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Cash is pouring into India’s fintech sector at an unprecedented tempo, within the type of on-line funds and digital loans within the second most populous nation, at a number of the quickest charges worldwide. The sector’s sharp climb this month might be seen within the type of Paytm – backed by international giants together with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. India’s largest ever Preliminary Public Providing (IPO).
Some international gamers in India are able to make good points. Berkshire Hathaway, which invested $300 million in Paytm in 2018 for a roughly 3% holding, may see the worth of its stake develop by almost 70% at a $20 billion valuation, whereas Paytm’s different worldwide backers would additionally profit. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Funding banks together with – which is engaged on Paytm IPO – are strengthening their groups within the nation and benefiting from the flurry of offers and fundraising.
Investor enthusiasm is being fueled by hundreds of thousands of Indian customers like Neetu Gore, a maid in Mumbai who earns round $2,700 (about Rs 200,000) a 12 months and hasn’t used her checking account in a decade. It embraced Google Pay and Paytm in the course of the pandemic and now depends on apps for nearly all of its purchases, a dramatic shift in an financial system dominated by money. Digital retail funds on India’s Unified Funds Interface – the much-acclaimed nationwide fintech system linking greater than 230 banks and 20 third-party apps – has grown almost five-fold to Rs 41 lakh crore ($546 billion) up to now two years.
In the meantime, China’s ongoing fintech crackdown is simply including to India’s enchantment. Enterprise capital and personal fairness companies have invested $6.4 billion in Indian fintech firms to this point this 12 months, greater than triple that of their Chinese language counterparts, in keeping with researcher Traxon. Native fintechs like Paytm – based by small-town entrepreneur Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who taught himself English listening to rock music – are becoming a member of Google Pay, Amazon Pay and Walmart Inc-owned PhonePe and going past digital funds to conventional banks. are difficult. The profitable enterprise of giving loans, mutual funds and even making deposits. There are some restrictions on fintech companies: native companies require them to tie up with a lender or a regulated entity.
Nonetheless, armed with refined cloud know-how and buyer knowledge to evaluate danger profiles, fintechs have gotten an more and more influential accomplice of lenders on this 1.4 billion nation, serving to them attain new clients at extraordinarily low price .
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“What the federal government has executed with a basic fintech community within the type of UPI is unprecedented,” Raghav Malaiya, Vice Chairman, World Funding Banking at Goldman Sachs, stated in an interview. “That is the equal of constructing a nationwide freeway system within the US and prompts us to be very optimistic on the potential alternatives in India.”
The outsized progress of fintech in India has some involved that customers who will not be financially savvy may borrow an excessive amount of, driving requires extra surveillance. There are additionally rising circumstances of on-line fee frauds that the authorities are neither in a position to examine nor curb as there are too many victims amongst first time customers. But optimists say that India’s fintech business provides higher prospects for international gamers than China. That is thanks largely to UPI, which was established in 2016 by an umbrella of personal banks with the backing of India’s central financial institution and is now serving to to foster larger competitors as numerous monetary establishments can faucet into it. .
In comparison with China, which is reworking virtually each side of its fintech business because it cracks down on firms reminiscent of Jack Ma’s Ant Group firm, laws in India have to this point been clear and predictable. In response to Anuj Kapoor, MD, funding banking within the India enterprise of UBS Group AG, Indian fintech companies are prone to appeal to a further $3 billion to $4 billion funding over the following 18 months resulting from stringent Chinese language laws.
“In a single day Chinese language laws on digital firms have eroded investor confidence, primarily within the digital know-how sector,” Kapoor stated. “Clearly, this has already began shifting the funding sentiment in the direction of India positively. Increasingly more traders will look to India.”
India’s digital transactions are anticipated to achieve $3 trillion by March 2025, which is now over $1.3 trillion, by PricewaterhouseCoopers. On the coronary heart of the Indian business’s meteoric rise is the chuckles of entrepreneurs like Paytm’s Sharma, who’ve confronted the challenges of an enormous nation with hundreds of thousands of native shops, most of them new to accepting digital funds.
“It’s important to be extra Zen to outlive on this nation,” Sharma stated in a 2019 interview with Bloomberg Markets journal. “Should you manufacture in India, you’ll be able to manufacture wherever on the earth. What do you suppose is the very first thing an Indian baby learns? That the bus cease shouldn’t be the place the place the bus will cease.”
Traders like Ant and SoftBank have stated they are going to promote shares within the Paytm IPO. Buffett’s assistant didn’t reply to a message in search of remark.
Even with funding from an enormous IPO that seeks to lift as much as $2.4 billion, Sharma faces heavy competitors from world rivals reminiscent of Google and Walmart. GooglePay and PhonePe management over 85% of retail transactions on the UPI platform, partly helped by ease of use and cashback provides to customers. However, Paytm has the biggest share of India’s service provider funds market and in contrast to its rivals Google Pay, Amazon Pay and PhonePe, Paytm has the benefit of increasing its funds enterprise into monetary companies by its funds financial institution the place That buyer can preserve a money steadiness.
It’s also properly built-in with its e-wallet, permitting it to supply loans and insurance coverage whereas being a marketplace for flight tickets or electronics. Within the monetary 12 months ended March 2021, Paytm’s income stood at Rs 2,800 crore and its loss narrowed to Rs 1,700 crore from Rs 2,940 crore within the earlier 12 months.
Paytm’s IPO will open for subscription on November 8 and the inventory is anticipated to begin buying and selling by the top of this month. About 825 million folks in India are on-line by their smartphones, with hundreds of thousands extra related to the Web. The largest gamers in digital funds wish to increase into banking companies, which have the potential to carry them big income.
- Fb is providing loans as small as $6,720 to small companies by its community.
- Google Pay clients can now open direct deposits with Equitas Small Finance Financial institution.
- Google is collaborating with fintech startup Setu to allow customers to open single-click mounted deposits at an rate of interest that outperforms these supplied by massive banks.
- Amazon has hinted at coming into the wealth administration section by investing in fintech startup Smallcase Applied sciences Pvt, and has additionally backed insurance coverage and lending startups.
“The success of UPI and digital funds has opened up many new alternatives for the monetary companies business to accomplice deeper with fintech gamers,” Sajith Sivanandan, Head of Asia Pacific Funds at Google, wrote in a latest weblog. In the meantime, quite a lot of smaller native fintech startups have emerged, reminiscent of Stucred which provides scholar loans which are as little as $11 and others provide insurance coverage cowl of Rs 2 for a cab trip. New Delhi-based fintech startup BharatPe has developed a common QR code system that permits retailers to simply accept digital funds from clients by the fee app of their alternative.
Modifications are sweeping the normal banking sector. Business banks can win extra clients shortly whereas saving on the price of discipline brokers and branches. However they’re turning into extra depending on fintech companies to accumulate clients. India’s central financial institution already requires that every one types of lending be linked to a licensed regulated entity, which suggests digital lenders have to tie up with banks or non-banking financiers.
However, in keeping with estimates from Boston Consulting Group, digital lending in India is anticipated to develop to $350 billion by 2023, which is sort of half of the overall retail credit score. That is rising the danger of cyber fraud and coercive assortment practices as some smaller fintechs goal financially weak clients who can’t borrow from banks. Different downsides embody extra borrowing by less-financial-savvy clients.
“Highways have eased entry however have put lenders on the middle of danger custodians. This permits for larger scrutiny on loans,” stated Vivek Belagavi, chief of fintech observe at PwC India. However to maintain up with the quick tempo of digital innovation, regulatory oversight must be strengthened even additional, he stated.
Regardless of the dangers, digital lending is a necessity in a rustic of 1.3 billion the place the World Financial institution estimates that solely 10% of adults have entry to formal credit score. India’s fintech growth is filling these and different gaps.
“I want to get my cash in Google Pay and Paytm as I should purchase my groceries, greens additionally utilizing QR codes on the outlets,” stated Mumbai-based maid Gore. “Nobody makes use of money anymore.”


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Know Before You Fly announced today more than 500,000 unique users have visited its website since the launch of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) education campaign in December 2014.
An estimated 700,000 UAS were to be sold in the United States in 2015, according to the Consumer Technology Association. In addition, more than 425,000 people have registered their drones since Dec. 21, 2015, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The robust traffic to the Know Before You Fly website is evidence that the safety campaign is potentially reaching the majority of people flying or interested in flying UAS.
The graph to the right shows the monthly unique visitors to the Know Before You Fly website since the campaign’s initial launch. The campaign saw a spike in visitors during the holiday season likely due to a number of consumers purchasing UAS for the first time. In fact, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) saw the highest number of visitors (6,009) to the site. Additionally, the spike in December may have been helped by the FAA’s Dec. 14 announcementrequiring recreational operators of small UAS to register before the first flight outdoors.
The strength of the campaign is due to its nearly 100 supporters, which play an invaluable role in amplifying the campaign’s educational efforts and informing the public by spreading the word about safe and responsible UAS use. Know Before You Fly lists several manufacturers, distributors and retailers as supporters, including Amazon, DJI, Horizon and Walmart. The campaign also has a number of supporters from the manned and unmanned aviation communities as well as from a number of UAS training programs and research institutions, such as Virginia Tech.
Many of these companies and organizations have agreed to include UAS safety information on their websites, with their products and/or at point-of-sale. For instance, in December 2015, DJI began distribution of the campaign’s safety brochures inside the packaging of all its U.S.-bound Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 UAS product series. Amazon launched the Fly Responsibly Drone Store and the company links to the campaign’s materials on Amazon.com. Meanwhile, Walmart is promoting a link to the Know Before You Fly website on its store shelves where drones are sold and a link to the campaign’s website is included on receipts for UAS purchases made in-store and online.
Traffic to the website proves these education efforts are working. Nearly 41.6 percent of Know Before You Fly website traffic was referred from websites of campaign supporters’, such as the FAA.gov (14,020 referrals), TowerHobbies.com (10,274 referrals), Amazon.com (6,821 referrals), BestBuy.com (6,193 referrals), Yuneec.com(6,171 referrals), HorizonHobby.com (4,815 referrals), and HobbyPeople.net (1,671 referrals). Additionally, one of every three visitors to the site has typed the URL directly into their browser, which means more and more people know the campaign by name.
Know Before You Fly was launched by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) in partnership with the FAA with the goal of spreading awareness about safe and responsible use of UAS. For more information on safe and responsible flying, visitKnowBeforeYouFly.org or follow @FlyResponsibly on Twitter.

