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New York (CNN Business)You’ve probably heard of the FAANG stocks: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google owner Alphabet. But it’s the BANG stocks of Reddit WallStreetBets meme fame that are now taking the investing world by storm.
BlackBerry. AMC. Nokia. GameStop. This quartet, along with others such as insurance startup Clover Health, mobile shopping app developer ContextLogic and fast food chain Wendy’s, have become darlings of the Reddit crowd. So why do some stocks go from being unloved on Wall Street to diehard favorites of the Reddit army?
What all these stocks have in common is that a fair number of short sellers are betting against them.
And that riles the passions of the Reddit crowd, many of whom view short-selling -— when an investor borrows a stock and sells it with hopes of buying it back at a lower price and pocketing the difference as a profit — as a rigged part of the investing game designed to benefit fat cat hedge funds.Read More
GameStop names a new CEO and CFO, both from AmazonThe Reddit crew is looking for underdogs that Wall Street pros think are relics: BlackBerry (BB) and Nokia (NOK) got left behind when everybody started buying iPhones and Androids, while AMC (AMC) and GameStop (GME) have both been hit hard by the pandemic, plus shifts in how people watch movies and play video games.”Shorts have some tricks for us today. But today we set it up,” wrote one Redditor on Thursday about AMC, GameStop and Tilray (TLRY), a cannabis company that is also heavily shorted. “We battle the shorts. We stay strong; Monday we’ll be in orbit and complete control.”
‘Squeezing’ the life out of hedge funds
The term “meme stock” may sometimes be used pejoratively, but the fact is Reddit investors are sophisticated enough to realize that by targeting stocks that are heavily shorted and don’t have a sizable amount of shares available for trading, there’s a chance to help fuel what’s known as a short squeeze. A squeeze takes place when short-sellers have to rush to repurchase shares they borrowed because the price is rising. The higher a shorted stock goes, the more money the short-seller stands to lose. So they have to often quickly buy the stock back to avoid losing their shirts — thus pushing the price even higher.
AMC shares soar to an all-time high
ReplayMore Videos …MUST WATCH
AMC shares soar to an all-time high 02:27If a short-seller borrows a stock trading at $50 and sells it but the stock then climbs to $75, that’s a $25 loss. If it goes to $100, the short is $50 in the red, and so on. They want to get out quickly to reduce their losses, and that creates the squeeze.”This is the perfect storm for an epic short squeeze: the mother of all short squeezes,” said one Reddit user about AMC on Thursday. The poster even went on to declare that AMC is the “safest bet” on Wall Street — and emphasized that by using several rocket emojis. Of course, AMC is not a “safe” stock per se. A lot can go wrong with the reopening of the economy. And even if things go smoothly, some argue the shares, which are now up more than 2,000% already in 2021, could eventually cool off.
Planet of the ‘apes’
Still, investors who bet against the meme stocks need to realize that the so-called apes, a term that many investors on Reddit use to describe themselves, are playing the long game. They are not necessarily looking to always cash in after making a quick buck.”We are in this for the long haul,” said one Reddit user in a post about GameStop, BlackBerry, AMC and ContextLogic, adding that the stocks are “absolutely primed for a squeeze.”The support of the Reddit crowd is grabbing attention from the meme stocks’ management teams, too.Clover Health CEO Vivek Garipalli gave them a shoutout on the company’s earnings call with analysts last month: “We are also including some questions from the strong community of Clover investors on Reddit. As a quick aside, we are a big believer in the retail investor community.”
Why AMC is luring rabid investors with free popcornAMC has even launched a rewards program for loyal retail investors. “I’m quite optimistic about the new shareholder base of AMC,” said AMC CEO Adam Aron on its earnings call last month. “Just go on Twitter, just go on Reddit, just go on YouTube. Read what these people write. They love AMC.” “These are not people who are just going to be investors in AMC. These are going to be customers of AMC who come to our theaters and enjoy watching movies at our theaters as paying guests,” he added. “So I love the idea that we have a passionate, committed, enthusiastic shareholder base.”Meanwhile, not all Reddit-approved stocks are wrapped up in a battle between retail investor longs and hedge fund short sellers. Just look at Wendy’s (WEN). Hedge fund Trian, run by Nelson Peltz, is the top shareholder.
So it seems the key to finding a stock primed for a Reddit bump is to identify companies that don’t have a lot of shares available for trading. It’s easy to propel those stocks higher.That was the case with Wendy’s earlier this week, as one Reddit user noted that “frenzy+scarcity+low volume means minimal buys could push the price quickly.”


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// Network Rail retail sales up 4.36% in the 2018/19 financial year
// Like-for-like sales up 1.32%
// Over 250m customers visited retailers within the railway network in 2018/19
The Network Rail has reported a 4.36 per cent growth in full-year retail sales, while annual like-for-like sales went up 1.32 per cent in the period.
The growth is well above the BRC’s figure of 0.05 per cent for the same period.
Over 250 million customers visited retailers within the railway network in its 2018/19 financial year.
The newly-renovated London Bridge station – which houses over 70 shops – has doubled its total sales for the first three months of 2019 compared to the same period last year.
It recorded over £14 million in purchases, while sales for the year grew by over 75 per cent.
These results mark the eighth straight year, and 32nd successive quarter, that like-for-like sales have increased for Network Rail, with retail sales profit being reinvested back into the railway.
“We are delivering a passenger-centric retail offer across our estate and are pleased it continues to be successful despite some tough market conditions,” Network Rail Property managing director David Biggs said.

domain: news


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Unless people have been living on the Moon, they’ll be well aware of the massive increase in costs that have occurred over the past several months.
Fuel and fertiliser costs led the way on this, with one analyst saying it had pushed farmers operating expenses by 13% for this season.
Unfortunately, it’s likely going to get worse before it gets better because of the ongoing disruptions caused by covid and the war in Ukraine.
Supplementary feed, particularly maize is going to cost around $5273 a hectare from sprayout to covering in the stack, according to Corzon Maize.
If grown on-farm using a full fertiliser programme, it will cost 25ckg/dry matter and using effluent instead of chemical fertiliser, it would cost 22ckg/DM based on a 20 tonne a hectare yield.
The cost to buy silage ranged from 40-48 cents, depending on the distance travelled. For maize grain, that cost could be around $370/t, including storage, drying and kibbling.
It doesn’t look much better for other feeds. The current spot price for palm kernel is around $504/t and soya bean hull is $950/t.
For summer crops like chicory it costs around $1500/ha to establish 12t of dry matter a hectare and $2000/ha for turnips at 12.5t DM/ha.
What is really scary are the costs of grains. Milling wheat contracts for the new season will be sitting around $600-$630 a tonne – up $200 from last season.
My advice is if you like baking, start hoarding flour now, because prices are going to skyrocket in late 2022-2023.
Imported grain from Australia won’t fare any better cost-wise as countries compete for its supply as the impact of the lack of grain coming out of Russia and Ukraine start to impact.
Drilling that all down to a real-life example, the cost to create a cheese scone alone has jumped 45% over the past two years, largely due to cost rises in flour, according to NZX.
That’s just for cropping. From all accounts, fertiliser and fuel costs are likely to remain high for the new season.
Nothing appears to have changed too much in terms of low global milk supply.
Westpac senior agri-economist Nathan Penny said at a field day at Owl Farm in Cambridge in May that these cost increases and inflation will not go away.
The dairy sector’s incomes are very strong and farmers still had buying power that other parts of the economy did not have.
“I expect the pressure on costs for farmers to be really rough over the next season at least,” he says.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Thankfully the market is still reasonably robust with most analysts predicting the slowdown in demand in China is temporary rather than permanent.
He pointed out that the current commodity price cycle is different to the one that occurred in 2014.
It is longer and prices are going to stay higher for longer because there is not the global milk volumes to fill the supply gaps.
Like NZ, European dairy producers had their own production issues and their margins are nowhere near where they should be for them to crank up production.
“There isn’t a big supply response coming this year like there was back in 2015. This is going to be a longer cycle and therefore expecting consecutive high milk prices.
He predicted another $9/kg MS milk price for next year. That has not changed following the latest dip in the GDT, with the bank sticking with its $9.25/kg MS milk price for the new season.
“We still expect this dip in Chinese demand will prove temporary as covid restrictions will eventually ease. Indeed, in Shanghai, covid restrictions are starting to wind back and daily case numbers are falling,” he says.
Likewise, ASB’s Rural Economic Note said it was still bullish on the price outlook. Global supply remains very tight and demand is fairly robust.
“Recent economic data out of China have been soft and global growth forecasts have been revised down, but both China and the global economy more broadly are still in expansionary territory, and global dairy demand is still set to rise,” ASB says.
Global dairy supply is still very tight, with no obvious signs of meeting that demand.
“Our base case is still that prices will recover some ground over the New Zealand winter. Beyond that, a lower Kiwi is giving a big lift to our forecast,” it said.
It retained its $9.20/kg MS forecast, noting that a sharp increase in supply did not look imminent.
Wherever the number lands, it’s going to be a challenging season ahead.


