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India is ready to open its purse strings and subsidise as much as 40-50% of the cost of setting up semiconductor fabs, as the government renews its ambition to kickstart the sector after several failed attempts over the last two decades. Late last month, it once again invited applications from companies to set up fabrication plants and reportedly placed $1 billion on the table as subsidy for new investors.
Over the last few years, India has built up a huge domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem that not only caters to domestic needs but also for exports, officials said. Chip manufacturing will complete the chain and add value to local output, which is largely assembly driven. India is becoming attractive to chip makers due to the ongoing global shortage of chips, the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) devices as well as a need to de-risk from China.
These positives notwithstanding, getting companies to commit $1 billion to $5 billion — the bare minimum for setting up a wafer plant — is challenging. Interested stakeholders are urging the government to decide quickly on existing proposals and firm up its incentive model. Soon after coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government realised that domestic manufacturing of semiconductors — which comprise 30% of the cost of all electronic devices including mobile phones — is crucial to building an electronics manufacturing ecosystem in India, which is heavily dependent on imports.Then Minister for Electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, wrote to top corporations asking them to invest in semiconductor manufacturing, but the response was lukewarm.
Last month, however, Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran revealed that the salt-to-software conglomerate is looking at the possibility of manufacturing chips. The market opportunity for high-tech manufacturing of electronics is close to $1 trillion, Chandrasekaran said, adding that the Tata Group had already set up a business unit to capitalise on the opportunity. “On rebalancing supply chains, India can significantly benefit from the geopolitical shifts that we are seeing,” he said, while speaking at the IMC Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting. The Tata Group has identified new focus areas such as 5G equipment manufacturing. The group is also believed to have brought in Randhir Thakur, president of Intel Corp.’s foundry division and a key aide to the chipmaker’s chief executive Pat Gelsinger, as independent director in Tata Electronics, along with Raja Manickam, cofounder of Bengaluru-based semiconductor engineering solutions provider Tessolve.
Soon after Tata Group’s announcement, top ministers including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Narendra Modi government is committed to setting up semiconductor manufacturing units in the country.
There is a stark difference in India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem compared to 2013, when the last attempt to bring semiconductor manufacturing into the country was made, said Satya Gupta, an industry veteran and former chairman of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).
“The Indian economy is much bigger in size, but the government has the right type of policies to increase manufacturing,” he said. The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, for instance, is comparable to world-class ones offered by countries such as Malaysia, China and Vietnam, and has driven significant investment into India, he added. The government’s approach is more consultative now and it has taken inputs from companies as it formulates the policy, Gupta said. “This time around, there is involvement of the commerce ministry, NITI Aayog, PMO, along with the Ministry of Electronics and IT, so the effort is much more concerted across the government on this,” Gupta, who is also co-chair-digital economy at FICCI, said.
India’s total demand for wafers in the financial year 2019 stood at 7.5 million units and is expected to reach 17.6 million units in the financial year 2025, according to a joint report by IESA and Frost & Sullivan released in April 2020.
Though the country has done well in electronics design and established itself as a design hub, commercial semiconductor fabrication is almost non-existent. Demand from sectors such as mobile devices, telecom equipment, information technology, office automation, industrial machinery and automobiles is tremendous.
“The absence of commercial semiconductor operations in India has caused the country’s electronics import bill to skyrocket due to burgeoning domestic demand,” the report stated.This interest from large corporates could be because of several reasons, including a realisation across the world that semiconductors are a strategic industry, requiring a strong local ecosystem across talent, manufacturing, and demand, said Rajeev Khushu, chairman of IESA.
With the global semiconductor crisis, it is taking anywhere between 20 and 52 weeks for chips to be available and all major corporations are impacted. “The chip shortage has shown how many businesses depend on chips—showing companies that there are strong business opportunities,” Khushu, who is also the head of government affairs at chip designer Texas Instruments, said. The global chip shortage has impacted the automobile industry the most, forcing automakers to temporarily close factories.
Fast-tracking The Process
The government is aware that the situation calls for quick action. It is in the final stages of putting out a Request for Proposal document seeking applications from companies after an Expression of Interest issued in December saw applications from the top 20 firms, including big ones from South Korea and Taiwan, the official said. The government is open to setting up both traditional fabs as well as new-age ones like Gallium Nitride semiconductor fabs that are cheaper.
A consortium led by Abu Dhabi based Next Orbit Ventures has already finalised plans to establish a semiconductor fab and has roped in tech partners from Israel and Taiwan along with some large Indian companies, which are willing to not only invest but also commit to purchasing the chips. The proposal is worth $3 billion. The plan will start with an analogue fab of 65 nanometres producing 40,000 wafers a month and move on to a digital fab, said Ajay Jalan, founder of Next Orbit Ventures. The consortium has zeroed in on Dholera Smart City in Gujarat. The state has given incentives such as land at 50% subsidised rates, and water and power at international rates.“Last time, the government promised to provide support on a reimbursement basis, but if it’s a $3-$5 billion project, it is not easy to raise that much money, demonstrate that the plant is in production, and then start getting the incentive,” Jalan said.Across the world, fabs have come up through upfront support from the government, he added. “All we are saying is that—we bring a dollar, and you bring a dollar,” Jalan said.
The industry is also expecting a higher quantum of subsidy and wants the government to act quickly on proposals to not miss the bus again. “It should have been done last year itself, but at least if it can be done this quarter, we may still have some hope. Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor has been keen on India for many years,” said Arun Mampazhy, an expert on semiconductor manufacturing and design.
Tower Semiconductor—the seventh largest foundry in the world in terms of market revenue —has already received offers from Italy and Singapore, he said. India may lose out if it delays further, as big chip makers such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel are likely to prefer countries where the infrastructure is ready. So, the country should not miss out on offers from second-tier foundries like Tower, he said. “The decision must be taken as soon as possible and if there is a need for PM (Modi) to step in, he should, for the sake of India’s future.” Financial Story


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The next iteration of the software maker's operating system is slated to arrive in time for the summer.
The Garmin HUD boosts safety and helps keep eyes on the road, but the cost of entry will likely dissuade most drivers.
The search giant has a low-cost contraption made of cardboard that can turn any smartphone into a virtual reality headset. The goal: mass appeal.
Sony's daft new HMZ-T3W might look like something from a '90s virtual-reality movie -- but wearing it is like watching a 750-inch TV.
Pricing not available
What's really making objects move in that viral craze involving pencils and summoning ghosts? It's not the demon you think it is, freaked-out teens.
Inbox by Gmail gained five features today, many of them long-awaited by users.
In case you don't speak geek, these deals are all about Web privacy, multifunction printing, e-books and more.
Technically Incorrect: In a fascinating piece of urban warfare footage, a motorcyclist who doesn't like texting and driving comes off worse.
The robotic cheetah MIT has been working on can now autonomously detect and jump over obstacles while running at 5 miles per hour.

domain: news


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Tulalips' bid to collect sales tax from Quil Ceda gains support
"There isn't a single citizen who lives at Quil Ceda Village." ... The tribe notes it took eight years to gain the federal designation for Quil Ceda Village. ... Shoppers cross the street in front of Wal-Mart at Quil Ceda Village.
Tulalips sign deal to build outlet mall at Quil Ceda
The mall is the latest development planned for the tribe's 495-acre business park, Quil Ceda Village.
Tulalips want cut of sales tax from Quil Ceda Village
Quil Ceda Village, on 495 acres of reservation land, is home to Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores. ... Last year, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the Tulalips' incorporation of Quil Ceda as a ...
Tulalip Tribes working on new casino; Water park next?
The original Quil Ceda Creek Casino opened in 1992, making it one of the oldest gaming establishments in the state. ... Main Entry with Hotel.jpg An artist's rendering of the new Quil Ceda Creek Casino ...
Local getaways, staycations for Taste Washington Wine Month, Easter dining
For adult gamers visiting the resort on Easter, a special egg-citement app will offer free play bonus awards up to $100, valid at your choice of Tulalip Resort Casino, Quil Ceda Creek Casino or Tulalip Bingo and Slots.
'Deadliest Catch' star robbed, beaten in Everett
Harris told officers that he had been at the Quil Ceda Creek Casino in Marysville, got a ride with some people, then got into an altercation and was robbed.
Proposal to give tribe a cut of state sales tax dies
Under the measure, local governments would share their cut of revenues with Quil Ceda. ... But Quil Ceda is not recognized as a municipality under state law. ... John McCoy, D-Tulalip, a tribe member and Quil Ceda's city manager.
Tulalip Tribe plans hotel and convention center
The plan calls for a 380-room hotel that can be expanded and convention space for 2,000 people, Quil Ceda Village manager John McCoy said. ... The plans continue a recent surge of development at Quil Ceda Village.
Tribal group sues to stop mall on Tulalip reservation
It also names the New Jersey company developing the mall at Quil Ceda Village, on 47 acres north of the tribe's casino. ... John McCoy, general manager of Quil Ceda Village, would say only, "We are in contact ...
Tulalips' $120 million loan to include new casino
Quil Ceda also will include a 33,000-square-foot shopping center that will provide space for 18 small-business entrepreneurs. Quil Ceda is a manifestation of the Tulalips' drive to use casino proceeds to ...
Tulalips want university on reservation
McCoy is a tribal member and manager of Quil Ceda Village, the tribe's 2,000-acre commercial center and home to the Seattle Premium Outlets and the Tulalip Casino. ... Two of the three are within Quil Ceda Village.
Suit may halt work on Tulalip project
The Quil Ceda Village, a 495-acre development on Interstate 5 just north of Marysville, is owned and operated by the Tulalip Tribes. ... Madison, who operates a construction business, made an unsuccessful bid to ...
Tulalip Tribes to reopen casino
The tribe has spent about $2 million to remodel the newly named Quil Ceda Creek Nightclub & Casino, which will feature about 600 slot machines and 12 game tables. ... The tribe will share profits from the slot ...
Tulalips' bid for share of sales tax dies in Senate
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES OLYMPIA -- For the third year running, a proposal seeking to designate Quil Ceda Village, the Tulalip Tribes' booming business park near Marysville, as a ...
Odor delays tribal site cleanup, doubles cost
Crews from the Army Corps of Engineers began excavating and removing contaminated soil and toxic material in May at a site near Quil Ceda Village, the tribe's retail center along Interstate 5, but the work was ...
Home Depot replaces Marysville food bank's stolen supplies
Quanah Blaine, manager of the Quil Ceda Village Home Depot, had called Deierling, director of the Marysville Community Food Bank, offering to replace the lawnmower, leaf-blower and two cans of gasoline that were ...
Charge: Kent man gambled away mom’s money as she rotted to death
Quil Ceda Village north of Marysville, location of the Tulalip Casino where Kent resident Joselito Hondolero is alleged to have gambled away thousands of dollars pulled from his mother's bank accounts while failing to take her to a doctor.
Cougar sightings prompt warnings
That's the advice tribal police had for students at Quil Ceda Elementary School on the Tulalip Reservation after recent reports of cougar sightings near the school. ... Quil Ceda Elementary School administrators ...
Picks for the North Puget Sound area's 38th District
McCoy also stresses economic development, a cause he has served as general manager of the Tulalip Tribes' Quil Ceda Village business park.
Daily News Gallery - 4/4/2005
The Tulalip Tribes want to collect a portion of the sales taxes generated at Quil Ceda Village north of Marysville to pay for maintenance and services. Shoppers cross the street in front of Wal-Mart at Quil Ceda Village.


