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Lyft’s adjusted EBITDA grew to a historic high of $79.1 million in the second quarter of 2022, exceeding the company’s outlook. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $55.3 million, up 232%, from one year ago and by $24.3 million from the first quarter of this year.
“We leaned in hard in Q2, and the team did fantastic work to drive strong results,” says Logan Green, the ride-sharing company’s co-founder and CEO. “We generated the highest adjusted EBITDA in our company’s history and saw COVID highs for active riders, drivers and rides.”
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Lyft almost doubled its adjusted net income, from $24.6 million in the first quarter of this year to $46.4 million in the second quarter. That figure also rose from $18 million one year ago.
The company grew its revenue 13% from the first quarter of this year, and 30% year-over-year, to $990.7 million.
Net loss for the San Francisco-based ride-share company was $377.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, up from the $251.9 million net loss during the same period last year and $196.9 million net loss in first quarter of this year.
Founded in 2012, Lyft reported $1.8 billion of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of the second quarter of 2022.


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L.L.Bean has partnered with Citi Retail Services to launch a new co-branded Mastercard for its customers with an enhanced rewards structure and added benefits.
The card has no annual fee and offers “Bean Bucks” rewards points that never expire and can be used for savings on L.L.Bean purchases made online, in-store or by phone. Cardholders also benefit from free shipping on all purchases, as well as free return shipping and free monogramming.
Rewards for members also include:
- 4% on L.L.Bean purchases;
- 2% at gas stations;
- 2% at restaurants; and
- 1% on all other purchases.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Citi and Mastercard to our family of business partners,” said Steve Smith, President and CEO of L.L.Bean in a statement. “Their extensive retail experience and ability to put together a program to enhance our customers’ shopping experience made them a natural choice. Our new co-branded card and the greatly enriched rewards it offers are fantastic for our current customers, and will also help us welcome new customers to L.L.Bean to share in our passion for the outdoors.”
As part of the partnership, Citi Retail Services acquired the existing $1.5 billion L.L.Bean co-brand credit card portfolio after the company ended its partnership with Barclays and Visa. Current cardholders will be issued new L.L.Bean Mastercard accounts and will be automatically upgraded to the new card’s enhanced reward program.

domain: news


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Apple Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. will work together to create business software for iPhone and iPad users, setting aside a three-decade-old rivalry to cater to an increasingly mobile workforce.
IBM’s staff will sell Apple devices to its business customers, and the two companies will work together to develop applications tailored to work with IBM’s data analytics and cloud services, the companies said in a statement today. Apple also will offer customer-service support for the apps.
The partnership helps Apple pursue a bigger slice of the market for corporate users of smartphones and tablets. Working with its erstwhile foe may also help Armonk, New York-based IBM chase other technology giants -- including Apple -- that have done a better job seizing on the mobile-computing boom.
“This is a shot in the arm for IBM and a great validation of Apple in the enterprise space, where they already are a huge success,” Aaron Levie, chief executive officer of cloud-storage company Box Inc., said in an interview.
With the deal, Apple gains a large sales force that will push its mobile devices to companies, while IBM, whose sales have been stagnating, adds the cachet of being partners with one of the best known and most popular consumer-electronics brands.
“We really recognized almost simultaneously that we could be uniquely helpful to one another’s strategy and that there was literally no overlap,” Bridget Van Kralingen, IBM’s senior vice president of global business services, said in an interview. “It’s moved incredibly quickly and smoothly.”
The success of the iPhone and iPad has helped Apple gain more traction with business customers that had long shunned the company in favor of machines running Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows software. Deutsche Bank AG has almost 20,000 iPhones, while Siemens AG has 30,000 iPhones, Apple said in April.
Employees welcome customers during the opening of the Apple Inc. Omotesando store in Tokyo on June 13, 2014.
Employees at more than 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using the iPhone or iPad for their work, the company said. To gain more customers, Apple has been adding new security and software tools for makers of business software.
Apple and rival Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) are seeking to further displace BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY), which once held a strong grip on the corporate market. Shares of BlackBerry fell 3.4 percent to $10.92 in late trading after Apple’s deal with IBM was announced.
Back to 1984
IBM and Apple were once bitter rivals during the early days of the personal computer. Apple’s famous “1984” Super Bowl advertisement to introduce the Macintosh computer compared IBM to George Orwell’s totalitarian Big Brother. The competition eased as IBM abandoned the PC business and instead focused on software and services geared for corporate clients.
While the companies’ agreement targets business customers, it puts IBM back in the position of selling consumer products -- something the company left behind in 2005 with the sale of its PC unit to Lenovo Group Ltd.
A key element of the Apple-IBM deal is developing mobile-centric software tools for businesses. While smartphones have become ubiquitous, in business they are primarily used for checking e-mail or calendars. That’s expanding to include more sales functions and day-to-day work flow, like getting approvals needed from a manager, said Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc.
Apple and IBM said they will build more than 100 industry-specific applications for the iPhone and iPad, as well as tools for managing functions on the devices such as activations, security and analytics.
Cupertino, California-based Apple also gains help from IBM reaching the senior decision makers in charge of making businesses’ technology purchases. While many rank-and-file employees use iPhones and iPads, chief information officers who make a lot of information technology decisions have been more reluctant to adopt Apple devices, Hammond said. IBM could also help Apple sell more Mac desktops and Macbook laptops to companies, he said.
“They could sell a lot of Apple hardware and not just phones and tablets,” Hammond said. “I still see a lot of companies where all the company-issued PCs and laptops are getting increasingly old. IBM does some pretty big deals.”
IBM shares rose as much as 2.6 percent to $193.40 in late trading after the pact was announced. The company is scheduled to report earnings on July 17. Apple climbed as much as 1.9 percent to $97.16.
IBM has identified mobile as one of the company’s biggest opportunities since before Ginni Rometty stepped into the role of CEO two years ago. She is seeking to reshape IBM with services such as data analytics to boost revenue growth after eight straight quarters of declines.
IBM is contending with technology customers that are increasingly seeking to store data and software on cloud-computing networks, rather than on-site, limiting clients’ need for IBM’s servers and mainframes.
Still, the potential financial impact for IBM will hinge on whether the applications are sold and if customers find value in them, said Daryl Plummer, an analyst at Gartner Inc.
“Revenue-wise, it’s going to be hit or miss,” he said. “It depends on what they commercialize -- I can’t say it’s a jump-start yet.”


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This story is part of, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.
It is official:So it has to be a start day. The company holds a and while we don't expect To be announced, this is expected to be revealed and new additions to the . The event is scheduled for September 15 at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. UK) and Apple will be streaming the event on its website.
The updated Apple Watch, which is the successor to theand will run Rumor has it that battery life is longer, sleep tracking and blood oxygen readings have been updated. The iPad Air will likely need an update too. Improvements could include a bigger display, faster processor (possibly the A13 Bionic chipset), and possibly a USB Type-C connection instead of Apple's Lightning connector.
Look at that:
The Apple Watch Series 6 will be available soon
As for the iPhone 12, the company hasn't released any information on its next phone launch yet, though we wouldn't be surprised if Apple didn't show a quick test during the September 15 event. While Apple confirmed that the new iPhone will be available "a few weeks later" than the usual launch in mid-September,will be either October 13th or 14th.
Apple's invitation to its September 15th event.
CNET will cover the event on Tuesday as it unfolds. So please check back for all the news and products that are coming out that day. Watch it live here on CNET's YouTube channel.
Stay up to date with the latest news, reviews, and advice on iPhones, iPads, Macs, services, and software.


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FAST FACTS HAWAII
Hawaii's bankruptcies plummeted in first half
Statewide bankruptcy filings, which spiked late last year ahead of a stricter law that went into effect in mid-October, plunged 74.4 percent during the first half of 2006, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
There were only 447 people who sought financial protection during the first six months compared with 1,746 during the same period in 2005. Chapter 7 filings, which involve liquidation, declined 75.6 percent to 381 from 1,563. Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals to set up plans to pay creditors over time, dropped 65.9 percent to 58 from 170. Chapter 11 filings, used for reorganizations, decreased 41.7 percent to 7 from 12.
In addition, there was one Chapter 15 filing. Chapter 15 bankruptcies, based on a law enacted in 2005, are companion cases to bankruptcy proceedings brought in another country, typically the debtor's home country.
First Hawaiian offers eStatement
First Hawaiian Bank
has begun offering a free electronic checking statement, called eStatement, to go along with its online check images.
The eStatement allows customers to view their checking account statements at any time. An e-mail notice is sent to customers telling them that their new statements are available for viewing. Customers can retrieve their eStatements online for up to 12 months.
The online check images allow customers to view both sides of their canceled checks so they don't have to store checks at home. Copes of the checks can be printed out if needed.
A&B buys Texas office complex
A&B Properties Inc., the real estate arm of Alexander & Baldwin Inc.
, has acquired a two-building office complex in Texas for $25 million.
Preston Park sits on 12.1 acres in Plano, a suburb 20 miles north of Dallas.
The two-story buildings at 1800 and 1820 Preston Park Blvd. offer about 198,750 square feet of leasable space. Preston Park was developed by Hepner, Smith, Airhart & Day, a Texas-based company, between 1997 and 1999.
Ralphs reaches plea deal with feds
LOS ANGELES » Ralphs Grocery Co.
agreed to pay $70 million in restitution and fines as part of a plea agreement involving charges of illegally hiring hundreds of workers under fake names during a 2003 strike and lockout, the company said yesterday.
As part of the deal with federal prosecutors, the chain plead guilty to conspiracy and identity fraud, and violating laws involving employee benefits and record-keeping for the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service, the company said.
Forty-eight other counts in the federal grand jury indictment returned in December will be dropped if the plea deal is approved by the court.
Japan seeks back taxes from Sony
TOKYO » Japanese tax authorities ordered Sony
and three other major companies to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes yesterday as part of a crackdown on overseas earnings by the central government, which is hunting for more revenue sources and trying to improve corporate transparency.
In addition to Sony, the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau slapped the tax orders on automaker Mazda Motor Corp. and trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp.
The assessment orders the companies to pay taxes on certain overseas earnings that the government says are liable for taxes under a 2003 agreement with the U.S. government. The accord aims to prevent parent companies from ducking income taxes in one country by booking profits under a subsidiary in another.


