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An annual United Nations report identified the country as the biggest victim of spam and digital attacks, while also leading the globe in sending unwanted e-mail.
The United States may not have to look past its own backyard to enforce the Anti-Spam bill the president is expected to sign by 2004. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2003 e-commerce and development report identifies the U.S. as the top perpetrator, responsible for more than half of the spam received in the world.
|Spam Origins, March 2003|
The majority of spam victims are in the U.S. as well, the report finds, and David Schatsky, senior vice president of research, Jupiter Research (a unit of this site's corporate parent) says simply, "That's where the money is." Schatsky explains that the U.S. is the largest marketplace in the world, making it an attractive target.
"According to Jupiter forecast models, by the end of 2003 some 67.6 million households across all of Western Europe will be online, 42 percent of the total. In the U.S., meanwhile, 71.5 million will be online, 66 percent of all U.S. households. The difference is even more dramatic when you look at online spending. European online retail spending will total 19.4 billion euros this year, while it will reach $51.7B in the U.S.," Schatsky continued
Besides annoying Internet users, the UNCTAD cites a MessageLabs estimate that unwanted email cost enterprises worldwide roughly $20.5 billion.
|Costs Imposed by Spam on |
|IT resources |
(wasted bandwidth, traffic slowdowns,
disruption of service)
|Lost user productivity||39%|
|Source: Ferris Research|
At an average 226 of unwanted messages per inbox, Russell Research's survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults showed overwhelming support for a national "Do Not Spam" registry, but only 19 percent thought it would be extremely or very effective. The majority (46 percent) thought the registry would be somewhat effective.
"It's the holiday season and spammers are trying to make a buck anyway they can," said Jeff Ready, CEO of Corvigo. "Unfortunately, consumers can expect this volume to continue to increase throughout December and taper off only slightly in January."
Clearswift found that the seasonal increase is related to the financial burden of holiday parties and gift-giving, when spammers are tempting email users with cheap loans to see them through to the New Year.
Furthermore, Clearswift warns email users that spam can be dangerous: "Spam is evolving from purely unsolicited mail to sell products and services to a tool used by virus and malicious code writers as a new way to spread chaos," says Pete Simpson, Clearswift's ThreatLab manager. "With ever more ingenious rouses being used, and SoBig G expected any day, organizations need to be prepared."
The UNCTAD study took a close look at the year's malicious incidents and found that the U.S. suffered the most digital attacks in 2002, while also topping the list of originators that year. In 2002, The U.S. suffered nearly 4.5 times more attacks than the next closest victim, Brazil. mi2g named Brazil as the leader of worldwide hacker attacks during 2003.
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Hong Kong, May 5-6, 2015
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce
This Magic Quadrant examines leading digital commerce platforms that enable organizations to build digital commerce sites. These commerce platforms facilitate purchasing transactions over the Web, and support the creation and continuing development of an online relationship with a consumer.
Paid Search in the Mobile Era
Google reports that paid search ads are currently driving 40+ million calls per month. Cost per click is increasing, paid search budgets are growing, and mobile continues to dominate. It's time to revamp old search strategies, reimagine stale best practices, and add new layers data to your analytics.
May 6, 2015
12:00pm ET/9:00am PT


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Carvel is expanding its presence in Florida. During 2014, Carvel opened four new ice cream shoppes in southern Florida and plans on adding locations in the Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Miami markets. The planned expansion follows the introduction of the ice cream franchise’s new shoppe design in Royal Palm Beach in 2014.
“There’s tremendous buzz about Carvel in Florida right now,” says Carvel president Scott Colwell. “Loyal customers are excited about the new look, the new menu innovations, and they’re asking us to open more shoppes throughout the state.”

domain: news


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The former CEO of a Nevada sports energy drink company, Xyience Inc., was sentenced Monday to 52 months in federal prison for tax evasion.Russell Pike, 50, of Las Vegas was convicted in April of failing to pay taxes on more than $7.9 million in income he earned in 2006.U.S. District Judge James Mahan on Monday also ordered Pike, who has previous felony convictions, to serve three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison and pay the Internal Revenue Service $1.2 million in restitution."There is no energy drink that gives you the ability to outrun IRS Criminal Investigation," said Paul Camacho, special agent in charge of the agency in Nevada. "We relentlessly follow the money to ensure crime does not pay."Camacho called Pike's case "just another example of unabated greed inflicting a heavy price."Pike founded Xyience, which sold sports energy drinks, including Xenergy, in more than 45,000 stores throughout the United States.The company once was a ringside sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, prosecutors said in opening statements at the trial.The criminal case focused on Pike's sale of 4.4 million shares of Xyience stock for $7.9 million in 2006, according to Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Kathryn Keneally, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Tax Division in Washington, D.C.Pike had asked an investor who bought 3 million shares of stock for $5 million to change the date of the purchase agreement to 2007 so that Pike could avoid paying taxes in 2006, prosecutors alleged at the trial.All the while, Pike was spending millions of dollars in 2006 maintaining a lavish lifestyle, which included buying and driving luxury cars and wagering at local sports books, prosecutors alleged.
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Just how tough conditions are was underlined by APV's observation yesterday that its order books at the start of 1993 were 9.3 per cent lower than a year before.
Order books have since levelled out but continuing competitive pressure on prices prompted APV to warn that first-half profits will be hit, and its share price fell in response by 11p to 101p.
Last year, before exceptional charges and gains and losses on disposals, APV's operating profits fell by 5 per cent, as margins slipped from 4.4 to 3.9 per cent.
Charitably adding back a net pounds 6m for exceptionals less capital profits, allowed the 5.4p dividend to be just covered.
It could be much the same story in 1993 which leaves APV shares, on a yield of 6.7 per cent, stranded in the category of longer term recovery stock with some question mark over the dividend. Restructuring is the key to an improved image.
Rapid expansion in the mid-eighties under Fred Smith, the former chief executive whom Mr Strowger eventually replaced last July, left APV with almost 40 companies and 130 different operations. In the UK alone it has 26 manufacturing sites.
These far-flung operations were not only left to paddle their own canoes with predictably unsatisfactory results, but neither was any attempt made to establish a global process engineering presence. It was big in brewing equipment in the US and dairy machinery in Denmark, but nowhere else.
Mr Strowger has sensibly sold off Vent- Axia and Rose Forgrove packaging machinery to realise cash, helping to lower gearing from 42 to 12 per cent, while closing doomed enterprises such as keg-racking.
Armed with financial information provided by past spadework on the part of Sir Peter Cazalet, chairman, and Neil French, finance director, he is now embarking on a pounds 20m restructuring.
Perhaps half of this will be staff reductions of about 1,000 and there will be write- downs of site and other asset values. The biggest impact will be in North America followed by France, where retail baking lost pounds 3.5m in 1992, and then the UK.
The pay-off here will be much more rapid than a proposed reorganisation of APV into manufacturing, dedicated dry and liquid food sectors and a sales organisation serving both areas.
It is arguable whether this will prove to be less chaotic than current arrangements but Mr Strowger deserves some credit for trying to make sense of the company. Potential predators may have different ideas.Reuse content


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Dream Mergers and Acquisitions: Who Merges Next in 3D Printing?
3D printing stalwart Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS) signaled the next stage of consolidation in the additive manufacturing (AM) market when it announced its intention to acquire newcomer Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM)….
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Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job gains occurred in health care and in professional and technical services. Employment rose in manufacturing, reflecting the return of workers from a strike.
What happened to the slowing economy, especially in manufacturing since last year’s sugar high from the 2017 Republican tax cuts? Manufacturing added 54,000 jobs, but it was mostly GM workers returning to work after their successful strike that gave them some of the enormous profits GM has been generating.
In fact, it was the 74,000 new jobs in Leisure and Hospitality highlighting strong consumer spending in restaurants and hotels that is sustaining economic growth.
Consumers are still optimistic, per the University of Michigan sentiment survey that rose to a preliminary December reading of 99.2 from a final November reading of 96.8. Consumers’ views on current conditions rose to 115.2 in December from 111.6 in November, while a barometer of their expectations rose to 88.9 from 87.3.
The only caveat was the slight drop in average hourly pay to 3.1 percent, down from 3.4 percent earlier in 2019. Why? It’s all the lower-paying jobs that benefit from consumer spending; like Transportation and warehousing (15.5k new jobs), and the aforementioned Leisure and Hospitality jobs.
Longer-term inflation expectations fell to 2.3 percent, matching a record low in the U. of Michigan survey. Federal Reserve policy makers watch this figure closely and have cited below-target inflation as one of the reasons behind the three interest- rate cuts this year. The Fed, which holds a meeting next week, has signaled it will keep rates on hold barring a material shift in the outlook.
There is little wage growth, and therefore little inflation, which means consumers can keep spending through the holidays. The ongoing trade wars aren’t yet boosting import prices enough that would bring on higher inflation, while energy prices have also fallen, keeping gas prices low.
These are all reasons to keep the economy afloat, with the additional caveat that importers can’t keep absorbing the tariff increases forever.
Harlan Green © 2019
Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen


