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HMD Global has the exclusive rights Brand Nokia. The brand was brought back to run on Android OS. It was speculated that the Nokia smartphones will launch year. They are speculated to launch soon this year. The Nokia E1 Phone was launched for China.
Leaks suggest it will run the Android Nougat Out of the Box OS. This Nokia phone packs 5.5 inches Full HD display along with 2.5D Gorilla Glass. This is powered by the Snapdragon 430 SoC paired with the Adreno 308 GPU. The variant sports 3GB RAM with 64 GB of inbuilt storage.
Roughly priced at Rs. 16750, Nokia phone will reportedly available by next month. Reports from various sources suggested that the Nokia E1 has its own disadvantages too. The non-removable battery helps the phone to look stylish but will be difficult in the long run.
Nokia E1 Price, Specifications:
The rumors from other sources also suggest this may not come with expandable storage option via the Micro-SD card slot. There would also be other Nokia Smartphones to launch this year which includes high-end technology.
Some of them will be low range and mid range smartphones too. It is speculated that the company will launch another half a dozen such phones in this year. The screen sizes will vary from 5” to 7”.
This Nokia E1 Smartphone that sports Android Nougat OS will show up next month in February. This is speculated to launch at the Mobile World Congress event. The leaked images of the Nokia Smartphones images give out the Nokia details.
NokiaPowerUser has also reported about the Nokia budget phones. The 5.2” /5.3” display variants will sport 720×1280 pixels screen resolutions. The Nokia E1 is tipped to feature a 13 MP rear camera and front 5 MP camera for selfies.
As per the leaks, these are some of the Nokia E1 specifications. It would face tough competition in terms of price as there are other smartphones coming up this year to match its price. Some of them are Xaiomi, OnePlus & Apple to name a few. Watch this space for further updates.


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Today, Yahoo! released its Yahoo! Go software for Windows Mobile devices. It's Yahoo!
Go for Mobile application suite, which was released earlier this year for
Symbian based Series 60 devices, includes E-Mail, search, photo upload (Flickr),
address book and calendar services, as well as access to Yahoo's news, sports
and finance content. Yahoo! Messenger is not included in Windows Mobile editions
of Yahoo! Go yet but only available to Symbian users. For sure, Yahoo already
offers many of its popular online services in mobile device optimized versions
but the software provides a faster, smoother experience and additional features.
For instance, users can store E-Mails for reading when they don't have service
and can automatically upload photos taken with their cameras into their Yahoo
- Yahoo! Mail - Easily manages and stores messages on mobile devices and
provides receive notification for incoming mail
- Yahoo! Search (Local, Web and Image) - Provides Local search, full Web
search and Image search to view billions of pictures
- Yahoo! Photos - Automatic upload of camera phone pictures to a Yahoo!
Photos account, view and manage all albums saved on the Web account and
download photos from albums directly to the mobile device
- Yahoo! Address Book and Calendar -- Easy entry, management and back-up
of contacts and calendar events
- Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance and more -- Quick access to the full range
of content services including Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance and Movies
Since Yahoo! Go for Mobile was launch back in February, the software has only
been available for certain Nokia S60 phones, which run the Symbian operating
system. However, while Nokia and Symbian is widely available in Europe and Asia,
in the U.S. consumers could only use the software if they got their service from
Cingular Wireless and had one particular Nokia phone, said Yahoo spokeswoman
Nicole Leverich (also see Alfredo's latest Thought here).
Making the software available to Windows Mobile devices, which includes
Motorola's Q Smartphone and Palm's Treo 700w Pocket PC Phone Editions, will
nearly double Yahoo's reach. Last year, Microsoft shipped 6 million phones with
its Windows Mobile software.
"This is about reach for us. We want to get it on all devices that are in
consumers' hands," Nicole Leverich said. "We definitely think expanding the
reach of the service to new devices is going to help us continue to grow the
"Today's launch increases the number of consumers who can use Yahoo!
Go for Mobile to stay connected to their community of friends,
personalized content and favorite Internet services," said Marco
Boerries, senior vice president, connected life, Yahoo!. "We are making
it even easier for more consumers to take the Yahoo! experience with
them on their mobile phone."
Yahoo! Go is available now from Yahoo!'s Go site and supports Windows Mobile
Pocket PCs and Smartphone running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition or Windows
Mobile 5.0. It requires about 4 MB space on your mobile device's internal memory
and needs Internet access via GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, EV-DO, WLAN or other
Cheers ~ Arne

domain: news


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Be it Anne-Sophie Pic, Yannick Alléno or Andreas Caminada: Hublot counts many star chefs among its brand ambassadors. CEO Ricardo Guadalupe explains why.
Brad PittAnd the Roger Federer And Cindy Crawford are the names of superstars, sports icons and models with which quite a few watch brands adorn their image. It used to be called certification, but for some time now the term brand ambassador seems to warrant further understatement and seriousness, so that the appearance of the big names doesn’t appear to be too promotional.
Although Hublot also has Novak Djoković or Kylian Mbappé, the watch brand is increasingly focusing on chefs. Of course not on any. With six chefs awarded three Michelin stars as brand ambassadors, the factory houses more dignitaries in this category than Austria, Switzerland and Sweden combined at the stove.
Speaking of which: On October 12, three top-notch chefs, Anne-Sophie Pic, Yannick Alléno, and Eneko Atxa, will get together and create a potentially unique dinner. We wanted to know from Ricardo Guadalupe, President of Hublot, what’s behind the massive culinary event and the commitment of top chefs as ambassadors. “It is simply because of the values shared with Hublot. These people are extraordinary, unconventional and brave. I also believe that gastronomy and watchmaking have a lot in common, as both fields require an incredible level of dedication, skill and creativity. Their role as pioneers should also not be forgotten.” .
As early as 2010, Hublot worked with the famous Bocuse d’Or to honor innovative young chefs, and in 2017 Swiss Andreas Caminada finally became an official Hublot ambassador.
Guadalupe, who describes himself as a foodie and prefers to dine at the de l’Hôtel de Ville de Crissier near his home, took over as Hublot’s CEO in 2012 when his predecessor Jean-Claude Biver was appointed chairman of the board. What might be more interesting on a particular occasion in October: He names Simmental’s grilled prime rib, salad, and baked potato as his favorite dish; If the boss is in Vienna, you can find him eating a Wiener Schnitzel in Figlmüller.
Schnitzel should not be served on October 12, but the Silence tablecloth will be posted on the special event and menu. Mr. Guadalupe does not believe that too many cooks can spoil the broth. “If chefs can bring something unique to the table that’s different from the rest, the soup can only get better.” Well, there must be more than just soup on the menu, needless to say, bon appetit.
(“Press Show” from September 23, 2022)
“Travel aficionado. Certified problem solver. Pop culture guru. Typical writer. Entrepreneur. Coffee trailblazer.”


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FIDO Friendly Blog
FIDO Friendly magazine is proud to announce winning Best Dog Blog of the year 2011 as awarded by Dogtime Media. This is a huge honor for FIDO Friendly, bestowed by the largest vertical media community focused on pet owners.
June 23, 2014 • Rescue
FIDO Friendly's 6th annual month long pet adoption tour: Get Your Licks on Route 66® starts September 13, 2014
Presented by FIDO Friendly magazine and brought to you by Ford and Animal Radio, the cross country pet adoption tour kicks off September 13 in Los Angeles with special appearance by this years official spokesperson, actress, author and animal lover, Danica McKellar.
We drive down...
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July 22, 2014 • Health & Wellness
If you are eating frozen pizza for dinner while their pets are chowing down on Ahi-Tuna and beef pate, you may not be alone. A recent survey from Wellness Natural Pet Food found that the majority of dog and cat owners (80%) say their pets eat better than they do!
About two-thirds of pet owners only shop for natural foods for their furry friends, and nearly 1/2 won’t serve anything that contains...
July 21, 2014 • Travel
Meet Monti - He's bright, cute, and very well behaved - and no, we're not talking about the GM.
Lord Monticello, known as "Monti" to his friends and admirers at The Jefferson, Washington, DC, is the newest furry addition to the hotel’s family. Presiding as the first official Canine Executive Officer [CEO], Monti embodies many of the admirable traits so useful in the hospitality industry; being...
July 16, 2014 • Health & Wellness
It’s hard to beat the heat this time of year even with easy access to air conditioning, icy drinks and refreshing swimming pools. Imagine how our furry friends feel in the sweltering summer when they’re dependent on us for protection from the high temperatures and the sun’s sizzling rays.
“Heat stroke can occur when an animal’s temperature rises to a critical level,” said Dr. Michael Dix,...
July 14, 2014 • Health & Wellness
National Pet Fire Safety Day is July 15th, and we wanted to remind you of precautionary measures you can take to protect FIDO from dangerous home fires. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that more than 500,000 pets are affected by home fires each year, and we encourage you to share and pass this information to your friends and family!
Top tips from the safety experts at ADT...


