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Agents, Analysts Fret Over Slow Europe Cruise Sales
Agent concerns that Europe cruise sales are not performing as well as hoped for in recent weeks are being echoed by some in the financial community.
"We have fears about a slowdown in the European cruise business," report Felix Wang and Todd Jordan of Hedgeye Risk Management.
Hedgeye cites several factors impacting source markets on both sides of the Atlantic. First there's Europe itself: "The local economies there are struggling, unemployment in the Eurozone remains high and there are deflation risks." Hence, Hedgeye believes that the European consumer is not in great shape, and Wang says that has implications for the cruise market in North America, particularly with pricing, as lines may turn more to the U.S. to fill European ships.
Another factor is that 2014's strong Europe market - particularly for Costa and Royal Caribbean - set such a high bar that some regression was inevitable. Yields were "up 20%-25% year-over-year in some of the quarters," says Wang. "Obviously there is going to be a slowdown this year coming off that top performance last year."
But a natural correction alone can't explain away such a dramatic drop. "It's pretty significant, but it is still early in Wave, so things can change," points out Wang.


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It’s been a big year for the companies that sell coffee, but not so much for the growers that supply them. That could start to change in 2019.
Historically low prices for coffee beans in 2018 will likely reduce the incentive for farmers to expand supplies, said Rodrigo Costa, the U.S.-based coffee director for Brazilian trading company Comexim.
That could mean a price spurt ahead, analysts say, as major moves within the industry promise to boost consumption worldwide.
Coca-Cola, for instance, spent $5 billion in 2018 to get into the java space. Meanwhile, Nestle SA made its third-largest deal in 152 years when agreeing to pay $7.15 billion for the right to market products from Starbucks, which is now expanding in China at a rate of a new store every 15 hours as demand in the world’s second largest economy booms.

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After recently revealing the interior design of all-new Buick Electra E5, General Motors is gearing up to launch Buick‘s all-electric crossover this month in China.
SAIC-GM, the automaker’s major joint venture in China, has recently told the media that it will launch the all-new Buick Electra E5 in the Chinese market before the upcoming 2023 Shanghai International Auto Show, which will take place from April 18th to the 27th in the largest and most iconic city of the Asian country. Although no specific date has been announced yet, this indicates that the Electra E5’s launch will happen in the first 15 days of this month.
The all-new Buick Electra E5’s official introduction in China represents a key step in Buick’s product strategy that plans to initiate a major transformation in its largest volume market. In fact, the Electra E5 is the brand’s first all-electric vehicle to adopt GM’s Ultium Battery technology and Ultium Drive propulsion system, which also inaugurates the new global family of zero-emission Electra products.
As such, the Buick Electra E5 becomes the spearhead for the Tri-Shield brand to massively expand electric technology starting with the largest automotive market and largest growth hub for EVs worldwide. The model is a premium-focused five-passenger compact to midsize crossover aimed at the heart of the largest utility segment both in China and around the world.
In addition to introducing the new Pure Design language, the Buick Electra E5 will stand out for including the most refined and technologically advanced cabin ever developed by Buick, debuting disruptive innovations such as the huge 30-inch free-form OLED display, the new Virtual Cockpit display and 5G connectivity that will be extended to the brand’s entire portfolio of electric vehicles.
The all-new Buick Electra E5 will officially launch in China during the first half of this month, when the crossover’s specific trim configuration and pricing for the country will be announced. Series production of the Electra E5 will start shortly at the recently opened SAIC-GM Wuhan Ultium plant – also known as the Wuhan Ultium Center, the facility in charge of supplying units to the Chinese market.


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Back-to-school creep isn't going to help retailers who have moved the start of their school-supply sales up as early as June this year, according to at least one analyst.
"The season should not start this early," said Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors. He told the Huffington Post that retailers are "arrogant" for assuming consumers will buy products as soon as they're available—even if the customers won't need the products for weeks or months. "The fact is, we as people no longer want to invest cash in merchandise to be used at a later date," Sozzi said.
That may sound a lot like the complaints for years about "Christmas creep," in which retail chains keep moving the start of the holiday season up. But it's fairly new for back-to-school. Historically, customers have started shopping—and retailers have started promoting—for back-to-school about a month before school starts. "In seven and a half years, I've never once seen so much emphasis put on back-to-school before July 4," National Retail Federation (NRF) spokeswoman Kathy Grannis told Ad Age.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) were already promoting school-related products at the beginning of July. Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) launched its promotions last week. Target (NYSE:TGT) and JCPenney (NYSE:JCP) have slated their back-to-school launches to start in late July. And while Ad Age reported on July 8 that Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) back-to-school landing page had a wisecrack for the back-to-school-creepsters—"Shopping for back-to-school supplies already? We hate to tell you...you're early"—by last week the page was full of school supplies.
National chains do face a legitimate problem: They want to have standard assortments in stores, while schools start as early as mid-August and as late as Labor Day, so some customers (and their kids) see back-to-school displays even before local schools have ended classes for the summer. That's far enough in advance that if a parent buys a child's back-to-school clothes early, a growth spurt could make them unwearable by the first day of school.
But the stretched back-to-school season may work in a way similar to the ever-longer holiday season, according to NRF spokeswoman Grannis: Parents may shop sales early, but leave apparel and specific back-to-school supplies until the end.


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Tampa-based Card Services for Credit Unions (CSCU) plans to pony up the cost of the EMV/Chip enablement phase for its 2,300 member credit unions. CSCU member credit unions utilize the FIS card processing platforms.
By combining the recently announced FIS chip card mass enablement program with discounts negotiated with longtime CSCU and credit union partner FIS, CSCU says it will be saving its members in excess of $11 million.
Along with the significant financial funding, CSCU will continue to provide guidance to its member credit unions through the enablement and issuance of EMV cards as the October 1, 2015 liability shift date approaches.
For more data on the U.S. EMV migration access CardData®. For information and commentary on the U.S. EMV migration visit the searchable CardFlash® Library of more than 58,000 articles published since 1995. RAM Research® forecasts on the U.S. EMV migration are available exclusively through CardWeb.com.®


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Today Apple announced the availability of an 8GB iPhone 5c. The flavor is already available for purchase and costs €549 – just €50 less than its 16GB sibling. This is quite unattractive pricing considering the phone comes with year and a half old hardware and still costs good €100 more than the 32GB Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Anyway, we are not the only one to dislike the Apple’s overpriced gadget. Finnish manufacturer Nokia grabbed the opportunity and used it to make fun of the 8GB iPhone 5c over Twitter.
Hey Apple: “Today we announce a colourful, fast and affordable 8GB smartphone” – Nokia, Feb 2013. pic.twitter.com/Lxxdu0OOWC
— Nokia (@nokia) March 18, 2014
The colorful Lumia 520 was announced back in February 2013. It is the bestselling Windows Phone-running device to date and currently costs under €100.
So, what would you do if you had to choose between those two? Get an 8GB iPhone 5c or get 5 Lumia 520′s?
CommentsRules for posting


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One of the retail stores in the chain of Samsung Electronics has been gutted by fire on Monday night in Abuja.
The magnificent store located in the popular Banex area of Wuse 2 District in the nation’s capital city was razed down as passers-by and others watched helplessly.
The cause of the fire was unknown at the time of this report.
Recall that earlier on Monday, News Direct reported a fire outbreak at the Canadian Embassy in the Central Business District (CBD) of Abuja following an explosion from a faulty generating set.
At least two persons were feared dead while one other person was critically injured in the incident.