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A Canadian InsurTech focused on Small Business insurance said it raised $3.5 million in seed financing.
Foxquilt, a Toronto-based MGA startup, said the funding will help it become a full-service insurance provider with a self-serve platform. This will enable customers to purchase policies online and amend policy features as their business changes, the company said. As well, Foxquilt plans to roll out proprietary small business products in the coming months, along with new distributions channels including direct-to-consumer, B2B integrations and open APIs with select partners.
“Receiving our $3.5M seed round allows us to move forward in transforming our insurance platform to become a full-service provider, so we can continue supporting small business owners through COVID-19 and beyond.” Mark Morissette, CEO and Co-Founder of Foxquilt, said in prepared remarks. He added the company has boosted its hiring with a goal of becoming “the leading Commercial Insurance Technology company in North America.”
Foxquilt describes its business model, in part, as helping small businesses and B2B networks save on their business insurance by way of an “Insurance-as-a-Service platform and unique underwriting infrastructure.” The company said its full-stack underwriting platform leverages smart data and machine intelligence, to discern the nature of the business, efficiently underwrite its risks and complement it with the right coverages. Its serverless micro-service architecture is designed to adapt business coverage as clients grow, the company said.
The company has recently partnered with multiple underwriting partners including Aviva, Chubb and Beazley, something it said will help it become a full-service insurance provider and creator of new products for small businesses.


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The government commission overseeing ventures between sports clubs and commercial entities has granted Sliema Wanderers FC “preliminary authorisation” for football pitches at Tigné Point to be transformed into retail outlets, it has emerged.
According to a bonds issue by Dizz Group company, D Shopping Malls Finance, unveiled at the end of September, the retailer has already entered into a 15-year lease agreement with Sliema Wanderers FC. The commission has yet to authorise the venture.
Asked about this, a company spokesman said all agreements were subject to the “obtainment of full authorisation from the Commission for the Commercialisation of Sports Facilities in accordance to law”.
Questions sent to the Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Parliamentary Secretariat on what such a preliminary authorisation involved and how long was it valid for remained unanswered at the time of writing.
The Times of Malta reported last week that the fashion retailer would be transforming the present Sliema Wanderers FC pitches at the shopping complex into a complex with shops and offices spread on 2,681 square metres.
The group’s co-owner, Karl Izzo, is a member of the Commercial Sports Facilities Commission but a spokesman for the parliamentary secretariat said he would not be involved in the project evaluation process.
Mr Izzo, who is also the head coach of the Malta national waterpolo team, still sits on the commission.
The project is the first of its kind and will see the Premier League club taking advantage of new legislation allowing sports organisations to commercialise venues, a move the government hopes would help them become financially self-sufficient.
Approval by the commission is necessary before any of the proposed projects can be assessed by the Planning Authority.
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In April 2021, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $63,000. This meteoric rise and Bitcoin bull run is a story over a decade in the making, as Bitcoin first arrived on the scene in 2009. The first purchase using Bitcoin was for pizza in 2010, assigning monetary value to the currency. In 2013, Bitcoin grew to $1,000 per coin before crashing to $300, indicating a future trend of volatility. Still, Bitcoin continued to recover value over the next few years even while operating next to other cryptocurrencies. The more establishments, banks, and fintech institutions that acknowledge Bitcoin, the more useful it is as an asset. By 2019, Bitcoin prices more than doubled, outperforming even the best stocks. As the global economy slowed in 2020, cryptocurrency funds and futures became attractive to investors.
Why do people want to use Bitcoin? Beyond the value assigned to it by the market, Bitcoin has a finite supply compared to official currencies, making it a hedge against inflation. Its success has prompted adoption of central bank digital currencies across the globe and persuaded the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to give banks permission to hold crypto on its customers’ behalf. Apple Pay also began accepting BitPay, a prepaid Bitcoin MasterCard. As worries about future inflation continue, more institutions see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a safe thing to accept.
Going forward, one should expect to see rapid adoption of crypto cards, emergence of new use cases for crypto, and increased investing in Bitcoin from traditional finance leaders. Of course, it’s important to adopt a crypto trading strategy. Investors should also watch out for the cost of mining coins. In 2018, crypto mining accounted for 1% of global energy consumption. In 2020 alone, Bitcoin consumed 120 gigawatts per second, the equivalent of 156 million horsepower.
Crypto is the future of currency. Don’t get left behind:
CryptoMode produces high quality content for cryptocurrency companies. We have provided brand exposure for dozens of companies to date, and you can be one of them. All of our clients appreciate our value/pricing ratio. Contact us if you have any questions: [email protected] None of the information on this website is investment or financial advice. CryptoMode is not responsible for any financial losses sustained by acting on information provided on this website by its authors or clients. No reviews should be taken at face value, always conduct your research before making financial commitments.


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There aren’t many better growth stories in the market than The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD). But the TTD stock price suggests investors have forgotten that fact.
From December highs, the stock has fallen more than 25%. It’s down 15% in just the last four weeks.
There are some reasons why. The biggest is that changes in the online advertising market clearly have spooked investors. “Cookies” have been used to identify and track internet users for decades. They’re going away.
But that shift might well be good news for The Trade Desk. At the least, the company has positioned itself to manage through any kind of environment going forward.
In other words, The Trade Desk will be fine. And once investors realize that fact, TTD stock will resume its impressive trajectory. In the meantime, this sell-off provides an opportunity.
The End of Cookies
Cookies aren’t going away entirely. The focus is on “third-party cookies,” rather than “first-party” cookies — which are used to remember users to specific websites.
The move isn’t a surprise. It’s not necessarily bad news for anyone, either. Users are tired of being tracked. Regulators have been cracking down. The European Union, for instance, issued the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, in 2016. That’s added difficulty and expense for U.S. companies operating on the continent.
The question is, what replaces cookies? They do have some use to advertisers, who benefit from targeting the users most likely to have interest in their products and services.
The biggest online advertising company has pushed FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts), which essentially uses data analytics to mimic personal identifiers. That method has plenty of flaws.
For its part, The Trade Desk is leading a consortium backing Unified ID 2.0. Unified ID 2.0 is an open-source framework that uses encrypted email addresses — and discloses its benefits to consumers. And The Trade Desk’s longstanding focus on the “buyside” of the digital advertising ecosystem should allow it to bring other companies on board.
Now, it’s possible Unified ID 2.0 doesn’t wind up working out.
That approach has some question marks as well. Users may decide not to sign up, deciding that even anonymous tracking is too much. And The Trade Desk still needs to get larger publishers on board.
We don’t know how the shift away from third-party cookies is going to work. But that’s not a bad thing.
After all, it’s not as if The Trade Desk is some brand-new startup. The company will easily top $1 billion in revenue this year. It’s the leader in programmatic advertising, which is where the industry is heading.
Whatever the changes are, and whatever the new paradigm proves to be, The Trade Desk is going to be a big part of it.
The fact that we don’t know precisely what the future looks like thus isn’t a bad thing. We know advertisers like programmatic, and we know The Trade Desk is dominant in that category.
There’s one more thing to remember: Not all digital ads are tracked by cookies. Connected TV is a massive opportunity for The Trade Desk: Its customer ad spend on CTV doubled in 2020. CTV doesn’t support cookies.
TTD Stock Will Be Fine
We see these kinds of moves with growth stocks all the time.
At first, once the opportunity is apparent, investors get excited. They see massive markets and big growth and extrapolate both into the future.
But, as always, the world changes. Markets change. The best companies in the world don’t follow linear paths to success.
Investors too often forget that. When any kind of turbulence — or even potential turbulence — arrives, they get nervous and sell.
That’s not a mistake that should be made with TTD stock. This is a company that literally has revolutionized digital advertising. It increased revenue 26% in 2020 despite the novel coronavirus pandemic. And yet it’s only scratched the surface of its potential.
No, TTD stock is not “cheap.” Of course, it shouldn’t be. Companies like this don’t get cheap.
But sometimes, when any kind of uncertainty arises, they get cheaper. Nearly all of the time, the best companies prove their worth and power through. I don’t expect The Trade Desk will be any different.
On the date of publication, neither Matt McCall nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in the article.
Matthew McCall left Wall Street to actually help investors — by getting them into the world’s biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. Click here to see what Matt has up his sleeve now.


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Small Businesses Unprepared for EMV Compliance
EMV is a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines that can accept them.With the EMV liability shift deadline less than three months away, 52 percent of small businesses will not be EMV-ready, and 37 percent of small businesses have no plans to accept EMV cards after the deadline, according to a survey of 344 small business owners or managers, which was conducted by Cayan. EMV is a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines that can accept them. The study surveyed small business that accept credit or debit cards and employ fewer than 50 people. It sought to determine what it would take for small businesses with no EMV plans to become EMV-capable after October 1, the deadline after which merchants will be liable for the cost of counterfeit card fraud if they're unable to accept EMV cards. "The most surprising finding that our study revealed is that many small business owners are taking more of a reactionary approach to upgrading to EMV, even though more than half say they couldn’t bounce back if they were required to cover $500 in fraudulent charges out of pocket," Ben Saren, senior vice president of marketing at Cayan, told eWEEK. "This tells us that SMBs can’t afford not to upgrade to EMV. It’s clear that there are opportunities for companies within the payments industry to educate and prepare small businesses ahead of the October deadline."
The survey revealed that many small businesses aren't yet convinced of the benefits of becoming EMV-ready before the deadline. Yet most respondents admitted that experiencing the negative effects of non-compliances after the deadline would convince them to make the upgrade.


