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Plans for a Foxconn factory in Indonesia have hit a snag after the AFP reported that parent company Hon Hai has failed to reach an agreement with the national government to start work as expected.
Hon Hai’s investment in Indonesia, speculated to be worth up to $10 billion, was expected kick off before 2013 with work commencing on a site this month. Now, Taiwan’s Central News Agency is reporting that difficulties with Indonesian regulations on imported mobile phones and assurances against counterfeit devices have clouded the plans with uncertainty.
In a bid to get discussions back on track, Indonesia’s trade minister, Gita Wirjawan, is reportedly set to visit Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou in Taiwan this month, as the government looks to secure the significant investment from the manufacturer, which works with Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Nokia and others.
Hon Hai previously confirmed that it is looking to plough around $1 billion dollars into the initiative to create mobile-phone producing factories in Indonesia, which has a population of more than 240 million. However, government officials have gone on record with claims that the total investment could reach $10 billion and see Hon Hai create a Silicon Valley-style startup hub in the country.
The claims were not substantiated by Hon Hai and, given that its focus is manufacturing, such a hub is not an obvious choice for the company. Officials in Indonesia remain keen to attract the investment and raise its profile as a location for large firms.
A commitment from Hon Hai is sure to yield big benefits for Indonesia and, indeed, Samsung is reportedly among the other companies that is considering plans for a production base in the Southeast Asian country.
Hon Hai has other pending projects and its proposed investment in Sharp, another key deal, remains on hold as it evaluates a deal to purchase around 10 percent of the Japanese tech struggler. Qualcomm’s recent $120 million investment in Sharp may have boosted the potential for a deal and, just yesterday, Gou claimed it is still on course for completion.
Hon Hai has existing production bases in China and Brazil and this week it announced plans to expand into North America.
Image via Flickr / Chris Bulle


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(Bloomberg) -- The Prius hybrid has spearheaded sales growth for Toyota Motor Corp. in Japan for more than a year, helped by government subsidies. The model will likely bear the brunt of plunging demand as the support ends.
“A collapse in sales is unavoidable,” said Hiromi Inoue, the new-car sales chief for Tokyo Toyopet Motor Sales Co. “The daily pace of orders for the Prius is already dropping. We are bracing ourselves for the coming crisis.”
The number of customers signing up to buy a Prius at Tokyo Toyopet's 66 showrooms has dropped to about eight a day from 20 in June, Inoue said. Industrywide, car sales in Japan are expected to plunge 23 percent in the six months beginning in October from a year earlier, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
Demand for the Prius surged after the third-generation model went on sale in May 2009 and the government introduced the incentive plan a month later. Under the program, consumers can apply for a 250,000 yen ($2,963) subsidy if they scrap a car more than 13 years old to buy a more fuel- efficient one, or 100,000 yen for a new car bought without scrapping the older one.
In the six months through June, Prius deliveries more than tripled to 170,426 and made up 20 percent of Toyota's total domestic sales. Prius orders are already slumping because a backlog means cars bought now won't be delivered in time to receive the handouts, Inoue said. Other Toyota models have quicker delivery periods and should still qualify, he said.
“Toyota dealers will likely try to minimize the sales drop with their own incentives,” said Yoshiaki Kawano, a Tokyo-based analyst at consulting company IHS Automotive.
The fallout when subsidy programs ended in Germany and the U.S. may signal what lies ahead for Japan's automakers.
In Germany, incentives totaling 5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) for buyers of new vehicles who turned in old ones boosted sales 23 percent last year, according to the VDA auto industry association. Without further subsidies, new car registrations in the country slumped 29 percent in the first seven months of 2010, according to the association.
The U.S. government offered $2.88 billion in rebates last year for the replacement of vehicles for buyers who traded in older cars and trucks for more fuel-efficient models, yielding almost 700,000 sales, of which Toyota accounted for more than 19 percent.
Toyota's U.S. sales fell 3.2 percent to 169,224 vehicles, and Prius sales dropped 26 percent to 14,102, last month compared with a year earlier, when the model benefited from the nation's “cash for clunkers” program. Gasoline prices have also stabilized, pushing demand back to larger vehicles, said Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, Calif.
Toyota's sales drop in Japan may be partially offset by the introduction in December of an updated Vitz compact, Japan's third-most popular standard car for the first six months of the year, IHS Automotive's Kawano said.
Japan sales of the Prius surged even as Toyota suffered a major recall crisis. Few orders were canceled after Toyota recalled 223,000 hybrid cars in Japan in February to fix brake systems, said Takeshi Fushimi, director of the auto dealers association.
In place of the subsidy, Toyota dealers will likely offer their own discounts using cash saved from money allocated for recall-related repairs, said Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo.
While Toyota gave dealers about 20,000 yen for each recalled Prius, the actual repair costs didn't reach half that amount, Endo said.
Tokyo Toyopet, the city's largest Toyota dealer group, is providing discounts worth about 50,000 yen for options such as high-performance lights and roof antennas, he said. Demand from corporate clients, which make up almost 40 percent of Tokyo Toyopet's sales, may also help stem the drop, he said.
Discounts on sticker prices “can become like drugs,” Inoue said. “So we don't have a policy of offering them.”
Still, some customers have already managed to snag deals. Chieko Kameda, who ordered her Prius June 26, said her dealer in Mita, central Tokyo, gave her a discount of almost 100,000 yen if she agreed to place an order that day. Her dealer informed her that by the time her Prius is delivered in September, money for the subsidy program may have run out, Kameda said.
Rivals also face a slump in demand when October comes. Honda Motor Co.'s Japan sales may drop 21 percent to 290,000 in the fiscal second half from 367,718 a year earlier, the Tokyo- based carmaker's Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo said last month.
Nissan Motor Co.'s drop may be limited to 1 percent as the company plans to introduce a new Serena minivan in September and has already introduced a new March compact and Juke compact crossover, Kawano said. A new Elgrand minivan also hit showrooms this month.
Nissan's Japan market share will rise to 14 percent in the fiscal second half from 13 percent a year earlier, while Toyota's share will fall to 27 percent from 33 percent, Kawano said. Minicar makers such as Suzuki Motor Corp. and Daihatsu Motor Co. will also gain since subsidies for their models were less than for standard cars, he said.
Electric, hybrid, natural-gas and some diesel vehicles will still qualify for an exemption from the country's weight and purchase taxes, and other fuel-efficient models will be given tax breaks.
“We'll remind customers of the reduced taxes,” Inoue said.

domain: news


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Target Corp. has reached outside the company for a new technology leader after experiencing one of the worst data breaches in U.S. corporate history, announcing Tuesday the hiring of a widely experienced executive as chief information officer.
Bob DeRodes, 63, held similar positions at Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, Citibank and First Data. He also founded DeRodes Enterprises LLC, a company that consults on information technology and business operations, including for several U.S. government agencies in Washington.
In a statement, chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said that “establishing a clear path forward for Target following the data breach has been my top priority.”
“I believe Target has a tremendous opportunity to take the lessons learned from this incident and enhance our overall approach to data security and information technology,” Steinhafel said.
Also Tuesday, Target said it’s taken a number of steps to bolster its data security practices. The actions include developing a comprehensive process for governing firewalls, disabling certain vendor access points and adding “whitelisting” rules to its point of sale systems, allowing only certain processes to run on them.
Target declined to make executives available to discuss the hiring of DeRodes. An Atlanta resident, he will start at the Minneapolis-based retailer next week.
“It is clear to me that Target is an organization that is committed to doing whatever it takes to do right by their guests,” DeRodes said in the company’s statement.
DeRodes succeeds Beth Jacob, a Target veteran who resigned in early March, little more than two months after the company revealed its point-of-sale systems had been breached by cyberthieves who gained access to the personal and financial information of tens of millions of customers.
The nation’s No. 2 retailer is still hunting outside its ranks for someone to fill the newly-created position of chief information security officer, a job focused more squarely on thwarting cyberattacks. Also on Target’s shopping list: a chief compliance officer. The company wouldn’t say how close it is to filling those positions.
“We’re committed to finding the right person for the role and haven’t specified any timeline,” said spokeswoman Molly Snyder. “Our recruiting efforts are continuing as this role is a high-priority position for us to fill.”
Data security experts differed on the importance of DeRodes’ hire. Anton Chuvakin, a security research director at Gartner Inc., called the chief information security officer position a more critical one for Target at the current time.
Al Pascual, security risk and fraud analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, said DeRodes was “a natural choice” for the chief information officer job because of his strong background. “The right man at the right time,” Pascual said.
Hackers began siphoning off data during Target’s busy holiday shopping season in early December, damaging the retailer’s reputation and hurting its financial performance as customers drifted away. The company is protecting consumers against losses they may suffer because of the stolen information.
The data breach prompted several congressional hearings on the security of consumer information, and a blistering Senate committee report in March outlining multiple steps Target could have taken to prevent the attack.
Since the breach, the company has reset the passwords of 445,000 employees and contractors and expanded the use of two-factor authentication, meaning adding an additional security step for logging into its systems.
Target also is speeding up its $100 million plan to roll out more secure chip-based payment card technology. The new point-of-sale terminals should be in all of its nearly 1,800 U.S. stores by September, it said, six months faster than previously announced. The stores will be ready to accept chip-enabled cards for payment in early 2015.
The retailer also is working with MasterCard to offer more secure versions of its Target-branded credit and debit cards.
While magnetic strips transfer a credit-card number, chip cards use a one-time code that moves between the chip and the retailer’s terminal, with the data useless to others. They’re also regarded as nearly impossible to copy, at least for now.
“Our focus, together with Target, is on safety and security and a good consumer experience,” said Chris McWilton, president, North American Markets for MasterCard.
However, chip-based cards don’t prevent the fast-growing fraud in online commerce, where consumers still have to enter their credit card numbers.


