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To celebrate 25 years of the Monster motorcycle, Ducati India—the luxury motorcycle brand—in association with Rajputana Customs (the motorcycle customisation company) has launched a customised edition of the Monster 797. The first Monster left the factory in Borgo Panigale, Bologna, Italy, in 1993. Since its presentation to the public at the Intermot motorcycle fair in Cologne in 1992, and its launch in 1993, the Monster has brought a radical change to the world of motorcycles, creating a brand-new sector—the naked sport bikes.
Over the next few years, the Monster went on to become the single largest selling Ducati motorcycle and also continued to lead the naked sport bike sector globally. In the process, it created a passionate community of fans and enthusiasts. The Monster has gone through several changes since then, but its essential design language remains the same—muscular looks and chiselled features, with an exposed engine and steel trellis frame.
“The Ducati Monster 797 is the first officially commissioned Ducati to be customised by Rajputana Customs, and gets the details that the custom house is famous for incarnating. Rajputana Customs influenced 797 gets a custom-built fuel tank whose design stays close to that of the iconic Monster and colour scheme that lends the 797 a very distinct, masculine look and feel,” the company said in a statement.
Sergi Canovas, MD of Ducati India, added, “The Monster is a bike that has become a cult and has been recognised worldwide since inception for its muscular look, with the aesthetics of a naked bike. Rajputana Customs has done a fabulous job at embodying it with details that are meaningful, giving it a striking look.” This special edition is called the Rajputana Customs Edizione Speciale. Price is available on request.
Source: Financial Express


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Businesses along Singapore's famous Orchard Road shopping street plan to deploy trained hawks to scare off thousands of birds whose droppings rain down on pedestrians' heads, a report said Wednesday.
Robotic car technology being developed at Oxford University that interprets its surroundings and makes decisions about where to go could eliminate the agony and cost of traffic jams.
Toyota is developing a safety technology that takes control of the steering so the vehicle can veer away when it isn't able to stop before impact.
Next time you're about to cross a street, you might want to think twice about texting -- and definitely take those buds out of your ears. Music may be even more dangerous than texting, according to one researcher.
TU Delft in the Netherlands is set to conduct a joint research project with the Jiaotong University in Shanghai. Their aim will be to develop a traffic model for shipping in congested port areas. It is hoped that the model ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have developed a new model for the behavior of pedestrians and crowds. It can help to understand and prevent tragic crowd disasters, to develop better architectural designs and new navigation ...
Elderly drivers are half as likely to see pedestrians on the sidewalk due to a limited field of view, and compensate in part by driving more slowly, according to a study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.

domain: news


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Sony has recently launched two new smartphones in 2021, the Xperia 1 V and the Xperia 10 V. The Xperia 1 V, which is considered one of Sony’s high-end flagship phones, was released in May and is now available for purchase in the United States. On the other hand, the Xperia 10 V offers a more budget-friendly option for consumers. Now, Sony is preparing to unveil its next smartphone, the Xperia 5 V.
Traditionally, Sony releases phones from the Xperia 5 series in the second half of the year. In line with this pattern, the company has set September 1 as the launch date for the Xperia 5 V. The event will be live-streamed and is scheduled to start at 16:00 Japan Time or 09:00 am CEST.
There have been rumors circulating about the Xperia 5 V. Unlike its predecessor, it is speculated that the new phone will have only two cameras, a main (wide) snapper and an ultra-wide lens. Interestingly, the phone is likely to retain the 3.5mm earphone jack. The Xperia 5 V will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is also present in other top Android smartphones of this year such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.
Earlier speculations suggested that the Xperia 5 V would come with 16GB of RAM, a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the Xperia 5 IV, which offers 8GB of RAM paired with 128GB of onboard storage. Additionally, the upcoming smartphone will most likely come pre-installed with Android 13.
While there haven’t been many leaks and rumors about the Xperia 5 V, it is expected to continue featuring a 6.1-inch OLED panel with an FHD+ (1080p) resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Moreover, a 5000mAh battery is anticipated to provide extended battery life. All these details will be officially confirmed in the upcoming week, and we will soon have a comprehensive understanding of the Xperia 5 V.


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However, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) “expressed concern over the unmet emerging consumer demand for mobile phones and mobile devices due to limited operations of retail and commerce operations. electronics in the red zones”.
The group, which represents handset brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Lava and contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Wistron, added that states must follow and implement MHA guidelines along the same lines.
Mobile phone sellers also said they were ready to reopen stores wherever permitted, in line with government guidelines.
“All stand-alone (single) stores, neighborhood (settlement) stores and residential complex stores are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction between essential and non-essential,” the MHA said in a statement. notification on Friday. However, shopping in urban areas, for non-essential goods, is not permitted in malls, markets and market complexes.
“Now that it is clear which stores are allowed to open, we will resume operations in accordance with government guidelines on social distancing with limited staff,” said Arvinder Khurrana, chairman of the Indian Association of Mobile Retailers (AIMRA). The body represents 1.5 lakh of independent phone shops.
According to expert estimates, an inventory of 5 million phones is in the offline channel for smartphones alone.
Meanwhile, another retail body, the Confederation of Indian Traders (CAIT), has urged the government to also allow non-essential public services to open at night. The MHA has banned the movement of people and non-essential activities between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.


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This week was a big one for Apple.
It’s first not-all-positive earnings report was released, which saw the company’s sales figures drop for all major device families. It’s the first time that this bad news extends to the iPhone, which suggests that Apple’s suffocating stranglehold on the smartphone space is slowly losing its grip. Growing at just 0.4% year-on-year, it’s safe to play the troll here and suggest that the iPhone hype is slowly starting to fizzle out.
No ad to show here.
Or is it? Try saying that with a straight face while reading this next section: it still managed to push 74.8-million handsets out the door in the quarter alone.
Of course, the slowdown in sales was always going to arrive at some point in the device’s life. More original iPhone users are sticking with legacydevices, resisting the temptation to upgrade to the latest handsets. In fact, only 40% of previous iPhone users upgraded to an iPhone 6 or 6S variant by Q1 2016. It’s quite an astounding figure.
Clearly the iPhone 6 family isn’t as alluring to current iPhone users than previously anticipated. But does that mean this upper tier segment of the market is now saturated? Not quite. If so, Apple wouldn’t be working behind the scenes on what should be the iPhone 7, fit with new features, new technologies and what promises to be a definite revolution rather than evolution.
But here’s the interesting story: according to rumours, Apple’s about to revive its smaller, cheaper device family in the form of a more compact smartphone. We’re not too sure of the actual name yet — it could be called the iPhone 6C or the iPhone 5SE for all we know — but it’s more than likely going to be a smaller variant of the current iPhone 6.
What’s even more puzzling is the suggested screen size of the smaller iPhone — Apple’s sticking with the 4.0-inch formula. Generally, the screen size of smartphones have been gradually increasing, while 4.0-inches formed the standard a good few years ago.
But is regressing a ploy to innovate? Is backtracking a way of actually revolutionising once again? Or more importantly, is this a gamble in light of the stagnating sales of its premier devices?
For one, a smaller screen should generally mean a cheaper iPhone, which also allows Apple to infiltrate the mid-range market segments it only accesses through older resold iPhones. It’s the market areas that the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and others are lapping up, and reaping the rewards. But Apple? It hasn’t really concentrated on this segment since the 5C.
While marketing is one thing, the components, at least according to rumours, will also be fairly attractive.
Leaks suggests that its effectively an upgraded iPhone 5S, boasting iPhone 6 specifications shoved into a smaller body. That means an lively Apple A8 chipset, 1GB of RAM, at least 16GB of internal storage (perhaps ballooning to 128GB), a 1.2MP front camera and an 8MP rear snapper. We can also expect NFC for Apple Pay.
Overall, it sounds like a great proposition for those looking to own an new Apple product but just couldn’t afford one before.
But does it make sense for Apple in the current sales climate? We’re not so sure.
The iPhone 5C was the runt of the litter in more ways than one when comparing it to its other iPhone siblings, but that’s not to say it didn’t sell at all. In fact, it outsold every Android flagship at the time, competing against the likes of BlackBerry and Nokia too. And when it was announced back in 2013, the iPhone sales graph was still trending steeply upwards.
Now that sales is stagnating, perhaps regressing is a form of moving forward?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Would you buy a smaller iPhone?
Feature image: Kārlis Dambrāns via Flickr


