text:
Google shipments soared 420%
Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google entered the smart speaker market about two years after Amazon (AMZN) made a move into the space and became the dominant smart speaker company. While Amazon remains the smart speaker vendor to beat in terms of market share held, Google is growing significantly faster than the market leader.
The latest smart speaker market report from Strategy Analytics shows Google rapidly narrowing Amazon’s lead. Although Google shipped 3.2 million units of smart speakers in the second quarter compared to 4.8 million units shipped by Amazon in that period, its shipments increased the fastest. Google’s smart speaker unit shipments soared 420.0% YoY (year-over-year) in the second quarter. In contrast, Amazon’s smart speaker unit shipment rose 64.0% YoY in that period.
JD.com captured 2.2% of the market
Google exited the second quarter holding 27.6% of the global smart speaker market, closing in on Amazon. Amazon’s market share plunged to 41.0% in the second quarter from 75.8% second quarter of 2017.
Alibaba (BABA), Apple, and JD.com (JD) rounded out the top five smart speaker companies chart. Alibaba held 7.0% of the global smart speaker market at the end of the second quarter, compared to 5.9% held by Apple and 2.2% held by JD.com. Google invested $550.0 million for a stake in JD.com in June.
Competition is stiff
Sonos (SONO), which adopted Amazon’s Alexa to power its smart speakers, and other smaller vendors are fighting hard for their market share in this space. Smaller smart speaker vendors collectively grew their unit shipments by 598.0% YoY to capture a 16.3% share of the market in the second quarter.


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Google has outlined plans to develop closer ties with its cloud ecosystem in 2023, marking a shift towards increased collaboration with technology providers and independent software vendors (ISVs).
In a blog post this week, Kevin Ichhpurani, corporate vice president for global ecosystem and channels at Google Cloud, said the tech giant wants to position the Google Cloud Marketplace as the “go-to destination” for cloud partners and customers to deploy enterprise applications.
The move builds on a year of rapid feature roll-outs for the Marketplace, which saw the introduction of new functionalities to provide greater flexibility in deployment, a reduction in rates, and the launch of its Private Marketplace.
“Throughout 2023, we’ll continue to evolve Google Cloud Marketplace as the go-to destination for our partners and customers,” Ichhpurani wrote.
“This will include adding more capabilities for resale partners to transact through Marketplace, accelerated solution onboarding, more granular cost management, and new government capabilities to support customers in industries with specific procurement requirements such as the US public sector.”
The new capabilities are expected to roll out over the coming year, Ichhpurani added.
Improving choice and transparency
Across 2023, Ichhpurani said Google Cloud plans to continue “doubling down on customer choice” to provide a broader range of options for Marketplace users.
A key focus here will be “embracing partners’ innovation” and the ability for customers to explore alternative solution options – even when services potentially overlap with Google Cloud’s.
2022 State of the multi-cloud report
What are the biggest multi-cloud motivations for decision-makers, and what are the leading challenges
“This open approach will yield more innovation for customers and increase the total addressable market (TAM) for our partners,” he said. “And we’ll work closely with our partners to help customers modernise in every major product area.”
Ichhpurani said this will include a concerted effort to develop a more “open” data cloud ecosystem.
The tech giant plans to support all major data formats and foster closer ties with key partners such as Databricks, Elastic, MongoDB, Palantir, and the 800+ organisations which currently develop products on Google’s data cloud.
This strategy builds on a long-running focus to ensure that Google Cloud customers have greater flexibility and choice with regard to vendors and marketplace partners. Last year, it launched the Data Cloud Alliance which aimed to break down data barriers and siloed options.
Similarly, the company pledged its continued commitment to open-source AI development.
Supporting service partners
Ichhpurani also reiterated its commitment to providing partner rewards and broader ecosystem support.
Incentives and investments for Google Cloud partners grew by more than 50% last year, and the tech giant aims to follow in this vein by doubling spend and rewarding partners that “accelerate consumption and drive new customer acquisition”.
“Given the particularly large opportunity for our services ecosystem, we’re making significant investments in providing new resource, programmes, and tools to help partners build their services capacity and deliver success for customers.”
Intense market competition
Google Cloud’s sharpened focus for 2023 comes amidst a period of heightened competition in the broader cloud computing space.
Recent research from Forrester revealed that Hyperscalers such as Google, AWS, and Microsoft are facing an increasingly stifled global marketplace.
Google’s 2021 rate reduction, which saw marketplace fees decrease from a previous rate of 20% for vendors, was viewed at the time as a major step in enabling the tech giant to compete with AWS and Microsoft.
And while Google Cloud still maintains a smaller market share than competitors, last year saw positive growth for this segment of the business.
Google Cloud witnessed significant growth in the third quarter of last year, with revenue surging by 38%.
Threat hunting for MSPs
Are you ready to take your Managed Security Service to the next level?
Six myths of SIEM
Things have changed when it comes to SIEM solutions
Unified Endpoint Management and Security in a work-from-anywhere world
Management and security activities are deeply intertwined, requiring integrated workflows between IT and security teams
The Total Economic Impact™ Of IBM FlashSystem
Cost savings and business benefits enabled by FlashSystem
See the original article here: ITPro

domain: news


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Jones Family of Companies is pleased to announce the addition of their seventh and final board member. Gary Raley, who most recently served as Vice President of U.S. Sales for S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., joined the newly formed board of directors in June.
“Gary’s experience in sales and marketing will both enrich the board and allow him to serve as a guide for the future of our brand as we expand our business units,” said Richard Ayers, CEO.
Raley also brings a wealth of board knowledge, as he currently serves as a director for Bemis Manufacturing, Weigel’s Stores, Buehler’s Stores and Gorilla Glue in addition to his new role with Jones.
The board is comprised of three non-family members, the non-family CEO and three family representatives.
The other six members of the board are:
Founded in 1936, Jones is a leader in the textile industry. The company was formed through a partnership between two brothers and today is led by a third generation family member and Senior Leadership team committed to the same high standards as the founder. The company has two distinct divisions: Jones Yarn and Jones Nonwovens.


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ACCC will not oppose Microsoft's purchase of Nuance
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced it will not oppose Microsoft’s US$19.7 billion ($26.95 billion) purchase of speech recognition company Nuance Communications.
US-based Nuance primarily provides transcription software to the healthcare market, as well as customer engagement software that enables businesses to automate their customer service interactions.
In making its decision, ACCC Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said the regulator considered that Microsoft and Nuance do not directly compete in healthcare transcription software.
“Microsoft does not currently provide this specialised technology, and it appears unlikely to become a strong competitor to Nuance. This transaction is therefore unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the healthcare transcription market,” he said.
While healthcare transcription products are not currently widely used in Australia, Nuance faces some competition from alternative healthcare transcription suppliers and may face competition in future from other large technology firms.
Ridgeway said the ACCC also concluded that the merger would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the customer engagement solution market, because Microsoft does not directly compete in this segment either.
“We found that there is strong existing competition in customer engagement solutions. There are multiple comparable alternatives to Nuance, and barriers to entry are not high,” he said.
“Microsoft supplies software in customer relationship management, productivity, videoconferencing and cloud computing that are compatible with Nuance’s products. However, if Microsoft attempted to limit the access of Nuance’s competitors to Microsoft products, they could easily switch to alternative suppliers or reach customers in other ways.”
UST has launched its first Innovation Lab in Australia at the University of Melbourne's...
ServiceNow aims to tackle Australia's acute digital skills crisis with a series of full-time...
Researchers from Monash and other regional universities have secured a grant for a project to...


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- Monty Moran, co-CEO and secretary;
- Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing officer — yes, he’s the one facing cocaine charges;
- John Charlesworth, director;
- Kimbal Musk, director ;
- Patrick Flynn, director — no relation to Food Safety News Editor in Chief Dan Flynn;
- Stephen Gillett, director;
- Albert Baldocchi, director;
- Darlene Friedman, director; and
- Neil Flanzraich, director.
For almost a year now the Denver-based fast food chain has been struggling with the stuff of PR nightmares, beginning with a string of six foodborne illness outbreaks across the country that developed into plummeting sales and stock declines that are yet to rebound. Then the lawsuits started coming. Victims infected with Salmonella, E. coli and norovirus got representation. So did stockholders. Earlier this week yet another action hit the federal court system. Sean Gubricky filed a shareholder derivative complaint in U.S. District Court in Denver, demanding a jury trial and seeking reform of Chipotle’s “corporate governance and internal procedures to comply with applicable laws and protect the company and its shareholders from a recurrence of the events described herein…” Even though parts of Gubricky’s of complaint are blacked out in the name of trade secrets and corporate confidentiality, it’s easy to see the allegations of mismanagement and lapses in judgement against founder and co-CEO Ells and the burrito bunch. In plain language, the complaint contends that Ells and the gang should have known how to make sure food served at the chain’s 1,900-plus restaurants wouldn’t poison customers. The civil suit also contends executives and directors failed to meet their job responsibilities and violated the Chipotle ethics code by allowing conditions and practices to occur that lead to the outbreaks and subsequent devaluation of the company. Defendants named in the shareholder complaint in addition to Ells are:What a drag it must be to wake up every day as the public relations guy for Chipotle Mexican Grill. Seriously, consumers to the left of you, media to the right, and there you are — stuck in the middle with Steve Ells and the burrito bunch.


