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IIOT-OXYS, Inc. Provides Business Update and Announces Upcoming Video Interview
CAMBRIDGE, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 14, 2022 / IIOT-OXYS, Inc. (OTC PINK:ITOX) ("Oxys" or the "Company") announced an update on the Company's business operations and an upcoming video interview on its latest agreement with Aretas Sensor Networks Inc.
"We're pleased to announce that we kept our revenue promise for the quarter ended September 30th, 2022. As predicted third quarter revenue exceeded that in second quarter. This makes two consecutive quarters of revenue, which the Company hasn't done since before the pandemic. We also received interest earned on the Promissory Note to Aretas during the quarter ended September 30, 2022. Complete financials for the quarter will be disclosed in our quarterly Form 10-Q filing with the SEC to be timely filed later this quarter," stated Cliff Emmons, CEO of Oxys.
"Furthermore, we will be releasing our next video interview sometime next week highlighting details of our most recent agreement with Aretas Sensor Networks Inc. The Co-Marketing and Co-Selling Agreement for Aretas's popular Sentinel Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensors is expected to contribute to our fourth quarter revenues," concluded Mr. Emmons.
About IIOT-OXYS, Inc.
IIOT-OXYS, Inc. (OTC PINK:ITOX) is a technology company at the intersection of IIoT, AI & Machine Learning, Edge Computing and Manufacturing Operations. We provide actionable mission-critical insights for the Medical/Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Defense, and Structural Health, and other industries. IIOT-OXYS's edge computing open-source hardware and proprietary ML algorithms employ our Minimally Invasive Load Monitoring (MILM) technology to simply gather data and gain insights to monitor, scope, move from preventive to predictive maintenance, and even optimize development and manufacturing processes. For additional information visit www.oxyscorp.com.
About Aretas Sensor Networks Inc.
Aretas Sensor Networks, Inc. combines IoT sensor technology, cloud-based platform, and machine learning/ AI for an end-to-end solution to ingest, collect, display, and analyze IoT data to allow companies to make better decisions.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Management's current views about future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements often contain words such as ''expects,'' ''anticipates,'' ''intends,'' or ''believes.'' Our forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and events to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect us include, without limitation, the loss of major customers, our failure to obtain new contracts, our inability to patent products or processes, our infringement of patents held by others, our inability to finance our business and the other risks and uncertainties that are discussed in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information:
IIOT-OXYS, Inc.
Clifford L. Emmons
CEO
contact@oxyscorp.com
www.oxyscorp.com
SOURCE: IIOT-OXYS, Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/720455/IIOT-OXYS-Inc-Provides-Business-Update-and-Announces-Upcoming-Video-Interview
© Copyright 2022 ACCESSWIRE. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/ITOX/news/story?e&id=2351145
Apple’s iPhone trade-in program has a major flaw – theft in transit
Monday, October 17, 2022 12:47 pm
Apple’s iPhone trade-in program has a major flaw: Apple relies on third-parties to collect and deliver customers’ old iPhones which introduces the very real possibility of theft in transit. Then what happens? Headaches for loyal customers, that’s what.
Chance Miller for 9to5Mac:
Over the last several years, Apple has increasingly focused on its iPhone trade-in program. By offering lucrative trade-in details, often in partnership with carriers, Apple can entice iPhone users to upgrade every year. This trade-in program, however, has caused users a number of headaches, and the situation doesn’t appear to be improving.
I’ve traded in a few iPhones to Apple over the years without issue. This year, however, I received an email about a week and a half after I mailed in an iPhone 13 Pro Max saying that the box had arrived at Apple’s trade-in facility, but that there was nothing inside the box.
When I posted about this situation on Twitter, it quickly became clear that this is a common problem. Countless iPhone buyers seem to receive an email like this every year, and the iPhone 14 launch this year appears to be no different. A quick look on forums like Reddit reveals that this is a pretty common problem.
There’s a clear problem in the process of Apple’s iPhone trade-in program. The company relies heavily on third parties for crucial aspects of this program, including UPS and FedEx for shipping and other third parties for managing receiving and inventory of traded-in iPhones.
What’s most likely happening here is that somewhere between when the customer drops the iPhone off at a courier (like UPS in my case) and when it’s received at the trade-in facility, the iPhone is stolen from the box. Someone involved in that process opens the box, takes the iPhone, seals it back up, and it’s shipped to its final destination as if nothing happened… It’s a stressful situation that makes a customer less likely to buy an iPhone the next year.
