text:
Digital Banking is the new trend across Africa as Financial Institutions compete for the Continent’s Young and Tech-Savvy
Financial institutions in Africa are evolving at a very fast pace with the expansion of digital banking platforms targeted at the growing population of smart and tech-savvy youths. With services such as digital wallets, branchless banking, and financial transactions on mobile gadgets, customers of these institutions are enjoying a transformation never seen before on the continent.
For financial analysts, bankers, and other experts, this has led to some much-needed confidence within the industry. While speaking about Africa’s move toward digital banking, CEO of EQIBank, Jason Blick, said “Africa is benefiting from an unexpected advantage: its historically modest telco infrastructure”. He continued, “It’s a perfect storm of opportunity for forward-thinking digital banks, many of whom see Africa as the world’s No. 2 banking market in terms of growth and profitability. Africa gives us the opportunity to help address some of the continent’s historic economic challenges while also driving expansion in our digital-banking products and services.” EQIBank is a global digital-only bank serving both private and corporate clients.
The increasing acceptance of digital banking platforms across the industry is all-encompassing with digital startups and existing banks all jostling for space.
For instance, one institution that is making its way through the digital transformation is Standard Chartered Bank which launched its first fully digital bank in Côte d’Ivoire in 2018, according to Jaydeep Gupta, Chartered Bank’s Africa and Middle East head of Retail Banking. This year, the bank has rolled out more digital-only banks across Africa covering Tanzania, Botswana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zambia, and Kenya. And there’s more to come.
Gupta said; “We will launch the digital bank in Nigeria” before year-end, says Gupta, “and we are keen to maintain our momentum and expand across the region with the digital-bank solution where it is needed most.”
The mobile application from Standard Chartered allows customers access to a range of banking solutions without needing to visit a physical branch. “Demand for digital banking services is coming directly from consumers,” says Gupta, “particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, because of a high mobile penetration and a digitally savvy, young population” who are hungry for digital experiences across sectors.
Another institution, WEMA Bank, a 75-year-old Nigerian bank, launched Nigeria’s first fully digital bank in 2018, offering branchless customer service. Ecobank, another front-runner, has successfully rolled out its digital banking platform known as Xpress, a platform that garnered 3 million customers all over Africa within six months.
Africa’s emerging digital models consist of fintechs, start-ups, and Telcos trying to make it into banking, according to strategy company, McKinsey. These include South Africa-based banks Tyme Bank and Bank Zero. Patrick Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital controls Tyme Bank which became the first fully digital bank in South Africa after launching branchless operations in August. It runs mobile and online platforms in addition to kiosks inside retail outlets like Boxer stores and Pick n Pay supermarkets, which provide a kind of physical presence to customers. To open an account, customers need an ID number and a South African mobile-network number that will prompt some additional questions and confirmations.
According to McKinsey, the main business driver across these digital banking platforms is a plan to reduce costs through the use of end-to-end automation and getting rid of branches. The strategy experts also point to “increased cross-sell through advanced analytics to identify relevant offerings for customers that they can purchase directly on digital channels” as a significant business driver.
Investing in Youth
Chijioke Dozie, CEO and co-founder of the Lagos-based financial services company, Carbon, affirms that South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria have remarkably high prospects for digital banking, especially among the youth.
According to Dozie, “Many people under 30 have largely been under served by the traditional banking system. For many of these consumers, financial inclusion is about having access to the necessary advisory and business management services to enable their businesses to thrive and expand anywhere. Africa is a mobile-first market—and in some cases mobile-only—and most people are used to accessing a wide range of services primarily via their mobile phones. Adding banking to this range of services will not be too much of a challenge.”
As well as extensive smartphone use, sub-Saharan Africa is a key market for mobile money. In 2018, the region recorded a 14% yearly growth of registered mobile wallets to 396 million, according to GSMA, a trade group. Telecoms companies are seizing the opportunity to launch digital banking services in places like Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, either in collaboration with banks or as part of mobile money solutions connected to banks and available through mobile phones.
McKinsey reports that more than 40% of banking users in Africa prefer digital channels for their financial requirements. The preference is stronger at Standard Chartered Bank, where about 96% of its digital banking customers “prefer to transact outside the physical branch network.” Standard Chartered’s elite customers follow the same trend. “Today, half of our Priority Banking clients use our digital channels, and close to 40% of our Private Banking clients use their mobiles to manage their banking needs,” says Gupta. “We fully expect these numbers to grow as we continue to introduce new features to bring greater ease and convenience for our clients. Additionally, our digital banks in Africa are serving over 85,000 new registered users.”
Zimbabwe’s mobile money platform – EcoCash, now provides a service where diaspora remittances are converted into local currency. This is done in collaboration with money-transfer partners like Western Union. EcoCash also offers cross-digital financial services such as payments, microloans, and transfers with Steward Bank and other partner banks. EcoCash has relied heavily on Steward Bank, its sister bank, for a lot of support with both banks having left the aegis of Econet Wireless, the mobile telecoms giant.
McKinsey warns that despite the early success recorded with digital-only banking platforms, some countries are more open to change than others. For instance, some North African countries like Morocco and Tunisia, with deep-rooted banking infrastructure, might not be as ambitious for branchless services as low-banking-penetration countries such as Egypt.
Creating the Perfect Environment
Confidence in financial innovations can only be increased by regulations that are better and more consistent. According to a World Bank report, governments in sub-Saharan African countries have started to develop regulatory policies in response to the advances in digital banking and financial services. They are fine-tuning current legal and regulatory frameworks to tackle challenges relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism methods, consumer protection, competition, and data privacy issues. However, the World Bank warns that a lot still needs to be done.
Despite facing limitations such as regulatory hold backs, high data costs, and the dearth of skilled technologists to drive the deployment of the platforms, digital banks will introduce the much-needed competition into banking in Africa, and this should help cut fees, says Joanne Kumire, a market research analyst at 11:FS, a fintech consultancy.
According to a World Bank spokesperson, “In addition to creating an enabling legal and regulatory environment, many developing economies, including in the Africa region, can play an active role in facilitating digital financial services by supporting the development of critical financial infrastructure that would support the interoperability of payment instruments or integration of digital data into credit reporting systems.”
Unlocking the prospects of digital banking in Africa depends largely on how solutions and platforms are tailored to suit the local markets and their specific features, especially incessant power outages. However, the fast-paced adoption of these services so far suggests that there is a high level of bullishness that the industry will maintain its current momentum.


text:
Published Tue, May 23, 2023 at 4:30 PM EDT
Dr. Dre's opus The Chronic turned 30 years old in December of last year. The groundbreaking compilation album introduced the world to Snoop Dogg, RBX, Tha Dogg Pound and The Lady of Rage as well as Death Row Records.
For the first time, Dr. Dre is making some rare collectibles from The Chronic available to the public. The first drop consists of session tape prints, the session boxes with the master tapes and four exclusive skate decks. According to a press release obtained by HipHopDX, these items will be made available to the public for the first time in history. The release says that The Chronic Masters collection is a series of drops in collaboration Interscope Records and Trophy.
Interscope posted a teaser for the items on their IG page on Saturday (5/20).
"On May 20, 1993, @drdre’s single 'Fuck wit Dre Day' began its explosion," the post read. "To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Chronic album, we proudly present The Chronic Masters – a slow-burn series of limited edition releases honoring the timeless legacy of this classic. Kicking off on June 1, 2023, at 12pm PST and 3pm EST, The Chronic Masters will feature exclusive drops throughout the year that pay homage to the legendary work of Dr. Dre. Fans and collectors alike are invited to join us on this journey as we revisit one of the most influential Hip-Hop albums of all time. Stay tuned for all the latest updates and don’t miss your chance to own a piece of music history."
Check out the teaser above.

domain: news


text:
[lin_video src=http://eplayer.clipsyndicate.com/embed/player.js?aspect_ratio=3×2&auto_next=1&auto_start=0&div_id=videoplayer-1374896947&height=400&page_count=5&pf_id=9623&show_title=1&va_id=4172548&width=640&windows=2 service=syndicaster width=640 height=400 div_id=videoplayer-1374896947 type=script]
WICHITA, Kansas – Pets stolen, then sold online. It’s a trend police say is hitting cities in the Midwest.
It’s called dog flipping, and while the practice hasn’t yet been seen here in Wichita – there have been recent reports of pets stolen.
Some awareness and prevention can help keep your pets safe.
“Animals are considered property under the law and they can investigate it as stolen property,” explains the Kansas Humane Society’s Jennifer Campbell.
Stolen pets in Wichita aren’t unheard of, but a new trend that Wichita police say is sweeping the Midwest is pet flipping.
“Pets that are stolen intentionally and turned around and flipped on Craigslist or the internet and sold at a profit, this typically happens to purebred animals,” explains Lieutenant Doug Nolte, with the Wichita Police Department.
Police say the trend hasn’t hit Wichita yet, but it’s come close – appearing in both Saint Louis and Kansas City.
“Our detectives are monitoring it we occasionally do have pets that are stolen but we cannot tie them to any kind of ring that’s trying to make a profit on them,” assures Lt. Nolte.
An ounce of prevention will help make sure pet flipping doesn’t strike in Wichita.
“One of the best things you can do to protect your pet is make sure it has ID tags on the outside around the collar and also a microchip ID,” explains Campbell.
If a stolen animal makes its way to a vet, they will scan the chip and know your pet is stolen.
Also make sure your pet’s safely enclosed.
No holes or weak gates in your fence.
“I’ve also been told one of the best things you can do is make sure your pet is spayed or neutered. Sometimes when animals are stolen they are stolen by people who want to use them to breed other animals for profit so if your pet can’t make babies then it may not be as attractive to someone who’s wanting to use it for an illicit purpose,” says Campbell.
In Wichita you can find various locations online that offer low-cost micro-chipping for pets.
It’s also important to have your dog wear ID tags that can help someone contact you should they find your dog somewhere it’s not supposed to be.


