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iPhone 7 Latest Rumors, Release Date, Update: Should You Trade Your Old iPhone?
In a couple of days, Apple fans finally get to see the iPhone 7 and be left with the decision to get one or pass. A lot of this would depend on how minimal the features the upcoming Apple flagship will carry.Advertisement
While many feel that demand for the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus will not be as big compared to previous offerings, the fact that it is the latest one in the market may be enough reason to get. There is no mention of its suggested retail price right now, but savings could come in the form of trade-in deals.
Who are offering trade-in deals?
Among the ones offering trade-in deals are like the big mobile carriers. That includes AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint. The offers they will have will vary but with the same intent of enticing sales and pushing the iPhone 7/ 7 Plus.
But aside from the carriers, there are other groups likely to offer trade-in programs. That includes Flipsy.com or even Cult of Mac, both offering price locks and programs for users who want to get the latest Apple flaghship
Should You Get the iPhone 7/ 7 Plus?
Before even considering the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the first thing that one has to do is ask himself, “Do I want to get it?” Right now, a lot are not too thrilled because of the minimal changes. Many believe that getting the iPhone is like getting an upgraded iPhone 6s.
Also Read: iOS 10 Not Ready For September Debut?
Just the same, the fact is that this is the latest Apple model in the market and the features (minimal as they are) will still count. Better processors, slimmer design and a curious camera will be more than enough to woo potential buyers.
Most are undecided at the moment because they have not seen the official product. All that could change once the iPhone 7 officially rolls out on Sept. 7.


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FREYR picks Georgia for multi-phase ‘Giga America’ battery manufacturing plant
FREYR Battery has confirmed that its 'Giga America' clean battery manufacturing facility in the U.S is to come up in Coweta County in the state of Georgia. The company is to undertake detailed plant engineering in the coming months, during which plans for the initial gigafactory module will be finalized.
The project is expected to be developed in multiple phases beginning with an initial battery cell production module of approximately 34 GWh at a preliminarily estimated capital investment of $1.7 billion.
Together with value addition for upstream and downstream modules and a second cell production phase, the total capital investments for the gigafactory is likely to exceed $2.6 billion by 2029, according to FREYR.
"Today's landmark announcement underscores FREYR's ambition to develop a very strong and near-term operational footprint in the United States. Expanding into the U.S. has been a foundational aspect of FREYR's long-term strategy from our inception, and with the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we expect U.S. demand for ESS, passenger EV and other electric mobility applications to grow rapidly over the next decade," commented FREYR's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tom Einar Jensen.
The Giga America project will be based on the 'SemiSolid' technology of FREYR's U.S.-based licensing partner, 24M. The Splatform enables capital and energy efficient production of lithium-ion batteries at scale, by simplifying the production process of lithium-ion batteries.
FREYR claims that the project targets to meet the rapidly growing customer demand for energy storage (ESS) applications with U.S.-based conditional offtake partners. The company is seeing very strong interest for increased volume commitments through ongoing customer dialogues.
It is to be noted that the company has already commenced building its first planned battery factory in Mo i Rana, Norway, and has recently announced potential development of industrial scale battery cell production in Vaasa, Finland.
FREYR intends to install 50 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025, and 100 GWh annual capacity by 2028. By 2030, the company targets a cumulative capacity of 200 GWh per year.

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VERNON, Conn. (WTNH) — Police have arrested a man accused of stealing nearly $100 worth of shrimp from a Stop & Shop grocery store in Vernon on Wednesday.
According to police, 49-year-old David Demeusy, of Tolland, shoplifted a bag of shrimp, that was later estimated to be valued at $95.92. Demeusy left the store but employees were able to get the license plate information as he fled, police said.
Officers arrested Demeusy when he returned to the store later in the day to pay for the stolen shrimp.
Demeusy posted a $5,000 bond and is due in court later this month.


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It’s true! The 2016 edition of the New York Coffee Festival is right around the corner, happening September 16th-18th. Heaps of consumers and top coffee brands from New York and beyond are set to descend on the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan for a three-day celebration of coffee and culture. The event kicks off in just a few days (get your tickets here) and today we want to shine a light on some of what we think will be the coolest elements at this year’s show. This is the second-ever edition of the NYCCF, and we’re looking forward to seeing old friends and exciting new stuff at the event. Here’s what’s got us the most stoked.
The Coffee Masters tournament debuted in 2015 at the London Coffee Festival and emerged on American shores at last year’s New York Coffee Festival. After another successful run in London the show is back again for an American round two, featuring a fierce bracket of 16 different competitors from around the world, judged by a star-studded panel of adjudicators, including Anne Lunnell (Koppi Coffee), Dan Streetman (World Coffee Events), John Letoto (Blacksmith), and David Donde (Truth Coffee). The event will be MC’d by Gwilym Davies (2009 World Barista Champion), Lem Butler (2016 United States Barista Champion) and Jordan Michelman (Sprudge co-founder). Coffee at the event will be supplied by The Roasting Party, with equipment and support provided by San Remo, Mahlkoenig, Espresso Parts, Bonavita, Pacific Barista Series, Pentair Everpure, Wilbur Curtis Company, and Battenkill Valley Creamery.
There’s much more than just the Coffee Masters happening at NYC CF—from a dedicated latte art zone to a coffee art exhibition, demos on water and non-dairy products, to an indoor street food market and live music performances, there’s no shortage of offering on offer.
Be sure not to miss a series of talks and lectures happening at the event’s interactive demonstration space, The Lab. Presentations happen each day from brands like Ally Coffee, Double B Coffee, Stumptown Coffee, Cafe Imports, Toby’s Estate, and more.
Coffee & Tech:
There’s a veritable whirlwind of coffee and tech happening at the New York Coffee Festival, a who’s who of brands doing their thing. Some more of the coffee folks exhibiting at NYCCF include Genuine Origin Coffee, Walter’s Coffee Roastery, Third Rail Coffee, Variety Coffee Roasters, Taylor St. Baristas, Square One Coffee, Quills Coffee, Parlor Coffee, Ninth Street Espresso, Ceremony Coffee, La Colombe, Joe, Irving Farm, Intelligentsia, George Howell Coffee, Coffee Labs Roasters, Cafe Grumpy, All Saints Cafe, and Supercrown Coffee Roasters.
Expect heaps of dope tech as well, from exhibitors like Mavam, Nuova Simonelli, La Marzocco Home, Alpha Dominche, Anfim, Bodum, Bonavita, Chemex, Wilbur Curtis Company, DeLonghi, Espresso Parts, Espro, Keep Cup, Marco, Rancilio, Rattleware, and many more.
A complete list of participating brands is available here.
Sprudge Media Network is partnered with Allegra Events, presenters of the 2016 New York Coffee Festival.
Photos by Elizabeth Chai for Sprudge.


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Just under a year ago now indie developer Mindfield Games revealed its very first virtual reality (VR) videogame in Pollen for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD). Little has been revealed about the sci-fi first-person experience since that time, though fans may well learn more next month. It’s been confirmed that Pollen is on its way to Gamescom in Cologne, Germany from 5th – 9th August 2015. Not only that but the title is now on its way to both the HTC Vive and Project Morpheus HMDs along with the original Oculus Rift version.
An email confirming that Pollen will on display at next month’s show seems to state that the title will arrive on both the Oculus Rift and HTC vive at launch. Then, later on in 2016, it will also arrive on PlayStation 4 with support for the Project Morpheus device, which itself is expected to launch in the first half of next year. It’s the first time these versions have been mentioned, as the official website still only lists the Oculus Rift edition of the videogame. Mindfield Games will have a brand new demo for the title to show off at Gamescom.
Pollen is a first-person exploration videogame that is inspired by movies such as Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as adventure titles such as Gone Home. The piece is set on board Research Station M, a man-made structure on the surface of Saturn’s sixth and largest moon, Titan. Here players will explore the seemingly desolate facility, uncovering the fate of the crew that had previously occupied it. The official website lists an initial 2015 release for the title, though it’s unclear if this remains the case.
VRFocus will continue to follow Pollen closely, reporting back with the latest updates on the title.


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By Jared Newman | Monday, June 13, 2011 at 5:26 pm
I don’t know whether Comcast is afraid of Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes, but that’s the way the cable company’s plans for Skype support look from here.
Comcast will bring Skype to customers on a trial basis in the coming months, All Things Digital’s Peter Kafka reports. The service will require an adaptor box, a high-quality video camera and special remote control that allows text input. It’s not clear how much the service will cost, if anything, and whether it’ll be available to cable customers, Internet subscribers or both. As Kafka notes, it’s certainly possible that Comcast could give the service away to platinum cable subscribers as a “please don’t cut the cord” incentive.
Whatever the service looks like when it goes live, it won’t be the first example of Skype on televisions. Skype is already available on several connected TVs from Panasonic and Samsung, and is coming to TVs from Vizio and Sony. Blu-ray players from Sony and Panasonic may also support Skype in the future, and Microsoft plans to build the service into the Xbox 360 once the company’s acquisition of Skype goes through. So although Skype doesn’t have the ubiquity of, say, Netflix, Comcast is playing a bit of catch-up.
Anyway, the fact that Comcast will dabble in web-based services is kind of a big deal. The company obviously sees potential in big-screen video chat, and wants to get on board before customers stray to connected TVs and set-top boxes, which are steadily becoming more viable options for cord-cutters. If subscribers can get everything they need from the cable company, they’ll have less of a reason to experiment with alternatives.
Or maybe I’m reading too much into this. We’ll know for sure if Comcast starts integrating Facebook and Twitter into its cable boxes. Oh wait.