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Shops selling products that contain CBD - the non-psychoactive, “feel good” compound from cannabis - are spreading across France after a court ruled that the country could not ban the substance’s sale.
CBD, or cannabidiol, can be found in everything from tea, to olive oil, honey, massage oil, cosmetics, and beyond. It is derived from the cannabis plant, but - in contrast to cannabis itself - it offers a purely relaxing result, with no psychoactive compounds or effects.
One proponent of the product, Aurélien Delecroix, president of the professional union, le Syndicat professionnel du chanvre (SPC), has even said that “the French market for CBD could reach €1 billion”.
On November 19 this year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that France could not ban the sale of CBD that had been legally produced in another European country member state.
Ludovic Rachou, treasurer of the SPC, said: “The ECJ [also] concluded that CBD was not a narcotic.”
As a result, more and more shops are beginning to open in major towns such as Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille and Lyon, with CBD products on their shelves, many of which bear new labels reading “100% legal”
A woman applies CBD lotion (Photo: Laryssa Suaid / Pexels)
The ECJ became involved after the Court of Appeal in Aix-en-Provence asked it to intervene in a case against two Marseille entrepreneurs who had been accused of illegally selling a CBD-based e-cigarette under the brand Kanavape.
The “Kanavape case” led to the creation of the SPC, which lobbied the government on the issue, and sought to raise awareness of the positive uses of the “wellbeing cannabis”. A government report on the issue is now due at the start of 2021.
French laws will now need to adapt to reflect the ECJ ruling, and entrepreneurs have already started making plans.
In light of the ECJ’s ruling, one estate agent in Paris, Kevin Uzan, co-founder of commercial agency Commerce Immo, told newspaper Le Monde: “Out of around 100 calls per day, we are receiving 10 to 15 from people looking for commercial sites for CBD in Paris.
“They are looking for bohemian-style neighbourhoods such as République, Bastille, le Marais, Saint-Germain, and Saint-Michel.”
One owner of the brand Green Valllée, which now has two shops in Paris - one in the 15th arrondissement and one in the 17th - told Le Monde: “We sell everything that is based on CBD. [These products] have less than 0.2% THC and are not considered drugs according to European legislation.
“We do not have THC, but we have the feel-good side with cannabidiol. Nevertheless, we still do not recommend its use by children.”
The growth of CBD shops in France represents a bounce back after the compound was temporarily banned in France in 2018. After this shop numbers fell to around 30 according to Mr Delacroix.
Now there are around 300 shops and counting, including around 50 under the Deli Hemp franchise.
Mr Delacroix from the SPC founded the Green Leaf Company with the Hello Joya brand, which was sold to British brand Emmac in 2019.
Emmac is aiming to become the European market leader of CBD, and has announced plans to trade on the NASDAQ,


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Peter Kern became chief executive officer of Expedia Group Inc. last April, during the travel industry’s worst crisis in decades.
It was a precarious moment: Calls to the company’s call centers had surged 500% as consumers canceled flights and hotel rooms. Expedia burned through cash in issuing refunds. To weather the downturn, it scrambled to raise about $4 billion in capital last spring.
Expedia had troubles that predated the pandemic. A strategy clash between its board and management led to the resignations of Expedia’s then-CEO and finance chief in December 2019. Barry Diller, the company’s chairman, pronounced Expedia on an earnings call as “sclerotic and bloated” as it struggled to compete against Google ’s growing presence in the…


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Nevada running out of weed, ‘state of emergency’ declared
Nevada's governor has endorsed a state of emergency declared for recreational marijuana regulations, after the state's tax authority declared that many stores are running out of weed. The Nevada Tax Commission said in a statement it will consider emergency regulations on July 13 to provide a structu...
" A halt in this market will lead to a hole in the state’s school budget," the department said in its statement."
Wait, it's only been ten days and they already put all the projected revenue into the budget?
Also kind of hilarious to hear "think of the children!" as an argument for weed, not againstPosted on 2017-07-11T06:10:57+0000


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Phil Spencer has finally exposed himself on the recent increase in Xbox prices which, for the moment, only affects the USA but what they will inevitably also involve other markets, including Italy. A choice that the CEO of Microsoft Gaming and the Xbox division he described as suffering, and that he tried to delay as much as possible so as not to harm the players. Unfortunately, however, Spencer came across a problem already highlighted by other publishers including Sony itself, namely the increase in development costs for Triple A.
“Price is a reflection of the content, scale and technical complexity of these titles,” a Microsoft spokesperson explained to IGN when the latter asked about the decision. Statement also shared by Phil Spencer himself during an interview granted to the Second Request podcast.
“Price is always something we are aware of, as well as the impact it has on our consumers, and there are multiple things we can price in our platform. Obviously there are the consoles, the price of the games, the subscriptions, and given our current economic priorities, something had to change to continue running this businesswith the increase in costs we’ve had,” Spencer commented on the podcast.
The Xbox CEO then reiterated that this trend did not start from Microsoft, but from other companies, in support of the fact that the Redmond giant has tried to postpone this choice as much as possible. “We’ve tried to delay it as long as possible, and we continue to appreciate that our subscription service hasn’t increased, and the Series S is the cheapest current-gen console on the market, and in running our business, we’ve decided to raise the price of retail games for our biggest titles,” he concluded, then adding how all this is necessary to preserve the quality of Xbox games.
Source: Apple Podcast


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Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Owners Worried by Shortage of Staff
The Bulgarian hotel and restaurant owners at the coast are worried by the shortage of staff this summer, reports Focus agency.
According to Dimitar Dimitrov, chairperson of the Association of hotel and restaurant owners in the northeastern region, this year there is serious shortage of staff for all positions – from dishwashers to qualified personnel.
Dimitrov said that last year the sector raised the salaries of the staff and this year could raise them again, if, of course, the proceeds allow it.
The current average salary for a restaurant cook is BGN 7-800 and for a waiter - BGN 400.
Meanwhile, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reported that in February 2014 there were a total of 1983 hotels, motels, camping sites and chalets, offering 10 beds or more with a total of 108 800 beds. Compared to February 2013, the number of tourist accommodation establishments increased by 3.2% and the number of beds grew by 3.8%.
- » Bulgarian Winter Resorts Register 9.2% Increase in Tourist Numbers
- » Bulgaria Looks into Options to Attract More Tourists from China
- » Bulgarian Hotel, Restaurant Owners Urge Eased Visa Regime for Russian Tourists
- » Bulgaria's Sunny Beach to Have Free Wi-Fi Coverage in Summer
- » Sofia Expects 7-10% Increase in Tourist Numbers in 2015
- » Bulgaria’s Tourism Predicts Tough Summer Season


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Toyota to invest $1.8 billion in Indonesia to make electric vehicles
Japanese carmaker Toyota has planned to invest $1.8 billion in Indonesia in the next five years to make the country a regional manufacturing hub for its electric vehicles.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said this on Wednesday.
According to him, the vice chairperson of Toyota’s board of directors, Shigeru Hayakawa, made the commitment during a meeting with an Indonesian ministerial delegation on Tuesday in Tokyo.
“I believe that the demand for electric vehicles in Indonesia and the ASEAN Association of South-east Asian Nations region in the future will continue to increase.
“Indonesia can be used as a manufacturing base for electric vehicles to be marketed in the ASEAN region,” Mr Airlangga said.
The statement said Toyota also planned to introduce several types of hybrid electric vehicles in the next four years.
“We hope that with this increase in investment in Indonesia, the Indonesian government will understand our seriousness in making electric vehicles,” Mr Hayakawa was quoted as saying.
Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, a key component of batteries used in electric vehicles, wants to be a regional manufacturing hub for battery-powered cars.
This year, South Korean carmaker Hyundai launched the Ioniq 5, the first electric vehicle produced at its new plant near Jakarta.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Before his appointment, Mr Musa had been the Director of the Counter Terrorism Directorate in the ONSA since 2017.
A top ASUU operative said the three-hour meeting ended without any commitment to resolving the issue by either parties.
Mr Mohammed added that efforts being made by the FCTA to curb insecurity in Abuja were numerous.
“It is consistent with President Buhari’s deliberate National agenda of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.”
The figure represented a decrease of 0.16 per cent compared with the N430 it exchanged for the dollar on Monday.


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Ten weeks ago today, the Ningxia Wine Challenge began with a call to the world’s winemakers to come to China for this year’s harvest. Today, seven winemakers from five continents are in Ningxia and will soon be trying their hands at making wine from locally grown grapes.
“Challenge” is an appropriate word for several reasons. For starters, this is the first project of its kind in China and there will be growing pains as the winemakers, the organizers in Ningxia and other parties deal with logistical, cultural and other issues. It is also a challenge because this is a contest to see who makes the best wine as determined by a blind tasting. And it is a challenge because 2012 is looking like a tough vintage in Ningxia due to an excessive amount of rain and, in turn, vineyard disease and grape loss. This will put everyone’s skills to the test.
When the call first went out in mid-July, the organizers worried too little time remained to attract capable winemakers. I spent five days in Yinchuan during the past week and those worries are long gone as each winemaker brings experience from several countries, is adventurous, is asking sharp questions on everything from equipment to vineyards, and is keen to make wine.
I will post about the challenge occasionally here on Grape Wall and regularly on dedicated site Ningxia Wine Challenge. The past week includes:
- This first look at some of the equipment the winemakers will use.
- A profile of David Tyney as part of the continuing wine-making series that has already covered Penny Jones and Carl van der Merwe.
- Some trade and mainstream media coverage from New Zealand of the Challenge.
- This dinner that saw the winemakers eat everything from roast mutton and soup with wolfberries to local fish and a chicken’s head.
- And this kickoff post about the Challenge.
You can also sign up for my free newsletter here. Follow Grape Wall on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And see sibling sites World Marselan Day, World Baijiu Day and Beijing Boyce. Reach Grape Wall via grapewallofchina (at) gmail.com.