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American Department store J.C. Penney is starting 2019 with a severe upheaval or their business. New leadership roles are being created, filled and advertised as the company looks toward a revamp of their current customer experience.
The current Executive Vice President of Private Brands and Supply Chains, Mike Robbins is having his position with the company expanded upon. Robbins has been appointed as the Executive Vice President, Chief Stores and Supply Chain Officer. Besides a title shift, this new position will make Robbin’s the head of sourcing, supply chains and operations for all their stores, where he is said to be focusing on innovative product delivery as well as an enhanced customer experience both in and out of store.
A new addition to the company is Truett Horne, previously an associate principal of McKinsey & Company. Horne will be joining J.C. Penney as their Chief Transformation Officer, where she will hold responsibility for the development and implementation of the companies new initiatives. This new position speaks to the grandeur of the companies intended upheaval, the future is certainly looking transformative for the business.
In addition to these new team members, J.C. Penney is seeking to fill five additional positions. The roles include a Chief Merchant, Chief Customer Officer, Senior Vice President of Planning and Allocation, a Principal Accounting Officer and a Chief Financial Officer. Many of these searches are well underway, with high profile candidates from around the world being considered for the roles. With so many new leadership positions up for grabs, the company seems to be preparing for a total upheaval of their current operations, and fresh minds seem to be their course of attack.
CEO Jill Soltau has commented on the company’s new direction, speaking positively about their upcoming plans. “These executive changes reflect the strength and depth of each leader’s responsibilities and their enormous potential to drive change aligned without customers’ needs and expectations.” J.C.Penney is positioning themselves to appeal to a more value-based consumer, believing that this is the best course for the companies potential growth. “By appointing and recruiting the right leaders who have the expertise and fortitude to accelerate a turnaround strategy, our senior executive team will play an instrumental role in energising teams, connecting with our customers and positioning J.C. Penney for profitable growth.”


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DIC joins hands with Jindal to boost CPP films market in India
With the aim cater to the rising demand for sustainable food packaging in India and foster a market for functional cast polypropylene (CPP) films, ink specialist DIC has formed an alliance with Jindal Poly Films.
30 Jan 2021 | By WhatPackaging? Team
The partnership was proposed by the film manufacturer in 2018 when it had entered the CPP film market in India, and after a detailed analysis of the same, both companies have agreed to join forces to develop a mass-production of functional CPP films in the country.
“India, like other countries, is experiencing a greater need for products with performance features that respond better to environmental concerns and sanitation issues. In the food packaging field, demand is increasing for films with performance features that meet such needs. Of particular note, demand for functional CPP film, which contributes to the realisation of reducing plastics, mono-material packaging, is expected to expand in the future,” said a DIC statement.
The deal includes a technology licensing agreement whereby DIC would extend packaging technologies to Jindal Poly Films. The company claims these activities are set to commence within the fiscal year 2021.
With this collaboration, the ink manufacturer is set out to introduce advanced technologies for the Indian market and expand its films business in the country.


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Quest food recycling Featured In The Huffington Post
In a recent article, Farm Animals Actually Eat People’s Leftovers — And It’s Good For The Planet, the Huffington Post explored the benefits of feeding unsellable food from restaurants and grocery stores to livestock. Quest’s Quest’s food recycling program was featured in the article.
Quest Resource Management Group helps grocers and other companies reduce the amount of waste they generate. The largest portion of Quest’s business comes from its work helping grocery stores reduce their food waste, mostly by donating scraps to farms.
According to Hatch, the company helped divert over 600,000 tons of scraps from the waste stream last year, 60 percent of which was used to feed animals, while 35 percent was composted and another 5 percent was converted into a renewable energy source by going through anaerobic digestion.
“Those tons, before we came along, were all going to the landfill,” said Ray Hatch, the company’s CEO. “Everything went in the dumpster.”
The company works with four of the top 10 national food retailers, including Walmart, and three large regional chains, according to Vanessa Lepice, its vice president of marketing and new business development.
All told, they are working with about 6,000 grocery stores throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. They train partnering stores’ employees how to properly separate scraps that can be donated to local farms and processed into animal feed from types of waste that are not safe for the animals to eat, like plastic packaging and raw meat.
It appears to be working. The amount of food waste the company has diverted has grown fivefold since the program was first rolled out in 2010, including about 20 percent each of the past two years, Quest said.
The above excerpt is from the original article by Click here to read the full article.published on The Huffington Post website.


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In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Alhaji Hassan said any such information in the public that COCOBOD workers were threatening a revolt was untrue.
It would be recalled that the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has hinted creating unrests which could adversely affect the fortunes of cocoa production in the country.
According to the Union, the attitude and management style of the company is creating tension among employees, unions, as well as management staff, and this could soon trigger unrests.
Alhaji Hassan said workers of the company expressed surprise about the hint of unrest and sought for clarifications from the leadership of the Union.
“There is no revolt or any intended strike in the company, there is sanity and workers are going on with their normal duties without fear or victimization, there is serious harmony among workers and management of the company “he said.
He said there is no such wrangling in the company and that the issue emanated because the COCOBOD workers have plans of breaking away from the ICU and as a result, the Union brought these issues to create tension among workers.
Alhaji Hassan said the case is currently before the courts and assured all workers of the company that there is theoretical and practical labour harmony between the workers, leaders and management of COCOBOD.


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Apple’s Lockdown Mode was designed to protect iPhones from state-sponsored hackers and spyware, but now it appears that it could be used to trick unsuspecting users into having a false sense of security.
First introduced with iOS 16, Lockdown Mode hardens defenses on the best iPhones by strictly limiting certain functions. While inconvenient for most, it can be really useful for those who are particularly vulnerable or prone to being targeted by organizations like the NSO Group which developed the Predator spyware.
However, Jamf has now shown in a new report that if a hacker has already compromised your iPhone, Lockdown Mode can be bypassed when you go to turn it on. This isn’t the kind of attack that most people will need to worry about, but it could be devastating for those who rely on Lockdown Mode for extra security.
Creating a false sense of security
If a hacker manages to infect your iPhone with malware, “there are no safeguards in place to stop the malware from running in the background” regardless of whether Lockdown Mode is activated, according to Jamf.
To demonstrate how Lockdown Mode can be faked, Jamf’s researchers created a file named “/fakelockdownmode_on” which they put onto a compromised iPhone. When Lockdown Mode was activated on this device, instead of actually rebooting and enabling it, the phone allowed Jamf’s injected code to maintain control over the security feature.
It’s worth noting that this technique can also be used to allow malware that lacks persistence to continue running on a compromised iPhone even after a reboot so that it can continue spying on a targeted user.
From here, Jamf’s researchers used a similar trick to make Apple’s Safari browser appear that it was running in Lockdown Mode even when it wasn’t. This allowed the researchers to view PDF files in Apple’s browser even though doing so is normally blocked when Lockdown Mode is turned on.
Unlike the best antivirus software, which can detect both new and existing malware, Lockdown Mode is really only effective before an attack takes place. Fortunately for frequent Lockdown Mode users, hackers have not yet been observed using this technique according to Jamf and now that Apple has been made aware of it, there’s a chance a permanent fix will arrive alongside iOS 18.
How to keep your iPhone safe from hackers
When it comes to keeping your iPhone protected from cyberattacks and malware, the first and most important thing you can do is to keep it up to date. This means installing all of the latest updates and security patches as soon as they become available.
Although this can be time consuming as well as a bit annoying, hackers frequently target users that have not updated their devices yet with exploits made for known vulnerabilities. By keeping your iPhone updated though, you can avoid falling victim to these kinds of attacks.
While there isn’t an iPhone equivalent to the best Android antivirus apps due to Apple’s own restrictions, one of the best Mac antivirus software solutions does provide a workaround for those that want to scan their iOS devices for malware.
With Intego Mac Internet Security X9 or Intego Premium Bundle X9, all you have to do is plug in your iPhone or iPad to your Mac using a USB cable and the software will scan it for viruses. This is a really useful feature, especially as this new Lockdown Mode bypassing technique requires that an iPhone is already compromised by malware to work.
iPhones have a reputation for being more secure than the best Android phones, but this also makes them a prime target for cybercriminals and state-sponsored hackers looking to get rich quickly.


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Say goodbye to Overwatch's controversial support and tank hybrid hero Brigitte.
All of the Overwatch League away skins are coming to owners of the home skins in the next major patch!
Overwatch's newest hero, Ashe is finally available.
The rocket queen is getting significant changes in the upcoming Overwatch patch and nobody knows what to make of them.
In an action-packed Q&A, Ion Hazzikostas introduced us to the next chapter of Battle for Azeroth: Tides of Vengeance.
Take a big aerial-view look at the new Busan map on the Overwatch PTR in a way that wasn't intended.
Hidden deep within the Overwatch PTR patch notes is a bug fix to Roadhog that turns out to be a fairly significant reduction to the hero's damage output.
Overwatch's new Busan map, which is now available to play on the PTR servers, has direct ties to Korean culture and history, according to an interview with Game Director Jeff Kaplan.
Update: This quest chain is now live -- and it'll max out your Artifact entirely. Enjoy your superpowers!
A new patch is now available for testing on the Overwatch PTR, including a couple of significant changes to Ana.


