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Published on : Monday, January 21, 2019
The Government of Vietnam has issued an array of important policies covering visa facilitation and improvement of tourism development environment for developing tourism further in the new international context.
The article highlighted that Vietnam is considered one of the most alluring destinations in Southeast Asia with a total of 15.5 million foreign arrivals, or 20 percent increase in 2018.
Vietnam recorded the greatest growth in tourism arrivals from North Asia (nearly 5 million from China – a 23.9 percent increase; 3.5 million from the Republic of Korea – a 30.4 percent increase and 827,000 from Japan – a 3.6 percent increase) as well as from ASEAN and European markets.
Vietnam’s tourism received many international awards during last year, including the Asia Leading Tourism Destination 2018 by World Travel Awards and the Asia’s Best Golf Destination by World Golf Awards.
Tatiana said that Vietnam is a fascinating destination with a wide range of products; not just with unique culture and history, but with incredible cuisine, beaches, adventure products and much more!
More importantly, Vietnam is a country that understands hospitality and has the qualified labour to support the investment.
In Vietman, culture, nature, people’s hospitality are mixed to build up many destinations like Sapa, Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Trang An (Ninh Binh), Da Nang, Hoi An (Quang Nam), Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat, Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc Island and many more.
Travelers can look forward to year-long activities to celebrate Vietnam’s spectacular islands and beaches, as well as its enduring cultural charms.
The article "Tourism is now a key economic industry of Vietnam" was originally published on http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/travelandtourworld-travelandtourismnews/~3/PooxRDg81oI/


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The big freeze has cost the angling industry millions of pounds in lost revenue, with fishery owners, tackle shops and manufacturers all reeling from the longest period of Arctic weather to hit the K for almost 30 years.
Stillwater venue bosses have battled in vain to keep their waters free from ice and, with the majority of rivers rising to dangerously high levels, anglers have been forced to put their sport on hold.
One such fishery owner left counting the cost is Tony Bridgefoot, whose on hugely-popular day-ticket complex, Bluebell Lakes, has been virtually devoid of anglers since before Christmas.
He said: "The freeze has cost me over £10,000 so far and that figure will continue to rise if it carries on into February. I'd have expected a busy period over Christmas and New Year, but there's not been a bivvy in sight as the lakes are frozen. You have to budget for bad weather, but this has come completely out of the blue."
It has been a similar story at the nation's major commercial complexes, where anglers have made failed attempts to find a fishable spot.
"We've had to cancel tons of matches. People have been coming to the fishery expecting us to have a little corner clear, but every inch has been frozen solid. It's been very tough and over the Christmas period we made around £40 from pleasure anglers a figure we'd normally expect to be closer to £1,500," said Makins Fishery owner Alan Mciarmid.
Tackle shops have also struggled to keep their tills ringing over Christmas. Worksop Angling Supplies chief Greg Forrester said: "We've had heavy snow in the area for over three weeks an people simply can't get to the shop. We are selling literally no bait and it's currently costing me over £1,000 a week in lost trade. You expect a bit of snow, but I've never known the weather to get this bad in all my life."
While many will struggle to recall a period which tested angling's resolve to such a degree, coarse and game fishing legend Bob Church remembers a time when conditions were even worse.
"In 1963, the big freeze started early, just like this one, and went on for three full months! The River Nene even froze over in place and, while it was iced up, a slug of pollutant went through under the ice ad killed all the fish along a 30-mile length. So, as bad as it seems right now, it could be worse!"

domain: news


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Bayers Cropscience Gets Rs 1.71-Crore Tax Demand From Rajasthan GST Authority
It will also file an appeal 'as it believes that it has strong merits to challenge the order', the company says.
Bayers Cropscience Ltd. has received a tax demand of approximately Rs 1.71 crore from the GST Authority in Jaipur.
The order is related to "transitional credit which was claimed by the company at the time of transition from pre-GST regime to GST regime," according to the exchange filing.
The company is charged with a tax amount of Rs 85.5 lakh along with a penalty of Rs 85.5 lakh. It will also file an appeal "as it believes that it has strong merits to challenge the order," the filing said.
Shares of Bayers Cropscience closed 0.02% higher at Rs 5,357.30 apiece, as compared with a 0.21% fall in the benchmark BSE Sensex.


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CLSA analyst Mike Mayo also doesn't expect more regulation, but he worries about ongoing regulatory uncertainty as rules related to Dodd-Frank are still being written.
Mayo is recommending both Morgan Stanley and Citigroup for the first time in four years, because of their potential to restructure.
After Hurricane Sandy destroyed power infrastructure in parts of the Northeast, there may be opportunities for companies that provide recovery support, said Christine Tezak, analyst at Clearview Energy Partners. She cited companies like Quanta Services, MYR Group, Pike Electric and MasTec as potential winners as the rebuilding takes place.
Some analysts are also still positive on Priceline.com following its $1.8 billion acquisition of Kayak Software. "Priceline has history of successful, forward-thinking acquisitions," wrote Stifel Nicolaus analyst Michael Purcell, in a note released on Friday. "We see very little to be negative about from the acquisition of Kayak."
Investors looking for opportunities outside the U.S. may want to consider two U.K. retailers, Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads, said. He thinks both food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer and Associated British Foods can continue the rally during the holiday shopping season.
—By CNBC.com's Justin Menza
Additional News: On Wall Street, Time to Mend Fences With Obama
Additional Views: Bet on Africa's Retail, Not Its Resources: Fund Manager
CNBC Data Pages:
Disclosures can be found in the individual StockBlogs.


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Public outcry over Oculus Rift price misses the point
The price of being an early adopter is often very literal – you have to pay a premium to be one of the first people in the world to use new devices – sometimes entirely new types of devices. So the huge outcry that followed the announcement of the pre-order price of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset was something particularly difficult to understand. On Reddit, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey wrote that Oculus isn’t making money on the Rift, to encourage adoption of “high-quality” virtual reality.
Unfortunately, while the Oculus team has done a good job of creating what appears to be, by most accounts, a breakthrough product – our own experience with the Oculus Dev Kit 2 has been overwhelmingly positive – the one area where it didn’t do so well is in his email. When rumors swirled that the Oculus might cost $1,500 (around Rs. 1 lakh), Luckey responded by saying it would be in the $350 (around Rs. 23,000) “ballpark” – so when the final price of $599 (roughly Rs. 23,000) 40,000) was announced in January, many people were predictably outraged.
(Also see: Oculus Rift Preview: Bringing Reality to the Virtual World)
Despite the social media snafus, the Rift appears to be doing better than expected, as pre-order demand has pushed estimated ship dates back to July, nearly six months after initial shipments began in March.
That doesn’t really tell us what the current demand for the Rift is – Oculus hasn’t revealed how many units have been sold for pre-order, perhaps to good effect. Although the Rift was one of the most successful Kickstarter projects at the time, the crowdfunding effort only sold around 7,500 headsets – pretty impressive for an unnamed company with a new category. of products to boot, but if Apple or Samsung were to report similar numbers, we’d probably call the product a disaster.
So what can tell us about this new development? Well, on the one hand, it’s clear that the Rift has been more successful than Oculus expected. With HTC now set to retail its own virtual reality headset, the HTC Vive Pre, which was made in conjunction with gaming giant Valve, there’s no way any responsible company planned to let demand s accumulate for six months. The Vive Pre is likely to be more expensive, but the experience is amazing, and with Valve to fall back on, software discovery and distribution, and game content availability – which most say folks, will be a strong early driver of growth in VR – could give Vive an edge, especially if there are no Rifts available for purchase.
(Also see: HTC Vive first impressions: Oculus Rift serious competition)
The Rift has another major competitor that is also set to launch, the Sony Playstation VR, which was previously known as Project Morpheus. The Playstation VR will work with the Playstation 4 and that means there’s a huge installed base of potential buyers, unlike the Rift or Vive, which will also require people to buy a fairly powerful (and expensive) computer, in addition the price of the helmet.
At the same time, it’s not exactly reasonable to believe that the Oculus Rift – or any of the other headsets, for that matter – is going to do well enough to instantly bring VR to the mainstream, either. In fact, these headsets are just the first step in what will hopefully be a long journey. Thing is, these first-gen headsets will have a limited amount of software available, and they’ll be expensive enough to remain niche as well. The question is whether they will be able to fuel enough demand for virtual reality to make a second and third generation possible. Otherwise, you end up with something like the Apple Newton, instead of the iPhone.
These companies are, however, going to be helped from below through efforts such as Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR. The latter was recently launched in India, priced quite competitively at Rs. 8,200 – it was earlier launched internationally at $99, or around Rs. 6,700. The Gear VR was developed in conjunction with Oculus and differs from Cardboard in several ways. The headset has its own gyroscope and accelerometers, and it works in concert with your phone’s sensors to deliver a smoother, more accurate viewing experience. The headset also comes with a companion app that makes it easy to find VR apps and games. It also comes with a touchpad on the side for a full range of inputs.
(Also see: Preparing for virtual reality)
Cardboard offers an even more stripped-back experience – you’re barely isolated from the outside world, the lenses can’t be adjusted to match your IPD (inter-pupillary distance), and there’s currently even less content available. The view can “drift” when doing something like watching a movie, and there’s only one input button. Despite these shortcomings, the experience can still be very compelling. Take something as simple as photographing and displaying photospheres on Maps. You don’t need to spend a dime on additional gear, and the experience can transport you across the world in seconds. Cardboard Camera is another app that anyone who travels a lot will love – it lets you take 360 degree panoramas in moments, and these are designed to be viewed through cardboard, in 3D. If you think photographing a photosphere takes too long, then this is the perfect compromise.
Apart from that, there are a growing number of free apps available on Google Play that you can also download and start trying out the VR experience. Add to that a cheap and readily available headset, and you start attracting a growing number of people interested in virtual reality. And more and more companies are also interested in the idea. OnePlus held a VR launch for which it distributed cardboard headsets. The Lenovo K4 Note launched with a VR headset that looks like a slightly polished version of Google Cardboard. And moreover, if you bought the headset together with the phone, you only had to pay Rs. 500 extra.
(Also see: Google is taking virtual reality seriously with a new VR division)
At the moment we are also seeing new developments that could significantly improve these helmets. Google’s Project Tango will start rolling out to phones this year; the first devices using this technology are launched in 2016, starting with handsets from Lenovo. The Tango project will enable telemetry in phones; it would allow you to walk around in VR, instead of just looking around like you currently do. It’s a significant step forward, as your experience shifts from a 3D view to a 3D world you can freely explore. And those kinds of experiences will likely remain as economical, if past smartphone developments are any indication.
(Also see: For smartphones, finally discover Trumps specifications)
As more and more people experience low-end VR, it’s slowly shifting from real science fiction and technology for early adopters to something that would appeal to everyone. Getting people to move from low-end mobile VR to high-end experiences will only require two things – first, showing the difference in quality by getting enough early adopters who would double as evangelists, which seems to be happening produce ; and second, lower prices for VR devices, which will be a function of scale.
That’s why, in the end, the price of the Oculus Rift isn’t an issue. That’s not so high that it will deter early adopters, and the Rift was never intended to be the vehicle for mainstream VR adoption in any case. Google has taken the lead on this front, and if you’ve used Cardboard, you know it does a good job of getting things started.
Check out the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, in our CES 2023 hub.


