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Looks like some people aren’t happy with Ivanka Trump. Following her appearance on 60 Minutes with her father, President-elect Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump’s Fine Jewelry Line sent out an email blast to journalists with information about the bracelet she was wearing. Which happened to be designed by her eponymous jewelry line.
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) November 15, 2016
— katie rosman (@katierosman) November 15, 2016
This sent the Twitter world in a flurry. Many did not appreciate the marketing and questioned the integrity of the “Style Alert.”
Ivanka Trump hawking $10,800 bracelet she wore on 60 Minutes. Total lack of class, dignity, sense of appropriateness. God help us.
— Kathy Sullivan (@NHKathySullivan) November 15, 2016
Ivanka Trump pitching reporters to write about $11k bracelet she wore on 60 Minutes – no conflict of interest here, please look away.
— Jason Janego (@jasonjanego) November 15, 2016
If Ivanka Trump is marketing her CBS interview bracelet, what will she charge for top secret information?
— DC Squawk (@dcsquawk) November 15, 2016
@MorningEdition Lobbyists may not get rich, but Trump family will. Who of Trump supporters have $10,000 to buy Ivanka’s bangle? Disgusting
— Mary Andrews (@mizzmarymary) November 16, 2016
Before you say “But Michelle Obama promotes products by wearing them all the time,” consider that the First Lady never actually hawked any of her own wares.
Fear not, however, because Ivanka took note. The company soon issued a statement regarding the email. In a classic sorry not-sorry style apology, president of Ivanka Trump Fine Jewellery Abigail Klem stated, “This notification was sent by a well-intentioned marketing employee at one of our companies who was following customary protocol, and who, like many of us, is still making adjustments post-election. We are proactively discussing new policies and procedures with all of our partners going forward.”
Ironically, some individuals were quick to point out that the apology is garnering the bracelet even more press.
— Cort ][e (@ockfen) November 16, 2016
Ivanka’s jewelry co. SO SORRY they used @60Minutes to sell her $10K bracelet!
STYLE ALERT: Wanna own the dress Ivanka wore to the apology??
— Baritone Liberavoice (@redstmiscreant) November 16, 2016
Well played, Ivanka.


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Big data continues to be big in China's financial industry as China's Qihoo 360 moves into the segment with a data-driven finance product of its own.
Earlier this week, Finance Asia reported that Yang Kaishen, CEO and Chair of the Industrial Commercial Bank of China stated that recent moves by regulators would be good for innovation. Wait...so the chair of one of the biggest SOEs in the country is in favor of legislation that cuts off the legs of innovation? Well, I'll be...
There's something to be said for the refreshing marketing on Ant Financial's new online wealth management app "Ant Fortune." Whether or not it will actually make a fortune for users is a bit unclear, but you can be sure Alibaba will do well out of it.
Finance, cinema, bricks-and-mortar and soccer - what could be next for Alibaba? The e-commerce giant has been poised to undertake a new venture with the Chinese state owned arms, vehicle and machinery producer China North Industries Group Corp, or Norinco.
Alibaba’s strategy to integrate brick-and-mortar stores into its business model has become more prominent over the coming weeks when it was announced on 10th August that it would be investing $4.6bn (19.99% stake) in the Chinese electronics retailer - Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd.
Third party online payment services in China have disrupted the traditional financial industry, and enabled a new era of Internet finance lead by Alibaba group. To regulate and set benchmarks for this booming industry, the “Internet Finance Guidelines” was issued last month to curb potential risks, ensure competition, and protect information security and the legitimate rights of investors.
In July 2015 the Ping An Group announced the merger of 1qianbao, its payment solution and Wanlitong Loyalty Points Program. The merger came as a surprise for many employees of the payment division, as the service was successfully growing over the year and a half since the launch.
Online loans, payments, and banking - nearly every segment of the banking industry has been affected by China's rapidly growing internet finance industry. For the past two years, it has done so without much regulatory oversight or intervention. That looks like it will change soon.
Kapronasia will be presenting at Oracle's Digital Bootcamp on August 4th in Singapore. As a sneak peak of what Zennon will be talking about, here are a couple of intro thoughts on Digital Banking in China
Finger pointing on global stockmarket crashes continues unabated as The China Securities Regulatory Commission starts an investigation into Alibaba invested Hundsun Technology.
Kapronasia is pleased to be a media partner for the Emerging Asia E-Commerce & Supply Chain Conference to be held in Bangkok on July 29th-30th, 2015. The event continues to be one of the key events across the region and is this year again in Thailand, where payments and e-commerce remain a key focus for the country going forward.
As in anything in the financial industry, there are winners and losers, although you could not be faulted for seeing more of the latter recently in China than the former. The market was up last week slightly, as it seems to be starting to shaking off the downward trend. It may not matter though, as there has been serious damage done.
The booming A-share market in China has attracted a lot of attention and capital over the past few months. Yet, the past few weeks have not been pretty as the market has fallen by over 40%. The government is pulling out all the stops to stop the decline.
The big data e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba is now eager to leverage their data on millions of users and transactions in new projects. This time they have followed their formidable rival JD.com by moving into the crowdfunding area to extend financing to SMEs.
UBS reported that it had purchased an additional 4.99% stake in its Mainland securities business from the International Finance Corporation, increasing its stake to 25% from 20%. The raised stake is a positive sign showing global investment banks are confident in China's capital markets.
Earlier this month, Zhongrong International Trust became China’s first issuer of offshore bonds, beginning the Chinese trust industry’s venture into international capital market. This exemplifies the great expansion the Chinese trust industry has experienced in recent years.
As Italy’s economy is struggling to find growth opportunities, well-off Chinese immigrants and businessmen seem to do well in the country. Chinese individuals are reported to be buying everything from fancy cars to real estate and are opening small businesses. But according to local government, their prosperity was not reflected in the local tax records to the extent the government expected it to be.
The versatile internet powerhouse Alibaba group is now sitting on the goldmine of big data and is innovatively monetizing it through internet finance. This time Alibaba Group's online payment system Sesame Credit applies the cutting edge big data-based credit rating system in partnership with Luxembourg's Consulate General in Shanghai for a launch of a credit-based visa application service.
Since Beijing became more cautious on the use of foreign technology in the banking sector, Chinese banks have been intensely trying to figure out what to do next. One bank is not waiting and it's no surprise that the soon-to-launched Alibaba-affiliated internet private bank MYbank is moving in lockstep with the government policy as well as develop its own long-term technology strategy. MYbank announced it will be using an in-house cloud computing system instead of products from IBM, Oracle and EMC (IOE).
A growth enterprise board in China is a part of stock exchange that has lower listing requirements and allows smaller, often high-tech enterprises to trade shares and gain access to a transparent funding channel. ChiNext, a part of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is the southern city's growth enterprise board, has been very successful at attracting investors and issuers. Beijing also has its New Third Board, and now Shanghai, Eastern China's innovation center, will provide a venue for small high-growth companies to raise money on the capital markets.
Since its launch 3 years ago, popular third party POS payment provdier Square has gained a respectable level of global adoption. Clients have access to 130 currencies in four languages worldwide. Despite the great success, we haven’t seen any presence of Square in China.
The US online payment service provider PayPal has big plans for helping merchants and customers worldwide. Earlier this week, it has announced his partnership with the most popular payment card in China UnionPay to provide Chinese cross-border shoppers with an easier way to complete their transactions via UnionPay Online payments. The ability to make purchases using UnionPay cards has been one of the most requested features from Chinese customers.
A whole generation of ordinary Chinese have been neglected in terms of wealth management and banking with high minimum investment thresholds or VIP-only products preventing only a select few from getting access to traditional wealth management products. Alibaba and Tencent have brought innovative internet finance based services such as Tenpay or Alipay to the market and have further opened up wealth management to an entire new segment of the market with 'mass-market' wealth management products. China’s e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba now is after banking industry.
Want to unload that bad debt on your books? Now you can on Taobao. Cinda Asset Management, one of China’s Big 4 state-owned bad asset managers, has partnered with Taobao to sell RMB 4 billion-worth of creditor’s rights on the e-commerce company's asset disposal platform. This is seen as another potentially very successful cooperation between finance and internet industries as a large asset owner will have access to many new buyers through Taobao’s powerful channel.
China's taxi / ride hailing app sector is heating up again as internet giant backed Didi and KuaiDi Dache are about to launch 1 billion RMB subsidy for premium cars coupon. Not to be outdone, competitor Yidao teamed up with Baidu. The country's leading search engine allows Yidao to embed its chauffeured car service in its map app.
With over 270 million active Alipay Wallet users and extensive collaborations with overseas global online merchants, Chinese e-commerce payment powerhouse Alipay now is making its expansion into China’s domestic offline stores and soon to the global market.
The shares of three companies recently experienced an unprecedented slump, which nobody can precisely explain.
At a recent conference, the Asset Management of China (AMAC) declared that there are 713 hedge funds in Zhejiang province alone – a surprisingly large number, considering some of the statements by international experts as recent as 2014 that there are no more than ten hedge funds in China. Futures trading is also up 30% on the main exchanges in China - a strong correlation.
Xiaomi teamed up with E Fund Management to offer a new money market fund last week. The fund will be available on the wealth management app installed on the Xiaomi operating system and will be similar to products offered by Alibaba and Tencent in that it offers higher-than traditional bank deposit rates and allows nearly instant liquidity.
A new partnership between CreditEase and Wellington has changed the rules with an incredibly easy way for the increasingly wealthy middle-class to invest abroad.
Globally there have been few examples, if any, of traditional financial institutions getting full use of customer big data to provide a mass-market asset management product. There are of course specialized hedgefunds and wealth management products that track market sentiment, but few beyond that. In China however, Internet giant Baidu and now, more recently, E-commerce tycoon Alibaba group are both changing the fintech landscape by how they are leveraging big data to bring new products to market.
According to data from the People's Bank of China, by the end of 2014 China had 614,900 ATMs in operation across the country, up 18.25% from 2013. While certainly a rapid growth, it was actually slower than a year ago when the number of networked ATMs increased by 25.12%, and is significantly lower than its peak growth of 36.18% in 2008.
P2P woes continue in China as illegal fundraising through P2P platforms grew in both 2014 and 2015. When will the government intervene?
Accenture recently released its Accenture North America Consumer Digital Banking Survey for 2015. One of the findings was that banks run the risk of being seen as a 'utility' to their customers. Could the same thing happen in China?

domain: news


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Prices also increased by 0.3 percent in the EU28.
Company also refreshed its brand logo.
Acquisition expands company's offerings in emissions management.
New location in British Columbia will do business as Radians Canada Distribution.
PMI up 1.5 percent from November, and overall economy grew.
Construction spending up 0.9 percent from October.
Acquisition helps distributor expand presence in Ohio.
Acquisition expands company's presence in Washington state.


