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Move over, Tesla! The new king of growth in the electric vehicle (EV) market just hit high gear.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) put the pedal to the metal — do they even do that in EVs? — and surged roughly 14% on the open this morning. The company is now the No. 2 automaker in the world by valuation, second only to Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA).
The catalyst? No nitro for Nio, that’s for sure — that stuff’s for old, busted gasoline cars.
Nio’s rally was fueled by pure, unadulterated white-hot electricity emanating from a wildly successful “Nio Day” event over the weekend. For starters, the company unexpectedly unveiled a new luxury sedan: the ET7.
Nio’s new sedan will list for $69,193 without government subsidies, and it’s expected to compete directly with Tesla’s Model 3 … at least from a price-point perspective. However, the ET7 was designed with luxury in mind, putting the car more in a class with Tesla’s Model S — at a significantly lower price.
But, Nio had another gear left following the ET7 unveiling. The company announced a new long-range, solid-state battery with a max range of 625 miles. By comparison, the Tesla Model 3 is rated at 263 miles per charge. Eat your heart out, Elon.
The event left analysts stunned and raving, not unlike my relatives at an “all you can eat” Golden Corral buffet.
JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank both lifted their price targets from $50 to $75 and $70, respectively. Bank of America boosted the shares from $59 to $80. Credit Suisse bumped NIO from $65 to $71, and Daiwa Securities set a $100 target for NIO.
Most analysts cited the unexpected ET7 sedan and the solid-state battery for their upgrades. The more discerning analysts at Bank of America highlighted Nio’s solid-state battery and the upgrades to autonomous driving.
I, on the other hand, am very excited about Nio’s battery swap program. Why? I’m glad you asked.
What’s the most annoying thing about EVs? Their limited range and charging time, right? I already hate stopping to take five minutes to put gas in my car … though, admittedly, I do like the excuse to grab some gas station grub and a Red Bull for the trip.
With EV batteries, that five-minute fueling break could be hours long. Nobody wants to hang out at a gas station for that long. Think of the bathroom breaks … on second thought, don’t think of the bathroom breaks … puke!
What Nio will do with swappable batteries is amazing and greatly unappreciated. No charging time. Just pull up, swap the battery and get back on the road. No more, “Sorry we’re late grandma, we had to charge the Tesla twice on the way here! Over the river and through the woods is a long way to travel in an EV.”
But there’s more to it than that. All Nio EVs use the same battery design. See where I’m going with this yet?
A standardized battery design with a new solid-state, long-range battery on the way? That means existing Nio drivers could swap out their old batteries for newer ones. Furthermore, it means that standard battery drivers could rent a higher-capacity battery for long trips at swap stations and then switch back when they get home!
That’s rental money for Nio. That’s battery-upgrade money for Nio. That’s battery-replacement money for Nio. That’s future-proof money for Nio. Mo’ money. Mo’ money!
How did Tesla miss this opportunity?
The bottom line is clear: If you want EV hype, buy Tesla. If you want EV growth in 2021 and beyond, Nio is the one, just as Morpheus said. I mean, just going by last year’s rallies, Nio’s shot up about 1,500% compared to Tesla’s “paltry” 700%-plus gain. (Casuals!)
But real battery barons and alt energy addicts alike know there’s more to the EV market — and battery tech — than just Tesla’s tangled tussle with Nio.
Good: No Mercy!
Yo! Great Stuff Picks readers!
Have you checked on your CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD) position lately? That sucker is up more than 300% since we recommended it roughly one year ago!
Congratulations! You’re good enough. You’re smart enough. And, gosh darn it, people like you!
Today, CRWD gained another 4% after Jefferies upgraded the shares from hold to buy. Jefferies Analyst Brent Thill cited “strong fundamentals” for the software sector and noted that CrowdStrike had “room for further gains.”
CRWD could’ve gained more following the Jefferies upgrade, but debt concerns impacted investor sentiment early. CrowdStrike announced plans to offer $750 million in unsecured senior notes — i.e., the company is taking on $750 million in new debt.
CrowdStrike said it would use the funds for acquisitions, expenditures and working capital — all of which are good things for growth.
Still, the added debt prompted CRWD to sink nearly 2% on the open before the Jefferies upgrade hit the news wires. I guess some people out there still care about fundamentals. Who’da thunk it?
Editor’s Note: Your Tax Guide for a Biden Presidency
Before Joe Biden takes office as the next President of the United States, you’ll want to check this out.
It’s a proverbial “Tax Bible” on countless ways you could slash your taxes this year, next year and the year after that. But don’t wait too long, because tax season will be here before you know it.
Yo! Great Stuff Picks readers!
Have you checked on your Roku (Nasdaq: ROKU) position lately? That sucker is up 360% if you got in when we recommended it in May 2019.
If you waited until we rec’d it again in December 2019, you’re only up a mere 209%.
This is why you need to read Great Stuff every day! Also, congratulations … again!
We circle back to Roku today after Citigroup Analyst Jason Bazinet boosted his price target from $375 per share to $460 per share — the highest on Wall Street. Bazinet hyped up Roku’s year-ending 51.2 million active accounts, up from 46 million one quarter prior.
He also talked up the potential for rising ad revenue. Ad revenue was down in 2020 due to the pandemic, but Bazinet expects that to rebound in 2021 … and Roku has millions of new subscribers to monetize!
Finally, Bazinet said he likes the Quibi acquisition, which should “result in incremental value for Roku shareholders.” When I covered the Quibi rumors last week, I noted, “If the price is right, Roku might have a steal on its hands.”
In its prime, Quibi sported a $1.75 billion valuation and was angling to go public. Roku snapped that puppy up for “significantly less” than $100 million, according to people familiar with the deal.
Significantly less? What, did Roku get Quibi for six bucks and a Snickers bar?
It’s possible. Regardless, even at $100 million … that, Great Ones, is a steal and a half.
Keep holding ROKU for more gains and brilliant moves like this.
Best: In Other Rumor News…
Turns out, the Apple Auto is about as real as these kinds of Apple announcements get.
Today, new reports — and your favorite unnamed “industry sources” — said that Apple and Hyundai do, in fact, plan to work on a self-driving electric car.
But the originally teased time frame of 2027 is out the window. Instead, Apple and Hyundai expect to build 100,000 vehicles in 2024, using the Hyundai-affiliated Kia Motors factory in Georgia.
That said, a “beta version” of the vehicle might come out as early as next year. Ah yes, a “beta version,” because what hype is there in a mere prototype anymore?
Glad to see Apple’s bringing its techspeak to the auto market. I can see it now … that iCar Pro 10XL edition will be lit. Just think of how many cameras it will have! AAPL sank with the rest of the market today, though its role in the app store ban-a-thon also played into investor sentiment.
Last week’s teaser treat leads to an earnings feast this week. Well … almost.
It’s a slow trickle into the earnings confessional to kick off what’s sure to be another raucous roundup season. But the names in the spotlight this week are some of the Street’s biggest — and the trends they tell us about, even bigger.
Who says there’s ever a dull moment in earnings? You can bank on chips, airlines and pot stocks in today’s Chart of the Week, courtesy of Earnings Whispers on Twitter:
Top of my mind is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). As the chip market’s sleeper pro, TSM’s techy tendrils stretch far into the chip market.
And, if you want to go even deeper down the semiconductor rabbit hole, two Great Stuff Picks get their goods straight from TSM. It’s essentially the production house for Advanced Micro Devices (Nasdaq: AMD). And even Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) wants to outsource some of its chip production to TSM. It’s about time.
But then TSM itself gets supplies, tech and production from yet another Great Stuff Pick: Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT). Long story short, if there’s one chipmaker to keep an eye on as earnings season kicks off, it’s TSM.
The big cheese flies and reports alone: Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is our sole rep for airlines this week. The goal here is, much like everyone else, to lose as little as possible.
There won’t be any biggest winners in the airline (and cruise line) industries this quarter — only lesser losers. It’s still anyone’s guess which individual airline will attract the most flyers once traveling increases — and I mean real travel, not holiday-homecoming spikes.
We’re about to see a landslide of possible discounts, vouchers and deals to get people back in the air, and Delta’s game plan to power through the rest of the pandemic winter has to come packing heat.
Now, the bank parade blew earnings out of the water last time around, and the deck is similarly stacked this week, with the big banking boys lumped in on Friday.
Across the board, I’m looking to see how banks eked out their revenue in the fourth quarter. As we saw with Goldman Sachs in the quarter before, trading revenue ran rampant, but asset management was no slouch either.
If you’re keen on the housing market’s exploding growth, you’ll want to look at KBHome (NYSE: KBH) for another look at how the market’s shaping up for individual homebuilders.
Skyrocketing home prices are one thing, but when it comes to homebuilding, we can see how KB handles that skyrocketing housing demand. You know, what with that pandemic interfering with new home construction.
Last but not least, there’s always something going down in the pot market — for better or worse. And both Organigram (Nasdaq: OGI) and Aphria (Nasdaq: APHA) sit on top of double-digit rallies for the fourth quarter, as the market hyped itself up for potential cannabis legalization with a Biden presidency.
What a week! We’ll keep you in the loop on the earnings excitement. Just you wait — the lineup only gets more jampacked from here on out.
Great Stuff, Greater Gains
Thanks for joining us on this fine market Monday!
So … how’s your week so far? Did you get into any of those Great Stuff Picks we mentioned? Roku, CrowdStrike — y’all have a veritable treasure trove of Greatness just waiting for you in the Picks portfolio.
But, if you’re not making real bona fide gains out there, these recs might as well all be fancy words and numbers on the page. That’s why you should drop us a line right meow, and let us know what Great Stuff Picks you’ve bought … or which ones you wish you’d bought earlier!
firstname.lastname@example.org is the perennial place for thoughts, trades, memes, rants, raves and everything in between.
Editor, Great Stuff


