text:
The San Carlos, Calif.-based company reported a net loss of $66 million, or 62 cents per share, on revenue of $23.7 million. In the same quarter a year ago, the company had a loss of $70.4 million, or 68 cents per share, on revenue of $14 million.
The company said that excluding special charges for warrants, deferred stock compensation and restructuring costs, revenue was up 65 percent for the third quarter, ended Feb. 28, compared with the same period last year. On a pro forma basis, the company had a loss of $5 million, or 5 cents a share, on revenue of $24.6 million. For the same quarter a year ago, the company reported a loss of $8.9 million, or 9 cents per share, on revenue of $14.9 million.
Analysts had expected a loss of 7 cents per share.
Liberate has exceeded analysts' expectations for 11 quarters in a row. The company raised its yearly revenue forecast to between $89.2 million and $89.7 million.
"Our results reflect Liberate's continued success in delivering a launch pad to network operators for digital services," Mitchell Kertzman, Liberate's chief executive, said in a statement. "In a very challenging marketplace, our customers are looking for solutions that reduce their overall costs and increase their revenues per subscriber."
The company said that during the third quarter, cumulative deployments of its software platform increased by 400,000 to 2.8 million worldwide.
"We expect an acceleration of deployments later this year, but next year we expect them to really take off," Kertzman said in a phone interview.
Most of the deployments were in Europe, Kertzman said, but revenues from Europe and North America were balanced.
Liberate has cash and equivalents of $412.3 million compared to the last quarter when the company had $430.3 million.
The company anticipates that the cash burn rate for the fourth quarter, ending May 31, would be about $28 million. Revenues are expected to be in the $25 million to $25.5 million range.
Liberate reiterated that, excluding special charges, it expects to be profitable in the first half of its fiscal year 2003, which is from June 1 of this year to November 30.
In February of this year, the company laid off about 25 to 45 employees and now counts 531 people in its work force.
Liberate closed down about one percentage point, or 6 cents, at 6.26. In after hours trading the company was up almost 14 percent, or 87 cents, at 7.13.


text:
Alila Villas will occupy 25 hectares on Koh Russey, an island in the Koh Rong archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand, with easy access from Sihanoukville via the Ochheuteal jetty. The chain has announced that it will focus on adding sustainable energy features during the initial design; this includes an agreement that only 15 per cent of the total site area will be used for resort structures.
The resort will also feature a nursery, which aims to protect more than 20 species of trees indigenous to the island, and an exclusion zone 200 metres around the resort that will preserve the marine environment – fishing boats will dock at jetties at the northern side of the island. The villa resort will have 132 villas and 47 duplex apartments, ranging from one-bedroom to four and each of the villas will have a swimming pool.
Just 25 minutes by private car and speedboat from Sihanoukville Airport, the Alila Villas Koh Russey will offer another high-end beach holiday destination in the growing demand for luxury beach accommodation in Cambodia.

domain: news


text:
As we reported yesterday iPhone rumours are already beginning to explode on to the internet.
Apple's next iPhone is likely to be called the 6s and could feature new screen, camera and processor.
But are Apple about to launch another new phone called the iPhone Air?
A concept video showing how the new device could look has just appeared on YouTube.
Created by the team a SET Solutions, it shows an iPhone that's just 4.3mm thick – the current iPhone 6 is 6.9mm thick.
SET also reckon the iPhone Air will feature a 4-inch Retina display, 13-megapixel camera and come with either a 32 or 64GB of memory.
Apple always stay tight-lipped over their new phones and it's unlikely we'll know if this latest rumour is true until September.
One thing is for sure...expect many more rumours like this over the coming months.
DON'T MISS our full Apple Watch review this Saturday at dailystar.co.uk/tech


