text:
Even with the recent pullback, we recommend selling or shorting Everspin (NASDAQ:MRAM) as a long term short play. MRAM is a previous hot stock that is currently in the cooling down phase. We believe that many of MRAM’s shareholders don’t know the business very well and are holding because the company sells memory chips, which is a hot industry. We have spoken with several semiconductor experts to help us understand the industry and give a balanced analysis on the company. The reality is the memory chip product Everspin sells, MRAM, is too expensive compared to the competing DRAM chip, and this tiny company doesn’t sell in the bulk required to compete with behemoths like Micron (MU), Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF), and Hynix (000660.KS) which all sell DRAM.
We believe MRAM will fall to below $10 within six months as the company begins missing earnings expectations and starts lowering guidance. The company's next earnings report is on November 13th. If the company doesn't submit unfavorable guidance for Q417, then we believe it's likely they will the next quarter. This will make many new investors that bought on the recent uptrend sell their shares, and the price will return to the $8-10 range it was before the uptrend started.
Long term, the stock could go to zero if MRAM never goes mainstream as the company is currently burning about $5M in cash per quarter. Analysts have overly high expectations for the company’s revenues and earnings in the upcoming quarters. Management has alluded to future events that will cause it to miss estimates. It said some customers won't purchase their next 256Mb memory chip coming out in early 2018 and will wait for the next one, the 1 Gb chip which will come out in late 2018/early 2019. We spoke with its investor relations representative who also suggested the company may miss estimates. The bearish thesis in a nutshell is: in the memory chip space, a lower price is king, not favorable architecture.
Everspin had its IPO in October 2016, and its stock stayed in a tight range between $6 and $10 up until late May 2017. The catalyst that made the stock break to the upside was a Barron’s article on Everspin and Impinj (PI). The following chart shows the stock movements since its IPO:
At the time of the red square in the chart above is when the Barron’s article was published at the end of May. The Barron’s article catapulted MRAM from $10 into the high teens. MRAM stock reached a high price of over $24 before it started a strong fade.
The Barron’s article had a very strong influence on MRAM’s share price, yet it doesn’t go into detail about the bullish case. It was just a couple of paragraphs that started the strong rally. What it does say is:
“Matthew Ramsay of Canaccord Genuity says the stock is currently worth 14 times projected earnings of 85 cents per share in 2018, or $12, above a recent $9.90. But it could have a multiple of four or five times sales if its newer markets take off, he says, which would put the stock price well above $12.”
However, from statements by Everspin’s management in earnings calls, its new 1 Gb product won’t be for sale until late 2018, and some of its customers are holding out for that product instead of buying its 256 Mb product coming out in the beginning of 2018. This is a warning by the company that its MRAM product that many customers are waiting for won’t be available until the end of the year. Revenue guidance will be affected by this. If MRAM is unprofitable in 2018, then the stock should be trading for well below $12 today based on Mr. Ramsay’s valuation method of 14 times projected 2018 earnings.
As stated in Everspin's Q2 2017 earnings call transcript:
“With the 1Gb chip sampling now, we believe, some customers may be reevaluating the product plans and may consider using the 1Gb device in their initial products instead of the 256Mb. This reevaluation of which density chip to use could result in our revenue ramp of our Spin Torque chips taking longer than we previously expected.”
From a Craig-Hallum report on August 10, 2017:
"One customer with which MRAM had a 256Mb design win has changed the design to use a 1Gb device, which will push out adoption by 3 quarters.”
Sellside firm Craig-Hallum is bullish on Everspin and regularly speaks with its management.
Right now, Everspin only sells its Toggle MRAM products, which are low density 16Mb and 32Mb chips. But since this business is only growing a little every year and is getting more and more outdated as competing chips improve, the company is advancing to higher density chips. It expects to be in production of its 256Mb Torque in early 2018. In March 2017, it was sampling its 256Mb products, and it usually takes 12-24 months after the sampling stage for a chip product to hit the market, from speaking to semiconductor industry insiders. The company's investor relations representative, Dave Allen, told us:
In March 2017, they had a production ready 256 Mb chip. That means they had a chip that meets the specs and has a yield target they need to have a successful product. The company announced then that its 256 product is ready for customers to sample and potentially use. It usually takes 9-12 months after that point where a customer can test it and build it into their road map.
After a customer finishes testing the chip, it then takes the company a little more time to finally mass produce it to sell. But if many customers want to wait for the 1 Gb chip Torque to come out and not buy the 256Mb chip, then that will further delay those revenues into late 2018 or early 2019. This will affect guidance and could cause the company to miss analyst expectations.
Everspin announced the sampling of its 1-Gigabit MRAM product on August 7, 2017, so that won’t be selling until late 2018. Also, Everspin’s new products might come out later than expected. The company has a history of delays. This article from August 2016 stated that Everspin will have its 256Mb Torque chips on the market in early 2017. So far, it hasn’t sold any Spin Torque chips, according to Mr. Allen.
Our bear case was strengthened from our conversation with Mr. Allen. In the interview, when we asked if some shareholders are going to be spooked if Everspin discontinues strong growth quarter over quarter, he replied:
That’s why we try to help educate the shareholders and for those who don’t pay attention, that’s unfortunate, but that’s all we can do.
It’s not so much if MRAM will be adopted, but when.
We get from Allen’s above statements that he doesn’t know when MRAM will reach mass adoption, but he’s confident it will eventually. However, we don’t believe that all shareholders have long-term patience. Some are in it because of the hot memory chip sector, recent upward momentum in the stock, and the Barron’s article.
We also asked Allen how analysts got their high growth revenue and earnings estimates. He replied:
Let’s go back and revisit how analysts build their models. The company went public in October 2016. The company was talking to the analysts and bankers in the Spring/Summer of 2016. And their initial models have insight into what the company was thinking one and a half years ago. They have some insights that you wouldn’t get today as a public company because in the education process in the pre-IPO, trying to get a company public, they share forecasts.
If you read between the lines of what Allen said in this quote “trying to get the company public”, it suggests that Everspin may have presented overly optimistic, high expectations in order to have the bankers go along with the IPO.
If Everspin underperforms analyst expectations in the upcoming quarters, then the shareholders who don’t have the patience to wait for the company’s long-term vision will likely sell their shares. Everspin will have to raise money next year. It would take a shareholder with a strong belief in the company to want to hold through lowered guidance and a dilution before the company has proved that MRAM is a viable mainstream product.
Freescale Semiconductor invented the MRAM. Freescale didn’t want to compete in the commodity memory market and bleed money into it, so it spun off its MRAM department to create Everspin in 2008. Freescale was a spinoff of Motorola. That makes Everspin a spin-off of a spin-off.
The company raised $40M at $8 per share in its IPO in October 2016. The IPO was to raise money to bring its next generation MRAM Spin Torque product to market in a commercial way. But at $5M cash burn per quarter, the company has already burned through almost half of its cash from the IPO and hasn’t brought its Torque product to market yet. Everspin has also taken on an additional $4M in debt from its credit facility.
We interviewed several memory experts to understand Everspin’s business. One informative interview was with Jim Handy of Objective Analysis, a semiconductor market research company.
Handy has over 30 years experience in the electronics industry, including 14 years as an industry analyst for Dataquest (now Gartner) and Semico Research. Investors can contact him from the website to get more information on the industry.
I sent Handy a slide from Everspin’s investor presentation and had some questions about it. Right away, Handy had good things to say about Everspin. He said:
Let me preface this by saying Everspin is a very credible company. They do a good job, they’re honest people, I’m familiar with them since their Motorola days.
When asked about Everspin’s MRAM product, he replied:
It’s a good technology. There are a lot of people placing bets on MRAM eventually replacing DRAM. The problem it has faced over the past several years, is people are waiting for DRAM to stop scaling, meaning stop getting its price to go down anymore. They are waiting for Moore’s law to end.”
What Handy is referring to with Moore’s Law is an observation made by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965. Moore noticed that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since their invention. Moore’s Law predicts that this trend will continue into the foreseeable future, and it has since 1965, albeit sometimes a little slower than doubling every year.
On Moore’s Law, Mr. Handy said:
What people have been nervous about, since the 70s, is that Moore’s Law will come to a grinding halt. It never does. And DRAM is one of those technologies where people say: “Oh yes, the end is just around the corner.” And they’ve been saying that for years and years. But right now, MRAM is much more expensive than DRAM. So right now it only goes into niche applications.
What applications does MRAM go into? We asked Handy. He replied:
With DRAM, any data you put into it goes away when the power is turned off, unless you prop it up with a battery or a capacitor. With MRAM, any data stuck in it will be there when it wakes back up.
For the most part, MRAM parts go into industrial systems. Where if the factory floor has robot arms swinging around that could crash into each other, where if there’s a power failure, when the power comes back on again, the robot’s controllers aren’t going to be confused about where they are, and make these robots crash into each other.
MRAM is also used more with automatic teller machines, or gaming machines. The last thing you want in a casino is for a one-armed bandit to lose track of where it was in the payout, and do two jackpots in a row just because the power went out.
These guys (Everspin) don’t like to talk about how much more it costs. Let me give you an idea of where these guys are. Short term, they have a steady business, long term, it’s going to grow modestly, like 20% per year, something like that. And for the long term, if DRAM stops scaling, if the price stops going down like in Moore’s Law, then these guys have a huge opportunity because the DRAM market is almost $40 billion this year. If they can take over that then wow! But that’s unlikely to happen for another 10 years or so.”
I told Handy that it's our opinion that Everspin won’t be able to last 10 years without going mainstream. The company currently burns $5 million per quarter. With only 20% annual growth, it would take a lot of financing to keep the company afloat for another 10 years.
The bullish thesis of Everspin claims that MRAM is a better memory chip than DRAM. This might be true, but the higher price of MRAM doesn’t make up for its advantages over DRAM in most industries.
Everspin’s mainstream pitch is a customer can either buy MRAM by itself or buy DRAM + Capacitors + Batteries. The main advantage of MRAM is there is no need for capacitors or batteries, especially expensive batteries, whereas DRAM requires them to function.
The following is a slide from Everspin’s investor presentation. Click for the investor slides link here.
This is the only slide in the investor presentation that shows cost savings with MRAM. The reason why, according to Handy is:
These guys don’t like to talk about how much it costs. It is more expensive but I couldn’t tell you how much more expensive. I know that it’s a lot.
The slide above mentions there are no external batteries with MRAM but doesn’t show the price savings of not needing external batteries. We estimate what that cost is in a cost comparison below.
Mr. Handy said:
MRAM is used in places where they are willing to pay several times as much as DRAM and a battery to get rid of that awful, unreliable battery that they don’t want in there.
Also, the slide mentions needing less NAND when using MRAM. Those savings are very miniscule. The investor relations representative Mr. Allen said that those savings are just “gravy” and not the main source of savings with MRAM. Not needing a battery is the main source of savings.
Everspin’s 256Mb Spin Torque MRAM chip is expected to be on the market in early 2018. We found the price is about $15-20 per chip from a Craig-Hallum report distributed on May 30, 2017. That report says (emphasis ours):
Everspin helped investors understand the opportunity that is possible from larger customers for its 256Mb device. MRAM indicated that flash array customer may have as much as $1800 value per chassis (5-9 devices per SSD, 24 SSDs per chassis, $15-20 ASP per SSD), and that customers generally expect to ship at least 1000 chassis per quarter, or more depending on market.
The above quote says that the ASP of a 256Mb MRAM chip is expected to be $15-20. Everspin’s denser 1Gb chip, which is expected to be on the market in late 2018, will be even more expensive than its 256Mb chip. To be conservative, we’ll assume the price for a 1Gb chip will be the higher end of the range, at $20 per Gb.
From dramexchange.com, the DRAM spot price is $1.80 for a 2Gb chip as shown below:
We can estimate that a 1 Gb DRAM chip is about $1. By late 2018, DRAM’s 1 Gb chip will also likely be cheaper than it is now, but we’ll keep it $1 per Gb for this comparison.
At $20 per Gb of MRAM, that’s a whopping 20x the price of DRAM. If not in volume, the price would be more expensive, but to be conservative, we’ll use the $20 per 1Gb MRAM price.
Everspin doesn’t quote the price of batteries, they just say that the lack of a need for batteries is the biggest cost savings for MRAM users. We couldn’t find a consistent price of batteries online for the specific use with DRAM. But one analyst we spoke with said the combinations of batteries and capacitors can cost up to $60 to support 10x1Gb. We are using that as a ballpark number for this comparison.
Using the above numbers, the following is a price comparison of 10 Gb of DRAM to 10 Gb of MRAM:
As shown above, MRAM doesn’t need capacitors or batteries, so the cost of those is zero for Everspin customers. However, DRAM is so much cheaper than MRAM, 5% of the cost or even cheaper, that it’s still much more cost efficient for companies to use DRAM despite MRAM’s advantages. Our comparison shows a memory chip customer will pay roughly $70 total for 10Gb of DRAM + Capacitors + Batteries versus roughly $200 for 10Gb of the MRAM solution.
Furthermore, DRAM, capacitors, batteries, and NAND are all getting cheaper over time as the technology improves. Everspin will continually fight an uphill battle against this. By the time its 1Gb MRAM chip will be on the market in late 2018 or early 2019, then 2Gb DRAM might only cost $1 apiece, and 1Gb will be cheaper than $1. In two years, 4Gb DRAM may only cost $1. The speed of technology advancement usually makes chips better, denser, and cheaper every year. This is stated by Moore’s Law.
The following are some differences between DRAM, MRAM, and SRAM.
Source: MRAM vs SRAM vs DRAM-Difference between MRAM, SRAM and DRAM
Also, from RF Wireless World, the following points are comparisons between MRAM and DRAM:
Everspin’s MRAM pitch also suggests that it has better reliability and increases space over the DRAM solution. From the Q117 earnings call:
“Our Spin Torque MRAM is attractive in these systems because it can increase usable space by eliminating Supercaps.”
“With our non-volatile MRAM attributes, this customer now has a battery free solution which improves reliability, system uptime and total cost of ownership.“
However, price is much more important to most customers than these relatively minor architectural advantages.
Right before White Diamond Research began, about 3.5 years ago, its founder Adam Gefvert, CFA, wrote two bearish articles in 2014, here and here, on a hot energy stock at the time, Capstone Turbine (CPST). Since then, the stock has collapsed by 98%, as shown in its chart below.
The dynamics that caused Capstone Turbine’s rise, followed by its epic decline, are very similar to what is currently happening with Everspin today. In a couple years, MRAM will likely have a similar chart as CPST above. Capstone Turbine continually loses money quarter after quarter, and Everspin will also likely never be profitable for similar reasons.
The bullish argument for Capstone Turbine was its microturbines have advantages of lower emissions and lower maintenance costs over competing generators. However, they are more expensive than natural gas/propane generators and diesel gas generators by 5-10x. As evidenced by CPST’s share price fall, the price of the generators is more important to customers than its advantages. The big, successful generator manufacturers like Honeywell (HON), General Electric (GE), or Schlumberger (SLB) don’t sell microturbines. They sell the cheaper natural gas generators.
Similar to the uneconomical dynamics of Capstone Turbine, Everspin’s upcoming new 256Mb and 1 Gb MRAM chip will be a whopping 20x+ more expensive than the competing DRAM chip. Big chip makers like Micron, Samsung, or Hynix don’t sell MRAM. They sell DRAM. The only company that sells MRAM is Everspin.
DRAM is sold in bulk by technology behemoths such as Samsung and Micron. They don’t sell MRAM and aren’t interested in doing so. DRAM has gotten so efficient to produce and is so widely used, that it has become a commodity like oil or copper. The DRAM market index dramexchange.com shows the current spot prices of DRAM, NAND and SSD.
Small memory companies like Everspin that are profitable don’t exist. It’s a commoditized industry with razor thin margins. They need economies of scale to be profitable. From speaking with experts in the industry, the way selling memory chips like MRAM works is the company pitches procurement specialists. These procurement specialists look for the lowest priced memory chip. They usually aren’t looking for architectural advantages.
Microchips is a capital intensive business. They aren’t cheap to make, and it’s necessary to keep upgrading them to keep up with fast-improving technology. If Everspin stops its R&D, it will fall behind its competition even more.
It’s also a disadvantage that Everspin is the only vendor that sells MRAM. Most data center and server companies aren’t going to buy a chip that comes from a sole vendor. Server designers need more than one vendor because once they design a certain chip in their system, the vendor needs to be around for the next 2-3 years. The engineering team isn’t going to risk it to buy from a small business. That small business can also have a production malfunction, which would mess up the server or cause delays. Everspin only has a $160M market cap and is burning cash, so there’s a small risk that it will go bankrupt in two years. Whereas an engineering team knows that a company like Micron is here to stay and is reliable. It wouldn’t be prudent for a system designer to replace Micron with Everspin.
Everspin had its IPO on October 7, 2016, and was priced at $8 per share. The following table shows its reported quarterly revenues and earnings and the expectations of each since the IPO.
In our opinion, these estimates are high because Everspin had to promise analysts big numbers in order for them to successfully market its IPO. Now that it has been a year since the IPO, these estimates will likely need to be adjusted downwards. The company has always guided for the following quarter in its earnings calls.
On August 10, Everspin reported Q2 2017 EPS of (40c), barely missing the consensus estimate of (38c) on $8.9M of revenue, compared to analyst expectations of $8.75M. This earnings result was in line with expectations. This isn’t a good result as the stock had closed the previous day at $17.98, about 80% higher than the price on the Q1 earnings report. A large beat should have been expected.
Mr. Ramsay of Canaccord dramatically raised his price target to $18 from $12 on August 14th after the reported Q217 results. The analyst cited that “the results are better than expected revenues and gross margins despite what the company called a transitional quarter.”
It doesn’t make any sense for Ramsay to raise his price target on the earnings result because they were already guided by the company. As stated in its Q117 earnings call, Jeffrey Winzeler, Everspin’s CFO stated:
“Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2017, we expect revenue to range between $8.6 million and $8.9 million. We expect the resulting GAAP loss per share will range between a loss of $0.39 and $0.37 per share based on average weighted shares of 12,378,000.”
For the stock to go up 80% (from $10 to $18) and not beat its guidance should result in a selloff of the stock. The company isn’t experiencing the growth that its share price increase suggests it should have.
Investors and analysts haven’t downgraded Everspin on this past earnings. However, the next earnings report is much more important. If Everspin isn’t in line to beating expectations or lowers guidance, then a sell-off will likely commence. Everspin will likely make earnings expectations, because it has already guided it, but its Q417 guidance will likely be less than analysts’ estimates.
Sell-side analysts have forecast Everspin doubling its revenues next year. It’s certainly not on track to do that, and we don’t believe it will make it. The company hasn’t shown any evidence that suggests sales will be that spectacular.
Everspin is in the hot chip space sector and caught a strong rally that was kickstarted by a Barron’s article in late May. This has created a solid long-term shorting opportunity as we believe analysts and shareholders don’t fully understand the business. MRAM cannot compete with DRAM because of its lower density and higher price. Chip density and price are the two factors that are important to memory chip customers. MRAM’s system advantages don’t make up for its much higher price of around 20x.
Small chip makers like Everspin don’t survive because economies of scale is very important. Furthermore, a system engineer is hesitant to buy from a small, lone chip vendor because of the risk that something could happen to it down the road, and there's no other vendor as a backup.
As reality sets in, and as Everspin misses estimates and/or guidance, the stock will take a big fall, and we believe will return to single digits within the next six months. In the long term, Everspin stock will likely fall 90%+ as its chip technology continually falls behind the big chip players like Samsung and Micron, and Everspin continues burning millions of dollars every quarter for years to come.
Editor's Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
This article was written by
Disclosure: I am/we are short MRAM. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: Additional disclosure: Please see our disclaimer at http://whitediamondresearch.com/disclaimer/


