text:
We’ve received numerous reports of Amazon Associate members in North Carolina receiving emails stating that Amazon is going to have to discontinue the service there due to a pending change the in state’s tax structure. Sometime in the next two weeks, Amazon expects that it will be terminating the service for all North Carolina residents. That will be very bad news for a lot of people who rely on Amazon’s popular affiliate sales program as a source of income.
Here’s the full email:
We regret to inform you that the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) appears ready to enact an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of North Carolina.
Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.
But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted – which could happen in the next two weeks – we will have to terminate the participation of all North Carolina residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before that same day. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from North Carolina residents.
The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on North Carolina residents like you were explained in detail to key senators and representatives in Raleigh, including the leadership of the Senate, House, and both chambers’ finance committees. Other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee, considered nearly identical schemes, but rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states’ residents.
The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.
We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program, and we will apprise you of the General Assembly’s action on this matter.
So what exactly is this “unconstiutional tax collection scheme”? Here’s what the site news-record has to say:
The tax change is part of a package passed by the House last week in its attempt to rewrite the budget. Lawmakers are struggling to fill what they say is a $4.5 billion gap between the money needed to keep government operating as it is and the revenue the state is due to take in next year.
As part of the effort to bridge that gap, House members broadened the number of items to which state sales tax would apply and have to be collected by retailers. The tax on the category “digital click-throughs” under which the Amazon agreements fall would raise $13.2 million next year, according to estimates by the General Assembly’s fiscal research arm.
With its “scheme” and “unconstitutional” wording, Amazon is clearly not happy about this. It also notes that other states have thought about similar measures but rejected them. But hey, that’s a pretty huge budget gap, makes me worried for what California might do. And what’s with the Carolinas and getting into dustups with web companies?


text:
Many Xbox fans are waiting for a while about bringing xCloub to the PC as Microsoft calls it Cloud gaming. As per reports, Microsoft has already started testing its xCloud gaming streaming through a web browser. Microsoft xCloud gaming allows Xbox players to access their games through a browser.
Sources inform that Microsoft has rolled out xCloud gaming via the browser for its employees. These employees are testing the xCloud gaming beta version for the PC iteration of the service. This is the last step before offering a public preview. The web version opens up xCloud to work on devices like iPhones and iPads too.
Initially, Microsoft informed that iOS and PC also will be added to the xCloud experience in the spring of this year. Finally, we are starting to witness a little bit of progress towards meeting that objective.
Microsoft xCloud gaming for web browser details
People who have tested the xCloud gaming service inside Microsoft reported that “the present beta version experience is a bit buggy at the moment, But it is to be expected.” Also, they informed, that the present version of xCloud gaming will only work for chrome and Edge browsers at this time. Whereas Firefox and Safari users need to change their browsing habits if they want to experience this service.
One thing that is still not clear is that the stand-alone app for the xCloud gaming will exist when the service makes its public debut. Last year there was an app leaked that allowed users to play xCloud on their PC. But that app experience will fall away once the xCloud gaming web version comes into the picture.
However, Microsoft can also choose to offer both solutions. With current progress in the xCloud gaming version for PC’s is moving at a rate that will allow Microsoft to meet its earlier announcement that “it will release the xCloud gaming for web version in the spring.” That being said, the iOS version of the service does not appear to be moving forward along with the PC version in the testing phases. One of the reasons can be the complicated Apple’s store policies.
Microsoft initially launched xCloud for Android users. And those users can still stream games today. But the web version of Microsoft’s xCloud gaming service can enable PC and iOS users to stream games. Which will open up a wide range of gaming audience for Xbox games.
xCloud web version how it will work
As the xCloud world on the Android tablets and phones, same as that the web version also includes a simple launcher with recommendations for games. Also, it will have the ability to resume your played games, and access to all the cloud games that are available through Xbox game pass Ultimate. Once you launch the game it will be running fullscreen. You need a controller to play Xbox games streamed through the web version.
There is no clear information about what resolution Microsoft will steam games in its web version. The software designers are using the Xbox One Server blades for its existing xCloud infrastructure. Because of this full 4K streaming won’t be supported. For that, it needs to upgrade the backend hardware to Xbox Series X components this year.
For Windows 10 Microsoft may bundle this xCloud gaming web version into the PC version of the Xbox app. Present this web version will only be limited to Chromium browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Also, Microsoft is looking forward to integrating some form of the public preview of the xCloud gaming web version. All this indicates that the web version preview will arrive soon.
Microsoft has its own cloud gaming platform. This cloud gaming with Xbox game pass Ultimate is known as xCloud. It provides more than 150 Xbox One and Xbox Series X games that you can play on Android devices.
Generally, it is a streaming service, which has many games that are hosted on remote servers and live gameplay video. Which is sent to compatible devices over the internet. In return controller codes are sent in the other direction for all intents and purposes. As a result, it feels like you are playing the game which is loaded on the device itself.
Microsoft says that its xCloud gaming is one of the best cloud gaming services. Because it uses the firm’s wide network of data centers around the world. It ensures game requests that can be served locally instead of across continents. This can potentially reduce the latency by shortening the distance between the end-user and the data center.
Because Apple imposed limitations on iOS and cloud services, Microsoft didn’t support the iPhone and iPad when it launched xCloud gaming of beta version for Android in September. Both Apple and Microsoft got into a public dispute about whether the xCloud of the current version could ever exist on the iPhone. Later Apple informed that such a service would have to submit individual games for review.
Though Apple’s solution of allowing cloud gaming apps to run their cloud clients on iOS as long as they submit the Individual titles for review. But Xbox informs that such a solution will be a bad experience for consumers instead of deciding to focus on a mobile web version.
Similarly, other cloud gaming services also decided to do the same and both Google and Nvidia announced their service’s respective mobile web versions last month. Nvidia’s service is available right now with its Geforce Now cloud services running on iOS in beta. Google is also planning to launch an iOS version of its Stadia service via the mobile web in the upcoming months.
These are the details of Microsoft’s xCloud gaming web version. Microsoft’s employees are currently testing a web version of xCloud gaming before the public preview. The xCloud gaming web version includes a simple launcher similar to how xCloud currently works on Android tablets and phones. The launcher comes with recommendations for games and the ability to resume recently played titles.

domain: news


text:
Qualcomm hit with $773m fine as Taiwan's antitrust watchdog is latest to weigh in on FRAND licensing
Qualcomm was hit with yet another record-breaking fine by an Asian antitrust body yesterday, as the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) announced its finding that the US chipmaker has abused its monopoly power. The regulator levied a penalty of 23.4…
To read more
Register for limited access
Register to receive our newsletter and gain limited access to subscriber content.
Subscribe to unlock unlimited access
Get news, unique commentary, expert analysis and essential resources from the IAM experts.


text:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Books-A-Million Inc. BAMM, -3.30% after the bell Wednesday said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 20 percent to $9.2 million, or 54 cents a share, from restated earnings of $7.6 million, or 44 cents a share, a year ago. Same-store sales rose 2.7 percent. Revenue was $149.4 million vs. restated revenue of $145.2 million a year earlier. The Birmingham, Ala.-based retailer said it expects first-quarter earning of 3 cents to 5 cents a share. For 2006, the company expects earnings of 70 cents to 74 cents a share. Excluding insurance recovery gains, the company expects 2006 earnings of 67 cents to 69 cents a share.
Books-A-Million Inc Q4 profit rises 20%


text:
Chennai . Around 1,100 employees of the auto company Ford India’s factory in Maraimalainagar area of Tamil Nadu capital Chennai returned to work on Monday despite no agreement between the workers union and the management. Employees have been protesting for the last 22 days demanding better service termination package.
Ford India’s Chennai factory is going to close soon.
A staff union official told IANS that some employees who agreed and did not agree to the termination package have started coming to work.
He said that a tripartite meeting is to be held on Monday between the representative of the employees union, the management and the labor department of Tamil Nadu. Earlier, the Labor Department had said that this matter is between the company and the employees and they should find a solution through mutual dialogue.
About 2,600 employees work in this factory of Ford India. Sources said 400 workers are outside the plant gates and around 1,000 workers are at their homes.
Another union official told IANS that the management was earlier offering 87 days’ salary in lieu of every year’s service, which has been increased to 110 days.
The protesting workers are but demanding a package as per the termination package of another carmaker. The said carmaker has given 135 days’ salary to the employees for every year’s service and is also bearing their income tax expenses.
These employees have been sitting on dharna since Monday. The employees’ union official said that the workers who were protesting inside the factory earlier, are now staging a dharna outside the gate.
The union official also expressed apprehension that even if the management says that it does not want to make EVs, but the company is working hard for EVs. The company is not disclosing at which plant it will manufacture the EVs. It seems that the EV is to be manufactured at this plant and before that employees are being laid off.
The union official said that production is to be held at this plant only for the next few days. EcoSport cars are manufactured at this plant for export.
Ford India has four plants in the country. In September 2021, the automaker announced the closure of its factory in Sanand, Gujarat by the last quarter of FY21 and the Chennai plant by the second quarter of FY22.
The Sanand factory has been announced to be acquired by Tata Motors and the employees there will also now work for Tata.
read this also – Click to read the news of your state / city before the newspaper