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The day American shoppers lose their minds for moderately awesome, limited supply discounting is upon us! Black Friday is here, and some of the largest retailers across the country are following the annoyingly disturbing trend of opening their doors even earlier this year than the last.
The second round of open enrollment for Obamacare begins today, allowing those who didn't obtain health insurance last year the opportunity to get covered. If you are one of those individuals who didn't get health insurance during the first open enrollment, or if you are like me and want to search for new options, you have until February 15, 2015 to make your decision.
President Obama's deal with China to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions may go down as one of his lasting legacies once everything is said and done with his Administration. The deal, which was announced at a joint press conference, set far reaching goals of reducing carbon emissions that surprised most everyone over how much the two countries agreed to cut.
We have seen this story play out in countless midterm elections before. Members of the party the President belongs to run as far away from him as possible and members of the opposition try to tie members of the President's party to him at every turn.
Walmart, our nation's largest retailer, is cutting some 30,000 part-time employee's health care benefits, due to the rising costs for the company.
The instant access, video streaming juggernaut Netflix makes this claim on their YouTube homepage about their recent commitment and success with offering original content to subscribers: Netflix original series - The Future of Television is Here.
There has been a lot of talk about the FCC destroying net neutrality. How former lobbyists and council of Verizon and Comcast have made their way on to the board of the FCC and how they have started enacting policy to make net neutrality a thing of the past.
There is a lot of discussion (and confusion) over Internet Neutrality, or 'net neutrality' as it was coined back in 2003 by Columbia media law professor Tim Wu.
On Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on her colleagues in the Senate to reduce interest rates for Americans crushed by student loan debt, and pay for it by closing tax loopholes for the rich. Last summer, after a rancorous debate, Congress passed a law setting interest rates for new student loans for undergrads at 3.86 percent for the coming year. (Rates were set to double to 6.8 percent.) However, the legislation did not cut interest rates for those who took out the same type of loan before July 1 of last year. Americans who financed their education earlier than that are paying off debt with interest rates of 7, 8, or 9 percent. On Wednesday, Warren joined Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.
Target Corp said hackers have stolen data from up to 40 million credit and debit cards of shoppers who visited its stores during the first three weeks of the holiday season in the second-largest such breach reported by a U.S. retailer. In terms of the speed at which the hackers were able to access large numbers of credit cards, the data theft was unprecedented. The operation was carried out over just 19 days during the heart of the crucial Christmas holiday sales season: from the day before Thanksgiving to this past Sunday.
Target Corp. acknowledged early Thursday that there was a massive security breach of its customers' credit and debit card accounts starting the day before Thanksgiving and extending at least to Dec. 15 — the heart of the holiday shopping season. "Approximately 40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been impacted," the retailer said. The hacking involved not only Target-issued cards but those from other issuers as well. The size of the breach puts it in the upper echelon of recent hackings into consumers' payment accounts.
Target confirmed Thursday morning that it was investigating a security breach involving stolen credit card and debit card information for 40 million of its retail customers. In a statement, Target said that criminals gained access to its customer information on Nov. 27 — the day before Thanksgiving and just ahead of one of the busiest shopping days of the year — and maintained access through Dec. 15.
If you did some Christmas shopping at Target over the last few weeks, you’ll want to pay close attention to your credit card statements, as the retailer is dealing with a major data breach. Target is just now confirming the security breach that resulted in compromised credit card information, but some of the details are still missing. Here’s what we know so far, and what Target shoppers should be aware of:
Target was hit by a massive data breach involving millions of customers' credit and debit card information. The breach impacted customers who shopped in Target's U.S. stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, according to Target.
Buy now, pay later offers on big purchases may sound great, especially when you are approved for a loan you might not have pay off over the years. However, Consumer Reports says you should be wary ...
The interest rate on government-backed student loans is going to double on Monday. Policymakers in Washington could not agree on a plan to keep it from happening. If they don't agree on a plan soon, 7 million students expected to take out new Stafford loans could be stuck with a much bigger bill.
Liberal Legislation that Affects the Credit & Loan Industry
|07/22/10||Borrowers protected from bad loans with rules and penalties requiring that lenders verify that they are able to repay the loans that they issue||Wall Street Reform Act|
|07/22/10||Consumer Financial Protection Bureau established to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards, and other consumer financial products||Wall Street Reform Act|
|07/22/10||Risk in the financial system reduced with new SEC Office of Credit Ratings (OCR) to monitor credit rating agencies for conflict of interests & inaccuracies||Wall Street Reform Act|
|05/20/09||Mortgage lending businesses added to list of financial institutions subject to Federal criminal law in fraudulent lending practices ||Fraud Enforcement Act|
|05/20/09||Lenders incentivized to reduce foreclosures by loss mitigation guarantees, compensation and lender protection from lawsuits by investors holding the loans ||Helping Families Save Their Homes|
|05/20/09||Homeowners' foreclosures avoided by improved terms for loan modification and restructuring of their debt ||Helping Families Save Their Homes|
Videos on Credit & Loan Industry


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- “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer lays out how streaming giant Netflix is crushing the competition.
- Cramer also sits down with J.P. Morgan retail guru Matthew Boss.
- In the lightning round, Cramer gets bullish on what he calls a “plain, boring, terrific” company.
As shares of Netflix surged to an all-time high on Tuesday and sent the broader market higher, CNBC’s Jim Cramer tied the rise to the lasting effect of the FANG stocks on the economy.
Analysts have long said FANG, Cramer’s acronym for the stocks of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, now Alphabet, was near-dead or overvalued, but the “Mad Money” host has balked at the allegations.
Even so, Cramer admitted that analyzing the stocks can be enough to drive people crazy.
“Today’s epic 9 percent run in Netflix, after the company reported some preposterously fantastic sign-ups, is the kind of thing that makes you want to tear your hair out, if you have any, if you’re trying to value the stock on traditional metrics,” he said.
Netflix’s stock has soared despite the company’s heavy spending on content and its negative free cash flow, which some see as a threat to the streaming giant’s earnings.
But Cramer argued that “the simple fact is that the world loves Netflix. We’re beginning to believe that it could easily reach 300 million subscribers someday and they’ll be willing to pay a heck of a lot more for the service. Why? Because it is such a bargain.”
“That’s why Netflix is the best-performing stock in 2018 for the S&P 500,” Cramer continued. “That’s why it has a $145 billion market cap, very close to Disney and more than seven times the size of CBS. That’s why Netflix is the most powerful force in the entertainment world today.”
Off the charts: Defending your portfolio?
With increased geopolitical worries threatening markets at every churn of the 24-hour news cycle, Cramer wanted investors to be prepared for the next marketwide panic.
“What works here [is] not just in spite of these worries, but perhaps, in some cases, because of them,” Cramer said on Tuesday.
Every time investors or analysts fret about President Donald Trump’s escalation in Syria and its potential ramifications, for example, it translates into good news for U.S. defense companies, Cramer said.
Aerospace and defense stocks spent much of 2017 in the green, setting new highs in January before pausing their rallies after the broader sell-off in February.
With that in mind, Cramer called on technician Rob Moreno, publisher of RightViewTrading.com and Cramer’s colleague at RealMoney.com, to help him get a sense of where the top defense stocks might be headed.
Retail guru talks the China 'wildcard'
The man whom CNBC’s Jim Cramer calls “the best retail analyst on Wall Street” is positive about the improving state of the retail sector — but there’s a non-retail catch.
Matthew Boss, J.P. Morgan’s equity research analyst focusing on retailing, department stores and specialty retail, said “the optimism was in the air” at his recent Retail Roundup conference.
But among the top retailers at Boss’ annual roundup, which spanned from the low-cost Dollar General to higher-end brands like Lululemon, one key variable still stoked worry: China.
“This is the wildcard to this space,” Boss told Cramer, detailing his three-pronged strategy to how investors should approach the potential trade war’s effect on their retail stocks.
Passing on SNAP
Cramer cautioned investors against buying Snap despite the social media company’s new app redesign — at least for now.
“The stock is not cheap here,” Cramer said on Tuesday. “I say take a pass — for now — at least until we know whether the Snapchat redesign will actually hurt them. I think it’s a little bit too risky. I’d prefer to see more panic, more sturm und drang.”
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, was founded in 2011 and went public in March 2017. Shares maintained the initial IPO trading price at the time of the first earnings report, but plunged more than 60 percent by summer, falling from their March 3, 2017’s highs of $29.44 to $11.28 a share on August 14.
The main problem, Cramer said, is that Snap isn’t growing fast enough and its expenses are too high. The company reported a loss of $2.2 billion during the first quarter of 2017.
Cramer also told investors how they should approach the stock of Netflix after its blowout quarter.
“Look, I’m sure there are some people who want to take profits here,” he said, acknowledging the bear case that Netflix spends too much on content and has an overblown valuation.
Cramer, however, had a much more bullish view that Netflix could one day have 300 million subscribers, all of whom pay a higher rate for its streaming service than consumers do now.
“If you were telling people to sell Netflix on these worries going into today or any other time in the last 10 years, that has to inspire some real soul-searching about what you’re doing in the business,” Cramer said. “People have been fretting about content costs for years, it’s simply kept you out of a magnificent multi-year rally.”
Lightning round: Plain, boring and terrific
In Cramer’s lightning round, he zipped through his take on some callers’ favorite stocks:
Ecolab Inc.: “A plain, boring, terrific situation that I want you to hold onto and buy more if it comes down. What a fantastic security.”
B&G Foods, Inc.: “No. We’re going to stay away. This whole food business is just- I like Conagra, but that’s really about it. This group is just snakebit.”
— CNBC’s Kellie Ell contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet.
Questions for Cramer?
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Swiggy was founded in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy and Rahul Jaimini. The company arranges food from favourite restaurants, get it delivered it fast. Initially Swiggy covered certain areas of the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru like Koramangala, Indiranagar, BTM, HSR Layout and Whitefield. They have added several areas like JP Nagar, Jayanagar, Basavanagudi and other areas.
Food delivery market in India is estimated to be $6 billion and poised for growth at faster pace. Swiggy has started operations in Hyderabad and Gurgaon. The company has tied up with 100+ restaurants for food delivery. On the other hand they have tied up with Bengaluru based ‘cloud kitchens’ Eatongo and Brekkie.
Swiggy is in the process adding some more such cloud kitchens to their fold and in process of negotiating with few more. Cloud Kitchens are online breakfast and brunch units that do not have a restaurant. Most of them offer food through their website/apps, apart from food delivery.
The company promoters Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy have graduated from BITS Pilani and Rahul Jaimini is an alumni of IIT Kharagpur. Swiggy raised Series ‘A’ funding in the month of April for $2 million from SAIF Partners and Accel Partners. On June 9, 2015 the company raised Series ‘B’ funding of $16.5 million from Norwest Venture Partners along with existing investors.
With the funding Swiggy wants to consolidate their position in the food delivery market. Sriharsha Majety, co founder of Swiggy said “We have seen a 10x growth in order numbers over the past few months and this investment will help us to expand exponentially as we intend to establish ourselves in several new cities by the end of the year. Combining technology with our own delivery fleet allows us to provide users a superior experience, which has been our key strength, and we will continue to build on it.”
Sumer Juneja, Principal at Norwest Venture Partners said “Swiggy’s delivery infrastructure solves a major need in the market by enabling restaurants to concentrate on their core business and scale up their delivery revenues. Simultaneously, the product’s ease of use and the convenience it provides to consumers has resulted in strong repeat rates and an increased customer base.”
Online food ordering and delivery space is attracting many PE investors. Many startups are drawing interests of investors in terms of funding and the segment is witnessing consolidation too. Market leader Foodpanda.com which owns Foodpanda brand, a multi location online food ordering company has raised $100 million funding from leading investment banker Goldman Sachs this month. Foodpanda acquired Just East India and TastyKhana.
The market seems to be little crowded with the companies like Mumbai based TinyOwl, delyver.com, Foodpanda vying for space. Zomato has also started food ordering business may get into delivery of food too in near future. Ola Cabs with their OlaCafe have rolled out operations in certain localities of major metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune to name a few.
The segment is attracting investment from promoters of other startup companies like Bengaluru based Dazo earlier known as TapCibo secured funding from the promoters of Commonfloor.com and TaxiForSure.
Earlier restaurants depended on their delivery team for food delivery for the orders received on phones. Now the landscape is slowly getting changed with the venture of online food delivery startups.


