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CHIGAGO — Even as the faithful began to filter into the McCormick Place Convention Center here there was a feeling that this show would be different, and not just by the change of name from now retired “The Cable Show” to the inclusive new INTX: Internet & Television Expo.
Cable TV companies, the original disruptors, are being disrupted.
New “over-the-top” competitors are forcing deep trepidation and profound business strategy shifts for multichannel-TV distributors, who are creating new “skinny” bundles of TV with Internet to respond to the threat. To draw — and retain — customers, cable’s biggest operators are accelerating upgrades to make broadband speeds top out at 1 Gigabit per second and more.
And they are spending furiously — hundreds of millions of dollars, in the case of giant Comcast — to fortify the issue that despite genuine advances, stands today as the Achilles’ Heel of the entire industry: customer service.
Cable networks are seeking new metrics to measure the millennial shift to viewing on new devices, and they’re fretting over a more Darwinian ecosystem that will surely kill off the weaker networks, a certain result if new “slimmer” bundles take hold. Upstart channels won’t have a chance on linear television, and it’ll be harder for entrenched networks to show growth. Welcome to the jungle.
On top of these challenges, there will be little help from Washington, as Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler made clear to the flummoxed crowd in Chicago, who sat, literally and figuratively, in the dark on his intentions. Unlike the last few glory years of the industry, federal regulators’ eyes will be trained hard on Internet distribution, with the ability — if not the intent — to control pricing.
Greater scrutiny was the point of the FCC’s lengthy suffocation of the $67 billion Comcast- Time Warner Cable merger, which was summed up by Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts not with any verbal explanation, but by cutting his speech to a clip of an explosion from the movie Fast & Furious 7 (released, of course, by Universal Studios).
But the convention’s host — National Cable & Telecommunications Association president and CEO Michael Powell, cable’s articulate and admired general — reassured the assembled troops that cable’s long collective history of innovation wouldn’t stop soon.
For readers who couldn’t make to Chicago, following are five takeaways from the staff of Multichannel News.
1.A New Gold Standard for Broadband Speed: 1-Gig Is Here
Despite the specter of Title II hanging over the future of U.S. broadband, regulators aren’t slowing cable’s push to bring speeds of 1 Gigabit-per-second and more to residential customers.
Among MSOs, Cox Communications and Comcast last week trumpeted news of the new gold standard of Internet speed.
Cox said its 1-Gig “G1GABLAST” residential service has been launched in parts of four markets: Phoenix; Orange County, Calif.; Omaha, Neb.; and Las Vegas. Cox, which first launched G1GABLAST in Phoenix in October 2014, is also in the process of extending that fiber-based service to systems serving Arkansas, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Oklahoma and Virginia, and expects to light up service in those markets sometime this summer.
Comcast, meanwhile, said it had begun to roll out “Gigabit Pro,” a 2-Gbps residential service delivered via fiber-to-the-premises technology, in Nashville and other systems in middle Tennessee, as well as the greater Chicago region, including northwest Indiana. All told, Comcast expects to make Gigabit Pro available to 18 million homes that are within “close proximity” (about one-third of a mile) to its fiber network.
Much-smaller Mediacom Communications is preparing a 1-Gig trial in the university town of Columbia, Mo., using DOCSIS 3.0 technology.
While those services are being rolled out on a limited and targeted basis, cable operators aim to bring gigabit broadband to its more broadly deployed hybrid fiber/coax networks using DOCSIS 3.1, an emerging CableLabs-specified platform that will be capable of delivering up to 10 Gbps downstream and at least 1 Gbps in the upstream.
At INTX, Comcast offered a glimpse at its D3.1 strategy, showing off a fancy-looking “Gigabit Home Gateway” slated to go into production later this year and become available to customers in early 2016.
Although competition from Google Fiber and AT&T’s fiber-based “GigaPower” appears to be accelerating cable’s advances, it’s still not clear what apps and services will require such lofty capacities.
“I still think a Gigabit is overkill for some time,” Tony Werner, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Comcast, said on a panel last Tuesday (May 5) covering innovation and the future of media.
For now, it’s about future-proofing the network as apps and services develop that will require gigabit speeds.
“We think 1-Gig is about enabling the next generation of the Internet,” Philip Nutsugah, Cox’s vice president of access product development and management, said Thursday (May 7) on a panel dedicated to the gigabit topic. “As a service provider, we need to stay ahead of the demand curve.”
— Jeff Baumgartner
2. Cable Stops Worrying and Learns to Love OTT
INTX amplified the idea that 2015 will be the year cable learned to stop worrying and love over-the-top video. Instead of fearing OTT and considering it an enemy to the traditional pay TV ecosystem, operators are starting to embrace it.
That became increasingly apparent after a handful of cable operators, including Cablevision Systems and Mediacom Communications, struck distribution deals with Hulu, the OTT subscription video-on-demand service (see “Distribution: Hulu Antes Up” in Next TV).
Mediacom last week also became the latest in a growing group of pay TV providers to sign agreements that enable them to bring Netflix to MSO-leased set-top boxes. In Mediacom’s case, it will offer Netflix as an app on its TiVo-powered platform. But instead of signing on for Open Connect, Netflix’s private content delivery network, Mediacom and Netflix agreed to an interconnection deal under which the MSO will build fiber directly to Netflix’s facilities.
Comcast, meanwhile, is pushing hard on X1, a next-generation, Internet protocol-capable platform. So far, though, Comcast has not been nearly as aggressive with integrations of Internet-fed OTT video apps on the set-top. At this juncture, access has been largely limited to services such as Pandora, Instagram and Facebook. But Comcast’s platform is technically capable of supporting integrations with just about any OTT service.
TiVo has been preaching the value of TV-plus-OTT for years, and the message appears to be getting through, at least among its pay TV partners.
But Tom Rogers, TiVo’s president and CEO, said cable operators should be pushing even harder to blend their traditional TV service with increasingly popular over-the-top options.
“The cable guys can own that; they should own it,” Rogers said. “Instead, what is going on is programmers are creating individual streaming services. People are then thinking they can put together their own bundles, and that’s happening outside the integration and single experience that the cable operator can offer.”
The cable industry, he suggested, needs to be even more aggressive.
“It is amazing to me that they aren’t just putting their stamp on it,” Rogers said. “The best possible way to get it all and get it on a great interface … is the integration of traditional and over-the-top TV the way that only cable can do it.”
— Jeff Baumgartner
3. Bundles Are Gettiing ‘Skinnier’
Could 2015 be “the Year of the Skinny Bundle?”
Big multichannel distributors operators are creating “skinny” TV packages with Internet service, an effort to attract millennials and retain subscribers.
Peter Chernin, the former top Fox executive turned producer and online video entrepreneur, told the INTX crowd on Tuesday (May 5) that rather than destroy traditional channel packages, skinny bundles would “rationalize” them. “We’re going to see a tremendous explosion of new alternatives, largely IP-delivered,” he said. “That will ultimately force the bundle to justify itself, which is not the worst thing in the world.”
Later that day, a trio of seasoned execs offered similar predictions that the bundle is officially going on a diet. “I think you’re going to see more experimentation around this from programmers as well as operators. It’s in all of our best interest not to lose customers,” said Kathy Payne, senior vice president and chief programming officer of Suddenlink, during the panel session “Thin to Win: Choice, Change & the Rise of Skinny Bundles.”