text:
On 4th June, Facebook introduced a new version of Facebook for its android users. This latest version consume less data and worked well with every type of network conditions. Facebook said that "In many areas, networks can be slow and not able to support all the functionality found in Facebook for Android. Facebook Lite was built for these situations, giving people a reliable Facebook experience when bandwidth is at a minimum." Facebook announced this new version in countries across Asia, and in upcoming weeks Facebook Lite will be available in parts of Latin America, Africa and Europe. Lets talk about the abilities of Facebook lite.
Facebook lite load pages very quickly as it takes maximum 5-6 seconds to open another page, even when user is on 2G network. Whether you want to share new clicked picture or send a message to you friend it will do your job without loosing internet speed. Moreover, it totally looks like official android Facebook application but better speed and performance. Just like official app, user can also Like timeline updates with a single click, means page will not load when user tap on Like button. You may see the screenshot below.
The official app is more than 30 MB in size and after installing the app, it become more larger. On the other side, Facebook lite is only 456kb in size. So its likely that Facebook lite has good performace and less hanging issues. Facebook lite also allows you to change cover photo of your profile as well. You just need to tap on cover pic in your profile and it will quickly open your phone gallery to select your cover pic.
The feature i like the most is it gives easy access to every Facebook sticker . You can post stickers in photo comments and messages in no time. It makes chatting more interesting and better.
If you are owner of Facebook pages or groups then you can also get access to pages and every important feature which is available in desktop version of Facebook.
In short, Facebook lite developer tried to make Facebook lite just same as Facebook for android but without droping internet speed and performace. So its a excellent app for those who can't afford the bill of 3G internet connection or for those where 3G data plans is not available.


text:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Pete Pier is transforming into a waterfront winter wonderland!
Winter Beach will feature its very own outdoor ice skating rink, festive food, holiday music, photos with Santa, “snow” days, themed skating nights like silent disco, 80s and 90s night, holiday events such as musical concerts, holiday movie night, and so much more.
Guests can also search for the perfect gift at the Holiday Market, featuring unique gifts from the Winter Beach gift shop, as well as a variety of local vendors and artists.
The grand opening celebration will kick off the holiday season on November 20 at 3 p.m. with fun for the whole family following the installation of the 4,000 square-foot ice skating rink made of real ice and a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Mayor Rick Kriseman. Ice skating will be available during the grand opening event from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The rink will be open daily from Nov. 20 through Jan. 17, 2022.
Admission to Winter Beach is free, however, tickets are required to ice skate. Tickets are now on sale for $17, and include 75-minute access to the rink and skate rentals.
Click here for more information.


text:
- The Victorian town of Tatyoon has a population of well under 400 people but among them is a young woman with plans to lure fashion designers, camera crews and reality TV stars to her hometown....
Explore by Topic
Latest Agricultural Marketing stories on ABC Ballarat
Latest Agricultural Marketing stories on ABC Online
- Sunday 7 December 2014
- Landline's weekly commodities analysis....Sunday 26 October 2014
- When the Federal Government offered advice instead of helping SCP Ardmona out of financial trouble last year, the company took up Canberra's suggestion to modernise, and have invested $100 million in to new products....Sunday 19 October 2014
- The West Australian Government is investing a record $300 million in a plan to help create new small scale irrigation enterprises, to tap into the growing demand for protein and high quality produce in Asia....Sunday 19 October 2014
- Landline's weekly commodities analysis....Sunday 5 October 2014
Explore ABC Ballarat by Topic
- Pyrenees winemaker Allen Hart on the 2015 vintage
- Grampians winemaker Leigh Clarnette on the forthcoming 2015 wine vintage
- Moyston fire kills more than 1000 sheep in western Victoria.
- Labor minister Jacinta Allan defends the new Victorian Government's focus on agriculture
- Free range farmer Chris Peel on his crowd funding project to build an on-farm butchery


text:
Cal is the latest school to make an apparel change as the Golden Bears have signed a new deal with Under Armour that will begin in 2017.
Cal is currently outfitted by Nike, but the new Under Armour deal is worth significantly more for a cash-strapped athletics program. According to the East Bay Times, Cal’s new deal is a 10 year, $85.6 million contract that will pay $3.5 million in cash annually, plus an additional $4.8 million in equipment and apparel.
According to ESPN, the current Nike deal only pays $150,000 in cash to Cal each year. That increase in cash received annually is significant for an athletic department that operated at an $8.5 million deficit in 2015, per USA Today’s athletic department finances database.