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Nokia Put An End To Crap VR Videos With Its OZO Updates
Today, Nokia has announced that it is doubling down on its 360-degree OZO VR, creating a platform around the camera and partnering with some big names. This collaboration will mean a better quality of virtual reality experiences for all of us. Tarif Sayed, Nokia's head of VR technologies, said that partners have been demanding for ways to create better VR experiences and broadcasts. for users.
Nokia has invested most of its time and effort to building out its communication businesses across the globe. The firm has also been throwing some early struggles behind high-end VR capture through its oddly beautiful $40,000 OZO VR camera. According to TechCrunch, Nokia is now planning to deliver a major update to its “OZO Reality Platform."
The big update will give the producers the ability to capture, edit and live stream virtual reality footages in a cohesive package. Nokia has delivered some firmware updates to its VR camera, which is now called as the OZO+. The tech firm gives the product some new image processing quips and the ability to export depth maps so users who are capturing using VR can begin to explore with “mixed reality” storytelling.
Along with the updates, Nokia also introduced the OZO Storytellers program in order to attract more content creators, as well as enthusiasts. Through the said feature, authors of a certain story can reach “broad range of audiences" which includes partners throughout Nokia’s ecosystem amidst their footage. Storytellers will also provide valuable and helpful feedback to the company, essentially telling Nokia if there is future in the project, as reported by GSMArena.
Furthermore, Nokia is expected to produce brighter, sharper images and higher resolutions for all the users. The 360-degre OZO VR is also expected to have the ability to easily add infographics, improved support for 3D spatial sound and much more. Nokia's main goal is to set a high standard for VR production and for broadcasts, as well. With this update, it is now possible for filmmakers and production companies to do everything they need to produce great VR contents.
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WASHINGTON—The plight of U.S. media companies has been well documented. But half a world away in India, the media industry—especially print media—is maturing and has largely avoided the downturn its information technology [IT] and financial sectors faced during the global recession.
In 2008, India’s television sector experienced a healthy 9.3 percent growth, although at a much slower rate than during prior years—17.1 percent in 2007 and 20.6 percent in 2006. The industry earned $1.7 billion in advertisement revenue, an 8 percent increase from 2007.
Similarly, its print media market grew by 8.7 percent with industry-wide revenues of $3.3 billion in 2008.
“Media segments that are currently experiencing declining revenues are not necessarily because of declining demand. In fact, demand for E&M [Entertainment and Media] offerings appears to be increasing. What has changed in some cases is the ability to monetize that demand,” said Jairaj Purandare of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a recent report.
India’s media and entertainment are experiencing growth, whereas the financial, banking, IT, and telecom sectors have reduced spending and advertising.
But Indian media is still dominated by print—newspapers cornered 87 percent of India’s media market, followed with 13 percent market share by magazines. Online advertisements earned only a little over 2 percent of total industry revenues, indicating that online advertisement has not taken the same foothold as it has in the West. But online advertising revenues and market share experienced 85 percent growth last year, the highest among all advertising streams.
PwC predicts that India’s media and entertainment revenues will increase by close to 11 percent annually until 2013—far outpacing the global average of close to 3 percent during the same time period.
Cost Cutting Strategy
“E&M companies in the West have been outsourcing their work to countries like India to extract cost savings. Now, as the Indian market matures, it is the turn of E&M companies to outsource central functions … whether it is in television, radio, print, magazines, etc.,” PwC discovered.
In response to declining growth rates, Indian media companies have also gone on a cost-cutting binge, seeking to divest low-performing businesses and consolidating duplicate functions.
Some Indian companies have also been outsourcing their own operations—functions that don’t jeopardize company-specific trade secrets. Sometimes, sales, editorial, and content development functions could all be outsourced.
“The slowdown impacted the print industry more than the television industry … Newspapers and publications have reduced the number of pages to cope with the recession,” the PwC report said.
Media Woes in the U.S.
America’s print, radio, and television media profits took a 23 percent nosedive over the past two years. Industry executives don’t see any recovery on the horizon as businesses are still withholding spending and laying off employees to cut costs.
But failures to adapt to market realities during the last several years have also caught some media giants off guard.
“Journalism, deluded by its profitability and fearful of technology, let others outside the industry steal chance after chance online,” said a Pew Research Center report. “By 2008, the industry had finally begun to get serious. Now the global recession has made that harder.”
As a whole, advertising revenues—the bread and butter of media—fell by 16 percent since last year. During 2008, stocks of many publicly traded newspaper firms were down by more than 80 percent.
Newspapers, already tackling a shortage of human and other resources, are going even leaner. Some newspapers—such as Seattle’s Post-Intelligencer—stopped the presses altogether and are now trying to lure their former print newspaper customers to their Web sites. In 2008, around 5,000 newsroom jobs were cut.
“By the end of 2009, the newsrooms of American daily newspapers may employ somewhere between 20 percent and 25 percent fewer people than in 2001—with higher losses at big-city metros,” Pew researchers said.
The recent decline of newspapers does not mean that Americans are no longer reading news. Visitors to news Web sites have increased by 15.8 percent by the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in the prior year.
Internet advertising is also growing. PwC projects online advertising revenues to grow by close to 20 percent per year until 2012.
A deeper look shows that some advertisers have taken their ad dollars on air—television advertising has remained robust even during the recession.
"Looking across the various media sectors at audience and economic shifts, it is clear that in 2008 cable news was the big winner,” the Pew report said. “With both ad revenue and audience gains of more than 25 percent, the three cable news channels stood far above all other news media.”


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Forzani reports slight rise in back-to-school sales
The Forzani Group (TSX: FGL) said consolidated same-store sales for the back-to-school period increased 0.1 percent compared to the same time last year.
Compared to last year, its corporate same-store sales were down 1.6 percent and its franchise same-store sales were up 3.8 percent for the seven weeks ended Sept. 20.
“These results suggest an improvement from the corporate results reported in our second quarter press release and were, for the most part, expected due to the later return to school in certain corporate markets,” said Bob Sartor, Forzani’s CEO, in a statement.
The Forzani Group is Canada’s largest national retailer of sporting goods with retail banners that include Sport Chek, Coast Mountain Sports, Sport Mart and The Fitness Source.
–Compiled by Wendy Geister
For more information about any public company on this page or its financial reports, as well as to view stock prices updated every 15 minutes, visit the SNEWS® Stock Market Updates. Click on: www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/cgi-bin/snews/stock_report.html.


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Conflicting forecasts for Ghana economic growth
from RUSSEL ADADEVOH in Accra, Ghana
ACCRA – GHANA is in a dilemma to properly project its economic growth amid conflicting projections.
While on the other hand the government is projecting an 8 percent economic growth this year, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is projecting a 6,9 percent.
The conflicting forecasts are said to be worrying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The GSS projections could sound holding water in that it compiles the industry data, processes it before releasing its findings based on the value of goods and services produced in the country.
GSS Acting Statistician, Dr Philomena Nyarko, was quoted as saying: “the economy will grow at 6,9 per cent in 2014.”
However, IMF insisted that the country’s economy would grow by not more than 4,8 percent citing shortfalls in revenues as well as economic activities.
– CAJ News
Short URL: http://cajnewsafrica.com/?p=2104


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Jaguar Land Rover plans ten product launches in India in FY2022
- JLR India to bring new products, facelifts, new body styles and new powertrains in India market in FY2022.
Jaguar Land Rover India plans to launch 10 models in the domestic market in the current FY2022. These 10 models will include both new generation cars and SUVs along with updated versions of the existing models. With this array of product launches, Jaguar Land Rover aims to consolidate its position in the domestic luxury car market.
The British luxury automaker, which is owned by the Tata Group, recently introduced its fully electric SUV I-Pace in the Indian domestic market. Among its upcoming models in the FY2022, there will be new generation products, facelifts, new body styles, plug-in-hybrids, and new powertrains as well, as JLR India President and Managing Director Rohit Suri said to PTI.
Also check these Vehicles
Jaguar Land Rover believes that there is huge headroom for growth in the country's luxury car market. "As the Indian economy continues to flourish, the number of Indian HNI's will also grow and that will fuel demand for luxury cars organically," Suri said. He also added that the JLR India aims to grow faster than the luxury car market in the Indian domestic market in the current financial year, which just started.
He hopes the luxury car market in India to witness a double-digit growth in the FY2022 in line with the economic growth in the country and the auto company aims to grow faster than the overall market pace.
Earlier this year, in February, the British marquee announced its plans to become a net-zero carbon-emitting business by 2039. To achieve this target, Jaguar Land Rover plans to become an all-electric luxury car brand from 2025 onwards. Expect India to be one of the markets where the British brand will bring its host of electric cars.
To achieve the all-electric strategy, Jaguar Land Rover has announced its 'Reimagine' global strategy, under which all the Jaguar and Land Rover nameplates will be available in pure electric form by 2030. Also, the automaker will launch its first all-electric Land Rover SUV in 2024 and overall, the brand will have six pure electric variants in the next five years.
With an aim to become an all-electric vehicle brand, Jaguar Land Rover is also reorganizing all of its manufacturing units.


