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Washington – The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday sued to block AT&T's bid to acquire T-Mobile USA, saying the proposed merger would reduce competition and raise prices.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Washington to block the $39 billion deal, the Justice Department said the potential tie-up should be considered a violation of antitrust law.
The merger agreement, announced in March, has sparked opposition from consumer groups and other cellular phone companies, which have cited the difficulty of competing against such a giant wireless carrier.
AT&T is the United States' No. 2 mobile phone operator by number of subscribers, while T-Mobile is the fourth-biggest.
"We feel the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers across the U.S. facing higher prices, fewer choices, and lower quality products for wireless services," Deputy Attorney General James Cole told a press conference.
"This lawsuit seeks to ensure that everyone can continue to reap the benefits" of competition among wireless providers, he said.
The Justice Department's decision, which comes before the Federal Communications Commission has completed its review of the merger, casts doubt on T-Mobile's future in the United States, where that unit of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG has had trouble competing against bigger rivals.
AT&T earned total revenue of more than $124 billion in 2010, with wireless revenue accounting for $53.5 billion of that total.
T-Mobile, which has roughly 33.6 million subscribers in the United States, earned $18.7 billion in mobile revenue in 2010.
AT&T was quick to respond to the announcement from Washington.
"We are surprised and disappointed by today's action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated," AT&T General Counsel Wayne Watts said in a statement.
The proposed merger would improve service for millions of customers, allow AT&T to expand its 4G network to 97 percent of the U.S. population and create "tens of thousands of jobs, at a time when our nation needs them most," he said.
"We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court," Watts said.
A merged AT&T/T-Mobile would be the mobile telephony leader in the United States with 130 million subscribers, and in combination with Verizon Wireless would control 80 percent of the market.
Shares of AT&T - one of 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average - had fallen 4.25 percent near the end of Wednesday's trading on the New York Stock Exchange.


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F1's ban on bling - but will Lewis Hamilton toe the line or pay a fine?
Lewis Hamilton has suggested he will not fully comply with Formula One’s jewelry ban, but will a $250,000 fine change his mind?
- Lewis Hamilton appears to be committed to wearing his bling on the track, although he faces an FIA fine of over a quarter of a million dollars for breaking the rules
- Every weekday morning, UK correspondent Adam Gilchrist joins Refilwe Moloto to unpack the stories making headlines around the globe
They are some of the highest-paid sports professionals in the world, but Formula 1 drivers who fail to adhere to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA) ban on jewelry face making a significant dent in their wealth.
They're being told they could face fines of up to $265, 000 if they repeatedly ignore the rules which ban all jewelry, including watches, from being worn in the cockpit.
But Mercedes champ Lewis Hamilton, isn't a fan of the ban and could be set to become a repeat offender as all signs point to the Brit vehemently defying the rules.
Lewis Hamilton turned up to the press conference wearing 3 watches, 8 rings, 4 necklaces and 2 earrings after the FIA outlined a new jewelry ban 👀💎 pic.twitter.com/ChKV2hcnnx— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) May 6, 2022
The ban on jewelry being worn by drivers in the cockpit is not new, but it's now being strictly enforced by new F1 race director Niels Wittich and FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem.
Hamilton, who is worth a whopping $285 million, has been given a two-race exemption from the ban, but ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, the speedster attended a press conference wearing three watches, eight rings, four necklaces, and two earrings.
When he turned up after the race in Miami was wearing more metal than your average rapper of a 1970's DJ.Adam Gilchrist, UK Correspondent
I guess you could argue that if you've got a big dangly chain around your neck, it probably is not the safest thing, given the unsafe nature of the sport.Adam Gilchrist, UK Correspondent
He says he has several piercings that cannot be removed.Adam Gilchrist, UK Correspondent
But how daft would it be, if he had safety compromising piercings, given the nature of his job?Adam Gilchrist, UK Correspondent

domain: news


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The California Department of Health is warning consumers not to eat oysters from Drakes Bay Oyster Company, because they may contain bacteria that causes serious illness. Drakes Bay Oyster Company is the same business that's been locked in a nasty dispute with the National Park Service over its oyster farm at Point Reyes National Seashore. As the Express has reported, US Senator Dianne Feinstein is a strong backer of the oyster farm and wants the federal government to extend its lease at Drakes Estero in Point Reyes — a move that would be unprecedented because Drakes Estero has been designated by Congress to become the first marine wilderness on the West Coast.
Drakes Bay Oyster Company, the largest supplier of oysters in California, has already initiated a voluntary recall of shucked and inside-shell raw oysters. "The shucked oysters are packaged under the Drakes Bay Oyster Farm label and sold in 9 ounce, 1-pint, 1-quart and half-gallon jars, or tubs," the health department stated. "The affected shucked products are labeled with lot numbers 363 through 421. The lot number can be found on the top label of each jar or tub. The in-shell raw oysters are sold individually or in bags ranging in size from 1 dozen to 10 dozen. In-shell raw oyster tags are marked with harvest dates ranging from July 17, 2012, through August 8, 2012."
A complete list of the suspect oysters from Drakes Bay is on the state health department's website. Health officials also are recommending that consumers experiencing any ill effects after consuming the oysters should consult their health care providers. People that observe the oysters being offered for sale are encouraged to call the California Department of Public Health at (800) 495-3232.
The health department bulletin and the recall could deliver a debilitating blow to Drakes Bay Oyster Company, which has been under fire from environmentalists for repeatedly violating state environmental laws at its Point Reyes oyster farm. At the same time, Drakes Bay, with Feinstein's help, is attempting to convince US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to set aside precedent, block creation of the marine wilderness, and extend its lease for another ten years before it expires this November.


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LG Brings the Movie Theater to Our Homes with HECTO Laser TV
LG announced at the CES 2013, the launch of its HECTO Laser 100-inch TV with Smart TV capability and Digital TV. The theater, which offers Full HD resolution, includes an immersive display and an external projection of reduced shot, which offers the ability to display large images at very short distances.
Havis Kwon, CEO of LG Electronics, said during the presentation of their new product:
The aim of HECTO Laser TV is taking projection technology for cinemas to suit the living rooms of our homes. The high-contrast images in the 100-inch screen offers the closest sensation to a cinematic experience.
In the past, it was necessary a considerable distance to project large images, where the space long required distance was a big disadvantage. However, the UST projection unit allows you to place the lens on the screen at a distance of 60 centimeters.
The HECTO Laser TV, which has Wi-Fi, features a digital TV tuner, access to applications like Facebook or Netflix and the ability to upload your photos, videos or music to the cloud of LG.
The device measures 14 inches tall, has two 10W integrated speakers. This system can run 25,000 hours of video without needing to be replaced, or what is the same, up to five times more than the rest of its competitors in the sector.


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Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival
Over 8,000 people attended the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture's Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival in 2019. The event is increasingly attracting visitors to the Island.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for the next event taking place on 19 and 20 September 2020.
Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival application forms will be available from Spring 2020 but please contact firstname.lastname@example.org with any questions in the meantime.
The Isle of Man Chef of the Year and Isle of Man Student Chef of the Year application forms will be available from January 2020.
Manx queenies have been crowned as the Isle of Man’s new national dish following a public vote
The poll was run over a four month period by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, and saw over 2,500 votes cast. Over 500 people voted for the Queen scallop, which has become synonymous with Manx cuisine.
In second place was chips, cheese and gravy with nearly 400 votes.
Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, Geoffrey Boot MHK, welcomed the result:
'This was a hard-fought race that led to some lively public debate. It’s great to see so many people so passionate about Manx food. The vote has helped to raise the profile of the variety of Manx produce available as well as cementing the quality of our products in the public consciousness'
Please see recipe for Manx Queenies with garlic and bacon in downloadable section.
Record attendance at Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival
Last year just over 8,000 people flocked to the festival contributing £225,000 to the local economy.
Geoffrey Boot MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, said: “This year’s event had even more great new local food products to enjoy, including five first-time exhibitors, plenty of opportunities to sample a massive range of local food and drink, plus lots of entertainment for all the family.
'The festival’s popularity reflects the growth in Isle of Man food and drink, which is being driven by my Department’s Food Matters strategy, and the growing interest and desire among people to support local food and drink producers and businesses.
Although organised by DEFA, the event only happens as a result of tremendous teamwork and efforts right across the food and drink sector. Everyone from the volunteer committee to our all-important sponsors, producers, retailers, caterers, and other volunteers come together to make the event the highlight of the calendar it is.'
There was a high standard among the 60 exhibitors, making the job of choosing the best stand difficult for the Minister and Selasi Gbormittah, the Celebrity guest from Great British Bake off.
They awarded it to The Alpine.
Feedback so far has highlighted that the festival is a great day out and praised the wide variety of local produce on sale, the opportunity to meet producers, and the relaxed atmosphere.
Sponsorship is an important part of the Festival and if you are interested in knowing more please see Sponsorship opportunities in the downloadable documents.