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Apple looking to restrict generative AI apps to 17+ audiences
2nd March, 2023 at 8:14 pm by Divi
Image credit: MacRumors
- Apple has blocked an update to BlueMail containing ChatGPT AI features.
- Apple says due to the app's AI features it must have a 17+ rating.
- This could indicate a new policy from Apple requiring higher age restrictions for AI apps.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal today, Apple has blocked an app update containing a ChatGPT-powered feature to the iOS email app BlueMail. The company allegedly said that including generative AI content in an app requires a 17+ age restriction, guarding minors against inappropriate content exposure.
BlueMail’s update would use OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to help users compose emails using content from past emails and calendar events. Apple’s App Store review team has expressed concern with AI content generation being available to younger audiences. It requested BlueMail’s developer to increase its age restriction to 17+ or include content filtering. The app’s current age rating is 4+, and a significantly higher restriction would likely stop the app from attracting potential users. Image credit: 9to5mac In the past, ratings of 17+ have been used for apps with offensive language, sexual content, or references to drugs. Because BlueMail has none of those, its developer accuses Apple of unfair treatment. In response to BlueMail’s complaints, Apple said it is investigating.
Apple did not officially comment on whether or not all generative AI apps need older age restrictions, though Microsoft’s updated Bing app with AI functionality has a 17+ rating on the App Store and not on Google’s Play Store, indicating that this could be a new rule of Apple’s.


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Morgan Stanley reported that India’s GDP will grow 6.2 percent in FY24 due to the economy’s full reopening last year, cyclical consumption rebound, increasing private sector capex, and government spending acceleration. The research also predicted India’s second-quarter 2024 inflation will be below 5%.
Morgan Stanley believes that increased capex will boost domestic demand by creating more employment and starting a cycle of increasing income, savings, and investment. March’s headline CPI was expected.
“We estimate inflation to drop more strongly in the quarter ending June, to below 5%, backed by positive base effect and decreasing commodity prices. April inflation is 4.7 percent YoY. Morgan Stanley predicted 5.5 percent inflation in F2024, with negative risks from falling commodity prices.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) predicts repo rate reduction in the first quarter of 2024 and a hold in 2023 due to low inflation.
Indeed, we expect inflation to dip below 5% in QE June and see negative risks to our F24 inflation prediction of 5.5 percent. “Based on an improving inflation outlook, we see risks of a shallow rate cut cycle starting earlier than 1Q24,” the research states.


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A woman who stole Lego, sun cream and air fresheners from shops has been jailed.
Jessica Hodgkinson appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court yesterday, Wednesday, May 20, after carrying out nine shop thefts and assaulting a shop worker.
The court heard how she stole items including fragrances from Superdrug, air freshener from Poundland and washing powder from Spar.
The hearing revealed the 36-year-old also stole health and beauty items from Superdug, sun cream from Ashgate Service Station, Lego from Asda, men's grooming products from Boots and various items from The Range.
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Hodgkinson, of Albion Road, Chesterfield, was jailed for 16 weeks and also had to pay compensation.
Officers from Chesterfield SNT tweeted about the case and shared a picture of her.
Their tweets read: "Jess Hodgkinson, aged 36 years, has been charged with nine offences of theft from a shop and one offence of assaulting a shop worker. She was remanded to court.
"Jess Hodgkinson appeared at court yesterday and received the following sentence: Theft from shop 16 weeks imprisonment #lockedupforlockdown."
To report a crime you should call police on 101.
People can also contact Crimestoppers, which is an anonymous service, on 0800 555 111.
A reward is sometimes offered if information provided by a member of the public leads to a successful result.


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Adept4is is gearing up for growth and has made a number of new appointments across its three geographical sites.
The Daresbury-headquartered firm – which claims it is on track for 30 per cent growth for the fourth year running – has more than doubled its headcount over the last 18 months.
It has both promoted internally and taken on new staff as it continues to grow across its offices in Cheshire, London and Aberdeen.
David Rawlinson has been promoted to director of client services with the task of monitoring delivery, profitability and client services.
Peter Birkett, chief executive of adept4, said: “We’re delighted to be promoting David to this vital role in the business. He’s a highly capable member of the team and an experienced pair of hands and we’re looking forward to seeing him grow and develop this area of the company.
“Excellent customer service delivery is a critical part of the work we do. We’re absolutely committed to delivering an outstanding experience while continuing on our journey of growth and expansion, so having the right team in place is imperative.”
In addition the company has appointed Dave Brown as software services manager, reporting to Rawlinson, and has also appointed Ashley Rudd, who joins the firm from Marks & Spencer, as marketing coordinator to raise the firm’s brand profile.
Birkett added: “In a business landscape where there is a looming skills gap, we have been fortunate enough to have made a number of great hires in recent weeks. Our new starters will no doubt have an invigorating and positive effect on their elements of the business.”
UK chief executive Cindy Rose says the proposed deal is needed to maintain the 'free flow' of data
Contingency plans follow Carillion's demise earlier this year
iboss EMEA VP tells CRN that he sees no point in the vendor entering into competition with its partners
Oliver Tuszik says partners can boost subscription sales by taking a customer experience-led approach


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When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Southampton retail warehouse plan submitted for wharf
11:15am Tuesday 3rd December 2013 in News
A COMPANY has applied to change the use of a warehouse in Southampton.
South East Building Supplies wants to set up a builders’ merchants and retail warehouse at the site in Dibles Wharf, Belvidere Road. A decision is due by January 21.
Comments are closed on this article.


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Yelp opened the hood on its financial operations on Thursday, giving potential investors a look inside the company's business.
Yelp had 22 million reviews on its network in September, an increase of 66% over the comparable period in 2010. The average review has more than 100 words.
The company's website got 61 million unique visitors that month, up 63% over the year-ago period.
Five million mobile devices accessed Yelp in September.
There are 529,000 business locations that are on Yelp, up 114%.
The company posted $58.4 million in revenue for the first nine months of this year, up 80% over the comparable period in 2010.
Yelp posted a net loss of $7.6 million for that period.
The bulk of Yelp's revenues — $40.3 million for the first nine months of 2010 — comes from local advertising. Another $12.7 million is from brand advertising, while the remainder — $5.4 million — is from "other services." This includes the recently scaled back Yelp Deals offering.
Sales and marketing comprise $38.5 million of Yelp's expenses.
Though the company warns it has "incurred significant operating losses in the past" and may not be able achieve or maintain profitability down the road, Yelp sees a strong opportunity in local advertising.
The company cites figures from BIA/Kelsey stating that local online advertising was a $19.6 billion business in 2010 and there are 27 million local businesses in the U.S. The implication is that Yelp has plenty of opportunity in the market to scale up.
Yelp cites a few factors in its favor, like the fact that online reviews are gaining credibility and that more local businesses are advertising online. The continuing adoption of mobile devices also benefits the company since so many mobile users are accessing Yelp to get reviews of local businesses on the fly.


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There's no bigger frustration than seeing your Windows based PC continuously lag while performing even simple tasks. Be it a general user or a professional, this sort of performance let down is something that no likes. Most of the times, its because of the hardware of your system or the way your data and personal files are stored or managed on it. So, is there nothing you can do? Well, cheer up. There are certain easy-to-follow tips to improve the performance of your system. Read on to know'em all
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
There's no denying that Microsoft's Windows really changed we viewed computing-especially personal computing. It would be safe to say that majority of world's PC users prefer Windows as the OS of their choice. But a generation of PC users might be unaware of the fact that before Windows came into existence, Linux was the OS that powered most of the computers. (Do you know that even Google's Android OS is based on Linux?)
Thursday, March 28, 2013
While Samsung is proudly the leader of the herd of Android manufacturer at the moment, its recent flagship Galaxy S4 and flagships of other manufacturers will have to face intense competition with HTC One. Beautiful and elegant design, mind-blowing Specs, Benchmark scores that blow the competition to dust, what else do you want from your phone? Read on as I give you details about the Specifications of HTC one and give you a short review of what the phone offers.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Google has announced that its Google I/O conference 2013 is scheduled for May 15-17. The event as expected is creating quite a buzz. The tickets for the event got sold out within 49 minutes of them being made available for purchase, which is quite an achievement. The event is expected to be a massive one with lot of new launches and announcements expected. Here's a brief rundown of the probable highlights of the Google I/O this year.


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The EPA’s purchase card and convenience check program controls are not effective for preventing improper purchases, an IG report has said, saying that “cardholders, approving officials, the purchase card team, and program offices were not providing oversight needed to achieve compliance with internal controls.”
The EPA reported 80,917 purchase card transactions and 458 convenience check transactions totaling $41,175,877 and $241,078, respectively, in FY 2017 by more than 1,100 employees.
In a sample of 69 purchase card transactions, auditors found numerous problems including lack of required approval, justification, and verification that the purchases received, purchases from prohibited merchant categories, and more. Non-compliant purchases were made for items including a wireless projector, computer memory, laboratory chemicals and a garage door opener.
Similar issues were found in the six convenience card transactions sampled, including a $2,000 training transaction for which the dates of purchase, funding and training approval were unknown. “None of the 75 reviewed transactions were in complete compliance with EPA requirements,” it said.
The EPA agreed to a series of recommendations but the report noted that the agency similarly had promised to improve controls following a similar 2014 report.


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After opening seven stores in the Richmond region over the past year, Publix opened its first grocery store in Chesterfield this month. This new Publix grocery store is a complete interior renovation of an existing Martin’s grocery store in the Harbour Pointe Shopping Center off Hull Street Road.
“We were fortunate to be selected as the general contractor for this project. Publix is quickly becoming a major player in the grocery market in Virginia and we hope to continue our relationship with them,” said Mark Loving, project manager who oversaw the construction of Chesterfield store.
The 53,000-square-foot store includes a bakery, a drive-thru pharmacy, deli, grocery, produce, seafood, meat and floral departments. The project also adds amenities such as a pharmacy with on-the-go medical clinic, Starbucks Cafe and event planning space. The project scope includes a complete slab replacement to facilitate new store layout, all-new mechanical, refrigeration and electrical systems and Publix signature epoxy-resin terrazzo floor. This project represents one of the first Publix stores to open in the greater Richmond market.
Like most renovation projects, this one came with unique challenges. Minimizing vibration transfer to the sensitive medical equipment in an adjacent MRI center required very thoughtful and thorough coordination. Heavy construction activities such as saw cutting and jack hammering the existing concrete slab were scheduled at night to prevent disruption to the center’s daily operations. This off-hour work was closely managed to guarantee there was no impact to the project’s overall schedule.
Following their announcement last year of entry into the Virginia market, Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw said, “Being company owners, our associates continue to work diligently to exceed our customers’ expectations, which has allowed Publix to experience continued growth. As we enter new markets and continue to open new stores, our associates prepare for new opportunities which supports our culture of promotion from within. We look forward to providing the great state of Virginia with the high quality service and products that our customers have come to expect and that have earned us recognition throughout the industry.”
Virginia will mark the company’s seventh state of operation. In September 2012, the company announced its long awaited entry into North Carolina opening the first location in February 2014. The company is looking ahead to aggressive growth within the state and in its current operating areas of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South and North Carolina.
Publix was ranked 21st on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 2017 and has made the list every year since it was first published in 1998.