text:
Black Friday is nearly upon us. Check out the store hours for major retailers this year, and the history behind America's shopping "holiday."
Not to be outdone, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, will also be offering discounts on toys, home accessories and clothing starting at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving -- two hours earlier than last year.
Library of Congress
Auction Team Breker
Chuck Kennedy/The White House
Boy Scouts of America
JASON REDMOND / Reuters
It's easy to upload your photos and/or videos on News8000.com. Once you do, we'll share your upload with the community!


text:
June 4, 2018
A recent blog by WEEElogic has taken an in-depth look at extended producer responsibility (EPR) and what it actually means for waste management.
As the blog explains, EPR is widely implemented as a method of waste management across “many countries”, making waste “no longer the sole responsibility of the end-user” but also of the “entity that first made the goods available”.
Pioneered by Thomas Lindhqvist in 1990, EPR was dubbed an “environmental protection strategy to reach an environmental objective of a decreased total environmental impact of a product”.
These days it is best described as a “policy approach” which makes producers responsible for constructing “compliant financial and/or physical solutions” to all stakeholders, including businesses and consumers.
While once upon a time, waste was managed for the most part by being sent to landfill, “the waste treatment infrastructure now enables the dismantling and sorting of materials so as to recycle or recover them in order to reduce the environmental impact of consumption.”
Hazardous substances have become a weighty issue, as have core raw materials, “given the industrial dependency of western countries versus China’s dominant position on mining extraction and manufacturing.”
In the European Union, member states have elected to “foster the implementation of EPR systems for waste management, which they achieve through the use of various targets, including collection, recycling, recovery and disposal.
For producers, EPR means taking responsibility for the management of their products when they reach the end of their usefulness, meaning they must provide a variety of ways for their supply chain and consumers to recycle what they have manufactured.
In accordance with EPR, producers also have to declare “quantities and/or weights of equipment they place on a given market” and have to pay a fee according to the volume of products released on the market that year.
The cited benefits of EPR are numerous, and apply to producers, consumers and authorities. Producers are given “the opportunity to diversify take-back/recycling services” and “strengthen” their eco-friendly image, as well as being able to enjoy a level playing field with the competition. Consumers will reap the benefits of “compliant and fair treatment of waste” and recycling provisions which have already been financed. Finally, for authorities, the advantages come in delegating “an area of public service to private companies whilst ensuring reliable and state-of-the-art waste management.”
Categories : Around the Industry


text:
NEW YORK — Eddy Alexandre, a Valley Stream, NY, resident was charged last week on suspicion of orchestrating a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that drew more than $59 million from hundreds of investors, many of them fellow Haitian-Americans.
Prosecutors with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said Alexandre, 50, persuaded clients to invest large amounts of money via his trading platform, EminiFx. He transferred most of the money to his bank accounts and used it to purchase luxury goods, including a BMW and Mercedes, for himself.
Uh oh, it looks like you’ve hit a paywall! But don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here are a few ways you can access this story.


text:
Technology giant IBM plans to announce today that it will invest $20 billion over the next decade in Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley to boost its manufacturing and research capabilities in the region.
President Joe Biden will tour IBM’s campus this afternoon and join company officials at the announcement, a White House official said.
IBM’s expansion of its operations in New York state follows Micron’s announcement Tuesday that it will invest up to $100 billion over 20 years to build a complex of computer chip plants in Syracuse’s northern suburbs.
Micron’s development at White Pine Commerce Park in the town of Clay would be the largest single private investment in New York history. The company said it expects to directly employ up to 9,000 people and create about 40,000 supply-chain jobs.
IBM’s $20 billion investment will match the $20 billion that Micron said it plans to spend in the Syracuse area in the first phase of its project.
Although IBM does not manufacture computer chips in the Hudson Valley, its technology will help produce next-generation chips for mainframe systems, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
IBM and Micron agreed to expand their domestic operations after Biden signed into law the Chips and Science Act, which provides $52 billion in incentives for technology manufacturers to expand in the United States.
IBM’s Poughkeepsie campus is the only site in the world where the company builds its mainframe systems. The company also plans to make the site its global hub for quantum computing development.
Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751


text:
Mobile financial services—often called mobile money—are a high priority for many mobile operators, financial institutions, technology firms, and governments. In regions where financial inclusion is limited, such as sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money promises a lower-cost, more scalable alternative to traditional banking. Yet despite high interest levels in the markets of sub-Saharan Africa, there have been few success stories to date. This is partly the result of uncertainty about whether Kenya—where M-Pesa has become one of the few mobile-money success stories—is unique or the potential for mobile payments in other markets is similarly robust. To cast light on the opportunity, this article attempts to quantify some of the many high-potential payment flows in this rapidly evolving region and to estimate the associated revenue pools.
Primed for mobile payments
In most of sub-Saharan Africa, only a small percentage of upper-income households enjoy the convenience of card-based, online, and mobile banking and payments, while most consumers still pay with cash. One study shows that more than 90 percent of retail transactions in parts of Kenya remain cash based, and Gallup’s survey of 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa found that more than 80 percent of adults there have made bill payments or remittances with cash. Given the lack of digital-payment penetration, consumers, banks, and governments in sub-Saharan Africa are still bearing the high cost of cash payments—costs associated with manual acceptance, record keeping, counting, storage, security, and transportation.
A lack of mobile technology is not the major obstacle to increasing mobile-money penetration in the region: two-thirds of adults in sub-Saharan Africa currently use mobile phones. And in Kenya, mobile-payment penetration is at 86 percent of households. However, the payment-digitization gaps between Kenya and other nations in sub-Saharan Africa still vary widely (exhibit). Nonetheless, regulators in many markets are paving the way for e-money and the entry of nonbank operators. And business models and systems for electronic remittances—both domestic and international—have already been well tested in other markets around the globe. Together, these factors should make it easier for digital payments to leapfrog the costly development of formal banking by introducing advanced mobile systems. Why then have many payment players hesitated to venture into these seemingly high-potential markets?
As with most new business ventures, limited information is available about the nature and size of markets, the investment required, the risks involved, and, most important, the nature of customer needs and preferences. New research and market analyses can help in reducing that knowledge gap. The findings presented here are the result of a new study that looks at 44 nations in sub-Saharan Africa and incorporates data recently collected by Gallup (with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). The analysis examines remote domestic consumer payments in individual markets in sub-Saharan Africa to identify significant cash-payment volumes made through informal channels. These transaction flows represent a large untapped market for mobile providers. And they are especially relevant because it is easier and less costly to make those payments electronically than with cash.
To better understand the region’s market status and opportunities in digital payments, the research team closely examined new data for several major payment categories, including person-to-person (P2P) payments, government-to-public payments, bill and formal-obligation payments, wages, and payments for goods and services. These represent early-use cases in which the benefits of digital payments considerably outweigh those of cash, thus making it likely that digital payments will rapidly win consumer acceptance. Unsurprisingly, P2P payments are the largest category, given the many migrant workers and informal networks of families and friends, who are often the primary source of family financing.
A key feature of the Gallup survey was that it did not just focus on formal payment options (such as banks, money transfers, or mobile devices) but also asked about payments made in cash through informal channels. This allows us to estimate latent market demand for digital services.
To estimate the market potential on a national basis, the researchers first examined the trends underlying Kenya’s rapid transition to mobile payments. These were then applied to each country’s raw data to create baseline reference points that were subsequently used to develop individual market projections. Those projections were made assuming the following scenarios:
- P2P payments are digitized across other sub-Saharan African countries, matching Kenya’s current penetration rate for long-distance digital payments (70 percent).
- Other types of long-distance payments (eg, wages, government-to-public) are digitized to Kenya’s current level (70 percent).
- P2P payments maintain the 70 percent rate of digitization (as in 1, above) and the total transaction volume grows at the same rate as seen in Kenya between 2006 and 2009, during the early expansion of M-Pesa.
We consider these scenarios conservative relative to overall market potential. Scenarios 1 and 2 assume no growth in P2P payments (despite better options probably becoming available). Moreover, all of the scenarios ignore incremental revenue from other types of payment flows, such as retail and revenue generated through new business models that a more ubiquitous and robust digital-payment system would enable.
The Gallup data show that, currently, an average of 54 percent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa make one or more long-distance payments in a given month, totaling approximately five billion transactions annually. The total volume of these flows is approximately $760 billion, and 50 to 60 percent of the transactions are in cash. With a conservative estimate of revenues at 2 percent of volume, this results in annual revenues of about $6.6 billion from electronic payments.
Scenario 1 assumes that overall payment demand remains static, but consumers shift their P2P transactions from cash to digital payments to the same degree as in Kenya, where 70 percent of all transactions are currently electronic. Similar growth in all countries in sub-Saharan Africa would increase regionwide P2P payment revenue by 60 to 70 percent, from $1.6 billion to $2.7 billion. Corresponding digital-payment revenues would rise from $6.6 billion to $7.7 billion. Importantly, this represents only an initial step toward the digitization of payments and focuses only on a single use case.
Looking beyond P2P payments, Scenario 2 extends the Kenyan profile to other types of payments—primarily wages and payments for goods and services made by business and government entities. In this case, total revenue for electronic payments in the region would grow by 50 to 60 percent, to between $10 billion and $11 billion annually. This implies, for example, that combined payment revenue in Nigeria would grow from $0.6 billion to $1.3 billion and in South Africa from $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion.
Scenario 3 goes a step further by assuming that the number of P2P payments will also grow as a result of economic growth, lower transaction costs, and the added convenience of digital payments. In Kenya, survey data show that the number of P2P remittance senders grew by 215 percent between 2006 and 2009, probably the result of M-Pesa’s rapid deployment. If the region’s P2P electronic payments were to grow similarly, its electronic-payment revenue would exceed its baseline by about 50 percent, reaching $15 billion to $16 billion. In Nigeria, for example, the analysis estimates that revenues would climb to approximately $1.8 billion a year.
Digitization can spur growth in related sectors
Broad acceptance of digital-payment platforms also benefits stakeholders beyond the payment industry. In Kenya, for example, many start-ups are attempting to incorporate M-Pesa as part of their entrepreneurial business models. One small business uses it to help parents make more timely school-fee payments, while another uses it to establish informal savings groups. Even nonpayment organizations are finding ways to use the new payment infrastructure. For instance, Bridge International Academies, a low-cost, for-profit educational franchiser, found that M-Pesa could help it obtain real-time financial data, which enabled it to become more trusting of franchisees and reduce record keeping.
Governments also gain when adopting digital payments, which not only reduce their payment costs but also increase transparency. And the public ultimately benefits, too, when tax revenues grow concurrently with the increased documentation, transparency, and overall economic growth that accompany digital payments.
When digital payments take hold, as they did in Kenya, consumers eventually profit from the related savings. The cost of making remittances via M-Pesa is about half that of other formal domestic-remittance services. Moreover, customers can instantly send payments from their mobile phones instead of traveling an hour or more to distant bank branches. Many customers in sub-Saharan Africa need bank services but simply live and work too far from a branch office.
Equally important is that electronic payments bring financial services to vast numbers of unbanked and under-banked families. They dramatically reduce transaction costs, greatly increase customer convenience, and minimize the need for expensive physical infrastructure, including branch networks.
To read the full article, go to McKinsey Insights & Publications.


