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Facial recognition technology (FRT) – which identifies people from a digital or video image – is becoming controversial. Recent progress has led to law enforcement agencies around the world adopting FRT, but resistance is mounting from civil liberties campaigners.
This page sets out the basics of the debate surrounding government use of facial recognition software. To develop WikiTribune’s original reporting on this issue, help develop the draft story here.
The first major use of such technology by police in the UK revealed a 92 percent error rate. This happened at football championships in Wales in 2017.
In the U.S., the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a long-running campaign against the systematic use of facial recognition software by law enforcement, and has particularly targeted Amazon’s sales of its Rekognition software.
On June 18, the ACLU delivered a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, supported by a petition with 150,000 signatures, arguing its software is “primed for abuse in the hands of governments.”
Following this, Amazon employees wrote to Bezos on June 21 calling on him to stop selling the technology. Amazon shareholders had already sent Bezos a letter, on June 15, citing concerns over the potential use of the software and and knock-on effects for the company’s share price.
Amazon issued a response to the ACLU’s earlier concerns on June 1, stating that there had been no reported abuse of the technology by law enforcement.
“[W]e believe it is the wrong approach to impose a ban on promising new technologies because they might be used by bad actors for nefarious purposes in the future,” Amazon argued. “The world would be a very different place if we had restricted people from buying computers because it was possible to use that computer to do harm.”
Meanwhile in the UK, human rights group Liberty is supporting a legal challenge to the widespread use of the technology by police departments.
Issues raised by these groups include potential infringements to privacy and freedom of expression, the technology’s inaccuracy and potential for discrimination, and the danger it could be sold to repressive governments to facilitate human rights abuses.
Which parts of this issue have been under-reported or need to be further analysed and explored?
Make suggestions in TALK or add directly to develop the story here.


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Just been fried, the value of ZTE ah stock market has increased by 15 billion yuan in the last two days, of which H shares soared 21.98% on June 18.
Just clarified: design chip non manufacturing chip
On June 20, ZTE issued a clarification statement, saying that in recent years, a number of self media aimed at the mass production of ZTEs 7Nm chips, the information that 5nm chips began to import was misread, and some reports were inconsistent with the facts, causing trouble and impact on the normal operation of the company.
ZTE said that in the field of chip design, ZTE focuses on the design of communication chips and does not have the ability of chip production and manufacturing. In terms of chip production and manufacturing, we rely on global partners for division of production.
The original text of the clarification statement is as follows:
We have noticed that in recent years, a number of self media have targeted at ZTEs mass production of 7Nm chips, the information that 5nm chips began to import has been misread, and some reports are inconsistent with the facts, which has troubled and affected the normal operation of the company.
Stock price riots: market value soared by 15 billion yuan in two days
On June 17, ZTE said on the interactive platform that the company has the ability of chip design and development, with 7Nm chip scale mass production, which has been commercially used in the global 5g scale deployment, and 5nm chip technology is being imported.
In response to the stock price riots on the 18th, ZTE insiders responded to the securities times u00b7 e company reporter that everything was normal and there was no event that might affect the stock price. For the news that ZTEs 5nm chip is being imported into the technology in interactive e-commerce on the 17th, the company said that the relevant information is not new, and the companys 2019 annual report has been disclosed.
On the morning of June 19, ZTE will hold the 2019 annual general meeting of shareholders. At the general meeting of shareholders, the president of the company also said that the company focuses on the design of communication chips and relies on the global supply chain for manufacturing.
For the design and development of chips, Xu Ziyang, President of ZTE, said that in terms of chips, the company will still focus on communication proprietary chips. Of course, on general chips, ZTE also welcomes partners to join the supply chain.
For 5g technology, Xu Ziyang said that ZTE has always been committed to innovation of 5g technology, continued to strengthen R & D investment in chips, algorithms, core technologies, architectures, etc., and built core competitive advantages at multiple levels such as standard patents, key technologies, product safety, etc.
5g share exceeds 4G and 6G is under study. Overall, the companys market share in 5g will exceed 4G, Xu said Xu Ziyang said that the company is committed to building faster and faster networks, more and more accurate clouds, and more and more diverse terminals, and the company is full of confidence in 5g.
Xu Ziyang also said that ZTE has allocated professionals from 5g team to form 6G team, and is conducting research on 6G key technologies, etc. 6G business model will appear in 2030, although there is still ten years in the middle, ZTE will work in silence.
Zhongxin international is the most advanced chip manufacturer in mainland China. At present, the chip technology level is also 14nm. Therefore, from the perspective of production and manufacturing, ZTE, as a 5g enterprise, is unlikely to surpass Zhongxin international in manufacturing more advanced 7Nm chips and 5nm chips.
SMIC international lightning will cause concern. On June 19, SMICs initial application for science and technology innovation board passed smoothly. It took only 19 days from acceptance to meeting, setting the fastest record of science and technology innovation board company at present. At the same time, SMICs proposed fundraising of 20 billion yuan also set a new high for the technology innovation board company.
SMIC is the largest and most advanced wafer foundry in mainland China, providing wafer foundry and technical services for different technology nodes from 0.35 u03bc m to 14 nm. Wafer, generally speaking, is the basic raw material for making chips. Wafer foundry industry is specialized in semiconductor wafer manufacturing and manufacturing, which is commissioned by other chip design companies, with high capital and technical barriers.
In terms of industry structure, only TSMC, Intel and Samsung can provide advanced process technology (corresponding to Intel 10nm) of 7Nm and below. According to the research of Tuopu industry, in 2019, TSMCs market share of advanced process is 52%, Intels market share is about 25%, Samsungs market share is about 23%. In 2019, SMIC achieved 14nm technology level, lagging behind TSMC 2-3 generations, and is in the technical catch-up.
According to the prospectus of SMIC international, the companys newly issued 1.69 billion shares, with a financing scale of 20 billion yuan. The raised funds are planned to be invested in the ongoing 12 inch chip SN1 project (8 billion yuan), advanced and mature technology research and development project reserve funds (4 billion yuan), and replenished working capital (8 billion yuan).
At present, only 14 nm chips are produced in SMIC, and the 5 nm chips with higher process have not yet overcome the technical difficulties. This may be an important reason for SMICs international speed of light conference, to accelerate the speed of fund-raising and realize the accelerated catch-up in technology.
Source: Yang Bin, editor in charge of China Fund News_ NF4368

domain: news


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Speaking today at his keynote speech to the Automotive Forum 2010 in New York, Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said that he will delay the launch of Chrysler’s redesigned 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee if he doesn’t think the vehicle’s quality is flawless.
The 2011 Jeep Gran Cherokee is scheduled to go on sale in June or early July.
“It is the signature vehicle” of Fiat-run Chrysler — the first all-new vehicle since Italy’s Fiat took over — and will be seen sign of the quality of all successive Chrysler-Fiat vehicles,” Marchionne said. “The Grand Cherokee “must be flawless'” he said. “It will not be launched (on time) otherwise.”
Chrysler recently kicked off production of its 3.6L Pentastar V6 engine, which will make its debut in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has been previously reported that prices for the 2011 Grand Cherokee SUV will start at $31,480 for the base Laredo E model.
2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee:
– By: Stephen Calogera


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Tweet this Microsoft
Apple and Twitter are officially getting it on
Apple never stops tweaking their iOS software, and that may be the main reason the popularity of the iPhone continues to skyrocket. And the battle between the titans--Apple, Microsoft and Google--has made for some interesting and unlikely hook-ups. List Apple and Twitter as one of those strange relationships that started at the bar as a drunken rebound and miraculously evolved into something serious.
Apple and Twitter recently struck a deal to make Twitter's social networking service more fundamentally embedded into the operating system of iOS 5, premiering this Fall. iOS 5, to be found in iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, signals a shift beyond application-based services to one where a specific social media application is integrated into the very workings of the device.
According to an Apple statement, this amalgamation means that there will be a more streamlined process in posting photos, videos and links from your Apple device to Twitter. iPhone users will also be able to completely sync their contacts and Twitter followers, much like the Facebook application currently does. These features will now be part of the internal workings of the device software rather than through a third party application.
For Twitter, this marks another step in a steady process toward integration and ownership. The micro-blogging site already purchased the popular third-party application TweetDeck earlier this year and recently added its own photo sharing service. These moves were seen as preparation for something big, which the deal with Apple has now confirmed.
Twitter, which unofficially launched in Austin at SXSW in 2007, is now more than 200 million users strong, and iPhone users remain the largest group of social media fanatics. So strong that extra cell phone towers had to be shipped to Austin to handle the extra SXSW traffic in recent years. Furthermore, demand for Apple gadgets has reached such a high that a temporary pop-up store opened during SXSW this past spring.
It's hard to say who the real winner is here, though it is certainly not Facebook. The social networking juggernaut with 700 million users--more than three times the number of active Twitter accounts--declined the advances of Apple to integrate into newer versions of iOS even though they are already integrated into Apple's iPhoto software. This marks a significant inroad made by Twitter into the sometimes impenetrable dominance of Facebook in the social media world. With Microsoft set to incorporate Facebook into their own purchase of Skype, we could have a social media arms race on our hands.
In the meantime, excitement abounds regarding the possibility of even funnier Autocorrect disasters. Imagine the hilarity when that NSFW video is accidentally texted to your mother or that late night message to your girlfriend ends up on the web. Austinites are going to need to be extra careful when commenting on friends' antics on the east side and tweeting snarky comments about bands at ACL.


