text:
NEW YORK Feb. 21, 2024 – New research from the Paze Pulse◊ Report, by Early Warning Services, LLC, revealed that over the past year, 71% of online shoppers have abandoned their online shopping carts. While an overly complicated checkout process and security concerns were among the top reasons for cart abandonment cited in the inaugural “Paze Pulse◊ Report: Consumer Online Shopping Preferences,” 72% of consumers surveyed report they highly value digital payment tools like digital wallets, to make online checkout easy.
"The road to better online checkouts is improved with features that expedite and simplify the process,” said James Anderson, managing director of Paze. “In today's challenging e-commerce landscape, the findings from our ‘Paze Pulse◊ Report: Consumer Online Shopping Preferences’ research emphasize the need for secure and convenient ways to make purchases online. This research indicates strong consumer interest in using an online checkout solution, offered by banks and credit unions, and validates our direction with Paze as we prepare for its general availability this year."
The research revealed four key trends regarding consumer preferences and use of online digital payments.
Consumers have an appetite for a financial institution-backed digital wallet:
- There is a notable receptivity to bank-offered digital wallets, particularly among frequent digital wallet users. In fact, almost half of shoppers (44%) would use a digital wallet provided by their bank over guest checkout if given the option.
- Further, respondents consider their banks to be more secure than third-party providers, as 82% of consumers report trusting their bank’s safety and security more than third-party payment options.
- Fifty-eight percent of digital wallet users said they would switch to a bank- or credit union-offered digital payment tool if their financial institution kept their card information updated.
Digital wallet setup presents a hurdle for consumer use:
- The findings suggest an opportunity exists for preloaded digital wallets, as nearly half (41%) of shoppers report they would use a digital payment tool if it was set up already, but they revert to guest checkout because it seems easier.
- A similar percentage of “frequent” digital wallet users (43%) and non-digital or infrequent digital wallet users (39%) report the same.
Security and convenience are driving factors for payment choice:
- Consumers prioritize security and convenience when making online purchases, influencing their choice of payment method. Sixty-seven percent of consumers list a secure checkout process as one of the top three most important factors they look for when shopping online.
- While some favor the ease of digital wallets, others opt for guest checkout due to concerns about security or the perceived complexity of setup. Among users of digital wallets, 85% assume their digital wallets are safe, a slightly higher percentage than the number of consumers that perceive manually entering payment information (guest checkout) is safe (79%) and those that perceive using an app from a retailer or business is safe (75%).
Shoppers use a variety of digital payment methods:
- Online shoppers use a variety of digital payment tools for their online purchases, with 91% of consumers reporting frequent use of digital payments for checkout, like keeping their card information stored with a merchant, within a web browser or using a digital wallet.
- Sixty-four percent of consumers value shopping online with merchants that offer multiple ways to pay.
- However, a significant number of shoppers still opt to manually input their payment information at checkout, with 75% of respondents frequently manually entering card information at online checkout, which can be a time-consuming and error-prone process.
To download the findings from the “Paze Pulse◊ Report: Consumer Online Shopping Preferences,” visit www.paze.com/pazepulsereport.
About the “Paze Pulse◊ Report: Consumer Online Shopping Preferences” Research
For the inaugural survey, Early Warning Services, LLC, the operator of Paze, worked with Murphy Research to survey a diverse group of 1,000 online shoppers in the U.S., capturing their opinions and behaviors in Q4 2023. The online survey targeted respondents aged 18 and above who make at least two online purchases per month. To ensure a comprehensive understanding, participants who exclusively shop at major online marketplaces like Amazon have been excluded.
Paze is a reimagined online checkout solution that participating banks and credit unions offer to consumers and merchants, combining all eligible debit and credit cards into a single wallet and eliminating manual card entry. Solving long-standing challenges in e-commerce, Paze provides an easy experience consumers and merchants can trust. At general availability, more than 150 million debit and credit cards will be available to consumers for making online purchases. To learn more about Paze, visit www.paze.com. Paze is operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, an innovator in payment and risk management solutions.
Paze and the Paze marks are property of Early Warning Services, LLC.


text:
Online shoppers and Ebay fans are no stranger to PayPal Credit, a lending program that offers buyers six- to 12-month interest-free payment plans to finance impulsive purchases. But the service will soon have a new owner.
PayPal announced yesterday that it will sell its U.S. consumer credit business to Synchrony Financial, a former lending unit of GE Capital, for $6.8 billion. Synchrony will take over PayPal’s U.S. consumer credit portfolio for the next 10 years.
Nine years after the program’s inception, PayPal decided that consumer lending is too costly and risky a business to pursue. Executives said the massive capital tied in issued loans could be better used in other investments.
“We are not a credit company,” John Rainey, PayPal’s chief financial officer, said in yesterday’s investor call. “The capital-intensive nature of credit [business] cannibalizes other higher-return investment opportunities.”
The spinoff is expected to free up $1 billion annually for PayPal to pursue other investment opportunities. Without the impact of credit cycle swings, PayPal will also likely have a more consistent earnings stream.
“While this is a very good business, this is also a very capital-intensive one,” Rainey said. The U.S. consumer lending business is estimated to bring in $1 billion of revenue in current fiscal year, but historically, PayPal has spent 40 to 50 percent of its annual cash flow to fund the operation.
Consumers won’t feel any immediate impact of PayPal’s spinoff. PayPal will remain the brand of the credit business, and Synchrony will be the issuer of credit and collector of interests for U.S. consumers.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, pending regulatory approval.

domain: news


text:
From a fanny pack used to cheat in a wing-eating contest to a video game that simulates putting together IKEA furniture, here’s this week’s five crazy headlines!
Having used the 1990s Chevy van for over a decade, New Mexico resident Melodie Peil was shocked to discover 13 pounds of pot stashed inside the passenger door.
Peil didn’t discover the drugs until a friend disassembled the door with the intention of fixing the lock. Police believe it belonged to the previous owner.
Surprisingly, the van passed through border patrol checkpoints at least 10 times since Peil bought it in the early 2000s.
Source: KPTV Oregon
A new study in Madison, Wisconsin, tested preschoolers who received lessons in kindness and social interaction.
“Learning their ABCs” meant the toddlers grasped the fundamentals of attention, breath and body and caring practice. Preliminary results suggest kids who participated in the study fared better in school.
It turns out learning how to share is more important than most thought.
Mick Foley was ejected from a wing-eating contest in Philadelphia after he was caught stuffing wings into a fanny pack instead of eating them.
Foley took it in stride, sarcastically claiming on Twitter the loss has shattered his legacy. He even Tweeted before the contest that he would cheat.
Source: Washington Post
The company American Green will debut the first marijuana vending machine, which will sell various marijuana products, in early February.
The vending machine will be climate controlled and will feature an ID scanner to verify buyers’ ages before they can buy the product.
Source: KBOI-TV Idaho
Some of the most acclaimed video games let players do virtually anything. The makers of Höme Improvisåtion are pushing the limits of the genre, letting players put together their own IKEA-style furniture.
The game presents players with endless flat boxes filled with furniture for their virtual home with some assembly required.
Höme Improvisåtion is free for Mac and PC users on the developer’s website and was designed by a team of four in 48 hours.


text:
- Empowering App Innovators and Consultants to Drive Customer Success in New Ways. New platform capabilities and technology tools enable partners to build intelligent apps, components and more—at lightning speed
- With Security Review FastTrack and expanded roadmap reviews, partners can move from idea to app in record time
- New Trailhead badges and advanced certifications showcase partners’ skills and make it easier for them to tap into the $386 billion ‘Salesforce Economy’
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and world’s #1 CRM company, announced new enhancements to the world’s largest “born in the cloud” partner program—including new technology benefits, enablement programs, marketing support and learning opportunities—to empower partners to drive customer success faster than ever before.
Salesforce partners achieved strong momentum this year, driven by thousands of customers deploying cloud solutions to digitally transform their businesses. In fact, IDC now predicts that Salesforce and its customers and partners will create nearly 1.9 million new jobs and more than $389 billion in new GDP impact worldwide by 2020.1 And, in new data presented at Dreamforce, IDC revealed Salesforce partners report average year-over-year revenue growth of 48 percent, using the Salesforce Platform, Salesforce AppExchange and Salesforce Partner Program to lower barriers to development, increase their market reach and grow their businesses.2
As Salesforce’s ecosystem rapidly grows and evolves, the company unveiled several enhancements to the Salesforce Partner Program.
To read the full story click on this link: Salesforce Press Release


text:
Asia is projected to remain the top destination for Iran’s petrochemical exports in the next 10 years. In a bid to boost Asian markets that account for almost 75% of Iran’s petrochemical exports, the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) plans to set up representative offices in Pakistan and Turkey. Upon completion of new production capacities, exports of petrochemicals to Europe would be possible that
Iran's petrochemical exports will reach US$1.8 bln by March 2005, and petrochemical production capacity will reach 15 mln tons by March 2006.
Plans are underway to get the domestic market more structured. Currently, petrochemical products are marketed at 5 different rates in domestic markets creating a black market and inflicting losses to the petrochemical industry.


text:
Acorn TV, priced at $4.99 per month, offers access to more than 1,800 hours of programming. That includes about 60 exclusively licensed series such as “Agatha Christie’s Poirot” (pictured above), which originally aired on the U.K.’s ITV.
The niche SVOD service teamed with over-the-top provider Qello, which operates a streaming service with a collection of concerts and music documentaries, to develop Acorn TV’s app for the fourth-generation Apple TV. In addition, Qello created an updated iOS app for Acorn TV that delivers in-app purchasing and improved support for streaming to older Apple TVs via AirPlay. (Purchased through Apple’s App Store, Acorn TV is $6.99 per month.)
“We’re excited for the millions of Apple TV owners to now have easy access to the deep library of curated, high-quality international programs on Acorn TV,” Acorn TV G.M. Matthew Graham said.
Acorn TV, launched in 2011, also is available on Roku devices, Samsung Smart TVs and the web. The service’s lineup includes the exclusive U.S. premieres of Agatha Christie’s “Partners in Crime” from the BBC; season seven of British dramedy “Doc Martin” starring Martin Clunes; British thriller “Black Work”; Australian period drama “A Place to Call Home”; Brit supernatural miniseries “The Midwinter of the Spirit”; and “Dominion Creek,” about three Irish brothers in the Wild West.
RLJ Entertainment also owns all rights to mystery series “Foyle’s War,” and a majority share in Agatha Christie Ltd., which manages the writer’s literary works including characters Hercule Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence, and Miss Marple.


