods, agricultural products and transportation.
Prior to joining Coherent Economics, Megan was an Associate Principal at Charles River Associates, and before that worked at Navigant Consulting. She received her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
On Friday, September 1, 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the FTC and attorneys general from California,
Yesterday, Visa Inc. abandoned its effort to acquire Plaid Inc., in the wake of a suit brought by the Antitrust


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- Now customers of the Coinbase crypto exchange will be able to store money on Ledger hardware wallets
- The option works through a proprietary extension in the Chrome browser
- This will significantly increase the security of accounts
The largest US crypto exchange Coinbase has announced integration with Ledger. The new option will work through the Wallet App browser extension.
Coinbase explained that this move is dictated by the trend towards decentralized applications and NFTs:
“Web3 has no future if it doesn’t guarantee security from the start. Every month this sector shows billions of transactions. It doesn’t matter if you are trading or just holding crypto assets. Every user must be safe. Our partnership with Ledger will improve the security of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.”
Recall that Ledger is one of the top manufacturers of hardware wallets. Such wallets allow you to store private keys not on the network, but on a physical medium. They look like flash drives.
Each transaction on the blockchain requires the user to enter public and private keys. Coinbase explains that with a hardware wallet, an exchange client will be at % I am sure that no one will conduct a transaction from his wallet without a device.
“This is similar to the procedure for two-factor authentication when entering a site. But now there will be no need to enter a six-digit code, wait for an SMS or use an authenticator application. All transactions will be confirmed by the hardware wallet.”
This is not the first joint project of Coinbase and Ledger. In December, they released a plastic card with support for crypto payments. Read also: 7 reliable cryptocurrency wallets


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iTradeNetwork announces plans to open a new European head office in the UK
iTradeNetwork (ITN), a global provider of internet-based supply chain and purchasing technology to the hospitality and foodservice industries has announced that it will open a new European Head Office in the UK.
Working with over 6,200 distributor and operator partners, including: 3663; Carlsberg, Greene King, Macdonald Hotels and Pizza Express, the company founded in 1999, has chosen a suite at Blythe Valley Park, Solihull, as the location from which it will run its European division.
Liam Taylor, iTradeNetwork's chief operating officer for Europe, said: "Blythe Valley is a great location in the heart of the country, with outstanding transport links to the rest of the UK, and indeed internationally.
"As a growing company that operates throughout the UK, with expansion plans for Europe and a parent company in the US, this is ideal for us and provides a number of key advantages over other sites that we viewed.
"We have already commenced with our fit out and are looking forward to opening officially later this month."
ITN will use the new premises to consolidate its existing Burton-upon-Trent and Stokenchurch offices at a single site. It will join a number of other multi-national companies on the park including leading international business hardware and software developer Oracle, engineering and consultancy firm Arup, heavy machinery specialist Caterpillar and electronics giant Siemens.


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Pokemon Sword And Shield: Shiny Wooloo Appearing In Raids Until May 23
Wooloo and its evolved form Dubwool are featured in Max Raids this weekend, and you'll have a chance to encounter a Shiny Wooloo.
A new Max Raid event is now underway in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Until May 23, Wooloo and its evolved form, Dubwool, are appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles across the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, and Crown Tundra. On top of that, you'll have a chance to encounter a Shiny Wooloo in five-star Raids.
The event runs until 4:59 PM PT / 7:59 PM ET / 11:59 PM UTC on May 23, giving you only a few days to find Shiny Wooloo. Before the event Pokemon can begin appearing in your game, you first need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do this either by connecting the game online, or by opening the Mystery Gift menu and selecting Get the Wild Area News.
This is the second Shiny Pokemon event to take place so far in May. Earlier this month, Shiny Galarian Meowth was appearing in Max Raid dens as part of a "Meowth Festival," which also featured other regional variants of the cat Pokemon. Before that, Shiny Eiscue was appearing in Raids in honor of World Penguin Day.
In other news, The Pokemon Company recently held a poll on Twitter asking fans to vote for Pokemon Sword and Shield's next freebie, which will be distributed during the Pokemon Players Cup IV finals stream later this summer. The four choices were PP Max, Focus Sash, Lucky Egg, and Gold Bottle Cap. Based on the poll results, the Gold Bottle Cap handily won, securing more than 54% of the vote.
There are more Pokemon games on the horizon for Switch. Later this year, the system is receiving remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, while a brand-new adventure set in ancient Sinnoh called Pokemon Legends: Arceus is slated to release in early 2022. We've heard little about either title since they were revealed during the Pokemon Presents broadcast this past February, but with E3 2021 just around the corner now, that may change soon.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.


