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Software is always evolving and changing the way we interact, organize, have fun, socialize, and do work. Here are big 3 software companies to watch to see what the next big thing is.
Apple is the elephant in the room and that doesn’t look like it will change any time soon. These long time disruptors and innovators are going to continue to shake things up. They will even be unveiling a massive new campus. Deemed the “spaceship” due to its striking resemble to a massive flying saucer, the new Apple campus promises to allow this software giant to keep pumping out sci-fi worthy products. With iOS 10 on the verge of being released along with their new desktop OS deemed “Sierra” there is plenty to look forward to from Apple regarding software. Security is a big concern for many users as you can see from these SiteLock reviews and many analysts and users are hoping Apple steps up its security game, as a larger user base is putting a bigger target on their software’s back for hackers. As always though the big news from Apple is usually the things they don’t tell you, so let’s hope this giant tech firm has a few tricks up their sleeves, which makes this one of the top companies to watch.
The original kings of software have had to pivot a lot over the past several years but they are still definitely a company to watch in the near future. Microsoft recently purchased Skype, LinkedIn, and Nokia which could mean we can expect some major releases in the realms of mobile, video chat, and social networking from Microsoft in the near future. With a recent revamp of Microsoft’s flagship Windows Operating System and web browser getting pretty solid reviews, we can also expect Microsoft to keep up a renewed focus on the projects that made them famous in the first place, especially as rival Apple’s “new car smell” starts to wear off. Microsoft’s new mobile and desktop software project should definitely stay on your radar.
Perhaps no software company has their pulse on the next industry trends like Google. While today Google has their fingers in nearly every tech pie, this Silicon Valley behemoth still maintains the ability to move relatively quickly and we are likely to big software disruptors coming out of Google in the next few years. As always keep your eyes on upcoming changes to Android OS which include a new messenger app and digital assistant. Google has also been spending a lot of time expanding software to your car, include self-driving features, this is definitely something to look out for. Much like Apple, Google is known for surprising and outrageous software breakthroughs so you need to watch these guys close if you want to the first in on the next big thing.
These 3 big software giants are the go to playmakers for the industry but remember for each Apple or Google there is the next big start up trying to take the throne….


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Carlsberg hires ex-Pepsi marketer Moradpour for global brand growth
Carlsberg has appointed ex-Pepsi marketer Thomas Moradpour as the vice president of the Carlsberg brand.
Joining the beer giant last month from PepsiCo in the US, Moradpour is charged with driving all marketing aspects related to the flagship Carlsberg brand, feeding directly into the group’s strategy to drive Carlsberg globally. He is based in the company’s Denmark office.
Moradpour replaces Sven Langeneckert, who is pursuing other options, and reports directly to Khalil Younes, senior vice president, global sales, marketing and innovation at Carlsberg.
He joins from PepsiCo, where his role as the senior marketing director for Pepsi in the USA saw him pilot the new global "Live for now" marketing strategy, which has pulled in partnerships with the Michael Jackson estate, Nicky Minaj, Twitter, and TV channels MTV and ABC.
He was also responsible for 'The X Factor' Pepsi sponsorship for seasons one and two, and between 2005 and 2011 he led the Pepsi Max brand internationally.
Prior to this, Moradpour held multiple global, regional and in-market roles at PepsiCo, and started his career at L’Oreal.
In July Carlsberg entered the UK cider market with the launch of its Somersby brand, and in April it announced the launch of a ‘metrosexual’ lager brand, Copenhagen.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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- Happy birthday Mr Ad Server: the future of RTB

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Australia-based fintech startup Airwallex has closed an $80-million Series B round from return backers Tencent and Sequoia China, and other investors, it said in a media statement.
The round — the largest raised by an Australian startup this year and believed to be the second-largest in the country — was joined by Hillhouse Capital, Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures, Indonesia’s Central Capital Ventura and Australian VC Square Peg Capital. The financing for Airwallex eclipses the $45.46-million round raised by software firm SafetyCulture in May this year.
The latest round brings the startup’s aggregate funding to $102 million. It had last raised a $6-million Series A+ round in December 2017.
Founded in 2015, Airwallex offers solutions to conduct cross-border transactions and international money transfers via a combination of local payment collection, foreign exchange and distribution. The fresh capital will be used for global expansion, particularly in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, the Australian firm said.
“Our end-game is to provide the global network required for businesses to scale globally and take advantage of the digital and online opportunities that exist when you’re transacting in multiple markets,” said Airwallex co-founder and chief operating officer Lucy Liu.
Airwallex has been beefing up its team in Singapore, its first Southeast Asian market. “Luckily, within Singapore, there is an established pool of talent that is both experienced, savvy and local, who also align with our values of trailblazing new paths and no-limit thinking on what can be achieved for the entire category,” said Airwallex co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang.
In Hong Kong, another high priority market, the Australian firm will use the latest funding to cater to small and medium enterprises and to acquire a virtual banking licence.
Other neighbouring markets on its radar are Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Phillipines.
“We don’t have set timeframes for each [market] but work tirelessly to go as fast as we can because we see them all as emerging markets that have a growing demand for FX and payments solutions, with only limited or fractured solutions available to them currently,” Zhang said.
“As the pace and connectivity of the digitalized global economy continues to rapidly accelerate,the need to focus on foreign exchange and payments has become critically important for large corporates and SMEs. We believe that Airwallex’s continuous improvement in providing seamless solutions for this problem is eliminating the obstacle, effectively giving their clients a clear advantage in a hyper competitive global market,” said Sequoia Capital China founder and managing partner Neil Shen.


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The owner of the Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank brands has announced the appointments of John Tighe as EVP and chief customer officer, Karla Gray as EVP and chief stores officer, and Tim Cooksey as SVP of real estate.
With North American retailers implementing store closures to combat the spread of Covid-19 since the weekend, Tuesday’s announcements have come from the likes of Macy's, Ralph Lauren, AEO, Foot Locker and Tapestry.
The men’s apparel retail group has announced that its Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank chains will be offering new customization options thanks to a multi-year licensing agreement with the National Football League.


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Licensing International commissioned Brandar Consulting to conduct the survey for the sixth straight year. The survey results have shown steady growth, year-over-year, with a 19 percent leap in sales and related revenue over the course of the six years the survey has been conducted.
“The 2020 Global Licensing Survey underlines the continued growth of licensing in both developed and growth markets, as well as in both historically big and small categories,” says Maura Regan, president, Licensing International. “The numbers also illustrate the solid foundation that the licensing business model offers to businesses of all sorts as they work
The entertainment/character sector remained the leading market share category, accounting for $128.3 billion, or 43.8 percent of the total global licensing market. The second-largest sector was corporate brands with $60.1 billion (20.5 percent). Fashion followed with $33.8 billion (11.5 percent) and sports ($28.9 billion, 10 percent) rounded out the top four.
Apparel (15.1 percent), toys (12.2 percent) and fashion accessories (11.9 percent) continued to lead in the breakdown by product category, with both accessories (+8 percent) and apparel (+5.1 percent) showing strong above market growth and share gain. Retail sales of Licensed Toys & Games showed slight growth of 1.2 percent.
The fastest growing sectors in 2019 were Art (+10 percent) and Non-Profit (+18 percent). Strong growth in Art came in part from rapidly growing print-on-demand companies and online “maker markets” licensees, such as Etsy. Much of the growth in the nonprofit space came from not-for-profits seizing licensing as a way to generate needed funds at a time when contributions are under pressure.
The U.S. and Canada held strong at 58 percent of worldwide consumption of licensed goods and services, with $169.7 billion (up 4.5 percent from 2018), while the Northern Asia and Southern Asia/Pacific markets experienced the strongest year-over-year increases in licensing business, each showing growth of more than five percent for the year.
The complete report, including regional and country-by-country breakdowns for major markets, will be made available for free to all Licensing International members this summer. Non-members will be able to purchase the survey for $975 at www.LicensingInternational.org.
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Uber Plans to Sell ATG; Profitability Path Clearer
We're raising the technology firm's fair value estimate to $61 per share.
Uber Technologies (UBER) has announced the sale of its autonomous vehicle technology business, ATG, to Aurora, an autonomous vehicle technology company, for an equity stake in Aurora. Uber will also invest $400 million in Aurora when the deal closes (likely in the first quarter of 2021), after which Uber will own around 26% of Aurora. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will also have a seat on Aurora’s board. We applaud this deal for two reasons. First, it removes the drag that ATG has on Uber’s bottom line because of the necessary high investments in research and development. Second, the agreement positions Uber to benefit from the possible transition to autonomous vehicle-based mobility and delivery in future as this agreement also includes a partnership in which Aurora’s future self-driving cars will use Uber’s platform.
We estimate this sale will remove around $400 million in annual adjusted EBITDA losses and will allow Uber to generate full-year positive adjusted EBITDA and operating income in 2022 and 2023, respectively; both a year earlier than we had previously assumed. We continue to expect the firm to become GAAP profitable in 2024. We have raised our fair value estimate to $61 per share (from $59).
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Ali Mogharabi does not own (actual or beneficial) shares in any of the securities mentioned above. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.