text: In a huge surprise, Japanese drinks company Suntory has purchased US company Beam Inc. best known for its staple of US whiskies for $16 bn. That Beam – the 5th largest global drinks company – has been bought out is no surprise in itself. There has been fevered speculation that Pernod Ricard or Diageo would swoop for it ever since it split from Fortune Brands in 2011. What is more surprising is that the buyer is Suntory, which was previously ranked among the top 15 spirits companies and is also the world’s 14th-ranked brewer. The purchase is in tune with other recent global acquisitions from major Japanese players as they look for growth opportunities beyond the stagnant Japanese drinks market. Last year Suntory agreed to purchase iconic British brands, Ribena and Lucozade, for £1.35 bn after acquiring Orangina Schweppes in 2009. Japanese drinks firm Kirin also took control of Brazilian brewer Schincariol in 2011. This is part of a wider trend, which Mintel calls East Meets West. We’re familiar with the notion of Asia as a ‘cash cow’ for the West, but increasingly this story is being reversed, with Eastern companies buying up Western brands. As well as being a major soft drinks player, Suntory will now become one of the world’s leading whiskey players. Whiskey is comfortably the world’s number one selling spirit, and its recent growth rates have been extremely healthy. Beam owns Kentucky bourbon Jim Beam as well as Canadian Club, Teacher’s and cult craft bourbon Maker’s Mark. These will be added to Suntory’s staple of Japanese whiskies: Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, and Kakubin, as well as Bowmore Scotch whisky. Beam has been a key player in whiskey’s startling revival in Western markets over the past five years. The company’s Red Stag bourbon, infused with a black cherry flavour, was a pioneering product. It was introduced in 2009 to huge skepticism – both within the company and externally – the view being that whiskies were something you “should drink neat and savour” not sweeten. However, its impressive sales and ability to attract females and younger drinkers to a category previously deemed more suitable for “old men”, has propelled global innovation and sales of flavoured whiskey. Jim Beam – like its competitor Jack Daniel’s – has also been a key player in driving the popularity of American whiskies abroad – especially in Europe. Unlike Scotch, US whiskies have been able to fully experiment with flavours and production processes, and they have also done a great job of injecting personality, charm, and accessibility into the highly traditional whiskey category. They have also benefitted hugely from American whiskey’s central role in recent American pop culture output, through hugely popular series’ such as Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. Therefore, in the short-term at least, Suntory will be seeking to build upon the momentum that Beam has created in Beam’s domestic US market, as well as in Europe, in markets such as Germany, Poland and Russia. However, it will also be eyeing sales in wider Asia and Latin America. Status-conscious drinkers in these regions revere Scotch above all, but are increasingly interested in whiskies made from outside Scotland – whether it be from America, Ireland – or Japan. Jonny Fosyth is Global Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel. Previously responsible for researching and writing all of Mintel’s UK drinks reports, Jonny has worked as a Global Drinks Analyst since 2012. He is regularly called upon by both national and international media to provide commentary and analysis on market and consumer trends within the drinks sector. Follow Jonny on Twitter @Jonny_Mintel You might also be interested in: No related posts.


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Michelle Casanova’s idea of a dream wedding was a simple one – though a little different from most: “I wanted to take a huge bong rip in my wedding dress.”
And that she did, last October, in Agoura Hills, California. The 34-year-old Texan walked down the aisle holding a bouquet of sunflowers and weed leaves. Guests were served slices of a THC-infused cake and treated to a dab bar where they could take hits of potent, concentrated cannabis oil via a vaporizer while a “budtender” rolled joints – strains of sativa, a stimulant, at the start of the event; hybrids after the service; indicas to wind everyone down at the end of the night.
“It was like your typical wedding, but with hints of cannabis here and there,” she says. “Everything was really subtle, except for the smoking part.”
Recreational marijuana use is now legal in 10 states. This means couples like the Casanovas, who prefer rips to sips, now have more options for incorporating their lifestyle into their weddings. It’s given rise to a niche industry, one that Casanova herself is cashing in on.
Casanova, who owns Los Angeles-based Babinka Treats and bakes cannabis-infused confections, was one of the two dozen vendors at the Cannabis Wedding Expo in Las Vegas in March – the first trade show of its kind in Nevada since weed was legalized there in July 2017. Yengiang Nguyen, the owner of a bath and body product company, hoped soon-to-be brides would think of her CBD bath bombs as bridesmaid gifts; Doreen Sullivan, founder of My Bud Vase, flew in from South Carolina, a prohibition state, to sell vintage vases repurposed as bongs.
Jamie Lee McCormick’s floral company, The Flower Daddy, has blossomed since launching last year. He specializes in marijuana bud and plant arrangements, which can later be smoked. They start at $250 per bouquet. He expects 2020 to be big, and has three weddings already booked for one date in April next year.
The Las Vegas event was the eighth Cannabis Wedding Expo since Philip Wolf, the chief executive, launched it in Denver in 2016. Wolf, who also runs a cannabis dining series called Cultivating Spirits, co-founded the expo after he and friends with similar weed-centric services faced resistance from traditional wedding trade shows.
Wolf’s most recent event in San Francisco was held in February in a shopping center in the middle of downtown and drew more than 500 people. Having the event in a public space and of that scale was a sign of how far the cannabis industry has come, and where it’s heading, Wolf says.
“The wedding industry in the US is $72bn. If you look at the cannabis industry, it’s going to approach $10bn. If you look at them together, you can get a sense of how big of an industry combined they can be.”
As this alternative industry grows, so does the number of couples who, like the Casanovas, are taking weddings to new highs.
Jeff and Serena Baleja
Convincing an 80-year-old British Indian grandmother that weed is how people celebrate in California was a surprisingly easy task for Serena Baleja. “She accepted it very quickly,” Serena laughs.
The 28-year-old Londoner is a longtime advocate of marijuana, so when it came time for her and her husband, Jeff, 30, to get married last September in Los Angeles, it just made sense.
“Everyone smokes at weddings, let’s be real. They just sneak off to do it. We didn’t want anybody sneaking off,” Jeff says.
Serena and Jeff had parents who died from to alcohol addiction. Having cannabis at their wedding was more than an alternative to booze. It was a statement. “It should be normalized completely,” Serena says.
Anna and Mark Balfe-Taylor
Anna and Mark Balfe-Taylor’s Las Vegas wedding wasn’t just a celebration of love.
The couple got married on 1 July 2017 – the same day recreational sale of marijuana started in Nevada. Mark, a lifelong cannabis advocate whose stepfather went to prison for a weed-related offense, and Anna, “a major, major insomniac” with endometriosis who eats edibles to help her sleep, wanted to make a statement. “It was to celebrate freedom and sensible policy,” Mark, 46, says.
Each had previously been married and were tossing around ideas for an inconspicuous ceremony for themselves. “We didn’t need a white wedding. We didn’t want to do a typical Vegas wedding with Elvis in a drive-through,” Mark, 46, says.
Rather than bringing weed to their wedding, they brought their wedding to the weed, holding a ceremony inside The Grove’s cultivation facility surrounded by hundreds of pot plants. What was initially supposed to be an under-the-radar event became internationally publicized, which is exactly what Mark had hoped for.
Though Mark sported a bud in his suit pocket and Anna carried a bouquet with marijuana leaves, neither partook after the ceremony. “We wanted to make a statement about policy and people’s rights,” he says.
Amanda and Kyle
Recreational marijuana wasn’t legal in Canada until a month after Amanda and Kyle tied the knot in Oshawa, Ontario, last September. That didn’t prevent the couple from having a tasteful cannabis theme on their special day.
Kyle, 36, has been a cannabis activist for 10 years. He credits the plant with helping him overcome depression and opioid abuse after an injury sidelined his hockey career.
Many of the Amanda and Kyle’s wedding guests were medical cardholders. Those with the legal right to do so were encouraged to bring their own cannabis to the reception, which featured a designated smoking section.
“It wasn’t as if we had a budtender set up, as much as I would have liked to. We weren’t there on the legal side and my wife’s pretty conservative, so she didn’t want to push the envelope too much,” Kyle says.
Though not everyone was consuming cannabis at the wedding, there was still a subtle presence, from the invitations to the seating arrangements, both of which prominently featured marijuana leaf graphics. Kyle sported a bud in his boutonnière, and Amanda’s maid of honor entered the reception with a joint in her mouth as the bridal party was introduced.


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In just under a month, gamers everywhere will be able to experience the genius/madness that is Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, and we can certainly expect some twists and turns based on Kojima’s past work. Story and exposition have always been at the forefront of a Kojima title, and the upcoming exclusive is likely to be as well.
I’d compare the story to a really well done Netflix original series. It feels like I reached only half of that series, and there are still many possibilities for what could happen next.
Granted, Netflix has its share of disappointments, but also certainly some gems that have garnered plenty of love and critical acclaim. Yoshida continues by saying that players will “definitely cry when reaching the second half of the game. Kojima Productions’ staff told me this, and even the debuggers at Sony told me this as well.”
Looks like we are headed into some emotional territory with Norman Reedus as Sam Bridges, and as we know, there will be some deaths along the way come November 8 when Death Stranding releases on PS4.


