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New, high-tech facility is latest in series of upgrades and enhancements in ADM’s Animal Nutrition business
QUINCY, Ill., Dec. 8, 2016— Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced today that it will build a new, state-of-the-art feed facility to replace its current plant in Columbus, Nebraska.
“Columbus is a key location for our U.S. business, and is perfectly situated for a new, modern plant to serve our customers throughout the region,” said Brent Fenton, president of ADM Animal Nutrition. “Its existing infrastructure—including warehousing space and rail access, along with ingredient availability and proximity to our customer base—make it an ideal choice for our latest new facility.”
The new facility will feature:
“From Quincy and Effingham, Illinois, to Glencoe, Minnesota, to Columbus, we are investing to ensure that we can continue to offer feed customers across the country the high-quality, cost-competitive products they expect from ADM,” Fenton continued. ADM is targeting completion of the new plant in early 2018. The current Columbus facility will remain operational during construction.
About ADM Animal Nutrition
ADM Animal Nutrition is a leading manufacturing, nutrition and marketing business offering a wide range of innovative products for the animal nutrition market. Known as a global leader in amino acids, ADM Animal Nutrition also offers consistent, high-quality feed products, supplements, premixes, custom ingredient blends and specialty feed ingredients designed to provide leading-edge solutions, enabling our customers to meet and optimize animal health and nutrition goals. Learn more at www.ADMAnimalNutrition.com.
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with more than 32,300 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes 428 crop procurement locations, 280 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 39 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.
Archer Daniels Midland Company


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Affinia Group, an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which Affinia Group, including its global filtration operations (but excluding its Affinia South America (“ASA”) operations), will be sold to MANN+HUMMEL.
Based in Ludwigsburg, Germany, MANN+HUMMEL is a privately-held global filtration expert offering filtration solutions to original equipment and aftermarket customers in both the automotive and industrial sectors.
“Our agreement with MANN+HUMMEL continues us along a path that has guided us for 75 years – a commitment to innovative solutions and high-quality filtration products,” said Keith Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Affinia Group. “We are excited to align our technologies and capabilities to provide our customers, employees and partners with unparalleled excellence and opportunity.”
“We believe that this partnership with MANN+HUMMEL will accelerate our growth potential, provide access to new technologies and capabilities, and enhance our financial strength and global scale to excel in the global marketplace. We couldn’t be more thrilled about the potential this brings to our global brands, and most importantly, our dedicated people that have helped build our legacy of leadership and innovation.”
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
Affinia Group’s financial advisor on this transaction is Robert W. Baird & Co and legal advisor is Hogan Lovells.
Affinia Group is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With approximately $1.4 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.
This article originally appeared on Affina's website.

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Brad Griffith, CEO of sports ticketing startup Gametime, found it, “personally devastating” when he was half an hour late to a baseball game and missed Tony Bennett singing the American national anthem.
It was due to a faulty printer which delayed the printing of his baseball ticket by around half an hour; it was, as Griffith describes, “an ordeal.”
However, in retrospect, Griffith has a lot to thank that printer for.
After understanding that the ticket-resale process was sluggish and wholly too reliant on different machines, Griffith – a former Google analyst and Stanford graduate – decided that the industry needed to regroup and improve its service.
“Gametime is the fastest and easiest way to get you in sporting events.”
Griffith has created a sports ticketing startup that allows you to buy tickets to any sports game via its app without printing tickets of any kind – it provides you with a bar code which stadiums scan and accept.
(“It’s great that the venues have accepted the technology which we have incorporated.”)
It’s quite a simple format, especially when you consider that the potential for this type of innovation in the ticket-resale industry is huge; Griffith plans to capitalize on an undervalued part of an estimated $5 billion dollar market.
Upon downloading the app there are, “4 characteristics or options available for you.”
There’s a high resolution photo view from the seat your ticket gets you, a curative infographic of all seats still available on the internet, a “very fast checkout service” and authorized barcodes.
“Everything before us was built for the web so you would get a list of 5,000 options you had to pick through and up to 9 steps to purchase the ticket and then you had to print…there was a lot of friction in that process which we’re trying to eliminate.”
The sports ticketing startup actually estimates this market to be valued more in the region of $30 billion and labels it “hyper-social” because sporting events are rarely done alone.
This is interesting from Gametime’s point of view because, despite its popularity, it has to do hardly any marketing: it has relied on word of mouth. Indeed 92% of June’s purchases were down to friend recommendations.
And those recommendations mean the sport ticketing startup is growing a lot faster than anticipated – which is a good problem to try and adapt to.
“The hiring situation can be difficult because the question becomes ‘Can you hire the best people for the right spots in the fastest time?’ because you want to keep up [momentum] without losing quality.”
The sports ticketing startup isn’t Griffiths first startup, adapting to change is something he’s used to.
“[Before Gametime] Zappedy was a platform allowing local businesses to market online essentially which was then sold to Groupon.”
However, doing another app means you can think about how to do the next one better.
“At Zappedy we changed direction a lot so we’ve had to become more focused, choosing the direction upfront and putting a lot of thought, and investing, in what direction we want to be travelling in.”
Consequently, Griffiths and his team are more confident in the sports ticketing startup’s trajectory and service.
For example, its customer base is mainly comprised of millennials rather than Gen X’s which they don’t see as surprising and rather than marketing the app to a different audience, the plan is to simply wait.
“We’re not actively searching for [Gen X], they’re actively searching for a solution like ours: we all now live on our mobiles and we migrate towards the easiest transaction process.”
There aren’t many industries where a CEO can be that confident; is having a sports ticketing startup a good position to find yourself in right now?
“I used to work math and analysis for two sports teams and I missed that when I was at Google; I love the industry and Gametime also gives me a chance to experience the speed of a startup which is super fun.”
Some things are true of every industry however, including certain trends.
“Migration to mobile is at the top of everyone’s minds and with that, the acceptance of the tech that goes with it is pretty exciting.”
Trends are one thing, but innovators and entrepreneurs aren’t known for playing sheep; Gametime may be primarily a sports ticketing startup for now but there are other avenues to consider in the future.
“I’m more fascinated by what else you can do once you’re at your event; how can we make the end-to-end experience that much better? Thats pretty fun.”


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The Bengal state Agricultural Marketing department is busy developing infrastructure for the preservation of onions. Onion production has increased by leaps and bounds, thanks to various measures taken by the state government. This means that preservation has assumed utmost importance to cut down import of the cash crop.
Biplab Mitra, state Agricultural Marketing Minister, said: "We have to spend a reasonable amount in subsidy for making it available to the common people in the market after importing onion from Nashik. If we can develop infrastructure for preservation, then we can cut down reasonably on import and on the subsidy too. We are taking expert opinions on what technology can be embraced for onion preservation keeping in parity with our weather conditions."
According to the minister, space for developing the infrastructure would not be a constraint, as there is ample space available in some of the Kisan Mandis of the department. The state has to import over 600.000 metric tons of onions annually to cater to its annual demand of 1.3 mln metric tons. As the cultivation of onion is less during the Kharif season, prices often soar particularly during the winter months when the state has to depend mainly on imports.
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the leading states in onion production and exports onion to other states. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants that Bengal should emerge as the fourth major onion producing state and become self-sufficient in onion cultivation.


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It turns out that having a wicked sense of smell might not be something to boast about. Not if you’re looking to lose weight, at any rate.
Scientists at the University of California wondered whether there was any correlation between the food we smell and our ability to lose weight, and so they put lab mice to the test.
Basically, they fed two groups of mice — ones that could smell and ones that could not — one of two diets. One of the groups received a regular balanced diet while the other received high-fat meals. While all mice eating a regular diet weighed in around the same by the end of the three-month trial, there was a significant difference between those that could and could not smell in the high-fat group. The mice that could smell their food actually ended up storing more fat than the non-smelling rodents. In fact, non-smelling mice weighed in at about 16 per cent less overall than their sharp-nosed counterparts.
Scientists first thought that maybe the mice that couldn’t smell didn’t enjoy eating as much as those that could, and so maybe they were eating less (we all know that when something smells good we’re more likely to crave it). But as it turns out, both groups of mice in the high-fat group were indeed polishing off the same amount of food, (and getting the same amount of exercise) which got cell biologist Andrew Dillin and his co-workers thinking: perhaps it all has something to do with our brains.
“There’s more to gaining weight than just eating food — it’s how you are perceiving the food,” said Dillin. “[The mice] rewire their metabolic programming to burn more calories.”
Right now, the working theory is that non-smelling rodents used more energy because their lack of smell told their brains they had eaten more than they had. This, in turn, led them to burn more calories. And for the mice that could smell? Well, their brains told them to store the fats instead.
Science, huh? It’s so crazy.
While it’s tempting to pinch your nose with a clothespin the next time you sit down to a pizza or tacos though, know that scientists have yet to determine whether the same results are true with humans. Besides, isn’t smelling your food half the fun?
We’d like to think so.