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EXCLUSIVE: JB Hi-Fi Kiwi manager gone, no replacement planned
JB Hi-Fi is without a New Zealand general manager after the departure of Daryn Rickwood, with no plans to replace him in that role, however the retailer has re-confirmed its commitment to the New Zealand market.
Daryn Rickwood had been general manager of the New Zealand operations since November 2011 and has a long history in New Zealand technology. He was previously head of sales for Samsung and has also held positions at HP as IPG NZ general manager and NZ consumer sales manager; Microsoft, Tech Pacific (now Ingram Micro) and the then Noel Leeming Group.
Richard Murray, JB Hi-Fi chief executive, says Rickwood's departure came as part of a restructure of the local operations, which will align the go to market strategies in Australia and New Zealand.
Rod Korff has been appointed to lead the buying team in New Zealand. Korff will be based in the Auckland support office.
The changes come just weeks after JB Hi-Fi said the sales trend in New Zealand had improved and the company saw the rollout of its Home brand as an important next step in the market.
The Home stores have already been rolled out in St Lukes, Wairau Park and Botany, with Manukau currently being upgraded. The stores handle a range of home appliances, from small appliances to refridgerators and washing and drying machines.
"JB is all about innovation and one of the big changes in the market is the connected home," says Murray.
"What we're doing is positioning the business, both in Australia and in New Zealand, for the connected home. That is where the majority of our suppliers are seeing their investment at the moment - around that connectivity and home connectivity."
Murray says JB wants to provide its customers with 'a full range' be it in the consumer electronics side, or the home appliance side.
He says the company is 'incredibly committed to the New Zealand market' and will be investing 'in the order of $15 million to $20 million' over the next couple of years in New Zealand, through new and refurbished stores.
"That's certainly one of the largest investments we have made in New Zealand and I would hazzard a guess that it's probably one of the biggest investments in the industry over the next year," Murray says.
"I can appreciate that some retailers have left the market, but we are 100% committed to having a New Zealand support office."
Earlier this year JB Hi-Fi reported half year 2015 results of AU$1.97 billion in sales with net profit after tax of AU$88.5 million. The New Zealand operations – which includes 15 stores, with Queensgate coming online soon – accounted for $103.0 million of sales, a slight drop from the $103.9 million in New Zealand sales for the same period a year earlier.
However, in a May presentation, the company noted that sales in New Zealand were improving, with sales for the three months to March – Q3 for JB Hi-Fi – up 5.8%, though still down 1.1% in comparable terms.
The company expects total sales for the year of around AU$3.6 billion and NPAT in the range of AU$127 million to AU$131 million.
In announcing the half year financials, Murray said the home applicances market is around AU$4.6 billion – larger than many of the categories the retailer currently operates in and therefore offering ‘a significant opportunity’ for the company.
“As our suppliers direct their investment towards enabling the connected home, JB is positioning its model to be the consumer’s destination for this next technology evolution,” Murray said.
“We continue to believe that our expansion into appliances is a critical enabler to our success in the connected home.”
JB Hi-Fi’s lack of a New Zealand manager has left some in the industry making comparisons with Dick Smith which has made several attempts at having local management here, only to retreat each time.
The company closed its New Zealand management office in 2012, then reopened a year later, only to close it again the next year.
In that example however, Dick Smith lost not just its New Zealand manager, but local product managers, losing local buying in the process.
In late 2012 Dick Smith Electronics was acquired by Australian private equity firm – and ‘transformation specialist’ – Anchorage Capital Partners for AU$20 million.


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ZAMMLER received the award “Initiative 2015” from the Kyiv CCI
The Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry awarded Zammler Group for the successful realization of the project "Fulfillment".
The award in the nomination “Initiative of the year 2015 – the project “Fulfillment” was presented by the President of the Kyiv CCI Mykola Zasulskyi on February 25th, 2016 during the main annual meeting of the Chamber council.
The President of the Kyiv CCI was admired by the organization of ZAMMLER WAREHOUSE logistics that had been highly estimated by the Chamber Inspection during the visit on February 16th, 2016.
“We admit many members to the Kyiv CCI and have seen a lot. But ZAMMLER Group is just fantastic! It’s indeed from the twenty-first century! Just imagine, ZAMMLER WAREHOUSE takes 12th place for activity management in Europe!”, said Zasulskyi.
The General Director of the group of companies ZAMMLER Viktor Shevchenko thanked the Kyiv CCI for high estimation and shared plans for new logistics projects for industrial exports:
“We are trying to export things manufactured and produced in Ukraine. We have arranged exporters’ meetings with ambassadors from 6-8 states, in particular, from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Poland, Germany, Uzbekistan, etc. for the next year, where mechanisms of transport and economic cooperation with Ukrainian companies will be discussed”.
At the end of 2015, 1050 legal entities were the members of the Chamber.


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Men who eat more fruit and veg smell more attractive to women, according to a study.
Researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia claim the sweat from men who eat a diet rich in these healthy foods smells better to women.
Scientist Ian Stephen, who was part of the team behind the study, said: “We’ve known for a while that odor is an important component of attractiveness, especially for women.
“Women basically found that men who ate more vegetables smelled nicer.”
According to the report: “In this study we tested whether dietary fruit and vegetable intake, assessed indirectly by skin spectrophotometry (assessing dietary carotenoid intakes), and subjectively by food frequency questionnaire, was associated with more pleasant smelling sweat.
“Male participants provided axillary sweat samples and dietary information.”
The study states: “Female participants then evaluated these samples on several affective, qualitative and psychophysical dimensions… The skin spectrophotometry measure (CIELab b*), indicative of greater fruit and vegetable intake, was significantly associated with more pleasant smelling sweat (with more floral, fruity, sweet and medicinal qualities), independent of sweat intensity.”
While researchers found that men who consumed large quantities of meat did not produce a sweat that was any more, or less, attractive to women, meat consumption did tend to make the odor more intense.
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Summer is in full swing, which means that the summer vacationers are at the Walt Disney World Resort. Summer at the theme parks is considered peak season, meaning prices are at their highest and so are the crowds. While the high crowds visiting the Parks right now would make it seem like an inopportune time for attractions and experiences to be closed, there is never a good time at Disney World. Because of that, Disney will have certain rides under refurbishment most months of the year.
Here is your guide to which attractions, shops, and restaurants (if any) will be unavailable at the Walt Disney World Resort this August.
- Walt Disney World Railroad – Frontierland – Temporarily Unavailable
- Walt Disney World Railroad – Fantasyland – Temporarily Unavailable
- Walt Disney World Railroad – Main Street, U.S.A. – Temporarily Unavailable
- The Hall of Presidents
- Main Street Confectionery
The Walt Disney World Railroad has been closed for months as work continues on the highly anticipated Tron Lightcycle Power Run in Tomorrowland. The new roller coaster was originally scheduled to be open in time for the start of Disney World’s 50 Anniversary celebration on October 1, but the pandemic has put things incredibly far behind schedule. There is currently no opening date for the ride.
Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents is closed shortly after the election of President Joe Biden — which happens each time a new President is elected. Disney recently shared a look inside the closed attraction and announced that it would be opening to Guests again in August. However, an official opening date has not been given, which is why the attraction remains on the Refurbishment list for the entire month.
The Main Street Confectionery also remains closed with no reopening date being given at this time. The popular Main Street sweet shop has been closed since March for what Disney said would be a lengthy refurbishment. Most recently, construction barriers were seen around the store, so it will be exciting to see what the finished product will look like!
Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Typhoon Lagoon Water Park is another Disney location that has been closed for months. Aerial views of the Park have shown it looking empty, dry, and almost abandoned. However, Disney recently filed construction permits to continue working on the popular water park. However, Guests visiting in August will have to travel to Blizzard Beach for their water park needs.
No opening date has been announced for Typhoon Lagoon at this time.
EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom
At the time of publication, no refurbishments are listed for EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios. However, it is important to remember that just because nothing is listed, that does not mean rides will be available. Anything can happen at the Parks at any time, thunderstorms are common, and rides can shut down unexpectedly.
Be sure to check the Disney World website, as well as the My Disney Experience app for all of the latest Disney World updates.
What Disney World attraction are you looking forward to riding the most in August? Let us know in the comments!
CLICK HERE to book your Disney World vacation today with our friends at Academy Travel – an EarMarked Diamond travel agency that can provide you with a free quote today!


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Omorpho Closes $6 Million Funding Round
Omorpho, a Portland, OR-based fitness company, raised $6m in Seed funding at a $26m valuation.
The round was led by KB Partners, with participation from Greenchain Capital and Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth and expand operations.
Founded in 2017 by Stefan Olander and Ben Williams, Omorpho is a sport and fitness company providing the GRAVITY SPORTSWEAR collection, which powered by MicroLoad, anatomically places small weights strategically across the body, helping everyone, from fitness fans to professional athletes, to get wear for training.


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1.Xiaomi TV market in India on February 14
Television was launched in China boasts of a 50-inch screen with a 4K UHD display of 3840 x 2160p resolution. It is powered by 64-bit Amlogic L962 quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 8GB internal storage.
2.Vivo Oreo Update
Vivo is releasing Android Oreo update for 7 models,The list includes X series Vivo smartphone models,vivo smartphones that belong to the X series, including the Vivo X20, Vivo X20 Plus, Vivo X9s, Vivo X9s Plus, Vivo XPlay6, Vivo X9, and Vivo X9 Plus. Importantly, the Android Oreo experience will come through a Funtouch OS upgrade that is scheduled for April this year.
3.Facebook Losing Younger Users
Facebook is losing younger users in the United States at a faster pace than previously estimated, researchers said. A report by eMarketer said Snapchat is drawing youths away from Facebook at a quicker clip than Facebook-owned Instagram.The report said Snapchat will add 1.9 million users under 25 in 2018 and Instagramwill add 1.6 million.Snapchat, which is known for its disappearing messages, will continue to have more users aged 12 to 24 than Instagram, the researchers said.