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Leading stock 3D model marketplace CGTrader has raised $2.3 million from Karma Ventures, Intel Capital and Practica Capital to help scale for the emerging wave of new 3D technology.
“Karma Ventures decided to invest in CGTrader as we believe that the importance of 3D content is going to grow significantly in the coming years and there is a great opportunity for CGTrader to become the largest provider of 3D models in the world,” said Kristjan Laanemaa, partner at Karma Ventures. “We have been following the company for a number of years and think that the team has done excellent job in establishing the company as one of the major sources of 3D models. Their track record convinced us that by having more resources they can scale the business and become the global leader in this space.”
Prior to this round of funding, CGTrader was self-sustainable and its userbase doubled to 1.1 million in just a year.
“While humans experience the world in three dimensions, most of technology apps today still require interaction with a flat screen in 2D. This is about to change. Enabled by technologies such as spatial computing, augmented reality (ARKit, ARCore, AR Studio), virtual reality and WebGL, 3D is becoming the next wave of content towards interactivity and immersion – moving from text to images to video to 3D. By far, the biggest bottleneck in this market is the high cost of 3D content creation. CGTrader is playing a significant role in reducing the cost as well as empowering developers to create 3D applications much faster and more efficiently.” – says Dalia Lasaite, CEO and co-founder of CGTrader.
The proceeds will go towards building infrastructure, making 3D artist workflows more efficient and establishing a US presence.

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DailySocial.id — After officially announcing their involvement in funding Mio, a social commerce startup from Vietnam, this year Venturra Discovery plans to increase the quota for Vietnamese and Indonesian startups to 10 investments.
To DailySocial, Venturra Discovery Partner Raditya Pramana revealed that even though he has a team and is located in Indonesia, so far his company has focused on startups from Southeast Asia. After seeing the potential, Vietnam became their target country after Indonesia.
“There are many similarities between Vietnam and Indonesia. We are interested in exploring further all the opportunities that Vietnam has to offer. After Mio, we plan to invest in startups in Vietnam back in the near future. “
Recently Venturra Discovery together with Golden Gate Ventures were involved in seed funding of $ 1 million to Mio. Also participating in this funding are iSeed SEA, DoorDash executives Gokul Rajaram and Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, co-founders of Indian social commerce unicorn Meesho.
“We see that online retail, especially social commerce, has great potential in the future. For this reason, Venturra Discovery is interested in investing in Mio. Apart from that, we also see that the founders of Mio have strong personalities, ”said Raditya.
Currently Venturra Discovery already has 4 portfolios from Vietnam which have various industry categories. Not only social commerce but also fintech and healthcare. Venturra Discovery is also still focusing on funding from early stage to pre-series A. In the Philippines, Venturra Discovery has invested in Podcast Network Asia (PNA).
Encouraging VC to invest
The pandemic still has concerns over the potential for the next lock down, after seeing what happened in India some time ago. However, according to Raditya, the pandemic proves itself, because despite the difficult conditions, many Indonesian startups are still able to grow their business strategies and innovations. The pandemic has also accelerated digital adoption to the wider community.
For this reason, Raditya invites more venture capitals to invest, and makes this momentum the right time to provide funding to startups.
“Our mission from the start is empowering entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia. And now is the right time for us to aggressively invest in Vietnam as well as in Indonesia. Until the next 2-3 years, we still have enough funds to invest, “closed Raditya.


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Plyfe launched earlier this year with the goal of doing something different with social rewards: What if you could earn real-world prizes simply by sharing content with friends, or by playing online games?
Today Plyfe is bringing its social reward platform for the mobile web, and in the process making it available to just almost every smartphone user. The company also announced new partnerships with the fashion site Haulerdeals, DermStore, and the United Nations Foundation.
Plyfe’s pitch is fairly simple: Sign in with your Facebook account at Plyfe.me, then look for available Plyfe games or prizes from a brand that you’re interested in. By accomplishing specific tasks, you’ll win tickets that could lead you to a significant prize. For example, you can try to win a meetup with productivity guru Timothy Ferriss by following the UN Foundation on Twitter and Facebook, or win a $25 Sephora gift card by doing the same for StyleHaul.
“Technology has empowered consumers to do things that they’ve never been able to do, and it’s actually creating new economies,” said Jeff Arbour, Plyfe’s co-founder and chief marketing officer, in an interview with VentureBeat. ” …We looked at that from a media perspective, we realized thre are all these consumers that have this ability to attract audiences, leverage audiences … We wanted to figure out a way to reward them in an authentic way.”
Arbour, and Plyfe’s other two co-founders, chief executive Mateen Aini and chairman Zaw Thet have been working to help brands succeed in mobile for the past decade. Before the iPhone hit in 2007, Arbour also worked with major brands to launch their first mobile channels.
For now, Plyfe seems like an intriguing idea, but it’s still unclear if consumers are willing to go through these social activities for the unknown potential of prizes. The company’s mobile website also isn’t the best experience — it’s sometimes slow, and the site’s formatting has trouble adjusting to different-sized screens. Arbour tells me an iPhone app is due next year.
New York City-based Plyfe raised $1 million in funding earlier this year from Initial Capital and General Catalyst Partners.


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SAN FRANCISCO — Diamond Foods Inc.’s Kettle brand plans to launch a new product line of all-natural tortilla chips called Kettle Brand TIAS!.
Diamond Foods Inc.’s Kettle brand plans to launch a new product line of all-natural tortilla chips called Kettle Brand TIAS!.
Diamond said this week that Kettle Brand TIAS! are slated to become available on retail shelves beginning in August.
Kettle Brand TIAS! line will be offered in six flavors, including Salsa Picante, Zesty Ranch, Nacho Cheddar, Toasted Corn, Sweet Baja Barbeque and Chili Con Queso. The chips are made of certified organic corn, expeller pressed oil and all-natural seasonings, according to Diamond.
The company noted that the new product line expands the Kettle premium potato chip brand into the $2.9 billion tortilla chip snack segment.
"Kettle Brand TIAS! is a strong opportunity for our company to leverage the innovation strength of the Kettle brand and place it into an adjacent segment. The natural tortilla chip segment is 40% larger than the natural potato chip segment," commented Michael Mendes, chairman, president and chief executive of Diamond Foods.
"Our consumer research showed that active lifestyles often require tortilla chips to be flavorful when enjoyed right out of the bag," stated Kettle brand director Julie Dunmire. "However, consumers also expressed a desire to have full-flavored chips done in an all-natural way. With Kettle Brand TIAS!, consumers can now have ‘great taste … naturally.’ "
Diamond’s other products include Emerald snack nuts, Pop Secret popcorn, and Diamond of California culinary and snack nuts.


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We have seen global trade facing the tough time and pressure of strong fiat currencies like the USD. You can now find it the most dominant financial force in the currency economy. As we know, the world’s financial system is based on USD. Today, the US is the second biggest business partner. On the contrary, we have seen China challenge this traditional system dominated by the USD in the global market.
It has become the top business partner. The currency is now making good changes as the world’s reserve currency. Owing to the discrepancy between its share of China in trade and the currency’s share in the global economy, we see the country now remains to behold to the current financial system that helps undermine its importance. The past few years have gained an excellent economic system that seems to have achieved its significance. The earlier years have made the two countries boost trade with the two nations in the world. Due to the overseas trade by China, they have to rely on the USD. But with Digital Yuan, things have changed. It brings us the big question, will it replace USD? You may visit articles online as they discuss all you need to know about digital yuan.
Digital Yuan Vs. Fiat Currency
The US enjoys soft power over the dominant payment rails. Certain cross-border transactions were made through the payment rails, including the society for worldwide Interbank groups like SWIFT. These are ultimately settled over the dominant payment options. They used this Swift to come along with the financial payment that went on to gain huge with it. The US is leveraging on the same, blocking China from global trade. The recent US treatment against China proves it all. Not only China but other nations in the world are too expecting similar things in the world. We can see too many more options to gain with the idea of changing things with the help of Digital Yuan. China makes a good comeback with its venture of Digital Yuan on the global map. As the country took time to embark on this currency, they knew they would change their fate in the global market once they could come out with it. After all, it has emerged as the best alternative to fiat currencies and even to the crypto world.
Digital Yuan – the New Trump Card for China
China has been struggling to embark on its centralized digital coin called Digital Yuan. We already know that the country has paved the way for 2014 to launch the currency. In 2016, we saw that the Central Bank of China is now developing the prototype of DY in the market. Finally, in 2017, they could have something in their hand. The research and development project quickly came along with the large commercial banks, and the development project gained good participation from the big-time commercial banks. In addition, many more web-based companies and telecom players are changing the course of time together. Lastly, in 2019, the country successfully launched its pilot projects for the centralized bank supported by its central banks in a few cities. The government created the currency in the towns including Chengdu, Suzhou, Xiong, and Shenzhen.
Soon after a few years, the country brought Digital Yuan to 26 different cities. They are more likely to get recognition in other nations very soon. Also, the people are inclined toward many other places. We can see too many more applications for the digital Yuan, which will further make the country more beautiful to gain its monopoly in the market. All these things help the country and help those in need. Thus the other countries are not planning to embark on the strategies that bring them together to help empower the digital Yuan in a big way. Therefore, with all these things, we can see the popularity of the Digital Yuan going up, and the day will come when it fortifies the market’s changes. The US will remain a passing affair for the global market as Digital Yuan is gradually embarking and emerging.
Thus you can find China has gained a digital edge, which is now progressing ahead of pace. China’s digital Yuan is now becoming the potential change maker in the market, which will need the monopoly of fiat currencies. Now, let us gain the buzz in the financial market, which will get more very soon.