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The iPhone 14 got a major redesign, apparently making it the most salvageable iPhone ever.
According to a new teardown by iFixitThe iPhone 14’s internal architecture has been upgraded to fundamentally change the phone’s internals.
“Apple has completely redesigned the interior of the iPhone 14 to make the repair process easier,” said iFixit writer Kyle Wiens. “It’s not visible at all from the outside, but that’s a big problem. It’s the most significant change to iPhone design in a long time.”
Can you spot the lone logic board hole? thanks for the Tweet embed, Could you! RIP SIM Reader 😢
iPhone 14 Pro Max Teardown Show: pic.twitter.com/EY9RcQPEDY
– iFixit (iFixit) September 21 2022
The iPhone 14 was released just 4 days ago on September 16, 2022, and its new features and external changes are so minor that many are directly comparing it to the iPhone 13. However, there is a different story under the box.
iPhone 14 now unlocks from the front And the Rear with a stylish medium frame, easy-access screen, and removable back glass. It’s this new mid-range frame that required a complete redesign of the old iPhone architecture.
“Apple didn’t mention the secret redesign in its keynote,” Wiens said. “If the reviewers had taken the phone apart, they would have found this… It’s an upgrade so smooth that the best tech reviewers in the world didn’t even notice.”
Over the years, Apple has flipped between the front and rear aperture, with pros and cons for each. The easy front access makes replacing the screen much easier, but it’s much more difficult to change the battery or other internal component. Rear access is the opposite – easier access to internal parts at the expense of more complex screen replacement.
The new medium frame seems to be the answer. The iPhone 14’s back glass is secured with just two screws and one connector, and with much less aggressive glue, it makes disassembling the phone much easier. The best part? The same screws also remove the screen, so you only need to loosen two screws to access both the front and back.
iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
In addition, the new electromagnetic interference contacts connect to the points of contact spaced across the back panel, continuing the grounding that was previously done using welding. iPhone 14 also adds an upgraded camera, SOS satellite and other improvements. Unfortunately, the old “System Configuration” hitch remains.
Apple has long tried to control iPhone repair with a program to limit the use of aftermarket parts. However, Apple recently opened a self-service repair shop, which makes it easier to access repairs.
However, the iPhone 14 back glass requires activation after installation. It’s an obstacle that makes repairing your iPhone 14 a little more difficult — a real shame that it’s still a problem considering the significant steps forward in the phone’s architecture.
However, the iPhone 14 is now the most salvageable iPhone ever…even if there is still progress to be made. Note though: The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models still use the old architecture.
Want to read more about iPhone 14? Check out our comparison of the latest iPhone 14 models and find out how fast there is no sim card tray in iPhone 14.
Ryan Liston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. you can follow it Twitter.


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The project perfectly reflects the company's vision of future personal transport.
The vehicle combines outstanding performance with high off-road ability, making it one of the most appealing models in the market.
BMW recently introduced their iX Flow concept car. It boasts a futuristic body made from E-ink.
The Air Glass device was unveiled recently at the annual Inno Day conference.
American scientists have made a real breakthrough in nanotechnology.
Phractyl has unveiled a unique aircraft concept, which is unlike anything you have ever seen before.
There are very few details about the project. However, what is known, is that it includes the names of multiple technologies: from 5G to metadata, so the project looks very promising.
White Motorcycle Concepts have unveiled its three-wheeled hybrid scooter idea. The company developed the scooter in collaboration with the Northamptonshire County Police.
The Lexus ROV is a premium SUV that is a serious competitor to electric vehicles.
The winner has already promised to share her flight impressions on social media.
The novelty bike is advertised as an ideal gift for children this Christmas. However, at the moment, it's only available to purchase in the USA.
Thanks to this innovation, the drone can perch on tree branches and carry different items.


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The health and hygiene industry experienced an increase in overall emotional connection with consumers this year, rising three ranks from #11 to #8 out of 15 industries.
Additionally, this is the industry consumers are most likely to pay 20% more for, as showcased in the 2019 MBLM Brand Intimacy Report. Nivea took #1 for the first time ever, with Pantene coming in at #2 and Colgate at #3, pushing previous star performers Dove and Gillette much further down the list. Dettol, Vaseline, J&J, Oral B, Dove, L’Oréal and Gillette round out the Top 10, in that order.
“On average, brands in this industry create emotional connections with one out of every two of its consumers almost immediately” said William Shintani, managing partner of MBLM. “This insight suggests brands in the category should find ways to connect quickly with their consumers and continue to focus on building strong bonds.”
Among female users, the health and hygiene industry ranked #6 most intimate industry and only #13 for males, showing a divide in importance of the industry to each gender. Nivea performed particularly well with women and the 35- to 64-year-old demographic, two key demographics for the industry.
Brand Intimacy is defined as the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love. Top Intimate Brands outperform top brands in the S&P and Fortune 500 indices for revenue and profit. Consumers are willing to pay price premiums for Intimate Brands and less willing to live without them, according to the 2019 Brand Intimacy Report. MBLM leverages the yearly study to help client brands create, sustain and measure ultimate brand relationships.
Other notable findings for the health & hygiene industry include:
• 44% of users registered an immediate emotional connection with health and hygiene brands.
• Pantene is #1 for millennials, maintaining its rank from last year.
• Vaseline is #1 for male users.
• Nivea replaced Dove as the #1 brand among high-income users.


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'Ultimate' Lionsgate Campaign30 Jan, 2006 By: Erik Gruenwedel
Lionsgate is showing some super marketing power. The mini-major has launched an ambitious cross-brand campaign for Ultimate Avengers: The Movie, the first CG-animated DVD feature from Lionsgate and Marvel Enterprises.
Based on the Marvel Comics series “The Ultimates,” the film will feature such Marvel characters as Captain America, The Hulk and Thor.
To create greater consumer awareness for the DVD/UMD release, which streets Feb. 21 at $19.98, Lionsgate has partnered with Internet service provider NetZero and Playmates Toys, among others.
The DVD also will be promoted in a TV, print and Internet campaign targeting Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, Sci Fi Channel, Marvel Comics, Wizard Magazine, Xbox Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Official PlayStation Magazine, IGN, Google, NetZero, Yahoo.com and others.
Beginning Feb. 1, Playmates will begin plugging Ultimate Avengers on national TV ads for its Marvel-licensed Battle Dice action figure board game. Lionsgate will include a Battle Dice insert in its packaged media in addition to a TV spot on the DVD.
NetZero Feb. 7 will begin an online video ad campaign for its Internet phone service, Voice, which includes plugs for the Ultimate Avengers DVD and a sweepstakes for a trip to the Wizard World Comic Convention in Los Angeles during March to meet the film's voice talent. More winners will receive the film's DVD and autographed merchandise.
“NetZero's tagline, ‘Defenders of the Free World,' ties in nicely with the Avengers' motto, ‘Defenders of the Free World,’ said Michael Rathauser, VP of marketing for Lionsgate.
The studio will promote Voice with a DVD insert and distribution of co-branded Voice starter kits at the studio's booths at comic conventions. Both companies also have established Web sites at www.netzerovoice.com/avengers and www.ultimateavengers.com.
“The campaign appeals to adults and comic book fans and will help us to build ultimately what is a new animation franchise,” Rathauser said.


