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People who don't "get" the current NFT craze usually have the same question: why would someone shell out six figures to own something that's free for anyone to view online? The family behind one of the most popular YouTube videos ever uploaded understands this lack-of-scarcity skepticism and is doing something to inflate their meme's value. When "Charlie Bit My Finger" goes up for auction as an NFT on May 23, the video will be deleted from YouTube, where it's been viewed more than 881 million times in the last 14 years.
The Davies-Carr family is betting someone, ideally many someones, will pay handsomely for the privilege of queueing up the 55 second clip of one-year-old Charlie gnawing on his three-year-old brother Harry whenever they like. It'll kind of be like how Martin Shkreli paid $2 million to withhold Wu Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin from the public. Except the public already had 14 years to giggle at the micro-dramedy of "Charlie Bit My Finger" on repeat.
The boys are now 15 and 17, and they see the NFT boom as the logical next iteration of their meme fame. “NFTs is the new thing,” Charlie told the New York Post from the family's home outside London. “When we posted, YouTube was the new thing, but now NFTs is the exciting new thing.”
Memes like Disaster Girl, Nyan Cat and Overly Attached Girlfriend recently sold for eye-popping prices, around half-a-million dollars apiece. But other bits of viral content haven't fared as well on the crypto market. The highly-anticipated auction of David After Dentist fetched just $11,500, for example.
The Davies-Carr family knows that erasing the video that made them famous is a gamble. They'd lose whatever ad revenue they still collect from YouTube, for example. "We could come out of this badly. I don’t know what’s going to happen," Charlie and Harry's father, Howard Davies-Carr, told the Post.
Meanwhile there's bound to be other ways to watch the clip. Whoever buys the NFT will have quite the job trying to scrub re-uploads from the internet. But the co-founder of the NFT platform hosting the sale, Origin Protocol, didn't think that would detract buyers: "There’s a million copies of the Mona Lisa circulating, either as physical or digital images, all over the world, but everyone knows that there’s only one," Matt Liu said. "Even though there are still other digital copies, there’s one that’s basically been authenticated by the creator of this content."
Not to get super meta, but you could argue that the actual YouTube page for "Charlie Bit My Finger" is the real work of art. Who knows whether a relatively innocuous home video clip would hit the same way if it were posted in 2021 as it did in 2007? But destroying art in the name of selling it on the blockchain worked out for those people who burned a Banksy and nearly quadrupled its value. Deleting "Charlie Bit My Finger" from the internet might just pay off.


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Blockbuster Video just couldn’t keep up with Netflix and is closing its doors for good. Yes, it’s the end of an era for the franchised movie rental business that brought hundreds of VHS tapes into our homes back in the 80’s and 90’s.
Dish Network, Blockbuster’s parent company, announcing on Wednesday that nearly all of the 300 remaining stores are set to close in early 2014. Distribution centers and the DVD-by-mail business that never quite took off thanks to Netflix are also shutting down. It’s the final curtain. Blockbuster’s swan song.
Instead, the Dish Network will focus all its efforts on the somewhat more popular Blockbuster on Demand streaming service. The service offers more than 15 channels such as Hallmark Movie Channel and Starz and over 20,000 movies in its catalog. There are a small amount of Blockbuster store owners, mostly in Alaska, who will continue to keep their stores open.
The truth of the matter is that Blockbuster just couldn’t keep up with Netflix. The original DVD-By-Mail service that began over a decade ago was puzzling to some. Who would want to order their DVDs online and have them delivered in the mail? Where was the instant gratification? But Netflix pushed on and became popular because it allowed busy movie watchers to keep the DVD for as long as they wanted. No late fees. No begging you to “please be kind and rewind.” Admittedly, a little hard for a DVD, but still. Once Netflix began adding video streaming it all but left Blockbuster in the dust.
Then came Redbox. Now this was an idea everyone could get behind. For only 99 cents a night you could rent a video from one of the many kiosks that popped up all over the country. Instant gratification, finally! Customers loved being able to browse through the current titles and bring the video home with them immediately. Blockbuster eventually figured out that if they were to keep up with the changing times then they had to change the way they delivered movies to their customers. But by then it was just too late.
Blockbuster came to us in the late 80’s, when just about every family on the block purchased their first VCR. The first storefront was opened in Dallas texas in October of 1985. By 1987 they expanded their services by offering video game rentals. Most towns in America had a Blockbuster. As soon as you walked in you felt as if you were actually in a movie theater. Most stores had several TVs playing the latest releases. The entire place smelled of popcorn and there was a hypnotic buzz that made customers feel happy. Nothing good lasts forever, and by 2010 more and more stores were closing down. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in late 2010. They were issued a slight reprieve in April of 2011 when Dish Network agreed to buy the company for $320 million. Dish announced that it would agree to keep 500 Blockbuster stores open at that time. A significant drop from the nearly 4,000 nationwide stores Blockbuster boasted at their peak.
Sadly, Blockbuster could not keep up with the ease of Netflix and Redbox. The appeal of not leaving your house and just clicking your mouse was too tempting. And it isn’t just Blockbuster that’s suffering. Many mom and pop video stores are also closing their doors. It’s truly the end of an era. Once more, for old time’s sake. Be kind. Rewind.
Mary Kay Love

domain: news


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In November 2015 Magento announced the general availability of the next generation version of Magento
The new platform empowers brands, retailers, and businesses across retail and B2B industries to quickly and cost-effectively deliver engaging shopping experiences.
Magento Version 2
Magento 2.0 also offers enhanced performance and scalability, new features to boost conversion rates, and business agility and productivity improvements. The new platform also builds on our open source heritage and offers unmatched flexibility and innovation opportunities to our global ecosystem of partners and developers.


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ATLANTA – Nuesoft Technologies has updated its brand with a new set of logos and updated color schemes. The logos for the medical practice management andcollege health software divisions were unveiled today on the company’s website, and offer a more modern look to the veteran brand.
“We’re a technology company, and that means we constantly are forward thinking and pushing the envelope,” said Massoud Alibakhsh, founder and CEO of Nuesoft. “We want our corporate identity and brand to stay in step with this, and believe our new logos are a better reflection of where we are in 2011.”
The new logos feature an update to the stylized letter “e” that has become the hallmark of the NueMD and Nuesoft Xpress logos, along with new typefaces and updated color schemes.
Nuesoft designed the new logos after a competitive analysis and market research effort. To weigh in about our new look, visit Nuesoft on Facebook or Twitter.
About Nuesoft Technologies, Inc.
Established in 1993, Nuesoft was one of the first companies to pioneer software as a service (SaaS) and has the datacenter facilities to support secure and HIPAA-compliant application hosting. The company has an established U.S. customer base of more than 15,000 users in 49 states, and, as an independent clearinghouse, processes 3.5 million claims transactions per year. For more information about Nuetopia or Nuesoft, visit http://www.nuesoft.com or call (800) 401-7422.


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Used-car-salesmen, the two men engaged in separate plots to inflate the prices of personal protective equipment used to guard against the virus. He falsely claimed to have a working relationship with 3m and gave new york city fake references to vouch for his company, a pharmacist and a used car salesman were arrested tuesday on charges that they designed frauds to capitalize on the search. A used car salesman from the u s state of new jersey has been arrested and accused of trying to sell new york city millions, mcallen police arrested a 49 year old used car salesman late last week who they accuse of defrauding burns motors out of.
A pharmacist and a used car salesman were arrested tuesday on charges that they designed frauds to capitalize on the, he's here to earn it "i'm not a used car salesman or a politician or a corporate sort of person who wants to go out saying 'here's our product; trust us' there was too much of that in. The used car dealer and bill one of its salesman love to make tongue in cheek videos about some of the vehicles it has in its inventory and this overview of an e500 is one of its finest, it's not a video that captures a real life prank played on a hapless used car salesman however but rather to believe this video really captured a prank played on an unsuspecting car lot.
A pharmacist and a used car salesman have been arrested on charges that they designed frauds to capitalize on the search for


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Oregon State Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Want Fred Meyer, and Its Parent Company Kroger, to Change Its Dangerous Gun Policy
Kroger Campaign Follows Moms’ Previous Corporate Public Safety Victories with Target, Starbucks, Chipotle, and More
Portland-area members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America delivered petition signatures from Fred Meyer shoppers to their headquarters on Tuesday morning. The moms encouraged Fred Meyer President Lynn Gust to change the store’s gun policy, which currently allows open carry, putting the safety and security of its customers and employees at risk.
Oregon law, like that of many states, allows people to openly carry rifles and shotguns in public with no permit and no training, unless a community has passed its own law. These laws contain a loophole that make it easy for a dangerous criminal to buy a gun from a stranger online–no background check, no questions asked–and carry it into public places where we take our children.
“I don’t want to worry about gunmen in the supermarket as my child and I shop for groceries,” said Anneliese Davis, a volunteer with Oregon state chapter of Moms Demand Action. “It is far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get a gun in America without a background check, and I’m uncomfortable shopping at a store that puts gun extremists ahead of the safety of my family. Fred Meyer should prohibit the open carry of firearms immediately.”
Oregon members of Moms Demand Action are fighting for gun safety on all fronts. After the state Senate stalled legislation enacting criminal background checks on all gun sales in 2013 and 2014, Moms Demand Action volunteers mobilized Oregon voters to turn out and vote for Senate candidates with gun sense. As a result, Oregon now has a pro-background check majority in the state Senate and a governor who has promised to make gun safety legislation a priority.
“It’ll take legislative action as well as support from the companies we trust to finally curb this epidemic of gun violence in this country,” Davis added. “Oregon moms are proud to do our part to show Fred Meyer and Kroger that their shoppers want and deserve a safer, more kid-friendly experience in their stores.”
Moms launched a petition in August demanding that Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, stop allowing the open carry of gun in its stores. The petition has garnered more than 350,000 signatures. Kroger has owned the Fred Meyer brand since May 2009.
While Kroger has not yet changed its open carry policy, in recent weeks, New Seasons Market, a chain of more than a dozen grocery stores located in Oregon and Washington, and Panera Bread recently joined other major brands, including Target, Starbucks, Chipotle, Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Chili’s, in asking guests to leave their firearms at home.
About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action campaigns for new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. Since its inception after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than 2.5 million members and more than 40,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter at @MomsDemand