text:
The UK government’s bid to tackle childhood obesity in England, including a levy on soft drinks and a voluntary reduction for sugar reduction in foods, have been criticised by campaigners this morning (18 August).
The Conservative government today (18 August) unveiled its long-awaited “plan of action” and said it was “confident” the initiatives would “reduce childhood obesity while respecting consumer choice, economic realities and, ultimately, our need to eat”.
As expected, the strategy includes a sugar tax on soft drinks, which will be introduced across the UK and was first announced by the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, in March.
The Government has also set out what it called “a broad, structured sugar reduction programme” and challenged food and drink manufacturers to reduce overall sugar across a range of products by at least 20% over the next four years.
However, as widely-predicted, the strategy ignored calls for curbs on junk food advertising and anti-obesity campaigners said the package of measures amounted to a “watered down” strategy that failed to signpost moves towards effective action.
The strategy will initially focus “on the nine categories that make the largest contributions to children’s sugar intakes”, which the Government said are breakfast cereals, yogurts, biscuits, cakes, confectionery, “morning goods” such as pastries, puddings, ice cream and sweet spreads.
“Work will then move on to cover the remaining relevant foods and drinks, including any products that may be out of scope of the soft drinks industry levy, for example, milk-based drinks. The sugar reduction programme will also work to reduce the sugar content of product ranges explicitly targeted at babies and young children,” the Government said.
The food industry can achieve the reductions by cutting sugar in products, reducing portion sizes “or shifting purchasing towards lower sugar alternatives”, the Government said.
Revenue from the levy on soft drinks collected in England will be invested in programmes that tackle childhood obesity including “encouraging physical activity and balanced diets for school-age children… and putting a further GBP10m (US$13m) a year into school healthy breakfast clubs to give more children a healthier start to their day”.
The levy will apply to producers and importers to encourage suppliers “to reduce the amount of sugar in their products and to move consumers towards healthier alternatives”, the government said. The Treasury is consulting on “the technical detail” of the levy and formal legislation will be published in a finance bill next year. However, producers and importers will be given two years to act “so that they won’t face the levy if they take action”.
The programme met with criticism from industry. Ian Wright, the director-general of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, said: “The target set for sugars reduction in the plan is flawed. It focuses too strongly on the role of this one nutrient, when obesity is caused by excess calories from any nutrient. Moreover the target is unlikely to be technically practical across all the selected food categories.”
Wright said: “Reformulation is difficult and costly: there are different challenges for each product; recipe change can only proceed at a pace dictated by consumers. We will of course do everything we can in the next six months to work towards a practicable reformulation solution while continuing to urge the government to adopt a ‘whole diet’ approach.”
However, health campaigners were also critical. The Children’s Food Campaign said: “Apart from the sugary drinks tax, they have failed to get off the starting blocks. Indeed, what has been published today looks like the government running backwards: running away from a fully-fledged strategy to a watered-down plan; away from its own public health advisors’ recommendations; away from any action to curb junk food marketing and promotions; and away from mandatory measures, back to the past failed voluntary approaches.”
According to the strategy, Public Health England (PHE) will advise the UK government on setting sugar targets per 100g of product and calorie caps for specific single serving products. The four-year, category-specific targets for the nine initial categories will be published in March.
PHE will review progress and publish interim reports every six months. The Government said progress will be measured on the basis of reductions in the sales weighted average sugar content per 100g of food and drink, reductions in portion size so that these contain less sugar, “or a clear sales shift towards lower sugar alternatives”.
However, the Government said sugar reductions should be accompanied by reductions in calories and should not be compensated for by increases in saturated fat. “Work to achieve salt targets should continue alongside the sugar reduction programme. From 2017, the programme will be extended to include setting targets to reduce total calories in a wider range of products contributing to children’s calorie intake and across all sectors, including the out of home sector.”
Work on saturated fat will be further reviewed in light of recommendations due next year from the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.
On work towards “clearer food labelling”, the Government said the UK’s decision to leave the European Union “will give us greater flexibility to determine what information should be presented on packaged food, and how it should be displayed”. “We want to build on the success of our current labelling scheme, and review additional opportunities to go further and ensure we are using the most effective ways to communicate information to families. This might include clearer visual labelling, such as teaspoons of sugar, to show consumers about the sugar content in packaged food and drink.”

