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Industrial electrical equipment maker Eaton (NYS: ETN) missed Street expectations for its bottom line in the most recent quarter and earnings estimates for 2012. However, once you look beyond these figures, Eaton does look like a potential long-term outperformer. Here's why...
A peek at the numbers
In the fourth quarter, Eaton's sales increased to $4 billion, a decent 10% rise compared to last year. However, earnings of $1.08 per share fell short of analyst estimates of $1.11 per share.
Sales were soft on account of weak demand for Eaton's electrical products across U.S., Europe, and China. While weakness in its home market is attributable to the delay in major shipments, the company's international sales declined 6% affected by the European debt crisis and China's reduced spending.
Lower sales were partially offset by improved operational efficiencies, and profits rose 29% to $362 million in the quarter on a year-on-year basis. While the company is effectively managing costs, top-line growth may be a drag on the bottom line in the short term.
China slowing, not yet
Because of inflationary pressures in China, the government is curbing credit in the country, which has hurt the sales of several U.S. companies that have invested in China. For instance, industrial conglomerate 3M (NYS: MMM) recently saw a dip in its consumer electronics segment primarily related to China-based sales. While China may be slowing, it is still growing at a substantial 8.1%, and most companies expect sales to rebound in the second half of 2012.
U.S. on the rebound
Things are looking up on the home front, too. Non-residential construction in the U.S. is picking up on higher demand for new projects, and increased passenger traffic is pushing volumes in commercial aerospace. Eaton also expects strong demand in its hydraulic and automotive segments in the near future.
With international sales expected to stabilize and U.S. sales on the rebound, Eaton's future still looks bright, and I think the company is well-positioned to exploit the upcoming opportunities. What do you think?
Add Eaton to Your Watchlist to stay updated on all the Foolish analysis for this stock. It's free!
At the time thisarticle was published Navjot Kaur does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this article. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of 3M. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a diagonal call position in 3M. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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News & Events
An African trade delegation led by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is in Belarus for four days of discussions and negotiations targeting strengthened trade between Belarus and African countries.
Minsk, 22 June 2016: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the financing and promotion of trade between African countries and Belarus.
Minsk, 22 June 2016: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is ready to set aside $400 million as part of a programme to finance and promote trade between African countries and Belarus, the President, Dr. Benedict Oramah, has announced in Minsk.
UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador and CEO of the Made in Africa Initiative Helen Hai said today that Africa had a good chance to attract most of the 85 million jobs that will be relocated out of China in the coming years.
News & Events
STATEMENT OF JEAN-LOUIS EKRA, PRESIDENT AFREXIMBANK ON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING CEREMONY OF A USD 50 MILLION SYNDICATED FACILITY IN FAVOUR OF ZAMBIAN MINING SERVICES COMPANIES AND A USD 80 MILLION SYNDICATED FACILITY IN FAVOUR OF EXPORT FUND OF ZAMBIA
The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act has not benefited small and medium enterprises since its inception, despite boosting trade between the United States and Africa. Agoa, which was incepted in 2000 by the US Congress to facilitate trade between the US and Africa, has only increased volumes of trade, according to a senior Leon Sullivan Foundation official.

domain: news


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Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, paid out over $16 billion in 2006 “bonuses” to its employees, with over $50 million going to its Chairman alone. Pfizer, the drug company, paid a “severance package” of $200 million to its just-resigned chief executive. Many other large corporations acted similarly. All this is legal, given the laws and rules that corporations win from their political “allies.” Indeed, the latest ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allows corporations to obscure what they pay top executives (the New York Times, December 27, 2006, page C1, called it “a victory for corporations”).
The real costs of such executive payouts are immense. One such cost is suggested by what the executives themselves say when they explain their opposition to workers’ wage increases. Then they argue that, if wages were raised, it would inevitably require the prices of what those workers produce to also rise, thereby hurting consumers in the end. The executives position themselves as guardians of consumers’ interests against the workers’ “unreasonable demands” for wage increases. If one accepts this logic, it must then apply as well to executives’ pay packages. The billions paid out to executives will likewise “inevitably require prices to rise.” Put simply, the companies that pay billions to top executives will do everything they can to recoup those payouts by charging more to their customers and thus ultimately to consumers. We all pay for those executives’ money grabs.
Yet we pay in more ways than just higher prices. When the companies that hire an investment bank like Goldman Sachs have to pay huge fees (needed to enable the “bonuses”), it hurts those companies’ profits. They will respond by trying not only to raise their prices to consumers but also to save on their other costs. Similarly, companies like Pfizer will try to offset the cost of their huge executive payouts by not only raising their prices but also saving on their production costs. Cost reductions have been achieved by shifting from full to part-time work, from regular to “temp” employees, from union to non-union workforces, and from US to foreign workers. Thus, high executive payouts mean, for most of the rest of us, lower incomes and fewer jobs as well as higher prices.
We also suffer the consequences of high executive payouts in still other ways. The billions paid out by corporations in bonuses and severance packages for top executives are billions not spent on other things. For example, those billions could have been spent to improve technology, invent new products, provide training to raise workers’ productivity, and in other ways grow these corporations and make them more globally competitive. One reason why most capitalist corporations in other countries do not pay their executives as much as US corporations do is that they are more focused on competitive growth. In the long run, such trends also threaten US workers as a whole.
The costs of huge executive payouts are neither corrected nor compensated by our political system, as the SEC decision mentioned above shows. Where once the top income tax bracket — that affected chiefly the sorts of huge incomes now grabbed by executives — was 91%, in recent decades it has been more like 35 %. The rich got the tax laws changed to allow them to keep more of the payouts they arrange for themselves. Changed tax laws have thus been an immense incentive for executives to grab as much as possible now before mass opposition might once again drive the top tax brackets back up to where they once were.
The executives learned from US history. In the final decades of the nineteenth century, leaders of corporations took huge payouts to establish huge fortunes. One reaction was the passage of an income tax law in 1910 aimed exclusively at only the richest Americans. Those richest Americans quickly developed a counter-strategy to change the new income tax law. They succeeded and thereby spread the burden of the income tax across the entire population, which eventually undermined popular support for the income tax. In a burst of income tax opposition around the time of Reagan’s presidency, the richest Americans got another tax law change — tax cuts — giving them by far the biggest tax break. And so, very predictably, the zoom-up in executive pay packages took off to reach the record 2006 numbers.
All of which makes one wonder which of the following three scenarios will best describe what happens in the next few years. Perhaps the divisions separating the rich from the middle and poor will expand even further, with all the social consequences that flow from growing inequalities. It is worth pondering the implications of having 15 million Americans who earned the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour for 40 hours per week in 2006 struggling alongside the “bonus” of Goldman, Sachs chairman which works out to be $6,096 per hour for 24 hours a day, 7 days per week (the New York Times, December 24, 2006). As a second possibility, the Democratic gains last November might revive demands to limit executive grabs by new tax and other laws. As a third conceivable scenario, Americans may learn from history to suspect that a new set of laws will be as easily undone or evaded by corporations and their executives as the last set was. Then they will have to consider more basic changes in how enterprises are organized and run, who makes the basic decisions, and what are the ultimate goals for the production of goods and services and the incomes generated from that production.
Rick Wolff is Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the author of many books and articles, including (with Stephen Resnick) Class Theory and History: Capitalism and Communism in the U.S.S.R. (Routledge, 2002) and (with Stephen Resnick) New Departures in Marxian Theory (Routledge, 2006).


