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The City Council expanded the list of the Newport Beach public libraries' prohibited behaviors this week.
People will have to lock their shopping carts and bikes up to bike racks and stop lounging on furniture under the new rules the council passed Tuesday.
The Newport Beach Public Library system has more than 1 million annual visitors for a city of about 85,000 people. With some of the most modern and expansive facilities in the region, the Central Library draws visitors of all stripes.
The new rules do not specifically call out the homeless, but transients often spend the entire day at the library and leave their belongings within view of the lobby.
No longer will the library allow "lying down on the furniture or propping feet on chairs, sofas or tables," according to the new rules.
Patrons have complained about people hogging multiple seats, according to a staff report, and of bikes and shopping carts parked next to the main entrance.
Some of the bikes and carts damage the building's granite walls and plants, the report says.
A council critic at Tuesday's meeting pointed out that City Manager Dave Kiff, a triathlete, brings his road bike indoors when he attends meetings at the library.
"I take the Fifth," Kiff said.


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John Vice has been appointed CEO of Geyser Networks Inc. He comes to the company from Nortel Networks, where he was vice president and general manager, wireless solutions, responsible for all aspects of the multibillion-dollar mobile wireless infrastructure business.
Siros Technology Inc. has appointed Dr. Robert L. Thornton to chief technology officer and vice president of technology, responsible for providing strategic technical leadership for the company's new initiative in high-bandwidth optical communications. He worked previously as director of laser development at Siros.
Dave Drennan has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Blue Sky Research, responsible for overseeing all aspects of corporate financial management and planning. He comes to the company from Tapestry.Net, where he served as president.
Loren Stokes joins Cierra Photonics as vice president of research and development. Stokes worked previously as a research and development scientist in the lightwave division of Hewlett-Packard and its spinoff company, Agilent Technologies. While in that position, he was responsible for the technical direction of the spectral-measurement products used in the fiber-optic communications industry.
Mark Downing has joined Micrel Semiconductor as chief marketing executive, responsible for being the company's primary contact for information about the company's products. Prior to joining the company, he worked at Pericom Semiconductor Corp. as marketing vice president.Craig McLennan has been named vice president, community strategy, at Cannect Communications, with overall responsibility for managing the company's expansion into several Canadian communities. With more than 10 years of telecommunications/technology experience, McLennan served most recently as sales vice president, carrier services, at AT&T Canada, responsible for providing wholesale telecom services to a core group of strategic Canadian, U.S., and international carriers.
Lightchip has appointed Kameel Wakim vice president of product management, responsible for supporting the company's strategic positioning in the optical-networking subsystems market and expanding the company's innovative product and technology port folio. He comes to the company from Alcatel, where he served as senior director of marketing and product management.
MetroPhotonics Inc. has appointed Bryant Hichwa executive vice president. In addition, he will be heading up the company's new U.S. subsidiary. Hichwa joins the company from JDS Uniphase, where he was a key member of the executive team and held such positions as director of corporate research, director of optoelectronic product development, and vice president of research and development.GiantLoop Networks Inc. announced that co-founder and managing director Randy Seidl will assume a new role as champion of the company's comprehensive customer care initiatives, which ensure that the company's managed optical-networking services customers receive enterprise-class support throughout all interactions with the company. Seidl will lead all customer care initiatives, establish and refine customer interaction processes, create internal and third-party performance standards, and serve as executive customer contact for the company's Global 250 customers.
American Fibertek Inc. has appointed Ray Sooley as director of sales. Prior to joining the company, Sooley worked at Ademco Video Products Group, responsible for the applications engineering, technical support, and marketing communications departments.
Kirk Flatow joins Ultraband Fiber Optics Inc. as president and CEO. Flatow joins the company after holding several executive positions at Harmonic Inc., most recently as the divisional president responsible for fiber-optic-networking products.
Dave House has been named chairman, president, and CEO of Allegro Networks. House brings to the company more than 35 years of experience working in high-technology and telecommunications companies. He was CEO of Bay Networks, president of Nortel Networks, and one of the key architects of microprocessor development and marketing at Intel.
Applied Innovation Inc. has appointed Karl Fox as vice president of engineering, responsible for product engineering, network-management software, and research and development. Prior to joining the company, Fox was most recently director of network security for Extant Inc., the telecommunications division of Dynegy Inc.
Zaffire named Keith Kreager vice president of worldwide technical and quality operations. Before joining the company, Kreager worked at Antec Corp. as vice president of technical operations for the broadband hardware vendor's network-technology division and the digital systems division, working with various optical, telephony, data, and radio-frequency products.
Stuart Patterson joins the management team of Intense Photonics as chief financial officer. He comes to the company from Aggreko plc, where he served as European managing director. Patterson's experience includes the financial management of technology businesses and startups, including three years as finance director at Aggreko.
Larry Thalacker has been named director of hardware engineering and Emmanuel Vella chief marketing officer at Wave7 Optics Inc. Formerly director of hardware design and technology for ECI Telecom, Thalacker was responsible for all aspects of hardware development. Prior to joining the company, Vella served as vice president and general manager of the Broadband and Optical Transmission Business Unit at Antec.
Barry Zwarenstein has been named vice president and chief financial officer of Mellanox Technologies Ltd., responsible for managing the company's financial operations and playing a critical role in guiding the company's future growth. He comes to the company from Acuson Corp., where he was vice president and CFO.
Accelerated Technology has appointed Lance Brooks to the position of chief technology officer, responsible for setting the company's overall technical vision and direction by working closely with executive management as well as the engineering, marketing, and sales departments. He will also orchestrate a high-level approach to meet the business and technical needs of the company with his extensive firsthand experience in the embedded industry. He was previously founder and president of High Country Embedded Designs.
Director of business development for Dynarc, Frederic Thepot has been named vice chairman of worldwide affairs for the newly created Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) Alliance. The company, one of five founding members, will be instrumental in accelerating the anticipated acceptance of the RPR technology as an industry standard.

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A view of Indonesian capital Jakarta (Photo: FIM)According to data from Refinitiv Eikon data company, the resource-rich country recorded its first trade deficit in three months at USD2.5 billion in April, also the highest ever to date.
Indonesia’s exports in April were at USD12.60 billion, down 13.10 percent year-on-year, while its imports fell 6.58 percent to USD15.10 billion.
Wisnu Wardana, an economist from Bank Danamon in Jakarta, said the data makes the Bank Indonesia (BI) even less likely to ease monetary policy in the near term. The BI has been pressured to cut interest rates after the US Federal Reserve turned dovish.
China, Indonesia's biggest trade partner, contributed USD1.9 billion to the deficit in April. Indonesia had a USD704 million surplus in its trade with the US in the same month.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has warned a decrease in trade can cause pressure on Indonesia’s economic growth. The country has set a growth rate of 5.3 percent for 2019./.


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PayPal is expanding its offerings and increasingly looking to those who are referred to as “unbanked” by offering some interesting new services. Unbanked refers to people who don’t have a traditional bank account and that includes millions of people all around the world, not just in developed economies.
As Bill Ready of PayPal says of the unbanked: “If you don’t have a bank account, you can’t take an Uber ride, can’t stay in a room on Airbnb.” And the moves do suggest that it is increasingly looking at offering services that would be more regular provisions from a proper and licensed bank.
You can read more in a piece in the Wall Street Journal ($) but some of the developments reported are informative.
In the US, through partnerships with smaller banks in various states, PayPal now offers FDIC insurance on balances, a debit card that can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs and also the ability to direct-deposit paychecks simply by sharing a photograph. All of these services are of particular use to those who fall outside the pale of traditional banking.
Eighty-five percent of today’s transactions are still happening in cash and checks. One service we’ve had for some time lets consumers load cash into their PayPal balance at over 20,000 CVS, 7-Eleven and Rite Aid retail locations in the U.S. to do activities like shop or pay their bills online. Additionally, people can now deposit checks via a mobile device more affordably and conveniently.
– Bill Ready, PayPal COO
eBay’s bold announcement earlier this year that PayPal will no longer be its primary payments provider come 2020 has doubtless inspired the payments firm to reassess its position and role. And whilst eBay is a vital component of PayPal’s business it is by no means its only or most significant revenue stream. And as pundits note, the new services do point toward PayPal finally taking the plunge and taking on the mantle as a full bank in the US. Watch this space.


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Sleepy Owl Raises $6.5 Million In Series A Round
The funds will be used for team building, expanding distribution and marketing
Sleepy Owl, a Delhi-based D2C company in the ready-to-drink coffee space, has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Rukam Capital, DSG Consumer Partners with Dexter Capital being the financial advisor.
Sleepy Owl aims to solidify its core team, build a robust distribution network and firm up its marketing initiatives.
“The pandemic forced us to take a few steps back to aim at our target. We were agile and quick on problem-solving and were able to get back on track with higher numbers. At Sleepy Owl, we are elated on receiving the latest round of funding. We plan to utilize the funds to go deeper into our existing retail markets across India,” said Ajai Thandi, co-founder of Sleepy Owl, in a statement.
Rukam Capital invests in early-stage consumer products and services companies that have exceptional growth prospects and exhibit the potential for substantial returns.
“We are thrilled to partner with Sleepy Owl Coffee and DSG Consumer Partners to strengthen the brand’s pan-India presence. The company has demonstrated a strong growth pattern since its launch in 2016. With this investment, we are confident that Sleepy Owl will get the required impetus to further scale up its business and expand operations. The brand has a huge potential of being amongst the fastest-growing formats within the coffee business category,” said Archana Jahagirdar, Rukam Capital’s managing partner.
Sleepy Owl Coffee has a presence in 1,700-plus outlets in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Chandigarh and Jammu, among other cities. The brand has over 60,000 customers. Its online presence are with the company’s website, Amazon India and BigBasket, added the statement.
“Since our first investment in 2018, founders have expanded their product portfolio from cold brew to hot brew bags, drip coffee formats, ready-to-drink formats, flavoured ground coffee and have recently launched a subscription service. As it grows, Sleepy Owl is working towards making its products sustainable,” said Deepak I. Shahdadpuri, managing director DSG Consumer Partners.


