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We all know (or we should be expected to realize) that leaving a dog in a hot car is not only cruel, but illegal and possibly sociopathic.
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Honda invests $215 million into Ohio to create new training centers and a historical center.
Honda has surpassed 1 million hybrid vehicle sales worldwide as of the end of last month.
The 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid achieves 50 mpg city.


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China’s largest retailer, JD, is preparing to showcase its autonomous delivery solutions at the annual CES event, which starts tomorrow in Las Vegas, USA. (See video below.)
This will be JD’s debut at the world’s largest consumer electronics show.
JD has launched two smart delivery stations in the cities of Changsha and Hohhot, in China, strengthening the e-commerce giant’s autonomous logistics capabilities. [Read more…] about China’s largest retailer to showcase autonomous delivery solutions at CES

domain: news


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Salesforce, the global cloud computing company, a talent hub in Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM), has recently selected Arundhati Bhattacharya as a chairperson and chief executive in their company. She was a former chairperson of ‘The State Bank of India’ and served there for about four decades. She will be joining the company on April 20 of its India division.
Gavin Patterson, the President and CEO of the Salesforce International, has expressed his tremendous pleasure as Arundhati Bhattacharya will take the responsibility of the post- chairperson and CEO of India. In his statement, he has opined that “Arundhati is an incredible business leader” whose adept leadership will guide properly to the development of the success rate of the customers as well as the investment in the region of India.
As the Salesforce company is potential in its activities, it is expected that 3,000 jobs may be created in India within the next three years. As a result, the India nation can be turned into a leading global innovation center.
Moreover, the IDC research firm reports that the company and its ecosystem of clients and partners in India are predicted to earn over $67 billion in business revenues and create more than 540,000 jobs opportunity within the 2024 year. As it has a bright future, Arundhati Bhattacharya feels very excited and pleasure by getting the responsibility of chairperson and CEO of the company as well as she expects that she can contribute to India’s growth and development in a successful and meaningful way.


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The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
In this Friday, March 24, 2017, photo, a Samsung Galaxy S8 mobile phone is shown partially submerged to demonstrate its water resistance, in New York. The Galaxy S8 features a larger display than its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, and sports a voice assistant intended to rival Siri and Google Assistant. (AP/Richard Drew)
Samsung Electronics‘ Galaxy S8 is facing complaints from some customers saying that the display panels of their new phones have a reddish tint.
A number of customers who preordered the Galaxy S8 wrote on online communities that their new phones have a reddish screen that did not improve even after correcting the color display settings.
One user said, “After I read articles that there are many reddish panels, I checked mine. I was also unlucky. Should I change it?”
Samsung Electronics‘ Galaxy S8 is facing complaints from some customers saying that the display panels of their new phones have a reddish tint.(The Korea Herald/File)
Posting a photo of his new device, another asked, “Can you please check mine, whether this is too red or not?”
Samsung said, "It is not a quality problem and it can be adjusted with the phone itself. If the color still appears to be reddish, customers can change it at the service center."
However, some users still claimed they were not able to adjust the color because the display panel was already optimized.
"Samsung uses deep red technology to have color balance for Galaxy S8. It seems they were not able to adjust the color balance well because they were in a hurry to mass produce them," said an industry watcher.
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BY Zainab Oyekan
Dr Martin Adejo, a medical expert, has attributed grey hair in people to genetic, stress, disease and some vitamin deficiencies.
Adejo responded to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey on grey hair in Jos on Friday.
He said that some people could have grey hair very early in life from their primary or post primary schools but that did not imply they were diseased.
“I said earlier, grey hair on young people could be as a result of genetic trend, stress due to type of life or work engaged in by the young person, lack of vitamins or disease, to be cock sure, medical checks are needed,” he said.
Adejo said that growing of grey hair should not be a worrisome trait to anyone once medically certified sound, people should take the growth as a new trend .
“Getting worried over growing grey hair is not a solution but attitudinal change to accept the growth as fashion trend and enjoy their looks,” he advised.
NAN report further that some respondent said that growing grey-hair is no longer a source of worry to them because going grey now is a trend in fashion and no more a sign of old age.
Mrs Hannatu Bello, a 47-year-old woman, said that before now, she saw herself as being unkempt and was always worried about her appearance.
Bello said that since the grey hair changed the old norm of being a stigma, I have developed more confident in myself.
Mr Andrew Bello, said that before now he was always dying his grey hair but now everyone admired him and called him a ‘silver fox handsome man’.
“I am just 58 years old and I am all grey and my beard turned grey too making me look handsomely; I get hear women say you look good and my wife is crazy about my look too, ” said Bello.
Mrs Angela Emeka, a 44-year-old woman, said she started having grey in her early twenties and was worried then but there was a paradigm shift in fashion now that had given her the courage to be proud of it.
“There is a social shift from women fearing grey hair, getting old to loving and embracing it and it’s a global social change,” said Emeka.
Miss Abigail Dung, a 20 year old young girl who dyed her hair grey, said celebrities all over the world now wear grey as the in-thing.
Miss Jumai Johnson, a teenager, who had a grey wig on said that grey hair was not just for older people but a colour for everyone.
“This development has helped to remove stigma that the hair colour was associated with getting old,” said Johnson.
NAN reports that many people confessed that the grey hair is no longer an issue of worry as they have learnt to keep themselves neat and appear decent at all times. (NAN)


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- Some top Wall Street firms have ditched their downturn predictions in recent months.
- But bearish economist David Rosenberg is sticking to his glass-half-empty thesis.
- Here are 10 reasons why Rosenberg isn’t buying into the hype about an economic expansion.
For years, veteran economist David Rosenberg has warned that the US economy is on shaky ground. Late last summer, it appeared that his frequently repeated bearish forecast had finally come true.
Surprisingly, GDP growth has accelerated again after contracting in consecutive quarters, prompting top investment firms such as Bank of America to admit defeat on their recession forecasts.
Although the founder and chief economist of Rosenberg Research is under intense pressure to do the same, he has no plans to change his long-held beliefs anytime soon.
“I don’t believe in fairy tales, and I don’t believe in new eras,” Rosenberg recently told Insider. “And I don’t believe that the business cycle has been repealed.”
10 reasons why the economy is still in jeopardy
The bull case for the US economy is straightforward: unemployment remains near multi-decade lows, owing to strong consumer spending. While higher interest rates are a pain, they have slowed once-rampant inflation without crushing economic growth, as some had predicted.
That may sound compelling, but Rosenberg provided ten reasons why the best-case scenario isn’t always the most realistic.
First, consumers have been on “training wheels,” as Rosenberg puts it, as a result of a massive wave of fiscal stimulus during the pandemic, which is now dwindling. The stimulus checks that boosted spending and kept lower-income households afloat during stay-at-home orders are no longer available, but the withdrawal effects are only now becoming apparent. Rosenberg does not anticipate a happy ending.
“We’re going to see how this economy looks when it’s naked,” Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg predicts that the return of student loan payments this fall will reduce spending. Younger people, who are typically big spenders, will be disproportionately affected.
The consumer savings rate is falling as excess stimulus fades. Rosenberg noted that households are saving 3.5% of their take-home pay, which is well below pre-pandemic levels of 8% to 9%. According to Rosenberg, consumers’ savings cushion tends to shrink before recessions.
“I would argue that the savings rate is perhaps the most important behavioral aggregate coming out of the national accounts,” said Rosenberg.
The deterioration of household credit is another sign of stress. Consumer credit delinquency rates increased to 2.4% in Q2, well below the historical average but far above the 18-month lows. Non-mortgage household credit quality is deteriorating, according to Rosenberg, and it could quickly worsen if the unemployment rate rises.
High mortgage rates, which are linked to interest rates, are putting a strain on new homeowners, according to Rosenberg, though this is a relatively small segment of the population. According to him, home affordability is actually worse now than it was at the peak of the housing bubble.
Higher oil and gas prices are also hurting consumers, according to Rosenberg. The downstream impact of Saudi Arabia and Russia’s production cuts is reaching customers at the pump at an inconvenient time, preventing inflation from returning to more normal levels.
As a result of the headwinds, cash-strapped consumers are scrambling to make ends meet by taking on new jobs. A significant increase in part-time employment appears to be a positive sign, but Rosenberg explained that it is actually a sign of stress in a late-cycle environment because it indicates that people are increasingly desperate to pay off debt.
“Why would people want to go out and get a second job on purpose?” “Here’s why: they need the money,” Rosenberg explained. “And they need the money because the 525 basis point rate increase is putting strains on their finances and eating into their debt service capacity.”
These part-time jobs appear to have come at the expense of temp workers, as temp hires are steadily declining, according to Rosenberg. That’s a troubling leading indicator lurking beneath the surface of what appears to be a healthy labor market, he says.
“We’ve all learned that when the headhunters start chopping heads, the rest of us aren’t far behind,” Rosenberg said.
Consumers can be affected by macroeconomic dynamics, either directly or indirectly. The US auto industry workers’ strike affects far more than just car buyers, while a government shutdown, which some predict, would affect every American. These developments could lead to an increase in unemployment and a decrease in spending at a critical juncture.
“It’s just one negative shock after another happening at a time when the fiscal training wheels on the bicycle are coming off,” said Rosenberg. “So, in my opinion, this is going to paint a fairly bleak picture for the economy as we enter the fourth quarter and beyond.”