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Posted on 12 Jan
Superyacht owners will soon have a place to dock their vessels within the United States. Set to be fully completed in 2018, Miami's superyacht-only marina opened in December. The Deep Harbour at Island Gardens is the first component to open at the luxury development on Biscayne Bay's Watson Island, between downtown and Miami Beach. The new marina, which shares deep waters with the cruise ships that dock at the Port of Miami, will feature 5,000 of linear capacity to accommodate an average of fifty 550-foot yachts. Amenities will include in-slip fueling, repairs and customs and immigration clearance, along with a lounge and restaurant. "Think of it like the private-jet terminal," says Mehmet Bayraktar, the developer. The complex has been in the works for more than a decade, and when fully completed, it will have two to-be-announced luxury hotels with residences, fine dining and luxury shopping. Curated from Departures.


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Small businesses looking to make a name for themselves in a crowded market, take note. Want to edge out your competition? Try staying open during a hurricane, then making -- and even delivering -- more than 1,000 pizzas in 30 hours.
That’s what Uncle Paul’s Pizza, located on 46th St. and Vanderbilt Ave. in New York City, did during Hurricane Sandy. The startup, less than four months old, managed to crank out more than 1,000 pizza pies with just five workers while the hurricane raged outside, according to co-owner Dino Redzic.
Uncle Paul’s was planning a Grand Opening celebration ahead of the hurricane, when they were planning to receive the keys to the city, Redzic said.
“In this location, we built our store up from scratch,” he said. “We were stranded anyway, so it was a pleasure to be open. People need to eat, and we were the only people in the area. Looks like we are again today as well.”
With many workers residing in outer boroughs, Redzic said the team Uncle Paul’s typically has of around 15 people was shaved down to five. The staff braved the elements, delivering to Zone A, where JPMorgan Chase, Met Life and even FOX News and FOX Business teams were reporting from as Sandy rolled in.
“My God, we made more than 1,000 pies,” he said. “We delivered to Battery Park, and Second Ave., where it was a little terrifying. It looked like a war zone, with cars collapsed in the streets. South Battery Park, the FDR Drive, they were all under water.”
Many of the orders, however, were picked up in store, Redzic said.
“Each one of us has been up for over 30 hours, and I am still going on no sleep,” he said. “Today looks like we will be even busier than yesterday, but hopefully our rescue will come from our employees, if they open the bridges.”
And until that happens, Redzic said he has no plans to slow down.
“If I have the manpower, we can go like this for days,” he said. “All we need are fresh tomatoes, flour, water and cheese.”


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Get Alerts »
Maine college's basketball bench squad goes viral
The Consumer Electronics Show highlights the latest in high tech gear. In this week's Tech Trends report, News 8's Erin Ovalle highlights a few of the innovations coming out of this year's show.
The family of a man who died nearly 24 years ago is asking Portland police to look back in to the man's homicide case.


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Alibaba Cloud has entered an agreement with the Singapore Management University (SMU) to up-skill more than 1,000 working professionals in Singapore through a series of courses.
The SMU-Alibaba Series is the first continuing education program for AIbaba Cloud outside of its home market, China.
Specifically, the program will be offered through the professional training arm of SMU, SMU Academy, and will begin from March 2019.
“As Singapore’s Smart Nation becomes a reality, we will require Smart Citizens to lead the way,” said Leon Chen, country manager of Singapore and Indonesia at Alibaba Cloud. “Our partnership with SMU aims to help equip local businesses with the right tools and technology to propel Singapore onward.
"We hope to provide actionable advice through a blend of success stories and our holistic approach to technology to help create a future-ready Singapore."
From March 2019, seven courses will be offered, which include big data analytics and applications in business, essentials of cloud computing, Internet of Things: technology and applications, smart retail and marketing, smart finance, smart manufacturing, and smart logistics.
All of these course will be offered as part of the SkillsFuture Series of training programmes to help drive training in eight priority and emerging skill areas. More courses will be offered in the future.
Once participants complete a course, they will receive a joint certificate by the SMU Academy and Alibaba Cloud.
Furthermore, courses under the SMU-Alibaba Series will be funded by SkillsFuture Singapore, with 70 per cent of the course fee subsidy for Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents, and 90 per cent course fee subsidy for Singapore Citizens aged 40 and above, and for SMEs who send their local employees (Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents) for the training.
“We are honoured to partner Alibaba Cloud in such a first-ever initiative,” said Dr Lim Lai Cheng, executive director, SMU Academy. “This collaboration leverages Alibaba’s cutting edge technologies and leading industrial knowledge; as well as SMU’s thought leadership, academic rigour and outreach.
“I am confident that the courses on offer will benefit many professionals who wish to upgrade their knowledge and skills in emerging tech areas, and companies which are keen to use digital and smart technologies to transform their business models.
“Following the completion of their face-to-face training, we hope to encourage participants to continue learning and sharing through the use of Alibaba’s online platforms. Over time, we hope to build a strong online learning community among Singaporeans and SMEs."
Crafted to empower SMEs, the series of courses aims to equip businesses with the right competencies and capabilities to navigate rapid technological disruptions and fast-evolving consumer behaviour today.
Furthermore, Alibaba Cloud scientists will conduct the courses, focusing on leveraging real-world case studies to provide actionable insights into applicable technologies and strategies for business leaders to succeed in this challenging environment.
The courses will cover the latest trends and digital strategies across a range of industries, including retail, finance, logistics and manufacturing, to bring participants up to speed on the adoption of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, AI and blockchain within their respective fields, as more companies move towards smart business models.
SMU on the other hand will leverage its faculty expertise to help develop cases of successful technological adoption by local companies, which in turn will be used as teaching resource for the SMU-Alibaba Series.
In the future, SMU and Alibaba Cloud plan to expand the series to include a mentorship programme to help participating SMEs to implement tech-enabled strategies for their businesses.
This investment by Alibaba Cloud to bring its professional development expertise to Singapore, its first location outside of China, is testament to the importance of Singapore and the wider ASEAN region.
However, the tech giant understands that to continue to grow across the ASEAN region it will need to work closely with partners, hence the launch of the ASEAN Partner Alliance Programme, designed to drive market growth through the channel.
The initiative aims to develop an ecosystem compromising of service providers, system integrators, independent software vendors (ISVs) and start-ups.
In addition to alliance vendors, the program also aims to recruit 150 solution partners by mid-2019, backed up by the training of 600 sales and technology personnel.


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Laughter is coming to CityCenter of CityNorth.
The north Phoenix mixed-use development announced this week it will bring Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy to its High Street district next summer.
The Phoenix location will be only the third for House of Comedy, which also operates clubs at the Mall of America in Minnesota and West Edmonton Mall in Canada. The chain also plans to open in the massive American Dream development in New Jersey.
House of Comedy will occupy a 6,600-square-foot space east of Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill at CityNorth.
In addition to laughs, House of Comedy offers a menu featuring burgers, sandwiches, salads and a smattering of comedy cocktails.
The comedy club will employ between 30 and 40 full- and part-time workers, said chain President Rick Bronson.
Bronson is a Canadian snowbird who owns a home in Scottsdale. He said he never intended to open a business in the Valley.
“I love getting off that airplane and knowing I was in vacation mode,” he said. “But the more time I spent there, I just recognized, the north Valley just had a huge hole as far as live entertainment went.”
When he saw that dearth of live entertainment venues on the north side, Bronson said he started scouting real estate.
“Our business model has always been kind of high traffic areas in very respected retail and entertainment districts,” Bronson said. “High Street is obviously a bit of a gamble, but we feel it’s a gamble worth taking.”
CityNorth has struggled on several fronts -- from city subsidies in its development agreement to the Great Recession, which stalled its growth. But new owners scooped up the fledgling development earlier this year with an eye toward crafting it as entertainment area. House of Comedy fits in with that direction.
“The opening of such a popular comedy club solidifies High Street as a premier entertainment destination and we anticipate an enthusiastic welcome from tenants, the surrounding community and winter visitors,” said Leslie Himley, vice president of marketing for CityCenter of CityNorth.
Other retail and restaurant tenants at CityNorth include Ocean Prime, Blue Martini, Mellow Mushroom and Kona Grill.
Because of the nature of a comedy club’s business -- having to clear its space to prepare for the next show -- those surrounding bars and restaurants will benefit from House of Comedy’s presence, Bronson said.
“We’re very helpful to bars and restaurants around us,” he said. “We’re a good business to get into bed with.”


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The Digital Women Awards video for She The People TV, showcased the Facebook Empowerment Panel, featuring our own Director of the Centre for Social Research India, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Facebook’s Ankhi Das and The Ministry’s of Women and Child Development Lopamudra Mohanty.
Social media is a big driver of social change, empowerment and economic progress. The Facebook Empowerment Panel on SheThePeople.TV's Digital Women Awards reflected on the need to promote gender fairness, empower women with financial opportunities and use social media to engage with small enterprises and audiences in a big effort to great economic value and put the spotlight on stories of success and hope in India
Posted by Shethepeople on Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Although the Internet, particularly social media platforms, are a huge opportunity for women’s empowerment, women still do not have equal access to technology, and their freedom and empowerment online is constantly challenged. Women when online face violence, harassment, bullying, and discrimination. We need more women on the Internet so they can use their voice, as we need more women in the streets. We need to ask the right questions: how many women are online and how are they using this space? And how successfully can we use the space for social messaging? The panelists highlighted the need for a roadmap and policies to respond to women’s encouraging use of Internet. The gender gap is online, these women and Facebook are responding to it.