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Allen Iverson announced last week that he was retiring from the NBA after 15 seasons. Now sources claim he is heading back to the Philadelphia 76ers. If this is true, that’ll be the quickest comeback from retirement since Jay-Z’s retirement from rap.
Heads Up!! R. Kelly’s New Album’Untitled” drops today……. He’s teamed up with R&B singers Robin Thicke, The Dream and Tyrese for a new single titled “Pregnant”. Kelly recently told radio personality D-J Skee that the album is “pure excitement and pure truth. It’s grown up, it’s sexy… I’ve updated the whole [R. Kelly] brand.”
R. Kelly, who was acquitted in his highly publicized child-molestation case last year — said, “I’ve been laying low to go high. I’ve been watching over the whole industry, sitting in the stands watching the show so I can go back to the lab and do what I gotta do so I can get back on the stage.”
Zac Posen, the 29 year old fashion designer who dresses Hollywood’s major players, is creating a line for Target next spring. The collection will be available at most stores and online at Target.com from April 25 through May 30, according to WWD.com.
Target won’t cite prices yet, but previous Go series collections have ranged from $14.99 to $149.99. Posen’s own luxurious collection runs from $900 to $12,000 (like the infamous green dress Beyonce once wore). He charges up to $20,000 for custom pieces. Not bad for a 29 yr. old huh?
T-Pain and Smokey Robinson will be among the presenters on tomorrow’s Grammy Nominations Concert Live telecast. Maxwell and The Black Eyed Peas were previously announced as performers on the show, which airs live from L-A’s Club Nokia at 9 p-m [ET/PT] on C-B-S. L-L Cool J will host.
50 Cent says leaks and bad timing are to blame for the lackluster first-week sales of his latest disc, Before I Self Destruct, which moved only about 160-thousand copies.
Speaking with a satellite radio show last week, he said, “I look at the numbers and am like, ‘What is this?’ I’ve already assessed that the album has been out a month before its actual release period [which was prompted by an online leak]. So when you got that, you go, ‘Well, what did you actually expect?’”
Still it’s got to be a blow to his ego — since 2003, 50 has consistently opened atop the Billboard 200 albums chart with sales of no less than 500-thousand copies.
50′s rivals are taking the opportunity to rub it in his face. At a recent concert for D-J Khaled’s birthday, Rick Ross told the crowd, “We’re celebrating [50's] demise. R-I-P to the donkey, we buried him.”
Speaking of albums, Sony confirms that Sade is in fact prepping a new disc, Soldier of Love, set for release February 8th. The follow-up to the band’s last effort, Lovers Rock, is their first new offering in a decade. It’s only Sade’s sixth studio album in a 25 year career. She’s been M.I.A. for almost a decade.
Lovers Rock reached number-three on the Billboard 200
After announcing that Usher’s Raymond Vs. Raymond album would be arriving early, Jive now says the disc is being delayed with no new date in place. A label rep explains to Billboard, “This is a solid album that we believe in. We want to give it a proper launch.”
Timbaland enlisted Drake for “Say Something” off his new album. Here’s the snippet of the upcoming video featuring the fellas.
Robin Thicke and wife Paula Patton are settling on names for their first child. Thicke tells People, “We like Julian if it’s a boy and Isabella if it’s a girl.” The baby is due in May.
50 Cent and Taco Bell have settled a suit the rapper filed last year. 50 sued Taco Bell for a million dollars in damages for using his name and likeness, saying the fast-food chain made him the “star of a nationwide campaign” without his permission. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Newlyweds Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, who tied the knot in September after a quickie courtship, have purchased a luxe new love nest, according to People.com. It’s in Mulholland Park Estates in Tarzana, Calif., and quite the starter home — one with seven bedrooms and nine-bathroom homes tucked inside a gated community. The price? Nearly $4 million, a rep for Kardashian confirmed. The house’s perks include include a pool with a spa, waterfall and cabanas, parking for 15 cars, a home theater, steam room, gym, guest quarters and fully landscaped gardens.
Filmmaker Tyler Perry has donated $1 million to the NAACP to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the civil rights organization. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says the gift announced Monday is the largest donation from an individual in the organization’s history. It will be distributed over four years.
Just for laughs, check out this Maury show parody of Lil Wayne & Lauren London…..
Pleasure P was in Chicago the other day at the radio station with Eddie Murphy’s daughter, Bria Murphy. When asked about their relationship status, Pleasure said that the two were just “close friends”…in the words of Bizmarkie “But you say she’s just a friend, but you say she’s just a friend, oh babeee youuuu…”
For the record, Pleasure let it be known that he DID meet Eddie Murphy and that Eddie gave the two “FRIENDS” his blessing.
With little over a month to go, Mary J. Blige is making one last change to her album title. Her ninth studio album will now go by the name “Stronger With Each Tear,” due December 22.
Also look for the Queen of Hip Hop Soul to perform at Sunday’s American Music Awards.
Gucci Mane was sentenced to 12 months in Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail on November 12 due to a probation violation. He’ll be eligible for release in six months or less. Gucci has issued the following statement in response to his legal troubles:
“I have accepted full responsibility for my actions and I am ready to deal with what is in front of me right now. Thankfully, my label is still moving forward with my album release so I will have plenty to look forward to when I get out. I am remaining positive and want my fans to know that I am grateful for their loyalty and continued support. I will get through this.”
Despite his recent incarceration, Gucci Mane is still pushing forward with plans to release his new album “The State vs. Radric Davis” on December 8. The album, includes the hit single “Spotlight” featuring Usher, plus collaborations with Keyshia Cole, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy Tell’em, Keri Hilson, and more.


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Survey looks at downtown parking
Okotoks: Town considering issue
By: Don Patterson
| Posted: Wednesday, Oct 09, 2013 06:00 am
Businesses and residents who frequent Okotoks’ downtown core in the downtown have the chance to provide input on possible changes to parking in the core including paid parking and additional more enforcement on parking limits.
The Town of Okotoks is conducting an online survey of the state of downtown parking as part of a broader study of the issue.
Okotoks planner Colin Gainer said the survey is intended to help identify areas where there may be problems with parking in the downtown area and find potential solutions.
“It’s to kind of get a sense, firstly, if they have a concern or see concerns with downtown parking and to comment on possible strategies that have been suggested,” he said.
The study covers the core of the downtown area, including the Elizabeth/McRae/North Railway Street corridor and Elma Street between Northridge Drive and Lineham Avenue.
The survey is available through the Town’s website at www.okotoks.ca, with one survey geared towards residents and one to businesses. The survey asks residents and business owners about particular challenges they experience and their opinion on various suggestions, including increased enforcement, paid parking or building more parking lots or a parkade. The deadline to respond is Oct. 18 and the results will be presented to town council later this year, or early 2014.
The survey is part of a larger analysis of parking in the downtown area.
Gainer said the Town isn’t currently looking to create a new plan for parking downtown, right now they’re just trying to get a better picture of the situation.
“The main idea behind the study is just to get an idea of what the current situation is like on the ground and if changes are needed, where are we going to look at it,” he said. “It’s really to give council a picture of what the potential issues are today, what they will potentially look like in the future.”
As part of the project, the Town is also conducting parking counts for the downtown area to get a better idea of how many parking spaces there are, the number of vehicles using them and how frequently they are open over the course of a day.
“It’s to get a sense of the turn over and hotspots, so to speak, where there would be challenges and that sort of thing,” said Gainer.
At least one downtown businesses owner said there needs to be more room for people to park in the area.
“We need more parking, definitely, but I’m also opposed to charging for parking,” said Donita Beaulieu, owner of Ginger Laurier.
She suggested setting one area aside for employees working at downtown businesses to park to free up spaces for customers.
Pablo Forno, owner of Home Run Sports, said parking isn’t much of a problem at his current location in a downtown strip mall because it has a parking lot.
He said, overall, the current situation for parking downtown isn’t much of a problem.
“It doesn’t bother me as much,” he said.
However, Forno said it was more of an issue at his former location on McRae Street where he didn’t have a parking lot for his customers.
“The last location was painful to us,” he said.
Forno said the downtown area doesn’t need a parkade and charging for parking likely won’t be popular.
“I don’t think people will be too happy to start paying for parking,” he said.
Jodi Loverin, co-owner of Tribal Connections, said she doesn’t think parking is much of a problem downtown, however, she said she’s lucky her business is located next to a parking lot.
“I don’t hear a whole lot of negative comments about it,” she said.
If more retail stores are developed downtown, Loverin said more parking will be needed.


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The company added there were signs its flagship InterContinental chain was also benefiting from downtrading as the rich and business travellers moved from even more luxurious hotels.
Chief executive Andy Cosslett further cheered investors by saying there were signs demand was stabilising and the company was still signing up new franchisees. The shares rose 16½p to 675p, even though pre-tax profit tumbled from $84million (£56million) to $29million (£19million) for the first quarter to March.
Revenues per room fell by 13.6 per cent as more rooms stayed empty and Cosslett warned prices were coming under pressure. But he added the group had outperformed the market. “The lack of liquidity in the lending markets has slowed our deal pace but we still signed 75 new hotels during the quarter,” he said. “We also opened 100 new hotels.”
The company is using the recession to weed out some of Holiday Inns’ worst- performing hotels. Profits were also dented by a $21million (£14million) pension-fund hit.