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peshkova - Fotolia
Cisco reported this week a strong fiscal first quarter as an increase in sales across its product lines contributed to an 8% rise in overall revenues.
Revenues for the quarter ended Oct. 27 reached $13.1 billion, marking the company's fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, following eight quarters of decline. Cisco earnings, or net income, on a GAAP basis rose 48% to $3.5 billion.
Revenue from Cisco's most significant product line -- infrastructure platforms - increased 9% to $7.6 billion. The category includes its switches and routers. Also, application sales rose 18% to $1.4 billion, and security revenue increased 11% to $651 million.
"We saw broad-based growth across all of our geographies, product categories, and customer segments," Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said in an earnings call with analysts. Cisco expected revenue to grow by 5% to 7% in the current quarter ending in January.
Robbins highlighted growth in sales of the Catalyst 9000 and Nexus 9000 campus and data center switches, respectively. Driving the increases was customer acceptance of Cisco's intent-based approach to networking that is dependent on software.
The Catalyst 9000, introduced last year, fits squarely into Cisco's software-centric strategy. The hardware is the first from Cisco that requires a software subscription on top of the price of the gear. Robbins has said the Catalyst 9000 is the company's fastest-selling product ever.
At its Partner Summit in Las Vegas this week, Cisco broadened the market for the Catalyst 9000 with the introduction of the entry-level 9200 aimed at the midmarket and branch office.
The increase in Nexus hardware revenue came despite enterprises buying fewer data center switches overall, as they migrate an increasing number of workloads to IaaS providers, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
"I'm not sure how sustainable that is," said Frank Marsala, an analyst at Gartner, of Nexus 9000 sales. "I didn't hear anything specific [on the Cisco earnings call] about what drove the Nexus 9K, which I thought had stalled out."
Revenue up from service providers
Cisco also reported revenue growth from routers, driven by a 2% increase in sales to cloud and communications service providers. The increase included "a couple of big wins" in Asia, Robbins said.
Cisco rivals Juniper Networks and Nokia reported a decline in router sales in their latest financial reports, due to weak sales to service providers. Worldwide, spending by the market segment was "not good," and Cisco might not be able to sustain growth in routing next quarter, Marsala said.
Cisco and its competitors are helping service providers rearchitect their data centers in preparation for delivering 5G applications and services that the current generation of wireless technology can't provide. Robbins, however, did not expect a significant increase in revenue from that work over the next few quarters.
"I still believe it will be calendar 2020 before we see anything if we're looking for some broad-based movement," he said.
Impact of U.S. tariffs on China
During the October quarter, Cisco did not feel any impact from the 10% tariff the Trump administration imposed on some Chinese goods, including switches and routers Cisco makes in China and imports to the United States. The administration imposed the tax in September as a result of its trade war with China.
Despite raising prices to cover the tariff, Cisco did not hear complaints from customers. "I haven't had one conversation with any customer around tariffs at this point," Robbins said.
That could change next year, however. Economists say the negative impact of tariffs could be more damaging in January if the administration doesn't reach a trade deal with China and follows through on its promise to raise tariffs to 25%.


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HNA Group subsidiaries join Hainan Tourism Industry Investment Fund
The new Hainan Tourism Industry Fund will initially have a size of RMB2 billion and expected to grow to RMB15 billion eventually.
An investment fund for Hainan's tourism industry will be set up under the “Hainan Tourism Industry Investment Fund Framework Partnership Agreement” signed by HNA E-Food, Industrial Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) Hainan provincial branch, Hainan Development Holdings, HNA subsidiary Beijing Tourism Development Fund and HNA Tourism.
The new Hainan Tourism Industry Fund will initially have a size of RMB2 billion and expected to grow to RMB15 billion eventually. Initial contributions to the fund includes:
Proportion to Total Capital
Hainan Development Holdings
Beijing Tourism Development Fund
low-level limited partner
The fund will be used for development and the products of ten major industry segments, including marine tourism, medical tourism, shopping tourism and MICE. It will also be injected into renovating six major tourism projects, and invested in key tourism and investent projects designated in the Hainan provincial government’s 13th five-year development plan and by the provincial tourism committee.(Translation by David)


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The owner of a Plymouth, U.K. takeaway has been banned for life from serving food to the public after admitting selling a pizza contaminated with poisoned mouse droppings.
Judge Paul Darlow told Pervez Alvi (right, Plymouth Herald), "I would dearly like to hit you in the pocket" after hearing that investigating the case had cost Plymouth City Council more than £5,400.
But he imposed what he called "token costs" of £500 because of the "terrible" state of Alvi’s finances.
Prosecutor Julia Cox told Plymouth Crown Court that on March 20, 2010, a woman bought a pizza from Favourite Pizza as a treat for her son, who had just come out of hospital.
But as they ate it, they noticed "a strange chemical taste", which turned out to be caused by mouse droppings containing rodent poison.
The woman phoned the shop and Alvi called to see her, commenting: "At least you didn’t eat all of it."
He offered her £30 for the return of the pizza, but she refused and called Environmental Health.
Blue-green pellet-shaped objects in the pizza base were found to be mouse-droppings.
Inspectors attended the premises and immediately found mouse excrement in many areas, including on packaging materials and baking trays.
They also found gnawed cardboard and a hole in the skirting, while paperwork was incomplete.
He was told to clean and disinfect the premises and employ a pest controller, and next day things had greatly improved.
But a later visit found cracked tiles, a dirty hob and floor, and more mouse droppings under stainless-steel food-preparation surfaces and near a food chiller.


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Chevrolet is the latest automaker to jump on the non-fungible token bandwagon, but it’s taking a slightly different approach. Chevy announced plans to auction off a Corvette-themed NFT, but the winner bidder won’t just get recorded on the blockchain, they’ll also get the actual sports car inspired by the artwork.
The NFT, which depicts a lime green Corvette Z06 blasting through a cyberpunk landscape, was created by artist Nick Sullo, who goes by xsullo online. The upcoming auction pairs Sullo’s NFT with a custom-painted 2023 Corvette Z06 color-matched to the art.
In case you need a refresher, the new Z06 is Chevy’s shot-across-the-bow for all the other supercar manufacturers out there with Italian names. Its the first ‘Vette to feature a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V-8 mid-engine, located directly behind the driver. And it’s a more hardcore, tack-focused sports car than its predecessors. The Z06 is expected to go into production summer 2022, and will be on sale as a 2023 model.
The winning bidder will not only get xsullo’s NFT but also the “Minted Green” Corvette (get it?), which will be the only car painted in that color — Chevy vows to not apply the Minted Green color to any other production Z06. Not only that, but the car will carry the option code RFN, which will “forever associate” the car with the NFT auction. And the Corvette’s VIN number will be in binary because NFTs are digital and computers use binary and you get it.
The auction, which is being overseen by NFT marketplace SuperRare, will be held June 20–24, and bids will only be accepted in Ethereum. (Most NFTs are purchased with Ethereum.) Chevy says all the proceeds will go to DonorsChoose, an education charity.
The NFT auction comes at a time of extreme volatility in cryptocurrency. Prices are plummeting, along with NFT values. Ethereum has dropped 64 percent since April 1st, while the most lauded NFTs have seen their floor price — price for the lowest one on the market — drop more than 70 percent. In response, some cryptocurrency firms are scaling back; Coinbase announced it was laying off 18 percent of its workforce.
There has also been a rise in scams, with some buyers falling for phishing attempts to rip off their NFTs. And thanks to the decentralized nature of the blockchain and Web3, victims are left with little recourse in such situations.
But Chevy doesn’t seem dissuaded by the market fluctuations. In a statement, Steve Majoros, vice president of marketing at the automaker, called the “Own the Color” NFT an “important stepping stone for Chevrolet into future digital initiatives for our customers.”
For his part, xsullo says he was drawn to the project by the Z06. “The Corvette Z06 is an ambitious car that I totally vibe with,” he said. “I’m drawn to how technology can make us feel, and I can tell the designers of Corvette Z06 draw from similar inspiration.”
Chevy isn’t the only automaker currently testing the Web3 waters. Lamborghini and Hyundai are two other companies that have recently dabbled in NFTs. And car auction service Barrett-Jackson auctioned off four NFTs last year based on cars it sold to raise money for charity.
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San Francisco’s condominium market was steady in the third quarter with its $1.253 average sales price up 2 percent from the previous year. Q3 2017 also marked the 16th consecutive quarter in which San Francisco condo units have averaged more than $1 million. Similar to the city’s housing market, it was also the highest third-quarter average sales price to take place in the last 10 years.
However, at 508 total units sold this quarter, San Francisco experienced an 11 percent drop in year-over-year sales volume. This tighter inventory also led to units selling at a slightly quicker pace, spending an average of 37 DOM prior to close.
AVERAGE SALES PRICE BY NEIGHBORHOOD – THE TOP 10
A $7.1-million condo sale in Nob Hill helped boost the neighborhood’s average sales price to $1.72 million, an 18 percent increase from Q3 2016. Corona Heights experienced the largest year-over-year gain in average sales price at 52 percent, while Presidio Heights’ $1.9 million average topped the Q3 list.
SALES PRICE CHANGE
Those who required no price change in Q3 took home an additional 7 percent on top of initial listing price. While other sellers who may have tested the market too high, ended up losing 7 percent from their initial asking price.