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© Infineon AG (illustration purpose only) Components | May 10, 2019
Chip forecast takes a 10-percentage-point downside swing
Conditions in the global semiconductor market have deteriorated rapidly since the start of the year, with business information provider IHS Markit slashing its 2019 growth outlook by more than 10 percentage points.
The worldwide microchip industry is set to suffer a 7.4 percent drop in revenue this year, according to the latest figures from market analyst IHS Markit. Revenue will fall to $446.2 billion in 2019, down from $482.0 billion in 2018. This represents a major swing in the market outlook compared to the previous forecast in December, which anticipated the market would expand by 2.9 percent this year. A 7.4 percent decline will mark the semiconductor industry’s biggest annual percentage decrease since the Great Recession year of 2009, when chip sales plunged by nearly 11 percent, as illustrated in the figure. “After the chip industry attained a heady revenue expansion of 15 percent in 2018, many semiconductor suppliers in early 2019 remained optimistic that they could achieve modest growth this year,” said Myson Robles Bruce, research manager, semiconductor value chain, at IHS Markit. “However, the chipmakers’ confidence quickly transformed into apprehension as they witnessed the depth and ferocity of the current downturn. The latest data indicates the semiconductor business now is destined for its worst year in a decade.” © IHS/Markit The chips are down The precipitous nature of the downturn is due to increasingly soft demand, combined with a rapid rise in inventory levels in the first quarter. These events have impacted some semiconductor product segments more than others. DRAM, NAND flash, general-purpose microprocessors (MPUs), 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) and analog application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) were among the worst-affected products, with all of them double-digit revenue declines in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the first quarter of 2018. Recent concerns over DRAM market conditions, a harsh drop in average selling prices, and weak demand all served to slash DRAM revenue projections for 2019. In the NAND flash memory space continued oversupply has been responsible for an aggressive erosion in pricing. Another segment set for steep decline this year is the logic application-specific standard product (ASSP) where demand is driven by the mobile handset business, a market that is struggling to generate due to nearly universal saturation. A silicon silver lining The challenging conditions in the semiconductor market will linger through the second quarter. The sharp declines in the first half of the year have set the chip market on a course for its worst revenue performance since 2009, however, IHS Markit Technology forecasts a recovery in semiconductor sales in the third quarter. This revival will be led by NAND flash memory parts used in solid-state drives and high-end smartphones. MPUs employed in notebook PCs and datacenter servers also will help drive a resumption of overall semiconductor sales growth.
MagnaChip Semiconductor to sell its foundry business and Fab 4 MagnaChip Semiconductor says that certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries have entered into a definitive agreement to sell the company's Foundry Services Group and the factory in Cheongju (Fab 4), the larger of the company's two 8" manufacturing facilities.
Singulus Technologies temporarily reduces business operation Against the backdrop of the current situation related to the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting restrictions in private and business lives, Singulus Technologies is implementing short-time work at two of its German sites.
Kyocera to acquire Japan-based Showa Optronics Kyocera Corporation has entered into a share transfer agreement with NEC Corporation on March 25, 2020 to acquire all of NEC’s shares in Showa Optronics Co., Ltd., an optical components manufacturer.
Analog Devices withdraws second quarter outlook The economic and social effects caused by COVID-19 are currently creating supply chain disruption and uncertainty around future demand.
Movement control order restricts production for Renesas in Malaysia Due to a Movement Control Order announced by the Malaysian government, Renesas three production sites located in the country temporarily halted productions from March 18, 2020.
TTI remains operational during COVID-19 pandemic TTI, Inc. says it remains open following the guidelines mandated by local and federal governments during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, with precautions in place to safeguard employees’ health.
Nokia completes acquisition of Elenion Technologies Nokia says it has completed its acquisition of U.S.-based supplier of silicon photonics technology, Elenion Technologies.
Nexperia CEO Frans Scheper retiring On March 24, 2020, Nexperia announced that CEO Frans Scheper has decided to take early retirement and will step down as Nexperia CEO and Management Board Member per March 25, 2020.
Intellitronix seeing interest from Ford Ohio-based Intellitronix Corporation, a subsidiary of US Lighting Group, has been invited by the Ford Motor Company to submit a proposal to design and manufacture an automotive electronics component for one of the automaker’s upcoming vehicles.
NEXT Biometrics receives additional order from government program in India NEXT Biometrics has received an additional order for UIDAI and STQC certified fingerprint biometric readers in India valued at USD 360,000. The customer has provided a 20% upfront payment and the readers have been delivered to the customer.
Elmos is planning short-time work Because of the global corona pandemic, Elmos Semiconductor AG is planning to introduce short-time work of up to 50%.
paragon reacts to production stoppages by carmakers paragon is set to take immediate action in response to moves by automotive manufacturers closing down their plants. The company is now reducing production at its automotive manufacturing sites in Germany to a minimum for the time being.
STMicro to temporarily cut 50% of French production The semiconductor company has reportedly agreed to temporarily reduce its production in France by up to 50% as the company works to stymie the spread of COVID-19.
The Infineon site in Villach is growing Infineon’s investment in a new automated chip factory and a research building at its site in Villach is making progress.
Panasonic eyes multi-use potential for PanaCIM Panasonic, in their push more deeply into smart manufacturing solutions, has partnered with MiR and Inovaxe to develop a handy helper: the PanaCIM Solutions Ecosystem.
Rutronik & Gowin inks distribution agreement for EMEA and NA Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH is expanding its portfolio to include the Gowin Semiconductor Corp. product range.
Autotalks’ global V2X solution passes dual-band Wi-Fi pre-certification V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication solutions provider, Autotalks, has successfully completed Wi-Fi 5 pre-certification for its evaluation kit based on its 2nd generation V2X chipset.
First Sensor names new CFO First Sensor AG has appointed Marcus Resch as the Chief Financial Officer of First Sensor AG effective March 14, 2020, for a period of three years.
TE Connectivity acquires majority share of First Sensor TE Connectivity has completed its public takeover of Berlin-based First Sensor AG. TE now holds 71.87% shares of the German company.Load more news


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USA Today Mother's Day Story Cites FTD President Rob Apatoff '80
May 5, 2009
May 5, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "Floral brands are waging a fierce flower battle for this year's Mother's Day," begins a story in USA Today, which quotes Robert Apatoff, president of FTD Inc. and 1980 graduate of DePauw University. The article notes, "Spending on Mom is expected to drop 10% to $14 billion, according to the National Retail Federation." But FTD is hoping its sales will be boosted by a new Web site, logo, and luxury line of floral arrangements.
"They are beautiful, more exotic arrangements than we've offered before," Apatoff tells the newspaper. He adds, "We understand the economic times, but there's part of the market that wants unique and bigger arrangements."
Access the full text -- "Flower retailers get aggressive for Mother's Day" -- at USA Today's Web site.
Learn more about Rob Apatoff, who serves on DePauw's Board of Visitors, in this previous story.Back


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Update: Automotive News is reporting General Motors is now focusing “on the higher end of the market while the Japanese firm sticks to selling vehicles for everyday commercial purposes,” strongly hinting that GM is the one that broke off the collaboration. We’ve added detail below.
After announcing a new bromance with Mazda just over a week ago, Isuzu is calling it quits with its old beau General Motors.
(Or maybe GM caught Isuzu cheating behind its back. Who knows? The relationship dynamics at play between automakers are difficult to flesh out.)
Regardless, midsize trucks — badged as both Isuzus and Chevrolets — will be no more in the Land of Smiles. The duo, which has a truck plant each in Thailand, will decouple their R&D efforts as they move toward engineering new global midsize pickups.
Chevy Trax, Jeep Renegade. Honda HR-V. Mazda CX-3. Nissan Juke. Fiat 500X. There’s little doubt that the B-segment crossover is about to explode in North America. So, where is Ford in all of this?
Nikon cameras, condoms and the Mitsubishi Mirage are the only three products that come to mind when I think of “Made in Thailand”, but starting in 2017, we’ll have another to add to that list: the Ford Fiesta.
That soon-to-be-launched Nissan truck we showed you a few days ago? Apparently, this isn’t it.
Holden and HSV try their hand at the “Imported From Detroit” style car commercial. As someone who has always been partial to Aussie muscle sedans, it’s easy for me to say I’m a fan. No doubt the line about cars becoming “smaller, quieter and more vanilla” will resonate with many of us. In a country where the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla have knocked the Commodore and Ford Falcon off the top perches of the sales leader boards, it carries extra significance.
Mitsubishi has taken the wraps of the sedan version of the new Mirage, dubbed the Attrage. Just-Auto reports that the Thai-based sedan will launch in July, and will be exported shortly thereafter. Powertrains will carry over from the Mirage, but hopefully the name will change when it comes to our shores.
The Ford Fiesta looks to be picking up and moving from its current assembly locations in India and Mexico to a central location in Thailand when the next generation rolls around in 2016.
Thailand will be the recipient of a $358 million dollar Nissan plant, with a maximum capacity of 150,000 cars, with half of those set for export.
Mitsubishi, pretty much given up for dead in the U.S. and Europe, thrives in an easily overlooked part of the world: South-East Asia. Mitsubishi has three assembly plants in Thailand, and will spend around $150 million to increase output. (Read More…)


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Microsoft's Surface Book Ads Borrow Music From Apple to Focus on Things a Mac 'Just Can’t Do'
Following the launch of a few ads focused around the advantages of Windows 10 PCs over Macs, this week Microsoft continued its campaign with new commercials showcasing the Microsoft Surface Book. The ads feature wildlife photographer Tim Flach describing the pros of the Surface Book, pointing out a few things that he "just can't do" on a Mac.
The first video showcases Flach's "initial impressions of the Surface Book," with the photographer commenting on the detail provided by the two-in-one laptop/tablet device. Flach also detaches the top half of the Surface Book to directly edit and manipulate his photographs. He ends the video stating, "I can't do that on my Mac."
The second ad delves deeper into the powers of the Surface Pen and its 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, with Flach comparing the experience he had with Microsoft's device to his time as a painter. Despite the touch-screen similarities the Surface Book shares with the iPad Pro, Microsoft keeps the comparison specifically to Apple's Mac line in each video.
As pointed out
by a reader of The Loop
, the score for Microsoft's new ads skews close to a Retina MacBook Pro commercial from 2012. Both videos use variants of "Song" by Kidstreet, with Apple's ad playing the "String Version
" of the tune and Microsoft's playing the "Reimagined
A third video
posted to the company's YouTube channel echoes much of the sentiment of the first two. Microsoft sells the Surface Book
starting at $1,499 and goes up all the way to $3,199 thanks to a boosted 1TB flash storage and Intel Core i7 processor. The company first introduced
the Surface Book at an event last October, referring to the versatile computing device as "the fastest laptop ever made, anywhere, on any planet."
Continuing the tradition set with the iPhone 13 Pro, only the highest-end iPhone 14 models will feature Apple's ProMotion display technology, according to a respected display analyst.
Ross Young, who on multiple occasions has detailed accurate information about Apple's future products, said in a tweet that ProMotion will not be expanded to the entire iPhone 14 lineup and will remain...
Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro could arrive alongside a new series of accessories, recent leaked images suggest.
Alleged leaked photos of the next-generation AirPods Pro obtained by MacRumors showed a charging case with a metal loop on the side for attaching a strap. Apple has not used this design for any of its other AirPod models and it is unclear why it would be added in this...
Much has been said about what consumers could see from Apple in 2022, but the company is also working on a handful of rumored products that aren't expected to be unveiled for at least another 12 months, and in some cases a lot longer. Of course, that's assuming they get released at all. Apple works on many potential products some of which ultimately never see the light of day. With that in...
In a nutshell, the bug allows any website that uses IndexedDB to access the names of IndexedDB databases generated by other websites during a user's browsing session....
Apple is planning to release a fifth-generation iPad Air with similar features as the sixth-generation iPad mini, including an A15 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage support, 5G for cellular models, and Quad-LED True Tone flash, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara.
Citing reliables sources in China, the report claims that the new iPad Air could be...
Netflix today updated the prices for its streaming plans, and all of its offerings are now more expensive. The Basic plan is now priced at $9.99 per month, the Standard plan is priced at $15.49 per month, and the Premium plan is priced at $19.99 per month.
The Basic plan is $1 more expensive, up from $8.99 per month. This plan allows users to watch on just one screen at a time, and it limits ...
Hole-punch? Pill? Hole-punch and pill? Rumors about what the front camera system on the iPhone 14 Pro will look like are evolving rapidly, and it now appears we might be getting a novel but potentially controversial design later this year.
Other major stories this week included some confusion and controversy about iCloud Private Relay being disabled for some T-Mobile customers, increasing...
Apple is rumored to announce four new iPhone 14 models in September, and ahead of time, analyst Jeff Pu has outlined his expectations for the devices.
In a research note with Haitong International Securities, obtained by MacRumors, Pu claimed that all iPhone 14 models will feature ProMotion displays, compared to only Pro models currently. ProMotion enables a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz ...


