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Marriott is revealing a massive database breach today, affecting up to 500 million guests of its Starwood hotels the company first acquired in 2016. A security investigation has concluded that there was “unauthorized access” to a database holding hotel guest records. “Marriott learned during the investigation that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014,” says a statement from the company. The Starwood security breach affects a number of branded hotels owned by Marriott, including W Hotels, Sheraton, St. Regis, Westin, and more.
The breach includes 327 million records of “some combination” of name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, Starwood Preferred Guest (“SPG”) account information, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation date, and communication preferences.
Marriott isn’t providing an exact number, but “some” hotel guests will have had their payment card information leaked. Marriott did encrypt this information using Advanced Encryption Standard encryption (AES-128), but the company notes both components needed to decrypt payment card numbers may have been stolen.
Marriott’s database breach is troubling
Database breaches are far too common, but it’s unusual to hear a large company not detect unauthorized access to its network and key customer database for a period of four years. Marriott’s carefully worded statement doesn’t identify who obtained access and how. That’s particularly troubling, as if this wasn’t a hack or full security breach then it could have been sloppy security that let anyone access this information and clone the database. That’s backed up by the fact Marriott reveals it discovered the database breach through a copied and encrypted version. Whether this copy is public, or for sale on the dark web, remains vague. There are also signs Marriott could have been breached in the past.
“We deeply regret this incident happened,” says Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson. “We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward.”
Marriott has reported this breach to law enforcement, and has begun notifying regulators. The company has also set up a dedicated website and call center, and is notifying affected guests by email today. Marriott is also offering free access to WebWatcher to help protect against identity fraud. We’ve reached out to Marriott to clarify some of the troubling aspects of this database breach, and we’ll update you accordingly.
The New York Attorney General’s Office announced today that it would be investigating the breach. “We’ve opened an investigation into the Marriott data breach,” Amy Spitalnick, communications director and senior policy advisor said to The Verge. “Additionally, under New York law, Marriott was required to provide notification to our office upon discovering the breach; they have not done so as of yet.”
Updated 11/20/18 9:42 a.m.: Updated to include a statement from the NY Attorney General's Office.


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Copying is the best form of flattery, they say. And Mercedes-Benz has definitely flattered itself by morphing its flagship S-Class limousine into a smaller form-factor – the C-Class executive sedan.
Looking at the S-Class, which The Peak reviewed earlier this year, it is not hard to understand why the Three-Pointed Star did not need to look far for inspiration. The full-sized limousine boasts first-class luxury coupled with several innovations that this magazine noted would eventually appear in other models within the stable.
For starters, the C-Class gets all-new LED headlamps as part of its new sleek design. It winks at you, when you unlock the car using your remote key fob, with a cool blue “brow” that lights up for a second before fading away.
The top-of-the-range C250 AMG Line tested here has got a cosmetic upgrade, with a more sporty bodykit – like its gaping air intakes on the front bumper – to match its more sporty disposition. The car also gets a 15mm drop in ride height and perforated brake discs often seen in sports and race cars.
The well-sculpted lines and flowing curves all get their cues from the S-Class. In the rear, the C-Class teardrop-shaped lamps mimic those found on its larger brethren. If you saw one zipping by, you might easily mistake it for the flagship limo – especially now that the C-Class is longer and wider than its predecessor.
Notably, the wheelbase has increased by 80mm from the previous generation to 2,840mm – which translates to more cabin space for both front and rear occupants.
Inside, the cabin once again takes cues from the S-Class. It features the “eye socket”- style air vents on the dash. The trim sweeps elegantly across from the door panels to the dashboard akin to that in Big Brother, but the design incorporates more sporty elements such as a three-spoke steering wheel, and a combination of aluminium and wood trims.
Sitting on the centre console between the two front seats is a command dial that is now de rigueur in all premium cars. It controls everything from the radio and MP3 player to the navigation system and clock-adjustment duties. Interestingly, the C-Class is equipped with a touchpad, hovering right above the standard rotary dial, which allows you to input characters by drawing with your finger tip. Anyone familiar with the regular spin-and-select knob knows just how tiresome it is to input a destination like “International Business Park”. The new input method helps tremendously by allowing you to keep your eyes on the road, instead of the 14cm big screen on the dash.
The C-Class also comes with a new Mercedes-Benz feature known as the tunnel-detection system that shuts the air-recirculation flap in the air-conditioning system, whenever the car detects via GPS signal that it is going through a tunnel. This helps prevent fumes or poor-quality air in the tunnel from getting into the cabin.
Speaking of the drive, the new C-Class is not just all about looks and tech gadgets. It’s set up for a more sporty drive, likely in a bid to take on its 3-Series rival from BMW. While the steering feels direct and the suspension settings are well-judged, the C-Class still feels more at home competing in the luxury department. It’s not that the C250 isn’t capable; it can do the 0-100kmh sprint in 6.6 seconds, some 0.8 seconds faster than its predecessor. But this new offering seems to be wanting to be something it is not. The suspension can get a little unsettled, especially when going over road imperfections around fast corners. It’s not something most drivers would be concerned about, but it mars an otherwise excellent drive.
The C-Class, bearing the S-Class genes, has a reputation to keep up. It sports the flowing lines that offer a great-looking package. It’s well-built with solid fit and finish all around. It also inherits the tech items from its more costly stablemates, and even comes with some new ones. It’s hard to fault the C250 AMG, when it comes with a dash of (S-) Class.

domain: news


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Walmart’s going to feel some of that infamous Washington, D.C., summertime swamp heat Thursday, when 10 recently fired Walmart workers will be joined by community, faith and union supporters outside the low-wage retail giant’s D.C. federal lobbying offices.
The noon demonstration is the kickoff of a campaign by Walmart workers to end what they say is Walmart’s retaliation against workers for exercising their rights and freedoms, including the right to join unions. Earlier this year, Walmart workers at many stores around the country walked off the job and those actions followed the first-ever strike by Walmart workers last fall.
If you are in the Washington, D.C., area, join us for Thursday’s action at 701 8th St., N.W., near the Gallery Place–Chinatown Metro station. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
In related news, find out how Walmart’s low-wage labor policies are cutting into its sales.


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Tesco puts Finest foot forward
Tesco is waging a price war on its upmarket rivals Marks & Spencer and Waitrose by cutting the price of over 200 products in its Finest range.
From The Times
Sainsbury’s chairman warns of short-term view
David Tyler, chairman of Sainsbury’s, has warned shareholders that short- term profit growth could spell long-term damage to the supermarket business.
Supermarket price war hots up
The supermarket price war in the run up to Christmas is fiercer than ever this year with the Co-operative, Waitrose and M&S joining the fray with price-cutting and loyalty drives alongside Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
Retail groups will continue to struggle in 2010
More than 4,000 UK retail groups experienced major financial difficulty in November and early 2010 is expected to see a large number of chains collapsing, according to new weekly Retail Stress Indicator by Begbies Traynor for The Telegraph Media Group.
Tesco opens customer-free stores
Tesco is opening a network of ‘dark stores’ which will never be visited by shoppers. They will look exactly like normal stores but are exclusively for the use of staff fulfilling online grocery orders.
From The Telegraph
Habitat MBO expected
Habitat’s credit insurers have threatened to withdraw cover to its suppliers if it is bought by retail restructuring group, Hilco. Separately, The Observer newspaper says chief executing Mark Saunders and finance director Sébastien Drouillet have gained the backing of new investors to turn around the chain.
Bolland to join M&S early
Marc Bolland is expected to join M&S earlier than previously thought. The chief executive left Morrisons chain last week, two months earlier than expected.
From The Independent
Tesco plans to launch Clubcard in US
Tesco is said to be considering launching its Clubcard shopper loyalty scheme at its Fresh & Easy chain in the US.
Shoppers expected to spend £350m
The first Monday in December is expected to be the busiest day of the year for e-commerce sites, as shoppers who browse high street stores during the weekend place orders online.
From The Financial times


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April 6, 2018
and an early look at the movie’s branded merchandise. Under the terms of the deal, Paramount will create the concept for the attraction and Knott’s will handle production, promotion, and operations.
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A Vegan Diet Might Help Prevent Diabetes
It's all about prevention—and adopting a low-fat, vegan diet might help prevent type 2 diabetes.
When it comes to type 2 diabetes, it’s all about prevention. Unlike type 1 diabetes (which is an autoimmune condition), type 2 diabetes is largely influenced by diet and lifestyle choices. Looking at the statistics, it doesn’t seem like we’re doing the best job at preventing it—the number of people with the disease has risen from 108 million in the early 1980s to 422 million people just three decades later.
The good news for type 2 diabetes prevention
Switching to a low-fat, vegan diet (where you’d eat recipes like these) may reduce your diabetes risk. Doctors once believed that a high-sugar, high-carbohydrate diet caused the disease, but new studies suggest that diets high in saturated fat increase insulin resistance. Since animal-rich diets are notoriously high in saturated fat, more research has started to focus on the role that a vegan diet can help play in the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Earlier this year, a study published in the journal Nutrients honed in on fat’s contribution to diabetes. Half of the participants followed a low-fat, plant-based diet while the other half made no changes to their existing diet. After 16 weeks, they found significant improvements in the beta-cell function and insulin sensitivity of those following the vegan diet. These results suggest that low-fat, vegan diets might not only help reduce diabetes symptoms, but they may also aid its prevention, too.
Even more benefits
Combined with the findings of older studies, these recent results come together to create a solid link between following a low-fat, plant-based diet and managing (or preventing) type 2 diabetes. By eating and cooking whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds and omitting (or greatly reducing) animal-based products, including these non-vegan surprises, study participants are seeing improved blood sugar control. More than that, they’re experiencing benefits like reduced body weight, improved cardiovascular health, and increased fiber and nutrient intake.
I can already hear your objection—meat is delicious and I’ll always be starving on a vegan diet! You might be surprised to learn that plant-based recipes are not only flavorful, but they’re also rich in fiber and can be high in protein, so they’ll keep you feeling full (just like meat).