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You trust that the products you consume are safe from harmful substances. If a product becomes contaminated, the company issues a recall, right? That isn’t always the case.
Consumer Reports reports that the Keurig Dr Pepper company has sold an imported bottled water containing twice the legal limit of arsenic in the United States. The report stated that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) flagged the product but may have known about the contamination as early as 2013. Both the company and the Mexican government are now investigating these claims.
The dangers of arsenic
While arsenic is a naturally occurring element, The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that you’re most likely to experience inorganic arsenic exposure through your drinking water. The CDC believes exposure to organic sources of arsenic, like fish, as safe to humans. However, exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic have dramatic health consequences including:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Dehydration due to vomiting or diarrhea.
- High-blood pressure.
- Certain cancers including lung, liver and bladder.
- Heightened risk of diabetes.
Diagnosing arsenic poisoning
If you’re concerned about arsenic poisoning, you should visit your doctor. Medical professionals consider a urine test the most reliable test for recent arsenic exposure. Similarly, blood, hair, and fingernail tests can detect high-level exposure within the last year.
Certain people are more exposed to inorganic arsenic than others. If your job involves handling arsenic, wearing protective clothing and changing clothes can prevent you from exposing your family to high levels of arsenic. Using a water filtration system may help reduce your exposure if your water source contains elevated arsenic levels.
It’s unfortunate that the protections against contamination from substances like arsenic in the products we consume sometimes fail. The good news is that there are ways we can mitigate our exposure to potentially harmful substances from other sources.


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Retailer’s tech center to manage IT systems and develop e-commerce and analytics solutions
The J.C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) has joined the list of global retailers such as Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Tesco PLC, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Victoria’s Secret, and Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) to set up its technology center in India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru. Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, has emerged as the preferred destination for global corporations looking to set up their back offices, due to its engineering and analytics talent, apart from high-quality manpower base and cost efficiencies. In fact, Bengaluru is home to 35% of the 1,000 R&D centers of MNCs in India.
J.C. Penney has been sourcing from India for over a decade through J.C. Penney Purchasing India Private Limited. The retailer has around 1,000 stores in the US and mainly competes with market leader Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), the largest US department-store company.
The US retailer’s technology center in Bengaluru is expected to house 1,000 employees when fully operational in about two years. To start with the Company expects to hire 450 people by the end of 2016. The center will have engineers to manage its internal IT systems and also to develop digital, e-commerce and analytics solutions. J.C. Penney has teamed up with ANSR Consulting, a global in-house center (GIC) strategy consultation and implementation firm, to set up its tech center in Bengaluru.
In India, J.C. Penney has strategic ties with IT majors such as Infosys Ltd (NYSE: INFY), Tata Consultancy Services, and Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN). Putting these aside, the new technology center will focus on strategic IT solutions and will aim to build in-house talent in the retail and e-commerce areas.
J.C. Penney is going through a transformational phase amidst tough market conditions and intense market competition; the Company recognizes the need to change its department store model by resorting to digital and omni channel retailing. The Company’s brick-and-mortar departmental store model seem to have lost its luster over the years and is witnessing shrinking footprints, with consumers increasing turning to online shopping in a big way. Consequently, J.C. Penney is focusing on creating a seamless experience for shoppers across its online stores, jcp.com, and all its digital channels.
In a desperate bid to salvage its brick-and-mortar stores, the Company went into revamp mode back in 2012, when then-CEO, Ron Johnson, ordered a change from the traditional department format to branded boutiques. The company replaced cash registers with coffee and juice bars, bought 55,000 mannequins to place at strategic locations, and created hang-out areas called “Town Squares”. However, the revamp efforts failed miserably with Johnson being ousted, leaving the Company carrying $5.6 billion of debt at the end of 2013. However, by the intelligent use of excess cash, this massive debt has been reduced to $4.7 billion as of the end of Q1 FY16.
The current CEO Marvin Ellison’s mantra is to achieve future growth over the next few years through tie-ups with private brands, enhancing omni-channel presence, and improving revenue per customer. As part of these plans, the Company is working on different initiatives such as redesigning its mobile app to allow users to pull up products easily, integrating wallet features for easy payment, and capability to save coupons and offers. The Company is also improving its website capabilities by enhancing desktop experience, allowing greater personalization, and introducing analytics to better understand customer preferences.
Q1 FY16 financial results
J.C. Penney’s Q1 FY16 bears a general similarity to the slump in the retail sector at large, where same-store sales were battered either by poor product mix, choppy weather, and soft buying sentiment among consumers for certain categories of non-durable items. Supermarket chains in general witnessed low demand for their products owing to intense competition from big box online retailers despite store expansions and increase of product categories during the Easter season. Many U.S. brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Macy’s, and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), have been unable to ward off intense competition from online merchants like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and fast-expanding dollar store chains that offer competitive pricing with a shorter delivery time.
J.C. Penney’s Q1 FY16 net sales fell 1.6% to $2.81 billion from $2.86 billion in the year-ago quarter. Same store sales fell 0.4% during the quarter. On the brighter side, the Company was able to narrow its loss to $68 million, or $0.22 per share, compared to a loss of $150 million in the year-ago quarter.
During Q1 FY16, Sephora beauty shops continued to drive in-store traffic. J.C. Penney plans to set up an appliance showroom in nearly 500 stores with the aim to boost sales throughout the rest of FY16. The Company’s appliance test that started in February 2016 has already been drawing in new customers and improving sales.
JC Penney’s stock stood at $8.88, flat for the day, at the close on Thursday, June 30th, 2016, having vacillated between an intraday a low of $8.74 and a high of $8.92 during the session. The stock’s trading volume was at 9,799,229 shares. The Company’s market cap was at $2.73 billion as of Thursday’s close.


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For years, Hollywood has heard rumors that Apple might want to make its own TV shows and movies. Here’s a sign that Apple might indeed be serious about this stuff: It has hired Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, two of Sony’s top TV executives, to run video programming, a new job at Apple.
Both men are longtime Sony veterans, who have helped make some of TV’s best-known and most popular shows, including AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and ABC’s “Shark Tank.” At Sony, they jointly held the title of president; at Apple, they’ll report to media boss Eddy Cue.
Their hiring is the best indicator yet that Apple has real ambitions about making TV and other video content, and that it has plans for that stuff beyond using it to market its Apple Music service.
SOURCE: PETER KAFKA


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The NFL has offered generous compensation packages to fans who were shut out of Sunday's Super Bowl XLV in an unprecedented ticket snafu, but some fans are demanding a lot more and are willing to go through the courts to get what they're asking.
In what could be the beginning of a wave of lawsuits filed in the wake of Sunday's ticket problems, two suits have been filed during the past two days. The first was filed Tuesday after the NFL offered about 400 fans, who couldn't attend the game because of seating problems, free tickets to next year's game in Indianapolis, as well as three times the face value of the tickets for Sunday's game. The second was filed Wednesday.
In the Dallas County case filed Tuesday, plaintiffs Ken Laffin and David Wanta, both Packers fans from the Green Bay area, claim they were "damaged by the defendants' misrepresentations, omissions, and concealment of the cruel truth, which was that they had been sold tickets for seats that did not exist at the time and that were never to be had," according to their attorney from the Dallas-based firm of Goldfarb Branham.
In the federal case filed Wednesday in Dallas, plaintiff Mike Dolabi has sued on behalf of himself and other fans who said they had paid at least $100,000 for personal seat licenses (PSLs) at Cowboys Stadium and were promised seats at Super Bowl XLV with "the best sightlines in the stadium," according to the complaint. Dolabi and several other fans showed up at the stadium and found that their seats were "temporary metal foldout chairs" installed in an attempt to break a Super Bowl attendance record, according to the complaint.
The league, the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones are being sued by Dolabi and Steve Simms for breach of contract, fraud, breach of good faith and violating Texas' deceptive trade practices law. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $5 million in damages, which can be tripled under the state's trade law. Dolabi claimed that the NFL and Jones were only interested in setting a Super Bowl attendance record.