text:
Belgian politicians have reached an agreement to back a landmark free trade deal between the EU and Canada.
The signing ceremony for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement or CETA had been called off after the French-speaking region of Wallonia vetoed the deal.
The Belgian premier Charles Michel hailed the agreement, saying it was ‘an important moment’, adding it was now up to the country’s parliaments to agree by Friday night, meaning it could be signed within days with approval from the other 27 EU countries.
The EU Council President Donald Tusk said he would wait until the process was finalised before calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back to sign the agreement. On Wednesday evening, Trudeau had cancelled plans to travel to Brussles for summit for the deal to be signed.
The deal, seven years in the making, had been stalled by Wallonia which was holding out for stronger safeguards for jobs, the environment and consumer rights.
Coming soon after Brexit, the tug-of-war and the potential collapse of the deal has raised concerns in the UK over its future negotiations on trade when it leaves the union.


text:
Singapore telco M1 partners GrabTaxi to allow direct carrier billing for drivers
Now, taxi drivers who use GrabTaxi will not have to travel to the startup’s office to pay their commission feesBy Elaine Huang 23 Apr, 2014
Launched in October 2013, Malaysia-based taxi booking app service GrabTaxi has today announced that it has partnered up with Singaporean telco M1 to allow its drivers to pay through their M1 bills, instead of having to make a trip to the startup’s office at Midview City.
In addition, taxi drivers who are M1 subscribers will be able to enjoy a 20 per cent bonus for each S$10 (US$7.96), S$30 (US$23.88) or S$50 (US$39.80) top up of their GrabTaxi accounts, which will then be used to deduct commission fees when trips are being booked using the app.
“Time is money, ” said P Subramaniam, Chief Marketing Officer, M1, adding, “and we are pleased to work with GrabTaxi to allow Singapore’s hardworking and tech-savvy taxi drivers to top up their GrabTaxi credits more conveniently.”
According to an official statement, GrabTaxi “has enabled many taxi drivers to enjoy increased earnings of over 30 per cent”.
Furthermore, the first 10,000 M1 customers to book a taxi ride with the app will enjoy a S$3 (US$2.39) discount. The offer will end May 31, 2014.
GrabTaxi Malaysia GrabTaxi is an automated location based smartphone booking and dispatch platform for the taxi industry in South East Asia. Latest funding: Not specified Investors: Not specified


text:
By Michael Calia
Chinese solar-products company Renesola Ltd. (SOL) on Monday said it had appointed Daniel Lee as its chief financial officer, effective May 5.
Mr. Lee will take over for Henry Wang, who is resigning May 4 for personal reasons, the company said.
Mr. Lee is a former finance chief of China Information Technology Inc. (CNIT), and he has experience in investment banking as well as an equities analyst for such firms as Roth Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley (MS).
"Daniel's depth of financial, accounting and managerial experience will serve as a great resource for our Company as we expand and strengthen our global sales and distribution network," Chief Executive Xianshou Li said.
Chinese solar-product companies have benefited lately because of growing demand in Asia and the U.S. that has mitigated weaker demand out of Europe.
Renesola last month said it was cooperating with a U.S. Commerce Department probe, while temporarily reducing shipments of solar modules to the U.S. that come within the scope of the investigation.
American depositary shares of the company, which closed at $2.97 a share, were inactive premarket.
Write to Michael Calia at email@example.com


