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Home Authors Posts by Ted Kritsonis
Google announced a set of new products led by the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7, along with the company’s first smartwatch and a return to tablets.
Think you need the best smartphone when you head back to class? These premium handsets are designed to deliver everything you would want.
There’s a new mirrorless camera in Fujifilm’s lineup, the X-H2, and it comes with new surprises inside, along with two new XF mount lenses.
Apple showcased a new batch of products led by its latest iPhone 14 models, including new Apple Watches and new pair of AirPods Pro.


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Jabra Elite 85t true wireless earphones have been announced by the Danish audio manufacturer, priced at $229 (approximately Rs. 16,900). The new true wireless earphones from Jabra feature active noise cancellation, putting the headphones in competition with options such as the Apple AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000XM3, and Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. The Jabra Elite 85t have a dedicated active noise cancellation chip, come with a hear-through mode to be able to listen to your surroundings, and feature voice assistant support for Siri and Google Assistant.
Apart from active noise cancellation that is the key feature, the Jabra Elite 85t promise up to 5.5 hours of battery life with ANC turned on, and a total of 25 hours when considering the additional battery life in the case. The charging case has a USB Type-C port, and also support Qi wireless charging. The earphones are IPX4 rated for water resistance.
For both the active noise cancellation and call functions, the Jabra Elite 85t feature a six-microphone system on each earpiece. There is also app support through the Jabra Sound+ app that allows for customisation of various features, including the intensity of the noise cancellation and hear-through modes.
Perhaps more interesting is the fact that the Jabra Elite 75t will be getting active noise cancellation in the coming weeks through a software update, according to a report by XDA Developers. Priced at Rs. 14,999, the Jabra Elite 75t were launched last year and currently do not have noise cancellation as a feature, although the headphones evidently have the hardware capabilities for the feature.
While the capability of the ANC may not be as impressive as on the Jabra Elite 85t or other similarly priced headphones such as the Sony WF-SP800, Jabra's ‘standard level of noise cancellation' is promised. The free firmware update is expected to arrive in October, and is a major benefit for Elite 75t owners who are getting a new premium feature for free well after the launch of the earphones.
Which are the best truly wireless earphones under Rs. 10,000? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

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In the short time that she has been in the royal spotlight, Meghan Markle has quickly become a style icon. Months after her marriage to Prince Harry, people continue to talk about what the Duchess of Sussex is wearing every time she steps out, whether it’s a bold yellow frock, a “daring” shoulder-baring number or even a crossbody bag (this style of purse draws a lot of attention as it’s common for royals to carry a clutch). But there is no denying that her trendy — and sometimes rule-breaking — choices come at a price.
It’s been reported that the Duchess of Sussex is racking in clothing bills even higher than her stylish sister-in-law Kate Middleton’s, and that she’s on track to spend a casual $1.7m by the end of 2018. Though her Givenchy bridal gown makes up a pretty big chunk of this sum, that is still a lot of money for one woman to be spending on clothes in a year.
When looking at her sartorial choices, mostly made up of boatneck shift dresses, classic suiting and a plethora of overcoats (many of which are by Canadian designers such as Mackage, Sentaler and Smythe), it’s hard to imagine that she’s shelling out so much on clothing because, let’s face it, you can find most of the relatively basic items at your local thrift store.
We did just that, and recreated five of Meghan Markle’s looks from items found right at Value Village. Plus, we break down the cost of how much Meghan is spending on these items versus how much they cost second-hand. Spoiler alert: the thrifted looks are all under $50 each.
We recreated five of Meghan Markle’s signature looks entirely with thrift store finds
Invictus GamesIn September 2017, Markle wore a laidback look to the Invictus Games in Toronto. Her Mother Denim Jeans ($377) and Misha Nonoo Shirt ($242) were accessorized with Sarah Flint flats ($451), plus a $299 Everlane Tote and $200 Finlay & Co. Sunglasses. This outfit cost a total of $1,499.
A similar thrifted look made up of $13 jeans, an H&M top for $8, shoes and a tote for $10 each and sunglasses ($4) comes to $45. Getty Images and Erinn Stewart
World AIDS Day eventIn December 2017, to a World AIDS Day event, Meghan wore a Joseph Laurel skirt which was a whopping $1,170, paired with a $327 Wolford Turtleneck, Kurt Geiger Boots ($381) and an Aritzia belt ($59). This look comes to $1,937.
The second-hand version includes a much more affordable skirt ($14), a $5 American Apparel turtleneck, $15 boots and a $3 belt, which totals $37. Getty Images and Erinn Stewart
Post engagementShortly after announcing her engagement to Prince Harry, Meghan stepped out in Edinburgh wearing a $2,648 Burberry coat over a $327 Wolford turtleneck (which she has worn before), Veronica Beard pants ($516) and a Strathberry Bag ($715). This outfit totals $4,206.
Thrifting items to create this look — including a $17 coat, a $5 turtleneck, $6 pants and a $10 bag — amounts to $38. Getty Images and Erinn Stewart
Youth Radio StationOn January 9, 2018, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visited a youth radio station in Brixton. Her outfit was made up of a $1,300 coat by Canadian brand Smythe, a $75 Marks & Spencer Sweater, Burberry pants ($750) and a Jigsaw Scarf ($117) totaling $2,242.
A lookalike outfit using a $32 coat, a $5 top, $6 pants and a $3 scarf will only set you back $46. Getty Images and Erinn Stewart
WimbledonTo Wimbledon in July 2018, Meghan wore a shirt and pants by Ralph Lauren ($771 and $2,208, respectively) and a $900 Maison Michael Hat, which she ended up holding the entire time so as to not block the views of other attendees. These three pieces alone come to $3,879.
A comparative outfit made up of a shirt from the men’s section ($5), White House Black Market pants ($8) and a $10 hat costs less than a dinner out at $23.Getty Images and Erinn Stewart


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HTC 10 is the official name, leaked in new images
Well, things have changed. We won’t have the HTC One M10 as we expected. But, don’t worry. We’ll get an HTC 10 with an elegant design and…
HTC 10: Name got confirmed; design and specs showed up
With what we’ve just got, it seems like HTC has decided to discontinue their flagship series HTC One like what Sony did with their Sony Xperia Z. The HTC ‘s first flagship this year will be named HTC 10, not HTC One M10 as we thought. On the other hand, some think that this can be a new line-up of the manufacturer. Anyway, it’s just a change in the way we call the handset. Recently, two well-known leaksters have shown some photos of the device, including its full press renders and live images.
Along with them, the account @onleaks also revealed some “prototype specs” for the HTC 10. Specifically, it will pack 5.15-inch Quad HD screen, a Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and a USB Type-C port. As for camera, the rear one will be capable of 12 megapixels with UltraPixel tech said to be similar to the one Samsung equips their Galaxy S7 and S7 edge with. For other HTC 10 specs, no word has been made yet!
Until now, the company has already released an teaser image and a teaser video for the HTC 10 and we spotted the above leaked renders and pics. As a result, we guess a full list of the 10’s features will be unveiled soon. Let’s wait and see!
HTC 10 price and availability
So, now we understand what the #power10 means. Though, we still want an official announcement from HTC to confirm whether the 10 is a replacement of the One M10 or it’s a brand new machine. However, although the moniker changed, ‘we’re pretty sure April 11, 2016 will still be the HTC 10 launch date, and in terms of price, it can cost around $700.


text: Green Day has announced they are working on 15 songs for their follow-up effort to the album American Idiot, which sold a gazillion copies according to Soundscan. Billie Joe Armstrong told Billboard: "Right now, it's that no-pressure/fun stage of just getting on a four-track and coming up with some goofy stuff. Eventually, something sort of unfolds. It's exciting. The juices are always flowing." While Castro is still recovering from the sounds of Audioslave, Green Day is planning to tour to places such as Cuba, Russia, and Australia.


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Nice recognized for voice biometrics and fraud prevention and adds buguroo behavioral to Actimize
Nice has been recognized as a leader in authentication, voice biometrics, and fraud prevention by Opus Research, and also added behavioral biometrics and malware detection from anti-fraud and online security specialist buguroo to Nice Actimize’s X-Sight Marketplace, according to a pair of announcements.
The “2019 Intelligent Authentication and Voice Biometrics Intelliview” report says Nice Real-Time Authentication (RTA) stands out among 13 vendors for the breadth of its offering and its strong market positioning. The offerings position in the market is supported by robust capabilities, successful implementation, numerous partnerships, and adoption by many corporate customers, Nice says. Opus calls Nice RTA a proactive fraud prevention approach with watchlist and machine learning-based real-time fraud detection.
”NICE’s leadership position in the Intelliview report reflects their success in building an impressive roster of corporate customers along with a correspondingly large database of registered voiceprints,” explains Dan Miller, lead analyst at Opus Research and the report’s author. “NICE also distinguishes itself with an integrated Real Time Authentication suite that combines voice biometrics with analytics and fraud detection solutions which responds to the recognized need for passive enrollment and authentication, combined with proactive fraudster detection in a single product.”
Technology providers like buguroo are reviewed for their effectiveness in complementing financial crime and compliance solutions before joining the X-Sight Marketplace. Nice Actimize is the company’s autonomous financial crime management business, and operates the X-Sight Marketplace to offer functionality from various technology providers through X-Sight’s Platform-as-a-Service.
Some of the world’s leading financial institutions protect customers from impersonation and manipulation attacks with buguroo’s technology, according to the announcement.
“buguroo appreciates this partnership with NICE Actimize as we bring innovation and business value to financial services organizations through our unique approach to provide protection against cyber-attacks involving identity theft or customer manipulation present in any online fraud scheme,” said buguroo CEO and Founder Pablo de la Riva. “There is strong alignment between the industry-leading financial crime solutions and platforms that NICE Actimize offers its community and buguroo. We look forward to building our presence on this innovative community platform.”
The X-Sight Marketplace will also offer partner technologies for ID verification, device identification, user authentication, and other checks, and recently added biometric live streaming technology from Facebanx.