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Ricardo has won two UK Government-backed innovation competitions to develop novel solutions for heavy-duty vehicles focusing on improving efficiency and performance and reducing the cost of future electric trucks.
Ricardo will be partnering with the University of Bath for both projects. For the first project, which is funded by the Faraday Battery Challenge, supported by Innovate UK, Ricardo will be investigating the efficacy of integrating power electronics—a modular, series-connectable inverter and charger—into a battery pack, and understanding whether this novel approach can help to reduce the total cost of ownership.
The project is targeting to deliver efficiency improvements and reduce the powertrain mass, leading to savings of around £1,000 per vehicle. This will help to accelerate the wider-scale adoption of electrified commercial vehicles.
In parallel, for the second project, which is funded by the UK Government’s Department for Transport and delivered by Innovate UK, Ricardo is developing technologies for future higher voltage (1400V) electric trucks to enable greater efficiency and faster charging.
This includes the development of a modular battery pack, advanced power electronics and an electrified drive unit optimized for high voltage use, building on Ricardo’s previous Future Truck research. The benefits of these technologies will be assessed through the development and use of advanced desktop tools, which will also support the optimization of the technology configuration and control while focusing on minimizing total cost of ownership.
Currently, there are just over half a million trucks on the road in the UK, but only 0.2% of these are using cleaner propulsion. In Britain, vans and trucks make up 13.1% of all vehicles on the road but account for around 35% of CO2 road transport emissions. The UK Government is proposing to end the sale of all new non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles by 2040, so manufacturers and fleet operators have a pressing urgent requirement for novel technology advances which will help accelerate the take-up of electric trucks while reducing cost, risk and time to market.
In April 2021, Ricardo announced that it had received Government funding to assess the commercial viability of a facility to assemble battery packs for UK manufacturers which currently produce fewer than 10,000 electrified vehicles per year. This latest funding award therefore is a further enhancement to Ricardo’s capability in advanced batteries, power electronics and motors for electric vehicles.


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After months of preparation, 300 guests from Melbourne and across Australia were brought together by the avant-garde of Melbourne fashion and to support the Aids Trust of Australia.
Posts Tagged ‘Mini’
Thanks to Bib Stillwell MINI Garage, a lucky guest at FASHIONCONNECT MSFW will win a new MINI Demonstrator for a weekend. Simply rock up!
The CATWALKTHEATRE door prize is a weekend in a new MINI Demonstrator from Bib Stillwell MINI Garage – one of Australia’s most efficient cars with ultra low emissions.


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If you drive a Range Rover or a Land Rover, you’re at a pretty high risk of having it stolen…but also of having it recovered and returned. So says stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) expert Tracker’s latest data. In fact, the top three SVR vehicles are all Range Rovers: the Sport, Vogue and Autobiography.
Then come the BMW X5, various Mercs and Land Rovers and more Beemers. Here at NTK Motors we note they’re all posh. But the full report makes interesting reading here www.Tracker.co.uk
To be honest, we don’t know what to make of this report. If you run one of these big cars, should you be more worried because it’s got a decent chance of being nicked? Or should you sit back and wait for it to come home again?
Chris Wain, Head of Police Liaison for Tracker, said that most premium 4x4s are prime targets for thieves: “Range Rover and other Land Rover models have always featured in our top ten most stolen and recovered league table in the last 10 years, as has the BMW X5 which has slipped from 2nd to 4th position in 2020. However, most premium 4×4 cars are hot targets, with car thieves stealing to order, often shipping them abroad or stripping them for parts in a chop shop to meet the growing demand for spare parts.”


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Microsoft Surface barely registers
Tablet set to hit more stores soon
Updated 3:25 pm, Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Microsoft's new Surface tablet is hardly showing up in Web traffic, according to a new report.
Surface, launched Oct. 26, accounted for just 0.13 percent of tablet Web traffic in the U.S. and Canada between Nov. 12 and 18, online advertising and data firm Chitika reported Tuesday. Google, which launched its Nexus 7 tablet in July, followed by the larger Nexus 10 Nov. 13, had 0.91 percent of tablet traffic. (That's a lot more than Surface, although still not much to brag about. Apple's iPad dominates.)
"Microsoft will need these usage figures to improve in order to attract substantial levels of developer interest for the Surface and broaden its app ecosystem," Chitika wrote. "However, a clearer picture of the device's longer-term prospects will emerge following Christmas day, as tablets purchased for the holiday, including the Surface Pro, are put into use."
Another factor is that Microsoft has so far been selling Surface only at its website and stores. That's reportedly set to change soon. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that Surfaces would be available at more stores in the U.S. and Australia starting in mid-December.
"Our plan has been to expand the retail presence for Surface after the first of the year. Based on interest from retailers, we are giving them the option to carry Surface with Windows RT even earlier," Steve Schueler, corporate vice president, Microsoft Retail Sales and Marketing, said in a news release.
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Staples announced that it will have Surfaces in stores as early as Wednesday.
As for the Surface Pro, it starts at $899, a price that many observers think will deter sales.
In fact, starting out sales only at its own website and stores and the price of the initial Surface ($499, without a keyboard cover) are two of the "depressing ways Microsoft screwed up the Surface launch," tech website BGR wrote Tuesday.
In both moves, Microsoft was copying Apple. But Microsoft doesn't have nearly the same reputation for mobile gadgets (or nearly as many stores), BGR noted. "Microsoft isn't anywhere close to Apple's level right now — it's hard to imagine glassy-eyed fans camping outside a Microsoft store overnight to be the first to use the newest Windows Phone 8 device."
Other mistakes: Not including the Touch Cover in the base price and "meh" specs.


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The National Rural Assembly last week urged the federal government to fully enforce anti-trust laws. The thinking among a lot of beef and pork producers is that markets — that is, prices! — are manipulated by the dwindling number of large companies that dominate the meat industry. That’s why some farm and ranch groups have strongly opposed the move by JBS Swift, the Brazilian beef processor, to buy both the National Beef Packing Co. of Kansas City and Virginia’s Smithfield Foods Inc.
This week Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl, a Democrat, wrote the Department of Justice saying he believed the purchases would further reduce competition in the meat industry. “By reducing the number of major buyers for ranchers’ cattle from five to three _ and in some regions even one or two _ this deal will give the remaining beef processors enormous buying power,” wrote Kohl, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights.
If the sale goes through, three companies — JBS Swift, Tyson and Cargill — would control 80 percent of the beef market.