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VANCOUVER, British Columbia – March 6, 2012 – ActiveState, whose software enables developers and enterprises to innovate from code to cloud, announced today that Appsembler has integrated ActiveState’s Stackato application platform technology into its namesake hosted-service offering for Web applications in the cloud.
Stackato —now generally available—is the application platform for creating a private platform-as-a-service (PaaS) using any language on any stack on any cloud. From the desktop to the datacenter, Stackato makes it easy to develop, deploy, migrate, scale, manage and monitor applications on any cloud.
Appsembler is the fastest way to sell hosted web apps. Appsembler helps developers sell web applications as a hosted on-demand service with all billing, payment processing, hosting, and customer-engagement hooks seamlessly and securely integrated.
“We decided in January 2012 to create Appsembler,” says CEO Nate Aune. “With Stackato, we’re ready to launch in March. That’s three months from concept to productization… Out of the box with Stackato, we were able to immediately offer one-click deployment environments for Django, Pylons, Pyramid, Bottle, Flask, and other Python frameworks.”
“Appsembler’s hosted service is a great technology fit for Stackato,” notes Bart Copeland, CEO of ActiveState. “It showcases Stackato, and how it enables developers to move from code to cloud to revenue generation, simply, safely, and quickly.”
Appsembler and ActiveState will provide a sneak preview of the Appsembler service using the Stackato platform at the PyCon 2012 conference in Santa Clara, Calif. You can see Appsembler and Stackato in action at the ActiveState booth (#211) March 9-11.
“The Appsembler integration is only just the beginning for Stackato,” adds ActiveState’s Copeland. “We continue to innovate and we continue to see great customer adoption. We look forward to building on that success to strengthen Stackato’s technology leadership position in private PaaS.”
Appsembler empowers software developers to sell and host web applications in the cloud. Instead of worrying about server infrastructure and business logistics, they can focus on raising adoption and revenue with their offerings. Appsembler includes a hosting platform and support channels for customers. Its brandable storefronts provide seamless integration of billing and payment processing. These features enable efficient monetization for web application developers and easy evaluation as well as scalable, one-click deployment for business users.
ActiveState empowers innovation from code to cloud smarter, safer, and faster. ActiveState’s cutting-edge solutions give developers and enterprises the power and flexibility to develop in Java, Ruby, Python, Perl, Node.js, PHP, Tcl, and more. Stackato is ActiveState’s groundbreaking application platform for creating a private platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and is the cost-effective, secure, and portable way to develop and deploy apps to the cloud. ActiveState is proven for the enterprise: More than two million developers and 97% of Fortune-1000 companies use ActiveState’s end-to-end solutions to develop, distribute, and manage their software applications. Global customers like Cisco, CA, HP, Bank of America, Siemens, and Lockheed Martin look to ActiveState to save time, save money, minimize risk, ensure compliance, and reduce time to market.
ActiveState Public Relations


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New Zealand Annual Trade Deficit Narrows on Milk and Log Exports
New Zealand’s annual trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in the year through June, boosted by overseas shipments of milk powder and logs.
Imports exceeded exports by NZ$747 million ($585 million), in the 12 months through June compared with a revised NZ$876 million shortfall in the prior period, Statistics New Zealand said today in Wellington. Exports rose 6.2 percent in June from the year-earlier month, and the monthly surplus widened to NZ$331 million from a revised NZ$232 million.
New Zealand has posted three straight months of annual trade deficits as falling commodity prices and a weaker outlook for global demand curb shipments abroad, which make up 30 percent of the economy. New Zealand farmers expect declining profits and plan to spend less over the next 12 months, a survey showed yesterday.
“We expect the recent falls in the price of New Zealand’s export commodity basket to begin to have a greater influence on the trade accounts, and see the annual balance move further into deficit,” Philip Borkin, economist at Goldman Sachs New Zealand Ltd. in Auckland, said in a July 20 note.
New Zealand’s dollar fell after the report, buying 78.26 U.S. cents at 11:07 a.m. in Wellington compared with 78.30 cents before the data. The annual deficit was smaller than the NZ$1 billion median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of eight economists, and the monthly surplus was wider than the NZ$2 million surplus economists expected.
Exports of dairy products were unusually high in June, the statistics agency said. The volume of milk powder, butter and cheese shipments surged 27 percent from May, it said.
Imports rose 5.2 percent to NZ$47.4 billion in the year ended June 30, led by purchases of fuel, machinery and vehicles, today’s report showed. Exports gained 1.3 percent to NZ$46.7 billion as meat sales fell. Annual dairy sales, which make up a quarter of the total, gained 2.6 percent, the report showed.
In June, imports fell to NZ$3.87 billion from a revised NZ$4.18 billion a month earlier. Fuel purchases declined.
Exports dropped to NZ$4.2 billion in June from a revised NZ$4.41 billion in May, reflecting the seasonal peak in farm production, the report showed. Economists predicted NZ$3.83 billion. Dairy sales gained 9.9 percent from the year-earlier month to NZ$979 million.
Prices for the country’s commodities in world markets dropped for a fifth month in June, declining 2.4 percent, according to an ANZ National Bank Ltd. index. After adjusting for a stronger local currency, prices fell 3.4 percent from May and 16 percent from June last year.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard will probably leave the official cash rate at a record-low 2.5 percent at a policy review tomorrow, according to all 16 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
A net 39.5 percent of the 889 farmers polled in early July estimated their profits will decline over the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by Federated Farmers of New Zealand. The outlook has deteriorated since a January survey, when 31.6 percent expected profits would increase, the group said in a statement yesterday. The net measure subtracts pessimists from optimists.
Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the world’s largest dairy exporter, said in May it would pay its farmer suppliers about 9 percent less for their output in the new season that began June 1 because of a slump in milk powder prices.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at firstname.lastname@example.org


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PARIS — L’Oréal chairman and chief executive officer Jean-Paul Agon has laid out the company’s 2020 sustainability targets, highlighting his belief that in the corporate world of the future, corporate social responsibility concerns are just as important as those of profitability.
“There can be no economic success without commitment to the environment and society,” he told journalists gathered at a press conference here. “We are redefining L’Oréal’s strategy for the next 20 years.”
Diminishing the negative impact of the global beauty industry’s largest company on the environment and society will be a key part of helping L’Oréal succeed in its aim of attracting a billion new consumers worldwide in the next 10 to 15 years, Agon said.
The “Sharing Beauty with All” program, which builds on the company’s existing 2015 targets, includes innovation, production, consumption and development aims.
By 2020, the company intends for 100 percent of its new products to have an economic or social benefit — for example, a reduced environmental footprint, sustainable or green-chemistry ingredients, more environmentally friendly packaging or a positive social impact.
The company is researching ways to reduce consumers’ water use when rinsing its shampoos from seven liters currently to one liter, Agon said by way of example.
In terms of its industrial footprint, L’Oréal plans to reduce its impact by 60 percent compared with a 2005 base, including 60 percent reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from its plants and distribution centers (at the end of 2012, the company had reduced these by 39 percent since 2005) and water consumption per finished product unit.
It also intends to send zero waste to landfills and reduce emissions from the transport of its products by 20 percent (from a 2011 baseline and per finished product unit).
L’Oréal is also working on devising a product-assessment tool to allow its consumers to make choices about products based on sustainability criteria, and has asked each of its brands to raise consumer awareness about sustainable lifestyle choices.
“We think it is our responsibility as a company to make sustainable development desirable,” Agon commented. “Let us make the act of purchase into a responsible act.”
In social terms, the company plans to extend access to top health care, social protection and training to all of its 100,000 employees around the world.
All of L’Oréal’s strategic suppliers, meanwhile, will be required to participate in its supplier sustainability program and be evaluated and selected on social and environmental performance.
Community commitments include enabling more than 100,000 people from underprivileged backgrounds — the size of L’Oréal’s global workforce —access to employment through various initiatives.
In Brazil, for example, the company has already begun working with women living in the favelas, or slums, of Rio de Janeiro to help them to distribute Matrix products to hair salons within their communities, and is looking into training women to become hair stylists in certain parts of Asia.
Supermodel @helenachristensen teamed up with longtime friend and designer @camillastaerk on a joint @paredeyewear collaboration. The lineup features three styles and 11 offerings, all of which embody a vintage feel. Get all the details on how they celebrated the collab on WWD.com. #wwdaccessories #wwdeye (📷: @slovekinpics)
“It’s a hard industry to keep motivated, as well, so finding different subjects and people is what makes it worth it – when you’re like, oh, I’ve met great people, I feel like I’ve done something good, and I feel proud of having done this,” said French actress Stacy Martin on being grateful for the variety of roles she’s take on. Read @ktauer’s full interview with Martin on her her latest film “Godard Mon Amour.” #wwdeye (📷: @danieldorsa)
After showing in front of the Eiffel Tower for his last two women’s ready-to-wear collection, it looks like @anthonyvaccarello may be heading to the Big Apple. Sources say the designer will stage his next @ysl show in NYC on June 6. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
EXCLUSIVE: Two and half months after John Targon, cofounder and codesigner of Baja East, was hired as creative director of the contemporary division at Marc Jacobs, he has left the company, WWD has learned. Marc Jacobs International, which is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, confirmed Targon’s departure in a statement: “John Targon is a talented designer and we appreciate the work he has done here. Ultimately working together did not make sense for the brand and we wish him the best.” Read the story by @jessiredale, link in bio. #wwdnews
@theluxurycollection is officially launching a collection, tapping Sofia Sanchez de Betak for the capsule. Over 30 styles will be featured in the Chufy x The Luxury Collection, debuting next month at Bergdorf Goodman, The Webster, FiveStory and more. De Betak, known as “@chufy,” drew inspiration for the collection from her trips to Japan in the past year #wwdfashion
@lhd, founder and CEO of @thewebster, has teamed up with @lebonmarcherivegauche for the European launch of her ready-to-wear line, LHD. The launch will come with an exclusive pop-up opening today that’s set to run through May 20. Located on the second floor, it carries her debut Miami-themed resort collection, launched in November as see-now-buy-now. #wwdfashion