domain: news


text:
If IBM (NYSE: IBM) is destined not to just be a software and services firm in the future, the latest global server sales report from research firm IDC might have something to do with that, based on the data it contains.
Big Blue server workers must be smiling at the news that “strong demand” for such products as IBM System Z mainframes helped the company report a “strong performance,” IDC reports this week in its closely followed Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker.
Note: This story is being offered free of charge for a limited time. WRALTechWire Insiders will have access to exclusive, selected content like this soon.
There’s also plenty of good news for Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), which cracked the Top 5 list for the first time.
Not to be left out is Red Hat (NYSE: RHT). Linux server sales are booming, and Red Hat is the global Linux leader. Plus, “cloud” and high-performance computing is driving Linux sales. And guess where Red Hat has bet about the whole red fedora on the future?
You guessed it. The cloud.
No Blue News for IBM
Let’s take a look at the IBM good news first:
“IBM held onto the number 1 spot in the worldwide server systems market with 36.5% market share in factory revenue for 4Q12, as revenue increased 3.1% year over year,” IDC reported. “IBM experienced significant improvements in demand for its System z mainframes aided by a strong product refresh cycle. The fourth quarter also delivered the highest quarterly revenue IBM has achieved in System z in more than a decade.”
Note the conclusion of that last sentence – “more than a decade.”
“After five consecutive quarters of revenue declines, IBM’s System Z mainframe running z/OS increased revenue 55.6% year over year to $1.8 billion, representing 12.3% of all server revenue in 4Q12,” IDC reported.
That total is its ”highest quarterly revenue since 1997, generating nearly $2 billion and driving the overall server market to positive growth in the quarter,” said Jean Bozman, research vice president in IDC’s Enterprise Platforms Group. “This dramatic growth was due to several factors: technology refresh, new products such as zEnterprise, new accounts in emerging economies, and consolidation of some enterprise Linux workloads onto IBM System z, using the Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) specialty engines. Although revenue results for System z are traditionally heavier in the fourth quarter, this accelerated acquisition shows the breadth and depth of the IBM mainframe installed base.”
What’s happened to IBM’s hardware business in the last 10 years?
Look no farther than its shrinking presence in RTP.
In the last eight years, IBM sold its failing PC business to Lenovo, which has turned it around to become the No. 2 PC seller in the world (combined with Lenovo’s own China bases, of course, and later global acquistions.)
Then there is the point of sale business that Fujitsu bought in 2012.
As for Red Hat, Linux sales jumped nearly 13 percent to capture more than 20 percent of global market share.
“Linux server demand was positively impacted by high performance computing (HPC) and cloud infrastructure deployments, as hardware revenue improved 12.7% year over year in 4Q12 to $3.0 billion,” IDC says.
The Hatters in their new downtown Raleigh headquarters have got to be smiling.
Cisco, meanwhile, is emerging as a threat to the other big server makers and recently launched new servers targeting mobile.
That IDC report is good news for the Triangle, too, since Cisco employs some 5,000 people here.


text:
The update will increase wireless charging power from 5 watts to 7.5 watts.
The latest release of iOS 11, iOS 11.2, has brought faster charging to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X using Qi-charging accessories.
Using iOS 11.1.1, which was rolled out to fix problems with typing an i, the iPhones only supported 5 watts of charging power. However, the most recent update, which is currently being tested by select developers and other beta testers, will apparently support 7.5 watts, make charging faster if you want to use wireless charging accessories.
There has been no official announcement by Apple regarding this new capability, save an earlier promise to increase charging capabilities “at a later date”. According to MacRumours, however, it received the tip-off from RAVPower, a company that makes accessories supporting the wireless charging standard for the new iPhone range. The website confirmed that after testing the update with 7.5 watt accessories indeed, it was faster when using an accessory that supports 7.5 watts charging speeds, topping up a device from 46% to 66% in 30 minutes, compared to 60% in 30 minutes when using a 5 watt accessory.
The website explained that it had tested the devices using “real world” conditions with a case on the device and Airplane Mode not activated.
However, it’s important to note the iPhones’ charging speed is still slower than many of the other Qi-charging-enabled devices, which often support speeds of up to 15 watts.