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A clever Redditor spotted information that made him suspect something about Chrome and VR. Soon after, Google confirmed that Chrome will support Oculus Rift technology. This article explores how this happened and what this means for WebVR.
On April 18th, Redditor st6315 posted the following thread:
“Just found that Google Chrome Stable have a flag called ‘Oculus hardware support’”.
Other Redditors capitalized on this information and soon, Google released the news. They officially stated that Chrome’s desktop browser offers Oculus Rift web-based VR.
So what can you do with the Oculus Rift in Google Chrome?
True Discovery or A Publicity Stunt?
People often test unstable builds of Chrome’s web browser to find bugs and other issues. One has to wonder if Google did not intend for someone to “randomly” discover this update.
I’ll dispense with the “tin foil” talk; it is, after all, way less cool than what you can actually do in Chrome right now. Redditors from that same initial post tested out the capabilities.
Take Access Mars for instance: the normal page just has an “Enter 360” button. But, if you enable Oculus support in Chrome://flags, you get a different option.
For those readers who have their own Oculus headsets, see what you can do! Let me know in the comments since I, a poor plebian, do not have a true VR headset.
A Brief History of In-browser VR Support
Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome both showcased an immense interest in both VR and AR.
Google offers support for Daydream now along with Oculus Rift and, of course, Google Cardboard. Firefox supports the HTC Vive AND the Oculus Rift, as well as Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
Firefox offers WebVR experiences like A-Painter as opposed to Google’s offering. Of course, not much is known about Oculus Rift’s applications toward Chrome VR experiences.
Future Tech Recreates the Past
Google did recently partner with CyArk, a 3D laser-scanning nonprofit. Coined the Open Heritage Project, the two entities want to build VR versions of world wonders.
“With modern technology, we can capture these monuments in fuller detail than ever before, including the color and texture of surfaces alongside the geometry captured by the laser scanners with millimeter precision in 3D…” Chance Coughenour told The Verge.
He is a digital archaeologist with Google Arts and Culture which launched in 2011. But, so far, these new endeavors would only work with Oculus, Google Cardboard, and Daydream.
No one knows much regarding Chrome’s potential support for other VR platforms. But the continued support for WebVR development shows an eye toward the future.