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It was only a matter of time before MetroPCS got its hands on an HTC smartphone and today, the carrier announced that it is now carrying the HTC Wildfire S and will be offering it for $179.99 without a contract.
While the Wildfire S is nothing to write home about, it’s definitely a capable device and will suit all of your basic smartphone needs. It employs a 600MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, a 3.2-inch HVGA display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense over the top, and a 5MP rear camera. All in all, a pretty good value at $180 without a contract.
Definitely a phone to look at for loved ones who are still using a flip phone or something worse.
The phone will be out both online and in retail stores later on this week.
You can find out more information on the data plans that MetroPCS offers for the HTC Wildfire S right here here.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


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OnePlus is ready for another flagship device this summer’s i.e. OnePlus 5. Today, we have already got its specs confirmed once again via online retailer. This is another piece of information that we are realising just few hours after the specs confirmation.
OnePlus has tweeted an image on their official Twitter handle saying “True Story. http://onepl.us/true_story”. The URL is redirecting to the Verge which confirmed the name and its arrival season. They have even posted an image along with the tweet depicting the occurrence of “5” on different objects. Here’s what the tweet looks like:
— OnePlus (@oneplus) May 5, 2017
So guys, get ready for the beast which is going to pack Snapdragon 835 processor with 5.5 inch Quad-HD display.
Additionally, it is rumored to pack 5.5-inch Quad-HD display at 1440 x 2560 pixels and a dual-camera setup. It could pack up to 128GB inbuilt storage coupled with 6GB RAM, however, some rumors claim an 8GB RAM device with 3600 mAh large battery with Dash Charge 2.0 which will charge your device faster than OnePlus 3T.


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"Jahaan humaare sapne poore hote hai, waha inke struggle shuru hote hai" -- a savage reply by actor Siddhant Chaturvedi to actress Ananya Pandey's nepotism statement -- is currently internet's favourite meme ingredient.The reply came during Rajeev Masand's chat show that Ananya and Siddhant attended, where the former was seen trying to define struggle and nepotism."I have always wanted to be an actor. Just because my dad has been an actor, I will never say no to an opportunity to act. My dad has never been in a Dharma film, he never went on 'Koffee With Karan'. So, it's not as easy as people say. Everyone has their own journey and their own struggle," she said.
Pat came the reply by Siddhant: "Jahaan humaare sapne poore hote hai, waha inke struggle shuru hote hai. "Netizans were quick to take the reply and make into memes on social media.A user made a meme: "Delhi Guy: mujhe aaj office se ghar aane mei 2 ghante lag gaye oh no.
Bengaluru Guy *who spent 2 hours just at Silk Board*: Jahaan humaare sapne poore hote hai, waha inke struggle shuru hote hai."Some even made a Ananya's comment into memes.A user wrote: "When I use mobile phone while charging it" and then putting a picture of Ananya and captioned it: "Mainai bhot struggle kiya hai".
For more interesting stories, Download the Lopscoop application from Google play store and earn extra money by sharing it on social media.


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The current Mustang gained some girth, last I read the GT was less than 100 pounds lighter than the current SS so if true this will flip the script plus a few pounds. A hundred pounds either way isn't a game changer, but it is always better to be fighting less weight than more...
Lincoln Sales Increase Slightly Despite a Drop in Fleet Sales
Mar-04-2015 7:00 AM ET
Lincoln retail sales increased 3 percent in February versus last year despite a significant drop in fleet sales for the luxury brand.
“Lincoln’s February sales results were adversely impacted by a...
Every true car enthusiast wants to get maximum performance while driving. To get the performance car you want, with the right stance and better handling, acceleration and braking, you’ll have to modify your stock car, and there’s no better improvement you can make than installing a lowering...
Will global automakers drop Chinese partners?
June 30, 2014 13:32 CET
Under China's regulations, foreign automakers may not own more than 50 percent of their joint ventures with Chinese partners. But that may change. Since President Xi Jinping took office early last...
2014 Focus Electric Drop $6,000 with Cash Back!
Now it gets interesting.....
Checking the Ford website today, the 2014 Premium Ford Focus Electric that still has an MSRP of $35,170, is now offering a $6,000 Cash Back along with 0% Financing.
This brings the loaded 2014 Focus...
Ford to drop F-150 Tremor from truck lineup
Raptor's future also uncertain with redesigned, aluminum F-150
Ford Motor Co. will discontinue its F-150 Tremor sport truck after just one model year.
Doug Scott, Ford truck marketing manager, said Ford would not renew the Tremor when the all-new...
2014 Ford Fusion Energi Price Drop $4,000
With the sales of plug-in vehicles jumping 84% for 2013 over 2012, which means battery and component prices drop, and so will the plug-in vehicle MSRP.
Ford has offered the 2014 Fusion with a $4k incentive for most of 2013 to compete with the Volt at...
After strong August, Farley says Ford won't change marketing
Ford's C-Max hybrid has been unscathed by a recall announcement in July and a fuel economy downgrade in August, a retail analysis firm says.
DETROIT -- Steady sales and demand have Ford Motor Co. thinking its downward...
It was only a matter of time, but Ford has finally dropped the price of the loaded Focus Electric $4,000 from $39,200 to $35,200 or $27,700 after the $7,500 Federal tax credit, and just $25,200 after the California EV incentive.
For 2014 there were no changes to the FFE, except for the torque...
German March Car Sales Drop 17% on Europe Economy Concern
By Dorothee Tschampa
Apr 3, 2013
German new car sales fell the most in almost 2 1/2 years last month as renewed skepticism over the handling of the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe discouraged consumers from making large...
Mar 11, 8:43 PM
The Lincoln Navigator SUV will live on, with the upcoming model featuring an EcoBoost V6 engine while the V8 could be on its way out.
The word of an EcoBoost V6 Navigator comes from Lincoln Global Director Matt VanDyke, and will be Ford’s popular 3.5-liter V6...
2013 Nissan Frontier gets substantial price drop, better fuel economy
March 4, 2013
by Jeffrey N. Ross
With the competition dwindling (or dying) among compact trucks, Nissan is looking to make some minor changes to the 2013 Frontier to snag a few extra sales for its aging pickup...
VW, Opel, Ford suffer as German car sales drop 11%
Low-cost rivals buck downward trend - AutoNews
October 2, 2012
FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen, Opel and Ford all suffered as new-car registrations in Germany fell 11 percent in September.
Opel was the hardest hit as the General Motors...
Ford's new vehicle sales dropped 10.7% in August from a year earlier as sales of smaller models such as the Focus, Fusion and Escape fell sharply from last August's levels that were inflated by the Cash for Clunkers program.
Chrysler will reportedly stop the use of the Hemi name in its marketing efforts, even dropping the name completely in some Chrysler and Jeep models.
Chrysler - Jeep - Hemi engine - Makes and Models - Recreation
Chrysler to drop Sebring name, change small, midsize models
Facing a drumbeat of doubt about its pace of new car development, Chrysler is dropping clues that changes in its small and midsize cars may be more substantial and arrive sooner, based on recent comments from CEO Sergio Marchionne...


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Ad delivery and management platform maker Extreme Reach Inc. reports it has landed an unspecified amount of additional funding from Greycroft Partners LLC of New York.
In addition to Greycroft, Needham-based Extreme Reach’s new funding came from existing investors Village Ventures and Long River Venture. The company says it will use the new money to develop its products and its worldwide marketing and sales efforts.
Extreme Reach makes an all-software platform for advertisers and agencies to deliver, manage and track their commercials, whether they’re delivered via television, web or mobile video. The company claims to have more than 1,000 television stations and cable stations in its network, along with more than 5,000 radio stations.
In January, Extreme Reach announced its first funding, a $1.5 million Series A round from Williamstown-based Village Ventures and Hadley-based Long River.