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The RenoRun team continues to grow with the addition of Igor Halencak, Vice President of Merchandising. The hiring of Halencak marks another exciting step in the expansion of the company which now proudly employs over 150 people in both Canada and the U.S.
Halencak will play an essential role in the further development of RenoRun’s product and service offering, ensuring customers have access to the greatest quality and range as the company continues to expand its reach into new markets, including many new U.S. locations. Prior to coming to RenoRun, Halencak held several notable positions with industry giant Lowe’s, with a focus on procurement, merchandising, marketing, global sourcing, and customer service.
“Igor has added a tremendous amount of firepower to the RenoRun executive team. His vast experience in the construction material industry comes as a great asset to the company and his dedication to customer experiences doubles down on our commitment to create the world’s most contractor centric brand,” said Eamonn O’Rourke, CEO and former Builder.
“I am extremely excited to have joined Eamonn and the team at RenoRun. The industry as a whole is going through unprecedented times, so our focus at RenoRun will be to provide exceptional service to our members, by providing solutions to simplify their day-to-day needs,” said Halencak
RenoRun is designed to help contractors stay efficient by keeping their team working onsite without interruption. Over 15,000 customers count on RenoRun to save time and money by having construction materials delivered to them on their terms, so they can keep their projects rolling.
Visit renorun.ca or download the RenoRun app to join the construction revolution.
Parking Lots, Tim Horton’s, and Notebooks
RenoRun was born in 2016 and launched in 2017, with the insight that contractors spend too much time away from their job sites by going to the store to procure materials. Before building out the concept, the co-founders—three construction industry veterans—would sit in different hardware store parking lots around Montreal in the winter, with Tim Horton’s coffees, and notebooks in hand. They kept count of anyone coming out in work boots, plus vans and pickup trucks, and compared notes at the end of the day. This was their “customer.”
After noticing that there were roughly 2,000 contractors per hour circulating hardware stores in Montreal, they decided to set out on a crusade to better serve them, and to unleash them from the unpleasantries that had been normalized in the construction industry.
Fast forward to today and we’re still on that mission to empower contractors to build the work around us. Construction professionals don’t just want, but deserve, to get time back.
Joëlle Chartrand, Co-Founder:


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Small business owners pessimistic over weak employment, sales
Small business owners in the US are growing more pessimistic, according to a survey released Tuesday. Weak employment and sales drove down small business owners' optimism, though the survey did have a few bright spots.
| New York
Small business owners are growing more pessimistic.
A survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business shows that owners became more pessimistic during September as employment and sales remained weak. The NFIB's index of owner optimism fell 0.1 point to 92.8.
The survey did have some bright spots. The number of owners who believe this is a good time to expand their companies rose 3 percentage points. And the number of owners who expect business conditions to improve in six months gained 4 points.
But the number of owner who plan to create jobs fell 3 points, while the number who plan to reduce their payrolls rose 2 points. More than a fifth of the survey's participants said weak sales are their biggest business problem.
The survey is in line with other small business readings that show owners are cautious. The payroll service company ADP said last week that small businesses slowed their pace of hiring during September. There have been mixed readings on how much owners are willing to borrow, but the conflicting signals do point to small companies being very careful about spending for hiring or expansion.
One reason why the NFIB survey showed that more owners expect business to improve: The presidential election will be decided and Congress is likely to have taken action on tax bills. That would remove some of the uncertainty that has contributed to owners' pessimism the past few months.
The NFIB questioned nearly 700 of its members as part of its survey.


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Best 3DS Game of 2014 - ArticleBrent Galietti , posted on 16 January 2015 / 4,864 Views
It's unsurprising that Nintendo's 3DS once again had a stellar year, both in terms of sales and, perhaps more importantly for gamers, quality software releases. Nintendo could've rest on its laurels and focused on the Wii U in 2014, or even on its next console... but no, they released a Super Smash Bros. title on a handheld for the first time ever. It wasn't alone in the 3DS library this year, but could any of those other titles win in an upset?
The Nominees Are:
And the Winner is...
Many Nintendo fans out there have been clamoring to take their favorite fighting game series on the go for years. This year, the Big N finally delivered what they wanted. But it's not just a bite sized version of the mascot fighter, oh no. This game is chock full of content, from the over fifty playable characters, to the many stages, stadium games and exclusive mode Smash Run. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is jam-packed with things to do and collect. The Wii U version of the game is the better version but if you only own a 3DS you still get to enjoy the wild, chaotic, giddy Smash Bros. fun. That's how Super Smash Bros. for 3DS cleaned house and won Best 3DS Game of 2014.
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Those companies assemble and sell massive arrays of servers, storage, and networking to businesses—most of which don’t want to build more of their own data centers. Towards that end, those three cloud superpowers alone spent roughly $31 billion last year to extend their data center capacity around the world, according to the Wall Street Journal, which tabulated that total from corporate filings.
But Mark Hurd, Oracle’s co-chief executive, would beg to differ. In his view, there are data centers and then there are data centers. And Oracle’s data centers, he said, can be more efficient because they run Oracle hardware and supercharged databases.
For Full Story, Please click here.


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Posted on: Tuesday 16 October, 2012 2:13
|Renault Remains First Generalist European Car Brand in GCC at End of August 2012 with 36% Sales Growth
Renault GCC has at the end of August 2012 reported a growth of 36% as compared to the same period in 2011. The increase is significantly higher than the 21% growth of the Total Industrial Volume in the GCC region. Furthermore, Renault now ranks 18th among automotive brands in the GCC, a positive jump of two ranks compared to the same period in 2011.
Three Renault models (Logan, Fluence and Safrane) are now among the top 15 bestselling European models in GCC. In the B Segment, Renault Logan is number one top-selling generalist European model with more than 2,400 units sold from January to August 2012. In the C segment, Renault Fluence is the number one European brand and in the challenging DE segment, Safrane leads the European brands.
The shockingly affordable New Renault Duster introduced in May 2012 has in just four months ending August 2012 entered the top 15 bestselling models in the SUV-S Segment. Renault Duster comes fourth in the Renault line up in terms of sales.
In Saudi Arabia, Renault retains its title of first European Brand, far ahead from the other European competitors. In the Saudi market that has seen a rise of 13%, Renault has marked a 35% increase from January to August 2012 and is currently enjoying a 1% market share.
In the UAE, Renault continues its fast growing momentum with 48% growth, higher than the market evolution of 29%, which positions Renault among the top 10 fastest growing car brands in the country.
In Oman, Renault remains the number one European brand with three models in the top five best European selling cars.
Pan GCC, Renault’s performance is sustained by a strong sales evolution in markets such as Qatar (+40%), Bahrain (+41%) and Kuwait (+130%) positioning Renault as the fastest growing car brand in Kuwait.
Mustansir Lakdawala, Managing Director, Renault GCC, said: “As an indication of the quality of our product and services and the level of confidence and dedication of our distributors, Renault performed sturdily and more rapidly than the market evolution in the first eight months of 2012. Our achievement of 2012 record sales target is on the right track. We are witnessing a turnaround in the history of Renault in GCC as our brand popularity is expanding significantly.”
Benoit Turibe, Marketing Director, Renault GCC, said: “Our last two years of consistent brand promotion and focused marketing activities for pillar models such as Fluence, Safrane and recently Duster has delivered outstanding results. We are witnessing an increased sales momentum trend with month after month of better retail sales ratio.
“Renault has a reliable, affordable line-up, while all cars are tested under GCC conditions prior to their launch, which is appealing to the young and cosmopolitan population of the region. Our line-up has a car for every purpose, everyone, every day and every budget. People are definitely more aware of our brand offerings. Nevertheless, our ambition is much more as Renault’s potential in the region is still far from its maximum.”


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Pocket-worthy gadgets that can give the shiniest, newest toys in the market a run for their money It's the siren song most of us can never miss,... ...http://money.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?291834
The technology carnival is about to begin. The seven days beginning on September 3 are the biggest for consumer technology enthusiasts this year.... ...http://ibnlive.in.com/news/2014s-biggest-7-days-in-technology-begins-on-september-3-heres-what-to-expect/495793-11.html
India's tablet market has shown early signs of recovery in the second quarter of 2014 after taking a sharp hit in the past couple of quarters,... ...http://www.rediff.com/money/report/pix-tech-tablet-sales-in-india-samsung-beats-micromax-apple/20140902.htm
India's overall tablet shipments for the second quarter of 2014 stood at 0.86 million units, recording a quarter on quarter increase of nine per... ...http://techcircle.vccircle.com/2014/09/01/overall-indian-tablet-shipments-in-q2-touch-0-86m-units-micromax-topples-apple-to-clinch-2nd-spot-idc/
The Mini 2 introduces HTC's premiums One range of Android smartphones. It too features the brushed metal finish and BoomSound stereo speakers... ...http://www.computerworld.in/news/htc-launches-smartphone-ahead-of-apple%27s-alleged-iphone-event
apple iphone by buying parts from the...
Apple announced its newest, though...
Apple introduced its most recent,...


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BALTIC — While Hershberger Country Store in Baltic might be a little off the beaten path, store owner Roy Raber assures visitors that with more than 8,000 items available, it is well worth the trip.
Located on 50967 Township Road 220, off of County Road 12 or State Route 643, Hershberger Country Store not only offers a wide variety of quality items for customers. They also offer good, fast, friendly service , including a new mail-order catalog.
With stock ranging from cookware to cleaning supplies, to plumbing needs and toys, and much, much more, there is sure to be something for everyone at a good price. The store has recently begun accepting credit cards.
"We have kitchen-ware, canning equipment, camping, school, farm and home supplies," Raber said. "We also offer herbs, salves, hardware, hundreds of colors of paints to choose from, baby items, books and home decor items. Plus, we’re always adding new items."
The wide variety of cookware, canning, baking and houseware items make great wedding gifts, Raber pointed out.
"There isn’t a whole lot we don’t have," he said.
Raber adds he enjoys attending House Hasson Hardware markets, where they get exceptional values that he passes along to his customers.
"There is a certain level of personal attention that can only come from a locally-owned family business that has been serving its neighbors over the years," Raber said. "That is what we’re here to provide."
As a way of saying thank you to their customers, Hershberger Country Store will be celebrating Customer Appreciation Days Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28 and 29, featuring a storewide 10 percent discount along with free refreshments.
Store hours for the Customer Appreciation Day are Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m, and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The regular store hours through the week are 7:30 to 5 p.m., and 7:30 to 4 on Saturdays. They are open late until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Call 740-610-8586 for a free mail-order catalog.
"This is our fourth year here with the store. It actually was started in 1969 by Melvin Hershberger," Raber said. "We bought the store and have been in business since January 2015."
Reporter Kevin Lynch can be reached at 330-674-5676 or email@example.com.


