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|Written by George Werner|
|Wednesday, 11 June 2014 09:19|
The Diamondbacks of Verde Valley Little League’s Majors Division hadn’t met a team they couldn’t beat — until Sunday, June 8, at the title game of the District 10 Tournament of Champions in Wickenburg.
It was only the second loss of the spring for the Diamondbacks [16-2], who were forced to forfeit a regular-season make-up game Friday, June 6, against the second-place Rangers since Figy’s team was already in Wickenburg preparing for the three-day tournament.
“We just try and control what we can control by doing the best we can every time out,” Figy said. “Every player, one to 12, contributed to get us to the championship game at the end of the season.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, June 11, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
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Of the 20 cities on the shortlist, Raleigh, North Carolina, emerged the victor with 259 votes (11 percent), followed by Atlanta at No. 2.
“Our survey suggests Raleigh might have enough appeal but there is a catch,” Geekwire analysts wrote, noting that 71 of the 259 who voted for the North Carolina city already live there.
While about 18 percent of the survey respondents are based in Seattle, the geographic distribution was “roughly consistent” with the site’s overall audience, which boasts its largest readerships in Washington, California, Texas, New York and Illinois.
» RELATED: Atlanta named one of America's 'Tech 25' — the nation's top 25 cities in tech
Both Raleigh and Atlanta have also been top-ranked in Attom Data Solutions' analysis, which examined factors such as housing, crime rate, schools, costs and property taxes.
Since Amazon announced its shortlist from 238 communities to 20 in January, the company has been vetting each city and may soon be announcing the winning site.
Amazon officials met with local and state government officials as well as Atlanta business leaders in March.
» RELATED: Amazon tours Atlanta in its second headquarters search
"Georgia's bid — described by multiple observers as 'unprecedented' — is believed to top $1 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives, including grants, worker training, tax breaks, transportation improvements and other perks. But the details remain shrouded in secrecy under an exemption in state sunshine laws for active economic development projects," the AJC previously reported.
Amazon's second headquarters would bring 50,000 promised jobs to the metro.
Geekwire readers share their top 10 favorites for Amazon HQ2
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Austin, Texas
- Northern Virginia
- Washington, D.C.
More at Geekwire.com.

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Share All options that are sharing: Utah lax on automobile name loans
Utah legislation are one of the friendliest within the country for exceedingly high-interest “car name loans,” based on a brand new study by the customer Federation of America.
Which comes following a Deseret Morning Information series this past week reported that Utah laws and regulations likewise are one of the most lax nationwide for also-high-interest “payday loans” вЂ” that has helped attract more payday loan shops right here than 7-Elevens, McDonald’s, Burger Kings and Subway shops combined.
Of course, the lenders that are same provide both forms of loans. Morning News visits to a large number of such organizations discovered they charge a median 521 per cent interest that is annual unsecured payday advances and 300 per cent interest on title loans вЂ” frequently secured by giving loan providers a supplementary pair of tips to enable simple repossession of vehicles in case there is standard. “just like payday financing, Utah has without any security for consumers within the short-term, high-cost, small-loan marketplace for vehicle name loans,” stated Jean Ann Fox, CFA’s manager of customer protection. “I do not think you can get much friendlier compared to that industry” than Utah is, she included. Read More


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Bluebird Books Hosts Superman-Themed “Shop Local” Scavenger Hunt
The Find Waldo Local event at Bluebird Books in Hutchinson, Kansas, was such a hit last year that organizers of the city’s annual Smallville Festival asked the store to create a spin-off: a Superman-themed Shop Local scavenger hunt.
The Smallville Festival, during the third week in June, celebrates the town of Hutchinson’s claim to be the home of Superman. Residents consider their town “the literal equivalent of the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, where Superman grew up,” according to Bluebird Books owner Melanie Green.
In response to the request, Bluebird created the Downtown Smallville Hero Hunt. The event began at Bluebird Books, where scavengers received a free Superman comic book and a card with riddles that led to participating businesses, or, as Bluebird referred to them, Hutchinson’s “downtown heroes.”
“Participants matched their clues on a game card and found the downtown heroes,” said Green. “This is the first year we have done it, and it was a great success!”
Participants were then entered into a drawing for D.C. Comics merchandise and gift cards from participating merchants.
Burke’s Book Store Changes With the Times, Marks 140 Years
Burke’s Book Store in Memphis, Tennessee, is marking 140 years in business this year. Cheryl Mesler, who owns the bookstore with her husband, Corey, attributes the bookstore’s longevity to its 2006 relocation and its ability to change with the times, Memphis Magazine reported.
The Meslers purchased the bookstore in 2000 and have seen business boom since its move within Midtown Memphis nine years ago. “Moving here has been fantastic. Sometimes I think all we have to do is open the doors,” Mesler said. “We’ve been lucky, but the real secret is digging in your nails and staying with it. We’re dinosaurs and slow to change. But we adapted. Our inventory today is very different from when I started here.”
Since taking over the bookstore, the Meslers have extended the shop’s weekend hours and have launched an online bookstore; they are currently discussing purchasing a tricycle to enable the shop to make book deliveries in town.
“The biggest [challenge] is trying to convince people to shop here before they go to Amazon,” Mesler said. “We try to educate people that keeping the money here in Memphis makes a difference.”
Lake Country Booksellers Celebrates 35th Anniversary
Co-owners Susie Fruncillo, Faith Basten, Nancy Thysell, and Roberta Kiemele have all been with the store for more than a decade. The team is the second generation of owners, following the five female founders who opened the store in 1980.
“All four of us are here because we love this business,” Fruncillo told the Pioneer Press. While the owners hope to keep the bookstore in business for another 35 years, Fruncillo acknowledged the difficulty of that prospect.
“We are important to the community,” Fruncillo said. “People would be upset if we weren’t here anymore.” Customers come from several communities to visit the bookstore, which hosts a variety of author events (some in conjunction with the weekly farmers’ market); sells new, used, and self-published books; and features a bright chalkboard highlighting staff picks.
“Our customers are educated people who take literature seriously,” said Fruncillo. “A few customers on Manitou Island who live here part of the year think they are single-handedly supporting the store.”
Business Magazine Features King’s English for Local First Efforts
June’s issue of Utah Business magazine looked at how businesses in the state square off against online retail behemoths and highlighted in particular Salt Lake City’s The King’s English for its strength in building relationships with customers to keep them shopping locally.
Customers visiting The King’s English rely on store staff for recommendations — rather than an algorithm — co-owner Anne Holman told the magazine. “There’s no substituting people. If you’ve been a customer for a long time, we know what you like, what your kids like.”
Holman also noted the importance of selling items online to stay competitive — the bookstore has added e-book sales through Kobo and is looking into textbook and audiobook sales — and in leveraging social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
Ultimately, explained Holman, The King’s English makes a point to offer a unique experience to its customers, while also giving back to the community by supporting local fundraising efforts and organizing community events for all to enjoy.
Joyce Meskis Discusses Tattered Cover’s Changing Ownership
5280 Magazine talked with Tattered Cover Book Store owner Joyce Meskis about the two-year ownership transition beginning this summer that will see Meskis retiring and the passing of the reins to the Denver, Colorado, bookstore to new owners, Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan. Meskis has owned Tattered Cover since 1974.
“I wanted it to be left to the right people. They are perfect for the Tattered Cover,” Meskis said of the incoming owners. “These people are committed to the industry: Both have spent their careers in the book business and understand community. They know the blessings and curses. Often people have a dreamy feeling about owning a bookstore, and they don’t realize how hard it is.”


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Nokia says it has started providing mapping services for free download in Apple's App Store, after a successful launch of the service on Android devices.
Make calls, read email, control music, manage Instagram photos, keep up with your workout, pay for groceries, open your hotel room door. CEO Tim Cook says you can do it all from your wrist with Apple Watch—for 18 hours ...
An online rush replaced the traditional overnight queues outside Apple stores Friday as the iconic tech company began taking orders and letting shoppers get their hands on its much-vaunted smartwatch for the first time.
Apple will spend nearly $850 million on a solar energy project that will generate enough power for the computer giant's new corporate headquarters, retail stores and other operations in California.
US tech giant Apple said Monday it would invest 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in two data centres located in Ireland and Denmark, to boost online services in the European market.
Apple became the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion Tuesday as shares vaulted amid upbeat news on the US tech giant's gains in the smartphone market and soon-to-arrive smartwatch.
Apple broke its sales record for an opening weekend of a new iPhone model, delivering 10 million in three days and boasting it could have sold more if it had them.
Apple and thousands of mobile software developers are feasting on people's ravenous app-etite for apps.
It's getting easier to be a procrastinator during the holidays.
Apple is turning its retail stores into art galleries featuring the work of professional photographers and other artists who use iPads, iPhones and Mac computers to create.