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Almost a year after highly regarded activist investor Starboard Value added Advance Auto Parts to its collection, the $12 billion retailer reported its biggest drop in same-store sales and worst earnings miss. The rest of the year doesn't look great either, with Advance Auto's new CEO Tom Greco forecasting "some strain" on margins during Tuesday's earnings call.
Starboard is run by Jeff Smith, a roll-up-your-sleeves type of activist who led the turnaround of Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants beginning in 2014 (he actually waited tables at one point during the process) and is now also tinkering with money-losing chipmaker Marvell Technology. He became Advance Auto's chairman in May, one month after Greco, the former head of PepsiCo's North American Frito-Lay snacks business, was named CEO.
Smith and the Advance Auto management team have a lot of work to do. But communicating with shareholders is often half the battle and Tuesday's call at least showed that the company is acutely aware of the issues and is implementing solutions. For one, Greco said that "customer service metrics" and product availability were a problem during the second quarter -- troubling because those things are at the heart of any retail business. However, they have a team dedicated to improving inventory.
As for margins, Advance Auto has started to do zero-based budgeting, an approach that helps companies remain lean by starting from scratch each period and then having to justify every single cost that's added. But they can't do much about the fact that more Americans are buying new vehicles instead of spending to repair old ones.
Advance Auto's stock was down by about 3 percent Tuesday after the call concluded -- not too bad, considering. The horrendous results may be drudging up old speculation of a merger with O'Reilly Automotive, one of Advance Auto's larger competitors. Not to mention, the Pep Boys chain was acquired earlier this year by activist investor Carl Icahn. Gadfly's Gillian Tan wrote back in December that there's a case to be made for O'Reilly buying Advance Auto next, and the $27 billion company certainly has the financial flexibility to do so -- O'Reilly's generating more Ebitda than it has in net debt.
With Smith there to grease the wheels, Advance Auto's shares at least have some support while the team makes the necessary repairs.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story:
Tara Lachapelle in New York at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Beth Williams at email@example.com


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Kolkata restaurant offers special Poila Baisakh menu
The food fest will start from Apr 10 and will continue till Apr 30.
The special menu includes dishes such as Duck with chilly plum, Duck with pineapple, Chilly butter Garlic Squid, BBQ Pork Sausage in Sizzler plate to name a few.
It is priced at INR 450 plus taxes for one person and is available at both its joints in the city.
Buddha Bites Restaurant also launched its official website today, www.buddhabites.in.
The website was launched by veteran designer Sharbari Datta and Tollywood playback singer Lagnajita Chakraborty.
Datta lauded the concept and said, “The youngsters are into global cuisine today, they eat everything from Lebanese to Chinese. So I think this is a good idea.”
Speaking about the website Chaitali Ghosh, co-owner of Buddha Bites told IBNS: “It is a very user friendly website. The customers have several options regarding the payment and they can even make reservations online.”
When quizzed about his personal favourites Executive Chef Michael Ho said, “Duck with Pineapple and Crab Meat Ball in Shezwan sauce are amongst my favourites.”
Mister Ho also left a message for the customers: “Come and try our food because it’s different from the regular menu.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Maity)


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AUSTIN, TEX. – Some times Dell account reps had to drive more than 150 miles to see a customer. Starting Feb. 1, 2016 those long drives will come to an end. Dell President of North America Bill Rodriques announced a new go-to-market model for the company in three geographic areas: West, Central and East. In the past, Dell account reps were responsible for Preferred Accounts (5,000 users to 100, public and commercial), Large Institutions (also based on customer size with public, commercial and healthcare). The Federal Government segment will remain untouched.
One thing Rodriques made clear is that account reps will not be losing any of their current customers.
“People spent a majority of the time driving to the customer than seeing the customers. In some case these drives were more than 150 miles. We are going to change that starting Nov. 1,” Rodriques said.
In the new scenario a Dell account rep in healthcare would only service customers in the specific region assigned (East, Central or West).
Dell is also centering this strategy around competencies that are either state or local in education and healthcare. “We want to create industry experts in these areas,” he said.
This new model also does not involve Dell channel reps, but Rodriques added that it was more about placing the account reps in the right geographic area to work with channel partners. The Dell channel reps will be more focused on areas where Dell does not have adequate coverage.
“We backed into this and what happens is the geography is aligned to add resources for partners to get the right coverage and to serve those teams,” he said.
For Canada, Rodriques said that 98 per cent of this new model is in place today. “We learned a lot of lessons implementing this model in Canada and applying it to the U.S., which is our largest market,” he said.
Rodriques told CDN that he plans to re-visit the model in Canada after its launched in the U.S. to see if there are any tweaks to make to it.
Dell has also created a new account team dedicated to acquiring new customers Dell currently does not do business with.
“This creates a much better opportunity with alignment of internal specialist and partners who are more local with better access to resources,” Rodriques said.
Dell has added approximately 650 new people to support this new model.
“We are planning for the long term. Clearly the strategy is partners because they will play a bigger role in what we do. We need to bake that in our investment and focus to enable the channel to grow,” he said.


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Kenyan-based I.T firm – Virtual City in partnership with Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) and Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa Organization recently took steps to ensure a seamless and fast distribution of grain food item in East African countries by launching an ‘agri-tech’ portal called G-Soko, which connects farmers with grain buyers easily and promptly through the automation agricultural crop trading.
For a while now, countries like Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya have continued to witness an exponential increase in the importation of staple food item, a development that has put the country and local farmers at an economic disadvantage.
Several measures have been taken to protect local producers of food items; one of which is the hike of import duty on rice to 35%.
Countries like Tanzania, whose economy depends heavily on agriculture (for Tanzania, agriculture accounts for more than 25 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), provides 85 percent of exports, and employs 80 percent of the workforce) can’t wait for G-Soko to be operational in their countries.
According to Mr. Gerald Masila who is the Executive Director of EAGC, the need for G-Soko arose out of the urgency to expand regional food trade across East African countries in an attempt to check the exponential growth of staple food import.
At the launch, Mr. Masila revealed that G-Soko is part of a five-year trade development and promotion programme in the region. In his view, linking rural food production zones in East Africa to urban consumption centres is germane to nip excessive importation in the bud, and that is exactly what G-Soko has come to provide.
Gerald Masila, Executive Director, EAGC
G-Soko began in Kenya as a pilot project prior to the official launch. During this pilot stage, it attracted the attention of 10 warehouses and 5 banks, an indication of its viability.
G-Soko will not only enable farmers market their produce to would-be buyers in the region at favorable prices, it will facilitate food trade across borders and farmers can also seek financial help by using their grains as collateral on the platform.
Millers will also benefit from this platform through access to quality stocks; standardized and proven grading thus reducing the need to carry out sampling to check quality. Other benefits to farmers include the Grain Bulking System (allows farmers to sell at aggregation centres), reduced post-harvest losses through access to professional storage, cleaning, drying, and improved prices.
However, much as it augurs good for the farmers who have always had to queue endlessly to sell their produce to the Government even without the assurance of it being bought, a major challenge will be sensitizing farmers on how to use the portal.
The G-Soko is now operational in two of the EAC Partner States; Uganda and Kenya with measures underway to extend the system to Tanzania and Rwanda before the Grains Farmers Summit scheduled to take place in Rwanda in early October 2015.
G-Soko joins the league of other innovative ideas like MPESA coming from East Africa in an attempt at using entrepreneurial ingenuity to cater and simplify everyday living.


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TM is organising a #KhabarBaik event next week which is expected to deliver good news to Streamyx customers. The broadband provider had recently presented a plan to Gobind Singh, the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, on its initiatives to tackle the Streamyx problem. The actual details will be shared to the public on 6th August 2019 and the event will be streamed live on Facebook.
Ahead of the event, Unifi’s Twitter account had dropped a short teaser video that mentions “Something’s up in the AIR” and it will be revealed four more days. The video has no audio and it shows a girl removing her makeup. Similar to the original teaser image, there’s a text that says “SATU PELUANG (one chance) OUR HALF OF THE STORY.”
During the Kembara Digital Malaysia event, it was revealed that TM will be slashing its 8Mbps Streamyx offering to RM89/month and existing users can enjoy the plan at a lower RM69/month. In addition, the broadband provider is also launching a new wireless broadband alternative to address the issues faced by Streamyx customers as they roll out their new network which is expected to be completed by 2021.
So what’s up in the AIR? Recently a leaked slide was spotted online which reveals a new Unifi Air offering that promises to provide fibre-like speeds with unlimited quota. It looks similar to the current Wireless Home broadband offering, as it costs RM79/month but the difference is that you get the wireless router for free and it comes with unlimited quota.
Since the Huawei B618-65D router is provided for free, there’s a contract of 24-months. The Unifi Air service will run on their LTE network using a 2.3GHz band. We will be there at the #KhabarBaik launch so stay tuned to us for the latest updates.


