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While the dust settles on the launch of the new ones iPhone Apple, more details have begun to arrive about the upcoming iPhone 12 sets of devices. The new series consists of four new phones, the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12, on iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Max Pro, which were launched at the Hi, Speed company launch event.
At launch, the company had revealed some crucial details about the device, however, it has stayed away from revealing some key information about the device, including the amount of RAM these phones will be shipped with.
But now, according to new information revealed via plist files in the beta version of Xcode 12.1 accessible from MacRumours, details of the phones’ RAM have also leaked online. According to the information, the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max models come with 6GB of RAM, while the low-end iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini models carry 4GB of RAM.
It is important to note that this is not the first time plist files have revealed the amount of RAM used on a file iPhone. In fact, the whistleblowers were delighted to reveal the details of the RAM on the iPhone in the past using this method.
The information revealed by the plist files was also corroborated in part by a Geekbench listing that claims the extension iPhone 12 Pro has 6GB of RAM. If this new information is correct, it will represent a significant leap over the iPhone of the previous generation, which as we recall were all equipped with 4 GB of RAM.
Speaking of the phone, the iPhone The 12 series is available in four models this year. The iPhone 12 mini e iPhone 12 displays of 5.4 inches and 6.1 inches respectively. Both panels are Super Retina XDR OLED displays that do not support ultra-fast 120Hz refresh rates.
The iPhone 12 Pro is also equipped with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel that again runs at the same refresh rate as the cheapest iPhone 12 mini e iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro Max features the largest panel on a file iPhone this year with a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display.
Under the hood, all four iPhone they are powered by the company’s new A14 Bionic chipset that promises improved overall performance and faster machine learning with its next-generation Neural Engine. As Apple has explained in the past, this chipset is the most advanced that Apple has created to date, which makes it new iPhone The 12 series phones are the most energy efficient and faster than the previous ones iPhone.
Apple claims the A14 Bionic brings serious benefits to the iPhone 12 series. As such, compared to the iPhone 11, the chipset helps ensure that the new iPhone it offers better per-core performance for single and multi-threaded applications, although it consumes less power per core while doing so.
Turning to the cameras, the iPhone 12 mini has a dual camera with a 12 megapixel wide angle camera and 12 megapixel ultrawide lens placed side by side. The iPhone 12 also gets the same dual-camera setup found on the iPhone 12 mini.
The iPhone The 12 Pro and Pro Max get a better triple camera setup with a 12-megapixel F1.6 main camera, a 12-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera along with a LiDAR sensor. Last, but not least, the iPhone 12 Pro Max also has some extra features to improve the photographic performance on the device.
The new iPhone The 12 series brings with it four new phones. These phones are powered by Apple’s A14 Bionic SoC.
- Apple is new iPhone Series 12 in India starts at Rs 69,900.
- The iPhone 12 phones appear to have a maximum of 6GB of RAM.
- All four iPhone this year they are powered by the A14 Bionic SoC.


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In 2017, startup Emailage locked down its presence in Europe by working to close accounts with large banks and institutions across the European and Middle Eastern regions.
Partnerships with brands like Equifax, Experian and LexisNexis helped power that growth, as Emailage leveraged these companies’ capabilities to provide a full risk assessment package to customers, starting with (but by no means ending with) an in-depth look at customers’ email addresses to verify identity.
In 2018, the startup is turning its expansion focus to the Asia-Pacific region, where Chief Revenue Officer Manoel Coelho said Emailage already has customers despite its lack of a direct presence. Coelho said the company plans to establish its regional base in Sydney, Australia, and also start operation in Singapore.
Coelho admits there’s no silver bullet in fraud prevention, but he says email is powerful for several reasons.
First, it’s the “only global variable in fraud protection.” Not every country uses a Social Security number for identity verification, but anywhere there’s eCommerce, there will be email addresses that customers use to access their online shopping accounts.
Second, because the world wide web is worldwide, there are no duplicate email addresses — every single one is unique. When customers use their email address to log in to eCommerce sites, they own any history tied to that address (or lack of history, if it’s a burner address created by fraudsters).
Coelho added that, the more Emailage grows, the more data it gains on email addresses around the world, thus beefing up its fraud detection capabilities.
Third, email addresses are persistent. People move, resulting in a billing or shipping address change, and phone numbers change about once every two years. On top of that, a legitimate consumer email address has around 130 accounts connected to it, said Coelho. Changing emails would mean changing all those connected account logins.
Emails were once seen as disposable, but today, Coelho said, people keep their accounts for longer, and that makes it easy to spot fakes because they lack the depth and history of a true account.
Sure, said Coelho, even non-fraudsters create burner email addresses to use in scenarios when they don’t want to receive a company’s marketing emails, but when it comes down to making an actual purchase, signing up for a bank account or any other sensitive activity, customers will use the real thing, because they want to receive communications from that company.
Therefore, the history tied to that email address will encompass all of that customer’s legitimate activities for, likely, a span of several years.

domain: news


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Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 will mark "the end" of the computer industry's dominant OS due to increasing competition and choice sparked by alternatives, according to Salesforce.com CEO, Marc Benioff.
Salesforce.com said Friday that it has significantly expanded the social analytics options available to customers who use its Marketing Cloud, in its latest move in an ongoing arms race with Oracle to offer businesses the best tools for mining the so...
Oracle's US$1.5 billion purchase of cloud software vendor RightNow Technologies took another step forward on Thursday as a vast majority of RightNow shareholders approved the deal.
Salesforce.com announced Thursday it will acquire cloud-based performance management vendor Rypple in a bid to enter the human resources software market.
Zoho unveiled a significant upgrade to its on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) software on Thursday with new features including an overhauled user interface and an integration with LinkedIn.
Salesforce.com's first data center in Japan has begun operations, the company said Wednesday.
As another year draws to a close, we look back on the IT-related comments that stuck with us.
Taking a cue from rivals such as Salesforce.com, SAP on Monday announced a partnership under which it will resell and support social media analytics software from NetBase.
Dell is rounding out its cloud CRM (customer relationship management) service with the addition of Salesforce.com's Service Cloud customer-service software, the companies announced Wednesday.
Intacct is hoping to build on its stake in the cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning) market via a three-way integration with Salesforce.com's CRM (customer relationship management) application and project management software from Clarizen.
Cloud computing consulting firm GlobalOne Wednesday released the first of three CRM packages that aim to help financial services firms and banks transition to cloud computing with Salesforce.com.
Salesforce.com on Wednesday rolled out the Radian6 Social Marketing Cloud, a new set of services that builds on its core CRM (customer relationship management) software.
Salesforce.com's Heroku division has launched a stand-alone version of its PostgreSQL-based database, giving developers a "battle-tested" way to build applications with the cloud platform of their choosing, the company announced this week.
Salesforce.com has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Model Metrics, a cloud computing consulting and services company, with practices in the areas of mobile computing and social technologies, it said Monday.
Salesforce.com has hired former Oracle and SAP executive John Wookey, adding a seasoned software-development executive to its ranks at a time of rapid growth in both revenue and its breadth of offerings.
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San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom has had enough. Sick of seeing fat kids grow up to be fat adults, who inevitably put strains on the health care system, he's proposed charging stores a fee for selling soft drink that contains fattening high-fructose corn syrup. Any money raked in from the fee would be put towards funding anti-obesity programs in the city. But soda companies are having none of it, and instead are trying to shift the blame onto musicals and classical literature. OK, no, they're trying to shift the blame onto videogames, with Kevin Keane, the vice president of the American Beverage Association saying:
It makes no sense to single out any one single cause of obesity, which is a complex problem.
It does make sense for Keane, though, as he quickly follows this up by saying the mayor should really go after videogame companies, who he accuses of keeping kids indoors when they should "be outside burning calories". It would appear the reason they needed to be burning so many calories is lost on Mr. Keane.
San Francisco's mayor proposes fee on sales of sugary soft drinks [Herald Tribune]