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BUSINESS leaders have reacted to the 2021 budget, as the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, promised to “do whatever it takes to support the British people and businesses” after the economy slumped by 10 per cent last year following the coronavirus outbreak.
In his annual budget speech last Wednesday (3), the chancellor announced support measures, including a five-month extension of Britain’s huge jobs rescue plan, wider help for the self-employed and the continuation of an emergency increase in welfare payments. He also confirmed a corporate tax hike from 2023.
A property tax exemption for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will now run until the end of June, by when prime minister Boris Johnson hopes to have lifted most Covid-19 restrictions. Sunak also said he would freeze the amount of money that people can earn tax-free and the threshold for the higher rate of income tax at the 2021-22 level until April 2026.
Businessman and life peer Lord Rami Ranger described the budget as “bold and honest”, considering the challenges Britain is facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I am satisfied with the budget and expect it will be well received by the public too,” Lord Ranger told Eastern Eye last Friday (5). “The chancellor’s primary concern is to save jobs and businesses and as a result, he has kept almost everything as it was until 2023 when the economy is expected to recover.”
The founder of international marketing and distribution company Sun Mark admitted he was expecting tax rises to pay for the money that the government had borrowed to defend the economy. “Thankfully, the budget has no sudden shocks to derail a struggling economy,” he said.
Lord Ranger also praised the news that the budget would support the on-going furlough scheme until September. The scheme has been regarded as a lifeline to many businesses, as many remain closed during the crisis.
Meanwhile, business owners in the hospitality sector have also reacted to the government’s financial plans. Tony Matharu is the chairman and founder of Integrity International Group and Blue Orchid Hotels. Although he welcomed the chancellor’s recognition of the hospitality sector and his support of businesses, Matharu admitted more needed to be done.
“Hospitality businesses need to see fundamental reform on business rates which currently are punitive for the sector,” he told Eastern Eye on Tuesday (9). “The approaching revamp of the rates system must provide a new system of business tax that no longer unfairly penalises our industry.”
Matharu stated the budget’s support measures focused on “short-term survival”. Targeted investment will be needed in the medium and longer-term due to a delayed return of footfall from workers and domestic and international visitors which the industry is so dependent on, he said.
“It is important to stress the hotel and hospitality businesses, particularly in central London, have been imperilled through no fault of their own, despite considerable efforts to provide safe and secure environments,” the businessman, who is a board member of the Central London Alliance, said.
London restaurateur Cyrus Todiwala praised the chancellor for keeping his promise of providing support to businesses, including the extension of the furlough scheme and the retainment of low VAT. “All in all, (the chancellor) has delivered an okay package that will help in the short run and allow many to look positively at the outcome,” the Café Spice Namasté owner told Eastern Eye.
On the corporation tax increase, Todiwala said the announcement may not make a difference for small business straight away. “Profitability is currently a dream for most,” he said. “Managing the rough path ahead will be the key – but we are getting ready for that road ahead.
Matharu noted the contribution of the hospitality sector to the economy, pointing out it remains one of the UK’s highest employers and generates almost £160bn of GVA directly or indirectly to the UK in 2018. “But we cannot assume it will just bounce back,” Matharu added. “It is only with sustained government support that hospitality businesses can continue to underpin the UK economy.”
The entrepreneur also stressed the importance of the government sticking to its June 21 date for a full reopening of the industry. “Any further delay would see the closure of more businesses, additional jobs lost and undo much of the good the chancellor has done to date,” Matharu warned.


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So much for the old saying “If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion.” The lion roared on March 6 when a snowstorm hit the East Coast and the Florian Gardens property incurred some weather-related damage. As was previously reported on this blog, frozen ice falling off the transmission tower broke windows on two of the buildings and damaged a couple of car that were parked on the lot. One member’s car had significant damage to the hood, another car had a cracked windshield. In addition, to the cars, the vents on the rooftops of each building and one roof drain scupper box were damaged.
Anyone who has been paying attention can see that progress is being rapidly made on the the Georgia Avenue Walmart which is scheduled to open in the fall of this year. Councilmember Muriel Bowser recently sent out a special e-newsletter advising that Walmart is seeking a DC-based retailer to occupy 1800 square feet of retail space.
We’ve been telling you that FGC will be undergoing a face-lift involving Continue reading Spring Cleaning: Odds and Ends


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Home Tags Taco Bell
Tag: Taco Bell
Stars like Anna Kendrick, Heidi Klum, and Kanye West have all admitted their love for chain restaurants.
I went to South Korea and ate 17 fast-food menu items you can’t order in America, from Starbucks’ cheese mocha to KFC’s Double Down
On a recent trip to Seoul, I made it my mission to try as many fast-food menu items that I could not find in the US as possible.
Taco Bell offers triple layer nachos, burritos, and more for around $1 each. Some of the items give great bang for your buck.
From Amazon to StockX, we've rounded up 17 of the companies whose recent innovations are transforming the landscape of the retail industry.
Nacho fries are finally back, and this time they've brought a friend: Buffalo chicken. Here's what Taco Bell's new limited-time items taste like.
The Drive-Thru: Conference chaos, McDonald’s franchisees’ chicken sandwich dreams, and the rise of the ‘charcuterie influencer’...
It was a big week for retail conferences. Read on for what you might have missed and everything else you need to know.
Shake Shack has rolled out a 4-day workweek at dozens of locations, as the CEO says it’s ‘never been harder’ to attract and retain w...
Shake Shack has rolled out its four-day workweek for managers at a third of its locations, CEO Randy Garutti said on Tuesday.
Taco Bell’s $100,000-salary test could set off a domino effect, forcing fast-food giants to increase pay
Restaurant-industry insiders say the cost of labor is a top concern in 2020, as companies struggle to retain workers and keep up with rising wages.
Taco Bell will test a 6-figure salary for managers and roll out paid sick leave as fast food’s war for talent continues to rage
Taco Bell announced it would test a six-figure salary for the general managers of certain company-owned locations.
Del Taco's menu covers a big range of foods, but most of them aren't very good. Here's what my first visit to the Tex-Mex chain was like.


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Apple’s WWDC Keynote Scheduled for Monday, June 10
Apple today said the keynote address for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference will occur at 10 AM PT Monday, June 10, at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Not a big surprise, as that is the day the event kicks off. Speakers for the keynote have not been announced — nor are they likely to be. But expect to see CEO Tim Cook presiding over the standard cast of characters as they demonstrate the latest in Apple tech, including the next major releases of both iOS and OS X.


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Google have recently announced the release of the SDK for their Google Assistant. This is of course in line with a lot of Google properties and allows 3rd party developers to create devices that utilize the Google Assistant technology. Amazon has of course had an SDK available for some time which has proved to be very popular with many manufacturers such as Lenovo, Ford and Huawei deciding to implement Alexa into their devices (big and small). We can fully expect the same to occur for Google.
The announcement is great news for the consumer as this will help raise the game and improve the usefulness and functionality of the devices. This, of course, applies equally to Google, Amazon and if speculation and rumor is correct Apple as well (I wonder if this will be announced at WWDC 'source').
I wonder if anyone will develop something that will utilize both the Amazon Alexa SDK and the Google Assistant SDK. I strongly suspect that both companies would object but would be an interesting concept.
For more information please see the following:


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Jan 15 - Summary of business headlines: Silver Lake Partners building money chest to take Dell private -sources; Facebook announces search function, but stock flops; CVS looks for Tylenol remedy. Retail sales strong in December, lifts Dow. Conway G. Gittens reports.
Blue chips extend a modest winning streak to five sessions but concerns about the U.S. fight over debt limits kept gains to a minimum. The Dow and S&P 500 saw a pop, but the Nasdaq ceded ground. That due in part to sales concerns pushing Apple to its first close below $500 in nearly a year. Dell could be taken private by Silver Lake Partners, two sources familiar with the matter say, and the buyout firm is in advanced talks to line up financing for the deal. This could be the biggest buyout since the recent recession. Shares of Dell rallying 21 percent since a report of Dell considering to go private was reported by Bloomberg on Monday. The anticipated news from Facebook: a new internal search function. Facebook will allow limited search confined to a users' social network and not the entire billion or so Facebook users. Investors were not so impressed after a build-up last week. Shares fell close to 3 percent by session's end. With little threat to its domain - search giant Google finished higher. But this could be trouble for Yelp, which lost over 6 percent. Tylenol is such a headache for CVS that it will stop putting the pain medicine in some of its stores. A three-year series of manufacturing problems for maker Johnson & Johnson - leading CVS to only stock the drug selectively. J&J did not want to comment for our story. Economic news came through for the bulls. Retail sales jumped a stronger-than-expected half of a percent at the end of last year. That data are another sign all that talk about the fiscal cliff holding back the consumer - was all talk. Meanwhile, wholesale inflation backed off for a third month. Finally, European stocks were mostly lower after weak results from German software giant SAP.


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Budget friendly hotel rooms marketplace OYO rooms has launched OYO WE, a new brand to cater to the needs of women travellers in India. OYO justifies the move, by saying that women make up as much as 40% of its customers and the number is expected to further increase in future.
OYO WE rooms would have all-women staff and women friendly facilities such as automated door locks, hair dryer, iron and full length mirror in rooms, library with women magazines, doctor and beauty services on call and cab services.
These new designs and features would be incorporated into 15 new properties which the startup is planning to bring under the brand in 10 cities by the end of this year. The owners of these properties would invest about 1.5-2 lakhs to incorporate these features and give them a OYO WE brand look.
Kavikrut, head of expansions at OYO Rooms also said,
WE are also looking at converting existing properties into OYO WE brand, apart from signing new properties. These properties will undergo transformation in terms of design and features.
Given the unfortunate fact that India is not particularly deemed safe or suitable for women travellers and also the fact that business from women travellers in growing at 50% rate every year, hospitality industry has been making similar efforts since 2005 to offer their services keeping in mind these problems.
OYO had recently hired Deepika Gupta who was a part of leadership team at Amazon responsible for setting up jewellery business. In addition to increasing the growth of its new brand, OYO Rooms is also looking forward to expand to around 5,000 hotels spread across 150 cities with 50,000 rooms by the end of this year.