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Scottsbluff, Nebraska – Governor Pete Ricketts, Ambassador Gregg Doud, Chief Agriculture Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) participated in a tour of agriculture locations in Western Nebraska today, highlighting the importance of agriculture and trade to Nebraska.
The locations visited and events attended were: a roundtable discussion with the Nebraska Dry Bean Commission, a facility tour of New Alliance Bean Co., Western Sugar, and a Dry Bean Harvest Demo.
“I join Governor Ricketts in welcoming Ambassador Doud back to Nebraska. Agriculture is the number one trade constituency in the United States because of men and women across the country like the producers we met with today. Ambassador Doud has been hard at work alongside President Trump and Ambassador Lighthizer, and I appreciate him taking the opportunity to discuss firsthand his work opening markets for Nebraska products around the world.”
Ambassador Doud also recently joined as a special guest for Smith’s 2020 Virtual Agriculture Summit where they discussed trade policy and the future of American agriculture.


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Pax Global Media
Redtag.ca has shared its latest booking trends and things are looking up.
With the travel industry growing at an annual rate of 12.09 per cent, its projected market value will be just over $1 billion by 2026, the company said Wednesday (Aug. 24).
Recent studies are showing that it's not just about going on a fabulous trip or even how we travel, but why we travel, the company said.
“More than ever, travellers understand the importance of travel as a source of intentional relaxation and connection with loved ones, whether that means going on a big adventure or lying by the beach,” the company said.
At redtag.ca, which is owned by H.I.S.-Red Label Vacations Inc., vacation packages are almost back up to 100 per cent compared to 2019, while cruises have seen an increase of 300 per cent.
The pent-up demand for travel continues with Canadians booking up to six months in advance to secure their preferred air, accommodations, and itineraries.
Additionally, consumers are motivated to book now to avoid paying more later as pricing potentially increases and are more willing to invest in more luxurious experiences for their return to travel.
What type of trips?
redtag.ca says it is seeing a spike in group vacations and multi-generational family trips to popular Caribbean destinations.
Mexico continues to be the number one selling destination for Canadians, with Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Las Vegas closely trailing behind.
During the month of July, redtag.ca ran their Christmas In July Sale, which showed Cancun (Mexico) as the top booking destination overall, followed by Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).
redtag.ca responded to the demand with a summer promotion on group travel where travellers can pay for their group vacation with a monthly payment plan at 0% interest and be entered for a chance to win up to $25,000 in cash back for their trip.
The offer started in July and runs until August 31, 2022.
With the high season for Canadian travel just around the corner, redtag.ca is working on new partnerships with other trending destinations such as Jamaica, Barbados, Orlando, and Texas to bring travellers the best selection for their fall and winter getaways.
“The travel industry is undoubtedly growing and changing, and redtag.ca continues to shift and adapt in order to meet the needs of today's travellers with greater precision,” the company said.
Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today! Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.


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The redesigned 2023 Honda CR-V was spotted undergoing testing with a light layer of camouflage. The design will take an evolutionary step forward with influences from the latest Accord sedan, and the size looks to be going up as well.
Polestar has dropped the price of the Polestar 2 for the electric hatchback's second year on the market, by adding a new single-motor variant. Although power is down on the current dual-motor variant, range is up.
Two years after the reveal of a prototype, Pininfarina has finally shown a production-ready Battista electric hypercar. There's also a video out that gives us a taste of the distinct sound Pininfarina has crafted for the car.
You'll find these stories and more in today's car news, right here at Motor Authority.
2023 Honda CR-V spy shots: Redesign coming for popular crossover
2022 Polestar 2 adds base model with single motor, 265-mile range
Production-ready Pininfarina Battista debuts at 2021 Monterey Car Week
2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray review
Mercedes adds pothole detection to vehicle-to-infrastructure warning system
Rivian is targeting Texas for second electric truck factory
2022 Lincoln Navigator teased with Aviator-like headlights
2021 Audi A4 review
McLaren signs Tanner Foust for Extreme E team
Study links fine particulate tailpipe pollution to dementia, Alzheimer's


