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newstfionline · 5 years ago

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Headlines

UN calls for global cease-fire (Foreign Policy) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a global cease-fire in order for countries to focus on the coronavirus pandemic. “End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world,” he said. “It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.”

Lost jobs, income, and mortgages (Wall Street Journal) Mortgage companies are bracing for a severe cash crunch when Americans who lose jobs and income because of the coronavirus pandemic stop making payments on their home loans. The companies expect a wave of missed payments from borrowers as early as next month that will force them to come up with tens of billions of dollars on short notice.

US airline shutdown coming? (Wall Street Journal) Major U.S. airlines are drafting plans for a potential voluntary shutdown of virtually all passenger flights across the U.S., according to industry and federal officials, as government agencies also consider ordering such a move and the nation’s air-traffic control system continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus contagion. No final decisions have been made by the carriers or the White House, these officials said.

Trump Weighs Rollback of Lockdown Measures as Economy Worsens (Foreign Policy) At a White House briefing yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that normal economic activity would resume in weeks, not months. “Our country was not built to be shut down,” Trump said, “This is not a country that was built for this. It was not built to be shut down.” His comments highlighted the growing friction between public health experts keen to halt the spread of the coronavirus and White House advisors who see the economy as the priority. “The president is right. The cure can’t be worse than the disease,” Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council said on Fox News on Monday, “And we’re going to have to make some difficult trade-offs.” Such sentiments are not limited to the White House. There is a growing chorus among conservatives and in mainstream publications calling for a rethink.

Britain Placed Under a Virtual Lockdown by Boris Johnson (NYT) Facing a growing storm of criticism about his laissez-faire response to the fast-spreading coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that he would place Britain under a virtual lockdown, closing all nonessential shops, banning meetings of more than two people, and requiring people to stay in their homes, except for trips for food or medicine. People who flout the new restrictions, the prime minister said, will be fined by the police.

With live sports gone, announcer offers play by play of the everyday (NYT) Freelance rugby announcer Nick Heath is filling a sports-sized void with short videos where he provides a running commentary on regular life in London. In one clip, four women walking with strollers are suddenly competing in the “international four-by-four pushchair formation final.” Pedestrians using a crosswalk are in the “2020 crossroad dash.” Each clip is an absurd delight that’s both funny and very British.

As Coronavirus Surveillance Escalates, Personal Privacy Plummets (NYT) In South Korea, government agencies are harnessing surveillance-camera footage, smartphone location data and credit card purchase records to help trace the recent movements of coronavirus patients and establish virus transmission chains.

In Lombardy, Italy, the authorities are analyzing location data transmitted by citizens’ mobile phones to determine how many people are obeying a government lockdown order and the typical distances they move every day. About 40 percent are moving around “too much,” an official recently said.

In Israel, the country’s internal security agency is poised to start using a cache of mobile phone location data--originally intended for counterterrorism operations--to try to pinpoint citizens who may have been exposed to the virus.

As countries around the world race to contain the pandemic, many are deploying digital surveillance tools as a means to exert social control, even turning security agency technologies on their own civilians. Health and law enforcement authorities are understandably eager to employ every tool at their disposal to try to hinder the virus--even as the surveillance efforts threaten to alter the precarious balance between public safety and personal privacy on a global scale.

Pakistan moves toward lockdown (Al Jazeera) Pakistan has moved closer to a countrywide lockdown to attempt to control the accelerating spread of coronavirus cases across the country, as cases hit more than 850 and doctors complain of dwindling personal protective kits. On Monday, a full lockdown went into effect in the southern city of Karachi, home to more than 20 million people, while Punjab province--home to almost half of Pakistan’s 207 million people--also announced widespread restrictions on public movement.

India orders 21-day lockdown (Foreign Policy) India, South Asia’s largest economy, has ground to a halt since the weekend. Authorities urged people to take curfew orders seriously, shutting down domestic commercial flights and rail services. In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a strict 21-day nationwide lockdown. “If we are not able to manage the next 21 days, we will be pushed back by 21 years,” he warned. “For 21 days, forget what it means to step outside your home.”

Documents Show Modi Govt Building 360 Degree Database To Track Every Indian (Huffington Post) The Narendra Modi government is in the final stages of creating an all-encompassing, auto-updating, searchable database to track every aspect of the lives of each of India’s over 1.2 billion residents, previously undisclosed government documents reviewed by HuffPost India establish.

Reducing Afghan aid (NYT) The State Department said it was cutting $1 billion to Afghanistan this year, and potentially another $1 billion in 2021, after rival Afghan leaders failed to support a unified government. It’s a condition that U.S. diplomats consider crucial for peace talks.

China ends Wuhan restrictions (NYT) Officials in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak started, said today that public transportation would resume within 24 hours and that residents would be allowed to leave the city beginning April 8, as infections appeared to be dwindling.

Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 (AP) The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, saying that the Tokyo Games “must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020, but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.”

Libya becomes theatre for drone combat (Guardian) The blind eye the western world is turning to Libya has allowed it to become the world’s main theatre of drone combat, with the UAE and Egypt introducing Chinese-made drones to the field of Middle Eastern warfare. Not only does this undercut America’s short-lived monopoly on military drone technology, it has also shown the world that Chinese drones, as well as other equipment such as guided artillery, are the cheap and effective alternative for proxy warfare. It is a foreboding symbol of the future of arms proliferation and the technological upgrade that smaller, regional conflicts are set to experience.

African finance ministers call for debt waiver (Foreign Policy) In a joint statement, African finance ministers called for $100 billion in stimulus to allow the continent to weather the dual storms of coronavirus and falling oil prices. The statement calls for a waiver on interest payments on public debt and sovereign bonds--a move that would free up $44 billion and “provide immediate fiscal space and liquidity to the governments in their efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the ministers said.

South Africa imposes lockdown (South China Morning Post) South Africa will impose a nationwide lockdown for three weeks as it tries to contain a surge in coronavirus cases, which on Monday jumped from 274 to 402 in a day. President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was “a decisive measure to save millions of South Africans from infection and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.” The country’s 56 million people have been told to “stay at home” from midnight on Thursday until midnight on April 16 “to prevent a human catastrophe of enormous proportions in our country.”

#headlines #news

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extreme-investor-network · 2 years ago

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Market Talk - July 20, 2022

ASIA: Chinese authorities on Sunday violently dispersed a peaceful protest by hundreds of depositors, who sought in vain to demand their life savings back from banks that have run into a deepening cash crisis. Since April, four rural banks in China’s central Henan province have frozen millions of dollars’ worth of deposits, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of customers in an economy already battered by draconian Covid lockdowns. Anguished depositors have staged several demonstrations in the city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, over the past two months, but their demands have invariably fallen on deaf ears. The demonstration is among the largest China has seen since the pandemic, with domestic travel limited by various Covid restrictions on movement. Last month, Zhengzhou authorities even resorted to tampering with the country’s digital Covid health-code system to restrict the movements of depositors and thwart their planned protest, sparking a nationwide outcry. Morgan Stanley today reduced its forecast for India’s GDP growth estimate by 0.4 percent to 7.2 percent for the FY23 due to slower global growth. It further said the growth would further slow down to 6.4 percent in the FY24, which is 0.3% lower than the earlier forecast. According to the other major estimates, including the RBI, the GDP growth rate in the FY23 is likely to be over 7 percent. RBI has also estimated the GDP growth rate at 7.2 percent for the current fiscal. Brokerage firm said the ongoing moderation in commodity prices is improving the near-term trajectory for macro stability and also cut its FY23 average inflation target to 6.5 percent against 7 percent earlier. Consumer prices in Russia declined 0.17% in the week to July 15 after sliding 0.03% a week earlier, data showed on Wednesday, keeping the door open for the central bank to consider cutting rates as soon as this week. The rouble’s strengthening and a drop in consumer demand have helped Russia rein in inflation, which soared to 20-year highs in annual terms after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. So far this year, consumer prices have risen 11.41% compared with a 4.51% increase in the same period of 2021, data from the Federal Statistics Service Rosstat showed. Prices on nearly everything, from vegetables and sugar to clothes and smartphones, have risen sharply since Feb. 24. Meanwhile, inflationary expectations among Russian households declined in July to 10.8%, their lowest level since March 2021, from 12.4% in June, data showed on Wednesday. The major Asian stock markets had a green day today: - NIKKEI 225 increased 718.58 points or 2.67% to 27,680.26 - Shanghai increased 25.29 points or 0.77% to 3,304.72 - Hang Seng increased 229.16 points or 1.11% to 20,890.22 - ASX 200 increased 109.60 points or 1.65% to 6,759.20 - Kospi increased 15.88 points or 0.67% to 2,386.85 - SENSEX increased 629.91 points or 1.15% to 55,397.53 - Nifty50 increased 180.30 points or 1.10% to 16,520.85 The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today: - AUDUSD decreased 0.00214 or -0.31% to 0.68787 - NZDUSD decreased 0.00069 or -0.11% to 0.62221 - USDJPY increased 0.091 or 0.07% to 138.274 - USDCNY increased 0.02891 or 0.43% to 6.77301 Precious Metals: l Gold decreased 10.8 USD/t oz. or -0.63% to 1,700.27 l Silver decreased 0.036 USD/t. oz or -0.19% to 18.698 Some economic news from last night: Australia: MI Leading Index (MoM) decreased from -0.1% to -0.2% EUROPE/EMEA: The Bank of England has told lenders to prepare for a “deteriorated economic outlook”. The bank said the outlook for the UK economy is “very uncertain.” It further added that it had been forced to increase interest rates to tackle soaring inflation but acknowledged that this would make it harder for businesses and households to repay their debts. Despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund and OECD that Britain is more susceptible to recession and persistently high inflation than other Western countries, the Bank said UK lenders were well-placed to handle even a severe economic downturn. The major Europe stock markets had a negative day: - CAC 40 decreased 16.56 points or -0.27% to 6,184.66 - FTSE 100 decreased 31.97 points or -0.44% to 7,264.31 - DAX 30 decreased 26.43 points or -0.20% to 13,281.98 The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today: - EURUSD decreased 0.00706 or -0.69% to 1.01604 - GBPUSD decreased 0.00415 or -0.35% to 1.19613 - USDCHF increased 0.00399 or 0.41% to 0.97249 Some economic news from Europe today: UK: House Price Index (YoY) increased from 12.4% to 12.8% Core CPI (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 5.9% to 5.8% Core CPI MoM (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 0.5% to 0.4% Core PPI Output (YoY) (Jun) increased from 15.0% to 15.2% Core PPI Output (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 1.5% to 0.8% Core RPI (MoM) (Jun) increased from 0.7% to 0.8% Core RPI (YoY) (Jun) increased from 11.8% to 11.9% CPI (MoM) (Jun) increased from 0.7% to 0.8% CPI (YoY) (Jun) increased from 9.1% to 9.4% CPI, n.s.a (Jun) increased from 120.80 to 121.80 PPI Input (YoY) (Jun) increased from 22.4% to 24.0% PPI Input (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 2.4% to 1.8% PPI Output (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 1.6% to 1.4% PPI Output (YoY) (Jun) increased from 15.8% to 16.5% RPI (YoY) (Jun) increased from 11.7% to 11.8% RPI (MoM) (Jun) increased from 0.7% to 0.9% Germany: German PPI (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 1.6% to 0.6% German PPI (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 33.6% to 32.7% Euro Zone: Consumer Confidence (Jul) decreased from -23.8 to -27.0 Current Account (May) increased from -5.8B to -4.5B Current Account n.s.a. (May) decreased from -5.4B to -15.4B US/AMERICAS: Mortgage demand in the US continues to decline as rates and uncertainty rise. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage demand hit a 22-year low last week after declining 6%. Applications for mortgages fell 7% for the week, and were 19% lower from the same period one year ago. The average 30-year fixed rate is now 5.82% on loans with a 20% down payment – a year ago the rate was 3.11%. Home sales in June fell 5.4% from the month prior, according to new data by the National Association of Realtors. Sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.12 million, which is 14.2% lower from sales in June 2021. By the end of June, 1.26 million homes were listed across the nation, a 2.4% increase YoY, and the first YoY gain in three years. Median home prices set a record high of $416,000, up 13.4% YoY. US Market Closings: - Dow advanced 47.79 points or 0.15% to 31,874.84 - S&P 500 advanced 23.21 points or 0.59% to 3,959.9 - Nasdaq advanced 184.5 points or 1.58% to 11,897.65 - Russell 2000 advanced 28.62 points or 1.59% to 1,827.95 Canada Market Closings: - TSX Composite advanced 82.96 points or 0.44% to 19,020.67 - TSX 60 advanced 4.23 points or 0.37% to 1,150.07 Brazil Market Closing: - Bovespa advanced 42.03 points or 0.04% to 98,286.83 ENERGY: The oil markets had a mixed day today: l Crude Oil decreased 2.39 USD/BBL or -2.29% to 101.830 l Brent decreased 1.24 USD/BBL or -1.16% to 106.11 l Natural gas increased 0.645 USD/MMBtu or 8.88% to 7.9090 l Gasoline decreased 0.0583 USD/GAL or -1.76% to 3.2492 l Heating oil decreased 0.0632 USD/GAL or -1.74% to 3.5636 The above data was collected around 14:05 EST on Wednesday l Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (8.88%), Palm Oil(3.23%), Zinc (1.80%) and Lean Hogs (1.77%) l Top commodity losers: Canola (-2.65%), Soybeans (-2.03%), Lumber (-3.40%) and Crude Oil (-2.29%) The above data was collected around 14:13 EST on Wednesday. BONDS: Japan 0.243%(+0.9bp), US 2’s 3.24% (+0.009%), US 10’s 3.0321% (+1.31bps); US 30’s 3.18% (-0.002%), Bunds 1.2600% (-1.8bp), France 1.8210% (-3.2bp), Italy 3.4980% (+5.7bp), Turkey 16.93% (-107bp), Greece 3.458% (-0.4bp), Portugal 2.414% (+1.2bp); Spain 2.491% (+0.5bp) and UK Gilts 2.1410% (-3.7bp). Original Article Original Article Here: Read the full article