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Report: Second activity organized under the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement
Overview: In August 2020, Canada, Chile and New Zealand signed the Global Trade and Gender Arrangement (GTAGA), which aims to remove barriers to women's participation in trade. In keeping with this commitment, Chile hosted the second activity under the GTAGA on June 23rd entitled: Unlocking opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Canada, Chile and New Zealand. The online event allowed women who are exporting, export-ready, or considering future opportunities in GTAGA markets to learn more about the business opportunities that exist in these three countries. Approximately 120 participants attended the event.
Opening remarks were delivered by senior officials from the three GTAGA partners. Angélica Romero, Director General of Multilateral Economic Affairs at Chile's Undersecretariat of International Economics Affairs, highlighted the importance of building an enabling ecosystem that provides opportunities for women entrepreneurs to effectively set up or expand their businesses. Canada's Ambassador to Chile, Michael Gort, highlighted Canada's inclusive approach to trade, the priority Canada attaches to women's economic empowerment, and Canada's long history of providing services to Canadian women exporters. New Zealand's Ambassador to Chile, Linda Te Puni, recognized the important work of the GTAGA and accomplishments to-date. They emphasized the relevance of such activities in creating more opportunities for businesswomen.
Opening remarks were followed by a panel discussion comprised of three successful women entrepreneurs from our three countries who are exporting within GTAGA markets. The private sector panellists included: Laura Mottola, President and CEO of Flow Partners Inc, Canada; Carolina Echeñique, Founder and President of Tika Chips, and Moulie Maison du Chocolat, Chile; and, Sarah Adams, Global Strategy and New Ventures Manager for Gallagher Animal Management, New Zealand. The entrepreneurs shared their experiences in setting up a business, addressing the different barriers they faced, the lessons they learned during this process, as well as describing the opportunities in their target markets. They also described how the global pandemic has affected their businesses and offered views on how to tackle the impact it has had on most enterprises.
Following the panel discussion, questions from the audience were welcomed. Public engagement was high, with more than 20 questions received from participants. Most of the questions came from female entrepreneurs seeking guidance in expanding their businesses to one of the three GTAGA markets. Panelists answered many of the questions live and others were referred to government representatives for specific information queries or requests to contact trade commissioners.
The Q&A was followed by closing remarks from Chile, Canada and New Zealand on domestic export programs that support women entrepreneurs from panelists Mark Richardson, Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy in Chile; María José Álvarez, Coordinator, Department of Gender and Indigenous Peoples, ProChile; and, Sara Reyes, Trade Commissioner, Embassy of New Zealand in Chile.
Conclusion: The event demonstrated the many benefits of GTAGA for women entrepreneurs and allowed participants to hear from other successful entrepreneurs firsthand, including lessons learned in their journey as businesswomen and advice to expand businesses to international markets. It also demonstrated the importance of supporting female entrepreneurs in the internationalization of their businesses.
The format proved to be dynamic and successful. However, this activity was just an initial step towards creating tangible opportunities for women entrepreneurs' internationalization, and of exploring new paths for collaboration between and among GTAGA members.
A recording of the event is available for those who missed.
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Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar joined the Jews to oppose the widespread marketing in India of Adolf Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf.
An article in London's Daily Telegraph last month reported that sales of Mein Kampf 'are soaring in India where business students regard the genocidal dictator (Hitler) as a management guru' and consider the book to be a 'management guide.'
"Anyone seeking to teach tomorrow's business leaders of India should reject globalisation of hate and racism, not facilitating it," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a leading Jewish NGO at the United Nations.
"Using Mein Kampf as a self-improvement and strategy guide for India's young is an outrage that dishonours six million Jews murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Adolf Hitler's murderous Third Reich. Honouring and promoting Hitler's white racist ideology mocks the values of the world's largest democracy, and flies in the face of India's noble history of protecting minority peoples, Jews among them" he added.
"India has always been a haven to people of all religious identities and has had a legacy of protecting them. We should be happy to promote lessons from the lives of people who have helped unite mankind. There are many available books that would serve as inspirational management guides for India's youth," Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said.
"We request that publishing companies, bookstores and educators across India immediately cease marketing Mein Kampf as a management guide. This book ought only to be studied in the context of the tragedy of the Holocaust," Cooper and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar concluded.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organisations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. The Wiesenthal Centre and the Art Of Living Foundation have collaborated on a multi-faith anti-terrorism conference in Bali, Indonesia and in the presentation of an exhibition on the Nazi Holocaust, Courage To Remember at the Gandhi Cultural Centre in New Delhi and in Bangalore.
An article in Jewish Chronicle published from London said that 'sales of Mein Kampf topped 10,000 in New Delhi alone in the past six months and are expected to rise further. A spokesman for Embassy Books in Mumbai, who publish Mein Kampf, said people are looking at it from a business angle, especially as Hitler had such a strong influence on the world.'
'Students are told to use Mein Kampf and draw parallels with India to learn business strategies. Even for non-students Hitler's books are popular texts and are clearly displayed in most book stores around India.'
'A business student living in Mumbai said that many people in India see Hitler as a good role model for directing a company and cite him as an inspiration in people management,' the article said.


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Harley-Davidson has recalled 43,908 of its Street motorcycles for a brake issue that could cause a crash, and it has temporarily stopped shipping those models.
The recall, which includes 12,800 motorcycles sold in the U.S., wasn’t published on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website because of the government shutdown.
Harley, however, says it has notified its dealers and customers that Street 750 and Street 500 models manufactured in the U.S. from May 19, 2015, through Dec. 6, 2018, are subject to the recall.
Street bikes built in India during a similar period also have been recalled.
The recall of the smallest bikes in Harley’s lineup was first made public by Canadian transportation safety officials.
The brakes could drag due to corrosion of the brake caliper piston bore. If undetected, the increased drag could affect the bike’s stability and increase the risk of a crash.
Harley says it’s aware of four crashes and two injury accidents.
Continue reading at jsonline.com.


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You can bail!: AOL made the phrase “You’ve got mail!” popular enough to inspire a Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan flick. Yet the Internet pioneer also has had plenty of unsatisfied customers – especially those who learned there was no online means of canceling their online service. Until last August, AOL required that all such requests had to be made by fax, mail or telephone.
Now customers ticked off with AOL are assured of having an easier time exiting the Internet service as part of a resolution announced today in San Francisco in a multistate investigation over consumer complaints that seemed headed for civil court.
The $3 million settlement with 48 states and the District of Columbia was driven by a deluge of complaints from AOL customers who said they tried to close their accounts, only to be thwarted in their attempts or discover they were still being billed for services that they thought had been canceled.
The multistate investigation would have culminated in a lawsuit if AOL hadn’t agreed to ante up and change its ways, said David Tiede, a deputy attorney general in California. AOL didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement. Company spokeswoman Amy Call said AOL had already voluntarily improved the way it handled cancellations during 2005 and 2006. “This just codifies those safeguards,” she said.
An Apple item a day: A Canadian jogger struck by lightning while listening to a personal music player in stormy weather suffered a wishbone-shaped chest and neck burns, ruptured eardrums and a broken jaw. Last summer, a Colorado teen ended up with similar injuries when lightning struck nearby as he was listening to his iPod while mowing the lawn.
Emergency physicians report treating other patients with burns from freak accidents while using personal electronic devices such as beepers, Walkman players and laptop computers outdoors during storms. Michael Utley, a former stockbroker from West Yarmouth, Mass., who survived being struck by lightning while golfing, describes 13 cases since 2004 of people hit while talking on cell phones on his Web site, http://www.struckbylightning.org.
But can lightning strike your iPod twice?
China takes steps to regain confidence in exports: On Tuesday, China executed the former head of its food and drug agency for accepting bribes in exchange for letting fake medicine into the domestic market. Today China banned diethylene glycol – a thickening agent in antifreeze – from use in toothpaste.
A news report described the ban of the toxic substance as one of China’s “most significant concessions yet as it struggles to regain confidence in the country’s beleaguered exports.”
Although here have been no reports of health problems stemming from the toothpaste, dozens of people in Panama died last year after taking medicine contaminated with the chemical imported from China. It was passed off as harmless glycerin.
Chinese-made toothpaste containing the toxic substance – which can cause kidney failure, paralysis and death – had already been yanked from sale in North and South America, Europe and Asia in recent weeks. Diethylene glycol is used as a low-cost substitute for glycerin, a sweetener commonly found in drugs, food, toothpaste and other products.
“From today onwards, toothpaste manufacturers are not allowed to use diethylene glycol as an ingredient,” the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a notice posted late today on its Web site. The statement said the vast majority of Chinese toothpaste manufacturers have already stopped using it in order to reassure consumers and “to avoid unnecessary losses incurred by exporting manufacturers.”
Meanwhile, in Motor City: The chairman of the private equity firm that is buying Chrysler said today that it will fix and hold the troubled automaker and has no plans to sell.
The U.S. auto industry is poised for a turnaround, said former Treasury Secretary John Snow, who now is chairman of Cerberus Capital Management LP. “We want to be there to help the turn and benefit our investors from the turn,” he told a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club.
Silicon Valley tech stocks:
Up: EBay, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Applied Materials, Google and Apple. Down: Intel and Yahoo.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Up 12.63 point or 0.48 percent, closing at 2,651.79
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average: Up 76.17 points or 0.56 percent, closing at 13,577.87
And the Standard & Poor’s 500 index: Up 8.64 points or 0.57 percent, closing at 1,518.76


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The politics of GST
While GST implementation will revolutionize taxation in India, it will also upend power hierachy in the tax bureaucracy, fiscal federalism and corruption template
The goods and services tax (GST) juggernaut has now begun its journey and there is no looking back. The new tax system promises to revolutionize life for the entire value chain starting from goods and services producers all the way to consumers. But the GST also promises to upend many other established systems—such as the power hierarchy in the tax bureaucracy, the known fiscal federalism model and the prevalent corruption template. These changes, in turn, will dictate the final shape of the new tax regime.


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UNIQLO to launch Jeff Koons UT Collection
"I enjoy very much how UNIQLO is in contact with my generation but also the younger generation. Everybody enjoys, very much, their clothing and I love that sense of unity. I hope that this collaboration will help people around the world to connect with each other and that art will enrich their daily lives,” Koons said. "At Uniqlo, our support and collaboration with artists is our key wish to improve all people’s lives. Jeff Koons represents the positive power of art and its ability to transform who we are and the world around us. Jeff Koons is a source of imagination and commitment and we are extremely proud of our partnership," said John Jay, President of Global Creative at UNIQLO.
The eight items that comprise this collection will also be sold at the Qatar Museums IN-Q gift shop during the solo exhibition Jeff Koons: Lost in America, presented by Qatar Museums, which opens in Doha this November.