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Any number of auto shows around the world bear the tagline ‘International’. But most of those international forums are typically more nationalistic; Frankfurt beats its German chest, while Paris remains decidedly French. And you know, of course, what Detroit does: It invariably dances the displacement game to a Motown soundtrack. The exception is Geneva, where its historic neutrality – and lack of homegrown industry – leads to almost everyone beating their collective chests. Here, as reported by trade publication Automotive News, is an overview of what should inevitably be in your garage:
Word on the street – or graveled road – has Alfa Romeo bringing a compact crossover to Geneva, which would slot beneath the current Stelvio. Reportedly based on the Jeep Renegade, we can only hope that in execution the Alfa is more ‘car’ and less ‘toon’ than its Jeep donor.
Audi continues its predictable pursuit of Tesla with its Q4 e-tron crossover concept, a production version of which goes on sale within the next two years. Closer to your Audi showroom is a plug-in hybrid variant of the Q5 crossover, perfect for those wanting roughly 50 miles of all-electric propulsion, along with 300 miles of ‘let’s get out of town’!
Bugatti adds an exclamation to economic stratification with a one-off hypercar, built for former Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech. If the approximate cost is accurate – a cool $18,000,000 – simple math suggests that same sum could buy 90 Huracans from your Lamborghini showroom. Or 400 Golf Rs from VW.
As Chevy says hello to a mid-engined Corvette, Ferrari says ‘ciao’ to its 488, replacing it with the all-new F8 Tributo. Lighter, and with a more driver-focused cockpit, it is one of five new models reportedly on tap by Ferrari for the 2019 calendar year.
Although McLaren’s Speedtail has already been revealed, Geneva will be its first showing at an auto show. If only our infrastructure was a match for its claimed 250 miles-per-hour top speed. With that, we’re almost dune, or – uh – done. Much has been seen and/or written about Volkswagen’s MEB electric-specific platform, and with its I.D. Buggy concept, more ink will follow. Fully capturing the feel (if not the ‘vibe’) of the iconic Meyers Manx, the electrified buggy is just what Thomas Crown would grab when taking a break from the assisted living center.


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Disney Parks have reopened and people are flocking to them since being on lockdown during the pandemic.
Now, a woman has revealed a "life hack" on getting a free (and expensive) t-shirt at one of the Magical theme parks.
Tik Tok User@amandaaadimeo, whose real name is Amanda DiMeo, shared a video of herself scoring a $75 t-shirt at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, because she walked into the park with “underboob” showing.
Disney, naturally, wants to keep parks family friendly, so when she entered the Magic Kingdom section of the theme park, Amanda says she was immediately provided a ticket to redeem a new shirt at one of the gift shops.
“Ok guys, new Disney hack. If you’re wearing a shirt that shows a little under boob, they’ll write you a ticket when you first enter Magic Kingdom,” Amanda explains. “I’m not sure about the other parts, but on the regular tickets they’ll write you a ticket so you can get a free shirt at the nearest gift shop.”
“I just got a $75 t-shirt because I was wearing a shirt that exposed my under boob a little bit,” Amanda added. “So yeah, if you want free Disney shirts that’s the hack.”
More HERE and below!


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Final Fantasy Type-0 coming in October
Final Fantasy Type-0 is set to hit Japan on October 13th, 2011. Like most Final Fantasy releases in Japan, we can expect some limited edition console, bundles, etc (most of which will not make it outside Japan :/).
For english speaking territories like the U.S. and the U.K., we still have to wait for an official announcement for the localization but Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura says that the company is looking forward to an overseas release of Type-0.
Final Fantasy Type-0, formerly XIII Agito is one of the most anticipated PSP games of 2011.
source SiliconeraTags: Agito, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Type-0, Playstation Portable


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Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have led to an unprecedented migration to online auctions as a means of selling anything from properties and cars to office furniture and even household goods.
New companies are emerging using social media marketing to encourage buyers to bid or make offers on goods and buyers can be duped into participating in a sale process or so called auction that is not transparent, legal or safe.
As a result, the South African Institute of Auctioneers (SAIA), has noticed an uptick in complaints leveled at fly-by-night auctioneers who do not fulfill their obligations to deliver goods or choose to provide alternative goods that are not what the customers bid for. There have also been reports of problems associated with the refunding of deposits where these are required.
“Unfortunately, it is only when problems arise that the bidder realizes they are dealing with unprofessional sellers purporting to be Bonafede auctioneers and this should send a clear signal to the public to only deal with professional, registered auctioneers who are members of SAIA. Before committing to purchase on a so-called auction site, a simple check on the SAIA webpage will dispel any concerns you may have. Our members have remained resilient in the face of the virus and are among the leaders in online auctioneering,” says SAIA chairman, John Cowing.


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Naughty Dog is contemplating new ideas for a potential sequel or successor to The Last of Us, creative director Neil Druckmann has revealed.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Druckmann described how his creative team were pursuing new ideas following the upcoming release of The Last of Us’ sole story DLC, Left Behind.
“We have started brainstorming some stuff,” Druckmann said.
“To be honest, some of them are sequel ideas, and some of them are brand new IP – we’ve spent the last few weeks brainstorming new IP. So we have to get some good steps and see… It’s kind of like how we approached Left Behind. Can we tell people a story that’s really worth telling, and that’s not repeating itself? And if we can’t, where can we get inspired – what is something that’s really going to challenge us, and push storytelling in this medium forward?”
With over 3.4 million copies sold worldwide in its first three weeks, The Last of Us was the fastest selling title of 2013 and the fastest selling IP in the PlayStation 3’s history. Fans should note, however, that any new plans for the franchise won’t affect development of Uncharted 4 (which Naughty Dog teased in a recent trailer), as the Uncharted series is handled by a separate team.
Druckmann also went on to say that the possibility of a The Last of Us PlayStation 4 port, bundled with DLC and Sony’s new console, would be largely dependent on the developer’s “resources.”
Left Behind, which releases February 14, serves as a prequel to the events of The Last of Us and puts the player in the shoes of Ellie for the first time. It’s priced at $21.95 on PSN.


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RIM has recently announced that their Secure Element Manager (SEM) for NFC based mobile payments has been approved by Visa. The approval of what is known as a very strict process opens the door for secure mobile payments for all future NFC enabled BlackBerry devices. Continue reading ‘RIM Gets Approved by Visa for NFC Mobile Payments’
PayAnywhere has announced the availability of its highly anticipated mobile payment application and credit card reader for BlackBerry smartphones. With a complete set of mobile payments features, around the clock customer support and an online Merchant Portal, PayAnywhere is the most comprehensive mobile payment solution currently available in BlackBerry App World.
Continue reading ‘PayAnywhere Mobile Payments App and Credit Card Reader Now Available in BlackBerry App World’
NFC is one of the most exciting features of modern BlackBerrys. The Near Field Communication feature will allow you to share media between devices as well as use your BlackBerry as a mobile wallet. Recently, Yes-Wallet.com launched a new BlackBerry app called Pouch, that supports NFC and lets you connect your VISA and MasterCards. The company is also ready to expand the service to gift cards, loyalty programs and debit cards.
Continue reading ‘Yes-Wallet.com Launches NFC Enabled Pouch App With VISA and Mastercard Support’
The news that MasterCard and the major carriers have teamed up via Zoompass has got the industry excited about the idea that smartphone payments are fast approaching. The newest player on the scene is Tyfone’s SideTap card. The card can function as a payment device, allowing the user to scan their smartphone over a PayPass system. The product is said to hit the market in the second half of 2010, with trials slated to begin mid year.
Continue reading ‘Tyfone’s SideTap Card Allows Payments by microSD Card’


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THE Victoria and Albert Museum have announced that more than 50,000 additional tickets have today put on sale for the gallery’s spring headline exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty which has also been extended for two weeks with additional early morning and evening slots made available to provide as many opportunities as possible for visitors to see the exhibition due to an unprecedented demand for tickets.
The V&A has now sold 30,000 advance tickets with online pre-bookable tickets sold out for the first five weekends of the exhibition which opens in March which breaks the gallery’s record for the most advance sales for a V&A exhibition. Tickets will be available in person at the Museum every day of the exhibition run however.
by Caroline Simpson
lexander McQueen: Savage Beauty opens March 14 until August 2, 2015
Admission £16 (concessions available). V&A Members go free. Advance booking is advised – this can be done in person at the V&A; online at www.vam.ac.uk/savagebeauty; or by calling 0800 912 6961 (booking fee applies)
The Victoria and Albert Museum is on Twitter Find the show with #SavageBeauty