text:
Apple TV is now available on Sony's PS4 and newly launched PS5 games consoles. The app gives PlayStation users the ability to watch Apple TV+, rent or buy movies in 4K HDR, and access past Apple purchases.
Back in October, Sony promised gamers that the PS5 would launch with the likes of Apple TV+, Netflix, Disney Plus and Spotify on day one. And as far as we can tell, everything seems to be working correctly – including support for Apple TV+, Apple's subscription service to rival the likes of Netflix.
The Apple TV app also grants PlayStation users access to the biggest collection of 4K HDR films and TV show rentals. Most of them are available in Dolby Vision HDR, but sadly the PS5 only supports HDR10 at the minute. Sony hasn't ruled out support for Dolby Vision in the future, mind.
The PS5 isn't the only next-gen console to launch with Apple TV, though. Microsoft has confirmed that its Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will feature Apple TV – and will support Dolby Vision support sometime in 2021.
The move is a major expansion for Apple's streaming platform. It means Apple TV is now available on both next-gen consoles in addition to the latest LG, Samsung and Sony smart TVs, most Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, plus iPhones, iPads, Macs and the Apple TV 4K box.
PS4 and PS5 users should be able to download the Apple TV app from today. Still trying to get your hands on a PS5? Check out our best PS5 deals page.
Read our Apple TV+ review
Browse our list of the best streaming services for TV and movies
Find out which devices support Apple TV


text:
At MWC in Barcelona today, AT&T announced that it will offer 4G LTE data roaming(Opens in a new window) in 13 more countries, including the trade show's host country of Spain.
AT&T launched LTE data roaming in Canada and the U.K. in December, and it will now be available in Spain, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Guam, Hong Kong, and Antigua, and Barbuda.
"AT&T is committed to providing its customers a wider global footprint to enjoy LTE data speeds," the company said in a news release, which said AT&T has agreements for LTE roaming in more than 200 countries.
A new AT&T International Travel app, meanwhile, will make it easier to monitor wireless use while abroad. It's available now for iOS and Android, and displays info like current international roaming packages, estimated data and messaging usage, and alerts about impending data caps. It also includes FAQs about international roaming, as well as one-click calling to AT&T's customer service.
Gearing up for an end-of-winter cruise to Australia or a weekend getaway in Paris? Download the free app now in the Apple iTunes Store(Opens in a new window) or the Google Play store(Opens in a new window).
AT&T's 4G LTE network scored the highest in 30 cities during PCMag's 2013 Fastest Mobile Networks test, offering faster upload and download speeds than Verizon Wireless.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Fully Mobilized newsletter to get our top mobile tech stories delivered right to your inbox.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!Sign up for other newsletters


text:
No kidding: Donkey’s milk is the new elixir
Cleopatra's beauty secret
“There is so much interest and demand, now that consumers are going back to the traditional methods of what their ancestors did to cure them of diseases,” said Aby Baby, founder of Dolphin IBA that sells premium beauty products made of donkey milk. “Donkey milk has superior qualities. It is very good for infants, especially those with gastric problems, and for people suffering with skin allergies.”
Back in fashion
‘He claims steady growth of clients and markets since he started the business in 2017. Dolphin IBA reported turnover of Rs 1.15 crore in 2018-19, up 70% from the previous year, and expects similar growth trajectory in the coming years, Baby said.
Nutraceutical & therapeutic properties
‘In Pune, Ramesh Jadhav is a secondgeneration farmer who sells donkey milk for Rs 700 for 100 ml. His clients are largely infants and people suffering from cough, stomach infection and skin infection.
‘“This new possibility of increasing the income of the equine owners is very widespread among general public,” said Anuradha Bhardwaj, senior scientist, animal biotechnology, at ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, HIsar.


text:
All those beer bottles you’ve had piling up in coronavirus quarantine can now get you a couple of bucks again, as the state begins to open back up bottle collection.
“Reverse vending machines,” the contraptions into which you can input the bottles and cans at stores, will have to be turned back on for public use starting June 5, which is next Friday, according to the state. Retailers who accept bottles over the counter will have to begin doing so on June 19, according to Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration.
Normally, all retailers who sell bottles and cans are required by state law to redeem many of those same types of containers for 5 cents a pop. But Attorney General Maura Healey suspended enforcement of that requirement on March 18 to limit the spread of the virus. Healey’s office said at the time that some stores had sought this change in order to reduce risk of crowded conditions and of employees catching COVID-19 from contaminated bottles.
“Customers are encouraged to check the operating status of redemption locations before bringing empty beverage containers for redemption and should follow store guidelines related to redemption services and standard safety precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing a mask and social distancing,” the state said in a news release.
Customers will be required to wear masks while inside bottle rooms, which will have limited capacity. Stores will have to designate specific times for high-risk and elderly people to come in and return bottles and cans.
Store employees will have to wear gloves and masks, and disinfect the reverse vending machines.
This comes as the state moves ahead with its reopening plans. Some businesses that had been shut down began to be allowed to open over the past couple of weeks as part of “Phase 1” of the reopening. On Friday, Baker further rolled out some guidelines for “Phase 2,” including easing of restrictions on restaurants and sports teams.
COVID-19 deaths and positive tests have continued to decline over the past few weeks after reaching peaks in Boston and its surrounding areas in mid-to-late April. The four-phase reopening plan is contingent on health data trends remaining positive.


text:
The EU in-out referendum continues to pepper the news, with the intensity of discussion and debate increasing week on week. The negotiations, led by David Cameron, look to have set the tone for the run-up to the referendum as intense and determined. The agreed reforms will have brought Britain closer to resolving some of the grievances it has with the EU and its governance. However, the ‘Leave’ campaigners remain resolute that the best solution would be to leave the EU altogether. Whilst there are reports that the Brexit would bring about seismic change; such comments are unlikely to be more than a scare-tactic to gather support.
The Brexit referendum appears to have pushed us into a period of political, economic and financial uncertainty. If we have learnt anything from the Scottish Independence referendum and the General Election 2015, the British public are expected to maintain the status quo. Yet Boris Johnson’s announcement that he will be supporting the ‘Leave’ campaign has, arguably, made the conclusion harder to predict.
At present, the UK contributes £24 million a year to the EU; however, many SMEs are calling for these funds to be redirected to support the SME market more effectively. There are strong views within the SME market that the government needs to take further action to support small businesses who are currently struggling to trade beyond Europe. Some SMEs are already reporting limited growth predictions due to the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit. SMEs are calling on the EU Commission to make legislative changes with the hope of creating an optimal environment for business growth.
With reports of “seismic” change, it would be reasonable for SMEs to be concerned about a Brexit. The impact on the economy continues to be a hot topic of discussion, particularly as Britain exports £19 billion of financial services each year. A report published by Capital Economics states the effect the Brexit would have is only a small net benefit or small net loss. If the exit negotiations are favourable, the GDP could rise by 1.6%, however, should the agreement be less favourable, it could cost the economy -2.2% per GDP. Although economic concerns are understandable, the profits and dividends of global companies such as Glaxo Smith Klein and BP are unlikely to unsettle the British economy or greatly impact the day-to-day costs of SMEs. Similarly, costs to businesses such as pensions will see little change, because they are influenced by the global market and should not affect the UK SME economy. The suggestions of economic instability should be taken as little more than scaremongering from either campaign.
Ease of Trade
SMEs are expected to see a greater impact to trade access than to the economy because currently 63% of UK exports are to Europe. The SME market relies heavily on access to European trade, whilst a Brexit might not have an immediate impact on finances, the changes to trade and manufacturing could greatly impact SMEs trade deals. The EU currently invests £11 billion a year on innovation programmes, should this funding stop SMEs would no longer have access to industry-leading research and support. If the referendum does result in a split from the EU, trade deals for SMEs are likely to be harder to secure. Already SMEs are struggling to trade beyond Europe and further separation from this market is expected to increase competition. SMEs are calling on the government to amend the way in which the EU provides trading opportunities for the SME markets. Should the result be to leave the EU, deepening the UK’s engagement with the G8 and G20 might go some way to securing routes to market and free trade agreements with major trading nations.
Legislation prescribed by the EU is one of the main sticking points in the decision process for many SMEs, with many calling for the government to relax controls in the emerging markets to encourage free trade. It is hoped that the negotiations lead by the Prime Minister will help to create a position whereby SMEs can be championed. The current single EU market is difficult for SMEs to penetrate and is not complementary to the strategies of entrepreneurs looking to achieve rapid growth. The intolerant barriers and bureaucracy mean many businesses find themselves restrained by unnecessary regulations, often where large businesses would be unaffected. Ultimately, the demands of SMEs are the same as large businesses; access to marketplace, free movement of people and ability to access finance and trade deals; however for SMEs, the red-tape remains a hurdle.
The consequences of a referendum are difficult to predict. Whilst leaving would see SMEs free from EU regulations, the access to market could be challenging. If the UK stayed, there would be calls for government to negotiate a reduction to red tape to assist SMEs achieve further growth. The next frontier for SMEs to conquer is EU-US because this trade route promises to bring an increase of £7 billion in GDP growth.
Since 2012, the rate of migration has doubled; the movement of people in Europe safeguards British jobs because businesses can readily access 500 million consumers. Leaving the EU would dramatically impact the free movement of people and therefore affect SMEs’ ability to recruit. This could be problematic, as many SMEs are already struggling to employ the right candidates. The possible limitations to growth and development could also see considerable changes to the UK labour force and productivity. Again, we see that economic consequences may come as an indirect result of other changes, but ultimately, the immediate financial situation of SMEs should not be impacted too greatly.
It seems safe to assume that the, arguably, hysterical claims about the impact of the Brexit will continue for months yet. Whilst scaremongers are likely to focus on the economy, the actual impact to finances is not expected to be too damaging. It is the indirect economic impact which is of greater concern. The implications for trade, manufacturing and access to market are likely to have much wider consequences. Whether the eventual outcome is “in” or “out”, the net effect should not be insignificant.