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What you need to know
- Fortune named Satya Nadella as its Businessperson of the Year for 2019.
- Nadella scored points for his unique background and the wide berth he gives his leadership team.
- Under Nadella's leadership, Microsoft has help drive Microsoft's market cap above $1 trillion.
Fortune recently released its Businessperson of the Year rankings for 2019, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took the top spot. Fortune cites Microsoft's break from the company culture of the Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer years, along with success that has lead the company to crack a $1 trillion market cap.
Nadella's ranking comes partially as a result of his willingness to embrace the skills of his leadership team, Fortune says. That team includes Microsoft chief legal officer and president Brad Smith, chief financial officer Amy Hood, and chief people officer Kathleen Hogan.
"It's not that Nadella lacks an ego, and the robust financial results his company has racked up give him undeniable bragging rights," Fortune says. "The company earned $39 billion on revenue of $126 billion in fiscal 2019, while growing revenue at a three-year compound annual rate of 11%."
"CEOs can only do what they do if they have an amazing team," Nadella told Fortune. "I'm blessed to have that."
Fortune says that it initially ranks its contenders based on a set of 10 financial factors, "ranging from total return to shareholders to return on capital." After that, it searches for those leaders who stand out from the pack to compile its final list.
You can check out the full writeup on Nadella, along with the rest of the top ten, at Fortune.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Need a laptop with a Thunderbolt 3 port? Every PC here deserves a look.
Looking for a new laptop that has Thunderbolt 3 ports? Well, you're in luck, as we've rounded up what we think are the best Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptops available to buy today.
Windows 10 build 19546 arrives for Fast ring with graphing calculator
Microsoft pushed out another new Windows 10 Preview build for Windows Insiders on the Fast ring today. This build brings the build number up to 19546, and it includes a new graphing mode for the Calculator app.
Microsoft's ambitious climate plan aims to go carbon negative by 2030
Microsoft outlined an ambitious climate plan to go carbon negative in all of its operations by 2030. Further, the company plans to eliminate its entire historical carbon footprint by 2050 and has set up a $1 billion climate innovation fund.
These external monitors go perfectly with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is an excellent laptop, but what if you want to project the display onto a larger screen? You'll need an external monitor for that. Here are our favorite options.


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Donald Trump wants to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Hillary Clinton wants to maintain and modify it. How could each proposal impact coverage, out-of-pocket costs, and the deficit?
Sep 23, 2016
Much of what we know about the effects of cost sharing derives from the landmark RAND Health Insurance Experiment of the 1970s, which examined consumer use of care across numerous levels of cost sharing. More recent RAND research in this area has explored consumer-directed health plans, which aim to reduce spending by giving consumers options but also making them more financially invested in their care.


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The cdma business is run under the brand name of tata indicom while the gsm business is branded tata docomo in gsm business, ntt docomo has a 26% stake the objective of this merger of divisions is to drive efficiency in its operations. Docomo noted that it had received a total of jpy1449 billion (usd128 billion) from tata, representing the usd117 billion it was awarded in damages from the indian conglomerate, plus interest and other costs awarded. It can be expected that once the merger is approved and consummated, there will be no difference between a tata docomo consumer and a bharti airtel consumer, and all will be able to use the full set of tariff plans. Why this merger for one, tata teleservices has been a money-losing business for the tata group according to earlier reports, ttsl has seen its net worth fall by over rs 11,600 crore in fy17, and losses increase from rs 2,409 crore to rs 4,617 crore year-on-year it has a liability of rs 7,200 crore which is to be paid to ntt docomo as.
With competition on indian telecom space increasing, chance of a major overhaul going to happen soon according to various media reports india’s major telecom operators tata teleservices which operate tata docomo, aircel and sistema which operates mts are in initial talks for a three-way mergerif in any way this merger goes through it will create india’s third-largest telecom operator by. Tata teleservices is reportedly in talks with reliance communications for a possible merger r comm is already in the midst of finalising merging rivals aircel and mts with itself. Yes, tata docomo is acquired by airtel for free in the sense that airtel takes over tata docomo’s assets, including debt of around 40,000cr inr without paying anything to tata docomo till now it's not confirmed that airtel is squeezing docomo in so many cities ie states docomo already closed.
Get latest & exclusive tata indicom merges with tata docomo news updates & stories explore photos & videos on tata indicom merges with tata docomo also get news from india and world including. However, if such a merger was indeed in the making, it would face three crucial hurdles: spectrum-related regulatory issues, the combined debt pile and the tata group company’s ongoing negotiations with ntt docomo for a $117 billion settlement. Tata cmb to merge with bharti airtel over 40 million customers to join bharti airtel and benefit from state-of-the-art 4g mobile network, with fall back on its 3g and 2g ecosystem merger on a debt-free, cash-free basis. Highlights the merger is on a debtfree and cash-free basis bharti will get the tata consumer mobile business virtually for free the deal marks the beginning of a growing relationship between.
Published: wed, 28 feb 2018 impact of mergers and acquisitions on the financials and performance of tata group in the current globalised economy, mergers and acquisitions are being progressively more used the world over, for increasing competitiveness of companies through gaining better market share, expansion of the portfolio to reduce business risk, to capitalize on the economies of scale. Tatas explore sale of telecom assets to ril after tata sons bought out japanese partner ntt docomo the group’s holding company, tata sons, recently decided to infuse rs 12,000 crore in the. Tata will settle past liabilities to pave the way for bharti, led by billionaire sunil bharti mittal, to complete what it described as effectively a merger, according to a statement issued on. Tata docomo now offers data and unlimited voice calling with its inr 179 plan oct 26, 2018 06:05 pm: following the merger with bharti airtel, tata docomo users will soon be a part of airtel’s network. Tata will settle past liabilities to pave the way for bharti to complete what it described as an effectively debt-free cash-free merger, according to the statement.
If you port or merge your number from docomo to airtel then only it will converted otherwise not 126 views related questions should i port my number to vodafone or airtel from docomo since tata docomo is selling its mobile service to airtel is it necessary to port in airtel or by default my tata docomo number change into a. The airtel- tata merger is being done on a debt-free cash-free basis, except for bharti airtel assuming a small portion of the unpaid spectrum liability of tata’s towards dot, which is to be. Telecom sector big call: why tata teleservices’ merger with bharti airtel could reshape india’s cellular landscape the deal will expand airtel’s customer base and take its market share. The study depicts that that the merger and acquisition by tata had positive impact on profitability and liquidity of tata-teleservices and power sectors but in cased of tata motor, steel tata docomo (13-11-08) pre-acquisition post- acquisition change (%) debt-equity ratio 011 014 2727.
Tata teleservices and reliance communications' share saw a hike of at least 10 per cent on monday amidst news of the merger talks between the two according to media reports, reliance group. Tata teleservices, bharti airtel merger is sign that honeymoon period for indian telcos is over only the fittest, and one that offers the best in services will survive. टाटा बाय बाय, airtel ने किया tata docomo का अधिग्रहण, डोकोमो कस्टमर्स अब एयरटेल के.


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Organisations in Chennai that repurpose old clothes increase their reach
For those who are not aware, Thuli receives gently-used clothes and accessories, repurposes and offers them to the underprivileged, free of cost.
“There is always a willingness to give away clothes, but we insist that people offer clothes that are not torn or stained,” says Ajith Kumar, one of the founders of Thuli, a non-profit established in 2018. Thuli runs another outlet at Vadapalani.
In Chennai, this form of sustainability seems to be catching on.
For over a decade, near Porur, Little Drops, an NGO that takes care of the destitute and the old, runs ‘Trash and Treasure’ where the underprivileged can shop for items ranging from clothes and toys to utility items, all of them collected from donors, at throwaway prices.
Rajasthan Cosmo Club Foundation (RCCF) runs two ‘Smile’ stores, one at Nungambakkam and the other at Avadi, both of which opened in the last five months. “We plan to open five more outlets this year,” says Manish Chowdhari, president of RCCF.
Located adjacent to the office of the Mylapore MLA at Alwarpet, the goodwill store Danagam has a facility for people to drop their donations.
Why run thrift stores?
While helping the less fortunate, these stores also promote the sustainable practices of recycling and reusing.
“What would have ended in the landfill in five to eight years you give it longer life by refurbishing and getting another person to use,” says Manish. He says in the last six months they have received 1.25 lakh clothes.
These are washed, disinfected, ironed and barcoded before it reaches its outlets for people to shop. “A carton of clothes takes two to three months before it finally reaches our stores; those needing minor repair are mended or refurbished to give it a new life,” says Manish.
Not all the clothes that are collected are in good condition.
“When we started Thuli only 30 per cent of the clothes received were good; and remaining 70 per cent would not be worth using. Now, we have reversed this to 70:30 by showing people what we stock and with our volunteers at the store who explain to customers the initiative’s objective,” says Ajith, who started Thuli with two friends Shivaji Prabhakar and Jey Bala.
Volunteers sort clothes for Thuli. Photo: Special Arrangement
The non-profit has actor Vijay Sethupathi as its honorary trustee.
At RCCF, seven to eight per cent of the stock is not fit to be reused.
“The clothes that we think cannot be reused by a second person are sent to a small unit in Guindy where cloth bags are made by members of the transgender community,” says Manish. Nearly 500 cloth bags are made every month, and the income goes towards supporting those engaged in the project.
Upcycling old clothes
For some months, Thuli had a visiting faculty from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) helping them refashion clothes lying at their warehouse.
“We make sure shoppers feel good when they shop for clothes from us. Sometimes, finding a good fit for those in the age group of 5 to 15 years is a challenge, so we outsourced it to a unit that would remodel the clothes and sent them back to us,” says Ajith.
- * Thuli has outlets at Adyar and Vadapalani; call its customer care number at 6380306662
- * Rajasthan Cosmo Club Foundation picks up clothes from the doorsteps; call 9962299622.
- * Little Drops is at Kalluri Salai, Koluthvancheri, Paraniputhur. It encourages apartments to organise a collection drive and sends a van for the items to be transported. Call 9884080869/ 9884080864
- * Dhanagam is at 29 C P Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet; call 044 -24663411/ 9940502933
Little Drops works on a slightly different model, accepting anything from people.
“Nothing goes waste at our centre and we add value to the ones that are discarded,” says Edgar Jones Paul, one of the founders of Little Drops.
“Torn clothes are used to make doormats, discarded garments are recycled to make adult diapers and fallen trees are used as firewood. Old garden hose, domestic appliance, leftover building material or curtains, we find use for anything”
Paul continues: “During the lockdown, many shops had folded up and we added value to their interior works. For instance, we removed the plywood in many of them and made use of them,” says Paul. He says each of these utility items would serve somebody and because of the pricing they get picked up easily.
Those working in the area of sustainability points out that any city would gain from this model as it helps reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill and at the same time, fulfils a group’s need.
Sustaining the model
Little Drops says it earns reasonably well from its store and this income helps it buy medicines for the residents of the home.
“Currently, we have 1000 people and some of them are bed-ridden,” says Paul.
RCCF looks for spaces where they do not have to incur any expenses toward rent.
Thuli is self-funded.
Ajith adds, “We are happy with the way we have managed all these years. If at all we need help it is in sorting clothes, which are largely done by some of my employees. We would love to have more people chip in, once in a while.”
Source: Read Full Article