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A new survey sponsored by Retrospect, Inc., makers of Retrospect Backup & Recovery software, finds that more than half of small businesses have suffered data loss, through accident, loss, failure, theft, or disaster.
The survey, conducted with Google Consumer Surveys across a sample of 1,000 small businesses, highlights the importance of data protection for small businesses.
Data Loss at Small Businesses
The survey respondents reported accidents to be the most common form of data loss at 36%. Behind that, they reported loss at 21%, theft at 15%, disaster at 7%, and other at 6%. Under ‘Other’, respondents included “drive failure“, “manufacturer erasing the HDD during a warranty repair“, and “employees doing things they shouldn’t“. And with the ability to select more than one form of data loss, 2% reported that they were unlucky enough to suffer from all four types.
According to a Gartner study  of companies experiencing a “major loss” of computer records, 43% of companies were immediately put out of business, and another 51% permanently closed their doors within two years. Only 6% lasted longer than two years.
Even without a major loss of data, employee downtime is a costly result of any data loss situation. The survey revealed that, for the last data loss event, 29% of respondents had employee downtime of 1 to 8 hours; 21% had employee downtime of 8 to 40 hours; and, an astonishing 7% had employee downtime of over 40 hours. Just among the 1,000 small businesses surveyed, they lost two and a half years of employee productivity.
Mitigating this, 54% of small businesses backup every day. According to the survey, 28% of respondents backup continuously; 26% backup daily; 17% backup weekly; and, 11% backup monthly. Only 17% of small businesses do not utilize any data protection.
“Data loss can happen at any time, through accidental file deletion, misplaced laptops, stolen HDD, or flood, and the accompanying employee downtime can be extremely costly,” says Jean-Christian Dumas, VP of WW sales. “Small businesses need BC as much as larger corporations. We’re happy to see the majority of small businesses take data protection seriously and hope the rest will find a backup product that fits their business and their budget.”
 Gartner, Recovery will move to disk-based managers of managers approach by 2011


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May 11, 2023
From Manila Times
L-R: Patrick Avila, chief operating officer of ALLHC; Rainier Dominic Villanueva, business development associate manager of ALLHC; P. Ryan Isip, head of capital markets of JLL Philippines; Charlie McNaught, director for logistics and industrial of JLL Philippines; Justin David, general manager for new businesses of ALLHC; Rowena Tomeldan, chairman of Laguna Technopark Inc.; Francis Montojo, chief finance officer of ALLHC; and members Jessica Santos and Marita Cabral of the management committee of ALLHC
THE groundbreaking ceremony for AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp.’s (ALLHC) first build-to-suit facility in Cavite Technopark marks an important milestone for the company’s expansion.
The 15,000 square meters facility for a retailer is set to become the main distribution center for the nearby area, boasting over 30 loading bays, a concrete strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch, and a 9-meter clear height.
Expected to be completed by January 2024, the facility is set to provide employment opportunities for an estimated 300 workers.
The build-to-suit facility underscores ALLHC’s commitment to delivering real estate logistics solutions that cater to the needs of clients.