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By: ABS-CBN News
China continues to express confidence that its domestic consumer goods market will soon surpass the United States to become the world’s largest.
In the past, Chinese authorities have rarely made such comparisons for fear of triggering fierce retaliation and an escalation of efforts at containment from Washington.
However, Lian Weiliang, deputy chairman of China’s top economic planning agency has reinforced the vision as part of the country’s self-reliance strategy, which will be implemented in the 2021-25 development plan and 2035 vision.
“China’s retail sales for the first time surpassed 40 trillion yuan in 2019, an increase of more than 42 per cent from 2015. It will overtake the United States to become the top consumer goods market very soon,” Lian told the China Reform Forum at the weekend, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“We must well take advantage of our super-large market, trying to build a high-quality market system in five years.”
Retail sales in China reached 41.2 trillion yuan (US$6.2 trillion) last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, which puts it around US$200 billion shy of consumer spending in the American market in 2019, said Wang Yiming, the former deputy director of the Development Researcher Centre of the State Council.
Read full story HERE.


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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation, called the Cannabis Cultivation Bill, that will allow hemp farmers to grow cannabis as early as this spring.
"We are very excited knowing the next level we can go with this and do it right,” VP and master gardener at One Hemp Holistics James Bullman said.
"It's a lot of getting everything organized, and it's coming up quick,” President of One Hemp Holistics Kari Bullman said. “May is right around the corner.
One Hemp Holistics in Niagara Falls said they plan on participating in the program, hoping it will give business a boost.
"Business has definitely been a challenge,” Kari Bullman said. “So, these industries, being as parallel as they are, it feels really good."
James Bullman said this will bring more jobs into the region.
There's just going to be a lot of moving parts to this,” James Bullman said. “It’s not just putting it in the ground, we're tracking that plant from seed to harvest."
"It’s a huge opportunity to kind of get a head start,” Owner of Bison Botanics Justin Schultz said. “To be the first people locally, in Western New York, or among the first people."
Schultz said he expects the process of applying for the license to go smoothly.
“We don't know the details yet,” Schultz said. “But we do expect the process to be very quick."
For now, cannabis cannot be sold as retail products in New York State. But Schultz said they will be ready when dispensaries open.
"We are only able to stockpile product until the retail locations do open,” Schultz said.
"They're still working on all the regulations,” Kari Bullman said. “So, no one really knows the date yet, they just anticipate it's a year out."


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US will investigate Fitbit and Garmin following Philips complaints
Philips claims the wearable tech makers are violating patents.
Sonos sues Google for allegedly copying its speaker technology
It claims Google exploited a partnership to squeeze out competition.
GlobalFoundries lawsuit threatens sales bans against Apple, NVIDIA
The chip makers claims TSMC violates its patents.
UC Santa Barbara sues Amazon and IKEA over LED lighting
It's accusing Walmart, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond of patent infringement, too.
AMD prevails in patent fight with Vizio over TV graphics
This might ban imports of some TVs, although it's not clear which ones.
Qualcomm hopes to ban Apple's iPhone X sales with new lawsuit
It's determined to hit Apple where it hurts.
TiVo wins one of its patent fights with Comcast
As a result, certain X1 set-top boxes can no longer be sold in the US.
US trade commission looks into Qualcomm's patent fight with Apple
The ITC will determine whether or not iPhone sales should be banned.
Comcast might have to pay TiVo after losing a patent dispute
The X1 allegedly borrows TiVo's software ideas.


