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Brazil is struggling on both the humanitarian and the financial frontы. As a result, Brazilian real is weakening
Greenback goes down, as trade fears flare up
On Monday, the evergreen buck declined versus its counterparts on worries of an escalation in the US-China trade conflict, while a stronger UK currency and euro also put pressure on market sentiment.
Tracking the greenback’s purchasing potential versus its main rivals the USD index went down by about 0.46% being worth 94.07.
American leader was generally anticipated to announce another 10% duties on $200 billion in China’s products, although some told that the administration decision to decrease levies had tame worries of a full-fledged trade conflict.
The fresh 10% duties are below an original reading of 25% imposed by the presidential administration earlier. Another round of duties shows up a week ahead of another round of trade negotiations between American and China. The Asian country pledged to come up with countermeasures if American proceeds with its initiative to impose levies.
The currency pair AUD/JPY managed to ascend by up to 0.36% being worth 80.45. At the same time USD/JPY dipped by about 0.07% trading at Y111.97.
Australia’s economy relies mostly on exporting raw materials, especially to China that accounts for nearly a third of Australian exports annually.
Market participants are still edge in the face of further trade clashes after Trump promised further levies on trade partners who are unable to make fair deals.
A stronger UK currency also kept the evergreen buck in the red because market participants appreciated reports of upbeat remarks on Brexit from the European Council.
The currency pair GBP/USD jumped by up to 0.60% trading at $1.3149.
The currency pair EUR/USD added by 0.59% showing $1.1691 in the face of in-line consumer inflation data as well as optimism Italy is going to deliver a budget within the EU guidelines.
The currency pair USD/CAD went down by 0.08%.
USD/CHF and EUR/CHF rose to tactical highs. What's next?
During the daily press briefing of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, it was announced that Mexico will receive 1.4 million doses of the vaccine by the end of January. Is that optimistic enough for the peso?
In this article, you'll find the list of the hottest stocks to trade on April 19-23, which will publish their earnings!
While Citigroup reports better-than-expected quarterly data, it is also aims at restructuring its global presence. What will be the impact?
What's moving markets on Friday? What is the hottest news? Let's find out!


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The fast food giant’s latest dining concept may just have us reconsidering that self-imposed chain pizzeria embargo.
Watch what happens when the Oculus Rift headset and the Leap Motion 3-D gesture controller are combined to help kids learn the periodic table.
So what can you actually use Google Glass for? How about launching a rocket? Chaotic Moon packed one full of sensors and a GoPro camera, then used Google Glass to launch it.
CEO Ben Lamm can guess where tomorrow’s Nest is hiding and pick them up for a lot less than $3.2 billion.
At Chaotic Moon Studios, an Austin, Texas, mobile software firm, developers and engineers are working on a competitive product to Google’s upcoming Google Glass – eyewear that can log onto the internet. And they’re designing other wearable projects for several other customers, from applications to full-blown products.

domain: news


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SEOUL, March 19 (Korea Bizwire) – Shares of Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. plunged Monday as the U.S. probe into airbag-related accidents raised worries over potential recall costs for the carmakers.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Hyundai Motor Group are jointly looking into why the two carmakers’ airbags failed to deploy in Hyundai Sonata sedans and some Kia Forte compacts that were involved in six crashes. The incidents have led to four people being killed and six injured, a Hyundai spokesman said over the phone.
Some 425,000 Sonatas made in 2011 and Fortes made from 2012-2013 are subject to the investigation by the U.S. regulator, the company said.
On Monday, Hyundai Motor shares fell 3.81 percent to 151,500 won and Kia Motors declined 3.53 percent to 31,400 won, both under-performing the broader KOSPI’s 0.76 percent loss. Its affiliate Hyundai Mobis Co. was down 2.38 percent at 226,000 won.
As airbag suppliers are different for the Sonata sedan sold in the U.S. and South Korea and the kinds of airbags are different for the Forte compact sold in the two markets, there have been no reported cases of airbag problems for Sonatas and Fortes sold in Korea and other markets, the spokesman said.
The probe on the airbags in the two models may weigh on the carmaker’s stock prices going forward at a time when they badly need to boost sales in the world’s most important automobile market by launching new and upgraded models this year.
Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world’s fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, sold a total of 163,637 vehicles in the U.S. in the January-February period, down 8 percent from 177,826 units a year earlier.


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Have you got a Pebble smartwatch? According to a recent chatroom we posted, it turns out quite a few of you do. If you fall into that gang of e-ink timepiece owners; good news! Your Pebble watch can now tap into the growing number of Android Wear apps that are available.
Beginning life as a beta feature back in December, it's now available to all Pebble users, and even has some advantages over dedicated Android Wear watches. It's able to pair up with Android smartphones right back to version 4.0, whereas Android Wear timepieces require the partner device be on Android 4.3.
Even as far-and-away the most popular of all smartwatches, the Pebble's got a tough time ahead of it, with the Apple Watch launch coming in April and increasingly mature-looking Android Wear devices becoming available. Still, a focus on broadening its app eco-system won't hurt, and with lowly battery life reported in pretty much all the other smartwatches, there's still lots of fight left in the Pebble.


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Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's chief technology officer, will take a yearlong sabbatical to pursue his own scientific research and travel, the company announced today.
Microsoft made the announcement after several news organizations, including Time magazine, reported that Mr. Myhrvold was leaving after a falling out with Microsoft's president, Steven A. Ballmer.
Microsoft executives, however, said that the reports were inaccurate and that Microsoft's co-founder and chairman, William H. Gates, said in a statement that he was looking forward to Mr. Myhrvold's return.
Mr. Myhrvold, who was the founder of Microsoft's research division, joined the company in 1986 as director of special projects.
He became a Microsoft executive after the software company acquired Dynamical Systems Research, a software company he had founded with his brother, Cameron Myhrvold, who also became a Microsoft executive.
In 1991, Mr. Myhrvold founded Microsoft Research, and expanded the effort with laboratories in England and China. Before becoming chief technology officer in 1996, he was group vice president in the company's applications and content group and was a key contributor to Microsoft's early on-line and consumer efforts.


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The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021, published last week, revealed that 39% of all businesses have been impacted by a cyber-attack or breach this year.
The survey, commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has been analysing the risk of cyber attacks across the UK economy since 2016.
In order to reach their findings, DCMS conducted a random probability telephone survey of 1,419 UK businesses between October 2020 and January 2021, which was then supported by 32 in-depth interviews.
Among the headline findings was the detrimental effect the Covid pandemic has had on businesses’ cyber safeguards.
With the necessity of home working, many existing security arrangements have become obsolete and stretched resources have led to cyber security being deprioritised. These trends are reflected in the survey’s findings: the proportion of businesses reporting up-to-date malware protection has fallen by 5% to 83% and the percentage of businesses with network firewalls has also dropped from 83% to 78%.
While an unprecedented year may have moved focus from cyber defence plans, their importance has certainly not waned.
Of the 39% of businesses to suffer security breaches, 27% reported being attacked at least once a week, with 23% requiring new measures to prevent future attacks. As well as the possibility of confidential information being compromised, the average annual cost of these attacks was £8,460, rising to £13,400 among medium and large businesses.
The survey also analysed the frequency of different types of cyber attacks.
Among those affected by security breaches, 83% reported a phishing attack, 27% were impersonated online and 13% received malware, including ransomware. While rarer, non-phishing attacks were found to have a far greater impact on the businesses affected.
While the average cyber attack may not cause irreparable damage, the most sophisticated can bring hugely successful companies to their knees, severely impacting their reputation going forward – one need look no further than the SolarWinds hack of December 2020 for a particularly stark example.
With the vast majority of business now storing information digitally, having an effective cyber security arrangement is perhaps the most important part of protecting the reputation of a business. Despite this threat, however, only 34% of surveyed businesses reported undertaking a cyber risk assessment and only 35% reported using security monitoring tools. Without a sustained focus on security, businesses are risking a potentially catastrophic breach.
This point was underlined by Rory Lynch, Senior Associate in the Reputation & Privacy team at Vardags, who commented: “For a 21st century business, an effective cyber security plan is utterly essential. With potential hacks a constant threat, proactive measures need to be taken. From security audits to the constant updating of firewalls and malware protection, a robust defence can prevent your reputation from ending up in tatters. While, understandably, cyber security may not be everyone’s priority during the pandemic, ignore it at your peril – a stitch in time can save nine.”
As well as responding swiftly to any breaches, our Reputation & Privacy team regularly undertake proactive reputation health checks, spotting any weaknesses or gaps before problems arise. Click this link to find out more.