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Sulfate-grade TiO2 prices rise as 2022 begins
Sulfate-grade titanium dioxide prices rose in the week to Thursday January 6, with reports of price increases from Chinese sellers, alongside ongoing expectations of supply decreases in the coming weeks.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the price of titanium dioxide pigment, sulfate grade, fob China climbed to $3,050-3,400 per tonne on Thursday, up by $50-100 per tonne from $3,000-3,300 per tonne a week earlier.
“The market demand, including both the domestic market and international market, is strong after the [Christmas] holiday,” a seller said.
“The demand from the international market is from end users, but the demand from the domestic market is from traders and distributors who believe the price will continue to increase.”
Supply of titanium dioxide in China is expected to drop in the first quarter, he added, with the approach of the Winter Olympics (February 4-20), alongside issues around freight and production costs.
Zircon prices also rose as 2022 began, with market participants reporting increasing supply tightness.
Fastmarkets’ monthly assessment of the price of zircon, premium grade, 66.5% ZrO2 min, bulk, cif China climbed to $1,970-2,050 per tonne on Thursday, up by $175-195 per tonne from $1,775-1,875 per tonne on December 2.
Fastmarkets’ monthly price assessment of zircon, standard grade, 65.5% ZrO2 min, cif China also rose in the month to Thursday, rising to $1,920-2,000 per tonne, from $1,675-1,800 per tonne previously.
Meanwhile, ilmenite and rutile markets remained stable in the two weeks to Thursday, in thin trading, because some market participants have yet to return after the Christmas break.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the price of ilmenite concentrate, 47-49% TiO2, cif China remained at $360-400 per tonne on Thursday, having maintained the same level since November 11.
The assessment for rutile concentrate 95% TiO2 min, bulk, cif China remained at $1,450-1,500 per tonne on Thursday, with rutile concentrate 95% TiO2 min, large volumes for pigment, fob Australia holding at $1,400-1,500 per tonne, and rutile concentrate 95% TiO2 min, bagged, fob Australia at $1,450-1,550 per tonne.


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It is actually believed the increasingly popular application Instagram profits a new consumer each 2nd. The app merely has been in presence for two several years, however it has undoubtedly been making surf from the time. Just recently acquired by Face book to get a staggering $1billion, and used by greater than 40 million individuals, could Instagram become the most popular picture taking mobile app with this year’s Olympics? It definitely looks as if it will be: previously, should you visit Twitter, you can look hashtags for example #torch relay and see a tremendous number of pertinent Instagram images. There is even an established Olympics’ Instagram website, which demonstrates that the phone app could nicely be one of several large strategies to record and discuss the knowledge in the upcoming online games.
Greater than a billion images happen to be transferred to Instagram up to now, and every day, upwards of 5 various thousand new pictures are additional as outlined by an info graphic in the Electronic Excitement weblog. That really works out at 58 photos being transferred each and every secondly. And, whenever we consider precisely how popular touch screen phones are beginning to become as well as the probability that plenty of people will be curious about sharing their connection with the Olympics, it doesn’t require a huge step from the creative imagination to understand that a lot of people is going to be discussing their experience through Instagram. The thing which may restriction Instagram use in the wearing spectacle is the fact admission stands are being deterred from revealing any pictures or video lessons they may take while viewing Olympic activities. Within the ‘conditions for ticketholders’, they can be only permitted to use their images for private use – to ensure that indicates no discussing by means of Instagram or other social networking programs.
Even so, in spite of these restrictions, there is certainly nothing to end men and women outside the Olympic places sharing photos with the mobile app. All things considered, more and more people will likely be remembering the event at home or inside the bar than in the Olympic arena; there are still a lot of options for revealing. Enterprises could also decide buy followers on instagram throughout the Olympics. To mention only one instance, a contest for the very best Instagram picture of any Olympics bash could be used by organizations to take part using their target audience. Overall, even though there are some restrictions on sharing photos through Instagram throughout the Olympics, still it continues to be just about the most well-known programs out there; the reality that it is actually social by nature suggests could possibly nicely become the best app in the Olympic period.


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In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a number of new leaks regarding the Huawei Mate 40 series but an official launch date is yet to come.
Meanwhile, a receipt of purchase coming from Weibo allegedly shows that Huawei has already started taking the offline pre-orders of Huawei Mate 40 devices in China.
The phone is opened for 300 Chinese Yuan (Around $43) and avaialble to order since recently. However, it’s just a printed receipt of purchase that could be generated by anyone but the information about the seller seems very real.
Also, it’s not a big deal to start an offline pre-order of a flagship that’s two months away from its launch. And since Huawei has a huge market share and a lot of offline stores in its home ground, it good a step for increasing sales numbers before it can be listed online.
Previous leaks and reports suggests that the Huawei Mate 40 and Mate 40 Pro will come with 5nm Kirin 9000 processor. Both of these devices will sport curved and ultra-curved edge display with hole-punch design.
Huawei Mate 40 and Mate 40 Pro has a huge circular camera bump on the back, which is bigger than the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. From the software side, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro will come pre-installed with Android 11 based EMUI 11 alongside Huawei Mobile Services (HMS).
We’ll keep you posted with further updates.


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Samsung is constantly rolling out the One UI 6.0 update for eligible Galaxy devices, but it is worth noting that the company has slowed down the speed of expanding the update to the remaining devices, so users have to wait for some more time to get the latest update, like now the Galaxy A23 LTE is getting the latest major update.
As of writing, the Galaxy A23 LTE is getting a new update in two countries, including Russia and Panama, with the firmware version numbers A235FXXU4DWL1 and A235MUBU4DWL, respectively. It also includes the November 2023 security patch, which is older according to time, but it is the latest one for the Galaxy A23 LTE devices.
The One UI 6 is the latest major update that is coming with the latest features, which are added under multiple system-level applications like cameras, galleries, home screens, lock screens, keyboards, and many more. The update has brought some interesting features, like two new widgets, including a custom camera, which allows users to add shortcuts on the home screen, and a new weather insight widget that provides more information about the weather.
If you are using the Galaxy A23 LTE devices in the above-mentioned countries, then you can easily check the update by following some simple steps: just open the system settings, then scroll down to the software update option, and now tap on the download and install button. Wait until it finishes searching, and if it shows a new update available, then hit the download button.
Don’t miss our latest news on Samsung technology. Follow SamLover.com on your favorite social media platforms for instant notifications.
Meet RowKnee Shaw, our tech maestro at Sam Lover! Dive into the intricacies of One UI and ride the wave of Samsung Firmware updates with his expert guidance. From sleek navigation tips to the latest firmware gems, RowKnee Shaw is your go-to for unlocking the full potential of your Samsung device. Stay tuned for a tech journey like no other!


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Things are happening at Magnetic: new innovative products, international trade fair appearances, inspiring events, informative sales documentation, and interesting news from our Headquarters in Schopfheim as well as from our branches worldwide.
Stay up-to date!
FlowMotion®: We redefine access control
The new FlowMotion series of models combines an innovative security concept with a revolutionary design and an extraordinarily long service life.
The clock is ticking: visit us at Security!
We are presenting our new FlowMotion® gates until 28 September. Drop in!
Everything at a glance: our solutions for public transport!
Our new segment brochure presents our access systems for automatic ticket inspection, as well as our solutions for car parks and bicycle parking stations.
We are celebrating: 20 years in Schopfheim
We toast Magnetic – with a positive review, strong growth and a clear strategy for the future
Taller, quicker, wider: the new MXXL Terminal
The new terminal is bigger in every dimension, and thus offers you flexible access control for all vehicles – from compact cars to large articulated trucks.


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The health risks posed by meat, eggs and dairy products from animals raised on factory farms are well known. But now there’s growing evidence that organic alternatives not only eliminate those health risks, but actually provide significantly more nutritional value.
We know why products sourced from factory farms, can’t be good for our health. Animals on factory farms are fed slaughterhouse waste, blood, manure, arsenic and byproducts from corn ethanol production (which increases the rate of E. coli).
Factory farms also pump animals full of antibiotics, growth hormones, and genetically modified vaccines which, according to scientists, are associated with increased rates of breast, testicular and prostate cancers.
Organic farming prohibits the use of most of the above, including the routine administering of antibiotics and growth hormones. That fact alone leads to higher-quality animal products. But the latest science also tells us that products that come from animals raised organically provide higher levels of antioxidants, lower levels of saturated fats and cholesterol, and higher levels of healthy omega-3s and many vitamins. A new study this month says that organic milk contains far more of some of the fatty acids that contribute to a healthy heart than conventional milk.
Here are some interesting comparisons between meat, milk and eggs from animals raised on factory farms, vs. their grassfed, free-range and organic alternatives.