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Shoppers slash £4bn a year off bills by using reward schemes
Shoppers are saving more than £4 billion a year in the recession by capitalising on loyalty cards and cashback schemes.
A study by Plastic Card Services has revealed that shoppers save just over £100 a year by using store loyalty cards – and enthusiasm is growing, with one in ten consumers saying they use them every day.
The choice has widened this month with the launch of the Asda Money credit card cashback scheme and a new loyalty current account from Marks & Spencer.
Treats: Allison Stevens uses loyalty points for trips with Chloe, right, and Martha
Credit card cashback deals and store loyalty schemes such as Tesco’s Clubcard and Boots’ Advantage help families squeeze extra value out of every pound they spend.
Allison and Matthew Stevens are typical of today’s smart shoppers. They use the points they collect through the Nectar loyalty scheme for family treats.
The couple, from Kingswood, near Bristol, are planning a day out at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire with their daughters Chloe, 10, and Martha, 3. They enjoyed a trip to Legoland in Berkshire last year, again paid for with points.
Allison, 37, says: ‘I get most of my points through shopping at Sainsbury’s and Homebase.’
She has downloaded a Nectar app to her phone and gets alerts for special offers that give extra points. Matthew, 36, is an HGV driver and he collects points when he fills up his lorry at Sainsbury’s petrol stations.
Allison, who works part time in a convenience store, says: ‘It is nice to use the points for the extras that would make a big dent in the family budget.’
Shoppers can increase their spending power even more by paying with a credit card that gives rewards or cashback, provided they manage their account sensibly.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, says: ‘The majority of credit cardholders pay off their bills each month. If you can be reasonably confident of doing that, a reward card can be worthwhile.’
But if you are a regular borrower, there is little point using a reward credit card because interest charges are likely to outweigh the value of the perks.
Mountford warns: ‘Reward cards will never be the most competitive option if you are going to start building up any balances and paying interest.’
If you are a regular shopper with one supermarket brand, an option is to go for a card directly tied to its reward scheme. Sainbury’s own-brand Nectar credit card doubles the points earned in stores or online for the first two years.
But with such store-based cards, rewards drop off sharply when you spend elsewhere. So another option is to carry a card that has the same level nearly anywhere. The main choice is between cashback and reward cards.
These are the simplest to understand. They refund a percentage of what is spent on the card, typically as an annual payment, although Asda’s new card pays monthly.
Generous deals include the American Express Platinum card, which pays five per cent on £2,000 of purchases in the first three months, worth up to £100, and then has a long-term cashback rate of 1.25 per cent on all spending. There is an annual fee of £25.
The Aspire World card from Capital One also pays five per cent for the first three months. Then it offers cashback at 0.5 per cent on the first £6,000 of annual spending, followed by one per cent on spending up to £10,000 and 1.25 per cent above this.
Santander’s 123 credit card pays one per cent on supermarket spending, two per cent if the card is used in department stores and three per cent when used at petrol stations (capped at spending of £300 a month). The bank is also running a summer deal paying one per cent on spending at many restaurants and bars until September 30. The card costs £24 a year.
Asda’s new card pays one per cent cashback on Asda fuel and shopping, both online and in stores. Online grocery worth more than £125 is delivered free. Using the card outside Asda cuts cashback to 0.5 per cent.
There is no cap on the amount of cashback that cardholders can earn. Uncleared card balances are charged at 14.9 per cent while using the card to obtain cash – or currency from one of Asda’s in store money bureaux – will attract immediate interest of 27.9 per cent.
Other customers prefer to save towards something specific with a credit card reward scheme.
Travel rewards are popular. The Lloyds TSB Duo Avios account allows customers to collect Avios points, the new name for Airmiles.
Duo gives two credit cards in one account – a MasterCard, which pays one point per £5 spent, and an American Express card paying one point per £1 spent. A return flight to Paris costs 9,000 Avios, plus taxes.
American Express also runs the British Airways Premium Plus card, available to those with a household income of more than £30,000.
It pays 1.5 Avios points per pound spent and those spending £10,000 in a year can earn a companion voucher to take a second person for free.
There is currently a bonus of 30,000 Avios points for those signing up by August 1, enough to buy two flights to Rome. But there is an annual fee of £150.
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This spring, the Forest Feastival will return to the magical woodland site hidden beyond the sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr.
For six weekends during April and May (including three bank holiday Mondays) the street food festival organised by the folks at Street Food Circus will be pitched amongst the trees at Candleston Woods.
Now in its third year, 2023’s Forest Feastival will bring a mix of street food favourites from previous events, and some brand new ventures from some of Wales’ most exciting chefs.
To help visitors experience the widest possible range of dishes and flavours, most of the street food vendors will be offering £5 taster dishes alongside their usual menus.
On the menu
Forest Feastival favourites returning this year include British Street Food award-winners Fire & Flank and Keralan Karavan, along with Bao Selecta, Smokin’ Griddle, Nomad Kitchen, Rock & Scallop, Mr Noodle and Bare Bones Pizza.
The team behind some of Cardiff’s most successful recent restaurant launches are also bringing two new street food concepts to the forest this spring; Pot Heads comes from the fire-inspired kitchen of Kindle, bringing baked, smoked and fried potatoes stacked with creative flavour combinations.
Two new areas will be created using the woodland cabins and forest clearings this year. The Mexican Cabana & Terrace will bring together street food from Sin Nombre Tacos, El Cabron Tacos and Rock & Scallop seafood, drinks from Loco Tequilas, sweet treats from newcomers Church of Churros and music from guest DJs.
Drinks & Sweet Treats
A new sweet zone – Dessert Island Disco – will be home to Forest Feastival favourites Pwdin and, for the first time, Ammanford’s Coaltown Coffee. Street Food Circus mixologists will be creating a new Harlequin Cocktail Bar with premium mixed drinks and Welsh spirits, including a Coaltown Espresso Martini.
Forest Feastival’s main bar will be taken over by Tiny Rebel this year, bringing locally-brewed favourites including Clwb Tropicana, Cali Pale and Lager 313. New for this year, visitors will also be able to pre-book Tiny Rebel cans as part of their ticket package. Tiny Rebel will also be running the Tiny Rebel Fire Pit, with guest chefs popping up to cook during the run. Also on the bar will be Mydflower, a hand-made elderflower sparkling wine made in the Brecon Beacons.
Dates, times & location
- April: Friday 6 – Monday 10 (Easter, inc BH Monday)
- April: Friday 14 – Sunday 16
- April: Friday 21- Sunday 23
- April: Friday 28- Monday 1 May (BH Monday)
- May: Friday 5 – Monday 8 (Coronation, inc BH Monday)
- May: Friday 12 – Sunday 14
- Good Friday – 11am – 3pm; 3pm – 7pm; 7pm – 10:30pm
- Friday – 6pm – 10:30pm (adult only session)
- Saturday – 11am – 3pm (dogs allowed); 3pm – 7pm; 7pm – 10:30pm
- Sunday – 11pm – 4pm (dogs allowed), 4pm – 8:30pm
- Sunday (Bank Holiday weekends) 11am – 3pm (dogs allowed); 3pm – 7pm; 7pm – 10:30pm
- Bank Holiday Monday – 11pm – 4pm, 4pm – 8:30pm
Location: Candleston Woods, Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend CF32 0LS.
Prices & tickets
Tickets this year have been held at 2022 prices: £5+VAT & booking fee per person, which includes a Forest Feastival reusable cup for use at the bar.
Tickets must be bought in advance from forestfeastival.com and are on sale now.


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Harley-Davidson launches the 'little black dress' of bikes
The brand that was once synonymous with the male midlife crisis now has designs on women
Sunday 08 June 2014
For decades, it has been a standard of many men's dreams – escaping life's troubles on a gleaming Harley-Davidson motorcycle, accompanied by a Bruce Springsteen soundtrack and a partner of choice. From the highway to Hollywood, the motorcycles and masculinity have been synonymous – until now.
The American manufacturer Harley-Davidson has designed two new bikes specifically to appeal to women. Gone are the bulbous petrol tanks and the shiny chrome the brand is famous for. Other changes include smaller handle grips, lower seats and different foot peg positions. The result is what Harley executives are hoping will become the staple "little black number" in every woman's garage.
Called the Street 500 and Street 750, the new bikes, the company's first for 13 years, are serious performance motorcycles which they hope will persuade even more women to ride its machines. Industry analysts say that Harley-Davidson's efforts will help the brand challenge its Japanese competitors, especially Kawasaki and Suzuki.
Harley's move to attract more female customers has been prompted by its rising sales to women which have shot up 30 per cent in the past decade in the US alone. One in 10 motorcycles is sold to a woman.
The wider popularity of motorcycling can be seen by the fact that International Female Ride Day – set up to celebrate women riders in Canada in 2006 and held in May this year – is now celebrated in the US and UK as well as countries further afield such as India, Russia and Brazil.
The Street series is part of a long-running trend at Harley towards catering for a more varied market. In 1987, the average age of a Harley rider was 35. By 2006, this had risen to 47, and Harley ownership had become shorthand for male midlife crisis.
The company has held Women Riders Month every May since 2008 and has been holding "garage parties" to teach motorcycle basics to women – such as how to pick up a heavy bike safely – for eight years.
Even before the Street series launch, this approach seems to have paid off. In 2013, Harley-Davidson celebrated its sixth year running as the No 1 US seller of new motorcycles to what it calls "outreach" customers – anyone who doesn't fit into its "core" demographic of Caucasian men over 35.
It is a far cry from 2005 when the company had the dubious distinction of winning "the worst brand extension" in a poll, for its Harley-Davidson cake-decorating kit. The company stresses that the nearest the Street bikes will ever come to a Barbie pink version is a metallic dark red.
More recently, Harley dealers have been offering riding instruction to people new to motorcycles – many of them women. The company estimates it now has about 10,000 women a year going through the programmes in the US, according to Claudia Garber, the director of Harley's women's marketing.
Harley dominates the US heavyweight motorcycle market with a 62 per cent share, but the road isn't all smooth. Rival company Indian released a cheeky advert last year that showed a Harley owner lovingly cleaning his bike – then putting it up for sale.
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Florida and Nevada—Six people and two companies—Blackstone Labs and Ventech Labs—were charged in a scheme to distribute illegal dietary supplements, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
According to the release, the indictment alleges that the defendants sold hundreds of thousands of illegal products, including anabolic steroids, nationwide and internationally, fraudulently claiming the products were high-quality, legal supplements. The release cites the indictment as saying the defendants created an illicit manufacturing company and routed sales of illegal products through trusted distributors, knowing that their actions were illegal.
Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt said in the release, “Fraud by supplement manufacturers and distributors is extremely dangerous for consumers, who rightly assume that a dietary supplement product sold in stores or online will not contain unapproved drugs. These products are not safe and that is why we will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute those who import, manufacture, and distribute dangerous and illegal ingredients for fraudulent purposes.”
All defendants, according to the release, were charged with one count of a conspiracy to defraud consumers and the FDA by selling products labeled as dietary supplements that contained various illegal ingredients. Phillip Braun, co-owner of Blackstone Labs, and Aaron Singerman, a former company owner, were charged with two counts of introducing an unapproved new drug into interstate commerce.
The release says the case is being prosecuted by attorneys from the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice.
Further information, including a complete list of names and charges, can be found here.


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In keeping with the long, storied tradition of releasing PC versions of fighting games long after they've been released everywhere else, King of Fighters 13 Steam Edition is now available for PC, nearly two years after its console release in late 2011. Steam Edition will run you $30 and includes...
An ongoing closed beta for King of Fighters 13 on Steam has been extended to September 6, SNK has announced through Facebook. Anyone who pre-purchases the game through Steam gets instant access to the online beta. King of Fighters 13 launches on Steam next month, on September 13. In addition to...
Posted on Jul 23rd 2014 7:30PM
Posted on Jul 23rd 2014 9:00AM
Posted on Jul 22nd 2014 1:00PM


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It’s that time of the year again. What’s going to be hot in web design next year? 2018 is going to be an exciting and innovative year. Let’s see what web design trends you can expect to see next year.
Web Design Trends for 2018 More Adventurous Colours
“Over the past year we’ve seen an increase in the use of bold colours being used across digital platforms,” notes James Bearne, creative director of Kagool. Find here the principles of modern user experience design.
The end of pop-ups and interstitials
Google tends to be the main driver behind web trends, and there’s no doubt that it will be the driving force behind sites wanting to drop their pop-ups and interstitials. Google recently announced that it will start punishing sites that use these annoying tactics in search results — for instance blocking most of the content on a page until you click the “X” button.
Return of the Serifs
With flat design came the desire to go really flat — even so much as to remove serifs on typefaces. Well, as flat design starts to see the end of its run, we are starting to see typefaces get their personalities back with serifs returning to the characters. Checkout top web design tools here for the best design practice.