text:
Naza Kia recently hosted Kia’s Regional Skill World Cup 2013, the fourth time in a row it has done so. The Regional Skill World Cup is a bi-annual event organised by Kia Motors for its technicians. Participating countries include Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam.
Huong Nguyen Xuan from Vietnam won the challenge, beating Mohd Yusri Yahya from Malaysia and Indonesian Nurhidayat. The winner will be heading to the Kia World Skill Cup in Korea in June 2014, where six regional winners will battle to be the champ.
Besides a written test, participants had to troubleshoot and rectify engine, transmission, electrical and chassis problems on an actual vehicle. The contest took place at Kia’s 8,245 sq.ft. Overseas Training Centre (OTC) in Setapak, one of only five such centres in the world – America, Germany, Ukraine and Dubai are the other OTC locations.
“OTC Malaysia has been an invaluable tool as it helps Kia technicians to improve their skills and knowledge. Hence, we are embarking on a global aftersales standard by introducing the Family-Like Care plus (FLC+) Programme as our long-term commitment to customer satisfaction,” said Roshdy Hassan, GM of operations at Naza Kia.
FLC+ is available at all Kia outlets in Malaysia. It includes three compulsory services – free multi-point inspection, new vehicle handover (service advisor to explain technical aspects of the car to new owners) and free car wash for serviced cars.
What’s in store for 2014? Product wise, Naza Kia will hit the ground running with the launch of the facelifted Optima K5 in January (already shown at IIMS in September and spied at JPJ in November), with the Cerato Koup also on the cards. The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be happening next year in Brazil, and as an official partner of the tournament, Malaysians can expect football-themed activities from Naza Kia.
Kia Optima K5 facelift spied at JPJ


text:
reported a 25% increase in second-quarter earnings and beat analysts' expectations thanks to higher used-vehicle sales.
However, because of sluggish September sales and last week's hurricane, CarMax expects third-quarter results to fall short of Wall Street's estimates. Still, the company raised its full-year forecast.
In the second quarter ended Aug. 31, the car retailer earned $39.6 million, or 37 cents a share, up from last year's earnings of $31.7 million, or 30 cents a share. Analysts had expected 36 cents a share.
Total sales in the quarter reached $1.24 billion, compared with $1.08 billion in the year-ago period. The company reported $938.7 million in used-car revenue, from last year's $784.8 million. New-vehicle sales fell 10% to $139.6 million.
Same-store vehicle sales rose 4% in the quarter, compared with an increase of 11% last year.
The Richmond, Va., company projected third-quarter earnings of 19 cents to 21 cents a share. Analysts expect 22 cents a share. For fiscal 2004, CarMax now expects a profit of $1.11 to $1.16 a share, while analysts' average forecast is $1.15 a share. Previously, the company had predicted $1 to $1.10 a share. Same-store sales are still expected in the 5% to 9% range.
Shares of CarMax were falling $1.06, or 3%, to $34.87.


text:
HONG KONG: Hong Kong will be on track to get rid of plastic tableware after a two-month-long public consultation on the Scheme on Regulation of Disposable Plastic Tableware ends in early September.
Wong Kam-sing, the financial hub’s secretary for the environment, said the city has a clear goal in phasing out the use of plastic tableware, but has yet to set a clear timeline.
According to official statistics, an average 200 tonnes of discarded plastic tableware were dumped at Hong Kong’s landfills daily in 2019. This is equivalent to roughly 14.6 billion pieces of plastic cutlery or up to 1,940 pieces by each person, thrown away during the year.
The Covid-19 pandemic has compounded the problem as more people turn to takeaway food.
A report by data analytics company Nielsen last year showed that Hong Kong topped a list of 11 Asian economies with 46% of consumers showing a high preference for takeaways.
The first phase, due to be implemented around 2025, would prohibit restaurants from providing disposable plastic tableware to customers for dine-in service. For takeaways, catering premises would not be allowed to offer straws, stirrers, forks, knives, spoons and plates that are small in size and difficult for recycling.
The second phase, in which takeaway service would be similarly regulated, is likely to start 12 to 18 months after the first phase kicks off.
“We understand that using disposable tableware is inevitable in some cases. It will not be a blanket ban. The discussions will be in phases... so that catering businesses will have more time to adapt to the new rules,” said Wong.
“If people favour regulation through legislation, the whole (catering) industry can strike a balance between the economy, the community and ecology,” he added.
However, the city’s timeline for ending the use of plastic tableware lags well behind those of major economies. — China Daily/ANN


text:
UAE-based e& enterprise announced it had acquired a majority stake in the UAE’s crowdfunding platform Beehive, for a valuation of $35 million, according to media reports.
Salvador Anglada, CEO of e& enterprise commented: “The acquisition of Beehive’s digital lending platform marks the second step in e& enterprise’s journey in the Fintech space after the launch of UAE Trade Connect in 2021.
“SMEs are important drivers of the economy and there is a need more than ever to support their unique financing needs. With Beehive, we have the right technological innovation to accelerate our agenda in the UAE and beyond,” Anglada added.
The UAE-based lending platform has so far raised $15.5 million in funding and has operations in the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
With this acquisition, e& enterprise will be able to provide an innovative lending solution to address the $250 billion SME credit gap across the GCC region combining its strong brand positioning with a fintech platform.
It connects creditworthy SMEs seeking finance with investors, both private and institutional, offering conventional as well as Sharia-compliant loans.
Craig Moore, Beehive’s Founder & CEO added “This strategic alignment presents a huge opportunity to increase and accelerate financing to SMEs across the region. The market-leading brand, reach and vision of e& and e& enterprise allows Beehive to drive more innovation and collaboration into the market.”
If you see something out of place or would like to contribute to this story, check out our Ethics and Policy section.


text:
Need to Know
- UK bank Lloyds Banking Group is working with Google Cloud to streamline cloud-based offerings.
- Lloyds Bank is investing nearly $4 billion in digital transformation in an effort to win customers and accelerate tech development.
- Banks around the world are turning to cloud providers to migrate banking platforms, especially ones that interact with consumers.
Lloyds Banking Group is partnering with Google Cloud to improve the banking brand’s digital evolution and streamline its cloud-based customer service offerings. This recent announcement is a part of the bank’s nearly $4 billion investment in a digital transformation.
The new contract will make Google the host for Lloyds’ customer data and will involve transferring existing customer information over to Google Cloud data centers over the next five years. Google Cloud experts will also collaborate with Lloyds to enhance their engineering practices, in an effort to improve efficiency and innovation in services for the bank’s retail and commercial customers.
Lloyds Banking Group is the largest digital bank in the UK with around 26 million customers actively managing their accounts online worldwide. The 250-year-old bank manages over £436 billion in assets.
“As the UK’s largest digital bank we have made strong progress in transforming not only our systems, but also how we work,” said Zaka Mian, group transformation director for Lloyds.
“The size of our digital transformation is huge and Google Cloud’s capabilities will help drive this forward, increasing the pace of innovation, as well as bringing new services to our customers quickly and at scale. This collaboration gives us a strategic advantage to continue as a leader in banking technology.”
Lloyds Banking Group is dedicated to improving its digital banking assets, committing to “spending more on digital transformation than the entire amount of money invested in the UK Fintech sector last year alone.”
Following the American mortgage crisis of 2008 that affected the economy worldwide, the UK bank, which was bailed out by the government, is focused on balancing the books and restoring customer confidence by transforming the group for “success in the digital world.”
“While we have delivered best-in-class experience to our customers, we need to constantly evolve to meet their changing behaviors and expectations. Customers increasingly want greater personalization, more connected and seamless experience, but with higher security and safety in the online environment. They want simpler products with greater convenience and ease,” explains Antonio Horta-Osorio, CEO of Lloyds.
Lloyds Bank isn’t alone in this expectation, as more and more banks continue to evolve to address customers’ ever-changing expectations for digital functionality.
Deutsche Bank has also requested bids from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon for cloud-based services, signaling an upcoming digital overhaul for another worldwide banking leader. TD Bank is using Microsoft Azure for its cloud-based services and Goldman Sachs has recently partnered with Apple to improve its digital offerings.
Google Cloud is an industry leader in modern computing infrastructure, working with customers in over 150 countries around the world.


text:
The City of Aurora presented its business reopening plan during the Aurora City Council Meeting last night in advance of all regions in the state moving to Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan this Friday.
The 10-page Active Aurora plan sets the guidelines for a phased reopening approach beginning with retail stores and restaurants. Forthcoming sections of the plan will include the reopening process for City services and amenities.
“The purpose of the plan is to provide guidance to retail stores and restaurants in Aurora on how to open and operate safely with the health and well-being of both employees and visitors as a priority,” said Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin.
Under the state’s guidelines, Friday, May 29 is the transition date from the current Phase 2 to Phase 3, which eases some restrictions while opening more retail businesses and restaurants for outdoor dining.
For retail stores in Aurora, the Active Aurora plan provides guidance from the International Council of Retail Shoppers regarding the planning process, effective communications and the implementation of approved safety procedures.
Business owners are advised to take such precautions as installing alcohol-based hand-cleaning dispensers, determining if masks or gloves will be provided to patrons, and providing employees training on sanitation and social distancing standards.
Additional measures, which have been implemented in larger chain stores that remained open during the Stay at Home Order, are now expected of all retail establishments including frequently cleaning high-touch areas, creating a one-way traffic flow, using sneeze guards at the cash register and implementing signage to designate social distancing while standing in line.
“This plan is flexible and can be updated to reflect new data, advancements, and situations,” said Aurora Chief of Staff Alex Alexandrou. “While many of the larger national chains have been open and transitioning to the new procedures during this process, this really helps our smaller, local businesses within our community to reopen in a safe and streamlined manner.”
OUTDOOR SEATING AT RESTAURANTS
Many of those small businesses are part of Aurora’s well-established, diverse and consistently-growing restaurant scene, including eateries that have been operating for more than 60 years and those that recently opened just this year.
Since March, restaurants have had the option to operate through delivery, take-out and curbside pick-up. In Phase 3 of the Governor’s Restore Illinois plan, restaurants are allowed to reopen for outdoor dining beginning this Friday.
The Active Aurora plan outlines measures for restaurant owners and managers. Some of those measures include establishing a written COVID-19 prevention plan, measuring body temperature of all employees prior to the start of a new shift, and providing the necessary personal protective equipment to employees such as face masks and gloves.
In addition, all restaurants must use disposable menus, arrange tables at least 6 feet part, limit groups to no more than 6 people, only operate between 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and abide by the specific rules for serving alcohol outside.
“This is going to be unconventional, but we are in unconventional times,” said Mayor Irvin. “We are committed to doing what we have to do to get our restaurants back online and people back to work.”
Part of the unconventional plans include the types of outdoor dining options Aurora restaurants are allowed to offer to patrons. The Activate Aurora plan designates three options:
- Restaurants using already existing outdoor seating areas
- Restaurants using private parking lots and property as outdoor seating areas
- Restaurants using City-owned property and public rights-of-way as outdoor seating areas
Any restaurant seeking to temporarily add or expand outdoor dining areas on City Property or into parking lots must apply for a permit at www.aurora-il.org/CityClerk.
An exciting new opportunity for using City property could be the installation of parklets, which are sidewalk extensions that provide more outdoor space for restaurants by using adjacent parking spaces for seating.
“These are very popular in college towns and have worked well to provide more outdoor options for dining,” said Trevor Dick, Aurora’s director of Development Strategy and Facilitation.
The City is also in discussions with restaurants in the downtown to expand the use of City properties by closing off areas like Piney Street to serve patrons of the many restaurants on New York Street and the eastside of Stolp Avenue between Downer Place and Galena Blvd to provide outdoor seating for the four eateries that anchor the block: Altiro Latin Fusion, Amy Morton’s Stolp Island Social, Charlie’s Silver Spoon Creamery and the incoming Craft Urban.
During the presentation, staff displayed more than 10 more options for outdoor seating in the downtown.
“We hope some of these new layouts will become a permanent part of the new normal all over Aurora,” said Alexandrou.
Read the full Active Aurora plan at www.aurora-il.org/ActivateAurora
You can watch the full 25-minute Active Aurora presentation to the Aurora City Council at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zFAyJtxPWI beginning at the 1:08:30 mark in the video.