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Google’s Android operating system is warning users of Samsung devices against installing certain Galaxy Store apps that apparently contain malicious code.
The issue, first flagged by Android Police, is linked to Showbox, a now-defunct movie piracy platform. Apps mimicking Showbox have made their way into the Galaxy Store, with makers betting the previous success of the original app would appeal to a set of users.
The “Blocked by Play Protect” dialog box pops up when a user attempts to install the app, with the standard “This app may be harmful” warning.
Cybersecurity aggregator VirusTotal, in an analysis of one of the Showbox clones, revealed more than a dozen low-grade alerts, ranging from riskware to adware. Some of the apps also request more permissions than usual.
A security analyst that goes by the name “linuxct” said that while the app in question may not directly contain malware as it is distributed, it can download and execute other code, possibly including malware.
“So at any moment it may become a trojan/malware, hence it’s unsafe and thus why so many vendors flagged it in VT/Play Protect,” the analyst added.
The National could not verify the issue on a couple of Samsung devices, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G and the more recent Galaxy Z Flip3, both with the latest versions of the Galaxy Store. Searching for “Showbox” did not return any relevant results; and trying to install less-heralded apps similar to it did not trigger any warning.
It is unclear, at the time of writing, whether this has been patched or the availability of the Showbox clones is on a regional basis.
Malware infections are a serious issue that put user data at risk, from simple personal information such as birthdays and e-mails to sensitive ones such as passwords and bank account numbers.
On a corporate level, certain types of infection could result in the complete breakdown of the network or the loss of business critical data, according to cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
Ransomware, the most common type of malware, is predicted to cost its victims more than $265 billion annually by 2031, according to a 2021 report from Cybersecurity Ventures. It estimated that it would cost users around $20bn last year, 57 times more than in 2015.
South Korea’s Samsung, the world’s biggest mobile phone vendor, has not officially responded to the issue.
Showbox became popular as it gave users free access to movies and TV shows, but has been taken down several times for distributing illegal or pirated content.
Updated: January 5th 2022, 4:45 PM


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Streaming Netflix originals will soon be a little easier for Comcast subscribers — the popular streaming platform is coming to X1.
“Comcast and Netflix have reached an agreement to incorporate Netflix into X1, providing seamless access to the great content offered by both companies,” the companies told TheWrap in a joint statement. “We have much work to do before the service will be available to consumers later this year. We’ll provide more details at that time.”
Essentially, the app will be right there on an X1 subscriber’s interface, providing an easy way to access hit series like “Orange Is the New Black” and “House of Cards.”
Netflix has been busy today, also announcing a new streaming rights deal for all CW scripted series.
The two companies haven’t always played so nicely together. In 2014, Netflix publicly opposed a Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. It quickly became an ugly battle through the media and government hearings.
Netflix has a similar deal in place with smaller cable providers. It’s also available on Apple, Roku, Chromecast, Smart TVs and gaming systems.


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A distributor said Monday that he had a copy of an Intel roadmap which showed that .18 micron Coppermine technology will include 256K of on-die cache.
The cache will be on both Pentium IIIs and Pentium III Xeons, according to the source, who declined to be named.
The technology is waiting for the chipset to arrive but is expected to proliferate during the second half of this year, he said.
It will debut at 600MHz but Intel will expect a premium from customers, with prices expected to be in the $750 range.
Last week, Intel refused to comment on whether the processors will have on-die cache.
To comment on this story, email [email protected]
Commons Science and Technology Committee calls for new post-Brexit skilled-workers immigration system
Committee calls for visa-free travel and permit-free work for skilled workers
Eleven 'normal' outer moons, and one described as 'oddball' found circling Jupiter
Scientific discovery has found a quadrillion tonnes of diamonds in the earth's mantle
Mobile payment app makes users' details public by default


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Published By : 11 Feb 2015 |Published By : QYRESEARCH
On Tuesday, it was reported that Apple became the very first company that reached a market worth of US$700 billion. This was the outcome of surging share prices and the upbeat news with regard to a soon-to-be launched smartwatch that will be introduced in the market. The share prices increased by 1.9% thereby, ensuring that the company surpassed the UTS$700 billion mark and reached a market value worth US$710 billion.
Tom Cook, the chief executive of Apple expressed that Apple had hit its stride. He also stated that their services such as iOS and the typical mobile operating mechanisms will soon be introduced in areas such as healthcare, automobile, and home. Tim Cook also pointed out to the fact, that Apple has established several stores in China, in order to expand their global reach in the long run. Apple has taken to a lot of distribution activities in China. As a matter of fact, the company has set up close to 20000 several selling points and about 27 new stores of Apple.
Cook stated that during the previous year, Apple had taken US$50 billion worth of revenue in some of the emerging markets. Several analysts have concluded that there is enough room for further growth for this tech company. Analysts also firmly believe that Apple can easily make its way through depressed levels since the company’s valuation can expand further, and can proper as well. The shares of Apple remained more or less reasonable since the company reported a quarterly profit worth US$18 billion.


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Intel Raptor Lake Refresh fully exposed, same price as 13th Gen series
Full specs and pricing information on Intel’s next desktop update has been leaked.
HD Tecnologia has unveiled the initial slides revealing Intel’s forthcoming series update for the LGA1700 socket. This marks the third generation of Intel CPUs designed for this platform, as well as an enhancement to the existing Raptor Lake lineup. The new presentation materials confirm Intel’s performance targets and provide details on all six models, including their respective prices.
The Intel Core i9-14900K has been officially confirmed to boast an impressive 24 cores, comprising 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores, accompanied by 36MB of cache. This CPU is set to achieve a maximum boost clock of 6.0 GHz for its P-Cores and a base frequency of 3.2 GHz. Intel has also affirmed that this CPU will support DDR5-5600 memory, in addition to DDR4-3200. According to the presentation, the Core i9-14900K will be available for $589, while its variant without integrated GPU support, the Core i9-14900KF, will retail for $564.
Additionally, the company is preparing to launch the Core i7-14700K CPU, which is the only model in the lineup to see a core count increase, now featuring 20 cores (comprising 8 P-Cores and 12 E-Cores). The CPU will boost up to 5.6 GHz and come with a base clock of 3.4 GHz. Pricing for the Core i7-14700K will be $409, and its GPU-less variant, the Core i7-14700KF, will be available for $384.
The 14-core i5-14600K, featuring a total of 20 cores (comprising 6 P-Cores and 8 E-Cores), is set to deliver a boost clock of 5.3 GHz and a base clock of 3.5 GHz. The Core i5-14600K will be priced at $319, while its variant without integrated graphics, the Core i5-14600KF, will have a price tag of $294.
It is therefore confirmed that the new desktop series will have the same pricing as the 13th Gen series, not one part has seen an increase for RCP (Recommended Customer Price).
All of these CPUs will share a default TDP (PL1/Processor Base Power) of 125W, with PL2 (Max Turbo Power) reaching as high as 253W for the 14900K/14700K series and 181W for the 14600K model.
The site has also shared some benchmarks from the official presentation including various Intel and AMD CPUs.
The official embargo on this information is scheduled to be lifted later today, which means that these slides will be made available to the public in a matter of hours.
|Intel 14th Gen Core “Raptor Lake Refresh”|
|VideoCardz.com||Configuration ↓||Base Clock||Max Clock||PBP/MTP||MSRP|


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The US executive, who has made a name for himself in top roles for leading luxury groups like Prada, LVMH and Valentino, is the new CEO of Trussardi. His main goal is to promote the label’s expansion in foreign markets.
No city stages fashion presentations as succinctly as Milan, all the way through the past week, which ended with the city closing its doors dramatically on Sunday after the first deaths from the coronavirus in Italy.
Luxury brand Trussardi, owned by investment fund QuattroR since February 2019, has reevaluated its distribution and begun a brand revival with a more coherent and premium offer and new creative collaborations.
Six months after taking control of the Italian fashion house, the QuattroR fund has put a new management team in place with ex-PVH Maela Mandelli appointed as CEO and Giuseppe Pinto as director of operations.


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Toyota is teaming up with Amazon to put the latter's voice assistant into certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles starting this year.
Drivers of some new Toyota vehicles will soon be able to have conversations with their cars, or at least ask them politely to do certain things.
The company announced the partnership at Consumer Electronic Show (CES), happening in Las Vegas.
Ministers hold crisis talks over Carillion
The contracts left little room for delay or failure and have led to problems for groups including Capita, Mitie and Interserve. The company is a major supplier to the Government, maintaining prisons across the country and managing around 900 schools.
Alexa will let drivers and passengers get directions, control entertainment features, get the news and perform other functions in the vehicle via voice command, the companies said Tuesday at the CES consumer electronics conference in Las Vegas.
Adding Alexa's machine learning smart capabilities into the mix makes a lot of sense and could really turn the Blade specs into a device that is useful for both work and play, providing you can stomach wearing the nerd goggles out in public; that didn't work out so well for Google Glass.
"We're thrilled that Toyota and Lexus will bring Alexa to customers on the road", said John Scumniotales, Head of Product for Amazon Alexa Automotive.
'The World Ends With You' Will Be Launching On The Nintendo Switch
Greenberg further states that the report will show that Nintendo sold the most overall units with its Nintendo Switch console. After days - nay weeks - of speculation and anticipation, fans finally have the Nintendo Direct they've been hoping for.
Amazon has similar arrangements with other carmakers such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Nissan Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co., Daimler AG, BMW AG and Ford Motor Co.
"This makes Toyota and Lexus vehicles among the first to bring the convenience of Alexa into the auto and onto the road", said Zack Hicks, senior vice president and chief information officer at Toyota Motor North America and CEO of Toyota Connected.
Nancy Kerrigan: 'I don't plan to watch I, Tonya'
Kerrigan's husband, agent Jerry Solomon, later called the Globe to explain that their position is to "say nothing". Figure Skating Championship, Kerrigan was clubbed on the right knee by an assailant.