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You can imagine that running around the CES show floor for someone who has been fascinated (as well as convinced and positively influenced) by wearable activity trackers felt like breaking free inside a candy factory. Dozens if not hundreds of brands were vying for everyone's attention and a share of the pie in the tiny wearable market, and I had to check most of the intriguing and known ones to see what they had to offer. Among the hundreds of displays, from the companies I'd never heard of to the recognizable brands like Fitbit, Garmin, and Withings, one surprised me the most: Misfit.
I knew the Indiegogo origin story of Misfit — which translated into skepticism in my mind — and I'd read about its Shine tracker and simpler/cheaper Flash version, but I wasn't completely convinced by the quality nor the premise of the brand.
It's been about a year since Android Wear was announced, and here we are with a few watches and a ton of apps and faces. I hear there's some other company that announced a smartwatch recently. I think they usually sell fruit or something. Whatever, we're here to talk about all the cool new stuff you can do with your Android Wear watch. So here are the best new apps and watch faces that have come to Wear in the last few weeks.
Wear Hydrate Me
Doctors say you should drink at least 35 liters of water per day to prevent bonus eruptus, a rare disorder in which the skeleton tries to jump out of the mouth and leave the body.
Apple has a big event scheduled to kick off whenever the hour, with folks looking forward to learning more about upcoming MacBooks and the Apple Watch. The latter will be a first-generation device, Apple's long-awaited debut into the wearables market.
But forget about that product for a moment and remember that, whatever the headlines, Apple's watch will hardly be the only decent smartwatch in town. Google has just released a short commercial showing consumers that Android Wear is a thing and that its watches are cool.
The 17-second commercial features plenty of young people wearing various circular and square watches all sporting different faces.
Sony slipped the official SmartEyeglass app into the Play Store yesterday, and now here we are with an official announcement on availability (sort of). The developer edition SmartEyeglass is available for pre-order in the UK and Germany today and ships in March. It'll cost you a hefty sum to get a piece of the next wearable concept. Sony is asking $840 (£520, €670) for the developer unit.
The Pebble continues to chug along even with Android Wear garnering most of the limelight among the Android faithful. Today's Pebble update adds a few new features, some borrowed from Wear, and some that improve on it. You'll need the recently released v2.9 firmware and the just released app (v2.3), but it's quick to update.
Sony is apparently really serious about creating its own Google Glass competitor. You'd think Google's inability to talk everyone into wearing a computer on their faces would give Sony pause, but here we are with the official Sony SmartEyeglass app in the Play Store.
As some may wait for the impending release of the metal version, Sony's SmartWatch 3 can be had for a pretty nice deal at Verizon. At a discounted $199, you'll save $50 or 20%, whichever sounds like a bigger deal to you. Even better is that this offer comes with free shipping, which is great no matter how you slice it.
Picking a wearable to buy can be a daunting task. While the choice was quite limited a few years ago, with mostly just Fitbit, Jawbone, and Nike on the scene, the field has widened considerably since then. Withings, Misfit, Pebble, and various other companies have entered the market and offer strikingly similar albeit slightly different approaches to wearable gear. That's not to mention the various choices offered by each company alone — Fitbit for example has the One, Charge, Charge HR, and Surge to pick from. So how would you decide which one suits you best, especially if you still haven't plunged into the wearable segment yet?
Lenovo might own Motorola now, but the company is still doing its own thing when it comes to mobile devices. There are a pair of new Android phones today, as well as a wearable and a completely self-indulgent accessory—a selfie flash. Your life is complete now, right?
In just a few months, it will be the one-year anniversary of Android Wear's announcement (March 18th). Since the first two official Android-powered watches were released at I/O 2014, we've seen half a dozen total watches running Android Wear, each with its own pros and cons. These devices run the gamut from kind of ugly to truly gorgeous. A new wave of watches will be upon us in the coming year, but the current ones are still a great way to get into wearables. In fact, I bet there will be some solid discounts on these devices in the not too distant future.
If you simply can't decide which—if any—watch is the right one for you, here are all the strengths and weaknesses of the current crop.


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Pizza Hut launched a limited-edition Detroit-Style pizza back in January that was so popular, it ended up selling out faster than the company expected.
Now fans are getting a second chance to sink their teeth into a slice.
“Detroit-Style was a hit from the moment it launched,” said David Graves, general manager of Pizza Hut. “Once it sold out, our customers have been asking for it back. This is actually the fastest we’ve brought back a pizza in over 10 years.”
The three variations are:
Double Pepperoni: Topped with 32 slices of regular pepperoni and 48 slices of the signature Pizza Hut Crispy Cupped Pepperoni
Meaty Deluxe: Topped with bacon, Italian sausage and Crispy Cupped Pepperoni
Supremo: Topped with Italian sausage, red onions and green bell peppers
The specialty is available to Hut Rewards members today, and it will be open to everyone at participating locations Wednesday.
Pizza Hut is bringing back it’s Detroit-style pizza https://t.co/iGD4ENBzCA
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) August 24, 2021


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Notre Dame will auction off furniture, paintings, televisions and other items from the Morris Inn as the building will be renovated beginning this month. The university is using GovDeals, an online auction company that serves colleges and universities as well as governmental agencies.
The site, www.govdeals.com, helps institutions sell off property and assets no longer needed. The auction begins Saturday and runs through Oct. 17.
“We see GovDeals as providing us with a model for liquidating the contents of the Morris Inn quickly and easily without having to haul it anywhere or break it up by commodity type,” David Harr, associate vice president for auxiliary services, said in a news release.


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PAX Aus returns to Melbourne after a year online
PAX Aus have announced the festival will be held in person this year and gamers are rejoicing.
PAX Aus and PAX West come together for a 9-day PAX Online in 2020
Gaming culture fest PAX will run online from 12-20 September. The 9 day expo will host familiar events in a…


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Auto dealership files plans to expand Lawrence operations; latest real estate statistics point to an aggressive sellers’ market on the horizon
My truck now has more sand and salt than a Miami Beach margarita bar. With the winter crud continuing to pile up, maybe it would be easier just to buy a new vehicle than wash an old one. One local dealership may be thinking along those lines. Lawrence Kia has filed plans to close the car wash adjacent to its 23rd Street business and use the space to significantly expand its dealership.
Lawrence Kia, 1225 E. 23rd St., has owned the 23rd Street car wash immediately west of its dealership since 2013. But with car sales continuing a years-long uptick, the dealership has decided now is the time to close the car wash and use the space to add room for about 120 additional vehicles on its lot.
“This is a pretty big step for us,” Chin Rajapaksha, general manager and managing partner for Lawrence Kia, told me. “We’ve always been landlocked. It is about a half-million dollar project. We’re thinking it will allow us to sell about 50 to 60 more cars per month.”
Chin said the dealership will use the car wash location to house about five detail bays for the dealership’s use. All other car wash functions, though, will be closed and no longer open to the public once the project is completed. He’s hoping the project will be completed sometime in May.
Don’t worry about running out of places to clean your car, though. (I never worry about cleaning my car. I figure, worst case, salt is a preservative and it is doing good things for the emergency stash of Doritos on the floorboard.) The Lawrence car wash market it going through a major expansion elsewhere. Plans have been filed for a new one at the former Cadillac Ranch location on Sixth Street and also at the former Applebee’s on Sixth Street. Plus, maybe this closing will spur the Zarco gas station to start its car wash project on 23rd Street. It has had a sign up about a new car wash coming to the site, but work has been slow to start. The company also has one planned for its Ninth and Iowa location.
In addition to providing more space for vehicles, the Kia project also will free up more space in the dealership’s existing service center, Chin said. Currently, the service center houses two detail bays, and those will be converted to service spaces as part of the project.
Chin said the Kia dealership, which has been in town since late 2011, is gearing up for a big year. He said forecasts predict that the used car market will be the biggest in at least the last seven years. He said a large number of leased vehicles coming back into the market is expected to drive up used car buying activity. As a result, new car sales may not be as strong, but that likely will lead to manufacturers becoming more aggressive with their incentive programs.
In other news and notes from around town:
Maybe my mention of Miami Beach inadvertently got you to thinking about packing up and finding some place warmer (or at least a place where pastel blazers are still considerable fashionable.) If so, know that the latest real estate statistics are saying it is a good time to sell a Lawrence home.
The Lawrence Board of Realtors has released its January home sales report. One month of statistics aren’t too meaningful, but probably the biggest takeaway is that inventories of homes for sale continue to drop.
“We are seeing the beginnings of what is shaping up to be a very aggressive spring market,” Henry Wertin, president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors said in the report. He expects the number of homes receiving multiple offers from buyers to increase.
The key number driving that finding is the number of homes currently on the market. In January there were 169 homes on the market in Lawrence. That’s down from 197 in January 2017 and 260 in January 2016.
Another indicator of the aggressive market: The median number of days a home sits on the market before selling is now 29, down from 48 a year ago.
Overall, home sales in Lawrence were up 1.9 percent in January, totaling 53 homes. Again, it is tough to see trends after just one month, but it is worth keeping an eye on whether sales of newly constructed homes continue their uptick. It was a good year in 2017 for newly built houses, and sales of new homes in January 2018 were stronger than the same periods in 2017 and 2016.
Also worth keeping an eye on this year are selling prices. With an admittedly small sample size, the median selling price of homes in January was up 12.9 percent compared with the same time a year ago.


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Eric Schmidt’s recent trip to Seoul wasn’t all spontaneous Gangnam dancing. Google’s former-CEO / current executive chair had a lot to say during the Korean launch of the company’s Nexus 7 tablet, bemoaning the patent wars that have ensnarled the industry, telling the crowd, “literally patent wars prevent choice, prevent innovation and I think that is very bad. We are obviously working through that and trying to make sure we stay on the right side of these issues.” The war for marketshare ought to be fought with the release of better products, rather legal maneuvering, according to the executive.
But in spite of Apple’s role in the battle — and the company’s decision to go it alone on products like its troubled Maps app — Schmidt still had kind words for Cupertino, calling the company “a very good partner,” and adding that the, “two companies are literally talking all the time about everything.” The exec also told the crowd that he’d be meeting with Samsung, one of the company’s “most important partners,” during the trip, “as I do every time I come here.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets
Google’s Eric Schmidt slams patent wars, still has nice things to say about Apple and Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posts Tagged ‘Maharashtra’
The Retailers’ Association of India (RAI) and the Mumbai chapter of the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) – AFSTI are organising a day-long seminar on Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) at Hotel Hilton Mumbai International Airport, Andheri (East), on February 22, 2012.
Those participating in the seminar can interact with experts from the retail industry and regulators and do their bit towards the implementation of the new FSSA regulations. Expected attendees include the chief executive officers, owners, legal, technical and operational heads of firms in the retail industry, merchandising heads, independent retailers and retail managers.
The seminar will commence at 9 am with the inauguration, welcome address and initial remarks by the organisers. S B Dongare of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will deliver a special address and Mahesh Zagade, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, will be the chief guest.
The Expert’s Thought: Such seminars would be useful for the Food Industry and would provide them the insight of the Industry, the law and how to follow it.
Maharashtra is one of the leading states with regard to converting the old licences under Prevention of Food Adulteration, Act, 1954, into those under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Till now over 80,000 PFA licences from the existing 1,07,000, have been converted. This was confirmed by Maharashtra food safety commissioner Mahesh Zagade, in a one-on-one with FnB News.
The new licensing regime was initiated on August 5, 2011, when the FSSA had come into force. It aims to bring the food industry under one umbrella by scrapping all old licences.
Now, Maharashtra FDA (Food and Drug Administration) targets March 31, 2012, for completing the licensing and registration procedure in the state. Although, the work done till now is more than the combined effort put together by enforcement wings across India, claimed a source from the industry connected to the FDA.
The Expert’s Thought: Excellent work is done by Maharashtra FDA under the able Leadership of Mahesh Zagade. However, the major task lies in the fact of getting people involved and it’s effectiveness practically.
The heap of files, signature statement of any government office in India, is soon going to be a thing of the past at least at the headquarters of Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration. This is going to be possible as computerisation is slowly taking over to save the officers from spending ounces of energy browsing through old files.
The software for processing applications for food and beverage licensing and registration was made online on January 12 by Maharashtra FDA. The software was launched for the Mumbai and Thane wing of the FDA. The launch was presided by Maharashtra food safety and FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade.
Software engineer Parminder Singh Saini from Logic Soft Solutions, deputed for the job said up till yesterday, around six licenses and three registrations were done using the software for Mumbai branch while Thane did three registrations.
The Expert’s Thought: This is the best thing what Maharashtra FDA has done. However, the effective use of technology is going to be the biggest challenge.