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Biotechnology firm Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) reported first-quarter earnings that increased from last year and exceeded estimates, while revenues remained unchanged. Meanwhile, the management revised up its full-year earnings and revenue outlook. Following the announcement, the company’s stock gained modestly during Tuesday’s after-hours trading session.
Earnings, adjusted for special items, were $3.56 per share, compared to $3.47 per share in the last-year quarter. Analysts had forecast a lower profit. Unadjusted earnings dropped to $1.99 billion or $3.18 per share from $2.31 billion or $3.25 per share in the first quarter of 2018, hurt mainly by an increase in operating expenses.
Revenues, meanwhile, remained broadly unchanged at $5.55 billion and came in line with the estimates. The top-line was negatively impacted by a 1% decline in product sales globally, though most of the new products including Prolia, Repatha and KYPROLIS registered double-digit growth.
Robert Bradway, CEO of Amgen, said, “We continue to generate strong, volume-driven growth for our newer products, while effectively defending our mature products. We are also advancing a record number of first-in-class molecules targeting significant areas of unmet need through our pipeline.”
The top-line remained flat as overall sales were negatively impacted by a 1% decline in product sales globally
For the whole of 2019, the management expects revenues in the range of $22 billion to $22.9 billion, which represents a modest increase from the earlier outlook. The guidance range for unadjusted earnings was narrowed to $11.68-$12.73 per share from the previously estimated $11.55-$12.75 per share.
The company currently expects adjusted earnings in the range of $13.25 per share to $14.30 per share for 2019, compared to the earlier forecast of $13.10-$14.30 per share. The estimate for full-year capital expenditure is around $700 million.
Early Tuesday, Pfizer (PFE) reported stronger than expected first-quarter earnings and revenues, which also increased from last year. The drugmaker also revised up the profit outlook for fiscal 2019.
After reaching a new peak during the final weeks of last year, Amgen shares lost momentum in 2019 and lost about 7% so far this year. The stock closed Tuesday’s session lower.
Last month, the IPO market was in a full swing. IPOs of Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) and JFROG (NASDAQ: FROG) had an impressive opening day in September, the former creating a
PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) beat market expectations on both revenue and earnings for the third quarter of 2020. The company saw the momentum continue in its snacks business while the
With more and more people turning to virtual entertainment sources, amid the virus-related movement restrictions, video game publishers like Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) are witnessing unusually high demand. Not surprisingly,


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While speculations over the launch date of OnePlus 6 remain a mystery, Amazon India is coming up with a 'Notify Me' button on 22 April at midnight to keep OnePlus fans intrigued about the launch of the phone. This should also tell us about the day it intends to launch its first flagship of the year.
According to a media note from Amazon, the 'Notify Me' button will come on the page dedicated to OnePlus 6. It also said that the phone would be an Amazon-exclusive.
Noor Patel, Director, Category Management of Amazon India said, "OnePlus 6 is inarguably one of the most anticipated smartphones in India today. We are glad to remain the partner of choice for such an iconic brand for over 3 years now and bring our customers exclusive access to the new OnePlus 6. Customers can visit the dedicated Amazon.in OnePlus 6 page (>www.amazon.in/oneplus) at 00:00 hrs tonight and follow the instructions to get notified of updates for the new OnePlus 6!"
The phone is expected to come with 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB storage and will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC.
In the mock >concept video which was recently released, it showed the phone without 3.5 mm headphone jack and USB type-C port to support its Dash charging capabilities.
Recently OnePlus 6 had >announced its partnership with the film Avengers: Infinity War which would release on 27 April. This is not the first time that OnePlus has partnered with a movie brand. In 2017, it had partnered with the film Star Wars: Episode VIII, The Last Jedi.


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In celebration of its award-winning SUV range, Vauxhall retailers nationwide are running a sales event on X-citing models including Crossland X, Mokka X and Grandland X.
Vauxhall was the largest selling manufacturer in Scotland in 2018, according to figures released today by the Scottish Motor Trade Association. The manufacturer has been number one in the region for the last 11 years.
Vauxhall is urging customers to ditch the in-laws and hot foot it down to its New Year Sales event running from Boxing Day to Monday 7th January 2019.
Vauxhall has introduced a new top-of-the-range Crossland X Utlimate to its SUV range.(more…)


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New York— Murphy USA and Whrrl are releasing statistics at the Ad:tech digital marketing conference this afternoon that suggest geo-social creates new customers. The companies agreed to let ClickZ News review performance data prior to their presentation, which derives from a survey of Whrrl users checking in at Murphy USA’s national chain of gas stations during the last 15 weeks. The most surprising data-point: 44 percent had never before given the company’s gas stations any business.
Customers are averaging $30 total spend for each visit, which Murphy USA says is twice the industry average. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they are more likely to increase purchase due to the geo-social program, while 72 percent said they were more likely to recommend the brand to friends and family.
A trio of other interesting statistics: people who checked in were three times more likely to visit Murphy USA more than once a week compared to its average customers. (“Average customer” visits frequency was based on the company’s more general customer survey data.) Eighty-five percent of the check-ins surveyed said they chose Murphy USA over a nearby competitor. And 57 percent stated that Whrrl made their visits to the gas stations more fun.
People who checked in were e-mailed a survey to fuel the research, John Kim, VP of products for Whrrl’s Seattle-based parent company Pelago, recently told ClickZ. He pointed to the possibility that his company’s program was virally creating brand-new customers for the gas stations.
“Since the only other place where people can learn about Murphy’s Societies program is the signage around the gas pumps, it appears that a lot of them who are checking in first learned about it from their friends through Facebook and Twitter feeds,” he said. “They must be seeing, ‘Hey, I’m at Murphy’s!’ when they are on those sites.”
Meanwhile, the gas stations brand has been rewarding Whrrl users who check in with a bevy of prizes – most notably giving one daily winner a digital coupon for $50 in free gas. The El Dorado, AR-based Murphy USA has more than 1,000 gas stations near locations of its retail partner, Wal-Mart.
Sandy Rubinstein is the CEO of the independently female minority-owned marketing and advertising firm DXagency. ClickZ caught up with her to find out about her role as CEO, and what advice she would give to women who want to work in the digital industry.
Effective app marketing is not about generating app page traffic, but rather about ensuring your app is discovered by targeted and relevant users who will install your app and use it regularly.
The use of psychology in marketing and sales is not new, but it may be more useful than ever in an attention economy where time is precious and focus is rare. How can you tap into a demanding consumer to check whether there is an actual interest in your product?
A recent rise in the need for higher scalability and agility has led people to start looking at deploying their CMS to the cloud. With the multitude of devices and platforms currently available, the headless architecture is being viewed as the modern answer to these problems.


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A company has recalled more than 200 million eggs after an more than a dozen cases of salmonella were traced to one of its farms in North Carolina.
via NYT :
The federal Food and Drug Administration reported Friday that eggs from the affected farm were distributed to nine states — Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia — and were likely connected to 22 reported cases of salmonella infections.
The agency learned about a cluster of salmonella outbreaks in multiple states last month, and investigators worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state authorities to trace the source of the illness, the F.D.A. said. That led them to an egg farm in Hyde County, N.C., owned by Rose Acre Farms of Seymour, Ind.
The affected farm has paused its egg distribution and the company has voluntarily recalled more than 206 million eggs. The F.D.A. urged consumers to check their purchases and avoid eating eggs that might be contaminated.
Eggs from the North Carolina farm were sold to restaurants and in supermarkets under multiple brand names, including Coburn Farms, Country Daybreak, Food Lion, Glenview, Great Value, Nelms and Sunshine Farms.
The egg cartons affected by the recall should be labeled with the plant number P-1065, with packing dates ranging from 011 through 102. (That is according to the Julian number system that many egg companies use to record packing dates. It means Jan. 11 through April 12.)
Rose Acre Farms described itself as the second-largest egg producer in the United States. Its farm in Hyde County has about three million egg-laying hens, produces about 2.3 million eggs a day and has a United States Department of Agriculture inspector on-site daily, the company said in a statement.
“The Hyde County farm has never before experienced a recall or serious safety violation,” it said, adding that the recall “was conducted in full cooperation with the FDA.”
Healthy people who contract salmonella can usually recover without treatment after a few days of fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Some cases require hospitalization and the illness can be fatal.
The C.D.C. estimates that salmonella infections — the vast majority of them from food — cause about 1.2 million illnesses and 450 deaths every year in the United States. A recent outbreak in the Midwest traced to chicken salad from an Iowa food processing company made at least 265 people sick and led to one death.
If you have eggs in your fridge and live in one of those nine states, you might want to check them out. 200 Million is a LOT of eggs.]]>


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Electrolux dove deep to create its new line of limited edition vacuum cleaners, Vacs from the Sea, adorned with vibrant, lively shells created out of repurposed garbage.
The company spent months scouring the bottom of the globe's major oceans for plastic discards for five new models, named after the various bodies of water from which their materials were gathered: North Sea Edition, Indian Ocean Edition, Mediterranean Sea Edition, Pacific Ocean Edition and Baltic Sea Edition. The new vacs embody what the brand calls the "plastic paradox"—oceans are full of plastic waste, but there is a shortage of the material for producing sustainable vacs. The brand already makes a "Green Range" of cleaners from 70% recycled plastic, but aims for that to reach 100%.
Electrolux plans to auction off one of the vacs and use the revenue for further recycllng research. The remaining models will go on tour at industry and consumer forums.