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Two former Sony Pictures employees are suing the company, saying it mismanaged health care information and other personal details grabbed by hackers in a recent breach.
After complaining about his Comcast service, Conal O'Rourke claims the cable giant contacted his boss and got him fired.
An attorney for the defunct streaming-TV service calls the results disappointing. The company had expected to bring in anywhere from $4 million to $31.2 million.
A senior director with a key role in Yahoo's mobile efforts is named in a harassment suit by her female subordinate.
Apple just lost a $533 million patent case to Smartflash this week, and now Ericsson is likewise suing the company in a patent dispute.
On the hook for $533 million in damages from the first trial, Apple finds itself the target of a second and related lawsuit from the patent firm.
Apple faces a lawsuit over an iMessage bug barring texts from arriving on Android owners' handsets after they've disavowed iOS.
The Federal Trade Commission charges several promoters of supposed melanoma-detection apps with deceptive marketing and says they must provide evidence to back up their claims.
Sony, Warner, and Universal argue that under state law, the music streaming service must pay license fees for songs recorded before 1972.
RIAA lawsuit accuses the defunct file-sharing service of "massive copyright infringement" of music.


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“The constant criticism of the private health industry by CHOICE uses falsehoods to scare consumers out of a vital part of our healthcare system that millions of Australians rely on for access to safe, efficient, and timely care.”
That was the assertion made by Private Healthcare Australia (PHA) chief executive Dr Rachel David when the trade body offered assurances that it is currently funding the backlog of elective surgeries that couldn’t be performed during the six-week ban.
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News & Updates
We bring you the AMIBA Blogs and news from around the world as it pertains to local business and growing our local economies.
In 2003, seven businesses in Grand Rapids, Michigan came together with the idea to grow an economy with one important element at its center: people.
This October, celebrate the arts during Shop Indie Art Month hosted by the American Independent Business Alliance.
One Source Direct invites you to their "Partner for Productivity Impact Hub," a platform created...
We invite you to partner with us to grow our Shop Black-Owned Campaign in February.
Why buy local? The Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) says it’s to “keep things weird.” Yes, you read that right.
Industry News Feed
By Kennedy Smith, Institute for Local Self-Reliance Our new report suggests a dozen ways that civic leaders can use the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to strengthen local economies by supporting small business development. Our report suggests twelve ways in which...
Amazon’s Toll Road report finds that Amazon is exploiting its position as a gatekeeper to impose steep fees on third-party sellers.
Good for Michigan's People First Economy created a two-part mini-podcast highlighting their Move Your Money campaign. This campaign was created to spread awareness around the importance of keeping your money locally, the impacts of our current financial system, and...
Small businesses are a vital part of economically healthy, socially vibrant, and environmentally sustainable communities. AMIBA is proud to partner with the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network (SBAN). We are eager to share their recently released brown paper that...
From Cambridge Day As Amazon prioritizes delivery speed and low prices, often at the cost of its employees’ well-being, many bricks-and-mortar businesses feel they can’t compete. But cutting delivery times isn’t the only way Amazon gets ahead: Some business owners...
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Italy's competition watchdog has fined social networking giant Facebook seven million euros ($8.45 million) for failing to comply with a previous order related to improper use of its subscribers' data.
After an investigation, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said on Wednesday that it had found that Facebook Inc. and its subsidiary Facebook Ireland Ltd. did not implement a 2018 order requiring them to dismiss an incorrect practice in the use of users' data, nor did they publish a corrective declaration requested by the watchdog, Xinhua news agency reported.
In November 2018, after a nine-month investigation, the AGCM concluded that Facebook used subscribers' data in a way that breached Italy's Consumer Code. Therefore, it handed Facebook two fines totalling 10 million euros ($12 million).
The first fine was imposed because Facebook "deceptively persuades users to register on the platform" without informing them properly and immediately in the signup phase that their data would be collected for commercial purposes, the watchdog explained.
The second fine in 2018 related to passing user data onto to third parties.
On Friday, the Italian competition watchdog explained in a statement that the new seven-million-euro fine was decided because "the two companies have not published the corrective statement and have not ceased the established unfair practice."
Although the "claim of gratuity" at the point of registering has been eliminated, "immediate and clear information is not yet provided on the collection and use of the users' data for commercial purposes," the AGCM said on Wednesday.
According to the AGCM, such information is necessary to enable consumers to decide whether to subscribe to the service, "in the light of the economic value the users' transferred data have for Facebook, which represents the payment for using the service."
The most recent proceeding against Facebook was launched in January 2020, and the fine was decided in a meeting on February 9, according to the Italian watchdog.
The original investigation leading to the two previous financial penalties in 2018 was opened after three Italian advocacy groups filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook for alleged improper use of personal data filed.
This news has been published via a Syndicated feed. Only the headline is changed.
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AMD's main marketing man, Nigel Dessau, took to the stage at the company's press event in Taipei to explain the changes that are being made to the company's strategy for its Vision products - and if you don't like code numbers, you may want to stop reading.
When AMD first unveiled its Vision line, it had a clear plan for how it would differentiate between the various performance levels on offer throughout the range: the basic, embedded models would be branded as 'HD Internet,' with no mention of Vision; the entry-level chips would get basic 'Vision' branding; faster processors would be given the honour of being called 'Vision Premium;' while the company's top-end offering would be called 'Vision Ultimate.'
So far, you may think, so straightforward. Sadly, AMD has decided that such a naming convention is too simple - and has opted to rebrand the entire line-up.
As demonstrated in a slide unveiled by Dessau, the 'HD Internet' embedded branding has gone, to be replaced with a designation under a new, all-encompassing Vision brand: E2. Likewise, 'Vision' is now to be known as 'Vision A4,' Premium as 'A6,' and Ultimate as 'A8.'
While we applaud Dessau and AMD for ditching the superlatives, we can't help but feel that the new branding could lead to more confusion than it prevents - although it does give the company room to release a 'Vision A10' high-performance chip in the future without having to find a word that tops 'ultimate.'
The updated branding also carries new logo graphics, designed to quickly highlight what sort of technology is inside the box: AMD Radeon Dual Graphics, Quad Core and AMD Radeon Graphics, Dual Core and AMD Radeon Graphics, and Quad Core and Radeon Dual Graphics.
"When we launched Vision," Dessau explained, "for the first time we focused less on the technology that was inside the platforms, and much more on the experience. For the first time today, we show our new Vision brand. We hope this more simplified approach will really help consumers get the right platform for their needs."
While it's easy to see why AMD has extended its Vision line to encompass the embedded end of the market, Dessau's claim of a 'more simplified' approach is perhaps a little disingenuous: while a consumer would find it easy to describe himself as a mainstream, premium, or ultimate buyer, choosing from E2, A4, A6, and A8 is a little less obvious.
With Llano, the company's first A-series Vision part, expected to drop next month, the new branding will get its first proper test.


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A few days after the NFL announced that it would not be showing the Detroit Lions’ playoff game against the Chicago Bears in Detroit on Dec 5, the league announced a limited supply of tickets to the game at the Mall of America.
The Mall of American has a limited allotment of seats and many people will have to pay to buy tickets, but tickets will be available for the first time on the NFL’s website.
“We’re going to make the first available to a limited number of ticket holders in the United States and Canada,” a spokesperson for the NFL said in a statement.
“As always, we want to make sure that fans in our communities can access the most exciting and popular game in the league.”
The announcement came a day after Lions fans posted on social media that they were being asked to donate to charity to help the Lions prepare for the game.
The NFL responded by offering a $10,000 donation to the Lions’ charity fund.
The Lions won the game in overtime, 37-28.
A number of fans took to social media to express their frustration at the limited availability of tickets, while others suggested they could use the NFL to help them purchase tickets.
“I can’t even buy a seat for my friends at the mall for the Lions game, they are not getting the chance to get in,” tweeted one person.
“Sorry to say but I cannot buy tickets to a game this bad.
Can anyone help?” tweeted another.


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A recent tweet from the official Android account has fanboys in a tizzy in the run-up to Google I/O. Are talks of a new smartphone unfounded?
Sifting through millions of tweets, researchers at Brigham Young say they found that each state's ratio of tweets discussing suicide strongly correlates with its actual suicide rate.
As the search for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's replacement continues, one of the top rumored candidates says he "plans to continue serving Ford."
Speculation is mounting about the rumored A7 processor in the widely expected iPhone 5S. Upshot: it's faster, of course.
Yammer and Salesforce, beware. Chief Executive Jeff Weiner said the professional network is cooking up private, collaborative tools for a corporate clientele.
The Retina iPad Mini may incur substantially more display assembly costs, an Asia-based report claims.
The social network's "Talk Meter" finds more users than ever buzzed about Election Day, particularly those who are young, male, and in Washington, D.C.
Early details and specifications turn up for a Galaxy S III Mini, Galaxy S II Plus, and a Galaxy Premier.
The project, which aims to provide presidential horse-race insights via Facebook postings about the candidates, launches today.
Apple's rumored to have been in talks with content provider Epix to bring content to the Apple TV and potentially even its TV set.


