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The strategic move, at a time when rivals are hiking prices citing increased input costs, is aimed at revving up sales.
Bajaj Auto has reduced prices of its Dominar 250 sports tourer motorcycle by 16,800. As a result of the 10% price reduction, the midsized motorcycle, now costs Rs 154,176.
The price cut, at a time when most OEMs are hiking prices citing increased input costs, is aimed at drawing new buyers to the tourer. As per Autocar Professional’s sales statistics, the Dominar 250, which was launched in March 2020, has sold a total of 11,226 units till end-May 2021.
This price reduction comes after numerous price increases that were announced since the Bajaj Dominar 250 was launched at Rs 160,000 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) in March 2020, which took it all the way to Rs 171,000.
At the revised Rs 154,000 pricing, the Dominar 250 now sits between the Rs 134,000 Yamaha FZ25 and the Rs 171,000 Suzuki Gixxer 250. It also makes the Dominar 250 nearly Rs 60,000 cheaper than its elder brother – the Dominar 400 – and a full Rs 74,500 more affordable than the KTM Duke 250.
The Bajaj Dominar 250 uses an engine based on the KTM 250 Duke, but with numerous changes, including a different head design. The motorcycle develops 27hp with 23.5Nm of peak torque. The Dominar 250 is a large and spacious motorcycle with a smooth and refined power delivery - this revised price will certainly boost its appeal.
According to Sarang Kanade – President (Motorcycle Business), Bajaj Auto, “In times of price hikes across the industry, we have taken a stance of reducing price on Dominar 250 and make Sports Touring more accessible.”
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Apple Working on Model codenamed D85x
Although the iPhone 13 series has just gone on sale and is still in a hard-to-find situation, news about the iPhone 14 has been pouring in. Apple’s R&D cycle is very long, and its internal research and development work for the iPhone 14 series has already begun, and there has been some relevant news recently.
The latest revelations say that of the iPhone 14 series, only two Pro models will use the punch screen design, as for the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max, it is still a notch display.
According to Digital Chat Station, a new iPhone model codenamed D85x is testing a 120Hz refresh rate punch-hole screen solution, which is only an early solution, but from the news of this year’s iPhone 13 series, it is also likely to be used on mass production models eventually.
Although it is still an early solution, industry sources say Apple already has the technical requirements for a bangs-free screen, but ultimately it depends on how Apple takes to define the final form of the new machine, perhaps like this year on the high refresh rate, Pro Series will only use a bangs-free screen or a punch-hole screen, wait and see.

domain: news


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Certainly one another individuals who’ve defaulted on the that loan and people whom have not, less than 10% said they’d already hit over to the financing servicer to help you talk about the alternatives if the stop ends up
With student loan money set to restart within the March shortly after good nearly a couple-12 months hiatus, an alternative survey discovered only a small percentage of consumers exactly who had before defaulted with the that loan will be ready to generate payments once again.
A nationwide survey in excess of step 1,five-hundred consumers http://tennesseetitleloans.net/cities/dresden regarding the Pew Charitable Trusts receive simply 36% of individuals with a last defaulted financing said they could pay for its exact same monthly payment when repayments resume following the stop comes to an end .
At the same time, 55% of borrowers with never had a loan inside the standard said they could pay for the same payment when payments resume.
Most readily useful Popular senators have hit out over Training Assistant Miguel Cardona asking brand new Institution of Studies (ED) to return defaulted education loan individuals in order to a beneficial reputation in advance of repayments towards federally-stored college loans restart.
The Pew survey located forty-eight% of participants which have a last financing into the standard told you it planned to arrive over to their servicers in a month following the pause concludes, compared to forty two% of those which never ran on standard.
These overall performance emphasize brand new care among education loan advocates and several lawmakers a large number of borrowers won’t be prepared otherwise capable pay off the funds been March
“This new attitudes and you will attitudes among those that a reputation standard should be a concern to help you policymakers since the prior research shows one to regular defaulting is common one of education loan borrowers,” Pew cards.
A great number away from borrowers said they decide to reach out on their education loan servicer in 30 days away from money resuming, probably ultimately causing a spike when you look at the incoming interaction to possess servicers from inside the the new future weeks.
Certainly one of individuals exactly who never ever knowledgeable standard, one-3rd said that they had zero intend to get in touch with the servicer about their mortgage fees selection, whenever you are a reduced commission – 18% – regarding borrowers who knowledgeable default told you they’d zero decide to get in touch with its servicer.
“Communications between this group and servicers may help boost the amount which enter into fees plans that suit their financial points,” Pew additional.
If you find yourself ED currently said it might engage in focused outreach to consumers before the resumption regarding costs, Sen. Age Warren (D-Mass.) or other better Democrats into the a letter to help you ED history week recommended the fresh department commit a step next.
The letter contended ED features “a way to lightens a life threatening weight with the borrowers of the development a policy so you’re able to forgive bills to own consumers who were within the standard for an excessive period of time.”
“Allowing repayments and you may stuff so you can restart versus delivering such measures to cover consumers in the default would undermine all of our financial recovery, and that i urge that just take instantaneous steps to get rid of such individuals away from getting next damage,” the latest page extra, noting that almost 8 billion borrowers entered the pandemic currently when you look at the default on their federal student education loans.
Various other page away from Popular senators recently entitled towards Cardona so you’re able to suspend salary garnishment of borrowers inside the standard to their college loans.
“Already, over nine million consumers have default into the more $180 billion when you look at the federal student loan obligations,” the lawmakers wrote so you’re able to Cardona. “A beneficial disproportionate quantity of such consumers is actually people of color, first-generation college students, pros, mothers, those with handicaps, and you will people who’ll maybe not over university.”
The latest letter plus reiterated the request to help you instantly eradicate qualified borrowers from standard status, an authority certain lawmakers say new institution and contains.
Repair these to a good position When they make very first dos otherwise step 3 money timely. Although not, somebody need certainly to wager one Omicron are not the new much easier justification to own a supplementary 3-6 times stop?


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|Image courtesy of nextProtein|
The French-Tunisian agritech startup welcomed the recent decision by EU regulators to officially allow insect protein to be fed to farmed fish.
The European Commission officially authorised insect-based processed animal proteins (PAPs) as feed for aquaculture animals on May 24, 2017, through a change to Annex IV of Regulation 999/2001, with the regulation text to come into effect on July 1 this year.
Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Syrine Chaalala commented, "We welcome the European Commission's official ruling on this important reform for the aquaculture industry. With then vast majority of farmed fish relying on fishmeal and the depletion of our marine ecosystems, insect-based proteins offer the aquaculture industry a more sustainable way to ensure fish for human consumption."
She continued, "Our insects are fed on organic waste, namely fruit and vegetables from markets, so allowing insect-based protein supplies like ours we can alleviate the pressure on severely depleted wild fish stocks."
Visit the nextProtein website here.
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd
For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news


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According to one recent video posted by Coreteks, coming via Wccftech, NVIDIA plans to introduce some serious design changes with the AMPERE flagship lineup of cards, like implementing a new dual-sided PCB, having a traversal coprocessor.
But you should take this entire leak and the contents posted in the Coreteks Video with a huge grain of salt. Nothing is officially confirmed by Nvidia yet, so treat this as a rumor for the time being. Though, it would be nice if this design prediction turns out to be true, based on the previous leaked photos of the RTX GPU.
According to the Youtube source, the reason why the GPU has fans on the opposite sides of the card is to push the air in different directions. Coretek guesses that the other chip might be something called a “traversal coprocessor” of some sort, which should help with dedicated Ray Tracing/RTX performance.
The YT source claims that this time the RTX cores should be placed on a separate coprocessor on the other side of the PCB, rather than the same die. Moving the RTX/raytracing cores onto a new die while at the same time keeping the original GPU core should allow NVIDIA to economically bin these chips, without too much wastage.
Coretek mentions the coprocessor could also be a standalone AIC card, similar to ‘PhysX’ cards of the older generation. If these leaks are indeed true, then we can expect much better Ray Tracing performance with these new Ampere RTX 3000 series cards.
It is important to remember that NVIDIA patented a traversal coprocessor design back in 2018, so the YT source does have some credibility. But like I have said before, take all of this as a rumor for now.


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Samsung this week announced that it will release its new flagship processor Exynos 1080. It sounds not as attractive as Qualcomm’s statement, but you should know this chip is going to be the industry’s first A78 chip based on the 5nm process. Moreover, the first smartphone powered by this SoC is going to be the Samsung Galaxy A72.
Samsung Exynos 1080 Key Parameters
The Samsung Exynos 1080 will use Samsung’s own most advanced 5nm LPE process, which is two generations past the 8nm process used in the previous generation Exynos 980. At the same time, the Exynos 1080 will also use ARM’s latest Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 dual-cluster CPU architecture. Plus, there will be the integrated GPU upgraded to ARM’s latest Mali-G78.
It is reported that the CPU performance of this processor can be increased by 20%, and the GPU performance can be increased by 25%. AnTuTu’s running points can reach 650,000, tying the current Snapdragon 865 Plus.
Gizchina News of the week
Samsung will officially release Exynos 1080 in Q4 this year. Apart from the Samsung Galaxy A72, VIVO will be another brand to launch a smartphone featuring this chip. This will happen in the Q4. But at the moment, we can’t claim which smartphone will appear on the market sooner – the alleged VIVO X60 or the Galaxy A72.
VIVO or Samsung?
Recall that retail stores in China are already advertising the Vivo X60; calling it “the professional flagship in the field of imaging”. Obviously, the successor to the Vivo X50 series should get an excellent camera. However, there are no details on the smartphone yet. This information was published by the trusted insider Ice Universe.
Currently, the Samsung Exynos 990 SoC is the company’s flagship chip that is installed on its premium smartphones. They include the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series. The Exynos 990 is 20% faster than its predecessor. And it uses two Mongoose-5 performance cores, two Cortex-A76 mid-performance cores and four Cortex-A55 ‘little’ cores for background tasks and efficiency. Thus, with the release of a new chip, Samsung makes its SoCs perform noticeably faster than the previous models. Anyways, the 7nm process chip hence featured a combination of ARM’s and Samsung’s own chips. After the Exynos 990 faced considerable criticism for falling behind in performance to its Snapdragon peers, it remains to be seen if Samsung reverts back entirely to using ARM chips only, in its upcoming flagship SoC.
Earlier, some media reported that Samsung is preparing for next year’s smartphone war. It is estimated that 300 million smartphones will be shipped in 2021, an increase of 15%.