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PARIS (AP) — France, a country famed for its movies and fashion, has finally combined the two in the form of the international fashion, style and beauty film festival.
Now in its fifth edition, the ASVOFF festival is showcasing over 80 short documentaries, advertisements and art-house movies with a fashion theme over two days until Sunday.
Festival jury president and artist Orlan said: "Over the last few years, style and fashion films have cropped up so much that it's now become a genre of its own."
Columbian artist Jessica Mitrani won the festival's Grand Prix for her humorous take on the Middle East conflict through headwear in the short film entitled "Headpieces for Peace."
Many of the films — from some 50 countries — are being projected free for the public.


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San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 03, 2014
As the field of wearable technology advances rapidly, Americans are trying to come to terms with the role of these devices in their personal lives. A recent MindSwarms study suggests that consumers are firmly divided into two camps: enthusiasts and rejectors.
MindSwarms Senior Project Manager, Ryan Brill, notes that "Although both groups demonstrate interest in staying connected with their bodies (particularly in regard to fitness), we found that opinions differ dramatically on the specific role that wearables should play."
Developers will need to consider how to design wearable technology to be aligned to the values of a wider spectrum of consumers.
MindSwarms is a disruptive digital market research platform for gathering video insights whereby consumers get paid to answer questions via smartphone/tablet camera or webcam. MindSwarms is a dynamic startup based in San Francisco conducting research studies all over the world, including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, India, China and Brazil. Clients include Nike, Sonos, Skullcandy, Virgin, Intel, Pitney-Bowes and Google, to name a few. The platform allows researchers to get video feedback from consumers in their home, store, gym, workplace -- anywhere -- fast. See more at blog.mindswarms.com or email sales(at)mindswarms(dot)com.


text: July 19, 2005 Despite all the instantaneous advantages of digital photography, there are times when you just want a photo. Now you can have it anywhere and any time with the release from Canon of a fully-portable, high quality photo printer. Owners of any PictBridge-enabled digital still, digital video or digital SLR camera can print photos by plugging their camera into the new printer. For camera phone users, compatible phones can direct print via infrared transmission (IrDA), with no need for cables and no computer required. The new SELPHY CP600 printer delivers brilliant postcard prints in around 60 seconds and runs on a battery pack, enabling a truly portable photo lab.