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Electronics For Imaging, Inc. has received an additional validation from the Western Michigan University (WMU) Recycling, Paper and Coating Pilot Plant that verifies the recycling and repulpability of boards printed with white EFI Nozomi UV LED inks.
The WMU Pilot Plant provided an OCC (old corrugated containers) certification to EFI Nozomi white inks, extending the solid, research-driven evidence that Nozomi inkjet-printed corrugated boards can safely enter recycling streams. This new certification follows the WMU Pilot Plant’s initial OCC certification provided for the EFI Nozomi C18000 printer’s CMYK four-colour process ink set.
EFI Nozomi inks are the first and only single-pass digital corrugated printer inks to achieve the certification, a key validation developed by modelling wax coating replacement protocols of the Fiber Boxboard Association, a group that represents approximately 95% of all U.S. corrugators. The ability to recycle digitally printed corrugated board remains an important topic as corrugators and boxmakers adopt single-pass inkjet to implement highly efficient supply chains that reflect their customers’ need for customization and shorter order quantities.
“Sustainability is a key component of EFI’s R&D efforts, and this additional certification speaks to the growing opportunities the packaging industry has to adopt efficient, greener practices with corrugated board,” said Evandro Matteucci, vice president and general manager for EFI’s Packaging and Building Materials businesses. “The industry is already producing approximately five corrugated boxes per second worldwide using EFI Nozomi C18000 printers. With this new certification, Nozomi customers can be comfortable adding white ink to create premium boxes without worrying about any negative impact on recyclability.”
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December financial report
January 13, 2015
Thanks to your generosity, financial support for conference exceeded expenses by $16,000 for the month of December. That’s great news! Individuals donated more than $11,800 to conference operations so far this fiscal year, which runs July 1 through June 30.
We are 50% through the conference fiscal year. Overall financial support for the conference was $29,000 less than budgeted for the period, and $9,000 less than the same time last year. Congregational support was $32,000 less than expected for the first six months of the fiscal year. Expenses for the period were $20,600 less than planned, and close to $14,000 less than last year.


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With the Death Stranding PS4 release date of November 8, developer Kojima Productions took to Twitter to announce that Death Stranding would indeed be gracing the PC as well. The Death Stranding PC version will be available “in early summer of 2020”. Considering summer stretches from June to September, it’s possible that Sony could release it just before E3 2020. Nonetheless, it’s rather brave for Sony to allow Kojima Productions to even confirm the existence of a PC version a mere week before the PS4 launch as it could lead to possible cannibalisation of sales.
Thanks to all of you who have been supporting #DEATHSTRANDING!
DEATH STRANDING release on PS4 is November 8, 2019!!
Furthermore, KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS is happy to announce that DEATH STRANDING will be coming to PC in early summer of 2020!!#kojimaproductions #deathstrandingpc pic.twitter.com/Sk4clWWY1X
— Kojima Productions (@KojiPro2015_EN) October 28, 2019
This announcement follows the discovery that Sony had removed Death Stranding from its list of PS4 exclusives. In fact, when the game was originally announced, a PC version was mentioned and the tweet from Kojima Productions confirms it’s on the way.
In August, Sony removed the Hideo Kojima-directed title from its list of PS4 exclusives. This was discovered by eagle-eyed members of popular gaming forum ResetEra. With the Death Stranding PS4 release date of November 8, it’ll be interesting to see if a PC release is planned somewhere down the line.
”Death Stranding was originally announced for PS4 and PCs, here’s an archived official press release from Sony THEMSELVES prior to the game’s announcement (when they announced their partnership) in Dec 2015 just so you know I’m not messin,” claims ResetEra member Vestan who discovered this change.
Is Death Stranding PC releasing on Steam?
Considering Epic Games has not shied away from moneyhatting PC exclusivity, we won’t be surprised if Death Stranding finds its way to that storefront. Sony has a working relationship with the company what with Detroit hitting the Epic Games Store too. That said, Kojima’s last game — Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain sold exceptionally well on PC on Steam. It’ll be interesting to see how this release is managed in the wake of the usually vitriolic response PC gamers tend to have when a game doesn’t make it to Steam.
Furthermore, games journalist Brian Crecente has confirmed that Sony won’t be publishing Death Stranding. Rather, publishing duties will be handled by 505 Games. Considering that 505 also published Control, which is a timed Epic Games Store exclusive, it further lends credence to the possibility that Steam may miss out.
Oh it looks like you’ll be waiting a bit to play #DeathStranding on PC. 505 Games won’t be publishing it until next Summer.
— Brian "Seeking New Opportunities" Crecente (@crecenteb) October 28, 2019
“We are extremely excited and honored to be working with the supremely talented team at Kojima Productions and to bring Death Stranding to PC gamers around the world,” said 505 Games co-founder and CEO Raffi Galante in a press release. “Death Stranding will take gamers through a completely original experience that will delight PC gamers everywhere.”
Right now however, if you want Death Stranding, the PS4 version is the only one you can pre-order.


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P&G Pulls Out Of NFL Initiative NBC Has Sold 70-80% Of Super Bowl Ad Time Nike Addresses Terminated Sponsorships Gatorade Praised For New Jeter Ad PepsiCo CEO Backs Goodell Amid Scandals NHL Decides Against Selling Jersey Ads Fanatics Lands NASCAR's At-Track Merch Sales Joe Gibbs Racing Signs Stanley Black & Decker Microsoft's NFL Deal Affected By iPad References Company Emerges In 3D-Printed Collectibles Space
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Gatorade Apologizes For Taking Shots At LeBron After Cramps Force Him To Bench
Published June 6, 2014
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GAME OF THRONES: In N.Y., Kaja Whitehouse notes James now is "in the odd position of pitching products from rival companies" Samsung and Beats by Dre. James "pitches the Galaxy Note, Samsung’s tablet line and Beats by Dre headsets -- which is being bought by Apple, a bitter rival of the Korean electronics giant." Brand consultancy Landor Associates Managing Dir Allen Adamson: "He’s going to have to pick which team he wants to play for. He can’t play both sides of the field." Whitehouse noted the potential for conflict "was crystallized on Thursday when Beats unleashed a video ad to promote its new line of Solo 2 headsets." The FIFA World Cup-focused video "features James and other athletes wearing Beats." By contrast, Samsung "recently touted its LeBron James app to draw attention to its Samsung phone" (N.Y. POST, 6/6).


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Bill Gates continues to be the Americaâ€™s richest individual
Forbes magazine has released its latest list of the individuals heading the America in term of personal wealth. The index called the s list of the 400 wealthiest Americans continues to be dominated by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen who have been leading the charts since 5 years now.
This group of individuals together is worth around $1.13 trillion a figure, which has improved upon by around $125 billion since last year. Some of these rich figures were helped by the rising prices of fuel in the market and also the real-estate segment. The latest list features as many as 33 new members in the group.
Some of the new entries in this list of most successful Americans in terms of their personal wealth include New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jim Davis and his family and Urban Outfitters Inc. co-founder Richard Hayne. Some of the well-known losers are DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg and H.J. Heinz ketchup heir Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Impressively, 94% of the individuals in the top 400 are billionaires this compared to just 78% last year. Looks like it is harder to become a member of this club as the time passes by!


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Britain’s biggest vets have demand business rates relief as looming bills and a slump in footfall risk a string of failures which could leave millions of pet owners unable to get help.
CVS Group, IVC Evidensia and vetPartners, which together almost 40pc of all practices in the UK, said a rates relief scheme would help them save hundreds of jobs.
Their call follows a year-long tax holiday for tens of thousands of retail, leisure and hospitality firms announced in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech.
Many veterinary practices have stayed open to provide emergency treatment for pets and farm animals but are not eligible for the rates relief measures and are suffering heavy losses.
Vet surgeries are warning that animal safety could be put in danger because they have been left out from the relief scheme.
Several practices have already been forced to shut down their stores after furloughing a significant proportion of their staff.
A quarter of practices have suffered a 75pc all in weekly turnover, while revenue has halved at another two-thirds according to a survey by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Stuart Caton, of IVC Evidensia, said: “Put plainly, the government is not doing enough to support the veterinary sector despite its vital function within the UK’s agricultural, food and export industries.
“Without business rates relief, some practices, which already operate on thin margins, will not survive. The knock-on effects will be far-reaching.”
The British Veterinary Association, which represents more than 18,000 vets, is backing their calls for more financial support.
Daniella Dos Santos, the association's president, said: “Veterinary practices are rightly remaining open to provide 24/7 essential care and fulfilling their duty to maintain animal health and welfare, but many are struggling to stay afloat as they grapple with dramatic reductions in turnover and scaling back their rotas to keep colleagues and clients safe.
“We hope that such a strong and united call will be answered soon, and will continue to urge the Government to help practices to continue their valuable work in these difficult times.”