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Driverless-car stocks are revving up for a record-breaking year. If you're on the hunt for a pure play on the trend, though, you're out of luck. There are essentially no publicly traded companies dealing exclusively in driverless cars. But at The Motley Fool, we're always on the lookout for creative investment angles. Here are three driverless-car stocks that let you invest in the technology, the car, and the data for the driverless-car revolution.
1. MobilEye -- The technology
MobilEye Co-Founder and CTO Amnon Shashua. Image source: BMW.
Jerusalem-based MobilEye (NYSE: MBLY) is as pure a play as they come for driverless-car stocks. It manufactures the cameras for advanced driver assistance systemsin approximately 220 car models. In July, MobilEye announced a partnership with BMW and Intel to develop an autonomous-vehicle platform by 2021. Just a month later, it went even further when it announced a partnership with auto supplier Delphi Automotive to develop a "plug-and-play" self-driving platform available for any automaker to adopt by 2017.
MobilEye seems to be poised for profit -- it just announced a 34% year-over-year quarterly revenue increase and prides itself on an asset-light business model. For investors, this signals both a buying opportunity and a valuation warning. Its stock jumped 27% after the recent news and has wavered back and forth over the past few years alongside industry-level bullishness and stock-specific announcements. Investors in MobilEye should be bullish on the commoditization of driverless technology and have a long-term perspective to weather the ups and downs that will probably continue.
2. Tesla Motors -- The car
Image source: Tesla Motors.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) is not a driverless-car stock, but it is vehement in its belief that automation is the automotive future. All its vehicles come equipped with Autopilot, a technology that Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk says will allow Teslas to drive themselves across the country by (hopefully) 2018. As a first major adopter of semi-autonomous driving, Tesla has experienced setbacks, most notably a driver fatality last May.
A Tesla Motors stock investment allows investors to get behind the wheel of an already-scaling semi-driverless carl, something that no other company can offer. But Tesla is also much more than a driverless-car stock. The company is, first and foremost, a (driver-filled) car company. Its recent $2 billion merger with SolarCity also makes it a solar company, an industry with substantial regulatory unknowns of its own. The company is betting on significant synergies by packaging solar rooftops with car sales, but these major moves have kept many investors on the fence about its future. For Tesla to make the driverless-car stock list, investors need to be sure they're bullish on its entire business.
3. Alphabet -- The data
Video source: Waymo via Youtube.
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), the parent company of Google, has been making major moves in the driverless-car space. The company has spent more than $60 million to bump humans out of the driver's seat, and last October, it announced that it had clocked a whopping 2 million road miles on its autonomous vehicles. Last month, Alphabet went a step further by redefining its automation efforts as a full-fledged spinoff business dubbed Waymo, rather than one of its prototype "moonshot" projects.
Alphabet and Waymo have made clear that they're not interested in car manufacturing, a hat tip to others such as BMW that are already well entrenched in this space. Instead, it will focus on taking what it's learned from its cute "panda car" prototypes and transferring it to commercial cars, such as the 100 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans that are set to join Waymo's fleet in early 2017. Waymo has a strong technological advantage over many competitors, but where it truly shines is its access to and refinement of data. Self-driving cars risk being aimless wanderers without enough information about their surroundings, and Alphabet has more information about the world than anyone else, and is continuing to learn how best to use it in the quest for an autonomous vehicle.
With an Alphabet investment, investors need to understand that driverless cars are not one slice of this company's pie -- they're a crumb. With Alphabet's $550 billion market cap, Waymo's minuscule $60 million fleet of pandas and minivans is not what this company's counting on to drive profits in the years to come. But Waymo is yet another example of how Alphabet is capitalizing on its core competitive advantage in ways that were not previously expected -- and if that's what you're interested in investing in, then Alphabet may be the driverless-car stock for you.
Pedal to the metal?
With driverless-car technology still in its infancy, it can be tempting to take a backseat to investing in this industry. But for risk-tolerant investors with a long-term perspective, getting in on the ground floor of a driverless-car stock might be the best way to snag major returns in the years to come, whether it's by investing in the technology, the car, or the data.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Justin Loiseau owns shares of Alphabet (A and C shares), and Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A and C shares), and Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Initial public offerings aren’t just startup success stories. The six IPOs we have our eye on this year tell us what’s so unique about the tech scene they grew out of: like payments unicorn Flutterwave from Nigeria, where fintech startups are taking over traditional and legacy industries, and Chinese social video and photo sharing platform Xiaohongshu, the latest in a long line of Chinese companies to seamlessly combine existing services, integrating e-commerce with an Instagram-like social video and photo app.
One thing we’re watching for in 2022? More IPOs outside of the U.S. After Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi delisted from the NYSE in December, the next crop of successful Chinese companies are expected to list in Hong Kong or Shanghai rather than New York. And last year, exchanges from Mumbai to Jakarta revamped their rules in the hopes of attracting more high-profile floats.
From a fintech giant in Africa to a resurgent wellness platform in Latin America, these are some of the most interesting companies outside the West likely to go for an IPO in 2022.
Founders: Kevin Aluwi, William Tanuwijaya
Key Investors: Tencent, Temasek, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Expected valuation: $25–$30 billion
If 2021 was the year of a record-breaking boom for Indonesian IPOs, 2022 is the year to shine for homegrown unicorns. And the candidate leading the list is behemoth super company GoTo, born from the merger of ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek and e-commerce site Tokopedia. GoTo has plans for a listing in Jakarta as early as the first quarter this year — at a whopping $30 target valuation. A secondary offering in the U.S. is expected to follow later in the year. GoTo closed a $1.3 billion pre-IPO fundraising round in November 2021 that included a star-studded cast of international investors, like Tencent, Temasek, Google, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Though last year was an unparalleled one for Indonesian listings, including an IPO for online shopping giant Bukalapak, the country’s first homegrown unicorn, the story isn’t all rosy. Bukalapak’s stocks crashed just days later. The country’s growing ranks of retail investors, many of whom are newcomers, complained about overinflated expectations and misleading information on social media. The online hype cycle hasn’t stopped dozens of other Indonesian companies from advancing plans to go public this year, like PT Global Digital Niaga (the parent company of e-commerce site Blibli) and share-trading platform Ajaib.
Founders: Felipe Villamarín, Sebastián Mejía, Simón Borrero
Key investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Vision Fund
Funding raised to date: $2.7 billion
Although Colombia’s last-mile delivery unicorn suffered from layoffs in 2020 and was dogged by complaints of poor service last year, growing reliance on delivery during the coronavirus pandemic ultimately gave a huge boost to Rappi. The company raised over $500 million in funding during 2021. Capitalizing on that momentum, one of the company’s executives told reporters at a conference last year that the SoftBank-backed startup would look to an IPO in the first half of 2022, though company representatives said that was only the executive expressing his personal feelings.
Rappi currently operates in nine countries and is valued at over $5 billion. Rappi depends on more than 150,000 contractors, many of whom are Venezuelan migrants, to not only deliver goods like groceries but also to offer what it calls “whims” and “favors”, which include services like selecting and delivering gifts. The delivery giant already offers some financial services in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Chile and has plans to expand into full banking services.
The pandemic e-commerce boom already fueled Colombia’s first book-building in nearly a decade, when warehousing and logistics company LatAm Logistic Properties last year filed for the country’s first IPO since 2002. Though the loss of its investment-grade rating may have dampened prospects for listings on the BVC, the country’s growing e-commerce unicorns could help it begin to bounce back.
Founders: Cesar Carvalho, João Barbosa
Key investors: General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund
Funding raised to date: $525 million
The NYC-headquartered, Brazil-founded B2B wellness startup initially struggled during the pandemic as gymgoers stayed home. But with vaccinations on the rise, 2021 saw Gympass bounce back stronger than ever, beating pre-pandemic numbers with 4 million monthly check-ins across its network and expanding offerings across Mexico and the U.S.
The SoftBank-backed company is like ClassPass for businesses, which pay a flat rate for their employees to have their pick of wellness plans that encompass physical and mental health, sleep, and nutrition. Gympass is now valued at over $2 billion, putting it in the ballpark of Brazilian neobank Nubank, which became Latin America’s most valuable financial firm with its $41 billion listing on the NYSE in December 2021. In 2019, there were just four tech companies listed in Brazil. By mid-2021, that number was up to 16. The question for Gympass will be whether to continue the trend or follow the well-trodden path of pursuing a listing in the U.S.
Founders: Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola
Key investors: Y Combinator, Tiger Global
Minimum estimated valuation: $1 billion
In Nigeria, fintechs have dominated startup funding since 2019, when $350 million went to three fintechs in one week. Ever since, digital financial services companies have clamored to cater to the 36% of adults left out of the country’s formal financial system. Homegrown payments unicorn Flutterwave has done a series of partnerships to make payments easier, including investing in regional payments startups, like CinetPay, and a collaboration with PayPal, which allows merchants across Africa to receive payments from anywhere in the world. Nigerian pop star Wizkid, known for working alongside the likes of Drake and Beyoncé, also signed on as a brand ambassador.
While Flutterwave has been rumbling for nearly a year about a possible U.S. listing, digital payments in Nigeria have been surging, topping $256 billion in 2019. Lagos’ NGX also relaxed some rules last year in a bid to encourage more companies to consider listing there, though so far that hasn’t attracted many takers.
Founders: Nandan Reddy, Phani Kishan Addepalli, Rahul Jaimini, Sriharsha Majety
Key investors: Y Combinator, Tiger Global
Estimated valuation: $10.7 billion
Food delivery startup Swiggy shines bright among possible Indian IPO contenders this year. Last year, the Zomato competitor closed a $1.5 billion fundraising round, led by SoftBank’s Vision 2 Fund, and Masayoshi Son himself has expressed confidence that a Swiggy offering would deliver good returns. But if payment giant Paytm’s underwhelming post-listing performance is any indicator, it’s uncertain how many companies will hurry to put themselves out there with India’s stock market regulator’s new rules on the block.
After a flood of more than 100 companies, many of which remain unprofitable, rushed to list in Mumbai in 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) tightened restrictions in order to pump the brakes. Stars like beauty company Nykaa, food delivery giant Zomato, and payments platform Paytm grabbed headlines last year for their massive floats. But the rush to list wasn’t met by sustained excitement from shareholders: Anchor investors were previously required to hold onto their shares for one month post-IPO, and when their respective months were up, share prices for both Paytm and Zomato tumbled over 7%, as investors sold off. Now, SEBI says, anchor investors have to hold onto at least half their initial investments for a few months longer. But experts warn that public interest in flashy listings for still loss-making companies may be waning.
Founders: Charlwin Mao Wenchao, Miranda Qu
Key investors: GGV Capital, Tencent, Temasek, Alibaba
Expected valuation at IPO: $18 billion
Nowhere is e-commerce booming bigger than in China. Mainstay image-based social media platform Xiaohongshu — “Little Red Book” — enables shoppers not only to share curated images and lifestyle content but also to post product reviews. The company has become a top e-commerce destination and claims more than 200 million monthly active users and a valuation upward of $18 billion.
Since Chinese regulators ramped up scrutiny over firms listing overseas, requiring companies with data on over a million Chinese users to undergo a stringent security review, the Tencent- and Temasek-backed answer to Instagram is expected to list in Hong Kong rather than the U.S. Podcasting and audio content platform Ximalaya similarly rethought plans to go public in the U.S., opting for Hong Kong instead — the first in a string of high-profile Chinese IPOs that are expected to follow suit.
It’s a separation that’s been a long time in the making: on the U.S. side, the Securities and Exchange Commission has sought stricter oversight and access to Chinese companies listed in the U.S., and Chinese companies have had to jump through the hoops of structuring themselves as variable interest entities, in order to make an IPO outside China. The “mutual decoupling” achieves the regulatory aims of both Washington and Beijing, while also keeping the gains from the explosive growth of China’s tech scene firmly inside the country, harnessing the power of homegrown tech giants for domestic benefit.


