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Data: Moody’s Analytics, OECD and trade economics; Diagram: Baidi Wang/Axios
inflation in the US is at a 40-year high, but America is not alone. Rising prices are a truly global phenomenon.
The big picture: An inflation analysis by Deutsche Bank in 111 countries places the USA in the middle. In these countries, the median inflation rate of 7.9% year-on-year more than doubled from 3.0% a year ago, mainly due to rising energy and food prices.
Inflation rates from May in Western European countries such as the Netherlands (+8.8% yoy) and Germany (+7.9%), roughly on par with the US (+8.6%).
As in the US and much of the world, sky-high energy prices, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, were a key driver of inflation in Europe. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US energy prices are up 35% year over year.
- They are even higher (+51%) in the UK which, like the US, recently experienced its highest rate of inflation (+9.0%) since the early 1980s, according to the Financial Times. The UK’s bleak economic outlook is fueling concerns over a cost of living crisis.
Cancel: While inflation is generally high around the world, it is lower in major Asian economies such as China (+2.1%) and Japan (+2.5%) – although both countries have seen upward trends this year.
- After years of very low inflation, Japan should finally reach the central bank’s target of 2% this year. But wages are stagnant and consumers are not used to rising prices, according to the BBC.
- China’s lower inflation is partly explained by Beijing’s relatively limited stimulus during the pandemic, strong price controls and weak consumer demand, according to the WSJ.
- South Korea, on the other hand, experienced the sharpest increase in inflation in 14 years to 5.4% in May. President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of a coming economic “typhoon” via FT on Friday.
While countries around the world including South Korea raising interest rates to curb inflation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has insisted on rate cuts.
- Turkey’s official inflation rate of 74% is the highest in the G20 and in reality is probably even higher.
- In second place is Argentina (+58%), which prints money to cover its deficit.
- Several of the largest economies in Latin America and Africa are also experiencing double-digit inflation rates.
Something to see: Food commodity prices are at a record high, according to the World Bank Index, and have risen sharply since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. The double rise in energy and food prices is hitting developing countries particularly hard.


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Staples has proposed a new deal to acquire rival Office Depot for $2.1 billion or $40 per share, with a plan to appease the antitrust regulators that prevented two previous mergers by the two companies. Since the Federal Trade Commission blocked the last merger five years ago, office supply retail has changed as Amazon has increased its market share in the category and work-from-home trends have driven consumer demand.
Task Management with Frontline Orchestration Audits, Tasks, Training & Comms all belong in one app. Learn what leading Fortune 500 Brands did to operate safely & successfully over the last 10 months and how those choices now position them for a much better new year. #2020Hindsight - Register for the Webinar
Walmart has joined with Ribbit Capital to create a fintech venture that will expand the retailer's financial service offerings and be tailored to the needs of Walmart's customers and employees. Ribbit is an investment firm that has financed other fintech efforts including personal finance site Credit Karma and Affirm, which offers buy-now-pay-later loans.
Amazon is hiring full- and part-time workers to staff two new brick-and-mortar Fresh stores planned for King County, Wash. The latest locations, one in Seattle's Central District and another in Bellevue's Factoria area, will join five Amazon Go and 11 Whole Foods Market stores already operating in the state.
Tidying-up guru Marie Kondo has created a collection of home organization products in partnership with the Container Store. "If anything, the pandemic has reinforced the importance of tidying and organizing the home; your home has become your office, your school, your day care, your gym, your sanctuary, your everything!" Kondo said.
Best Buy said Monday it won't make any more contributions to the 147 US lawmakers who voted against certifying the results of the November presidential election. The retailer is one of several major companies reviewing or rethinking their political contributions following last week's violence, including Target and CVS Health.
Retail landlords around the country have granted more concessions to keep from losing tenants during the pandemic, according to commercial property experts. To stave off evictions and rising vacancy rates, property owners are offering to change payment terms and lease lengths, reduce rents and sometimes forgiving past-due payments.
Consistent performance that emphasized speed and safety helped propel Amazon to the top of the fourth annual dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index, followed in the top five, respectively, by H.E. Butt Grocery, Trader Joe's, Wegman's and ALDI. This year's index, which measures shopper loyalty and financial performance using gauges that include price and digital capabilities, also featured a new "COVID Momentum Metric" that evaluated how food retailers coped with the pandemic.
A Path to Profitability: 2021 Manufacturing Trends This year is shaping up to be a year of advancement for US manufacturing. Our Jan. 27th SmartSummit will explore: how technology will help manufacturers this year, why a localized supply chain is gaining favor and actions manufacturers must take to boost profitability now and in the future. Our panel of experts will offer new-year strategies and real-world examples of how best to succeed. Register today and join us
NRF 2021: Retail's Big Show -- Chapter 1 is now live! Don't miss highly anticipated opening keynotes and the chance to network with more than 300 exhibitors. Plus, games, prizes and a live concert at 3:30 p.m. ET, all from the comfort of your home. It's not too late to register.
The theme of NRF 2021 -- Chapter 1 is "Forward together," and to craft this year's content, NRF looked at leadership, growth, new business models, customer experience, operations, talent and the human element of running a business during an unprecedented year in retail. Hear from NRF's Vice President of Content and Retail Strategy Jill Dvorak on the history of the show and can't-miss sessions kicking off today and next week. Read more.
Starbucks will create a $100 million fund to back small businesses and community development efforts in 12 US cities with large populations of Black people, Indigenous people and other people of color, the company announced today. The Community Resilience Fund is the latest move in the company's ongoing efforts to promote racial and social equity.

domain: news


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FTC Adds Mobile Cramming to Charges against Text Spam and Robocall Network
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has added new charges of mobile cramming to a complaint the agency previously filed against a group of scammers who allegedly sent millions of unwanted text messages and robocalls to consumers.
The amended complaint adds the mobile cramming charges to the Commission's original complaint allegations that the operation used text messages promising free $1,000 gift cards and iPads as a way to deceive consumers into signing up for costly subscriptions and giving up personal information.
When consumers followed links in the spam text messages, they were prompted to enter personal information, including their mobile phone number. The defendants told consumers that the personal information was necessary to ship them the free prize. However, the defendants used the personal information for several other purposes, including placing robocalls to consumers. Many consumers who entered their personal information allegedly were then prompted to "confirm" their mobile phone number and were then sent a text message telling them to enter a PIN number on the defendants' website in order to "claim their prize."
The amended complaint alleges that, in fact, by confirming their mobile phone number and entering the provided PIN, consumers were being signed up for unwanted premium text messaging services, resulting in a charge of $9.99 per month on their mobile phone bill. According to the FTC's amended complaint, consumers were not given adequate notice that confirming their number would lead to monthly charges – this notice appeared only in small print at the bottom of the screen or in a separate hyperlinked page.
Two of the defendants, Burton Katz, also doing business as Polling Associates, Inc. and Boomerang International, LLC, and Jonathan Smyth, also doing business as Polling Associates, Inc., are accused of overseeing the mobile cramming operation along with the creators of the websites.
In addition to adding the defendants involved in the mobile cramming, the amended complaint also adds three new defendants to the case who were believed to be responsible for sending millions of spam text messages and operating the websites to which those messages would direct consumers. The additional defendants are Scott Modist, Joshua Greenberg and Gregory Van Horn. All three are named individually and as officers of Acquinity Interactive, LLC. Modist and Greenberg are also named as officers of 7657030 Canada, Inc.