text:
Kogan won’t cut staff wages, gives workers $500 bonus
Online marketplace Kogan has confirmed to staff it has no plans to stand any workers down without pay during the COVID-19 crisis – and instead is planning on expanding the team to better weather the storm.
In an email sent to all staff members, published on EFTM, founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan thanked the business’ employees for rising to the occasion.
“In recent weeks, many Aussie retailers have needed to lay off thousands of hard working Australians, and many others have imposed deep pay cuts or stood down workers without pay,” Kogan said.
Kogan went on to state that while the market was uncertain, the business will make no pay cuts, and there will be no COVID-19 related redundancies.
In fact, the business offered all staff – domestic and international, part time, and casual, and “those that just started last week” – a $500 bonus to help each team member support themselves and their families.
And the business has plans to continue hiring through the crisis, putting out a call for staff to recommend “someone brilliant who will cut the mustard.”
The online retailer is perhaps in a better position to make such decisions, having delivered a 16.4 per cent growth in sales and a 20.8 per cent increase in net profit for the first half of 2020.
Sales rose to $322.9 million and profit rose to $8.9 million over a Christmas period that saw many retailers struggle.
And while the business said during its half year announcement that any impact on its international suppliers and manufacturers would likely impact its second half results, Kogan lauded the marketplace’s sourcing and logistics team for keeping the business going.
“Right now, the ability for us to source what people need is central to our role in the community,” Kogan said.
Inside Retail reached out to Kogan for comment and clarification, but hadn’t received a response by publication.


text:
Hermès International said net profit rose 15 percent in 2018 as Asian consumers flocked to its stores, prompting the company to hire more staff and open additional leather goods workshops to keep up with demand.
The maker of Birkin bags and silk scarves posted a net profit of 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) last year, with sales rising 7.5 percent to 5.96 billion euros. At constant exchange rates, revenues were up 10.4 percent.
Axel Dumas, CEO, said the signs so far this year are encouraging. “We see no change in trend,” he told analysts and reporters at a press conference at the brand’s headquarters. Hermès said operating profit increased 6.4 percent to 2 billion euros, with an operating margin of 34.3 percent, down from 34.6 percent the previous year. The company cited “particularly healthy growth and good cost control.”
The French luxury firm will propose a dividend of 4.55 euros a share at its general meeting on June 4. It has also announced payment of an exceptional bonus of 1,000 euros to all employees who earned less than three times the annual minimum wage in 2018, and will boost monthly paychecks in France by 100 euros.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
To read the full story, please go to WWD.com.


text:
In a November 6, 2012 article, Law360 quoted Venable partner Ashley Craig extensively on how he anticipates President Obama will handle international trade issues in his second term, specifically with China.
Craig noted that "The pharmaceutical sector, for instance, is moving aggressively into China, but U.S. firms continue to wrangle with regulatory and legal problems in the country, where they are told they have to follow one set of rules to operate one day and another set of rules the next day." He assured that "The Obama administration is going to continue to ping away at market access for U.S. companies." Craig explained that "There has been a spike in counterfeit goods entering the U.S. market sourced exclusively from China. I could see him pursuing a more aggressive agenda when it comes to that."
Further, he stated that "A second term also gives Obama an opportunity to make much-needed agency appointments and renew efforts behind key international trade initiatives, such as putting a commissioner in place at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and moving forward with plans to double exports." Craig added that "While remaining in charge of handling traditional revenue from duties, the customs agency is tackling an ever-growing host of security issues since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and is moving at a slower pace." He said "Assuming a commissioner is put in place, there will be a renewed focus on implementing security measures in customs and devising new issues on the security front."
Regarding exports, Craig said "In addition, the administration has put a heavy emphasis on increasing U.S. exports in an effort dubbed the National Export Initiative. In 2010, Obama outlined the plan to double U.S. exports over the next five years by upping trade missions, increasing export financing, negotiating new trade agreements and helping U.S. companies enter new markets." He concluded, saying "With another four years, Obama has an opportunity to do that."


text:
Microsoft and Sky have announced a deal to provide Sky TV on Xbox 360, via the Sky Player online TV service. The service will launch in the UK and Ireland this autumn.
The channel and content line-up has yet to be confirmed, but Sky expects to offer movies, Premier League football, Test Match cricket, entertainment shows, documentaries, and kids, music and arts programming. There will be both live TV and on-demand streaming services.
Existing Sky customers will be able to use their 360s as a new way to access content, but the real draw will be for those without satellite dishes. Sky isn't talking pricing for these new customers yet, but promises "a wide range of live channels and on-demand content via a number of special packages" as well as pay-per-view options for "favourite shows".
The Xbox Live Sky Player will also offer interactive options – news, fixtures and league table information on Sky Sports, for example. You'll be able to communicate live with your friends while watching, using Xbox Live's party chat.
"Xbox owners now have a range of ways to access Sky content and can pick and choose the platform and packages that are right for them," said Sky's Stephen Nuttall in a statement.
"Our customers have told us that they want the opportunity to use their consoles as a way to access TV and once again Xbox has pulled off an entertainment first with amazing content and rich interactive experience," said UK Xbox chief Neil Thompson.
You can find out more in our full feature report.


text:
Bar offers Pappy at cost starting tonight
Jeremy Johnson, the owner of Meta cocktail lounge (425 W. Chestnut St.), wants to make the wildly popular –- and inaccessible – Pappy Van Winkle bourbons available to as many people as possible and is using his allocation to do just that.
“It's this thing that nobody can get their hands on,” he says; and the bourbon is often priced many times over its cost. “Let's make it so everyone can get it.”
Johnson says he is driving home the message he began last fall when he caused controversy after making Jell-O shots with Pappy 15 Year. “The Pappy mania has somehow gotten bigger [since last year],” he says. The shots are back “because they're fun.” But there's more.
“Let's be honest,” he says. “I did something pretty crazy last year. How do I get crazier?” After receiving his allocation, which he says he wasn't surprised to see was cut, he decided. “I’m not going to put it up on this ridiculous pedestal. I'm going to offer it at cost.”
With the Pappy 10 Year, Johnson will make Old Fashioned Jell-O shots again, which he'll sell for $10 a pop. “The 12 and 15, I'll sell by the pour till it's gone.,” he says. The drinks will be limited to one per person through a ticket system, beginning Friday at 7 p.m. At press time he was still calculating his cost, but “it'll be really cheap, probably $6 for a pour of the 12, and $7 for the 15.” For comparison, “last year we charged $18 for the 12 and $40 for a shot of the 15,” he says. “You'd be stupid not to charge that much.”
The move is “nothing negative about Van Winkle,” Johnson says. “It's a great bourbon. I love Julian and Preston [Van Winkle]. But it's out of hand. There are so many good bourbons on the market that are underappreciated.”
“It's a pro-bourbon statement,” Johnson says. He hopes people who come in to try Pappy will enjoy it, but then have something new. “I recommend they try something they've never had before.” On his list of suggestions: Old Fitzgerald, Johnny Drum Private Stock.
The move is also in protest of the system in which distributors allocate a certain amount of the product to each of their accounts. “It's a smoke and mirrors game,” Johnson says. “What it should be is 'we have this much product and we're going to divide it up among our accounts evenly.' The way it really works is people who buy a lot of wine or other stuff get preference. They say it's gone, but you'll see restaurants opening up and they get 23 Year. It's a bargaining chip for [distributors].”
While he received death threats after the Jell-O shots last year, “the people that get it realize it's about community, doing something fun and different,” Johnson says. “I didn't open this bar to have a bunch of expensive bottles on the top shelf. I opened it to share with people and teach people.”
More information: https://www.facebook.com/metalouisville or (502) 822-6382.
Tell Dana! Send your restaurant “dish” to Dana McMahan at email@example.com and follow @danamac on Twitter.


