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Citing an anonymous source, Reuters published a report today saying publisher EA paid Ninja $1 million to play Apex Legends and tweet about it the day after the game launched on February 4. It's definitely not a strategy affordable for every company - and not necessarily one that will fit every game - but paying these streamers likely cost less than the traditional TV advert while arguably reaching a more appropriate audience.
People are always wondering just how money popular Twitch streamers like Ninja are making from their sponsors and now, we finally have a number.
Specifically, it is about the recently occurred leak by Origin itself, through which the new legend Octane and the price of the Battle Pass were apparently prematurely shown.
Respawn also stated that "There's lots of stuff that has been datamined from Apex since launch and is swirling around the Internet." .More news: Four Sniper Elite projects are in the works
More news: PM Imran condemns terrorist attack at mosque in New Zealand
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The rep also pointed to a disclosure policy streamers like Ninja were required to adhere to.
It's been teased for the better part of a month, but we're still yet to hear anything about the title's first season of incoming content - but that may be because an initially planned release date has been scrapped. "We do not partner with influencers, agencies, or talent who do not support proper disclosure".
There have always been questions over this sort of sponsored content, particularly when it comes to influencers not disclosing payments, but EA said it has a policy in place to address this.
KitGuru Says: It's possible that Apex Legends would have climbed in popularity even without influencers pushing the game, but why take the chance. Dev had previously worked on Fortnite cheats, but increasingly robust anti-cheat protections and Epic's legal action against cheaters has caused many to jump over to Apex Legends.


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Apple Genius and Communications Workers of America (CWA) organiser Derrick Bowle said: “A number of us have been here for many years, and we don't think you stick at a place unless you love it.”
"Apple is a profoundly positive place to work, but we know that the company can better live up to their ideals and so we're excited to be joining together with our coworkers to bring Apple to the negotiating table and make this an even better place to work."
Given Apple’s past response to unionisation, we suspect that Bowle and his chums are about to find out that the company they “love” is probably not going to be happy with them. For some reason, big US corporates, while claiming to love their staff, tend to get a bit twitchy about unions.
The CWA filed the petition for formal union recognition on Wednesday after a months-long campaign to secure the support of Apple Store staff in the Cumberland Mall, Atlanta. Over 70 per cent of the 107 eligible workers – made up salespeople, technicians, and operation specialists working at the iGiant's outlet in the mall – have signed authorisation cards, we're told by people familiar with the matter.

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|By PR Newswire||
|January 15, 2013 09:52 AM EST||
CHESTER, January 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
- Basic rate taxpayers need a rate of 3.39 per cent to gain benefit in real terms, increasing to 4.51 per cent for higher rate taxpayers
- Only 14 savings accounts now beat inflation BUT it's still worth moving your money
Today's announcement by The Bank of England that The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has remained at 2.7 per cent means that savers need to be proactive and move to an account paying better rates in order to limit the impact of inflation on their money, according to analysis by MoneySupermarket.
To beat inflation, basic rate tax payers will need an account paying at least 3.39 per cent to gain benefit in real terms from their savings, increasing to 4.51 per cent for higher rate tax payers, and 5.41 per cent for 50 per cent tax payers.
No easy access accounts currently beat the effects of inflation while 13 easy access ISAs and one fixed rate ISA that beat inflation. However, with the current average savings rate currently at 0.26 per cent, the majority of savers can still switch to much better deals and reduce the impact of inflation.
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at MoneySupermarket.com, said: "The high cost of living has had a major impact on UK household budgets, and today's news that inflation remains at 2.7 per cent, will be unwelcome news for savers, especially in light of the low number of savings options available that beat inflation.
"It is important savers don't give up, though, or get put off, and prepare to switch if they are not currently on the most competitive deal. With the majority of savings sitting in accounts paying a derisory rate of interest, most savers will still benefit from switching to market-leading deals, even if the rates on offer don't beat the eroding effect of inflation. Limiting the impact of inflation is vitally important at a time when you will struggle to find accounts that beat it, especially if you cannot lock money away for the longer term or have already utilised your tax-free allowance. It is also important to check your rate if you signed up to an account offering a bonus rate, as there are many deals coming to an end shortly, meaning you could be left on a very uncompetitive rate.
"As we approach the end of the current tax year savers should utilise products such as Cash ISAs to take advantage of the tax-free benefits they offer. Savers should also consider looking at alternative products such as offsetting savings against mortgage borrowing or peer-to-peer lending as the returns may be more favourable."
Cash ISAs Account Minimum AER Provider (Terms & Conditions Deposit 3.10% Notes Apply) Coventry BS 60 Day Notice ISA (2) GBP1 months Includes 0.60% bonus for 12 withdrawals subject to 60 days' notice First Trust Bank Cash ISA GBP50 3.10% N/A Newcastle BS Big Home Saver ISA GBP1 3.02% For those saving to buy a home Stafford Railway BS Cash ISA GBP1 3.00% N/A First Direct Cash ISA GBP1 3.00% For 1st Account holders only Vernon BS Regular Saver ISA GBP25 3.00% Local restrictions apply Withdrawals subject to 30 days notice Beverley BS Cash ISA GBP500 3.00% Existing customers only Newbury BS 90 Day Cash ISA GBP20,000 2.85% Withdrawals subject to 90 days' notice HSBC Cash e-ISA GBP1 2.75% Existing customers only Marks & Spencer Advantage Cash ISA GBP100 2.75% N/A Marsden BS Direct Cash ISA 30 GBP4,000 2.75% Withdrawals subject to 30 days' notice Marsden BS Members Reward ISA GBP10,000 2.75% Existing customers of (Issue 1) at least 5 years only Sourced by http://www.moneysupermarket.com 15.01.2013 Fixed Rate Cash ISA Account Provider (Terms & Conditions Apply) Minimum Deposit AER BM Savings 3 Year Fixed Rate ISA GBP500 2.80% Sourced by http://www.moneysupermarket.com 15.01.2013
Notes to Editors
MoneySupermarket.com compares (at 27th Dec 2012)
- 134 car insurance brands and 97 home insurance brands
- 9 broadband providers and 20 energy providers
- 31 unsecured loan and 5 secured loan providers
- 62 mortgage lenders and 26 credit card providers
- 63 savings providers and 38 current account providers.
- Over 650,000 mobile phone deals
We help our customers to save money on all of their household bills by providing a free, easy to use online service so they can compare a wide range of products in one place and find the product most suited to their needs. Our size means we are able to offer our customers exclusive, market-leading deals, including some they can't even get direct from providers.
By having considerable volumes of informed customers actively looking for products and ready to purchase, we offer our providers an efficient and cost effective customer acquisition solution across all of our channels. This enables our providers to target their marketing spend in an effective and completely measurable way.
Our revenue comes predominantly from fees paid to us by product providers when a customer clicks through to their website and actually applies for or purchases a product. It is a success based marketing fee.
Our customer commitment
- We make it easy to find the brands you expect to see
- We strive to ensure a product cannot be found cheaper by going direct
- We let you remain in control of your personal data
- We are independent and impartial
- We make it easy to switch and save
- We strive to always show the most competitive product available
+44(0)787-237-9545 / +44(0)1244-370-318
SYS-CON Events announced today that robomq.io will exhibit at SYS-CON's @ThingsExpo, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. robomq.io is an interoperable and composable platform that connects any device to any application. It helps systems integrators and the solution providers build new and innovative products and service for industries requiring monitoring or intelligence from devices and sensors.
Apr. 1, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,632
The 17th International Cloud Expo has announced that its Call for Papers is open. 17th International Cloud Expo, to be held November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, brings together Cloud Computing, APM, APIs, Microservices, Security, Big Data, Internet of Things, DevOps and WebRTC to one location. With cloud computing driving a higher percentage of enterprise IT budgets every year, it becomes increasingly important to plant your flag in this fast-expanding business opportunity. Submit your speaking proposal today!
Apr. 1, 2015 05:15 PM EDT Reads: 634
SYS-CON Events announced today that Litmus Automation will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Litmus Automation’s vision is to provide a solution for companies that are in a rush to embrace the disruptive Internet of Things technology and leverage it for real business challenges. Litmus Automation simplifies the complexity of connected devices applications with Loop, a secure and scalable cloud platform.
Apr. 1, 2015 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 810
While not quite mainstream yet, WebRTC is starting to gain ground with Carriers, Enterprises and Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) alike. WebRTC makes it easy for developers to add audio and video communications into their applications by using Web browsers as their platform. But like any market, every customer engagement has unique requirements, as well as constraints. And of course, one size does not fit all. In her session at WebRTC Summit, Dr. Natasha Tamaskar, Vice President, Head of Cloud and Mobile Strategy at GENBAND, will explore what is needed to take a real time communications ...
Apr. 1, 2015 03:45 PM EDT Reads: 727
As Marc Andreessen says software is eating the world. Everything is rapidly moving toward being software-defined – from our phones and cars through our washing machines to the datacenter. However, there are larger challenges when implementing software defined on a larger scale - when building software defined infrastructure. In his session at 16th Cloud Expo, Boyan Ivanov, CEO of StorPool, will provide some practical insights on what, how and why when implementing "software-defined" in the datacenter.
Apr. 1, 2015 03:45 PM EDT Reads: 661
SYS-CON Events announced today that Solgenia will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Solgenia is the global market leader in Cloud Collaboration and Cloud Infrastructure software solutions. Designed to “Bridge the Gap” between Personal and Professional Social, Mobile and Cloud user experiences, our solutions help large and medium-sized organizations dr...
Apr. 1, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 3,112
Internet of Things (IoT) will be a hybrid ecosystem of diverse devices and sensors collaborating with operational and enterprise systems to create the next big application. In their session at @ThingsExpo, Bramh Gupta, founder and CEO of robomq.io, and Fred Yatzeck, principal architect leading product development at robomq.io, will discuss how choosing the right middleware and integration strategy from the get-go will enable IoT solution developers to adapt and grow with the industry, while at the same time reduce Time to Market (TTM) by using plug and play capabilities offered by a robust I...
Apr. 1, 2015 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 876
The world's leading Cloud event, Cloud Expo has launched Microservices Journal on the SYS-CON.com portal, featuring over 19,000 original articles, news stories, features, and blog entries. DevOps Journal is focused on this critical enterprise IT topic in the world of cloud computing. Microservices Journal offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. Follow new article posts on Twitter at @MicroservicesE
Apr. 1, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,618
After making a doctor’s appointment via your mobile device, you receive a calendar invite. The day of your appointment, you get a reminder with the doctor’s location and contact information. As you enter the doctor’s exam room, the medical team is equipped with the latest tablet containing your medical history – he or she makes real time updates to your medical file. At the end of your visit, you receive an electronic prescription to your preferred pharmacy and can schedule your next appointment.
Apr. 1, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,062
Wearable technology was dominant at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , and MWC was no exception to this trend. New versions of favorites, such as the Samsung Gear (three new products were released: the Gear 2, the Gear 2 Neo and the Gear Fit), shared the limelight with new wearables like Pebble Time Steel (the new premium version of the company’s previously released smartwatch) and the LG Watch Urbane. The most dramatic difference at MWC was an emphasis on presenting wearables as fashion accessories and moving away from the original clunky technology associated with t...
Apr. 1, 2015 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,647
SYS-CON Events announced today the IoT Bootcamp – Jumpstart Your IoT Strategy, being held June 9–10, 2015, in conjunction with 16th Cloud Expo and Internet of @ThingsExpo at the Javits Center in New York City. This is your chance to jumpstart your IoT strategy. Combined with real-world scenarios and use cases, the IoT Bootcamp is not just based on presentations but includes hands-on demos and walkthroughs. We will introduce you to a variety of Do-It-Yourself IoT platforms including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Spark and Intel Edison. You will also get an overview of cloud technologies s...
Apr. 1, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,282
Containers and microservices have become topics of intense interest throughout the cloud developer and enterprise IT communities. Accordingly, attendees at the upcoming 16th Cloud Expo at the Javits Center in New York June 9-11 will find fresh new content in a new track called PaaS | Containers & Microservices Containers are not being considered for the first time by the cloud community, but a current era of re-consideration has pushed them to the top of the cloud agenda. With the launch of Docker's initial release in March of 2013, interest was revved up several notches. Then late last...
Apr. 1, 2015 09:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,330
The WebRTC Summit 2015 New York, to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY, announces that its Call for Papers is open. Topics include all aspects of improving IT delivery by eliminating waste through automated business models leveraging cloud technologies. WebRTC Summit is co-located with 16th International Cloud Expo, @ThingsExpo, Big Data Expo, and DevOps Summit.
Apr. 1, 2015 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,761
SOA Software has changed its name to Akana. With roots in Web Services and SOA Governance, Akana has established itself as a leader in API Management and is expanding into cloud integration as an alternative to the traditional heavyweight enterprise service bus (ESB). The company recently announced that it achieved more than 90% year-over-year growth. As Akana, the company now addresses the evolution and diversification of SOA, unifying security, management, and DevOps across SOA, APIs, microservices, and more.
Apr. 1, 2015 08:30 AM EDT Reads: 2,135
The list of ‘new paradigm’ technologies that now surrounds us appears to be at an all time high. From cloud computing and Big Data analytics to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and the Internet of Things (IoT), today we have to deal with what the industry likes to call ‘paradigm shifts’ at every level of IT. This is disruption; of course, we understand that – change is almost always disruptive.
Mar. 30, 2015 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,216
SYS-CON Events announced today that SafeLogic has been named “Bag Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo® New York, which will take place June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. SafeLogic provides security products for applications in mobile and server/appliance environments. SafeLogic’s flagship product CryptoComply is a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic engine designed to secure data on servers, workstations, appliances, mobile devices, and in the Cloud.
Mar. 30, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,584
GENBAND has announced that SageNet is leveraging the Nuvia platform to deliver Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to its large base of retail and enterprise customers. Nuvia’s cloud-based solution provides SageNet’s customers with a full suite of business communications and collaboration tools. Two large national SageNet retail customers have recently signed up to deploy the Nuvia platform and the company will continue to sell the service to new and existing customers. Nuvia’s capabilities include HD voice, video, multimedia messaging, mobility, conferencing, Web collaboration, deskt...
Mar. 30, 2015 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,551
SYS-CON Media announced today that @WebRTCSummit Blog, the largest WebRTC resource in the world, has been launched. @WebRTCSummit Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. @WebRTCSummit Blog can be bookmarked ▸ Here @WebRTCSummit conference site can be bookmarked ▸ Here
Mar. 29, 2015 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,903
SYS-CON Events announced today that Cisco, the worldwide leader in IT that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, has been named “Gold Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Cisco makes amazing things happen by connecting the unconnected. Cisco has shaped the future of the Internet by becoming the worldwide leader in transforming how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco and our partners are building the platform for the Internet of Everything by connecting the...
Mar. 29, 2015 07:00 PM EDT Reads: 5,322
Temasys has announced senior management additions to its team. Joining are David Holloway as Vice President of Commercial and Nadine Yap as Vice President of Product. Over the past 12 months Temasys has doubled in size as it adds new customers and expands the development of its Skylink platform. Skylink leads the charge to move WebRTC, traditionally seen as a desktop, browser based technology, to become a ubiquitous web communications technology on web and mobile, as well as Internet of Things compatible devices.
Mar. 29, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,911