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WASHINGTON--House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said the White House and congressional leaders have stopped pursuing the major deficit-reduction deal tackling entitlement programs and an overhaul of the tax code that he and President Barack Obama had been seeking.
A statement from Mr. Boehner issued late Saturday, after a conversation with Mr. Obama, said efforts by both parties to reach a deal to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade reached an impasse this weekend over the issue of taxes. Mr. Boehner said negotiators will instead work toward an agreement closer to $2 trillion.
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Dathena, a Singapore-based mostly organization that presents AI-centered knowledge defense and privacy remedies, declared it has elevated a $12 million Collection A. Component of the funding will be utilised to extend Dathena’s co-provide partnership with Microsoft in the United States, which is qualified to Azure Cloud and Microsoft 365 shoppers who require to comply with new knowledge privateness laws like the California Shopper Privateness Act.
The funding was led by Jungle Ventures, with participation from Caphorn and SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Organization Singapore, a govt agency that supports business people. Current traders Cerracap Ventures and MS&Ad Ventures also returned for this spherical. This provides Dathena’s full raised to $18 million.
Launched in 2016, Dathena claims it at this time has more than 200,000 buyers and company customers. Its software scans and organizes information stored on-premise or in the cloud, identifies delicate information, and then monitors entry and possible security dangers.
Dathena also automates compliance with details security restrictions all around the planet, like the European Union’s GDPR and California’s CCPA, which is beneficial for customers who have functions in various nations or are in remarkably-regulated industries like health care, finance or defense.
Dathena CEO and founder Christopher Muffat informed TechCrunch that the new funding will also be made use of to improve the company’s R&D efforts to make a self-service and plug-and-enjoy system, and use extra gross sales, internet marketing and consumer aid team for users in North America and Europe. The corporation lately opened its U.S. headquarters in New York City.
Muffat determined Dathena’s primary rivals as DocAuthority, MinerEye and Exonar, which also manage and guard company information. Dathena strives to differentiate by becoming details-supply agnostic, so any ETL (extract, completely transform, load) equipment can be plugged into its system, permitting information sets from pretty much any source to be imported. It is also deeply built-in into Microsoft software package, which includes Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, Azure Information Safety and Microsoft Cloud App Stability.
Muffat included that Dathena is also easy to use, when its AI-centered software helps make info stability duties more time successful and scalable.
“Most facts privateness equipment are built for IT people and are too elaborate to navigate for other customers of an business, but handling compliance with regulations these as GDPR and CCPA typically falls less than the purview of authorized or other non-IT company features,” he claimed.
As people carry on doing the job remotely due to the fact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Muffat claims this creates new vulnerabilities, which include accessibility to company devices around cell or home pcs that their companies may well not have full control of significantly less visibility more than in which corporation facts flows, earning it harder to shield and employees most likely utilizing unsecured Wi-Fi networks or accessing their email by means of world wide web portals as a substitute of desktop apps.
Distant personnel could also use their Office environment 365 or Gmail credentials to access cloud apps, growing the hazard of breaches.
To handle that, Dathena has been focusing on Microsoft customers and cloud deployment, and now supplies managed companies to work the Dathena system, helping clientele get additional use out of the products.
In a push statement, Jungle Ventures founding spouse Amit Anand said, “Dathena’s international progress positions the tech chief to capitalize on the speedy evolution of the $120 billion data protection industry. It’s a shining case in point of our investment decision in international tech companies emerging out of Asia and we’re energized to continue to aid their swift advancement.”


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State sues Merck for deceptive marketing of Vioxx
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- South Florida Business Journal
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has filed suit again Merck & Co. for alleged deceptive marketing and promotion of the prescription drug Vioxx.
The lawsuit claims that Merck repeatedly failed to disclose the drug’s adverse effects while offering it to the state’s Medicaid program as a safe painkiller, in direct violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Vioxx was used to treat joint pain until it was removed from the market in 2004 after studies suggested those taking it had an increased risk of heart attack and stroke associated with long-term use.
The suit follows a three-year investigation of Merck’s promotional practices and alleges that, due to the company’s marketing practices, numerous state agencies approved the inclusion of Vioxx as a covered or approved drug and agreed to pay for the prescription or reimburse its expense.
In a prepared statement, Merck said it acted responsibly and intends to defend the complaint, which is similar to those filed by eight other states and pending in federal and state courts.
“The medicine was labeled appropriately under the direction of the FDA according to evolving science available at the time it was on the market,” the company stated in a media release.
Vioxx purchases by the Florida Medicaid program alone exceeded $80 million between 1999 and 2004.
The suit also alleges that Merck tried to intimidate physicians and researchers who questioned the safety of Vioxx, and may have misrepresented or concealed published evidence, including its own, showing possible harmful effects.
The suit demands restitution to the state plus interest, for all state program payments — including Medicaid reimbursements — made for Vioxx prescriptions. It also seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
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x86 Beware: Nvidia May Be Eyeing an ARM Takeover From Soft Bank
Nvidia may be eyeing an ARM purchase, in a move that would shake up the semiconductor market.
Leak: Intel is Planning a 400-500W Top-End GPU to Challenge AMD, Nvidia
Intel is reportedly planning a GPU that can draw 400-500W. When it comes to challenging AMD and Nvidia, Xe clearly isn't playing around.
Intel Smashes Earning Targets, Denies 10nm Problems
The company recorded revenue of over $19.2B, a new record, up 19 percent year-on-year, and it reiterated its 10nm process is on track and on schedule.
AMD's new 32-core Naples CPU will attack Intel's data center monopoly
AMD announced its Naples server CPU today, with up to 32 cores, 170GB/s of memory bandwidth, and AMD's new Infinity Fabric. The company plans to challenge Intel in the 1-2 socket market.
Qualcomm begins sampling its 48-core 10nm processor, but is the market ready for ARM-based servers?
Qualcomm recently announced and demoed its own 48-core server CPU built on an upcoming 10nm process node -- but how will the chip compare with other x86 cores in the market, and is there a market for ARM servers at all?
IBM details next-gen Power 9, will take the fight to Intel's data center strongholds
IBM has revealed details of its upcoming Power 9 architecture -- a chip it hopes will let it take the fight back to Intel and contest Chipzilla's ownership of the data center market.
Under the Sea: Microsoft testing underwater data centers
Microsoft wants to help cloud computing centers and server rooms reach their customers more efficiently -- even if that means building out data centers under several hundred feet of water.
Intel to focus on three areas of growth, none of which involve PCs
Intel wants to redefine its business and focus on different core areas as pillars of future growth. Datacenters, IoT, and memory are in -- and both its mobile business and PC sales are out.
AMD announces fresh losses, pivots towards new licensing strategies
AMD's Q3 2015 results weren't good, but the company is exploring new avenues to raise funds and fight on.
Researchers demonstrate supercomputing system using NAND flash, not DRAM
Supercomputers need tons of RAM -- that's a known fact. But a new team of researchers from MIT has debuted a supercomputing design that gets rid of most RAM in favor of NAND flash -- with surprisingly good results.


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Gone Home has sold 50,000 copies, developer The Fullbright Company has announced.
The indie game was released on 15th August 2013, so the 50,000 figure, which collates sales on Steam and Fullbright's website, was achieved in under a month.
"We're now almost a month out since launching on August 15, and we hope people will find it encouraging to know that, along with the positive critical response we are continually grateful for and humbled by, we are also doing alright as far as sales numbers go!" Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor wrote on the company's website.
First-person mystery game Gone Home costs £15 on Steam in the UK, or $20 on the Gone Home website.
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William Hill to push innovations to marketing fore
William Hill is shifting away from brand-led advertising to focus on its new products.
The bookmaker has appointed Beattie McGuinness Bungay to handle its £8m ad account and has briefed the agency to showcase a series of innovations planned for the coming year.
Last year the bookmaker introduced a campaign that used the strapline "I will," featuring football fans making promises to themselves.
Kristof Fahy, group brand and marketing director at William Hill, said he would be considering the future of this marketing strategy.
Fahy said the company had been "quiet" about its innovations in the past. He said: "This is the year we go out and tell the story of what's happening."
The ads, scheduled to break this quarter, will back products such as its "Shake-a-bet" iPhone app. This allows users to select a stake, what they want to bet on and how much they want to win, then shake their phones for suitable bets.
While the activity will primarily be aimed at stealing share from competitors, Fahy hopes it will also attract new customers.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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Neil Gaiman is a convert. Where finding his work on the internet years ago would send him into a tizzy, he's since come to accept—even appreciate—that broader distribution has meant a broader audience, and a broader audience has meant more sales.
Which isn't to say that all online piracy is inherently good. Just that it's not all inherently bad, either. And in many cases, it's the modern day equivalent of lending out a favorite book. [Comics Alliance via The Daily What]


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According to analyst Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research in 2007 Sony sold 9 million PS3 units globally, Microsoft sold 9.5 million Xbox 360’s and Nintendo sold 18.5 million Wii’s. For fiscal year 2009 (ending next March), Mr. Ernst predicts that Microsoft will sell 11.2 million units of the Xbox 360 worldwide, Sony will sell 12.5 million PS3s and Nintendo will sell 23 million Wii’s. That’s right, as many Wii’s as Xbox 360’s and PS3’s combined!
Why? To quote: “Microsoft got the jump on the industry with a one-year headstart, but nine months after its the launch, the Nintendo Wii overtook the Xbox 360 on a global basis. While the PS3, has struggled out of the gate, we note that since last fall, the console has been outselling the Xbox 360 in Europe, and in the first two months of this year has even outsold the Xbox 360 on its home turf, in the U.S. (In Japan, overtaking the Xbox 360 was almost immediate). With its strong slate of software scheduled for the coming year, we expect a material acceleration for the PS3 this year, but we believe the Wii will sell more than the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined this year.
With 69.8 million Nintendo DSs [69% of the portable market] and 38 million Sony PSPs on the market vs. 24.3 million Wii’s; 20.6 million Xbox 360’s; and 12.6 million PS3’s, the addressable market for Portable Game systems is significantly greater than for Consoles. However, because the price points of portable systems are significantly lower than for consoles, total portable revenues account for just 28% of industry sales – masking the segment’s greater contribution to earnings.
Given that the development costs for a DS game can come in at less than $1 million (vs. $15 million to $30 million for a next-gen console game), we believe the opportunity for profits in the portable market is significantly greater than the absolute size of the market suggests.” — Read more analysis at Gamedaily.