text:
It's official: Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for existing Windows users—as long as you claim it quickly.
Kicking off the consumer-focused Windows 10 event in Redmond on Tuesday, Microsoft operating system chief Terry Myerson announced that current users of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for one year after the operating system launches. Once you've claimed the upgrade, Microsoft will keep you updated for the supported lifetime of the device.
"We think of Windows 10 as a service," Myerson said.
Is there a catch? Here's the fine print from the Windows 10 page on Microsoft's site:
"It is our intent that most of these devices will qualify, but some hardware/software requirements apply and feature availability may vary by device. Devices must be connected to the internet and have Windows Update enabled. ISP fees may apply. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update required. Some editions are excluded: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise, and Windows RT/RT 8.1. Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise outside of this offer. We will be sharing more information and additional offer terms in coming months."
The decision to make Windows 10 a free upgrade for existing users—at least for a limited time—makes sense. Windows 8 users have vocally expressed their displeasure with the operating system, prompting happy Windows 7 users to stay put on that OS. That hinders Microsoft's ability to execute its vision for a service-centric, cloud-connected future for Windows; making Windows 10 free could spur more users into embracing a modern Microsoft operating system.
And hey, it'd be weird to charge for Windows 10 after Windows 8 flopped so hard and Apple started giving away OS upgrades. Right?


text:
The true unemployment rate in the United States is actually higher than we think -- at 11.5 percent, said Stephen Roach, Asia chairman of Morgan Stanley.
"The (official) unemployment rate at 9.7 percent is distorted downwards by at least 3 million people who have simply given up looking for work and who have effectively taken themselves out of the work force for economic reasons," Roach said on CNBC.
"For some bizarre reason, the U.S. statisticians do not count these poor souls as unemployed. If you add them back in, the unemployment rate isn't 9.7 percent. It's 11.5 percent," he said.
U.S. employers cut a smaller than expected 36,000 jobs in February, leaving the unemployment rate steady at 9.7 percent. The data sent global markets higher on hopes the labor market was on the brink of creating jobs.
Roach, however, cautioned that hiring may not come that quickly as businesses are still nervous about demand prospects.
"The idea that we can get some spontaneous revival in employment and capex when the consumer is under serious trouble, to me, is really missing a key analytical point to take away from this tough post-crisis climate."
There is a lot of slack still in the U.S. labor market which puts enormous pressure and uncertainty and fear into American consumers, Roach said.
"The American consumer is in serious trouble given the unemployment, the debt, the low savings, and the lack of income growth," he added, highlighting that the consumer makes up 71 percent of GDP.
"That's a key reason to look for a double-dip," he said, reiterating his view of a 40 percent chance of a double-dip in the next couple of years.
"The demand side is going to be very impaired by the U.S. consumer and there's no other consumer that is going to fill the void," Roach continued.
While China and India make up nearly 40 percent of the world's population, Roach noted that the two countries will not be able to pick-up the slack in U.S. demand collectively, as their consumption adds up to $2.5 trillion, which is equivalent to 25 percent of total demand in the United States.
"I think it reflects the extraordinary amount of stimulus that was injected into the equation in the depths of a crisis. And congratulations to policymakers -- they've put a bottom on the crisis in the global economy, but again."


text:
Mulberry has named Johnny Coca its new creative director, confirming a report that Coca was the front-runner for the job.
Coca was most recently head design director for leather goods, accessories, shoes and jewelry at Céline, where he had been since 2010.
"I very much look forward to joining Mulberry as their new creative director and to leading a new design direction at one of the very best British brands," said Coca, who will be responsible for all of Mulberry’s collections, and report to Godfrey Davis, chairman and chief executive officer.
In a statement Thursday Davis said Coca: "Has a wealth of international luxury and fashion experience that will help us bring new energy and innovation to Mulberry."
He formerly worked for Bally and Louis Vuitton in accessories, and is also an accomplished jewelry designer. He’s tutored fashion students at Central Saint Martins, and is highly respected in the industry.
Mulberry has been hunting for a creative director since 2013, when Emma Hill departed. Since her departure the in-house design team has been creating accessories and rtw collections for the brand. Coca will join Mulberry on July 8th.


text:
Australian avocado farmers have been forced to dump their fruits and they are blaming major retailers for the waste.
Australian farmers are being forced to dump avocados and are blaming major retailers for the waste, claiming retailers buying tonnes of the fruit from overseas rather than using Australian avos.
Tonnes of the fruit are being dumped in pits and left to rot in Western Australia.
Grower Vic Grozotis said it is particularly disappointing as the fruit are expensive to produce.
“We‘ve had to dig a hole to bury a lot of the avocados we can’t sell,“ he told the ABC.
“To have to dump fruit which had a commercial return last year and has a zero return this year has a big impact on farmer’s bottom line and some farmers are losing money.”
Lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne have affected the market but Mr Grozotis said the major supermarkets have been more of a factor in hampering the domestic industry.
“Twenty per cent of fruit that‘s being sold in Australia is imported, and that could be sourced from Western Australia,” he said.
A major chain told news.com.au the “vast majority” of avocados on its shelves were Aussie grown.
“Industry has told our supermarkets that there would be more than adequate production from Australian produce, but they seem to have ignored that. We need to get retailers on board selling 100 per cent Australian fruit, particularly in Queensland. They are denying Australian consumers the option to purchase Australian fruit.”
Avocado Australia boss John Tyas said last month growers are just trying to weather the storm.
A Woolworths spokeswoman said a range of factored impacted the current growing season, and only a small amount of produce was brought in from overseas in case of emergencies.
“The vast majority of avocados we stock are Australian grown, and we‘ve been pleased to work with local growers to help our customers enjoy this season’s top quality harvest,” she said.
“Each season we work closely with our suppliers to ensure we’re offering this household favourite consistently to our customers and to minimise any potential impacts from unexpected weather in key growing regions.
“This includes sourcing a smaller volume of avocados from New Zealand to supplement the local crop, as many retailers do.”
Australian grown avocados are clearly stickered in Woolworths supermarkets. News.com.au also contacted Coles, IGA and Aldi.
The situation comes after the nation upped its avocado intake in recent years, with people dining out on everything from smashed avocado on toast, to guacamole, and avocado ice cream.
Research firm Hort Innovations says Australian avocado production had doubled in a decade as people expand their orchards. In 2020-21 the sector was worth $845 million on a retail basis.
Coles and Woolworths were both contacted and asked what percentage of the avocados were grown in Australia. Neither responded by the time of publishing.


text:
Great Expectations, a Junior
Achievement company advised by the dms Organisation, has announced to its
shareholders and the public that its second product was an even bigger success
than its first.
Leading into the month of February,
the company focused on Valentine’s Day and created hand-decorated wine glasses
filled with chocolate, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a red ribbon saying
Happy Valentine’s Day.
The product sold out within an hour
on each selling day.
The students sold the product at AL
Thompson on several Saturdays before Valentine’s Day.
“Each time we went to a selling
event we sold out within the hour of arriving, so it was very successful,” said
Great Expectations President Julian Solomon. “Our success has been largely due
to our fine production team and their ability to inspire the others in the
company to ensure we have the supplies needed to prepare and finish the
Great Expectations continues to
accept special orders and requests from its clients and the public.
can be reached through its Facebook page, Great Expectations Cayman, or email


text:
DETROIT -- George Rogers said he didn't want to be typecast as a "car guy." But it seems he can't escape his past.
In 1997, the advertising executive left Arnold Worldwide, where he had headed the Volkswagen of America account. He moved to Mullen Advertising Inc., where he took over the agency's General Motors business.
But Rogers said he wanted the chance to do other things. So Mullen also put him in charge of its accounts for XM Satellite Radio, Stanley Tools, the Swiss army and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Last spring, Rogers became president of the JWT ad agency office here. Ford Motor Co. dominates the office's business. Rogers, 45, added the title of CEO last fall.
Rogers faces big challenges in 2006. Ford has installed new marketing leadership as it fights to rebuild its North American business.
At the same time, JWT's parent company, WPP, is reconfiguring its ad agencies that work for Ford in the United States.
Those revisions will result in shared services and office space, as well as job cuts.
Rogers says he'll boost staff morale amid the changes by "creating opportunities for people" and "doing more innovative work for our clients."
He cites the recent launch of the Ford Fusion as an example of JWT's new marketing approach. The sedan is selling briskly, thanks in part to an online concert series that preceded its launch.
JWT Detroit has 800 employees. Rogers compares the operation with a small college.
Alan Pafenbach, a former colleague at Arnold, calls Rogers a "shrewd guy." Rogers had a great relationship with VWoA's then marketing leader, Steve Wilhite, Pafenbach says.
The two executives got some "early great work done," he says. Wilhite now is senior vice president of global marketing for Nissan Motor Co.
Pafenbach says Rogers knew how to "get people to do the right thing" on the VWoA account. For example, he says, Rogers persuaded the automaker to shoot a TV commercial for the Golf in New Zealand, where a winter background was available. "He did a lot to help the creative people do their job," Pafenbach adds.
Phil Guarascio, a former GM marketing chief, supervised Rogers in his first ad agency job at Benton & Bowles. Says Guarascio: "George was clearly on the hot list."