text:
Savile Row suits making their mark in mainland China
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Whereas once they were almost exclusively the uniform of London's elite movers and shakers, the legendary Savile Row cut of suit has slowly been making inroads into China. And a collection of the British capital's finest bespoke tailors now has big plans to extend its reach across the nation.
Gieves & Hawkes - founded in 1771 and the oldest and largest bespoke tailor on Savile Row - has just announced plans to open 10 new stores across mainland China this year alone, to go with the 90 already established in the country.
The company - which is these days owned by Hong Kong's Wing Tai Properties - claims that China is now its number one market globally and that some of those new stores will for the first time be placed in "third-tier" - or developing - cities in an effort to tap into the country's rapidly rising and cashed-up middle class.
Savile Row suits traditionally cost between 3,000 pounds (€3,400) and 8,000 pounds (€9,000) and boast the "best tailoring money can buy" - something the people at Gieves & Hawkes say is increasingly being appreciated across China.
"There are very sophisticated consumers [in China] and they learn very quickly," Gieves & Hawkes' chief executive John Durnin told the South China Morning Post.
Other Savile Row tailors are certainly hoping so. Henry Poole (established in 1806) has a Chinese partner in Hanloon Tailoring, which now pushes the Poole label alongside its own in Beijing and Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Meanwhile, Norton & Sons (founded in 1821) is apparently looking into selling its E.Tautz ready-to-wear line in Hong Kong.
For its part, Gieves & Hawkes is also trying in its own way to change the traditional notion that China is the home of the "quick, easy and cheap" suit. Following on from the success the company has had with similar services in its flagshop London store, Gieves & Hawkes' Hong Kong outlets will in the near future offer such extra luxuries as shoe shining and a grooming emporium within their walls.
In the end, the tailors say, it's all about luxury.
"I think there is a growing population of very discerning customers in China; men who understand that obvious, mass luxury is not luxury at all, because anyone can buy it; it's available everywhere and produced in enormous quantities. Real luxury is about scarcity," said Patrick Grant, director of Norton & Sons.
Life & Style blogs
Autistic adults could take pure MDMA to 'reduce social anxiety'
Another transgender model lands contract with top agency IMG
What do the emoji on Snapchat mean?
iPhone ‘effective power’ bug: how to be safe from iOS flaw that lets people crash iPhone with text
Video claims California will be hit by huge earthquake because of the alignment of the planets — but it’s probably wrong
- 1 Autistic adults could take pure MDMA to 'reduce social anxiety'
- 2 Before you complain about your GP, this is what you need to know about actually doing the job
- 3 Father of 12 accused of raping, beating, starving and abusing his own children in US 'cult'
- 4 Britain's Got Talent 2015: Jamie Raven divides Twitter as fans expose mind-boggling magic trick
- 5 Charlie Charlie Challenge explained: not a Mexican demon being summoned — it's gravity
Negotiable: Recruitment Genius: One of the South East's fastest growing full s...
£35-40k (DOE) + Benefits: Guru Careers: We are seeking a Marketing Communicati...
£30000 - £32000 per annum: Recruitment Genius: Estimating, preparation of tech...
£14000 - £17000 per annum: Recruitment Genius: You will work as part of a smal...


text:
by Long Island Attorney Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
The “new and improved” diet Pepsi, is starting to appear on supermarket shelves everywhere with the hopes that the new re-branding will increase sales. Essentially, Pepsico has replaced the artificial sweetener being used in diet Pepsi with a different artificial sweetener. Instead of using aspartame, diet Pepsi will now use artificial sweetener sucralose, also known as Splenda. Is this a change for the better or is it just a matter of six of one, half dozen of the other?
It’s no secret that many consumers have become wary of the potential ill effects of the sugar substitute aspartame and are turning to alternatives. Pepsi maintains that this change is not being made because they believe aspartame is dangerous to your health, after all the FDA says it’s safe so it must be right? Instead Pepsi claims the change in artificial sweeteners has more to do with the preservation of taste and shelf life. Believe what you will, but many claim that Splenda has a significant amount of the same potential ill effects of aspartame. These adverse effects reportedly include but are not limited to cancer, seizures, heart issues and intestinal disorders.
Perhaps Pepsi believes consumers will ignore the side effects and choose instead to focus on one of the most common reasons people drink diet soda, which is to avoid weight gain. Ironically, although weight gain is more commonly associated with non-diet soft drinks, multiple studies suggest that the opposite is in fact true and that diet soda can be a producing cause of weight gain. This has raised questions as to potential false and misleading advertising for which the FDA has been asked to investigate and ultimately our courts may have to decide.
The FDA would likely say Pepsi has changed one safe artificial sugar substitute for another, but many people believe Pepsi is asking consumers to pick their poison. The general consensus of health professionals is that all forms of soda, for a litany of reasons, is bad for your health and has essentially no nutritional value. This consensus will not change by virtue of switching one artificial sugar substitute for another. Notwithstanding, Pepsico is betting that this re-brand of their diet soda will result in increased consumer response and sales. Perhaps the best consumer response would be to stop buying all sodas and let them rot on the store shelves, instead of rotting our childrens’ teeth.
Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.