Citing company survey findings, she added that market forces, especially OTT offerings, are making “people say, ‘Gosh, why am I paying this much to my cable operator when I have other choices?’ So we have to be nimble.”
Conversation and open diplomatic channels are key, the panelists agreed. Verizon’s bold move was preceded by virtually “no conversation” with programmers, Tonia O’Connor, president of content development and corporate business development for Univision Communications, said. “That was a head-scratcher for us because we’re more than happy to work with our partners to understand what the best option is for the consumer.”
Given the expectation of more OTT services, including some from traditional players (a la CBS All Access or HBO Now), O’Connor added ominously, “The launch of new linear channels as we know them today, there’s probably not a real future there.”
Mike Biard, distribution president for Fox Networks, declined to address his company’s legal fight with Verizon over its skinny bundle when asked by panel moderator Mark Robichaux, editorial director of NewBay Media’s TV Group. Later, though, he took issue with Verizon’s “touting” of a Nielsen study that found pay TV subscribers watch no more than 10 channels. While that notion “gets repeated ad-nauseum,” Biard said, “our research doesn’t back it up. What we hear from third parties doesn’t back it up. The idea that people have different tastes is absolutely true. But those tastes can cross over to a lot of different channels.”
— Dade Hayes, Broadcasting & Cable
4. Cable Ops Spend Big, Will Keep Spending on Customer Service
Comcast made the biggest splash on the customer care front, unveiling plans to spend $300 million on customer service, with several initiatives aimed at what Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit called “productizing the customer experience.”
Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts unleashed a flurry of product and service announcements ranging from voice-activated remotes, 4K-enabled set-tops and sleek high-speed routers to customer-facing initiatives like an “Always on Time” pledge that will take effect in the third quarter, launching modern updates to its retail stores and hiring 5,500 new customer service reps over the next three years to handle calls.
Roberts demonstrated the voice activated remote at the INTX opening session last Tuesday; it finds shows and information intuitively — he found Forrest Gump by merely speaking a line from the movie: “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
In a moment of levity, Roberts aid into the remote, “show me the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger,” into the remote, which brought up a scene in Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious 7 featuring an exploding house.
A new home gateway router, capable of handling 9-Gigabit WiFi, IP video, phone and Xfinity Home is being trialed this year and will be available across Comcast’s footprint by the end of next year.
In Chicago, Roberts unveiled a prototype Studio Xfinity store complete with virtual-reality stations and video games for the kids alongside set-top boxes, modems and other equipment for subscribers. In introducing the store — which he said will be Comcast’s flagship retail operation and will officially open in June — Roberts said the intention was more toward education rather than the hard sell.
Comcast has had to weather several high-profile and embarrassing customer-care glitches in the past, and Roberts said that it has served as a “rallying cry” for employees to rethink how it does business.
He added that the initiatives have been more than two years in the making.
“We’re going to use that negative energy and turn it into positive energy,” Roberts said.
Leading the initiative is Comcast executive vice president of customer experience Charlie Herrin, who has a $300 million budget to make Comcast’s customer care vision a reality. He added that products and services aren’t the only part of the plan — at some point, all of Comcast’s 84,000 employees, from front-line workers to top executives, will go through hospitality training to improve the customer experience.
Comcast customers will soon be able to track technicians via their mobile phones with an Uber-like app that display’s the tech’s name, how far away he is and when he is expected to arrive. The app also has a ratings system for after the tech completes the job — anything less than a four-star rating will prompt a phone call from Comcast to find out how it can do better. With the “Always on Time” initiative, customer accounts will be automatically credited $20 if a tech shows up one minute late.
— Mike Farrell
5. Cable Is a Regulated Industry — and the FCC Is Watching
Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler received a frosty welcome from the congregation at INTX last week, who were stingy with applause for a man who had just branded them “gatekeepers” and rocked their world with new regulations that the NCTA has dubbed “a disaster.”
The Title II regulations recently passed by the FCC will ensure there’s no discrimination against competitors, but MVPDs are concerned that other restrictive parts of the new rules — including price regulation, which the FCC is “forebearing” — could come to life in this or future administrations.
“I thought we operate in a different environment than he [Wheeler] seems to live in,” Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Rob Marcus said at the start of the general session panel that immediately followed Wheeler’s speech. “In my world, broadband is very competitive. Competition has, in fact, fueled a tremendous amount of investment, and it’s investment we continue to make to make our broadband better. I wonder what the problem is.”
Wheeler defended his recent decisions and assured the crowd Title II would be the law of the land. He said the broadband industry was not competitive enough, and the FCC would be working to change that.
“[It] is important to understand that the tipping point from cable to broadband came while the transaction was under review,” Wheeler said of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal the FCC helped quash. “We recognized that the industry had changed and we saw concrete evidence of the new competition and business models made possible by high-speed Internet access. You don’t have a lot of competition, especially at the higher speeds that are increasingly important to the consumer of online video,” he said.
“By bringing competitive alternatives to television viewers, this industry did just that — and the video business was changed forever. Then, your industry went on to upgrade, compete with the telcos, and dominate broadband. Now the question is whether consumers will have competitive alternatives for broadband.”
— John Eggerton
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If you thought the Takata airbag inflator scandal and recalls were coming to an end, think again. Recent news reports indicate that a type of Takata inflator once thought to be safe and reliable has come under the microscope after a crash and explosion injured a Honda minivan driver.
The troubling incident compelled the Japanese automaker to recall about 1.2 million vehicles across North America and Central America. The affected vehicles are from the model years 2001 to 2016. The recall is to replace airbag inflators that had not been part of previous recalls.
As you undoubtedly know, Takata airbag inflators have caused at least 23 deaths and hundreds of injuries by sending shrapnel flying in passenger compartments. Takata used ammonium nitrate to create small, controlled explosions that inflate the airbags in collisions. However, the chemical can degrade over time when exposed to heat and humidity.
In the recent recall, the inflators had a moisture-absorbing chemical added to keep the ammonium nitrate stable. The inflators were used to replace older inflators that were the focus of previous recalls.
But a January 2018 crash involving a 2004 Honda Odyssey prompted another investigation, and eventually, the latest recall. In that crash, investigators found that the driver-side inflator ruptured and caused an arm injury to the driver.
Affected Honda vehicles will undergo their second airbag inflator recall. The recall includes Honda and Acura models such as the 2001 to 2005 Honda Civic; the 2001 to 2007 and 2009 Accord; the 2003 to 2008 Pilot; the 2006 to 2014 Ridgeline pickup; and the 2002 to 2007 and 2010 and 2011 CR-V, among others.
Honda said owners of affected vehicles will be notified by early next month.
If you purchased a defective new or used vehicle from a dealer, contact a lawyer devoted to consumer protection to discuss the legal options available to you.