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US online retail giant Amazon today announced it is creating more than 5,000 new full-time jobs in its U.S. fulfillment network to meet growing customer demands. The average salary inside Amazon fulfillment centers is 30 percent higher than that of people who work in traditional retail stores—and that doesn’t even include the stock grants that full-time employees receive, which over the past five years have added an average of 9% to base pay annually. Amazon employs over 20,000 full-time employees in its U.S. fulfillment centers.
“We’re hiring more than 5,000 people to join our team and help us continue to innovate and serve our customers,” said Dave Clark, vice president of worldwide operations and customer service at Amazon. “We’re focused on sustained innovation across Amazon and want to help our employees succeed—whether at Amazon or elsewhere—so we offer programs like Career Choice, where we’ll pay for up to 95% of eligible employees’ tuition regardless of whether the skills they learn are relevant to a career at Amazon.”
Amazon has created thousands of jobs across its fulfillment center and customer service networks in recent years. In the last year alone,Amazon opened eight fulfillment centers in the U.S., resulting in thousands of new jobs being added to communities nationwide. The more than 5,000 jobs now available across the fulfillment network include picking, packing and shipping customer orders while engaging with high-end, state of the art technology. The jobs offer competitive pay, a comprehensive benefits package, company stock awards and bonuses.
Amazon is also currently hiring for more than 2,000 jobs across its customer service network, which include a mix of full-time, part-time and seasonal positions. Amazon customer service jobs include providing world-class customer service for Amazon’s millions of customers.
Amazon offers employees innovative programs like Career Choice, where it will pre-pay up to 95% of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.


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BERLIN: German police said Tuesday (Apr 5) they have taken down Russian-language illegal darknet marketplace Hydra, the largest such network. Pegasus Market (TV Series 2022 )In-gyeom Jeong as President of Hydra Market. Hydra is an all-purpose market that is catered to the Russian community. It offers drugs and prescription medication as well as digital products. The coin is called the Eterno. References. Jump up Russia's Largest Darknet Market Is Hawking an ICO to Fund Global Expansion. CoinDesk. Volume, hydra market. Market Value, hydra market. Shares Outstanding, hydra market. EPS (TTM), hydra market. P/E Ratio (TTM), hydra market. Dividend Yield, hydra market. Latest Dividend, hydra market. One of the largest Darknet markets, Hydra Market, has been closed down by German police law enforcement. The illegal platform's servers were.
Hydra is currently the biggest Russian language DarkNet Market (DNM). It is also much older than any existing English language DNMs. They argued that allowing the small firms to immediately reenter the consumer market black market illegal drugs was unfair and would take business away from the larger firms that were. Russian-language dark web marketplace Hydra has pulled in a huge hydra market billion worth of cryptocurrencies in 2022, up from hydra market million in. HYDRA Complete Hydratec Industries hydra market. stock news by MarketWatch. Open hydra market Range hydra market - hydra market Week Range hydra market - hydra market Cap. Russia's largest dark web marketplace Hydra has a built-in crypto ecosystem that makes the use and laundering of crypto relatively easy. As of. Russia-linked darknet marketplace Hydra shut down in joint operation. Hydra has collected about hydra market billion in cryptocurrency since 2022, according to the.
Check out Hydra Market Song by Um Kiyup & Um Kihyun on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on hydra market. German police hydra market say they shut down and seized server equipment that was running an illegal dark website known as the 'Hydra Market. Hydra Marketplace was one of the 27 onion sites / marketplaces that were taken down and seized during operation. Hydra market (2 Azure Marketplace ratings). Get it now Hydra is the solution to manageAzure Virtual Desktop for one or more tenants. Hydra's web. German police have shut down Hydra Market. 17 million users and 19000 sellers used the darkweb forum to trade drugs, data and forged. Hydra Market operated on a vastly different model to most other popular marketplaces of its kind and was among the most popular in.
Russian-speaking dark web bazaar Hydra has dominated the illicit black market drugs marketplace since 2022, thanks in part to the demise of a rival business as. Home Hydra Market. Hydra Market.. Apr 7, 2022. Hydra is a large marketplace on the dark web that serves as a hub for drugs, stolen credit card information, counterfeit bills, fake documents. CNBC's Eamon Javers joins Shep Smith to report that a hydra market. and German operation has shut down the world's largest darknet marketplace. The servers of Hydra Market, the most prominent Russian darknet platform for selling drugs and money laundering, have been seized by the. German police say they shut down and seized server equipment that was running an illegal dark website known as the 'Hydra Market.
German authorities on Tuesday shut down the prominent illegal darknet marketplace 'Hydra Market'. The market that is of Russian origin has. Hydra was founded in 2022, and gradually conquered the market for illegal goods. The platform has become one of the largest in the world and is. Germany say they've shut down Hydra Market, the largest illegal marketplace on the dark internet. Russia's largest dark web marketplace Hydra has a bitcoin drugs market built-in crypto ecosystem that makes the use and laundering of crypto relatively easy. As of. German police said on Tuesday they have taken down Russian-language illegal darknet marketplace Hydra, the largest such network in the world. From a system of "dead-drops" to the rise of cathinones and high cannabis prices, analysis of Hydra explains much about Russian drug.
Magdeburg - Eineinhalb Stunden dauerte am Donnerstag am Magdeburger Landgericht das Verlesen der Anklage wegen gewerbsmäßiger Urkundenfälschung. Kilos evolved out of a prior darknet search engine called Grams. How can it be used and what could the future of the crypto currency look like? City schools face daunting challenges, but parents have options -- and policymakers need to respond. Monitoring channels, groups and bots for jihadist content is not a simple undertaking as Telegram has more than 400 million users who can easily establish channels with an unlimited number of. Just a few weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed Reddit for information about the top posters on the subforum the Middle Earth operator used to announced the attack. Complicating the narrative, the LFS bust may have only been half the story; a Swedish police article describes the bust of a seller in Helsingborg (he was sentenced to 8 years), then 2 young men who are clearly LFS from the timing & location hydra market & age & sentences, then a fourth arrest in Malmo (he was sentenced to 7 years).
While credit card fraud can be a headache, your credit card number may be one of the least consequential pieces of your personal information that can land on the Dark Web. It was created by one of the developers of Incognito Market, a darknet marketplace originally focused bitcoin dark web on the sale of narcotics. Dream Market, another major marketplace that shut up shop in March 2019, was also bedeviled with rumors of law enforcement infiltration after the seizure of AlphaBay and Hansa as bitcoin dark web part of Operation Bayonet in July 2017.


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A partnership between Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and the University of Washington was selected as the nation’s newest Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence (CoE) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Santa Clara, CA-based Creative Food Processing has recalled approximately 1,941 pounds of raw chicken products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Danish officials have solved a Listeria outbreak linked to hummus that first affected people in 2016.
Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Fødevarestyrelsen (Danish Veterinary and Food Administration) and the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark…
Investigators have an open case file on an outbreak of scombroid poisoning among patrons of a restaurant in an upscale hotel in downtown Seattle.
Three people became ill after eating cooked tuna at the All…
A review has backed the belief that poultry and ruminants are the main sources of Campylobacter infections.
The work found more than half of human campylobacteriosis cases were attributed to poultry. Ruminants such as cattle…
Multiple vegetable products have been recalled by Russ Davis Wholesale, a fresh produce processor and distributor, because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The recall comes after ready-to-eat entrees, including some packaged for Quick &…
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Agriculture Secretary Mike Beam are going along with a consent judgment issued last week by Kansas District Judge Richard Anderson that allows off-the-farm advertising of raw milk in the…
Beef and pork from Austria that is suspected to be unfit to eat has been distributed to 10 other countries.
Austrian authorities searched a slaughterhouse in Styria in late October and suspect that meat unfit…
A university researcher is looking for a way to make existing scientific literature and data on food safety easily accessible to growers.
Funded by the Center for Produce Safety, the project is headed by Daniel…