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NAM: Monday Economic Report
New orders for manufactured goods fell by 0.6 percent in November, extending the 2.1 percent decline seen in October. In addition, new orders for core capital goods (or nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft)—a proxy for capital spending in the U.S. economy—continued to pull back from the all-time high reached in July. This suggests some softness in capital spending in the economy, which is disappointing.
However, core capital goods spending has increased by a relatively healthy 6.1 percent over the past 12 months, and overall, factory orders rose a modest 4.1 percent year-over-year.
The U.S. trade deficit eased from its highest rate in 10 years, down from $55.70 billion in October to $49.31 billion in November. Considerable decreases in imports for cell phones and other household goods and petroleum products helped to explain the sharp decline in goods imports in November, with each factor rather volatile from month to month.
More importantly, U.S.-manufactured goods exports rose 5.9 percent through the first 11 months of 2018 relative to the pace at the same timeframe in 2017. That suggests that manufacturing exports have continued to build on the rebound in international demand that started last year.
Manufacturing labor productivity grew 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter, expanding for the third straight month. With that said, output in the sector slowed from 4.1 percent growth in the third quarter to 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Labor productivity in the sector rose 0.6 percent in 2018, or just slightly above the average seen over the past three years (0.5 percent). This remained less than desired and certainly below the rates seen in prior economic recoveries.
Some developments of note regarding economic data releases in light of the recent partial government shutdown:
Retail trade – December retail sales data will be released next week on February 14.
Fourth quarter real GDP – Preliminary data were to have been released on January 30. Instead, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will completely forego that release, and instead, produce an “initial” read on February 28. This would have previously been the first revision. (I continue to expect this to be around 2.6 percent.)
Real GDP by industry – This will now be released on February 21 for the third quarter. Manufacturing had value-added output of $2.33 trillion in the second quarter of 2018, an all-time high.
Personal income and spending – BEA will now release this data, along with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) deflator, on March 1. That release will include personal income data for both December and January.
International trade in goods – The December trade data will now come out on March 6, about a month later than normal. This will give us our first read on U.S.-manufactured goods exports for 2018, with updated seasonal adjusted data released on TradeStats Expresssubsequent to that.


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However, open-headed lettuce varieties - such as butterhead lettuce - as well as raspberries, are also common carriers of bugs such as norovirus, a severe stomach bug.
A scientific review by the FSA has estimated that around 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness occur every year in the UK - up from the 2009 estimate of approximately one million. Of that, an estimated 380,000 cases of norovirus linked to food occur in the UK per year.
Food Standards Scotland said these new figures do not indicate an increase in total illness, or any new risk to public health, but rather provide a better estimation of the proportion of infectious intestinal disease that is due to food.
While oysters are the most high risk food, the largest proportion of food poisoning cases come from open-headed lettuce, which accounts for 30 per cent of all foodborne norovirus cases.
eating out accounts for an estimated 37 per cent of all foodborne norovirus cases, while takeaways cause 26 per cent. Raspberries sold in shops and super markets are also a likely carrier, accounting for four per cent of all cases.
Dr Jacqui McElhiney, head of food protection science and surveillance at Food Standards Scotland, said: “The Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) comprehensive study on the latest estimates of foodborne illness in the UK highlights that food is a more important source for certain bugs, such as norovirus, than we had previously thought.
“However, it is important to highlight that the increase in the FSA’s overall estimated number of cases does not indicate that more people are becoming ill, but rather these figures, through the latest scientific research methods, provide a more reliable indication of the role of food in human illness in the UK.”
The research said that, on average, an individual would only end up with norovirus once in every 15,000 portions of open-headed lettuce – which would take around 40 years. Oysters pose the highest risk per serving, with illness likely on average once in around 160 servings.
Dr McElhiney added: “Food Standards Scotland will continue working with others to ensure food is safe and reduce cases of food poisoning.
“This research emphasises the ongoing importance of practising good food hygiene, both when preparing and cooking meals at home and for catering businesses. To avoid cross-contamination and to reduce the risk of food poisoning, various safety steps should be taken such as washing hands and using separate chopping boards for raw foods and ready to eat foods, for example don’t use the same chopping board for both raw meat and vegetables.”


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Govt forms panel to study virtual currencies framework
Dinesh Sharma, special secretary in the economic affairs department, will chair the nine-member committee to study framework on virtual currencies including bitcoins
New Delhi: The government has formed a panel to study the existing framework for virtual currencies such as bitcoin.
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China & Vietnam Take Part Of Russia’s Market Share In Kazakhstan Household Appliance Exports
Opportunities for Asian exporters to look to Central Asia as Russian appliance exports decline
Imports of household appliances to Kazakhstan from Russia decreased in 2022, while those from China grew. A little more than a year has passed since the Russian conflict with Ukraine began and sanctions were imposed. As a result, established logistics routes were disrupted, which affected the supply of goods. This, in turn, has affected the trade patterns between Central Asia countries, Russia and China.
For example, imports of refrigerators and freezers from Russia decreased by 41.4%, while those from China and Uzbekistan grew by 22.9% and 45.4%, respectively. Part of this is due to Russia having been cut off from the SWIFT banking network with buyers unable to pay for Russian products.
Washing machines also began to be imported more by Kazakhstan from China – increasing 3.9 times and Uzbekistan by 0.2%, while deliveries from Russia decreased by -32.8%.
Kazakhstan also began to buy more vacuum cleaners from China, showing an increase of 38.9% and from Vietnam by 14.3%. Meanwhile, deliveries from Russia decreased by 16.4%.
Kazakh imports of dishwashers increased by 42.8%. The main supplier, despite the decline (-36.4%), remained Russia. Imports from Germany also decreased by -33.7%.
The supply of electric stoves in Kazakhstan, on the contrary, increased by 7.3%. Most were imported from Russia, but the volume itself was reduced by -41.9%. Ceramic plates were also transported from Turkey (+16.2%) and Poland (+16.1%).
The statistics illustrate the need for manufacturers throughout Asia, especially of household items, to look at expanding their export sales to markets impacted by the situation in Ukraine. Of note is the increase of Vietnam’s exports of vacuum cleaners to Kazakhstan. The two countries may seem far apart, but savvy Vietnamese exporters have been paying attention – Vietnam has a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union – which includes Kazakhstan. Applying market research and taking advantage of the operational trade agreements such as those with Kazakhstan can present opportunities.
While supplies from Russia and the West (such as Germany) have been impacted, supply chains from Asia are unaffected. This includes the Commonwealth of Independent States of which Kazakhstan is also a member, while Indian exporters should also be looking at the recent trade agreements its government signed with Kazakhstan last month. India’s trade agreements with other Central Asian nations impacted by a decline in imports from Russia should also be examined for opportunities.
Source: Hussein Nazarov for LS with additional commentary by Chris Devonshire-Ellis.


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Canada Nickel Company Inc. [CNC-TSXV] shares rallied Friday after the company said it has received an equity investment from Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI.
The shares were up 6.3% or 10 cents to $1.68 on volume of 252,490, and trade in a 52-week range of $2.16 and 89 cents.
The company said Samsung will invest US$18.5 million to acquire 15.6 million shares for of Canada Nickel, becoming an 8.7% shareholder. The Korean firm will pay $1.57 each for the shares.
Samsung has also been granted the right to purchase a 10% equity stake in Canada Nickel’s Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project, which is located in the Timmins – Cochrane mining camp in Ontario. Samsung can exercise the option once a final construction decision has been made. Assuming it does so, the Korean firm will be granted certain offtake rights to the Crawford project’s nickel-cobalt products.
By exercising the right, Samsung will have the right to 10% of the nickel-cobalt production from the Crawford project over the life of he mine and the right to an additional 20% of Crawford’s nickel-cobalt production for 15 years, extendable by mutual agreement
Samsung SDI is a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries for the IT industry, automobiles and energy storage systems, as well as cutting-edge materials used to produce semiconductors and displays. “We are very pleased to welcome SDI as an investor and project partner with Canada Nickel,’’ said Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby.
“As we advance the Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project, it is critical to form long-term partnerships with companies that truly understand how crucial this production is for electric vehicle supply chains across North American and Europe,’’ he said.
“As one of the world’s leading electric vehicle battery manufacturers, Samsung SDI not only understands our vital role in these supply chains, but also believes in Canada Nickel’s vision for responsible, large scale, net zero carbon nickel production. Together our two companies are paving he way for a more sustainable future.”
Canada Nickel recently raised $34.7 million from a brokered private placement of flow-through unit. Canada Nickel also welcomed Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM-TSX, AEM-NYSE) as an investor, which holds a 12% stake in the company on a non-diluted basis.
Canada Nickel is pursuing the development of processes to allow the production of net zero carbon nickel, cobalt and iron products. The company is currently anchored by its 100%-owned Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide project, which the company believes has the potential to become one of the world’s largest nickel-sulphide districts.
The private placement consisted of 19.6 million flow-through units priced at $1.77 per unit.