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SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Apple said Thursday that it will quadruple the number of outlets in the United States where customers can send their iPhone to be disassembled by its recycling robot, Daisy.
As part of expanded recycling programs, Apple will increase the number of the locations, including Best Buy stores throughout the country, to help U.S. customers drop their old iPhones for recycling.
Daisy will disassemble used iPhones returned to the Best Buy stores or KPN retailers in the Netherlands, and the customers can also turn in their mobile devices at any Apple Store or through apple.com as part of the Apple Trade-In program, said the company.
About 1 million old iPhones have been returned through Apple programs and each Daisy can disassemble 1.2 million devices per year, Apple said.
The Cupertino, California-based company refurbished more than 7.8 million Apple devices and helped divert over 48,000 metric tons of electronic waste from landfills in 2018.
Daisy is able to disassemble 15 different iPhone models at the rate of 200 per hour, Apple said.
Meanwhile, Apple also launched a new, 9,000-square-foot (about 836 square meters) Material Recovery Lab based in Austin, Texas, to explore future recycling processes.
The lab will look for innovative solutions involving robotics and machine learning to improve on traditional methods like targeted disassembly, sorting and shredding, said Apple.
The U.S. tech giant is investing actively in recycling programs to push for an environmentally-friendly and sustainable industry.
Apple said it is using 100 percent recycled tin in a key component of the main logic boards of 11 different products at its manufacturing plants, and the production of its new MacBook Air and Mac mini has halved the emissions of carbon dioxide due to the adoption of recycled aluminum.
"Advanced recycling must become an important part of the electronics supply chain, and Apple is pioneering a new path to help push our industry forward," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.
Also on Thursday, Apple released its 2019 Environment Report that outlines its climate change solutions ahead of the Earth Day, which falls on April 22.
Apple said 44 of its suppliers have committed to 100 percent renewable energy for their production of Apple products.