text:
Of the six initial public offerings (IPOs) scheduled to hit Dalal Street this week, two opened for subscription on Tuesday ... The company, which is into electric vehicle (EV) chargers making, has fixed a price band of ₹135-142 per share.
The D-Day of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant approaches soon ... If reports are anything to go by, about 21 to 65 chefs have been called to Jamnagar, Gujarat for the pre-wedding and wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.
... from the 60th Venice Biennale. ANGA’s online open letter is titled, “No GenocidePavilion at the Venice Biennale.”. The Venice Biennale is the oldest of its kind being organized every year since 1895.
Merchants can enable the solution simply by integrating with APIs - there is no need for manual file exchange between different merchants and issuers, and the list of customers availed Installments will be available to issuers through APIs.
Almost 9,000 people, including artists, curators and museum directors, have signed an online appeal calling for Israel to be excluded from this year's Venice Biennale art fair and accusing the country of "genocide" in Gaza.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s youngest son, Anant Ambani, is all set to get married to Radhika Merchant, the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant ... The highlight of the evening will undoubtedly be the star-studded performances.
B Praak arrives in Jamnagar ahead of Radhika Merchant-Anant Ambani pre-wedding festivities ... Anant Ambani is all set to get hitched to the love of his life, Radhika Merchant ... in the first week of March.


text:
Motorola was rumoured to launch the foldable Moto Razr in 2021. The company had previously launched the Moto Razr in 2019, followed by a revamped version of the Moto Razr in 2020. The latest piece of information was shared tech analyst Ross Young, who is usually correct about launches. Motorola and Samsung currently are the two smartphones companies that manufacture foldable devices. LG used to do it too, but now LG has exited the smartphone market. However, Xiaomi, Google Pixel and even Apple might soon join the league of foldable smartphones.
Motorola was speculated to launch the Moto Razr in 2021, but Young has refuted the reports. He says that the smartphone will be launched in the third quarter of 2022. Not much has been revealed about the smartphone but if Motorola plans to launch the phone in 2022, it will face stiff competition from some other smartphone brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor that are rumoured to launch foldable devices by the end of this year and some might consider launching foldable phones in 2022 as well.
As the Moto Razr 5G 2020 is concerned, Moto Razr 5G is available in India for Rs 89,999 for the 8GB+256GB variant. The smartphone was earlier being sold online for Rs 1,0,9,000, but it can be bought at a discounted price of Rs 89,999 on Flipkart. The 2019 model is available for Rs 54,999 in India. The smartphone was earlier being sold for Rs 74,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant. Additionally, buyers can avail of bank offers and also exchange offers.
Moto Razr 5G features a 6.2-inch pOLED display with an aspect ratio of 21:9. The phone also comes with a secondary display on the rear of the phone, which has a 2.7-inch display with an aspect ratio of 4:3.
The Razr 5G is driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor, which is coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB built-in storage, which can be expandable using a microSD card.
In terms of the camera, the Motorola Razr 5G sports a 48-megapixel quad pixel camera on the rear. For selfies, there is a 20-megapixel camera with an F2.2 aperture. However, the 48-megapixel shooter can be used as a rear camera when the phone is unfolded, and it can be used as a front camera when the phone is unfolded. The smartphone houses a 2800mAh battery.
Copyright©2021 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today