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As smartwatches make headlines with their futuristic features, traditional watchmaking powerhouses such as TAG Heuer, Swatch and other Swiss-based watchmakers are jumping on to the digital bandwagon to attract customers.
But Piaget, the 145-year-old Swiss watchmaker, is not intimidated by the hype over smartwatches. Piaget Korea general manager Sarah Jung said in an interview with The Korea Herald that the watchmakers’ prestige and prowess dating over a century goes beyond functionality.
“We are not dealing with clashing markets as we have different targets,” Jung said.
“Those who have high-end watches are not buying them simply because of the functionality. Watches that are handmade are not even that precise. Smartwatches have to do with convenience like mobile phones,” Jung explained. “Over 50 percent of our customers are making the choice that makes them content.”
Piaget Korea General Manager Sarah Jung. Piaget Korea.
Piaget, Jung said, believes in the pride that comes with history and craftsmanship. For this reason, the manufacturer controls the entire production process for its watches and jewelry, from the initial design to the final finishes including the movements and the cases. That is why Piaget does not make anything other than watches and jewelry.
“The time of unified and mass-produced brands is over. The trend in the future will be the coexistence of high-end and low-priced products,” Jung said.
Born in a family-run workshop in Switzerland, Piaget is one of the best-known high-end watch brands boasting unique and sophisticated watch collection that has captivated fashion icons such as Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of late former U. S. president John F. Kennedy.
Among its selection, ultrathin watches are Piaget’s longtime best sellers. The Emperador Coussin Skeleton Ultra-Thin Minute Repeater is listed as the thinnest watch with a minute repeater -- a mechanism that chimes the time down to the minute using separate tones for hours and minutes.
“Piaget has not built its reputation in a day. … We are not just a luxury group, but a brand of many aspects, including the long tradition, history, management and manufacturer,” Jung said.
Established in 2009, Piaget Korea has been working to reach out to the wider public.
“Piaget Korea’s immediate task is to bridge the gap between us and customers. We will reach out and communicate with them. Launching ultrathin watches and affordable fine jewelry would be a good starting point,” said Jung, adding that the Korean market has great potential to expand in the next five years.
By Yeo Jun-suk (firstname.lastname@example.org


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When Mark Zuckerberg decides to bet big on something, the rest of the world tends to pay attention. And over recent weeks, it’s become apparent he is betting big on the “Metaverse”, as evidenced by his October 28 announcement, when Facebook was officially renamed “Meta Platform”. But what is the “Metaverse” and the “Meta Platform” and where do digital assets fit in, if at all?
In brief, the Metaverse is an online 3D space where users can interact virtually. It will combine aspects of augmented and virtual reality, social media, online gaming and cryptocurrencies to create a fully virtual environment for its users - and Facebook plans to focus its efforts on developing it. The corporation expects to spend at least $10 billion on this project in 2021 alone, and this figure is only likely to increase in the coming years.
Readers would be forgiven for seeing no difference between the Metaverse and Web 3.0, and they are in fact very similar concepts. The easiest way to understand the difference is to see Web 3.0 as the engine that powers Metaverse products and solutions.
READ: How is crypto setting the stage for Web 3.0?
The Metaverse is set to be a place where all users are able to seamlessly plug into a virtual reality. Web 3.0 is the evolution of how users control their online identities and digital assets, underpinned by blockchain technology. As such, Web 3.0 will encompass both the Metaverse and other web-based applications that will not fall under the scope of the Metaverse.
The role of digital assets
Despite these subtle differences, one thing is certain: the two concepts cannot exist without one another. And consequently, neither can exist without blockchain technology, which has the power to revolutionize how users interact with data.
Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/, Nov 18, 2021
Touted as the next big thing in technology, the Metaverse could forever change gaming, advertising, and the entire idea of ownership. While today, owning physical objects remains desirable, the move towards a virtual world will boost the value of digital assets. These include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, which will be an integral part of how this new reality functions, allowing users to engage in play-to-earn models and prove ownership of their digital assets.
READ: How and why did NFTs survive the crypto downturn?
In the gaming world, we are already seeing projects that are fully embracing this virtual future. This includes the long-awaited launch of Sandbox Metaverse Alpha, a virtual play-to-earn gaming world that enables users to monetize their time spent in the Metaverse. After four years in the making, the development team is finally opening up to players via a multi-week play-to-earn (P2E) Alpha event, which will kick off on November 29. When this news was announced last week, the price of its native token SAND jumped to a new all-time-high of $4.68, before dropping back down to trade at its current level of around $4.00.
Other examples include Decentraland and Axie Infinity – virtual reality platforms that are home to two of the largest Metaverse tokens by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap. Decentraland’s native token, MANA, for example, has gone up in price nearly five-fold in recent weeks, from around $0.80 at the end of October to its current price of around $3.70 (as of November 22).
Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/, Nov 22, 2021
In these virtual games, digital assets will become a means of payment, a reason to play and compete, and proof of ownership. For example, Decentraland already allows users to buy virtual land in the game. As the Metaverse grows and expands, the need for native digital tokens will only increase for the whole ecosystem to function properly.
The newly renamed Meta itself is working on its own blockchain and cryptocurrency, Diem. This is still awaiting regulatory approval, but Meta has already launched its own crypto wallet project called Novi.
In a similar way to NFTs, the Metaverse is therefore in a position to promote the mainstream adoption of digital assets. With some 3.24 billion people in the world enjoying gaming as one of their pastimes, and this number only projected to grow, a revolutionary new gaming world built on the blockchain will ensure a bright future for digital assets.
READ: NFTs are bringing the mainstream to crypto in a way Bitcoin cannot
The Metaverse also offers an exciting and innovative way to combine physical technology, such as VR headsets and other Internet of Things (IoT) objects, with blockchain technology and innovation to build an entirely new user experience.
But while these developments are ultimately good news for the digital asset industry, fintech businesses and other players in the cryptocurrency ecosystem must not sit idle waiting for the Metaverse to launch. This will be a gradual process, and there is much to learn from these innovations that can be applied to the wider digital asset sphere. After all, Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t have a monopoly on the Metaverse.
And in fact, the Metaverse is here already. Virtual reality game Second Life allowed players to create avatars of themselves as far back as 2003. As opportunities to invest in these games increase, this also means investors will have to become more discerning when choosing the Metaverse project they wish to back. Clever marketing doesn’t necessarily mean future success.
Do you want to earn market-leading interest rates on your digital assets? Sign up for a YIELD App account today!
DISCLAIMER: The content of this article does not constitute financial advice and is for informational purposes only. The price of digital assets can go down as well as up, and you may lose all of your capital. Investors should consult a professional advisor before making any investment decisions.


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According to Taiwanese OEMs, April 8 will be the day that you can get your hands on desktop and mobile Ivy Bridge CPUs. These will be the first commercial chips that use a 22nm process, and the first silicon chips that use 3D tri-gate transistors (FinFET).
To celebrate the 40th birthday of the Intel 4004 — the first single-chip CPU — we’re going to take a look at the history of Intel’s microprocessors. We’ll start with the 4004 but quickly move onto the 8088, perhaps the most important chip of all time, the first Pentium, the iffy Pentium 4, the sad fate of Itanium, Sandy Bridge, and beyond.
Intel’s Sandy Bridge-E has landed. We had the chance to test the Core i7-3960X extensively, as well as take a look at Intel’s DX79SI motherboard, which packs the hot new X79 chipset. If you need maximum performance — and we’re talking six cores, 64GB of RAM, and PCI-E 3.0 — Intel has you covered.
AMD’s Bulldozer is finally here, after years of development — and its performance is significantly worse than anyone expected. Bulldozer’s general performance has been widely covered, however. Our goal here is to drill into why the CPU performs the way it does rather than covering it in a wide range of real world scenarios.


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Jugos, bebidas, vinos y licoresEne. 7, 2014
Cítricos/California: continúa evaluación de daños
“Each shipper is coming up with their own estimates, but some are seeing 30% to 50% losses,” Alyssa Houtby, director of public affairs at Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual, said Jan. 2. “It’s going to take a couple months before we start to see the full extent of the damage.”
“There’s significant damage,” said Randy Jacobson, sales manager at Orange Cove-based Cecelia Packing Corp. “But how much it’s going to end up being, I don’t think anybody really knows. Some areas were hit worse than others.”
The cold wave gripped the San Joaquin Valley Dec. 4-10.
“We’re expecting more damage in the mandarins than the navels,” Houtby said. “Lemons seem to have escaped without much damage.”
State inspectors continue to check loads in packinghouses where fruit is subject to holds up to 48 hours after harvest, while growers and packers evaluate fruit in the field before picking.
“They’re doing the best they can to make sure none of that damaged fruit makes it to the fresh market,” Houtby said. “At this point we’re able to salvage pretty much all of it that can’t go into fresh for juice.”
Prices on some navel orange sizes edged up after the freeze. Size 113 navel shippers first grade, for example, ran mostly $15.80 to $17.90 Dec. 30 for 7/10 bushel cartons, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was up from $13.80 to $14.90 on Dec. 2. Year-ago prices for 113s were about $7.75.