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"We have surveyed the manufacturing landscape and identified five strategies that companies are using to remain competitive. Here we profile each strategy and present case studies illustrating how real companies are putting those strategies to use ."
Strategy 1: Prepare for Re-shoring Production
More manufacturers are bringing production back to North America. We think the three main drivers of this trend are:
● Increases in the cost of ocean freight transportation, which has increased by as much as 150% since the 2008 lows;
● Longer product delivery cycles that make domestic manufacturers less responsive to consumer demand; and,
● Poor production quality standards that have resulted in the delivery of defective goods.
In addition to these drawbacks, the rising cost of Chinese labor is prompting domestic manufacturers to reconsider their off-shoring habits. Last year, Chinese inflation rose to 5.1% – its highest level ever. Sure, Chinese manufacturing remains far less expensive, but a trend toward higher costs is clear.
These factors, including consumers’ growing environmental and patriotic concerns, are motivating US manufacturers to move their production facilities back to North America. An October survey of nearly 1,400 US manufacturers found that 19% brought production into or closer to North America in the last three months. Domestic labor costs may be more expensive, but manufacturers are finding ample motivation to re-shore. At the same time, these manufacturers are identifying innovative ways to reduce costs.
For example, Vaniman Manufacturing, a maker of dental parts, was initially drawn to China by the allure of labor costs 50% lower than domestic labor. However, Vaniman’s labor savings were quickly eaten up by shipping and storage costs. This prompted Vaniman to leave China and locate their production in San Diego. After the move, Vaniman realized cost savings from reduced transport and storage needs. Ultimately, Vaniman’s costs are still 5% higher than the cost of doing business in China, but the manufacturer feels the premium is well worth it.


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// Westfield owner Unibail sells 5 French shopping centres
// The centres are Aéroville and So Ouest in the Paris region, Rennes Alma in Rennes, Toison d’Or in Dijon, and Confluence in Lyon
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has sold five French Westfield shopping centres valued at more than €2 billion (£1.8 billion) to a joint venture between URW, Crédit Agricole Assurances and La Française.
The centres consist of Aéroville and So Ouest in the Paris region, Rennes Alma in Rennes, Toison d’Or in Dijon, and Confluence in Lyon.
Crédit Agricole Assurances and La Française hold a 54.2 per cent stake in the joint venture, while URW holds 45.8 per cent.
The joint venture secured €1 billion (£880 million) financing for the deal.
As part of the deal, a rental guarantee of up to €45 million (£39.7 million) has been granted to the joint venture to cover a possible shortfall in net rental income up to December 31 2024.
“The closing of this transaction is a major milestone in the group’s disposal strategy,” URW group chief executive Christophe Cuvillier said.
“In a very challenging environment, it demonstrates the quality of our assets and illustrates the trust of our partners in the management of URW to cope with the current situation and to generate future growth in the assets we operate.”
Meanwhile, in the UK, Westfield said it is preparing to reopen malls as it awaits for lockdown measures to ease.
The centres said they have established social distancing measures and increased other safety precautions as non-essential retailers prepare to open their doors since being shut in March.
URW unveiled a raft a measures it would introduce at its Stratford and London shopping centres, including one-way systems, live footfall cameras, floor stickers to mark two-metre gaps and increased cleaning.


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This research was published on June 10, 2022 in Harvard Business Review
The macroeconomic outlook continues to dominate the executive agenda. Last year, when demand overshot and supply chains sputtered, many firms discovered pricing power they never experienced before.
But the Fed’s battle against resulting inflation has pushed up the risk of recession. Today, macroeconomic fears are rotating out of inflation and towards another downturn. While the idea that a recession would put out the fire of inflation is persuasive, it is not guaranteed.


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BIG HEAT: Temperatures soared at Colette on Tuesday night as guests including Anja Rubik, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Lou Lesage crammed into the store for the opening of Fendi’s Baguette Mania pop-up shop, as well as the arrival of the Catherine Baba for Gripoix jewelry line.
“The problem is you can never decide which one to buy as there is such a big variety,” sighed Russian TV presenter and journalist Evelina Khromchenko of the ornate bag range. Surveying the crowd, Karl Lagerfeld coolly sipped on a Diet Coke.
Lesage, who is a model and singer, said she is due to start filming a movie called “Ocean,” based on “rock and surf.”
Meanwhile, Castelbajac was in a jubilant mood having been invited to stage the music show he directed, “Dawn of Innocence,” starring Nouvelle Vague, at the next editions of Art Basel in Basel and Miami. In September, the designer will stage a fashion show and art exhibition at the Triumph Gallery in Moscow.
Castelbajac’s son Louis-Marie is multitasking, too. He’s gearing for the fall launch of a new brand of Armagnac, called 700, “for the 700 years of Armagnac,” which has been in the works for two years. Among other projects, he’s art directing a new line at his father’s company and continuing work on his T-shirt collection.
Didier Ludot, for his part, will host a vernissage in Palais Royal on Thursday evening to kick off an exhibition of Princess Chantal de France’s paintings, which runs through July 21. Then, during Paris ready-to-wear season in September, he will mount a tribute to Claude Montana.
“We will have an exhibition in different boutiques of the Palais Royal,” said Ludot, adding Montana will attend the opening. “I think he is one of the great designers of the Eighties and that we haven’t paid him enough homage.”


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India to impose 20% export duty on graphite electrodes [CORRECTION]
The Indian government is to impose a 20% export duty on graphite electrodes from April 1, according to the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas).
The Indian government has included a provision to change customs tariffs for certain products including electrodes in its 2018 finance bill, which is currently being debated and is expected to be put to a vote for approval by the end of March.
The provision was included in the bill in an effort to “improve domestic [electrode] supplies and promote the electric-arc furnace (EAF) route of steelmaking in the country,” Irepas said late on Friday February 9.
“The effective rate of the export duty on such electrodes will, however, remain nil,” according to a notification published by the Indian Ministry of Finance on February 2.
Indian exports of graphite electrodes increased 49% year on year in January-October 2017, rising to 64,379 tonnes, according to statistics collated by India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade.
India has two main electrode manufacturers: Graphite India and HEG Ltd.
Graphite India has a total production capacity of 80,000 tonnes per year in India and its German subsidiary, Graphite COVA, can produce 18,000 tpy. HEG can also produce 80,000 tpy, of which 66,000 tpy is ultra-high power (UHP) graphite electrodes.
Annual contract and spot prices for graphite electrodes in 2018 have risen sharply from last year around the world amid tight supplies.
Graphite electrode spot prices were around $23,000-26,000 per tonne at the end of January, Roeland Baan, chief executive officer of Finnish stainless steelmaker Outokumpu, said on January 31.
EAF production capacity at Indian steelmakers totalled 36 million tpy, or 29% of total steelmaking capacity, as of January 2017.
In comparison, Indian steel production capacity through the blast furnace route totalled 50 million tpy in January 2017, accounting for 40% of the total, while induction furnace output reached 38 million tpy, or 31% of the total.
India is aiming to achieve a crude steel production capacity of 300 million tonnes by 2030-2031, of which roughly 50 million tonnes would be produced through the EAF production route.
India’s Directorate General for Anti-dumping and Allied Duties is likely to review the anti-dumping duties on graphite electrode imports at the end of February “to ease shortages in the domestic market,” Irepas said, citing an Indian government official.
India’s current duties on graphite electrode imports are between $278.19 per tonne and $922 per tonne, depending on the origin of the product.
The duties were imposed in 2015 for a five-year period, according to Irepas.
Indian imports of graphite electrodes in April-October 2017 were about 2,900 tonnes, Irepas said.
In January, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy removed definitive countervailing duties on certain imports of graphite electrodes from China and the United Kingdom.
This article was amended on February 13 at 10:15am London time to reflect that the Indian government has not yet enforced the 20% export duty on graphite electrodes and that any export duty, if imposed, will be effective from April 1, 2018.


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Parents are paying up to $1,000 a week for their children to attend YouTube Camp…
YouTube has created a new generation of stars who are raking in thousands while still in elementary school…
With kids like 7 year old Ryan of YouTube’s “Ryan ToysReview” channel which generated 22 MILLION in revenue last year from his YouTube account, a new generation of children and teens are turning to summer camp to learn how to be become YouTube stars!
Parents are paying up to $1,000 a week for their children to attend this camp.
The camps teach kids how to create digital content, edit video footage, create personal brands and market themselves.
Many of the camps are for kids ages 9 and up, even though YouTube requires users to be 13.
“This camp branches out from traditional storytelling to how to create the fun and hilarious content that kids love to watch,” a camp called “YouTube STAR Creator Studio” advertises. “Become an Internet sensation … This camp is bound to go viral.”


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Lil Pump, an 18-year-old Colombian-American rapper is now accepting bitcoin payments on his official merchandise store.
The rapper’s “Unhappy” store will accept bitcoins via the Lightning Network – a way to send and receive bitcoin transactions almost instantly with very low fees. So for every Lil Pump T-shirt, keychain or merchandise, you have a bitcoin payment option.
Lightning Network is becoming a household term around the crypto space especially considering its scalability and effort by developers to ensure bitcoin remains competitive as the number one cryptocurrency in an increasingly crowded niche.
Lil Pump famous for his 2017 hit single “Gucci Gang” which hit the top 3 on billboard charts, will by accepting Bitcoin payments boost up awareness around the cryptocurrency asset especially among his youthful-millennial audience which according to surveys, have become more open and aware about bitcoin utility.
The rapper boasts of about 17.8 million and 1.2 million followers on Instagram and Twitter respectively; quite a number for average publicity around the merchandise and payments option. It will also be recalled that Lil Pump was featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2019, no mean feat for a teenager.
The rapper joins an elite list of rappers, influencers and entertainers who have made moves around the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space, including the late Nipsey Hussle who had advocated about the industry.
See Nipsey Hussle’s Interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwB7XH7JUns
Even though Bitcoin and cryptocurrency acceptance at retail stores both online and in the real world are low, there is a growing adoption and call for use of these digital currencies as means of payment, combined with more awareness around blockchain and decentralization.
What do you think of popular celebrities accepting bitcoin? Do you expect a huge shift in awareness and adoption?