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A world tour of processing quarry materials with MB Crusher accessories
The quarries around the world offer spectacular sights, such as
Nowadays, many companies have been producing health products. What we all worry about is that most of them use chemicals in their products. Most importantly, people use chemical disinfectants that
Source: Hydroman (Tobee brand)
When we started taking the V-Twin drag racing game seriously, there were four or five manufacturers that made engine cases, cylinder heads, crank/flywheel assemblies and connecting rods, as well as
Nowadays, it is difficult to know what is true and what is false on the Internet. Therefore, when I stumbled across a Twitter post claiming that car drivers in Slovenia were prohibited from refueli
With the world's largest mill circuit (MC) pump installation foundation, Weir Minerals' reputation as a slurry pump specialist remains intact.
To ensure its position in the market, the compa
Hebei Tuobi Pump Industry Co., Ltd.
Source: Hebei Tuobi Pump Industry Co., Ltd.
November 19, 2021-Mazda's fuel pump recall triggered a lawsuit that said the recall was "seriously insufficient" for customers.
The Mazda fuel pump class action was filed four days after Ma


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For investors of virtual currency, the most important question is whether this round of the price of the currency is a recovery of the bull market or a trap of the bear market.
Yesterday evening, Bitcoin experienced a rising price in just one hour. The price rose from the violence of about 6,800 US dollars to a maximum of 8,100 US dollars. It increased by almost 20% during the day. Under the leadership of Bitcoin, other virtual currencies also led a strong rebound, with a single currency gaining even more than 50%. Faced with the collective heating up of the virtual currency market, many investors are shouting that “the bull market is back”.
According to data from the CoinMarketCap website, the market value of Bitcoin increased by almost 20 billion US dollars in one day, and the entire virtual currency market also experienced a general market growth. There was no “search” effect. According to the daily transaction volume of Bitcoin more than 9 billion US dollars, there should be billions of incremental funds that entered the market yesterday, instead of stock funds.
In fact, at the time of the Bitcoin boom, Bitfinex, a digital currency trading platform, also recorded a number of large purchases. With the increase in the purchase of Bitcoins, many shorts were forced to close their positions, further expanding the upward trend of the market. For this phenomenon, Nick Kirk, data director of Cypher Capital, also expressed his approval. At the same time, I also believe that this strong rebound is more likely to be the response to the release of the first regulatory pressures.
Pantera Capital Management, one of the largest digital currency hedge funds in the world, said that Bitcoin has touched. The US dollar 6,500 is the low point for the Bitcoin bear market. Bitcoin will be above this price for most of this year and may even exceed the record high of 20,000 US dollars last year.
Fundstrat founder Tom Lee also expressed confidence in Bitcoin. I believe that the current Bitcoin P/B ratio and other indicators are almost the same as the end of the 2014 market, and it has formed an important technical correction. Based on this, he said that the value of Bitcoin can rise more than three times this year and will rise to 25,000 US dollars at the end of this year.
Historical data shows that Bitcoin has really risen in the second quarter of the calendar year. In the second quarter of 2011, Bitcoin rose as much as 1964%, 36.25% in 2012 … 61.98% in 2016 and 131% in 2017.
Of course, OTC Bitcoin volume is also showing signs of market recovery. Since March, Bitcoin trading volumes in Canada, Europe, Vietnam, Mexico and Vietnam have risen and reached record highs.
With the subsequent admission of major financial institutions, such as the hedge fund giant Soros and the family of the Rockefeller financial group, the financial dimension of the virtual money market will be further expanded.
However, it is worth noting that, although Bitcoin is currently on a strong rise, it is still in a trend channel and has not yet been effectively broken. It remains to be seen if the virtual currency market is really reversed. Investors are always careful and attentive to the management of positions.
More importantly, the world’s leading Bitcoin markets, including the United States, have sought to establish a regulatory framework. The uncertainty of the regulation will inevitably have a major impact on the short-term development of the virtual currency market. In the long run, an orderly and healthy market can go even further.


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One piece of plastic that is consistently flushed down the lavatory pan is the contact lens.
An estimated 3.7 million people in the UK wear plastic contact lenses, of which 20% admit to disposing their lenses down the sink or toilet.
77% of British contact lens wearers said they would recycle their contact lenses if they could
Now a free national recycling scheme for plastic contact lenses has been launched. Contact lens users can drop off their used lenses, blister packs, foil packaging etc at Boots Opticians or selected independent stores.
“77% of British contact lens wearers said they would recycle their contact lenses if they could, and we share their interest in reducing the amount of plastics in the environment,” stated Sandra Rasche, of Johnson & Johnson Medical. “We are committed to doing our part to combat climate change, protect our planet’s natural resources and reduce waste.”


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Google I/O 2022: These Google Docs, Google Meet updates to make your work EASY
Google I/O 2022: Google has announced several updates to its workspace apps like Google Meet, Google Chat, among others. Check all details here.
Google I/O 2022: Ever since people started working from home, and now with some at office, the use of Google Docs, Google Chat, and Google Meet has increased at a rapid pace. In order to make your work even easier, Google has announced certain updates to its workspace apps like Docs, Meet, among others at Google I/O 2022. "We've been working on finding more ways to use machine learning to fight information overload and keep you feeling productive. Here are seven upcoming features — most made possible by AI — on their way to Google Workspace," Google said in a blog post.
Google introduced automated summarization for Google Docs using which it will automatically parse the words and pull out the main points. "Just as we're using AI to improve features in YouTube, we're building it into our Workspace products to help people be more efficient. Whether you work for a small business or a large institution, chances are you spend a lot of time reading documents. Maybe you've felt that wave of panic when you realize you have a 25-page document to read ahead of a meeting that starts in five minutes. That's why we've introduced automated summarization for Google Docs. Using one of our machine learning models for text summarization, Google Docs will automatically parse the words and pull out the main points," Google said.
Google is also launching summarization for other products in Workspace. It will come to Google Chat in the next few months, providing a helpful digest of chat conversations, so you can jump right into a group chat or look back at the key highlights. Google further announced that it is working to bring transcription and summarization to Google Meet as well so you can catch up on some important meetings you missed.
Talking about Google Meet, it was informed that Meet video calls will now look better with the help of portrait restore and portrait light, which use AI and machine learning to improve quality and lighting on video calls. Later this year the company will be scaling the phishing and malware protections that guard Gmail to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.
"Portrait restore uses Google AI technology to improve video quality, so even if you're using Google Meet in a dimly lit room using an old webcam — or maybe you've got a bad WiFi connection — your video will be automatically enhanced. We're also introducing portrait light: This feature uses machine learning to simulate studio-quality lighting in your video feed, and you can even adjust the lighting position and brightness," Google said in a blog post.
Live sharing is also coming to Google Meet, meaning users will be able to share controls and interact directly within the meeting, whether it's watching an icebreaker video from YouTube or sharing a playlist.
De-reverberation for Google Meet will filter out echoes in spaces with hard surfaces, giving you conference-room audio quality whether you are in a basement, a kitchen, or a big empty room.
Follow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews , also keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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CALABASAS — AmaWaterways has announced the launch of its new AmaAcademy Course, as well as its second virtual Marketing Suitcase as part of its ongoing commitment to travel agent partners.
During the current pause in operations, the company’s executives and BDMs have remained engaged with agents through a series of over 2,000 virtual events that provide information on rescheduled cruises, real-time health and safety protocols as well as inspirational content on new ships and itineraries.
The two latest initiatives, says Gary Murphy, co-owner and senior vice president of sales at AmaWaterways, are vital to help stimulate new leads for future river cruises.
“Timing is perfect to launch the second AmaAcademy Course and our new virtual Marketing Suitcase promoting river cruise groups,” he said. “There is such a pent-up demand from travellers wanting to reconnect with extended family members and close friends, and we know river cruising is perfectly poised to capture that demand in 2021 and beyond.”
Murphy adds: “Our travel partners are valuable members of our Ama family and have shown true dedication and resilience dealing with unexpected challenges over the past nine months. We remain committed to investing in them, providing the tools, training and support they need to rebuild their business.”
Launched in August 2019, the first AmaAcademy course titled ‘Ama’ Means Love: The AmaWaterways Difference’ garnered rave reviews from travel partners, many new to river cruising. The second course comprises four lessons and highlights the company’s offerings on the Danube River as well as details on exclusive experiences available only for guests sailing AmaMagna’s ‘Magna on the Danube’ itinerary.
As with the first course, travel advisors who make a reservation with a deposit within 90 days of completing the new course qualify to earn a $50 digital Mastercard. One reward per travel advisor, per course.
AmaWaterways’ second virtual Marketing Suitcase focuses specifically on group, charter and part-charter business. Anticipating an increase in special interest groups and ‘celebration travel’ in 2021 and 2022, the new group suitcase delivers content for travel advisors to market group travel to their clients, including:
- An industry training video from Gary Murphy, co-owner and senior vice president of sales, and Alex Pinelo, vice president of sales, who will share best practices and group polices
- Four customizable blogs about group cruises
- 30 social media posts with customizable images, captions and hashtags
- Four one-minute videos for posting on social media, newsletters or websites
Travel advisors must complete the first virtual Marketing Suitcase on the Danube and Rhine Rivers before accessing the second group-related one. Both suitcases are available at no cost on AmaWaterways’ Travel Advisor Portal.


