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Facebook is including additional labels to posts from Web pages that appear in users’ Information Feeds in a bid to reduce confusion about their origin. These labels will include things like “public official,” “fan website page,” and “satire web page.” The firm states it’s already started off tests the deployment of these labels in the US, and will progressively increase them to a lot more posts.
Facebook has not available any rationalization as to why it is including these labels, but pinpointing satire seems particularly essential. Choose a glimpse at the social shares for any information article content created by very well-recognized satirical websites like The Onion or The Babylon Bee and you will find loads of men and women taking these tales at encounter value. In such a context these posts are fundamentally a type of misinformation, even if their creators did not intend this. Even substantial profile figures like previous president Donald Trump have mistaken these tales for serious experiences.
Starting currently in the US, we’re screening a way to give individuals more context about the Internet pages they see. We’ll progressively begin implementing labels such as ‘public official,’ ‘fan page’ or ‘satire page’ to posts in Information Feed, so persons can better fully grasp who they’re coming from. pic.twitter.com/Bloc3b2ycb
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) April 7, 2021
This isn’t the first time the social community large has tried using to make the context of posts in the Information Feed clearer. In June previous yr it commenced labeling media outlets which are “wholly or partly below the editorial command of their govt.” These kinds of retailers require labels, argued Fb, because “they incorporate the affect of a media firm with the strategic backing of a point out, and we believe that people must know if the information they browse is coming from a publication that may well be less than the affect of a federal government.”


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Nike has said that the LeBron 11 is “one of the most innovative Nike basketball shoes to date.”
And now the company is changing the innovative shoe so its namesake will wear it. LeBron James has complained about the shoes and only worn them twice this season according to a Wall Street Journal report. On Thursday, James told ESPN’s Darren Rovell and Michael Wallace that the kicks weren’t cutting it, and so LeBron and Nike are “redefining” the shoe.
“I just want to be able to wear them. It has been a frustrating process. But obviously, I know that Nike wants to do what’s best. They’re not going to put me out there in harm’s way. So we’re redefining the shoe to fit what’s best for my foot. I could wear them, but they don’t feel as great as I want them to feel. So we’re redefining them, and I feel like this next round is going to be perfect.”
Instead of wearing the LeBron 11’s, James is wearing the aptly named LeBron 10’s until the redefinition is complete.
The lack of shoe innovation hasn’t hindered King James’ production. LeBron is averaging 25.7 points per game this season 58% from the field.

domain: news


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Highly Expected: Tesla's latest fully autonomous management Beta 10.2 (FSD) software is highly anticipated and has been extensively reviewed by owners, investors and regulators such as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It was scheduled to launch on October 8 for eligible Tesla owners, and the FSD release delay was announced as early as Saturday. The tweet, posted by Mask, postponed the release to "either Sunday or Monday". There are currently no further updates to the release schedule.
Some last minute concerns about this build. It will likely be published on Sunday or Monday. Sorry for the delay.- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2021
More than 1,000 Tesla owners with a Security Score of 100 should receive a Software Update. Another 100-200 owner who had a security score of 99 was to get the copy after the supply of the initial set was completed. The delay comes after the release of version 10.1 beta, which Musk previously announced was delayed to sync with the latest version 10.2. I mentioned earlier that Mask and Tesla should first address the vulnerabilities associated with FSD technology. NTSB data is in addition to investigations conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) following several Tesla-related accidents involving a Tesla driver.
FSD has been developing, testing and purifying for several years. Tesla owners who chose this program agreed to monitor their driving habits and also sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) issued by Tesla. These non-disclosure agreements are designed to prevent participants from submitting videos and information that address FSD issues. Despite the name, the FSD does not intend to completely replace driver responsibility and should not be considered an autopilot setup. Previous articles referred to the mask, reminding users that FSD is not a substitute for awareness, urging them to use appropriate safety, and telling them to "...be paranoid."
With the potential for catastrophic events as a result, it is difficult to wear the mask due to constant monitoring of the editorial status and slippage of deadlines for technical and safety reasons rather than pressure on incomplete performance just to meet the deadline blaming customers and investors.
Image credit: Red Car by Vlad Chumbalov; Autopilot by Roberto Nixon
Tesla postpones full car launch due to last minute concerns


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TAMPA — The Palm restaurant, known for its steaks and caricatures of local celebrities that adorn the walls, is closing at WestShore Plaza after 13 years.
The upscale steakhouse notified customers and members of The Palm's 837 Club that its last day will be March 24. "Unfortunately, we are not able to continue to operate our restaurant into the rest of 2014,'' the restaurant said in an email.
The closing comes amid intense competition among Tampa steakhouses. The Westshore area has seen the recent addition of several higher end restaurants, including Eddie V's Prime Seafood. About two months ago, LongHorn Steakhouse opened up the street along West Shore Boulevard.
Mall officials said several parties are interested in the space, but no one is ready to announce.
The Palm was founded in New York City in 1926 and has about 30 locations nationwide. The other Florida locations are in Orlando and Miami.


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In a bid to encourage cashless economy, the Reserve Bank of India has waived off two-factor authentication for small value transactions to make it easier and faster.
The RBI said that it has been receiving requests from certain segments of the industry for reviewing the requirement of additional factor authentication for low-value online card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
Reacting to the news, payment companies have applauded the central bank for the move.
"This will greatly improve the success rate of online transactions, which will grow both online commerce and cashless payments in India," Govind Rajan, CEO of digital wallets firm FreeCharge said.
While, Mrinal Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, of digital payments firm MobiKwik said that India's number of card holders and users differ significantly, RBI's move will help us to fill the gap.
"It will accelerate adoption of card payments and will increase consumer convenience so that they use cards more often. Larger number of users will be able to do digital transactions after this, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO - Paytm said.


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Bali lovers have been left reeling as prices rise across the island.
For decades Bali has been considered one of the world’s most affordable travel destinations but it seems like all that is changing, fast.
In a post shared on the Facebook group Bali Bogans, a page dedicated to Bali lovers from Australia, one traveler shared her experience paying the bill after a day out at Rock Bar Day Club in Jimbaran.
The Aussie tourist shared a photo of her bill to give a warning to fellow travelers budgeting their upcoming trips.
The post sparked a debate as to whether Bali is as cheap of a destination as travelers have been led to believe.
The receipt shows that the tourist was charged IDR 240,000 (USD 15) for two 380ml bottles of water.
For perspective, a 1.5l bottle of water at an Indomaret or Alfamart, or even a side-of-the-road stall is rarely more than IDR 30,000.
Similarly, the receipt shows two small bottles of Bintang beer charged at IDR 120,000, usually around IDR 30,000 from the shops, around IDR 50,000 in a cafe. These prices are before the added service charge of 10% and tax.
All this said, the prices shown on the receipt at Rock Bar are on par with the prices charged at similar beach clubs, resorts, and restaurants in the south of Bali.
The debate in the comments section was a fair even split. Around half of people shared the outrage at the hugely inflated prices, while others see it simply as part and parcel of being a tourist visiting busy destinations.
Frequent tourists to Bali commented that some of the big beach clubs, bars, restaurants, and cafes have become ‘tourist traps’ where guests are charged premium prices simply because of the prime location and reputation of the venue.
For many Australian tourists, Bali has long been an accessible and affordable vacation destination. But this does appear to be changing, or at the very least a little harder to achieve.
It is still very possible to have a budget-friendly vacation in Bali, it just requires looking a little off the beaten track and being savvy with spending.
The rising prices of vacation in Bali, from the rising costs of accommodation to the increasing cost of dining out, are starting to make tourists look elsewhere. In 2023, Japan became a top travel destination for Australian tourists, beating Bali as the most in-demand destination.
Surprisingly, this may not be something Indonesia is all too fussed about.
Leaders in Bali and high up in the Indonesian government are on a mission to promote more high-quality tourism to higher-spending tourists.
In 2023, badly behaved tourists hit headlines almost every week, with leaders identifying many of these individuals as low-quality tourists who were scrimping on their travel experiences.
This is partly why the new tourism tax will be introduced on the 14th of February. The new mandatory IDR 150,00 per person fee is set to help the government fund the protection and preservation of Balinese culture and landscapes.
However, many tourists see this as just another hike in the cost of a vacation on the island.
The introduction of the tourism tax comes as Bali’s most frequent international arrivals still have to pay for a 30-day visa.
Before the pandemic, it was the case that Austrian tourists qualified for visa-free travel to Indonesia. However, it is now the case that tourists from 97 countries must pay IDR 500,000 for a visa.
This means that as of 14th February 2024, a family of four who take their annual vacation to Bali will be paying IDR 4,400,000 (USD 285) more than before the pandemic and before they’ve booked transfers, hotels, day trips, and food; the prices of all of which are rising.
Indonesia’s Tourism Minister has suggested that visa-free travel may be reintroduced though no formal changes have been announced.
For tourists looking for a more budget-friendly experience in Bali in 2024, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Staying away from the busy, booming resorts of the south will surely see accommodation costs fall significantly.
Travel apps like First Table are great for finding dining deals at the island’s most popular restaurants. Using public transport where possible like the Trans Dewata Buses and the free SMART @Ubud shuttle are all small but significant ways to cut costs on vacation.
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- About Us
Natural gas leak prompts closure of Kirkland’s Totem Lake Boulevard; shopping center evacuated
A gas line severed by a city contractor that caused a natural gas leak prompted Kirkland police and fire officials to close Totem Lake Boulevard and evacuate a shopping center Tuesday morning.
Police and fire personnel responded to a report of a natural gas leak at the 12500 block of Totem Lake Boulevard around 10:50 a.m.
The initial investigation revealed that a two-inch gas line was severed by a contractor working on a city culvert project. Puget Sound Energy was on-scene and shut off the gas. Fire officials said people were evacuated from six businesses within a shopping strip mall located on the west side of Totem Lake Boulevard.
Additionally, both directions of Totem Lake Boulevard were closed.
By 12:15 p.m. the road was open and people were allowed to return to the businesses.