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The rumors have been getting pretty wild lately about what to expect from the folks at Motorola and Google now that they’ve joined forces. The X-Phone has been a hotly debated device, and we’ve seen a few fake benchmark results appear of the Google X phone too. However, today something a little more realistic sounding has appeared. Read on for our thoughts.
An unknown Motorola device being listed as the XT1055 has surfaced in the popular benchmarking applications AnTuTu. Now these are extremely easy to fake with a simple build.prop edit that any average rooted Android user can do, but this seems somewhat plausible. The Google X running Android 5.0.1 Key Lime Pie was obviously fake, and we’ve even seen a Nexus 4 LTE with Android 4.3 in here too. Again, that’s probably just a fake based off of recent rumors.
Now to get down to why this sounds a bit more realistic and reasonable to us. The DROID RAZR HD was model XT926, and others before it had even lower numbers in the title. We even saw a glimpse of a brand new Motorola design direction with the XT912A back in March. So what could this XT1055 be? The Motorola X-Phone? Maybe.
The leak doesn’t reveal a screen size but the hardware sounds pretty much like what we’d expect from Motorola right about now to follow the RAZR HD. That includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series quad-core at 1.7 GHz and 2GB of RAM. Just like the HTC One. Running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, this could be a device in testing by Motorola, since Google hasn’t officially released the next version of Android yet.
Google’s own Eric Schmidt recently suggested some good things coming from Motorola soon, and even called them “phenomenal” and “phones plus”, whatever that means. If Motorola drops something similar to the 4.7-inch 1080p HD HTC One with a closer to stock version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and RAZR MAXX-like battery would you be interested? We’ll see in a few weeks as surely something will be revealed at Google I/O.


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SAP America said Saturday that it is paying US$3.4 billion in cash to acquire SuccessFactors, a provider of cloud-based human capital management tools.
A would-be Epicor customer is taking the ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendor to court over a "big mess" of a software project that it says ended up battering its bottom line instead of improving operations.
In a case that hinges on interpretations of software contract language and the respective rights of customers and vendors when it comes to third-party support organizations, 3M wants a court to declare that it doesn't owe Infor millions of dollars in...
Former SAP partner Wellogix is accusing the vendor of stealing its trade secrets and swindling it out of lucrative software projects, according to a lawsuit Wellogix filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Three key Lawson Software executives have left the company in recent weeks, just several months following Infor's acquisition of the company and the retirement of CEO Harry Debes.
Enterprise software vendors have been rushing to build or buy "sentiment analysis" technologies that can analyze the tone of what people are saying about companies and brands on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The ongoing lawsuit between Oracle and third-party support provider Rimini Street has heated up further, with new allegations that Oracle is "abusing" the pre-trial discovery process and using "scare tactics" against customers in order to hurt Rimini...
The U.S. Air Force is close to making decisions on the future of a sprawling Oracle ERP (enterprise-resource-planning) project that is supposed to remake the military branch's worldwide supply chain, according to a recently released document.
SAP on Thursday announced a version of Business One, its ERP (enterprise resource planning) suite for small companies, as it revs up the marketing strategy behind its Business ByDesign on-demand suite.
SAP reported Wednesday a 14 percent increase in revenue in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, and said its business pipeline continues to remain very strong and companies continue to invest in IT. The business software vendor did not however revise it...
Workday unveiled upcoming versions of its cloud-based ERP (enterprise-resource-planning) software on Tuesday during an event in Las Vegas, and in the process fired a warning shot across the bow of the likes of Oracle and SAP.
Salesforce.com is rolling out a set of consulting and integration services aimed at SAP customers that want to build "social enterprises" with Salesforce.com's Force.com platform.
NetSuite on Wednesday announced a series of enhancements and offerings meant to make its on-demand ERP (enterprise resource planning) software more desirable to larger companies, particularly those with international operations.
Health-care business services provider MedSynergies has sued Lawson Software and hosting company Velocity Technology Solutions over a rash of alleged problems with an ERP (enterprise-resource-planning) application project, but Lawson and Velocity say...
Infor and its CEO, former Oracle co-president Charles Phillips, are hoping to jump-start the ERP (enterprise-resource-planning) software vendor's profile and revenues with Infor10, a major new rebranding and technology effort that was launched Tuesda...
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I’d happily recommend this touchscreen laptop and Windows 10 as a great way to get serious work done at a desk or on the road.
Ultimately, I think the Windows 10 environment is excellent for me as it caters for so many different uses. The inclusion of the Xbox app is also great for when you need some downtime too!
For me, the Xbox Play Anywhere is a great new feature as it allows you to play your current Xbox games with higher resolutions and better graphics without forking out extra cash for another copy. Although available titles are still scarce, but I’m sure it will grow in time.
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
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Amit Zavery (Oracle)
Oracle has unveiled plans to peg back IBM and Microsoft in the emerging blockchain market, through the launch of an enterprise-grade Blockchain Cloud Service.
Forming part of Oracle Cloud, the service is designed to deliver a blockchain platform capable of providing added layers of resiliency, scalability and security for customers.
Outlined at Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco, the offering is fully managed by Oracle - which recently joined Hyperledger, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies - and allows customers to provision and simplify operations with built-in monitoring, continuous back-up and point-in-time recovery.
"Blockchain holds the promise to fundamentally transform how business is done, making business-to-business interactions more secure, transparent, and efficient," Oracle Cloud Platform senior vice president Amit Zavery said.
"Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service provides enterprise-grade blockchain capabilities and is able to accelerate innovation for on-premises ERP and cloud-based SaaS and PaaS customers.
"Enterprises can now streamline operations across their ecosystem and expand their market reach with new revenue streams, sharing data and transacting within and outside the Oracle Cloud."
Specifically, the distributed ledger cloud platform is designed to help customers create new revenue streams, while reducing cost and risk by securely extending ERP, supply chain, and other enterprise SaaS and on-premises applications.
According to Zavery, the service also provides integrated applications, sample code, templates and design patterns through an Applications Integration toolkit, designed to boost the integration of blockchain applications to Oracle SaaS and on premises applications suites.
Furthermore, the platform offers real-time information sharing across existing Oracle ERP Cloud, Oracle SCM Cloud, Netsuite SuiteCloud Platform or custom blockchain application integrations, with the service now open to the vendor's ecosystem of partners.
"Accenture is proud to be one of the early leaders in blockchain and assisting clients with the use of it for new and innovative solutions," added David Treat, managing director of Accenture's global blockchain practice.
"Oracle's integration capabilities and the ability to add value on top of open source technologies, like Hyperledger Fabric, make Oracle Blockchain Cloud Service a strong contender in the enterprise.
"Through our initial tests, we were impressed with its pre-assembled approach, ease of integration through the REST APIs, and strong focus on enterprise requirements. We look forward to leveraging the technology to offer new innovative capabilities to our clients."
In addition, the service is also available to Oracle's wider ecosystem of customers and partners, enabled by API exposure through NetSuite's SuiteCloud Platform and supported through the SuiteCloud Developer Network (SDN).
As a result, NetSuite customers and partners who choose to leverage the service are able to integrate with and consume a wide ecosystem of solutions developed by Oracle partners specifically tailored to support businesses of any size.
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CHICAGO, Oct. 22, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flat Top Grill is adding a twist to "Sweetest Day" this year, with a special dinner for two offer that is good beginning today through Wednesday Oct. 23rd.
Flat Top Grill is featuring a "Sweetest Day" offer for $29.99 that includes two one-trip Stir Fry bowls, an appetizer to share and two soft drinks.
"Officially, Sweetest Day is Saturday, October 19th…but we thought it would be great for people to celebrate being together when they want…so we're making it a Sweetest Week, you might say. Our menu features an ever-changing selection of more than 20 fresh vegetables, meats and eight uniquely-flavored sauces that provide an Asian-inspired culinary experience you'll enjoy," said Jillian Beard, marketing director, Flat Top Grill Restaurants.
In addition to creating a unique and flavorful Stir Fry bowl as an entrée, the offer includes a selection of four delicious appetizers to choose from including Kung Pao Quesadillas, Spicy Green Beans, Edamame or Chicken Potstickers.
The offer is good from Oct. 17-23 at its 12 locations in Illinois and Wisconsin and Oct. 17-20 at its location in Fort Wayne, Ind. For additional details regarding the offer, visit their website at www.flattopgrill.com.
Best known as a friendly, neighborhood create-your-own stir fry restaurant, Flat Top Grill is celebrating its 18th anniversary and features a host of fresh vegetables and homemade sauces as part of its delicious Asian-inspired entrees and appetizers.
CONTACT: David Ayers (317) 502-8536 firstname.lastname@example.org
Source:Flat Top Grill