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ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Airlines-DHL and the African Electronic Trade Group (AeTrade Group) unveiled their partnership to transport historical parcels under a new intra-Africa agreement on Friday.
"The partnership is meant to invoke the start of trading of the African Continental Free Trade Area market and the operations of the African E-Commerce Platform in the continent," according to a joint statement issued on the New Year's Day by the involved partners.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, which was launched in March 2018 in the Rwandan capital city of Kigali, took effect on Friday. It has so far gathered 54 African Union member signatories, except Eritrea.
The first batch of the two group's goods arrived at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on the day at a ceremony attended by high-level representatives from the public and private sectors, the African Union (AU) Commission, Dalsey Hillblom Lynn (DHL) and Ethiopia's flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines.
In July 2018, the Ethiopian Airlines Group and DHL Global signed an agreement to form a logistics joint venture based in Ethiopia to do business in the entire continent of Africa as well as around the world.
"Working in collaboration with African Union (AU) Commission and the African business community with a vision to enhance intra- and inter-African trade, the African Electronic Trade Group transports fragile trophies to various African countries as AfCFTA commences," the statement said.
The smooth and reliable connection between the source and the final destination is possible because of the partnership between Ethiopian Airlines and AeTrade Group, it noted.
The new partnership joins the existing partnership between Ethiopian Airlines and DHL that has strengthened the multimodal logistics systems established by the Ethiopia's flag carrier at its hub in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.
So far, the fragile goods have passed through the Kingdom of Eswatini, South Africa and Ethiopia, which have signed and ratified the AfCFTA Agreement, according to the Ethiopian Airlines.
"The link between an integrated African marketplace, free movement of persons and the single air market in Africa cannot be underestimated as it serves as a catalyst for unlocking immense opportunities in Africa for the benefit of Africans and all stakeholders," said Tewolde Gebremariam, Group CEO of the Ethiopian Airlines.
Gebremariam also commended the AU leaders "for their strategic focus on the legal instruments that will make it easier for Africans to travel across the continent peacefully and do business with each other."
"I believe that the partnership with The African Electronic Trade Group and DHL is crucial, as Ethiopia is a key player in African cargo and passenger transportation. While fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to work to boost intra-African trade to pave the way for a brighter future," he said.
The partnership marked the start of trading under the newly-effective agreement and the operation of the African E-Commerce Platform named "Sokokuu", which means big market, central market and unity in the Kiswahili language.
The items produced in Eswatini and transported to various destinations across the continent symbolize Africa's readiness to exchange goods originating in this marketplace from the first day of trading.
The African continent on Friday started trading under the AfCFTA Agreement.
The accord offers new hope and continental exhilaration in terms of boosting intra-African trade, and eventually facilitating Africa's development and industrialization.
The African free trade agreement has the potential to boost intra-Africa trade by more than 52 percent by the year 2022, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Enditem


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Category : Technology | Sub Category : | Posted on: 2019-12-17 11:15:52Tweet
The fall of Bitcoin is an indication of tougher times ahead for the giant cryptocyrrency, as Chainalysis researcher exposes the Chinese crypto scam that will extend the fall of Bitcoin. The current Bitcoin market carnage has been inspired by Chinese crypto scammers.
The agents have put pressure to the largest cryptocurrency through dumping more than $2 billion PlusToken coins to cash out from anonymous accounts. Chainalysis has been trailing PlusToken sales for close to five-months and made a damning revelation about the future of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin price has been reduced by 50%, since the Chinese authorities arrested suspects in the pyramid scheme that deceived investors with a guaranteed return of up to 600%, as a remuneration for inviting new members. The Price decline is probably tied to the fact that the PlusToken suspects are still walking scot-free and not in custody.
According to Chainalysis estimates, the PlusToken perpetrators have sold about 25,000 Bitcoins. Additionally, 20,000 Bitcoins are spread to more than 8,700 anonymous crypto addresses. Criminals take advantage of the anonymous nature of crypto accounts to masquerade activities, despite the transparency nature of Blockchain technology that powers the monitoring of transactions.


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iGaming: More Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances, and Mergers & Acquisitions Than You Can Shake a Stick At
We last blogged about the explosive developments that have followed the DOJ’s Wire Act Opinion. States throughout the U.S. have been scrambling to install iGaming legislation and programs. Just as the states have been doing, but far in advance to the DOJ’s Opinion, a broad range of companies in the gaming industry have been scrambling to be in the best possible shape for the hopeful explosion of iGaming opportunities in the near future.
It’s not just companies involved with existing iGaming markets in other parts of the world, but also major brick-and-mortar suppliers such as IGT and even brick-and-mortar operators such as Caesars Entertainment, preparing for iGaming in the United States. iGaming is new and exciting here, and even companies rooted in the social media industry, such as Zynga, have taken steps to take full advantage of legal online poker in the U.S. Briefly we’ll review some of the recent and notable corporate alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and joint ventures in the iGaming industry.
- Caesars Entertainment: Has been very active in acquiring and partnering with social and online gaming-related companies.
- Acquired 51% of social media slots developer Playtika in May 2011. Completed acquisition of Playtika before end of 2011
- Partnered with the French hotel and casino operator Groupe Lucien Barriere to promote the World Series of Poker brand throughout Europe and to co-develop an online poker platform
- Renewed its licensing agreement with 888 Holdings for the right to deploy their proprietary online poker platform in US markets where they procure an online gaming license
Churchill Downs: In February 2012 purchased Bluff Media(a poker publishing firm) to compliment its online betting site- Twinspires.com.
MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming: Both made partnerships with online poker operator bwin.party in October 2011. The two brick-and-mortar operators have the right to use Bwin’s software in the US.
Slot and Electronic Gaming Machine Manufacturers
- IGT: Has made several social media and online poker-related acquisitions.
- Acquired Double Down Interactive (a social media poker developer) for $500 million in February; allegedly to the ire of some of its brick-and-mortar clients
- Partnered with Joingo to release a mobile phone app that creates a social media experience for fans of IGT gaming machines
- Purchased Entraction Holding AB (an iGaming software developer) in June 2011 and is rebranding their online poker network as the IGT Poker Network
Bally Technology and Aristocrat Technologies: Announced (in March 2012) a strategic partnership to provide Internet gaming product in the US. Bally also acquired Chiligaming’s iGaming platform.
Shuffle Master Inc: Announced in early March 2012 that it would acquire bwin.party’s Ongame Network for $28.5 million to expand its online gaming offerings.
Traditional iGaming Vendors/Operators
- Chiligaming: As previously mentioned Chiligaming sold off the business-to-business portion of its business to Bally Technology. The online gaming developer/operator also stuck a partnership with U.S. brick-and-mortar operator Golden Nugget in February 2012. The terms of the partnership involve Chiligaming launching a free-to-play online poker site under the Golden Nugget banner in preparation for becoming a player in future US markets.
Social Media Game Developers
- Zynga Inc: While nothing official at the time of writing, social media game developer giant, Zynga Inc. has suggested to the press that it is considering entering the iGaming market via a partnership with a brick-and-mortar firm.
Though the legal iGaming industry in the US is in its infancy (maybe even in the prenatal stage), those looking to get involved have taken an aggressive approach. The sit-and-wait approach would forfeit a first mover’s advantage in this market, which operators such as Caesars and suppliers such as IGT value at a premium. Will all of these acquisitions and joint ventures payoff? That remains to be seen, but the keenly interested are willing to burden the risk for a crack at this emerging industry.
Analyst, Economics & Gaming
firstname.lastname@example.org or (504) 569-9239 x 31—– Disclaimer
The views, interpretations, or strategies expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the position of TMG Consulting. This site is meant for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. TMG Consulting makes no representation as to accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information on this site and will not be liable for damages arising from its display or use.


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FTA is pleased to announce its new presence on social media platforms to improve and increase its outreach. Following the new FTA website which went live in July, optimised for social media and content sharing, FTA is now present on many popular online communication channels.
FTA will actively engage on Twitter to promote discussions on the latest trends in international trade and sustainable supply chains. Through its LinkedIn profile and showcase pages dedicated to the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI) you benefit from an extra channel to access information about the latest developments. In addition, the association will showcase and promote its activities through video and picture-sharing via YouTube and Flickr.
These new social media channels will enable FTA to more easily provide news and updates from the association and engage in dialogue with an enlarged audience of stakeholders.
We invite you to connect and interact with us on these platforms, and to stay tuned for more updates!
Connect With Us
LinkedIn: Foreign Trade Association
YouTube: Foreign Trade Association


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This year’s CES is an all-digital event, as COVID-19 is still a real concern here and around the globe. Dr. Lisa Su gave her speech unveiling the new Ryzen 5000 series mobile CPUs and new Epic Processors. I was hoping for a glimpse at the latest 5000 series Threadripper CPUs, but I guess we will have to wait on that one.
AMD Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors
Eight cores and 16 threads boosting up to 4.6 GHz and 4.8 GHz is incredible. I look forward to seeing these in action in the coming months. AMD is expecting laptop designs powered by Ryzen mobile CPUs to grow by 50% compared to their Ryzen 4000 series mobile processors, by such companies as Acer, hp, Lenovo, Dell, and MSI. They expect more than 150 ultra-thin, gaming and professional notebooks, and laptop designs.
AMD Epyc Processors
Dr. Lisa Su gave us a sneak peek at the new Epyc processor’s code-named Milan. She didn’t go into much detail, but the weather simulation they ran showed the new Epyc processors completing the simulation 68% faster than Intel’s best offering in the same class. She did say we can expect more details when these new processors launch later this quarter.