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Aller Aqua has recently been audited and has achieved its ASC-compliance. This means that Aller Aqua lives up to the criteria set out by the ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council – an independent non-profit organization co-founded by WWF and The Sustainable Trade Initiative). This ensures that the fish farmers who want to sell ASC-certified fish will be able to use Aller Aqua’s trout feed, and document the certification.
The criteria for the certification include:
· Traceability and transparency of raw materials in feed
· Responsible origin of raw materials
· Dependency of wild caught marine ingredients in feed
· Responsible origin of non-marine raw materials in feed
While these criteria have been implemented by Aller Aqua for some time, the company said it is pleased to now have been certified as compliant, proving that their dedication to traceability of raw materials and sustainability in aquaculture is paying off.


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A BEAUTIFUL guest house created from the shell of a former Rhondda Cynon Taf council building in Pontypridd has secured investment for its important finishing touches.
Sue Hopkins, who lives in the town, bought the premise in Lanpark Road at an auction in June last year and was determined to transform it into a local business and amenity.
She has worked for months to painstakingly remodel and renovate the building, which was something of an eyesore, transforming it into the four-bedroom Mount Guest House.
One of the key features of the accommodation is a large conservatory and surrounding decking area, which was part-funded by Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s business support team.
The team invested half of the cost of the £10,000 work in the garden via a Community and Prominent Building Grant, one of a number of grants they administer to help local businesses to open, expand and succeed.
Councillor Paul Cannon, cabinet member for economic development and safer communities, said: “I am so pleased to see the completion of this scheme – Mrs Hopkins has created beautiful accommodation from the building that she bought from the council at auction.
“Not only has this ensured that an empty building has been turned into a local business and community amenity, but her work will also ensure that tourists are attracted to the area, visiting other facilities and businesses.”
Sue Hopkins added: “This has been a big project, from the purchase of the building at the auction last June to the opening of a guest house that we are very proud of.
“It has been a significant restoration and redecoration project but we are pleased with the results and the opportunity we now have to provide excellent accommodation and attractions for people.
“We are grateful for the support we received that enabled us to create the conservatory and decking and would advise other small local businesses to contact the Business Support Team for advice.”
For more information, e-mail email@example.com


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BitTorrent this week launched an early version of a new secure, server-less messaging system.
The system, dubbed BitTorrent Chat, applies distributed technology to instant messaging, with the hope of keeping conversations private, secure, and free.
?wmode=transparent"This year alone, more than 6 million people have been impacted by data breaches," Catherine Meek, director of product management at BitTorrent, said in a blog post. "The right to own your own conversations online: it's not a given. It should be."
Details about BitTorrent Chat remain scarce in the early stages, but spokesman Christian Averill confirmed to PCMag that the system will be available for desktop and mobile, though there is no word on when it will launch or on which devices.
BitTorrent made a splash recently with its Sync service, which lets users coordinate files across multiple devices. But the new Chat product is not an offshoot of Sync; rather, it is a standalone product that will work like Sync, according Averill.
"As with BitTorrent Sync and our other products, our aim is to create a durable product without the need for centralized servers," Averill said. "That is in line with one of our core values: people have the right to privacy."
That right is emphasized by BitTorrent's decision not to store chats on servers, as other services do, therefore keeping conversations safe from data breaches and prying eyes. Additionally, the no-limits, no-fees service allows only those using BitTorrent's encrypted peer-to-peer network to send and receive messages.
More specifics about the program are expected as the chat client continues its early testing. Sign up online for notifications and to participate in the pre-Alpha phase.
For more, check out today's PCMag Live video below to get Dan Costa and Sascha Segan's take on BitTorrent Chat. Also check out The NSA and the End of Privacy.
BitTorrent isn't the only firm trying to avoid the NSA. Over the weekend, eccentric tech entrepreneur John McAfee revealed the "D-Central" router, aimed at blocking unwanted government surveillance. The sub-$100 device is expected to be ready to communicate with smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets within six months.
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Portions of tech goliath Alibaba kept on falling on Friday, adding to the stock’s enormous selloff after the organization said recently that it expects more fragile income development in the midst of China’s easing back economy and Beijing’s continuous administrative crackdown.
The tech and internet business goliath announced disillusioning quarterly profit late on Wednesday and sliced its income conjectures for the year ahead.
Alibaba shares plunged more than 11% on Thursday following the report—one of the stock’s most significant single-day decreases on record—and are down over 2% so far on Friday.
The stock’s descending direction has shaved billions off of the total assets of Alibaba originator and administrator Jack Ma, who was once China’s most extravagant individual.
As per Forbes ‘ appraisals, Mama’s fortune fell by one more $350 million on Friday, carrying his total assets to $38.6 billion.
The wealthy person’s abundance is down significantly from its pinnacle: Ma was worth as much as $66.6 billion when Alibaba’s stock value hit a record high of around $317 per share on October 27, 2020.
It has been a trouble some year for the Chinese tycoon, who is likewise the fellow benefactor of fintech goliath Ant Group: Ma has generally kept a low open profile since Beijing’s administrative crackdown warmed up a year ago.
Since last year, the Chinese government has inclined up its administrative investigation of significant tech monsters in the nation—including Alibaba and its companions Tencent, Baidu, and TikTok proprietor ByteDance, blaming them for anti-competitive practices and assembling a lot of private client information. Wealthy person Jack Ma momentarily vanished from general visibility after Chinese controllers shut down his fintech organization Ant Group’s arranged $35 billion IPO in November 2020. At that point, government controllers fined Alibaba $2.8 billion in April 2021—the most unusual ever antitrust punishment forced in China—for behaving like syndication. Portions of Alibaba are down almost 40% so far this year.
In its income discharge, the tech monster cautioned of an “administrative climate that [could] influence Alibaba’s business activities” just as “security and information insurance guidelines and concerns.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping “has not withdrawn” regarding the administrative crackdown, John Freeman, VP of value research at CFRA, as of late told Yahoo Finance. “There’s a delisting hazard” with regards to Alibaba shares, he cautions.


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Xbox One Will Come to Japan in Early 2014
July 3, 2013 12:14 PM
comment(s) - last by
Microsoft said Japan is a "Tier 2 country"
Sorry, Japan -- it looks like you're going to have to wait until next year to get a Xbox One.
Microsoft announced that Japan will receive the Xbox One in early 2014 instead of late 2013. It will release in North America in November and Europe in either November or December of this year.
Microsoft Japan President Yasuyuki Higuchi said this is because Japan is considered a "Tier 2 country." This is based on demand for the Xbox in the country as opposed to others.
According to reports, other countries in Asia won't get their hands on a Xbox One
until late 2014
The Xbox One has been a controversial machine for Microsoft. When the console was announced in late May, the company revealed that it would allow third-party publishers to
opt out of used game sales
. Both Microsoft and the publishers don't receive license fees on used game sales, but Microsoft was sneaky about the new policy by allowing third parties to make the decision on whether to ban the new games -- which puts them to blame instead of Microsoft for upset gamers.
Gamers were also upset to learn that of the new "always-on" digital rights management (DRM) system, which posed a problem for many people who are either in rural areas with slow Internet connections, travelling or experience Internet issues with providers.
But the consumer backlash was so brutal that Microsoft
retracted these features
. This meant that gamers no longer needed to have an Internet connection to play an offline Xbox One game (they will only need to go through a one-time setup over the Internet when the console first boots up), and gamers can trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like they do now.
Earlier this week, Microsoft lost
-- the president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business -- who left to become the CEO of Zynga. He aims to help the struggling social game company survive.
However, some wonder if Mattrick got the boot for his controversial statements regarding the Xbox One. When gamers lashed out about the new always-on issue, Mattrick advised that they
don't buy an Xbox One
The Xbox One sports an APU with eight x86-64 cores; 8GB of DDR3 RAM; a GPU based on an AMD GCN architecture with 12 compute units (768 cores total for 1.23 TFLOPS; a 500 GB non-replaceable hard drive; three USB 3.0 ports; HDMI, and a Blu-ray optical drive.
Games Industry International
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: grammar gripe
7/3/2013 1:14:03 PM
RE: grammar gripe
7/3/2013 1:56:22 PM
RE: grammar gripe
7/3/2013 2:29:05 PM
+1 I love it!
So tired of grammar Nazi's... + All heil Klink.
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CBC: Rogers contracts push the envelope, lawyer says
Rogers costumers in fixed-term contracts have no choice but to accept rate hikes or pay steep fees to end their contract. Does this seem fair to you? If you are sick of telecom price-gouging, take action by signing our Stop the Squeeze petition and make the switch to an indy ISP. From CBC News: Some of the conditions that Rogers Communications imposes on customers in fixed-term contracts are legally questionable, according to an expert at the University of Ottawa. At issue is the company's practice of boosting service rates for things such as high-speed internet, home phone and cable TV, leaving some customers in fixed-term contracts in the unenviable position of either accepting the new prices or paying expensive fees to end their contract.
That "pushes the line of what is allowed legally," said Anthony Daimsis, a lawyer who specializes in Canadian contract law.
He told CBC's Marketplace that in terms of consumer protection, "it should simply not be allowed — it's what the law would call an unconscionable term."
Rogers stands by the practice, saying in a statement that "provisions allowing us to make changes to rates in our Terms of Service are fair to customers, are clearly disclosed and are in compliance with all applicable consumer protection legislation."
The company also says that customers who sign up for fixed-rate contracts are guaranteed a constant price for the duration of the term.
But customers who are on fixed discount contracts are liable to see their costs increase, if the overall rate Rogers charges for a particular service becomes more expensive.
Recent rate hikes
Many Rogers customers within the latter group were recently hit with a rate hike of $1 to $4 per month for each service they had signed up for. With home phone, cable TV and internet, together the increase could amount to an additional $96 per year.
The price hike has upset people like Barry Cook, who received a letter in the mail stating the price of his Rogers high-speed internet service was rising by $2 a month. Read more »
Read more at cbc.ca