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NEW YORK/LONDON — Raw sugar prices on ICE touched an 8-1/2-month high on Tuesday, buoyed by signs the market is growing tighter and moving towards a wide deficit this season, before pulling back later in the day.
Cocoa and coffee also rose.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
* March raw sugar dropped by 0.17 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at 15.31 cents per lb, pulling back after earlier peaking at 15.66 cents, its highest since mid-February.
* The International Sugar Organization is forecasting a global sugar deficit of 3.5 million tonnes in the 2020/21 season with the production outlook downgraded. It previously forecast a deficit of only 724,000 tonnes.
* Dealers said they now expect supply tightness at least until the Brazilian harvest next year, regardless of what the Indian government decides to do about supporting sugar exports this season.
* India has yet to announce its export policy and there are fears financial support might be limited.
* ICE sugar speculators cut their net long position by 954 contracts to 190,429 in the week ended Nov. 10, data showed.
* March white sugar was down $6.80, or 2%, at $414.10 a tonne, having also hit an 8-1/2 month peak.
* March arabica coffee settled up 0.75 cents, or 0.6%, at $1.195 per lb, the highest since mid-September.


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The federal government is looking for ICT industry partners to design and begin construction of a new welfare payment system.
ICT and wholesale telecommunications provider, Inabox Group, has launched the first phase of its enterprise system transformation.
Employment prospects for executives in the IT industry are not looking good, with the sector the worst performer of all in June, according to the latest EL Consult Executive Demand Index.
NBN enterprise ethernet is an answer to the question "how can we make nbn profitable?"A business would be crazy to[…]
Yep. Both can go.
Well written Sam,In addition to the disgusting level of propaganda used by US-led corporations and corrupt warhawk military to discredit[…]
Returb iPhones are cheaper than ever - definitely worth buying one :-)
The Murdoch led LNP is talking crap again. The Murdochracy are out again asking the Government for something for nothing[…]


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Automakers and department store operators reported sharp sales declines in February as the spread of the new coronavirus dented consumer sentiment and drove away foreign tourists.
The weak data came as analysts warned of a second consecutive quarter of contraction in January to March, with Japan on the brink of recession since the consumption tax hike in October.
Sales of new automobiles, including trucks and buses, dropped 10.3 percent in February from a year earlier to 430,185 units, marking the fifth straight month of decline.
The sluggish sales can be attributed to the coronavirus outbreak and lingering effects from the Oct. 1 consumption tax rate hike, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association said Monday.
Some dealers saw a decrease in customer numbers as many people refrained from going out amid growing fears over COVID-19.
Excluding minivehicles, sales of new autos fell 10.7 percent to 268,302 units. Sales of minivehicles, with engine displacements of up to 660 cc, dropped 9.6 percent to 161,883 units.
All eight major automakers recorded lower sales.
Five saw double-digit decreases. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. suffered a plunge of 24.5 percent, while Nissan Motor Co. saw a drop of 13.8 percent.
Sales fell 7.0 percent for industry leader Toyota Motor Corp.
Meanwhile, four major department store operators saw sales decrease in February, hit by a drop in tax-free sales due to a sharp fall in foreign tourists visiting their stores.
Sales at J. Front Retailing Co., operator of the Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores, dropped 21.4 percent from a year earlier, while Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. saw a fall of 13.6 percent.
The economy is facing a hit close to or even worse than that suffered in 2011, when it contracted 0.1 percent due to the massive earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region.
Preliminary government data have shown that gross domestic product shrank 1.6 percent in the October-December quarter for an annualized contraction of 6.3 percent, the sharpest fall in 5½ years.
In a report Tuesday, Goldman Sachs downgraded its economic estimate for Japan in the January-March quarter, forecasting an annualized contraction of 0.3 percent, compared with a previously projected expansion of 0.3 percent.
The increased risk to the economy is pressuring the Bank of Japan to implement new support measures, some analysts said.
Supply chain disruptions in the manufacturing sector will show up more clearly in upcoming economic data, while the coronavirus outbreak in China, if prolonged, could dent demand for 5G telecommunication products and derail a recovery in IT equipment output, Barclays Japan said in a recent report.
BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda issued a statement Monday pledging that the central bank “will strive to provide ample liquidity and ensure stability in financial markets through appropriate market operations and asset purchases.”
Coronavirus fears have dealt a particularly heavy blow to the tourism sector since China banned all group travel to other nations in late January.
A Japan Ryokan & Hotel Association survey showed Monday that the number of reservations at around 400 facilities in 37 prefectures from March to May totaled 1.55 million, down 45.2 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The association’s data reflect reservations made by Feb. 25, the day before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked organizers to cancel or postpone big events for two weeks through March 10 to prevent further spread of the virus.
The request led to the closure of theme parks, stadiums and other cultural venues and tourist spots that attract large crowds.
Major travel agency H.I.S Co. on Monday cut its earnings outlook, expecting the impact of the health scare on its businesses to continue until at least July.
It now expects a net loss of ¥1.1 billion for the business year through October, sharply down from a profit of ¥11 billion estimated earlier.
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Tractor Supply Company
Opening date: June 2021
Address5950 Chalkville Mountain Rd, Birmingham, AL 35235
Store opening of Tractor Supply Company in Birmingham
Tractor Supply Company (TSC), the nation’s largest operator of rural lifestyle retail stores, is planing on opening a new location in Trussville. The store will be located in the Trussville Shopping Center, off Chalkville Mountain Road. At the store you can get basic maintenance products for homes, land, pets and animal owners. The new store is expected to open in late June 2021.