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After years of trying to fix the bottle deposit/recycling problem, it looks like California is on the edge of moving forward. State Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), has moved legislation off the floor of the senate that would blow up the recycling system and start all over again. “We care about the haulers, we care about the distributors, we care about the manufacturers; that’s all important to our economy,” Sen. Wieckowski said. “But at the end of the day, it’s the voters, it’s the constituents that we have our number one obligation.”
His bill would put those who make money off of bottles, beverage makers and distributors, in charge of recycling them. It potentially takes big money away from waste haulers and that has caused some concern, but there is agreement something has to change. Among those voting for the bill is State Senator out of Napa, Bill Dodd. He has passed a bottle bill of his own. His bill brings wine and spirit bottles into the program. “I want to shout out to the wine industry and the spirits industry for stepping up to the plate,” Sen. Dodd says. “What we’re going to attempt to do here is to have a product stewardship council so you’d have private businesses running the program.”
Sen. Wieckowski voted for Sen. Dodd’s bill as well and both say they can work together. There is another bottle bill still to be heard in the senate and another in the assembly as well.
To read the full story, visit https://abc7news.com/society/bottle-bills-aiming-to-revamp-recycling-system-in-the-works/10745525/.
Author: Michael Finney, ABC 7 News


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Flagstar Bank, a prominent Michigan-based financial services provider, has warned 837,390 of its US customers about a data breach that occurred through a third-party service provider, Fiserv.
The breach exposed the personal information of a substantial number of customers. It was traced back to vulnerabilities in MOVEit Transfer, a file transfer software used by Fiserv for payment processing and mobile banking services.
The unauthorized activity occurred between May 27 and 31 2023, before the vulnerability was publicly disclosed, allowing threat actors to access and obtain customer information, including names and other data elements.
“Rigid due diligence, robust cybersecurity policies and real-time monitoring of third-party vendors are no longer a good idea but are necessary programs to reduce the risk of these cyber breaches,” commented James McQuiggan, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4.
“This attack demonstrates that an organization’s security is only as strong as its third or fourth party’s weakest security program.”
In a notice sent to customers, Flagstar Bank said it acted promptly upon discovering the breach. Their vendor initiated a comprehensive investigation, identified affected individuals and notified regulatory bodies as required. The technical vulnerabilities were promptly remediated, following MOVEit software provider guidelines.
To support affected customers, Flagstar Bank has been providing complimentary identity monitoring services through Kroll for two years. This includes credit monitoring, fraud consultation and identity theft restoration.
The company also recommended that all affected individuals remain vigilant, monitor their credit history, review account statements and report any suspicious activity to financial institutions.
“The MOVEit Transfer security flaw is the gift that keeps on giving for hackers. This time around, it looks like the bad guys were able to steal customer and employee information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, tax records and SSNs,” said Chris Hauk, consumer privacy advocate at Pixel Privacy.
“Customers of this bank […] will want to keep a close eye on all of their accounts, take advantage of the inevitable free credit monitoring, and they should stay alert for possible phishing attempts.”
The incident marks the third significant cybersecurity breach for Flagstar Bank since 2021. The first breach happened in March 2021 when the Clop ransomware group reportedly pilfered customers’ personal data.
A second breach occurred on December 3 and 4 2021, affecting Flagstar Bank’s corporate network and impacting nearly 1.5 million US clients.
Editorial image credit: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com


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Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has appointed a former iShares client manager to head a newly opened office in Italy.
LGIM is to market exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other Ucits products in the country under Giancarlo Sandrin (pictured), formerly head of asset manager clients in BlackRock’s iShares ETF business in Italy.
Sandrin has been appointed to lead the UK firm’s wholesale and retail push from an office in Milan.
Sandrin reports to Simon Hynes, regional head of retail distribution, who described the expansion of its Italian ETF business as a top priority and one which Sandrin was “perfectly equipped” to drive.
LGIM is working to increase the share of its revenues from Europe. Appointments for this plan this year included Philipp Graf von Königsmarck as head of wholesale sales.
©2018 funds europe


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Barring a massive fiscal collapse, somewhere between 2 and 3 billion transactions will be made on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow. The people trading and bidding on these stocks, bonds, and other derivative products will fail or succeed, in large part, because of the information they have that drives their trading. Information, as they say, is power. Yet, when applied to the exchange known as online advertising, information is gathered in hindsight. Now that the real-time bidding marketplace is expanding in triple digits, which lack of proactive intelligence must be filled.
RTB has been gaining traction over the past year. While at first it was accused by its critics as too much automation in a business where professionals still value the human touch, there were just as many excited about the prospect of RTB as there were those wary of it. Now it is reality: It's here to stay. During the first quarter of 2012, the supply of RTB impressions expanded 120 percent over the same quarter in 2011, according to results from a new quarterly tracking report being published by independent agency trading desk Accordant Media. The report estimates that the supply of RTB impressions soared 213 percent during 2011 versus 2010. This expansion is being driven by blue-chip advertisers and agencies, which, in turn, is attracting premium publishers to participate in the marketplace.
All of this is great news if the marketplace is approached proactively and predictively. That's where the human touch will stay in this market. We need to accept, however, that the rapid rise of RTB has moved the intent of online advertising analytics and metrics. A year ago, the sharpest companies had the best rearview-mirror results from clicks, to unique users, and even offline brand lift. That's still useful information, but it's not enough. Now leading-edge companies need to define the outcomes they want and predict the best way to achieve them.
Let's break down the "why" for buy-side RTB analytics. Before cookie targeting, a media planner would buy Vibe, SI, ESPN, etc., as a proxy for their audience; let's say the target demo was "sports enthusiast." Since then the industry has completely flipped on its head. The media planner no longer cares about the content. He just wants to find the cookie associated with "sports enthusiasts." He's not thinking about brand safety concerns, and that's his first mistake. His second mistake is not realizing that all sports brands are targeting the same "sports enthusiast" cookies. As it turns out, all auto companies are targeting the same "in-market auto" cookies, all credit card companies are targeting the same cookies, and so on and so forth. This process won't scale, and these impressions are massively overvalued. The targeting capabilities have become so acute, and the pricing for online media is still not efficient by any measure. It is not the future of internet advertising.
By using user cookie targeting exclusively, buyers are accessing only about 20 percent of all available inventory. Keep aiming campaigns at the same 20 percent of cookie-based inventory, and you enter diminishing returns rather than efficient ROI. Again back to the analogy of a stock market exchange. If only 20 percent of the stocks had historical and projected financials, what would happen? Stock pickers would purchase those stocks until some market equilibrium, at which point ROI would be near impossible to achieve. That's what happens if you're only cookie targeting, and it gets even tougher and cookied inventory smaller when you add in regulation.
The problem is that there is a measure of success on Wall Street: cash returned. Clicks aren't the standard in performance nor should they be. There is an industry-wide shift in how advertisers and agencies are measuring success. Those on the front lines of the 3MS initiative (Making Measurement Make Sense) are proposing that clicks and page views no longer make sense -- or define success -- for brands if their ads are never in view. Although standards are not yet set in stone, 3MS defines an impression as viewable if at least 50 percent of the ad is in view for at least one second. As new standards like viewable impressions are adopted, advertisers need new types of data to open up new and valuable targeting opportunities.


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Online rhino auction set to open in South Africa.
by Fran on October 6, 2017 - 9:14pm
The buying and selling of ivory taken from rhino horns has always been a very popular activity throughout some countries. Recently in South Africa a site was approved that allowed for the auctioning of rhino horns on the internet. Authorities tried to withhold from issuing a permit but High Court had ended up siding with the organiser that goes by the name of John Hume. He is known as one of the biggest rhino famers in South Africa and he states that he regularly cuts off the rhinos’ horns and hopes to sell up to 264 horns during the auction. Although there was a lift on the ban of rhino horn trading in South Africa there is still an international ban that is in effect. Hume’s tries to argue that the only way to limit the amount of poaching that occurs is to meet the demands that the Asian market has through harvesting horns through farms like he does. Rhino horns are very valuable and can go for up to $60 000 per kilo and is sold in mostly powered form. Concern for the extinction of rhinos is so high because of the White rhinos going extinct and conservation efforts are trying to their best to keep them alive. Illegal or not it does not stop people from poaching these animals and trying to sell their horns. When auction sites like these are approved it raises the desire to obtain rhino horns in order to sell them so they can gain the money and power that comes along with it.
Ivory is seen as a very valuable resource that is known to be very expensive. With the use of rhino farming people believe that there can be a way to manage the population of rhinos and their horns as well as who and where the product is sold to. However, this is not the case as either way the rhino population will still suffer. It can be seen that there are many different conflicts within this situation such as conflict of value and behavioural conflict. In terms of conflict of value, there is a drastic difference between what the authorities and conservationist think and what the rhino farmers think. Each group has a different idea of what should be done with the rhinos. Authorities believe that they should not be using rhinos as a means of gaining money and that they should be protected. Although the farmers believe that farming them as they are is what truly protects them because they farm them safely within their grounds. They believe that the economic value and importance of the ivory from the rhino horn is more important that keeping these animals safe. This is where the divide between these two parties exists. There is also a behavioural conflict that exists between the two parties as this has been an ongoing conflict between them. Since one side wants the use of rhino horns for ivory and the other wants to continue to sell them, this may cause their judgment to be clouded. According to the article there was not solution given to how they would stop the site from running. Very clearly it can be seen that the only real solution to this problem is to bring back the ban on the trading of rhino horns.
Jazeera, A. (2017, August 21). Online rhino horn auction set to open in South Africa.
Mitchell, B. (2015). Resource and environmental management in Canada. Don Mills, Ontario,
Canada: Oxford University Press.


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Retek customers include Abercrombie & Fitch, Bhs, Gap, New Look, Dixons, FNAC, Ingram Micro and the US Postal Service.
"Oracle has the largest applications business in North America, and we intend to expand that leadership position," said Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison.
Retek user and Best Buy chief information officer Bob Willet said, "Most Retek customers already run Oracle's financial and human resources applications, so Oracle buying Retek is a perfect fit for the retail industry."
Analyst group AMR Research said, "Oracle's infusion of needed resources should be viewed as a positive. However, Oracle has been distracted with Project Fusion [the PeopleSoft integration], and it is vital that retailers get a clear picture of Oracle's strategy for them immediately."