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Apple has agreed to let WeChat reintroduce its "tipping" feature on iOS devices, allowing users to tip individual content creators with real money, said WeChat President and creator Allen Zhang. WeChat has almost 1 billion users and 580,000 "mini-programs," which are similar to Apple and Android apps.
Google Home Mini (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images)
Experts say technology presented during CES 2018 could mark a shift in focus from operating systems to the growing trend of virtual assistants. Google and Amazon both reduced the prices of their smart speakers during the holidays in an effort to get consumers more reliant on virtual assistants, writes JR Raphael.
Microsoft hit pause last week on its issuing of patches for the Spectre and Meltdown bugs after facing problems with "unbootable" AMD devices. The company is working with AMD to find solutions for users who are affected by issues caused by the Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services.
Use of mobile room keys is increasing in the hotel industry, raising some concerns about their security. The FBI reports no compromises in the US, but hacking has occurred elsewhere and experts urge hoteliers and customers to scrutinize their protection.
Being able to manipulate industrial control systems through mobile devices is great for easy access in an emergency but brings with it potentially dangerous cybersecurity vulnerabilities, Martin Giles writes. An assessment of 34 apps revealed 147 security issues that could enable the insertion of malicious code or trick a user into believing incorrect data.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Mark Warner, D-Va., are expected to introduce legislation today that would impose "massive and mandatory penalties" on credit reporting agencies that suffer cyberattacks and provide "robust compensation" for consumers in such cases. "Equifax allowed personal data on more than half the adults in the country to get stolen, and its legal liability is so limited that it may end up making money off the breach," Warren said.
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has handed Carphone Warehouse a nearly $542,000 fine for a 2015 data breach affecting personal information of more than 3 million customers and 1,000 staff members. "Using valid login credentials, intruders were able to access the system via an out-of-date WordPress software," the ICO said, calling the security flaw a "serious contravention" of the Data Protection Act.
Toymaker VTech Electronics will pay a $650,000 to resolve accusations that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and left children's personal data accessible to hackers. The company says it has revised its data-security policies since a 2015 cyberattack.
At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung unit Harman displayed its application suite for autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles; the suite prevents cyberattacks and "sensor spoofing." The system can detect and react to a vandalized traffic sign containing a fake speed limit, which would affect cruise control and other vehicle settings.
Studies suggest an average of 75% to 80% of people "prefer to work for a company known for its social responsibility." To attract and retain top talent, organizations have to work harder than ever to build employer brands that differentiate their organization from those competing for the same top-tier talent. Becoming a more diverse and socially responsible employer is not just about attractiveness to employees -- it is also a question of competitiveness in the marketplace. Read more.
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Atlin’s one-stop shop has re-opened under new management.
Cheri Malo and her brother, Scott Odian, are the new owners of the Atlin Trading Post.
The store’s previous owners, James and Colleen Williams, closed it down at the end of September after running it for almost 30 years.
The couple had unsuccessfully tried to sell the store for five years.
Malo, a third-generation Atlinite, said she always assumed someone else was going to buy it.
“We believed that right up to the very end,” she said.
“It’s a great business. But we’re not grocery people and we never thought of it as our next step in life.”
When no one bought the store and it closed down, Malo’s husband suggested she speak to her brother about possibly taking it over.
Odian told her she was “nuts” but called her back a few days later. They began thinking about the long-term effects of not having the store around. “You don’t want it to close and become like Haines Junction, where the town struggles,” she said.
“Growing up I went to Whitehorse twice a year. We relied on that store.”
Haines Junction went three years without a grocery store before the Little Green Apple opened its doors in December last year.
Malo said the month of October was rough for Atlin residents.
The Trading Post is the community’s only government-licensed liquor vendor, although off-sales are available from the Atlin Mountain Inn.
When the store closed, the Inn’s restaurant followed suit because it gets its groceries from the Trading Post.
“Within a week, four or five people canceled out of the Inn when they heard there was no restaurant or grocery store in town,” Malo said.
“We really instantly felt the impact. Because we’re the third generation here – four if you count the kids – we didn’t want to see that happen.”
Edie Graf, who runs the Inn with her husband Len, said they were happy with the news.
“It’s wonderful for us locals because we shop locally but also for our guests, and the different workers that come in,” she said.
Malo said there are no plans to change the way the store does business.
And business has been brisk so far.
“We’ve been slammed, it’s been amazing,” she said.
Contact Myles Dolphin at


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A model parades a geometric one-piece swimsuit during the Australian Fashion Week in Sydney. The event highlights Australia’s leading apparel designers as well as the up and coming.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 07: A model showcases designs on the catwalk by Roopa Pemmaraju during the Swimwear Fashion Week At RAFW collection show on the fifth and final day of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010/11 at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay on May 7, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. RAFW is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, with more than 100 designers showcasing their collections in 63 shows during the five day event.
A model showcases an outfit by designer Roopa Pemmaraju as part of the Swim Fashion Week on day five of Australian Fashion Week 2010 at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney on Friday, May 7, 2010. Australian Fashion Week showcases the latest spring/summer collection by 68 of Australia’s top fashion designers.


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That situation is part of the reason for the early success in Africa of mobile-phone payment systems such as Kenya’s M-Pesa, which allows users to send each other money using text messages. Koch believes that mobile payments built around Bitcoin could be even more useful. “It’s interesting to see how creative Africans can be about transferring money,” says Koch. “They really think seriously about a cashless society.”
Open-source technology created by the Bitcoin community could be used to create simple mobile apps for payments accessible to almost any phone with a camera, says Koch. Use of smart phones is now growing rapidly in some African countries, particularly Kenya, as prices for models using Google’s Android software have dropped rapidly. He imagines a design similar to the Bitcoin for Android app, which allows one person to transfer bitcoins to another by using a phone to snap a photo of a 2-D bar code or QR code on the screen of another phone. “People could exchange money when they meet on the street,” says Koch.
The decentralized design of Bitcoin means a payment system that uses the currency would easily span national borders and could avoid system-wide outages like those suffered by M-Pesa in December, which left users unable to do business. “All centralized systems have the same problem,” says Koch. “If you rely on it and you don’t have a way to pay, then you are in trouble.”
Tonny Omwansa, an academic at the University Of Nairobi, Kenya, studies payment systems and recently published a book on M-Pesa. “The low financial inclusion, low penetration of formal financial services, and uptake and penetration of mobile phones make mobile payments very valuable,” he says. However, he notes, users currently run the risk of “dependence on a supplier which is monopolistic.”
Mobile payments built on top of Bitcoin’s decentralized design could avoid that risk. But Omwansa says that although he is familiar with Bitcoin, most in Africa are not. “Hardly anyone I know has heard about it,” he says.


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New research shows the effects of this plant-based protein on LDL (or "bad") cholesterol.
Before stocking up on vitamin D supplements, learn what healthcare experts think about these results.
Learn what researchers uncovered in 2022, plus how to reduce your exposure to these common kitchen items.
Not adding more salt to your food after it's cooked may be the key to lowering your risk for CVD.
Dehydration can lead to chronic disease and a shorter lifespan, according to a new study.
The popularity of these supplements will continue to rise with good reason, industry reports suggest.
High C-reactive protein (CRP) levels can signify inflammation and infection, but the right diet can help.
New research links Red 40 food dye—which is found in many popular U.S. foods—to Crohn's disease.
What researchers discovered about beta-carotene supplements may make you think twice before taking them.
Even consuming modest amounts of alcohol could have dire effects on your liver, research suggests.


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One of the world's leading makers of cardiovascular medical devices is setting up its first Asia-Pacific manufacturing facility here.
Biotronik, a privately owned multinational biomedical technology company headquartered in Berlin, will invest a sum in the double-digit millions over the next two to four years in its facility in Kaki Bukit.
It expects to hire more than 200 highly skilled staff for its new plant, which will begin operations in the second half of this year.
Biotronik has had its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore since 2012, but it handled sales and marketing functions.
Besides its manufacturing and corporate base in the German capital, the firm also has manufacturing sites in Switzerland and the US.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
We were missing a stable manufacturing site in Asia. Singapore's stability and highly skilled workforce made it an attractive strategic choice.
MR ERIK TRIP, Biotronik's general manager of Asia-Pacific manufacturing.
The new Singapore site was the result of a decision to increase the company's global manufacturing base and to position itself close to growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Biotronik said.
Components from the Singapore factory will be incorporated globally in vascular intervention products, such as stents.
The Singapore facility will also make cardiac rhythm management devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators and heart failure devices.
"It's important for us to spread operations across the globe, and before this we were missing a stable manufacturing site in Asia. Singapore's stability and highly skilled workforce made it an attractive strategic choice," said Mr Erik Trip, the company's general manager of Asia-Pacific manufacturing.
He did not reveal the exact amount being invested in the site here but said Biotronik has "long- term plans for Singapore" and is also "planning to invest heavily in building up a local workforce".
The company, which has a presence in more than 100 countries, does not have plans to set up production facilities elsewhere in the region.


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Cox/Verizon bundles touch down in the Gulf Coast
Cox Communications and Verizon Wireless have launched their combined offering of cable, phone, Internet and wireless services in the Gulf Coast area, which includes South Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle.
The bundling deal, which was first announced in December of 2011 , allows subscribers to pick their service preferences from a range of offers that include video, Internet, home phone and 4G LTE wireless services.
New and current Cox Communications and Verizon Wireless customers who sign up for services from both companies could be eligible to receive a Visa prepaid debit card valued up to $100, depending on the services they pick. The services are available at Cox Solutions Stores and Verizon Wireless Communications stores in the deployment footprints.
“This new relationship will continue to build upon Cox’s strong brand reputation for video, Internet and home phone services and Verizon Wireless’ national brand identity for its 4G LTE wireless services,” said Jacqui Vines, senior vice president and general manager of Cox’s new Southeast Region. “By working together, our two companies can bolster the value of our services and address our customers’ desires for greater mobility and flexibility in the way they connect with others and use Cox products and services.”
The first cross-promotional effort by Cox and Verizon Wireless took place in Oklahoma in May of last year. Since then Cox and Verizon Wireless have rolled out the bundled service offerings in Arizona, California, Kansas, Nebraska, Northwest Arkansas and the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.
Cox followed in the footsteps of Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, all of which sold their AWS spectrum, through joint venture SpectrumCo, to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion in Dec. of 2011. Cox Communications sold its 20 MHz AWS licenses to Verizon Wireless for $315 million  later in the same month.
Also in 2011, Cox announced it was shuttering its 3G service that was provisioned through Sprint Nextel’s network . Earlier the same year, Cox also abandoned the build-out of its own 3G network  after several years of work.


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Back when offices first started using computers there was the idea that the office of the future would eventually go fully 'paperless', as screens completely took over.
It's a future that's steadfastly refused to materialise. Look at any modern office and you'll see dozens of notepads, and walls and whiteboards literally covered in Post-it notes.
But Samsung's Flip wants to keep the paperless dream alive, with its combination of a large screen, and seamless integration with phones and laptops.
Collaborate with ease
In a demonstration on-stage at CES 2018 Samsung showed off how the digital whiteboard could be used. A screenshot from a laptop's PowerPoint presentation was annotated with an S Pen, before the screen of a phone was beamed to the board in real-time. It was then screenshot and similarly annotated.
The presentation was impressive, but the Flip's utility will ultimately depend on how widely it integrates with other hardware. If every phone, tablet and laptop can beam to the board, then the Flip might deliver on at least some of its promises.
No word yet on pricing, but Samsung promises that the Flip would be available in the US and Europe later in January 2018.
- New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earth!