MacDailyNews Take: If you live close enough to an Apple Retail Store, do your iPhone trade-in in person to eliminate the very real prospect of thievery during shipping. Short of Apple starting their own version of UPS/FedEx or the shipping companies somehow magically hiring only ethical people with sound morals, that’s your best bet.
If you live too far away from an Apple Store, however, all bets are off. Good luck out there, now, ya hear?
[UPDATE: 2:44pm EDT: Fixed typo, thanks Dustin!]
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/17/apples-iphone-trade-in-program-has-a-major-flaw-theft-in-transit/
Apple freezes plan to use China’s YMTC chips amid mounting political pressure
Monday, October 17, 2022 9:16 am
Amid mounting political pressure, Apple has put on hold plans to use memory chips from China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) in its products, Nikkei Asia reports citing “multiple sources.”
In September, Republican lawmakers warned Apple that it will face intense scrutiny from Congress if the California company procures memory chips from controversial Chinese semiconductor manufacturer YMTC.
Cheng Ting-Fang, Lauly Li, and Yifan Yu for Nikkei Asia:
Apple had already completed the monthslong process to certify YMTC’s 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory for use in iPhones when the U.S. government unveiled the tighter export restrictions against China early this month, multiple sources said.
NAND flash memory is a key component found in all electronic devices from smartphones and personal computers to servers. YMTC’S 128-layer chips are by far the most advanced by a Chinese chipmaker, though still one or two generations behind market leaders like Samsung Electronics and Micron.
Apple originally planned to start using the government-funded YMTC’s chips as early as this year, as they are at least 20% cheaper than those of its leading rivals, supply chain executives said.
However, mounting geopolitical pressure and criticism from U.S. policymakers led Apple to change course, according to several sources.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote last month, “Apple is not considering using YMTC chips in iPhones for sale outside China, nor, from the sound of it, will they be doing so anytime in the foreseeable future.”
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/17/apple-freezes-plan-to-use-chinas-ymtc-chips-amid-mounting-political-pressure/
Apple Watch hits record 30% attach rate in North America in H1 2022
Friday, October 14, 2022 11:20 am
Apple Watch attach rate reached 30% of iPhones in North America through the first half of 2022, according to Counterpoint’s Global Smartwatch Tracker and North America Channel Share Tracker. This is the highest attach rate for a first half since the Apple Watch launch back in 2015 when Apple sold one Apple Watch for every ten iPhones. This demonstrates the growing popularity of smartwatches in the US market, especially Apple Watches.
The attach rate of Apple Watch to iPhone has been steadily increasing over the years since the launch of Apple Watch in 2015. While Apple Watch has registered a strong share in the North American smartwatch market since its launch, demand was initially limited, as the use cases and value to customers were not immediately recognized. Many saw the device as a fashion accessory rather than as a useful tool that could improve their daily lives. But now, with Apple Watch gaining maturity, the utility of the device cuts across three key lifestyle elements – Fitness, Health and Wellness.
Evolution of features drives adoption
At its launch in 2015, Apple Watch had a limited range of functions. It allowed users to pay, message and call, but the advantages of having a smartwatch in addition to a smartphone were not entirely obvious. But over time, new features were added, including waterproofing, GPS, cellular connectivity, ECG generation, sleep tracking, fall detection, always-on display, blood oxygen saturation detection, body temperature sensing for ovulation tracking and more. As these features emerged, Apple Watch’s role as a helpful health and fitness tracking tool, as well as a small, lightweight alternative to a smartphone for daily tasks, came to be, allowing users to stay up to date with their notifications, pay at the store, and get around town all without needing their smartphone (if they had a connected Apple Watch).
As more hardware has been added and new software features have released, consumers are seeing the value that smartwatches can offer in their daily lives, both in combination with their smartphones and independent of them. Consequently, more and more consumers are opting to buy smartwatches. Apple dominated the 2010s as one of the most important tech companies in the world. Apple Watch will play a key role in maintaining that position in this decade.
How does Apple Watch fit into Apple’s strategy?
While Apple gains a trickle of customers from the Android ecosystem every year, its key smartphone markets have reached or are near saturation. This places Apple Watch at the center of Apple’s hardware strategy as the company looks for top-line revenue growth.