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Oreon and Lumex M are joining forces. The two companies signed a letter of intent during the FlowersExpo in Moscow this week, agreeing upon working together to provide LED solutions to the Russian market.
Lumex M has been helping growers in Ukraine and Russia with advice on greenhouse lighting for many years, and CEO Alexander Burmistrov is well-known in the industry. "We expect LEDs to play a big role in the future industry and since Oreon has great expertise to offer on this subject, they are an ideal partner", he explains.
"The efficient LED fixtures from Oreon offer high light levels to the crop, and that's important to rose growers for example. Since the fixtures are relatively small, there's hardly any shadow and the grower can use the daylight in the most optimum way. Thanks to the unique water cooling aspect, the fixtures can provide a lot of light without heating up the greenhouse."
He explains how this will improve the harvest while reducing the costs. "Growers get control over the climate in the greenhouse for 12 months per year and year-round production comes within reach."
Also the team with Oreon is happy to partner. "The professionalism of Lumex M will give us a better connection to the Russian market and will make it possible to help local customers better and faster. It's not a secret Russia wants to become self-sufficient in greenhouse vegetables. Ever since the boycott started in 2014, the Russian government has supported the horticultural industry strongly. The knowledge the team of Lumex M offers in greenhouse lighting will result in a strong partnership in this rapidly developing market", says Peter Barentsen, International Sales Manager with Oreon.


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Progressive Finance Rolls Out Electronic Signature Service for Customers
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 18, 2012 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Progressive Finance, a merchandise lease to own financer, has recently integrated click-sign functionality with their online contracts. This new system will allow for stores to forgo the process of printing contracts for the customers to physically sign, and instead allow the customers to digitally sign their contracts from a computer, tablet, or smart phone.
“We’re very excited about the potential behind this new technology,” said Progressive Finance Vice President Kurtis Hilton. “Our system before was already fast and efficient, but now the store no longer has to worry about faxing or scanning any documents at all. All the customer needs to do is click a few buttons and they’re done. This is a level of automation that is unrivaled in our industry. ”
The electronic signature system is the latest in a series of technologies Progressive has launched in order to more fully automate their application process.
“When you couple the e-signature with our automatic bank verification system, it creates an incredibly streamlined experience for the customer,” Hilton said.
“Basically, you can have a customer apply for financing, get automatically approved in a matter of minutes, digitally sign their contracts, and leave the store with their new merchandise. Our system has been tailored around creating a fast and comfortable process for both our stores and our customers, and we feel like this latest addition really adds to that.”
Hilton went on to explain that the e-signature program is currently being successfully used by select pilot stores, and will be completely rolled out within the next month.
More information: http://progfinance.com .
News Source: Progressive Finance :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®. View all current news at: http://Send2PressNewswire.com .
This entry was posted by Send2Press on April 18, 2012 at 5:42 pm, and is filed under Business, furniture finance, lease to purchase, Progressive Finance, Salt Lake City, SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Utah, Videos. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
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According to over a dozen job listings first spotted by Axios, TikTok is reportedly building its own shopping fulfillment centers in the US.
Jobs in Seattle and Los Angeles for a "global fulfillment center" can be found on LinkedIn. The job postings further emphasize TikTok's commitment to its e-commerce goals in the United States.
One description reads, "The e-commerce industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years and has become a hotly contested space amongst leading Internet companies, and its future growth cannot be underestimated." We think TikTok is the perfect place to introduce our users to a whole new level of e-commerce because of its massive user base.
Listings suggest that in order to "ensure fast and sustainable growth of TikTok Shop," the company will offer storage, shipping, and returns services to its merchants. Several e-commerce features, such as a program announced in the summer of 2017 that enables merchants to have Shopify-connected storefronts in TikTok, have been added to the platform.
The platform has also considered live shopping, which is extremely common in Asia but less common in other regions. The live shopping plans in the US seem to be back on after reports that TikTok was scaling back the expansion in Europe and the US, with the platform possibly partnering with TalkShopLive before the holiday shopping rush.
Even though the pace of shopping in the United States is slower than in other regions, TikTok's decision to open a warehouse similar to Amazon to house its products and handle customer service shows that the company is committed to e-commerce as a revenue stream.
TikTok did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment. According to an Axios report, the company plans to concentrate its e-commerce efforts in the areas where it is already established.


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The korea game industry Association suggested that guidelines and tax benefits are required for P & E (Play and Earn, and money to make money) in order to enter the global market share of domestic games.
On the 30th, a member of the National Assembly held a debate at the National Assembly Experience Center on the theme of ‘The Game Industry Current Application and Future Tasks’. Professor Jean Chang (Gangnam National University Cultural Contents Industry Division) announced the recent trends and trends of the game industry, and Professor Yew Byung-soo (Department of Business Administration, Seoul National University) suggested how to support the new government’s game industry. The discussion was attended by Chung Punjab, Director of Game Contents Industry, Lee Jae-won, Chairman of the Korean Game Policy Science, EUN Hyundai (Kim & Chang), and Choir Byung-soo, Director of Policy Bureau.
Park Boleyn, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, The false of our console game ‘P’ won three crowns in the world’s three game shows, he said. Park analyzed that the propaganda of ‘false’ was the main effect of the 4th industrial revolution technology in the story of the world’s classic ‘Pinocchio’. He then emphasized that the Ministry of Culture is a game-friendly ministry, he promised, We will support the game person and take the lead in protecting the rights of users with a textured policy.
Professor Jean Chang pointed out that the possibilities and limitations of P2E games and NFTs recently appeared at the same time. The possibility is that game companies can secure various profit models by virtual asset distribution fees. The limit is that if NFT distribution is linked with cryptocurrency, the public is exposed to instability of cryptocurrency. In addition, the recent interest in NFT has also been unstable.
Designation was also important. Since 2018, the Chinese government has been strictly issuing not only foreign games but also domestic (China) games. As a result, the Chinese industry is taking a ride in China. As Chinese game companies enter the global market, competition between domestic game companies and Chinese game companies is intensifying in the global market.
Professor Yew Byung-soo argued that it is necessary to allow P & E games with blockchain technology. In Korea, P & E games are impossible due to currency exchange and deliberation. Professor Yew Byung-soo expects that the game industry will have a great job creation through P & E games as an employment-friendly industry. Professor Yew stressed that some P & E games are required by regulatory re-establishment. It is explained that it will be improved from the current dichotomous regulation to some dichotomy regulations.
It was also suggested to improve the working environment considering the characteristics of the game industry. Professor Yew proposed to introduce a single-year-old flexible working hours’ system, saying that it is difficult to keep 12 hours, which is a 24-hour service in the world. In addition, he requested conditional exemptions to be conditionally restricted in terms of securing labor and international competitiveness.
Professor You suggested that it is necessary to introduce the introduction of the White Collar Exemption. Since the IT and cultural contents industry evaluates working value based on achievements through creativity and innovation, it is necessary to give discretion and productivity for business hours if the standards such as a certain wage level and wage work are correct.
Professor Yew Byung-soo said, Our country’s users and game companies are the highest level, he said. If there is any problem, it is necessary to leave the best users and game companies to solve them. For example, problems such as probabilistic items will be solved by game companies and users.
Lee Jae-won, chairman of the Society, suggested the experience of the Game Water Management Committee. If you consider self-grade civilization and follow-up focus on follow-up, the contents of the contents can also be settled by following and simplifying procedures, he said. It can be connected as an important opportunity to autonomy with responsibility and obligations.
For the blockchain game, it is a priority to prove that the game company is safe to society, the chairman said. Blockchain and NFT technologies are essential for future technologies, but they also cause side effects, he said. I have to do it.
Choir Byung-soo aimed to enter the global market share of the Korean game industry. He aims to enter the 10 % range to develop a differentiation strategy to develop the domestic game industry. Only the US (21.9%), China (18.1%), and Japan (11.5%) with a 10%share in 2020. Korea is ranked fourth with 6.9%. Korea is forming a box with the UK (6.1%), Germany (4.6%) and France (4.5%). Choir has given the goal of breaking away from the box and settling the world’s fourth place.
Choir said, We need to diversify the game genre by providing guidelines and services for new technology combining games such as meths and P & E games. In addition, he added that it is necessary to improve the elimination of the grace period of SMEs, to reintroduce business loss reserves, to expand the investment of investment win-win taxation system, and to support tax support to create a virtuous cycle ecosystem of e-sports industry.
Representative Lee Yong-ho, who hosted the debate, said, President Soon Seok-yeol has announced that it will reorganize the system to protect and revitalize the domestic game market. I will prepare a way to exchange opinions from various angles.