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“Cryptojacking scams have continued to evolve, and they don’t even need you to install anything,” Jason Adler, an assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission, wrote in a blog post in June. “Scammers can use malicious code embedded in a website or an ad to infect your device. Then they can help themselves to your device’s processor without you even knowing.”
A few years ago, CPU and GPU mining became completely obsolete when FPGAs came around. An FPGA is a Field Programmable Gate Array, which can produce computational power similar to most GPUs, while being far more energy‐efficient than graphics cards. Due to its mining efficiency, and ability to consume relatively lesser energy, many miners shifted to the use of FPGAs.
The domain name "bitcoin.org" was registered on 18 August 2008. In November 2008, a link to a paper authored by Satoshi Nakamoto titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System was posted to a cryptography mailing list. Nakamoto implemented the bitcoin software as open source code and released it in January 2009. Nakamoto's identity remains unknown.


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The City of Toledo is preparing to deliver a last minute incentive package to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in an attempt to convince the company to keep manufacturing the Jeep Wrangler in the city.
The package is currently being finalised and is set to be sent to the Fiat Chrysler, the latter of which acquired Jeep in 1987, by the end of the week.
Exactly what the city and its partners will offer Fiat Chrysler remains unclear but Toledo’s director of economic development, Matt Sapara, said he expected to hear a response soon.
“I don’t have a timeline on when Fiat Chrysler will make a decision on it, but I anticipate it will be fairly soon,” he said.
The Toledo Assembly Complex produced 511,466 vehicles in 2014, the most ever, with Jeep global vehicles sales increasing by 39% to an all-time annual record of 1,017,019 units.
But despite such a successful 2014 for the company, the future of the Wrangler in Toldeo has been in limbo since last fall, when the company stated that it might need to move production elsewhere because of cost concerns.
The Jeep Wrangler has been built in Toledo since 1992, but current demand for the vehicle has pushed production to the limit.
The next generation of the Jeep Wrangler is due in 2017, leaving little time before a decision is required on the where the new version of vehicle is to be made.
Industry experts have estimated it could cost as much as $400m for Fiat Chrysler to build a new production plant in Toledo.


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Lyft And Uber Get The Boot As Market Street Closes To Traffic
Market Street goes car-free, but what about electric unicycles? Lyft and Uber vehicles get kicked out Market Street along with all privately owned vehicles, in a series of ambitious “…
We’re bringing you the breaking news stories that affect San Franciscans. From new city park projects to public holidays and events, you can count on us to keep you informed.
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Fake currency with face value of Rs.1.5 crore seizedJune 7th, 2011 - 12:37 am ICT by IANS
New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized counterfeit currency notes with a face value of Rs.1.5 crore from two Turkish nationals and their Indian associate, an official said Monday.
“On Sunday, our team, managed to recover fake currency (with a face value) of Rs.1.54 crore hidden in the bus. The counterfeit currency was in the denomination of Rs.500,” the DRI official said.
“We were able to seize counterfeit currency following a tip-off,” said the official, hinting that it was being brought in from Bangladesh.
The officials intercepted the foreign-registered luxury Mercedes Benz bus June 3. The fake notes hidden in were recovered after a two-day search.
During investigations, DRI officials found that the two foreign nationals had travelled by bus from Turkey to India via Iran and Pakistan.
They had made their first trip to India from Pakistan in April. After that, they travelled to Bangladesh and were on their way back when they were intercepted.
“The DRI officials have also apprehended an Indian who was supposed to be the receiver of the smuggled fake currency notes,” said a source.
- Three held with fake currency in Rajasthan's Bharatpur - Jul 02, 2012
- Heroine worth Rs. 5 cr., fake currency notes worth Rs. 9.5 lakh recovered - Aug 21, 2010
- Fake currency seized in Rajasthan - Jun 16, 2012
- Police scale down seized fake money haul, say notes good quality - Jan 14, 2012
- Man held with fake notes - Apr 20, 2011
- Fake currency of Rs.4.5 lakh face value seized in Punjab - Jan 20, 2011
- Three held in Punjab for circulating fake currency - Oct 30, 2010
- Fake currency racket busted in Kolkata, four held - Jun 11, 2010
- Man held with counterfeit currency in south Delhi - Dec 31, 2010
- Counterfeit currency seized in Punjab - Jul 10, 2011
- Counterfeit currency: Former defence official arrested - Jun 13, 2011
- Two held with fake currency - Mar 15, 2011
- Fake Indian currency recovered, three held - Mar 18, 2012
- Man held with counterfeit currency - Nov 05, 2011
- Fake currency unit busted, three held - Jan 10, 2011
Tags: bangladesh, counterfeit currency, crore, denomination, dri, face value, fake currency notes, first trip, foreign nationals, India, investigations, iran, june 3, luxury mercedes, mercedes benz, New Delhi, pakistan, revenue intelligence, rs 1, rs 500