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GM Struggles To Build Reliable Cars, Thinks You’ll Trust Riding In Its One-Man Drones
Despite not being as flashy as previous editions, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show aka CES still spawned some rad, futuristic concepts that, unfortunately, have every chance in the world of being nothing more than that.
For example, GM showed two prototypes at CES 2021 - one for land transportation and one for air travel.
Is Cadillac’s Surprise EV Concept a Preview of the Next-Gen Cadillac Escalade?
A few days after identifying Cadillac as the brand that will spearhead its EV initiative, General Motors doubled down on that announcement by revealing a sketch design of an EV crossover concept that could point to its plans for Cadillac in the not-so-distant future. The design was unveiled at the Cadillac XT6’s launch party ahead of the 2019 North American International Auto Show. The General didn’t dive into the details behind its first electric vehicle, opting only to say that it will use an all-new skateboard electric platform and will come in either two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. It’s also going to be a crossover, adding weight to the company’s renewed focus on crossovers and SUVs to drive the brand moving forward. That said, is it possible that this electric concept is actually a preview of the next-generation Cadillac Escalade?
Gorgeous Cadillac Coupe Concept revealed in patent drawings
Cadillac-made coupes are sexy as hell. Unfortunately, they’re quite rare nowadays. With the CTS Coupe already discontinued and the ATS set to go into the history books beyond 2018, Cadillac will have no two-door models on offer in a few months. Fortunately, this may change soon with the arrival of the CT5, which replaces the CTS. A series of leaked patent drawings confirm that Caddy may offer a coupe version too, and it’s downright gorgeous.
Report: Cadillac Could Take on the BMW 8 Series, Audi A8, and Porsche Panamera with a Production Version of Escala Concept
The Cadillac Escala was one of the stars of the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It was unveiled primarily to showcase Caddy’s future design language, which the company planned to use on some of its production models. A little over a year later, the Escala is back in the headlines for an entirely different reason. According to reports, it’s now headed to production.
2016 Cadillac Escala
The annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has been giving us outstanding public debuts for quite a while now, and this year’s edition is no exception from that rule. The 2016 event has been packed with many great debuts, but very few are as spectacular as the Cadillac Escala concept. The American brand has made a tradition from bringing its most daring concepts at Pebble Beach. In 2011, Cadillac introduced the stunning Ciel convertible. In 2013, the Elmiraj followed, showing the world that Cadillac can still design large coupes that can stand out from a crowd. Come 2016 and GM’s luxury division introduced the Escala sedan at the same car show.
Described as a vehicle that previews "the design and technical ideas driving the next phase of Cadillac’s ongoing expansion," the Escala is a four-door sedan that’s slightly longer than the current CT6. It also previews Caddy’s upcoming flagship vehicle, which should arrive in production form by the end of the decade.
“Escala is a concept with two clear objectives,” said Johan de Nysschen, president of Global Cadillac. “First, Escala is a statement of intent for the next iteration of the Cadillac design language, and also technical concepts in development for future Cadillac models. Secondly, Escala builds Cadillac’s aspirational character, signaling the brand’s return to the pinnacle of premium.”
Updated 08/22/2016: We added a series of images taken during the car’s official presentation at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Check them out in the picture gallery.
Continue reading to learn more about the Cadillac Escala Concept.
Fans left unfulfilled by the series finale of the hit HBO series Entourage should be delighted to hear that everyone’s favorite loudmouthed and bigheaded talent agent will make his triumphant return to Hollywood in the upcoming Entourage movie. The film will also feature a variety of luxurious Caddys, including the outrageously opulent Ciel concept car, as seen in this four-minute teaser.
The short gives a bit of backstory to Ari’s week-long retirement in Italy, where extended lunches on the veranda and grape stomping can’t quite compete with his former life in LA. But that all changes when a strange doppelganger appears, prompting an end to Ari’s European exodus.
“Ari’s un-retirement is something we know fans are excited about and I’m thrilled Cadillac was able to help tell that story,” said Doug Ellin, writer, director and producer of Entourage.
Followers of the show will remember the extent of the automaker’s involvement, and it should come as no surprise that Cadillac will continue that support into the new film. In addition to the Ciel, the ELR electric coupe is also expected to make an appearance, not to mention the ever-present Escalade.
The Entourage movie is slated for release June 3rd.
The Cadillac Elmiraj concept is still creating a furor weeks after its public debut at Pebble Beach 2013.
Speculation is rampant about the concept’s direct market potential as well as its broad influence over many future Cadillac decisions. Such is the price of an absolutely knockout concept car, one that nailed the seaside mood of the year and, perhaps, this summer’s automotive zeitgeist.
Big words for big luxury cars. The collective consciousness that Cadillac’s Elmiraj put on four wheels is one of uncertainty about the future, but also shaping that future to our wildest dreams.
As such, the Elmiraj is very important, despite being just a subtle nip and tuck versus the Ciel of 2012. Purple paint became blue, the grille lost its chintzy plastic egg crates, and a new badge was born without the wreath.
But what should Cadillac do with the Elmiraj? Should it inspire a new version of the on-again, off-again 2016 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine? Personal Luxury coupes are well and good for the 1-percent crowd, but could never offer real brand power, sales volume or the high-profile flagship duties a true rear-drive Cadillac sedan should.
A well-executed Fleetwood could even serve as a new armored upgrade of the current presidential limo: DTS-styled 3500HD pickup truck, affectionately referred to as "The Beast."
A special contributor to GM Inside News has visions of a future Fleetwood that are addictive to watch. In its enhancements of the Elmiraj concept, there at least three viable models looking ready for sale tomorrow at $75,000. This is truly a knockout series of digital renderings about a future Elmiraj-inspired Cadillac lineup.
Low roof, high roof, stretched, coach doors, no B-pillar: they all whir by in a mind-bending blur. There are even two crossover versions to ponder.
Design credit for these speculative renderings is firmly with whiz kid "MonaroSS" of GM Inside News, who wishes to remain anonymous, but this TopSpeed-exclusive animation now belongs to the ages.
Click past the jump to feast your eyes on all these possible future Cadillac’s, including various Fleetwood limo’s and Elmiraj-based crossovers.
Updated 10/15/2013: This article has been updated with the final video and a charming piano soundtrack.
The surprise reveal of a new Cadillac luxury coupe concept took Pebble Beach by surprise today. The 2013 Elmiraj Concept evolves the styling themes seen on the similarly-sized Ciel convertible concept - but also forms a core styling template for the next-gen XTS as well as the 2015 Escalade.
Cadillac has big dreams, and the concepts that come out of those dreams are some of the most stunning and influential - despite few actually making it past the auto show floors. 2003’s Cadillac Sixteen super-limo was even featured in Architectural Digest, while the Imaj and Evoke were the supercar springboard concepts leading to Cadillac’s resurgent Art & Science design philosophy.
Big dreams and big cars - the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept recalls a pivot point in Cadillac’s history in the 1970s: the launch of the Eldorado personal luxury coupe. A more bizarre source of inspiration is hard to imagine, but Cadillac’s crystal ball does not show the Elmiraj Pebble Beach concept making it for sale.
Instead of a lightly disguised future model preview (like the CTS show car), the Elmiraj is a mostly a launch platform for new styling ideas, including a new emblem design.
Cadillac is smart to bring this two-door to Pebble Beach. It follows the core rules of collector classics: only one made, only two doors, a giant engine and sumptuous detail work inside and out. In 2113, this Caddy has the right stuff to even take Best in Show.
How about in present day? Would the Elmiraj fare well versus the upcoming Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe?
Updated8/29/2013: Jay Leno got a personal look at the Elmiraj concept, You can see the video after the jump.
Click past the jump for the full styling analysis of the 2013 Cadillac Elmiraj Concept, with details on the new twin-turbocharged V-8 that brings 500 horsepower to the party.
It looks like Cadillac is bringing more than just a new emblem to Pebble Beach.
The American luxury automaker has always used Pebble Beach as the site for its concept unveilings (remember the Ciel Concept two years ago?) and it looks like this year’s event will be no different.
In a press release announcing its participation in Pebble Beach, Caddy has confirmed that a new design concept will be in attendance. As far as details behind this concept are concerned, the company opted to be tight-lipped on the issue, preferring instead to probably blow our socks off with another bewildering design study similar to what it did when it came out of left field and dropped our jaws with the Ciel two years ago.
In addition to the concept, Cadillac will also have its own heritage exhibit, which will include some of its most expressive design models in the past: the 1967 Eldorado, a 1965 Coupe Deville, and a 1937 Series 90 V16.
But make no mistake, the true highlight of its participation at Pebble Beach will be this mysterious concept that the company has shed little details about. Judging by how forward-looking the Ciel was, we have little doubt that this new design study will be equally - if not more - compelling than its fellow Pebble Beach attendee.
Click past the jump to read about the Cadillac Ciel Concept
The current Cadillac logo was unveiled in 1999 and it has remained unchanged since then. Reports are now pointing toward Caddy developing a new logo. A report from Automotive News claims that this new logo will be unveiled next month at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California on a concept vehicle. However, it will not be used on a production car until 2015.
It looks like Cadillac’s decision to change its logo came after it received negative feedback from customers. According to a Cadillac insider "the wreath is seen as outdated and obsolete." As a result, Cadillac will most likely opt for a single-piece logo.
According to the same insider, this new single-piece logo could give designers more flexibility to play with the "face" of future Cadillac models. When it comes to its positioning on the vehicle, there are two possibilities: one will be in the center of the grille as it is now, or above the hood.
Click past the jump to read more about the Cadillac Logo.
Cadillac has just released details on the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe that will be used in the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Series where the team hopes to obtain the same success it did during the 2012 racing season. In the race the CTS-V will have to take on models from Audi, Mercedes, Aston Martin and BMW.
The CTS-V Coupe Pirelli World Challenge was tested for just two days, but Andy Pilgrim says he is pretty confident the car will do great this year. No other details have been offered on the race version, but it looks like when compared to the standard version it received a more aggressive exterior kit, with a huge rear wing that will deliver improved dynamics at high speeds.
Under the hood, the road-going model uses a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine that delivers a total of 556 horsepower and a peak torque of 551 pound-feet of torque. The race-ready model will likely undergo a little tweaking for the race.
Hit the jump for the press release and the official statements.
Back in 2003, Cadillac developed a concept car called the Sixteen that it proudly showed off at the Amelia Concours d’Elegance. Rumor had it that the Sixteen came very close to production, but for whatever reason, those plans were scrapped and the concept went back to gather some dust.
It’s been 10 years since that time and apparently, Cadillac is getting ready to brush off the dust and bring the Sixteen back to the Amelia Concours d’Elegance. The automaker has given no indication as to why it’s bringing the Sixteen back, but don’t be surprised if they’re doing so to gather intel and feedback about the car in preparation for what could become Caddy’s next flagship sedan.
To refresh your memories, the Sixteen Concept was an extremely long car - 19 feet in length - that was powered by a ridiculous 13.6-liter V-16 engine that produced an astounding 1,000 horsepower. Its design, particularly the audacious vertical headlight setup, was eventually seen in a more recent Caddy concept, the 2012 Ciel.
The Sixteen’s powertrain alone is enough to make people take notice. We just don’t know how an engine with that much displacement will go over with the more environmentally aware population of today. But hey, Cadillac has long wanted a super luxury flagship in its lineup.
If they can do some tweaking here and there on the Sixteen, maybe it’ll receive that production future it was supposed to get ten years ago.
Cadillac made its presence felt at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in a different fashion from the rest of its colleagues, and certainly different from their approach last year when they unveiled the Ciel Concept. Instead of dropping a world debut or even a US debut, the American automaker decided to show off their newest concept car...in a teaser.
Yep. Cadillac didn’t show a new concept and it certainly didn’t show a new production model. But they did draw up serious interest from a lot of people with what appears to be a new concept car that’s scheduled to make its debut at a future North American auto show in the coming year.
No details have been revealed, except for some comments made by Clay Dean, Cadillac’s director of advanced design, to Autoweek saying that the new concept will be the inspiration - or at least the peg - for the company’s new design language that touches on "American glamor meets American technology.”
If an award for vague teasers was given at Pebble Beach, Cadillac would’ve won it by a landslide. There’s not a lot to go by except for a multitude of speculatory guesses that touch on the long bonnet, wide wheel arches, and a unique tail lamp set-up.
Smart TVs, as well as the Xbox Kinect, PlayStation Move, and the Nintendo Wii have already mastered the art of taking hand and body gestures, and translating them into functions. Now it looks as if this same technology may make it to the automotive realm.
Rumors began swirling a few months ago when Microsoft placed a help wanted ad that alluded to the use of body movements for various automobile controls. Now there is actually a little confirmation that at least one company is actually working on this technology. Harmon, creator of automotive audio systems and other aftermarket electronics, released a concept car that actually uses various body motions to control different features.
You want to turn the radio on, simply wink, adjusting the volume is as easy as tilting your head slightly. You can even skip tracks on a CD or change stations on the radio by tapping your hand on the steering wheel. Oh, and if you want to make a Bluetooth hands-free phone call, just make the universal hand signal for a telephone – you know, thumb to the ear with your pinky extended.
This technology isn’t completely new, as Cadillac’s CUE system uses some of this technology, but you still have to contact the screen, much like a Smartphone or tablet. The full use of gestures and infrared sensors to control a car’s various features is supposed to help avoid driver distraction by eliminating the need to search for buttons to press or knobs to turn.
Where we see this failing is the fact that the learning curve on most gesture-based systems is typically very steep and requires a ton of memorization. We can see new owners reaching for their car’s manual to see how to turn up the volume and putting their car into a ditch.
To say the least, this will definitely require some very intense planning to accomplish. Harman claims that the system should be ready for production in about two to three years.
We all know about Google’s fleet of self-driving Prius’s, but there are few automakers actually close to creating a self-driving car. Well, that was until now. Cadillac has been steadily testing its self-driving car system and has remained somewhat tight lipped about it all. Just recently, Cadillac finally released some information, along with several videos.
According to Cadillac, this system, dubbed “Super Cruise,” is not complete self-driving, but more of a situational self-driving car. It uses features that are already included in the existing XTS and ATS vehicles and tweaks them to allow Super Cruise to drive the vehicle without any driver intervention on the interstate.
It uses features like rear automated braking, adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert, lane departure warning, blind spot alert, and automatic collision preparation in combination with the vehicle’s GPS system and electric power steering to actually keep the car driving at safe speeds and in its lane. It is set by simply picking the lane and speed you want to drive in, then clicking the “Cruise” button.
Once activated, this system senses other traffic all around it, as well as the lane the vehicle is traveling in, and makes mild adjustments as needed. It even will take the vehicle through turns on the highway without the driver touching the steering wheel.
A sweet feature on Cadillac’s Super Cruise is that it uses the front collision detection system to measure the speed of the car in front of you. It then adjusts its speed to remain the prescribed two seconds behind that car. It will even bring the car to a complete stop and re-accelerate to the set speed, or the speed of traffic, all by itself, which makes it awesome for traffic jams.
There’s only one issue, it is not fully autonomous, but some drivers may treat it like such. You cannot just kick back and read the paper, as your Caddy drives you to work. It’s still a good start anyways.
GM expects to start rolling out versions of Super Cruise “In the coming years.”
Hit the jump to read Cadillac’s press release
With the calendar turning over a new page to 2012, the very first major auto show is set to open its doors in Detroit when the North American International Auto Show welcomes automakers - both local and foreign - to the Motor City.
This year, American brands are coming to Detroit in full force where they will be joined by a number of international automakers in presenting a steady diet of concept cars, production debuts, and just about everything else in between.
Among the notable debuts set to take place include the brand-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL, as well as the 2013 Bentley Continental GT V8. German automaker Porsche has also penciled in the 911 Cabriolet for the festivities, while Lexus will be on-hand to display the intriguing and mysterious LF-LC 2+2 sports coupe concept.
As for the local contingent, Ford is leading the way with the premiere of the Fusion global mid-size sedan while Dodge is set to introduce their Alfa Romeo Giulietta-based compact sedan, the Dart.
There’s plenty of action headed to Detroit when the 2012 NAIAS opens its doors on January 14th. Head over after the jump to check out a preview of all the cars scheduled to be part of all the festivities.
For automakers, there’s nothing better than showing up at the debut for one of your automobiles and getting a top notch award for your hard work. Aston Martin, Cadillac, and Ford will vouch for that since their One-77, Ciel Concept, and Focus Plug-In Electric Vehicle were all given best in show awards at the 41st annual South Florida International Auto Show (SFIAS) by the Southern Automotive Media Association (SAMA). SAMA had to choose between many of the participants in Miami, but in the end, these vehicles were chosen because of their styling and marketability.
The Aston Martin One-77 was awarded the “Star of the Show” trophy because the nine-member SAMA judging panel decided it was the single vehicle on display at the show that South Floridians will most want to see. Other vehicles considered for the award were the Audi A7, the Lexus GS sedan, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Toyota Camry, the Range Rover Evoque, and the Hyundai Veloster.
The Cadillac Ciel Concept was given the Best Concept Vehicle in the Show because of its stunning beauty and because SAMA considered it a forerunner of future Cadillac styling. Meanwhile, the Ford Focus Plug-In Electric Vehicle took home the “Best Green Technology Vehicle” in the show because of the fact that it is Ford’s first non-emissions, plug-in electric car to be mass produced and marketed in the United States. Other vehicles considered were the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the Toyota Prius V, and various manufacturers’ hybrid and clean diesel technology vehicles.
The South Florida International Auto Show (SFIAS) runs until November 6, 2011, so stop by the Miami Beach Convention Center to check out these award-winning models.