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The NMMA today honored John Thommen, Founder and CEO, Ocean Marketing, Inc., with the 2019 Alan J. Freedman Memorial Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who’ve made outstanding contributions to the marine accessories industry through leadership, creativity and personal motivation. The award was presented during the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show’s annual Innovation Breakfast.
“NMMA is honored to present John Thommen with the 2019 Alan J. Freedman Award for his dedication to the marine industry and his pursuit to deliver quality, safe products to the marine market,” noted Thom Dammrich, NMMA president. “John’s unwavering commitment to marketing and providing instruction on the proper use of marine products to dealers, retailers and end users has resulted in better safe boating practices, and is a testament to his lasting mark on the industry.”
Thommen founded Ocean Marketing, Inc., in 1981, a well-respected marine accessory marketing agency headquartered in Guilford, CT. Thommen and his group provide valuable marketing support for their manufacturing clients, and the company has become one of the premier marine sales agencies in the United States under John’s leadership.
Thommen is also the founder and owner of Ocean Accessories, LLC, which manufactures, imports and distributes marine accessories. Ocean Accessories markets products throughout North America and 22 foreign countries and has warehouses in Guilford, CT and Kent, England.
Thommen served on the board of the National Marine Distributors Association for eight years and is a past Director of the National Marine Representatives Association, and a past President of the United States Marine Safety Association and has worked on various NMMA show committees.
He is a Life Trustee of the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation and a former trustee of the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, RI—a trade school dedicated to the education of students in the restoration of classic and traditional vessels. He is also a past trustee of The Shoreline Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that works to bring recreation and education to the Connecticut shoreline communities.
Thommen is currently a member of the New York Yacht Club, Sachem’s Head Yacht Club, and Guilford Yacht Club. He is also Chairman of Guilford, CT Harbor Management Commission, a town committee dedicated to the stewardship of Guilford’s shoreline.
For more information about NMMA’s Alan J. Freedman Award and to nominate a deserving leader for 2020, please contact Rachel Harmon, firstname.lastname@example.org, or visit http://www.nmma.org/industry-awards/alan-freedman-award.


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Volvo is mulling a U.S. factory to offset some of its exposure to fluctuations in the dollar. One thing the automaker definitely will be doing is expanding its presence in the U.S., and a manufacturing facility would certainly make that way easier.
A U.S. Volvo plant would join factories in Sweden, Belgium and two plants in China. Volvo has been making a push on the Chinese market after Ford sold the Swedish company to Geely last year.
This manufacturing push is part of the company's initiative to double sales to 800,000 cars per year worldwide. The company also intends to invest $11 billion over the next five years, with the crosshairs squarely on the Chinese market.


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Arabian Gulf visitors flock to the second-last day of Gitex Shopper 2013 to buy Eid gifts before heading home for festivities.
Extras and freebies draw crowds to Middle East’s largest conumer technology show, Gitex in Dubai
DUBAI // Arabian Gulf visitors bought electronic gadgets as Eid gifts for relatives on Friday, a day before the Gitex Shopper 2013 ends and in time to return home for the festivities.
“I bought laptops, smartphones for my family,” said Ibrahim Al Shamsi, an inspector in Oman’s ministry of education who drove to Dubai with five friends for the event.
“We are here for a day and then we go back to Oman tomorrow. We have come to Gitex many times because of the very good offers that are better than those on the market.”
Mr Al Shamsi’s friend, Omani school librarian Mohammed Al Shamsi, picked up tablet computers for his family.
“I also bought a printer and food processor for my home,” he said. “Here we find so many brands and offers so everyone is buying a lot.”
Two friends from Yemen, who are regulars at Gitex, bought mobile phones for their wives.
“We are here for Gitex. We are coming for many years and we will go back home to celebrate Eid with our families,” said Jamal Ahmed, a civil engineer.
“The deals are very good so we come every time, and our wives also will be so happy with the phones as gifts.”
Smartphones, tablets and televisions were among the quick moving products at the shopping festival that ends on Saturday.
About 120 exhibitors displayed more than 30,000 products in communications, technology and entertainment.
More than 200,000 people are expected to visit Gitex this year.
Abu Dhabi residents also drove in with friends to make Eid purchases.
“I have bought phones for my sons and tablets for my daughters,” said Salah El Sayed, a finance manager and father of five.
“It is good marketing because of the good offers and it comes at the right time before Eid. Every year I come here and I feel the prices go lower. There are so many offers.”
But it was the give-aways that drew many consumers.
“I have been coming to Gitex for five years and I like the freebies we get,” said Marina Ramos, a Sri Lankan national who works at Dubai Duty Free.
“We got so many free products with a tablet we bought. It came with a printer, a cover and a free movie offer for a month. So even if it gets very crowded, it is worth the visit because who else offers you this?”
Some shoppers, however, had hoped for more competition between retailers and lower prices.
“I had expected much better pricing,” said Mohammad Ismail, a Bangladeshi expatriate who works in a telecommunication company in Abu Dhabi.
“There is only a Dh50 difference between the Toshiba laptop I want to buy in Abu Dhabi and in Gitex. So instead I bought an Acer laptop that had a better deal, or it would have been a waste for me to drive from Abu Dhabi for this.”
An Indian information technology engineer, Paolose Gilbert, from Abu Dhabi had the same complaint.
“The extras and additions on offer make it good value for money,” he said after buying a webcam that came with a free headset, an anti-virus package, a phone cover and car charges.
“But there should be more range, better availability and lower pricing in the good products and not just on the low-end gadgets. Then people will feel like coming here more because is will be worth it.”
Thousands streamed in early on Friday hoping to avoid huge crowds in the evening.
“We thought it best to come in early but it is still crowded,” said Majed Naim, a Lebanese legal counsellor on his first visit to Gitex, although he has lived in the UAE for nine years.
“The extras are very good because I got a card disk, a cover and screen protector at no extra cost for the iPad I bought. These extras make people return.”
The largest consumer information technology and electronic show in the Middle East, Gitex will be open from 11am until 11pm on Saturday.


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People in Sherwood are confused as to what is happening regarding the Baazar Cash and Carry on Hucknall Road.
The discount store which will be open 24/7 was supposed to open earlier this year and with the lights of the store seen on, regularly, residents are wanting to know what is going on.
Previously, the store belonged to Bespoke.
Elivs Roberts, 60-years-old is a janitor who lives in Sherwood, he thought the store was meant to open weeks ago, he said: “I thought this was meant to be open from Christmas, it’s a shame, I’m moving house soon.
“I see the lights are on because I get the bus every morning at 5.15am to work.”
Ian Elliot, 49, self-employed from Arnold said: “I’m looking forward to it opening, I don’t know why it’s taking them so long, maybe it’s supplier issues, maybe there’s something wrong with the building.
“It would be nice for them to maybe put a sign up or a banner with an expected date if they’re going to be opening soon.
Linda Bridge, 70-years-old, is retired from Sherwood, she said she hopes the store is opening soon and said: “It’s such a big store and everyone loves a discount. I’m looking forward to it opening, it’s bigger than the Tesco Express.
“Lidl isn’t too far but it will be nice to shop about.”
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Amazon Lookout for Vision is now generally available
AWS has previously announced the general availability of the service, which analyzes pictures with computer vision, and finds flaws and unusual elements in products and production processes. The user-list includes GE Healthcare, Basler and of course - Amazon itself. The product aspires to provide AWS customers with accuracy at a low-cost price. Swami Sivasubramanian, Vice President of Amazon Machine Learning for AWS, has said: "Whether a customer is placing toppings on a frozen pizza or manufacturing finely-calibrated parts for an airplane, what we’ve heard unequivocally is that guaranteeing only high-quality products reach end-users is fundamental to their business. While this may seem obvious, ensuring such quality control in industrial pipelines can, in fact, be very challenging".
Microsoft has announced the public preview of Azure IoT Edge Modules for Linux
The solution announced by Microsoft is offered as part of the Azure IoT Hub service, and will allow the company customers to run Linux containers on Azure IoT Edge. Thus, users will be able to deploy Linux in Azure as a virtual machine or as a module - which is possible because Microsoft uses its own Linux variant for Azure IoT Edge. The solution also includes integration with Microsoft Update, to keep the software up-to-date.
The Kubernetes Engine of GCP is now on Autopilot mode
GCP has announced the new operating-mode of its Kubernetes Engine (GKE), which influences daily managing processes of the container-cluster for google’s engineers and automated tools. The standard model (which was before the autopilot one) is still available for users, and allows them to customize configurations personally and to manage their node Infrastructure.
Oracle has launched its new AI-based advisory services, for its cloud services
The company has announced the launch of Oracle’s Construction Intelligence Cloud Service, which will examine data from previous customers projects, and which will provide them with advices on future projects based on that data. In addition, it was claimed that the presentation that will be delivered by the service will be easily understood, and will present comfortable indications instead of complicated reports.