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Sears will close dozens more stores as sales shrink and losses grow, an announcement that has become a familiar refrain as the company retrenches. The beleaguered retailer, w ..
Sears Holdings Inc. is shuttering more of its Sears and Kmart stores. It says it's identified about 100 stores that are no longer turning a profit, and the majority of those l ..
VMware Inc. (VMW) just released it latest quarterly results, posting earnings of $1.26 per share and revenues of $2.01 billion. ..
As California gears up for its primary, many of the state's Republicans are ..
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WASHINGTON/PARIS (Reuters) - Canada and Mexico retaliated against the United State's decision on Thursday to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and the European Unio ..
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his disappointment with the decision, taken as the US, Canada, and Mexico are attempting to renegotiate the North America Free ..
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A Pew survey of teens and the ways they use technology finds that kids have ..
Comedian Samantha Bee apologized to Ivanka Trump and viewers on Thursday for using an obscenity to describe the president's daughter, an incident that quickly thrust her into ..


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October shipments exceeded industry expectations recording 215 million pounds for the month, 14% higher than last month’s performance and 1% lower than last year. Export shipments improved to 149 million pounds, 9% higher than last month and 2% lower versus last year. Domestic shipments were a bright spot for the month returning to familiar levels at 66 million pounds which is 27% higher than last month and 1% higher than previous year. Year-to-date shipments now stand at 631 million pounds down 3% to last year.
India: Shipments to India were 32.5 million pounds, down 4% to last month and 27% year-to-date. Many reported strong sales for Diwali. This positive news should help sustain demand as the market looks to restock inventories in preparation for a busy wedding season during November and December. India, California’s largest export market, has substantial demand left for the year and should continue to gain momentum as price stability improves.
China: Shipments to China were 25.5 million pounds, down 21% compared to the same month last year. While down, October recorded the strongest month of shipments to China for the crop year as that market pushes to receive supplies in time for the Chinese New Year holiday. Total shipments now trail last year’s pace by 14% as the market continues to struggle to gauge demand in light of continued intermittent COVID restrictions and controls. Buying activity is winding down as the market focuses on executing purchases and processing the almonds in time for the Chinese New Year holiday.
Europe: Shipments to the European market continue to follow a trend similar to the 2021 crop season. Inventory positions through the market continue to be strong demonstrated by weaker spot market pricing. Concerns remain surrounding almond demand, continued inflationary pressures, a strong dollar and energy costs. With the market well covered for the short term, lighter than typical activity for the balance of the calendar year is expected. Buying activity has picked up and is mixed between landed and origin product, making for widely variable and unstable pricing. The European market remains largely uncovered in to 2023.
Middle East: Shipments to the Middle East remained relatively strong with the market up 34% for the first quarter of the crop season. This is a sign that many throughout the market were taking advantage of lower price levels over the last 4 to 6 weeks. Inventory positions in market remain strong, but with the upcoming World Cup and an earlier Ramadan, a robust supply of almonds is ready for the regional demand. With long supply chains, November likely marks the final month of shipments for the Ramadan season which will begin March 23, 2023.
Domestic: After September’s low shipment total of 52 million pounds, the domestic market rebounded posting a shipment number of 65.5 million pounds in October. This is slightly ahead of prior year’s total of 65.1 million pounds and in-line with numbers seen the last several years. The variability of shipments this crop year continues to demonstrate the uncertainty the market has faced with demand in the current economic environment.
October commitments improved to 695 million pounds which is down 7% to last year. New sales were steady at 243 million pounds and remained nearly even to last year. Uncommitted inventory now stands at 1.1 billion pounds which is 17% higher than last year at this time. Sold and shipped as a percent of total supply (assuming a 2.6 billion crop) stands at 39% compared with 41% last year.
Crop receipts total 1.66 billion pounds. After 3 months the 2022 crop trails last year by 8% lending credence to industry expectations for a 2.6-billion-pound crop. Nonpareil receipts now trail last year by 12.6% with the Independence variety up 6.9% versus a year ago levels.
October shipments exceeded industry expectations after a disappointing performance in September. Overall, the almond market is following a similar pattern to the 2021 crop season with lighter shipments through the first quarter.
New sales continue to be encouraging for a market struggling with demand to start the crop year. Global macroeconomic issues persist and price remains challenged in search of demand. The industry is focused on moving supply and will closely watch demand signals from the upcoming World Cup event in Qatar and the holiday season.
Harvest is nearly complete with packers and handlers continuing to receive their 2022 crop. The industry continues to evaluate the crop and will have a much clearer position on total size and quality over the coming weeks.
To view Blue Diamond’s Market Updates and Bloom Reports Online Click Here
To view the entire detailed Position Report from the Almond Board of California Click Here


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Pine64 is a company which develops hardware aimed at open source software enthusiasts and then encourages independent developers to create the software that will run on it. So far that approach has generated results with a series of affordable laptops, smartphones, and a tablet.
The company’s most recent product is a $399 E Ink tablet called the PineNote. It recently went on sale for $399, but Pine64 cautions that it’s currently only appropriate for developers and early adopters because software is still very much a work in progress. But that work is progressing.
Pine64 community manager Lukasz Erecinski highlights some recent progress in the company’s latest monthly update blog post. At this point all of the tablet’s hardware works with open source Linux software including the E Ink display, capacitive touch panel, Wacom digitizer, WiFi, Bluetooth, and audio.
Meanwhile, developers of several GNU/Linux distributions and user interfaces have begun porting their software to run on this E Ink tablet with a grayscale display, a slow screen refresh rate, and a Rockchip RK3566 processor. Some things aren’t working yet – including hardware-accelerated graphics, which means the user interface is sluggish. But things have come a long way since Pine64 began shipping the first units to developers a few months ago.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
Software development for the upcoming PineNote E Ink tablet continues. Most hardware is now supported in Linux, a grayscale Plasma Mobile theme is in the works, and there’s initial support for postmarketOS with the Phosh and SXMO user interfaces.
Sony’s LinkBuds true wireless earbuds are the opposite of noise-cancelling: they’re designed to be wearable all day, allowing you to hear people and sounds around you without removing them. You can also control them by tapping nearby without touching.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review shows Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 GPU is faster than Exynos 2200 [TechPowerUp]
Samsung’s Exynos 2200 processor with AMD RDNA 2 graphics appears to offer only a modest GPU performance boost over the previous-gen chip… and the same phone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip trounces them both according to a recent review. The video review (which you can watch below) is in Turkish, which is why I’m linking to TechPowerUp’s summary.
Intel is acquiring Tower Semicondicutor for $5.4 billion to help shore up its foundry services (Intel manufactures chips for other companies). Tower specializes in things like RF, power, industrial sensors, and silicon-germanium. The move follows Intel’s recent $1 billion investment in third-party chip development including major contributions to organizations working on RISC-V architecture, also seen as an effort to shore up demand for Intel’s foundry services.
Shield TV gets 9.0.1 update to fix Android 11 issues including Plex servers, storage permissions [9to5Google]
NVIDIA begins rolling out software version 9.0.1 for the Shield TV, bringing fixes for Plex media servers and other apps that use external storage which had been broken by the update to Android 11.


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Foxconn can already make the iPhone 4S in Brazil, but won’t begin to produce iPads domestically very soon.
The approval document from Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) issued this week shows Jundiaí as one of the company’s factory locations, alongside a Chinese subsidiary.
This is the first time a Brazilian address appears on the document. According to what Folha newspaper found out, the first lots of the iPhone 4S are ready, but can’t leave the factory until they have the seal of approval.
The expectation is that the first iPhones produced in Brazil will arrive by Christmas. When contacted, Apple wouldn’t comment on local manufacturing or the time until the commencement of device sales.
While domestic production of cell phones seems guaranteed, the manufacture of iPads, touted by the government and likely by the end of the year, is still stuck.
Successive delays in the installation of the production line, in addition to deadlocks on tax issues and the lack of a “local partner” as emphasized by the Minister of Science and Technology, Aloízio Mercadante, are delaying the start of production.
According to executives close to the companies, December was the likely month for the start of fabrication, but now Foxconn is working with the possibility of beginning production only at the end of the first half of 2012.
The disbelief in the imminent fabrication of tablets by Foxconn in Brazil, according to these executives, is so great that Apple tripled the import of the iPad to guarantee supply for domestic retail sales for the end of the year.
According to official data on imports, in the third quarter 108 thousand iPads were imported, compared with 44,500 between April and June. Since the beginning of the year, imports have tripled.
Meanwhile, other companies that have said they intend to manufacture tablets in Brazil in the near term have increased imports less than 20% for the end of the year.
This was the case of ZTE which brought 18,900 units from China in the second quarter and 22 thousand in the third.
“We are keeping the local manufacturing plan, mainly for ten inch devices, which are more accepted,” Eliandro Ávila, president of the company in Brazil, told Folha.
The beginning of ZTE’s own production should occur by the end of December in Hortolândia, in the countryside of Sao Paulo, and it is estimated that with tax incentives, the devices – which cost about R$800 today – will be between 20% and 25% cheaper.