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A customer came into Gerow’s Auto Service in Belfast, NY, recently and demanded that the technicians fix his wife’s 2004 Isuzu Axiom. According to the shop owner, the shop had previously worked on the vehicle and now the vehicle had a blown engine. The man apparently felt that the shop was to blame for his wife’s car problems.
Below is the article as it appeared on the Wellsville Daily Reporter website.
Caneadea man aims gun at repair man, demands his wife’s car be fixed
By Brian Quinn
Dec 29, 2011
BELFAST – A man with a 12-gauge shotgun came into Gerow’s Auto Service Monday allegedly demanding mechanics service his wife’s vehicle, a 2004 Isuzu Axiom. He left the Main Street shop under arrest on two counts of second-degree menacing and one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Aaron M. Morton, 24, of Caneadea, posted $2,500 bail Tuesday and was released from the county jail, corrections officers said. He is due to appear Jan. 24 in Belfast Town Court.
Gerow’s owner, Justin Gerow, a witness to the incident, said Tuesday a truck was being worked on when Morton entered the shop. Gerow said four people were there at the time Morton, Gerow, one of Morton’s cousins and a friend of Gerow’s who did not work at the auto shop. Another cousin of Morton’s arrived at some point, Gerow said.
The shop owner said they later found out the shotgun was not loaded.
To read the entire article on the Wellsville Daily Reporter website, visit http://www.wellsvilledaily.com/state_news/x1569726993/Man-wields-gun-at-repair-shop.


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Money raised from a Super Bowl party at Wildhorse Resort & Casino brought in $4,262 for the Wounded Warriors Project.
For the third year, Kevin Haid, sports bar manager, teamed up with Wildhorse vendors for the donation of prizes. Raffle tickets were sold at the sports bar during the Feb. 1 Super Bowl game. Lucky fans went home with prizes like pool tables, barbecues, city cruiser bikes and NFL branded merchandise. But the big winners are veterans who receive assistance through the Wounded Warrior Project. Last year’s event raised $3,000 and Haid had a goal of $4,000 this year.
“We are thrilled with the outcome,” Haid said. “Surpassing our expectations is always a great feeling, especially when it is going to a great cause like the Wounded Warriors.”


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Welcome to the golden age of console strategy games
Faced with new tech, expanding audiences, and a changing medium, game developers are reimagining the strategy genre.
ENSEMBLE STUDIOS HAD spent nearly a decade mastering the real-time strategy genre when it became a victim of its own success. Its 1997 debut, Age of Empires, had been an instant hit and spawned several beloved sequels and expansions that cemented the studio’s glowing reputation. Imitators—some novel, some slavish—quickly appeared in their droves, and by the mid-2000s, parent company Microsoft expected nothing of the studio other than to build on its legacy with another game in the same vein.
The only problem: Ensemble wasn’t much interested. “We had been trying for so long to do anything but an RTS game,” says Dave Pottinger, a veteran of the studio who worked there across its lifespan. “If we were going to do another one, something had to change.” An idea was floated: stick to the RTS format on which the team had built its reputation, but leave PCs behind to make a game for consoles. Ensemble would have something new to chew on, and Microsoft would be left happy. Or so they hoped.
“Everyone there thought it was a catastrophically terrible idea,” says Pottinger. “We had never designed a console game, much less a console RTS, and they didn’t really exist back then.” With Ensemble having already spent a couple of years creating an original IP and prototyping ideas, Microsoft gave the studio an ultimatum: rework the game into a tie-in for the biggest Xbox franchise of the day, or scrap the whole thing. “If they were gonna take a chance on a console RTS, it had to be tied to Halo,” says Pottinger. “That was the only way they thought it would sell.”
And sell it did. When Halo Wars hit shelves in 2009, it sold 1 million copies in under a month. It was the kind of commercial success any developer would be happy with, largely driven, Pottinger admits, by the Halo brand.
Yet were those Microsoft executives to look at Ensemble’s original console RTS today, they may be more approving. In a far cry from its early years, console strategy gaming is the healthiest it’s ever been. Knotty grand-strategy titles such as Crusader Kings III sit alongside the more approachable likes of Minecraft Legends, action-focused games like Aliens: Dark Descent, the more conventional real-time battlefields of Company of Heroes 3, and management simulators like Two Point Campus. Just this year, Ensemble’s PC classic Age of Empires 2 was ported to Xbox platforms with a bespoke gamepad control scheme, and Age of Empires 4 followed suit only last month.
It speaks, in part, to the general homogenization of the medium. “The line between consoles and PC gaming is going away,” says Lewis Ward, gaming research director at market research firm IDC. He notes that seven of the 10 top-grossing games on Steam last year are also available on consoles, and publishers themselves are increasingly blurring platform distinctions. Sony has ported several of its biggest PlayStation exclusives to PC in the past few years, including traditional console mascots like Ratchet & Clank and Sackboy. And the launch of the Steam Deck has allowed players to access the world’s biggest PC storefront through a console-style device.
In the past, hardware disparities have been a major headache for multiplatform developers, as large chunks of a game would have to be tweaked to support the bespoke processes and systems of each console. “Nowadays the CPUs and other hardware are actually surprisingly similar between them all,” says Ben Hymers, technical director on Two Point Campus. “Some platforms are more powerful than others, but the actual core architecture of things is about the same.”
Porting is therefore more straightforward, and consoles are better equipped to handle whatever’s brought over. “The power of the console and how it’s improved over the years makes developing something like a strategy game easier,” says Dennis Ries, executive producer on Minecraft Legends. With hundreds of interactable AI units appearing onscreen and rolling systems working in the background, strategy games often demand a lot from the hardware. It’s taken modern consoles, with their beefy CPUs and ample memory, for some developers to feel they can bring their games across platforms without sacrificing performance or trimming down the experience.
Yet the strategy genre is more peculiar still. Not only dense with systems, mechanics and menus, some of the most popular strategy games are as kinetic as the biggest first-person shooters. Mouse and keyboard, then, has long been the preferred way of interacting with them, and porting them to consoles has the added difficulty of making their controls compatible with the limited inputs and precision of a gamepad. But controllers haven’t changed substantially in the past few years, so why are developers now more willing to embrace them?
For Ashley Wooley-Khan, a producer at developer HardLight that supported the console port of Company of Heroes 3, there’s been a “maturity in the language of controller use” among both players and developers. “Even if you go back to PS3 or 360 games now, the modern sense of how you would use a controller, it’s just not there,” he says, pointing to the way players now expect by default to use shoulder bumpers to switch menu tabs and press the left analog stick to make their character sprint. “Now, we’ve gotten to the point where players have this shared understanding of what should be done with a controller and how it should function,” he says. That means it’s easier to introduce new players to systems-heavy genres like strategy, as their foundational understanding makes it less effort to pick up knotty controls.
Just as important, suggests designer and artist Greg Foertsch, who has worked on the Civilization and XCOM series and is currently directing a Star Wars strategy game at Bit Reactor, are the changing interests of developers. Strategy developers of the past often saw complexity as a “badge of honor,” he says, and deliberately prioritized complicated design systems that paired well with the many inputs of a keyboard but weren’t created in consideration of controllers.
“Whether your game is on PC or console, for me the platform is a design tool to keep me honest,” Foertsch says. “If you design with the input method in mind, I think you’re going to end up with a more accessible game in general, because it’s going to focus your thought, it’s going to really make you put a lot of effort into how the player interacts with the game.”
It’s a kind of design philosophy clearly demonstrated by the upcoming Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin. While at first glance it looks like a fantasy RTS in the standard vein, it involves minimal base building and virtually no resource systems, minimizing the back-and-forth precision that can be cumbersome to pull off without a mouse.
“It’s about speed of response and quick iteration,” says principal designer Sandro Sammarco. “Go fight the battle, and hopefully you’re fighting the opponent more and the controls less.” On Xbox, the default control scheme doesn’t even use a reticle, instead having you shift between units by pointing the analog stick in their direction, and hopping between recruitment menus with slick shortcuts. “We made sure that wherever possible, the game is helping you out when you’re pointing at things and locking on to them, and not requiring too many fiddly individual controls.”
Elsewhere, the design challenges that console developers are facing are already starting to feed back on PC. Take the AI worker system that was added to Age of Empires 4’s Xbox port to automate onerous micro-management. “I talk with our creative director, Adam Isgreen, all the time,” says Chris Rubyor, who worked as design codirector on Age of Empires 4 and has contributed to a smattering of RTS games over the past 25 years. “And I go, ‘Dude, how did we not think about this 10 years ago?’” The team plans to bring the system to PC in the future, as well as anything else they think is worth picking up from the console port. “Part of our mantra was we wanted to make sure that whatever we built, the blueprint that we came up with could translate to any Age game going forward.”
But while the console strategy train is picking up steam, not every developer is getting on board. Stormgate, an upcoming free-to-play RTS from ex-Blizzard devs, and something of a spiritual successor to StarCraft II, will be a PC exclusive. It’s putting heavy focus on competitive multiplayer, and developer Frost Giant Studios already has plans for a thriving esports scene. “For our style of game—the fast-paced, real-time strategy game—it’s unlikely the PC will lose its place at the top anytime soon,” says CEO Tim Morten. “If we do support other platforms in the future, we’ll just want to ensure that the gameplay experience remains excellent.”
But Earnest Yuen, executive producer on Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, thinks that hesitancy will rapidly dissipate. He compares strategy’s trend toward console to what first-person shooters experienced over 20 years ago when the likes of Halo and GoldenEye appeared. “There were so many naysayers,” he says, who doubted if the genre could ever work on gamepads as it had with mouse and keyboard. “Nowadays, people don’t even question it.” And with the recent surge of console strategy games, Yuen thinks, maybe someday the same will be said of them. “The genie’s out of the bottle now.”
Read more on wired.com


