text:
Sideshow Collectibles is now taking preorders for Hot Toys’ new Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back) Sixth Scale figure.
Hot Toys has revealed the full details for their upcoming new Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back) Sixth Scale Figure. The figures boasts and all-new helmet design that partially reveals his scarred head, LED light-up functions, interchangeable hands and a Cloud City dioramas display base for the ultimate presentation. Watch for preorders to go live soon on SideshowToy.com
Preorders are now open at our sponsor Sideshow Collectibles for the Hot Toys Rey (Jedi Training) Sixth Scale Figure.
Hot Toys today has unveiled a gorgeous rendition of Rey (Jedi Training) from The Last Jedi as a 1:6 scale figure. As a bonus, it includes two Porgs!
Hot Toys has posted a teaser via Facebook of their upcoming 1:6 scale Poe Dameron (Resistance Pilot) figure. Watch for a full reveal and preorder details soon.
Sideshow has posted a preview of the upcoming Hot Toys 1:6 Scadle Boba Fett (Animation Version) figure. Watch for preorders to go live this Thursday afternoon.
Sideshow Collectible is now taking preorders for their 1:6 Scale Obi-Wan Kenobi (Mythos) figure*.
As a series, Sideshow’s Star Wars Mythos brings new and unique story details to popular characters from the well-loved Star Wars saga, emphasizing themes of honor, hope, and adventure to portray them in a new light.
Hot Toys has announced a few new 1:6 scale offerings for The Last Jedi: an all-new BB-8* with interchangeable arms, BB-9E*, a BB-8 with BB-9E set with bonus MSE droid*. Both BB units feature LED light effects. You can also see in the background the new First Order Stormtrooper from The Last Jedi is coming soon as well. Look for these to go up for preorder through Sideshow Collectibles soon.
Update: All three options are now available for preorder at Sideshow Collectibles.
Sideshow has also posted a preview for Hot Toys’ upcoming sixth scale Praetorian Guard from The Last Jedi. Sign the RSVP list for notification of availability at SideshowToy.com


text:
Coronavirus infections would dive if 80 percent of individuals used masks, research says 3 face mask meaning
Infections would absolutely dive if 80 percent of individuals using masks, research study claims– New York Rouses Point–.
face mask levels.
Airborne, there are numerous fragments of dirt and also allergens that can trigger significant injury to the body. Although no person can regulate this, they can take safety measures to take care of the circumstance. PPE masks can remove greater than 95% of air fragments, vapors, and also smells. It additionally assists solve the problem of the coronavirus medically. People that have signs of the condition will often cough and sneeze. A face mask to safeguard versus viruses will avoid the launch of breathing goes down into the air or spread to an additional person.
On-line face mask sell shop.
Make sure to wear a mask when you are in a congested location; You must also keep it while you are there. If you respect an unwell liked one, after that you should also protect yourself with a mask. You should additionally utilize one if you recognize that you are sick to stop the transmission of the virus to your liked ones.

domain: news


text:
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) unveiled its 2015 Fashion Award nominees and honorees last week, and among them are superstars and rising stars from the world of jewelry design.
Irene Neuwirth is nominated for the CFDA’s Accessory Designer of the Year; Eva Zuckerman of Eva Fehren Jewelry is up for the Swarovski Award for Accessory Design; and Betsey Johnson has been given the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award for more than 40 years of fashion and jewelry design leadership.
CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg introduced the nominees and honorees at a March 17 soirée at the Weather Room atop New York’s Rockefeller Center, where Johnson, a four-time CFDA Fashion Award winner, wore one of her dresses from 1965! Jewelry designers Jennifer Fisher, Pamela Love, and Mimi So also attended the party.
Swarovski co-sponsors the annual CFDA Awards, recognizing emerging talent with its self-named prizes. The Swarovski Award recipients in each category receive generous financial support as well as exposure to the company’s extensive crystal resources. In a related development, Swarovski announced last week that it will venture into the Fine Jewelry business.
Nominations come from the CFDA Fashion Awards Guild, an exclusive group of 450 fashion designer/members, fashion retailers, press, and stylists.
The 2015 CFDA Awards ceremony is scheduled for June 1 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York.
We’ll keep you posted.


text:
DILI 04 august 2023 (TATOLI)– Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Agustu Junior Trindade said the Minister of Trade and Industry will focus on creating an industrial zona in the municipality of Liquica to help the government monitor and regulate regular activities of exports and imports in Timor-Leste.
“The Minister of Trade and Industry believes that Industrial Zones are very important for the government of Timor-Leste to be able to regulate import and export activities. We need a balance between imports and exports of products,” Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Augustu Junior Trindade told reporters in Fomentu, Thursday.
The program has been proven by the National Parliament and has been submitted to the President of the Republic for promulgation.
Previously, Carlos Ximenes, Director General of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, revealed that they had completed a feasibility study for the Industrial park in the municipality of Liquica. This has been designed to take place in Vatuvou and Ulmera, saying Ulmera is the perfect place for an Industrial park.
“The feasibility study was designed by Haberan Unipessoal Lda and PT. ITS TechnoScience from Surabaya Indonesia. The feasibility study has been completed and the results show that Ulmera is the right place to create an industrial park, now we are in the stage of preparing bidding documents consisting of a Detailed Engineering design and a Bill of Quantity (BoQ),” explained the Director.
He added that the progress of the auction would be announced by the National Procurement Commission (NPC). However, it takes five to six months.
He also revealed that during the previous government, around 37 families were affected by the development, therefore the government allocated a total of USD 225,735 as compensation for the affected families.
While for the construction of the Industrial zone, eight governments through the Minister of Trade and Tourism Industry (MTCI) allocated funds of $32 million.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.


text:
(REUTERS) — GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to settle a lawsuit by Johnson & Johnson accusing it of using false advertising at the start of the U.S. allergy season to grab market share.
The settlement was disclosed during a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Monday in which two Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) units were expected to ask a judge to block Glaxo (GSK) from making various claims about its allergy nasal spray Flonase, records show.
Representatives for Johnson & Johnson and Glaxo in separate statements called the settlement “mutually acceptable and amicable.” The terms were confidential, they said.
Glaxo received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell Flonase over the counter in July, setting the stage for greater competition.
J&J units McNeil-PPC Inc and McNeil Consumer Healthcare filed the lawsuit on March 12, accusing Glaxo of making unsupported claims about Flonase at the expense of McNeil’s drugs Benadryl and Zyrtec.
A Glaxo TV spot cited in the lawsuit said that Flonase outperforms the No. 1 allergy pill, which the ad does not name, and controls six allergy symptoms versus one by the other pill.
The McNeil units said studies do not support the claims. McNeil said it stood to be harmed with the prime allergy sales season quickly approaching, and sought an injunction.
Watch more business news from Fortune:


text:
It’s no great secret that Nokia has been eyeing the tablet market. Today brings confirmation that the company is actually developing hardware for it. Asked by Finnish magazine Kauppalehti Optio if Nokia is building a tablet, Marko Ahtisaari — the company’s top designer — replied, “ We’re working on it ,” adding that he devotes about a third of his time to the effort. Not a surprise, really. Launching a Windows 8 tablet is an obvious move for Nokia, one that its leadership has hinted at in the past. Indeed, CEO Stephen Elop made it clear last year that he feels Nokia’s hardware portfolio should extend beyond just handsets.
Our list of the best Android tablets in the world - regularly updated If you're looking for a tablet and don't fancy an iPad , then Android is currently the way to go. (Don't know what an Android tablet is? Check out: what is an Android tablet? )
Google tablet will be 7-inch 'entertainment device' much smaller than 9.7-inch iPad 2 Will launch in March or April Android touchscreen will cost $200 Comes after Google creates or updates web stores for books, music and films By Rob Waugh UPDATED: 19:55 GMT, 5 January 2012 The Google tablet seems to be pitched squarely at Amazon's market for Kindle Fire (pictured). It will reportedly feature a seven-inch panel, run Google's Android - unsurprisingly - and will retail at less than $200, the same price as Kindle Fire Sources in the Far Eastern factories that build hi-tech components for companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon have hinted that Google's upcoming own-brand tablet will be seven inches, as opposed to iPad's 9.7. The sources in Google's supply chain believe that Google will launch the own-brand tablet PC in March or April, according to a report in Digitimes.
What's the best tablet for 2013? Today's latest tablets compared and rated - constantly updated Tablets are taking the world by storm. Just a few years ago they were an unknown for many people, but nowadays you've got more choice than you can shake a mildly agitated badger at. And with choice comes decisions - difficult decisions.


text:
With the average UK household spending £22 per month on their landline, any savings on their bills will be welcome.
And BT customers are in luck because costs are being cut for those who only have a landline, after a review by the regulator Ofcom.
From April 2018, BT will reduce the price of its monthly line rental by £7, which is a 37% decrease from the current cost of £18.99.
The reduction is estimated to save up to a million households £84 a year, and customers will have their rental costs capped at the rate of inflation.
Nearly two-thirds of BT customers with only a landline are over 65 and more than three-quarters have never switched provider, Ofcom said.
As a result these customers have been getting poor value for money in recent years, compared to those who buy bundles of landline, broadband and/or pay television services.
The other firms that provide landline-only deals, Virgin Media, Sky and the Post Office, have not yet commentated on whether they will reduce their charges.
However, Virgin Media has said it had already frozen line rental charges for elderly and disabled customers at £17.99 a month.
Talk Talk withdrew from that part of the market, to concentrate on broadband and phone bundles.
Ofcom has also said it wants to help those who buy a phone service from one provider and broadband from another.
BT said it welcomed "a balanced voluntary agreement with Ofcom" and that it had "listened to the concerns of our line-only customers".