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Two associations representing film and bag makers hope their new initiatives will slow down growing legislative interest in banning plastic bags.
The Progressive Bag Alliance, in partnership with several California-based organizations, plans to roll out an educational campaign and a new recycling logo, Bring It Back, on June 11.
The program was developed in conjunction with the Film and Bag Federation, the California Grocers Association and the California Retailers Association to meet a state mandate.
The law requires stores with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space to provide at-store recycling programs by July 1 and to initiate educational campaigns.
Meanwhile, the California Film Extruders and Converters Association in Newport Beach, Calif., plans to unveil its own plan June 12 at a meeting in Cerritos, Calif. Group leaders hope the trademarked concept, known as stripes2stripes, will boost curbside recycling of plastic bags if CFECA's members - and other stakeholders - are willing to support the concept, said CFECA President Pete Grande, who is also chief executive officer of Command Packaging in Vernon, Calif.
``It is up to individual member companies to decide on the program,'' Grande said in a telephone interview. ``But we think it is worthwhile and has merit, if done properly.''
California activist and lawyer Stephen Joseph, known mostly for his efforts to ban trans fats from food, proposed the campaign for CFECA. Joseph is also CEO of Stripes2stripes LLC of Tiburon, Calif.
In an article in the CFECA June newsletter, Joseph wrote that the new program would help manufacturers identify bags that are recyclable by stripes, preferably green, in the lower right-hand corner of the bag. And, between the stripes would be the Web address stripes2stripes.org.
He said major plastic bag manufacturers have agreed to participate and a pilot program would get under way midyear in Marin County, an area about 30 miles north of San Francisco.
Joseph plans to expand the program to the rest of the United States and Canada in 2008 and 2009.
Grande, in a note to members in the same newsletter, called the concept ``a revolutionary, yet practical, campaign that will allow consumers to easily and effectively recycle plastic film and bags. It is our belief that this could become the blueprint for the entire country, which would change the way the world looks at plastic bags,'' he said.
In a similar vein, the PBA campaign - which will include the new logo and a combination of at-store and outdoor display advertising - is ``about changing behaviors, not a creating a big bang upfront,'' said Andy DeVilling, vice president of sales for StarPak Ltd., one of the SuperBag Corp. companies based in Houston and a member of Delray Beach, Fla.-based PBA.
``It is all about education, getting people involved and using stores and community stakeholders to show them that bags are 100 percent recyclable,'' DeVilling said. He added that the key to success is the signs, the bins and the placement of both.
``The signage has to be recognizable, easy to spot and easy to find as you walk into the store. We believe recycling is the answer,'' he said.
DeVilling said the PBA would not use ``a cookie-cutter approach,'' but would work with communities across the U.S. to tailor the program to their needs, with additional rollouts likely to be six months away.
San Francisco passed a law earlier this year requiring grocery stores with more than $2 million in sales, and retailers and pharmacy chains with five or more stores to use only recyclable paper bags, reusable cloth bags or compostable plastic bags at checkout counters. That law goes into effect Nov. 20.
More than a half-dozen cities and counties are considering similar measures with Oakland scheduled to consider a similar measure June 26 and Los Angeles studying the issue with a report due July 10.
That is why Grande is hopeful Joseph's proposal will catch on and end the days of the industry being seen as ``this environmental blight.''
``The industry has to participate by identifying every bag that is recyclable with a national symbol so consumers can easily identify'' carryout bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper bags and other film products that can be recycled, said Grande. ``If the consumers understand what is recyclable, they will do it.''
At the same time, said Grande, ``we need to make it simple for [materials recovery facilities] to sort and recycle plastic bags without making it expensive.''
That means educating consumers to place plastic bags in plastic bags for optimum ease of collection and recycling, and linking MRFs with buyers so they are willing to process the bags, he said.
Unless cities, counties, states and waste haulers all accept this, it won't work, Grande said.


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Apple Inc. undefined supplier AMS AG (AMSSY) shares surged Tuesday, lifting the broader European tech sector, as the maker of facial recognition sensors for the iPhone X forecast solid second half revenues following a disappointing quarter.
The Swiss listed group reported an operating loss of of $48.6 million for the three months ending in June, the company's second quarter, even as revenues bumped mostly higher to $252.8 million. However, the group's second-half forecast, which sees "strong sequential revenue and profitability growth in the third quarter as high volume ramp-ups in consumer optical sensing have started" helped boost shares and paint a bullish picture for iPhone X orders heading into Apple's own earnings on July 31.
"This expected development reflects the ramp-up nature of the third quarter as production and shipment volumes in AMS' consumer business continue to expand," the company said. "Driven by these large scale consumer ramps, AMS currently expects a record level of revenues for the second half of 2018."
"The adjusted operating margin for the third quarter (excluding acquisition-based and share-based compensation costs) is expected to show a significant sequential increase to a low teens percentage, predominantly resulting from the ongoing improvement in capacity utilization," AMS added.
AMS shares were marked 8.73% higher by mid-morning in Zurich and changing hands at Sfr6.10 each, a move that trims its year-to-date decline to around 13.8% and values the group at around Sfr5.9 billion ($6 billion).
The Stoxx 600 Europe technology subindex was marked 1.45% higher at 487.86, while Apple suppliers STMicroelectronics (STM) (4.77%) and Dialog Semiconductor Plc (DLGNF) (1.74%) were trading notable higher in Amsterdam and Frankfurt respectively.
"For the third quarter, AMS sees strong sequential revenue and profitability growth driven by high volume ramp-ups in consumer optical sensing with expected revenues of ($450 million to $490 million), up 46-59% year-on-year," the company said.
The AMS numbers offer a contrast to those of Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd., (TSM) the world's biggest contract chipmaker and a leader supplier for Apple, which trimmed its full year revenue forecasts last week citing a slowdown in cryptocurrency mining and waning smartphone demand.
However ASML Holding NV (AMAT) , a Dutch chipmaker who's components find their way into tech products all over the world and is widely considered a key benchmark for sector demand, posted stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings and boosted it full year outlook.
Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) forecast its slowest profit growth in a least a year as global smartphone demand slows and competition from low-cost rivals intensifies, suggesting the Apple rival may miss full year sales targets.
Strategy Analytics, a closely-watched industry benchmark, sees global handset sales only rising by 1.4% by the end of the year to 1.49 billion units, although 5-G network rollouts in 2019 and beyond should reignite appetite in the near-term.
Apple will publish its fiscal third quarter earnings on July 31, with investors looking for the Cupertino, Calif.-based group to meet or beat its $51.5 billion to $53.5 billion revenue guidance with a gross margin of between 38% and 38.5%. Apple shifted 52.2 million handsets in it previous quarter, a figure which translated into $61.1 billion in revenue and a $728.30 average selling price.
Apple shares were marked 0.4% higher in pre-market trading, indicating an opening bell price of $192.36 each, a move that would extend its year-to-date gain to 13.6% and value the Cuptertino, Calif.-based tech giant at just over $943 billion.


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Netflix is no longer allowing new customers to subscribe via iTunes using in-app purchase on their iPhone or iPad in order to avoid paying a 30% commission to Apple.
UPC Broadband Slovakia has made Horizon Go available to its subscribers on Android TV.
A transmitter from German technology company Rohde & Schwarz successfully went into operation at the Wendelstein transmitter site of Bavarian public broadcaster BR on December 4, 2018 as part of the 5G Today research project.
Freeview today announced 22nd January 2019 as the launch date of its new mobile app.
The Mobile Video Industry Council expects that up to 90% of 5G traffic could be mobile video.
Arte content is now available in the Replay section of the Apple TV App.
[WATCH VIDEO] Switzerland’s largest cable operator UPC will introduce the new Ultra HD/4K-capable digital receiver UPC TV Box on October 4, 2018.
The Ukrainian broadcaster 1+1 Media has launched a mobile app for Android devices for watching movies and TV shows on the VOD platform 1+1 Video.
Andorra Telecom, the national telco of the Principality of Andorra, has opted for a remote control developed by Austrian company Ruwido to enhance the user experience.
M7 Group has reached an agreement with TV manufacturer LG Electronics to integrate the M7 TV app into LG’s smart TV sets. The agreement was announced today at IBC 2018 in Amsterdam.