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JOLIET, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, leaders from Walmart, government officials and community members joined Walmart associates in Joliet to celebrate the grand opening of Walmart’s 1.1M square-foot Next Generation fulfillment center (FC), located at 3501 S. Brandon Road.
Walmart FCs work to store millions of items, available on Walmart.com, that are then picked, packed and shipped directly to customers – now faster than ever. The new state-of-the-art facility will also fulfill Marketplace items shipped by Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), Walmart’s end-to-end fulfillment service for third-party eCommerce sellers.
“As the first-of-its-kind for Walmart, our newly opened facility introduces an array of opportunities to our associates, including brand new tech-focused jobs. There’s never been a more exciting time to join Walmart Supply Chain,” said James Bright III, general manager, Fulfillment Center FC3040. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact this team of associates and the Joliet facility will have on not only the Northeast Illinois community and economy, but also for Walmart customers across the Midwest.”
First-of-its-Kind Automation for Walmart
The new Joliet fulfillment center will be the first of four next-gen FCs, announced earlier this year, that will feature a new patent-pending process powered by the combination of people, robotics and machine learning. This process will set a new precedent in fulfillment speed by streamlining a manual twelve-step process to just five steps. Once completed, the four new state-of-the-art FCs for Walmart could provide 75 percent of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping.
“Customers continue to expect faster delivery times and we are excited to be able to meet those needs with these new high-tech facilities,” said Karisa Sprague, SVP Fulfillment Network Operations, Walmart U.S., “The addition of the Joliet next generation FC, paired with our 31 dedicated eCommerce fulfillment centers, will allow Walmart to fulfill online orders for Walmart.com and Walmart+ customers with greater shipping speed in the mid-west region. And, with the holidays around the corner, we’re excited to provide a more seamless experience for our customers.”
New Career Opportunities
The facility is still actively hiring with a goal to hire more than 1,000 local full-time associates by the end of the year. Candidates can search for open positions and complete applications online at careers.walmart.com.
“This new facility capitalizes on the way consumers are shopping today by ensuring products get to homes faster, all while providing good jobs to local families,” said State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., “While this fulfillment center will have an impact across the Midwest, the impact felt locally will be greatest due to the commitment made to our local community and the jobs being created for workers here in our region.”
Walmart associates are provided a path of opportunity beginning on their first day. Associates may participate in Walmart’s Live Better U program, where they can earn a college degree in business, technology, supply chain management and more with Walmart paying 100% of college tuition and books, removing the burden of debt. Other career advancing opportunities include Walmart Supply Chain Academies, which pay associates to learn through immersive teaching that combines technology, classroom training and ongoing coaching in role.
Full-time positions qualify for Walmart’s total rewards and benefits plans, including medical, vision and dental insurance, 401(k) matching, paid time off, stock purchase plan and more.
Continued Investment in Illinois Community
During the grand opening ceremony, Walmart celebrated its commitment to the northeastern community by presenting two $15,000 donations to local nonprofits, SOS Children’s Villages Illinois and the Spanish Community Center. Since 2015, Walmart and the Walmart foundation have averaged more than $1billion in annual donations each year to a variety of local causes and organizations.
“SOS Children’s Villages Illinois is grateful and excited to be partnering with the Walmart Joliet facility to support and strengthen families in foster care. The mission of Walmart is to help others to live better,” said Tim McCormick, Chief Executive Officer. “The gift today and ongoing support will ensure that children and families in our community are cared for and given all the resources to heal. This commitment not only strengthens a child’s life but also makes our community stronger.”
"We are very grateful to Walmart for supporting our community and our New Americans Initiative Program,” said Sylvia Acosta, Acting Executive Director. “Their investment in local communities helps us provide ESL and citizenship instruction for recent immigrants hoping to receive their citizenship"
About Walmart in Illinois
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. In Illinois we serve customers at 184 retail units and online through Walmart Online Grocery and Walmart.com, and our family of brands. We are proud to employ more than 56,500 associates in Illinois. Walmart supports local businesses, spending more than $62 billion with Illinois suppliers in FYE 2022 and supporting more than 567,000 Illinois supplier jobs. Walmart continues to be a leader in employment opportunity, sustainability, and corporate philanthropy. In FYE 22, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed more than $32 million in cash and in-kind donations to local nonprofits in Illinois. Learn more at corporate.walmart.com, and our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram channels.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better — anytime and anywhere — in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 230 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and clubs under 46 banners in 24 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2022 revenue of $573 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart.


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In the face of a revolt by townspeople, the Board of Health in Westminster, Mass., voted Wednesday to drop a proposal to ban the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products.
The ban would have made the small town in north-central Massachusetts the only place in the country where no one could buy cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and related products.
The health board said it had a moral obligation to restrict young people’s access to tobacc. But at a public hearing a week ago, 500 people showed up, almost all of them to protest the proposed ban.
The hearing became so raucous the board called it off just 20 minutes after it began.
The townspeople said they did not approve of smoking but saw the ban as an encroachment on civil liberties. They were also worried that it would drive smokers to spend their money elsewhere, hurting the eight merchants in Westminster who sell cigarettes.


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Li Shufu said Geely, Volvo and other car companies are jointly developing an open electric model under the code PMA. “We’ve learned from Google’s Android, and PMA’s pure electric module is open,” Li said.
The 2017 Global Future Mobility Forum was held recently at the Hangzhou International Expo Center. Geely Group Chairman Li attended the forum to speak about Geely’s road map for unmanned vehicles, new energy cars and flying cars.
The ultimate goal is autonomous driving, but security is paramount, Li said. If [cars] are developed without safety guarantees, it will be difficult for users to accept autonomous driving.
The design of the Geely unmanned vehicle is conducted in partnership with Volvo and Uber. “We estimate that in next year, about 1,000 cars jointly produced by Uber and Volvo will be put on US market,” Li Shufu said.
Volvo has also partnered with Waymo, which is owned by Google. “Waymo is also studying unmanned vehicles, mainly their use of cloud technology, software and maps. Although they have cars running around to collect data, they can’t produce cars. Where will their cars come from? They have to find a car factory, and that’s what Volvo gave them,” Li said.
In terms of the layout in new energy vehicles, Li said Geely and Volvo, as well as other carmakers, are developing an open electric model whose code is PMA. “We learned from Google’s Android, and PMA’s pure electric module is open,” Li said.
Geely has also acquired Terrafugia, a US-based flying car company, and is expected to launch its first flying car in 2019. The first users will be Americans.
The following is a full transcript of Shufu Li’s speech:
The ultimate goal is autonomous driving, but security is paramount. If they are developed without safety guarantees, it will be difficult for users to accept autonomous driving. That’s why all of our research into automation technology is based on ensuring safety.
Uber is now working closely with Volvo. If Uber wants to make money, it must have unmanned cars, otherwise the labor cost will be too high. However, although unmanned driving is about the software and map technology, it is difficult for Uber to get the cars it wants. It couldn’t build a car factory, so the company had to work with one. Volvo is Uber’s main partner.
But how can cars and software fit well? It takes a lot of work. We estimate that in the next year, about 1,000 cars jointly produced by Uber and Volvo will be put into service in the United States.
Autoliv is the American automotive safety parts manufacturing company. We want to develop unmanned technology, unmanned security components and connect the components with auto factories. But if we lack a car factory support, it will be hard to develop spare parts for unmanned cars. Establishing a joint venture with Volvo is a good choice. Volvo offers the opportunity to license technology, set up a joint venture and offer self-driving technology to global auto factories.
Then there is Google Waymo, which is also studying unmanned vehicles, mainly their use of cloud technology, software and maps. Although they have cars running around to collect data, they can’t produce cars. Where will their cars come from? They have to find a car factory, and that’s what Volvo gave them. This basic model, combined with electronic software, can make it possible for users to accept driverless cars.
This is a real family in Gothenburg, Sweden. They are volunteers for unmanned driving. Some have signed contracts and learned how to have self-driving cars run on real roads rather than in a closed place.
Families willing to be volunteers will go from home to office every day, and from home to wherever they want to go. Through real road tests, we continuously accumulate the technology and data to expand the scope of unmanned driving. For instance, we start generally in the range of 50 to 60 kilometers, and then we expand the range to 100, 200, 300 kilometers, and then whole cities. We take in the information bit by bit, and the process is not easy.
That’s what it’s all about. What improvements can self-driving cars bring to everyone? What value can it bring to the passengers? It could make the passengers feel better. On average, people need to spend about 26 minutes on their commute. With self-driving cars, people can use that time for work or to do something creative. This basically works for everyone.
The Polestar, which was released in Shanghai a month or two ago, is produced in Chengdu. It is a high-performance and hybrid car. The upper body is made of carbon fiber and the lower body is aluminum and steel alloy. The lower body is the electric part with a controller inside. The torque of this car is 1,000 torsional meters, the output power is 600hp and it is a powerful performer.
This one is familiar. These are the London taxis, and plenty of them are extended range hybrid electric vehicles. The electric drive is about 150 kilometers. If adding extended range, it is 600 kilometers. In the financial center of London, all taxis will be electric. But outside that area most cabs will be hybrids. Any car that runs on the highway will use hybrid power.
Geely and Volvo, as well as other car companies, are jointly developing an open electric model whose code is “PMA”. What does it mean to be open? When we finish this architecture, we will open it to all the auto plants around the world. Everyone can use it. We will develop it and everybody could use it.
Of course it required us to make a heavy investment, so why is it available to everyone for free? It will ease the burden on research and development and shorten the development period to reduce purchase costs and improve efficiency. We learned from Google’s Android, and PMA’s electric module is open to all for free. All our data is open.
I believe this will be very important to support the development of electric vehicles in China and abroad. This PMA framework is divided into two open basic modules, PMA-1 and PMA-2, which have different sizes and levels and can cover almost all electric vehicles.
Our PMA is based on open architecture. The specific model we now are studying is LYNK&CO electric car, a joint venture of Geely and Volvo. The first car model has a 600 kilometer range and the second has a 450 kilometer one.
This is a Geely brand electric vehicle based on PMA architecture. We’ve developed a variety of models based on a series of modules, one framework and one core, so that we can reduce the purchasing cost.
Flying Cars in 2019, but First Users will be Americans
This is a flying car. People from the United States are also here today. Experts in the United States have spent more than a decade researching it. They couldn’t continue their work due to a lack of funds, so Geely reached an agreement two days ago after spending considerable energy and money. With the approval of the US Department of National Defense, Geely is being allowed to buy the company.
The first flying car will roll out in 2019. The users will be Americans because China has banned the technology. We are also ready to launch flying cars with vertical take-off and landing in 2023. This could solve problems with traffic jams. The picture is just a concept design. The cars we are developing still have a few difference from the picture.
I have shared so much information with you. All roads lead to the same destination. In the last part, leaders and experts spoke about how to solve traffic problems, how to realize intelligence, electrification and connection, how to solve traffic problems and how to bring convenience to users. In order to respond to and adapt to the changing trends of the automobile industry, we want to do what I have introduced above.
That’s all I would like to share with you. Wishing you good luck.