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- Strike proposes cost-effective solutions for remittances in Africa, leveraging Bitcoin to overcome high fees and promote financial freedom.
- The launch of Strike Africa introduces comprehensive services, including buying/selling Bitcoin and stablecoins, facilitating affordable and fast cross-border payments.
Strike Africa introduces a suite of services based on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, designed to transform financial access on the continent. Users can now interact with local and digital currencies, facilitating the buying and selling of Bitcoin and USDT, and executing international payments.
This Strike initiative seeks to offer efficient, secure and affordable financial alternatives for individuals and like other companies, which we have previously highlighted in ETHNews.
Jack Mallers, speaking about this launch, emphasized how Strike can change the current financial dynamics, giving people a means to safeguard their wealth in the face of inflation.
I just published Announcing Strike Africa
Today, we are launching Strike Africa, expanding our full suite of #Bitcoin services into Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia with more markets to come in the future.
— Jack Mallers (@jackmallers) February 27, 2024
The platform is also designed to serve businesses, providing them with access to specific services that are tailored to their business operations. The Strike API, in particular, is expected to encourage developers to innovate in the payments and Bitcoin space, expanding the possibilities for users in Africa and beyond, like other blockchains we have covered on ETHNews.
Customized Services with Strike Private
For selected users, Strike Private will introduce customized services including special pricing terms, Bitcoin education, and detailed market analysis. This customized service seeks to guide customers through their Bitcoin experience, offering them specialized support and in-depth knowledge.
Nigeria, the continent’s economic leader, is experiencing a crisis with inflation at approximately 30% and its currency reaching historic lows. The Nigerian Naira has devalued by 230% in the last year, economically affecting its 210 million citizens.
Similarly, Ghana recorded an inflation increase to 23.5%, averaging 14.3% in the decade leading up to 2022. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin functions as a digital asset of trust and protection against inflation, providing people with a way to safeguard their property rights and preserve their wealth.
Strike’s Proposal for the Continent
Remittance fees in Africa rank among the highest in the world, holding back financial progress. According to the World Bank, in 2022, the average cost of sending $200 to Africa was 8.5% of the amount sent, in contrast to a global average of less than 6%. Current remittance services are often limited and onerous, with fees reaching up to 20% for certain African countries.
Strike provides a solution for global payments that is fast, affordable and based on public digital infrastructure.
Using the Lightning Network, it facilitates a seamless and low-cost cross-border payments experience for individuals and businesses, a topic we have covered well in ETHNews.
In the face of runaway inflations, outdated payment systems with high fees and stringent capital controls that trap people in devalued currencies, platforms like Coinbase and Binance have benefited by promoting alternatives and speculative cryptocurrencies like Ether and Solana.
In contrast, Strike concentrates on offering a principled and ethical solution focused on the real value that Bitcoin offers, avoiding the distraction of speculative assets. As such, it is limited to the Bitcoin offering and a stablecoin only.


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London Stock Exchange stuns investors as it shelves £500m share buyback programme
The London Stock Exchange spooked its investors by warning markets would remain ‘difficult and uncertain’, and shelving its £500million share buyback programme.
Its shares tumbled 60p, or more than 10 per cent, to 519½p.
Chief executive Dame Clara Furse denied new trading platforms, like Chi-X Europe and Turquoise, have pinched market share from the group.
Stoic: LSE boss Dame Clara Furse says the group is doing fine, despite shares tumbling by more than 10% after it shelved its share buyback programme
The British bourse has responded to the increased competitive threat by cutting fees, pushing down its trading revenues in the first half.
The LSE notched up a 30 per cent rise in firsthalf pretax profits to £127million, boosted by last April’s purchase of Borsa Italiana. The interim dividend rises 5 per cent to 8.4p.
The LSE group recently began its search for a successor to Furse. She declined to comment on her planned exit: ‘I’ll let you know when it’s time to write my obituary.’
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Electric vehicle powerhouse Tesla (TSLA 0.38%) is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies to execute a stock split this year. At the close of trading on Aug. 24, the company's 3-for-1 split went into effect.
It means the number of Tesla shares in circulation increased threefold, which has cut the price of each share by two-thirds, from $891.30 to $297.10. The move is designed to make Tesla stock more accessible to smaller investors, which could broaden the company's shareholder base.
It's important to remember the stock split is entirely cosmetic and that it doesn't add any value to the company itself. Instead, investors should remain focused on Tesla's long-term potential -- especially since there's so much of it.
The road to 20 million electric vehicles
Tesla is the world's leading manufacturer of electric vehicles. Its success comes not only from the popularity of its cars but also the precision of its production processes, which has allowed the company to rapidly scale and remain dominant even while expanding into new countries.
In 2017, Tesla delivered 101,312 electric cars. In 2021 that number was more than nine times higher, at 936,172. And thanks to two brand-new gigafactories in Austin, Texas, and Berlin, Germany, the company will have the capacity to manufacture 2 million cars per year by the end of 2022.
For investors, that growth has coincided with a more than 1,100% gain in Tesla stock over the past five years. Therefore, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company aims to grow production 10-fold from here by the end of the current decade, it might be a signal that the stock is set for another long-term run as well. The recent stock split will truly be a distant memory by then -- in fact, it's possible the company will need another one!
By 2030, Tesla thinks it will be producing 20 million electric vehicles after adding another 10 to 12 gigafactories between now and then to reach that capacity. It's an ambitious goal, but history proves that sort of growth is well within the company's wheelhouse, and it has the financial performance to deliver it.
Tesla could cross $100 billion in revenue next year
Naturally, Tesla's revenue growth has been just as impressive as its growth in production and deliveries. Between 2017 and 2021, the metric expanded at a compound annual rate of 46% and based on analysts' estimates of $83.9 billion in 2022 sales, that growth rate will accelerate to 56% this year.
In 2023, the company is expected to generate over $100 billion in annual revenue for the very first time, but there's an even more exciting story beneath the surface of that number.
For the 2021 full year, Tesla had a gross profit margin of 29.3% on its electric vehicles. It was a big jump from 25.6% in 2020 and 21.2% in 2019. The figure has increased even further to 30.4% in the first half of 2022. Why does that matter? The company's gross margin has steadily climbed alongside the number of cars it has produced, which means as Tesla grows larger and makes more cars, it's also becoming even more profitable.
A higher gross margin typically gives the company more money to invest in initiatives like new gigafactories, or it could simply result in more money flowing to its bottom line, which would add to the $18.3 billion cash pile Tesla is currently sitting on.
Buy Tesla stock for the company, not the stock split
For all of the reasons mentioned above, investors should focus on Tesla as a company rather than inconsequential factors like its stock split. But there is one caveat to buying the stock for investors who have shorter-term goals.
Over the past four quarters, Tesla has generated non-GAAP (adjusted) net income (profit) of $11.3 billion, which translates to $9.89 in earnings per share. That places the stock at a price-to-earnings multiple of 90, which is three-times higher than the Nasdaq 100 technology index's multiple of 27.2, for example. In other words, Tesla is relatively expensive right now.
But if the company manages to add a dozen gigafactories and can produce 20 million cars each year by 2030, then it should be worth well beyond its presently lofty valuation, so there will likely be gains on the table for long-term investors in that scenario.
For smaller investors, the stock split does offer an opportunity to buy Tesla stock now for significantly less outlay than was previously required.


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Tomorrow is a big day for Ireland as we see the biggest lifting of Covid-19 restrictions so far this year.
Last week construction and outdoor workers headed back to work and tomorrow more people will be back in their workplaces after months of closure.
From tomorrow you will be able to travel anywhere in Ireland as the ban on inter county travel will be no more.
If you are in desperate need of a haircut (lets face it who isn't at this stage) then you will be glad to hear that hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons will be allowed to welcome back customers from tomorrow.
Click and collect is back on for shops that offer the service and appointment only shopping will also be an option.
Earlier this week Penneys opened their online booking portal for shopping appointments which saw them all get snapped up within a matter of hours.
In terms of visiting your family and friends, three households or six people from any number of households can now meet in gardens while social distancing.
However if you are fully vaccinated then you may visit other households indoors.
Outdoor training and gatherings are back on the cards from May 10th with up to 15 people allowed to train together once again.
Galleries, museums, libraries and other cultural attractions will reopen from tomorrow and the capacity for public transport will ago up to 50%.
From tomorrow up to 50 mourners can attend funeral masses with no other events to take place after the service.
Up to 50 guests will also be allowed to attend wedding ceremonies however only six can attend an indoor reception and 15 for an outdoor party.
Property viewings are also allowed once again all though they will need to be by appointment only with licensed Property Service Providers.
As inter county travel is back on the agenda anyone who owns a stationary mobile home or caravan may travel to it anywhere in the country.
The next step on the plan to lift restrictions comes on May 17th which is when all retail will be allowed to reopen.


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He may not have the best track record with positive relationships, but it looks like Chris Brown's new romance with Karrueche Tran is still going strong.
The aspiring model and her superstar boyfriend spent time relaxing on the beach together over the weekend in Australia. Later on, Tran took to her Twitter page to show off the love between her and the "Look At Me Now" singer with a picture of them kissing and a caption that read, "head over heels."
In other career news, Brown is looking at an opportunity in the toy business. According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, the 22 year-old is teaming up with prolific street artist, Ron English, to help create a limited line of collectible toys and art sculptures.
The new "Dum English" line will launch in L.A. on May 2, and proceeds from the sales of the toys will benefit Brown’s Symphonic Love foundation.