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3D Systems Set to Show Off Their Industrial 3D Printing Tech as Part of the Largest Hannover Messe 2016 US Business Delegation
After a brutal 2014 and 2015, 3D printing industry leader 3D Systems has been recently getting back to their roots by focusing more on their large stable of industrial 3D printer options. After exiting the desktop market entirely, the company has been setting themselves up as the place to go for industrial 3D printing applications. So far the shift in priorities has produced a fair amount of buzz: they have seen their stock price start to recover from record lows, and actually managed to finish off last year with a bright financial forecast.
This week 3D Systems is announcing that they will be taking part in the largest US delegation to ever be part of Germany’s Hannover Messe industrial fair. As the world’s largest, and dating back to post WWII one of the oldest, industrial technology trade fairs, Hannover Messe is one of the most important yearly events for industrial and manufacturing technology and equipment. For the first time in history the United States is set to be a Partner Country, which will allow almost 400 US-based businesses and organizations to take a featured spot at the massive event. The large delegation will offer US industry an unprecedented opportunity to put their products and services in front of hundreds of thousands of business leaders from all over the world.
“We are proud to have some of America’s most innovative and forward thinking companies joining the U.S. delegation at this year’s fair. The U.S. business community and the Department of Commerce have a clear message for the world: the United States is open for business. We will demonstrate and deliver on that message at the 2016 Hannover Messe,” said Penny Pritzker, the United States Secretary of Commerce.
To make sure that everything goes off without a hitch, the man himself, President Barack Obama, will be on hand to participate in this year’s event, called “Integrated Industry-Discover Solutions”. Also in attendance will be Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of 3D Systems Chuck Hull, who also invented Stereolithography (SLA), which was the very first 3D printing process. Hull will be on hand to participate in the Regional Clusters seminar taking place on the first day of Hannover Messe 2016. The “Clusters in the EU and USA: Opportunities for Collaboration and Growth,” will explore new methods of promoting global development and commercialization of high-tech industries.
“It is an honor for us to be part of the U.S. delegation to Hannover. We are excited to showcase our ecosystem of 3D technology alongside other world-class American businesses, and to share our dedication to manufacturing excellence and innovation with a global audience,” said 3D Systems’ Vice President of Alliances and Partnerships, Neal Orringer.
3D Systems will be exhibiting from the USA Digital Factory Pavilion in Hall 6 at Stand K01, where they are set to feature two of their most advanced industrial 3D printing options. They will be showcasing their production-grade ProJet 6000 SLA 3D printer, which has material options available that match or exceed the properties of most traditional plastic materials. Parts printed on the ProJet 6000 offer high temperature resistance, superior tensile strength and strong impact resistance. It is also capable of producing parts using USP Class VI capable materials for medical, biocompatible or dental applications.
They will also be showing off their ProX DMP 200 Direct metal 3D printing technology that is capable of printing fully dense metal parts capable of being printed with thin walls, an excellent surface finish and fine detail resolution. The ProX is a powder-based 3D printer that uses a laser to fuse the object together one fine layer at a time. The technology allows for the production of virtually any geometry that would be impossible using traditional manufacturing technologies, regardless of how complex. The technology has obvious applications within the aerospace, automotive and healthcare industries.
Additionally, the 3D Systems booth will be showing off video demonstrations of their latest Stereolithography development, their ultra-fast Figure 4 technology. You can see some video of the process here:
Every year more than 200,000 business leaders from over seventy countries head to Hannover, Germany for the Hannover Messe industrial fair. Regular visitors include investors, buyers, distributors, resellers and of course government officials looking to draw manufacturing to their countries. This year Hannover Messe will take place on April 25th until the 29th. The Clusters in the EU and USA panel featuring Chuck Hall will take place in Hall 2 on the 1st floor in Rooms 02.01.12 and 02.01.13, at 2:45 PM. You can learn more about Hannover Messe and this year’s agenda over on their website. Thinking about attending? Discuss in the 3DS to Highlight 3D Printers at Hannover Messe forum over at 3DPB.com.
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Google said it had signed lease agreements at 315 and 345 Hudson Avenue in Lower Manhattan and a letter of intent to buy a property near 550 Washington Street.
In 2010, Google bought Chelsea Art Deco for $1.8 billion. However, as early as 2000, Google began to appear in the city. Earlier this year, Google announced that it had bought Chelsea Market in New York for $2.4 billion and planned to build another four-block park at Pier 57.
Googles new park is named Google Hudson Square as the headquarters of Googles New York Global Business Organization. In addition to Chelseas expansion, Google will increase its existing 7,000 employees in New York to more than 14,000.
Before Googles expansion in New York, its rival Amazon had decided to split its second headquarters and build it in New York City and suburban Washington, but the move drew criticism. Last week, Apple announced that it would invest $1 billion in a new park in Austin, Texas.
Obviously, big technology companies are looking to extend their antennae beyond their home centers on the West Coast, partly because it opens up a broader job market for them. After all, not everyone wants to work in California or Seattle.
Ruth Porat, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a blog post: New York City is still an important source of diversified, world-class talent, which attracted Google to come here in 2000 and is why we will remain here. Polat added that the company is growing faster outside the Gulf than in the Gulf.
Google said its new park, which covers nearly 160,000 square meters, will open in 2020, starting with two office locations on Hudson Street, and two years later the park on Washington Street will come into operation. (small)
Source: Responsible Editor of Netease Science and Technology Report: Wang Fengzhi_NT2541


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SKODA’S head of business sales, Martin Burke, was a recent guest contributor on the Fleet News Careers page.
In the ‘How are you settling in?’ section, he revealed that one of his biggest challenges is to convince fleet managers to step outside their comfort zones and be more open-minded to car manufacturers from outside the mainstream fleet pool.
His task of increasing Skoda’s market share should be becoming less of an uphill struggle on the strength of cars like our long-term Fabia vRS.
Like Vauxhall with its VXR range and Ford with its ST models, Skoda is hoping to attact more user-choosers with sporty models which won’t break the bank to run.
Which is where the Fabia vRS comes in.
This attractive and racy hot-hatch has been doing its bit to put paid to the Skoda image of the past, when low price was its sole merit.
Price is still a big factor – at just under £12,400, it undercuts its Volkswagen Group rivals like the SEAT Ibiza FR TDI by £1,400 and the Volkswagen Polo 1.9 TDI Sport by around £2,000, despite sharing the same engine – but there’s much more besides.
That 1.9-litre TDI unit produces 130bhp and 229lb-ft of torque and makes the Fabia vRS one of the most powerful diesel small cars yet. Put your foot down in third, fourth or fifth gear and as long as the turbo is spooled up, the Fabia will surge forward dramatically.
It’s also very economical to run. We haven’t achieved the claimed 52.4mpg combined, but still managed an average of 43.7mpg, giving a range of more than 400 miles on a tank of diesel.
It looks the part too, sporting 16-inch alloy wheels with green brake callipers visible through the spokes, a roof spoiler at the rear and a deeper front spoiler than its lesser-powered siblings.
The Fabia vRS has already been a success for Skoda in the fleet arena. The combination of low front-end price, low running costs and benefit-in-kind tax at £43 a month for a 22% taxpayer persuaded company car drivers to mop up a third of the 3,000 models sold last year.
If our experience is anything to go by, that figure could well increase.
Price: £12,375 (£14,250 as tested)
CO2 emissions (g/km): 146
Company car tax bill (2006) 22% tax-payer: £43 per month
Insurance group: 9
Combined mpg: 52.4
Test mpg: 43.7
CAP Monitor RV: £4,825/39%
Contract hire rate: £271
Total expenditure: Nil
Figures based on three years/60,000 miles


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Dell shares were worth around 22 percent more than what Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners paid for them in their 2013 buyout, a Delaware court ruled Tuesday.
When Dell shareholders voted to let the company go private for $24.9B, it was one of the largest privatization deals in modern technology history. Even so, the fair value of Dell's stock was closer to $17.62 per share, rather than the $13.75 that Michael Dell and Silver Lake paid, Delaware Vice Chancellor Travis Laster said.
Only shareholders that sued are eligible for compensation from the ruling, but that could add tens of millions to the final cost of the deal, Reuters notes. According to the Wall Street Journal, the largest shareholder is hedge fund Magnetar Capital, which should collect around $15 million plus interest for its 3.8 million shares.
Tuesday's ruling would have been much more significant, but Judge Laster ruled earlier this month that T. Rowe Price, once Dell's third-largest shareholder, was ineligible for the share appraisal process because it accidentally voted in favor of the 2013 deal, even though it opposed it.


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Dutch holding company ERIKS group reported sales for the first quarter 2009 were €270 million (US$368.1 million), an increase of 10.1% from the prior year. Organic sales declined 14.3%. Profit fell 56.9% to €6.3 million (US$8.6 million).
The market conditions for ERIKS deteriorated rapidly in the space of a few months due to the worldwide recession. We do not see any improvement yet, CEO J. van der Zouw said. As a result, the company will be eliminating 450 positions.


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The 457 visa ruling will impact India-Australia relations
With the 457 Visa phase-out hitting India’s labour mobility demand, Australia is staking its education and professional services trade ambitions with Indiaopinion Updated: Apr 20, 2017 12:27 IST
Adopting an ‘Australian First’ approach, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the scrapping of the 457 Visa, which allows employment of temporary foreign workers for a period of four years. The move - dubbed as a measure to check Australia’s growing unemployment woes - impacts over 95,000 temporary foreign workers, mostly Indians. A new two-tier visa system replaces the 457 Visa. It includes a short-term two-year visa and a second visa class focused on strategic, long-term skills with a four-year limit.
The move is a direct hit on India’s long-standing demand for labour mobility - easing of temporary foreign workers’ entry into Australian projects and relaxing of Australian rules for skilled foreign workers.
This might impact the Australian ambition of stepping up education and professional services trade with India - two of the top items during the recent Turnbull-Modi summit.
At present Indian students contribute more than $2.3 billion to the Australian economy. What Canberra is eying is a space in PM Modi’s drive to skill up India and rise in the value chain of services and skills India offers to the world.
Australia views itself optimally placed in India’s education aspirations of “upskilling 400 million people by 2022.”
It is exploring means to penetrate to segment in India which lacks resources to study abroad. However foreign educators can set up campuses in India only in partnership with an Indian entity. To be able to make inroads into this segment, Canberra must ensure that the current decision doesn’t hurt New Delhi’s interests significantly.
Australia also hopes to supply a range of professional services to India to support its drive to build new infrastructure - roads, rail facilities, ports, hospitals, schools and universities.
However, India has maintained stiff trade barriers in the form of import tariffs. New Delhi might use this as a bargaining point.
Responding to the ruling India’s ministry of external affairs stated, “The government is examining consequences of the new policy in consultation with all stakeholders. This is also a matter we will be looking at in the context of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations.”
This could be a veiled warning that the already stalled Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations might further get delayed. Interestingly, many feel the reason why Indo-Australian trade hasn’t moved forward is because New Delhi prefers pursuing the multilateral China-led RCEP over a unilateral FTA with Canberra.
Some Australian experts have also hinted on the need to diversify their trade relations to avoid “over-reliance on any one nation,” like China - its biggest partner with a trading volume of $150 billion today.
Beijing’s recent aggressive postures in the South China Sea, tacit support to North Korea - has drawn skepticism from many Australians. India, by contrast with a trade of less than $20 billion, and a “stable democracy” with no external territorial ambitions - comes with a huge growth potential.
Back home, Australia’s technology business sector hasn’t reacted favourably to this decision.
Tech entrepreneurs have said there is an acute shortage of homegrown skilled workers.
The infant tech industry of Australia doesn’t have enough number of senior tech skills and India is a key destination for such expertise.
They say this skills shortage may lead start-ups to open up shop outside the country in the US or Europe.
That’s something Canberra, with an economy struggling to get over three per cent growth, certainly, cannot afford. So it needs to calibrate all its moves with a good consideration of the impact those have on potential growth partners like India
Jhinuk Chowdhury is an independent journalist who writes on South Asian affairs
First Published: Apr 20, 2017 12:21 IST


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The European Union (EU) is considering the possibility of accrediting Georgian businesses.
The decision came after a meeting between Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom which was held today at the European Commission, Brussels.
Meeting EU accreditation standards will enable Georgian businesses to land their products on the EU market.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister and the European Commissioner also discussed Georgia-EU trade and economic relations, and the utilisation of the opportunities offered under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), and emphasised the progress that has been made in this direction.
Special attention was paid to the growing Georgia-EU trade dynamics, with Georgia’s export to the EU states in 2017 up 13 percent to make for a total of $647 million.
The positive investment trend was also emphasised, as reflected in a six percent growth of European investments to reach about $445 million in 2017.