text:
According to people familiar with the matter, microblogging service Twitter intends to change the price of Twitter Blue subscription for various payment terms. So, when paying through the application for iPhone, the price of Twitter Blue will be $11 instead of the usual $7.99, and if you pay through the site – $7.
The move is likely Twitter’s response to the 30% fee Apple charges on any payments made by users through apps on the iOS operating system. The additional discount on the site should encourage users to switch to the platform rather than register through their iPhones. At the same time, there is no information about whether users of Android devices should expect price changes.
Twitter, Apple and Google have not yet commented on this information.
Recall that after the acquisition of Twitter, the new owner, Elon Musk, decided to launch a paid subscription to Twitter Blue. But its appearance provoked havoc with copycats, and the subscription was canceled 2 days after launch. Later, Musk decided that manually checking and implementing a system of different-colored checkmarks: Blue, Gray and Gold would fix the problem. In the meantime, trouble crept up from where they did not expect – according to Musk, Apple “threatened to remove” Twitter from the App Store. Later, Musk decided to delay his Twitter Blue subscription in order to “annoy” Apple and deprive it of 30% of the commission. Despite recent reports of a “truce” between tech companies, now iPhone users are likely to have to pay more for a Twitter Blue subscription.
Tame Power BI and predict the future of your company.
Leave a Reply


text:
A Florida gun store owner said Thursday that he had contacted the FBI about a month ago after Omar Mateen had attempted to purchase a large amount of ammunition and body armor from his store.
Robert Abell, who owns Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, said the man asked for 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as two different types of body armor. The store turned down the man’s request.
Abell said he became even more suspicious when he heard the man speaking to somebody on the phone in a foreign language.
The store later contacted the FBI, who were also investigating a group of Middle Eastern men who had purchased police gear from the same store. The FBI discovered that the men were simply security guards and dropped the matter.
Although the FBI asked about Mateen’s visit, Abell and his employees could not provide any security camera footage or identifying information, as no purchase was ever made.
Store employees realized that the man was Mateen after seeing images of the Orlando shooter in the wake of the massacre.
Spokesmen for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said they did not have any records of receiving calls from Lotus Gunworks, according to CNN.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact email@example.com.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Florida hotels gain national ally in online travel battle
The battle between hotels and online travel companies rages on as Florida hotels just got another friend in the fight.
The National Conference of State Legislatures, a Denver, Colo.-based group that directly consults with U.S. policymakers, has now sided with hotels saying state leaders should clarify their tax laws and require online travel companies like Expedia and Orbitz to pay back taxes not charged on transactions, the Orlando Business Journal reports
The move has already garnered support from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), which has been a major proponent of protecting the competitiveness hotels have with online travel companies.
Covers tourism, hospitality and sports business
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- Jacksonville restaurant shut down for roach violation
- Jacksonville debuts high-tech streetlights — and they're watching you
- Edgewood Bakery reopens — without the Rykalskys behind the
- Silver Airways announces another new — but out of state — Jax flight
- It's coming: A look inside Downtown's imminent nonprofit hub
- Eight months to go before Daytona Rising reinvents NASCAR
- This latest GE deal has direct ties to the last one
- Young and soaring
- CSX CEO says operating metrics — and other improvements — on horizon
- Delinquent for 10 months, loan on BB&T Building in special servicing
Morning Edition: A look at the day’s business stories from media outlets around Jacksonville.
Controller Confidential | Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Plant Operator Boral Material Technologies | Jacksonville, FL
Administrative Assistant job in Jacksonville, FL. Accounting Principals | Jacksonville, FL
Territory Sales Manager - Jacksonville, FL Bimbo Bakeries USA | Jacksonville, FL
MEDICAL ASSISTING INSTRUCTOR Keiser University | Jacksonville, FL


text:
PUNE: India’s oldest food tech company, Burrp.com, is expanding its offerings into customer relationship management (CRM) and loyalty solutions for restaurants which.
Pradeep Prabhu, co-business head, said, “This would be a white label offering which will be powered by Burrp and can be customised by the merchants. Alternately, they can use a common Burrp platform. A beta version of the loyalty programme will be launched in April.”
The company is currently present in 14 cities and plans to expand this to 26 over the next 18 months. Next on the agenda is also rolling out a transactions function on the website and app and a user interface (UI) refresh.
Abhishek Chhajlani, co-business head said, “We’ll be introducing online ordering and reservations – for tables as well as for events. The events would be restricted to those taking place at F&B venues.”
The company had done a trial run with events and reservations for New Year Eve last year. The duo said that going ahead, the focus would remain on enabling the merchants or restaurants do better business and improving the search and discovery experience for the end customer by bringing in greater personalisation.
The future of fashion will be around natural, durable and bio-degradable, basis the insights. The customer has had time to reflect during the lockdown and is now more inclined towards sustainability and eco-friendly fashion. Virtual fashion shows and department shows will comprise the new normal.
Companies including Arvind Fashions, Flipkart, Amazon, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, Puma, Myntra, Bestseller India and Snapdeal have seen sales from the segment nearly treble, making them one of the top sellers since the last phase of relaxation in lockdown rules.


text:
New Delhi, May 31 (PTI) Tablet shipments in India during the April-June quarter could be "negatively impacted" by GST implementation as distributors are likely to be cautious on procuring new inventory, research firm IDC today said.
The new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is slated to take effect from July 1. Billed as the single biggest tax reform since independence, the GST will unify 16 different taxes and will transform India into a single market.
IDC feels however that retailers and city/state level distributors have concerns around lower tax credit and lack of complete clarity on the processes.
"This may lead to a limited inventory stocking, especially in the June 2017," IDC India Senior Research Manager Navkendar Singh said.
He added that the impact is expected to be short spanned as distribution channels prepare themselves for the festive season in third quarter.
During the January-March 2017 quarter, 7.01 lakh tablets were shipped in India, recording a marginal drop of 2.2 per cent from 7.16 lakh units in the previous quarter.
The tablet shipment declined by 18.6 per cent compared to the year-ago period.
Samsung led the tally with 21.3 per cent share during the said quarter, followed by Datawind (20.7 per cent), Lenovo (20 per cent), iBall (17.2 per cent) and Apple (5.3 per cent).
The commercial segment accounted for
one-third of total tablet shipments in India.
According to Celso Gomes, Associate Market Analyst (Client Devices) at IDC India, the commercial segment was the key driver for offsetting the declining consumer shipments in India.
"Due to growing digital proliferation across industries, commercial segment especially large enterprise, government and education sectors, are expected to increase their demand for tablets," he said.
This will drive vendors to focus more aggressively in gaining market share in the commercial market to sustain the India tablet market, he added.
Consumer segment declined 28 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year, IDC said. PTI SR SA


text:
The annual trade show for garden furniture and outdoor living took place at the NEC this July. SOLEX is the best place for industry buyers to see what Kettler will be offering in 2019.
New Garden Furniture Trends
So, what can you look forward to? The Palma range will continue to impress with a new table design set to fire up the garden furniture market.
Our wicker range will expand, with a new family going into garden centres across the UK.
We have new furniture blends, mixing two materials to make one modern set. Our RHS range is set to grow after the success of the wooden garden furniture and Harlow Carr wicker sets (pictured above).
Our new accessories will help you unwind outdoors. We are dipping our toe in new territory, continuing to innovate and improve the garden experience.
The Future of Outdoor Cooking
We introduced the BBQ accessories from the Everdure by Heston Blumenthal range to buyers. The accessories will improve your cooking prowess and inspire your BBQ recipe repertoire.
Chefs from Heston’s Fat Duck Group visited the show for the first time ever and cooked delicious tasters for our guests. They cooked prawns on the Furnace gas BBQ and chicken souvlaki (pictured above) on the spit of the HUB charcoal BBQ. Not only that, but our customers had a special, private look at the ultimate outdoor cooking machine.
4,000 years in the making, the future of outdoor cooking is coming to the UK…
Were You Prepared for the Heatwave?
SOLEX is always a great time for Kettler to not only look forward to the new year’s garden trends, but also reflect on the past year. We saw people flock to their garden furniture when the summer heatwave hit this year. We are proud to help you be ready to relax in these high temperatures on high-quality luxury garden furniture.