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While the 2017 US IPO crop is following the 2016 cohort into the dustbin of history for being shallower than expected, there is still some life to be found.
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In that vein, today we are going to look at the only impending (traditional) tech IPO in the United States, the internationally-based and soon-to-be domestically listed Despegar.
Despegar.com intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “DESP” this month. The Brazilian company, according to its Crunchbase profile, has raised $31.5 million in its life, including a $21 million round led by Sequoia in 2012. Expedia bought $270 million of Despegar shares in 2015, though it did not acquire voting rights with its stake.
The firm, founded in 1999, calls itself the “leading online travel company in Latin America,” according to its F-1 document. It goes on to argue that the “underpenetrated Latin American online travel market” will grow to “approximately $47.6 billion by 2020” from just under $30 billion in 2016.
That’s a lot of TAM (total addressable market) for the company to snap up. But how is Despegar doing more recently? Let’s find out.
Despegar is a slightly odd cookie. Let’s first take a look at its results, and then break them down into something closer to English:
Reading from right to left—as the table is set up such that time flows towards your port hand—some notes:
- Despegar shrunk from 2015 (full year) to 2016, seeing its revenue falls from $421.7 million to $411.2 million.
- But, in the same time period, the firm cut its sales and marketing spend from $170.1 million to $121.5 million.
- That reduction in cost helped push the firm from a $67.3 million loss in 2015 to a $28.3 million profit in 2016.
- Off that better (in terms of losses) 2016 result, Despegar has ramped up marketing spend again in 2017, helping it grow revenue from $193.90 million in the first half of 2016 to $248.5 million in the first two quarters of 2017.
- The firm’s profit grew from $4.3 million in the first six months of 2016 to $25.1 million in H1 2017 on a pre-tax basis. Despegar lost around a half million in the first half of 2016 after it paid taxes. In the first half of 2017, its post-tax profit came in at $18.8 million.
This company looks healthy, growing both its core revenue drivers (air fares and travel packages). It’s also investing in sales and marketing while expanding its profitability. The company also grew its transactional volume in every region it lists (Brazil, Argentina, Other). That implies that the firm may, in fact, pick up a good chunk of the aforementioned TAM.
So that’s Despegar, a firm with $92.1 million in cash and an impending check. All that remains to ask is how much the firm picks up in its IPO (its F-1 lists $100 million, but that is likely a placeholder) and how that compares to its prior valuation.
IPO season! Kind of!
Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily.


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KATHMANDU, May 5: Targeting to promote Nepali cuisine in the international market, Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has announced to unveil a cook book and video of 30 different items of Nepali traditional food. The unveiling program has been scheduled for May 7.
KATHMANDU, March 24: Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has submitted a 16-point memorandum to newly appointed minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Rabindra Adhikari, on Thursday. A team lead by Amar Man Shakya, president of HAN, submitted the memorandum to minister Adhikari.
POKHARA, Aug 21: Heli Air Nepal (HAN) will be soon operating new light weighted portable helicopters known as gyrocopters, especially designed for domestic as well as international tourists who love adventure.
KATHMANDU, Aug 10: Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has established its regional association Nepalgunj. Issuing a statement, the apex body of hotels in Nepal said that the 13-member executive committee of Hotel Association Nepalgunj is led by Ashit Shamsher JBR -- the owner of Hotel Sneha.


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Honda Motorcyle & Scooter India eyes double-digit growth in new fiscal
Currently, 10% of HMSI’s distribution network in the western part of t...
Fujitsu Consulting India enabling internal digital transformation process for Fujitsu
The Indian unit, with over 4,500 people, is working on ...
HCL opens innovation center in Canada; to create 2000 new jobs in three years
The company said that it will deliver advanced technology solutions to its global client base to help accelerate their digital transformation journeys from the center.
View: Time to “Florey” the Digital Infrastructure for accelerated growth
India started on the long, difficult but exciting path of providing digital connectivity with several optical fibre projects for BSNL and defence networks
Pandemic has accelerated digital upskilling, but key groups still miss out: PwC Survey
Industries like retail or transport, which are most at risk of disruption, score just 25% and 20% respectively; while banking scores 42%.
Acceleration in edutech growth will sustain post Covid-19: ETILC members
According to a report by RedSeer and Omidyar Network India, the online education market for class 1-12 is projected to increase 6.3 times in the next one year and create a $1.7 billion market. The post K-12 market is set to grow 3.7 times to touch $1.8 billion.
Close to 90% firms will invest in tech in response to Covid-19: Report
The survey also said that 88% of organizations already have a formal digital transformation strategy in place, and 57% have a roadmap for the same.
Covid has accelerated digital transformation process: Satya Nadella
Digital technology has become a lot more pervasive across industries through the pandemic, Nadella said.
Mastercard launches resource site to support digital transformation of SMEs in Asia Pacific
To enhance the resources for SMEs, Mastercard has joined forces with website builder Wix and Zoho, a cloud solutions provider.
London Stock Exchange seeks accelerated IPOs in listing review
IPO in London take five weeks from publication of the registration document to a stock’s trading debut, after the UK market regulator tacked on an extra seven days in 2018 to allow unconnected analysts, from banks not working on the deal, earlier access to information.
Western Digital launches acceleration programme curated for women-led tech startups, in partnership with WE HUB
The programme has been curated for women-led technology startups in India, to help them to be investment-ready and help them scale by giving them access to national and international investors.
Fintech industry accelerates financial inclusion, to push faster digital adoption
The rapid growth of fintech players has helped in accelerating financial inclusion and new age technologies like AI and ML will further quicken digital adoption in the country, benefitting both the industry and the consumers in the coming years, according to experts.
Coronavirus accelerating digital transformation: SCO Secretary-General
Norov was speaking at the inaugural plenary of four-day 23rd Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) titled: Sustainable Development in the Times of COVID-19, inaugurated by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad on Monday.
Digital acceleration will continue over 18-24 months: Intel's Prakash Mallya
Intel is working with both global and local companies to set up their infrastructure, said Mallya


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Probiotics may have taken some time to seep into consumer consciousness, especially in the US, but digestive health last year entered the top three fastest growing functional food categories. And with developments in science and technology also come greater opportunities to widen the category beyond the traditional dairy application.
Supplements of probiotic bacteria combined with dietary counseling may reduce the risk of becoming overweight or obese after pregnancy, suggests a new study from Finland.
Ice creams with added pre- or probiotics can be formulated to have good nutritional and sensory properties, according to research, with careful balancing of the recipe to ensure acceptable taste,...
New EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) guidance on preparing probiotic consumer health claim submissions is “flawed” and lacks biological justification, according to a leading UK academic.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced that its gut health and immunity workshop to be held in Amsterdam on December 2 will be webcast live.
NutraIngredient’s Snack Size Science brings you the week's top science every two weeks. This week we look at how probiotics may help keep babies healthy. A healthy baby is a...
Malta will host the second World Congress on Immunity Ingredients on October 28 where a science-led programme focusing on antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics will unfold.
Mapping how the gut microbiota respond to probiotic strains may help produce a framework for “evaluating and optimizing probiotic-based functional foods”, say researchers from Danone and Harvard.
French probiotic leader Danone, Swedish dairy firm Skånemejerier and ingredient supplier Probi yesterday closed a three-way probiotic juice deal, bringing the firms one step closer to an international launch of...
Daily supplements of a probiotic may reduce the incidence of respiratory illness for infants during their first eight months of life, says a new study.
In the first part of this Asia-focused special edition, we look to the innovation hotbed that is Japan. Japan is well known as the world’s functional foods birthplace when Yakult...
Daily supplements with probiotic Lactobacillus strains may reduce the incidence of acquiring the common cold by 12 percent, according to new research from probiotic player Probi.
Probiotic bacteria may affect gene activity and the cellular reactions they control in the human intestine, a study has revealed for the first time.
Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts the global probiotics market will be worth $28.8bn by 2015, even though the market is still considered to be in infancy.
European supermarket shelves are still far ahead of their American equivalents with the range of products for digestive health, but the US is catching up fast says a new report.
The human nutrition division of French yeast specialist Lesaffre has launched what it says is only the second known probiotic yeast, and the first to directly target Irritable Bowel Syndrome...
Finnish dairy and ingredients supplier, Valio, has lodged an immunity health claim application with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for its probiotic strain, Lactobacillus GG.
The Indian joint venture between Yakult and Danone established in 2005 to bring Yakult probiotic drinks to the Indian market is expanding with Bangalore targeted as the point of entry...
Danone has paid an undisclosed sum for fellow French smoothie maker Immedia in a move that bolsters its presence in the European juice market.
Consumer products containing a patented ingredient that binds bacteria in the mouth responsible for tooth caries and stops them sticking to teeth could reach the market this year, according to...
The International Probiotics Association (IPA) is set to launch a new website early next year that will aim to deliver information about the microorganisms to consumers.
A ‘high-potency’ lactic acid bacteria supplement may ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in children, says a new study that echoes results from adult studies.
In the third excerpt from a NutraIngredients health claims roundtable, our experts wonder whether industry is being creative enough with the new European Union regulations.
Daily consumption of milk fortified with probiotics and prebiotics may reduce the incidence of childhood illness, according to a community-based, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.
The European Food Safety Authority has published dates for a series of area-specific health claim workshops beginning with gut health and immunity in Amsterdam on December 2.
Probiotics player Yakult is confident the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will hand its probiotic-immunity health claim dossier a positive opinion, despite the agency contacting it with further questions.


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I've been on the hunt for Fourth of July cause marketing. I wrote about one last week from Budweiser that involved augmented reality that is pretty cool. You can read about it in my monthly post on the For Momentum blog.
I found another one today.
For a second year, Napa Auto Parts is re-launching its Get Back and Give Back Campaign to support the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Through July, the campaign will offer a nationwide text-to-donate program during the month, which allows anyone to text 'NAPA' to 27722 to make a $10 donation.
Napa Auto Parts and NAPA AutoCare Centers are also offering customers mail-in rebates of up to $25 for every battery, alternator, and starter they purchase during the month. Customers can choose to donate all or a portion of these rebates, and Napa will donate $1 to the IFHF for any redeemed rebate.
This is the first time I've seen a company offer customers the option to donate their rebate to a cause, and then make a donation for every redeemed rebate (although I have this when consumers redeemed coupons).
Since I didn't find all Fourth of July cause marketing campaigns I was hoping to find, I dipped into my Pinterest boards and found a few other patriotic themed campaigns.
During the Superbowl Jeep'sWhole Again ad supported the USO and the troops.
One of my favorite campaigns from past Independence Days was Jersey Mike's Christmas in July campaign for Wreaths Across America. I think it takes a real giving spirit to host a fundraiser in July to put wreaths on soldiers' graves in December. But that's just what this sub chain did.
What Fourth of July cause marketing promotions have you seen?
Update: Stuart Elliot in the New York Times has a nice roundup of cause-related campaigns for The Fourth of July.