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We support and connect global partners and start-ups to advance plant-based and cultivated food innovation; we raise public awareness around the multiple benefits of these foods.
Exclusive Consumer Survey Report launch
Powered by caring donors like you, we launched our European consumer survey about plant-based foods last quarter, which was a huge success. We also hosted a successful webinar on the survey, with the attendance of high-level employees from Tesco and DSM. The survey was featured prominently in media, including many B2B outlets in print and online and even featured on TV in South Africa.
You are bringing the Food Innovation Contest to Shanghai
ProVeg China and the Shanghai Society of Food Science launched a plant-based food innovation contest, the first of its kind in Asia, to accelerate the creation of sustainable and healthy vegan food in the area. The contest involves major Shanghai universities and leading food and beverage companies such as Beyond Meat, Lee Kum Kee, and Oatly. This is progress ProVeg supporters make possible.
ProVeg Poland cooperation with Knorr
This past quarter your help began a cooperation with Knorr, who are committed to launching various plant-based products in Poland. Knorr is the biggest selling food and beverage brand owned by Unilever, with annual sales topping 3 billion euros. ProVeg advised Knorr with a presentation to company employees on the environmental impact of food, reaching over 500 Unilever employees. As well, ProVeg prepared a substantive part of content for a video on the same subject — thank you for amplifying plant-forward progress around the world.


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ASIA – HONG KONG – ADVERTISING AND INFLUENCE
Two major British banks stopped advertising with one of the city’s biggest newspapers in what may be an escalation of pressure by mainland China on Hong Kong’s independent news media, according to The New York Times.
The commercial director of Next Media Limited, Mark Simon, said two London-based banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, ended long-time advertising relationships in late 2013 with the paper, Apple Daily, after being told to do so by the Chinese government.
As reported by Simon, a representative from HSBC told him that the decision to stop advertising came after the deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Yang Jian, told the bank to end its advertising relationship.
Next Media Limited, a newspaper, television and Internet company based in Hong Kong and Taiwan, is known for its strong advocacy of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong.


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Archives For CES 2013
FreedomPop and Textplus have now joined forces to provide a cheaper alternative to traditional wireless plans
The Zagg Origin combines a desktop speaker system with an extremely portable and long lasting Bluetooth speaker.
The SmartBook software from McGraw-Hill helps students review content to make the best use of study time.
The new Optrix X5 turns the iPhone 5 into a rugged sports camera and adds a three-element wide-angle lens.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung promoted new capabilities and integration between tablets and HDTV. The South Korean Consumer Electronics manufacturer announced that it would be easier to have a multi-screen environment between tablets and TVs as ...
The Nectar Mobile system turns small cartridges into two weeks of power for smartphones without the need to recharge the Nectar system. When it runs out of power, recycle the used cartridge and pop in a nw one for 2 more weeks of power.
Fitbit was demonstrating its new Fitbit Flex fitness band at the Consumer Electronics Show and we were able to take a closer look at the device.
At CES 2013, we got to take a look at Samsung's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone for the U.S. market in the form of the ATIV Odyssey, a device that's now promised for Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network in the coming weeks.
Sony has announced the Sony Xperia Z at CES 2013 to take on Apple's iPhone 5 and the rumored Samsung Galaxy S4 which could arrive as soon as next month.
Intel announced the Intel Core i 4th generation processors at CES 2013 today, demoing a reference design that shows the full potential of this low power, high impact mobile chip.
At CES 2013 in Las Vegas, Huawei has taken the wraps off of two Galaxy Note size devices including the 5-inch Ascend D2 and the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate.
Samsung and Verizon had announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet and the Windows Phone 8-powered ATIV Odyssey smartphone will be available for customers to purchase 'in the coming weeks.'
Sprint, the last of the four largest national U.S. carriers, is announcing that it will finally be supporting Windows Phone 8 on its 3G/4G LTE network come this summer.
The Pantech Discover is a new smartphone on AT&T that has similar specifications of the Galaxy S3 at the low price of $49.
Intel announced new Intel 3rd generation Intel Core i ULV processors that pave the way for thinner, lighter and longer lasting Ultrabooks, Ultrabook Convertibles and Ultrabook Detachables.
At the AT&T keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show, CEO Ralph de la Vega talked about the Rethink Possible network's vision for a connected digital life that spans the phone, the home, and the car.
Masimo showe off the iSpO2, a device that turns the iPhone into an oximeter. This is a great example of how the iPhone can be more than 'just' a phone.
The IdeaPad Yoga 11S is a small Windows 8 Ultrabook Convertible that transforms from tablet to notebook and includes motion control via the webcam.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Seagate announced a portable wireless hard drive that would serve as a companion to your smartphone, tablet, or ultrabook to give you up to an additional terabyte of storage.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, iHome brought out a learn to draw tool for children in the form of the Disney Creativity Studio for the Apple iPad tablet. The solution consists of two components--a smart stylus hardware that wirelessly connects to the slate, as well a...
The first round of iPhone 5 battery cases are on the way for February and should be in stores by March, so users can get better iPhone 5 battery life without giving up features.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we got a chance to sit down with developer evangelist Tom Anderson from Research in Motion and Alex Kinsella from BlackBerry to take a look at some of the features and gestures that will be supported in the new BlackBerry 1...
The Lenovo ThinkVision LT1423p is a wireless mobile monitor that supports touch and pen input. Lenovo plans a wired model for $349 and a wireless model for $449 with a claimed 10 hour battery.
It looks like that the much rumored and highly anticipated Sony Xperia Z smartphone will be making a CES debut as the device has been spotted early on the show floor of the trade show ahead of Sony's press conference, which is slated for tomorrow, Monday.
At CES 2013, Lenovo unveiled a new 27-inch tablet called IdeaCentre Horizon, a device aimed at gamers and families.
Withings' latest generation of WiFi-enabled body weight scale adds a number of new sensors that will allow users to live healthier lives. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Withings Smart Body Analyzer WS-50 now adds a heart rate monitor and an...
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Belkin has announced that it is adding a WeMo Light Switch, which replaces your home light switch and gets hardwired into your home, to the company's home automation lineup.
Newly leaked images of the Sony Xperia Z smartphone reveals new features behind Sony's highly anticipated unveiling of the flagship phablet at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.
CES 2013 is about to happen. About to happen is a good way to describe what occurs at this gigantic trade show that, in my view, is slowly losing some of its luster.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is reportedly heading to CES 2013 in Las Vegas, just not in the form that you might think.
A leaked ad from Thailand suggests the Sony Xperia Z will cost about $650 unlocked in the U.S. Sony will officially announce the phone at CES next week.
The HTC M7 launch date has been pegged for CES 2013 in January.
The new ZTE Grand S will debut at CES with a 5-inch 1080p display and a 6.9mm thick shell.
After much speculation, Huawei has confirmed that the company's first Windows Phone 8 device, the Ascend W1, will be formally introduced in early January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.