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``either the Fed inflates this debt away, or one can kiss any hope of economic growth goodbye, even if that means even more central bank rate cuts, more QEs everywhere, and stock markets trading at +? while the middle class around the globe disappears and only the 0.001% is left standing.''
The annual Mobile World Congress trade show has been a bit stale in recent years, since most big smartphone vendors have been hosting their own dedicated press conferences to make key announcements. This year, however, that is most certainly not the case. Show More Summary
Dealers weigh global supply glut, slow growth in world economy.
As marijuana continues to be legalized all over the world, Flow Kana offers an organic approach to the trade
A gauge of global stocks rallied to a record, eclipsing its 2014 peak, as monetary stimulus spurred gains from Europe to Japan, while US equities traded near unprecedented heights. ||| A GAUGE of global stocks rallied to a record, eclipsing...Show More Summary
A company in Berkeley, California, has designed a perfectly round smartphone that looks like a pocket watch, and will debut it next week at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. The Runcible will debut in Japan later this year, and will feature a camera and all the wireless connections you'd expect: LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Show More Summary
The upscale gym is just the one of many healthy options flocking downtown to cater to the elite clientele of One World Trade Center.
Using models that blend global economics, geography, ecology and environmental sciences is essential to understanding how changes in trade and natural systems in one part of the world affect those in another, a review concludes.
A recent report from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) (“China’s Growing Demand for Agricultural Imports” ) indicated that, “China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization lowered barriers to agricultural imports, and its economic growth has generated new demands for agricultural commodities. Show More Summary
The landscape of international trade negotiations has been undergoing an upheaval. On the multilateral level, after 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to close the Doha Development Round at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the negotiation system has shown to be highly vulnerable to blockades by any small group of member countries. Show More Summary
To truly understand the cultural phenomenon that is Condé Nast's wintry odyssey from 4 Times Square to One World Trade Center, we must take a quick peek into the recent past. Read more...
Next Monday, March 2, the National Hockey League trade deadline will put an end to player movement between teams for the 2014-15 season. In today's salary-cap world, it's tough for general managers to make deals that will help their team on the ice while still working within their organization's salary structure. Show More Summary
No, not, obviously, the September 11, 2001 attack by two airplanes on the Twin Towers. But today is the anniversary of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. It’s being commemorated with a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial.
Ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show, LG has unveiled an LTE variant of its fashionable Watch Urbane that will support calls over VoLTE without a phone, as well as NFC payments. Unlike the Android Wear-based original, the LG...Show More Summary
WASHINGTON — Trading barbs, the U.S. and Israel escalated their increasingly public spat Wednesday over Benjamin Netanyahu's GOP-engineered congressional speech next week, with the Israeli prime minister accusing world powers of rolling over to allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons. Show More Summary
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is no longer just about the handset launches. Each year, thousands of ad executives flock to the trade show to learn about what’s new in mobile, to catch up with clients, and to potentially do some deals. Show More Summary
Hindu nationalists in India have stepped up attacks on the country's beef industry, seizing trucks with cattle bound for abattoirs and blockading meat processing plants in a bid to halt the trade in the world's second-biggest export...
In a perfect world for Edmonton Oilers fans, the March 2 trade deadline would serve as an opportunity to add a few pieces in the hopes of making a deep playoff run. The world is not perfect, so that won't be happening. There may be some...Show More Summary
Last week, we enjoyed the view of our icy little hellhole from the far reaches of space. Today, we present to you scenes of our misery from a window on the 33rd floor of 1 World Trade Center, shot by the folks at Conde Nast Traveler. [ more › ]
On Sunday, February 1st, I was in "the first audience to see" the World Premiere of an independent film from Finland called "Eila, Rampe and Baby Girl (Eila, Rampe ja Likka)," a charming, funny, "trading places,""clash of generations and social classes,"comedy. Show More Summary


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This week the cargo ship Alma, carrying 2,000 tons of endangered fin whale meat from Iceland, has decided not to enter the South African port of Durban. The ship was en route to Japan to deliver its condemnable cargo in Tokyo and wanted to resupply halfway. It would have met public outrage.
In three days over 21,000 South Africans joined Greenpeace in its request to the port authorities to deny entrance and service to the Alma. Greenpeace is calling on the South African government to add pressure to other African ports to continue to deny services to the ALMA when it reaches their shores.
Michael O’brien Onyeka, Greenpeace Africa Executive Director said, ‘Every country and company involved in shipments should be aware that making money on the trade of endangered species is being met with international moral rejection’.
More ports declaring whale meat shipments unwelcome
“South Africa has made great strides in closing the loops to trade illegal species inside and outside the country, but they can do more to deny ships like the Icelandic whale meat transporter ALMA from entering Africa’s waters. After actions of Greenpeace last year, the ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg declared that transshipments of whale meat are not welcome anymore,” he said.
“When the ALMA tries to port in Mauritius or other ports, South Africa must urge their counterparts to take measures not to offer services to the ship or return the ship back to sender”, added O’Brien-Onyeka.
“Whale meat – just like rhino horn – is illegal in South Africa. The shipping company underestimated South African citizens commitment to abolish the trade of illegal and endangered species and wildlife. Now, the vessel has left South African waters without the possibility to refuel”.
Now other ports must follow our good example
“It is up to other port states on the route of this vessel to continue to deny access to whale carrying vessel, to prove their genuine commitment to intention of the CITES treaty that over 178 countries have signed up to- over 50 African nations are party to the treaty”, concluded O’brien-Onyeka.
The Republic of South Africa is a founding member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which forbids the international trade of fin whales. Also, the International Whaling Commission has declared a moratorium on commercial hunting. The countries disagreeing with these bans are Iceland, Japan and Norway.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered two weeks ago that Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean should stop immediately. Although this is a big win for the protection of whales, the Icelandic transports make clear that whaling is still an important issue of worldwide concern.
Greenpeace continues to call on key players in the worldwide shipping industry –flag states, ports, waterways and carriers- to end their role in the trading of endangered species like whales.”‘This continuous hunt makes no ecological or economic sense,” O’brien-Onyeka stresses. “Endangered whales belong in our oceans, not in frozen storages. When the transports stop, there is no future for most of the whale hunters.”
Viva Greenpeace and South African citizens!


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Goldman Sachs casts doubt on whether China can honor $40 billion in US farm purchases
· In 2017, China managed to buy around $27 billion worth of U.S. soft commodities and agricultural assets.
· The number roughly halved in 2018 and 2019 as trade tariffs took hold.
· Washington wants China to raise farm purchases to at least $40 billion for this year and next.
David Reid, CNBC
Jan 10 2020
A leading commodities expert at Goldman Sachs has raised doubts over China buying at least $40 billion worth of U.S. farming goods to satisfy terms of the “phase one” trade deal.
The U.S. and China plan to sign the first draft of the trade pact on January 15 which will see tariffs eased and changes introduced to rules surrounding intellectual property and technology. Washington is also demanding that China buys between $40 billion and $50 billion worth of agricultural goods from the U.S. each year.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Street Signs” on Friday, Goldman’s Global Head of Commodities Research Jeff Currie said U.S. live stock and agricultural prices couldn’t yet factor in a coming boost to demand.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty about how you would achieve $40 (billion) or potentially even $50 billion of agricultural purchases,” Currie said, before adding, “A lot of the people I talk to are really skeptical that you can really achieve that number.”
Annual U.S. farm exports to China typically exceeded $20 billion between 2010 and 2018, before falling sharply to around $13 billion over the last two years as trade war duties impacted sales of soy beans and pork.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters in December that China has pledged to buy a total of $40 billion in agricultural products, although President Donald Trump is calling for $50 billion...
... Currie said while Goldman Sachs had identified soy beans, pork and corn as the likely big winners from the “phase one” trade deal, it would be a question of waiting to see if the physical demand existed...
more, including links


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Dallas restaurant owner says business is booming after viral twerking video
'We’ve received an outpouring of support that we did not anticipate online and in person.'
The Dallas restaurant owner who went viral for cursing out his customers over a twerking incident says business js booming.
Kevin Kelley, owner of True Kitchen + Kocktails, tells TMZ that his anti-twerking speech has had a positive impact on his eatery. TheGrio previously reported, Kelley was filmed yelling at Black female patrons who were twerking and dancing on the furniture. In the clip, he makes clear that he is running a restaurant, not a club.
Kelley caught major heat across social media from users who condemned his tone and questioned his appreciation of Black women. He also had plenty of sympathizers who thought his actions were justified.
He responded to the critics and outrage in a lenghty message posted to Instagram. After the initial social media backlash, Kelley says his business has been inundated with dine-in requests.
“I’m glad the public has had a chance to decide what they do and don’t want in their restaurants. The effect on our restaurant has been overwhelmingly positive,” Kelley told TMZ.
The restauranteur has received local support amid the controversy, including former Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Dez Bryant, who is a Texan native.
“We’ve received an outpouring of support that we did not anticipate online and in person. This lets us know the public believes in our vision for the restaurant and they will support a concept working to fill a void in our communities,” Kelley told the gossip website.
In the twerking video, Kelley is heard telling patrons, “I invested a lot of money into buying this building, into developing this concept so Black people could have somewhere nice to go to.” He goes on to tell the women to take their twerking to other establishments.
“I want em to show respect for themselves for how they carry themselves here, so how can I tell the men to respect themselves and you guys are twerking glass here. If you want to do it, fu** out of my restaurant,” he continued.
TRUE Kitchen + Kocktails prides itself by serving Southern comfort food like fried chicken and waffles, lobster tails, and shrimp and grits in an upscale setting.
Its “kocktails,” however, are anything but Southern. The drinks are crafted and inspired by popular cities such as New York City, Paris, and Los Angeles fused with some Southern traits.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!