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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, local legislation and guidelines around social distancing and other safety precautions mean the winter holidays will feel a little different this year.
After nearly a year of uncertainty, many people are eager to experience some of the familiar, uplifting aspects of the season, including the classic cakes, cookies and other baked goods that have been part of their holiday celebrations for years.
Manderfield’s Home Bakery, which has three Wisconsin locations, offers butter cookies, German stollen and other popular holiday items. This year, the bakery has taken the necessary safety precautions amid COVID, but it’s still going to decorate its space with the usual giant snowflakes, play Christmas music and include other ambiance elements that help attract customers, according to Doug Manderfield, who’s in charge of public relations and marketing for the bakery.
“People will still want their comfort foods,” Manderfield says. “We follow all the safety precautions that have been suggested by the CDC; that's behind the scenes. I want the bakery to feel like a place that’s as normal and happy as possible throughout the holidays.”
Ambiance is just one element that can enhance the holiday experience. Whether bakeries sell specialties like Christmas cookie cups, Rosca de Reyes, gingerbread donuts or other holiday desserts, they can evoke fond memories for customers—and see the peak sales they typically expect this time of year—in the following ways.
Highlight Baked Goods' Origins
Add a Twist to Seasonal Limited-Time Offerings
Offer Single-Serve Bakery Items
“People really like cute novelty things like cake pops —and there are a lot of different things you can do with [them],” Manderfield says. “We’ve made little Rice Krispies [treats] on sticks in different Christmas shapes dipped in chocolate. They’re individually packaged."
Honor Home Baking Traditions
Help Augment At-Home Celebrations
Although holiday parties and gatherings won’t happen at the same scale as they have in years past, Designer Desserts still plans to make and promote many of the themed offerings it has previously sold for these events, according to General Manager Vanessa Ryan. Customers seem to still be having celebrations, she says; they’re just smaller.
“For New Year’s Eve, a lot of people [used to] go out to restaurants or other venues,” Ryan says. “I think there will be more at-home parties so people will probably buy a little more [than usual for their families].”
Though the pandemic has placed a major strain on bakeries, this holiday season presents a significant sales opportunity for those that can help consumers find comfort, celebrate traditions and make the season extra special with delicious desserts.
From sophisticated Cranberry Bundt Cake to show-stopping New Year's Eve Cupcakes, discover Dawn's wide range of recipes to inspire your bakery menu this holiday season HERE.


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The Ravioli House Starts Construction On Outside Seating
With the ever changing world we live in due to the Corona Virus, businesses are trying to adapt. Here in Wildwood, our mayors are trying to pass a new rule that will allow restaurants to make use of their parking lots and turn them into al fresco dining spots.
The Ravioli House, located at 102 E Bennett Ave in Wildwood, is taking it a step further. They are converting an empty lot next to their restaurant into a full outside dinning area.
The Ravioli House, which is celebrating their 50th year here in the Wildwoods, owns the lot next store and plans to move 50% of their inside capacity to their outdoor location.
The 50% indoor capacity rule is being considered as a step in allowing businesses to open in the state of New Jersey. With the new lot next to their restaurant they will be able to open their business at 100% capacity (50% inside and 50% outside) and make a safe environment for their costumers.
Some boardwalk restaurants will be allowed to use their parking lots to help bring their capacity up.
Their opening day for the season is this Friday from 3pm-8pm. Reminder that it’s only takeout & delivery for now.
Tune back in for more details.
Check out these other Wildwood Videos and Articles


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Attend any A-list event in New York this weekend—New York Fashion Week runway shows, NBA All Star Game parties—and you’ll see something familiar: a cylindrical column of vodka that has made its way to nearly every event dominated by tastemakers. That’s no accident. Under the tutelage of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s been a spokesperson for the vodka since 2009 and helped it go from 40,000 cases sold annually to 2 million, Diageo’s Ciroc DEO -1.21% has made it its mission to get in front of millennials and influencers who can help elevate the brand.
“We have been able to package the product and create a brand that people want to drink when they are celebrating with their circle of friends,” Combs said.
The brand is planning to introduce a new product later this year. “We have spent a great deal of time working with our master distiller to craft the first-ever sipping vodka,” Combs said.
Combs is making a major move into spirits. Earlier this year, he made the advertising executive Dia Simms the president of Combs Wine & Spirits (beyond Ciroc, he purchased DeLeón, a high-end tequila, last year). She’s looking to invest in more up and coming alcohol companies.
“I think the thing we’re looking for are great lifestyle brands with outstanding product credentials and an opportunity to market to our audience in a different way,” Simms said.
Who is that audience? “We speak a lot about a new America,” she said, “super diverse, extraordinarly digitally connected, a different level of ownership. One person can impact a company with the wrong posting, with a user review.”
To court the type of customers they want for Ciroc, it’s essential that it has a place under the tents of Fashion Week and in the flurry of events surrounding the All Star Game. “We love these cultural moments, these opportunities when those artists, those experts galvanize in one place,” Simms said. “It’s important for our brand to celebrate true artistry.”
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NEW YORK — “Do you know what, this is the first time I’ve been here in 14 years,” said Calvin Klein on Monday night on the red carpet at the CFDA Awards. His return to the circuit was in honor of his close friend Donna Karan, who was receiving the Founder’s Award — indeed, a cause worthy of a reappearance.
It was a reappearance for many — and a repeat for many award winners. Marc Jacobs received the Womenswear Designer of the Year prize; Thom Browne won Menswear Designer of the Year, and Beyoncé received the Fashion Icon Award. Usually the winner of that honorary prize is revealed along with the nominees in April, but this time around, Beyoncé’s selection was a surprise.
Accessories Designer of the Year went to Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel of Mansur Gavriel. The Swarovski Awards went to Brandon Maxwell for women’s wear; Alex, Matthew and Samantha Orley of Orley for men’s wear, and Paul Andrew for accessories.
Among the other honorary prizewinners this year were Norma Kamali, who received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award; the International Award to Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci, and the Board of Directors’ Tribute was given to David Bowie, who died in January.
The Kenneth Cole Footwear and Accessory Innovation Fellowship was awarded to Blake Felty, a graduate of Fashion Institute of Technology, and Kara Kroeger, a graduate of Kent State University.
Felty and Kroeger will receive a 12-month, full-time, post-graduate placement within Kenneth Cole Productions.
In a curious mixing, the Oscars of fashion were infiltrated by many of comedy’s biggest names, from the “Broad City” girls to Lena Dunham to host Joel McHale. “I hope he’s funny,” whispered Browne.
“Well, I live in Los Angeles, so I don’t interact with the New York fashion crowd very much,” McHale admitted. “And that’s not out of not wanting to…” He trailed off to shower a pregnant Olivia Wilde with compliments. “You look like an Irish goddess,” he told her.
“I’m so excited that I got to come here with Rosie,” Wilde said of her date, a beaming Rosie Assoulin, after laughing off McHale. “She is the definition of the cool-girl designer.”
Not only were guests taking in the ceremony from a new venue, the Hammerstein Ballroom, but for a change they were being treated to a dinner instead of simply cocktails. “Normally you sit down in the auditorium and you don’t see anyone until the end,” said Karlie Kloss, who also was wearing Assoulin. “And now, it’ll be a big reunion.”
The red carpet was a melty love fest of designers and their chosen dates.
“Brandon is going to be someone who goes so far in this business,” Naomi Campbell cooed of the man behind her dress, Brandon Maxwell.
“I was first introduced to Paul Andrew’s shoes about three years ago when I was filming in Toronto,” said Jessica Chastain, in Prabal Gurung and on the arm of Andrew. “I loved them so much I brought them to Cannes with me and wore them on a photo shoot in the ocean.”
Many of the celebrity dates came along in part due to their interest in fashion — “I’ve always been happy taking a couple risks,” Selma Blair said of her one-armed Christian Siriano suit — while many were happy to let the experts take the reins. “Christian picked my entire look,” Alicia Silverstone added, motioning to Siriano, flanked by the two — and the jealousy of every Nineties film fan.
“I’m like a total puppet tonight, she could do whatever she wants with me,” said Soko, on the arm of Eva Zuckerman.
“We were really digging black tonight, no matter what the design was,” said Ilana Glazer, wearing Rebecca Minkoff with her “Broad City” costar Abbi Jacobson.
“The shoes can really make or break an outfit,” Ciara said, much to the delight of her date, Stuart Weitzman. “Did you hear that, she said she picked the shoes first,” a tickled Weitzman said.
“Today was actually very cool,” said Rio Uribe, nominee for Gypsy Sport, apparently free of any pre-awards nerves. “We chilled, we vibed, we smoked, we hung out.”
McHale drew headlines when he was revealed as the choice — followed by guessing games as to what he might conjure up. Which designer would he skewer? Which fashion darling would be shaking in her seat? It turned of the fashion crowd wasn’t very afraid of the humorously sour comedian — in fact, most had no idea who he was. “I don’t…” a confused Alexa Chung offered, when asked for her thoughts on the host. “What?” asked Soko. “I have no idea who that is.”