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Car-rental giant Hertz has signed a deal with Swedish electric carmaker Polestar for 65-thousand new electric vehicles over the next five years.
Though Polestar is a Volvo company based in Sweden, the parent company is China’s carmaker Geely.
Hertz is planning to offer the Polestar 2 EV to renters in Europe immediately, and will rollout the car to American and Australian consumers by the end of 2022.
While Hertz works towards building one of the largest rental EV fleets in the world, Polestar says the deal is in part about introducing its electric cars to new, potential customers.
An electric car plugged into a charger.
Photo from Alpha Media Portland OR


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- Continuing recognition that retail is where the growth is, Coldwater Creek plans on nearly doubling the number of retail stores over the next five years. Wow.
- The e-mail database grew from 2.9 million addresses in 2005 to 3.1 million in 2006.
- Circulation increased from 113 million in 2005 to 119 million in 2006 to nearly 130 million in 2007. Increases are in a newer title that serves a primary purpose of driving customers into stores.
- Total net sales increased from $473 million in 2002 to almost $1.1 billion in 2006, mostly due to dramatic retail expansion. This doubling in sales resulted in a 6x increase in net income. Sounds like somebody is figuring out the right multichannel equation here.
- Total direct sales have barely grown over the past four years. What a great lab for Multichannel Forensics, huh? Telephone sales have decreased from $200 million to $127 million over four years. Online sales have increased from $145 million to $264 million over four years. Management believes a large portion of the huge increase in online sales in the past year ($264 million vs. $198 million in 2005) is due to enhancements in the e-mail program (increased frequency & bigger list helped drive increases).
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To Google, all these technologies aren't spaghetti thrown against the wall to see what sticks. They're strategic bets in a multifront campaign to build a Web-based replacement for Windows and Office. And people are listening.
But is Google Apps delivering? InfoWorld decided to find out.
Google Apps pros: Cost and uptime
Resellers, customers, and analysts agree that the paid version of Google Apps delivers on its core promise of costing a third or less than a similar lineup of Microsoft products.
Because e-mail is a huge expense for large companies, it's no surprise that Gmail is a popular draw. Upgrading from Microsoft Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007 is often a trigger to considering cloud-based e-mail because it forces many customers to also buy new 64-bit servers and operating systems. For such reasons, Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler says that cloud-based e-mail (whether from Google or a rival) is almost always cheaper for companies with fewer than 15,000 users.
Although its uptime isn't perfect (and its outages get big play), Google says it consistently meets its 99.9 percent uptime guarantee. It also quotes a Radicati Group study that found Gmail four times more reliable than Microsoft's Exchange messaging server when considering only unplanned outages, and ten times more reliable when taking into account planned downtime for maintenance.
Google Apps maybes: Data security
The fit to business is less clear when it comes to data security, especially for big corporations. Data security in the cloud is an issue "enterprises are going to have to reckon with," admits AlertSite's Godskind. A prime example: In moving to Google Apps, the city of Los Angeles insisted on penalties from Google if any of its data was compromised. Many other customers aren't worried, trusting that bigger (and presumably more tech-savvy) customers will hold Google's feet to the fire on security.
Google says it has many customers in highly regulated industries such as health care. It also says its proprietary encoding of data, its dispersal of data among physical and logical files, all help keep customer information safe. As for regulated data, Google punts: "We recommend [companies] follow their regulations, and we don't give specific advice on how to follow those," a spokesman says carefully.
Rivals hint that Google's storage architecture, in which different customers' data may sit on the same array, pose a security threat. The question of where data sits is also important for organizations that must comply with geography-specific regulations, such as those protecting customer data in the European Union. "We make sure we're matching the regulations customers need," says a Google spokesman, adding that administrators can control which enterprise data various users can see. Google also assures customers they own their data and will always have easy access to it, rather than using its custody of that data to lock a customer in the Google cloud.
E-mail is another regulatory challenge, but Allen Falcon, CEO of Google Apps reseller Horizon Info Services, says the Google's Postini e-mail archiving and recovery service stores e-mail in the write-once, read-many format required by regulators, as well as provides the needed auditing capabilities. Google says it plans to extend the usage policies, rules, and parameters provided by Postini to the rest of its apps.


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At Google I/O Google introduced Android Pay, the companies newest mobile payment system. It appears as though the company is also set to test yet another payment option, Hands Free. This new payment system will be tested out later this year, starting in the San Francisco Bay Area. To start, Google has partnered with Papa Johns and McDonalds in the test areas to see how the service does.
Before Android Pay, Google offered payment options through Google Wallet, which they aren't killing off entirely, and now here comes Hands Free. Why exactly the company needs to have three payment methods is beyond us, but choice is always a good thing.
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The Turkish company Baykar Makina has announced that it will donate three Bayraktar TB2 attack drones to Ukraine after Ukrainians crowdfunded UAH 600 million for their purchase.
The company announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
Volunteer Serhii Prytula announced on 22 June that his foundation had begun raising funds for three Bayraktar TB2 attack drones. Ukrainians raised enough funds to purchase four such drones within three days.
On Monday, 27 June, the drone manufacturer announced on Twitter that it would not accept payment and that it would send the Bayraktar drones to the Ukrainian warfront free of charge. "Baykar will not accept payment for the TB2s and we will send three UAVs free of charge to the Ukrainian war front. We ask that the raised funds be remitted instead to the struggling people of Ukraine," the company twitted.


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VinFast plans to build automobile factory in US
The Vietnamese automaker aims to become a global smart electric car company.
Vietnamese automaker VinFast, a subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup, plans to build an automobile factory in the US with the aim of selling electric cars in California in 2022.
|Car showrooms in Vietnam. Photo: VinFast|
The Vietnamese automaker declined to provide details about investment, timing and location. However, the company will develop high-end models for the market in the immediate term and open 35 showrooms and service centers this year.
California authorities have granted the Vietnamese company a license to test autonomous vehicles on public streets. Last September, the US state’s Governor Gavin Newson set a roadmap to stop selling gasoline cars by 2035 in order to make it a "zero-emissions" state. This policy is considered the driving force for VinFast to strongly invest in electric car fabrication and distribution in the US market, according to VinFast CEO Thai Thanh Hai.
The market for electric cars in North America will not be easy for any automaker, according to foreign experts. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are investing billions of dollars in electric cars, while other investors are also pouring money to bring electric vehicle startups into North America through reverse mergers, typically Lucid Motors Inc., Lordstown Motors Corp., Fisker Inc., Canoo Inc., Xos.
“VinFast’s vision is to become a global smart electric car company and the US market is one of the first international markets that we will focus on,” Hai said, adding that the company is also planning sales in Canada and Europe next year. In January, VinFast introduced two luxury electric SUV models which will be sold in the US, Canada and Europe.
The Vietnamese manufacturer sold nearly 30,000 vehicles in 2020. The company forecasts sales of more than 45,000 units in 2021.
Entering the auto industry three years ago, the company has an auto plant in the northern province of Hai Phong and research and development centers in Australia, Germany and the US.
Previously, billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, Chairman of Vingroup, in an interview with Bloomberg said that he would pour US$2 billion into VinFast to export cars to the US market.
- Hanoi’s latest proposal on Ring road No.4 project to save US$380 million
- Construction of $120-million compostable resin factory kicks off in Hai Phong
- Construction of Long Thanh International Airport must be accelerated: Prime Minister
- Samsung urged to speed up construction on R&D center
- Hanoi to invest in construction of Phu Dong Port
- Hanoi to complete construction of inland container depots soon
- US firms keen on investment in Vietnam
- Hanoi continues to lure international brands
- KKR invests in Vietnamese educational group
- Work on Long Thanh airport passenger terminal to start in 2022
Vietnam to solidify macro-economic stability: PM
European businesses positive about Vietnam’s prospects for green growth
Who is the Vietnamese for whom a Paris square has just been named?
Hanoi among Top 10 cities in Southeast Asia
Vietnam's National Assembly to legalize commitments at COP26
Vietnam looks for UK support in finalizing financial regulations: NA Chairman
UK multinationals pledge long-term presence in Vietnam
Australian Foreign Minister enjoys Pho ga in Hanoi
Hanoi GRDP growth hits 7.79% in first half