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Cloud computing is an increasingly broad topic that encompasses everything from Google Apps to data center services to virtualization to software-, infrastructure- and platform-as-a service. Technology executives are increasingly interested in cloud computing as a way to save money. Nevertheless, cloud adoption remains in the single digits amid security concerns. Rest assured that cloud computing is a game changer. Key players include: IBM, HP, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce.com, NetSuite, VMware as well as dozens of others.
Articles about Cloud
The ACMA and the Department of Communications look set to move to shared IT and finance services as early as November this year, ZDNet can reveal.
The debut of Zendesk Enterprise reflects not only another budding Software-as-a-Service brand taking on legacy vendors but also the San Francisco company's growth into an established player itself.
Apple has activated a two-factor authentication process for iCloud access, requiring users to enter a dynamically generated pass code in addition to login and password details.
Want to use OpenStack for your private cloud, but don't want the headaches of setting it up? AMD and Canonical have a deal for you.
The company said it aims to focus on managed cloud services and names Taylor Rhodes CEO. Rackspace had been exploring strategic alternatives.
Hybrid cloud, and its unique combination of on-premise and off-premise solutions, is growing in popularity, as shown in a new Tech Pro Research survey and the resulting research report.
Revenue numbers left something to be desired, but Adobe's commitment to the cloud is reinforced by continued subscriber growth.
At its Inforum 2014 event in New Orleans, the enterprise software vendor made a bevy of announcements, including the launch of Infor Xi, the latest incarnation of its enterprise cloud platform.
A Canadian startup founded by medical professionals plans to offer personal health assessments based on wearable sensor data and public health data sets.
What the heck is going on with HP, an OpenStack cloud supporter, buying Eucalyptus? Here's one theory.
The National Computational Infrastructure has built an on-demand, high-performance cloud computing environment to process data-intensive computations, such as climate change, earth system science, and life sciences research.
Facebook engineers boasted that mcrouter can also work in an Amazon Web Services setup based on Instagram's deployment.
If I base my start-up business on Microsoft technologies, I've instantly put myself in hock for 300 Windows Server licenses.
Microsoft's purchase of Minecraft creator Mojang lines up with both the company's mobile ambitions and the need to cultivate future customers for Windows as well as its cloud properties.
In its move to acquire the AWS-compatible cloud stack provider, HP wants to present itself as being the "most compatible" of systems suppliers.


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Adobe cautions in an advisory against a whole series of flaws in Adobe Reader 8.1.2. Most of them also affect Linux.more »
Californian Ben Kevan, server administrator for Linux and VMware, ponders the future of YaST in his blog.more »
Sun Microsystems and IBM have kicked off an open source community project dealing with conversion of documents into OpenDocument Format (ODF).more »
Just one week since Google opened Android Market for external applications, and already the medialets blog has announced 167 downloaded apps.more »
A whole week of success stories for Linux and Open Source, while Microsoft is battling the press, thus the summary from Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. Even the New York Times sees a good positioning for Linux on desktops.more »
Picasa 2.7 Picasa 2.7 image managerOct 31, 2008
In the age of the digital camera, users are overwhelmed by a flood of images. Picasa not only helps you manage photos but also will enhance the image quality with just a couple of mouse clicks.more »
The free wiki project TWiki is currently embroiled in a contentious dialogue. The TWIKI.NET venture is undergoing a new governance model that many developers consider a hostile takeover. Without further ado, developers have decided to launch their own, separate NextWiki.org project.more »
The Gutenprint project develops filters for the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) to operate with a range of commercial printers. Gutenprint 5.2.1 is now available with numerous changes and improvements.more »
Bug database has a bug of its own that could allow an intruder to create an unauthorized account.
Report focuses federal resources on achieving universal Internet access.
Leading browser makers say “no” to porous encryption algorithm
Report from the X-Force group says attackers are using TOR to hide their crimes
Future Firefox extensions will be compatible with Chrome.
Better read this if you bought your computer before 2011
Users should upgrade to the new version as soon as possible
Xen project announces a privilege escalation problem for Qemu host systems
Attackers can compromise an Android phone just by sending a text message
PC vendor will pre-install Ubuntu on portables in India.


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In his most recent community update video Mayor John Valdivia welcomed Build a Scoop to San Bernardino. The owner of Build a Scoop, an upscale and hip take on the ice cream shop, Amanda Contreras joined the mayor on the most recent episode of “Morning Brew with Mayor John Valdivia.”
The mayor asked her where she came up with the concept for the restaurant. Amanda explained that during the height of the pandemic she drove around the region and noticed that there were groups of people often gathered around ice cream stores. After tasting in here estimation 250 scoops of ice cream from many different ice cream shops she settled on the idea of an “experiential” gelato shop.
According to some psychologists during troubled times, like the pandemic, people turn to the familiar and things that bring back good memories. For many people the ice cream shop experience is tied to positive memories of childhood, vacations by the beach and other comforting thoughts so it is natural that during the pandemic they turned to these places in large numbers.
This gelato experience is unlike many others as the product is made in front of you using nitrogen in fusion to freeze the custard and the process is as much as the show as is the ice cream itself. Customers are encouraged to join others in the moment through posting pictures and videos to social media on their feeds and that of Build a Scoop while they are there.
Build a Scoop is located at 424 East Hospitality Lane B7.


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Apple Pay to launch Monday
CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple's new mobile payment system will launch on Monday, CEO Tim Cook said Thursday.
"We think it is going to be profound. It's going to change the way we pay for things," said Cook.
The payment system is preloaded in Apple's new phones.
"Everything you need is built into iPhone 6," he said.
Credit cards and banks supporting the system include American Express, Mastercard and Visa, Citi, Bank of America and PNC. Among retailers on board: Macys, Bloomingdales, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Whole Foods, Disney stores and Staples. Restaurants supporting Apple Pay include Subway and Panera Bread.
Apple touts its proprietary system as safe and secure because it creates one-time payment numbers for purchases, rather than transmitting credit card numbers and security codes.
"It's easy, it's secure and yes, it's a private way to pay for things," said Cook.
Apple is not the only fruit on the tree, however. There are multiple entities vying to be first into consumers' hearts.
"The rule is, 'The one who enrolls is the one who controls,'" is how Richard Crone of Crone Consulting, an electronics payment consulting group, put it.
The largest could be MCX, which stands for Merchant Customer Exchange. It is a collaboration between multiple large U.S. retail companies, including Walmart, Target, Lowe's, Kmart, Shell and others.
Its brand is called CurrentC and is scheduled to go live next year.
The advantage of CurrentC is exactly the opposite of Apple—it lets the seller know who the buyer is.
"You'll be able to get coupons and other discounts, because it knows who the customer is," said Crone.
Other potential mobile payment platforms vying for market share in this space include Google Wallet and PayPal.
"Just as new products and services from Apple reshaped other industries, Apple Pay will reshape payments," said Denée Carrington, an analyst with Forrester.
However there are misses. Apple Pay lacks the ability to scale in-person payments and the ability for merchants to gain insight into customer purchases, which needs to be addressed, she said.
U.S. mobile proximity payments totaled $745.96 million in 2012 and increased 114.5% to $1.6 billion in 2013, eMarketer estimates. About 8% of U.S. smartphone users (11.2 million) made mobile payments last year, up 57% from 2012.
Saturday's launch will probably be "a little chaotic as the first adopters are going to buy things just to buy things. I'd expect longer lines just about everywhere," said Robert Siciliano, a security expert with Hotspot Shield
Consumers should be extra careful as they work out how to use the new payment system. As with anything new, some people will try to use unfamiliarity with the technology as a chance to scam the unsuspecting.
"There is a solid chance that someone, somewhere, is going to get their data or even their phone stolen as a result of handing their phone to someone that they shouldn't," Siciliano said.