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31 March 2021
Erika Szyszczak is Professor Emerita and a Fellow of the UKTPO.
Trade has become a new tool of political and economic warfare. Recent years have seen a rise in threats and the disruptive use of use tariffs, export and import bans to further political aims by the two economic superpowers, the US and China. Other countries wishing to assert greater political influence, such as Russia or Turkey, have joined the fray. Although the disputes are characterized as being between States, the real impact of trade wars is felt by businesses, workers, consumers and ordinary citizens. The impact is felt in the COVID-19 pandemic, where critical supplies of medical products or Personal Protective Equipment are essential in a health emergency. (more…)
Charlotte Humma March 31st, 2021


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The demise of capitalism in the United States is amply illustrated by a lawsuit that took place back in 2006 in the state of Massachusetts between Panera Bread Company and Qdoba Mexican Grill. I came across this horrific little story while perusing Wikipedia’s Sandwich entry. The sandwich, you might ask? A lawsuit? Sadly, yes.
There was a time in the United States when business owners and operators devised methods of defeating their competition by providing a better product, a lower price, more amenable service, or any number of other methods. While for many companies those days still exist, more and more we are descending ever further to a point where success is decided largely by government intervention.
The Panera in question was, perhaps still is, located in the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury, MA. The company agreed to move into the center as long as it was written in their contract that no other “sandwich” shop would be allowed to rent space there. The fact someone actually attempted wording like this in a contract is by itself alone enough to raise the ire of this Libertarian. Competition is the backbone of capitalism. Without competition the consumer is the ultimate loser. The fact that contracts like this are legal is another huge problem from my perspective. It encourages companies to rely on government backed capitalism, or Crony Capitalism.
More and more businesses must rely on government for survival. It is not enough the government spends enormous amounts of taxpayer dollars simply to support whichever business pours the most money into election campaigns, the government is the ultimate arbiter of legal disputes. The law and its equitable enforcement is a vital component of healthy capitalism and the law has gone wrong.
The very existence of non-compete clauses like the one Panera tried to enforce are an affront to the tenants of capitalism and, by extension, to our nation. If industries can legislate their rivals out of business as the primary way to achieve profitability, the consumers lose. While I’m not suggesting capitalism is dead, I do think it is beginning to fail. When competition dies it means the end of enterprise in the United States. Businesses in other countries will overtake industry here. They will win customers through true capitalistic ingenuity. I think this phenomenon is already manifestly occurring across the globe as other nations are filing larger number of patents and surpassing the United States as an innovative leader.
Our government’s solution to the issue seems to be larger involvement in business processes. There is a strong sentiment in our leaders to impose tariffs and restrictions on the companies competing with businesses in the nation and this America First policy seems to have found strong support among a populace that apparently fails to understand what is in their best interest. So be it. We live in a nation where we vote for our leaders and if the people believe in this sort of intervention, we deserve what we get.
The proper solution is the opposite of this approach. Government should lessen their presence in enterprise. Many people consider this a reduction of regulations. The sad part is the majority of regulations are designed to give one company or industry an advantage over a competitor rather than protect the consumer. I support most deregulation for this reason. That being said, the main problem is government contracts and legislation decide which company makes a profit and which go out of business. This outcome should instead be related to the purchasing habits of consumers.
Only when companies survive by providing better products, cheaper products, and better service will they be able to compete globally.
A business that relies on government to save them from rivals is eventually doomed, either to foreign takeover or violent revolution. The government of the United States is culpable in all of this, and by extension the voters, and it should end. Voters have this power although they seem disinclined to use it.


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Asus announced its Zenfone AR smartphone back in January at the CES held in Vegas, and it is a Tango-enabled device which has not seen the light for many months now. A few days earlier there were reports of Asus launching this latest handset in Taiwan around mid-June which will be followed by the US launch. The company has started sending media invitation about the launch confirming that the previous reports to be accurate. The handset will be announced in Taiwan, and the Zenfone AR will be available in 6GB as well as 8GB RAM variants.
Although it is not sure, we can expect the 6GB RAM option will be heading towards the U.S market. The date of launch in the U.S has not been mentioned yet, but it will be followed by the official launch in Taiwan. The delay in the launch of this handset was due to the Tango Apps which are confirmed to run smoothly on this Zenfone AR. Well, the handset will come with Android Nougat Operating system out of the box with the companies own UI on top.
The device will sport a 5.7-inch WHD display which is also compatible with Google’s Daydream VR platform, and there is a 3300mAh battery on the rear of the device which might come with Quick Charge support. Assuming this device to be powerful, we can expect new features to be bundled out along with the device and nothing about the pricing is known for now. We can also see Tango’s tri-camera setup on this handset, and we are pretty much excited to see this device soon.
Verizon might carry the Zenfone AR device on their network for the U.S release, and later it will be rolled out globally. Are you excited about this device? Comment in the section below and stay tuned to PhoneRadar to know more on the same.


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Emerging straight out of Sony's press conference currently underway at the Leipzig Games Convention are Sony's plans to turn PS3 into a digital TV receiver and recorder with a new PlayTV service due early 2008.
Sony will release a small digital tuner box (pictured) that will enable PlayTV on your PS3, which will allow you to record and (simultaneously) watch freeview digital TV.
Users will also be able to transmit the signal to their PSP via Wi-Fi locally, or via the internet using Remote Connection to watch programs stored on their PS3 on the handheld.
"With the ability to watch, pause and record live TV from a huge range of free channels, PlayTV reinforces PS3's rightful place in the Living Room at the heart of the family's entertainment needs," says Sony.
Go!Explore meanwhile will bring satellite navigation functionality to the handheld. "Incorporating a GPS receiver and the UMD (Universal Media Disc) software containing your chosen maps, Go!Explore will offer a top quality Satellite Navigation system at an affordable price," explains Sony. How affordable that price will be is currently a secret that only Sony knows.
Sony has also confirmed that the new slim PSP will launch in UK and Europe on September 5. Three main colours will be released: Piano Black, Ceramic White and Ice Silver, while two limited edition models, Spiderman Red and Black and Simpsons Yellow will also be released exclusively to Europe.
We'll have more in-depth information on all of Sony's announcements after the info storm settles. Look out for new Killzone shots too.


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Even before PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL 2.16%) announced its financial results, the payment processor was already having an impressive quarter. The company had recently announced a number of new or extended partnerships with major credit card issuers and processors, as well as its acceptance as a payment option with Apple Inc., in its App Store, Apple Music, and iTunes accounts.
Investors were eager to see if the continued expansion of these partnerships would translate into additional users and greater financial success, and they were not disappointed. For the just completed quarter, PayPal saw revenue increase to $3.14 billion, up 18% year over year, and an even higher 20% on a foreign currency-neutral basis. GAAP earnings per diluted share increased to $0.34, up 27% over the prior-year quarter.
PayPal saw improvement in a variety of other metrics as well. The company added 6.5 million new customer accounts, up an astonishing 80% year over year, and the largest quarterly gain in two years. The number of payment transactions grew to 1.8 billion, a 23% year-over-year increase, while the total payment volume (TPV) hit $106 billion, up 23% over the prior-year quarter and the first time TPV has exceeded the $100 billion mark.
Increasing its total addressable market
PayPal has been hard at work broadening its customer base by increasing the number of partnerships with major credit card issuers, which now includes banking behemoths JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America. In addition to the expanded relationships with the card issuers, PayPal also revealed that in addition to its agreement with Apple and its previous availability on Android Pay, it struck accords with Chinese search leader Baidu, Inc. and tech giant Samsung to include PayPal as a payment option using their respective digital wallets.
PayPal aspires to move beyond its roots as an online payment option and is expanding its reach as a payment platform, integrated across the environment of buyers and sellers, enabling all manner of payments. To that end, the company announced the completion of its acquisition of bill payment processor TIO Networks, extending into another aspect of the payments market. TIO works with a host of "telecom, wireless, cable, and utility bill issuers in North America," giving PayPal customers yet another way to leverage the platform.
Two sides of the same coin
PayPal believes that by providing increasingly relevant services to both consumers and merchants, it is growing its ecosystem much more robustly than by focusing on just one aspect. Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal said, "The accelerating and extensive scale of our two-sided global platform creates a strong foundation for PayPal's growth, enabling consumers and merchants to transact in new contexts and across operating systems, technologies and platforms."
PayPal has been attracting increasing numbers of customers to Venmo, its social-payments platform, which processed $8 billion in transactions, up 103% over the prior-year quarter. While PayPal has yet to monetize Venmo, it has recently begun a test that will allow consumers to not only pay each other but also pay merchants with Venmo, using its existing network of PayPal merchants. This will leverage an as yet untapped opportunity for the company, producing a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream.
One Touch, which allows consumers to bypass the traditional login once they have enabled PayPal on a specific device, seems to be a hit with consumers and merchants as well. PayPal reported that 61 million consumer accounts had opted into One Touch by the end of the quarter, and 5.6 million merchants accepting those payments, with 75% of the Internet Retailer 100 now accepting One Touch.
For the second time in as many quarters, PayPal again raised its full-year guidance, expecting revenue of $12.825 billion at the midpoint of its forecast, and GAAP earnings per share in a range of $1.32 and $1.36.
Thus far, PayPal has been successful in expanding from a simple online payment option to a full-service digital payment processor. In its earnings press release, Schulman pointed to the company's transformation "from a checkout option to ... [a] way for consumers to manage and move their money." While that transformation is ongoing, investors are reaping the rewards.