1. Globally, Apple Watch shipments were just 18% of iPhone shipments in 2021. If Apple views every iPhone user as a potential Apple Watch user, then the annual revenue opportunity for Apple Watch would be nearly $70 billion, or nearly 550% higher than the current estimated annual Apple Watch revenues.
2. However, the ASP will continue to rise with the introduction of more premium variants such as the new Apple Watch Ultra, which now costs as much as an iPhone 14. This means that the revenue opportunity could be much higher.
3. In Q3 2022, services generated 23.6% of Apple’s total revenue, up from just over 10% in Q3 2015. People love listening to music on the run and while exercising. A connected cellular Apple Watch will play a pivotal role in the growth of service revenues, mainly through subscriptions of Apple Music, Apple Care and Apple Podcasts. There is more room for growth if Apple decides to design more services to fit the form factor.
4. Apple Watch further strengthens the “walled garden” approach. It keeps the churn under check and creates more hardware opportunities for Apple. This will be extremely important as Apple forays into health, fintech, automotive and beyond.
5. Further, new wireless standards such as 5G Redcap will open new growth avenues for the overall watch ecosystem. With gains in energy efficiency, battery life and connectivity, it is likely to drive higher engagement and edge-based applications right at our wrist.
Apple Watch’s adoption has been slow but steady, tracing both Apple’s and consumers’ journey in discovering the roles that smartwatches can play in consumers’ lives. As the functionality of wearables has become clearer over time, adoption has increased, opening a door for Apple to continue growing its hardware and service revenues. But if Apple wants to continue to push adoption higher, it needs to find new ways to prove to consumers that wearables are a vital part of their device collections. New and improved features in health and fitness tracking are a good starting point, but more is necessary to win over the unconvinced.
Source: Counterpoint Research
MacDailyNews Take: We love it when a plan comes together.
Apple today revealed the world’s first smartwatch and, once Apple Watch hits the market in early 2015, nothing will ever be the same… Apple Watch, starting at just $349, will be a massive hit… And, wow, are they gorgeous! And useful; more useful than most people yet realize…
The stupidwatches currently on the market were rendered even more anachronistic dead ends today. If you have one of these wastes of time: Sell it. Get as much as you can for that piece of junk, make room on your wrist, and get ready for the world’s first real smartwatch: Apple Watch.
Along with many millions of people, you are going to want an Apple Watch. All you have to do it touch it and see even a glimpse of what it can do and you’ll be sold… The Apple Watch is going to be a massive hit that sells millions upon millions of units. — SteveJack, September 9, 2014
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/14/apple-watch-hits-record-30-attach-rate-in-north-america-in-h1-2022/
Brazil court fines Apple, orders company to sell iPhone with charger
Thursday, October 13, 2022 5:07 pm
A Brazilian court on Thursday fined Apple 100 million reais ($19 million) and ruled that chargers must come in the box with new iPhones sold in the country.
Reuters:
The Sao Paulo state court ruled against Apple in a lawsuit, filed by the association of borrowers, consumers and taxpayers, that argued that the company commits abusive practices by selling its flagship product without a charger.
Apple said it will appeal the decision.
“It is evident that, under the justification of a ‘green initiative,’ the defendant imposes on the consumer a required purchase of charger adaptors that were previously supplied along with the product,” said the court’s decision.
MacDailyNews Take: The iPhone box clearly lists the contents of the box. This court’s decision is ludicrous.
As Apple noted when it introduced iPhone 12, the first iPhones to come without a charger in the box, excluding the charger reduces the size of the iPhone box which means 70% more devices can fit per shipping pallet, allowing the company to reduce yearly carbon emissions by some 2 million metric tons.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/13/brazil-court-fines-apple-orders-company-to-sell-iphone-with-charger/
Mark Zuckerberg takes thinly veiled shot at Apple; implies Apple’s AR/VR headset will be very expensive
Thursday, October 13, 2022 4:34 pm
Meta Platforms, née Facebook, recently announced the Meta Quest Pro, its $1,500 mixed reality headset, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently took the opportunity to take a few shots at Apple, implying that Apple’s unannounced mixed-reality headset would be hella expensive.