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Table of Contents
We are about to witness a culling of heroes.
The brightest minds in America have gone West over the past 20 or so years to prospect for ideas in Silicon Valley. Not to gain riches, we were told, but to solve urgent problems and make things we could use. All we needed to do was get enough seed money to the right minds to develop the right technology, and we could solve everything from mobility to climate change to inequality. This idealistic gold rush minted new billionaires, tech titans who captivated investors and entranced the public with promises of a better tomorrow.
But now these vaunted tech geniuses are watching their empires crumble in the face of changing economic winds. Interest rates are rising from historic lows, and it’s become clear that a wide array of tech companies — from the most lionized to the most ridiculous — cannot survive without easy money. Silicon Valley’s inability to weather this inevitable shift is both a disappointment and a wonder. We’ve seen a tech bubble expand and pop before, bridging the end of the 1990s and the start of the 2000s, but what makes this time so different is the sheer scale of the destruction this will leave in its wake.
Jim Chanos, founder of Kynikos Associates, made a name for his short-selling firm by calling out the excesses of the last tech boom, earning him a forever spot in the Wall Street pantheon of “people who saw it coming.” This time around, he told me, the companies that could crumble are even bigger — and they make up a bigger slice of the economy.
“Our typical short in early 2000 was a $2 billion to $3 billion company that was going away. This go-round it’s a $20 billion to $30 billion company. That’s why we call this the dot-com era on steroids,” Chanos said. “I think lots of companies are going to get vaporized. A lot of them are going to go to zero.”
For the past couple decades, Silicon Valley’s luminaries told us that money was just fuel for their innovation. What the market is showing us now — as once seemingly stable businesses degenerate — is that money was also the engine, the captain, and the destination. In the next few years, many of the hottest tech innovations of this market cycle will simply disappear. Consider this an extinction-level event.
It was a good time
Take your mind back to 2012. It was an amazing time for tech. Facebook (now Meta) went public and reached 1 billion worldwide users. Facebook and Twitter had been crucial tools that helped citizens fight for democracy during the Arab Spring. Mark Zuckerberg’s promise to connect the world didn’t seem threatening. Elon Musk was collecting massive government subsidies to start an electric-car revolution — and that was a good thing. Uber and Lyft were starting a competition to see who could get us around for the cheapest prices. Crypto seemed like a fun toy for hobbyists. Celebrities were tweeting about what they had for lunch.
All of this enthusiasm was powered by an economy set up to aid Silicon Valley’s fast-growing companies. The 2008 crash was behind us, and central bankers around the world were laser-focused on making sure there was enough cash to go around. They kept interest rates at zero to make it easy for companies to borrow debt. Money was pouring into the stock market and Silicon Valley’s promises attracted not only investors looking for positive returns, but a society looking to climb out of an economic catastrophe.
Ten years later and our world is so different it deserves its own verse in “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” We’ve started to wonder if we’re a little too connected. Social media has been used to taint elections, poison relationships, and plan an insurrection. No one — customers, drivers, or even the companies — seems to have come out ahead in the ride-hailing wars. Crypto turned into a religion. Elon Musk keeps tweeting.
While the shine around Silicon Valley’s promises to provide social good have been fading for a while, now its promise to provide financial returns has also begun to wither. Those low interest rates that made high-growth startups and tech companies look attractive are gone. Aches and pains are appearing for tech firms at every point of the life cycle. Startup accelerators started drafting “Black Swan” memos warning founders to plan for “the worst.” The biggest venture-capital firms, such as the ever-avaricious SoftBank, plan to cut investments in half or more. Salaries at even the biggest companies — Roku, Pinterest, Uber — look completely unsustainable as the stock market nose-dives.
This is the moment where all the talk of social good evaporates, and investors accept the fact that SIlicon Valley’s business models are not powered by technological genius but by hype. Chanos told me that it was the same situation when the last bubble burst. Certain words had become magic to investors — you could sell anything as long as there was a dot-com associated with it. In this cycle the magic words are “blockchain,” “machine learning,” “AI,” “algorithm.”
“That’s the big parallel here, business plans got funded that made no sense. And people threw money at anything with technology in it,” Chanos said.
Now that the crash has come, only cold, hard cash and a clean balance sheet will save your company — not cool software, not the blockchain, not your favorite black turtleneck. Unfortunately, those basic business fundamentals are not what Silicon Valley has been built on for the past 10 years — not by a long shot.
If the financials don’t work, don’t use them
A Silicon Valley startup founder with a connection to the vaunted Y Combinator startup accelerator told me that in their world it has always been a bad look to discuss a tech company’s financial metrics. It is like asking a woman if she’s pregnant, or asking a New Yorker where the Empire State Building is. It demonstrates that you are not from the Valley and that you do not understand how value is measured there.
“You look pedestrian if you can’t see the BIG PICTURE and instead focus on a silly thing like revenue,” they told me. According to this founder, the standard retort to questions about profitability for the last decade or so has been: “Amazon wasn’t profitable for decades … yada yada.”
This strategy works when financial markets are flush with cash, asset prices are going up, and new customers are still flocking in. But that’s not happening anymore, so the CEOs of chronically unprofitable companies are finding the religion of sustainability. Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi told employees that it would be cutting costs and hiring in an effort to keep investors and “show them the money.” Snapchat — which has only posted a quarterly profit once in its 10-year life — caused tech stocks to tank last week after it warned of a weak sales market and announced a hiring slowdown. Coinbase — the largest US cryptocurrency exchange — had to tell investors it was not at risk of bankruptcy … but that if it did go bankrupt, well, yeah, its customers may lose all their assets.
Even 20-year-old Tesla is getting smoked in this market. Musk’s electric-car company finally started making money in 2020, but even its biggest fans on Wall Street are starting to shy away as problems pile up: new competition from major car manufacturers, issues in China, Musk’s weird bid to take over Twitter. Chanos, who has been publicly short the stock for years, calls it “the America Online, the Cisco of this cycle” — companies whose stock went vertical when they were heralded as the future of technology during the last boom, but then just as swiftly led us to the bottom.
For the past two decades the market has rewarded growth over stability, and the tech gods have played that to their best advantage. They could not prove that their businesses were profitable using traditional financial metrics, so they came up with their own metrics instead. The most infamous of these was WeWork’s “Community Adjusted EBITDA,” a made-up hoodoo metric that was meant to wow investors by demonstrating the company’s awesome growth. Uber has its own metrics, as do all social-media platforms that emphasize user growth. Francine McKenna, author of The Dig newsletter and an incoming accounting professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, told me that, of course, all of these metrics are internal and may or may not have any connection to financial performance.
“They’re taken on as a holy grail among social-media people, yet they’re completely unvalidatable,” she said. “If you’re buying the company based on a metric it makes up itself, like daily active users, well, then you’re a complete idiot.”
Not only did these tech titans mesmerize investors with jargon-filled promises of the future, they mesmerized their own employees. By paying employees in stock rather than cash, tech companies compensated workers with a promise that they were building something great, something profitable. There was more to it than goodwill, though. Stock-based compensation keeps labor costs from hitting a company’s bottom line, turning losses into gains on paper. Silicon Valley has been especially aggressive with this nifty tool this market cycle. Companies like Tesla, Twitter and Square employed it to dramatic effect for years. And while the trick is outside of GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), as long as the companies disclose they’re doing it in a part of their financial filings labeled non-GAAP, it’s all fine and perfectly legal. The problem for both the companies and the employees who relied on those stocks becoming valuable is that stocks can go down — hard.
“You lavishly pay everyone in equity and it’s not an expense until your stock collapses,” Chanos said. “Then either you have to issue a million shares or you have to pay people in cash.” Cash is something many of these companies do not have, and issuing shares would only help push the stock down further. To Chanos, as far as tech stocks have fallen this year, they still have a great distance to travel before their prices accurately reflect their true financial metrics.
The gods must be lazy
The longer the market tumbles, the harder it is to accept the narrative that continuing to pile more money into Silicon Valley will eventually result in solutions. Take, for example, the newfangled buy-now, pay-later companies. Putting stuff on layaway isn’t some new revolution, but companies like Klarna and Affirm promised that their algorithm’s special sauce can predict who can reliably pay for what and when (the most important question in finance), helping consumers get the goods they need while keeping companies from chasing missed payments. It sounded so magical, it turned some of these companies into unicorns. But now some of these companies are laying off workers and seeing their valuations cut in thirds as the market figures out that magic does not a profit make.
“For a bunch of Silicon Valley guys to say, ‘We figured this out when no one else has,’ is the height of financial arrogance,” Chanos said.
But at least the buy-now, pay-later folks were looking for a solution to a real problem. Crypto, and its biggest backers in the venture-capital world, are still looking for a problem to solve. Crypto is a stunning waste of capital and the clearest proof yet that a lot of money in tech has run out of useful ideas to chase. It has proved that it is not a safe store of value nor a viable payments network.There is constant crypto robbery with no consequences, and it is obvious that further integrating this fantasy funny money into our financial system would be a mistake. It is a Ponzi scheme, as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried basically admitted on an episode of Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast — a box that is only valuable if more people keep putting value in the box.
Back in 2011 venture capitalist Marc Andreessen (cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz) wrote that software would eat the world. Fast-forward to 2022, and his firm just raised $4.5 billion for another crypto fund. This is not software eating the world, it’s software for software’s sake. In his essay, he says people should stop “constantly questioning their valuations” and extols the virtues of a “new generation of technology companies” like Groupon, FourSquare, and Twitter. It’s a fun game of “where are they now.”
Ultimately Andreessen got what he wanted, and the questioning from Wall Street turned into cheerleading. But instead of using this period of easy money and credulity to solve real problems, the self-indulgent tech gods and their “new generation” of companies are slamming back down to earth with a very stupid-sounding thud.
Everyone talks about Elon Musk because he is the richest (on paper) and the whiniest (on Twitter) of these billionaire tech CEOs. But the one who perhaps most embodies this de-deification is Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. The company conceived in a Harvard dorm room is now considered a haven for racism, conspiracy theories, and negativity. The company has relied on acquisitions and copycatting instead of innovation. So Zuckerberg decided to bet his company on a half-baked sci-fi concept called the metaverse. There is little evidence the rest of the world will follow him on this massive cash-burning adventure, and it’s unclear what problems the technology will actually solve.
We have flying-car startups, ultrafast grocery delivery, and rides to space for rich people — but it doesn’t feel like that was the change we were promised. These are big ideas, no doubt, but they don’t add up to a revolution, and a revolution is what we were sold.
There is a price to pay for all this excess that is worth more than money. Blowing bubbles in runaway bull markets — which are always wracked with corruption and lead to enormous instability — is starting to feel normal. “We’ve built up this enormous tolerance for really horrible losses and bad behavior, and there’s so much of it,” McKenna said. “We’re getting numb to significant destruction.”
And what do we have to show for it? We are more connected than ever, but more divided than ever. We are lonelier. Inequality is still growing, our housing crisis has worsened, the climate crisis rages on. We gave the tech gods 20 years of unfettered capital to solve these problems for us and they didn’t even come close. There will be new gods — the market can’t help but create them — and hopefully they are people who can provide real solutions to the problems in our lives rather than the old pantheon of trend-followers whose time is coming to an end.
Linette Lopez is a senior correspondent at Insider.


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Industries ebb and flow with how they generate income. The two sectors we will focus on here are: beer and fitness. They are currently providing New Yorkers with jobs and the economy with wealth.
It seems that beer is good business. At least in New York. The industry’s growth has been so impressive that last year a staggering $3.5 billion was generated in “direct economic impact, through beer production, sales and the operation of brewery tasting rooms” according to a report undertaken by John Dunham and Associates (JDA).
More than the revenue is the job market. The industry in New York alone is giving 11,000 people jobs, equaling $722 million in salaries. In fact, it’s estimated that without a trace of the beer industry, 20,000 jobs wouldn’t exist. Add this to the mix and the value generated by the beer industry was $5.4 billion for 2018. And that doesn’t even include the $1.1 billion that comes from the purchase of supplies, marketing, sales, etc. It’s a big industry.
Fitness has long been a growing industry. New Yorkers are not alone in their love of the fitness industry. In fact sometimes it seems that every other week there is a new class or fitness factory. Throughout America, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), there is at least a 3 to 4 percent annual increase within the industry and around 20% of US adults have a fitness club membership. According to Statista, US consumers are spending $30 billion per year on gym memberships.
Looking into New York’s East Village we find the growth of Crunch Fitness. The firm opened its doors over three decades ago and since then has expanded significantly. With an app that syncs with the Apple Watch, over 100 online workouts for those who want to stay home and 25,000 square feet for those who want to actually go to the gym, this seems to be an example of how seriously New Yorkers take their workouts.


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The 2021 Acura TLX is officially going on sale on September 28 and now Acura has announced that production of the new TLX has started at Honda’s plant in Marysville, Ohio.
The 2021 TLX starts at $38,525 and is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Acura hasn’t announced the pricing for the TLX Type S with its 355 hp twin-turbocharged V6, but it has said that it will start in the “low to mid $50,000s” when it arrives next spring.
“We are incredibly proud to deliver Precision Crafted Performance for our Acura clients with a TLX that sets a new bar for performance and premium quality in an Acura sedan,” said Marysville Auto Plant General Manager Bill Easdale. “Our associates are dedicated to ensuring the highest level of quality with this new TLX, which comes on the heels of an incredibly successful Acura RDX sport-utility vehicle and the electrified NSX supercar, all made exclusively in Ohio.”