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ellymackay · 4 years ago

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Remote CPAP Mask Fittings Are Easier Now, Due to the Launch of New Technologies

The following blog post Remote CPAP Mask Fittings Are Easier Now, Due to the Launch of New Technologies was initially published to Elly Mackay's Blog

How do you select an appropriate interface for a patient during the pandemic? Several innovative software options are available.

By Lisa Spear

Under normal circumstances, fitting a patient for a CPAP mask calls for an in-person visit. Measurements of the craniofacial anatomy are taken. A sleep tech or respiratory therapist (RT) asks a few questions. The process involves an investment in staffing, time, and a brick-and-mortar building. During these visits, staying at least 6 feet apart to minimize the risk of coronavirus spread is not always possible.

As SARS-CoV-2 took root across the country this spring and cases in the United States eclipsed other nations, more Americans opted to cancel or postpone non-emergency medical care, including visits to select CPAP masks. Home medical equipment (HME) storefronts shuttered, and suppliers scrambled to figure out a solution to continue to reach patients.

In the midst of all the chaos, some sleep medicine software developers innovated their way out of the problem—by developing technology to remotely recommend CPAP masks, without the need for sleep tech or RT in-person assistance. Philips Respironics launched its Mask Selector 2D. ResMed also launched its MaskSelector tool for remote selection and sizing. The companies market their services as a way to protect staff and patients, while delivering care faster at a lower price point.

Philips Respironics recently launched its Mask Selector 2D. Photo contributed by Philips Respironics.

Alison Vaznonis, a general manager at several medical retailers, including Fort Myers Oxygen and Sarasota Oxygen and CPAP, says that not long after lockdown began in Florida, several of her medical equipment locations turned to a cloud-based CPAP mask fitting software called SleepGlad, a newcomer in sleep tech that launched this spring.

“We wanted to protect, as much as possible, the safety of our patients and our employees, but what we found, actually, also is that it is very accurate versus having an individual person do a fitting,” says Vaznonis. “Our experience has been really positive so far; our patients really like it.”

Through an online portal, the HME sends a link to the patient, who is then instructed to take a photo of their face with their phone. The SleepGlad program then uses artificial intelligence to evaluate more than 130 data points to generate a 3D extrapolation of the patient’s anatomy before recommending a mask. All that’s required of the patient is a smartphone, an Internet connection, and 3 seconds of time.

It’s as easy as “taking a selfie,” says SleepGlad co-founder and board certified sleep medicine physician Akhil Raghuram, MD.

[RELATED: How to Get Sleep Apnea Patients into Well-Fitting Interfaces…Remotely]

In May, Judson Sturdivant, owner of Hays Medical Supply, says his company was at a crossroads. “How do we keep our staff healthy and how do we keep our patients healthy?” he remembers thinking. Since then, he turned to the ResMed MaskSelector. The program works in a similar way to SleepGlad, only the patient holds up a measuring tool to their face when snapping photos and the program recommends ResMed interfaces exclusively.

A longtime client of ResMed, Sturdivant says this system is working well for his team. “This was by far an upgrade from the traditional way,” he says.

A screenshot of the ResMed MaskSelector tool. Contributed image by ResMed.

On the other hand, some medical suppliers, including Fort Myers Oxygen and Sarasota Oxygen and CPAP, prefer a system like SleepGlad that support masks from multiple brands.

SleepGlad can recommend CPAP interfaces made by Philips, ResMed, and Fisher & Paykel. It also lets home medical equipment companies build their own mask formularies.

Machine learning is used to continually improve the algorithm to pick the right mask for each patient’s individual facial features. “We are constantly fine-tuning the mask selection and sizing,” says Raghuram, the medical director of the Vancouver Sleep Center.

Since the system has proven accurate, Vaznonis anticipates that more patients will get an appropriate mask on their first try. “I think what we are hoping is that it is actually going to cut down on mask adjustments or mask switch ups that we would have to do otherwise,” she says.

The recommendation populates on the patient’s phone and on the medical device provider’s screen almost instantly with the name, description, size, and photo of the recommended mask.

A screenshot example of a CPAP mask recommendation from SleepGlad. Contributed image by SleepGlad.

After, the patient views an instructional video that explains how the CPAP machine works and describes its different features. Suppliers are also free to upload their own video to share with their patients.

“They find this very helpful because they are not wasting 40 minutes giving the same talk to all their patients,” says Raghuram.

The final step is when the patient receives the CPAP mask and machine in the mail and can begin therapy, all without having to leave their home.

According to SleepGlad, early adopters of this system have not had any pauses in their service. “They haven’t been held back because of lack of access to [personal protective equipment] or getting a patient in the office. They are functioning without any breaks,” says Raghuram.

“It’s business as usual.”

Another option is Philips Respironics Mask Selector’s 2D tool. Also released during the pandemic, it is a remote version of the company’s in-office 3D Mask Selector.

According to information provided by Philips, Mask Selector identifies several data points most critical to provide accurate and precise mask recommendations. This data is then evaluated in combination with a patient questionnaire to recommend a mask type, cushion, and frame size.

“This data-driven solution can not only help [durable medical equipment providers] and sleep labs operate more efficiently by reducing the burden and expense of a potentially lengthy mask fitting process, but also help to improve patient compliance by delivering a personalized mask specific to the individual needs of the patient,” says Mark D’Angelo, sleep OSA business leader at Philips, in a statement.

For patients who are not particularly tech savvy or do not own a smartphone, some patients may enlist help from a family member or a member of the medical supply team may stay on the phone to walk them through each step, says Vaznonis. In-person fittings are also still an option, says Vaznonis; the company still has a retail showroom open to assist patients.

Overall, though, Vaznonis says, “We have not had a lot of people who have had issues with it. There are a lot of people at this point who are used to FaceTiming with their grandkids or using video meetings or cell phone apps and all these type of things. So it is few and far between that we run into someone who can’t or just doesn’t want to do it.”

Will these technologies replace human techs completely?

The jury is still out, but Raghuram says no machine can completely replace a highly trained tech. Nevertheless, experienced techs bring a human bias. Often techs may have personal mask preferences that can interfere with their ability to recommend interfaces with which they are less familiar but that might work better for the patient. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help bypass that human bias.

“It’s also super simple and super quick,” says Vaznonis.

Lisa Spear is associate editor of Sleep Review.