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Citibank Lets Data Leak Speculation Run Wild
Carlo writes over on techdirt.com:
If there's anything worse than the stupidity that leads to many data leaks, it's the idiocy of responses to them. Companies play down their severity and aren't forthcoming at all with details, and consumers are left with basically no recourse at all. That's assuming, of course, that the company that lost your data even notifies you, since a judge helpfully told Visa and Mastercard they didn't need to bother, since there was no "immediate threat of irreparable harm".More here, also much more here over at Boing Boing.
Citibank's taking this to an extreme, as blogs spread the word of some strange security-related goings-on at the bank. It's pretty unclear exactly what's happening -- and that's the problem. There are some accounts that only people that try to use their Citibank ATM cards in the UK, Canada or Russia run into problems, while others are raising the possibility of a class break -- a massive breach of a bank's network.


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PHILIPSBURG–Utilities company GEBE said it is reviewing its finances to determine whether it is possible to offer some form of relief to consumers in the wake of the most powerful hurricane in the Atlantic, which hammered St. Maarten on Wednesday, September 6, causing massive destruction to businesses and households in the country.
“We are now reviewing our finances. We have some outstanding debts to be paid to our vendors related to this hurricane, as well cover some (other) costs as well,” GEBE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenrick Chittick told The Daily Herald.
“We are reviewing our financial figures and we will see from there, based on what our financial figures look like, if we can provide relief or not.”
He said the company will have most of its figures at its disposal in another two to three weeks and will be able to make a decision at that time whether it can provide relief.
He said consumers should bear in mind that what GEBE is actively doing by providing free water to the community via various means such as outlets in some districts as well as the drinking water flowing from the reverse osmosis unit located outside the St. Maarten Festival Village is also a form of relief, although some consumers do not see it this way.
“There is a cost to this for GEBE and it’s a cost that we are carrying as well, but we are doing our utmost to provide as much as possible to the community with the least cost,” he noted.
Asked if the company were to give relief what form it would be in, Chittick responded, “That I won’t divulge right now. It is a discussion point and it will have to be presented to our Board of Directors first and probably also to the Ministry as well.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/69883-gebe-reviewing-finances-to-see-if-any-relief-possible


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Something exciting happened this past week.
Incase you missed it, Walmart’s stock jumped approximately 10% to $ 99.6 US per share on November 16, 2017. According to online sources, this jump was most accurately connected to Walmart’s third-quarter press release which showed how the company has performed from August to November.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. employs approximately 2.3 million people across the globe through Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. The company has certainly grown from its humble beginnings in Arkansas under the entrepreneurial direction of Sam Walton. Today, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. earns well-over $400 billion USD in revenue annually through their stores and online platforms.
According to the company’s third-quarter annual report, the company earned over $100 billion USD over the course of three months. Compared to last year, this is a performance improvement of approximately 4.2%.
Should investors buy stocks in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc? Well, the traditional advice is to buy low and sell high. Is Wal-Mart at a ‘high price’? Probably, given that the recent 10% climb has brought Walmart to its highest stock price ever. However, the dollar-cost-averaging approach would encourage investors to buy the stock anyways, even though it is likely to correct. The company is probably a sound investment because it earns hundreds of billions of dollars each year and has increased its dividend payout each year since 2012.
Thanks for reading & happy investing,
Your team at CanadianDough.
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I’ve been fortunate enough to have some extra spending money left over from a trip to New York City. I suppose I could cash the American dollars at the bank and receive Canadian dollars, or I could use the American dollars to buy American stocks. I like that option a lot because the greenback has been appreciating in value and American stocks continue to go strong.
I’m deciding on buying an ETF this time around. I think an ETF is great, especially one that tracks the S&P 500, because they would let me ride the wave that is the American stock market. Over at least the past 30 years, the S&P 500 has managed to grow at an average rate of 12% per year. Plus investing in an ETF that tracks this index is like investing in the whole stock market. I have faith in what major investors have said in the past, that the American stock market will continue to grow over time. I would expect some years to be better or worse than others, but if I can find a way to make extra money without having to touch my stock portfolio, it should pan out well.
I’ve narrowed my search of ETFs to three: OEF, SPY and IVV. I like OEF because it is the most affordable ETF out of the three, but it also has the highest expense ratio, which I think, means it actually costs the most to own. However, IVV and SPY are close in their price, but they’re expense ratios are slightly different even though they seem to have the same holdings. Also, they both pay dividends every three months (roughly $1 USD per share). The expense ratio of SPY is about 0.09% and the expense ratio of IVV is 0.04%. According to online sources, this means that 0.09% or 0.04% of the funds total assets will be used to cover expenses. So when you buy $100 worth of shares, a percentage of that will be used to cover expenses. If that’s accurate, I suppose that means an investor only pays the expense ratio when they buy their shares. Correct me if I am wrong.
Since the IVV and SPY seem very close but only differ in their expense ratios, I will likely move forward with IVV. Wish me luck!
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Today I received Royal Bank’s 2016 Annual Report in the mail. I skimmed over the CEO’s letter to the shareholders, which seemed optimistic yet admitting to the various economic challenges the company faces.
Then I got to the financial reports. According to the financial highlights, RBC managed to earn roughly 8.7% more in 2016 than it did in 2015. Totalling $38.4 billion dollars in revenue, RBC can surely call itself an economic powerhouse. Of that $38.4 billion, RBC manages to retain $10.4 billion in profit, which is good news for shareholders. With profit increasing from 2015 to 2016 by 4.3%, investors can hope for a continuing increase in dividends in 2017. Impressive as their earning power is, their ability to attract and sustain wealth is even more impressive. As of 2016, RBC has $526 billion in assets under management.
Part of the reason why RBC is able to earn such an enormous amount of money is surely because of the people they employ. My own experience at RBC has always been pleasant, with courteous service at every branch I’ve visited. With 1,400 branches and 75,510 employees RBC is surely making a lasting impression on North America and beyond.
The Royal Bank of Canada, or RBC, is Canada’s largest bank with seventy-eight thousand employees and twelve-hundred branches that are serving approximately ten million Canadians. According to the Globe and Mail, RBC is Canada’s largest company by market capitalization (total value of shares outstanding) and revenue (total sales). RBC is a seriously big company.
RBC shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and Swiss Exchange under the symbol RY. According to publicly available information, RY is currently trading at $89.25. Over the past 52-weeks, RBC’s highest stock price has reached $90.00 and its lowest price has dipped to $64.52. If an investor would have bought RBC closer to it’s lowest point, they would currently be enjoying handsome returns. The rise in the price of a stock is called capital appreciation; although an investor may have the opportunity to enjoy capital appreciations, RBC offers more.
A dividend is a payment made by a corporation to its shareholders, usually from their profits. RBC currently offers a dividend of $0.83 per share and it is paid four times per year, or quarterly. This means that for every share of RY that an investor owns, they will be paid $0.83 this November 24th, 2016. RBC’s dividend payments have increased over the years and throughout this quarter. For example, in November 2000, the dividend payment was $0.15 per share. In November 2010, the dividend payment was $0.50 per share. Throughout 2016 the dividend payment has increased. In February 2016, the dividend was $0.79 per share; in May 2016 it was $0.81 per share. Now, it’s $0.83 per share. Investors like to see an increase in the dividend as it shows that the corporation’s profits have been increasing over time.
My experience with RBC over the past three months has been fortunate. I bought RY when it was listed around $82.27; now it’s listed at $89.25. I have earned a return of approximately 8.48% which is a growth rate that is nearly 17-times stronger than RBC’s High Interest eSavings account which gives investors a return of 0.500%.