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Calls for stronger EU measures against rising odometer fraud
Despite progress in some national markets, odometer fraud remains rampant in cross-border trade of used vehicles in Europe. Calls for EU-wide measures against 'clocking' are growing.
One of the more successful national anti-clocking initiatives is CarPass, which has virtually eliminated odometer fraud in Belgium. Elsewhere, the problem remains endemic.
In Poland, for instance, says Michel Peelman, CEO of CarPass: “Poland imports 1 million used cars per year; 80% of those odometers are tampered with. These staggering figures have been quoted by different speakers at the recent international conference 'Fighting Odometer Fraud' in Warsaw".
"All agreed that directive 2014/45/EU, mandating mileage registration at the technical inspection, will not solve the problem. It's too little, too late. Europe needs to do more to protect its citizens against these criminal activities”.
Ireland is another EU member state that has a major problem with odometer fraud, or 'clocking', as it's known locally.
According to Ireland's official vehicle records organisation Cartell, citing the largest false-mileage study ever conducted in the country, no less than 11.04% of of second-hand vehicles for sale in Ireland display an unreliable or questionable mileage. For vehicles imported into Ireland from the UK (Northern Ireland and Mainland Britain), that figure rises to 18.43%.
Those figures are worse than those of an official Irish government study in 2013, which showed a mileage discrepancy rate of 9.8%. 'Clocking' is a criminal offence in Ireland since 2014, but that alone has apparently not deterred fraudsters, with the practice seemingly on the rise in recent years.
2.3 million vehicles
And not just in Ireland. Similar evolutions have been noted in the UK, where HPI says the share of 'clocked' cars has risen from 1 in 20 in 2014 to 1 in 16 last year, affecting a total of 2.3 million vehicles.
German motorist association ADAC claims one-third of the 2 million used cars sold annually in Germany have had their mileage readings tampered with, defrauding buyers of €3,000 per vehicle, on average.
But, as the Irish study suggests, it is especially the cross-border trade in used vehicles that seems to be susceptible to mileage fraud. Consequently, more and more industry voices are calling for tighter cooperation across borders, and an EU-wide mileage database, to combat the growing problem.
According to Irish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Deirdre Clune, up to 30% of all used cars sold in the EU are 'clocked', costing consumers between €5.6 billion to €9.6 billion a year. “People need an EU-wide database of car mileage so they can compare and contrast mileage readings”, she says.
The European Commission's Road Worthiness Directive, which will come into effect in April 2018, inclused a check on mileage, but that is not enough, says Mrs. Clune. The MEP points to Belgium's CarPass system as an example for an effective EU-wide database.


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Amazon said on Wednesday that it will start delivering packages using a six-wheeled sidewalk robot called Amazon Scout.
"Starting today, these devices will begin delivering packages to customers in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington," the company's announcement says—that's just north of Seattle. Amazon says that its robots "are the size of a small cooler and roll along sidewalks at a walking pace."
Amazon is far from the first company to experiment with sidewalk robots. Startups like Starship and Marble have been testing the concept for a few years now. But as the Internet's largest retailer, Amazon has the potential to rapidly make sidewalk delivery robots a mainstream phenomenon.
"We’re starting with six Amazon Scout devices, delivering packages Monday through Friday, during daylight hours," Amazon says. "The devices will autonomously follow their delivery route but will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee."
A 2016 Amazon patent filing describes a model where small sidewalk robots carry packages from a full-size delivery truck to customer addresses. Starship has experimented with a similar approach, using a full-size van as a "mothership" to carry a fleet of up to eight sidewalk drones to a neighborhood, along with a truckload of packages. A human worker then transfers packages from the truck to the sidewalk drones, which go on to drop off the packages at individual customers' addresses.
Of course, getting this model to work will require rethinking the way package delivery is organized. Right now, Amazon hires people to drop packages off on customers' front porches, where they sit unattended until the customer gets home and collects them. But Amazon's sidewalk drones don't seem to be designed to drop packages off. Instead, a video accompanying the announcement shows an Amazon robot pulling up in front of a customer's house, and the customer coming out to meet the drone.
So maybe Amazon will send a truck to a neighborhood full of packages for customers in that neighborhood. Once the truck arrives, it might notify customers that it's nearby, allowing customers to claim a precise delivery window over the next few hours. If a customer isn't available that day, the truck could keep the package and try again the next day.
It seems like a more complicated model, but it would cut down on package thefts and could turn out to be more efficient if it enables a delivery person to deliver more packages per day. It could also be coupled with a shift in shopping behavior. Instead of ordering a product and expecting it to show up on their porch a couple of days later, customers might get used to placing an order at work in the morning and expecting to collect it from a sidewalk robot that evening.
To be clear, I'm just speculating here. Amazon's announcement doesn't provide many details about how its sidewalk robots will be loaded or how the company will make sure customers are available to pick up packages when a robot arrives. The announcement states that customers will "order just as they normally would and their Amazon packages will be delivered either by one of our trusted partner carriers or by Amazon Scout." Amazon says that customers will "enjoy the same delivery options including fast, FREE Same-Day, One-Day and Two-Day shipping"—but doesn't detail how these options will work with delivery robots.
Amazon's focus on sidewalk robots makes it different from startups like Nuro and Udelv that are building street-legal robots designed to travel faster and over longer distances. Nuro's robots move up to 25 miles per hour, and it has a deal with Kroger to deliver groceries from a Kroger-owned grocery store in the Phoenix area. Udelv has a similar deal with Walmart. The greater range and speed of these robots means that they won't need to work with a larger delivery truck.


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Samsung completed 7nm development 6 months ahead of Snapdrogon 855 and Exynos 9820
Samsung has finished 7NM development chip in past 6 months. and that could be a snapdragon 855 processor will be at next flagship phone. its a amazing news for phone enthusiasts as great impact in battery efficiency and productivity of a chip. The snapdragon 855 will be a 5G capable and 40% of been faster than past of chip and its having 35% of battery regains it in exciting chip.
I think Samsung S10 will be a first phone to produce snapdragon 855 chip.
Go to an Design prospectus slimmer chip can also has better battery. and efficiency.
Samsung is already invested billions of money in 7NM chip


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there is a release date for the retron 5. for some, june 6th can't come quick enough. for others, they grew weary of the wait. paired with the price increase to $139.99, this system has been a roller coaster ride for almost a year now, with missed launch windows and changes a muck. a lot of these (potentially former) consumers are quite vocal on both the hyperkin facebook page and on amazon.com reviews. it's too much too late for some, and they have sworn off the console.
nonetheless the retron 5 is finally out now, and the prices have been all over the map. hyperkin's website has a msrp of $139.99 but there has been prices up to $499.99 from retailers due to low supply and high demand. this is unfortunately more fuel added to the fire of the troubled story of this console. it is doubtful that these prices will stick around for long, but waiting even longer than you already have for the price to come back down is quite infuriating.
there is also a sku for individual controllers for purchase at a msrp of $39.99. this era of gaming can be considered one of the greatest for couch co-op, so the additional controller is a welcomed addition. hyperkin has confirmed four player local play, so these may come in handy for having friends over. these are also available in matching gray and black colors to pair nicely with your console.
the retron 4 was announced on march 5th, 2013 (as seen here), but it was quickly changed to the retron 5 only 19 days later it was changed to the retron 5 (also seen here). the system was projected for the summer of 2013, but it never delivered. the most notable missed mark was the december 10th release. from there, subsequent tremors of more delays and even a price increase has kept the ground shaky with consumers.
we are excited to finally play the classics in HD, but are you still in the buying mood now that the console is finally out? let us know in the comments bellow if you are picking up a retron 5 or not on june 6th


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New research confirms small business owners are frustrated by their inability to reduce their energy bills, and anxious about their business’s future viability as a result of Australia’s ongoing energy price crisis.
A national snapshot of nearly 200 small business owners reveals rising energy prices is threatening the viability of the sector, with one in two owners reporting they would struggle to absorb costs and stay in business if the past two years of price rises is repeated in the future.
The preliminary findings of the Energy Bill Shock: Future Proofing Small Business Energy Costs report found businesses with rented premises and sole traders are among the most vulnerable to energy bill shocks. About 12 per cent of small businesses surveyed fear their business will be forced to close if the recent rises in energy costs continued at the same level.
“It’s great to see to the Morrison government recognise the critical impact energy prices have on small businesses,” Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia chief executive Peter Strong said.
“We will be talking to the Government over the next few days over the possible practical action that can be taken right now to support Australian small businesses keep their doors open and reduce their energy price stress.
“This is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed as quickly as possible, Australian small business represents 97 per cent of all businesses operating in Australia.”
This survey is part of a project by the Council of Small Businesses of Australia, funded by Energy Consumers Australia and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. The interim findings and small business case studies will be released at the Council’s National Summit in Sydney on Thursday and presented to Energy Minister Angus Taylor.
The interim findings include:
Half of small businesses sampled would struggle to cope with future energy price rises at the same pace as the past two years.Of these, about 12 per cent say they would need to close their business and 43 per cent would find it “extremely hard” to absorb future price rises.
Energy price rises are putting the brakes on small business, leading to reduced profits and dividends, less growth and investment and higher prices for consumers.
Nearly 60 per cent of small businesses report high energy prices have reduced their profitability, 37 per cent of small business owners have taken a pay cut themselves to absorb energy costs, 30 per cent have increased prices to offset energy bills and 24 per cent have put their capital expenditure plans on hold.
57 per cent of business owners are stressed or anxious about energy bills and one in three business owners are worried about their ability to support their families because of high energy costs.
The Energy Bill Shock: Future Proofing Small Business Energy Costs report includes a series of case studies across various industries including farming, hospitality, retail, manufacturing and personal services that investigates the current impact on business decisions and ongoing viability. The project’s final report will provide governments and key decision makers with evidence of the energy price impact on small businesses across the country and make a series of recommendation to help small business owners reduce their bills.
Drawing on the evidence from the national snapshot of small business owners, potential areas of action include:
Empowering small business with better information: Developing a one-stop-shop of information highly targeted to small business with industry-specific information and advice.
Taking action: Greater tracking and information-gathering of average small business energy costs by industry and location, enabling small business to benchmark themselves against similar businesses’ energy usage and costs.
Potential regulation / legislative changes: Assistance to businesses with rented premises to help tenants and landlords introduce energy efficiency measures
Improving business practices: Supporting owners to implement better business processes and make the most of energy efficient capital investments.