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Ford Motor (NYSE:F) announced on Wednesday that it would start working with two U.S. universities to initiate research for driverless cars. The carmaker has teamed up with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to work out ways to overcome “technical challenges” surrounding this segment.
The Detroit automaker recently flaunted the automated version of the Ford Fusion Hybrid research car at the Washington Auto Show. This sounds really exciting, but is having connected cars on the road really possible?
Driverless Ride – Dream or Reality?
Making a driverless car is no easy job. However, there are quite a few big names involved in examining the possibility of such cars. Mark Fields, chief operating officer of Ford, considers that connected cars are going to be the next big thing in the automobile space. He believes that it is possible to have such cars on the road that could “communicate with each other” and improve navigation and safety without harming the environment.
- Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with F. Click here to check it out.
- F 15-Year Financial Data
- The intrinsic value of F
- Peter Lynch Chart of F
The company has plans to develop such cars which would be self-driven with some control from of a driver. The car would have sensors that would be able to sense moving objects like other cars and pedestrians.
Ford joined forces with MIT to develop technology that would help in foreseeing the action of such moving objects, so that the automated car could plan its own move and take a safer path to avoid collision. Its collaboration with Stanford University, on the other hand, is focusing on engineer technology that would enable the car to identify obstructions. The basic purpose is to add common human-like instincts in the vehicle that would ensure a safe ride. The automaker preferred to keep mum with regard to the amount it is putting in the R&D.
Other Players Working in This Space
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA), mostly known for its electric cars, is also working on a similar concept which would require minimum supervision of the driver. Last September, the carmaker announced that it plans to build an “auto pilot” car in the next three years that would be 90% auto driven. This means that it would require only 10% of the driver’s control.
Search engine giant Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is also excited to come out with a driverless car. The company made seven “self-piloting” Toyota (NYSE:TM) hybrid Prius which have already covered a total of 140,000 miles on road. Other than outfitting Toyota, Google has also developed self-driving cars for Audi and Lexus. Japan-based Nissan (NSANY) and German giant Daimler are both working to make driverless cars.
The Road Ahead
Ford has set its road to develop techniques to build automated systems which would take over driving functions. The company is quite optimistic about the future of connected cars and believes that such vehicles would pave the way for next-gen vehicles.
People are mostly skeptical about auto pilot cars, but they happen to be safer than normal human driven cars. Automated cars are safer, environmentally friendly and most important of all, they don’t get distracted by the surrounding. The company is therefore investing in these technologies, making new collaborations and teaming with partners to build relevant systems to come out with the model by 2025. Are such robocars really viable? Would it really be possible to add basic instincts in cars? It’s just a matter of time.