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Will the next generations have affordable healthcare?
New research published in JAMA analyzed employer-provided health insurance – which is used by 61 percent of working-age adults. Both men and women report almost all healthcare services to be less affordable in recent years. The authors have found that the rising costs of healthcare and out of pocket expenses are outpacing employee insurance policies.
Do our eyes work better in the dark?
Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, occurs when the brain can’t recognize sight in one eye. A pilot study in eLife tested a therapy called transient dark exposure to possibly correct the issue. The treatment first removes any blockages from the patient’s eye before they live in darkness for a few days. The process aims to reboot the brain’s ocular mechanisms so that it can recognize signals from both eyes. This mice study showed significant improvements in vision without any lasting negative impacts from the dark exposure.
Your ‘natural’ skin products may be agitating your allergies.
Research published in JAMA Dermatology discovered that 94 percent of the products they tested for sensitive skin included allergens. the FDA doesn’t have one exact definition of ‘natural’, meaning that companies can use the label on misleading products.


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The companies offer pay-as-you-go products and services to rural Zambian communities, where 95% of people lack access to modern energy services. “We are not only providing services and products, we’re also building capacity and improving quality of life,” says Tresphord Mwanga, VITALITE Zambia regional coordinator for Lusaka.
"I’ve seen great changes in the education simply because people can study longer hours now. I’ve seen people empowered because they’re able to save more money; candles drain pockets, but the savings made through our products mean greater expenditure on farming."
VITALITE Zambia’s pay-as-you-go system forms a critical part of the company’s approach and has been key to its success. The company focused not just on offering high-quality products that match people’s needs, but also on making their products affordable to low-income households. “The payment system is really what makes this a good option for locals,” a member of the marketing team, Bright Chileya explains. “People can pay off the systems slowly while using them. It’s really affordable.”
For the most basic system, which includes three lights, phone charging and a radio, customers pay an initial deposit equivalent to the price of one sack of maize meal, and can take the system home immediately. Customers can pay back the full price of the system over 12 or 18 months and can choose between daily and monthly payments. Payments are made via mobile money, but customers without access to mobile phones (or lacking confidence to use the system), can also pay their VITALITE Zambia agent.
“I didn’t use mobile money before,” says customer Steven Miyoba. “At first my agent was doing it for me. He is a good man – trustworthy and reliable. But now that I know the system I am doing mobile money myself.” Steven is a taxi driver, which means his income fluctuates. He has been encouraged by his agent to pay the system off slowly before committing to new purchases.
“We don’t want to burden our clients to the point where they have to choose between our product and their basic needs,” says Cassandra. “Even though electricity is a critical service, customers can start small and upgrade their systems when they are comfortable doing so. Our customers get a critical service that will improve their quality of life while being in control of where their money goes.”
Building and maintaining good relationships with their agents and customers, and between agents and customers, is crucial for both ReadyPay and VITALITE Zambia. Agents working on commission sell the products, accept payments and provide support. “The regional coordinator scouts for agents. It’s a good job because many agents make money where there was no market before,” says Bright Chileya. “We learn new things from new places. How you approach each culture is different. Zambia has 72 languages and community engagement is very important. Having someone local and trustworthy act as an agent is very important.”
Lister Sithole was VITALITE Zambia's first agent. “I’m just a simple farmer,” she says, but this description does not do justice to the impact she has had in her community. As an agent, Lister has become an entrepreneur, respected in the community for her products and services. She has 130 happy customers.
“At first, it was difficult to find customers; I had to walk long distances,” the mother of five recalls, “but now people know me and want to buy from me.” Lister is one of a number of women who have gained greater community status and respect – as well as income – through their work as agents. In total, the four companies contracted under the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia have hired 777 new agents since July 2017, including more than 200 women.
“The government will not come here for a long time [to install electricity], there are too many challenges. So we are making a difference now,” says Lister.
“Zambia needs so much more; we’ve got a lot of work to do” says Tresphord, “but at least we can see the changes now. The products have really empowered people. It’s exciting to be a part of.”
See more customer and agent stories below:
"I have more respect in this community now. At first it was difficult to learn the systems, but it’s easy now. I attend community meetings and go to churches where I teach people to move away from candles and batteries and to move towards cleaner options. I teach them about health, the environment and farming practices. And I teach them about VITALITE. They are very interested."
"Before it would be dark at 6pm and we didn’t have any lighting. Now, we have a trusted brand that even my daughter knows how to use."
Photography: Jason Mulikita for REEEP
Text by Claire Mathieson, Cross Consulting, and Maria van Veldhuizen, REEEP


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Nifty’s, a nonfungible tokens (NFT) marketplace, held a sale for digital collectibles tied to Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming “The Matrix Resurrections” film on Tuesday and things went a little awry.
Variety reports that within an hour of the sale opening on the site, Nifty’s halted the purchase queue briefly, restarted, then paused it again overnight after demand swamped their systems. As of a few hours ago, more than 330,000 users were waiting in the queue for a chance to buy ‘Matrix’ NFTs.
The sale is offering 100,000 unique NFTs of ‘Matrix’-inspired avatars, all available for $50 each, on the site in an effort to promote “The Matrix Resurrections” release on December 22nd.
The sale talk comes as EW has done a lengthy cover story on the film which goes into much more detail about the storyline, overarching themes of the film and more. For those who don’t mind being a little spoiled, click here to read that piece.
Finally, there’s a new and very slickly edited TV spot released by Warners which shows off various shots and characters from the previous films mixed with shots from the new one.


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Nokia is one of the few players in the smartphone space that care about passing lasted software updates to older and mid-range handsets. The Finland based company is all set to roll out Android 11 stable update to Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 5.3, as both these handsets were seen tested on GeekBench recently.
Nokia 5.3 and Nokia 8.1 getting Android 11 update
While launching phones today with Android 11 out-of-the-box is important, passing the same latest update to older devices is equally important. This norm was followed by very few OEMs like Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi and Nokia. While OnePlus and Samsung prioritise their premium handsets for this, Xiaomi and Nokia care about their mid-range smartphones too.
This statement can be supported firmly as Xiaomi has released a list of older and mid-range smartphones that will get Android 11 based MIUI update, and Nokia, even if late, is passing Android 11 update gradually. The HMD Global owned brand has recently pushed Android 11 update for Nokia 8.3 5G handset and is now about to do the same for Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 5.3 phones.
Both these handsets were spotted in GeekBench 5 running on Android 11 OS, and showing their respective single-core and multi-core benchmark scores. Since Nokia doesn’t have much of bloatware, it can push whatever the latest Android update that Google passes to its devices.
OEMs laying their proprietary bloatware have to check the compatibility of this OS with the Android 11 base, so as not to create and additional headaches to the users in the form of bugs. Many OEMs are waiting for the same reason, to check compatibility, and release them without any errors.
More to read


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Forrester has just published our updated forecast for the US tech market for 2017-2018 (see “US Tech Market Outlook For 2017 And 2018: Mostly Sunny, With Clouds And Chance Of Rain”). We are forecasting growth of 4.8% in 2017 and 5.2% in 2018 for US business and government spending on tech goods, services, and staff. This forecast assumes moderate US economic growth (2% to 2.5% real GDP growth, 4% to 4.5% nominal GDP growth). Considering this economic outlook, our updated 2017 forecast is slightly less positive than our December forecast (4.8% vs. 5.1%) for US budget growth in 2017, with our new 2018 forecast pointing to a modest improvement next year.
Three main themes define our updated forecast:
1. Steady US real economic growth will support moderate growth for US business and government spending. Despite the weak 0.7% real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017, economic forecasts have slightly improved since our post-election update, bolstered by renewed US business confidence. US consumer spending remains strong, as a result of reduced energy costs and low unemployment. We now think it unlikely that the Trump Administration’s tax and spending policies in practice will lead to higher growth rates, nor that its actual trade policies will lead to lower growth. However, clouds in the economic outlook could emerge as the effects of rising interest rates, US housing vulnerability, weak US exports from the strong dollar, and anticipated cutting of US government spending take place.
2. BT spending continues to outpace traditional IT spending, but the two segments of tech spending will begin to converge. CIOs will need to place an emphasis on spending on business technologies that help firms win, serve, and retain customers, as BT spending will rise twice as fast as IT spending. The BT agenda will grow by 9% in 2017 and 8.4% in 2018, in comparison to IT spending which will increase by 2.7% in 2017 and 3.5% in 2018. However, BT spending and IT spending’s growth rates will follow converging patterns as CIOs implement back-office systems and infrastructure that support the BT agenda. Notably, BT as a percentage of total tech spending will continue to steadily rise in the coming years, reaching 34% in 2018.
3. Cloud’s strong growth is finally showing in the top-line numbers. It’s no secret that the growing adoption of cloud has a strong impact on US tech budgets. Cloud platform services will grow at rates of 25% to 30%. Cloud application (e.g., SaaS) subscription fees will exceed license and maintenance fees, ultimately driving overall software spending growth. Spending on tech consulting services and on tech staff will rise at 6% or higher rates, as firms add internal and external resources to support their adoption of cloud solutions, analytics and big data, and mobile. However, the cloud’s positive impact on the software, services, and staff parts of US tech budgets continues to be mitigated by its cannibalizing effect on computer hardware and traditional tech outsourcing spending.
Drafted by Robert Valdovinos, Senior Research Assistant