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Voluntary Product Recall: Marissa Tangerine Appetizer Plates
See how we're striving to make
a difference, both locally and nationally.
Our recipe for Tequila-Lime Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers (ideal for celebrating Cinco de Mayo) was featured in the bilingual publication El Restaurante, which is aimed at professionals in restaurants and features new products, food news, and recipe ideas for restaurateurs nationwide.
— April 2017
Princess House President and CEO Connie Tang talks to El Nuevo Herald about female entrepreneurship and how fear can affect success in business.
Our Princess House President and CEO wrote about the lucrative business opportunity that Direct Selling gives entrepreneurial minded men and women in the article published on March 23, 2017.
— March 2017
In this interview, Connie shares her personal and professional life, her education and the moments, achievements and challenges that define her professional career as a direct selling executive.
In celebration of International Women's Day, our President and CEO Connie Tang was interviewed on the Julio Sánchez Cristo radio show on the Radio Caracol AM 1260 station in Miami. Connie offered tips to women on how to overcome fear and achieve their goals.
Lorelei Petrin, Princess House Unit Organizer from Algonquin, IL, was featured on First for Women Magazine in the January 2 issue as part of the article "Turn your passion for food into $$$.
— January 2017
Princess House and its President and CEO, Connie Tang, were featured in this Fox25 Boston News feature on December 23, 2016.
— December 2016
Chef Esdras Ochoa was a guest chef on Crown City News where he showcased Princess House products while preparing exclusive recipes.
Find the recipes here:
— November 2016
This time Chef Juan Mondragón gives the audience tips on what to prepare with the Thanksgiving meal leftovers during his guest appearance on the show "A Primera Hora" on the Univision network, where he showcased Princess House’s products.
Chef Juan Mondragón was a guest chef in the show "A Primera Hora" on the Univision network, where he showcased Princess House's products while preparing his delicious Thanksgiving dishes.
Direct Selling News, the main news source for direct selling executives in the world, featured Princess House on their site after the company was named Number 22 on the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe and the Commonwealth Institute, up 41 spots from last year. President and CEO Connie Tang spoke with them and stated how clarity, focus and teamwork with the Field played an important part in this achievement.
Once more under President and CEO Connie Tang’s leadership, Princess House has been named one of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe and The Commonwealth Institute. The company was ranked Number 22, up 41 spots from last year.
— October 2016
Chef Carlos Rodriguez from Princess House® shares with The Beachbody Blog’s readers helpful and easy tips on how to make leftovers taste as if they were freshly made. Click on the link to read the blog and learn how to reheat grains, pasta, vegetables, poultry and steak.
— September 2016
Chef Juan Mondragón showcased two of his traditional Mexican dishes using the Mi Cocina by Princess House® 6.5 Qt. Dutch Oven and the Pavillion™ Berry Serving Platter during his appearance on Estrella TV on September 16. Click on the link to see the segment (in Spanish).
Our Princess Moderna™ Infusion Beverage Dispenser is featured in the Summer Food Issue of California-based Ventura Blvd Magazine. Showcased in the magazine’s “Stylefile” on page 20, the Beverage Dispenser is hailed as an eye-catching item for a summer table.
— August 2016
Princess House has changed the lives of many independent business owners since the company was founded in 1963. Two of our very own Organizers, Rosalina Navarro and Lucy Rivera, were recently featured on the Telemundo network discussing their entrepreneurial success with Princess House. To see the video (available in Spanish only), click the link below:
— July 2016
Chef Juan shares the perfect hamburgers recipe for your 4th of July celebration. Click the link to see the segment with the recipe and to see the beautiful Princess House products. This segment is in Spanish.
At the Direct Selling Association Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Princess House won the prestigious Ethos Award for Product Innovation in the overall category for the Fresh + Healthy Produce Keepers, after winning the Product Innovation Awards in the Home Décor/Durables/Home Care Subcategory for the second year in a row. We were also recognized on stage as a finalist in the Marketing & Sales Campaigns category for our Navidad Espectacular events.
— June 2016
Our Culinario Series™ Healthy 12” Electric Skillet, the Princess House® Specialty Citrus Juicer and the Princess House® Specialty Make + Serve Dressing Bottle were featured in Para Todos Magazine. The Orange County, CA-based magazine praised the high quality and performance of each product by highlighting our delicious salmon citrus marinade recipe as a great option for a family dinner. Note: Article is available in Spanish only.
The Princess House® Specialty 5-in-1 Avocado Tool is featured as part of The Latin Kitchen’s “My Favorite Things: TLK Editors On What’s Hot in Food Right Now.” Calling it a “genius invention,” The Latin Kitchen praises the versatility of the tool that can cut, remove the pit, slice, scoop and mash an avocado, all in one.
— May 2016
To celebrate Mother's Day, Chef Chile appeared once again on Univision's morning show Despierta America to prepare a tasty Acapulco Style Rice with our beautiful and versatile Princess House products.
Since 2010, Direct Selling News has recognized the direct selling industry by compiling a comprehensive list of the top direct selling companies in the world. We’re delighted to announce that Princess House® ranks on the Direct Selling News Global 100 List as 74th worldwide and 45th in North America!
— April 2016
Our stockpots are the best for tamales! Check out Chef Chile making delicious tamales on Despierta America yesterday: Note: Video is available in Spanish only.
— February 2016
Chef Juan Mondragón was featured on Telemundo’s "Acceso Total" show creating delicious dishes with his favorite Princess House products to welcome the New Year. Note: Video is available in Spanish only.
— December 2015
Chef Katsuji Tanabe and our Share the Warmth campaign have been featured in the New York publication El Diario. The article talks about how the campaign aims to donate 600 stockpots to nonprofit organizations that need it the most #ShareTheWarmth #PHShares #ChefKatsuji Note: Article is available in Spanish only.
Chef Juan Mondragón appeared on television show EstrellaTV and he prepared delicious dishes with our fabulous Princess House® products, including his famous tamales and salsa verde with chicken. Note: Video is available in Spanish only.
Our Culinario Series™ Healthy 16″ Electric Skillet was featured in the Los Angeles publication, La Prensa as part of their gift guide list. Note: Available in Spanish only.
Under President and CEO Connie Tang’s leadership, Princess House® has been ranked #63 on the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe and the Commonwealth Institute. This is a proud moment for all of us at Princess House and a testament to the power of team work! For the complete list of companies, click on “more”.
— October 2015
Princess House was featured in Vanidades, one of the most popular Spanish magazines in the United States! The publication highlighted the Mi Cocina by Princess House® 6.5-Qt. Dutch Oven in the "Consejos Gourmet" (Gourmet Advice) section on September 20, 2015. The article included the Dutch oven's beautiful oven-to-table look as well as its quality materials which provide even heat distribution. Vanidades magazine has a circulation of 620,000 every two weeks in the United States and Puerto Rico, and 10 international editions. Note: Article is available in Spanish only.
— September 2015
Good Housekeeping tested the Princess House Fresh + Healthy™ Produce Keeper Set against similar products from OXO and Tupperware and noted the lettuce in the Princess House container fared far better than the rest.
— July 2015
Connie Tang, Princess House President & CEO, was a featured presenter at the Direct Selling Education Foundation’s recent Campus Event. Part of the University of Georgia’s Thinc Week — an annual initiative designed to inspire entrepreneurship among students and faculty — Connie shared insights on independent business ownership in direct selling and how direct selling can empower individuals reach their personal goals.
— April 2015
In addition to donating products to the annual TODAY Show Toy Drive this holiday season, Princess House conducted its own “Share the Joy” Holiday Donation Campaign to encourage healthy cooking and inspire giving in local communities.
— January 2015
Connie Tang, Princess House President & CEO, and Lilliam Melgar, 7 Diamond Field Organizer and top sales force leader, were recently interviewed on TV Azteca América, discussing the incredible opportunities Princess House offers and our donation to and participation on the Juguetón toy drive in California. #ShareTheJoy. (Video is in Spanish)
— December 2014
Princess House President & CEO Connie Tang kicking off the Share The Joy holiday campaign with a half million dollar product donation to the TODAY Show #ToyDrive with Kathie Lee and Hoda. #ShareTheJoy
Princess House is donating a total of $1.5 million in products to non-profits nationwide this holiday season, starting with a donation to the TODAY Show's annual Toy Drive.
Princess House President & CEO Connie Tang proudly presented the company's donation of $500,000 in products live on the TODAY Show.
— November 2014
Popular Chef Juan Mondragon recently promoted Princess House products during his interview at KRCA-TV in Los Angeles.
Independent Princess House Business Owner Janette Rojas was recently featured in media coverage about the flexibility direct sales companies like Princess House offer for those seeking part-time or full-time career opportunities. (Articles are in Spanish.)
Princess House recently donated nearly $9,000 worth of cookware to local Taunton, MA, fire stations in appreciation for all the work they do throughout the community.
— October 2014
Our Mi Cocina by Princess House® 13" Comal was featured as a “Great Find” for your kitchen in Fine Cooking Magazine, a national publication featuring cooking inspiration, recipes, tips and techniques.
— October/November 2014
Princess House President & CEO, Connie Tang, was a guest writer on this popular mom blog. She gave advice about how to take your career to the next level, and which key habits and characteristics are essential for becoming a successful leader.
— July 2014
Our Princess Moderna™ Flavor Infusion Pitcher was featured in a Mother’s Day gift ideas list in People en Español, the Spanish-language version of the pop culture/human interest magazine, People. (Article is in Spanish.)
— May 2014
Several Princess House products were selected to be part of these articles suggesting Mother’s Day gift ideas that improve the kitchen. (Articles are in Spanish.)
Princess House, our President & CEO Connie Tang, and Independent Princess House Business Owner Janette Rojas were featured in media coverage about the economic opportunities available in the direct sales industry. The articles focus on how millions of people, many of them Hispanic women, find success and financial independence in the direct sales business with companies like Princess House. (Articles are in Spanish.)
— April 2014
For the second year in a row, President & CEO Connie Tang is named one of The Most Influential Women in Direct Selling.
— March 2014
Watch this December 8th TODAY Show clip of President & CEO Connie Tang talking about our $210,000 Cookin’ Kids™ donation to the show’s 2013 Toy Drive.
— December 2013
Princess House partnered with Chef Juan Mondragón of Juan’s Restaurante in Baldwin Park, CA to share tips for making the best tamales during the holiday season, including cooking them in Princess Heritage® Stainless Steel Stockpots. Clips are in Spanish.
Our donation of over $14,000 in Cookin’ Kids products to the local Boys & Girls Club was featured in the Taunton Daily Gazette.
Our Terra Flame by Princess House® Ultimate Grill, Bake & Serve Stone was featured in great holiday gift segments on these local lifestyle television programs.
— November 2013
This business-building magazine featured an article by Princess House President and CEO Connie Tang about growing a business in the post-recession economy.
— October 2013
The cover story of the October issue features an interview with Princess House President & CEO Connie Tang.
A recipe using our Princess Heritage® Stainless Steel 4-in-1 Multicooker — and a chance to win a Multicooker — are featured on this popular cooking blog.
— August 2013
The Princess House® Specialty Dice ‘N Chop Veggie Chopper was featured in Latinamom.me’s list of 10 Kitchen Tools to Splurge On.
— July 2013
This popular Tennessee lifestyle show featured Princess House products, including items from our Cookin’ Kids™ and Fantasia® Bake, Serve & Store Collections.
Princess House is #73 in the Direct Selling News’ 2013 Global 100 rankings of direct sales companies.
— June 2013
The Princess House Cookin’ Kids™ Collection, as well as other new and existing products, were featured on these popular food and mommy blogs.
— May 2013
— April 2013
LA news station Noticiero Telemundo interviewed Six-Diamond Field Organizer Lilliam Melgar during a luncheon honoring the Latina business women who are winners of the Premios Mujeres Destacadas (Most Successful Women), sponsored by La Opinión newspaper, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States. Video is in Spanish.
Lilliam Melgar, Six-Diamond Field Organizer, was awarded La Opinión's annual 2013 Prominent Women Award, in the Business and Technology division. La Opinión is the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States.
— March 2013
Princess House is featured on the popular cooking blog Muy Bueno.
President & CEO Connie Tang is named one of The Most Influential Women in Direct Selling.
— October 2012
Princess House is featured in an interview with Five-Diamond Field Organizer Lilliam Melgar on CNN en Español's International NotiMujer (Women's News) program.
Interview is in Spanish.
— September 2012
The largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, featured a quote from President & CEO Connie Tang in the August 20 edition, along with an interview with our very own Five Diamond Field Organizer Lilliam Melgar. Article is in Spanish.
— August 2012
— March 2012
We're a Massachusetts "Top 100 Places to Work" company four years in a row!
— November 2011
To say that Princess House owner, Ray Chambers, is sold on direct selling is an understatement. He believes it can be a catalyst to the world's economic recovery.
— September 2011
Princess House owner, Ray Chambers, named one of TIME Magazine's 2011 Most Influential People in the World.
— April 2011
©2017 Princess House, Inc. All Rights Reserved


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15 New SUVs Are Launching In Next 300 Days For Disrupting Indian Auto Market (Full List)
2022 is upon us, and the SUV market in India will soon be introduced with 15 new SUVs in the new year.
We have come up with a complete list of all the new SUVs that will be introduced in the year 2022 – read on for all the details!
15 New SUVs To be Launched In 2022
India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki Industries Limited is planning to bring in a series of new SUVs to its portfolio. It should be noted that some of these SUVs are expected to be developed in collaboration with Toyota since the latter is Suzuki’s alliance partner at a global level.
These include the 5-door Jimny, new-Gen Maruti Brezza, a Baleno-Based Subcompact, a Creta-Rivaling SUV, and a three-Row SUV. Other manufacturers are also gearing up to enter the segment with their unique offerings.
Tata Motors has revealed the Tata Punch and Hyundai recently revealed the Hyundai Casper in South Korea, which is also expected to launch in India by early next year. Other players in the segment will be the KUV100 Nxt and Maruti Suzuki Ignis.
It seems that Korean automaker, Hyundai is ready to launch an all-new Creta facelift for the Indian as well as Indonesian markets.
Apart from this, Hyundai is also planning to launch the new Venue facelift, which has already been spotted testing in Korea.
Complete List of 15 New SUVs Launching In 2022
Model Expected ex-showroom price
New-gen Mahindra Scorpio Rs. 11 lakh to Rs. 22 lakh
Mahindra Bolero Neo Plus Rs. 9 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh
Hyundai Creta facelift Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 18 lakh
Hyundai Venue facelift Rs. 7 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh
Hyundai Tucson Rs. 24 lakh to Rs. 32 lakh
New-gen Maruti Vitara Brezza Rs. 8 lakh to Rs. 13 lakh
New Maruti midsize SUV Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh
New compact Maruti SUV Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 9 lakh
Maruti Jimny Rs. 11 lakh
New-gen Toyota Urban Cruiser Rs. 8 lakh to Rs. 13 lakh
New Toyota midsize SUV Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh
Jeep Meridian Rs. 25 lakh to Rs. 35 lakh
Citroen C3 Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh
Honda midsize Rs. 12 lakh to Rs. 16 lakh
Skoda Kodiaq facelift Rs. 38 lakh


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KANSAS CITY — As consumers continue to seek different options for common pantry staples, grocery store shelves continue to expand with pasta formulated with alternative ingredients.
Instead of using the traditional blend of ground durum wheat and water or eggs for dry pasta, pasta manufacturers are reaching for new ingredients, including chickpeas or Kernza flour.
Patagonia Provisions, the food brand under Patagonia, added an organic fusilli pasta that is formulated with Kernza, a perennial grain that comes from intermediate wheatgrass.
Since Kernza is a perennial grain, its roots stay alive in one place throughout the year, and it doesn’t need to be planted annually. The grain also uses less water than wheat and requires no tilling. It was first developed by plant breeders in 1976 at The Land Institute in Salina, Kan.
“We are excited to continue to find delicious innovative ways to help scale Kernza,” said Birgit Cameron, co-founder and head of Patagonia Provisions. “Full of warm, nutty flavor and a pleasing springy texture, our new pasta works well in just about every plant- or meat-based recipe, including comforting pasta bakes and pasta salads. Just as satisfying is knowing every bowl of Kernza pasta contributes to a healthier planet.”
Using alternative ingredients in the pasta category don’t stop with the noodles, however, as the pasta sauce category also is adding new innovations.
Tomato company Red Gold has added to its portfolio with two private label plant-based sauces.
“Our new plant-based Italian sausage pasta sauce and plant-based Bolognese pasta sauce represent a new opportunity to offer tomato sauces with plant-based meat alternatives in the center aisle of stores,” said Colt Reichart, senior director of marketing at Red Gold. “The sauces have a meaty flavor offering 3 grams of protein in the plant-based Italian sausage pasta sauce and 5 grams of protein in the plant-based Bolognese pasta sauce per ½ cup serving.”