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This year, Ho Chi Minh City will host Asia’s anticipated tourism travel fair – the International Travel Expo (ITE). On its 5th year, it will be held on October 1-3, 2009 at the Phu To Exhibition Center in Vietnam.
The travel expo will be participated by hotels, resorts, tour operators, and other stakeholders in the travel industry from participating countries such as the Philippines’ DOT.
This year’s theme is “Gap Go in Another World” (to meet in another world). The fair will introduce the 3CODe concept, or “Three Countries, One Destination,” referring to countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
The three are packaged as one exciting destination, in a multi-agenda campaign to promote the three countries. Highlighting the World Heritage Sites present in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, the cooperation builds upon the three nations’ shared yet diverse cultural…
Secretary of Tourism Ace Durano noted that it is also a learning exchange in terms of economic viability of tourism between our country and theirs.
Aside from its shopping campaign, the DOT will highlight its adventure tourism which includes diving, white water rafting, surfing, caving, wakeboarding, and wild bird watching, among others.
DOT partners Shroff Travel, Manila Hotel, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air are also joining. Travel and leisure trade enterprises interested in participating in the International Travel Expo (ITE) Vietnam Fair can call 524-24-23 or 523-84-11 locals 261 and 263 for details.
He is the travel blogger behind of Let's Go Sago.net. Graduating from UP Diliman with a degree in Computer Science, he is also the Managing Director of #DigitalCircles.asia engaging and amplifying social media campaigns for brands. On Mondays, he teaches information technology classes at Grace Christian College. Know more about him at JonelUy.com


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Sweet smell of success: How the scent of chocolate could help reverse decline in number of people buying books from a shop
- Researchers in Belgium carried out a 10 day experiment in a bookstore
- They found customers were more likely to browse the store with the smell
- Sales in food and drink and romance novels increased thanks to the scent
Booksellers could soon have a secret weapon in the war against declining trade - the smell of chocolate.
Researchers in Belgium have discovered that shoppers are more likely to take their time browsing and buy books from certain genres if a bookstore smells of chocolate.
Scientists from the Hasselt University in eastern Belgium conducted a 10 day experiment in a general interest book shop.
Sales boost: The smell of chocolate circulated around a bookstore made customers more likely to browse the store and take their time according to Belgian researchers
Sweet smell of success: The smell was circulated for around half the store's trading hours
The team dispersed a subtle smell of chocolate into the store that wasn't immediately noticeable to customers but strong enough so that it could be identified once pointed out.
The smell was present in the store for around half of the store's opening hours and researchers found that customers were more likely to take their time in the store and talk to members of staff.
The report, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found specifically that 'customers were 2.22 times more likely to closely examine multiple books when the chocolate scent was present in store, compared with the control condition.'
Shoppers were less likely to search out a particular book and more likely to browse the shelves.
The scent also appeared to influence the genre of books customers bought.
Taking their time: Customers were more likely to browse books when the chocolate scent was emitted than searching for a particular title
More than a fifth of books sold were either food and drink and romance novels or history books and crime thrilers.
Sales in the first two categories rose by 40 per cent when the scent was dispersed, whereas sales in the second two categories increased by just over a fifth when the scent was absent.
But the smell of chocolate seemed to move customers away from the history and crime thriller section.
The report, which studied every fifth customer of the 201 who entered the store, concluded: 'Retailers can make use of pleasant ambient scents to improve the store environment, leading consumers to explore the store.'
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RHI’s H1 profit halves on weak industrials and uneven steel performance
Published: Tuesday, 05 August 2014
The Austrian refractories producer said that sales to some steel, glass and nonferrous metals producing regions had disappointed expectations in the first half of 2014, shaking confidence in the global economic recovery, while fire damage to its fused magnesia plant in Norway was an unlucky stumbling block to raw materials margins.
Austrian refractories group RHI AG saw its profits
fall by nearly 50% in the first half of 2014, as weakness in
the steel industry and
problems with its raw materials operations
continued to hurt the company.
Profits for the six months to the end of June 2014 stood at


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Following the removal of the Over-The-Top (OTT) tax which required Ugandans to pay UGX200 daily to access social media platforms, the government of Uganda introduced a new 12% Excise dutyon internet data effective 1st July 2021 to replace OTT tax.
Smile is pleased to inform the public that we will absorb and remit the new tax on behalf of our customers subject to future review. We will maintain the current prices of all our data bundles and remain committed to delivering high-quality, reliable, and SuperFast internet services.
“At this time when most Ugandans are trying to survive the covid-19 pandemic, Smile will be absorbing the 12% Excise tax on internet data. We believe this will go a long way to enable our customers to stay online and connect with friends and family, work from home, do online learning, and enjoy entertainment without limitation,” commented Felix Owilo, Head of Marketing and Communications at Smile Communications.
In case of any customer query, call or WhatsApp our dedicated 24-hour Customer Care team on 0720 100 100 or send an email to email@example.com with your details and we’ll call you back.
—– Ends —–
About Smile Communications Uganda
Smile Uganda launched its SuperFast 4G LTE mobile broadband services in Entebbe and Kampala in June 2013, revolutionising how people access the internet in Uganda. We’ve expanded our network coverage and services to Wakiso, Mukono, Mbarara, Masaka, Masindi, Fort Portal, Kabale, Gulu, Lira, Soroti, Mbale, Jinja, and Tororo.
Customers in Uganda can experience the fastest and most reliable 4G LTE mobile broadband services, as well as SuperClear voice calls, video calls, and SMSs over LTE. Business customers in Uganda can select from a range of broadband internet solutions for their business operations and remote workers.
Smile was the first to launch VoLTE on its network and has continued with its innovation when Smile launched SmileVoice. SmileVoice, a free mobile application, enables customers with Android or Apple iPhone devices (including those not VoLTE-enabled) to make SuperClear voice calls over Smile’s 4G LTE network. Smile was also the first to introduce TRUEUnlimited internet with NO Data Limit.
Issued on behalf of:
Mr. Felix Owilo, Head of Marketing and Communications, Smile Communications
Mobile number: +256 (0)720 000 186 or Email: firstname.lastname@example.org
Immaculate Kashebuka, Smile Communications
Mobile number: +256 (0)720 000 310 or Email: email@example.com


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A so-known as civil war commenced brewBITCOIN CASH ing round this point with proponents of Bitcoin coins denouncing Bitcoin and labeling it as now not the authentic Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash then forked and become born in August of 2017 and started out off properly however has a tumultuous time seeing that then.
Bitcoin Cash but, even though it is supposed to be a more functional forex, is a popular coin to put money into with the aid of cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The price of the coin has the traditional volatility recognized in the space, and many humans are predicting its destiny to be better and to provide higher BITCOIN CASH expenses inside the coming months, and years.
Cryptocurrencies are starting to permeate the narrative around the converting space of transactions and payments. Many feel that the future belongs to digital bills, and cryptocurrencies are being looked at through corporations or even Central Banks. For this motive, Bitcoin Cash gives a terrific capability for destiny investors.
With the Bitcoin fee prediction coming into the conversation increasingly often commentators are placing up a few very exciting predictions for the coming years. So, will the price of bitcoin cash pass up? Let’s discover!
What is Bitcoin Cash?
As mentioned above, Bitcoin Cash is one among the larger and greater famous Bitcoin forks, however it is also now not the oldest. Having been created simply before Bitcoin reached its former all time high of $20,000 at the stop of 2017, Bitcoin Cash extended the scale of the blocks in the chain with the intention to allow more transactions to be completed, and at a quicker velocity.
Interestingly, the cryptocurrency underwent some other fork in November BITCOIN CASH 2018 and break up into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV (BITCOIN CASH Satoshi Vision). This indicates the preference to keep evolving Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in wellknown, but BCH’s reason for forking turned into specially because of the 1MB block size problem for bitcoin. Transactions queued up, anticipating confirmation, due to the fact blocks could not cope with the boom in length for transactions.
In order to struggle this, Bitcoin Cash proposed increasing the size of blocks to between eight MB and 32 MB, thereby enabling processing of greater transactions consistent with block. The average wide variety of transactions consistent with block on Bitcoin is between 1,000 and 1,500. The wide variety of transactions on Bitcoin Cash’s blockchain at some point of a stress check in Sep 2018 surged to 25,000 according to block.
Roger Ver is the man who has driven this fork and has been pushing the concept that it was the authentic creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, to have a virtual currency that changed into useful underneath pressure. According to Ver and Bitcoin Cash believers, the alternate in Bitcoin’s block size will allow Bitcoin’s use as a medium for every day transactions and assist it compete with multinational credit card processing groups, together with Visa, which charge high expenses to procedure transactions across borders.
Bitcoin Cash Price History 2017 through 2020 to Today
Bitcoin Cash, for most of its records held onto the pinnacle ten cash by using marketplace cap, but just lately lost it. The coin does now not trade anywhere near the price of Bitcoin — even at its maximum charge it controlled to best reach $3,643 and this become simply days after Bitcoin topped $20,000.
Bitcoin Cash had a wild journey in terms of its price swings and volatility through its first year, however towards the stop of 2018 and via till now the fee has been much less volatile however also ordinarily in a downward trend. Bitcoin Cash started out its rate BITCOIN CASH history around $573 in August of 2017 and insidemonths it had reached its all time high.
Following that $3,000+ excessive, Bitcoin Cash dropped to a low rate of $seventy seven in step with BCH, and by means of the end of 2020 had recovered barely to round $350. Today it’s far yet again trading at $$415, but it returned to over $1,six hundred on the 2021 excessive so far.
Bitcoin Cash Price Predictions by means of Experts
Because Bitcoin Cash has quite a few capacity in a global that is searching greater in the direction of a place where virtual payments and cryptocurrencies as the subsequent generation, the prediction of ways the rate of the coin will upward push is essential and well worth inspecting.
The rate predictions also vary plenty as there are some that certainly trust Bitcoin Cash is the actual Bitcoin and have to be expanded as such, however then there are also people who suppose it’s far a wasted cryptocurrency and no longer as BITCOIN CASH effective as it is made out to be.
Wallet Investor is one of the maximum respected prediction web sites on the earth and has a prediction of $1,587 inside the subsequent 5 years for Bitcoin Cash. That indicates that the 2021 peak become the excessive for the following several years.
The Economy Forecast Agency
The Economy Forecast Agency additionally has a bearish BITCOIN CASH take on Bitcoin Cash, dropped back to as little as $1.06 in 2023. Perhaps Bitcoin Cash continues to have problems within its community and falls in addition into obscurity compared to the real Bitcoin.
Technical analysis is the finance enterprise-trendy way of predicting possibilities and results based totally on technical indicators, and patterns steeped in statistical outcomes. Because of this, they could provide some of the most accurate and compelling fee forecasts for Bitcoin Cash and other crypto coins.
Bitcoin Cash Price Prediction 2021
Bitcoin Cash is again retesting the resistance fashion line of an ascending triangle pattern. The target of the triangle has yet to be reached, so assume at the least a retest of Bitcoin Cash’s former all-time excessive.
Bitcoin Cash Price Prediction 2022 – 2023
A new excessive is in all likelihood, but, because of Bitcoin’s success, Bitcoin Cash isn’t predicted to rise as rapidly or as a great deal because the rest of the crypto space. This could result in a worsened bear marketplace as buyers leave the asset.
Bitcoin Cash Price Forecast 2024-2025
Forecasting the fee of any asset this some distance beforehand of time is absolutely an approximate and is difficult to get absolutely accurate.
Even Bitcoin Cash will upward push once more eventually, as the market cycles into a new bull section.
What is the Future of Bitcoin Cash?YearPrice2021$500 – $four,0002022$1,000 – $2,0002023$2,500 – $3,5002025$5,000 – $12,000
The future of Bitcoin Cash is an exciting one because the coin changed into created to be the next model of Bitcoin and seemed to cope with its shortcomings as a currency. However, the way in which Bitcoin has evolved has made it greater famous as an asset as opposed to a forex.
In saying that, the preference to have cryptocurrencies act greater like practical currencies is developing. Bitcoin Cash has the call and history of Bitcoin and can be looked as the following model of the coin after it forked.
However, the manner wherein Bitcoin Cash has operated when you consider that August 2017 has been full of controversy. Many human beings do now not respect how the point of interest has no longer been made approximately advancing the coin however alternatively approximately denigrating Bitcoin.
In pronouncing that, Bitcoin Cash does offer a extraordinary opportunity for traders and traders to make cash due to its volatile nature and capability to return more into the discussion because the years go on and the need for a greater practical Bitcoin.
In order to take benefit of Bitcoin Cash and begin investing and trading in cryptocurrency, it is well worth seeking out a platform that suits. One of the greater rounded and clean to use systems that offers the chance to trade and spend money on cryptocurrency is PrimeXBT. This platform has won awards for its simple user interface in addition to its bank grade protection. Sign up right here.