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Kim Kardashian claps back at 'cultural appropriation' accusations with throwback photo
Kim Kardashian certainly knows how to ignite the ire of social media. Whether she's sharing another basically-nude selfie, or brazenly endorsing detox teas - to the chagrin of all the Jameela Jamil's of the world - nothing gets the people of Twitter quite as riled up as her culture vulture tendencies.
Case in point: Kim has recently been wearing long, textured ponytail extensions that look like the Yaki braiding style that black women have been wearing for decades. In fact, the 'do has been sported on some of the biggest black entertainers out there - including Beyoncé, Janet Jackson and Rihanna - so you can imagine the furore when Vogue asserted that it was Kim who was "bringing crimped hair back in a big way".
People were quick to call out Vogue for their statement, and Kim for co-opting the hairstyle.
"Bet Kim Kardashian’s kinky hair pony tail will be seen as “modern hair” since she has it on, but bad if its jordyn that has it," wrote one Twitter user, while another corroborated "Kim Kardashian West: *breathes* Vogue: Kim Kardashian West is bringing back respiration in a big way."
However, Kim chose to respond to the criticism this time, albeit in a rather transparent way.
She claimed that she had been waiting the style since she was a child. "My mom would crimp my hair all the time! I still have the same crimper machine and used it just recently," she captioned a throwback snap of her and her grandfather.
This naturally backfired. "She clearly is thinking of us if she felt the need to post this with the caption saying she's been doing this," wrote one Twitter user, and another quipped "Twitter dragged her for wearing kanekalon hair, and called her out for appropriating black culture, its not a coincidence miss Kim posted this with the caption stating she's been doing this."
Well, if anything's clear, it's that Kim really needs to throw out that super old crimper...


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Blizzard is ending development on Heroes of the Storm. In a brief , the studio said it plans to support the MOBA “in a manner similar” to games like . Moving forward, Blizzard said fans can expect the company to continue to release patches that address bugs and balance issues “as needed.” However, it has “no plans” to add new content to the in-game shop – which, for the time being, will continue to operate.
“To our Heroes community, we say, ‘thank you,’” Blizzard said, noting it will gift a free in-game mount to players with the game’s next patch. “You continue to be one of our most passionate communities, we’re grateful for your continued dedication and support, and as always, we look forward to seeing you in the Nexus.”
Friday’s announcement effectively caps off what’s been a slow death for the Blizzard-universe MOBA. In 2018, said the studio had made the “difficult” decision to move some of the staff that had been working on Heroes of the Storm to other projects. Since then, the cadence of new content slowed to a trickle. The game’s most recently added hero came in . Blizzard’s abrupt decision to end its support of the Heroes of the Storm esports scene also left many pros .


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Earlier this week, Microsoft kicked off its program that will pay developers $100 per app that they submit for the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store. It’s too early to tell how developers will respond to the program, but some analysts say the move seems desperate—and it probably won’t work either.
“It looks a little desperate,” said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. “It sends the message that Microsoft is having a hard time building out its app categories. And it doesn’t bode well for the Windows Store.”
“Clearly, they’d like to populate the stores as quickly as possible with more apps,” added Ezra Gottheil from Technology Business Research. “But it seems they want to try to pull in the 13-year-olds, because $100 is not at all meaningful to an established developer. Maybe they’re looking for the next generation of kid geniuses, and hoping to find the next killer app that comes out of nowhere.”


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Two longtime friends have opened a new two-storey gin and tonic bar in St Giles Street, next to the Wig & Pen pub.
The two-storey bar and lounge, called G&Ts, opened on Friday (December 14) after pals, Max Taylor-Smith and Cillian Hickey renovated the former hairdressers in Northampton's St Giles Street.
More than 40 close family and friends were invited to the opening night to celebrate the launch and test out the 34 gins on offer, with customers being turned away at the doors as it was so popular, Max said.
The duo say their vision for the new bar is to mix and serve the finest gin and tonic flavour combinations as well as to educate customers on how to pick the best drinks to suit their taste buds.
On what makes G&Ts stand out from the crowd Max said: "Primarily I would say it's knowledge of the ingredients. Whatever your flavour profile for food, or other drinks, we will find a G&T to match.
"Other places are not so specialised or trained, it very much relies on the customer to know which they really want.
"For example, our deals menu is made of a range of different flavours, citric, spicy, floral, Mediterranean, sweet, and not just the country's top 10 gins."
The watering hole aims to strike a different atmosphere on both floors. Upstairs, customers can ease back and enjoy their drinks slowly in the lounge while downstairs will aim to be a vibrant bar area with quirky furniture.
The £20,000 renovation project, which took one month to complete, will be open in the evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
But Max did not rule out the possibility of opening on other days, depending on how business goes.
For those who do not like gin the bar also offers a small number of hand selected beers, spirits and soft drinks as an alternative.


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Microsoft is updating its Xbox Live pricing and dropping the one-year subscription option as it reshuffles its online offerings. The move, announced in a blog post on Friday, will also see the software giant raise the price of a one-month subscription by one dollar and a three-month subscription by $5, or the local equivalent amount.
Here’s the updated US pricing for new subscriptions:
- One month of Xbox Live Gold: $11, an increase of $1
- Three months of Xbox Live Gold:…


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Today, it seems like every recent Bitcoin-related event is an automatic success just because is connected to virtual currency. But it’s not! Successful events take organization and work: take as an example the last meeting hosted by Ultra Light Startups, the NYC Bitcoin Pitch Event, in New York.
On July 11, nine entrepreneurs talked for two minutes each, making pitches about their Bitcoin businesses, at the event prepared by the community dedicated to helping technology startups grow. Among them were Divya Thakur, developer at BTX Trader, Shawn Sloves, co-founder of Atlas ATS, Ayoub Naciri, co-founder of artaBit, Andre De Castro, from Ecoincashier, Jesse Heaslip, co-founder of Bex.io, Aric Fedido, founder and CTO of OpenWallet, Kingsley Edwards, from LeetCoin, Shamoon Siddiqui, CEO of Crypto Street), and Megan Burton, founder and CEO of CoinX.
After the presentations, four experts – Andrew Chang (founding partner of Liberty City Ventures), John Frankel (partner of ff Venture Capital), Nikhil Kalghatigi (principal of SoftBank Capital) and Matthew Witheiler (principal of Flybridge Capital Partners) – provided guidance to each startup.
In the end, the audience chose three winners for in-kind prizes. At the conclusion of the evening, the winner startup was the digital currency exchange CoinX, followed by Open Wallet and Atlas ATS.
This was Ultra Light Startups’ first adventure in the world of Bitcoin and the experience went rather well, so a new cryptocurrency-related event might be on the calendar.