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- Redmi K50 series has been officially teased.
- The lineup is expected to bring upgrades to fast charging, video/imaging, and screen quality as well.
- Redmi K50 is expected to launch before the end of this year.
Xiaomi’s Redmi brand seems to have started working on the Redmi K50 series. The company’s general manager Lu Weibing has posted on Weibo asking users about features, configuration, and more they wish to have on the Redmi K40 successor. While this is enough evidence to suggest the company has started its work on the upcoming mid-range flagship series, noted tipster Digital Chat Station has also revealed the Redmi K50 series will improve on the predecessor with regards to fast charging, video/imaging, and screen quality as well. To recall, the Redmi K40 featured a 33W fast-charging support, meaning the successor could get 67W or faster-charging speeds.
While we can’t exactly pinpoint the Redmi K50 launch date, the series could arrive before the end of this year. If that’s indeed the case, we can expect to learn more details about the Redmi K50 lineup in the next couple of months. We can speculate the series will have multiple variants, similar to the Redmi K30 and Redmi K40 models.
Separately, the Redmi K40 Game Enhanced Edition aka POCO F3 GT for India has received TUV Rheinland certification with the model number M2012K10C/ M2012K10I. While the listing doesn’t reveal much about the phone, the POCO F3 GT is confirmed to launch in India by Q3 and will ship with the Dimensity 1200 SoC. It will be the second phone after the Realme X7 Max to come with the MediaTek chipset. The handset will come with a 6.67-inch OLED 120Hz display, up to 12GB RAM and 256GB expandable storage, and Android 11 OS.
The Redmi K40 Game Enhanced Edition packs a 5,065mAh battery with 67W fast-charging support. POCO F3 GT aka Redmi K40 Game Enhanced Edition features a triple camera setup, with a 64MP primary sensor, an 8MP wide-angle lens, and a 2MP macro lens. There is a 16MP camera on the front for selfies and video chats and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for security.


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Brits are opting to do their Christmas shopping throughout December rather than on 'Mega Monday' says Firebox.
Despite the fact that Monday November 28, dubbed Mega Monday, was predicted to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, with an estimated £303m being spent on the web using Visa cards, the gadget retailer believes Brits are choosing to leave it later than ever to buy their Christmas gifts.
In fact, Firebox predicts today (Thursday December 1) will be the busiest online shopping day as the majority of the UK were paid yesterday. Furthermore, the surge of online shopping will continue through the coming weekend. Firebox also expects online sales to continue throughout December.
Paul Zimmerman, CEO of Firebox, said: "the concept of a Cyber or Mega Monday has failed to materialise this year – consumers have waited until December to buy gifts and will continue to spend all the way up to the big day itself."
"Traditionally online retailers can expect sales to peak right about now, but we're expecting sales to continue to grow in early December and beyond as consumers hunt for Christmas gifts. This suggests that the bond between consumers and online retail is now stronger than ever as traditional retail becomes the exception – not the norm."
The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) agrees with Firebox's predictions.
"While there will most likely be individual peak days for online sales in the lead-up to Christmas, our Index has shown a more consistent spreading of activity across a few peak weeks in recent years, which would support what Firebox' customers are saying," said David J Smith, chief marketing and communications officer.
"We are anticipating that over the two week period that started this Monday (November 28), £3.72bn will be spent online by UK consumers, marking it out as the busiest period of the year for online traders."


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TOKYO (Reuters) -Honda Motor Co said on Thursday it would reduce car output by up to 40% at two Japanese plants in early October because of ongoing supply chain and logistical problems. The cutback provides further evidence of problems automakers likely face in trying to increase production volumes in the second half of the financial year to the end of March to make up for a shortfall caused by a persistent shortage of chips and supply chain disruptions in the first half of the business year. Two lines at Honda's Suzuka plant in western Japan will cut back production by about 40% in early October, while its assembly plant in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, will cut back production plans by about 30% for the period.
Tesla's CEO Elon Musk is set to unveil its prototype humanoid robots at an event on Sept. 30, hoping to expand beyond self-driving cars that have not yet become reality despite his repeated promises. While robots are widely used for specialist tasks at factories, other companies have struggled to create commercially viable human-like robots, despite decades-long development efforts. "This market is very, very challenging market because you buy this big expensive robot, but it actually cannot do much," Heni Ben Amor, a robotics professor at Arizona State University, said.
President Joe Biden took a victory lap on Wednesday at the Detroit auto show as he highlighted automakers' electric-vehicle push, including billions of dollars in investments in battery plants, on the back of new government support. Self-declared "car guy" Biden climbed into a silver electric Cadillac SUV and an orange Corvette, glad-handed with the industry's union workers and declared the city, the birthplace of the auto industry, was making a comeback. Detroit's auto show is the largest in North America and a key stop on Democrat Biden's stepped-up midterm election travel agenda, as he showcases new laws to fund infrastructure and give consumers grants to buy EVs.


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Industrial production probably rose in October for the fourth straight month amid the early stages of a broad economic recovery.
The Federal Reserve is expected to report that production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.4 percent last month, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. That would follow gains of 0.9 percent in July, 1.2 percent in August and 0.7 percent in September
The report is due out Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. EST.
A rebound in auto production, driven largely by the government's now defunct Cash for Clunkers program, has helped to boost overall industrial production. The program gave people up to $4,500 to buy a new car and trade in old gas guzzlers.
Still, many economists are hopeful that industrial production will continue to chalk up increases in the months ahead _ albeit probably at a slow pace _ as the recovery solidifies.
Faced with rock-bottom inventories of goods, businesses at some point will need to replenish them, one of the forces expected to help boost production in the coming months.
Even the smallest increase in customer demand would probably force factories to bump up output because businesses' stockpiles are razor thin, analysts say.
After four straight losing quarters, the economy returned to growth in the summer at a pace of 3.5 percent from July through September. Economists believe growth probably slowed a bit in the current quarter.
The economy likely will continue to lose speed in the first quarter of next year, as the bracing impact of President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package fades.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday said he expects the economy to keep growing into next year, although the pace won't be strong enough to quickly bring down the unemployment rate.
The jobless rate _ now at 10.2 percent _ could rise as high as 11 percent by the middle of next year before starting to drift slowly downward, economists say.