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NEW YORK, NY – When it comes dining out, for the customer, the most important thing is the food. But for waiters, it's the tip. Well, one New York restaurant chain plans to eliminate tipping from its 13 restaurants.
The Union Square Hospitality Group, which has 1,800 employees and serves over 40,000 meals each week, is saying bye-bye to bonus bucks. Instead, its menu prices will include hospitality (higher prices) which will result in a base pay increase for waiters.
But it kind of makes you wonder how a waiter would feel if he or she knew after all their hard work, there will be no tip at the end.
"I think it could go one of two ways,” Jessie Herring said. Herring is a waitress at Pinstack. "You come in a good mood, you look pretty and you wanna make money. But if you have a set pay rate, I don't think you have that motivation to go above and beyond."
Hey, it seems the downside to no tipping is that waiters can kiss those generous, ginormous tips goodbye, like the church that gave the pizza delivery woman a $1,000 dollar tip.
But on the contrary, this means customers can no longer punish waiters by not giving what they truly deserve. Remember when NFL player LeSean McCoy left a 20-cent tip for a $61 bill?
Yeah, it seems there are some good and bad that can come along with the no tipping concept.
Guess these waiters will just have to live with the tip of a hat as a gesture for good service.


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The numbers are strong, although apparently not enough to excite investors. Shares are up 0.2% post market after the leading exhibition company said it generated net income of $75.1M, +212.9% vs last year’s Q3, on revenues of $813.1M, +17.4%. Analysts expected revenues to come in lower at $800.4M. Adjusted earnings at 38 cents a share beat the consensus forecast of 30 cents. The chain says that it sold 62.4M tickets in the quarter, +16.4%, with an average ticket price of $8.79, unchanged from last year. That resulted in admissions revenue of $548.4M. The average visitor spent $3.59 on concessions, +2.6%, driving total revenues of $224.1M. CEO Amy Miles says that she’s “encouraged by the year-to-date industry box office results and [is] optimistic regarding the box office prospects for the upcoming holiday season.”
Regal and NCM Fathon Events will host midnight screenings of Syfy’s strangely popular Sharknado! on August 2, with the TV movie set for about 200 screens in NCM’s Digital Broadcast Network. Sharknado! premiered on Syfy on July 11, drawing …
CEO Amy Miles seems confident that consumers will continue to flock to theaters, even with the higher admission costs. “Sometimes we joke and say we are an industry that has been dying for the past 50 years,” she told investors today at Barclays Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference. But “as long as we continue to provide that great, affordable out-of-home experience…people are going to continue to go to the movies.” What’s “affordable” is in the eye of the beholder: Regal CFO David Ownby told the group that his company’s ticket prices for 2D movies “will go up in that 3% to 4% range” that’s been the pattern over the last few years. He notes that for IMAX movies Regal adds as much as $6.50 to the price of the basic 2D ticket. The chain’s own RPX large-screen venues have as much as a $5.00 upcharge while regular 3D films cost about $3.50 more than conventional 2D. This year’s potential blockbusters should help the cause.
The stock is up 3.9% in post market trading after Regal declared a $1 a share special cash dividend, on top of its previously announced 21 cent quarterly payment. The company says that it intends to keep paying …
Nomura Equity Research’s Robert Fishman and Michael Nathanson slashed Q3 earnings forecasts for exhibition chains Regal and Cinemark after noting that industry sales in the quarter will be -8% vs last year — which is “worse than we expected.” They cut Regal by nearly 49% to 16 cents a share, which they say is 6 cents lower than the consensus forecast from their peers. And they took Cinemark down 22% to 35 cents a share, 7 cents below the Street’s expectations. Theaters were hurt because only about seven films in Q3 are likely to generate $100M or more at domestic box offices vs nine films that did so in the period last year. As a result, the analysts cut their domestic box office projection for the year to $10.6B (it had been $10.9B), which would still be up 4% for all of 2011. They remain optimistic that holiday releases including Lionsgate’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Warner Bros’ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Sony/MGM’s James Bond film Skyfall will contribute to a bounce-back resulting in a 7% increase in Q4 sales vs last year.
The exhibition chains are weighing in with their response to the Colorado theater shooting.
REFRESH FOR LATEST…
Don’t become too giddy over the MPAA’s optimistic forecast last week for the theatrical movie business, and the record sales for The Hunger Games. Nomura Securities analyst Robert Fishman warns today in a 91-page first look at the exhibition business that chains are in for a tough couple of years after 2012 is over, with admissions falling slowly but steadily from 2013 through 2016. He says domestic box office sales slid 3.8% last year to $10.2B while attendance dropped 4.2% to 1.3B, and that’s “just the beginning of emerging secular headwinds facing the box office.” MPAA data shows that from 2000 to 2011 the percentage of people who frequently go to the movies dropped to 10% from 30% while the ranks of those who never attend grew to 33% from 26%, Fishman says. The biggest drop was among young people. The analyst also says theaters could suffer as the major studios begin to slash the number of movies they make. Although smaller producers have picked up some of the slack, “we do not think the scale of the majority of these other films will be sufficient” to draw the same number of ticket-buyers who typically turn out to see big studio productions. Fishman also notes that consumers are rebelling against high priced tickets — including for 3D. And he fears that theaters will be hurt by changing release patterns, including premium VOD. “Based on our discussion with different studios,” Fishman says, “we believe there is likely to be another push for premium VOD either towards the end of the year or next year.”
B. Riley analyst Eric Wold says it will in a major look-forward report today for the film business. He predicts 4% growth in box office sales this year — the result of a 1% uptick in attendance and a 3% rise in average ticket prices. What makes him so confident, especially following the 3.9% drop in 2011? Wold says that more consumers would have gone to the movies last year if Hollywood hadn’t released so many dogs. He dismisses another theory: that tickets are becoming too expensive. If that were the case, he says, then we would have seen soft numbers throughout the year — instead box offices set records in Q2 and Q3. He’s also optimistic about 2012 because there’ll be at least 25 sequels of films that collectively generated $3.64B at box offices. Sequels typically deliver about 6% less in ticket sales than the originals. But even if 2012′s films slip 20%, consumers will spend 12% more than they did for sequels in 2010. That could “set up 2012 for a potential rebound,” Wold says. He’s also encouraged to see that there’ll be at least 40 wide-release 3D
The weak box office sales this past weekend made it clear that the year is going to end with a whimper. Regal’s shares fell 8.7%, making it the biggest loser among the theater chains followed by Carmike (-4.9%) and Cinemark (-2.9%). Companies closely aligned with theaters also suffered: 3-D technology provider RealD fell 6.2% while ad seller National Cinemedia was off nearly 3%. “The hoped-for 4Q11 box office pop is slipping away,” says Lazard Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett. Ticket sales so far this quarter are down about 6.9% vs the same period last year, he says. He predicts the quarter will end down 1.9% following an expected surge of Christmas weekend turnout for Paramount’s Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol as it goes into wide release, Warner Bros’ Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, Sony’s The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo, Fox’s Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, and Paramount’s The Adventures Of Tintin.
Now that Big Media’s 2Q earnings season is over, the big question on Wall Street is: Did it give us any insight into the future? CEOs’ cheery talk about strong ad sales in TV’s upfront market, the expected bump next year from political ads, and the revenues coming in from online streaming services may be irrelevant if the economy sinks into a deep, new recession. CEOs say they see no evidence of trouble yet. The industry’s leading cheerleader, CBS chief Les Moonves, channeled his inner Buzz Lightyear last week saying that he has “every reason to believe that we will deliver strong results throughout the rest of the year, into 2012 and beyond.” Investors still sliced 6.3% off of CBS’ market value. The Dow Jones U.S. Media Index is down about 16% in the last month as traders anticipate cuts in ad spending, ticket buying, subscriptions — the works. If the pessimists are right, then the race is on: Which company will be the first to change its message from “people will buy media because they have cash” to “people will buy media because it helps them to forget their problems”?
Here are other themes from the latest earnings reports:
Jobs: Media companies still aren’t hiring. No one said that so baldly, but it’s there between the lines: CEOs talked more about financial engineering – cutting costs and returning cash to shareholders – than about spending to become more competitive. Time Warner recorded $24M in layoff-related expenses, quadruple the amount from the same quarter last year, while Viacom spent $14M, up from zero last year. Yet virtually every media company is repurchasing shares or increasing its dividend. The message? CEOs can’t persuade investors that the companies know how to make a decent profit from their cash, and shareholders want it back.
Pay TV: This was “the weakest (quarter) in the industry’s history,” says Bernstein Research’s Craig Moffett. Analysts were startled to see the largest cable, satellite, and telco companies collectively lose about 195,000 video customers. The cord cutters don’t fit the stereotype of well-to-do technophiles. Moffett says that “all the evidence” shows that a growing number of people – especially young adults — simply can’t afford pay TV. Dish Network seemed to confirm that thesis by saying that it will shift its marketing focus to upscale consumers instead of bargain hunters. With the U.S. market stalled, it’s easy to see why cable programmers want investors to look at their expansion efforts in growing markets overseas such as India, Russia, China, and Brazil. “It is the current momentum and potential of our international assets that present a meaningful, unique opportunity for us,” Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav told analysts.