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: In order to push QR code transactions at merchant outlets and drive retail offline payments digital, the National Payments Corporation of India
) has mandated that every UPI
application should be able to scan Bharat QR
codes and respond to merchants’ payment requests.
In a notification released last Friday, the payment network, which manages the UPI railroads, said that all banks running UPI applications need to adhere to such guidelines by April 16, failing which ‘transactions might be declined for non-compliance’.“PSP banks must decline such transactions from non-compliant BHIM UPI apps after April 16, 2018 proactively,” read the circular from NPCI
Among the mandatory features that need to be brought in, the circular said that all UPI apps should allow fund transfer using any UPI payment address, respond to collect request from other UPI addresses and even generate as well as scan Bharat QR and UPI QR codes.
While most of the prominent UPI applications are compliant to the guidelines, industry insiders said that these guidelines could help bring standard interoperability norms for all UPI participants. UPI has been at the centre of many controversies with big bang players like WhatsApp
, PhonePe, Google Tez
all vying for a larger share of the retail payments pie.
While Bharat QR was launched with much fanfare by NPCI in collaboration with Mastercard, Visa and American Express, it has been more than a year but still it has not picked up significantly. A move to incorporate Bharat QR for UPI payments could push up volumes, say industry insiders.
“In order to ensure that consumers using merchant UPI apps can still use those apps to make payments at retail offline merchant outlets NPCI has mandated even if merchant apps cannot generate Bharat QR codes they should be able to scan such codes,” said one of them quoted above.
Merchant apps like Amazon Pay
and others have been otherwise kept out of the mandate since they might not want to push UPI for peer-to-peer transactions, said bankers in the know of the matter.


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Zomato’s Q4 Result: Online delivery company Zomato has released its fourth quarter results today. Zomato’s consolidated net loss has increased to Rs 359.7 crore in the last quarter of the financial year. Let us tell you that due to higher expenses, there has been an increase in the losses of the company. Zomato has given this information to the stock markets on Monday.
How much was the loss?
Let us tell you that in the last quarter of the financial year 2020-21, the company had a consolidated net loss of Rs 134.2 crore. The company’s consolidated operating cost increased to Rs 1,211.8 crore in the January-March quarter of the last fiscal from Rs 692.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
total cost increased
The company’s total expenses also increased to Rs 1,701.7 crore in the quarter under review. It was Rs 885 crore in the same period a year ago. At the same time, Zomato’s consolidated net loss increased to Rs 1,222.5 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2022. It was Rs 816.4 crore in the financial year 2020-21. The company said that its operating income also increased to Rs 4,192.4 crore in the last financial year, from Rs 1,993.8 crore in the financial year 2020-21.
Know what the company officials said?
Deepender Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato said, “We feel our growth is back on track. We don’t think the ‘post-Covid impacts’ will have any bearing on our growth now. Our business has had its ups and downs even before the start of the pandemic.
continuous fall in stock
Talking about the shares of Zomato, in the last one month, the company’s stock has seen a fall of Rs 21.95, or 27.87 percent. At the same time, the company’s stock has slipped 63.47 percent i.e. Rs 98.70 in the last 6 months. After today’s trading, the company’s stock has closed at the level of Rs 56.80.


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SWC’s Fast Five
Remote workers are eyeing private clubs as a new office option. Boredom can have its perks. Start using these three quick tweaks while viewing Netflix. Amazon looks to expand its medical footprint. And stocks, finally see a slight upturn.
So, here’s this week’s Fast Five:
1 Are private clubs replacing offices?
Remote workers who miss socializing in the office are getting their people fix at member-only clubs. These clubs provide an alternative social hub and workspace as workers spend less time in an office.
2 Why we should embrace boredom
In our increasingly noisy, distracting world, we’re seldom bored. But just doing nothing has its perks. Take some time to embrace being bored and see where it leads.
3 Three quick tweaks to make Netflix better
If you spend a great deal of time watching Netflix, you owe it to yourself to get things set up just how you like them. Here are three great places to start.
4 Amazon to buy primary care provider One Medical
The deal comes as Amazon and other Big Tech companies face scrutiny from lawmakers over their market power. Critics are calling on U.S. regulators to block the purchase arguing it endangers privacy.
5 Stocks are having a good month
Stocks are finally on track for gains in July. Ten of the 11 industry sectors of the S&P 500 are flashing green, led by consumerdiscretionary, information technology, and communication technology shares.


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RBS hungry to finance more port developments
Delivering a shot in the arm for future port financing, specialist bank RBS has stated that it is “extremely positive” on the outlook for the sector.
On the back of this, the bank’s managing director for global banking & markets, Andrew Paulson, admitted that RBS would “like to be doing a lot more in the sector”.
Speaking at TOC Europe in Rotterdam, Mr Paulson said that ports raised $16bn in global debt markets last year, representing just 10% of the global financing market.
“Your industry is very global in its nature but the debt financing is actually a little bit behind,” he said. “Ten percent actually feels quite small which is illustrative of the opportunity for debt capital to come into your sector and finance projects.”
Going forward, Mr Paulson advised ports to view financing as an enabler rather than a driver for achieving business goals. He also recognised the challenge of larger ships and carrier partnerships.
“As the market is changing with bigger ships and bigger alliances the financing proposition can only be as efficient as the equipment around it. Productivity is key as is the revenue generated by those movements and that’s what financiers look for.”
RBS has led 22 transactions and raised over E11bn for the sector since 2011.
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The global Consumer Batteries market is projected to reach US$40 billion by 2018, driven by rising sales of power hungry electronic mobile devices and technological innovations in battery chemistries which promise superior performance benefits like fast charging, and high density energy storage capabilities.
Batteries are ubiquitous energy storage devices that find application as an indispensable power source in consumer electronic products like home electronics, mobile devices, hearing aids, video game controls, cordless phones, camcorders, and cameras among others. Despite witnessing a decline in growth during the 2007-2009 recession period as a result of the complete collapse in consumer confidence and spending, the market made a steady recovery in the year 2010 encouraged by the improvement in consumer sentiment. In the coming years, growth in the market is forecast to be driven by the healthy demand for mobile computing products like smartphones, and tablets in addition to other battery-enabled consumer devices. Growing need for high performance integrated battery solutions for use in rugged mobile computing platforms is driving investments in R&D.
Manufacturers are currently focusing on developing newer battery chemistries that meet consumer requirements for high performance and reliability. Technology developments that offer benefits like durability, energy efficiency, and optimum power performance are expected to help expand application areas further, thus opening up newer opportunities for growth.
Primary batteries market, comprising chemistries such as zinc-carbon, alkaline batteries, primary lithium and zinc air, accounts for a major portion of the volume sales generated. Long-term growth in this market is expected to be led by the transition from Zinc-carbon to alkaline. Popularity of primary lithium batteries is also expected to surge in the coming years. Price is expected to be a key competitive factor which will dictate demand patterns.
Asia-Pacific represents the largest and the fastest growing market worldwide. Growth in the region is led by China. China is currently the largest producer and one of the leading consumers of Li-ion batteries globally. The United States represents the second largest market with growth largely supported by continuous upgrades and innovations in product design, and strong demand for battery replacement in several battery-enabled portable electronic products.
For more information on the consumer batteries market, see the latest research: Consumer Batteries Market Research
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SINGAPORE - Fancy having a nutritious meal that is created sustainably from microalgae and printed by a 3D printer?
Scientists in Singapore from research institute Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) are working on a project to produce microalgae-based proteins as an alternative, sustainable food source.
Dr Iris Haberkorn, the project's leader, said her team is looking at growing microalgae using the by-products of tofu production - liquid soya whey and soya pulp - and making food products out of the proteins from the microalgae.
Up to 200 tonnes of soya whey are produced by a single tofu factory each day, and Dr Haberkorn said that the project, titled Urban Microalgae-Based Protein Production, aims to tap these by-products, which would otherwise go to waste.
Professor Alexander Mathys, who is one of the SEC project's lead principal investigators, said: "Microalgae-based food products are good sources of protein, with high protein content of up to 70 per cent, vitamins, well-balanced amino acid profiles and good ratios of polyunsaturated fatty acids."
The SEC is a collaboration between Swiss public university ETH Zurich and the National Research Foundation in Singapore.
Work is currently ongoing to incorporate the microalgae into a mung bean protein paste which is then extruded using a 3D printer that can control the shape and texture of the final food product.
With a limited amount of land for agricultural production in cities, innovative food systems are required to ensure food security, said Dr Haberkorn.
It is projected that up to 68 per cent of the total human population will live in urban areas by 2050, she said.
Singapore's highly urbanised environment and its status as a gateway to Asia make it an ideal location as a research hub for sustainable food technologies, she added.
Partnering with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the National University of Singapore (NUS), the SEC research project aims to enhance Singapore's food security by establishing resilient, sustainable and cost-effective agri-food systems for microalgae-based foods as well as to introduce more sustainable circular economy concepts by using byproducts from existing food production.
Prof Mathys said: "What is currently needed to make (the microalgae food products) more commercially viable are innovative processes that improve the eco-efficiency and productivity of microalgae supply chains."Dr Haberkorn added that, while developing attractive plant-based food solutions for the Asian market could have significant impacts on future food security and planetary health, efforts are constrained by high costs and the palate of consumers.
She said: "Most consumers are sceptical about eating new foods. To overcome this, we need to find a way to integrate the products into traditional cuisine, or find a framing that makes consumers curious enough to try them."
Professor Michael Siegrist, who studies consumer behaviour in ETH Zurich, said that for these new sustainable forms of protein to be accepted, more awareness is needed.
He added that sustainable foods are still not widely consumed in Asia, compared with Europe.
He said: "In Europe, there are many people who have adopted vegetarian diets because of the ethics involved and environmental concerns. In those cases, it will be easier to market such microalgae products to them."
Echoing his sentiments was Professor Zhou Weibiao, head of the department of Food Science & Technology in NUS, who said: "In Asia however, consumers still desire traditional sources of protein that are animal-based, and so convincing them to buy and eat sustainable food products will mean having to talk about the nutritional benefits and to educate consumers."