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Global brewer SABMiller is in talks to buy the African beer operations of the privately-held French drinks group Castel in a deal worth £6-billion, the Times of London said on Thursday.
The newspaper said founder Paul Castel’s reduced involvement in the company signals that the next generation may be open to offers, but added that until recently there had been no indication that the family might sell.
SABMiller is the world’s second largest brewer after AB InBev and brews Peroni, Miller Lite and Grolsch.
SABMiller and Castel were not immediately reachable for comment.
As recently as August, SABMiller was speculated to be looking at the beer operations of Australia’s Foster’s Group which is valued at more than $10-billion.
In Africa, SABMiller has brewing and beverage operations in 14 countries, and a presence in a further 19 nations, largely in West Africa, through a strategic alliance with Castel.
The global brewing industry has seen a number of significant merger and acquisition deals in recent years.
Belgium’s InBev acquired St Louis-based Anheuser-Busch in 2008, creating the world’s largest brewer with brands including Stella Artois, Beck’s and Bud Light.
Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings, faced with a shrinking beer market at home, has been on an aggressive overseas expansion drive — in July it bought a stake in beverage and property conglomerate Fraser & Neave for $953-million. – Reuters


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by Anton Shilov
06/17/2010 | 12:47 PM
Even though performance and the amount of capabilities of integrated graphics processors (IGPs) that are either parts of core-logic sets or central processing units (CPUs) are constantly improving, there will always be a place for low-end standalone graphics processing units (GPUs), believes ATI, graphics business unit of Advanced Micro Devices.
“We will have low-end graphics cards because they still bring value to the end-user. We will make sure that this message comes out once we launch Fusion Llano products,” said Shaila Bansal, a senior product manager for mainstream graphics at AMD’s graphics division.
On Thursday ATI officially allowed its partners among makers of graphics cards to install high-speed GDDR5 memory onto relatively inexpensive Radeon HD 5550 adapters (powered by Redwood chip), effectively sending Radeon HD 5550 graphics cards with (G)DDR3 to lower price-points. By doing a rather simple and formal move, ATI boosted performance of graphics processing in the market segment, where improvements are expected, but not appreciated as in more advanced segments. The natural result of the price drop of the Radeon HD 5550 (G)DDR3 is its inevitable competition against much less powerful ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics cards based on Cedar chip.
The Redwood chip that powers ATI Radeon HD 5500-series graphics solutions has up to 400 stream processors, meanwhile, Cedar chip that is featured on ATI Radeon HD 5400-series boards only has 80 stream processors, the same amount as ATI Radeon HD 2400-series (RV710) processors three years ago.
Early next year AMD plans to launch the code-named Llano accelerating processing unit (APU) with up to four Phenom II-class x86 cores and with up to ATI Radeon HD 5000-class 480 stream processors. Potentially, Llano offers higher computing performance than Redwood, which means that AMD will have to refresh entry-level lineup otherwise Llano will likely stop sales Cedar-based products.
Underperforming Cedar, incoming Llano and inexpensive Redwood-based graphics cards clearly show that performance bar for low-end graphics either has to be increased or the low-end graphics will cease to exist. However, AMD believes that low-end graphics chips with 64-bit memory controllers will continue to serve the market after the launch of AMD Fusion family of APUs for desktops and mobiles. Moreover, even Cedar – which expensive versions cost the same amount of money as affordable more powerful Redwood-based boards – will not be discontinued anytime soon.
“There are no plans to discontinue the ATI Radeon HD 5450. […] 64-bit GPUs will continue [to exist] even after Fusion-type products come out,” added Ms. Bansal.
Low-end graphics cards may be used for upgrades of rather old systems in order to enable better functionality. It is rather obvious that even ATI Cedar is much better than an integrated graphics solution of several years old. However, if AMD plans to quickly adopt new graphics technologies for its APUs, it will have to also ensure that the evolution of low-end discrete graphics processors happens quicker than nowadays.


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Nobody gets fired for hiring Accenture, but it can lead to a lawsuit.
Hertz, the car rental and fleet company, is suing Accenture over a botched redesign of their website.
The initial site was expected to go live nearly 18 months ago, but after several delays Hertz has given up on the process and is taking it up with the courts. Hertz is now suing Accenture for their fees paid to-date and the costs of making it right.
The complaint shows that Accenture made some comically simple mistakes. For example, The Register reports that web pages weren't even designed to resize for mobile phones or tablets.
Big companies feel comfortable handing large fees to other big companies to solve their technology problems. Vendors like Accenture have a slick sales process and household brand. This means they won't raise any eyebrows when they are selected in a beauty parade.
Web design does not require the most cutting-edge tech skills, yet Accenture managed to burn through their budget and miss deadlines by years.
More worryingly, Accenture and their ilk are touting their skills in emerging areas which often require deep tech experience - machine learning powered chatbots or computer vision for paper forms, for example.
Corporate decision-makers who opt to buy an inferior product from a name they trust should be careful - it may not protect their job anymore.
Car rental giant Hertz is suing over a website redesign from hell. The US corporation hired monster management consultancy firm Accenture in August 2016 to completely revamp its online presence. The new site was due to go live in December 2017. But a failure to get on top of things led to a delay to January 2018, and then a second delay to April 2018 which was then also missed, we're told. As Hertz endured the delays, it found itself immersed in a nightmare: a product and design that apparently didn't do half of what was specified and still wasn't finished. "By that point, Hertz no longer had any confidence that Accenture was capable of completing the project, and Hertz terminated Accenture," the car rental company complained in a lawsuit [PDF] lodged against Accenture in New York this month.


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British retailer Marks & Spencer has purchased the Jaeger brand from its administrators as part of a strategy to bolster its clothing division with new names, it said on Monday.
M&S said it was in the final stages of agreeing the purchase of product and supporting marketing assets from the administrators of Jaeger Retail Limited and expected to fully complete the deal later this month. No figures were disclosed.
Before going into administration Jaeger was part of Philip Day's Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group.
Last year, M&S chief executive Steve Rowe said the retailer would sell other brands to broaden the appeal of its business.
In September it partnered online with Nobody’s Child and has also collaborated with Ghost and most recently with Early Learning Centre.
“We have set out our plans to sell complementary third party brands as part of our Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth," said Richard Price, managing director of M&S's clothing and home division.
Last week, M&S, which also sells food, reported another big fall in sales of clothing and homeware in the Christmas quarter as COVID-19 restrictions hit demand and closed space, factors it said were masking progress made on its turnaround plan.
Shares in M&S closed Monday down 2.6%, extending year-on-year losses to 30%.


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General Motors is joining the voluntary U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Partnership, which will drive benchmarking of fuel consumption and reduction of emissions by its freight shippers and carriers with the goal of further shrinking the company's carbon footprint.
If you're responsible for supply chain management or providing supply chain services, reducing your carbon footprint is likely becoming a priority. So how do you get there from here? One route to sustainability is ISO 14001 certification. Here's the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of getting there.
UPS released its annual Sustainability Report announcing that while the total number of packages UPS shipped in 2012 increased, the company reduced its total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the carrier's annual sustainability report.
Beginning in July 2013, Procter & Gamble will work with eight transportation carriers to convert up to 20 percent of its North America truck load shipments to natural gas vehicles within two years. By meeting this goal, it is expected P&G will incur savings for the converted lanes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by nearly 5,000 metric tons (or the equivalent GHG emissions from 1,000 passenger vehicles for a year).
United Airlines is launching a Sustainable Supply Chain (SSC) initiative in an effort to better understand the environmental performance of its suppliers and deepen relationships with its key supply chain partners.
IBM has been recognized for the second consecutive year as the greenest company in the U.S., according to the Newsweek 2012 Green Rankings survey. A panel of independent judges ranked major companies based on numerous criteria, including their environmental impact, environmental management and sustainability disclosure. The survey is regarded as one of the most comprehensive analyses of environmental leadership, and IBM was one of 500 large U.S. organizations evaluated.