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AT LEAST three ships roughly the length of two football fields are slated to arrive at ports in China by the end of this month, each carrying precious cargo from Elon Musk.
Tesla Inc is loading as many Model 3 sedans as it can onto vessels destined for the People's Republic ahead of March 1, when a trade war truce between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is scheduled to expire.
Mr Musk fears the two countries could ratchet tariffs back up, which would make the chief executive officer's electric cars more expensive in China and boost costs of key components the country sends to his US assembly plant.
Other carmakers are at risk of seeing expenses rise again if the Trump-versus-Xi dispute flares back up. But Mr Musk is in perhaps the most precarious position in the industry. Global giants such as BMW AG and Daimler AG can wiggle around the tariffs to an extent by boosting production at existing China factories, but Tesla's manufacturing presence there was merely a muddy field as of last month. It won't be assembling any vehicles in China until the end of 2019 at the earliest.
"They're uniquely exposed," said Robin Zhu, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein. Mr Musk, 47, said getting cars to China before a potential increase in tariffs was a key priority when Tesla reported a smaller-than-expected profit on Jan 30.
Higher duties would combine with already elevated transport and labour costs to make the company's vehicles much pricier than its competitors'. Plus, imported electric cars aren't eligible for local tax credits.
"Our car is just very expensive going into China," Mr Musk said on the earnings call. "The demand for Model 3 is insanely high. The inhibitor is affordability."
Mr Trump and Mr Xi agreed to a 90-day detente in December. The US said it would delay a planned tariff rate increase - to 25 per cent from 10 per cent - on almost half the goods it buys from China, worth some US$200 billion. While officials have been negotiating since then, Mr Trump has said he and Mr Xi won't meet again before March 1.
On Tuesday, Mr Trump said he's open to extending the deadline if the two sides are near an agreement. China has said its suspension of an additional 25 per cent tariff on US autos and parts will apply through the end of March. For months before the truce, China had slapped American-built cars with 40 per cent levies.
In recent days, a steady stream of trucks hauling Tesla models has arrived at the gates of Pier 80 in San Francisco, where workers can be seen unloading them into a parking lot packed with thousands of cars. The vehicles are then loaded onto ships for the roughly two-week journey to Asia.
The vessel Glovis Symphony docked at the port of Tianjin early this week and was due to arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday. Two more carriers, Morning Cindy and Emerald Ace, are at sea and scheduled to reach China's shores on Feb 19 and 24, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Other ships being loaded at Pier 80 are headed to Europe.
The Model 3 is the linchpin of Tesla's effort to appeal to a wider global audience, with Mr Musk promising for years that a version will eventually be available for US$35,000 before incentives. That's generally in line with the average selling price of a vehicle in the US. But following through on that vow has bedevilled Mr Musk. The cheapest version available now - almost three years since he first showed a concept of the car - is US$42,900.
In Europe, where deliveries are just getting underway, prices vary by country, with customers in Belgium paying a base price of 58,800 euros (S$90,260), compared with 55,400 euros in Germany and 53,500 euros in France. In China, the Model 3 starts at 433,000 yuan (S$86,800).
Some of the best-selling electric cars in the market - the world's biggest for battery-powered vehicles - can be had for less than a sixth of that price. Beijing Electric Vehicle's EC Series and Chery Automobile's eQ are listed at 65,800 yuan after subsidies.
In 2017, California shipped US$1.37 billion worth of electric vehicles to China, according to the US Census Bureau's foreign trade statistics. Through October 2018, the figure was US$936 million. Virtually all of those cars were Teslas.
If the trade war escalates further, Tesla could shift part of its supply chain to other countries in Asia, or to Mexico where it already has several established suppliers. BLOOMBERG


text:
Blizzard is finally delivering on their promise of competitive play, and it’s live for at least one platform right now.
There’s a whole host of Battlefield 1 multiplayer footage to sort through, which show the shooter running beautifully on PC.
Lawbreakers is seeking to turn multiplayer shooters on their head, and it’s having a lot of fun along the way.
Lawbreakers is less concered with the fall of mankind and more interested in their future rise, setting the stage for a different feel to this online shooter.
Gears of War shows off some new features coming to PC and Xbox One, and gamers should be very excited.
Fancy going out in a blaze of glory in Battlefield 1? Behemoths might tip the odds in your favour.
It’s more of the same in Titanfall 2 of course, but with one big new hook. A grappling hook to be precise. Here’s the E3 multiplayer trailer for Titanfall 2.
Developer id Software is wresting control back of the DOOM multiplayer from its hired help, promising more features and fixes in the near future.
Overwatch could soon open the doors to cross-platform play on consoles, if Microsoft and Sony allow it.
A hell of a lot of people are already playing Overwatch daily, with Blizzard celebrating one of the best game launches ever.
GTA Online has been up and running for almost three years now, but Take Two believes that sooner or later, the mode will need to take a break.
Starbreeze are now the new owners of PayDay, and have plans to bring out a new installment very soon


text:
Novus International has opened a new animal feed input plant in China. The new facility, located in the Ma Lu Jiading district, a suburb of Shanghai, China will bring Novus closer to Chinese based customers while expanding its overall production capacity.
“This facility is an example of our continued commitment to the Asian market,” said Thad Simons, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novus International Inc. “This new facility will strengthen our position in Asia and enable Novus’s continued growth in the region.”
China represents one of Novus’s investment locations due to the county’s dynamic growth rate in the agriculture market. The 23,000 square foot facility is equipped with cutting-edge machinery made in the US and China.
“Having a direct investment in China is a milestone for Novus,” stated Giovanni Gasperoni, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales. “With the opening of our Research and Development Center in Beijing last year, our new manufacturing facility can quickly capitalize on research that will benefit the Chinese agriculture industry.”


text:
Starting in November, our line-up of powerful business research, risk management and media intelligence solutions will be changing names. What won’t change? Read our blog to find out!
Today, on #UNDay we commemorate the anniversary of the #UNCharter. Take a closer look at how and why the private sector can support the @UN in implementing the #SDGs for a more #prosperous and #peaceful future for all.
17 October 2019 - Posted by in Press Releases
In honor of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we are taking a closer look at why companies should step up their efforts in the fight to #EndPoverty and how this can lead to an added value for your #supplychain risk management. Want to see how you can make a difference? Read more on our blog
Recent reports indicate a broad misconduct related to both human rights and environmental regulations in a Tanzanian goldmine. Our latest blog looks at how it affects global tech giants and what they can do to make their supply chain and third-party management more sustainable.
In wake of World Against Traffic Day on June 30th we explore the importance of corporate responsibility in identifying and eradicating human slavery and trafficking in the supply chain.
Tempted to edit a photo in order to better align with your story? Inaccurate photo editing can quickly damage the trust consumers place in a brand or organisation. This article shares some top tips on how to edit photos responsibly and ethically.
Sponsorship of prestigious Turner Prize overturned due to Stagecoach Chairman Sir Brian Souter backing ban on LGBT education in high schools. This highlights the importance of due diligence into donors, and we share 3 steps to mitigate the risks involved with accepting donations.
85% of AI projects are doomed to fail - get some useful tips and pointers from out blog post on how to avoid the pitfalls most businesses face when launching a new AI project