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NEW YORK — Dunkin’ is thinking about dumping “Donuts” from its name. A new location of the chain in Pasadena, California, will be simply called Dunkin’, a move that parent company Dunkin’ Brands Inc. calls a test. The Canton, Massachusetts-based company said Thursday that a few other stores will get the one-name treatment too. The...
NYS Entity Status
NYS Filing Date
DECEMBER 09, 2013
NYS DOS ID#
NYS Entity Type
DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
2013 - NASH-MARTIN INC.
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is pressing TransUnion and Experian to explain what cybersecurity they have in place to protect sensitive consumer information following a recent breach at Equifax that exposed the data of 143 million Americans.In letters to executives at the two credit monitoring companies, the Democratic attorney general asked them to describe their existing security systems as well as what changes they've made since the Equifax cyberattack."The unprecedented data breach experienced by Equifax Inc.
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Singapore, Singapore, November 23, 2020, // ChainWire //
Blockchain based rewards platform StormX has released a seasonal promotion for its award-winning Crypto Cash Back app. The promotion allows app users to earn a 50% bonus on top of their cashback between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday (November 26-30).
StormX has also introduced a brand new staking service, which allows users to earn an extra 50% per year when they deploy STMX tokens. The StormX ecosystem’s native ERC20 token, STMX, has a total stock of 10 billion and is available for trading on many of the world’s top exchanges, including Binance and Bittrex.
“As the price of Bitcoin nears its all-time high, interest in cryptocurrencies has renewed, although some people think it is now too expensive to buy,” said Simon Yu, CEO and Co-Founder of StormX. “What we have done is create an easy way for such individuals to collect bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies through everyday shopping.
“We are also excited to provide users with the opportunity to earn greater rewards simply by betting their tokens.”
Since the StormX mobile app launched its store feature with more than 700 stores in February 2020, around 400,000 unique users have been added to the rewards platform. StormX has also witnessed revenue growth of more than 50% month-on-month. The app is available for download from the App and Google Play Stores and can be downloaded as a browser add-on from the Chrome Web Store.
By upgrading to a higher reward level like Diamond it is possible to earn up to 2.5x more Crypto Cash Back (21% on eBay vs 6% for example). Users can shop at hundreds of participating stores, including Nike, eBay, Adidas, Target, Walmart, GameStop and Samsung, and earn rewards from their choice of six cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, LTC, DAI, YFI or STMX.
StormX is a blockchain-based marketplace where customers can collect cash back rewards paid in cryptocurrency. StormX provides users with an easy way to earn digital currency and partners with hundreds of major retailers, including Nike, Samsung and Target. Crypto Cash Back rewards range from 0.5% to 87.5%, and users are also free to bet their tokens to earn nice returns.


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The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) members are gearing up for the 18th edition of Intersec from 17-19 January 2016 in Dubai
As the trade association representing the UK’s private security industry, BSIA forges productive links between UK security companies and overseas buyers including ones in the Middle East.
Underlining the importance of the Middle East region to member companies, the BSIA’s export council conducted its annual ‘State of the Nation’ survey, which considers global export trends.
This year’s survey revealed that there continues to be a high demand for British security products and services with 60 per cent of respondents citing an increase in overseas business during 2015, and a further 30 per cent stating that the level of business had remained the same.
Overseas trade are expected to grow in 2016 with a clear focus on the Middle East as an important market for the UK’s security sector. Almost half of all respondents identified the Middle East as the single most important target market and 80 per cent of respondents are looking to increase their level of business in the region next year.
Daren Wood, membership and export services manager at BSIA, said, “The UK enjoys a positive international reputation when it comes to the provision of security products and services, in part due to the innovation which has become synonymous with the UK’s security industry.
“Over half of the respondents to this year’s survey attended Intersec in 2015, which reflects the clear importance that this region has for UK security exporters and the pivotal role that Intersec plays in helping UK businesses to forge productive trade links with buyers in the Middle East.”
BSIA members exhibiting at Intersec this year include Remsdaq, RGL Electronics, GJD Manufacturing Ltd, Storm-AXS, Texecom Ltd, among others.
As a UKTI approved trade organisation (ATO), the BSIA is responsible for facilitating the UK Pavilion at Intersec 2016 bringing together a number of UK companies to promote the ‘Great Britain’ brand. The UK Pavilion will form a focal point for overseas buyers that want to buy the quality, innovative security products that the UK is globally renowned for.
Stand No: S1-E46