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Navajo Council Passes Historic Hemp Bill
By MARLEY SHEBALA Navajo Times Staff July 29, 2000 WINDOW ROCK
The Navajo Nation Council did not approve the legalization of marijuana last week. Council Delegate Ervin Keeswood said the council only approved amendments to Navajo law which distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. Keeswood, who sponsored the legislation on industrial hemp, said the distinction between the two is based on the percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. The council, in its July 20 resolution, stated, "It is high levels of THC that gives marijuana its hallucinogenic effect." According to scientific research, THC is the potentially psychoactive chemical in marijuana and is not presently, nor historically, found in significant quantities in industrial hemp.
According to a Feb. 7, letter to the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association from William M. Pierce Jr., Ph.D., industrial hemp contains as little as 0.05 percent by weight of THC. Piece, who also an associate professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology for the School of Medicine at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, said some marijuana plants can contain between 10 to 20 percent of THC. In summary, it is my opinion that the use of industrial hemp as a psychoactive substance is extremely unlikely, due to the large doses required and the side effects which would be encountered," he said. Keeswood noted to the council, prior to their vote supporting the amendments, that the first two copies of the Declaration of Independence were written on hemp.
He said industrial hemp is used to produce more than 25,000 items, such as animal bedding, paneling, erosion control materials, cloth towels, toilet paper, twine, and bird seeds. In a separate interview, Chris Boucher, owner of Hempstead International, which is based in Laguna Beach, Calif., said 50,000 products can be made from industrial hemp.Boucher, who acts as a consultant for industrial hemp, said that Popular Mechanics magazine released a story in 1938 that reported that industrial hemp would become the first billon dollar crop. Keeswood reported to the council that the demand for industrial hemp is growing annually. As of 1997, the industrial hemp market generated about $40 million in revenues, and its estimated that by 2001, that figure could rise to about $1.5 million, he said. "So we need to get on this particular train before it leaves town," Keeswood urged the council. He said 12 states are currently talking with their legislature to approve what the council is discussing.
Keeswood said Hawaii and North Dakota have received federal approval to grow industrial but it's for research only. The Lakota Nation has already jumped on this; they've created legislation and a farmers' association and they are growing industrial hemp," he said. Keeswood pointed to the council delegates' lounge area and said the Wide Ruins Chapter is already using industrial hemp fibers to waive rugs. According to agricultural news articles, scientists and proponents of hemp have convinced many governments around the world that hemp definitely fits in today's economic climate, especially as a sustainable agricultural system. Other agricultural reports show that farming hemp has the potential to reduce some of the environmental pressures associated with intensive forestry and agricultural use of dangerous pesticides.
Tulley said the growing of industrial hemp will do that and the economic development benefits will be greater than the Navajo Nation's proposed potato chip factory or any agricultural product. He reiterated the diversity of products that come from industrial hemp, which includes fabric, paper, fuel, cosmetics and food. And Tulley said hemp will also address the reservation's problems with diabetes. The farming of hemp goes hand in hand with physical labor, he said. But Tulley said the most important factor in farming hemp is that the Navajo Nation is getting in on the ground level. Industrial hemp will be the crop of choice for the 21st century, he said. Tulley said hemp farmers in Kentucky, Hawaii and the whole nation of Canada predict that hemp will be around for a long time. He noted that some major car companies, such as Ford and BMW, are using hemp by products for the interior of their vehicles.
Hemp is a healthy alternative to economic development that damages Mother Earth and the life forms, including the five-fingered one, that live off her, he said. Dine CARE or Dine Citizens Against Ruining the Environment is a nonprofit grass roots environmental organization. Boucher said that up until 1930, lacquer, paints were all made from hemp seed oil. But then he said the petroleum industry overtook natural industry and now all paint has petroleum oil, except for specialty stores, which sell paint made from flax seed and linseed. Boucher said his company is forced to purchase hemp from Poland and China, which other hemp companies also must do because no one is farming it in the United States.
He said the future for the Navajo Nation can eventually involve producing hemp items to market. Boucher, whose has also been involved in protecting the environment, said he became involved in hemp production because he has children and he wants them to have a healthy future. When I leave this place, I want to have at least picked up my trash. Money can't buy healthy people and a healthy environment," he said. Keeswood reiterated that the approval of the council doesn't mean Hogback Chapter, which is his chapter, will be handing out hemp seeds. The next step is for the council to create legislation to regulate industrial hemp, which must go before the council's Economic Development Committee, Resources Committee, Public Safety Committee and Judicial Committee before it even gets to the council, he emphasized.
And while that's going on and after council approval, the Navajo Nation must apply to the US Drug Enforcement Department for a certificate to farm hemp, Keeswood explained. He said that at one time the federal government allowed industrial hemp to be grown and sold as an agricultural crop but because of lobbying by the growing timber and cotton markets, hemp was outlawed. Keeswood said that information is documented. Boucher said Hempstead uses an ancient Chinese character on its clothing that is the symbol for hemp. Ancient societies, such as the Egyptians and Chinese, believed hemp was the oldest cultivated plant on the earth, he said. Boucher added, "It's prehistoric."The council's vote on amending the Navajo Criminal Code to distinguish industrial hemp from marijuana was 58 in favor, 11 opposed and one abstaining.
Are you looking for information on www.indians.org?


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This is the new Birmingham City kit 2016/17, Blues’ new home strip for the upcoming Championship season. The shirt was officially due to be unveiled on June 6, 2016 but the club brought forward the launch after leaks on social media. Pre-orders will be taken from the 6th, with the jersey to go on sale from the 15th.
Adidas replace Carbrini, and will make Blues kits till 2020. There is also a new shirt sponsor in the form of 888 Sport
Blues finished 10th in the 2015/16 Championship season, picking up 63 points from 46 games.
Check out more 2016/17 Championship shirts at Footballkitnews.com


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On June 6, 2005, Sprawl-Busters updated the battle against a Wal-Mart superstore in Titusville, Florida, where residents had been locked in a struggle to keep the supercenter out of their community. The Tanglewood Homeowners Association and other area residents fought the retail giant for months and as of May 9, 2005, Wal-Mart finally conceded and rescinded their offer on a 96 acre piece of land located at the corner of Interstate 95 and S.R 406 (Garden Street) in Titusville. The fight from residents against a new super-store less than 5 miles from an existing location was for many reasons, including a dislike of the company’s business practices, the location of an elementary school directly across the street, and the fact that the proposed site would cover the recharge area for the local water supply. The individuals who spearheaded the effort were Lisa Smith and Arlynn Baker. One resident wrote to Sprawl-Busters, “Both did an excellent job and the residents are forever indebted to these women for their persistence, dedication, sacrifice, and vision.” This week, the other shoe dropped on this proposed Wal-Mart site. The land that was threatened by Wal-Mart is now going to become the citrus state’s newest nature preserve. According to WESH TV, Smith and Baker fought this project so their kids would not be endangered by Wal-Mart traffic in front of their school. The land Wal-Mart wanted was once an Atlantic Beach, and is an important recharge area for the town’s drinking water wells. The state’s land preservation agency, Florida Forever, has voted to purchase the disputed property, protecting it forever from development, and Wal-Mart.
As the TV station said, this site is now off limits to companies like Wal-Mart, “All because two mothers refused to give up and refused to be intimidated by red tape or corporate lawyers.” “This is a perfect example to people elsewhere that, you know, it does look like a mountain, but take one step at a time,” Smith told the TV news. Another Wal-Mart has sunk below the waves, a casualty of local citizen opposition. Developers would do far better, and save time and much money, by meeting with residents first, and when the neighbors say a project is too big to be acceptable, or that a Wal-Mart store five miles away will do, to move on to another location where people are more enthusiastic. The Florida Division of State Lands has primary responsibility for the Florida Forever land acquisition program, the world’s largest conservation land buying program. The State of Florida has protected over 535,643 acres of land with $1.8 billion in Florida Forever funds through December 2006. Since its inception in July 2001 through September 2006, the state’s Florida Forever land acquisition program has been extremely successful. The program has protected over 231,730 acres of Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas, 374,890 acres of habitat conservation areas, and over 580 listed species locations of 190 different species, 513,050 acres of ecological greenways, 68,260 acres of under-represented natural communities, 54,540 acres of natural floodplains, 530,550 acres important to significant water bodies, 5,060 acres of fragile coastline, 236,210 acres of functional wetlands, 524,846 acres of significant groundwater recharge areas, 30,130 acres of land to support priority recreational trails, and, 268,330 acres of sustainable forest land. If Wal-Mart really wanted to be a “green” company, it would stop trying to develop sites like this one in Titusville, and use its philanthropy to help establish entities that would buy up environmentally sensitive lands threatened by companies like Wal-Mart. Readers are urged to call Wal-Mart stores at 479-273-4000 and ask to speak with their Environmental Protection Department. When they say they have no such Department, say,”That’s why I’m calling.” Then ask them to help set up a land preservation agency like Florida Forever in the state where you live.