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In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Facebook has temporarily suspended approval of new third-party apps. It announced the news on its developer blog (opens in new tab), providing an overall update on the measures it's taking "to maintain the trust people place in Facebook".
The data used by Cambridge Analytica was gathered using a personality testing app called thisisyourdigitallife. The app not only collected information about the person who took the test, but also about their friends, who hadn't consented to it. Facebook put an end to (opens in new tab) that practice in 2014, but Cambridge Analytica kept the data it had gathered and continued to use it to provide targeted advertising.
The decision to suspend approval of new apps comes a week after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg set out a plan to take better care of users' data in future, and hunt down any other third parties behaving in a similar way.
"We are doing a set of things to restrict the amount of access that developers can get going forward, but the other [thing] is that we need to make sure that there aren't any other Cambridge Analyticas out there, or folks who have improperly accessed data," Zuckerberg said.
Ads will become less targeted
Facebook has also permanently shut down Partner Categories (opens in new tab) – a scheme that let advertisers target their ads more precisely by supplementing their own data with information from third-party brokers that collect information about consumers from offline sources like supermarket loyalty cards.
Cambridge Analytica wasn't involved in Partner Categories, but this is a sign that Facebook is taking a broad look at how it handles users' data more generally.
Via the Verge (opens in new tab)


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January 25th, 2021
Textile and garment industry workers from Karachi have threatened to stage a sit-in in front of the Sindh Assembly if the government fails to ensure strict implementation of the province’s labour code. The announcement came at the conclusion of a protest rally organized by the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) on Sunday, November 24.
The protestors marched from Bilal Chowrangi in Korangi Industrial Area (KITE) to the Karachi Press Club (KPC), chanting slogans against the provincial government as they rallied. Nasir Mansoor, President of NTUF, declared that both national and international brands operating in the country have been flouting labour laws and forcing workers to operate in “sweatshop” like conditions. “The government policies, and the attitude of international brands, have made hundreds and thousands of workers virtually become low-wage slaves,” declared Nasir.
While addressing the rally many labour leaders highlighted the fact that a majority of the workers employed in the textile sector do not have “written appointment letters” making it virtually impossible for them to get registered with the social security department, workers welfare fund, and old-age benefits institutions.
The textile sector accounts for about 8.5% of the total GDP of Pakistan enjoying a healthy share of 60% in the national forex exchange yet the workers employed at the factory floor are forced to work in sub-human and degrading conditions.
Zehra Khan, general secretary of the Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) stated that international brands did a business of about $1.5 trillion even during the pandemic yet workers employed by their contractors in Pakistan are struggling to put two meals on the table. “Workers of several factories are not getting the legal minimum wage and they are also forced to work for 150 to 200 hours of overtime every month without remuneration,” explained Zehra.
The protestors appealed to Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani to take notice of the lawlessness otherwise, they will be forced to agitate against the government.


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It’s dangerous to make any predictions about COVID-19’s long-term impact on the tech industry. But this much is clear: Normalcy isn’t returning any time soon, and the new normalcy may be strikingly different from the old. Companies such as Google and Facebook keep pushing out the timeframe for reopening their offices, which (for now) has reached mid-2021. Facebook is letting staffers relocate far from hubs such as Silicon Valley and New York City if they choose; Mark Zuckerberg says that 50% of employees could end up working remotely.
Even among tech companies that have reassessed everything about how they operate, Dropbox’s reaction to the pandemic has been dramatic. Last month, it announced that it was going virtual first, effective immediately. Working from home is now the official, permanent default experience, with “Dropbox Studios” physical spaces in San Francisco and the company’s other major hubs available for in-person collaboration when necessary. Except for “core collaboration hours” designed to span multiple time zones, staffers will also be free to devise their own schedules rather than sticking to anything resembling a 9-5 day.
This departs from Dropbox’s past philosophy when it came to collaboration, which has involved building ever-larger and more ambitious facilities dedicated to its work and culture, then filling them with people. In 2016, my former colleague John Brownlee wrote that its offices resembled “a warehouse of different classic film sets, where employees can choose the world they want to work in that day.” That was before the company signed a deal for a new 736,000-square-foot headquarters—the biggest office lease in San Francisco history.
I can report from personal experience that the free food Dropbox serves at its cafeteria is dazzling even by tech-industry standards. A few years ago, the company even caught flak for paying a reported $100,000 for a giant chrome panda bear to dress up its workplace.
From its start back in 2007, Dropbox has been about taking the physicality out of work.
From its start back in 2007—when all it did was let you store files in the cloud rather than sticking them on a thumb drive—Dropbox has been about taking the physicality out of work. It’s “really tried to solve problems around geography and mobility, but in the technological sense,” says Timothy Young, who joined the company as general manager for products in October 2019 and became its president last month.
In recent years, that vision has expanded well beyond online storage to encompass broader collaborative tools. Now the company is betting that going virtual will let it evolve its service for a world in which work is increasingly disassociated from requiring multiple people to be in one place at the same time.
“We’ve really tried to not just build products for the future, but really live that journey,” says Young. “And we think that integration of the two—how we work and the products we build—is going to lead to better customer value and better customer outcomes.”
From files to projects
Today, Dropbox is announcing a major round of feature updates—some still in beta—that are the result of work its staff has done since the company adopted work-from-home measures last spring. They include Dropbox Spaces 2.0, a new version of the collaborative environment the company introduced last fall—which itself built on some changes it introduced a few months before that.
As you’d expect from Dropbox, a healthy percentage of Spaces involves letting coworkers share online files—including ones, such as Google Docs, that originate outside of Dropbox’s own service. But it also includes tools for managing tasks, organizing joint efforts with timelines, and coordinating meetings.
In short, Spaces feels like a project management system that’s deeply interwoven with the documents and information that people use to get work done. “We want it to be kind of that long-term memory for companies that is very content-centric,” Young says. “We want to be able to help people streamline their workflows and prioritize their days.”
Along with the Spaces update, Dropbox is also bringing its password manager and computer backup feature—which launched last summer for personal accounts—to business users. It’s adding more third-party integrations to its App Center and upgrading its HelloSign document-signing feature. And it’s giving companies a security dashboard that helps them keep tabs on potentially risky activity such as sharing files outside the organization.
Young says that if there’d been no pandemic, the company’s rollout of new features would have been strikingly different. “Having our product and engineering teams and design teams literally sit on Zoom all day with customers and just listening to the stories, getting feedback, understanding how they’re working, what’s not working, where the gaps are, has really, really changed our roadmap for this year.”
Talking to Young, I noted that past Dropbox expansions into new territory have tended to infuriate some of the company’s loyal customers—those who cherish the simplicity and reliability of its file-syncing service and see the addition of broader collaboration as mucking up what made Dropbox appealing in the first place. For the record, I pay Dropbox for service myself, use it mostly for my own file storage, and haven’t found its forays into other areas to have damaged my experience. But given how vocal the unhappy campers are, I asked Young if he worries about such complaints.
“We do have to strike that balance between our core historical experience and then how to thoughtfully provide new value to a widening set of customers,” he told me. “Because as we’ve grown, the use cases have grown. The types of customers have grown. And that has only accelerated with the distributed work paradigm right now.”
Dropbox is describing its own aggressive shift to that paradigm as going through a one-way door. Does Young think that most organizations will join it in the years to come, rather than returning to something resembling their pre-pandemic habits once they can do so safely? He says that he shies away from specific predictions, “but I think the direction is clear . . . The nature of work is changing. Our relationship with work as humans is changing.” If Dropbox’s bet on virtual-first work lives up to its expectations, its products could help drive that change rather than merely reflecting it.


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Hyundai, Mazda, and now Subaru (and Toyota) prevail against the odds to provide us with three genuine sports-car options at under $30,000.
The exterior design features what Hyundai refers to as “Intersected Flow.” If that means the mouth of a Maserati, the headlights and stance of an Audi and a rear that resembles a Chevy Camaro/Hyundai Genesis Coupe mash-up, we’re in. Funky LED panels on the front and rear are used to display the vehicle’s condition, although we can think of a creative use or two for the highway tailgater.
It looks better from the back…
The 2012 Hyundai Genesis will become the most powerful production Hyundai ever with the introduction of the sporty new 5.0 R-Spec model, which boasts a 5.0-liter V-8 with 429 bhp.
As predicted from the pronounced Red Bull logo on its door, Rhys Millen—drifter, stunt driver and Pikes Peak veteran—will be driving the new Hyundai Veloster in the upcoming 2011 U.S. Rallycross season. Rhys Millen Racing, Millen’s race shop, was tasked to building the rally-prepped Velosters. With Hyundai backing Rhys the past few years in his motorsports endeavors, this news came as no surprise. What was completely from left field was the announcement of a second Veloster rally car and its drivers: Robbie Maddison and Marcus Dodd.
The 2012 Veloster is a particularly lively unconventional design, one that Hyundai says was inspired by a sport bike motorcycle. Which sport bike does the Hyundai Veloster remind you of?
The Curb concept features Hyundai’s first dual-clutch automatic transmission, a 6-speed.
The 2012 version of Hyundai’s popular flagship Genesis sedan is set to hit showrooms later this year, but thanks to these shots from our spy photographers, you won’t have to wait for dealership delivery to see one.
The Genesis will get its mid-model facelift, but we’ll get to that later. More important is what’s under the updated car’s hood. Hyundai revealed last year that the 2012 Genesis sedan will be powered by an impressive 429-bhp 5.0-liter V-8 engine—that’s a big increase over the current 375-bhp 4.6-liter V-8—but these photos validate the rumors that it will also be mated to the company’s new 8-speed automatic transmission.