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Valve has shown a willingness to improve its already acclaimed Steam Deck, and a new video shows what has changed since February 25th.
The steam deck has been out for a little over a month now, and since its launch, the developer has been eager to get feedback from the community so it can continue to improve its potentially time-defining handheld device. With Valve saying that more than 2,000 games have now been verified for the portable PC, the journey has really only begun as gamers gain traction and the company uses comments to make improvements. With that, a short video has appeared that briefly discusses all the things that have changed with the Steam Deck in recent weeks.
On the Steam Deck website, the clip, lasting just under three and a half minutes, shows what has been done to the device since it was released on February 25. Since it’s still a new piece of kit, it’s understandable that there will be teething problems. But in such a short space of time, it seems clear that Valve has done a lot to ensure that the deck continues to have an impact on the mobile game world.
Along with the Steam Deck which adds drivers for compatibility with Windows 10, one of the improvements to the device is through the on-screen keyboard. The video mentions a “dual trackpad” that allows you to type more naturally. There are also more options when it comes to categorizing games in a user’s library, with the clip showing a list of titles labeled as ‘single player’. Plus, there are plenty of extra features that make scrolling through games easier. Since this is a gaming device, it makes sense that the company would want to focus on this.
One of the other ways Valve has changed things up is by implementing ways that allow users to improve the battery life of the Steam Deck. One of the methods that can be used is to limit a game’s framerate, with the option to drop it all the way down to 15 fps. This seems low, but the video goes on to say that this could be ideal for those who play visual novels or puzzle games.
Despite Valve’s history of failed hardware projects, it’s clear that the steam deck is something the developer wants to see thrive. It’s already garnered a lot of praise from gamers and reviewers alike, and while there are notable issues to address, it seems Gabe Newell and the company are on the case, especially considering how much has already been improved on the device.
MORE: Steam Deck Needs A Poster Kid Before It Can Compete With The Nintendo Switch
Source: Steam Deck
Funny Elden Ring Clip Shows Soulsborne Vets Approaching The Game’s Elevator Rides
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If you are a fan of the Kingdom Hearts franchise then you may want to take some time out to participate in a brand new survey from Square Enix regarding the series. It shouldn’t take too long to complete and is a good way to make your voice be heard over at Square Enix, as we haven’t had a new Kingdom Hearts game on the Nintendo 3DS for a while. Here’s the link to the short survey.
Square Enix has announced that it is partnering up with IGN to promote a top secret game from the company. IGN says that they currently have no idea what this secret project is, but it does seem odd that they are holding back this title considering they have their own E3 press event during which they could show off the secret project. Any guesses as to what it might be?
While the actual E3 convention is always exploding to the brim with news, oftentimes the weeks leading up to the big event are rife with big announcements and surprises! During a recent financial report briefing, acclaimed developer/publisher Square Enix has announced plans to unveil two new games during E3 next month in an attempt to strengthen and reboot their existing IPs.
The news comes on the heels of the recent announcements of a Dragon Quest 8 port for 3DS, and Dragon Quest Heroes II and Star Ocean 5 for the Playstation family. The news has prompted fans to roll out their wish lists regarding the games they want to see Square Enix unveil at E3! What IPs do you want Square Enix to bring out? Vagrant Story reboot, anyone?
We kinda already knew it was coming thanks to hints yesterday from Bravely Default producer, Tomoya Asano, but it now seems certain that Bravely Second will be coming to Europe. Developer and publisher Square Enix has trademarked Bravely Second in Europe which pretty much confirms it is coming to the west. Bravely Second is likely to be showcased at Square Enix or Nintendo’s Digital Event, both of which take place on June 16th.
Tomoya Asano, the series producer behind the well-received Bravely Second, has confirmed to Siliconera that they’re busy preparing the game for a western release. No doubt they’ve been working on it for some time so it is bound to show up at Square Enix’s E3 press conference which takes place on Tuesday, June 16th.
“According to Asano, they have no plans for a For the Sequel version for Bravely Second, or anything of the sort. He states that, at the moment, they’re only thinking about the Western version of Bravely Second.”
We were all kinda excited to learn that Square Enix is bringing the PlayStation 2 classic Dragon Quest VIII to the Nintendo 3DS. Now it turns out that the game won’t feature the 3D we had all been hoping for on the remastered Nintendo 3DS version. Dragon Quest VIII has only been confirmed for release in Japan at present. If we are going to hear anything about localization then it’s likely we would hear about it during Square Enix’s E3 presentation next month.
Square Enix have budged their E3 Press Conference ahead an hour, and will now be at 10am PDT instead of 9am PDT on June 16th. I’m going to take a guess and say it’s probably because they clashed with Nintendo’s Digital Event, and didn’t want fans of both to be split between them. So, now we don’t have to choose or try watch them both at the same time! Nintendo’s Digital Event is at 9am PDT/12pm EST/11am CT/6pm CEST/5pm UK and Square Enix’s conference is now an hour later, so mark your calendars.


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Marka PJSC, the first public joint stock retail operator in the UAE, will introduce the first Reem Al Bawadi outlet in Abu Dhabi at Dalma Mall.
“We are delighted to be introducing Reem Al Bawadi’s authentic Middle Eastern cuisine and famed hospitality to the UAE capital. It is a milestone in our focused expansion efforts and represents the first in a number of exciting new openings that will follow within the year. We have undertaken four Reem Al Bawadi expansions over the past 18 months, which has grown the franchise to a total of twelve outlets across the GCC – an ambitious expansion strategy that reflects the strong consumer demand for this award-winning brand,” says Marka vice chairman & CEO Khaled Al Mheiri.
Spanning 4,920 sqft, the restaurant offers a total capacity of 243 covers, with 111 seats inside and 132 seats located across two welcoming outdoor spaces. The large terrace offers customers a perfect hangout spot for enjoying delicious food and shisha. The space is sure to become a popular destination also during the summer months with plans to introduce a fully air conditioned atmosphere. The venue also features a multitude of TV screens and large screen projectors, allowing guests to catch-up over unmissable football games and the region’s favourite televised sporting events.
“Consumers are increasingly looking for quality experiences from restaurants that can deliver consistently, and this explains the widespread success of Reem Al Bawadi. We have robust expansion plans for the restaurant in the UAE and the wider GCC region, and we look forward to bringing our customers new opportunities to enjoy their favourite food in Reem Al Bawadi’s uniquely welcoming atmosphere,” adds Al Mheiri.
The 12 existing Reem Al Bawadi restaurants are to be joined by two additional Dubai locations within the year – at Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and Avenues Mall in Motor City. The restaurant will also participate at the Global Village later this year, while Marka’s long-term strategy for the brand will see new franchises expanding further into Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, among other deals in the pipeline.


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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A place to get sweet treats is about to open in Baton Rouge.
Peach Cobbler Factory, a new dessert place that offers a variety of cobblers, will be softly open from 2-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4 to Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7514 Bluebonnet Boulevard Suite R.
The location will be open at its regular hours from noon to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The new dessert place offers a variety of cobbler flavors like peach, strawberry, honey apple, cinnamon praline and sweet potato pecan with ice cream. It also sells cookies that combine cobbler options that top a large cookie. Franchise owner Iris Nettles said Peach Cobbler Factory will deliver until 2 a.m. with Door Dash, Uber Eats or Grub Hub.
Nettles said Peach Cobbler Factory will have a grand opening on Nov 4. A Zachary location will open when Nettles can get the Baton Rouge location running, she said.