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Teradata said Thursday it plans to buy data warehousing startup Aster Data Systems, continuing a run of consolidation in the market for technology that can process ever-growing amounts of "big data."
As more sourcing executives consider incorporating SaaS solutions into their overall technology vendor landscape, the potential to significantly disrupt the current software market grows. And while SaaS adoption is expected to expand in the coming ye...
Information Builders upped its ante in mobile BI (business intelligence) software on Tuesday, announcing a product suite that includes native capabilities for Apple and Android devices.
This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.
SAP is hoping to gain ground in the increasingly heated market for BI (business intelligence) software, announcing a suite on Wednesday that focuses on areas like mobility and real-time data analysis.
The latest company to merge analytics and transactions into a single operation, Terracotta has added search functionality into the latest version of its Ehcache Java cache software.
Wrapping up a three-day run on the Jeopardy game show, IBM's Watson computer has beaten two former champions in a historic match of man versus machine.
Kicking off its 2011 PartnerWorld Leadership Conference, IBM has announced an expanded set of incentives for business partners offering IBM-based cloud and analytics services.
Analytical database provider Kognitio has augmented its flagship WX2 database so that it will be able to offer data cubes, eliminating the need to run a separate data warehouse, the company says.
Samsung SDS and SAP have created BI (business intelligence) software for Android mobile devices, the companies announced Monday in conjunction with Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Hewlett-Packard announced Monday it plans to buy data warehousing and analytics vendor Vertica for an undisclosed sum.
SAP is gearing up to launch Business Objects 4.0, its biggest BI (business intelligence) release in roughly three years, later this month at an event in New York.
Hearsay, a startup founded in 2009, is launching a cloud-hosted social media management application tailored specifically for companies that have a national brand as well as a broad base of local affiliates.
EMC is now offering a community edition of its Greenplum data warehousing platform, as well as algorithms and data mining tools for working with large data sets, at no charge, the company announced Tuesday.
Oracle is offering a data warehouse tailored for the needs of the financial services industry, the company announced Thursday.
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| Jun 12, 2013
| 8:00 AM
It was a classic car weekend. On Friday, I went to the second annual Dragone Classic Motorcars auction in Westport. It was a special one for me, because a couple of weeks before I'd actually driven one of the cars on offer, a supercharged Continental...
| May 28, 2013
| 12:18 PM
Two weeks ago, I managed to briefly experience how the other half lives. Actually, I gained a glimpse of how the other 0.01 percent of us drives. On hand at the International Motor Press Association’s Spring Brake outing – yes, it should be...
| Apr 16, 2012
| 4:32 PM
Rolls-Royce is recalling a small amount of model-year 2011 turbocharged versions of its Ghost sedan to address a faulty water pump, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 69 vehicles equipped with turbocharged eight-...
| Jan 20, 2012
| 4:32 PM
Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars sold like gangbusters in 2011. Each brand had exceedingly strong global sales, with Rolls-Royce reaching its highest numbers in the brand's history. While Bentley already has plans to expand its lineup by adding a SUV, we're.....
| Mar 13, 2012
| 9:33 AM
Though it’s easy to pick up a used Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar or even a Porsche for a few grand on Craigslist, such a car will likely be shabby, unreliable and a maintenance money-pit. A prestigious name on the hood doesn’t count for much if your...
| Dec 25, 2011
| 5:02 PM
Since its first float entry in 1933, Florists’ Transworld Delivery has provided tens of thousands of fresh flowers for many of Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses’ signature events, including the annual Rose Parade.
For the last five...
| Jan 10, 2012
| 11:45 AM
There are many ways you could list the well-known white house in Hancock Park that is on sale for $2.1 million:
It has a pool, a sauna and a steam room.
A home theater with a bar.
Six bedrooms and six baths.
Nineteen Michelangelo's Davids lined up...
| Jan 16, 2012
| 10:08 AM
NEW YORK -- BMW is recalling 89,000 Mini Coopers in the United States for the same sort of problem that led to earlier recalls of BMW and Rolls-Royce luxury cars.
The problem, in all the recalls, is that a computer circuit board controlling a...
| Jan 16, 2012
| 12:17 PM
BMW is recalling 89,000 Mini Coopers in the United States for the same sort of problem that led to earlier recalls of BMW and Rolls-Royce luxury cars.
The problem, in all the recalls, is that a computer circuit board controlling a turbocharger cooling...
| Oct 4, 2012
| 9:20 PM
Times are tough, so it's hard to imagine someone actually plunking down $403,000 for a new Rolls- Royce. Right?
Wrong. I left a brand-new Rolls-Royce Phantom in a Manhattan garage for just one night and the next morning found a note on the windshield...
| Aug 28, 2012
It wasn't the postal worker, the cabbie or the diaper-bag-toting mom whose approving hollers surprised me. I heard all three (among a slew of others). I'd spent the better part of a week in a white Corvette 427 convertible — a sort of last hurrah...


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Apex Legends is just a battle king for now, but Respawn wants to do so much more. As there have been leaks about a potential Team Deathmatch (TDM) mode, the developers have kept their lips sealed, but will soon indicate a major expansion.
While Respawn has worked to keep Apex Legends healthy with a variety of time-limited game modes, everyone centers around one thing – the Battle Royale genre. The lifting pools or the size of the troops can be changed, but the core game remains the same.
However, as Apex enters its third year on the market, Respawn is looking to do so much more. Rumbling of expansion to other FPS genres within Apex Legends has been going on for a while now, and in season 8 there is more validity now than ever before.
Arena triggers found in the latest King̵7;s Canyon map file.
3v3 TDM style mode, team spawns on A and B in gibby bubble. 4 diff loads.
One drop of air in the middle, a medical supply box spawns on the side.
3 ring pins.
Many different “arenas” in different King’s Canyon areas. pic.twitter.com/kbjBoHwUKQ
– Shrugtal (@shrugtal) January 12, 2021
While exact details remain tight, leaks have been everywhere. A TDM-style mode has been the first on players’ lips after data processors like ‘Shrugtal’ discovered smaller “arenas” that look perfect for the mode.
Now Respawn comes out with big hints about Apex’s future. Although they have not confirmed the exact modes coming out soon – with developers avoiding saying “TDM” when asked by players, they want to make Apex Legends more than just a battle king.
“We are always looking at ways to expand the playgrounds of our legends beyond Battle Royale. All I have to say is that we have many very cool prototypes at work, “said developer Brian ‘YaBoiBrian’ Vidovic to the players on Reddit.
This comes after a number of different game modes, including the TDM-styled arenas, were leaked before the season 8 update.
That leak contained references to Locked and Loaded, which comes to Apex Legends as an LTM during the anniversary event.
There were also strings of code for ranked solos, despite Respawn claiming that the mode would not be healthy for the game.
When the pieces come together, it’s likely that TDM mode could be added later in season 8, or potentially season 9. Anyway, Apex Legends is set to become much more than a battle king in 2021.


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Peppermint Three Announced
Zsh 5.0 Released
ActiveState Releases Komodo 7.1
IPFire 2.11 Releasedmore »
Hidden Meaning: Working with Microformats Working with microformats and microdataMar 02, 2012
Programs aren’t as smart as humans when it comes to interpreting the meaning of web information. If you want to maximize your search rank, you might want to dress up your HTML documents with microformats and microdata.more »
Mozilla Firefox 5 includes more than 1,000 improvements and is the first browser to support Do Not Track on multiple platforms.more »
Cover Story: HTML5 New Start: HTML5May 26, 2011
Back in 1999 when the HTML 4.01 standard first appeared, virtually nobody envisioned video blogs, social networking sites, or Internet office tools. The upcoming HTML 5 standard will remake the web for the new generation of technologies and services.more »
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sends out last call for public review of HTML5 specifications.more »
Red Hat announces IBM, Accenture, Alfresco, Cisco, HP and Intel representatives are scheduled to deliver keynotes at the seventh annual Red Hat Summit and JBoss World, May 3-6, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts.more »
- CyanogenMod-7 Brings Android Mods Up to Date
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News: Tech Tools BitNami Cloud Hosting, VMware Zinbra 7, Google Chrome 9Mar 01, 2011
VMware bids for a stake in the container industry with a bold effort to integrate containers with its classic virtualization system.
3ROS attack tool lowers the technical bar so anyone can be an intruder.
Mozilla's latest browser offers powerful new privacy feature
If attackers are on your system, saving your passwords in a password vault is no protection.
Faulty hash algorithm persists, despite efforts by experts to raise awareness.
Powerful man-in-the-middle attack is now targeting online shopping.
Another high-profile coder says the kernel team needs a kinder, gentler culture.
Bug database has a bug of its own that could allow an intruder to create an unauthorized account.
Report focuses federal resources on achieving universal Internet access.
Leading browser makers say “no” to porous encryption algorithm