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SAN FRANCISCO — SoftBank formally started off its method for getting a substantial stake in Uber with a suggestion to invest in some shares at a valuation of $forty eight billion, much beneath the just about $70 billion valuation the ride-hailing firm garnered in its past round of fund-raising, according to two folks briefed over the matter, who requested to stay anonymous because the course of action is confidential.
The value is an opening bid in what is known as a tender supply, during which a company can make a general public offer you to purchase inventory from current shareholders. The tender offer will acquire weeks to finish, and the https://www.fs1inc.com/ford-lincoln-mercury.html?make=85&model=54 value for Uber is probably going to fluctuate right up until the process is total.
But any discount will likely be a comedown for Uber, which is considered the most hugely valued personal organization on earth. The trip-hailing service has been earning options to go community by 2019, and investors are intensely serious about regardless of whether Uber can maintain a higher valuation before it stages an Preliminary public providing.
The tender present couldn't have arrive at a even worse time for Uber, which has been rocked by a series of scandals along with a leadership alter this calendar year. Last 7 days, Uber also disclosed that it experienced included up a protection breach that had compromised the private data of fifty seven million rider and driver accounts.
That revelation has angered regulators and lawmakers world wide. No less than three lawsuits related to the data breach have already been submitted versus Uber. On Monday, Uber faced a joint accommodate filed by Illinois and Chicago over the info breach. Lawmakers have also sent letters to Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Main govt, questioning the company concerning the hacking. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, has publicly claimed the Federal Trade Commission should really look into and high-quality Uber for its conduct.
The challenges to Uber’s company posed by its reputation could weigh on the cost that any purchaser might be prepared to fork out. SoftBank and its leader, Masayoshi Son, have produced obvious that the expenditure company is prepared to Perform hardball, and it has hinted that it will set money into Uber’s rival Lyft if it does not get a suggestion that it likes from Uber.
Beneath the settlement, SoftBank and Dragoneer plan to obtain at the very least fourteen % of Uber by a combination of new and current stock. SoftBank intends to buy about $1 billion of new inventory at Uber’s present valuation of about $68.5 billion, but the rest of the offer could be paying for existing Uber shares from buyers, most likely in a lower price. That maneuver would enable prop up Uber’s price tag.


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Bitcoin ATM locations vary by country and are often built to accommodate large amounts of cash, but in some places, customers can simply walk in and pick up their bitcoins without having to do much.
While many of these locations are in countries where Bitcoin is not legal yet, such as the US, Canada, and Europe, there are other locations where Bitcoin can be purchased online or at kiosks.
In the UK, for example, it’s not uncommon for an ATM to be a gift shop.
Bitcoin is legal in the UK and the Bank of England has issued a statement saying that Bitcoin is legal.
“The Bank has been a champion of Bitcoin since its launch in 2009 and is committed to providing a safe and secure platform for all financial transactions.
Bitcoin is widely accepted by the UK public and has grown in value since its introduction,” the Bank said.
As far as locations go, we’ll take any one we find, even if it’s in a dark corner.
Bitcoin ATMs have been around since 2009.
Some are just cash machines, like this one in New York City.
Here, a bitcoin ATM is being used as a cash machine.
These machines are becoming increasingly popular, and many of them have been converted into cash machines.
A customer takes her money at a bitcoin vending machine in Los Angeles.
With bitcoin ATM locations proliferating all over the world, there is no shortage of locations to choose from.
What is a bitcoin cash machine?
Bitcoin cash machines allow users to deposit and withdraw money using Bitcoin.
Unlike Bitcoin, bitcoin is not backed by a central bank, and instead, is managed by the network of miners, which collectively create the digital currency.
There are a handful of bitcoin cash machines on the market today, and they can operate in both cash and virtual currencies, as long as users pay a small fee.
The Bitcoin Cash Mobile, for instance, charges $2.99 a month to send funds to a bitcoin wallet, and the Bitcoin Cash Coinapult charges $3.99 to transfer funds to another wallet.
At this point, there’s a significant difference between a bitcoin machine and a bitcoin-only cash machine, and there’s no shortage on the internet of locations where you can get your hands on the most popular bitcoins.
But there’s one place where you’ll likely be more likely to find a bitcoin, as many locations have been set up to accept bitcoin cash.
That place is in Germany.


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With the U.S. release of KTM’s new 1190 Adventure motorcycle just weeks away, Touratech has announced a line of adventure touring accessories designed specifically for KTM’s new adventure bike.
This past June, Touratech-USA hosted its fourth annual rally near the sleepy town of Plain, Washington. Like the three years prior, the 2013 Touratech Rally provided participants with an opportunity to ride a variety of roads and trails throughout Washington's beautiful backcountry, as well as learn more about adventure motorcycling.
A few weeks ago, Tom Myers, Paul Guillien and Matt Willson from Touratech-USA travelled to Cologne, Germany for the 2012 INTERMOT motorcycle show.
KTM recently released a handful of photos of their new 1190 Adventure R, a 140 hp off-road ready version of their highly anticpated replacement for the 990 Adventure R. Follow the link for additional info and images.
Last month, Touratech-USA and Rawhyde Adventures hosted their third annual Pacific Northwest Adventure Rally near Leavenworth, WA. The event, which saw more than 200 likemidned motorcyclists in attendance, included guided rides, camping and plenty of time spent around a campfire.
Touratech-USA has expanded its line of throttle-lock style cruise control devices. We've tried them all and continue to find that Kaoko manufactures the highest quality and easiest to use throttle lock on the market.
The Touratech catalog is well known to motorcycle adventurers for its mix of photo essays and inspirational stories from travelers around the globe, as well as showcasing thousands of products for motorcycle touring and adventure.
This exciting documentary by Curbsyde Productions gives you an in-depth look into the creation and first expedition of the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route, a 871 mile long south-north route across the state of Utah, from Arizona to Idaho, for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles and 4x4 vehicles. Expected March 20, 2012.
When we started taking photos of the motorcycles parked in front of our Seattle office, we never thought it would become such a popular addition to our Facebook page
. Here are just a few of the motorcycles that were parked out front of Touratech-USA in 2011.
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With Christmas quickly approaching, we thought we'd put together a list of things we're certain you'd like to find underneath your Christmas tree or in your stocking!


text: When Kids Town closed this spring, the store's fans lamented the loss of the local retailer. Longtime Kids Town buyer Tina Uzomba heard their cries and is opening a new store called Kids City in the same location. Though its name is similar, the new store will be different in a few respects. Uzomba says she heard from budget-conscious parents that the South Burlington store had been too expensive; her prices, she says, will be more competitive. She'll also include a wider range of toys — including LEGOs and Barbies — for a greater age range. And Kids City will have a shoe department with "sit-and-fit service." The store will reopen with limited stock in June, but Uzomba plans a grand opening in August, when the new space will include play areas, hardwood floors and a classroom where certified staff will conduct car-seat installation sessions. The question on everyone's minds: What about the annual kid-gear swap sale? Uzomba plans to host one in August, just in time for going back to school. But let's not talk about that yet.


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Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth announced Wednesday (June 6) that its customer continue to experience an increased level of fraudulent messages, often referred to as phishing, targeting numerous BancorpSouth customers and non-customers.
The bank, which has numerous locations in Arkansas, provided the following detail.
“The automated phone calls typically give the pretext of activating a debit card and ask the recipient to provide their debit or credit card number and PIN for identification. These messages are being sent by way of cell phone calls, text messages, and emails.
“The messages generally mention that the card number for the recipient has been deactivated. This is an effort to have the recipient contact a phone number or web site to provide card information.
“These calls are not legitimate. BancorpSouth will never ask for personal or account information by these means. Should an account holder receive a suspicious phone call or e-mail, consumers should NOT give out any personal or account information.
In the event consumers become suspicious about a call received regarding their debit or credit cards, they should contact BancorpSouth's Customer Service Center at 888-797-7711, or a BancorpSouth office, prior to providing any information.”
BancorpSouth is a financial holding with $13.3 billion in assets. The company operates 290 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance, trust and broker dealer locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, and an insurance location in Illinois.