text:
40 startups to launch at DEMO Africa 2012
BUSINESS| Sept. 28, 2012, 11:54 a.m.
After more than four months of work, the DEMO team has released the shortlist of 40 demonstrators to launch at the first ever DEMO Africa Conference taking place in Nairobi, Kenya next month. The 40 finalists have gone through three rigorous vetting processes with a final adjudication by a pan-African panel of judges including entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, and academics.
“This has been a very enriching exercise seeing the quality of innovation coming out of Africa,” said Harry Hare, Executive Producer, DEMO Africa, when announcing the names of the final 40.
Several DEMO Africa innovation tours have been held over the last few months to encourage participation from technology startups from as many countries as possible. A total of 500 applications were processed, which were then shortlisted to 150 two weeks ago and then down to the final 40. “It’s been a great pleasure working with this group of entrepreneurs. We congratulate the ones that have made it through to the final round and trust they will put their best foot forward in Nairobi. Now is the time to celebrate innovators from across the continent,” said Ben White, Founder, VC4Africa.
The 40 finalists cover five categories – Social Media, Cloud Services, Mobile, Consumer and Enterprise Technologies. Applicants from South Africa and Kenya make up a big chunk of the final 40, with Ghana and Nigeria coming in a close second. Other countries represented included Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
“Many entrepreneurs did not make the final cut despite having excellent ventures. We wish we could launch all of them at DEMO Africa, but that’s practically not possible,” said Hare. “We will, however, engage all of them and see how to assist them through the partnerships we have created to move their businesses to the next level”.
Dele Akinsade, Developer and Platform Lead, Microsoft West, East, Central Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, says “The success of a startup hangs on its ability to monetize ideas as quickly as possible and until now, African entrepreneurs have had limited opportunities to attract investors. DEMO Africa will see 40 talented entrepreneurs get the level of global exposure their ideas deserve – and we can’t wait to see the results”.
The judges included Martin Butler, Senior Lecturer, University of Stellenbosch; Anthony Stonefield, Head of Ecosystem, Nokia; Toby Shapshak, Editor, Stuff Magazine South Africa; Paul Nguru, CEO, PN Consultancy; Stephen Gugu, Director, Viktoria Solutions; Erik Hersman, Founder, Ushahidi/iHub; Eric Osaikwan, CEO, Research Africa; Tomi Davis, CEO, Technovision; and Brian Longwe, DEMO Africa.
DEMO Africa is the flagship initiative of the Liberating Innovation in Opportunity Nations in Africa (LIONS@frica) Partnership and includes DEMO, Microsoft, InfoDEV, Nokia and US Department of State. The first ever Pan African technology launch pad and will be hosted by African eDevelopment Resource Centre and CIO East Africa under the auspices of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communication. The DEMO Africa event will be at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, 24th to 26th October 2012 and will attract venture capitalists, angel investors, investment fund managers tech buyers, entrepreneurs, innovation supporters and media.
MORE BUSINESS NEWS
CNN, MultiChoice launch 20th African Journalist AwardsCNN International and MultiChoice this week officially launched the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2015 Awards. Read More
Cokodeal.com aims to revive ‘made in Nigeria’Cokodeal.com, describing itself as Africa’s largest medium for business exposure, is aiming to boost Nigerian manufacturers through greater online exposure. Read More
Leading African airline adds new payment optionsASKY, the leading airline in West and Central Africa, has partnered with PayGate and booking engine SITA to offer web-based booking to its customers for the first time. Read More
Francis Dufay takes the reins of Jumia in Côte d’IvoireE-commerce firm Jumia has formalised the appointment of Francis Dufay at the head of its subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire. Read More
MTN Uganda rewards women entrepreneursThe 2015 edition of MTN Women in Business Awards have seen Mrs. Barbara Ofwono, the proprietor of Victorious Schools, scoop the overall Award of MTN Women in Business SME CEO of the year. Read More
Microsoft 4Afrika launches Biz4Afrika online SME hubMicrosoft 4Afrika used the opening of the Connected East Africa event in Diani, Kenya today to launch Biz4Afrika, an online hub providing Kenyan small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with access to locally relevant information and promote trade. Read More
BTCL, SA’s Vodafone seal partnershipBotswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) and South African based Vodafone have signed a non-equity partnership agreement. Read More
Mascom Derby horse race extravaganza for BotswanaMascom is doing it again this year with its annual Mascom horse racing event which has been on the Mascom calendar for at least 10 years. Each year during the Easter holidays, Botswana’s leading mobile telephony provider gets people to Botswana’s tourist resort of Maun for the race. Read More
Togo women get down to ICT training, businessWomen and girls came in numbers last week to attend the three-day Female TechCamp 2015 hosted in the capital Lomé. Read More
FEATURED STORYe-commerce space untapped, says phonekings head
E-commerce is the future, says the head of a new online electronics mall launched in Nigeria. Tayo Olusanya spoke to Kokumo Goodie in Lagos.
BEST READ NEWS
IN DEPTHVillagers get solar training at Barefoot College
The Botswana Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has seconded seven semi-illiterate mostly Ngwatle villagers for a six month solar electrification training course at the famed Barefoot College in India.


text:
Dairy is an incredibly important industry throughout Australia and is key to a massive amount of quality food production throughout the country. Not only is it significant to the creation of some of Australia’s most loved products, but it is key to producing high-quality ingredients for our most beloved hospitality industry.
After a challenging year for Australian dairy processors, they faced disruption to the supply chain, panic buying, border restrictions, adhering to covid-safe manufacturing practices and closure of their regular distribution channels.
Naturally, it was a whirlwind of a year for everyone involved, and the resilience shown by the sector was impressive. Last year also saw the implementation of two key initiatives that were put in place to restore confidence and profitability to dairy processors.
First was the launch of the Australian Dairy Plan. This industry-wide strategic plan maps out initiatives to create a more confident and united Australian dairy industry over the next five years.
Secondly, the Dairy Code of Conduct, an industry code governed by the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission), that aims to improve transparency and trading agreements between dairy farmers and processors.
So, since then, the industry has had a positive outlook, and now we look to the future to see what trends are shaping the Australian dairy industry so far in 2021.
1. Trade Exports and Foreign Markets
Australian dairy exports generate a tremendous amount of revenue; we are the fourth largest global exporter of dairy. A trend we are seeing is Australia’s focus on producing the best dairy exports possible to expand their exports into the European market. The industry’s stance as a respected exporter to Europe would benefit the viewpoint of our products; the products used throughout our hospitality sector and that create the incredible food Australian restaurants have to offer—giving our restaurants and venues and their food an improved reputation worldwide.
2. Dairy Education
Education around the health and nutritional value is essential to its popularity, especially for the general public and hospitality venues who want to purchase dairy products. If prominent dairy dishes aren’t popular, venues won’t purchase dairy products, and in turn, dairy processors would suffer.
Current trends surround the Australian Dairy Products Federation (ADPF) and ensure that dairy products are reviewed fairly as part of the vital role they play in a balanced diet. The perception of dairy and how the nutritional benefits are seen plays a huge part in sales to the local hospitality industry.
3. Transparency In Supply Chains
We all want to know where our food comes from, including the restaurants that purchase food. They all want to see where the product has come from and where it’s been. So to keep much-loved dairy products circulating through our supermarkets and restaurants, the whole dairy supply chain needs to band together. This includes being transparent about pricing, so farmers will enter the season better equipped with information to help them make better business decisions. A trend many are happily falling in line with.
These trends all impact hospitality in their unique way, whether that is increasing the popularity and status of Australian dairy or ensuring the industry is fair for all aspects of the supply chain. Hospitality is always keeping an eye on trends that impact them, so they can quickly act if certain dairy products spike in popularity, and they can jump right on it.
Optimism is the key in many of these trends, with the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 looking to be a strong season in both dairy and hospitality.


text:
Thu, 28 February 2019
Jason Hartman talks with Beerud Sheth, founder of Elance and his new project, Gupshup, about the changing nature of working with freelancers and how AI is going to change our work habits and customer interactions forever.
[4:48] How many people utilize all of Beerud's platforms?
[10:04] The profile of typical Elance/Upwork's freelancers
[12:24] Beerud's newest venture, Gupshup
[17:09] How AI customer service agents are changing the landscape
[20:35] The perception of online anonymity has brought out the worst in some people


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Sign Up for the St. Louis Business Journal Afternoon Edition Newsletter
Send this story to a friend
Angell to buy FAMCO from Piper Jaffray
St. Louis-based FAMCO was sold to Piper Jaffray in 2007 for about $51.3 million in cash, and agreed to additional payouts based on performance. When the deal was announced in April 2007, Piper Jaffray had said it would pay about $66 million for FAMCO. The purchase marked Piper Jaffray’s entry ito the asset management business.
Last year, Piper Jaffray transitioned ownership of its FAMCO MLP product from FAMCO to its primary asset management subsidiary, Advisory Research. “While the restructuring generated revenue and cost synergies for the firm, the remaining FAMCO business was no longer a strategic fit with the overall asset management business,” Piper Jaffray officials said in a statement Friday. So the company entered discussions about selling the remaining business to Angell, one of FAMCO’s founding members.
“Our resulting platform represents a more streamlined business and gives FAMCO the opportunity to operate independently,” Andrew Duff, Piper Jaffray chairman and CEO said in a statement.
Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC) had classified FAMCO as held for sale and reported it as discontinued operations. The sale to Angell is expected to close in the second quarter.
“We have enjoyed our relationship with Piper Jaffray, and we are excited about returning to our roots as an independent company,” Angell said in a statement. “We view this transaction as an opportunity to continue to provide excellent services to our clients, while incenting our team and building for the future.”
On Board, New to Town, Challenge, How to, Stocks
- Most popular
- Announcing: The Business Journal’s 2014 CFO of the Year Award winners
- 5 things you don't need to know but might want to
- Boeing unit to move into Cortex @4240 building
- Washington U breaking ground on $54 million rec center
- Katz vs. Anheuser-Busch set for next week
- Cast your vote in the first round of St. Louis BBQ Madness
- Jim Edmonds sued for using Cincinnati restaurant’s name
- Judge orders Lyft to stop giving rides in St. Louis
- Lyft drivers get citations;
- Woodard Cleaning names new president, plans expansion


text:
The U.S. Postal Service has saved billions of dollars in the last few years by automating mail handling. Unfortunately, automation can put unplanned stress on printed matter.
Many printers believe that digital color printing experiences more damage than other printed matter. Since U.S. Postal Service equipment cannot differentiate between digitally printed pieces and printing produced by other processes, manufacturers of digital color printing equipment and printers have developed coating strategies to give such pieces more protection.
In response to this concern, the U.S. Postal Service is working with PIA/GATF (Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation) to evaluate the success of these protective coatings in preventing damage in theU.S.mail stream. The U.S. Postal Service ìConfirmî barcodes will be used to track the path of digital color mail to PIA/GATF headquarters using nine different digital and direct imaging suppliers and various coating technology solutions.
The results of the study will be presented at the 2005 Tech Alert Conference, February 6-8, at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
To obtain an a copy of the 2005 Tech Alert Conference brochure, which includes detailed session descriptions and a registration form, email Ned Herrick, conference manager, at [email protected] or mail your request to his attention at 200 Deer Run Road, Sewickley, PA 15143-2600. For additional information about the conference, please visit the PIA/GATF website at www.GAIN.net/conference or call the training department at 412/259-1712.