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Venture Highway led O4S’ Pre-Series A round
The funds will be used to strengthen workforce
The team said that they have tracked over 500 Mn unique products
Gurugram-based SaaS startup O4S (Original4Sure) has raised $2.1 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Highway.
The fresh funds will be used to expand company’s operations in India. It will also strengthen its workforce, accelerate client acquisition and build technology infrastructure across industries within India. Till date, the company has raised $2.5 Mn.
Founded in 2016 by Divay Kumar and Shreyans Sipani, O4S is a SaaS startup which offers supply chain solutions to brands. At present, O4S focuses on industries such as agriculture, FMCG, pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
Some of its clients include PepsiCo, ITC, Honeywell, DCM Shriram, Campus Shoes among others. O4S’ software offerings – Supplytics and Original4Sure – are built on product serialisation with built-in machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT) that adapt to the dynamic nature of businesses.
The company helps brands connect directly with retailers and distributors by tracking products throughout the supply chain, while O4S’ key focus is on consumer engagement. The O4S ecosystem is built on cloud-based infrastructure and engages all supply chain partners on a mobile app.
Divay Kumar, CEO, O4S, said “This new funding will aid our next phase of growth to enable fraud-free supply chains and become a SaaS offering of choice.”
The key value propositions include real-time inventory visibility across the retailers, brand protection, retailer trade promotions and an integrated BI dashboard that provides real-time actionable insights.
The team said that they have tracked over 500 Mn unique products across 100K retailers in general trade. Over 10 Mn consumers have verified their products using O4S.
Samir Sood, founder, Venture Highway, said, “With businesses focusing on increasing deeper engagement with retailers and end users, obtaining visibility along the supply chain has become more important than ever before.”
O4S counts over 25 prominent companies as clients across India and Middle East Asia. The company is now setting up its offices in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Inc42 DataLabs suggests that in the period between January 2014 and June 2018, Indian SaaS startups raised $2.79 Bn across 520 deals. Expected to reach $1 Bn by 2020, the Indian SaaS/enterprise software market currently accounts for 9% of all software sales. It is expected to cross $50 Bn in the next 10 years, according to a report by Google and Accel Partners in 2016.


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Entering Uncarrier 3.0, T-Mobile has unveiled a new global policy for its customers: free global coverage in 100 countries. Plans to launch the service will be launched later this month, on the 31st, but as far as it is known now, this only applies to postpaid subs on the Simple Choice Plan.
As John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile has detailed for today’s event, support of the 100 countries includes Anguilla to Vietnam– at no additional charge to the customer. This meaning that customers with qualifying plans won’t need to sign up or pay for basic service, and that data speeds in those 100 countries would be equivalent to 2G.
However, those of you who don’t want to put up with the slow data speeds can opt for a day pass at 100MB for $15, one week and 200MB for $25 or two weeks and 500MB for $50. In order to preserve the rational of the system, only travelers can take advantage of free plans, with each period abroad being no longer than six weeks, and during a three-month period, six weeks must be spent in the US.
As the event moves around, and concert go-ers get ready for Shakira, this will be quite an event.


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With the next version of Windows 10, coming this spring, Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant will lose a number of consumer skills around music and connected homes, as well as some third-party skills. Microsoft is also turning off Cortana support in its Microsoft Launcher on Android by the end of April and on older versions of Windows that have reached their end-of-service date, which usually comes about 36 months after the original release. As the company explained last year, it now mostly thinks of Cortana as a service for business users.
Is it time to buy stocks now that the coronavirus has caused stocks to crash? Top experts weigh in on Yahoo Finance.
Millennials, who vouch for bitcoin democratization, also prefer the world's numero uno cryptocurrency as a form of investment to save for the future.
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive Software and Nintendo
The Vatican joined forces with tech giants Microsoft and IBM on Friday to promote the ethical development of artificial intelligence (AI) and call for regulation of intrusive technologies such as facial recognition. The three said AI should respect privacy, work reliably and without bias, consider human rights and operate transparently. Pope Francis, who has raised concerns about the uncontrolled spread of AI technologies, gave his backing in a speech read on his behalf at a conference attended by Microsoft president Brad Smith and IBM Executive Vice President John Kelly.
(Bloomberg) -- Baidu Inc. predicted revenue may slide as much as 13% this quarter, joining its fellow technology giants in warning about the impact of the deadly coronavirus.China’s internet search leader forecast a 5% to 13% plunge in sales to between 21 billion yuan ($3 billion) and 22.9 billion yuan in the March quarter, missing an average projection for 23.4 billion yuan. Its U.S.-traded shares slid as much as 1.6% in extended trading.From Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the world’s largest corporations have either scaled back on projections or warned of a hit to their operations from Covid-19. Apart from the uncertainty of the outbreak, Baidu has been grappling with a slowing home economy and competition from upstarts like ByteDance Inc. that’ve lured advertisers away and depressed marketing rates. Chief Executive Officer Robin Li said it will take time for the world’s No. 2 economy to recover.“The return of economic growth will be a long-term issue after the epidemic, but many new opportunities are emerging,” the billionaire founder told employees in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg.Certain businesses can thrive despite the epidemic, including online entertainment and education, Li added. Baidu’s Netflix-style unit iQiyi Inc. projected a better-than-expected revenue gain of 2% to 8% this quarter.“The virus has affected consumer spending, so naturally advertisers will want to postpone their budgets,” said David Dai, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Bernstein.Read more: Virus Outbreak Exposes $46 Billion Rift in China’s Tech IndustryIn recent days, anxiety has mounted about the spread of the virus outside of China, where it originated. But Baidu executives on Friday emphasized they remained upbeat about a gradual return to normality.“Business activities have started to pick up as people return to work. At Baidu, our employees are gradually returning to the office, applying strict safety measures,” Chief Financial Officer Herman Yu told analysts on a conference call. “We assume businesses across China will do the same, and that our marketing services will pick up at a faster pace into quarter-end.”Baidu had earlier reported better-than-expected revenue for the quarter ended December, when ad demand stabilized and pressure from competitors eased. To offset stalling growth, it looked to improve its bottom line especially by tightening content costs related to iQiyi. Longer term, the company is investing gains from its core search and news services into divisions like driverless cars and smart speakers.Baidu’s shares rallied after the company reported preliminary revenue for the December quarter that beat the highest of analysts’ estimates, but that gain’s mostly been erased since the epidemic triggered a broader selloff of Chinese stocks. The company has been surpassed in market value by rivals like Meituan Dianping and NetEase Inc. after shedding more than $11 billion last year.“For the majority, or probably all of the industries who advertise on us, those kinds of demand don’t disappear -- they’re just postponed,” Li said on the call Friday. “If you plan to marry, you’ll still get married. If you plan to buy a car, you’ll still buy a car. If you plan to become prettier, you’ll still go for cosmetic surgery. This kind of demand will come back after the epidemic ends.”To contact the reporter on this story: Zheping Huang in Hong Kong at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at firstname.lastname@example.org, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Dell Technologies Inc. gave a profit forecast that fell short of Wall Street estimates, in a sign that weaker corporate demand for personal computers will take a toll on the hardware giant.Profit, excluding some items, will be $5.90 to $6.60 a share in fiscal 2021, Chief Financial Officer Tom Sweet said Thursday during a conference call. Analysts, on average, projected $6.72, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Dell expects $92 billion to $95 billion in fiscal 2021 revenue. The sales midpoint topped the average analyst estimate of $93.1 billion. A surge of corporate upgrades to PCs that has fueled robust demand will probably end in the second half of the fiscal year, Sweet said.Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell has sought to leverage the different parts of his empire to sell clients higher-value packages of hardware and software. But global economic issues, including trade conflicts, the past few months have slowed sales of equipment for data centers, particularly in China. Sweet said server demand would bounce back during the year, which will help boost the company’s overall revenue.Unlike competitors such as Microsoft Corp. and HP Inc., Dell didn’t account for any economic effect from the coronavirus outbreak in its forecast.“I didn’t think it was appropriate to quantify, because I’m not sure we know the full impact,” Sweet said in an interview. “We’ve been moving production and parts around. Are we at full capacity? No. We’re navigating through it based on what we know today.”Dell anticipates adjusted operating income of $8.9 billion to $9.5 billion in fiscal 2021, Sweet said.In the period ended Jan. 31, Revenue increased 1% to $24 billion, the Round Rock, Texas-based company said earlier Thursday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated $23.9 billion. Profit, excluding some items, was $2 a share in the fiscal fourth quarter, matching estimates.Sales in the company’s infrastructure solutions unit, which provides equipment to data centers, declined 11% to $8.8 billion. Storage hardware sales decreased 3% and servers and networking gear dropped 19%, highlighting a slower spending environment among large corporate clients.The personal computer division gained 8% to $11.8 billion in the quarter. Commercial sales rose 10% due to corporate clients upgrading their computers to adopt Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system. Revenue from consumers climbed 4%.Shares fell to a low of $40.40 after closing at $43.56 in New York. The stock has declined 23% in the past 12 months.Dell said it repaid about $1.5 billion of gross debt in the quarter and $5 billion for the year. The company said it has paid down $19.5 billion in gross debt since closing its acquisition of EMC Corp. in September 2016. Dell also announced a $1 billion share buyback program over two years.To contact the reporter on this story: Nico Grant in San Francisco at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at firstname.lastname@example.org, Andrew Pollack, Dan ReichlFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The current record is nine days, occurring in early 2018, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices analyst Howard Silverblatt. While the indexes pared some losses, the S&P 500 fell as much as 11.2% from its record close and the Nasdaq dropped 12.2% from its own peak. At its session low, the Dow Jones Industrials declined 12.1% from its Feb. 12 closing high.
The market's huge coronavirus-based selloff rolls on Thursday. Microsoft's updated guidance. And why Dropbox (DBX) is a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) stock at the moment...
Microsoft said on Wednesday its supply chain was taking longer to return to normal operations than expected, and its Windows and Surface computers had taken a bigger hit than feared. The impact of the fast-spreading virus has taken a toll on companies across sectors, particularly technology companies as their supply chains in China come under strain.
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. said it will withdraw from the Game Developers Conference scheduled for next month in San Francisco because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus, the latest gaming company to pull out of the event.The conference, scheduled for March 16 - March 20, is a key annual event for engineers and artists who build video games. The company will instead stream its planned sessions on its website at www.microsoft.com/gamestack.“The health and safety of players, developers, employees, and our partners around the world is our top priority,” the company said. “Especially as the world is experiencing growing public health risks associated with coronavirus.”Facebook Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation have also opted to skip the conference. Microsoft on Wednesday said it will fall short of sales forecasts for the current quarter because supply chain disruptions in China have hurt its Windows and personal computer businesses.In recent days, anxiety has mounted about the spread outside of China, where the virus, called Covid-19, originated. For the first time, more cases were reported in countries other than China in the past 24 hours, the World Health Organization said late Wednesday, a significant development as new cases spread around the globe.To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at firstname.lastname@example.org, Andrew Pollack, Molly SchuetzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Stocks across the globe and oil prices continued to tumble on Thursday and U.S. Treasury yields hit record lows as traders fretted over the economic impact of the spreading coronavirus. On Wall Street, major indexes were set for their steepest weekly pullback since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago as rising numbers of new infections outside China raised fears of a pandemic.
The drop in share price wiped off nearly $50 billion from the Microsoft's market value on a day when broader markets were down more than 2%. Apple was the first big technology firm to come out and say the virus was affecting its production and demand in China. PayPal Holdings Inc and Mastercard Inc have also warned about a possible hit.
The global online gaming market size is poised to reach $79 billion by 2025, supported by growing popularity among millennials and Gen Z globally.
(Bloomberg) -- PayPal Holdings Inc. cut its forecast for revenue in the first quarter due to the continued impact of the coronavirus.The payments operator said it expects revenue to be on the lower end of a previously forecast range of $4.78 billion to $4.84 billion. The company reaffirmed its outlook for adjusted earnings of 76 cents to 78 cents a share.“PayPal’s business trends remain strong; however, international cross-border e-commerce activity has been negatively impacted by COVID-19,” the company said in a statement Thursday. PayPal said it expects the “negative impact from COVID-19” to be about a one percentage-point reduction to revenue growth for the first quarter.PayPal shares were little changed in morning trading in New York on Thursday. The stock has dropped about 10% in the past week. Companies have begun lowering forecasts as the deadly virus spreads from China to Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. Federal health officials warned earlier this week that the illness will almost certainly spread in the U.S. and that people should prepare for significant disruptions in daily life, including school closings, cancellations of sporting events, concerts and business meetings.On Wednesday Microsoft Corp. reduced its quarterly outlook, following Apple Inc. and HP, because of supply-chain disruptions related to the virus. Mastercard Inc. also lowered its forecast for quarterly revenue growth as the virus curbs international travel and takes a bite out of e-commerce.Anxious investors have driven five consecutive days of stock market losses in the U.S., erasing the benchmark S&P 500 index’s gains for the year.(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at email@example.comTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at firstname.lastname@example.org, Molly Schuetz, Alistair BarrFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Microsoft said it may miss its revenue guidance for the upcoming quarter on coronavirus-related pressure on Microsoft's Windows and Surface hardware businesses.
(Bloomberg) -- UiPath, a software maker valued last year at $7 billion, is getting closer to an initial public offering after helping some of the biggest companies in the U.S. automate routine processes.Armed with last year’s $568 million funding round that gave the New York-based company its multi-billion dollar valuation, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Dines sees more growth on the cards. The bourse entry may take place as soon as early next year, depending on market conditions and strategic decisions.“We just started our growth journey in 2016 and if you look at the average age of a company to do an IPO it’s probably 7 years, so there’s” no reason to hurry, Dines said in an interview from New York. “You have to become a public company at some point to allow your employees to get more liquidity, give them stock options. We’re almost there.”Founded in Romania in 2005 as DeskOver and renamed in 2015, UiPath’s client base includes the CIA, the U.S. Navy, McDonald’s Corp, Duracell and Swiss Re. The company had $360 million in annual recurring revenue last year and it attracted funding from investors such as Sequoia, CapitalG, Wellington Management, Sands Capital and others.“Even though UiPath technically can do an IPO, I think they don’t have to do that. They already got a huge amount -- $1 billion -- in venture funding and don’t have to get their hands tied up in the capital market.”\--Kathy Gao, a BloombergNEF analyst focused on the digital industryUiPath’s software performs low-skilled and repetitive tasks once outsourced to humans in cheaper-wage countries, via “robotic process automation,” or RPA. Examples include the processing of applications for jobs, pensions or handling student data at universities.UiPath, which became Romania’s first unicorn in 2018, competes with other software vendors such as Blue Prism Group Plc, Kofax, and Automation Anywhere Inc. Dines, who ruled out acquisitions in the near future, didn’t give financial details on UiPath’s potential IPO.Blue Prism has already had an IPO, in which it raised about 21 million pounds ($27 million) in 2016. Blue Prism’s shares skyrocketed after its IPO while still unprofitable, and in 2019 it raised an additional 100 million pounds to fund its expansion. The U.K.-based company said last month that its investments widened its 2019 loss but would be showing returns this year, while its customer base was growing.Virus Backlog“We’ve seen increased competition, even Microsoft said they will come with an RPA solution,” UiPath’s Dines said. “This is a great validation for the industry.”One key area to watch is the use of UiPath to help hospitals fighting the coronavirus to avoid backlogs and speed up diagnosis, according to Dines.“RPA has become a really big and established sector and many companies have plans to implement it,” he said.(Adds background on Blue Prism IPO in 8th paragraph. An earlier version of this story was corrected to remove an analyst’s characterization of its share sale process)To contact the reporters on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at email@example.com;Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at firstname.lastname@example.orgTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at email@example.com, Andras Gergely, Balazs PenzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.