text:
Volkswagen has abandoned a plan to sell the new Volkswagen Up city car in the UK with a super-competitive sub-£99 per month lease plan and will instead opt for a more conventional finance package. "We don’t feel we really need to offer this sort of deal because we are going to be able to sell our relatively small allocation of Ups without it," says VW.
VW UK is expecting to get a supply of around 8000 Ups in 2012 after launch in April and it will sell them without the attractive ‘driveaway’ leasing rates available on the continent.
British buyers had been expected to be offered a similar 95 Euro per month special lease deal — equivalent to £75 per month — to the one that will be offered on continental Europe. Although the UK price was tipped to be closer to £99 per month.
The UK deal was on the verge of being announced late last year, but was pulled at the last minute.
VW marketing boss Luca de Meo announced the Euro lease last November with the intention of making the Up a keen deal for young drivers, many of whom hadn’t been able to previously afford a VW model.
The ‘driveaway’ Euro deal includes roadside assistance and warranty, yet the driver doesn't even require a deposit.


text:
Yet, one overriding truthfulness hasn’t eximpacted about Hill’s vocational granted that until this practically the majority of come about.
Tyler Johnson jersey
It makes perfect sense that the team’s choice to keep with hillside following on from the broadcast through audio DeAndre Hopkins jersey — that discovered in solid-Some spare Arizona Cardinals jerseys free period of moment in duration — just might be indication the fact where did they Nike Texans #99 J.J. Watt White With 10th Patch Men’s Stitched NFL Game Jersey had long known Hill’s portion of the storyline mentioned at the correspondence.
Jalen Ramsey is not expected to practice on Brady jersey Wednesday with an ankle injury, the Jaguars announced. It’s authentic mlb jerseys from china not yet clear when or how the injury occurred. where to buy nfl jerseys near me starbucks Ramsey was limited last Wednesday with a hip ailment
"Saturday afternoon Football" Were built with a Cardinals game jerseys three-Boyfriend interpreting booth for basically 12 best nhl 16 hut jerseys from the first 49 changing gardening seasons.
5. Despite being listed as questionable, Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers Keenan Allen (knee, tooth) and Travis Benjamin (foot) are both expected to play against the 49ers, a Tyler Johnson jersey source tells Rapoport
Riveron sessions Patriots to analyze policies: Some of the most important Patriots staff members seen a call hailing Brady jersey authentic beyond american footbal Chase Edmonds jersey individual v.
personalized jersey nfl
Pimple control her or the puppy’s feet to be irritated, Murray told me that they believedVery good Upon lifting the
field for one rehearsal now due to the fact re-entering the Orange toilet run keep away from..
It always seemed a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jerseys long shot for Jones to get a new contract with three years left on his current deal. NFL teams are generally personalized jersey nfl reticent buy cheap nfl jerseys australia news even to Chase Edmonds jersey men consider a new deal with football jerseys indianapolis two years left on a contract. Giving Jones a new contract — even if he’s Rob Gronkowski jersey deserving — would set a new precedent. NFL teams despise setting precedents
Arizona Cardinals jerseys
In a commercial that came Tyler Johnson replica jersey out as soon as the Cardinals jerseys third quarter was over, Ram compares the endurance of football to Dallas Cowboys jerseys everyday life
At the same time, though, Garoppolo doesn’t have the mobility to get away from pressure if it arrives, and he’s not going to threaten teams as a rusher. Garoppolo was never much of a best website to buy authentic nfl jerseys runner during his time at Eastern Illinois; while this includes vintage nfl jerseys cheap sack yardage, Garoppolo’s 244 carries in school produced minus-83 yards. As a Rob Gronkowski jersey pro, after you strip out kneel-downs, Garoppolo has run the ball a total of DeAndre Hopkins jersey Nike 10 times across seven starts
For the first time that night, the gold jacket was slipped over his shoulders by his wife, Gene, who Tampa Bay Buccaneers new uniform served as his presenter. Later, he hosted a private party at Glenmoor Country Club. More than 20 Hall of Famers attended, including Cowboys greats Roger Staubach, Rayfield Wright, Mel Renfro and Tony Dorsett. The all new mlb jerseys Triplets — Irvin, Aikman and Smith — were there. About 20 owners attended, as did NFL commissioner new jersey nets mlb finals 2017 roster Roger Goodell.