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Chinese regulators have banned celebrity endorsements for many products, including tobacco products, off-campus exercise, formula foods, and health and medical products.
The new rules, released Monday afternoon by the State Administration for Market Regulation and six other groups, will curb the lucrative world of celebrity endorsements, which has been plagued by high-profile scandals in recent years.
The new rules prohibit celebrities from endorsing products through social media, TV ads, live streams or interviews.
“Celebrities must consciously practice basic socialist values in their advertising endorsement activities,” the rules state. “Activities must conform to social morals and traditional virtues.”
The rules include Internet influencers in the definition of celebrity, reflecting the powerful role that livestreamers and online personalities can play in promoting products.
They also prohibit the use of “distorted aesthetics” and images or figures of party and state leaders or revolutionary heroes.
The new rules state that any products a celebrity endorses must first be thoroughly tested by them, and the results of the testing must be recorded in advance.
They added that companies should “consciously resist choosing illegal and unethical celebrities as advertising spokespeople”.
The celebrity endorsement industry has been plagued by a series of scandals. Most recently, Li Jiaqi, a live broadcaster, disappeared from public view for three months after showing a tank-shaped cake in a June 3 video that some analysts speculated was an indirect reference to the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing. The next day.
“If an organization knows or is aware that a celebrity has expressed false political views or other views that violate core socialist values … it must determine that the related publicity impedes social stability and social public order,” the new rules state. condition.


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domestic appliances and consumer electronics industry, is facing shortages in
components such as semiconductors and chips, said Consumer Electronics and
Appliances Manufacturers Association.
situation may last through and stretch into 2023. Several manufacturers, using
chips as inputs, are now facing bottlenecks in their capacities and expect a
delay in launches of new products, said industry body CEAMA.
and chips are used for manufacturing key components such as - micro
controllers, optocoupler, power relay, switch, varistor, and connectors - for a
range of appliances manufactured by the industry.
manufacturers are also ramping up production fees, which could give an upward
push to prices in the future, he added. However, he also added that the
semiconductor industry is putting more capacity in place, but it will take
time. The appliances price has already witnessed pressure on account of
multiple macroeconomic factors like increase in commodity prices, freight rates
and material shortages.
Shortage of chips, coupled
with rising ferrous products, has also offset the softening of prices happening
in the sector after some of the commodities like resins and chemicals have
shown price corrections, said CEAMA President Kamal Nandi.
are exploring a combination of technical levers (like design optimisation and
value innovation), commercial levers (like hedging, dual sources and
localisation), and process levers (like advance and joint planning with
suppliers) to mitigate the impact, he added.
He also said that, it is a
multifaceted issue with currently no sign of abating. With demand on the rise
and supply likely to remain constrained, this shortage may last through 2022
and into 2023.
Source: ET Auto.com


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Textile Manufacturers To Seek Countervailing Duties Against Chinese Imports
By James A. Morrissey, Washington Correspondent
In a major reversal of policy, the US Department of Commerce on March 30 announced that it would, for the first time, use the CVD anti-subsidy law against China. While the case involves a manufacturer of coated paper products, David Spooner, assistant secretary of commerce for import administration, said applications covering imports of other commodities could be considered. US antidumping and countervailing duty laws are recognized by the World Trade Organization.
Although CVD cases generally are complicated and time-consuming, NCTO believes they are worth pursuing because it believes Chinese textile and apparel products are heavily subsidized and are costing the US industry thousands of jobs. While anti-dumping laws provide another avenue of relief, the government has held that US textile manufacturers have no standing in cases involving apparel. Since the US apparel industry has shrunk so much, there has been very little activity on that front.
In an address to the NCTO members attending the annual meeting, McKissick put high priority on legislation that would levy punitive tariffs on goods from countries that manipulate their currencies to gain advantage in international trade. NCTO is pushing the Fair Currency Act of 2007 that would define “exchange rate manipulation” as a prohibited export subsidy and permit use of the CVD law to seek relief from injury caused by imports that benefit from the subsidy offsetting any advantage.
In citing “progress” in dealing with trade issues, McKissick told NCTO members that free trade agreements (FTAs) recently negotiated with Peru, Colombia and Panama have the “very best rule of origin we have ever had.” He said they have a yarn-forward rule with no tariff preference level that would allow non-participating countries to benefit from the agreements, and they call for strong Customs enforcement. He also gave general praise to the South Korea FTA, although details have not yet been released. One area of possible concern is that 61 percent of textile and apparel tariffs will be eliminated immediately upon enactment of the agreement, and textile manufacturers are uneasy about which products will by duty free and which ones will continue to have tariff protection.
McKissick also was bullish on the FTA with Vietnam because of the government’s monitoring program and a commitment to self-initiate anti-dumping actions if it determined that Vietnam textiles or apparel are being dumped on the US market at unfair prices.
As the meeting concluded, the textile executives headed for Capitol Hill to shore up their relations with members of Congress. McKissick said this is a continuation of a number of activities, which underscore the fact that “our industry is being heard, and we are able to influence policies that help shape our industry and the ways we do business.”
April 24, 2007


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When Ziff-Davis hits the New York Stock Exchange within the next few days, it'll share a hope with other media companies that focus on technology: that it can benefit from its association with the Internet and get caught up by the tide that has lifted companies like Yahoo and DoubleClick recently.
But will the Internet luster be enough to burnish Ziff-Davis? The Manhattan-based publisher and trade show organizer has been losing ad dollars in its top three titles, PC Magazine, PC Week, and Computer Shopper. Growth of its Comdex trade show has been flat. And Ziff's towering debt, mostly owed to its parent, Japan's Softbank Corporation, adds up to more than US$1.5 billion.
In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, though, Ziff boasts of its heavily-trafficked Web site, ZDNet, a soon-to-launch cable channel called ZDTV, and the fact that Comdex/Fall is the biggest trade show in the US.
"Ziff is one of those interesting companies that could benefit from its association with technology and the Internet," says Adam Schoenfeld, a vice president at Jupiter Communications, the new media research firm. "Really, it's a traditional publishing company. But the whiff of the Internet is a boost to multiples."
Ziff's prospectus doesn't indicate exactly what portion of the company's revenue comes from its online division. Instead, online is grouped in with "market research" and "joint ventures and licenses," which all together made up just 11.5 percent of Ziff's income in 1997. The prospectus did note that Ziff employs 100 people to produce its Web site, which Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail described as "a tremendous amount of overhead."
The result is a Web outpost that in March was ranked as the 13th most popular destination by Relevant Knowledge. But Nail at Forrester says that investors shouldn't expect that ranking to hold up over time.
"While ZDNet looks like a major player on the Web today, as more consumers and mass audience come to the Web, [Ziff] will look much the same as they do in the offline world -- like a big player in a specific space," Nail said.
On the Web, Ziff faces off against other providers of technology news like CNET and CMP Media's online division. In print and on trade show floors, it will compete heavily with Mecklermedia and CMP Media, which are publicly-traded, and International Data Group, which is privately-held.
Alan Meckler, the chairman and CEO of Mecklermedia, sounded excited by Ziff's imminent IPO.
"Media companies that are private don't tell the truth [about their circulation and revenues]," Meckler said. "Going public changes that. And it forces companies to kill things earlier, as we saw happen with CMP and NetGuide."
Meckler also said that being associated with the Internet helps a media company's valuation, and complained that Wall Street hasn't given his company enough credit for its Web efforts, which center on Internet.com.
Ziff's IPO, which aims to raise $439 million by offering 25.8 million shares, is primarily focused on paying off the company's debts to Softbank. The Japanese software conglomerate bought Ziff in 1996 from the buyout firm Forstmann Little & Co. for $2.1 billion. One year earlier, Softbank had paid over $800 million for Comdex, which was later combined with Ziff's publishing and trade show operations. But when Ziff goes public, its value will be only about $1.8 billion.


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ARLINGTON, Virginia — The 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class midsize luxury crossover earned the Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
An advanced-rated front-crash prevention system is standard on the GLE-Class, which is on sale now at Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
"When equipped with the standard system alone, the GLE-Class avoided a collision in the 12 mph track test," the Institute said in a statement on Tuesday. "In the 25 mph test, the impact speed was reduced by 12 mph."
The GLE-Class can be equipped with an optional system called PreSafe Brake.
"With the addition of PreSafe Brake, the vehicle slowed by an average of 24 mph in the 25 mph test," the Institute said.
The GLE-Class earned "good" ratings in all other Institute crash tests.
Standard safety features on the 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class include antilock brakes, traction and stability control, a forward-collision warning system, hill-start assist, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and a driver knee airbag.
The GLE-Class also comes standard with "Attention Assist," which monitors driver behavior for signs of drowsiness.
Optional safety technology includes rearview and 360-degree cameras, adaptive cruise control with auto-braking, a blind spot monitor and an active lane-keeping system.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not rated the 2016 GLE-Class.
Edmunds says: Car shoppers should note that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has not yet tested the BMW X6, Land Rover Range Rover Sport or Porsche Cayenne.


text: Realme has announced that it will be launching the Notebook Air laptop with 4.9mm wide bezels in China on July 12. The upcoming laptop has been tipped to launch in two colour options with a checkerboard-style design like the Realme Pad X. The renders of the laptop have also been shared online. Realme is yet to announce details regarding the specifications and availability of the new laptop. In a picture shared on Weibo by the company, the bezels of the upcoming Realme Notebook Air can be seen being compared to that of Apple’s MacBook Air M1.The smartphone brand, Realme recently announced on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo that it’ll be launching the Realme Notebook Air laptop on July 12 in China. Although, the company has not shared specifications of the upcoming laptop, the company has announced that it will feature 4.9mm thin bezels.The company has also compared the bezels of the Realme Notebook Air with the MacBook Air M1 from Apple. At this point, it is unclear why Realme has named the laptop ‘Notebook’ instead of their conventional nomenclature of just ‘Book’.Photo Credit: Weibo/ WhyLabsAdditionally, tipster WhyLab has also shared some details and alleged images of the upcoming Realme Notebook Air. According to the tipster, the laptop will launch in China in two colour options — Star Grey and Sea Salt Blue. In the images shared by the tipster, the Sea Salt Blue colour option can be seen with a checkerboard design that we have previously seen on the back panel of the Realme Pad X. The alleged images also show two USB Type-C ports and a headphone jack on the left side.The alleged images of the Realme Notebook Air show a checkerboard designPhoto Credit: Weibo/ WhyLabsThe July 12 launch date indicates that the new Realme Notebook Air may launch alongside the Realme GT 2 Explorer Master Edition. The smartphone was recently teased by the company on Weibo, which confirmed that the handset will feature LPDDR5X RAM.Realme had previously also confirmed that the display of the phone will come with 120Hz refresh rate, 2.37mm narrow chin, and 1.07 billion colours support.Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.