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Sony’s SmartWatch 3 featuring Stainless Steel is set to release across the globe this week, following its unveiling at CES in January. The company stated, “We designed SmartWatch 3 stainless steel with a sleek look and feel, paying homage to contemporary timepiece styling,” in a blog post to announce the upcoming availability. (more…)
If you aren’t one of the 720,000 people who already own an Android Wear device, but feel like it’s time to join the growing crowd for days like today, check out the current deal running on the Sony Smartwatch 3 through Verizon. At 20% off, you can pickup one of the most feature-packed Android Wear devices for $199, down from its $249 price tag on Google Play.
As a recap, the Smartwatch 3 runs Android Wear just like the Moto 360 and G Watch R do, but it also includes a GPS, so you can take it offline (away from your phone) and still track activity. This is one of the few (maybe only) that has a GPS, making the Smartwatch 3 an awesome fitness tracker for runners or those who take activities outdoors.
The Smartwatch 3 also has a 1.6-inch LCD display, 420mAh battery, quad-core processor, 4GB internal storage, 512MB RAM, and is IP68 water and dust resistant.
By no means a high-end flagship, the Xperia E4 features a 5″ qHD display (960×540), 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, HSPA+ connectivity, 2300mAh battery capable of providing 2 days of juice, and runs Lollipop out of the box. (more…)
On Tuesday, we started a new feature called “You Decide,” which is a reader-driven, vote-style competition between a handful of products decided upon by you, hence the name. “You Decide” could be a competition between phones or tablets or Bluetooth speakers or apps, but the idea is that the DL community uses their voices and opinions to pick a winner. It’s not necessarily the most serious of competitions. However, when someone is going to buy their next phone and starts comparing a handful of options, we would love to be able to present them not only our opinions on the matter, but yours too.
For our first “You Decide,” we picked three flagship phones that came out in 2014 that are all still very much relevant, the LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3, and OnePlus One. You could even argue that these three are very underrated, almost underdog type phones, especially when compared to the amount of coverage given to the Galaxys, Ones, and Nexus 6s of the world. (more…)
Part of the beauty in doing what we do on a daily basis is that we get to offer up a lot of our own opinions on Android, tech, and world happenings. Droid Life is this great platform for expression and we take advantage of that more often than not. You may not always agree with what we say. In fact, we hope that you don’t, because that’s what makes our world great – people should have their own opinions on everything, especially when it comes to consumer tech.
So with that in mind, we wanted to start up a new type of post for 2015 and see where it goes. Rather than a top 5 list from us (that you likely won’t agree with), we figured we would instead turn to you for expert analysis, opinion, and bold statements. This is your opportunity to tell the world which is the best, which isn’t, and why. (more…)
What happens when a multi-billion dollar company loses its biggest customer and has to adjust its earnings for the 2nd half of a year? Apparently, they turn to all their much smaller, aren’t-going-anywhere-because-we-can’t customers for uplifting quotes on why their product is still the best! With Samsung deciding to pass on the Snapdragon 810 (for who knows what real reasons), companies like LG, Motorola, Xiaomi, Sony, and Oppo have come out in support of the new chip, along with an assurance from Qualcomm that 60 “premium tier” mobile devices will hit the streets in the coming weeks and months with the 810 inside. (more…)
Need some new flash storage in your life? Maybe a micro SD card to hold your growing movie and music collections? Amazon has you covered today, with a 60% off sale on many of Sony’s flash storage products.
A 16GB micro SD card can be had for $7.99. That’s kind of nuts to think about. If you need more, a 32GB card runs just $11.99; 64GB for $25.99.
And if micro SD is not what you need, maybe a full sized memory card for your camera or a USB drive will do the trick. Yep, those are on sale too.


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The recalled 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg tablets contained small quantities of N-Nitroso N-Methyl 4-aminobutyric acid, or NMBA, following a firm recall notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration's website.
This is the latest of more than 30 blood pressure medicine recalls.
In the latest such case, Camber Pharmaceuticals on Thursday recalled 87 lots of Losartan Potassium, a prescription drug used to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. Friday, Torrent recalled 60 lots of Losartan potassium tablets and 54 lots of Losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets because of NMBA's presence.
Certain lots of blood pressure and heart failure medications have been recalled from various companies worldwide since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July recalled valsartan medicines manufactured by the Chinese company Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals after detecting NDMA. The company said it hadn't received any reports of patients being harmed related to the recall. The affected Losartan tablets have expiration dates that range from September 2019 to June 2020.
The recalls began a year ago after regulators said ingredients used by Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals Co to produce valsartan contained cancer-causing impurities.
Soktratis: Arsenal's spirit and belief crucial in battle for top 4
Spurs went behind after 16 minutes but managed to break down a tight Arsenal defence to earn the point. But I feel fine, I have come through the games and the ankle feels good which is the main thing".
Meghan Markle Wannabe Spends Thousands on Bum Lift to Look Like Duchess
Britain's Meghan Markle , Duchess of Sussex , arrives at the Casablanca Airport in Casablanca, Morocco, February 23, 2019. The party, hosted by her pal Serena Williams , was a lavish occasion that saw Meghan being showered with lots of gifts.
Neighbor's dog bites off child's hand in Layton, police say
KSTU reported that the boy had a sock on his hand and was trying to play with two Husky breed dogs through a fence. The dog bite amputated the boy's hand from between the elbow and wrist to the entire hand, Cook said.
Camber's recall is the second in a week of Losartan tablets.
In a statement, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb explained that the agency has been carrying out a series of investigations for several months after various companies began announcing their voluntary recalls.
The FDA said in a statement it was investigating the formation of these impurities, which were reported to be made by previously unknown to drug developers.
"FDA scientists have developed novel and sophisticated testing methods specifically created to detect and measure N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) impurities in [angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB)] medicines", Gottlieb wrote. In a recall announced a week ago, Macleods Pharmaceuticals also identified Hetero Labs as manufacturing the active ingredient containing N-nitrosodiethylamine, or NDEA, a probable human carcinogen.


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By MAREN HENDERSHOT
While many seniors might imagine chicken cordon bleu and the famous BYU cheesecake at the senior celebration, this year seniors will be served hamburgers, tacos, pizza, donuts, brownies and ice cream.
“These are the main staples of BYU students,” said Carlton Clark, graduating class president.
According to Clark, there is going to be plenty of food to feed everyone.
Dean Wright, director of dining services, said “we insure there is enough food for everyone after the final call of reservations are made.”
They assume one hamburger, two slices of pizza, one can of soda, one scoop of ice cream and then extras, per person to make sure there is enough food.
Chips and soda are donated by Frito Lay and Coca Cola; Tomassito’s pizza discounted the pizza prices for the event; the Creamery provides the ice cream and BYU dining services takes care of the rest of the food.
The goal of the senior celebration is to have the seniors “leave with a good feeling,” Clark said.
In order to do that, Clark said that the food is a major role in making that happen.
With foods like walking tacos, that allow the eater to enjoy the food on the go, the food is easy to carry around while seniors enjoy the rest of the activities. Food will be available throughout the entire celebration.
“It is all coordinated to produce a good evening,” said Wright.


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The troubled, Android-powered GameStick console has been hit with more delays, with the official UK release date pushed back to the end of November, at the earliest.
The £79 ($79) HDMI stick has been beset by problems, but those who'd pre-ordered the console had expected to receive it this weekend.
Now Amazon UK is listing the device for November 29 release, while the official UK site says it'll be out on December 15. Buyers stateside will now be able to grab the console a little earlier, on November 15.
Some of those buyers across the pond who have already received their pocked-sized console units are reporting that the device isn't working out of the box, or have been freezing and randomly restarting.
Missing the window?
It's been a long saga for the British-born microconsole. It sailed past its Kickstarter funding goal in February and was expected to go on sale in April.
The demand saw the release pushed back to June, and then a variety of teething problems resulted in further delays until November.
Reviews for the console have so far been mixed, with TechRadar awarding the console an underwhelming 2.5 stars out of a possible 5.
Since the GameStick's inception, other Android-powered consoles like the Ouya and Nvidia Shield have hit the market with varying degrees of success. The MadCatz Mojo is also scheduled to arrive on December 10.
For the GameStick, which doesn't offer access to the Google Play store like some of its rivals, there must be legitimate concerns that it is missing the window of opportunity to cement a presence in what's soon to be a flooded market of Android-powered gaming devices.
Via CNET UK
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A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.


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Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) reported second-quarter financial results before the regular trading hours on Thursday. Revenue for the quarter fell 8% to b $7.3 billion, while adjusted EPS declined 31% to $0.57.
However, the results were stronger than street projections, which sent the stock up 1% during pre-market hours. The stock has gained 11% since the beginning of this year.
The largest Medical Devices unit was the worst hit, where sales dropped 21%, as hospitals postponed various surgeries to cater to COVID patients. Earlier today, rival Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) also reported a massive 35% decline in quarterly earnings, hurt by weakness in the medical devices segment.
Earlier we looked into how, during the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers saw changing trends in terms of their assortments and how the acceleration of online shopping led many of them to
Data is at the heart of business innovation. Recognizing this trend, companies are seeking ways to transform their businesses by capturing, analyzing, and mobilizing data. The public cloud is becoming
The second half has been highly rewarding for design software maker Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) amid stable demand for digital content solutions. The company has remained unaffected by the virus-related


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During the F8 conference, Facebook announced that it will be bringing a host of new features to its photo-sharing platform, Instagram, and now, the app, which reportedly has over one billion monthly active users, has officially introduced the said features which include Video Chat, new camera effects for Stories and topic channels in Explore tab. All these Instagram features will be rolling out to iOS and Android devices in the coming weeks.
Before dwelling into the details of these Instagram features, let it be known that according to a recent report by Bloomberg, the Facebook-owned platform is estimated to be worth over $100 billion and all these new Instagram features are touted to bring users even closer to the things and people they love.
For the unknown, it was earlier reported that Instagram will be using artificial intelligence (AI) in order to offer a more personalised homepage for the users. Now, with the new topic channels in Explore tab, Instagram will be offering a personalised content which will be organized into topic channels through which you can browse across your interests while also going deeper on any topic you’d like.
Instagram says that more than 100 million users on its platform watch or share Live videos and now in order to make its users capable of making video calls on Instagram, it will be launching the ‘Video Chat’ feature in the coming weeks.
In order to start a video chat, you will need to just simply tap the new camera icon which is present at the top of a Direct thread and you can chat one-on-one or with a small group while also continuing the conversation for as long as you like. Users will also have an option to minimize the video in order to continue the chat and other things on Instagram.
New camera effects
While features such as face filters, stickers, and text styles help your pictures turn into experiences you just can’t wait to share, Instagram is now offering third parties the ability to design interactive and unique camera experiences for users. If you see a new effect in Instagram Stories from an account which you are following and if you want to try it, tap on the “Try it on” option and the particular tool will available for you to use.
New way of sharing on Stories
Instagram users will now be able to share post any content on Stories directly from any other app. For now, Spotify and GoPro have been integrated into Instagram for this option while the platform has promised that they will add other apps in the coming future, as well.
In order to use this feature, all you need to do is tap on the share button in the Spotify or the GoPro app and the said content from these apps will be pulled directly into the Instagram camera. Now, you can edit and add it to Instagram Stories or even send it via Direct.