text:
Victor Ugochukwu · Dec 14, 2020 . 5min read
CySEC cautions against unlicensed FX and Crypto Domains
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has barred six FX brands and crypto domains, for unauthorized trading of FX and crypto.
By Komal Joshi · Aug 8, 2020 . 6min read
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has barred six FX brands, for unauthorized trading of FX and crypto. According to reports, the brands deceivingly alleged affiliation with Bdswiss Holding licensed and regulated in the country.
Nonetheless, fxg.market, 247firstinvest.com, keyoncapital.com, cryptotradecentr.com, fxgrowcapital.com, meritkapital.net, and procloudoptions.online are among the recent entities that are added to the CySEC’s warning list. However, these brands promoted FX and cryptocurrency without an adequate license. Additionally, CySEC also issued a warning against a company called eMarketsTrade, working in both crypto and FX trade.
CySEC Faces Security Threats
Various providers claim that they deal in Cyprus across the globe. The CySEC earlier said it believed such companies were located overseas and offered false addresses. Additionally, it states if the companies are located in the country, strict action will be taken. Consequently, it elucidates that it is sometimes hard to find the operators’ names on their websites. Also, it is challenging to locate the addresses as the company headquarters are often offshore letterbox addresses.
CySEC’s Rules and Regulations
Consumers may or may not lose money on the platform. However, CySEC states that customers losing money should be licensed. They do not get the benefits under the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) if they do not possess adequate license. This assists in protecting the claims of covered clients. It also offers them with compensation in case a member couldn’t meet its financial obligations. Earlier last year, the CySEC modified maximum compensation for valid claims to be either 90% of the cumulative covered claims or €20.000, whichever is less.
The imposition of EU Anti Money Laundering Amendments
EU’s 5th Anti Money Laundering Directive proposes member nations to implement the new legislation until January 10th, 2020. It is the first attempt to regulate cryptocurrencies at an EU level expressly. On January 1st, 2020, Germany will implement the new directive. Other nation’s views are also both well underway. Moreover, enduring national regulations for cryptocurrency already go further than those suggested in the EU directive.
Other EU countries follow the same legislation. Cyprus will be following the latest amendment to the European Anti Money Laundering Directive into its current regulation.
Follow Cryptodose for more updates.


text:
The Midland, GA-based fast food chain Chick-fil-A has been in the middle of a public relations firestorm over homophobic comments by its CEO. Today, the company's chief spokesman Don Perry died unexpectedly. Various news outlets are reporting the cause of death as a heart attack, citing Ross Cathy, owner of the fast food chain and family member of company CEO, Dan Cathy, as a source. The company's CEO has long made his conservative, non-gay-friendly political positions known, but recent remarks against gay marriage sparked widespread protest. The company is now being sued by a former employee (PDF) over allegations of gender discrimination.
The UK is one of the easiest places in the world to set up a shady company, which is why accused Mafia money-launderer Antonio “Tonino the Blond” Righi set up his shell company Magnolia Fundaction UK with Britain’s Companies House, giving an address in Soho.
Before being convicted of felony securities fraud, smirking cartoon villain pharma-douche-bro Martin Shkreli had to be tried in front of a jury and this presented a unique problem because everyone hates Martin Shkreli, and thus more than 100 jurors were dismissed from the pool during pre-trial questioning. Here are some of the statements that led […]
Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes released this study in 2015, comparing the outcomes for students enrolled in online charter schools with comparable students (controlled for grade level, gender, race/ethnicity, free lunch eligibility, English language status, special ed status and historical state achievement test scores) in brick-and-mortar classrooms.
The Pry.Me Bottle Opener holds tens of thousands of times its own weight, and you can pick one up now from the Boing Boing Store.This remarkable keychain is considerably smaller than any of your keys, but don’t let that fool you: it can easily open any bottle, and could even tow a trailer full of […]
Guaranteeing your privacy online goes way beyond checking the “Do Not Track” option in your browser’s settings. To ensure that your internet activity is totally hidden from Internet Service Providers, advertisers, and other prying eyes, take a look at Windscribe’s VPN protection. It usually costs $7.50 per month, but you can get a 3-year subscription […]
This project management bundle will help you get organized and learn how to lead a team to success. You can pay what you want for these five courses when you pick them up from the Boing Boing Store.To help you become an invaluable asset for your company, this bundle includes a curated collection of professional […]


text:
(CNN) — Applebee’s is planning to add something new to its tables.
The restaurant chain wants to put tablet computers at every table.
It hopes to have the tablets in place at all of its U.S. restaurants by the end of 2014.
Customers reportedly will be able to use the tablets to order appetizers and desserts, pay for their meals and even play video games while they wait.
But, you’ll still have to go through a waiter to order your main dish.
Applebee’s isn’t the only chain looking to add new technology.
Chili’s restaurants are already working to put tablets at their tables, and IHOP is looking into doing the same thing.


text:
January 23, 2017 Leave a comment
January 23, 2017 Leave a comment
March 3, 2016 Leave a comment
The Globe and Mail is reporting that the U.S Agriculture Department has given the Canadian Food Inspection Agency until mid-March to fix significant food safety and sanitation concerns found during an audit of Canada’s meat, poultry and egg inspection systems.
CFIA met the “core criteria” for overall food inspection, but American officials identified “operation weaknesses related to government oversight, plant sanitation and microbiological testing” for listeria, salmonella and E. coli, according to a final report submitted to CFIA on Jan. 14.
Failure to fix the deficiencies could lead the U.S. government to delist Canadian plants that were audited from exporting their products to the United States.
CFIA issued a statement to The Globe and Mail late Monday insisting that food safety was not compromised and steps are being taken to improve the inspection system.
“It is important to note that none of the audit findings posed a food safety risk to consumers, including the identified sanitation issues,” CFIA said. “At the time of the audit, the CFIA inspectors were already addressing the sanitation findings outlined in the audit report and the establishments were already taking the required steps to fix the issues in question.”
The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) conducted the audit between May 28 and June 13, 2014, of slaughter and processing plants in Ontario and Quebec.
The audit found CFIA does not conduct ongoing environmental sampling and testing in food-production plants for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), the bacteria that contaminated cold cuts produced by Maple Leaf Foods in 2008 that resulted in the death of 22 Canadians.
Food-plant employees test the surfaces where ready-to-eat meat and poultry is packaged but “does not collect samples or test for the presence of Lm on non-food contact surfaces,” the audit said. Read more of this post
August 11, 2015 1 Comment
Last week, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) filed a legal brief in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL), arguing that the $3 billion sought by Canada and Mexico in retaliatory tariffs are a dramatic overestimation of damages. Read more of this post
March 13, 2013 1 Comment
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is facing a backlash from small livestock producers and others over its move to tighten meat-labeling regulations, which would force them to separate animals based on where they were born, raised and slaughtered.
The step is being billed as a way to bring the U.S. into compliance with World Trade Organization agreements, but there are a growing number in the industry who argue it will alienate the country’s trading partners and force small American meat farms out of business.
“Only the government could take a costly, cumbersome rule like mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) and make it worse even as it claims to ‘fix it,” said American Meat Institute President J. Patrick Boyle.
Boyle believes the proposed rule will make the current requirements even more expensive, onerous and disruptive.
The Department of Agriculture recently proposed the new rule for labeling muscle cuts of meat. That means beef, veal, lamb, pork, goat and chicken — which are now labeled as simply a product of one country or more — will have to include additional details including where each animal was born, raised and slaughtered.
The new labeling regulations would force thousands of meat processors and retailers to change the way they label products. The USDA estimates the initial cost would range between $17 million and $48 million.
The USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service began working on a rule change after the U.S. partially lost a WTO appeal in 2012. “The USDA expects that these changes will improve the overall operation of the program and also bring the current mandatory (country of origin labeling) requirements into compliance with the U.S. international trade obligations,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
The National Farmers Union praised the rule change as an “excellent response.”
September 25, 2012 Leave a comment
Canada uses supply controls to help poultry, dairy farmers
* US producers see 2nd chance in Trans-Pacific Partnership
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) – The United States must fix mistakes it made in the North American Free Trade Agreement by insisting in new trade talks with Canada on unrestricted access to that country’s poultry and dairy market, U.S. agricultural groups said on Monday.
“All we’re asking is that we have an open and free fair trade shot at the border,” Bill Roenigk, senior vice president at the National Chicken Council, said at a hearing conducted by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact.
Canada’s Conservative government, sensitive to sentiment in vote-rich Eastern Canada, has long said it will maintain supply-management measures for dairy, poultry and egg farmers. These measures largely entail matching production to domestic demand and levying high tariffs to discourage imports.
However, the government has also said all goods are subject to negotiation, both in talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership among 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and in free-trade discussions with the European Union.
Four-fifths of Canada’s 13,200 dairy farmers live in Ontario and Quebec, populous provinces that are generally critical to election success.
Roenigk said U.S. producers thought NAFTA, which went into force in January 1994, would eliminate tariffs on U.S. poultry exports to Canada and were shocked when Ottawa, as well as a NAFTA dispute settlement panel, took the opposite view.
Now that the United States has a second chance to address Canada’s poultry tariffs, the U.S. industry’s “view on this is the old Irish proverb: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,” Roenigk said in his prepared remarks.
“The U.S. poultry industry strongly opposes Canada’s participation in the TPP unless Canada expressly commits to removing all border restrictions on poultry imports from the United States,” he said.
Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president at the National Milk Producers Federation, said U.S. dairy producers were also disappointed NAFTA did not open up Canada’s market and were determined not to let that happen again.
September 7, 2012 Leave a comment
DENVER, Colo., Sept. 5, 2012 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Made in the USA Foundation led a coalition of groups filing suit against the World Trade Organization, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of Agriculture to keep the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling Act (COOL) in force. The WTO ruled this summer that COOL, which required meat from Mexico, Canada and other nations to be labeled as such, discriminated against imported beef.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in Denver, Colorado. The case seeks a court order declaring that the World Trade Organization does not have the authority to override U.S. law. The Country of Origin Labeling Act requires all meat, fish, chicken and produce to be labeled at the grocery store with an accurate country of origin.
Canada and Mexico challenged the U.S. law at the World Trade Organization, arguing that the law unfairly discriminates against imports from these two nations. The WTO does not have permanent judges. The WTO appointed an appellate panel of three judges that included a Mexican lawyer who has represented Mexico in trade cases.
Joel D. Joseph, general counsel of the Made in the USA Foundation, said, “the WTO does not have the right to interfere with domestic laws of the United States. When the U.S. joined the WTO, it agreed to do so only if the WTO could not overrule U.S. law. More than 90% of U.S. consumers favor the Country of Origin Labeling Act. This law does not discriminate against any country, it merely requires labeling. Consumers have a right to decide whether to buy U.S. or imported meat, and accurate labeling is a consumer right.” Joseph added, “the WTO’s appellate panel was unfairly biased against the United States and should not have allowed a Mexican lawyer, with an obvious conflict of interest, to sit on the panel.”
This is the third major decision of a WTO court that attempts to overturn U.S. law. The prior two cases involved “dolphin safe” labels on tuna and a U.S. ban on flavored cigarettes. Congress allows tuna to be labeled “dolphin safe” if it meets specific requirements. Mexico complained that this discriminates against Mexican tuna because Mexican tuna is not fished in a manner that protects dolphins.
Indonesia filed a complaint with the WTO charging that the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, that prohibits flavored cigarettes from being sold in the United States discriminates against Indonesia cigarettes. Indonesia produces clove-flavored cigarettes and wants to sell them in the U.S. The WTO ruled that the U.S. ban on flavored cigarettes discriminated against Indonesia.
The Made in the USA Foundation is a non-profit organization formed in 1989 to promote American-made products. The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) represents 5,400 ranchers and cattlemen in 45 states. Made in the USA Foundation and R-CALF were the primary supporters of the Country of Origin Labeling Act. Mile High Organics is a food distributor in Denver, Colorado that delivers food to homes throughout the state. Mile High Organics seeks to distribute local, Made in the USA food and supports country of origin labeling.
SOURCE Made in the USA Foundation
July 11, 2012 1 Comment
Pratt & Whitney, a key military hardware supplier to the U.S., sold China the software and engines needed to make its first-ever modern attack helicopter.
The Canadian arm of the aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney closed a six-year U.S. government probe last week by admitting that it helped China produce its first modern attack helicopter, a serious violation of U.S. export laws that drew a multimillion dollar fine.
At the same time it was helping China, the company was separately earning huge fees from contracts with the Pentagon, including some in which it was building weapons meant to ensure that America can maintain decisive military superiority over China’s rising military might.
The Chinese helicopter that benefited from Pratt’s engines and related computer software, now in production, comes outfitted with 30 mm cannons, anti-tank guided missiles, air-to-air missiles and unguided rockets. “This case is a clear example of how the illegal export of sensitive technology reduces the advantages our military currently possesses,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said in a statement released on June 28.
The events are once again raising questions about the circumstances under which major defense contractors might be barred from government work. Independent watchdogs have long complained that few such firms have been barred or suspended, even for egregious lawbreaking, such as supplying armaments or related equipment to a hypothetical adversary.
March 25, 2012 Leave a comment
WASHINGTON/WINNIPEG (Reuters) – The United States said on Friday it would appeal a World Trade Organization ruling against a law requiring country-of-origin labels on all meat sold in grocery stores, a move that disappointed Canada and Mexico, both of which want the law changed.
The meat labels became mandatory in March 2009 after years of debate. U.S. consumer and mainline farm groups supported the requirement, saying consumers should have information to distinguish between U.S. and foreign products.
Big meat processors opposed the provision, which they said would unnecessarily boost costs and disrupt trade.