text:
A leading public well being skilled says extra must be accomplished to deter younger people from vaping. The Department of Health says it should allocate £3m to deal with the problem. The Welsh authorities has already stated it is going to adopt the plan, and Labour has mentioned it would vote for E-juice it at Westminster. ASH Chief Executive Deborah Arnold stated she was happy the government has “lastly announced funding for enforcement to deal with the scourge of underage sales”.
Plans to make it tougher for kids to illegally purchase e-cigarettes in England are to be laid out by the government next week. She referred to as for other “apparent measures” to be put in place, including taxing disposable vapes to raise their price to more than “pocket cash prices” and introducing plain packaging. It got here as a BBC investigation found vapes confiscated from school pupils contained high levels of lead, nickel and chromium. Retailers promoting illegal vapes and the sale of vaping merchandise to kids are the top threats on the UK’s High Streets, Vapor Pens in response to Trading Requirements officials.
Trading Standards has previously said that retailers selling illegal vapes and the sale of e-cigarettes to youngsters had been the top threats to the UK’s High Streets. The woman mentioned she was “angry” that nook shops would sell the gadgets to children “who’re clearly under-age and of their college uniform”. Councils in England have also said vapes ought to be stored out of sight of children in retailers and Vape Clearance the authorized minimum age of 18 must be marked clearly on each product.
Well being Minister Neil O’Brien mentioned he was particularly involved concerning the rising use of disposable vapes. It is against the law to sell vapes to beneath-18s, Vape Store Clearance (related website) but social media shows teenagers are accessing the merchandise, and discussing flavours corresponding to pink lemonade, strawberry, banana and mango. As with cigarettes, Vape Shop it is at present unlawful to sell vapes to beneath-18s, Vape Hottest however they are highly worthwhile for retailers and stemming the availability to younger people is challenging.
Little one well being specialists said they were already “deeply disturbed” by the rise of kids and young people picking up e-cigarettes. Charities and trading requirements our bodies are frightened about younger people getting addicted and want better enforcement of the principles. The fearful dad believed buying and selling requirements was so busy stopping illegal e-cigarettes it was tough to make sure shops stuck to guidelines banning gross sales to below-18s. Duncan Stephenson, director of external affairs on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.
The woman instructed her mother she started vaping because all of her friends at college have been doing it, and Vape Clearance it received to the purpose the place she was being picked on because she was not doing it.


text:
Top officials at the event.
Strata Manufacturing (Strata), the advanced manufacturing company wholly-owned by Mubadala Investment Company, has strengthened global distribution of its ‘Made with Pride in the UAE’ line of personal protective equipment (PPE)
As Saudi Arabia forges ahead with Vision 2030, with tourism earmarked as a key economic driver, tourism and travel leaders from the Kingdom convened at the ATM 2021 Saudi Arabia Tourism Summit
Eleks, as a global software company, is further expanding its reach with the signing of a landmark memorandum between its Middle Eastern office and Abdullah Almishal Contracting Est.
Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) in cooperation with several government and private agencies and institutions in the emirate has launched a regulatory framework
Saudi energy company Aramco said Sunday its profits jumped 90 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same time last year, helping its half-year earnings reach nearly $88 billion.
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation received a high level Tanzanian delegation


text:
Tesco enters home loan market
Tesco has opened up the possibility of adding a house to the grocery shopping by unveiling plans to offer a 'mortgage supermarket' through its internet site.
The offering by Tesco Personal Finance, the supermarket chain's internet venture with Royal Bank of Scotland, starts in mid-May and will provide comparative mortgages from about 20 suppliers. The deal involves a tie-in with the online arm of home loans broker John Charcol.
Toby Strauss, managing director of five-month-old charcolonline, said the company had been chosen from a beauty parade of internet financial services companies and that its high customer service standards had outweighed concerns about the future ownership structure of charcolonline's parent company - the Bradford & Bingley.
Tesco, which claims its personal finance site attracts 100,000 users a week, said its relationship with Royal Bank was unaffected.
Most watched Money videos
- Ferrari send fans into rapture with teaser for their new car
- The shares that should do well with higher inflation
- Could these LED lights on crossings save lives on the road?
- Bentley's brand new luxury Bentayaga V8 SUV is driven on ice
- Take a look at Bentley's brand new luxury Bentayaga V8 SUV
- Take a look at the brand new Jaguar I-Pace prototype
- This is how Volvo's new V60 City Safety technology works
- Range Rover races through the 99-turns of the Tianmen Road
- Big Money Questions: What is diversifying?
- Can emerging markets continue to climb? We ask a top manager
- British car maker Morgan shows off new Aero GT in Geneva
- Jaguar I-Pace prototype smart cones driving test in Geneva


text:
OpenSea NFT market has enabled a brand new function on its website, that can rank NFTs on the idea of their rarity. Named OpenRarity, this function will allow collectors to search out legitimitely uncommon digital collectibles, which were drowining within the sea of NFTs on the market. OpenRarity will present verifiable rarity calculations for NFTs utilizing a mathamatical strategy for calculations. Uncommon NFTs will probably be awarded decrease numbers. OpenSea claims to be the world’s greatest NFT market that touched the market cap of over $13 billion earier this yr.
“Right this moment we’re launching @OpenRarity on OpenSea! We’re beginning with the fantastic @coolcatsnft @pudgypenguins and @moonbirds groups, who’ve opted their collections into OpenRarity,”the platform wrote in its tweet.
NFT creators could have the management to decide on to use the OpenRarity function to their items.
“OpenRarity is an open collaboration between OpenSea, icy.instruments, Curio, and PROOF. On OpenSea, creators have the selection of whether or not to opt-in to indicate OpenRarity rarity rankings for his or her assortment,” the platform wrote.
The NFT market will probably be a $231 billion (roughly Rs. 18,41,300 crore) behemoth by 2030 and it is too massive a enterprise to be ignored, believes, Tarusha Mittal, COO and co-founder of UniFarm stated in dialog with Gadgets 360. UniFarm is a multi-token reward staking programme.
Proudly owning NFTs has off-late, grow to be a development. NFTs have been proving to be a profitable enterprise software for a number of massive manufacturers additionally.
A complete of $260 million (roughly Rs. 2,074 crore) has collectively been bagged by high-end luxurious manufacturers together with Nike, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana with the gross sales of their NFT items.


text:
Lowry: Amazon isn't a villain
President Donald Trump gets results. His attacks on Amazon have tanked the company's stock.
It's hard to think of a more pointlessly destructive act of presidential jawboning in our history. The online retailer is a jewel of our market economy that has delivered more choice and convenience at a lower cost.
The backdrop for Trump's animosity is that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, which, like much of the major media, is unrelentingly hostile to the president. The bias of the Post is nothing new, nor should it be taken out on the underlying business of its owner.
More:Lowry: The teenage demagogues
Trump's anti-Amazon jag can be put in the same bucket as his tariffs against China -- Trump being Trump, unleashing in accord with his gut instincts and animosities.
The similarities end there. The difference is between targeting the Chinese regime and a great American company, between lashing out against mercantilism and against a capitalist success story, between berating an adversary of the United States and an adversary of his own.
If there wasn't Amazon, someone would have invented it, or at least the basic model of leveraging new technologies to transform retail. Beginning in the late 1980s, the advent of big-box retailers brought a productivity revolution to the industry. Now, e-commerce is challenging the big-box retailers in their turn. This is how the American economy works.
Trump has two specific complaints about Amazon. One is that it is ripping off the U.S. Postal Service, costing the U.S. government billions of dollars. Perhaps a better deal can be extracted -- a recent study by Citigroup concluded as much -- but the Postal Service says its arrangement with Amazon is profitable. The second is that Amazon doesn't pay sales taxes. This once was true, but Amazon now collects sales taxes in all states that levy them.
The larger case against Amazon is that it is killing off traditional retailing, while accruing too much power for itself. While brick-and-mortar retail is in decline, less than 9 percent of retail sales are done through e-commerce, with Amazon accounting for less than half of that.
More:Lowry: Why China trade has been a bust
No one is forced to buy from Amazon. Customers go there because they find it easy to use and cheaper than the alternatives. Amazon isn't pocketing huge profits. Instead, it is doing what companies should do: innovating, then plowing the proceeds into more investments (Amazon is much more than an e-commerce company). Its fulfillment centers are wonders of productivity and hold the promise of as-yet-unforeseen transformations in other businesses.
Michael Mandel of the Progressive Policy Institute points out that online shopping saves consumers the time involved in driving to a store and looking for a product -- and shifts all that (unpaid) labor to (paid) workers in its fulfillment centers and drivers. These jobs provide, he writes, "decent pay for a high school graduate, in a fast-growing tech-related industry, which requires a mixture of physical and cognitive skills. Many of them are full-time jobs with full benefits. They aren't easy jobs, for sure -- but neither are manufacturing jobs."
In short, there are many scourges in American life. Amazon isn't one of them.
Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.