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Chief Gundam Officer Koji Fujiwara has revealed more details about the upcoming Gunpla scanner app, such as its support for custom builds.
As part of today’s Gundam Conference, he reassured those concerned that the Gunpla Scanner would only work with straight-built kits.
“We will let fans scan the customized gunpla. That part of the tech is already developed to a certain extent”, he says. “We also want to include other parameters, which is something we are researching right now. I think our fans will enjoy displaying their custom Gunpla in the metaverse”.
He also updated us on another vital piece of information: they plan to have scanners in custom cabinets, similar to the trial one had at a prior event.
“We are planning to set up specialized cabinets. We haven’t decided where. The details will follow. But that should provide high quality scanning for our users”.
It should be noted that they’ve also repeatedly shown that it would also work with smartphones, though it stands to reason the booths might give better quality scanes.
The Gunpla scanner is a huge building block of the Gundam Metaverse Project, allowing builders to show off 3d models based on their custom work.
They also announced today that they would be opening tests for the Gunpla colony, though it’s unsure if it will launch with the scanning feature considering the short timeframe.
Last year’s Gundam Conference also saw the announcement of the additional “colonies”, branches representing the other popular modes of the Gundam IP, such as a gaming colony based on Gundam Evolution.


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Technology News Desk!!! Tech giant Microsoft has announced that it is testing an upgraded volume mixer in Quick Settings for Windows 11 that will allow users to quickly customize audio. The new feature is rolling out to the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview build 25309 to the Dev channel, the tech giant said in a blogpost on Thursday.
The updated audio quick settings experience brings a modern volume mixer that allows for quick customization of audio on a per-app basis, with additional controls for swapping devices on the fly. In the latest preview build, the company has also added a new keyboard shortcut (Window plus Control plus V) to bring users directly to the volume mixer for faster controls.
With this change, users will be able to enhance their audio experience with more control and fewer clicks. In addition, we’ve made it easy for users to enable their Windows Sonic Experience with a quick access list of installed spatial sound technologies, the company said. In addition, Dev Channel Insiders will be able to turn on Auto Color Management (ACM) for their SDR displays and have colors in all Windows applications.
The tech giant said that Voice Access has completely revamped the in-app command help page to make it easier to use. That said, the search bar allows users to quickly find commands and the individual categories provide further guidance. Each command now has a description and examples of its variations, making it easier to understand and use.


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Toys R Us stores closed on Friday, leaving behind nostalgia, anger and maybe a chance of revival
- Toys R Us will shutter its doors for good in the U.S. Friday.
- The private equity-backed toy store announced plans to liquidate its operation in March after filing for bankruptcy in September.
- There is a chance the brand can resurrect itself in a different form following the sale of its intellectual property
Toys R Us shuttered its doors in the U.S. on Friday, leaving in its wake a great deal of sadness, pockets of anger and some slim hope.
The retailer filed for bankruptcy this past September with $4.9 billion in debt, a vestige from its $6.6 billion acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Bain Capital Partners and real estate investment trust Vornado Realty Trust in 2005. Five months later, it announced plans to liquidate its U.S. business.
Since then, there has been an outpouring of nostalgia for childhood toys shopping. There is dread of a holiday season without the often slightly disorganized Toys R Us stores. December will also be the first without Toys R Us's founder, Charles P Lazarus, who passed away in March.
There has been anger too. Roughly 30,000 workers are out of a job and no one is getting a severance. Former employees have started groups, the Dead Giraffe Society, to share resumes and experiences.
Investigations continue into the retailer's cause of death. Among them, the Minnesota State Board of Investment is suspending its investment to KKR until it further understands KKR's role in the retailer's demise, according to media reports.
Some have refused to accept the end as final. Toys R Us former CEO, Gerald Storch, is trying to pull together a plan that could resurrect the business and save employees their jobs, sources familiar with the situation tell CNBC. The New York Post first reported the efforts.
The chances of success, though, are slim. It would take an extensive amount of capital to buy stores, distribution centers and rebuild or create anew a Toys R Us website. Then, there is the simple fact that starting any business begins as a loss-making venture.
To have products in Toys R Us stores, Storch and his investors would need to convince toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro to ship their toys to the revived company. They would also need to do so fast: retailers and toy companies are already preparing for the holiday season. Some shoppers have been taking advantage of fire sale prices at Toys R Us liquidation sales to prepare for December, which will likely eat into those later sales.
Every one of these feats needs sign off from a number of parties who were recently burnt by the Toys R Us bankruptcy and liquidation — toy companies, landlords and investors. Once bitten (hard), twice shy.
For these reasons, most other efforts to carry off similar feats have failed. When Sports Authority liquidated two years ago, rival sports chains Modell's Sporting Goods and Sports Direct were going to make a similar bid to save the company. Those plans would have cost the retailer roughly $1 million per store, according to a source familiar with the situation. They fell apart.
But even if Storch does not succeed, the Toys R Us name can live on. It is selling its intellectual property, the results of which are to be announced in early August. With that intellectual property a buyer can take the Toys R Us name and logo and resurrect it. That won't stop Toys R Us from liquidating, and it won't give back employees their jobs, but it could ensure the next generation of children have the experience of shopping at a Toys R Us.
That would be a move with far more precedent. After Twinkies-owner Hostess Brands announced it was liquidating in 2012, there was an outpouring of nostalgia for the cream-filled pastries that accompanied lunch boxes for a generation. Shelves of convenience stores were emptied and the pastry began to pop up on Ebay. Investor Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Company bought the Twinkie brand, along with several others owned by Hostess, and resurrected them. They have since taken the new company public through a reverse IPO.
Retailers or others that buy the Toys R Us IP would have a number of options. Should Target buy the brand, for example, it can open up a store-within-a-store concept as it expands its toy business. Another investor or retailer could also create pop-up shops that appear only for the holiday season, a logical move since that's when Toys R Us does the heft of its sales anyway.
Even, Amazon could acquire the Toys R Us website, giving it a line into the nostalgia the brand evokes — and the brand with an infamously rickety website, the internet platform it always needed.


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BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has advised the states to keep the fair price shops open on all days of the month for distribution of foodgrains for beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
The Food and Public Distribution department under the Ministry has written to the states to keep the fair price shops open preferably on all days for distribution of foodgrains under PMGKAY III and NFSA to beneficiaries in a staggered manner throughout the day to maintain social distancing and adherence to Covid-19 protocols.
The State government has been requested to ensure that the shops are exempted from the restricted hours of opening as applicable for regular markets. In view of Covid lockdown and curtailing of the functioning hours of fair price shops, people facing problem in collecting their ration from the public distribution system. The government has been requested to take necessary steps for timely distribution of foodgrains at the shops without causing hardships to the beneficiaries and give wide publicity to the new measures.
The government has started implementing distribution of foodgrains under PMGKAY III for two months, May and June, in same pattern as was done last year by providing an additional quota of free-of-cost rice or wheat at a scale of 5 kg per person per month, over and above their regular monthly NFSA entitlements to beneficiaries covered under NFSA.