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Halfway through the year, the business aviation industry has yet to fully recover, J.P.Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol says. "We continue to see mixed signals regarding new demand halfway through the year, calling into question whether 2012 will see a broad-based delivery upturn or only one at the high end," Nadol writes in the company's Business Jet Monthly. "Demand is healthiest for heavy jets and international customers have been most active. China is a leading driver, and Minsheng's recently announced intention to buy 50 Gulfstreams is only the latest evidence of this."
Published in Brief:


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Summer is over and the kids are back in school. All kids need school supplies and here is the amount of money that was spent of school supplies.
$37 billion is what we are spending on school supplies an clothes this year. That is about the same as it was last year. The average family will spend about $864 this year, which is about $15 more than it was last year. There was a report that 75% of parents were stressed about paying more money this year.
“Back-to-school shopping is stressful even in the best economic times,” said Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst at LendingTree. “With inflation running rampant and supply chain issues lingering, these are definitely not the best of times.”
With inflation being high this year some families didn’t spend as much as they have in previous years. Spending only school supplies and clothes has gone up since the pandemic began in 2020. Families have spent $168 more since 2019.
With school already started most parents already have their supplies purchased. If you are looking for more there are ways to save money.
How To Save Money On School Supplies
With the amount of money spent of school supplies being a lot, there is still ways to save money. Only buy what you need right now, so if the kids want that one item not on the list just don’t get it.
An expert also said to use a credit card with rewards or cash-back bonuses. Also, applying for a new credit card with a 0% interest for 12 to 21 months and then paying it off over the course of the year without interest charges.


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You know how Facebook wants to answer the question, “Why would anyone leave their Facebook page?” The platform opened up purchases, facilitated video chat in instant messaging and branched into internal office communications. In 2015, Facebook moved the video marketing mountain, tested new reaction emotions to supercharge the ‘Like’ button and started indexing two billion posts.
Sherry Heyl, a partner in Sensei Project, an Atlanta-based social media agency, included this Facebook summary in her year end post, “The Evolution of Social Media in 2015.”
How Facebook Evolved in 2015
“The year started with algorithm changes that drastically decreased the reach of promotional type posts. Although this impacted all businesses, we focused on how nonprofits and small businesses could adapt.
To ensure a more credible business experience, Facebook also started removing fake profiles that were created by what I will call “Like” farms. Many business saw a drop in Likes on their page which caused some concern, but as we advised to clients, it was good thing that helped increase valuable engagement with real people.
In March, Facebook ripped the inbox out of the mobile app to create the Facebook Messenger App. As we predicted, Messenger is evolving to be it’s own stand alone valuable platfom.
There was an F8 event this year, which is a big deal because Facebook does not host an F8 every year. This is the conference where Facebook let’s everyone knows their goals and ambitions. This year we heard about video, messenger, and virtual reality.
In April we saw how serious Facebook was about video as they crashed YouTube’s 10th birthday with news of their compelling changes to the video platform. We also saw the launch of video chat within the Messenger Platform.
It did not take long for Facebook to declare that they had taken control of the video marketing mountain. In May it was announced that brands were moving the video content to Facebook. YouTube said, but…but…people want to see how-to videos on the YouTube platform.
In July , Facebook began testing the ability to allow people to make purchases straight from business pages, because why would anyone want to leave Facebook.
Facebook is making moves on Twitter’s breaking news territory with Signals, and in the same week broke some news of its own that we may soon have more ways to respond to a post. It seems they are taking a variety of emotions into consideration.
Then Facebook did some hijacking of news, Star Wars news and hype to be exact, by using a Star Wars video to showcase their 360 video capability.
In October Facebook started making moves in the search world by announcing they are going to index the 2 Trillion posts so that they can easily be found (if they are public).
And since everyone is already on Facebook, why not use Facebook to connect and collaborate at work?”


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The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) has released its latest white paper – Advertising Mail: Mail Mix Matters – which outlines the importance of the mail mix in the effectiveness of advertising mail.
According to the report, advertising mail accounted for US$20bn in FY 2017, representing 29% of the total postal service revenue and 58% of total mail volumes. Owing to the importance of advertising mail to the postal service, USPS OIG decided to analyze the factors that enhance its effectiveness.
The white paper revealed that the mail mix matters – when there is a higher non-advertising share of mail, including first class mail and periodicals, a household is more likely to read, react and respond to the advertising mail they receive.
Within first class mail, USPS OIG found that transactions mail such as bills and statements was a more important driver of household reading, reaction and response to advertising mail than correspondence mail such as personal letters.
The study also found that older people are more receptive to advertising mail than younger recipients, and those with a college degree are less likely to read, react and respond to the mail than those with a high school degree.
Coupons were found to significantly increase the reading, reaction and response rate, as was a past business relationship between the mailer and the household. Flats were also more likely to be read and responded to than letters.
The report also revealed how the declining volumes of first class and periodicals could impact advertising mail volumes and therefore the postal service’s revenues: “With continued declines in first class correspondence and transactions mail and Periodicals Mail, the postal service not only risks a loss of revenue from these types of communications, but also risks a loss of revenue if advertising mail becomes less effective. As such, what this analysis shows is that the postal service’s ongoing efforts to maintain other mail, especially first class transactions mail, benefits the postal service in two ways. The first is through the revenue from the mail itself. The second is through the benefit of increasing the effectiveness of advertising mail. In other words, the benefit of what is in the mailbox is greater than the value of its independent parts.”
Read the full report here.


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Over at Macworld, Lex Friedman reports on the latest in the ongoing Lodsys patent soap opera. At the end of May, Lodsys filed suit against seven developers, not including Apple, but Apple has now filed a motion to intervene in Lodsys’s lawsuit as a defendant. It seems clear that Apple is not about to let Mac and iOS developers swing in the breeze, and plans to use its legal might to ensure that developers remain confident that building on top of Apple platforms won’t expose them to patent lawsuits. follow link
Spacebar Magnifies Photos in iPhoto '08
In iPhoto '08, you can choose whether double-clicking on a photo will edit it or magnify it. I prefer my double-clicks to edit photos, but every now and then it's nice to magnify a photo. To do that, even when double-click is set to edit, just select the photo and press the Spacebar.
Apple Moves to Intervene in Lodsys Patent Lawsuit


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- Special Sections
- Public Notices
The Better Business Bureau has released its list of the top consumer issues for September.
BBB Business Reviews now offer more information. BBB Louisville is testing Customer Reviews, which will allow consumers a chance to post comments, positive or negative, that will help others in the search for a business they can trust. BBB will also publish the actual text of customer complaints and business responses as part of each business’s Business Review.
OnlineBusinessScams is falsely charging for BBB complaint resolution services. The company charges consumers an upfront fee of $1,500 to $2,000 for help in collecting money owed from businesses only to forward consumers’ complaints to BBB. One consumer says after he paid fees he received an information packet that included an envelope addressed to the BBB. BBB services are free.
Beware of Sept. 11 scams on social networking sites as the 10-year anniversary passes. Beware of videos that claim to have “exclusive” or “unseen” pictures. They could contain viruses.
September is National Preparedness Month. Be ready and prepare a kit with enough emergency supplies for three days, including water, non-perishable food, first aid supplies, prescriptions, a flashlight, a battery powered radio and anything a pet might need. Designate two locations for the family to meet if there is a disaster, one near home and one away from home. More tips are available at www.ready.gov.
E-mail Hijackers take control of an e-mail account and send e-mails to friends and family members in an address book, telling them about some kind of trouble and asking for money. The hijacker asks the friend or family member to wire the money. Those who receive a “help letter” should call the person directly.
Gas Card Scam — Local consumers are receiving postcards in the mail offering $200 worth of free gasoline. The card asks people to call (866) 556-9682 to claim a free prize. They then ask for a credit card number to pay $2.95 for shipping and handling. This is a scam.
The Check is REAL. Consumers across the country are receiving refund checks totaling $3.2 million. The checks are for people who were sold bogus “auto warranties” that turned out to be extended service contracts. The FTC charged that Transcontinental Warranty hired telemarketer Voice Touch Inc. to hit people with robocalls claiming warranties were about to expire. The calls sounded like they were coming from consumers’ car dealerships or manufacturers.
Auto Scam — Scam artists have successfully “sold” cars online for “too good to be true prices,” for years, claiming they have to sell the car because they are moving overseas or because of military deployment. Now they are also posing as sites like Ebay Motors, offering “buyer protection guarantees” and using live chat to sell vehicles. Beware.
Consumers in various parts of the country are reporting to BBB that they are receiving auto-dial telephone calls on cell and land line telephones with messages telling them their debit cards have been frozen. They are told to press 1 to correct the problem. The consumer is then asked to enter their card number. Consumers are also receiving similar text messages. Do not reply to these. This is an attempt to steal personal information.
Ever receive an e-mail “Advocating your Candidacy for Who’s Who?” The e-mail comes from Continental Broadcasting Network Inc. of New York. The website states that the “offer” is really a sales pitch, and in order to receive any status with this organization, people need to pay a fee for an “award winning” listing. BBB considers this type of organizational sign-up to be misleading.