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In March this year, the UK’s then business minister Matthew Hancock announced that come April 2016, the UK government will require large businesses to report the details of their payment practices to the public.
The following metrics will be on record for public view:
- Payment terms.
- Average time taken to pay.
- Proportion of invoices paid beyond agreed terms.
- Proportion of invoices paid under 30 days, between 31 and 60 days, and beyond 60 days.
- Any late payment interest owed and paid.
This latest measure is part of the UK’s ongoing effort to create a culture of prompt and ethical payment. Currently, many small and medium suppliers both in the UK and around the world suffer from delayed payments. Large businesses often take advantage of their size and leverage to avoid paying promptly, since it essentially gives them a free line of credit. However, this practice devastates suppliers, who are stretched thin and often left with no cash to pay their bills.
In the past, the UK has taken other steps to instill an ethical payment culture in business. In December 2008 it created the Prompt Payment Code, an initiative that encourages businesses to volunteer to be held accountable to the Code’s payment practices, including 30 day payment terms (with an absolute maximum of 60 days). The Code includes a Compliance Board that monitors signatories’ behaviours. It also has a way for suppliers to issue challenges against signatories. If a company is found guilty of violating the Code, it is removed from the group.
While the Prompt Payment Code is voluntary, the new reporting legislation is not. The expectation is that it will shame large companies into adopting a more ethical payment culture.
Late Payment and the Supplier Squeeze
Late payment is a form of “supply chain bullying”, which is any instance where one party in the supply chain exploits others to its absolute advantage. Typically, it involves a large buyer using market advantage to furnish favourable terms for themself at the expense of their suppliers. In addition to late payment, other “bullying” tactics include “pay-to-stay” deals. This is where buyers force suppliers to pay a fee or ‘investment’ to guarantee a continuing business relationship – a practice, some might say, that is not dissimilar to blackmail.
All of this is a losing game. Exploiting your own supply chain will cause it to collapse. Supply chain relationships are mutually dependent. The culture of pounding suppliers for short-term advantage might be all too common, but it’s unsustainable in the long run, and doesn’t nurture growth.
Capital costs for small suppliers – needed for factory space, materials and machinery – can be significant, particularly for those in emerging regions. Suppliers who don’t get paid promptly cannot pay their bills, let alone grow. That’s to the detriment of buyers, because it impacts the quality of goods, their reliability, and deliverability. The Prompt Payment Code and the new reporting requirement are ways of putting public pressure on companies to consider their own supply chain health.
The good news is that many prominent companies already understand the importance of building constructive and collaborative relationships with their suppliers. The problem is, even where they have the will, they don’t always have the systems in place to ensure prompt and fair payment.
Making Payment Foolproof
Cases where late or unreliable payment is the direct result of ineffective systems are common. Communication technology is the key to solving these cases. In order for the complex invoice/payment process to become automated, there needs to be communication technology that’s designed with supply chain interactions in mind. A technology platform seeking to automate accounts payable (APs), or the procure-to-pay process could ensure accurate, prompt, and fair payment, as long as it’s built for collaboration and transaction-automation between trading partners and financial institutions.
A successful automation effort can insert liquidity and speed up processes for all parties involved. It can also create new business models that help both buyer and supplier forge a strong supply chain.
Early payment programmes, for example, create win-win situations. Buyers agree to pay suppliers early – sometimes in as little as seven days – in exchange for discounts on their invoices. Many buyers actually see this as a form of investment; one that often produces higher returns than banks. Buyers can actually invest in their suppliers, either by partnering with financial institutions or by self-funding and offering better rates to cover capital costs than banks. In exchange, the buyers not only ensure the reliability of their supply chain, but they can also offer performance incentives based on metrics that they value.
The veteran clothing label Levi Strauss & Co., for instance, partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to offer low-cost financing to its suppliers who conformed to their terms of engagement sustainability score. The better the score, the better the rates.
Automating payment with the right technology can create all sorts of new, lucrative, collaborative possibilities across the supply chain. As much as culture drives technology, technology also drives culture. The efforts of the UK legislation only highlight the need for buyers and suppliers to be able to connect with one another on more meaningful levels, in flexible and easy ways. The culture of payment is changing; technology needs to change along with it.
Europe’s opening banking regulation is finally here. After months of preparation across the continent, the Revised Payment Services Directive comes into effect on January 13.
The revised Payment Services Directive regulation, regarded as one of the most disruptive in Europe’s financial services sector, will begin to make an impact on January 13, 2018.
This year promises to further the regulatory compliance burden imposed on financial institutions. How are firms in the sector responding to the challenge?
Global trends, technology and the role of the treasurer in 2025 were hotly debated by treasurers at this year’s Treasury Leaders Summit in London. A focus on technology and automation was universal, others argued over the impact of macroeconomic and global trends on treasury.


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The 2nd Amendment works and this video should be a training tape for all liberals who have a problem with owning guns!
This Newshare video has emerged from the most recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri which shows the owners and employees of a convenience store that was looted last year taking precautions to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
The video shows several armed individuals deterring protesters from getting anywhere near their store using shotguns and handguns.
Several people were arrested during protests throughout the day yesterday after refusing to disperse and throwing objects at police officers.
Protestors briefly shut down an interstate in St. Louis County yesterday afternoon. Two days ago, a protestors and police officers exchanged gunshots, resulting in the suspect being gravely wounded.
Check out this store owner protecting his store and the THUGS leaving him alone:
Do you agree with this store owner in Ferguson? Was he justified? Share your thoughts in the comment section and share this on yourTwitter/Facebook wall for discussion.
H/T – News2Share


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Cryptocurrencies had been losing value just about a couple of weeks ago. Some of them even lost more than half their worth. A bit of panic had been going on. As news of Tether’s trouble with the authorities became public things became worse.
Is there an alt-coin that has been doing well in this hostile environment constantly? Yes. It’s called Tron (TRX). Even though China hasn’t popped up as the significant advocate of cryptocurrencies (they plan to create their very own, on the other side), but Tron’s usefulness probably has turned the country to add some ‘exception’ filters regarding cryptos. Tron has this connection with China, that’s probably what makes it a stable coin that could be a good bet in the long term. I’ll tell you why.
Tron’s CEO and Jack Ma
You should know by now that Jack Ma is the man behind Alibaba. He’s been known to support his former collaborators and/or former students. Here’s the kicker: Tron’s CEO, Justin Sun, is a former Jack Ma’s student and co-worker. It means that Alibaba’s power could soon support Tron’s efforts.
This piece of info is not that meaningful in terms of objective data. But if Mr. Ma decides to support Tron with all of Alibaba’s might, that could change the game for everybody. Just keep an observing eye on the market. That won’t just be about money, it will be about being viable in China. How do you beat that? Neo and Vechain seem to be also doing well under China’s government. But Tron could do just better. Keep watching.
Tron’s services are a great match for the Chinese market
Tron is not your standard cryptocurrency. They aim to become a means to decentralize web content. They believe every content creator should be in control of their own content.
Yes, the creators, not the corporations. This means that Tron’s users will not just be coin enthusiasts but content creators in the 18-35 demographic. You should keep in mind that Tron is playing the crypto game, but they are going after a different market as well (and they’re getting it). They want a free web.
China alone has 400 million users who have this profile. Which is why it’s a huge market for Tron and also why China could make Tron go all the way to the moon. In fact, if you consider the Chinese market alone, you could argue that Tron is undervalued at the present time. Which is a good reason to just go for it.
What’s good for Tron is good for China
No, we’re not exaggerating. China is one of the world’s biggest markets and Tron is intimately linked to China (and this connection will be even bigger if Mr. Jack Ma comes in support of Tron, as it’s expected). Tron’s interests are aligned with China’s.
If you do a bit of research you’ll find that China prefers to support those firms that give power to the Chinese people instead of multinationals. The crypto world has a name for that. It’s called Tron.
Tron will essentially get the content market away from Apple and Google and make it independent. This is in China’s interests and it will make the Tron’s coin a reliable and stable digital asset. It will make it work in the long-term.
Tron is good for China and vice-versa. This connection alone could make Tron explode this year, and way beyond. Keep an eye on it. Buy some Tron tokens while they’re cheap.
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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.
Image courtesy of Pexels.com
XNO Token of Xeno NFT Hub listed on Bithumb Korea Exchange
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 25th January, 2021, // ChainWire //
Xeno Holdings Limited (xno.live ), a blockchain solutions company based in Hong Kong, has announced the listing of its ecosystem utility token XNO on the ‘Bithumb Korea’ cryptocurrency exchange on January 21st 2021.
Xeno NFT Hub (market.xno.live ), developed by Xeno Holdings, enables easy minting of digital items into NFTs while also providing a marketplace where anyone can securely trade NFTs.
The Xeno NFT Hub project team includes former members of the technology project Yosemite X based in San Francisco and professionals such as Gabby Dizon who is a games industry expert and NFT space influencer based in Southeast Asia.
NFT(Non-Fungible Token) technology has recently gained huge focus in the blockchain arena and beyond, making waves in the online gaming sector, the art world, and the digital copyrights industry in recent years. The strongest feature of NFTs is that “NFTs are unique digital assets that cannot be replaced or forged”. Unlike fungible tokens such as Bitcoin or Ether, NFTs are not interchangeable for other tokens of the same type but instead each NFT has a unique value and specific information that cannot be replaced. This fact makes NFTs the perfect solution to record and prove ownership of digital and real-world items like works of art, game items, limited-edition collectibles, and more.
NFTs are already being actively traded in markets globally. For…
Should Crypto Projects Devote Resources to Community Growth and Marketing?
2020 has been an incredible year for crypto as investors have generated windfall profits and crypto projects have seen their businesses gain the spotlight they’ve been looking for. While Bitcoin has received most of the attention after major institutional investors announced they were accumulating the increasingly scarce asset, many altcoins have also seen their fair share of glory. When looking at all the big winners of the past year, the first project that probably comes to mind is Chainlink, having appreciated by more than 550% YTD and now valued at over $4.5 billion. But, the actual biggest winner of the year is HEX with a YTD return of over 5,000%.
I mention both of the above projects as they have each taken slightly different paths to achieve greatness. Chainlink has devoted resources toward building a fundamentally sound business with many strategic partnerships while HEX has spent vast sums of money on marketing and promotion. Both approaches are valid, but one thing is certain, it is absolutely imperative for crypto projects to let the crypto community know what makes them special. Of course, one of the reasons that makes crypto so valuable is the powerful blockchain technology that most projects are utilizing.
Cryptocurrency vs. Blockchain Technology
It’s important to make a distinction between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. Although they are often used interchangeably, they are different. Blockchain technology and crypto were both created after the 2008 financial crisis, but cryptocurrency…
XENO starts VIP NFT trading service and collaborates with contemporary artist Hiro Yamagata
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 24th December, 2020, // ChainWire //
The XENO NFT Hub (https://xno.live) will provide a crypto-powered digital items and collectables trading platform allowing users to create, buy, and sell NFTs. Additionally it will support auction based listings, governance and voting mechanisms, trade history tracking, user rating and other advanced features.
As a first step towards its fully comprehensive service, XENO NFT Hub launched a recent VIP service to select users and early adopters in December 2020 with plans for a full Public Beta to open in June 2021.
“NFTs are extremely flexible in their usage, from digital event tickets to artwork, and while NFTs have a very wide spectrum of uses and categories XENO will initially focus its partnership efforts and its own item curation on three primary areas: gaming, sports & entertainment, and collectibles.”, said XENO NFT Hub president Anthony Di Franco.
He also added “This does not mean we will prohibit other types of NFTs from our ecosystem However, it simply means that XENO’s efforts as a company will be targeted into these verticals initially as a cohesive business approach.”
Development and Procurement Lead, Gabby Dizon explained, “Despite our initial focus, we found ourselves with a unique opportunity to host some of the works of Mr. Hiro Yamagata. We are collaborating with Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to enshrine some of his artwork into NFTs.”
Mr. Yamagata has been…