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How the slow economy is boosting sales for one company
A slow economy is boosting the rental business for Climax Portable Machining and Welding Systems Inc.
Global rentals are up 30 percent this year and North American rentals are up 38 percent.
Existing customers are spending 55 percent more on rentals year over year.
“Everyone loves the fact that renting is cheaper (than buying),” said Dave Baker, director of rental operations for the Newberg-based company, which produces portable tools used for on-site machining, welding and cladding.
All told, revenue from rentals has grown 130 percent over five years, Baker said. It now represents 20 percent of company revenue, up from 10 percent at the start of that period. Baker is eyeing 30 percent.
Privately held Climax doesn’t disclose revenue, but the 180-employee company brought in between $10 million and $50 million in 2012. Baker said the company wants to hit $100 million in 2017.
Climax Portable is reaching out to rental customers by operating seven North American rental depots and nine others globally. Most of the depots are only a couple of years old, or have started operating under new partners in the past couple of years.
Customers use the machining and welding tools to repair huge equipment on site. Users include mining and construction operations, energy production companies and plants such as steel mills.
Baker said the company had to adjust its mindset and accept that increasing rentals would not necessarily cannibalize equipment sales.
Customers on a thin budget and having immediate repair needs like renting, he said. Those with larger budgets and the ability to plan ahead still like to buy.
Also, rentals create a pool of used equipment that can be sold to customers who prefer that avenue.
Robert Goldfield covers law and manufacturing.
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This quarter’s funding was marked by both very slow funding and a small number of overall deals.
In the third quarter of 2016, 35 unicorns raised a collective $8.38 billion from 38 funding events. This represents a staggering decrease in funding compared to the third quarter of 2015, both in terms of money raised ($17 billion in Q3 2015) and the number of funding events (61 vs. 38).
Looking at the evolution of company valuations, we saw 19 up rounds, 18 unchanged valuations, and only 1 down round — Wandoujia, acquired at an 80 percent reduced price, compared to its previous $1 billion valuation. The combined value progression for those companies is still a positive $30.42 billion (compared to $75 billion in Q2), suggesting degrading health for companies in the Unicorn Club (those that reach a billion-dollar valuation).
Nine new unicorns in Q3
Ubtech Robotics: Ubtech secured $100 million for its early series B from CDH Investment. The Chinese maker of intelligent humanoid robots will be exploring more applications in education and entertainment.
OfferUp: The U.S.-based company raised 119 million in a series C led by Warburg Pincus, at a $1 billion valuation. The mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers came out of stealth in 2015 and will use the capital to improve its user experience and expand to new markets.
Deliveroo: The food delivery service company raised $275 million, making it one of a handful of startups attracting investments in the competitive food delivery market.
U51.com: The Chinese fintech app raised a $310 million round led by Tiantu Capital. It helps users manage their credit card bills, invest in wealth management products, apply for online loans, and provide other personal credit-based financial services.
Compass: After its $75 million series D round, the real estate platform will focus on growth into new markets and will further its seamless and intelligent home buying, selling, and renting experience for consumers and agents.
Unity: Valued at $1.5 billion after an $181 million series C led by DFJ, Unity is the largest global development platform for creating 2D, 3D, VR, and AR games and experiences, from Indie to Triple-A games.
Quanergy: The Silicon Valley startup developing self-driving car sensors raised $90 million at a new valuation of $1.69 billion. The company’s LiDAR sensors are already being used by five automakers developing automated vehicles.
Hike: WhatsApp’s rival unicorn in India raised a $175 million series D round led by Tencent, at a $1.4 billion valuation. The four-year-old messaging app startup is the first billion-dollar social company in India.
Go-Jek: Indonesia-based unicorn Go-Jek raised $550 million to battle Uber and Grab. Go-Jek has a post-money $1.3 billion valuation and claims 200,000 motorbike drivers and 667,000 bookings per day.
One IPO and two acquisitions
Nuantix announced in September that it had raised $237.9 million in its IPO. The California-based data center infrastructure provider had first filed paperwork for its IPO in December, but it held off on the proceedings for several months. The company was valued at $5 billion on the day of the IPO, up $3 billion from its last valuation in August 2014.
Jet.com was acquired by Walmart for $3 billion after many weeks of rumors. Jet.com CEO Marc Lore will remain in position and focus on Walmart’s U.S. ecommerce operations. The startup offers Walmart the ability to identify orders — in real time — that should be routed to an appropriate vendor in order to keep costs low and facilitates discounts on large orders.
The Chinese Android app store Wandoujia was acquired by Alibaba and incorporated into its mobile unit business. Wandoujia, once valued at $1 billion, was acquired for a mere $200 million after suffering from increased competition from smartphone makers like Huawei and Xiaomi, who opened their own app stores.
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- Welcome to “Founder Finances,” a new Insider series discussing founders’ monthly budgets.
- In this story, the founder of a painting business shares his $50,000 monthly budget.
- His investments go toward office rent and outsourcing tasks, which are vital to the business.
Branden Sewell worked as an administrator at a painting company for five years — answering phones and crafting the marketing strategy — before negotiating out of the partnership and rebranding the company as his own in 2020.
When he relaunched the business as Seal Pro Painting, a painting company serving customers around central Florida, he applied two lessons he learned from his prior experience: Implementing a hybrid office structure builds company culture, and hiring a freelancing accountant saved him money in the long run.
Last year, Sewell booked just shy of $500,000 in sales. By the end of April 2022, his sales reached $225,000 — putting the company on track for $675,000 in sales this year.
“I made some changes to the model and how I wanted to do things, which was a big reason for rebranding,” said Sewell, who is 29 years old.
From leasing office space to outsourcing tasks, Sewell broke down his monthly budget — including payroll expenses for 11 employees, marketing through affiliate programs and social-media ads, and paint supplies, and shared the importance of spending money to make money.
Insider has verified all financial information with documentation.
Here’s the budget breakdown
This table reflects Seal Pro Painting’s budget from April 2022 but is standard for every month. However, this amount has increased since the company’s founding, said Sewell: “We had very little overhead starting out and no debt,” he said in a follow-up email. “Now we have more overhead and utilize debt to leverage growth.”
Along with the budget listed above, Sewell also takes 12.7% of certain sales transactions to repay a $50,000 loan, and borrows $3,500 through a line of credit each month.
Invest in an office space to build culture
Sewell pays just over $600 a month for his Titusville, Florida-based 600-square-foot office. He works from the office daily but also uses the space for weekly company meetings, interviews, and onboarding processes for new hires. While previous employers believed a physical location was unnecessary overhead, Sewell felt disconnected from the company and his teammates when everyone worked separately.
Sewell made this decision as 33% of entrepreneurs couldn’t pay May’s rent in full or on time, according to the small business network Alignable, which released its Q2 rent report on June 1.
Especially during COVID-19, working remotely made building company culture difficult, which is a crucial aspect of his business plans, he said. He officially signed Seal Pro’s first lease at the start of 2022.
“It’s really hard to build a thriving, healthy culture from
or conference calls,” Sewell said. “The way I’m able to build culture and really have influence on my team is to sit in front of them, connect with them.”
Additionally, having an office space allows Sewell to focus fully on his business from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, he said. Finding a separate location has allowed him to differentiate work time from family time, he said.
“As an entrepreneur, you have to know yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses,” he said. “If you’re the kind of person that I am, where you get distracted, I knew having this location was going to be what I needed.”
Outsource tasks that might cost time and money in the end
Accounting services are another cost Sewell prioritizes in his budget: He currently pays $200 per month for an accountant to take care of business finances and documents. While he was encouraged to do his own bookkeeping in previous roles, it was never something he felt comfortable with, he said.
Sewell realized that he wasn’t actually saving money by doing the accounting himself. Not only was it taking up valuable time, but he’d also make mistakes that would cost him.
“At the end of the day, those expenses are actually saving me money,” he said. “Because when I hired an accountant, it was the first time I didn’t owe money on my taxes” because of errors.
For entrepreneurs who feel like they have to do everything themselves, Sewell recommends outsourcing the tasks you aren’t as knowledgeable about. What early entrepreneurs don’t realize is that they’re costing themselves money in the long run, he said.
“I don’t really look at it as an expense, I’m just making a wise decision.”


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French electric car share program sets sights on Indy
A French electric car share program has set its sights on the home of one of the top US race car events: Indianapolis.
Bollore, which already runs a successful car share program in Paris, plans to bring 500 electric vehicles and 1,200 charging stations to the home of the Indy 500 early next year.
The $35 million project is Bollore's first car share venture outside of France and the first step in a plan to establish similar programs in a number of US cities.
"The success of the Autolib' in Paris—based on convenience, reliability and availability—has exceeded our expectations and realized our goal of transforming habits of car ownership, reducing pollution and relieving traffic congestion," chairman Vincent Bollore said in a statement.
The Indianapolis project will fill a pressing need for better public transportation in a sprawling midwestern city which—unlike urban hubs like New York, Chicago and San Francisco—does not already have a car sharing program and has a limited transit system.
"This program provides a great opportunity for downtown workers, residents and visitors to get around town in a car without owning one," Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard said.
Bollore, a shipping giant which also develops electric batteries and 'smart' electrical systems, said it was drawn to Indianapolis after Ballard announced plans last year to shift the entire city fleet to electric vehicles.
"That told us, ah there is something there—we have to go talk to Mayor Ballard," said Herve Muller, general manager for Bollore subsidiary IER, which is managing the program.
Aside from the strong political commitment, Indianapolis also offers a "very dynamic business community" and a large student population which could make use of car sharing, Muller told AFP.
Unlike many midsized US cities, it also has a vibrant downtown core populated by young professionals who might be willing to give up their cars if a good alternative was offered, he said.
The charging stations will be available to private electric vehicle owners, which will help Indianapolis to be one of the most electrified cities in the United States.
Bollore has been in contact with a number of other large and midsized US cities, and Muller said every one of them expressed interest in establishing an electric car-sharing program.
"The question is how do you translate that interest into a real project," Muller said.
The as-yet-unnamed program will be based on short one-way rentals and the cars will be outfitted with a GPS that allows users to reserve a parking spot with a charging station near their destination.
It will be available to both individuals and to government and corporate users wishing to reduce the size of their vehicle fleets.
© 2013 AFP


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July 12, 2012
Great news for Batman fans! Hot Toys are proud to present the hugely popular classic Batman Batmobile from the 1966 Live-action TV Series! This beauty will be revealed at the SDCC 2012 for the first time… so for those attending, keep your eyes peeled for it! This is a definite must have for all Batman fans.


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Electric vehicle charging network Pod Point has confirmed that it plans to list shares on the London stock market as it hopes to raise £120 million of growth funding from investors.
Pod Point is the largest supplier of charging points to UK homes, having sold more than 100,000 to private users. It also runs a network of around 4,000 community and business use charging bays in Britain and across Norway. The company is a competitor to Chargemaster, the electric vehicle charging business owned by BP (BP.).
The final offer price will be set via a book-building process and share trading is expected to start in early November.
FRENCH ENERGY BACKING
Pod Point was started in 2009 by mechanical engineer Erik Fairbairn, who began his career at Ford. It is majority-owned by French utility EDF, which is expected to retain a stake worth more than 50% even after selling around 10% of its holding in the company.
‘Now is the right time for us to list - as a market leader, we are well placed to capture the significant market opportunity ahead,’ said Erik Fairbairn, who is also Pod Point’s CEO.
‘I believe our smart network of charge points will be key in enabling the mass adoption of electric vehicles, helping our customers to reduce their carbon footprint and supporting the UK to meet its net zero carbon emissions target,’ the CEO said.