Omar Sohail for Wccftech:
Speaking to Stratechery’s Ben Thompson in a podcast interview, Zuckerberg was quick to point out that Apple likes to make money off its customers by building hardware and that what he is trying to do is completely different.
“It’s typically people build hardware and they try to make a profit off of it, where if you’re Apple, you build hardware and you charge as much as you can for it. I do think that having someone come into the space and basically say, We’re going to build the best hardware in the space and we’re going to basically sell it at a break-even point and in some cases.”
Zuckerberg does forget that the Meta Quest Pro is priced at $1,500, which is incredibly expensive…
MacDailyNews Take: The nasty piece of dead-eyed work is already shitting bricks.
Of course, this is coming from a guy who was smart enough to steal the idea for Facebook, but doesn’t seem to be smart enough to run Facebook profitably without trampling his users’ privacy sans permission. Hence, his quixotic push to sell a warmed-over Second Life knockoff; stench of desperation be damned.
Zuckerberg: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard
Zuckerberg: Just ask
Zuckerberg: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SSNs
Zuckerberg: People just submitted it.
Zuckerberg: I don’t know why.
Zuckerberg: They “trust me”
Zuckerberg: Dumb fucks
(Instant messages sent by Mark Zuckerberg during Facebook’s early days, reported by Business Insider in May 2010.)
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/13/mark-zuckerberg-takes-thinly-veiled-shot-at-apple-implies-apples-ar-vr-headset-will-be-very-expensive/
Major Apple supplier TSMC profit jumps 80% in Q3, beating expectations
Thursday, October 13, 2022 3:39 pm
Major Apple Silicon supplier TSMC posted an 80% surge in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, according to Reuters calculations showed. The Taiwanese chipmaker was buoyed by strong sales of its advanced chips despite a slowdown in the global chip industry because of economic headwinds.
Reuters:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc supplier, saw net profit for the July-September period rise to T$280.9 billion ($8.81 billion) from T$156.3 billion a year earlier.
That compared with the T$265.64 billion average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, no, sell Apple! Sell, sell, sell! (dripping sarcasm)
Apple iPhone customers are the most recession-proof smartphone buyers. — MacDailyNews, September 7, 2022
The same goes for Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Services customers in personal computers, tablet computers, smartwatches, and subscriptions, respectively.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/13/major-apple-supplier-tsmc-profit-jumps-80-in-q3-beating-expectations/
Apple Card Daily Cash can soon grow in new high-yield Savings accounts from Goldman Sachs
Thursday, October 13, 2022 12:30 pm
Apple today announced a new Savings account for Apple Card that will allow users to save their Daily Cash and grow their rewards in a high-yield Savings account from Goldman Sachs.
In the coming months, Apple Card users will be able to open the new high-yield Savings account and have their Daily Cash automatically deposited into it — with no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements. Soon, users can spend, send, and save Daily Cash directly from Wallet.
“Savings enables Apple Card users to grow their Daily Cash rewards over time, while also saving for the future,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, in a statement. “Savings delivers even more value to users’ favorite Apple Card benefit — Daily Cash — while offering another easy-to-use tool designed to help users lead healthier financial lives.”
Apple Card users will be able to easily set up and manage Savings directly in their Apple Card in Wallet. Once users set up their Savings account, all future Daily Cash received will be automatically deposited into it, or they can choose to continue to have it added to an Apple Cash card in Wallet. Users can change their Daily Cash destination at any time.
To expand Savings even further, users can also deposit additional funds into their Savings account through a linked bank account, or from their Apple Cash balance. Users can also withdraw funds at any time by transferring them to a linked bank account or to their Apple Cash card, with no fees. Once set up, Apple Card users can watch their rewards grow in Wallet through an easy-to-use Savings dashboard, which shows their account balance and interest accrued over time.
Apple Card users get 3 percent Daily Cash on Apple Card purchases made using Apple Pay with Apple and select merchants, including Uber and Uber Eats, Walgreens, Nike, Panera Bread, T-Mobile, ExxonMobil, and Ace Hardware, as well as 2 percent Daily Cash when they use Apple Pay at other merchants, and 1 percent on all other purchases. There is no limit to the amount of Daily Cash users can receive.
The new Savings account from Goldman Sachs expands upon the financial health benefits and valuable Daily Cash that Apple Card already offers. Built into Wallet on iPhone, Apple Card has transformed the credit card experience by simplifying the application process, eliminating all fees, encouraging users to pay less interest, offering the privacy and security users expect from Apple, and offering Daily Cash on every purchase.