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Technology Briefing | Hardware: Chip Maker Plans Layoffs
Published: October 28, 2004
The LSI Logic Corporation, which makes computer chips for DVD players and storage equipment, said yesterday that it would cut 510 jobs, or about 11 percent of its work force, after reporting a wider third-quarter loss and falling sales. The net loss increased to $282.4 million, or 73 cents a share, from $31.7 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier, the company said. Sales fell 16 percent, to $380.2 million, from $450.2 million. LSI incurred costs of $257.2 million related to the job cuts, the reduced value of its chip manufacturing plant in Gresham, Ore., and other steps it is taking as the semiconductor industry struggles with a sales slowdown and inventory buildup.


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2022 may become the year of connected fitness apps. Considering all social and physical distancing, connected fitness apps can offer more than just wearables that track and record routines. They’re already presenting the radical change that could transform the fitness industry. So let’s find out how you can get on top of the fitness market, too.
Brought to you by: Orangesoft.co


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Starting today, thanks to the release of version 5.6.0, Android users will be able to experience the new improvements first hand, one of which is a simple, yet fast way of adding friends to your contact list.
The update makes it possible to search for and add friends using only their phone numbers. LINE no longer requires telephone numbers to be linked to user phone directories. Just enter the phone number into the messenger to add a contact. Of course, some restrictions have been made in order to guarantee user privacy. You can only add phone numbers of registered LINE users or of people, whose setting options allow them to be added to contact lists (this option is enabled in the new version by default).
In order to prevent the abuse of the new feature, LINE also set a limit on the number of added contacts per a certain period of time, blocking those who abuse the innovation.
The update also includes user profile IDs and the addition of “Friend Recommendations” to the Friends menu.


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HYPERVSN SmartV is a platform which allows for interactive solutions, providing smart 3D visuals to users and allowing them to fully immerse themselves into the 3D holographic content. The new HYPERVSN SmartV range features higher resolution and higher brightness, alongside a HDMI connection, which will now allow HYPERVSN SmartV to be used as part of any standard Digital Signage installation.
Visitors’ to ISE will be able to see the impact that the new HYPERVSN SmartV solutions provide, at the HYPERVSN booth 5N290 in Hall 5. There will be further HYPERVSN solutions placed strategically around the ISE show, utilising HYPERVSN SmartV Solo and Wall installations and several proprietary accessories.
HYPERVSN is also debuting the new HYPERVSN SmartV Holographic Human with Digital Avatar interactive content and the 3D Modeller solution at ISE. So, prepare to be astounded and amazed by HYPERVSN’s latest innovations.
Chykeyuk confirmed “We like to call this new HYPERVSN SmartV platform, Digital Signage 2.0. We really do feel that this is the future of Digital Signage based on the hugely positive response we have had since the initial launch. While a number of our competitors reduced headcount during the pandemic, HYPERVSN made a number of highly experienced Pro AV hires in the major EMEA markets. We also took the time to develop our new HYPERVSN SmartV range. These investments show our commitment to the industry and creating strong relationships within this space”
Chykeyuk and the HYPERVSN team look forward to welcoming new and existing partners to the HYPERVSN booth at the show. If you would like to attend the press event, or get a hands-on demonstration at ISE, please register your interest on this page.
At 13:00 to 13:30 on May 11 Kiryl Chykeyuk will be speaking at the panel discussion on the Tech Revolutions - Disrupting industry conventions within the ISE Digital Signage Summit.


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Earlier this week I learned my friend and long-time industry expert and educator, Greg Garrett,...
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance has named Sabeena Hickman as the organization's new president, chief...
A 9-year-old girl in Citrus Heights, Calif., died after being electrocuted in her family’s...
The way we pay for goods and services is rapidly changing. The checkbook is fading into obsolescence, and even the familiar credit and debit cards are slowly being replaced by services like Apple Pay, which replace physical wallets with your smartphone. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that digital-only currencies like Bitcoin — collectively called cryptocurrency — are taking off, too.
Cryptocurrency is even starting to make its way into the pool and spa industry. Just this year, Omni Pool Builders, based in Tucson, Ariz., started accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment.
"We are into anything new and different," says Aaron Baker, co-owner and operations manager. "We actually started mining cryptocurrency on some of our machines. As the general public became more aware of it, we felt that possibly allowing that other form of payment might be a pretty good idea."
More-cautious business owners might consider accepting cryptocurrency a risky proposition, primarily because its value can gradually fluctuate wildly. On December 15, 2017, for example, Bitcoin hit a high of $17,900. By early February it was trading below $7,000.
This fluctuation did not deter Baker and his co-owners Michael Baker (his brother) and Martin Lopez from taking the leap.
"I see virtually no risk in the way that we would accept it," Baker says. "There's a direct correlation with the U.S. dollar, so I would just figure out the value of it at the time the customer is ready to make the payment, accept that payment, and then it can be automatically transferred into U.S. dollars into our account."
As long as the conversion to U.S. dollars is made immediately after payment, no value is lost during the transaction. The quick turnaround is what eliminates the risk associated with accepting cryptocurrency.
There are other perks too. The processing fees for cryptocurrency are lower than credit card processing fees. There also is no risk of overdrawing — a comforting benefit to pool pros who have been burned by bounced checks.
RELATED: Technology: A Small Business's Secret Weapon
In North America, cryptocurrency is slowly gaining traction among major retailers like Expedia, Microsoft and Overstock.com, which all accept Bitcoin payments. There is even a bill in Arizona that would allow constituents to pay state taxes with cryptocurrency.
For now, though, Baker predicts the transition toward cryptocurrency will be gradual.
"I don't see there being a lot of activity with this anytime soon, not until cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin start heading back up in value," Baker says. "Once cryptocurrency finds stability or a strong foundation at around $20,000 per coin, and it stays that way for a few years, I think then people are going to invest in it and then pay with that a lot more often.
"It just gives us one more competitive edge against our competition going into the future."
Hydraulic efficiency, variable-speed pump technology in particular, has enabled pool owners to significantly lower power consumption — a boon for consumers, the industry, regulators and lawmakers alike.
Yet variable-speed pumps are really only part of the story. While the ability to adjust pump speed opens the door to a variety of energy efficiencies in the backyard, there is also the matter of the resistance the system provides — also known as the head loss, measured as total...
French artist Benedetto Bufalino is finding new and unique ways to be sustainable by reusing objects in unconventional ways. He has built tennis courts on top of semi trucks, turned phone booths into fish tanks and now, in his latest conversion, transformed an old camper into a mobile swimming pool.
The project was produced as part of an annual series at Le Confort Moderne in Poitiers, France. As always, Bufalino wanted his audience to re-examine things they might take for granted...
Over my many years writing about the pool and spa industry, I’ve witnessed scores of pools in the installation and renovation process. It’s a process that never ceases to amaze me.
I’ve seen pools built outdoors and indoors, in high-rises and tiny backyards, on large estates, cantilevered off the sides of mountains, by the ocean, in the desert, in lavish resorts and middleclass homes. Every pool is different from the last, every client has his or her own particular wish lists and...
Between the warmth, abundant sunshine and ample rain, tropical locales around the globe are among the most lush and leisurely found anywhere. Many of those regions, such as Central America and the Caribbean, boast a seemingly endless number of desirable vacation spots famous for oceanic lifestyles, verdant forests and luxurious homes and resorts.
For those who design and build aquatic outdoor environments, these settings offer both great opportunities and, often, significant...


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UAE FTA launches smart app to help consumers detect non-compliant tobacco products
Users can install the 'FTA DTS' app on their smart phones via the Apple Store and Google Play.
Abu Dhabi - The app enables users to scan the stamps placed on tobacco products to verify and ensure that it is an authority accredited digital tax stamp
The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has launched an innovative smart application that can be applied to check on the legality of trademarked tobacco products.
The smart application is designed to help consumers detect uncertified tobacco products by scanning the digital tax stamps placed on cigarette packages and tobacco products included in the 'Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme', which went into effect at the beginning of 2019. The application also aims to ensure that these products meet the standard specifications, are not smuggled, and have been subjected to tax.
The app is part of the FTA's on-going efforts to protect consumers from commercial fraud and combat tax evasion with various mechanisms and utilizing the latest technologies. Tax evasion and trade in inferior products and counterfeit goods are among the main challenges facing tax authorities around the world.
The authority said that the application has been instigated under the banner, "Monitor yourself, fight fraud", adding that users can install the app, known as 'FTA DTS', on their smart phones via the Apple Store and Google Play.
The FTA explained that the application enables consumers to scan the stamps placed on the tobacco packages or tobacco products to verify and ensure that it is an authority accredited digital tax stamp. Should the consumer discover that the stamps are not accredited, they can file a report to the FTA directly from the smart application. The authority will then cooperate with the relevant authorities to take legal actions against violators.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director general of the Federal Tax Authority, said: "The 'FTA DTS' smart application is one of the effective tools that support the 'Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme', which came into effect at the beginning of 2019 to combat tax evasion, protect public health and reduce the risks to consumers from the inferior products entering local markets. The FTA, through the new application, will offer consumers the opportunity to contribute to the control efforts aimed at protecting the markets from commercial fraud and inferior products, protecting public health, preserving the environment, promoting the concept of community partnership, and eliminating negative practices in local markets."
The initiative to launch the 'FTA DTS' smart application for consumers of tobacco and tobacco products is part of the FTA's effort to implement the Cabinet Decision No. (42) of 2018 on Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products. Phase one of the 'Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme' came into effect on January 1, 2019, on all types of imported and locally manufactured and traded tobacco products. On May 1, 2019, the FTA then issued a ban on importing all types of unmarked cigarette packets into the UAE. Following that, on August 1, 2019, the sale of tobacco products not bearing a DTS was banned across all local markets.