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Carnival CCL 0.89 % Cleans Up After Problem Cruise
The Carnival Triumph, once nicknamed the "poop cruise," is again plying the seas.
But whether Carnival Corp. can recover from the public-relations debacle remains to be seen. An engine-room fire aboard the Triumph in February left more than 3,000 passengers adrift in the Gulf of Mexico without power or functioning lavatories. The incident drew blanket cable-news coverage, with passengers complaining about overflowing toilets and nasty smells.
At the time, Carnival, the biggest cruise-ship company in the world, was still recovering from fallout over the Costa Concordia, a ship owned by a Carnival subsidiary that sank off the coast of Italy in 2012, killing 32 people.
To correct course, Carnival Cruise Lines said it would invest $300 million to upgrade fire suppression systems and add emergency generator power across its fleet. It also launched a program in September that promised to refund passengers 110% of their fares if they were dissatisfied within the first day of their trips.
Micky Arison, son of Carnival's founder, stepped down as chief executive in June, though he retained his chairmanship. He was replaced by Arnold Donald, an outside director. The company announced a wider shake-up of its management team in November.
Things may be moving in the right direction: The namesake brand has recovered 70% in opinion surveys, Carnival says.
A Horse Is a Horse—But Not in IKEA Meatballs
Apparently, the horse-meat kerfuffle did little to curb customers' appetites for IKEA Corp.'s meatballs.
"We now sell more meatballs than we did before," says IKEA spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson, referring to the scandal earlier in the year in which horse meat was found in several manufacturers' products, including IKEA's famous dish.
Samples showed that three batches of meat heading for the flat-pack furniture retailer's restaurants contained horse. The potential impact was huge—food sales account for 5% of the €27 billion ($37 billion) annual revenue IKEA pulls in, and it sells about 150 million meatballs across the world in a year.
IKEA pulled potentially-affected meatballs from shelves and store cafeterias in February in several countries, and didn't bring them back for about a month. Wiener sausages were also tainted, and the supplier of the products—Sweden-based Dafgard—launched an investigation into what happened, tracing the horse meat to two Polish slaughterhouses from which it no longer sources.
IKEA said it donated about 3.5 million portions of meatballs—none containing horse meat—to the European Federation of Food Banks, a nongovernmental organization fighting hunger. "That was most of the meatballs we had pulled from the shelves," said Ms. Magnusson. "The three batches that did contain horse meat became bio gas," she said.
IKEA also strengthened its standards for all food suppliers and introduced more detailed requirements for certain types of food. Scheduled and unannounced third-party audits of suppliers were among the new standards.
Heinz Squeezed By New Owners
H.J. Heinz Co.'s new owners aren't hesitating to squeeze costs out of the ketchup maker.
Since taking over in June, Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway have said they are eliminating 1,480 jobs, including about 600 corporate positions and the closure of three factories next year.
The unexpected takeover of Heinz, along with other activist investor pressure, has prompted other food companies to take a look at their cost structures, analysts say.
Kellogg Co. outlined a plan to reduce its global workforce by 7% in the next four years, including the closures of two factories in Canada and Australia next year. Mondelez International Inc., the maker of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, is building more efficient factories to replace older ones that require more human labor.
Heinz was thought to be fairly lean compared with most targets of private equity buyers since it began a multiyear cost-cutting initiative in 2006. But 3G Capital has a reputation for being especially critical of costs. When the firm bought out Burger King in 2010, it went so far as to regulate use of the color photocopier at headquarters.
Kids' Loom War Continues to Rage
Legal battles between makers of rival rubber-band loom kits—a popular fad with kids—are stretching on.
Rainbow Loom creator Cheong Choon Ngsued two rival kit makers in August for patent infringement, as well as a large retailer for selling one of the competing products. All three defendants have since filed counterclaims that remain outstanding.
Mr. Ng says he expects to end the year having sold more than 3.5 million Rainbow Loom kits, which retail for about $15 apiece. But Mr. Ng, 45 years old, says demand has slowed in recent months. He blames counterfeit and copycat products for saturating the market and says some retailers may also have overestimated their ability to sell his company's kits and didn't need to reorder.
"Sales now are more realistic," he says.
One of the defendants that Mr. Ng is suing, Steven Verona, says demand for his company's FunLoom kits took a hit as a result of the lawsuit because some retailers "didn't want to be caught up in a legal battle." He denies any wrongdoing.
Still, Mr. Verona, founder of Zenacon LLC in Miami Beach, Fla., says sales of FunLoom overall remain robust. He declined to provide specifics.
—Sarah E. Needleman
For China Factory Boss, The Nightmare Isn't Over
Nothing signaled trouble for Chip Starnes like a line of gangsters outside his factory.
The U.S. executive, who was held hostage by his own workers in China last summer, says that when Chinese authorities finally ushered him into freedom—past a row of men who had threatened to beat him and demanded money—he knew he wasn't in the clear.
With a check for $400,000 to employees, Mr. Starnes was able to escape and flew back to Florida to be reunited with his wife and three children, he says. But the threats continued, as companies with contracts supplying materials for the company, Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, wanted payment, Mr. Starnes says. They sued the entrepreneur, seizing his assets and his bank account in China, leading to insolvency, he says.
"That's $5 million to $6 million and 12 years of business," says Mr. Starnes, 43 years old. "It was all flushed down the toilet."
Mr. Starnes says attorneys advised him against returning to China, saying he would likely have his passport seized and be stuck with no assets and no way to leave.
But Mr. Starnes says he is trying again. He found investors and is launching a new company, Phoenix Health Solutions, with a new factory—in India.
Truck-Stop Chain Still Faces Uncertainty
For the Pilot Flying-J truck-stop chain, the end of 2013 brings little resolution.
The family behind the business, the Haslams of Knoxville, Tenn., were a classic example of the American dream. James Haslam II, or "Big Jim," bought a single gas station in 1958 and built it into Pilot Flying J, the largest truck-stop chain in North America. His family became a Knoxville dynasty; one son, Bill, is Tennessee's governor; the other son, Jimmy (James Haslam III) is now Pilot's chief executive, plus owner of the Cleveland Browns.
On April 15, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service descended on Pilot headquarters in Knoxville. They searched offices and hauled out computers, keeping Jimmy Haslam and others there for hours as they looked for evidence to support allegations that Pilot had schemed to cheat trucking customers out of gasoline volume discounts.
Jimmy Haslam and his father took the offensive, putting some sales staff on leave and promising to investigate and pay back any money owed to customers. Last month, a federal court in Little Rock, Ark., approved a roughly $85 million class-action settlement that would end 10 of about 20 lawsuits against Pilot.
Jimmy Haslam has said he had no knowledge of the alleged scheme and has declined to comment on whether any employees committed crimes. He told The Wall Street Journal in May that some employees were guilty "of violating how Pilot Flying J team members are supposed to act."
But several former employees have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators. The criminal investigation goes on.
An Inconvenient Truth For Al Jazeera: Low Ratings
In buying Current TV, the network co-founded by Al Gore, Al Jazeera hoped for a bridge to the U.S. mass market. So far it hasn't quite worked out that way.
The broadcaster—which paid hundreds of millions of dollars in January for Current TV, had lobbied unsuccessfully for half a decade for national cable carriage of its English-language channel. Al Jazeera executives had even suggested the cable industry's resistance was partly political.
Al Jazeera found its wider coverage in the U.S. this summer when it relaunched Current TV as a brand new channel called Al Jazeera America. It replaced Current's lineup of left-leaning and opinion-heavy programs with round-the-clock news programming.
But in the five months since its launch, Al Jazeera America has averaged just 13,000 viewers at any point throughout the day, compared with the hundreds of thousands that news channels like Fox News, MSNBC and CNN average daily, according to Nielsen. It is also less than half the daily audience that Current TV had.
Still, Al Jazeera America's ratings aren't out of line with other startup cable news channels. Al Jazeera America is also still working to expand its distribution, recently joining the lineups of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, two cable carriers who dropped the channel in the wake of its sale. That raised its distribution to 55 million homes from 44 million—but still well short of the 95 to 99 million enjoyed by MSNBC, Fox News and CNN.
Al Jazeera, which is backed by oil and gas-rich Qatar, says profits aren't a priority. Interim CEO Ehab Al Shihabi told The Wall Street Journal this summer: "That is the difference that will allow us to maintain our journalistic identity."
Coming in 2014: The 'Bionic Eye'
The "bionic eye" could finally be available next year.
A device called a retinal prosthesis, which lets some blind patients regain sight, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February, but the company that makes it, Second Sight Medical Products Inc., faced regulatory hurdles getting it to market.
Second Sight now anticipates commercial access starting in January, according to President and Chief Executive Robert J. Greenberg. The company is awaiting approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which is needed because the device contains a radio signal. The decision should come within weeks, Dr. Greenberg says.
The implant, called Argus II, is meant for people with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease. It is implanted in the back of the retina and, using glasses containing video cameras, bypasses damaged cells to send electrical stimulation to the retina to produce vision.
After FCC approval, patients will be able to obtain the implant at one of 12 clinical sites across the country—100 centers were interested in providing it—which have been trained on how to implant the device and have expertise in working with patients with low vision.
The device will be reimbursed by Medicare, the U.S. health insurance for the elderly and disabled, and half a dozen private insurers, though patients can expect a $2000 Medicare copay, says Dr. Greenberg.
The company, which already sells the device in Europe, anticipates the market will be small because retinitis pigmentosa is a relatively rare disease. However, Second Sight will begin a clinical trial for macular degeneration, a much more common condition, in the spring. The long-term hope is to implant the device into the brain to help more patients with other types of blindness like glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy.
—Shirley S. Wang
For Sephora, Lights Out On Champs Élysées
The 600,000 shoppers that flock to Paris's Champs Élysées every year to admire the avenue's Christmas illuminations found lights switched off early in at least one store this year.
In Sephora's flagship cosmetics store, shoppers have been asked to proceed to checkout at 8:15 p.m., since a Paris appeals court ruled this fall that it was breaching work-time regulations by hosting customers until midnight or longer.
The verdict has been a tough one to swallow for the shop owned by luxury-goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, especially in the crucial run-up to Christmas, as Sephora made a fifth of its business after 9 p.m. On weekends, Sephora stayed open until at least 1 a.m. in an ambience often akin more to a nightclub, with the occasional stints from DJs including David Guetta.
Since the court put an end to the Sephora discos, more retailers have embarked on a fight against France's restrictive opening hours, sparking a wide public debate on night and Sunday trading hours, which has long been a contentious issue.
The battle between retailers and defenders of work-free Sundays and evenings—seen as key to safeguarding the country's social fabric—prompted Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to promise a new law for next year to clarify what has become a complex set of rules and exceptions.
LVMH also has its hopes set on the New Year. A higher court is set to decide on the Sephora case early next year. Employees failed in recent efforts to obtain an overruling of the appeals court decision.
For LVMH's Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Arnault, more is at stake than just Sephora's profits.
"For tourists it would be extremely demotivating to come to the Champs Elysees and find a black hole," Mr. Arnault said on TV last month. "What will they do? They will go to London or elsewhere to shop."
More Reality TV, Without the TV
Success in social media programming made for mobile devices may be as subjective as it is ephemeral, but Peter Chernin feels good enough about his first stab to try again.
"Summer Break," a teen reality show produced by the former News Corp. president's Chernin Entertainment, garnered 15.3 million views for 84 videos, or about 182,000 each. That's tiny by television standards, but decent for YouTube or its rivals. News Corp owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Jesse Jacobs, president of Mr. Chernin's company, says he was more pleased by viewers' social-media engagement with the show, including 84,000 mentions on Twitter, 534,000 likes on Instagram, and 120,000 notes and reblogs on Tumblr.
"The number of comments per viewer was off the charts," he said. "People were making photo collages of these kids."
Unlike TV shows, on which production is typically finished before the first episode aired, the "Summer Break" producers made changes based on viewers' reactions.
Initially, most episodes of "Summer Break" were intended to be about a minute long. But the young, female fan base turned out to be more patient. By the end of the nine-week run, daily episodes ran between three and six minutes and weekly recaps were close to 24 minutes.
In addition, the producers eliminated one character and focused more on friends of core cast members who weren't originally intended to play large roles.
World Not Quite Ready For Caffeinated Gum
A new gum that was supposed to provide chewers with a burst of energy is still chilling out.
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. started to launch Alert Energy Caffeine Gum in April when the Food and Drug Administration said it was going to take a "fresh look" at the effects of caffeinated products on children and adolescents.
Even though Wrigley said its gum, which packs 40 milligrams of caffeine per pellet, wasn't aimed at kids, the company decided to hold off on launching the product until the FDA completes its review.
An FDA spokeswoman said the review is still under way and that no timeline has been set for a resolution. Wrigley said the gum remains on hold.
Caffeine has been showing up in everything from hot sauce to beef jerky, leading to concern among regulators and consumer advocates that people could unwittingly consume too much caffeine, which can cause insomnia, nervousness and rapid heartbeat.
For Wrigley, the new gum was supposed to be a way to revive ailing chewing gum sales by tapping into the growth of the energy-boosting foods market. For now, consumers will have to get their caffeine fix elsewhere.
Dole's Future Lies With CEO
Dole Food Co. is now in the hands of its 90-year-old chairman, though not all investors are happy about it.
David Murdock, who has poured money into longevity research and hasn't disclosed a succession plan, offered in June to buy out the roughly 60% of Dole's shares he didn't own. It was the second time Mr. Murdock would take the company private.
He argued at the time that efforts to boost Dole's share price, including the sale of two business units, had been unsuccessful. He said his $12-a-share offer, which represented an 18% premium to the prior day's close price, would benefit shareholders.
Dole's business is more subject to swings in weather since it sold its packaged foods and Asian fresh produce businesses to a Japanese company in April to pay down debt. It is strictly a fresh produce company now.
Mr. Murdock later sweetened his all-cash offer to $13.50 a share, pegging the company's value at $1.2 billion.
In November, the buyout passed with the support of 50.9% of the shares not held by Mr. Murdock. Now, several large shareholders are seeking a second opinion on the deal price from a judge, a process that is still ongoing.