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The Huawei Mate Xs 2 is the company’s latest foldable smartphone, and it’s definitely no slouch. Featuring a 6.5-inch AMOLED 120Hz display that expands to 7.8-inches when unfolded, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G chip, up to 12GB of RAM, 512GB of internal storage, a triple rear camera system (50MP Main, 13MP Ultra-Wide, 8MP Telephoto), a front-facing 32MP selfie camera, and a 4880 mAh battery with 66W fast wired charging.
Photo credit: Lets Go Digital
Huawei Technologies filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a ‘mobile terminal’ that could be the rumored Mate 50 Pro 5G smartphone. In the filing, there was a 23-page document that showed sketches of a mobile device with a ‘Arc Display’.
Huawei’s MatePad Pro has been officially released and it looks a lot like the iPad Pro. Unlike Apple’s offering, the MatePad’s 10.8-inch (2,560 x 1,600 resolution) display has even slimmer 4.9mm bezels, thanks to an 8.0-megapixel, hole-punch front camera. The display outputs an extremely bright 540 nits while supporting the DCI-P3 gamut for accurate color reproduction. Unfortunately, it’s thicker than the iPad Pro at 7.2mm versus 5.9mm.
After months of delays, the Huawei Mate X folding smartphone has officially been launched. Unfortunately, it’s only available in China and will set you back a whopping $2,400 should you live there. This device features an 8-inch OLED display that can fold outwards to form a 6.6-inch main display as well as a 6.38-inch rear display. The screen is covered by plastic to protect the panels and is secured with a push-button latch when closed.


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JSE-listed clothing retailer the Foschini Group [JSE:TFG] announced a 14.1% increase in cash sales in its South African operations in the first 21 weeks of 2020, while sales on credit only rose 0.9%.
In a statement at the group's Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, CEO Anthony Thunstrom said this reflected the group's "prudent approach to credit extension" in light of SA's constrained economic environment and the promulgation of new debt relief laws. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the National Credit Amendment Bill was signed into law in mid-August.
"This approach does however entail an opportunity cost both in terms of additional turnover growth that has been forgone as well as potential credit income that is not being generated," said Thunstrom.
The group's SA operations, which include Markham, Foschini, @Home, Totalsports and donna, account for just under two-thirds of its global turnover.
Total group turnover grew 8.1% for the first 21 weeks of the current financial year.
Its gross profit margin rose to 53.6%, up from 52.5% at March 2018, and headline earnings rose 12%. In early afternoon trading, its share price was up almost 8% to R160.38.
Thunstrom said the group's UK operations, which account for roughly 22% of total turnover, remained subdued in the first 21 weeks of 2020, with "continued footfall decline in shopping centres and on the high street, continuing online migration and ongoing Brexit uncertainty". Trading conditions in Australia remain satisfactory, he said.


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Beauty&You by The Shilla Duty Free chalks up first year at HKIA
The Shilla Duty Free is celebrating the first anniversary of its Beauty&You travel retail concept at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).
The brand is holding a series of anniversary special offers, pop-ups, and retailtainment activities to mark the event, culminating in a performance of Kpop girl group Red Velvet, The Shilla’s brand ambassadors.
“We are thankful to be able to closely collaborate with brand partners to bring excitement to our outlets,” said Shilla Travel Retail Hong Kong MD Changha Shin. “Looking forward, we will continually seek ways to offer a myriad of new brands and deliver more exciting beauty retailtainment experiences to the diverse demographic of travellers at one of the world’s busiest airports.”
Starting June 28, the Beauty&You curated zones at the East Hall South and East Hall North stores will be transformed into three dedicated retailtainment areas: live make up shows, “Perfume Playground” and “MIA: Men in Action”.


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- Target online veteran to head up inRetail, new omni-channel retail agency
- Toys ‘R’ Us moves interim CEO into role permanently; names new U.S. president
- Top 50 Global Retailers
- Report: Home Depot to spend $300 million on tech, new DCs, same-day shipping
- Webinar: How Express keeps store associates on brand
New York City, Wal-Mart is beefing up its efforts to target Hispanics, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal. In addition to printing ad circulars in both English and Spanish and publishing a Spanish-language magazine, the retailer also is teaming up with Sprint to offer a new prepaid wireless service specifically geared to Hispanics, the paper reports.


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Nexon Announces Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results
Solid Fundamentals amidst Japanese Yen Appreciation, Continued to Strengthen Strategic Partnerships with Renowned Game Developers
TOKYO – August 10, 2016 – NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO), a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games, today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2016.
“Our solid second quarter results reflect strong execution and good performance from our China business,” said Owen Mahoney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexon. “I am also pleased with the important strategic progress we made during the quarter, including our partnership with renowned Japanese developer Sansho Studios and our acquisition of wellgames, the Korean developer of SPECIAL SOLDIER, a high-quality first person shooter for mobile devices. Our best-in-class roster of partnerships remains a cornerstone of our strategy to deliver high-quality, tailored content to players around the world.”
Mr. Mahoney continued, “We are excited about our rich pipeline of mobile and PC online games for the second half of 2016 and beyond, including highly-anticipated titles such asMapleStoryM, Dungeon&Fighter 2D / 3D mobile (working title), LawBreakers andMoonlight Blade, and we look forward to delivering them to our global player base.”
Second Quarter 2016 Highlights:
· Second quarter revenues were 38.1 billion yen, down 11% year-over-year on as-reported basis, up 4% on constant currency basis, around low-end of Nexon’s outlook.
· Operating income was 13.4 billion yen, around high-end of Nexon’s outlook.
· Net income attributable to owners of the parent was 7.6 billion yen, which was below Nexon’s outlook primarily due to FX loss in U.S. dollar-denominated cash deposits.
Third Quarter 2016 Outlook:
· Revenues expected to be in the range of 38.4 to 41.3 billion yen.
– PC online game revenues expected to be in the range of 29.4 to 31.4 billion yen.
– Mobile game revenues expected to be in the range of 8.9 to 9.9 billion yen.
· Operating income expected to be in the range of 10.6 to 12.9 billion yen.
· Net income attributable to owners of the parent expected to be in the range of 9.6 to 11.6 billion yen.
Earnings Presentation, Conference Call and Replay:
Nexon management will host an earnings presentation for analysts, investors and media to discuss the Company’s financial results and outlook. The presentation will be conducted in Japanese with simultaneous English translation today at 5:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST) / 4:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The earnings presentation materials will be available on Nexon’s Investor Relations website following the presentation.
A replay of the call will be available about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the conference call and can be accessed until August 17, 2016. A transcript of the call will be available within several days on Nexon’s Investor Relations website.
For additional information regarding Nexon’s second quarter 2016 financial results, please visit the Investor Relations section of Nexon’s website athttp://ir.nexon.co.jp/en/.
This press release is prepared to offer reference information about Nexon to investors and is intended to generally provide investors and analysts with financial and operational information about Nexon, but not to solicit or recommend any sale or purchase of stock or other securities of Nexon.
About NEXON Co., Ltd. http://company.nexon.co.jp/
NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO) is a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games. Founded in Korea in 1994, Nexon developed one of the world’s first graphics-based massively multiplayer online games. Nexon also pioneered the concept of microtransactions and the free-to-play business model, setting a new standard in which play is free, and users have the option to purchase in-game items to enhance their experience. Nexon currently services around 100 titles in more than 190 countries. The Company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and its shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.


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In this edition of The Jewelry District, you’ll hear JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates talk about gender in the watch industry, secondhand jewelry and watches, and a new sustainability certification for diamonds.
00:30 Victoria and Rob take a second to review this busy month.
02:15 Victoria notices the watch industry’s disapproving reaction to the category of women’s watches.
09:00 Gendered products are outdated. Rob and Victoria explore how marketing such products has failed.
12:13 Secondhand jewelry and watch sites are plentiful. Rob talks about authentication and sustainability.
14:35 Rob recently wrote about the language surrounding lab-grown diamonds, and discusses the new criteria a producer must meet to be considered eco-friendly.
A Busy March
It’s mid-March! That means it’s daylight saving time. We’ve set our clocks forward in preparation for more hours of sunshine. But that’s not the only marker of time. This time last year, the first COVID-19 lockdowns were just starting across America. We’ve come a long way since then. Another March event? Women’s History Month. And that takes Victoria’s mind to watches.
Women Aren’t Monolithic
Victoria wrote an article for The New York Times for International Women’s Day both this year and last. When she wrote last year’s article, she spoke to Kathleen McGivney, CEO of RedBar Group, who told her there are so many categories for men’s watches, but when it comes to women’s watches, there is just one category. She made the point that women are not monolithic, and the industry has been missing that fact. This year, Hodinkee published a piece making the argument that all watches should be unisex.
The Failure of Watch Advertisements
Rob says when you go online, watches are advertised as these macho, masculine pieces. Victoria agrees: In advertising aimed toward women, models are scantily dressed and posing in their watches. In advertising aimed toward men, men are skiing, climbing mountains, and using their watches as tools, not just as accessories. Advertising for women just shows how they can be sexier, which doesn’t necessarily reflect what women actually want. The industry’s marketing toward women is outdated. In other watch-related news, Rob reports that Hodinkee bought Crown & Caliber, the secondhand watch site. He’s interested in Hodinkee’s move from a watch site into the e-commerce realm.
Rob wonders about secondhand watch sites: Are there too many of them? Can the market handle them all? Victoria counters by asking when the jewelry industry will follow suit. Rob points out that the real problem with secondhand jewelry sites is getting the pieces authenticated. eBay is one place trying to grow its certification processes. Rob says people’s desire for secondhand jewelry and watches comes from their interest in sustainability.
On the topic of sustainability and eco-friendliness, Victoria mentions an article Rob recently wrote about lab-grown diamonds and sustainability. Rob explains his article. About two years ago, the Federal Trade Commission started cracking down on language in the lab-grown diamond sphere. The Lab Grown Diamond Council enlisted SCS Global Services to find out what it would actually take to be sustainable. Rob says we still don’t know how much electricity it takes to make lab-grown diamonds. When this is done, certain brands can be set apart from the rest as truly sustainable.
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine


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Mignon Fogarty, aka the Grammar Girl, discusses her venture at the April Reno-Tahoe Chapter of the American Marketing Association’s April 15 luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Atlantis Resort Spa Casino.
Cost is $25 for AMA members, $30 for non-members, $17 for students with RSVP; $40 without RSVP.
For details, go online at http://www.renoama.com.
GasBuddy projects the national average gas price this Thanksgiving will be $2.56 per gallon, a penny higher than last year. The average per-gallon price in Nevada, meanwhile, is $3.30.