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Hyundai a dog no more
J.D. Power has confirmed our suspicions that Hyundai quality has improved. Hyundai was the surprise of the J.D. Power initial quality ball this year, overtaking Toyota to place seventh in nameplate rankings. Lexus topped the list, followed by Cadillac, Jaguar, Honda, Buick and Mercury. In overall corporate quality rankings, Toyota was first, then Honda, Hyundai and BMW. All other car companies came in below the corporate average of 119 problems per 100 vehicles.
Among comments by Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn in his annual report for 2003 (including Infiniti going global starting in ’05, yet another confirmation of Skyline GT-R to the States by ’07) was this nugget: When the next Nissan Cube comes to market in ’07, it will be sold globally, meaning the United States will get yet another boxy Japanese vehicle vying for lane space with Toyota’s Scion xB and Honda’s Element. In Japan, the Cube, priced at about $16,000, is powered by a 1.4-liter 98-hp four. Four-wheel-drive versions get electric motor assist to the rear wheels.
Brit design doings
Gerry McGovern, most recently with Ford’s soon-to-be-shuttered Ingeni design studios in London, will take over as director of advanced design for Land Rover, working with design director Geoff Upex. McGovern led the Freelander design team, then took over as Lincoln Mer-cury design director before moving to Ingeni last August.
On April 20 California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-7-04, officially launching the California Hydrogen Highway Network. What does that mean? Not much, yet. It was mostly goodwill and feel-good environmentalisms about clean air and the wonders of hydrogen. The Network will offer hundreds of hydrogen refueling stations throughout the state by... an unspecified future date. Schwarzenegger signed the order at University of California-Davis, site of the first publicly accessible hydrogen fueling station on the Network. The governor refueled a Toyota sport/ute fuel cell vehicle without incident. A decade ago another California governor signed a similar order for electric vehicle recharg- ing stations. There are still signs for those across the state.
An April 19 story on Chinese-built BMWs, Shanghai Surprise, should have credited the quote from Wang Zong to the Chinese news service Xinhua.


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|By PR Newswire||
|December 27, 2012 10:52 AM EST||
HANOVER, Md., Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Maryland Live! Casino commenced 24-hour gaming today at 8:00 a.m. when Robert J. Norton, President and General Manager, unlocked the doors for the final time. Casino customers can now enjoy non-stop gaming and entertainment at the third largest commercial casino in the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
"It's a very exciting day for the gaming industry in the State of Maryland and for all of us at Maryland Live!," said Robert J. Norton, President and General Manager, Maryland Live! Casino. "We look forward to providing our guests with world-class gaming and entertainment experiences around the clock, while also preparing to add more than 150 live table games in the coming months."
Until today, Maryland Live! Casino was required to close at 2 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Now, casino customers can play round-the-clock on 4,750 state-of-the-art slot machines and electronic table games.
In January 2013, construction teams will begin making the modifications necessary to add more than 150 live table games to the casino floor, including Blackjack, Roulette, Craps ,Sic Bo, Baccarat and Poker. Recruitment efforts are well underway for the addition of approximately 1,200 new employees at Maryland Live! in all departments, including approximately 800 dealers. Job descriptions and requirements for available positions are posted online at www.jobsatmarylandlivecasino.com.
About Maryland Live! Casino
Now Live! 24/7. Located at the Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, MD (Anne Arundel County), the $500+ million Maryland Live! Casino is the third largest commercial casino in the country with 4,750 of the latest state-of-the-art slot machines and electronic table games, including two High Limit rooms; a variety of irresistible dining options, such as Bobby's Burger Palace, from celebrated chef Bobby Flay; The Cheesecake Factory®; Phillips® Seafood; the Zagat-rated #1 steakhouse The Prime Rib®; the multi-station Live! Buffet; and Noodles, an Asian wok and noodle bar; Rams Head Center Stage, featuring live entertainment nightly; and the R Bar, a unique, interactive bar inspired by the game of Roulette. Other first-class amenities include the Shop Live! retail store; a bus lounge, and a secure covered 5,000-space parking garage with direct access to the casino floor. Maryland Live! Casino was developed by The Cordish Companies.
Call 855-5MD-LIVE (855-563-5483); or visit www.marylandlivecasino.com or www.myliveonlinecasino.com Follow Maryland Live! Casino on Facebook and Twitter. For employment opportunities, visit www.jobsatmarylandlivecasino.com.
The Cordish Companies, now in its fourth generation of family ownership, is an international conglomerate of businesses, including one of the leading gaming, entertainment and real estate development companies in the United States. The company has diverse development expertise with divisions focused on Gaming & Lodging, Entertainment & Mixed-Use, Sports Anchored Districts, Shopping & Lifestyle Retail, Office and Residential. The Cordish Companies also owns and manages a diverse group of operating businesses, ranging from gaming, restaurants/clubs to live music promotion and film/media distribution. The company values itself on the quality of its operations, its long-term relationships, and high level of integrity in all of its endeavors.
The Cordish Companies is the largest and most successful developer of entertainment districts and concepts in the United States. In particular, the company has unparalleled experience in creating and revitalizing high-profile destinations in urban core locations. Many of The Cordish Companies' projects involve public/private partnerships and are of unique significance to the cities in which they are located. Prime examples are the company's prominent role in the redevelopment of Baltimore's world-famous Inner Harbor; Atlantic City, NJ; Hollywood, FL; Charleston, SC; Houston, TX; Louisville, KY; Tampa FL; Kansas City, MO; and Towson, MD.
The Cordish Companies has received the highest possible national awards in its various area of expertise. In real estate, The Cordish Companies has received an unprecedented seven Urban Land Institute Awards of Excellence. www.cordish.com.
SOURCE Maryland Live! Casino
With the Apple Watch making its way onto wrists all over the world, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a staple in the workplace. In fact, Forrester reported that 68 percent of technology and business decision-makers characterize wearables as a top priority for 2015. Recognizing their business value early on, FinancialForce.com was the first to bring ERP to wearables, helping streamline communication across front and back office functions. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Kevin Roberts, GM of Platform at FinancialForce.com, will discuss the value of business applications on wearable ...
Aug. 31, 2015 03:15 PM EDT
With the proliferation of connected devices underpinning new Internet of Things systems, Brandon Schulz, Director of Luxoft IoT – Retail, will be looking at the transformation of the retail customer experience in brick and mortar stores in his session at @ThingsExpo. Questions he will address include: Will beacons drop to the wayside like QR codes, or be a proximity-based profit driver? How will the customer experience change in stores of all types when everything can be instrumented and analyzed? As an area of investment, how might a retail company move towards an innovation methodolo...
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 454
The Internet of Things (IoT) is about the digitization of physical assets including sensors, devices, machines, gateways, and the network. It creates possibilities for significant value creation and new revenue generating business models via data democratization and ubiquitous analytics across IoT networks. The explosion of data in all forms in IoT requires a more robust and broader lens in order to enable smarter timely actions and better outcomes. Business operations become the key driver of IoT applications and projects. Business operations, IT, and data scientists need advanced analytics t...
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 412
While many app developers are comfortable building apps for the smartphone, there is a whole new world out there. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Narayan Sainaney, Co-founder and CTO of Mojio, will discuss how the business case for connected car apps is growing and, with open platform companies having already done the heavy lifting, there really is no barrier to entry.
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 141
Contrary to mainstream media attention, the multiple possibilities of how consumer IoT will transform our everyday lives aren’t the only angle of this headline-gaining trend. There’s a huge opportunity for “industrial IoT” and “Smart Cities” to impact the world in the same capacity – especially during critical situations. For example, a community water dam that needs to release water can leverage embedded critical communications logic to alert the appropriate individuals, on the right device, as soon as they are needed to take action.
Aug. 31, 2015 12:00 PM EDT
SYS-CON Events announced today that HPM Networks will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. For 20 years, HPM Networks has been integrating technology solutions that solve complex business challenges. HPM Networks has designed solutions for both SMB and enterprise customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Aug. 31, 2015 11:30 AM EDT Reads: 891
SYS-CON Events announced today that Micron Technology, Inc., a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems, will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Micron’s broad portfolio of high-performance memory technologies – including DRAM, NAND and NOR Flash – is the basis for solid state drives, modules, multichip packages and other system solutions. Backed by more than 35 years of technology leadership, Micron's memory solutions enable the world's most innovative computing, consumer,...
Aug. 31, 2015 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 226
As more intelligent IoT applications shift into gear, they’re merging into the ever-increasing traffic flow of the Internet. It won’t be long before we experience bottlenecks, as IoT traffic peaks during rush hours. Organizations that are unprepared will find themselves by the side of the road unable to cross back into the fast lane. As billions of new devices begin to communicate and exchange data – will your infrastructure be scalable enough to handle this new interconnected world?
Aug. 31, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 161
Through WebRTC, audio and video communications are being embedded more easily than ever into applications, helping carriers, enterprises and independent software vendors deliver greater functionality to their end users. With today’s business world increasingly focused on outcomes, users’ growing calls for ease of use, and businesses craving smarter, tighter integration, what’s the next step in delivering a richer, more immersive experience? That richer, more fully integrated experience comes about through a Communications Platform as a Service which allows for messaging, screen sharing, video...
Aug. 31, 2015 10:30 AM EDT Reads: 644
The Internet of Things is in the early stages of mainstream deployment but it promises to unlock value and rapidly transform how organizations manage, operationalize, and monetize their assets. IoT is a complex structure of hardware, sensors, applications, analytics and devices that need to be able to communicate geographically and across all functions. Once the data is collected from numerous endpoints, the challenge then becomes converting it into actionable insight.
Aug. 31, 2015 10:15 AM EDT
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pythian, a global IT services company specializing in helping companies leverage disruptive technologies to optimize revenue-generating systems, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Founded in 1997, Pythian is a global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as cloud, Big Data, advanced analytics, and DevOps to advance innovation and increase agility. Specializing in designing, imple...
Aug. 31, 2015 10:15 AM EDT Reads: 303
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Lee Williams, a producer of the first smartphones and tablets, will talk about how he is now applying his experience in mobile technology to the design and development of the next generation of Environmental and Sustainability Services at ETwater. He will explain how M2M controllers work through wirelessly connected remote controls; and specifically delve into a retrofit option that reverse-engineers control codes of existing conventional controller systems so they don't have to be replaced and are instantly converted to become smart, connected devices.
Aug. 31, 2015 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 124
SYS-CON Events announced today that IceWarp will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. IceWarp, the leader of cloud and on-premise messaging, delivers secured email, chat, documents, conferencing and collaboration to today's mobile workforce, all in one unified interface
Aug. 31, 2015 04:00 AM EDT Reads: 412
WebRTC has had a real tough three or four years, and so have those working with it. Only a few short years ago, the development world were excited about WebRTC and proclaiming how awesome it was. You might have played with the technology a couple of years ago, only to find the extra infrastructure requirements were painful to implement and poorly documented. This probably left a bitter taste in your mouth, especially when things went wrong.
Aug. 31, 2015 02:00 AM EDT Reads: 453
Too often with compelling new technologies market participants become overly enamored with that attractiveness of the technology and neglect underlying business drivers. This tendency, what some call the “newest shiny object syndrome,” is understandable given that virtually all of us are heavily engaged in technology. But it is also mistaken. Without concrete business cases driving its deployment, IoT, like many other technologies before it, will fade into obscurity.
Aug. 30, 2015 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 350
Consumer IoT applications provide data about the user that just doesn’t exist in traditional PC or mobile web applications. This rich data, or “context,” enables the highly personalized consumer experiences that characterize many consumer IoT apps. This same data is also providing brands with unprecedented insight into how their connected products are being used, while, at the same time, powering highly targeted engagement and marketing opportunities. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Nathan Treloar, President and COO of Bebaio, will explore examples of brands transforming their businesses by t...
Aug. 30, 2015 10:15 AM EDT Reads: 231
As more and more data is generated from a variety of connected devices, the need to get insights from this data and predict future behavior and trends is increasingly essential for businesses. Real-time stream processing is needed in a variety of different industries such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Automobile, Finance, Online Retail, Smart Grids, and Healthcare. Azure Stream Analytics is a fully managed distributed stream computation service that provides low latency, scalable processing of streaming data in the cloud with an enterprise grade SLA. It features built-in integration with Azur...
Aug. 28, 2015 07:45 PM EDT Reads: 219
Akana has announced the availability of the new Akana Healthcare Solution. The API-driven solution helps healthcare organizations accelerate their transition to being secure, digitally interoperable businesses. It leverages the Health Level Seven International Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) standard to enable broader business use of medical data. Akana developed the Healthcare Solution in response to healthcare businesses that want to increase electronic, multi-device access to health records while reducing operating costs and complying with government regulations.
Aug. 26, 2015 07:00 AM EDT Reads: 190
For IoT to grow as quickly as analyst firms’ project, a lot is going to fall on developers to quickly bring applications to market. But the lack of a standard development platform threatens to slow growth and make application development more time consuming and costly, much like we’ve seen in the mobile space. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mike Weiner, Product Manager of the Omega DevCloud with KORE Telematics Inc., discussed the evolving requirements for developers as IoT matures and conducted a live demonstration of how quickly application development can happen when the need to comply wit...
Aug. 2, 2015 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 555
The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – transforming information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. IoE creates new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented opportunities to improve business and government operations, decision making and mission support capabilities.
Aug. 1, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 484