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LAST week, we covered inflation and some of the drivers for it, mainly corporate greed.
‘History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes’ is a phrase we can use when looking at inflation ‘stories’ and, in particular, who gets blamed for it. There is often a bogey man, but the accounts of the energy companies, banks, supermarkets and others don’t lie. They are making money out of your misery.
Inflation generally occurs when there are too many chasing not enough. Inflation is monitored in consumer prices and also in consumer services and goods. The real inflation has been in assets, and assets that the very wealthy have, and those assets have been much greater than inflation of consumer goods and services.
They occur, for example, when the central banks pump money into the banks to subsidise them. The wealthy’s vote matters: the large financial institutions, the investment banks, the high-net-worth individuals. These are the assets inflated by the central bank’s actions but not what the Fed or central banks per se talk about, because, well that’s not the narrative.
The monopolies who control prices, the sanctions on Russia. None of these are talked about and won’t be quelled by the nuclear impacts of using interest rate rises on mortgagees. Mortgagees just aren’t the influencers of that inflation. Remember there wasn’t a shortage of gas or oil in early 2022, but prices rose, because oil companies knew they could. That’s when they should have been slapped with windfall taxes to curb their behaviour, instead of allowing them to continue to do so.
Moreover, financial markets can manipulate prices as was done in 2008 (which this column covered in detail). Financial markets look at the ‘forward’ market and simply bid up prices. This is where you effectively have the monopoly. Many of the rules around this changed in 2003 to allow this to happen (after lobbying in the government they wanted) and when 2008 showed the impact, we were told it couldn’t happen again.
This needs to change, as that money flowing into influencing prices is colossal, but isn’t because of supply and demand (again as pointed out in this column in June 2008 before the collapse).
In the US, those monopoly lobbyists did everything they could to put their team onto the supreme court, where they would create the ultimate monopoly.
We now know that rising corporate profits were the largest contributor to Europe’s inflation over the last two years. The number is up.
We know companies have just increased prices because they said ‘there is inflation coming so we need to raise prices’. They blame too much money supply, ie quantitative easing (QE) and low interest rates, oh and ‘Russia’s war in Ukraine’. That narrative is everywhere, yet the former policies of QE and low rates have been around for a very long time with a benign inflationary background.
The latter matters more because of the sanctions placed on Russia which lowers the supply to the western countries who have applied the sanctions and of course the prices rise (too many chasing not enough).
Those who haven’t applied the sanctions have different inflation levels to the west i.e. China is just 0.2 per cent, South Korea 3.3 per cent, UAE 3.05 per cent, India 4.25 per cent, and Mexico 5.35 per cent.
What has also happened is the creation of inflationary ‘rentier’ economies. Have a read of the book ‘Private Island’ and see how the UK’s assets have been sold off. Forget Brexit and bogey men for now. These assets were sold off, so you now rent them, and pay through the nose for them. You rent money from a credit card and pay well over 20 per cent if you have debt. You rent your house with a mortgage (death grip). You rent your gas, your oil, your water.
This is where large parts of the economy went completely pear-shaped. When central banks ‘did’ their QE, it should have flowed into a productive economy, into products, services and infrastructure. Instead it was hoarded by the banks for the obvious benefit of them and the disadvantage to society (see ‘rentier’ above).
I can give many examples, but private water companies (often foreign owned) paid £1.4bn in dividends last year, and 20 per cent of your bills managed their debt and paid shareholder profits. They didn’t build new reservoirs and improve infrastructure to improve things and then lower costs. That is a rentier economy in full movie mode with no popcorn.
But all you will hear is “nurses and train drivers are driving up inflation with their wage demands”.
It’s simply not true.
:: Peter McGahan is chief executive of independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. If you have a financial query, call Darren McKeever on 028 6863 2692, email email@example.com or visit www.wwfp.net


text: DARIEN \u2014 While the local impact, if any, of phase 3 of Gov. Ned Lamont\u2019s reopening plan is yet to be seen, businesses and organizations in town are hoping it inspires more patrons to venture out and engage. \u201cWe\u2019re just gonna have to hope,\u201d said Robert Mazza, longtime owner of the Sugar Bowl Luncheonette. \u201cI\u2019m hoping that they\u2019re going to come in.\u201d On Oct. 8 restaurants, hairdressers and some select personal service providers will be allowed to operate with 75 percent capacity, up from 50 percent these past several months. \u201cI\u2019m maxed out at 50 percent,\u201d Mazza said, noting space and costs have prohibited his ability to create new outdoor space, or to heat the outdoor tables he\u2019s relied on. Other changes include outdoor venues, including stadium and concerts, which will be allowed up to 50-percent capacity, along with indoor performing arts venues and indoor religious gatherings, which must cap at 200 people. Mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing remain in place. As autumn unfolds \u2014 and the chance for cold weather becomes more likely \u2014 many businesses that have depended on outdoor seating may have to find other options. \u201cWe\u2019re losing our outdoor seating because of the weather,\u201d explained David Nelson, owner of Ten Twenty Post. Like many others, Nelson has faced challenges, though he has been fortunate to have significant space to spread out customers, as well as an outdoor tent for more options. \u201cYou won\u2019t find a better town to have a restaurant,\u201d he said, noting the community\u2019s support as well. At the same time, his frustration continues to mount with state legislation he said shouldn\u2019t be dictating the decisions. \u201cLet the people decide,\u201d he said. \u201cOpen it up to 100 percent. That\u2019s the American way.\u201d Steven Rivieccio of Papa Joe\u2019s said they are preparing for Phase 3 by putting dividers in the bar area and dining room area, and will continue outdoor seating until the town says they can\u2019t. Scott Sergiano, area manager for Caffe Nero, said many customers aren\u2019t up to speed on the latest state regulations for dining. \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how many people call and ask if we have indoor dining,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have a clue.\u201d Phase 3 will increase his indoor dining by about eight seats, he said. \u201cIt helps because we\u2019ll have more capacity,\u201d Sergiano said, but this will be in tandem with the likely loss of outdoor seats with colder weather. Still, he\u2019s optimistic. \u201cYou never know,\u201d he said. \u201cIn November you get a 75-degree day.\u201d Darien Library is also adapting their current guidelines to reflect phase 3. \u201cWe have been waiting to announce the changes publicly until the state provides the detailed guidance documentation, which they have yet to do. We do know that the state\u2019s phase 3 includes bumping up from 50 percent indoor capacity to 75 percent, so we will likewise be able to allow more individuals into the Library,\u201d said library Director Kiera Parrott The library intends to announce full phase 3 changes next week. In the meantime, it is expanding to Saturday service from 1 to 5 p.m. starting this Oct. 10. The Museum of Darien reopened Oct. 6 for the first time since the pandemic hit, by appointment only. Appointments can be booked at museumofdarien.org. First Congregational Church and St. Luke\u2019s Parish are welcoming parishioners back indoors by reservation this weekend. Meanwhile, Darien Toy Box and Barrett Bookstore both said phase 3 will not impact them much. \u201cWe will continue staying open 10 to 4 and ask customers to keep social distance and no touching. Everyone seems to be okay with that and masks. Occasionally we have had to limit the number of customers in the store \u2014usually no more than 5 or 6,\u201d Darien Toy Box owner Bill Jensen said. \u201cIf there are no new cases, we might go 10 to 5 beginning late October,\u201d he said. Page Berger of Barrett Bookstore said, given the large space the store maintains and the fact that they don\u2019t get a lot of browsers at one time, \u201cI don\u2019t foresee any technical changes.\u201d \u201cWe will continue to enforce proper mask-wearing and mandatory hand-sanitization as folks enter,\u201d she said. \u201c... We are looking forward to the holiday crunch and will be beginning to encourage people to shop local and shop early given printer press delays, ongoing shipping questions, and in hopes that we can spread out our usual holiday crowds.\u201d Barrett also intends to offer home delivery again with wrapping to prevent shoppers from being inside the store too long. Over at the Darien YMCA, a couple new changes shadow phase 3 expansion, including reopening showers in locker rooms, a return of drop-in babysitting, and some tables out by the cafe. \u201cWe\u2019re keeping our capacity levels the same,\u201d explained Patty Kane, marketing and communications director, in part because it\u2019s working well and patrons continue to return. \u201cWe\u2019re working very, very hard to keep this place safe,\u201d said CEO Jennifer Gardner, \u201cto keep this place clean, to make sure that everyone who comes in here is healthy.\u201d \u201cWe hope that through the guidelines ... it gives people more confidence in coming here,\u201d she said. \u201cThe members that are here are all very comfortable being here.\u201d One Darien business that isn\u2019t getting the benefit of the loosening restrictions is Joyride Cycling + Fitness. \u201cUnfortunately, phase 3 doesn\u2019t change the restrictions imposed on gyms or boutique fitness studios. This is particularly challenging as rules are eased for other retails stores and restaurants. Not to mention the lack of a second round of PPP funding for small businesses,\u201d said Amy Houchhauser, of Joyride. Joyride has been making use of a large tent in the parking lot by the Corbin Drive Post Office for outdoor classes, but that too will be impacted by cooling temperatures. \u201cLocal boutique fitness studios are all really hard hit right now. We can use all the community support we can get,\u201d she said. Rich Anders, general manager of the Darien Sport Shop, said the hope is that \u2014 while the phase 3 reopening doesn\u2019t directly impact retail \u2014 it will encourage more people to venture out. \u201cWe\u2019re surprised by how well the reopening has gone,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had absolutely no issues.\u201d Protocols remain in place, he said, and, like Barrett Bookstore, the store is ready for holiday business. \u201cWe\u2019re still hopeful that it will be a good holiday season,\u201d he said. \u201cSo far, so good.\u201d Likewise, Mazza hopes Darienites will be bringing the joy. \u201cWe\u2019re following the rules, so they should be happy to support us, I hope,\u201d he said.