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The latest update of Android’s Nougat release has started to hit phones worldwide. The new 7.1.1 release is a minor update which builds upon the previous 7.1 Nougat release.
As is the convention, the release comes mostly with bugfixes and clamping down of security loopholes but that doesn’t mean no new features are added. A number of features from the Pixel phones are slowly trickling down.
For one, the update brings a more exhaustive set of emojis, including new ones for more female, race and occupational representation, which can be used on a number of Google apps such as Allo, Messenger and Hangouts.
A major UI element is the addition of sub-menu options which come up upon long-pressing an app. On the homescreen, it allows you to do things like jumping straight into a conversation on Google Messenger, going straight to the YouTube search bar, and the like elsewhere.
The update size, as told by a few users online, is around 250 MB. A separate security update for Android is also being released for December, making it important not to confuse the two.
As expected, the update is first hitting on the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, and the Nexus devices, namely the 6, 5X, 6P and 9. Pixel C, Nexus Player and General Mobile 4G users can expect to get the release straightaway, too. Phones running on “beta” version are also getting the final version. However, support for features like Daydream should only be considered available for the more high-end phones.
Anyhow, users of these devices can expect to see the apps in the coming few weeks at most.


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Many Americans have been battling financial anxiety as a result of persistent unemployment, credit card debt, mortgage problems and living paycheck-to-paycheck. Significant money-related stress can make it more challenging for individuals to seek out solutions and remain optimistic about their situations. However, a new report shows that more people are overcoming their anxiety and seeing their stress levels decline.
The findings of Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey reveal that the number of Americans who are highly or moderately worried about their finances declined to 53 percent in 2013, down from a peak of 61 percent in 2012. The reading is the lowest since 2007. While the results represent positive news and suggest that more individuals are seeing their overall financial picture improve, consumers remain concerned about several issues.
For example, 61 percent of respondents said they are very or moderately worried about their ability to save enough money for retirement and another 58 percent said their biggest concern is being able to cover the costs of a serious illness or medical emergency. Thirty-nine percent of individuals said their ability to pay their normal monthly bills was their biggest source of financial stress, while 35 percent cited housing and rental costs as their biggest financial obstacle. Nearly one-fifth of respondents also said their greatest concern was being able to make minimum payments on credit card debt.
"Americans are becoming less worried about a range of financial matters and, in a broad sense, are less worried about their personal finances now than at any time since the 2008-2009 recession," the report read. "Still, the level of financial worry remains elevated to pre-recession levels, even as the economy is improving in many respects, including home values and stock values."
Taking action to combat financial anxiety
Worrying about money can not only have an impact on individuals’ abilities to formulate clear solutions, but also take a toll on their mental and physical health. For these reasons, consumers may benefit from leaning on professional assistance to discuss their options and learn more about how to take control of their situation. A credit counselor is trained to guide individuals through a range of issues, including debt, budgeting, savings, mortgage issues, retirement planning and even planning ahead for the future. Speaking with a professional and learning about the resources available to them may help consumers feel more empowered and allow them to develop a customized plan to meet their needs.


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We’re again hearing murmurs that the iPhone 6 will arrive in June. As other recent reports have suggested, this one says there will be two different sizes offered. Don’t forget that last year we heard that the iPhone 6 would be coming in June of that year too. And we ended up with the iPhone 5S arriving in September instead.
But what’s particularly interesting about this year’s speculation of a June iPhone 6 release is a report from April 2013 which suggests that a big-screen iPhone 6 would arrive in June 2014.
The Delbrook Resources Opportunities Master Fund was up 9.2% for May, bringing its year-to-date return to 33%. Q1 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more Dellbrook is an equity long/ short fund that focuses exclusively on the metals and mining sector. It invests mainly in public companies focused on precious, base, energy and industrial metals Read More
Chinese website says June launch for iPhone 6
This latest rumor comes from the Chinese website QQ Tech and was reported by Apple Insider. The rumor comes from Chinese analyst Sun Changxu, who believes production for the iPhone 6 could be ramping up as early as May. She also suggests that the handset will debut at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC) in June.
As others have said, she believes the iPhone 6 will have a 4.7-inch screen, however, she thinks it will have a resolution of 1136 by 640. She also suggests that there will be a 5.7-inch iPhone with an even higher resolution as well. Last week, DisplaySearch predicted that Apple will use a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080.
Speculation about the iWatch still swirling
In addition to the rumors about the iPhone 6, Apple Insider also reported on speculation about the rumored iWatch. South Korean website Digital Daily reported initially that LG Electronics Inc (KRX:066570) had won an exclusive contract to manufacture the screens for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s smart watch. The article claimed that the device would have a 1.52-inch flexible P-OLED display and that production for it would start in the second half of this year. LG was reported as having a goal of producing 2 million screens in the initial run.
That report was pulled from the Korean website, although G for Games managed to locate a cached copy of it.


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The startup has so far provided financial assistance to small and medium enterprises that transact online through marketplaces such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Paytm, and Pepperfry.
"After online SME players, we are now tapping offline SME and small businesses" said Harshvardhan Lunia, cofounder and CEO of Lendingkart. After tying up with TradeIndia.com to tap offline SMEs, it’s in talks with other online directory services such as Justdial and IndiaMart.
The one-year-old Ahmedabad-based startup had initially started garnering small sellers on ecommerce platforms. After raising $10 million from MayField Fund and Saama Capital recently, it collaborated with payment gateway providers such as Quickrupee, PayU, Instamojo and Telr to tap SMEs and small business using their services. With no collateral, no physical offices and no verification staff on the ground, Lendingkart provides short-term working capital loans to online SMEs.
It assesses the creditworthiness of potential borrowers using analytics and data, including information that’s publicly available and from third-party associates such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm and other online platforms.
Going by the trend of prioritizing holistic nutrition and wellness, the company foresees the nutrition category to grow faster with the current contribution of over 50% to 65% by 2024, which includes a significant contribution from the herbal nutrition segment.
If Future is allowed to renege on its contract with Amazon, it may signal to global investors that investments in India are risky, the U.S. company alleges. That is an inconvenient image at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs foreign investment to create jobs and reboot an economy pummeled by the pandemic.