text:
Why did Hyundai Motor Company Create a Dog Blood Donation Car?
Hyundai Motor Company started ‘I’M DOgNOR: the visiting dog blood donation car’ campaign to create the culture of dog blood donation and expand necessary infrastructure.10/08/2019 Hyundai Motor Company Homepage Link
Articles and images published by the Hyundai Motor Group Newsroom are fully available for public consumption. (Please note that the above applies to content produced after May 4, 2018, only. Watermarked images may not be used without express consent.)
Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Motor Company aspires to be more than just a driving partner.
It hopes to be together with consumers as a life companion.


text:
China produces 70.2 percent of the world's farmed fish and other aquaculture products, a senior official with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said in Beijing Thursday.
Ichiro Nomura, assistant director-general of FAO's Fisheries Department, is here to attend the first session of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture under the FAO's Committee on Fisheries held from April 18 to 22.
"China will be a good teacher in aquaculture development to the whole world, especially to developing countries," he said. "Because it has a lot of know-how and good experts."
China is expected to improve the data collecting system and provide more detailed information about how to develop aquaculture, as the information it provides will have great influence on the world's aquaculture production, he said.
Aquaculture has proved to be efficient in increasing farmers' income and improving food supply while protecting water resources and natural fishery resources, Nomura said.
FAO figure shows that aquaculture has been the world's fastest growing food-producing sector with a growth rate of 11 percent annually since 1984. The top ten aquaculture producing countries are all located in Asia.
"However, in some countries the aquaculture industry has been inadequately planned and inappropriately managed," he said. "As a major supplier of aquatic products, China is in a good position to push the world's aquaculture production towards a positive and sustainable direction."
According to China's Ministry of Agriculture, last year China produced 27.26 million tons of aquatic products through breeding, which accounted for 62 percent of the total aquatic production.
The Sub-Committee on Aquaculture was founded last year in the 24th meeting of FAO's Committee on Fisheries that aims to provide a forum for consultation on aquaculture and its sustainable development.
(People's Daily April 19, 2002)


text:
Yesterday Netflix announced that they’re going to test out an ad supported tier system on their streaming site. I imagine that this no doubt has to do with the fact that for the first time in over a decade during their most recent quarterly report they didn’t have an increase in subscribers and actually lost 200,000. I always wonder with these giant companies where they always push for more and more growth what do they do when they eventually taper off?
That’s not me being negative, I genuinely love Netflix and watch stuff on there pretty much every day. But there’s only so many people in the world and eventually you will hit a ceiling. With Amazon, Disney+, Crave, Paramount+, Apple+ and all the other pluses that that time is now. Now with that said Netflix is still number one when it comes to paying monthly subscribers but Disney+ is clipping at its heels.
When you read about Netflix’s business model it was based on watch what you want, when you want. All the episodes released at once with zero interruptions. In essence the exact opposite of watching cable. But now with a lot of series they only release episodes once a week and with a new ad supported option available, Netflix is almost based around exactly what classic television is. I’m not against episodes being released weekly and to be honest I almost prefer it because I don’t spend my entire day watching the latest season of a show. That way it’s spread out, people talk about it more and I don’t feel like a couch potato.
But I feel like Netflix with commercials will do more harm than good. I can see people being put off even if they’re paying a smaller monthly account fee. I already know people who have cut their Netflix off so we’ll see if Netflix will remain the streaming king. Only time will tell.


text:
Kena: Bridge of Spirit Devs Have Revealed That They’ve Already Recouped Their Initial Development Costs
Kena: Bridge of Spirits devs, Ember Lab, has just confirmed that they have already recouped their initial development costs. Although the studio would not specify how many copies of the game they have sold, they have revealed that expenses have been regained and that everyone involved is happy with the sales so far.
“It is hard to tell what is a huge success,” Ember Lab Founder Josh Grier said during an interview. “Sony is happy.”
Apparently, prior to signing a deal with Sony, Co-Founders—and brothers—Mike and Josh Grier admitted that their Kena: Bridge of Spirits pitch had actually attracted several big game publishers. They were surprised by this since they have never developed a video game before, being an animation studio. When Sony approached them, of course, they were very pleased.
At the beginning of 2020, Sony was getting geared up to formally announce their next-gen console, the PlayStation 5. The company’s marketing studio was actually working closely with the Grier brothers to polish the Kena: Bridge of Spirits trailer so they could release it alongside the new console. They were well aware that such project would be their make-or-break moment for the gaming industry.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 happened, and a physical showcase for Kena: Bridge of Spirits was out of the question. The Griers and their team had to come up with a video for a digital showcase from within the confines of their office. Their cameraman even had to don a full hazmat suit just to get the job done. “It was professionally done,” said Josh Grier. “But, very weird.”
Despite the restrictions, everything worked out for the Kena: Bridge of Spirits team, and their project attracted a lot of attention and pushed the game ahead of others. “I think that helped push us to the front of the line, in terms of games they were going to highlight and showcase when they could,” Mike Grier added.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits was launched just last month, and it got a lot of solid reviews. The game turned out to be a pivotal part of Sony’s lineup for the PS5 this year. Since other blockbuster titles have been delayed, the company has reportedly put a lot of marketing muscle into the game and treated it like a big fall release.
Have you been playing Kena: Bridge of Spirits? Let us know in the comments below.


text:
Cape man leads cruise ship's quake relief
Mark Pells was on a cruise ship between Cuba and Haiti on Jan. 12 when the devastating earthquake struck Haiti.
Within 15 days, the hotel manager for the cruise ship MS Noordam had organized the collection and delivery of 17,000 pounds of food and medical supplies from his own ship and four other Holland America Line cruise ships.
"It was just a matter of opportunity," the Harwich man wrote in an e-mail this week from sea. "After a few days of reading the news and realizing the (quake's) severity, it was obvious help was needed and I knew that we would be able to at least provide some support."
He delivered the donations — "basically anything we could spare that wasn't perishable and could be useful" — for delivery when the Noordam and its passengers made a scheduled Jan. 27 stop in Samana in the Dominican Republic.
The country shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. After the earthquake, many relief workers and supplies came through the Dominican Republic because the quake demolished Haitian ports, along with the island's buildings and infrastructure.
"This was an ideal staging area to transfer supplies via a 'back door' border crossing into western Haiti and the hardest-to-reach areas," Pells wrote.
On delivery day, more than 150 crew members volunteered their off-time and strength to wrap, label and load supplies into cruise lifeboats and then unload them, water-brigade style, into trucks.
To ensure the delivery didn't go astray, Pells worked with the company's maritime agent to truck the supplies to the German government's relief agency and the United Nation's World Food Program in Santo Domingo, the country's capital city
From there, those groups ferried the 50-pound bags of rice, gallon bottles of water, cases of dried beans, condensed milk, juice, charcoal, clothing and medical supplies into Haiti, Maritime agent spokesman Javier Reyes said Thursday.
The unusual delivery was an expansion of Pells' usual work of managing the food and lodging for 2,000-plus passengers and 700-plus crew members on the cruise ship.
"Mark is very good at saying, 'This is the idea I have and we're going to execute it,'" said his mother Ann Pells of Harwich on Thursday.
Pells summered on the Cape in West Dennis and most of his family lives on the Cape, including his parents Ann and Louis (of Louis Pells and the Oom Pah Band); his sister Leah Belliveau of Brewster and brother John Pells of Brewster.
Mark Pells started working at Brax Landing restaurant in Harwich and graduated in 1986 from the Cape Cod Community College with a degree in hospitality management.
A hotel manager for 14 years, Pells is at sea for five months at a time, sailing in the Mediterranean in the summer and the Caribbean in the winter. On his two months off, he stays at his Cape home.
In addition to the supplies, Holland-America delivered $33,000 in cash donated by guests and employees to the Red Cross, part of $5 million in aid pledged by its parent company, the Carnival Corporation, HAL spokesman Erik Elvejord said Thursday.