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The world of watches is never short of high-powered partnerships primed for dissection. From the 2016-2017 season, Tissot will provide a precision timekeeping service for all 29 NBA arenas. To celebrate this agreement, Tissot has announced five new team partnerships. It isn't the first time we've seen team-themed watches hit the market. I recently covered the Bulova Manchester United Club watch, which took an in-depth approach to linking the timepiece with the history of the world's most famous soccer team. But this joint venture with the NBA is a little different in that the watches released are very much part of a collection, rather than stand-alone pieces focused on exploiting every possible nuance of each franchise's fortunes. So how good are these Tissot NBA Special Edition watches and will these designs ring true with ardent hoops fans? The five teams included in the partnership with Tissot are the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks, and the San Antonio Spurs.
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Vodafone faces India row
Vodafone, which has already locked horns with its new partner in a mobile phones joint venture in India, is now under fire from a lobby group taking legal action to halt the deal.
The mobile giant last month agreed to buy Hong Kong operator Hutchison's 67% stake in the company for $11bn (£5.7bn). Hutchison shareholders are due to vote today on the deal.
Telecom Watchdog, a non-government organisation, has filed a petition with the High Court in New Delhi alleging a foreign shareholding in the company, Hutchison Essar, breaches Indian government regulations.
Junior partner Essar has 33% of the equity in the firm and some 22% of that is held by an Essar company registered abroad. Telecom Watchdog argues that if Vodafone's proposed 67% is added to the 22% foreign component of the Essar stake, it breaches the government's 74% cap on foreign holdings in Indian telecoms companies.
A Hutchison spokeswoman said it complies fully with the rules. She said there were other Indian shareholders besides Essar, but declined to give a breakdown of its 67% interest in Hutchison Essar.
Hutchison has already cleared the decks for a legal challenge to the deal from Essar, which claims it has first refusal in any deal.
Vodafone, meanwhile, is facing calls from Essar for a greater stake in the joint venture and a bigger say in management. It is understood to have offered to buy the stakes of billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruiawho control Essar, but they want to stay.
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About two years since actual operations started on the standard gauge railway (SGR) line between Mombasa and Nairobi, it is time to take stock of the phenomenal success the service has registered.
The biggest indicator of this is the fact that in the past three months, the SGR trains have attained the initial break-even projections, bringing in 258 freight trains by transiting 23,522 container tonnes.
This success has been evident in the passenger and freight components, the latter service having started only in January last year.
The tonnage lifted during the last quarter from Mombasa to Nairobi increased to 1,059,215 metric tonnes from the corresponding quarter’s tonnage of 1,024,220 in 2018.
Today, the SGR line operates an average of eight cargo trains daily, but this is elastic and sometimes goes to as high as 14, depending on the cargo arriving at the port.
Conventional and containerised cargo topped the uptake charts and the line achieved its objective of supporting the nascent industrial and agro-processing sectors.
Still on the cargo front, the game-changer was the proposal to cut freight tariff rates from the previous $33.3 per tonne to $20.5 per tonne.
The upshot of this is that thanks to that single move, the service tariffs are now competitive and stack up quite favourably compared to road transport costs, further driving uptake.
Equally critical to this success is a joint marketing campaign that we have been executing as Kenya Railways Corporation in partnership with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation.
Greater efficiency at the Mombasa port and the streamlining of cargo clearance operations at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) have helped in driving uptake and positioning the SGR freight service as a commercially plausible proposition.
Whereas we previously had 24 agencies operating at the ICD sites, this was eventually compressed to just four critical ones – Kenya Railways, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards and the KPA, significantly reducing red tape, with turnaround (dual) time reducing in material terms.
Equally critical as a success factor is the improved road network, which has improved cargo evacuation from and delivery to the ICD.
These factors were the drivers of a remarkable rise in SGR cargo uptake in the first quarter of 2019, with the service time given and consistently achieved at eight hours.
Plans are underway to have truck holding areas to improve efficiency in collecting and picking of cargo at the ICD in Embakasi, Nairobi.
When freight trains commenced operations in January 2018, it had just one pair daily. The teething problems the operation experienced in the past had been surmounted and the service has now become a game-changer.
The tonnage lifted during the same quarter from Mombasa to Nairobi increased to 1,059,215 metric tonnes from the 1,024,220 metric tonnes in the last quarter of 2018.
Having laid out a solid, bankable foundation and support system for freight services, our target is now to operate 10 containerised cargo and four to five conventional trains daily from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Growth and continuous service improvement have not been just a preserve of freight services alone.
A deliberate effort to align booking systems and more efficient refund procedures have helped in driving passenger uptake and overall efficiency.
We believe that the SGR is poised to return the investment Kenya has put in it in the long run.
Mr Mainga is acting Managing Director, Kenya Railways Corporation.


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Powdered alcohol approved for sale in US
Having a drink just got a little easier.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau recently approved Palcohol (powdered alcohol) to be sold in the U.S.
To get your drink on, the powder packets need to be added to water. So far, four powders have been approved for sale: vodka, rum, cosmopolitan and margarita.
Although Palcohol has yet to hit shelves, several states (Alaska, Louisiana, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia) have already banned it, while other states are considering a ban. There are fears that the powder will be easily abused by children, used improperly (like snorting), or snuck into places where alcohol is not normally permitted like movie theaters, concerts, sporting events, schools or workplaces.
The company hopes to get Palcohol in stores this summer.


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Chinatown Wars dated for DS
Grand Theft Auto's eagerly anticipated arrival on the DS may not be quite as imminent as some hoped, but Rockstar have dated Chinatown Wars today, setting a concrete date by which the new title should be with us.
According to word on the street, Chinatown Wars will be released on the 17th of March next year in the USA and Canada, while Europeans will get their mitts on the handheld GTA come March 20th.
Set in Liberty City, the new GTA is looking like an authentic, miniaturized and cut-down version of the next-gen behemoth recently released on the PC, and unleashed on the Xbox 360 and PS3 earlier in 2008.
We'll bring you more on this as release nears.
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Monarch’s collapse and returning public confidence in the eastern Mediterranean have driven a strong performance in the first four months of On the Beach Group’s financial year.
In a trading update released in anticipation of the today’s AGM, the OTA said Monarch’s failure had led to "significant" year on year seat price increases for winter departures.
It added any incremental capacity added by other carriers is not largely kicking in until Easter, meaning summer seat prices will not see the same effect.
However, customer demand for Eastern Mediterranean destinations is growing and is helping to drive bookings.
"Substantial" growth in revenues in sunshine.co.uk also helped buoy the OTA’s performance.
The combined factors mean that On the Beach’s UK operations are reporting a 23% boost in revenue for the four months ending January 31, 2018.
Overseas, the group has seen strong growth in both its Sweden and Norway operations while preparations are under way to launch a new Danish-facing site.
On the Beach Group chief executive Simon Cooper said: “The first four months of the new financial year has delivered another solid period of growth for the On the Beach, Sunshine and ebeach brands.
"Our strategy of investing in our brands, talent and technology to drive growth has delivered performance in line with the board’s expectations, with consumers attracted to our wide range of value for money beach holidays.
"Our third nationwide television advertising campaign started on Christmas Day and has helped drive this strong performance as our brand awareness continues to grow.
"The board remains confident in the Group’s outlook and will continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance its market share position.”


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May 3, 2016
Quebec to require outdoor store signage in province to have some French
May 3, 2016
Canada's predominantly French-language province of Quebec will require retail stores with English brand names such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc to display some French on their outdoor signage, the provincial government said on Tuesday.
Quebec's Liberal government plans to alter the province's language laws so retailers with English names will have to add a French description of what they are selling, but will not have to change their trademarks.
The changes are expected to be adopted in 2016, but there will be a three-year grace period for companies to comply, it said.
The move comes after the Quebec government lost court cases in 2014 and 2015 against a group of big-box retailers that declined to add French to their signage.
Quebec, the only North American jurisdiction with a French-speaking majority, has laws to ensure French is used in the workplace, learned by newcomers and remains predominant in the province's largest city, Montreal.
"We are in Quebec, not Maine or Massachusetts," Quebec's Language Minister Hélène David told reporters in Montreal.
She said the changes would ensure "French is visible everywhere in Quebec."
Xavier Piusviex, president of Wal-Mart for Eastern Canada, said on Tuesday that the company would be adding the slogan "Économiser plus," or "Save More," in French to its Quebec stores.
David also said 21 businesses, including retailers, were consulted last fall on the changes, which would apply to an estimated 1,860 companies with trade names in English or another language.
However, government officials said there would be an exception for family names, which means the new rules would not apply to McDonald's Corp, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons or the law firm Norton Rose. They did not explain why the laws would not apply to these particular businesses.
© Thomson Reuters 2023 All rights reserved.