text:
Actisense achieves product excellence awards hat trick
UK marine electronics specialist company Actisense has been recognised with the prestigious Product of Excellence Award from the National Marine Electronics Association for the third consecutive year.
The Actisense NGT-1, a NMEA 2000 to PC interface, has received the acclaimed National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) Product of Excellence Award in the NMEA 2000 sensor category. This latest gong marks the third year in a row that the multi-award winning NMEA specialists has achieved this particularly prestigious accolade as voted by its fellow NMEA peers.
Actisense CEO, Phil Whitehurst, was recently presented with the award by NMEA President and Executive Director Mark Reedenauer at METSTRADE, the world’s largest marine equipment trade show. The NGT-1 first came to market in 2012 and has been met with continuous critical praise, from both customers and fellow industry professionals, since. According to Actisense it remains the only intelligent NMEA 2000 gateway available to precisely transfer messages to and from the NMEA 2000 bus. New software updates are available which has enabled the product to stay relevant through new features and capabilities.
This latest product award for Actisense follows wins in the same category in both 2016 and 2015. The Actisense NMEA Conversion Gateway (NGW-1) achieved the award in 2015 which was followed a year later with a win for their EMU-1, a specialised analogue to NMEA 2000 Gateway which converts data from analogue engine senders into NMEA 2000.
By Jake Frith
Latest Press Releases
Fred. Olsen Windcarrier Jack-up Brave Tern completes major crane refit at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam
Brave Tern, the 132-metre jack-up operated by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier AS, has completed a major cran... Read more
Damen Marine Components has won a contract to supply steering gear, rudders and stern tube parts for... Read more
Damen Verolme Rotterdam (DVR), one of Damen Shipyards Group’s most experienced yards in the repair a... Read more
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH LLOYD’S MARITIME ACADEMY: What's next for the shipping industry? Read more
On 24th July, Damen Shipyards Group signed a contract with Cyprus-based VTS Vasiliko Terminal Servic... Read more
On 27 July DAMEN SeaXplorer marked a milestone in the construction of the SeaXplorer 77 expedition y... Read more


text:
Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com
November 25, 2013
The Chrysler IPO will not happen this year. Forbes is reporting that Fiat has decided to not to launch the initial public offering of Chrysler before the end of 2013, citing that the short window before the end of 2013 is "not practicable."
Not surprisingly, the hold up on the IPO is the disagreement between Fiat and the UAW's healthcare trust. Fiat currently owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler, while the trust owns the remaining 41.5 percent. The company wants to buy the trust's share, but for how much is what the two cannot come to an agreement.
The IPO was going to be the way of figuring out how much the UAW's healthcare trust share was. It's not entirely clear why Fiat decided to put the IPO on hold till next year. A possibility could be that advisers working for Chrysler are discussing a valuation of about $10 to $11 billion for the IPO. Given that amount, it would mean Fiat would be paying $4.15 billion for the share owned by the healthcare trust, a figure that considered to be much higher than what Fiat is looking to pay.


text:
Rihanna was spotted out in Target casually shopping for baby clothes this weekend. Fans were excited to see what section she was in – boy or girl?
Rihanna was out this weekend shopping at Target in the baby section. This made fans go crazy trying to figure out if she was going pink or blue. Stylish as always, Riri popped out in a blue hoodie, metallic mini-skirt, and high heels. Although this look is different from her signature sexy style, the clothes she was wearing weren’t the concern this time – it was the color of the clothes she was buying.
Riri can be seen in what looks like the baby girl section in Target, shopping for clothes for her little one. Sending fans into a frenzy, questioning if this is the bad gyals way of announcing she’s having a girl, or if she’s trying to knock us off our guessing game with trying to figure out the gender of the baby.
Meanwhile, A$AP Rocky hinted at Riri’s due date in a video shared to social media earlier this year. Keen fans were able to deduce that Rihanna is due in April. With just days away, the world will get the answer. Until then, fans are putting all put the clues together.


text:
On December 9, 2018 Council 13517 had a Christmas Party at the Crooked River Room in the Giant Eagle Market District of Cuyahoga Falls. 20 Knights, their spouses and significant others attended to share in food, drink and fellowship. It was a chance for Brother Knights and spouses to socialize and celebrate the holiday season.
Council Christmas Party
December 25, 2018


text:
Biometric security systems have one particularly critical vulnerability: how do you replace your finger if a hacker figures out how to duplicate it? An IBM research team working on that problem says it’s recently cracked a major problem in the area of “cancellable biometrics.”
“Biometrics is more private to you than a number that somebody assigned to you. I cannot cancel my face,” says IBM researcher Nalini Ratha, a scientist with the Exploratory Computer Vision Group at IBM’s Watson Research Centre in Hawthorne, New York. “If it is compromised it is compromised forever.”
IBM’s idea for navigating that obstacle is to construct a kind of technological screen separating users’ actual biological identification information from the records stored in profile databases. The company is developing software to transform biometric data such as fingerprints into distorted models that still preserve enough actual identification markers to make the distortion repeatable.
Organisations that store profiles can then retain just the distorted model so if their databases are hacked the hacker only has access to that organisation’s profile rather than to a user’s actual fingerprint.
“The key is that it needs to be irreversible,” says Charles Palmer, IBM’s department manager for security, networking and privacy research. Otherwise, a hacker can simply reverse-engineer the distorted models to recreate a user’s biometric data.
Ratha and several colleagues have been working for years on the cancelable biometrics problem but a big breakthrough came after they began collaborating with researchers on Palmer’s team.
“We got them together with the cryptographers and applied cryptographic thinking,” Palmer says. “[The cryptographers] said, ‘You think that’s irreversible? Ha! Here’s how you reverse it.’”
About two months ago the partnership paid off in algorithms IBM is reasonably confident are genuinely irreversible. A software demo the company showed to journalists last week is functionally ready for trials, researchers say. “The big technical obstacle was beat down,” Palmer says. “Now it’s just getting it into the right product or service.” IBM Global Services and the company’s Tivoli security and systems management software are two likely areas, Palmer says.
IBM’s system wouldn’t entirely solve the replaceability problem of biometrics: if a hacker got hold of a user’s fingerprint and made a passable model he or she could still wreak havoc with it. What IBM’s technology could do, however, is significantly narrow hackers’ opportunities to gain access to such data. If a user’s fingerprints (or facial photographs, iris scans or any other biological marker) aren’t stored on any of the systems he or she uses the biometric markers to access, cracking those systems won’t give the hacker keys to the victim’s biometric kingdom. If a hacker did get in — and the frequency with which companies sheepishly confess to database hacks and inadvertently exposed personal information illustrates the reality of that risk — IBM’s system would let a user quickly cancel the compromised biometric profile and generate a new one. It’s akin to replacing a lost or stolen credit card.
Palmer envisions technology like IBM’s being adopted by businesses such as retailers that would benefit from access to customers’ biometrics. Several stores have run trials of fingerprint-based payment systems, but IBM first needs to convince customers their data will be safe. Right now, biometric hacking is only a theoretical problem, acknowledges Palmer, but he expects that the instant biometric security gains critical mass attacks will follow.
“People say ‘no one is stealing fingerprints.’ Well, hackers go where the money is,” he says.
“Who would have foreseen phishing? Once there’s value, and once people show that it can be done, it will be.”


text:
Tuesday, 18 March 2008: Eyes firmly on the prize, Datuk Tony Fernandes has high hopes for the future of the AirAsia brand.
Instrumental in the development of the low-cost airline, Fernandes has chosen to set the benchmark for AirAsia at colossal highs, aiming to equalise with marketing giant, Coca-Cola, and 2007 Airline of the Year, Singapore Airlines.
Within 6 years, Fernandes aims for AirAsia to be adorning billboards and banners, watches and football stadiums.
As the group CEO of AirAsia, Fernandes recently told StarBiz that he “would like the AirAsia brand to be as big as Coca-Cola.”
“We can be, and it is my goal that we, AirAsia, become bigger than Singapore Airlines and carry more passengers.”
Indeed, AirAsia’s entry into the Singapore market was unforseen, and has provided new connections for Malaysia and Singapore.
Fernandes affirms his brand power, as “Even before AirAsia can fly to Europe, it was already flying Europeans and other nationalities around Asia.” “That just goes to show that our brand is spreading all over.”
In a bid to grow as large as Europe’s leading low-cost airline, RyanAir, Air Asia has ordered 175 new aircraft in hope of expanding its 90 routes and 47 destinations.
AirAsia X, the long-haul sister company to Air Asia, commenced flying last November, initially to Australia’s Gold Coast and now also providing services to Hangzhou.
Fernandes promises new routes and destinations for both companies, adding that “We will fly to Amritsar and London soon.”
AirAsia has been marketed through low cost fares, giveaway seats, and online booking which provides access to remote locations, the Malaysia Star reports.
Fernandes continues, claiming “AirAsia is a strong brand and an airline that has managed to create a market for itself.”
“It has gone beyond Malaysia’s borders and would continue to carry the Malaysian flag to more countries.”
AirAsia has had many early successes. But to become as synonymous with travel as Coca Cola is with beverages is an immense task for any marketing team.


text:
DS Smith PLC (SMDS.LN) said Tuesday that it intends to raise 1.0 billion pounds ($1.32 billion) in a rights issue in order to partly fund its previously announced acquisition of Spain's Papeles y Cartones de Europa SA (PAC.MC), known as Europac.
The packaging company said the offer consists of a 3-for-11 rights issue, priced at 350 pence per new share. The issue price is a 36% discount to the closing price of 549.6 pence on Monday. DS Smith said it is a 31% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price--the expected price following the rights issue.
DS Smith said it intends to issue a total of 293.1 million shares, which will represent 21% of its enlarged share capital following the fundraise.
Earlier in June, DS Smith said it has bid 1.67 billion euros ($1.94 billion) for Europac at EUR16.80 a share.