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As a result of the war on drugs, states around the country have begun moving to legalize medical marijuana. The legislation has already passed two Senate committees and is pending in the House. The bill is anticipated to be suggested in the Senate ultimately in the coming numerous months.
For now, the Senate is considering the legislation and may make updates to the website in the coming months. Then, if it passes, the state’s governor will have to sign it to make it official.
Legalize Medical Marijuana
A new bill introduced in the California legislature aims to make medical marijuana legal in the state. Its primary goal is to make it easier for businesses to sell and distribute the substance. This means that more cannabis businesses will appear on the market. In addition, there will be more competition in the state, which should lead to more sales.
The measure is a significant step in the right direction, but the state must be careful. Unless the new legislation is passed with the support of the council, it may not be a good idea for the state’s economy.
Restrictions on Marijuana
The bill is also subject to a series of restrictions. Instead, marijuana consumption will breathe held down to companies with – juncture consumption concurrences. In addition, the bill will also allow marijuana delivery businesses. The goal is to make it easier for people to access Medical Cannabis Berkeley by making it more accessible.
Additionally, localities will not be able to block the sale of marijuana to patients. Furthermore, it remains illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana, just like it is for alcohol. And the law will quiet breathe able to drag you over if you’re snapped herding under the juice.
In any case, truly,
Actually partaking in weed or marijuana is no more dangerous than drinking a lot of liquor or smoking ordinary cigarettes. Cannabis is, nay, the most un-habit-forming of the emulsions that command breathed organized as devastative anesthetics.
Weed, else called weed, is regarded to respire alright less baneful than tobacco or cigarettes. Cannabis’ practice – jelling attributes are displaced lesser than those of espresso, as per specialists on the moppet.
While the laws against cannabis are not completely clear, many states are moving to legalize medical marijuana. Berkeley, for example, has a dispensary that is legal and sells the product legally. This will also allow marijuana delivery services to operate.
The apothecaries must postdate the enactments and regs in the commonwealth, so the ladings will breathe reached on to the consumer. It’s endless assuming these soldiers will inhale ready to remain in customs on the off chance that the shoddy institutions are reached, however, it’ll inhale an impressive method towards Legalize Medical Marijuana.
Medical Marijuana Industry
When the medical marijuana industry is legal, the government is concerned about its impact on local communities. While states have historically created few restrictions on marijuana, many states are now taking steps to make the drug available to the public.
It will have a positive impact on the economy of many cities and will encourage new business. It will also allow the state to create a safe environment for patients who use marijuana. This will help ensure that the cannabis businesses will continue to thrive.
Legalize Medical Marijuana Despensaries
For those who live in the Bay Area, legal marijuana dispensaries must provide customers with a receipt. It is important for patients to note that California taxes the sale of marijuana.
It is illegal to sell the drug in Berkeley if it is illegal. If it is legal in a state, the dispensaries must charge a sales tax of at least five percent on their products. Moreover, dispensaries must provide the state identification of their customers.
The dispensaries must provide customers with receipts. In addition, they must include sales tax and excise taxes. This is the same as the black market. However, dispensaries must also provide a receipt to first-time customers.
The deals assessment is a nonelective chance that must breathe carried in the figure of the affair. The state government will add the tax to the invoice in the amount of the sale.
The legalization of Medical Marijuana in California is an exciting step forward for the cannabis industry. In California, more than half of all residents support the use of the drug.
In addition, a recent poll found that 91% of Berkeley residents support the use of medical marijuana, and 59% support the full legalization of marijuana. Likewise, the law passed in California requires doctors to try an FDA-approved CBD medication before prescribing a patient with medical marijuana.
Berkeley Patients Group
Berkeley patients Group provide Legalized Marijuana in Berkeley since 1999 with good quality products and raise its voice for the legalization of Marijuana.
After that Berkeley Patients Group achieves success for it. Many people benefit from medicinal applications for a range of diseases.
Legalization, which will most assuredly amplify to circle farther commonwealths and officinal exercises, shouldn’t breathe incorrectly with safeness and harmlessness.


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A little-known Puerto Rico-based company has gone after Ripple in court, accusing the blockchain firm of running an unregistered securities sale of the XRP cryptocurrency.
The company, Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement (BMA), filed a lawsuit Friday in San Francisco, alleging both Ripple and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, had violated federal and Californian laws on seven counts when hosting its $1.1 billion XRP sale.
BMA accuses Ripple of publicly promoted the sale to investors to drive up demand and maximize profits, without registering the sale with the relevant regulator. It also claims the company purposefully misled investors with false announcements to "artificially inflate the price at which they can sell XRP."
The plaintiff adds that XRP had no utility at the time of the first sale in 2013, with its sole value coming from being a speculative investment, and that the $1.1 billion Ripple made from the token sale was more than the rest of the company's combined revenue and cash flow.
Very little is known about BMA. The company was incorporated in Puerto Rico in March 2019 and has one sole director, Pavel Pogodin, named on the corporation registry. It first made headlines after filing a suit against FTX in November, accusing the derivatives exchange of manipulating the price of bitcoin. The case was thrown out in mid-December.
BMA appears to represent Pogodin. The filing says he had purchased XRP from Ripple but lost money from relying on Ripple's "misrepresentations" that the "adoption of XRP by financial institutions and banks would drive demand for XRP."
As well as requesting Ripple return all money made in the illegal sale, BMA is also asking the court to award "compensatory damages."
CoinDesk reached out to Ripple for comment but had not received a reply by press time.
This isn't the first lawsuit alleging Ripple sold XRP tokens as unregistered securities. Other investors have accused the San Francisco-based company of breaking California's securities legislation.
Ripple tried unsuccessfully to put a cap on new cases last December, arguing one suit, filed last August, came too late after the original sale and should, therefore, be dismissed.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


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Atlas Capital Management LP, a Fisker investor, filed a federal suit in Wilmington, Delaware, on December 27 claiming the California-based automaker withheld information regarding the company’s financial health. Lawyers representing Atlas stated that the investment firm “would not have purchased or otherwise acquired its Fisker securities, or, if it had purchased such securities, it would not have done so at the artificially inflated prices which it paid.”
Atlas alleges that Fisker withheld information about a recall involving 239 units of the company’s Karma sedan until the day after it closed a round of financing. Atlas added that Fisker issued “materially false and misleading statements” about the status of the company.
Anita-Marie Laurie, a spokeswoman for Fisker with Sitrick & Co., declined to comment on the case when asked by Bloomberg.
Fisker filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, listing $500 million in assets and $1 billion in liabilities. The company was recently sold to China’s Hybrid Technology.