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Adele wants to take a bite out of Apple.
November 20th will bring with it the release of the singer’s third studio album ’25’ which is led by the ballad ‘Hello.’
So, keen to ensure that the project fares just as well or better than its predecessor ’21’ the entertainer sought to have physical copies of the LP placed in Apple stores globally.
Unfortunately her request was denied.
The New York Post share:
Despite the early success and expected bonanza awaiting Adele, not everyone’s happy with the hard-ball negotiating tactics.
“Her team needs to be more realistic about an artist who doesn’t have much of a history of working with corporate partners,” one person familiar with the talks said.
Marketers also worry about the burn-out factor of her first-ever arena tour and so many dates.
Team Adele is still in discussions with tour operators Live Nation and AEG — although the European piece of a global tour could be announced shortly.
Meanwhile, there is no word on a streaming strategy for the album. Adele’s last album sold 11 million copies and was 2011’s and 2012’s No. 1 seller.
“25” is expected to be available first only in stores ahead of streaming services — with a deluxe CD only in Target — to goose sales, aping the strategy successfully used by Taylor Swift with her “1989.”
It’s clear Sony Music Entertainment are unwilling to take the risk of believing Adele’s name is enough to carry her music so are employing unique and competition crushing strategies before the project drops.
One wonders if her thwarted plan to reach Apple consumers will inspire other acts to make similar moves with their releases.


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SLUGFEST IS NO GAME
Copyright 2001 www.yahoo.com
[ December 15th 2001 ]
is getting a PlayStation2 for Christmas. It will
be his first game console, and he can't wait.
Over the past few months, Ayers has been wowed
by the sophistication of graphics in games such
as Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Grand Theft Auto III.
the exclusive realm of pimply teenage boys, video
games have gone mainstream. According to the Interactive
Digital Software Assn, an industry trade group
based in Washington, D.C., about 60% of Americans
- or 145 million people - now play computer or
video games. The average player's age is 28, and
43% are women.
are such an attractive demographic, in fact, that
traditional media companies are starting to compete
for their attention. Last year, Hollywood turned
out two shoot-'em-up action films based on popular
games: Tomb Raider, with a busty Angelina Jolie
playing heroine Lara Croft, and the animated Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Next spring, cable
company Comcast will launch something called G4,
a 24-hour TV network that provides news and information
for the video-game set - a sort of E! Entertainment
Network for gamers.
about it - interactive games have attained that
exalted status known as big business. Research
firm IDC reported that total domestic hardware
and software sales for interactive games totaled
$8.2 billion in 2000 - vs. just $7.75 billion
in U.S. movie box-office receipts. In fact, IDC
expects sales of game hardware and software to
hit $11.4 billion this year - thanks in large
part to torrid holiday sales.
IDC doesn't break out revenues by category, the
IDSA estimates that sales of game software alone
totaled $6 billion in 2000 - making it about 75%
of the total games market. "This is our moment,"
enthuses Douglas Lowenstein, the IDSA's president.
"At best, interactive games are poised to become
the dominant form of entertainment. At worst,
we'll be as important as any other form."
has been well received by analysts and hard-core
gamers It's a good thing the pie is growing so
fast, because the competition is, too. In November,
Microsoft launched Xbox, its first foray into
the video-game hardware market and a head-butt
challenger to the console leader, Sony's PlayStation2.
Microsoft's $299 console, which includes an Ethernet
connection for when online games become available
as well as a DVD player [as does PlayStation2],
has been well received both by analysts and hard-core
gaming enthusiasts. Gates & Co. expect to sell
all the hardware it can produce this year - about
1.5 million consoles.
one of the original video-game companies, also
has just launched a new console - the GameCube.
At $199, with no DVD player, Nintendo GameCube
targets a younger audience. It, too, expects to
sell out, with 1.3 million GameCubes gracing holiday
Microsoft and Nintendo are generating most of
the buzz, the market still belongs to Sony. PlayStation2
has been around since October, 2000, and Sony
says it already has an installed base of 6 million
Playstation2 systems in the U.S and expects to
have an additional 1 million in American homes
by yearend - 2.5 times the anticipated sales of
Microsoft's and Nintendo's new platforms combined.
Nintendo expects to have 20 or so games for its
console by yearend and Microsoft plans close to
40, PlayStation2 has 280 designed especially for
it. "The noise is around Xbox and GameCube, but
the big money in holiday 2001 is going to be made
on PlayStation," predicts Edward Williams, an
interactive entertainment analyst with New York
investment firm Gerard Klauer Mattison. In fact,
Williams says the hype surrounding the Microsoft
and Nintendo launches could boost also Sony, which
isn't constrained by a limited amount of hardware.
Sony says it expects to have more than 10 million
PlayStation2 consoles shipped to retailyers by
Microsoft and Nintendo keep their consoles as
hot sellers into 2002? In fact, whether Microsoft
and Nintendo can catch Sony may not even be an
issue until Christmas, 2002, when all three consoles
will finally be stores in unlimited quantity -
and probably at lower prices. By then, in a market
that has never supported three hardware makers,
the game of the year could become survival. In
2000, Sega stopped making video-game hardware
after 11 years in the business - and just a year
after the launch of its last console, Dreamcast.
the test for Microsoft and Nintendo will be whether
their units continue to fly off the shelves after
the holiday season, when more than 60% of video
games hardware and software are sold. If Xbox
and GameCube continue to wow consumers, game publishers
will develop new, hit titles for those platforms.
"The key to success is having the best games,"
says Joe Fielder, editorial director of GameSpot,
a Web site that offers news and reviews of video
and PC games. "That's what will make someone spend
$300 on a console."
observers, particularly gaming enthusiasts, initially
dismissed Microsoft's foray into the market. How
could the king of PC software understand what
gamers want? It now appears that even the hardest-core
gamers are welcoming Xbox. Its flagship game,
Halo, where players battle alien invaders, is
already a must-have for many serious gamers, according
to GameSpot's Fielder.
Microsoft's general manager for the Xbox platform,
says Redmond's initial strategy was to create
a portfolio that would appeal to hard-core gamers:
"That sets the tone for younger gamers who aspire
to be like their older siblings and older gamers
who want to know what's cool and hip." But to
really succeed, Microsoft knows it must also appeal
to a broad selection of gamers - including women
and casual players. Allard, who says he has been
playing video games for more than 25 years, acknowledges
that tech-savvy youngsters have dominated gaming
until now. But going forward, he says, "we want
to be what Disney is to theme parks. There has
to be a spectrum of thrills - an opportunity for
the horsepower standpoint, Microsoft has the platform
to beat. Xbox has a 733-MHz Pentium III processor,
an NVidia graphics chip, 64MB of memory, a built-in
hard drive, and an integrated broadband connection
that next year will allow players to compete over
the Internet. Sony's PlayStation2, by contrast,
doesn't include a hard drive and requires $40
add-on to make it Internet-ready. Allard says
the Internet is central to Microsoft's strategy:
"What was exciting in the last generation of hardware
was the advance to 3D [graphics]. The revolution
this cycle is online play."
can underdog Microsoft [imagine that] beat out
Sony? Microsoft points out that in 1995, Sony
itself was new to the console business and faced
two entrenched competitors, Nintendo and Sega.
By the end of 2000, Sony had gained a dominant
market position, relegating Nintendo to No. 2
and driving Sega out of the hardware business.
move to disk-based games scored with developers
who like their lower cost. Sony's success, however,
had more to do with the economic incentives its
platform offered to game publishers than with
the PlayStation's feature set. Unlike Nintendo
and Sega, which required game publishers to produce
expensive cartridges that snapped into the game
console, Sony offered a disk-based system. Brian
Farrell, CEO of game publisher THQ says manufacturing
a disk-based game costs from $3 to $6, vs. $20
to $25 for cartridges. Sony also offered a friendlier
royalty structure to its partners than Sega or
Nintendo did at the time, which encouraged publishers
to develop games for PlayStation.
Microsoft nor Nintendo has a similar trick up
its sleeve this time - though both companies are
rumored to be wooing publishers with co-marketing
deals that help limit game publishers' risk. Instead,
Microsoft and Nintendo must rely on brisk sales
of their consoles to persuade publishers that
it's worth their while to develop for the new
platforms. If sales drop off, game publishers
could abandon the loser. Just as in the software
business, game "publishers are incentivized by
where they get the biggest return," says THQ's
Farrell. "The obvious answer is the largest installed
Sega's experience after Dreamcast's launch in
the autumn of 1999. Holiday sales were phenomenal:
Sega sold 1.5 million consoles over the period.
But in 2000, sales slowed sharply. According to
IDC, Sega sold just 1.6 million more consoles.
In January, 2001, the company exited the hardware
market entirely - in large part because game publishers
abandoned the platform.
and Nintendo succeed where Sega failed, Gerard
Klauer Mattison expects that Nintendo's GameCube
will hold 30% to 40% of the market by 2004. At
the end of 2000, Nintendo's previous console,
N64, had 42%. Microsoft in turn will nab 10% to
20%, with Sony continuing to hold 50% market share.
can drive millions of gamers to buy new hardware
Whether those predictions come true depends largely
on the third-party game publishers who, for now,
are the industry's kingmakers, since they can
pick and choose which console-maker they want
to deal with. "The last six years belonged to
Sony. Now, with Microsoft in the game, publishers
can play console makers against one another to
extract better deals," says James Lin, an interactive
entertainment analyst at Jeffries & Co.
leverage: A hit can drive millions of gamers to
buy new hardware. Analysts attribute much of the
success Sony will see this Christmas has to do
with the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of
Liberty for the PlayStation2. The $49.99 title,
released in mid-November, had more than 2 million
can also spread their risk by developing for all
three platforms. Electronic Arts' popular Madden
NFL 2002, Activision's Tony Hawk Pro Skater series,
and THQ's WWF Wrestling titles are available for
PlayStation2, GameCube, and the Xbox - meaning
that millions of copies should be sold. Such scale
gives publishers more muscle in negotiating with
retailers for shelf space - at least for a game's
first eight weeks on the market, when as many
as 80% of sales happen.
also allows game publishers to rack up big profits,
even in a slowing economy. On Dec. 11, Activision
raised its guidance for net earnings and revenue
in fiscal 2002 - and 2003. For the year ending
Mar. 31, 2002, the Santa Monica [Calif.] game
publisher raised its earnings estimate to 73 cents
a share, on revenue of $725 million, from 67 cents
a share on $620 million for fiscal 2001. Activision
CEO Bobby Kotick attributed the better-than-expected
projections to a 44% increase in sales during
Thanksgiving week vs. the year-ago period.
expect Electronic Arts to report 68 cents a share
for 2002, up from just 4 cents a share in 2001.
THQ is expected to bring in $1.47 a share for
2002, up from $1.28 a year earlier.
now, PlayStation2 has the best games, and Microsoft
and Nintendo are battling for second place, according
to GameSpot's Fielder. Just who will have the
next "killer" game isn't yet clear. The best games
usually aren't available until the platform has
been on the market for at least six months because
it takes time for developers to become comfortable
with the console's architecture and learn how
to best exploit it.
challengers are off to a good start, though. Next
year, Nintendo plans to release sequels to its
popular Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, and Mario Bros.
titles, all of which have at one time or another
topped the best-seller list. Microsoft is hoping
that its exclusive deal with game publisher Interplay
for a game based on the sci-fi movie hit The Matrix
will lure gamers to Xbox.
years ago, a hit game could cost $1 million to
develop. Today, it's 10 times that "MORE ROOM."
Predicting the winner is no easy feat - especially
because, with the cost of developing high-quality
hits on the rise - publishers can afford to bet
only on a console that's a winner. Five years
ago, limited processing power meant that it took
only three or four developers six months to build
a hit game, at a cost of around $1 million. Today,
development teams are often 20 to 30 people strong,
including top sound engineers and Hollywood animators.
A single game can take more than two years to
develop and cost more than $10 million. In such
an environment, Nintendo and Sony, which both
have a history of successfully developing their
own games, could have a leg up over Microsoft.
there's always a chance that the market could
accommodate all three. While the Nasdaq has fallen
27% this year, Gerard Klauer Mattison's Interactive
Entertainment index of 10 stocks is up 94%. "I'm
not sure there's room for all three of us," says
Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo's vice-president for corporate
communications. "But with the pie growing, there's
more room than ever before." And there's nothing
like a multibillion dollar payoff to get more
competitors into the game.