text:
Apple resellers are bracing themselves for the onslaught of vendors selling product throughout Europe via the internet, which is expected to drastically reduce prices.
On 10 November 1997, Apple first revealed its plan to sell direct on the Web, setting up an online shop - Apple Store - which has also gone live in the US, giving details and prices of all of its products (PC Dealer, 12 November 1997). Users are able to pick the machine and order online.
It was confirmed that Apple UK would begin a pilot to be rolled out throughout Europe on 7 May. Sources close to Apple claimed the fulfilment would be handled from Apple's manufacturing plant in Cork, but it was unclear who would administrate the system.
One source said: 'I don't expect it to be a distributor or a mail-order company. Apple did this before and got its fingers burnt when it set up its catalogue operation, Apple Direct.'
Another reseller said he expected hardware prices to drop to the same level with advertised mail-order prices, in a similar move which occurred in the US. However, he said: 'This doesn't go down too well with me as I am now going to change my prices. We are an AppleCentre which provides value-added service and I can't afford to sell at the lower prices.'
Apple - which is also expected to unveil a range of Powerbooks this week - refused to comment prior to the worldwide launch on 7 May.
Security firm set to become part of acquisitive Shearwater Group
Distributor merges three northern sites into one new hub in Warrington
Activist investor puts forward five director candidates as turmoil continues at security giant
Nima Green asks what is driving public cloud uptake in Germany


text:
According to the latest information from independent sources speaking to Eurogamer and Venture Beat, Microsoft will take the wraps off its Xbox Series S 'Lockhart' console in August this year. The reveal was originally planned for the 20/20 event lined up for June. However, some may have noticed that Microsoft's new monthly event has failed to turn up this month. This is because of the Black Lives Matter protests in the US, and the impact these events have had on the reveal/launch schedules of rivals like Sony.
Microsoft's next 20/20 event, which should actually materialise in July, is expected to be a first-party showcase, which will have a sprinkling of third party titles too. After a month's gap, that seems like a bit of a disappointment. Checking through HEXUS reader comments, people were already generally deflated by the Xbox 20/20 May event.
More musings over the Xbox Series S specs
Late last week HEXUS reported on the Xbox Series S 'Lockhart' showing up in the latest Microsoft GameCore Developer Kit documentation (GDK June 2020). Those documents had references to developer profiles which could be selected to test games using Xbox Series S-alike hardware configurations. Indications were that Lockhart would feature a lower tier AMD APU, and perhaps less RAM, allowing Microsoft to present a next-gen console at an unbeatable price. Remember Sony's cheaper 'Digital Edition' PS5 console simply lacks an ODD, everything else remains the same.
New information gleaned by The Verge gives a closer look at what to expect with the cheaper Xbox Series S:
- CPU: same CPU/speeds as with the Xbox Series X
- GPU: slower with fewer CUs. Touted 4 teraflops of performance, vs 12 teraflops for the Series X
- RAM: 7.5GB of usable RAM vs 13.5GB of usable RAM in the Series X
Microsoft's cheaper next gen console is expected to be made to target people who use or will still be happy to play at 1080p. That's a quarter the accelerated pixels required for the target market of the Xbox Series X, but with a third of the GPU performance.


text:
By María Palma
Starting off this tumble, Chartwells Larger Training, a agreement foodservice administration firm, has partnered with Starship Systems to roll out the tech company’s autonomous food items supply robots at the College of Nevada, Reno.
For now, the organization is however planning for the remaining launch of authentic-time food items shipping and delivery from Nevada Dining sellers a complete fleet of around 20 robots is set to start off delivery Aug. 23.
College students, school and staff members will be equipped to purchase foodstuff, drinks and treats from a selection of on-campus restaurants and cafés, when tracking them in serious-time.
Dean Kennedy, government director of Household Existence, Housing, and Food items Services at UNR spelled out that the partnership started out around a yr back. Part of what prompted them to carry this know-how to campus was the improved will need for contactless delivery owing to the pandemic.
“We needed to make absolutely sure that there ended up added prospects that people could get food devoid of potentially possessing to wait around in line or in a additional dense natural environment, just for their very own personalized protection,” he reported. “Starship Robots has relationships with other universities and faculties, and Chartwells, which is the eating company, have had good experiences.”
The contract in between Chartwells and Starship will past a calendar year with automated renewal, until possibly facet chooses not to do so.
These impressive robots are presently working in nations like the U.K., Estonia, Germany and Denmark, and on other college campuses across the region. UNR, nonetheless, is the to start with to convey this initiative to the state.
“We have robots at College of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) College of California, Irvine Oregon Point out University in Corvallis Northern Arizona College Arizona Condition University in Tempe… This is the first just one in Nevada,” stated Joshua Taylor, with Starship.
He also talked about that the support is provided as element of the on-campus dining companies to Chartwells.
“UNR does not pay for the robots. They’re not funding it,” he reported. “Starship maintains ownership of the robots, and then we demand a very little shipping and delivery with each individual get in.”
The place they will be found
For now, some robots are presently in operation delivering coffee from Make, with an additional payment of $1.99, but much more alternatives will appear soon after the summer months crack ends.
“We will have about 8 different locations offered. All of them will open up on Aug. 23,” reported Heidi Prosperous, marketing and advertising director for Nevada Dining.
People areas are Sierra Road Subs, Panera Bread, Peet’s Coffee, Las Trojes, The Routine Burger and lots of a lot more, but “not the places that are in the Joe Crowley Student Union that are independently operated,” Abundant clarified.
She also explained that they accept unique payment selections.
“We do acquire credit rating and debit playing cards,” she additional. “There is also an option for us to consider Wolf bucks or food items bucks, so they can set in their Wolf Card variety and it will just deduct from their food stuff box account.”
The robots work within the map services spot, which signifies college buildings and scholar housing only.
Taylor reported that “they don’t climb stairs or go inside structures.” However, they conduct effectively in rain and snow, go up curbs, can journey up to 4 mph, weigh 75 lbs. empty, and the supply compartment can keep up to 22 lbs., or the equal of about three procuring luggage of groceries.
“The robots are 99% autonomous”
How do they travel autonomously? The robot works by using a combination of personal computer eyesight and GPS to pinpoint its exact spot to the closest inch.
It also has impediment detection and a “situational awareness bubble” around it, very similar to a robot vacuum–featuring 12 cameras, ultrasonic sensors, radars, neural networks and much more. These capabilities detect road blocks, whether a pet dog, a pedestrian or a bike owner. The robotic will always end at a harmless length.
To prevent theft and damage, the company has produced a comprehensive strategy.
The cargo maintain remains locked till the robotic reaches the consumer and unlocks it as a result of
their cellular cell phone. It also has sirens if picked up or tampered with.
“We kindly inquire our campus local community to be individual with Nevada Dining and our delivery robots as they proceed to map and configure their support for our campus,” Loaded said. “We search ahead to our start when they will be offering from most of the Nevada Eating cafe destinations by Monday, Aug. 23.”
How to use Starship
To check out the assistance, simply click on www.starship-unr.com or style in Starship Foodstuff Supply into the App store. College students, college and workers can open up the Starship Deliveries mobile application (iOS and Android), pick the goods they would like from one of the out there Nevada Dining areas, then pick out their area by dropping a pin on the campus map wherever they want their food stuff sent.
The application will allow people to observe the robot’s journey in true-time by an interactive map. As soon as the robot comes, the person will get an inform and they can satisfy the robotic and unlock it as a result of the application.
The supply normally usually takes just a subject of minutes, relying on the menu goods purchased and the length the robotic must travel.
This Is Reno is your source for award-successful unbiased, online Reno news and gatherings considering that 2009. We are domestically owned and operated.


text:
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is urging his country's citizens to smoke more cigarettes and drink more alcohol, as indulging those habits can apparently do wonders for the local economy.
Kudrin's unconventional advice comes just as Russia prepares to raise excise duty on both tobacco and alcohol sales -- and higher consumption of both commodities could help lift tax revenues for spending on social services.
"People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state," Kudrin said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency. "If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates."
At present, Russian duties on cigarettes are among the lowest in Europe, with most brands priced at around 40 rubles (roughly $1.30) per pack, according to reports. In June, Russia's Finance Ministry announced plans that could effectively raise the price from 250 rubles per 1,000 filtered cigarettes to 590 rubles ($19.20) by 2013. Given that 65 percent of the nation's men smoke cigarettes and the average Russian consumes 19 liters of alcohol (mostly vodka) each year, the price increase is likely to be unpopular.


text:
A new grocery store will open in Aberdeen.
Fresh Street Market has been confirmed as one of the new tenants in the former Sears space in Aberdeen Mall.
The city received an application in September for a building permit to construct the grocery store, but it has yet to be formally issued.
A call from KTW to the Fresh Street Market head office was not returned.
The store’s website lists four locations in West Vancouver, Surrey and Whistler.
Murmurs were previously heard throughout the city of Whole Foods opening in the mall.
Also rumoured for the space is an Old Navy location.
The city, however, has not received a building permit for the clothing store and a representative from Gap Inc., Old Navy’s parent company, told KTW there is nothing to announce at this time.
Demolition and construction have occurred at the mall, ongoing in the 120,000-square space formerly occupied by Sears, which shuttered in 2017.
Marshalls has also been confirmed for the space, which is being reconfigured and divvied up for multiple tenants.
Other additions to Aberdeen Mall of late include Sunrise Records and Saje Natural Wellness.