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As AlphaPoint want to expand its operations of the digital currency exchange solutions, it has raised $1.35m in new funding. The company says that it is bringing its products to new international markets. Some top notch VC firms Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Robin Hood Ventures, were among the funding agencies.
There were some notable angel investors such as Invite Media co-founder Scott Becker and DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg as well. Talking to media professionals AlphaPoint CEO Vadim Telyatnikov said that the funding round as one that will empower his company to help major digital currency exchanges better meet the increasing demands.
He said that the increasing demand of the large-scale operations, while new entrepreneurs, in turn, will be able to leverage the technology to launch marketplaces in new jurisdictions. Telyatnikov also explained his company’s big-picture vision saying “We see ourselves as the Intel Inside, with our clients marking themselves as their own brands and we’re the technology on the back end.”
The company believes that more exchanges will want to outsource the difficult technical components of building and scaling a complex infrastructure. This according to him is where AlphaPoint can gain traction in the market. He admitted that customers must put a lot of trust in their technical partner if the technology can’t keep up with volume or feature needs, their business can’t operate or stay competitive.
The Company Has State of the Art Technology
Elaborating his point Becker further said that he would put his trust in AlphaPoint as according to him the AlphaPoint team has already built successful exchange and trading systems in both the finance and online advertising spaces. According to his estimates AlphaPoint now has roughly a dozen clients all over the world, including major regional Bitcoin exchanges such as Canada’s Cointrader and Mexico’s meXBT.
The company says that with state of the art technology, it enables businesses to integrate with the fabric of digital currencies including Bitcoin. It encourages clients to contact its sales department for more information like its products. Currently, AlphaPoint offers two products, the AlphaPoint Exchange Platform, and AlphaPoint Exchange Remarketer.
The AlphaPoint Exchange Platform advertises that it can process 1 million digital currency transactions per second. Similarly, the AlphaPoint Exchange Remarketer, which connects exchanges for liquidity. Telyatnikov is now confident AlphaPoint is the right platform that can help expand Bitcoin use globally, while capitalizing on trends in the market.
To contact the reporter of this story: Deepak Tiwari at email@example.com
There were some notable angel investors such as Invite Media […]


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The annual MPH shows featuring Top Gear Live opened in London last night.
The show features the worlds most famous brands and exotic cars. MG stand took centre stage in the middle of the show with two all new MGs on display for the first time in Europe.
The UK specification MG6 is the production version of the first all new MG for 15 years and will go on sale in the first quarter next year. Concept Zero shows the design direction for smaller MGs to follow MG6.
Before the doors opened to the public, the MG Motor held an exclusive press conference hosted by Guy Jones, Sales & Marketing director for MG Motor and Tony Williams-Kenny, MG Design Director.
Both press and public were excited by the MG6 offering such high quality with style and space at prices starting from around £16,000. The reaction to Concept Zero was simply when can we have it!
The show runs at the Earl’s Court exhibition centre until Sunday 7th November and then next week from the 11th – 14th at the NEC in Birmingham – why not come and see us at the show and take the chance to be one of the first people to get a close look at the fantastic next generation of British designed and engineered MG’s.
For those who can’t make it to the show, we will be posting regular updates on our facebook page – find us at www.facebook.com/mgmotor
MG Motor UK will be exhibiting its full range of cars at the London Motor Show from the 17th until the 20th May. On show...
This morning in Beijing, the MG X-motion concept car premiered at the Beijing Auto Show. The X-motion follows the MG brand design philosophy of Emotional...
Following significant investment in its Longbridge Training Venue, MG Motor UK has announced that the Cecil Kimber College has now been accredited by the Institute...


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2nd Overseas Chinese Imported Commodities Expo opens in Qingtian
The second Overseas Chinese Imported Commodities Expo and Qingtian Imported Wine Trade Fair was held from Nov 16 to 18 in Qingtian, Lishui, in East China's Zhejiang province.
This year's expo gathered more than 50,000 imported commodities from all over the world, and attracted 600 overseas wineries and more than 500 import commodity enterprises.
In an exhibition area of more than 90,000 square meters, there were eight exhibition sections and more than 1,600 booths at the expo.
It was the second time Lishui had held the expo. Compared with last year, the expo's exhibition area, participating countries, participating wineries, exhibits and other categories were all significantly improved.
A "Global Supermarket" is unveiled at the opening ceremony of the second Overseas Chinese Imported Commodities Expo on Nov 16, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
During the exhibition, 15 special events were held, including summits, wine competitions, fair meetings, auctions, tastings and the release of supply chain financial products.
A white book analyzing the condition of the Qingtian wine industry in 2019 with big data analysis technology was released during the event.
The second Overseas Chinese Imported Commodities Expo & Qingtian Imported Wine Trade Fair opens in Qingtian, Lishui, Zhejiang province, Nov 16, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]


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5G connectivity is becoming common in smartphones, and it is a feature that many people are looking for. Now, Xiaomi’s sub-brand, Poco has confirmed that the upcoming Poco M6 will offer 5G connectivity. The teaser was posted on the Poco India Twitter account, and it shows the phone with "5G" written on the back.
Himanshu Tandon, Poco India head, shared the first teaser image of the Poco M6 Pro 5G on Twitter. Although the teaser image does not reveal detailed specifications, we already know quite a bit about the device. The Poco M6 Pro 5G is expected to come as a successor to the Poco M4 Pro 5G that debuted in the country in February last year. However, given the release of the teaser, the launch is expected to be just around the corner.
Poco M6 Pro 5G: Launch timeline Poco M6 Pro is scheduled to launch in India on August 5. The smartphone will be available for purchase on Flipkart website.
Poco M6 Pro: Expected features According to a report by Xiaomiui, Poco M6 Pro 5G will have a 6.79-inch IPS LCD panel with 90 Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is said to come out of the box with MIUI 14 based on Android 13. Poco M6 Pro 5G could pack a 5000 mAh battery with 18W charging support. The fingerprint sensor will be placed on the power key.
A teaser image of the Poco M6 Pro 5G has been released. The phone is shown in Cyan with curved panels on the back. It has a similar appearance to the Poco M4 Pro 5G, with the same rectangular camera module and dual-tone design. The Poco M6 Pro 5G also has a dual-camera setup on the back, as well as an LED flash. The Poco branding is also visible on the back of the phone.


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A no-deal Brexit would cost the U.K. fashion industry as much as 900 million pounds ($1.1 billion) because of tariffs, and other expenses could raise the figure even higher, a trade group said.
A switch to World Trade Organization rules along with tighter controls on international shipping have the potential to hamstring the U.K. industry, the British Fashion Council said Monday in a statement. The council is asking for stimulus funding to ensure that British fashion remains competitive internationally after the country leaves the European Union.
Fashion contributes about 32 billion pounds annually to the British economy, according to trade group figures, while employing some 890,000 people. As an industry that relies on export revenues, a global supply chain and an international talent pool, U.K. fashion faces numerous challenges if the country leaves the EU without a deal at the end of October.
“We urge the government to seek a deal with the EU that would guarantee the healthy and steady growth of the fashion industry,” the trade group said.
Designers preparing to show spring collections to buyers and press during London Fashion Week beginning Sept. 13 have little clarity on how they’re going to face down challenges like higher prices due to tariffs and logistical issues like transporting samples and components between the U.K. and continental Europe.
Fashion is hardly the only industry to be hit by Brexit concerns. U.K. manufacturing output fell at the fastest rate in more than seven years in August, IHS Markit reported Monday.
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.