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Jennifer McGill has been appointed by Volvo Bus to the position of Regional Account Manager for the North of England and Scotland.
The appointment comes as Volvo Bus looks to assist the coach and bus sector emerge from the pandemic and face “changing legislation”.
Jennifer’s previous role was Executive Assistant at the Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North and Scotland. She worked there for over seven years and developed a strong understanding of the Volvo brand.
“This is an exciting role to get my teeth into, especially since Volvo has just launched the Volvo 9700 to the UK market and there’s already a lot of interest around it,” Jennifer says. “I know the North and Scotland region well and I’m excited by the challenge of meeting our customers’ requirements.
“I’m already so proud to be part of such a reputable, worldwide brand and to be able to continue my journey with it and play my part in contributing to its continuous growth. I’m particularly looking forward to meeting customers throughout the region, as I’ll be spending a lot of my time on the road making key visits.”
Adds Dave Porter, Sales Manager for Volvo Bus: “We’re delighted to have Jennifer on board. She has relevant industry experience which will be invaluable. She’ll also be bringing a collection of critical contacts, which will help drive the company’s growth.
“Jennifer will undoubtedly enhance our presence within the region and bring continuity to our customers in the area. For us, getting this appointment absolutely right was essential given the importance of North and Scotland and it’s a vital next step in our business development plans.”
Jennifer can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Green Springs Elementary students host grandparents
GREEN SPRINGS – Students in kindergarten through third grades got to bring some of their favorite people to school Thursday during Green Springs Elementary’s Grandparent Breakfast. The students ate breakfast with their grandmothers and grandfathers and had the chance to show off their classrooms and buy books at a book fair.
Third-grader Claudia Muzik ate cereal, cinnamon rolls and doughnuts with her grandmother, Paula Renfro, in the school cafeteria. Muzik said they came early to school, “because we wanted to have breakfast, and I wanted to show my grandma everything.”
Renfro said her biggest reason for coming to the event was spending time with Muzik.
“I came to be with my granddaughter. I try to do all the grandparent things with her,” Renfro said.
The Green Springs Elementary Boosters sponsored a Scholastic Book Fair in the library during the event.
“We might go to the book fair, and I think we’ll have fun,” Muzik said.
Amanda Morrison, co-president of Green Springs Boosters with Janet Frankart, said the group sponsors a book sale at the school once a year.
“We try to correlate it with the Grandparent Breakfast. We usually get a really good turnout,” Morrison said.
Instead of earning money from the book sales, the boosters earn Scholastic “dollars” that can be redeemed for books. Morrison said they usually earn about $1,000 worth of books from each book fair, which they donate to the school library and classrooms. The library budget allows for only one copy of each book, so the boosters will purchase extra copies of popular books such as “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”
“We support Right to Read Week and at Christmas the teachers have an allowance to give each kid a book. We pay for that,” Morrison said.
The Book Fair was jam-packed with books and buyers during the Grandparent Breakfast. Jean Geyman bought books for her grandchildren Brady and Kayla Frankart, who are in the fourth and second grades.
Brady picked out two new “Minecraft” books, and Kayla chose “The World’s Worst Monsters and Villains.”
“I got it because I think it looks cool, and I like villains,” she said.
Second-grader Noah Young was at the book fair with his grandmother, Barb Young. She bought Noah a “Minecraft” book and a “Captain Underpants” book. Barb said it was her first visit to the school.
“It’s a beautiful school and Noah says he loves coming here,” Barb said. “But on Monday, they won’t have school, so he’ll come to my house to help me decorate for Halloween.”
The classrooms were filled with activity as students showed off their desks, lockers and schoolwork. Gabby Griffin brought two grandmas to the event: Diana Griffin and Barbara Scheck.
“It’s fun,” Gabby said. “I showed them my morning math and I showed them my booklet.”
Aubrey Spencer, a fourth generation Green Springs resident, brought four grandparents with her, including her grandmother Elva King and her great-grandmother Maria Herrera.
“It’s fun,” Spencer said. “I showed them my poster and the library.”
Most of the kids seemed to be having fun like Spencer, and for many of them, the highlight of the event was simply spending time with grandma or grandpa.
“I came to eat breakfast with my grandma,” said first-grader Samantha Dietz, who brought her grandmother Deb Withrow to school. “I was looking forward to it, because I like to eat with her.”


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PANAMA CITY, Fla. — The lines are usually out the door during lunch rush for re-opened businesses like Cahall’s Deli, and people are excited to be back at their favorite restaurants, but there’s a major problem.
Since Hurricane Michael, business owners have been struggling to find employees to work for them.
“It took eight months to remodel,” said Susan Craven, owner of Smitty’s Barbecue. “I am now tasked with trying to find a kitchen staff.”
She says the hiring issue has affected her restaurant in a big way.
“I’m not able to open full hours,” she said. “I’m not able to put my full menu out yet.”
She’s not alone. Christ Cordon owns Cahall’s Deli, and he says lunch rush has turned into a nightmare.
“Some people can’t wait thirty minutes to get their food,” said Cordon. “They’re gonna get upset and go somewhere else because we can’t get them done in time.”
When asked why they were having this problem, there was one recurring answer.
“I don’t think there’s enough housing here,” said Cordon. Craven agreed.
“A lot of the apartments [the workers] had were destroyed and they moved to other towns,” said Craven.
Housing prices have soared since the storm, as we previously reported on how rent gouging has caused many to move out of town. The one’s that stay are “poached” by restaurant owners who need workers.
“We’re all fighting to try and get them to restaurants,” said Craven.
This has caused the pay scales to increase incrementally, driving prices up for store owners. They say that there doesn’t seem to be a short-term solution.
“Unfortunately it’s the new normal,” said Cordon.
In the meantime, it’s business as usual.
“You don’t have a choice, you have to keep moving forward,” said Cordon. “You do it the best you can.”


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SAG Awards red carpet bleacher seats up for auction
Bid on a bleacher seat and get up close and personal with the stars while raising money for charity.
If your fondest wish has always been to join the frenzied, sweating, jostling media mob on an awards-show red carpet, the Screen Actors Guild has an auction for you.
SAG is auctioning off more than 100 seats on the bleachers overlooking the red carpet for the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 18 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.
The auction starts at 9 pm ET today and closes at 9 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The proceeds will support SAG Foundation's various children's literacy programs, as well as catastrophic health assistance for performers in need.
The winners will be seated close enough to take pictures of and request autographs from the stars walking by. Some of the seats include four front-row seats across from the People platform, two across from the Associated Press platform, and two across from the wall of photographers and fashion cameras.
SAG is also running a Ceremony Auction, scheduled to begin Jan.16. Featured items donated by this year's nominees and presenters include autographed scripts, posters, wardrobe and props. Set visits will be up for bid, as will packages and experiences from sponsors and entertainment media outlets.
Find out more at the SAG Foundation website.


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Sapiens International Corporation, (NASDAQ: SPNS) (TASE: SPNS), a leading global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, hosted its annual North America Customer Summit in Tucson, Arizona on October 23-25, 2023. Attendees included insurance customers, prospects, and partners, with industry-leading experts from Microsoft, Deloitte, Celent, and Datos Insights.
‘Explore the Possibilities’ was the theme of this event, which was designed to inform and inspire conference participants with the latest in technology and innovation from across the industry. Sessions included inspirational keynotes, insightful presentations, and expert panels on industry-critical topics such as generative AI, the case for the cloud, digital transformation, and driving innovation from vision to reality. The conference also gave participants the opportunity to learn about Sapiens’ future roadmaps, R&D, and product development.
Agenda highlights included:
- Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 fighter pilot, U.S. Navy, delivered an inspirational keynote about fearless leadership and how to meet business challenges with an adaptive philosophy.
- Anu Chawla, Senior Director, Microsoft Global Partner Solutions, delivered an industry keynote presentation that explored how AI is transforming the insurance industry.
- Dedicated streams for all lines of business delivered by Sapiens Division Presidents and solution experts covered Sapiens’ latest product developments and future roadmaps.
- Sapiens unveiled Model.AI that incorporates Generative AI to accelerate time to market for decisioning, with the power of Microsoft Azure.
“The annual summit is always an exciting opportunity to connect with our customers, during informative sessions and insightful conversations, for collaborative inspiration and engagement,” said Yaffa Cohen-Ifrah, CMO and Head of Investor Relations at Sapiens. “This year’s event truly exceeded our expectations, with the enthusiasm of our attendees and the invaluable efforts of the Sapiens team.”
“Our annual Customer Summit is a platform for our customers to gain valuable industry insights to drive their innovation journeys,” said Roni Al-Dor, President and CEO, Sapiens. “Our success is tied to the success of our customers, and we are proud to help make a significant difference in their organizations.”
The Partner showcase at the Summit provided 18 key insurtech partners with the opportunity to show how their offerings fit into the Sapiens ecosystem. The showcase included Microsoft, Cincom, Deloitte, InvoiceCloud, Whatfix, Charlee.ai, Datacrest, GhostDraft, Glia, Hi Marley, Infor, Intellagents, LTIMindtree, Milliman, ODG by mcg, One Inc, Paymentus and SmartPay.
Stay Ahead of the Financial Curve with Our Latest Fintech News Updates!


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The European HDG market was stable June 9, with customers now acting more cautiously as prices have now reached their peak, with more buyers are weary of sitting on overpriced stock. Mills were still having production difficulties amid working through large backlogs and contending with imminent maintenance periods, sources told S&P Global Platts.
Automotive manufacturers were heard to be producing less due to the ongoing semiconductor and microchip shortages, with many previously agreed volumes now being allocated to other buyers in desperate need of material. The softening in demand from auto has been welcomed by some, who are now able to receive material for as early as December, compared to the usual Q4 lead times of January 2021.
One German distributor was confident there would be no automotive shutdown, with the semiconductor supply issues expected to be resolved by next year.
“There will still be a need to restock, but the semiconductor issue will be finalized, until next year I don’t think they’ll shut plants down,” the distributor said. “We still see standstills at Ford, Audi for the summer, but we’ve heard the 16 largest producers for cars had the best results ever in the first quarter of 2021, so they’re not suffering.”
The same source stressed that supply shortages were not only evident on coils, but across the entire supply chain, particularly for packaging materials like wood, paper, and plastics.
“We are short on all material, wood, paper for packaging. What’s going to be the situation for the whole supply chain in the second half of the year?” the source said.
Discussions for new procurement were now heard to be going ahead for January-February.
“We have time because tonnage for this year is already booked, and there is no real volume for trading. Everyone is waiting for custom clearances at the port, and we’ll see mills coming out with volume for next year,” the same distributor said.
In Italy, a distributor source added that he was also treading cautiously with original equipment manufacturers due to the incredibly high prices for HDG in Europe.
“It’s just a matter of which level the final OEM is able to except. The price level is so high and there is now a huge gap in prices between the USA and the EU.”
Despite the current slowdown in auto demand, the source said he was certain that producers would return from September onwards with requests, spelling a “good Q4.”
— Amanda Flint