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Airtel Malawi has launched a PaNet Volume Data Bundle Promotion called Boola Mtambo as one way of celebrating with valued customers after hitting over 6 Million subscribers mark.
Worth K100 Million, ‘Boola Mtambo Promotion’ will run from 29 October to 24 December, 2021, and one lucky customer will go away with a fully-funded six-day trip to Dubai.
Speaking during the launch at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Wednesday evening, Airtel Malawi Marketing Director Thokozani said only customers who use PaNet volume bundles of a minimum of K500 per week via Airtel Money are eligible to participate in the promotion.
Sande said during the promotion, the customers will be offered a 10 percent data volume bonus for PaNet Volume bundle purchased via Airtel Money, which will be valid for 48 hours for both self-purchase and gifting.
“This bonus will be offered to customers upon purchase of PaNet Data Volume bundles from 301, My Airtel App, 211, 121 and Airtel Money Agent with mode of payment being
Airtel money. Customers draw will be conducted daily, weekly and monthly with a grand draw at the end of the promotion where one lucky customer will win a fully funded 6 days holiday in Dubai costed at K5 Million,” she said
She said hitting over six million subscribers and having 1, 000 plus sites across the country is also not a mean achievement, but something worthy of celebration.
“As Airtel Malawi, we have crossed another milestone. We have over six million subscribers on our network and we have now covered Malawi to a larger extent of having more than 1, 000 sites, this is why we want to share smiles with our customers.
“Thank you to our customers and channel partners for granting us the opportunity to create a community of customers who we can continue to connect with and support,” she said
Sande said in building up to the grand prize of the K5 million holiday in Dubai, some customers will have a chance to also win cash prizes ranging from K5, 000, K50, 000 and K100, 000 each in various draws that are going to be conducted.
Boola Mtambo Promotion comes barely two months after Airtel Yabeba Promotion, which also created 48 millionaires across the country.Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :


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The global recession and a tainted-milk scandal in China hurt the growth of the dairy beverages market in 2008, according to a new report.
The global dairy drinks market grew by just 0.5 percent in 2008, compared to 2.4 percent growth in 2007, according to market research firm Canadean.
Because Asia now consumes 45 percent of the total demand for dairy drinks, the melamine scandal in Asia had a significant impact on sales. The Asian market grew by only 0.5 percent last year after 5.1 percent growth in 2007, Canadean said.
The first absolute declines in demand in North America and Western Europe since 2004 compounded the market's slump, while Africa, Eastern Europe, Central and South America and the Middle East experienced positive growth in 2008.
White milk remains accounted for 79.4 percent of total global dairy drinks demand last year, but the fastest-growing products since 2002 have been value-added products such as drinking yogurts, flavored milk and fermented milk, Canadean reported.
However, these market segments saw steep decline in 2008, while demand grew for white milk, Canadean said.
MachineFinder was created by John Deere in 1998. Since then we have served millions of visitors, tens of thousands of pieces of equipment and integrated with our entire dealer network.
MachineFinder, John Deere and the associated trademarks are property and available only for the specific use of Deere & Company. All Rights Reserved. 2007-2008


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Ahead of CES 2014 next week Samsung has unveiled the next generation to its Android running camera, dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 Samsung say it handles processing faster, has an enhanced battery and is much lighter.
Packing a faster 1.6GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, the 2nd version of the Galaxy Camera is said to be much speedier at taking photos and its even lighter, weighing in at 283g, a decent decrease from the previous weight of 300g.
Samsung has also included an improved 2000mAh battery (from 1650mAh), but has kept the previous 16.3 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor with a 21x optical zoom, 8GB of internal storage (upgraded from 4GB), 50GB of free Dropbox storage and a microSD card slot for 64GB of increased storage.
There’s also the option to record Full HD video, with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean installed.
No pricing or release date information has been announced yet.


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Moduleo’s parent, the IVC Group, has opened a 225,960 sq ft factory at its headquarters in Belgium, with the intention of doubling production to 15million sq m per year. David Bigland, Managing Director of Moduleo, explains the reasoning behind such a huge expansion.
One reason was the economy of scale: “Thanks to the brand-new, showcase factory, which boasts the latest lean manufacturing processes, we can produce higher quantities more efficiently,” said Bigland.
Another reason was updating storage and logistics: “We are benefiting from doubled warehouse capacity and a conveyor bridge between production and logistics,” said Bigland. The doubled warehouse and conveyor ensures harmony between production, storage, and shipping.
Most interestingly, the factory was built in anticipation for a “next-generation of engineered flooring, which can be laid on uneven surfaces,” which would vastly increase the number of potential applications of luxury vinyl tiling.
Lastly, Moduleo expects to launch a new range of next-gen products in 2018, which are “the result of extensive research and development.”
Though economies of scale, storage, logistics, next-gen tiling, and upcoming launches mark the primary reasoning behind this notable expansion, no one in the local industry can complain about the 200 jobs this factory has created.
Ingeniously, the facility uses water from the river Scheldt for its cooling processes, sustainable energy from wind turbines, and all its waste is recycled into the production process.
Moduleo | moduleo.co.uk


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د مالیې وزارت
During the visit of the technical board of the General Directorate of Customs of the Ministry of Finance from Farah province in order to activate the product customs of this province, after consulting with the government officials and national traders, a place was selected for customs products in Bagh-e-Pol area of the province, and customs activities officially started yesterday.
The technical Board of the General Directorate of Customs of the Ministry of Finance headed by Omar Mohmand, Deputy Chief of Operations, traveled to Farah province to activate the customs of products.
Mr.Alam shah ibrahimi, Deputy minister of customs and revenue, ministry of finance Ms. Amina ahmadi general director of customs ,and Mr. Jalaluddin sayed , advisor to the president on domestic production and expert.
The preparatory meeting to create users for the commercial companies was conducted in Conferenced Hall of Afghanistan Customs and Revenue Department. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Amina Ahmadi, Director General of Customs.
Alam Shah Ebrahimi, which has recently been appointed as Deputy Minister of Customs and Revenue in accordance with the president decree, introduced to the officials by Mohammad Khalid Painda, Acting Minister of Finance.