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Food for thought: Havering eateries scored
DISCERNING diners can discover how hygienic their favourite eateries are - with their phones - under a new scheme launched this week.
Using a clever new app, available to those with iphones, people can simply point their handsets at an eatery to discover its star-rating.
The technology is part of Havering Council’s Scores on The Doors scheme, where every food premises in the borough is a given a hygiene rating from no stars to five stars.
Those without the app can simply check scores online by visiting: www.havering.gov.uk and www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk
There are around 1,500 food outlets in the borough and the project aims to give consumers a more informed choice while encouraging businesses to improve standards.
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Cllr Lesley Kelly, cabinet member for public protection, said: “This scheme is a good thing for consumers and businesses. It gives consumers a more informed choice about where to eat and premises with the highest hygiene ratings will be able to advertise the fact which will be good for business.”
The scheme uses information that the council already gathers during routine inspections.
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Following an inspection, a certificate and sticker is sent to the food business so they can advertise their hygiene rating.
The Re:creation Caf� at the Salvation Army centre in Romford High Street is one of 56 premises with a five-star hygiene rating.
Major Sarah Evans said: “We are delighted to hear that the Re:creation cafe has been recognised by Havering Council.
“It is staffed entirely by volunteers, and the manager, Fiona Starling, and her team are to be congratulated. Since it first opened two years ago the cafe has attracted a loyal clientele who love the excellent fare on offer, and we hope that the five-star hygiene rating will attract yet more customers to enjoy the home-baked food.”


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Moonpig removing cards featuring Pugs and French Bulldogs after PETA say they promote breathing impaired dogs
and live on Freeview channel 276
In response to concerns raised by animal rights group PETA, Moonpig has said it is in the process of removing cards featuring Pugs and French Bulldogs from its site. The card seller will also not be producing any cards featuring the breathing impaired dog breeds in the future.
Last year, a study by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) concluded “urgent action” is needed as many health issues of pugs are associated with their extreme body shape.” The report stated that the health of pugs in the UK is now substantially different and largely worse than other breeds, and that they are almost twice as likely to experience one or more disorders annually compared with other dogs.
RVC concluded the pug can “no longer be considered a typical dog from a health perspective”. Peta said the dogs are bred for a particular look, resulting in shortened airways that cause an array of symptoms, including laboured breathing, snorting, gagging, and collapsing.
Peta director of corporate projects Yvonne Taylor said: "By banning images of pugs and French bulldogs, Moonpig is acting responsibly and helping put an end to the promotion of dog breeds with painful, life-threatening deformities. Peta is celebrating this compassionate first step and will keep working with Moonpig to extend this new policy to all breathing-impaired breeds, including Boston terriers, boxers, and shih tzus.”
In 2019, Moonpig pledged to stop selling cards depicting "captive great apes in unnatural situations", following a similar intervention by Peta.


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ANZAC APPEAL HITS RECORD HIGH
After spending the 2020 ANZAC Appeal at home, our volunteers were so happy to back out selling badges to the public. Lead by our Appeals Coordinator, Peter Kerley, the army of Volunteers set up at all major shopping centres across the municipality, as well as Bunnings and Frankston Train Station.
This year saw the use of EFTPOS at selling stations, that helped contribute over $22,000 to the total raised.
The money raised will go straight to helping Veterans inn our community and on behalf of everyone involved, we say a huge thank you for setting a new Sub-Branch Record of


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Only 44 percent of Fortune 50 companies display social media icons on their homepages.
Ochman has looked for these links on Fortune 50 homepages and trumpeted the shortfalls for three years in a row, so it seems odd that these brands haven’t gotten the message. She does a clever job of calling out these companies’ marketing naivete:
Are companies still unsure how stockholders feel about social media? Are IT, marketing, PR, sales, legal and — of course — the bean counters and whomever else still fighting for control of emerging media. You bet they are!
I can agree that many of these old-time financial and corporate sites have earned some Google-juice over the years, but that’s no excuse for not creating new, blended home pages to represent the company to its stakeholders. It’s time to accept the fact that any and all information that would appear on a company’s investor relations site is freely available in Google and other search engines’ financial pages.
We continue to see examples of how social media affects all of the departments Ochman mentions, and not just at Fortune 50 companies. Of course, many top brands have splashpages before their main homepages appear, but we’re going to presume that the discussion of shortfalls in Facebook links refers to the pages that show up after the splash. If you disagree with that assumption, please let us know in the comments section.
While we’re at it, readers, what do you make of the fact that only 44 percent of Fortune 50 companies prominently display links to social media on their respective homepages?


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| 72% of German businesses are set to continue to pursue their investment schemes in Vietnam
The results from the annual Global German Business Confidence Survey were published by the Delegate of the German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam (GIC/AHK Vietnam).
GIC/AHK Vietnam distributed the survey among German investors and businesses based in the country from a range of different sectors, including industry-construction, making up 41%, services 50%, and commerce 36% of the total.
The remainder of the year is expected to pose challenges for the global economy due to the wide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks and its unpredictable nature.
Although the Vietnamese government promptly responded to prevent the spread of the virus, its impact on all socio-economic life, as well as on the investment climate of German businesses, has still been felt.
Indeed, the survey reveals that 43% of German businesses feel that the COVID-19 has impacted on the development of the Vietnamese economy in spite of impressive annual growth and a range of strengths.
One out of five respondents affirmed their belief that the country will be able to revive the economy and continue its forward development momentum in the medium term.
In response to the global spread of the epidemic, the government of Vietnam has been implementing bailout packages aimed at helping businesses get through the ongoing crisis.
With bailout packages set to be provided for enterprises swiftly, many respondents expect the economy to bounce back soon and continue to record growth in the near future.
Elsewhere, 14% of German businesses believe that their business performance this year will be worse than the figures posted last year. Slightly more optimistic were 59% of respondents, who expect to match 2019’s performance.
Despite this, only 27% of German firms are optimistic about 2020’s business development in comparison to that of 2019, with the index showing that 77% were optimistic when asked last year.
Compared with the average indicators assessed by German businesses and investors in Southeast Asia, the country’s indicators remain higher, outlining the optimism that German enterprises have about their future development in the nation.
9% of businesses estimate revenue will fall by over 50%
One notable aspect of this year’s survey is that the majority of German firms are significantly lowering their financial goals.
According to the results, 82% of them have seen simultaneous reductions to their sales due to the COVID-19, with 9% confirming that their revenue is set to drop by over 50% and more than 63% stating that their revenue will decline by between 10% and 50%.
The majority of German firms based in the country are already beginning to feel and experience the effects of the disease on their businesses with 86% of firms noting that temporary travel restrictions have greatly affected their situation. A total of 59% of respondents indicated that the disease has disrupted their supply chains.
Moreover, 55% of German enterprises have faced cancelations, with 50% of them being forced to indefinitely postpone their new investment plans as a result of the epidemic escalating.
High hopes on EVFTA
A positive feature of the survey was 72% of firms stating their intentions to continue their investment schemes in the country, with 27% of them drawing up plans to recruit more people to their workforce.
This shows the superb efforts being put in to improve the investment environment by the Vietnamese government, in addition to the positive effects of free trade agreements, especially the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
When the EVFTA comes into full force it is expected to serve as a lever to help the country’s economy rebound and return to its current growth rate, therefore attracting more major investors from Europe and Germany in both the medium and long term.
Market demand and economic policy are seen as the main challenges for the further development of German enterprises when operating in the nation moving forward.
According to the survey results, 68% of German firms believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will drastically reduce market demand, thereby leading to great losses for them in their Vietnamese investments.
The survey reveals that 59% of them think that the country’s economic policy will pose a challenge to their business development plans over the next 12 months.
Matters regarding finance, infrastructure, and a shortage of high-skilled workers also remain causes for concern among German businesses in the medium term.