text:
News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services.
New WhatsApp app appears for SOME iPhone owners – but there's a big catch
Facebook password blunder means you might need to change ALL your logins now
Japan's bizarre 'sexy bins' use porn stars to encourage you to throw rubbish away
Android Q beta download guide – how to get the latest Google features
Facebook 'security failure' put 600million passwords 'at risk of being hacked'
iPad mini 5 review – Apple's latest 'shrunken' tablet is insane value for money
New Facebook Messenger update adds 'mini conversations' feature in chats
Samsung slammed over ugly crease in £1,800 Galaxy Fold phone screen
Dyson reveals 'smart lamp that improves your eyesight' and AI-powered vacuum
Frustrated Amazon prime video users report ‘serious issues’
Bizarre £89 'wearable smart sex massager' vibrates along to your favourite songs
Netflix confirms surprise price rise for UK – but only SOME users will see hike
Apple TV streaming app launches next week – but Netflix says it WON'T be joining
Samsung Galaxy S10 deal with 30GB data for £38 a month saves you nearly £400
Google+ and Gmail Inbox will soon be DELETED – and your photos will vanish
Apple AirPods 2 revealed with 50% more charge and 'Hey Siri' chat feature
Google hit with £1.3BILLION mega-fine by EU – but it'll take five days to pay
Bitcoin 'global gloom' as trading slumps and value falls 80% in just over a year
Incredible app turns rubbish sketches into stunning landscape photos in SECONDS
Snapchat 'age verification doesn't work and under-13s ban unenforceable'
Apple unveils new iMac computers with 'super chips' 140% FASTER than old models
Boost your iPhone battery life – 8 easy tricks to make your charge last longer
Apple unveils surprise £399 iPad mini with an Apple Pencil and NEW iPad Air
Apple Store DOWN as new iPad and triple-gadget wireless charger rumoured
Disney Plus ’to cost £8 a month’ as expert warns it may be pricier than Netflix
Sextortion scams ‘on the rise’ as crooks swindle victims with 'sexy selfie' con
Apple Watch and Fitbit can cause rashes and boils as they 'breed bacteria'
Folding screen and a FART sensor – the weird tech an iPhone 11 may get


text:
Latest baccarat headlines 1
Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Hosts the Industry's First EZ Baccarat Table
On January 11th, DEQ Systems Corp. announced that Harrah's Operating Company, Inc., part of the gaming giant company Harrah's Entertainment, has agreed to install and offer its customers the first EZ baccarat table game. The table will be available at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
The 2 companies have recently finalized a national patent license for the no commission
baccarat game method. The installation of the table will signal the beginning of the 90-day trial.
"We are very pleased to be conducting the no commission baccarat trial at the Paris Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. We chose Paris as the first site because of its reputation for the high volume of baccarat players and its visibility on the Las Vegas Strip," said Harrah's Vice President of Table Games, Gerald Tuthill.
Earle G. Hall, DEQ's President and CEO adds, "Having Harrah's for the EZ Baccarat trial is very exciting for this recurring revenue product roll-out. Harrah's is recognized as an industry leader and continues to lead the way in new table game development across its casino brands. Future versions of this patented method of increasing baccarat revenue and casino profit include electronic side betting, as well as other innovative technological add-ons."
Tuesday, February 20, 2007


text:
Coke ditches Ronaldinho for sipping Pepsi
11 July 2012
Former Brazil and FC Barcelona football star Ronaldinho has lost a lucrative $760,000 endorsement deal with Coca-Cola, after he was caught drinking a can of Pepsi at a press conference.
The 32-year-old Coke ambassador was promptly ditched by the soft drinks giant for “embarrassing” Coca-Cola by drinking from its arch-rival Pepsico’s can of fizzy pop.
Ronaldinho’s endorsement deal with Coca-Cola was due to run until 2014.
“Coca-Cola recognises the career and value of Ronaldinho,” said Coca-Cola in a statement. “However due to recent developments it has become impossible to continue the partnership.”
Ronaldinho was speaking to the press about an upcoming game when he committed the ultimate disloyalty to the brand. Two cans of Pepsi were placed in front of him and he proceeded to start drinking from one of them.
According to reports, Coca-Cola had been tracking Ronaldinho’s career progress and personal antics and had been considering dropping the player for some time. The Pepsi incident was the final straw.
“The fact that the player has appeared with a can of Pepsi was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Coca-Cola marketing chief Marcelo Pontes told Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo. “The sponsorship had become embarrassing.”
Jenni Baker, London


text:
Gun Owners Generated Nearly $1 Billion For Wildlife Conservation Last Year
Through the taxes on the sale of guns, ammunition, hunting/fishing licenses, and archery equipment, nearly $1 billion was raised to go towards wildlife conservation in 2012 according to TheBlaze.com.
Much of the revenue came from strong gun sales in the previous year. Part of the tax on the sale of firearms is earmarked for conservation efforts.
This tax revenue is essential for conservation efforts in the US.


text:
Black Friday sale: shoppers broke
Some said they felt it wasn't much more than a “marketing gimmick” and could lead to buying things they don't need.
“Shops always have sales, this is nothing new, it just has a name but it is the same thing. I see it as a marketing gimmick,” said Phila Qusheka. In spite of this, the 22-year-old nevertheless enjoyed the shopping last year.
For Letta Ntombana, 28, her pockets were just too empty to get excited about another sale.
“I am not excited about it because I do not have money and sales are something that happen every day,” she said.
“It is just a money-making thing, I think they have old stock they are trying to get rid of, so they just put all those things out for us to buy.”
Lillian Paulse said she was not impressed with the specials last year and was not expecting much this year.
“Only some shops had great specials, others never came down with their prices that much,” she added.
“I probably will go into the shops, but I just plan on browsing.”
Seventy-one-year-old Gertrude Williams said she was past getting excited about sales.
“Perhaps when I was younger, yes, now I just feel I have everything I need. So unless there’s something I need in the shops on that specific day, I am not going to go out of my way for the sale,” Williams said.
Last year, research released by Facebook suggested that Black Friday was the country’s busiest online shopping day of the year.
However, while many people were clearly excited to grab some bargains last year, there was disappointment as the cheapest goods flew off the shelves, with many missing out.
This year, Black Friday takes place on November 24.