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Labor movements have gained momentum in behemoths like Apple and Google.
An Apple store voted to unionize on Friday, October 14.
Unrest is currently sweeping across Amazon delivery centers in Southern California.
Long thought to be immune to unionization, Apple’s employees in Oklahoma City successfully voted to join the Communications Workers of America.
It is the second of the company’s roughly 270 US locations to unionize.
Meanwhile, Amazon employees in San Bernardino, California, went on strike on Friday.
The firm will be put to the test on Tuesday when the US National Labor Relations Board counts ballots for an election at a facility in Albany, New York.
Apple stores have now become one of the most prominent emblems of labor inroads in the tech world.
In response to unionization efforts, it has raised wages and offered extra benefits.
The Cupertino company raised its nationwide minimum retail pay to $22 per hour in May.
Just last week, it unveiled a slew of perks but informed its unionized staff that it would not be granted without first negotiating.
The CWA claimed the iPhone maker also organized a series of anti-union meetings in the run-up to the election.
The complaint states management intimidated employees and told them that organizing would be pointless.
When the NLRB counted the ballots Friday night, it wasn’t close: Fifty-six workers voted in favor of the union, while 32 voted against it.
The CWA is now preparing to bargain on behalf of the staff at the store, which is located in Oklahoma City’s posh Penn Square Mall.
Apple responded to the labor win and said an “open, direct and collaborative relationship” with workers was the best way to serve customers and the workers themselves.
The company said: “We’re proud to provide our team members with strong compensation and exceptional benefits.”
The firm has made it known that it opposes unions.
It has warned against putting “another organization in the middle of our relationship.”
Workers at a warehouse in Moreno Valley, California, recently filed paperwork to join the fledgling Amazon Labor Union.
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Dozens of workers at the San Bernardino air hub went on strike on Friday, seeking better working conditions and $5 per hour hikes.
They marched in front of the facility, which employs over 1,500 people, holding placards and chanting “living wages now.”
Workers claimed they gave Amazon until October 10 to raise starting salaries to around $22 per hour.
The firm said hourly pay at its facilities ranges from $16 to $26, depending on the role and location.
Labor movements have ramped up at several large corporations, including Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, and Chipotle Mexican Grill.


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Despite an increase in net sales and gross profit, Natural Grocers has reported a decrease in comps and a sharp decline in net income in its first quarter of fiscal 2017.
Compared with the same period a year prior, net sales for the Lakewood, Colo.-based natural food retailer increased 19.4 percent, to $183.6 million, for the most part due to a $16.9 million increase in new store revenue. However, a decline in transaction count pushed comps down 0.6 percent, while sales pressures and expenses outpacing revenue growth caused net income to fall 45 percent, to $2.1 million. EBITDA, too, fell 11.4 percent, to $11.3 million.
Kemper Isely, co-president of Natural Grocers, acknowledged the competitive pressure that the company continues to face from both traditional and newly entered nontraditional competitors in the natural and organic food space, as well as the challenges facing food retailers overall, noting that the grocer still has “work to do driving traffic and improving operating margins.”
“As anticipated, comparable-store sales trends and margins remained under pressure during the first quarter," Isely said. "However, we are pleased with our nutrition education investments centered around our nutrient-to-know-about initiatives, which contributed to positive comparable-store sales growth in supplements and supported our favorable product-margin performance during the quarter. Additionally, we were able to manage our cash flow to maintain our capital spending below the amount of cash provided by operations.
Added Isely: “We remain comfortable with our full-year fiscal 2017 guidance and are maintaining flexibility as we look to balance our growth and cost-saving initiatives. We continue to anticipate improved relative performance in the second half of our fiscal year."
Natural Grocers' store expenses during the first quarter of fiscal 2017 increased 16.6 percent, to $41.8 million. Store expenses as a percentage of sales increased approximately 140 basis points to 22.8 percent during the first quarter of fiscal 2017, compared with 21.4 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. This increase was primarily due to higher labor costs as a percentage of sales, as well as the deleveraging of other store expenses as a result of the decline in comps.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2017, Natural Grocers opened five new stores, bringing its total store count, as of Dec. 31, 2016, to 131 locations in 19 states. The five new stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and four new stores in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 resulted in a 22.4 percent and 17.6 percent unit growth rate, respectively, during those periods.


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MANCHESTER -- — The owners of Landmark Cafe are starting it this week. The Cafe on Main's owner is considering it. And the owner of Del's Downtown Cafe is already doing it.
Restaurants and cafes are adding night life to downtown Main Street, an area that has mainly been known as a breakfast and lunch spot. Customers have asked owners to spread their pasta and seafood dishes to dinnertime, and other diners have said they want to sip coffee, hot chocolate and apple martinis as a jazz band plays nearby.
The Landmark Cafe will stay open until 9 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays starting this week.
The restaurant, which opened in October in the old Marlow's department store, has seen success from early on, said co-owner Keith Cascio, and diners have been asking for more.
"We have such a following right now with our breakfast and lunch crowd and everybody's asking when are we going to start dinner," Cascio said. "We already have reservations set up for our opening week, which I was shocked about."
Del's Downtown Cafe, described by its owner as a Boston-New York-style lounge, opened in November and its fan base is growing. The cafe, with a full bar, a menu filled with light fare and a live jazz band, is open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
"The consensus I'm getting is that Manchester needs this and Manchester deserves it," said owner Pat DeLucco. "People have to go west of the river to have someplace nice and they're so pleased [about Del's]."
Lauren Garell recently became the owner of Cafe on Main, and says she is considering opening the restaurant at night with live music on the weekends.
"There's so much potential on Main Street in Manchester," Garell said. "It's a little too soon for me to commit to dates, but when I talk with people when they're here, they're just thrilled with the idea to have a place to come to."
Tana Parseliti, manager for the Downtown Manchester Special Services District, said that Landmark Cafe joins almost a dozen cafes and restaurants on Main Street that are open for dinner.
"It's something that the district has always been hopeful would happen. We would love to see more evening activity down here and there is no question that that is happening," Parseliti said.
"Some have been open in the evening, but as we've seen some of the new restaurants like Chau's Restaurant open, like Landmark, obviously they see that there's a customer base, they see opportunity for that," she said. "And then when you put into the mix a fun spot like Del's, you're starting to see some synergy there."


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Organized by the Internet Society, and building on the awareness of last year's successful World IPv6 Day, the world launch of IPv6 represents a major milestone in the global deployment of the successor to the current Internet Protocol, IPv4.
Read more in Akamai's news announcement from this week.
The following is a statement provided by Akamai's Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Tom Leighton, on the importance of this milestone...
"IPv6 is critical to the future of the Internet's underlying architecture ... and to support the billions of devices that will connect to the Internet over the coming years.
"A tremendous amount of work and awareness has occurred over the past decade to prepare for the transition to wide-scale commercial use of this important protocol. 2012 will be a milestone year for the Internet as we begin to see rapid growth in the adoption of IPv6 after years of changes to operating systems, client and server software, networking hardware, and Internet backbone networks.
"Akamai has built its business around transforming the unpredictable Internet into a robust and reliable platform for transacting e-commerce, distributing rich media, and delivering enterprise applications. We stand committed to helping our customers with a smooth transition to IPv6.
"Having expanded our global IPv6 footprint to over 50 countries, Akamai enables Web sites to reach a growing audience over IPv6 with the performance and reliability that they have come to expect, and demand, from IPv4. Over time, the permanent deployment of IPv6 by companies around the globe will ensure the Internet remains accessible by all the devices that will be part of the future of online business.
"We applaud the work of The Internet Society, and so many of today's businesses that have prepared for this important transition ... ensuring the Internet remains a robust, collaborative, and infinitely accessible platform."
Jeff Young is Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Akamai


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Following consumer demand for spicier items, the dangerously hot Chronic Tacos Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce has been added to the Chronic Tacos’ core menu and can be found at all corporate and franchised locations.
Since 2000, the American hot sauce market has grown by 150 percent. That’s more than that of the barbecue sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard markets combined. As hot sauce heats up, U.S. businesses and restaurants like Chronic Tacos are responding to the increased demand.
After the Chronic Tacos team partnered up with their friend and associate, Dexter Holland, lead singer of Offspring and owner of Gringo Bandito’s Hot Sauce, to create the infamous Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce, Chronic Taco’s customers responded positively.
“Our customers can’t get enough,” says Mike Mohammad, CEO of Chronic Tacos. “They love it because it is not just hot for the sake of being hot, it actually has great flavor too. Every menu item goes great with our hot sauce, but customers should remember that a little goes a long way.”
That’s a fair warning from the CEO. On the Scoville heat index where a standard jalapeno has a score of 3,500, the Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce heat level is over 1 million.
With Holland, the Chronic Tacos team tested several recipes before they settled on the current combination. By taking their already popular house salsa and adding a few new ingredients, the sauce developed distinct flavor while also packing a ton of heat.
After several months of testing and the loss of several taste buds, the Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce was complete. One year later, the hot sauce is making its debut as a permanent menu item.
The sauce is joining an already eclectic menu featuring options like the uncommon Potato Taco, unconventional California Burrito and popular Wet Burrito. With a foundation of third-generation authentic Mexican recipes, Chronic Tacos encourages customers to customize their orders. Using all fresh, locally sourced ingredients made in-house daily from scratch, the restaurant offers burritos, tostada bowls, tortas, taquitos, flautas, salads, and tacos.