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US: Southern Plains drought set to hit organic cotton
Dry conditions in some US states are set to hit the country's organic cotton harvests, according to research carried out by the Organic Trade Association.
The study, which was funded by Cotton Incorporated, found that while 2011 saw the largest number of acres planted since 1999, harvested acres and bales are expected to be down by 39% and 45%, respectively, due to a drought in the Southern Plains.
The extremely dry conditions in Texas have forced farmers to abandon more than 65% of their planted crop in 2011.
The survey, released yesterday (26 January), showed that planted acres were up 36% to reach 11,827 acres in 2010, while bales harvested were up nearly 24%. In 2010, US producers harvested 11,262 acres of organic cotton, representing 95% of their planted acres and yielding some 13,279 bales.
A modest acreage gain is forecast for 2012, bringing plantings of organic cotton to 16,406 acres. Another 2% net gain is in the five-year forecast, bringing the total to 16,716 acres.
Opportunities for expansion exist in nascent organic cotton growing regions such as North Carolina, which harvested its first crop of organic cotton in 2011.
Survey respondents said the cost per acre to grow organic cotton ranged from US$350 to $650, with an average cost per acre of $440. Most reported receiving $1.50 per pound for organic cotton, with prices ranging from as high as $2.40 for organic Pima cotton to a low of $1.35 for one organic upland producer.
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Entries in 'graphics' (30)
The next instalment in the Arkham series will be a significant overhaul for the Caped Crusader.
The various versions of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes have been compared in a new official video from Konami.
Hideo Kojima has confessed than one next-gen version of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes looks better than the other.
The differences in framerates and resolutions between multiplatform games on PS4 and Xbox One are “way overblown” according to one senior Microsoft exec.
AMD’s new PC graphics API Mantle has received the backing of two new game developers.
Sony Online Entertainment is planning a significant upgrade to DC Universe Online in preparation for the launch of PS4 next month.
Although there’s a certain amount of cryptic messaging to get past, it looks like EA’s next-gen racer is looking impressive on PS4 - going by what critics have been shown ...
Thanks to yesterday’s release of the Battlefield 4 beta, we’ve now got a better idea than ever about how the next-gen and current-gen versions of Battlefield 4 compare.
Famed developer Hideo Kojima has warned Metal Gear Solid V fans to keep their graphical expectations in check for the upcoming game.
The PS4 will not have the performance advantage over Xbox One that many people seem to believe.
It’s always hard to judge what sort of graphical step change a new generation of consoles will deliver.
The visual fidelity of tablet and mobile gaming is going to increase far more rapidly than is being seen in the traditional games space.
PC graphics expert Nvidia is to begin licensing out its technology to other device makers.
A Microsoft developer has effectively admitted the Xbox's retreat from the console graphics war.
The Wii U is not underpowered, the president of Nintendo has argued.
The tech housed in the upcoming Android console Ouya lags significantly behind many other modern Andorid devices.
Square Enix’s Thief is not being built using the much-touted Unreal Engine 4.
Square Enix has released the first video of Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut on the Wii U.
Obviously games will look impressive on the PS4 and the upcoming new Xbox, but don’t expect the same sort of graphical leap we’ve seen in the past.
Opinion remains divided on whether Wii U is able to match the visuals of the Xbox 360 and PS3 – unless you’re Reggie Fils-Aime, of course.
Firemonkey’s racing IP Real Racing has once again been used to champion the gaming credentials of the latest iPhone.
Opinions regarding the graphical power of Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U appear to be mixed.
The move toward high-quality HD graphics is detrimental, the creator of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series has argued.
Genius development engineer John Carmack has admitted that Rage has taken his studio longer than he would have liked, and put the delay down to its drive for top tier ...
In taking what some see as the brave decision to help the long overdue Duke Nukem Forever come to market, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has stated that he feels committed ...


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Nightline's Bill Weir managed to get his feet inside manufacturing behemoth Foxconn: the infamous plant where iPads, Xboxes and Kindles are constructed. Following multiple explosions and employee suicides, the factory is being inspected by the Fair Labor Association to examine working conditions exposed by the efforts of journalists like Liu Zhiyi. In the show, we learn that on a quiet day, 3,000 prospective employees will linger outside the factory in the hope of earning just $1.
I just finished watching the ABC Nightline report cleverly named iFactory: Inside Apple. ABC's Bill Weir was given unprecedented access to Foxconn, where iPhones, iPads and Macs are assembled. If you've been following this saga for ... Read Post
ABC aired their Nightline special tonight where they took an inside look at Apple's Foxconn factories. Apple allowed Nightline access to their Foxconn factories that produce iPhones and iPads. The full video is not available online ... Read Post
Following intense scrutiny from the media over working conditions in its supply chain overseas, Apple has granted ABC Nightline anchor Bill Weir exclusive access to its Foxconn factories. In a special edition of Nightline that will ... Read Post


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Apple has criticised Facebook for trying to “collect as much data as possible” from users, saying it will push ahead with its planned launch of a new privacy feature despite objections from the advertising industry. The company’s director of global privacy, Jane Horvath, made the criticism in a letter to a coalition of privacy groups, reassuring them that the feature, which will require users to actively allow developers to track how they use other apps, would still be launched. “We developed [App Tracking Transparency] for a single reason: because we share your concerns about users being tracked without their consent and the bundling and reselling of data by advertising networks and data brokers,” Horvath wrote. She defended Apple’s approach to targeted adverts, which she said was based on demographic details rather than user tracking.
For the past five years or so, SpaceX has been chipping away at a mind-bogglingly massive project: The Starlink satellite constellation. The grand plan is to ferry over 12,000 satellites (or more) into low-Earth orbit and place them in an undulating, lattice-like array that allows SpaceX to deliver high-speed broadband internet to every corner of the planet. Thus far, SpaceX has sent nearly 900 Starlink satellites into orbit, and even rolled out beta access to its fledgling satellite internet service. But internet access might not be the only trick this mega-constellation has up its sleeve. Researchers believe it could also be used for a secondary mission: Creating a next-gen navigation system that could supplant GPS.
A group of hackers didn’t have to breach Spotify’s systems to access as many as 350,000 accounts on the music-streaming service. All it took was a cache of login credentials stolen in other data breaches, and some patience. The hackers were successful because Spotify account holders were reusing passwords from other accounts they had, a basic security mistake. The hackers just had to try the combinations on Spotify and look for matches, a technique known as credential stuffing. The simplicity of that technique doesn’t require genius, something the hackers proved by committing their own security blunder. The gang of criminal nonmasterminds exposed their own operation by storing the records on an unsecured cloud database. That meant anyone with a web browser could see the data without needing a password.
Walmart-exclusive router and others sold on Amazon & eBay contain hidden backdoors to control devices
In a collaboration between CyberNews Sr. Information Security Researcher Mantas Sasnauskas and researchers James Clee and Roni Carta, suspicious backdoors have been discovered in a Chinese-made Jetstream router, sold exclusively at Walmart as their new line of “affordable” wifi routers. This backdoor would allow an attacker the ability to remotely control not only the routers, but also any devices connected to that network. CyberNews reached out to Walmart for comment and to understand whether they were aware of the Jetstream backdoor, and what they plan to do to protect their customers. After we sent information about the affected Jetstream device, a Walmart spokesperson informed CyberNews: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are looking into the issue to learn more. The item in question is currently out of stock and we do not have plans to replenish it.”
My colleague just told me something so crazy it could be on 60 Minutes. He knows a guy who’s a partner at one of America’s leading law firms. And his son attends Miami’s top private school. When COVID was spreading like wildfire, his son was forced to attend “school from home.” That’s when it all started. The attorney happened to check his Amazon account and found someone had raked up $70,000 worth of charges. He scrambled to open his Apple Pay statement. Thousands of dollars had vanished there, too. He called the FBI and local police. They discovered a cyber hacker had gained access to all his accounts through his son’s school’s computer systems. He rushed out to buy brand new laptops and smartphones. He switched out his internet connection. Within two days, the hacker was back at work. The cybercriminal broke into the attorney’s home energy system and shut off the power. As COVID was ripping through Florida, he was forced to move his whole family to a hotel. He tried everything to retake control of his accounts. But nothing worked. No one, not even the authorities, could eject this hacker from his life. The hacker had essentially assumed his identify, taking over his primary email address and his phone number.
Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida is now guarded by robotic canines that will patrol the area before popping back to their kennels for a recharge. Over the past year the 325th Security Forces Squadron have been trialing the security robots via a so-called “3D Virtual Ops Center,” where the hardware hounds patrol the grounds and feed back data to central command. “These robot dogs will be used as a force multiplier for enhanced situational awareness by patrolling areas that aren’t desirable for human beings and vehicles,” said Major Jordan Criss, 325th Security Forces Squadron commander. “We will be able to drive them in a virtual reality headset within our Base Defense Operations Center. We will be able to see exactly what the robot dog is detecting through its mobile camera and sensor platform if desired, we will also be able to issue verbal commands to a person or people through a radio attached to the dogs.” No offensive capability has been built into these puppies, however, they’re strictly monitoring only.