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New dealer to provide JCB equipment and service to northeast Nebraska
SAVANNAH, Ga., June 5, 2012 — JCB's North American dealer network continues to expand with the addition of Dinkels JCB. Formerly known as Dinkel Implement, Dinkels JCB's two locations in Scribner and Norfolk, Neb. will provide JCB equipment to the northeastern part of the Cornhusker State.
"As an innovative dealer, we're focused on continually identifying and satisfying customer needs," said Larry Dinkel, owner of Dinkels JCB.
"That's just one reason we're very proud to partner with JCB to offer our customers the best construction, industrial and agricultural products available on the market today."
Dinkels JCB will carry a wide range of JCBs outstanding equipment, including the world's most innovative skid steer with its patented PowerBoom and uniquely safe side-entry door. Other industry-leading JCB products to be found at Dinkels JCB are wheel loaders, industrial and compact backhoe loaders, loadall telescopic handlers, rough terrain forklifts, mini excavators, and utility tractors. Both Dinkels JCB locations also feature full-service maintenance facilities, well-trained, professional mechanics and fully-stocked parts departments.
Dinkels JCB shares our mission of providing quality equipment and service, said John Patterson, CEO and deputy chairman of JCB North America. As a result, this new partnership is an excellent fit for both of us, and we look forward to a very bright future.
JCB, the worlds third largest construction equipment brand, has 22 plants on four continents: 11 in the UK, six in India and others in Brazil, the USA, China, Germany, France and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.
JCB manufactures more than 300 different machines including: backhoe loaders; Loadall telescopic handlers; tracked and wheeled excavators; wheeled loading shovels; articulated dump trucks; rough terrain fork lifts; mini excavators; Robot skid steer loaders and JCB Vibromax compaction equipment. For agricultural markets, the company produces a range of telescopic handlers and the unique Fastrac tractor. JCB also manufactures the Teletruk forklift for the industrial sector.
JCB is privately-owned by the Bamford family and Chairman, Sir Anthony Bamford, has been at the helm of the company since 1975. The company officially marked its 65th anniversary on June 21st, 2011, the 95th anniversary of the birth of company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford. For more information, visit www.jcb.com.


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Associated businesses announced as winners in “The Chemicals Northwest 2023 Awards”
Businesses across were brought together last night at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate to celebrate the Chemical Northwest Awards, the prestigious event acknowledged and celebrated the cream of the Northwest Chemical industry and associated services who are amongst the most pioneering and dynamic in the world.
Chemical Processing Services Ltd scooped up the Innovation award 2023 – sponsored by Appleyard Lees for the development of their Bio-Benzoxazines and Anacarda Ltd picked up the International Trade Award 2023 – supported by the Department for Business and Trade.
Paul H. Jones, Managing Director, said “I am very pleased to accept this award on behalf of our respective teams and in recognition of the continued efforts of everyone. As ever, we are always particularly proud when our efforts in innovation are recognised by others in the manufacturing industry and especially when we develop and commercialise high performance grades from sustainable feedstocks to help the drive towards decarbonisation”.


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Photo via Vaping360
Although they are readily available from corner stores, supermarkets, and specialized shops and through online retailers across the country, it is presently against the law to sell e-cigarettes with nicotine anywhere in Canada.
Yesterday afternoon, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA), took its first substantive step toward changing this and developing policy to govern the production and sale of e-cigarettes, which work by turning liquid, often containing nicotine, into a vapor the user inhales. In a report, "Vaping: Towards a Regulatory Framework for E-Cigarettes," the HESA made a set of recommendations that will shape Health Canada's approach to the issue and called on the government "to establish a new legislative framework … for regulating electronic cigarettes."
The HESA study was conducted at the request the Health Minister Rona Ambrose and followed the World Health Organization's call for member states to develop policy that minimizes the risks associated with vaping. The report is a first step in bringing regulation to the e-cigarette industry, which presently operates in sort of a legal grey zone.
"We need new regulations for e-cigarettes," said Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society. "At the moment there is a regulatory vacuum."
Since 2009, Health Canada has advised Canadians against the purchase and use of e-cigarettes, which are not authorized under the Food and Drugs Act. E-cigarettes and the liquids used in them have been seized at Canadian borders and Health Canada has issued numerous cease-and-desist letters to e-cigarette retailers. The HESA report notes, between April 1 and June 30, 2014, 741 shipments of e-cigarettes were "recommended for refusal" at the Canadian-American border.
This restrictive policy has proven ineffective.
E-cigarettes are big business in Canada. Most major Canadian cities have more than a dozen devoted e-cigarette shops, where consumers can buy e-cigarettes, replacement parts, and liquids, with and without nicotine, in a variety of flavours. The trade is also booming online. According to a December 2014 poll by Toronto research firm Forum Research Inc., one in seven Canadians over the age of 18 have tried an e-cigarette.
Part of the difficulty in developing policy around e-cigarettes is the relative newness of the industry. A great deal is still unknown about the health effects of vaping, and the first of the fourteen recommendations made in the HESA report calls on the government to financially support more research into the subject.
Many of the other recommendations in the report focused on health issues and keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of children. It suggested that e-cigarettes only be sold to adults, a practice that many e-cigarette retailers already abide by; that they be shipped and sold in child-resistant packaging with warning labels; and that e-liquids with flavours that are likely to appeal to children (such as candy flavours), marketing aimed specifically at minors, and cross-marketing with tobacco products be prohibited. The report also recommended that all e-liquids should be clearly labeled to list their ingredients, and that their use should be banned in public spaces.
Melodie Tilson, Director of Policy for the National Non-smokers Rights Association, stated that her organization was pleased with the recommendations in the HESA report, but said that they had hoped for more. "We are disappointed that it is light in its analysis of the major issues—health effects and cessation effectiveness—and in specifics regarding the legislative framework."
One of the major questions that the report left open was whether e-cigarettes should be regulated as a tobacco product, as a general consumer product, as pharmaceuticals, or as a new type of good. This is a critical issue as the classification of e-cigarettes will be important in determining what types of testing and government controls they are subject to.
The HESA recommendations do not carry the force of law, and there is no specific timeframe for developing policy or legislation based on them. However, David Sweanor, a law professor at the University of Ottawa who studies health policy, suggests that the issue has become too big for the federal government to not act promptly.
Follow Jake Bleiberg on Twitter.


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There are more shop closures on our High Streets than there are openings, so how can we encourage people to stop checking out of these once thriving centres?
Research from the Local Data Company showed that 14 shops closed every day in the first half of this year, in what was actually the lowest level of closures in seven years.
Last week, a survey – carried out for BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours – found that in 12 government-funded “Portas Pilot” towns, nearly 1,000 shops had disappeared in five years.
We asked Mary Portas and other commentators how to make our High Streets fit for purpose in the years to come.
1. Make it a destination
It may be better known for its football than its fashion but Blackburn was crowned the “winner of winners” in last year’s Great British High Street Awards.
Harriet Roberts is a manager for Business Improvement District (BID) Blackburn and she said a lot of her work was about changing perceptions.
Much of this has been done through events held in the town centre.
Blackburn hasn’t settled for the usual Christmas lights switch-on ceremony, but instead planned an art installation complete with aerial performances, as well as a lantern parade and festive ‘street feast’.
“You market them in a commercial way and target battleground areas,” Harriet explained. “We’re really ambitious. It gets people into the centre and then they’ll come back.”
The BID invested the award prize money it won into market stalls which can be used for pop-up street fairs throughout the year.
2. Not just shops
“People need to stop using the term High Streets,” Harriet Roberts said.
“Town centres are a place where people come to learn, for public services, to live and share time. They have to have the whole mix and keep moving.”
In Blackburn, empty shops have been turned into office spaces or a cocktail bar and the latest research shows that coffee shops, beauty salons and ice cream parlours are increasing in number across the UK.
Mary Portas argues this is exactly what should be happening to adapt to how people are living now.
“We’re spending our money on fitness, eating out and wellbeing,” she said. “We should be building the right places and spaces for how people want to live.”
- ‘Portas towns’ see shop closures
- Fewer High Street shops closing down
- Mixed picture for BHS stores one year after closure
3. Offline, meet online
The decline of the High Street has been charted alongside the continued rise of the online market.
But the two need not work against each other.
“Online and offline must merge together,” said Lyndsay King.
Ms King launched Save The High Street in 2016 with Alex Schlagman.
The campaign is championing what she calls a “connected digital High Street” and now has a board of more than 300 independent retailers from across the UK.
She says all retailers, no matter how small, should be able to offer a basic e-commerce platform so customers can shop in whatever way is convenient for them.
“Customers can see what is in store before taking the trip to the High Street or they can choose to order direct from the shop,” Ms King said.
A host of new apps offer to “digitise shops” by supplying tech platforms for retailers who are not able to build their own.
Meanwhile, Amazon, one of the biggest retailers in the world, has started to experiment with bricks and mortar.
The online giant has opened physical book shops in the US and earlier this year, it bought organic grocery business, Whole Foods. It has also revealed plans for a food store without check-outs.
4. In-store experience
From ambitious window displays and live DJ slots to selfie booths and a virtual reality water slide, high street retailers are getting more creative in how they lure customers through the door.
“We’ve got to think about more than the transaction and build the experience,” said Alex Schlagman of Save the High Street.
Apple have gone a step further to declare that their future stores will be ‘Town Squares’ – billed as a cross between a shop and a community space.
“People need that real life experience more than ever and they are actually seeking it out,” said Ms King.
“A trend we’ve seen is that businesses are starting to offer multiple things under one roof. A clothing store with a coffee shop, for example.”
This multi-use approach gives retailers an opportunity to get involved with a local community too.
“Host events, workshops and pop-ups. Or host another business’s product in your shop,” said Ms King.
“A vape store may also have a clothing range or host a movie night every week. Use space more efficiently and get a break on your rates.
“This is also a great way to get to know your customers.”
As marketing strives to be more personalised, older retail traditions like knowing your customers by name can have huge value, Mr Schlagman added.
5. Lower rates, more support
“Local council and central government need to decide what type of country we want to live in and intervene to protect social infrastructure,” Mary Portas told the BBC.
Industry experts have long warned that rising business rates are part of the reason behind the UK’s empty shop units.
Last month, the British Retail Consortium said further increases expected next year could be “the last straw” for many shops.
Business rates are a property tax based on rental values, which increase in line with inflation.
The Treasury sometimes changes the rateable value of business properties, in a process known as revaluation.
So in effect, the government sets the rates and the councils collect them. It’s the councils, Ms Portas argued, that could make a difference to High Streets.
“Simple initiatives like offering business rate discounts for independents and entrepreneurs, refusing Out of Town planning approval, and scrapping parking charges, will go a long way in helping our high streets,” Ms Portas added.
In March, the government announced £435m in support to firms facing the steepest increases in bills following the latest revaluation.
Read more here: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk