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0-62 mph in the Hyperion XP-1 takes less than 2.2 seconds.
Last month, California-based startup company Hyperion teased the XP-1, a revolutionary hydrogen-powered supercar. After nearly ten years of development, testing, and research, the Hyperion XP-1 has been revealed for the first time in prototype form.
While modern electric supercars like the Lotus Evija, Rimac C_Two, and Pininfarina Battista offer electric driving ranges of a few hundred miles, Hyperion aims to make range anxiety a thing of the past, since the XP-1 boasts an impressive 1,000-mile range, making it suitable for long-distance journeys. That's twice as much range as the electric Lucid Air luxury sedan that debuted this week with an EPA-rated 500-mile range.
And when you do run out of juice, the XP-1 can be recharged in less than five minutes thanks to the car's hydrogen storage technology. Electric energy is stored in fuel cell systems instead of heavy lithium batteries, making it lighter than traditional electric cars while offering shorter charge times and no battery degradation.
"The XP-1 was partially designed to function as an educational tool for the masses. Aerospace engineers have long understood the advantages of hydrogen as the most abundant, lightest element in the universe and now, with this vehicle, consumers will experience its extraordinary value proposition," said Angelo Kafantaris, CEO and founding member of Hyperion Motors.
"This is only the beginning of what can be achieved with hydrogen as an energy storage medium. The potential of this fuel is limitless and will revolutionize the energy sector."
The XP-1's hydrogen fuel cell sends electric power to all four wheels through powerful motors and a three-speed transmission. Thanks to its instant power delivery and lightweight construction, the XP-1 will accelerate from 0-62 mph in less than 2.2 seconds. Hyperion also claims the XP-1 offers better acceleration, braking, handling, and powertrain efficiency due to the lack of heavy batteries. And since the hydrogen storage system doesn't get affected by extreme temperatures, the XP-1 will "reliably provide peak performance over extended driving sessions."
Under the XP-1's skin is a carbon-titanium monocoque chassis with titanium-reinforced composting bodywork, which brings the curb weight down to less than 2,275 pounds. Active aero elements located behind the doors not only look dramatic, but also improve cornering at high speeds and serve as solar panels that can change position to follow the trajectory of the sun.
To develop the XP-1, Hyperion has enlisted some of the world's leading aeronautical engineering firms, and space agencies, including NASA. While the XP-1 is still a prototype, Hyperion plans to put the hydrogen-powered supercar into production in 2022. Only 300 examples will be built in the US, but pricing has not been announced yet. Customer deliveries will begin in early 2022.


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TOP 6 MOBILE ACQUISITIONS
On June 29, 2007, Steve Jobs presented the iPhone to the world. The release of this advanced device completely changed the way we go mobile. Yes, smartphones existed before this time, but the era of “real” smartphones began on that day. This summer marks 7 years since the iPhone release and since then the word mobile has completely evolved. The majority of all human population uses their mobile phones throughout daily life, work, entertainment and everything in between.
What I really want to talk about is how mobile has transformed major tech companies, specifically companies with expertise in the mobile field being acquired by mobile tech giants. Unfortunately, some are not as successful as others. Let’s rock…
AdMob acquisition by Google
AdMob is a mobile advertising company founded by Omar Hamoui in 2006. Hamoui served as the founder and CEO of AdMob up until 2010, he stayed on board one year after the company was acquired by Google for $750 million in 2009. Why did Google purchase the company? Let’s briefly take a look at the history of Android as a mobile app development platform.
Android was founded in 2003 by Andy Rubin (who used to work at Apple as a manufacturing engineer) and a group of entrepreneurs. In 2005 Android was acquired by Google as the platform competing with Windows mobile operating system. In 2007 the iPhone emerged as a competitor with Google and Android OS quickly shifted its gears to compete with iOS.
The Android completely changed prior to the iPhone release and then after its release. By 2009 it had been a year since iOS got the App Store – that was when the mobile app world really took off. At this time Google needed its own mobile ads platform to stay afloat in the mobile arena and being able to serve ads on mobile devices. People went mobile and so Google did too.
How effective has AdMob been as of 2014? Well, the mobile ad solutions most commonly talked about are Facebook Mobile App Install Ads and Twitter Promoted Tweet for mobile ads, but you don’t really hear much about AdMob. Though this does not necessarily mean that the platform isn’t usable, it just is not at the top of the mobile ad solutions list.
Flurry acquisition by Yahoo
Let’s now preface the Flurry acquisition with one of the Steve Jobs interviews from 2010 at the D8 conference stage. Clearly it has been a bumpy road for the company since inception in 2005. Flurry now serves 150 billion mobile app sessions per month making it one of the top mobile analytic, monetization and advertising companies. Flurry is the most recent example of the acquisition trend. On July 21, 2014, Flurry was acquired by Yahoo for $200-300 million (the exact figures were not disclosed). Why did Yahoo decide to pull Flurry on board? Let’s look at how Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer, has been transforming the company. Simply based on how Marissa has changed the company, it is clear that she brought her knowledge and experience over from Google. She joined Google (as employee number 20) back in 1999 and quickly became the vice president of Google Local, Maps, and Location Services.
It was incredibly smart to shift Yahoo in the mobile direction, allowing it to better compete with Google. Though Yahoo has a long way to go if they want to catch up to Google in the mobile world. It will be interesting to see what Yahoo will do next.
Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp iOS app
This acquisition is particularly memorable merely due to the absolutely insane price Facebook paid WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum. Both founders are previous Yahoo employees. On February 14, 2014, Facebook paid a whopping $19 billion for WhatsApp – making it the largest acquisition to date. It has been more than 6 months since the deal and many analysts are still scratching their heads wondering whether WhatsApp was really worth that amount of money.
In December of 2013 WhatsApp claimed having 400 million active users use the service each month, that is roughly the number of users they had when the company was acquired by Facebook. For Facebook, who launched its own Messenger app in August of 2011, acquiring a serious competitor significantly increased its user base. But since WhatsApp was purchased, it continues to operate independently. WhatsApp was not shut down by Facebook or merged with Facebook’s Messenger app. Perhaps the hidden benefit for Facebook in this purchase was getting access to the WhatsApp user base. But that is just a speculation, the real reason remains unknown.
TestFlight acquisition by Apple
One of the most noteworthy Apple acquisitions in mobile space was Chomp. Chomp is a search engine app company that brought its expertise to the iTunes App Store. On February 21, 2014, Techcrunch fired a viral news article announcing that Apple had purchased Burstly and its two major services, TestFlight and SkyRocket. We covered this acquisition and highlighted Testflight as one of the more popular companies among app developers. We discussed how the majority of iOS apps are being developed with the help of TestFlight as their main testing platform.
After a bit of time, many were asking why Apple does not provide its own similar solution? Apple answered that question by acquiring TestFlight. As part of the iOS 8 official roll out this fall, iOS app developers will be able to use TestFlight as one of the tools that iTunesConnect provides.
NaturalMotion acquisition by Zynga
What is the first company that comes to mind when you think about iOS games? Many would say Zynga – let’s all admit we played FarmVille or Words with Friends at some point in our lives. For a long time the company’s huge success seemed like something that would be continuous – unfortunately, this was not the case. In Q2, 2012 the company made $329 million but in Q3, 2012 that number dropped to $317 million. Zynga Co-Founder Mark Pincus’s explanation for this drop caused many analysts to suspect that those glory days were gone.
In January, 2014, Zynga’s new CEO Don Mattrick announced that Zynga had purchased NaturalMotion for $527 million. For Zynga, it was the first step in acquiring highly popular iOS games and expanding its portfolio. At this time, launching a new game from scratch and being able to predict its success on the market does not exist. Zynga simply cannot afford to fail when it comes to launching new games. It is surprisingly cheaper for them to buy a successful competitor than to launch their own games.
MoPub acquisition by Twitter
Twitter’s familiar 140-character limit for sending a tweet was a prominent feature from day one. Twitter is severely involved in the mobile world and is now jumping on the mobile ads bandwagon. Last September Twitter purchased MoPub, a mobile advertising platform, for $300 million. It was certainly a bold step on Twitter’s behalf, competing with Facebook.
We recently covered MoPub and how the company has already helped strengthen Twitter’s mobile ads revenue. Since Twitter’s Promoted Tweet for mobile apps solution is fairly new, it is up in the air as to how effective it will be in the long run. While there are many case studies for Facebook Mobile App Installs Ads, there are almost none for Twitter’s new solution.
PS. Why 6 and not 5? Because people may ask “What was the number 6 you left out?” 🙂
Art Dogtiev, Head of Branded Content