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Congratulations to the winners of the Scottish Fair Trade Awards 2021
Fair Trade and Sustainability Award sponsored by the Energy Agency – we have four winners
Our first winner is Kyle Academy Geography and RME Department
They have worked tirelessly over the last decade or so, to ensure that Fairtrade and its principles are embedded in the school curriculum. Amongst a whole lot more, in and around Fairtrade fortnight the department delivers an entire course of Fairtrade and environment lessons to all S1 pupils, which raises awareness of the climate aims and impact of Fair Trade and its role in contributing towards a more sustainable world.
Our next winner is the University of St Andrews
They support Fairtrade Fortnight each year with their student societies, engage with the local Food Cooperative to spread information about Fairtrade relating to sustainability, serve Fairtrade tea, coffee and juices at their cafes, and had their Sustainable Development Society going “Bananas about Fairtrade”.
The next winner is Kilmarnock Academy Eco and Fairtrade Student Group
They have been involved in various Fair Trade and sustainability initiatives over the past few years including sales of Fair Trade goods in school; provision of paper and plastic recycling in classrooms; community litter picking and educating the wider school around sustainability issues. And they didn’t let Covid restrictions get in their way.
Our final Fair Trade and Sustainability Award winners are Gartconner Early Years Centre and Primary School
They have been cooking and baking using Fairtrade products, and learning about the benefits of using Fairtrade products, and how this benefits the environment and climate change. They’ve been taking this message out into the community and have been growing their own food.
Fair Trade Innovation Award
The winner is the B2B Coffee Project
5 years ago, Challenges Worldwide was successful in getting funding from the Scottish Government International Development Fund for a 5 year Rwanda Coffee Project. As the funding for the project is coming to its end, an exciting legacy plan has been put in place to establish a commercial trading operation for Rwandan Fairtrade coffee to build the market for Rwandan coffee in the UK. Building on the Challenges-led project an exciting new initiative with coffee co-operatives in Rwanda and Uganda, has embarked on a partnership with UK-based credit-granter for international small-scale farmers, Ollema Fairer Farming Fund. Together, they are forging direct links and open communication and collaboration between Rwandan and Ugandan specialty producers and the UK’s vibrant coffee community. The partners of ‘B2B Coffee’, will act as importers of specialty-grade and Fairtrade-certified coffee, marketing it to sustainably-conscious independent roasters, and facilitating meaningful and inclusive connections between all actors in the direct farmer-roaster-customer supply chain.
Special Recognition Award – we have two winners
Our first winner is Sue Milne
Sue was involved over 9 years ago in setting up the Bearsden and Milngavie Fairtrade Towns Group, and then Gavin’s Mill Fairtrade Shop and Café in 2017. She’s set up the online shop to deal with the impact of Covid, she’s walked the West Highland Way in terrible weather to raise funds, she’s mopped up floods in the Mill and painted ceilings 20 feet up. As a Trustee and Board member at Gavin’s Mill, she’s working on plans to add a large mill wheel to generate renewable energy.
Our second winner is Kyle Academy Fairtrade Group
The group has been going for 14 years but they came into their own over the last 2 years. They took their annual Fair Trade events online. They’ve hosted Divine chocolate tasting at home for pupils and their families, there’s been wine tasting for staff at home too and their competition went online too.
Fair Trade Volunteer Award
Our winner this year is Fraser Boyd, Robert Douglas Memorial Primary School
Fraser is on his 12th 90kg Rice Challenge at school, with his pupils he supports Scottish Fair Trade businesses including All Things Fair, JTS and Bala Sport. He has parents buying Fairtrade chocolate and the Boys Brigade turning their tuckshop Fairtrade. He’s linked Fair Trade into his school’s Learning for Sustainability plans and much more.
Fair Trade Community Award
Our winners are Biggar Primary School
They have been a Fairtrade school since 2009. They work closely with their town’s Fair Trade Steering Group and were instrumental in their town gaining Fairtrade status, they produced and update a Fairtrade guide to shopping in their town, they are involved in Fairtrade Christmas stalls and have Fair Trade artwork in shop windows. They have done a whole lot more within the school and in their community over the years and that’s why they are winners this year.
Fair Trade Business Award
Our winner this year is the One World Shop
When forced to close in March 2020 due to the pandemic, it was the first time that the shop had closed for more than a day or two in 38 years! They started in 1983 with a group of volunteers who came together to set up a small trading outlet to help combat poverty in developing countries. With a small team today, they showed huge resilience during the pandemic, moving sales online and taking to social media promotion in order to continue to support their suppliers and producers. They’ve bounced back and for their work as a business and in raising awareness across Edinburgh in schools and churches about the connection between unfair trade and global poverty.
Outstanding Achievement Award sponsored by Scotmid
Our winner is St Silas Episcopal Church
They have been a Fairtrade Church since 2005 and they are receiving this award for their dedication to supporting Fair Trade and their significant response to the extra difficulties faced by farmers in Malawi due to Climate Change and the global pandemic. They’ve been selling Fair Trade for 20 years, with the congregation supporting various Scottish suppliers, the Kilombero rice farmers and food banks in Scotland. They promote Fair Trade at the local gala, they’ve held Fashion Shows, art sales, had visits from the local MP, supported local groups and they went online with ‘virtual stalls’ during the pandemic.
Climate Partnership Award sponsored by South Lanarkshire Council
Our winner is The Balmore Trust and Grace’s Briquettes Project
Grace Mwanguti is a Kilombero rice farmer in the Karonga District of Northern Malawi. She had an idea for starting a business to turn the waste product from rice milling into a useful fuel for cooking. The availability of this fuel in rural communities will help ease the lives of women rice farmers who for generations have had the back-breaking job of collecting firewood in the hills. It will also help to stop the denudation of the hill slopes, itself a serious environmental and climate emergency issue, which the government made illegal in 2020.
Thank you to our sponsors, The Energy Agency who sponsor the Fair Trade and Sustainability Award, Scotmid Co-operative who sponsor the Outstanding Achievement Award and South Lanarkshire who sponsor the Climate Partnership Award.
Thank you to our nominators and to all those nominated.
Special thanks to our speakers at the awards ceremony, Jenny Gilruth MSP, Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development; and to Muniraju Shivanna and Bismark Kpabitey.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the winners event, including our guests from Malawi, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Congratulations to all our our winners.


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You have searched for Dia software
LAST UPDATED : Apr 14, 2018, 05:57 AM IST
- Ex-employee steals company’s software, sells it cheap
A former employee of a software company was booked by police for copying and stealing a computer software and selling it at a cheap rate in the market. He was booked under the Information Technology Act sections 43(A), (B), (D), (H), (J) and sections 65, 66, 66(B) (c) (D) at Salabatpura police station and will be shortly arrested, sources said.


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Brands often market themselves with lofty claims, but those that put their money where their mouth is can earn respect from consumers and, in some cases, viral returns. Krazy Glue, with its claim of being able to hold up to 1,000 pounds, this year enlisted The World’s Strongest Man, Hafthor Bjornsson, in a weightlifting competition in New York City on Dec. 5 that put the glue, and Bjornsson, to the ultimate test.
The event followed previous years of Krazy Glue experiential tests that included a pop-up shop in 2017 in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood full of heavy items hung with Krazy Glue, from a bike to a Bowflex machine to a pool table. Consumers entering the store could guess the weight of the items for a chance to take them home. The year prior to that, the brand hung items including a foosball table and a classic video arcade game from a 25-foot-tall, wooden Christmas tree.
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Bjornsson, also known for his role as “The Mountain” in HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” bears an impressive 6-foot, 9-inch frame and weighs 440 pounds. His record of deadlifting 1,041 pounds at once (no biggie) made him a worthy opponent of the glue during the stunt. The brand’s use of a celebrity created a big buzz ahead of the holidays, to boot. A live stream of the contest on Facebook garnered 1.1 million views, 634 shares and 2,400 engagements.
The event took place in two separate rooms, the first of which featured Krazy Glue-themed activities and games for consumers that challenged their own strength. Part two was the actual competition, set up like a wrestling match between two super-strong opponents with a dapper emcee running the show. Agency: Allied Experiential, New York City.
Check out this photo play-by-play of the event:


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OHIO Electricity-choice plans benefit many, official says
The state consumers' counsel said there is still room for improvement in searching for an electricity provider.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
COLUMBUS -- Many state residents are saving between $10 and $110 annually on their electric bills because of the year-old law that gives residents freedom to shop for an electricity supplier.
Robert S. Tongren from the Ohio Consumers' Counsel has released a report pointing out the benefits seen following the restructuring of the electric industry and pointing out areas that need to be changed. The consumers' counsel is the state agency representing the interests of residential utility customers.
"The bottom line is, 'so far, so good,'" Tongren said. "That's a good indicator of where we are."
Tongren's report shows that consumers in Northern Ohio are better off in a number of ways. While all is not perfect, Tongren said, he pointed out that it is better than it was at the start, when northern Ohioans were complaining of high electric rates. He said the state still has the next four years to complete the transition between a completely regulated industry to a totally competitive market.
Nancy Manecke at the Ohio Electric Choice statewide consumer education program said the group has also used the "so far, so good" phrase.
She said consumers can still switch, unless they are part of a community-based aggregate plan that locks them into a rate over a contract period.
Percentage of switchers: Across the state in 2001, about 600,000 residential customers, 15 percent of those eligible, switched electric suppliers, according to the report. All but 4,500 of those were customers previously served by a FirstEnergy company. In the Youngstown area, Ohio Edison is a FirstEnergy company. Of Ohio Edison's 895,000 customers, 152,000 -- 17 percent -- switched.
Tongren said the 600,000 customers who switched in Ohio compares with 530,000 in Pennsylvania, where electric choice has been an option for a longer time. He called the comparison a "huge indicator that we're on the right track."
A majority of those who switched lived in communities that have purchased electricity through aggregated community buying groups. Across the state, 158 communities have chosen to aggregate; they are all in northern Ohio communities served by FirstEnergy.
Tongren's report says that residents in aggregation plans are expected to save between 1 and 11 percent of their total bill. A typical customer who uses 850 kilowatt hours of electricity per month could save between $10 and $110 each year.
Additional savings: Consumers also saved in other ways, the report shows.
A second savings came through part of an agreement between the consumers' counsel, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and FirstEnergy, in which FirstEnergy has made a limited supply of low-cost wholesale electricity available to new suppliers who enter the market. A typical customer could save $100 per year under this type of arrangement, the report shows.
Third, customers who chose not to switch have received a 5-percent decrease in the generation portion of their bill. This provision of the law has saved customers $126.5 million statewide and $36 million among Ohio Edison customers. Tongren said other customers saved as well because competing companies were forced to offer rates below the reduced level.
Officials in Tongren's office encourage consumers to visit his Web site at www.pickocc.org or to call toll-free (877) PICK-OCC for further information.
Also, Manecke said, consumers can visit the Ohio Electric Choice Web site at www.ohioelectricchoice.com, for further information, including a listing of companies in various market areas and an "Apples to Apples" chart that helps consumers compare companies.


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Fast Retailing reached a market capitalization of $103 billion, making it the industry's market leader.
The creator of the Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo displaced Inditex, the owner of brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Pull&Bear, in a clothing ranking retailer their market capitalization. The value of Uniqlo on the stock market reached the $103 billion mark.
The value of the Spanish corporation Inditex at the same time is 99 billion dollars. It is the first time the Japanese company has managed to surpass the figures of its main competitor.
The Japanese retailer's stock has been rising at a steady pace since August 2020. And this week, Fast Retailing broke another record, with the company's share price surpassing 100,000 yen ($945) for the first time.
Meanwhile, in terms of revenue, Fast Retailing remains in third place with about 2 trillion yen ($18.9 billion) for fiscal 2020. Inditex leads the way with €28.2 billion ($34.1 billion), while Sweden's H&M comes second with 187 billion kroner ($22.5 billion).
One of the main reasons that shareholders believe in Fast Retailing is that the company is mainly focused on the Asian market, especially China. China is the second-largest market by the number of stores for Uniqlo after Japan. It operates 791 of the brand's stores, as opposed to 815 in Japan. In total, the company operates 2,298 Uniqlo stores around the world. In turn, Zara has only 20% of its stores in Asia, while stores in the U.S. and Europe are now in a difficult situation due to forced outages.
China's importance for clothing retailers' growth can be explained by the fact that this country's economy has recovered relatively quickly from the pandemic and is now snowballing. The extended lockdown in different countries has changed consumers' habits and began to prefer more comfortable casual clothing, such as that which the Uniqlo brand mainly offers. So Fast Retailing has a wide field for growth and development, demonstrated by investors' interest in it.
Photo credit: depositphotos.com.