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Ubisoft has announced The Smurfs & Co, its Facebook game has more than 10 million monthly active users. The social network game is based on the comic book brand, and allows anyone to play as a Smurf in the quest to “build wondrous towns and uncover special ingredients that Papa Smurf needs to create a magic potion to erase Gargamel’s memory.” New game features and special in-game contests are being added regularly, including a full screen option and a user-generated screenshot contest with prizes in several different categories. The game has also been the number one licensed-based social game on Facebook since it launched on July 29. To play The Smurfs & Co, go here.
Buy our t-shirts, yeah
They're far more stylish than your average video game website tat.


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Well here we are at that time of the year when pundits begin to review the year gone and make their predictions for the year to come. So what’s the story in world of Availability? Here’s my view:
At the risk of sounding bah humbug, what sticks out most in my mind about 2009 was the number of high profile outages for companies that really can afford (in all senses of the word) to do better:
Salesforce.com; Barclays; O2; Blackberry; Google; Virgin Media; YouTube; BBC; Vodafone; EBay; Microsoft’s Bing; London Stock Exchange; British Airways and during the busiest shopping day of the year, ToysRus (hopefully Santa has the fall out covered…)
Also worthy of mention are the various reports showing that not as many companies are deploying virtualisation in production as the pundits predicted last year. Perhaps they are frightened of the always on world and the associated increase of risk?
Then on the good news front, there was the announcement about Avance, the breakthrough software solution set to make ultra high availability ultra highly available within the next two years.
And so to 2010, what’s on the horizon?
Clouds, clouds and more clouds. Bringing with them growth in the virtualisation and ultra high availability markets.
I believe that this will be the year when cloud computing finally passes the tipping point. Whether implemented in a private way (as predicted by Gartner) or not, the best way to deploy in the cloud is via virtualisation. So we will see this market growing.
This, of course, will put pressure on the availability story – so the need for some damn good platforms to host it all on will grow too.
That’s it for this year from this availability advisor.


text:
By Reuters 6 hours ago
By Reuters 14 hours ago
By Mercy Adhiambo 1 day ago
By Mirror 1 day ago
Murder convict triggers change in criminal law
BBI seeks to make AG powerful minister
When a simple stretch can break your bones
Artificial melanin: New-age hair dye
Sci & Tech
Apple said the new program will start on January 1 and it will give more details on which developers qualify next month.
Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million, shielding it from policies that stoke inflation, proponents say.
As money management becomes increasingly digital, fintechs play a pivotal role in helping to restore and rebuild the global economy.
The emerging asset’s 12-year history has been peppered with vertiginous price rises and equally sharp crashes.
South Africa leads the continent with some 120,000 developers.
Governor Nyong’o asked stakeholders in the education sector to include innovation in the curriculum
Biden, now President-elect, has also said he favors repealing Section 230
The daring raid happened as stores prepare for the Christmas rush.
Kenya among top startup funds destination in Africa: Survey
Elon Musk says 'most likely' has a moderate case of COVID-19
Google curtails free photo storage, pushes users to buy more space
ByteDance gets 15-day extension on US order to divest TikTok
Black Friday scam warning as banks say more people are at risk
UK to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars: FT
Tech companies tied to lawsuit against Google get more time to propose protective order
'Humanitarian e-commerce' thrives in Somalia amid pandemic
South Africa bets on technology to close inequality gap
YouTube back up after worldwide outage
Firm partners with saccos to provide long distance travel
TikTok-owner ByteDance to rake in $27b in ad revenue by year-end
Private security crime fight goes digital
WhatsApp rolls out money payment system in India after Brazil
Virgin Hyperloop hosts first human ride on new transport system
Trump will lose special Twitter protections in January
Kenya steps up fight against cybercrime
Safaricom rolls out new phone numbers
Twitter, Facebook push back on Trump's election posts
Smartphone market performs better than expected in quarter three
Judge sets November deadline for Google's initial response
Amazon drops French Black Friday ad campaign as lockdown starts
Firm launches graduate program in Africa to help innovate the future
State plans mobile-based market
Tougher new rules for tech giants, more power to enforcers
From Facebook to TikTok, U.S. political influencers are paid for posts
Facebook, Instagram now taking appeals for removed content
Missed calls, games, phone model to determine your credit score
OPPO Kenya adds to its A Series line-up with introduction of the OPPO A93
Tech giants evade Sh280b in taxes in poor nations
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New York City's Styrofoam Ban Overturned
Despite a ban that had already gone into effect, New Yorkers don't need to toss their Styrofoam cups.
On Monday, a New York Supreme Court judge overturned New York City's ban on plastic foam containers and packaging. According to Justice Margaret Chan, the city's Department of Sanitation's order to ban the items was arbitrary, capricious and irrational.
The law that banned items made with expanded polystyrene (EPS) in New York City went into effect on July 1, following a law passed in December 2013 that gave officials a year to determine if EPS could be recycled in a safe, environmental effective and economically feasible manner. The Department of Sanitation determined it could not -- a decision that Chan judged to be arbitrary.
Chan pointed to single-use foodservice manufacturer Dart Container's offer to clean waste from used foam in New York City, then buy back the used product and recycle the material as evidence that recycling what a feasible option.
While the EPS ban went into effect this summer, penalties were delayed until 2016. However, many restaurants, especially larger chains such as Dunkin' Donuts, have likely already begun the process of swapping out foam containers and packaging for other options. So, while there will be no penalties for Styrofoam cups, the ban may have already done its part in reducing EPS use in New York City.
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Some IBM workers are facing a very bleak weekend as Big Blue starts handing out pink slips
IBM has begun laying off staff in its US offices as part of its $1bn (£598m) global restructuring plan to restore its finances.
Last month Big Blue once again missed its earnings targets, after revealing that during the fourth quarter of 2013, its revenue had dipped 5 percent. In response, it is shifting its focus away from hardware towards software and the cloud.
IBM’s fourth-quarter net income was up 6 percent at $6.2 billion (£3.8bn). But revenues were down 5 percent to $27.7 billion (£16.8bn) and full-year 2013 revenues were also down 5 percent to $99.8 billion (£60.5bn).
“As we enter 2014, we will continue to to transform our business and invest aggressively in the areas that will drive growth and higher value,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
She left it up to Martin Schroeter, IBM’s senior vice president and chief financial officer to explain that IBM would take a $1 billion “workplace rebalancing” or restructuring charge, “plus or minus $100 million (£61m),” in the first quarter of 2014. IBM took a similar charge in 2013 as the company cut headcount.
And now the job cuts are underway in the United States, namely in New York, Vermont, Minnesota and Iowa. IBM began handing staff their cards on Thursday according to staff pressure group Alliance@IBM. At the end of 2013, IBM’s total headcount had fallen 0.7 percent from the previous year to 431,212. This was IBM’s first headcount decline in a decade.
And IBM has already begun terminating staff this year in Europe, Asia and South America. It is thought that IBM is looking to trim 13,000 staff worldwide. Between 4,000 to 6,000 positions are to go inside the United States.
Rebalancing, not restructuring
“IBM continues to rebalance its workforce to meet the changing requirements of its clients and to pioneer new, high-value segments of the IT industry,” said an IBM statement. The company said that at any given time, it has more than 3,000 job openings in its growth units, including its cloud business and nanotechnology.
IBM is keen to move away from its traditional hardware roots and expand its software capabilities in areas such as data analytics and cloud services. In 2005 IBM sold off its PC business to Lenovo, and then nine year later also opted to sell its low-end server division for $2.3 billion (£1.4bn) to Lenovo.
Earlier this month it was reported that IBM is considering selling its semiconductor business. Big Blue is also thought to be exploring a possible joint venture partnership for its semiconductor operations, with Samsung, Intel and TSMC among possible buyers.
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Dutch solar electric vehicle maker Lightyear says it will bring its first car to market at the end of this year following a $A48 million injection of capital.
The Lightyear One, as the first model is called, differs from ordinary EVs in that it has built-in solar panels, which the company says add an extra 12 kilometres of range for every hour they are in use. This means that, in sunny areas, the car can be used sporadically for long periods without being plugged into an external electricity supply.
The company says the Lightyear One will have an “exceptional” range of up to 725 kilometres thanks to the built-in solar panels. It says it will be able to recharge from its own solar roof “up to 80 per cent of the annual yield for an average driver in San Francisco”.
However, the company, which is based in the Automotive Campus in the Brainport Eindhoven region in the Netherlands, has not yet signed up a production partner – though it said it was “final stages” of picking one.
The equity raising was led by Swiss family office Zero Point Holding B.V. Lightyear plans to raise further capital later in the year.
“This funding round will help us accelerate towards the first deliveries at the end of the year.” said Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear. “We are grateful for the support of all the individual investors and happy to welcome them as ambassadors to our mission.”
The company was founded in 2016 and launched its first prototype in 2019, with funding help from the European Commission.
James Fernyhough is a reporter at RenewEconomy and The Driven. He has worked at The Australian Financial Review and the Financial Times, and is interested in all things related to climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy.