text:
In a setback to Google’s intention to buy Fitbit, a fitness tracker brand, the European Commission has reported that it is launching an inquiry to look into several antitrust issues related to the multi-quarter deal. This means the deal has been on hold for a time that could last until early December.
The Commission said that it has 90 working days to take a call on the deal — that is until December 9, 2020. Commenting on the launch of an “in-depth inquiry” in a tweet, Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager, who leads both the competition regulation and the bloc’s technology strategy, said: “The usage of wearable apps by European customers is projected to expand dramatically in the years to come. This would go hand and hand with exponential growth in the data produced by these apps. This data offers crucial insights into the life and wellbeing condition of users of these apps. Our investigation seeks to ensure that Google does not hinder competitiveness by manipulating data obtained from wearable devices as a result of the sale.
Google has reacted to the EU’s brake on its plans with a blog post that aims to justify the contract by its apps & services leader, claiming that it would stimulate creativity and contribute to greater competition.
“This offer applies to hardware and not data,” further argues Google VP, Rick Osterloh. The tech giant revealed its intention to step back in November when it unveiled a decision to pay out $2.1BN in an all-cash transaction to snap up the watch manufacturer of Fitbit’s data sets.
Quick forward a few months and CEO Sundar Pichai is being brought to task for issues like ‘helping kill Internet privacy’ by lawmakers on home turf. The still rowdy antitrust drum beat around big tech last year has been a full out rock festival and the background music surrounding tech acquisitions will eventually change.
After news of Google’s intention to catch Fitbit dropped questions about the transaction has been posted across Europe — with consumer advocates, privacy authorities, and innovation and tech policy wink all sounding the alarm in the prospect of seeing the tech giant suck a gadget manufacturer and helping themselves in the end to a bunch of confidential customer health information.
Digital Privacy Rights Alliance, Privacy International — one of the non-profits that advised regulators not to rubber-stamp the transaction — claims that the merger will not just suppress innovation in the developing digital wellbeing industry and wearables, it will also the “what little strain Google is actually under to comply with customer privacy alternatives.
Reuters revisited the agreement last month in a “first” article quoting “people familiar with the matter” who told it that if Google agreed not to use Fitbit data for advertising, the contract could be swept through.
Where the leak behind his news story came from is not clear, but Reuters also ran a statement from a Google spokesperson — who further argued: “In this phase, we were explicit about our determination not to using Fitbit fitness and wellbeing data for Google advertisements and our duty to provide users with preference and control over their results.”
In the case, Google’s headline-grabbing vows to comply with Fitbit data have not stopped EU authorities from wading into antitrust issues for a closer look — which is precisely as it should be.
The tech giant has also given a clear compromise to EU regulators in the hopes of having the Fitbit purchase greenlit — with the Commission stating that it had made promises last month to resolve concerns.


text:
According to Statistics Estonia, in July 2020, compared to July 2019, the exports of goods decreased by 1% and imports by 6%. The decline in exports was mainly due to a fall in re-exports, whereas the exports of goods of Estonian origin grew.
According to Statistics Estonia, in July, 346,000 tourists stayed in Estonian accommodation establishments. Their total number of nights spent was 652,000. Compared to July 2019, the number of tourists dropped by a third, but the number was higher than in the last few months.
According to Statistics Estonia, in 2019, the production of electricity totalled 7,560 gigawatt-hours, which is 39% less than in the previous year. Electricity production from oil shale decreased by 46%.
Did you find what you were looking for?


text:
We’ve been fighting abuses of the patent system for years. Many of the worst abuses we see are committed by software patent owners who make money suing people instead of building anything. These are patent owners we call patent trolls. They demand money from people who use technology to perform ordinary activities. And they’re able to do that because they’re able to get patents on basic ideas that aren’t inventions, like running a scavenger hunt and teaching foreign languages.
Efforts at reforming this broken system got a big boost in 2014, when the Supreme Court decided the Alice v. CLS Bank case. In a unanimous decision, the high court held that you can’t get a patent on an abstract idea just by adding generic computer language. Now, courts are supposed to dismiss lawsuits based on abstract patents as early as possible.
We need an efficient way to throw out bad software patents because patent litigation is so outrageously expensive. Small businesses simply can’t afford the millions of dollars it costs to go through a full patent trial. And thanks to Alice, they haven’t had to: since the decision came down, U.S. courts have thrown out bad patents in hundreds of cases.
Our Saved by Alice project tells the stories of these businesses and the people behind them. One is the story of Ruth Taylor, a photographer who ran a website called Bytephoto.com. Bytephoto hosted forums for a passionate community of photographers, and also ran weekly photo competitions where users voted on the photos they liked best.
Today, we’re publishing a short video in which Ruth tells her story about how a company called Garfum.com, claiming that her online photo contests infringed its patent, demanded she pay $50,000 or face a lawsuit for patent infringement.
“I wasn’t about to hand over $50,000, because I didn’t have $50,000,” Ruth said in our interview. “And even if I did, I still wouldn’t have handed it over.”
Instead, Ruth called EFF. We were able to take her case pro bono and prepare a strong defense, arguing that the ridiculous Garfum.com patent never should have been issued in the first place. Garfum’s patent simply takes the well-known idea of a competition by popular vote and applies it to networked computers. This is exactly the type of patent Alice prohibits. After our brief was filed, and Garfum was scheduled to meet us in court, they dropped their lawsuit.
We were able to take and win Ruth’s case because of the Alice decision. Faced with a hearing in which they’d have to justify their patent, Garfum backed down from its bullying behavior. Large patent holders like IBM and Qualcomm have been pushing Congress to weaken one of the few safeguards we have against bad patents, and earlier this year, U.S. Senators began considering a draft proposal that would have thrown out Alice altogether.
When we asked Ruth what it would mean for small businesses if the Alice decision was overturned. “They would be sued, and probably go under,” she said. “To me, a patent was always an amazing invention, that would help people—not something that’s used to extort money from people.”
We hope you’ll take time to listen to Ruth’s story, and understand why we can’t let Congress chip away at the Alice decision. Let’s defend that original vision of the patent system, as promoting real inventions that help people—not extortionate scams like the one that threatened Ruth Taylor’s livelihood. And check out our video of Justus Decher, another Saved by Alice small business.


text:
Streaming Videos’ Carbon Footprint Lower Than DVDs
Shifting all DVD viewing in the US in 2011 to video streaming would have saved about 30 petajoules of energy and avoided 2 billion kg of CO2 emissions. In total, DVD watching in 2011 required about 192 PJ of energy and emitted 10.4 billion kg of CO2, according to a team of researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Northwestern University.
The power demand of the end-user DVD player, the data transmission energy, and consumer travel for store DVDs were the three factors that most affected the environmental footprint of video viewing, reports environmentalresearchweb.
As part of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s efforts to reduce operational carbon emissions 15 percent by 2020, compared to 2012 levels, the company also says it will encourage consumers to acquire films digitally, which it expects to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 75 percent against a 2012 baseline.
Photo Credit: streaming video by Twin Design/Shutterstock.com
Energy Manager News
- Microgrids, Now Mainstream, Continue to Advance
- Developing Economies Increasing their Share of Renewable Capacity
- LG Chem In Big German Battery Project
- ERC: Electricity Price Trends for the Week Ending Nov. 20
- PUCO: ‘Fixed Means Fixed’ in Retail Contracts
- FERC Requires Reports on Price Formation
- Viridian Energy Moves into Texas Market
- PUC Approves PPL’s 6.1% Rate Hike


text:
Yahoo Ad Partner Media.net Sells to China Group for $900 Million
A group of Chinese investors said it’s acquiring ad-tech startup Media.net for about $900 million in cash, with plans to eventually sell the company to an obscure telecommunications firm whose shares have been suspended from trading since last year. #Media.net, which is based in Dubai and New York, is touting this as the third-largest ad-tech acquisition in history. However, the complex deal more closely resembles a reverse merger, where a private company takes over a public one and bypasses the formalities of an initial public offering. Technology entrepreneur Divyank Turakhia started Media.net in 2010 and bootstrapped the business. The company provides the technology powering contextual ads offered by Yahoo! Inc. and #Microsoft Corp.’s #Bing search engine. The system is similar to one offered by #Google, choosing which ads to show based on the content of the web page they appear on.