text:
The Foundry Challenge winners are ...
Pam Hogarth gives her top ten tips on entering the CG industry
The Dragon maker of Game of Thrones
They say you should never meet your heroes. Yet attendees at Trojan Horse was a Unicorn (THU) this year realized on Day Zero of the dig...
Maya LT’s is one year old, here's a bunch of great stuff you may not know about it
The Maze Runner is a story brimming with visual opportunities for director Wes Ball to stretch the pixels.
Mutant jellyfish terrorize beachgoers in Patrick Longstreth’s sci-fi short, Hellyfish
3D Festival interviews Mike Brown, the solo animator behind the hit episodic "Nyxies - Creatures of the Night". Read More
Apple has introduced a new line of Power Macs that have dual-processor configurations. Read More
Bungie's Halo 2 for XBox has been announced and is shaping up to be one of the hottest games ever. Read More
UK-based Clear has completed key effects for their latest music video projects, "Corner of the Earth" and "Round Round". Read More
Discreet has announced the first customer shipment of 3ds max 5 - a significant feature release of its professional 3D animation and modeling software. Read More
We take a look at plasma, the latest 3D application made specifically for Web 3D production. Read More
Discreet has announced new releases for inferno 5, flame 8 and flint 8 systems. Read More


text:
Full Circle Insights Adds Customizable Models To Campaign Influence App
- Written by Brian Anderson
- Published in News Briefs
Full Circle Insights updated its Campaign Influence app with three customizable campaign influence models designed to help users measure campaign success by leveraging insights beyond first and last touch.
Available on the Salesforce AppExchange, the new version also expands the available weighting options to include dimensions on the campaign and campaign member object, such as member status, campaign type and other factors.
“First touch and last touch are no longer sufficient to demonstrate the impact of marketing campaigns,” said Full Circle Insights President and CEO Bonnie Crater in an interview with Demand Gen Report.
Users can customize the campaign influence models to accommodate their unique data needs and business practices and also drill down into the underlying Salesforce data for deeper insight, Crater explained.


text:
Shoreline Lake wine seminars
Shoreline Lake in Mountain View launched a new wine seminar series in November; each seminar will focus on a different, "practical" topic, showcased by the wines provided during the tasting. Two seminars will be held in December. "Basic Wine Pairing" will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 3, and will go over the basic principles of pairing as well as Hanukkah and holiday friendly wines. Another seminar of the same name will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 18, but will focus on the principles of tasting, tasting progression and giving wine as a gift. Register online at www.shorelinelake.com.
Info: Shoreline Lake, 3160 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View; 650-965-3779
'The Art of French Pastry'
Jacquy Pfeiffer, pastry chef and cofounder of the French Pastry School in Chicago, will be at Kepler's Books on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. to discuss his book, "The Art of French Pastry."
Info: Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; 650-324-4321. www.keplers.com.
Enoteca 100 Grand Wine Tasting
Donato Enoteca in Redwood City is hosting a massive wine tasting event on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be 100 artisan wines from Italy on hand to taste, plus risotto, salumi, prosciutto, pizza and a whole porchetta prepared in the restaurant's wood-fired oven. A VIP preview begins at noon. Cost: $55 per person; $65 for VIP and a limited number of early bird $45 tickets are available until Nov. 24. Tickets can be purchased at the restaurant or online at eventbrite.com.
Info: Donato Enoteca, 1041 Middlefield Road, Redwood City; 650-701-1000. www.donatoenoteca.com
Village Pub gingerbread house workshop
For the "little chefs," The Village Pub in Woodside hosts its annual gingerbread house workshop on Saturday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 14. Each child will have his or her own house to prepare, decorate and (likely) eat when it's taken home. The class, designed for children 5 years and up, begins at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m. Cost: $85 per child (includes instruction, a gingerbread house, snacks and a "special gift"). To reserve a space, call 650-851-6844 or email email@example.com.
Info: The Village Pub, 2697 Woodside Road, Woodside. www.thevillagepub.net.
Holiday preserves class
Anna Cameron, a Santa Cruz canning/preserves extraordinaire with her own jam line, will teach this class from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, at Hidden Villa. Cameron will talk about canning organic fruits using low-sugar recipes, featuring Kiwi Lime Marmalade and Red Onion Relish. Bring home mason jars of these two seasonal jams.
Info: Hidden Villa Ranch, 26780 Moody Road, Los Altos; 650-949-8650
Brew University: Home Brewing Seminar
On Thursday, Dec. 12, Derek Wolfgram and Mike Conant of the Silicon Valley Sudzers Homebrew Club in Los Altos Hills, along with Andy Carroll, president of the HeadQuarters Homebrew Club (based in Campbell) will present an overview of brewing history, ingredients, styles, equipment, techniques and recipes. Free; for ages 21 and over only. The program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Silicon Valley Sudzers. Register online here.
Info: 7-8:30 p.m. at Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto


text:
WeChat strengthens anti-counterfeit measures
WeChat has tightened its anti-counterfeit measures with 38 improvements to its Brand Protection Platform revealed in its annual Brand Owner Protection report released yesterday.
WeChat claims more than 72,000 vendors were punished last year for attempting to sell counterfeit goods on its platforms.
WeChat has also standardised the online infringement complaint system to make it easier for companies and individuals to report offenders.
The WeChat team collected more than 126,000 valid infringement clues through user complaints on its Brand Protection Platform, 99.9 per cent of which led to crackdowns facilitated by brand owners.
Fake-selling had even been occuring on so-called ‘mini programs’. As of early February, 976 mini programs have been permanently banned by WeChat. More than 22,300 infringing links and pieces of content have been removed.
WeChat’s monthly active users reached 1 billion worldwide last week.
More than 180 domestic and foreign enterprises from 18 countries and regions covering more than 400 well-known trademarks at home and abroad have registered on WeChat’s Brand Protection Platform. Most of the registered enterprises are from the US, China, Switzerland, Japan and France.


text:
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan believes the partnership between the club and kit manufacturers Nike is well positioned ahead of talks over extending the current deal.
Nike, the world’s biggest sporting apparel company, have been Liverpool’s kit partners since 2020 after Reds owners Fenway Sports Group were willing to head to the High Court in London to extricate themselves from the previous deal with New Balance so that the club could generate greater commercial revenue through Nike’s ability to reach numbers at scale and the revenue sharing agreement of 20 per cent that topped up the guaranteed £30m per year from the US firm.
The deal kicked off during the pandemic, meaning that the shuttering of global retail had an adverse impact on it achieving its true potential early on. But as retail opened up once more, and through Nike’s concerted effort to put their online direct to consumer business at the forefront of their retail operations, something that has yielded record breaking results, the partnership has started to take off.
Collaborations with basketball icon and FSG partner LeBron James, and the iconic Nike-owned Converse brand have helped push the partnership toward demographics that may not have been previously reached. The idea of turning Nike and Liverpool’s work together into something of a lifestyle brand alongside the traditional replica shirts and training gear, is something that is seen as a tool of huge potential when seeking to grow future revenues.
The £30m per year deal may seem low on the face of it, particularly at a time when Manchester United have just locked into a 10-year deal with Adidas worth £90m per season. But the nature of Liverpool’s deal, where 20 per cent of the sale of all LFC/Nike merchandise heads the way of the Reds, is financially impactful, with the value of the deal understood to be in excess of £70m annually, with the potential to climb even higher.
The current deal runs out in 2025 and talks are expected to begin some time next year over an extension. Given the strength of the relationships that exist between the club, FSG, FSG partners and stakeholders such as James, and Nike, it is highly unlikely that the Reds will seek to pivot away from the US firm. There is only really Adidas who could match the kind of scale that Nike provides and they already have a large and expensive client base.
Hogan, speaking to the ECHO during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Singapore, believes that the relationship between club and company ahead of any talks over making it a longer lasting relationship is a healthy one.
Hogan said: “(We’re) Very happy. When we kicked off the partnership, we were really excited about the impact that Nike can have on a global basis and the marketing opportunities they bring.
“We are really happy with the sales of the new kit and the design of the kit. In fact, the new home kit this year has been one of the highest rated from supporters in surveys that we’ve done.
“We have a couple of years left with the deal and we’ll get to the conversation about renewing when appropriate. But certainly we are very happy where we are with Nike at the moment.”
Nike have been strong at positioning the partnership with Liverpool when it comes to their athletes. James has worn Reds jerseys and apparel frequently during the partnerships, as has the likes of NBA star Anthony Davis, who wore a pair of the LeBron x Liverpool shoes during the NBA Play-Offs last season.
The latest of the appearances at major sporting events came at The Open at Hoylake last week when American golfer and world number 17 Tony Finau turned up for the tournament in the new Liverpool shirt.
Hogan added: “Just a couple of days ago, Tony Finau wore a Liverpool kit when he got to the Open at Hoylake, and that was through the Nike partnership. As an example, I must have got emails from 25 people with a picture of him saying, ‘I can’t believe he’s a Liverpool fan’.
“It’s just a little thing, but they all add up. The relationship with Nike is in a really good place.”