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The latest Apple Watch Pride Edition bands have been unveiled by the tech brand as an upcoming range of accessories for the namesake smartwatch that will enable users to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community and more.
The watch bands come in the form of the Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop and the Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop, which will both support an array of LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations. The Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop features the traditional colors the rainbow along with black and brown shades to symbolize the Black and LatinX communities and those who have been lost to HIV/AIDS. The band also features light blue, pink and white to represent the trans and nonbinary communities.
The Apple Watch Pride Edition bands will be launching soon alongside the Pride Watch Face for users to toggle on their device.
Image Credit: Apple


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Where better to start than with this:
When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2 1/2%. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25%. Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE – going on for years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2018
And he’s right, you know. The US tariff on the import of cars is indeed a mere 2.5%. China’s own tariffs are indeed 25%. If you don’t believe either him or me, consult the WTO’s own data on the matter.
America’s tariffs on car imports are very low, albeit not the lowest in the world (many countries, including Japan, Iceland and Norway have zero tariffs). China’s are high but hardly the highest (in Europe, as you probably realise if you’ve been following the Brexit debate, the going rate is 10%; in the Maldives it is 100%, though being an archipelagic nation with few roads, perhaps they can get away with it).*
But tariffs are only one tiny part of the story. Which is something worth rehearsing (and no doubt re-rehearsing) as the world stumbles towards what some people fear could be a trade war. If tariffs were the only thing that mattered, you’d expect to see a correlation between a country’s tariff rates and the amount of trade it sucks in.
You’d expect to see incredibly high US car exports to Japan, for instance. After all, as I mentioned above, Japan has no tariffs on car imports; it has a large, wealthy population, many of whom like to buy cars. Ergo you’d presume there would be much greater US car penetration than somewhere like China, right?
Wrong: as we saw not that long ago by the departure of Ford from the Japanese car market, US carmakers have long struggled to gain a foothold in the country. Indeed, in 2014, the US exported a mere 19,000 cars to Japan, fewer than it sent to Kuwait or Korea, and a fraction of the 300k-plus it exported to China. Tariffs, you see, are only half of the problem.
Far more significant are what economists call non-tariff barriers. That might mean safety regulations and stringent rules on importers to put their cars through complex and onerous tests before getting them to market. It might mean bizarre environmental rules that mean one type of diesel engine won’t work in another country because the emissions of an obscure gas are too high. It might mean rules and regulations making it difficult to sell your cars in the country.
In Japan there are no tariff barriers but there are all sorts of non-tariff barriers. For one thing, it is extremely hard for outside companies to establish a dealership network. There are complex, tedious safety tests as long as your arm. And there are quite literal barriers too. Japanese car parks tend to be smaller than those you’ll find in North America, so US cars are too big to fit through the barriers. They are too wide for many of the country’s streets. BMW actually makes adapted models of its cars to sell in Japan. The 3 series has special handles and wing mirrors that make it a tad narrower.
While around the world tariffs are falling, the fact is these other non-tariff barriers are on the way up.
Indeed, while the US has dropped many of its tariffs down to zero or thereabouts, it has been as guilty as many countries at raising those invisible trade barriers. According to UNCTAD’s database on this stuff, when it comes to cars, the US has 46 non-tariff barriers to Chinese imports. China, on the other hand has a grand total of 5 non-tariff barriers affecting cars.
In other words, by some measures the US has more barriers on its car imports than China. But they are invisible rather than visible barriers: technical standards, rules on car seats, seatbelts and so on.
It’s worth dwelling on this point for another reason. The US has tended to shift away from tariffs to non-tariff barriers over recent decades because, frankly, tariffs don’t have much of a track record of success. Indeed, part of the reason so many in business are urging President Trump not to impose tariffs (as the tech industry has just done) is because they don’t work.
And that’s before one considers the deeper problem: that tit-for-tat trade battles tend to make everyone worse off: the country that imposes them, the consumers that have to pay them, the country trying to trade through the barrier. The reason plenty of presidents in recent decades – from Nixon to Bush have threatened tariffs and then later abandoned them – is that they benefit no-one.
Whether they will force China and other countries to the negotiating table – and whether this was simply Mr Trump’s goal – is another question.
* for simplicity’s sake here (and in the measure of non-tariff barriers) I’ve selected a mid-range car with an engine between 1.5 and 3l. ISO code 870323 if you’re counting.
UPDATE: Interesting response on twitter:


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We wanted to share an interesting recent Slate article entitled “Amazon Created a Hiring Tool Using A.I. It Immediately Started Discriminating Against Women,” by Jordan Weissmann (see https://slate.com/business/2018/10/amazon-artificial-intelligence-hiring-discrimination-women.html). The article highlights an important reality for employers, i.e., that algorithms used to automate certain processes, such as hiring, are not immune from discrimination.
Amazon implemented an automated system for reviewing and screening job applications for software engineers, but the system was programmed to look for terms found in applications for prior positions. The algorithm therefore perpetuated the male-dominated pool, essentially “learning” to discriminate against applicants whose resumes did not conform to that norm. Due to those issues, Amazon has scuttled the program.
As the article emphasizes, Amazon’s experience is an “illustration of why many tech experts are worried that, rather than remove human biases from important decisions, artificial intelligence will simply automate them,” linking to “Biased Algorithms Are Everywhere, and No One Seems to Care,” a July 2017 article in the MIT Technology Review by Will Knight (see https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608248/biased-algorithms-are-everywhere-and-no-one-seems-to-care/). In short, if you’re considering implementing algorithms for key personnel matters, be cognizant of the risks, including the continued risk of discriminatory decisions.


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EU challenged by plant-based community on ‘climate-hostile’ amendment
ProVeg International, Oatly and Upfield have launched a petition to stop Amendment 171 on the grounds of plant-based censorship.
Such restrictions, says the plant-based community, would make it more difficult for consumers to choose plant-based foods in spite of ever-increasing demand, and also threaten consumers’ right to information and companies’ right to fair competition. Amendment 171 also directly interferes with the EU’s vital sustainability efforts such as the Green Deal.
The European plant-based-dairy sector is already prohibited from using terms like ‘oat milk’ and ‘soya yoghurt’. This amendment, which effectively amounts to censorship of the plant-based sector, would dramatically expand those restrictions by prohibiting any use of ‘evocations’ of dairy products on plant-based packaging or in advertising. If implemented, plant-based brands could even be prohibited from using images of their own products. Amendment 171 could also ban factual disclaimers such as ‘does not contain milk’.
“This goes directly against the EU’s intent to promote more sustainable food production and makes it more difficult for consumers to choose plant-based options,” says Oatly’s Cecilia McAleavey, director of Public Affairs and Sustainable Eating. “Given the climate crisis, it’s irresponsible to try and prevent us from encouraging people to make the switch to plant-based and help protect the planet in the process. People are not stupid – everyone understands that this is an attempt by the dairy lobby to hinder the shift towards sustainable plant-based eating.”
In practice, this could prohibit the following:
- Describing a plant-based food, its taste, or function by referring to familiar ‘dairy’ terminology . For example, using wordings such as ‘it’s like milk’, ‘creamy’, or ‘buttery’ to inform the consumer about the purpose, texture, or flavour, either on packaging or advertising. This includes informative descriptions, for instance, using the phrases “does not contain milk”, “suitable for persons suffering from lactose intolerance”, or “plant-based alternative to yoghurt”.
- Showing climate impact by comparing the carbon footprint of a plant-based food item with its dairy equivalent.
- Using a picture of a plant-based white beverage being poured at a breakfast table, or white foam swirling into a cappuccino.
- In its most restrictive interpretation, this could result in bans on plant-based food packaging that looks visually similar to dairy packaging.
ProVeg International’s global campaign to stop the ‘veggie burger ban’ made headlines around the world. As a result, MEPs responded to public pressure and voted against the ban, known as AM165. However, while the world talked about veggie burgers, 386 MEPs, or 54%, voted in favour of amendment 171.
ProVeg has emphasised that censoring the plant-based-dairy sector not only contradicts the EU’s public-health goals and the promotion of healthy diets – it sits in direct opposition to the sustainability objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy. If implemented, ProVeg says it would pose a substantial threat to the climate goals of the Paris Agreement as well as distorting the competition between traditional food companies and companies that produce plant-based alternatives.
Jasmijn de Boo, vice president of ProVeg International, said: “It is baffling to once again be forced to justify sustainability. Why would we sabotage innovation? Who will benefit? Green energy is no longer being stifled or opposed, so why are we still suppressing and censoring sustainable food production, given the urgency of the situation? Who stands to lose here? We need to adapt across every part of our food chain if we’re to tackle the climate crisis. Genuinely sustainable food production must be enabled. How will we reach our climate goals if we allow the influence of powerful but unsustainable industries to determine our collective fate?”
The cultural importance of dairy – and particularly cheese – in certain countries is not to be undermined. ProVeg has said that rather than hindering the inevitable and necessary shift to plant-based eating, the dairy industry should be using traditional artisanal methods to embrace sustainability, much as numerous actors in the meat sector are doing with plant-based meats.
“Food policy should be formed in the interests of consumers, environment and health. This amendment goes against all three,” says Dr Jeanette Fielding, chief corporate affairs and communications officer at Upfield. “Making it illegal to name, package and depict plant-based foods in the way we have done for over 100 years is a serious step backwards. Consumers are looking for strong EU leadership on climate and environment. That means tearing down bureaucratic barriers to sustainable and healthy eating, not building them higher.”