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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Fluensee Expands On West Coast
Denver, Colorado-based Fluensee, a provider of RFID asset tracking hardware and software, said today that it has opened up a new office in Ontario, California, which will serve as an RFID laboratory for the firm. The company said the new offices will be used to showcase the capabilities of its products to its customers and prospects. The Southern California office will also include technology from parts RF Code, Intelleflex, and Motorola.


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The government has reduced edible oil prices at the retail level – amid their continuous drop in the international market – but there has been no impact on the domestic market even after two days of the announcement.
Retailers say companies have not started supplying low-cost bottled and packaged edible oil despite the announcement. So edible oil bought at higher prices is being sold at the previous rates.
According to officials at edible oil marketing companies, bottling at the new rates has started. The new price labels will also be put on the bottles already on the market. This process takes one or two days.
On Tuesday, grocery stores at different kitchen markets in Chattogram were seen selling bottled soybean oil of different brands, such as Rupchanda, Pusti, Fresh, Teer, and Bashundhara, at Tk199 per litre.
Two litres of bottled soybean oil of Fresh and Teer brands were selling at Tk398 while Rupchanda, Pusti and Bashundhara were at Tk396.
Among five litres of bottled soybean oil, Teer and Rupchanda are being sold at Tk997, while Pusti, Fresh and Bashundhara are at Tk985.
On Sunday, the government slashed the prices of one-litre bottled soybean oil by Tk14 and palm oil by Tk6.
According to the announcement, one litre of bottled soybean was supposed to be sold at Tk185, and 5 litres at Tk910 from Monday. The price of bottled palm oil has been set at Tk152 per litre.
But, surprisingly, the price of five litres of bottled soybean oil sold at present is more than the price set on 6 June.
Nurul Abshar, the proprietor of Jannat Store, a grocery shop in the SS Khaled Road area of the port city, said, "No company has so far offered low-cost bottled soybean oil. Even on Monday, we bought five litres of Teer brand soybean oil at Tk960.
"But according to the new price, its maximum retail price is supposed to be Tk910. As we still have to buy oil at the previous higher price, we are also selling at the previous price," he added.
Nusrat Jahan, a resident of Siraj-Ud-Daula Road in the city, said on Tuesday morning a grocery store asked Tk997 for a five-litre bottle of Rupchanda soybean oil.
"Later, I bought one-litre bottled soybean oil of Fresh brand at the previous price of Tk199," she added.
Mohammad Faizullah, Chattogram Divisional Deputy Director at the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, said, "We visited the factory of an edible oil bottling company today too. The factory has stopped bottling."
"Officials there said they will start bottling oil at the new price once they receive the price reduction instructions from Dhaka," he added.
The deputy director said his office has not received any complaint regarding the sale of edible oil at earlier inflated prices at the retail level.
"We will start drives at the retail level very soon," he added.
Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, Chattogram city president of Concerned Citizens Committee-TIB, has blamed the weaknesses of the regulatory authorities for the practice of overcharging consumers by businesses.
Amitava Chakraborty, an adviser at City Group, the country's top edible oil importer and marketing company, said, "We have started preparations for marketing edible oil at the price set by the government. Consumers will soon get cheaper edible oil in the market. Even the previously overpriced bottles in the market will be fitted with lower price tags."
Earlier on 26 June, the ministry reduced the prices of bottled soybean oil by Tk6 to Tk199 per litre. Prices of soybean and palm oil are dwindling due to their declining prices in the international market.
Bangladesh saw a record price hike of Tk205 per litre of bottled soybean oil recently as the price of the essential commodity spiralled on the global market in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Indonesia ban on its palm oil exports.


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3 Beaten-Down Tech Stocks That Could Be Set for a 2022 Comeback
These last few weeks of 2021 have seen increased market volatility. Along with Omicron fears, the market fluctuations have come just as Wall Street is digesting the fact of a new Fed policy in the New Year, including the tightening up of monetary policy and at least one, probably more, interest rate hikes. The Fed’s easy money has been supportive for the better part of the past decade or more, and investors are rightly wondering how the market will adapt.
Looking ahead, Wedbush’s Daniel Ives is optimistic. The 5-star analyst believes that 2022 will see the tech sector push the NASDAQ to a year-end target of 19K. If he’s right, this will represent a gain of approximately 21% on the index.
A potential gain like that raises the question, where to invest? Ives sees several tech sectors as potential winners next year, including cloud computing and cybersecurity. On the cloud, Ives says, “With currently 43% of workloads on the cloud based on our estimates, we believe by the end of 2022 this figure [$1 trillion TAM] will cross the 50% threshold as more enterprises/governments head towards the cloud.” That will open up plenty of opportunities for sharp-eyed investors.
Network security is other big winner, in Ives’ view. “We believe cyber security budgets will increase 21% in 2022 which is roughly a 100 bps YoY increase from a robust 2021 based on our recent checks.” Again, this is a major increase in a segment that is already in the neighborhood of $180 billion globally. You can’t do digital without security in today’s world.
To help investors get things started, we’ve used the TipRanks platform to pull up details on three tech stocks that offer an intriguing profile: a beaten-down share price, better than 50% upside potential going forward, and a recent Buy rating from a top analyst. Not to mention, all three are rated Strong Buys by the analyst consensus. Here are the details.
Allot Ltd. (ALLT)
Let’s start with Allot, a tech company that straddles the cybersecurity and cloud computing sectors. Allot offers solutions for network intelligence, DOS protection, traffic management, and more, through a SECaaS (security as a service) model on the cloud. Allot boasts over 1 billion users, on networks in more than 100 countries.
The company has had some notable achievements to report in the press recently. At the end of November Allot announced that Poland’s leading mobile operator, Play, has entered an agreement with Allot to provide cyber threat protection for its customers – an important development, as Play has a base of 15 million subscribers. And, just recently, Allot announced that its Network Secure product in Europe blocked 1.7 million phishing attacks on Amazon.com Black Friday customers. It was a notable victory for Allot’s service.
Despite these positive developments, the company’s stock is down 41% from the peak it reached in June of this year. Even though Allot has shown steady growth in its quarterly revenues and earnings throughout the year, the company has reduced its SECaaS revenue guidance for CY21 from $8 million to $4.3 million, and lowered total company revenue projections from $150 million to $146 million.
According to Nehal Chokshi, 5-star analyst from Northland Capital Markets, the depressed share price presents investors with a buy-in opportunity. He writes, “Based on our interviews of ALLT SECaaS customers located in Europe and APAC regions, we believe that CSPs are finding value from ALLT’s SECaaS technology and that end-customers of the CSPs are indeed adopting the ALLT enabled SECaaS technology. Based on input from our interviews, we analytically arrive at a $3B SECaaS revenue opportunity (see Figure 2) for ALLT.”
Chokshi puts an Outperform (Buy) rating on this stock, along with a $23 price target implying a one-year upside of 89%. (To watch Chokshi’s track record, click here.)
Turning now to the rest of the Street, Allot’s Strong Buy consensus rating is based on 4 reviews, with a 3 to 1 split between the Buys and the Hold. The shares are selling for $12.14 and their $18.75 average price target indicates room for 54% growth in the year ahead. (See Allot’s stock analysis at TipRanks.)
Airgain, Inc. (AIRG)
Next up, Airgain, lives in the cellular networking field. The company deals with solutions for wireless tech and connectivity – specifically, the antenna systems needed to connect wireless and mobile devices to the cellular networks. In addition to antenna modules, the company’s product line includes wireless modules and integrated wireless systems.
Airgain’s product lines have found wide applications, even in fields not necessarily on the cutting edge of data networking. The company’s devices are popular in IoT and fixed wireless applications, but also among first responders, public safety departments, and vehicle fleet operators. This is a diverse and wide-ranging customer base, normally a shield against hard times for sales, but Airgain has faced serious headwinds from the well-publicized supply chain disruptions – especially in semiconductor chips.
The result of those headwinds can be seen in recent revenues, which have fallen off Q2 and Q3. The third quarter top line, at $15.4 million, was down almost 11% from Q2. Earnings, which had been running positive, turned negative in the third quarter, to a loss of 11 cents per share. The company’s stock responded accordingly, and AIRG stock, which peaked in February at $28 per share, has slipped 62% from that level.
Looking at Airgain, Craig-Hallum’s 5-star analyst Anthony Stoss sees a chance to get in on the ground floor. He writes, “We believe now is the time to own AIRG as the company is poised to ride multiple tailwinds that will aid growth in existing and new products. While component shortages have affected legacy consumer business revenues in the 2HFY21, shortages are expected to begin to improve in 1Q22. We believe these supply impacts on AIRG’s legacy business have caused the market to overlook the company’s transition from a component provider to an integrated IoT wireless systems provider…. This transition will not only accelerate growth in markets with much larger TAMs, but we believe will lead to a rerate over time as AIRG’s revenue mix changes.”
In line with these comments, Stoss rates the stock as a Buy, and his $16 price target points toward an upside of 50% in 2022. (To watch Stoss’ track record, click here.)
Again, we’re looking at a company with a Strong Buy consensus rating. There are 5 reviews on file for AIRG, with a breakdown of 4 to 1 in favor of Buy over Hold. The average price target is $17.60, suggesting an upside of 65% from the 10.64 current trading price. (See Airgain’s stock analysis at TipRanks.)
Markforged Holding (MKFG)
Last on our list today is a tech company with a potentially disruptive business model. Markforged makes possible on-site production of machine tools, through a combination of software platforms and advanced, industrial-grade, 3D printers. The company’s products can move from part design to part in hand, all on the factory floor – giving manufacturers a vital advantage.
This company took advantage of the rising tide in stocks this year to go public, through a SPAC merger. The business combination with venture capitalist Kevin Hartz’ blank check firm, one, was completed in July and the MKFG ticker started trading on July 15. The deal brought Markforged a total of $361 million in gross proceeds.
In the recent third quarter report for 2021, its second such report as a public company, Markforged showed $24 million at the top line, up 53% yoy. This was accompanied by a 47% yoy increase in gross profit, to $13.7 million. The share price has been falling, some 60% from the SPAC’s peak in February – but this is not unusual; a majority of SPAC transactions see stock prices fall in their first year, before stabilizing and finding a true value.
Troy Jensen, writing on Markforged for Lake Street Capital, sees a tremendous opportunity here for this company – especially in light of supply chain disruptions. He writes, “The stock has been surprisingly weak after reporting solid results, and Markforged was the only additive company to raise 2021 revenue forecasts. We believe the current valuation represents an attractive entry point as we believe supply chain disruptions have benefitted the additive manufacturing industry in the near term. This bodes exceptionally well for Markforged given their engineering-grade printers, industrial quality materials, and innovative software make the best composite parts in the industry.”
These comments back a Buy rating, and a $14 price target implies a robust upside of 157% in the next 12 months. (To watch Jenson’s track record, click here.)
It would seem, from the aggregated reviews, that Wall Street agrees with Jensen on this one – Markforged has a unanimous Strong Buy consensus, based on 4 analyst reports. The shares are priced at $5.45 and the $10.17 average target suggests room for an 87% one-year upside. (See Markforged’s stock analysis at TipRanks.)
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.