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Dutch clothing brand Oilily filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday for its U.S. division and has shuttered its Madison Avenue store. Fridays filing occurs nearly two months after a bankruptcy filing in Holland by the retailers parent company Oilily B.V.
Oilily USA, which owes money to over 200 creditors, cited assets between $1 million and $10 million, along with debts of more than $10 million.
After closing eight retail locations over the last few months, Oilily is attempting to renegotiate its remaining 25 leases nationwide.
The good news is we have no secured creditors, we have cash, and we intend to stay in operations and successfully emerge from Chapter 11, said Marilyn Simon, the lawyer handling bankruptcy proceedings for Oilily. She explained that the bankruptcy filing of the parent company contributed to a downward spin for Oililys U.S. arm, but after a restructuring, the company aims to survive independently of Oilily B.V.
Oilily, which launched here 15 years ago and sells clothing for babies, children and women, said it will not close its West Broadway outpost, which it leased three years ago. However, the retailer does owe money to 465 West Broadway Corp., the 3,200-square-foot SoHo locations landlord, which is listed as an unsecured creditor in the filing.
Oilily has already closed its location at 820 Madison Ave., where it had 1,000 square feet of space for the last 12 years. The brand had been leasing the space on a month-to-month basis, paying about $40,000 a month or $480 a square foot, after the agreement expired in January. Landlord Duell, which owns the space, was listed among Oililys top 20 creditorsthe retailer owes Duell over $40,000.
The landlord was trying to work with them until it got a new retailer, because Oilily had been there so long, said Faith Hope Consolo, a Prudential Douglas Elliman broker who is representing the Madison Avenue location. But Oilily just decided business wasnt enough to justify their staying.
Duell is now asking near $1,000 a square foot for the spot vacated by Oilily, and Ms. Consolo said several retailers have shown interest, but the space has not been filled.


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From CLSA to Citi, Kotak to BofA, all are saying 2021 will be a great year for the economy but not a great year for investors because markets have moved up in anticipation of earnings recovery and valuations are trading 40-50% above historical averages. Do you see merit in this argument?
I do not think anybody should be worrying about one-year outlook in any stock market. If I could predict stock price movements for six months or one year, then I would have providential powers which obviously none of us have. What is entirely feasible is that there could be breathers in the market as the stock market tries to reassess if the economy is recovering at the pace that people had expected. I have a very strong view that the market will do well over three years but can’t predict what will happen over one year.
Anybody who is trying to second guess the market at a time when the economy is just about troughing out, is playing a very dangerous game. All we can do is look at fundamentals, look at the results of healthy companies, macroeconomic indicators, company-specific news and global indicators like commodity prices, oil prices, interest rates and capital flows. It appears we are in the early stages of an economic recovery. It makes sense to be constructive about the market and about high quality companies. Beyond that it will be guess work.
What has changed in the last three to four months in the portfolios or the money you manage?
The emphasis continues to be on clean, well-run companies. That has always been our focus in Marcellus. There are three areas where we have a little bit more focus in terms of our day-to-day research, in terms of our calling up distributors and doing more channel checks. The first one is the whole auto ecosystem. It looks like the entire auto ecosystem -- including OEMs and auto ancillaries -- is humming. Both at the OEM level and at the auto ancillary level, we will get the next layer of capex announcements as the auto companies will spend another six months with full order books and then they will try to think about the next layer of capex enhancements. Big announcements will likely come through this summer if the auto cycle holds up. The reports that we are getting from lenders indicate loan disbursals for both cars and two- wheelers are very healthy. We are doing more work on the auto ecosystem to see what else we can buy there.
We have earlier spoken about holdings in GMM Pfaudler, Alkyl Amines. There are two other companies which are building globally dominant franchises. One is Garware Technical Fibres in Pune, which is a world class franchise in the fishing net market. The other is Ultramarine & Pigments based out of Chennai, a manufacturer of inorganic pigments and surfactants. Ultramarine & Pigments is the largest in Asia.
The coming of age of smaller Indian companies which are not that well known, building dominant global franchises even though their market cap is only $1-2 billion. This would be a very interesting theme in the coming years and a defining theme of this economic recovery. I would call this a listed market unicorn story.
Can you expand the last theme? You like smallcap manufacturing companies. Is it because of PLI? Is it because of low interest rates or is it because of their whole business approach and technology?
Why is it that we are finally seeing smaller Indian companies come through with return on capital well north of 20% -- 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%? These are cash generating smaller Indian companies, which do not need bank financing, bank debt, bond market debt and who have significant intellectual property which is proprietary to them and who are consistently driving 20% EPS growth year after year. Why is this happening now? Why did it not happen in the 2006-2007 boom? Why did it not happen in 2014, 2015, 2016?
I reckon there are three things which have played out in favour of well run Indian manufacturers regardless of market cap. First, GST has given well-run Indian manufacturers, regardless of industry, a genuinely PAN India market to play in. If you go outside Mumbai and go to Bhiwandi, just the blossoming of the logistics industry and the outsourcing by smaller manufacturers of their warehousing and trucking is a straightforward example of how GST is allowing even small companies which are efficiently run to improve their efficiency and ROC by outsourcing activities which they had to do in house. So, GST is helping well-run manufacturers regardless of market cap improve their cash flows and efficiency levels.
Second, the slide of the rupee towards the 75-76 mark. It has strengthened a little bit on the back of these very strong inflows but the slide of the rupee from mid 60s to mid 70s, has given an efficiency kicker to Indian companies which export. It is evident in IT services but even manufacturing companies like Garware Technical Fibres are the exporters and they are truly benefiting from a more competitive rupee.
The third aspect is for the last two-three years, we have affordable money, affordable capital and for smaller companies whose suppliers need to be able to access capital and affordable rates. It seems to benefit from a more affordable cost of capital regime coming through but it is very clear that for the first time in 12 years, we are seeing a host of well-run $1-2 billion manufacturers with really classy franchises where cash flows are very strong.
Franchises are underpinned not just on low cost but around intellectual property, patents, proprietary processes and order books. The biggest challenge to them is how do they grow over the next one or two years without letting things get out of control. So, it is a very promising time for efficient well-run Indian manufacturers. Quite literally, both the domestic economy and the world seems to be their oyster.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday raised policy interest rates for the fifth time this year, but by an expectedly smaller quantum, with inflation seen to have possibly peaked.Reliance, Ashok Leyland in Talks for Engines Running on H2
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Next beats forecasts to net better sales figures thanks to strong online sales
High Street bellwether Next has beaten third-quarter sales forecasts, buoyed by a strong online performance despite the unseasonably warm autumn.
Britain’s second-biggest clothing chain (up 245p to 5450p) posted a 4.3 per cent rise in revenues ahead of its guidance of between 1 per cent and 4 per cent.
This was fuelled by a 10.7 per cent lift from Next Directory, which includes products sold from its catalogue and online business.
Stylish stores: Rachel Stevens is the face of the Next Petite range
Its 500 UK stores contributed a rise of 0.4 per cent to trading, which was seen as positive in the current economic climate.
Next also raised its profit guidance to between £650million and £680million from £635million to £675million.
John Stevenson, an analyst at broker Peel Hunt, said: ‘While volatile, only three weeks in the third quarter failed to beat last year, a surprising outcome given the warm weather in early autumn.
‘Few retailers will be able to match this performance.’
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Christopher M. Jones joined Westwater Resources, Inc. as President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2013. Mr. Jones has more than 30 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility in senior management as CEO and in operational leadership roles in the mining and energy industries. He was most recently President and CEO of Wildcat Silver Corporation, where his team effectively doubled the size of the resource twice using proven metallurgical technologies. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer and the Mining General Manger at Albian Sands Energy, where he led the post-startup, stabilization and optimization of the Muskeg River Mine in Alberta.
In this exclusive interview with the Wall Street Transcript, Mr. Jones details the new strategic focus for his company. “Simply put, lithium is the stuff that goes in a lithium ion battery. And everyone these days has a portable electronic device like a phone or a laptop by our workstations that use these batteries. But the real growth market for lithium is in transportation batteries — cars for instance. You might see a Tesla coming down the road, but I see 70 pounds of lithium there rolling down the road.”
Even if lithium prices drop dramatically from current levels, at “$8,500 a ton, the kind of properties we’re looking at produce lithium from brines that are really at the lowest-cost quartile. That’s around $4,000 per ton, still leaving us about 100% margin. Those are the kind of things that this team focuses on; that is, is making sure that we can be in the lowest-cost quartile of any commodity we want to work in, so that no matter what the economics or the price at the time, the economics are still sound.”
The future is lithium and Westwater has low price options. “It’s just really, really salty water. Think of tap water at about 1,000 parts per million dissolved solids, sea water at 15,000 to 20,000 parts per million — this stuff is 300,000 parts per million. It’s actually heavy to the touch. This brine is super salty. What we do is we pull it out of the ground, we extract the lithium salt component, we put the rest of the water back underground, then we work with the lithium salt component to change it to lithium carbonate to put it into action.”
To read the entire interview, visit the Wall Street Transcript.


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The President and Chairman of Groupe Nduom says despite the challenges the Groupe faced in 2019 he will prove to everyone that the brand is a reliable one.
“We will prove to everyone particularly ourselves that indeed when we say Groupe Nduom; Beyond Excellence, we mean that; we will live it,” Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom said in his Christmas message to Ghanaians.
Businesses belonging to the Groupe were affected by the banking reforms undertaken by the Bank of Ghana, including GN Bank which was not able to meet the GH₵400 million minimum capital.
Also, Blackshield Capital Management, an investment firm belonging to the Groupe was affected by the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) reforms in the latter part of the year.
But Dr Nduom has shared his optimism about the year 2020 saying they will prove the naysayers wrong.
“We are determined to leave behind the difficulties of 2019, and enter the new year, 2020, with bright new ideas, with renewed strength and with the support that we believe will come from many quarters, so that we can get back into place and deliver the kinds of services and produce the goods that have come to be associated with Groupe Nduom,” he said.