Top photo credit: ID 79270631 © Vadimgozhda | Dreamstime.com

from Sleep Review https://www.sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-treatments/therapy-devices/cpap-pap-devices/remote-cpap-mask-fittings-easier-technologies/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2020/08/05/remote-cpap-mask-fittings-are-easier-now-due-to-the-launch-of-new-technologies/

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techiespage · 5 years ago

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Samsung has slashed the prices of the Galaxy M21 and Galaxy A50s in India. The Galaxy M21 was launched in India in March with two memory versions - 4GB/64GB priced at INR12,999 ($170/€155) and 6GB/128GB priced at INR14,999 ($200/€180). However, after the GST hike last month, the prices of the smartphones in India went up, taking the price of Galaxy M21's 4GB/64GB variant to INR14,222 ($190/€170) and 6GB/128GB model to INR16,499 ($220/€200). But with the price cut, the 4GB RAM model is now down to INR13,199 ($175/€160) and the 6GB RAM version costs INR15,499 ($205/€185). The Galaxy A50s, on the other hand, was launched in India last September. The base model of the A50s with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage was priced at INR22,999 ($305/€275) and the 6GB/128GB variant was priced at INR24,999 ($330/€300). The A50s received multiple price cuts in India and after the GST hike, the prices of 4GB/128GB and 6GB/128GB variants went up to INR21,070 ($280/€250) and INR26,900 ($355/€320), respectively. But with the latest price cut, the 4GB RAM variant costs INR18,599 ($245/€220) and the 6GB RAM model is now down to INR20,561 ($270/€245). The Galaxy M21 and Galaxy A50s are listed on Samsung's official India site with their new prices, but they are yet to reflect on Flipkart and Amazon.in. Besides, you cannot purchase either of these smartphones right now from Flipkart or Amazon.in since the Indian government currently only allows sales and deliveries of essential goods in the country as a part of the lockdown to curb COVID-19 spread. However, you'll likely be able to buy the Galaxy M21 and Galaxy A50s in India starting May 4 since the Indian government has allowed e-commerce companies to deliver non-essential items from Monday in areas marked as orange or green zones in the country. . . . . #techies_page_samsung #techies_page_pricecut #techies_page #techies #tech #technology #samsung #samsunggalaxy #samsunggalaxym21 #samsunggalaxya50s #galaxym21 #galaxya50s #india #priceslash #pricecut #amazon #flipkart #covid19 #4gbram #6gbram #64gb #128gb #usa #unitedstates #uk #unitedkingdom #australia #iceland #canada #germany https://www.instagram.com/p/B_rY_pgAxPM/?igshid=kji5e5dapfro

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ads-show · 5 years ago

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Reuters Business News

Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers hit by coronavirus: Perdue

The Trump administration plans to buy milk and meat from U.S. farmers as part of an initial $15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. For More

North Korea hacking threatens U.S. and global financial system: U.S. officials

U.S. government officials warned on Wednesday about the threat of North Korean hackers, calling particular attention to banking and other financial services. For More

U.S. retail sales, factory output sink as coronavirus batters economy

U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March and output at factories declined by the most since 1946, buttressing analysts' views that the economy contracted in the first quarter at its sharpest pace in decades as extraordinary measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus shut down the country. For More

Stocks, crude plunge on economic data, oil oversupply

A double whammy of economic data showing the U.S. economy in a deep downturn and reports of persistent crude oil oversupply and collapsing demand slammed global markets on Wednesday as vivid reminders of the damage from coronavirus-related lockdowns. For More

Oil sinks after record 19 million-barrel U.S. crude build

U.S. crude prices fell to an 18-year low and Brent lost more than 6% on Wednesday after the United States reported its biggest weekly inventory build on record, while global demand is expected to fall to quarter-century lows due to the coronavirus pandemic For More

Apple has a $399 iPhone SE for the budget-conscious as coronavirus stalls economy

Apple Inc on Wednesday released a smaller iPhone priced at $399, cutting the starting price for the company's smartphone line in a move to broaden its appeal to budget-conscious customers as the coronavirus hobbles the global economy. For More Read the full article

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createcarrentalbookingsoftware · 5 years ago

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Earn high ROI with your car rental software:Enhance your business amid COVID-19 outbreak

The car rental business is thriving, and, as predicted, it will be growing at a CAGR of 14% over the next two years. If you are part of this flourishing economy, make the most out of it, and earn high profits by launching your own car rental software management system. A robust car rental software helps in maximizing the efficiency of your fleet, minimizes expenses, and works to keep your staff efficient.

While the world has come to a standstill due to the global Coronavirus pandemic and most of us are under lockdown, use this opportunity to plan out your business well with advanced software. By doing so, you can come up with a recovery plan to bounce back like never before. You can start implementing it right after the virus spread is contained.

Let’s have a look at how car rental software can benefit your car rental business in the long run.

Effective fleet management

The car rental business is all about purchasing or leasing different types of vehicles in bulk and renting them out for a fixed price to customers. Here, the cars acquired are the most substantial cost involved, and maintaining them should be your top priority.

Not only the cost involved to acquire the vehicles, but also the expenses incurred on repair, maintenance, and insurance, should be managed promptly. When done right, you can control the costs and increase your business efficiency, along with maintaining the vehicles in good condition. All these can be done swiftly with the assistance of car rental software.

Empowers your customers Giving your customers a secure and easy platform to interact with your business helps in acquiring more reliable customers, thereby more business opportunities. A car rental software does the same, allowing your end-users to make their bookings with just a few taps on their smartphones.

When you plan to develop the software for your business, ensure it has an intuitive user interface. As the software is where your users interact with your business, it has to be developed with top-notch design and should be integrated with all needed features.

Some vital features to consider including in the application:

List all vehicle types available

Option to schedule bookings

Option to change or cancel bookings

Advanced search and filtering options

Estimated fare details

Secure payment modes

Ratings and reviews

Help section

Running your business efficiently

Car rental software helps in running your business efficiently in several ways. Those include:

Keeping track of your insurance claims

Management of billing and invoicing

Keeping track of employee activity

Managing rental rates promptly

Secure management of accounts

Handling customer complaints and feedback

Of all these, the most crucial part of this endeavor is the management of your business accounts. Revenue and expenses have to be recorded regularly, helping to keep track of cash outflow so you can look for ways to cut down on expenses.

Steps to enhance your business amid COVID-19 outbreak

Let’s move on to the steps you can undertake to enhance your business once you start operating after the containment of the virus spread.

Collect reviews from the past customers

The COVID-19 outbreak has made many businesses shut down for a while, and we are proffered with a lot of free time. Use this opportunity to improve your business functioning by collecting reviews from previous customers.

You can send them emails or call them directly to check on how they are coping with the current situation. It shows them that you care about them, along with getting their valuable feedback about your service availed in the past.

Take time to maintain your fleet

Since the fleet is idle at the moment, maintain them properly and get the issues fixed, if any. So, when your business starts to operate, you won’t be facing any problems.

Create a marketing schedule for the future

Plan on ways to promote your car rental business among your potential customers in the coming days. Conduct market research to come up with stunning marketing ideas. Also, look for ways to use the software to promote your business further.

Summing up I hope the article is helpful to you and has given you enough learnings to earn high returns from your car rental business. Take your free time to get the software for your business and bounce back with a new glow once you resume your business operations. If you are an avid entrepreneur, you can also start your car rental business without a second thought. Advanced software will help you manage your business efficiently and effectively. Reach out to a leading app developer right away and embark on the journey of your software development.

#car rental app #car rental software #car rental scripts #carrentalsoftware #car rental booking software

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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Cruise Ship Passengers, Some Infected, Flown Back to U.S.

U.S. officials learned cruise ship evacuees were infected at the last minute.

A day before 328 Americans were to be whisked away from a contaminated cruise ship in Japan, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo told passengers that no one infected with the new coronavirus would be allowed to board charter flights to the United States. But those plans were hastily changed after the test results for 14 passengers came back positive — just as they were being loaded onto buses and dispatched to the airport, where two reconfigured cargo jets were waiting to fly them to military bases in California and Texas. After consultations with health experts, the U.S. government decided to let the infected evacuees, who were not yet exhibiting symptoms, board the flights. The reversal was the latest chaotic turn in a two-week quarantine of the ship, the Diamond Princess, that has become an epidemiological nightmare.

Apple cuts sales forecast as the outbreak slows both production and demand.

Apple said on Monday that it was cutting its sales forecast because of the coronavirus, in a sign of how the outbreak is taking a toll on manufacturing, even at one of the world’s most valuable companies. The announcement came hours before China announced new figures for the outbreak. The number of cases was put at 72,436 — up from 70,548 the day before — and the death toll now stands at 1,868, up from 1,770, the authorities said. In a statement, the iPhone maker, which is heavily dependent on factories in China, said its supply of smartphones would be hurt because production was slowed by the outbreak. None of the factories that make iPhones are in Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak, but travel restrictions have hindered other parts of the country as well. Production was taking longer than hoped to get back on track after the facilities reopened following the Lunar New Year, the company said. Apple said it was also cutting its sales forecast because demand for its products was being hurt in China. China has been one of the Silicon Valley company’s fastest-growing and largest markets. Apple’s warning is significant because it is a bellwether of global demand and supply of products. The company said it was “fundamentally strong, and this disruption to our business is only temporary.”

Cambodia’s leader is famously complacent about the coronavirus. That may exact a global toll.

When Cambodia’s prime minister greeted passengers on a cruise ship amid a coronavirus scare on Valentine’s Day, embraces were the order of the day. Protective masks were not. Not only did Prime Minister Hun Sen not wear one, assured that the ship was virus-free, his bodyguards ordered people who had donned masks to take them off. The next day, the American ambassador to Cambodia, W. Patrick Murphy, who brought his own family to greet the passengers streaming off the ship, also went maskless. “We are very, very grateful that Cambodia has opened literally its ports and doors to people in need,” Mr. Murphy said. Five other ports had said no. Updated Feb. 10, 2020 What is a Coronavirus? It is a novel virus named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people, and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. How contagious is the virus? According to preliminary research, it seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS, and is possibly transmitted through the air. Scientists have estimated that each infected person could spread it to somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 people without effective containment measures. How worried should I be? While the virus is a serious public health concern, the risk to most people outside China remains very low, and seasonal flu is a more immediate threat. Who is working to contain the virus? World Health Organization officials have praised China’s aggressive response to the virus by closing transportation, schools and markets. This week, a team of experts from the W.H.O. arrived in Beijing to offer assistance. What if I’m traveling? The United States and Australia are temporarily denying entry to noncitizens who recently traveled to China and several airlines have canceled flights. How do I keep myself and others safe? Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick. But after hundreds of passengers had disembarked, one later tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, health officials worry that what Cambodia opened its doors to was the outbreak, and that the world may pay a price as passengers from the cruse ship Westerdam stream home. Officials are testing those passengers still on the ship, but health authorities may be hard put to trace all the those who have headed back to their home countries. The coronavirus epidemic has been a blow to tourist-dependent businesses around the world, with China blocking tour groups from going abroad and many countries restricting entry to people from China. As China has become wealthier in recent decades, its tourists have become mainstays of shops, hotels, airlines, restaurants, museums and tour companies on multiple continents. Chinese tourists spent $277 billion abroad in 2018, up from $10 billion in 2000, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The sudden drop in their numbers is readily apparent, whether on the Champs-Élysées, at the Colosseum or on the beaches of Bali. Italy’s government has weighed whether to provide financial support for tour group operators. Fear of the virus and travel restrictions have led to cancellation of thousands of flights and hotel bookings, and a handful of cultural and business events. Travel companies have also reported a drop in tourism by non-Chinese people who want to avoid crowded spaces.