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Crocs steps into limelight
We will not write about the company “kicking off” another year, or taking a bite out of the competition. We will not speak of a new CEO attempting to land the company on firmer footing, or the fact that the company has been putting a better foot forward with investors.
Nor will we lament the fact that the company initially got off on the wrong foot with the fashion-conscious, although the endless ridicule was a bit of a crock.
(That one doesn’t count.)
But we will discuss some of the amusing facts that have helped Niwot’s own Crocs Inc. garner attention, enthusiasm, derision and anecdotes over the past decade.
The maker of casual, resin-material footwear recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, which saw it hit the $1 billion sales milestone. That impressive achievement likely won’t calm the ongoing battle over the company’s fashion sense. But love ’em or hate ’em, Crocs are here to stay, and for that, I’m grateful.
What other product garners headlines just because some celebrity, official or statesman chooses to slip the resin-material clogs onto their feet?
Looking back at recent years, here are some of my favorite Crocs and factoids:
• Croc vs. gator — Just a couple of months ago, a South Carolina alligator was photographed attempting to eat an abandoned Crocs shoe in the marshes of Huntington Beach State Park. After 30 minutes of chewing, the ‘gator moved on in search of tastier morsels. (No word on the fate of the shoe’s original owner.)
• Then-President George W. Bush was photographed more than once sporting a pair of Crocs. Once was while holding a pair of University of Colorado Buffaloes Crocs, presented by CU’s men’s cross country national championship team. Dubya was also photographed in 2007 actually wearing a pair of Niwot’s finest.
• Not to be outdone, the other side of the political aisle has stepped out in Crocs. First lady Michelle Obama grabbed headlines in 2009 wearing a pair.
• Celebrities including Brooke Shields, Morgan Freeman, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler, Adam Sandler and — dare we say it — Jack Nicholson have been spotted wearing the squishy footwear.
• Derision has come from some pretty high-powered quarters. The Washington Post has taken numerous swipes at Crocs over the years, ridiculing the styling and predicting the company’s demise.
In 2006, Jennifer Huget wrote for the Post, “You’ve tried to ignore them, but they’ve spread like vermin. Crocs are everywhere.”
The Washington Post prediction of Crocs’ demise came later, in 2009, quoting a manager of a Seattle investment fund saying, “The company’s toast. They’re zombie-ish. They’re dead, and they don’t know it.”
Crocs posted $1 billion in revenue in 2011, with net income reaching $61.5 million in the second quarter of 2012 alone. Of course, the Seattle genius wouldn’t be the first Crocs critic to put their foot in their mouth.
Christopher Wood can be reached at 303-440-4950 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Declining Stock and Decent Financials: Is The Market Wrong About Medlive Technology Co., Ltd. (HKG:2192)?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Medlive Technology's (HKG:2192) recent performance, when its stock has declined 27% over the past month. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty de
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12:11 AM EDT, 07/28/2022 (MT Newswires) -- M3's (TYO:2413) business is growing at a "steady rate" with the fiscal year 2022 off to a "solid start," the healthcare services provider said, even as it re
Investors Could Be Concerned With Medlive Technology's (HKG:2192) Returns On Capital
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on
A Closer Look At Medlive Technology Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2192) Uninspiring ROE
One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business.
Medical Maitong: annual report 2021
Medical Mai Tong: annual results announcement for the year ended December 31, 2021
Medical pulse tong: date of board meeting


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Palm oil has always been one of the major exports of Malaysia and Indonesia, accounting for billions of dollars for both countries. Following the Indonesian forest fires that caused dangerous haze levels in Singapore and Malaysia, however, the industry has received pressure to change its existing production methods, which cause social and environmental damages.
Between them, the two Southeast Asian economies produce around 85 percent of the world’s palm oil, over 45 million tons a year, according to Risk.net, a portal that provides financial risk management news and analysis.
The industry contributed $42.3 billion to their economies last year, averaging $750 a ton, estimated Dr. Dodo Thampapillai, an economist at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and there are 4.5 million people from the two countries depending on the crop for their livelihood, according to World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore (WWF).
Palm oil is used in many products, from ice cream and chocolate, to soap and shampoo, the Straits Times, a Singaporean newspaper, reported.
"It is almost impossible to avoid palm oil," said Ms Khor Yu Leng, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies who specializes in agribusiness research. "It is everywhere."
However, palm oil has come under scrutiny for its destructive production process in recent times, after Malaysian and Singapore palm oil companies were accused of being responsible for fires in the Indonesian region of Sumatra by an Indonesian Forestry Ministry official, according to Straits Times.
Unsustainable production of palm oil could involve indiscriminate clearing of rain forests in the two countries, said Thampapillai.
Essentially, forests are destroyed by errant companies and farmers using the slash-and-burn method, which some believe to improve soil fertility, according to the Straits Times.
When the method is done on highly flammable peat land, the fires can spread great distances underground and make them difficult to extinguish, according to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a nonprofit promoting sustainable palm oil farming.
Sustainable methods of clearing using heavy machinery should be encouraged, Khor said, although such methods might raise the price of palm oil by about 1 percent.


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After letting its performance halo R range drop to just a single model, Volkswagen looks set to breathe new life into its performance division with an onslaught of new models set for future release.
Following complications arising from Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal the R range of vehicles suffered a setback leaving only the Golf R to fly the performance flag, but Car and Driver reports that Volkswagen has now stabilised enough to push on with performance plans.
Unlike previous R models, like the Scirocco R and Passat R36, the focus will move away from traditional passenger cars and towards more profitable SUVs. While purists may baulk at the new approach it’s not without precedent, with the previous Touareg large SUV featuring a flagship V10 diesel-powered R50 model.
This time Volkswagen’s performance division will turn its attention to the brand’s newest addition, the T-Roc compact SUV as well as creating a Tiguan R and revisiting the past with a new Touareg R.
Both the T-Roc R and Tiguan R models are likely to be powered by high-output versions of Volkswagen’s existing four-cylinder engine, with a larger engine (though no work on whether it will feature six or eight cylinders) scheduled to appear in the Touareg R.
SUVs won’t be the only avenue of attention though, with suggestions that Volkswagen’s new Arteon four-door coupe could also be given the R treatment featuring a new turbocharged version of Volkswagen’s narrow-angle V6 to sit above the current 206kW four-cylinder engine.
The renewed energy at Volkswagen comes thanks to the appointment of a new head of the R division, Jost Capito, whose previous credentials include time as the head of Ford Motorsports, plus appointments at Sauber F1, McLaren Racing, Porsche and a previous stint with Volkswagen’s motorsport arm.
Along with the new model push Volkswagen won’t forget its bread and butter, with a next-generation Golf R under development including appreciable power gains over the current model’s 228kW European output, although rumours of a smaller Polo R have trailed off leaving the Polo GTI as that model line’s flagship for now.
- Interested in buying VOLKSWAGEN ? Visit our VOLKSWAGEN showroom for more information.


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Firm will use $1.5bn proceeds to reduce debt and concentrate on developing new drugs in neurology and immunology
Belgian drugmaker UCB has agreed to sell its speciality generics subsidiary, Kremers Urban, to private equity firms Advent International and Avista Capital Partners for $1.5 billion (£970 million). The company says it will use the cash from the sale to pay off some debt and concentrate on its ‘core business’ in neurology and immunology drugs.
UCB bought Kremers Urban in 2007, and the subsidiary’s line in hard-to-formulate generics such as timed or extended release versions of statins and pain medications has supported the company through the financial crisis. ‘It’s now the right time from a value perspective to focus on our core business and to offer Kremers Urban further growth opportunities with [Advent and Avista],’ said UCB’s chief financial officer Detlef Thielgen in a statement.


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MySpace Credit Card Introduced
MySpace has stamped its name on a new Citi Credit Card, in which users can earn rewards redeemable through MySpace such as free music downloads, concerts, movie premiere screenings, etc.
The announcement has not been met with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm however. For example, Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb says, "MySpace is a lot of things, and despite Facebook’s formidable attack it remains wildly popular, but an institution of trust and responsibility MySpace is not!"
From the purely financial standpoint as well, the card has had some shortcomings pointed out already. "Noticeably absent from the manifesto is a call to pay off your balance every month, which you’d better do since the card has a starting APR of 14.24% which is high even for a student with limited credit history," explains Josh Smith at Walletpop. "As a comparison, the same Citi FORWARD card without a MySpace logo carries an APR of 12.24% which is still high but a full 2% less than that of the MySpace card."
To be fair, the move isn’t being poorly received by everyone. "This is a no-brainer for MySpace, as all they really need to do is supply their brand and collect referral fees from Citi," says Mashable’s Adam Ostrow who notes that MySpace continues to "run laps" around its competitors in terms of monetization.
Furthermore, the rewards program might provide a little extra spark to MySpace Music, which the social network launched in the later part of last year.
Citi spins the MySpace branding of the card as highlighting social responsibility since you can earn points for "completing socially responsible acts" like donating to food drives, going paperless, switching to energy efficient light bulbs, etc. More details can be found at the card’s official site and its MySpace profile.


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Ever since Fortnite’s mysterious rocket launch, players have been speculating some crazy theories for Season 5. However, there wasn’t much speculation that the game might crossover into our everyday lives. That’s exactly what seems to be happening as someone found the missing Fortnite cheeseburger in the real-life deserts of California.
After the rifts hit the world of Fortnite, players noticed some missing objects from the map. One of these objects was Greasy Grove’s Durr Burger mascot. The loveable burger mascot once sat on top of the Durr Burger restaurant, but since its mysterious disappearance, it has apparently been sitting in the remote California desert sand.
The cheeseburger’s discovery ironically comes from a desert traveler who had no idea what it was. Luckily he took to his twitter (@selashiloni) to figure out what the heck he was looking at.
What…. is this… I’m in the middle of the desert why is this here??? pic.twitter.com/oTMiGc0Wno
— Sela Shiloni (@selashiloni) July 6, 2018
Fortnite fans were immediately able to identify the adorable entree, but of course the realization of what it was only made its existence more mysterious. Did it get transported from the game into our world?
Well, since the burgers discovery tons of fans have stormed its location to see it for themselves. Whats strange is that there have now been reports of mysterious people near the burger handing out notes with a strange phone number on it.
When the number is called all that can be heard is the noise of the rift from Fortnite. This looks to be a very elaborate PR stunt from Fortnite creators, Epic Games. But of course, Epic Games will not give any word on whether or not they are behind all of this madness. Though it seems pretty safe to say they are.
Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see from this Fortnite rift craziness. Who knows what might be discovered next. Of course, if anything is discovered we will be sure to keep you updated on it.