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110-year-old asset management firm Baillie Gifford has invested $100 million in bitcoin wallet, exchange and explorer tool Blockchain.com.
The CEO and cofounder of cryptocurrency wallet and exchange service provider Blockchain.com, Peter Smith, has announced that investment management company Baillie Gifford contributed $100 million to its $300 million funding round held in March.
Per the announcement, the 110-year-old asset management firm became the largest single investor in the history of Blockchain.com. Additionally, Blockchain.com is one of the first cryptocurrency companies that Baillie Gifford has invested in.
According to Smith, the investment is “a validation that a balanced and diversified retail/institutional business has incredible growth potential in the coming years.” He added that “we’re honored to include [Baillie Gifford] on our journey to bring the next 1B people into crypto.”
Baillie Gifford has made a name for itself in the technological space, as the firm has a knack for picking emerging leaders. It has invested in companies like Tesla, Google, Amazon and Airbnb over the last 20 years, per the announcement.
Blockchain.com was one of the first wallet providers in the Bitcoin space and it offers a free Bitcoin blockchain explorer tool. But some within the Bitcoin community feel that it could do more to support Bitcoin specifically. Users on Reddit, for instance, have noted accusations that the firm is “subverting segwit adoption” and that it “is widely believed to never accept it in the future.”


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Starbucks, the US coffee chain, is a recognised leader of digital technology in the restaurant industry and now it has formed a partnership with a tech start-up to create end-to-end, cloud-based software for other restaurant brands.
The roll-out of 5G technology will enable brands to create experiences that “merge” the physical and virtual worlds in increasingly powerful ways, a leading executive from Qualcomm, the chip manufacturer, has argued.
MG Motor, the iconic British automaker that is now owned by SAIC Motor of China, has unveiled what is being described as India’s first internet car, which comes with a host of smart technology features.
Summarises knowledge and offers guidance and reading on the Internet of Things (IoT), a term referring to the network of physical devices and objects, such as cars, buildings, watches and fridges, that have sensors and network connectivity embedded in them.
Far from being the death knell of traditional retail, technology is playing a crucial part in re-inventing it, helping bring brands and stores closer to consumers, and several Asian markets are in the forefront of these developments.
Covers the current thinking and reading on the subject of artificial intelligence, a significant step for any industry that manipulates large quantities of data and has to make quick decisions based on those findings; in marketing the implications of AI are far-reaching.
Technological advancements in AI, machine-learning and data science offer huge opportunities to financial brands in Asia, but they should focus their efforts in certain areas, according to a senior financial insights executive.
Rarely thought of as best in class players in the voice space, Apple is the latest big company to acquire voice technology talent through its acquisition of PullString, a startup that makes voice experience design tools.
Entirely unstaffed convenience stores have become a realistic possibility in Japan after the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced the success of a pilot project that involved many of Japan’s leading ...
Fashion brands could achieve heightened consumer engagement and loyalty through using technologies like Bluetooth and mobile apps to give each item of clothing a digital component – an approach that has been tested by Tommy Hilfiger.


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Reliv 2015 Q2 – Net Sales Down 14% To $12.4 Million
Reliv International, Inc., a maker of nutritional supplements that promote optimal health reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2015.
Net sales for the quarter were $12.4 million, a 14.0 percent decrease from the second quarter last year. Net U.S. sales totaled $9.6 million, down from $10.8 million in the second quarter of 2014. Net sales outside of the United States decreased 22.1 percent in the second quarter of 2015 compared to the prior-year quarter. Foreign currency fluctuation accounted for 8.7 percent of the net sales decline outside of the United States. Net sales in Europe declined 30.7 percent in the second quarter of 2015 compared to the prior-year quarter, with foreign currency fluctuation accounting for 6.8 percent of the decline.
The net loss for the second quarter of 2015 was $846,000 or $0.07 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $289,000 or $0.02 per diluted share in the 2014 second quarter. The loss from operations for the second quarter of 2015 was $1.12 million compared to a loss of $475,000 in the same quarter of 2014.
Net sales for the first six months of 2015 were $27.3 million, which represents a 5.7 percent decrease from the same period in 2014. In the United States, net sales declined 2.0 percent. Reliv's international net sales decreased 16.5 percent in the first half of 2015 compared with the first half of last year, with 8.3 percent of the decline due to foreign currency fluctuation.
Reliv reported a net loss of $730,000, or $0.06 per diluted share in the first six months of 2015, compared to net loss of $440,000 or $0.03 per diluted share in the same period of 2014.
The loss from operations in the second quarter of 2015 was primarily due to the previously mentioned decrease in net sales. However, there were two charges impacting the second quarter results that will not impact results going forward. In Mexico, operating costs in the second quarter of 2015 were negatively impacted by a newly implemented value added tax (VAT). The implementation of this new VAT has impacted many nutritional supplement companies in Mexico. As part of a decree issued by the Mexico treasury department, Reliv entered into an amnesty program during the second quarter of 2015 resulting in an overall VAT implementation pre-tax charge of approximately $130,000.
In Europe, we concluded a long-term performance-based incentive compensation agreement with our senior managers in the region during the second quarter of 2015. We recognized $165,000 in compensation expense during the second quarter of 2015 related to this agreement. This compares to compensation expense recognized under this agreement of $145,000 during the second quarter of 2014.
For the six-month period ended June 30, 2015, Reliv used $108,000 in cash in operating activities. This compares to cash used in operating activities of $1.21 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014. Reliv had cash and cash equivalents of $4.50 million as of June 30, 2015. This amount compares to $4.99 million as of December 31, 2014 and $4.93 million as of this date last year.
While these results are less favorable than we hoped, we have launched new initiatives to implement the training and rewards necessary to turn our sales in a positive direction, said Robert L. Montgomery, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. We have conducted an evaluation process within the company and among our distributor field and have decided to focus messaging and training on simplified and specific steps for our distributors to build a successful business. Early adopters are experiencing business success, he added.
In May 2015, Reliv launched mobile-ready personal websites for Reliv distributors. Not only do these sites allow distributors to tell the Reliv story through engaging content and videos, they offer a whole new way to speed up business, Montgomery said. For the first time distributors have their own online shopping carts and new distributor sign-up. And since the sites are mobile-ready, distributors can give presentations and complete transactions on the spot — anytime, anywhere. In June 2015, their first full month in operation, personal websites accounted for nearly 40% of all new customer sign-ups. We see this as a positive start to a promising growth opportunity.
About Reliv International, Inc.
Reliv International, based in Chesterfield, MO, produces nutritional supplements that promote optimal nutrition along with premium skincare products. Reliv supplements address essential nutrition, weight loss, athletic performance, digestive health, women's health, anti-aging and healthy energy. Reliv is the exclusive provider of LunaRich® products, which optimize levels of lunasin, the peptide behind many of soy's health benefits. The company sells its products through an international network marketing system of independent distributors in 15 countries.
Get more information, facts and figures about Reliv International, click here for the Reliv International overview.