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Terra Motors hopes to clean up in Southeast Asia with new electric tuk-tuk
Auto rickshaws, also known as tuk-tuks, three-wheelers or by numerous other names, are a common sight on the streets of many Asian cities. An evolution of the traditional pulled or cycle rickshaw, the gasoline-powered vehicles, which are used as taxis, are a major source of pollution in many Asian cities. Japan’s Terra Motors hopes to capitalize on efforts to cut tuk-tuk pollution with its new electric three-wheeler aimed at emerging Southeast Asia markets.
Although they are generally powered by high polluting two-stroke engines, a number of governments in Southeast Asia are forcing changes in an effort to improve the air quality in major cities. Some are forcing a switch to CNG or LPG fuel, while others are banning two-stroke engines in favor of four-stroke engines. The Philippines government is embracing locally emission-free electric powered tuk-tuks, with plans to introduce some 100,000 such vehicles by 2016.
Terra Motors is aiming for a slice of this pie with its electric three-wheeler, alongside the wider goal of becoming the world’s biggest seller of electric tuk-tuks within the next two years. Likely strengthening the company’s bid, Terra Motors will produce the vehicles in the Philippines.
Measuring 3.3 m (10.8 ft) long and 1.47 m (4.8 ft) wide, the vehicle has room for five passengers in seats facing each other located behind the driver. A two-hour charge of the swappable lithium ion battery pack is good for a range of around 50 km (31 miles), with the vehicle capable of a top speed of 50 km/h (31 mph).
Since the “tuk-tuk” moniker is derived from the noise the traditional two-stroke engined vehicles make, the switch to almost silent electric power could see them requiring a new name.
Terra Motors plans to sell its EV Tricycle Taxi from later this year for around US$6,300.


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Art Van Furniture
Connecting with Community Partner
With a belief that it takes a little effort to make a big impact, Founder and Chairman, Art Van Elslander, has always made giving back a top priority. During its entire 50-year history, Art Van Furniture has been actively involved in numerous philanthropic efforts, with an emphasis on children and health and human services. This past year, Art Van Furniture gave away $1 million to 50 charities statewide, and will donate another million dollars during the Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge.
Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Art Van Furniture is Michigan's largest furniture retailer, with seven stores located in West Michigan. Art Van Furniture has also been recognized as one of West Michigan's 101 Brightest and Best places to work.
Let's never forget the victims of 9/11 by doing good deeds of positive action. Pledge to do a good deed on September 11th or find a volunteer opportunity in near you.
The West Michigan Miracle League is charitable organization that provides children with physical challenges an opportunity to play baseball in an organized league.
Looking for free ways to make changes in the way your home looks and feels? Art Van Furniture is offering free fall design classes in September.
A special portion of the new Art Van Sports Complex is set to open in about a month.
Two West Michigan Art Van furniture stores have started a two-week food drive to help homeless veterans in their communities.


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Hooksett, N.H. August 8, 2018: Merchants Fleet announced today it is expanding its senior leadership team to meet the growing needs of their client base which has experienced a 35% increase in leased and managed units over the last 12 months. Jack Firriolo will assume his new role of Vice President, Fleet Credit, while Adam Secore will become Vice President, Fleet Operations.
Adam Secore is a 12-year veteran of the Merchants organization, having spent the last six doubling the size of one of the country’s largest single point retail car operations as General Manager of Merchants Automotive Group. Secore will now focus his talents on the fleet operations side of the business. “Adam is a strong leader and our growth allows us to leverage his skills, along with his operational expertise, to streamline internal processes and deliver on our brand promise of customer service,” stated Brendan P Keegan, CEO of Merchants.
As part of the organizational changes, Jack Firriolo will now focus on overseeing the company’s increasing number of diverse accounts across many industries, while also ensuring a strong overall credit quality. Firriolo is a seven-year employee of Merchants. “We want to leverage and focus Jack’s passion and expertise when it comes to credit. With a growing organization and wider customer base, as well as corporate development activities, we require an elevated focus on the credit side of the business,” stated Keegan.
Merchants Fleet provides our customers with the most innovative fleet management experience nationally. We partner with our customers to optimize the mobility of their organization. Leveraging the brightest minds in the industry, real-time technology, data analytics, and our full range of products and services, we elevate the fleet performance of our broad range of customers. Find out more at merchantsfleet.com.
Contact: Tracy Durocher, Assistant Director of Marketing, 603-606-4514, [email protected]


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You’d have to be living in a cave to not realize that Amazon (AMZN) has been part of a most impressive rally.
But following a three day pullback, the Amazon share price today sits right on a key long-term support level.
Check out the Amazon stock chart below and you’ll see exactly what I am talking about. Going all the way back to the October highs, which began a long-term resistance level, that area was tested again in late October, and more definitely in January and early February, but couldn’t muster the strength to break through.
These tests that failed to break through created a major resistance level at the $841-842 level. But a little more than a week ago, AMZN broke through key resistance and rallied the next three days before pulling back.
Now, guess where that stock price is now? Right back on that $841-842 resistance-turned-support level.
Let me continue to talk further on this Amazon stock analysis that we have underway.
Notice the lows from early January, now draw a trend-line connecting it with the subsequent February lows.
See anything interesting there?
Do you see how the trend-line also touches today’s lows of the day and where the stock bounces?
That means there are two key support levels to take under consideration here:
- The Declining support we mentioned early on off of the October highs
- The rising support on Amazon off of the January lows.
That means we have multiple levels of support that will:
- Provide greater support for the stock going forward and more likely that it will result in a winning trade
- Provide greater clarification that it is time to get out of the trade when both nearby support levels are broken.
Finally, the risk aspect of the amazon trade is tight.
There is a chance that if the market continues to rally, that Amazon will be over $900 in no time. Consider the tight stop-loss and that is a really good return for the risk we are putting on.


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Following several weeks of more abundant electricity supply, the shopping spree associated with Black Friday was met with a resumption of stage 6 load-shedding. A swift return to lower levels of electricity rationing by Eskom may nevertheless be on the cards due mainly to sustained progress with embedded generation by private households and businesses.
Another ray of light is the imminent return to production of unit 2 at the Kusile power station, which had been rendered inoperable by the collapse of its flue duct. Other bad news was the modest increase in the inflation rate, namely from 5.4% in September to 5.9% in October, mainly due to rising food prices.
Fortunately, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank has not overreacted to the slight uptick in the consumer price index (CPI) and decided to keep their benchmark repo rate on hold.
November’s inflation print should already benefit from strengthening the exchange rate by more than 3% during the first three weeks, namely to a level of R18.45 caused by a slump in the US dollar.
Another reason to be optimistic about the chances of inflation returning soon to the mid-point of the Reserve Bank’s target range is the welcome decline in oil prices. A fortunate combination of a stronger currency and a lower oil price is bound to lead to a further drop in petrol and diesel prices in December.
Motor vehicle exports are booming.
South Africa’s motor vehicle and component manufacturers are going from strength to strength, increasing their contribution to total exports during the first nine months of the year from 9.3% in 2022 to 11.7% in 2023.
In the process, the value of motor vehicle & component exports of R178 billion for the first three quarters of 2023 has elevated the industry into third place in the rankings for export earnings.
This year, only precious metals and mineral products have earned more foreign exchange than the motor industry. The timing of this stellar export growth is exceptional due to the slump in commodity prices, which has negatively impacted mining exports.
Employment rises further
Total employment in the economy has finally recovered to a higher level than before the pandemic, with almost 400,000 new jobs created in the 3rd quarter of 2023.
The sectors that have been the key drivers of new job creation over the year ended September 2023 are (number of jobs in parentheses): finance & business services (456,000); community & social assistance (235,000); trade & hospitality (145,000); construction (134,000); and agriculture (83,000).
The sustained increase in job creation is welcome news for SA Revenue Services, which may still be able to get close to the budgeted revenue for the current fiscal year.
Bond yield recovers
The recovery of the rand/US dollar exchange rate during November was accompanied by a reduction of 90 basis points in the yield on South Africa’s 10-year sovereign bonds.
The lower bond yield signals a positive capital market reaction to the National Treasury’s mini-budget, which reflected fundamental fiscal stability despite lingering concerns over lower taxation revenues in the current fiscal year.
Higher consumer spending during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas holidays will hopefully provide South African Revenue Services with sufficient VAT receipts to avoid any taxation rate increases in February’s central budget for 2024/25.
On Balance by Dr Roelof Botha deliberately emphasizes positive news that, more often than not, confirms the resilience of the South African economy and the immense scope for new business opportunities.


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VPN usage has surged in the last several years, with growing concerns over data privacy and security — and sometimes completely different motivations like people wanting to access content otherw
Data privacy standards would establish a baseline of fairness that spans geographic borders and works for companies at any stage.
TikTok is expanding its in-app parental controls feature, Family Pairing, with educational resources designed to help parents better support their teenage users, the company announced this morning. Th
End-to-end encrypted email service ProtonMail has refreshed its design, updating with a cleaner look and a more customizable user interface — including the ability to pick from a bunch of themes
The city council in Portland, Oregon passed legislation Wednesday that’s widely regarded as the most aggressive municipal ban on facial recognition technology so far. Through a pair of ordinance
There’s no doubt that Apple’s self-polished reputation for privacy and security has taken a bit of a battering recently. On the security front, Google researchers just disclosed a major fl
A new privacy-centric cryptocurrency project with some big names on board just raised a round worth noting. On Tuesday, the team at MobileCoin announced that Binance Labs, the major blockchain incubat
Starting in 2016, tech companies can tell law enforcement in California to come back with a warrant for access to digital data. That’s because California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the Califor
When a new technology comes out, people are generally good at seeing through the hype that is associated with it. Many technological inventions, after all, are not immediately revolutionary -- despite
Fears over privacy are nothing new. As users began to see the sheer availability of information online, and the amount of personal data being seen and used by tech companies, they became rightly conce
Digital privacy is on the ropes, and public cynicism is running high. But there are glimmers of innovation in what could be a new phase for Big Data: empowering the customer.