text:
Stocks wrapped Wednesday's session with modest gains, despite a powerful boost from Apple (AAPL), a spike in January job growth and a better-than-expected increase in January's manufacturing activity.
The Nasdaq powered up 0.5%, while the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.1% and the S&P 500 booked a fractional gain. Small caps were under pressure during the session, leaving the Russell 2000 with a flat finish.
The Dow and S&P 500 backed out of early gains ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's midafternoon policy announcement, although the no-change, no-news release itself appeared to levy little impact on the rest of the day's trade.
Today's stock market then turned its attention to Facebook (FB), which reported results after the close. The social media company beat sales and profit expectations, sending its shares up about 2% in extended trading. That would leave Facebook with an all-time high.
Apple ended the day up 6% and at an 18-month high after blowing past analyst expectations in its fiscal first-quarter report delivered late Tuesday. At least nine analysts raised their price targets on the stock following the report, in which both sales and earnings growth turned positive after three quarters of declines.
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) flashed 16% higher in a powerful rebound from support at its 10-week moving average. The company reported a narrow revenue beat and a 1-cent loss vs. expectations for a 2-cent loss.
Office supplies brand Avery Dennison (AVY) filed a 9% advance, outpacing analysts' fourth-quarter revenue and earnings estimates and guiding full-year earnings above consensus forecasts. The gain left Avery just above a 79.37 buy point in a five-month cup base.
Nvidia (NVDA) bolted 4% higher in weak trade, continuing further up the right side of a five-week consolidation.
Managed care provider Anthem (ANTM) grabbed a 4% gain in heavy trade. Fourth-quarter earnings and revenue easily topped analysts' targets, and patient enrollment growth was stronger-than-expected.
Among IBD 50 stocks, Aetna (AET), Facebook and Ellie Mae (ELLI) all booked gains of better than 2%. Among those three, only Facebook was near a buy point — less than 3% above a 129.37 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.
Other than Facebook, today's A-list after hours reporting schedule includes results from NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Tractor Supply (TSCO), Weatherford International (WFT) and Cirrus Logic (CRUS), among others.


text: India has traditionally been a market where people prefer to use cash for all kinds of transactions, be it small or big. That has also been due to the slow spread of the banking network. Today, there are just 13 bank branches for every 1 lakh population. However, as smartphone penetration rises among the youth, digital payments are also on the rise. According to Digital Payments 2020\u2014a report brought out by Google and BCG\u2014the contribution of cash for transactions has been steadily declining\u2014from 92% in 2005, to 89% in 2010 and to 78% in 2015. It is expected to fall to 41% by 2025. However, it is still higher than the 20-25% which cash accounts for consumer payments in developed markets such as the UK and the US. The fall of cash over the past five years in India has been driven by the emergence of non-cash instruments such as credit\/debit cards, mobile wallets and electronic payments. Thanks to this, the share of non-cash transactions is estimated to increase from 22% currently to 40% by 2020 and 59% by 2025. Within the non-cash pool, digital payments are expected to contribute 26% by 2020 and 37% by 2025. Cards would account for 12% of transactions in 2020 and 21% by 2025. As more digital transactions happen, the instruments can store information on the credentials of an existing payments instrument, making the payment process at the point of purchase simpler. The push for digital has been driven by stored value instruments such as mobile wallets, prepaid cards, gift cards and store credits which can be electronically recharged using credit and debit cards. BCG estimates that around 30 billion payment transactions happen every month in India, of which more than half are person-to-merchant transactions. Interestingly, it believes that small transactions of R100 will account for half of total transactions by 2020.


text:
Over the past month, as the pandemic has emerged in the United States, I’ve been lucky enough to interview many entrepreneurs as they turn on dime to confront the pandemic and the changed business environment.
I’ve written stories about entrepreneurs with solutions to test for coronavirus in the air, about air filter companies and restaurants surviving on online orders. My social media feeds are filled with entrepreneurs setting up platforms to connect medical personnel with meals, sourcing masks and putting AI to work new data interpretations.
It’s inspiring to watch. Entrepreneurs are doers.
Partly because I was immersed in the world of entrepreneurship, I was hopeful about our capacity to solve the crisis fast. We’ve been elevating entrepreneurs in America on absurdly high pedestals (made of dollars) for a while now, especially the tech entrepreneurs. As much as I try not to get caught up in the sycophancy, I was. Surely, I thought vaguely, if Jeff Bezos can figure out what kinds of avocados I like, we can track a virus and kill it.
Three weeks later, we’ve been humbled. The pandemic has cracked open our society and our economy (which might be, in America, almost the same thing) in revelatory ways.
Entrepreneurs knew how to make, for instance, 3D printed ventilator components. They weren’t worth much without physical plants and the manufacturing and distribution systems to produce the tens of thousands we need.
I’ve always remembered something Barbara Delich Bentley, a journalist and Congresswoman from Baltimore, told me in an interview about 15 years ago. In World War II, the port of Baltimore produced 500 warships. “Now, we couldn’t even make one,” she said.
Tech companies and Main Street companies live in the same square, after all.
Tech companies, especially the ones from New York and Silicon Valley, sometimes seem to inhabit their own universe, one where jobs are plentiful and moonshots are in reach. Silicon Valley is seeing waves of layoffs for the first time in a generation. In a sign of the strangeness: The CARES act isn’t clear on whether venture-based companies can apply for SBA aid — which a fair number of them might need. (The National Venture Capital Association is trying to change the rules to make them eligible.)
We’ll likely see more integration of tech into Main Street companies, mostly because these different kinds of entrepreneurs will become more aware of each other. Take, for example, Cloosiv, an app that went through Silicon Valley’s famous accelerator, Y Combinator. It helps customers find and support local coffee shops.
Many of the people working in our public health system are heroes. But the system itself is ossified.
In health care, as one health care entrepreneur explained to me, funding for innovation has flowed along insurance reimbursement lines.
“In health care, digital innovation is linearly tied to insurance reimbursement,” said Stephanie Rampello, the founder of WellNested, a platform that connects families to personalized in-home postnatal care.
Public health is obviously not reimbursable. The result seems to be that in the United States at least, the public health system is consumed by the basic goal of gathering data, rather than seeing data as the starting point.
“The public health system is set up to tell people about epidemics,” said Anatole S Menon-Johansson, a Sloan & Legatum Fellow at MIT (disclosure: I’m a journalist in residence at MIT’s Legatum Center for Entrepreneurship & Development). A physicist at a hospital called Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, he has developed an app to help notify partners of people with sexually transmitted diseases, get them tested and get them treatment if necessary. SXT could be adapted for the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
Even when it comes to data gathering, we’re way behind the eight ball.
Gobal business leaders may need to do some soul searching.
It’s been reported that Republican Senator Richard Burr is under investigation for trading on non-public information. If it’s true, it’s despicable.
We’re also beginning to see reports that global business executives had more insight, earlier, into the pandemic than average Americans, via data about sales in China and various other kinds of corporate intelligence. (Burr allegedly gave a briefing to a room full of big donors — it’s a safe bet many of them worked for big corporations).
There’s a set of ethical questions that needs to be asked about whether they had a responsibility to warn the rest of us in the case of an unprecedented pandemic.
As a matter of practicality, are there ways to harness the kind of knowledge and data global companies collectively own (which, after all, was produced by us) so that we get some advanced warning?
We have been swimming in a bath of sensational and algorithm-driven fear.
Of course, corporate executives might have been relying on the media, which was reporting on the epidemic in China, and then Italy. But the human brain is not set up to understand exponential growth; and secondly, we’ve become hardened to regular waves of fear-inducing news over the years. I come back to the folktale of the boy who cried wolf: the saddest person in that tale is the boy, who lost his village when they didn’t believe his warning.
Our system for establishing value seems to be devaluing people and their time.
Markets are supposed to set values. But ours don’t seem to be working very well, if you consider whether they’re working for the majority of people. There have been signs of this for years. We’re going to get reminders of it in the next few weeks.
It’s partly that the rich are getting richer, but also that the pretty wealthy are OK, and everybody else is not. In 2018, households in the top fifth of earners (with incomes of $130,001 or more that year) brought in 52% of all U.S. income, more than the lower four-fifths combined, according to Census Bureau data.
The stock market has increasingly moved away from value investing and toward emotionally driven trading, shrinking the opportunities for new companies to go public. We’ve seen insane spreads between, say, an hour’s labor by a CEO and an hour’s labor by a janitor (the janitor’s being much more valuable, these days, in a hospital). There’s the fact that investment flowed to WeWork ... at all.
Now, prices may drop again in unexpected ways, as people compare, say, the value of an online workout to the value of having a gym full of human instructors. On one hand, the Treasury has begun to print $2.3 trillion more dollars, which will be a lifeline to many of those four-fifths; on the other, the dollars seem meaningless as never before.


text:
It’s been a busy week for Windows 10 news. Let’s take a look back at some of the hot stories relating to Windows 10 in a special feature we call “Windows 10 news recap”.
Many people have been having issues recently with their Surface Pro 4s and/or Surface Books in terms of battery power. Put simply, these devices often fail to sleep properly, resulting in the Surface’s battery dying far earlier than it ought to, and potentially causing overheating issues for the many people who carry their laptop around in a sealed bag.
Thankfully, in response to a thread in the Microsoft Community forums that has been populated with intense criticism, Microsoft has given a response to those worried about the battery life issue. They claim that the issue should be solved sometime very early in 2016 – this could mean anywhere from a month and 3 months.
According to Microsoft, gamers have streamed over 5 million hours of Xbox One game content to Windows 10 PCs, since the launch of the operating system in July. In fact, Fallout 4 has been streamed the most (in November). The company also revealed other stats about Windows 10 and Xbox gaming, as the company touts impressive Xbox sales performance during Black Friday 2015.
November 2015 marks the first time Windows 10 has exceeded Windows 8 in terms of gaming. More gamers are using Windows 10 as their PC gaming platform, with nearly 30 percent of Steam players utilizing Microsoft’s latest operating system for all their gaming needs.
After pushing out a much-needed patch for display driver issues occurring on the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, the Windows team is now releasing a relatively low-key cumulative update for the rest of Windows 10 users.
Windows 10 users should be soon seeing an update for Windows 10 version 1511 for x64 based systems, more specifically, (KB3116908) sitting in their Windows Update settings. The download and install time of the update is relatively quick and the details for what the update is fixing, addressing, patching or securing remains a mystery.
Windows 10 version 1511 has brought its fair share of feature rich updates while also delivering some users a head-scratching experience. As far as today’s cumulative update is concerned, it seems a bit early to render a verdict as there are no release notes for the update and few reports from Windows users to pull from. We do know that the build number is now 10586.17 after installing the update.
Apple’s iPad tablet ushered in the modern tablet era when it was introduced in 2010, and it’s dominated tablet sales ever since. iPad sales have stagnated recently, but nevertheless Apple has maintained its lead in overall tablet market share. WinBeta received an early version of an upcoming report, “1010data Facts for Ecom Insights, January 2014 – October 2015” by the 1010data Ecom Insights Panel, however, that indicates all of that might be changing as Microsoft assumes the mantle of best-selling tablet maker in terms of online sales in October.
There you have it guys. What was your favorite story of this week? Let us know below!
Further reading: Microsoft, Windows 10