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A Korean retailer has put the Samsung Galaxy S5 on sale and it appears that Samsung didn't know anything about it.
Companies aren't supposed tobe offering the new flagship until April 11th, as this is the global launch date. However, South Korean carriers SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG Uplus Corp have decided on their own release date.
The group have started selling it because SK believes that upcoming sanctions would have prevented it selling the phone in April and May. This means, instead of falling behind the pack with sales, it has jumped the gun.
Samsung's obviously not happy that some of its Korean retailers have taken it upon themselves to beat the global launch date. However, it maintains that none of this will have an affect on when the rest of the world will get its hands on it, suggesting that unless you are in Korea, you will have to sit back and wait for April 11th.
Posted by Samantha Green


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After listening to Attorney General Loretta Lynch compare a mental illness (being transgendered) to being black and suffering under Jim Crow discrimination in the south, one has to question her fitness for office. Protect your children, it’s your responsibility not Loretta’s. She’s out to complete an agenda, your goal should center on the protection of your children.
People are refusing to address what happens when men are allowed into women’s restrooms. Lets go to the evidence shall we?
Police have arrested a man accused of exposing himself to a 9-year-old boy in the bathroom of a Target store in Cedar Park in February.
Roel Anthony Vasquez, 27, was charged March 24 with indecency with a child by exposure. No one at the store could identify who he was when the incident occurred, so police asked for help from the public by releasing pictures of the suspect from store surveillance video in March.
A 16-year-old girl was shopping at the department store when a man approached her from behind and performed a sexual act on himself at about 2 p.m., police said. The man got away, and police are still looking for him.
He’s a heavy-set white man in his 20s, police said.
San Diego police are searching for a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the aisle of a Target store in San Diego, pestering her for a date before reaching under her clothing to grope her.
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) says the incident – being investigated as a case of sexual battery – happened around 9 p.m. on Halloween at a Target located at 5680 Balboa Ave.
Behold the typical response to any truth teller: lefties always bring out the Bigot Card.


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Medjool date brand Natural Delights has announced the launch of new sustainable packaging made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic, a green packaging concept that will apply to all tub containers and roll into US stores this month.
“Our new green packaging for tub containers will help to keep 800 tonnes of plastic out of landfills and oceans, reducing water consumption by 34m gallons and eliminate 1,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions,” said David Baxter, brand manager of Natural Delights.
'In addition to our plastic packaging, we are converting most of our display materials to kraft material which is certified by the sustainable forestry initiative,' Baxter continued. 'This change increases the amount of recycled material used by 50 per cent and improves the recycle-ability of the box.”
Natural Delights has made 'significant investments' in converting its date packaging to the most sustainable option on the market for dates.
“We continue to invest in packaging sustainability in order to do what is best for our business, consumers, and the environment,' Baxter added.
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The new integration means that Fire TV users can now tune into Apple TV Plus original shows (provided you're a subscriber, of course), which includes everything from Steven Spielberg anthology stories to The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carrell.
- Read our Apple TV Plus review
- Apple TV Plus shows: a complete guide
- Apple TV Plus vs Netflix: could Apple eclipse its biggest rival?
If you have a compatible Fire TV device, you can now also stream TV shows and movies you've purchased through Apple iTunes, as well as new content, which has been either purchased or rented, in the future. It's worth bearing in mind that purchases need to be made through a separate device with iTunes – you can't order anything new straight from your TV, unfortunately.
Apple's playing the field
The inclusion of Apple TV Plus on Fire TV devices means that you can now ask Alexa to navigate your content, using the Alexa Voice Remote or far-field control on Fire TV Cube.
It's an unusually equitable move from Apple, which would normally favor its own voice assistant, Siri, over its competitors.
Apple playing nicely with other companies is something we've seen increasingly since Apple TV Plus was announced, as the tech giant strives to overtake streaming behemoths like Netflix, and the recently launched Disney Plus.
There's more to come, too; Amazon says that the Apple TV app will come to the Nebula Soundbar – Fire TV Edition before the year is out, and will land on JVC Fire TV Edition Smart 4K TVs in early 2020.
Don't have a Fire TV device yet? Don't forget that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are coming up very soon, and we're already seeing lots of fantastic Amazon deals, which means you could bag yourself a real bargain this November.
Sign up to receive daily breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis, deals and more from the world of tech.
Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.


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After Antonio's Prime Butcher closed in early 2011, Sound Beach had a vacancy in the business district on Echo Avenue for close two years.
That was until Adrianne Johansson found the location and opened up Is-A-Love Cafe. Something Sound Beach has been without, Johansson designed the cafe as a place where people can come and relax, without feeling rushed.
"I wanted to open up a small coffee shop with a 'Friends' [the TV show] kind of appeal, something that makes you feel really comfortable when you’re here," she said. "A lot of places it seems like you’re rushed in and out and you don’t get that feeling you can sit and relax."
Johansson, who has 23 years of experience in the hospitality business, was born in Manhattan and raised in the Catskills before coming to Rocky Point in 1998. She owned Johnny's Bar and Grill in Miller Place before selling and taking a break, working as a private chef in Pennsylvania.
She found the location on a fluke, as it popped up on her Craigslist when he wasn't even looking. She sent her daughter to look at the place, and after seeing the inside Johansson said she envisioned it right away. The name, she says, came from when she texted her husband one day.
"My cellphone four years ago used to read the text messages out loud, and it read 'I love you' as 'is-a-love', so it just caught on after that," she said.
The cafe had a soft opening on Jan. 16 leading up to the grand opening on Feb. 2 in which famed competitive eater Ed 'Cookie' Jarvis brought a crowd to the new place. Since then, she has settled on hours and used social media to promote the business.
"Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been a great tool, and they’ve been coming as far as Mastic Beach," she said. "I even have Facebook comments from Florida, it’s been great."
The cafe serves a wide array of food and drinks, offers free wi-fi and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. You can also 'Like" Is-A-Love on Facebook here.


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According to Amazon Germany, we'll have to wait another month before "Until It's Gone" will be released.
As you can see, Amazon mentions May 30 as the official release date for LP's second single of their new album The Hunting Party. This is quite a surprise as the cover art has already been revealed earlier this week. Also, the track can already be found in the iTunes store together with the track length.
So what do you think? Will we be able to listen to Until It's Gone in a few days or will we have to wait another month?
UPDATE MAY 2:
It's official: Linkin Park posted a small preview of Until It's Gone on their Facebook page including the following message:
"Tune in to @BBCRadio1 on Monday, May 5 at 7:30pm GMT to hear @ZaneLowe ’s world premiere of our new single “Until It’s Gone.”


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Google planning to release a new HTML5 based web development tool designed for ‘creative professionals.’ This new toolkit will launch within next few months. It will be a free tool.
Google have said that this toolkit, known as Google Web Designer, would be able to create ‘cutting-edge advertising’ and web content like websites and web based applications. This announcement was made through Google’s DoubleClick. Thus it is obvious that with this new tool advertising is Google’s main focus.


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“After reporting mixed earnings last week, Apple was given a $202 price target, its highest to date, by one analyst on Monday,” Lauren Thomas reports for CNBC. “”
“With the expected release of the iPhone 8 this fall, Apple is only in the ‘early stages’ of unlocking upside potential for investors, Drexel Hamilton’s Brian White wrote in a note to clients Monday,” Thomas reports. “‘We believe Apple remains among the most underappreciated stocks in the world,'” White said.”
“Apple closed Friday at $148.96 per share,” Thomas reports. “If the stock climbed to White’s target (a gain of more than 35 percent), that would give the iPhone juggernaut a market value of $1.06 trillion based on its current share count of 5,247 from FactSet.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: From your lips to Mr. Market’s ears, Brian.
And, yes, Apple is one of the most underappreciated stocks in the world, if not the most underappreciated.
This is normally the kiss of death.
Apple nearly at $800B market cap. Gaining another 40 pts is possible but my guess is that some profit taking will happen soon.
Yup, it’s sounding more like late 2012 all over again. The first person that came to mind was Brian White and one of his outlandish predictions. Bingo! He always has to outdo every other analyst on price targets.
Has anyone heard from Andy Zaky lately? I remember him telling people to mortgage their houses to buy Apple stock because it could only go up higher. Famous last words.
I’m just waiting for all the pundits to start popping out of the woodwork, like cockroaches, to tell everyone who has ears, Apple has risen too far and too fast for its own good. Apple isn’t Amazon and Tim Cook isn’t Jeff Bezos.
That sure makes sense to me. The only problem I see in telling people to dump Apple is that the arrogant chump will have to make Warren Buffett into an idiot for loading up on Apple stock. I honestly can’t imagine that happening. Buffett is too respected to be contradicted openly.
As far as Apple stock reaching $200, I’m definitely skeptical, but what the hey, bring it on. Let Apple beat Amazon to the $1T mark.
Well, one has to admit, when AAPL passed $142.xx, the stock hit White’s pre-split prediction price (’12) of $1000…albeit 5 yrs later.


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Nestle destroys 50 million dollars of noodles with "unsafe and hazardous" levels of lead
NEW DELHIJun 16, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
Jun 16, 2015 12:00 am
Food giant Nestle is destroying instant noodles worth 3.2 billion rupees (50 million dollars) in India after some of its products were banned by food regulators.
"The process of destroying the noodles has begun. We have also informed the Bombay Stock exchange about this on Monday evening," Nestle India spokesman Sameer Barde said Tuesday.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said on June 6 that Maggi-branded products contained "unsafe and hazardous" levels of lead and banned all nine available varieties, prompting Nestle to withdraw them from shop shelves.
The company has maintained that the noodles are safe and challenged the ban in an Indian court.
In a statement on Monday, Nestle said the value of withdrawn noodles included stocks taken off the market as well as stocks stored in factories and distribution centres.
"There will be additional costs to take into account, for example, bringing stock from the market, transporting the stock to the destruction points, destruction costs etc. The final figure will have to be confirmed at a later date," Nestle said.
The food regulator has ordered tests on more noodle products by some Indian and multinational firms after banning Maggi noodles.
Maggi noodles, in their yellow-and-red packages, have been a familiar sight on shop shelves across India.