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First announced in January, Take-Two has announced that the acquisition has now been finalized, which means Zynga is now officially a Take-Two owned company.
Shortly after the Zynga acquisition was announced earlier this year, Zelnick said that Zynga will help bring Take-Two’s most popular core franchises to mobile devices.
One of the biggest deals of that batch – especially when you take its financial aspects into consideration – is Take-Two Interactive’s acquisition of Zynga.
“We are excited for Zynga’s next-generation mobile platform, free-to-play expertise, diverse offering of games and incredible team to join the Take-Two family,” said Frank Gibeau, CEO of Zynga.
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Savvy Consumers Demand Faster Response Times for Quotes
In another interesting finding, the survey revealed dealers believe that consumers are expecting ever faster response times on requests for quotes. Whereas in 2009, 46 percent of respondents believed their customers sought a price quote in 10 minutes or less, 67 percent of respondents (an increase of 45 percent) believe consumers will have this expectation in 2010. A whopping 96 percent of respondents say that car shoppers in 2010 will be unwilling to wait more than one hour for a quote.
“Today, the internet has empowered consumers to expect instantaneous information at their fingertips. Car shoppers demand information that is comprehensive, detailed and directly responsive to the questions they posed,” said Tom Mohr, CEO of ResponseLogix. “Our customers realize that by creating a favorable first impression with the car buyer, they will jump ahead of their competitors, increasing sales at their expense.”
Some 41 percent more dealers predicted that internet sales will represent at least 30 percent of their business during 2010 as compared to their 2009 sales. Looking into 2010, 49 percent of respondents project that sales will comprise over 30 percent of their total car sales as compared to only 35 percent who indicated that internet sales represent one third of their business last year.
Auto dealers stated in written comments that the most important challenges facing them this year include converting more leads into sales, realizing better results from the internet, and staying ahead of their competition.
About ResponseLogix, Inc.
ResponseLogix is a pioneer in the emerging category of Digital Response Management (DRM), leading the industry with a marketing solution suite that enables dealers to maximize sales from internet leads. ResponseLogix helps dealers solve the top three challenges facing their internet sales departments: the speed and quality of the initial response to internet leads, the impact and consistency of ongoing follow-up, and the effectiveness of the internet team’s live communication with the customer. No other solution provides dealers with a proven, robust marketing solution that delivers such significant increases in the conversion of internet leads to sales.
ResponseLogix delivers software as a service (SaaS) technology to auto dealers that engages the customer early in the car buying process and then propels them toward purchase. SmartQuote® delivers a relevant quote response within 10 minutes of internet lead receipt 95% of the time. SmartFollow® automatically follows-up and reactivates leads if the customer doesn’t buy right away. SmartFacts® delivers powerful analytics to help optimize the performance of Internet sales departments. ResponseLogix products are available in 40 US markets for Toyota, Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Lexus, Audi, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti and Hyundai dealers across the US. Additional OEM’s will be supported soon. Additional information is available at http://www.responselogix.com.


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(CNNMoney) Stashed in desk drawers, the tops of dressers, under refrigerator magnets and in piles of accumulated scrap paper lie millions of winning lottery tickets worth billions of dollars.
Brett Jacobson knows that better than anyone.
The creator of a smart phone app that alerts people if they have a winning lottery ticket, Jacobson filed public records requests with lottery commissions around the country to find out just how many prizes go unclaimed.
The total is astonishing: $2.04 billion went unclaimed in 2013 alone. Since each state runs its own lottery independently, the nationwide total had been a mystery until now. Lottery officials have estimated in the past that unclaimed prizes nationwide might approach $800 million annually.
Most of the winning tickets are worth only a couple of bucks, maybe $50 or $100 each. Many are $2 or $4 winners. But there are plenty of tickets worth thousands, even $1 million or more that never are turned in.
And Jacobson says that the annual total is likely to only grow larger.
“They’re selling more and more lottery tickets every year,” he said. “People don’t even realize there are secondary prizes.”
Jacobson said he decided to create the app when he and a group of friends rounded up a bunch of old lottery tickets and took them down to the corner store to see if they had any winners.
“We had something like $200 in winning tickets. But all but $51 of that had already expired. That was the impetus,” he said.
The app, Lotto Lotto, allows lottery players to take a picture of their tickets in order to record their numbers. If the lottery was already held, it’ll let them know of any prize on the ticket. If the drawing hasn’t happened yet, the app will send an alert if it’s a winner.
The app is free. Jacobson makes money with payments from retailers who sell lottery tickets. The app tells users where they can buy tickets, and can also alert them when jackpots reach a level at which they’ll want to buy a ticket. And the retailers also benefit when the apps’ users find out about a winning ticket, Jacobson said.
“The retailers and even the state lotteries want people to cash in secondary prizes,” said Jacobson. “You’re not going to take $4 and go home. You going to buy more tickets.”


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The 7-inch tablet wars just got serious. After the Nexus 7 got compared (in what I think were less than key areas) to the iPad Mini at the Apple’s event last week, now Amazon has flexed its muscle, pitting its Kindle Fire HD against the iPad Mini on its very homepage.
The online retailer has put up a big ad right on its homepage saying “Much more for much less” and made a comparison of its own 7-inch Kindle Fire HD against the iPad Mini, highlighting the display resolution, pixels per inch and most importantly – the price.
Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos looks eager not to allow Apple to steal its thunder right before the holiday Christmas season and, as demonstrated above, is prepared to do what it takes. Samsung did a similar trick with its Tab series of tablets once highlighting how its products compare to to the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s tablets, and later against the iPad 3
Source | Via