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Top Mitsubishi dealers honoured at star-studded ceremony
April 2, 2014: Car manufacturer Mitsubishi has named its top UK dealers of 2013 at its annual awards ceremony.
The family-run Firs Garage, of Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, beat more than 100 fellow Mitsubishi retailers to carry away the title of UK Dealer of the Year at the black-tie event held at Gleneagles in Perthshire on 19th March.
Livery Dole in Exeter, Devon, was named UK Runner-Up, while Poole Mitsubishi in Dorset scooped the Best UK Newcomer award. The awards ceremony formed part of the annual dealer conference organised by Mitsubishi Motors in the UK and was held to recognise the hard work put in by dealerships nationwide last year.
Their efforts all helped Mitsubishi enjoy its most successful year yet, with sales up in the region of 40 per cent.
Firs Garage, which was founded in 1960 and is believed to be the only dealership in the country with its own landing pad and airstrip, was also the winning dealership in 2010 and came runner-up in 2011, and Dealer Principal Dean Wood said:
“To be recognised three years out of four is very satisfying. We very much see the award as recognition for the whole team here at Firs Garage. We work hard to provide great customer service and we have been pleased to enjoy some successful times recently.”
The runner-up gong was Livery Dole’s second major award this year, as the company – started in 1923 – was named ‘Most Improved Dealer of the Year’ in February at a ceremony organised by trade publication Automotive Management.
Managing Director Nigel Clegg said:
“As you can imagine, we’re pretty chuffed and of course it follows on from our success in the AM Awards. I’m delighted for the team really because it’s their award. We’ve got a great team of people and I think the one thing that’s a real advantage is the fact that so many of our staff are long-serving. The average length of service of our staff is something like 14 years.”
Poole Mitsubishi opened in April 2012 and has 10 members of staff, and General Manager Grant Murphy said:
“It felt very good to get the award. It’s nice to be recognised for all the hard work that has gone into starting up. It’s been hard work but it’s very, very pleasing to win it, and we are very excited about the future.”
Lance Bradley, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, paid tribute to all three dealerships, saying:
“Everyone can be rightly proud of their awards because they richly deserve them. Firs Garage, Livery Dole and Poole Mitsubishi are shining examples of what makes Mitsubishi such a terrific brand, and it gives me immense pleasure to acknowledge all the hard work, effort and dedication that has brought them here today.”
Top-flight entertainment was provided at the awards ceremony by comedian Dara O Briain, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers with their “bagrock” fusion, plus singing legend Lulu.
This year sees Mitsubishi Motors Corporation celebrating 40 years of being in the UK, and the Japanese marque is going from strength to strength, with this month seeing the launch of its Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), heralded as a true game-changer.


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CRANBERRY (KDKA) - Two women were arrested at a local Walmart after police say they stole cookies and clothes while intoxicated.
In a statement sent by state police, 32-year-old Tiffany Ray and 39-year-old Katie Corrigan, both from Oil City, were arrested early Sunday morning after they were caught shoplifting from an area Walmart.
Police say that Corrigan and Ray stole $306 worth of merchandise from the Cranberry Township Walmart. The two women were seen eating cookies and putting clothes on over the clothes they were already wearing.
Both Corrigan and Ray were arrested for retail theft. Officers say that both women were intoxicated during the incident.
Corrigan was taken to the hospital after she suffered health ailments resulting from drug use, according to authorities.
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While home prices continue to rise across the country, affordability varies widely state-by-state and even town-by-town.
Continue Reading Below
A new GOBankingRates study examined how far $300,000 could get you in the housing markets in each state and found that a dollar stretches further in the central and southern parts of the country, where overall costs of living tend to be lower.
With $300,000, an individual could buy the biggest home in West Virginia, with an approximate square footage of about 3,347. The median listing price per square foot in the state is about $89.62, according to GOBankingRates, which analyzed data from online real estate company Zillow.
Mississippi boasts the second-best affordability, where $300,000 can net a homebuyer a 3,290 square-foot property. Arkansas gives consumers the third-best bang for their buck, at $93.41 per-square-foot, on average. In that state, $300,000 buys about 3,212 square feet.
Indiana and Alabama assumed the fourth and fifth top spots on the list, where buyers could use their $300,000 to purchase homes with 3,114 and 3,103 square feet, respectively.
Rounding out the states where consumers could buy the biggest houses on a $300,000 budget are Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri.
On the other hand, there are quite a few states where $300,000 won’t get a buyer very far. On the top of that list is Washington, D.C., where the specified budget only buys about 581 square feet. In Hawaii, the total isn’t much higher, at 588 square feet. In the latter state, the median listing price per square foot is more than $510.
In California, a buyer with a budget of $300,000 could purchase a home with 1,004 square feet. Massachusetts also has low affordability, where the consumer in question could net a home with just about 1,246 square feet.
Colorado was fifth on the list of least attractive states to buy a home on a budget, followed by Washington state, Oregon, Rhode Island, Montana and New York.


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The Qdos Group listed in Grant Thornton & CBI East Midlands Top 200 Report
The Top 200 fastest growing companies in the East Midlands report, published by Grant Thornton and the CBI, showcases the fastest growing businesses in the region.
The companies who feature on the list, according the report, ‘have excelled in beating the competition in one of the highest growth parts of one of the fastest growing developed economies in the world’. Astonishingly the companies in the region have on average increased their profits by 31.6% year on year for the last 3 years, which is a significant achievement on its own.
The basis of the report is built on thorough analysis of the public accounts of each of the 200 businesses featured which have ‘delivered the greatest sustained growth in profit before tax, interest and exceptional items.
Ashley Horton, CEO of The Qdos Group, who was at the unveiling event on May 6th, had this to say about his company being featured for the first time:“Qdos won a number of prestigious trade awards in 2015 and were included in the London Stock Exchange 1000 companies to Inspire Britain earlier in 2016 but to be recognised in the Top 200 fastest growing companies in the East Midlands where we are based is particularly gratifying and recognition for the employees here at Qdos for all of their hard work”


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Boyner Holding severs ties with Benetton Giyim, its Turkish unit
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Boyner Holding has transferred its 50 percent stake in Benetton Giyim back to the Benetton Group said a July 20 statement. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIKBoyner Holding has transferred its 50 percent stake in Benetton Giyim to the Benetton Group, according to a company statement issued July 20.
The deal is subject to the approval of the Competition Board in Turkey, but Benetton stores in Turkey will continue its services without interruption.
Benetton Giyim operates 121 stores in Turkey, the Central Asian Turkic republics, and Turkish Cyprus. Benetton Turkey employs more than 3,000 people in the fields of production, retail and management.
Benetton entered Turkish market in 1985
United Colors of Benetton entered the Turkish market in 1985 as the first international retail brand, by delivering the production and distribution rights to Altınyıldız Group. In September 1991, Benetton Italy and Altınyıldız Group, which changed its name to Boyner Holding, started a joint venture named Boğaziçi Hazır Giyim.
Benetton Group assigned Boğaziçi Hazır Giyim, which is one of the two successful licenses of the company in marketing and production, to build up store chains in Turkic republics of Central Asia.
Boyner Holding acquired 50 percent of the shares of Boğaziçi Hazır Giyim, which is responsible for the commercial activities of United Colors of Benetton and Sisley, in 2005.
The stake sale came as both companies have been restructuring development strategies and future growth plans, said Cem Boyner, the chairman of Boyner Holding, in a written statement July 20.
“Boyner Holding has taken this decision due to the acquisition of YKM, preferring to make investments into its own brands and leaving businesses that it does not have full control over in due course,” he said.
Benetton has also started to buy back all the stakes that it does not own in its companies, and the sales transactions between Boyner and Benetton were realized as the expectations and demands of both firms coincided at the same period, he added.
Noting that business relations going back to 1985 had been very successful and efficient between the two, he said that close relations with Benetton would always continue.


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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold investment demand in China has started 2016 quite strongly, outperforming interest in jewelry, but for the momentum to continue bullion would have to maintain its price rally, a World Gold Council (WGC) official said.
With a 14 percent gain, gold XAU= is the best performing asset so far this year after falling for three straight years to 2015. The metal hit a one-year high last week as turmoil in global stock markets triggered safe-haven demand.
China, the world’s top bullion consumer, has seen strong demand for investment products such as bars around last week’s Lunar New Year holiday, Roland Wang, managing director for WGC in China, told Reuters.
The holiday is typically a strong demand period for gold as it is a popular gift, but buying then tends to slow.
“We have seen quite solid (investment) demand for this past one-and-a-half months. We have to see gold maintain the rally for quite a period of time. That will determine further purchases by investors,” Wang said.
“(Chinese) buy when they are sure that the gold price will keep going up.”
Chinese demand for gold bars and coins rose by a fifth to 201 tonnes last year as a stock market rout and weakness in the currency sent investors seeking safety in the precious metal. But demand is still well below 2013’s record 407 tonnes.
Investment demand only accounts for around 20 percent of total Chinese consumption, the bulk of which is in jewelry. Demand for jewelry fell 1 percent in 2015 to 783.5 tonnes.
Jeweler demand has taken a hit from a slowing economy, Beijing’s anti-corruption drive and the continued drop in prices.
Even during last week’s holiday, investment demand growth performed better, Wang said, adding that retailers are keeping inventories low and jewelry manufacturers are facing tight credit conditions.
Reuters reported last year that Chinese banks are growing alarmed by a rising number of defaults among jewelry manufacturers, prompting them to review new gold lending more carefully.
“Jewelry demand may face some headwinds,” Wang said. “We have more confidence in investment demand than jewelry demand.”
Wang did not provide a forecast for total Chinese demand in 2016, but said consumption will be “stable.” Demand totaled 984.5 tonnes in 2015.
Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Richard Pullin
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Thousands of Australian restaurants and delivery riders have been left scrambling to recoup money and find work after the sudden closure of Deliveroo, with some outlets short-changed by tens of thousands of dollars and missing up to a third of their regular trade.
But industry experts warned Deliveroo's closure could be the first of several meal-delivery services to disappear due to challenging economic conditions, and prices for deliveries may rise to make the industry more sustainable.
Deliveroo shocked employees, contractors, partners and customers on Wednesday when it announced it would go into administration and stop operating in Australia immediately.
The company's website was wiped overnight and its app no longer functions.
Nick Tuckwell, owner of the Canberra burger chain Grease Monkey, said he discovered Deliveroo's closure in a social media post even though the company had been the restaurant's exclusive delivery partner for years.
"We had 30 per cent of our business go away yesterday," he said. "We're out north of $30,000. That would have been three days' trade and also a marketing fund.
"The real killer is the lack of notice. If we were told we had 30 days to sort it out, we could have moved and adapted but to not be told anything and be left in the dark was extremely frustrating."
Mr Tuckwell said the news was particularly shocking as it came just hours after a two-hour meeting with Deliveroo's marketing team.
Australian Foodservice Advocacy Body chief executive Tony Green said restaurants and cafes using Deliveroo exclusively would be hit hard by its closure, and the industry needed to pay close attention to how much money administrators repaid to those businesses.
But Mr Green warned Deliveroo may not be the last food-delivery service to close as consumers were tightening their belts and the market was no longer growing as fast as it had during COVID-19 lockdowns.
"This is a bit of a canary in the coal mine, to some degree. I think there'll be more of this happening," he said.
"For food service, we've gone through a massive change, we've got more pressures, we've got more challenges. We're going to see businesses going under in the next 12 to 24 months."
Deliveroo's Australian closure, which came after the business shut operations in Germany, Taiwan, Spain and the Netherlands, also affected up to 15,000 delivery workers who the company classified as contractors.
Deliveroo Australia confirmed the workers would be eligible for four weeks' compensation based on their annual earnings.
But UNSW Sydney associate professor Dr Rob Nicholls said it was delivery workers who may suffer the most from the company's closure.
"No restaurant is going to say 'well, if Deliveroo is out of the game, we'll stop using a delivery service'," he said. "They'll shift to one of the other big three services almost certainly.
"Some of the riders will be able to get gigs with other platforms but, ultimately, some will not be able to find work. It is a hard time for gig economy workers."
Dr Nicholls said Deliveroo's shutdown should encourage governments to regulate food-delivery services and change what he called "precarious contracting" for delivery workers.
Consumers may have to pay more to have meals delivered, he warned, or visit restaurants to collect takeaways.
"As the other services continue, they're likely to increase charges," he said. "At some point people will either pay more or say, 'you know what? I'll walk there instead'."