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Organic foods aren’t just for health fanatics anymoreMar 12, 2020 11:44AM ● By Darrell Kirby
Shad Stagl of Stagl Organics is preparing to plant early-season crops at his vegetable farm in Salt Lake City. (Darrell Kirby/City Journals)
By Darrell Kirby | [email protected]
At one time, the term “organic food” generated images in some people’s minds of nature-loving, Prius-driving health fanatics who thought any chemicals or artificial ingredients in food would mean premature death.
That impression is gradually changing as more of the products are making their way into mainstream grocery stores and into households that typically haven’t been overly health conscious.
Shad Stagl of Stagl Organics in Salt Lake City is doing his part to grow and sell such crops and educate people about them.
Stagl owns and operates the organic farm behind his home on the city’s west side. He does the bulk of his business using a model called “community supported agriculture.” That’s where people pay up front to purchase a season’s share of his organically grown produce. They pick up a box of vegetables every week or two for up to 23 weeks as it is harvested during the growing season. Stagl finished 2019 with 52 such customers and hopes to have more this year. He also sells his crops at the Liberty Park farmers market.
“It gives me a chance to introduce people to new food that they might not normally buy,” Stagl said.
Organic foods are generally defined as being grown and processed without using soil, fertilizers, weed killer, insecticides and pesticides that contain synthetic ingredients or chemicals. In other words, they are all natural.
Stagl says true organic foods are rooted in the soil. If it is devoid of chemical or synthetic fertilizers or weed killers, then the crops will be free of them, too. “Your food is only as nutritious as your soil,” he said. Organic pesticides are also available to kill damaging bugs without leaving potentially harmful residues on the plants.
Stagl has a few fruit trees, but the vast majority of his crops are vegetables: tomatoes, eggplant (technically both are fruits), lettuce, kale, radishes, turnips, squash, zucchini, parsley, celery, peppers, potatoes, carrots and more.
Organic food sales in the United States totaled $47.9 billion in 2018, an increase of 5.9% from the previous year, according to the Organic Trade Association.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says organic products are available in about three out of four conventional grocery stores, along with 20,000 health food stores. Organic foods that were once confined to special sections of stores can now be found sprinkled among regular products on shelves.
Stagl agrees that organic foods are slowly making their way into local mainstream grocery stores and buying habits. Their prices are also generally coming down.
He believes the future for organic food is getting brighter. “Demand is rising. People are switching over.”
For more information, visit staglorganics.co (yes, it’s co, not com).


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As published on gov.uk, Thursday 25th April, 2019.
The UAE and UK affirmed their commitment to continue deploying UK Export Finance’s £9 billion market capacity to support British exports to and investment in the UAE;
Liam Fox calls UAE a “natural home for British business in the Middle East”.
Yesterday (Wednesday 24th April) the Department for International Trade hosted the 5th UK-UAE Joint Economic Committee (JEC), the first for four years, at Standard Chartered’s HQ in the City.
The government to government meeting, led by Baroness Rona Fairhead, saw a wide-ranging discussion on bilateral trade and investment, the Expo 2020 Dubai, and ways to increase market access and enhance cooperation on standards.
The meeting saw the British and Emirati governments agree to develop a new economic partnership statement which will set out a mutually agreed approach to enhancing the UK-UAE trade and investment relationship.
Both sides also affirmed their commitment to continue working together to deploy UK Export Finance’s £9bn capacity for UAE (£4 billion for Dubai in addition to £5 billion across UAE). The £9bn can be used to underwrite deals for UK companies operating in the UAE. In the last 3 financial years, UKEF has provided £1.2 billion in support for projects in UAE, and this commitment will help encourage further uptake of the support on offer.
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox MP said:
The UAE is one of our most important trading partners – it is our 4th largest export market outside of Europe and accounted for £10.5bn of UK exports in 2018. The importance of this market to the UK will only grow as we leave the European Union.
Meanwhile, investors from the UAE are part of the reason why the UK remains the top destination for foreign investment in Europe – with FDI growing here while it is falling on the continent. Emiratis continue to recognize the fundamental strengths of the UK economy and now have more than £5bn of UK assets*. This is not just investment in the London property market – it is investment that works for people across Britain, creating jobs everywhere from Gatwick Airport to Manchester City Football Club.
Our links with the UAE are deep. Some 100,000 UK nationals live in the UAE and a million UK tourists visited Dubai in the first half of 2018. This familiarity, combined with a stable business environment, make the UAE a natural home for British business in the Middle East – a commercial hub which can be used as a springboard to the rest of the region.
And the British government is on stand-by to support those companies who want to enter the UAE market –not least through up to £9 billion in UK Export Finance support for British firms exporting to or setting up in the UAE. The Joint Economic Committee my department hosted today will help improve the access British businesses have to this vital market.
The next meeting of the JEC will be held at Expo 2020 in Dubai.
Total trade in goods and services (i.e. exports plus imports) between the UK and United Arab Emirates was £16.3bn in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2018.


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This article is published in collaboration with Statista
by Felix Richter
As the pandemic forced restaurants to close and diners to stay at home, food delivery services thrived during the Covid-19 crisis. Whether its ordering directly from a restaurant or using one of many available delivery platforms, U.S. consumers have the agony of choice when ordering in. But which platforms are the most popular?
According to findings from Statista's Global Consumer Survey, DoorDash has the edge over the competition with 54 percent of consumers who order food online having placed an order on its marketplace in the past 12 months. Domino's Pizza comes second at 47 percent reach, while UberEats rounds off the top 3.
Start leaning Data Science and Business Intelligence tools:


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We love Uber but jeez do they get themselves in trouble more than they should. It amazes us how a company with everything going for them can make headlines so often. They won’t change the fact that we love their app and Lyft hasn’t made a dent in the UK. However, with the news that thousands of Uber drivers have potentially been spying on us – we’re a little concerned.
According to allegations made by the company’s former forensic investigator (why did they have one in the first place?), the drivers employed by the tech company have been using a ‘God View’ function to track customers’ movements.
According to The Independent, thousands of employees still have access to a function that allows them to spy on customer’s movements even after they’ve left the vehicles.
Uber are saying that “hundreds of security and privacy experts working around the clock” but we’re still not instilled with confidence.
The whistleblower in this story, the aforementioned former employer, Samuel Ward Spangenberg, is suing the company for sacking him for his age and whistleblowing.
Sounds like a real conspiracy and while we’re not cool with being spied on, we do love a good conspiracy story.
And this ‘God View’ function isn’t even knew. In January of this year, Uber paid nearly £15,000 to strengthen privacy controls after a Buzzfeed article for a 18 months prior revealed the existence of the ‘God View’ tool.
Uber thought they could brush the mess under the carpet by renaming ‘Heaven View’ and telling us that they’d strengthened security.
But, again, why don’t we buy that?
Spangenberg acknowledged that the tool had legitimate uses like investigating accidents and verifying refunds which is fair enough. However, have reportedly been using it for spying on ex-lovers, high-profile politicians and famouses.
However, Uber have had to create a flag system to prevent employees from searching for ‘MVPs’ (celebrities) that use the service because obviously there were a lot of weird drivers doing that.
Unfortunately there’s no such flag system for the likes of you and I.


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There’s now one million electric vehicles potentially travelling the world’s roads, according to reports out of the US, with sales passing the significant milestone last month.
Some may lay dormant, some may have been written off and replaced (even with fossil fuel-powered vehicles), but the industry and early adopters will no doubt welcome the arrival of seven-digit sales figures.
The figures, compiled by hybridcars.com, include all-electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles that are road-registerable and offered for sale in various markets around the world.
Furthermore, the figures show EV sales have exploded in the last 12 months, with the half-million sales mark chalked up as recently as July last year.
By December last year, the figure was 712,000, meaning around 300,000 units have been sold worldwide in the last eight-and-a-half months.
The official sales tally was 985,000 at the end of August, excluding figures from the Japanese market which were yet to be confirmed, and by the middle of this month the figure had hit 1,004,000.
Breaking the figures down further shows 38 percent of the one million sold were plug-in hybrids while all-electric cars got the lion’s share of sales at 62 percent.
When compared to ‘non plug-in’ hybrids, such as Toyota’s original Prius, EVs took roughly half the time to reach the one-million sales mark since the technology went ‘mainstream’. It’s estimated hybrids passed through the one million-sales barrier in 2007.
The Leaf has contributed the most to the one million sales tally, with the Volt in second place. The Renault-Nissan Alliance in June of this year celebrated its 250,000th EV sale, and the Leaf was again the main contributor.
The rest of the top ten is comprised of the Mitsubishi i-MIEV, China’s BYD Qin, the BMW i3, Renault Zoe and Ford Fusion Energi. Together, the top ten list accounts for 93 percent of EV sales.
US customers are buying more EVs than in any other country, but the report notes President Barack Obama’s goal of seeing one million EVs on US roads alone by the end of this year is going to fall short by around 600,000.
Other countries with strong EV sales include China, Norway, Germany, the UK and France.
MORE: Ultra-Fast Model S P85D Leads Tesla Sales In Australia
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Pune Fashion Week runs seventh season
Pune is gearing up for their seventh luxury fashion week which will run from December 22 to 24 in the city.
The upcoming Pune Fashion Week will feature an array of runway shows of both men’s and womenswear, a Gen Next show, a charity show for the Smile Foundation, and many other events. The fashion week will conclude on Sunday with Nivedita Saboo who will show a “Superhero Collection” and close the event.
The INIFD (International Institute of Fashion Design) will present their Gen Next show featuring students from their Pune College on December 22 to start off the event. Other designers that will show on day one inclide Rina Dhaka, Sharad Raghav, and Ginni Wadhwa.
Day two of the three day event will start off with an ISAS hair, makeup, and beauty show and also include designers Ashok Maanay, Gulam Ali, and Amin Farista, among others. Day three will include a plus size collection entitled “Self Love” by Nishita Mantry Gupta, a variety of runway shows, and the event’s final collection by Nivedita Saboo.
The fashion week is scheduled to take place at the Pyramid Lawns in Koregaon Park in Pune. A Luxury Expo will accompany the runway shows as well as a selection of workshops, some of which are open to the public. Pune Fashion Week began in 2011 and since then enjoyed six seasons. This seventh season aims to capture the essence of Bharat and its interplay with global fashion.
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