text:
2011.06.27 | NLMK to launch upgraded continuous casing machine in Oct–DecRussian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel, or NLMK, plans to launch its third continuous casting machine after reconstruction sometime in October–December, the company said in a statement Thursday.
Total investments in the modernization exceeded 3.7 billion rubles.
As a result, the production capacity of the machine is to increase by 300,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes of steel products.
The project is a part of the company’s ongoing strategy aimed at expanding its steelmaking capacity following the launch of a blast furnace with a production capacity of 3.4 million tonnes, which is currently in the final stages of construction at NLMK’s major production site in the city of Lipetsk.
NLMK is Russia’s largest producer of electric steel.
(27.8957 rubles – U.S. $1)
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Fri, Mar. 13, 5:15 PM
- NPD estimates U.S. physical retail game sales rose 7% Y/Y in February to $338.9M, up from January's 5% growth and better than expected. Hardware sales rose 10% to $378.2M, as next-gen console demand remains healthy. Superdata Research estimates digital game revenue rose just 2% to $995M, thanks to weak mobile and social game sales.
- Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) had a good month: The recently-refreshed 3DS XL handheld was February's top-selling console - Ninetendo says 394K 3DS units were sold - and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (launched on Feb. 13) topped NPD's game rankings.
- Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) also did well: Evolve (launched on Feb. 10) was #2 on NPD's list, GTA V came in at #5 (down from January's #3) ahead of its March 24 PC launch, and NBA 2K15 was at #6 (down from #5). Take-Two recently said it was "very pleased" with Evolve's launch.
- Activision's (NASDAQ:ATVI) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare fell two spots to #4, while Destiny (#9 last month) fell out of the top-10. Electronic Arts' (NASDAQ:EA) Madden NFL 15 and FIFA 15 also dropped out.
- Piper observes Take-Two and Activision's NPD sales were respectively up 72% and 16% Y/Y in February, and that EA's were down 32% over the first two months of 2015. It maintains Overweight ratings on all 3 firms.
- Take-Two rose 3.9% in regular trading thanks to the numbers. GameStop (NYSE:GME) also got a lift, rising 3.5%. Activision rose 0.9% and EA rose 0.4%.
Wed, Feb. 4, 2:23 PM
- "While Take-Two (TTWO -2.1%) has some of the strongest video game franchises, the stock suffers from lack of visibility in the release schedule and choppy earnings," writes BMO, reacting to the company's FQ3 beat. Nonetheless, the firm thinks Take-Two can now deliver sustained profitability, thanks to the GTA franchise's growth, recurring revenue streams, and the popularity of franchises such as Borderlands, BioShock, and Red Dead.
- Likewise, Macquarie praises Take-Two's execution, but says it's "somewhat blind" about its FY16 (ends March '16) performance due to a lack of game release visibility. The only titles Take-Two has set release schedules for beyond March are Sid Meier's Starships (spring) and Battleborn (somewhere in FY16).
- Macquarie thinks Take-Two will launch a new Red Dead title in FY16, but admits it's just speculating based on prior release timings. Wedbush doubts a Red Dead game will launch in FY16, given a lack of teasers/announcements to date.
- Though selling off today, shares remain well above where they traded in October.
- FQ3 results, guidance/details
Tue, Feb. 3, 5:37 PM
Tue, Feb. 3, 4:30 PM
- Take-Two's (NASDAQ:TTWO) digitally-delivered content sales rose 64% Y/Y in FQ2 to $217.2M (23% of total revenue). Recurrent revenue streams such as virtual currency, downloadable add-on content, and online games (heavily linked to Grand Theft Auto V) were up 23%, and made up 36% of digital revenue.
- For seasonally weak FQ4, Take-Two expects revenue of $410M-$460M and EPS of $0.15-$0.25 vs. a consensus of $437.4M and $0.25. FY15 guidance has been hiked due to the FQ3 beat.
- Not surprisingly, the titles making the biggest FQ3 revenue contributions were "Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, NBA® 2K15, WWE® 2K15, Borderlands®: The Pre-Sequel, and Sid Meiers Civilization®: Beyond Earth" Evolve launches on Feb. 10, and Sid Meier's Starships in the spring. GTA V arrives on PCs on March 24.
- Operating expenses rose 36% Y/Y to $187.5M. Sales/marketing spend totaled $96.9M, G&A $53.6M, and R&D $31.2M.
- Shares have made new 52-week highs in AH trading.
- FQ3 results, PR
Tue, Feb. 3, 4:11 PM| 4 Comments
Fri, Jan. 16, 10:35 AM
- Activision's (ATVI +6.3%) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare topped NPD's U.S. physical retail game sale rankings for the second month in a row in December. Destiny, which Activision hopes will be its third $1B+ franchise, was #9.
- In a PR, Activision says Advanced Warfare was the "top-selling console game of 2014 globally," and that Destiny was the #2 2014 U.S. console game in terms of revenue. Skylanders was the top kids video game franchise globally (inc. toys/accessories sales), with a 30% sales edge over its biggest rival (presumably Disney's Infinity).
- Electronic Arts' (EA - unchanged) Madden NFL 2015 rose a spot to #3, and FIFA 15 returned to the top-10 (at #10). Take-Two's (TTWO +1.8%) Grand Theft Auto V was at #2 for another month, continuing to get a lift from its next-gen console and PC launches. NBA 2K15 rose three spots to #5.
- NPD estimates total U.S. physical retail game sales fell 2% Y/Y to $1.25B. Hardware sales, facing tougher comps (given next-gen consoles launched in Nov. 2013), fell 4% to $1.31B, with the Xbox One outselling the PS4. Next-gen consoles are performing 65% better than prior-gen consoles had over their first 14 months. GameStop (GME +3%), just three days removed from reporting better-than-expected holiday sales, is reacting favorably to the numbers.
- Superdata Research estimates U.S. digital game spend rose 11% Y/Y in December to $1.2B. Mobile game sales (35% of 2014 sales) rose 17%, and digital console game sales (8% of 2014 sales) 10%.
- EA reports on Jan. 27, Take-Two on Feb. 3, and Activision on Feb. 5.
- Previously: NPD's November data
- Update (2:15PM): EA is now up 1.8%, aided by a 0.8% increase for the Nasdaq. Activision is now up 9.2%, Take-Two 4.2%, and GameStop 4.5%.
Dec. 12, 2014, 10:39 AM
- Though Activision's (ATVI -1.5%) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was (as expected) #1 in NPD's November U.S. physical retail game sale rankings, Call of Duty franchise sales were down 27% Y/Y and Activision's total sales down 22%.
- That has led Piper to slash its Activision target by $3 to $24. "Strength in the Blizzard side of the business (WoW & HearthStone) should allow for an in-line Q4, but we are slightly lowering our estimates to now be in-line with company guidance."
- Take-Two (TTWO +3.3%), meanwhile, has rallied towards its 52-week high after Grand Theft Auto V (recently become available on the Xbox One, PS4, and PCs) ranked #2. NBA 2K15 was #8, down one spot from October. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel fell out of the top-10.
- Electronic Arts' (EA +0.5%) Madden NFL 15 rose four spots to #4, but FIFA 15 fell out of the top-10. BofA/Merrill has hiked its targets (I, II) for both EA and Take-Two following NPD's numbers: It's optimistic EA can continue growing margins thanks to growing digital sales and cost controls, and argues Take-Two deserves a multiple similar to EA and Activision's.
- NPD estimates total U.S. physical game sales fell 2% Y/Y in November to $1.09B, a much smaller drop than October's 27%. With next-gen consoles having launched a year ago, hardware sales fell an estimated 23% to $1.01B, with the Xbox One (1.2M sales) outselling the PS4 following a $50 early-November price cut.
- Wedbush's Michael Pachter thinks game sales growth may have been positive after accounting for downloads and the frequent bundling of games with consoles. Meanwhile, Superdata Research estimates total digital game spend rose 23% Y/Y during the Thanksgiving period.
Nov. 14, 2014, 5:35 PM
- After coming in at #1 in NPD's September U.S. retail video game rankings (following a blockbuster Sep. 9 launch), Activision's (NASDAQ:ATVI) Destiny fell to #5 in October. Take-Two's (NASDAQ:TTWO) NBA 2K15, which launched on Oct. 7, took its place at the top.
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, launched by Take-Two on Oct. 14, was #4. Skylanders Trap Team, which Activision released on Oct. 2, was #6.
- Electronic Arts' (NASDAQ:EA) FIFA 15 and Madden NFL 15 were #7 and #8, down from #3 and #2 in September. The Sims 4 fell out of the top-10, as did Activision's Diablo III: Reaper of Souls.
- Altogether, NPD estimates U.S. physical retail game sales fell 27% Y/Y to $350.3M. They were down 36% in September, thanks in part to tough comps caused by last year's GTA V launch. Xbox One/PS4 demand led console sales to rise 59% to $273.6M; Microsoft cut One prices by $50 early in November.
- The digital transition continues: SuperData Research estimates U.S. digital game spending rose 12% Y/Y in October to $957M.
- Activision's Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare launched on Nov. 3, and should be at or near the top of NPD's November rankings. Metacritic gives the game a score of 77/100.
- ATVI -1.2% in regular trading. TTWO +2.5%. EA +0.1%.
Oct. 30, 2014, 9:18 AM
Oct. 29, 2014, 4:59 PM| 1 Comment
Oct. 29, 2014, 4:35 PM| 1 Comment
Oct. 17, 2014, 1:55 PM
- With last year's Grand Theft Auto V (TTWO +0.3%) launch skewing comps, NPD estimates U.S. physical retail video game sales fell 36% Y/Y in September to $481.2M, a worse decline than August's 21% drop.
- The ongoing spending shift towards digital channels naturally contributed to the drop as well: SuperData Research estimates digital game spend rose 8.6% Y/Y in September to $873M.
- Hardware spend rose 136% Y/Y (up from August's 116%) thanks to next-gen console demand: NPD thinks PS4 sales nearly tripled from August levels with the help of Sony's (SNE +1.8%) Destiny bundle, and outpaced Xbox One sales yet again. GameStop (GME +2.7%) investors approve of the numbers.
- Electronic Arts (EA +4.5%) is rallying after Madden NFL 15, FIFA 15, NHL 15, and The Sims 4 respectively came in at #2, #3, #6, and #8 on NPD's top-10 list. Of the four games, only Madden was on the August list (#1 in its launch month). Battlefield 4 (#9 in August) fell out of the top-10.
- As expected, Activision's (ATVI -0.5%) Destiny was #1. But Diablo III: Reaper of Souls fell to #10 from #2, and Call of Duty: Ghosts (#5 in August) dropped out of the top-10. Activision, like Take-Two, is sitting out a market rally.
- EA reports on Oct. 28, Take-Two on Oct. 29, Sony on Oct. 31, and Activision on Nov. 4.
Aug. 29, 2014, 11:29 AM
- Take-Two (TTWO +4.1%) president Karl Slatoff says his company is weighing the pros and cons of bringing Grand Theft Auto to the big screen. He adds Take-Two doesn't think a weak box office showing would hurt the GTA game franchise.
- Dan Houser, the co-founder of GTA developer Rockstar Games, also appears open to doing a GTA movie. However, he insists Rockstar would want to make the film on its own.
- Benchmark's Mike Hickey thinks a GTA film makes sense, and that it could compel Activision (ATVI +0.3%), rumored to be hatching plans for its own movie studio, to acquire Take-Two.
- Hickey calls an Activision/Take-Two deal a "no-brainer," given Take-Two's developer talent, IP, and low valuation. He notes Activision can lower its business volatility by staggering Rockstar, Bungie, and Blizzard releases, and that Take-Two could help offset World of Warcraft's ongoing decline and Skylanders competition from Disney.
Aug. 5, 2014, 6:14 PM
- Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) expects FQ2 revenue of $95M-$110M and EPS of -$0.60 to -$0.70, well below a consensus of $274.4M and $0.01. However, with a healthy fall lineup still on tap, FY15 (ends March '15) guidance for revenue of $1.35B-$1.45B and EPS of $0.80-$1.05 is reiterated for now; consensus is at $1.43B and $1.03.
- The launch date for anticipated first-person shooter Evolve has been pushed back to Feb. 10, 2015; the game was originally set to launch on Oct. 21.
- NBA 2K14, GTA V, GTA Online, and Borderlands 2 were the biggest contributors to FQ1 sales. Digitally-delivered content sales grew 43% Y/Y to $106.4M (70% of total revenue). GAAP costs/expenses rose 6% to $104.5M.
- NBA 2K15 is set to launch on Oct. 7, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel on Oct. 14. GTA V arrives on the PS4 and Xbox One (previous) sometime this fall.
- FQ1 results, PR
Jul. 18, 2014, 2:07 PM
- After rising 57% Y/Y in May due to new game launches, U.S. retail physical game sales fell 3% in June to $286.8M, per NPD. But with June 2013 having a stronger launch title lineup, that figure was better than expected. Sales were also still up over 4% from a May level of $274M.
- Ubisoft's (OTCPK:UBSFY) Watch Dogs was the top-selling title for the second month in a row. Electronic Arts' (EA +3.1%) UFC (launched on June 3) was #4, and FIFA 14 (receiving a World Cup boost) was #5. Titanfall (#8 in May) fell out of the top-10.
- Activision's (ATVI +1.2%) Call of Duty: Ghosts rose 2 spots to #8. But The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (#6 in May) dropped out of the top-10.
- Take-Two's (TTWO +4.1%) NBA 2K14 (boosted by playoff interest) rose a spot to #6, and GTA V came in at #10. Nintendo's (OTCPK:NTDOY) Mario Kart 8 and Tomodachi Life were respectively #2 and #9.
- With the help of Microsoft's cheaper Xbox One package, hardware sales rose 106% Y/Y to $292.7M. Together with the software numbers, that's providing a lift to GameStop (GME +4.4%).
- EA reports on July 22, while Activision and Take-Two both report on August 5.
Jun. 17, 2014, 1:59 PM
- Thanks to new game launches, U.S. retail physical game sales (just a subset of total game sales) rose 57% Y/Y in May to $274M, says NPD. That represents a big turnaround from April's 10% drop, and March's 27% decline.
- Ubisoft's (UBSFY) Watch Dogs, which sold 4M units worldwide in its first week, was the top-selling title. After holding the top spot the last two months, Electronic Arts' (EA +2.9%) Titanfall fell to #8.
- Activision's (ATVI +1.7%) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was #6, up two spots from April, and Call of Duty: Ghosts was #10 (down from #2). Take-Two's (TTWO +3.6%) NBA 2K14 was #7 (down from #3).
- EA and Activision are making fresh 52-week highs. Take-Two isn't far removed from its 52-week high of $22.41.
TTWO vs. ETF Alternatives
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a developer, marketer and publisher of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K.
Other News & PR