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Japan’s consumer prices fell at a record pace in August, heightening the risk that prolonged deflation may hamper the country’s recovery from its deepest postwar recession.
Prices excluding fresh food slid 2.4 percent from a year earlier, topping the previous month’s 2.2 percent decline, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The drop matched the median estimate of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Companies from Fast Retailing Co. to Sony Corp. are lowering prices to attract consumers who face record unemployment and plunging wages. A return to deflation that the economy only shook off in 2005 may weigh on growth as consumers and companies cut back spending in anticipation that prices will keep falling.
“We’ll soon start to see that there isn’t enough domestic demand to push up wages,” said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. “As households’ spending power falls, there’s concern that this deflation will lead to further deflation -- in other words, that we’ll enter into a deflationary spiral.”


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- Electronic cigarettes will be classified as "medicines" under new proposals to tighten up the regulation of the products
- It is estimated that 1.3 million people across the UK use the product, which leaves users inhaling a mist of nicotine instead of smoke
- The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will regulate e-cigarettes so there is a consistent amount of nicotine in all licensed products sold over the counter
More top news
Sunday will be dry with some long spells of sunshine across the region, but feeling colder in the easterly breeze.
Chelsea Football Club has "apologised profusely" to Gary Johnson who was sexually abused and "suffered unacceptably" as a youth team player.
A man has been jailed after his victim was found slumped in a car with stab wounds in east London.


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Four years ago, Trevor and Kendra Patterson were selling lumber out of their 3,000-square-foot pole barn on the outskirts of Leslie and Mason. The business grew so quickly, they expanded to a 27,000-square-foot space in downtown Mason in the early summer of 2017.
Story and photos: SHANDRA MARTINEZ
You might call Copper Nail a successful failure. It was supposed to be a senior center with a little shop. Instead, it became a successful retail shop that brings seniors together.
In this issue:
- Summer-long legislative calendar released
- Senate committee reports e-prescribing, telepharmacy bills
- Legislature approves delayed 9-1-1 technology requirement
- Governor signs ban on sales to e-cigarettes/vapor products to minors
- Déjà vu: legislature talks removing sales tax on gas
Summer-long legislative calendar released
It’s going to be a long summer in Lansing.


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The Director of Digital Transformation and Commercial Operations at Vodafone Ghana, Angela Mensah-Poku, has said that the human touch is the most important part of the customer experience.
Even though digitisation has made client interactions faster and more efficient, she believes that quality and targeted human interactions will always win out.
Speaking at the 2022 edition of the CXP Conference held at the Labadi Beach Hotel, she stated: “As much as I love technology, the human side of customer experience will never go away. The thing we have to remember is that we have different people who make up our customers. It is never one size fits all. “
Angela Mensah-Poku said that for customers to experience great service, they should be able to choose whether they want to use a digital channel or talk to a person.
Speaking about how Vodafone Ghana promotes inclusiveness in customer experience, she explained that while data shows 80 per cent of people who call their customer service use smartphones, Vodafone Ghana never forces these customers to use digital channels in their interactions with the organisation’s customer service.
Any choice to modify customer service at Vodafone Ghana, she claims, is based on consumer input. She also said that her team at Vodafone Ghana is always looking for feedback to improve and make sure customers have a smooth experience.
The Director went on to say that providing a good customer experience is a journey that always humbles its practitioners.
According to her, an organisation may believe it is implementing all of the necessary services to improve customer service, but only real-time feedback from consumers may expose or provide insights into what truly satisfies customers.
Angela used the event to remind everyone that Vodafone is committed to coming up with new ways to improve the customer experience journey, meet customers’ expectations, and give customers a better overall experience.
Vodafone Ghana has designated October as the month to commemorate its Care Month initiatives.
The event is a way to appreciate both employees who consistently make customers happy and customers who help the business grow.


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HIGH END LAPTOP
To counter Jio, Airtel plans to launch bundled 4G smartphone at Rs 2,500 before Diwali
To be co-promoted by India’s top telco and the handset maker but not subsidised by Airtel, the phone will be based on the popular Android operating system.
ETMarkets Morning Podcast: What's buzzing on D-Street this morning?
The domestic equity market has come under the bear grip, as there is no s...
Brent oil steals show as hedge funds leave US crude aside
WTI rose 14 cents to $48.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.
Gold slips amid steady dollar; investors wary ahead of Jackson Hole meet
US gold futures for December delivery were down 0.1 per cent to $1,295.30 per ounce.
Yogi Adityanath's latest move: Dead end for Uttar Pradesh’s ‘most wanted’ men
“Police ka iqbal buland ho (police morale must be high) – this is the message. If anyone uses firepower on us, we will reply with necessary force,” Sharma, SP, Shamli, said.
Market outlook: 9,685 level key; fresh shorts may support Nifty
Pattern analysis reveals the Nifty currently stands at a precarious level.
Hambantota: China has seaport in Sri Lanka, India may get an airport
Lankan government is planning to hand over to India running of the Hambantota airport, built by China, near the deep-sea port to be operated by Beijing.
How one company's model could put an end to 9-to-5 jobs
Employers all over the world are considering this new model. In just 10 years, you may be working from any place you like, and only when you like to.
National Football League roundup
FOOTBALL-NFL/ROUNDUP:NFL-National Football League roundup
need2know: 9 macro triggers that market would watch today
Two separate surveys undertaken by AC Nilesen and Mastercard point to a dip in consumer confidence in India.
Angela Merkel wants to ‘restore trust’ in diesel after scandal
Merkel said “that will be hard work” and the subject of a “summit” with the municipalities involved which she plans to hold on September 4.
Consumer confidence in India drops in April-June: Nielsen
The Consumer Confidence Index score for India decreased by six points to 128 in the April-June quarter of 2017, from a high of 136 from the last polled survey in Q4 of 2016.
Statistics on job losses due to automation are sensationalist: Anthony Schofield, Deloitte
"What we are seeing is the freeing up of resources from boring activities with focus moving up to value-added activities and customer experience activities," said Anthony Schofield.
Amazon, Flipkart ringing new bells to lift smartphone sales
Amazon conducted a pilot programme with Vodafone in Bengaluru earlier this year, setting up a demo facility at the telecom company’s customer care centre.
Opec output cut compliance slips, but crude price to remain choppy
Short-term bias for oil remains positive, but the overall price action is set to remain choppy.


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A Twin Cities man has become the latest consumer to sue Apple, AT&T and California software firm Carrier IQ for allegedly spying on his iPhone via secret monitoring software.
About 60 similar lawsuits have been filed against cellphone companies nationwide.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis by consumer George Howell, says the alleged spying violates federal privacy, wiretap and fraud laws. The suit seeks unspecified damages, and seeks to become a class action on behalf of more than 140 million cellphone and mobile device owners who are believed to be affected.
Alex Carey, an AT&T spokesman, said the firm "can't comment on pending litigation." Spokesmen for Apple and Carrier IQ did not return a reporter's phone calls Friday.
The cellphone monitoring software was discovered in November by Trevor Eckhart, a computer security researcher, who posted a YouTube video about it. Cellular companies AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have said they use the software, while Verizon Wireless has said it does not. Apple has said it will remove the software from iPhones in a future software update.
Carrier IQ, which designed the software, says in a statement on its website that the monitoring software was created only to improve the user experience by recording how a cellphone performed on a cellular network. The software, called the "IQ Agent," has been installed on smartphones, regular cellphones and tablet computers, the firm said.
The software is capable of collecting information from individual cellphones about carrier networks, data transmission speeds, phone numbers called, websites visited and battery life. But Carrier IQ said some information was recorded inadvertently. For example, it said the software wasn't designed to capture keystrokes or text messages, but through some software glitches apparently did.
In most cases, the IQ Agent software cannot be removed from a cellphone or other mobile devices by consumers, Carrier IQ said.
Howell's suit alleges that the software also collects "the user's location, even when the user has expressly denied permission for that information to be recorded."
The concern over cellphone monitoring comes at a time when Internet privacy concerns are exploding and enormous amounts of personal data are being gathered online by banks, retailers and advertising firms. In the past year, the Federal Trade Commission has reached agreements with some of the most-used services on the Internet -- Google, Facebook and Twitter -- to avoid disclosure of private information. Meanwhile, corporate data breaches that reveal personal information to thieves have become common, creating heightened fears of identity theft and resulting financial loss.
After the disclosure of the cellphone monitoring software, Carrier IQ executives met in Washington, D.C., with representative of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
About 60 similar lawsuits have been filed by other plaintiffs in California, Illinois, Delaware and Missouri, said Minneapolis attorney Daniel Hedlund, who represents Howell. Because the suits are similar, they are likely to be consolidated into a single federal court, Hedlund said. None of the suits has yet been certified as a class action, he said.
Howell's suit doesn't allege that he suffered any harm from the monitoring of his phone except that the software "degrades the performance" of the phone because it can't be turned off.
"The hard thing about this is that you don't really know what's been compromised," Hedlund said. "Howell's information was not misused to his knowledge. He only alleges that the software was put on the phone without authorization, and that it mines information such as text messages and searches, and that it allegedly slowed the performance of his phone."
Howell, who has owned several iPhones on the AT&T network, declined to be interviewed about the lawsuit, Hedlund said.
Steve Alexander • 612-673-4553