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The Bisto Together Project is returning to TV screens this month, as part of a multi-channel campaign from Premier Foods.
A new TV advert will launch this week and will be supported throughout this month by a new partnership with Global radio activity, beginning on 12 November.
Helen Touchais, category brand director at Premier Foods, said: “The Bisto Together Project has always been very well received by consumers and has helped us cement the brand’s association with togetherness. With modern lives making it harder for people to find time to spend with their loved ones, we believe good food has an important role to play in getting people back around the dinner table.”
Now in its fourth year, the Bisto Together Project is designed to capitalise on the consumption of roast dinners peaking during colder months and festive season.
This year’s campaign will focus on Bisto’s Best Chicken Gravy, which is made with real meat juices.


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Fuji Heavy Industries Inc. and General Motors are studying whether to give Saab dealers a version of Subaru's Impreza WRX sport wagon, and Subaru dealers are unhappy.
The dissension bubbled up at the Subaru make meeting, which ran long because of complaints about the possible Saab version of the Subaru Impreza WRX. Leaders finally had to end the session to make room for an incoming Toyota meeting.
About 90 percent of dealers' comments were related to product sharing, said Dale Walker, a Washington state Subaru dealer and chairman of the Subaru national dealer council.
"The dealer body was just as emphatically disgruntled about shared product with GM as they were enthused about Lance Armstrong," Walker said.
Subaru told dealers that it has signed cycling champion Armstrong to endorse Subarus for at least the next three years. Dealers called the tie with Armstrong, a four-time winner of Le Tour de France, excellent.
TV commercials will begin in April, and Subaru will replace its longtime ad tag line, "The beauty of all-wheel drive," with "Subaru. Driven by what's inside."
But that positive news wasn't enough to distract dealers from the possibility of sharing products with GM makes.
"We think they should keep the line pure," said Jim Lyon, a Subaru dealer from Ogden, Utah.
Dealers had been told that core Subaru product would remain exclusive, Walker said, and many have invested in single-franchise and upgraded stores because of that pledge.
Fred Adcock, executive vice president of Subaru of America Inc., acknowledged that Subaru parent Fuji and GM are conducting a feasibility study on a WRX version for Saab. A decision is likely soon, Adcock said.
If it is approved, the Saab version would have a redesigned front and rear and be priced above the Subaru Impreza WRX, Adcock said. It could be a 2005 model, debuting in late 2004 or early 2005.
Subaru dealers sold about 23,000 Impreza WRX sedans and wagons in 2002, Adcock said, with wagons representing about 30 percent of the volume. Because Saab is a low-volume brand, with less than 40,000 cars sold annually, "the impact on the Subaru dealer organization would be minimal," he said. Subaru has nearly 600 dealerships and sold 180,020 cars in 2002.
Subaru of America, though, has and will continue to communicate the sentiment of the U.S. dealers to decision makers in Japan, Adcock said.
The turbocharged Impreza WRX has helped Subaru in its push to create a high-performance image. The 300-hp STI version of the WRX will debut in June. "Without a doubt, the Impreza WRX has been really the linchpin of our driving performance strategy," Adcock said.
Adcock also said that Fuji continues to develop a seven-passenger vehicle that is slated for the 2006 model year. Fuji and GM had been developing that product together, until GM backed out in 2002. The split leaves Subaru and GM still searching for ways to benefit each other. GM owns 20 percent of Fuji Heavy Industries.


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July 21, 2022
Lucie Faucher is an apprentice in the Givenchy couture workshop. Image credit: LVMH
By Luxury Daily News Service
French luxury conglomerate LVMH is reflecting on its achievements over the last 12 months as it celebrates the one-year anniversary of its commitment to the We for Me Manifesto.
Share your thoughts. Click here


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- Leading Facebook game developer Playfish has raised $1 million in bridge financing from Accel while it fund raises a larger round. The company has raised $3 million to date, primarily from angel investors. Playfish has offices in London, Beijing, and Norway, and will be opening a US office in San Francisco soon.
- Social network turned social gaming site I’m In Like With You has raised $1.5 million from Bijet Sabet of Spark Capital and current investors Baseline Ventures (Ron Conway), Betaworks, and Facebook board member and Ning co-founder Marc Andreessen. The company will use the money to hire more game developers.
- Large Chinese game developer Giant has invested $51 million for a 25% stake in large Chinese social network 51.com. Previous investors including Sequoia Capital China, SIG, Intel Capital and Redpoint Ventures also participated.
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This article is more than 1 year old
Value added reselling is dead - Morse chief
Hard cheese for hardware
Value added reselling based on computer hardware "is dead", according to Duncan McIntyre, CEO of Morse Group, the corporate reseller.
In a webcast yesterday accompanying full year results, Mcintyre said that commoditisation of computer hardware was a permanent fixture. But he sees “significant opportunities” in his own business for profits from a slimmed-down reselling stall nestling within a bigger services sales pitch.
Morse remains a big supplier of computer hardware in its home UK turf, but it has set its sights on transforming itself into a business where services accounts for 70-80 per cent of revenues.
Service revenues for the year to June 30 increased by 52 per cent, much of it driven by the £50m acquisition of Diagonal, a SAP specialist. But 16 per cent of growth was organic. Services now accounts for 44 per cent of group revenues. Pre-tax losses widened to £18.3m (£12.4m) on sales of £429.5m (£390m ).
In July it sold its loss-making £44m t/o French business for the knockdown price of €1 (and maybe some more) because it was too much of a reseller and not enough of a services business. The cost of transformation would have been too much, it said.
The company continues to operate in Germany, Spain and Ireland, where services account for 34-52 per cent of revenues.
Morse results are here (pdf). ®


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The Popular Multi-Chain AI SocialFi Project, Pop Social, Celebrates Bullish Rally for $PPT Setting New ATH of $0.51 on Bybit in Under 24 Hours.
The rapid growth of the Web3 SocialFi sector bursts through as Pop Social, the leading multi chain AI SocialFi project, emerged triumphant when its native token, $PPT, surged to unprecedented heights, setting a new all-time high (ATH) of $0.51 in under 24 hours. Indeed, the popularity of the largest SocialFi project on the BNB Chain is evident by this incredibly bullish performance from the platform’s native Pop Token ($PPT).
To highlight, $PPT saw a remarkable upward momentum where the asset witnessed a staggering surge from $0.26 to $0.51 in under 24 hours. In particular, for the $PPT Community Sale Round 1 participants, their $PPT value is up by 300%. Furthermore, this move was accompanied by a significant increase in trading volume, surpassing $8,000,000, again setting new records for the AI SocialFi project.
As a founding cohort on the opBNB Chain, Pop Social began its journey to onboard the next billion users to Web3. So far, the multi-chain platform has unveiled bridges to other thriving blockchain ecosystems like Polygon, Linea, Blast, Ethereum, and others, thus inviting more.
Users across multiple chains to leverage the creator economy on Pop Social. The latest initiative from the Pop Social team to enhance the Web3 SocialFi experience includes NFT Bridging from Ethereum to the BNB Chain to alleviate high gas fees for its users.
Over the last month, Pop Social set a series of impressive milestones, including surpassing 500,000 registered users on the Pop DApp and establishing ecosystem partnerships with over 100 esteemed organizations. Pop Social also saw an exponential surge in content creation, celebrating the 17 millionth to the 20 millionth unique content in a matter of weeks. With over 20 million unique content creations and counting, Pop Social continues to witness unprecedented demand for SocialFi within the Web3 ecosystem.
At the heart of the Pop Social Ecosystem lies its cutting-edge AI technology, which powers AI Creator Tools aimed at eliminating the barrier to creation. By monetizing time and tokenizing innovation, Pop Social offers users an equitable and transparent platform to unleash their creativity and tap into a thriving economy. With strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as ChatGPT and SORA, Pop Social is poised to unveil its AI-powered creator tools, chatbot, and unrivaled algorithms, further solidifying its position as a trailblazer in the Web3 landscape.
After dedicated months towards building the ultimate AI Social platform to simplify the onboarding process to Web3, Pop Social has become a flourishing ecosystem for content creators and consumers worldwide. The ecosystem also boasts GameFi elements such as account level-ups, equipping dynamic Accessory NFTs, and opening Treasure Chests to keep their users delighted and pleasantly engaged. Join the Pop Social Community now and dive into the endless possibilities of AI and SocialFi on Web3.


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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
So what: The media conglomerate has entered into an agreement to unload 90% of its holdings in a deal expected to close by April 8. Liberty had originally invested $204 million back in 2011 for preferred stock that was convertible to about 16.6% of shares outstanding and paid a dividend with a yield of 7.75%. The sale seems to reflect the flagging hopes for the Nook, Barnes & Noble's e-reader that at one point was seen as the company's savior.
Now what: With the sale, the bookseller will also lose Liberty CEO Greg Maffei from its board, a negative for the company, as Maffei is seen as a respected business leader and dealmaker. Barnes & Noble Chairman Leonard Riggio pointed out that Liberty's decision gives the bookseller "greater flexibility to pursue strategic options," as Liberty's stake had come with a right to block any assets sales, which could include selling the Nook unit or Riggio's one-time desire to take the retail business private. Still, Liberty's sale seems most reflective of the Nook's failure and the unlikeliness of Barnes & Noble returning to profitability.