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Date Posted: 2016-12-22
BTS 2017: Enhancing value chain for building industry
KUCHING - The Building Trade Show in 2017 celebrates 13 years as the ultimate industry destination for the building and design community in Sarawak and is marked as an important event in the calendar of the construction industry.
BTS 2017 brings together the community along the whole value chain from industry designers, suppliers, engineers and materials suppliers, stimulating the realisation of great product designs and innovations.
Over the past 13 years, BTS has supported Sarawak’s architecture, building, construction and design communities and plans are afoot to make the event in 2017 even bigger and regionally known.
BTS 2017 brings local architects, building professionals, contractors and designers together with manufacturers, suppliers and service providers who work across the residential and commercial industry sectors, for 3 days of unrivalled networking and inspiration.
The Trade Show will serve as a vital business platform for them to connect, share learnings, and expand partnership horizons and meet leading market players.
Over the years since 2003, the biennial Building Trade Show has evolved to become an important event for the building industry professionals, and the only event in Sarawak that reflects the real situation in the construction materials market.
Both exhibitors and visitors at previous BTS share the opinion that the exhibition creates a pleasant business environment and efficient networking conditions and where the participants can fulfil their expectations and achieve the set goals. Every year the exhibition shows a steady growth, both in exhibitors’ number and size. The booth and expositions design have become more interesting and attractive as well. The exhibitors use interesting constructive solutions, efficient materials and design.
“ Good product design has a role in addressing evolving customer needs, sustainability demands and regulatory requirements,” said the organising chairman, Bong Joon Hin, from the Sarawak Chapter of Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia (PAMSC)
Additionally, design plays an increasingly important role in the success of new products as it shapes the look, feel and perceived value.
Bong added, “BTS 2017 aims to bridge the gap between creative ideas, form and function to help customers bring new innovative products to the market and it helps to break down barriers between the different players and make the construction process more collaborative.”
Bong added: “ The biennial Building Trade Show (BTS) brings together industry professionals and players as well as end-users on a common ground where they are able to interact and acquaint with some of the latest in design and technology of buildings and homes.”
Quoting a Chinese proverb to highlight the importance of participation at the exhibition Frederick Ho, event manager of BTS 2017, said: “ Tell, people forget, Show, they understand, Involve, they remember.” Ho is among the first two Malaysians to be conferred with a Certified Exhibition Management credential and has to his credit 30 years of experience in the exhibition industry. Either promoting awareness of the company and its capabilities , build brand awareness or generate sale leads the face-to-face event will further enhance the confidence in the products and company that is exhibiting in BTS. These Return on Investment is well worth the money and resources spent.
BTS 2017 covers the entire build and design process from flooring to roofing and right through to the interior fit-out. The show floor has been redesigned to reflect a more curated atmosphere to enhance the impact of exhibitor products and provide a more fluid flow for visitors. The exhibition area covers 3,500 square meters with sufficiently large space for 185 booths.
Among the highlights of BTS 2017 are BTS Gala Dinner which will be held for the first time at Borneo Convention Centre and an Architect Forum which is expected to attract 800 participants.
The main Sponsors of BTS 2017 are Weida Resources Sdn Bhd and DML Products (Borneo) Sdn Bhd
For further enquiries on the BTS 2017, please call Techno Expo at 082-241559 or 019-8868954 or email to email@example.com.


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GOULDSBORO — Sarah Redmond is holding up a slimy, greenish-gray piece of seaweed.
“This is nori,” says Redmond. “This is what’s used in sushi, so it’s one of the more valuable types.”
Redmond, along with her business partner Trey Angera, runs Springtide Seaweed, the country’s largest organic seaweed farm, which is opening a new aquaculture facility in Gouldsboro this summer.
Springtide Seaweed operates a 30-acre seaweed farm in Frenchman Bay, along with a seaweed nursery and processing facility in Port Clyde. Redmond and Angera also helped found the Maine Seaweed Exchange.
Located in an old cannery, the Gouldsboro facility will serve as a aquaculture hub, containing a nursery along with space to process and sell harvested seaweed along with its byproducts.
“In Maine we have the traditional wild seaweed harvest industry that’s been around for a long time, but the seaweed aquaculture industry is newer, and we need to build up infrastructure for that,” says Redmond.
Approval for usage of the facility was approved by the town of Gouldsboro last month, and Redmond and Angera are currently establishing a seaweed nursery. They currently grow more than four different types of seaweed including kelp, nori, dulse and rockweed.
The seaweed starts as a spore in a tank or bucket. Water is pumped into the building from an adjoining lobster pound, and purified by electrolysis. As the spores grow, they attach themselves to spools of rope enclosed in plastic piping. Seaweed farmers take the spools out to their plots and attach them to buoys in the fall, then harvest in the spring.
“Each foot of rope can produce around 10 pounds of seaweed,” says Redmond.
Once the processing area is complete, seaweed farmers will be able to take their harvest to Gouldsboro, where it can be dried out and turned into a variety of products.
“There is the seaweed itself, then there are the value-added products,” says Angera. “Seaweed can be used as a thickening agent in foods, as a seasoning, in a variety of extracts, and as a fertilizer.”
Angera notes that as an organic fertilizer it is especially popular with wineries and golf courses.
As a winter crop, seaweed has minimal impact on lobstering and other shellfish industries, a fact that was noted by several Gouldsboro citizens who expressed support for the company at a selectmen’s meeting on July 12.
“There is incredible potential here because seaweed is so versatile, and as a resource we can cultivate from the ocean it is good for so many things,” says Redmond, also noting the environmental benefits of seaweed farming. “It really helps improve the quality of the water, because it naturally filters out nitrogen and carbon, and limits ocean acidification.”
Redmond estimates that there are currently around 20 to 30 seaweed farmers in Maine, but with the ability to process the crop that number may significantly increase.
“Right now there are very few places that you can produce seaweed products, and most people don’t have the resources to do it on their own,” Redmond said. “So having this piece of working waterfront that provides that really brings it all together.”
Angera adds that seaweed farming presents a great opportunity because “it’s low-input, doesn’t use a lot of energy, and isn’t gear intensive.”
Redmond says the relative ease of seaweed farming makes it a viable option for all sorts of people. Those interested can learn more at the Maine Seaweed Exchange’s Practical Seaweed Farmer Conference & Fair, which is being held in Rockland on July 27 and 28.


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Retailers hail on-spot fine for theft
Some of Kalgoorlie-Boulder's small retailers have lauded a new State Government policy designed to create a smoother process for dealing with shoplifters.
An on-the-spot fine for people caught stealing property worth less than $500 was announced yesterday by the Government and will come into effect across WA in June.
Instead of sending offenders to court, police will issue infringements to shoplifters at the time of the offence, giving them 28 days to challenge or pay the fine.
O'Connor Fresh IGA owner Chris Devlin welcomed the changes, saying theft was a frequent occurrence for local businesses and dealing with shoplifters was a time-consuming exercise.
"It's labour intensive for my business and it's labour intensive for the police department as well," he said.
"The main (benefit of the new policy) is obviously freeing up my time, my staff's time and also police resources as well."
Speaking on the incoming changes to the Criminal Code yesterday, Police Minister Liza Harvey said the new system would allow police to return stolen goods immediately.
Currently, stolen property can be held for several months while police prepare evidence to prosecute offenders in court.
"It can sometimes take eight to nine months before you get the goods back and if that's clothing, as an example, eight or nine months later you can't sell that item," Mrs Harvey said.
Hannans IGA owner Paul Robson said previous incidents at his store had meant stolen cash disappeared for about 12 months while the court process played out.
"We've had cash money for robberies held up for a year you've almost forgotten that's been held up as evidence," he said.
"The big plus is your property is returned to you which gives you an opportunity to resell it, mark it down or dispose of it for personal use."
The new changes also include on-the-spot fines for disorderly behaviour and the Government has not ruled out broadening the policy to include other offences in the future.
The system will go on trial in Perth from Monday, with Bunbury the second area on the Government's radar.
It is expected the policy will be introduced in the Goldfields by mid-year.
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After leaving the city, some people discover that the first town they choose isn’t quite right and they have to search for a place that is a better fit.
NYS Entity Status
NYS Filing Date
MAY 28, 2014
NYS DOS ID#
NYS Entity Type
DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
2014 - B & Z CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES LTD.
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By Melissa Locker - Thursday Aug 17, 2017
If you’re planning on staring at the sun during the solar eclipse on August 21, you’re going to need to either a) prepare to have your retinas burned or b) grab some ISO-compliant safe solar eclipse viewing glasses. Your first stop in the pursuit of solar eclipse glasses should be your local library. Thanks to … Continue reading “Here’s where you can get AAS-approved solar eclipse glasses”
If you’re planning on staring at the sun during the solar eclipse on August 21, you’re going to need to either a) prepare to have your retinas burned or b) grab some ISO-compliant safe solar eclipse viewing glasses.


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Major US pay-TV providers post weakest ever quarterly additions
DetailsEditor | 15 May 2015
Leichtman Research Group has posted worrying statistics showing Q1 2015 was the weakest first quarter for pay-TV net adds since it began tracking the industry over a decade ago.
In its analysis, LRG found that the 13 largest pay-TV providers in the US, representing about 95% of the market, added fewer than 10,000 net video subscribers in Q 1 2015, compared with a gain of over 250,000 video subscribers a year earlier.
Such providers, said LRG, account for nearly 95.2 million subscribers, with the top nine cable companies having about 49.2 million video subscribers, satellite TV companies having over 34.2 million subscribers, and top telephone companies having over 11.7 million subscribers.
Overall for the past year, pay-TV providers lost about 370,000 subscribers compared to a loss of about 65,000 subscribers over the prior year.
As tracked by other firms, the survey found that the cable industry was certainly in the mire, with the leading nine companies in the sector losing about 60,000 video subscribers in Q1 2015. This was 50,000 in Q1 2014.
Satellite TV providers lost 74,000 subscribers in Q1 2015, compared with a gain of 52,000 in Q1 2014. Consistent with the poor overall pay-TV performance, total DBS net adds in Q1 2015 were the fewest in any first quarter, and fourth lowest in any quarter since LRG began tracking the industry.
IPTV providers actually added 140,000 video subscribers in Q1 2015, yet this was still down compared with Q1 2014 that saw 251,000 net additions. That said, in Q1 2014 net video adds for the Telcos in Q1 2015 were the fewest in any quarter since Q4 2006.
"The traditionally strong first quarter for the pay-TV industry did not prove to be so this year. Despite virtually breaking even in the quarter, the first quarter of 2015 marked the first significant sign of an acceleration in pay-TV subscriber losses," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. "In addition to changes in consumer demand for video services spurred by competition from alternatives, the decline of about 0.4% of subscribers over the past year was also driven by several providers becoming more discerning in customer acquisition and retention, focusing on higher-value/lower-churn customers at the expense of the volume of subscribers."