text:
Gambling in CSGO games is nothing new. Players have been using skins as a form of currency for quite some time to bet on matches or buy weapon skins. However, there was a recent update to the game that has caused a lot of uproar in the community because it appears that gambling has been suspended.
What is this update and when did it happen?
The update occurred on July 7th, 2017. It was a pretty big update that added new maps, skins, and cosmetic items to the game. However, one of the most noteworthy changes was to the way gambling worked in the game. Previously, players were able to use their skins as currency to gamble on different outcomes of matches. This could be anything from who would win or lose, or even what type of gun they would get at the end of the match.
However, with this latest update Valve appears to have disabled this function within the game. This has caused a lot of backlash from the community as many people feel that this is a direct attack on their freedom to gamble. Some people have even gone so far as to accuse Valve of being anti-gambling and trying to shut down this aspect of the game altogether.
What do Valve have to say about all this?
Valve has not commented on why exactly they made this change. However, they have released a statement saying that they are suspending gambling in CSGO in order to protect children and minors from being exposed to it. They also said that they are working on a system that will allow for responsible gambling within the game, but provided no further details about what this might entail.
How does this impact players?
This change has had a huge impact on players who enjoyed gambling in CSGO matches. Many people have lost money by betting on matches that are now unavailable thanks to this suspension. Additionally, it has created chaos in the community as players try to work out what is going on and what implications this could have for them going forward. Some people are even calling for a boycott of Valve products until they address these concerns properly.
The popular ‘Super Hot 7s’ game on the Steam gaming platform is now at risk of a gambling suspension following findings by Belgian regulators.
The Belgian Gambling Commission has determined that the game, which allows players to wager real-world currency on the results of virtual coin flips, violates European Union rules against online gambling.
Valve, the company behind Steam, has been given a week to respond to the commission’s findings and make changes to the game or face a suspension of its gambling license.
A spokesperson for Valve said that the company was “currently examining the report and will respond soon.”
Valve, the company behind Steam and other popular games, took swift action against a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive game that was deemed to be too similar to their own game.
The game, called ‘Super Hot 7s’, was released by a third-party developer and Valve quickly removed it from the Steam store. In a statement issued to Kotaku, Valve said that “We do not permit developers to create games that exploit our terms of service or other policies.”
Super Hot 7s is a modified version of CSGO that removes all weapon skins and randomizes the equipment for each player. The game play is otherwise identical to CSGO, with players attempting to kill enemies and complete objectives.
Valve has been increasingly protective of their intellectual property in recent years. In 2017, they filed a lawsuit against Mobile Gaming International for developing an unauthorized “Counter-Strike” game for iOS and Android devices. The suit was eventually settled out of court.
GAMBLING SUSPENDED IN POPULAR CSGO BETTING GAME
The popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) betting game has been hit with a gambling suspension. Valve, the game’s developer, has ordered all betting sites to cease operations with immediate effect. The move comes following concerns that minors have been gambling on the outcome of professional CS:GO matches.
In a statement released by Valve, the company said that it “enforces a strict age policy for [its] games and does not permit any user under the age of 18 to gamble or engage in gambling activities on Steam.” Valve also noted that it had been working with several online betting platforms in order to address the issue but that these platforms had failed to comply with its requests.
As a result, Valve has now decided to take unilateral action and has ordered all betting sites associated with CS:GO to cease operations. This includes well-known platforms like SkinArena, CSGObet, and csgo500. Many other smaller sites are also believed to be affected by the decision.
Steam, Valve’s own digital distribution platform, is also home to a number of skin trading markets where players can buy and sell cosmetic items for use in CS:GO and other games. It’s not yet clear if these markets will be affected by the gambling suspension.
This isn’t the first time that Valve has intervened in the world of CS:GO betting. In 2016, the company shut down two of the largest skin betting websites, CSGO Lotto and OPSkins. However, this latest move is much more widespread and is likely to have a significant impact on the industry as a whole.
One of the most popular games on Steam, Super Hot 7s, is among those that have been temporarily suspended from Steam after Valve cracked down on CSGO gambling.
According to VG247, Valve has sent out emails to developers whose games have been used for gambling transactions on third-party sites. The email states that the company has “detected gambling activity” on their platforms and as a result, “will be suspending these kinds of games effective immediately.”
This includes not just CSGO, but also games like TF2 and DOTA 2. While there was already a measure in place to prohibit Steam users from using the Steam Marketplace to trade cosmetic items for real-world money, this latest crackdown takes aim at the use of Steam accounts to facilitate gambling transactions.
This news will no doubt come as a disappointment to Super Hot 7s fans who were looking forward to playing the game during the festive season. Developed by Polish studio Blister, Super Hot 7s is a slot machine game that has proven to be very popular among Steam users. In fact, it was one of the top ten most played games on Steam on Christmas day.
The game’s developer took to Twitter shortly after the news broke to express his disappointment with Valve’s decision. “We’re extremely disappointed about Valve’s decision,” wrote Blister. “Super HOT 7S is not a game about gambling or betting.” He added that he hoped Valve would reconsider its stance and allow the game back onto the platform.


text:
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content.
Though Apple has been rumored to be working on a redesigned MacBook Air with a high-resolution Retina display for some time, the device will not launch at this Thursday's media event in Cupertino, Calif., according to a new report.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, John Paczkowski of Re/code reported on Monday that the rumored new MacBook Air will not debut. He did, however, reiterate that the company is in fact planning to launch a new iMac with a high-resolution Retina display.
The absence of the new MacBook Air is largely in line with the latest rumors, which have indicated the device won't be available in time for this holiday season. Instead, it's been reported that the new ultraportable laptop with a Retina display won't see the light of day until 2015.
Rumors about the new MacBook Air have persisted for some time, and have consistently claimed that the device will feature an all-new thinner chassis along with a single screen size of 12 inches.
It's been said that part of the hold-up for the new notebook is short supply of Intel's next-generation 14-nanometer Broadwell chips. Intel's new chips are said to allow the notebook to have a fan-less design along with power saving advantages.
Other rumors have suggested Apple will achieve new levels of thinness by adopting a "click-less" trackpad, and also including fewer inputs and outputs.
The existing MacBook Air lineup was given a minor speed bump and accompanying price cut in April. It comes in two screen sizes of 11.6 and 13.3 inches.
While the new MacBook Air is not expected to arrive this Thursday, the Retina display iMac is likely to be joined by new iPad models, as Apple has in recent history used its October media event to unveil its next-generation tablets. Rumors suggest that this year the new iPads will feature Touch ID fingerprint sensors.
Also expected to be showcased at the presentation is OS X Yosemite, which is scheduled for a fall release. And Apple has also pledged to launch its new iPhone 6-based Apple Pay service in October, which could suggest the launch of iOS 8.1 could be announced come Thursday.
The Apple TV set-top box is overdue for an update, but the latest rumors have suggested it may not see an update until 2015. Apple has reportedly been facing roadblocks in negotiations with media companies as it seeks to bolster content options on its $99 streaming device.


text:
Chase Vodka - the only English potato vodka - has signed a deal with Sainsbury's, reported The Guardian.
Chase Vodka was named last March as the "World's Best Vodka" at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating 249 rivals from around the world.
As well as going on sale in 280 Sainsbury's stores later this month, Chase Distillery, the manufacturer, also recently agreed a deal with Waitrose to sell the product in all its 230-plus stores, up from 80 initially.
A single bottle of Chase Vodka - made from up to 150 potatoes - sells for £32 a bottle but has attracted a huge fan base worldwide. It is made entirely from potatoes grown on the Chase family farm in Herefordshire and Chase is currently the only UK distillery to make spirits from homegrown ingredients.
Chase Distillery was founded by William Chase, who created the posh crisp brand Tyrrells Crisps which he sold to private equity for £30m in 2008.
He said: "We are delighted that Sainsbury's have recognised the quality and genuine provenance of Chase Vodka. We are proud to be linked with a retailer of their prominence."
@PotatoCouncil's action to support #Scottish #potato industry: http://t.co/dtDUfnSmD2
The summer issue of Potato Business Digital is now online! http://t.co/tMcIZ67HfE
Our series of virtual tours mapping worldwide testing facilities begins: http://t.co/6Ch92Pp8cu . Contact us to be included!
New brand of #potato #chips announced, made in #Croatia: http://t.co/FkVIDOGxm7


text:
The Lake City Kiwanis Christmas Project is underway for this holiday season.
Jim Menting, Coordinator of the Lake City Kiwanis Club’s Christmas projects says last year they provided toys, games, books, school supplies and clothing to 52 families with 120 children who live in the Lake City school district.
Menting says unrapped toys can be delivered by December 12th to collection boxes at the following sites in Lake City: VFW, Lake City Fresh Market, Edward Jones Offices, Alliance Bank, Swan Jewelers, Anytime Fitness, and Lake City Federal Bank.
Menting says each child will get more than 1 gift.
Unwrapped toys should be dropped off at the collection sites by Monday, December 12th.
The distribution date will be December 17th.


text:
- One of the world’s largest media publishers, Genesis Media Emerging Markets, otherwise known as GMEM, has announced its rebranding
- The leading media publisher revealed a new name – Legit
- Digital holding declared a goal to become one of the top media companies in the world
Yen.com.gh's parent company Genesis Media Emerging Markets (GMEM), has unveiled a new brand identity in its rebranding journey to connect through stories. The new name stands as Legit, representing fact-checking approaches, trust from the audience and expertise in producing content.
Legit started its journey in 2012 as Naij.com in Nigeria. Later it has grown into media holding staying behind leading digital news and entertainment companies in Nigeria (Legit.ng), Kenya (TUKO.co.ke), Ghana (YEN.com.gh) and South Africa (Briefly News).
According to the global media company, the move to rebrand is a testament to the success beyond African markets. Holding’s assets also include the global sports news website SportsBrief.com and the video production for the US and UK markets, Esc Media.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see YEN.com.gh News on your News Feed!
The audience of Legit reaches 25 million monthly unique visitors and generates 130 million monthly pageviews. On social media, over 30 million users follow the brand’s pages.
Huge audience and data-oriented approaches translated into numerous awards. Among the latest achievements, Legit boasts to be Top Web Publisher on Facebook globally, the Best News Website and Trust Initiative by WAN-IFRA, and Best Digital Media Brand by Digital Tech 100 Awards.
Co-CEO, Olena Bohynska, has expressed her excitement and commented on this significant move in the development of the company
“Since last year, we have been developing Sports Brief, an international sports website, and the stories we tell on our websites go viral worldwide. This takes us beyond emerging markets. Together we aim to become one of the top media companies in the world. It takes Strength, Ownership, Creativity, Communication, and Analysis to achieve that and our team definitely possesses the necessary qualities and shares these values.”
New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!