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Playing is likely one of the most well-liked recreational actions throughout Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens participate in more than a few varieties of playing annually, and the federal government has enacted strict regulations to make certain that gamers may be able to gamble in protected and safe environments. In Australia, unique regulations control the operation of casinos.
All varieties of playing beneath the Playing Act 2003 are divided into 4 classes. Online casino playing and digital gaming units fall beneath Class four: top possibility playing. The Playing Act puts very strict tips at the method through which Class four actions are to be performed in gaming. There are separate regulations for online casino playing.
In keeping with the Playing Act 2003, casinos may also be open all day. On the other hand, they will have to be closed on Christmas Day, Just right Friday and Anzac Day. So many casinos don’t seem to be open 24 hours an afternoon.
The Playing Act additionally states that operators can not construct new casinos in Australia. At the same time as licenses can also be renewed, operators can not construct new homes till the act is up to date. Online casino operators are allowed to renovate their homes. Whilst they may be able to enlarge their resorts, construct new eating places and alter the décor of the online casino, operators can not upload new desk video games or digital gaming machines.
Online casino operators in Australia will have to additionally take duty for the advertising of protected playing amongst buyers. As such, operators will have to make certain that a variety of literature is to be had to guests, similar to pamphlets that give an explanation for the percentages of profitable specific video games and details about easy methods to acknowledge the indicators of drawback playing. Moreover, all workforce who come into direct touch with gamers will have to be capable of determine drawback playing behaviour. Casinos are required to offer coaching for drawback playing consciousness.
Most effective land-primarily based playing operators will have to adhere to regulations set out via Australia’s Playing Act. Recently, online casinos and different playing websites don’t seem to be regulated through Australia’s executive. At some point, offshore playing websites would possibly be developed into regulated, as the federal government has lately issued a decision for submissions in regards to the Interactive Playing Act. The native executive needs to decide the have an effect on of smartphones at the on-line playing marketplace and acquire views available on the market usually. Thus far, a few submissions have inspired the law of online playing in Australia. As such, the Australian executive may just control online playing.


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Earlier today, Bleeding Cool scooped the news on the full Free Comic Book Day titles for the 14th of August, 2021, including Ed Piskor's new horror comic book series Red Room from Fantagraphics, which will launch for FCBD. The Red Room Free Comic Book Day issue will feature 100% original content, exclusive to FCBD, and will be published between the first and second Red Room series. While the series is intended for mature readers, the FCBD story will be the equivalent of PG-13.
And Bleeding Cool also has one of the three variant covers, an Eightball homage by Piskor's fellow Cartoonist Kayfaybe podcaster Jim Rugg, that will accompany the first issue of the main Red Room series launching in May with an oversized 64-page first issue
The Red Room Free Comic Book Day issue will showcase the dark and twisted world of Red Room, where criminals livestream murders on the dark web for fun and profit. Fantagraphics will publish the debut issue of Red Room on May 19, 2021 with an oversized 64-page first issue, featuring a standard cover by Piskor, as well as orderable variant covers by Piskor, Street Angel artist Jim Rugg (who co-hosts the popular Cartoonist Kayfabe with Piskor) and superstar artist Peach Momoko. The Red Room Free Comic Book Day issue will be available nationwide on August 14, 2021.
Now that Peach Momoko has gone Marvel exclusive, is this the last of her variant covers for another publisher for the foreseeable?
Piskor has been teasing the series on Patreon and Cartoonist Kayfabe, his popular podcast with cartoonist Jim Rugg, who says "We're going to be talking about Red Room on each and every episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe. Comic book shops are going to want to have plenty on hand with issue 1 drops in May." Ed Piskor states "Red Room is a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk comic that you can't unsee once you feast your eyes on the mayhem. Think of Red Room as modern day E.C. Comics, infused with the dream of Black Mirror. These are subversive, stand alone stories that are all part of a larger, twisted narrative."
The comic book series will be told through a series of interconnected, stand alone stories, focusing on unsavory characters that lurk in the most grotesque corners of cyberspace. The murders are a mystery, the victims unknown. Aided by the anonymous dark web and nearly untraceable crypto-currency, business is booming and the viewership is ever-growing.
It will also be released in a variety of formats. The series will be published as monthly, four-issue arcs in a standard 32-page comic book format at $3.99 each, with the exception of May's first issue, which will be a specially priced, 64-page double-sized issue selling for $6.99. In the fall of 2021, the first four issues will be collected into a trade paperback. Once the Red Room saga is complete, there will be a total of 12 single issues, three trade paperbacks and the Free Comic Book Day issue.


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Goodyear Jamaica Limited, which has been in voluntary liquidation since 2008, is to make final payment of $0.63 per share to shareholders later this month.
The payment will be made to shareholders on record as at December 19, 2008. This payment will be made on May 21, 2021, subject to a four per cent transfer tax.
There are approximately 2,643 shareholders on Goodyear’s books. The St Thomas-based tyre company has advised that its registrar and transfer agent, the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) Limited has brought to its attention the fact that a number of shareholders are without current addresses.
As such, Goodyear is advising shareholders, who have changed their address to contact the JCSD at 40 Harbour Street in Kingston.
Additionally, those who have not already done so should contact the JCSD to obtain and complete the mandate form to facilitate direct deposits to their bank account.
Requirements for updating addresses
To update the address, shareholders will be required to provide instructions in writing Along with a valid identification e.g. drivers’ license and a copy of a share certificate. An interim payment of $1.75 per share was made to ordinary shareholders in late 2009, which was one year after the tyre company announced that it would shutter its operations and exit Jamaica for good.
The company’s stock market value at the time of delisting was $193.644 million, based on a share price of $3.26. Goodyear opted for voluntary liquidation in 2008, nearly two years after a fire consumed its inventory from which the company never fully recovered.
It reported a net loss of $48 million at financial year ending December 31, 2008. The company began business in Jamaica in 1965, as a manufacturer of tyres, operating a plant in Morant Bay, St Thomas, since 1967.
Scaling back and exiting Jamaica
However, the company scaled back operations in 1995, locked down the factory and retreated to Kingston, as distributor of tyres made by sister operations elsewhere and focused on sales and marketing for Goodyear’s Caribbean business.
Jamaican shareholders at the announcement of the liquidation were told to expect at least 80 per cent compensation per dollar of assets liquidated after debt repayments.


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I’d like to tell you about a change of address acyclovir ohne rezept kaufen Bentley itself currently exports more than four out of every five cars it makes in the UK to the rest of the world, with its latest model expected to appeal to wealthy overseas buyers. The SUV, yet to be named, is expected to be the most expensive on the market when it goes on sale in 2016.
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bimatoprost ophthalmic solution veterinary clinic Up until now the company has been unwilling to diversify its flag-ship smartphone, but with next weekâs product launch expected to feature a cheaper iPhone model (the colourfully plastic-backed iPhone 5C) it seems that the company has acceded to market pressures.
terbinafine tabletki cena NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell and the U.S.dollar languished near a five-week low on Monday ahead of atwo-day Federal Reserve meeting where the U.S. central bank isexpected to reaffirm its commitment to keep benchmark interestrates low.
how much ibuprofen can i take before overdose When they do, commentators would do well to rememberpredictions about food and fuel scarcities have come and gone inwaves for almost 250 years – and been proved wrong repeatedly. (Editing by David Evans)


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Leaders in the business world are recognizing the importance of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). A survey by the CNBC Global CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Council has found that more than one in four CFOs (26 percent) consider AI and machine learning as critical to their company, and nearly half (44 percent) think that it is "very important."
The survey is a key indicator of trends and viewpoints in big business, taking account of the views of some of the largest private companies worldwide which collectively have a market cap of more than $4 trillion in a variety of sectors.
AI's role in business may be even more significant than this survey suggests, as there is an overlap between this category and the second most critical technology in the survey, the IoT. Most IoT systems utilize AI, particularly to learn, streamline themselves, and self correct.
Although Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are making headlines — such as Bitcoin prices soaring to over $2,000 and China testing a cryptocurrency for potential national implementation — they are not a major concern among these massive corporations. About 23 percent said that technology related to virtual currencies was "not at all important," and only 3 percent said that it was critical.
These results show a real-world reflection of the trends in business, cutting through the marketing, jargon, and verbiage surrounding technologies. They show that AI has not just become critical in some industries, but has permeated the business world itself, changing the very way companies operate.
It is being applied across the board to the entire spectrum of the production and consumption processes: from being used to help hire employees, to replacing cashiers in retail stores, to taking the jobs of money-management workers.
Blockchain did not rank highly on this year's survey, but this may be because it is only having a fundamental effect in a small number of sectors — such as humanitarian aid and some aspects of the food industry — and because these statistics show the current world, not a forecast of the one to come.
Companies are extremely interested in blockchain technology, but it has not become crucial to them yet because of issues of risk and integration. Blockchain likely will be ranked much more highly on the survey in the coming years. The writing is on the wall already: Wall Street is trying to implement it by 2018, IBM has launched its own cryptocurrency, and cities like Dubai want it to be the default for their economies by 2020.
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Now it is the turn of Lenovo of to recall notebook battery packs
About 100,000 battery packs used in Lenovo Inc’s notebook computers are being recalled because they could overheat and cause a fire, media Friday quoted the company as saying. The recall involves battery packs made by Japan’s Sanyo Electric Co. and follows four reports of overheating. In one case, a user suffered minor eye irritation, the company said.
In the interests of public safety, the company said it will offer customers free-of-charge replacements for all recalled battery packs.


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Over the past few days, several PlayStation users have been reporting a malicious console-crashing attack sent via console message. Players claimed a specific character combination had "bricked" their consoles, forced them to factory reset their PlayStations, and that "even deleting the message from the mobile app" didn't protect them. The only known way for players to protect themselves was by setting their messages to private.
PlayStation has now publicly acknowledged the problem, in a tweet sent from the British support account - which claims the issue can be solved in under five minutes.
According to the tweet, the exploit does not actually brick consoles, but was instead "sending them into a crash loop". Some players appeared to be on the right lines by hoping to delete the message via the PS mobile app - but to fully stop the message players should also "go into Safe Mode" and then "use Option 5" (that's "Rebuild Database") to get their consoles back to normal.
We've since fixed the issue, and it wasn't bricking consoles, just sending them into a crash loop that can be quickly fixed in under 5 minutes. Delete the message on the PS mobile app, go into Safe Mode, use Option 5, console back to normal. ^DB— Ask PlayStation UK (@AskPS_UK) October 15, 2018
Sony is yet to make a full statement on the message hack issue, and this tweet is the closest we've gotten to an explanation. Eurogamer has contacted Sony for comment and will update this story when we hear more. Until then, it may be prudent to set your PlayStation messages to private - and should you be sent the message, follow the instructions in Sony's tweet.