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Speaking at the event, Hans Essaadi, Managing Director of HEINEKEN Malaysia said, ͞This festive season, HEINEKEN Malaysia wants to gift its loyal consumers a memorable Chinese New Year experience. As this is a time when families and friends gather for reunion, we want to ensure that their celebrations will overflow with prosperity and togetherness. Hence, our campaign this year is packed with full of opportunities for our loyal consumers to win with the range of brews in our portfolio.”
During this delightful season, consumers who fill their glasses with Tiger Beer and other HEINEKEN Malaysia products at participating coffee shops, food courts and Chinese restaurants, can instantly redeem a pack of limited-edition Tiger Beer playing cards while also having the opportunity to take home prizes such as cash ang-pows worth RM99 or cans of Apple Fox Cider.
Exclusive Tiger Beer Mahjong sets are on offer at participating stores too. Consumers can own a set at RM99 only, while stocks last, when they purchase one 24-can pack of Apple Fox Cider and two 24-can packs of any other HEINEKEN Malaysia products. Consumers can also keep an eye on the new packaging for Tiger Beer and Guinness during this festive period, designed to make the Chinese New Year celebrations merrier this year.


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As universities scramble to offer courses to an ambitious generation eager to pursue its own ideas, budding start-up founders are warming to top business schools like Harvard, MIT and INSEAD.
The question of whether to fund education while growing a company creates a dilemma for upstarts. But skilling up and scaling up are not mutually exclusive pursuits. “Students see paying the fees as an investment in their business,” says Joanna Mills, deputy director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the UK’s Cambridge Judge Business School.
There is a rich vein of potential talent to tap. Entrepreneurs are modern rockstars and enterprise is riding high on business and government agendas. From London to San Francisco and from Shanghai to Nairobi, clusters of innovation are forming.
Business students are buying in. “There are the building blocks in place and it’s easier to have a go,” says Jeff Skinner, executive director for the Deloitte Institute of Innovation at London Business School. At Babson College, 39% of MBAs launched a company. For MIT Sloan, 36% of MBAs started-up. “That rising tide lifts all boats,” says Jeff.
LBS’ Entrepreneurship Summer School provides a route for entrepreneurs in the UK capital and beyond to launch ventures, costing £6,000, and runs a separate start-up incubator.
Graduates of the summer school include Ismail Ahmed, MBA and founding chief executive of online money transfer market WorldRemit, which recently raised $100 million in venture capital funding. “We’ve seen a substantial number of people who want to start their business straight from the MBA,” Jeff says.
London has lured Stanford GSB, a leading US business school, which launched Ignite in the UK capital, a part-time 10-week program that aims to teach leadership and strategic thinking skills to entrepreneurs.
Bethany Coates, Stanford’s director of global innovation programs, is stunned by how quickly the course has grown. Launched in 2013, Ignite has now been taught in Paris, Bangalore, New York, São Paulo, Santiago and Beijing. She does not rule out further expansion and highlights the Middle East as attractive.
“Overall interest in entrepreneurship as a path has been embraced in a way like never before, not just in Silicon Valley but over the world,” says Bethany, in an interview with BusinessBecause.
She says there is sometimes a gap between what high-potential students learn within their undergraduate and master's programs and the skill-sets needed to start a company.
But by leveraging peers and mentors, entrepreneurs can navigate early pitfalls, she says.
Ecosystems are essential. Diane Morgan, associate dean at Imperial College Business School in London, says: “Entrepreneurs try to surround themselves with ideas, influential networks, potential funders and partners. Business schools are a great environment to supply all of these.”
Imperial competes with courses run nearby by LBS, Stanford and Cass Business School, based on the fringes of the City. Cass did not respond to requests for comment.
Imperial recently launched the two-year ELITE program for 20 chief executives of SMEs in partnership with the London Stock Exchange. It also runs an innovation, entrepreneurship and design module within the Imperial MBA curriculum.
For business schools, a push into entrepreneurship is part of a wider bid to innovative. There is a growing realization among the academic community that they must evolve to suit the needs of society.
Joanna at Cambridge says: “We certainly have taken the view at Cambridge Judge that we need to put entrepreneurship centrally to what we are doing.”
One of the challengers educators face is teaching the growing number of people who see themselves founding disruptive start-ups, inspired by the likes of Uber and Airbnb, and not in corporate companies that are viewed as rigid.
Entrepreneurs have been wary of business schools in the past. Brent Hoberman, a renowned British entrepreneur and investor who founded and sold Lastminute.com for £600 million, penned a widely circulated opinion piece in the Financial Times in which he branded business schools as “wrong for today’s entrepreneurs”.
For start-up founders at school, the need to balance studies with time working on their companies is one of the biggest challenges.
Coupled with tuition and other costs, this can deter entrepreneurs who already run companies. “Whatever your source of debt… [A] lack of capital is always going to be an obstacle to starting a business,” says Stewart Thornhill, executive director of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Michigan Ross School of Business in the US.
But he argues that there are distinct benefits for entrepreneurs who launch ventures while at school – in particular an alumni network and the ability to test ideas in a safe environment. “It’s all well and good to have a piece of code, but tech in itself isn’t a business,” he adds.
Technology helps ease time fears. “Technology adoption – especially the internet – is the key,” says Dr Shailendra Vyakarnam, director of the Bettany Centre for Entrepreneurship at the UK’s Cranfield School of Management.
Cranfield has been educating entrepreneurs for more than a quarter of a century. Launched in 1988, its flagship Business Growth Program is run part-time. The Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship delivers 70% of content online, adds Shailendra. “There is increasing interest in blended learning and weekend events.”
Providing an education for both entrepreneurs with an idea and those trying to scale start-ups can be difficult but student variety improves the quality of education.
“There’s a value in having that diversity – those that are new to it benefit from hearing people’s experiences; those who are more experienced benefit from the energy and ideas and enthusiasm of [less-experienced students],” says Joanna at Cambridge Judge.
Cambridge – which along with London and Oxford forms the corners of the “golden triangle” cluster of tech start-ups in the UK – runs a Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship. It caters to both future entrepreneurs and founders, and uses a virtual learning environment.
Cambridge University has spun-out noteworthy tech ventures – among them are ARM, the Nasdaq-listed microchip designer whose chips power iPhones, and Autonomy, the software group that was controversially acquired by HP for $11 billion in 2011.
Whether such success stories will be enough to make education a “must have” for entrepreneurs however, remains to be seen.
Goncalo de Vasconcelos, Cambridge MBA and co-founder of crowdfunding platform SyndicateRoom, says entrepreneurs with an idea should skip an MBA and go straight to starting a business. “You will learn a lot more by doing that than sitting down in a class.”
But he adds that an MBA provided him with credibility, a co-founder and acted as a safety net. “It opens doors.”
The prevailing view among the heads of business schools is that it comes down to investment. Entrepreneurs will need to weigh up the cost-to-benefit ratio.
“We are trying to change people’s mind-sets,” says Cambridge’s Joanna. But business schools have yet to convince many entrepreneurs that their qualifications are more than a “nice to have”.


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WeShop is launching itself as the world’s first community-owned social ecommerce platform, offering consumers shares in the group every time they make a purchase.
The company plans to give away up to 90% of its business to shoppers, and aims to list on the Nasdaq tech-heavy index in New York within 12 months, as it looks to compete with tech giants including Amazon.
Consumers on the platform, which lists retail chains including Asos, Selfridges, Net-A-Porter, The Body Shop, eBay, B&Q and Made.com, will earn 20% of every purchase price as investment shares.
The platform is also offering 10% of the value of products in shares for purchases made through recommendations on the platform. Shoppers can also increase their stakes by introducing new members, with 1% of the value spent by the new member given in stock.
Chairman Richard Griffiths said WeShop is a first-of-its-kind venture “pioneering the belief of share democratisation” and will be “disruptive on many levels” in the retail sector.
“The way we shop has changed dramatically in the last 10 years thanks to rapid advances in technology,” Griffiths said.
“While we’ve seen the dramatic growth of online shopping platforms, and their profits, none of them are designed to benefit the people who keep them going, the shoppers.
“That’s why WeShop was born, building a totally shoppable platform that is owned by the community.
“And to show we are serious, we’re giving away 90% of WeShop to the people who use it. We think that the potential of WeShop is gigantic and will have a massive impact on the world of ecommerce and online retail.”
The firm has already been running a trial with 4,000 shoppers on the app since earlier this year and aims sign up about 100,000 members within the first two to three months after launch.
Griffiths added: “Imagine if Amazon had done this when they started, the wealth created by Amazon would have been shared amongst the people who made it successful – its users.”
“Indeed, the world might look very different now, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve, a better, fairer and more democratised shopping experience for everyone.”