text:
How Long Does a Hybrid Vehicle Battery Last For?
A growing consciousness of the availability of fossil fuels, coupled with a desire for more eco-friendly vehicles has produced some of the most efficient hybrid vehicles to date. Hybrid vehicles run off of gasoline but also use hybrid batteries to conserve fuel and reduce harmful emissions. It is estimated that 2012 saw around 4,500,000 hybrid vehicles sold worldwide with 2,180,000 vehicles being sold in the United States alone. For those on the fence, here are two of the strongest reasons to switch to a hybrid vehicle.
A More Economical Alternative
Naturally, those who invest in a hybrid vehicle can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars on gas every year. There are also other economic incentives for buying a hybrid vehicle; in the United States hybrid drivers save up to $3,400 in taxes. Many car insurance companies will help hybrid drivers save with discounts, as research shows that hybrid drivers are less likely to be involved in an accident. Although hybrid vehicles do cost an average of 15-25% more than traditional vehicles, studies have proven that the cost is recouped several times if the vehicle is owned for a long span of time.
Hybrid vehicles are specifically designed to increase fuel economy while decreasing the amount of green house gas emissions by 25-35%. Electric batteries for cars can be recharged overnight using a simple adaptor with many cities adopting public recharging stations to encourage drivers to switch to hybrid vehicles. Many hybrid vehicles use a regenerative charging system for its batteries where a portion of the kinetic energy produced from using brakes is sent back into the battery. Experts suggest replacing a hybrid battery every six to eight years — most come with an 8 year or 100,000 mile warranty. The cost of replacing a hybrid battery can be anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 on average — which is still less than six to eight years of gas use in a traditional vehicle. Hybrid vehicles are one of the first steps to an affordable, environmentally-friendly future for all vehicles.


text:
Published on May 31st, 2023 | by Adrian Gunning
Ubisoft ANZ Announces Ubisoft Forward Live Event at Fortress Sydney
Today, Ubisoft ANZ announced a free live event for Ubisoft Forward, which will take place at Fortress Sydney. The event will start on Monday, June 12 at 11PM AEST and conclude following the Ubisoft Forward showcase on Tuesday morning, June 13.
Attendees can participate in a large range of activities such as Assassin’s Creed Trivia with a chance to win copies of Assassins’ Creed Mirage, hands-on with Ubisoft games, board games, free food and a themed beverage, as well as exclusive access to the Fortress venue including the Tavern, Arcade and Telstra Lounge.
The event will culminate with the Ubisoft Forward Showcase broadcasted live from Los Angeles, where attendees will discover exciting news on upcoming games from our teams around the world. The showcase will take place in the Alienware Arena where attendees can experience all the announcements on the big screen direct from Los Angeles.
Spaces for Ubisoft Forward Live at Fortress Sydney are limited, for more information on how you can attend please visit Eventbrite and keep an eye on Ubisoft ANZ social channels for your chance to register for tickets.
Fans at home can tune in to the Ubisoft Forward livestream at 3:00 AM AEST on Tuesday, June 13, 2022. For more information about Ubisoft Forward please visit Ubisoft.com/Forward and the official Ubisoft ANZ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates.


text:
IoT Innovator announced this week the re-launch of its website with a brand new look and feel, more rich content, and the 2021 IoT Innovator Awards, which honor the best of Internet of Things businesses across the globe. The Awards offer multiple opportunities for recognition, with submissions now being accepted in various categories such as Company, Product, Project, Marketing and Service. Awards offer companies myriad opportunities for recognition with numerous categories and an international panel of judges. IoT Innovator will be providing feature articles and other news coverage on a frequent basis to keep the community informed of relevant news relating to Internet of Things.
In a nod to the international nature of the IoT landscape, IoT Innovator will present awards for different international geographies, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be named in each category.
IOT Innovator’s international judging panel will assess each entry according to the guidelines and judging criteria provided to them. In addition, to ensure that all entrants meet the Awards’ eligibility requirements, the editors of Network Products Guide will review all entries.
All nominees and winners will be prominently showcased on the IoT Innovator website; promoted via email and social media channels, and be given press templates as well as branded IoT Innovator award icons for use on their sites. Winners will also be given the opportunity to order a customized plaque or medal to commemorate their specific award.
Winners will also have the option to commission an article that will highlight their company and its award, and maximize the exposure of their win.
For more information about the 2021 IoT Innovator Awards, including submission guidelines, visit the IoT Innovator Awards page: http://iotinnovator.com/awards/
IoT Innovator Awards’ first early bird deadline is August 15, 2021. The final entry deadline is September 30, 2021. After judging takes place, finalists will be announced on October 15, 2021 and winners will be announced on October 31, 2021.
About IoT Innovator
IoT Innovator is a leading online publication focused on providing you authentic news and knowledge about the Internet of Things.
IoT Innovator, founded over 5 years ago, has been dedicated to the Internet of Things market, providing readers with the most recent and meaningful and timely news about this next and perhaps the biggest revolution of Information Technology.
IoT Innovator will incorporate practitioner, industry and vendor news and blogs on its website along with threat alerts, reviews, job boards and events. Pertinent trends, product updates, and vendor moves will also feature prominently on the site.


text:
Starbucks Corp is planning an organizational restructuring including leadership changes, according to a memo from its Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson.
"There will be some job losses, some role expansions, and redeployments," a company spokeswoman told Reuters.
The changes come at a time when the world's largest coffee retailer is facing a raft of challenges, including a cooling U.S market and heavy competition from rivals, while undertaking a massive expansion project in China.
"Starting next week and into mid-November there will be leadership shifts and non-retail partner impacts as we evolve the direction of teams across the organization in size, scope and goals," Johnson said in a memo last week following a town hall.
Starbucks has seen two high profile exits since June, including Howard Schultz, its former chief executive officer whose departure stoked investor concerns on how the company would evolve after nearly four decades of Schultz's near-constant presence.
Bloomberg had earlier reported on the organizational shakeup and the layoffs.


text:
It’s difficult to believe a new Soul Calibur has been on the market for the past year, considering how little fanfare it got. The series came and went, largely due to it releasing in the midst of a ton of heavy hitters last Fall (Spider-Man, AC: Odyssey, RDR2). But Namco-Bandai hasn’t given up on the title, and is actually releasing a season 2 for the game, complete with four new characters including Haohmaru, from Samurai Shodown.
But that’s not all the game doing for it’s second season. The game is also getting an update which will be free for all players, featuring new moves for every character in the game. This update will come alongside Season 2, which still has no known release date.
As it becomes more of a habit to support games for beyond a few months after release, fighting games have gradually become more comfortable with doing more than a single season worth of characters and additional content. Dragon Ball FighterZ is still getting support, and most recently Capcom confirmed they were going to be talking about additional characters for Street Fighter V soon. Could we be far off from an era where fighters come out once a generation, and simply make tweaks and add-ons until the next?
Soul Calibur VI is available now for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4.


text:
Zach Randolph at Ashley Furniture HomeStore on Sat, June 23
MEMPHIS, June 20, 2012 – Memphis Grizzlies’ forward Zach Randolph is teaming up with Ashley Furniture HomeStore to offer guests 20 percent off their purchases at all four Memphis-area Ashley Furniture HomeStore locations on Saturday, June 23. In addition, Randolph will be signing autographs and taking photos with fans at the Southaven location (6129 Airways Blvd.) from 2-4 p.m.
During this special promotion, Ashley customers will receive 20 percent off their furniture purchase with a $20 donation that customers can choose to benefit either the Grizzlies House at St. Jude Children’s Hospital or the Grizzlies Foundation’s TEAM UP Youth Mentoring program.
Ashley Furniture is the presenting sponsor of the “Mentor of the Game” promotion, which recognized dedicated volunteer mentors during eight Grizzlies games throughout the 2011-12 season, and has sponsored "Honoring Military Families" in-game recognition and hospitality for service members and their families for several seasons. Through their corporate mentoring effort and partnership with the Grizzlies, Ashley encourages employees to serve as mentors.


text:
The rapidly growing fast casual restaurant featuring crepes and waffles opens second location in Florida
Coral Gables, FL (RestaurantNews.com) Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café, the ultra-popular restaurant brand specializing in sweet and savory crêpes, hot drinks and more, recently opened in The Plaza Coral Gables at 3005 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Suite 142 in Coral Gables. The store will celebrate its grand opening with a special event on Thursday, August 24th, 2023.
Founded in 2012 by Allison and Ivan Chavez, Sweet Paris has quickly become one of the hottest restaurant franchises in the country with its Instagram-worthy, French-inspired interiors and delicious food and drinks made of the highest quality ingredients and bold flavors. The duo met as undergraduate students at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and bonded over a love for crêpes. Soon, they made it their mission to “Revive the Art of Eating Crêpes” and began traveling the world in search of flavors and new ways to bring this popular street food to market. Made from scratch, the dishes are as delicious as they are beautiful.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce the grand opening of Sweet Paris in the heart of the beautiful and vibrant Coral Gables community,” Allison Chavez said. “Located at The Plaza Coral Gables, our new store is surrounded by the charm and elegance that this city is known for. We cannot wait to welcome everyone as we embark on this exciting new chapter, and let Sweet Paris transport our guests to a beautiful world of culinary delight!”
Sweet Paris in Coral Gables is a corporate-owned location and will be operated by long-time general manager, Marlen Navarrete. Marlen moved from Texas to South Florida to take the helm of this beautiful new location. With over five years of experience working with the company, Navarrete’s leadership will guide her team to provide the impeccable level of service and elevated experience that Sweet Paris is known for.
The community is encouraged to join in the grand opening celebration of the new location. Guests are encouraged to sign up for the Sweet Paris Passport to receive exclusive monthly promotions, a birthday bonus, collect points and use them for purchase, receive texts regarding upcoming giveaways, and receive bonus entries for giveaways. The special event on August 24th will include an official ribbon cutting ceremony and will bring the Coral Gables community and local personalities together to enjoy the Sweet Paris experience.
Sweet Paris Coral Gables is the second Miami-area location for the company, and the 14th store overall in its portfolio. The company is working towards a 3rd Miami store by 2024, as part of an ongoing expansion nationwide. Sweet Paris’ total store count will be 28 locations in the near future, with projects in various stages of development in Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Florida.
The recent success of Sweet Paris has not gone unnoticed as the brand was recently ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2022 Top New and Emerging Franchises. The brand also made history when it secured a place on Entrepreneur’s esteemed Franchise 500® list for the first time in January. Also, co-founders Allison and Ivan Chavez recently landed on Global Franchise Magazine’s 10 Emerging Leaders to Watch in 2022, and Allison was included in Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Power List, an exclusive group of 50 leaders who are identified as the most innovative and inspiring people in the restaurant industry.
Sweet Paris Coral Gables is open Sunday – Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday – Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information on Sweet Paris in Coral Gables, please visit www.sweetparis.com or call (713) 266-2219.
About Sweet Paris
Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café is a fast-growing restaurant franchise specializing in sweet and savory crêpes, waffles, salads, hot drinks and more. On a mission to “Revive the Art of Eating Crêpes” one crêperie at a time, Sweet Paris is seeking qualified Strategic Partners, especially those with a background in hospitality, to expand the concept in new markets. For more information about the brand, please visit www.sweetparis.com, and for more information on Strategic Partnership opportunities, please visit www.sweetparisfranchise.com.