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Lenovo's ThinkPad L13 Yoga has the perks that you'll find in a ThinkPad convertible like the pen garage, but this one doesn't break the bank. At $899, it has a Comet Lake CPU, ThinkShutter, and more.
This Week in Rocket Launches #116
China to send people to space and SpaceX to resupply ISS
Windows 11 Beta Channel fixes issues with SMB, memory leak, NTFS, LSASS
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Lenovo's new ThinkPad L13 Yoga has new branding, and new Intel 10th-generation processors. It includes a ThinkShutter privacy guard, a garaged pen, MIL-STD-810G certification, rapid charge, and more.
Lenovo today announced refreshes of three of its biggest ThinkPad lineups, including the T-series, X-series, and the L-series. They all pack Comet Lake processors, and the X13 Yoga has an OLED screen.
Lenovo today announced refreshed models of all of its ThinkPads, packing Intel's 10th-generation 'Comet Lake' CPUs. While mostly internal changes, there are also redesigned L-series ThinkPads.


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updated 04:00 pm EDT, Wed September 29, 2010
Samsung Omnia, HTC T8788 show up in speed test
A newly spotted speed test from DSLReports has confirmed the existence of two upcoming Windows Phone 7 smartphones. The first is believed to be the Samsung i8700/Omnia 7, while the other is the HTC T8788. Both will run on Windows Phone 7, with the former expected to be a launch phone to coincide with the unveiling of Windows Phone 7 itself. The device isn't likely to be sold in the US.
The HTC T8788 will be the first WP7 handset to arrive at Verizon, says the source. This isn't likely to be out right in October, however, as Microsoft itself said CDMA handsets with WP7 will not be out at launch. [via WMPowerUser]


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Indigenous liquor giant Kasapreko Company Limited is embarking on an ambitious expansion project that will see new state-of-the-art equipment installed to facilitate efficiency in the company’s production.
Having gained roots on the Nigerian market and some West African countries, management of the company says it has become imperative to improve on efficiency to be able to meet the growing demand of the loyal patrons who consume KCL products.
It is in view of this that Management of KCL has embarked on a project to expand its factory and to install a new state-of-the-art equipment that has two bottling lines.
The plant is reported to have the highest machine speed spirit lines in the globe. One of the lines can produce 30,000 bottles an hour, while the other comes with 40,000 an hour. It is being handled by Les Banks, an International Technical Consultant.
About $30 million is being injected into the expansion project in order to meet the increasing market demand of its numerous consumers across the Sub-Region and beyond.
The expansion project, which is seeing the installation of the equipment on a 7,500 square metre land, is quoted to be the highest ever technology producer of alcoholic beverages in the world.
The Company is engaging the services of 12 university graduates to operate the equipment. To effectively and efficiently handle the new plant, Management is taking the 12 to Germany for training, while the installation of the plant is expected to be ready for use by March 2012.
Managing Director of KCL, Martyn Mensah, told reporters that the growing demand of Kaspreko products had been so overwhelming and required that the Company expands its factory to be able to meet the growing market demand of consumers and to improve the consumers’ confidence in the Company.
According to him, the expansion and installation of the new plant meant that KCL will employ more hands and rake in more revenue for the country, which he was of the view will boost Ghana’s economy.
“Our growth has been driven by consumer support in Ghana and outside Ghana. As we grow, we need to make investments and the size of our loyal consumers justifies the need for this expansion. We are only reinvesting what we have received from our valued consumers,” he maintained.
Mr. Mensah stated that KCL had come of age and as such, registered its presence on the international market, emphasizing that the decision to buy the best technology and invest in the human resource base in order to maintain its recognition globally was a step in the right direction.
“Indeed, we are proud to demonstrate that Ghanaians and Ghanaian companies can achieve the highest heights. The Government of Ghana has always maintained that industry is the engine of any economy and not a foreign company; not a company that has foreign investors or brought in foreign ideas. KCL, which is a company born, bread, nurtured and rose in Ghana has reached the pinnacle in the manufacturing sector. It is the master of which we are greatly proud and we want to share that success and pride with our cherished and loyal consumers by giving back to them what KCL has taken from them,” he opined.
Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Founder and President of KCL, said there was the need for the citizenry to dream big so that they could propel the economy and put the country at the highest pedestal.
Dr. Adjei, who is also the Group Chairman of Pinnacle Holdings, a mother Company of KCL noted that the expansion was being undertaken to showcase to some of the people that small beginnings can make greater endings.
He recounted how KCL started from a very small place with four people at his garage but today, the Company is acclaimed internationally, all because he dreamt big.
The Group Chairman said the investment being made today is to ensure that after he dies, the Company can survive for the next 1,000 years, and so, measures had been put in place to enable others take over from him, stressing that when he dies, he will not die with the Company.
Emmanuel Teiko, General Manager, Finance, said the expansion project was being done through the Company’s own resources, with support from Pinnacle Holding limited, saying that they had not taken any loan from anywhere.
He noted that the Nigerian market in particular was one major reason for the expansion, noting that the Abuja Chamber of Commerce was of tremendous support in Nigeria.
The General Manager, Plant and Bottling, Edmund Blankson, who conducted the media round the existing plant and the new site, said the Company was also bringing in a three-million water tank in order to always have enough water supply for the huge project.
Recently, a delegation from the Abuja Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria was in the country, where the delegation assured Management of KCL of their fullest support to ensure that products of Kasapreko became a household name in Nigeria.
The delegation, led by President of the Chamber, Delle Kelvin Oye, said looking at the track record of the KCL, coupled with the number of awards it had received over the past 12 years, they had no doubt that the Company would excel and achieve higher laurels in the Nigerian market.
Members of the delegation expressed their impression about the Company and called on Africans to be proud of and associate themselves with, since it is an indigenous Ghanaian and for that matter, African company.


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Apple is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is targeting 2024 to start production of a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology, Reuters reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
The iPhone maker’s automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have proceeded unevenly since 2014 when it first started to design its own vehicle from scratch… Since then, Apple has progressed enough that it now aims to build a vehicle for consumers, two people familiar with the effort said, asking not to be named because Apple’s plans are not public.
Central to Apple’s strategy is a new battery design that could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle’s range, according to a third person who has seen Apple’s battery design… Apple plans to use a unique “monocell” design that bulks up the individual cells in the battery and frees up space inside the battery pack by eliminating pouches and modules that hold battery materials, one of the people said.
Apple’s design means that more active material can be packed inside the battery, giving the car a potentially longer range. Apple is also examining a chemistry for the battery called LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, the person said, which is inherently less likely to overheat and is thus safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries. “It’s next level,” the person said of Apple’s battery technology. “Like the first time you saw the iPhone.”
It remains unclear who would assemble an Apple-branded car, but sources have said they expect the company to rely on a manufacturing partner to build vehicles.
MacDailyNews Take: 2024 for “Apple Car” production seems like a much more plausible timeline than today’s earlier report out of Taiwan of an “Apple Car” to debut in September 2021.


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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Fitbit is working with Singapore’s government to supply residents with free fitness trackers. The company says Singaporeans will be able to pre-register next month to receive a Fitbit Inspire band for free if they commit to paying $10 a month for a year of the company’s premium coaching service. The program will fully roll out in late October.
The monthly fee adds up to more than the band itself is worth upfront, but the deal demonstrates how Fitbit wants to move away from selling hardware at a profit and move toward the recurring revenues inherent to a subscription-based business model. Fitbit tells CNBC that the Singapore deal is “material” to its revenue projections for this year, while CEO James Park says the company beat out…tech, The Verge, The Verge - All Posts


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It’s a boom time at U.S. Gulf ports for imports of steel and project cargoes. From Florida to Texas, the region’s ports are enjoying a second year of increased import volumes, driven by a strong dollar and U.S. economic growth.
Russian regulators have initiated administrative proceedings against CMA CGM and Maersk Line after accusing the two container lines of failing to provide documents requested as part of an investigation into alleged collusion.
India and Bangladesh are moving closer to allowing introduction of coastal shipping services between the two countries with the goal of boosting bilateral trade.
Shipper groups have raised serious doubts about the benefits offered by mega alliances and the growing size of container ships, complaining of reduced choices and deteriorating service levels.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association released on Friday the final version of its coercion rule, the first in a number of regulations that could impact U.S. truck capacity moving forward.
Egypt set a date for completion of a side channel at East Port Said near the entrance to the Suez Canal that will allow better access to the port from the Mediterranean Sea.
Spot freight rates on the Asia to North Europe and Mediterranean trades came surging back after last week’s record lows, most likely a result of carriers laying up greater numbers of the larger vessels deployed on the westbound trade.
Construction on the $50 billion Nicaragua canal has been delayed again and work will not begin until late 2016, according HKND Group, the Chinese company with exclusive rights to build and operate the waterway.
The Port of Baku, the oldest and largest port on the Caspian Sea, will complete phase 1 of its new international sea and trade port by 2017, increasing capacity to 11.5 million tons of cargo per year and up to 50,000 containers, many of which could be transshipped between China, Central Asia and Europe.
Rotterdam dock workers are planning a series of 24-hour strikes over the next two months to protest possible lay-offs at the port’s newest container terminals.
Zim Integrated Shipping Services’ financial recovery is gathering pace as the Israel-based ocean carrier posted its fourth consecutive quarterly operating profit in challenging market conditions.
South Korea's government plans to conduct research on ultra-large container ships, including the return on investment of the vessels, their impact on ports and the investment needed at terminals to handle them.
CMA CGM said it is upgrading its New Europe Mascarene Oceania service by adding new port calls, starting in early December.