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The rich kids of Dubai may think they are being humble, posting snapshots into their glamorous lives, but the reality behind the pictures points to a much different motivating factor. With all the cash at their disposal that they might possibly want, there is only one reason for posting pictures of their million-dollar shoe collections, lavish days spent traveling and the latest string of jewelry that they have acquired. What’s that? To show off of course. When the latest Louboutins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Chanels, Louis Vuittons, Guccis, Manolo Blahnik, and all the other most expensive brands become too commonplace, they turn instead to custom gold-plated cars, iPhones and everything else that can be turned to gold. Money is no issue after all.
- See the first ever Big Brother Naija that was held in 2006 – Most of the housemates are popular and wealthy now (With Photos)
- 4 Nollywood actresses who have killed people in the past – You won’t believe this! (With Photos)
- If you notice any of these signs, all he wants to do is sleep with you and dump you
- 10 photos of Michael Jackson’s daughter that prove she is way crazier than her dad – Her fashion sense is to die for
According to Gulf News “for the first time broken into the world’s top 20 list of countries with the highest concentration of ultra-rich residents, with the country’s billionaire population rising by more than 30 per cent.”
As such, there are even more rich kids in Dubai now and with all the pictures that they post of their crazy lifestyles, it’s hard not to wonder how they even find time to go to school in-between all the partying and shopping.
20 Just Some Light Shopping
With the biggest shopping mall in the world being in Dubai, it’s not that surprising to see countless pics of the Rich Kids of Dubai walking out with numerous bags from designer stores such as Luis Vuitton, Chanel, Ralph Lauren and many others. According to the Dubai Mall’s official website, there are over 1,200 stores spread out over 5.9 million square feet! Naturally for the unlimited spenders, assistants are needed to help carry the bags, especially if the shopping is done in not-so-comfortable high heels. Wouldn’t it be easier to just shop online?
This Dubai rich kid undoubtedly thought that she was just being modest taking a casual picture, but the many bags held up by the porter points to a much darker desire to show off her expensive lifestyle.
19 A Walking Advertisement
Not too long ago, one of Dubai’s richest and most famous kids made headlines for a very interesting reason. Not too long ago, the Daily Mail reported that 15-year-old Rashid Belhasa had been given a £200,000 Ferrari wrapped in Louis Vuitton print. In US currency, that equates to about $285,000 currently.
Turns out that it was actually a combination of a Louis Vuitton and Supreme print, but this gift particularly stands out because Belhasa wouldn’t have actually been able to drive the car yet. The legal driving age in Dubai is 18. At the time, the Dubai rich kid had posted a video of himself showing off the car, saying: “It’s all about the detail.” He may think that he is humble by not overtly saying that he’s better than those with less money than his daddy, but this is still a clear case of a rich kid showing off.
In reference to Lionel Messi, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan being family friends, he reportedly told EconomicTimes.com: “They all want to spend time on our family farm and see our tigers. Sometimes I have to say no. I don’t have the time and it is tiring.”


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Towards the source of the Ganges, near the town of Rishikesh, boulders dot the riverbank. From a distance, they appear to be painted with venerable religious inscriptions. Monkeys clatter in the purple trees up in the woods; holy men dressed in orange robes gaze at the water and contemplate their next incarnation. It is a peaceful, unworldly spot. Or is it? Closer inspection reveals the boulders are painted with a well-known corporate logo. The words "Coca-Cola" loom into view. In case you missed them in English, they are also written in florid Hindi. The fact that Coca-Cola has taken to advertising on boulders alongside India's holiest river is a symbol, its critics say, of its increasing desperation.
The rocks are just a small salvo in what is shaping up to be one of the world's most entertaining corporate battles. Over in Bollywood, far away from the serene Ganges, the war between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in India has taken a sharply comic twist. Two months ago, Coca-Cola hired Bollywood's latest sensation, the rippling Hrithik Roshan, to front a new advertising campaign. Roshan has only appeared in one film. But he is already a superstar on the subcontinent, inspiring adulation from teenage girls and - it is said - less than maternal feelings from their mothers. ("They had to keep me down because I was getting so excited," Ritu Chadha, a 38-year-old Delhi-based exporter said, after watching Roshan in action with her children. "To me he looks like Jesus Christ." A 45-year-old woman from Mumbai added: "I react to him." She has watched his film 10 times.)
Pepsi was quick to respond. It released its own ad, starring Shah Rukh Khan, India's answer to Tom Cruise, poking fun at the muscle-bound Roshan. In the Pepsi commercial a Roshan lookalike wearing ugly braces on his teeth makes a brief appearance, only to be rejected by a pretty girl who kisses Khan instead. This, in itself, is something of a risque departure for Indian advertising. Roshan, in the words of one Pepsi executive, then "whinged". He fired off a letter complaining that as a novice in the cinema industry, he did not deserve to be lampooned. His fans wrote angry letters to newspapers. And in Calcutta, where Roshan's granny lives, there were even anti-Pepsi demonstrations. The actor's father, Rakesh Roshan, a successful Bollywood film-maker, who artfully turned his son into a star by directing and producing his debut movie Kaho Naa . . . Pyaar Hai (Say That You Love), also entered the fray. Pepsi was only "ridiculing" his son because it lost the bidding war to sign him up, he said.
This merry opera bouffe then took a more sinister turn. On June 22, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - a powerful Hindu nationalist militia with close links to India's rightwing government - launched an attack on Khan and his equally famous actor brothers, Aamir, Salman and Saif. It claimed the Khans were part of a Muslim/mafia conspiracy to keep Hindu actors out of Bollywood, adding that the Pepsi ad poking fun at Roshan was an "ugly attempt" to discredit the Hindu actor. The RSS then suggested that cola in India was being drunk along communal lines: with Muslims choosing Pepsi and Hindus Coca-Cola. Both firms dismissed the RSS intervention as ludicrous. The Khans have long been popular with all sections of India's passionate movie-going community - and with audiences outside India: it was the spectacle of Khan gyrating on the roof of a train in the hit film Dil Se which persuaded Andrew Lloyd-Webber to set his next musical in Bollywood.
The feud between Roshan and Khan is merely the sub-plot in a bigger, global drama. At stake is control of the world's soft drinks industry. Ever since Coke was thrown out of India in 1977 for not revealing its secret recipe, it has been struggling to regain a foothold on the subcontinent. Unusually, India is one of the few countries in the world where Pepsi enjoys market dominance. Coke returned to India in 1993 with a bang by buying Thums Up, India's indigenous and comically misspelt cola brand. But by then it was too late. Pepsi had arrived two years earlier, and had cornered most of the $1bn (£600m) market. Pepsi is currently the number one cola in India, followed by Thums Up and Coke. Over the past seven years Coke has pumped $700m (£430m) into India. Elsewhere in Asia it has also been trying to topple Pepsi, which is ahead in Pakistan, Thailand and much of the Middle East. Last Wednesday the first consignment of Coke trundled across the Chinese border into North Korea.
Pepsi has responded to this multi-pronged assault by playing the underdog card. "The big difference between the two companies is that we have a sense of humour," Vibha Risha, Pepsi's marketing director in India, claimed. When Coca-Cola acquired the rights to the 1996 cricket world cup for $4m, Pepsi produced a series of irreverent adverts poking fun at the official sponsor. Its subsequent campaigns have been almost entirely focused on young people, who constitute half of India's 150m soft drinks buyers. Coke's ads, by contrast, have had more of a broad family appeal. Pepsi, the firm would like to make out, is a tiny David battling a po-faced, establishment Goliath.
Back in Bombay, Roshan appears to have got over his earlier distress. "I met him recently at a couple of parties," said Prahlad Kakkar, who made the Roshan spoof ad. "I said: 'I hope you didn't mind'. He replied: 'Everybody has been over-reacting.' He's a pretty cool kid." Coke is gambling that a combination of relentless advertising ("Half the walls in India are held up by our ads," one Coke executive said) and the Roshan factor will eventually pay off.
It is something of an irony, then, that in a ragingly hot country like India, most people do not drink cola. There is no mystery here: they are simply too poor. When the price of a 300ml bottle of cola went up last year from eight to nine rupees (15p), sales slumped. Even among those who do buy cola, consumption is low. India's per capita consumption of soft drinks is only six bottles a year, compared with 15 in Pakistan, 22 in China and more than 600 in Mexico. The fond hope among cola executives is that lifestyle patterns are changing in a country where more than a third of the one billion population is under 18. "It's a vast untapped market out there," Deepak Jolly, Pepsi's spokesman, said. His opposite number at Coke, Rahul Dhawan, points out that cola is still regarded in India as a special treat, bought only at children's birthday parties, cinemas and festivals. He wants to change that.
Roshan, meanwhile, is pondering the weight of celebrity. "I get out of bed, go out and the traffic stops. It's hard to digest," he said recently. He is more reclusive these days: busy with his next two films, his girlfriend Suzanne, his low-calorie shakes, and the weights. The industry buzz is not very kind - "Turkeys of the worst kind", one Bollywood insider said of his new movies. But the consensus is that Roshan has enough talent to come through.
Back at the Ganges, Coca-Cola is busy scrubbing off its advertising from the rocks; the work, the company says, of a renegade local distributor. Soon the boulders will look like they did at the beginning of time, before advertising and cola were invented.