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Posso the Spat recently teamed with Costume Dept. for a new line of swimwear. Named ‘Space Safari,’ the line is supposed to be as futuristic as it is animal printed and animal-esque. However, looking at the pictures it seems more like the 1980s than it looks like space.
The ‘Space Safari’ swimwear line includes animal printed one pieces, high waisted tight zebra leggings, and an orange and yellow bathing suit Olivia Newton John would be proud to get physical in.


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Philly Tech Week 2016 presented by Comcast is Philly’s sixth annual week-long celebration of technologies and innovation occurred April 29 – May 7, 2016. We cannot reimburse any flight or accommodation fees you accrue volunteering for us at Tech Open Air. Let us show you why you ought to join these days Make contact with us at 412-687-2700 or cease by the office at 2000, Technologies Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, to say hello! This is the polished culmination of everything you have done and learned in the course of the Tech Entrepreneur Nanodegree. There is Facebook co-opting your news media Amazon is dominating book sales, although YouTube and Netflix are taking over tv and films. To alter that, or to support bring Out in Tech to your city, visit , tweet @OutInTech, or post by means of /outintech.
Till the surveillance revealed by the National Safety Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, a lot of American tech companies were also far more deferential to the American government, especially its requests for law enforcement help. This year far more than 175 satellite events transform Berlin’s inventive neighborhood into an interactive hub for tech. Get more finalist information, twitter handles, instagram accounts and web sites from our Tech 50 Preview Problem of TEQ Magazine.
Atlanta Tech Village is home to some of the brightest and most talented companies in the world. Getting a successful tech entrepreneur signifies obtaining into the marketplace, and employing software to solve difficulties. The American tech giants are massive, but they require the blessing of national governments, and those blessings are not coming easily. And when tech is a leader, the market can give you a strong and lasting move higher. Social networks are an increasingly essential news supply for many Americans, with Facebook top the pack, a study has showed.
I believe his switch from a passive consumer of tech to a user-creator was very crucial for his sense of himself and for our understanding of what he can do when he is motivated. Developing a robust technologies foundation will give them many possibilities that they would have not otherwise had. Over the last decade, we have witnessed the rise of what I like to call the Frightful 5 These companies — Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet , Google’s parent — have produced a set of inescapable tech platforms that govern much of the company planet. Tech startups are defined by owning and creating your own proprietary technologies.
Andrew Lowenthal joins Out in Tech as executive director at the previously volunteer-led organization with chapters in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Tech Information Agency, our in-home, full-cycle marketing and advertising solutions group, aids position your solutions, services, events, promotions. Tech Data is proud to be recognized in the community as a leader in the promotion and practice of diversity and inclusion. Please save the date for The 16th annual gala of The Tech Awards on Thursday, Nov.


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In 1984, he found partners who helped him retrofit a regular soda vending machine (the kind where you press E4 for Coke and E5 for Diet Coke) into one that would vend VHS and beta tapes. He called it Video Droid -- a reference to Star Wars -- and placed three of them in grocery stores.
"People would just kind of walk by and say, 'Hmm. That's kind of interesting,' and not use it," Lowe said. Video stores were still king, and people didn't understand why they would rent a movie at a vending machine.
He eventually built 60 Video Droids, but the business fizzled.
By 2002, Lowe was working at Netflix when Oak Brook-based McDonald's proposed renting DVDs in kiosks inside McDonald's restaurants.
"We thought it was kind of a crazy idea," he said.
But six months later, Lowe left Netflix, became a consultant to McDonald's and eventually teamed on the project with Coinstar, now Redbox's parent. The idea was similar to his Video Droid concept. "I hate losing," Lowe said. "I hate the fact that I failed with what I thought was a great idea."
The Redbox model works, Lowe said, because the boxes are convenient and a visible reminder at the perfect time (on the way home from the grocery store, for instance), while the movies are reasonably priced.
Even with Blockbuster getting into kiosks, Bob Evans, senior research analyst at Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, said, "I think it's going to be difficult for Blockbuster to catch them, particularly because they have their own financial issues."
Still, Blockbuster remains the largest player in the rental market.
According to research firm NPD Group Inc., 19 percent of videos are rented at kiosks such as Redbox. That's a huge jump from 2 percent in the first quarter of 2007.
Netflix and other similar businesses account for 36 percent of rentals, while Blockbuster and other traditional brick-and-mortar stores still have 45 percent of the market.
Blockbuster thinks it can remain competitive.
"Even if we might not be the first in market, we think we can be a part of it because of our brand," said Hargrove of Blockbuster.
Meanwhile, Redbox is exploring options that include downloadable videos and video game rentals, Lowe said.
"(Our customers) are telling us that they have really fallen in love with Redbox. But they're also telling us that they really want films in lots of different ways," he said.
But Lowe also said Redbox won't be jumping into anything that its consumer data -- culled from biweekly surveys of 20,000 to 40,000 Redbox users -- doesn't show that the consumers want.
"We're going to let the customer decide," he said.
So far, customers are not complaining.
Redbox, with sales of $388.4 million last year, is on track, analysts say, to hit $1 billion in sales in 2010.