China signaled a delay in a big government gathering.

China signaled on Monday that it would postpone the annual session of its Communist Party-dominated legislature because of the epidemic, a symbolic blow for a government that typically runs with regimented discipline. Each March, nearly 3,000 delegates gather in the Great Hall of the People, next to Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The annual full meeting of the legislature, called the National People’s Congress, is a major event in China’s political cycle. President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders were expected to lay out their agenda for the year, issue the annual budget and pass major legislation. But delay is now virtually certain, judging by an announcement from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, which oversees the legislature. It said the committee would consider voting on Monday on whether to delay the congress. It would be extremely unlikely that the proposal would be up for formal approval unless Mr. Xi had agreed it was necessary. It would be the first time in recent memory that the annual legislative session has been delayed. Even in 2003, when China was battling SARS, the congress went ahead as usual.

A Russian court ordered a quarantine escapee to return to the hospital.

A Russian court ruled on Monday that a woman who had escaped coronavirus quarantine must be forcibly isolated in a hospital, sending a clear message to all potential escapees and dodgers. To prevent the virus from taking hold in Russia, the country has closed its roughly 2,600-mile border with China and ordered the quarantine of hundreds of Russian citizens who recently returned from China. But at least five people have escaped, citing poor conditions at hospitals and frustration over their status. Alla Ilyina, the woman ordered into isolation on Monday, made headlines in Russia by carrying out an elaborate plan to escape the 14-day quarantine. On Feb. 7, she broke an electromagnetic lock in her room and fled the hospital while doctors attended to an incoming patient. Mrs. Ilyina tested negative for coronavirus upon her arrival from China. The court ruled that she would have to stay in a hospital for at least two days and get two negative coronavirus tests before she could return home. After the ruling was issued, she was taken by ambulance to the Botkin infectious diseases hospital in St. Petersburg. The only Russian citizen to test positive for the virus so far is aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

China Inc. slowly rumbles back to life.

The world’s second-largest economy practically shut down three weeks ago as the coronavirus outbreak sickened tens of thousands of people, unexpectedly lengthening a Chinese holiday. The freeze set off warnings that the global economy could be in jeopardy if the world’s pre-eminent manufacturing powerhouse stayed shut for long. Now, as some factories rumble back into action, the monumental task of restarting China is becoming clear. China’s efforts to contain the virus are clashing with its push to get the country back to work, requiring the country’s leaders to strike a balance between keeping people safe and getting vital industries back on track. Quarantines, blocked roads and checkpoints are stopping millions of workers from returning to their jobs. Supply lines have been severed. The reopening of businesses means trying to bring together again much of China’s 700 million-strong labor force after what had become a nearly three-week national holiday. China’s containment efforts have effectively carved up the country. At least 760 million people — slightly over half the country’s population — are under various kinds of lockdown.

Chinese lawmakers consider controlling the trade in wildlife.

The coronavirus epidemic has prompted China to reconsider its trade and consumption of wildlife, which has been identified as a probable source of the outbreak. The practice is driven by desire to flaunt wealth and beliefs about health benefits from products made from certain animals. Officials drafted legislation to introduce controls and plan to present it at the next preparatory session for the annual National People’s Congress. The details of the proposal are not yet clear, but the goal is to end “the pernicious habit of eating wildlife,” according to a statement released on Monday by the Standing Committee of the congress. Although the exact origin of the coronavirus is still under investigation, health officials and scientists say it spread outward from a wholesale market in Wuhan where vendors legally sold live animals from crowded stalls in close quarters with meats and vegetables. The epidemic has inflamed public sentiment that the consumption of animals like reptiles, civets and hedgehogs is fundamentally unsafe. The trafficking of endangered or threatened wildlife is prohibited in China, but Wang Ruihe, an official with the National People’s Congress, said last week that enforcement was lax.

Australia will evacuate citizens stuck on a cruise ship, but another quarantine awaits.

Australia will evacuate more than 200 of its citizens who have been trapped on the cruise ship in Japan, and quarantine them for two more weeks at a mining camp in the northern city of Darwin, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday. The passengers, many of them elderly, will take a Qantas flight to Australia on Wednesday, he said. New Zealanders on the Diamond Princess will be able to join the flight and will be subject to quarantine in Darwin. The passengers flying out on Wednesday will join more than 200 evacuees from Wuhan, China, the center of the epidemic, who have been housed at the mining camp since last week. Australia airlifted 242 other people from Wuhan to Christmas Island, where they have been staying for two weeks. Mr. Morrison acknowledged that some of the cruise ship passengers would be frustrated by the additional two weeks in isolation. But he said that the spread of infections on the ship had forced health officials to take extra precautions.

The Tokyo Marathon is limiting the 2020 race to elite athletes.

Organizers of the Tokyo Marathon, citing the confirmation of a coronavirus case in Tokyo, are limiting the race this year to elite runners, including wheelchair elites, the event announced on its website Monday. A statement posted on the site said that all registered runners could defer their entry to the 2021 event, but that runners who defer would have to pay again and would not receive refunds for this year’s race. About 38,000 participants had signed up for the race scheduled for March 1. Of that number, 245 are elite runners and 30 are elite wheelchair athletes. The Hong Kong Marathon, scheduled for Feb. 9, was canceled as coronavirus cases in the semiautonomous Chinese city increased. Hong Kong now has 57 confirmed coronavirus cases. Japan’s Imperial Household Agency also canceled birthday celebrations for the emperor, an event within the Imperial Palace that normally draws large crowds in Tokyo. Emperor Naruhito turns 60 on Feb. 23. This would be his first birthday since he became emperor.

A heist at knifepoint and a manhunt in Hong Kong, all over toilet paper.

Three masked robbers appeared at dawn on Monday outside a Hong Kong supermarket. There, they held a deliveryman at knifepoint and made off with over $100 worth of one of the most sought after commodities in this city of seven million: toilet paper. Toilet paper has been sold out across the city for weeks after a run on the product was prompted by rumors that manufacturers in mainland China would cease production or that the border would be sealed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Retailers have dispelled the rumor, saying there is no genuine shortage. But bulk packs of toilet paper are snatched off supermarket shelves almost as soon as they are restocked, and city blocks are crowded with residents lined up at shops just to buy the product. So short is the supply that lovers exchanged individual rolls on Valentine’s Day as a sort of pragmatic joke. Online, users have offered to barter surgical masks, which actually are in short supply, for a few rolls of toilet paper. And one hoarder was shamed on social media when neighbors spotted an apartment whose windows were crowded by a wall of toilet paper rolls. The toilet paper stolen in Monday’s heist was later discovered stashed at a hotel, local news outlets reported, but the perpetrators remain at large.

A U.S. senator repeated an unsubstantiated claim about the coronavirus origins.

Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, has repeated an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that has spread from small-town China to the right-wing news media in the United States: The new coronavirus originated in a high-security biochemical lab in Wuhan. In a television interview on Fox News on Sunday, Mr. Cotton suggested that a dearth of information about the origins of the virus raised more questions than answers. “We don’t know where it originated, and we have to get to the bottom of that,” Mr. Cotton said on the program Sunday Morning Futures. He then raised the possibility that the virus originated in a “biosafety level-4 super laboratory.” Such laboratories are used for research into potentially deadly infectious diseases. “Now, we don’t have evidence that this disease originated there but because of China’s duplicity and dishonesty from the beginning we need to at least ask the question to see what the evidence says, and China right now is not giving evidence on that question at all,” he added. After receiving criticism for lending credence to what has been largely considered a fringe theory, the senator took to Twitter to say he did not necessarily think the virus was an “engineered bioweapon.” Research and reporting was contributed by Russell Goldman, Austin Ramzy, Ivan Nechepurenko, Steven Lee Myers, Claire Fu, Tiffany May, Richard C. Paddock, Sui-Lee Wee, Alexandra Stevenson, Roni Caryn Rabin, Ben Dooley and Keith Bradsher. Read the full article

#Cruise #Flown #health #HealthNews #Infected #Passengers #Ship

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josephlrushing · 5 years ago

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OnePlus 8 Series Review: Which One Would Be Best for You?

I’ve been testing the OnePlus 8 series for a bit over a month, and I have good news: the phones are very well made, and the cameras are better than expected. Long story short, starting at $699 for the OnePlus 8 and starting at $899 for the OnePlus 8 Pro, both of these phones have a lot going for them. Let’s dig in.

The OnePlus 8 series includes two 5G-ready models, the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro. The OnePlus 8 Pro is an ultra-premium flagship phone with all of the premium bells and whistles including a 6.78″ QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, water and dust resistance, 4,510mAh battery, and OnePlus’s Warp Charge 30T that can take the phone from 1 – 50% charge in about 23 minutes (it also offers reverse wireless charging), and it has a 48-megapixel quad-camera system. The OnePlus 8 is a slightly more compact premium smartphone that provides the flagship features users want without making them compromise on pocketability. The OnePlus 8 has a 6.55″ Fluid AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 4300mAh battery with Warp Charge 30T that can take the phone from 1 to 50% in about 22 minutes, and it has a 48-megapixel triple camera system. Both phones have very responsive in-display fingerprint sensors and facial recognition.

Both OnePlus 8 series phones have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 with the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System. This gives them both multi-gigabit 5G connectivity, advanced Wi-Fi 6 performance, “professional-quality photography at Gigapixel speeds, desktop-level gaming with ultra-realistic graphics, and intuitive AI experiences.” They also both run OnePlus OxygenOS based on Android 10; this is my second favorite Android OS Skin behind the Google Pixel Series as it is minimalistic, more intuitive, and less intrusive than the overlay on, say, the Samsung Galaxy series phones.

The size difference (while in cases) illustrated between the OnePlus 8 Pro and the One Plus 8.

One Plus 8

If you prefer something a bit smaller in your hand than all the current over-sized flagships phones, the OnePlus 8 may be just what you’ve been waiting for. The OnePlus 8 measures approximately 6.3″ tall by 2.9″ wide by 0.35″ thick, and it weighs 6.4 ounces. Inside the bold red OnePlus 8 box you’ll find the phone, a Warp Charge 30 power adapter, a Warp Type-C Cable (that supports USB 2.0), a quick start guide, a welcome letter, the safety information and warranty card, a sheet of OnePlus stickers, a pre-installed screen protector, and a SIM tray tool.