text:
The Mass Effect Andromeda release date is still on everyone’s mind, but the studio releasing the game has another surprise.
Games with mind-blowing graphics offering immersive experience aren’t made overnight. These games usually take years to make, as there are so many elements the designers need to focus on.
Apart from the game itself, fans of the Mass Effect franchise look forward to some gameplay footage, a first official look at how the game works, serving as the determining factor to purchase.
The official Mass Effect Twitter account announced that a new gameplay trailer will reveal more environments and gameplay. The release will take place on January 4, 2017.
Another Mass Effect gameplay trailer was released in December. It was released during The Game Awards 2016 and was presented in an infomercial style, with a narrator explaining the mechanics of the game.
There weren’t a lot of details given, apart from the return of the Turians and a Krogan teammate. One thing is for sure: the 4K graphics are definitely mind-blowing.
A New Home For Gaming
There are a lot of people looking forward to this game, but there may be a catch. According to Stevivor, Mass Effect series producer Michael Gamble said that they might bring the game to Nintendo Switch.
Switch is the company’s newest console set to launch within a few months. Despite the hype behind it, major publishers are playing safe in supporting the new console. Electronic Arts and BioWare are two companies that are cautious in investing into the new console.
While BioWare is playing safe right now, Gamble noted that a Mass Effect Andromeda release for Switch could happen in the future. This, provided that there is enough demand for it.


text:
Giving Internet-based television another boost, former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner and media giantTime Warner have both invested in a startup that aims to build a delivery platform for IPTV.
Eisner will also take a seat on the board of directors of Veoh Networks, which has raised US$12.5 million in a second round of venture financing. He will be joined there by venture capital legend Todd Dagres from Spark Capital, a venture firm that took part in the funding round.
A Plan for Everyone
Eisner invested through his Tornante Company. How much he contributed to the round was not disclosed.
San Diego-based Veoh Networks is building a system for delivering broadcast-quality entertainment and informational content via the Internet, using distribution technology the firm says will allow for unlimited capacity. Veoh envisions marketing its platform to everyone from independent video producers and hobbyists to large studios.
“Cable and satellite fundamentally changed the way television was distributed by creating the capacity for greater choice in programming. Veoh revolutionizes television again by leveraging the Internet to expand broadcast capacity to the point that every single user, whether an individual or a media company, can create their own ‘channel,’ and every ‘channel’ can be supported by its own business model,” Eisner said. “In the past, distributing television programming required an enormous broadcast infrastructure.”
Currently, Veoh is available in beta form and features mainly peer-submitted videos, including live-action short films, game shows and animated programs. Many can be viewed without watching advertising, although that is likely to change over time.
Video to Go
The democratization of video distribution is one of the holy grails of the evolving Internet, with the ability to create hyper-personalized content channels leading to greater opportunities for targeted marketing.
Veoh’s “network” will include a Web-based catalog of video, previews and a community component. Users will be able to watch their downloaded video in full-screen quality on PCs, TVs or handheld devices such as iPods and PlayStation Portables.
“Video delivery over the Internet is not a new concept, but the ability to deliver long-form, high definition programming and provide interactivity and community is an important differentiator,” said Rachel Lam, group managing director of Time Warner Investments, the venture wing of Time Warner, whose holdings include Web portal AOL, movie studios and TV networks.
“Veoh’s unique combination of technologies creates a strategic content distribution platform as well as the opportunity to greatly enhance the consumer’s experience with Internet-delivered video,” Lam said.
Veoh wants to extend the Web’s ability to let anyone publish content via a blog, for instance, to high-quality video.
The firm is far from alone in its efforts to build a distribution platform for IPTV. Across the country in Cambridge, Mass., another startup, Brightcove, is developing its own streamlined video publishing platform. In a sign that investors may be hedging their bets somewhat, that company counts AOL among its investors; the portal sank $16 million into Brightcove last fall.
Established companies are also in on the IPTV movement, with Microsoft recently signing a deal to have its IPTV software and related technology used by Deutsche Telekom. Video search specialist Blinkx last year launched a service to let users publish video to the Web, as has Google.
Matter of Time
Plenty of challenges remain, including potential roadblocks put up by the owners of the largest broadband networks, such as cable companies and telecoms, which may want consumers to purchase video directly from them — and which may have the right to refuse to allow certain content onto their networks. Attempts by lawmakers to pass legislation requiring network neutrality have failed so far.
Using viral and homemade video is seen by many as a way for Veoh and others to prove their technology and also to build demand for more online video among consumers.
“The market is still very much in its beginning days,” Will Richmond, president of research firm Broadband Directions, told the E-Commerce Times. The recently crossed threshold of 50 percent broadband penetration has helped bring more venture funding and attention to the market, he added.
“We’re still in the stage where different business models and technological approaches are being tested out,” Richmond said.


text:
Alysena-28 class-action suit approved after birth control pills recalled
Specific batches of Alysena-28 had insufficient number of active tablets, resulted in pregnancies
An Alberta court has agreed to hear a class-action lawsuit brought by women who claim to have become pregnant due to defective birth control pills.
The women claim that certain packages of Alysena-28 contained an insufficient number of active tablets, resulting in unwanted pregnancies despite being used as directed.
The suit covers specific lots of the prescription birth control pills packaged in Spain by Laboratorios León Farma SA and sold in pharmacies across Canada between Nov. 19, 2012, and April 15, 2013, until they were withdrawn from the market.
León Farma denies any wrongdoing, but lawyer Tony Merchant is determined to make the company pay.
"It wasn't a made-in-Canada mistake, but it was a mistake visited upon us alone," he said.
Apotex, the Canadian distributor of Alysena, recalled several lots of birth control pills as a precautionary measure in 2013.
There were concerns the packages may have contained two weeks of placebo sugar pills instead of one — an error that could raise the possibility of unplanned pregnancy.
At least 40 women affected
"Fourteen active, 14 placebo — this caused many people taking Alysena-28 to get pregnant," Merchant said, adding at least 40 women were affected, but that number could be much more.
The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench will also hear from the biological fathers of children born to the women, according to a statement from Trilogy Class Action Services, the court-appointed administrator.
Merchant says compensation could be anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 for both the mothers and fathers.
Women who didn't get pregnant, but were put at a high risk of getting pregnant, are expected to get a smaller settlement.
Anyone who may be affected by the suit can obtain additional information on this website.


text:
Vancouver, BC – LGM Financial Services Inc. (LGM) announced the appointment of the Executive Vice President of Finance, Kamini Hitkari.
With over 20 years of experience as a strategic finance leader, Hitkari brings with her an extensive background in corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management, along with a deep appreciation for business partnering.
“I am thrilled and excited to have Kamini join our LGM team”, says Drew Collier, President and CEO of LGM. “Kamini is a seasoned CFO and corporate finance leader, having worked with a variety of high growth companies as well as large, regulated entities. In addition, Kamini has led IPOs, capital raises, and bank financing. She started her career at HSBC as their Controller and later, the Head of Finance for their Wealth Management division, after moving on from a senior role at PWC, where she started her CPA, CA designation. She is an expert in building scalable finance teams and processes that enable rapid business growth in private and public companies.”
Hitkari’s timely hiring comes as LGM prepares for the next phase in its growth strategy and continues to revolutionize the consumer ownership experience.
“I am proud to join LGM’s leadership team as the company moves forward in its growth strategy”, says Kamini Hitkari, Executive Vice President, Finance. “I am excited to lean on my experience with dynamic high growth companies to lead its finance organization and to contribute to LGM’s future success. This is an important time in Finance’s transformation, and I look forward to continuing to build on the great work the team has underway. LGM has a strong financial foundation and significant opportunities for value creation.”
“Kamini is known for her leadership both in supporting development of her finance team, as well as her partnership with business units to drive growth/performance – a perfect fit for LGM”, says Collier.
About LGM Financial Services Inc.
LGM Financial Services has been a leader in Canada’s automotive industry since 1998 by supplying branded warranty, finance and insurance products to distinguished automotive manufacturers and dealers across the country. Driven by innovation and service excellence, LGM is focused on maximizing dealership performance and customer satisfaction through products that are backed by an elite F&I sales and training program, and a comprehensive claims and dealer support network. Learn more at LGM.ca.
For more information media may contact:


text:
The Google Maps design refresh, which was first unveiled at Google I/O, is finally making its way to Android tablets and smartphones. The update features a clean, card-based UI that is very similar to both the web version and the iOS version. From the screenshots, it looks very polished and streamlined. New features include enhanced traffic navigation, reviews from Zagat, and “Explore,” which allows you to discover new places by tapping the search button.
The update is using the staged-rollout option, so it might be a while until you receive it. You can try your luck through the download link after the break.
Play Store Download Link
Samsung has always been know for setting its sights pretty high, and it’s certainly paying off right now as they’re pretty much dominating the top of the mobile industry. But what about the future? Well yesterday at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco, Samsung strategy chief Young Sohn displayed a video showing what kind of potential the future holds in their industry, and more specifically, their own products. The video features flexible displays, unique wearable technology, and even a health-sensor that pairs with your smartphone which immediately sends if off to the doc. Check out the full concept video after the break.
Dropbox has maintained its position as one of the major players in cloud storage space by offering tons of features like automatic photo sharing and storage and some excellent cross-platform apps. Today, they announced a new API for third-party developers called Sync that lets apps take advantage of Dropbox’s reliable storage features, mainly for syncing application data for users. Dropbox Sync is a first step in creating a Dropbox Platform for developers to use to add in cloud storage and file syncing to their applications, which is especially handy for cross-device and cross-platform apps.
Dropbox already offers constantly updated folders and files, so adding in the ability for developers to sync an app’s data across many devices is invaluable. Want to see all of your sketches in your favorite drawing app on both your phone and your tablet? Dropbox Sync can handle that. It’s mainly a developer’s tool, but it’s going to allow developers to make some pretty big improvements to their applications and pad out Dropbox’s impressive 175 million active users.
Rovio Stars, a new third-party shop under the wings of Rovio, announced yesterday that they would be releasing their first game, Tiny Thief, on July 11th. Following up on that announcement, a teaser video was released today that gives us a look at some of the gameplay we can expect. The game’s developer, 5Ants, has brought a Rovio look and feel to the title, though it does not appear to involve any flicking or flinging of objects on screen. Instead, users will have to use their brains to solve puzzles and find hidden objects as they work their way through thirty different stages. Hit the break to view the video.
When Google made the move earlier this year to start consolidating all of their communication platforms to the Hangouts app, one feature that went missing was the ability to include phone calls as part of a Hangout. In response to user demand, Google announced today that they have brought that feature back to the desktop versions of Gmail, Google+ and the Chrome extension. Possibly due to the negative vibes created by removing the feature, Google not only brought the feature back, they have improved the calling features by making calls to U.S. or Canadian numbers free.
Some new images of Huawei’s forthcoming mid-range device, the Huawei Honor 3, reveal a couple features that may help the device set itself apart from other competitors. First, as one of the leaked photos indicates, the device will be waterproof, although we do not know to what extent. This implies the device will be dustproof as well. Another image shows what appears to be an infrared blaster similar to those found in high-end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S 4 or the HTC One.
In a week that seems to be full of leaked images, the latest batch to be discovered steps things up a notch as several images and even a video surface showing the forthcoming LG Optimus G2. The images show a device apparently heading to the Sprint network based on the information shown in the settings screen and not because of any logos on the exterior of the device.
After the tablet craze started, Amazon jumped and and built a solid tablet lineup with the Kindle Fire, which is still one of the most dominant Android tablets in the market today, and according to BGR Amazon is going to make some major improvements to their tablets by the end of the year to stay competitive. There will be three new tablets to replace current models on the market, which includes the Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, and Kindle Fire HD 8.9″.
In case you’ve forgotten— the latest additions to the Samsung Galaxy Tab family are officially here with the arrival of the full Galaxy Tab 3 series of tablets. While each tablet model bears an uncanny resemblance to the Galaxy S 4 per se, the new tablets come in 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch varieties— allowing for topnotch flexibility for a wide range of customers by including items such as a built-in IR blaster and expandable memory up to 64GB for each model. Oh and Sammy went ahead and tossed in some nice goodies for added measure:
“In addition, each of the devices in the Galaxy Tab 3 family comes with added value through pre-loaded content and Galaxy Perks available at www.samsung.com/us/galaxyperks. Specifically, hundreds of dollars’ worth of content, including a $10 voucher for the purchase of apps, books, movies and music in Google Play; one year of free access to the Boingo Wi-Fi network in North America, including more than 35,000 hotspots in the United States, Canada and Mexico; three months free Hulu Plus service; and two years free Dropbox Service with 50GB storage space.”
Don’t think all of the cool content will cost you a pretty penny either. Samsung is offering some pretty competitive pricing too as the tablets are priced at $199, $299 and $399, respectively, so the Korean giant is placing a bet that all that nice content and freebies will be enough to woo in customers by the masses.
More deets can be found once you hit the break and check out the full press release.


text:
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and the retail holiday responsible for generating:
It’s been touted as the biggest shopping day in America, yet there is no formal organization that actively brands or advertises for Black Friday. It goes to show that branding lies in the hands of the consumer and will naturally arise, regardless of whether it was meant to or not.
Today, we’re going to analyze the history behind the branding of Black Friday itself.
- The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade debuts to a joyous crowd of over 250,000 in New York City. This begins a tradition that unofficially kicks off the commercial holiday shopping season in America.
- Harvard historian Nancy Koehn says factory managers start calling the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because so many workers would call in sick for it.
- The Philadelphia Police Department starts to refer to the day after Thanksgiving as “Black Friday“ because of the massive crowds that pour into the city and cause massive headaches for the department. The Philly PD chose to call the day “Black Friday” in hopes to make it a distasteful term and discourage participation.
The first “Cyber Monday” happens, thanks to the marketing team at Shop.org (a division of the National Retail Federation).
- The first recorded Black Friday-related death happens this year. Jdimytai Damour, a seasonal Wal-Mart worker, gets trampled to death by a crowd hungry for $400 big-screen TVs and $2 DVDs. There’s immediate backlash.
- The site, BlackFridayDeathCount.com, is born. Its creator states, “It’s not really intended to be a strong political message, or make any conclusions about the data, just be thought provoking.“
- The American Express corporation launches the first “Small Business Saturday” on November 27th, 2010. This day encourages people to buy from small businesses in their area. Today, it is the most successful campaign to push consumers to shop local.
- Wal-Mart becomes the first retailer to start Black Friday on the night before, aka Thanksgiving.
- Patagonia launches one of the first Anti-Black Friday campaigns, “Don’t Buy This Jacket” in the New York Times and online.
- Patagonia launches the anti-consumerism campaign, “Worn Wear.” It is “an antidote to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy… an invitation to celebrate the stuff you already own.” There’s also a nostalgic short film to kick start the campaign, “Worn Wear: A Film About the Stories We Wear.”
- An untrue story which links Black Friday with slavery origins circulates around the web. Snopes.com goes on to debunk the story.
- Cards Against Humanity takes all their products offline on Black Friday. Except for a literal box of um, excrement. Which 30,000 people actually buy at $6 a box.
- A Thought Catalog article, “9 Facts About Retail Workers You Should Know Before You Shop On Black Friday,” gets shared over 229.7 thousand times.
- REI opts to close all their 143 stores on Black Friday and pay its employees to #OptOutside. There’s even a microsite for consumers to pledge to #OptOutside.
With three weeks left until Black Friday 2015, it remains to be seen how the branding of Black Friday will continue to evolve. Let us know in the comments or on social if there are other important Black Friday branding moments!


text:
Lloyds £289m losses revealed
The disastrous legacy of HBOS's forays into private equity is revealed this weekend with the disclosure of huge losses at its remaining investment vehicle, Uberior, now part of Lloyds Banking Group.
Heavy burden: lloyds posted £289m loss
Just a week after Lloyds finally offloaded the majority of Bank of Scotland's Integrated Finance division for £480m after enormous write-downs, accounts just filed for the remainder of its private equity businesses showed it plunged further into the red.
Uberior Investments - the name means 'abundant' in Latin - made a loss of £289m in 2009, up from £80m the year before, according to its latest report.
The investment vehicle bought heavily into property and retail companies, including builder Crest Nicholson, McCarthy & Stone retirement homes, Wyevale Garden Centres, rubbish collection firm Biffa and yacht maker Sunseeker.
Controversial banker Peter Cummings, who is credited with landing HBOS and its new owner Lloyds with £7 billion of bad debts that it had to write off last year, used to head Integrated Finance and was a director at Uberior, its holding company.
Uberior's latest accounts are a far cry from the heady days before the global financial meltdown. In 2007, it recorded a profit of £519m and paid dividends to the value of £280m.
That year it accounted for one tenth of the entire HBOS profits and Cummings was paid £2.6m. In 2008, a £350m dividend was paid out, but in this latest set of accounts the dividend has been scrapped entirely.
The deficit comes from huge write-downs in the value of its investments - from £954m to £596m - as well as £11.6m in interest payments. Figures from the Integrated-Finance division are not included.
Last week Lloyds announced the sale of its stakes in 40 companies that were part of Integrated Finance, including fitness club chain David Lloyd Leisure, shirt maker and retailer TM Lewin and D&D Restaurants, to a joint venture between Lloyds and Coller Capital called Cavendish Square Partners. Coller paid £332m for its 70% stake.
Most watched Money videos
- Range Rover races through the 99-turns of the Tianmen Road
- Should you buy a petrol or diesel car: Here's how to decide
- Tips to invest your Isa - and why it is worth doing
- New Jaguar I-Pace takes on Tesla in race against the clock
- Take a look at the brand new Jaguar I-Pace prototype
- Jaguar I-Pace prototype smart cones driving test in Geneva
- Where are the best places to invest in 2018?
- Can emerging markets continue to climb? We ask a top manager
- Jack Whitehall stars in Jaguar I-PACE promotional video
- Big Money Questions: What is diversifying?
- Why has the FTSE hit record highs and can they continue?
- Big Money Questions: Does tax have to be so complicated?


text:
Cryptocurrency's largest institutional asset manager Grayscale: ETH and ETC are second only to Bitcoin
Grayscale is the largest institutional asset manager in the cryptocurrency space and currently holds approximately 277,000 Bitcoins (BTC) with a value of $ 2.866 billion. The company provides cryptocurrency exposure through its Bitcoin-backed Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), its flagship product. It also offers other competing coin trust products, including Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Stellar, Zcash, Ethereum Classic and Horizen.
The company recently released a new overview of its assets under management. Data show that Ethereum and Ethereum Classic are the second and third most popular cryptocurrencies among investors.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust was very popular in 2019, when the company stated that the total investment of all products in 2019 reached 607.7 million US dollars, which is higher than all cumulative investments from 2013 to 2018.
The company says well-funded institutional investors are driving most of its growth:
- 71% of investments in 2019 will come from institutional investors;
- The customer base expanded by 24%, and existing customers accounted for more than 75% of the funds raised;
- Now, 36% of Grayscale customers allocate and invest in multiple products in the Grayscale product suite.
At the recent Swiss cryptocurrency financial conference, Grayscale Managing Director Michael Sonnenshein said that institutional funds in the cryptocurrency field have been put in place, and Bitcoin has swallowed the gold market share.
"Cryptocurrencies have a place in the gold market, and Bitcoin or other digital assets are becoming digital value stores. Maybe gold and other things may be the type of investment that has a place in the portfolio when the world becomes more physical For better or worse, I would argue for better-the world has become quite digital. So it's time to start thinking about what constitutes digital value storage, so we start to research things like Bitcoin. "
Looking ahead, Sonnenshein believes that millennials and younger generations will also play a key role in adopting crypto assets.
"In the United States, over the past 25 years, we are looking for about $ 68 trillion, and this money will be transferred from the previous generation, the baby boomer generation, to the millennial and younger generation. We certainly wouldn't say, We think that $ 68 trillion is entering the digital currency. However, we do believe that today's investors need to adjust their portfolios and consider where to go.
The younger generation does not necessarily have the same investment preferences, nor does the same type of investment necessarily resonate with them. So if you grew up in the age of Apple, Venmo, and Bitcoin, you can pay your friends digitally, you can buy flights with miles, no matter what it may be, we will definitely think that digital currency will become Money passes from one generation to the next, and some of its value. " Last December, Charles Schwab released a report showing that Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ranked fifth among its millennial investors, behind Disney and Netflix.