text:
Innovative collaboration to boost consumer credit and financial inclusion throughout Mexico
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – August 10, 2021 – i2c Inc., a leading provider of digital payment and banking technology, today announced its partnership with KEO, an innovative lending company and PAYBACK, the largest customer loyalty program in Mexico to provide inclusive financing in Mexico through the KEO PAYBACK American Express® Card.
The new partnership aims to boost consumer credit availability and financial inclusion in Mexico. Backed by i2c’s highly configurable platform and supported on the American Express network, KEO conducts an all-digital underwriting process providing fast credit approval with no credit check, or paperwork for users.
“It is an honor to join forces with KEO in Mexico to deliver digital-first solutions to new market segments,” said Kevin Fox, Head of Sales for the Americas, i2c. “The KEO PAYBACK American Express® Card program marks a truly innovative and forward-thinking approach to overcoming traditional barriers to credit and next-gen payments,” said Fox.
“We are excited to work with i2c and PAYBACK to offer eligible Cardmembers in Mexico an alternative credit solution, via an all-digital platform that will help them build credit history and obtain robust loyalty benefits, again demonstrating KEO’s commitment to financial inclusion” said Paolo Fidanza, CEO & Co-founder of KEO.
“The KEO PAYBACK American Express® Card with i2c and KEO helps provide new customers entry to a financial alternative that allows them to build a credit history and receive the benefits of our loyalty program and have access to the vast American Express acceptance network, including online and international purchases and a fully digital experience,” said José Ramón Ojeda, General Manager of PAYBACK Mexico.. “We could only make this possible with partners that are technology-driven and digitally focused and we’re thrilled to play our part in this collaboration,” said José Ramón
American Express® is an American Express trademark. The KEO PAYBACK American Express® Card is issued by KEO World S.A. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R pursuant to a license from American Express.
About KEO World
KEO World is an innovative lending company, headquartered in Miami FL, with operations in USA, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Dominican Republic. KEO
World promotes financial inclusion by providing its clients, both consumer and small businesses, the opportunity to access credit on fair terms through an all-digital process, independently from their credit history. Within just two years since its inception, KEO World has helped over tens of thousands of consumers and small businesses access credit and finance their working capital needs. For more information, visit www.keoworld.com
Founded in 1998 by Alexander Rittweger, The Loyalty Partner Group has established itself as the expert in customer relationship management through its three subsidiaries: the PAYBACK loyalty program, Emnos, and Loyalty Partner Solutions. In Mexico, the group was established as PAYBACK in 2011, as a business line of American Express. Today, it is the Loyalty Program with the largest number of active users in Mexico. It is a coalition structure in which customers can accumulate and pay with points in different stores of different brands that participate in the program.
About i2c Inc.
i2c is a global provider of highly-configurable banking and payment solutions. Using i2c's proprietary building block technology, clients can easily create and manage a comprehensive set of solutions for credit, debit, prepaid, lending and more, quickly and cost-effectively. i2c delivers unparalleled flexibility, agility, security and reliability from a single, global SaaS platform. Founded in 2001, and headquartered in Silicon Valley, i2c's next-generation technology supports millions of users in more than 200 countries/ territories and across all time zones.
For more information, visit i2cinc.com and follow us at @i2cinc.


text:
Jewellery and watch specialist repositions brand.
By Deepa Narwani
Neilson Photography, which specialises in jewellery and watch photography, has recently completed a brand repositioning and launched a new website.
Neilson Photography managing partner Andrew Neilson, said: “We had a fantastic year and felt it was time to reinvest to push the business forward as our current website and logo were not where we were any longer as a company.”
The reposition was carried out by Leeds based leading agency ABand Co.
Neilson commented that the move strengthens the company’s offering in a competitive market.
“The site which runs on all media devices brings a cutting-edge blend of web interaction and puts our clients’ images to the fore,” he said. “We had worked in the past with ABandCo on common projects with luxury jewellery brands and knew they could create something amazing for us and two months later it is live.”


text:
GERMANY: Interbrew may make further German buys
But though CEO John Brock said the company would consider opportunities htat fitted its strategic goals, one of those opportunities will not be Brau und Brunnen.
Brock said Brau und Brunnen would not fit with its business, despite the fact that the German bank HVB Group is looking to sell its 56% stake in Brau und Brunnen by the end of the year.
The global roll-out of InBev's Brazilian beer, Brahma, adds a third premium brand to the global brewer's international portfolio but some observers have suggested it's an unnecessary step which threat...
SUN Interbrew is looking to relinquish its stake in Pivoindustriya Primorya....
Interbrew UK has poached two marketing managers from rival brewers....
Interbrew is to place a £1m support package behind its Czech brand Staropramen in the UK....
InBev has announced that the deadline for the receipt of acceptances for the recommended offers of US$33.41 for the remaining Class A (non-voting) shares in SUN Interbrew, along with Class A Securitie...
SUN Interbrew is looking to buy into a Siberian brewer, according to local press reports....
Interbrew UK has announced plans to launch a new speciality beer....
InBev has extended the deadline for the receipt of acceptances for the recommended offers of USD33.41 in cash for the remaining shares and Securities that it does not already own in SUN Interbrew (SIL...
- Can craft breweries compete in lager arena?
- A Wild Geese, Pernod Ricard conspiracy theory?
- The Coca-Cola Co's Q2/H1 2016 results - Preview
- SABMiller's Q1 sales performance by region - Focus
- Wine consumption and its health effects
- AB InBev seeks single buyer for European beers
- Diageo appoints new Smirnoff head
- Diageo names new TR head as Doug Bagley exits
- Gruppo Campari trials Negroni pre-mix
- Scotch drop hits Edrington as FY profits fall
- Adultifying Soft Drinks; Capitalizing on rising adult demand for non-alcoholic beverages
- Global RTD insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Global non-Scotch whiskies insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Global travel retail insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Global Scotch whisky insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends


text:
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The holiday shopping season has already kicked off. Some businesses are expecting it to get even busier as Christmas gets closer.
Many are familiar with long lines and long waits that have become synonymous with holiday shopping over the years. However, the coronavirus pandemic has made holiday shopping much more complicated in 2020. Although stores have implemented new COVID-19 safety rules, people may feel more uncomfortable in long lines and in big crowds.
Tina Yamaki, president of Retail Merchants of Hawaii, said those who want to avoid the holiday shopping crowds need to get their Christmas shopping done early.
“The closer you get to Christmas, the more people are panic-shopping so you know they’re all earlier, they’re staying out later,” said Yamaki. “For right now though, because we’re still in early December, the best times to shop are you know during the weekday.”
Since stores can only allow up to 50 percent capacity, Yamaki says shoppers should expect to wait in some kind of line. However, Mondays and Tuesdays are the least crowded days at most malls and stores and people likely won’t find a line in the morning, when stores have just opened.
However, some stores are implementing something new.
“We’ve heard some stores actually doing by appointment only. So, you have to make an appointment in order to get into the store, especially on the weekends. We’ve heard where other stores, they’ll tell you a time to come back. It’s kind of like when you are waiting for a restaurant type of thing,” Yamaki explained.
For those who don’t feel comfortable going inside a store or mall, some malls have created pick-up areas, where store attendants will bring out the item to a person’s car. Yamaki says some malls may be adding extra stalls for the holiday season.
Small businesses are also preparing for a bump in customers. For Na Mea Hawaii at Ward, the owner said weekends are already busy.
“It’s quiet here until midday and then it’s usually quiet in the afternoons,” said Maile Meyer, Na Mea Hawaii Founder.
Stores like Na Mea Hawaii, which sells books, clothing and jewelry made by local artists, even has an option for those that want to browse the store without a crowd. Na Mea Hawaii allows people to make an appointment for private shopping.
People can even schedule a time when they can have the whole store to themselves. More information can be found on their website.
“We want to get people who feel safe in that environment the chance to see us and talk with us, so we just want to slow it down and give people more of what we are used to doing on a daily basis.”Maile Meyer, Na Mea Hawaii Founder
Yamaki says the pandemic has changed a lot of things and there is no guarantee as to what will happen this holiday shopping season.
“So, everything that, you know, used to be a routine, or what people were normally. It’s Christmas time, so we know this is when the crowds are and this is what we need to look for. And this is our crazy time. Well with this pandemic, there is no norm right now,” Yamaki said.