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2090 cryptocurrencies are listed on Coinmarketcap as of writing. According to the Cambridge study conducted with Visa last sprint, 2.9 to 5.8 million active cryptocurrency wallet holders. Steve Wozniak is co-founding a crypto-asset investment firm. Alibaba and IBM have the most blockchain patents in the world. Binance made more in profit in Q2 2018 than Deutsche Bank. Even Katy Perry painted her nails in Monero and Light coin to come at you like a Dark Horse.
Cryptocurrencies is the safest form of a digital currency powered by an immutable, distributed, open-source technology—Blockchain. But then why haven’t the Global Financial system switched to crypto yet? At least the e-commerce? The answer is that it takes time for innovation to go through the adaptation period, and it takes innovation.
Business owners need to be ready to accept. But they don’t want to learn about all the latest forks and airdrops to process transactions. That’s why they choose Visa today. Because despite the fact that every transaction cost them from 3-5%, they work auto-magically. Crypto payments are safe but an average Bitcoin transaction speed can take up to 8 minutes. Some Ethereum transactions may take hours if the sender didn’t provide a lucrative amount of gas to miners. Transaction commissions keep growing and mining pools that entered the game at the early stages control the future of communities. Yes, cryptos are innovative but unless they solve the real world problems they will continue to be the currency of computer enthusiasts on Bitcoin Talk, drug-dealers, and traders.
ECR.money comes to help real business owners embrace the future of financial communications. It was launched on January 1, 2018 to change rules of the game in the world of encrypted digital payments.
“We are entrepreneurs, too. We understand the Status Quo but we need a less painful system for secure international transactions. Why launch another pointless ICO or TGE, when we can just take the real businesses and help them? Why they should pay monstrous fees for fast and secure transactions if the technology is here and ready to use? This whole token offering gold rush seems over-exaggerated to me.” – Dmitry Vasadin, Founder.
ECR team has created a network with a 100 transactions per second bandwidth. They plan to grow the speed responding to community growth. Each transaction is free. Each is protected with a Skrypt encryption protocol. ECR.nodes could be launched on computers with just 1Ghz of processing speed and 2Gb of RAM memory. Node owners only have to sign the transactions to secure the trust in the network’s distribution. Which means that the network can scale fast. That many ECR coins were pre-mined. No more coins will ever be emitted So there is no competition for block rewards. ECR.money propose to business owners a practical tool to transact on a daily basis and open their doors to an audience of millions active crypto users.
You can create your first ECR crypto wallet at www.ecr.money. Learn more about how to set up your ECR wallet in this guide or check out ECR Whitepaper.
You have Successfully Subscribed!


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One Dude’s Pizza finds a new home in Ogden
One Dude’s Pizza Co. specializes in off-the-wall toppings.
Where else can you find Funeral Potatoes pizza — a crust covered in white sauce, french fries, green onions, a sour cream drizzle and fried onions? The Chicken & Waffles pizza features roasted pulled chicken, Creole spices, green onions, and drizzles of maple and spicy honey. The March limited-time special is a fried pickle pizza.
But you can also get classic-style pizzas, such as the Mob Boss –red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and sweet Italian sausage. Or the super cheesy Dad Joke — a three-cheese pizza.
These are the creations of “One Dude,” aka Alex Peterson, who opened his shop at 470 24th St. last September after several starts, setbacks and a roller coaster ride on social media.
“I have an eccentric mind, and this is a way to express myself,” Peterson said.
His personal favorite pizza is the El Queso Fuego — a ranch base, mozzarella, red pepper flakes, nacho drizzle and green onions.
Peterson was an executive chef at two reception centers, first the Chantilly Mansion in Layton and then Bellington Manor in Ogden.
“When the pandemic hit, there was no wedding catering, so I needed to find something else,” he said. “That’s when we opened the pizza shop in Layton in 2020.”
But the old building on Layton’s Main Street had electrical problems and was difficult for customers to access. Dealing with the COVID-19 regulations was another struggle.
Finally in January 2021, Peterson posted on Facebook that, with a heavy heart, the shop was closing and any unused gift cards would be refunded at the end of the month.
“We have loved bringing our pizza to happy mouths, but unfortunately the revenue has not been there for us to continue with daily operations.” he wrote.
That sparked a flurry of orders and gift card purchases from the community. At the end of the day, Peterson posted a tearful video thanking those who bought $1,300 in pizzas and almost $1,000 in gift cards, all in one day.
“After that, we were doing 250 pizzas a day, every day, and we would be booked out four days in advance,” Peterson said.
But he needed a better location. In order to keep the current customers, he tried to find somewhere less than 10 minutes away from the Layton shop.
He found a space on 24th Street in Ogden, next door to a karate studio.
“We were going to do a quick two-week changeover, moving from Layton to the Ogden shop,” he said. “But I was diagnosed with kidney failure.”
So he took a job at a car dealership for a year while he recovered his health. He continued to pay rent on the building and eventually renovated it into a retro-vibe pizza parlor. The countertops are made from repurposed doors, and an old Coke vending machine chills soft drinks. How old? Well, since the price of a Coke is posted as 15 cents, it’s likely from the 1970s.
The Ogden location opened in September 2022. But business was slow.
“In Layton, we were booked out four days in advance, but here in Ogden we were just doing 10-15 pizzas a day, and we weren’t going to make it,” Peterson said.
So in January, he once again turned to social media, posting that the shop needed more sales.
“And we got a burst of customers for about a week,” Peterson said.
When it looked like closure was imminent, he once again pled his case on social media. While it resulted in a groundswell of support, it also brought out bullies who accused him of trying to play on community sympathy.
Although stung by the attacks, he keeps things buzzing on social media with announcements of new menu items, including waffle crust, jalapeno-bacon doughnuts, loaded french fries, pressed sandwiches and a One Dude T-shirt logo contest.
He also posts sticky notes on a shop bulletin board, good for a free half-pizza. “Every time we sell four pizzas, we give a half-pizza for anyone who might be in need of a meal, no questions asked,” Peterson said. “My family was super poor growing up, and this is my way of giving back.”
He advises customers to order online to ensure getting a pizza.
“Right now, we only have storage for 200 pizzas per day,” he said. “So if you walk in at 8 p.m., we might have already sold out of dough for that night. If you order online, it guarantees your pizza for the night.”
IF YOU GO
One Dude’s Pizza
Location: 470 24th St.
Prices: $16 per 12-inch pizza; $10 half pizza