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DNA testing firm 23andMe is as soon as once more within the highlight for the improper causes. A hacker has leaked thousands and thousands of 23andMe consumer data on a cybercrime discussion board. TechCrunch reporting signifies it’s the similar hacker, aka Golem, who started promoting 23andMe consumer information earlier this month. Golem claims the brand new dataset incorporates data on people from Nice Britain, emphasizing the presence of information from “the wealthiest individuals residing within the U.S. and Western Europe on this listing.”
Based on TechCrunch, the latest information dump consists of names, e mail addresses, and different private particulars of customers. The motive behind Golem’s repeated leaks of 23andMe consumer information stays unclear, nonetheless.
In response to the breach, 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill advised TechCrunch through e mail, “We have been made conscious of this new leak in the present day, and we’re at present reviewing the information to find out whether it is professional.”
A sample of 23andMe information leaks
The assault appears to have roots tracing again a number of months. On Aug. 11, a hacker on one other cybercrime discussion board, Hydra, marketed a set of 23andMe consumer information. Based on TechCrunch, this set matched a few of the consumer data leaked two weeks in the past. The hacker on Hydra claimed possession of a whopping 300 terabytes of 23andMe consumer information, although no proof was offered to substantiate this declare.
23andMe states it’s actively investigating the state of affairs and has suggested its customers to alter their passwords and allow two-factor authentication as rapid precautionary steps.
The publish 23andMe hacker leaks extra information, claims to have rich customers’ data appeared first on ReadWrite.


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Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) now official
In addition to the Galaxy J7 2017, Samsung has also made official in the Netherlands the new J5 (2017) sporting a new design reminiscent of last year’s S7 flagship with beefed up specs.
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) specs:
5.2-inch HD Super AMOLED display @ 1280 x 720
1.6GHz Samsung Exynos 7870 processor
2GB of RAM
16GB internal storage
expandable via microSD
13MP rear camera with LED Flash
13MP front camera
Single SIM, Dual SIM versions
GPS with A-GPS
Android 7.0 Nougat
Like the J7 2017, the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) is said to sport a higher price compared to its predecessor, as it will be selling in the Netherlands for €280 or roughly around Php15,600 before taxes and other fees.
Source: Samsung NL


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We recently partnered with leading law firm Shoosmiths to investigate established and emerging trends in UK megadeals over the past decade. We define megadeals as equity investments of £50m or more.
The number of megadeals has risen tenfold between 2011 and 2021, which is particularly impressive given that 2021 isn’t even through yet. In the first half of 2021, 51 deals of £50m or more took place, 26 of which were ‘gigadeals’ of £100m or more. The big bucks seem to be going primarily towards the tech industry, with mobile apps and fintech being the top sectors for megadeal investment.
Have you read our latest analysis on the biggest investments in the UK?
It’s interesting to note that US investors were involved in most of these deals, raising potential concerns about whether the value created by these businesses is benefitting the UK. Whilst foreign investment is essential for growing these businesses and creating real value for the tech sector, it also means that any returns from investment would leave the country.
Megadeal investment volume and deal numbers (2011-Q2 2021)
We’ve also analysed the UK’s top scaling companies to predict which are most likely to raise a megadeal in the next year and beyond. We’ve approached this as an art, rather than a science, taking into account a number of quantitative and qualitative factors, ranging from company stage of evolution, to presence in the media.
Our data shows that the majority of companies that raise a megadeal are growth or established companies that have already raised at least £30m, and had a fundraising that valued the company at £60m or more pre-money, nine to 18 months prior to the megadeal.
On a more qualitative level, these companies are also likely to make it onto several high-growth lists, as well as having a very clear product strategy and a competitive advantage in their field. After carefully researching and considering all these factors, we’ve built a list of six companies we think will be looking to raise high-value rounds in the near future.
Gousto is a subscription-based meal delivery service that provides ingredients in exact portions for recipes, together with instruction cards on how to prepare the dish. This is aimed at people who might not have the time or inspiration to come up with meals from scratch, or don’t want to do their own shopping. It also has the benefit of eliminating food waste, which is a key part of the brand’s sustainability mission.
Gousto partnered with body coach and health guru Joe Wicks in 2018, launching a new range of healthy recipes boxes that not only raised its profile, but distinguished it from competitors such as HelloFresh.
The scaleup raised an impressive £160m across 12 funding rounds, reaching unicorn status in November 2020 after its latest £25m equity investment round, bringing it to a £805m ($1b+) post-money valuation. The delivery service secured funding from funders such as the Business Growth Fund, MMC Ventures, as well as Unilever Ventures, who specialise in beauty and wellness consumer brands.
Gousto also made it on 10 high-growth lists, including ranking first on Alantra Food and Beverages Fast 50 in 2021. As they gain more market share and public recognition, it seems like fundraising must be coming its way to support its ambitious plans.
Ogury aims to create more impactful ads using data on the behaviour of smartphone and tablet users across multiple apps, brands and websites. Its vision is centred around personalised data for a better user experience. The rise in content consumption in recent years—which has only accelerated during the pandemic—no doubt has had an impact on the success of the business.
The adtech scaleup has received £69m in equity funding across five rounds since its launch in 2014. Its latest round of funding of $50m (£38m) took place in December 2019, bringing it to a £163m post-money valuation. Ogury confirmed its intention to expand internationally with this latest fundraising, after seeing a gap in the market for GDPR compliant technology, triggered by increasing concerns for privacy and data protection in the APAC region.
Its success in expanding overseas was recognised by the 2020 Fast Track International Track 200 high-growth list, which ranks mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales over the most recent two accounting years. Ogury has featured on a further 10 high-growth lists since its inception.
International expansion is clearly a priority for Ogury, which of course requires considerable capital—we predict this will take the form of a megadeal in the near future.
Featurespace combines insights from data and computer science to develop artificial intelligence software that detects fraudulent behaviour. It achieves this by profiling customer activity and using machine learning to predict future individual behaviour. Its applications range from financial security, to anti-money laundering, to game fraud.
The AI company is a Cambridge University spinout, and attended the Future Fifty accelerator in 2018, a programme specifically focused on developing late stage technology businesses. Featurespace has so far been featured on no less than 15 high-growth lists, including being one of the recipients of the 2018 Queen’s Awards for Innovation.
Featurespace has secured a total of £83.5m equity investment across eight funding rounds–this happened roughly every 12 months since 2016, so it seems very likely that a new funding round is coming its way in 2021.
Build a Rocket Boy (no, not the Elbow album) develops AAA games. Founded by Grand Theft Auto lead developer Leslie Benzies in 2016, the company has grown at quite a pace. In 2017, Build a Rocket Boy opened an office in Budapest, away from its headquarters in Edinburgh and reached over 400 employees by 2020.
Having secured their series B funding in November 2020, the game developer raised £32.7m in equity funding co-led by Galaxy Interactive, together with existing investor NetEase. This round enabled Build a Rocket Boy to reach over £100m valuations and totalled their funding to £50m across four rounds.
The company’s success, despite the recent disruption caused by the pandemic, was evident in our research with the Telegraph back in 2020, where Build a Rocket Boy’s inclusion within the top 100 tech firms highlighted their positioning amongst the best and brightest in Britain’s startup scene.
The Scotland-based company is gaining interest due to the upcoming release of the game EVERYWHERE which is currently being worked on in their Edinburgh, Budapest and Los Angeles offices. New product launches are often accompanied by funding rounds, and we predict Build a Rocket Boy’s will be quite a successful one.
Oxford Photovoltaics, also known as Oxford PV, is a pioneer in the solar cell sector, generating more affordable clean energy whilst providing increasingly attractive solutions to tackling climate change. Established in 2010 by University of Oxford’s professor Henry Snaith and Kevin Arthur, the spin out has the vision to power the transition to an all-electric, greener, world.
The socially conscious Oxford PV’s growth comes at no surprise, growing from strength to strength since their inception, raising a total of £108m across 12 fundraising rounds, with the most recent round worth £34m in 2019 to enhance their transition into manufacturing and bring products to market.
Not only has Oxford PV experienced success in the funding department but the clean energy spinout has hit several of our growth triggers, evidencing their successful track record and optimistic future ahead. We can expect Oxford PV’s next move to be the complete installation of a new manufacturing line in their Brandenburg office, suggesting a potential need for fundraising.
Co-founded by Dr Mark Kotter and Florian Schuster, bit.bio (formerly Elpis Biomed) is a human synthetic biology company with ambitious targets including the aim to make new organs from cells within a decade.
bit.bio, much like Featurespace and Oxford PV is an academic spinout. Regarded as a market leader, bit.bio converges technology and biology to produce consistent batches of human cells.
bit.bio’s contributions to the regenerative medicine industry helped it secure two grants worth £280k and four rounds of equity fundraising totalling £35.9m. Funding has come from a multitude of stakeholders including Richard Klausner, former director of the National Cancer Institute and founder of Lyell Immunopharma, Juno and Grail.
bit.bio’s obvious focus on meeting its research goals in a sustainable manner makes it a key target for investors and a likely contestant for the next megadeal.
Industry-leading analysis on the UK’s biggest equity investments—and it’s completely free…


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Sony's PlayStation 4 has outsold the Xbox One, but Microsoft is making moves to gain ground and could still be a strong competitor in the game console market.
Even as Xbox One sales doubled in June, they still fell short of Sony's PlayStation 4 sales, according to NPD, but Microsoft has been taking strides to improve sales of its consoles and still has a chance to compete more fiercely with Sony, said said Jeremy Rosenberg, head of digital at Allison+Partners.
"I think the Xbox One was a little bit slow out of the gate. They had a lot of challenges coming into the marketplace," Rosenberg said.
But in May, Microsoft dropped the price to $399 by making its Kinect motion sensor an optional $100 add-on.


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just in Google says it has agreed to buy online advertising company DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in cash. The acquisition will give Google the ability to sell online ads that appear on Web sites other than those in its network. The deal will mean that Web site publishers will get access to new advertisers, and agencies and advertisers will be able to manage search and display ads in one centralized spot, Google says.
Google is buying DoubleClick from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which acquired DoubleClick in July 2005, and JMI Equity and Management.
"It has been our vision to make Internet advertising better--less intrusive, more effective and more useful," Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and president of technology, said in a statement. "Together with DoubleClick, Google will make the Internet more efficient for end users, advertisers and publishers."
Microsoft had been in discussions to buy DoubleClick, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal. In addition to Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL were reportedly in talks with the company.The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
More to follow as this story develops.