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Fourth-Quarter Consolidated Results
Net sales for the fourth quarter increased 2.8 percent to $1.6 billion from $1.56 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter increased 55.7 percent to $133.4 million from $85.7 million reported in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were up 61.9 percent to $1.02 compared with $0.63 in the year-ago quarter. Income before income taxes (IBT) was $176.9 million, up 50 percent versus $117.9 million reported a year ago. Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were up 51.5 percent to $204.6 million compared with $135 million a year ago.
The fourth quarters of fiscal 2019 and 2018 included restructuring and other charges of $36.8 million and $62.2 million, respectively. Excluding the charges in both periods, adjusted EBIT increased 22.4 percent to $241.4 million from $197.3 million a year ago. Additionally, due to changes in the accounting standards for marketable equity securities in the current year, the company has also excluded the impact of all unrealized net gains and losses from marketable equity securities as well as realized net gains and losses on sales of all marketable securities from adjusted EPS for both fiscal 2019 and 2018, as their inherent volatility is outside of management’s control and cannot be predicted with any level of certainty. These investments resulted in a net after-tax loss of $1.7 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and an after-tax gain of $3.2 million during the same quarter last year. Excluding the restructuring and other charges, as well as investment gains and losses, adjusted diluted EPS increased 21.6 percent to $1.24 from $1.02 a year ago. Share repurchases during fiscal 2019 and the retirement of RPM’s 2.25 percent convertible senior notes due in 2020 resulted in $0.05 per diluted share accretion for the quarter.
“We are very pleased with our significant earnings leverage for the quarter, which was bolstered by our 2020 MAP to Growth operating improvement plan, the benefits of which are beginning to be realized. Also contributing to the bottom line were recently implemented price increases and stabilizing raw material cost inflation. These gains were partially offset by continuing increases in costs for distribution and labor,” RPM Chairman and CEO Frank C. Sullivan said.
“Sales grew organically by 3.5 percent, while acquisitions contributed 1.9 percent. This sales growth was offset by unfavorable foreign exchange of 2.6 percent. Sales in North America, our largest market, were slowed by some of the wettest spring months on record, which caused delays in painting and construction projects. In addition, conditions in Europe, our second largest market, remained soft. Despite these challenges, our operating units were able to drive top-line growth and gain market share,” Sullivan added.
Fourth-Quarter Segment Sales and Earnings
Industrial segment sales for the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter were relatively flat at $809 million from $812.9 million a year ago. Organic sales improved 2 percent, while acquisition growth added 1 percent. Foreign currency translation reduced sales by 3.5 percent. Industrial segment IBT increased 12.5 percent to $108.4 million from $96.4 million a year ago. Industrial segment EBIT was up 10.6 percent to $109.9 million from $99.3 million in the fiscal 2018 fourth quarter. The industrial segment incurred restructuring and related charges of $5.9 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and $10 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2018. Excluding these charges, industrial segment adjusted EBIT was $115.7 million, up 5.9 percent from $109.3 million a year ago.
“Leading the industrial segment’s organic sales growth were our businesses providing corrosion control coatings, fiberglass reinforced grating, commercial sealants and concrete admixtures. Top-line growth in the segment, which has our largest international exposure, was more than offset by the headwinds of translational foreign exchange,” Sullivan said. “Sales were also impacted by extremely wet weather during the quarter that slowed construction projects and strategic decisions, made as part of 2020 MAP to Growth, to exit several product offerings with low margins and high working capital requirements. Also, as part of 2020 MAP to Growth, we closed a business in Saudi Arabia and exited several European locations. Despite flat sales, we were able to leverage our 2020 MAP to Growth savings to the bottom line, resulting in an increase in adjusted EBIT of $6.4 million.”
Fiscal 2019 fourth-quarter net sales in RPM’s consumer segment increased 6.7 percent to $585.0 million from $548.4 million reported in the fiscal 2018 fourth quarter. Organic sales were up 7 percent, while acquisition growth added 1.5 percent and foreign exchange translation reduced sales by 1.8 percent. Consumer segment IBT was $99.3 million compared with $25.3 million in the prior year. Consumer segment EBIT in the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter was $99.4 million versus $25.5 million in fiscal 2018. The consumer segment incurred restructuring and inventory-related charges of $10.2 million in the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter and $47.3 million in the prior-year period. Excluding these charges, consumer segment adjusted EBIT was $109.6 million, up 50.6 percent over $72.8 million a year ago.
“Both our Rust-Oleum and DAP businesses experienced strong sales growth in North America, despite the wet weather, as a result of market share gains and price increases, while sales in Europe were soft,” Sullivan said. “During the quarter, our Rust-Oleum business secured significant customer wins by regaining business in the home center channel and a major market share win within the hardware channel as part of a small project paint line review.
“The initial focus of our 2020 MAP to Growth, which was initiated about a year ago, was directed toward our consumer segment and resulted in the elimination of 221 positions and closure of four manufacturing facilities to date,” Sullivan continued. “The consumer segment is now starting to experience the benefits of those difficult early actions taken under our operating improvement plan. Additionally, recent price increases have finally begun to ease the negative impact of significant raw material cost escalation over the last 24 months. These factors helped to drive an increase in consumer segment adjusted EBIT of $36.8 million.”
Fourth-quarter sales in the company’s specialty segment increased 5.3 percent to $207.4 million from $196.9 million in the fiscal 2018 fourth quarter. Organic sales were relatively flat. Acquisitions contributed 6.7 percent to sales, which was offset by a decrease in sales of 1.2 percent due to foreign currency translation. Specialty segment IBT was $26.5 million, down from $32.9 million last year. Specialty segment EBIT was $26.4 million versus $32.3 million in the prior period. The specialty segment reported restructuring and other charges, including costs related to enterprise resource planning (ERP) consolidation and executive compensation, of $5.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and a $1.4 million charge in fiscal 2018 for restructuring and ERP consolidation. Excluding these charges, specialty segment adjusted EBIT was $32.3 million versus $33.7 million in the prior year.
“Specialty segment sales were driven by the acquisition of insulated concrete forms manufacturer Nudura, as well as strong performances by our diesel additives and edible coatings businesses. Specialty segment adjusted EBIT declined $1.4 million primarily due to an intangible write-off triggered by a change in international business regulations and additional start-up investments for our NewBrick exterior cladding product, which were partially offset by operating improvements and cost control measures,” said Sullivan.


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By: Dan Daley, Audio Editor, SportsVideo.org
The FCC announced that the voluntary auction of UHF spectrum in the 600 MHz range, scheduled to take place in mid 2015, will be delayed until some time the following year. For manufacturers of wireless microphones, the delay postpones the time when wireless users must vacate the 600 MHz band, but it may not help the manufacturers resolve the issues raised.
The stated cause of the delay — the second for this particular spectrum reallocation — is a National Association of Broadcasters lawsuit that asserts that the auction will hurt stations choosing to keep their licensed spectrum. The schedule for the court case seems to indicate that any decision is “not likely until mid 2015.” As a result, the FCC now says it will accept applications for the auction next fall.
Gary Epstein, chair of the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force, stated in a blog post, “Despite this brief delay, we remain focused on the path to successfully implementing the incentive auction.”
The NAB responded in a statement: “It is more important to get the auction done right than right now. … We reject suggestions that our narrowly focused lawsuit is cause for delay. We look forward to a speedy resolution of our legal challenge and a successful auction that preserves access to free and local TV for every American.”
Mic Makers Have Their Own Concerns
Manufacturers of wireless microphones took special note of the delay, assessing it as essentially a pause in the process, extending by six to nine months the period when existing wireless users must vacate the 600 MHz band, 39 months after the outcome of the spectrum auction is published.
However, the additional time may not help them deal with issues and questions raised in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 14-145), which was described by the FCC when it was issued in September as “a proceeding to address the long-term needs of wireless-microphone users” that “seeks comment on authorizing wireless-microphone operations in additional spectrum bands.” The document asks for input from users on how to go about minimizing disruption to existing wireless microphone users.
Joe Ciaudelli, chief U.S. spectrum correspondent for Sennheiser, says that the document seeks responses to more than 100 specific questions, underscoring the amount of work necessary to keep professional wireless-microphone operations compliant with whatever the newly reconfigured RF landscape looks like. However, the six to nine months that the NAB lawsuit delays the process won’t really help there, because most of those answers will depend on how much spectrum is sold, where in the band the final television channels will be located, and how they will be packed. And only then can development of new products, to replace those being made redundant by spectrum reallocation, move into a higher gear.
“After all of that takes place — the auction itself, the publication of the final outcomes — then you can get new products to end users in two years,” Ciaudelli estimates. “The trouble is, things aren’t even close to being fully defined, as indicated by the numerous questions raised in 14-145. Will the regulations governing the reallocated spectrum be fully defined as quickly as we need them to be to migrate people out of the 600 MHz band?”
Mark Brunner, senior director of global brand management at Shure, pointed out that the NAB’s litigation is aimed in part at sorting out a technical issue: the software that will be needed to ensure that stations that don’t participate in the auction will have the same coverage within the remaining spectrum that they had before reallocation. The delay can buy broadcasters some extra time to do that. Key points of what wireless-product manufacturers need to address for their next generation of microphones, though, will have to wait till the auction is over and the 39-month clock begins ticking.
“We’ll be looking at alternative frequency ranges and modifications to existing products to accommodate the new spectrum reality,” Brunner says. “The modifications are what will be addressed in 14-145.”
But Ciaudelli notes a kind of Catch-22 in that: “Each of the alternative ranges is already being used for other wireless services. Operational and equipment regulations will be mandated to ensure those incumbent services are not compromised by allowing mics to share their spectrum. Those rules have to be fully defined before mic manufacturers can enter final design and production phases.”
The FCC is tasked with reallocating 300 MHz worth of RF spectrum to consumer mobile devices over a decade, most of it coming from spectrum historically used by broadcasters and professional wireless-microphone users. The 700 MHz range was vacated three years ago, essentially by federal fiat. The now delayed auction is a more complex proposition: broadcasters are being asked to voluntarily give back portions of their RF bandwidth in return for a share of the auction proceeds.
DTV Audio Group Forum at AES: The Implications of Streamed Content Delivery on the Evolution of Television Audio Services
AES 137, Los Angeles 2014 The Implications of Streamed Content Delivery on the Evolution of Television Audio Services Friday October 10; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Content delivery is converging on a streamed model whether for mobile, over the public internet, within the walled garden of the MVPD, or over next generation broadcast services. Virtualized […]Read More...
Accompanying R&O Expands Licensing for Professional Wireless Mic Users With the release on June 2 of the FCC’s Incentive Auction R&O, following the May 15 vote—a 3-2 decision along party lines—the long-term future looks bleak for wireless microphone and IEM operators. According to Roger Charlesworth, Executive Director, DTV Audio Group, “It’s as grim as we […]Read More...
(Proficiency in mathematics not required–drink plenty of coffee) Produced by the DTV Audio Group Click here to hear the Webinar Presenter: Introduction: Tim Carroll Dave Mazza Linear Acoustic/The Telos Alliance NBC Olympics, SVP/CTO Presented By: Sports Video Group Brought to you by the DTVAG Sponsors: Calrec Audio, Dale Pro Audio, Dolby, DTS, Lawo, and Linear […]Read More...
It is inevitable that the amount of RF spectrum available to audio professionals will be significantly reduced as a result of the FCC’s proposed Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction of the 600 MHz band and the consequent repacking of the UHF spectrum. Following closely on the heels of the FCC’s 700 MHz band auction in […]Read More...
2014 DTV Audio Production and Distribution Seminar at NAB Sunday, April 7 at the Alexis Park Hotel in Las Vegas Production and Distribution Infrastructure Virtualization, Next-Generation Audio Encoding Technologies and Workflow The DTV Audio Group, in association with the Sports Video Group, invite you to attend the 2014 DTV Audio Production and Distribution Seminar at […]Read More...
DTV Audio Group Production and Distribution Forum at AES: Audio Production in an Evolving Television Distribution Landscape
DTV Audio Group Forum “Audio Production and Distribution in an Evolving Television Delivery Landscape” 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday, October 18, 2013 The forum is intended to explore the opportunities and challenges presented by advanced encoding schemes and to debate whether ubiquitous mobile and over-the-top content delivery demands a retrenchment to more limited audio […]Read More...