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2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, Already Sold Out, Starts Production
The 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is starting production, meaning the electric pickup truck is heading to customers.
Ford has already closed retail orders on all 2022 Lightning models, citing high demand.
The Lightning is built at Ford's new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan.
The hotly anticipated 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning finally starts production today at the company's new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The launch should be welcome news for customers who already reserved a 2022 Lightning, but those who haven't will have limited opportunities to get their hands on one.
Ford has closed retail orders on all 2022 models due to high demand, according to a disclaimer on its consumer site. The company recently made a similar move by closing orders for the 2022 Mustang Mach-E, again citing high demand. However, as CarsDirect reported yesterday, people will still have the chance to buy Lightning models that are in stock on dealer lots, but it's possible they'll have a price markup. The other option is to wait for 2023 models, with orders expected to open this summer.
The 2022 F-150 Lightning is the second electric pickup truck to hit the market after the Rivian R1T went on sale late last year. The Lightning starts at $41,179 for the entry-level Pro model with the 426-hp dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain and standard-range battery, which Ford CEO Jim Farley said will be EPA-rated at 230 miles of range. The EPA has not yet published these official ratings on its website. The Lightning's estimated range is said to rise to 320 miles with the available extended-range battery, which also brings more powerful electric motors with a combined 563 horses. The top-of-the-line Platinum trim level is only available with the latter configuration, and it starts at $92,669.
The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center where the Lightning is being built was recently constructed as part of a $700 million investment in the Ford Rouge Center. Ford also invested $250 million in the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center and the Rawsonville Components Plant. The former will supply the electric motors and transaxles for the Lightning, while the latter will assemble the batteries.
At the Lightning's launch today, Farley addressed the crowd at the Rouge Center and those watching via a livestream on YouTube, saying that Ford plans to produce 150,000 Lightnings per year. He also claimed that the company will produce 600,000 EVs per year by the end of 2023 and 2 million annually in four years. Farley said Ford is eventually planning to build more electric trucks at its new BlueOval City complex in Stanton, Tennessee.
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Microsoft has unveiled its take on VR controllers, with the Windows 10 Mixed Reality motion controllers making their debut at BUILD 2017 today. Intended to pair with the Windows Mixed Reality headsets we’ve already seen announced from a number of companies, the controllers allow for better interaction in virtual 3D space. Meanwhile, there’s also news for developers hoping to get their hands on the VR/AR kit.
In fact, there are now two Mixed Reality headsets going up for preorder from today. Developers in the US and Canada can put their money down for either Acer’s $299 headset or HP’s $329 version at the Microsoft Store. Delivery is expected to take place later in the summer of 2017.
Coming later in the year, though, will be the controllers that work with the headsets. Dubbed the Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers, they’ll be an optional add-on; much in the same way that the Daydream controller works with Google’s VR headset, or the Gear VR’s Oculus-powered controller works with Samsung’s version, they’ll allow users to interact more naturally with games, entertainment experiences, and tools for both productivity and creativity. Interestingly, they won’t require any extra hardware, either.
That’s because, rather than needing “lighthouse” style beacons on the walls, as systems like HTC’s Vive rely on, or markers that are stuck to the walls, it’s the Mixed Reality headset itself that does the tracking. By using the external sensors already built into the headset, Microsoft has made the whole system install-free. You won’t have to configure the room around you before you start to interact with VR or AR.
It paves the way for Mixed Reality being more closely integrated into Windows 10 later this year. That’ll come with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which along with a variety of content editing and cross-platform device improvements, will also fold in native Mixed Reality support. For instance, it’ll upgrade all Windows 10 PCs to support the marker-less controllers.
Sales of the Mixed Reality motion controllers will kick off this holiday. Announced today, Acer will be bundling the motion controllers in with its headset, priced at $399.


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Chair, Handbag Happy Hour
Tederous, community relations manager for First Niagara Bank, has been on the board of Everywoman Opportunity Center for the last three years. The nonprofit has helped more than 62,000 women enter or re-enter the workforce, and upgrade or change careers since 1977.
“Everywoman Center is all about providing support for all kinds and training to women so they can become self-reliant,” she said. “It is for women of all socioeconomic backgrounds in transition.”
The Handbag Happy Hour will begin at 6 p.m., March 24 at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. Attendees will bid on designer and celebrity-donated purses.
“We have hundreds of designer and one-of-a-kind bags for people to bid on,” Tederous said.
Proceeds from the live and silent auctions will benefit Everywoman Opportunity Center. Celebrities who have donated a bag include Cindy Crawford, Kelly Ripa and Paris Hilton.
Tederous said the money raised will help open doors for women to the working world.
“We work with them to provide everything from career clothing, to offering English as a second language and placement assistance,” she said.
Ongoing economic struggles have placed Everywoman Opportunity Center in more demand, making an event such as the purse auction that much more important.
“We were hit hard by state cuts, as so many non-profits were,” she says. “But the need continues to grow and when you hear the success stories we hear, it is so amazing. It makes all of us want to work even harder to help the program anyway we can.”
— Matt Chandler
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This week’s Trans-Pacific Partnership deal is a good one — indeed, it’s essential — if Canada is to continue to prosper through trade.
But one narrow aspect of this broad deal the Conservatives are clamouring to take credit for is, in fact, a massive sellout of consumers’ interests. It’s the supply management provision that “saves” — a better verb is “ossifies” — Canada’s dairy and poultry monopolies that entrench inefficiencies and drive up both production costs and prices.
This deal is one that Canada, which relies on trade for almost half its GDP, couldn’t afford to sit out. TPP partners represent 40 per cent of global GDP and nearly a third of global trade. Over the medium term, the TPP is expected to supplant NAFTA, which, along with the Canada-U.S. free trade deal that preceded it, has been the foundation for our economy since the first accord was signed in 1989.
Two credible criticisms — secrecy surrounding the negotiations, which continues as final details are still not released, and the unfortunate timing of such a big deal being reached during a Canadian election campaign — can’t fairly be laid at our government’s door. Eleven other countries are involved, and Canada controls neither the timing nor the rules of the game. This is especially so because we were late coming to the table, not participating until 2012 when Canada and Mexico belatedly joined Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam at a point when negotiations were already well advanced.
But the supply management boondoggle is entirely made in Canada. It’s what the Harper government held out for, to the point of nearly jeopardizing the broader deal.
The downside supply management imposes on all Canadians, aside from the millionaire quota holders, is well documented. It drives up costs by tying up millions of dollars in capital — dairy farmers, for example, often spend more for quota than for land, buildings, equipment and cattle combined. It takes away incentives for productivity improvements — at least, any that lower prices rather than raise profits. It squeezes other farmers out of the field. It ensures international markets remain closed to almost all Canadian milk and poultry. And it lets producers set domestic prices at levels that are among the highest in the world.
Some observers — me included — dared to hope when Canada joined the TPP talks that pressure from genuine free traders like New Zealand would force an end to supply management. But no such luck.
To get this “free trade” deal — in fact, it’s managed trade that, in supply-managed products, is only marginally freer than today’s protectionism — our government agreed to open up 3.25 per cent of Canada’s dairy and poultry market to international competitors. This is minuscule. At best, it may drag prices down, but only slightly.
Meanwhile, the cost is huge. The government has promised supply management producers $4.3 billion in compensation over 10 years.
Michael Grant, the Vancouver-based director of research on industry and business strategy for the Conference Board of Canada and a co-author of the board’s rigorous analysis of supply management, notes that this is more than 90 per cent of the $4.7 billion it would cost to wind down the monopolistic system once and for all.
Yet this money is being spent solely to buy grudging acceptance of the deal — or, at least, to mute the protest — from producers who jealously guard their sinecures.
Michael Bloom, a Conference Board vice-president, says supply management producers, especially dairy farmers, would be well placed to compete internationally if they gave up their protectionist ways. Western farmers, in particular, could take advantage of low-cost, under-used shipping capacity for Asia-bound freighters to move products into fast-growing cities in countries that will be part of the TPP.
Producers of other commodities — grain and pork and beef and more — are champing at the bit at the prospects of such opportunities opening up. But dairy and chicken farmers would apparently rather just snivel because all they’re getting is a few billion taxpayers’ dollars.
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PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Oracle Corp . in its most aggressive moves yet to sell more of its database and business management software online, said it plans to team up with Exodus Communications Inc.
Exodus, an Internet software services firm that hosts Web sites, will offer Oracle software that Exodus customers can access using the Internet and a standard web browser. The customers themselves do not download the software.
The world's second-largest independent software company Tuesday said it now has 30 companies using its Oracle Business Online offerings, recently adding customers in South America and Europe. Oracle also said it plans to link with consulting firms, such as Grant Thortorn LLP, to further push its business online offerings. The company intends to work with independent software developers that will make their own e-commerce related products available on Oracle's data centers, which can then be used in conjunction with Oracle software.
In statements prepared for a New York briefing with analysts and reporters at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Chief Executive Ellison said Oracle's Business Online initiative aims to be a next-generation platform for selling software over the Internet as a service. The idea is to offer a better alternative to the status quo process, which involves a constant stream of software upgrades that must be laboriously installed on computer servers and PCs.
He said the service is about far more than just finding new ways to hawk its market-leading database software and business management software, where it lags German giant SAP AG as No. 2.
In fact, Ellison says, "The software business is on its way to becoming a service business," Ellison said in an interview Monday, adding that -- not surprisingly -- the Internet is the biggest change in his industry since he founded Oracle in 1977. "If you are (an independent software vendor), are you going to build for Windows NT or are you going to build for the Internet?"
Indeed, even PC software juggernaut Microsoft has indicated recently that it's racing to develop a new Internet-based version of its top-selling Microsoft Office software, because it says customers are asking for it. The company admits it is examining different pricing models that would be more Internet friendly.
Of course, the Internet helps all start-ups, allowing the smallest of companies to gain the Web presence of a global company. But it also is a boon for well-heeled players like Oracle, which first started talking about Business Online a year ago. The goal is for 10,000 users by the end of this year, and Oracle is on track to hit that number, Ellison said. Next year, the goal is 100,000.
"Now that you can get at any system over the Internet, why not park your business software systems on the Internet and run them over the Internet?" said Banc of America Securities analyst Robert Austrian. "As such, Oracle's got a great platform for such applications and they're trying to be a catalyst for the whole industry."
Indeed, that is Ellison's plan.
"We want to create this electronic community, for purchasing, accounting, sales force management, everything," Ellison said. "There will be a whole economy built around this thing."
Analysts are saying already that the market for software and services delivered online, such as those provided by Exodus and Oracle, will reach into the tens of billions of dollars in the next few years. Other companies, too, are jumping into the so-called application service provider market.
Intel Corp., the world's largest computer chipmaker, in just the last two weeks has opened the first of its data centers, where it will host Web sites for small and medium-sized businesses. Ellison noted that Oracle is continuing talks with Intel to provide the chipmaker with its own software for Intel customers to use.
In addition to the deal with Exodus and the talks with Intel, Ellison said his Redwood Shores, Calif.-based company is in talks with other service providers, such as providers of communications networks Qwest Communications International Inc. and No. 3 carrier Sprint Corp., which has agreed to be bought by MCI WorldCom Inc., the second-biggest U.S. long-distance company.
"We're entering a stage where the systems themselves and the business software is run on an outsourced basis," said analyst Austrian.