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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
The way that iPods, digital cameras, DVD players and the Xbox supposedly flew off the shelves, you'd think that consumer electronics had banner holiday sales.
But at least one retail outfit said it's seeing a post-season glut in gadgets and gizmos.
Patrick Byrne, CEO of online "closeout" retailer Overstock.com (Research), which gets most of its inventory from manufacturers stuck with overproduction, said he's been besieged with calls from retailers and manufacturers trying to offload excess holiday inventory.
Not that he's complaining. Byrne expects Overstock.com's sales for the period to jump by as much as 60 percent over the same period last year, in line with analysts' estimates.
What's the excess in?
Curiously enough, it's in an abundance of consumer electronics such as digital cameras and TVs -- which the Consumer Electronics Association back in November had pegged as the No. 1 desired gift item this year.
Said Byrne, "We recently received a 10,000 block unit of digital cameras and digital stereos. One category that we hadn't anticipated seeing such a big surplus in was high-definition TVs. We obtained an unusually large deal of some 2,700 HDTVs."
Byrne declined to name the TVs' suppliers, citing business confidentiality. However, the company's Web site highlights a 40 percent off promotion on the RCA 20-inch LCD HDTV.
Part of the problem this year, Byrne explained, was manufacturers bought into the pre-holiday hype that electronics would be the most sought-after gifts.
"Sometimes when everybody says they expect a product to sell very well, manufacturers get excited and make all that they can. Then, they overshoot the mark," he said.
A bigger issue may be the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. It seems when Wal-Mart delays, everybody pays.
Byrne said he first became aware of a potential industrywide supply issue in August when a few of Overstock.com's retail customers pointed out that the No. 1 retail chain, fearing a spending slowdown in coming months, asked its suppliers in Asia to slow down shipments to the United States.
Ships and warehouses handling Wal-Mart cargo also handle cargoes for other retailers. When Wal-Mart asked its suppliers and carriers to slow down deliveries, it affected cargoes sharing the ride and facilities with the No. 1 retailer as well.
"We definitely have taken a hit because of these overseas delays and port problems," said one supplier of consumer electronics, who spoke to CNN/Money on condition of anonymity
"The traffic jam caused by Wal-Mart's late shipments delayed our cargo by a couple of weeks," he said. "Some of our retail customers canceled their orders because we couldn't get it to them on time. We're now offloading it to places like Overstock.com and other channels."
Wal-Mart, which accounts for about 10 percent of total U.S imports, said it was looking into its logistics but wouldn't immediately comment about its shipping moves and their presumed effect on other consumer chains. Retail watchers, though, think the scenario is logical.
"It would make sense that Wal-Mart would be cautious about over-ordering inventory at a time when they expected sales in coming months to possibly be below forecasts," said Richard Hastings, an independent retail analyst. "Wal-Mart can afford only so much markdown without hurting the bottom line."
The snarled traffic was particularly acute at Los Angeles and Long Beach, a port complex that handles one-third of all U.S. imports, according to Art Wong, acting director of communications with the Port of Long Beach, California.
Contrary to typical seasonal patterns, Wong said the Long Beach Port this year did not see very busy August, September and October months just ahead of the holidays. Instead, November saw a record number of shipments.
"There were general delays overall and not only for Wal-Mart," Wong said, "Conceivably, this could have affected other importers who had incoming cargo on the same ships."
With ships backed up in the harbor as late as November, Wong said port workers could not unload cargo even for those suppliers who did get their holiday inventory on time.
"As the backlog grew, the ports as well as the railroad companies like Union Pacific and Burlington Northern that distribute the cargo nationwide for suppliers and retailers were struggling with labor issues because there wasn't enough manpower to first clear all cargo build-up from the port and then load it onto the trains," said Wong.
Attempts to reach a few of Overstock.com's competitors were unsuccessful.
Some industry watchers, however, suggested claims of excess inventory in consumer electronics may be overblown.
"LCD and flatscreen TVs sold very well as far as I can tell, although there always are individual items that would have performed poorly," said Stephen Baker, analyst with NPD Techworld. "The RCA flatscreen model that's selling on Overstock.com is a smaller model of HDTV. That category already has numerous models and is pretty competitive."
That may be, but Overstock.com's HDTVs aren't limited to just smaller models. A few other choices include 32-inch Sharp LCD HDTVs and Toshiba 42-inch HD plasma televisions.
"Even if there is an oversupply of flatscreen TVs now, demand should pick up again ahead of the SuperBowl. So it would make sense for suppliers to hold on to the inventory through January instead of offloading it in a hurry," Baker added.


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Thankfully thanks to a plucky ragtag team of fans, a multiplayer mod has been released and has even now been endorsed by the game's developers Avalanche Studios.
The mod, which allows users to muck about in a single server, has slowly gained users and today Avalanche Studios announced its plans to officially release it on Valve's platform Steam.
A post made on the mod’s forum doesn’t specify when it will be released but says it will be “soon”.
“On release, you’ll be able to download the client and server from Steam, just like a normal game,” the post says. “This means complete Steam integration, including joining on your friends and more.”
The final beta test for the mod will take place on 7 December, and any interested gamers can register for a key here.


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Tickets to see Moderat at Club Nokia will go on sale this Friday, June 28, at 10:00 a.m. via AXS for $23.50 to $38.50 each plus service fees. If you would like to buy your tickets early, there will be a Goldenvoice presale on Thursday, June 27, at 10:00 a.m. Password: KINGDOM. Click below to see the return of Moderat live in August, Scenestar readers!
BUY TICKETS: August 29th: Moderat at Club Nokia


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NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (May 24, 2016) — Maureen Stapleton, an Agro-Processor from Cotton Ground Village on Nevis, says if bakeries on the island do not use the opportunity to integrate cassava in their products the agro processors will.
She made the comment on behalf of participants at a closing ceremony at the Red Cross conference room on May 18, 2016, for a two-day Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Bread Making Using Wet Cassava workshop. It was hosted by the Department of Agriculture as part of activities for Agriculture Awareness Month.
“We, from the group this morning, we will run with it. If nobody else is going to run with it, the participants, I am going to be behind everyone. If the bakeries don’t want to do it the agro processors will. So we would have to garner more agro processors,” she said.
Stapleton, a retired nurse who specialises in processing root crops, stated that eating incorrectly continues to impact the quality of life of young people.
“You want your kids to live a good age. The bible says three score and ten and yet we see young diabetics. We have so many persons not eating correctly but this afternoon, I can vouch and tell you that cassava and all the root crops and breadfruit it’s the best,” she said.
During the workshop, bread was made by replacing 40 and 25 percent of the wheat flour with grated sweet varieties of cassava in a basic recipe used by commercial bakeries.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Eric Evelyn, in his remarks, said the Department for Agriculture has been trying to take the lead with greater production of cassava on government-owned farms. He expects that local farmers would do the same.
He expressed hope that the people of Nevis would realise the importance of cassava and embrace the idea of consuming bread with cassava, given the large market in Nevis.
Evelyn noted that cassava presents a number of opportunities for the private and public sector – bakeries, supermarkets, the Department of Agriculture and for farmers who wish to cultivate more cassava once grated cassava and cassava flour is used in bread making.
“I know there are some persons who are allergic to gluten and that is why persons have been flocking to the agro-processing centre to purchase some of the flour that we are making there in terms of getting an alternative to wheat flour.
“So I believe the opportunities are there for our school feeding programmes, for the hospital, for the supermarket and I am really hoping that the bakeries would come on board,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary used the opportunity to thank the FAO for their rapid response to the Ministry’s request for sending the cassava expert in the region to conduct the workshop.
Meantime, facilitator Vermaran Extavour, Regional Project Coordinator at the FAO said the use of cassava to reduce the food import bill of countries in the region is an important quest for Caribbean governments. Extavour works specifically in the area to support the development of cassava in the region.
She explained that over the past 18 months, she has been working with bakeries throughout the region to find innovative ways to introduce the use of local cassava to help reduce the importation of wheat products which is among the top 10 commodities imported.
According to Extavour, cassava is an ideal crop since it has global potential, has demonstrated to be climate smart, is one of the most drought tolerant crops available today given the ongoing changes in climate, it doesn’t require a lot of water unlike sweet potato, dasheen and eddoes.
She said cassava is hardy and it can also stay in the ground for extended periods, depending on the variety and climatic conditions and lends itself to creating new job opportunities for further development into other commercial products.
The FAO expert urged the private sector to engage consumers and underscored the need for a public/private sector partnership in order to increase consumer awareness.
“It has to be in partnership with the private sector for your bakeries to come on board and say yes we are going to join you in promoting this product and we also believe it has benefit, not just for national development but also a competitive price point because people are in business to earn revenue,” she said.