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UK high street chain Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) CEO Steve Rowe has revealed to the company’s shareholders that plans to close 110 stores are ‘not finite.’
At the company’s annual general meeting, Rowe also noted that the retailer’s portfolio of stores was ‘holding it back,’ according to a report by The Independent.
M&S chair Archie Norman added that it is the price that the retailer is now paying for ‘not shutting the stores’ two decades ago.
In its full year results statement, released in May this year, the retailer announced a major overhaul that included plans to close 85 department stores and 25 Simply Food locations.
The store closures are part of plans to meet a cost savings target of at least £350m by 2020/21.
Norman told The Independent: “Somewhere along the line, the organisation we inherited became slow, unaccountable and lost the voice of the stores. If we hear the voice of the stores, we will grow.”
The retailer closed 35 full-line stores in the fiscal year 2018/19 as part of its transformation programme.
M&S also opened 48 new stores and closed 26 full-line stores during the fiscal year in an effort to re-shape its UK store portfolio.
The retailer also expanded the transformation programme, initiated the larger store redevelopment planning and confirmed a joint venture with online supemarket Ocado to unlock profitable growth for M&S Food.


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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Wednesday confirmed 47 more deaths and 1,264 new cases of coronavirus.
To date (May 13), Public Health has identified 34,428 positive cases of COVID-19 and 1,659 deaths across all areas of LA County, including 527 cases and 11 deaths in Palmdale; 438 cases and seven deaths in Lancaster; 29 cases and six deaths in Quartz Hill; 25 cases and two deaths in Lake Los Angeles; 28 cases and no deaths in the Littlerock/Pearblossom, Juniper Hills areas; and eight cases and no deaths in Sun Village. View the latest detailed report here.
County public health director Barbara Ferrer noted that one month ago, the death toll was at 363, meaning roughly 1,300 people have died from COVID-19 in the county since mid-April.
Roughly half of the coronavirus deaths in the county have been among residents of institutional settings, the vast majority of them in skilled nursing facilities.
Of those who died, information about race and ethnicity is available for 1,529 people (99 percent of the cases); 38% of deaths occurred among Latinx residents, 29% among White residents, 18% among Asian residents, 12% among African American residents, 1% among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander residents and 1% among residents identifying with other races.
On Tuesday, Ferrer created a stir when she told the county Board of Supervisors that some form of public health restrictions will likely be in place at least another three months due to the continuing threat of the coronavirus.
The remark quickly made headlines and prompted groans from residents growing weary of business closures, stay-at-home orders and shuttered restaurants and bars.
But Ferrer — who has been candid for weeks about the likelihood that mandates including wearing face coverings and social distancing will remain in effect for months as the “new normal” — issued a statement later Tuesday to clarify her remarks. She did so again Wednesday, saying that while personal protective measures will remain in effect, other restrictions in the order will be loosened in the coming weeks.
“We continue to call our health officer order ‘Safer At Home’ to emphasize that all of us are still more protected when we remain home as much as possible,” she said.
She followed through on the promise that some restrictions will be relaxed, announcing that the revised order allows “all retailers” in the county to reopen for door-side or curbide pickups or deliveries. Stores that are located inside indoor shopping malls still must remain closed, but Ferrer said shops that are located in malls but have exterior entrances can open for outdoor pickups.
Also allowed to open are manufacturing and logistics companies that supply the reopening businesses.
The county on Friday, May 8, allowed selected “low-risk” retail businesses — toy stores, sporting goods stores, clothing stores, music shops and florists — to reopen with curbside pickup only. Car dealers were also permitted to reopen, as long as they adhere to sanitation and social distancing mandates.
“As a reminder, before a retail business or manufacturer or a warehouse opens, they are required to prepare, implement and post their compliance with our directives to demonstrate that they’re adhering to distancing and infection control practices that protect both employees and customers,” Ferrer said.
Those directives mandate face coverings for employees and customers, regular cleaning of “high-touch” surfaces and readily accessibility of hand- washing or sanitation stations.
Ferrer stressed that while more businesses are being allowed to open, full recovery “will be a slow journey.”
“In the last few weeks, we’ve worked together to slow the spread of COVID-19, and this will now be our new foreseeable normal in the future,” Ferrer said. ‘Everywhere we go, we will be taking protections. … This is because COVID-19 as a virus is still relatively easy to transmit, and it can cause, as I’ve noted, serious illness and death. That means that as much as possible, when you can, you ought to stay home. You ought to continue to adhere to the Safer At Home recommendations, stay with your households, there are no events or gatherings that are allowed. We ask that you help us make sure that as we are on our recovery journey, we take our steps together in a way that protects each other.”
An interactive dashboard is available that provides comprehensive information on COVID-19 cases and deaths, along with maps and graphs showing data by city and community. To view Public Health’s COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, visit: http://dashboard.publichealth.lacounty.gov/covid19_surveillance_dashboard/
UPDATE/Editor’s Note: The Lancaster coronavirus death toll was changed from eight to seven “based on further investigation,” according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website.


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Tencent announced a $5M commitment to its PUBG Mobile esports ecosystem,which will see three new leagues formed going into 2020 as part of a global restructuring of its competitive infrastructure.The announcement came on the heels of the Fall Spilt Global Finals that recently ended on December 1.
2019 saw PUBG Mobile (coupled with the Chinese version,peacekeeper Elite) Players spend on average $140M a month on in-game transactions that includes character cosmetics and season passes that allow pl;ayers to buy bulk cosmetics for the most current theme.PUBG Mobile is the first battle royale game to see $1B in revenue since its launch in March of 2018.
According To Newzoo, the mobile games market,which includes titles such as PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile,set to hit the $68B mark by the end of 2019,which accounts for 46% of the global gaming market.
- Tencent has comitted $5M USD to the 2020 PUBG Mobile competitive eco system.
- PUBG Mobile is the first mobile game to surpass $1B in revenue.
- Three pro leagues to be added to the league structure
James Yang,director of PUBG Mobile, took to the stage and announced the detailes for the previously announced Southeast Asia Pro League, and that two additional leagues would be formed for the Americas and South Asia.
Changes to the ecosystem in 2020 will include a qualifier system that could see teams from individual countries make their way to the top league in the structure-known as the world League.
Tencent has spent $148M to buy all the shares of Funcom,according to an IANS report.Earlier,it had bought a 29 percent stake in the gaming company from KGJ capital that made it thelargesr shareholder.According to Polygon,back in 2013,it invested $330 million in Fortnite developer Epic Games taking about 40% of the company.It’s buying spree took in League of Legends developer Riot Games,Paradox,Supercell and Ubisoft.
PUBG Mobile has seen a glorious run in the mobile gaming market,bringing Tencent immense sucess and money. According to a new revenue report,PUBG Mobile saw a surge in its net revenue between February to March in 2019.
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Thursday 27 October 2016
Maserati and Courmayeur to renew partnership for other two years
Maserati Europe's General Manager, Giulio Pastore, and the Mayor of Courmayeur, Fabrizia Derriard, announced the renewal for two more years of the partnership between the Italian brand and the famous Alpine resort, two authentic Italian excellence.
As official automotive partner, Maserati will be present in the heart of the town with the Maserati Lounge that will be inaugurated in the Immaculate Conception holiday at the Jardin de l'Ange in Roma street.
Over the next two years (both in winter and in summer) it will host cultural events and ...