text:
Genshin Impact Wraps Up The Inazuma Story In Sep. With Patch 2.1
The miHoYo team is preparing for the launch of Genshin Impact patch 2.1, which lands in the beginning of September. The new update will wrap up the main storyline for the game’s newly released Inazuma region, which launched alongside patch 2.0.
Patch 2.1 is titled Floating World Under The Moonlight. And will bring a wealth of new content including new main story quests. In addition, players who have a PS5 will be finally be able to grab the Horizon Zero Dawn collaboration character, Aloy. Which will be a free 5-star bow user with unique abilities. Players will be able to claim this character at no charge, and without having to spend currency in the Wish system.
All they have to do is sign into the game on PS5 or PS4 and the character will be added to their roster. For the time being, Aloy will be exclusive to PS5 and PS4 users. But down the line miHoYo will eventually hand out the character to all users across all platforms.
Genshin Impact patch 2.1 arrives on September 1
It’s just under two weeks out from the arrival of Genshin Impact patch 2.1. So if you’re not ready for the new content you may want to prepare. This includes unlocking the new Inazuma region and getting through all or most of the regional main story content.
In the new patch, players will have a chance to pick up three new characters. As always, these will be available during their own events throughout the patch. So they won’t all be dropped on September 1. But miHoYo does introduce all the new characters ahead of time. This gives players the opportunity to figure out which one they may want to save their currency for.
As part of the patch, there will also be two new islands added to the Inazuma region. So there will be lots more to explore. miHoYo has also released a new trailer to go along with the patch, which you can view below.
Meet the new characters
Some of Genshin Impact’s most exciting content are the characters. Of which there are many. And patch 2.1 is introducing three more. This includes Raiden Shogun, Sangonomiya Kokomi, and Kujou Sara.
Both Raiden Shogun and Sangonomiya Kokomi will have story quests that introduce them to the player. However obtaining them will require users to pull them from the Wish system. Alongside the new characters, the patch will also be introducing a new event for the season, called called the Moonchase Festival.
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text:
We were able to work with Costco Auto Program to ensure that we offered a diverse vehicle selection and value that resonates with Costco members," said Dan Flores, GM spokesman, "And received great results that included conquests from other brands.
SAN DIEGO, CA (PRWEB) February 01, 2016
Costco Auto Program today announced the GM Holiday Sales Event, which ended Jan. 4, 2016, exceeded the company-projected 20 percent sales growth over last year’s promotion. During this limited-time offer, Costco members purchased 34 percent more vehicles than the previous year’s promotion, totaling approximately 58,000 sales on a variety of models from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
The offer featured GM Supplier Pricing and all qualifying manufacturer rebates and incentives on a selection of vehicles, including trucks, SUVs, luxury and fuel-efficient models. Additionally, members who made a purchase during the event received a Costco Cash Card for completing a Costco Auto Program member satisfaction survey; Executive Members received a $700 Costco Cash Card, and Gold Star and Business Members received a $300 Costco Cash Card. Gold Star and Business Members also had the option of upgrading their membership to receive the $700 Costco Cash Card. This year, Executive Member interest was more than 60 percent higher than last year.
As part of the survey, Costco members were asked if the promotion was a deciding factor in their decision to purchase a GM vehicle versus a competing brand – more than half said they switched brands. According to the data collected, the special offer gained the majority of its conquest sales from comparable Ford, Toyota and Honda models.
“General Motors is pleased that Costco members continue to find our holiday offer with Costco Auto Program valuable,” said Dan Flores, GM spokesman for U.S. sales. “We were able to work with Costco Auto Program to ensure that we offered a diverse vehicle selection and value that resonates with Costco members, and received great results that included conquests from other brands.”
Costco Auto Program, the only auto-buying service serving Costco members year-round for more than 25 years, reports a continued rise in overall annual sales; accruing a 16.8 percent increase for 2015, with more than 465,000 vehicles purchased or leased through the program. Sales in 2014 were reported at nearly 400,000.
The program showcases a streamlined buying experience to Costco members through its network of more than 3,000 hand-selected dealerships nationwide. In addition to saving on a wide selection of makes and models, Costco Auto Program provides a solution for members who want to maintain their current vehicles by offering 15 percent off parts, service and accessories at participating service centers. Also, member advocates are available to support Costco members throughout the purchasing process to further ensure an exceptional vehicle-buying experience.
Visit CostcoAuto.com or call 1-855-703-2559 to learn more about the Costco Auto Program.
About the Costco Auto Program
The Costco Auto Program is recognized as a leading member-focused auto-buying program in the industry. The service offers prearranged pricing and a first-class buying experience on new and select pre-owned vehicles, motorcycles and powersports products, as well as discounts on automobile parts, service and accessories to more than 45 million U.S. Costco cardholders.
The Costco Auto Program is operated by Affinity Auto Program, which has been managing the program since its inception in 1989. Last year alone, Costco members purchased more than 465,000 vehicles through the program. The Costco Auto Program surveys every member who uses the program to ensure the program continues to meet their high expectations; as a result, more than 96 percent of members surveyed gave it high marks for value, service and overall experience.
About General Motors
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM’s brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.


text:
Andrew Wilson, the CEO of EA, has described NFT and blockchain games as “the future of our industry” in a recent earnings call [via PC Gamer].
The NFT and blockchain space has been heating up in the games industry this week. It was only a few days ago that Ubisoft expressed an interest in the technology. Like Ubisoft, EA says that it’s in the early stages of researching the technology, but reckons that it will “play a meaningful part in our future”.
Blockchain technology is a database system that directly ties into cryptocurrency. It’s also related to NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which are unique digital items that you can buy and sell using cryptocurrency. NFTs can be anything from a gif to a music file, or even a video game. There are plenty of resources out there that explain why this relatively new technology is extremely bad for the environment. The energy required to mine the cryptocurrency that the whole system relies upon exceeds some countries’ annual usage entirely.
What does it all mean?
So how does EA see this being used in its video games? Wilson explains: “I think that in the context of the games we create and the live services that we offer, collectible digital content is going to play a meaningful part in our future.
“So, it’s still early to tell, but I think we’re in a really good position, and we should expect us to kind of think more innovatively and creatively about that on a go-forward basis.”
The way that some “play-to-earn” games work is that players earn unique items while playing games purchased using cryptocurrency. Those in-game items can then be traded with other players, potentially for a profit as the value of the market fluctuates. Think of it like trading digital items on the Steam Marketplace, except your M4A1 skin is an NFT and probably caused an acre of rainforest to burn in the process.
Not all of the gaming industry is as quick to embrace crypto as EA and Ubisoft. Steam recently put out a ban on NFT, crypto and blockchain games from its service. Still, other publishers are convinced that it’s the future of the industry. Some job listings for high profile positions at EA now mention NFTs and blockchain directly in the job description.
What do you think about EA researching NFT and blockchain games? Let us know across our social channels.
Shop with GameByte!
Don’t forget, you can find some of these great games and more through the new GameByte Shop! The GameByte Shop is stocked up with the latest games, merch and accessories. We might even have a new-gen console or two! Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of our console drops. Please note the GameByte Shop is available for UK customers only.
[Featured Image Credit: EA/Blockchain]


text:
The U.S. markets were off to a weak start on Tuesday, despite some upbeat economic news from around the world. Market participants are reacting to at least one significant earnings miss this morning, and preparing for more major announcements later this week.
At 8:50 a.m.: DJIA: -0.16%, S&P: -0.29%, NASDAQ: -0.08%.
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is off about 2 percent in the pre-market following its fourth-quarter results. The telecom company reported an earnings loss of $1.48 per share, which compares to a loss of $0.71 per share for the quarter in 2011. The company cites non-cash pension items and a negative impact from hurricane Sandy as contributors to the loss.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) is feeling the fallout from an accounting problem that surfaced over the weekend. The company announced on Friday that it will take a non-cash charge of approximately $580 million and fire several senior managers because of “deliberate, multi-year, coordinated accounting misconduct concealed at Siwei, located in Zhengzhou, China,” a mining-equipment manufacturer that Caterpillar bought last year.


text:
With everything from carbon emissions to wildfires impacting what we breathe, the device is on the watch.
One of the newest additions to the Amazon gadget list will now be providing consumers with the opportunity to keep an eye on their air quality.
Tech companies have been watching the consumer trend that includes watching air quality.
This is a concern being voiced by a growing number of consumers. The Amazon gadget addresses an issue that people are thinking about on an increasing basis, and often for good reason. Many tech giants, such as Google, have made it simpler to keep watch on the quality of the air outside their homes and throughout their communities. That said, the new device was developed to bring this same level of tracking and monitoring inside the home.
The device is called the Smart Air Quality Monitor. This technology is meant to sync with existing Alexa products. Its sensors are able to detect a spectrum of different air toxins and various types of pollutants in the air. According to the company, its tracker is able to detect everything from organic compounds and dust to the humidity and temperature. Cool amazon gadgets 2021 – It is even able to detect the presence of carbon monoxide.
This detection makes it possible for the Amazon gadget to alert users when air quality problems occur.
When something is wrong with the air quality, the user can be alerted. All the device’s readings are logged within the Alexa app. Users can view the air quality stats as represented across hours, days and weeks.
When the air quality in the space falls beyond a certain threshold, Alexa notifies the user directly. The alerts are made either on the user’s smartphone or directly through the Echo device. Though a user can make only so many immediate changes – such as opening a window or turning on a fan, as per the company’s recommendations – the goal of the tracking is to provide the information needed to create a healthier and cleaner home over time as broader changes can be made.
For more info on cool gadgets on Amazon – The pre-order of the Smart Air Quality Monitor Amazon gadget comes with a price tag of $69.99, and orders are expected to ship on December 8. A bundle that also includes the 4th gen Echo Dot costs another $10, and a bundle with the 2nd gen Echo Show 5 is another $20 over the base price.


text:
Magic Leap finally reveals its first product, Twitter purging locked accounts
This is CNET and here are the stories that matter right now.
[SOUND] After nearly four years of development Magic Leap is finally ready to lift the curtain on the company's secretive AR project, the Magic Leap One.
The AR headset packs an NVIDIA Tegra X2 inside and runs a 64 bit Linux-based operating system.
We don't know much about performance outside of a prerecorded demo, but we'll be able to try it when it releases later this summer.
Another round of Apple predictions from Ming-Chi Kuo is out.
And the insider says we can expect three new iPhones this fall with sizes including 5.8, 6.1, and 6.5 inches.
It's also rumored our new i Pad pros with face ID, many new updates to Macs including the MacBook, MacBook Pro I mac and a new mac mini as well.
Finally we also expect new Apple watches with larger screens.
And Twitter has announced it will be removing locked accounts from its service in an effort to bolster account credibility.
A purge will be substantial and it's also worth [UNKNOWN] the Twitter deletes in million accounts every single day.
You can stay up to date with the latest by downloading the CNet Tech Today app in the Apple or Google Play Store
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text:
Apple’s new iPhones 14 are now available everywhere and some users are already experiencing some rather problematic bugs.
The iPhone 14, which has only been available for a few days, is already the victim of certain bugs. More specifically the Pro version of Apple’s smartphone. It is this one that seems to accumulate the problems in general, some users report slowness problems with the photo application or even problems with the 5G connection. Some even point to less autonomy under iOS 16.
A very curious charge for the iPhone 14 Pro from Apple
We can thus learn as the site reports 9to5mac, that during charging, whether in MagSafe or Lightning, that the iPhone 14 Pro restarts unexpectedly. According to various posts on the forum Reddit this is not an isolated case as one might think and some iPhone 14 Pro Max would restart almost every 10 to 20 minutes during the said charge. For the time being Apple has not communicated on the subject even if obviously the manufacturer has tried to give some solutions without success.
I just got the iPhone 14 Pro and since then noticed that it reboots while charging (magsafe/cable). I can’t find anything online and other than that it works normally. It does not reboot at all when not on the charger. Anyone else having similar issues?
After a few days of frustration I also noticed some sort of pattern, this only happens when the battery charges between 90-95% (mostly 93%) and the phone is idle. (…)