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Just try not to cry watching the 10 most-liked holiday ads
From an elaborate Star Wars fantasy in a children’s hospital to a touching cross-faith friendship, people seem to prefer their ads tear-jerky this holiday season.
Analytics firm Ace Metrix released a list of the year’s ten most well-received American holiday commercials on Wednesday based on survey data from more than 500 consumers.
SEE ALSO: Pornhub wishes you a horny Christmas in surprisingly SFW ad
Topping out the list was Duracell’s collaboration with the makers of Star Wars to bring to life a riveting laser shoot-out for the benefit of a sick child. The ad was accompanied by a charity drive to donate batteries


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No, “shrinkflation” is not a reference to what happens when a virile man gets in cold water. Instead, it refers to the sneaky way businesses hide the fact that prices are rising as the dollar loses its strength. Customers may blame companies, but businesses have little choice but to pass on some of the cost to consumers. The real fault traces back to President Joe Biden and his strategy of printing money to shovel it to Democratic interest groups.
“Consumers are paying more for a growing range of household staples in ways that don’t show up on receipts — thinner rolls, lighter bags, smaller cans — as companies look to offset rising labor and materials costs without scaring off customers,” The Washington Post reported. “It’s a form of retail camouflage known as ‘shrinkflation,’ and economists and consumer advocates who track packaging expect it to become more pronounced as inflation ratchets up, taking hold of such everyday items such as paper towels, potato chips and diapers.”
“Consumers check the price every time they buy, but they don’t check the net weight,” consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky told the Post. “When the price of raw materials, like coffee beans or paper pulp goes up, manufacturers are faced with a choice: Do we raise the price knowing consumers will see it and grumble about it? Or do we give them a little bit less and accomplish the same thing? Often it’s easier to do the latter.”
This hidden version of inflation seems extremely likely, considering the fact that the core personal consumption expenditures index — which Federal Reserve officials consider the best indicator of inflation — rose 3.1 percent in April, above the 2.9 percent economists predicted. The Fed considers 2 percent to be healthy, although it will allow the price index to grow in the interest of promoting full employment. Unfortunately, unemployment remained above 6 percent in April despite economists predicting that it would dip below 6 percent.
This persistent unemployment should not surprise Americans who are familiar with the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion blue pork bill masquerading as a “COVID-19 relief” stimulus. Only 8.6 percent of the funding went directly to combatting the pandemic, while hundreds of billions went to blue-state bailouts. The bill also sent $1,400 checks to individuals, and extended the $400/week “enhanced” unemployment benefits.
Thanks to this “enhanced” unemployment, many workers make more money without a job than they did when they had one. Rather than reconsidering this perverse incentive not to work, Biden and his fellow Democrats further entrenched it.
Biden’s other policies would also make the economic situation worse. The president has called for Congress to spend trillions more in social programs that his tax plans cannot hope to fund. Essentially printing money decreases trust in the U.S. dollar and sparks inflation.
As PJ Media’s David Goldman wrote, “inflation is an insidious tax that robs the poor and the middle class. It favors the U.S. government, the world’s biggest debtor, because the government expects to pay back its creditors in Monopoly money. It crushes the real earnings of the vast majority of American households and destroys their savings. That’s what the Democratics are up to. And that’s what might bring them down–just as 12% inflation brought down Jimmy Carter in 1980.”
Biden is bribing the American people into voting themselves more money, and his proposed “infrastructure” bill is packed full of bribes to Democratic constituencies. Even Obama’s Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned that inflation indicators are flashing a red alarm — and that was last month.
The specter of inflation comes as Americans are struggling with a sharp deceleration in personal income, which declined 13.1 percent (after it surged 20.9 percent in March during the latest round of stimulus checks).
The COVID-19 stimulus bills have effectively put almost the entire U.S. population on the dole. Americans feel the difference between life with government checks and life without them, even though there is no foundation beneath that government spending.
While President Donald Trump began the COVID-19 stimulus checks, he did so at a time when government lockdowns had gutted the U.S. economy and the government arguably had a duty to help make Americans whole. Now, the government needs to step back and let the economy recover, but Biden is trying to do the opposite.
Carter-style stagflation may destroy the Democratic Party under Biden, and Republicans need to make sure that Americans understand why this is happening. Tragically, this inflation also means that America is in for a painful few years.


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SmarTalk TeleServices, Inc. Friday announced the departure of Erich Spangenberg as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Spangenberg will continue as a consultant to the Company at the request of the Board. Separately, SmarTalk also announced that Jeff Lindauer is no longer serving as President and Chief Operating Officer, having departed the Company to pursue other interests.
The Board of Directors of the Company will be working with SmarTalk’s remaining senior management team to oversee the Company’s day-to-day operations, pending the closing of the Company’s previously-announced sale of substantially all its assets to AT&T. The Board of Directors may appoint an interim Chief Executive Officer in the near future and anticipates that SmarTalk’s operations will continue in the ordinary course without disruption.
SmarTalk Teleservices, Inc. is a leading provider of prepaid calling cards and prepaid wireless services. Based in Dublin, Ohio, SmarTalk maintains distribution agreements with the U.S. Postal Service and leading mass merchandisers, consumer electronics retailers, supermarkets, hotels, home office superstores and convenience stores throughout North America and the U.K. Visit the SmarTalk website at [www.smartalk.com].


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Published on : May 16, 2018
Offering subscription services is becoming a new way for vendors to boost the affordability of healthcare wearables for worldwide consumers. Whoop, a Massachusetts-based wearable company, announced on May 15, 2018 that it is launching a new subscription service that will allow its consumers to get access to its flagship wearable fitness tracker, Strap 2.0, along with all the analytical and activity monitoring tools, for just $30 a month. The subscription services comes with a six month lock-in period for new customers, where they will get the myriad benefits of the tracker’s software suite and related services, apart from the several monitoring functionalities.
Price-Sensitive Customers can Now Enjoy Several Benefits of Whoop’s Fitness Tracker and Services
Whoop’s wearable has gathered steam with professional athletes and hardcore enthusiasts targeting fitness goals. With the upfront cost ranging anywhere between $500 and $2,000, they have been using the strap for getting the best out of their workouts, keeping a close tab on their sleeping and resting periods. With the current subscription service, the wearable will now fall in the realm of price-sensitive customers who were previously reluctant to part with such a huge amount for accessing the tracker’s functionalities.
According to Whoop, its hardware and advanced analytics offered by the strap could help customers plan ideal workouts, optimize their sleep time, and chart their recovery schedules. Its sensors are capable of collecting vast amount of data on a variety of fitness parameters such as recovery time, strain, and sleep, and can adapt to different workout style individuals may have.
Subscription Services may set the Pace for other Wearable Companies to enhance their Mass Appeal
An exciting element upon which Whoop seem to be capitalizing is the Sleep Coach. Furthermore, the low-priced subscription service will allow the customers to gets access to the Whoop community, which will help them to set challenging health goals and further exhort them to fulfill them.
The subscription service that Whoop is offering will facilitate the mass appeal of various services and software encapsulated by fitness trackers. It remains to be seen whether the move sets the pace for other prominent companies offering wearable health trackers, such as those by Fitbit.


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Private Equity: KKR Buys Stake in Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Wealth Arm
The COVID-19 crisis has hammered yet another company. This time, Commonwealth Bank of Australia said it had to book about $970 million in provisions to cover expected losses in the third quarter.
To generate some cash, it sold a majority stake in its wealth management division to KKR (NYSE: KKR).
KKR, COVID-19 Crisis, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The Australian economy is facing many of the same challenges we’re seeing here in North America. Australia’s banks are facing their first recession in a decade while addressing low rates and high unemployment. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia had total provisions of A$6.4 billion.
The firm sold 55% of its wealth arm Colonial First State for A$1.7 billion. The deal helps increase the firm’s core capital ratio to 0.4%.
The transaction implies a total valuation for CFS on a 100% basis of $3.3 billion. Meanwhile, the sale price represents a multiple of 15.5x CFS’s pro forma net profit after tax of approximately $200 million.
“We are confident that together with KKR, we can provide CFS with an increased capacity to invest in product innovation, new services, and its digital capabilities,” said CBA CEO Matt Comyn. “We have a shared vision for CFS to be one of the leading superannuation and investment businesses in Australia, offering members greater choice and better value.”
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Earlier, a message told users the site was experiencing high demand and to "try again later".
Some frustrated would-be buyers vented their feelings on Twitter.
In a statement the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) said the site had not crashed, but had been slowed by heavy demand. It said the site was still processing applications, albeit more slowly.
There are 6.6 million tickets in all, but about half will go to corporate and VIP guests.
Applications will be processed in May and June and those who have been successful will be notified by 24 June.
Organisers said people should ensure they had money in their account to pay for every event they have applied for.
Before tickets went on sale on 15 March, more than 2.5 million people had signed up to the official website.
'Massive surge' Standard prices range from £20 to £2,012 - the top ticket for the opening ceremony - and oversubscribed events will be decided by a random ballot.
There has been criticism of the prices, the ballot system and the fact money is taken from accounts before applicants know which events they have secured.
But organisers said for more than 200 sessions, children under 16 paid the same number of pounds as their age, and those over 60 were charged £16.
- Sport, news and more 2012 information
He said: "Overall, 75% of the tickets there are for public application. That's the rough split. But... for some of the bigger events, that will come down." Continued