text: By DANA WOLLMAN Associated Press NEW YORK -- Cablevision Systems Corp., the nation's fifth-largest cable TV company, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income rose 45 percent, helped by its recent purchase of Bresnan Communications and a slight increase in phone and Internet customers. Cablevision added a net 271,000 basic cable subscribers during the quarter to bring the total to about 3.3 million. Were it not for the Bresnan acquisition, it would have lost 35,000 basic cable customers, largely because of a fee dispute with News Corp., which left Cablevision subscribers without Fox programming for two weeks. Earnings rose to $114 million, or 38 cents per share. That's up from $78 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 44 cents per share. Revenue rose about 6 percent to $1.87 billion from $1.77 billion. That was roughly in line with the $1.85 billion analysts were expecting. Cablevision stock fell 93 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $36.49 in midday trading Wednesday. The company said it lost basic cable subscribers in the wake of an October dispute with Fox. Cablevision had balked at the fees it was paying News Corp. to carry Fox channels on its lineups. As a result, Cablevision customers went without Fox programming for 15 days, and sports fans missed two World Series games. "We were faced with a take-it-or-leave-it situation on very expensive programming costs," Chief Operating Officer Tom Rutledge said on a conference call. Without providing specifics, Rutledge said the talks led to lower fees than Cablevision would have had to pay had it agreed to News Corp.'s terms right away. "So we thought that taking the hit was worth it," Rutledge said. "But we thought it was a one-time kind of hit." He said most of the cable subscribers who canceled their service had been buying television service only, and the company saw a rise in customers buying packages combining cable, telephone and Internet services. Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffat said Cablevision's losses in basic cable were the largest since Verizon Communications Inc. began offering its high-speed FiOS Internet and TV service. He added that the loss of 35,000 customers was worse than expected. He had predicted a loss of 14,000 customers, without accounting for any subscribers Bresnan might add. Cablevision also added a net 190,000 digital cable customers and 140,000 telephone customers. Without Bresnan, growth was more modest with a net gain of 6,000 Internet customers and 9,000 phone customers. Moffat expected a net gain of 11,000 Internet customers and 18,000 phone customers. The Bresnan purchase, completed in mid-December, added customers in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah to Cablevision's New York-area operations. All told, Cablevision said this increase in subscribers boosted revenue, as did higher fees. Cablevision also reported 14 percent revenue growth from the Rainbow division, which owns pay TV channels such as AMC, Sundance and WE tv along with the IFC suite of independent film production entities. In December, the company's board approved a plan to spin off Rainbow Media, creating two separate companies -- one focused on cable, Internet and phone services and the other on programming. The spin-off will reduce Cablevision's $12.1 billion debt by about $1.25 billion. The company expects the spin-off to close by mid-year, CEO James Dolan said in a statement Wednesday. On the conference call, the company's management team declined further comment. For the full year, the company earned $361 million, or $1.20 per share, compared with $286 million, or 96 cents per share, in 2009. Annual revenue rose to $7.23 billion from $6.85 billion. Cablevision will pay a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents per share on March 21 to shareholders of record on Feb. 28. That's the same dividend the company issued in the most recent quarter.


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MARTIN Lewis has revealed how Boots shoppers can get a popular Christmas gift set – with products valued at around Â£77 – for just Â£33.50.
The MoneySavingExpert founder said Soap and Glory fans can snap-up the deal on the Home is Where the Spa is set from today.
He shared details of the deal during last night’s episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV.
The body care set is usually priced at around Â£68, if the products were bought individually, they would cost Â£77.
But boots has slashed the cost of the set by more than half price to Â£33.59.
Martin said: “It’s online at Boots from 9pm for everybody, not available in stores.
“Ten full size products and two minis. You can break it up and give them out as gifts at Christmas.”
He added that although Boots says it has good stock levels, the deal is always popular so it’s best to be quick if you want it.
The deal is set to run out at midnight on Tuesday, November 15, or while stocks last.
The set as 13 items including body wash, body butter, hand cream and facial masks.
But remember, it’s only worth buying if you’re likely to use the products, or you want to give them as Christmas gifts.
MoneySavingExpert shared the contents of the Soap and Glory Where the Spa is set, with the price of buying each item separately:
- Magnificoco body lotion, 500ml (full-size) – Â£9.95
- The Rushower dry shampoo, 200ml (full-size) – Â£3.95
- Clean On Me hydrating body wash, 500mlÂ (full-size) – Â£6.95
- The Scrub Of Your Life smoothing body scrub, 200mlÂ (full-size) – Â£5.95
- The Righteous Butter body butter, 300mlÂ (full-size) – Â£9.95
- Call Of Fruity hydrating hand cream, 125mlÂ (full-size) – Â£6.95
- Face Soap & Clarity vitamin C facial wash, 350mlÂ (full-size) – Â£7.95
- Bright & Beautiful radiance-boosting mask, 29g (full-size) – Â£3.95
- The Fab Pore pore-refining mask, 29g (full-size) – Â£3.95
- Plump Intensely hydrating day lotion, 50ml (full-size) – Â£9.95
- Heel Genius hydrating foot cream, 50ml (mini) – worth Â£2.78 based on the price of the full-size 125ml version
- Magnificoco body wash, 75ml (mini) – worth Â£1.04 based on the price of the full-size 500ml version
- Soap & Glory shower puffÂ – Â£4
The money saving guru has also previous explained how shoppers can get Â£184 worth of Boots No7 products for Â£50 with the retailer’s advent calendar.
And last week, he revealed how shoppers can get the M&S beauty advent calendar, for just Â£40.
On last night’s show, Martin also gave his top tips on how households can save cash this winter.
Martin explained that “focusing on energy efficiency” was the best way to “get your house in order” and save money.
And he warned about one home appliance that could be pushing up bills as “it’s the biggest energy user”.


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- Eurozone economic confidence rises
- UN dubs Crimea referendum as illegal
- German inflation figures out later
- US consumer confidence data to be released
FTSE 100: 0.01%
CAC 40: 0.30%
FTSE MIB: 1.19%
IBEX 35: 0.94%
Stoxx 600: 0.38%
European stocks rallied after a report showed Eurozone economic confidence rose more than forecast.
The sentiment index increased to 102.4 in March from 101.2 a month earlier, beating market expectations of 101.4, the European Commission revealed today.
It marked the strongest monthly gain in nearly five years and comes as a welcome surprise ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) policy meeting next week.
The central bank has been under pressure to take greater measures to tackle a stagnant recovery amid falling consumer prices and high unemployment.
Capital Economics said the recent report on Eurozone confidence, suggested that businesses and consumers had shrugged off the recent tensions in Crimea.
The United Nations has declared a Moscow-backed referendum, which led to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, as illegal.
Ongoing tensions between the West, Russia and Ukraine have raised concerns for businesses with exposure to the turmoil.
Last week the US and European Union imposed travel bans and asset freezes on those responsible for the destabilisation in Ukraine. US President Barack Obama has warned Russia that it could face further sanctions if it continued to cause problems for its neighbour nation.
German inflation, US consumer confidence
German inflation figures, to be released at 13:00 GMT, are expected to show consumer prices in Europe's biggest economy rose by 1.1% year-on-year in March.
In the US, the University of Michigan will unveil its consumer confidence index which is tipped to edge up to 80.5 in March from 79.9 a month ago.
Also in the US, investors will be watching for data on personal spending and income.
Insurers fall on FCA probe
Resolution and Aviva led insurers lower following reports UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority said it plans to conduct an investigation in whether charges levied on life-insurance policies were unfair on customers.
A gauge of copper miners rose, including Aurubis and Glencore Xstrata, as the price of the metal rose on hopes China will introduce new stimulus measures.
Intesa Sanpaolo advanced as Italy's second-biggest bank forecast dividend payouts of €1bn this year and €2bn next year.
Pirelli & C. SpA gained after the Italian tyre maker reported 2013 earnings which beat analysts' estimates.
Deutsche Wohnen climbed after the German residential landlord said annual profit jumped 68%.
The euro fell 0.06% to $1.3732.
Brent crude futures rose $0.213 to $108.060 per barrel, according to the ICE.


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Is the press release dead? For years now, that question has been hanging over the public relations/journalism world. And the question is a fair one – when millions of press releases are issued daily, often without consideration of the journalists receiving them, do press releases work anymore? And issuing a press release through a credible pr distribution wire service is an extra cost of about $3,000 or more depending on variables like length, number of images or videos, and frequency.
Given their expense, is a press release worth it?
What we’re talking about here is legitimate company news that is appropriate for a wire service, but isn’t securities and exchange or public shareholders requirement. So this legitimate news could be based on research, a new hire, a new product, it can even be a statement based on industry news, issued over a pr distribution wire service like PR Newswire, Business Wire, Globe Newswire or similar who distribute and publish an online press release.
A press release is but one tactic in the media relations tool kit. It’s extremely unusual that your news, even your most exciting news, (“We launched..! We bought…! We secured…!”), applies to every single media site, without customization about why it applies to the reader or journalist’s beat. There are plenty of occasions when direct outreach to the media contacts database will generate better quality and more tailored media coverage. Plus, journalists aren’t really all that jazzed to receive the same (untailored) information as hundreds of thousands of other journalists; at that point, they view it as a status update instead of news. But then why do these services charge so much?
Well, most quality pr distribution wire services reach thousands of outlets at once and most will get reprints of your press release in at least a few national online media outlets. But that press release syndication can come in handy on the web.
The press release isn’t dead, it’s just viewed differently by both journalists and public relations professionals today. So when SHOULD you go through the expense, sometimes over $1,000 per release, of using a wire service? Here are 5 times issuing a press release over a wire service can serve your strategic interests.
It’s Still Got Social Proof:
When you search on a business name and the release appears under “news,” tell me that doesn’t impress you a little? Of course. That’s why earned media is so valuable. Vendors, customers, investors, they all like seeing that too. It shows you’re committed to your brand, your growth, and your reputation. If you’re positioning for acquisition, IPO, or investors, having a consistent history of press releases provides credibility and social proof.
Consistent (but not overwhelming) press releases are also a good way to stay in front of news outlets. When your brand is top of mind at the moment editors are assigning stories or looking for ideas, it allows your public relations budget to go even further. Press releases also offer background information for journalists writing today’s story; they serve as a good historical marker to your company’s achievements, which can get buried on a website.
You’ve Got Video on a Major News Item:
If you or your company has a unique point of view on a breaking news item, especially if it’s video, TV stations are always looking for high-quality video for of-the-moment topics, that’s a great opportunity to send out a well-timed press release. Make sure your video has a distinctive point of view and that it’s relevant to your key messaging. Make sure your video is high quality enough for TV and name your video using relevant and keyword researched words.
Help producers and journalists by using your press release to give context to your quote and be sure to show the speaker’s name clearly in the content.
You’re ABSOLUTELY Clear On Your Audience:
Most of the time your audience is the press, after all, those are the subscribers to wire services – to pretend there is any other primary audience is misleading. But given that most journalists aren’t responsive to press releases, there may be an opportunity to be a bit disruptive. There may be an occasion in which your release speaks directly to the consumer as opposed to the journalist with a jazzier (note: not promotional) lingo, maybe direct to consumer quotes, and direct to consumer ideas or recommendations that could also interest slow-news-day fodder. Note: we’re not really dealing with many slow news days these days.
Sometimes those press release reprints can give you enough legs to support other content initiatives and social proof initiatives.
Let me be clear: do not treat a press release like a blog post, they are complementary, not interchangeable. But, addressing to the consumer’s issues within the context of a newsworthy release may be a useful, if non-traditional, tactic occasionally.
You’ve Done Keyword Research:
If your website is new, or if you’re trying to build traffic, these consistent high-value links can contribute nicely to your SEO. Let’s be clear sending out press releases alone isn’t enough to radically change your SEO, but it can be part of your off-page tool kit that supports your overall SEO strategy.
Keep in mind, a press release jacked up with keywords isn’t effective AT ALL. Google’s got your number and generally, a press release written only for search engines is ineffective; it’s also considered spammy by journalists, so used wrong, it can discredit your company in the eyes of the media outlets.
What you want to do is keyword research on ACTUAL news so you maximize the opportunity. Wire releases DO create high-value inbound links. Plus, wire service releases generally present well in search results, so it’s a double-win if you or your PR team have done their keyword research.
The Moment is Momentus
Using a press release to document a historic moment in your company’s history presents a timeline and momentum to your company and adds social proof. Also, going back to the keywords, press releases live in “news” for much, much longer than even an earned media story.
Press releases using this strategy also serve as a way to get press on track to watch for future announcements, clarify your business positioning, or get stakeholders on the same page.
Do we believe press releases are dead? No, we do not. We also don’t believe every announcement needs to come in the form of a press release. Use press releases strategically, and to compliment your media relations, and they will serve you well.