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London | June 2018
Orlach Design works for startups as well as bigger clients like LG and Panasonic. 'Clients will price down every component,' says Dejan Orlac. 'Within that space you need to find a design, an identity and a process where you can choose something special.'
New York | August 2017
'You will start seeing design tools become much more holistic in terms of being able to take in massive amounts of data around the simulation and manufacturing processes,' nTopology co-founder Brad Rothenberg said at the last DFM Summit in New York.
New York | June 2017
In his keynote at DFM Summit #20 last Spring in New York, Autodesk strategist Duann Scott talked about Dreamcatcher and Monolith. 'We are building this interconnected network of software which can talk to as many machines as possible.'
New York | May 2012
Earlier this month 3D Systems had their investors day on Wall Street. The 3D printing giant is targeting consumers with a string of acquisitions. CEO Abe Reichental and product manager Buddy Byrum explain.
New York | March 2012
Incubated at Dutch electronics company Philips, 3D printing web platform Shapeways is now building out its New York office. 'Even guys making their own custom rocket engines are using Shapeways,' founder Peter Weijmarshausen says.
New York | December 2011
'People who are used to pushing pixels around can take those bits and turn them into atoms and make real things,' says MakerBot founder Bre Pettis.
Customers can seamlessly extend their design to manufacturing ecosystem to the cloud with the integrated 3DEXPERIENCE.WORKS portfolio, enabling new levels of functionality, collaboration, agility and …
Additive Manufacturing (AM) | September 18, 2019
Florida-based manufacturer of micro-dispensing and 3D printing equipment nScrypt has developed a tool changer for its multi-head Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) machines. Demonstrated on the …
3D Printing Industry | September 18, 2019
The new 15,000 m3 center will feature Arcam electron beam melting (EBM) systems.GE Additive has opened an additive manufacturing (AM) site in Gothenburg, Sweden. The new 15,000 m3 center will …
News | September 18, 2019
Xerion Berlin Laboratories GmbH, Berlin, Germany, has launched a new ultra-compact Fusion Factory debinding and sintering unit with external dimensions of 1,200 x 1,000 x 2,000 mm The post Xerion …
Metal Additive Manufacturing | September 17, 2019
New system allows additive manufacturing of complex electronic components The Manufacturing Technology Centre – home of the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing – has become the first …
Additive Manufacturing UK | August 6, 2019


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Facebook’s parent company Meta (opens in new tab) and AMD (opens in new tab) have announced that they are working together on a mobile internet infrastructure program designed to bring down the costs of base stations for mobile networks.
Launched by Meta back in the beginning of 2020, the Evenstar program (opens in new tab) is focused on building general-purpose radio access network (RAN) reference designs for both 4G and 5G (opens in new tab) networks in the Open RAN (opens in new tab) ecosystem.
While remote radio units (RRU) have traditionally been sold as a package, Meta and its partners on the program decided to decouple the RRU hardware, distribution unit and control unit software so that mobile network operators could more flexibly deploy solutions to bring internet access to even more people.
Although AMD was not originally part of the program, its acquisition of Xilinix (opens in new tab) which closed back in February will now provide the chipmaker with an opportunity to work alongside Meta as part of the Evenstar program.
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC
The partnership between the two companies is already bearing fruit as AMD has announced that its Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC has enabled the development of multiple Evenstar radio units to help build out 4G/5G global mobile network infrastructure.
Evenstar RUs with Xilinx Zynq RFSoC architecture provide the necessary flexibility to meet a wide range of requirements for the Evenstar program including 4G/5G, mmWave and sub-6GHz using the same foundational hardware. This makes it possible to leverage the platform to address a wide variety of radio configurations and emerging standards so that radio vendors can quickly react to new market opportunities.
> Meta’s new AI supercomputer will create the backbone for the metaverse
(opens in new tab)
> Meta follows in Apple's footsteps with first ever retail store (opens in new tab)
> AMD EPYC processors are set for a major speed boost (opens in new tab)
VP of AMD’s data center and communications group, Dan Mansure provided further insight on the company’s commitment to the Evenstar program in a press release (opens in new tab), saying:
“The development of Evenstar radios with our adaptive radio technology inside is a significant achievement for AMD. We are proud to be an ecosystem partner with Meta Connectivity and look forward to continuing our collaborative designs for Evenstar to deliver flexible, scalable, and efficient wireless solutions.”
We’ll likely hear more from both Meta and AMD as more devices are created to help build out the necessary infrastructure for the Evenstar program.
- Keep all of your devices connected on the go with one of the best mobile hotspots (opens in new tab)
Via Reuters (opens in new tab)


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Covid has taken us closer to cashless
It used to be said that cash is king, but as we begin to plan for a post-Covid world, I say it’s time for a re-think.
Of the measures that businesses have put in place as social distancing came into play, the one that will endure will be contactless payment.
Tap-and-go has been around for a while now, but more than ever it has become an essential way of doing business.
We’ve already seen in the past six weeks that the PIN-less limit for tap-and-go has increased from $100 to $200, and I believe that could increase further to $500 or $1000 in the next six months as we move towards a cashless society.
That’s my number one tip if you are going to be going back into business: rely on the fact that tap-and-go is here to stay.
We have also seen numbers from the Australian Retail Association and Australia Post that show people are far more comfortable with online shopping and using click and collect to purchase their goods, than they were previously.
Whether it’s general shopping, hardware, clothing – people are very comfortable having their retail demands being met via their computer, and this is what small businesses must adapt to. Those businesses that add to or enhance their online presence when business returns will be well set up to succeed.
Another interesting change in spending has also occurred while we’ve been in social isolation, with figures from the Reserve Bank showing the lowest number of applications for credit cards and the lowest credit card use in a decade.
That to me, shows a change in attitudes on how we spend and what we spend on, which businesses will need to be aware of in coming years. Disposable income will not be a common part of the new market. There will be a need to be flexible when restarting your business, and being aware that your customers have come through a tough time themselves.
If that means looking at things like payment plans or a repayment holiday for example, while your customers get back on their feet, that will be something for businesses to consider going forward.


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Major European stock markets closed firmly lower Monday, as investors fretted about the anything that could derail the interest-rate easing plan in the U.S.
An unexpectedly high rise in the consumer price index Friday forced another triple-digit plunge in the Dow. Asian stocks tumbled Monday, led by losses in financial companies and the weakness continued in Europe.
Investors are counting on further interest-rate cuts to ease the impact of the credit crisis, but the Federal Reserve will be reluctant to keep easing rates at a time when inflation is heating up. In November, U.S. retail prices rose at the fastest rate in more than two years.
Adding to this there is the gloom over the European retail sector, with shoppers seen reluctant to spend as much because of worries over inflation and debt issues.
Retailers have had to deliver deep discounts to lure customers in shops.
"People are now coming out to do their Christmas shopping very belatedly," Kevin Hawkins, from the British Retail Consortium, told "European Closing Bell."
Red Arrows Everywhere
Earlier in the day, data showed that euro zone services grew at a slower pace than expected in December, as the banking sector stalled, signaling a slowdown in the single currency area.
In Germany, almost every stock in the Frankfurt DAX ended in negative territory, but Munich Re managed to limit losses after it said it planned to buy US health-care insurer Sterling Life for $352 million. Munich Re shares closed 0.8 percent lower.
France's CAC-40 also had very few stocks in the green. Pernod Ricard was the biggest gainer, which edged higher after weekend media reports that the French spirits and wine company is close to completing its acquisition of vodka brand Stolichnaya from Russia's SPI Group for $2.03 billion. Pernod shares ended 2.3 percent higher
Air France-KLM and Air Oneboth detailed their takeover plans for ailing Italian carrierAlitalia, as analysts told CNBC.com that Air France was better positioned to clinch the deal. Shares of Air France-KLM lost 3.6 percent, while Alitalia shares were 0.9 percent lower.
And in Sweden, fashion retail Hennes & Mauritz lost 1.8 percent. The company reported a 14 percent rise in November year-on-year sales, about in line with expectations, but sales at stories open at least a year rose 1 percent, lower than expectations for growth of about 1.6 percent.


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Industry Bodies Can't Be Self-Regulatory Organisations For Online Gaming: MoS Chandrasekhar
The government has proposed a self-regulatory mechanism to regulate online gaming companies under the draft e-sports rules.
Industry bodies cannot become self-regulatory organisations to regulate online gaming and the watchdog has to be away from the dominance of industry players, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Tuesday.
While speaking with reporters after an open house consultation with online gaming companies on the proposed rules, the minister said that he expects new rules to be notified by Jan. 31.
The government has proposed a self-regulatory mechanism to regulate online gaming companies under the draft rules for online gaming.
"It is wrong to assume that an industry body will automatically become an self-regulatory organisation. Any industry body will not be SRO. It will be a body representing all stakeholders," Chandrasekhar said.
The minister said that SRO will comprise representatives of children, parents, players, government and gaming intermediaries. All gaming companies that can be allowed under the new rules will need to register with SRO.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT has extended the last date for public comments on the proposed rules to Jan. 25 from Jan. 17 fixed earlier.
Chandrasekhar said that both games of skills and games of chance can be permitted online but betting which is based on the outcome of real-life games will not be allowed.
The government has proposed a self-regulatory mechanism, mandatory verification of players and physical Indian addresses for online gaming companies, according to the draft online gaming rules.
Online gaming companies will be covered under the new IT rules that were issued in 2021 for social media platforms.
Chandrasekhar has already held extensive consultation on draft rules for online gaming with parents, students and educationists—over concerns, expectations, and suggestions on fine-tuning, quite literally, the "rules of the game".