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SAN DIEGO – (Jan. 24, 2020) – Oster and Associates, a full-service marketing agency focused on cannabis, luxury lifestyle and produce brands, is now the agency of record for Culinary and Cannabis, a high end cannabis event company based in Irvine, Calif.
The Culinary and Cannabis concept focuses on health, wellness and education through alternative uses of legal cannabis by means other than smoking. This idea brings together health care professionals and advocacy groups along with food and wine experts within the community for special events. These gatherings aim to remove the stigma associated with medical marijuana treatments by exploring its many culinary possibilities.
“Our primary goal is to educate people about the medical benefits of cannabis in a safe social setting,” said Tamara Anderson, event director of Culinary and Cannabis. “We know that there needs to be an informative component to everything that we do, but we also believe that people are looking for fun, new ways to enjoy cannabis. This includes learning how to cook with cannabis, incorporating luxurious skincare products and immersive spa treatments just to name a few.”
There is an element of excitement when it comes to the unlimited possibilities of legal cannabis use to improve the quality of life for millions of Californians. That includes informing interested adults age 21-and-up about the health benefits of cannabis and living a less painful and more fulfilling daily life.
“We are thrilled to be working with a visionary like Tamara and her Culinary and Cannabis team,” said Oster and Associates president Bev Oster. “Her medical background as a licensed registered nurse and pastry chef experience means that she can creatively pair medical ideas and culinary concepts for others to enjoy. Culinary and Cannabis events are uniquely special and something that fits Southern California’s entertainment landscape very well.”
Culinary and Cannabis has previously hosted events throughout the Southern California region including Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Orange County and San Diego to date. The 2020 calendar is currently filling up with events such as CannaSpa, a Culinary and Cannabis-hosted series of events that will focus on three main areas of interest. Each one will include a panel discussion on cannabis and its effects of different medical diagnoses and a short class on subjects like cannabis cocktails or topicals. There will be a special cannabis experience such as a facial, massage or sound bath. And there will be a time set aside for engagement between cannabis consumers and business owners in this intimate setting.
For more information about Culinary and Cannabis, please visit www.culinaryandcannabis.com.
About Oster and Associates
Founded in 1986, Oster and Associates is a full-service advertising and public relations agency with clients in the cannabis, luxury lifestyle, nonprofit, produce, retail gardening and sports industries. For more information on Oster and Associates, visit www.osterads.com, call 619-906-5540 or follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.
About Culinary and Cannabis
Culinary and Cannabis is a new groundbreaking event forum which brings together health care professionals and advocacy groups along with food and wine experts within the community for a great cause. These events aim to remove the stigma associated with medical marijuana treatment by exploring its many culinary possibilities. For more information on Culinary and Cannabis, visit www.culinaryandcannabis.com or follow them on Instagram @culinaryandcannabis or Facebook at Culinary and Cannabis.


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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
While some might remember 17-year-old Mikaila Ulmer from her 2016 “Shark Tank” appearance, the go-getting teen’s “Me & The Bees” lemonade business is going strong, and she appeared on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday to offer advice to young entrepreneurs and share the secret behind her success.
Ulmer, a soon-to-be college student at The University of Georgia, says her multi-million-dollar idea started with a bee sting.
“I was four-and-a-half, during summer break, and I was stung by two bees in one week, “she said. “After doing some research, I learned that bees are incredibly important to our economy. Without them, our entire food supply would collapse, and that bees are dying at an alarming rate…”
10 SUCCESSFUL KID ENTREPRENEURS KEEPING THEIR EYES ON THE PRIZE
Ulmer says the knowledge sparked her novel idea to sweeten her great-grandmother’s flaxseed lemonade recipe with honey and donate a portion of proceeds to organizations that work to save bees.
“That started over 12 years ago in Austin, Texas, and we’ve been going strong since,” she added.
THE ‘ENTREPRENEUR’S OBLIGATION’: INVESTING IN YOUR STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
Ulmer says that, since her “Shark Tank” appearance in 2016, her company has been “busy as bees,” telling viewers that the product is currently in approximately 6,000 distribution points across the U.S., including 1,300 Publix stores and in eight states in the southeast. Ulmer said she’s determined to merge profit with philanthropy.
“We are looking for more ways that we can save the bees, that we can teach social entrepreneurship to kids, and we can make a greater impact and this lemonade company is my way of doing so,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Ulmer says that, as an African-American woman and as a kid, she had to prove herself, and encouraged everyone to use the things others says they cannot do as “milestones” and “motivation” to reach their goals.
“Me & The Bees” lemonade is available for purchase at several major U.S. retail chains, including Publix and Costco.


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We’re gonna shoot from the hip here — wireless carriers have gotten a little out-of-hand with their 4G marketing. Even industry standard setter, the ITU, can’t figure out a way to keep the story straight. This consumer disinformation loop is exactly what Rep. Anna Eshoo plans to undo with her “Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act.” Like its title says, the bill would force carriers to be absolutely, unfalteringly crystal clear on minimum data speeds, network reliability, accessible coverage maps, and, of course, the technology being used. Think the T-Mobile girl can handle that in thirty seconds? We didn’t think so, either. Retailers tried a similar consumer hand-holding effort during the DTV transition, although that came without a regulatory shove. Hit the source for legalese in all its undisturbed glory, and while you wait for Uncle Sam to act, you can clear up any lingering confusion by diving into our primer.
[Image courtesy Going WiMax]
Rep. Eshoo intros 4G disclosure act, hopes to turn consumers into techies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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The longest-running program in Tampa Bay for enabling entrepreneurs & emerging technologies will be conducting its 5th B2B accelerator program starting in March
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, February 8, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Tampa Bay Innovation Center (TBIC), an early-stage tech incubator, accelerator, and coworking hub, announced it is accepting applications to its Spring 2022 Accelerator program for B2B tech ventures. The Pinellas County-based startup accelerator program is seeking high-impact tech startups from a broad range of industries that serve enterprise and SMB customers. Founders will engage in a rigorous program that includes coaching, design thinking, user research, and insight from industry professionals. The program begins on Wednesday, March 23rd, and is currently scheduled to be held in person at TBIC’s downtown St. Petersburg office.
“A startup’s journey to find a sustainable product-market fit is one that is achieved by understanding the user’s job, their ideal outcome, and points of friction that impede them from meeting their objectives. Startups that focus only on the technology often fail to achieve the traction they need to turn their ideas and efforts into a sustainable flow of paying customers. This program helps founders build the credibility and confidence they need to launch and grow scalable products based on that user insight and real market demand,” said Ken Evans, managing director, tech accelerator.
Founders in the program create a demand-driven product strategy and go-to-market roadmap gaining insights from extensive customer discovery and market research. They develop strategies for testing and implementing thought leadership, pricing models, industry partnerships, and hyper-focused demand generation.
The program is made possible by a network of 75+ mentors and advisors, many of whom are the region’s top technology and business leaders. Twenty-six companies have participated in the program since its inception in late 2019. Their final showcase presentations can be viewed on the Tampa Bay Innovation Center’s YouTube channel – www.youtube.com/channel/UCdk7mIUhm25mrS1mVE9H2pA
The program is:
• focused on preparing founders to build revenue-ready tech ventures
• 12-weekly group workshops plus weekly 1-on-1 coaching
• mentor-driven by startup operators and industry experts with a track record of shipping products
• designed to accommodate up to 10 companies per cohort
• celebrated with a demo/pitch event open to the entire Tampa Bay community
• provided free-of-charge and no equity will be required
To qualify for this accelerator program, applicants must:
• have a unique and scalable tech venture in a B2B or B2G market
• be self-funded or have raised early-seed, seed funding
• have a minimal viable product or proof of concept
• a team of two or more team members
Applications are being accepted until March 4th. Complete information and application details are available at https://tbinnovates.com/accelerator.
The Tampa Bay Innovation Center B2B Accelerator program will run from March 23rd through June 8th. Graduates of the program will participate in the Showcase Event at the end of June to an audience of investors, community leaders, media, and potential business partners/customers.
About Tampa Bay Innovation Center:
Tampa Bay Innovation Center supports entrepreneurial success, fosters the creation of high-tech jobs, and develops new sources of technology and manufacturing capabilities by nurturing early-stage ventures as they grow and launch their products into the marketplace. The Innovation Center offers programs that are tailored to the innovator/entrepreneur and address business intelligence, planning, business formation, strategy execution, and technology transition.
This month, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center will begin construction of a purpose-built 45,000 sq. ft. startup incubator facility in the St. Pete Innovation District. In October of last year, it was announced that Ark Investment Management will be the title sponsor for this facility and will collaborate with TBIC to focus on platforms of innovation including, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology.
Follow Tampa Bay Innovation Center on Twitter and Instagram, @tbinnovates, and on LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/company/2556307 for updates and future events.


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In an announcement on May 30, presented by the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, minister of international development and minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan), FPS Food Process Solutions (“FPS”), will receive $2M in funding to further expand commercialization of the Spiral Immersion System (SIS), a technology in the food processing industry.
The funding, provided through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program, recognizes high-growth businesses in British Columbia in specific industry sectors such as advanced manufacturing with financial assistance in the form of an interest-free loan and extended repayment program.
“We are truly excited to receive this recognition and support. As we are already committed to commercializing this new technology, it is even more of an incentive to ensure we meet our target without increasing costs. This funding announcement is further proof we can grow and accelerate our business and place B.C. on the map as a manufacturing growth sector,” says Jeffrey Chang, president of FPS Food Process Solutions.