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On Thursday, Asian stocks went down after losses on Wall Street, although trade was subdued due to the fact that market participants waited for business polls in the European Union and were mostly on the sidelines ahead of the long Easter weekend holiday…
American futures go down
On Monday, American futures generally declined because Apple equities were affected by fears of decelerating demand for iPhones, and new signals of a potential escalation in the China-US trade conflict also contributed to market jitters.
Apple equities slumped by almost 1.5% right after the Wall Street Journal informed that the company has diminished output orders for recent weeks for all three iPhone models, which were officially launched in September.
This month the iPhone maker's stock has dived by 11.6% after the company's lower-than-anticipated sales estimate for the holiday quarter as well as a bunch of dismal estimates from several of its suppliers.
Moreover, Micron Technology Inc went down by about 2%.
In addition to this, the Dow e-minis went down by nearly 0.35%. As for S&P 500 e-minis, they declined by approximately 0.37%, while Nasdaq 100 e-minis decreased by 0.4%.
Over the weekend, at a meeting in Papua New Guinea Asia-Pacific leaders didn’t manage to agree on a joint communiqué. That’s the first such a case. Furthermore, US-China trade clashes are on the forefront once again.
As American Vice President Mike Pence told, there would be no end to American lives on $250 billion of China’s products until this Asian country changed its trade policy. The given statement heavily affected Friday's trade optimism. What’s more, it was also worsened by American leader’s outrageous comments.
As a matter of fact, China's JD.com Inc headed south by 5.9% having posted third-quarter profit, which fell short of experts’ forecasts on poor sales in its core e-commerce niche.
Aside from that, the Federal Reserve policymakers are still pointing to rate lifts in the nearer future. However, they’re also concerned about a probable global economic downtime, leading financial markets to suspect that the tightening cycle mightn’t have to run much further.
On Wednesday, Wall Street's key indexes stood still because a Qualcomm-led soar in chipmakers was compensated by a dive in healthcare shares for the second straight trading marathon, although quarterly gains came in largely positive…
On Tuesday, Asian shares went up, keeping to a nine-month peak because expectations for stabilization in the Chinese economy helped traders to neglect Wall Street's underperformance, which followed downbeat bank gains…
Did Bitcoin manage to recover and what was the hottest news in the crypto and blockchain world? Read and find out!
On Monday, Asian stocks traded mostly higher, with Shanghai bucking the trend because centrist Emmanuel Macron fully matched opinion survey hopes and left anti-EU far-right nominee Marine Le Pen behind…
Japan's March real wages went down at the fastest pace in nearly two years, weighed by minor nominal pay lifts as well as a moderate ascend in consumer prices, thus posing a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's tries to revitalize the Japanese…


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The new FDA website, called FDA Patient Network, is designed to educate consumers on the process of getting medical devices and drugs from the idea stage to pharmacy and hospital shelves. Along with the FDA Commissioner’s blog, this is the agency’s bid to be more transparent.
The new website is also a recruiting device of sorts: The FDA says it is looking for patient representatives to “share ideas” about the drugs and medical devices. The FDA Patient Network will be a gateway for caregivers, patients and patient advocates to email their views and hear live chats, webinars and open meetings, including those of the scientific advisory panels that meet to recommend for or against new drugs’ approval by the agency. Consumers can also sign up to testify before or participate in some of the FDA’s meetings.
FDA officials are now organizing the second annual meeting of the newly formed Patient Network, to take place this summer. That meeting will focus on helping advocates and consumers understand the often fiendishly complex decision-making process. “Medical product development isn’t just a simple 1-2-3 recipe,” said Richard Klein, director of the FDA’s Patient Liaison Program.
This is also a one-stop shop for checking out clinical trials that may be of interest, for learning about drugs or devices that FDA has approved or recalled, and to understand the limits of FDA’s powers — say, to restrict “off-label” use of medications it approves, or to proactively regulate dietary supplements.
REFERENCE: The Los Angeles Time (Health); By Melissa Healy; April 23, 2013, 3:07 p.m.


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CitNOW shortlisted for Telegraph award
CitNOW has been named one of the most successful British SMEs in The Telegraph Trade Awards 2018.
The company has been shortlisted for the Best International Export SME 2018 at The Telegraph Trade Awards which celebrates the most successful British SMEs trading internationally.
Formed over ten years, CitNOW has long since become an established video provider for the UK automotive industry, and after launching an expansion into Europe the company has started to gain traction across the continent as well.
CitNOW has become an established figure across many European markets, including DACH, Benelux, Iberia, Italy, France and most recently the Nordics.
Alistair Horsburgh, CEO of CitNOW, commented, ‘For years CitNOW has been a leader of the industry, pioneering automotive video to UK retailers.
‘Thanks to the astute appointments of some of the most experienced heads on the continent, and an impressive portfolio of video services, our ambitious expansion plan into Europe and the USA is enjoying real success.’


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Dubai World's new board of directors met for the first time yesterday to begin reconfiguring the government-owned company after a US$24.9 billion debt restructuring pact this year.
New board on mission to reshape Dubai World
Dubai World's new board of directors met for the first time yesterday to begin reconfiguring the government-owned company after a US$24.9 billion (Dh91.45bn) debt restructuring pact this year.
Last week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, appointed Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum as chairman, replacing Sultan bin Sulayem, who had chaired the board since the company's inception in 2006.
"The meeting reviewed a plan for the company's next phases, and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed confirmed the board's commitment to implement a programme that strengthens the performance of the company and its subsidiaries based on accurate scientific data," the Government said in an e-mailed statement.
Dubai World reached agreement in September on its debt restructuring, paving the way for the new board and a new plan to take the company forward.
The conglomerate owns some of Dubai's most treasured assets, including the global ports operator DP World. Through its private-equity subsidiary, Istithmar World, it also owns stakes in the US discount retailer Loehmann's, the luxury clothier Barneys New York and part of the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.
While the debt restructuring agreement has brought a measure of calm to regional markets and helped ease Dubai's sale in late September of $1.25bn of government bonds, some subsidiaries are still working through financial troubles. Loehmann's, for example, is in bankruptcy proceedings in the US, and Nakheel, the Dubai World-owned developer responsible for the emirate's palm-shaped islands, has yet to reach a final agreement with contractors to settle unpaid bills.
The Government said yesterday the new programme for Dubai World "should ensure its financial position and enable it to fulfil contractual and financial obligations as well as develop other potentials and to support areas for improvement".
Representatives of Dubai World could not be reached for comment.
According to the Government statement, the new board of directors is charged with overseeing the company's restructuring and "drawing up and supervising the implementation of the general policy of the company and its subsidiaries".
The board will also look at the value of Dubai World's investments and review reports about the company's accounts and its financial position.
Dubai World was a "solid pillar of the national economic system", the statement said, adding that the board was there to help undergird its position as a leading local company.
Dubai World accounts for a large slice of overall debts of the emirate and its government-linked companies, estimated this year by the IMF at more than $100bn.
Like many of its peers in Dubai, the company took advantage of an unprecedented boom in global credit markets to expand rapidly, only to face problems repaying loans and bonds when the financial crisis hit. Numerous divisions of Dubai Holding, a group owned directly by Sheikh Mohammed, are also seeking new terms on debt.
Dubai International Capital, Dubai Holding's private-equity arm, reached a deal at the end of last week to restructure debts of $2.6bn.


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U.S. regulators are seeking a nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes, a move that would remove nearly a third of the roughly 250 billion cigarettes sold annually in the country.
The action, aimed at curbing teen use of flavored tobacco products, puts the industry into an all-too-familiar spot: defending the minty smokes popular among younger smokers and African-Americans. More than a dozen municipalities have adopted bans on menthols, but cigarette makers have so far avoided federal restrictions.
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Say the name Devon Works within watch circles and thoughts of the brand’s famous Tread 1 Collection of watches immediately spring to mind. Followers of the innovative brand now have another reason to be excited – Devon Works has opened its new Headquarters and Design Lab in Pasadena, California.
Scott Devon chose to locate its headquarter and Devon Works manufacture design lab from Michigan to Pasadena, CA, as it is a locale synonymous for its innovative technology. It is also the area where Devon’s electro-mechanical aerospace components are purchased.
Devon’s new high tech lab neighbors include CalTech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, known for their creativity and innovative technologies. A neighborhood in which Scott Devon wants his brand associated with considering his manufacture team’s diligent efforts that helped establish the brand’s innovative movement.
Devon established the company’s distinct brand of electro-mechanical watches employing a set of kinetic Time Belts™ and micro motors created to deliver unique displays of time ranging from industrial chic (Steampunk Tread 1) to elegant yet modern and complex movements.
Devon’s distinct watch designs have amassed the brand quite a following of watch enthusiasts and collectors, distinguishing the brand from the norm of traditional watch manufacturers both in Switzerland and here in the US. Because of this distinction and their recent move Devon has employed a new Production Manager, John Thomas, whom has assembled a team of production engineers and watch assemblers that will perform in-house production of its Tread 1 watches and complete the production of its Tread 2 watch orders. These efforts accompanied by newly established quality control standards will allow Devon to improve and expand its customer satisfaction base.
Devon is scheduled to deliver its redesigned and contoured Tread 2 watches, which the company has already received 300 pre-orders for based solely on photos and prototypes that were shown at Baselworld 2013 in May.
Written by Chaz Nash