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The Council for Leather Exports (India) has moved its headquarters and legal headquarters to new offices in Chennai where the various departments, management and conference rooms are located.
The new generation of GoPro is in constant, amazing evolution
The young American designer, with his "Home Base" sneaker, won the contest launched for the 200th anniversary of Smit & Zoon, with the support of the Arsutoria Design School in Milan.
Specialised in the development and production of natural fibre fabrics, Maeko srl presents its story of innovation and sustainability that starts from a passion for hemp to eventually arrive at the international fashion and furniture industries
Texon Italia S.p.A.
After over a year, Texon returns as the protagonist of a fair held in a physical format, presenting at the event, held from 31 May to 2 June, some of the most important innovations in the field of sustainability.
Part of the corporate strategy of acquisitions with downstream integration, the acquisition will allow COIM to expand its product portfolio.
Smit & Zoon
Smit&Zoon opens its 200th anniversary celebrations with a special guest, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, revealing a rich tradition and values marked by innovation and sustainability
The SS22 collection of the Riri Group, leader in the creation of zips and buttons, comes in three moods marked by positivity where creativity meets technical avant-garde, with special attention to sustainability
A tribute to one of the fathers of the company who, over many years, has been able to uphold the value of Italian how-how in the interests of fashion.
MICAM has strengthened its digital appointments, while waiting for the physical events, which will finally safely resume in the second half of September.
The event of reference for new technologies and innovation at the service of the global footwear industry is postponed to 2022 because of continuing concerns connected to the pandemic.
The difficulties linked to the pandemic did not weaken the Italian company’s desire to excel, which is restarting from huge financial investments and ambitious expansion projects both in export markets and in the product catalogue.
A high rate of innovation, sustainability, and inclusiveness are at the heart of the digital event organised by WORTH Partnership Project – Europe’s largest creativity incubator-, as engines for the post-pandemic restart of the fashion and design & lifestyle industries.
At Villa Torlonia, an exhibition celebrates 20 years of creativity among youths presented through the international contest for young stylists, “A Talent for Shoes”.
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Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd (TSE:LIQ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$11.67.
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Dundee Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a C$11.00 target price on shares of Liquor Stores N.A. in a report on Thursday, September 22nd. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a C$10.00 target price on shares of Liquor Stores N.A. in a report on Friday, September 30th. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and set a C$12.00 target price on shares of Liquor Stores N.A. in a report on Thursday, September 8th. Finally, M Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Liquor Stores N.A. in a report on Wednesday, August 31st.
Shares of Liquor Stores N.A. (TSE:LIQ) traded down 0.28% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.55. 61,544 shares of the stock traded hands. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.42 and a 200 day moving average of $9.29. The company’s market cap is $291.39 million. Liquor Stores N.A. has a 12 month low of $6.40 and a 12 month high of $12.70.
About Liquor Stores N.A.
Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd. is a Canada-based operator of retail liquor stores. The Company operates over 180 stores in Alberta, over 30 stores in British Columbia, over 20 stores in Alaska and over 10 stores in Kentucky. The Company’s Liquor Stores primarily operate under the brand names Liquor Depot, Liquor Barn, and Wine and Beyond in Alberta; Liquor Depot, Liquor Barn and Wine Cellar in British Columbia; Brown Jug in Alaska, and Liquor Barn, The Ultimate Party Source and Liquor Barn Express in Kentucky.
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text: Latest News Johnson & Johnson Vision Introduces Acuvue Abiliti to Address Growing Prevalence and Progression of Myopia in Children By Staff Thursday, April 22, 2021 12:27 AM JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Johnson & Johnson Vision, a global leader in eye health and part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, has announced Acuvue Abiliti, a new brand for future products and services to help parents and eyecare providers address the growing prevalence and progression of myopia in children. The Abiliti product is still in the developmental pipeline, a spokesperson said. The new Abiliti brand will provide parents and eyecare providers with comprehensive resources, including products and services, to address the progression of myopia in children. Each annual purchase of an Abiliti product will provide a free comprehensive eye health exam to a child in need through Sight for Kids, a joint program from Johnson & Johnson Vision and the not-for-profit program from the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF). Sight for Kids is one of the largest-known, school-based eye health programs that mobilizes Lions and eyecare professionals to provide comprehensive eye health services in low-income schools around the world. In response to a query from VMAIL about the anticipated timing of the new Acuvue Abiliti contact lenses, a spokesperson told VMAIL, "J&J Vision looks forward to bringing therapeutic contact lenses, products and services to help address the progression of myopia in children under the Abiliti brand by the end of this year in the U.S. and other parts of the world based on discussions with regulatory authorities. They will share additional information as products and services become available."“There is no greater purpose than addressing the severity and prevalence of myopia,” said Peter Menziuso, worldwide president, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. “For decades, Johnson & Johnson has been leading with science to deepen the clinical understanding of myopia as part of our vision to help the world see better, connect better and live better. Our new Abiliti brand is another important step forward in our efforts to change the trajectory of eye health with a suite of future products and services that can help address the progression of myopia for so many families.” The introduction of Abiliti is the latest from Johnson & Johnson Vision to address the growing myopia epidemic following the company’s partnership with Menicon, as reported by VMAIL earlier this month, which is a global strategic collaboration to create a portfolio of products and services and bring forward a therapeutic contact lens to help address the progression of myopia in children. Earlier this year, the company also announced the development of a first-of-its-kind myopia management guide with recommendations for eyecare professionals to assess, monitor and treat myopia in children. The guide, titled Managing Myopia: A Clinical Response to the Growing Epidemic, is a result of a year of collaboration with leading organizations in optometry, including the American Optometric Association (AOA), American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) and Singapore Optometric Association (SOA). Parents and eyecare providers who want more information can visit SeeYourAbiliti.com.


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A new Warhol auction record has been broken in the art world!
Sotheby’s conducted an auction Wednesday that included a prized 1963 Andy Warhol painting that captures the aftermath of a car crash. The painting sold for $105 million. The buyer of this record breaking Andy Warhol print has not been identified by Sotheby’s.
This Warhol painting has been out of the public eye for quite some time. It has only been seen once in the past 26 years. The work is titled “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” that measures 8-by-13-foot . In this piece, a twisted body is depicted across a car’s mangled interior.
The previous Warhol auction record was set in 2007 when “Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)” sold for $71.7 million. The initial estimate for “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” was $80 million, making the sale an enormous success.
“The demand for seminal works by historical important artists is truly unquestionable, and we will keep witnessing new records being broken,” said Michael Frahm, a contemporary art adviser and partner at the London-based Frahm Ltd.


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Like it or not, Apple has made several controversial moves in the past which eventually became the industry norm. This includes removing the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and not bundling a power adapter in the box starting with the iPhone 12. With the iPhone 14 series, Apple’s latest act of ‘courage’ is the removal of the SIM tray slot, a standard component that’s found on every smartphone sold today. This means the new iPhone 14 would only accept eSIM starting with the US market.
To recap, an eSIM is essentially a digital SIM which enables you to connect your device to your telco without waiting for the physical SIM. Apple supports eSIM on the iPhone XR and XS series and above, and the feature also enables dual-SIM connectivity for the first time on an iPhone.
According to Apple, an eSIM allows users to easily connect or quickly transfer their existing plans digitally, and it is seen as a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, allowing for multiple cellular plans on a single device. With an eSIM, nobody can simply hijack your mobile number as there’s no physical SIM to take out if your device is stolen.
Apple has also made some improvements to its eSIM support particularly the ability to transfer your eSIM to another device even without WiFi. As leaked recently, iOS 16 will allow users to transfer eSIM and mobile plan from one iPhone to another device over Bluetooth.
If you’re currently residing outside of the US, you don’t have to worry about switching to an eSIM if you haven’t already. Apple’s eSIM-only iPhone 14 devices are only offered for the US market. In other global markets, there’s still a physical SIM card slot and there’s also the option for Dual eSIM support.
eSIMs have been around for quite some time now and most major telcos do offer eSIM as a faster way to get users onboard. In Malaysia, the big four Apple partner telcos such as Celcom, Digi, Maxis and U Mobile have offered eSIM as an option since 2019.
While Malaysian users are still able to slot in their preferred SIM card for the new iPhone 14 series sold locally, the latest move appears to be the first step towards a SIM-less experience. We reckon that it will be just a matter of time before Apple removes the SIM tray slot completely for its future iPhone models. Just like the headphone jack and charger, you can definitely expect other smartphone makers to follow Apple’s footsteps.
What do you think about the move towards a SIM-less experience? Do you prefer physical SIMs over eSIMs? Let us know in the comments below.
- Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max: a 48MP camera, A16 Bionic and ‘Dynamic Island’ replaces the notch
- Apple iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus: A new large screen option, and not much else
- iPhone 14 Malaysia: Here’s the official price for the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, pre-order starts on Malaysia Day
- Why the new iPhone 14 costs so much more in Malaysia, despite no price increase in the U.S.