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24 November 2010 18:20 [Source: ICIS news]
By Nigel Davis
Benzene is a building-bloc chemical that finds wide use downstream in the production of important industrial chemicals, polymers and consumer products. Its supply is an issue.
Producers and others claim there is a need for on-purpose benzene supply for some product chains in some parts of the world.
Cracker production slates have changed with feedstock dynamics. Swing hydrodealkylation (HDA) capacity has been closed. Intense pressure on refining is pinching benzene supply.
“Doing nothing is not a good option,” said consultant Paul Hodges on the sidelines of this year’s ICIS European Aromatics and Derivatives conference, which closed on Wednesday. (Hodges, who is chairman of International e-Chem, writes the Chemicals and the Economy blog for ICIS.)
“Uncertainty over supply and margins is negative for business,” he said.
Consumers and suppliers need to address the issue either jointly or separately, he suggested, adding that the (benzene) industry needs reinvigorating.
But is demand coming to the rescue? Certainly from the producer point of view it is.
Clearly, such times need to come, as important end-use markets for products derived from benzene collapsed during the recession.
“Since late 2008, two key C6 end-use markets – automotive manufacturing and construction – have been in a deep trough. But it is in these two key end-use markets, which are now slowly recovering, where much of the future growth in C6 value chain demand is likely to emerge,” said Royall.
“There are significant opportunities for future growth if the supply chain remains flexible, competitive and creative.”
The road back has been difficult. End-use markets are recovering, possibly making the question of supply that much more acute. However, global styrene operating rates are still averaging around 82%, according to Royall. Phenol capacity utilisation globally, although better, is still only about 72%.
Over the 2011-2014 period, global benzene demand could grow by 3.9% per year, Shell and consultants CMAI suggest. Underpinning that would be 3.6% per year demand growth for styrene and strong growth for cumene/phenol.
Yet producers seem to be speaking one language and certain market commentators and analysts another.
Hodges kept pointing out at the conference that demand couldn’t be strong given the actual numbers on housing, autos and retail sales.
The outlook certainly is not strong when considering the current round of spending cuts being imposed on economies worldwide.
The run-up in demand could be the result of stockpiling, particularly given the sharp increase in the oil price in recent months, Hodges suggested.
Shell's Royall said the jury is still out on on-purpose benzene supply.
New benzene capacity has come on stream but only as part of other process plant additions. “Wherever there’s an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex, there’s always an option for more aromatics,” he said.
But if current growth rates for derivates are to be believed, benzene demand could be as high as 3% per year while benzene capacity may only rise by 2%.
The shortfall, if ultimately there is one, will only add to price volatility in an already difficult market.
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Nevada officials are reporting that taxable sales statewide were up nearly 7 percent in November, compared with the same month a year earlier.
A state Department of Taxation report issued Thursday says the $313.5 million collected from sales and use taxes represented a 5.7 percent increase year-to-year.
But that fell short by $5.6 million, or about 1.3 percent, of projections made in December 2014 by the state Economic Forum.
Statewide taxable sales for November 2014 totaled $3.97 billion, up 6.9 percent from November 2013.
The report found a huge — nearly 2,000 percent — increase in taxable sales in the professional, scientific and technical services category.
Non-store retail taxable sales were up 76 percent.
Electronics and appliance stores reported a 13.7 increase.
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Listen to this story
Dynamic Service brings you an everyday rundown of the most current organization news and advancements from Australia and worldwide. Here’s the roundup for July 16:
The Australian federal government has actually knocked a proposition by the European Union (EU) to tax energy-intensive imports from countries that do not have a carbon cost.
On The Other Hand, the EU sees the relocation as a reward for its trading partners to concentrate on environment modification.
This indicates that Australian exporters would need to pay a greater rate to offer into the EU than manufacturers from countries with more aggressive environment legislation.
The tax, according to Trade Minister Dan Tehan, “is protectionism and a hazard to Australian tasks.”
Importers in the EU would acquire certificates for the carbon cost that would have been paid if the products had actually been produced under the EU’s emissions trading plan.
A restriction on the sale of brand-new gas and diesel cars and trucks by 2035 is likewise proposed, in order to accelerate the shift to electrical cars.
Beginning in 2023, the carbon border tax would target items consisting of iron, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, and power as part of a bigger method to minimize emissions by 55 percent by 2030.
The seasonally changed joblessness rate was up to 4.9 percent in June 2021 from 5.1 percent formerly (May), according to the Australian Bureau of Data (ABS).
A drop in the out of work rate listed below 5 percent, according to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, “is yet another evidence of the economy’s strength and durability in the face of pandemic.”
According to ABS, the drop is the ninth in a row and the most affordable considering that December2010 The decrease came regardless of the reality that 29,100 individuals signed up with the labor force in June.
Full-time work increased by 51,600 in the month, however at a slower speed than part-time work.
As the labour market enhances, the variety of Americans submitting brand-new joblessness claims was up to a 16- month low recently.
Nevertheless, the bright side was brief, given that producing organizations have actually been hindered by labour scarcities.
For the week ending July 10, preliminary claims for state welfare reduced 26,000 to a seasonally changed 360,000, the most affordable level considering that the middle of the year.
The business stated the factor for the relocation is an absence of activity, particularly amongst the more reluctant Twitter users.
” In the time considering that we presented Fleets to everybody, we have not seen a boost in the variety of brand-new individuals signing up with the discussion with Fleets like we hoped,” Ilya Brown, VP of Item at Twitter stated.
” Since of this, on August 3, Fleets will no longer be offered on Twitter.”
Facebook revealed a strategy to pay $1 billion to content developers by the end of next year through brand-new perk programs created to keep creatives plugged into its different platforms.
The business will pay developers through a series of brand-new bonus offer efforts throughout Facebook and Instagram. The relocation is focused on drawing more developers to its platforms.
” This financial investment will consist of brand-new reward programs that pay qualified developers for striking particular turning points when they utilize our imaginative and money making tools. We’ll likewise offer seed financing for developers to produce their material,” the business stated in a declaration.
Developers who make videos on Facebook with in-stream advertisements allowed will get the very first brand-new benefits from the business.
Other bonus offers will be offered to developers who make Reels on Instagram and for striking turning points on Instagram.
Amazon is being taken legal action against by the federal government’s security guard dog, the United States Customer Item Security Commission (CPSC) for offering hazardous items to its consumers.
A lot of the business who offered the risky items pointed out by the CPSC are foreign, and the CPSC has actually restricted power to impose item remembers if they are discovered to be dangerous.
Carbon monoxide gas keeps an eye on that stop working to signal, a number of kids’s pyjamas that may ignite, and over 400,000 hair clothes dryers that might electrocute individuals if included water are amongst the gadgets called in the claim.
The action is yet another example of the CPSC’s considerably more powerful method this year. The items mentioned are not offered straight by Amazon– they’re offered by 3rd parties utilizing Amazon’s platform.
India’s reserve bank, the Reserve Bank of India has actually disallowed Mastercard forever from releasing brand-new debit or charge card to domestic consumers after implicating it of breaching information storage laws.
According to the bank, Mastercard had actually not followed standards needing foreign card networks to save information on Indian payments entirely in India.
Mastercard will be forbidden from providing debit, credit or pre-paid cards to clients in India from 22 July, although the relocation will not impact existing Mastercard users.
Maintain to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.