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Thorpe Park boost sends Accesso into a spin with 60% jump in profits
Accesso, which makes handheld devices that replace the need to queue at theme parks, saw a 60 per cent rise in profits after striking a deal to sell tickets to Thorpe Park owner Merlin Entertainments, online.
Annual pre-tax profits rose from £2.2million to £3.5million on sales of £51million. The group sells online tickets on behalf of theme parks and water parks around the world, and also sells wristbands that allow families to cut out queuing by letting them reserve a place in a line.
Under the technology, when the queue time has finished they can go straight to the front of the line.
Enjoying the upturn: Accesso, which makes handheld devices that replace the need to queue at theme parks, saw a 60 per cent rise in profits after striking a deal to sell tickets for Thorpe Park online
It has begun working with Merlin, which owns Thorpe Park, to run a trial of a free ‘reserve and ride’ service on some of its largest attractions, such as the Colossus rollercoaster (pictured).
‘People associate theme parks with queues,’ said boss Tom Burnet, ‘but we think there can be a place where no one has to queue again’. Shares rose 7.5p to 587.5p.
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It has long been believed that, if you visit a grocery store with an empty stomach, you are more likely to buy, not only junk food but, more items in general. Post-bankruptcy courses often stress this principle and urge the course taker to avoid shopping when hungry. How true is this piece of wisdom? A new study completed by Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, a research institute, says it is pretty true.
The study took 68 adults who were told by researchers to not eat for five hours; half of the participants then were given food to satiate their hunger; after feeding half and keeping the other half hungry, researchers simulated a grocery store environment, and found that both groups bought the same number of items – low calorie snacks and products.
However, those that were hungry purchased 6 high calorie products; those that were fed prior to the shopping simulation purchased only 4 high calorie products. Researchers also found that, people who go grocery shopping prior to dinner, say from 4pm to 7pm, were more likely to purchase high calorie food items.
“Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry and you don’t have a list, because you’re just going to buy all sorts of junk food,” says Amy Yaroch, head of the institute that did the research.


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Gasrec, Reynolds Logistics renew biomethane delivery contract
The agreement will see Reynolds Logistics continue to collect biomethane from the Grain LNG terminal on the Isle of Grain and deliver it to Gasrec’s growing number of refuelling facilities around the UK.
Reynolds Logistics has taken delivery of two more ADR specified Volvo FM LNG 6x2 tractor units, taking the total amount of trucks working exclusively on the Gasrec contract to seven, with a further two units to follow later this year.
Paired with Gasrec’s tri-axle cryogenic tanker fleet, the trucks are currently delivering between 25 and 30 loads of biomethane each week. That number will rise throughout 2022, with Gasrec planning to open a further three open-access refuelling sites, as well as several more private customer facilities, to meet the growing demand from operators transitioning away from diesel.
“The relationship we have built with Gasrec over the past five years has gone from strength to strength,” said Andrew Reynolds, CEO of Reynolds Logistics, “and this new contract is a testament to that.
“With the demand for biomethane as a transport fuel increasing significantly over the past two years, activity on the contract is busier than ever. Gasrec has some very ambitious plans in place, and with the new investment with bp secured, the future looks exciting.”
James Westacott, chief commercial officer at Gasrec, commented: “Reynolds Logistics has proved a valuable, reliable, and trustworthy partner for us over the past five years.
“Looking ahead, we have some very ambitious growth targets to deliver and we are confident we have the right logistics partner on board to support us – and quite rightly with a modern fleet of biomethane-powered tractor units providing the bulk of the traction.”


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India’s dream of becoming a semiconductor major saw a big boost with the news that Apple partner and chip manufacturer Foxconn is going to work with steel major company Vedanta in the South Asian country.
Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, has expanded into areas including electric vehicles (EVs) and semiconductors in recent years. Both giants are teaming up to build a manufacturing plant for semiconductors in the country.
In a joint press release, Foxconn said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with oil-to-metals group Vedanta to make semiconductors, calling it "a significant boost to domestic manufacturing of electronics in India."
According to the MoU signed between the two companies, Vedanta will hold the majority of the equity in the joint venture, while Foxconn will be the minority shareholder. Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal will be the Chairman of the joint venture company, Foxconn said in the statement.
Discussions are currently ongoing with a few state governments to finalise the location of the plant.
The collaboration between Vedanta and Foxconn follows the India Government’s recent policy announcement for electronics manufacturing and production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for incentivising organisations to contribute towards the development of this sector. This will be the first joint venture in the electronics manufacturing space after the announcement of the policy.
According to sources, Foxconn would invest $118.7 million (roughly INR9 billion) to set up a joint venture company with Vedanta, which would be the majority shareholder of the new venture. Foxconn would hold 40% of the venture's shares, it added.


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Health Canada recalls brand of adult and children’s vitamin due to too much vitamin D
L'il Critters Vitamin D3 and Vitafusion Calcium Adult Gummy Vitamins are being recalled after the company’s testing identified higher levels of vitamin D. (Photo courtesy Health Canada)
Health Canada has issued a recall for both children’s and adult vitamins from Church & Dwight Canada Corp. as they contain excessive vitamin D levels.
L'il Critters Vitamin D3 and Vitafusion Calcium Adult Gummy Vitamins are being recalled after the company’s testing identified higher levels of vitamin D.
The product contained almost four times the level of vitamin D that was indicated on its label, said Health Canada.
The tested amount is more than the tolerable intake amount for children eight and under.
Health Canada said that if this amount is consumed, children eight and under can experience vitamin D “intoxication” leading to serious side effects such as headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, lack of appetite, irritability, dehydration, fatigue and weight loss.
Health Canada said it is monitoring the recall and is encouraging users to report any reactions associated with the products on their website or by calling the toll-free number 1-800-267-9675.


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The governor of St. Petersburg signed the law on the introduction of the resort tax.
Resort tax will be introduced in St. Petersburg
Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov signed a law introducing a resort tax for tourists in the city. This was reported by representatives of his press service.
According to the new law, the fee will be charged from April 1, 2024. The resort fee will amount to 100 rubles per day for each person staying in the hotel.
Representatives of the press service explained that the proceeds from the resort fee will be used to create comfortable conditions and develop the tourism industry.
It also became known that the law itself will come into force as early as October 1, 2023, but travelers will not pay the fee until April 1, 2024.
Earlier in May, it was reported that the popular resort town of Aktau in Kazakhstan would introduce tourist tax for foreign tourists, including Russians. The rate for incoming foreigners has already been approved by local deputies.