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on may 10, the 5th chinese brand day, china metallurgical news released the 2021 china steel brand list. tsingshan holding group co., ltd. was awarded” the 2021 china excellent steel enterprise brand” and “the 2021 china special steel enterprise excellent brand”.
this year is the first year of the “14th five-year plan”, and it is also the beginning of the new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and marching towards the second centenary goal. standing at this special historical moment, the transformation and high-quality development of china’s iron and steel industry, as the country’s most important weapon, has attracted attention .in the new century, “the world steel sees china”, we need more and more dazzling brand steel industries!
it was reported that the 2021 brand list selection activities were carried out in strict accordance with the principles of fairness, openness and impartiality as always. the candidate units were first determined through preliminary investigations, and then the list was finally selected after brand mathematical model evaluation, wechat voting and brand expert committee evaluation.


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In an effort to reduce costs, improve productivity enhancements and drive business growth, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail has entered into a relationship with IBM.
The agreement is key to Aditya Birla’s strong vision for future growth, which includes expanding their store network across the country.
IBM will bring in its global technology and automation expertise to help enhance and manage Aditya Birla’s IT infrastructure with better availability of IT systems, employee productivity through self-help solutions and improved disaster resilience. In doing so, IBM will bring greater transparency, service improvements, agility, enhanced security and operational efficiencies for the organization. IBM will provide infrastructure-as-a-service in a private cloud environment, enabling Aditya Birla to scale its IT operations in line with its business growth.
The retail industry has seen stupendous growth in the past decade with the emergence of technology-enabled smart consumers.
In leveraging IBM’s deep technology and services expertise, Aditya Birla aims at building a world-class IT environment to support its strong growth in India. With more than 8000 points-of-sale across 700 cities, the company owns some of the best-known brands in the country such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and many others.
The company, known for its innovation, customer centricity and offering best-in-class services to its customers, is at the forefront of adopting technology.


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Hard Fork, Europe’s boldest IRL crypto conference, is returning to TNW Conference.
Modern foundational technologies are transforming financial markets and services at a rapid pace. Traditional finance and crypto are converging, regulation is imminent, and changing mindsets and novel technological capabilities are opening the door for new financial services. Whereas some financialists are skeptical, others seem pumped about the technology and its possibilities.
One thing is for sure though, with these developments happening all at once, it’s time for the communities and experts to come together, and make sense of it all.
Come navigate the future of money, markets, and finance with us on September 30 and October 1 in Amsterdam AND/OR online. Join leading blockchain initiatives, exchanges, financial institutions, and smart and retail investors as they come together to do business and share their vision on how crypto and blockchain will transform our financial lives.
There will be business, combined with hot debates, insightful views, and a lot of
parties business opportunities…


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Irvine electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: RIVN) closed up nearly 30% in its first day of trading Wednesday.
Rivian climbed as high as 52% to $188.34 before closing at $100.73 and a market cap of $98.7 billion.
The company is now OC’s most valuable public company, surpassing Irvine heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW). Its IPO is also the largest since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s (NYSE: BABA) public offering in 2014.
Rivian shares were up 1.8% in after-hours trading to $102.50.
For more on Rivian, see the Nov. 15 print edition of the Business Journal.