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In the last year compared to 2014, output in the manufacturing industry fell by 1.2% according to calendar-adjusted data.
Unfortunately, growing exports could not compensate for deceasing domestic consumption. At local market, the decline was 5.4% while the export demonstrated growth of 4.1%, which was primarily due to an increase by 25.8% in deliveries to the euro area. However, sales in countries outside the single currency area fell by 7.4%.
It can be apart noted that while the year 2015 started well, it ended for the manufacturing industry if not badly then on a rather sad note. Thus, in December compared to November, the manufacturing industry turnover decreased by 1.4% in current prices. Compared to December 2014, the reduction is 1.6%.
A small consolation is only that a similar situation is observed in the manufacturing industry of both Estonia and Lithuania. That is, in terms of processing Latvia is not an economic “loser” among Baltic States.
It should also be noted that the above figures are the average temperature of the whole manufacturing industry in Latvia, which is composed of successes and failures in individual industries.
For example, one of Latvian economy flagships - woodworking. Last year, turnover of largest woodworking enterprises was about 350 million euros, or by 0.3% more than in 2014. Export decreased by 0.6% - down to 250 million euros.
Decline in exports is associated with great losses of Kronospan Riga company on Russian market. It is a very big world concern that was focused at markets of Eastern countries, and the situation in Russia over the last year forced to significantly reduce the export of the company products.
Another one of pillars of the manufacturing industry - metalworking – finished the last year with an increase in turnover of 2%. But, the positive balance only appeared due to renewed activity of JSC KVV Liepājas metalurgs. Earlier this year, this metallurgical company suspended its work, which has a negative impact on 2016 statistics.
It is too soon to guess to what extent negative. One thing is clear: situation in world steel industry has changed dramatically. Today China produces more than 50% of all steel in the world while as recently as few years ago the share of China was only 10%. This affects also the prices and production volumes in Europe. As for Latvian sales market, there is a decline in the construction industry being the main consumer of metal products.


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The drought, now one of the worst since records began in 1913, spells devastation for summer harvests and is already pushing up food prices as farmers endure one of the driest years in nearly a century.
The Big Dry has already ravaged the winter harvest, now expected to be down 56 per cent on last year. NSW was hit hardest, with its crop forecast to plummet from 9.9 million tonnes in 2001-02 to 2.8 million tonnes in 2002-03.
The summer crop, centred on NSW and Queensland, is expected to plunge 59 per cent to about 2 million tonnes - the worst yield since the 1982-83 drought.
Rice production will fall by 70 per cent and cotton by 45 per cent as irrigation water dries up, says the latest crop report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE).
Consumers are already paying more for food, and falling production would continue to put pressure on prices, economists said.
Tip Top Bakeries yesterday raised prices by 5 per cent, blaming a drought-related jump in the price of wheat and rising insurance premiums. The cost of meat and poultry is expected to follow because of pressure on grain feed prices.
The drought, along with the weak world economy, last week forced the Government to shave its economic growth forecast for this financial year to 3 per cent from 3.75 per cent.
But separate figures issued yesterday reveal how the country is splitting into a dual economy. While the farm sector is being savaged by drought, parts of the non-rural economy keep surging, with company profits up nearly 5 per cent last quarter and manufacturing orders rising strongly.
The Reserve Bank board will assess these contrasting fortunes this morning and is expected to leave interest rates on hold.
ABARE's executive director, Brian Fisher, said rain this month could save some of the dry-land summer crops such as sorgum and sunflowers, but planting rains had so far been very disappointing and the outlook was not promising.
On the winter harvest, ABARE trimmed its estimate of the four big crops - wheat, barley, canola and lupins - to 14.5 million tonnes from its 14.8 million forecast in late October. "The current 2002 winter crop growing season has in many regions been one of the worst on record," it said.
The total crop for winter - the most important growing season - will fall to 16.2 million tonnes, a decline of 21 million tonnes compared with last year.
ABARE said that across 75 per cent of the mainland crop-growing regions, rainfall this year ranked in the bottom 10 per cent since records began in 1913. For some regions it has been the driest recorded.
Trade figures for October, released yesterday, provided a surprising twist to the gloomy crop forecasts, with stronger international prices pushing up the value of agricultural exports.
Wool and meat volumes were up sharply but economists said higher slaughter rates as farmers cull their herds had helped boost meat exports. Wheat exports slumped 9 per cent.
Despite the jump in rural goods exports, Australia registered its 11th straight monthly trade deficit in October, the Bureau of Statistics said.
The $926 million figure was slightly smaller than September's, but analysts said bigger blowouts could be on the way. "A monthly trade deficit above $1 billion is likely not far away," said HSBC's senior economist, Grant Fitzner.
Meanwhile, company profits rose 4.7 per cent to be up 17.8 per cent for the year, while the stocks held by companies rose 0.3 per cent in the quarter, the bureau said.
This prompted optimism about September quarter economic growth figures, due out tomorrow, which some analysts believe will show that the economy expanded about 1 per cent or more in the quarter.
The Australian Industry Group's November performance of manufacturing index showed the sector had been boosted by strong Christmas orders.


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TOKYO, July 25 (Reuters) - Asian shares held near nine-month highs on Monday as worries over the impact of Britain's Brexit vote eased, while the dollar was buoyed by a run of solid U.S.
Rank Group and 888 Holdings have formed a consortium that will pave the way for a wider bid for ailing bookmaker William Hill, as the companies are pushed together by a wave of consolidation rippling through the gambling industry.
Sainsbury's �1.4 billion takeover of Argos owner Home Retail Group has been approved by the competition regulator. The supermarket chain welcomed the decision by the Competition and Markets Authority on Friday to "unconditionally" clear the acquisition.
MPs from across the political divide have demanded an "urgent" decision on whether to expand Heathrow or Gatwick airport.
Northern companies are proving more resilient than the UK, as a whole, ahead of a period of post-Brexit uncertainty, a report has found.


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On Sunday Mr Musk replied to a tweet inquiring about his cryptocurrency portfolio. The Tesla CEO replied and said: “Out of curiosity, I acquired some ascii hash strings called bitcoin, ethereum and doge. That’s it.
“As I’ve said before, don’t bet the farm on crypto!
“True value is building products and providing services to your fellow human beings.
“Not money in any form.”
Mr Musk’s tweet caught the eye of bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy.
Mr Saylor replied to Mr Musk with the vigorous promotion of bitcoin.
He said: “Bitcoin enhanced by lightning can be viewed as both a product, digital property, and a service, open monetary network.
“The ability to transfer monetary energy through time and space without government intervention or conventional banking is enormously valuable to humanity.”
Mr Musk clarified that he doesn’t own any of the memecoin, Shiba Inu.
JUST IN: Lord Frost LIVE: EU dealt Brexit ultimatum – new Article 16 deadline
As of Tuesday morning, Dogecoin has settled to $26, Ethereum is at $4,200 and Bitcoin is $4,000 shy of its all-time high, sitting at $62,571.
On October 20, 2021, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $66,974.
Many experts in the field predict bitcoin will reach above $100,000 by the end of 2021.
Speaking to Express.co.uk bitcoin pioneer Max Keiser has said the price of the world’s preeminent cryptocurrency will increase to “$220,000 by the end of 2021”.
Mr Keiser cited the fact that Mastercard said they will soon offer bitcoin wallets and credit and debit cards.


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Overwatch 2 finally has a release date and it’s going free to play!
Blizzard made the announcement on Sunday as part of the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase.
Overwatch 2 is also getting a new hero, a tank, named Junker Queen and an unknown hero who transforms or whose power is a glowing blue fox.
Press play to watch the video below.
Overwatch 2 will be released for Early Access on October 4, 2022 on PC and console. Very exciting!
Looks like this game is finally getting some solid corporate support behind it with Microsoft’s purchase of Blizzard early this year. Blizzard previously warned that the game will not be ready until 2023 after numerous delays, so this is very good news for the fans of Overwatch.
I enjoyed playing the beta a few weeks ago, but after a while, it felt directionless. We shall see if the game improves in October.


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Despite the fact that food and diet are central issues, that concern patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the current understanding about the association between the intake of certain foods/food groups and the gastrointestinal (GI) symptom pattern, psychological symptoms, and quality of life is poor.
Dr Lena Böhn and from Sweden determined which food groups and specific food items IBS patients report causing GI symptoms.
The team investigated the association with GI and psychological symptoms, and quality of life.
The research team included 197 IBS patients who completed a food questionnaire in which they specified symptoms from 56 different food items or food groups relevant to food intolerance/allergy.
|58% experienced GI symptoms from foods rich in biogenic amines|
|American Journal of Gastroenterology |
The patients also completed questionnaires to assess depression and general anxiety, GI-specific anxiety, IBS symptoms, somatic symptoms, and quality of life.
The team found that 84% of the studied population reported symptoms related to at least one of the food items surveyed.
Symptoms related to intake of food items with incompletely absorbed carbohydrates were noted in 70% of patients.
The resesarch team observed that the most common food items were dairy products, beans/lentils, apple, flour, and plum.
Of these, 58% experienced GI symptoms from foods rich in biogenic amines, such as wine/beer, salami, and cheese.
Histamine-releasing foods, such as milk, wine/beer, and pork, were also considered causes of symptoms in IBS patients.
The team found that GI symptoms were frequently reported after intake of fried and fatty foods.
With increasing IBS symptom severity, patients reported more food items responsible for their GI symptoms, and this was also found in patients with more severe somatic symptoms.
Women tended to report more food items causing symptoms than men.
A high number of food items causing GI symptoms was also associated with reduced quality of life and this was significant for the following domains, including sleep, energy, food, social functioning, and physical status.
However, the number of food items reported to provoke GI symptoms was unrelated to body mass index, age, IBS subtype, anxiety, depression, or GI-specific anxiety.
Dr Böhn's team concludes, "The majority of IBS patients believe that certain food items are important triggers of their GI symptoms."
"This is especially true for foods containing carbohydrates and fat, and also may be relevant for histamine-releasing food items and foods rich in biogenic amines."
"Self-reported food intolerance is associated with high symptom burden and reduced quality of life."