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By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group Managing Director of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr Paul Gbededo, has assured shareholders of the company that his team will continue to work harder to deliver value for their investments.
Mr Gbededo gave this assurance while reacting to the company’s performance in the full year, which ended on March 31, 2020.
According to him, the management hopes to further implement the cost-reduction strategy, which has delivered positive results so far.
“We will remain focused on increasing operational efficiency within the group as we continue to implement our accelerated cost optimisation plans across all businesses to ensure profitability in the new operating environment,” he said.
The Flour Mills chief described the 2019/20 financial year as remarkable, saying he was pleased with the significant growth in the pre and post-tax profits. While the profit before tax rose to N17.5 billion, the net profit jumped to N11.4 billion from N4.0 billion.
“This is partly attributable to the improved performance of our agro-allied business and in line with our strategy to continue to grow the wealth of our shareholders,” Mr Gbededo added.
In the financial year under review, Flour Mills increased its revenue by 9 per cent to N574 billion from N527 billion. This was despite the prevailing economic headwinds and the difficult operating terrain of Apapa, Lagos.
In line with the management’s strategy to continue to stimulate organic growth in all segments of the business, its agro-allied division achieved profitability behind the consistent and focused investments that have been made in this locally sourced segment of the last few years.
The agro-allied segment saw a strong profit growth in oils/fats and proteins with gross profits more than doubling in both segments on an annual basis.
The food business recorded accelerated growths within the business-to-consumer (B2C) segments in line with projections as the company’s focus to improve customer experience saw the introduction of a range of new products and its strategic marketing and promotional activities to win over new market segments yield the desired result.


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2017 was the year when most auto makers have realized they have to get on board with electric cars and start creating and investing in the EV technology. One company who could afford to wait was Rolls Royce. They pride themselves in providing old school luxury and nothing says “old school” as gas powered engines. However, Rolls Royce has just announced that they too will be jumping on the electric car band wagon and will convert their fleet to all electric vehicles.
What is especially interesting is that Rolls Royce will be skipping the hybrid car stage and go to fully electric cars right away. Most auto makers have taken the hybrid route to test the market and to compensate of inability to produce fully electric cars with an acceptable range.
This is great news for the electric car movement and I’m looking forward to seeing what Rolls Royce will come up with.


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Finally after loads of leaks, Activision has admitted that Guitar Hero: Van Halen exists.
No one ever said it didn’t really, just “no comment”.
Anyway, it’s posted after the break thanks to D’toid who filmed it from the show floor.
DJ Shadow’s music is in the background. Just so you know.
At least you get a look at it though.


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The Clinton Group Inc. has moved forward in its effort to reconstitute the board of The Wet Seal Inc. and boosted its stake in the troubled specialty retailer.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the activist investor group sought comment and approval from the SEC in its effort to obtain shareholder support to unseat four incumbent directors, including chairman Harold Kahn, and fill the board vacancy created by the termination last month of Susan McGalla as the company's chief executive officer.
The proposed directors are Raphael Benaroya, founder of United Retail Group Inc.; Mindy Meads and Dorrit Bern, the former ceo's of Aéropostale Inc. and Charming Shoppes Inc., respectively; Lynda Davey, chairman and ceo of investment banking firm Avalon Group Ltd., and John Mills, retail consultant. Under the Clinton proposal, Kenneth Reiss would be the only incumbent director to remain on the board. RELATED STORY: Solicitations Planned for Wet Seal Board >>
Clinton is seeking to boost shareholder value through any number of strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. When Clinton last week said it would solicit shareholder support for an alternative board, Joseph DePerio, senior portfolio manager, said, "More of the same is simply not an option."
Gregory Taxin, managing director of Clinton Group, told WWD that, pending SEC approval, it expects that it would be ready to mail solicitations to its fellow Wet Seal shareholders in about two weeks.
"The directors we're proposing have no affiliation with us and we're not proposing them to do our bidding," he said. "We know that we don't have the expertise needed to operate a specialty retailer and we're looking for a fresh, experienced board that can make solid decisions, the right people to create shareholder value."
The SEC filing noted, "Our nominees are independent of us. None of them has any existing prior ties, financial or otherwise, to Clinton or any of its affiliated funds. Please note that we are not nominating any representative of our firm and we do not expect to have any more influence with our nominees than any other stockholder."
In a separate SEC filing, Clinton said that it had boosted its holdings in the retailer to 6.6 percent including 0.1 percent held by Benaroya and Bern. Recent purchases have pushed the firm's holdings above the 5 percent threshold that necessitates SEC notification when shares are sold or bought. However, Taxin said that the purchases were made to increase Clinton's voting power.
Shares rose 4 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $2.84 in midday trading Thursday. Clinton has pointed out that the stock had lost 40 percent of its value in the past year and 80 percent of its value in the last 10 years.
Wet Seal, which earlier this month reported a $12.4 million loss in its second quarter, Thursday said its August same-store sales declined 18.3 percent, the only negative result among the stores disclosing results for the month.
From overseeing America’s fastest-growing speciality retailers to codifying cool, WWD talked to the women who are leading the way for the future of beauty. Check out our Instagram Stories to see how these women built today and are creating tomorrow. (📸: @hannah_khymych) #wwdbeauty
For @laperlalingerie's spring 2018 show, the brand chose to host their event at @thevenetianmacao. With Chinese megastars @bingbing_fan and @hubing in attendance, La Perla debuted a rock ‘n’ roll-inspired collection. The show marked the start of Sands Macao Fashion Week, which runs from October 19 to 24 — the city’s first such event. Pictured here are models backstage with glimmering eyes. #wwdfashion (📷: Cheuk-Yin To)
Trending for spring 2018: top stitch design. Gone are the days of stitch just for seams — designers are using the once-minimal detail to create strong decorative elements. (📷: Paola Testa; Styled by @andrew_shang) #wwdfashion
@tradesy is turning the concept of a showroom upside down with its new space in Santa Monica. Here, the company plans to hold events, art exhibits and a showcase rare fashion pieces like this Louis Vuitton boxing set. Get all the details on Tradesy’s first showroom on WWD.com. #wwdnews
Spotted last night at the @erdem x @hm launch event: Kate Bosworth, Rashida Jones, Kirsten Dunst and Selma Blair. The party, which took place in LA, also marked the opening of their pop-up shop. “I was interested in creating a collection that wasn’t in any way disposable. It was about pieces you’d create and keep forever, things that have a permanence to it,” designer Erdem Moralioglu said. #wwdeye (📷: Katie Jones)
Renee Zellweger in yellow in 2001 and again in 2017. Chosen as one of the 12 @pantone Leading Spring Colors (and dubbed “Meadowlark”), it only makes sense that the bright hue stands the test of time and is making a resurgence this season, seen already on stars like @blakelively and @gigihadid. (📷: Donato Sardello & @rexfeatures) #wwdfashion #tbt
Dior’s 70th anniversary celebration continues with a new exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “Christian Dior,” which is scheduled to run through March 18, takes a look at the founders tenure from 1947 to 1057 and feature 40 designs. Pictured here is an evening gown from the Ailée, fall 1948-49 haute couture collection. #wwdfashion (📷: Brian Boyle)


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DYREVERNALLIANSEN: Norway bans fur farming
It’s a victory for Dyrevernalliansen (the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance), Eurogroup for Animals’ Norwegian member organisation, which has been working to end fur farming for two decades.
The impossibility of solving the animal welfare concerns of keeping active carnivores in small cages was the main reason the majority of the Parliament voted in favour of the government’s ban on fur. “Fox and mink are carnivores with behavioural needs that cannot be met in captivity. Foxes live in family groups and mink are solitary,” explains Anton Krag of Dyrevernalliansen. “You can’t let 20,000 minks out to pasture. To produce pelts, fox and mink have to be kept in cages, which are highly unsuitable to these animals.”
Norwegian fur farming supplies 1% of the world market and comprises 167 fur farms, many fewer than ten years ago, when there were more than 500. 99% of Norwegian fur is exported mainly to Asian markets, and over 300 retailers in Norway have committed to not selling real fur.
The majority of the Norwegian Parliament also voted in favour of a proposed plan to compensate the existing fur farmers. Although they are not entitled to compensation by law, they will still receive considerable amounts from the state starting at the end of this year.
“By the end of 2024 there will be no more fur farms in the country,” Krag says. “We hope that the closing down of the Norwegian industry inspires other countries. Fur farming is a disgrace for our Scandinavian neighbours Sweden, Finland and Denmark.”
Read more here.
We hope that the closing down of the Norwegian industry inspires other countries.Anton Krag, CEO at Dyrevernalliansen