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The new Apple patent concerns a system which scans the user’s face with the front-facing camera of a smartphone, and unlocks the device if the face matches one which is stored in an existing photo. The patent is called “Locking and unlocking a mobile device using facial recognition”.
Automatically unlock your iPhone with your face
The wording of the patent says that existing unlocking methods are “inconvenient and time consuming,” and Apple now has a method for automatically unlocking a device. The system involves “capturing an initial image while the device is locked, monitoring a motion state of the mobile device to determine whether the device is moving or is motionless; analyzing the images to detect a user’s face and unlocking the device.”
Interestingly, an almost identical feature known as “Trusted face” is already available to users of Android Lollipop. Android Ice Cream Sandwich featured Face Unlock, but the later version improved on the feature. Once the screen of an Android device is enabled and the camera is held in front of a user’s face, the screen unlocks automatically.
ValueWalk's Raul Panganiban with Maurits Pot, Founder and CEO of Dawn Global. Before this he was Partner at Kingsway Capital, a frontier market specialist with over 2 billion AUM. In the interview, we discuss his approach to investing and why investors should look into frontier and emerging markets. Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and Read More
The system relies on the user enabling the screen by pressing the power button on the device. Apple’s potential system would instead track the movement of the phone in order to determine whether it is in use or not, without the screen being enabled.
Apple pioneers fully automated unlocking
An Apple user would simply have to move the phone in front of their face for the camera to start scanning, and the phone would only unlock if the angle of the face is the same, or similar to, the one stored on file.
“In one embodiment, the image is analysed for a facial profile of a human face, without regard to a specific user. The predetermined facial profile may be determined from an image that was previously captured by the device’s camera and stored in a storage of images of authorized users,” Apple explained.
It appears that multiple faces could be added to the feature, just as multiple fingerprints can be added to the Apple Touch ID system. Each authorized user could also be associated with a specific profile which allows access to certain apps, allowing for greater parental control, for example.


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Missouri Appellate Court Denies Motions to Review Order Affirming Multi-Billion Talc Verdict
July 31, 2020
ST. LOUIS –– A Missouri appellate court has denied Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.’s motion for rehearing, rejecting the defendants’ efforts to revisit an order affirming a multi-billion talcum powder verdict in part.
According to a July 28 docket entry, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, not only denied the motion for rehearing, but also an application for transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The defendants filed the motion and application on July 8; that same day, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Tort Reform Association, and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and …


text: Victoria Beckham carried her daughter Harper Beckham last night at LAX. The girls arrived back in California following a few days spent in the UK. Harper was able to see her Beckham grandparents while Victoria took care of her fashion business. She was honored at the annual British Style Awards, where she picked up the brand of the year honor. Victoria's husband David, meanwhile, is in Asia, touring with the LA Galaxy. He and the team stopped in Jakarta, and have since moved on for a match in Manila. In a recent interview, David spoke about his and Victoria's new addition. David said Harper's already a mini-fashionista, commenting, "She has so many little dresses! I didn't realize how excited I would get over buying hair bows."


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Kumho looks for buyer of Cooper's stake
A spokesman for Kumho Tire Co. Inc. has confirmed that Kumho is looking for investors to purchase the 10.7% stake that Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. holds in Kumho. Cooper has been a minority shareholder in Kumho since 2005.
"We met with Kumho earlier this year and discussed a proposal to exercise our put option," says a Cooper spokesperson.
"A the point in time in which we decide to formally exercise our put option, we will do so in strict accordance to the time frame established at the time of purchase. We did not agree to delay the completion of the sale until Kumho was able to find new investors."
The spokesperson also says Cooper is not obligated to find a buyer.
In January 2005, it was announced that Cooper had reached an agreement to acquire nearly 11% of Kumho Tire´s common equity.
"This is a wise investment for us as we begin the process of repositioning (Cooper) after the sale of Cooper-Standard Automotive," said Tom Dattilo, Cooper's chairman, CEO and president at the time.
Cooper had recently completed the sale of its Cooper-Standard division for $1.165 billion.
"We believe it is important for Cooper to form strategic relationships with other strong players in the global tire industry to realize a good return for shareholders and continue our planned growth in products, technology and market share."


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Back in 2011, electronic band The Glitch Mob produced a remix of The White Stripes' 2003 classic, "Seven Nation Army." While popular, the remix never saw an official release and thus unfortunately never made it onto streaming services or into fans' personal music collections.
That's all now moot after The Glitch Mob's remix was officially released on streaming services worldwide. The track will also see a release on vinyl, with standard black available for preorder beginning April 23rd, as well as a limited 7" and a special red edition. The pressings will be available at Third Man Records in Nashville, Tennessee and Detroit, Michigan, and select independent record stores in June.
Check out the official remix below.
"Headbanger's Paradise": Excision Announces New Oceanfront Music Festival in Cancún
The inaugural Paradise Blue festival will feature performances by Zomboy, Virtual Riot, 12th Planet, and three sets from Excision himself.
"Rave Horse" Steals the Show at Tokyo Olympics With EDM Dressage Routine
Mopsie the "rave horse" is growing a colt following.
Sovereign Records Drops Dancefloor-Ready "Sovereign Collection Vol.1"
Sovereign Records' latest offering is an inclusive 10-track compilation album.
In tandem with The Glitch Mob's remix, they've teamed up with The White Stripes and Strangeloop Studios to create and exclusive NFT collection. The drop features six unique pieces of art, including a trippy visualizer for the remix and the 7" test pressing of the track. Bidding on the NFT (or non-fungible token) began this week via Nifty Gateway.
Fans who patiently waited a decade for the iconic "Seven Nation Army" remix to be released can now own or stream the track, as well as a true collectible to commemorate its legacy.


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Amazon has temporarily suspended the sale of phones made by Blu from its site after learning of a “potential security issue” involving alleged spyware.
ZDNet reports that the online retailer made the decision following a demonstration at the Black Hat security conference in which security experts from the firm Kryptoware showed that Blu’s devices were transmitting users’ private data without their consent.
Back in November, Kryptoware first alleged that Blu phones contained firmware that transmitted consumers’ personal information without their consent to a Chinese vendor called Shanghai Adups Technology. Both Blu and Adups announced shortly after that they had taken steps to resolve the issue, but researchers showed at the Black Hat conference that phones made by Blu were still transmitting private information and were capable of installing apps, taking screenshots, recording screens, making calls, and wiping devices without users’ permission.
"Because security and privacy of our customers is of the utmost importance, all Blu phone models have been made unavailable for purchase on Amazon.com until the issue is resolved," Amazon said in a statement.
“No wrong doing”
In response to the charges, Blu issued a statement saying that its Adups software was only present on some of its older devices, and that it has switched to Google’s OTA software for its new devices to ensure greater security.
"Blu decided to switch the Adups OTA application on future devices with Google's GOTA. Even though it is Blu's policy to only use GOTA moving forward, some older devices still use Adups OTA," the company said.
Company officials argue further that the information collected by Adups on older phones is in line with information collected by every other smartphone manufacturer around the world, and that there is no privacy issue.


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NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Crunch Franchise is pleased to announce that it has partnered with sports industry veterans BDA Sports Management to exclusively develop and operate Franchise ownership opportunities of health clubs with NBA athletes across the globe. The partnership currently includes franchise locations with BDA Sports clients Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls), Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors), Chase Budinger (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Darren Collison (Sacramento Kings).
The two companies are perfectly aligned to give athletes the ability to focus on physical fitness and provide them with an outlet through business to share a love of fitness and health with others. With only one year since its inception, the joint ventures of BDA Sports clients and Crunch have brought multiple fitness centers to Northern, Central and Southern California and are currently expanding with five locations in Chicago. For BDA Sports, providing this unique opportunity supports diversification in its services and is a benefit for athletes both domestically and globally.
"I've always admired Bill Duffy and his agency for being a bold and passionate leader in the sports industry," said Ben Midgley, CEO of Crunch Franchise. "We're honored to work with BDA Sports and have its athletes join Crunch, as we continue to build the franchise into a global health, wellness and fitness company."
Crunch Fitness, the renowned gym chain, is best known for its "No Judgments" philosophy and for making serious workouts fun through innovative group fitness programming and cutting-edge training offerings. Over the past four years Crunch has opened over 80 new locations and has already grown to have one of the largest membership bases in the global health and fitness industry.
Bill Duffy is the founder and Chairman of BDA Sports Management, a global sports management firm leading in its field. BDA Sports represents more than 40 NBA players, including 28 first-round picks, 15 lottery picks, four number one Draft picks and more than 80 professional basketball players internationally. The firm's representation includes Chinese icon Yao Ming; NBA All-Stars Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo and Joakim Noah; and NBA stars Klay Thompson, Mike Conley, Danny Green and Andrew Wiggins among many others. The agency has negotiated over $3 billion in player and endorsement contracts.
"The unprecedented partnership BDA Sports has cultivated with Ben Midgley and Crunch Franchise offers the company and its clients an opportunity to be innovators in business while positively impacting communities of great importance," said Bill Duffy. "A key area of focus for BDA Sports is the creation of branded opportunities for its clients that not only position them for long-term financial stability, but also secures a legacy that will continue long after playing careers end. The athlete's ability to influence off the court is steadily broadening and we are extremely encouraged by the initial success we've seen with franchise locations for Joakim, Chase, Darren and Klay. As BDA Sports' global influence in the industry grows, we're excited for the continued expansion of the relationship."
Crunch is a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness and entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of No Judgments. Headquartered in New York City, and co-owned by New Evolution Ventures (NeV) and private-equity firm Angelo Gordon, Crunch serves over 450,000 members with over 100 gyms worldwide, including 82 franchise locations in MA, PA, NY, NJ, CT, WA, OR, CA, TX, FL, KY, VA, Puerto Rico and Australia, and is rapidly expanding across the U.S. and around the globe. Go to www.crunch.com for more information.
BDA Sports Management (http://www.bdasports.com/) is one of the most respected sports management firms providing, the highest quality of full service representation, personal attention and guidance to active and retired professional athletes. BDA Sports is committed to helping each client reach their full potential as professional athletes, business people and human beings. Through long-term representation and management, BDA Sports athletes expand upon their popularity and maximize their brand potential both on and off the court. BDA Sports has offices in Walnut Creek, Santa Monica, Chicago, New York, Denver, Portland, Charlotte and BDA International in Redondo Beach.