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Praised for helping navigate the shift by advertisers into digital, media vet Kim Kadlec is leaving pharma for a new role at AOL.
Express Scripts notes that these prescriptions may not, in fact, be for ADHD.
The FDA's proposed upgrade to its off-label distribution guidelines has some new features, but experts say it is unclear if this means more dollars will flow toward reprints.
A month after UBM Canon closed the B2B magazine, marketing firm Outcomes LLC announced its return to twice-a-year publication.
The agency says outlets need to rethink running ads that make false claims.
Our year-end list captures the 10 that sparked heaviest interest.
The move to digitize a series of books it co-created with Disney for kids with type 1 diabetes was spurred by a meeting with the online diabetes community.
Elsevier is taking a hard-line posture against several different universities, asking them to take down scholarly research.
The Heath, Labor and Welfare ministry says a publisher passed off advertorials as articles.
EHRs could be a vehicle for pharma to find its way into the physician's workflow. First, industry needs to learn how to leverage them appropriately.


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Renowned French retailer Le Bon Marché and fashion giant LVMH have connected to launch a new online shopping platform, 24 Sèvres. Teaming up to bring Parisian luxury and high-end taste to the world of e-commerce, LVMH and Le Bon Marché aim to represent the French spin on fashion in the ever-evolving online shopping market. “There has been, until now, a void in the e-commerce landscape for a Parisian take on fashion,” 24 Sèvres CEO Eric Goguey tells Forbes. “With the mystique surrounding Parisian style continuing to fascinate, and Le Bon Marché’s quintessential Parisian positioning, it felt like a natural progression to adapt this experience for the digital space, and make it available to the global consumer.”
With 24 Sèvres, the Le Bon Marché and LVMH ethos now has a fully-functional online retailer to lead and its supporters hope to forge “new standards” for the way luxury goods are purchased and promoted on the internet. Nearly two years in the making, 24 Sèvres is finally available for use and online. LVMH’s latest venture was originally announced last month. Goguey explains:
“The products and brands sold on 24 Sèvres will be selected and curated with the same eye and taste as Le Bon Marché; the offering will include a mix of renowned maisons, as well as emerging designers.
It was important to us to embrace and include not just luxury houses, but also up and coming labels, across ready-to-wear, shoes, accessories, leather goods and beauty. Customers will also be able to find something to suit any budget, with items ranging from around $70.”
- Image Credit
- 24 Sèvres


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We’ve all sat through a bad movie or two, but most of us refrain from sitting through the same terrible experience twice.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what came to mind for this rural Kansas community banker when I learned of a new proposal in Congress to let merchants control how banks process credit card transactions.
The proposal from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., And our home state Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Is an unfortunate sequel to a similar bill Sen. Durbin rammed through Congress in 2010 that mandated government intervention in debit card transactions. The Marshall-Durbin bill is a page copied directly out of the Dodd-Frank Act that has already devastated community banking.
It was bad policy then and even worse today for consumers, small businesses and community banks like mine.
Most Kansans don’t think twice when they use their credit card. They appreciate the incredible convenience, security and protection their card provides. Most business owners appreciate the savings and benefits they receive by having customer payments processed with a tap of a card.
Of course, that seamless process comes at a cost to the card-issuing banks and the payment networks, so they charge the merchant a small fee each time their customer’s card is used – money that helps pay for security upgrades, fraud protection for customers and popular reward programs so many Kansans enjoy.
Big box retailers and eCommerce giants don’t like paying those fees, so they have convinced Sens. Marshall and Durbin to introduce this bill that effectively brings the government into the middle of a private, commercial transaction. They want to pay less and pocket the profits.
The problem is their potential windfall would produce real pain for consumers, small businesses and community banks like mine trying to meet the needs of our customers.
Kansas consumers will see their popular credit card rewards programs scaled back or end. Even if their issuer offers rewards, there’s no guarantee merchants will pick a network that credits them for their eligible benefits. More troubling, Kansans will not know if the merchant is relying on a payment network that skimps on security and compromises their data.
Under the current system, the issuer and the network have a clear incentive to keep customers protected. If this ever becomes law, Kansans can also start tossing away their perfectly good credit cards. This legislation would make most cards obsolete. What is the point of Kansans picking the card they want if the government can effectively replace it?
Small businesses would also feel the pain. They will need to learn how to implement multiple payment options for each transaction as required by the government and train management and staff on the multiple new systems. They will need to explain to customers why they didn’t get the right reward points from their transactions or why their rewards programs went away altogether.
If they use a cheaper, less secure network, then small businesses will also have to explain to customers how their personal information was leaked. That won’t be fun.
Just as with Durbin 1.0, Sens. Marshall and Durbin claim their proposal won’t affect little banks like mine. History tells us otherwise.
The original Durbin amendment exempted banks under $ 10 billion. Guess what happened? Community banks and credit unions still suffered a 30% decrease in their interchange revenue because the government was effectively imposing price caps on all debit transactions. This proposal will produce the same results for credit card transactions.
Maybe Sens. Marshall and Durbin could justify their proposal if consumers saw the savings, but again, we have seen this bad movie before. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, after the original Durbin Amendment was implemented, 98.8% of merchants failed to pass along savings realized from debit regulation to consumers, and over 20% increased prices.
Clearly, large retailers are excited about this legislation and the potential to pad their profits from this one-sided proposal. However, customers and small businesses will be negatively affected and harmed by this government mandate.
I respect Sen. Marshall, but he is on the wrong side of this issue. I hope we can convince him to drop his support of him for this bill. If we can’t, we will be asking our customers who appreciate the many benefits of their credit card to join us in opposing this proposal and keeping the government out of our business.
Shan Hanes is the president and CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart and the chair of the Kansas Bankers Association.


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Dhirubhai Ambani and Digital RevolutionJuly 06, 2015
Dhirubhai Ambani is famous as a great industrialist, propagator of polyester in the country, king of stock market and mogul of petrochemical and refining. He was also a visionary who could think much ahead of his time. He encouraged use of digital technology available in his time for internal communication of his empire, between industrial complexes and headquarters of the company, technology licensors and project contractors. Not only that, he always insisted on using latest digital technology in technical areas like process control, environment monitoring and water – use timer and automation.
When Reliance Industries Ltd’s chairman and managing director Shri Mukeshbhai Ambani announced, at Annual General Meeting of the company at Mumbai on June 12, 2015, about providing 4G LTE mobile phones at less than Rs4000/-, it was quite natural that memories of Reliance’s Founder Chairman Dhirubhai Ambani came alive. Dhirubhai Ambani’s dream project Reliance Infocomm brought about telecom revolution in India. At that time it was a mere day dream for the common people like vegetable vendors and scrap vendor to talk on mobile phone, but Dhirubhai made it a reality.
Earlier when Reliance was planning to venture into telecom sector, Dhirubhai clearly said that technology is useful only when people can talk over mobile phone at cost of a postcard. At time when Reliance entered into telecom sector, other telecom operators used to charge around Rs10/- to Rs15/- per minute. Not only outgoing calls but incoming calls were also chargeable. In such situation, Reliance fulfilled Dhirubhai’s dream.
At present, mobile telecom companies are charging exorbitant rates for high-speed wireless and wired broadband services. In such situation, Reliance Industries Ltd, through its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm, is once again set to provide high-speed seamless internet connectivity at affordable rates and bring out digital revolution in India with 4G LTE technology.
In 2002, Reliance Infocomm surprised everyone by providing mobile telecom service at lower call per minute and cheaper mobile handsets. Now, there is no doubt that 4G (Fourth Generation Internet) will take everyone by surprise by affordable price and high-speed because everyone is eager and excited about it. Currently 20 MB game takes almost 3 minutes, which will be cut down to just 25 seconds with 4G. One needs to wait for 55 minutes for downloading a film, which will be reduced to just 14 minutes with 4G technology.
Reliance’s founder chairman Dhirubhai used to say that the success of the young entrepreneur will be the key to India’s transformation in the new millennium. According to Shri Mukeshbhai Ambani’s speech at the AGM, digital currency, digital commerce, digital education, digital healthcare, e-governance, the Internet of things and Smart Cities are ripe for hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurial ventures. Collectively, Jio and Jio-enabled entrepreneurs can sow the seeds of a whole new digital economy, leading to a phase of unprecedented growth, empowerment, employment and prosperity for our nation.
At a time when Reliance Jio has taken up a mammoth task of connecting the whole country using digital medium, it is not out of context to say on his death anniversary July 6, 2015 that Dhirubhai’s dream of Digital India is taking shape. Recently at a function where India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched Digital Revolution, RIL’s CMD Shri Mukeshbhai Ambani announced to invest Rs. 2.50 lakh crore in next five years in this sector and create employment opportunity for more than 5 lakh people eventually. What could be better tribute than this to Dhirubhai Ambani, who himself insisted on use of latest digital technology, on his 13th death anniversary?
(Mr. Parimal Nathwani is Group President of Corporate Affairs at Reliance Industries Ltd and Member of Rajya Sabha.)
- Gujarat Solar Power Policy-2015 extended to Dec 31, 2020
- AMC declares 10 more Micro Containment Areas
- ED attaches assets of former Gujarat IAS Sanjay Gupta in Metro Rail scam case
- Gujarat govt asks Universities to conduct online exams of final year and P.G by July 30th, offline by September 30th
- Gujarat Cabinet decides to form a 5-member commission to protect constitutional rights of rightful tribal
- 1605 kV rooftop solar panels to be set up at 140 religious places at a cost of Rs. 3.30 crore