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Each stage of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented its own unique set of challenges. From navigating long lines and shortages at grocery stores during the … Read more
Jane Elliott is the chief communications and HR officer of Deluxe, whose solutions help businesses pay and get paid, accelerate growth, and operate more efficiently. For more than 100 years, Deluxe has been helping businesses succeed at all stages, from start-up to maturity. Deluxe supports approximately 4.5 million small businesses, over 4,000 financial institutions and hundreds of the world’s largest consumer brands.


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- A new investigation found a selection of “potentially deadly” items being sold on Amazon, eBay, and Wish’s marketplaces.
- The investigation, which was conducted by UK non-profit Electrical Safety First, found that of the 15 items that were tested, 14 failed UK safety tests.
- In the most extreme example, a hairdryer purchased on Wish’s site set alight after Electrical Safety First tested what would happen if it restricted the airflow on the machine.
- Electrical Safety First believes that these examples are “snapshot of a much wider problem,” caused by the lack of effective policing on these three sites.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Amazon, Wish, and eBay have been referred to as the “Wild West” of the web after a new investigation uncovered a series of “potentially deadly” items sold on their marketplaces.
The investigation, which was conducted by UK non-profit Electrical Safety First, found that of the 15 items that were tested, 14 failed UK safety tests. These items were purchased from Amazon’s third-party marketplace, Wish, and eBay.
In the most extreme example, a hairdryer purchased on Wish’s site set alight after Electrical Safety First tested what would happen if it restricted the airflow on the machine.
Other items, including hair removers and fake GHD hair straighteners, were also deemed unsafe for the customer to use after tests showed that they were at risk of giving the user an electric shock.
Electrical Safety First believes that these examples are a “snapshot of a much wider problem,” caused by the lack of effective policing on these three sites.
Amazon has been strongly criticized for this in the past, especially as its marketplace – its network of third-party sellers which sell and distribute items through the Amazon network – continues to grow at a rapid rate. These sellers accounted for 58% of Amazon’s gross merchandise revenue in 2018.
There are numerous examples of previous issues with faulty and dangerous products being listed on its site.
In September, a Wall Street Journal report revealed that thousands of items including children’s toys and medication for adults were being sold on the site but were not deemed safe by regulators. In October, a CNBC investigation found that third-party sellers were also shipping expired food items to customers.
In a statement emailed to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Amazon said that “safety is a top priority at Amazon.”
He continued: “We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations and have developed industry-leading tools to prevent unsafe or non-compliant products from being listed in our stores.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the products mentioned in this new investigation have now been removed from its site.
Both Wish and eBay have encountered similar issues. UK consumer watchdog Which? found examples of unsafe toys being sold on eBay earlier this month and earlier in the year, faulty smoke machines were found to be listed on both eBay and Wish.
Wish was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Business Insider.
In a statement emailed to Business Insider, a spokesperson for eBay said that it “proactively” enforces its product safety policy and uses algorithms to stop unsafe products from being listed.
“Our security team continuously patrols our marketplaces and will remove items and take appropriate action against sellers who breach our policies,” the spokesperson said. She added that 5 million listings were blocked by its algorithms between October 2018 and October 2019.
“Marketplaces are swiftly becoming the Wild West of the web, with serious regulation now needed to tackle the issue,” Electrical Safety First wrote in a statement to the press on Tuesday.
The agency is now calling for the UK government to take action and introduce legislation that would require these marketplaces to adequately police their sites for dangerous goods. It also called on the government to beef up enforcement at ports and airports to prevent items from entering the country in the first place.


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The successful PlayStation Vita game Toukiden: The Age Of Demons is soon going to receive a sequel soon, at least in Japan.
Some new details on the sequel of the Tecmo Koei game, called Toukiden Kyoku, are going to be revealed by the latest issue of Famitsu, which will hit Japanese stands on May 8th. According to the magazine’s preview, new characters and three new weapons will be revealed by the magazine, as well as several other new gameplay details. You can also find a preview of the magazine’s coverage by going at the end of this post.
Toukiden Kyoku is going to begin some time after the ending of the first game, with the Slayers having to deal with a new monster invasion. Among the new monsters are the Imihayahi, which look like wolves, as well as others yet to be detailed. All the monsters from the first game will also be back with some new and dangerous moves.
Toukiden Kyouku will be released in Japan before the end of the year on PlayStation Vita and PlayStation Portable. There are no news on a possible Western release at the moment.
Article from Gamersyndrome.com


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» Jbr Malam Hong Kong
Jbr Malam Hong Kong
Jbr Malam Hong Kong on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Saturday, April 19, 2014
This week, modifier application to be like a cartoon face or an application iMadeFace in the 4th position popular iPhone apps in iTunes. IPhone users is being fond iMadeFace. So what’s so special?
On the iTunes page, iMadeFace claimed as the number [...]
WhatsApp application certainly already be familiar to your ears.
This free application brief message seems to be trying to compete with the popularity of the BlackBerry Messenger application.
BlackBerry Messenger BBM-voice that presents, WhatsApp seems [...]
Research In Motion (RIM) has finally officially announced the event dates for BlackBerry 10.
Quoted from IntoMobile, Tuesday (11/13), January 30, 2013 will be a historic day for the latest platform’s launch.
In this event, the Canadian manufacturer [...]
Raise money for children with cleft lip.
Today many people are using Google Maps to find directions to a mall, offices, and other locations in the city, a man wearing this app to walk 5.000 miles or 8046.7 kilometers.
Armed with the Google Maps application [...]
BlackBerry seems very serious enrich the application ecosystem. This is evidenced by the achievement of 100 thousand apps in the app store BlackBerry World.
Quoted from Slashgear, Friday (22/3), this means that BlackBerry has added about 30 thousand [...]
Did you know that we can upload photos to Instagram and specific Page on Facebook as well? If you do not know, the following easy steps:
1. To be able to share photos in a Page on Facebook, run the first app Instagram and go to Options.
2. After that, [...]
CloudFlare, a Web accelerator is having network-wide DNS problems as reported ubergizmo.com (03/03).
“We are experiencing a network-wide issue,” said the CloudFlare via the company’s official Twitter account.
For those of you who [...]
Computer’s security applications are competing to produce the best protection applications. One of them Kaspersky Lab, which has launched the latest version of its flagship product, Kaspersky PURE Total Security 3.0, on Wednesday (03/13).
Offered at a price of about $0.9 per download on the Apple App Store.
Game featuring one of the founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak, entitled “Danny Trejo’s Vengeance : Woz with a Coz ‘officially began circulating on the Apple App Store [...]
Astounding number ready achieved by Apple. In the near future, the number of applications that have been downloaded from the App Store will touch the figure of 50 billion.
Quoted from Techradar, Saturday (4/5), Apple has already provided a gift for those [...]
The observations made by Repair Labs under a microscope.
According to a report released by Repair Labs, the quality of the screen which is owned by iPad mini, it is still above iPad second generation.
It is based on the quality of each screen tablet [...]


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Software Industry Role in U.S. Economy
Several computer industry leaders held a news conference to stress the importance of the software industry to overall economic… read more
Several computer industry leaders held a news conference to stress the importance of the software industry to overall economic growth. Gates, Bartz, Schmidt and Grove briefed reporters on the importance of the industry to future U.S. economic growth and the need for more support from the federal government to help the industry face challenges such as theft, copyright laws and the use of encryption technology. Then all the executives took questions as a group. close
*The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.
People in this video
- Gordon E. Eubanks Jr. Chairman and CEO Symantec Corporation
- Bill Gates Chief Executive Officer Microsoft
- Andrew Grove President and CEO Intel Corporation
- Robert Holleyman Managing Director Business Software Alliance
- Mitchell Kertzman Chairman Sybase, Inc.
- Jeff Papows President Lotus Development Corporation
- Eric E. Schmidt Chair and CEO Novell
- John Warnock Chairman and CEO Adobe, Inc.
Policy Issues Facing the Software Industry
Computer industry executives met to talk about copyright protection, electronic commerce, encryption and industry…
High Technology Impact on the U.S. Economy
Witnesses testified about how computers and the Internet affected the U.S. economy and how it had changed…
Technology and the New Economy, Day 1
Technology industry leaders testified about how technology was changing the economy and how legislators should approach…
Future of Computing
Mr. Gates talked about computers and the future of the U.S. and about his new book, The Road Ahead. He talked…


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Tekken 8: The ultimate fighting game is back with Marshall LawAymane Id sidi baha
Bandai Namco reveals more characters for Tekken 8
Bandai Namco has recently released new information about their highly anticipated fighting game, Tekken 8. Here’s what you need to know:
Marshall Law makes a comeback
As part of their character showcase, Bandai Namco revealed that Marshall Law will be returning in Tekken 8. Fans of the classic character will be delighted to see her showing off her skills once again.
With each new character reveal, excitement for the release date of Tekken 8 continues to grow. Gamers are eagerly awaiting news about when they can get their hands on the game for their current generation home devices and PC.
Overall, Bandai Namco’s continued promotion has fans buzzing with anticipation, and it’s clear that the latest installment in this beloved franchise will be one of the biggest releases of the year.
Hi there, my name is Aymane and I am passionate about gaming! When I’m not playing games, I love to write about the latest gaming news as a writer for GAMINGDOME. I’m always on the lookout for the next big release or exciting announcement in the gaming world. Join me as we explore the world of gaming together!