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Toyota has unveiled the 2015 Toyota Tundra Bass Pro Shops Off-Road Edition at the 2014 State Fair of Texas.
Toyota has announced the updates for the 2015 Toyota Tundra, which was all-new for the 2014 model year.
Toyota has released the pricing for the ultimate off-road version of the 2015 Toyota Tundra, the Tundra TRD Pro.
Toyota has announced that the 2015 Tundra TRD Pro Series is going to compete in the 47th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 that takes place on November 12-16 in Ensenada, Mexico.
It's being reported that the 2016 Toyota Tundra is going to get a version of the same 5.0L Cummins diesel that will be offered in the next Nissan Titan pickup.
Off-Road enthusiasts now have a new reason to choose walk into a Toyota showroom, since Toyota just debuted its new TRD Pro Series.
Toyota has released a new video that teases upcoming TRD Pro versions of the Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner models.
Toyota is celebrating the production of its one millionth truck at its San Antonio, Texas plant.
Toyota has announced the pricing for the new 2014 Toyota Tundra, which is offered in a trims : SR, SR5, Limited, Platinum and the all-new 1794 Edition.
Toyota has announced the start of production of the new 2014 Corolla and Tundra.
Toyota has unveiled the redesigned 2014 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup today at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show.
Toyota has announced that the redesigned 2014 Toyota Tundra pickup will debut next month at the the 2013 Chicago Auto Show.
On Friday the space shuttle Endeavour was moved to its new home, the California Science Center. A Toyota Tundra pickup truck without any special modifications successfully towed the 150,000 pound space shuttle Endeavour across a bridge spanning the nation's busiest freeway on Friday night, Oct. 12.
The 2011 Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra are now the only large pickups to earn the top rating of good in roof strength tests from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety hat measures occupant protection in rollover crashes. The...
Toyota has announced the changes to the full size 2011 Tundra pickup truck. In an effort to keep the Tundra competitive with the trucks from the Big 3, Toyota has made some upgrades. For starters the base V6 engine...
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a feed of all future entries tagged 'Toyota Tundra'.


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With Romanian entrepreneurs confident in the future progress of the business environment, the state needs to support entrepreneurial initiatives and innovation more, as the next generations will prefer to become entrepreneurs or be self-employed.
According to the 2016 Barometer of Romanian entrepreneurship, conducted by Raiffeisen Bank and EY, 66 percent of local entrepreneurs think that Romania will offer a friendly business environment in less than ten years, compared with 55 percent in 2015. The same research shows that experienced entrepreneurs consider the fiscal and legal framework, along with its instability and bureaucracy (70 percent), tough access to financing (8 percent) and poor education including in entrepreneurship (4 percent) the biggest three obstacles to the development of entrepreneurial initiatives in Romania. In addition, 36 percent of entrepreneurs think that fiscal relaxation is the measure that would have the greatest impact on supporting entrepreneurs short term. This is followed by a clearer, effective and simplified legal framework (15 percent) and a better attitude from state institutions towards entrepreneurs (12 percent).
How to support entrepreneurship?
From his entrepreneurial perspective, Lucian Miess, owner of Gett’s Salons, says that there is a need now for a more dynamic business scene in order to encourage companies on the local market. “A more active business environment should put more pressure on the political scene in order to change the paradigm of the Romanian state regarding the private sector and to improve initiative, local capital, direct investments and increase competitiveness on external markets.” He warns that, although local entrepreneurs know what to do in these areas, they are organized in less vocal confederations and are not consistent within their industries.
In a very competitive market such as today’s, innovation is a key element in the success of any business. But for firms to be innovative and come up with new and fresh ideas or products, innovation needs to be truly supported by the local economic environment. And this, unfortunately, doesn’t yet happen here. “In Romania, we do not respect the Romanian innovator, we don’t respect Romanian ideas, we do nothing to help these ideas come to life,” said Cristian Parvan, general secretary of the Association of Romanian Businesspeople (AOAR), earlier this year, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.
According to Sergiu Negut, business angel and associate dean at Maastricht School of Management, in order to support local entrepreneurial initiative, there is a need to stop disincentivizing and to rationalize bureaucracy. “This is quite easy to do as technology is a great facilitator of automatic processes. Public servants tend to have robot jobs, with limited, if any, authority to make decisions. So you would just need to replace them with a mix of software and humans – people able and willing to use their own judgment to make complex decisions.” In his opinion, a second major step is to allocate funds for development in a way that best facilitates value creation. This means co-investment with entrepreneurs, rather than giving grants and distorting competition. “We are still far behind in the availability of capital. This can be fixed in two ways: first, replace government grants with government investment and create sovereign funds ready to co-invest alongside private money. Second, change regulations to allow pension funds greater access to investments in illiquid equity,” adds Negut.
Who is the Romanian entrepreneur?
George Alexe, business consultant and serial entrepreneur, says that the Romanian entrepreneur has started to make medium-term projections. “A few years ago, few people who knew what they wanted to become were interested in starting a business. Now, entrepreneurial education programs have more participants, the networking is stronger and the number of business events in Romania has increased significantly. The know-how transfer and connections created have reshaped the profile of the Romanian entrepreneur: oriented towards his or her business, employees and partners and open to new things in a constantly changing economic environment,” says Alexe. He adds that, unlike Romanians, entrepreneurs from more developed countries are more conservative and operate, even from the start, in sectors where they have expertise.
Entrepreneurial education is the Achilles’ heel
The same barometer conducted by Raiffeisen Bank and EY shows that 61 percent of entrepreneurs think that the new generation of Romanians does not get the proper education in terms of entrepreneurship. This is quite alarming as, according to OECD data, 51 percent of Europeans between 15 and 24 would prefer to become entrepreneurs or be self-employed in the future.
In such a context, the foundation of The Entrepreneurship Academy (EA), the only accredited faculty of entrepreneurship in Romania, seems to be part of the solution. The institution has put forward a new educational model implemented in countries such as Finland, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Hungary, Argentina and Peru, based on a mix of courses with experts from the business environment, annual internships in foreign countries and the opportunity to run real businesses. According to the EA, over 91 percent of the graduates of this educational model get a job in the first six months after graduation, while 47 percent have a sustainable business within two years of graduation.
From the entrepreneurial perspective, Alexe says that the introduction of entrepreneurial education courses in high schools and colleges could have positive results. “There is a need for programs for entrepreneurial development involving entrepreneurs with real business experience.” Along the same lines, Miess of Gett’s Salons says that it is important for education to be closely linked with practical internships within companies. “Strategic, ongoing education, with the aim of creating and promoting value and using it to train the next generations is the key to both the present and future.”
Which sectors are attractive to entrepreneurs?
At present, Prahova and Brasov counties are two of the most important industrial centers in Romania, both from the production perspective and the number of Romanian entrepreneurs who have managed to create businesses in this sector. While in Prahova entrepreneurs have focused on the oil industry, as the county attracted investors like OMV Petrom and Lukoil, in Brasov County, many entrepreneurs became suppliers for large companies like Continental. Last but not least, Covasna and Harghita counties are known for their businesses in the wood and furniture industry.
Miess of Gett’s Salons thinks that current problems lacking a solution could be a good opportunity to start a business in Romania. “A big problem for Romania now is that a significant part of our industry has low added value. We just extract the raw stock, export it at a minimum trade margin and then import the processed products with high added value and trade margin,” says the entrepreneur.
Another weakness of Romania is that it is not a great source of capital. “Resources are naturally limited, and immediate applications that come to my mind are agriculture (with high value added intensive farms slowly replacing traditional corn fields) and tourism (low-cost, scenic destinations, still hard to get to with mediocre infrastructure),” says Negut. But he says that the big opportunity still lies with labor. “We can continue to build service centers of higher and higher complexity and added value. Practically, the service industry is still below potential, whether we’re talking about local or international clients, B2B or B2C. What’s truly missing is intellectual property, new branded products and services.”
However, he warns that while it may seem a huge opportunity, Romania still lags behind international best practice when it comes to marketing, branding and commercialization. “We are stuck with creating brands for the local market. Furthermore it is still quite easy and safe to make money from labor, without the more sophisticated and riskier layer of investing in international branding and IP,” says the business angel.


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» View Jbr Malam 11 Agustus 2013
View Jbr Malam 11 Agustus 2013
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Iron Man 3 movie has not been released, Gameloft has prepared his game to iOS and Android devices.
Quoted from Slashgear, Thursday (28/3), Iron Man 3 games scheduled to be released on 25 April, or the day before the movie appeared in theaters.
An asteroid will make history as it will be a space object that pass closest to Earth next week, though certainly not going to hit this planet.
Sized asteroid is 45-meter, called 2012 DA14 will pass 27 700 kilometers from the Earth on February 15, closer [...]
Angry Birds Seasons seems to immediately have a theme and a new level in the near future.
The new version is expected to take the theme of spring.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Monday (15/4), Angry Birds Seasons this will be the 16th series.
Rovio is often [...]
A leak of GizmoChina mention that Lenovo is preparing a smartphone with an amazing battery.
The products allegedly named Lenovo P770 is a smartphone based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. To accommodate all the needs, Lenovo immerse powerful battery 3500mAh.
It has been rumored for a long time by a number of observers.
Smartpone manufacturer from South Korea, starting today officially launched the Galaxy Note II version dual Sim Card.
In the official website of Samsung’s China, some observers expressed [...]
Various monitors with lots of different sizes in the market at affordable prices. However, sometimes you are confused in choosing the size of the computer monitor widescreen or standard size.
Here are some comparisons of the size widescreen computer [...]
Polaroid has agreed to put his name behind a Socialmatic concept, which will embody the spirit of Instagram into real form with an instant camera.
With the help of ADR Studios, Polaroid instant camera will perform retro and is expected to be present [...]
BlackBerry, the big names who are drowning and trying to get up. Research In Motion (RIM) is ready with a new platform that can be trusted to restore the glory of the BlackBerry.
BlackBerry 10 to be slid January 30, 2013 could be the answer. Just how [...]
Besides Z10, BlackBerry also launched Q10 series is still equipped with its flagship QWERTY physical keyboard. What is interesting about the BlackBerry Q10?
BlackBerry Q10, The design is quite pleasing to the eye with four curved corners are not rigid. [...]
A Russian astronaut managed to record a new record as the oldest still active astronauts ‘walks’ in outer space.
Quoted by FoxNews, Monday (22/4), Pavel Vinogradov is recorded as the oldest astronaut at the age of 59 years.
Pavel has been [...]
To promote Windows Phone 8, Microsoft took the actress Jessica Alba and singer Gwen Stefani as their commercials. The two celebrities have been selected for the top stars, their status was also a homemaker.
Ads featuring Windows Phone 8 is a busy celebrity [...]