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First Lady Michelle Obama tastefully made her way to the Hyattsville Thursday morning, highlighting the need for healthier eating-out options.
Obama, who has championed healthier living in her “Let’s Move” campaign since 2010, lauded the efforts of Darden Restaurants, Inc.—the company owns Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze and Red Lobster—which agreed to reduce the amount of calories and sodium in its foods in the coming years.
The plan includes:
- Reducing sodium by 10 percent in the next five years and 20 percent in the next 10 years
- Ensuring children's menus use specific nutrition standards to aid in development of meals
- Making fruits or vegetables the default for side dish options and with children's meals
- Making an 8-ounce serving of 1 percent milk the default beverage for kids and allowing milk to be served with free refills.
Stay tuned to Patch for a video and photos of Obama's message.


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Tigers, a Hong Kong-based global logistics and transportation company that specializes in technology-enabled supply chain solutions, e-fulfilment and transportation by air, sea, rail and road, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA).
Blockchain is an open, distributed digital ledger that can record and share transactions between two or more parties efficiently, securely and permanently. Blockchain enables transportation companies to more accurately track shipments, routes and trucks while providing a highly secure platform that permits faster processing and payments.
Blockchain applications in the transportation/logistics marketplace are expanding globally. BiTA is dedicated to developing best practices and standards for blockchain in transportation/logistics. The Alliance and its members are developing standards and education in blockchain technologies for the freight, transportation and logistics industries.
According to Andrew Jillings, the founder and chief executive officer of Tigers, “Tigers is looking forward to partnering with BiTA and being a member of an international organization that is developing standards for blockchain in the freight and logistics industry.” Jillings continued, “The supply chain industry is entering a digital revolution and blockchain is a key element of this. At Tigers, we are fully committed to digitalizing our business, and blockchain is a logical and natural addition to SmartHub: Connect’s suite of services, which provide clients with global visibility of their transportation, inventory levels, and e-commerce fulfilment.”
Oliver Haines, Vice President-European Region for BiTA, said, “On behalf of BiTA and its members around the world, I welcome Tigers to the BiTA Community. We look forward to the company’s contributions to the Alliance. Tigers brings expertise in current supply chain practices, which is important for the establishment of a seamless path into blockchain application.”
Tigers offers clients a full enterprise solution, from freight forwarding to inventory management, fiscal representation to omni-channel fulfillment, and the ability to trade products such as wine and luxury fashion items on the Tigers eShop. In 2018, Tigers launched SmartHub: Connect, a Microsoft Gold-certified technology platform using Microsoft Azure Data Warehouse and Firewall features for its fast-growing e-commerce fulfillment business. SmartHub: Connect is also available on a mobile application and is unique in the industry, combining freight, e-commerce and logistics in one Cloud-based portal.
Founded in August 2017, BiTA has quickly grown into the largest commercial blockchain alliance in the world, with nearly 500 members that collectively generate over $1 trillion in revenue annually. BiTA members are primarily from the freight, transportation, logistics and affiliated industries. Alliance members share a common mission to develop a standards framework, educate the market on blockchain applications and encourage the use of those applications. BiTA has offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee (North America Region); Sydney, Australia (Asia-Pacific Region); and London (European Region).


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The Dark Knight Rises! …in video games! At E3 2011, one of the most anticipated games of the year is on display, Batman: Arkham City. The new Batman game was announced for the PS3, Xbox360, PC and soon to be Wii 2, now called Nintendo Wii U. You heard it! Batman is back and is roaming around Gotham’s Arkham City this time. And – whats this?! Catwoman is now a playable character? That’s right, you can now play as Catwoman in the game.
Fans got to play as Selina Kyle on the Expo show floor. The demo featured Batman approaching a group of cats, then selected to “take a break” from the menu. This triggered a cutscene with Catwoman leaping from the shadows, and letting the gamer take control of her for a while. Check it!
What else is new? Detective mode has brand new features, brand new tools and weapons that Batman can use at his disposal. Batman can now go through all of Arkham City by either walking or in a brand new feature of gliding. Also when he’s fighting a couple of “clowned, twofaced, or penguin henchmen” he can now counter two or more people at the same time.
The game is said to be released October 18th 2011.


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Latest Article|September 3, 2020|Free::
Making Grown Men Cry Since 1992
High desert summer has officially ended but that doesn’t mean road trip season is over. This weekend might be an ideal time for you and your crew to cruise down to Roswell for out-of-this-world chile and cheese smothered festival fun. The 2018 Chile Cheese Festival convenes on the Chaves County Courthouse Lawn on Friday, Sept. 28 at noon. The annual fest boasts local produce and fresh-roasted chile, vendors of crafts and collectibles—such as those iconic red chile ristras—live entertainment by Nosotros, The Tylor Brandon Band, an ice cream eating contest and more. The chile cheese fest fun ends at 10pm on Saturday, Sept. 29. Visit bit.ly/ChileCheese2018 for more info.
Taos Pueblo invites interested members of the public to their annual San Geronimo Day feast on Sunday, Sept. 30 starting at sunrise. Avail yourself of the truly unique cultural opportunity to visit the only living Native American community that has been designated both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a national historic landmark. The feast celebrates the Puebloan patron saint and melds ancient cultural traditions with the Catholic faith. All photography (whether artistic, commercial, documentary or educational) requires approval, and taking photos of tribal members is prohibited without prior permission. Learn more about Taos Pueblo and their feast day at taospueblo.com.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that storied eatery Santa Fe Bite (311 Old Santa Fe Trail) will serve their beloved green chile-cheeseburgers until the restaurant closes its doors for good on Friday, Oct. 26. Calling its present location home since 2013, Santa Fe Bite—previously known as Bobcat Bite—occupied an Old Vegas Highway roadhouse for a dozen years before that. The Food Network favorite announced its imminent closure via a Facebook post citing both personal and logistical issues, including failing to reach a “mutually beneficial” agreement with a new landlord. There are no plans to reopen Santa Fe Bite in a new location but co-owner John Eckre revealed that they may be open to selling the business’ name and recipes.
The Good Food Media Network, which recognizes achievements in ethical sourcing of ingredients, published its list of 2018 Good Food 100 Restaurants last week. Two New Mexico restaurants made Good Food’s list, and both of them call the Albuquerque area home. Campo (4803 Rio Grande Blvd. NW) at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm features executive chef Jonathan Perno’s inspired field-to-fork menu of “Rio Grande Valley cuisine” in a casual fine-dining atmosphere. In East Downtown, The Grove Cafe & Market (600 Central Ave. SE) serves co-owner Jason Greene’s breakfast and lunch menu of healthy, relaxed American cuisine made with locally grown, organic ingredients. To learn more, visit goodfood100restaurants.org.