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Foster's bounds into European wine
FOSTER'S Group, best known for its trademark lager, has increased its push into the European wine business with a deal to take a majority interest in marketing label Kangaroo Ridge.
The unlisted Kangaroo Ridge - founded in April 2000 - sold more than 250,000 cases of wine in Europe last year. It takes unlabelled wines, matures and blends them and then brands them with its own distinctively Australian label.
Foster's is playing catch-up in Europe, where it has been a late mover despite several wine club acquisitions in recent years. The UK takes 53% of its European wine exports and a recent Foster's presentation forecast more opportunities for growth.
Foster's wine division - Beringer Blass Wine Estates - set up a UK sales organisation this year, and also formed an alliance with Waverley Vintners in the on-licence market.
Australia sold wine worth A$869 million (£313m) to the UK, its largest export market, in the year to the end of November.
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ProgressSoft’s Key Highlights From Sibos 2021
ProgressSoft concluded today another successful participation at Sibos, the premier financial services event which took place virtually this year from 11 – 14 October.
As Sibos partner, ProgressSoft showcased its latest advancements in the fields of central bank digital currency, digital banking for corporates and retail, instant payments and more.
Stealing the spotlight once again at this year’s event is ProgressSoft’s Payments Hub Platform, a SWIFT certified CBPR+ ready solution and number one platform for successful digital transformation. The platform sparked the interest of hundreds of Sibos delegates, specifically in banking, for its ability to provide seamless migration to ISO 20022 with minimal to zero changes on back-end systems: a vital matter banks must complete before the end of 2022. This is in addition to the platform’s ability to connect with blockchain and payment networks, and act as a single hub that orchestrates all types of payments, including international remittances.
In addition, several insights by ProgressSoft’s team of experts in attendance indicated that while instant and cross-border payments are still prominent subjects in the financial landscape, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) may be the most fundamental topic at this year’s Sibos. The team led several discussions on the future of currency, ProgressSoft’s Blockchain-based CBDC, recommended implementation approaches, crucial considerations and more on the agendas of central banks around the world: all of which indicate that migration to CBDC is being actualized sooner than the financial sector has anticipated.
ProgressSoft is pleased to be an annual Sibos partner and is keen to put into effect the insights gained as well as continue the conversations with financial experts across the globe.


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Is Utz Quality Foods seeking next target in 'acquisition mode'?
Since 2009, Utz Quality Foods Inc. has been on a bold mission to hit $1 billion in sales — more than doubling its business — before the company hits its 100th birthday in 2021, and with three key acquisitions in the last two years, the snack food company could be seeking that next buy to put it over the top.
Hanover-based Utz, which makes potato chips, pretzels and other salty snacks, recently upgraded its communications infrastructure at its factories, warehouses and offices around the U.S. to improve operations.
The company partnered with Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. and Camp Hill-based Morefield Communications Inc. to upgrade its Internet connections to Comcast's larger- capacity Ethernet solutions using fiber optics.
The upgrades were important to standardize Utz's facilities, especially after the company's acquisitions in recent years, said J. Ed Smith, Utz's chief information officer.
"We just have a lot more technical capabilities at a lower cost," he said.
The changes weren't just an operational upgrade, but also Utz's preparation for the future, given the company's "acquisition mode" in recent years, Smith said. The upgrades open excess capacity on its communications infrastructure so Utz is poised for the next acquisition without technical roadblocks, he said.
"I wouldn't have any concerns," Smith said.
Dylan Lissette, president and chief operating officer, would not say whether Utz has yet closed in on another acquisition, but he did say the company continues to innovate, change and grow.
The snack food industry is changing rapidly, and many companies have been using mergers and acquisitions to compete with larger regional and national competitors such as Frito-Lay, or even Utz's cross-town rival, Snyder's-Lance Inc.
"Consolidation in the industry is going to continue for many of the smaller independent manufacturers and brands out there," Lissette said.
Times have been good for the snack food industry over the years. People's snacking habits became more frequent since 2009, according to an industry study by the research group IRI for the Snack Food Association, a Virginia-based trade group. In 2012, 43 percent of Americans were snacking three to four times daily, up from 24 percent three years earlier.
Heavier snacking saw gains, too, according to the report. Six percent of people snacked five to six times daily, up from 3 percent, and 2 percent said they snacked more than seven times a day, up from none.
Utz, like others providing the fuel for that growing market, are doing quite well. The company had 2012 revenue of $540 million, a 31 percent increase from 2010, according to Business Journal records.
If Utz grew at half that rate annually, it would hit the $1 billion mark in five years, three years ahead of its centennial in 2021. But that illustrates the importance of acquisitions. They can accelerate sales growth with niche products and new markets.
There have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions in the last five years, but the industry is growing other ways, too, said Chris Clark, vice president of the Snack Food Association.
"You have a lot of new products, and a lot of them are more in the better-for-you categories," he said.
There's also more opportunity for sales at places where snack foods have traditionally been a small part of overall sales, such as pharmacies or even hardware stores.
"What you're seeing is stores like Home Depot, where there are now more snack options where food or grocery was never their business," Clark said, "but it's an opportunity to catch someone while they're in line and maybe they need a mid-day snack."
There's also the blurring definition between pharmacies, convenience stores and grocery stores driven by catch-all retailers such as Wal-Mart, he said.
Whether it's new retail outlets, different snacks or new markets, most companies have come to the realization that they need to think about their businesses differently if they want to compete with the big companies, Lissette said.
"You need to be more dynamic than just selling in a geographic scope," he said.
The problem is there are a lot of headwinds for companies even if times are good, Lissette said. They include inbound and outbound transportation costs; rising commodities prices for potatoes, corn, and cooking oil; rising health care costs; and the number of small and large competitors entering the snack category, recognizing its stability and potential, he said.
"Small brands will be forced into making a lot less money," Lissette said, "or an alternative."
Utz continues to innovate with its tech upgrades, new products, and, yes, even the companies it decides to acquire or work with, he said.
The company's Wachusett acquisition got them into New England, Lissette said. The Bachman acquisition got it a larger stake in New York, and the Zapp's acquisition gave it a wide swath of the southern states. In the fall, Utz plans to take over distribution in the Atlanta area from a third party, he said.
Being a private company allows Utz to make those kinds of long-term decisions, he said.
"Even as large as we are," Lissette said, "I think we still act like a small company."
For nearly 90 years, Utz adhered to a traditional strategy of direct-to-store sales, which slowly but surely gave it a prominent place on the East Coast from New York to the Carolinas.
In more recent years, the company has placed a premium on acquisitions to speed up that contiguous regional growth. Executives are guarded about the future but hint there could be more shopping to come.
Here's a look at the Utz acquisition timeline:
1970: Pretzel power: Utz buys the Tasty Baking Co. potato chip facility in Hanover, now the Broadway plant, to expand and install pretzel production. Prior to this, and after, the company grew and built its own facilities rather than acquire companies.
2009: The un-merger: Snyder's of Hanover and Utz plan to merge, creating a snack food company worth $1 billion in sales. But Utz walked away after the Federal Trade Commission requested a second round of reviews. CEO Michael Rice says Utz can hit that revenue mark on its own before its 100th birthday.
May 2011: Cajun cohorts: Utz completes acquisition of Louisiana-based Zappe Endeavors, the maker of Zapp's Potato Chips. The deal marks an accelerating Utz buying spree.
October 2011: Wicked deal: Utz acquires Massachusetts-based The Wachusett Potato Chip Co. Inc., giving Utz a solid foothold in the Bay State, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The deal could open other parts of New England to Utz.
September 2012: Pretzel power II: Utz acquires Reading-based Bachman Co., a 125-year-old pretzel maker. The deal included the intellectual property, distribution and Ephrata factory. Bachman's former managers retain the Reading facility to make private-label products for Utz and other companies.
Tech must be flexible, accommodate growth
Technology isn’t exactly the backbone of companies. It’s more like cartilage. It needs to be flexible, accommodating the twists and turns, impacts and growth of the organism it gives structure to.
Utz recently upgraded its tech for multiple facilities. But telecommunication and information technology executives say manufacturers are not the only ones adjusting to their acquisition-based additions. Transportation, education, finance and other industries are embracing upgrades, too.
“I wouldn’t say it’s restricted to a particular sector. It’s across the board,” said Glen Lytle, Comcast’s regional vice president for business services.
Comcast and Camp Hill-based Morefield Communications worked with Utz to upgrade its technology, moving them from older copper-wired T1 lines to fiber optic Ethernet.
To get a sense of what that means, T1 lines begin transmitting information at about 1.5 megabytes per second, Lytle said. At that speed, it takes about 6 seconds to transmit the governor’s budget proposal, which has more than 1,000 pages.
For comparison, Ethernet would transmit the information faster with speeds beginning at 3 MB per second and going up to 10 gigabytes, exponentially faster than the T1 with far less physical wires, Lytle said.
With only one transport mechanism for Ethernet, you can just ratchet up the bandwidth when it’s needed, he said.
“We’re just opening up the throttle,” he said.
When companies upgrade, the tech has to work seamlessly, said John Morefield, president of Morefield Communications.
The goal is to take a company with multiple facilities spread up and down the East Coast and make it seem like everything is run from headquarters, he said. Customers shouldn’t know the difference.
“We all expect it to just work,” he said.
That becomes crucial as companies grow, Lytle said.
“The ability to scale up is a tremendous advantage,” he said. “With video needs and bandwidth growth, I don’t see this type of work trailing off. With people needing things to be faster, I only see this work continuing grow.”