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There are a lot of empty anchor stores in American malls these days, especially since major department store chains have continued devouring each other. What to do with these massive empty retail spaces? Well, one possible tenant that doesn’t normally occupy enclosed malls is interested….Costco.
This is great news for consumers, since people really love Costco. However, a warehouse store as an anchor could cause problems for other, smaller stores in the mall.
[H]aving Costco on the scene could be a mixed blessing for other stores in those malls. “Their average store does over $100 million a year in sales, and there aren’t many department stores that can do that, especially in this environment,” Randy Brant, executive vice president at mall owner Macerich Co. (MAC), told Dow Jones. “The only downside is typically a customer making large purchases at Costco will get in their car and head home.”
What do you think? Would a Costco anchoring a shopping mall encourage shopping trips for your family, or cut them short?
Costco shopping-mall push good news for consumers [Consumer Reports Home & Garden]
Costco Sees Malls As The Next Way To Grow Business [Dow Jones] (Thanks, HogwartsProfessor!)


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Paygine is Bidding to Bring Cryptocurrency to the Masses
A quick spotcheck on coinmarketcap.com will tell you that of all cryptocurrency present in the market by value, only around 4-7% is traded daily.
While trading volume is used by market speculative investors in cryptocurrencies, the real value of cryptocurrencies has been largely ignored…
Street-level retail use.
Will we ever see all those billions worth of crypto assets making actual inroads to the common shopping basket?
Will the true fiscal revolution that Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned be realized any time soon?
That is what Paygine is trying to speed up, and in this article we will find out just how.
The current crypto fantasy
When the world started understanding what a cryptocurrency is, the most captivating properties of all were simple promises;
- Cryptocurrencies are digital forms of cash that can be exchanged for goods and services.
- They are encrypted, and it is virtually impossible to fake them.
- They are managed on a peer network and are not centralized, which means they promise high privacy.
- Transferring them is peer-to-peer, fast, efficient and cheap.
- They are borderless, and will soon be the mode of exchange for international trade, replacing fiat currencies.
- The transactions involving them are permanent and immutable, providing high provenance and transparency.
The list is endless.
Cryptocurrencies are just one innovation in decentralized systems. Other innovations that make them possible are even larger in importance. That is the blockchain itself, smart contracts and other digital assets.
Everyone imagined a world where they did not have to pay banks or mobile money service providers for their money to be transferred to a destination they wished.
Hell, no banks would ever shut down with your hard-earned savings.
Was it just a pipe dream?
To date, the truth is that day by day, less than 10% of cryptos are getting traded, meaning that the promise is far from actualization.
The problem with processing speeds
If you are bringing to the world a technology that promises speed and efficiency, you need to develop a way of ensuring that everyone, all 7.5 billion of us, can use it without delays.
Most blockchains fall short of this requirement, and often clog up when a small hike in user activity happens.
Cryptos as commodities
The emergence of the interest of holding cryptocurrency as speculative assets have seen their prices reach dizzying heights in value, because only a fraction of them are available for everyday use. The rest are stashed away in speculative wallets awaiting future redemption at 1000s of percentage appreciation.
Increase in processing fees
When transactions jam a network, fees go up as people try to incentivize faster processing of their transactions.
If one of the promises of cryptocurrencies was to replace the current centralized control of money, then the industry must have been prepared for a titanic battle between cryptos and governments.
In fact, most of the strife in the blockchain market emanates from crackdowns, fake news and bad press from the powers that control the world fiat.
If you want to replace money, you must bring your technology in a way that your two-year-old kid and your octogenarian grandma will understand.
The jury is still out on the numbers, but a good guess is that only about 10% of the developed world population know ofcryptocurrencies. And only a fraction of that actually use them.
But the larger question is, do people even need to know they are using cryptocurrencies running on something called a blockchain? The moment you start a name for anything with a pre-fix denoting difficulty, as in cryptic, then most people simply drift off to their good old ways.
Can Paygine change this?
Simply put, Paygine is an open blockchain that is designed to handle money remittance, act as a crypto exchange, and assist in the payment for “real” goods and services.
Businesses will be able to customize the solutions under their own labels, meaning that Paygine is a white label solution.
The Best2Pay Advantage
One of the more refreshing things about a blockchain being built on an existing and successful business model is the assurance and stability it promises.
The Paygine blockchain is being built on the back of the Best2Pay brand which is owned by Pay Engine Limited.
Best2Pay is a brand that specializes in money transfer, and has already been accredited and registered with Visa and MasterCard. It currently managers a bank-loan portfolio exceeding $18 billion, with a monthly volume in excess of $115 million.
But to keep in line with the ever changing financial sector, the owners of Best2Pay created Paygine in 2017, to leverage the burgeoning cryptocurrency market and try to create street-level solutions necessary for mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
How Paygine intends to disrupt the market
Banks are inherently averse to joining mainstream cryptocurrency markets due to the high risk and volatility of decentralized money. But for the simple reason that they use ripple, a semi-decentralized mass money transfer token, they are not averse to new ideas.
This is what Best2Pay thought when they started creating Paygine to enable international remittances from the US to Mexico using bitcoin.
However, it became clear to the owners that banks would hear none of bitcoin-based remittances. They could not service the exchange that was being proposed.
And that is how big ideas are born. Adversity and War. Best2Pay needed banks, but the existing ones were caught up in the war between fiat and crypto.
But because the company had analysed the legal implications of their intentions, the idea to own their own remittance banks cropped up.
It was envisioned that with their own banks, they could use all the cryptocurrencies they wanted, and curb several global challenges in the process;
- Enable the transfer of crypto to and from a bank card.
- Pay for real goods using a card, in cryptocurrency
- Enable crypto to be a means of exchange for online shopping
- Carry out international money transfer using crypto and therefore minimal cost
- Maintain wallets that can keep and convert fiat and cryptocurrencies
The white label model
The platform wants to provide a back-end solution to businesses that in turn provide its services to the masses.
This is what is known as white label model. Companies will use their own tokens and their own banking cards to allow customers access the platform and trade.
What is needed to achieve this?
If the platform has to buy a bank, they surely need money. The crypto enthusiasts like you and me are the main type of investors that can hear this dream and invest in it through crowdfunding.
Since the platform will run using the PGC (Paygine Coin) as the fuel, the company has decided to issue the PGN in a pre-ICO and an ICO sale.
The company is already through with the pre-ICO and the Private Sale,and are now in the crowdsale, which runs from 18th of June 2018 to 18th of August 2018.
The PGN total availability is 151,750,000 tokens. Of that, 28% is up for grabs, with a price of $1 for 1.3 PGN.
Participating in the ICO is easy as simply signing up, going through the AML/KYC routine, and either paying for the crypto directly using Eth or BTC or via bank transfer in USD.
Best2Pay has current partnerships with such institutions as the Home Credit Bank, MC Bank Rus, Vostochny Bank, Absolut Bank and Centelem. But these are mainly clients for their fiat-based business.
For them to incorporate the cryptocurrency angle into the already existing business model, Paygine plans to acquire a bank each from Europe and the Carribean.
This will be pivotal to the model, and about 65% of all funding will go towards this goal.
The platform will then embark on fine-tuning the Paygine services to ensure that we all get to use the platform for our daily business. They will do this by ensuring that their services;
**Are simple, fast and efficient; **such that you can be able to start accepting global payments within one day of set up, and your customers can have simple interfaces and an online wallet that is easy to use and convert cash into local fiat and back.
Are global; By integrating fiat transfer and crypto interoperable wallets, Paygine will make crypto use and transfer easy and cheap, and available all over the world.
Are safe; after achieving the highest level of compliance in international standards like PCI DSS, the platform has the assurance that the security of funds is high.
Finally, a solution is proposed that solves one of the biggest problems cryptocurrencies and blockchains in general are facing.
Paygine intends to bring easy co-existence between cryptocurrencies and fiat currency in the same wallet.
While this will introduce crypto to most real-world uses, it will also make even international fiat currency transfers cheap and efficient.
If the platform succeeds in creating an easy, safe and friendly payment system that allows crypto to be used in stores and online, they will truly have created a great impact in the liberalization of digital currencies.