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San Jose, CA - June 26, 2006 - Verifone Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced that its Vx
510 countertop and Vx
610 wireless payment solutions have been certified as meeting new chip card device requirements put forth by the Interac Association, Canada’s national industry association for shared financial services.
The Verifone systems are the first card acceptance devices to achieve Interac chip card certification, demonstrating the company’s commitment to assist Canadian banks in immediately deploying compliant devices in support of the mandated mass market upgrade of all currently deployed POS devices. The Interac Association has established a goal of initiating the first chip card transaction in 2007 and will impose financial sanctions beginning in 2010 on member banks who do not meet minimum required levels of chip conversion.
"Verifone is eager to work with Canadian banking organizations and merchants to ensure a smooth migration to the chip card standard, which will provide consumers with greater security and access to new card services," said Jeffrey Dumbrell, general manager of Verifone Canada. "Verifone is a global leader in chip card acceptance solutions and is bringing established technology to the Canadian market."
The Vx 510 and Vx610 are members of Vx Solutions, Verifone’s next-generation payment systems family that incorporates a faster 32-bit processor, high security, consistent user interface, and sleek designs.
The Vx 510 countertop payment system provides extraordinary performance for credit and debit payment, with support for magstripe, chip card and contactless smartcard transactions and the ability to add a value-added application such as gift card or telco top-up. It is part of a new generation of Verifone solutions for international markets.
The Vx 610 features the same sleek, compact design of the Vx 510, but in a portable, battery-powered form factor that uses wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi, CDMA and GPRS. It’s long battery life and high capacity enables Vx 610 to open up new market opportunities by extending countertop payment capabilities to wherever consumers are, whether shopping at open markets or buying home-delivered products and services.
Verifone has delivered payment system solutions to customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. For 25 years, Verifone systems and solutions have delivered the speed, convenience and security of electronic payment to millions of businesses worldwide.
About Verifone Holdings, Inc. (www.verifone.com)
Verifone Holdings, Inc. (“Verifone”) (NYSE: PAY), a global leader in secure electronic payment technologies, provides expertise, solutions and services for today with a migration strategy for tomorrow. Verifone delivers solutions that add value to the point of sale, resulting in improved merchant retention and the generation of new sources of revenue for its partners and customers. Verifone solutions are specifically designed to meet the needs of vertical markets including financial, retail, petroleum, government and healthcare.


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Borderlands 3, the latest iteration in the classic shoot-em-up IP, has shot to the top of the UK physical sales chart. Indeed, Borderlands 3 has become the biggest “boxed” launch of 2019 – selling more physical units on its first week of UK sale than Day’s Gone, a PlayStation exclusive which hit the shelves in April.
Borderlands 3 is not the biggest Borderlands release to date – Borderlands 2 (2012) shipped twice as many boxed copies in its first week of release – but without access to the digital sales figures for Borderlands 3 it is difficult to compare the two titles.
The market has shifted heavily from physical to digital since 2012 and the Borderlands brand has benefitted from this. Steam, PSN and Xbox Live versions of older Borderlands games have gained a cult following and it may be that digital downloads of Borderlands 3, added to the boxed sales, will see the game surpass the overall performance of its predecessor.
Another weighty AAA title takes second place in this week’s charts: Gears 5. Microsoft’s third-person shooter, available exclusively on PC and Xbox One, shipped 25% less physical copies than its predecessor, Gears of War 4, but the lack of digital data again clouds the picture.
Indeed, the fact that Microsoft have heavily pushed subscription services like Xbox Gold make it even tougher to track just how many new players have “purchased” Gears 5.
A new release that can boast better physical sales figures than a predecessor is Konami’s eFootball PED 2020. The game, a rebrand of the long-running Pro Evolution Soccer series that has competed with – and, at times, defeated – EA’s FIFA, though it was a long time ago, showed an 18.5% jump on the first week figures of PES 2019.
The last new release to make the top ten this week is Greedfall, an RPG developed by Focus Home Interactive which puts gamers into a colonial battle for control of an island with a mysterious secret.
Elsewhere it’s more or less business as usual in the top ten. Last week’s number one, NBA 2K20, suffered a 54% week-on-week sales drop and charts at number 4, while long-standing releases like GTA V and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe continue to perform well.
A more extended list of top sellers can be found here.


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Monday 2 August 2010
One of East Yorkshire's leading marketing and web design agencies, Strawberry, has successfully taken over £1.1M in online transactions via its bespoke e-commerce platform, with the help of local communications provider KC.
Tuesday 22 June 2010
A unique biodiversity habitat in Hull's oldest public park has been created with help from KC.
Thursday 17 June 2010
Communications provider KC made the most of Humber Business Week to connect with businesses across the region.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
More than 160 local business people were inspired to stand out from the crowd at one of the most popular events of Humber Business Week last week.
Tuesday 25 May 2010
KC has today announced plans to inject £4m worth of investment into its telephone and broadband network across Hull and East Yorkshire.


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Kendall Jenner Reveals First Pieces from H&M's Collaboration with Balmain
Kendall Jenner made a very exciting appearance at last night's Billboard Music Awards: The model walked the red carpet dressed in the first pieces from H&M's newly confirmed collaboration with the House of Balmain.
Balmain's creative director, Olivier Rousteing, and model Jourdan Dunn accompanied Jenner, who teased the collaboration on Instagram:
All three dressed in Balmain x H&M: Jenner donned a blue velvet wrap minidress featured white beading and Dunn opted for a red satin miniskirt, an intricate navy blue top with braided gold fabric, and a large gold belt.
"I want to talk to my generation: this is my main aim as a designer," Rousteing said in a statement about the new collection. "H&M allows me the unique possibility of bringing everyone into the world of Balmain, get a piece of the dream and create a global #HMBalmaination: a movement of togetherness, fueled on a hashtag. The collaboration felt extremely natural to me: H&M is a brand that everybody connects to. It calls for unity, and I am all for it."
According to H&M, the collaboration will feature clothing and accessories for both men and women and will be available online and in stores Nov. 5.


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1. Logo TV is producing a show filmed entirely on Vine. It’s called “The Vines of Sauvignon Blanc.”
7. What will happen next?!?!
- In case you were wondering, no — a big cyber attack couldn't swing the election.
- Kesha fans rejoice: Sony just confirmed that a new album is in the works 🎵


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Williams Warn Partner up with Z Energy
With the consumer offerings at petrol stations giving motorist more choice than ever, Z Energy finally think they have what it takes to take on BP's popular Wild Bean Cafes.
Launching this summer in 85 stations across the New Zealand, Z's new Wild Beer Cafes will partner with Williams Warn to provide parched motorists with saisons and other farmhouse ale styles when they refuel. Williams Warn told TMBT that their Brew Master 50L home brewing kit would be a perfect fit. The glitzy home brew kits available at Harvey Norman on 36 months interest free and having been catching the eye of man cave dwellers for years now. "Most men do the driving in New Zealand and that’s been our target market since we launched"
Z Energy said a campaign will be soon be launched offering motorists pie and ale combos and car wash options as well. "Who could argue that a sneaky restorative kettle sour in the car wash is not what a tired driver needs, Cheers!"
Lady drivers you've not been forgotten, a cider option will also be available at selected stores.


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Earlier today, bad news hit Sarkodie’s camp. He [Sarkodie] was invited over to the police station for questioning over an alleged stolen car that he tried registering.
We all admit that it was a mere misunderstanding. One Guy, Dosty Dee, a car dealer who claims he sold the car to Sarkodie decided to take to his Facebook page to clear the air about the incident and also apologize for the trouble he has caused the rapper.
Below is his explanation as to what happened.
First of all I will like to apologize to Sarkodie for whatever is going on…I didn’t know it will end this way ..okay having said that, I will like to take this opportunity to set the record straight so that Ghanaians will let Sark be..l
Look in that picture, what u see ? the right car is the infinity they are talking about ..I sold that car to Sark ..to make a long story short ..my uncle bought that car for my brother-in-law and when the car got to Ghana my brother-in-law didn’t like it so my sister asked me to buy it instead of letting the government impound the car ..I sent her money to clear it and later we talk business when I get to Ghana ..so I got to Ghana and my sister told me things had changed cos my in-law said he likes the car now ..(FOUL PLAY ) was cool about it ..later my brother-in-law said he will buy my Range Rover when am returning to the states ..so he gave me the car which I had already paid 10k $$ and said he will take my Range Rover and give me the difference ..he was aware that I sold the car to Sark ..a stolen car doesn’t have two keys and all documents ..okay it was time to come to the states my in-law was like his money is not right so it’s better I sell the Range and balance him ..so I was like it’s time for me to teach him a lesson too lol ..I sold the Range Rover and didn’t pay him the difference cos technically the infinity is mine ..so he was also smart about it and reported the case to the police that the car has been stolen ..Didn’t know until Sark called me few days ago that he was trying to register the car and he was told the car is a stolen car ..?#?FamilyIssues? ?#?LifeNLessons? ?#?RealityCheck?