text:
SOFTER WAREHOUSE GROUP Q3 TO END APRIL "AS EXPECTED"
Noel Leeming Q3 sales +2.3%, like for likes just +1%, but YTD sales are +5.7%, like for likes +3.9%.…
May 10 2019
MOTHER’S DAY PROMOTIONS
Diarise Sunday 12 May for a spike in spending activity designed to boost Kiwi mums across the countr…
May 07 2019
BRISCOE GROUP: "PRESSURE" ON "ABILITY TO GROW PROFIT" IN SHORT TERM
Bottom line warning but homeware sales for the quarter to end April were +2.9%, same store sales +3.…
May 06 2019
MORE BIG GAINS IN NZ AS JB HI-FI REPORTS Q3 NUMBERS
NZ turnaround is happening: Q3 comps are +4.6% (despite negative top line), while YTD comps are +10.…
April 30 2019
WHO ARE READER'S DIGEST'S 2019 TRUSTED BRANDS?
Winners include Breville, F&P, Canon, Noel Leeming, Samsung, Mitsubishi Electric, Kitchen Studio, Dy…
April 29 2019


text:
Surviving against the big players in the mobile industry is a lot about funding, at least until a start-up gets all their sails up. Jolla, a Finnish company developing Sailfish OS mobile operating system, has struggled for six years against the real big players like Google's Android and that hasn't always been easy. One of the former Nokia directors told them in the beginning that they will need at least 100M USD to break into the business they aim at. Reaching the end of 5th financing round, Jolla has now received 70% of that, but they are still far away of their goal.
Chairman of the board at Jolla, Antti Saarnio:
Worth a read? Please share:
Mr. Saarnio has presented both uphills and downhills during the years past. After experiencing the difficulties of continuous fundraising at Jolla, he has also founded Zipper to help other start-up companies struggling with the same issues, using all his experience he gathered during being captain of the Jolla boat:
"Back in 2011 when we started building Jolla and Sailfish OS, former Nokia directors told me that we need at least 100 MUSD to build a mobile operating system. Jolla has now raised 70 MUSD in six years with five funding rounds. We have spent tremendous amount of time doing fundraising, while the company has constantly suffered from shortage of capital, and early investors haven’t had a chance to exit. I started thinking ways to fund startups in a more efficient model to address these problems, and Zipper was born."
9.4M USD of the total has been funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation Tekes, a governmental agency in Finland, between 2012-1014. The most part of Jolla's funding has been received later from angel investors at least in China, Russia and Italy.
Jolla's strategy has changed since 2011
In 2011, Jolla was put up in the heritage of Nokia's Meego, an operating system found great by the users especially on Nokia N9. Jolla developed Sailfish OS based on Linux / Mer / Meego and introduced it a few years later in November 2013. Their own mobile phone model "Jolla" was launced in Europe, and reached top 5 sales in one of the operators list in Finland in its first month.
Jolla continued for four years having both software development and hardware development in their focus, trying to push through their 2nd device "Jolla Tablet". Few hundred were produced, but more than 9000 interested customers were finally left without a device despite the fact that the tablet was awarded "The Best Tablet of the year" on Mobile world congress. This only shows how hard the competition is - it's not that Jolla didn't want to deliver, but it seems that struggling with the financing and production at the same time just didn't do. Most of the individual contributors of the Jolla Tablet are still waiting for their refunding, but Jolla has not forgotten these people - they recently updated their blog about the issue, promising the 2nd half of refunds to be paid as soon as the company is profitable, aiming to continue refunding on July 2017.
Obviously seeing the whole hardware business too competitive and too rough, Jolla reduced their size and narrowed their focus to software development only. Their idea is to develop Sailfish OS as the rival of Android and licence is to mobile device manufacturers for income. As you can guess, this isn't easy either. Most of the big manufacturers are tied to Google with their current agreements, preventing them to introduce competitive operating systems too easy. For example Mozilla's Firefox OS was put on ice already, and Mozilla is a lot bigger company compared to Jolla. But still, Jolla goes on, looking for partners.
Jolla's first licencing partner was Intex from India, introducing a mobile phone "Intex Aqua Fish" running on Sailfish OS. No sales numbers have been released, but at some point the phone simply went out of stock at Snapdeal who was the exclusive sales partner of "Jolla India"
Their second licencing partner is Inoi from Russia, who launched the sales of "Inoi R7" running on "Sailfish Mobile OS RUS" just a week ago. This phone is shipped with the latest update, yet unfinished version 22.214.171.124 of Sailfish OS. Jolla's future in Russia seems pretty safe, while they were chosen as the substitute for mobile operating system in governmental level in Russia's effort to reduce the market share of Android in their operating system markets. Jolla was chosen over Samsung's Tizen OS by a working group in the ministry of communications and was presented as the best alternative, but they didn't yet manage to ensure any governmental funding there. Instead, angel investors were found, some of them now sitting also in the board of directors at Jolla.
The next steps
Efforts on licensing are also taking place in both Africa and South America but Jolla has been quiet about these initiatives lately. Instead, another interesting project with Sony Open Device Program should be updated in couple of days.
Sony Xperia X: It's yet unsure if this will be another community device for developers, similar to Jolla C, or a global launch of a new Sailfish OS phone. The launch of Sony Xperia X with Sailfish OS was originally promised by the end of June 2017.
Delays matter a lot in the mobile industry, while the big companies keep on launching new models with the latest hardware. One can't fix a delayed product just by lowering the price tag if the customers have already been shown another direction. The funders are also expecting the promised schedules to be kept - or the next round of financing will be even harder.
According to Mr. Saarnio, Jolla has spent all too much time on fundraising already during the past years. Great sales of Inoi R7 (already licensed) and Sony Xperia X (if licensed) would boost things up and give confidence to both the current and new investors.
The operating system has received several updates and bug fixes during all six years, and it definitely has earned its place in the market. Start-up Jolla is still delivering in big league with constant tuning of sails. Focus. Financing. Limited resources. The smaller size enables agility all right, and the sea is big, but does a sail boat really fit into the sea of mobile industry crowded by huge carriers.
Jolla is one of the few at least trying. Sail On!
Share and Shout! Your friends might read it.
Cover image: Jolla and Sailfish OS team at Zipper Global
Sources: zipperglobal.com, Tekes (Finland), Jolla, our earlier financial news
Published: 2017-06-28 15:36 UTC
Updated: 2017-06-28 15:36 UTC


text:
Alphabet reported profit and earnings for the third quarter that topped analysts’ estimates. The company’s shares were little changed after the report.
Here’s what the company reported versus what Wall Street expected:
Earnings per share (EPS): $27.99 per share vs $23.48 per share, according to Refinitiv estimates.Revenue: $65.12 billion vs. $63.34 billion, according to Refinitiv estimates.YouTube advertising revenue: $7.20 billion vs. $7.4 billion expected.Google Cloud revenue: $4.99 billion vs. $5.07 billion expected.Traffic acquisition costs (TAC): $11.50 vs. $11.16 billion expected.
Google’s advertising revenue rose 43% to $53.13 billion, up from $37.1 billion the same time last year and slightly higher than the prior quarter. YouTube ads rose to $7.21 billion, up from $5.04 billion a year ago.
Google appears to be managing through privacy changes that Apple made to iOS 14 earlier this year. Snap and Facebook both cited the change, which allows consumers to opt out of targeted ads on apps, as the main reason for business disruption during the period. Google is more protected than those companies because it owns the Android operating system.
Philipp Schindler, Google’s chief business officer, said retail was the largest contributor to year-over-year ad growth. Media and finance spending was also significant.
“We continue to see a lot of unevenness,” Schindler said, referring to the pandemic recovery in various countries. “It’s clear that uncertainty is the new normal.”
The company’s shares were little changed after the report. The stock is up 58% this year, more than double the gains in the S&P 500, as investors bet on the company’s ability to pick up business as the economy reopens and to withstand potential regulatory changes.
Revenue in Google’s cloud division climbed 45% to $4.99 billion, while operating loss narrowed to $644 million from $1.21 billion. Alphabet has been investing heavily in the unit, which is led by former Oracle executive Thomas Kurian, in an effort to catch up to Amazon Web Service and Microsoft Azure.
Revenue in the Other Bets segment, which includes the self-driving car company Waymo, rose slightly to $182 million from $178 million. Losses widened to $1.29 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier.
Alphabet reported a gain on investments of $188 million in the quarter, up from a gain of $26 million a year earlier. The company’s investment arms, which bet on start-ups at various stages, benefited from the IPOs of cloud software developer Freshworks and restaurant-tech vendor Toast.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.


text:
Dolphin, widely considered the most reliable and functional emulator for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles, has added support for the online Wii Shop Channel. This means it is now possible for those using the emulator to add points to their accounts just like on the console and buy games through the service.
“Getting to the point where we could go shopping on Dolphin was a long and tumultuous one,” developer JMC47 explained. “We couldn’t even connect to the update servers a few weeks ago, and had little idea why.”
While the emulation of the online shop isn’t completely perfect as of the time of writing, the team behind Dolphin are working to add 100% functionality over the coming weeks. However, users are likely to find that they can purchase and download games without any issues. It’s even possible for Wii account holders to get access to their games library with some tinkering.


text:
Alkaram, one of the biggest names in the textile industry, has partnered with ABHI, Pakistan’s first financial wellness platform, to offer its employees the facility of Earned Wage Access.
One of the leading players in textile with thousands of employees across the country, Alkaram is partnering with this revolutionary new venture, as employees’ financial wellness is paramount to the company, it said in a press release issued here on Wednesday.
This partnership will help the company in becoming one of the leaders in the global textile world, integrating vertical textile solutions with values and sustainability.
Speaking at the occasion, the CEO and Co-founder of ABHI Omair Ansari said, “We believe financial wellness and access to credit are basic human rights, which we aim to bring to all our customers.”
“We are glad to partner with Alkaram and look forward to a long-lasting relationship where employees can benefit and fight the rising inflation by getting access to their earned salaries at any time of the month,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Head of Human Resources of Alkaram Textile Mills Nizar Nooruddin said that the Introduction of the financial wellness platform, ABHI, has opened up an opportunity to unlock the potential of digital transformation in facilitating our employees’ financial wellness.
“Empowering our employees with convenience and freedom to manage their emergent needs within no time is unmatched in today’s corporate landscape,” he added.
Founded in 2021, ABHI is Pakistan’s first financial wellness platform that allows its client companies’ employees to access their salaries daily via app or SMS. Users can withdraw the accessible amount of their accrued salary instantaneously to any bank account or wallet.
By helping employers to provide the option of advance salaries, ABHI has helped reduce workloads on HR and finance departments, whilst facilitating their employees’ cash needs.
Alkaram Textile Mills’ journey started in 1986, when it was set up to provide innovative textile solutions across the globe and soon, it emerged as one of the leading textile manufacturing and exporting companies in Pakistan, with a global footprint in the US, UK, France, and Portugal.
Currently, Alkaram Textile Mills is the largest vertically integrated textile set up in Pakistan. Its global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multichannel distribution make it a unique player in the textile industry, globally, and in Pakistan.