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Keysound Recordings Announces New Release by Dusk and Kowton
UK imprint Keysound, pegged as one of XLR8R‘s top labels of 2011, will kick off […]
UK imprint Keysound, pegged as one of XLR8R‘s top labels of 2011, will kick off 2012 by releasing a three-song collaborative effort from London-based producer Dusk and Bristol resident Kowton (pictured above). The EP, titled Kowton v Dusk, will contain the song “Fraction” by Dusk, “Looking at You” by Kowton, and a remix of “Fraction” by Kowton. A preview of the short-player, which will see a physical release on January 9, followed by a digital release on January 16, can be streamed below.


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According to Aston Martin’s latest and maddeningly brief press release it looks as though the upcoming 2022 V12 Vantage will be the last one. The entire press release says only: “You’ve heard about it. You will certainly hear it coming. V12 Vantage. It’s not just a Limited Edition, it’s a Final Edition. Returning in 2022.” And that’s it. So is Aston walking away from the Vantage nameplate entirely like Lamborghini is doing with its final Aventador? Or are they keeping the Vantage around, and this will simply be the last one powered by a V12 engine? CLICK HERE to find out!
“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.” —


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DJI has just released its newest handheld gimbal named the Pocket 2. The Pocket 2 will build on the success of DJI’s 2018 pocket camera release and will feature stability and mobility on the same device. With is ability to shoot stable 4K videos at 60 frames per second, as well as 64 megapixel photos. The camera also boasts 140 minutes of battery life, in addition to noise and wind reduction.
The camera also features intelligent modes such as Zoom, Tim Lapse, Active Track, HRD Video and Panorama, making it easier to make content of the highest quality. It also allows for smartphone compatibility so sharing pictures and videos to social media is only a few clicks away.
The DJI Pocket 2 camera and its mini control stick & tripod mount is now available on DJI’s webstore and is selling for $400 USD
Stay in the know with the latest culture news


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Stocks surge on strong profits
Dow rises 146 points
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market got a shot of confidence from the start of second-quarter earnings season.
Investors sent stocks sharply higher Tuesday after better-than-expected profits from aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. and railroad operator CSX Corp. The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 145 points for its sixth straight gain, and the major indexes were up well over 1 percent.
There was more good news from Intel Corp. after the close of trading. The chip maker reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations, and it also raised its forecast for the year. Its stock shot up more than 5 percent in after-hours trades.
The companies, among the first to report second-quarter earnings, also issued upbeat forecasts for the rest of the year. That was heartening news for investors who have been concerned that the recovery was stalling, or that the economy might even fall back into recession.
"When we go back to earnings and fundamentals, companies are delivering," said Tom Karsten, senior managing partner at Karsten Financial in Fort Worth, Texas.
Alcoa's earnings reports are closely watched because its varied customer base provides a snapshot of a broad range of other industries. CSX also provides insight into economic activity because it ships a wide range of products. And Intel's results are considered a good gauge of the health of the economy since its sales are driven by consumers and businesses buying computers.
Alcoa said global consumption of aluminum will grow this year by more than it had forecast just three months ago. There have been concerns that the global economic recovery will end as many European nations face mounting government debt problems and high unemployment slows growth in the U.S.
CSX, meanwhile, said it sees its the economy's upward momentum continuing this year.
Frank Ingarra, co-portfolio manager of Hennessy Funds in Stamford, Conn., said the results from Alcoa and CSX results lifted the market because they hit on the two themes that traders are looking for in earnings: revenue growth and optimistic outlooks.
"That's why the earnings were so good," Ingarra said. "You saw that top-line growth and good guidance."
Intel's report followed that pattern.
During the recession, companies that made money often did so by cutting costs rather than bringing in sales. So sales growth is a sign that business is indeed picking up.
Earnings will likely continue to dictate trading over the next few weeks as hundreds of companies release results. Major banks begin reporting their results on Thursday.
The Dow rose 146.75, or 1.4 percent, to 10,363.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16.59, or 1.5 percent, to 1,095.34, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 43.67, or 2 percent, to 2,242.03.
Only 376 stocks fell on the New York Stock Exchange while 2,669 rose. Volume came to 1.13 billion shares.
Alcoa rose 13 cents to $11. CSX fell 74 cents to $51.72 after rising earlier in the day. Intel shares rose 44 cents to $21.01 but rose to $22.15 in after-hours trading.
One company whose shares struggled despite the broad gains Tuesday was Apple Inc. The stock dropped $5.49, or 2.1 percent, to $251.80 a day after Consumer Reports said it would not recommend buying the company's new iPhone because of its antenna design.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the U.S. trade deficit increased to its widest level in 18 months as an increase in exports was outpaced by rising imports. A jump in both imports and exports is a sign that the economy is growing.
Stocks had sold off in May and June because of worries that the economy was slowing. Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City, said investors were selling as they tried to predict how much a slowdown in the economy would affect earnings. However, Courtney said, the sell-off went too far, which has helped the market in recent days.
"Generally the market overreacts," he said.
Many analysts had predicted that strong second-quarter earnings reports would lift the market.
Bond prices dipped as investors taking more chances on stocks retreated from the safety of government debt. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 3.12 percent from 3.07 percent late Monday. Its yield helps set interest rates on consumer loans and mortgages.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 21.21, or 3.4 percent, to 642.82
European markets rose following the earnings reports from Alcoa and CSX. Investors there brushed off a credit rating downgrade to Portugal's debt.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 2 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1.9 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.1 percent.


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On Monday morning, a thief broke into a Green Bay-based game store, Frost Giant Games, and stole some sealed Magic: The Gathering cards.
WeAreGreenBay.com reports that store owner Anthony Folk said that the break-in took place on August 2 around 8:30 a.m. According to Folk, another store owner from the same shopping plaza heard the suspect’s noise, so he went to investigate.
The suspect ran away after he noticed that the other store owner saw them.
Due to their knowledge of the building’s layout, the suspect is thought to have been in the store prior to the break-in, the report says.
The thief stole boxes of Magic: The Gathering, according to Folk, but the owner didn’t specify the names of the products.
Of course, this isn’t the first time in recent years that a burglar stole Magic: The Gathering cards from a local game store. Last year, Epicstream reported about a Minnesota-based game store that had Magic and Pokemon TCG cards stolen.
How local game stores can protect their valuables
Long-time Magic: The Gathering collector Anthony Avitollo shared some advice for local game stores and collectors to protect their valuables:
1) Buy a gun non-transportable safe resistant from fire and water damage
2) Don’t leave your cards in a car, not even in the trunk.
3) Document every MTG purchases, keep track of your buy history, take screenshots of online purchases. Online inventory is not enough.
4) Take photos of your collections.
If you have any information about the suspect in the photos shared by WeAreGreenBay, you can contact Ashwaubenon Public Safety at 920-492-2995.


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Back in February Garmin-Asus announced the Nuvifone M10, a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 smartphone slated to hit stores in Europe and Asia sometime in 1H 2010. The companies have marketed the device toward those looking to achieve the perfect work-life balance all while navigating those unexpected turns that seem to come out of nowhere. Today, Euro-Asians should be happy to know that the Nuvifone M10 has passed the FCC's testing requirements and is that much closer to being available in retail stores.
A general practice among companies, when submitting devices to the FCC, is requesting certain items to remain confidential until the product gets closer to launch, or actually launches. This usually includes pictures, manuals, and test setup photos among other things. However, in the case of the Nuvifone M10, all these items have been made available to the public and you can access them by following the source link.
Here is a list of some specs that may interest you:
The Nuvifone is a GSM device with HSDPA 7.2Mbps, UMTS 900/2100, EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900, which means calls can be made on either T-Mobile or AT&T's network, but data will be unavailable in the US. Any European or Asian readers looking forward to this device? Let us know in the comments!


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Report: Variable Pricing Digital Music Deal Almost Fell Through
February 3, 2009 at 2:25 PM (PT)
The recent deal between APPLE and the major labels, where APPLE agreed to variable pricing on music sold online, while the labels agreed to provide DRM-free music, almost fell through over the year-end holidays. A NEW YORK TIMES report cited a particularly heated conversation between APPLE Chairman/CEO STEVE JOBS and SONY MUSIC Chairman ROLF SCHMIDT-HOLTZ that almost led to the dissolution of the agreement.
Reportedly, APPLE first offered to negotiate variable pricing about a year ago, provided that labels drop DRM copyright protections and agree to license songs for wireless downloads on the iPHONE. Although cell phone music downloading generated $70 million in sales compared to web-store business of $1.5 billion, most industry observers believe cell phone music sales will become the next major retail force.
Sources told the NY TIMES that only SONY MUSIC wouldn't agreed to the deal. SCHMIDT-HOLTZ wanted the pricing as soon as the deal is publicly announced, but JOBS wanted a longer time horizon. That led to what one described as "a heated exchange by phone on CHRISTMAS EVE." Eventually, considering APPLE's dominating presence in digital retail, SONY gave in and agreed to a longer waiting period.