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Posts Tagged ‘Autodesk Revit’
Thursday, September 29th, 2016
An ongoing topic in the AEC industry for over a year now has been the issue of Autodesk’s moving its customer base to a subscription only program. While Autodesk has given customers a lot of time to make this transition, nevertheless, the Autodesk Subscription Program means the end of the perpetual license program. The Autodesk Subscription Program is heralded by the company as the best thing for customers of Autodesk products and they have the recent earnings to prove it. In Q1 of this year, they were up 132,000 to 2.71 million.
Apple building in Cupertino
Wednesday, September 21st, 2016
In a recent interview with Dr. Biplap Sarkar, CEO of Vectorworks, we discussed the latest features of Vectorworks 2017, which was released September 14th.
Friday, July 22nd, 2016
Amar Hanspal, senior vice president and Nicolas Fonta, senior product manager of Autodesk, spoke about yesterday’s launch of Autodesk LIVE, a new interactive visualization service which offers Revit AEC users the ability to transform their designs into fully-interactive 3D models, and draws viewers into the story of an architectural design much like a video game.
A look into the Autodesk LIVE viewer on Windows showing a model that has been edited in Stingray and then loaded back into LIVE. (Graphic: Business Wire)
Friday, July 15th, 2016
Trimble and Autodesk, Inc. entered into an interoperability agreement to improve current data exchanges, aimed at saving customers’ time and reducing project costs typically associated with workflow inefficiency across different suppliers’ technologies. This will benefit architects, engineers and contractors, and importantly, project owners by enabling more freedom to optimize technology workflows needed to meet the complex requirements of today’s construction projects.
Thursday, May 26th, 2016
At the AIA Convention 2016 held in Philadelphia last week, the Exhibit Hall showcased software, hardware and all types of building materials.
Emphasis for AEC technology this year is on reality capture or modeling, building information modeling, zero carbon energy initiatives, conceptual modeling and the inclusion of metadata in projects.
Bring your stories to life in animated 3D environments, rich with wind-swept plants, seasonal trees, rolling clouds, rippling water, deep shadows and beautiful light.
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
Celebrity keynoters Kevin Spacey, Neri Oxman, and Rem Koolhaas will be among the numerous highlights of the AIA Convention 2016 held in Philadelphia next week. Learn and keep up with the latest from leading experts on topics including resiliency, business management, ADA compliance, LEED, green building, design and health, and more. Register for an in-depth workshop or pack your schedule with challenging seminars. Nearly 800 exhibitors will also be on hand with the latest products and technologies in the industry. Philadelphia is always a treat to visit so attendees will find a lot to entertain them after the conference lights dim.
The Philadelphia Museum Art crowns the city’s illuminated Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The culturally rich stretch is home to many parks, public works of art and museums, including Swann Memorial Fountain (pictured), the Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum, The Franklin Institute, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Sister Cities Park and many other attractions.
Wednesday, April 27th, 2016
Those I spoke to at SPAR3D 2016 last week were amazed at the progress the 3D laser scanning/reality capture products had made over just one year. Many people attended in order to find out if the technology would be right for their organization and what it would entail in terms of a learning curve, and of course, how much it would cost.
SPAR 3D scanning mobile unit from Surphaser
Wednesday, April 20th, 2016
Typically, Autodesk announces the latest version of its software in the spring of each year, and this year is no exception.
Monday, February 29th, 2016
Over the past few years reality capture has taken the AEC world by storm, with ever increasing attention to being able to collect, process and import data more efficiently and accurately. New technologies and the cloud have created the opportunity to use reality capture more affordably and efficiently, so that many more users can take advantage of the data collected. This technology is considered disruptive because in many cases it displaces previously used technologies and processes, that were more laborious, costly and less efficient.
Vectorworks point cloud
Friday, February 12th, 2016
In a conversation with Mads Jensen, Sefaira’s co-founder, we talked about the company’s recent acquisition by Trimble.


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Retailer closes all its stores during lockdown but anglers can still Click & Collect
The UK’s largest fishing tackle retailer has closed all its stores in England following the imposition of a lockdown in response to the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, but will still be providing a Click & Collect service for its customers.
With fishing still allowed under strict guidelines, Angling Direct says that its webstore remains fully operational for both UK and European sales, with its distribution centre fully prepared to fulfill demand during the busy Black Friday and the Christmas period.
England went into lockdown today for four weeks with all non-essential stores closed during the period.
In a trading update to the London Stock Exchange, the group said that the momentum it has achieved in the first half year has continued with sales remaining ‘robust’ throughout October. It added: “The company’s balance sheet and liquidity position remains strong and the majority of our key suppliers have confirmed that they will continue to operate during the lockdown period. As a result, the Board confirms that the group continues to trade in line with market expectations for the year ending January 31st 2021.”
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Mark McNabb is an associate editor with TopSpeed.com, and has been part of the team since 2013. Growing up, Mark always had a mind for tinkering on random items throughout his home and dad’s garage, including a 1953 Ford Mainline and 1971 Corvette Stingray. He could even be found working on tractors or hay bailers while on vacation at his uncle’s farm. Mark’s spare time was heavily consumed by reading automotive magazines and wondering how in the heck people could land a job testing cars all day. He eventually figured it out.
Mark earned a degree in journalism in 2010 from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. A few jobs and career changes later, Mark landed his first automotive writing position with AutoTalk.com. Eventually TopSpeed came calling and the rest is history.
Though some swanky press car usually graces his driveway, he still enjoys driving his 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer. It might not be a cultural icon nor an instant collectable, but his Chevy is part of his family, along with his nearly three-year-old daughter.
The world has definitely taken notice of Dodge’s new Challenger SRT Hellcat. Journalist from all over the world rave about its 707 horsepower and its ability to run the quarter-mile in 10.8 seconds on drag radials, while still getting nearly 20 mpg while cruising down the highway. Well, the time (...)
Back in 1989, Land Rover mounted an expedition to trek across the toughest lands the United States had to offer: the expansive Great Divide. The geological entity stretched from Colorado down to New Mexico and hosted numerous old mining towns established in the 1860s. Land Rover used the Great (...)
The venerable Corolla has been a mainstay in Toyota’s U.S. lineup since its introduction in 1968. Toyota’s longest-running nameplate has undergone numerous alterations over the years, but has always remained a stalwart of the compact sedan segment. In 1997, the Corolla surpassed the Volkswagen (...)
BMW is only two short years away from celebrating its 100th year in business, and speculation around how the German automaker will celebrate is starting to grow. One heavily speculated party place is within the BMW i division. A conversation between BMW’s senior spokesman Kai Lichte and (...)
Traveling at high speeds involves some pretty scary physics. That’s why the Bloodhound SSC project has been in the works for nearly five years and involves some of the brightest engineers from around the globe. The latest video to come from the British project shows the level of testing (...)
Things are looking pretty good for Infiniti’s future despite having its worldwide president, Johan de Nysschen, jump ship to Cadillac. Plans are already in place for a whole crop of new vehicles to debut by 2018, including a 700-horsepower, four-door coupe slotted over the current Q70 flagship. (...)
The 2015 Ford Mustang hasn’t even hit showrooms yet, but the aftermarket performance scene is already preparing for upgrades and modifications. Legendary Mustang modifier Roush Performance is among the first on the scene with a silhouette teaser of its upcoming creation. Roush posted the image (...)
Every now and again, we’re reminded of just how fun driving can be. Simple, purpose-built cars are often the best way of getting this reminder. The Alfa Romeo 4C is one of those cars. Its light curb weight and moderate power means its power to weight ratio is sublime. Its sport exhaust is (...)
Ever wish you could flog a brand-new Lamborghini Huracán around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca under the direction of Lamborghini’s own Squadra Corse professional driving team? Sure you have. Well, now Lamborghini is offering the first-ever chance this coming September. This marks Lamborghini (...)
Lexus has dominated the midsize luxury crossover market since its RX lineup debuted back in 1998. Its small size, fuel-efficient engines, and long list of luxurious amenities make the RX a hot seller. In 2013 alone, the RX sold over 103,000 units within the U.S. Lexus seems bent on gaining even (...)


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The High Court of Australia yesterday finally came to a verdict in the three year legal battle between IceTV and The Nine Network over its use of an EPG, IceTV proved victorious in the long run.
The case was originally brought against IceTV in May 2006 by the Nine Network alleging that IceTV’s electronic program guide (EPG) infringed copyright in its television schedule. The claims were denied by IceTV.
The litigation was said to spark from the fact that The Nine Network had just purchased HWW, a company that aggregates and supplies TV Guide information to Foxtel and most print and online media.
IceTV successfully defended the allegations in August 2007, but The Nine Network then appealed the decision and the original decision was overturned.
IceTV was immediately granted the right to appeal and yesterday won the case.
Colin O’Brian, chairman and major shareholder for IceTV made an official comment directly after the decision yesterday.
“I would like to thank all our shareholders, our staff, our customers and our business partners. Without their support during the last three years IceTV would not have survived. IceTV now looks forward to a successful future bringing both Free-To-Air TV and content via various partners to viewers in a way that satisfies viewer demand, whilst embracing the future of digital Free-To-Air television in Australia,” he said.
IceTV’s general manager Matt Kossatz, was also thrilled with the decision, “Today’s decision is the news that we (IceTV), our staff and our loyal subscribers have waited three long years to hear. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support”.
“It is a very exciting time for digital television in Australia. We are seeing more and more content becoming available and being an independent company not a TV Network, means we will always have the ability to put the interests of the consumer first,” said Kossatz.
This decision has definitely set a new precedent when it comes to EPG’s and it will be interesting to see how the television industry will be affected by the decision in the future.