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Cruise worker 'tricked couple into revealing passcode to stolen iPhone in game of Mr and Mrs'
Janet says she has been in shock over the alleged on-board phone theft
A cruise ship worker was sacked after he allegedly tricked a passenger into telling him the passcode of her husband's missing mobile phone during a game of 'Mr and Mrs'.
Paul Tierney, 54, mislaid his iPhone 7 on the first morning of a week-long, £2,600 Mediterranean cruise with his wife Janet.
They believe that crew member Suar Andika got his hands on the device after it went missing.
When the barman spotted it belonged to the couple, he allegedly pulled them on stage to play the popular quiz, which involves sharing details about each other.
On the first morning aboard the ship, Paul realised he couldn’t find his iPhone 7 Plus.
The couple retraced their steps, searched the ship and asked staff if the phone had been handed in as lost property, without any luck, so he cancelled the sim card.
Janet said: “Paul was convinced he brought it onto the ship with him. But it could have slipped out of his pocket anywhere.
"But we thought if it’s gone then it’s gone and we just assumed it had been lost.”
Favourite wine bar
The couple decided to spend the evening in their favourite on-board wine bar on the fourth night when they were asked to take part in the Mr and Mrs style game show.
The barman is said to have asked Janet if she knew Paul's pin code to his phone as part of the game, which she promptly blurted out by accident.
One of the questions the game show host asked Janet was "what is the passcode number to Paul’s phone?", she claims.
Janet said: “I didn’t really think at the time but Paul said to me afterwards that if anyone onboard has the phone then you’ve given the password away.
“He must have started using the phone soon after. The person in the photos is the same barman. We couldn’t believe it.”
'Janet is in total shock'
When they got home and Paul synced his new phone with his iCloud he was furious to discover it was filled with photos and videos of Suar and his colleagues.
Father-of-three Paul, from Kirby, Liverpool, said: "When we saw the photos for the first time I was more than shocked.
“This holiday will never be remembered for anything other reason than this horrible experience. Janet was in total shock. Neither of us could believe what we were seeing."
He added: “It made us feel sick. He seemed like a nice guy to us and was very charming. But he’s a despicable person. It’s disgusting what he did.”
Invasion of privacy
Paul and Janet were “gobsmacked” five days later, when Paul set up his new iPhone and found more than a dozen photos and videos of the barman from the Mr and Mrs Quiz on his iCloud.
It’s not known how the barman got the phone, and if he simply found it on board.
“I was more than shocked. I couldn’t believe what we were seeing. We just thought ‘oh my god’.
“He must have known all along it was our phone. The screensaver was of the two of us.
“What he did was unbelievable and not acceptable in anyway, shape or form. He invaded our private lives and we are sickened by it. The videos and photos are just awful.”
MSC customer services worker said following a “swift and proactive investigation” took place the phone was retrieved from the individual.
The crew member in question was "escorted off the ship", sacked and "will never work for MSC again", the company said.
MSC offered the couple £500 worth of vouchers to spend with the company, but Paul and Janet rejected the goodwill offer, they said.
It is not known if the worker admitted stealing the phone himself or if he claimed to have got it from someone else in good faith.


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The privacy-centric platform Incognito has entered into partnership with the most popular exchanges Zilliqa and Binance to provide privacy for their customers.
Since data is considered a precious commodity in the crypto world, protection of such data has become of utmost importance for crypto enthusiasts.
Under the collaboration agreement, users will have access to pZIL, a 1:1 private version of the ZIL token, and get liquidity for pZIL.
Duy Huynh, chief executive officer of Incognito, said, “Beyond the oft-touted benefits of blockchain as a transparent, immutable ledger, the reality we’ve been forced to confront as a collective industry is that complete exposure is not always applicable in every case.”
To receive pZIL, users just need to send ZIL to the Incognito wallet so they can access the software with complete privacy. They can also deposit tokens into the Incognito wallet and receive pZIL in return.
Amrit Kumar, chief scientific officer of Zilliqa, said, “This collaboration with Incognito comes at a logical time in our growth as we explore privacy tools in order to enhance Zilliqa’s real-world usability.”
“As emerging markets continue to digitize their financial infrastructures, we remain committed to offering affordable and accessible alternatives that are developed with the needs of a future-oriented digital economy in mind,” she noted.
Last year, Zilliqa has collaborated with Singapore-based fintech platform Xfers to provide more than 500,000 clients in the region with blockchain-based payments.


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Even though is far removed from the Rap scene he still has compassion for human life. For this reason he spoke against a very bigoted anchorwoman As spotted on Vibe, the Canadian native joined the millions of people who took the time to gather Laura Ingraham. In case you have been living under a rock the
Another retail chain is recognizing the power of lifestyle and culture. Nordstrom has opened up a concept in New York City. As spotted on Freshness Magazine, the luxury department brand has launched the Nordstrom x Nike store at their midtown Manhattan location. NxN is slotted to sell limited edition sneakers and gear for their male patrons
Blackberry is still alive and kicking, and today the red edition of its KEY2 device is now available in the US sporting some marginal upgrades. The phone costs $699 packs double the storage (128gb) with some Hub+ software improvements. Blackberry Hub and Blackberry Calendar also get a revamp. Owners also get red earbuds to match
seems to be a magnet for the struggle, this after he and some pals were arrested for riding dirty while crossing the U.S. border into Canada. According to reports, the Florida rapper wasn’t aware that his route from Detroit to Boston would take he and his squad through the country of our neighbors to the
Resistance Ibiza has revealed the lineups for its forthcoming third season on the White Isle. The events will be spanning 9 weeks throughout the Summer, starting from July 23, ending on September 17. Opening Party Week 1, July 23 Main Room: Adam Beyer B2B Maceo Plex / To Be Announced / Sasha | John Digweed / Patrice Bäumel
Back in late March, it was that SNK’s classic bloody fighter Samurai Shodown was getting rebooted, and launching on PS4, Xbox One, and . Now it’s time to get up close and personal with the game’s characters, and up first in what will be a weekly series of reveals is Nakoruru. *Update* We got reacquainted
might want to hop on a horse and head west, this after the Mass Appeal rapper had some words for everyone’s favorite (only?) country-trap hit, “Old Town Road” from . In a video that’s making the Internet rounds, East says the song is pure butt cheeks and Black Twitter is saying “Holy Tarnation!” in response.
First unveiled at the back in December, Nintendo shocked the world when it announced it was reviving the Ultimate Alliance franchise with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Today (Apr.16) we learn the game will be available on Switch this Summer. Nintendo is handling publishing for the exclusive slated for a July 19 release.
As every day passes we inch closer to the proper return of Swedish House Mafia. The past year has been filled with mysterious & cryptic teasers of what’s to come. And today brings us another announcement which although isn’t the one we have been waiting for *coughs* new music *coughs*, it is sure to get
NGHTMRE has gained lots of popularity in the EDM community over the last few years. This increase in stardom allowed him to play a primetime slot at Coachella’s Sahara Stage this past weekend. NGHTMRE had hinted at bringing special guests and new stage production to his highly anticipated performance. Little did we know he had a lot in