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There’s definitely something going on behind the scenes of China’s e-commerce industry: In no other country in the world is delivering packages to consumers in 24 hours considered standard practice. What’s the driving force behind this logistics service?
The answer is pretty easy to find. Just look at the Chinese e-commerce market: intense competition, large volumes of packages, and the need to satisfy ever-growing demands from sophisticated Chinese consumers.
E-commerce in China is three times the size of any market globally, according to eMarketer. According to Alibaba, Cainiao Network and its logistics partners delivered 25.1 billion packages in 2019.
Peak shopping seasons in China bring dizzying numbers of orders. Last year, during the 11.11 shopping festival, more than 1.3 billion orders were processed within 24 hours by Alibaba’s Cainiao Network.
Hendrik Laubscher is the Founder and Chief Analyst of Blue Cape Ventures, a boutique research consultancy that focuses on marketplaces and cross-border e-commerce.
Recently, Netsunion Clearing Corporation reported that 26.18 billion transactions worth RMB 16.91 trillion (about $2.38 trillion) occurred during the 6.18 online shopping festival from June 1 to June 18, 2020.
To serve over 1.4 billion citizens and nearly 900 million mobile internet users, retail and e-commerce businesses must innovate. They frequently adopt new technologies like AI, Internet of Things, and automation.
To get the edge in a fiercely competitive marketplace, digital commerce giants JD and Alibaba have pushed each other to master the difficult step-child of e-commerce: getting stuff from here to there.
Logistics with Chinese characteristics
Consumers in China expect logistics services to be on-demand and free, and do not expect to pay extra for these features. This is a contrast to the European and American markets, where consumers pay a premium for expedited services like Instacart and Amazon Prime Now. The additional fees charged by these companies reflect the high cost of shipping items in developed markets.
At its core, Alibaba is a marketplace, while JD.com is a retailer. Their business models have huge differences, but in logistics, Alibaba’s Cainiao Network and JD Logistics have both thrown traditional e-commerce logistics business models away and created market-specific solutions.
Alibaba’s Cainiao Network
Alibaba’s Cainiao Network offers an innovative, data-driven platform that helps improve efficiency and customer experience for all supply chain partners. At a high level, it can be summarized as a logistics platform which focuses on freight between warehouses that then use third-party partners to complete last mile deliveries.
Alibaba has also invested in these logistics companies in an effort to improve operational efficiency across the entire logistics chain. Cainiao Network offers a data platform that links warehouse operators, distribution centers, and contractors together to ensure that it can support local and international shipments.
- Automation: Cainiao Network’s smart warehouse in Wuxi has 700 automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Internet of Things technology in the warehouse directs AGVs to drive, load, and unload.
- Last-mile delivery solutions in local communities have also grown in 2020. Package pickup stations located in neighborhoods and university campuses, called Cainiao Post, account for 10% of total packages delivered in Alibaba’s China retail marketplaces. In March 2020, the total number of package pick-ups saw three-digit growth year-on-year, due to surging demand for contactless delivery during and after Covid-19. Cainiao has recently announced that it will add 30,000 new community post stations in 100 cities in China.
JD Logistics offers end-to-end logistics, including both freight-to-warehouse and last mile delivery. Its logistics services are available to online and offline businesses, even those that do not sell on its e-commerce platform. Brands and businesses can use these services to deliver products, without investing into their own logistics.
Unlike Amazon, JD Logistics does not charge its clients higher fees for servicing other businesses. Amazon is being investigated by the FTC for charging businesses up to 75% more when shipping to a consumer who purchased on a non-Amazon platform.
- JD Logistics, like Cainiao Network, is leveraging automation and 5G technology to enable logistics at speed.
- JD’s smart logistics infrastructure has expanded its highly automated “Asia No.1″ logistics parks network to 28 parks in 2020 in a bid to increase same- or next-day delivery service coverage, especially in lower-tier markets. These are essentially fulfillment centers that can speed up parcel delivery.
- The three new parks are in Langfang, Hebei province; Dezhou, Shandong province; and Zhengzhou, Henan province.
- The park in Dongguan, in the Pearl River Delta, is 500,000 square meters, equal to the size of seventy football fields, and can fulfill about 1.6 million orders per day.
- JD Logistics also launched its first 5G-powered smart logistics park in Beijing in October 2019. The facility implemented real-time monitoring systems that detect and analyze the warehouse, tracking the location and routes of forklifts and pallets in real time. The technology provides preemptive alerts to human operators if something abnormal arises.
The secret sauce
Both Alibaba and JD.com often promise consumers that their orders will be in hand in as little as a few hours, a goal which would be impossible to meet without consistent innovation.
The two Chinese titans have the advantage of stress testing their logistics networks on a massive scale during China’s multiple shopping holidays, which see delivery volumes unheard of in any other e-commerce market. There is no other e-commerce market in the world that regularly generates tens of billions of online orders in a few days, as happens in China during the various shopping festivals. Alibaba and JD.com have used these massive shopping events to accelerate market-specific solutions.
In order to move millions of packages between brands, warehouses, sorting centers, and collection points, 5G, data and automation are necessary to ensure that this undertaking ends with customer happiness and package delivered. Supply chain leaders should look to Chinese e-commerce as a barometer of how to innovate in what is often seen as a totally mature sector.


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9-month GDP growth highest in 12 years
At the press conference on the announcement of socio-economic statistics for the third quarter of 2022 taking place on the morning of September 29, the Director General of the General Statistics Office (GSO), the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong said: Many industries recovered strongly, helping the gross domestic product (GDP) in 9 months to increase by 8.83%, the highest level since 2011.
Regarding GDP use in the third quarter of 2022, final consumption increased by 10.08% over the same period last year, contributing 38.21% to the overall growth rate of the economy; accumulated assets increased by 8.7%, contributed 21.13%; exports of goods and services increased by 9.32%; imports of goods and services increased by 2.72%; the difference between import and export of goods and services contributed 40.66%.
In the general increase of the whole economy, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector increased by 2.99%, contributing 4.04%; the industry and construction sector increased by 9.44%, contributing 41.79%; the service sector increased by 10.57%, contributing 54.17%. In the area of agriculture, forestry and fishery, the livestock industry has developed stably, and the timber exploitation has been promoted; aquaculture production has increased quite well to meet domestic consumption and export demand.
In the first nine months of this year, the agriculture sector increased by 2.43% over the same period last year, contributing 0.22 percentage points to the increase in total added value of the whole economy; the forestry sector increased by 5.2% but accounted for a low proportion, so it only contributed 0.03 percentage points; the fisheries sector increased by 4.43%, contributing 0.12 percentage points.
In the industry and construction sector, the industry tends to recover quickly with an increase of 9 months in 2022 reaching 9.63% over the same period last year, contributing 3.25 percentage points to the growth rate of total added value of the whole economy.
In which, the processing and manufacturing industry is the growth engine of the whole economy with an increase of 10.69%, only lower than the growth rate of the same period in 2011, 2017 and 2018, contributing 2. 74 percentage points. Construction industry increased by 8.55%, contributing 0.59 percentage points.
The service sector grew strongly with the growth rate of 9 months in 2022 reaching 10.57%, the highest of 9 months in 2011-2022. Regarding the structure of the economy in the first nine months of 2022, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector accounts for 11.27%; industry and construction accounted for 38.69%; service sector accounted for 41.31%; taxes less subsidies on products accounted for 8.73%.
Regarding GDP use in the first nine months of 2022, final consumption increased by 7.26% over the same period in 2021, contributing 44.46% to the overall growth rate of the economy; accumulated assets increased by 5.59%, contributing 18.46%; exports of goods and services increased by 8.94%; imports of goods and services increased by 4.74%; the difference between import and export of goods and services contributed 37.08%.
- Two-way trade between Vietnam-Korea Republic increased by nearly USD 9 billion
- Vegetable and fruit exports in 2022 reached the target with nearly USD 3.4 billion
- Vietnam's digital economy is forecast to be the strongest in Southeast Asia
- Textile, leather and footwear make an export miracle of USD 71 billion
- Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Australia reaches a record
- Vietnam's exports to the US hit the USD 100 billion mark
- Vietnam keeps its growth momentum in 2023
- Huge export surplus to markets with FTAs
- Drivers for Vietnam's economy to grow by 6.5% in 2023
- Vietnam has a trade surplus of USD 11.2 billion in 2022


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Luxury apartments kick off near Toyota Stadium in Frisco
Dallas Business Journal | Candace Carlisle | October 12, 2016
The Illinois-based developer behind Uptown’s luxury One Uptown residences on the former Hard Rock restaurant site plans to kick off a new luxury apartment community in Frisco, with ground-floor retail space.
Stoneleigh Cos. plans to soon begin on the Waterford at Frisco, a four-story, 381-unit luxury apartment community along Main Street near Toyota Stadium. In all, the two-building wrap buildings will add more than 9,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The lifestyle benefits from the site’s proximity to Toyota Stadium, Frisco Square, The Star in Frisco and Legacy West was the driver behind the firm deciding to build urban-style apartments in this North Texas suburb, said Rick Cavenaugh, president of Stoneleigh Cos.
“The community will offer the best units, finishes and amenities for the discerning Frisco resident,” he said, in a statement.
The Waterford at Frisco is part of a larger growth strategy for Stoneleigh Cos., which plans on building 1,430 apartments in North Texas in the next few years.
“Seventy percent of our business is in Texas for Stoneleigh Cos., and Dallas is our largest concentration of projects,” Cavenaugh told the Dallas Business Journal this summer. “That’s because Dallas is Dallas. It’s been the strongest growing market for the past 30 years. Dallas is an important city, and it’s been good to us.”
EDI Architecture is the project architect for the community. Stoneleigh Construction Company, an affiliated firm to the developer, is the general contractor. Aurora National Life Co. is the construction lender on the project.
Waterford Residential was named the community’s property manager.
Plans for the community include fitness centers with private workout studios, community lounges, two courtyard pools, game rooms and outdoor pavilions.