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Copyright laws weren’t created for the digital age. Technology and internet connectivity have radically changed the production of cultural material — and it is easier than ever for an individual to have an idea, record it in words, images or sound and then release it to the world. In this kind of environment, copyright reform is crucial — but is still not being implemented rigorously enough.
In one well-known case, a mother recorded her young son dancing to Prince’s song “Let’s Go Crazy.” The 30-second clip, in which the music is barely audible, was removed by the rights-holder. The clip was not an attempt to profit from Prince’s work and did not depend on his song — the baby could have been dancing to anything — but it shows how ordinary people can unintentionally fall foul of copyright law. In this case, the U.S. “fair use” law applied and the clip went back online. But the system works on the presumption of guilt.
Digital technology has also created new business models, such as news aggregation. News outlets have seen their content atomized and readers can now get their news from sites that bring together links to articles from a range of sources. Some providers argue that these aggregators should pay for the privilege of linking to them. These tensions are not unusual.
When German MEP Julia Reda published a report on copyright reform in Europe at the beginning of 2015 it provided a rare note of encouragement for those who felt that rights-holders and their lobbyists had accumulated too much power.
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The report attempted to re-write from a user-first perspective the EU’s 2001 copyright directive, which enshrined the rights of copyright holders and allowed users to take certain actions only as exceptions.
It also called for the harmonization of Europe-wide copyright law. Typically, harmonizing copyright has meant adopting the laws of whichever country most favors rights-holders. Instead, Reda proposed a raft of new user rights and called for overall copyright protection terms to be lowered from 70 to 50 years.
* * *
As is often the case, lobbying has blunted many of Reda’s recommendations. The leak draft of the forthcoming EU communication on copyright harmonization, for example, promises action on “portability” of content. If you are a Netflix subscriber in France and you visit Germany then you should be able to watch the French content you pay for, even if it is not licensed for German Netflix.
Thinking of cultural products as property only helps the companies that have built their business on accumulating rights.
This is fair, but trivial. There are more than a dozen Netflix regions, each with its own collection of content, and other content services operate in a similar fashion. When users are willing to pay to access content that is available in other regions but not theirs, they often turn to piracy. The draft communication acknowledges that but promises only to “assess options” for change. And you can bet that there will be considerable lobbying from rights-holders along the way.
The draft also devotes an entire section to the question of enforcement, something that rights-holders always manage to bring into the debate. Charitably, you could say they take the view that if they are going to give up some of “their” rights, then they want to know how their remaining rights will be enforced. Cynically, it could be suggested that they seek to derail the argument by changing the subject and simultaneously implying that everyone is a content-pirate-in-waiting.
The draft asserts that copyright infringement “is currently very frequent and harmful to the EU economy as a whole.” With no supporting evidence provided, the frequency and extent of harm are left to the reader’s imagination.
* * *
I worked for a time as an adviser to Bloom.fm, a U.K.-based music streaming service that offered subscriptions starting at £1-a-month. Many labels refused to license their content if the service was provided at that price, and insisted on an increase. That might sound fine in principle but, as any economics beginner will tell you, it is the market that sets the price for goods, not the supplier. If you insist on charging more than the market will bear, to what extent should the state be obliged to protect your business model from piracy?
It may be obvious which side of copyright debate I am on: I consider myself a copyright minimalist. An idea is not property, which is why the term “intellectual property” is so insidious. If I have a car and you take it then I don’t have a car anymore. If I have an idea and you take it, then we both have that idea. Thinking of cultural products as property only helps the companies that have built their business on accumulating rights.
With the speed of culture accelerated by digital technology, it is imperative that protection periods be shortened.
Of course, if you take my idea and use it to make money then my business will suffer and I will have less incentive to have ideas in the future. We need a period of protection for ideas to ensure that creators keep coming up with them because they are vital to our culture. It is, more than anything, part of what makes use human.
But for exactly that reason protection periods should also be kept as short as possible. Once that period has expired, others should be free to reuse, rethink and remix those concepts and incorporate them into their own ideas. That is how every art form has evolved and stayed vibrant. Now more than ever, with the speed of culture accelerated by digital technology, it is imperative that protection periods be shortened.
That measure is, sadly, off the table. The draft communication does offer some grounds for hope and, certainly, it is good to see users finally put first. But I fear that lobbying will, once again, diminish the potential for real change and that, without a significant shortening of copyright terms, the transformative power of digital technology will never be fully realized.
Shane Richmond is a freelance journalist specialized in technology and copyright issues. He was formerly tech editor at the Telegraph.


text: The latest specs for the upcoming Xbox update, codenamed “Project Scorpio,” suggest that it could take gaming to new extremes. Microsoft officially unveiled Project Scorpio at last year’s E3, but it has offered few details about what gamers can expect, until now. Project Scorpio reportedly is ahead of schedule, but it is still at least six months away from a consumer launch. More details likely will be announced at E3 this June. Project Scorpio will be the most powerful video game console to date, according to Microsoft.


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Promising "the ultimate family destination", the cruise line's private islands will include locations in the Caribbean, Asia and Australia.
Royal Caribbean is known for cruise ships with novel features ranging from robot bartenders and surf and skydiving simulators to what it claims is the highest water slide at sea.
And now it has land in its sights with the launch of its new Perfect Day Island Collection, a series of private islands for use by its cruise passengers.
The first will be Perfect Day at CocoCay, its existing private island in the Bahamas, which will undergo a $US200 million ($260 million) overhaul.
"When you name a place Perfect Day, you're making a big, bold claim, but it's one we're going to deliver on," Royal Caribbean International president and chief executive Michael Bayley said.
Royal Caribbean ships departing from the US States of New York, Maryland and Florida will call at CocoCay, which Mr Bayley said would become "the ultimate family destination in the Caribbean".
CocoCay will include a waterpark with 13 slides, including the 41m-tall Daredevil's Peak, along with a 480m zip line that will be up to 15m high and a helium balloon that will float up to 137m above the ground.
There will also be Oasis Lagoon, billed as the Caribbean's biggest freshwater pool, and beaches with cabanas, daybeds and activities including volleyball, beachside basketball, soccer, paddle-boarding and glass-bottom kayaking.
The renovations will begin from September, with most of the new experiences set to open by early 2019. Coco Beach Club, which will have what's said to be the first over-water cabanas in the Bahamas, will open in November 2019.
Royal Caribbean said that additional Perfect Day islands in the Caribbean, Asia and Australia would be announced "at a later date".
The cruise line is set to launch the world's biggest cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, in April.
It has also announced it will spend $US900 million on fleet modernisation - adding new features such as Sky Pad, a virtual-reality bungee trampoline experience - to ships including Mariner and Navigator of the Seas.
- For more, go to royalcaribbean.com/perfectdaycococay.
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- Showing 61–69 of 69 items
PASADENA - David Carlos used to drive eight miles through heavy traffic congestion to get to work each day. And when he did, the 23-year-old Long Beach resident would often look longingly at the serene river trail that paralleled his freeway route, wishing he could take that way instead. These days, that's what he does. Two months ago, Carlos bought an electric scooter from UrbanScooters.com in South Pasadena. And his stress level has gone down - exponentially. "Gas prices were a big part of it," he said. "And this is a lot more fun. Now I look over at the freeway and thank God I'm not on it."
South Pasadena, CA – November 20, 2006 – Electric scooter retailer, UrbanScooters.com, announced today that its South Pasadena office has "gone carbon neutral." UrbanScooters.com has secured emissions credits from TerraPass.com off-setting the carbon dioxide generated from electricity use in the office. "Global warming is a big deal!," says Frank Minero, CEO of UrbanScooters.com, "As a company providing alternative transportation options to thousands annually, we feel it's important to take the next step and offset our own companies carbon emissions."
South Pasadena, CA - April 7, 2006 - Electric scooter superstore, UrbanScooters.com, announced on Thursday it is sponsoring Earth Day New York. Earth Day New York and the MTA will host "Giant Earth Images" and "Weekend EarthFair" taking place April 14th to April 23rd, 2006. "UrbanScooters.com supports a greener planet by encouraging the use of environmentally friendly electric scooters for local transportation," says Frank Minero, CEO of UrbanScooters.com. "Our sponsorship of Earth Day New York is a great way to show our support of environmental issues and the advancement of electric scooters technology."
SOUTH PASADENA, CA - November 18, 2005 - UrbanScooters.com announced today that they will provide Razor scooter prize packs including a Razor push scooter and protective gear as grand prizing in a nationwide radio promotion celebrating the DVD release of VIZ Media's "ZATCH BELL! - The Lightning Boy From Another World, Vol. 1." The "ZATCH BELL, Vol. 1" radio promotion will air in 20 of Arbitron's top-rated markets beginning November 15th and will run throughout the 2005 holiday season.
Keep your eyes glued to the TV for details about how you can win a Rad2Go Leopard Shark Electric Scooter and a copy of Vivendi Universal Games' "Spyro, A Hero's Tail™." An ad for "Spyro, A Hero's Tail™" will run in cities across the United States between November 15th and January 31st, 2005. When you see the ad, grab a pen and a piece of paper because the ad is going to tell you how to win. A total of 60 Leopard Shark Electric Scooters and 250 "Spyro, A Hero's Tail™" games will be given away compliments of UrbanScooters.com, Vivendi Games and Rad2Go.
SOUTH PASADENA, CA - November 4, 2004 - UrbanScooters.com announced today that in cooperation with Rad2Go, they will be providing 60 Leopard Shark electric scooters as grand prizing in a nationwide promotion celebrating the release of Vivendi Universal Games' "Spyro, A Hero's Tail™." "Spyro is tremendously popular with the same crowd fueling the electric scooter craze that's taken hold of our nation," said Frank Minero, UrbanScooters.com CEO. "We're excited to be part of the Vivendi Universal Games' promotion celebrating the release of Spyro's latest adventure."
October 20, 2003 (Pasadena, CA) — Notably and possibly for the first time since California passed strict emissions standards in 2000, California residents are able to legally purchase and operate an emissions compliant version of the highly coveted gas powered scooter. Web-based retail leader, UrbanScooters.com recently made a selection of two California emissions compliant scooters available to the public. The California Viper by Viza Motors and the California V2 by Viza Motors are predicted to be top-sellers for the 2003 holiday shopping season and beyond.
UrbanScooters.com featured product, the Z Turbo, appears on The Wayne Brady Show: Holiday Gift and Gadget Segment.