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Published 10:00 pm, Friday, September 29, 2006
Cigna plans direct network of medical providers
Cigna Corp., the fourth-biggest U.S. health-insurance company, said it would form a direct network of medical-care providers in Washington state after a third-party agreement ends June 30.
Cigna HealthCare members will continue to use the existing First Choice Health Network until that date, the Philadelphia-based company said Friday.
Cray intends to offer $80 million more in stock
Seattle supercomputer maker Cray Inc. told the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it intends to offer an additional $80 million in common stock. The company said it will use the proceeds to fund working capital and for general corporate purposes.
- Ford is Recalling 1.3 Million TrucksWochit
- Everything With Wi-Fi Has a Newly Discovered Security Flaw. Here's How to Protect YourselfTMTime
- Previewing Netflix's Q3 Earnings: Will Price Hikes Spur Churn?Cheddar
- New Tech Gives Bank Cybersecurity a BoostCheddar
- Mattress Firm Does Bed-in-a-Box DifferentlyCheddar
- Russian 'agents' spend tens of thousands on Google adsWibbitz
- Editorial: Baltimore may be underdog in Amazon HQ2 chase, but that's goodWBAL
- Starbucks Is Putting a Maple Pecan Latte on the MenuFAWTime
- Seattle is in a $5 billion battle for Amazon's second headquartersWochit
- Equifax reveals second hack months before latest breachFox35Orlando
- Vermont improves access to treatmentWPTZ
- Subway Wants Alleged Misconduct Charges Associated With Jared Fogle DroppedBuzz60
- Target Hiring Over 100,000 Employees For Holiday SeasonBuzz60
- Amazon to open second company headquartersWTAE
- Gap Is Closing 200 StoresFortuneTime
- Obama Issues Statement On Trump's Decision To End DACAGeoBeats
- Amazon Priming Whole Foods for Prime Member DiscountsCheddar
- Whole Food Prices DropHartfordCurant
- Woman Awarded $417 Million After Claiming Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Gave Her CancerPeopleTime
Saflink shuffles executives at the top of company
Kirkland's Saflink Corp., a provider of identify-verification technology, announced several personnel changes Friday.
Board member Steve Oyer became interim chief executive. Glenn Argenbright, president and CEO, was named board chairman and president of the division participating in the federal Registered Traveler program.
That program, administered by national security agency TSA, lets airline passengers move quickly through airport security if they pay in advance for a background check and fingerprinting. Saflink anticipates "phenomenal" growth through its involvement in the program, Oyer said.
A search will be launched for a full-time CEO, he said.
In other changes, Chief Financial Officer Jon Engman is resigning in mid-November "voluntarily, for personal reasons and to pursue other interests," Oyer said. Jeff Dick, vice president of finance, will serve as acting chief financial officer while Saflink searches for a successor.
Sony tells laptop makers to recall more batteries
TOKYO -- Sony urged a dozen laptop computer makers Friday to recall more of its batteries that could overheat, the latest headache for the electronics company struggling to regain its luster as the world's top electronics brand. The number of lithium-ion batteries being replaced now stands at about 7 million worldwide, Sony spokesman Takashi Uehara said. He declined to estimate how much it would cost the company.
Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. were the latest to tell customers to return batteries. A day earlier, IBM Corp. and Lenovo Group announced a recall of 526,000 batteries. Last month, it was Apple Computer Inc. and Dell Inc.
EADS board holds off on decision about A380 delay
PARIS -- Customers and investors hoping for word from Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. about delays to the flagship A380 jet program, which is already running one year behind schedule, will have to wait longer.
The EADS board, which met Friday to discuss the A380, ended the forum without announcing a decision.
NEW TOP OFFICER
Vessels due at the Port of Seattle today, according to the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound, include CSCL Felixstowe, from Vancouver, B.C., at Terminal 18-1; and Edelweiss, from Onahama, Japan, at anchor. Due Sunday is MOL Confidence, from Vancouver, at Terminal 5-North. Expected Monday are CMA CGM Jamaica, port of origin unknown, at 18-1; Mercury, from Nanaimo, B.C., at 66-2; and OOCL Britain, from Busan, South Korea, at 18.


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TPG Architecture names design director, retail studio
New York — TPG Architecture has promoted Nicole Varadi from senior designer to design director, retail studio.
Varadi, who joined TPG in 2011, will now take on a greater degree of leadership within the retail studio while continuing to work actively on projects. Recently, she helped lead the design of The Red Door, the award winning day spa and beauty boutique in Union Square. She is currently working with brands such as Sundance and Rent the Runway, and is playing an active role in acquiring new business for the firm.
Stego embarks on carbon footprint project
Chicago — Stego Industries, a provider of in below-slab moisture vapor protection, has launched an ambitious new company-level initiative to eliminate the carbon emissions of its business operations.
The initiative, Stego’s Carbon Footprint Project, took another step toward this goal at the American Association of Architects (AIA) National Convention in Chicago last week by purchasing carbon offsets for all of the company’s air travel in 2013 — some 115 metric tons — through the TerraPass Carbon Balanced Business Program.
“Stego has long taken bold steps to lead the construction industry onto a more sustainable path,” Stego Industries CEO Paul J. Blasdel said. “Encapsulating our sustainability efforts under the Carbon Footprint Project umbrella sends a message within our company and to our stakeholders that eliminating our carbon emissions is not a side project, it is a corporate priority.”
Stego’s commitment to a carbon-neutral future began early in the company’s history with the establishment of an executive level “green team” that convened quarterly to assess the company’s progress on sustainability issues within its company and its industry. The team’s first major step came with the installation of solar panels at the company headquarters in San Clemente, California, in 2010, which have returned more than 4.7 megawatt/hours of electricity back into the electricity grid since their installation.
A member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Stego has also sponsored the ABC Green Home since the project’s inception in Southern California in 2011.The company offers cash incentives to employees interested in replacing their work-use personal vehicles with more fuel-efficient models.
“We owe it to our stakeholders and employees – along with their children and future generations – to find every way forward to a more sustainable future,” Blasdel said. “We are determined to lead our industry in every way and to prove that sustainability is not just good for the environment, it is good for our bottom line.”
Target’s 124 stores in Canada all receive LEED certification
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Target announced that all 124 store locations it has opened across Canada in 2013 have been awarded Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
"This past year marked a major milestone for Target as we delivered on the unprecedented goal of opening 124 stores across ten provinces," said Mark Schindele, president, Target Canada. "LEED certification of these 124 stores reinforces Target’s commitment to the environment, making Target a leader among Canadian retailers when it comes to sustainable buildings."
Target stores were awarded LEED certification through the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Volume Program, which streamlines the certification process for buildings in both Canada and the U.S In order to obtain certification. Target stores had to undergo various rounds of audits throughout 2013, and meet stringent criteria across five LEED categories, including: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
"LEED is a rigorous leadership standard, and obtaining even a single certification is a significant achievement," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. "For Target, securing certification for 124 stores is truly extraordinary – we congratulate and commend them for their demonstrated commitment to creating healthier buildings and communities throughout Canada."
Target will pursue LEED certification for the nine additional stores opening throughout 2014, including the three stores that opened in March in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. The remaining six Target locations will open in Ontario, with single store additions planned for Quebec and Manitoba.


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The first rendering with the Volkswagen Golf 7 has recently made its way onto the web and it might provide us with a first look into a final production version of the popular model.
The German based automaker Volkswagen has already unveiled the new Golf 7 generation, in its many body styles, including 5-door hatchback, 3-door hatchback or Estate, but it seems that a fourth body style, the convertible, has been forgotten by everyone. Well, not exactly everyone, as Theophilus Chin is now providing us with a first look into the new VW Golf 7 Cabrio, and we must say that the model in question looks quite appealing.
According to our source, the new Volkswagen Golf 7 Cabrio might become a rival for the Opel / Vauxhall Cascada or even a replacement for the Volkswagen Eos, but with a fabric soft top instead of the folding hard top found on the older vehicle. Volkswagen didn’t announce its plans just yet to offer a convertible version of the new Golf generation, but knowing how the company works, we can most likely say that such a vehicle will probably make its way onto the market in a year or two. Meanwhile, you can check it out in the image posted above.
Image Source: Theophilus Chin


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At long last, there’s a new “South Park” video game coming out — the first on the current generation of gaming consoles — and it looks like the sort of thing that would work perfectly as a movie. After taking on “Lord of the Rings” and traditional RPG games in “South Park: The Stick of Truth,” video game developer Ubisoft and “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are taking aim at the world of superheroes.
“South Park: The Fractured But Whole” — say that title very fast to get the immature and sort of beautiful little joke — centers on a war between Coon and Friends, the superhero league led by Eric Cartman’s alter ego The Coon. Naturally, most of them hate him.
In a trailer released for the game, The Coon sets up his entire game plan, which is a franchise of movies mostly about himself and some of his supposed friends. They all bicker over who gets top billing, driving a wedge between the group. That’s right, it’s “Captain America: Civil War,” but with “South Park” characters.
Even though, as Super Craig reminds The Coon, “I thought Civil War wasn’t supposed to happen until Phase 3.”
It’s exactly the sort of meta reference-fest you want in a “South Park” movie, but instead you get to jump into the world as your own character and become part of it.
As the gameplay demonstration above shows, “The Fractured But Whole” takes what “The Stick of Truth” introduced to an entirely new level as we’re not just dealing with kids playing games anymore, but superheroes battling for control of the world.
Regardless, just because it’s a game doesn’t mean it can’t one day become a movie. Ask “Warcraft,” “Assassin’s Creed,” “Angry Birds” and any number of other games adapted to film. Perhaps “South Park” could be the first TV to video game to movie adaptation. Parker and Stone have done crazier things. Besides, Cartman has already mapped out the first three phases of his cinematic universe.
“South Park: The Fractured But Whole” will release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PCs on Dec. 6.