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Speak of the devil… we mentioned the missing-in-action white iPhone 4 yesterday, when we wrote about the LG Optimus 2X, which will come in a white variant.
Now it seems those of you who have been waiting for the snowy iPhone – since the black version was launched in June of last year – will finally be able to get your hands on what Stephen Fry already owns.
Geeky Gadgets spotted that the white iPhone 4 has appeared on two network operators’ websites, 3 and Orange.
And while you can’t order them just yet, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before orders go live.
Yesterday, over the other side of the pond Boy Genius Report spotted the white smartphone had appeared in AT&T’s online system, with the handset likely to be appearing in late February or March. Hopefully, the UK won’t be far behind.


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Shamoon and Greenbug. HummingWhale purged from Play Store. Apple patches across its product line. Leadership changes at CIA, GCHQ. Lloyds Bank incident update. Honor among thieves? Nope.
In today's podcast, we discuss a report from Symantec that Shamoon may be connected to Greenbug. Google is purging HummingWhale malware from the Play Store. Apple issues a major set of patches across its product line. CIA has a new director; GCHQ's still looking for one. Yahoo!'s deal with Verizon will be delayed until April at least. Other industry M&A and venture funding news is more upbeat. Lloyds Bank is said to have been targeted with cyber extortion. Ben Gurion University's Yisroel Mirsky describes vulnerabilities with 3D printers. And there's no honor among thieves—if you don't believe us, ask the thieves.


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Content from other channels on our network
Can digital learning trump face-to-face education?
RMIT expands APAC presence with new partnership
Australian workers prefer digital agreements
AIIA urges government to prioritise visas for ICT workers
Are tech workers happier now than in 2020?
Enmin expansion continues with launch of new electrical division
APCO releases Collective Impact Report
University of Queensland to launch food innovation group
AIP releases 2021 Salary Survey report
Non-alcoholic beverage sector could boost production


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Beau Wangtrakuldee, founder of AmorSui, developed antimicrobial clothing for female scientists — and, now, health care workers.
Branding & Marketing
It's time to shout it from the rooftops! You've got a great product or service. But how do you get publicity -- and how do you find customers? Read about small business marketing strategies, from social media and public relations to SEO and email marketing.
Industry leaders in Chicago saw an opportunity to get businesses launched by their fellow females off the ground.
The former first lady urges voter registration in a new video from When We All Vote, the nonpartisan group she co-chairs.
The actress joins other celebrities in expanding the National Women’s Soccer League.
For Women-Owned Businesses, Bouncing Back Is Not a Reality at the Moment. These Corporations Are Trying to Help
Verizon and Lowe’s are offering cash grants and mentorship. ThirdLove wants to help female entrepreneurs of color.
From Instagram to newer social platforms like TikTok, here’s the latest on social media marketing.
Anna Skaya founded Basepaws to help you get a little closer to your cat.
The economic fallout from coronavirus is devastating. But matchmakers are cautiously optimistic that people will still use their services to find love.
Katie DePaola and Liv Chapman, founders of Inner Glow Circle, relate some best — and positive — practices for businesses during uncertain times.
Rita Wilson, Taylor Swift and Other Influential Women Share Coronavirus Survival Tips, Urge Restraint
Influential women are encouraging fans to stay at home and lower the risk of infecting the elderly or immunocompromised.
Style icon DVF has a new collaboration with Amazon to showcase woman-owned small businesses and women authors.
The women business owners from this oft-discussed generation are growing their ventures in both size and reach thanks to knowing how to leverage this critical tool.
Fresh Bellies founder Saskia Sorrosa is at the helm of a new business trend: organic, healthy baby food for sophisticated palates.
After an ad from the five-year-old startup was rejected by ABC, women were able to vent their frustration on social media.
Actress-slash-entrepreneur Kali Hawk hooks up everyone – including the Queen of Pop – with standout crowns, necklaces and more.


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Bake Off legend Dame Mary Berry will be back on our screens this festive season with a new one-off show.
Christmas with Mary Berry and Friends has been commissioned by the BBC and PBS to air later this year.
We can’t believe it’s already time to start thinking about Christmas, but this sounds lovely!
Berry explained what the show will be about: “It goes without saying that Christmas is a very special time of year but over the last couple of years it has gotten challenging for us all, whether it’s the emotional hardship of lost loved ones, the economic hardship of cooking for large families or a combination of both.”
She revealed: “In this special I am going to bring together everything you need with tips to make it a festive day to remember fondly.”
The seasonal special will see Mary provide “the only guide you’ll ever need for a fool-proof Christmas dinner.”
Dame Mary Berry previously teamed up with some very special guests indeed for A Berry Royal Christmas in 2019:
Christmas with Mary Berry and Friends will include useful tips for getting the most out of your ingredients and your budget, with the Cost of Living Crisis gripping the UK.
Packed with her classic recipes for a delicious three-course feast, she’ll be joined by friends as she helps viewers prep, shop and plan before the big day itself for a stress-free day.
The BBC’s Catherine Catton commented: “We’re delighted that Mary has – for the first time ever – decided to share her definitive guide to Christmas. For many of us, Christmas is a precious opportunity to spend time with family and friends, so I can’t wait for Mary to share her ultimate recipes, tips and tricks for what will be a truly memorable festive feast.”
Zara Frankel from PBS added: “We are thrilled to welcome Mary Berry back to PBS platforms for a truly unforgettable holiday special. From the shopping, to the prep, from the turkey to the pie, this holiday season Mary is serving up traditional dishes with her signature fuss-free style – exuding warmth, friendship and fun – and everyone’s invited.”
Christmas with Mary Berry and Friends will premiere in December on BBC One in the UK and on PBS in the US.
Take a look at our guide to the best recipe books inspired by British period dramas here, including The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook and Dining with The Durrells.
Mary Berry’s Christmas Collection recipe book is available on Amazon.


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By George Aine
Westerwelle Foundation, a German-based organization, on Monday, opened startup Haus, an incubation center for startups in Kigali, Rwanda, vowing to equip thousands of youth in the country with skills that will enable them to innovate and create their own jobs.
Dubbed ‘Westerwelle Startup Haus Kigali’, the hub will be powered by Evonik Foundation.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Michael Mronz, the Foundation chairman, said that the plan involves giving a home to people who are thinking to develop their own companies and give them a chance to establish their ventures as well as build capacities.
“We are convinced that the Startup Haus will become a central place for startups from Kigali and East Africa as well. We will be hosting events to transfer knowledge, as well as those focusing on how to finance ideas,” he said, adding that they will work to facilitate the startups to access capital from German investors.
The Foundation programme manager, Guido von Westerholt, said members of the Startup Haus will also receive training on machines like laser cutters, 3D printers, textile machines and electronic tools to work on hardware products and prototypes.
“In addition, we plan to add relevant business and maker workshops tailored to the needs of our members and the startup community. Business-related workshops will, for example, include financial management, product-market-fit, design thinking, prototyping, and lean startup methodology,” he explained.
Mr. Thomas Wessel, the Director of Evonik Industries, highlighted the importance of the Westerwelle Startup Haus for offering not only traditional co-working services but serving especially for young entrepreneurs as a hub to gain practical and technical skills.
He stressed how important it was for young people to have a good education, and that the Startup Haus in Kigali would do its part to support young people in Rwanda to gain practical and useful skills.
Rwanda’s Trade and Industry Minister, Vincent Munyeshyaka, who officiated at the opening, said that the establishment of the hub was aligned with the Government’s programme of promoting small and medium enterprises for job creation and for economic growth.
The hub, in partnership with the Government of Germany, has a special programme designed for women who want to become future technology-savvy.
— Westerwelle Startup Haus Kigali (@WSH_Kigali) October 2, 2018
It is one of the programmes that Mronz said is training a generation of women passionate about ICT.
The startup House offers not only 150 workplaces but also consulting and training packages.
Since its soft-launch, in August 2018, the Westerwelle Startup House has welcomed more than 80 associates from 21 different startups.