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|By Kevin Benedict||
|June 2, 2014 02:38 PM EDT||
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QuickLogic has developed a block for its Customer Specific Standard Products, which enables smartphones to transmit barcodes to any laser scanner. Since laser scanners cannot read barcodes from a typical smartphone display, Mobeam’s technology employs the smartphone’s Infrared LED to “pulse” the bar code to the laser reader. Read Original Content
Scandit, developer of the leading software-based barcode scanning and data capture platform has launched the new, fourth version of its Barcode Scanner SDK. This includes full-screen scanning, further improvements to its unique blurry scanning functionality and optimized support for all Android devices including Google Glass. Read Original Content
John Lewis is set to trial Internet of Things technology through its innovative JLab initiative. The department store chain is joining forces with five start-ups to explore ways to capitalize on a range of technological developments, from wireless sound systems for smart homes to an online 3D room planning solution. Read Original Content
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Posted on July 11, 2011 AT 12:47pm
Nintendo has today revealed that its anticipated 3DS video download service will go live for Europe on July 13th.
The news was mysteriously pulled just moments after it was announced by Nintendo which is a little weird.
This Wednesday, July 13th UK and other European 3DS owners will be able to download the Nintendo Video Application from the eShop.
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Target Reports First Quarter 2018 Earnings with Sales and Traffic Increasing
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Over the last couple of years, Target has launched a number of fresh and small format stores and broadened its online grocery presence as a means to keep up with the changing retail landscape. This week, Target reported its financial earnings from the first quarter of 2018, revealing its improved sales thanks to its latest focus, but pinched spending numbers as a result.
The first quarter of 2018 was an especially busy one for Target, who completed 56 remodels, opened 7 new stores, introduced 3 new brands, launched its Drive-Up service in more than 250 stores, expanded Target Restock nationwide, and rolled out same-day delivery in more than 700 stores after its Shipt acquisition.
As a result, Target reported its first quarter 2018 financial performance included comparable sales growth of 3.0 percent and 3.7 percent traffic growth. This is a win for Target, as the numbers are showing more shoppers are visiting Target online and in stores, proving the retailer’s efforts are paying off.
“We’re very pleased that our business continued to generate strong traffic and sales growth in the first quarter, as we made significant progress in support of our long-term strategic initiatives,” said Brian Cornell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our first quarter performance reflects the benefit of our unique multi-category portfolio…Additionally, our team is delivering excellent execution and guest service every day, and momentum in our traffic has accelerated in the second quarter.”
According to a press release, highlights from the first quarter of 2018’s financial report included the following:
- First quarter traffic growth of 3.7 percent is the strongest quarterly performance in over 10 years
- First quarter digital sales increased 28 percent, compared to 21 percent growth in the first quarter of 2017
- GAAP EPS from continuing operations were $1.33, up 9.1 percent from last year, while Adjusted EPS were $1.32, up 9.4 percent from last year
- The first quarter of 2018 saw broad market share gains across the company’s core merchandise categories
- Total revenue increased 3.4 percent, from $16.2 billion in 2017 to $16.8 billion in 2018, reflecting sales growth of 3.5 percent combined with a slight decline in other revenue
- First quarter sales growth reflected comparable sales growth of 3.0 percent combined with the contribution from non-mature stores
- The midpoint of Target’s second quarter EPS guidance range is approximately 15 percent higher than second quarter 2017 GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $1.21 and Adjusted EPS of $1.22
For the full financial report, click here.
What other developments does Target have up its sleeve to continue its forward momentum into the rest of the year? Keep checking back with AndNowUKnow for the latest.