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There has never been a better time for entrepreneurship as we welcome 2016. Why? For starters, there is vast opportunity in the current climate of over 3 billion people now on the Internet and 15% of Americans owning a Smartphone. It’s a climate inspiring many of the 28 million small businesses and over 500 startups in Silicon Beach alone.
Although robust, more than ever, entrepreneurs are facing barriers to entry. Angel investors and venture capital can work, but typically lack the hands-on components that businesses need. Accelerators and incubators – they are so 2011.
The reality is that startups are increasingly finding it more challenging to generate returns. This is 2016 though, and there is a new model providing solutions for many of the problems that commonly lead startups ultimately to fail. No longer are the odds stacked against entrepreneurial visions materializing.
A studio & marketing agency have combined forces to form a super growth lab comprising of a marketing agency, advisory, incubator, technology platform, and fund. Welcome to our brand new growth lab with a portfolio of startups and small businesses we’re helping accelerate growth.” Check out the latest, below, of how we’re using this new model to help entrepreneurs, like many of you, get ahead of the game.
“Many small businesses are vary of the high-risk and high equity requirements to scale their businesses,” said Stewart, Managing Partner and Founder of SGM. “We decided to join forces last year to pursue early stage companies in the consumer & tech space, where our complementary areas of expertise could make a difference for our clients entering a series of investment rounds. We are very pleased to announce the merger and enter a new era of growth in the media market.”


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The new Coach Fall 2014 lookbook is taking Coach where it hasn't been before. The brand is trying something new and edgy, a look Coach was a little shy to delve into in the past.
The Coach Fall 2014 lookbook is still classic, chic and elegantly cool, but now it has the added edge that exudes street cool and urban bohemia.
The brand's new creative director Stuart Vevers seems to be playing around with the label and its identity, looking to capture more fans, as was visible in the latest show at New York Fashion Week.
The outwear collection featured check blanket coats, firemen coats, leather jackets, oversized houndstooth coats, leather cross-body bags, hybrid sneaker-boots and suede hiker boots.
The Coach Fall 2014 Collection is Classic and Street Cool
1. Edgy Urban Bohemia - The new Coach Fall 2014 collection introduces an edgy urban bohemia look, signaling an opportunity for luxury fashion brands to explore edgier aesthetics
2. Creative Director Experimentation - Stuart Vevers' experimentation with the Coach brand identity presents an opportunity for luxury fashion brands to challenge traditional aesthetics
3. Mixed Material Designs - The Coach Fall 2014 collection features mixed material designs, allowing for an opportunity for the fashion industry to experiment with new materials and textures
1. Luxury Fashion - The new edgy urban bohemia look presented by Coach's Fall 2014 collection signals an opportunity for luxury fashion brands to explore edgier aesthetics
2. Fashion Design - Stuart Vevers' experimentation with Coach's brand identity presents an opportunity for fashion designers to challenge traditional aesthetics
3. Material Science - The mixed material designs found in the Coach Fall 2014 collection create an opportunity for the material science industry to experiment with new materials and textures


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Over 5 million players have had the chance to try Atomic Heart
Although Atomic Heart has been met with mixed reception from critics and fans alike, it seems that it still has the interest of millions of players around the world after the total number of users who had the opportunity to try it in the last period was revealed.
Mundfish CEO and founder Robert Bagratoni revealed on Twitter that Atomic Heart had been played by over 5 million players within just three weeks of its release.
We are thrilled with the overwhelming response to our first game. Our team has worked hard since 2017 to create a project that delivers the ultimate gaming experience, and we are delighted to see that Atomic Heart has resonated with gamers worldwide! pic.twitter.com/K70WajyOFM
– Robert Bagratuni (@RobertBagratuni) March 21, 2023
This number doesn’t indicate actual sales of the title, especially given the fact that the game is also available via Game Pass, but it does mark a milestone for a first-time shooter.
Atomic Heart is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.


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- 11 updates
Production has come to an end at a lamb processing plant on Anglesey with the loss of 310 jobs.
Anglesey Council's head of Economic Development has told ITV News' Carole Green that the economic situation on the island is 'dire and bleak' and today's news is 'catastrophic.'
Workers leaving Welsh Country Foods on Anglesey for the final time today say they are 'gutted' and feel that not enough was done to keep the site at Gaerwen open.
One of the workers told ITV News that they had 'little hope' of finding work elsewhere as there are few jobs around.
A manager, who didn't want to be named, said it was a 'sad day for everyone.'
Anglesey Council's head of Economic Development has told ITV News that the economic situation on the island is 'dire and bleak' and today's news is 'catastrophic.'
Dylan Williams' comments came on the day that Welsh Country Foods closed for the final time with the loss of 310 jobs.
He said that in recent years the island has seen significant job losses totalling around 1,000, with the closure of four large businesses including Anglesey Aluminium.
He said that the island needed to see "major new investment if [they are] to recover those job numbers."
Production will cease today at a lamb processing plant on Anglesey with the loss of 310 jobs.
The future of the Welsh Country Foods site at Gaerwen was thrown into doubt in January, after supermarket chain Asda ended its order for lamb.
The union that represents workers at a lamb processing plant on Anglesey says that it is disappointed that a deal to save 310 jobs there has 'fallen through.'
In a statement, Unite said that the Gaerwen site will now close on Friday.
NFU Cymru told ITV News' Rob Shelley that the loss of the plant is a 'sad day for farmers' in north Wales.
The Welsh Government says that they are 'very disappointed' that the Welsh Country Food meat processing will close with the loss of 310 jobs.
In a statement, they said they had offered support to try and secure the sale of the site in Gaerwen on Anglesey.
NFU Cymru says news that the Welsh Country Foods meat processing plant on Anglesey is to close is a "body blow to lamb producers across Wales and to employment on the island of Anglesey and Gwynedd."
It said that it "means the last major slaughter facility in the north of Wales will close and lead to a large drop in overall slaughter capacity in Wales and a loss of levy income."
The owners of Welsh Country Foods say that they have explored 'every possible avenue' to prevent the loss of 310 jobs at the Anglesey plant.
In a statement the company said that it was an "extremely regrettable action but, unfortunately, we have been unable to identify any viable alternative to closure of the plant."
Vion Food Group, the owners of Welsh Country Foods, announced in January that it was planning to close the processing facility for Welsh lamb.
It blamed the decision of ASDA to 'de-list' Welsh Country Foods as a supplier.
At the time the company said that it would "explore every opportunity to limit any potential job losses."
They announced that they would begin a 90-day consultation with workers as they continued to work to attract new customers to the site.
The plant in Gaerwen previously handled 640,000 lambs every year.


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Kloster Cruise Limited has reported a net loss of $15.8 million on revenues of $190 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 1995 compared to a net income of $17.8 million on revenues of $219.9 million for the second quarter of 1994.
Last year, however, the company benefited from a $35.1 million profit from the sale of the Royal Viking Sun and absorbed an $8.2 million loss on the translation of foreign currency denomination debt.
According to a prepared statement, earnings eroded in 1995 primarily because of revenue weakness at Royal Cruise Line, and because the company operated less capacity due to the sale of three older vessels, as well as an unusually high, although planned, number of vessels in routine drydock.
After a weak winter and spring season, RCL emerged in June with occupancies and rates above those of June in the prior year, according to the statement. Summer season advance bookings are also stronger than those for last year, even after being adjusted for capacity increases.
The company's Norwegian Cruise Line division continued to show occupancy and rate improvements year-over-year, according to Kloster, with occupancy rising by 3.7 points and yields (defined as revenue per available capacity day) improving by 10.7 percent.
Kloster reported 804,058 passenger cruise days for the second quarter for a load factor of 96.8 percent compared to 934,300 passenger cruise days and a load factor of 94.5 percent for the same quarter last year.
According to the prepared statement, Kloster has also "unleashed an aggressive cost reduction program shipside and shoreside, the effectiveness of which will be felt more concretely in the second half of 1995."
(Unconfirmed reports suggest that the cost reduction program also includes pay cuts for ships' crew and staff.)
In the prepared statement, Adam Aron, Kloster Cruise President and Chief Executive Officer, said that "despite NCL whose performance has improved throughout the year and a now improving RCL, a generally weak market demand for cruising bas caused our competitors to launch price discounting initiatives which in many cases we have been forced to match - which taken together may serve to offset benefits of management's actions to increase revenues and reduce costs."
While the second quarter and six-month results were released, Aron was not available for comments and was said to be on one of the ships.
Six Month Results
For the first six months of 1995, Kloster Cruise reported a net loss of $32.9 million on revenues of $383.1 million compared to income of $4 million (including the sale of the Royal Viking Sun) on revenues of $444.9 million for the same period last year.
Kloster also reported 1,630,525 passenger cruise days and a load factor of 96.5 percent compared to 1,858,572 passenger cruise days and a load factor of 92.4 percent for the same period last year.
In 1995, Kloster Cruise operated nine vessels, whereas in 1994 the company operated 11 vessels. Three vessels were sold to modernize the fleet and "to exit the unprofitable luxury market," according to Kloster. In addition, in the second quarter, the company also had three vessels in drydock.
The company estimated that the combined effect represented a dampening in year-over-year earnings of approximately $3 million.
Kloster stated that for the year-to-date, excluding the non-cash effects of translation of foreign currency denominated debt, the gain on sale of assets, and other extraordinary items, the company's net loss was $24.9 million for the first six months of 1995, compared to a net loss of $16.4 million for the same period of 1994.
The company also stated that it estimated the decrease in capacity in 1995 and the drydockings to account for $5.3 million of the decline in profitability in 1995. Also, while actual interest expense was favorable due to decreased borrowings, higher interest rates also cost the company $5.3 million in 1995.
Kloster Cruise continues to struggle under a debt burden that siphons off earnings the company needs badly to build new ships in order to stay competitive.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the new owner group at parent company VARD is asking lenders to sell their debt back to the company at a considerable discount and/or for postponement of debt service, providing the company with equity to build new ships.