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Artificial Intelligence: Metaspectral Gets Grant From British Columbia For AI-Enabled Plastic Sorting
This will keep more plastic out of landfills and help recycle reusable material.
The CleanBC Plastics Action Fund, which is funded by the BC Government and administered by Alacrity Cleantech, has awarded a grant of $300,000 to Metaspectral, a Canadian company that derive real-time insights from AI using ultra-high-resolution, visible-to-infrared (hyperspectral) images. (Environment Energy Leader)
Metaspectral will use the grant to develop computer vision, artificial intelligence, and robotic tools designed to sort consumer waste, increase efficiency in processing materials and improve the quality of post-consumer recycled plastic.
Higher quality plastics obtained by more accurate sorting of plastic waste will boost recycling businesses and enhance investment in capacity for processing recyclable plastics. More plastic will be kept out of landfills and therefore the process wil also have an environmental payoff.
AI to enhance plastics sorting
“By using ultra-high-resolution hyperspectral imaging, our AI is able to efficiently distinguish among types of plastics for accurate and easy sorting,” said Francis Doumet, CEO of Metaspectral. “It is impossible for humans to differentiate between different types of clear plastic bottles with the naked eye, so until now, various types of recycled clear plastics were sold together in bulk, decreasing the quality and value of the finished recycled material.”
“Our technology will make it possible to differentiate between otherwise indistinguishable materials in real-time, automatically, meaning that large quantities of plastic can be sorted and recycled more efficiently and accurately.”
This efficiency will help meet federal and provincial targets for recycling.
It may be noted that the Government of Canada has a Greening Government strategy of increasing the ratio of plastics that are recycled to 75% by 2030, up from 9% today.
Related Story: AI In The MARLIT APP To Keep Tabs On Plastic Marine Litter
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Please note that the link to take the survey was updated on 10/21 at noon Pacific time.
To better understand the effects of the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic on the car rental industry, Auto Rental News is conducting a survey of franchised and independent (non-corporate) auto rental operations in the United States. This third survey of U.S. franchised and independent auto rental operators will track the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. car rental industry over time.
The data and an analysis will be published online. We ask that only non-corporate operators in the U.S. participate. The survey closes by end of day on Monday, Oct. 26.
This survey is completely anonymous and confidential and does not ask for company or personal names. The results will only be used in aggregate and will not be shared with any source.
Visit here to begin the survey.


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Intuit reported solid second quarter financial results Thursday bolstered by strong early sales of its consumer tax offerings.
All the way up to February 20, TurboTax Online sales grew 12 percent year-over-year with more than 14 million units sold.
"Total TurboTax e-file growth of 9 percent and other third-party data indicate that we've gained significant share early in the season," said Sasan Goodarzi, EVP and GM of Intuit's Consumer Tax Group.
Overall, the personal and SMB financial software maker reported a net loss of $24 million million, or 11 cents per share (statement).
Non-GAAP earnings were 25 cents per share on top of revenue of $923 million, up 23 percent year-over-year.
Wall Street was expecting earnings of 19 cents per share with $893.23 million in revenue. Intuit's stock was up a little over three percent in late trading.
As for the rest of Intuit's portfolio, the company added more than 100,000 QuickBooks Online subscribers, bringing the total to 1,257,000 customers worldwide as of the end of January.
QuickBooks Self-Employed subscribers grew to 50,000, up from 35,000 in the last quarter. Online payroll customers by grew by 17 percent.
TurboTax overall, including the dwindling desktop segment, grew nine percent annually with nearly 19.3 million units sold through last weekend.
For the current quarter, Wall Street is expecting big results from tax season with an earnings target of $3.15 per share and $2.21 billion in revenue.
Intuit responded at the high end of the guidance range with a revenue forecast of $2.21 billion to $2.26 billion, and earnings between $3.15 and $3.20 a share.
Intuit also promised a final tax season update in April shortly after the close of the tax season.


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The Toyota Motor Corporation has in the past stated that it wants to see a driverless car in the streets by 2020, and even invested $1 billion in building a new research institute that would bring artificial intelligence and robotics to its cars. The institute, dubbed Toyota Research Institute (TRI), has ecently announced it is going to take steps towards the future of driverless cars with the use of blockchain technology, according to Reuters .
To do so, Toyota has partnered up with the MIT Media Lab and other technology companies that specialize in various aspects of blockchain technology, to explore how it can then be applied to improve autonomous cars. The project, according to Toyota, would allow businesses and consumers to safely share data on every trip autonomous vehicles take.
Moreover, blockchain technology can be used to develop tools that will make ride-sharing easier, and to create new insurance products with lower rates based on usage, as a vehicle’s sensors could collect driving data and store it in the blockchain, allowing insurance companies to lower costs to those with safe driving habits.
Chris Ballinger, director of mobility services and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Toyota Research Institute stated:
Hundreds of billions of miles of human driving data may be needed to develop safe and reliable autonomous vehicles. “Blockchains and distributed ledgers may enable pooling data from vehicle owners, fleet managers, and manufacturers to shorten the time for reaching this goal, thereby bringing forward the safety, efficiency and convenience benefits of autonomous driving technology
As previously covered by CCN.com, Chris Ballinger, CEO at Toyota Financial Services, the finance-based subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Company, previously stated that the company believes blockchain technology will ultimately allow it to lower costs and increase efficiency.
According to Reuters there are other technology companies involved in the project. BigchainDB, a Berlin-based startup, is helping Toyota develop a scalable database that’ll allow the company to store driving data that can in the future be used to improve efficiency.
Commuterz, from Tel Aviv, and Dallas-based Oaken Innovations, are both working on the development of blockchain apps that will facilitate carpooling and car sharing. Blockchain technology can empower owners by allowing them to safely monetize their vehicles, as they’ll be able to sell car rides, cargo space, and even offer delivery services – all without a third-party intermediary.
Driverless cars can, as such, not only save lives by avoiding predictably human mistakes, but also improve efficiency and reduce pollution by eradicating traffic jams through direct communication with one another, while contributing to a greater increase in the sharing economy.
The Institute’s CEO, Gill Pratt, has in the past stated that working on autonomous cars wasn’t as much of a sprint, but more of a marathon. That being said, there are 18 other companies working towards the future of autonomous cars and we can be sure that Toyota, using blockchain technology, will bring a lot to the table.
As Gill Pratt put it
The problem of adding safety and accessibility to cars is extremely difficult. And the truth is, we are only at the beginning of this race.
Image of autonomous Toyota Concept i from Toyota.


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According to the company’s statistics, the network has had an increase of up to 350 by the way. Last year, more than 100 companies switched to their blockchain platform
Ripple, the company of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, announced that it will incorporate new financial institutions into its payment network through its RippleNet platform. In addition, it will use XRP in international financial transactions.
In the report offered by the company, it is pointed out that lately more than 15 new financial institutions have been registered in Ripple’s client portfolio, and that they number more than 200 clients from countries such as Sweden and England. With this, the blockchain solutions company is positioned on the platform par excellence, with a presence in more than 40 countries around the world.
About this point, the report issued by Ripple on its blog specified that among the new companies that will be using XRP in their business and international contracts are the companies: JNFX, Euro Exim Bank, Transpaygo, FTCS and SendFriends.
However, it was announced that other companies will use the RippleNet platform for different purposes, such as the Olympia Trust Company, which seeks to have more transparent and almost instantaneous transactions.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of the company Ripple, talked about these issues in its blockchain platform. He said that one of the biggest interests of the companies that request these services, is to streamline financial movements and thus be more effective in current business. For this reason, he explained: “A SWIFT transaction takes 3 days on average, and we refer to three (3) business days. Here you face the volatility and the risk of fiduciary markets that close during the weekend”.
Referring to the lack of confidence that some institutions have in cryptocurrencies, Brad said the market is not as unstable as some people think and that traditional markets often also have exorbitant drops.
On the other hand, Ashay Mervyn, Head of Emerging Market Studies of the JNFX company, assured Ripple is a platform of high trust and that it will guarantee transparency and efficiency when making payments of a transnational nature.
“Payments between countries are plagued with inefficiencies: inefficiencies around cost, inefficiencies around speed and inefficiencies around transparency. RippleNet is aimed at addressing these problems. For our clients ranging from the largest conglomerates in Africa (with operations and commitments in more than 40 countries) to individuals in rural villages in Nigeria, our decision to go to RippleNet and use their payment solution, including the XRP for liquidity Upon request, it simply makes sense”, he said.
Brad Garlinghouse hopes that more customers can learn about the solutions offered by the RippleNet company to financial institutions that seek to improve the speed and efficiency of their services, since, according to their criteria, the transactions conducted through the SWIFT platform congest and delay their hiring and ask that they have confidence in the new market of cryptocurrencies and, above all, in the advances of blockchain technology in the international market.
By María Rodríguez