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New Zealand will keep its borders closed to most international travellers for a further five months, the government said, outlining a cautious easing of coronavirus border curbs that have been in place for nearly two years. Along with its geographic isolation, the country enforced some of the tightest pandemic... read full story
Photo: A family ride scooters as they travel along a popular boardwalk overlooking the Opera House in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, April 6, 2021. New Zealand announced a long-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand that will allow people to travel between the two countries without going through quarantine, allowing families to reunite and giving a big boost to the struggling tourism industry will begin April 19.
Tourism New Zealand
Tourism New Zealand is the national institution tasked with promoting New Zealand as a tourism destination internationally. It is the trading name of the New Zealand Tourism Board, a Crown entity established under the New Zealand Tourism Board Act 1991. It is the marketing agency for New Zealand, while the New Zealand Ministry of Tourism is the government department tasked with policy and research.
New Zealand was the first country to dedicate a government department to tourism, when in 1901, the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts came into being. Through most of the 20th century, its role was tactical - it ran hotels and put together itineraries around New Zealand as well as advertising. After reorganisation and the selling off of assets in the late 1980s, the organisation, as Tourism New Zealand, now focuses on marketing of New Zealand.
Its main marketing tool is the award-winning "100% Pure New Zealand" campaign, which had its ten year anniversary in 2009. The campaign uses advertising, events, the internet and work with international trade and media to get the 100% Pure NZ message across to potential visitors.read more ...


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New NZ beer ad campaign wins medals at Cannes
A New Zealand beer brand has won silver and bronze medals at the 2012 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which went from 17–23 June in Cannes, France.
DB’s advertising campaign, “The Wine is Over”, marketed their Export Dry product as New Zealand’s first premium dry beer, launched in 1987. The campaign noted that the brand had become just one of many over the years, but emphasised that it was the first beer to “save men from wine”.
The campaign appears to have been based on market research showing that DB Export Dry’s target market, mainly young men, generally didn’t like wine, but sometimes felt that certain social situations required them to drink it. For instance, the need to appear sophisticated at weddings, work functions and restaurants encouraged the target market to drink wine, rather than uncouth beer.
The DB campaign accordingly took the angle that Export Dry was a premium beer that men could drink comfortably on any occasion, without appearing unsophisticated. It included a television commercial, titled “The Great Wine Depression”, and print and online advertising. As part of the campaign, DB even released a special-edition wine that, when purchased, gave consumers a $5 discount on Export Dry beer.


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Our first look at the user interface that will be powering the Samsung Galaxy S10.
The much-expected Samsung Galaxy S10 is still not officially confirmed (let’s face it, it’s pretty much guranteed there will be one this year), but that hasn’t stopped the internet piecing together the nuggets of information that have been gradually appearing.
We now know that the new user interface will be known as One UI. In a recently released video, Samsung show off the system that you’ll be experiencing on the their latest phones this year, including the S10. The new UI will also be made available to Samsung Galaxy S9, S9 Plus, Note 9 and Note 8 users this year, possibly around February 2019.
The video is a sneak preview so it doesn’t go into lots of detail (that’ll likely be saved for the Samsung S10 keynote when it gets announced) but their are a few interesting upgrades and new features that can be spotted.
Physical design echoed in software
What does this mean? Well, the glowing red light around the edge of the device looks like we may see a notification light on the phone, perhaps around the entire phone? This could be used for notfications from compatible apps such as Messages.
Focus on the task at hand
From the brief shots of the menu in the video, it looks like One UI will give the menu a new minimilist design facelift with large, rounded menu icons for your apps.
See only what you need
The shot of the phone keypad screen shows a minimal design using icons instead of text. Either some of these text menu options are being removed altogether, or disappear when not in use so you can focus on the task at hand.
A new and improved search function? That’s what appears to be in the video. Something simialr to Apple’s Spotlight search feature would be welcomed to help us find the apps and important files on our phone.
Be visibly comfortable
A new night-mode option darkens the screen when you’re using your smartphone in low light. The options for this show that it can be scheduled to enable at specific times – handy for evenings when you want to reduce the bright white light of the screen.
Samsung’s One UI has already been released as a beta for developers so we know they’ll have been working away on it for the last few months. We’ll likely get a full tour of the new interface at the Samsung Galaxy S10 launch event and we’ll have all the latest Samsung S10 and One UI news here at Direct Mobiles.
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RJ Palermo has joined Innovative Publishing Co. (IPC) as Director of Sales – Events. In this newly created position at IPC, RJ will be managing the business development activities of the company’s food safety medical device and cannabis industries, working on both conference sponsorships and booth sales.
RJ will work side by side with Marc Spector, Director of Sales – Publishing. Marc had been responsible for all events and publishing sales, as well as for the year-after-year growth in these areas. The addition of RJ to the IPC team will support the company’s growth in sponsorship and exhibit sales, and allows Marc to continue supporting growth in digital advertising sales across all three of IPC’s digital publications, Food Safety Tech, MedTech Intelligence and Cannabis Industry Journal.
For many of IPC’s customers who leverage IPC’s unique position of conference sponsorships and digital advertising, they will be serviced in tandem by Marc and RJ.
“We saw a 25% growth in total revenue in 2017 and see tremendous growth potential in the three industries that we serve. Bringing RJ onto the team provides us the bandwidth to capitalize on the opportunities facing us,” said Rick Biros, president and co-founder of IPC. “Plus, RJ’s years of B2B conference and trade show management experience complements the IPC team’s current skill sets.”
RJ has more than 20 years of media, conference and agency experience. He was most recently a biopharmaceutical equipment contributor for the Pharma’s Almanac publication, and delivered several branding and research projects for pharmaceutical and medical device contract manufacturers. For 17 years RJ served as vice president of Interphex, the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing event in North America and was a key contributor of a successful launch of Medical Device Puerto Rico, which created the largest life sciences event in the Caribbean. RJ is an avid NY sports fan, and enjoys working out and spending time with his family and friends. RJ is married to his wife Beth, has a daughter Nora and dog Beau, and resides in Norwalk, CT.


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- Emmy Rossum was seen strolling down the games aisle at the West Hollywood Target picking up her favorite Hasbro games, including Taboo. Emmy will be packing up the games for her New Year's trip to the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan, where she plans on hosting her own pre-show game night before heading to the star-studded Jay-Z and Coldplay concert.
- Cindy Crawford picking up a 1 Sol Swimwear bikini at Canyon Beachwear in Santa Monica.
- Golden Globe nominee, Julianna Margulies and actress Kim Raver were spotted holiday shopping at the Fiorentini + Baker pop up store in SoHo this week. While Margulies also did some personal shopping –buying a pair of mid calf boots - and hung out with designer Deborah Baker, Raver and husband were seen leaving the store with many boxes of boots.
- Last Wednesday at Terminal 5 in New York City, BroBible's Winter Elixir Concert presented by the Makers of Tanqueray Gin set off the holiday season with crowd-pleasing performances by Big Boi, The Knocks, LA Riots and Dave 1 of Chromeo.
- Lakers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol were spotting getting their sushi roll on pre and post game at Haru Philly last week. The teammates were sighted at the Haru once earlier in the week and again on Friday after the game.
- Expectant parents, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem spotted shopping at renowned apothecary, Santa Maria Novella in Los Angeles on December 24.
- Soccer player, Carlos Bocanegra and his girlfriend wearing Sportiqe Apparel at the Lakers game over the holiday weekend.
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- After performing at his sold out show in Boston on Tuesday, Usher packed up his OMG Tour crew for an after party at Boston's largest nightclub, Royale. The guest of honor descended onto the stage of Royale to welcome his 700 screaming fans. Bottles of Dom Perignon and Remy Martin where served by their private waitress in VIP area who was dressed in deep red, the color of Remy Martin, as requested by Mr. OMG.


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TEL AVIV, Israel, July 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Following years of serving the Asian markets' biggest mobile companies, AreaOne now becomes the first Facebook Marketing Partner to open offices in Beijing, China. "As one of the most important markets for AreaOne, opening a branch in China was a natural strategic next step for us," explains Alon Michaeli, AreaOne CEO.
The company's Beijing team will be led by Xiaoyun Wu, Head of Sales and Operations, APAC, who has been a central member of the AreaOne team for more than three years, and is behind the rapid growth the company has experienced in the region. "From Beijing we are now positioned to provide the most tailored marketing technology solutions and service for our Asian clients on Facebook® and across the mobile marketing ecosystem through the programmatic A1 Platform," she stated.
In the region, AreaOne currently serves a diverse client base including Baidu, IGG, ChangYou, Boyaa Interactive and NetEase among many others. The new branch will be focused on assisting companies in China and Asia in identifying and acquiring their mobile user bases globally, across the world's leading channels.
AreaOne, founded in 2011, is a performance marketing technology company dedicated to helping leading advertisers drive discovery, engagement, purchases and preference for apps, brands and products. AreaOne offers both fully-managed and self-service mobile marketing solutions to their clients through the proprietary technology of the A1 Platform, which includes state-of-the-art programmatic optimization algorithms that consider past, real-time and predicted future outcomes of mobile campaigns to automatically guide advertising to meet each client's unique goals.
AreaOne's new offices are located in Beijing's tech-driven Wangjing district, and the company is now actively hiring for its growing local presence.
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
Founded in 2011 to leverage the tectonic shift taking place in the advertising technology landscape, we've built a comprehensive programmatic platform to meet the emerging needs of data driven performance marketers.
Across the US, Europe and Asia, our people and cutting edge technology platform delivers outstanding business results across social and mobile channels, leveraging human creativity and intelligence, enhanced by algorithmic speed, precision and scale.
AreaOne. Advertising. Optimized.
Contact: Leah Na'aman
+972 (3) 541-1316