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The government’s decision to expand the range of non-prescription drugs at convenience stores received a severe backlash from the pharmacist community. The expansion is the first time in five years since the government gave the green light for the sales of 13 over-the-counter drugs, such as Tylenol, Pancol A, and Festal, to convenience stores that completed specific training courses, in 2012.
This year, the government launched a committee to deliberate on the designation of safe, permanent store drugs to review the status quo of OTC drugs sold at convenience stores and reflect consumers' opinions on the policy.
The panel decided to add Gelfos, a gastric antiacid treatment, and Smecta, an antidiarrhoeic treatment, to the list in its fifth session, after reviewing their safety and considering overseas examples.
However, the vote fell through as Kang Bong-yoon, the policy head for the Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) and one of the voters for the committee, tried to injure himself on the day of the vote.
Subsequently, the KPA held a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 18, arguing that expanding the scope of non-prescription medications sold at convenience stores will increase the side effects and abuse of drugs. The association also boycotted the committee.
However, there are criticisms that the main reason for pharmacists opposing the decision is their concerns about declining sales.
<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>


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£10,000 boost for motorhome company
Published online 9:46am Friday 13th January 2012 in York Press Business news
A FAST-growing North Yorkshire motorhome company has been given a New Year sales boost by Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis.
Harrogate Motorhomes secured £10,000 of new business after being mentioned on Twitter by Mr Paphitis.
The company, set up by former firefighter Annette Wingate 18 months ago, was among the six small businesses to be mentioned by Mr Paphitis in his first “Small Business Sunday” feed of 2012, in which he helps to promote six small businesses every weekend.
Annette said the mention resulted in Harrogate Motorhomes securing £10,000 worth of business in two days, 200 followers on Twitter within hours, as well as a significant increase in website activity and even a number of business propositions.
She said: “The response was astounding. I was delighted to have been chosen as just one of six businesses in the UK to get a mention from more than 1,000 who put themselves forward. But I didn’t really expect such an overwhelming response. It’s helped to ensure 2012 is off to a fantastic start and I’m extremely grateful for Theo’s support.”
The motorhome hire business has grown to £50,000 turnover since 2010 and is about to add a sixth motorhome to its fleet.
During 2011, it moved into new larger premises at The Grove, Harrogate.
Annette said: “I’m hoping to create new jobs this year as we’re now able to offer motorhome storage as well. I’m delighted to have enjoyed such a positive start to 2012, but we won’t be resting on any laurels.
“I can’t help feeling there’s been an element of ‘zeitgeist’ so far, but you can’t rely on that in business. Success is normally the result of hard work and I’ll be doing more of that to make sure we keep finding new customers and keeping the ones who have found us already.”
Read related posts:
Harrogate Motorhomes in the Yorkshire Evening Post: Tweet from Dragon helps firm
Harrogate Motorhomes in the York Press: £10,000 boost for motorhome company
Follow @RentaMotorhome on Twitter


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Myanmar set for First Off-Road Motorbike Competition November 2017
MANDALAY — Off-road motorcyclists are preparing for Myanmar’s first enduro competition, a long-distance cross-country time trial to be held in Mandalay.
The Myanmar Enduro Competition 2017 will take place on Nov. 18 on Nay Kar Hill Range in Patheingyi Township, about 10 kilometers east of Mandalay city center, and include a 17.5 kilometer track.
“We organized this as the country’s first, to unearth the skilled enduro riders of the country as well as to create awareness about the enduro motorcycles and the sport,” said the organizer Ko Aung Win Tun, a member of Mandalay Free Rider group.
Mandalay is not only known as Myanmar’s cultural capital but also as a city of motorbikes, with the population having the highest rate of motorbike ownership in the country.
Many young motorcyclists ride enduro motorcycles such as the Yamaha Street Tracker and Honda Grom, not to race but to ride for pleasure on the streets on Mandalay.
Although there has been high interest in competitions, motorcyclists have been hampered by a lack of racing circuits to practice off-road. Many risk their own and other lives by practicing stunts and racing on city roads.
“From this competition, we would like to show how these off-road motorcycles are used. We are also hoping to open the racing opportunities for the sport enthusiasts and to have racing circuits in the future, too,” said Ko Aung Win Tun.
The competition is exclusively for Myanmar riders. However, riders from five enduro clubs from China, Thailand and Indonesia will ride with the Myanmar competitors as honorary guests.
According to the organizers, the competition has no restrictions on the type or brand of motorcycle used. There will be two types of race groups split by engine power: 125-230CC and 231-650CC.
“There will be a challenge race at the base camp, on that day, just for the amateur riders, just for fun. Anyone who is interested can participate in this walk-in competition. We have no limitations on the motorcycles for that race,” he added.
A photography competition for photographers across the country will run along with the enduro competition.
The distribution of competition entry forms will begin this weekend at motorbike stores in Mandalay. Organizers are hoping dozens of riders will enter.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/myanmarenduro/
Source: Irrawaddy News. October 2017
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Large trash exporters like the US, UK and Japan have increased their reliance on Thailand after China ended almost all plastic junk imports in January.
Thailand already has a chronic problem with single-use plastics and the subsequent detritus that covers beaches and chokes sea life.
A dead whale found on a Thai beach in June was recently found to have ingested more than 7.7kg of plastic bags.
Vietnam and Malaysia have already ended imports. Banjong Sukreeta, deputy director of the Thai department of industrial works, said the ban would take two years to enforce.
Vanden Recycling managing director David Wilson said more investment was needed in European recycling infrastructure.
Wilson said: “What’s got restricted is not the trade in materials, it’s the trade in scrap. It’s very difficult to ship scrap or post-industrial scrap to Asia.
“What’s really easy to ship to Asia is reprocessed pellets. The underlying material is still wanted by Asia, it just doesn’t want the scrap.
“It seems as though the reprocessing of scrap in Europe will happen much closer to home and we will export that high-quality material to Asia and, to some extent, that is already starting to happen.”
Greenpeace said the UK’s plastic waste exports had dropped from 198,557 tonnes in the first four months of last year to 165,104 tonnes over the same period in 2018.
But the environmental group said the UK was now focusing its rubbish imports in Thailand. It sent 123 tonnes of plastic junk to Thailand from January to April last year and 6,810 tonnes over the same period in 2018.
Thailand has seen a public outcry over importers flouting regulations and sending contaminated plastic for processing.
Adina Renee Adler of the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries told the media: “We support the Thai government’s efforts to enhance responsible recycling within Thailand and offer our help in that endeavour so that, in the long-term, Thailand can reap the environmental and economic benefits of recycling all materials, including plastics.”
Greenpeace’s oceans campaigner in the UK Elena Polisano explained: “More and more countries are having enough of being used as dumping grounds for our plastic waste. This is becoming a global game of pass-the-parcel where the last country gets all the plastic packaging and a nasty surprise.
“Britain should stop shipping off its plastic scrap thousands of miles away and instead tackle the problem at home by cutting the amount of throwaway plastic being produced.”
Thai vendors use numerous plastic bags per customer. Picture credit: Wikimedia