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Most of us lock our doors and close our curtains at night. We are aware of the physical threats to our privacy and security, and take great measures to protect them. If we think of our digital privacy as a house however, we are far less diligent. In many ways, we’ve left the doors unlocked and curtains open.
The acrimony between the United States and China has a technological aspect that could lead to a faceoff. This is the result of the underdog Chinese industries challenging the established American industrial complex. The winner of this standoff will dictate global economic activity for the foreseeable future.
PIN verification will soon become a thing of the past. Thanks to advances in fingerprint biometric technology, the reality of being able to authenticate a payment with a simple touch of the finger is set to explode across the globe. Whilst some countries remain conservative in terms of adopting this technology
Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world, there is nothing certain but death and taxes.” I’d like to add one intertwined level of certainty – the modern staple. In fact, staples are killing worker productivity and they’re a major part of our tax process.
Many of the most dynamic technological innovations in the last 25 years have promoted the idea of breaking down barriers, improving accessibility, and bringing the world’s citizens closer together than ever before.
Financial technology, or fintech (FT), will affect investment banking (IB) by affecting the various lists of services that they offer. However, two concepts need to be clarified before these effects can be analyzed in detail. First, the scope of FT needs to be defined by the most recent technology.
Mobile payments hit the mass market in 2014 with the introduction of Apple Pay and was hailed as the next revolution in payments. Partnerships with major payment providers such as American Express, MasterCard and Visa meant that the innovation was anticipated to make a major impact on consumers straight from launch.
Over the past several years, the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) has changed dramatically. This is due to many factors, including the global financial crisis of the last decade, the emergence of big data, the changing technological landscape and the ubiquitous influence of social media.
Projects in general and information-technology (IT) projects in particular are often associated with some level of complexity. And the bigger the project, the higher the probability that it will be more complex.
We all know the drill. With the emergence of technological innovations unrolling one after the other, there are still those who refuse to go with the flow. In the business landscape, while many adopt new technology without skipping a beat


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It may not come as a huge surprise, given the oft-trotted out stat that there are more men named John (or Andrew, or Peter, depending on who you ask) than women leading or chairing ASX 200 companies, but it’s still a number that shocks: 62 percent of Australian startups don’t have any women on their boards.
According to figures released by KPMG High Growth Ventures, this figure rises to 73 percent when you remove the startups founded by women.
Hoping to nip the issue in the bud before it gets to John/Andrew/Peter crisis-level is Get on Board, an initiative launched this week to champion the representation of women on startup boards.
It was founded by Lauren Capelin, head of venture community at Reinventure and Sian Priest, general manager at Innovation Bay, who explained that its mission is to raise awareness of the diversity imbalance at the startup board level – and to highlight and discuss actionable solutions to improve the issue.
“It’s also about educating founders on the value a diverse board can bring to their business, that it sends a clear message to staff, shareholders and customers that the business is sensitive to a broad spectrum of people and reflects the real world,” she said.
The inspiration for Get on Board came to Capelin from two key experiences, the first being a chat with an experienced tech exec and non-executive director who said she, and many of her equally qualified peers, were finding it difficult to get access to opportunities for board positions with tech startups.
“The issue seemed to stem from the fact that the majority of founders and investors are men, and that referrals for board members were primarily coming from their own personal networks,” Capelin explained.
The second piece of inspiration came from a survey Capelin conducted about diversity with Reinventure’s portfolio companies last year, which included a question about diversity at board level.
The results were similar to the KPMG figures: 70 percent of the fund’s startups had no women on the board, with this increasing to more than 85 percent when removing companies founded or run by women.
“I suspected this would be in line with the rest of the industry, and that it was a problem worth addressing, given startups will be the big organisations of the future and if we can’t get diversity right at this level, we will have an even bigger problem down the road, such as the one the ASX has been addressing,” Capelin said.
When Priest then got in touch to talk about collaborating on something for International Women’s Day, addressing the board issue was the perfect cause.
The pair have been assisted in their work by a variety of individuals and organisations, including Heads Over Heels, Scale Investors, and SheStarts.
“Momentum gathered really quickly which showed us there is a pressing need and enthusiasm for something like this,” Priest said.
This momentum helped push Get on Board’s mission; according to Priest, the original idea was to host an event in Sydney and another in Melbourne to celebrate International Women’s Day and connect female executives and industry leaders with startups looking to diversify their boards.
Talking to people across the industry, however, things quickly went beyond events: KPMG High Growth Ventures conducted its research into the gender imbalance on startup boards, while a number of other organisations have come on board to help launch a directory to connect qualified women to opportunities.
So far, Capelin said the reception for Get on Board and its mission has been enthusiastic, with industry agreeing this is a problem worth solving.
“Startups are constrained by time, and their known or referred networks so we want to make it as efficient as possible for them to plug these gaps they have identified.,” she said.
“Conversely, we are sick of the excuses that there were no women put forward, qualified enough or in the right way, and want to demystify the startup board process so there is a bit more power and knowledge back in founders’ hands.”
Image: Lauren Capelin and Sian Priest. Source: Supplied.


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RSI Enters Mexico Through Partnership with Grupo Multimedios
Rush Street Interactive, Inc. (RSI), an online casino and sports betting company in the United States and Colombia, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with Mexican media conglomerate Grupo Multimedios to bring RSI’s award-winning online gaming platform to Mexico. Under the terms of the 25-year agreement, RSI will operate online casino and sports betting countrywide in close partnership with Grupo Multimedios, a subsidiary of which holds a license to operate online gaming in Mexico. The partnership also enables RSI to leverage Grupo Multimedios’ vast array of media assets and distribution channels for promotional and content integration purposes. RSI and Grupo Multimedios expect to launch operations in the second quarter of 2022.
Grupo Multimedios, whose rich history in Mexico dates back 89 years, spans multiple industries including media, sports, entertainment, wines, food, retail and real estate. The company’s portfolio of media assets encompasses television, radio, print, billboards, and digital, and includes Mediotiempo, a digital sports property attracting more than 7 million unique users per month, and growing at a 29% CAGR; Milenio, the number one digital national news and information source in Mexico with 27.7 million unique users per month; and Canal 6, its network of 22 television stations and 63 radio stations.
Grupo Multimedios started with a strong presence in its home base of Monterrey and has been able to deploy its coverage throughout the Mexican market. It has expanded into several businesses beyond media and holds ownership in multiple sports teams, including the Sultanes de Monterrey, one of the most prestigious teams in the Mexican Baseball League, as well as two professional basketball teams. The company’s real estate, retail, and food interests include hundreds of properties, stores, and restaurants across the country.
Richard Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of RSI, said, “We are excited to partner with Grupo Multimedios, one of the most respected media enterprises in Mexico, which we believe will serve as a great accelerant for building our online gaming operations in the country. Mexico represents an attractive market opportunity, with a population of more than 130 million, which, when combined with Colombia’s population of 50 million, will expand RSI’s offering in Latin America significantly. We were deeply impressed by Grupo Multimedios’ management team and long track record of success, including the growth of its digital businesses in Mexico, which will be extremely valuable as we launch and grow our business in Mexico.”
Angel Cong, Co-CEO of Multimedios, said, “It is very exciting to start this partnership with RSI, their experience and amazing team will help our group achieve a new partnered vision of continuous growth and entrepreneurship. RSI has been successful in the American and Colombian online casino and sportsbook markets; we have no doubt that together we will achieve the same in Mexico. With this partnership, both RSI and Multimedios will take advantage of our media assets to be a strong and successful competitor.”
RSI was the first U.S. gaming company to launch a regulated online sportsbook in Latin America when it launched RushBet.co in 2018. In the most recent quarter with published data from Colombia’s gaming regulatory body, RushBet.co accounted for nearly 20% of online casino and sports betting handle in the country. Moreover, the platform was recognized as Sportsbook Operator of the Year at the SBC Latinoamérica Awards 2021. RSI is the fourth largest operator of online casino and sports betting combined in the United States as of December 2021, per Eilers & Krejcik, with real-money mobile, online and/or retail operations in thirteen U.S. states.
“As the first U.S. gaming company to launch a regulated online gaming sportsbook in Latin America, we have a deep understanding and appreciation for the communities where we operate and the localization that is needed to thrive in the Latin American market. We look forward to leveraging the infrastructure, operations team, and relationships developed during our five years of business in Latin America as we expand our best-in-class online gaming platform to a growing Mexico market. We are thrilled to build on our existing success in Latin America and will continue to expand our presence in the region and globally,” said Mr. Schwartz.