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BY SAM SPOKONY | Lower East Side residents are up in arms over the impending closure of a Pathmark supermarket on Cherry St. that many say will be a crushing blow to low-income families that have no other nearby options for affordable groceries.
Since The Lo-Down blog confirmed on Sept. 28 the rumors that the nearly 30-year-old Pathmark, at 227 Cherry St., would shut its doors at the end of December, the outcry has been constant.
“Losing this resource would be an incredible hardship for the community at large, and we’re extremely worried,” said Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, which represents the area primarily served by the Pathmark.
The store’s closure is the result of Pathmark’s sale of its lease, according to a spokesperson for the national supermarket chain. While Pathmark is preserving the right to operate there once any new development on the site is completed, the spokesperson said that the supermarket is relinquishing the lease in order to accommodate a large-scale residential development and improvement project.
In the days after the announcement, local politicians expressed worry over the impending closure.
“I’m deeply concerned about Pathmark’s closure and what it means for an already-underserved Lower East Side,” said state Senator Daniel Squadron. “It’s critical that we maintain a comparable grocery store that will provide our community’s seniors, public housing residents and all Lower East Siders with the food access they need, and I will work with my colleagues, the community and the owner to ensure that happens.”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver also said that he was concerned by the announcement, and stressed the outlet’s importance within the Two Bridges community.
“Five years ago, I led an effort to keep this store open and I will once again work hard to ensure that we retain a full-service supermarket at this location,” Silver said.
He was referring to the rallies by residents, community leaders and politicians in 2007 that succeeded in preventing the Pathmark from being sold at that time to make way for luxury condominiums.
Papa claimed that a permanent closure of the Pathmark’s accompanying pharmacy would be an even worse turn of events for area seniors, who rely on it for vital prescription medication. Since the pharmarcy is actually separate from the supermarket, he added that his organization is considering an attempt to work with elected officials to convince Pathmark executives to at least spare the pharmacy from closure.
But he acknowledged that any effort would be an uphill battle, now that Pathmark has officially declared its intention to close.
“This just makes us conscious of how vulnerable we are to the whims of developers,” he said. “No community should be subject to that.”


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Drivers Fear Hacker Attacks on Autonomous Cars, Want Special Insurance Policies
With self-driving cars on an unavoidable collision course with our auto industry, it’s time we had a look at all the aspects involved, and as this period of Internet access and connected devices has proven, wherever there are silicon chips, there will be hackers.
After toying around with computers all over the world – including some high-priority names such as US government agencies – hackers will undoubtedly welcome the new challenge of gaining control over AI-controlled vehicles. Some of them have already started, and programs such as the one run by Tesla where it awards people for finding weaknesses in its system are starting to become the norm. The threat of outside interference with the vehicle’s system is real, and people know it.


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(New throughout with updated prices, adds market comment, adds NEW YORK dateline)
NEW YORK/LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee and raw sugar on ICE Futures U.S. rose on Wednesday, supported by currency fluctuations.
Cocoa also gained.
* September arabica coffee settled up 0.7 cent, or 0.55 percent, at $1.276 per lb.
* “The strength in the Brazilian real was what put a bid in coffee and sugar,” said Nick Gentile, managing partner of commodity trading advisor NickJen Capital.
* Brazil’s stocks and currency further strengthened on Wednesday after former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was convicted of corruption charges.
* The real’s gains strengthen coffee and sugar prices, reducing exporters’ incentive to sell the dollar-traded commodities.
* September robusta coffee settled up $25, or 1.21 percent, at $2,097 per tonne, as chart signals strengthened after four sessions of losses.
* Dealers closely watched appetite to take delivery on the July contract amid expectations for tightening physical supplies over the next few months.
* Coffee supplies held by private market players in Brazil at the end of the 2016/17 crop year in March were seen at 9.86 million 60-kg bags, down 27 percent from a year earlier, Conab said on Wednesday.
* Mexico aims to more than triple its annual coffee production in the next 15 years.
* October raw sugar settled up 0.05 cent, or 0.37 percent, at 13.49 cents per lb. Prices turned higher late in the session, also bolstered by the real.
* Biweekly cane industry data from Brazil showed millers in the country’s center-south region increased sugar output in the second half of June.
* Mills crushed 47.55 million tonnes of cane and allocated 50.48 percent to sugar, broadly in line with market expectations. Ethanol output was at 1.797 billion litres, up from the first half of June, but down slightly more than expected on last year.
* August white sugar settled up $4.20, or 1 percent, to $406.40 a tonne ahead of expiry on Friday.
* The contract has been boosted by worries about tighter nearby deliverable supplies.
* September New York cocoa settled up $4, or 0.22 percent, at $1,821 per tonne.
* September London cocoa settled up 2 pounds, or 0.14 percent, at 1,454 pounds per tonne.
* Top grower Ivory Coast will end forward sales of its 2017/18 cocoa crop early and will limit total volumes auctioned to 1.2 million to 1.25 million tonnes, two sources at the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Renita D. Young in New York and Ana Ionova in London; Editing by David Evans and Diane Craft)


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You didn't think Google was going to leave the market for web TV services to Apple, did you? One week after Steve Jobs grabbed headlines with Apple TV, Google's CEO Eric Schmidt said the company intends to roll out its own web-based television service this autumn in the United States.
Reuters quoted Schmidt saying the Google service would be free and work with a myriad of program makers and electronics manufacturers. However, Schmidt added that it was "very unlikely" that Google will do its own content production.
The announcement suggests yet another market where Apple and Google are likely to butt heads. Apple last week announced an upgrade to its own web-based television service. The company $99 TV set-top box will play movie and television show rentals downloaded from the Internet.At one point, Schmidt sat on Apple's board of directors. But he resigned a a year ago last August. At the time, Jobs alluded to the growing competition between the companies in the smartphone business, noting that "unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple's core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric's effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest."
Given the ongoing trend toward digital convergence, it was only a matter of time before Google put its own marker down in the web TV field. The company first began talking about its TV plans earlier this spring, and has portrayed itself as a more open platform than that offered by Apple's proprietary design.
The argument may be resonating. Last week Sony said it planned to work with Google TV (Google is working with Sony as well as Intel to create the service.) On Tuesday, the head of Samsung's television unit said the company was "reviewing" the possibility of integrating Android OS into its line of televisions.
Schmidt made his comments during the IFA tech conference which has been taking place this past week in Berlin.


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Lincolnville Fall Music Fair features music, drama, fun
Thomas Byers said some people have called his business plan crazy.
At Sunday's Lincolnville Fall Music Fair at Willie Galimore Center, Byers sold the frozen pops he makes from the fresh fruit he buys and the spices he grows.
Other vendors sold ginger lemonade, raw honey and vegan muffins at the event, where Byers offers a dollar off a frozen pop for each empty plastic water bottle returned to his L-Loco Gourmet Popsicles stand.
"It's like getting a free water," Byers said of the drinks he sells for a buck. "That's why it's L-Loco. A lot of what we do is what people call crazy."
Sue Agresta, president of Lift Up Lincolnville, said the fall music festival was inspired by the positive response by the community to one held in the spring.
"We decided to do it again because so many people enjoyed the music," Agresta said.
Playing Sunday were The Dewars, The Sweetest Punch and Hunter Miller, whom festival attendee Kelli Kahm came with friends Paige Sessock and Mary Garrard to see perform.
Also featured at the festival were actors from the Limelight Theatre's current musical comedy, "Big River." They sang songs from the play.
Evelyn Kahrs and Kathy Tanner manned a booth featuring crayon-colored pinwheels and school giveaway packs, promoting the International Day of Peace. Established in 1981 by the United Nations, the day is celebrated annually on Sept. 21.
"It's about peace in the heart, the home, the community and the world," Kahrs said of the day. "Any word that begins with 'W' is not in our vocabulary."
Tanner said "more work must be done locally" to support peace, but she praised the St. Augustine City Commission for its proclamation recognizing the day.
St. Augustine resident Virginia Gregorian said people-watching and cloud cover - keeping people from being baked by direct sun - made for a good event.
"It's fun with the people, especially on such a nice day," she said.
Across from Byers, Hugo Brache of Hugo's Muffins said he'd sold as many of his vegan and gluten-free muffins by 1:10 p.m. as he would typically two hours later at the festival's end.
"It's going extraordinarily well. We've had a wonderful response," said Brache, who's sold muffins for four years at Lincolnville festivals. "I'm a lifer here."
University of St. Augustine student Lauren Corrao said she comes to Lincolnville festivals for multiple reasons.
"I really like the fruit," she said, holding a bag stuffed with fresh fruit and a leash with her dog, Layla, at its end. "And it's dog-friendly. I get fresh fruit for a good price and get to enjoy the day."