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o serve these regions. The new plant possibly will assemble the dirt bikes which Hero plans to import as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units as discussed before. Whatever it is, Hero MotoCorp is planning
...expressed interest, one among them was an Indian motorcycle group Mahindra. Mahindra and German auto manufacturer, Volkswagen, were at the top of the prospective buyers list. Now, one more Indian motorcycle manufacturer, Hero Motocorp,
[wide] [/wide] Hero Motocorp has been India’s largest two wheeler manufacturer and a trusted bike manufacturer (Hero-Honda) since years. The company has now increased the price of its products by up to Rs.
team is also working in close coordination with AVL ITC (India Technical Centre) based in Gurgaon. The team is working on a few options across motorcycles and scooters.” Its technology tie-up with Austria-based AVL


text: One of the country’s largest sweepstakes companies now will have to tell consumers they have not yet won….and that buying won’t help them win. Attorney General Jay Nixon says United States Purchasing Exchange agrees to pay more than 30-million dollars in restitution to consumers nationwide. He says the elderly often fall prey to sweepstakes come-ons, buying thousands of dollars worth of trinkets in the hopes of increasing their odds of winning. Nixon and the attorneys general of 47 other states sued USPE over its marketing practices. The settlement money will be placed into a fund that will pay restitution to consumers who spent more than 18-hundred dollars with the company from 1997-’99.


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Analyst: Bitcoin Must Finish Weekend Above $3,700 to Avoid Further Losses
Following the cryptocurrency market’s new thrust that sent Bitcoin and most altcoins down 10% or more, the markets have been means to find some levels of fortitude around their stream cost levels and are now trade down slightly.
One researcher now claims that Bitcoin contingency finish the weekend above $3,700 in sequence for it to stand higher, or else it will expected drop into the low-$3,000 region.
Bitcoin Stable, Struggling to Break Above $3,700
Yesterday, Bitcoin treated $3,700 as a turn of support via the day, but it now appears that this cost is apropos a turn of relations insurgency for the cryptocurrency.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trade down 1% at the stream cost of $3,660. Earlier this week, Bitcoin plunged to the stream prices after surging to highs of $4,100 last weekend. This dump broken most of the upwards movement that Bitcoin had gifted after it set 2018 lows at $3,200 in mid-December.
DonAlt, a renouned cryptocurrency researcher on Twitter, recently told his followers that he believes it is critical that Bitcoin finishes the weekend decisively above $3,700 in sequence for it to stand higher.
“If we do retest 3700 on the weekend and don’t conduct to tighten above there I’m awaiting ~3350. I’ll most expected tighten my sidestep brief there. This is the reason because you shouldn’t trust incompatible patterns,” he explained.
Although $3,700 might be an critical cost turn in the short-term, on a incomparable time support it now appears that Bitcoin is held in a trade operation between $3,550 and $4,200. Mati Greenspan, the comparison marketplace researcher at eToro, explained this in a new note, saying:
“It seems now, that bitcoin has non-stop a new mini-range within that from $3,550 to approximately $4,200… Movements within a operation can infrequently be remarkable like we saw yesterday, but unless there’s a dermatitis of the pivotal levels there really isn’t much to write home about.”
Altcoins Drop Slightly
At the time of writing, XRP is trade down 2% at the stream cost of $0.329, down somewhat from the weekly highs of $0.337, and is now trade right around the seven-day lows.
Ethereum is also trade down somewhat today at the stream cost of $126.5 and is stranded behind XRP’s marketplace capitalization by scarcely $300 million.
Bitcoin Cash is trade up 1.8% at the stream cost of $134.7 and is a hair above the weekly lows of $130.
Featured picture from Shutterstock.


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Yesterday, something much more important than Brexit took place. It was the 30 year anniversary of McDonald’s opening its first restaurant in the USSR and selling Big Mac Meals for three rubles to massive throngs of famished Soviet citizens.
That was the price that your average samogon-swilling sovok was willing to sell away the country to America for: 3 rubles.
Which is pretty rational, to be sure. The Mackie D beats Marx. That one fast food chain generated more soft power than several decades’ worth of Communist agitprop. And it paid off. In 1990, there was one McDonald’s in Moscow, and a Big Mac Meal cost 3/250 rubles = ~1.2% of the average Soviet salary. Now there are almost a thousand McDonald’s in Russia, and a Big Mac Meal costs just 185 ($3)/45,000 rubles = ~0.4% of the average Russian salary.
Was a threefold reduction in real Big Mac Meal prices worth the socio-economic turmoil, demographic collapse, geopolitical humiliation, and fragmentation of the Russian people that accompanied the collapse of the USSR? I believe it was, yes. After all, it was a polity that its own people sold away for a Mackie D sandwich and a pair of jeans. It is important to respect one’s elders and their choices.
Here is the same scene 30 years later. Along with thousands of other McDonald’s respecting Muscovites, I paid a pilgrimage to this sacred site yesterday.
They were supposed to recreate the original price, selling Big Mac meals for 3 rubles (=5 cents). In the event, the goyim were fooled (again), with the deal being canceled at the last minute due to coronavirus fears.
But at least I got this pic and a plastic McDonald’s flag out of it. It was worth it. HAIL MCDONALD’S!


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India’s largest e-commerce firm Flipkart said on Tuesday that its chief financial officer (CFO) would leave the company at the end of this year.
The departure of Sanjay Baweja comes during the Indian festive season, a crucial time for sales, and as Flipkart engages in talks with US retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc to raise up to $1 billion for a minority stake.
Baweja joined Flipkart in September 2014 from Tata Communications.
A Flipkart spokesman said December 31 would be Baweja’s last day at the company and the search for a replacement had begun.
Flipkart has seen a string of exits in recent months.
Head of commerce and advertising business Mukesh Bansal and chief business officer Ankit Nagori resigned from the company in February this year. Nagori quit the firm to start a venture in the sports domain where Flipkart’s co-founders Sachin and Binny Bansal are the first investors.
Later in April, Flipkart’s chief product officer Punit Soni and vice-president and head of seller ecosystem Manish Maheshwari resigned from the company to join Web18. In July, Flipkart lost two more senior executives -- payment product head Lalit Sarna and product lead for marketplace division Sunil Gopinath.


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More online ‘how-to’ info and greater comfort with purchasing online driving increase;
saving money and comparing pricing seen as top benefits according to new
Carson, CA ––March21, 2013 – Consumers report they’re purchasing more auto parts online now than they did three years ago, and greater availability of ‘How-To’ info, more comfort generally with purchasing online, and older vehicles are driving the surge, according to a new online survey conducted by AutoPartsWarehouse.com.* The survey also revealed that consumers believe that saving money and the ability to comparison shop are the top benefits of purchasing auto parts online.
The snapshot survey, which was conducted among over 3,200 online auto parts shoppers, was almost evenly split between occasional DIYers and frequent DIYers, with less than ten percent identifying themselves as DFMers (usually go to repair shop/dealership for auto repairs) and another 10% as auto mechanics.
“This survey confirms that consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable purchasing parts online, further empowering themselves when their vehicles need repairs, whether by saving money, comparing pricing and/or installing parts themselves,” said Shane Evangelist CEO of AutoPartsWarehouse.com. “And it makes sense. With an aging vehicle population, more consumers DIYing and repair shops willing to install parts purchased online, it is no surprise that almost 90% surveyed are more likely to buy auto parts online in the future than at the store or dealership.”
Consumers Report Purchasing More Parts Online Now than in Previous Years
The survey revealed that occasional/frequent DIYers are doing more online purchasing of parts than they were a few years ago, with seventy-eight percent reporting that they are purchasing more parts online today than they had in the previous 3 to 4 years.
When asked why they were purchasing more parts online today, a “greater comfort with purchasing things online” was the top reason, followed by more access to DIY auto repair info online, and owning an older vehicle ranking third. Interestingly, while 31% cited the economy as a reason (‘the economy has impacted my financial situation, so I am doing more of my own auto repairs to save money), it was the bottom-ranked choice, indicating that the macro forces of increased adoption of e-commerce and online information in general, as well as a longer vehicle ownership cycle, are trumping financial challenges, perhaps a reflection of improving economic conditions.
And survey respondents indicate that online parts purchasing is definitely in their future, with 89% saying they are more likely to buy auto parts online going forward than at the store or dealership.
Saving Money and Comparison Pricing — Top Benefits
When asked to rank the top benefit of purchasing parts online, saving money was cited as the top benefit, followed by the ability to compare pricing and the availability of a bigger selection.
What do you think is the TOP benefit of buying auto parts online?
|1. Saving money||
|2. The ability to compare prices online before buying||
|3. Bigger selection of parts than in the store or at the dealership||
|4. Access to more information about each part||
|5. Saving time||
Clearly, cost savings are the big impetus behind increased auto parts shopping. And the survey also revealed that 90+% believe that they would save by purchasing online. For instance, 60% believethey could save 20% or more, and only 9% believe there is no difference between the price of parts online and at a store or dealership.
How much do you think you can save per part buying auto parts online?
|10 – 20%||
|20 – 30%||
|30 – 40%||
|40 – 50%||
|More than 50%||
|I don’t believe there’s a discernible difference in price between online parts and in-store/at-dealership parts.||
Although the majority of respondents overall cited cost savings as the number one benefit,the most frequent online parts buyers cited the ability to compare prices as the top benefit (41%). But for infrequent online parts buyers(who tend to only buy parts when their vehicles need them), saving money and easy installation ranked as the top factors that would make them buy parts online more frequently in the future. Of those surveyed who never purchase parts online, the top reason given for visiting auto parts websites was to benchmark how much it would cost to replace a part they were having issues with.
Online Parts Purchasers Buying Basic and Complex Parts for DIY
For these self-reported DIYers, parts that are relatively easy to install are, of course, popular, but complex parts categories are also being purchased for self-installation.
The most purchased parts by survey-takers (among the most common parts categories) were exterior parts (such as mirrors, lights, bumpers, fenders, grilles, hoods,) followed by brake-related parts; air filters and exhaust system parts; engine / transmission-related parts; performance parts; and plugs, wires and ignition systems. Of the more complex, difficult-to-install parts, at least one in five reported having purchased one or more of the following: shock absorber and strut assembly, fuel pumpor radiator. And nearly two-thirds reported that they purchased these complex parts to install themselves.
Have you ever purchased any of the following auto parts online? If so, please select all that apply.
|Shock Absorber and Strut Assembly||
|None of the above||
Purchasing for Repair Shop Installation
Many auto repair shops are willing to install parts purchased elsewhere;**and the survey revealed that more than half of survey-takers were aware of that option, with 55% of those aware reporting that they had taken parts into a shop to be installed. As for the 40% who were unaware? Knowledge is poised to change their future behavior: 66% said that now that they know they can, they would buy parts online for shop installation in the future, especially if they knew it would save them money.
*The survey was conducted among online auto parts shoppers from November 2012 through January 2013, with 3,214 completed responses.
**In an analysis of AutoMD.com repair shops, 48% said they were willing to install customer-supplied parts
Established in 1995, AutoPartsWarehouse.com is one of the nation’s top online auto parts and accessories retailers and is dedicated to making it easy for consumers to save money by accessing auto parts online. AutoPartsWarehouse.com offers a comprehensive catalogue of over 2 million auto parts and accessories, to fit all domestic and foreign makes from top aftermarket manufacturers. AutoPartsWarehouse.com offers consumers free shipping on orders over $50 as well as flexible payment and extended warranty plans and options. The company has parts warehouses in markets throughout the U.S. enabling rapid shipping of parts.
Check out the gallery below for visually enhanced graphs of AutoPartsWarehouse.com’s survey results:


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As luxury brands are starting to understand the full impact of Covid-19 on their business, we look into the strategies luxury brands can employ to mitigate decreasing appetite in 2020. VCCP Singapore
The e-commerce ecosystem has evolved its role from bottom of the marketing funnel to enabling the entirety of the marketing funnel on one single platform.
ADAPT TO THE AGE & ECOSYSTEM OF IMPULSE PURCHASE
Luxury brands were slow to enter the digital space. The experience of purchasing a luxury good is as paramount as the good itself. Luxury brands have struggled to replicate the same experience online, as the seemingly democratic Internet should be fundamentally at odds with the exclusivity of luxury.
Though unable to ignore the power of e-commerce in China, many brands have chosen to setup flagship stores in JD and Tmall, establish social commerce capabilities on WeChat, and seed content into the social commerce space of Little Red Book.
Signing away part of their power, luxury brands must then be prepared to learn to play by the rules of China’s Internet giants. Initially, having the badge appeal of the brand was enough to draw interest. But now, as e-commerce evolves from “product-centric” ecosystem where people searched for the brands & goods they had in mind, to a “discovery-centric” ecosystem where algorithms, content seeding, and social recommendations takes the user from product discovery all the way to purchase. The e-commerce ecosystem has evolved its role from bottom of the marketing funnel to enabling the entirety of the marketing funnel on one single platform.
Users no longer log on with intent but browse e-commerce as a leisure activity. Impulse purchase of luxury goods on e-commerce has doubled from 2012 to 2018 (Bain), one in two of their luxury purchases are decided in a single day (McKinsey).
Flagship stores on e-commerce platforms have already become the most important channel for some brands, as they reserve even exclusive product launches and launch online fashion shows with Alibaba.
One of the e-commerce tactics that is furthering impulse purchases is livestreaming.
Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace generated more than 100 billion RMB in livestream sales, a 400% y.o.y. increase.
Li Jiaqi known as the “Lipstick King” of China sold more than 100 million RMB worth of product in just 6 minutes on his 2019 11.11 pre-sale livestream. With COVID-19, brands sought to enlist Li Jiaqi to bolster their online sales. He was even the face of a livestream to raise funds for Wuhan. Li’s rate card has risen to 100,000 RMB for a 10-minute livestream in response to the anticipated ROI (Caixin).
As COVID-19 lowers intent for luxury purchases, the right tactics can foster impulse purchases to trigger bursts of growth.
FROM GLOBAL MAISONS TO LOCAL BOUTIQUES
Luxury brands initially scored big in Asia by building the idealized image of aspirational European culture. But now it’s the brands that combine their heritage with local culture that truly enjoys success.
Take Hermes, famous for its Birkins – but makes everything from Asian-style fans to mahjong sets.
It is not a diffusion of decisions from global headquarters that trickles down to each local store. Each store director visits the Paris HQ twice a year, not just to learn but also to feedback. Those top performing Chinese store directors, of course have a lot more sway, but this ultimately means the seemingly random Asian-themed Hermes products are created from consumer feedback. Coupled with using Chinese designers, Hermes both retains its heritage yet evolves to fulfill the needs of its Asian customers.
Financial Times reported Hermes as being the most profitable luxury brand in 2019 with 34.8% profit margin. WWD reported a Hermes store in Guangzhou reopened earlier this month, with 19 million RMB in sales during its reopening day, with enthusiastic customers documenting their purchase experience on Little Red Book.
NEW CHANNELS OF ENGAGEMENT; NEW SOURCES OF REVENUE
For certain luxury brands, it seemed like the boldest digital moves still is to setup a WeChat mini program or to be on short video platforms.
It definitely made headlines then, that LVMH decided to do a tie-up with a video game –League of Legends (LoL) in late 2019.
What started as a branded in-game skin evolved to include: designing the actual Summoner’s Cup – the ultimate prize for LoL eSports Championships, to actual LV x LoL clothing that was sold out in less than a day on LV’s website and on a WeChat mini program dedicated to the partnership. The success drove more LV products and LoL in-game skins down the line.
What seemed like a 2019 wild bet on LVMH’s part is actually following the footsteps of proven success in China in previous years by other brands.
LoL’s sister IP – Honor of Kings – is under the same parent company of Tencent, and it is no stranger to commercialization. Honor of Kings started with developing branded in-game skins with McDonald’s, Yum Brands, and Sprite.
MAC developed lipsticks in the theme of the game’s female characters in the beginning of 2019, that sold out within an hour and went on to be scalped for 2x – 3x the retail price for the remainder of the month.
Even earlier, BMW worked with Honor of Kings to launch its X1 in 2017. The partnership included sponsoring the Chinese eSports team KPL amongst other assets like a film.
But the one wildcard asset took BMW China by surprise. The partnership also included a branded in-game skin that players could purchase.
The BMW branded skin amassed 150 million RMB (~$22 million USD) worth of sales on its first day of launch in March 2017 – daresay this might have exceeded the launch day sales of the car itself.
But the BMW skin is just a drop in the ocean compared to what players spent in Honor of Kings – $1.61 billion USD in total in 2017 (Sensor Tower).
It’s no secret that spending on games & entertainment enjoyed a sharp uptick due to COVID-19. Luxury brands or not, the logical marketing behavior should be to follow consumer attention and spending.
For luxury brands, although people may be buying less bags and shoes. The most valuable asset is still the brand itself. Coupled with a well-executed product – whether jewelry or an in-game skin, the top luxury ‘product’ during times of COVID-19 could very well be a digital one.
As COVID-19 transforms industries and people’s behaviors around the world, the face of luxury will be forced to undergo a transformation as well, to define itself beyond traditional product portfolio, engagement strategies, and brand building.
But right now, is also the opportune time for luxury brands to come out ahead as innovation champions across industries.
Alex is a hybrid of cultures and backgrounds. He has experiences across a variety of markets and agencies, including creative, digital, experiential, and media – a living mantra of “it only works if it all works”.
This drive for integration was shown in his operations in cross-agency teams, leading strategy for clients like adidas and GSK to drive positive business outcomes. Despite it being an industry cliché, Alex still believes silos need to be broken down – to explore different angles to solve business challenges.
Before coming to Singapore to join VCCP in late 2019, Alex worked in WPP China leading digital strategy at MediaCom, then integrated communications strategy at Grey.
He also possesses an entrepreneurial background, having ran his own D2C e-commerce business, a believer that we should all practice what we preach – clients can hopefully rest assured the business didn’t file for bankruptcy.
Alex now joins VCCP to challenge and be challenged, alongside the challenger brands of the world in Asia.