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HYUNDAI yesterday announced a sharp rise in February sales, benefiting from recall woes at rival Toyota, which planned aggressive incentives to win back US customers.
The South Korean firm’s sales rose to 34,004 from 30,621 last year. So far this year, sales are up 17 per cent to 64,507 from 55,133.
Toyota’s recalls, totalling 8.5m vehicles globally due to uncontrolled acceleration and braking glitches, have hurt its reputation for quality and shone a spotlight on vehicle safety issues.
Data released earlier this week showed car sales rose sharply in February in France, Italy and Spain as scrappage programmes lifted business, but the European carmakers are set to face tougher times ahead as governments phase the schemes out.
While France’s scrapping incentive is in place until the end of 2010, Italy said last month that it would not renew its scheme, Germany’s ran out in early September and the UK’s ends this month.
Car sector executives gathered in Geneva for the annual auto show spoke of a challenging market at best in Europe this year, with Germany looking especially gloomy after the country was one of the first to end its scrappage programme.
“The (German) market this year will be down 25-30 per cent” said Philippe Varin, chief executive of PSA Peugeot Citroen. He said the company was assuming a nine per cent fall in Europe as a whole this year.
l Beyond Europe, GM, the largest US automaker, was expected, like Hyundai, to have benefited from Toyota’s recalls, but now faces its own problem, albeit a smaller one.
The company is voluntarily recalling 1.3m vehicles in North America to fix a power steering problem linked to 14 crashes and one injury. It yesterday blamed a supplier partly owned by Toyota for the recall.
GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz said the supplier, JTEKT –?a joint venture between Toyoda Machine Works and Koyo Seiko –?had not met “all requirements for reliability and durablity.”


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The boxy xB, from Toyota's budget cool brand, offers space on the cheap. On the inside, what the xB lacks in flashiness it more than makes up in comfort and functionality. Its roomy and flexible interior can carry a family and a whole lot of stuff in comfort while still going easy on gas. In a nod to funkiness, the speedometer and other gauges are mounted on the center of the dashboard, off to the driver's right. It's a surprisingly easy set-up to get used to.
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Microsoft has launched a new website for the Windows UI Library (WinUI) that provides more information on the various advantages of the modern libraries for the development of Windows. WinUI allows developers to access and use Fluent controls, styles, and other UWP XAML controls via NuGet packages.
While earlier versions of the WinUI focused on UWP, the Redmond giant has been expanding the framework. The preview version of WinUI 3.0 brought with it support for the full Windows 10 native UI platform. The extended scope of the platform meant that developers could use WinUI XAML with their existing WPF, Windows Forms, and Win32 applications. The website terms WinUI as the modern native UI platform of Windows.
Will this be the one that sticks?


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A new report and video show how dust from an ancient lakebed in Africa is critical to plant growth on another continent.
The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder serves as an all-around good people carrier and family road-trip vehicle, but pushes few boundaries when it comes to tech.
Pricing not available
A new, radical update to Nissan's Pathfinder turns it into a comfortable family hauler with a good tow rating and a flexible four-wheel-drive system.
Pathfinder reads the market and now crawls the mall more than the trail.
At a press event, CNET drove the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder along paved highways and over mountains on dirt roads, showing it has some off-road capability.
Calxeda was one of the first to push for power-efficient server chips. But the company now appears to be history.
The modern SUV has evolved to serve a variety of roles, both on the road and off. We've rounded up a few of our favorites.
A project on Kickstarter aims to create a realistic, interactive 3D gaming tabletop with cross-platform play.
Nissan released a teaser photo of its new Pathfinder concept, to be shown at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The New York auto show kicks off this weekend, and features a huge amount of new SUVs, along with impressive new cars from Cadillac and Subaru.


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Well at least it can’t get worse than this, right?
Target is not having a great month. After publicly admitting that the credit and debit card details of 40 million customers had been stolen over a period of three weeks, representatives for the big-box retailer then had to step up to the podium again to tell its loyal shoppers that unlike they had previously thought, it turned out the sensitive PIN data had also been taken by the thieves involved in the heist. The same crooks who, at least at the time, held the record for the second largest credit card scam in the history of modern consumerism.
The first place accolade previously belonged to the American chain TJ Maxx, who watched 46 million numbers walk right out the door and couldn’t do a thing to stop it. The competing outlet store will have to pass on its accolades now though, as it’s been revealed the total number of cards stolen in the Target attack is topping out anywhere between 70 -110 million in total.
Nearly twice to three times the original figure the company reported, this cache represents a massive blow to the reputation of Target, while simultaneously putting the safety of millions more potential victims into the hacker’s crosshairs. Not only that, the company has also confirmed rumors that along with the CC info, the names, email accounts, home addresses, and phone numbers of everyone who swiped their plastic in between the dates of November 27th and December 18th were made vulnerable during the busiest shopping season of the entire year.
CEO Gregg Steinhafel knows things don’t look good, and has at least had the humble sense of common decency not to sugar-coat the severity of the situation.
“I know that it is frustrating for our guests to learn that this information was taken and we are truly sorry they are having to endure this. I also want our guests to know that understanding and sharing the facts related to this incident is important to me and the entire Target team.”
The whole ordeal has been financially devastating for the company, as they have been forced to offer one year of free identity theft protection and credit monitoring services to anyone who had their information taken. They’ve also made agreements with many of the major banks to reimburse any funds that are stolen from accounts on the list, which has a serious potential to put a dent in the pockets of the people responsible once the details start leaking out on international forums.