text:
We’ve heard a lot of response requesting a PC version, so we’ll be looking into that very soon.
Deciding not to release Assassin’s Creed Rogue alienated a number of the game’s long-time fans, as the new entry finally gives gamers the ability to play as a Templar, something the studio’s been considering since the original Assassin’s Creed.
We think it’s really powerful, both in gameplay and storyline [and] premise. Shay Patrick Cormac will go through a very emotional journey from being an Assassin to being a fully-fledged Templar, and we want the player to go through a similar journey.
…it’s also not an unprecedented move for Ubisoft to release a game from the franchise onto unexpected platforms: Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation was initially a PS Vita exclusive, before branching out onto PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 earlier this year.


text:
More Unpredictable Fashion Show set for April 26
Fashion and art will fuse at the fourth annual Unpredictable fashion show to be held on Sunday, April 26 at Play Dance Bar.
Funds raised during More Unpredictablepresented by Bridgestone and Gish, Sherwood and Friends will go to the Nashville GLBT Chamber of Commerce.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the silent auction and More Unpredictable food buffet. The fashion show will begin promptly at 7 p.m.
Ticket prices are lower than last year, with VIP tickets set at $50 (and include a VIP goodie bag and VIP seating by the stage). There are 300 general admission tickets available for $20 in advance and $25 at the door. One hundred VIP tickets are available this year, and are expected to sell quickly.
Jerry Jones, co-chair of this year's event, said the event chairs decided to lower ticket this year to show appreciation of loyal supporters of the event.
“We work hard to keep expenses low and are thankful to Bridgestone, Gish Sherwood and Friends, PLAY Dance Bar, and all the sponsors who make the event successful and special,” Jones said.
Sponsors of More Unpredictable include
The show, which is the brainchild of former Out & About Newspaper Editor Brent Meredith, has raised nearly $55,000 in its three year history. Meredith came up with the idea while trying to find a unique and fun fundraiser for the GLBT community.
Now in its twelfth year, Nashville's GLBT Chamber of Commerce serves the community by meeting its mission to advance common business interests, economic growth and equality in the workplace and society for it’s GLBT members, businesses and allies by providing educational, networking and community-building opportunities
"Fantastic fashion, high-end silent auction items and delicious fare are expected to be a part of the upcoming event as they have in years past," said Co-chair Michael Fluck. "This year’s event is rumored to have an “Unpredictable” art element incorporated into the show, along with a “Mr. and Mrs. Unpredictable” contest for those wishing to show off their fashion sense."
More Unpredictable is now accepting donated items for the silent auction from businesses and individuals, and is looking for sponsors, gift bag contributions and volunteers to help behind the scenes on event day. At press time, some high profile items had already been donated for the silent auction including an authentic NFL football signed by ALL three Mannings (Archie, Eli & Peyton) with an estimated value up to $2,000;a painting valued at $150 and a set of Bridgestone tires with an estimated value up to $1,400.
In addition to Fluck and Jones, other committee members include Eric Payne and Lane Scoggin, co-silent auction chairs; and Laramey Lawson and Heath Overton, co-chairing the liaison committee that recruits and works with the fashion stores, models and schools.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the GLBT Chamber Website, www.nashvilleglbtchamber.org. For volunteer or sponsorship opportunities, send an email to email@example.com.


text:
Nintendo Switch owners could soon be able to stream PC games on the console.
It's no secret that the developers behind Rainway app want to bring their software to the Switch console and using the Nintendo eShop download would allow Switch owners to stream PC games to their handheld console via the internet.
And now Rainway had teased that it has some exciting news coming up, when it took to Twitter to say: "We received an update from Nintendo today and we hope to have some good news for you soon".
It's not confirmed whether this news is about the app, but it's hoped that more information will be revealed at the upcoming E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles.
If the app were to go ahead it would spell the end of a need for a Switch-specific release, which means games like the newest 'Call of Duty' or 'Grand Theft Auto' titles could be played directly on Switch through the app. Players would simply leave their PC on and play the game via the Switch console.
It is thought that any game that comes Steam would work on the Switch, via the Rainway app.
But the app has multi-uses - it could also act as a stand-in for other PC apps, like a web browser and even possibly Netflix.


text:
The time is now for businesses to start planning for a rapid rise in the use of electric vehicles.
The truth is that the UK’s current electrical infrastructure is designed to deal with the power we use today, it isn’t designed to charge millions of electric vehicles. This is the challenge our infrastructure will face with the increased electrification of transport.
Vehicle sales figures released in January 2019 showed that fewer new vehicles were registered in the last year but that the number of electric vehicles had risen. Over the next few years we will see electric vehicles being pushed into the mainstream, with a number of new models being released in 2019.
Businesses with an employee or customer car park will need to be conscious of an increase in demand for electric vehicle charging points. But installing significant numbers of those charging points will have implications for their existing electricity supply, potentially necessitating a physical increase in capacity, at a time that others may also be vying for that capacity.
Given the increasing demands electric vehicles will place on local electricity distribution, national transmission and generation infrastructure, we are likely to see the evolution of smart charging.
We predict that smart charging will most likely be underpinned by a variable cost to charge. Customers who are willing to be most flexible around when they charge their car will likely pay a lower price for the electricity while those who want to charge immediately will pay a higher cost.
As EV penetration increases it will be impractical to allow significant numbers of vehicles to charge simultaneously (for example from 6pm onwards when drivers get home from work). Consequently, there will most likely be cost benefits for those customers who are happy to leave their car plugged into the charger but for the actual charging to take place at a time when there is greater capacity on the local and national network.
A natural extension of smart charging will doubtless be the possibility of supplying power from an electric vehicle’s battery back to the grid. Already under development, Vehicle to Grid (V2G) will allow export from the vehicle to the grid. Once electric vehicles become more mainstream, the collective capacity of their batteries and their ability to store electricity will be colossal.
As with smart charging, V2G will largely be driven by financial incentive; allowing access to a small percentage of an electric vehicle’s battery will result in either payments for doing so or preferential rates for charging.
Given the quantity of data analysis and the number of decisions that will need to be taken in real time, the process of electric vehicle charging and V2G will, in time, become fully automated. The system will require extensive telemetry throughout the electrical distribution as well as real time information regarding price, weather data, predicted generation availability and the preferences of the vehicle owner. In all likelihood, the owner will set some basic parameters regarding when they want to be able to use their vehicle and the range they want and the system will operate to ensure it charges at the lowest cost, charging and discharging as required. Alternatively, an override would allow maximum charging at a higher price for the fastest recharge.
The adoption of electric vehicles will increase significantly over the next five years and they will be commonplace in 10 years. As the battery prices reduce and the technology improves the cost of the vehicles will fall. This, combined with improved range, will make the electric vehicle proposition more attractive. Once electric vehicles reach price parity with petrol and diesel vehicles, except in very select circumstances, virtually all new cars sold will be electric models.
Whilst this wide-scale adoption will bring challenges to our electrical infrastructure, in many regards the flexibility afforded by the batteries through V2G will in itself go some way to solving those problems.


text:
Rupert Murdoch on Paywalls, Print Media and the iPad
|Running Time: 246 seconds
||Published: 2011-01-27 06:21:17
News Corp's Rupert Murdoch reports that online subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal have increased since implementing a paywall, supporting his belief that consumers are willing to pay for quality online content. Murdoch also gives his take on the iPad, Apple's new tablet computer.
More Videos on "Computers And Internet"...