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Chinese electronics manufacturer Vivo announced today that its upcoming Vivo 15 Pro smartphone will feature a 32-megapixel pop-up selfie camera. The phone will be the company's second crack at elevating front-facing camera and will be officially announced on February 20th, just ahead of the annual Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain.
Despite my criticisms, the Vivo V15 Pro isn’t a bad phone. It has a competent set of cameras, an alluring design and a battery that will last you a full day without having to reach for a charger. However, Vivo’s mid-tier smartphone lets itself down through some strange omissions and frustratingly sluggish performance. Given that this phone isn’t particularly easy to buy in the UK currently, it’s hard to recommend.
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The Motorola Spyder has previously turned up in a few leaked photos, but two more surfaced this week.
These photos show the device in a far more finished form, reports Engadget. There are small changes, such as the Verizon logo appearing on both the front and back, but there’s also a new material on the back of the device which could be the rumoured Kevlar coating we’ve been hearing about.
Motorola is holding a press event next week and we suspect this phone will play a part.
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Private sellers will have to wait seven days for their money under the new system, while commercial sellers will be charged an additional two percent fee. Payment can be made by bank transfer, credit card or direct debit as well as via the in-house payment service paypal or the similar service skrill (formerly moneybookers). When the money is paid to ebay, the seller is notified and has to send the item. From the moment it has been marked as shipped, the different payout periods start. For commercial sellers who have a long ebay history and meet the platform’s minimum standards, it will be one day.
All other commercial vendors have to wait seven days for their money plus the expected shipping time. With the additional fee, all payment methods are covered – which means that today’s separate paypal fee will also be waived, ebay spokeswoman maike fuest emphasized. Private sellers will not have to pay any additional costs, and they will not have to pay the current paypal fee either.
Ebay did not need a banking license for the new system because it was not a service that required a license, fuest said. The spokeswoman did not specify an exact start date. After the launch in summer, the changeover will take a few weeks. Anyone who registers as a new trader already has to comply with the new system. Ebay tested the changed payment processing in a pilot project since the end of august 2011. According to the company, more than 500,000 seller accounts are already using the new process.


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It was just after noon when the first music set was to start the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival as thousands descended on the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater for the two-day festival.
103.5’s KTUphoria 2018 Rocks Jones Beach With Pitbull, Backstreet Boys, Ne-Yo, And More
It was all about the nostalgia as 103.5’s KTUphoria returned to Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on Saturday evening to start the summer off hot.
The Norwegian Bliss has yet to be christened, but she’s on her way. On Thursday, the brand spankin’ new cruise ship docked in New York City’s Pier 88 as the first stop on its inaugural U.S. tour.
What’s real and what’s not? That’s what had many Westworld fans wondering this past weekend as they were transported to a real-life version of the show’s sci-fi theme park in Austin, Texas as part of SXSW 2018.
Cindy Monteiro Goes Au Naturel In New York Fashion Week Debut With Spring/Summer 2018 Collection
Cindy Monteiro may only be 27, but you wouldn’t know it from her 2018 Spring/Summer runway show. Monteiro made her New York Fashion Week debut Friday afternoon at The Gallery at the Dream Downtown.
Think Chipotle, but with stir fry noodles and salad. Philly fast casual eatery Honeygrow will open their first Brooklyn outpost next week, and we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the goods. And what can we say? Well, April 3 can’t come soon enough.
Oday Shakar’s RTW Fall 2017 Collection Dazzles With Wearable Separates, Gorgeous Gowns
It was only his second time showing, but you wouldn’t know it sitting in the audience for Oday Shakar’s RTW Fall 2017 Collection.


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Rainbow Six Siege 'Outbreak' zombies mode gameplay revealed
Ubisoft has officially unveiled Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege's upcoming "Outbreak" cooperative mode, as a part of the game's Six Invitational tournament in Montreal. Following several weeks of teasers, a first look at gameplay has debuted, while detailing the mode's specifics.
Outbreak is a fantasy zombies-style mode, where up to three players need to complete objectives and fight hordes of infected enemies. The mode takes full advantage of what makes Rainbow Six Siege unique, migrating its strong tactical gameplay and destructible environments from competitive modes.
Infected types come in five distinct classes, each which have their own tactics to consider in battle. Existing and upcoming Operators will also be making the switch, though players will be restricted to a pool of 13 curated choices tailored to the mode. Alongside the reveal, Ubisoft has released a trailer for the Outbreak mode, setting the scene for the event.
Although Outbreak's public release is still a couple of weeks off, Ubisoft has also released brief beginners tips for getting started. Breaking down the premise, enemy types, and gameplay driving Outbreak, the video provides a concise overview of what to expect at launch.
Outbreak is set to hit Rainbow Six Siege on March 6, before running for four weeks and concluding on April 3. Alongside the event, two new playable Operators will be released via Operation Chimera, as well as a variety of cosmetic items through Outbreak Packs.
- Everything we know about Rainbow Six Siege Operation Chimera: Mission Outbreak, new Operators and more
- Rainbow Six Siege 'Outbreak Packs:' Pricing, rarity, skins and more
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Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.


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In the not-so-distant past, the rise of streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video heralded a bright new dawn in entertainment, with promises to break free from the shackles of traditional TV by offering consumers unparalleled convenience, choice, and affordability. However, recent developments have left many questioning what exactly the future of these once-revolutionary services looks like - and if it’s actually more familiar than any of us would have predicted.
At its inception, streaming was a disruptive force, challenging the dominance of traditional TV. The absence of intrusive advertising, paired with on-demand viewing, offered a breath of fresh air to users tired of rigid schedules, limited variety and increasingly expensive packages.
In 2007, Netflix revolutionised the game and, followed by the likes of Hulu and CBS All Access (now Paramount +), and latterly the likes of Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, each platform provided its own unique content at the touch of a fingertip. The diversification of screen media consumption was seemingly changed forever.
Streaming Had Killed The Video Star. Or something like that, anyway.
What set all these platforms apart was their commitment to innovation and accessibility. Netflix, in particular, shook up the industry by introducing binge-worthy original series and an extensive library of films and documentaries. Disney+ capitalized on its vast back-catalogue of beloved franchises,while Amazon Prime Video combined streaming with additional benefits like free shipping, creating a comprehensive membership experience.
But despite these groundbreaking beginnings, the streaming landscape is now facing a paradigm shift that threatens to undermine all of its original promise.
The introduction of ad tiers - a departure from the interruption-free models that were the original hallmark of these streaming services - has left some users disenchanted. The platforms claim that these ‘cheaper’ plans are there to allow more people the opportunity to access their content, where they may not have been able to afford ad-free membership previously. However, the banning of password sharing could call into question the ‘we’re doing it because we care’ angle of their defence.
Additionally, it is said that the increased revenue generated from advertising will be reinvested to create more high-quality original content, further enriching the overall streaming experience. It obviously remains to be seen if this plays out as hoped - however, it will be interesting to watch how the promise of higher quality content stacks up alongside awards in the near future, given where each of those platforms were comparatively just a couple of years ago.
Beyond that, we are now starting to see certain platforms integrating their catalogues together (Disney & Hulu in late 2023, alongside rumours of Apple and Paramount combining) - which to be fair, is no bad thing for the user - however it all begins to resemble the very thing we were told we should be moving away from when all of this began; all of our viewing options in one place, for a certain fee, with ads a necessary tolerance for that privilege.
Streaming services are seemingly on the brink of betraying their original USP – a rebellion against the constraints of cable television. The shift towards ad-supported models, rising subscription costs, and the potential convergence of platforms threatens to transform the streaming world into a landscape reminiscent of the cable era, only more expensive and therefor, less accessible.
As users, we must critically examine the changes occurring in the streaming industry. The promise of innovation and accessibility that once defined these services is at risk of being eroded. It is crucial for streaming giants to remember the values that made them revolutionary in the first place, and to strive to maintain the user-centric approach that set them apart from traditional cable TV. Otherwise, they risk losing the very audience they worked so hard to attract.