text:
Great advertising can improve the bottom line for brands, and Twitter ArtHouse, a new offering from the social network, is looking to help marketers do just that – improve their content to help drive sales.
Today at VidCon, Twitter announced the new global offering, which integrates the platform’s video editing and live broadcasting asset with its creators, influencers and artists. The ArtHouse team will include content strategists, digital producers and influencer marketing specialists, who will help brands "launch new products and connect to what’s happening in culture," Stacy Minero, Twitter’s global head of content creation, penned in a blog post.
Minero, who will be leading Twitter ArtHouse globally, added: "Our mission is simple: to help brands design Twitter first content that moves people."
To assess creative effectiveness, Twitter teamed up with Magna and IPG on a study that revealed that Twitter users spend about 24 percent more time with ads that come from creators than they do with posts from brands. Consumers also better recall branded creator posts, leading to a 41 percent increase in purchase intent, the sponsored study discovered.
A number of brands leverage Twitter’s creators, such as Wendy’s, which launched its S’Awesome menu items in partnership with comedian Demetrius Harmon.
Google Brazil recently worked with five artists to illustrate LGBTQ milestones and fight for equality, which was amplified with help from influencers in the LGBTQ community.
 Pra celebrar esse mês lindo, vamos fazer uma thread com criações de diferentes artistas. Pode baixá-las e usar de cover ou avatar.— Google Brasil (@googlebrasil) June 27, 2019
Homenageando as cores da bandeira LGBTQIA+, o @rederguod fez uma pintura artística no corpo da @LamonaDivine. #OrgulhoDeSer diviníssima! + pic.twitter.com/mmoPadbf5X
Twitter ArtHouse will also allow brands to optimize creative assets on Twitter’s feed with the help of the platform’s video editors. According to research done in partnership with GroupM, Twitter learned that optimized videos achieve 19 percent more unaided recall and a 6 percent boost in message association as compared to TV commercials.


text:
The Cleveland Auto Show is right around the corner and area dealerships are preparing for the industry’s busy season.
The Cleveland Jewish News contacted local dealerships to see what they are doing at the show as well as what releases they are most excited about from each brand.
Adventure Subaru/Adventure Jeep Chrysler Dodge
Michael Friedman, senior vice president of operations at Adventure Subaru in Painesville and Adventure Jeep Chrysler Dodge in Willoughby, said Adventure will have salespeople at the auto show to answer questions attendees may have.
“We will also be giving out a $500 coupon to people at the show that are interested in our product,” he said. “We’re looking forward to interacting with customers and meeting some new friends at the show, to tell them how wonderful our vehicles are. We want to be there when they are ready to make a deal.”
As far as what excites him most, Friedman said he has favorites from each dealership.
“I’m excited to see the 2019 Subaru Ascent,” he said. “It’s the biggest Subaru SUV ever. As for Jeep, we will be there for that too. The 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee is another exciting reveal.”
When it comes to Bedford Nissan in Bedford, general manager Matt Greenberg said the dealership has a lot of advertising planned to run along with the auto show.
“Customers can expect great deals around the auto show and always great service from Bedford Nissan,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the excitement the show brings. Many customers like to wait to see what is out there. Nissan has such a strong lineup that it always benefits our brand around that time.”
Greenberg said he’s looking forward to seeing the brand’s new cars, like the 2018 Nissan Kicks.
Bernie Moreno Companies
Bernie Moreno, president of Bernie Moreno Companies, said the brand plans to have a VIP unveiling for the new Ashton Martin DB11 convertible and the Ashton Martin Vantage on the first day of the auto show.
“We will have the CEO of Ashton Martin of the Americas at the event,” he said. “The black-tie optional event will feature a James Bond themed evening that we’re calling ‘Cleveland Royale.’”
Moreno said they also are sponsoring “Millionaire’s Row,” an area where five luxury cars will be on display.
“The auto show represents the beginning of the spring selling season, so clients should expect great incentives, plenty of choices and our award-winning service,” he said.
Matt Dietz, general manager at Classic Lexus in Willoughby Hills, said he believes the Cleveland Auto Show is one of the best in the country because of the service and brands offered.
“We have one of the biggest turnouts due to the weather we have here in Cleveland and people looking to get out of the house and experience what is now coming to the market,” he said. “Many of the manufacturers’ best deals of the year kick off after the car show, so it’s a great start.”
Dietz said Classic Lexus sales representatives will be on the convention floor to answer questions about the brand.
“Customers can expect a world-class experience from sales, delivery and technology specialists that will listen to questions and concerns to assist you in your buying or leasing experience,” he said.
Dietz said he’s most excited to see the new vehicles in the Lexus lineup – like the Lexus LS500 or the Lexus RXL.
Colin MacLean, president of Crown Acura in Brook Park, said the auto show kicks up their selling season.
“It’s the best show in the country for show to showroom sales,” he said. “Business is slower in the winter months, so we pull out all the stops to get sales at the beginning of the year. Usually, the show makes us more aggressive. It translates to double the showroom traffic in March.”
MacLean said he’s looking forward to seeing the new 2019 Acura RDX.
“It’s going to be the future of the Acura brand in terms of the cockpit and going forward into the future,” he said.
Ganley Subaru of Bedford
Jeffrey Rosen, sales manager at Ganley Subaru of Bedford in Bedford, said the auto show is an exciting time for the Subaru brand – especially because of their lineup of core products.
“All of our core products are standard all-wheel drive and that gives us a leg up,” he said. “We are also going to unveil our new Ascent which is a three-row SUV. There will be one there on display for the customers to get in and see what it’s all about.”
Rosen said Subaru is expecting a late June delivery for that model and will be able to take orders for it at the auto show.
“Once winter is over, customers start to look for new vehicles to replace older cars,” he said.
Rosen said he can’t wait to interact with customers and discuss what they are looking for.
“It’s a good time to get involved with customers, not only loyal customers, but also customers that aren’t familiar with our brand,” he said. “We want to get them excited about Subaru.”
Mazda of Bedford
Scott Newman, general sales manager at Mazda of Bedford in Bedford, said the dealership will be open longer hours starting Feb. 25 until the end of March to assist auto show attendees.
“Our clients will receive free car washes, loaner vehicles and personalized valet service anywhere in Northeast Ohio,” he said. “The auto show is an exciting time of the year. March is historically one of the busiest months of the year with some of the best deals.”
Newman said Mazda will have a bigger display at the show, featuring the new 2018 Mazda6.
“The Mazda brand is selling a quality, upscale and efficient vehicle in a market that has seen most manufacturers selling less new vehicles,” he said. “We forecast another record auto show and month of March.”
For Corey Steinberg, used car and inventory manager at Mentor Kia in Mentor, the auto show promises renewed excitement in the industry as well as a great start to the new year in terms of sales.
“We’re sending a full staff of dealer representatives to show Kia’s exciting line of automobiles,” he said. “We’re particularly excited to display the brand-new Kia Stinger, as well as the redesigned Kia Forte.”
Steinberg said customers can expect friendly and informative representatives at the show – as well as a full line of current and concept vehicles, like the Kia Telluride SUV concept.
Mercedes Benz of Bedford
Ty Whiting, sales manager at Mercedes Benz of Bedford in Bedford said, “Besides supplying reps from Mercedes, we will have product specialists from our dealership on hand.”
Whiting said the dealership’s specialists will be able to introduce the brand’s premium vehicles to attendees, as well as answer questions regarding available equipment, pricing, promotions and availability. Guests can then request to be contacted by a specialist after the conclusion of the show.
“The auto show is still important to the Greater Cleveland market,” he said. “It’s a time of year when Clevelanders are ready to break out of the cabin fever.”
Whiting said he’s looking forward to seeing Mercedes’ models like the brand’s “timeless” G-Wagon and the GTC Roadster.
Mercedes Benz of Willoughby
Michael Leikin, general manager of Mercedez Benz of Willoughby in Willoughby, said his staff works the show for the Mercedes Benz and Volvo brands.
“We’re there to answer questions for customers,” he said. “We’re also there to promote services that our dealership provides and to get people excited for what we are doing with the two lines.”
Leikin said he’s excited to see new releases from both lines.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the new Volvo XC 40,” he said. “I’m also very excited to see the new AMG product by Mercedes Benz. I always enjoy getting to see a lot of previous and current customers. It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with people from the past.”


text:
Steel imports are down nearly 16% so far this year, largely as a result of the administration's Section 232 tariffs on most foreign-made steel.
The United States has imported 24.7 million tons of steel through the end of October, or 15.9% less than the first 10 months in 2018, according to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data. That includes a 17% drop in finished steel imports that would require no further processing in the United States, such as at the 20 steel companies based at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.
Through the end of October, the United States imported 18.3 million tons of steel, accounting for 20% of the total market share, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
The United States imported 1.47 million tons of finished steel in October, up 14.5% year-over-year but down 3.5% as compared to September. That amounted to 17% of the U.S. market share.
In October, imports of wire rods were up by 24%, plates in coils by 13%, sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized by 13%, mechanical tubing by 13% and heavy structural shapes by 12%, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Imports were up 8% from South Korea, 22% from Germany, and 54% from Brazil. So far this year, imports are down 11% from South Korea, 7% from Japan, 17% from Germany and 16% from Taiwan.
The drop-off in in imports initially benefited U.S. steelmakers like Northwest Indiana's U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal USA. But the benefits have worn off as steel prices have fallen because of declining demand from the automotive sector, record imports of appliances, a catastrophic collapse in the tin can business and other factors.