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The pop-up, created by Unity at M&S’s Marble Arch store in London, will sell items donated by celebrities including Alexa Chung, Caroline Flack, Daisy Lowe, Plan B and Pixie Lott, as well as rare vintage M&S fashions.
Celebrities including Joanna Lumley, who fronts advertising for the Shwopping scheme, will staff the pop-up.
Customers need to donate items to the charity scheme to gain access to the two-day Shwop Shop.
M&S has also commissioned a series of art installations from the London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion that will feature throughout the Marble Arch store to highlight the Shwopping initiative.
M&S says more than 2.8 million items of clothing – equivalent to £1.8m – have been donated to Oxfam through its Shwopping initiative that encourages shoppers to bring unwanted clothing into stores when they buy new products in a bid to prevent items going to landfill. All items are then resold, reused or recycled by Oxfam.
The retailer launched Shwopping last year as part of its Plan A sustainable business strategy in a bid to change consumer mindset by creating a “buy and give back” culture that encourages people to see a value in unwanted products.
It has since rolled it out with a workplace Shwopping scheme to make it easier for people to donate.
It was followed by H&M, which launched a similar clothes recycling scheme in December that rewards customers with vouchers for donations.


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Browser Apps, Not Desktop Apps
It's unlikely that popular and widely used desktop software, particularly business-oriented tools such as Microsoft Office, will vanish completely by 2015. But the emergence of Web-based apps, including productivity suites like Google Docs and the new Microsoft Office Web Apps, could hasten a migration from relatively slow-booting desktop operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS to speedy, simpler browser-based systems like Google Chrome OS.
Or so Google hopes.
"We've seen a tremendous acceleration in the last year about the kinds of applications that you can build in the browser," says Google's Upson.
For that cloud-computing vision to come true, however, competing vendors must agree on standards that would enable this browser-based world. Whether that will happen is the big question. Will Apple, which has achieved great success with its App Store--a proprietary (and highly profitable) online marketplace of programs than run exclusively on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch--be agreeable to a vision that works against its walled-garden approach to personal computing? And then there's Microsoft, which is notorious for ignoring browser standards in favor of its own technologies--will Redmond play nice?
We won't know right away, obviously, though recent signs are encouraging. Microsoft, for instance, has said that it is committed to adhering to emerging Web standards such as HTML5, which will allow developers to build dynamic Web apps that work equally well across various browsers, including those on mobile phones and tablets that don't support power-hungry browser plug-ins such as Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, perhaps the highest-profile proponent of HTML5, has been waging a holy war against Flash, claiming that Adobe's widely used browser plug-in is too great a drain on a portable device's performance and battery life. Though Apple's phones, media players, and tablets don't support Flash, handsets running Android 2.2, the latest version of Google's mobile OS, will be able to. (Neither Apple nor Mozilla responded to PCWorld's interview requests for this article. Microsoft declined to be interviewed.)
Early examples of applications that run inside HTML5-compliant browsers provide a peek into the future. Flickr Explorer, for instance, allows users to zoom in and out of their images, as well as to pan through photos, much faster than they can with today's browsers.
Complex 3D games will run inside browsers, too. Browsers will become more gamer-friendly as burgeoning Web standards such as WebGL--which provides a 3D graphics application programming interface (API) in a browser without the use of plug-ins--take hold.
"Click on a link, boom, you're playing a 3D game," says Upson, who contrasts the simplicity of Web-based gaming to a cumbersome PC desktop installation or the need for physical media (e.g. DVDs), as is usually the case with today's gaming consoles. One demo currently on YouTube shows Split Second, an arcade-style racing game, running in an HTML5-compliant browser. The game's performance and 3D graphics are comparable to what you'd see in a console or PC version.
One thing is certain: The browser in 2015 will play an even larger role in our daily lives than it does right now--and that's saying a lot. "Everyone needs to support the Web," says Upson. "The Web has billions of users."
With many more to come.
(Editor's Note: A reference in this story to a nonexistent Opera browser feature has been removed.)


text: VW has launched new Beetle in India at sticker price of Rs 28.73 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai). New Beetle comes with host of external and internal changes though it very carefully retains its design DNA. Upfront there is new, long bonnet that was not part of the previous iteration. Headlamp clusters are new too and now features LED DRLs. Prominent spoiler at the back has its own identity; accentuating the overall appeal of the car. Inside the occupants will get more cabin space as the new Beetle expands in its width and length parameters. The gadgetry is quite loaded and the instrumentation has been modernized as well. The biggest advantage however is expected on the space front where Beetle is sure to feel roomier. Thanks to the increase in width, squeezing two fully grown adults won’t be a difficult job.Under the hood, there is 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine mated with 7-speed DSG gearbox,channelizing the power to the front wheels. VW claims that the new engine delivers 35 percent more efficiency despite producing more power than before.


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VANCOUVER, BC – A new award that has been “established to celebrate the remarkable contributions of outstanding individuals in the brewing industry” has announced its inaugural winner.
From the press release:
The John Mitchell Award for Brewing Excellence was created to honor the legacy of the late John Mitchell, Canada’s original craft brewer and a pioneering figure in the craft beer movement who played a pivotal role in shaping the industry. In 1982, John Mitchell started an economic and cultural revolution when he pioneered Canada’s first craft brewery in Horseshoe Bay BC. John Mitchell’s dedication to innovation, quality, and community- building serves as an inspiration to brewers and beer enthusiasts worldwide. Today, we are honoring his legacy while celebrating the next generation of brewers who have made a major impact on Canada’s craft beer industry.
Tony Dewald, the 2023 John Mitchell Award for Brewing Excellence recipient, has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to advancing the art and science of brewing. With a career spanning over three decades, Dewald has consistently pushed the boundaries of brewing, creating unique and memorable beer experiences. His passion for quality, sustainability, and community engagement has left an indelible mark on the brewing industry. Tony Dewald’s journey in brewing began with humble roots, where he experimented with various brewing techniques and ingredients. Over the years, he refined his craft, becoming a respected leader in the industry. His innovative brewing methods and commitment to environmental sustainability have set new industry standards.
For more details, see the John Mitchell Award for Brewing Excellence website.
Source & Photo: John Mitchell Award for Brewing Excellence


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TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average was flat, while the broader TOPIX dipped 0.1 percent in early deals on Wednesday.
The following stocks were on the move:
**YAMADA DENKI, K'S FALL ON REPORT OF WEAKER H1 PRETAX PROFIT**
Yamada Denki Co Ltd dropped 3.5 percent to 3,175 yen and K's Holdings Corp shed 3 percent to 1,757 yen after the Nikkei business daily said consumer electronics retailers would continue to suffer from a decline in demand after the switch was made to terrestrial digital TV broadcasts in July 2011.
The newspaper said Yamada Denki's pretax profit for the April-September period would come in lower than its estimate of 40.5 billion yen, while K's Holdings' interim pretax profit would fall to about 12 billion yen from the company's forecast of 17.5 billion.
It also said Bic Camera Inc's pretax profit for the year ended August would fall to about 6 billion yen, sharply below the firm's estimate of 11 billion yen. The stock was down 0.3 percent at 39,000 yen.
**UNY HITS 18-MTH LOW AFTER EARNINGS DISAPPOINT, GUIDANCE CUT**
Uny Co Ltd sank 7.2 percent to an 18-month low at 565 yen after the supermarket chain cut its operating profit forecast for the year ending Feb. 20 by 14 percent to 39 billion yen, with its second quarter figures coming in below market expectations.
The company posted an operating profit of 11.02 billion yen for the second quarter ended Aug. 20 versus expectations of about 14 billion yen, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
**DAIICHI SANKYO HITS RECORD LOW AFTER LUNG CANCER TRIAL HALTED**
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd sagged 3.9 percent to 1,210 yen, hitting a record low after U.S. biotechnology company ArQule Inc said it will discontinue a late-stage trial of the lung cancer drug it is co-developing with Daiichi Sankyo after an interim analysis showed the drug would not improve overall survival.
Daiichi Sankyo has lost 20.7 percent this year, underperforming a 3.7 percent rise in the Nikkei.
(Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Prateek Chatterjee)
Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS HOT/