With shorter and tighter curves along the edges of its screen when compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 8 also has a more comfortable and more secure grip. On the upper left corner of the 3D Corning Gorilla Glass display, the OnePlus 8 has a 3.8mm punch-hole covering the 16-megapixel front-facing camera (with electronic image stabilization). The OnePlus 8’s display has a 20:9 aspect ratio, which is excellent for gaming and watching movies. Before you start thinking that smaller means less powerful, I remind you that the OnePlus 8 has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF system as the 8 Pro. Like the 8 Pro, the OnePlus 8 can come also come with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB user memory. The One Plus 8 is available in Onyx Black, matte Glacial Green, and the gorgeous Interstellar Glow I was sent. It’s an absolute fingerprint magnet, but you’ll hardly notice if you wisely keep it in a case.

The curved 3D Corning Gorilla Glass on the front is joined with the 3D Corning Gorilla Glass on the back by a thin aluminum band.

On the right rand side of the phone, there is a power/wake screen button and OnePlus’s three-stop ring, vibrate, and mute alert slider. The familiar OnePlus slider has ridges cut into it so you can differentiate it from the power button, even when it is in your pocket.

On top of the phone, there is a microphone.

On the left side, there is a volume rocker.

The OnePlus 8’s 3D curved glass has a slight angle on the sides, which may or may not bother you if you are used to a flatter, less curved screen.

On the bottom, there is a dual nanoSIM tray (no memory card slot, sadly), a microphone, the Type-C port, and the speaker cutouts (with the earpiece speaker, it offers dual stereo sound). There is no headphone jack, but in 2020 that hardly seems like something to dock a phone for not including.

All that glass is just begging to be cracked, so keep it in a case!

Lined up on the back of the OnePlus 8 from top to bottom are a 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 48-megapixel primary camera (with OIS and EIS), a macro camera, and an LED flash just below the slightly raised camera cluster.

Isn’t the Interstellar Glow color lovely? It’s like a pearlescent white when you see it in real life, but it casts off so many colors that it is hard to pin them down when photographing the phone.

The OnePlus 8 does not offer wireless charging, and the international and unlocked versions do not specify IP dust and water resistance. Still, OnePlus phones generally have some — even when not explicitly rated that way. Worth pointing out, though, is that if you buy your phone from one of the carriers offering it (Verizon and T-Mobile), it will carry the same IP68 rating as the OnePlus 8 Pro.

The OnePlus 8 has a triple-camera system on its rear; the primary camera is 48-megapixel with the Sony IMX586 sensor (with optical image stabilization). The second camera is a 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens with a 116º field of view. The third camera is an independent macro camera. A macro camera may not seem necessary to most, but if you habitually take closeup photos of crazy bugs you come across, or if you are a product reviewer (hi!), or if you are just someone who lists a lot of smaller things on eBay, you’ll appreciate it. Like when using every other phone on a camera, you’ll likely take multiple shots when using it; some will be amazing, and some won’t be quite what you were looking for.

Photos Taken with the OnePlus 8 (click a photo to open the gallery)

The display on the OnePlus 8 may not have the 120Hz refresh rate of its larger sibling, but unless you are really looking to find something to fault, you won’t even notice. The 6.55″ Full HD+ (2,400 x 1,080 pixel) display is large and brilliant with bright and sharp colors (1100 nits at peak brightness); action on it is smooth and responsive. Thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, the OnePlus 8 phone is fast and again, super responsive; I never noticed a single lag or stutter. Unfortunately, I don’t live in an area with 5G, and thanks to being in lockdown since March, I am not traveling anywhere anytime soon, where I might have been able to test it. Battery life has been better than expected; thanks to years as an Apple and later Pixel user, I’ve been “trained” to expect my phone’s battery to be dead by mid-afternoon with hard use, which is why I still always carry a portable battery pack when I do step out, but the OnePlus 8 has impressed me with its excellent battery life. I can easily get through a full day with it, and if my use is light, I can go without charging until about mid-day on the second day.

Overall, the OnePlus 8 has proven to be an excellent device, and it would be a wise choice for someone who wants something a little bit smaller than the OnePlus 8 Pro without having to accept too many trade-offs for the lower price.

You can see the OnePlus 8’s full list of specifications here.

One Plus 8 Pro

Now comes the beast. As OnePlus’s most feature-rich phone to date, the OnePlus 8 Pro has a 6.78″ (3168×1440) QHD+ Fluid 3D Corning Gorilla Glass Display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1300 nits at peak brightness. As with the OnePlus 8, a 3.8mm punch-hole on the upper left side of the display houses the front-facing 16-megapixel camera. The hole is so small and over to the side, rather than in the center of the screen, that half the time I don’t even notice it. But even better? The OnePlus 8 Pro is now IP68 rated, so you no longer have to worry about your phone getting wet when you’re soaking in the hot tub after a grueling day of Zoom.

Included in the red OnePlus 8 Pro box are the phone, a Warp Charge 30 power adapter, a Warp Type-C Cable (that supports USB 2.0), a case, a quick start guide, a welcome letter, the safety information and warranty card, a sheet of OnePlus stickers, and a SIM tray tool. The official spec sheet lists a screen protector, but my review unit does not appear to have it pre-installed, and I didn’t find one in the box. :shrug:

TheOnePlus 8 Pro measures approximately 6.5″ tall by 2.9″ wide by 0.35″ thick, and it weighs 7.1 ounces. It is a tall phone, but it is not an overly broad device. With that said, if you are used to a smaller phone, you may find it a bit too big for one-handed use. The OnePlus 8 Pro also has a 3.8mm punch-hole for its 16-megapixel front-facing camera (with EIS) in the upper left corner of its 3D Corning Gorilla Glass display. The OnePlus 8 Pro’s QHD+ and HDR10+ display (3168 x 1440 pixels) has a 19.8:9 aspect ratio, which also performs well when watching movies and playing games. Like the OnePlus 8, the OnePlus 8 Pro can come also come with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB user memory. The One Plus 8 Pro is available in Onyx Black, matte Ultramarine Blue, and the matte Glacial Green that I was sent. The 8 Pro also has 3D curved glass on the front and back with a thin aluminum band in between.

Buttons and ports on the OnePlus 8 Pro are the same as on the OnePlus 8; on the right side, there is a power/display button with a ridged slider above it.

On top, there is a microphone.

There is a volume rocker on the left side.

The OnePlus 8 Pro’s 3D curved glass has a steep angle on the sides, which may or may not bother you if you are used to a flatter, less curved screen.

On the bottom, there is a dual nanoSIM tray (again, no memory card slot), a microphone, a USB Type-C port, and the speaker cutouts (with the earpiece speaker, it also offers dual stereo sound). Again, there is no headphone jack.

The matte back of the OnePlus 8 Pro in Glacial Green is fab because it doesn’t show a lot of fingerprints. To the left of the slightly raised camera array, you’ll find an 8-megapixel hybrid-zoom camera with a 30X digital zoom (with OIS), and a dual-LED flash below it. Inside the camera array, you’ll find a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera (with a 3cm macro mode), a 48-megapixel primary camera (with OIS and EIS), and a 5-megapixel photochrom color filter camera.

In hand, the OnePlus 8 Pro feels only slightly longer and wider than the OnePlus 8; it is quite sleek and feels like a premium device. Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Ultra that I’ve been using and my usual Pixel 4 XL, it feels especially svelte. I have the 8GB RAM and 128GB user memory version, but I couldn’t really detect a difference from the speed found on the OnePlus 8, which came with 12GB RAM and 256GB user memory. The 120Hz display is brilliant, beautiful, smooth, and super responsive; it ships with 120Hz selected as default, with the option to downgrade to 60Hz; due to its excellent battery life, I have seen no need to lower the speed to get better battery life. Thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, the phone is blazing fast, with absolutely no lags or stutters.

The 8 Pro has a 4,510mAh battery that supports Warp 30T charging, which can take the phone from 0-50% power in about 23 minutes. Battery life on the OnePlus 8 Pro has been exceptional. I can easily get through a full day of hard use with the screen refresh rate on 120Hz; with lighter use, the phone can easily last well into the next day.

On top of all the other features I’ve mentioned, there is one that sets the OnePlus 8 Pro apart from any model that came before it. It supports Warp Charge 30 Wireless, which — as you guessed it — means wireless charging has finally made its way to OnePlus — along with reverse wireless charging for your small wireless charging capable accessories. Since the phone now has wireless charging, it makes sense that OnePlus also offers its own $69.99 Warp Charge 30 wireless charger; with it, you can charge the 8 Pro from 1 – 50% in about 30 minutes. And because the phone supports wireless charging, it also offers reverse charging, so you can use it to charge other Qi-enabled devices such as your wireless headphones or in a pinch, another phone. All you have to do is turn it on, and place the other device on the 8 Pro’s back.

For many of us, a smartphone’s camera is its most important feature. The OnePlus 8 Pro sports the most significant camera upgrade that the company has ever delivered in one of its phones. The OnePlus 8 Pro’s primary camera can shoot 4K, and it has hybrid video stabilization (combining Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Image Stabilization(EIS)); there are three hybrid microphones to collect clear stereo audio. Other video recording features include audio zoom —which lets you zoom in on the sounds you want to magnify, and there is an audio windscreen on the mics which automatically cuts wind sounds when you are recording. Since good lighting can be such a challenge when shooting video, the 8 Pro has 3-HDR Technology, which weaves together three exposures into one frame with a higher dynamic range; this fills in shadows for more precise, more colorful details.

Photos Taken with the OnePlus 8 Pro (click a photo to open the gallery)

Warning — we had a tarantula in the yard one day, so of course, I took a photo of it.

At a starting price of $899, the OnePlus 8 Pro is the company’s most expensive phone yet. The pain of the purchase price is slightly offset by its gorgeous and large 120Hz display, the Snapdragon 865 processor with X55 modem, its iP68 certification, the excellent cameras, and its 30W wireless charging. The beauty of the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro being so closely matched to each other is that if you do decide you’d prefer the smaller, less expensive phone, you can still get a fantastic device by giving up just a few of the bells and whistles.

You can see the OnePlus 8 Pro’s full list of specifications here.