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Nokia and Motorola revealed new smartphones last week in hopes of generating interest before Apple's announcement of a new iPhone Wednesday. Nokia's devices are its first to run the next version of Windows, which will have a lot of catching up in the phone world.
Android and Apple devices dominate in smartphones, with 85 percent of the worldwide market combined, according to IDC. Companies making Android devices include Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and Motorola Mobility, which Google now owns. Samsung also makes phones running Bada, which is based on Linux.
Nokia has traditionally relied on Symbian, but it is now banking its future on Windows.
Here are IDC's figures for worldwide smartphone unit sales and market share in the second quarter of 2012, by operating system.
• Android (Google Inc.) -- 104.8 million units, 68.1 percent share (46.9 percent a year earlier)
• iOS (Apple Inc.'s iPhone) -- 26.0 million units, 16.9 percent share (18.8 percent a year earlier)
• BlackBerry (Research in Motion Ltd.) -- 7.4 million units, 4.8 percent share (11.5 percent a year earlier)
• Symbian (mostly used by Nokia Corp.) -- 6.8 million units, 4.4 percent share (16.9 percent a year earlier)
• Windows (Microsoft Corp.) -- 5.4 million units, 3.5 percent share (2.3 percent a year earlier)
• Linux -- 3.5 million units, 2.3 percent share (3.0 percent a year earlier)
• Others -- 0.1 million units, 0.1 percent share (0.5 percent a year earlier)


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Rod Stewart The Latest Rocker To Announce Michigan Tour Stop
Rod Stewart has just announced plans for a 2020 North American Tour. And, the news became official Tuesday that the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will be visiting Michigan this summer.
Check out Rod Stewart at DTE Energy Music Theater on Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 PM. Cheap Trick will be opening up the show and warming up the stage for a night full of classic hits.
Tickets go on sale Friday, January 10 at 10:00 AM. They will be available for online purchase as well as at Little Caesars Arena XFINITY Box Office. Prices for lawn seating will begin at $29.50 with an eight ticket purchase limit.
For full details, visit this link to 313presents.com


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MYOB revealed today that it has pumped more than AU$100 million into research and development (R&D) over the past three years — with AU$40 million of that sum spent just this financial year — in a bid to grow its cloud-based services.
The accounting and book-keeping financial software provider, which released its half-yearly financial report (PDF) today, also revealed that it had taken on more than 100 new employees over the past 12 months.
However, the company's investment in new products, new staff, and R&D saw its operating expenses increase by 11 percent for the six months ending June 2014.
MYOB chief executive officer Tim Reed said that the investment in R&D and new talent has seen the company record double-digit growth in its cloud and mobile solutions business.
"With a AU$40 million investment in R&D this financial year, we have continued to expand our cloud offerings to meet the evolving needs of small and medium businesses," Reed said in a statement. "In the first half, we introduced innovative mobile solutions such as MYOB PayDirect — a category-first for credit card payments on smartphone — while the MYOB OnTheGo app is enabling greater mobility for businesses.
"MYOB also continued to invest in talented people, with the business adding 100 new jobs over the past six months to meet rising client demand for an expanding product suite," he said.
MYOB flagged double-digit growth in revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the six months ending June 2014.
The accounting and finance software provider reported a 21 percent surge in operating revenue from the corresponding period last year to AU$139.5 million, while recording a 29 percent boost in EBITDA, to AU$70 million.
The company said that it maintained its cash conversion rate at more than 87 percent, with a continued improvement in its debt position.
Reed said that the company's ongoing acquisition and investment in other companies has put it at the "forefront of cloud accounting solutions" for Australia and New Zealand, and that itsearlier this month of New Zealand HR and payroll software company PayGlobal has boosted its footprint in the mid to large business sectors in the ANZ region.
"We will continue to focus on providing cloud accounting for businesses of every size and supporting them as they grow from micro to mid sized," said Reed. "The recently announced acquisition of PayGlobal has doubled our presence in the mid- to large-sized business market in Australia and New Zealand.
"It is a complementary offering to MYOB EXO, and in early 2015, we expect to introduce a new cloud-based business management system for larger enterprises. We are excited by its development as it will help growing businesses to become more flexible and mobile," said Reed.
MYOB's cloud-based services push comes as New Zealand's Xero continues to make headway in the local market, reporting last week that it has nabbed more than— nearly doubling its tally in the local market over the past 12 months.
In its latest financial report, MYOB revealed that it now claims more than 86,000 paying clients using cloud files, up from 43,000 this time last year.


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Cash management: After the goldrush
Supply-chain finance has been the big hit of the crisis for transaction banks. The product was pushed over the past decade without any big success and has now taken off as working capital has become crucial to companies’ survival and buyers have recognized the fragility of their supply chains. Can market growth be sustained? Laurence Neville reports.
ALTHOUGH SUPPLY-CHAIN finance is not broken out in transaction banks’ results – and there are no independent data sources – growth is thought to be running at hundreds of percent a year. No one doubts that supply-chain finance is becoming a core product for banks but inevitably some are questioning whether or not the current pace of growth can be sustained as the global economy recovers and financial markets normalize.
In the supply-chain finance gold rush, most of the spoils are going to the world’s largest transaction banks – for international mandates only they have the necessary coverage for implementation. Given the relatively recent success of supply-chain finance it is perhaps unsurprising that banks have yet to effectively differentiate their products.


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Equinix is offering bare-metal Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), so customers can deploy infrastructure remotely on demand in its data centers.
Equinix Metal is based on the services previously offered by Packet, which Equinix bought at the start of 2020 for an undisclosed sum. It's available in Amsterdam, New York, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC, with another 10 locations due to follow early in 2021.
"What we've been doing since March is taking Packet's capability, which is six years of focused public effort on automating physical infrastructure at software speed, and combining that with the global reach and interconnection capabilities of Equinix," said Zac Smith, co-founder of Packet and now managing director of bare metal at Equinix, in an interview with DCD. "We can use Metal programmatically, and with near-instantaneous access, so if you need to expand to a new market or scale to meet some increased demand, you can do so very quickly."
Although these servers can so far only be physically in four specific Equinix data centers (or "IBXs"), he said that "you can spin up bare metal resources, connect to ECX Fabric [An Equinix product previously called Cloud Exchange Fabric], and reach all of of your cloud NSPs and private colocations throughout the world."
In keeping with the new reach of the product, Equinix has a new digital service agreement, which allows customers to consume infrastructure globally: "That's a big shift for Equinix which has traditionally worked more like a real estate company, where you sign agreements for every place that you have assets."
There's also a bigger sales team than Smith had at Packet: "I'm not exactly sure of the total number of people on our sales team - but it is way more than the total number of people working on Metal." That sales team is also equipped with new abilities, including instant global account provisioning, and enterprise-grade billing for the service.
The service is enabled by the use of pre-wired racks, Smith told us. These are built to the specifications created at LinkedIn, and shared through the Open19 industry group from 2016 onwards. The Open19 racks have power and cabling pre-installed, so the racks can be placed in the data center, ready to have servers and switches installed when required. “What if you could deploy a small amount of capital - your sheet metal and cables - at a different time from when you do your big capital, your CPU and your memory,” says Smith. “We're talking thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands of dollars, to have your cabling and sheet metal done right - and then to add your expensive parts more incrementally, more just in time.”
The service will support hybrid cloud, and DevOps.