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Silicon Valley is at the center of the venture capitalist world – but maybe not for long. And despite accusations of a struggling and limiting environment, a report from VC firm Earlybird shows that the European VC market could very well be giving the US a little competition in the near future. It’s a younger, newer atmosphere than in the US, where there is an older tradition of investment firms. Venture capitalism is relatively new to Europe, and it’s supposed to get stronger.
According to Earlybird, Europe VCs are producing higher exit multiples and lower entry valuations than the US, meaning that more stateside startups are receiving insanely high pre-IPO valuations but exiting their private stage at a considerably smaller worth in comparison to those in Europe. Sound familiar? You could probably list a few tech startups from the past year that were pegged at insanely high values and didn’t see the same numbers when they filed their S-1 forms.
In fact, since 2005 European VC-backed IPOs either matched or bested US VC-backed IPO performance. The catch is that there are simply more VC firms in the US. Our market is more mature, more expansive, and just all-around bigger. But this means that the handful of successful European VC firms are flourishing, and it has contributed to a buyer’s market. There’s a lack of confidence in investing in startups, keeping initial valuations lower and boosting capital efficiency well above that in the US. It might sound like a problem at first glance (less money, less confidence, fewer investors), but it’s actually creating a very profitable and promising situation for the European VC market.
VC firms in Europe are much choosier than those here, and money generally only gets put into the top contenders of startups. There’s less room for waste. So proportionally, European VCs are outperforming those in the US – but that doesn’t mean their market is altogether more successful.
The US VC scene is in a period of flux, it seems, but is generally considered to still be thriving. Everyone’s got an idea and a VC firm supporting it. Unfortunately, there have been a number of flawed projects that received ridiculous amounts of financial backing (we can’t help but think of Color). Is it that we’ve been the center of digital innovation for so long that our confidence is beginning to get the best of us? Or that so many great startups have come out of Silicon Valley in the past 10 years that any company with the right buzz words can get VCs to empty their pockets? Whatever it is, it’s precisely a problem Europe doesn’t have. In comparison, European startups are receiving lower entry valuations, less cash throughout their development, and approximately the same exit value, yielding a much higher return on investment.
There’s a persisting idea that the European VC culture is less aggressive, less innovation-focused than the US, and this has limited its approach to entrepreneurship. The numbers seem to suggest that while more sensible, European VC firms are less inclined to tackle as many ideas as US firms – for better or for worse. And this could actually be a thorn in our side: We’re more willing to fund an idea, but sometimes to a fault. And while the European method appears more practical and in the long term profitable, it is undeniably a more restricted approach that can negatively impact entrepreneurs.


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Atlus has confirmed that Persona 5: The Royal, an expanded version of 2017's critically acclaimed JRPG, will launch in the US and UK in 2020.
Persona 5: The Royal will make its Japanese debut in October this year, and will include additional characters and locations not seen in the original version of the game, plus an enhanced battle system. Also joining The Royal is Kasumi, a new female party member who will join up with the Phantom Thieves at some point.
In addition, a new third semester will be included in Persona 5: The Royal, as well as the extra Tokyo district, Kichijoji. The game will be released exclusively for PlayStation 4, and will also be enhanced for the PS4 Pro.
Check out a trailer for Persona 5: The Royal below.


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These are two findings in the Alberta Enterprise Corporation’s 2021 Alberta Technology Deal Flow Study that reveals the number of technology companies in the province has more than doubled since 2012. The majority – 58 per cent – are located in Calgary, 30 per cent are in Edmonton and almost 13 per cent are in other regions of the province.
Alberta’s technology industry is showing signs of maturity, with almost 40 per cent of local tech companies surveyed exceeding revenues of $1 million, a 66 per cent increase since 2018. Over the last two years, the number of companies with 25 or more employees has increased from 13 per cent to 25 per cent. Fourteen per cent of those companies were founded in 2020.
“It’s great to see more than double the number of companies identified in the 2021 study. Alberta’s tech sector is maturing rapidly and it is now a real driver of employment and diversification. We don’t just want to be a player in Canada’s tech space – we want to become a dominant player going forward.”
“Over the last two years we’ve seen record-breaking venture capital investment in Alberta and we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of technology companies since we first started measuring. These milestones demonstrate that our technology sector is resilient and has growth momentum. Investors are choosing to invest in Alberta’s founders and those women and men are successfully starting and growing innovative companies here.”
Among the data the Alberta Enterprise Corporation was watching closely was the diversity of company founders. Two years ago, the report showed 30 per cent of tech companies in Alberta had a female founder or co-founder. The 2021 report showed almost the same proportion of female leadership, suggesting inclusivity is one of the cultural advantages of Alberta – placing it ahead of the global average of 20 per cent.
The Alberta Enterprise Corporation initiated the Alberta Tech Deal Flow Study in 2012 with a goal to provide industry stakeholders with a reliable report for measuring the health, growth and composition of the Alberta technology and innovation sector. The 2021 study is the fourth edition, co-authored this year with PwC Canada with the same team that produced the PwC MoneyTree Canada Report.
Key 2021 Technology Deal Flow Study findings
- Tech sector size and cities – There are currently 3,083 tech companies in Alberta (compared to 1,238 companies identified in the 2018 study). Most companies operate in our two largest cities – 1,776 in Calgary and 918 in Edmonton.
- Tech company financing – 43 per cent of Alberta’s technology startups are at the pre-seed or seed stage and 43 per cent have raised at least US $1 million to date.
- Tech company growth – 40 per cent of survey respondents have achieved profitability and 38 per cent of companies reported revenue greater than $1 million in the last fiscal year.
- Tech jobs – Between 2018 and 2020, the number of companies with 25 or more employees increased from 13 per cent to 25 per cent.
- Tech founders – The average age of Alberta’s startup founders is 43 and 68 per cent have previous startup experience. Almost 30 per cent of Alberta companies have female founders or co-founders, and 35 per cent of the companies that achieved profitability in the last two years were founded by women.
- Tech type – 67 per cent of Alberta companies are developing software, many for business-to-business enterprise applications. A significant proportion of companies are integrating digital technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning (36 per cent) and big data (27 per cent) into their products and services.
- Investment sources – Alberta tech firms raised capital predominantly from local sources in Alberta, with 53 per cent of survey respondents identifying Calgary as a funding source and 32 per cent identifying Edmonton as a funding source.
- Environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact – Startups strived to deliver ESG impacts in their product or service offerings: 39 per cent had an environmental benefit, 45 per cent had a social benefit, and 18 per cent had a governance benefit.
The 2021 Alberta Tech Deal Flow Study was made possible due to input from Alberta’s tech and venture capital firms and numerous organizations that make up the Alberta startup ecosystem.
Alberta Enterprise Corporation
The Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) promotes the development of Alberta’s venture capital industry by investing in venture capital funds that finance technology companies.
The corporation focuses on funds that have a strong commitment to Alberta – including a full-time presence in the province. In addition to capital, it supports Alberta’s venture capital ecosystem by connecting investors, entrepreneurs and experienced technology executives who share a passion for building a bright, innovative Alberta.
Since its launch, AEC has committed $219 million in investment to 20 venture capital funds, covering a diverse range of forward-looking industries including information technology, industrial technology and life sciences.


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When the ideas of car recycling, efficiency and air pollution initiatives are mentioned, it’s probably fair to say that India isn’t the first place that comes to mind. In fact, India has a worldwide reputation for being not only one of the most dangerous places on earth to drive, but a place that has also turned a blind eye to air pollution for much of recent history.
Nevertheless, things have begun shifting quite radically in an entirely different direction as of late. The most recent headline being that if a recent statement from the Indian government proves accurate, every single car sold nationwide will be electric by the year 2030.
Needless to say, an incredibly bold proclamation to make, but why now?
Well, the first and most obvious motivation for the move is of course the air quality. According to the most recent estimates provided by Greenpeace, somewhere in the region of 1.2 million Indians are killed every year as a direct result of air pollution. Incredibly, this is about the same number of deaths as those attributed to smoking cigarettes.
Should the initiative go ahead as planned, the government believes that total carbon emissions in India could be reduced by up to 37% by the year 2030. Great news for those supporting the battle against climate change – even better news for hundreds of thousands of Indians whose deaths may be avoided.
On top of this, there’s also the way in which making the shift to electric cars could potentially save the country around $60 billion annually in energy costs. In addition, the average Indian motorist would also end up better-off long-term. So as far as the government is concerned, it’s an initiative that produces a win-win result for absolutely everyone involved.
Back in the UK
Of course, the idea of switching to electric vehicles as a means by which to tackle air pollution head on isn’t one that has escaped the attention of the UK government. Just a few weeks ago, electric car registrations in the United Kingdom hit their highest level in over a decade. It is estimated that there are around 100,000 EVs currently doing their business on UK roads, with around 1.5% of new car sales going the way of electric cars. There are also approximately 12,700 EV charging locations nationwide.
Unfortunately, this represents a drop in the ocean as far as the bigger picture is concerned.
The numbers appear reassuring, but confirm that 98.5% of all new car sales are still going the way of cars with traditional fuel engines, or hybrid motors. Whichever way you look at it therefore, the idea of Britain becoming an all-EV nation in the near future at least seems farfetched at best.
Still, with every hybrid sale and modern vehicle shipped with a far more eco-friendly engine than those of years gone by, it can at least be said that we are making some kind of progress.
Just, perhaps not quite as rapidly as elsewhere.