text:
ShopperTrak is predicting a 2.9 percent retail sales increase versus last year's 0.4 percent decline for the upcoming holiday season (November/December) in the U.S. Black Friday (Nov. 26), Dec. 23 and Super Saturday (Dec. 18) are forecasted to be the strongest sales days.
The retail tracking service has also broken down holiday sales predictions by month, forecasting a 3.0 percent increase for next month and a 2.7 rise in December. In addition, ShopperTrak predicts this year's holiday foot traffic to decline by 0.1 percent for November/December combined compared to 2009's 3.4 percent drop.
"Despite various economic pressures, consumers have remained resilient and found a way to spend throughout 2010, although not at the level retailers experienced prior to the depths of the recession," says Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. "Although we are predicting a nearly 3 percent sales rise this season, any small increase has to be seen as relative at this point. Winning retailers will effectively entice today's more spendthrift consumer this holiday season by creating more events to raise foot traffic and by offering various sales to maximize the shoppers' spend during each visit."
ShopperTrak has also monitored shopping trends, reporting that over the last 10 months consumers have visited an average of 3.32 stores per shopping trip, down from 3.43 in 2009. The stats are significantly down in years prior to the recession (2006, 2007 and early 2008), which were between 4.0 and 5.0 stores visited.


text:
Cryptocurrency mining demand accounted for as much as 10% of AMD's first-quarter revenue this year, according to the chip maker.
"The strength in Radeon products was driven by both gaming and blockchain demand. We believe blockchain was approximately 10% of AMD revenue in [the first quarter of] 2018," chief financial officer said Devinder Kumar during an earnings call on Wednesday after AMD revealed that it made $1.65 billion in first-quarter revenue, a 40% increase year-over-year.
Kumar noted that the combined gaming and blockchain demand contributed to a 95% boost year-over-year for its GPU and computing markets. That said, Kumar indicated that the company believes that it will see a "modest decline in graphics [revenue] due to blockchain."
All in all, AMD anticipates less than 10% of its 2018 revenue will come from cryptocurrency miners.
"Based on the strength of our business momentum, for the full year 2018, we now expect revenue to increase by mid-20s[%] over 2017, driven by the ramp of our new products. Blockchain revenue to be mid to high-single-digit percentage of revenue for 2018," he said during the call.
Looking past the figures, however, CEO Lisa Su struck a somewhat optimistic tone for AMD's prospects in the blockchain infrastructure sector.
"They're not necessarily buying just for mining," Su continued. "I think, most people are comparing sort of this blockchain time period to the last one which was a couple of years ago and I think there are a couple of important differences. I think the first one is that there are multiple currencies and multiple applications that are being used. And what we've seen is that people who are mining do go from one currency to another depending on what's happening."
The only unknown factor at play involves retail sales, as Su said it was "hard to tell" whether retail sales go toward gamers or miners. But even there, AMD believes it has a close approximation of the demand.
"I think the breadth of the blockchain applications and also the breadth of the customer base give us that belief," she later concluded.
Cryptocurrency mining screen image via Shutterstock
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