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GSK chief Emma Walmsley has pulled off a rare feat for the corporate world and lined up a hefty takeover deal that seemingly pleases everybody.
When Britain’s biggest drug maker announced last Tuesday that it was buying out its Swiss rival Novartis’ stake in its consumer healthcare business for $13bn (£9bn), the firm received widespread praise from analysts and its stock jumped 5pc.
Once the deal completes GSK will have complete control of the Sensodyne toothpaste to Panadol painkiller unit, with sales of £7.8bn that have grown around 4pc over the past three years. GSK said it may have to sell its historic Horlicks brand to help pay for it, but this didn’t upset the unsentimental City.
It would have been a different reaction had GSK decided to bid for US rival Pfizer’s consumer division the week before, with its reported price tag of $20bn.
Instead GSK pulled out of the running, a mere 24 hours after fellow FTSE 100 giant Reckitt Benckiser did the same, leaving Pfizer struggling to find a buyer. After quitting the race GSK’s share price rose 3pc precisely because it wasn’t buying.
Behind the scenes Ms Walmsley has been carrying out a balancing act, weighing the merits of two competing deals and trying to keep the joint owner of one of its major divisions, in Novartis, happy.
At the same time she has been trying to ensure she retains enough capital to meet GSK’s two top priorities. These are sharpening up its under-performing pharmaceutical division – which accounts for the majority of the company’s £30bn sales – and maintaining a dividend for investors.
Has she pulled it off? And to what extent were these her – or Novartis’ – decisions?
The key to understanding the machinations at GSK’s Brentford HQ over the past few months is a clause in the original deal between the firm and Novartis.
Three years ago the rivals completed an asset swap that saw GSK transfer its then cancer drugs portfolio to Novartis, in return for combining the two companies’ consumer health divisions.
Novartis got a put option at the time that went live at the start of March this year. If exercised this would oblige GSK to buy it out and it appears the Swiss firm wasted no time triggering it.
GSK valued Novartis’ stake at £8.6bn on its balance sheet in its full-year results in February – so £600m less than the price ultimately agreed.
It is understood GSK had been factoring in having to acquire the unit by around the middle of this year. The £8.6bn figure was discounted from a midyear estimated valuation of £8.9bn.
Novartis threw the City off the scent by indicating last autumn that it was not ready to dump consumer health, telling analysts there was more value and synergies to be realised.
Vincent Meunier, analyst at Morgan Stanley, suggests this could have been clever tactics. “I think Novartis was putting gentle pressure on GSK to extract more synergies.”
If this was the ask it appears GSK fell short. Early on in the Pfizer contest it is understood Novartis made it clear it wanted to exit the consumer health joint venture. An early proposal from GSK to combine all three units was rebuffed.
With Novartis selling up, it was always a tall order for GSK to buy both divisions in one go. “It would have been difficult and threatened its priority to overhaul pharma,” says Meunier.
GSK stayed in the running for Pfizer’s consumer unit as it wanted to take a close look at assets such as Chapstick lip balm, Centrum vitamins and Seven Seas supplements. The competitive dynamic may also have helped ensure Reckitt didn’t pick up the assets cheap.
Johnson & Johnson and Nestlé pulled out at an earlier stage. Ms Walmsley declined to comment on the content of discussions with Novartis on a call with reporters last week, saying that the talks had been “constructive”.
“The consideration and detailed review that we did around Pfizer assets opened up this opportunity and we are both very happy to conclude it,” she added.
Whatever the reasons behind the Novartis deal, what has pleased the City is she has opted for the more conservative option – a business GSK already runs but didn’t own 37pc of, limiting any heavy lifting required for integration.
It also limits any potential distraction from Ms Walmsley’s main priorities of overhauling the pharmaceutical division and paying out a dividend.
Michael Leuchten, analyst at UBS, said he approved of the Novartis tie-up in a note, saying it gave GSK more certainty and would improve profitability immediately. He had been expecting GSK’s earnings to be flat for the next two years in the face of intensifying competition in its pharmaceutical division.
But Leuchten said the Novartis tie-up had “removed this plateau” and would indeed boost earnings from this year. He believed the price paid was “fair”.
“With GSK walking away from bidding for the Pfizer OTC business the dividend looks secure in our view,” he added.
Ms Walmsley said the deal would allow its investors to “capture the full value of one of the world’s leading consumer healthcare businesses”.
GSK has been driving up profitability at the division. Since 2015 it has pushed margins up from 11.3pc to 17.7pc and is targeting mid-20pc by 2022.
Shareholders will be asked to vote on the tie-up in the coming months, with the deal expected to close by this summer.
Ms Walmsley argued the Horlicks brand – which is wildly popular in India, where it is sold as a nutritional drink – and other assets were likely to prove attractive.
Potential companies linked to a bid including Nestlé and Unilever.
The firm is considering selling products with combined annual sales of £550m. The strategic review of the assets will complete by the end of the year.
Commenting on Horlicks, Ms Walmsley said: “This is an absolutely extraordinary brand, with more than a century of history, particularly in India – [where it is] much loved.”
The firm will refocus the division on over-the-counter medicine and oral health products such as toothpaste and mouthwash.
The steady consumer profits should help support investment in its riskier pharmaceutical business.
Attention will turn to its drugs division at the half-year, when GSK’s new chief scientific officer, the renowned American drug development expert Dr Hal Barron, will present an update on overhauling the company’s R&D pipeline.
Getting the pharmaceutical division in shape will be the bigger test of Ms Walmsley’s tenure.


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A skincare brand is claiming a market first with an innovative, hybrid face mask that combines the benefits of fabric and clay for quicker and easier use.
The two Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa products - Dead Sea Mud Spa and Glacial Clay Spa (rsp: £1.49 per sachet) - roll out to Boots in mid-August and Asda in September.
Made from natural bamboo fabric infused with specially sourced clay, they were “unlike any other face mask in the market”, claimed marketing manager Kate Johnston, and would appeal to time-pressed consumers by providing a “quicker, better and easier” way to cleanse skin.
“The masks provide consumers with a deep cleanse thanks to the clay, while the fabric makes the masks much easier and quicker to apply and remove - saving time and minimising the mess factor,” she said.
They would encourage women to use face masks more regularly - and not just as a treat - a trend already seen abroad, she added. “It’s time the UK caught up,” she said.
However, an industry observer questioned whether the products would hit the spot. “While the cleverly infused fabric is more convenient, the actual face masks bring nothing fundamentally new and perhaps even replace some of the spa experience with a more utilitarian approach,” said Amy Bridgman, director of creative & strategic planning at of brand agency Pi Global.
According to SymphonyIRI data, sales of the Montagne Jeunesse facemask portfolio have fallen 3.9% year-on-year to £4m [52 w/e 19 May 2012], although the company claimed its own figures - which included online sales and sales through high street fashion retailers such as Claire’s and New Look - showed the brand in overall growth.


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2023 Bathurst 6 Hour tickets, camping on sale now
TICKETS and Camping for the 2023 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour are now on sale via the official event website, www.bathurst6hour.com.au.
Tickets will be on sale for 2022 prices until 15 January 2023, with a range of ticketing options available for fans to purchase at an event that has grown a reputation for being one of the most affordable and bang-for-your-buck weekends on the Aussie motorsport calendar.
To be held across the April 7-9 Easter Long weekend, the 2023 event will see three days of almost non-stop track action that will culminate in another capacity field of 70 cars contesting the 6-Hour itself.
Off track, great food and drink and off-track entertainment make it a brilliant and affordable family weekend out in New South Wales’ stunning Central West Region and the City of Bathurst itself.
Tickets start at just $15 (Early Bird) for an Adult Friday General Admission pass, to $25 for Easter Sunday, while three-day weekend passes are just $45 for adults or $35 for concession purchasers for those taking advantage of the early bird prices.
Tickets are more affordable if purchased online prior to the event.
All ticketholders will have free access to the Ivan Stibbard Grandstand on pit straight, the pit building and pit roof plus the paddock area and the top of Mount Panorama throughout the event, with all access included within the price of their ticket.
Campground sales are also now open for purchase for fans looking to experience the Mountain up close and personal next Easter.
Camping is a Bathurst tradition with the paddock campgrounds an enthusiastic mix of patrons every year.
Those looking to camp trackside next year are encouraged to secure their spot quickly as demand for spaces in the paddock campgrounds is expected to be high.


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Native advertising technology company ADYOULIKE has today (15 August, 2018) become the first pure-play native advertising company to receive the Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Gold Standard certification
Branded content agency Nemorin Creative Film and Video have appointed Graham Hayday as director of content and strategy, effective from 4 July 2018. Nemorin is a full-service branded video production agency created three years ago by Pete Fergusson, former head of commercial video for the Telegraph Media Group.
In an expansion from its core technology, Skimlinks’ new platform model and corresponding applications provide publishers with an expansive variety of options for evolving content monetization programs
The Times Literary Supplement is partnering with digital publishing experts Exact Editions to launch a digital archive of over 300 issues which stretch back to 2012. This new digital edition of the internationally-renowned publication is now available across web, iOS and Android platforms.
Global specialist media platform, Future plc, has partnered with Sky Ocean Rescue to remove single-use plastics from the Mobile Industry Awards ceremony. This will be Future’s first ever single-use plastic-free event, with the intention of encouraging the mobile industry to come together to drive the use of single-use plastic out of their product packaging, supply and operations.
Media Impact – Axel Springer and Funke Mediengruppe’s joint venture, and one of Europe’s largest media agencies – is learning far more about consumer behaviour and publisher performance using new raw data analysis functions from AI-powered data platform 1plusX. The result is extremely detailed, transparent, accurate and actionable insight on demand.


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With the changes and increase in home improvement trends, Sash UK – the clear and open window people has launched a new brochure to help trade customers offer a perfect and simple solution when selling composite doors.
The Barnsley-based manufacturer, who has been manufacturing windows and doors for over 50-years, developed the brochure after recognising a change in consumers purchasing behaviours for choosing composite doors.
Darren Woolf, trade sales director at Sash UK, commented: “We have gained a vast amount of knowledge working with our trade customers over the years, gathering feedback about what their customers would like to see. This information has enabled us to create a new Composite Door brochure which we believe will gain them a competitive advantage. The brochure has been designed to include our entire range of standard and specialised composite doors, giving the consumer a simple and easy to understand guide to the options available to them.”
The layout of the brochure includes a clear and uncomplicated introduction to the entire range, with each page elegantly arranged to show glass, colour and hardware options available for each style of composite door.
Darren continues: “We recognise the importance of supplying our trade customers with support materials, helping them to cater for today’s changing consumer demands, and part of our thinking in introducing the brochure is to ensure we eliminate any obstacles which might prevent them from making a sale.”
The brochure incorporates a matrix to the rear, showcasing the vast amount of door options available and giving our trade customers the opportunity to offer consumers more choice.
For more information visit www.sashuk.com or call 01226 715619


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Egosoft boss Bernd Lehahn says he’s sorry for the buggy state of X Rebirth but promises that fixes and improvements are on the way.
If you’re familiar with the X franchise then you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the launch of X Rebirth has not gone particularly smoothly. The game is plagued by a number of bugs, including some rather serious crash bugs, language issues, AI problems and spotty performance on high-end PCs. The good news is that Egosoft isn’t burying its head in the sand, as Lehahn posted a message on the X Rebirth Steam forums over the weekend apologizing for the mess and promising that things are being done.
He called the launch of X Rebirth a “huge success,” with more than 10,000 people playing at any given time on Steam, plus more who are playing offline. “Great though it is to see that the game is so successful and that many people are having a lot of fun with it, it pains me to see every case where the game causes problems,” he wrote. “Sorry folks, I can only apologize for that.”
But the main point of the post is to lay out the studio’s priorities over the next few weeks. Topping the list are language bugs and “true crash bugs,” which the team will try to replicate on PCs built specifically for testing; also in the works are performance improvements for high-end PCs, which Lehahn said appear to be suffering the most.
“This may partly be because we made no special attempt to optimize for fast PCs. It even seems as though the most extreme high-end PCs barely have higher framerates than mid-range ones,” he wrote. “We will be tackling this issue aggressively and will be stocking up on high end hardware for tests, to try out things like SLI and hex-core systems. Of course optimizations will also benefit other systems.”
Source: Steam Forums