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Oxford, 27 August, 2018
Ethex, which alongside leading crowdfunding platform Lendahand has launched Energise Africa, an initiative which provides working capital to solar businesses, is joining the Prime Minister on her first visit to the continent this week.
29 senior business leaders from across the country will be representing the very best of British business in technology, infrastructure and financial and professional services.
Ethex, which alongside leading crowdfunding platform Lendahand has launched Energise Africa, an initiative which provides working capital to solar businesses, will be travelling alongside the Prime Minister. Visiting South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya over the course of the trip, they will meet with leading businesses, policy makers and entrepreneurs in order to build new investment, trading and export ties between the UK and these emerging markets.
Energise Africa’s aim is to provide clean electricity to more than 110,000 households in Sub Saharan Africa by 2021, working with solar companies to launch affordable monthly payment plans for customers.
Prime Minister Theresa May said:
“Ethex is a fantastic example of how innovative thinking from UK companies is driving real change across the globe, and the success of their partnerships with solar businesses operating in Africa is proof of the wealth of opportunities open to UK firms across the continent.
I’m delighted that Ethex is joining me on this visit, where they will help showcase the UK’s expertise in financial services and technology, and that we are ready to build new relationships with ground-breaking companies in these emerging markets.”
Ethex CEO Lisa Ashford said:
“It’s fantastic that Oxford based Ethex has the opportunity to showcase some of the innovative work we are doing with Lendahand to promote social investing in the UK. Our research clearly shows that 19.5 million people in the UK want to save or invest their money in a way that creates a positive impact, but traditional financial companies just aren’t offering customers these kind of opportunities.
Energise Africa is an initiative that has been jointly developed by Ethex and Lendahand, with support from UK aid to meet this precise need. We’re demonstrating that people can invest in sustainable solar companies from as little as £50, providing these businesses with the low cost finance to purchase and install the solar home systems, and enabling African families to pay back the cost of the system via affordable monthly payment plans.
These solar investments target annual returns of around 6% a year and so far we’ve raised £4.8 million from over 1000 investors, helping 195,000 people access clean energy – that’s definitely a lot of money doing good.”
The trip will allow Ethex to meet with leading policy experts, solar companies and financial institutions to explore how growth in off-grid solar technology can be supported further.
Africa is developing fast; more than half of the anticipated growth in global population between now and 2050 is expected to occur in Africa, and according to the International Monetary Fund, African economies are amongst the fastest growing in the world, making it a significant trading and investment partner for the UK.
During the visit, the Prime Minister will set out how new partnerships between the UK and Africa can add value to the UK economy, create new market opportunities for British businesses, and boost jobs and prosperity for the benefit of all.


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Criminals targeted Christmas Eve and shipping cutoff days for delivery by Christmas for fraudulent purchasing, a new study finds.
Hey, it helped put Domino's Pizza on the map. MuseumCompany.com, an Internet store offering reproductions, inspirations and gift items from museums, is hoping for similar results. For all in-stock merchandise, MuseumCompany.com is providing a money-back guarantee on delivery time. Gift orders placed as late as 2 p.m. eastern time on Dec. 20 will be picked, packed, wrapped and sent to the shipper for express mail delivery in time to reach customers in the contiguous United States by Dec. 25. With the guarantee, MuseumCompany.com will refund the total purchase price of the product if the order is not delivered to the shipper on time to meet their holiday schedule deadlines. This is a staggered guarantee depending on the delivery method selected, with the last option being USPS Express Mail or UPS Next Day Air service on Dec. 20, 2000. Last season, 14% of holiday orders were delivered late and an additional 6% of orders did not arrive at all, according to Resource Marketing, a research firm. "In our first year as an e-tailer, we made e-commerce fulfillment our top priority," said Dean Johnson, MuseumCompany.com CEO and president. "We teamed with SubmitOrder to make certain that our normal and peak holiday fulfillment requirements would be met." Through a hot link on the shipment confirmation email, customers can track the status of their purchases simply by inputting the tracking number. The tracking number is included in every customer confirmation email.


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RightScale is adding OpenStack and SoftLayer to the list of cloud services that can be managed from its RightScale Cloud Management Platform.
An investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission has been expanded to include Computer Sciences Corp.'s business in Australia, the company said on Wednesday.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged a £1.37 billion (US$2.2 billion) business process outsourcing order from Friends Life, a provider of pensions, investments, and insurance, it said in a filing to Indian stock exchanges.
The U.S. Air Force is close to making decisions on the future of a sprawling Oracle ERP (enterprise-resource-planning) project that is supposed to remake the military branch's worldwide supply chain, according to a recently released document.
IBM has elected Virginia Rometty as president and chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, replacing Sam Palmisano, who will retain the chairman's role.
Equinix has launched an online marketplace for its data center customers, to make it easier for them to buy and sell network, managed hosting and other services among themselves.
Criminals are embracing methods to trap debit and credit cards in ATMs for retrieval later, a move believed to be motivated by better security measures designed to ensure card details are not copied at the machines, according to an industry group.
CSC's Chairman and CEO, Michael W. Laphen, plans to retire from his position no later than a year from now, the company announced on Tuesday.
India's largest outsourcer, Tata Consultancy Services, reported on Monday strong revenue and profit growth in the quarter ended Sept. 30, despite difficult economic conditions in some of its key markets in the U.S. and Europe.
Strong results for tech companies, especially Google, and an easing of concerns about the economy boosted confidence in the computer sector, as markets closed Friday on a positive note.
Dell is expanding its China services business one step at a time as it tries to overcome quirks associated with running a business in that market, a company executive said on Friday.
India's second-largest outsourcer, Infosys, reported strong revenue and profit growth for the quarter ended Sept. 30, despite concerns about economic problems in its key markets in the U.S. and Europe.
Salesforce.com chairman and CEO, Marc Benioff will on Wednesday speak at a local restaurant in San Francisco, after his keynote at Oracle OpenWorld 2011 was cancelled by Oracle.
One thing became clear at Oracle's OpenWorld conference on Monday: The vendor is intent on drilling the benefits of its hardware-plus-software systems into a customer base that largely remains invested only in Oracle's applications, databases and mid...
French operator Orange has expanded its cloud computing portfolio with Flexible SSL, a remote access service that allows users to connect with enterprise resources securely, it said on Monday.
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,13th April 2022
In a decade packed with seemingly once-in-a-generation events, inflation has still managed to make news headlines in recent months, reaching levels not seen in the UK for 30 years. While initial economic forecasts of 2022 predicted inflation would peak at 6% in the first part of the year, prices continue to run hot, with economists (at the time of writing) forecasting inflation to reach 7.25% by April before levelling off.
Inflation is likely to continue to have an impact on financial institutions throughout the remainder of 2022. It’s among our clients’ top-three concerns this year. As prices have risen on everything ranging from energy to mortgages – and interest rates have begun to increase after a prolonged period of inexpensive borrowing – we can expect some twists and turns ahead as efforts to stifle inflation continue. Meanwhile, there will be a range of effects for financial institutions.
From a risk perspective, the effects for insurance companies could be very broad and varied. The cost of handling claims will increase, but asset managers tend to do quite well during periods of inflation. However, those with fixed income portfolios tend to be negatively affected. As interest rates go up, older bonds become less valuable than new ones on offer. This has led to the worst quarter in the last half century for the US Government bond market, with a large selloff of bonds seen owing to the diminished value of those pre-existing bonds in circulation.
For banks, inflation can have a negative impact on credit quality. High numbers of tracker mortgages can impact affordability for borrowers (i.e. as interest rates go up, so do borrowers’ monthly payments), ultimately impacting the banks’ non-performing loan portfolio, and stifling loan growth as the cost of borrowing increases for customers. In addition, inflation is likely to impact the cost of banks’ funds, increasing the cost of wholesale funding or of paying depositors. Savings interest rates will ultimately increase, which will put pressure on profit margins. At a time when costs are increasing and borrowing is becoming more expensive than it was, consumers may also be more likely to turn down an offer of increased borrowing – or restrict spending on credit cards – which will impact banks in turn.
It could make for a bumpy 2022. The increase in inflation has been exacerbated by supply chain issues and those challenges are continuing in the wider economy. We’re still feeling the effects of the calamity in the Suez Canal last year, as well as of pandemic lockdowns. More recently, commodities’ prices have shot up, causing energy bills for businesses and consumers alike to skyrocket, meaning surplus capital and disposal income for these respective groups have lessened. These events have created somewhat of a ‘perfect storm’ leaving many businesses struggling with supply-chain woes and, in turn, an increased likelihood of cash-flow problems and the potential rise of insolvencies.
Insolvencies, which have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic, could then have a knock-on effect on insurance claims. The current environment could cause businesses to become stressed, load themselves up with debt, leverage government support and file for extensions with Companies House. And this, unfortunately, is only likely to delay the inevitable. As government support is withdrawn, cash runways for many businesses will be diminished, leading to more insolvencies through the remainder of the year.