text:
Today, sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal have claimed that, at an event in New York City, both Microsoft and AT&T will finally pull the curtain off the upcoming Windows Phone 7-based handsets launching on AT&T this year. These sources don’t give out too much information, but there’s definitely a running theme here: October 11th seems like the day of days for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.
The sources claim that AT&T and Microsoft will officially unveil the Windows Phone 7 devices heading to AT&T on October 11th. The devices are said to be from HTC, LG, and Samsung (one from each). The sources go on to say that the devices will be available for purchase beginning the week of November 8th of this year. Simply put, it just seems like the rumors are lining up, as we’ve heard in the past that November 8th would be the official availability date, and that October 11th would be the announcement. And considering Microsoft does indeed have an event planned for October 11th, there doesn’t seem to be any more questions needed. And we’ll be there, live, giving you all the latest information as it happens, so mark the date on your calendar.
The sources weren’t able to give out any more information, but considering we’re only a short term away from getting the official announcement from AT&T and Microsoft, there’s really no more need for any kind of leaks. Though, if you are a fan of seeing things early, the HTC Spark is certainly looking good today. Read the official statement from Microsoft below.
Microsoft Consumer is going to be in New York on Monday, October 11 for our annual Open House event. This holiday season is a big one for Microsoft with the launch of Xbox Kinect and Windows Phone 7, as well as new stuff from Windows Live, new Windows 7 PCs, great shopping services from Bing and more. A few groups will be on hand and would love to set up 30 minute meetings with you to demo the latest technologies and gifts for this season. Are you available on 10/11 from 11:30am – 5:00pm EST to speak with the Mediaroom team? If so, I can schedule these for you. Hoping that the Columbus Day weekend might make it easier to sneak out of the office.
We’re also hosting a party that night, 7-11pm. Should be a fun time with good food, great drinks, interesting people and you can get more hands-on time with the full range of consumer tech from Microsoft.
[via Wall Street Journal]


text:
Facebook is enjoying a second coming by introducing a slew of new features
The last couple of years have been difficult for Facebook as the company was challenged on various fronts — privacy to political ad stance. But the man at the helm knows how to make a comeback. Mark Zuckerberg made news recently by betting big on India by investing $5.7 billion into Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries. That’s one part of the story. The other part involves the way in which the trio of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are being reinvented to be more relevant in 2020. The company is betting big on videoconferencing and is rolling out a number of new features.
Facebook has already been ready with tools but what the company needed was an occasion. The big push comes in the live videocoferencing space in the form of Messenger Rooms. As millions of people try to stay connected amid the coronavirus pandemic, the new service will allow users to conference with up to 50 people at a time.
Yes, it sounds somewhat like Zoom and Houseparty, the businesses of which have grown substantially in the last few weeks. But what these other services lack is an existing user network. Nonetheless, the likes of Zoom have grown in a big way. The Eric Yuan-founded company till early this year was just another tool for videoconferencing. From 10 million users in December 2019 to 300 million user today… that’s a massive jump we are talking about and this has come despite security and privacy concerns, which — and let’s give Zoom credit for this — are being tackled. Then we heard about Houseparty.
Houseparty, an app for virtual hangouts with friends, now routinely hovers at the top of app store download charts. It gained 50 million users over the past month. Acquired by Fortnite maker Epic Games in 2019, the service has seen rapid growth and according to last month’s data from Apptopia, Houseparty’s installs have spiked.
Enter Mr Z with a fresh take on things. Facebook is in the right place at the right time with the right tools. Straight off the bat, the company has made it clear that one can create a “room” right from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join your video call, “even if they don’t have a Facebook account”. Rooms can hold up to 50 people with no time limit.
In other words, we will see more celebrations in the virtual space, from members of a book club hanging out virtually to office colleagues. It gets even better. You don’t need to call someone to check the person’s calendar. You can start and share rooms on Facebook through News Feed, Groups and Events, so it’s easy for people to drop by. In a statement the company has said that soon it will “add ways to create rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal (a brand of smart displays), too”. “If your friends or communities create rooms that are open to you, you’ll see them on Facebook so you can find things to do and people to hang out with. When you’re invited to a room, you can join from your phone or computer — no need to download anything to get started. If you have the Messenger app, you can play with AR effects like bunny ears, and new AI-powered features like immersive 360 backgrounds and mood lighting.” While creating a room, one can choose who can see or join it. You can remove people from the call or lock a room.
What gives Rooms a big advantage is its impromptu nature. If a meeting is scheduled, it’s like everyone has to join in at a certain time. And this can be repetitive. “But part of what I’ve found really serendipitous and fun about this is that it’s not a schedule. On the weekend, I’ll be playing guitar on my couch and create a room, and it’s like, ‘all right who wants to come by and hang out?’ And it’s just a completely different kind of interaction than anything that any of our technology is enabling us to have today that I’ve really appreciated so far,” the company’s founder Mark Zuckerberg has said in an interview with The Verge.
Real-time video is big at the moment. Between WhatsApp and Messenger, more than 700 million accounts participate in calls every day. In many countries, video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp have more than doubled, and views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos increased significantly in March.
This has made the company look at its other product closely — WhatsApp. According to Facebook, in March-April, people on an average were spending over 15 billion minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls, which is well above any typical day before the pandemic. The effect? WhatsApp has doubled the number of participants on a WhatsApp video or voice call from four to eight people at a time.
Another interesting development has been on the Live Video front. You can now watch and comment on live videos from your desktop. This means, the yoga classes can be seen on a bigger screen. And after you go live, you’ll soon be able to save your videos to IGTV so they stick around longer than the 24-hour limit in Stories and are easier for others to find.
Facebook is also bringing back Live With “so you can add another person into your live video, no matter where they are in the world”. Users will be able to mark Facebook Events as online only and, in the coming weeks, integrate Facebook Live so you can broadcast to your guests.
Charge for access to events
Musicians and creators are suffering greatly because live gigs are down to zero and whatever is broadcast live doesn’t earn them anything much. Facebook has announced that it will be adding the option for people to charge for access to events with Facebook Live streams.
“To support creators and small businesses, we plan to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to events with Live videos on Facebook — anything from online performances to classes to professional conferences,” reads a statement from the Menlo Park HQ-ed company.
In a separate move, Messenger Kids is in India. And why not?! Kids need to connect with the people they love. The separate app was launched in the US in 2017 and then expanded into Canada and Peru in 2018.
Once an account is set up by a parent, kids can start a one-on-one or group video chat. The home screen shows them at a glance who they are connected with, and when those contacts are online. To add people to your child’s contact list, go to the Messenger Kids Parent Dashboard panel in your main Facebook app. To get there, click on “More” on the bottom right corner in your main Facebook app, and click “Messenger Kids” in the Explore section. What follows are playful masks, emojis and sound effects!
Facebook had recently launched Fundraisers, a feature that allows people to start a fundraiser on the social networking site for a cause. To create a fundraiser, click on the Fundraisers tab in the Explore section. Next, search a charity or scroll through a list. Share the amount of money you want to raise and by when.
“At a time when the country is in the middle of an unprecedented effort to fight the outbreak of the virus, we are deeply aware of the economic impact of the disruption in normal life. Communities around the country need help. Facebook Fundraisers allows people to leverage the full scale and power of the platform, and their passion, to direct resources to initiatives that can protect and save lives,” said Ajit Mohan, vice-president and managing director, Facebook India.
In fact, the company was running a ‘Social For Good Live-a-thon’ initiative to encourage people to donate to charities. Several celebrities have taken part in the initiative, including Vidya Balan and Sonali Bendre.
Get set for PUBG action
Lockdown is on but not in the world of PUBG. After a fantastic run last year, the PUBG Mobile India Series is returning and the second edition of the tournament promises to be bigger. Open for all, in-game qualifiers will be held to determine the contenders for the online qualifiers. Every registered squad will be required to play 15 matches, out of which, 10 best games will be taken into consideration for qualification. A total of 256 teams will compete in the online qualifiers, of which the top 248 teams are from the in-game qualifiers and the other eight teams will come in as direct invitees. These teams will play two matches each and will try to dominate the leaderboard and grab the top three slots in each group to qualify for quarter-finals.
Next, the teams will battle it out over four days to grab the top 32 slots on the leaderboard for the semi-final. Teams will then fight it out for the top 16. And then comes the final round in which the teams will take a shot at a Rs 50 lakh prize pool. Three days of battle royale action will see teams getting through a total of 18 matches to reach the conclusion.
Registration is on till May 17 at www.pubgmobile.in.
Amazon India has launched a new Prime benefit (for members), especially created for gaming enthusiasts. Prime members in India can now enjoy an array of mobile gaming content with their membership, including access to free in-game content, like collectible characters, upgrades, in-game currency and Prime-only tournaments across mobile games.


text:
Salt Lake City, UT—President Nelson announced 8 new mega-malls at the close of General Conference. As he announced the locations for the new malls President Nelson asked viewers in their various locations not to cheer but to bow their heads in a prayer of gratitude.
After the announcement protestors flocked to the Church Administration Building to voice their outrage. “Jesus never built no malls!” the crowd chanted, as well as, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The evil malls have got to go!” Afterwards, the protestors were seen at City Creek mall buying lunch.
In response to the protests, Church Spokesman Doug Anderson said, “We build these malls for a reason—so we can build more malls later. We wouldn’t be worth infinity billion dollars if we didn’t.”