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Actor, Emeka Okoye Wins Best Comic Actor o the Year
Comic Nollywood actor, Emeka Okoye, is currently proud of himself as he recently walked home with an award from the Nigeria Glam awards 2018.
The event saw some actors walking home with some awards from various categories and Emeka was rewarded for his role in the movie ‘PREYE.’
Emeka won an award from the comic category for THE BEST COMIC ACTOR Of THE YEAR.
- Nigerian Students Fashion and Design Week Announce
- Sony Music West Africa Welcomes Oluwaseun Lloyd Al
- Yemi Osinbajo’s GEEP Programme Awarded in Malabo,
- Mercy Johnson to launch new ‘Kitchen Talk Show’
- Peter Black joins the wave of men’s wear designers
- Household Of Comedians To Face FIRS Team At 2019 C
- Nigeria Fire Service Commends Olakunle churchill a
- Akpororo, MC Lively, Terry G, Small Doctor and Mor


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Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 are the upcoming mid-range smartphones, on which Samsung appears to be giving finishing touches. Sources close to the development suggest that these two mid-rangers will be unveiled as soon as early next year.
The good news is you don’t have to wait till next year to get a glimpse of the Galaxy A71 as render images and 360-degree video of the smartphone have just leaked online, giving us a closer look at the design and specs of the A71.
According to the leaked render images, the upcoming Galaxy A71 is going rock a Snapdragon 675 processor coupled with 8GB of RAM, while Adreno 612 will deal with the graphics performance.
The Galaxy A71 smartphone is not very different from the already leaked Galaxy A51 smartphone. The A71 features a flat display, which measures 6.7-inch. The smartphone will feature a centered punch-hole design, making the smartphone look more like the Note 10.
Talking about the camera, at the rear, you’ll find four cameras arranged in such a way that the shape appears similar to that of the letter “L”. Accompanying these four cameras will be an LED flash. And housing the quad-camera set-up will be a rectangular camera bump at the back. Unfortunately, you’re still unaware of the megapixel count.
Otherwise, the smartphone is 9.22 mm in thickness, has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and measures roughly around 163.5 x 76 x 7.9mm (9.2mm including rear camera bump).


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If you thought you were free of “Encanto” fever, think again.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 60th feature, which just won a BAFTA for Best Animated Film over the weekend, is about to get new life as a new sing-along version of the movie is about to be released on Disney+ this Friday. As the early clip (which you can watch above) shows, it’s a little bit more sophisticated than the follow-the-bouncing-dot version you were probably imagining. (Anybody who had a Disney Sing-Along Songs VHS tape knows that we’re talking about.) This new version has more complicated visuals (those big graphics with the characters’ names are great) and a zippier presentation.
And what’s more – there’ll be plenty of these special releases down the line.
The official press release states that there will be more sing-along versions of Disney classics on Disney+ later this year, including “Frozen, “Frozen 2,” “Beauty and the Beast” and, inexplicably, 2017’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast” remake.
According to Disney’s statement, households have, on average, been watching “Encanto” five times, with over 180 million re-watches worldwide since it hit the platform at Christmas 2021. If anything, this new sing-along version will guarantee “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” will be stuck in your head for another few days (sorry).
While “Encanto” was released theatrically at Thanksgiving, it really captured the zeitgeist after appearing on Disney+. The soundtrack album has been at the top of the charts for a truly staggering amount of time and the amount of fan videos and Tik Toks inspired by the film, particularly “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” has been just as astronomical.
Current Disney CEO has referred to “Encanto” as “the newest Disney franchise” on two separate earnings calls this year. And Mirabel has started recently waving to guests at Disneyland, near Frontierland. “Encanto” is a true juggernaut and we should get a clearer picture of what Disney wants out of the property later this year (look for some big announcements at the D23 Expo in September).
Up next for “Encanto?” The Academy Awards on March 27, where it is up for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score (for Germaine Franco, the first female composer to write the music for a Disney animated feature) and Best Original Song (“Dos Oruguitas”). We’re fairly sure the magic has far from run out.


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As a kid growing up in the UK in the 70′s, I used to help my Mom collect Green Shield Stamps. I earned one stamp for each 2.5 pence I spent on products in participating stores. I collected the stamps in specially designed books and exchanged them for rebates on everyday items. I still remember this commercial for the program
Well 30 years later the world has moved on and now there’s a new Green Rewards program that doesn’t require consumers to stick hundreds of stamps into silly little books. Earlier this week one of our portfolio companies, Recyclebank, announced the launch of the Recyclebank Ecosystem, a network of companies working together to motivate and reward people to take online and offline green actions. This 21st century version of Green Shield Stamps expands the use of the Recyclebank reward points that Recyclebank has been providing to millions of US and UK consumers since 2006 to reward and incentivize recycling.
Initial partners in the program include established retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Macys, as well as next generation service providers such as ThredUp and RentTheRunway. It is the inclusion of these new collaborative consumption companies in the Reyclebank Ecosystem that particularly excites me. As I discussed in a previous posting, we are seeing an explosion of startups adopting business models that are collectively described as Collaborative Consumption. These include Product Service Systems, such as RentTheRunway and Redistribution Markets, such as ThredUp. Recyclebank Reward Points have the flexibility and convenience to become the universal currency and reward program that powers this new generation of collaborative business models.
Recyclebank also announced this week that it is partnering with Transport for London to develop a program to reward people for cycling and walking in London. This is a great example of how broad this new Green Rewards Ecosystem can become. We anticipate partners working with Recyclebank to reward everyday green actions ranging from recycling, to clothes sharing, to reading ebooks, to taking public transportation and a host of other new business models yet to be thought of.


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Tourism Ireland is to launch a new Star Wars-themed marketing campaign, Independent.ie Travel can reveal.
The campaign, which has a budget of €110,000, aims to capitalise on the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which features Skellig Michael.
Targeting fans of the franchise, it will focus on social media and include a specially created page on Ireland.com, Facebook posts and a major overseas media push.
The campaign will "maximise the connection with Ireland" in 14 different markets, including Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries, and will be followed with a second phase in early 2016.
“A hugely popular name like Star Wars filming here will bring the magnificent scenery of Skellig Michael and the Wild Atlantic Way to the attention of millions of people around the world," said Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland.
The campaign goes live tomorrow, but Independent.ie is able to bring exclusive previews in our galleries above and below.
Up to 35pc of tourists are impacted in their choice of destination by what they see on screen, according to Tourism Ireland - which has also developed extensive campaigns around the filming of Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland.
"It’s a really effective way to reach mass audiences, helping to significantly boost awareness of the Skelligs, the South West and Ireland in general... whetting peoples’ appetites to come and visit," Gibbons added.
Tourism Ireland has 3.33 million Facebook fans, 317,000 Twitter followers and Ireland.com has received over 16.5 million visits this year, it said.
"The new Star Wars film is widely expected to be one of the most viewed films in history," said Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe TD.
"Having Ireland's magnificent scenery featuring in the film provides a tremendous boost for us and I know that Tourism Ireland will fully maximise the opportunities the film presents," he said.
2015 has been a record year for Irish tourism, with some 7.9 million visitors and a spend of €4.2 billion expected by the end of the year.
"Skellig Michael looks epic on film," writes Chris Wasser in Independent.ie's first review of The Force Awakens (no spoilers), although it remains to be seen how the Unesco world heritage site copes with any extra visitors.
UPDATE: Campaign now live at ireland.com/starwars.


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The (sometimes bitter) rivalry between Electronic Arts and Activision is gearing up once again, as always seems to happen this time of year.
Earlier this week, Activision announced that they would be unveiling a brand new trailer for Black Ops 2 during on May 19th during the UEFA Champions League Final. The trailer is a chance for European fans to have their time in the spotlight, as the first trailer for Black Ops went live during the American-broadcast NBA Playoff game.
Not to be outdone, EA has announced that they would be unveiling a brand new trailer for Medal of Honor: Warfighteron May 19th during the UEFA...well, you get where we're going. Both EA and Activision will be launching new trailers for their upcoming shooters during the same football match on the same channels to the same viewers.
If this is how the marketing battle commences this year, we can't wait to see what's next.
We'll have both trailer up here on FPSGeneral.com when they go live on the Internet, presumably around the time they're set to air on Sky Sports 1.


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John T. Bettin
Tavistock Restaurants LLC has named John T. Bettin chief executive of its Upscale Collection, the company said Monday.
The company also said it will relocate the headquarters for its Upscale Collection to Orlando, Fla., coinciding with the move of Tavistock’s fast-casual concept, Freebirds World Burrito, to Austin, Texas, from Emeryville, Calif.
Bettin will oversee the Upscale Collection brands that include Abe & Louie’s, AquaKnox, Napa Valley Grille, California Cafe, Atlantic Fish, Coach Grill, ZED451, Joe’s American Bar & Grill, Blackhawk Grille, Timpano Italian Chophouse, Cafe del Rey, Taqueria Cañonita and Sapporo.
With 30 years in the industry, Bettin served most recently as chief executive of the Palm Restaurant Group and previously as president of Morton’s of Chicago. Bettin has also worked with Potbelly Sandwich Works LLC and Buca Inc.
Bettin “has the depth and breadth of experience to lead our upscale portfolio of restaurants today and to help us find new avenues of growth going forward,” Charles B. Lewis, chairman of Tavistock Restaurants, said in a statement.
Bettin said in prepared remarks: “Tavistock Restaurants has fantastic brands, is entrepreneurial and well capitalized for future growth.
“Charlie has charged me with strengthening our company, maximizing the potential of our existing brands, and tasked me to look for additional growth opportunities within Tavistock Group’s portfolio as well as outside acquisitions,” he said.
Parent company Tavistock Group is based in the Bahamas and has investments in more than 200 companies across 15 nations.