The OnePlus 8 starts at $699, and the OnePlus 8 Pro starts at $899; they are available directly from the manufacturer, as well as at T-Mobile and Verizon, and from other retailers including Amazon.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Both phones have beautiful displays (although the 8 Pro’s 3168 x 1440 pixels are superior to the One Plus 8’s 3168 x 1440 pixels); Both phones are sleek and not overly wide; Excellent cameras; The OnePlus 8 has a 90Hz refresh rate and the OnePlus 8 Pro has a 120Hz refresh rate; Both phones have highly responsive and accurate in-screen fingerprint readers and facial recognition; Both phones have the top of the line Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, and the Snapdragon Modem X55 5G modem; Both phones have dual nanoSIM slots; Both phones are available in beautiful case colors — not that you’ll ever really see them because these largely glass phones should be kept in cases; Both phones have excellent battery life

What Needs Improvement: There’s no headphone jack for those who prefer wired headsets; Neither phone can accept a memory card; Both phones have steeply curved sides (the 8 Pro even more so), which may not be to your personal preference

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2020/07/10/oneplus-8-series-review/

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itsfinancethings · 5 years ago

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It’s early morning on Shanghai’s West Bund, and the lawns of the waterfront area are filled with picnickers savoring the annual cherry-blossom bloom. Parents push strollers through carpets of flowers while students sprawled on the grass share bottles of chilled cava. After three months of strict stay-at-home orders because of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of China’s biggest city have re-emerged blinking into the light. “It’s crazy; I’ve never seen it so busy here,” says Sally Zhou, as she queues for coffee with her French bulldog. “People are desperate to get outside and enjoy themselves.”

Even as COVID-19 spreads across the world, nowhere has replicated the scale and intensity of China’s unprecedented lockdown. The epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan, was sealed off and other cities placed under quarantine. The world’s No. 2 economy froze completely. Those sacrifices have now enabled China to slow new cases to a trickle. Wuhan discharged the last of its hospitalized coronavirus patients on April 27, and although many are skeptical of the government’s reported case numbers, authorities clearly feel confident enough to allow certain schools and businesses across China to reopen. Sales at major online retailers grew around 10% year-on-year in March, according to China’s Commerce Ministry, partly in response to a flurry of cut-price deals designed to rekindle demand. On April 22, President Xi Jinping emphasized the imperative to restart China’s stalled economy. “Great advances in history have come after great catastrophes,” he said.

For much of the world, the catastrophe is still ongoing–at least 3 million cases and more than 200,000 deaths in more than 200 countries and territories as of late April. In February, the world marveled as China threw up temporary hospitals in Wuhan; now, similar facilities sit in London’s largest convention center and in New York City’s Central Park. Medical masks, long de rigueur in Asia to guard against infection, are now worn by most venturing outside in much of the Western world. The new hot spots of the virus have armed themselves with defenses pioneered in Asia: the potent trident of social distancing, widespread testing and protecting frontline medical workers.

The coronavirus is far from defeated, but in many places, the initial surge in cases has abated and focus has turned to the fate of the global economy. The IMF estimates global GDP will shrink 3% this year and that contraction may continue into 2021, which could lead to the deepest dive since the Great Depression. The U.S. economy shrank 4.8% in the first quarter, and J.P. Morgan predicts a 40% contraction in the second. The number of Americans claiming unemployment is now 22 million.

With statistics like these, some feel as if the cure may hurt more than the disease. Protests have broken out in the U.S. against lockdown measures, which are already being rolled back in states including Georgia, Montana and Tennessee. But health officials warn that easing measures too quickly risks a W-shaped recovery, where a resurgence of cases causes a second economic decline soon after the first.

There’s no playbook for successfully lifting lockdown. But several East Asian countries are further ahead in the game. How they are faring offers invaluable lessons in the effort to balance public health and economic recovery.

It was about 4 P.M. on March 7 when Park Hong-cheol, 42, received a call from his local health authority in South Korea informing him that a colleague in his office had tested positive for COVID-19. He quickly donned a surgical mask and drove to Sejong City’s Public Health Center. After he filled out registration forms, hazmat-suited staff performed a COVID-19 test through a crack in his car window. Afterward, officials sprayed disinfectant on his car’s exterior and Park drove straight home, obeying strict instructions to stay indoors and avoid human contact. “By the time I awoke the next morning, I had a text message saying that I’d tested negative,” he tells TIME.

At the start of the coronavirus outbreak, South Korea had been caught off guard; a slow initial rate of infection quickly metastasized in mid-February. But unlike in the U.S., which confirmed its first COVID-19 case one day after South Korea, a robust public health response kept reported cases under 11,000. Compared with the U.S., South Korea on a per capita basis tested three times as many citizens.

The ability to test and trace every infection and their contacts is one of six conditions the WHO says should be met before any society can reopen, and South Korea shows you don’t have to be an autocratic system like China’s to introduce these kinds of expansive measures. By April 24, more than 589,000 Koreans had been tested in the same way as Park Hong-cheol, in large part at drive-through and walk-through facilities that delivered quick results. The government provided free smartphone apps that relayed emergency SMS alerts about spikes in infections in neighborhoods, and updated national and local government websites that tracked cases. Infections with only mild symptoms were treated at temporary facilities to allow hospitals to concentrate on the most acute cases. As a result, South Korea successfully flattened the curve in 20 days without extreme draconian restrictions on freedom or movement. “The faster we find the contacts, the better we are able to stem further spread of the virus,” South Korean Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo tells TIME. Still, he adds, “finding a midpoint between economic activities and containing an epidemic outbreak is a delicate balancing act.”

Swift, decisive action has no doubt lessened the economic hit South Korea will have to bear (although its economy still shrank 1.4% in the first quarter of the year). Park, the Health Minister, says test results that arrive in minutes, not days, are “critical” to effective contact tracing. Then anonymized GPS data from an infected person’s cell phone can be used to automatically alert via SMS those people who had recently been in the same vicinity to get tested themselves. Other methods use interviews, security cameras and credit-card data to trace infected people. Hong Kong and Taiwan have enjoyed similar success.

The U.S. is poorly positioned to follow. For one, problems in the supply and capacity of testing kits mean it typically takes several days for results–and that delay exponentially increases the potential for infected people to expose others. For another, there are only around 2,200 professional contact tracers in the U.S., and health experts say 100,000 more are desperately needed. In China, around 9,000 contact tracers were employed in Wuhan alone.

There are also privacy issues; Americans generally don’t want their telecom companies to share their GPS data with government agencies, even if rendered anonymous and used to fight an extraordinary health crisis. Apple and Google are currently collaborating on an app that will use geodata to facilitate contact tracing–but, they insist, on a voluntarily opt-in, self-reporting basis.

And the app may not be ready for weeks, “It is very, very difficult to get people to opt into anything,” says Kai-Fu Lee, a venture capitalist; former Google, Microsoft and Apple executive; and author of AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. “It begs the question of which is more important: personal privacy or, during national pandemic emergencies, to use data in a restricted, anonymized way for public health.”

The government of Taiwan made its choice early. The island of 23 million realized it was extremely vulnerable given its position just 80 miles off mainland China, where 850,000 of its citizens reside and another 400,000 work. But in addition to early screening and detection, emergency powers also enabled smartphone location tracking to form “electronic fences” around people under quarantine, imposing steep fines if they leave home. Thanks to these precautionary measures, Taiwan has had fewer than 500 cases to date.

Yet even the most efficiently staged recoveries can prove fragile. Singapore, an affluent city-state of 5.6 million, was initially commended by the WHO for its widespread testing and comprehensive tracing of close contacts. Singapore requisitioned 7,500 hotel rooms to quarantine new arrivals, including some at the storied colonial-era Raffles Hotel. Sure, room-service menus were off-limits–simple meals on trays were provided instead–but the state still picked up the tab. On March 23, the island permitted schools to reopen, confident the virus was under control.

It turned out, however, that authorities had paid little attention to Singapore’s million or so low-paid migrant workers, and all the while COVID-19 was flourishing in their cramped dormitories–the largest of which house up to 25,000 workers. Over a week in April, case numbers rocketed by more than 250% to over 10,000–the highest tally in Southeast Asia. Ripon Chowdhury, 31, a shipyard worker from Bangladesh who has lived in Singapore for 10 years, was sharing a room with 15 others when the virus tore through his community. “It’s just too crowded,” he says. “If one person gets it, then all of us will, because we’re sharing a toilet, shower and kitchen.”

Singapore shows that any response to this indiscriminate virus must be inclusive. Americans on low incomes who cannot work from home and lack comprehensive health insurance have proven particularly vulnerable, as have elderly people trapped in care homes. But the virus cannot be banished from society by prioritizing the young and affluent. In Singapore, like the U.S., rich and poor take the same public transportation, use the same ride-sharing apps, prowl the same malls. “The virus doesn’t respect community barriers,” says Christine Pelly, an executive committee member of Singapore’s Transient Workers Count Too, a nongovernmental organization. “We benefit a lot from [low-wage workers]. We should look after their well-being more closely.”

Singapore is not the only Asian nation to have suffered a “second wave.” Japan was one of the first nations affected, not least because of the stricken Diamond Princess cruise liner docked south of Tokyo. But early on, it was actually Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido that was worst hit. Home to 4% of the population, the province roughly the size of Maine had a third of Japan’s 206 cases at the end of February, mainly owing to Chinese visitors to the Sapporo Snow Festival. A state of emergency was declared Feb. 28, with schools shut and residents ordered to stay at home.

But as cases mushroomed in urban areas like Tokyo and dropped in Hokkaido, the island’s authorities grew concerned by the economic toll. Kazushi Monji, the mayor of the town of Kutchan, some 50 miles from Sapporo, tells TIME the shutdown had a “serious impact” upon the local economy with restaurants empty, hotel reservations canceled and practically no new bookings. On March 19, Hokkaido lifted its state of emergency after just three weeks.

“People in Hokkaido became so happy, relaxed and relieved–walking around, going for drinks, attending business meetings,” says Dr. Kiyoshi Nagase, president of the Hokkaido Medical Association who helped coordinate the local COVID-19 response. Quickly, the situation spiraled with a flurry of new infections. On April 12, a second state of emergency was imposed. “Now I regret it,” says Nagase. “We should not have lifted the first [order].”

For chef Koji Yorozuya, whose parents started the Wafuchubo Mikami Izakaya in Otaru, northern Hokkaido, 20 years ago, the lockdown has become the “most severe crisis in the history of our restaurant.” Normally, all 40 seats would be occupied with customers enjoying warm sake alongside dishes of sashimi, tempura and grilled seafood skewers. But health regulations have forced him to shut up shop, and he now serves only taxi deliveries. “Honestly, I want the restrictions lifted as soon as possible because I am afraid of losing my restaurant,” he says. “But in terms of public health, I am also scared. I don’t know what the right answer is.”