text:
Automation & Electric Vehicles Among Likely Coming Recalls
Among the most exciting new developments in the car industry is an increase in the number of electric vehicles that will be available on the market as well as automated driving that will allow drivers to take their eyes off the road. Of course, with increased complexity comes new ways that everything can go wrong. Industry insiders are predicting that EVs (electric vehicles) and AVs (autonomous vehicles) will be among the most likely vehicles to be recalled in 2022 and beyond.
EVs Catching Fire (In a Bad Way)
EVs are certainly a hot item right now. But they also occasionally literally catch fire. This is due to intrinsic problems with the lithium-ion battery that provides its energy source. Lithium-ion batteries can become highly unstable under certain conditions igniting a chain reaction that causes one cell after another to explode into flame. Since these fires burn so hot, they can be very difficult to put out. Vehicle fires involving Lithium-ion batteries can even be difficult for firefighters to manage. Just when you think the fire is out, it bursts back into flames.
Recently, Hyundai recalled 87,000 vehicles related to battery fires. Fifteen Hyundai EVs caught fire before the recall was initiated. The recall cost Hyundai nearly $11,000 per unit making it one of the costliest recalls ever.
Autonomous Vehicles: Exciting, But Ready?
Most of the autonomous driving options that exist right now are driver-assist and safety protocols. However, Tesla, among other companies, has been generating the AI and sensor technology necessary to allow vehicles to drive themselves. Autonomous vehicles may seem like Star Trek technology, but the fact of the matter is, even those aboard the Enterprise operated their ship manually.
The problem for car manufacturers is that every time something happens with an autonomous vehicle, it becomes huge news. Needless to say, humans have a much worse track record operating their vehicles than AIs do.
In one case, an autonomous vehicle crashed into a motorcyclist after leaving its own lane. The AI correctly identified that there was a car speeding up in the passing lane to the left. The AI then decided to cut the maneuver short, and go back to its own lane. However, there was already someone in that lane. The motorcyclist survived to file a personal injury lawsuit, and the case was settled under seal.
In another case, a Tesla Model Y struck a stationary police vehicle prompting a federal investigation.
Nonetheless, no one writes articles about all the times that autonomous vehicles successfully help their drivers get from one point to another. So it may be a situation of over-sensationalism resulting in a negative bias toward these vehicles. Nonetheless, auto manufacturers will be liable for the decisions their AIs make, giving them one more way to get sued by customers.
Talk to a Florida Auto Part Liability Lawyer
If the negligent design or manufacture of your vehicle has resulted in serious injury, call the Coral Gables tire defect attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today. We have experience in such claims and can help you successfully recover damages related to your medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced quality of life.


text:
Civis Analytics Got $30.7M, Hologram’s New Office, and More Chicago Tech News
The fall breeze is strong in the Windy City, as is venture funding on the Chicago tech scene. Companies are growing and innovating a range of industries. Read on for the latest developments on the lakefront. This is the Built In Chicago weekly refresh.
Zero Hash secured $35M. Offering a digital assets infrastructure solution, the company helps developers and businesses integrate digital assets into their customer experiences. Its Series C funding round led by Point72 Ventures will allow Zero Hash to invest in building out its team across compliance, marketing, product and engineering. It’s also looking to expand its licensing framework and pursue acquisitions. [GlobeNewswire]
Civis Analytics got $30.7M. The company helps businesses make data-informed decisions about how to identify, attract and engage their customers. Following its Series B round, Civis Analytics is investing in product innovation and internal growth. The company’s planning to hire across its data science, sales and product teams. Alumni Ventures, Drive Capital, Silicon Valley Bank and others participated in the round. [Built In Chicago]
Chicago tech quote of the week
Hologram moves to a new Chicago office. Following a period of rapid growth, IoT tech developer Hologram is relocating to a posh new office location in Fulton Market. The building is decked out with upscale amenities like a fitness studio, game room and basketball court. With 595,861 square feet of space at 167 N. Green St., Hologram is planning to onboard plenty of new talent, aiming to triple its 225-person team. [Built In Chicago]
Intelinair pulled in $20M. With its platform that uses AI to help prevent crop loss for farmers, the company raised a Series B round of funding for its AGMRI crop health and intelligence platform. Its latest injection of capital from investors Regulator Group, Scientia Ventures and others will allow the company to scale its business and platform. [PR Newswire]
LongJump invested in its first startups. The VC firm aims to bolster businesses with diverse ideas led by diverse founders, and with the money from its inaugural fund, it signed its first checks to four companies. New to LongJump’s portfolio are personal care product marketplace Bottlecode, mental health platform Sanarai, tech support startup Science On Call and mental health app STIGMA. [Built In Chicago]


text:
- News tagged "app"
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
The AVH-P8450BT comes with the Advanced App mode, which is designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, networking connectivity, and apps of the iPhone 4/iPhone 4S and iPod touch (4th gen) as the primary source of information and entertainment capabilities.
Facebook has just hired the full team of seven employees from Lightbox, the developer of the popular Android-exclusive photosharing app Lightbox Photos.
Evernote 4.0 for Android brings a host of new features and a completely redesigned home screen. Read on for more details.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
If you find yourself anxious to get your Android device working like the Samsung Galaxy S III, an option is to download and install the Stick It! app.
Friday, 4 May 2012
Flipboard, an app that collects content from social media and other websites and collates them all into a magazine format, has always been an iOS-exclusive app. However, it seems the app is no longer exclusive to Apple's ecosystem as it was spotted on Samsung's new flagship mobile phone, the Galaxy S III.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Lacking a video chat function, the iPhone Facebook Messenger app may soon be updated to include that function. And a dedicated iPad version of the Facebook Messenger app is also rumored to be in the works.
Friday, 27 Apr 2012
Twitter has made upgrades to its Android and iOS apps in the hopes of winning back users who were turned away after the last major redesign.
Tuesday, 10 Apr 2012
Those looking for an Instagram alternative might want to consider Pinweel, a free application on iTunes complete with old-school photo filters and private sharing options.
Friday, 2 Mar 2012
One of iOS's most popular photo-sharing app, Instagram, gets an update for its in-app camera. Support is also added for two of Asia's biggest social networks, China's Sina Weibo and Japan's Mixi.
Monday, 27 Feb 2012
New products aside, Nokia also announced new apps such as Nokia Reader and Nokia Transport for its Lumia smartphones. Its existing Nokia Drive app will get an update that adds speed limit alert.


text:
It’s easy for people on the Right, especially those that call themselves Libertarians, to become ecstatic when a company defies the Federal Government’s involvement with personal privacy. The most recent cause for excitement is that Apple has refused to cooperate with the FBI in an investigation of the San Bernardino shooting.
First off, we have to distinguish what is actually going on here. The FBI has been trying to gain access to the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters with absolutely ZERO luck. In fact, they admitted they had to be careful because, after 10 incorrect tries, the phone would automatically delete all content and information. The FBI then obtained a warrant demanding that Apple unlock the phone, Apple refused, and the internet went nuts with misinformation.
Why? Well, because the FBI is also demanding that Apple develop a “backdoor” into their system for the law enforcement agencies to access. The argument here is that agencies like the FBI need to obtain pertinent information in a timely manner. The counter-argument to that is that it allows the government “unfettered access to Apple users’ information and devices”. When Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, defied the Federal Government, the liberty movement cheered him as a “defender of liberty”. They could not be more wrong.
This was not at all a move to protect the users, this was a brilliant move by Cook and Apple to protect the company. The issue with the backdoor is that it would, if created, be the destruction of Apple as a company. See, the Fed cannot require foreign companies to create these kinds of software exploits for them, so foreign companies would simply take over the phone/tablet market that Apple dominates.
All it would take is for Samsung to say “hey guys, you know that douchey thing Apple did with your privacy rights, well the government can’t force us to do that since we are not an American-owned company, so come on over!” and BAM, Samsung destroys Apple in a matter of weeks. Now, obviously this would be much more complicated and not nearly as simple as I have explained it, but you get the picture.
Apple isn’t concerned about protecting your rights, at least, not for that purpose. Apple is a multi-billion dollar company that will say and do anything to keep the consumer happy. They know that if they supported the Fed in this, they would lose the support of the consumer and business would flee to other, non-American companies (and boy would Donald J Trump be pissed there).
In this whole “OMG Apple loves privacy” frenzy, we are missing the fact that Apple is refusing to unlock the phone of a terrorist, and a dead one at that, even after being served a warrant.
I understand the issue with creating a backdoor for the government (there are a ton of security implications as well; if the Fed can hack something, anyone can hack it) and I agree that the government should not be able to force Apple to do that. However, I condemn Apple for refusing to cooperate specifically in this investigation and I hope Silicon Valley and the Fed can find a way to cooperate on this issue in a way that both protects our privacy and protects our nation.


text:
Vinayak Yannam, Co-founder and CBO, Sportzchain said, “We are keen to develop the sports NFT market in India. We are extremely thrilled to be the first in the ecosystem to launch the phygital collectibles of a Kabaddi team. Previously, fans had no medium to buy such memorabilia, especially one that honors a team’s achievements.”
New Delhi: The blockchain-based fan-engagement platform Sportzchain has launched exclusive NFTs of Tamil Thalaivas, a Pro-Kabaddi team. These exclusive NFTs are now available on Sportzchain’s NFT-page hosted on NgageN.
The development will take place in two phases. The first phase includes the digital collectibles of player cards and exclusive moments from Tamil Thalaivas’ last season in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL).
Those who possess the digital collectibles will be eligible to purchase one-of-a-kind phygital collectibles, which will be Tamil Thalaivas players’ signed memorabilia honoring a notable achievement during last season.
Did you Know?
Billed as India’s first blockchain wedding, in the presence of a digital priest,
View Details »
Vinayak Yannam, Co-founder and CBO, Sportzchain said, “We are keen to develop the sports NFT market in India. We are extremely thrilled to be the first in the ecosystem to launch the phygital collectibles of a Kabaddi team. Previously, fans had no medium to buy such memorabilia, especially one that honors a team’s achievements. However, Sportzchain is changing that forever through the launch of exclusive phygital collectibles.”
The phygital collectibles will be scheduled on April 8, and the owners can make the purchases from April 15 onwards. NFTs are developing as a phenomenon and an attraction for collectors and digital art enthusiasts.
Fans and collectors alike will receive several perks post availing these NFTs like premium fan privileges from Tamil Thalaivas and Sportzchain. This includes match day tickets, lucky draws, and many other exciting rewards.
Joby Joseph, CRO of Tamil Thalivas, said, “We are proud to be one of the first kabaddi teams to launch team NFTs. There are so many exciting concepts in store for them, and we are thrilled to be a part of this fan engagement revolution.”
Apart from Tamil Thalaivas, Sportzchain has collaborated with several other Pro Kabaddi teams, including Dabang Delhi, Gujarat Giants, and Bengal Warriors. Presented By
Crypto Returns Calculator
0x1inchAaveAirSwapAlgorandAmbire AdExAnkrAugurAvalancheAxie InfinityBancorBand ProtocolBasic Attention TokenBinance CoinBitcoinBitcoin CashCOTICardanoCeler NetworkChainlinkChilizChromiaCivicCompoundCosmosCurve DAO TokenDFI.moneyDIADaiDashDecentralandDigiByteDogecoinEOSElrondEnjin CoinEthereumEthereum ClassicFantomFetch.aiFilecoinGASGalaGolemHarmonyIOSTIndian RupeeInternet ComputerKyber NetworkLitecoinLivepeerLoopringMakerMetalNEMNEONKNNanoNumeraireOmiseGOPax DollarPolkadotPolygonPower LedgerQuantstampQuarkChainRepublic ProtocolRequestRippleShiba InuSolanaStatusStellarStorjSushiSwipeSynthetix Network TokenTerraTetherTezosThe GraphThe SandboxTheta FuelTheta NetworkThresholdTronTrue USDUSD CoinUniswapVeChainWavesZilliqaaelfdistrict0xiExec RLCyearn.finance
Bought on₹Current Value₹ Buy
Pick the best companies to invest
BECOME AN ETPRIME MEMBER