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A new update is now available for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End players can get a free hat and take part in Classic Mode this weekend.
Team-based shooter Paladins is now free-to-play on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
A few details about Remedy Entertainment's upcoming game, Project 7, have been revealed.
Arkane Studios president Ralph Colantonio has explain why there's no demo for Prey on PC.
Activision has released a new video comparing a remastered level from the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy to its original version.
Blizzard is making balance tweaks to Overwatch's Reinhardt, Soldier 76, Hanzo, and more.


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11.20.19Garden 79 Restaurant & Bar Welcomes Winter
The recently opened Hilton Garden Inn Budapest City Centre’s Garden 79 Restaurant & Bar introduced its new menu for the winter season to press today.
09.26.19Hilton Garden Inn Shakes Up Its Cocktail Menu with the Help of Judy Greer, Award-Winning Actress and Star of Hotel Brand’s Ad Campaign
Judy has worked with Hilton Garden Inn since 2017 as the star of its ad campaign and has now joined forces with the hotel brand on the delicious cocktail.
08.01.19Hilton Hotels in Malaysia Launch Mooncake Series for Mid-Autumn Festival
To celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, Hilton hotels in Malaysia launched a new gift box offering, the Celestial Blooms mooncake series
06.04.19Hilton Garden Inn is Staying Sharp for National Cheese Day and Brie-yond
Some may say “you got to brie-kidding me” that there’s actually a national day dedicated to the ultimate comfort food – cheese – and rightfully so!


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Speedy Brits may be able to bag themselves a free holiday on Ryanair.
The budget airline is looking for someone to join with its Customer Advisory Panel to inform them of how they can improve the experience of its passengers.
Eight successful applicants will be asked to attend a meeting in October, in a European city. The budget airline will offer free flights and two nights at a hotel for the applicants and a plus one.
READ MORE: New Legoland larger set to be 'biggest in Europe' opening in 2027
Basically, it's the perfect excuse to explore a new city with your date, partner or pal.
Ryanair stated on the website: "Thanks to the feedback from customers just like you, we’re continually finding ways to improve our customer experience and make flying as simple as it can be.
"Our Customer Advisory Panel, which launched last year, has already helped us develop a range of new improvements including the Day of Travel App, myRyanair Wallet, Digital Self-Service Hub and a whole new range of upcoming initiatives.
"Our next Customer Advisory Panel meeting will take place mid-October and we’d love you to be a part of it."
It continued: "If you’ve got lots of ideas on how we can do even better for our customers and would like to join our panel, just let us know!
"We'll look after flights and 2 nights of hotel accommodation for you and a friend in a fab European city."
The airline hasn't yet revealed which European city will be on offer – all it's revealed is that the panel will take place in mid-October.
You can already apply on ryanair.com/gb/en/Customer-Panel – this is also where you can find the full T&Cs.
The application is pretty simple, as you just need to fill out a questionnaire about your flight habits, what you know about Ryanair and other travel questions.
The online form closes on September 12, and entrants will be told if they're successful by September 19.
You can get paid to try pina colada afternoon tea in a fancy Lake District hotel
'We landed dream £620-a-month gig in Maldives with no rent for a year – it's paradise'
Flight attendant reveals what to wear to get a FREE flight upgrade – and it's NOT designer
Globetrotter reveals 'simple' hack to get free flight upgrades – and it works
Source: Read Full Article


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Ford to build Euro-developed 2011 Focus at two U.S. plants
With Ford'slong-awaited announcement last week thatits next-generation, U.S.-marketFord Focuswill finally be built on the same vehicle architecture as itsEuropean and Asian counterparts,speculationhas begun as to where the new Focus will be built.
The new, 2011Focus will likely begin its production run in late 2010 at Ford's Wayne, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky, plants, according to a report by Automotive News.At present, the Wayne Plant produces all North American Focus models. In addition to the new Focus, other European models, such as the C-Max, could be built at Wayne as well. The Louisville plant builds Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, and will likelyhave to be re-tooled to build the Focus. Building the new car in the U.S. rather than Europe should help profit margins on this side of the pond, as well as strengthen Ford's global product lineup plans.
Sources close to Ford have revealed future plans calling for aincreased annual production of around 280,000 units, up from the 173,213 examples built in 2007. Even with Ford'soverall salesfigures dropping significantly, recent numbers indicate that salesof the fuel-efficient Focus are up 35 percent compared to last year. This increase in demand has pushed Ford to speed up Focus assembly lines, boost overtime shifts and ramp-up production for the third time in 2008.
The 2011 Focus will be developed in Europe and will be offered in sedan and five-door hatchback versions. Much of it will be shared in common with other worldwide variants, per Ford CEO Alan Mulally's plan to shift towardsglobalized models. Also inline with Mulally's business philosophy is the introduction of new vehicles every three years versus the previous five-year cycle. Ford hopes the shorter model lifespan will helpthe automaker keep brand excitement high andits model lineup fresh.
Ford promises the 2011 Focus will be extremely fuel efficient through the use of a direct-injection engine and an all-new six-speed transmission. No word on if the Team RS will make the jump stateside as well, but sadly we're not holding our breath.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)


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Retail Sales in U.S. Probably Fell for Second Month as Economy Moderated
Retail sales in the U.S. fell in June for a second month and industrial production cooled, signs the expansion will moderate in the second half, economists said before reports this week.
Purchases fell 0.3 percent after a 1.2 percent decline in May, according to the median estimate of 59 economists in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of figures due July 14. Production at factories, mines and utilities declined 0.1 percent last month, the Federal Reserve may report the next day.
Target Corp. and Gap Inc. were among retailers whose sales in June trailed forecasts as limited hiring and reduced housing wealth restrain spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy. Few price pressures and signs of slower growth encouraged Fed policy makers last month to renew a pledge to hold interest rates close to zero.
“Consumer spending is subdued and economic growth isn’t going to be as strong as we’ve had,” said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “With employment still weak and asset prices under pressure, the drumbeat of downbeat news is holding things down. Inflation isn’t an issue for the Fed.”
The Commerce Department’s retail sales report will show purchases excluding automobiles were unchanged last month, according to the survey median.
Auto sales fell to an annual pace of 11.1 million vehicles last month from May, industry data showed. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., the two largest U.S. automakers, reported lower-than-anticipated sales.
European Debt Crisis
Europe’s debt crisis, which has pushed share prices lower and shaken consumer and business confidence, poses a risk to the U.S. recovery. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has fallen 11 percent from its April 23 high. The S&P Supercomposite Retailing gauge is down 20 percent from this year’s peak on April 26.
“Less supportive” financial conditions were cited by Fed officials on June 23, when they reaffirmed forecasts for a “moderate” pace of growth and kept interest rates unchanged. Minutes of the meeting are due on July 14, and policy makers will also release their updated economic forecasts.
The outlook for household spending also reflects the waning of government incentives such as rebates to buy energy-efficient appliances that spurred retail sales earlier this year.
While an industrywide measure of sales at stores open at least a year rose in June for the 10th consecutive month, results trailed analysts’ estimates. Sales last month at 30 chains rose 3.1 percent after a 2.7 percent gain in May, Retail Metrics Inc. said on July 8. Analysts estimated a 3.5 percent increase.
Target, American Eagle
Minneapolis-based Target, the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, reported a gain that included strong demand for food and clothing and “particularly soft” purchases of electronics and music.
Teen clothing chain American Eagle Outfitters Inc. posted a drop from a year earlier compared with forecasts for an increase, and said weak sales necessitated deeper promotions. Sales were unchanged at Gap, the San Francisco-based owner of Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores.
“June was a difficult month with lighter traffic than we anticipated,” Gap’s Chief Financial Officer Sabrina Simmons said in a July 8 statement.
Department stores fared better last month as price cuts and record high temperatures on the East Coast pushed more shoppers into air-conditioned malls. Nordstrom Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and Macy’s Inc. topped analysts’ average estimates.
Consumer Spending Forecast
Economists trimmed projections for consumer spending this year, to an average of 2.4 percent from 2.5 percent a month ago, according to a Bloomberg monthly survey taken July 1 to July 8. They also marked down the 2010 growth estimate and said the jobless rate, which reached a 26-year high of 10.1 percent in October 2009, will average 9.6 percent this year.
Manufacturing, which has fueled the recovery that began in the middle of 2009, also is settling into a more sustainable pace as companies see less need to rebuild inventories and wait for demand to strengthen.
Economists forecast a July 15 report from the Fed will show a drop in industrial production in June after a 1.3 percent surge the previous month.
Inflation receded in June, Labor Department reports are forecast to show. The consumer price index declined 0.1 percent in June after falling in May, according to the Bloomberg survey before the July 16 report. Excluding food and energy, core consumer prices rose 0.9 percent from the same month in 2009, matching the smallest year-over-year gain since 1966, the survey showed.
Bloomberg Survey ============================================================== Release Period Prior Median Indicator Date Value Forecast ============================================================== Trade Balance $ Blns 7/13 May -40.3 -39.0 Retail Sales MOM% 7/14 June -1.2% -0.3% Retail ex-autos MOM% 7/14 June -1.1% 0.0% Import Prices MOM% 7/14 June -0.6% -0.4% Business Inv. MOM% 7/14 May 0.4% 0.3% Empire Manu. Index 7/15 July 19.6 18.0 PPI MOM% 7/15 June -0.3% -0.1% Core PPI MOM% 7/15 June 0.2% 0.1% Ind. Prod. MOM% 7/15 June 1.3% -0.1% Cap. Util. % 7/15 June 74.1% 74.2% Philly Fed Index 7/15 July 8.0 10.0 CPI MOM% 7/16 June -0.2% -0.1% Core CPI MOM% 7/16 June 0.1% 0.1% Core CPI YOY% 7/16 June 0.9% 0.9% U of Mich Conf. Index 7/16 July P 76.0 74.0 ==============================================================