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The owner of a church that allegedly sold psilocybin products to its members is arguing that a police raid on their property was illegal based on a city proposal that decriminalized entheogenic plants and fungi in the city of Detroit.
September 27, 2023
The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency reports record-high revenue, but there is little profit to show for it.
August 21, 2023
Detroit officials have awarded the first 33 licenses for adult-use cannabis retailers to set up shop in the city.
December 26, 2022
“If there's anybody cutting corners or cheating, we want to expose that,” says the Michigan agency director.
October 26, 2022
Although Detroit, Michigan’s cannabis ordinance opened up applications for adult-use licenses earlier in September, another lawsuit has been brought forward to challenge its fairness.
October 5, 2022
Hot Box Social by Trucenta opened a cannabis consumption lounge in Hazel Park.
March 29, 2022


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German label, Mannequin Records, is set to release an exclusive 100 copies of the first ever reissue of Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici’s (GMM) first video soundtrack from 1984, GMM Suite LP.
Founded in Florence by Antonio Glessi and Andrea Zingoni, the ‘most unclassifiable audiovisual experiences to emerge from Italy in the 1980s’ was largely governed by Maurizio Dami a.k.a. Alexander Robotnick, considered ‘a pivotal member’, according to Mannequin Records.
GMM was an art collective that extended its creative endeavours to voyeuristic avenues such as fashion, music, art installations and everything in between. GMM was quintessential to the exploration of transmedia hybridity and a foreword to the current colossal metamorphosis creative mediums are undergoing due to technology.
The GMM Suite LP is a touchstone for the adoption of the most affordable digital synth in the 1980s, the alphaSyntauri, which navigated GMM’s now renowned sonic identifier. Alexander Robotnick’s first contribution to the group was GMM’s first video, which also created a legacy for GMM’s aesthetics. The video entailed ’an animated version of a computer comics [that] they coincidentally published on…Frigidaire magazine,’ according to Mannequin Records.
You can check out a 13 minute excerpt of GMM Suite LP, here.


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Yesterday Vivienne Westwood presented her Red Label collection at London Fashion Week. Being a designer famous not only for her passion for fashion but very importantly for her commitment to philanthropy and culture, this was never going to be just a fashion show as Crane.tv's interview underlines.
With a mixture of glamour, wacky-yet-definitely-wearable outfits, and boasting a celebrity-packed front row it was definitely not a show to miss.
Political statements right from the beginning with the show opening by a male model wearing orange underpants reading "Fair Trial my Arse" and a girl carrying a poster protesting for the rights of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
In 2005 we witnessed Westwood's "I am not a terrorist, please don't arrest me" t-shirts and this time she showed off necklaces and badges with this and other statements. The occasion was also used to claim, along with her lead model and active volunteer at Reprieve, Jacquetta Wheeler, the rights of dozens of detainees held in Guantanamo without charge or trial, 85% of whom ended up there "because of a sale for a $5000 bounty offered by the Americans" the model explains.
The underwear, or as Westwood defined them, "protest panties," are a collaboration with her son and founder of Agent Provocateur, Joseph Corre. "It's about standing up, deciding what side of the fence you're on. Hopefully they'll take a bit of notice," said Corre.
For Vivienne Westwood it is about awareness and getting involved as "we are dangerously without culture and that is why we are in the mess we are in because nobody is thinking."
Watch Crane.tv's video of the show and interview with the designer and her model here
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Some notable stores have recently opened in Columbus or announced they are coming, and these "destination retailers" can increase tourism and help existing stores in the area, experts say.
Will other major retailers follow? Here are some brands not yet in this area:
Bass Pro Shop — The well-known hunting, fishing, camping and outdoor retailer has locations in the Cincinnati and Toledo areas, but none in Columbus.
IKEA — The world’s largest furniture retailer has a store in the Cincinnati area but none in Columbus.
Neiman Marcus — The luxury specialty department store has locations from Beverly Hills to Boston, but none in Ohio.
Bloomingdale’s — The upscale department store has stores as far away as Dubai, but despite being owned by Cincinnati-based Macy’s, has no stores in Ohio.
Karl Lagerfeld — The fashion designer opened the first boutique dedicated to his own collection in March on the Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris.
Dean & DeLuca — The chain of upscale specialty food stores has locations in Napa Valley and Kansas, but none in Ohio.
The number of taxpayers who still reach for a pen to fill out a tax form continues to shrink.
New Internal Revenue Service numbers show that 91 percent of individual tax returns filed this year by taxpayers doing their own work or using a preparer were filed electronically. That's 122.5 million returns.
Ford couldn’t have asked for a better debut for its newly designed Mustang, with the top-rated morning news show in the country, ABC's Good Morning America, broadcasting the event live.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave a shout out to Ohio State’s Scarlet and Gray Financial Coaching program to a group of about 7,000 financial-aid professional at conference in Las Vegas yesterday.
Duncan said he was excited to be at the conference because he wanted both to celebrate the "critical but unrecognized work that financial aid officers to every day throughout" and to encourage them to take an even larger role in creating a better financial-aid system for students across the country.
In August, President Barack Obama unveiled a set of new federal education initiatives that will help the nation with its college affordability and student debt problem.
David Duffey, hired in 1988, was party's chief operating officer


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Finland’s Prasos has raised €2.5 million to further develop its cryptocurrency investment services that are targeted at traditional investors.
The company raised the funds through the Invesdor equity investment platform in December. More than 1,000 shareholders from Finland and abroad invested in the company, taking up to 15%.
It will use the funds to launch its cryptocurrency investment services, expand its presence in Europe, and consider relevant acquisitions. Ultimately, Prasos plans to develop its own cryptocurrency investment fund and a listing on the Nasdaq First North marketplace.
“The general interest towards cryptocurrencies has increased significantly, but the current services are not very user friendly,” said Henry Brade, CEO of Prasos. “We have invested heavily in the security of our services and we want to make the investment procedure as easy as possible for regular investors entering the market.”
Prasos is building services for traditional investors to back cryptocurrencies, which had a big year in 2017. In December, bitcoin topped a staggering $20,000.
“The sector is quite complex especially for non-tech-savvy investors and therefore the development of a traditional investment product that combines the cryptocurrency market and our knowledge about the different technologies is very interesting and has clear demand,” added Brade.


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Cybersecurity Awareness Month isn’t just about helping adults protect themselves, their data and their money against e-threats. The Internet is a dangerous place for kids who face an array of dangers, from exposure to pornography and violence to online predators and even identity theft.
Kids today spend too much time on their smart devices, engaging with strangers on social media platforms and other apps.
These are just some of the alarming facts parents and caretakers need to be aware of:
Protecting children against digital threats is a 24/7 job. To help parents tackle risks, here are some of the most potentially dangerous social media and live-streaming apps for kids who use them unsupervised:
If your child is underage but enjoys using his phone or tablet to engage with friends on different online platforms, make sure you closely monitor their activities and familiarize yourself with the apps’ features. Make sure to check if the app has access to the camera and microphone, location and photo gallery, and review the privacy settings.
Read our dedicated guide to keeping kids’ data and privacy here.
Bitdefender solutions provide parental control tools that give you peace of mind and provide help with screen time for your kids. You can easily block websites or apps entirely to help keep your little one safe.
Parental Advisor automatically chooses the best privacy features based on your child's age. These can be fine-tuned for the parent’s and child’s needs by managing screen time and blocking incoming calls with no Caller ID, among others.
The parental control feature can be found in most of our standalone security solutions or all-in-one security products.
If you need to brush up on digital safety and good cyber hygiene, check our Cybersecurity Awareness Month online safety guide.


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Awuor says sales tax holidays don't work as advertised
Policy analyst George Awour of the Bell testified today against House Bill 12-1069, a proposal to create a three-day sales tax holiday on back-to-school related items.
Awuor told the Senate Finance Committee that, while tax holidays may be popular with some policymakers and the public, they are not good tax policy. He said that research shows that tax holidays rarely succeed in providing tax savings and that they do not stimulate retail sales and the economy at large.
Under Colorado's proposal, the sales tax holiday would be the first weekend in August for five consecutive years. The holiday would not kick in until the year after Colorado's personal income increases by 5 percent. Based on legislative forecasts, that is not expected to happen until 2013, and therefore the first holiday would be in 2014.
Awuor said research on tax holidays in other states has shown:
- Consumers do not purchase more goods in response to the holiday. Rather, they merely shift their buying to the holiday period.
- Retailers may see an increase in sales for the period, but they do not see an increase in annual sales.
- Consumers may not see any benefit, because retailers often hike prices to take advantage of the spike in demand.
- Ultimately, parents and students are hurt because the reduction in sales taxes results in fewer tax dollars available to invest in schools.
The panel approved the measure, 4-3, and it now goes to the Appropriatons Committee.
Click here to read Awuor's full testimony.
Article posted on May 3, 2012


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ALSTEAD, N.H. – The Great River Co-op, a startup cooperative grocery store coming to Walpole, N.H. will hold a Music Night Fundraiser at the Mole Hill Theatre on Friday, Sept. 15.
The evening will open with local singer Briena Pearl, accompanied by Lou Eastman. Next, Party of the Sun, a duo from the band The Youngest Son will perform. BandBand will play the rest of the evening.
Light snacks and water will be provided. There is fee at the door. Guests are welcome to bring their own drinks and snacks but no hard liquor.
If you would like to volunteer at the event, donate an item for the fundraising raffle or sponsor the event, please email Ali Trow at email@example.com.
Proceeds from the event will go toward Great River Co-op’s current initiative to raise $40,000 to hire a project manager.
The Great River Co-op is a startup cooperative food store in the development stages that will serve the Great Falls Region. To learn more about joining the Great River Co-op, please visit http://www.greatriverfoodcoop.com/ and follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreatRiverCoop.
Co-operatives are businesses that are owned and governed by their members, the people who use the products and services they provide. From food co-ops to farmer co-ops, worker co-ops to credit unions, and housing co-ops to energy co-ops, co-operatives make a difference in people’s lives every day. Co-ops are also more common than you might think: Here in the United States, one in three people are members of at least one co-op or credit union. Nationwide, co-operatives create 2.1 million jobs and generate more than $650 billion in sales and other revenue annually.