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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Saturday requiring retail stores to create designated gender-neutral sections for kids’ clothing and toys.
The first bill of its kind to ever be signed into law in the United States, Assembly Bill 108 requires that large retail stores that market to children offer “a reasonable selection” of products that are not separated by gender, according to the Associated Press. Items can be housed in this section “regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys,” per the bill text.
California stores that employ over 500 workers will be required to comply with AB 108. Violators will be fined $250 on the first infraction and $500 for additional transgressions, as Axios reports.
A new bill introduced in California seeks to do away with gendered signage in retail stores that sell children’s items, such as clothes and toys.
Introduced by California State Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell) and Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), Assembly Bill 108 calls for the creation of “undivided areas of its sales floor” where retail items for children “are displayed, regardless of whether an item has traditionally been marketed for either girls or for boys.” According to the Sacramento Bee newspaper, the use of signs to “indicate whether a particular child care item or toy is for boys or girls” would be banned. It would apply to retailers with 500 employees or more.
AB 108 would also mandate that retailers with locations in California must market toys and child care products in a gender-neutral way on their websites. Companies that refuse to comply could be penalized with a fee of $1,000.
While creating greater equity for children who may not identify with their assigned gender, AB 108 says there is a utility to these proposals for the average consumer. “Keeping similar items that are traditionally marketed either for girls or for boys separated makes it more difficult for the consumer to compare the products and incorrectly implies that their use by one gender is inappropriate,” the legislation claims.
If passed into law, the bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
As precedent for the potentially groundbreaking move, the bill cites California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Originally signed into law in 1959, the nondiscrimination legislation requires equal access in “all business establishments,” which includes retail establishments. Characteristics prohibited as bases for discrimination in such settings include include sex, race, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, and sexual orientation.


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It is reported that the Polish company WB Group has already begun relevant negotiations with a Turkish drone manufacturer.
Recently, the Polish Ministry of Defense ordered the delivery of 24 Bayraktar TB2 attack unmanned aerial vehicles. The delivery of the first samples is scheduled for 2022.
It is noted that Poland offered to use its kamikaze drones not only on those drones that will be delivered to the country, but also on devices used by the Turkish army. One Bayraktar TB2 will be able to carry up to four drones, and launch them at a range of up to 30 kilometers. The WB Group has already donated 30 of its drones for testing in the Bayraktar TB2 armament complex.
Now the drone can carry four laser-guided UMTAS anti-tank missiles or Roketsan MAM-C, MAM-L corrected high-precision gliding bombs.


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London’s long-established financial markets economy is, by its very nature, the center of giant conglomerates which date back centuries to the days of marine reinsurance and the wood paneled chambers of medieval financiers prior to the industrial revolution.
As a result of this, London, despite being the world’s largest financial center, often does not play host to radical or innovative new financial technology which could easily be written off as fads by the several-hundred year old institutions which dominate the Square Mile…. until now.
In a similar break from tradition as the wood paneled chambers of Leadenhall Street and Canon Street having given way to the plate glass towers of Canary Wharf in the 1990s, the British government has now begun to look toward shoring up London’s position as a worldwide hub for financial technology, closely followed by some electronic trading companies.
To that end, whilst it is very unlikely that Bitcoin will replace Her Majesty’s paper currency any time soon, George Osborne, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has today stated that he is to launch a review to assess how the United Kingdom could become a leading global center for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
Rather as an antitheses to the use and application of Bitcoin in nations without a free market economy such as Argentina, where the government is opposed to the use of any currency other than Peso and the citizens are rapidly taking to Bitcoin in order to free themselves from the disastrous Argentine financial system and its draconian capital control laws, Britain is a polar opposite.
Mr. Osborne has instructed Treasury officials to work on a study looking at the benefits and threats of digital currencies, which remain unregulated in Britain, but the systems by which they operate are beginning to attract the attention of reputable regulators worldwide, in North America and Switzerland.
Britain’s taxation department, HM Revenue and Customs, did away with plans to charge VAT on the creation of Bitcoin. However VAT is due, at 20%, from suppliers of goods or services sold in exchange for any cryptocurrency.
The move to establish Britain as a Bitcoin hub is likely to be confined to the financial industry, as British citizens have no need to eschew their Pound, however a potential generator of business may be that London could be a prominent Bitcoin center to serve the requirements of the entire world’s crypto currency ecosystem, from technology to supply.
Tomorrow, Mr. Osborne is due to present at the Innovate Finance conference in London, which is attended by senior financial industry executives from the large institutions with their headquarters in London. At the conference, Mr. Osborne will cover the subject of his vision to establish London as a global center for virtual currency, by stating “The key to the British government’s long term economic plan is cementing Britain’s position as the center of global finance.”
Indeed, Mr. Osborne realizes that embracing new methodologies is key to survival and can compliment Britain’s old school financial sector due to a highly sophisticated financial infrastructure being in place in London, a wealth of knowledge among large firms and a highly regarded regulatory structure.
Mr. Osborne will continue by stating that “”It’s only by harnessing innovations in finance, alongside our existing world class knowledge and skills in financial services, that we’ll ensure Britain’s financial sector continues to meet the diverse needs of businesses and consumers, here and around the globe, and create the jobs and growth we all want to see in the future.”
Further evidence of the technological evolution among London-based companies is Trade Interceptor’s launch of a fully mobile brokerage solution.
Many retail brokers worldwide have become reliant on offering a mobile trading solution to their clients as a generator of significantly more trading volume than if they only offered a desktop platform. From discussions within certain platform development circles, LeapRate has gleaned recently that some companies may seek to move away from desktop platforms entirely, offering tablet and smartphone based solutions only, viewing this as the future for retail brokerage software.
Trade Interceptor has been involved in producing multi-broker mobile solutions for some years, however today the company announced that it has launched its own in-house retail FX brokerage, which places the emphasis entirely on mobile FX trading.
The company has produced launch information on its Facebook page, aiming its offering at the retail trader. According to Trade Interceptor, the new brokerage is the only FX firm of its kind which was created purely for mobile trading, and will operate under the auspices of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from its London headquarters.
These two significant developments are a far cry from London’s evergreen institutional FX sector, however, with such co-existence and the backing of the regulatory authorities and initiatives by the government, they serve to demonstrate that evolution is often better than revolution.


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Article in the Wall Street Journal-
Check out this amazing article, “2014 Sochi Olympics: How Airbags Made Skiing and Snowboarding Tricks Trickier” in the Wall Street Journal that features Katal! Rachel Bachman, the author of the article, does an impressive job of summarizing the history of air bags and the effect air bags have had on our sport, while providing varying perspectives on airbags from the vantage point of the professional athletes, ski resort owners and even training facility owners. While there is debate over the usefulness of airbags by some of the top professional athletes, resort and training facility owners confirm that they are indeed very popular.
Smaller ski areas and snowboard parks also are making air bags available for use by the general public for as little as $5 for two jumps, placing them next to snowy ramps that can stand 15 feet high. Carolyn Crowley Stimpson is an owner of Wachusett Mountain in central Massachusetts, which first set up an air bag last winter. This season the resort has sold more than 5,000 air bag tickets and passes.”We have a substantial terrain park, and these kids are going bigger because of the X Games and Dew Tour,” she said. “They want to be able to emulate the guys they see on TV.”
Check out the whole article here: Wall Street Journal Article


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Written by Jack McCarthy
Wednesday, 16 January 2013 00:00
The City of Aurora is again encouraging residents to safely recycle their old and unwanted electronics this year after collecting more than 275,000 pounds – or the equivalent in weight of a commercial airplane – in 2012.
The city began providing free electronics recycling to residents in 2010 and expanded the program year-round in 2012 when a state law took effect barring electronics from being disposed of in landfills. This year’s collection events will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following Saturdays:
• Customer Service Center, 3770 McCoy Drive: Jan. 12, Feb. 9, March 9, April 6, May 4, June 8, July 13, Aug. 10, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9 and Dec. 7.
• Central Garage, 720 N. Broadway Ave.: Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 23, April 20, May 18, June 22, July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 30 and Dec. 14.
Eligible electronics that will be collected include monitors, computers (both PCs and Macs), laptops, televisions, printers, fax machines, scanners, computer accessories (mouses, keyboards and modems), video game consoles, telephones, answering machines, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), MP3 players, cameras, camcorders, servers and networking equipment, DVD players, stereos, and VCRs. Microwaves are the only kitchen appliances accepted for recycling.
Large appliances such as air conditioners, stoves, refrigerators, freezers; smaller appliances including toasters and coffee makers; and household hazardous waste materials are not accepted.
Vintage Tech Recyclers, the city’s vendor, continues to offer front-door collection service to Aurora residents by appointment only. The list of eligible electronics remains the same, but a maximum of 10 items – with at least one item being a television, computer or printer – will be accepted per pickup.
Appointments can be scheduled by calling 630-305-0922 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Residents will need to provide their names, addresses and phone numbers along with item count for collection.
All electronics should be placed at the front door before 7 a.m. on the scheduled collection day.
For more information on City of Aurora collection events, call the Customer Service Center at 630-256-INFO.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 January 2013 15:32


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Vanguard gave ePHOTOzine members the chance to win an Alta Pro 283CT tripod
every week, for eight weeks and some of the lucky winners picked up their prizes at this year's Focus on Imaging.
The winners also got the chance to meet Vanguard's Marketing Manager, Christophe Regnault, who was on-hand to talk them through some of the features their new award-winning Alta Pro 283CT
tripods have. Christophe then gave the winners a demonstration of the latest Vanguard heads and gave them the chance to give any feedback they had about the Vanguard range.
Keep checking ePHOTOzine for our updated show reports that will bring you all the news about the latest products and offers from Focus On Imaging 2012.