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LAS VEGAS, Aug. 17, 2023 - MGM Resorts International, a recognized hospitality and entertainment industry name, marks a significant move towards global expansion by introducing the BetMGM iGaming and online sports betting brand in the United Kingdom. This strategic step aligns with MGM Resorts' broader vision of making the BetMGM brand a prominent player in international markets. The launch is made possible through a collaboration with LeoVegas, a Swedish-based gaming company acquired by MGM Resorts last year.
Bill Hornbuckle, CEO and President of MGM Resorts expressed excitement about introducing the proven BetMGM brand to international players. "BetMGM is a proven brand in the sports betting and iGaming space, and we look forward to welcoming international players into our platforms designed specifically for them," he stated. This launch represents an essential stride in MGM Resorts' international growth strategy since acquiring LeoVegas.
The BetMGM UK online offering comes packed with innovative product features, including large-scale jackpots, frequent rewards, exclusive slots, and compelling sports promotions. This enticing blend of offerings aims to captivate players by delivering a captivating and secure online gaming experience. Leveraging the BetMGM brand and the heritage entertainment legacy of MGM Resorts in Las Vegas, the U.K. platform promises a thrilling casino and sports experience.
Available across desktop and mobile web platforms, the BetMGM UK online offering is poised for further enhancements, including the introduction of mobile applications, before a nationwide media launch in mid-September. For more information, visit betmgm.co.uk.
Gary Fritz, President of MGM Resorts International Interactive, expressed confidence in the potential of the BetMGM brand in the U.K. "We've had great success in the U.S. and Canada with our BetMGM brand, and we're confident we can duplicate this success in other markets, beginning with the U.K.," he noted. Fritz sees the U.K. as a mature online gaming market, presenting opportunities to engage both sports bettors and iGaming enthusiasts.
The BetMGM brand will continue to thrive in the United States and Canada through the joint venture of MGM Resorts and Entain, leveraging Entain's technology and platform.
LeoVegas, which is a part of this strategic move, currently operates in nine European and Canadian jurisdictions, showcasing a solid foothold in the gaming industry.
- Leveraging LeoVegas' technology for seamless online gaming.
- Offering large-scale and frequent jackpots, loyalty rewards, and exclusive slots.
- Exciting sports promotions for a comprehensive gaming experience.
- Enhanced gaming experience with BetMGM brand and MGM Resorts' Las Vegas entertainment.
- Availability on desktop and mobile web platforms, with mobile applications in the pipeline.
MGM Resorts' foray into the U.K.'s iGaming and online sports betting market reflects its commitment to global expansion and innovation in the gaming industry. This strategic collaboration aims to offer U.K. players a distinctive gaming experience under the trusted BetMGM brand.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is based on the press release from MGM Resorts International. Any opinions, conclusions, or recommendations are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of MGM Resorts International or any other mentioned parties.


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Apple has big plans for the health capabilities of its Apple Watch, according to a new report. Unfortunately, if you're waiting for the Apple Watch 7, the most impressive features sound like they won't arrive until next year's smartwatch at the earliest.
The Apple Watch 7 is expected sometime this fall, though the exact release date is up in the air amid reports of production delays. But a far bigger blow to would-be Apple Watch 7 buyers is a report by the Wall Street Journal on Apple's health ambitions and how the company's smartwatch fits into those plans.
- Apple Watch 7 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Which one wins?
- The best smartwatches right now
- Plus: Apple Wallet will soon hold your driver's license — but is this a good idea?
The bottom line: Apple hopes to add some very impressive capabilities, though none of them look like they're headed to the Apple Watch 7.
Future Apple Watch health features
Blood-pressure monitoring: A rumor earlier this week suggested that blood-pressure monitoring might find its way into the Apple Watch 7, though Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says there's "no chance" of that happening.
The Wall Street Journal report also suggests that this is a future Apple Watch feature, and that it will revolve around sensors that measure "the speed of the wave a heart beat sends through a person’s arteries." The Apple Watch would use that data to show trends in blood pressure.
A built-in thermometer: The Wall Street Journal targets 2022 as the possible arrival for this capability, which would use a new sensor in the Apple Watch to monitor temperature. The watch's temperature-taking ability would be cast as a fertility-planning feature, as body temperature can help tell a woman when she's ovulating.
Better sleep tracking: The blood-oxygen-monitoring capabilities added to the Apple Watch 6 can log data that might reveal problem with sleep, but Apple wants to get more specific with future watches. To that end, the company wants a future Apple Watch to be able to detect sleep apnea while providing more advanced sleep tracking.
Blood glucose detection: This has been a rumored Apple Watch feature for some time, and the Wall Street Journal confirms that Apple would very much like its smartwatch to be able to detect diabetes. Apple is reportedly studying noninvasive ways to take blood glucose readings, but it hasn't had any success to date.
Should you forget the Apple Watch 7?
So if those improvements are off the table for the Apple Watch 7 this year, does that mean you should also scrap this latest update? Your first instinct may be to hold off on purchasing the new watch whenever it arrives, but that may be a hasty decision.
The right time to upgrade to any device is when you need it. Ever-more-fantastical features will always come in future versions — Apple didn't manage to generate record-breaking sales figures every year by building a device and saying "Well, nothing more to add here."
If you delay every purchase because something better is on the horizon, you're going to put off a lot of purchases.
As the Wall Street Journal article also points out, there's no guarantee that any of these capabilities will make it to a future Apple Watch — merely that Apple is working toward them. A lot of factors have to fall into place for these to become reality, not the least of which is FDA approval for many of these capabilities.
Again, if you're looking for a watch now, it doesn't pay off to wait to see if Apple can meet some very lofty goals.
Besides, the Apple Watch 7 is rumored to have more than a few nice enhancements of its own to make an upgrade worthwhile. The latest smartwatch is expected to come with larger screens than before while also offering a new flat-edge design. Apple could introduce an improved processor too, as well as new health- and fitness-tracking features that have yet to be revealed.
Yes, the Apple Watch of tomorrow sounds pretty impressive based on the Wall Street Journal's reporting. But don't forget about the Apple Watch of this year, either — especially not before Apple gets a chance to show off what's new.
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Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.


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|| Print ||
|Friday, December 23, 2011|
BY BILL CONERLY
China’s economy is increasingly important to many American businesses. Even if your company doesn’t export, you may be selling to another company that depends on China for a significant portion of its revenues. I’m not a China expert. But one of my clients asked for some insight with a business perspective on China, so I’ll share what I think corporate executives need to know about the Chinese economy.
Inflation has been the focus of Chinese economic policy in the past year , and right now the policy looks successful. November’s inflation rate was 4.2 percent (measured from 12 months previous), down from 6.5 percent in July. This may be a bit of an aberration, and Chinese statistics should be taken with many grains of salt, but feet-on-the-ground observers think that the general trend is certainly true. China will likely allow growth to expand in 2012.
Bill Conerly is a Portland economist and author of the Businomics Blog.
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One of the many reasons why businesses fail is due to the lack of attention to analytics. Sure, you can go on running your business, but mastering the science of analytics will translate into a business advantage.
Court experience helps legal firm anticipate potential problems for clients and prevent expensive litigation.
When Garmin AT needed to consolidate operations for its 550 employees, it scanned its entire corporate map for possible sites.
Strategic Economic Development Corporation (SEDCOR) has announced a new strategic plan to guide the organization in its planning, activities, and initiatives. The strategic plan, released at the start of its new fiscal year, includes the organization’s mission and key objectives.
Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) and the College of Business at Oregon State University is offering “Business Analytics for Competitive Advantage”, a two-day intensive workshop.
A look back at the shifting sands of Portland’s growth and development.


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Eat food for animals in a completely "legal" may soon be able to residents of Russia.
- News Newsland: Residents of Russia will be able to feed the animal feed
Industry experts SRI food concentrates and specialty food technology RAAS prepared breakfast cereals for the people of the bean plant — lupine, which is fed, in particular, the cows.
Lupin — the plant is very rich in protein, beneficial fats, and a good set of amino acids. In addition to the availability of nutrients in it no gluten, which is counter to some people, not digesting this component. As reported by "MK" in the Institute, one of the components — an alkaloid that causes bitterness — until recently prevented actively using lupine as a food for humans.
The institute contacted the breeders who brought negorkie varieties of lupine and subjected them to extrusion, ie processing, which is subjected to corn grain in the preparation of the air sticks. In extrusion grain passed through the meat grinder like. The production is done to make mashed and shaped in the form of sticks mass out of the "meat grinder" exploded because of the large difference in pressure. In the end, turned out quite edible cereals, but with a small amount of maize and wheat to make the sticks of lupine airiness. The new product would have to go to the shops, but the deal fell due to the fact that officials still have not moved into the category of lupine foods, which means that scientists developed new breakfast cereals as there is not permitted.