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Who said retail was dead? According to the National Retail Federation, brick and mortar retail stores had a net increase of over 4000 store openings in 2017. For each company that closed a store, 2.7 companies opened stores. Although department stores stayed the same, Superstores thrived. With e-commerce achieving a sales growth of 24.8% in […]
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The country’s annual pace of inflation sped up to 2.2 per cent last month to rise above the central bank’s ideal target of two per cent, the highest in three years, Statistics Canada said Friday.
The agency’s February data showed a significant boost to the inflation rate compared with the month before when it was 1.7 per cent.
WATCH: Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate to 1.25%
The report also found the average of the agency’s three measures of core inflation, designed to omit the noise of more-volatile items like gasoline, also continued its upward momentum last month and has now climbed slightly above two per cent.
Inflation is a central piece of the information for the Bank of Canada’s interest-rate decisions and, with both readings above target, another hike could come even sooner than experts have anticipated.
WATCH: What the Bank of Canada’s rising interest rate means for you
The inflation report said the main driver that pushed up year-over-year consumer prices in February was the higher cost of gasoline, which rose 12.6 per cent, while pricier items like restaurant meals and passenger vehicle also had impacts.
The primary downward forces on prices came from cheaper video equipment, digital devices, hotels and electricity.
Year-over-year prices climbed in every province in February compared to the year before, with the strongest acceleration in Atlantic Canada.
The last time the overall inflation reading reached 2.2 per cent was October 2014, just as the oil-price crash was getting underway, while the average of the core measures hasn’t been above two per cent since February 2012.
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz has hiked the benchmark interest rate three times since last summer, but he maintained the rate following a policy meeting earlier this month in order to buy more time to monitor trade-related uncertainties out of the United States.
At the time, the bank reiterated that more interest rate hikes would likely be necessary over time. However, it said the governing council would proceed cautiously when considering future decisions and would be guided by incoming data, such as the economy’s sensitivity to higher rates, the evolution of economic capacity and changes to wage growth and inflation.
In a separate report Friday, Statistics Canada said retail sales increased 0.3 per cent in January to $49.9 billion, with the biggest increase coming from general merchandise stores. In comparison, retail trade fell 0.8 per cent in December to $49.6 billion.
-With files from Reuters


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The Go Softwear Super Padded Brief ($37.50) has 5-by-7-inch oval pads quilted into them that could pass for potholders. It is hard to imagine how a romantic interest would react to first encountering them.
“Women have been wearing padded bras for years, and they get into romantic situations and some are self-conscious and some probably just don’t care,” Olvera said. “But there’s still more of a stigma for men than for women.”
Bonobos, a men’s e-commerce company, began in 2007 with a stated mission of ending “khaki diaper butt” with better-fitting pants. Atypical of menswear brands, Bonobos has emphasized that women ogle men’s haunches; a 2009 advertisement declared, “Here’s your chance to tell women, ‘Hey, my eyes are up here.’ ”
Goodbye, midlife crisis
When it asked its Facebook followers for reactions to its pants, Lori Feinman wrote of an unfamiliar woman in a bar who walked up to Feinman’s Bonobos-clad husband “and grabbed his butt with both hands and said, ‘I love these pants.’ ” And that, Feinman concluded, “effectively ended his midlife crisis.”
A recent Men’s Health article suggested that men “who don’t have a contoured bumper” try jeans with pocket flaps.
“It adds more shapeliness if you lack junk in the trunk,” said Peter Moore, the editor of the magazine. “The pockets can add visual definition back there and give wandering female eyes something to look at.”
Moore warned against “gluteal amnesia,” a term that has been used in the magazine to refer to muscles that slacken when parked in a chair for too long, and recommended stand-up desks and “good glute and hamstring exercises” over surgery.
Vickers, the contractor, said that even when he was in peak shape when he boxed competitively, getting pants to stay up without a belt was hopeless.
As for the expense of his buttocks surgery, Vickers pointed out that it was less than his Lamborghini.
“I went out and spent almost 200 grand on a car,” he said. “To spend $10,000 to make you feel better and look better is worth it.”


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Carra's "The Texture Gap" Report Spotlights the Miseducation Around the Type 4 Hair Consumer
Founder Winnie Awa is changing the narrative around how brands can best serve the community of those with the tightest curl pattern.
Thanks to social media, the natural hair movement has been a viral phenomenon on the internet in recent years — however, even with the passing of the CROWN Act, type 4 hair which is the densest and tightest curl patterns of all hair types, has yet to be fully acknowledged or catered to as opposed to other hair types.
Winnie Awa, founder of Carra, a U.K.-based hair health platform aims to change the narrative around textured hair with her inaugural “The Texture Gap” report. Awa knows that the textured hair consumer, specifically those with Type 4 hair tends to have multiple concerns when it comes to the brands, services or retailers that claim to support their needs. “The tighter the texture, the higher the likelihood of multiple concerns. 60% of Type 4 have four or more concerns, compared to 35% of Type 2.” Awa says in a press release.
The report was curated as a point of information for haircare providers, brand decision makers and formulators looking to create culturally-relevant products and would like to reach the Type 4 hair consumer. Awa’s hope of the report is that the data is used to create products that are not only deserved but expected. “I hope this report whips up an innovation frenzy. I would like to see a 360-degree change with inclusivity bedded in from the start,” Awa states. “From the product ideation, creation and testing process, the supply chain, the campaigns and finally through to the products hitting the shelf. I hope it helps everyone with tight, rich, and luscious coils feel seen, cared for, and represented.”
The Texture Gap can be found on the Carra website.
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When restaurant consultants Robert Zuetell and USC graduate Shaunn Ng decided to open a food truck in Orange County, they had one goal in mind: To create something unique, something that had not been served up by all the other Korean BBQ food trucks.
In an industry now saturated with food trucks roaming every city in Southern California and accessible via Twitter or Facebook, Zuetell, his wife Gina, and Ng were hoping to introduce a new spin on a fresh idea.
Ng created a business plan for a Singaporean restaurant as part of his MBA thesis at USC. Zuetell, a self-proclaimed “trend forecaster,” had the street smarts to start a business.
After a corporate layoff, Ng decided that he didn’t want to go back to the cubicle, so he did what any smart entrepreneur would do: He gave up his Singaporean citizenship in order to obtain the license to open an OC food truck fashioned after traditional “street hawkers,” or street food a la Singapore.
Then the epiphany came.
“You’re like a man without a nation,” Zuetell told Ng after he abandoned his citizenship. And that’s how they came up with the name. “A little Popeye, a little Pac-Man” and a whole lot of Singapore: Chomp Chomp Nation was born on Oct. 10, 2010, the Year of the Tiger.
The menu offers dishes like Kaya (coconut-stuffed French toast with a tropical fruit medley), a Singapore-style “Sloppy Joe,” Singapore satay skewers, and their most popular, the Singapore chili-crab slider seasoned with ginger, lemongrass and kefir lime, served with Tiger Slaw and root chips.
“I think it is the right timing to launch a unique exotic brand promoting Singapore food in America,” Ng said. “American consumers as a whole are opening up to more ethnicity (sic) food and Singapore food is still not well known here.”
Patrons can expect to pay $3 for an appetizer or dessert and up to $7 for a main dish, which Zuetell describes as “gourmet street hawker favorites with an American twist.”
“Even though the price is a little more, people still pay the extra $2,” Zuetell said.
Chomp Chomp Nation will be 90 days old this week. They line up and compete with trucks like Bacon Mania, Spudrunners Gourmet Fry Truck and Sushi on Wheels.
“It’s healthy competition,” Zuetell said. There are six main OC food trucks. “You have to start out as the little guy. Three months ago I was the little guy.”
Now their truck, painted as a striped orange and black tiger (as in the Year of the Tiger) complete with a face, whiskers and a tail, parades around Orange County stopping at places like the Irvine Farmer’s Market, Bootlegger Brewery (“The food goes good with beer,” Zuetell said) and downtown Fullerton.
On Tuesday nights, Chomp Chomp Nation sets up on Amerige Avenue off Harbor in Downtown Fullerton from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Kathleen Linson, 25, a public health graduate student at CSUF, spent time studying at the National University of Singapore. She said the food has “an authentic flavor with an American twist.”
“It makes me nostalgic,” said Linson. “I used to eat Kaya every morning for breakfast.”
Kaya is a coconut jam usually spread on bread.
The only downside?
“The price is a little steep, but I’ll definitely be coming back,” Linson said.
Chomp Chomp Nation can be found on Twitter and Facebook at Twitter.com/ChompChompTruck and Facebook.com/ChompChompNation.


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Union Budget 2019: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget 2019 speech on Friday announced additional income tax exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh for people buying electric cars on loan. This amounts to a total benefit of around Rs 2.5 lakh to the taxpayers over the period of purchase.
She also said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on electric vehicles would soon be reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. Both these decisions is likely to give a boost to green mobility in India.
"In order to incentivise the purchase of the electric vehicle by an individual, it is proposed to provide a deduction of an amount up to Rs 1,50,000 for interest paid on loan taken for the purchase of the electric vehicle. The loan is required to be taken on or before 31st March, 2023," said the Finance Minister.
To make India a global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, Sitharaman said the government had taken several initiatives. The government has already asked the GST Council to lower the tax rate on electric vehicles from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, she said, adding that customs duty was also being exempted on certain parts of electric vehicles.
The Modi government in April had launched the second part of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles) Scheme, under which the Centre would spend over Rs 10,000 crore to boost the EV adoption in India in the next three years. This will be done by offering an upfront incentive on the purchase of electric vehicles and also by establishing the necessary charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
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