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WHILE CONSUMERS AND third-party vendors might be going gaga over guest-facing voice technology, other companies are exploring how to use voice to streamline hotel operations and make owners more money.
One company has recently integrated voice into its revenue management programs. IDeaS Revenue Solutions in March launched the first voice-based interface designed for a revenue management platform.
IDeaS G3 Revenue Management System is compatible with devices such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home.
Hotel managers and employees can access real-time data and performance metrics through smart speakers. The program is accessible anywhere the user has a device and internet access.
Imagine walking into your hotel office each morning and asking, “Alexa, what are my occupancy rate and competitor rates today?” And getting an answer.
While IDeaS, a subsidiary of SAS, has been creating solutions for revenue management for nearly 30 years, the addition of voice is just one way the company “increases the ability of our clients to profit,” said Ravi Mehrotra, founder and president of the company. “We want to optimize hotels’ operations and make sure the information we are giving them is something they can’t do themselves.”
Klaus Kohlmayr, IDeaS chief evangelist (his actual title), said IDeaS “has been on a journey to make revenue management as accessible as possible. Voice is a natural evolution of our philosophy of making something that is complex easy to use.”
David Berger, CEO of Volara, who worked with Amazon for two years toward its launch of Alexa for Hospitality in June, called the deployment of voice in hospitality a “tectonic shift” in hotel communications in both the guest room and back-office operations.
An article Berger wrote in July for Phocuswright, said voice technology will increase in use and value as it is integrated more and more with the hotel technology stack. It will “reduce the friction” in the hotel technology ecosystem as managers and employees access the systems and “engage in a new and enjoyable way.”
IDeaS pioneered revenue management science, said Mike Chuma, the company’s vice president of marketing, enablement and engagement. IDeaS has clients all over the world across all chain scale segments. It works with major hotel companies, management firms, REITs and independent hotel owners. It supports systems in large full-service hotels to small limited-service properties.
The company’s cloud-based software programs and applications do not require voice to work. “Voice is just a way to interact,” Chuma said. “We are continually trying to find ways to innovate and make revenue management simple for all hotels.”
IDeaS voice-based technology can interface with hotels’ legacy platforms and tools. Owners who cannot afford to employ a specialized revenue manager can depend on the technology to make intelligent and more impactful pricing decisions. “If the shuttle driver does not show up for work, the general manager can take over knowing the system is doing its job,” said Mehrotra.
Mehrotra said the beauty of IDeaS’s products for property management is the process is automatic. Most importantly, its revenue management system removes the guesswork and emotion from making pricing decisions.
“Let the science and the data do their jobs,” Kohlmayr said. He talked about an hotelier who at first did not fully trust the RM system to handle pricing. “When he stepped back and let the system do its job, the hotel ended up making $150,000 more in eight weeks.”
While IDeaS likes to tout its G3 Revenue Management System as all-knowing, Chuma noted that owners can still make their own decisions. “The ones who regularly interact with our RMS and pay attention might not agree with a price.” He tells about a customer who knew the market demand well enough to confidently increase the price on Mondays and Tuesdays. Once the data was part of the system, his overall revenue significantly increased.
Still, when hoteliers take pricing matters into their own hands, they risk leaving money on the table. “If you go back 20 to 25 years, pricing for hotels was simple,” said Kohlmayr. “You did not have to worry about changing prices, maybe weekends versus weekdays. But today you have to be on the ball every minute of every day or you will be out-priced by your competition.”
He said IDeaS research shows a hotel is faced with an average 3 million pricing decisions in 24 hours. “There are millions and millions of data points. The new generation of owners understand that. There is no longer a person who can do that, it requires a system.”
Mehrotra said, technology, including voice, “is changing the culture of people working and trusting their guts.”
“When you cooperate with technology, even the small things make a difference, and you will run your business in a more consistent manner. Customers will see that and start to trust you more.”


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Ms Dic in Turkish KMIS Company Visited Xinlianxin Company!
On 6, June 2017, Ms Dic from Turkish KMIS Company came to visit Xinlianxin Company. From 2017, the two companies begin to cooperate with each other and up to now; KMIS Company has purchased about 2000 metric ton melamine from Xinlianxin Company. Yesterday, accompanied by Mr Wang Jingbo (general sales manager) and Mr Li Zhiguo( sales manager), Ms Dic successively visited our central laboratory, plant-four production control center, packing workshop and railway special line.
KMIS Company is a great transnational family enterprise, which is set up by her grandfather in 1942 and has a long history. The company is mainly occupied in the international trade business of petrochemical products. 61% of their products are sold to Turkey and the other are sold to middle Europe, east Europe, Russia and South Africa and so on countries and areas.
Mr Wang Jingbo introduced Xinlianxin culture to Ms Dic, which includes the credibility culture and military culture. Ms Dic said Xinlianxin’s production scale, products quality standard and corporate culture make a profound expression to her. She believes the two companies will have better cooperation with each other in the future.
TAG:  melamine purchase


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Enable Injections completes manufacturing facility for on-body delivery systems
Enable Injections Inc., the developer of wearable medical devices that enable easy, at-home self-administration of high volume injectable drugs and biologics, opens its new Cincinnati manufacturing facility this month, the company announced today at the BIO meeting in San Francisco.
Enable Injections’ advanced On Body Delivery Systems (OBDS) – based on injection technology associated with a more comfortable experience and preferred by patient panels – provide pharmaceutical and biotech companies with numerous advantages, including:
- Subcutaneous delivery of up to 50 mL doses of high volume and/or viscous biologics
- Quick, passive warming of drug product while device fills, eliminating the 30-minute wait time for refrigerated vials to reach room temperature
- Allows use of existing container closures, including standard vials, cartridges and syringes.
- Available automated mixing and reconstitution, reducing formulation time and drug development costs
- Facilitation of in-home therapy, significantly reducing healthcare system costs
- Ability to monitor compliance and capture data utilizing optional Bluetooth connectivity and a mobile app to provide a connected healthcare solution
“Our newly certified facility with its clean room, warehousing capacity and exceptional process flow, rivals any pharmaceutical company manufacturing facility,” said Operations Manager and pharmaceutical industry veteran Tom Dochery.
Small scale OBDS manufacturing has commenced at the Ohio facility with clinical trials commencing in the near future.
The scalable 41,000 square foot Cincinnati facility, with a second clean room planned, will manufacture device quantities of up to one million units. In February, Enable Injections and Flex(NASDAQ:FLEX) entered into a product development and manufacturing partnership for large scale builds of over a million device units.
“Our many pharmaceutical company partners and site visitors who are considering cross labeled or co-packaged product have been impressed,” said Eileen Rogers, VP of Operations who previously served as Senior Director of Operations at Amylin, where she also worked with Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb and Astra Zeneca.
“We look forward to continuing to work with partners to develop patient-friendly drug delivery technology which shows great potential to add value to the healthcare system by boosting compliance while lowering costs,” said Enable Injections CEO Michael Hooven.


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The United Auto Workers union could soon get a big boost in its efforts to represent hourly workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga assembly plant, according to a report.
Horst Neumann, VW's board member in charge of human resources, told reporters that the automaker is in talks with the UAW about setting up a German-style labor board at the Tennessee plant, said Fox News. It was an about-face for a company that has resisted opening the U.S. plant to the UAW.
UAW President Bob King, who has said organizing U.S. plants run by foreign automakers is crucial for the union's survival, welcomed Neumann's comments and the German system where labor has a say in how companies are run.
King described them as "completely consistent with the UAW's 21st century model of unionism" that centers on a less adversarial relationship with companies.
Neumann said the company may release a plan for a works council labor board in May or June and formal talks with a union could begin as soon as the second half of the year if VW's managing board approves, according to Automotive News and the Detroit News. A VW spokesman confirmed the comments, adding Neumann also said the UAW is not the only option.
If the UAW gains a foothold in VW's Tennessee plant, which opened in 2011 and builds the Passat sedan, it could be a transformative moment, potentially opening the door to representing workers at Mercedes and BMW's U.S. plants.
"This truly represents a breakthrough if it takes place," said Harley Shaiken, a University of California-Berkeley labor studies professor, adding that such an agreement could spread to Japanese and South Korean-owned U.S. plants.
See Wednesday's Times Free Press for full story.


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The Planet Smoothie shop that closed abruptly on upper King Street Monday won’t stay vacant long.
A Myrtle Beach-based ice cream company plans to open in the 900-square-foot space at 431 King St. by March 1.
“It depends on how fast we can get the permits,” company president Bradley Kohr told The Post and Courier.
The new shop will be the seventh in the privately held chain.
The Kohr family has been in the ice cream business for 98 years, starting on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania.
“Charleston has been a place we wanted to go for a long time,” Kohr said. “It’s a vibrant retail market.”
The shop will offer eight flavors in 16-ounce packages, according to its website.
“We’ve spent years on all of our flavors, carefully selecting every ingredient — from the milk and cream to the sugar and eggs,” Republic’s website states. “We’ve tasted all kinds of vanilla, searched high and low for the best cherries, and sampled hundreds of chocolate varieties from around the world. We even roast the highest grade of pecans in our own ovens so we can create the perfect Butter Pecan flavor.”
Republic Ice Cream has three other shops open and a fourth under construction in the Myrtle Beach area. Its other two shops are in Florida.
Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524 or twitter.com/warrenlancewise.