text:
Jordanian-Israeli trade soared in 2000
Jordan-Israeli trade almost doubled in 2000, jumping from $41 million in 1999 to $75.5 million in 2000, the Israeli embassy in Jordan announced Wednesday, February 21.
Jordanian exports to Israel increased from $20 million in 1999 to $37 million in 2000, the Israeli embassy said in a statement, citing statistics from Israel's ministry of industry and trade. Israeli exports to Jordan grew from $21 million in 1999 to $38.5 million in 2000.
Jordanian goods exported to Israel included textiles and air conditioners while Israel exported produce and agricultural products to Jordan.
The Israeli embassy also announced that Israeli clothing manufacturer Solon Knitting Mills Ltd had invested $1.5 million in three Jordanian textile factories in an industrial zone in Irbid in northern Jordan. The funding will increase the number of Jordanian workers in the factories from 400 to 600 laborers.
However, since the start of the Palestinian uprising or intifada against Israeli occupation nearly five months ago, the countries' relations have been strained.
Amman decided in October not to post its new ambassador to Israel, Abdel Ilah Kurdi, to protest against Israel's use of force in the intifada. More than 410 people have died in the fighting, mostly Palestinians.
Meanwhile, a committee of Jordanian trade union activists has led a movement to annul Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel. The committee published in January a list of businesses and people who have done business with Israel.
The Jordanian government arrested seven of the activists for forming an illegal organization. Six have been freed on bail. The committee's blacklist identified more than 20 companies and individuals, including a hotel, private schools, journalists, musicians, members of parliament and government officials. — (AFP, Amman)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
- Five Protesting Jordanian Academics Freed
- Vishay puts Jordanian-Israeli joint venture on hold
- Israel says trade with Jordan growing, but still slow
- Jordan’s Ambassador to US: We Need to Send Israel a Strong Message that it cannot Flex its Muscle and Expect Peace
- Official: 57,000 Illegal Jordanians in Israel


text:
A St. Tammany Parish sheriff's detective was at the right place at the right time this week. The detective was on his lunch break in Slidell shortly after noon on Tuesday (Aug. 30) when he said he saw several people run out of the Dillard's store at 940 Town Center Parkway, get into a Toyota Camry and speed off.
The three had just stolen more than $1,200 in merchandise from the store and were making their escape, the sheriff's office said in a news release. The detective, who was not named in the release, gave chase and the suspects were eventually stopped on Interstate 12, directly in front of the Sheriff's Office headquarters in Slidell.
Deputies said they recovered all of the stolen merchandise and booked the trio with felony theft. The suspects were identified as Austin Oliver, 32, Erica Oliver, 33, and Carshonda Barze, 28.
Austin Oliver had an outstanding warrant for theft over $500 from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, authorities said.


text:
latest news releases from the newsroom
Port of Houston Authority
Delivering Java and Jobs to Stimulate the Houston Region's Economy
HOUSTON, Oct. 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority, the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, the Greater Houston Coffee Association, and the City of Pasadena have announced the first Coffee and Cocoa Symposium will be held Thursday, October 20 at the Pasadena Convention Center, 7902 Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena, Texas. The theme "Java and Jobs: Creating Economic Stimulus in the Region" reflects the Houston region's rising stature in the global coffee and cocoa trade and the powerful overall role of these commodities in the area's economic development. The day-long event will feature networking and insights on business development opportunities within Houston's coffee and cocoa supply chain -- from shipping, warehouse storage and distribution, to roasting, packaging and retail marketing.
Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc.
Pacific Sunwear Announces the Appointment of Wendy E. Burden as Chief Operating Officer
ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (Nasdaq:PSUN) today announced that Wendy E. Burden has been appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer effective November 8, 2005. Ms. Burden will report to Seth Johnson, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, and will be responsible for store operations, real estate and store construction, information systems, and the Company's distribution center.
First Horizon National Corporation
Consumer Reports Names First Tennessee Credit Card as One of the 10 Most Consumer-Friendly
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- First Tennessee Bank's Visa Platinum credit card was named by Consumer Reports magazine as one of the 10 most consumer-friendly credit cards. The list was compiled by CardWeb.com, a leading source of credit card industry data, which analyzed 10,200 card offers to determine which had the lowest costs and most customer-friendly terms based on criteria set by Consumer Reports. The 10 Most Consumer-friendly Credit Cards list appears in the November 2005 issue of Consumer Reports.
Silverado Financial, Inc.
Silverado Financial to Present at Instream Partners' Fourth Annual Value Below the Radar Conference
PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Silverado Financial, Inc. (OTCBB:SLVO), a mortgage banking company focused on non-prime borrowers, today announced that it will be a featured presenter at Instream Partners' 4th Annual "Value Below the Radar" conference Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., October 18, 2005 at the Park Hyatt in San Francisco. John Hartman, president and CEO of Silverado Financial, will give the presentation.


text:
Amazon's chief executive officer Jeff Bezos posted an apology message to customers over last week's remote-deletion of illegally sold books.
This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our “solution” to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles, Bezos wrote the apology on Amazon's Kindle Community forum.
Amazon deleted several books from their systems and from Kindle devices without the permission of their as soon as the company received an illegal copy notice from the rights holder.
The books in question were offered for sale by an Amazon publishing partner that did not have the rights to distribute them in the United States
As part of the deletion process the company credited those who had purchased the book with refunds.
The moved upset customers to the idea that anything else they had purchased could be taken back without their permission.
It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we’ve received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission, Bezoz wrote.


text:
The feds took a step to taking the flavor out of e-cigarettes for kids Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration announced policy changes it expects will lead to the banning of flavored cigars and certain flavored e-cigs, as well as restricting the sale of other flavored tobacco products to places where children are not permitted.
In a 20-page guidance document released Wednesday, the federal agency outlined what it described as “nonbinding recommendations” and its “priorities for use of enforcement.” Those priorities include getting flavored e-cigarettes and any e-cigs that are marketed to minors off store shelves.
The release of the policy guidelines come just three days after Sen. Charles Schumer called on FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to crack down on the sale of flavored e-cigs.
“I recently brought New York teens struggling with their e-cig addiction to sit with Dr. Gottlieb,” Schumer said Wednesday. “While more must be achieved to end this dangerous youth trend, today’s advancements are a good step in snuffing out the kid-friendly flavors that have fueled the spiking nicotine addiction amongst America’s youth.”
Juul, one of the top manufacturers of e-cigarettes — and one that is wildly popular with kids, said Wednesday that it is “committed to reducing youth usage”


text:
Pearl Abyss to Begin Self-Publishing for Black Desert Online in North America and Europe
Dec 12, 2020
Pearl Abyss officially announced at the online global user event “Calphe:ON Ball” that Black Desert Online will start self-publishing in North America and Europe.
During the Calphe:ON Ball, the roadmap for the first half of 2021 was revealed, and various programs such as user events and Developer Keyword Talks were held. The self-publishing plan for Black Desert Online in North America and Europe was also announced, with global users being the first to be informed.
Pearl Abyss has already been providing stable service by increasing user benefits and quality content through self-publishing in Korea, Russia, and Japan.
“We would like to express our gratitude to Kakao Games, who has made the best efforts for Black Desert Online for 5 years since the start of the service. We will do our best to communicate with our Adventurers and provide stable service in North America and Europe,” said Kwonho Kim, the Lead Executive of Black Desert.
All employees at Pearl Abyss will do their best to communicate with users in North America and Europe promptly to provide them with a new gaming experience and environment.
Pearl Abyss will begin self-publishing on February 24, 2021, and the transfer sign-ups will be available starting from January 27, 2021.
Visit the service transfer website for more information.


text:
The team from Down Under weren’t kidding about their ‘Live and Loud’ theme for the second night of Honda Celebration of Light fireworks.
Australia, represented by fireworks designer and manufacturer Howard’s Fireworks, created a soundtrack made out of a mix of cuts from the biggest live concerts and performances.
The 26th annual Honda Celebration of Light began on Saturday, July 23 with Royal Fireworks representing the Netherlands and concludes this Saturday, July 30 with the Walt Disney Company representing the United States.
Here is the complete song list from the Australian show, in the exact order it was played:
Daily Hive Vancouver is a proud Media Partner of the
2016 Honda Celebration of Light


text:
ShoppingBlog.com Tech News
LaCie Launches Stylish Portable Hard Drive Called LaCie Mirror (January 19, 2015): LaCie has launched a stylish looking portable hard drive called the LaCie Mirror.
NordicTrack Unveils Treadmill Desk at CES 2015 (January 10, 2015): NordicTrack unveield its new desk tradmill at the 2015 Consumer Electronic Show. The treadmill costs $1,799.
Hot Tablet Deals for Black Friday 2014 (November 17, 2014): There are some great deals on Android tablet and iPads for Black Friday. Target has the best iPad deals.
Adobe Study Predicts Lowest Prices Will Fall on Thanksgiving Day (November 6, 2014): A study by Adobe has found that the lowest prices can be found online on Thanksgiving Day.
Amazon Launches the Fire TV Stick (October 27, 2014): Amazon is taking on Chromecast and Roku with a new device called the Fire TV Stick
Apple Unveils iPad Air 2 (October 19, 2014): Apple has unveiled the iPad Air 2. Apple compares the width of the new tablet to a pencil in a teaser video.
Apple Reportedly Planning to Remove Bose Products From Apple Stores (October 11, 2014): Apple is reportedly planning to remove all Bose audio products from Apple Stores. The
2014 Black Friday Predictions Include Doorbusters on 60-Inch HDTVs (October 8, 2014): Deal News and Brad's Deal have released their Black Friday predictions for the 2014 season. The 60-inch HDTV is expected to be a doorbuster.
Dyson Unveils Robot Vacuum Called the 360 Eye (October 6, 2014): Dyson has unveiled a robotic vacuum called the Eye. It features a 360-degree camera and powerful suction.
Dallas Schools to Use WelloStations to Monitor Students' Temperatures (October 3, 2014): Dallas schools with students that had contact with the Ebola patient are installing Wello Stations to monitor the temperatures of students in the school.
Apple Watch Features Navigation Tool Called Digital Crown (September 9, 2014): Apple has announced its new smartwatch, called Apple Watch. It features a new navigational tool Apple calls a Digital Crown.
Naomi Campbell Models Gold Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones (July 14, 2014): Naomi Campbell models gold Beats by Dr. Dre headphones which were gifted to the German team.
Martha Stewart Says Drones Are Controversial But Fabulous (July 13, 2014): Martha Stewart used a drone to photograph her farm. She says drones are fabulous.
LG Unveils Rollable and Transparent OLED Display (July 11, 2014): LG has unveiled a rollable and transparent OLED display.
BlackBerry to Launch Square Smartphone (July 9, 2014): BlackBerry plans to launch a square smartphone called Passport. The company says its hip to be square.