text:
The Dodge Dakota looks big. And it is big. The Dakota is the biggest pickup in the mid-size class, and...
We're not too far into the 2013 model year, but the 2013 Dodge Durango has already gotten its first recall.
Read This Article
Chrysler makes the "Can'avan" to help fight hunger and celebrate 30 years in the minivan marketplace.
Dodge has created a digital ringtone featuring the new Challenger Hellcat's engine roar.
Dodge and Mopar have come together once again to announce pricing on the new Scat Pack kits, offered in three different levels.


text:
KUALA LUMPUR (1 October 2013) — As part of a measured and phased approach to support the growth of its Surface business, Microsoft Malaysia welcomed six new authorized resellers to the Microsoft Devices Program. The program establishes a newly designated group of authorized device resellers in Malaysia to support the growing demand by Malaysian businesses for the Surface device, hailed for its productivity capabilities in a consumer-friendly form factor. The newly appointed commercial resellers, which will be ready to transact today are:
- Alphamatic Systems Sdn Bhd
- CTC Global Sdn Bhd
- Felda Prodata Systems Sdn Bhd
- Jardine OneSolution Sdn Bhd
- Night Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd
- Sistem RKK Sdn Bhd
It was further announced that Ingram Micro Malaysia Sdn Bhd would serve as the sole distributor to the authorized commercial device resellers.
Today’s commercial expansion is in line with Microsoft’s continual commitment in bringing improved productivity and mobile services to businesses with Surface. With the addition of Malaysia, the total markets that have announced commercial channel availability for Surface is now 29 countries, including the latest countries – Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand in the Asia Pacific region.
“Microsoft is proud to announce that these new partners can transact today, and we’ll be working with them to scale their sales and marketing capabilities in the coming months. This phase of authorized resellers were selected because of their extensive knowledge, services and support they’re able to bring to the Surface family,” said Azizah Ali, Director of Small and Medium Solutions and Partners, Microsoft Malaysia, at a press conference announcing the appointment of these new commercial partners.
In addition to offering Microsoft’s extended warranty and accidental damage, these partners bring a variety of value-added services to the Surface family such as asset tagging, custom imaging, kitting, onsite service and support, device recycling, and data protection.
“The addition of these authorized resellers greatly expands the reach of the Microsoft devices-and-services strategy, extending the company’s family of devices enabled by cloud services to more organizations,” said Azizah. “This is very much in line with what we’ve been striving to do since the launch of Surface – to provide avenues for businesses to harness the power of Surface, and today, Malaysian businesses will have more commercial options in terms of purchasing Surface, allowing them to concentrate on what matters most – building their businesses.”
A growing demand by businesses for the right technology
One such example of how businesses are turning to Surface as well as other Microsoft devices and services to grow their business can be seen in JAC Photography, which specializes in events and portraitures. Chris Choong, entrepreneur and co-founder of JAC Photography & PhotoMe.my, was on hand at the event to explain how they adopted Microsoft’s devices and services – with the Surface RT at the epicenter – to give them a differentiating appeal to their customers and allow his company to focus on the details that matter.
“The advances in camera technology have given rise to a new generation of photographers who can more readily monetize their work. Today, many pick up a DSLR camera and start envisioning their own photography studio – which, of course, provides a challenge for traditional studios such as us. We needed to come up with a new and unique service proposition for customers that sets us apart from the competitors out there. What would benefit our customers, improve efficiency, and if possible, make us cool too? We found the perfect answer in Microsoft,” said Chris.
Chris then demonstrated how they leveraged a configuration of Surface RTs along with Windows 8 laptops and Microsoft’s free cloud storage service, SkyDrive, to create an entirely new enhanced event experience for their customers. “It took us awhile to come up with the idea and to devise a configuration that enables it, but going with Microsoft has made it a worthwhile investment. For example, at a typical wedding banquet, our photographer will shoot photos of guests at registration during the pre-dinner reception. With Wi-Fi connectivity, these photos are transferred to a Windows 8 laptop for quick editing and enhancement, and subsequently uploaded to SkyDrive. Then, a Surface RT will upload these photos when guests can tag themselves via social media tagging to be featured on the company’s Facebook page. The same photos will be simultaneously projected as a slideshow in the ballroom. Our customers and their guests think the concept of tagging themselves on a Surface RT as a very cool experience and it provides them an almost ‘live on the red carpet’ feel. We have had tremendous positive response to this new concept and, in fact, providing this feature as a service has opened up additional revenue streams for us,” Chris enthused.
Apart from satisfied customers and a growing reputation, a simplified workflow also means increased efficiency for the business. JAC Photography has seen as much as a 15% increase in efficiency that has led to higher productivity and a better return on investment. With less manual work needed to complete each transaction, JAC Photography is getting more done, with less. As a result, customer satisfaction is on the up.
“Now, imagine what it could do for other businesses and enterprises!” quipped Chris.
Azizah rejoined that this was exactly what businesses can expect to see when they leverage on Microsoft’s devices and services, saying, “Microsoft strongly believes that businesses should focus squarely on the success and growth of their business, while we help them achieve this through our technology. With Surface and other Windows devices, as well as services such as our cloud-based Office 365 and SkyDrive, businesses and enterprises can become truly revolutionary while focusing on driving efficiency, productivity and profitability. It’s a winning formula that we are delighted to help our customers discover through our commitment to transforming Malaysia together.”
“Chris’ example today underscores a growing demand by businesses for Surface and reaffirms our decision to appoint our six new commercial resellers to support this need. We look forward to working closely with our partners, both now and in the future, to better serve our commercial customers,” she concluded.
Malaysian consumers will still be able to purchase their Surface devices through the following authorized retailers: Challenger Technologies, Harvey Norman Malaysia, SNS Network and Thunder Match Technology, along with the newly appointed Aone Plus Supplies & Services, IT One Superstore, Machanics, MTCS Group, PC Image, SenQ and Viewnet Computer System. This now brings the total number of authorized consumer retailers in Malaysia to 11.
Additional details on Surface are available at http://www.Surface.com/my, the Surface Blog and Surface on Facebook.


text:
Fat Head's Brewery in Middleburg Heights is set to release two seasonal beers. Oktoberfest Lager, a Bavarian brew with imported German malts and noble hops, will be available on draft and in bottles for a limited time starting early this month (August), the brewery said in a news release.
Meanwhile, Spooky Tooth Imperial Pumpkin Ale will be available in September in both bottles and on draft. The brewery described the beer this way: "Rich and creamy with a chewy mouthfeel that you can sink your teeth into. Flavors of pumpkin up front then sweet malt, pie crust, spices, hints of brown sugar and a clean finish. Stopped just short of the whipped cream -- but we like the way you think."