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Beloved Dublin music shop McCullough Pigott will soon close its doors for good after 200 years in business.
The shop started out as Pigott on Grafton Street back in 1823 and was one of the principal music stores in the city. In the 1960's, the store merged with Denis McCullough, a trained luthier and piano tuner from Belfast and became McCullough Pigott.
Today, the store is owned by sheet music publisher Hal Leonard and is based on South William Street, run by a small team of music professionals. Hal Leonard announced last week that they will be shutting the Dublin store, as well as UK shops owned by them in Edinburgh, Exeter, Lincoln, Salisbury, Stratford and York.
Read more: Mother of teen who died after alleged stab attack says family 'heartbroken'
McCullough Pigott shared the sad news with their customers in a social media post last week, writing: "It is with deep regret that we inform you, on Monday 20th February, Musicroom/Hal Leonard Europe announced their plans to restructure their Musicroom consumer business in the UK and Ireland.
"This involves the closure of seven Musicroom retail stores, including Musicroom @ McCullough Pigott Dublin. Please bear with us and we will post further updates when available. But for now, it's business as usual.
"We would like to thank all of our loyal customers for your business and we look forward to welcoming you over the coming weeks."
In response to the news, a petition called "Save McCullough Pigott Music Shop" was launched on Change.org and has received over 700 signatures.
"Many teachers teaching today including myself bought instruments from McCullough Piggott and have been buying their sheet music there all their lives, first as students, and now as teachers," the petition reads.
"While online and digital music is a good resource to have, it is vital that students still have a physical outlet to purchase their music. There is nothing like the feel of a good book and for every book they go into buy, they will probably leave with two or three others and maybe a nice mug or new pencil or even a new case for their music.
"The staff are wonderful and are masters of their craft as regards their knowledge of all things music. McCullough Piggott's needs to be saved so that it can continue to provide music books and instruments to students in Dublin and far beyond."
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FedEx trims profit outlook but expects busy holiday season
Memphis, Tenn. — FedEx trimmed its full-year profit outlook Wednesday but said it expects to hire more than 55,000 seasonal workers to help handle another record holiday shipping peak.
The Memphis-based company lopped 20 cents off its earnings forecast for the year that began June 1. The decrease, less than 2%, was attributed to weaker less-than-truckload industry demand and higher-than-expected insurance reserves and operating costs at FedEx Ground.
A peak-season forecast won't come out until October, but the company is bullish, despite predictions of modest economic growth in the U.S. and globally.
"Customers are requesting more capacity, not less," said Mike Glenn, executive vice president, market development and corporate communications. "We view that as a good sign, and that's why we think we're well-positioned for another record peak."
The company hired about 50,000 seasonal workers last year for a peak season that saw about 290 million packages moved between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, including 22.6 million on the busiest day, Dec. 15.
Rival UPS on Tuesday announced plans to hire 90,000 to 95,000 seasonal workers, about the same as last year.
FedEx officials discussed preparations for peak season and other matters with analysts during a quarterly earnings conference to report a 7% increase in profits from a year earlier.
Earnings were $2.42 a share for the June-August quarter, slightly below analysts' expectations of $2.44 a share but ahead of last year's $2.26 a share, or $2.12 a share on an adjusted basis.
The full-year earnings range, which stood at $10.60 to $11.10 in June, was lowered to $10.40 to $10.90, before year-end adjustments due to pension accounting rules.
"FedEx Corp. is performing solidly given weaker-than-expected economic conditions, especially in manufacturing and global trade," said Frederick W. Smith, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
Smith complained that FedEx didn't set earnings targets; analysts did. The company could be paying the price for being a longtime Wall Street favorite.
"When you become beloved by the Street, the downside is it's harder and harder to meet those elevated expectations," said Logan Purk, an analyst with Edward Jones.
FedEx shares fell $4.37, or 2.8%, to close at $149.63.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Recent national business updates from the Associated Press


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Major retailer H&M is leaving Nuneaton.
Coventry Live can reveal that H&M is to leave its large unit in the Ropewalk Shopping Centre in just over a week.
The shock news was revealed in a tweet to a customer that said it will close for good on Friday, December 11.
The clothes brand added customers will be able to go to other H&M stores in the area, such as Coventry.
We have contacted the business for a comment.
The loss of the clothing company is the latest in a series of recent high profile store closures in the town centre.
The town centre looks set to lose its iconic Debenhams store following the collapse of the national firm. It has also lost its Argos store in Harefield Road after bosses revealed it was one of several across the country to be axed.
We also reported that Peacocks and 'Bags R Us' in the Abbeygate will also close their doors.
Poundland also closed its Queens Road-based store to focus on the branch in Market Place.
Latest Ropewalk news
However, there is some good news for shoppers. Egg Free Cake Box is set to take up a unit in the town's biggest shopping centre.
Sports giant JD Sports has confirmed it still intends to come to town - but has had to delay its opening until next Easter.
Barclays is also set to move its branch into the shopping centre.
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JAMMU, NOV 10: Taking a step ahead in bringing transparency in the functioning of Rural Development Department and disbursing the wages to the beneficiaries under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Law and Justice, Abdul Haq launched the Electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS), here today.
On the occasion, the Minister transferred online Rs 1.5 cr as payment to 10000 beneficiaries under MGNREGA.
The Minister was apprised that new system of e-FMS functions through digital signature and once concerned officer will sign it electronically, it will go to master account of the Nodal bank from where the wages will be credited directly to the account of the worker immediately.
Terming launch of e-FMS as a revolutionary step, the Minister said that with this move, the beneficiaries now need not to move to offices for payment and Department will directly transfer wages to their already linked bank accounts. “This step will not only ease out whole process of disbursing payment to beneficiaries but also remove hurdles and makes it paperless besides eliminating delays in wage payment,” said the Minister adding that today we can say that objective behind implementing MGNERGA is fulfilled as the beneficiaries will get their payment within 15 days benefitting about 20 lakh MGNREGA workers of the State.
“Thousands of families in our State are dependent on MGNREGA to meet their daily needs and often delay in payments badly affects them, and now with e-FMS it would be ensured that they get their wage payments in real time,” said Haq Khan.
He added that the measure will usher in much needed transparency and funds will reach to the real beneficiaries on ground. “It is a digital era, everything should be available to the public in just one click and the RDD takes immense pleasure to bring J&K on the path of digital India”, said the Minister.


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Dubai-based fintech YAP in talks to raise further $20m
Dubai-based fintech start-up YAP is in talks with investors to raise an additional $20 million as it looks to finance its expansion plans in Africa and South Asia, Arabian Business reports.
YAP group CEO Marwan Hachem told Arabian Business: “Our goal is to raise another $20 million before completing our Series A round by the end of this year. We are talking to several local and international VC funds.”
If completed, the new funds will take the firm’s total Series A raise to $61 million.
That funding was secured from Saudi Arabia’s Aljazira Capital alongside notable investments from Abu Dawood Group, Astra Group and Audacia Capital.
The start-up’s digital banking app offers budgeting and spending analytics tools, card controls, easy money transfers and real-time notifications of purchases, as well as debit, pre-paid and virtual cards.
YAP says more than 130,000 users have signed up for its app since its launch in 2021, a record number in the region.


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As pretty much always, when Apple pushes out a “new” technology, everybody else follows; the latest example of which, is Face ID on the iPhone X. So, who do you think is ready to launch a device with the same technology? Is that Huawei, Xiaomi or Oppo? Well, none of the aforementioned. Apparently, rapidly growing phone maker – Meiigoo – are the ones who already have the tech; let’s learn more about it!
Previous to today, we had heard that Meiigoo has been working on another all-screen device named Meiigoo Note8. According to latest details – just revealed by the company, the Meiigoo Note8 will be featuring a similar face recognition ID system to the one present on the new iPhone X.
Gizchina News of the week
Always allegedly, the front-facing camera on the Note8 indeed support 3D facial recognition that can accurately detect facial features and then unlock the device in less than a second. More details about the face access technology and how it works is yet to be revealed though.
Together with the news, Meiigoo has also uploaded a teaser video of the Note8 on their YouTube channel, we can check it out down below.
In the video we can see how the Note8 looks quite similar to its predecessor – the Meiigoo S8. It does indeed sport the same stunning 18:9 design, dual-sided 3D curved glass, unique mirror-like finish and the dual camera setup on the back. The fingerprint has been placed on the back as well just beside the two cameras.
If you’re liking the phone, then visit the Meiigoo Note8‘s pre-order page over at Gearbest. Since today’s Black Friday, GearBest are also running a promotion on the previously mentioned Meiigoo S8 which is now available for just $159.99, that’s a 30% off discount from retail price. The promo will be valid from November 24th to December 4th, after that day price will go back up.