text: India’s Economic Times is reporting that the Department of Communications (DoT) has rejected demands by the finance ministry to increase the base price for both the upcoming 3G and WiMAX auctions. The finance ministry advocated a doubling of the reserve price earlier this week, but it is believed that the DoT has decided against the increase as it believes it could reduce interest in the auction process. The DoT has previously indicated that it has received a poorer than expected response from international companies, with the difficult economic climate cited as one factor that has dissuaded possible bidders. The regulator is also understood to have claimed that any increase in the auction’s base price could translate to higher costs for 3G services for consumers. Despite the DoT’s rejection, it is widely expected that the 3G auction will be delayed from its current date of 30 January, with the law and commerce ministries both rumoured to be considering seeking changes to the country’s 3G policy.


text:
The American Apparel & Footwear Association is honoring four industry leaders for elevating apparel and footwear with their groundbreaking initiatives.
On Monday, the AAFA announced that it will honor individuals and companies, including—Person of the Year Manny Chirico, chairman and CEO of PVH Corp., Company of the Year Camuto Group, Retailer of the Year Fred Segal and Designer of the Year Joseph Altuzarra—at the 2018 AAFA American Image Awards Gala, which will take place on April 16 in New York City.
“The AAFA American Image Awards celebrate those that epitomize leadership and innovation in the apparel and footwear industry,” AAFA CEO and president Rick Helfenbein said. “This is an opportunity to honor the finest individuals and organizations throughout the entire supply chain, including designers, manufacturers and trendsetters.”
PVH Corp. CEO and chairman Manny Chirico will be honored with AAFA’s Person of the Year Award. Chirico, a seasoned apparel veteran, has been with PVH for more than 20 years, where he has served as the company’s CEO for 11 years and chairman for 10. Under Chirico’s leadership, PVH Corp. has grown its presence as a global apparel authority with its diverse portfolio of brands, including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
As AAFA’s Company of the Year honoree, Camuto Group is advancing the global women’s footwear sector with its advanced design, development and distribution efforts. The company, which is known for its trendy boots, shoes and sandals, currently operates more than 5,400 distribution points worldwide. The award will be accepted by company CEO Alex Del Cielo.
[Read more about apparel industry leaders: BF+DA Positive Impact Awards Acknowledge Apparel’s Sustainability Leaders]
California-based company Fred Segal will be honored with AAFA’s Retailer of the Year award. Founded more than 50 years ago in West Hollywood, Fred Segal today remains well-known for its ability to provide form-fitting, fashion-forward apparel for consumers worldwide and for opening the first jeans-only store. Fred Segal now operates a handful of stores in Los Angeles and Japan. Accepting the award on behalf of Fred Segal will be the company’s CEO Allison Samek and president John Frierson.
Luxury designer Joseph Altuzarra will receive AAFA’s Designer of the Year award. Since launching his label in 2008, Altuzarra’s unique accessories and ready-to-wear apparel have enabled women to step up the luxury in their wardrobes.
Since 2017, AAFA has teamed up with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that supports domestic fashion initiatives, to serve as its gala beneficiary. Together, the AAFA and CFDA Foundation aim to positively impact the apparel and footwear sectors, while fortifying industry leaders who are paving the way for a more sustainable, innovative and positive future.


text:
Amazon is out of luck when it comes to delivering packages by unmanned drones, at least for now. Ars Technica reported on Tuesday that the FAA is prohibiting Amazon Prime Air drones:
“In Monday’s (FAA) announcement, published in the Federal Register, the FAA named Amazon’s December proposal as an example of what is barred under regulations that allow the use of drones for hobby and recreational purposes. The agency did not mention Amazon Prime Air by name, but it didn’t have to.”
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed the marketplace had developed delivery drones in a dramatic episode of TV program 60 Minutes that aired in December. Some believed it was a publicity stunt.
However, Amazon has hired a Washington firm to lobby for the drones. Politicoreported last week that Amazon had hired Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to work on “federal advocacy with regard to testing and operation of (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the US,” citing a new lobbying registration.
Bezos called the drones, which run on electric motors, green – “it’s better than driving trucks around,” he told 60 Minutes. The octocopter drones, called Prime Air, can carry items weighing up to 5 pounds, which covers 86% of items Amazon delivers. The current generation Octocopter can fly within a 10-mile radius of a fulfillment center.


text:
I have a lot of love for Movies especially science fiction however nothing beats the fun of sitting behind a screen and playing some hard core FPS games. Apart from them i am a major lover of Assassins Creed titles especially Brotherhood, The Witcher and God Of War. Huge fan of animation director Hayo Mayazaki.
Jump Force is the talk of the town, with less than one month away before it finally rolls out, the excitement seems to be rising at a steady pace. That said the open beta which is currently open is also about to end and now we have an unofficial confirmation that two big characters that have not been officially announced are also going to join the game. In a recently published promotional banner of Jump Force, along with other revealed characters from another universe, like the recently revealed Naruto characters, we now saw two cult fighters from manga and anime universe through the promotion banner.
Pointing to the undeclared fact that these two characters too are joining the game. Unofficial because these two characters seen in the promotional banner of Jump Force have not yet been announced. However, you can certainly expect a reveal regarding these two anytime soon.
We know that Jump Force still has some characters that have not yet joined the roster and so seeing these two does add more to the excitement. Having said that this promotional banner was discovered through an Instagram and Facebook advertisement. We have Dai from Dragon Quest: Dai’s Quest and the other one is Jotaro Kuju from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Jump Force is slated to roll out on 15th February 2019 across PlayStation 4, Xbox One & PC.


text:
Consumer experts have told UK tourists looking to go on holiday to book early and act fast as package holiday prices have soared. Which? has said that prices have risen by as much as 19% year on year at mainstream travel destinations.
It has urged people to book early and fast to avoid being caught by possible price rises in 2023. It looked at the main stream destinations - Spain, Greece, Portugal. Italy, Cyprus and Turkey - and found that it cost on average 30% more than last year with an average price of £867 per person this summer.
Prices have gone up by a fifth or more to Spain, Turkey and Italy, while Cyprus has seen a rise of 15%, according to data sourced from Travelsupermarket parent Ice Travel Group based on clicks from November 1, 2022 to January 3, 2023 for seven-night holidays in summer 2023.
Spain still offered the cheapest deals, with a week’s package holiday costing £693pp.
Which? also examined data on flights and hotels, to see how much those who opt to put together their own trips might expect to spend on a holiday this year. Flights have seen the most significant increases, with prices this Easter up a 51% on average compared with last year.
The cost of direct flights to 15 destinations in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and the US from six of the UK’s busiest airports was analysed using using data from air fares analyst Skytra.
It found Italy and Greece have seen the highest rises, with fares up 71% in both cases. The US, which has the highest average fares at £1,527 per seat, saw the smallest price increase, at just under a third (31%).
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “Travellers are likely to experience significantly higher prices than they’re used to for a trip away this year, with huge demand for holidays combining with inflationary pressure to create a perfect storm of spiralling costs.
“Flights in particular have seen some of the steepest price rises so far, with our research finding flights to popular destinations including Greece and Italy up 71% compared to last year.”


text:
Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian behemoth in the global mining industry, has signed its first yuan-denominated purchase contract as China looks to internationalize its currency and move more Chinese steel overseas, Yicai Global reported
London- and Melbourne-based Rio agreed to buy 170,000 tons of SP10 iron ore from Shanxi Gaoyi Steel, Shanghai Securities News reported today. It will collect the ore from Rizhao Port in Shandong province, the report said.
The move is likely a trial for the buyer as it is only purchasing SP10 products rather than its main PB powder and blocks, said Wang Yangwen, a global analyst at Standard & Poor’s Financial Services.
Rio Tinto is the third company to buy iron ore through yuan-based contracts, added Wang Guoqing, director of the Lange Steel Information Research Center. Brazil’s Vale has settled contracts in yuan regularly since 2017 and another Australian firm, Fortescue Metals, made its first yuan deal in June this year.
China is the world’s largest consumer and importer of iron ore and brought in a billion tons in 2018, with 724 million coming from Australia.
“Yuan pricing reduces the risk of foreign exchange settlement for Chinese companies,” Wang said, adding that this “cuts the losses caused by exchange rate fluctuations and lowers the cost of transactions that use the American dollar as an intermediary.”
Wang Yangwen agreed, saying the contracts help Chinese firms that do not settle dollar deals as the prices are closer to those in the local market.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto said it has found a potentially large source of lithium for electric car batteries while looking for gold in piles of waste rock in California, describing it as a “eureka moment” for the company, Financial Times reported.
The London-based miner said it could become the largest producer of lithium for batteries in the US if it can successfully process the rock on a larger scale.
The discovery may pave the way for Rio’s entry into the lithium market, which is set to see dramatic growth over the next decade due to the rise of electric vehicles, which are powered by lithium-ion batteries, the report said.
Lithium is currently produced in South America and Australia and is controlled by five producers, two of whom are Chinese. But the administration of President Donald Trump is keen to encourage domestic supply to meet the needs of its carmakers.