text:
Amazon Prime Day’s annual sales event generated more than $12 billion in sales, according to third-party estimates. The retailer hosted the popular shopping event in the United States and in more than 15 other countries around the world from July 13-15. It was the first event on Prime Day under new CEO Andy Gacy, who took over from Jeff Bezos last year after the Amazon founder stepped down.
The company was upbeat about its Prime Day results and said it was “the best ever,” noting that consumers worldwide are worth $1.7 billion. Amazon claimed to have sold more than 300 million items during these sales, but has not disclosed any revenue figures.
She also noted that she sold “more devices than any other Prime Day”, but declined to put any number on her. The company said shoppers purchased more than $3 billion in merchandise on more than 100 million small business items during the two-day event.
For weeks into Prime Day, Amazon has relied on influencers to drive sales from its QVC-style live video shopping. The company has partnered with celebrities such as TikTok creators Joe and Frank Mele, Porsha Williams from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”, “Selling Sunset” star Chrishel Stowes, comedian Kevin Hart, and Australian model Miranda Kerr. The company said these direct streams have generated more than 100 million views but has not confirmed how much sales they have generated.
A report from The Information paints a different picture: It said some videos of some of the top influencers failed to attract more than 4,000 live viewers. Amazon isn’t the only one struggling with live commerce. Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that TikTok is working to scale back its plans for live video shopping in the US and Europe.
Amazon has not commented on revenue or sales numbers recorded during Prime Day or through Amazon Live experiences.
Since Amazon does not disclose its Prime Day sales numbers, we have to rely on analysts and third-party data to paint a picture of how event sales are doing.
Analysts estimated that Amazon sold total merchandise between $12.09 billion and $12.59 billion in Prime Day sales globally. It is important to note that some countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have not yet hosted Prime Day sales.
Additionally, a report by Salesforce indicated that global sales for retailers selling merchandise on their own sites grew 8% year-over-year for Tuesday and Wednesday in the second week of July. But sales figures for non-Amazon sites globally are down 12% compared to Prime Day 2021.
As usual, major US retailers have taken advantage of Amazon’s Prime Day to offer their own discounts, encouraging consumers to splurge more in an inflation-driven market that has seen prices for various items skyrocket lately.
A study from the Adobe Digital Economy Index reported that total US online spending via online retailers touched $11.9 billion – an 8% increase from last year which saw $11 billion spent. It is noteworthy that sales of the second day of Prime Day achieved more than 5.9 billion dollars, recording a growth of 9.2% over the second day of last year, which achieved 5.4 billion dollars.
“With significant gains on the second day of Prime Day as well, retailers were able to generate nearly $12 billion in spending online, during the two-day event. Consumers are clearly incredibly price conscious, and it will be important for retailers Retail is leveraging pricing effectively, in order to unlock new growth potential online,” said Pat Brown, Vice President of Adobe.
Additionally, the data set Numerator published its own study based on nearly 59,000 Prime Day orders and a survey of more than 4,800 buyers, which said average order volume rose from $44.75 last year to $52.26 in Prime Day sales. He notes that 65% of shoppers who made purchases on both days, spent the same amount or less than last year.
The company’s study highlights some numbers that suggest Amazon’s impact on Prime Day sales may have diminished a bit. 24% of shoppers made purchases from another retailer compared to 20% last year; 44% of people only considered Amazon this year compared to 52% last year; And 34% of people reviewed prices at other retailers before buying, compared to 33% last year.
These studies indicate that inflation has affected Prime Day sales and that retailers may not have seen a significant increase in their sales compared to last year.
Amazon has had a tough year, with its stock price dropping from roughly $181 a year ago to $110 at the time of writing. It’s important for the company to boost sales, so much so that it may hold another peak day later this year. This year, company workers also raised questions about workplace safety and wages during Prime Day’s peak sales.


text:
Major Turkish flour producers may organize production in Russia amid restrictions on the export of Russian wheat. The issue was discussed on 11 June at a meeting with Marina Afonina, director of the Food and Processing Industry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Kommersant newspaperreported, citing sources.
According to the newspaper, the developer of the project may act as a Turkish company "MonDef", which will build near the Black Sea coastal complex with a mill capacity of 1 thousand tons of grain per day for the subsequent supply of flour to foreign markets. Construction of the complex could take up to two years.
Turkey is the world's largest flour exporter, with about 70% of wheat for processing the country imports from Russia. The decision to build a flour mill in the country may be due to the unstable economic situation in Turkey, the high volatility of the Turkish lira and restrictions on grain exports from Russia, experts explained to the publication.
Made in Russia // Made in Russia
Author: Karina Kamalova


text:
Finalisation of 3 GST Laws & GST Roll Out on 1st July 2017
It appears that the Central Government as well as State Governments representing in GST Council have finally made up their strong will to implement GST from 1st July 2017.
It took 9 meetings of GST Council to decide upon various critical issues in last meeting held on 16th January 2017.
The next meeting of GST Council is scheduled on 18th February,2017. The agenda of the 10th meeting of GST Council will be to finalise 3 GST laws i.e CGST, SGST & IGST.
The revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia on roll out of GST by 1st July 2017 has aired that
Industry is looking forward to the laws and rules. Once they are finalised by the GST council, it will pave the way towards the implementation of GST from 1 July. The agenda of the next meeting is to look into all the three laws. In the subsequent meetings, we’ll take up the rules. As far as rates are concerned, it’s going to be a simplistic formula. The council has said that there would be four slabs: 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent and 28 percent,”
Empowerment Panel on GST
It is pertinent to note that after the announcement of the Budget on 1 February2017, the finance minister of West Bengal Amit Mitra, who also heads the empowerment panel on GST, sent 16 demands to the Finance Ministry.
Amongst such demands, the significant demand was related to the provisions of arrest in GST .As regards to arrest clause, a consensus exists that there should be no arrest in cases of tax evasion up to Rs 2 crore. However, evaders between Rs 2 and Rs 5 crore could face bailable arrest. Above tax evasion of above Rs 5 crore, it may invite non-bailable arrest.
Once the 3 GST laws are finalised , the draft GST rules will be taken up for legal vetting in GST Council. Thereafter, such rules shall be also uploaded in public domain for suggestions at par what has been done with draft GST Acts so far.
GST Awareness & GST Implementation
The Finance minister during his budget speech presented on 1st February, 2017has categorically stated that
He further emphasised on earliest implementation of GST in budget speech to the effect that
Centre, through the Central Board of Excise & Customs, shall continue to strive to achieve the goal of implementation of GST as per schedule without compromising the spirit of co-operative federalism. Implementation of GST is likely to bring more taxes both to Central and State Governments because of widening of tax net. I have preferred not to make many changes in current regime of Excise & Service Tax because the same are to be replaced by GST soon


text:
Google recently released the Android 13 to Pixel smartphones and it looks like the update has started to cause problems for some Pixel phone users. As per a report, a lot of Pixel users, especially the owners of the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL smartphones, have complained the Android 13 update has partially broken the wireless charging feature of the handsets. Some users have apparently found a solution and claim that adjusting settings such as Adaptive Charging can fix the issue.
Citing multiple Reddit threads, 9to5Google reports that a lot of Pixel users have been complaining that the wireless charging feature on their phones stopped working almost immediately after the Android 13 upgrade was installed on the phones. The problem seems to have affected multiple Pixel smartphone models including the latest flagship Pixel 6 series, however, it looks like that the Pixel 4 and the Pixel 4 XL owners have been hit the most.
Users are also claiming that the problem persists no matter what charger they use to juice up the handset. Reportedly, Google hasn't acknowledged the problem yet and there is no information on the cause of the problem. It looks like a software-related issue which should be fixed in subsequent updates. Google released the Android 13 software update for Pixel owners last week.
One way to fix the problem is that Pixel owners can roll back to Android 12 and install the update once the wireless charging issue is fixed. However, this can only happen with all Pixel phones, except the Pixel 6 series, that have got the update. The Pixel 6 handsets come with a bootloader update that increments the anti-roll back version which essentially means a user will not be able to roll back to Android 12 once their handsets are updated with the latest OS version.
For a few Redditors who own Pixel phones, adjusting settings such as Adaptive Charging and “forgetting” a Pixel Stand, fixed the issue. It is a probability that this solution may not work for all those who are affected.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.


text:
Activision Blizzard Vivendi buy out injunction lifted, firm expects to complete transaction by October 15
Activision Blizzard has said it expects to complete its stock buyout transaction with with Vivendi by October 15.
The transaction would see Activision Blizzard and a group of investors led by CEO Bobby Kotick fork out $8 billion to purchase a majority stake in the publisher, leaving Vivendi with just 12%.
Some shareholders have sought to block the sale by suing to prevent the deal due over “unjust enrichment”, or by seeking an injunction.
The firm announced a $429 million shares and certain tax attributes from Vivendi for approximately $5.83 billion in cash or $13.60 per share. In a separate but simultaneous transaction, ASAC II LP, the investment vehicle led by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and Co-Chairman Brian Kelly, is expected to purchase approximately 172 million Company shares from Vivendi for approximately $2.34 billion, in cash or $13.60 per share.
The Company also announced today that the Delaware Supreme Court lifted the preliminary injunction related to these transactions, thereby enabling the parties to move forward with the completion of the transactions.


text:
Recently at The Game Awards 2017, Bandai Namco revealed Soulcalibur VI. Fans have been waiting for the return of this legendary fighting franchise for a while now, so here's hoping this latest entry doesn't disappoint.
Soulcalibur is known for its guest characters. Last time around Ezio Auditore, the Master Assassin from the Assassin's Creed franchise, made an appearance. We wonder who will be part of the game this year apart from the "witcher", Geralt of Rivia.
The Soulcalibur VI: Collector's Edition costs $149.99 and comes with a lot of items like an artbook and figuring. It's a must-have package for the ultimate fan. The game is expected to launch on October 19, 2018.
Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews!
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Watch Surface Duo get ripped apart, all to get at its hinge
We've seen the Surface Duo delicately torn down by iFixit, but now it's time for a much messier teardown. YouTuber JerryRigEverything has ripped into Duo to get at its hinge, and it turns out it's a surprisingly simple setup.
Power or agility? We compare Dell's XPS 15 with LG's gram 15.
These two laptops might share a similar footprint, but they're intended for two very different types of user. We break things down to help you get a clear idea of which PC is the better buy for your needs.
Windows x64 app emulation heads to Snapdragon PCs this November
It's official: Windows 10 on ARM laptops are getting x64 app emulation sometime in November (though the Windows Insider program). Microsoft Teams natively optimized for ARM is also coming soon. The news follows Qualcomm's recent announcement of its new Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 processor and new devices coming this year.
Finding Xbox One Wireless Controller replacement parts is easy
Here are all the replacement Xbox One controller parts you need for an easy fix.