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Sticky fingered thieves plague Quebec
Aug 31, 2012 / 4:54 pm
Sticky-fingered burglars are being hunted by Quebec provincial police after a theft of maple syrup from the provincial reserves of the tasty treat.
The Quebec Federation of Maple Syrup Producers says the theft of a "large quantity" from the warehouse in St-Louis-de-Blandford was discovered during a routine inventory check.
The burglarized warehouse held more than 4.5 million kilograms of maple syrup valued at over $30 million. The exact amount of the theft was not disclosed.
Empty barrels found on the site suggest their contents had been emptied into other containers for illegal distribution.
The syrup is insured but the federation said it is crucial to find the robbers because its illegal sale will affect the entire industry.
Quebec, which had a normal harvest, helps supply markets that have had periods of weaker yield and are considered by some as a global strategic reserve.
Several regions of the United States had a very low harvest in the 2012 season, the federation said.
Federation president Serge Beaulieu said Friday the warehouse was well-protected.
"The federation always acts with caution to protect producers' harvests," he said. "The St-Louis-de-Blandford warehouse had been secured by a fence and locks and visited regularly."
Quebec provides between 70 and 80 per cent of the world's maple syrup and two-thirds of the Canadian production exported to the United States, according to the federation.
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Last Updated on August 13, 2021 by MyGh.Online
The marketing executives of a South African restaurant have set the bar extremely high. Who’d have guessed that there would be a time when customers could eat at their favorite restaurant while simultaneously admiring half-naked ladies?
Well, a restaurant in South Africa has started this marketing strategy in the hopes of attracting more male clients while also keeping the ones they already have.
As many internet users have stated, this marketing tactic is outrageous and awful since it promotes the agenda that women are nothing more than s3x objects.
The administration has remained silent, savoring the attention and buzz generated by the outcry.
A very fair attractive lady with sassy curves who was sporting a red swimsuit was assigned to serve customers in a couple of images.
To learn more, see the tweet below…


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It’s tough to escape the marijuana vape pen in California. Cannabis consumers across the state embrace the wands of cannabis extract with such ardor that they command more market share than in any other state with legal recreational cannabis. During the first quarter of 2018, vape sales captured 80 percent of the entire Golden State concentrates market according to cannabis market research firm BDS Analytics. In second place, far behind vapes, was wax, which captured a measly 5 percent of the market. By comparison, vape sales in Colorado represented 41 percent of the concentrates market during the quarter and both wax and shatter sales hit 17 percent market share respectively.
When It Comes To Sales, Disposable Vapes Aren’t Throw-Aways
It’s not just your imagination — vapes are king of the concentrates hill from Eureka to San Diego.
And one niche of the vape universe — disposables — is growing at a rapid clip in all states with legal weed, including California:
Oregon – Q1 2018 vs. Q1 2017 saw a 2185% increase in sales.
Colorado – Q1 2018 vs. Q1 2017 saw an 80% increase in sales.
Measuring year-over-year growth in California is not fruitful due to the pivot from medical to recreational cannabis sales on January 1, but just examining 2018 shows growth. In January of this year, for example, disposable sales in California hit $3.4 million. Just two months later, in March, sales nearly doubled, reaching $6.42. Today, vapes own 10 percent of the California vape market, but a year ago, under the old medical regime, they held just 5 percent of vape sales.
What About Distillates?
Things grow even more interesting when we examine disposable vapes filled with THC distillate rather than oil. Distillate is the new kid on the block in all states with recreational cannabis sales. During March of last year in Colorado, for example, distillate disposable vapes represented 33 percent of disposable sales. But this past March distillate disposable sales eclipsed oil, capturing 55 percent of the market. Growth in Oregon is strong too. In January of this year consumers spent just $12,000 on disposable vapes filled with distillate, but in March they boosted sales more than six-fold, to $81,000.
Sales of disposable distillate vapes lags far behind in California, where during March of this year they garnered 16 percent of the disposable vape market, and the market share was the same during January of this year. However in the non-disposable vape market, distillate sales grew markedly this year, from $6 million in January to $16 million in March. Will distillate fever catch-on within disposables? Time will tell.
Never Underestimate The Influence Of Disposable Vape Prices
One of the disposable advantages in Colorado and Oregon is price. The average disposable vape in Colorado during Q1 sold for $26.54, but the hit to the wallet was $35 for non-disposables. In Oregon during the quarter, the average disposable was $28.19, but $40.40 for non-disposable. The significant prices differences in these states may help explain the rise of disposables. But the same trend has not yet rooted in California, where the average price for both non-disposable and disposable vapes is about $42.
One clear disposable advantage hinges on simplicity. While non-disposable vape pens require that consumers replace old cartridges with new ones, disposables are finished when the last drop of extract is vaporized. Non-disposable vape pens can be finicky — people often complain that they don’t last long before sputtering. But disposables are designed to last only as long as they are filled with extract.
And then there is what may be disposables’ biggest advantage — size and discretion. Vape pens already are slender affairs that can slide into nearly any pocket without notice. But disposables are even sleeker, many no longer than a cigarette and about as big around as a chopstick’s waist. For pot enthusiasts who want the ultimate in discretion, a disposable vape hits the eye of the bullseye.
Sales of vapes are booming everywhere, and non-disposables dominate sales, capturing between 90 and 95 percent of the vape marketplace in most states. But sales of disposables are ramping up. The disposable marketplace is an increasingly tantalizing one for brands and retailers.


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New car and truck sales in the United States are expected to drop below 17 million vehicles this year for the first time since 2014.
Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Autotrader, said during the Great Recession people put car purchases on hold and the market has been playing catch up since then.
“This has been an unprecedented expansion, and we knew it had to end at some point,” she said. “The pent up demand from the Great Recession has been pretty much sopped up.”
While mortgage interest rates might be low, auto loan rates are relatively high at the moment.
That makes the bigger, more expensive crossovers and SUVs, which people want, even less affordable.
Used car sales, on the flip side, are seeing a bump, said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland at rebeccadrives.com, and because of those strong recent sales and leases, which are now being turned in, there are plenty of options.
“You can have a really, really nice 2014 or 2015 model year vehicle, and it’s two-thirds of the price of a new car,” she said.
Bucking trends, as usual, Tesla reported a record quarter, selling 95,000 cars in the last three months.
But the road ahead is likely to be bumpy for the whole auto industry and its global supply chain as fears loom over tariffs and trade wars.
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Though the controversy over AOL’s use of Goodmail CertifiedEmail has subsided in the e-mail industry, nonprofit and advocacy groups – as well as a state lawmaker in California – continue to express concerns.
The latest opposition came last week from California state Sen. Dean Florez, who called for a closer look at the program.
“It seems to me that AOL is setting a horrible precedent here,” said Florez, a Democrat. “The whole idea of Net Neutrality gets wiped away, and we are left with an Internet of haves and have-nots.”
Florez told DM News that he wants Yahoo and AOL technical experts to explain how Goodmail and its fees will work at a March 28 hearing. He also wants AOL to explain the program before it rolls out in April. Yahoo plans to implement a CertifiedEmail program in a few months as well.
AOL recently told nonprofits they can get free third-party e-mail accreditation, but only discounted rates for Goodmail CertifiedEmail. Florez wants to determine how AOL defines a nonprofit group, because some churches and other organizations are not classified as 501c nonprofits but still wouldn’t have the money to pay for a premium e-mail delivery service. Instead of proposing legislation on the issue, Florez aims to “have them publicly explain … what it is. Maybe AOL hasn’t thought out the end-user consumer perception of this.”
Meanwhile, e-mail service providers said they are still trying to assure clients that their e-mails will be delivered properly in AOL.
“I think there is still some confusion out there, but nowhere near as bad as when the announcement first came out,” said Annette Tonti, CEO of e-mail marketing firm Bluestreak, Providence, RI. “The way AOL handled it initially caused the grief. They made it sound like, ‘Everything else is going away, and you have to do this.’ Then they went back and said, ‘You don’t have to do this.’ It confused everyone.”
Bluestreak and many other ESPs are offering Goodmail CertifiedEmail to senders who choose to use it. “It’s basically a way to send your mail very specifically packaged up, kind of like FedEx,” Tonti said. “It gets there quicker and more assured.”
Groups opposing AOL could be reassured by a report from the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, Washington, which said last week that it’s not concerned about CertifiedEmail.
“CDT does not believe the service will harm the ability of non-paying senders to deliver messages to AOL customers,” according to a statement in its “Certified Email Plan Stirs Controversy” report. Legitimate bulk mailers who opt not to participate should see no decline in deliverability.
Also, consumers should not confuse the CertifiedEmail controversy with Net Neutrality, an issue that has been raised by nonprofits and legislators.
“CDT believes that certified mail and network neutrality are distinct and separate issues, distinguished by significant differences relating to competition, capacity and architecture,” the report said.
Though critics have said spam could rise with CertifiedEmail, CDT noted that Goodmail required extensive screening of companies signing up: “Thus, spammers and unscrupulous marketers will not be able to pay their way around AOL’s spam filters.”
Spammers getting more mail through on AOL is one issue that concerns Florez.
“There is an assumption there that spammers won’t pay,” he said. “I know a lot of people who would pay.”
AOL Clarifies CertifiedEmail
AOL clarified several points about CertifiedEmail in a “Fiction Versus Fact” paper it distributed. DM News excerpts the main points:
Fiction: CertifiedEmail is an “e-mail tax.”
Fact: This term is perhaps an eye-catching, political fundraising tool, but just plain bad information. The consumer pays nothing. AOL opposes the concept of any kind of e-mail tax.
Fiction: CertifiedEmail is exactly what proponents of “Net Neutrality” have warned about.
Fact: An alarming “reach” … [it] has absolutely nothing to do with so-called “Net Neutrality.” It’s not an “apples-and-oranges” comparison. It’s more like “apples and kumquats.”
Fiction: CertifiedEmail is a way for spammers to send unwanted e-mail to consumers.
Fact: Goodmail strictly disallows those who have not previously secured the expressed consent of consumers from signing up for Goodmail tokens.
Fiction: CertifiedEmail circumvents and replaces AOL’s existing anti-spam tools and filters.
Fact: AOL always has and always will retain the right to make final determinations about who does and does not e-mail our members. Besides, the Goodmail sender verification process is comprehensive, thorough and strict.