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At least Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) didn't lose as much money as Wall Street had anticipated, but the company doesn't see further market share gains.
In second quarter results released after market close Wednesday, the maker of PC chips posted a net loss of $162 million, or $1.10 a share. First Call's survey of 16 analysts predicted a loss of $1.26 a share for the quarter ended June 27.
Second quarter sales fell 6 percent sequentially, and 13 percent year-over-year, to $595.1 million. AMD had previously warned that sales would fall because of lower unit shipments; the company shipped 3.7 million AMD K-6 processors in the second quarter, down from 4.3 million in the first three months of the year.
In a separate announcement, AMD announced the resignation of S. Atiq Raza as president, chief operating officer and chief technical officer. Raza cited personal reasons for his departure, and said he is talking to AMD about another position with the company.
The average selling price for K-6 chips dropped to $67 from $78 in the first quarter. Non-microprocessor sales gained 16 percent, led by flash memory chips for cell phones.
Intel's push of its Celeron chips for cheap PCs has blunted AMD's previously strong market share momentum, said W.J. Sanders III, CEO and co-founder of AMD. "In the face of Intel's intensifying aggression in the consumer sector of the PC market ... further gains in unit market share or revenue growth are unlikely," he said.
AMD is counting on its Athlon processor, which is reportedly faster than comparable Intel offerings, to boost margins. Athlon began shipping in June. "We are encouraged by early customer reaction," Sanders said.
Shares of AMD gained 15/16 to 18 in Wednesday's trading ahead of the quarterly report. Of 24 analysts surveyed by Zack's Investment Research, 22 rate AMD the equivalent of a "hold", one recommends it as a "strong buy", and one has a "strong sell" rating on the stock.>


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With several controversial traffic-related aspects on hold until the city’s highway corridor study is available, the Peachtree City Planning Commission approved a plan for an 87,000 square-foot shopping center on Ga. Highway 54 West that will be anchored by an unnamed “specialty grocer.”
With that approval, the developer could begin construction of the retail center, but without some items it previously said were essential.
Hot-button traffic elements previously associated with The Overlook shopping center, such as a potential new traffic light on Ga. Highway 54 West and proposed connections to Planterra Way and the MacDuff Crossing shopping center, were not considered as a part of the conceptual site plan approval.
Those elements are mostly in the control of the city anyway, as the Planterra connection would have to cut through city-owned greenbelt and the traffic light requires city input though the final say rests with the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The link to MacDuff Crossing is a bit more challenging as it involves the adjacent Line Creek Nature Area and would require special permission from the Southern Conservation Trust.
Without the traffic matters in play, the commission approved the site plan with 17 conditions including the use of 15-foot wide sidewalks in front of the stores.
The shopping center will be located at the intersection of Ga. Highway 54 and Line Creek Drive.
Jim Lowe of Trinity Development said the company has a tenant for each store including the specialty grocer, which at 28,500 sq. ft. would not have as much impact as a regular-sized grocery store of 150,000 sq. ft.
The site plan includes a 75-foot undisturbed buffer between the shopping center and the adjacent Cardiff Park subdivision, and many of the homes there will have their view of the stores screened. Also included is a wooden fence to further remove the stores’ rear sides from the view of those residents’ backyards, Lowe said.


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World Consulting & Research Corporation (WCRC) is all set to hold Asian Brand and Leadership Summit 2013, in Dubai this August. With this event, the company will also celebrate, Asia’s Most Promising (AMP) brand, a platform that will bring together a constellation of the biggest and most promising brands from India, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In its first year itself, AMP is happy to announce some of India’s most distinguishing brands and their leaders that are projected to be the market leaders of tomorrow in Asia and around the globe. The brands participating at The Asian Brand and Leadership Summit 2013 are from various categories including banking, IT, auto, healthcare, infrastructure, retail, media & entertainment, food & hospitality, lifestyle and others.
Some of the nominated brands from India are Ambuja Cement, Tata Tiscon, Sunflame, Godrej Interiors, Mahindra Finance, Lotus Refineries, Luxor Pens, Godrej Properties, Amby Valley, NIIT Tech, Suzlon Energy Limited, Muthoot Group, DHFL, Dr. Batra’s, Fortis Healthcare, Mankind Pharma Limited, SRL Diagnostics, ITC Lifestyle, Kent RO, Usha International, Jaypee Group, Godrej Appliances, Kajaria, HR Johnson, Somany, Ultra Tech Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement, Mufti, Gitanjali, Fast Trax Food Pvt. Ltd and many more.
The leading names will be selected on intrinsic and extrinsic brand barometers that are – advised and evaluated – by KPMG in India, and validating processes with precision-driven checks and balances at critical junctures of the research methodology that comprises an eminent panel of International Jury members, brand values-driven online voting parameters and in-depth analysis by the ibrands 360 research team. Continue reading Get set to celebrate Asia’s Most Promising Brand in Dubai


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Tag Archives: MWEB
Telkom recently announced price reductions on its ADSL and VDSL products – here’s how the new pricing stacks up against other ISPs’ offerings.
Naspers has released its results for the year ended 31 March 2015, which reveal how much Dimension Data paid for MWEB Business and Optinet Services.
Telkom recently dropped its wholesale ADSL rates, and some of the savings have started to filter down to consumers. Here are the best capped and uncapped ADSL data deals in South Africa.
Telkom’s new 10Mbps ADSL bundle deal means that new and existing customers will pay less for their broadband service.
Telkom has launched a new broadband deal, offering data bundles on ADSL, LTE, and fibre for R699 a month.
South African ADSL ISPs record information about your online activity, and, armed with a subpoena, authorities can request them to intercept a lot of what you do on the Internet.
Telkom has reduced the price of its wholesale ADSL IP Connect service – here is what you can expect from your Internet Service Provider.
The latest ISP statistics reveal how much data uncapped ADSL and VDSL users consume, and who the biggest bandwidth users in South Africa are.
The South African Customer Satisfaction Index ranks wireless and fixed Internet service providers in South Africa.


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How Emojer Leverages ML for Custom Emoji Creation
The exploding popularity of emojis is a curious topic. The natural progression from text-based emoticons of the early 2000s—flashback to : ) or ; ) —to the ? and ? of today has turned into a full-fledged language- and geography-spanning cultural meme. A smiley face is a smiley face, no matter where you live. Hence the debut of “The Emoji Movie” in 2016, Apple’s big marketing push for its Animoji tech, and more.
But why stop at just these predefined emojis? If you spend any time on Twitter, you’re bound to see various complaints of why certain people and objects aren’t represented in the official emoji register.
This is just the problem that the team at Emojer, a recent graduate of the Y Combinator Summer 2018 batch, is looking to solve. Originally from Romania, the four-person startup has, in an effort to democratize the emoji, developed an app that enables users to create emojis out of real pictures. The idea was born out of the founding team’s previous business, a successful online animation platform dubbed Marionette Studio. While working on that idea, they found there were a lot of non-professionals using it as an easy way to animate pictures. Based on customer feedback, they took that feature and spun it out into its own product—Emojer.
Creating a custom emoji may sound somewhat simple, but it actually presents tough technical challenges. For example, the app must be able to quickly identify the various features of a body or separate the main image from its background. One of the tactics the team at Emojer has historically used to solve these issues is machine learning. They moved their ML workloads over to Amazon SageMaker, which has helped them test and iterate more quickly.
“Prior to SageMaker, we were just using custom machines, buying our own GPUs for computing to run and train the model,” says Raluca Apostol, Co-Founder and CPO of Emojer. “While it worked, it was expensive and hard to set up. SageMaker helped us to quickly build our deep learning models and made our process cheaper and easier, enabling us to run multiple tests at the same time.”


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Stealth Products Acquires Xplore Mobility
- By Laurie Watanabe
- Jul 30, 2013
Stealth Products has acquired Xplore Mobility, manufacturer of specialized pediatric seating & mobility equipment, including the stroller-style Dyno and Trak chairs.
Xplore Mobility's product portfolio includes three- and four-wheeled chairs that can be fitted with Activator Dynamic Seating components. The Be wheelchair model passed crash testing, Xplore Mobility has said.
With the acquisition, Xplore President Wayne Hanson, well known in the industry for developing a large range of pediatric mobility products, joins Stealth.
Stealth Products' CEO Lorenzo Romero said in announcing the new deal, "Teaming up with a designer of Wayne Hanson's caliber provides Stealth with a new vision of where we can take our pediatric product portfolio moving forward."
About the Author
Laurie Watanabe is the editor of Mobility Management. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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The TD Saturday Market is returning for a special holiday edition on Saturday, December 14 from 10 AM – 2 PM. The Holiday Edition will feature 54 vendors spanning from McBee Avenue to Broad Street. Market-goers can enjoy shopping for seasonal produce, artisan crafts, and holiday basket and gift sets.
For more information about participating vendors, please visit our website at saturdaymarketlive.com .
Upstate News Headlines
- Weekend Things to Do: Greenville South Carolina
- FBI vetting National Guard troops in DC amid fears of insider attack at inauguration
- Gov. McMaster visiting Spartanburg Medical Center Monday
- President-elect Biden to nominate Gensler for SEC commissioner, Chopra to lead Protection Bureau, according to CNN
- How President-elect Biden's Peloton bike could impact White House security
- Buffalo Bills fans make major contribution to Lamar Jackson's favorite charity
- Oscar Mayer hiring team to drive its Wienermobile across the US
- Videocast: Warming Up This Week
- FBI Investigating Home in Easley
- Predicting how successful Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence could be for the Jaguars
- 'Little old West Virginia' sets pace on vaccine rollout