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Rolls-Royce confirms first EV
Rolls-Royce has announced that it is about to begin testing its first full electric vehicle, with the Spectre due to launch in the last quarter of 2023.
The luxury brand also confirmed that by the end of this decade its entire line-up will be all-electric.
“We embark on this bold new future with a huge advantage,” said chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos. Electric drive is uniquely and perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, more so than any other automotive brand. It is silent, refined and creates torque almost instantly, going on to generate tremendous power. This is what we at Rolls-Royce call ‘waftability’.
The Rolls-Royce boss described the announcement as the brand’s most significant day since Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce first met.
New boss for Alphabet GB
Leasing company Alphabet (GB) has announced a new chief executive from 1 January 2022, with Mike Dennett taking the role in addition to his current position as CEO of BMW Financial Services (GB).
Dennett replaces Nick Brownrigg, who has been at the helm since 2016, and moves to the position of BMW Group Financial Services CEO in the Netherlands.
New knowledge hub for Licence Check subscribers
Licence Check has launched a new knowledge base for subscribers to its DAVIS risk management and licence checking platform.
Designed to offer training, information and support, the resource contains user guides, service information and newly-created video tutorials, and will continue to develop on an on-going basis, with new features set to include a FAQs section and compliance/policy templates and guidance.
“Over time, we have accumulated a huge amount of relevant driver and vehicle compliance information,” said Terry Hiles, general manager at Licence Check, describing the offering as an industry first. “The launch of this dedicated space has given us the opportunity to pool that information with DAVIS training, support, policy and service enhancements information in one all-encompassing central resource that DAVIS users can access as and when they require it.”


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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Food trucks continue to gain popularity in boroughs outside of Manhattan. Subsequently, the city Health Department is taking a firmer grasp on the venues’ sanitary practices. New regulations announced today also put controls on illegal rentals of mobile food permits.
“The reformulated regulations better explain equipment requirements to improve vendors’ sanitary practices and decrease the threat of food-borne illnesses, expand options for storing vending units overnight, and improve oversight of operations,” the Health Department announced.
If approved, the new requirements include hand-washing sinks for units that prepare raw meats on-premises. There also will be a requirement that permit holders be present during cart or truck inspections prior to a permit being issued.
Mobile units that store trucks and carts would have to keep a log of unit activity.
Mobile and non-mobile Green Carts, basically fruit and vegetable stands, would be allowed to be a maximum of five feet wide and 10 feet long.
The Health Department is taking comments on the matter until July 19 for a hearing. For more information go to Nyc.gov/health/mobilefood.


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“The seminar series at Texworld USA, coordinated by Lenzing, provides the industry with a platform to exchange ideas with industry experts on pertinent industry topics related to trends, sourcing, innovation and sustainability.“ says Tricia Carey, USA Merchandising Manager, Lenzing.
Arthur Friedman, Senior Editor, Textiles and Trade, WWD opens the WWD mini-summit moderating a panel on sourcing in the Americas, while Arnie Karr, Senior Editor, WWD, follows up with a panel discussion on the impact of denim, as jeans continue to gain traction in the fashion industry.
The International OEKO-TEX Association Introduces STeP, the newest standard in sustainable textile production, and Stylesight brings presents the latest trends and developments in materials for Fall/Winter 2014.
“This seminar program offers insight to the current state of the industry, as well as providing the latest information in sustainability, sourcing, trends and a focus on small business,” says John P. Gallagher, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt North America.
“Special thanks to Lenzing Innovation for their continued support and partnership.”
Highlights of the July 2013 seminar program include:
Tuesday, July 16th, 2013
Sourcing in the Americas
As labor costs and problems continue to rise in Asia, U.S. retailers and brands are looking to bring more of their production back to the Western Hemisphere. Free trade agreements like CAFTA and the U.S.-Columbia FTA, allowing for duty-free access to these markets, add to the appeal of manufacturing closer to home, bringing better quality control, shorter shipping times and a more stable operating environment to the supply chain.
Stylesight presents the latest trends and developments in materials for Fall/Winter 2014, revealing the key themes, colors, fibers, weaves, hand, patterns and design directives for the season.
Wednesday, July 17th, 2013
The newest standard in sustainable textile Production, the International OEKO-TEX Association Introduces STeP. In today’s complex global textile market, how do companies confirm that their suppliers’ facilities are operated with environmentally and socially responsible methods? Join Oeko-Tex to learn about the new “STeP by Oeko-Tex” textile facility certification. This independent, third party certification system identifies and sets the standard for sustainable textile production facilities around the world.
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Apple's Dynamic Island feature which is currently available only on its iPhone 14 Pro models is now said to be coming to more iPhone models next year. Dynamic Island is a software feature which not just covers up Apple's new pill and hole TrueDepth camera system, but is also well integrated into UI elements making for a new way of displaying notifications and status indicators and also interacting with them. However, the company's ProMotion displays, which feature a 120Hz refresh rate, will be limited to the Pro models, according to an analyst.
Display industry analyst Ross Young claims in a tweet that Apple is expected to make the newly introduced Dynamic Island available across iPhone 15 models next year, which means that it may not be limited to the Pro models like the recently launched iPhone 14 series. Ross also claims that while the Dynamic Island is expected to be available on all iPhone 15 models, Apple's 120Hz ProMotion displays will still be limited to the Pro models.
According to the analyst, the 120Hz LTPO displays found on Apple's iPhone 14 Pro models will remain exclusive to next year's Pro models as Apple's current display supplier BOE, cannot support manufacturing such displays keeping in mind the tech giant's demands. The display analyst also went on to state that Apple's ProMotion displays may be available on less-expensive iPhone models by 2024.
The availability of Apple's Dynamic Island on low-cost iPhone models is likely to boost developer support for the feature. But this may also convince some customers to hold back on their iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus purchases this year as both of these new iPhone models lack a feature that may eventually become the standard way of interacting with an iPhone.
Apple has also made another distinction between its standard iPhone and iPhone Pro models this year by going with last year's A15 Bionic processor (with a 5-core GPU) instead of including its latest A16 Bionic SoC, currently exclusive to its Pro models. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus seem to be the only new products announced at Apple's last event that feature an older generation processor as even the new Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation has been upgraded to the new SiP found in the latest Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra models.
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Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. recently announced a recall of one lot of Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Lotion in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
This recall is being initiatedafter testing of a product sample by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That test indicated that the lot exceeded the specifications for common bacteria. The company has voluntarily initiated this recall out of an abundance of caution. This action is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse events and the potential for adverse health effects is remote.
|Product Name||Lot Number||UPC Code|
|Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Lotion||0161LK||38137-0036456|
Consumers who would like a refund or coupon, or who have questions or concerns about the recalled product, should call the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Call Center at 1-877-298-2525 (available Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time).
If your child has suffered an illness from a contaminated product, a defective products attorney may be able to help you pursue the compensation you deserve. For more information, call 1-888-BURNETTI.


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Craven County commissioners, meeting in their regular first monthly session at 7 p.m. Tuesday, are expected to set a public hearing on a proposal to sell land in the industrial park to an expanding local company that would create at least 10 new jobs.
Appearing before the board for the first time since his official introduction will be new Economic Development Director Timothy Downs. He is expected to ask that a public hearing be set for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 16 to discuss the American Eagle Manufacturing LLC project.
Now based at 1211 Aviation Drive in New Bern, American Eagle Manufacturing relocated here in August 2008 following the purchase of the company by the Liland family.
American Eagle Manufacturing has been custom molding polyurethane components for more than 35 years. Since its move to New Bern, the company has increased sales of its American-made products related to conveyor belts and accessories by more than 200 percent.
The company wants to buy two tracts in Craven County Industrial Park so it can expand its manufacturing operations, including increasing production of some products and introducing others. One tract is about five acres selling for $20,000 per acre. A second is about three acres priced at $16,500 per acre.
With the assistance of a Small Business and Entrepreneurial Assistance Grant, the company plans to build a new facility on the five-acre tract and move operations from the leased space at the airport to the new facility. The company agreed to create at least 10 new jobs as part of the grant.
The three-acre tract is expected to be held by the company for possible future expansion.
In other matters Tuesday, the Craven County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to: receive a presentation from Charles Collins and Donna Rouse, chairman and manager, respectively, of the Craven County ABC Board; hear citizen petitions from Raynor James and Ray Griffin; recognize the Military Family of the Quarter; and consider a resolution of gratitude and appreciation to the U.S. armed forces.
The meeting will be held in the Commissioners Room on the second floor of Craven County Administration Building at the corner of Broad and Craven Streets. It will be open to the public.
Sue Book can be reached at 252-635-5665 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter@SueJBook.