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Primo Water Corp. has struck a deal with Cuisinart Inc. to market and sell Primo's Flavorstation line of sparkling beverage appliances.
The agreement gives another shot to a product line that Primo had failed to make a success of on its own. Primo (NASDAQ: PRMW) announced in August that it was shifting its focus away from growth for the Flavorstation after a lackluster introduction and back to its main line of business, its bottled-water exchange.
Cuisinart, which is well-known for its kitchen electrics and small appliances, will market and sell the Flavorstation appliances under a three-year sales, distribution and licensing agreement, while Primo will supply the carbon dioxide cylinders that produce the carbonation in the devices. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"This strategic alliance is consistent with our decision to re-focus on our core businesses and strengths, and we are excited to partner with Cuisinart, a leader in kitchen appliances, cookware and other housewares markets," Billy Prim, CEO of Primo Water, said. "Cuisinart has the experience and proficiency to grow and maintain sales in this quickly expanding category. Primo has experience and expertise in managing a retail distribution network and can support the growth of this new category by supplying the appliances' key consumable component -- the CO2 cylinder."
"Cuisinart has been successfully building on its diverse product assortment and strong retail presence, and the beverage maker segment was a natural next step for the company," said Ron Diamond, President of Conair Corporation, Cuisinart's parent company. "There are many significant reasons that led us to partner with Primo Water in this endeavor, one of the most important being its direct-store-delivery network to major retailers. This offers a clear advantage over other forms of distribution for CO2 cylinders."
The stock market reacted positively to the news, sending shares of Primo that had been declining since the apparent failure of the Flavorstation up by more than 40 percent as of 10:40 am to $1.05.


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A few weeks back there were a lot of rumors about what HTC was to unveil at Mobile World Congress 2014, but not all of them have turned out to be true. Apart from launching a mid-range Android smartphone, HTC doesn’t have much to show at this industry event. Its 2014 flagship will be unveiled at a separate event on March 25th. A rumor had also claimed that the HTC smartwatch would be shown to carriers behind closed doors at MWC 2014, and while there’s no definitive word on that as yet, the company has formally confirmed its interest in making wearable devices and said that the smartwatch will be ready around the holiday season.
This comes straight from HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang, who confirmed to CNET that the company is indeed working on a smartwatch. “It’s natural for us to have wearables because we’re a design company,” Wang said, without elaborating on exactly what features the company’s first wearable device will tout. However she did say that the company’s smartwatch is going to be fashionable. HTC certainly knows how to design appealing products, look no further than the HTC One, so it will really be interesting to see just how much its smartwatch is able to drive growth for the wearable sector come this holiday season.


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Switch Telecom, an independent telecom service provider, is catering for increased demand for its services by investing in more switching centre capacity and moving to larger head-office premises.
The company saw the number of lines it supports as well as call volumes more than quadruple during 2009. The new node that the company has added to the network – an additional switching centre hosted in Rosebank, Johannesburg – has multiplied its available voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) capacity by a factor of five.
With three switching centres in place, Switch now has capacity to cater for anticipated strong growth into the future. The company is also moving to a bigger head-office in Woodmead to accomodate its growing staff requirements.
"Over the past two years, the VoIP market has really come into its own and we have seen more and more businesses of all sizes migrate to IP-based voice services," says Gregory Massel, MD of Switch Telecom. "We are determined to keep driving this market by offering our customers quality solutions and affordable tariffs, and have prepared ourselves for yet another year of robust growth."
Massel says Switch Telecom is now able to offer customers most of the services and benefits associated with traditional fixed lines, in addition to the lower costs and value-added services of a VoIP network. For example, Switch Telecom can provide them with geographic number ranges in a growing range of the country's major centres. "We are also aggressive about passing on cost-savings to our customers when our costs fall, for example, as a result of lower interconnect fees."
As a result, an increasing number of clients are taking up VoIP services as a complete replacement for traditional fixed-line telephony services. Switch Telecom last year introduced its first geographical number prefixes for its clients in 2009. It was one of the first VOIP operators to receive geographic number allocations from the Independent Communications Authority of SA. It offers customers in Johannesburg (010), Cape Town (021), Durban (031) and Pretoria (012) geographic numbers
The company has now also secured geographic prefixes for the following regions: Nelspruit/Witbank (013), Three Rivers/Vereeniging (016), Port Elizabeth (041), George (044) and Bloemfontein (051).


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LivingSocial and Foursquare are both fighting for local ad dollars from mom and pop stores, neighborhood restaurants, and even big box retailers as online social media companies set their sights on a largely untapped pool of revenue.
Now because of the rise of social media and smartphones, companies like LivingSocial and Foursquare can target consumers and drive them to storefronts in ways that the Yellow Pages and websites from the past boom like Microsoft's Sidewalk could not do.
"I think we're in a position to do something revolutionary for local advertising," Foursquare Chief Executive and Co-Founder Dennis Crowley said during the Reuters Global Technology Summit on Thursday.
The pool of dollars is huge: U.S. local advertising spending is expected to reach about $136 billion in 2011, according to Bia/Kelsey.
Foursquare is a mobile application with about 10 million users who "check-in" to area establishments, which are then shared with the user's social network of friends.
About 400,000 merchants use Foursquare tools to drive traffic to their stores.
"I think that we will hit our inflection point the same way that Twitter did," Crowley said. "I can imagine getting to 100 million users. I can imagine us exceeding that."
Foursquare and LivingSocial, the online daily deals site, are part of a new wave of companies that have attracted investors interested in owning a piece of the social media business.
The first social media site to test investor appetite and go public was LinkedIn, which made its stunning debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, defying even the highest of expectations by closing 109 percent above its IPO price at $94.25.
On SecondMarket, one of the largest exchanges for private company shares, Foursquare saw the biggest increase in participants interested in the company during the first quarter. LivingSocial made SecondMarket's list as one of the new companies on investors' radar for the same period.
MORE THAN DAILY DEALS
With about 30 million members worldwide, LivingSocial is still far smaller than the No. 1 player in the market, Groupon, which has about 70 million users and is expected to file for a public offering this year. LivingSocial is on track to generate $1 billion revenue this year.
Tim O'Shaughnessy, co-founder and chief executive of LivingSocial, said online advertising companies have approached LivingSocial interested in a takeout.
The Washington D.C.-based company just raised $400 million in its latest round which included Amazon.com, valuing the company at about $3 billion.
"You're really in a position where somebody acquires you or you become a public company. I think either of them could happen with us," O'Shaughnessy said.
For now, O'Shaughnessy is concentrating on expanding the business.
"I don't view this as the daily deal business. I view it as the local commerce business," he said.
For instance, the company introduced Living Social Instant that pulls a list of real time offers based on proximity to the establishments.
It's the same spot where Foursquare is aiming.
Foursquare is building out tools that recommends places based on the interests of a person's social circle, similar to Amazon and Netflix's suggestions for buying books and watching movies.
"When you build great products, it's very easy to monetize them," Crowley said.


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Boots parent confirms 'strategic review' as divestment rumours grow
Boots parent company Walgreen Boots Alliance has confirmed its “strategic review” for the organisation will focus on the UK multiple.
The statement came after Sky News reported on Tuesday that Bain Capital – already in the picture as a potential bidder for the UK’s largest pharmacy multiple – has teamed up with UK private equity firm CVC Capital for a possible joint bid.
The two firms’ acquisition plan is “predicated upon substantial investment in its digital, beauty and healthcare services offerings,” Sky reported.
CVC managing partner Dominic Murphy sits on the WBA board, having helped executive chairman Stefano Pessina negotiate an £11bn takeover of Alliance Boots and the subsequent merger with Walgreens.
It is thought that his experience could put a Bain/CVC bid ahead of other contenders, with a number of other private equity firms expected to make an offer.
Any auction of the multiple is expected to take place in spring this year, with possible valuations ranging from £5bn to as high as £10bn.
A WBA statement said: “We can confirm that Walgreens Boots Alliance … has announced a strategic review, primarily focused on our successful Boots business.
“This strategic review is at an exploratory stage and further announcements will be made in due course.”
WBA said late last year that it wished to take “a more pointed focus on North America and on healthcare,” prompting speculation that a sale could be in the offing.
Last week Boots reported improved trading figures in the three months to November 30, with pharmacy sales up 8.8 per cent against the same period in 2020 and retail sales up 16.3 per cent.