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Homeowners deemed guilty of flouting water restrictions have accused the City of Cape Town of clamping their water without warning and using faulty devices to do it.
The City is installing the “water management” devices at households using more than the allowed 87-litres-a-person-a-day limit.
The devices cost between R4 500 and R4 700 and are installed at the homeowner’s expense. They limit a household’s water supply to 350 litres a day.
But some of those who have had the devices fitted have complained on social media that they received no warning letters from the City and that the devices themselves were faulty – leaking or shutting off water for days at a time instead of resetting after 24 hours as they’re supposed to.
Richwood resident Jonathan Viljoen said the City gave him no warning before it clamped his water supply three months ago.
“I was at work when my wife phoned me and said that City of Cape Town law enforcement were here with a company to install a water device. I rushed home and was greeted by a rude and aggressive company installer.
“I explained that I had not received a notice or warning and was then threatened with arrest if I did not install one immediately,” said Mr Viljoen.
He then contacted the City for clarity and was told he was “one of the guilty”.
He was given one of his water bills as “evidence” of his excessive water use.
“The problem with the evidence is that the readings are a guess as my water meter has been broken. I was not told about the device and the way they are treating people like criminals,” he said.
Mr Vijoen said the device leaked, and he had reported that four times to the City only to be told it was his “problem”.
He turned to the Richwood Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (RRRA), which helped him get a new device installed on Tuesday December 18.
Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services, and energy, said excessive users should get a “warning letter” that their properties were registering excessive use.
The letter would ask them to change consumption habits or apply for a quota increase.
“If the customer does not adhere to such, a water management device will be installed,” said Ms Limberg.
Kenny Brookes, chairman of the RRRA said they had had a few complaints about the water devices being installed at properties in Richwood.
“There’s a non-profit organisation which had a water meter device put in because they were going over the threshold. We also have a resident who has one which is leaking and even though this leak has been reported, no repair to this device has been done. Our thoughts are that these water management device installations have been done too hastily,” said Mr Brookes.
Since August, the City has been installing the devices at households using more than 20 000 litres a month. But Ms Limberg warned that from January next year the bar would be lowered to include households using more than 10 500 litres a month.
“People can contact the City to apply for a quota increase before the meter is installed, or after,” she said.
Asked if there was anything people could do to have the devices removed, Ms Limberg said “this was not an option”.
“The water management device, as the name indicates, is meant to assist customers to manage their water usage.
“As it can be set to allow a specific volume of water through the device per day, it can also serve as an early warning system for leaks on the property,” said Ms Limberg.
Those applying to have their household limit increased could do so at a City walk-in centres or by emiling firstname.lastname@example.org


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Australian consumers will be denied one of the key benefits of Apple’s new iPad because the gadget is not compatible with the high-speed 4G networks being built in this country.
The latest version of Apple’s iconic tablet has been built to run on 700MHz and 2100MHz 4G networks.
- Full coverage of the Apple launch
- John Davidson | “We have the strange situation where the new iPad, on sale next to the iPad2, will sound like the superseded model."
Telstra is currently the only carrier operating a 4G network in Australia but it operates on 1800MHz. Even then coverage is restricted to within five kilometres of the country’s eight capital cities and three kilometres of 80 regional centres.
Optus and Vodafone are also building 1800MHz 4G networks. Optus has run 700MHz trials in the Victorian city of Bendigo but it is understood that this wouldn’t be able to offer higher speeds either because the southern hemisphere operates at the opposite end of that spectrum to Verizon’s in the United States.
Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
Telsyte analyst Foad Fadaghi said the lack of 4G connectivity was a weakness in the product that would disappoint and confuse consumers.
“Speed is a killer application for tablets whether it’s how fast the device turns on, how quickly you can access apps or the speed of loading internet pages," he said. “It’s not often we talk about weaknesses in an Apple product but this is a chink in its armour that leaves the door slightly ajar for its Android rivals."
Mr Fadaghi said access to 4G services would be a major selling point for early adopters of technology, city dwellers and business executives.
Telstra spokeswoman Karina Keisler said previously said that the telco’s dual channel HSPA+ network, which the new iPad will run on, offered speeds that were up to twice as fast as those available on other mobile networks in Australia.
The telco launched Australia’s first 4G tablet – Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 – on February 28. It runs on Google’s Android software.
Nicole McCormick, a consumer mobile analyst with Ovum, said the lack of 4G connectivity in the new iPad would not be a major blow for consumers or Telstra because the vast majority of tablet usage was on Wi-Fi networks.
The Australian Financial Review


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Anthony Lee - Jan 01 2020
TORRAS and Dallas Mavericks: Bridging Technology and Sportsmanship
TORRAS, the pioneer in phone stand case innovation, has forged a dynamic partnership with the Dallas Mavericks since 2023. The collaborative offline brand events held in December 2023 showcased a blend of innovation, sportsmanship, and community engagement, affirming TORRAS' dedication to pushing technological boundaries while embracing the ethos of sports.
Transforming the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas on December 23, TORRAS unveiled an enthralling brand booth spotlighting a diverse range of products, notably the limited-edition phone stand case - Ostand R, and the groundbreaking wearable air conditioner - COOLiFY, co-conceived with the Dallas Mavericks.
The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation as Mavericks fans thronged to witness these exclusive offerings, seamlessly marrying TORRAS' signature quality with irresistible collectible allure. The Ostand R and COOLiFY swiftly emerged as fan favorites, embodying TORRAS' unwavering pursuit of excellence and innovation.
Infusing interactivity into the event, TORRAS curated captivating games and distributed prizes to Mavericks enthusiasts through mini-shooting winning devices. These interactive engagements not only heightened the excitement but also deepened fans' affinity with TORRAS products. The booth attracted an impressive 1500 fans, with nearly 100 eagerly participating in the interactive games.
Maintaining the momentum on December 27, TORRAS orchestrated a thrilling 90-second interactive game during a Mavericks-Cavaliers timeout. Amidst resounding cheers, a fortunate fan, guided by fellow enthusiasts, clinched a coveted gift package comprising TORRAS' entire product range and an exclusive Mavericks jersey. The electrifying ambiance reverberated throughout the stadium, encapsulating the spirit of camaraderie and exhilaration.
TORRAS' collaboration with the Mavericks not only amplifies brand visibility but also infuses an invigorating sports ethos into its product portfolio. The limited-edition phone stand case and wearable air conditioner, meticulously tailored to fan preferences, epitomize the convergence of technology and sports culture. This partnership signifies a profound resonance between TORRAS' brand ethos and Mavericks' indomitable competitive spirit.
Reflecting on the collaboration, TORRAS emphasized that the partnership transcends mere commercial interests, grounded in mutual admiration for Mavericks' unwavering sportsmanship. TORRAS' ethos of resilience and determination seamlessly aligns with Mavericks' ethos, fostering a partnership that resonates with enthusiasts worldwide.
As TORRAS and the Dallas Mavericks embark on pioneering cross-brand collaborations, the partnership heralds a new era of synergy between sports and technology. With a shared commitment to excellence, TORRAS and Mavericks epitomize the limitless possibilities when innovation intersects with sportsmanship.
Article credit: Heidi Cohen (https://heidicohen.com/use-blog-to-sell/)


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New York's hometown paper is once again owned by a Chicago-based newspaper holding company, following the 'New York Daily News' sale on Monday to Tronc Inc. In a way, it's like deja vu. Tronc wasformerly Tribune Publishing, the publisher of the 'Chicago Tribune,' which originally created the 'New York Daily News' nearly a century ago.
NYS Entity Status
NYS Filing Date
APRIL 19, 2013
NYS DOS ID#
NYS Entity Type
DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
2013 - CREATING NEW MEMORIES INC
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is pressing TransUnion and Experian to explain what cybersecurity they have in place to protect sensitive consumer information following a recent breach at Equifax that exposed the data of 143 million Americans.In letters to executives at the two credit monitoring companies, the Democratic attorney general asked them to describe their existing security systems as well as what changes they've made since the Equifax cyberattack."The unprecedented data breach experienced by Equifax Inc.
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ForwardKeys, a travel data and analytics firm, has recently released the latest Chinese outbound travel trends regarding Golden Week, ahead of the much-anticipated webinar with Dragon Trail International on September 26. As of September 6, bookings for upcoming Golden Week travel are 58% lower than the same period in 2019.
However, encouragingly, the current outlook for travel on this year’s peak travel time, which is September 29th, has already reached 84% of the pre-pandemic level. Hong Kong, the UAE, and Macao have already surpassed the travel levels seen in 2019.
According to Nancy Dai, the China Market Analyst at ForwardKeys, the outlook is not that dire, as Chinese travellers tend to book more last minute.
Another key trend and observation ForwardKeys can share is that 37% of travellers plan to stay in their destinations for 6-8 nights, representing a 3-percentage-point increase compared to 2019.
“The air ticketing data also show that there has been an increase in bookings made by solo travellers and couples, something for tour operators, hoteliers, and retailers to keep in mind this Golden Week. For young travellers, personalized options that meet their needs are becoming even more popular,” adds Dai.
Dragon Trail International’s much anticipated Chinese Traveller Sentiment Report
This edition of Dragon Trail’s Chinese Traveler Sentiment Report also offers in-depth, qualitative information for long-haul destinations around the world, to help better understand consumer awareness and motivations.
“We’ll be sharing destination deep-dives on Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Oceania, North America, and Latin America. Interestingly, when we asked travellers what they hoped to see and do in the six world regions, natural scenery and iconic cultural landmarks stood out everywhere. Waterfalls, jungles, grasslands, mountains, canyons, oceans, and deserts top Chinese travellers’ bucket lists around the world,” says Janice Meng from Dragon Trail International.
In terms of travel plans for 2023, South Korea tops the wish list of intended travel destinations for 2023, chosen by 10.4% of respondents. This is a particularly positive sign for Korea’s inbound Chinese tourism recovery, now that group travel has been allowed for the first time since 2017. Europe remains by far the most coveted region for long-haul tourism (chosen by 34.4% of travellers who intend to make an outbound trip still in 2023), with Iceland, emerging as a dark horse destination thanks to trending travel content about Icelandic volcanos on Chinese social media platforms earlier this year.
In the upcoming webinar, more information will be disclosed such as the top destinations for Chinese travellers these holidays; the busiest airports in China, and the outlook for outbound China in Q4.
ForwardKeys has been at the forefront of travel intelligence since 2010, offering data solutions specifically designed for tourism boards, travel retailers and hospitality. The recent innovations in Data Smarts through ForwardKeys Connect have also garnered the interest of financial and insurance firms. Learn more and visit: https://forwardkeys.com/forwardkeys-connect