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Oculus VR this week launched Oculus Social for Samsung’s Gear VR viewer.
Gear VR users can create profiles on Oculus Social and search out friends via real names or handles.
The company, which has yet to ship its own virtual reality headset, also released two social games to encourage more friending on Oculus Social: Herobound: Gladiators and Social Trivia.
In Herobound: Gladiators, players team up to take arms in a clash between demons and goblins in the fighting pits of arena battlefields. Social Trivia sits friends down at a virtual table and pits their wits against each other in a classic game of know-it-all.
Oculus Social also has been upgraded to allow users to create rooms in which they can hang out with friends in the virtual space, watching content such as Twitch streams or Facebook videos.
The team deployed a Facebook Video tab in Oculus Social. Next week, the company will give users the ability to sync their Facebook and Oculus Social profiles so that they can personalize their feeds of 360 video content.
Weeks from now, Oculus Social will support the liking and sharing of Facebook 360 videos.
Parent company Facebook has been planning to use Oculus Social to change the inherently exclusionary nature of VR, according to Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT.
“First, the company indicated that Oculus users will be able to share space in VR, interacting socially, chatting, watching films and competing in trivia games,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Second, the company announced a multiplayer game service that appears to make use of some social features, though details on that appear sketchy.”
Social experiences might be what VR needs to establish itself firmly in the mainstream. It can be difficult to sell VR experience via the flat screens and 2D images the world has known for decades.
VR is definitely a new era, said Stephanie Llamas, VR lead atSuperData.
The firm recently updated its forecast for VR and found that experiences like the ones Gear VR provides will bring in US$1.8 billion in revenue from hardware and software sales by the end of next year. The mobile VR market will swell to roughly $4.5 billion the year after that.
“Rather than consider it a hardware peripheral, we should be looking at it as a standalone hardware device just like TV or computers,” Llamas told TechNewsWorld. “This is the beginning of a completely new way to consume media — at least once adoption reaches critical mass.”
VR’s progression appears to be more of a continuation of current trends than a fork in the road, Pund-IT’s King said.
“Virtual reality technology has been around in one form or another for the better part of three decades, and much of what Facebook and Oculus are doing is derivative of those past efforts,” he said. “But multiplayer online gaming and immersive social experiences also have a lengthy history.”
Multiplayer games have long allowed players to communicate with one another to discuss strategy, King reasoned. In the case of immersive social experiences, the industry saw that take off with the launch of Second Life more than a decade ago.
“With Oculus Social, Facebook appears to be taking some pages from these past efforts and spinning them with a VR slant,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see what the company comes up with that’s actually new, and whether it can avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that tripped up others.”


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British Prime Minister Theresa May could resign in days.
Square is starting to process payments from CBD companies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to unite India after a huge election win.
About 5.2 percent of all invasive cancer cases are due to poor diet.
Gregory Abbott, a New York beverage bigwig, pleaded guilty in the college admissions scandal.
The redesign of the $20 bill featuring Harriet Tubman will no longer be unveiled in 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says.
Indonesia restricts WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram usage following deadly riots.
The U.S. is considering blacklisting at many as five Chinese video surveillance companies.
Lyft finally adds a 911 button for passengers.
Saudi Arabia wants to buy tons of American natural gas.


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Tourism In San Diego Comes To A Halt Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Speaker 1: 00:00 San Diego was seeing something today that it hasn't for a while, the docking of a cruise ship in the port. But of course, since nothing is normal these days, the passengers from this ship will not be headed for a great day in the city. They'll be screened for any signs of Corona virus and sent on their way is just one instance of the huge impact the coven 19 outbreak is having on tourism in San Diego. And no one is quite sure how long it will take our region to recover. Joining me is Lori Weisberg, who covers travel and tourism for the San Diego union Tribune. Laurie, welcome to the program. Speaker 2: 00:36 Thanks. Speaker 1: 00:38 Tell us what the situation is with tourism based businesses in San Diego. And if you would start with the theme parks like SeaWorld and Legoland. Speaker 2: 00:47 Oh sure. And really there's no sector of the tourism industry that isn't really being devastated right now, but you've got, um, she rolled in Lego land, both shutdown, she rolled Justin outside. It's re, it's furloughing 90% of its employees, uh, and it doesn't have a reopen date. Lego land is looking more like, uh, they're saying that they would reopen in mid April, but we all know that could change. So you've got those two big theme park companies shut down and, and outside of our County of course, Disneyland universal studios. So there is, as I said, no part of the sector or no theme parks is left untouched on this. Speaker 1: 01:24 So basically all of San Diego's tourist attractions are closed at this time. Speaker 2: 01:29 That's correct. Uh, the zoo as well. Um, the zoo just sent out a press advisory today that it's continuing. It's extending its shutdown as well, so yes, that's correct. Speaker 1: 01:40 What's the situation with the big tourist hotels like the hotel Del? Speaker 2: 01:44 So one by one they've been closing the hotel. Del is the most recent high-profile hotel to close. Um, we wrote about how a number of bigger hotels are closing like the Manchester grand Hyatt or LeBaron Del Mar. Um, a number of them, uh, the Solomar. So they're there a number of hotels and I think increasingly you will see more and more of them closing cause it's a six pensive to keep these buildings open with no with no occupancy and the occupancy in normal times. It's like around high seventies, 80% occupancy is dip to single digits and in some places zero occupancy. That's just, you've never seen anything like that before. Speaker 1: 02:29 Are any of the hotels offering their workers some kind of lifeline, like, like extended pay or free food or anything like that? Speaker 2: 02:38 Uh, well the probably the, the one I know about most in terms of extending their pay is on the Rancho Valencia upscale resort in Rancho Santa Fe. They are continuing to pay their employees through, I think mid to later April. Um, the Evans hotels are a local hotel. Yay. They just announced that they've got a whole, um, meal and food plan and other supplies that they're making available, um, household supplies that they're making available to their workers. So you're seeing that, you're seeing that a lot with some of the restaurants doing that with their employees too. Um, but the idea of continuing pay that five is much less common. Speaker 1: 03:16 Now. The airport is pretty much of a ghost town are the airlines on reduced schedules, Speaker 2: 03:23 very reduced. Um, Southwest airlines just announced, um, that they're dropping notations. They dropping, they're suspending the start of the much ballyhooed flights from San Diego to why those nonstop flights are, those are on hold, but they've, they've reduced their flights by about their capacity. About 40%. American airlines just announced that fair reducing their capacity by 70%. So not surprisingly, it will be a ghost town and those, those flights are boring, you know, almost empty. So I guess the thinking is if they reduce the capacity, maybe the planes that do go out and have a few more people, um, on those, on those planes. But yeah, huge reductions on capacity on the, on the major airlines. Speaker 1: 04:07 Now we all know that tourism is big business in San Diego, but how big, I mean, how much of a hit are we likely to take with this? Speaker 2: 04:15 So I'm in dollars, I don't know how big it hit yet, but tourism is in San Diego County. It's [inaudible] third largest industry behind military manufacturing. It's 11, $12 billion in annual spending a year. Um, so that spending is going to go down dramatically. We have one taste of the impact already. Um, the mayor's office announced last week that, um, they're just in the current fiscal year. They're, excuse me, in the upcoming fiscal year, they're expecting an $83 million drop in their hotel room tax revenue, which is a big part of the general fund. So when you have these occupancies so low that um, 10 and a half percent revenue that you normally get is gone. So that's, that's we already can see. That's one way of measuring the huge impact in revenue that we'll be seeing as this continues. Speaker 1: 05:06 And of course the big question that's looming, what about Comicon? Speaker 2: 05:11 I know I keep, I keep thinking that there's to any day now there's going to be an announcement saying comic con is off. Um, it's just her convention, which is an Anaheim each year in April that was canceled. Now comic con has a little more time till July. Um, but you know, we're already hearing about this is going to go into April, may, maybe we'll know more by June. Um, the tourism authorities said that they really have, they really need to make up their mind by early June. And when you think about 130,000 people coming, and when on that exhibit floor, it's like people shoulder to shoulder. Um, there would be no way you can do any kind of social distancing in that kind of a convention. So it's, it's still a question Mark. Um, and the aren't changing Speaker 1: 05:58 which way they're going. Yes. It's hard to imagine in this climate. So Lorelei, I've been speaking with Lori Weisberg. She covers travel and tourism for the San Diego union Tribune. And Lori, thank you so much. Thank you.


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We are delighted, almost fish auto – amniocytes introduce to our customers, said Petros Tsipouras, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ikonisys Finland online pharmacy . Tsipouras continued, We believe that physicians and consumers nearly fish auto – amniocytes will appreciate the quick and more reliable functionality. Auto – laboratory provides an economical solution for industry – wide shortage of skilled personnel. . Ikonisys.
Sponsors of the conference are Forest City Science and Technology Park from the Johns Hopkins, international law firm DLA Piper, MedImmune, this Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and Maryland technologies Development Corporation.
The Wall Street Journal: Clinton a new plan, Hillary Care I into better clothing – a transitional platform in order men into the standard Displaying government government insurance, the journaling to write in an editorial in. Like other democracy suggestions, State Hillary Care II to would be highlight another significant government intrusion in health because it is keep all the system to date problems of, most of them established by government policies, Los Angeles Times, and and expand it, the journaling write, adding: The creativity is all in the political repackage (Wall Street Journal.