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A UK motorhome company has warned that legislative loopholes means that a number of campervan conversion companies are selling potentially dangerous vehicles to the public.
Jerba Campervans, who are an approved body builder of Volkswagen’s Transporter T6 model, is speaking out about how complex legislation is allowing many businesses to convert and market vehicles that have bypassed safety testing.
Simon Poole, Managing Director at Jerba Campervans, said: “There are two sides to safety in a campervan: driving the vehicle and living in it. But when a van that is already being driven on the road is converted into a campervan, there is nothing in place that ensure either of these aspects have been tested for safety.
“The cooker in the back and the levels of ventilation, for example, have often not been inspected to see if they are safe. It is also unlikely that any proper test has been carried out on the fitting of rear campervan seat belts.”
The UK government’s safety regulations which stipulate the road safety requirements in campervans, such as rear seat belt testing, only covers brand new vehicles and for living conditions such as gas and ventilation no mandatory regulations exist at all.
Simon added: “The reality is that people simply assume that campervans are safe because they’re sold by established companies. But it’s so important that customers make well-informed decisions about which vehicles they buy with safety testing at the forefront of their minds.
“It’s not glamorous, and a bit of research does take time, but it could save lives.”
Jerba Campervans have undertaken and passed full vehicle Type Approval – the highest level of UK road safety testing.
They have also passed the voluntary codes assessed by the National Caravan Council which ensure a leisure vehicle is safe to live in but many companies choose not to follow these.


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Maersk to send first container ship through Arctic Ocean
August 23, 2018 - A Danish vessel is attempting to become the first container ship to tackle the Arctic sea route north of Russia.
Denmark’s Maersk, the world’s largest operator of container shipping, plans to send the first such ship from East Asia to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The ship will collect data to see if melting Arctic sea ice has made the route economically viable.
The recently launched Venta Maersk set sail from the Russian port of Vladivostok on August 23, from where it travels north through the Bering Strait and then west along Russia’s northern coast, heading for St Petersburg via what is known as the Northern Sea Route.
The company said the Venta Maersk, which carries approximately 3,600 containers, is designed to withstand waters as cold as -25°C. It will transport a cargo of goods including frozen fish on the trial voyage, after which it will be deployed in the Baltic Sea.
Graphic News Standards


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The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) claims to have created a two week window in which we can regroup before the assault from Gameover Zeus (GOZeuS) and CryptoLocker resumes. But how good is this opportunity to combat the infamous Trojan? CBR asked the experts, and they responded.
Antivirus is a "con", and it won’t protect you from CryptoLocker
The NCA’s recommendation that the public patch their computers and run a few virus scanners is likely to have raised a few eyebrows in the digital security sector. Is this the same software that Symantec’s Brian Dye had called "dead" but a few weeks ago, somehow able to beat a virulent mutation of the Zeus trojan?
"For years the antivirus industry has been promoting a flawed product to the mass market as a protection product – a huge con," said Melih Abdulhayoglu, chief executive of software company Comodo. "Traditional antivirus products do not and cannot protect you from new malware like CryptoLocker that they can’t detect."
He added that sandboxing was a superior method of protecting against malware, isolating traffic before it makes it into the main system. This method of protection is likely to become more common, as more in the security industry recommend segmenting data based on sensitivity.


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The FTC’s administrative complaint blocking Microsoft from finishing their purchase of Activision Blizzard King faces serious scrutiny from antitrust experts, given the statements FTC chair Lina Khan has given about it. Among those critics is the Michael Jordan of antitrust law, Douglas Melamed, speaking in a new interview about the case.
Melamed was a member for the antitrust division of the Department of Justice. When the DOJ sued Microsoft over antitrust violations in the 1990s, he was principal deputy assistant attorney general.
In that 1990s case, the DOJ accused Microsoft of trying to form a monopoly on personal computers, with their softwares Windows, and Internet Explorer respectively.
The case of United States v. Microsoft Corporation ran past the 1990s and was finally settled in 2001. While Melamed’s DOJ did not get a full conviction in the end, they agreed to a settlement that saw Microsoft end some of their more controlling practices. This included sharing their APIs with third parties and freeing up Microsoft users to choose their web browser, even uninstalling Internet Explorer.
Melamed says about that time that many people thought the DOJ was crazy to even try to bring that case. They pursued it because they were willing to run the risk of losing the case, if it meant there was a chance they could get Microsoft to change.
Today, Melamed says the situation is different. FTC chair Lina Khan surprised him when she said she was willing to take on losing cases such as the one for Microsoft’s purchase of Activision.
Unlike the DOJ back then, the thinking of the FTC now is if they lose cases like this one, it will prove to the US Senate that they need to revise the existing antitrust laws.
This was Melamed’s response to Khan’s statements:
“In this case, the commission really doesn’t seem to care about economics at all. This seems to be built entirely on anecdote. And the storytelling about it – I think all good litigators tell a good story, but in antitrust, typically you back that up with some numbers and some rigorous economic analysis and there’s no indication of that in the complaint. The commission intends (its intention for existing is) to do that.”
So, just so we’re clear on where we are. Melamed is saying arguments vs Microsoft’s purchase of Activision are not backed up by economic analysis or numbers, and is anecdotal at best. It isn’t as clear a case as the one they pursued in the DOJ years ago about Microsoft locking other developers out of Windows.
That includes this argument from Sony, which they passed on to the UK CMA for their investigation of the deal. It also means the biggest argument going around regulators, that gamers will move to Xbox because of Call of Duty and that will harm competition, also does not hold water.
You may disagree with former attorney Melamed’s conclusions here, but Khan seems to have brought up her own belief that they can’t win this case she filed vs Microsoft herself.
If this is where the FTC case ends, that would make it more likely for the regulators in UK and EU to also eventually approve the acquisition. This would be the situation if that case lays out how weak the arguments vs the purchase turn out to be.
It will definitely be interesting to see where this case, and the status of Microsoft’s acquisition itself, will be going into the new year.
Source: Straight Arrow News


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Apple and Amazon have ended their long-running lawsuit over the right to use the 'app store' trademark.
The dispute began in March 2011, when the online retail giant launched the Amazon Appstore. The store allows users to purchase and download Android apps for smartphones and tablets including Amazon's own Kindle Fire device. Apple launched the app store trademark lawsuit in the same month, claiming the name could mislead customers and developers into thinking it was "sponsored or approved by Apple".
Meanwhile Amazon argued the term was too generic to be a trademark, pointing out the phrase had slipped into common usage; even Apple execs Steve Jobs and Tim Cook had referred to rivals services as 'app stores'.
The case was dismissed in California yesterday ahead of a trial scheduled for August. Apple's decision to drop the lawsuit means Amazon is free to continue using the name.
Explaining the decision to abandon the case, Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said:
"We no longer see a need to pursue our case. With more than 900,000 apps and 50 billion downloads, customers know where they can purchase their favourite apps."
Five years of the app store
The decision coincides with the fifth birthday of Apple's app store this week, which is being celebrated with five free apps and five free games being offered to users. It was launched with just 500 apps on 9 July 2008, to tie in with iOS2 and the iPhone 3G. While many see the system as revolutionary, and Apple CEO Tim Cook claiming the app store has "fundamentally changed the world", others - including Microsoft - have criticised the 30 per cent cut Apple takes from all app revenues.
Adrian Mursec, senior developer at theEword, commented: "The growth of the app store in just five years has been incredible. The fact they've now dropped the trademark lawsuit shows they have realised it doesn't matter what it's called - it's the default way to download iOS apps, and iOS has a huge market share, so its success hinges on much more than a name."


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The official toll from salmonella-tainted tomatoes continues to rise: The government counted 756 confirmed illnesses Thursday.
That's roughly 200 more illnesses than health officials had counted a week ago, in what has become the nation's largest-ever outbreak of salmonella from tomatoes.
The continuing rise in cases is due mostly to state laboratories finishing backlogs of tests, not lots of new infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The latest known illness occurred on June 13.
The outbreak's source remains a mystery. Food and Drug Administration investigators have spent the past week inspecting farms in parts of Florida and Mexico and the warehouses and other stops those farms' tomatoes made on the way to market.
The government continues to urge consumers nationwide to avoid raw red plum, red Roma or red round tomatoes unless they were grown in specific states or countries that FDA has cleared of suspicion. Check FDA's Web site – www.fda.gov – for an updated list. Also safe are grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.
At least 95 people have been hospitalized, the CDC said. No deaths have been attributed to the outbreak, although it may have contributed to a death due to cancer.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection causing fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, often caused by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.


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For those who want to lose weight, the entire process can be broken down to one simple formula: calories-in vs. calories-out. Or, at least, that’s what so many of us have believed until recently
Is chocolate actually good for you? You might have heard that dark chocolate isn’t so bad, but is it possible that eating chocolate could improve your health?
For people with diabetes, what’s the best diet? The aim with a diabetes-specific diet is to improve blood sugar control
Diet soda drinkers don't eat any more sugary or fatty foods than people who stick with water instead, a new study has found
With the industry turning digital, music companies can now understand their customers’ listening habits in greater depth than ever before, which has led to fierce competition over access to data
Samsung Electronics Co. began offering a free radio-streaming service in the U.S. today, taking on Pandora Media Inc. and Apple Inc.
Oscar Mayer says it has created a bacon-scented app for the iPhone, developed by the Madison-based company’s Institute for the Advancement of Bacon