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With a comprehensive survey on the online habits and preferences of European consumers, the international DPDgroup provides new insights into e-commerce in Europe. For the first edition of the E-Shopper Barometer, the market research institute Kantar TNS interviewed 23,450 consumers across 21 European countries, on behalf of the DPDgroup. According to the results, the Germans are European champions in online shopping: Measured by the total purchasing volume, German online shoppers account for Europe’s largest share of online shopping with 11.5 per cent.
The E-Shopper Barometer is the most comprehensive survey of European consumers about online shopping: no other study before has collected data on the detailed opinions and habits of European e-shoppers on such a broad basis. In addition to Europe-wide trends such as mobile commerce, or a growing willingness to buy in foreign online shops, the study also highlights the outstanding importance of comfortable package services for e-commerce: Factors such as an uncomplicated returns process as well as transparency and flexibility in package delivery are among the most important drivers for the purchase decision in the online shop.
Europe-wide, 52 per cent of all e-shoppers have already made a purchase from a foreign website before. There are, however, huge differences depending on the country: consumers from Latvia (82 per cent), Portugal (81 per cent) and Switzerland (79 per cent) are especially open to purchasing abroad. Germany is the European tail-ender with only 40 per cent, consumers from the UK, Poland and France are also often purchasing from domestic online shops.
The study also shows the great growth potential in international e-commerce: 31 per cent of e-shoppers, who have never made a purchase abroad, intend to do so in the future. 69 per cent of foreign purchases are made at stores within the EU. The most popular European online stores are found in the UK (33 per cent), in Europe German shops come second with 28 per cent. Outside Europe, especially online shops from China (40 per cent) are chosen, followed by shops from the USA (34 per cent).
Reliable and comfortable delivery and returns services are decisive success factors for online shops. Real-time information on the delivery process, for example, is an important factor in the purchase decision for 84 per cent of European e-shoppers, and 83 per cent want options for the flexible redirection of parcels. A delivery forecast with an accuracy of an hour is an important criterion for 80 per cent of the online shoppers when choosing their preferred retailer.
The European consumers are in agreement that their own doorstep is still the most popular delivery location. However, there are clear differences concerning the alternatives: whilefi neighbourhood delivery (13 per cent) is the most popular alternative option for the Germans (European average: 6 percent), parcel shops are gaining more popularity throughout Europe with 16 per cent (Germany: 6 percent). However, the growth potential of alternative delivery locations is particularly high in Germany: 60 per cent of the e-shoppers want to use delivery to a parcel shop in the future, 56 per cent want to use the possibility of delivery to an alternative address. The pick-up at a retailer (“Click & Collect”, 45 per cent) and the delivery to a parcel locker station (44 per cent) are also going to become more popular alternatives for German e-shoppers.
Most online purchases across Europe are still made via laptop (63 per cent) or desktop PC (53 per cent). Smartphones currently account for 35 per cent, but mobile commerce is on the rise: 49 per cent of the 18- to 34-year-olds already use their mobile to shop, heavy buyers account for 46 per cent.


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While broadband subscriber growth is slowing for many telcos, that does not appear to be the case for now for Frontier Communications (formerly Citizens Communications). The Stamford, Conn.-based independent telco added 16,300 DSL broadband customers in the quarter, about 17 percent more than the same quarter year. The company now has broadband penetration of 36 percent.
While the major telcos like AT&T and Verizon reported growth in TV customers and broadband Internet customers as part of their second quarter earnings, broadband growth rates have been slowing. In particular, DSL numbers have been dropping off considerably, and telcos also have started to see economically-burdened customers disconnect their broadband services.
- read this report at Telephony


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Hamilton Wellness Fair
On Wednesday, April 5, the American Martial Arts Institute participated in Hamilton College's annual wellness fair to talk with members of the community about health, awareness, and personal safety. Grandmaster Crandall, Master Stalloch, and Master Freleigh set up a display that included playing the DVDs Cane-Fu: Moving Beyond Disabilities, Takenouchi-Hangan-Ryu-Matsuno-Crandall Iaido, and others. The display also included a laptop featuring the school's website, pictures from our recent events, including the Funshop and Adult Seminar Day, and the many books and DVDs produced by the school. Dozens of other vendors were on site, and hundreds of people participated. The school gave away multiple copies of our books including the Superkick workbook, Just Get Away, and the Adventures of Tiger Lily and Julia series as door prizes. The event was very positive and well received.


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The iPhone 14 series is one of the fastest smartphones on the planet. But it is nothing compared to what this technology can offer. Check out what the world’s fastest phone is set to contain.
With the launch of the iPhone 14 series, we have witnessed what Apple The A16 Bionic chipset is capable of doing this and it is extremely fast. About him Android side of things, we saw the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 flaunts the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, a beast comparable to the A16. With 5G knocking on our front door, the world is already wondering how fast the next generation will be. However, if smartphone makers are to keep up in this battle of increasing Internet speed and processing power, they must first overcome a huge hurdle. How to make hardware deliver that kind of speed and power. But a surprisingly simple new machine can potentially be a game changer and offer U.S the fastest phone in the world, making you forget about the iPhone 14. Read on to know more about it.
The technology that can create the fastest phone in the world
Nanowerk, a nanotechnology portal, reports about this fascinating technology. But first, let’s understand the problem of developing faster internet speeds for the next generation of smartphones. To receive such high frequency signals, smart phones it must be equipped with antennas that can work in the range of tens of gigahertz. But for that to happen, the filament of these antennas must be braided to a thickness of one micrometer. Current industrial equipment isn’t capable of producing something like that, and even if intense research and development can create something that can, it won’t be cheap.
This is where researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) stepped in. to study published in the journal Nature titled ‘3D-printed machines that manipulate microscopic objects using capillary forces’, they explain how a simple and cheap machine can be built to achieve the same results.
The machine is ridiculously simple. Use the surface tension of Water to move and manipulate microscopic objects to create grooves, braids and more and make nanoscopic material. “Our work offers a potentially inexpensive way to fabricate microstructured and possibly nanostructured materials. Unlike other micromanipulation methods, such as laser tweezers, our machines can be easily manufactured. We used a water tank and a 3D printer, like those found in many public libraries,” said Vinothan Manoharan, professor of chemical engineering and Wagner Family Professor of Physics at SEAS and lead author of the paper.
The machine is just a 3D printed rectangular plastic piece where the inside of the device has been carved to create channels with wide and narrow sections. These channels intersect at different points. The channel walls are composed of hydrophilic material and attract water.
Now, the easiest thing to do was to make the microscopic particles move in these channels and create grooves, but the intersection, which is necessary to make braided formations, was still complicated. “The eureka moment came when we discovered that we could move objects by changing the cross section of our capture channels. It was a joyous moment when, in our first attempt, we crossed two fibers using only a piece of plastic, a water tank and a stage that moves up and down,” said Maya Faaborg, an associate at SEAS.
It’s still early days for the team and now they intend to manipulate multiple fibers at once. The objective is to manufacture high-frequency conductors and to manufacture microscopic devices. This really may be the birth of the kind of fast processors that are not even possible to imagine today and may pave the way for the fastest phones in the world.


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National Trading proposes raising Rs 1b by selling land
KATHMANDU, April 16: National Trading Limited (NTL) has proposed raising Rs 1 billion by selling 18 ropanis (0.92 hectare) of land in Teku of Kathmandu to diversify business operation.
The board of directors of the state-owned trading firm has already approved the company´s proposal. “It has now been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for final approval,” Dilli Dhoj Karki, acting director general of the company, told Republica.
NTL, which was actively selling imported machinery and range of commodities until a decade ago, has now been forced to restrict its business operation to sales of few items like cement and sugar.
“This was largely because of the enforcement of Public Procurement Act, which does not allow state-owned companies to get directly involved in purchase of goods,” Karki said. “As a result we have not been able to import goods like machinery and parts of various equipment for almost half a decade.”
Although there are debates on whether the state should get involved in businesses that are currently in the realm of the private sector, experts say becoming a mute spectator of fall of companies that are currently operational will only drain away taxpayers´ money.
“If the government truly believes such companies are of no use to the state, it should take bold moves and privatize or scrap such firms,” an official of finance ministry said on condition of anonymity. “But until such decisions are taken, those firms should be allowed to make optimum use of their capacity.”
To enhance its performance, NTL has proposed opening petrol pumps in Bhairahawa, Birgunj and Dhangadi, among others. The company currently operates a petrol pump in Teku and is soon opening another such station in Pokhara.
“We have also proposed establishing a liquefied petroleum gas bottling plant, though location of such a facility has not yet been finalized,” Karki said, adding, “Business diversification is the only way we can survive.”
The state-owned firm currently functions as authorized distributors of state-owned Udaypur and Hetauda cement factories. It also purchases sugar in bulk by launching tender bids for the purpose retailing it.
To diversify its business operation, the state-owned company has also requested that it be allowed to sell chemical fertilizer and goods confiscated by customs offices. It has also proposed opening five more sales outlets and keeping 10,000 tons of sugar as buffer stock.
“To meet these targets, we need fund injection of around Rs 1 billion, which can be obtained by selling 18 ropanis of land in Teku,” Karki said. “As of now state-owned companies like Employees Provident Fund and Nepal Transport and Warehouse Management Company have expressed interest in acquiring the plot.”
National Trading Limited currently owns around 50 ropanis of land in Teku. It also has around 26 ropanis of land in Ram Shah Path of Kathmandu and huge plots of land in places like Biratnagar, Birgunj, Mahendranagar and Surkhet, among others.
Established around 50 years ago, NTL, which has around 398 staff members, has a negative net worth of Rs 98.9 million. It currently has loan liability of over Rs 600 million and staff liability of around Rs 180 million.