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I Was Uber-Boat Passenger Zero
The Drive bags an exclusive water crossing in Miami with the taxi-industry disruptor.
Uber has pulled off another grand marketing stunt, and it might just be their best idea since the brand decided to become a verb. The company has decided to add floating to its ever-expanding phone-enabled menu.
Uber Boat Miami was created, in the words of Kasra Moshkani, general manager of Uber of South Florida, to address the “pain points” felt by their customers during the snarling bacchanalian logjam known as Art Basel Miami Beach, which just so happens to be transforming the city into an exhaust flume this weekend.
The connective tissue between Miami and Miami Beach is a series of causeways and bridges, with no viable public-transportation infrastructure workarounds. Consequently, hours of valuable sightseeing, high-heel teetering and champagne-chugging time are squandered during Art Basel, as attendees wriggle between the Beach and the Mainland. Since the city is surrounded (and slowly being subsumed) by myriad waterways, boats seemed like a floaty panacea. Also, Uber likes to surprise its users with fun shit. “We want to make it feel like magic,” Moshkani says.
The new, temporary feature is being launched Dec. 3, and is the product of a three-way partnership. Uber provided the app and algorithms and electronic infrastructure. The real estate developers Related Group provided the waterfront landing pad at its immense Paraiso luxury complex, under construction in Edgewater—near the fashionable Wynwood and Design District neighborhoods. And Stella Artois will provide a cheery amber inducement to seasickness at either end of the route.
The boats will, like Uber’s cars, be operated by various independent owners—fleets, taxi services, charters. “It’s a great way to take advantage of all these boats we have here,” says Carlos Rosso, president of Related. “And it’s a great way to take advantage of the water. It makes this part of Miami like a little Venice.”
The service is a trial run to explore possibilities. And so is the pricing. Tap on Uber Boat this weekend if you’re in the Boat Zone on the Beach or the Mainland, and enter your distant destination, and a car will pick up you and five friends and take you to the dock. Then one of six boats will cross Biscayne Bay, and a car on the other end will shuttle you to your final destination. All for $35—total, not per rider, including beer. Bienvenido a Miami, baby.
Uber has a history of rolling out experiments like this into actual app features. Uber Eats, which offers a limited menu of lunch or dinner entrees available for bicycle or messenger delivery within five minutes of an order, started this way. As did Uber Family, which provides cars suitable for children and adults, and includes vehicles equipped with kiddie seats.
We were over near Wynwood and had to get back to our hotel on South Beach on Wednesday afternoon, the day before the official launch, so we decided it might be worthwhile to be passenger zero on the first ever Uber Boat Miami. The Venetian Bridge, the most direct paved artery, is closed for a $12.4 million upgrade. And the Tuttle Causeway was an inter-coastal parking lot. “Magic” might be an overstatement, but the 20-minute ride across the water in a luxury cabin cruiser, even in a tropical downpour, was definitely a compelling mobility solution, and a lovely way to get a clearer sense of the city’s geography.
“It’s a lot nicer to take a boat ride than a car ride,” Rosso said on his company’s dock before we boarded the boat. He pointed at the serene and empty waterway. “Do you see any traffic on Biscayne Bay? Now, look at Biscayne Boulevard.”


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Read the full content or go through the digital publication
We are living in a scripted world that is being increasingly generated, driven and governed by data. Algorithms scan data from various sources in search of patterns that reveal something about our future selves.
Using the slogan “Shifting Patterns – The Rise of Dataism”, this year’s IFA+ Summit is taking a close- up look at the growing power of data, the ensuing responsibilities and the potential dangers to present social structures.
The subject matter of the IFA+ Summit is covered by four clusters: “Society”, “Interaction”, “Intelligence” and “Experience”. The IFA+ Summit is IFA’s future forum, and its many international speakers deliver a preview of the development of disruptive technologies in the digitally interconnected future.
A broad range of internationally renowned experts are discussing the risks and opportunities presented by data use. Whether it be a former advisor to the White House and NATO, or consultants to leading businesses such as Amazon and Microsoft, these speakers will be offering a well-founded overview of the “brave new world” of dataism. They will anticipate future results from various angles that are ahead of us – the good and the potentially bad.
Since 2014 the IFA+ Summit has served as the think tank for IFA, the world’s leading show for consumer and home electronics. This year more than ever, it will play a key role in setting a course for a better future for the industry… and the world.


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NEW DELHI: At 48 billion, India accounted for the largest number of worldwide real-time transactions in 2021 , almost three times that of nearest challenger China ( 18 billion), and 6.5 times greater than the US, Canada, UK
, France and Germany combined, according to a report by ACI Worldwide
For India, the growing acceptance of UPI-based mobile payment apps and QR code payments among merchants, combined with the increased use of digital payments
during the Covid-19 pandemic helped real-time payments secure 31.3% of total payments transaction volume in 2021.
With consumers leapfrogging traditional payment cards and increasingly abandoning cash for mobile-based real-time payments the country's real-time payments share of total global payments volume is poised to soar to over 70% by 2026.
"For India specifically, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, real-time payments resulted in estimated cost savings of $12.6 billion for Indian businesses and consumers in 2021 – which helped to unlock $16.4 billion of economic output which represents 0.56% of the country’s GDP or the output of approximately 2.5 million workers," said Ankur Saxena, country leader, India and South Asia, ACI Worldwide.
Cebr predicts that the share of real-time payments of the total payments volume will rise to over 70% in 2026 – with net savings for businesses and consumers forecast to rise to $92.4 billion, helping to generate an additional $45.9 billion of economic output, equivalent to 1.12% of India's formal GDP.
According to the research, governments who advance real-time modernization of their national payments infrastructure create a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the payments ecosystem: Consumers and businesses benefit from fast, frictionless and hyper-connected payments services; financial institutions future-proof their business in a highly competitive environment by speeding up cloud-first and data-centric modernization; and national governments boost economic growth, reduce the size of their shadow economy, and create a fairer financial system for all.
More striking for India is that, according to Cebr, if all payments were real-time, the theoretical impact could result in GDP soaring by 3.2%. This does not imply there is no longer place for non-instant electronic payments or paper-based payments.
“India is the poster child for real-time payments and a shining example of how a coordinated, collective, nationwide effort can unlock huge economic and social potential” said Ankur Saxena, Country Leader – South Asia, ACI Worldwide.Why and how has India emerged as the poster child of real time payments?
ACI’s research shows that governments who advance the real-time modernization of their national payments infrastructure create a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the payments ecosystem.
In India’s case, global status comes from: A government determined to drive the nation towards a digital economy and a cashless society through a series of infrastructure and structural initiatives.
In 2016, demonetisation rationalised the currency, and saw a significant increase in digital and cashless transactions throughout the country, as consumers looked for non-traditional means to access and deposit funds.
A consolidated payments framework and ecosystem built around a simple, convenient, mobile friendly application (UPI
) developed and overseen by the national body for regs and standards (NPCI) - allowed them to do that.
∙ Buy in and adoption by the nation’s top financial institutions
∙ A large and innovative population that helped the country rapidly achieve real-time payments critical mass - and
∙ Like other nations, a global pandemic that accelerated the shift to real-time
“In India, payments are increasingly becoming embedded into non-financial digital apps and services, with customers looking for a hyper-connected, frictionless user experience” said Jeremy Wilmot,Chief Product Officer, ACI Worldwide.Growth trends:
In 2021, 181,261 million real-time transactions were made globally, a YoY growth of 64.5% - set to climb to 427,670 million transactions in 2026.
The 5 countries with the highest volume of real time payment transactions in 2021 were:
1) India 48,605 million,
2) China 18,549 million,
3) Thailand 9,734 million,
4) Brazil 8,691 million,
5) South Korea 7,351 million
The 5 countries forecast to see the highest CAGR by 2026 in real-time payment transactions are:
1) Pakistan 160.7%
2) Croatia 83.7%
3) Peru 80.7%
4) Argentina 66.3%
5) Belgium 66.2%
Growth by Region by CAGR by 2026: South & Central America is predicted to see the fastest growth in real time payment transactions, with a CAGR of 51.3% by 2026; followed by Middle East, Africa & South Asia 32.6%, North America 30.2%, Europe 23%, Asia-Pacific 15%Consumer Payments Modernization:
Over half of consumers worldwide now own and use a mobile wallet: The number rose to 52.7% in 2021, up 12.1% in the two years since 2019 (Covid-19 impact), and up 33.8% since 2018Fraud Trends
Digital wallet account hacks have increased along with consumer adoption – in 2021, cases rose to account for 7.3% of total fraud
Identity theft and confidence trickery are on the rise, accounting for 12% and 14.4% respectively of fraud cases in 2021.
Cases of card details being stolen online are falling – 2021 saw a slight decrease in cases from 17.5% in 2020 to 16.9% in 2021.
Also falling are cases of card details being stolen or skimmed in person – 2021 saw a 0.5% decrease in cases from 15.5% in 2020 to 15% in 2021.
The reduction in cards being stolen or skimmed can be attributed to two factors: several new competitive solutions and a declining share of the overall payment mix – both culminating in less cards being used, and a subsequent drop in fraud.
"Digital payments In India continue to innovate. Real-time payments are expanding market share, while card-based schemes have seen new competitive solutions such as tokens, QR codes, and digital wallets chip away at their dominance in the traditional electronic payments space. To put that in perspective, our research shows 88.5% of adults have a mobile wallet and have used it within the last year. Meanwhile, the electronic payments share of the market is predicted to decline from 10.1% in 2021 to 8.1% by 2026. Add to this the advances in fraud detection technologies, like AI and ML, and the coordinated efforts of government and financial institutions to protect customers – then it’s no surprise the effect is a reduction in fraud," said Saxena.Despite the emergence of real time payments, why has cash in circulation still seen a rise?
Cash remains a comfortable payment means for many Indians, especially the elderly, market traders, and individuals who sell to co-operatives and aggregators - and it still commands a respectable 58.1% of the total payments market. That said, seismic shifts are underway. "Our research predicts that by 2026, cash will make up only 21% of the total payments mix, with real-time payments accounting for the lion’s share at 70.7%," added Saxena.What is the co-relation between GDP and real time payments?
ACIs 's research with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, assesed the economic impact of real-time payments on 30 economies around the world and it found a correlation between real-time payments and economic growth: By allowing for the transfer of money between parties within seconds rather than days, real-time payments improve overall market efficiencies in the economy, and improve liquidity in the financial system. For instance, workers are paid quickly, allowing them to better plan their finances. Instant payments allow businesses to be more flexible and reduce the need for burdensome cashflow management.What does it mean for the fintech space?
"India’s meteoric rise in real-time payments has unleashed a flood of innovation across the country and this is only going to increase. The country’s real-time payments are currently low value transactions, but as the market matures, we’ll begin to see even more innovation, and sophisticated solutions such as BNPL, POS, and B2B - as well as larger transaction and cross border payments. The upcoming bilateral real-time payment cross border agreement with Singapore, and UAE payments corridor are great examples of this," said Saxena.Other key highlights:
Globally, more than 118 billion transactions were processed in 2021, a YoY growth of 64.5% with this number set to climb to 427 billion transactions by 2026.
Emerging economies are outpacing developed nations when it comes to real-time growth and the associated economic benefits.
In 2021, there were 92.9 billion real-time payments made across the five top real-time payments markets - India, Brazil, China, Thailand, and S. Korea – this is forecast to grow to 356.9 billion by 2026 – a CAGR of 30.9%
Leading developed nations, US, Canada, UK, France, and Germany, lag emerging economies and are losing out on economic growth - 7.5 billion real-time payments were made across these countries in 2021 and forecast to grow 20.9 billion by 2026 – a 22.7% CAGR.
The combined real-time volume helped facilitate $7.3 billion of additional economic output in 2021 – forecast to rise to $14 billion in 2026.
In the Middle East, Africa, and S. Asia, real-time payments will account for 80% of all electronic payments by 2026, while the EU’s and US’ trajectories sit at 12.7% and 4.67%, respectively.