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By Sanjit Gill, General Manager, ICLP
While many of us have been busy preparing our summer getaways, one retail event has been dominating the conversation across Europe and North America. Unsurprisingly, it comes from the world’s biggest online retailer, Amazon. Launched in 2015, Prime Day has grown to become one of the biggest one-day retail events ever. Designed to celebrate those shoppers who have signed up to Amazon’s Prime membership program, Prime Day saw a 60% percent sales growth compared to 2016.
It’s time for retailers in the UAE to take note, not least because of Amazon’s recent purchase of Souq.com.
The question is whether or not Amazon’s acquisition will mean that aspects of Prime Day, if not the day itself, are brought to the market here in the UAE. Souq.com has already shown that there is an appetite amongst shoppers for event-based sales, having made a huge success of White Friday and selling 1.2 million items in the biggest online sale the Middle East has ever seen. This makes it clear that UAE shoppers want the same excitement and passion from their brands as consumers elsewhere.
One of the biggest successes of Prime Day in the UK and US was Amazon’s ability to identify what their customers want, and to deliver them the deals and discounts that best suit their level of interaction with the brand. Through its Prime subscription service, Amazon hit upon a way to integrate shoppers into their ecosystem at all levels. This includes better deals and free delivery, but also means better features from other Amazon products, including their Fire tablets, Echo smart speakers, and IoT connected Dash Buttons. Having one enhances ownership of the next, and consumers are encouraged to make that ‘next best’ purchase.
What Prime Day has done so successfully is accelerate this integration. By offering the best deals to Prime members (as well as a hefty discount on Prime membership itself), Amazon was able to add more new Prime subscribers in North America and Europe on this year’s Prime Day than on any other single 24 hour period. However, it didn’t stop there. Exclusive discounts were also offered to those who had Amazon Echo speakers and made their order using voice command. The customer journey has always been in place, but what Prime Day did was add that sense of excitement and urgency. For those customers on the fence, Prime Day was the perfect excuse to take their relationship with Amazon to the next level.
So the question is whether this model can be replicated by brands here in the UAE and whether Souq.com will now be the brand to lead this change. As already mentioned, one approach is to take an existing holiday or buying event and put your own spin on it, as Souq.com achieved with White Friday.
However, one factor that might be holding back Amazon from launching its Prime Day in the UAE and across the Middle East might be that it has not yet identified the best way to fit its global event into the wider shopping calendar. In Europe and North America, holding Prime Day in July means that Amazon has the space to itself when it comes to retail. Traditionally not the busiest time of the year for shopping, Amazon has been able to carve out its own niche and create a new reason to shop at a time of year when people had traditionally been saving up for their summer holidays. Currently, though, Prime Day would fall during Ramadan, which is already a busy time for the retail sector. Amazon would be launching its flagship event during the time of stiffest competition.
Whether or not Prime Day arrives here, it has presented a model of success when it comes to building very real excitement amongst the most loyal customers. Prime Day is presented as more than just a sale. Instead, it’s seen as a celebration of Amazon customers. Shoppers want to feel passion for the brands that they interact with, whether it’s through unique and interesting offers, or by limiting the time they’re available and creating a sense of satisfaction from bagging a bargain.
Importantly too, Amazon used Prime Day to not just offer great deals to the existing Prime membership, but also to sign up many more new members. Retailers here in the UAE should certainly take note and make sure that they use their own tactical campaigns as a vehicle to sign up new members, as well as recognize and reward their existing base. Meanwhile, retailers must ensure that not all customers are treated the same, and that those that are most valuable and loyal are rewarded the most, with things that they will truly value on an individual level.
Not every retailer can or should be like Amazon either. Brands that understand their customers here in the UAE will do better than those that try a one-size-fits all approach. Then again, Amazon is able to build such strong and loyal ties with its customers because it is seen as useful and exciting, and particularly for Prime subscribers, able to deliver faster, easier, and cheaper than anyone else. Other retailers need to consider whether their loyalty strategies are really improving customer experiences and deepening the devotion between shopper and brand. The online retailing market is changing and being left behind is no longer an option.


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A New York Times column this week took on the subject of etiquette for customers and salespeople.
I had a strange and interesting shopping experience in recent weeks that made me think a lot about missed opportunities, customers who walk, and the importance of sales training and role playing, even with seasoned sales associates.
Over the past year or so, it’s occurred to me that, with all these futuristic fabrics flooding the runways, jewelry accessorizing may wind up being a less-is-more matter. And that’s exactly what happened Sunday at the 56th annual Grammy Awards. On the music industry’s big night--an event that often means “a night of a thousand fashion faux pas”—those who were best-dressed were wearing heavy metal designs . . . yet, they were light on the jewelry.
Do you ever have the sense, as you’re living it, that an experience has the power to change your perspective completely? My first full day in Africa was like that.


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Tim Cook, the CEO of one of the world’s biggest Companies and iconic brand Apple is one of the highest profile LGBT public figures to be Out.
In an interview with CNN this week, He stated that 'Being gay is God’s greatest gift to me’. With so many issues affecting LGBT people, it is heart-warming to see a top business leader making such a statement which can be a support for others wishing to come out.
Tim Cook explained his decision to ‘come out’ and explained that he came out after seeing messages from children who were being discriminated against because of their sexuality, leading him to feel like he needed to help them. “I [went] public because I began to receive stories from kids who read something online that I was gay, and they were going through being bullied, feeling like their family didn’t love them, being pushed out of their home, very close to suicide — things that just really pulled my heart,” he said.
Let’s hope more such forward-thinking business leaders, especially in our region, will support the LGBT Community.