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After an impressive job redeveloping his own company’s offerings into Microsoft’s Outlook Mobile app offerings on iOS and Android, Acompli founder Javier Soltero has been promoted to Corporate Vice President of Outlook.
In an interview conducted by Re/code at the Microsoft Office 2016 launch event, details on Soltero’s new role emerges. It now appears Microsoft would like Soltero to duplicate his achievements with Outlook Mobile onto Mac and Windows versions of Outlook as well. In his interview, Soltero admits that his challenge this time around is far more delicate. Whereas, Outlook Mobile had the freedom of being created from scratch, with no legacy to cater to, the desktop versions of Outlook is installed on millions of devices around the world.
“In terms of the huge installed base, there’s always a bit of ‘who moved my cheese?’ involved in evolving products like this. We’ve come to understand that productivity software is always evolving, and it’s our responsibility to bring the customer along a journey of constant improvement as opposed to dropping major releases every few years. – Javier Soltero”
Soltero also professes to experiencing a bit of a culture shock in his transition working with Microsoft. Whereas, his work at Acompli and his previous endeavors pitted him in relatively small, tightly knit teams, he now finds himself in charge of what must be a massive group of hundreds if not thousands:
“The size of the team is a bit daunting for a guy who’s spent the last 10-plus years in companies with less than 75 people. – Javier Soltero”
Soltero founded Acompli in 2013 alongside Kevin Henrikson and J. J. Zhuang to revolutionize mobile email on iOS and Android. The company was purchased by Microsoft in December 2014 for $200 million to head up the development of Outlook Mobile for those respective platforms. Today, what remains of the company’s app has now been incorporated into Outlook Mobile. Soltero’s promotion seems to be the logical next step for the esteemed entrepreneur.


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Debenhams will debut its new chief executive next week amid concerns the department store’s pension scheme has swung to a deficit and speculation about the future of its estate.
Sergio Bucher, the former Amazon vice-president, was named Debenhams’ new boss in May after a seven-month long search for a replacement for longserving chief executive Michael Sharp. He is expected to focus on revamping Debenhams’ online operations and pushing the brand overseas to boost the flagging growth of its UK stores, which are under pressure from the intensely competitive retail landscape.
Retail sources have said that Debenhams would benefit from closing a number of its stores, but a source said that the company...
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Maharashtra’s EV market is becoming more efficient
Gogoro Inc. (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in the battery replacement ecosystem enabling sustainable mobility solutions for cities, confirmed that the government of Gogoro, Maharashtra, has launched an “Ultra Mega Project” to manufacture vehicles, smart battery packs, and smart battery packs. ” announced that it had received an offer letter to complete the contract. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced the news at a press conference.
Maharashtra will provide financial incentives and support as part of the proposed mega-project contract worth $1.5 billion. Maharashtra and Gogoro signed an agreement in Davos in January 2023 that led to the offer letter.
The Maharashtra government classifies mega-projects as significant strategic investments above $500 million, which usually provide government incentives to ensure successful execution. Mr. Gogoro’s request for financial incentives has been approved by the Maharashtra Cabinet. Both parties are expected to finalize an agreement soon.
“As India’s leading electric vehicle state, Maharashtra demonstrates our strong commitment to sustainable transportation for all.” We are leaders in sustainable vehicle and electric fuel technology. Working with Gogoro to build a smart battery ecosystem. Based on this project, Gogoro will establish a manufacturing base for Indian vehicles, smart batteries, and battery swap stations in Maharashtra. It will deploy an industry-leading smart battery infrastructure in the state, with approximately 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, which will create significant jobs,” said CM Eknath Shinde.
“Like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra is committed to building a green and sustainable future for our state. It is with great pleasure that we announce to you that the Maharashtra Government has approved a mega-scale project with this company,” said Maharashtra Deputy Prime Minister Devendra Fadnabis. “ Gogoro has the goal of producing open, accessible, and fully automated electric two-wheelers. It has given Gogoro the financial and other resources it needs to start the shift. The EV revolution is sweeping the world and our country is not far behind its early adopters. With this project, we aim to leverage technology transfer and build a fertile ecosystem for local manufacturers. This will enable them to develop world-class products for the public.
Gogoro plans to build an open and accessible smart energy infrastructure in Maharashtra. It establishes battery swapping and smart battery stations as a leading source of mobility and energy storage. The introduction is also expected to accelerate job growth across smart energy, electric vehicles, and sustainable development value chains. Gogoro is expected to lead the surge in foreign direct investment in Maharashtra, both in supply chain capabilities and smart battery infrastructure.
“We plan to work with the Maharashtra government on launching an open battery exchange network to support multiple automakers in Taiwan, building on Gogoro’s success with the Taiwan government. We plan to bring Gogoro vehicles, smart batteries, and swap stations to India starting with Maharashtra. To promote domestic growth and international expansion, we are focused on building a domestic supplier ecosystem,” said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. “Improving the infrastructure and transforming the industry are essential for connected and clean mobility. We are excited to partner with the Maharashtra government in its vision to transform urban transportation and provide a better path forward for its residents and businesses.”
The battery swapping infrastructure is expected to begin deploying across Maharashtra in late 2023 which will leverage Gogoro’s smart energy ecosystem including smart battery stations, swapping technologies, and network management solutions, and will provide numerous innovations to the State, contributing to the areas of energy-efficient city design and development, energy storage stations & systems, enabling mobility sharing, efficient electric vehicles, as well as distributed energy storage and demand response.
The largest economy and most industrialized state in India is Maharashtra, which has more than 120 million residents. It has a gross domestic product of more than $450 billion, which accounts for 16 percent of India’s industrial output.
A Cautionary Note
Completion and execution of the proposed investment plan for the Ultra Mega Project will depend, among others, on the execution of a mutually agreed definitive agreement. It will also depend on the completion of due diligence, necessary financing, Gogoro Board of Directors approval, and regulatory approvals. Obtain any permits required in Maharashtra or other parts of India and Taiwan. Both parties are actively working towards the completion of the contract. However, it remains to be seen if a final agreement is reached, the necessary approvals are obtained, or the proposed investment plan for the ultra-mega project is implemented. There is no guarantee of completion. Conditions set forth herein or more.
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UPDATE 1-Europe trade channel with Iran close to 1st deal in days - France
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday he hoped a special trade channel set up with Iran would complete a first, limited transaction in the coming days. Set up by France, Britain and Germany, Instex is a barter trade mechanism that aims to avoid direct financial transfers by offsetting balances between importers and exporters on the European side. The mechanism is aimed at making it possible for trade between European Union members and Iran to continue in the face of stiff U.S sanctions since Washington quit a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers last year.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2YzDkts


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UnionPay to widen global issue of single-branded cards
Over the next two to three years, the Chinese company plans to significantly increase its global footprint from the current 141 countries and regions, said UnionPay President Xu Luode.
Ninety-five percent of debit cards issued by UnionPay on the Chinese mainland are single-branded, meaning that all transactions can only go through the UnionPay payment channel.
Xu said about half of credit cards are co-branded with international players such as Visa and MasterCard, but his firm will try to lower the proportion in the next few years as its own overseas network expands rapidly.
UnionPay has issued more than 16 million cards abroad, which are all single-branded cards bearing the UnionPay logo only, he said. He now expects that number to soar by between 30 and 50 percent annually over the next three years.
According to Chinese laws, foreign credit card companies need to co-brand with Chinese partners to support card services or process interbank point-of-sale transactions.


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More than a year after the venture’s name was announced, Team Taco LLC began operations Tuesday in the Rountree neighborhood.
Housed in the former home of Elle’s Patisserie LLC, the 1454 E. Cherry St. restaurant is co-owned by Cary Harris, Daniel Stern, Brent Sonnemaker and Doug Riddle. The building is painted bright red, in stark contrast to the purple paint that previously covered the building when it served as a patisserie.
The new business’ menu features multiple taco options, including a taco of the week selection, along with nacho plates and rice bowls with choice of protein. Prices run from $3.50-$10, according to the restaurant website.
In addition to food, Team Taco also includes an agave-focused spirit and cocktail menu featuring choices such as a Moscow mule, Oaxacan old fashioned and margaritas, according to a news release. A limited selection of beer, wine, cider and nonalcoholic drinks also are available.
“We are incredibly excited to be doing what we love the most, making great food in a great neighborhood,” Stern said in the release.
In June 2018, the Cherry Street property transferred to Cherry Street United LLC, organized by Robert Sonnemaker, from the Joyce A. Feldman Trust, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. Later that same month, the property’s new ownership announced the Team Taco name. Elle Feldman closed Elle’s Patisserie in January 2018, with the property listed for sale at $200,000.
“As a Rountree resident, I love being able to bring this cool idea to the neighborhood,” Stern said in the release.
It’s not the first food venture for the Team Taco leadership.
With his wife Carrie, Robert Sonnemaker formerly owned Social on Patton, for which Riddle at one time served as beverage manager and Stern was executive chef. Management announced in May via Social on Patton’s website a June 30 closing for the restaurant and bar at 314 S. Patton Ave.
Ownership did not return messages seeking comment about startup costs for the new restaurant.
Team Taco joins other food and drink businesses within walking distance of one another, including Cherry Picker Package and Fare, Tie & Timber Beer Co. and Imo’s Pizza.
On its Facebook page, Tie & Timber announced Tuesday the release of Skeleton Brew, a special beer brewed in collaboration with Team Taco. The brew is available at both establishments, according to the post.
Missouri State University’s science building, built in 1971 and formerly called Temple Hall, is being reconstructed and updated.


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Viewers of Formula 1 broadcasts on Viaplay suffer from lower image quality, jerky or even truncated streams. It’s a repeating scene since the broadcaster secured the rights to the premier class earlier this year. Earlier this week, the consumer association issued a statement calling on the Viaplay group to address the 321 complaints in the Complaints Compass. The consumer protection organization is considering further steps if the Scandinavian company does not promise improvement.
In a reply to RTL Nieuws, Viaplay Group spokeswoman Roberta Alenius said: “Viaplay is both a technology company and an entertainment company, so we take the issue of streaming quality very seriously. Of course we can always improve. We are still getting to know our customers in the Netherlands, which is already one of our largest and most important markets.” It also means that we are working to improve the service. “We look forward to providing our Dutch customers with better and better streaming quality in the years to come,” says Alenius. “We know how much Formula 1 means to Dutch fans.”
Viaplay’s streams are officially Full HD quality, but many subscribers say they can’t get it. The launch of the service “surpassed all expectations,” according to Viaplay. The service gained 750,000 subscribers in the first quarter of this year, the vast majority of whom are from the Netherlands.