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- Apple has raised the prices of its latest iPhones in some of its key markets including China, Japan and India, even while keeping them the same in the United States.
- This comes as Apple looks to revitalize growth amid a broader slowdown in the smartphone market as it targets premium users in countries like India, which has become a major focus for the Cupertino giant.
- In China, which accounts for nearly 20% of Apple’s total sales, the company has raised prices for almost all iPhone 15 models.
Apple CEO Tim Cook holds a new iPhone 15 Pro during an Apple event on September 12, 2023 in Cupertino, California.
Justin Sullivan Getty Images
Apple raised the prices of its latest iPhones in some of its major markets, including China, Japan, and India, even while keeping prices the same in the United States.
This comes as Apple looks to revitalize growth amid a broader slowdown in the smartphone market as it targets power users in countries like India, which has become a major focus for the Cupertino-based giant.
Apple launched the iPhone 15 range on Tuesday. In the US, prices for all different devices and storage configurations remain the same compared to the previous generation iPhone 14.
But in China, which accounts for nearly 20% of Apple’s total sales, the company has raised prices for almost all iPhone 15 models. The base versions of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, and iPhone 15 Pro Max remain the same. But Chinese customers will pay more for higher storage options. For example, the price of the 512GB version of the iPhone 15 has increased by CNY 300 ($41) versus the iPhone 14.
In India, Apple kept the prices of all versions of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus the same. But it raised the prices of all versions of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro price in India now starts at INR 134,900 ($1,627) versus INR 129,900 for the iPhone 14 Pro – an increase of Rs 5,000 or nearly $60.
However, all variants of the iPhone 15 Pro Max are priced Rs 10,000 higher than the equivalent iPhone 14 Pro Max model.
India has become a major focus for Apple this year. CEO Tim Cook visited the country in April, where Apple opened its first physical stores there. Apple has also ramped up manufacturing of its iPhones in India.
CNBC has reached out to Apple to inquire about India manufacturing plans for the iPhone 15.
The rise in prices in both India and China can be partly explained by the fact that their currencies, the Indian rupee and the Chinese yuan, depreciated against the US dollar last year. This means that both currencies are able to buy fewer US dollars. So Apple makes up for that.
In India specifically, the Pro models are likely to be imported rather than manufactured locally, and are therefore subject to a high import tax.
The price hike is also very modest and mainly affects the more expensive models, which is unlikely to impact consumer sentiment much.
“Consumers who buy premium smartphones are less sensitive to price, not to mention the financing and trade-in option is very good in these markets,” Nicole Peng, senior vice president at market research firm Canalys, told CNBC.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Apple has raised the price of every iPhone 15 model.
Apple’s pricing strategy for the iPhone 15 has been cautious. The price rises were not particularly sharp. That’s because Apple needs to act cautiously after iPhone revenue fell 2% year-on-year in the June quarter amid a broader decline in smartphone sales globally. There are still headwinds for the smartphone market this year. Counterpoint Research said it expects total smartphone shipments in 2023 to decline 6% year over year to 1.15 billion devices.
“Globally, Apple shipments are expected to grow just 1% in all of 2023. Thus, higher prices, specifically targeting consumers in the more resilient and affluent segment, could help support Apple’s revenues amid the challenging market environment.” Will Wong, senior research director at IDC, told CNBC:
Apple has balanced some of the hikes with price cuts elsewhere.
In the UK, Apple has reduced the price of all iPhone 15 models versus the iPhone 14. For example, the iPhone 14 started at £849 ($1,059) while the iPhone 15 is £50 lower at £799.
Meanwhile, Apple has reduced the price of the older iPhone 14 in China, its website showed.
“A lower price for older models like the iPhone 14 is a good strategy because it will help target consumers who are budget-conscious but still hoping for a premium brand phone,” Wong said.
“While the new iPhone 15 series targets consumers with a larger budget, both the new and old series can help strengthen its user base.”
“Explorer. Unapologetic entrepreneur. Alcohol fanatic. Certified writer. Wannabe tv evangelist. Twitter fanatic. Student. Web scholar. Travel buff.”


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Earlier this week Nintendo made some big news that has everyone talking.
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game made in collaboration between Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Niantic Labs, the studio behind Google’s AR game Ingress. In Go, players can travel to real-world locations to catch, train, and battle Pokémon — sort of like that Google April Fools’ Day joke from last year, only real. Niantic will be making the game, with a lot of input from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company; Junichi Masuda, director of the Pokémon games, will be contributing to the project.
“He is hard at work ensuring that the fun of Pokémon makes its way into this new project,” the Pokémon Company said in a statement, “and is also looking to come up with new kinds of gameplay while thinking of ways to connect this project with the main series of Pokémon video games.”
Ever since Nintendo announced that it would be getting into mobile games, we’ve all wondered just what that might look like; would it mean traditional, Nintendo-quality games on a smartphone, or just quick free-to-play diversions starring Mario and Luigi? We still don’t know exactly what to expect from the first game between Nintendo and its mobile partner DeNA, but after the surprise announcement of Pokémon Go we know at least two things: Nintendo is taking mobile seriously, and it’s open to some pretty wild ideas.
Users will go out into the real world to search for wild Pokemon in their neighborhoods, digitally hiding out behind their local vagrants and bodegas. You’ll receive a notification in the app or a Bluetooth device called a Pokémon GO Plus that will ping you when an event pops up nearby — a wild Pokemon’s appearance, perhaps, or a Lass or Hiker looking to battle.
Pokémon Go isn’t one of the five games Nintendo is making in collaboration with DeNA — the first of which is due to launch this year — which makes this news even more exciting. Nintendo’s foray into mobile isn’t as simple as just licensing its characters for smartphone games; instead, the company is working with multiple partners to create different kinds of experiences as part of its new mobile venture. Pokémon Go is unexpected and ambitious in the same way the best Nintendo games often are. It’s something few expected, yet it makes perfect sense, and will likely be incredibly popular.
Pokémon Go is a serious effort, and even if Nintendo isn’t the main force behind its development, it clearly has a big part to play in the overall quality of the experience. This bodes well for the upcoming games made in partnership with DeNA. Iwata had previously said that Nintendo had a “serious commitment to the smart device business,” and if Pokémon Go is anything to go by, that means we’re in for some exciting new games.
Watch the official teaser video below for Pokemon Go. Are you excited for this new type of game?
Source News: The Verge


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Golf is having a moment
While many sports have struggled during the pandemic, golf is seeming to have its moment.
At the elite level, the sport hasn't been as affected as other sports with the absence of fans, and the organisers of the tours have created an environment where the players seem to feel safe and are able to perform. The recent US Open shows how the game and its supporting brand partners are engaging fans in this new world. From virtual autograph sessions for junior fans through to a virtual grandstand, the focus is all about bringing the fans closer to the action.
At the other end of the spectrum, the rise in the casual golfer has exploded, a sport that has been struggling in recent years with participation levels has seen growth like never before over the last few months. Recent stats make for some impressive reading for those involved in the game:
60% increase in the number of rounds played in August this year vs last year according to Sports Marketing Surveys
Year-on-year sales of Srixon golf products increased in July by 58% in Europe and 37% in the UK
Stewart Golf, the electric golf trolley company has seen sales reach over £1.5m in the first half of 2020, four times higher than the same period last year
Callaway jumps on the growth of the game...
Therefore, it was no surprise to see leading golf brand Callaway drop a new campaign targeting the weekend golfers called Slicers Anonymus last week. A piece that is nearly 8mins in length features US comedian and actor Kevin Nealon helping golfers who are struggling with their slice, a common issue many of us weekend golfers have. Created on the insight that Google searches for 'golf slice' are at their highest in the last seven years, according to the Marketing Dive, the short film pokes fun at people's slicers and promotes how their Big Berta B21 club can help save all of our swings.


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Dear Mexico, Sorry About Those Tax Issues, Wal-Mart Says in Ad
(Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart de Mexico published an ad in one of the country’s leading newspapers Wednesday encouraging other companies to obey the law and pay their taxes, in what appeared to be part of a deal to avoid federal criminal fraud charges.
Walmex, as the company is known, said in the ad published on page three of the daily Reforma that it reached a deal with the finance ministry to pay 8.1 billion pesos to tax authorities to settle “substantial tax issues” that included the sale of a restaurant chain.
“With this, [Walmex] reiterates its commitment to operate in adherence to the legal framework, just as all companies should,” according to the ad, which was signed by the company’s legal representative Alberto Sepulveda.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has refused to provide massive fiscal aid to companies during the coronavirus outbreak, and has instead pushed ahead with a campaign to crack down on tax evasion. Tax officials brokered deals worth at least $1 billion from major companies in a little over a month, but revenue has begun to slump due to the economic collapse that followed shutdowns to contain the outbreak.
In late May, Walmex informed the market of the settlement. The company agreed to pay up after Mexico’s tax prosecutor threatened to file criminal tax fraud charges over the 2014 sale of the Vips restaurant chain to Alsea SAB, which operates Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks outlets in Mexico and elsewhere, three people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Mexico’s top tax prosecutor Carlos Romero Aranda declined to confirm that Walmex had faced fraud charges in an interview with Bloomberg News last month. But he did say that companies which made deals to avoid criminal fraud charges would have to publish such ads as part of their restitution.
A Walmex representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.