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These days, there may be no mobile developer as patient as a webOS developer.
The two-year life of webOS, the operating system Palm created for its first Pre smartphone, has been marked by uncertainty. There were high points, such as Palm’s triumphant webOS preview at the Jan. 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. Late 2009, however, was overshadowed by Palm’s financial troubles. In April 2010, when HP acquired Palm, webOS developers were relieved the company had been saved, but wary about the changes the computing giant was likely to make to an operating system originally built for cellphones.
Developers had to wait nearly a year to see the first real fruits of HP and Palm’s collaboration: two webOS-powered smartphones (Pre3 and Veer) and one tablet (TouchPad), which HP officially unveiled at a Feb. 9 San Francisco event. In the meantime, HP went through its own shake up, ousting leader Mark Hurd and, eventually, installing SAP’s Leo Apotheker as chief executive. The upheaval cast further doubt on the future of webOS.
WebOS developers continue to wait, even now, several weeks after the introduction of the TouchPad, Pre3 and Veer. HP says all three devices may not go on sale until summer.
The disarray has annoyed some webOS developers, such as health software maker Epocrates and business software maker DataViz, who publicly left the platform. But the webOS developers that have hung on are incredibly loyal.
Their devotion was evident at a recent webOS Developers Meetup held in New York City. The meeting, which attracted about 40 people, was part reunion, part networking event, part educational seminar for current and aspiring webOS developers. Attendees – many of them toting multiple Palm Pre phones – chattered about the upcoming webOS devices and the opportunities they presented for mobile application sales.
Most people had only read about the TouchPad and new phones and were curious about the ways they differed from the earlier Pre and Pre Plus. A guest appearance – via Skype video – by Josh Marinacci, an HP employee who handles Palm developer relations, elicited dozens of questions.
Popular topics included the porting of apps written via the original webOS software development kit (Mojo) to HP’s new webOS framework for tablets (Enyo). [Answer: Mojo apps won’t need to be rewritten for the TouchPad but will require some tweaks to run on a bigger screen.] There was also interest in HP’s plans to move data between webOS phones and tablets. [Answer: devices will be bridged using Palm’s cloud service, Palm profile.] Some developers also wanted to know if they would have access to new webOS device features such as the TouchPad’s compass and gyroscope and “Touch2Share,” which synchronizes Web links between webOS devices. [Answer: application programming interfaces (APIs) for all three features will be released before the devices go on sale.]
Marinacci could not answer – or declined to answer – questions deemed too sensitive, such as when exactly when the new devices would come to market, whether Skype and video streaming services would be available on the TouchPad and if applications written with Enyo would be exportable to other mobile operating systems, such as Google’s Android.
The developers took the limitations in stride. Jonathan Ezor, a law professor and self-described “Palm power user” who organized the Meetup, characterized the night’s mood as hopeful and excited.
Those emotions had been scarce for months among webOS developers, noted Ezor. “Last year, when it was clear that Palm was looking for a buyer, was scary,” he said. “There were two risks: that Palm’s acquirer would kill the Palm culture or kill webOS – or both.” Nearly a year into HP’s ownership of Palm, it’s clear that webOS is a valued asset, said Ezor. He also believes Palm has preserved its easygoing culture under HP, citing HP’s embrace of the longtime Palm hacker “Homebrew” community.
Though fiercely loyal, these webOS fans are also pragmatic. Ezor concedes that by the time Palm was rescued, it had fallen behind competitors like Google and Apple in some regards. Some webOS developers were irritated that HP did not upgrade the U.S. versions of the Pre and Pre Plus with the 2.0 version of webOS when the platform was updated last fall.
Adam Marks, a writer for the popular online Palm community PreCentral, said that Palm’s Pre 2 phone, which went on sale two weeks ago at Verizon Wireless, was probably originally designed to launch last summer. “I’ve been waiting for two years for really great hardware,” he admitted. In the interim, Marks has modified many aspects of his Pre – “overclocking” its processor to run faster and downloading dozens of “patches” or homemade software fixes – to compensate for its shortcomings. He plans to buy the Pre3 when it goes on sale.
The prevailing attitude at the Meetup, however, was optimistic. “We don’t yet have the apps we need [for webOS to succeed], but we will,” said Ezor. WebOS, he contends, remains the “best environment” for developers due to its openness, low entry cost, responsive developer relations team and the ease of repurposing apps written on other platforms, such as Apple/iOS.
HP’s backing will also open up new markets for developers, Ezor added. Medical apps, for instance, should benefit from HP’s extensive hospital business and large sales force. “HP will push all of this through the enterprise,” said Ezor.
HP’s services infrastructure should also allow webOS devices to leverage cloud computing better than its rivals, according to Ezor. He believes Palm profiles will eventually go beyond saving basic information like a user’s address book and memos to include details like the state of a particular application in real-time. Such a feature would make it possible to swap webOS devices on a whim without fear of losing data.
The possibilities have some webOS developers enthusing about the platform as though it is brand-new. “There’s a sense of ‘getting in on the ground floor’ with webOS now,” said Sean Ramlal, another Meetup attendee. “The funny part is that this is an operating system that’s already two years old.”


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Krewe of Couche Couche makes 36th parade
A rag-tag group dressed in anything they can find in attics and thrift stores made its 36th appearance for Mardi Gras day in the Independent Parade.
The Krewe of Couche Couche started as a bunch of college students from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) who wanted to be part of the Mardi Gras festivities.
"English majors, theater majors, art majors and ne'er do wells," King Ralph Schexnaydre said. "In the early days we had no money. We still have no money. So we wore what we could find at the Salvation Army, raiding grandma's trunk in the attic."
Anyone can join and there are few rules to belong. Really, just two.
"Our outer wear is underwear," Schexnaydre said. "And the men dress like women and the dress like sluts."


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Wall Street brokerages forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) will post sales of $4.08 billion for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have made estimates for Omnicom Group’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $4.08 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $4.07 billion. Omnicom Group posted sales of $4.18 billion in the same quarter last year, which suggests a negative year-over-year growth rate of 2.4%. The business is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 21st.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Omnicom Group will report full year sales of $15.27 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $15.24 billion to $15.28 billion. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the company will post sales of $15.31 billion, with estimates ranging from $15.19 billion to $15.40 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that cover Omnicom Group.
Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 16th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.03. Omnicom Group had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 41.70%. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis.
In related news, CEO Jonathan B. Nelson sold 13,000 shares of Omnicom Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.38, for a total value of $1,005,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,069.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Dennis E. Hewitt sold 500 shares of Omnicom Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.85, for a total transaction of $37,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 45,610 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,518.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,233 shares of company stock worth $1,097,988 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 38,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,602,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. QUANTRES ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Omnicom Group in the third quarter worth $660,000. Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 653,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,428,000 after purchasing an additional 79,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 417,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter.
Shares of NYSE OMC traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 221,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,623,515. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Omnicom Group has a fifty-two week low of $65.32 and a fifty-two week high of $83.34. The company has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.06.
Omnicom Group Company Profile
Omnicom Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services. The company offers a range of services in the areas of advertising, customer relationship management, public relations, and healthcare. Its services comprises advertising, branding, content marketing, corporate social responsibility consulting, crisis communication, custom publishing, data analytics, database management, digital/direct marketing, digital transformation, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts/digital imaging, healthcare marketing and communications, and instore design services.
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Published on October 1st, 2017 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez0
Diesel sales slipping fast in Europe…..EV is taking a quick lead
Diesel has lost its edge of petrol as the emission scandal continues. Based on the data provided by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, for the first time since 2009, sales of petrol-powered cars this year have surpassed those of diesels in Europe (which used to be the highest consumers of diesel powered vehicles).
It seems highly unlikely the situation will be reverted in the near future, not just because customers are moving away from diesels, but also due to the reason some automakers are seriously thinking about stopping development of diesel engines.
Volvo and Porsche, with both already announcing their current-generation diesels are being put into retirement, with no replacement in sight.
Sales of new cars equipped with petrol engines rose from 45.8% to 48.5% in the first half of 2017 in Europe, representing an additional 328,615 cars compared the same period of last year. As for diesels, demand dropped from 50.2% to 46.3%, or 152,323 fewer cars than in H1 2016.
Malaysia has already seen a drop in diesel car sales by European car brands, however the Korean and Japanese brands have started introducing clean diesel engines this year. The fact remains that diesel power is addictive with its impressive torque from small 2.0L or 2.2L turbocharged engines and with great fuel sipping.