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Mic Mann, the founding father of the metaverse platform Africarare, has acknowledged that there’s nonetheless plenty of curiosity within the expertise in South Africa.
Corporations and people in South Africa are nonetheless embracing the metaverse in South Africa. This was mentioned by Mic Mann, founding father of Africarare which created the Ubuntuland metaverse, on the ongoing Africa Tech Pageant in Cape City, South Africa. The metaverse is outlined as a three-dimensional and immersive digital world that’s facilitated by means of digital actuality and augmented actuality headsets.
In 2022, the Ubuntuland metaverse onboarded a few of South Africa’s main firms together with MTN
and Nedbank as they scrambled to affix the then-hyped digital actuality expertise. In keeping with Mann, though the noise on the metaverse has quieted down, the Ubuntuland platform continues to be attracting curiosity. “We now have firms like Primedia, one in every of South Africa’s main media firms, constructing out their villages on the platform“, Mann informed the panel. “This exhibits that firms are nonetheless cognisant of the engaging use circumstances of the platform.”
MTN acknowledged that they had purchased land on the platform to “amplify client’s digital experiences and engagement.” Nedbank alternatively mentioned they joined the Ubuntuland metaverse to “allow Nedbank to interact sooner or later digital marketplaces, the place we consider, we might want to meet and serve our purchasers.” Each firms purchased 144 plots of measurement 12x12m land on the Ubuntuland metaverse for 0.1499 Ethereum (~$2,045) per plot.
The way forward for the metaverse of South Africa
In keeping with Mann, the adoption of gadgets equivalent to Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional goes to drive platforms just like the metaverse as digital actuality turns into mainstream. “We’re presently focusing extra on constructing out our immersive cellular expertise, Mann mentioned. “However the pleasure in direction of gadgets like Imaginative and prescient Professional and AI exhibits a promising future for the adoption of digital actuality applied sciences just like the metaverse.”
Responding to a query from TechCabal on how Africarare is driving the adoption of the metaverse, which continues to be a international idea to most non-technical folks Mann acknowledged a number of initiatives. These embody a free course on constructing merchandise on Ubuntuland, open-source software program which supplies extra builders alternatives to construct on the platform, and placing out content material which simplifies ideas of the metaverse.


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Kroger-owned grocery chain Quality Food Centers will close two stores in Seattle subsequent month due partly to a brand new regulation requiring “hazard pay” forwho’ve continued to work throughout the .
Two QFC stores will shut down on April 24, a choice “accelerated by a new Seattle city council mandate that requires certain employers to provide extra pay for some, but not all, city frontline workers,” QFC mentioned Tuesday in a statement.
The resolution drew a rebuke from one member of the council, which unanimously authorized the regulation ordering bigger grocery chains to quickly enhance employee pay by $4 an hour.
“Grocery workers have had to cover emergency shifts, pick up extra responsibilities and are five times more likely to contract COVID,” Teresa Mosqueda, a member of Seattle’s metropolis council, mentioned in an announcement. “These workers should not be pawns in a game of chess,”
The regulation, which took impact final week, is drawing authorized challenges from the Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Food Industry Association. An identical authorized battle is enjoying out in California, the place the California Grocers Association is difficult hazard-pay ordinances in Oakland, Montebello and Long Beach.
The United Food and Commercial Workers native union known as Kroger’s plan to close the two QFC stores “a transparent attempt to intimidate other local governments from passing ordinances that would provide hazard pay to front line grocery store workers.”
Taking a distinct tack, Trader Joe’s responded to a flurry of ordinances by quickly upping pay by $4 an hour for its workers nationwide however cancelling its conventional midyear raises. Similarly, PCC Community Markets additionally extended the non permanent $4 an hour wage hike to all of its almost 1,500 workers in its 15 places, past the eight Seattle stores impacted by the mandate.
Kroger earlier this month mentioned it might additionally, California, after town authorized a hazard pay ordinance that the grocery chain known as “misguided.”
Decision to finish “hero pay”
Kroger final spring ended what it known as “hero pay,” a $2 an hour bonus the company briefly provided to its more than 500,000 workers beginning in April 2020. Instead, the company switched to paying $130 million in bonuses, with full-time workers getting $400 and part-timers receiving $200.
Kroger has notched report earnings throughout the pandemic as more Americans have opted to keep at house, boosting meals and different grocery gross sales. The company recorded more than $2.9 billion in working earnings by way of the third quarter of 2020, taking in an additional $1.2 billion in earnings in contrast with a year in the past.
Kroger is redirecting a few of that money to buyers, with a $1 billion stock repurchase introduced in September. On February 5, the company introduced a $147 million dividend fee and mentioned it expects to improve its dividend over time.


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Connected device cloud bursts for Brightcove dual-screen Apple TV solution
Aiming to make sure that, media publishers can capitalise on the growing consumer trend of using mobile devices while watching TV, Brightcove has launched the App Cloud Dual Screen Solution for Apple TV.
Essentially the application is designed to allow media owners to develop rich content apps for the iPhone and iPad that simultaneously control content, data and information presented on an HDTV while displaying synchronised content on the iPad or iPhone.
Using Apple’s AirPlay technology, the app also allows viewers to use applications that simultaneously present content, interactive options and data on both the touch device and an Apple TV.
Attempting to offer a rationale for launching the product, Brightcove notes that a US survey of more than 2,000 Web-enabled smartphone users conducted by Razorfish and Yahoo! found that four-fifths of respondents were mobile multitasking while watching TV.
Accordingly, Brightcove believes that it customers can leverage this trend by offering enhanced viewing experiences such as the ability to stream programs to an HDTV while enjoying relevant content on the app such as actor bios, past-season recaps, trivia, photos, and more.
“The App Cloud Dual-Screen Solution for Apple TV opens the door to a new kind of content experience for the connected consumer that blends the rich contextual information that fans crave with HD television viewing,” explained Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove chairman and chief executive officer. “App Cloud is transforming the iPad and iPhone app experience by marrying rich contextual content for mobile devices with online video viewing on the living room television.”


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Today’s enterprise is falling victim to unrelenting attacks that target physical and logical infrastructures, mobile platforms, user identities, network devices and more. To help defend against malicious assaults on corporate data and identities, organizations must look to an intelligent platform approach that provides proven security technology, Which helps simplify management efforts, enable seamless technology advances and ensures the company’s security measures can evolve as requirements of the organization change over time.
Organizations should deploy proven strong authentication to help manage identities and ensure those identities are properly authenticated, Highly publicized identity breaches, combined with ongoing identity attacks like phishing, man-in-the-browser (MITB) and other malware, have caused some of the world’s largest enterprises, banks and Financial Institutes to not only lose millions of dollars from illegal transactions and law suits, but also customer trust.
With a dramatic rise in the number of malicious malware-based fraud attacks, Financial Institutes are under more pressure than ever. Mounting regulatory pressure to improve the security and privacy of online transactions and customer data has national and global banks finding themselves sever need for continuous Compliance
Mobile devices empower customers to secure online transactions and defeat malicious fraud attacks that highjack accounts. Embrace the promise of safe, convenient and always-in-hand solutions to secure identities and transactions across various environments. Reduce business risk and introduce new, innovative transactional services that improve the customer experience. It’s a true differentiator in an already competitive marketplace.


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Oracle Corp. faces mounting obstacles in its bid for enterprise application software rival PeopleSoft Inc. as more agencies look into the proposed hostile takeover and as PeopleSoft ratchets up its legal defense.
Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched antitrust investigations that come on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice’s continuing inquiry and an effort by 30 states to contact customers and industry analysts.
The European Commission, a regulatory body for the European Union, is also studying the proposed deal, Oracle officials confirmed. Like the other agencies, Canada’s Competition Bureau is examining, among other things, market share and competition of the two companies; barriers to market entry, including economic or regulatory barriers; competitive products; and whatever competition will remain after a successful merger. Interviewing customers will be a major part of the reviews.
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The Windows Phone 8 has now officially been launched, and it is packed with a host of exciting features. It has been designed as a separate OS, although it does have its similarities with Windows 8, making it easier to sync and share information between multiple devices. Although Microsoft takes up just about 3.7% of the smartphone market, the firm is betting on Windows Phone to turn things around.
Even though it doesn’t have as many apps on offer as the more established Android and iOS counterparts, the company is banking on its numerous developers to fill up the app store at a rapid pace. According to Microsoft, 46 of the top 50 smartphone apps are already available on Windows Phone 8, including Pandora, Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, etc.
What’s even more encouraging is that Microsoft has a number of phone makers, including Samsung, HTC, and Nokia manufacturing Windows Phone 8 based devices. One of the key advantages Microsoft has is the ability to integrate its smartphones with PCs and tablets running on Windows 8. Analysts have predicted that this feature could lend a huge push to Microsoft’s growth in the smartphone market, as none of the other smartphones can offer such high levels of integration.
With a strong and unique design, the only thing Microsoft needs to focus on it building up its repertoire of apps for the Windows Phone 8 to become successful in the market. Let’s hope we see more Windows phones in people’s hands soon!