text:
Squad Mobility's vision for the ideal urban vehicle is a low cost EV with swappable batteries, solar panels and enough range to satisfy the needs of city drivers. It measures 6.5 feet.
The Dutch startup is currently assembling prototypes in Breda (the Netherlands) and recently unveiled the final design for its quadricycle. Squad stated that the base price for the vehicle would be 5,750 dollars ($6,790) excluding taxes. If buyers add extra features such as removable doors, heating, and air conditioning, the price will go up.
Robert Hoevers (CEO and co-founder) of Squad stated that the prototypes will be presented to the public this fall. The car will be delivered by 2022, with pre-production expected to begin in the new year.
Like many new entrants in the EV car market, Squad will require more funding to achieve its goal.
The company raised an undisclosed amount of money from Bloomit Ventures in June. Hoevers estimates that Squad will require an additional $3.5 million ($4.1million) for its next round and another $8 million ($9.6million) to be able deliver its first Squads. Although the company has not publicly announced a round, it says it is in discussions with several interested parties.
Squads allows interested customers to go on their website and pay a $5 reserve fee. However, Squad sees the shared mobility companies as where it can make a real impact in its market. According to the startup, it is currently in discussions with several car-sharing and micromobility operators who might be interested in diversifying their fleets by purchasing a small, smart vehicle.
The Squad is a combination between the words quadricycle and solar. It seats two and can travel up to 30 mph. It is powered by two interchangeable batteries that have a combined capacity of 1.6 Kwh and a range of approximately 62 miles. Similar to electric mopeds' battery range and capacity, this is also similar.
This should provide enough range for the average European city driver. Squad also added a 250-watt solar array to the vehicle. This, according to Squad, adds 12 miles per day to the vehicle given Europe's high sun exposure.
Squad is emerging at the intersection between new mobility categories, EV charging innovation and shared mobility operators. This could appeal to shared mobility operators seeking to solve more use cases.
Shared micromobility businesses are adding electric mopeds and scooters to their e-scooters or e-bikes fleets. Operators who want to appeal to a wider audience and are more comfortable riding in a four-wheeled vehicle could consider the Squad.
Operators may also be attracted by the potential savings that can be achieved from harnessing the sun's power. The labor costs of charging and swapping batteries is a major obstacle to profitability in micromobility. This could be alleviated by a vehicle that is always charged, at least during daylight hours.
Hoevers explained to TechCrunch that the idea is not to directly drive on solar power. It is possible to buffer the battery with solar, and then drive on them. It is a healthy way to charge your battery. The sun drip charges it more or less throughout the day. Your batteries shouldn't be charged to 100%. For a longer battery life, keep them between 50% and 60%.
Hoevers stated that Squad is in talks with micromobility providers and shared riders to pitch the quadricycle. TechCrunch has confirmed that the numbers are within the reach of the Squad car and have spoken with several micromobility operators.
Squad plans to equip its vehicles also with sensors, cameras and other smart features, making it more appealing to shared operators who are looking for fleets that can be integrated into their management platforms. Hoevers and Chris Klok, his co-founder, also claim they have combined their 40-years of mobility experience and shared past experiences at Lightyear, a long range solar electric vehicle company, to create a strong CAN bus/drivetrain that can be upgraded with new features.
It is possible that Squad will sell fleets to car-sharing or micromobility platforms. This depends on which vehicle category it ends up in. The Squad car, with its current speed and weight will fall under the L6e category of light four-wheeled vehicles.
Hoevers said that there are many tax and cost benefits to this segment. Hoevers said that there are no congestion charges, no road taxes, no parking fees, and low insurance fees. Also, a car driving license is not required in most markets.
Hoevers stated that the company is considering making a stronger L7, capable of traveling up to 45 miles an hour. This might be a better option for those cities with higher hills.
Squad is not the only company to have added solar panels on its electric vehicles. TechCrunch was informed by Sono Motors, a German startup that it is on track to start deliveries of its electric Sion vehicle in 2023. The vehicle's exterior is made up of hundreds of solar cells, which have been embedded into polymer rather than glass. This can provide an additional battery life of nearly 22 miles per day.
The Sion is still not available, but the Sono app invites owners to share their vehicle via the Sono app. This will allow them to make use of cars that are otherwise unused and parked for the majority of the day. Sono has expanded this vision to allow cars to be shared through the Sono app as of Thursday.
Aptera Motors in California, which has pledged to produce the first mass-produced solar-powered car this year, raised $4million in a Series B this February. It is using this money to purchase carbon fiber, fiberglass and batteries for its tricycle-like spaceship-looking design. Aptera claims its vehicle is currently available for pre-order at a price of between $25,900 to $46,900. It will feature 34 square feet worth of solar cells, which can provide an additional 40 mile of battery power on a clear day.
Although each player in the solar-powered electric vehicle space has their own style and tech, they all have the potential to find ways to reduce the strain on the grid.
The Netherlands has 25% market share for new electric cars, and this number is expected to rise. Even though it might not be possible for all those cars to plug into the grid, the fact that different industries are electrifying means it may not be practical in the long-term.
Squad and similar companies are working to develop future solar technology, even though it is clear that vehicles cannot run solely on solar energy.


text:
News about alliances between large companies are common in the international media, highlighting the opportunities that they intend to exploit, synergies they generate for the signatories or improvements in products or services that they foresee to achieve. No doubt these objectives can be achieved, but sometimes professional relationships, can be twisted.
The Wall Street Journal, CNN and CNBC, among other media, talked these days about the conflict between The Coca-Cola Company and Monster Energy Company. Coca-Cola´s new product: “Coca-Cola Energy” endangered the agreement between the two companies, signed in 2015.
The Coca-Cola Company, leader in the soft drink sector and one of the largest global distribution networks, and Monster Energy, one of the leaders in the energy drinks market, signed an alliance in 2015 whereby the company from Atlanta acquired part of the Californian company capital. Coca-Cola currently holds nearly 19% of the shares of Monster Energy.
In the mentioned pact both would unify the distribution of their products in the United States and Canada, leaving for later the operation in other countries. In addition, Coca-Cola gave Monster all its energy drinks business, among which were brands such as NOS, Full Throttle or Burn. For their part, Californians would do the same with their non-energy products.
With the launch of “Coca-Cola Energy” their allies understood that the agreement had not been respected, so in October of last year they reported the situation to the American Arbitrary Association. On June 28, 2019, the association considered that Coca-Cola could launch its product worldwide, given that when it was marketed under the brand name “Coca-Cola” it fully respected the signed no-competition agreement.
In spite of this Coca-Cola has communicated that they will maintain its relations with Monster.
A market led by Red Bull and Monster, with market shares, in the United States, of 26.4% and 15.2% respectively.
On other occasions we have talked about the importance of branding, especially when entering new markets. Coca-Cola has a very strong image in the mind of the consumer as a producer of cola. Is it possible for a product with the name of a refreshing drink to gain a place among the leaders of energy drinks?


text:
KPMG has unveiled plans to deliver Alibaba Cloud to businesses across multiple industries globally, starting with Asia Pacific and Europe.
Specialist IBM provider Rocket Software has acted on plans to increase capabilities across A/NZ, through the acquisition of Perth-based Fundi Software.
Telstra has teamed up with passenger transport fleet manager, P2P Transport, in a three-year $17 million partnership deal to supply digital taxi advertising solutions.
Amazon is investigating internal leaks of confidential information by employees for bribes to remove fake reviews and other seller scams from its website.
- Canberra-based Netier is expanding across Australia
- Data#3 executive named CEO at GreenBox
- Partners must get straight to the point with buyers, or lose them
- Fair Trading takes online retailer to NSW Supreme Court
- Tech IPOs in vogue, and set to continue
- Bitdefender buys its Australian distributor
- A new phone-like device from Redmond? Why, Microsoft, why?
- Spotlight on Alibaba CEO Zhang as Jack Ma starts retirement countdown
- Alibaba's Jack Ma to step down in one year, CEO to become chairman
- EDGE 2018: Employee centricity key to customer centricity
- Alibaba's Jack Ma to unveil succession plan this week, remain chairman
- Apple to provide online tool for police to request data: letter
Mobile technology is clearly the future for business. IDC research shows that 79 per cent of businesses are buying and supporting notebooks for their employees. On top of that, 86 per cent are supplying their employees with smartphones, and 62 per cent are providing tablets.. Read more
Outcomex celebrates first anniversary in Melbourne with key customers and vendors
Seccom Global celebrates turning 15 with key industry partners
ARN welcomes channel leaders for 2018 Hall of Fame lunch
EDGE 2018: Golfers go for glory in the EDGE Cup with HP
EDGE 2018: 300 tech leaders come together for Dinner Under the Hangar
Security, cloud and IoT on show at Ingram Micro One
Apple has officially launched its new series of retail classes, and it could dramatically change the way we look at Apple stores.
New iPhones, new MacBooks, and new Apple Watches were bright spots in an otherwise gloomy year of sliding iPhone sales and a legal battle with ...
iPhones, Amazon gadgets, Android tablets, Windows 10 computers, Xbox bundles, big cheap TVs & other Black Friday 2016 bargains
Microsoft previews deals on Surface tablets, Dell laptops; plenty of Windows 10 machine deals surface in other retailers' Black Friday 2016 ads
$250 gift cards being bundled with Android smartphones, up to $100 being knocked off Android tablets by big retailers for Black Friday 2016
Oculus Rift, HTC VIVE, PlayStation VR will all be showing up on Black Friday wish lists
Windows 10 will be supported until Oct. 14, 2025 — unless your computer has a Clover Trail CPU. Then you’re out of luck.
Microsoft, along with AMD and Intel, has made darn sure you’ll be running Windows 10 and not Windows 7 on the next PC you buy
Automation is nice, but it doesn't mean you should hand over responsibility to the machines.
It's smaller and supports 4K video streaming, but not 4K gaming
The purpose: To enhance voice-only commands and increase safety while driving
This is a Chromebook solid enough for business use.