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India wants to start trade talks with US ‘immediately’, says Trump
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace NAFTA
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday said India wants to start trade talks with the United States “immediately” as he held a news conference on the trade deal struck between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the deal agreed ahead of a midnight deadline Sunday will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump had called a “disaster.”
Sunday’s announcement of NAFTA capped six weeks of intense talks.
In the end, Canada and the US overcame their differences after both sides conceded some ground, hailing an agreement that covers a region of 500 million residents and conducts about $1 trillion in trade a year.
Under Sunday’s deal, the trade pact will remain in force for 16 years but will be reviewed every six years. More than two-thirds of Canadian exports go to the United States, equivalent to 20% of its gross domestic product, while Canada is the largest export market for the US.
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The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has today announced the launch of the IDF Dairy Innovation Awards 2024.
The annual awards are designed to demonstrate the innovation and dynamism of the dairy sector worldwide, offering a unique platform to showcase innovative processes, practices and products that improve the efficiency and sustainability of the global value chain, and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In its second annual edition, the awards attracted over 173 entries from 26 countries, with participation from every continent.
Said Caroline Emond, Director General of IDF: “Innovation stands as a defining trait within the dairy sector, a cornerstone that has anchored milk and dairy in the heart of sustainable and healthy nutrition throughout history. The remarkable entries showcased in the 2023 IDF DIA underscore this legacy. Looking ahead to 2024, our focus is set on catalysing further inventive breakthroughs and enhancing increased participation.”
Added Charles Brand, Executive Vice President, Processing Solutions and Equipment, Tetra Pak: “We are delighted to continue our sponsorship of the Dairy Innovation Awards in 2024. The dairy industry plays an important role in supporting livelihoods, food security, and nutrition. Enabling the transition towards sustainable dairy is one of our core pathways to driving food systems transformation at Tetra Pak, and innovation is at the centre of that transition. It is only by working together to optimise dairy processing and packaging technologies that we will reach our industry’s environmental goals, and the IDF DIA stands out as a moment to take stock of the successes along that journey.”
Entries are invited in ten categories, with a focus on sustainable and community led initiatives, as well as advancements in new product development and innovative practices:
- Innovation in sustainable farming practices: a) environment, b) animal care, c) socio-economic
- Innovation in sustainable processing
- Innovation in sustainable packaging
- Innovation new product: a) dairy product with focus on human nutrition, b) food safety equipment
- Innovation in Women empowerment in the dairy sector
- Innovation in Climate Action
- Innovation in Marketing & Communication initiative building dairy category.
The awards are hosted by the IDF in partnership with Zenith Global with further support from Tetra Pak, the Headline sponsor of the Awards
The IDF World Dairy Innovation Awards 2024 are open for entries from today, 21 February until 1 June 2024. The award winners will be announced in a Special Plenary Session on innovation at the IDF World Dairy Summit hosted in Paris, France on 18 October. For more visit fil-idf.org


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Mothercare customers warned of higher prices after pound slump
The babycare retailer says customers face hikes of up to 5% from next year - as it reveals profits have slumped into the red.
Thursday 24 November 2016 12:01, UK
Parents face paying higher prices for baby clothes after Mothercare warned on the impact of the slump in the pound.
It said prices are expected to rise between 3% and 5% from the middle of next year as sterling's collapse since the Brexit vote pushes up costs.
The warning came as Mothercare revealed it had slipped to a first-half loss as bad weather over the summer and turnaround costs weighed on its UK business. Shares fell 6%.
The babycare retailer's international arm saw revenues boosted by the weaker pound but it had a tough time at home, with sales down and warehouse changes disrupting product supply.
Mothercare reported a loss of £800,000 for the 28 weeks to 8 October, compared with a profit of £5.8m in the same period last year.
UK like-for-like sales fell 0.7%.
Internationally, where Mothercare makes nearly two-thirds of its sales, trading remained "volatile" and sales also declined, though the fall in sterling meant that overall they were higher in pound terms.
But next year the retailer faces a negative impact from the pound's plunge, especially on the cost of clothing and footwear ranges it buys in US dollars from the Far East and India.
Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said the fall in the pound would have a "big impact".
He said the group had negotiated with suppliers for them to absorb a third of the higher cost, with another third borne by Mothercare and the remainder passed on to customers.
The latest comes as Mothercare reported tough first-half trading.
Mr Newton-Jones said: "The last six months have been challenging and ... our sales and margin stalled in the period."
He pointed to a "widely reported slowdown in sales across the high street due to unseasonal weather through the spring/summer season".
This had resulted in a higher markdown on prices - a tactic which, while it can boost sales, squeezes profit margins.
Planned warehouse infrastructure changes had been completed but it did mean "a reduced flow of product for eight weeks in the summer" as well as a one-off cost increase.
Mothercare is in the second year of a turnaround programme which has seen unprofitable stores closed and others refurbished, and an upgrade for distribution and its online operation.
Mr Newton-Jones said despite the tough first half, the latest period had started in line with its plans and Mothercare was "well-prepared for the important peak season".
Progress in the second half would "partially compensate for the headwinds" experienced in the first, he added.
Mothercare's half-year results come as a setback after it reported its first annual profit for five years in May.


text: Cooper will decide by March of this year whether to build a second extruded rubber products plant in Bowling Green, OH, where currently the 260,000 sq. fl. plant is at maximum capacity due to an increase in demand from automobile manufacturers for the extruded hose and body sealing products made there. The company is looking at a 40acre site near the existing plant on which to build a 160,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility and a 20,000 sq. ft. office facility. If the plans develop as intended, construction could begin during the first quarter of 1993, with production beginning as early as the third quarter. Total employment could increase by as much as 400 additional jobs. Current employment at Bowling Green is about 600.


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Swinburne University of Technology has launched a new research hub focused on advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 at its Factory of the Future facility.
The Advanced Manufacturing Industry 4.0 Hub will work with local manufacturers to develop digitalisation strategies for their business, increase their digital maturity and provide training to help them use Industry 4.0 technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, smart robotics and virtual reality to grow their business and innovate on their business model.
At the launch event of the new hub, Swinburne University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aleksandar Subic, said the adoption of new generation digital technologies and processes was crucial due to the highly competitive environment of manufacturing internationally.
“Industry 4.0 is all about the next stage of development in the manufacturing sector driven by digitalisation,” Subic said.
“Automation and the Industrial Internet of Things in particular are transforming the manufacturing industry, presenting us with new business opportunities through better integration with the global supply chain.”
The hub is funded by a $2 million grant from the Victorian government’s Future Industries Fund. Victoria’s industry and employment minister, Ben Carroll, was present at the launch event. Carroll said that the government’s grant was leveraging Swinburne University’s $100 million investment in advanced manufacturing infrastructure and expertise.
“Digital transformation of manufacturing is a game changer, which is why we’re creating a new Advanced Manufacturing Hub – to ensure Victorian businesses are well equipped to take advantage of this technology,” Carroll said.
“The hub will help local manufacturers unlock the opportunities that exist with digital technologies to transform their operations, and deliver cutting edge products and services.”
Part of the hub’s functions will be to provide students opportunities to work side-by side with industry and researchers developing and co-creating new technologies and practice, further pushing forward the university’s commitment to linking vocational training and higher education. The university has said that it is developing new courses based on Industry 4.0 strategy.


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McFadyen Digital, a marketplace strategy and implementation agency, has acquired Cerebrik, a full-service ecommerce consulting company with offices in Dallas, Texas and Bangalore, India. The strategic acquisition builds upon McFadyen’s position in ecommerce marketplace enablement. Cerebrik CEO Kiran Raghunathan will join McFadyen’s executive team as their chief technology officer, a role he is reprising after having served in the same capacity at the company in 2014 and 2015.
“We’re very excited to join McFadyen Digital and be part of a global team that is transforming enterprises with the platform model of marketplaces,” said Raghunathan. “Our customers will immediately gain access to an expanded set of capabilities with a truly global footprint, and McFadyen’s reputation as leaders who are evolving the marketplace and ecommerce spaces makes us optimistic for what’s to come.”
“We are pleased to be bringing Cerebrik into the McFadyen family while adding expert talent and marquee clients,” added Tom McFadyen, CEO of McFadyen Digital. “We’re always looking for ways to expand our capabilities, and we’ll continue to pursue additional M&A. We’ve had a close relationship with Kiran and the Cerebrik team for many years, so we know what great work they’re capable of. The synergies between the organizations made a lot of sense amidst our recent growth and success.”


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BMO’s report “More Silver Linings than Clouds” found while both the stock and bond markets have made significant recoveries domestically, the European economy has inched toward recession. Despite debt in the southern countries, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Union (EU) developed plans that have already produced some positive results, including decreased interest rates, establishment of emergency reserves, the avoidance of a recession in Germany and France, a rebound by the STOXX Europe 600 Index and the introduction of the ECB as bank supervisor for the EU.
China’s slowdown, which was induced by measures taken to moderate inflation and rapid growth, has been exacerbated by Europe’s weakness. As a result, their government has taken reverse actions to jump-start demand. Several encouraging trends include: decreased lending rates, export growth turned positive, steadied gross domestic product (GDP) and increased retail sales.
The U.S.–fiscal cliff aside–has been benefiting from powerful trends in consumer confidence and an uptick in the housing sector. Some optimistic economic signs include: rising consumer confidence and retail sales, housing upswing, rising employment rates, positive manufacturing activity and solid corporate operating margins.
BMO sees opportunity in equities worldwide due to dividends that equal or exceed Treasury yields. They recommend U.S. investors have U.S. equities as the largest portion of their stock portfolio.
Investors seeking more income have moved to riskier fixed-income sectors, but BMO says investors should be aware of the interest rate and credit risks of this strategy.
The report is available here.