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SAVE $25: Walmart has the 2020 iPhone SE (64GB) on sale for $374 as of March 9. That's about 6% off its suggested retail price of $399.
On the hunt for the cheapest iPhone? That title still belongs to the 2020 iPhone SE, which preceded (and looks almost identical to) the new model Apple unveiled at its "Peek Performance" keynote event Tuesday.
In fact, it's even cheaper than usual in the wake of that announcement. As of March 9, you could get an unlocked 2020 iPhone SE with 64GB of storage on sale at Walmart for just $374. (This only applies to the black version, FYI — the red and white ones are both at least full price.) That's $25 off its $399 MSRP and $55 less than what Apple's charging for the 2022 base model when preorders start Friday, for those of you keeping track at home.
This is easily the best 2020 iPhone SE deal around, considering AT&T and T-Mobile's supplies are completely sold out and Verizon's stock was on backorder until early April. Amazon at least had some 2020 iPhone SEs available for purchase, but they were all stuck at full price and required a Cricket Wireless plan.
The only way to get a 2020 iPhone SE for even cheaper is by going the pre-owned route: Best Buy had a used 2020 iPhone SE listed for just $349.99 (or $50 off) at the time of writing, but keep in mind that it comes with a super short 90-day warranty.
Now, for the question of the week: What's the biggest difference between the 2020 and 2022 iPhone SEs (aside from their prices)? That distinction goes to their processors: The 2022 SE packs an A15 Bionic chip for faster performance, extra camera features, and two more hours of video playback compared to the 2020 version's A13 Bionic chip. The 2022 model also offers 5G support, provided you can find a network.
Otherwise, both SEs keep the Home button and the same 4.7-inch Retina HD display — they even come in the same colors (albeit with different names). Truthfully, you probably wouldn't notice a difference unless you turned them on or took them apart.


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Although Amazon has brought about a considerable degree of success for itself with its Kindle e-reader devices and recent Kindle Fire tablet computer, that market success has not been free of complications. The company revealed that it had been subjected to a number of different intellectual property lawsuits regarding the devices, most recently by the companies SmartPhone Technologies and LVL Patent Group.
According to BBC News, a recent Amazon filing confirms that since January 2011, the company has been accused of infringing on 30 different patents for tablet computer accessories and related technologies, in lawsuits filed by 11 companies. Two of the patent infringement claims have been dismissed, while the others remain active as of the end of October 2011.
The news source reports that this is a significant increase from the amount of intellectual property theft claims filed in 2010. During that year, three companies filed lawsuits over four patents – Amazon settled one and is still engaged in litigation with the rest. It is speculated that more claims are likely to come as the Kindle remains in the market.
ZDNet reported in early October that the first suit against the Kindle Fire was filed before the device had become commercially available.


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THE local arm of a company known on Australian TV for selling acne treatments and cosmetics backed by models such as Cindy Crawford has run into financial strife.
Guthy Renker Australia (GRA), the local subsidiary of the US-based marketing giant, generated a net loss of $15 million last year.
The big loss, its second consecutively, has cast doubts over the future of the Australian business, which is best known for its late-night infomercials on free-to-air television.
Apart from Crawford's "Meaningful Beauty" range of skin cleansers and eye creams, GRA also markets popular US acne treatment Proactiv and cosmetics backed by former TV soapie star Victoria Principal.
The reliance on celebrity marketing boosted sales by more than $22 million last year, but this was offset by a surge in general costs such as advertising and $7.4 million in foreign currency losses.
This has placed severe pressure on the balance sheet of the Australian arm.
When the company balanced its books on December 28 it had a net asset deficiency of more than $17.8 million.
This means that the liabilities of the local business exceed its assets.
Guthy Renker Australia is continuing to trade because of support provided by its US shareholders Guthy Renker LLC and Global Synergy International.
Both shareholders have relaxed the repayment conditions on loans made to the local arm.
The Australian business had borrowings of almost $8 million at the end of December, most of which is due to be repaid to GSI by the end of this year.
"The ability of the (Australian) group to continue as a going concern is dependent upon the ongoing support of its shareholders and its ability to assume profitable operations," the local company revealed in accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
"The entities Guthy Renker LLC and Global Synergy International LLC have agreed not to demand repayment of any amounts due to them until such time as Guthy Renker Australia Pty Ltd is able to meet all other liabilities and commitments."
US-based Guthy Renker LLC has also agreed to guarantee all expenses incurred by the local arm until the end of April next year should the subsidiary be unable to meet its financial obligations.
Last night the company had not responded to a request for comment from BusinessDaily.
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Snowflake has launched a cloud-based data-sharing platform for the healthcare industry that integrates the company’s core data warehousing, analytics and business intelligence offerings with a data marketplace and on-demand consulting services.
The Healthcare & Life Sciences Data Cloud platform was developed in response to the growing burden on the healthcare sector worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic. The SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) offering is a fusion of Snowflake’s core applications and third-party services.
As part of the new cloud service, Snowflake offers machine learning and other applications from technology partners including Alation, Dataiku, Amazon Web Services (AWS), H20.ai, ThoughtSpot, Health Catalyst, Strata and IQVIA.
The integration between the software and other components of the platform aims to reduce the time it takes healthcare companies to implement applications and bring new services to market.
According to Todd Crosslin, head of Health and Life Sciences at Snowflake, the applications help companies access big data at scale for critical processes and business insights within their organization and in collaboration with industry partners.
Health platform offers data marketplace
For its data market, Snowflake has attracted companies such as Compile, Equifax, Invaitae, IQVIA, Precision X and SameSky Health. The marketplace was designed to allow businesses to securely share critical data sets, eliminating the need for traditional data sharing methods that require data copying and moving.
“For example, IQVIA aggregates data from around the world and then markets and sells that data to global pharmaceutical companies,” Crosslin said.
“But now they have made the same data available through the Snowflake Data Marketplace as 20 out of 30 leading global pharmaceutical companies are on Snowflake. These pharmaceutical companies can now access this live data from IQVIA via Marketplace instead of copying it.”
On the consulting side, Snowflake has partnered with consulting firms and systems integrators such as Cognizant, Deloitte, Infosys, NTT DATA, phData and SDG.
Companies can consult with these partners to accelerate their transformation journeys or shorten their time to a critical minimum viable product, Crosslin said, adding that there are several ways to hire systems integrators or consulting firms.
Bundling Snowflake’s core services along with third-party products and services has been one of the company’s most recent growth initiatives.
“Data exchange and data marketplace offerings became a major new push and market opportunity for Snowflake in 2021. These offerings promise to push the company even further beyond the boundaries of data warehousing and analytics,” said Doug Henschen, senior analyst at Constellation Research.
This isn’t Snowflake’s first industry-specific cloud platform. The company had previously entered the financial services and media industries.
Industry-specific clouds simplify partnerships
“The promise in Snowflake’s industry-specific cloud and associated sharing and marketplace capabilities removes friction from innovation-enabling and value-added partnerships. Snowflake’s interest is in charging fees for facilitating these transactions, and it’s gaining resilience by being the platform standard for users of these industry-specific clouds,” Henschen said, adding that Snowflake needs to continue adding partners in order to achieve its try to be successful.
However, he warned that data marketplaces and data sharing are not new trends and that there have been failed attempts by well-known providers in the past. “Today, among others, AWS and Microsoft Azure have data exchanges, but I don’t hear much about them.”
But Crosslin believes that regulatory compliance requirements, coupled with the consolidation trend in the healthcare industry, will increase the success of its new cloud data platform.
“While companies are still warming to the idea of data sharing in healthcare, we’re seeing a growing trend. Sharing data is no longer a one-way street and our compliance with regulatory standards like HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] Make sure customers using Snowflake can easily share data with each other,” said Crosslin.