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Earlier today, Xbox Wire Editor Mike Nelson confirmed in an Xbox news blog post that zombie survival game State of Decay 2 will launch worldwide on May 22nd. This highly anticipated Xbox Play-Anywhere title is set to debut on Xbox One, Windows 10 PC and Xbox Game Pass approximately three weeks prior to E3 2018.
In addition to today’s news, it was also revealed that the Standard Edition of the game will retail for only $29.99 while the Ultimate Edition will cost $49.99 and will be available four days earlier for those who decided to preorder. Included below are two images of the official cover art for both editions.
With Sea of Thieves scheduled to launch on March 20th and State of Decay 2 expected a few months later, it’s evident that Microsoft is making an overall better effort at releasing more exclusive first party titles this year. Crackdown 3 is the next major Xbox exclusive title that we can expect to hear a release day for in the not too distant future.
Are any of you planning on picking up State of Decay 2 later this year? Please feel free to let us know your thoughts on the upcoming game and more in the comments section below.
Source: Xbox News Blog Post


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Thieves are targeting supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide to grab tobacco products easily sold on the black market.
Prices have soared to more than £8 for a packet of 20 as the Government tries to stub out smoking by increasing taxes.
Last year’s epidemic of metal thefts has been significantly reduced now that scrap merchants have been forced to stop paying in cash.
Yet police and traders say they are now facing a tobacco crime wave instead with thefts soaring alongside illicit and potentially dangerous tobacco smuggling scams.
Only last week a gang was jailed for stealing thousands of pounds of cigarettes in night-time raids across East Anglia using a stolen car. Detectives say thieves are more likely to target smaller general stores, terrorising owners.
The Association of Convenience Stores said: “The high price of cigarettes is creating a bigger market for stolen and counterfeit cigarettes.”
Imperial Tobacco said: “We take retail security very seriously and the tobacco units we install in shops include robust steel casing and lockable roller shutters to dissuade criminals and aid security when the shop is closed.”
In Nottinghamshire, figures show Co-ops, One Stops and Spar shops are increasingly being singled out by criminals at a time when the number of commercial burglaries is down.
We believe the increase in burglary at these stores is due to thieves targeting cigarettes because of their value and re-saleability
In total, shops from the three chains lost at least £21,300 in goods and cash during the 12 months to April.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Luke, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We believe the increase in burglary at these stores is due to thieves targeting cigarettes because of their value and re-saleability.
“We are working hard to catch the criminals involved in these offences and have recently made some good arrests.”
As well as stolen cigarettes the fight against illegal tobacco being smuggled into the UK goes on.
Dutch national Marius Klein was jailed for two-and-a-half years for his role in a multi-million pound counterfeit cigarette operation in Derbyshire.
He was responsible for organising the manufacture, production and sale of counterfeit cigarettes from a base in Poland.
The illicit business, costing more than £131million a year in lost revenue, was foiled when customs officers swooped on a factory, which was capable of making up to 625 million counterfeit cigarettes and five million pouches of tobacco a year.


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Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) shares are flying just under 6% after the company has revealed the design of a semi-custom graphics processor unit (GPU), one that will find integration into a new Intel Core multi-chip processor package.
Rosenblatt analyst Hans Mosesmann is out with a bullish note surveying the semiconductor industry following last week’s round of earnings from both AMD and rival Intel alike, giving the advantage to AMD when glancing to the chip maker battleground. With AMD’s Computing & Graphics segment poised to surge roughly $1 billion, which would suggest around 50% year-over-year growth this year considering last year’s $1.97 billion posted, the analyst is confident: “AMD is set to gain share.”
The analyst reiterates a Buy rating on AMD stock with a $22 price target, which represents a close to 87% increase from current levels. (To watch Mosesmann’s track record, click here)
Among key themes and insights from the analyst’s latest investor discussions, Mosemann highlights that among AMD’s gains forthcoming at “the early stages of a multi-year dynamic (yes, $TAM and units),” the company gleans a clear “graphics advantage in mobile” as well as a “structural advantage in servers, and processor roadmaps.”
If this chip giant is in such strong standing heading into the new year, the analyst poses the following question: “Why have AMD shares been under pressure since 3Q17 earnings?” Well, “It appears that while AMD is beating and raising estimates consistent with sell-side models, buy-side models have been way too aggressive,” writes Mosesmann who notes that with a new CPU in desktop, notebook, as well as server markets, it takes time for that ramp- “many quarters,” in fact.
Mosesmann concludes on an enthusiastic note giving the competitive upper hand to AMD over Intel with its EPYC standing: “Intel’s CPU portfolio vs. AMD is best positioned in desktops, less so in mobile, and even less so in servers.” Whereas Intel’s servers operate on a pricing structure fixated largely on elevated costs for CPUs carrying “more feature sets” from PCIe lanes to memory bandwidth, “AMD disrupts this price segmentation by offering high-end feature sets in the entire range of EPYC servers; hence a customer can get high end feature sets at a low price points. Given how workloads have shifted over the last couple of years in terms of machine learning and AI, low-end CPUs with the ability of attaching many GPU accelerators for example is decidedly advantageous to AMD’s EPYC positioning.”
While this bull believes the semiconductor player is in solid fighting stance in the chip maker arena, Wall Street is less convinced that the giant is one worth the clear-cut bet, as TipRanks analytics exhibit AMD as a Hold. Based on 21 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 8 rate a Buy on Advanced Micro Devices stock, 9 maintain a Hold, while 4 issue a Sell on the stock. The 12-month average price target stands at $14.52, marking a 24% upside from where the stock is currently trading.


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ISLAMABAD: A new United Nations report reveals that bottled water masks the world’s failure to supply safe water for all and can slow the sustainable development.
The rapidly-growing bottled water industry can undermine progress towards a key sustainable development goal of safe water for all. Based on an analysis of literature and data from 109 countries, the UN report says that in just five decades bottled water has developed into “a major and essentially standalone economic sector”, experiencing 73 per cent growth from 2010 to 2020, and sales are expected to almost double by 2030, from $270 billion to $500 billion.
Released ahead of the World Water Day (March 22), the report by UN University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health concludes that the unrestricted expansion of the bottled water industry “is not aligned strategically with the goal of providing universal access to drinking water or at least slows global progress in this regard, distracting development efforts and redirecting attention to a less reliable and less affordable option for many, while remaining highly profitable for producers”.
The report says providing safe water to roughly 2 billion people without it would require an annual investment of less than half the $270 billion now spent every year on bottled water.
“This points to a global case of extreme social injustice, whereby billions of people worldwide do not have access to reliable water services while others enjoy water luxury.”
Bottled water industry can undermine progress towards the key SDG
In mid- and low-income countries, bottled water consumption is linked to poor tap water quality and often unreliable public water supply systems. Beverage corporations are adept at marketing bottled water as a safe alternative to tap water by drawing attention to isolated public water system failures, says UNU-INWEH researcher and lead author Zeineb Bouhlel, adding that “even if in certain countries piped water is or can be of good quality, restoring public trust in tap water is likely to require substantial marketing and advocacy efforts”.
According to the report, “the mineral composition of bottled water can vary significantly between different brands, within the same brand in different countries, and even between different bottles of the same batch”.
Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2023


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Only 3.6 percent of companies have adopted artificial intelligence technology, a report from the Korea Development Institute showed Thursday.
To see how AI is being used or perceived in different sectors, the KDI conducted a survey of 1,000 companies with at least 20 employees, including conglomerates and small and midsized businesses.
Conglomerates made up 91.7 percent of all AI-using companies, according to the report. By industry, 55 percent of AI-using companies were in the service sector, followed by manufacturing with 36 percent.
Of the companies using AI technology, 77.8 percent said AI had had a positive impact on management and performance. These companies saw their sales go up by 4.3 percent on average after implementing AI technology.
But about half of the AI-using companies said they had experienced an increase in operating costs.
Of the companies not using AI, 89 percent said they had no plans to introduce it. Only 38.9 percent of the AI-using companies said they intended to bring in more AI technology.
With only about 5 percent of the companies having an AI specialist or team on board, the respondents said the biggest obstacle was the lack of an AI technology or solution that fit the firm’s needs.
Half the businesses, however, said AI would replace human workers and cost jobs. They predicted that it would take 20 years for AI to replace over 50 percent of personnel.
The companies picked the medical and health sector as the one most likely to be affected by AI technology, followed by transport, media and logistics, the report said.
To increase the use of AI technology on the front lines, the respondents suggested providing research and development support, offering training for AI personnel, building proper infrastructure and improving regulations.
Despite the government’s recent announcements that it would invest large amounts in AI and related fields, the KDI said, the low adoption rate of AI technology means the AI ecosystem is not working properly, so the government’s role as a facilitator is crucial.
The government should make efforts to transform AI into general-purpose technology that can be used by all companies, including small and midsized businesses, rather than only by certain data-driven companies, the KDI added.
By Kan Hyeong-woo (email@example.com