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As war rages in Ukraine and inflation wreaks havoc on the economy, banking institutions in the United States anticipate that a future economic collapse will increase financial crime.
Financial Crime In US
A hundred percent of US financial compliance professionals are reassessing their approach to financial crime risk, according to a new poll of financial institutions conducted by comply advantage, a leading financial crime and fraud risk detection service.
For many, this will need “de-risking” or limiting their customer and business contacts to reduce the probability of enrolling criminals. While the strategy appears to be effective, it may make it more difficult for legal customers and businesses to obtain loans and other financial goods.
In addition to the universal intent of financial compliance professionals to reevaluate their approach to financial risk, the poll revealed the following:
- 68% of regulatory teams in the United States are planning for an increase in financial crime.
- 55% of US financial firms intend to hire more compliance specialists.
Vatsa Narasimha, CEO of ComplyAdvantage, commented on the findings as follows: ‘During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, financial institutions reported a huge surge in financial crime. Our poll reveals that, due to the anticipation of an economic slump, businesses anticipate it will climb again this year.
The survey revealed that tax fraud, credit/debit card fraud, and investment fraud are the most concerning types of fraud among US businesses. Despite the fact that the majority of financial crimes will be driven by the economic slump, investment fraud frequently runs counter-cyclically to the market.
After the decrease in asset valuations in 2022, the likelihood of individuals falling for fraudulent schemes promising “outperformance” of the market has grown. According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, American customers lost more than $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, an increase of more than 70 percent over 2020. ComplyAdvantage anticipates an increase in this number in 2023.
Sanctions Against Russia
According to the research, US corporations are most concerned about Russia moving into 2023. 51 percent of corporations selected Russia as one of their top three hotspots, followed by China (40 percent) and North Korea (31 percent).
According to the statistics, a stalemate is the most likely conclusion of the conflict, with the potential of additional sectoral categories of sanctions, especially if other nations help Russia’s efforts. Also predicted is an intensification of sanctions by Western nations.
In reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 52% of US financial institutions reported to ComplyAdvantage that they adjusted their business models, with 52% establishing asset freezes and 31% adopting an onboarding stoppage. Only 3% of respondents indicated that the invasion had no impact on their organization.


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The U.S. government is investigating complaints from Harley-Davidson riders who say their motorcycle brakes failed without warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the investigation covers 430,000 motorcycles with model years between 2008 and 2011. The investigation covers motorcycles with an anti-lock braking system.
Riders reported that the brakes on the hand lever and foot pedal didn't work, causing one driver to crash into a garage door. The NHTSA said it received 43 complaints, three reports of crashes and two reports of injuries.
The NHTSA said it is possible that some riders who experienced brake failure didn't change the motorcycle's brake fluid every two years as recommended by Harley-Davidson.
Representatives of Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning.


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Could Smart Mirrors Be The Next Big Tech Category?
Smart mirrors are the kind of impossibly-fanciful technology-driven appliance that you’d only think to see in science fiction TV series like Black Mirror.
However, over the last year they’ve begun their seemingly-inevitable march towards mainstream availability.
First emerging as concept devices by tech companies like Toshiba, smart mirrors have subsequently rolled out to brick-and-mortar retailer outlets over 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The tech is seen as a chance to enhance the traditional shopping experience by retailers, particularly those specializing in fashion, and offer a tantalizing experience that trumps the convenience of online shopping.
Smart mirrors being sold to retailers come with unique feature sets that allow customers to capture and view 360-degree images of products and make side-by-side comparisons between them.
Ironically, however, the future of the smart mirror likely lies in homes.
Beyond retail, the concept of bringing a smart mirror to life have attracted quite a following from resourceful hackers and DIY enthusiasts crowds.
Even more recently, web developer and graphic designer Rafael Dymek has developed a working prototype for an “Apple Mirror.”
In a video posted online showing off his creation, he showcases the mirror’s elegant integration with iOS and uses it to send messages, play music, read news and watch videos.
Furthermore, the potential of a device like this to integrate with smart home tech is even more promising.
While it’s far from official, in practice it looks more or less like the kind of experience Apple would provide if they ever decided to take the category more seriously.
Which is, of course, the point.
Up until now the two biggest obstacles facing a mainstream-focused smart mirror are the costs of building a hybrid-display that large and the lack of software support.
Like virtual reality, all it will really take to unlock the potential for consumer-grade smart mirrors is one a sign of solid support from one of the big tech players. Given their recent willingness to push forward with innovation in the worlds of smartphones and smartwatches, I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung ended up being that company. They’ve experience in all the right areas of consumer tech (displays, appliances, smart integration) as it stands and, just like with the phablet, they love to be the one who makes the first move.
The fact is: whoever breaks open the category for business has the first crack at what could be a highly-lucrative new segment of the tech market. Along with the sale of the mirror itself, there’s potential for accessories and customization markets, installations, software sales and even advertising revenues.
It’s only a matter of time.


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If you want user consumption and engagement data, look no further than the World Cup. You’ve got tweets, likes, shares, traffic, comments — take your pick.
Mobile traffic spiked significantly in Q2 2014, according to a report from mobile ad platform Opera Mediaworks, with football-related sites and apps seeing particularly high levels of engagement in certain countries. At 35.6 million, the number of tweets around the July 8 Brazil vs. Germany game, in which the host country was eviscerated by its German rival, trumped the number of tweets around the entire Super Bowl by more than 10 million.
Tantalizing. But media buyers that want to capitalize on this flurry of activity requires a lot of oversight on a bevy of technological tools and platforms, said Jon Hook, head of mobile at media agency MediaCom.
“To capitalize on this data, brands and agencies require smart data solutions that can tie together multiple data points in a transparent way; a platform that can connect online cookie data with device IDs and ingest other data points across social, brand CRM data, household demographic data, etcetera,” Hook said. “With adaptive platforms underpinning and informing our buying decisions we’re in a position to get creative around live events and deliver value for our brands.”
“If you buy programmatically and then scale upward, there should be no problem at all; but if you’re buying endemically, then it’s usually a few phone calls and a few tweaks on the ad server side,” said Matthew Waghorn, director of communications planning at digital agency Huge. “In general, it’s easy to scale these spikes, especially if you’re a big spender. However, it’s important to note that if you invest at a lower level, you might not be provided with first dibs on the opportunity.”
But Larry Moores, VP of analytics and reporting at Opera Mediaworks, is quick to remark that using real-time data to information programmatic buys isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. Data needs to be finessed before it’s of any use, and broad data sometimes isn’t what it seems.
Take mobile traffic as an example. As Moores points out in the Opera Mediaworks report, one might expect World Cup traffic to be similar to the global distribution of traffic — the World Cup is a global event after all — but that wasn’t the case. The US, Brazil, Mexico, and the majority of European countries may top the list for overall ad impression traffic, but it’s countries like Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa, Malaysia, and Pakistan that consume the most football content on related sites and apps.
“You need to dig into markets and see how engaged particular audiences are and how individuals engage with you because of a particular event they’re focused on,” Moore said. “To say that users in Ghana, for example, behave in a certain manner because you looked at 64 billion ad impressions, doesn’t mean the same thing as when you look at the World Cup traffic for people focused on football.”
The message, Moore said, is that buying programmatically requires a lot of work.
“It also requires a lot of insights on the advertiser side, as in finding the audience that’s going to respond to you,” he said.
Taykey — which calls itself a trend automation platform and whose clients include Coca-Cola, Sony, and Unilever — helps large brands align themselves with relevant audiences based on real-time trends and conversations. Its technology aims to help buyers fill potential media plan gaps by serving advertising content to the target audience wherever they happen to be spontaneously engaging, be it on Facebook, Google, Twitter, or YouTube.
“We’re very audience based and we realize that what people are talking about will change multiple times during the day,” said Taykey founder and CEO Amit Avner. “People might be talking about the World Cup for awhile, but then their attention shifts. For our purposes, each trend might only last for a couple of hours.”
As Moores of Opera Mediaworks put it: “Targeting is not about setting up a bunch of criteria and leaving it alone. There’s a lot of turning of the knobs.”


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ABM may be the marketing concept du jour – but the majority of marketers haven’t done much with Account-Based Marketing yet. Here’s some fundamentals to get you going in 2018.
If 2017 was the year of video marketing, is 2018 the year of the podcast? On the brink of a fresh podcast series. Barb Mosher Zinck weighs the options – and explains how podcasting can fit into the marketing mix.
I thought I was going to roast a Playbuzz PR email on fixing fake news. But their data on the impact of video in brand storytelling is worth a look. Here’s how it impacts enterprise marketers.
Innovation labs were the future once – and they can still work, despite some high profile closures. But, says Salesforce’s Tony Colon, there are some important questions for organizations to ask.
Pilot Flying J is working with Deloitte to improve customer journeys and put guests first with its roll-out of Salesforce Sales, Service and Marketing Cloud
There is too much content, too much technology, and maybe, just maybe, we need to slow things down, get the foundation in place and focus on quality: quality content, quality personalization, quality interactions. Barb Mosher Zinck looks back on 2017.
With 2018 in sight, Jon Reed takes a look back at highlights from the departing year on diginomica.
One size fits all web experiences are not going to get it done. Conversational UIs can play a key role in better personalization. Here’s some considerations – and a call to action.
Continuing our year-end countdown, Madeline Bennett picks out ten of her personal highlights from the year at diginomica.
SugarCRM CEO Larry Augustin welcomes GDPR, but the side-effects may be grim, he says.
Marketers can expect plenty of shiny new toys to play with in 2018. But that’s not going to get us there. Here’s four things NOT to do in 2018, and one unsexy – but important – thing marketers must get right.
Disney’s streaming media ambitions took a major step forward with a $52.4 billion planned takeover of 21st Century Fox assets – assuming there are no anti-trust barriers in the way.
The Eurocrats took on the movie stars – and the movie stars dealt a blow to a major part of Brussels Single Digital Market ambitions.