As Hokkaido demonstrates, a town or province that has conquered its infection rate can relapse with alarming ease. Kazuto Suzuki, vice dean of international politics at Hokkaido University, says his province’s experience shows that the piecemeal opening up of U.S. states is “very dangerous … even if you control the first wave, you can’t relax.” In Texas, state parks have already reopened and nonessential surgeries resumed. On April 24, Oklahoma’s nail salons, spas, barbershops and pet groomers were allowed to resume work. Georgia’s gyms, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors flung open their doors the same day. “I’d love everything open,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman recently told CNN. But individual states’ actions pose a serious risk to the rest of the U.S. “The whole world is on fire with coronavirus,” says Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and co-author of Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs. “So all 50 states are going to contribute to each other. We’re only as strong as our weakest link.”

The question every country has to answer is what recovery looks like in a post-coronavirus world. New Zealand has had extraordinary success in conquering the virus, partly as a consequence of its isolation and low population density but also because it introduced strict lockdown measures and all but closed its borders. Now, daily new infections are down to single digits and it’s poised to banish the virus completely.

Still, the banning of all foreign nationals is having a catastrophic effect on the country’s tourism-reliant economy. Over 2019, international tourists to New Zealand spent just over $10 billion: the sector employs 8.4% of the workforce. All this has now evaporated. “The economy can survive without international tourism, but not as we know it,” says Brad Olsen, senior economist at New Zealand’s Infometrics consultancy firm.

Economic superpowers are no less at risk. China’s economy contracted 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020. Although domestic demand is now picking up again, China’s exposure to the global marketplace will mean the pain lasts for some time–and will have unpredictable repercussions. The dearth of demand for goods by Americans sequestered in their homes, for example, means Chinese factories run at reduced capacity, slashing the demand for energy, which helped crude-oil prices plummet below $0.

After the 2008 financial crisis, China invested in its recovery through infrastructure. It plowed $586 billion into government projects like highways, metro systems and airports, and poured more cement between 2011 and 2013 than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century. One result of that spending binge was soaring national debt, but it also resulted in millions of jobs in the short term and an enhanced foundation for every Chinese business to operate.

Beijing now appears reluctant to repeat that feat, but it might work for the U.S., which has so far focused on injecting liquidity into bond markets, making grants to small business and sending $1,200 checks to individuals. Analysts say the U.S. needs to spend some $4.5 trillion by 2025 to fix its creaking roads, railways and airports, plus upgrade to next-generation technology like 5G. Economists say infrastructure is an equalizer that empowers all businesses–big and small–and should be prioritized over bailing out lenders once again.

It’s early, but already clear that one legacy of the coronavirus will be a changed economic landscape. Almost half a million companies in China declared bankruptcy during the first quarter of the year. How many American firms fold depends on choices made today–by officials, and by people anxious for answers. The only thing worse than closed doors is a public too terrified to walk through open ones.

–With reporting by STEPHEN KIM/SEOUL; ABIGAIL LEONARD/TOKYO; AMY GUNIA and HILLARY LEUNG/HONG KONG

#IFTTT #Blogger

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cutsliceddiced · 5 years ago

Text

New top story from Time: What Asian and Pacific Countries Can Teach the World About How to—and How Not to—Reopen Our Economies

–With reporting by STEPHEN KIM/SEOUL; ABIGAIL LEONARD/TOKYO; AMY GUNIA and HILLARY LEUNG/HONG KONG

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

#Time #top stories #IFTTT #news

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preciousmetals0 · 5 years ago

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Quantum Investing; Beyond Retail; Wayfail; Shwedy Security

Quantum Investing; Beyond Retail; Wayfail; Shwedy Security:

A Quantum Leap

Today, dear readers, we take off our quarantine masks and put on our thinking caps. Well … figuratively speaking, at least. Keep those masks on for now, please.

Why our thinking caps? Because President Trump’s 2021 budget requests $237 million in funding for quantum computing. Roughly $25 million of that budget request comes directly from the U.S. Department of Energy — you know, the guys that helped bring us the internet 60 years ago?

While Trump’s budget still has a long way to go — i.e., through a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives — even he knows that quantum computing is the future of technology as we know it.

And that future is exceedingly bright, especially for investors who get in early.

That’s great, Mr. Great Stuff, real great. More spending on technology while we fight a virus? You’re starting to sound like Bold Profits. So, what is this “quantum computing” … and why should I care?

Why should you care? Hmm … because if we had quantum computers right now, we may already have a cure or vaccine for COVID-19. How’s that, Mr. Doubting Mustafa?

So far, everything you’ve ever seen, written, read or interacted with on a computer or the internet is made up of ones and zeros at its core. Get enough of these ones and zeros together, and you can publish a free e-zine on BanyanHill.com and deliver it to thousands of people on the internet.

But quantum computing? Now that’s a horse of a different color.

Quantum computing will change everything we know about computers, the internet, smartphones, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), health care, virus management … and even the weather.

It’s a complex topic that deserves a much more in-depth explanation if you’re into future technology. Though, I know you’re itching to hear the market side of things. (Quantum profits? In my portfolio?!) Tech investors, listen up…

The Takeaway:

Essentially, quantum computing is the next leap forward in our digital evolution. President Trump knows this, and it’s why he’s pushing for millions in new funding.

Now, your question should be: How do I get in on the emerging quantum computing mega trend?

I’m glad you asked! The answer is a lot simpler than you might expect…

Right now, only a handful of tech companies have the financial wherewithal to dive into quantum computing research in a meaningful way. Here are three to get you started:

Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL): The Google parent always has a lot of goofy pet projects in the works, but the company’s quantum computing project is no joke. Codenamed “Bristlecone,” Alphabet’s new quantum computing semiconductor has 72 quantum bits, or qubits. These are the building blocks of quantum chips, just like bits are for current chips. The company leads the arms race in quantum computing power.

IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM): Good old “Big Blue” built one of the world’s first successful quantum computers. While that computer has since been overshadowed by Alphabet’s Bristlecone, IBM remains at the forefront of developing a “commercial available universal quantum computer for business and science” … at least, according to the company’s quantum research page. A breakthrough in quantum computing could be just what IBM needs to return to relevancy in the data center and AI markets.

Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC): You didn’t think the world’s original semiconductor behemoth would be left out of the quantum computing revolution, did you? Intel is already rolling out quantum semiconductors. Unfortunately, all of those chips need to operate at temperatures near absolute zero. That’s one hell of a cooling system. However, Intel is reportedly close to creating a 128 qubit chip, which would put it well ahead of Alphabet in the quantum processing race.

I know that’s a lot to take in … especially with our brains on autopilot after being locked inside for the past month. So, let me make this easier for you:

If you want expert, cutting-edge stock research on everything from AI to quantum computing, click here now!

The Good: Shwedy Results

In what should surprise literally no one, IT security and services firm, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) beat earnings and revenue expectations this morning.

This stay-at-home market has been a boon for Check Point, with the company beating Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations by $0.04 per share. Revenue of $486.5 million also topped the consensus estimate.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we sustained elevated business activity levels and delivered results in the upper half of our guidance with strength coming from the Americas,” said CEO Gil Shwed.

But, while the prior quarter benefited greatly from the new work-at-home economy, Shwed warned that “it’s hard to predict what effect this changing environment will have on the future.”

I get it. The future is hard to predict, especially right now. But, as long as this lockdown stays in effect, Check Point will continue to benefit handsomely.

The Bad: No Meat for You

“Stock rally + food service exposure + increased retail competition = downside risk,” says UBS analyst Steven Strycula. And you thought you were done with math today!

Strycula’s “new math” is in reference to Beyond Meat Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND). And, after BYND’s recent 100% surge, the UBS analyst believes now is the time to ditch BYND stock. He cut BYND from hold to sell and slashed his price target from $90 to $73.

In short, Strycula’s reasoning is that Beyond Meat has relied on restaurant deals to boost its bottom line. With practically every restaurant in the U.S. shut down, Beyond Meat will take a hit to its bottom line.

I admit that UBS has a point over the short term at least. Over the long term, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to change the eating habits of millions. As Great Stuff reported on Friday, CFRA Research told clients: “Most infectious disease outbreaks are transmitted from animals to humans.”

Furthermore, meat processing is shutting down around the world. You already know that China struggles with pork production. Now, we have Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) shutting down processing plants due to the virus.

These stories are clearly a short-term boost for BYND, driving investor sentiment more than the company’s bottom line. So, UBS isn’t wrong … for now. But the problems surrounding meat production amid COVID-19 give insight into Beyond Meat’s future. And that future is trending in the meatless wonder’s favor.

The Ugly: Way(Above)Fair Value

Remember when Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, issued guidance far below expectations with negative quarterly margins?

Yeah, neither does Wall Street.

Wayfair stock has gone on a 400% bender since its Ides of March lows. But someone on Wall Street finally came to their senses.

Stifel analyst Scott Devitt responded to Wayfair’s insanity by downgrading the stock from buy to hold. According to Devitt, the stock passed his price target of $115 last week, and it’s time for a break.

Well … it’s not a resounding rebuke of the stock’s 400% surge, but I’ll take what I can get.

Wayfair’s main problem is that it has to spend — a lot — to stay fresh in consumers’ minds. The company directly competes with everyone from Amazon to Walmart … but it doesn’t have the same brand recognition.

In short, Wayfair’s revenue boost from online shopping amid the pandemic is eaten up by advertising costs.

I swear, I’m so tired of seeing Wayfair ads on Facebook. I can’t imagine how much this is costing the company … oh, wait, I can: negative margins.

The point is, Wayfair is nothing special. It offers products that you can find virtually everywhere else. The only reason it gets attention is because people can’t shop outside. As such, I fully expect Wayfair to see a sharp drop in sales once this lockdown is over. And that’s bad news for W shares.

Today’s Chart of the Week once again comes courtesy of Earnings Whispers on Twitter, with a whole lotta earnings season shakin’ goin’ on.

Hey, I can’t be the only one who gets excited about this kind of stuff. If you’ve never felt the brisk energizing action of corporate earnings, well, maybe you’re a more well-adjusted person than lil ol’ me.

Roughly 30% of the S&P 500 Index is set to report earnings this week, with more than a third of the Dow also spilling its beans. Not to mention, this week features the trillion-dollar tech titans face off. All eyes are on Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), a beacon of all online shopping supply chains, and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), bellwether of the “gotta get it now” crowd.

Google’s parent Alphabet already sowed doubts about its ad-dependent business slowing down. (And if you want to talk “we live and breathe ads,” why, Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) is just getting started … show me another Wayfair ad, I dare you, Zuckerberg!)

Here’s what else is kicking off this week:

AMD has yet another chance to upheave its consumer computer chip rival Intel.

Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) fanatics and traders alike will go ape-$#^! no matter what Elon Musk and co. end up reporting.

We hear from Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT), the streaming underdog and longtime Great Stuff Granted, I don’t think too many families are out there spending quarantine together around the radio. Guess I might as well huddle around to stream for Roosevelt’s fireside chats while I’m at it…

We get to see how much useless (or not-so-useless) stuff people have been buying on eBay.