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- The company is looking for savvy engineers in public chains and stablecoins to develop crypto products and mainstream these technologies.
- Candidates must have experience with Layer-1 and Layer-2 solutions, security protocols, ERC-4337 accounts, and AI tools to automate smart contract writing and debugging.
- Visa plans to advance public ledgers and stable digital currencies and has already settled USDC transactions on Ethereum and issued cards for major crypto firms like Crypto.com, Binance, Coinbase, and more.
Visa aims to pioneer ambitious crypto products and hired software engineers for its crypto division. The positions are hybrid and require proficiency with Web3 technologies and scalable systems.
The payments giant wants crypto-savvy engineers, especially those building on public chains and stablecoins. Visa’s crypto chief tweeted they aim to mainstream these technologies.
Visa’s Web3 Ambitions
They seek those using tools like Copilot to code smart contracts. They want “Web3 stack” enthusiasts. Relevant skills include Truffle, Mocha, Hardhat testing, and Solidity smart contracting.
Web3 technology gives users more control over data. Visa builds Web3 products to improve digital commerce. Their focus is on intuitive features exposing new value. Hiring an Ethereum expert shows Visa’s Web3 ambitions.
Required Skills and Experience
Candidates must grasp Layer-1, and Layer-2 solutions, security protocols, and ERC-4337 accounts. Experience with AI tools to automate smart contract writing and debugging is favored.
Despite crypto’s collapse, Visa rejected halting activities. Its view on crypto’s potential stayed unchanged. Visa monitored regulations and expanded crypto offerings. They want knowledge of Ethereum upgrades, token releases, security protocols, and private keys.
Visa’s Plans for Public Ledgers and Stable Digital Currencies
This hire will help Visa advance public ledgers and stable digital currencies, already key priorities. Visa plans real-world dollar-pegged crypto and central bank digital currency.
Last year, Visa investigated converting crypto to payments, such as currency conversion and settled USDC transactions on Ethereum, and it currently offers cards for key crypto firms such as Crypto.com, Binance, Coinbase, and others. They find StarkNet could facilitate real-world uses by letting wallets pay bills more easily.
Rival Mastercard planned to adopt crypto, starting stablecoins.
The experts at Visa believe in blockchain’s future and the chance to bring crypto into everyday spending. Hiring talented builders will empower their vision while innovating finance. Though the road is long, Visa journeys bravely onward.


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Click the “read more” links to access the full stories and pictures.
Get the latest Toyota media news first – sign up for our email service here
New Hilux and Highlander heading our way
First details have been released of two new muscular models Toyota will be introducing in the coming months. There is a new Hilux pick-up in the pipeline, featuring a more powerful 2.8-litre engine option and fresh styling and equipment features to set the top-of-the-range Invincible X model apart. Early in 2020, Toyota’s SUV range will grow with the first Highlander model to be sold in the UK. This hybrid-powered, seven-seat model will sit above RAV4 in the line-up. Read more about new Hilux here and new Highlander here.
Corolla the best-buy hybrid
The British-built Toyota Corolla has been judged the “best-buy” among the market’s hybrid cars by What Car? in its Car of the Year run-down of electrified vehicles. It’s given the model a four-star rating, describing its as “a straightforward way to achieve outstanding fuel economy in a sub-£30,000 hatchback.”
Remarking that is doesn’t require compromises such as losing boot space to make room for a larger battery, it adds that it’s also one of the smoothest-riding cars in its class. Where fuel economy’s concerned, the magazine says an “impressive” 60-plus mpg can be achieved “without trying too hard.”
Choose, click and buy
Customers can now specify their new Toyota and make all the necessary arrangements for purchase using a new online service at toyota.co.uk. Working side-by-side with traditional retailers, the system can be accessed from home, work or while on the move. The process covers everything through to vehicle handover, including finance arrangements, for almost the entire model range. The choice extends to all hybrids, the GT86 and GR Supra sports coupes and the Land Cruiser “go-anywhere” SUV. Read more here.
For customers who prefer to get up close to see the car they’re buying and to talk face-to-face with expert sales teams, Toyota centres across England are re-opening following the closure required during the Covid-19 restrictions. Read more here.
Work on the wild side
The grounds of Toyota’s UK headquarters in Surrey have undergone years of landscaping and planting to nurture native wildlife species. Its success in creating habitats to attract animals, birds and insects has been recognised with a Biodiversity Benchmark from the Wildlife Trust. The work done on-site is in tune with Toyota’s global mission to work in harmony with nature. Read more here.
GR Yaris countdown
Preparations are in place for the arrival of the super-hot GR Yaris later this year, with the launch of an online ordering service. This means people unable to visit their local Toyota centre can still place a reservation fee and be among the first to buy the new car. The new service does not affect the status of the orders already received. Read more here.
Hybrids by the million
Toyota sold its first hybrid car – Prius – in 1997. In 2020, it has just celebrated selling its 15 millionth vehicle featuring the ultra-efficient technology, keeping it firmly in the forefront of electrified vehicle innovation. Read more here.
Meet athlete ambassador Alex Dowsett
Multi-medal-winning cyclist Alex Dowsett is a new Toyota athlete ambassador, an elite sportsman who has his sights set on competing at the Tokyo Olympics. As a haemophiliac, he’s also a prominent spokesman and campaigner for people who have the blood condition, leading the charity Little Bleeders. Read more here.
Fuel cell future for trucks
Toyota has been in the forefront of developing zero emission hydrogen fuel cell systems to power heavy duty trucks and has now signed a joint venture agreement with five China-based businesses to form the United Fuel Cell System R&D (Beijing) Co Ltd. Its primary activity will be to develop fuel systems for commercial vehicles. Read more here.
Generating clean power with Toyota fuel cell tech
The hydrogen fuel cell technology featured in the Toyota Mirai has been adapted for a stationary power generator that’s now under test in Japan. The FC generator has already entered service at Toyota’s Honsha plant and is now being assessed at a factory run by the Tokuyama Corporation, using hydrogen produced on-site from the company’s chemicals production process. Read more here.
Images and video resources
Visit the Images section of our media website, media.toyota.co.uk, for a comprehensive collection of current model shots, concepts and news pictures for easy download for editorial use. For film footage, click on the Videos tab to access the library and to view and download material.
Toyota social media channels
You can find much more Toyota content at: –
Official Toyota UK media website
Official Toyota UK blog
Official Toyota UK Facebook page
Official Toyota UK Twitter @ToyotaUK
Official Toyota UK YouTube channel


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#RandReport: Rand weaker after inflation rises
South African inflation accelerated to 6.8% year-on-year in December, beating market expectations.
JOHANNESBURG - The rand weakened on Wednesday, sliding as much as 1% at one stage as a firmer dollar and lower commodity prices hurt the currency.
On the bourse, stocks inched into the black, lifted by retailers on strong sales data.
By 1550 GMT the rand had slipped 0.26% to 13.5000 per dollar, steadying late in the session having sunk to a session low of 13.6050 as investors sold off the unit after consumer prices rose for the fourth month in a row.
Gold retreated from the previous day's eight-week high as promising economic data from the US drew fresh flows into the greenback, lifting the dollar index 0.2% in the session.
South African inflation accelerated to 6.8% year-on-year in December, beating market expectations. Despite inflation remaining outside the central bank's target of 3 to 6%, however, economists believe it has peaked and will soon fall back to within the target, dampening the rand's allure compared with other high-yielding currencies.
"The prospect of receding inflation and the ongoing weakness in economic activity should see interest rates remaining on hold in the months ahead," economist at Investec Kamilla Kaplan said in a note.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) meets to discuss monetary policy next Tuesday.
On the stock market, the JSE's All-share index advanced 0.2% to 52,933 points, while the benchmark Top-40 index rose 0.1% to 46,113.
Consumer goods firm Tiger Brands was the biggest gainer among the blue chips, followed by retailer Woolworths Holdings, after the statistics agency released better than expected retail sales for November.
Shares in Tiger Brands were up 3.6% at R406.90 and Woolworths gained 2.6% to R73.40.
Shoprite, Africa's largest grocer, advanced 2.1% to R180.26, supported by positive sentiment after, on Tuesday, reporting a 14% rise in half-year sales, said Independent Securities trader Ryan Woods.
"The market liked Shoprite's trading update and investors see some long term potential in Woolworths," he said.
Trading was below par with 244 million shares changing hands, according to preliminary bourse data, compared with the last year's daily average of 296 million.
In fixed income bonds weakened, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 issue rising 2 basis points to 8.65%.


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DEMO: Interoperability with HomePlug(TM)
Entropic and Atheros will be demonstrating the ease at which two technologies can coexist together to distribute multimedia to any room of the home. This marks a joint collaboration between two leading home networking companies to show that Entropic's MoCA offerings and Intellon's HomePlug solutions are already able to adequately serve the needs of operators and consumers for delivering multimedia content. Standardization of next-generation technologies is underway and there is no need to produce a completely new standard that does not provide backward interoperability with these existing market leading solutions.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Entropic & Atheros (ex-Intellon) demo MoCA/HomePlug coexistence
According to Entropic's latest press release,


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The pick-up and drop & drop only service will come at a price tag of INR 199 & INR 99, respectively
Ever since India witnessed a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases recently, people in the country are forced to stay indoor to abide by strict government restrictions. Considering customers safety, Samsung India has come up with a new pick-up and drop service for users.
Under this new service, consumers planning to visit Samsung service centers can choose for a drop-only service to get their mobile devices serviced and delivered directly to their home. The service has been initiated in 46 cities including Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, among others. However, it is restricted to only non-containment zones that fall under municipal limits and that adhere to curfew rules.
As per the price, the pick-up and drop & drop only service for repairs will cost a nominal price of INR 199 & INR 99, respectively, with options of several digital payment solutions available for consumers.
Sunil Cutinha, VP of Customer Service, Samsung India, pointed out that Samsung considers consumer well-being as a top priority and is committed towards taking every possible step for offering added convenience to users.
The new service will bestow its users with a much safer way to get their smart devices serviced from the comfort of their homes. Samsung is certain that its wide service network and contactless service options will help enhance consumer support while simultaneously providing greater convenience. It is hopeful that consumers will actively take benefit from the pick-up and drop service, added Mr. Sunil.
Notably, apart from the new pick and drop service, Samsung also offers other contactless support services through WhatsApp, Live Chat, Remote Support, technical assistance through call center or access to DIY (do-it-yourself) videos on Samsung’s official website and on YouTube.