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Amazon announced a worse than expected loss for the second quarter of 2014 despite an increase in sales, as investments in a range of new products and services took their toll on profits.
The world’s largest online retailer posted a loss of $126 million, or $0.27 per share, which was wider than the $0.15 per share loss analysts had expected, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Revenues increased by a healthy 23% during the three-month period ending June 30, reaching a total of $19.34 billion, but this was matched by an identical increase in operating expenses, which now stand at $19.36 billion compared to $15.62 billion from the previous year.
During a conference call with analysts, Amazon CFO Tom Szkutak pointed to increased investment in its cloud computing service, known as AWS Amazon, as well as a recent price drop for AWS customers as reasons for higher costs in the quarter.
Other factors included a slowdown in international sales, which Szkutak blamed on Japan’s 3% tax hike on consumer goods which came into effect in April this year, as well as $100 million investment in original media content for Amazon Prime customers.
Traders punished the stock after the earnings announcement and Amazon shares fell by 11% in after hours trading on Thursday. Since the start of 2014 Amazon’s stock price has fallen by 10% as investors become increasingly frustrated by the firm’s perceived disregard for the bottom line.
The latest results were not a huge surprise for long-time Amazon watchers, few other companies are able to have multi-billion dollar revenues but still not make any profit. The reason is CEO Jeff Bezo’s strategy of consistently plowing revenue back into hardware and service development in order to build customer loyalty.
Over the last twelve months it has launched a set-top box for home video streaming, a wand-like device for grocery shopping from home, its own smartphone dubbed Amazon Fire, as well as music streaming service, a document-sharing service for businesses and a new e-book subscription platform.
While all these products have been great for consumers, Amazon’s expansion has been expensive for shareholders and the company began posting quarterly losses since 2012 when it posted a $274 million loss in the year’s third quarter.
By comparison the Chinese e-retailing giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which is planning an upcoming initial public offering, revelled in a recent prospectus that its profit was $2.8 billion for the nine months ending December 31 with revenue of $6.5 billion. Amazon on the other hand earned $274 million for all of 2013 on sales of $74.5 billion.
The benefits of Amazon’s growth in new businesses will make it back to investors according to Szkutak. “We have a tremendous amount of opportunity…we’ll obviously be looking to get great returns on invested capital,” he said.
Whether investors are willing to wait until these investments pay off is another matter, particularly if Bezo keeps picking capital-intensive and highly competitive sectors such as smartphones to move into.


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Cardenuto Adds Global Executive Leadership Expertise in Enterprise SaaS Sales and Operations
Vonage, a global business cloud communications leader, announced that it has named SaaS industry veteran Rodolpho Cardenuto as President, Applications Group, effective December 9, 2019. Cardenuto will lead the Company’s sales, operations and go-to-market strategy for both its unified communications and contact centre portfolios, collectively the Applications Group, and will report to CEO Alan Masarek. Cardenuto will be based in the Company’s headquarters in Holmdel, NJ.
Vonage Names Former SAP Executive Rodolpho Cardenuto President of the Applications Group
In this role, Cardenuto will focus on driving market share and revenue growth in Applications globally. He will partner closely with Vonage’s API Platform team to provide customers with unique solutions that help them create better experiences for customers and employees that differentiate their businesses.
Marketing Technology News: Clean Up Dirty Data with Oracle Customer Data Management for B2C Service!
Cardenuto has held senior leadership roles at both growth companies and large multinationals. He brings to Vonage more than 20 years of global sales, marketing and operations experience in software, IT and B2B SaaS with proven results in driving growth in the enterprise space through existing and new channels, globally.
Prior to joining Vonage, Cardenuto held various positions of increasing responsibility at SAP, a market leader in end-to-end enterprise application software, database, analytics, intelligent technologies and experience management. These positions included President of SAP Americas and, most recently, President of Global Partner Operations, both reporting to then-CEO Bill McDermott and the Executive Board of the company. In the global partner role, Cardenuto led a global organisation of thousands of partners, as well as direct quota-bearing and operational personnel, driving billions of dollars in annual revenue with direct responsibility for thousands of mid-sized enterprises. Before SAP, Cardenuto was Director of Industry Sales and Alliances for Latin America & the Caribbean region at Hewlett-Packard (HP).
Marketing Technology News: Adobe MAX 2019: Empowering Creativity for All
“We are thrilled to welcome Rodolpho to Vonage. His vast experience in B2B enterprise SaaS sales, coupled with deep operational expertise, is a perfect fit for Vonage and our focus on meeting the communications needs of businesses,” Masarek said. “Leveraging Rodolpho’s experience in driving revenue and growth for high-performing commercial organisations through proven go-to-market execution, we will continue to build on the power of the OneVonage platform to differentiate Vonage’s business while helping our customers differentiate theirs.”
“I am delighted to join the Vonage team at a pivotal time in the Company’s history,” Cardenuto said. “This is the perfect moment to join the Company, building on the excitement of Vonage’s brand revitalisation and the OneVonage platform to scale the go-to-market efforts and revenue growth for the Applications Group, while providing customers with cloud communications solutions that help them transform their own businesses and stay ahead.”
Marketing Technology News: Iconic South African Retailer Boosts Agility with Oracle


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On August 18th,
Microsoft is launching Flight Simulator for PC. This tech giant has been
holding secret testing of the new game and it’s actually ready now for preorder
and preinstall! Microsoft Flight Simulator is the most recent installment in
the highly detailed series that’s been running for more than three decades.
This game is a follow-up series of Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition
that was released in 2014.
have been thrilled and humbled by the support and dedication that has fueled
the Flight Sim community for the past 38 years. Since the launch of the very
first Microsoft Flight Simulator in 1982, we knew it was finally the right time
to develop the next-generation version of Microsoft Flight Simulator.” –
says Jorg Neumann, head of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
This latest invention
includes a new day and night engine that permits players to fly at any time of
their choice. There’s also a newly developed checklist for beginners and proper
instrument guidance. Microsoft Flight Simulator also has real-time weather,
live traffic, and animals living all over the world.
There are total of three
versions of this game – standard edition which is priced at $59.99 and it has
20 planes and 30 airports; deluxe edition standing at $89.99 and it has 5
additional planes as well as five extra airports; and the premium deluxe
version costing $119.99 and it has a total of 30 planes and 30 airports!
You can unlock London’s
Heathrow and San Francisco airports in the premium edition and the Chicago
airport unlocks in the deluxe version.
You can also purchase CH
Products Eclipse Yoke with 144 Programmable Functions with Control Manager
Software from Amazon at a great deal!
It’s compatible with
both Mac and PC.


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Sharjah Current Affairs - 2019
Category Wise PDF Compilations available at This Link
23rd of April is observed as World Book by UNESCO and other related organisations every year. The city of Sharjah has been selected as the World Book Capital for the year 2019.
World Book Day 2019 is the 24th edition and the theme is centred around round celebrating literature and reading with a particular focus on enhancing and protecting indigenous languages. The theme is in line with the celebration of the International Year of the Indigenous Languages by the UN.
Genesis of the World Book Day
Often also called the World Book and Copyright Day, it aims to promote the joy of books and the art of reading. World Book Day recognises that books are a link between the past and the future, a bridge between cultures and generations.
UNESCO chose 23rd April for the World Book Day to pay tribute to great literary figures including William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega who died on this day and was finalised in the year 1995 in the UNESCO General Conference, held in Paris.
Further UNESCO and organisations representing publishers, booksellers and libraries select World Book Capital for a year to maintain the celebrations of books and reading. For the year 2019, Sharjah, UAE has been declared as the World Book Capital. It will be preceded by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the year 2020.
Tags: Inca Garcilaso de la Vega • indigenous languages • International Year of the Indigenous Languages • Kuala Lumpur • Malaysia
The New Delhi World Book Fair will be held at the Pragati Maidan. The theme of the 27th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair is “Readers with special needs”. The UAE’s third largest emirate Sharjah is the guest of honour for the New Delhi World Book Fair.
New Delhi World Book Fair
The New Delhi World Book Fair would be inaugurated by the Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar. The theme “Readers with special needs” has been chosen to generate emotions of not sympathy but respect and equality.
An exclusive exhibition of Braille books, audio books, integrated print-braille books and books for people and children with different disabilities will be showcased in the Fair’s theme pavilion.
An International Disability Film Festival “We Care” has also been organised where 45 films from 27 countries would be screened. To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an exhibition of books on and by Gandhi and his associates will also be put up at the book fair.


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The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) released a report today that says 29% of cable TV customers own an HDTV set, compared with 15% a year ago. “HD sets are flying off the shelves and digital cable consumers are getting an HDTV programming package to gain the full benefits of their new sets,” says CTAM CEO Char Beatles.
The issue for video service providers, particularly IPTV via DSL carriers, is not how to deliver HDTV, rather how do you deliver multiple HDTV feeds. Many are hoping that MPEG4 is the answer. But even with MPEG4, many a IPTV carrier will be challenged to meet this multiple HDTV feed demand, and thus competitively disadvantaged.


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Indic Wisdom, an agri-produce startup, has raised Rs 4 crore in pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. Mahendra Sankhe, Launch Capital, Bifco Finance, and other HNIs also participated in the round.
The proceeds will be used to enhance the brand’s visibility, expand its distribution network, and build production capacity toward increasing market presence and operational efficiency, the company said in a press release.
Founded by Kaustubh Khare and Prajakta Khare, Indic Wisdom is a manufacturer of food staples, with a core focus on wood-pressed oils. It claims to use the traditional methods of food preparation through consistent innovation and application of modern quality standards.
The Mumbai-based brand’s range of oils and its presence across multiple channels further contribute to its position in the market. Currently, it operates at a scale where it extracts 70,000 liters of oil per month.
Recently, angel investment platform Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) announced that it exited from 14 startups in 2023 giving an initial rate of return (IRR) of 61% to its investors. With this, IPV has announced 38 exits in the last five years.