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USA: Smithfield in deal with Compass Group
The largest pork producer in the US, Smithfield Foods, has announced that it has made a supply deal with Foodbuy, a purchasing and data management company.
Financial terms of the three-year deal, which will see Smithfield supplying food for a variety of food services, were not disclosed, reported Reuters.
Operating companies of food service and hospitality company Compass Group, of which Foodbuy is the procurement division, will serve Smithfield products in corporate dining rooms, cafeterias, education establishments and military, healthcare, sports and entertainment facilities.
Companies: Smithfield Foods
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Meat company Smithfield Foods has reported a fall in income for the second quarter ended 30 October, blaming costs associated with the restructuring of its east coast pork processing operations....
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US pork processor Smithfield Foods has reported lower first-quarter net income, partly due to US$5m in operating losses associated with the brief closing of one plant in Poland....
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Food service company Compass Group North America has announced with partners Environmental Defense and Smithfield Foods what it says is a first-of-its-kind purchasing policy to curb antibiotic use in ...
Meat company Smithfield Foods has announced that a United States District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has dismissed a putative securities class action brought against Smithfield and ...
US meat processor Smithfield Foods has reported a rise in earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended 1 May 2005, bolstered by a good performance in the hog sector....
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(Source: Regina Leader Post)
Brad Hanmer has been testing out the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at his farm in Govan this past season. The drone, valued between $12-15,000, is made by a startup based out of Burlington, Colo. called RoboFlight. The company, which was founded last June, has partnered with Saskatchewan agronomist Greg Adelman to expand its services into Canada.
Using a modified off-the-shelf camera that can see different wavelengths of light, the drone can show the amount of light that’s being absorbed and reflected by plants. This means photos that the drone takes aren’t in the colours you’d expect, with green plants showing up as red.
“It tells us the relative health, or how much photosynthesis is going on in the plant, relative to the rest of the field,” said RoboFlight chief operating officer and interim CEO Kirk Demuth during a phone interview.
Unlike satellite imagery which offers 984-foot resolutions, a drone flying 300-400 feet in the air can provide photos with sub-inch detail.
“The first picture I took we could actually see that the grower split the field five years ago. We also saw other pictures where his grandpa split the field 20 years ago, and we could see the line in the field,” said Adelman.
Made out of Styrofoam, the drone is light enough that it can be launched into the air via a slingshot-like device from the back of a pickup truck. Once it’s in the air, Adelman programs the drone to fly a grid pattern over the field. During a mission, the drone will take between 500-700 pictures
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com


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FDA Inspection Prompts Compounding Pharmacy to Recall Products, Shut Down Operations
Martin Avenue Pharmacy is recalling all of its unexpired sterile preparations and stopping production of sterile drugs after FDA investigators discovered contaminated products and evidence of poor quality control.
During a June to July inspection of the compounding pharmacy’s Naperville, Ill., facility, the FDA observed a black particle in a vial of an injectable drug mix containing papaverine and phentolamine.
The agency also found problems with the pharmacy’s procedures designed to prevent microbial contamination. For instance, personnel who produce sterile drug products aren’t monitored for microbial contamination, according to a Form 483 issued July 21.
Martin Avenue also rinses its sterilized glass beakers and stir bars with “purified” water produced from municipal tap water, however the agency hasn’t tested the water to determine its purity, bioburden or pyrogen levels, the FDA said. In addition, the compounder didn’t conduct stability testing on two types of human injectable sterile drugs: hyaluronidase injectable solution and methylcobalamin.
The pharmacy emphasized that it hasn’t received any complaints of patient risks from the recalled products, but noted that if a compounded drug loses sterility it could infect a patient. The company’s non-sterile preparations aren’t affected by the recall.
The pharmacy said it decided to do the recall and cease production out of an “abundance of caution.”
The FDA has stepped up inspections and enforcement actions on compounders after a November 2013 law enhanced its powers over larger pharmacies. Quality experts have said that a barrage of warning letters to compounders has forced the industry to take FDA enforcement more seriously.
Martin Avenue declined to comment further.
Make sure your products are sterile! Help avoid a costly recall by ordering Manufacturing Sterile Products to Meet EU and FDA Guidelines today!


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In September 2022, The Growth Plan 2022 policy paper was announced. Now known colloquially as the mini-budget, this new plan was designed to help individuals and businesses to deal with the current cost of living crisis in the UK. The new government has made plans to achieve a steady 2.5% growth in the UK economy in the coming years. Hence, the new changes have been met with mixed reception from small and medium-sized businesses. In this article, we explain some of the ways in which these new tax changes could affect your business, and some steps you might have to consider.
National Insurance Reversal
In early 2022, the government increased NI to fund health and social care. From November 6th 2022, these changes will be reversed. The existing 1.25% increase in NI will now be scrapped, which could save 28 million people an average of £330 per year according to the Treasury. 920,000 businesses throughout the UK will also be affected. “This change affects different businesses differently, depending on their payroll processes,” explains Gavin Jones of Claims Bible. “The majority of employees should receive the NI cut directly via their November payroll, if businesses can update their payroll software before the 6th. If not, they will receive the benefit retrospectively.” “If your business currently does not use an external provider for its payroll, you will need to inform your payroll team to remove this 1.25% NI payment from future payslips.”
IR35 (off-payroll) determination reversal
Another U-turn included in the mini-budget is the IR35 reversal. IR35 is a name for off-payroll working rules, designed to distinguish whether a contractor is someone who is genuinely self-employed rather than an employee being disguised by businesses in order to pay a lower rate of tax.
“Contractors who work through a limited company might forgo some employee benefits,” explains Rosie Marie of Rosca Technologies. “This includes things such as paid time off, but they might also enjoy a level of tax efficiency that regular employees might not. IR35 is designed to tackle this.” “This rule, introduced in 2017 for the public sector and in 2021 for the private sector, made businesses responsible for managing how their contractors should be taxed.” “The policy change now means that it lies with the workers to be responsible for determining their employment status. This means that contractors must ensure they are paying the correct amount of tax and NI, relieving businesses of the burden.”
Corporation Tax on Company Profits
In 2021, the rate of corporation tax was announced to increase from 19% to 25%, starting in April 2023. This change was not set to affect businesses with profits below £50,000, who would still be due to pay the same 19% rate at first, with this rate increasing gradually. Only businesses with profits over £250,000 are meant to pay the full 25% rate. “It was expected that 70% of companies (which is around 1.4 million companies) would be unaffected by this change when in fact it was only set to affect 10% of companies,” explains Richard Allan of Funding Zest. “However, this plan will be scrapped. The Treasury estimates that this U-turn will cost £12 billion next year and £17 billion the following year. This is intended to encourage businesses to invest.”
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Food judge speaks out
Sun | Food
Even dream jobs have their dark sides.
When Kris Boyle was asked to act as a food judge at the Kitsap County Fair, she felt honored and a little overwhelmed.
She stayed overwhelmed even after judging was finished.
I was so sick afterward. I had a headache that was unbelievable, Boyle said. Its seven hours of eating just a morsel of something. It adds up.
It wasnt the quality of entries that made her ill it was the quantity. Boyle and two other judges sampled 236 items, from cookies to cakes and candy. As a family and consumer science educator at South Kitsap High School, Boyle is no stranger to culinary catastrophes or delights. Fortunately, with the exception of store-bought items inexplicably entered in the contest, Boyle found many entries simply delicious.
There was a carrot cake that was outstanding, Boyle said. And the Lavender Tea Cake was my personal favorite.
Boyle is unsure if shed be a food judge next year. Shed have to change her eating technique, for one thing.
And lose the pounds she gained this year.


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The UK government is failing to educate energy consumers on waste and efficiency, if a new government report is an accurate guide. According to the report, computers, televisions and other electrical products, plugged in but not in use or left on standby, cost the UK up to £1.3 billion in electricity bills every year. This equates to some 16 per cent of energy bills, money and energy wasted by consumers.
The report also revealed that British TV sets are on for more than six hours a day, instead of the five hours previously thought. This adds up to 400 hours of viewing per household a year, equating to over 10 billion extra hours nationwide at an extra national cost of £205 million a year.
The study was the first to go into 251 British homes to monitor energy usage in real situations, giving a detailed snapshot of what domestic appliances are used and for how long. The results highlighted the fact that consumers were using, and wasting, more energy that had previously been thought, with the implication that clearer efficiency labelling and a clearer understanding how behaviour can save consumers money could produce dividends.


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In a significant move, Apple is ushering in a new era for its app ecosystem by allowing third-party app stores on iPhones in the European Union. However, the excitement comes with a caveat: a €0.50 fee also known as new apple tax, for every new installation, sparking a blend of anticipation and concern among developers.
The new apple tax structure presents an attractive proposition at first glance. Apps distributed via third-party stores are exempt from sales cuts to Apple. For developers opting for both third-party stores and Apple’s App Store, the cut is reduced from 30% to 17%, with a further drop to 10% for qualifying small business apps. However, the catch arises when apps garner significant popularity.
Apps exceeding 1 million installs per year face a 50 euro cent fee for each new installation beyond the initial million, charged annually per user. Notably, app updates count as installations, implying that popular apps will incur ongoing fees for every user. Third-party app stores share the burden, paying 50 euro cents per user annually without the 1 million install grace period.
While this apple new tax structure provides potential benefits, it introduces a potentially expensive scenario for developers. The dilemma emerges: adhere to Apple’s App Store, maintaining the 30% cut without installation fees, or venture into third-party stores, reducing revenue cuts but facing upfront installation fees.
For large companies like Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, the fees could accumulate to millions annually. These apple new taxes structure, while potentially worthwhile for major players like Spotify seeking liberation from Apple’s 30% cut, poses a gamble for smaller apps that could quickly burn cash if they go viral.
Launching a third-party app store adds complexity, requiring companies to migrate users. Apple’s lack of facilitation for such transitions complicates matters. Developers aiming to escape Apple’s new taxes must find ways to compel users to undergo the transition.
Apple’s tax structure might deter potential competition, as exemplified by Amazon, which currently pays no cut to Apple for physical goods. Opening an app store would expose Amazon to significant fees, potentially hindering competition.
Critics have already voiced concerns about the 50 euro cent fee, labeling it as “junk fees” and a potential poison pill. The fee’s impact will resonate differently for large-scale companies like Spotify, potentially outweighing the previous 30% cut.
Apple’s justification for the new taxes emphasizes the resources spent on creating developer tools, particularly for major apps. This shift reflects Apple’s recognition that developers rely on its platform, even with the Digital Markets Act opening it up.
Despite uncertainties, apple new tax structure opens vast possibilities for iOS developers and the ecosystem. Developers now face the choice of making the leap, navigating through Apple’s multimillion cent new taxes structure in pursuit of newfound opportunities.