It’s an all-airline affair with the best bailed-out buds, along with a look at how Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is holding up with the air industry’s collapse (plus, you know, its other production and PR debacles).

Finally, we round out the week with the Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) and Abbive Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) — two of Great Stuff’s stocks to beat the Wuhan virus … when we still called it that.

It’s sure to be a topsy-turvy week of earnings … but it’s not like you expected otherwise, right? Stick with Great Stuff and Banyan Hill, and we’ll help you dispel the earnings excellence from the hype and hogwash.

If you’re looking to venture out hunting for market bargains, just remember: You never have to go alone! Take a guide. They’re handy. They’ve been through choppy and unexpected markets before. And no matter what kind of earnings apocalypse we may be due for, you’ll want to keep your wits about you.

Click here now to find your guide.

That’s a wrap for today, but you can always catch us on social media: Facebook and Twitter. We hope you’re staying well out there!

Until next time, stay Great!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

0 notes

goldira01 · 5 years ago

Link

A Quantum Leap

Today, dear readers, we take off our quarantine masks and put on our thinking caps. Well … figuratively speaking, at least. Keep those masks on for now, please.

While Trump’s budget still has a long way to go — i.e., through a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives — even he knows that quantum computing is the future of technology as we know it.

And that future is exceedingly bright, especially for investors who get in early.

Why should you care? Hmm … because if we had quantum computers right now, we may already have a cure or vaccine for COVID-19. How’s that, Mr. Doubting Mustafa?

But quantum computing? Now that’s a horse of a different color.

Quantum computing will change everything we know about computers, the internet, smartphones, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), health care, virus management … and even the weather.

The Takeaway:

Essentially, quantum computing is the next leap forward in our digital evolution. President Trump knows this, and it’s why he’s pushing for millions in new funding.

Now, your question should be: How do I get in on the emerging quantum computing mega trend?

I’m glad you asked! The answer is a lot simpler than you might expect…

Right now, only a handful of tech companies have the financial wherewithal to dive into quantum computing research in a meaningful way. Here are three to get you started:

I know that’s a lot to take in … especially with our brains on autopilot after being locked inside for the past month. So, let me make this easier for you:

If you want expert, cutting-edge stock research on everything from AI to quantum computing, click here now!

The Good: Shwedy Results

In what should surprise literally no one, IT security and services firm, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) beat earnings and revenue expectations this morning.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we sustained elevated business activity levels and delivered results in the upper half of our guidance with strength coming from the Americas,” said CEO Gil Shwed.

But, while the prior quarter benefited greatly from the new work-at-home economy, Shwed warned that “it’s hard to predict what effect this changing environment will have on the future.”

I get it. The future is hard to predict, especially right now. But, as long as this lockdown stays in effect, Check Point will continue to benefit handsomely.

The Bad: No Meat for You

“Stock rally + food service exposure + increased retail competition = downside risk,” says UBS analyst Steven Strycula. And you thought you were done with math today!

The Ugly: Way(Above)Fair Value

Remember when Wayfair Inc. (NYSE: W) reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, issued guidance far below expectations with negative quarterly margins?

Yeah, neither does Wall Street.

Wayfair stock has gone on a 400% bender since its Ides of March lows. But someone on Wall Street finally came to their senses.

Well … it’s not a resounding rebuke of the stock’s 400% surge, but I’ll take what I can get.

In short, Wayfair’s revenue boost from online shopping amid the pandemic is eaten up by advertising costs.

I swear, I’m so tired of seeing Wayfair ads on Facebook. I can’t imagine how much this is costing the company … oh, wait, I can: negative margins.

Today’s Chart of the Week once again comes courtesy of Earnings Whispers on Twitter, with a whole lotta earnings season shakin’ goin’ on.

Here’s what else is kicking off this week:

AMD has yet another chance to upheave its consumer computer chip rival Intel.

Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) fanatics and traders alike will go ape-$#^! no matter what Elon Musk and co. end up reporting.

We get to see how much useless (or not-so-useless) stuff people have been buying on eBay.

Finally, we round out the week with the Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) and Abbive Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) — two of Great Stuff’s stocks to beat the Wuhan virus … when we still called it that.

Click here now to find your guide.

That’s a wrap for today, but you can always catch us on social media: Facebook and Twitter. We hope you’re staying well out there!

Until next time, stay Great!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

#Timor Invest

0 notes

coopdigitalnewsletter · 5 years ago

Text

27 Apr 2020: Can contract tracing apps be effective and respect privacy?

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter - it looks at what's happening in the internet/digital world and how it's relevant to the Co-op, to retail businesses, and most importantly to people, communities and society. Thank you for reading - send ideas and feedback to @rod on Twitter. Please tell a friend about it!

[Image: Tape measures via Kottke]

Can contract tracing apps be effective and respect privacy?

Coronavirus: Apple and Google team up to contact trace Covid-19 and a first version of the API will be available to developers soon. They plan to add monitoring at the operating system level and make it available to third parties in a way that preserves strong privacy. But this is problematic for UKGov’s/NHS’s plans because they’d like to handle the data around contact tracing differently.

Roughly speaking: if governments make apps that don't use the Apple/Google approach, they'll be able to gather more info for their various contact tracing plans, but the apps will only work when foregrounded, and governments will have a massive a "distribution" challenge to get users to download and then diligently use the apps. Or if governments write apps that use the Apple/Google approach, the apps will work even when backgrounded in the same way that the operating system's health/activity tracking apps do, but due to Apple/Google’s strong position on privacy, the apps won't send certain data back to the governments. Look, Big Tech cos taking a stronger line on privacy than governments!

(Not that the Apple/Google plan is perfect: The proposed system is anonymous but vulnerable to trolls and spoofing and Apple Google contact tracing effort raises fascinating new questions.)

So: NHS in standoff with Apple and Google over coronavirus tracing. Who will win? You’d guess global distribution: Germany flips to Apple-Google approach on smartphone contact tracing.

But characterising that debate as “Choose one of health OR privacy” doesn’t seem quite right. We can't cure COVID-19 by giving up our right to privacy:

“The lessons many of us learned [after 9/11] were that the benefits in the fight against terrorism were marginal, while the privacy and data security consequences were large and lasting. Further, we learned that because there was little transparency in the deliberations, people lost trust in public institutions”.

And Privacy versus health is a false trade-off argues that eroded privacy and weak public health responses can both be traced back to “exploitative structures that govern our social and political lives”. Addressing those - finding ways to be fairer, more transparent, more democtratic - would provide both safety and privacy. It signs off:

“we will fail to rise to the challenge this moment presents if we ignore just how democratizing an experience the pandemic might be: the way the virus cuts across lines of privilege and power (even if capacities to shield ourselves and access medical care do not), making clear that our fates are bound up with those of one another. To respond to both the COVID-19 crisis and the broader social breakdowns that got us here will require channeling these hard-won insights into retooling a number of institutions to be more democratic and egalitarian. Our data infrastructures should be no exception.”

The other question is how effective contact tracing apps can ever be, and Contact Tracing in the Real World and Why Bluetooth apps are bad at discovering new cases of COVID-19 are good reads on that.

Queues again

Whatever the virus exit strategy ends up being, it’ll involve careful measured distancing and careful queueing, and perhaps carefully monitored travel and contacts. Last week we talked about online supermarket queues. People are spending a lot of time seeing what the Morrisons queue looks like, which seems like a poor use of time. You could imagine some fixes for queueing.

add information to the page - now time spent in the queue is informative and higher value.

someone makes a service that frequently checks the online supermarket queue - Supermarket Check In does this for offline supermarkets, and Shopping Slot does the same for four online supermarkets. Now you only join the queue when it is short.

imagine that there was a big tech company that was good at doing cloud computing and also had an interest in doing supermarkets… they could probably think of some ways to make the queueing problem go away.

Pharmacy changes

Pharmacy chains are redeploying head office staff to stores.

Costco will offer prescription delivery in the US through grocery deliveryco Instacart.

Economy vs climate change

Thanks to the corona lockdown, there’s less car travel and cities and towns have better air pollution levels. The price of oil futures is collapsing (partly because we’re using less of it). You can hear more birds than at the start of March and the air is clearer. But the economy is teetering. So coronavirus is demonstrating the tension between the “business as usual” economy and climate change clearer.

We will have to make difficult and bold choices and tradeoffs to achieve a zero carbon economy that mitigates climate change. But coronavirus also shows us that we are capable of action and change on the large scale that’s needed.

Other news

Food finds new routes to market: "Food on the Table is a completely new experience from us and one that does just what it says it does. It puts food, that was destined for restaurants, on your table during these extremely difficult times."

Amazon-owned Whole Foods is quietly tracking its employees with a heat map tool that ranks which stores are most at risk of unionising - this sounds bad.

Denmark is excluding from its aid programmes companies which pay out dividends, buy back own shares or are registered in tax havens.

The Apple Store index: here’s someone who has more confidence in Apple than in their government on whether it’s safe to get the US high street economy moving again.

Pizza parlour making face masks - adaptation.

How do advertisers see the virus? - all the same way perhaps, but that’s ok: “if they have the media booked anyway and if they sell online then saying 'thank you' and 'hang in there' and 'stay home' is not a bad idea.”

Theory of Zoom fatigue - sounds about right.

Co-op Digital news

Tips for joining a digital team during lockdown (and how colleagues can help).

Annual results: Co-operation is working.

Federation House’s online events:

Andy’s Man Club – Gentleman's Peer to Peer Mental Health Meet Up – Mondays 7pm

Meditation - Mid week reflection – Wednesdays 8am

Introduction to Home Energy Systems – Webinar – 27 April – 11.00

Releasing the pressure of being productive – Webinar – 27 April – 18.00

Female Tech Founder Night – Webinar – 27 April – 18.00 (It's not just for women!)

Get The Data – Get to grips with social impact – 28 April – 21:00

Cloud Native & Kubernetes – Monthly Webinar – 29 April – 18.00

Adapt Your Business Model - Online Workshop - 30 April – 14.00

Exploring Self-image – Wellbeing Circle – 30 April – 17.30

PyDataMcr – Monthly Meetup – 30 April – 18.00

InnovateHer Online for Business - Business Launch Webinar - 30 April – 14.00

The Federation GM Tech Collective – Webinar - 5 May – 14.00

Open Data Manchester - Open Data Surgeries – Various dates/times in May & June

Open Data Manchester – Data Pick n Mix – Various dates/times in May & June

Amity Mental Spa Session – 1-2-1 Mental Health Chat - Various dates/times in May - Aug

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