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As far as I know there is really only one respectable argument that inflation expectations are approaching dangerous levels in the US. We know that 5 year TIPS spreads are low, and we know that the near to medium term consensus inflation forecast is low. We know actual inflation is low and falling. But then there are those gold prices.
I’ve never been convinced that the high gold prices were signaling US inflation fears. One problem is that gold prices are set in a global market, so it’s not clear why we should assume they are forecasting high inflation in the US, rather than the eurozone, Japan, India or China. India has generally been the world’s largest buyer of gold. Furthermore, most other metals prices have also been soaring, presumably due to rising demand in the developing world.
First let’s look at the supply side of the equation. We can’t directly observe supply curves, only equilibrium points. But nonetheless the recent price and quantity data suggests that supply may be falling. We know that gold prices have soared in terms of all major currencies, and yet gold output continues to decline rapidly:
(click to enlarge)
Note that production peaked at 2600 tons, and fell to 2260 tons in the latest year available (2008.) I’ve read articles suggesting that most of the world has now been thoroughly explored, and it is felt that most of the major goldfields have already been discovered. Producers are having to concentrate on less high quality ores.
Set against that bleak supply picture, we have the following news from the FT about gold demand in China:
Gold imports into China have soared this year, turning the country, already the largest bullion miner, into a major overseas buyer for the first time in recent memory.
The surge, which comes as Chinese investors look for insurance against rising inflation and currency appreciation, puts Beijing on track to overtake India as the world’s largest consumer of gold and a significant force in global gold prices.The size of the imports – more than 209 tonnes of gold during the first 10 months of the year, a fivefold increase from an estimate of 45 tonnes last year – was revealed on Thursday. In the past, China has kept the volume secret.
“Investment is really driving demand for gold,” said Cai Minggang, at the Beijing Precious Metals Exchange. “People don’t have any better investment options. Look at the stock market, or the property market – you could make huge losses there.”
Beijing has encouraged retail consumption, with an announcement in August of measures to promote and regulate the local gold market, including expanding the number of banks allowed to import bullion.
Shen Xiangrong, chairman of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, who disclosed the import numbers, said uncertainties about the Chinese and global economies, and inflationary expectations, had “made gold, as a hedging tool, very popular”.
The rise in Chinese demand could further inflate gold prices. Bullion hit a nominal all-time high of $1,424.10 a troy ounce last month. But adjusted for inflation, prices are far from the 1980 peak of $2,300.
“The trend is undeniable – gold demand in China is rising rapidly,” said Walter de Wet, of Standard Bank in London.
. . .Chinese total gold demand rose last year to nearly 450 tonnes, up from about 200 tonnes a decade ago, according to the World Gold Council, the lobby group of the mining industry. Analysts anticipate a further leap this year, putting the country within striking distance of India’s total gold demand of 612 tonnes in 2009.
Those Chinese consumption estimates are rather large when set against a world production total of 2260, and falling. I seem to recall someone pointing out that Asian gold demand couldn’t be the problem, because the totals were fairly stable. But that confuses shifts in demand with movements along a demand curve. When world output is falling, it is necessarily true that total quantity demand will also fall. If you confuse demand and quantity demanded, it will never look like higher demand is pushing up prices when output is declining. For instance, consider the following scenario:
- The world supply of gold is shifting to the left, and is expected to continue doing so.
- Chinese demand is rapidly shifting to the right, and is expected to continue shifting right as Chinese wealth rises dramatically.
- Indian demand is shifting right, but much more slowly.
Here’s what I would expect. Global gold prices would be expected to rise strongly over the next few decades. If markets are efficient and nominal interest rates are very low, the expected future rise should also raise current gold prices. The intertemporal arbitrage necessary to make this happen would be provided by gold speculators who buy up lots of gold, driving current prices much higher. Because Indian demand is increasing only modestly, yet remains the world’s largest, the higher price causes India to slide up and to the left along their demand curve, to a higher price and a lower quantity demanded. People might wrongly assume that Indian demand had declined, whereas in fact Indian demand was still increasing (due to income growth) but the price was increasing so fast that quantity demanded declined.
The fact that Chinese quantity demanded increased rapidly despite a huge rise in gold prices suggests that the Chinese demand curve is moving to the right at a truly explosive rate. Indeed in this model it would be possible for future expected Chinese demand to explain 100% of the world’s recent gold price rise, even if the current quantity demanded were falling slightly. Speculators might be holding gold stocks in readiness for future expected Chinese demand. But of course Chinese consumption (Qd) is rising fast despite the high prices.
The real price of gold is still much lower than in 1980, a time when China was not a factor in the world gold market, and also a time when lots of new gold fields were yet to be discovered. I can easily understand how savvy hedge fund managers could see the China boom as being very bullish for gold:
The surge in gold imports to China bodes well for some of the world’s biggest hedge fund managers, including David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital and John Paulson of Paulson & Co, who have invested heavily in bullion, and top miners Barrick Gold of Canada, US-based Newmont Mining and AngloGold Ashanti of South Africa. [Also from the FT article.]
Again, I don’t doubt that there are individual investors fooled by news stories of massive monetary base increases and huge deficits, who think that high inflation is just around the corner. Not many average investors know that the same thing happened 15 years earlier in Japan, with no inflationary consequences. But I believe the best point estimate of the market’s consensus inflation forecast comes from the CPI futures market, as well as the TIPS spreads in the T-bond market.
One interesting question is why Chinese inflation is rising sharply. It’s clearly not due to any rise in US inflation; rather the most likely explanation is the Balassa-Samuelson effect. I’ve been predicting a huge appreciation in the real value of the yuan for quite some time, and so far I’ve been right. A recent article in The Economist pointed out the real yuan is up about 50% since 2005, with about half the increase being nominal appreciation and the rest representing higher inflation in China.
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The US chip giant has developed a new way of stacking a processor’s components on top of one another.
The news: Intel has unveiled a new manufacturing technology called Foveros that it thinks will help boost the performance of a range of chips, from core processors to ones specially designed for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. It says the first semiconductors built using the new technology will be available in 2019.
End of an era …: Some industry experts have been predicting the imminent demise of Moore’s Law, which holds that the number of transistors that can be packed on a chip doubles roughly every couple of years. This has driven huge advances in computing power for decades and has made possible all kinds of devices, from smartphones to supercomputers.
But it’s now incredibly hard to pack more elements onto 2D architectures, which has sparked initiatives to come up with new ways of boosting silicon’s performance. Memory chips that store things like content from mobile apps have used a 3D approach for some time, but efforts to build powerful processors the same way have repeatedly foundered on concerns over cost and power efficiency.
… or more Moore? Intel says things like new insulation materials that dissipate heat and a new power-delivery process have helped the company overcome such drawbacks. As well as boosting processing power, Foveros also makes it easier to swap in transistors for specific uses—for example, ones that are particularly suited for running AI or 5G wireless applications.
Intel will need to show that it can manufacture 3D processors efficiently, and profitably, at scale. Linley Gwennap, a chip industry analyst, thinks the new approach might work well for low-power processors, but he’s skeptical it will do so for high-power ones that make up most of the company’s product lines. That could still allow Intel to help jump-start the development of a whole new generation of smartphones and other consumer gadgets.
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Singapore has not been at the forefront in the use of electric cars on its roads. In fact, it has been quite the laggard. Unlike policies elsewhere, there are no special incentives offered by the Government to promote their use. There are also only a handful of public charging points which make them an unattractive proposition for those living in public housing. Several recent announcements though have raised the hopes of those who believe these noiseless, non-polluting vehicles represent the future of urban mobility. The most promising is a plan for a nationwide car-sharing scheme using electric cars which will deploy 1,000 vehicles and install 2,000 charging points. Last month, the national utility company, Singapore Power, announced it would replace its entire fleet of 400 service vehicles with electric vans, and a new taxi company, HDT Singapore Taxi, will soon be rolling out its fleet of all-electric taxis.
These are promising, if belated, signs. Better late than never. In fact, Singapore is ideally suited for electric cars. Commuting distances are relatively short here, which is a big plus for those who worry about batteries running out of juice. But the biggest attraction is their impact on the environment. For densely populated Singapore which aspires to be among the most liveable cities in the world, clean air is a priceless asset.
These are reasons enough to do more to promote their use. It has to start with having more public charging points, including in public housing estates where the majority of Singaporeans reside. Developing such an infrastructure would not call for elaborate engineering as most electric cars can be charged from an outlet using household current. How the cost of the infrastructure and the electricity supply should be shared among users has to be worked out. But, first, transport and urban planners must be convinced electric cars have a future here, especially to drive car-sharing initiatives that reduce congestion.
Driverless cars are said to be the next urban mobility frontier to be conquered. The technology is being experimented with in a few places, mainly the United States. American electric car company Tesla leads in this field with cars that have an auto-pilot feature. But a recent fatal accident involving one of its cars driven in this mode has raised questions about their safety. Whether or not technology was to blame, more work needs to be done on driverless cars to win over the public. Singapore would do well to monitor their development closely. Apart from the embryonic technology, many other issues need to be addressed, including legal questions regarding liability and accountability, insurance and traffic laws. When these are finally resolved, driverless cars (and perhaps buses) will revolutionise urban commuting. Singapore should make sure the city is ready for this gear-shifting moment.