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The United Kingdom is seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, creating significant concerns that a 2nd wave is rising. There are health authorities that claim the 1st wave hasn’t ended & that government personnel lifted restrictions considerably faster than recommended. Experts in the medical field are recommending corporations & civilians avoid the advice of government personnel, enforcing their respective physical distancing measures to guarantee safety.
This prompted Uber to announce that drivers & passengers will both be required to wear face masks starting on June 15th. This isn’t the exclusive industry that’s enforcing required PPE, with Public Transportation & Medical Facilities throughout the United Kingdom also implementing this rule. The United Kingdom Government permitted companies to enforce social distancing measures after medical reports indicated that face masks will limit COVID-19 by 40% in Great Britain, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
Uber Drivers in the United Kingdom have been informed that before contracts can be accepted, that employed personnel must photograph themselves wearing their face mask. Identical measures are enacted with passengers. Both parties can also photograph the other if face masks are removed after the photograph is taken. It’ll prompt the driver losing their employment with Uber, and passengers being banned from the application.
The Uber Company understands this requires their assistance on some level. They’ll distribute two million face masks to drivers in the United Kingdom, with an additional 54+ thousand hand sanitizer bottles. With Uber supplying their workforce directly in the UK, excuses for not using their provided equipment won’t be accepted. An immediate termination of their services will follow.
When questioned on their thought process behind this decision, an Uber General Manager named Jamie Heywood clarified that they’d informed their customers to remain indoor for social distancing. The GM would note that with cities in the United Kingdom reopening, their services will unavoidably be engaged. It’s better for Uber to act first & not regret that they didn’t move sooner towards assisting their workforce/passengers. It should be clarified that face masks provide minor protection to both parties after a certain period, with that typically being 15 to 60 minutes depending on the PPE selected.


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Scientists in Massachusetts are looking closely at a new photo recently published from the Mars Rover. The magnified photo appears to show an outline of a human footprint. The footprint shows up near the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. Among all the controversy, one of the most significant is the bare footprint itself.
“Certainly a human footprint on Mars raises thousands of questions,” says Wyatt Aminutte, a phenomenon specialist near Salt Lake City, Utah. “Even more interesting, or concerning is that a bare footprint raises questions here on Earth.” The human footprint is millions of years old and is credited as a main differentiator between humans and other homonids.
Scientists agree that balance, movement, strength, and alignment are all component support services derived from the human foot. Today, many health and fitness conscience people understand the importance of a strong human foot. This could be why scientists are not ruling out a human footprint as the best form of movement on Mars.
The photo has not been verified by NASA or SPACEX, only a few scientists have seen this rare print. The photo has been sent to footwear specialists in Milan, Italy to verify if bare foot traction on Mars could be as beneficial as it is on Earth.
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Happy April Fools Day!!


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All the latest martech and adtech news this week from Near, Adobe, Avanade, Emarsys, IRI, Rightpoint, Bowfin, IgnitionOne, Clarus, True Influence, OneTrust, HubSpot, Verint, Microsoft, Flybits, and more.
The new owner of IBM’s Marketing Cloud and commerce product portfolio has taken the wrappers off a fresh brand name, portfolio and leadership team, all designed to emphasise its focus on marketers.
Evergage and Dynamic Yield have topped a new report from Gartner on the most innovative and comprehensive personalisation engine technologies in market today.
Salesforce’s launch of a CDP is in response to a continually evolving customer, AVP Salesforce data and audiences, Jo Gaines, told CMO.
If a picture paints a thousand words, then location visualisation paints a thousand insights.
Investment in an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy and tech is enabling digital intelligence platform vendor, FullStory, to attract and boost new enterprise-grade client engagement by upwards of 75 per cent.


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With the growing clamour over environment, green mobility is the need of the hour globally, Kant said at the Ford City of Tomorrow symposium here on Wednesday.
“It cannot be business as usual because vehicle makers in India will be impacted by what is happening globally. They have to think of addressing domestic demand and also think of scaling up in global markets, which will help in bringing down cost of electric vehicles,” Kant explained.
Kant said by 2025-26, the cost of owning an electric vehicle will be at par with one running on conventional fuel. Globally, electric vehicles are expected to account for 40% of new vehicle sales by 2040.
With battery cost declining, Kant estimates 2030 will be the tipping point for electric vehicles in the automotive industry. Battery costs are estimated to come down to $73 per kWh by then from $273 now.
As far as India is concerned, Kant said, the country should adopt a technology-agnostic approach as the last word on zero-emission vehicles — be it electric, hydrogen fuel or some alternate technology — has not been said.
Why buy an EV if you can convert your existing vehicle into one? That is what Power Global wants to do with around 9 lakh three wheelers that run on diesel or CNG over the next 6-7 years. In the next phase it plans to do the same with petrol two wheelers too.
Videos of Epluto scooters on fire have gone viral on social media raising concerns over the safety aspect of EVs in general. If not nipped in the bud, it can potentially undermine India's nascent electric mobility revolution.


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Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding have dropped out of the global top 10 companies in market capitalization, new data shows, leaving no Chinese members on the list.
Tencent ranked seventh at the end of 2020, according to the QUICK-FactSet database, with Alibaba at No. 9. Tencent peaked at sixth this past February before its market cap tumbled 40% or so. It languished in 11th place as of Friday.
US tech giants dominate this new list. Apple, Microsoft, and Google parent Alphabet occupy the top three spots. Saudi Aramco is fourth, followed by Amazon.com, Tesla, and Facebook operator Meta. Chip designer Nvidia comes in eighth, while Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is No. 9.
This leaves Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as the world’s most valuable Asian company, at No. 10.
The Shanghai Composite Indexhit an all-time high in 2007 on high hopes for the Chinese economy. Four of the top 10 companies by market cap were Chinese back then, with oil major PetroChina at No. 1.
The aftermath of the global financial crisis saw the rise of Chinese technology companies, whose market caps swelled thanks to new business models and access to a massive market. But the government’s tech-sector crackdown and tensions with the US have reversed those fortunes.
Didi Global, the company behind China’s largest ride-hailing platform, decided December 3 to delist from the New York Stock Exchange just five months after its debut. The Chinese government has tightened scrutiny of companies that list overseas, for fear that foreign regulators will gain access to sensitive data.
On the other side, US President Joe Biden’s administration has stepped up pressure on Chinese businesses. It announced sanctions Thursday against drone maker DJI and dozens of other Chinese entities accused of taking part in human rights abuses or military development.
The moves in effect bar Americans from investing in several and impose a de facto trade embargo on the rest.
The outlook for Chinese equities will depend on “how serious the US is about stopping the flow of funds into China,” said Toru Nishihama, chief economist in the Economic Research Department at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.