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R3’s Ghosh: “Asia Pacific countries lead the charge towards CBDCs”
By Amit Ghosh
Increased adoption and access to CBDCs is the next step for central banks to push greater use of digital payments. This is an opportunity which countries in Asia Pacific are looking to tap by establishing the necessary governance frameworks.
- Central banks in Asia Pacific are ahead of US and UK in digital currency implementation
- Central banks explore new technologies arising from challenges posed by private sector initiatives such as Facebook’s Diem
- Blockchain plays a crucial role in tokenisation
Businesses worldwide have adapted to remote working as a result of pandemic-induced national lockdowns. One noticeable consequence of this new style of working has been a shift towards the digital world. As many industries experience this digital shift, central banks have began to follow suit through the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). However, not all digital currencies are created equal and it is already clear which countries are leading the charge.
Asia Pacific leads the way towards CBDCs
Asia Pacific (APAC) countries are leading by example when it comes to embracing new technology. These countries have drawn global attention due to their innovative applications of cutting-edge technology. APAC’s success with CBDCs is a prime example. Countries which have historically been at the forefront of currency developments, such as the US and the UK are no longer leading the charge. Desire to protect long-standing currencies has led to a ‘regulation first’ not ‘innovation first’ approach for many.
The US Fed, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank are all currently exploring the technology. Meanwhile, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the so-called “central banks’ central bank” has been discussing CBDCs at length.
Central banks explore new technologies arising from challenges posed by private sector initiatives
So why are central banks, the heart of the economic establishment, so interested in technology with such radical and revolutionary roots?
In part, they are responding to challenges from private sector initiatives such as Facebook’s Diem. However, CBDCs also suggest substantial benefits for general purpose use which make them highly attractive in their own right. Specifically, central banks’ motivations include, providing a cash alternative, promoting financial inclusion, increasing seigniorage profit (difference between a currency’s face value and the cost of its production and distribution), implementing monetary policy, linking payments to identity, and modernising payments for a digital economy.
What’s interesting about the recent models is the collaborative approach which many are taking with a supporting cast from the private sector. For example, the Bank of England has been researching what it calls the ‘platform model’, in which the bank is the only entity allowed to create or destroy a token, while leaving ‘payment interface providers’ (PIPs) to interact with end-users.
Others have gone a step further. Researchers at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have coined the term ‘synthetic CBDC’ (sCBDC) to describe a model in which a non-central bank entity, such as a commercial bank, can issue a stablecoin backed by central bank reserves.
Ultimately, it is likely that a variety of uses for CBDCs in the retail space and a number of different implementations will develop. These will have important benefits for a wide variety of institutions from corporate treasury departments to payment networks open to the general public.
The distinction is quickly blurring between the currently evolving retail CBDC models and previous projects with wholesale CBDCs. A CBDC is a great tool at the wholesale level, and its applications teach us about the prospects for retail CBDCs.
Project Ubin with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) taught us that a blockchain-enabled CBDC supports more efficient complex payment workflows, including a decentralised liquidity savings mechanism. Now, the MAS is partnering with the BIS Innovation Hub and the central banking community on Project Dunbar, an initiative to design, develop and test new multi-CBDC models.
Project Inthanon with the Bank of Thailand and Hong Kong Monetary Authority taught us that a blockchain CBDC allows for a cross-border corridor, enabled foreign exchange (FX) price discovery, and facilitated atomic payment versus payment (PvP).
Blockchain plays a crucial role in tokenisation
Blockchain is crucial in enabling the tokenisation of these payment assets, allowing for peer-to-peer transactions and distributed custody. Additionally, blockchain enables atomic transactions which means that any delivery versus payment (DvP) or PvP scenario can occur in real-time without risk that one leg of the transaction will execute before the other.
Blockchain also sets the architecture for a more secure payment system in which there is no centralised point of failure nor honeypot for hackers to attack. Finally, it allows connectivity into a growing tokenised financial ecosystem with global integrity.
Looking forward, it is possible to envisage an entirely new payment structure. The way banks, businesses and individuals handle, exchange and process money will be re-imagined. This architecture is empowered by blockchain as a means of keeping records, but relies on central banks’ diligence in providing robust governance frameworks for these new assets.
In order for central banks to fulfil their mandate of offering digital payment solutions fit for the rapidly evolving modern world, their first step must be to increase the adoption and accessibility of CBDCs. This will help create a more connected global financial industry, and encourage technology-driven innovation in non-payments-related areas.
APAC’s CBDC success speaks for itself. If the rest of the world takes one lesson from Asia’s example, it is that innovation must come first when creating the currencies of the future.
Amit Ghosh is the head of Asia Pacific at R3, an enterprise blockchain firm.
Keywords: Digital, Currencies, CBDC, Technology, Blockchain, Project Dunbar, Project Inthanon, Dvp, Pvp, Facebook, Tokenization, Stablecoins
Institution: US Fed, Bank Of England, Bank Of Japan, European Central Bank, Monetary Authority Of Singapore, Bank Of Thailand, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, BIS
Region: Asia Pacific
Guest: Amit Ghosh


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The 'hiPhone 5': Fake Chinese version of latest Apple device on sale MONTHS before the real thing is unveiled
The latest version of Apple's popular iPhone has already hit the Chinese market, albeit the black market.
The 'hiPhone 5' is selling for as little as 200 yuan (£19 / $31) on China's top e-commerce website Taobao.
The counterfeit device is based on leaked images of the yet-to-be-launched iPhone 5 and is thinner than the existing iPhone 4.
Knock-off: The 'hiPhone 5' (left) and Apple's iPhone 4 (right). The counterfeit device is based on leaked images of the yet-to-be-launched iPhone 5 and is thinner than the existing iPhone 4
Spot the fake (it's on the left). Chinese consumers have to pay 200 yuan (£19 / $31) for the hiPhone 5, compared to four times that for the genuine article
The designers of the hiPhone 5 clearly didn't want a repeat of Apple's 'antennagate' fiasco
However, it is extremely light, almost like a plastic toy, like most pirated mobile phones.
Consumers have to pay around 800 yuan - four times as much - for the genuine article, according to shop clerks at a mobile phone market in Shanghai.
'Look at this. It's not the same as the 300 to 400 yuan ones,' Shanghai-based daily Metro Express quoted a clerk as saying, pointing to one originally priced at 850 yuan.
Western governments have repeatedly criticised China for widespread violation of intellectual property rights, but pirated goods from branded watches, to bags and computer software can be easily found in shops.
Last month, an American blogger set off a media storm after she posted pictures of an elaborate fake Apple Store in Kunming, selling genuine if unauthorised iPhones, Macbooks and other widely popular Apple products.
Reuters also uncovered a look-a-like of the Swedish furniture giant Ikea in the south-western Chinese city.
Apple, which is expected to roll out the latest version of the iPhone 5 smartphone within a few months, sold a record 20.34million iPhones during the last quarter, even though its newest model is over a year old.
Fake iPhones are displayed at a mobile phone stall in Shanghai. Like most pirated mobile phones, it is extremely light, almost like a plastic toy
Shutdown: One of five fake Apple stores found in Kunming, China, last month
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- Understanding the implications of UAW strikes can help you identify opportunities in the car industry.
- Analysts expect certain stocks to perform well amid the automotive industry decline.
- EPS expectations reinforce the investment thesis.
- Consider these stocks as potential investments to mitigate the impact of the decline.
By now, most market participants are aware of the UAW (United Auto Workers) union strikes and the risks they pose to domestic auto manufacturers and their profitability. However, understanding the broader implications of these strikes can lead to identifying pockets of opportunity in the automotive industry.
One possible outcome of the strikes is higher prices for new vehicles, which may weaken the market, especially when combined with higher financing costs. On the other hand, if striker demands are rejected, there could be a supply bottleneck, creating scarcity and increased demand for vehicles. Analysts and markets have identified potential investment opportunities amid these scenarios.
Analysts have found value in the after-market products industry, particularly in XPEL (NASDAQ: XPEL). Despite experiencing a recent decline, analysts remain optimistic about the company’s future upside potential. XPEL’s strong financials, including a 34% gross margin and a net income margin of nearly 14%, indicate potential value.
Another potential investment opportunity lies in the used car market, with CarMax (NYSE: KMX) at the forefront. Despite a recent decline, analysts believe there is a significant gap between the company’s current price and its actual value. They anticipate a 12.5% price increase and a 25.6% EPS growth in the next twelve months.
In the after-market products industry, Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX) stands out with its strong financials and potential for compounding growth. Though the stock experienced a decline, its expected EPS growth of 24% in the next twelve months suggests untapped potential. Analysts may need to adjust their price targets to align with these expectations.
These stocks are interconnected by the underlying trend of money and value flowing into certain segments of the automotive industry. Considering these stocks as potential investments can help mitigate the impact of the industry decline.