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U.S.: Growth Is Near Zero--and That's Good News
With his typical homespun delivery, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert D. McTeer Jr. cautioned recently: "The blues are contagious. Don't get near people with them. Just go out and buy something."
The trouble is, consumers and businesses don't seem to be taking his advice. Retail sales and car purchases did perk up considerably in January, but the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment continued to plunge in early February (chart), and the National Federation of Independent Businesses' index of small-business optimism fell again. Both are plumbing levels not seen since the 1990-91 recession.
Does that mean a recession in 2001? Not necessarily. True, households and companies are coming down from the economic euphoria of the late 1990s, when stock prices were increasing 25% per year, the economy was growing at a 5% rate, and profits were in the double digits. The adjustment will take a while longer to complete, but more and more data suggest that it is already well advanced.
In the absence of huge additions to stock wealth, households are realigning their spending with the pace of income growth, a process that has already cut two or three percentage points off the unsustainable 5% to 6% growth rate of a year ago. Likewise, capital spending by businesses is adjusting to slower demand growth, softer profits, and tighter credit. All this requires that inventory growth must slow, which is why manufacturing output and employment are getting hit so hard.
The risks during this downshift are clearly great, especially since the quicker flow of information is speeding up the adjustment. With indicators falling fast, confidence measures are bound to reflect heightened concern. But the latest data suggest that the imbalances in the economy are being cleared away in a manner that will allow growth to pick up later in the year.
SOME OF THE BEST NEWS for the outlook came with the latest inventory data. Stock levels at manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers increased only 0.1% in December, much less than expected and well below what the Commerce Dept. had estimated when it issued its preliminary report on fourth-quarter gross domestic product in late January.
In fact, the new inventory data, which were unavailable for the first reading on GDP, suggest a sizable downward revision to inventory growth when the GDP information is released on Feb. 28. Of course, revisions to other components will affect the overall final number, but the inventory refiguring, taken alone, could knock between 0.5 and 1.0 percentage point off of the originally reported 1.4% growth rate for GDP.
If growth is revised to near zero, how can that be good news? Because it would mean that the inventory reduction is proceeding rapidly, and that the adjustment required in the first quarter will be lower than many economists had expected. As long as consumer and business demand continues to grow--even at a subdued pace--the contraction in industrial output may well have run its course by midyear. That is especially likely since the lion's share of the excess inventories is in the auto industry, and because much of the weakness in factory output reflects auto industry cutbacks to reduce that overflow.
LOOK AT THE LATEST DATA on manufacturing output and auto inventories. Factory production fell 0.1% in January, but excluding vehicle output, production actually rose 0.3% (chart). Since factory output peaked in September, it has fallen at an annual rate of 5.4%, but excluding vehicle production, it has declined only at a 1.7% rate, and that figure includes auto-related softness in industries such as metals, rubber, and plastics.
The reduction in car and light-truck inventories will yield another big subtraction from first-quarter GDP. As it stands now, the inventory of domestically made light-vehicles at the end of January was a "very high" 90 days, according to Ward's Automotive Reports, up from 82 days in December. Ward's says that if February sales meet its expectation and indicate a 16.2 million annual rate, the supply will fall to 74 days. But that level is still greater than last year's more normal 61 days, suggesting additional production scalebacks in February and March.
Elsewhere in manufacturing, output is slowing, but not as sharply as the impact of the auto cutbacks would suggest. Clearly, production of high-tech equipment, including computers, electronic components, and telecommunications equipment, has slowed from its exceptionally strong pace of late 1999 and early last year. But that pace--before and after the Y2K date change--was the exception, not the current slower rate.
High-tech output, up 2.2% in January, averaged monthly gains of 2.4% during the past six months. That was down from the powerful 4.5% monthly clip averaged during the months before and after Y2K, but during the previous 2 1/2 years, output averaged 2.7%. High-tech output, therefore, appears simply to be returning to its normal trend. The stiffest cutbacks in capital spending so far have been in low-tech transportation equipment and industrial machinery.
THE KEY TO THE OUTLOOK is consumers. Their spending is crucial to the rapid elimination of excess inventories and to the willingness of businesses to keep shelling out money for new equipment and buildings. So far in the quarter, the news is good, if somewhat difficult to read because of the weather.
Sales at retailers and car dealers rebounded strongly in January. The same bounce relative to weaker results in both November and December showed up in January job growth and hours worked, as well. The connection could be that January weather was milder than normal, while weather at the end of last year was more severe than usual. The pattern of "heating degree days" for those months bears that out. If so, the January bounce may overstate the strength in demand at the beginning of the year.
Nevertheless, the January data on housing starts and car sales still look encouraging. Households would surely cut back on those two areas first if they felt overburdened or excessively worried. In fact, despite the bad November and December weather, housing starts increased in both of those months, and in January they gained an impressive 5.3%, hitting an annual rate of 1.65 million--the highest in nine months (chart).
Amid layoff announcements, investor nervousness, and recession talk, the Dallas Fed's McTeer may have a tough time getting his persistently upbeat message across. But the way things are going so far this year, consumers and businesses are apt to look around a few months from now and realize that the economy, while far from being as vibrant as it was, is nowhere near as gloomy as they fear.
By James C. Cooper & Kathleen Madigan


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Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, announced on Sunday that his firm is planning to ship ten or more 5G handsets next year. Lei Jun made the announcement at the World Internet Conference which was being hosted in eastern China in Wuzhen. One of the reasons behind the move is that the industry fears that people won’t be looking to buy 4G devices any more now that 5G has begun rolling out.
The firm has already begun selling a 5G device, the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro, which launched last month. The Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro saw quite a restricted launch, arriving only in the Chinese market. According to the CEO, the 5G range will be much wider as the firm plans to bring the improved connectivity to high, middle, and low-end devices next year, making Xiaomi’s products more appealing to all customers, no matter their budget.
Speaking at the event, Lei Jun said:
“People in the industry fear that next year 4G models won’t sell, this is a step you have no choice but to take. So we hope that operators can speed up their expansion of 5G base stations.”
With the U.S.-China trade war hitting at Huawei, Chinese customers are turning to the embattled firm’s products in order to assist it, driven by a sense patriotism, according to Reuters. As a result of the shift to Huawei, Xiaomi’s market share in China has decreased to 11.8% in the second quarter from 13.9% the year before. On the plus side, Xiaomi recently entered Europe and has seen its market share reach 9.6% in the second quarter, up from 6.5% the year before.


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The suspension of almost all live racing and closure of retail betting shops worldwide as a result of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has forced Sports Information Services (SIS) to shut down all non-essential services and furlough a significant number of staff.
iGaming solutions provider EveryMatrix has expanded its range of virtual sports games to help operators increase betting options, build new revenue streams and keep players engaged during the shutdown of sports around the world.
Bosnia-based igaming solutions provider NSoft has announced that it will offer its portfolio of virtual and draw-based games free of charge to help operators mitigate the impact of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) on their businesses.
Atemi has set an increased revenue target for 2020 after it posted better-than-expected results for 2019, while the online gaming affiliate has also launched a new flagship comparison site in the UK and US.
Playtech has entered into a new digital sports betting partnership with Greek operator OPAP, while the gambling technology giant has also signed an extension to its long-term agreement with online gaming operator Mansion.


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Developers of the popular Enigmail email security extension for Thunderbird have fixed several issues that could have exposed messages users believed to be encrypted.
Tech industry organizations have written a letter to leaders in the U.S. Senate, to ask them to swiftly pass the USA Freedom Act, legislation that is expected to end the collection of bulk domestic phone data by the National Security Agency.
Home Depot said Monday that its payment systems had been breached, potentially affecting any customers who shopped at its stores in the U.S. and Canada since April.
Professional networking site LinkedIn is rolling out new features that allow users to easily manage authenticated sessions across multiple devices and better understand what caused security-related changes on their accounts.
Facebook fan page operators are not legally responsible for the personal data of visitors to their pages, but Facebook is, a German appeals court ruled.
Facebook is rolling out a new privacy settings checkup tool designed to give users a clearer picture of who can see their posts and other information they share.
Two top officials in U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, including the director of national intelligence, have voiced support for a Senate bill that would end the U.S. National Security Agency's bulk collection of domestic telephone records...
Verizon Communications will pay US$7.4 million to settle U.S. Federal Communications Commission allegations that the company failed to notify millions of customers that they could opt out of having their personal information used in internal marketin...
Home Depot said Tuesday it was investigating a possible breach of its systems holding customer payment information tied to credit and debit cards.
A targeted attack focused on user names, passwords and security questions of Apple accounts gave hackers access to nude photos of celebrities that were then leaked over the weekend on the Internet, the company said Tuesday.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a "global compact" on surveillance and the use of collected data, saying the U.S. isn't the only country that does it and American technology companies are unfairly targeted for the government...
Email addresses and encrypted passwords of around 97,000 users who tested early builds of the Bugzilla bug tracking software were left exposed for three months following a server migration.
Future versions of the Firefox OS mobile platform will allow users to control application-specific permissions, a feature with both privacy and security benefits that's missing on Android.
The U.S. National Security Agency built a "Google-like" search engine to give domestic and international government agencies access to details of billions of calls, texts and instant messages sent by millions of people, according to The Intercept.
A senior U.S. senator is asking airlines about their data privacy practices, saying he's concerned about what information the companies are collecting and sharing with third parties.
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