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However, the industry is still willing to invest if it can deliver in two key areas: operational efficiencies and getting more of the right product, to the right customer, at the right time.
The Martec report questioned the top 100 UK retailers, and found that store operations remained their top priority for IT investment, cited by 24%. Merchandising systems in creased to 12% from 7% last year. And website or e-commerce operations came in at 9%.
The report said: "For most retailers the investment in store systems is due to an electronic point of sale (EPOS) replacement project, but others are adding mobile technology in-store or systems to better improve the customer experience with mobile tills and enhanced functionality."
High Street shops are looking for ways to maximise their investment. The Co-op is collecting customer feedback through chip and PIN terminals. When paying for goods by credit or debit cards, a sample of The Co-operative Group's customers are now presented with a multiple-choice question on the PIN pad asking for their views on the store, the retail experience or aspects of their lifestyles.
The Co-op has surveyed up to 300,000 customers across the country. Responses are returned to the group's data centre within 24 hours, where previously, the retailer would pay up to £100,000 for customers to be surveyed at 24 stores with responses received six weeks later. Lawrence Freeman, Co-operative Group development manager said: "Extending the functionality on our point of sale (POS) payment terminals to gather customer feedback has been an extremely successful and satisfying project. Low cost and high impact, we can reach more customers more quickly and remain in tune with their feelings."
Since July, British Red Cross has been updating its EPOS estate across 330 stores by taking on hosted, software-as-a-service (SaaS) retail management till systems from specialist provider, Cybertill. Paul Thompson, British Red Cross retail general manager said: "It is time to move to a system that will provide the accurate and in-depth information that will enable British Red Cross to monitor and analyse its business more thoroughly."
With system roll out expected to begin this autumn, the Cybertill system will become the core system of each shop, and will link to British Red Cross' finance system via a broadband connection to the provider Glasgow data centre.
Mark Croxton, director of retail systems provider Aldata, says that "pressure on the economy is actually good for end-to-end vendors like us. We've seen retailers wanting to run an awful lot of promotions recently, but the issue is how they manage the long tail of promotions." These requirements are also shaping the trend towards deploying merchandising and inventory management software, as well as an increasing number of mobile store systems.
"They're not only looking at mobile computing for stock and inventory management, product enquiries and item look-ups" Croxton said. "When it comes to things like customer ordering, they are looking to link up their web stores and shops to pool stock and offer more joined-up customer service across channels."
His comments have been endorsed by a recent slew of mobile store technology deals. FCUK has been rolling mobile handhelds out for stocktaking, Woolworths and Apple for queue-busting and even wireless broadband routers as network back-ups, in the case of homeware and furniture retailer, The Pier.
In support of store system projects, particularly those featuring mobile technologies, converged networking investment has continued to be a feature of those retailers updating core capabilities. But like Tesco's £100-million deal with Cable & Wireless, managed services are increasingly an option for the cost-conscious retailer.
When the deal was signed at the end of May, Nick Foulkes, Tesco UK infrastructure and operations IT director said even a retailer of its size couldn't match the capital investment in network capacity of a service provider. He added that the five-year contract would enable new in-store kiosks, 'telepresence' video-conferencing and fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), cutting call costs and allowing staff to keep in closer contact. "We couldn't have hoped to do telepresence or set up staff with FMC handsets, with all the different networks and tariffs we would have had to handle, on our own," he said.
Retailers seem more willing in tougher times to look at alternate IT delivery models to sweat their assets - whether it be part of core transactional or supply chain operations. A key area that links with integration and mobile trends in-store is compliance, or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
The payment data standard has been in force for over two years but a survey conducted in June found that 88% of UK businesses were not compliant. Many retailers have followed the example set by JD Sports earlier this year, when it signed a wide-ranging managed service deal to support it on its journey towards PCI DSS compliance.
The five-year, £2-million deal with IT services provider, Pasporte includes the migration of JD's back-office applications and data into a hosted environment the implementation of a 24-hour disaster recovery programme and a managed wide area network (WAN) between the retailers' four warehouses and head office.
Harry Willoughby, JD Sports IT manager said: "With our PCI DSS compliance programme underway, the opportunity to achieve a better foundation for our IT systems and accelerate our governance strategy made for a very compelling business case." And increasingly more retailers are looking at the value of their payment data and weighing it against the operational risk of becoming the next TK Maxx or Cotton Traders customer credit card data breach headline.
Natasja Bolton, head of assurance services at dns, a specialist information security consultancy in the UK, says, "Almost every week a new story breaks of data loss from one organisation or another." She said the amount of data held by retailers makes them an especially high risk. And, with the introduction of customer loyalty cards, credit card details and other financial and personal data files, the amount of valuable data they hold means customers are at the mercy of the company's security policy.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of organisations requesting security advice and policy implementation which is encouraging," Bolton added. "Bringing in a consultancy of security experts is often the most successful and cost effective route, which not only secures the data, but ensures compliance with the increasing amount of regulation. "
Specialist vendors, including The Logic Group, Quova, CyberSource and The 3rd Man, have all launched managed or hosted fraud monitoring services to accompany those that promise to outsource the entire transaction lifecycle and remove the retailer from the compliance loop completely.
The launch in June of an online, social network driven bookstore by Borders UK says it all in terms of trends. Geoff O'Neil, Borders UK head of supply chain, said: "We've managed to develop a fully transactional, functionally rich e-commerce site for around £100,000 by outsourcing design, hosting, fulfilment and the contact centre, but in such a way as can scale because we've really no idea how big it might grow: although I know it's often the case that the web outperforms even the most successful retailer's flagship stores."
Even the ever-growing presence of e-commerce is evidence that retailers are embracing new technologies and delivery models to explore new opportunities.


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After having a magnificent launch and record breaking first month, Niantic Labs’ brain child Pokemon GO has also faced some backlash because of its 3 step bug and removal of “Nearby” feature to find new Pokemons. The game developers were also in silent mode and now, suddenly the company has released a new patch to the game that replaces the Nearby feature with all new “Sightings.”
In order to get rid from those 3 step bugs and third-party tracking apps popularity, Niantic Labs has decided to provide the tracking feature to its user in their own app with some modification, and called it – Sightings. This is said to be an attempt to get on the good side of the gaming community.
The new Sightings tool replaces the old one, two, or three prints with some grass behind the nearby Pokemons. However, some gamers even not feeling happy and they complained that this tool isn’t working in the way the Nearby tool worked in the first two weeks of game launch. But, according to game analysts, this is the right first step by Niantic Labs in order to retain the early gamers.
Earlier, Pokemon GO’s Nearby tool was unreliable to find the nearby Pokemons and gamers were in confusion to know whether the Pokemons are there or not, because there were no ways to confirm it before moving to the area. Now, the new Sightings tool can be trusted as it is officially updated by the company. One more new feature added in this update is the grouping of Pokemons in the map.
The Pokemon GO game is already downloaded by more than 100 million users worldwide and it has already generated a record $200 million revenue in its first month, breaking the $125 million record of Clash Royale released in 2016 and $25 million record of Candy Crush Soda Saga that released in 2014. With so much userbase and daily activity, Niantic Labs has to keep the gamers happy and more active by providing useful tools and of course, new Pokemons.


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2008 has to be the year of the casual game. The market is growing but more importantly there has been a huge amount of buzz around the industry. There are many factors involved in this but it has lead to a resurgence of original game design.
While Microsoft has been allowing ordinary people to make their own games for the XBOXliveArcade (XBLA) platform for a while and recently made it easier with XNA Creators Studio they didn't have the buzz that surrounded the iPhone App store games.
Nintendo's WiiWare platform is only now seeing some great games be released with World of Goo released this week. The PSN hasn't had as many hi profile casual titles. I guess you can't get a look in at Sony until they release Little Big Planet.
Also the Wii itself has shown that it's not just older women who like to play casual games.
Never has there been so many options for a game developer or even brands to get their ideas out to a usually hard to reach audience. And most importantly many of these options have a viable ROI meaning the cost for development is minimal or you might even generate income. And in some cases a lot of income.
We're also seeing games originally developed in flash and some just for fun being ported to the major platforms. N+ made a huge splash on the DS and PSP recently and DeBlob was released as a full fledged Wii game after originally being released as a free PC game that was developed by students.
Wrigleys recently sold their advergaming site Candystand to Funtank. After running it for 11 years and getitng up to 10M visitors a month! Article here.
Recently many of the major players in this market have launched "labs" or "resource centres" in an effort to educate and grab an audience eager to get involved.
Kongregate launched their labs with a sponsorship from Scion. Kongregate is my favirotie of all the gaming portals. They are the definition of what all gaming sites should be. PR info here.
Mochiads launched their resource centre days ago. Mochiads is #1 for flash game advertising.
Iminlikewithyou is another games site to keep an eye on. They recently launched their developer section too with source code and hosting for multi-player games.
I'm looking forward to the 2009 IGF in San Fran next year which showcases the best in indie games and look forward to 2009 being an even bigger year for indie and casual games.
Will brands be left behind as indie games slowly grow and erode TV viewing even more? Which brands will jump onto this early and reap the rewards.
Those wanting a piece of the flash casual game market can already advertise in them through Google In-Game advertising which launched only last week.


text: Blackrock merger noteworthy for at least a trillion reasons Goodbye Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, Hello BlackRock. The two money managers completed their merger yesterday, and from now on will be operating as BlackRock, with more than US$1 trillion (yes, that's trillion with a T) under management. Merrill still owns 49.8 per cent of the new company, but BlackRock wants its own space in Hong Kong. Lai See hears the former Merrill team, currently camped in the ICBC Tower, will be setting up house with BlackRock in the 14-storey York House, the only Grade A office space available in Central this year. York House, formerly known as Landmark East, is set to open by the end of the year. BlackRock made its name running institutional fixed-income investments for such heavyweights as the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers). But now it wants to leverage Merrill's more retail-oriented network, as well as Merrill's strength in equity investments, and become a global player. Lai See is interested to see how that will work, particularly in Hong Kong. Introducing institutional products to a retail market is always a chore, especially with our city's tough fund registration rules. Just look at the hype that retail hedge funds generated when they were first permitted, only to fade into oblivion in the past year. Good luck, BlackRock. When's the housewarming? dream on, retailers Golden Week is still a bright spot on the calendar for Hong Kong retailers, but with the growth pace of visitor arrivals slackening, the retail concept seems to be losing its lustre for investors. In a report titled 'Awake from the golden dream,' Credit Suisse analysts recount how the growth of visitors has tapered off during the past two years from the 33 to 54 per cent increases between 2001 and 2004. Still, rents and other overhead costs keep climbing, putting a squeeze on retailers and their share prices. 'When the mainland visitors have more choices in the region to travel to, they no longer jostle to come to Hong Kong,' the researchers wrote. 'The golden dream is over.' punter puts the house on galaxy Turnover of shares in Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group surged almost 2,500 per cent yesterday, after a still unidentified investor paid HK$432.9 million for shares representing 1.775 per cent of the company. The mystery buyer sneaked in minutes before the market closed and paid HK$7.40 per share - a 7.7 per cent premium to yesterday's closing price of HK$6.87 - for a block of 58.5 million shares from an anonymous seller. Shares in the firm controlled by the family of tycoon Lui Che-woo (left) have not traded so heavily since May, when the market chatter was that United States gaming titan Harrah's Entertainment was in talks to buy a stake in Galaxy. We reckon it's a coincidence, but Harrah's on Monday announced it had received a US$15 billion buyout offer from private equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group. Good luck is contagious.