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A new report has revealed a huge disparity between perceived mobile health app security and the reality.
The study shows that while 84 per cent of consumers and IT execs believe their mobile health apps are secure, 90 per cent of the apps tested positive for two critical security risks in the study.
The new State of Application Security Report is based on the analysis of 126 popular mobile health and finance apps from the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, as well as a study examining security perspectives of consumers and app security professionals.
In its research – full details can be found in the infographic below – Arxan found few geographical discrepancies in mobile app security across the US, UK, Germany, and Japan, and iOS apps were shown to be at least as vulnerable as Android apps.
Here’s the infographic outlining the results:
Theresa May has outlined plans to support smart energy, robotics, IoT, 5G and biotech in a post-Brexit Britain
The ICO has revealed more details of how it plans to share its guidance on the EU General Data Protection Regulation
Figures show 3.6 million fraud cases and two million computer misuse offences were committed last year
Single page that brings together all the things that are available to help teams building government services


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Let's cut the crap right off the bat. Call of Duty 2 was an amazing launch game for Xbox 360, and if you're reading this article then you're already familiar with where the series came from, what it did for the launch of 360 just a year ago, and how amazing the franchise has evolved over the years. We don't need to waste your time explaining what the franchise is all about. If you aren't familiar with the world of Call of Duty, click here before continuing. For everyone else, let's get down to business…
As Arrowhead Game Studios turns 15, join us in celebrating its past and learn how its first game Magicka influenced Helldivers 2.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons launched back in 2013, and a remake of the game is set to launch next week. Today, we look back at the original.
From their most recent entries in the GTA franchise to their cult favorite racing games, find here the best Rockstar games, ranked from best to worst.


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Foodie Amor bakery opened its doors this week in Leucadia off Coast Highway 101, next door to
In the kitchen, you’ll find owner Christine Miller, who bakes all sorts of all-natural goodies, including biscottis, cookies, brownies, sweetbreads, bars and seasonal candies—all made without any preservatives. Miller which she learned form her grandmothers while growing up on her family’s farm in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley.
If you drop by the 800-square-foot bakery, you may notice a contraption that looks like an elliptical machine. That’s actually a StreetStrider, an exercise machine that her husband Kevin sells via his company—and if you want to give it a go, he's happy to offer a test drive down Vulcan.
If you’d like to check out the new business, there’s a grand opening celebration slated for next Friday, Aug. 3. That day the bakery will offer a buy-one-get-one-free special on cookies from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and customers can take a ride on the StreetStrider.
"We thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to 'keep Leucadia funky' with our delightful bakery of sweet and savory, all-natural treats combined with StreetStrider, the elliptical that moves you," Miller said.
And you may already be familiar with Miller’s confections. Her baked goods are already carried at Nordstrom Espresso Cafes—and locally at , , and Solana Beach Coffee Company.
Foodie Amor is at 918 N. Coast Highway 101. For more information, visit foodieamor.com.


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Success in export markets has shaped Virtus Group’s progress. Foreign sales account for 70% of Virtus Group’s overall turnover. The company’s success transcends national borders, and it supports its international activities with subsidiaries in Italy and Romania.
“Our foreign sales are growing strongly,” says General Manager Vittorio Marrocchino. “In Sweden alone we grew by 40% this year. Our strategy so far has been focused on selling to the specialist retail market. For the future we want to set up our own chain of independent Virtus brand dealers to guarantee a service network for end users and other dealers.”
The company is currently looking for independent franchise partners to market its Virtus brand throughout the European market.
“We created the Virtus brand in 2008 in a step towards offering different kinds of quality,” says Mr. Marrocchino. “It is our brand for project contracts and higher-class catering. In the meantime, Virtus has become our most important brand – the one offering added value for instance through customized products and extended warranties.”
RistorMarkt is the entry-level brand in the company’s portfolio and covers smaller equipment such as hot dog machines, waffle irons and crepe makers. Around half of the products in this range are sourced from suppliers in China.
In addition to RistorMarkt, the company has two other brands with which it approaches distinct markets. “Our historic brand is Mastro, which has existed since 1990 and stands for innovation and functionality,” explains Mr. Marrocchino. “It covers products aimed at the needs of small to medium-sized restaurants and catering outlets.”
The product range covers equipment for cooking, refrigeration, washing, food preparation and ventilation as well as kitchen furniture made from stainless steel. The company also offers food service and buffet counters, pizzeria equipment, and bar equipment.
“We pride ourselves in particular on the comprehensive nature of our product range,” says Mr. Marrocchino. “With the products that we can supply, customers in the gastronomy sector can equip their businesses from top to bottom.”
The third brand in the portfolio is Virtus. It was created in 2008 to serve the premium end of the market and the contract business. “We work with well-known hotel and restaurant chains worldwide, providing not just products and consultation, but also installation, after-sales service and maintenance,” says Mr. Marrocchino. “One of our goals for the future is to increase the number of contract projects we work on in the European market rather than this sector being concentrated in overseas markets.”
With its unparalleled expertise and fine-tuned logistics, Virtus Group should have few problems finding new partners to share its philosophy and its success.


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In a big boost to sustainable mobility, 130 million EVs are expected to hit Europe’s streets by 2035, reaching about half of the total vehicles on the continent. However, this also translates to 130 million dead batteries, which — unless recycled — could end up as a mountain of waste.
Battery upcycling startup Circu Li-ion aims to help solve this challenge. The company has raised €8.5mn in seed funding to create a fully circular battery value chain for Europe’s growing EV market.
Founded in 2021 and based in Luxembourg and Germany, the startup has developed an automated upcycling solution that enables the sustainable recycling of lithium-ion cells for reuse at scale.
Circu Li-ion builds its hardware and software in-house and offers a Machine-as-a-Service product. This harnesses AI to optimise battery discharging, dismantling, disassembly, and health diagnostics to reduce manual labor and minimise the environmental impact. The startup claims that its upcycling solution can save up to 48% of CO2 emissions compared to conventional recycling.
The company already counts several partnerships with OEMs, micromobility service providers, power tool manufacturers, and European recycling companies. Its ultimate goal is to upcycle three billion batteries by 2035.
With the new funding, Circu Li-ion will expand its Machine-as-a-Service solution to further European markets, while offering Disassembly-as-a-Service to enable its customers to upcycle their batteries at its facility in Karlsruhe, Germany. Meanwhile, it aims to improve battery sorting techniques using AI and research ways to innovate direct recycling.
Ambitiously, the company will also leverage AI and data to create the world’s largest battery recycling data repository to enable data-driven decision-making and support a fully circular battery supply chain.
Finally, the startup will use the capital to reinforce and forge partnerships with industry players, expand its main production facility in Karlsruhe, and double the number of its currently 34 employees.
“We are evolving our products with the agility and adaptability the swift-moving battery market demands,” said Xavier Kohll, co-founder and CTO at Circu Li-ion. “It’s more than creating relevancy — it’s about pioneering flexible solutions that carve out new possibilities for cleaner battery recycling.”
The funding round includes €4.5mn in equity investments, led by social venture capital BonVenture and backed by a number of industry players and Circu Li-ion’s own management team. The company raised an additional €4mn in grants from the European Innovation Council Accelerator (EICA) and a group of recyclers and OEMs.
“Circu Li-Ion puts a stop to the current destruction of value in the form of a technically sophisticated and particularly innovative solution, thus unlocking previously inaccessible potential down to the level of the individual cell,” said Nikolaj Klebert, Investment Manager at BonVenture. “This is what makes a particularly high level of sustainability possible in the first place and makes an important contribution to the transformation of many industries.”
Circu Li-ion’s services come at an opportune moment for the company (and the planet), following the EU’s new battery regulation, which aims to ensure a circular economy and will require mandatory minimum levels of recycled elements for EV batteries. These are set at 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, and 6% for lithium and nickel, respectively.
“Batteries are key to the decarbonisation process and the EU’s shift towards zero-emission modes of transport. At the same time end-of-life batteries contain many valuable resources and we must be able to reuse those critical raw materials instead of relying on third countries for supplies,” said Teresa Ribera, Spanish minister for the ecological transition.
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- Apple has rolled out the latest iOS 14.5.1 update.
- The latest update fixes a security flaw in Webkit.
- The new updates also include a fix for the App Tracking Transparency prompts.
One week after the release of iOS 14.5, Apple today is releasing iOS 14.5.1 to the public with bug fixes and performance improvements. Apple is also releasing iOS 12.5.3 for older iPhones that are not supported by iOS 14.5.
A massive update to Apple’s iPhone software has dropped that will make it difficult for Facebook and other apps to track your data in the background. Until now, Facebook and other apps have been able to mine data from iPhones if users had not changed their settings to prevent it.
Unless you give explicit permission to an app (including those made by Apple), it can’t use your data for targeted ads, share your location data with advertisers or share your advertising ID or any other identifiers with third parties.
iOS 14.5.1: How to update the software?
Today’s new release iOS 14.5.1 is available via an over-the-air update in the Settings app.
You can download and install the update by going into the settings section of your device, and then hop on to ‘General’ > Software Update. Users should ensure that they are connected to a stable internet connection during the process and have the device charged.
As usual, if the update does not immediately appear for download, keep checking, as it sometimes takes a few minutes to roll out to all users. The build number for today’s release is 18E212.
The company said in the update description:
“This update fixes an issue with App Tracking Transparency where some users who previously disabled Allow Apps to Request to Track in Settings may not receive prompts from apps after re-enabling it.”
The file size of the security update is 503.9MB and all the users are advise to immediately download it. The update is available for users who own an iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation).
Thanks for Reading!!


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Back from the retro, a sequel to the dystopian cyberpunk point and click game Beneath a Steel Sky has finally released its teaser trailer for its sequel Beyond a Steel Sky by developer Revolution Software. Video credit to Przygodoskop.
It is back in 3D
Beyond a Steel Sky portrays some of a few dystopian features:
- Unique sandbox experience with deep narrative
- Making choices which may affect the game world and its inhabitants
- Intuitive controls
- 3D comic styled world in HDR and 4K in order to compliment Dave Gibbons artwork
Beyond a Steel Sky is coming to consoles, PC, and Apple devices under Apple Arcade service.