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Not chickening out
The "First 100" Chick-fil-A participants endured the heat Wednesday, with a high of 92 degrees, by playing games, talking with other participants and staying in the shade.
"We played Apples to Apples and Ninja and just tried to stay cool," said Meryl Burns. "After dinner they led this scavenger hunt/musical chairs game that was a lot of fun."
"I'm in college, and I basically just studied the whole day and stayed in the shade," said Brandon Villanueva of San Antonio. "I have an exam coming up."
Chick-fil-A fans from all over the state, and even some from other parts of the country, have come to Abilene for the opening of a new location of their favorite restaurant.
The chain's "First 100 Celebration" gives the 100 people in line free Chick-fil-A meals once a week for a year.
People began lining up at 5 a.m. Wednesday at the new restaurant in northeast Abilene, but the line wasn't official until 6 a.m. The first 100 participants are required to stay in the new location's parking lot for 24 hours, which was 6 a.m. today.
Lauren Burns of Athens, Ohio, was in Midland visiting her sister when they decided late Tuesday night to drive to Abilene for the grand opening. She said they had to leave around 2 a.m. to get to the line at 5:30 a.m. There already was a long line, she said.
"My sister has a bucket list she wants to do with me," Burns said. "Wewanted to do this together."
Another out-of-state participant was Brandon Tillman of Parker, Colo.
Lana Kennedy, a member of Chick-fil-A's marketing team, said the restaurant fed participants three meals Wednesday and a midnight snack. She said they had a lot of activities planned to keep the faithful entertained.
Kennedy said the event attracts many different people.
"It's great to see people who travelled a long way to come to this, and those who have been to 30 or 40 other grand openings," Kennedy said. "And we like to see locals because they usually haven't been to many 'First 100s.'"
This is the 64th "First 100" for Juan Sierra of San Antonio. He's travelled as far as Louisiana and Oklahoma to take part in these celebrations, and wore a nametag on Wednesday that read, "Juan: The Godfather."
"I'm proud to be here," Sierra said. "This store and these employees are good, and I'm happy the Abilene community will have an increase in employment."
For those wondering, the coupons are good at any location. Dedicated diners such as Sierra are able to eat free several times a week.
The new Abilene restaurant creates almost 80 new jobs.
The restaurant chain, which plans to open more than a dozen new locations in Texas this year, began the "First 100 Celebration" nine years ago at a grand opening in Arizona. There are more than 1,600 Chick-fil-As in 39 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website.
The restaurant's opening comes the day before Cow Appreciation Day, when customers dressed in full cow attire will receive a free meal all day Friday.
Wesley Smith, who once operated the Chick-fil-A at Mall of Abilene — one of three locations now in abilene, is now the franchised operator of the northeast restaurant, located at 1750 State Highway 351, near Walmart.
Chick-Fil-A has more than 1,600 locations in 39 states and Washington D.C, according to its website.
Each participant will receive an eight-count nugget box filled with 52 coupons for a free #1 meal tomorrow. The meal includes the original chicken sandwich, a medium fries and a medium soft drink.


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All you have to do is read the news on a daily basis and chances are you will hear about yet another company that has fallen victim to a data breach. The average cost of a data breach in 2017 is $3.62 million globally and $7.35 million in the U.S, which is at an all time high, according to a study conducted the Ponemon Institute. These are big numbers and scary statistics and although there is no such thing as a totally secure system, there are several things you can do to reduce the chances of your business being one of the next victims.
Business today depends on being mobile and with the increased use of smartphones and tablets it’s getting easier to make a business accessible from anywhere. However, with this technology comes the issue of whether to let your employees provide their own devices, if your company should have control of those choices, or something in between. There are advantages and disadvantage to each choice and so much of it depends on what your business objectives are, the size of your company’s budget, and many other variables. So here is the break down of these three options. (more…)
The mere sound of the word ‘hacker’ can send most people into a panic state and in the world we’re living in today who could blame them. However, there are hackers that are beneficial to us all. Those hackers are known as White Hat or Ethical hackers. White Hat hackers are computer security experts who specialize in penetration and other types of testing to make sure an organization’s information systems are secure.
Security and privacy are two of the top concerns for businesses and this is becoming more and more important for organizations that have remote or traveling employees. Many employees choose to work from home, on the road, or in hotels and coffee shops. However, these options open businesses up for the possibilities of security breaches and cyber-hacking. One way to help mitigate these challenges is through the use of VPN or Virtual Private Network services.
Lately there have been a lot of concerns about privacy when it comes to the texts and phone calls we send. Not all messenger and phone apps are created equal. Many make it very easy for the contents of text messages and phone calls to be intercepted and hijacked by hackers known as a Man-in-the-middle attack. In addition to that, many are easy for other agencies to breach your right to privacy without any notice or reason.
With the ever expanding risk of businesses experiencing a security data breach, the importance of having a security incident response plan becomes an obvious point yet many businesses still don’t have one. Here we are going to outline the key aspects of creating a solid security incident response plan that every business must do today.
This year started off with a bang in regards to cyber attacks. No one was immune and the probability is that these types of attacks on businesses are going to become more frequent in coming years. This is just one of the cons of advancing technology however there’s no need to panic. Although cyber attacks will most likely become more sophisticated and frequent, the steps you can take to mitigate these attacks are fairly simple and effective. You just have to make sure to implement them now.
In the business world, keeping data safe and available at all times is of the utmost importance. However, there can be controversy over whether it’s better to manage your data on-site or offsite. Although there are pros and cons to both options and it can depend on the industry your business is in, there are distinct benefits to onsite data management.
Anytime there’s a major overhaul of an operating system fear and panic ensue and Microsoft’s OS upgrade to Windows 10 was no different. Many feared another inception of Microsoft’s much hated Windows 8. However, now just over 2 years later many are realizing that Windows 10 is actually quite good on many levels. If you’re one of those that are still holding out on upgrading to the latest version of Windows because you’re still not sure if it’s right for you, here are some of the features that are part of Windows 10 that just might help you make the jump. (more…)


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An ‘ice cream’ for dogs? It will never catch on – was the feeling of some members of the BBC’s Dragons Den. But Deborah Meaden had other ideas, and so too did Gary Hall who runs a Cowes-based ice-cream shop, which is now stocking the Doggy Ice cream.
“It’s proving to be a useful addition to our product range,” said Gary at the High Street’s Plaza Ice Cream Parlour. To underline his point, Kristen Lloyd promptly arrived at the shop to introduce one of the three varieties to her ten month old West Highland Terrier, Bertie. He helpfully lost no time further confounding those doubters by eagerly lapping up the contents.
Despite the fact that a carton costs £2.50, Gary is hopeful that there will be enough takers during the coming hot weather.
When Marie Sawle made her presentation to the Dragons Den last October she explained that while her own dog liked ice cream she realised that milk was bad for his canine digestive system. So she produced an iced treat for dogs, with special emphasis on health and nutrition.
Her creation went on to be named ‘Dog Product of the Year’ at the UK’s largest pet show, and there are now more than 200 stockists who together have sold over 30,000 tubs.
Kristen had walked with young Bertie to the ice cream shop from Cowes Combined Clubs’ offices on The Parade, where she works for MSJ Events. As Bertie often accompanies her to the office it’s quite likely there will be further ‘walkies’ up the town for those oh-so-cool occasional treats.
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Economy and Business
Fri December 14, 2012
Ski Resorts Report Increase In Ticket Sales
Much of Wisconsin has gotten only a little snow this season, but downhill ski resorts in the state are selling more season lift tickets than they did last year at this time.
Vicki Baumann is the general manger at Granite Peak Ski Resort at Rib Mountain State Park in Wausau. She says so far this season, lift ticket sales are up by around 12 percent. She says even though there hasn’t been heavy snowfall yet, it’s not really the snow but the cold that's important for business in Wisconsin, "Ski areas in the Midwest depend upon the cold temperatures. We need to make snow, so that’s a very important factor. We couldn’t open if we couldn’t make snow, so if we have the colder temperatures, we can make the snow."
Baumann says Wisconsin's ski resorts are aggressive with their snow making and many have updated their operations to use more energy efficient machines in recent years. Jim Engel is the President of the Wisconsin Ski Industries Association and the owner of Sunburst Ski Area in Kewaskum north of Milwaukee. He says ticket sales are up statewide. Engel says the earlier it gets colder, the more lift tickets get sold, "The pass sales have been very aggressive this year. I think it’s in part due to the earlier start in we’ve had in the ski industry compared to last year. Last year’s warm weather took us all the way through November and into early December before we could even start to make snow, so we’re way ahead weather wise. And obviously season’s pass sales are tied to weather.”
Engel says most ski resorts in the state expect to be fully open by Christmas.


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Thailand’s oldest lender has pulled out of a $500 million deal to purchase cryptocurrency trade Bitkub, which had been delayed since July.
According to Reuters, SCBX, the mother or father firm of Siam Commercial Bank, took the choice because the startup wanted time to resolve regulatory points.
Regulatory troubles for Bitkub
The group mentioned: “Bitkub is at the moment within the strategy of resolving varied points as per the suggestions and orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that are unsure by way of time-frame in resolving these points.”
The SCBX Group announced plans to purchase 51% of Bitkub final Nov as part of a significant digital technique.
Arthid Nanthawithaya, CEO and Chairman of the chief committee, mentioned that the trade has grown quickly in recognition over the previous few years and predicted it could develop much more in the long term.
“The transfer [acquisition] is according to SCBX Group’s technique to improve to a monetary expertise group, assembly new client wants and coming into a brand new aggressive area that may emerge in a short time within the subsequent three to 5 years,” Nanthawithaya had mentioned.
However, the events have now agreed to terminate the transaction regardless of due diligence on the corporate discovering no uncommon points.
Thai SEC grows vigilant
Last month, the banking big mentioned that the completion interval of the deal was being prolonged amid ongoing discussions with the regulators.
This was after the SEC imposed civil penalties on Sakolkorn Sakavee, chairman of Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, for falsifying details about the trade’s buying and selling quantity of digital property.
Despite the fallout from the deal, the financial institution mentioned it was “dedicated to strategic plans to broaden into companies referring to blockchain expertise and digital property.”
Meanwhile, the SEC issued a statement this week warning buyers to train warning when participating in decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions, citing dangers and the truth that they aren’t regulated.
According to the SEC, DeFi companies and investments have gotten more and more in style, notably DeFi which gives deposit-taking and lending companies.
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