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Biller, the Dutch buy-now-pay-later startup for B2B payments, has been acquired by Banking Circle Group. The acquisition comes just six months after its founding and shows how Biller has cemented itself as a possible leader in the untapped B2B credit space.
Goldman Sachs expects the B2B e-commerce market to become 5x greater in volume than retail payments by 2028. It is widely acknowledged that B2B remains an untapped market opportunity for the payments industry and Biller has already offered creative solutions since its founding.
Biller joins Banking Circle Group’s payment network
The acquisition by Banking Circle Group will allow Biller to further accelerate its European expansion. The startup confirms that it will become part of Banking Circle Group’s ecosystem as part of this deal.
As a young startup, Biller aimed to disrupt the conventional trade credit experience prevalent in the B2B commerce segment. With the acquisition, Biller gets immediate access to “important technology infrastructure, financial resources, the necessary payment rails and licences to accelerate their European expansion.”
“The B2B market is widely underserved and has room for improvements,” Mick Gromotka, co-founder and in charge of product at Biller, told Silicon Canals in November last year.
As former Mollie and Klarna employees, the co-founders of Biller saw the payment revolution that took the consumer market by storm. They want to make buy-now-pay-later simpler for business-to-business transactions. The startup will leverage fronting banking services and account infrastructure from Banking Circle Group to expand its European coverage.
Derek Vreeburg, CEO of Biller, says, “It’s great to find Banking Circle as a strategic partner, only six months after our founding. We are thrilled to join one of the most innovative and fast-growing fintech companies in Europe. This massively increases our chances of rapidly conquering the European market.”
Following this acquisition, Biller aims to expand its coverage to the UK, Germany, Belgium, and Nordics in the first half of 2022. The startup plans full European coverage within the next 12 to 24 months. The startup will also operate autonomously and plans to grow from 15 to more than 150 employees this year.
Back in November, Mick had told Silicon Canals that the startup aims to expand its headcount to 50 by the end of Q2 2022. The acquisition seems to be accelerating its European expansion as well as hiring as the startup prepares to flex its wings and aspires to become the market leader in B2B commerce.
Biller: what you need to know
Biller is an AI-powered B2B commerce startup founded by Mick Gromotka, Derek Vreeburg and Uwe van Rensburg. After working at Mollie and Klarna, the co-founders saw how BNPL can transform payments in the consumer market and realised the untapped potential in the B2B segment. With the consumer market crowded and the B2B market remaining ripe for innovation, they started Biller in 2021 with Dutch venture studio, Slimmer AI.
The premise of the startup was rather simple. B2B buyers were in need of a fast and flexible payment experience similar to one offered by the likes of Klarna to consumers and Biller aims to fill that gap. As explained by Mick, Biller streamlines the business practises and digitises B2B commerce for the modern world.
The startup eliminates barriers like mandatory registration and lengthy processing time for B2B businesses when they try to procure credit. Unlike the consumer segment, Biller uses AI tools to ensure creditworthiness of businesses with an instant credit and fraud check. It also offers dynamic credit limits, a feature unheard of in B2B commerce.
“Biller’s in-depth knowledge of the BNPL industry and their ability to implement and adapt the convenience of the consumer payment experience to the B2B space is truly impressive,” says Anders la Cour, Chief Executive Officer of Banking Circle Group. “As companies accelerate the digitisation of their customer and supply-chain interactions, there’s a growing need for modern-day financial solutions. Banking Circle Group is growing its propositions rapidly to meet this demand. Biller is a natural extension of our suite of offerings and we’re excited to have them on board.”
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Best Buy Being Investigated in Conn. Over Bogus Intranet
Best Buy is being investigated by the attorney general of the state of Connecticut over an internal Web site that employees at two stores allegedly used to bilk customers out of sale prices. The company has blamed the ruse on “employee confusion” and “human error,” and vowed to cooperate, despite denying earlier that such a site existed.
As initially revealed by columnist George Gombossy of the Hartford Courant, at least two Nutmeg State locations used an internal Web site, one looking almost exactly like the public BestBuy.com site, to show customers that the products they wanted were listed as more expensive than the online price customers had previously seen on the public site. This practice led to more than 20 customer complaints.
Gombossy reported that Best Buy employees had admitted the second site’s existence, and even showed him how intranet site worked.


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If clothing told a story then Urban Zulu is the mouthpiece for South African urban culture.
Urban Zulu goes bold opening up a new flagship store at the MARC, in the heart of South Africa’s financial district, Sandton. Numerous retail outlets have shut down during this pandemic. Times have been tough but through hard work and dedication anything is possible.
Founder and Director of Urban Zulu, Pepy Kaluw expresses that now is the time to wear black, as clothing is a way ‘to express ourselves. He states that it’s important for local fashion brands to keep their heads high during these trying times.


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More features on ANZ Pacific App announced
PR - ANZ yesterday announced it has added new features to its ANZ Pacific App to make banking on the go easier and more secure for its Samoa, Tonga and Pacific customers.
The new features include:
• Fingerprint ID (Android) and TouchID (iOS) log in
• Local bank and international transfers
• Now available to Business Internet Banking customers
• Schedule future dated and recurring payments
• Access existing templates created from internet banking
ANZ Regional Executive for Pacific, Tessa Price, said: “Just six months ago we were the first bank to introduce a Pacific-wide mobile banking app. Since then, more than 16,000 people across the Pacific, including Samoa, have been actively using our ANZ Pacific App.
“In that time, we’ve seen a 120% increase in the value of transfers made using the ANZ Pacific App. We know this figure will continue to grow as smartphone usage increases across the region and more of our customers choose digital banking.”
ANZ Regional Country Manager, Samoa and Tonga, Bernie Poort, said: “With more access to high speed internet, Internet Banking and our Pacific App are becoming the preferred way for many of our customers to do their banking.
“We expect this trend to continue in 2019 and beyond, so we’re investing in digital banking to help our customers bank on the go.”
The new ANZ Pacific App is available in Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Customers can download the ANZ Pacific App from the App Store or Google Play.


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Longtime gamers got a big surprise on Thursday night. A new splash logo has been revealed for Sierra Games, a decades-old development studio responsible for a countless number of games across a variety of platforms. Their work ranges from a large number of well-known franchises, including King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Gabriel Knight, and Ultima. They've also helped publish a number of Valve games, like Half-Life 2. And now it appears that they're ready to return with an all-new project, set to be revealed at this year's Gamescom.
Sierra fell under the Activision umbrella as part of the 2008 merger between Activision and Blizzard parent company Vivendi, which created the current Activision Blizzard giant we know today. The studio largely remained quiet since that sale, but it looks like Activision is ready to dust off the old brand and bring a new gaming franchise forward.
It's clearly a bit early to speculate on what Sierra could be working on, but the fact that they're even alive and kicking at all should raise excitement for anyone that grew up with their vast library of games.


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CFIG says leniency provided to Loblaw and George Weston sends a “troubling signal” to the grocery industry
With Loblaw Companies Ltd. offering customers $25 gift cards after admitting its part in a bread price-fixing scheme, some are saying the best use for that money would be to give it to charity.
The auto service shop surprised commuters with tire checks on one of Alberta's most dangerous highways.
The consumer price index, which calculates the official inflation rate, increased to an annual pace of 2.1 per cent in November as food and gasoline got more expensive, Statistics Canada reports.
Report says poor loyalty programs can negatively effect brand performance


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With the summer fruit industry facing a potentially disastrous worker shortage, the wages of fruit pickers are in the spotlight. Is cherry picking really as lucrative as it's marketed to be?
What qualities does one look for in a great gluten-free bread?
With New Zealand tourism in a lull, Queenstown-based start-up Kiwi Welcome is creating a new model of sustainable travel where visitors add value to the land.
All the speakers had one sentiment in common: New Zealand has a wealth of creative talent and is on the cusp of something big.
South and West Auckland may finally be using less toxic chemicals on their streets. But does that mean the North Shore has to use more?
Sound and reasonable economic policy, or 'communism by stealth'? Here's what the PM had to say to the business community this afternoon.
While sub 2% interest rates are a boon for some, for others they're just another nail in the long-sealed coffin of home ownership.
To the average consumer, a T-shirt made out of crab shells might be a hard sell. Tim Brown of Allbirds doesn't think so.


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His total annual payment included a basic salary of $ 1.8 million and $ 12.7 million on the stock market, as well as about $ 3.2 million. Other compensations, according to public applications, published in # 39th Anniversary
. "difficult year", which was "full of wind". But he also positioned him as a turning point.
Ford praised Hackett's guide to the presentation, saying that it "is equipped to manage the company's commitment to become the most reliable company in the world, the development of intelligent vehicles for a smart world, which Helps people move more safely, confidently and freely. "
Few people on Wall Street doubt that
Hackett became General Director of Ford in May 2017 against the backdrop of growing financial pressure. Ford's shares reached more than 10% by now in 2018, although it is still down more than 40% compared to about a thousand years ago.
Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, the great grandson of the founder of Henry Ford, has also pushed for the development of a new generation of electric and independent cars.
Bill Ford was the second largest company to receive compensation from Ford last year with a total payout of $ 13.8 million