text:
In Davos, Carrying A BlackBerry Is Still A Huge Symbol Of Your Status
A lot of people here are conspicuously carrying two phones: an iPhone and a Blackberry.
Davos may be the last remaining place on Earth where BlackBerry still has massive market share. UK Chancellor George Osborne uses a Blackberry, too - he walked right by me, talking on it. (Here's a picture of him, but he hid his phone as I took my shot.)
In an odd way, rocking the iPhone-BlackBerry combo is a way to send a huge signal about your status: Yes, you have the expensive new phone from Apple that everyone wants. But you're so busy, so important, that you also need a phone with a real keyboard.
A member of the board of directors for a Middle Eastern central bank told me that it's the keyboard that keeps him with BlackBerry. He isn't just responding to emails with "OK" or "Tx." He's typing long memos to staff and colleagues.
An executive at a major aerospace manufacturer was rocking the big, square BlackBerry Passport that my colleague Mike Bird loves so much. I asked him why: Security. His IT department requires Blackberry for its employees because of the security. The guy from Goldman told me the same thing: the company still prefers its employees to use BlackBerrys because the security on them is superior to iPhone or Android. It wasn't clear to me whether only Goldman's European staff are still on Blackberry, or whether the US people are on it too. We previously thought that Goldman began abandoning Blackberry in 2013 when it let employees download a special secure app on iPhone, which would allow employees to use iPhones as their business phones. A Goldman spokesperson declined comment.
Blackberry Messenger has, historically, been the preferred messaging service of many corporate IT departments.
The phone of choice at Davos this year is the iPhone 6. It's totally dominant. Probably a majority of people at the conference are carrying the new Apple phone. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is running second. But BlackBerrys are everywhere too.
This isn't surprising if you believe that the iPhone is a product for upper-income people and that Android is for the less well off. Davos, after all, is the conference for the 1%.
BlackBerry's market share has fallen precipitously low, as it failed to move into the big, touchscreen world. The company guessed that people would always want a physical keyboard - and that guess turned out to be wrong. BlackBerry is now way behind the curve when it comes to phones.
So it's weird to see execs from the most powerful private financial institution on earth whip out these relics from a bygone era, when BlackBerry bestrode the wireless telecoms earth like a Colossus. Davos is a ski resort, of course, so it's almost as if everyone here has stepped into a hot-tub time machine, like the movie, and emerged in 2002.
- I was working toward a promotion at Amazon when my manager started emailing me about needing coaching. Now I'm worried about losing my job.
- Google's head of mental health and wellbeing was among the 12,000 workers laid off by the tech giant
- Mercedes-Benz says it has achieved Level 3 automation, which requires less driver input, surpassing the self-driving capabilities of Tesla and other major US automakers
- Pakistan facing worst economic crisis ever as its rupee plunges, says Asian Lite report
- Inflation in India expected to come down to 5 pc in 2023 and 4 pc in 2024: IMF
- Sensex, Nifty50 likely to open in the green amid mixed global cues: L&T, Tech Mahindra, Adani Enterprises, LIC among stocks in focus
- These are the brands that make shopping easy for customers
- Indian economy retains its crown as a bright spot: IMF report


text:
In recent posts Keynesians were criticized that hikes in the monetary base like Quantitative Easing (QE2) failed to lift the US economy, but it was the debt ceiling that helped to restore confidence in the US and that austerity can lead to GDP growth. Paul Krugman angrily replied that “even a huge rise in the monetary base would not be inflationary, and huge budget deficits would not send interest rates soaring. Krugman maintains that deflation is the great enemy of growth and “fiscal austerity would be contractionary, not expansionary.” In the following we will show that this time price deflation boosted growth in the US.
Investors used QE2 just to do the opposite to what the Fed intended, not the American economy was fostered but the “hot money” flew into emerging economies. The upturn in US investments at Q4/2009, Q1/2010, seriously slowed in Q4/2010 and in the first half of 2011. Keynesian will argue that rising government spending helped to pop up the increase in economy in 2009/2010 but contracting government spending made it worse in 2010/2011 (GDP details here).
But most economic data proved that US recovery was actually stopped by the rise of gas prices and the perspective of a future hyper-inflation. Gas prices rose from August 2010 till May 2011 from 2.65 to a top of 3.91 and smashed consumer confidence with the result that gas consumption in the US decreased and GDP grew very modestly. Certainly this oil price rise was not only the failure of QE2 (or what markets created out of QE2), but also a result of the Libyan crisis. Emerging economies were forced to rapidly increase interest rates and create barriers against the hot money and rising inflation.
By Q3, 2011 everything changed: The potential crisis let the money flow back into the US, the Fed decided to replace Quantitative Easing by the Operation Twist, which essentially meant that the Fed was unable to help. Only after the deception about the lack of renewed money printing, the financial markets priced in the slowing oil demands which resulted in a renewed record-spread between Brent and US WTI oil and sharp decrease of the WTI crude price. The latter went down to 77$ per barrel in October. The high interest rates and the outflow of hot money cooled the economies of Emerging Markets significantly. Chinese and Brazilian PMIs were in contraction area at the end of 2011.
But then the unexpected happened: Great discounts led the US car industry expand first, durable goods consumption increased significantly in Q3. Similarly in Q4 discounts helped to increase retail sales and to sell the remaining inventories. Consumer sentiment was lifted again thanks to lower gas prices and better than weather than usually. GDP suddenly rose thanks to the stock piling needed after the sell-off. Selling higher quantities required a bigger work-force, but logically the productivity nearly contracted. The lower unemployment rate helped to increase consumer confidence from Lehman-crisis record-low levels in August 2011 to normal post-crisis levels. Finally the lower jobless numbers and higher consumer confidence boosted the ISM non-manufacturing index, that increased from 52.6 to 56.8 in February 2012. This again gives a hint of future growth in the PCE component of the GDP.
The evidence is clear: Price deflation helped to kickstart the US economy after a trough. And this strongly contradicts the Keynesian view that only inflation (and rises in the monetary base) can kickstart growth. Growth can be achieved without inflation and money printing, a strong argument for anti-Keynesians.
Will the US growth be sustained this time? The answer might be: Yes at least in 2012, because the Fed has learned from its failures, there won’t be any QE3 and a (commodity price) inflation will be avoided. The Fed’s QE2 money printing and the subsequent rate hikes by the EM central banks have successfully managed to suppress the economies of the Emerging Markets and the US has for this time won the fight for (cheap) resources.
Therefore commodity prices will only increase very in 2012, some people even insist that prices have topped out. Emerging Markets will not grow a lot stronger than industrialized countries as they did between 2005 and 2011. The shortages and the dip in the US economy expected by many investors will not happen in 2012. Thanks to cheaper commodity prices the US growth in 2012 will be sustained, growth in stock prices are expected to be stronger than the one in commodities.
One question should be asked: Might an increase of US short-term interest rates combined with a continued Operation Twist even further suppress commodity prices and therefore further boost US growth ?See more for Next post
Tags: Deflation,Keynes,Keynesian,money printing,Oil & Commodities,Operation Twist,PMI,QE2,QE3,Quantitative Easing,Swiss National Bank,U.S. Consumer Confidence,United States


text:
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
WASHINGTON — A car collided with the Dodici’s Shop storefront downtown around 11:30 a.m. Friday.
Store managers said nobody was injured from the accident, but the crash heavily damaged the windows and entryway to the coffee shop.
“We are so thankful nobody was hurt,” Dodici’s Manager Isabella Santoro said. “Accidents happen. This is all fixable and we are working immediately to remedy it so we can start serving our customers again as soon as possible.”
As of Friday afternoon, an accident report was not immediately available from law enforcement officials.


text:
Showing 1-2 of 2
Vegetables, some fruit, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, olive oil, eggs, nuts, and avocado are on the paleo diet. But foods like peanut butter, grains, and most dairy are off-limits. Here, find a full list of paleo-friendly foods by category!
Fatty acids found in fish and oils from certain types of plants and vegetables could be effective at inhibiting growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells, according to researchers.


text:
Boston’s licensing board unanimously rejected an application for a proposed Starbucks location in South Boston at a hearing Thursday morning, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office has confirmed.
The three-member board rejected what is known as a “common victualler’s license,” sought by developer Michael Norton, who wanted to bring the Seattle-based coffee chain to the corner of L Street and East Broadway.
The proposal drew bitter opposition from several South Boston independent business owners and residents, who argued that opening a Starbucks at 749 East Broadway could spell the beginning of the end for the independent shops that line both sides of the street and are integral to Southie’s identity.
Walsh’s office said on Tuesday that it opposed the Starbucks due to inadequate support in the neighborhood.
Norton has already won zoning approval for a restaurant in that space. He bought the corner lot in 2011, tore down an older building there, and replaced it with a three-story structure, with two rental apartments upstairs and the restaurant space at street level.
Going forward, the developer may ask the board to reconsider its decision. If he is denied, Norton may appeal the decision in Superior Court, according to Walsh’s office.
Starbucks issued a statement saying it respects the board’s decision. A Starbucks spokeswoman said it is too soon to say whether the company would seek a reconsideration from the board.
“We respect the decision and look forward to having an open dialogue with community members and city officials to address any concerns as well as offer a better understanding [of] the experience we can provide,” the company said in the statement.