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2018-03-04 17:15:35 BdST
Improve airport services to attract foreign tourists: FBCCI
Business leaders underscored the need for improving service quality in the country's international airports to help attract more foreign tourists.
They also suggested forming a research cell in the government tourism authority to get update on how many overseas tourists visit the country and their interests and favourites.
The suggestions came at a meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), held at its conference centre organised by the chamber's standing committee relating to Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, the apex trade body said in a statement.
The meeting also decided to arrange a seminar on tourism with the participation of civil aviation and tourism minister A K M Shajahan Kamal next month aiming to increase coordination among public and private agencies.
The committee chairman Taufiq Uddin Ahmed, its director in-charge Shomi Kaiser and and M. Shahadat Hossain, secretary-general of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), and other members of the committee took part in the meeting among others.
The FBCCI expressed its willingness to help the country's tourism sector flourish in its full capacity.
It also showed its interest to tap the full potentials of Bangladeshi tourism sector with the collaboration of government agencies.
Highlighting the potentials of the sector, the discussants at the meeting said Bangladesh could be an "outstanding" destination for modern tourism trends like textile tourism, art-culture tourism, religion tourism, fashion tourism and media tourism, besides the traditional tourism.
The committee also vowed to create continuous pressure on the government agencies to ensure the quality of services in various tourism-related facilities including airports.
Unauthorized use or reproduction of The Finance Today content for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.


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If you're not already playing FIFA 17 and diving into the games web app you're probably wanting to know where you can pick it up - and at the cheapest possible price.
Last week there were sales for the game everywhere you looked, as the likes of Argos, Tesco, CEX and more jumped at the chance to shift the game with old PS4 units at knock down prices as low as £150.
But now you're unfortunately going to pay a lot more.
The best bundle offer around is no longer at Argos, but Sainsburys, where you can pick up the new slim ps4 500gb with FIFA 17 for £219.
It's technically a £239 bundle offer but you can get £20 off with code "SCSEXTNSP"
If you're wanting just the game your best bet is to avoid Argos, CEX or ASDA and instead pick it up from Tesco Direct for £40.00.
Earlier this week reknowned industry analyst @ZhugeEX (Daniel Ahmad) had looked into the sales for FIFA 17 and PES 2017 to work out just how far apart both titles are.
"Remember how every year everyone says that this could be the year PES beats FIFA?" wrote Ahmed on Twitter.
"FIFA 17 first week sales > 40x more than PES in the UK."
Diving further into the sales figures Ahmed then revealed that FIFA sold over 1.1 million units in its first week in the UK.
"Meanwhile PES 2017 can't hit 50k."
This followed news that FIFA 17 had set a new launch week sales record for the series.
It improved on the performance of FIFA 13 which to date has been the best selling week one game in the series since 2012.
UKIE Games Charts, compiled by GfK Chart-Track also revealed that FIFA 17 was up almost 18 per cent on last year's FIFA 16.
Of those sales, 53% of sales were for PS4 while the Xbox One accounted for 41% of sales.
Which is likely a result of several incredible PS4 console bundles.


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Good news for gamers (and rubber duckies). A Kinect-based setup out of Japan transforms water into an interactive surface for playing games, watching movies, and maybe more.
In this week's Ask Maggie, CNET consumer advice columnist Marguerite Reardon cautions readers to think twice about giving a smartphone as a gift. Why's that? It's the gift that keeps on costing.
The music service will launch its first ever ad campaign tonight as it tries to speed up growth in the U.S.
The Korean electronics giant is shifting gears again with its troubled mobile operating system. It's now aiming for affordability as a key characteristic of Tizen smartphones.
The operating system, open but guided by the two technology giants, gets its first official unveiling at Mobile World Congress.
A BASE jumper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, makes a super-splashy entrance at a rooftop pool party, and you can fly along with him in this crazy video.
Are you watching prime-time broadcast TV on your phone? You're behind a drop in ratings for splashy fall premieres, Nielsen says.
The Droid franchise stands out as a carrier exclusive that works, thanks to the work put in on both sides.
Amazon has a bevy of discounts wrapped up in its launch of the Fire TV Stick, the e-tailer's answer to Google Chromecast -- but some of the deals aren't all that they appear.
The reported event follows a splashy affair a month ago, when Apple showed off its newest iPhones and the Apple Watch. But it'll be more low-key, says Recode.


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Biophilic Design is a design strategy that produces healthier and more positive environments through the integration of nature and natural materials. Covid-19 was not a Black Swan event, it was more of a
“The current climate is obviously not ideal" Right now might not seem the ideal time for the launch of a new Bangkok hotel, but Nicholas Clayton, Capella Hotel Group CEO, remains cheerfully undeterred.
The short-term impact of Covid-19 is already apparent, especially in Thailand where the virus has seemingly been brought under control, albeit at the cost of international tourism. The lockdown is over for now,
Watch the Full Interview Here on YoutubeEveryone has been affected one way or another by the COVID-19 crisis, and everyone has their own personal story to tell. To understand the bigger picture, however,
The latest Business Update issued by Marriott on April 13th offered fascinating worldwide data concerning its hotels’ performance during the first quarter of 2020, as well as details of the measures the company
This pandemic has thrown up challenges we’ve never seen before. Thailand has endured flooding, political protests, natural disasters, economic crises, pollution, disease, and more, and has always taken pride in its resilience.
Minor Hotels, whose global brands include Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, Elewana Collection, and NH Hotel Group, is reacting to the unfolding coronavirus pandemic in destinations all over the world. In Thailand, hotels in


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"So we're on the same page."
Ahead of last night's NBA Draft, Foot Locker and Slam Magazine teamed up with Brian Scalabrine to chat with some of the incoming rookies about a wide range of topics including their favorite sneakers and best style in the NBA.
In speaking with Sacramento Kings' #5 pick, De'Aaron Fox, Scalabrine found out that the former Kentucky guard shares his passion for Nike Kobe sneakers, which led to them both suggesting that "someone" is already trying to remake those beloved shoes.
"Oh wait, someone's trying that," Scalabrine said.
"Someone is," said Fox simultaneously. "So we're on the same page."
Of course, that "someone" is Lonzo Ball, whose Big Baller Brand ZO2 Prime sneakers bear a striking resemblance to Kobe low-top signature silhouette.
The ongoing rivalry between these two guards (and their fathers) is only going to continue in the NBA, especially now that they're playing in the same division.
Check out De'Aaron Fox's full interview with the White Mamba below.


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Report: Toyota issues ban on reselling new Land Cruisers overseas
Search Driven for Toyota Land Cruiser for sale
In 2021, the automotive industry is a bit weird. Covid-19 restrictions hampered the production side of things, and the semi conductor shortage has only made things worse, so getting vehicle stock is the main issue.
In a market where demand is high but supply is now, values increase exponentially, and one vehicle in particular that has benefitted from this is the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser.
In New Zealand, we've seen prices of second-hand examples that have tens of thousands of kilometres on them eclipse what they sold for new, and that was just for the last generation.
This demand is also reportedly affecting the new Land Cruiser, and Toyota has reportedly taken more than 20,000 pre-orders for the vehicle in its home country.
According to a recent report, Toyota Japan is making those who place orders for a Land Cruiser 300 sign a contract that prevents reselling the SUVs locally and internationally due to "global security" concerns.
“Customers have confirmed that this is not a purchase for ‘export’ or ‘resale’ purposes,” reads the document that's become mandatory for owners to sign. It sounds like the main purpose is to prevent exporters from making a quick buck.
Interestingly, the document supposedly doesn't contain a timeframe for owners to hold onto their Land Cruisers for. This is different to Ford's document with the GT, where buyers were given a date that the agreement would expire.
While these "security concerns" haven't been revealed, some have surmised that it is to prevent the sale of these LC300s into the Middle East, where they could potentially be on-sold to extremist groups.
As a brand, Toyota has a “strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities”.


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Li Ning Loss Wider-Than-Estimated as Sales Fall Second Year
Li Ning Co. (2331), the largest China- based sportswear company by revenue, posted its first annual deficit since listing in 2004, as slowing economic growth caused sales to fall a second year. The shares fell.
The net loss was 1.98 billion yuan ($319 million) last year, compared with a profit of 385.8 million yuan in 2011, Li Ning said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. That compares with the 1.4 billion yuan average loss of 10 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The manufacturer and retailer said it hired executives from rival Nike Inc. (NKE), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Procter & Gamble Co. to help transition to a more “retail oriented” business model from wholesale, after saying on Jan. 25 it would raise as much as HK$1.87 billion ($241 million) in a sale of convertible securities to fund the effort. Slowing economic growth follows a surge of store openings for Li Ning, Nike and Adidas AG (ADS), leading the Chinese retailer to trim inventory after sales fell.
“Competition and inventory pose near-term challenges for the industry,” Executive Chairman Li Ning told reporters today in Hong Kong. The company will introduce new basketball products and focus on the sport to help revive profit, he said.
Li Ning fell 4.1 percent, its biggest decline since Feb. 5, to HK$4.46 as of the close in Hong Kong trading. The shares have slumped 12 percent this year, compared with a 1.5 percent drop in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Sales at the Beijing-based sportswear maker plummeted 25 percent to 6.74 billion yuan last year, it said.
Li Ning, which posted an 85 percent drop in profit in the first half of the year, had warned of a “substantial” loss in 2012 in a exchange filing on Dec. 17. The company founded by the Olympic gold medalist of the same name, announced plans last December to revive growth, while competitors including Nike have pared inventories and closed some stores.
Nike is the largest sportswear company in China with a 12 percent market share, according to data from Euromonitor International. Adidas has an 11 percent share, while Anta Sports Products Ltd. (2020) controls 5.8 percent and Li Ning 5.4 percent.
Li Ning has said it plans to spend on marketing, clear old inventory and take steps toward “improving product freshness.” The efforts, which will include buying back inventory, will cost between 1.4 billion yuan and 1.8 billion yuan, the retailer said in December.
Gymnast Li Ning was the final torchbearer at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He won three gold, two silver and one bronze medals in the 23rd Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, and founded the company after retiring from athletics, according to the retailer’s annual report.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Liza Lin in Shanghai at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anjali Cordeiro at email@example.com