text:
AutoGuide News Blog
The AutoGuide News Blog is your source for breaking stories from the auto industry. Delivering news immediately, the AutoGuide Blog is constantly updated with the latest information, photos and video from manufacturers, auto shows, the aftermarket and professional racing.
Titanium, it’s both light and strong… and pretty expensive. But the benefits may out-“weight” the tradeoffs for Lotus, as the premium sports-car builder is exploring the dusty silver-hued metal for use in its vehicles.
With rumors of a future for Lotus swirling, the company will live on as its new owner DRB-Hicom has signed off on a three-year plan to fund the British sports car maker.
Knowing that the 444-hp Lotus Evora GTE will be making its way to America makes us giddy. So naturally, when we saw more photos of the most powerful Lotus ever made, we had to share them with the rest of the world.
Up until now, we’ve basically been treated to seeing the Evora GTE under the typical auto show floor lighting. Now we get to see the retina-burning, bright yellow in its natural environment with its 3.5L V6 powerplant ready to rock. These photos really show off what the Evora GTE’s all about, the overall wider vehicle sporting plenty of carbon fiber throughout.
The GTE weighs in slightly over 230-lbs lighter than the standard Evora model and features Lotus’s Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) racing gearbox. Forged center-lock wheels adorn each corner of the street-legal racer, while the inside packs lightweight carbon fiber Recaro seats.
Now we’ll just anxiously await to hear its price tag.
GALLERY: Lotus Evora GTE
Honoring the Lotus Renault Formula One Grand Prix team, the British sports car company is giving three passionate UK enthusiasts the opportunity to own a very custom car. The GP Edition Evora S is fully loaded with the Premium Pack with SuedeTex, Lotus’ Tech Pack and a set of 19-inch forged diamond cut wheels. The special edition Evora S is clearly race-inspired, with a gold-and-black paint scheme that resembles the Lotus Renault Formula One Grand Prix race graphics.
The limited edition of just three vehicles will surely be snatched up quickly in the United Kingdom, sporting a price tag of £69,950 – or a tad over $110,000 based on today’s conversion rates.
GALLERY: Lotus Evora S GP Edition
Don’t let the Swizz Beatz involvement fool you: Lotus still wants you to know that they build sports cars. Case in point: at the swanky Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance this year, Lotus will unveil a GTE-class race car based on their Evora.
The Evora GTE Road Car Concept is designed to race in the GTE class, including a stint at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And as such, it packs 420 horsepower in its 3.5-liter V6 engine, channeled through a sequential AMT racing gearbox. It gets this power to the ground via center-lock forged-alloy wheels, wrapped with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires. Lotus reassures us that it “isn’t merely a paint scheme or homage to a race car—this is a serious race car that makes for a very serious road car.”
And if you’re heading down to Monterrey next week, you can catch the Evora GTE at Lotus’s dedicated exhibit by the Lodge, starting on August 18th—if you can get past Swizz Beatz’s entourage, that is.
Lotus has officially announced that Lotus is opening dealerships in China. Lotus China Symphony will be appointed as the official distributor for the British sports cars in China. The dealership will be based out of Beijing and will offer a full range of Lotus sports cars including the Evora, the Elise and the Exige.
China has initially ordered 100 cars, the majority of which will be the Evora model, and the remaining inventory will be made up of the Elise and Exige. This limited amount of cars being shipped ensures that the exclusivity of these sports cars is maintained.
Dany Bahar, Chief Executive of Group Lotus explained, “Lotus China has joined the Lotus family at a very exciting time – with a new range of sports and super cars on the way, which will complement the current globally selling range, and a new all encompassing motorsports program, both of which ensure that Lotus is at the forefront of everyone mind as one of the world’s most desirable car brands. The team behind Lotus China has a wealth of experience in premier niche vehicles in the Chinese market and therefore we are delighted that we have teamed up with such a credible and enthusiastic team.”
Li Chen Zhang, Chief Executive of Lotus China described the merger, “We are delighted to be the official distributor of this world class sports and supercar brand and we are very much looking forward to introducing the brand to the discerning customer in China. We are investing in new dealerships throughout China to not only introduce the Evora, Elise and Exige but also in preparation for the arrival of the new Lotus super cars starting with the Esprit in 2013. I would like to thank Lotus for this opportunity and I know that we will do the brand proud in this important market!”
The first dealership will open in October followed by another dealership in Shanghai, Chongqing, and Guangzhou later in the year. By 2012, eight more dealerships will open throughout China.
Lotus has plans to improve both the Elise and Evora with a list of 150 items. Improvements are centered around the Evora, and are designed to boost dwindling sales and bridge the styling gap between the current car and the next wave of Lotus’ due 2013.
Changes include improved gearchange quality, throttle response and exhaust note. Furthermore, improving the general build quality of the car is of concern. Lotus is aiming to be on par with Porsche quality standards, says boss Dany Bahar.
A styling overhaul is also planned for the 2012 Evora model. Lotus’s ex-Ferrari design boss, Donato Coco has complained the present Evora’s front end is “too weak” for a modern sports car. “Even many economy cars look more aggressive,” he says.
Coco went on to explain the importance of motorsport being the brand’s central appeal, which is why the company is competing across so many categories.
The Lotus Elan has been put on hold indefinitely, reportedly due to the rather obvious fact that the concept was too close to the brand’s current Evora model. Previously, rumors had indicated Lotus was taking a close look at both the Esprit and Elite models, which share many of the same components and have similar style, in order to further separate two two vehicles.
But before the Esprit or Elite are put into production, Lotus will be updating the Evora with some aesthetic changes and new trim levels to align it with the rest of the “Lotus New Era” range. Updates will also be done on the Elise and Exige to make them more user friendly. The production Exige will reportedly be revealed at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.
GALLERY: Lotus Elan Concept
[Source: Top Speed]
Having a little fun in their own backyard, Lotus has lent out a brand new Evora to the UK Police Force, more specifically the Central Motorway Police Group. Lotus’ hot new sports car features the traditional British Police flair on the exterior, including neon yellow accents contrasted by a dark, rich blue.
The themed Evora was introduced at this week’s Autosport International Show, and upon the show’s closing the keys will be handed over to West Midland’s police force who will put the Evora to the test for two weeks.
Gino Rosato, Director of Corporate Operations at Lotus comments: “Lotus is proud to take part in this and similar initiatives to help create a safer road culture for our customers and other road users. We believe that you do not have to compromise fun for speed and to that effect we build sportscars that are fun to drive within legal limits! We will be working with Officers from CMPG to teach them how to get the best from the Lotus Evora at our test track to ensure that any high-speed activity is as safe and effective as possible.”
PC Steven Rounds from, CMPG said: “The Lotus is a visually stunning machine which offers us the opportunity to engage with the public, reinforce and promote the life-saving messages of road safety.”
GALLERY: Lotus Evora UK Police Car
New flagship sports car takes home numerous awards from U.K.'s auto press
After winning the Dewar Trophy for Technical Excellence earlier this year, Lotus is really hauling in the hardware overseas for its new four-seater Evora sports car. In August the U.K.’s AutoCar named the Evora the “Driver’s Car of the Year,” while CAR magazine announced it as their “Performance Car of the Year.” Now Lotus can handily claim what is arguably the U.K.’s top trophy, “Car of the Year” by none other than EVO magazine.
Pitted against vehicles from the likes of Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin, the Evora won EVO‘s COTY award after a 13 car, 1,000 mile comparo was whittled down to just five vehicles.
Meanwhile, EVO also awarded the 2-Eleven “Track Car of the Year 2009.”
“It is a great endorsement for Lotus cars that the most refined car in the product line up is picking up awards at the same time as the most extreme car in the range, illustrating the great wealth of engineering and manufacturing expertise at Lotus,” said Luke Bennett, Operations Director of Lotus Cars Limited.
The 2010 Lotus Evora will launch in North America in the first quarter of 2010.
Lotus has just announced that a of October 1st, former Ferrari executive Dany Bahar will take over at the helm of Group Lotus plc. Bahar moves into the position after former Lotus CEO Mike Kimberly retired in July due to health reasons.
At Ferrari Bahar worked as Senior VP of Commercial and Brand, where he oversaw not only the important job of road car sales, but also the lucrative merchandising aspect of the Italian automaker. Previous to to the position at Ferrari, he worked for Red Bull and helped organize the partnership between Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso with Ferrari, as well as the energy drink company’s NASCAR efforts.
“Lotus has a worldwide reputation for innovative engineering and superb sports cars that lead the world in efficiency, design and dynamics,” Bahar said in a statement. “With the recent launch of the award-winning Evora, there is proof that Lotus is better placed than many to capitalize on the rapidly changing automotive market. I can’t wait to get my plans underway in October.”
One has to wonder if Bahar’s appoitment will usher in an era where Lotus returns its full efforts to the field of motorsports.
Lotus CEO Mike Kimberley has announced his retirement as the head of the U.K. based sports car maker due to medical reasons. The 70-year-0ld Kimberley has been suffering from severe back pain, underwent surgery in 2008 and has now been advised by his doctors to resign his position.
“Sadly, it is on doctor’s orders that I am stepping down but I will leave confident that Lotus is in great shape with a strong management team fully supported by our shareholder in Malaysia,” Kimberley said in a statement. “It’ll be very hard to leave knowing that there are such exciting times ahead but I’ll take with me many very happy memories. I want to extend my thanks to the company’s shareholder for their unfailing support, my management team and the wonderful staff both at Hethel and at our various operational locations throughout the world. Most of all I want to thank our Lotus customers and loyal fans worldwide for their support over the years.”
Kimberley started his career with Jaguar in 1953 and has since worked in the automotive industry for 56 years. He joined Lotus in 1969, leaving in 1992 to pursue other opportunities with companies like General Motors and Lamborghini, before returning to Lotus in 2006.
Since then Kimberley has over seen the production of the Evora, as well as the expansion of Lotus Engineering, a world renowned high-tech engineering firm.
Kimberley will officially retire on tomorrow, July 17th.
Official release after the jump:
While the new Lotus Evora has already launched in Europe, the official release of the car in the U.S. has yet to take place. Normally we wouldn’t have the full U.S. specifications until that time, but a three page tech sheet from Lotus has leaked out with all the juicy details.
And while so often the U.S. market gets the shaft when it comes to high performance cars, it appears as though Lotus won’t be watering down its new flagship when it makes its debut stateside.
The Evora will be powered by a Toyota V6 engine and output is rated at 276hp at 6400 rpm, while torque is 258 ft-lbs at 4700 rpm. The car will weight just over 3,000 lbs (3,047 to be exact) and thanks to a six-speed manual gearbox will be able to hit 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds. 100 mph will come in 12.3 seconds. There is no mention of an automatic transmission, but one is expected to be offered. A sports transmission with shorter gears is an option.
Lotus also gives braking distance figures for the Evora with its four-piston AP Racing calipers at each corner with front 13.8-inch rotors and rear 13.1-inch rotors. It will stop from 60 mph in 110 feet and from 100 mph in 290 feet.
The car will come straight from the factory with a staggered wheel fitment, with 18-inch rollers up front and 19-inch wheels in the rear. A set of forged rims, which weigh 7.1 lbs less (in total), will be available as an option.
As expected ,with the fuel-efficient Toyota engine, as well as the light-weight Lotus chassis, fuel-economy is impressive with 22.8 mpg in the city and 43.5 mpg on the highway for an average of 32.5 mpg.
See the full spec sheets after the jump:
Expect to see a Tesla competitor unveiled at Geneva Auto Show in March
In an interview with the Financial Times, Lotus CEO Michael Kimberly said that Lotus is working on a Hybrid and that the vehicle could be ready as early as March. And March just so happens to be when the Geneva Auto Show is… and Lotus never passes up an opportunity to unveil something in Geneva.
The car will be Hybrid or, more specifically, a range-extended EV… much like the yet-unreleased Chevy Volt.
Using an electric engine, battery packs and a gasoline engine, the car would run primarily on electric power – switching over to a conventional Hybrid system once the juice runs out.
This would be an interesting move for Lotus, as until now the company has donated the chassis for two other EVs, the Dodge EV and Tesla Roadster.
There is speculation that Lotus is looking to General Motors for help but it is more likely that they will continue to work with Toyota.
As for the platform, we expect the new Evora will provide the base for Lotus’s EV, as hybrid philosophy and the idea behind the Evora as an every-day sportscar mesh quite well.
[Source: Wired from Financial Times]