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The concept of crypto currency is not confined to Bit coin anymore. The Crypto concept will complete approximately ten years in the market now. Just a digital form of money does not suffice the concept crypto currency and it is bringing drastic possibilities in the youth world. It has begun to create new jobs, encourage entrepreneurs to establish start-ups seed crypto-tokens holding with advanced features and functionalities. As per the current survey conducted by Block chain capital, nearly 30% would prefer to invest in Bit coin instead of government sticks and bonds.
Millennials are in fact, one of the most prominent generations adding fuel to the fire of crypto trend. Now that bit coin and crypto currency are becoming a familiar concept, the world is still looking forward to the accomplishment of the block chain technology. The technology of block chain still holds a big question mark. The first generation to literally grow up being surrounded by digital technology, Millennials is known to have a distinctive way of thinking by nature. Millennials are embracing the idea of crypto currency usage and investments with no hesitation over the traditional methods.
Moreover, technology is an unbroken segment of their lives and clearly from food ordering to taxi availing, online is their ultimate gateway. This is exactly where crypto currency has smoothly carved out its position and leveraged an impressive platform to the Millennials. Also, experts state that, the crypto realm is a platform of both expansion and risk which exactly matches the stimulating tastes and preferences of the current generation. Also, a factor that precisely proves that the crypto trend suits Millennials the most is their maximum level of digital literacy. Compared to the baby boomers and the Gen X, Millennials are the most progressive group who adventurously tackles the digital generation.
On a relevant note, the idea of crypto currency and bit coin is gradually wide spreading among the elderly group of generation as well. People above the age of sixty are curious about the interesting terminologies, procedures and system of crypto currency. The older generation group who are willing to pace along with the crypto trend are now viewing age as a limiting factor. The trend is tending to transfer from the younger age groups to the older ones. It is being accepted and utilized worldwide and is moving into the future in lighting fast speed, rapidly than ever before.


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Speculators have been busy buying up web domains for potential presidential runs from 2020 to 2032.» Read More
Advisors urge reluctant clients to rebalance portfolios away from stocks before the new year, in the interest of diversification.
Visit any American city and it doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to see where its greatness came from—however faded it may seem to be.
The head of the National Urban League outlines a plan to close the economic divide that's crippling U.S. cities.
Do you have business jet envy? we've compiled a list of the 10 most expensive corporate jets based on list prices.
China unveiled details of its 60-point reform plan, paving the way for sweeping changes in the world's second-biggest economy.
Which is better: A Roth or a traditional IRA? Financial advisor Jerry Lynch weighs in.
Craft beer sales are booming, but one beer style is standing out from all the rest: the India Pale Ale. But it wasn't always this way. A look how IPA became so popular.
Gap’s high-end activewear brand Athleta could emerge as the biggest winner from Lululemon’s quality control questions.
Who said the housing market is in recovery mode? Clearly it’s not and the evidence points to very fragile outlook, said Todd Schoenberger.
The launch of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One marks a chance for Sony to win big after a string of losses and for Microsoft to expand beyond PCs.
JPMorgan Chase canceled a question and answer session on Twitter with a veteran investment banker after being flooded with insults.
The thugs behind the global CryptoLocker ransomware attack have added a bizarre new twist: a customer service line.
A scaling back of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program can be expected in the next couple of months, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said.
The Internet divides students as much as the cafeteria table, and it’s not just the classic schoolyard bullies who are becoming online menaces.
Prince Charles marked his 65th birthday by slamming the U.K.'s big supermarket chains for squeezing farmers' incomes by taking "none of the risk."
Robert Bigelow is applying to amend a 1967 international agreement on the moon so that a system of private property rights can be established there.
Despite backlash, retailers such as Wal-Mart have been quick to offer associates pay benefits and other perks for giving up part of their Thanksgiving to work.
Consumers may benefit from more low-cost competition as a result of the deal that paves the way for US Airways and American to merge.
Third Point founder Dan Loeb says his $13 billion hedge fund owns a stake in FedEx, and he does not want to replace Fred Smith as its CEO.
The automaker is betting a new, world-class assembly plant in Mexico will position the Japanese automaker for a new wave of growth.


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Apple Inc. (AAPL) Given a $195.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) received a $195.00 price objective from equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research report issued on Friday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.00% from the stock’s current price.
Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Macquarie set a $188.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Atlantic Securities set a $190.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS AG set a $190.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-six have given a buy rating to the company. Apple currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.68.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $52.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.71 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 36.36% and a net margin of 21.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: This story was posted by American Banking News and is the sole property of of American Banking News. If you are accessing this story on another publication, it was copied illegally and republished in violation of U.S. & international trademark & copyright legislation. The legal version of this story can be accessed at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2017/11/03/apple-inc-aapl-given-a-195-00-price-target-at-sanford-c-bernstein.html.
In other news, insider Philip W. Schiller sold 56,808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.70, for a total transaction of $8,788,197.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johny Srouji sold 5,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total value of $948,612.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 70,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,327,638. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 541,177 shares of company stock valued at $85,864,804 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 331,395,817 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $31,681,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,642 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 219,739,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,450,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,301,005 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. now owns 130,191,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,750,246,000 after purchasing an additional 834,854 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $5,625,709,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,165,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,239,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458,142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.33% of the company’s stock.
Apple Company Profile
Apple Inc (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The Company’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings.
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COMPANY NEWS; BRUNSWICK AND K2 TERMINATE TALKS ON SALE OF UNITS
Published: November 7, 2000
The Brunswick Corporation and K2 Inc. said they terminated talks for K2 to buy Brunswick's outdoor-products businesses for $200 million. The two companies made separate announcements that discussions and letters of intent had been terminated. Neither gave an explanation. A spokeswoman for Brunswick, based in Lake Forest, Ill., still wants to sell its outdoor-products units, including Zebco fishing gear, Igloo coolers, MotorGuide fishing-boat motors, Hoppe's gun-cleaning solvents and other hunting accessories. K2, based in Los Angeles, makes skis under the K2 and Olin brands and other sporting equipment.