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This article is part of Technology Newsletter. You can Register here to receive it weekdays.
In a decade or so, Microsoft has overcome so many important technology trends that the company has become a pioneer. But Microsoft is more than its horrible mistakes. Today, it is (again) one of the superstars of the tech world.
Microsoft’s ability to thrive despite doing almost everything wrong can be a funny story about the company’s reinvention. Or it could be a painful demonstration of how difficult monopolies are to destroy. Or maybe a bit of both.
Understanding the staying power of Microsoft is relevant when considering an important current question: Today’s big Tech superstars are successful and famous because they are the best at what they do or because they are the best at what they do. have they become so strong that they can continue their past successes?
Ultimately, the anger over Big Tech in 2021 — antitrust lawsuits, proposed new laws, and outcry — has led to a debate about whether the imprint of our digital lives are we the driving force of progress or do we really have dynasties. And what I’m asking is, which one is Microsoft?
Let me go back to the dark days of Microsoft, which supposedly lasted from the mid-2000s to 2014. Strangely they weren’t that bad. Yes, Microsoft was so rude that the company was advertised on Apple TV and many in the tech industry wanted nothing to do with it. The company failed to create a popular search engine, tried in vain to compete with Google in digital advertising, and failed to sell its operating system or smartphone device. own.
However, even during the saddest years at Microsoft, the company made a lot of money. In 2013, the year Steve Ballmer had to retire as chief executive, the company generated a much higher profit before taxes and a number of other expenses — more than $27 billion — than Amazon did in 2013. 2020.
No matter how flawed Microsoft’s software can be – and a lot has happened – many businesses still need to purchase Windows computers, Microsoft’s email and document software, and its technology to run those computers. Powerful back-end called server. Microsoft used those much-needed products as leverage to branch out into new and profitable businesses, including software to replace phone systems, databases, and file storage systems. company usual.
Microsoft wasn’t always so good in those years, but it did quite well. And recently, Microsoft has gone from being a domestic step to being successful both financially and in line with cutting-edge technologies. So is this change a healthy sign or a discouraging sign?
On the sane side of the ledger, Microsoft got at least one important thing right: cloud computing, one of the most important technologies of the past 15 years. That and the cultural shift is the foundation that drives Microsoft to victory despite its strategy and products to victory through them. This is the kind of corporate change we should want.
I would also say that Microsoft is different from its big Tech peers in that it could have made it more flexible. Businesses, not individuals, are Microsoft customers, and technology sold to organizations doesn’t have to be good to win.
And now the frustrating explanation: What if the lesson from Microsoft is that a dying star can leverage its scale, market savvy, and pull in customers to stay successful. even if it makes big products, loses the ability to use new technology and is plagued by bad bureaucracy? Is Microsoft so big and strong that it’s invincible, at least long enough to take further action? And can today’s Facebook or Google compare to the Microsoft of 2013 – tried so hard that they can thrive even if they’re not the best?
I don’t have a definitive answer, and size and strength do not guarantee that a company can weather many mistakes and remain relevant. But a lot of TV dramas and tech wars in 2021 revolve around those questions. Perhaps Google search, Amazon shopping, and Facebook ads are all great. Or maybe we simply can’t imagine better alternatives because powerful companies don’t have to be great to keep winning.
Before we go…
Miniature online chaos campaigns: My colleague Sheera Frenkel has a myth about Iranian spies posing as Israelis to post divisive messages in small online groups on messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Targeting small groups allows agents to cause trouble in trusted communities and is a way to avoid detection by tech companies tracking mass misinformation online.
Fancy non-computer video games: Kellen Browning looks at the efforts of companies like Google and Microsoft to move video games from being played on dedicated hardware to being remotely accessible over the web. The technology isn’t mature yet, but cloud gaming could allow anyone to play any game on any device, and it could be the beginning of the end for apps.
Tweet for good: An automated account in Indonesia turns people’s tweets into a map showing real-time location and information about floods, earthquakes and other hazards, Rest of World reports. The bot, named PetaBencana, also works with Indonesian authorities to help them respond more quickly to disasters.
You want to see koalas pictures taken in the middle of a leap. They are graceful little tufts of fluff.


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- A fashion content creator identified as @_lord.ella__ has left social media users buzzing with reactions
- This comes after she made a video showing how she transformed a tote bag into a skirt with suspenders
- However, it appears not so many people are impressed by this fashion hack as they voted down the look
While most fashion hacks are meant to be easy, fun and wearable. However, not every type makes it to the list of approved hacks.
In the video, she is seen wearing the tote bag as a skirt with suspenders over a white turtleneck top.
Check it out below:
“Na to turn am to photoshoot”: Hilarious reactions as lady turns up in matching ankara with chairs
Social media users react
“But where am I gonna put my books now?”
“Hell to the no sorry sis not today.”
“A hack that she kept dragging down… Abeg let’s keep the totes as totes and the privates private.”
“LMFAOOO absolutely not!”
“Come on now……IMMEDIATELY NO!!!”
“It’s really not that bad, people doing too much in the comments lol y’all too big to wear your bags so y’all hating “
Crazy style hack: Lady converts boxer to crop top in simple no-sew method, netizens react
When it comes to fashion hacks, it appears not every method or technique makes the cut and a video currently trending on social media is yet another proof.
A Tiktoker identified as @thequeenofhacks shared a video showing how she converted a pair of boxers into a crop top.
The clip shows the lady putting


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“Today’s figures show the cost of living is creeping ever higher for families, including the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and electricity bills, at a time when wages are stagnant and working-age benefits are frozen.
“Tomorrow’s earnings figures are expected to show that pay fell at the start of 2017, while inflation is set to continue increasing over the year. We know people in the poorest households spend roughly £1 in every 6 on food and £1 in £13 on energy bills, meaning they feel the squeeze more when costs go up.
“We need to see commitments in the manifestos to ease this strain. Over the next parliament the focus should be on making sure people can improve their prospects and progress in work; that productivity and pay rise in all parts of the UK, and that action is taken to tackle the ‘poverty premium’ to help deal with the high cost of essentials.”


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WOLFSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Traton SE, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group (VKW.L, VLKAF.PK, VOW.BE), said that it reached an agreement in principle to buy remainder of Navistar International Corp. (NAV) stock it does not already own for $44.50 per share.
Traton, which already holds a 16.8% stake in Navistar, said the deal is subject to finalizing its due diligence and will have to be approved by its board and Volkswagen's executive bodies, in addition to Navistar's board and shareholders.
Traton said that there is no assurance that the companies would reach agreement on definitive transaction documentation.
'We are pleased to confirm that $44.50 per share in cash for Navistar shares is an acceptable basis for finalization of definitive agreements,' Traton said in a letter to Navistar.
Previously, Navistar said the transaction is supported by two largest shareholders. It also asked Traton to confirm that a price of $44.50 per share is a basis for finalization of definitive agreements.
In mid-September, Truck maker Navistar said its board concluded that the revised proposal from Traton, significantly undervalues the company and substantial synergies from a combination. However, the revised proposal of $43.00 per share represented a starting point for further exploring the possibility of a transaction.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
VOLKSWAGEN-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de


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Residents in Angola over 18 years of age who intend to travel can purchase foreign currency from commercial banks up to the equivalent of 8,000 euros per trip, according to a recommendation from the National Bank of Angola.
Residents must have domiciled income, and the central bank has indicated that banks must ensure accuracy in compliance with Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence procedures and customer identification and analysis duties.
The central bank also recommended the preferential use of international payment cards for the coverage of expenses abroad, but nevertheless called attention to the annual overall limits for foreign exchange operations of a particular nature.
Before this directive was issued, residents could only buy the equivalent of 500 euros per month and 4,500 euros per year, due to the currency crisis that affected the country from the second half of 2014, as a result of the fall in the price of oil on the international market. (macauhub)


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EndSights writes: For this first edition of 2009, which coincided with the week of January 4, you can either choose between playing in a crazy sandbox, go fishing or run a hotel for dogs. Confused? Just read on.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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CoverGirl, the makeup brand that is known for introducing young girls to the world of makeup with their celebrity partnerships, just announced its first male CoverGirl.
James Charles, a 17-year-old aspiring makeup artist, recently went viral when he tweeted his yearbook photo:
Capitalizing off his popularity, CoverGirl publicized their partnership with Charles on Tuesday. In a post on Instagram, CoverGirl wrote, “Meet @JCharlesBeauty: makeup artist, boundary breaker, and the newest COVERGIRL! Spread the word by regramming using #COVERGIRLJames.”
Charles also posted a video about how he’s the first male CoverGirl on his Instagram page:
On his Twitter, Charles posted a photo alongside fellow CoverGirl Katy Perry:
Charles told BuzzFeed, “I really hope that as the first male CoverGirl that I am able to inspire others and give other people confidence to try out makeup! Hey, if a random 17-year-old guy can do it, you DEFINITELY can too!”
James also spoke to BuzzFeed about “breaking” traditional gender roles.
He said, “Breaking gender norms just comes instantly as soon as a boy is comfortable and confident enough to put on makeup. I think it’s so important to love who you are and be comfortable in your own skin.”
James has a large following on Instagram, with over 439,000 followers subscribing to his photos. He also has over 71,000 followers on YouTube, where he posts makeup tutorials.


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On Tuesday, November 27, 2018, NACCHO participated in a 50-state conference call held by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 likely linked to romaine lettuce.
For the most up-to-date information on this outbreak, visit https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm626330.htm.
The Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided updates on the total number of illnesses and hospitalizations. As of the day of the call, 88% of people interviewed said they ate romaine lettuce at home or restaurants a week before illness started.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave updates on traceback investigations. Preliminary traceback found that ill people were exposed to romaine lettuce harvested from California. Harvest areas outside of the northern and central coast California regions are not connected to the outbreak. Romaine entering the market now will be labeled with harvest location and date or a notice that it was grown hydroponically. Romaine from outside of the identified region does not have to be avoided and is not part of the outbreak. Hydroponically grown lettuce is also not part of outbreak.