text:
|Bid||350.24 x 2200|
|Ask||350.42 x 900|
|Day's range||348.80 - 365.66|
|52-week range||244.59 - 387.46|
|Beta (3Y monthly)||0.55|
|PE ratio (TTM)||N/A|
|Earnings date||5 Feb. 2019 - 11 Feb. 2019|
|Forward dividend & yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y target est||338.46|
Apple has hired Andrew Kim, formerly of Tesla and Microsoft, to bolster its design team. Kim captured the attention of many in 2011 with a custom iOS device stand and again in 2012 when, as a fan, he shared his vision for an overhaul of Microsoft's branding and design language.
The hiring of a former Tesla designer has reignited speculation over Apple's self-driving car ambitions. Andrew Kim was hired by Microsoft after his minimalist redesign for the company went viral in 2013. He then spent two years as a senior design manager at Tesla. Now it looks like he's at Apple. SEE ALSO: Highway patrol struggles to pull over allegedly drunk, sleeping Tesla driver Apple doesn't share much about its car program. But a patent filing from August shows an augmented reality windshield concept. And the California Department of Motor Vehicles lists Apple as an autonomous car permit holder. As the Verge spotted, Kim now has the Apple icon on his LinkedIn page, with a start date of December. His Instagram also slyly included a gray Apple icon with the caption "Day 1" last week. His personal website still lists his visual and product designer job at Tesla, but his barely active Twitter is up to date. View this post on Instagram Day 1 A post shared by Andrew Kim (@mnmllymnml) on Dec 10, 2018 at 5:27pm PST Kim's Tesla background could mean a number of things for Apple, not just car stuff. Its self-driving car ambitions have reportedly stalled out into a more self-contained on-campus shuttle. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported a partnership with Volkswagen for self-driving campus shuttles at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple appears to have shifted from building its own self-driving fleet to the software side of things — for now. SEE ALSO: Apple self-driving cars could have AR windshields perfect for FaceTime As the NYT noted, "Apple has a history of tinkering with a technology until its engineers figure out what to do with it." Kim could simply be working on Apple's shuttle project and other more established products. Or maybe Apple is finally going all in on self-driving cars. WATCH: Apple is going big in Austin with a new $1B campus
On December 15, NIO (NIO) launched its second mass-market electric car—ES6. The company launched the ES6 during its NIO Day 2018 event in Shanghai. NIO is also often referred to as the “Chinese Tesla.” Let’s discuss the ES6’s key specifications.
Reduced tariff rates in China aid Tesla (TSLA) to reduce its Model S and X car prices. This is likely to increase the affordability of these vehicles in the country.
A video uploaded to YouTube on Sunday claims to show the first stages of construction on Tesla's new factory in Shanghai, China. The video, which appears to be shot from a drone, shows what the description says is the lot Tesla will use for the factory, which is surrounded by a fence. The video also shows construction workers and equipment, as well as a small structure that is visible near the center of the frame from 1:41 to 1:45.
Dow Jones futures: The stock market rally is nearly dead. Apple still falls. Even worse? The few stocks breaking out, like Tesla, Johnson & Johnson and Workday, falter or don't advance.
Tesla and Elon Musk took us on a wild ride in 2018 - but the stock is still the best performer in the US auto sector. Tesla has surged at the end of 2018, becoming the only auto stock I cover that's in positive territory, beating out the S&P 500 index and GM, Ford, FCA, and Ferrari. If you could handle the heat, Tesla was a good investment in 2018.
In this series so far, we have looked at Tesla’s (TSLA) Chinese peer NIO’s (NIO) recent stock price action before its ES6 car launch event scheduled for December 15. ES6 is important for NIO’s future success, and the company is hoping to rapidly expand its consumer base by getting a large number of orders for the ES6 car model after its launch. Reuters’ recent data suggests that about 36% of analysts covering NIO stock were recommending a “buy” as of December 13.
In the previous part of this series, we looked at Chinese electric car company NIO’s (NIO) recent stock price movement. Investors’ high expectation from its upcoming vehicle (XLY) launch event on December 15 might be driving its stock up this week after it witnessed a 9.3% drop in the previous week. In this article, we’ll discuss why ES6 is so important for the company.


text:
While the Pokemon Go craze has been spreading around the world, raising Nintendo's shares, analysts are discussing whether Nintendo, as a latecomer to the smartphone market, will be able to financially benefit
Nintendo suffered as a latecomer to smartphone games but is seeing the deep wealth of its franchise characters pay off with the success of "Pokemon Go," even without a launch yet in Japan.
The Japanese game maker was starting to look like a casualty of history until the game was launched in the U.S. earlier this month. Not anymore.
Nintendo Co.'s management missed both the online and mobile revolutions. The popularity of "Pokemon Go" says much about the untapped value of cultural properties — at least when you're lucky enough to deploy them in the right place at the right time.
"Nintendo might have been slow to adapt to the smartphone era, but now that it's doing it, it's doing it in full force and showing tremendous power," said Hiroyuki Kubota, a financial analyst.
The windfall from what Kubota dubs "Pokenomics" could help reverse Nintendo's fortunes, although some analysts think its impact on the company's revenues will be limited because the game is free apart from certain revenue-earning features, he said.
Nintendo's original Pokemon game featured adventurous wanderings through a fantasy world to collect cute, imaginary monsters. "Pokemon Go" involves finding digital creatures that pop up in the screen of your mobile device as you move about the real world. In the U.S., where it is extremely popular, some people have injured themselves in pursuit of the monsters, falling or getting distracted while driving.
The augmented-reality game could boost recognition for Nintendo's brand that likely will trickle down to other sales, including analog items like Pokemon cards or dolls, income from Pokemon movies, and other Nintendo games such as Donkey Kong, Kubota told The Associated Press.
Nintendo's stock has surged since "Pokemon Go" became available in the U.S., recently trading at about 26,500 yen ($250) a share in Tokyo, up more than 40 percent from its levels before "Pokemon Go."
Staff at Nintendo, which also owns the Super Mario and Zelda franchises, appear simply baffled by the overseas craze, referring all queries on "Pokemon Go," to its affiliate Pokemon.
The affiliate company refused a request for an interview with founder Tsunekazu Ishihara, saying it was turning down all such requests. A spokeswoman did answer basic questions, such as denying the company has decided on a launch date for "Pokemon Go" in Japan.
Anticipation is running high, with rumors circulating the game might be coming to Japan sometime this week. Online, many Japanese are questioning why Americans are having all the fun even though Pokemon originated in Japan.
"Everyone is getting antsy. The bigger it gets in the U.S., the more frustrated fans are getting in Japan," said Motohiko Tokuriki, chief marketing officer at Tokyo-based Agile Media Network, which specializes in online marketing.
Still, since "Pokemon Go" is based on U.S. company Niantic Labs' "Ingress" game, it made sense for the game to launch overseas first, says Tokuriki, who has a popular blog about technology.
It took matching Niantic's game with Pokemon characters to deliver the experience that's gripping so many people: Cautious Japanese might have squelched such a new concept, focusing on risks from such as accidents or the reported use of the game to lure potential robbery victims.
"This is about the Nintendo universe," said Tokuriki, who was looking forward to playing "Pokemon Go" with his fourth-grade and pre-school children. "That's why this is not about 'Disney Go.' This is about 'Pokemon Go.' "
"Pokemon Go" is the kind of game the creators of Pokemon might have come up with 20 years ago had current augmented reality and smartphone technology been available then.
Nintendo started out in 1889 as a traditional playing-cards maker and hit the world by storm with its series of video game consoles, starting with the Family Computer, or FamiCom for short, in the 1980s.
Its Game Boy and DS hand-held machines pioneered mobile games, and Japanese children have been using network connections on such machines to play games with total strangers.
But Nintendo resisted smartphones and mobile devices for years, sticking to its trusted formula as it struggled to protect its core earnings.
That strategy foundered as the company posted losses in two of the last five fiscal years, hit by competition from smartphones and unfavorable exchange rates.
Ultimately, "Pokemon Go" is aligned with the vision of its former president Satoru Iwata, who died in 2015 after leading Nintendo for over a dozen years.
Contrary to the stereotype of a solitary game player glued to a display in a room, Iwata believed everyone is a child-at-heart, eager to go outside and play, interacting with the world and other people.
"Video games are meant to be just one thing. Fun. Fun for everyone," he said, in one of his most quoted comments.


text:
The festival, which is aimed at enriching the tourist experience of Ljubljana in one of the otherwise slowest months of the year, offered numerous and rich culinary events throughout the whole month. There were cooking workshops, cooking shows, seminars and discussions with supreme culinary masters, while different restaurants created special menus and hotels offered diverse packages.
For the 2nd year, the highlight of the gastronomic experiences within the November Gourmet Ljubljana has been the November Gourmet Finale co-created by the renowned names of Slovenian cuisine. The event offered a new experience of Ljubljana tastes including those winning in the contest called »New Taste of Ljubljana«. This final ceremony prepared modern interpretations of traditional local food.
A winner of the best dish listed in the New Taste of Ljubljana competition was announced. The jury chose the dish that has, as a winner, become the best dist in the menu of Ljubljana Tastes for the whole year ahead. So whenever a business guest will come to Ljubljana, she or he will have an opportunity to taste the winning dish in the restaurants chosen in the project. Meaning, the Taste Ljubljana brand marks popular local dishes that the chefs in selected restaurants prepared according to new cooking methods with the ingredients being locally-sourced.
All of the finalists were chosen according to their recipe that had to include at least tri ingredients that are typical for Ljubljana and Central Slovenia. This time the winner surprised everyone – with a mini apple-lumpy mousse the winner was a high school student Bruno Sulman who convincingly won against other competitors.