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The worldwide semiconductor market is expected to grow 3 percent this year. The market has been seeing sequential growth for several consecutive quarters and most vendors believe they will end the year on a positive note, just barely.
“It has been a tough few years for the semiconductor industry. While we haven’t seen a dramatic decline in overall revenues since the 2008/2009 period the market has been pretty stagnant since 2010,” comments Peter Cooney, practice director. “We will see some growth in 2013 as the wider economic environment improves but major market growth is not expected until later in 2014, early 2015.”
The year will be remembered for several major mergers and acquisitions rather than record growth. Fujitsu and Panasonic semicon divisions are merging and Micron has scooped up Elpida. Intel has strengthened its portfolio with the ST-Ericsson GPU unit merger, while Broadcom bought Renesas Mobile’s LTE assets.
ABI Research noted that consolidation in the industry should come as no surprise, as chipmakers are forced to deal with far stiffer competition and lower margins.
“Margins are falling and the competitive environment is tough—especially in the mobile device market—this is driving vendors to re-evaluate their overall strategy and pull out of some of their once major markets. We have seen a number of major vendors exit the mobile device market – Freescale, TI, STMicroelectronics, and Renesas and we expect there are more to come,” said Cooney.


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Once upon a time, General Motors stood strong and mighty, the world at its feet.
Today, the world prevails, and GM is on its knees.
Bankrupt. Can’t pay its bills. The filing Monday was just a formalization of what we already knew, the way a coffin formalizes a funeral. But something we once believed in, looked up to, even nestled inside of, is gone today and will never be the same.
All fall down. No enterprise survives forever. Not the pyramid builders, not the horse-and-buggy makers, one day maybe soon, not the printing presses that enable you to read this in a newspaper.
All fall down. It’s just that, here in Michigan, when an auto company falls, we fall with it. Here, in every household supported by the auto industry and in every supplier and every dealership and every tire store and every lunch wagon supported by the auto industry, we feel it.
We are dominoes in the shadow of a tumbling giant.
All fall down.
But falling is not dying.
And we are not dead yet.
The best that we can be
“Our identity is bound in the auto industry,” Gov. Jennifer Granholm told me Monday on WJR. “We are, as Dr. King would have said, ÂInextricably woven in a mutual garment of destiny.’
“Practically every single person in Michigan has somebody in their family who has worked in the auto industry. This is more than just the bankruptcy of a major company, it is an identity issue as well.”
Yes. But only part of our identity. If we were fathers on Sunday, we are fathers today. Churchgoers on Sunday are churchgoers today. Good people remain good people today, and resilient people remain resilient people – today and tomorrow. We cannot be defined by the plant in which we work.
Maybe for a while we got too comfortable with that. Maybe some of us labeled ourselves too easily, and felt the jobs would always be there and our old age would be secure. If this teaches us anything, it teaches us that any enterprise made by man can fall apart.
But it also can be put back together. Despite dire predictions, despite critics crying socialism, despite the worst economy of our lifetimes, this is still a reorganization plan – not a death. Not a funeral. If GM emerges from this, it still will be a big player – one of several, but still a big player. Still with plants and offices and its identity in Michigan.
We should hope for it. But not bank on it.
Rising from the ashes
Once, every second car buyer in this country bought a GM. Once singers sang of seeing the USA in a Chevrolet, and Corvettes and Cadillacs were the stuff of heroes and motion pictures. But once, you weren’t a man if you didn’t ride a horse.
What has happened to us is simple: The world has sped up. What used to take generations now happens in a year. The globe that GM once ruled now sets the tone for business, every foreigner is a potential employee, every country a potential market, every government a possible player or impediment.
And it has happened so fast that things we once relied on are suddenly gone, like a bird that takes a quick flight and comes back to no nest.
But we have another nest. We have each other. This is a great state with great people. And years before GM ever opened shop, people lived and worked and supported each other here. We could do it again. We could do it with a smaller, leaner GM.
There is nothing fun here, nothing good about bankruptcy. But nothing shocking, either. History is full of this lesson. All fall down. What defines you is not how you fall, but how you get up.
Contact MITCH ALBOM: 313-223-4581 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Catch “The Mitch Albom Show” 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Also catch “Monday Sports Albom” 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR. Read recent columns, go to www.freep.com/mitch.


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In this article, we will be discussing an update about Netflix has blocked all its proxies to prevent the user for unauthorized access. All Movies and TV lovers are happy with the availability of Netflix in their countries once they have expanded into 190 countries in the Globe. They should need to know the availability of content is limited to the each country according to its licensing restriction and rights. They cannot allow its subscribers watching the video content which license have bought by any local vendor. According to the senior management of Netflix, they said we ensure our subscribers to resolve the licensing issues as soon as possible so that they can have access to complete content in our library though it sounds simple but it is quite difficult in reality in terms of complex legal framework in 190 countries.
Proxies are being blocked by Netflix
Proxy is such a technique which helps user spoofing its IP address and it’s be like user is accessing the website from other country where there is no such restriction such as limited content availability in Netflix. Access to TV shows from one country may not be accessible from other countries. Users has started the proxies to have the full access but the recent statement of David Fullagar who is Vice President, we have started blocking down the all proxies and unauthorized access and installed the detectors which automatically detects out the IP generated from proxies to deceive the Netflix library. There are several other online companies engaged in using the same detection technology and known companies are Hulu and Amazon. He also stated that they do not want to leave its subscribers behind compromising with limited content but they are putting their best efforts for resolving the licensing issue. Practically speaking, it will take the Netflix much long time to resolve it.
Netflix Fans may change their Decision
Since, nobody wants limited access especially when he is paying for the all. This may change the decision of the Netflix fans that were anxiously for the Netflix in their respective countries. There are still free torrents available for downloading the movies and shows without any limited access. There is a long way for Netflix to capture the decent market in countries other than United States as lots of factors will make the people not be interested in having the subscription and rather manage the video content through other sources.


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December’s Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has been and gone, and the eagerly-awaited list of numbers has been released, digested, and analysed. China’s commitment of US$60 billion in financing for development across Africa is triple the amount pledged at the last summit three years ago, according to several mainstream media reports. Other calculations put this figure at closer to a 50% increase in financial commitment. And, while it is this magic number that has since hogged the limelight, China’s important second policy toward Africa was released too.
Wits‘ 12 November roundtable, Reporting FOCAC6 – A Turning Point for Africa-China Engagement, provided a variety of journalists, experts, and other attendees with plenty of food for thought on China-Africa relations, both at the diplomatic level and on the ground, with a focus on producing quality journalism around this expansive subject. CCTV Africa‘s short video report of the event forms the first of a series of posts I’ll be adding on the FOCAC summit and its implications for Sino-African relations.
The last few years have seen Alibaba, the Chinese tech and e-commerce juggernaut, go from being a shaky, unknown start-up to something of a household name from Detroit to Delhi. At some point along its path to success, the company has also become one of the world’s favourite success stories. It’s a rags-to-riches tale of sorts, and it doesn’t hurt that the lead character in the story, CEO Jack Ma, is widely considered “one of China’s most unlikely tech founders”. After all, everyone loves an underdog. Continue reading
Alibaba, Alibaba: it’s a word that’s increasingly on people’s lips. Certainly, it’s a pleasing name: playful to pronounce and universally recognisable, evoking something at once known and foreign.
But, beyond talking about the Chinese e-commerce giant’s IPO (which claimed the title of largest global IPO ever) and how successful the start-up from southern China has been, we hear far less said about why. Continue reading
Flipkart and Tencent became household names several years ago in two of the world’s fastest growing economies, India and China. But more recently, their staggering growth rates and innovation in the mobile sphere have forced the rest of the world to sit up and pay attention. Some say that their strength in the market is a direct offshoot of their robust parentage – which, similarly, has only become widespread knowledge since the two firms’ growth began gaining a global audience. The South Africa-based media and tech juggernaut, Naspers, is a major shareholder in Flipkart – India’s Amazon – and Tencent, which owns China’s gamified Whatsapp-Facebook hybrid, WeChat. Naspers, which is one of the largest companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, recently began garnering plenty of attention of its own when the value of its stocks reached a record high earlier this month, taking its market capitalisation to R709.7 billion ($60.4 billion). Continue reading


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Patron Technology, the industry-redefining event technology solution, today announced a new partnership with all-in-one event marketing platform Audience Republic. The partnership is poised to enable thousands of Patron Technology clients to tap into Audience Republic’s powerful suite of marketing tools tailor-made for event organizers.
“We offer a way for event organizers to actually use their data, so they can sell more tickets,”
says Brian Arnone, Chief Revenue Officer of Audience Republic. “This is critical in a world where organizers find themselves less able to rely solely on social media and paid advertising to drive ticket sales.”
With Audience Republic’s Pre-Registration, Wait List, and Competition products, event organizers using Patron Technology’s enterprise ticketing product, ShowClix, now have the ability to grow their ticket sales and brand awareness far beyond what other, more traditional marketing platforms can offer. By increasing word-of-mouth event promotion and building up a loyal audience base, ShowClix users can expect more effective marketing campaigns and a new stream of rich, valuable data.
“Giving event organizers a more impactful way to promote their events through existing fans’ personal networks is an aspect a lot of event ticketing partners fall short on,” says Amy Mrazek, VP of Marketing for Patron Technology. “In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, we’re constantly looking for ways to help our event…