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Sprint pushes mobile download speeds to 295Mbps in lab tests
US operator Sprint has expanded the range of mobile devices capable of working at nearly 300Mbps to include the HTC 10, using three-carrier aggregation.
The company says it has used the LTE-Advanced technique to achieve peak speeds of 295Mbps in lab tests. In March Sprint said that it had achieved 300Mbps in tests with the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Now the company says it offers five devices that are capable of operating on three-carrier aggregation services – the HTC 10, HTC 9, LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Sprint already offers two-channel aggregation in 237 markets across the US, offering speeds of more than 100Mbps, under the LTE Plus brand.
“LTE Plus uses some of the most advanced technologies in wireless such as carrier aggregation and it’s a key part of our densification and optimisation strategy,” said Günther Ottendorfer, Sprint’s chief operating officer for technology.
“With LTE Plus we’ll keep delivering the best mobile services for our customers with higher throughput and capacity using very cost-efficient solutions.”
Adding a third carrier to the service will mean the company used 60MHz of spectrum to deliver data at more than 200Mbps on compatible devices. They will be enabled to take advantage of the service after a software download.
Sprint did not announce the three bands in use, except to say that the service would be delivered via its 2500MHz cell sites. The other two bands are believed to be 800 and 1900MHz.
Rival operator T-Mobile US was revealed to be trying out three-carrier aggregation in June, using spectrum in the 700, 900 and 2100MHz bands on a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 phone.


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Industry Allies Seek to Limit Microsoft Drive Into New Fields
Published: June 3, 2002
(Page 2 of 2)
The cellphone and wireless telecommunications industry has also proved to be difficult for Microsoft. A group of hand-set makers, including Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola, have supported a joint venture, called Symbian, begun in 1998. The venture's purpose has been to develop a cellphone operating system intended to thwart Microsoft's planned advance in the mobile phone market.
Recently, Nokia has decided to license cheaply its layer of applications software for tasks like Web browsing, messaging and e-mail, in another effort to make sure Microsoft does not control the key software standards for so-called smart phones. And Palm, the leader in the hand-held market, has put its Palm operating system in a separate subsidiary, PalmSource, partly to more aggressively market its software to the cellphone industry.
Java, the Internet programming language created by Sun Microsystems, is widely used to write wireless applications. And last November at Comdex, the PC industry's big annual trade show in Las Vegas, Nokia and some partners announced the Open Mobile Architecture Initiative, another effort to try to push cellphone technology standards away from the Microsoft camp.
The worry of the cellphone makers is that they will suffer the fate of PC makers, allowing another company to own a lucrative technology standard. That fear seemed to come to life last February at a telecommunications industry conference in Cannes, France, when Microsoft and Intel, the dominant producer of PC microprocessors, announced that they are working on a joint design for sophisticated phones that they will license to cellphone makers.
''It would reduce the cellphone companies to the equivalent of PC clone makers,'' said David C. Nagel, the chief executive of PalmSource. ''The hand-set guys -- Nokia chief among them -- just hate that. The Microsoft announcement was the best thing that happened to me that week in France.''
The origins of the Liberty Alliance go back to last summer and preliminary talks between two chief executives who have known each other for years, James Goodwin, chairman of UAL, the parent of United Airlines, and Scott G. McNealy, the chairman of Sun.
Other major companies were soon called, and they were interested in neutral standards for online identity as well. At the time, Microsoft had Passport and AOL was working on a project called Magic Carpet. Liberty was fueled by the desire of other companies to insure online identity did not become the battleground for a standards battle between Microsoft and AOL (and AOL became a founding member of Liberty).
Besides, companies like United Airlines, American Express and General Motors -- each with millions of customers, and each determined to exploit Internet commerce itself -- were simply not going to relinquish their customer data to another company operating an online identity system, and certainly not to Microsoft.
Yet the group also quickly decided that it should not be led by technology companies because Liberty would then lose credibility, being seen as weapon against Microsoft. ''We don't want to sell tools for identity management,'' noted Eric Dean, the chief information officer of United Airlines, who is the chairman of Liberty. ''We're not selling software. We want to use it.''
Still, for an organization not intended to be regarded as anti-Microsoft the name ''liberty'' was not the wisest choice.
''The initial rhetoric was full of terms like liberty from Microsoft and Passport,'' said Adam Sohn, product manager for Microsoft's .Net strategy. ''That's not a particularly interesting organization for us.''
But as Sun has stepped to the side a bit in Liberty, Mr. Sohn added, the anti-Microsoft rhetoric has receded.
And Liberty has clarified its approach and its vision of online identity management. It will develop basic open technical standards that will allow Web sites and companies to share data, with customers' permission. Instead of a single sign-on used everywhere online, they see different sets of credentials much as in a person's wallet -- a driver's license, a library card, credit cards, and so on.
''Liberty is not an organization with a megalomaniac view of its future,'' said Michael Barrett, vice president of Internet strategy for American Express. ''It has no intention of being some uber single sign-on service that will always attract consumer and corporate distrust.''
For its part, Microsoft has responded to criticism Passport has received from privacy groups and corporations. It has clarified its stance to emphasize that personal information will not be passed on to marketers without the user's permission. At the end of last year, Microsoft announced it was adopting a looser model for Passport, which it calls ''federation,'' so companies controlled their own ''islands'' of data instead of Microsoft.
''Passport is moving away from the monolithic approach,'' said Mr. Barrett. ''Market pressures are moving Microsoft in that direction.''
Photo: Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, plans to take the company into the field of online identity systems. But corporate software users are concerned that Microsoft may be trying to set itself up as a Web gatekeeper. (Associated Press)(pg. C5)


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Tour focuses on river’s economic potential
The site of an upcoming riverfront development at Las Colonias Park hosted part of a tour focused on the economics of the Colorado River on Saturday, where attendees envisioned a future park melding retail, recreation and manufacturing space that’s now a dirt lot adjoining the Riverfront Trail.
The park includes 15 acres designated for a business park hoping to attract manufacturers related to the outdoor recreation industry, like Bonsai Design, a Grand Junction-based zipline company which has committed to being the anchor tenant. Plans call for the rest of the 147-acre Las Colonias development, which includes the area with the new amphitheater near the Riverfront Trail, to be turned into a park including lakes for recreation as well as space for businesses.
The Colorado River Business Tour, organized by the Hutchins Water Center at Colorado Mesa University and Business for Water Stewardship, attracted about 20 attendees who examined different economic aspects of the river, including tours through peach orchards and irrigation facilities. Participants discussed everything from agriculture to tamarisk and endangered species.
At the Las Colonias site, Grand Junction city Engineering Manager Trent Prall told the group the city is working with project partners to start construction in the first quarter of 2018, and that the parcels north of the Riverfront Trail have been permitted for construction. He said details involving a boat ramp are being worked out with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Bonsai Design CEO Thaddeus Shrader told the group there is one other business owner committed to the project, someone who wants to operate a tap room adjacent to the river, though he declined to provide details. He indicated there is room for one major retail tenant in the development, in addition to the smaller business spaces, and said his company remains the cornerstone tenant in the business park.
Shrader told the group there are a few companies that seem interested in relocating to the business park once it has been built and that proponents are working on several upcoming milestones for the development, one of which is forming a development corporation to handle the leasing for the property.
“We are just moments away from all those puzzle pieces coming together,” he said.
The Grand Junction Economic Partnership built a website, riverfrontcolorado.com, which invites companies to join the development. Shrader said he and other proponents of the project have been passing out promotional materials to potential tenants as well, including attendees of the Colorado Outdoor Industry Leadership Summit’s inaugural summit in Grand Junction last week.
Prall said the City Council will likely consider the proposal to form the development corporation in November.