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Tesla Motors unveiled Thursday what the fledgling automaker hopes will be the family friendly, mid-sized sedan of the future.
“Welcome to Model S,” declared designer Franz von Holzhausen as he pulled the covers off a pair of prototypes of the all-electric-powered sedan the company said will seat seven people and travel 300 miles on a single charge.
The sporty-looking, five-door hatchback resembles a Ford Mustang. It can seat five adults, with two children in the back, as in an old-style station wagon.
Without passengers, the back of the car can be used for storage. Musk said he wasn’t joking when he claimed a mountain bike, 50-inch TV and surfboard could all fit in the space.
Tesla hopes to begin producing the flashy, five-door car at a yet-to-be-disclosed location in Southern California by the final quarter of 2011.
Within a year, it wants to turn out as many as 20,000 of the vehicles annually.
Von Holzhausen headed a team of designers that built the cars at the futuristic SpaceX Rocket Factory, where they were unveiled.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk got behind the wheel of a gun-metal gray model with white interior and sunroof and drove it right out of the building to prove it really would run.
Musk said the company had yet to determine what it will charge for the top of the line model that goes 300 miles on one charge. And no final decision has been made on what options will be available at extra cost.
A model with a range of 160 miles per charge will cost $49,900 after a $7,500 rebate from the government for car buyers who go all-electric.
“What we’re hoping this car will do is show the car industry that it’s possible to create a very compelling electric car and a very compelling price,” Musk said.
The top-of-the-line battery, with about 8,000 cells, will take four hours to recharge at a cost of about $5 at current electricity rates. It can take a quick charge in about 45 minutes.
Anticipating that gas prices will increase to $4 a gallon within the next three years, Musk said a buyer could save as much as $15,000 on gas over the life of the car, after the cost of electricity.
He said he was confident the company would secure $250 million to $350 million in federal loans to begin production.
“This car will be manufactured. It will come to market,” Musk said.
The prototype was displayed nearly a year after Tesla brought its sleek, pricey, two-seat Roadster sports car to the market. The basic price for the Roadster is $109,000.
Tesla, named for Nikola Tesla, a pioneer in developing practical, efficient uses for electricity, was founded in 2003 with $40 million in venture capital from investors such as Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
The company has yet to turn a profit.
Last month, Musk, the co-founder of online payment service PayPal, said Tesla had secured another $40 million in financing from investors, putting it on track to become profitable by midyear.
The Roadster has so far been a hit with the critics. The high-end buyers’ guide The Robb Report declared it “the literal and figurative buzz of the industry.”
Still, the sports car is largely a niche model for the wealthy.
“The first thing to note is that the Roadster is not a car for most people, or even your typical Porsche enthusiast. It is a car for technology buffs who relish being on the cutting edge,” Associated Press Auto Writer Dan Strumpf reported earlier this month after a test drive.
Tesla said it has delivered about 250 Roadsters and has a waiting list of about 1,000 customers who have placed deposits.
Wait time for delivery is currently about six months, said Jeremy Snyder, general manager for Tesla Motors, Southern California.


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Ford renews Thunderbird trademarkJanuary 20, 2021
The American company Ford has filed a new trademark application for Thunderbird with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. But that doesn’t mean a new Ford Thunderbird is coming soon.
As early as January 13, Ford applied for the Thunderbird trademark, which can be used for “cars, namely concept cars; four-wheeled vehicles ”. Automakers often use trademarks before they even come up with a potential car for themselves, as it’s just a way to save those names for possible future use.
Regarding the Thunderbird name for Ford, the American brand may have applied for a new trademark to prevent other companies from claiming the name. Ford is reported to have renewed the brand several times in recent years, most recently in 2016.
Mentioning “concept cars” in the filing may also indicate plans for a concept car (assuming dealerships ever return), but not a full production model.
Thunderbird has taken many forms over the decades. Starting in 1955, the Thunderbird was introduced as a two-seater sports car, then it evolved into a more comfortable “personal luxury car” and then into a special NASCAR with an aerodynamic body. After a short hiatus, the Thunderbird returned for the 2002 model year with a retro look. Despite the initial hype, this version did not last long. It was discontinued for the 2005 model year, and the name Thunderbird has not been used since.
Unlike many other iconic nameplates, Thunderbird has always changed with the times. With the electric Mustang Mach-E, Ford also demonstrated that it’s not afraid to reuse classic names. So maybe Thunderbird will return in yet another new form.
- Porsche may return to Formula 1
- Mercedes-Benz has published the first teaser of the new EQS
- In Singapore, cars with internal combustion engines will be banned by 2025
- Geely and Mercedes-Benz to unveil Smart electric crossover concept
- Lamborghini reveals details of its new Huracan STO


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Russian start-up NTechLab has released FindFace Multi, a detection technology that uses an advanced algorithm to recognize not only faces, but also bodies of people and cars. This is an update to the company’s flagship product and is able to support numerous video streams and facial database entries.
Body recognition allows FindFace Multi users to count and search people moving through an environment as well as identifying individuals and tracking movements. The algorithm also takes into account markers such as height, color of clothes and accessories.
The vehicle recognition function determines the body type, color, manufacturer, and model of a car, as well as searching by license plate. Even if license plates, or parts of the vehicle are not visible or obscured, the system can still identify a car.
Using a criteria-based facial search, a user can detect and track ‘persons of interest’, even if faces are partially covered.
NTechLab’s algorithm took first place in a global competition after it increased, by a factor of ten, the ability to accurately identify faces that are masked, as well as doubling benchmark accuracy rates of individuals who weren’t wearing masks.
The company’s facial recognition system has recently been provided to Indian Railways to track millions of daily commuters.


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Will an incident where one of its cars caught alight cause problems for Tesla?
By P.E. | DETROIT
From a statistical point of view, the roadside blaze in the Seattle suburb of Kent shouldn’t have merited much attention, except for a quick moment’s mention on the local TV news. But this particular car fire, one of an estimated 194,000 that will take place in America this year, was anything but ordinary, as it involved a Model S sedan.
Launched in mid-2012 by Tesla Motors, a battery-car start-up based in California, the sleek electric vehicle has become one of the nascent market's bestsellers, helping push Tesla into a surprise second-quarter profit and entrancing almost everyone interested in green technology (whether they’re looking for clean, alternative power or a solid return on their stock portfolios). Since the beginning of the year, as Tesla sales have exceeded expectations, its stock has surged more than 400%, giving it a market valuation of more than $20 billion, better than many of the more traditional manufacturers.
But within hours after a passerby’s video of the car fire appeared on YouTube (the clip has been viewed almost 3m times), Tesla's share price went into reverse, ending last week down by more than 5%. While it remains to be seen if that slide will continue, the more serious concern is whether the fire will scare off potential battery-car buyers, and not just Tesla’s.
There are already some concerns about the safety of lithium-ion technology, now commonly used in batteries. There were problems with the batteries in the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, albeit an issue apparently caused by faulty government crash-test procedures, and several incidents involving Fisker Karma plug-ins. On a much bigger scale Boeing got unwanted headlines this year from several battery “incidents,” including at least one serious fire, involving the lithium back-up batteries on its new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet. Indeed, Tesla was so confident in its use of the batteries that it offered to advise Boeing.
In the wake of last week’s fire, the central issue becomes a simple “what happened?” Tesla’s initial investigation supports the statement that the Model S's owner made to the emergency services at the scene. The carmaker claims that a large chunk of metal debris thwacked the bottom of the sedan, punching a three-inch hole in the armour plating surrounding the lithium-ion batteries. Significantly, Tesla says only part of the pack caught fire, and that the blaze was limited to the forward section of the vehicle, never penetrating the passenger compartment. The car's owner noted that the vehicle’s warning system quickly advised him to pull over and get out.
The never-shy chief executive of Tesla, Elon Musk, quickly took to the internet, his blog post downplaying any potential problem. “For consumers concerned about fire risk,” Mr Musk wrote, “there should be absolutely zero doubt that it is safer to power a car with a battery than a large tank of highly flammable liquid.”
It would help to have a third-party assessment of what happened, but the shutdown of non-essential government operations because of the Washington budget crisis has put investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on furlough.
Not everyone is worried about Tesla. George Peterson, an analyst with AutoPacific in Los Angeles, believes many investors simply used the news to justify cashing out after a rapid run-up in Tesla’s share price that has far exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts.
But he also cautions that if future buyers begin to worry about whether Tesla vehicles are safe, despite Mr Musk’s bullish blog post, it could lose some much-needed momentum. And it isn’t alone. Sales of battery-electric vehicles have lagged well behind most expectations. That has led to a number of recent failures, including the collapse of once-promising battery supplier A123, as well as Fisker Automotive. Mr Musk has to hope that last week’s fire was a rare occurrence, and that drivers quickly shrug it off and stay behind the wheel.


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Thursday, September 05, 2013
The gob-smacking "sales" figures of Rolling Stone
Twice as many. That's quite something. Magazines *never* double their sale issue-on-issue. How many copies was that?
That's the number of copies they sold in the whole of the United States on the back of immense publicity. 13,232. I've worked on magazines in the UK that have lost that many copies down the back of the sofa.
The really interesting thing was this was twice as many as usual, which means that the average issue of Rolling Stone, no matter what superstar, nymphet or American icon is on its cover, no matter how fabulous the cover concept, no matter how expensive the photographer, actually manages to motivate just six and a half thousand Americans to go to the news stand. That is considerably less than the average home gate of Yeovil Town.
Presumably Rolling Stone sold more than that ten years ago but it still can't have been all that many. It must mean that UK magazines, which traditionally have a terrible chip on their shoulders when it comes to their American cousins, regularly outsell them, even in a market that's only a fraction the size.
All circulation figures involve a certain amount of smoke and mirrors but American figures are more opaque than ours. The overwhelming majority of copies are on subscription and most of those are sold at a risibly low price in order to secure the number of readers the publishers need to deliver to the advertisers. There's an interesting piece here on an American site that explains why they've recently stopped bothering.
Rolling Stone's current rate base is 1,450,000.