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Today, South Africa’s business trends and the entrepreneurial landscape demands far more sophisticated skills in order to achieve competitiveness and ensure survival of SMMEs which have to look beyond the confines of tradition. This was said by Minister of Small Business Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, at the opening ceremony of the Global Entrepreneurship Week which took place in Johannesburg today.
“Business failure is often attributed to the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills such as innovation and risk taking and therefore should not be overlooked as essential ingredients to SMME success”, she said. Minister Zulu added that low levels of education and training, as well as poor business skills were contributing factors. She pointed out that the department is committed to facilitating innovative interventions to support the SMME and cooperative development in order to boost employment opportunities.
“To address the skills challenge, my department has embarked on a journey to develop entrepreneurs. Together with Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges, we are launching Centres of Entrepreneurship across all our provinces”, said Minister Zulu. This year alone, the department has launched these centres in False Bay College (Western Cape Province) and Gert Sibande College (Mpumalanga Province) focusing on the hospitality sector. Two more Centres of Entrepreneurship will be launched in the North West and Kwa-Zulu/Natal.
Minister Zulu reminded stakeholders that to meet the NDP target of creating 11 million jobs by 2030, South Africa needed scalable SMMEs, growing at a rate of 20% per annum. “This means that small businesses will have to contribute roughly 800 000 jobs per year until 2030 according to our calculation. In South Africa, SMEs contribute 55% to GDP and are estimated at more than two million in number”.
Minister quoted the Tech Start-UpsiIn South Africa survey which was released in 2015. The survey indicated that 17% of start-ups in the country had black founders. This is a significant increase from a national survey undertaken in 2012 where just over six per cent of start-up founders were black. The survey, which sampled 200 start-ups in South Africa, defines a tech start-up as a company with annual revenues below R20 million and has less than 100 employees.
Minister Zulu said: “It is encouraging to observe that survey results reveal a marked change in the SA start-up landscape, with an increase in black entrepreneurs, more than that recorded by any other start up survey to date. Despite the upward trend in the number of SMMEs registered since 2000, there is growing consensus that South Africa’s business activity rate still lags behind its BRICS peers”.
She indicated that her department will place more emphasis on the development of small businesses and cooperatives and facilitating access to finance and market support; and dismantling regulatory constraints and addressing the legislative environment that inhibit growth SMMES to competitive enterprises.


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Smiths News buys school stationery supplier Hedgelane for £38million
Newspaper distributor Smiths News has branched out into school stationery and equipment supplies with the acquisition of Hedgelane for £38million.
It will take on the brands The Consortium and Early Years as part of its purchase of the Wiltshire-based firm, which employs 260 people.
Smiths, which was demerged from retailer WHSmith in 2006, said the deal would help it expand beyond newspapers and magazines - a business area that has suffered sales declines in recent years.
Standalone business: Newspaper distributor Smiths News was demerged from retailer WHSmith in 2006
Hedgelane's owners, who include chief executive Melanie Teal and chief operating officer Mark Barnett, will get an initial £32million for their shares - rising by £6million if conditions are met - but will stay on to run the 40-year-old company.
Smiths chief executive Mark Cashmore said the deal was a 'significant step forward' in its diversification strategy.
It bought wholesaler Bertram in 2009, which has 45 per cent of the wholesale book market, and snapped up academic books specialist Dawson last year.
Meanwhile, Smiths said underlying profits rose 12 per cent to £21.5million in the six months to February 29, on revenues up 2.4 per cent to £893.2million.The half-year dividend was hiked 8 per cent to 2.8p.
Shares in the company were up 7.25p at 95p in mid-afternoon trading.
Smiths' newspaper market saw sales decline 1.2 per cent but this was better than the 3 per cent fall seen a year ago.
The improvement was driven by 14 titles putting up their prices, pushing average prices up 6 per cent.
Smiths said the net effect of the closure of the News of the World would be 'broadly neutral' following the launch of the Sunday edition of the Sun in February.
The firm hopes the Olympics, the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Euro 2012 football championships will boost sales in its second half.
The books market declined 8.4 per cent but Bertram saw sales rise 25 per cent as it benefited from the shift to internet book retailers and the integration of Dawson.
Bertram also saw a recovery in sales to public libraries, which were up 13 per cent in the period, as the funding position of local authorities was clarified following recent cutbacks.
View from the City
Liberum Capital said: 'We believe the core business is more resilient than the market gives it credit for with underlying growth secured by cost savings.
It added that the acquisition of Hedgelane was in 'an attractive new area' which diversified group revenue and offered opportunities for growth.
Stock trend: Smiths shares have struggled to make progress over the past year
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Facebook has bought out the developer of an automated voice recognition and translation app. Though plans haven’t been officially announced, it seems likely Facebook will use the technology to bring together users who speak different languages.
The purchase is of Pittsburg firm Mobile Technologies, which offers an app called Jibbigo, available on iOS and Android. The app combines voice recognition and translation to allow two people who speak different languages to have a phone conversation. That’s something Google has tried to do itself on Android, with mixed results.
The app also has an offline mode that uses a dictionary stored on the phone or tablet: in this set up, the two speakers pass the phone back and forth. While most such technology is billed as a tool for tourists, Mobile Technologies says Jibbigo has also proven useful for healthcare workers carrying out humanitarian missions, often in countries where they don’t know the language well.
For what it’s worth, when I checked the app out today, it was not particularly impressive: the voice recognition worked well, but many of the translations simply timed out. It appeared likely this was at least partially because the takeover announcement has led to a spike in use. However, trying to translate the audio from a YouTube clip of a man speaking Japanese at a press conference produced gibberish.
Staff who work on Jibbigo will now move to Facebook’s office’s in California. For the moment it appears the app will remain available with the same business model (the app is free to download and use online, but you pay for each language pack you get for offline use.) In the long term, Facebook plans to use the tech itself. The company’s Tom Stocky wrote:
Although more than a billion people around the world already use Facebook every month, we are always looking for ways to help connect the rest of the world as well. Voice technology has become an increasingly important way for people to navigate mobile devices and the web, and this technology will help us evolve our products to match that evolution.
Facebook wouldn’t necessarily have much use for the live voice translation: while it would be a neat feature for its video chat service, it seems a fair assumption that the vast majority of people who are friends on the site speak the same language.
Instead the individual components may be more useful. Reliable voice recognition that works well for a range of different languages, accents and dialects would certainly be handy for expanding Facebook’s take-up on mobile devices around the world. Meanwhile reliable translation could allow for more engagement on pages, for example by people from different countries commenting on a global brand or event, which in turn could expand the audience for advertisers.