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Learn about CNET's testing procedures for Blu-ray players.
Panasonic has updated its 2013 Smart TVs to include customizable wallpaper for its new Home Screen.
The happiness-focused social network hopes to reorient the facets of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that some say most foster loneliness and envy. Can it succeed?
The new version of RIM's PlayBook OS is out today, finally bringing native email to the ailing tablet.
If at first you don't succeed, they say. Still, although PlayBook owners will now have much of what they were hoping for in the first version, they're not getting everything.
Yes, the updated software now gives you access to e-mail, but tablets should do a whole lot more. Does the PlayBook offer anything the iPad or an Android tablet doesn't? Not really.
The PlayBook is due next week, bringing native email, as well as the ability to run Android apps. But is it too little too late?
The latest verson of RIM's PlayBook OS could trickle out to users as soon as early next week, according to various reports.
RIM's new CEO has been showing off a sneak-peak of PlayBook 2.0 and hinting at what's to come in BlackBerry 10. It's all about 'Flow'!
The new MacBook Airs will sport the latest Intel Ivy Bridge processors.


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Articles Related To: Industry
For one insane week each winter, the worlds’ top action sport filmmakers and athletes, along with cutting–edge bands and DJs and key figures from the entertainment industry, gather in Salt Lake City, Utah, to celebrate action sports culture at the annual X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival.
Today, riders around the world can get in The Liftline at www.theliftline.tv, the newest and most comprehensive source for Burton team news and video. The Liftline is a brand new online forum for snowboarders to connect with Burton pro riders on a whole other level, through a constant stream of new team video and editorial content.
“We thought about doing another movie, but it felt like a steady flow of fresh content might be a better way to go,” says Jake Burton, Founder and CEO of Burton Snowboards. “The intent of The Liftline is to keep riders current on what our team is up to on a continuous basis. I’m sure there will be a learning curve, but it feels like a solid direction.”


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Imports of new cars to Russia dropped 45.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015, as car sales in the weakening economy collapsed, it was reported.
The market for car imports to Russia has been hit hard by the steep devaluation of the rouble, which is down 30 percent against the U.S. dollar since last April. The rouble’s fall has raised the cost of foreign cars and components and sent overall inflation soaring, striking a harsh blow to purchasing power in Russia.
A total of about 140,000 cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in March, down 42.5 percent from the same period in 2014, according to the lobby group the Association of European Businesses.
Car imports totalled 87,300 in the first quarter, according to Autostat. Japanese carmaker Toyota led with 24,000 units — a slight increase from the same period last year — followed by South Korea’s Hyundai with 11,000 cars, 31 percent less year-on-year.


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The Chief Executive Officer of Fashion Spaces Garment Factory (SGFA), Aisha Abubakar-Achonu, whose company manufactures surgical masks, gowns and other medical equipment, fields questions on Nigeria’s preparedness for the pandemic and why the economy has long been dependent on importation and empowering other economies.
Tell us about your company and what sort of medical protective equipment you actually make.
We are a mid-capacity garment factory. We produce personal protective gear like overalls, face masks, and surgical masks. We do not produce the N-95 but we produce the cloth masks and surgical masks because we have supplied for the fabrics that we use in doing that. The textile polypropylene is used to make the surgical mask, and then for the face mask, we have the fabric available.
What’s the state of the availability of personal protection equipment in Nigeria now?
So we’ve had a couple of demands but distribution has also been a problem. We’ve had people asking us if we can produce for them. Before the lock-down, we did some production that was a social campaign that we distributed for free. But now that there is a lock down, distribution is going to be a problem for us.
So what sort of orders have you got, as you say you’ve got a couple of orders?
We have some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who have reached out to us, but as I said, the primary constraint is distribution, logistics, and to make sure that our staffs are safe. We have to put a safety measure in place. We have a building that is within the factory premises. We have to put in safety measures to make sure that people don’t go out, for instance, to get food. Our staff needs to be tested. We have to stay isolated if we are going to be producing these items and also distributing them in a safe manner.
“We are surprised that the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) hasn’t reached out to us. We have reached out to them by way of a letter, and we are aware that importation is being done.”
One would think as an essential service provider and manufacturer of medical equipment, you’ll be exempted from the lock down?
For garment manufacturers, we haven’t received and exemption letter. We actually wrote for it. The association wrote a letter but we haven’t received any response.
But one would have thought you would be swamped with orders because internationally that’s what’s happening. ?
This is a very good question, and it’s very surprising. The Nigerian textile and garment manufacturers association have been deliberating for the past week. We’ve been wondering why we haven’t been reached out to, considering the fact that the Central Bank of Nigeria, earlier in the year, has signed a memorandum of understanding between us and the para-military for our association to produce personal protective gears for para-military and other organizations that need items as such.
We are surprised that the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) hasn’t reached out to us. We have reached out to them by way of a letter, and we are aware that importation is being done. And we don’t understand why. I have a mid-capacity factory that can produce at least 4,000 clothes and surgical masks a day. We also have textile companies that produce the polypropylene used in producing the surgical masks.
But the government is importing them?
Yes, the government is importing them.
But before the outbreak of coronavirus, were you supplying the government and hospitals? Who were your main clients?
Most of them are imported really, we have very few people that were ordering from us. The whole thrust of the Buhari government is always being to indigenize as much as possible, the manufacturer of things. And they were particularly supportive of manufacturers.
Are you saying they haven’t been buying your products basically?
They haven’t been buying.
Are they actually aware of your products?
Yes; to an extent they are because we’ve written several letters introducing some of the things we produce.
And they never followed on that?
Just to be clear, the Central Bank of Nigeria, with that MOU, took a step to make sure that we are patronized. And this is not just for garment or medical supply manufacturers; this is also for the textile companies. We have over 25 functional textile companies and over 35 fully equipped garment factories in the country. If each and every one of us could produce at least 4,000 masks and more, a day, I personally would be able to produce 120,000 masks a month. Imagine the other 35 factories that can save the lives of Nigerians and healthcare workers on the line.


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LOS ANGELES — Adira Allure is starring in Stylish Angel’s new release, “Teen Bush Volume three.”
Helmed by returning director Sid Knox, the new title will be released on Monday, October 28.
“It was thrilling to operate with a company like Stylish Angel,” stated Allure about her debut with the company. “[They’ve] been a trendsetter in the sector, and I can not wait to come back.”
In accordance to the studio, the title “features nearly two-and-a-half hours of enticing scenes.”
Pre-orders will be shipped quickly on release, and copies will be available for buy online and in retail merchants October 28.


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When applied to spam, this probability theory kicks out real junk mail and is less likely to create false positives.
By ZDNet Staff
| March 25, 2005 -- 00:22 GMT (16:22 PST)
| Topic: Security
Digital Health and Wellness
How technology can save the NHS
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is official: Here's what's new
Photos: BlackBerrys through the ages
The scariest tech of 2017, period, end of sentence
Acronis releases APIs to expand application of core platforms
FTC gives two companies a slap on the wrist after appalling hacks
No encryption. User data in plaintext. All user data stolen in a simple hack. No problem. The FTC doesn't care.
GoDaddy takes down 15,000 subdomains used for online scams
GoDaddy resets passwords for several hundred compromised accounts.
Justify your investment in the people and awareness side of security
Changing security culture and behavior through awareness and training has the power to make teams more impactful.
An inside look at how credential stuffing operations work
Data breaches, custom software, proxies, IoT botnets, and hacking forums -- all play a role.
Confidence in the internet is wobbling: Here's how to fix it, says cyber chief
Tech industry has a responsibility to fix security for the next generation, says NCSC head.
Court enforces need for warrant before police can access your real-time phone location
Police said using real-time location data from smartphones under six hours old was fine. The courts fought back.
Windows 10: Microsoft ditches its 'ancient, obsolete' expiring password policy
Organizations will no longer get a red mark for not implementing Microsoft's recommended 60-day password expiration policy.
You’ve been hacked, now what? How the UK’s cybersecurity and privacy watchdogs deal with incidents
New framework looks to improve understanding about how to react following a cyberattack.


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Healthy eating initiative receives award from the Prime Minister
A healthy eating initiative to educate children about the farm-to-plate story, which has the backing of Pink Lady®, has been honoured with a special award from the Prime Minister.
Max MacGillivray, who masterminded The Great Fruit Adventure – a 10,000 mile journey from London to South Africa to raise awareness about where fresh produce comes from – has been honoured by No. 10 with a Points of Light Award. The award recognises Max’s outstanding voluntary effort to encourage healthy eating among children.
Prime Minister Theresa May said: “Through The Great Fruit Adventure you are inspiring thousands of children to learn about the benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables, helping them to develop healthier attitudes to eating.”
We are delighted that Max has been honoured with this award. A high profile endorsement from the Prime Minister underlines the importance of what Max is doing and we are very proud to have played a part in the initiative through our sponsorship for the trip.
Well done Max!


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Why the new powertrain? China. While the market there might have slowing growth, it's still a major country for auto sales. The annual taxes on cars there also happen to be based on engine displacement, and there's a 40 percent rate on those over 4.0-liters, according to Car and Driver.
The obvious answer to this conundrum is to build a smaller displacement, forced induction engine for the R8 and Huracán. Car and Driver points to the new turbocharged and electrically supercharged, 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder from the recent Audi TT Clubsport Turbo concept as a possible solution. Audi's e-turbo technology runs off a 48-volt electrical system and lithium-ion battery to produce a total of 600 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque in the prototype. With this mill, horsepower would barely shrink compared to the R8 V10 Plus and Lambo, but it actually makes more peak torque than their 5.2-liter V10s.
While this is all theoretically feasible, take the possibility with a big grain of salt for now. According to Car and Driver, Quattro GmbH's Stephan Reil says that there's no work currently underway to fit the twin-charged five-cylinder, "but it has been talked about." That means such a vehicle is likely years away, if ever. In the meantime, a diesel version of the e-turbo setup is on the way the in the SQ7.