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According to a recent report, cryptocurrency custodian Xapo is gearing up to become a “full-fledged” bank in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The region at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula is also expanding “regulatory guidelines for the exchange of digital assets”, according to a partner at international law firm Isolas LLP.
Recently, cryptocurrency custodian Xapo sent out a wave of emails noting that it would no longer serve US customers in the future. “As a result of a change in our global business strategy, Xapo, Inc. the US market and close all Xapo accounts of US customers. As a result, we will need you to transfer your money to an external bitcoin address, ”the company said.
This email followed it Announcement Xapo made this last spring when it said the company plans to become a digital bank in Gibraltar. “We will relaunch as a digital bank at the end of this year,” the company revealed. On January 20, 2021, Gibraltar’s Finance Minister Albert Isola told Decrypt employee Adriana Hamacher that Xapo is establishing itself as a “full-fledged bank” in Gibraltar.
“Xapo has now established itself in Gibraltar as a full-fledged bank,” Gibraltar’s finance minister said, according to Hamacher’s recent report.
In addition to the statement from Albert Isola, the partner at the international law firm Isolas LLP, Joey Garcia detailed how Gibraltar on Tuesday is extending regulatory guidelines for the exchange of digital assets. Garcia is also a board member of IOV Labs (RSK) groups and the Custodian Xapo.
“The framework is designed to guide those who have the potential to form important foundational concepts for the work of other international organizations, such as the Financial Action Task Force, the European Commission and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO),” said the announcement. details. Garcia also stressed that Gibraltarians are pioneers when it comes to digital currencies and blockchain innovation.
“Gibraltar has long been a leader in driving innovation and developing regulatory standards for virtual asset service providers and we believe the 10th Core Principle will help us even further in our mission to achieve this,” said Garcia explained. “Especially because the integrity of these markets is such an important point of attention internationally. We have already regulated some of the largest groups in the world in Gibraltar and this should continue to put these groups at the forefront of industry standards, ”said the Isolas partner.
News of Xapo becoming a digital bank in Gibraltar recently follows the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) updated guidelines for distributed ledger technology (DLT) providers. Additionally, news.Bitcoin.com financial columnist Jeffrey Gogo reported about the bitcoin fund of the Canadian company 3iQ listed on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange.
What do you think about Xapo becoming a digital bank in Gibraltar? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Xapo logo
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or invitation to an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.


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As he hoofed along his route in Laguna Beach, Calif., mail carrier Len Cohen developed a curiosity about postal practices in other countries. He retired in February and moved to Bayonet Point, and his curiosity has grown into a full-blown fascination with all things postal.
Cohen's interest started seven years ago, when he was watching a television program about a pilot with a collection of airline patches from different countries. His daughter, watching the program with him, suggested he do the same thing with mail carrier patches.
Since then, the 62-year-old Cohen, who wears a gold watch adorned with the National Association of Letter Carriers emblem, figures he has pecked out more than 4,000 letters _ sometimes as many as 30 a day _ requesting items and information from postmasters throughout the world.
He now has 130 to 140 patches and other postal items from 80 to 90 countries.
Many of the patches are, to him, objects of beauty. "The most beautiful ones are my favorites, ones my wife would like to wear as jewelry," Cohen said. "But I won't allow it."
Besides patches, he has received postal hats, ties, a shirt _ and letters full of information about other countries' postal practices.
"The hobby became a beautiful thing," he said.
Now he wants to write a book titled And the Mail Did Go Through, about mail service around the world.
Cohen's research has turned up some unusual items _ and accompanying tales:
The Ivory Coast sent him a mail carrier's hat with holes in the front and back _ and reddish stains around the holes. A doctor looked at the hat and determined that the stains were blood. Ivory Coast postal authorities did not explain the mystery.
From Alaska, he received a photo of a postman being pulled by an elk-drawn sled. And he heard this tale of a dedicated Alaskan mail carrier who used a dog sled: The carrier, despite falling through thin ice into deadly cold water, managed to pull himself out and save the mail. He even continued on his route and made his appointed rounds.
In South Africa in the 1600s, specially inscribed stones on the beach were used as informal mail-transfer stations. Postal carriers would leave international mail next to the stones. Passing ships then would send boats to pick up the mail and drop off more.
In Romania, mail carriers were called on to be government spies. As they made their rounds, they also collected information about the citizens.
In the World II concentration camps in Germany, American prisoners went so far as to use torn-off corners of newspapers for paper on which to write letters. Bribed guards sometimes would act as their mail carriers.
Even back in Laguna Beach, mail delivery frequently was not an easy task.
There was no thin ice to fall through. But there were dogs.
Cohen remembers one troublesome German shepherd. After the dog attacked him, he told the owner, "If that dog attacks me again, you're not getting your mail."
So the owner kept the dog inside, until one day when it got out and attacked Cohen, who simply stopped delivering mail to that house.
The owner had to go to the post office every day for her mail, and after about a week she again promised not to let the dog out.
But the dog did attack again. It bit Cohen's mail bag instead of his leg. But Cohen took a stand by refusing to deliver mail to anyone on that street.
The neighbors, as Cohen had hoped, forced the dog owner to get rid of the dog.
"This demonstrates the power of the mail," Cohen said. "This shows how important it is to people that they get their mail."


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Here's how to dispose of these items the responsible way.
Deb Hipp • July 21, 2022 • Advertising Disclosure
Next time you think about tossing used batteries, prescript
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KABETOGAMA, Minnesota — About 30 feet separates a line of damp sandbags from the edge of swollen Lake Kabetogama at the Sandy Point Lodge in northern Minnesota.
The lake crested about 4
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Overdue business payments reach a two-year high
The number of late payments owed to businesses in the UK has hit a two-year high, according to a new report.
The Quarterly Overdue Payments Report from trade credit insurance firm Euler Hermes looked at reported debtor payment incidents from more than 250,000 businesses across 17 major industry sectors.
These incidents covered overdue payments from a number of different causes, including late payments from client companies, defaulted payments, insolvency, country court judgments and credit insurance claims.
The report found that the number of overdue payments reported had increased in the final quarter of last year in 14 of the 17 sectors when compared to two years ago.
The UK sector experiencing more delays than any other last year was the construction industry, which accounted for almost a third (31%) of all overdue payment incidents reported.
Disputes are often to blame for payment delays in this sector and are generally more common than in other industries, but there was still a 27% year-on-year rise in the number of overdue payments incidents during 2015. In addition, payment delays rose steeply towards the end of the year, with a 12% increase in the final quarter compared to the 3 months from July to September.
The most affected sub-sectors within the construction umbrella were general contractors, civil engineering providers and installers of wiring and fittings. The latter were impacted disproportionately by large projects running over budget.
Reports of delayed debtor payments also rose by 12% in the final three months of 2015 compared to the previous quarter. This was the highest rate for eight consecutive quarters or two full years.
The report also found that around one in six (17%) businesses reported difficulties in meeting their own payment obligations on time during 2015. This was up from 10% in 2014.
The average number of seasonally adjusted overdue payment incidents reported had fallen by 11% year-on-year in 2014 compared to 2013, before increasing by 8% last year.
By Phil Smith