text:
Rhapsody’s Global PR Review
Steve’s breakdown: They are saying there are 3 shops pitching the account but if you have music experience, you should give them a call anyway.
SEATTLE, WA: Online music service Rhapsody plans to consolidate its global PR support as it expands into more international markets.
In coming months Rhapsody plans to move into 16 new geographies, adding to last year’s acquisition of Napster International to spur European traction.
To support this broader scope, Rhapsody has invited three PR agencies to pitch for its consolidated global business, Jaimee Minney, senior PR director at Rhapsody, told the Holmes Report. Rhapsody currently works with Lyman PR in the US, the CC Group in the UK and a consultancy in Germany.
The consolidated brief — which includes paid, earned and owned components — is expected to be decided this month, with the new agency coming on board within 30 to 60 days, said Minney. The business is understood to be in the seven-figure range.
The remit calls for “amplifying our existing PR efforts to get our message in front of — not only consumers — but strategic partners,” Minney said. For instance, Rhapsody plans to work more closely with mobile operators to offer billing plans that include its subscription service.
Founded in 2001, Rhapsody was among the first online music services and has more than one million members. It competes with the likes of Spotify and Pandora.
“The streaming music sector is really hot and there’s obviously new participants,” Minney noted. “So this is a time when customers are really keyed into the value proposition and an exciting time to remind people of Rhapsody as the original online music service.”
ACLink: [acLink name=”Rhapsody International, Inc.” type=”advertiser” id=”bG5qnKs=”]


text:
Carlton McCoy’s leadership in the wine industry has opened the doors for dozens to create careers of their own.
“When I first started studying wine, I only knew of two Black sommeliers—Andre [Hueston] Mack and Nadine Brown—it was very rare at the time to see myself in the industry,” says Carlton McCoy of becoming a master sommelier in 2013. “Had I an organization then that could have given me a sense of community and guidance, it would’ve made the road a lot easier.”
This difficulty of starting his wine journey, coupled with participating in the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), is ultimately what inspired McCoy to cofound The Roots Fund with Ikimi Dubose-Woodson and Tahiirah Habibi in 2020.
“From the beginning, we knew we had to address the lack of wine education and career opportunities available to communities of color,” he says. The hard work of the small-yet-mighty board of directors of The Roots Fund has, over the course of just four short years, opened the doors for dozens of students who receive funding for wine education as well as hands-on experience in various sectors of the wine industry. McCoy credits his cofounder and fellow board member Dubose-Woodson for her passionate and focused approach for getting so muchn done so quickly. “We get a lot done for a small organization because everyone’s really committed, and we don’t just talk about things—we get them done.”
As cofounder and CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates, McCoy heads legendary Napa Valley estates such as Heitz Cellar, Burgess Cellars and Stony Hill Vineyards as well as brands like Ink Grade, Brendel and Haynes Vineyard and Château Lascombes in Bordeaux. And as managing partner of Demeine Estates he oversees a portfolio that includes the Lawrence Wine Estates wines as well as other import partners such as Legras et Haas, Domaine de Montille, La Chablisienne and Mazzei. He began in these roles in 2019, a year prior to the one that would completely change the world as we knew it: California wildfires, a global pandemic, racial unrest on a national scale. But instead of overthinking these things, McCoy made a conscious decision to lead with instinct and move with purpose.
“I’m a big believer that if you want something to be normalized, just normalize it,” he says. “If you want something to be better, just change it.”
This is the strategy he employs as a leader in the wine world and hopes to inspire others to take on as well. Among his key hirings is Philana Bouvier, president of Demeine Estates, one of very few women of color in any type of leadership position in the importing sector of the wine business. With its Dream It, Live It initiative, Demeine Estates aims to use its established network to provide unique opportunities for minority-owned businesses and organizations promoting social responsibility committed to changing the wine industry (such as the Roots Fund).
McCoy comments that receiving this honor isn’t really about him, it’s about recognition for the work and results that come with taking action in a genuine way. “I just hope to be an example for people to act on the things they say they care about,” he says. For his dedication to diversity and inclusivity and ability to take action and make change happen within the wine industry, Wine Enthusiast is proud to name Carlton McCoy the Social Visionary of the Year in the 2023 Wine Star Awards.
Published: November 7, 2023