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Spanish website PhotoLari has posted their first impression of new announced Sony Alpha a9 (Amazon/B&H Photo/Adorama). The compared the autofocus feature of Sony Alpha a9 and a “Flagship DSLR” (Canon EOS-1D X Mark II), you can watch the full video above.
Sony has just announced the new Sony Alpha a9 full frame mirrorless camera (Amazon /B&H Photo/Adorama), as most people said, this is the Canon 1D X Mark II and Nikon D5 killer. With the Sony Alpha a9, Sony now has jump into the PRO Camera market to beat Canon and Nikon, and the price of Sony Alpha a9 is over $1,000 cheaper than 1D X Mark II and D5. CameraSize has already add Sony Alpha a9 to their database, so let’s see the size comparison of Sony Alpha a9 and other related cameras:
Sony Alpha a9 has just officially announced! Below are full specs of Sony Alpha a9
Read More »
Above is the live stream video about upcoming product announcement in next several minutes (at 11am East Time, NYC). According to previous rumors, Sony will announce their first real PRO camera today, probably the Sony Alpha a9 high-end mirrorless camera, below are rumored specs of Sony a9:
Sony today has announced that they are now overtakes #2 position over Nikon in US full frame interchangeable lens camera market. This is a great news from Sony, since recently most camera companies are shrinking in some ways.
Read More »
At CP+ Show in February in Japan, dpreview had a chance to interview with Sony senior executives, taking about the future of the a7-series, Sony’s Imaging PRO Support, the future of the A-mount SLT cameras, and Sony’s strategy for growing the 1-inch camera segment.


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NEW, a leading provider of extended-service contracts and product support, has launched a series of online forums where consumers can find shopping tips and troubleshooting advice on popular CE products.
The social media efforts include Shopper Savvy (www.thesavvyshopperblog.com), a consumer-focused advice blog offering holiday shopping tips, retail and industry trends, and product care and troubleshooting suggestions for products that receive the most calls by NEW’s customer-care team.
The company has also added a consumer section to its recently revamped corporate Web site at www.newcorp.com, which features shopping advice, facts about service contracts and manufacturer warranties, and other helpful information.
Earlier this fall, NEW established several Facebook fan pages to enhance communications with consumers, employees, the industry and the general public, along with corresponding Twitter accounts. In addition to providing educational information about the evolution of extended-service contracts, the tools will provide online readers and buyers with helpful shopping tips and troubleshooting advice for the most popular CE and appliance products.
“We understand that consumers want to save money, need information fast and don’t want their daily routines interrupted,” said NEW marketing director Jamie Breneman, who also contributes to the Savvy Shopper blog. “And after 26 years of working with the world’s leading retailers to help millions of their customers with product repair, replacement, and product support, we have some valuable insight to share with consumers, and these tools will help us directly educate them in new ways.”


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(Lakeland, FL) March 18, 2011 – Lakeland Electric has announced a new feature on the PlugIntoSmart.com website that allows customers to look up an approximate installation timeframe for their new Smart Meters.
“Residents throughout Lakeland are anticipating the arrival of their new Smart Meter,” said Randall Dotson, Project Manager for the Smart Grid Initiative. “The â€˜My Rollout' section on the Plugintosmart.com website is a convenient way for our customers to learn which month their Smart Meter will be installed.”
Customers can now visit PlugIntoSmart.com, type their street address or account number into the “My Rollout” box, and learn the estimated month and year their Smart Meter will be installed.”
Lakeland Electric will be replacing its current meters with Smart Meters during the remainder of 2011 and throughout 2012. In early summer, they will be launching a website that allows customers to monitor their energy usage on a real-time basis. The new Smart Meter combined with the upcoming customer usage information website gives consumers the tools to better manage their energy use.
For information regarding the “Smarter Power. It's in Your Hands” educational campaign or the Smart Meter installation and Smart Grid system, please contact Kevin Cook, Director of Communications for the City of Lakeland at 863-834-6264 or via e-mail at [email protected].


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Written by: Shaeka Madel Pardines
ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and the Toyota Manila Bay Corporation (TMBC) proudly announce a partnership to promote environmental responsibility under AFI’s Bantay Baterya project.
Bantay Baterya, a project under the Foundation’s environmental arm, Bantay Kalikasan, aims to responsibly dispose and recycle used lead-acid batteries, which, when treated and recovered by treatment partner Oriental and Motolite Marketing Corporation, generate donations for the foundation’s environmental projects.
Similar to AFI, environmental stewardship is ingrained in TMBC’s core values. As a booming corporation with growing sales (and thus growing recyclable material), TMBC stresses their corporate responsibility. “Year by year, we are increasing the sales of automobiles. We know that the Philippines’ economy is growing and at the same time we know that the environment issues are also growing. That’s why as corporate citizens, we’d like to take social and environmental responsibility,” expressed Tatsuro Okazaki, President of TMBC.
TMBC Administration Head Jeannelyn Mamaril emphasizes the company’s commitment to responsible battery waste management as the leading dealer group in the industry. “We want to make sure that when we dispose of these batteries, they are properly treated, disposed, and handled. What better way for us to do that than to collaborate with agencies that will make sure that it will happen.”
Even after 25 years, ABS-CBN Foundation Bantay Kalikasan continues to advocate for a greener future by executing initiatives to safeguard the Philippine environment.
“When companies like Toyota Manila Bay Corporation partner with ABS-CBN Foundation for the collection and the proper collection of their hazardous wastes, we prevent these hazardous wastes, like used oil and used batteries, from entering the environment, where they can affect our ecosystems and the health of Filipinos,” shared Bantay Kalikasan Head Engr. Joal Ascalon, imparting thanks to TMBC for their contributions.
AFI and TMBC stand united in their dedication to fostering social and environmental responsibility through this partnership. While AFI stands for environmental stewardship, TMBC sets an example for corporate social responsibility, ensuring a cleaner, greener future for Filipino generations.
Such partnerships, as Engr. Ascalon shared during the MOA signing, are a “a win-win for the companies, for the foundation, for the environment, and for communities all over the Philippines.”


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This morning, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) suffered from a stark drop when the stock market opened. Its shares tanked 10 percent to $95.17 compared to Friday’s closing price. Shortly after, Apple bounced back. As of this writing, Apple is back to $105.48 down only 0.2 percent compared to Friday’s closing price.
It’s an incredible recovery, but it doesn’t mean that the Chinese fallout won’t affect Apple eventually. Now that China is more important than Europe for Apple, the company needs to pay attention to some long term risks.
But first, let’s recap what’s happening in China. The Chinese government has been lying about its growth numbers for years. Every year, the Government sets a target for the GDP. And miraculously, at the end of every year, the Government reports that it managed to beat its GDP target with an impressive growth rate of 7 to 10 percent. Economic growth is too important for the Chinese Government to rely on statisticians.
Traders in New York know that, the IMF knows that, the Fed knows that, everybody knows that. And that’s exactly why stock markets already freaked out after the three-day devaluation of the yuan a couple of weeks ago. We don’t know exactly how well China is doing. Every little sign that says that the Chinese economy isn’t doing as well as expected leads to big market movements.
So is there any way to know China’s actual economic growth? You can look at steel production numbers for example. As China needs to import most of its iron to produce steel, it can’t lie on these numbers. Steel production has been down 1.3 percent since January. Electricity production is another good indicator. It was up 7.7 percent in 2013, meaning that the country was producing more goods. It’s been up only 1 percent since January 2015.
And yet, growth is key to China’s current situation. When China became a socialist market economy, the population and the Government sealed a tacit agreement. As long as the standard of living would improve, people wouldn’t interfere with the Government. And it has worked incredibly well so far thanks to low salaries, a huge domestic market and some very smart moves to attract foreign companies.
But China’s real growth rate is way below 7 percent. Unemployment combined with an aging population is going to become a serious issue as there is no safety net. We are not there yet, but if the standard of living decreases in China, it could mark the beginning of an important transition period.
First, if China doesn’t manage to stop the current economic slowdown, iPhone sales could drop in China. As unemployment grows, people who still have a job would have to give a bigger part of their pay to their families (again, no safety net in China). Buying an iPhone over a Xiaomi or Huawei phone would become a waste.
Second, workers could ask for a minimum wage, better contracts, etc. This could hurt tech companies producing in China, drastically increasing production costs, starting with Apple. Third, China could devalue its currency even further in order to boost exports. While it would help Chinese companies, U.S.-based companies still report their earnings in USD. It means that Apple would have to sell cheaper iPhones, or make the iPhone more expensive in China compared to other Chinese phones. It would be a serious dilemma as there’s no right answer.
There are many other potential options. The government could decide to heavily tax or ban iPhones to help Chinese makers. A big political crisis could slow down the economy for years.
Of course these are all long term issues as China is still growing. But there have been many concerns over the past few years about a potential meltdown. Today is a sign that we might be closer to a flat growth rate in China than expected. As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted in an email sent to Jim Cramer, Apple is still growing in China. But growing in a grim market is a lot more difficult, and that will be Apple’s next challenge.


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India's provision of outsourcing services to other countries will grow by 12 to 14 percent in the fiscal year starting April 1, a trade body predicted Tuesday.
Personal data sent to India by customers outsourcing work to companies in the country will not be covered under new rules governing the collection of such information, the government said on Wednesday, providing relief to India's large outsourcing in...
India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said Monday that an economic slump in the U.S. will benefit Indian outsourcers, as U.S. customers look to cut costs.
Personal data sent to India by companies outsourcing work to service providers in the country will not be covered under the country's stringent new rules for the collection of personal data, an executive of a data protection standards company set up ...
India’s outsourcing industry has witnessed a rebound in growth, according to the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), a trade body.
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