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Here's what Apple is doing about its first annual sales decline in 15 years
You wouldn’t expect the world’s most successful company not to be thinking seriously about what it should do next. Here are two things. First, Apple has all but abandoned the self-driving electric car project as a stand-alone piece of Apple hardware, slashing up to half the workforce, replacing the division head and cutting the budget significantly. There will also be a strategic review at the end of 2017, at which time a decision on Project Titan, as it is called, will be made. CEO Tim Cook dodged questions on the call, but an analysis of the self-driving car plan raises a long list of questions. Principal among them is this: who pays for the car? Remember, under the taxi/uber/hire car model, the car in which you ride is brought to you by the driver that pays for it. Take out the driver, and the car goes too, as we have previously noted. Second are the moves Apple is making in augmented reality. A few very well connected commentators have noted that the new iPhone 7 camera has two lenses.


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According to a recent report, Chevrolet is considering an El Camino revival to battle high gas prices.
According to a recent report, Chevrolet is considering an El Camino revival.
While nothing has been approved, GM vice president Mark Reuss stated that increasing gas prices has Chevrolet looking at the possibility of offering a lighter, car-based pickup like the Holden Ute. He added, "I've lived in Australia and I've seen where fuel prices are $5 a gallon. Lots of tradesmen will use a ute with a tray on the back to do lots of different things. They don't need the bandwidth of a big pickup truck."
No time frame was given, but it seems likely that GM would wait to launch the model until the redesigned Commodore / Ute is unveiled in 2013 or 2014.


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Trippie Redd promotes individuality in his enigmatic twenty-piece collection with collaborator, boohooMAN.
Sky Ferreira features in the brand new campaign from Italian eye wear brand Persol and A.P.C.
SEVEN WONDERS… musical marriages
What with news of two oldie-VS-relative-newie pop collaborations dropping today – Lana Del Rey has announced she will team up with burly blues behemoth Bobby Womack and Daft Punk with electro path-forger Giorgio Moroder – we thought it best to list our seven favourite musical marriages… (1) Thom Yorke x Bjork = “I’ve Seen It […]
Sir Peter Blake × Fred Perry
Eunice Jera Lee sits down with one of the most iconic pop artists of the 1960s to discuss his latest collection for Fred Perry. Sir Peter Blake’s collaboration with the British brand was celebrated at the launch last Thursday.


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NELSONVILLE, Ohio – The Board of Directors for Rocky Brands, Inc., announced today that Jason Brooks has been elected President, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Executive Officer for the company, effective immediately.
Brooks has experience in every facet of Rocky Brands business, interning in the footwear factories early in his career through serving most recently as the President – Core Market Groups since February 2016. He also served as Senior Vice President, U.S. Wholesales and Vice President, Sales. He began working in the company’s corporate leadership in 2001 after 10 years in the field as a Sales Representative.
A graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College, he succeeds his father, Mike Brooks, in the President and CEO role. Mike Brooks will remain Chairman of the Board and serve as an advisor to the CEO for the remainder of 2017.
“The Board of Directors and I are extremely confident that with Jason as our CEO, the Company will return to sustained profitable growth, through successful execution of our strategic initiatives,” said Mike Brooks. “I look forward to working closely with him, as he steps into this new role.”
Jason Brooks is the fourth member of the Brooks family to serve as Rocky’s top executive. William and F.M. Brooks founded the company in 1932, and Rocky has maintained its corporate headquarters in Nelsonville, Ohio ever since.
Jason Brooks was born and raised in Nelsonville and remains devoted to the community and the larger Southeastern Ohio region. He and his wife, Kristi, currently live in Logan, Ohio and have two children: William, 20, and Weston, 16.
About Rocky Brands, Inc.
Rocky Brands, Inc. is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of premium quality footwear and apparel marketed under a portfolio of well recognized brand names including Rocky®, Georgia Boot®, Durango®, Lehigh® and the licensed brand Michelin®. For more information, visit www.RockyBrands.com.


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Image via Wikipediacar batteries, cellphones, lasers and computers is stoking alarm that its domination of the industry could give it enhanced leverage over the United States.
On Thursday, some traders of "rare earths," 17 minerals that are used in small portions in almost every advanced industrial product, reported that China, which controls 97 percent of the industry, had halted the export of anything that contained traces of the minerals to Japan. The Chinese government denied the allegation.
Read more ....
More News On China's Control Over 'Rare Earths'
China Is Blocking Minerals, Executives Say -- New York Times
Japan sees Chinese ban on mineral exports -- Financial Times
Traders: China halts rare earth exports to Japan -- AP
Japan traders say China blocking rare earths exports -- AFP
Japan trade min hears China rare earth exports halted -- Reuters
China 'places unofficial ban' on key metals exports to Japan -- The Telegraph
China Denies Japan Rare-Earth Ban Amid Diplomatic Row -- Washington Post
China denies ban on rare earths exports to Japan -- AP
A Speculative Rare Earth Power Play -- RTT News
Why Japan Cares About Rare Earth -- Wall Street Journal
China Blocks Minerals Needed by Toyota's Hybrid Cars -- Live Science


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Canada’s economic recovery expected to slow
July 27, 2010
By Mary Del
The current pace of Canada’s economic recovery is expected to ease in the second half of 2010, according to the Conference Board of Canada‘s Summer 2010 Canadian Outlook. Increased consumer confidence and spending, along with increased government spending, led the recovery in the first part of the year, which helped to bolster construction and job growth. The economic recovery has also boosted sales for businesses, helping to rebuild profits. However, the Conference Board says that the current pace of domestic spending is unsustainable, as it has been outpacing income since the recovery began in the third quarter of 2009. Households will need to slow down their spending to below income gains over the coming quarters, the Conference Board explains.
Real gross domestic product is expected to advance by 3.6 percent in 2010 – 0.4 points higher than forecast in the Spring Canadian Outlook. The Conference Board forecasts that the pace of economic recovery will slow to the 2.5 percent range by mid-2011, and 2.9 percent by the end of 2011, with a slightly better performance expected by 2012.
This forecast remains dependent on a modest recovery in the United States. The Conference Board says that, while Americans have loosened their purse strings, the recovery is still quite fragile and will remain so until we see stronger employment and income gains in the U.S., which will have a positive impact on Canadian exports.
Recovery in Canadian exports is already under way, led by a surge in auto and parts exports that is helping to resuscitate the manufacturing sector in Canada, according to the Conference Board. Despite the Board’s expectations of a slow recovery in U.S. consumer spending, real auto and parts exports will expand by nearly $19 billion this year, thanks to vehicle sales in the U.S. recovering from the rock-bottom levels registered in 2009. Overall, real export volumes are expected to expand by 7.7 percent this year, and 6.2. percent in 2011.
- Nissan recalls 51,000 cars in Canada and the U.S.
- Double-dip recession not in store for Canada, CIBC says