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With the release of the video game, “PokerStars: The Most Popular Card Game,” on Monday, the internet went into overdrive with speculation as to how it came about.
The game has been on sale for nearly a year and has become a popular game among millennials, a demographic that is heavily invested in online poker.
In addition to being a popular choice among millennials in the states of California, New York, and New Jersey, it has also been popular in Las Vegas, where the market is expected to grow to $100 million by 2022.
However, it is not the first time that the game has generated a lot of attention.
In December 2016, the game was banned by the International Poker Federation, which deemed it a gambling site, citing concerns about the “sophisticated” nature of the game.
The ban was lifted in July 2017, but it was only the beginning of a new era for the game, as the game’s popularity skyrocketed and has now reached the point where it is a major business for the industry.
Now, there are multiple websites and websites dedicated to betting on the game as well as betting on it in various locations.
And the game is even attracting a lot more money.
The most recent release of “Pokestop PokerStars” is set to be released in November.
With a total market value of over $400 million, “The Most Popular Game” has been profitable in the last two years.
And while there is no official release date for the next version, one of the most popular games, “Casino Royale,” which has a total estimated value of $70 million, has also attracted plenty of money in the past.
The biggest payout for “Casinos Royale” came from the release in June of “The Biggest Card Game Ever,” a $75 million game from 2015 that was also a hit with millennials.
This was the second biggest release of a video game this year after “Pokers Royale,” a video poker game released in June that is estimated to have made a $30 million profit.
The next largest payday comes from the launch of “Casinovia” in May, a $20 million game that was a hit among millennials.
Another hit among this demographic came in the release, in June, of “Millionaire Party,” a game released that is expected in 2018 to bring in between $20 to $40 million in profit for the online poker industry.
While “Casinis Royale” is still in the game for a variety of reasons, its popularity has reached such an extreme level that it has brought in tens of millions of dollars.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, online poker revenues increased by $9.4 billion in the third quarter of 2018.
The total amount of money generated by the online gambling industry is estimated at $3.6 trillion, which makes it the most valuable game in the world.
As of Monday, “Dow Jones Live Casino” had made a profit of $1.2 billion.
It is worth noting that online poker players can also earn a lot in the form of “dollars per minute” that they can redeem for chips or other real money.
With the video gaming industry growing at an alarming rate, the number of millionaires and billionaires in the industry is increasing as well.
The gaming industry has been growing for years and now has a lot to offer to the world as well, as it is also attracting a huge amount of media attention and business.
This has resulted in a lot interest from potential investors.
This article originally appeared at The National Review.


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When the first-stage trade agreement between China and the United States is reached, when and where it is signed, it is already the most concerned topic in the relations between the two countries and the global market.
Earlier, China and the United States held high-level economic and trade consultations in Washington, DC in October. Both countries said that they have reached a consensus on the first-phase agreement, and both sides have released favorable signals for economic and trade. China has renewed its commitment to purchasing US agricultural products.
However, the current situation is that Trump’s “first-phase agreement signed at the APEC summit held in Chile at the first US dollar” after the last round of negotiations is no longer possible. The signing time of this preliminary agreement has obviously been delayed. After that, it may even be dragged to next year. This is obviously not the simple cancellation of the APEC summit. What happened between China and the United States?
China-US negotiations are getting stuck in the bottleneck?
After the China-US negotiations in October, Liu He, the vice premier of the State Council and the leader of the China-US economic and trade consultations, conducted two rounds with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. The official calls are November 1st and November 16th.
Through the Chinese official description of the two calls, the second call, including China’s Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan or the People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang, is no longer listed in the list of participants, and the call results are not mentioned. The word “progress”.
Since then, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said at a regular press conference that the China-US economic and trade team will continue to maintain close communication. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce did not give more information.
According to the US media Bloomberg News, Liu He said at an event on November 20 that he still felt “cautiously optimistic” about the China-US agreement, but he was “confident” about the US request. If the report is true, Liu He is still planning to invite the US negotiating team to visit China. This shows that the two countries still need face-to-face consultations.
At the same time, US officials tend to be cautious about trade agreements. US President Donald Trump visited Apple Inc.’s factory on November 20, during which he said he was not ready to sign a trade agreement because “China has not stepped up in the negotiations.” The degree confirms the possibility of a new bottleneck in China-US negotiations.
On November 19th, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an interview that the US-China trade negotiations are currently in a fine-tuning stage, and the two sides need the “details” most.
The US attitude is unclear as to whether the suspension of tariffs on Chinese consumer goods valued at approximately US$156 billion will be imposed on December 15.
Earlier, Mnuchin, Ross, Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that the first phase of the China-US agreement may be signed in November. After the last round of negotiations, Mnuchin said that the two countries generally need Negotiations took place in five weeks, and now it has been six weeks since China and the United States announced a consensus. The process has obviously been delayed.
The crux is the tariff
Judging from the China-US official attitude toward the consultations, the signing of the agreement between China and the United States is not as smooth as it was supposed to be. The reason behind this is not who is “repenting”, but also the conflict between China and the United States on the Hong Kong issue, but the negotiation game. continue.
In terms of specific content, the crux of the China-US negotiations is obviously to recover the tariffs already imposed. On November 14, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that the cancellation of tariffs is an important condition for the agreement between China and the United States.
Since then, the US media has continuously exposed the information disclosed by the White House sources that the Trang popularization US team believes that if the tariffs are abolished, the content of the first phase agreement needs to be expanded, and then the United States has proposed a “new request” to China. All kinds of arguments. In short, Trump hopes that China will make more concessions before canceling the tariffs already imposed.
Regardless of whether this information is true or not, the current negotiations between China and the United States will inevitably revolve around the conditions for the elimination of tariffs. And this behind it means an important shift in the US negotiation mentality.
If the two sides agree to reach a trade agreement in a phased manner, China’s negotiating thinking is dominant. Then, under what conditions, what kind of rhythm, and how much to eliminate tariffs, the United States has to start to face China. A sign of the core appeal in the negotiations.
Since the beginning of the trade war, the United States has once made a “lion opening” to raise multiple demands on China in terms of intellectual property rights, technology transfer, market opening, agricultural product procurement, etc., and used the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Justice to sanction Chinese enterprises as a threat. The United States rarely has a positive response to the bottom line of trade agreements that China has repeatedly emphasized.
Perhaps, for a year and a half in the trade war, the United States has always believed that the most intense pressure can completely change China’s “unfair” trade behavior and has not carefully examined any Chinese demands. Even on the issue of tariffs, there was news last year that the United States had requested to retain the power to impose punitive tariffs on China after the trade agreement, which shows its power of power. And now this situation has completely changed.
Mutual sawing is not necessarily a bad thing
The talks between China and the United States have been repeated, and the reversal of the trade agreement has been repeated many times. This is not the first time that China and the United States have postponed a consensus. However, looking back at the game of multiple rounds in the past, the two sides have actually taken many steps forward.
In May last year, the United States tore up the “no trade war” consensus, and China has since then patiently understood the various demands of the United States in the negotiations and confirmed its own bottom line. Then, in turn, the US side needs to take the time to seriously consider the conditions for China to sign the agreement. From this perspective, this delay is necessary.
China has already proposed that the text of the agreement must be balanced. From the extreme threat of the United States to a text with balanced wording and content, how easy is it to cross this distance? Today, how to eliminate the tariff on the saw, the balance of the agreement and the basis for the continued negotiations between the two sides are of great significance.