MacDailyNews Take: This new high-yield Savings account is excellent and logical addition to Apple Card’s features and perks!
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/13/apple-card-daily-cash-can-soon-grow-in-new-high-yield-savings-accounts-from-goldman-sachs/
Gene Munster: Apple and Meta poised to be winners once interest rate hikes slow
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 11:01 am
Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Loup, said Wednesday that Apple and Meta Platforms are well positioned to become leaders in the tech sector once interest rate increases slow and investor appetite for riskier stocks returns.
Brian Stewart for Seeking Alpha:
Speaking to CNBC, the Loup Ventures founder and managing partner predicted that riskier assets, like those in the tech space, will eventually “come back into favor,” as economic conditions change, with AAPL and META poised for potential upside when that happens.
“If Apple cracks, people will view that as the bottom,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to that crack.”
Munster pointed to lead times for iPhones, which are running higher than normal for this stage in the product cycle. This leads the analyst to conclude that the firm’s business “continues to do well” despite the macro pressures.
For META, Munster said the Facebook parent “sticks out” as he sifts through “the bargain bin” of “large-cap tech that’s going to be around for decades.”
MacDailyNews Take: You know, like MySpace. Still around (sort of). Hits its two-decade mark next year.
MacDailyNews Take: If you believe there is a future operating system beyond mobile, then Apple is in a great place. Apple has, for many years, been carefully laying the foundation for their widely expected AR/VR smartgoggles and subsequent AR smartglasses.
Meta Platforms will be the Diamond Multimedia of the “metaverse” (which won’t even be called that once Apple enters the market).
See also:
• Why Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg went on Rogan: his metaverse pitch is failing – September 1, 2022
• Trademark filings worldwide show Apple staking ‘reality’ names for mixed-reality headset – August 29, 2022
• Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple’s first mixed-reality headset to cost at least $2,000; to be revealed in January 2023 – August 8, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/12/gene-munster-apple-and-meta-poised-to-be-winners-once-interest-rate-hikes-slow/
Bluejay Mining PLC Announces 2022 Disko-Nuussuaq Field Programme Completed
Press Release | 10/10/2022
2022 Disko-Nuussuaq Field Programme Successfully Completed
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / October 10, 2022 / Bluejay Mining plc, the AIM, FSE-listed and OTCQB traded exploration and development company is pleased to announce the successful completion of the 2022 work programme at its Green Transition and Battery Metals Disko-Nuussuaq ('Disko') Project, on behalf of Nikkeli Greenland A/S, the Joint Venture ('JV') company created by Bluejay and its JV partner KoBold Metals ('KoBold').
Highlights
2022 field activities within this highly prospective region targeted numerous areas for massive nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals ('PGM') bearing sulphides using cutting edge technology and included:
o 3,030 line kilometres ('km') of Falcon Airborne Gravity Gradiometer, Gravity, Magnetics
o 2,115 line km of high resolution UAV Magnetics
o 699 SAMSON deep-penetrating ground ElectroMagnetic ('EM') Stations
o 1,068 line km of HeliSAM airborne Electro-Magnetics
o 3,572 geochemical samples (outcrop, soil, stream sediment samples)
o 45 square km bathymetric survey / photogrammetric survey of key mobilisation locations
The geophysical data, mapping and the pending geochemical results for all target areas are currently being further integrated with existing data and interpreted by KoBold's expert team utilizing their proprietary artificial intelligence platforms to prioritise and ratify mineralisation targets for eventual drilling.
One example of early geophysical indications was from the Igdlukunguak area, the site of the historical initial 28-ton massive nickel sulphide boulder discovery, where this season we identified the presence of a 600 metre ('m') EM anomaly along strike of known mineralisation.
Bluejay fulfilled the role of Field Operations Manager during the 2022 field programme which commenced in June and ended in September, and received an expenditure-based fee for this role.
The JV Company will incorporate the extensive exploration results, once received, into the 2023 exploration plans.
Kurt House, CEO of KoBold Metals, commented: "Our joint exploration campaign on Disko Island this summer was a significant step forward. We've identified many novel targets and significantly updated our exploration hypotheses. We are looking for what we think could be the most significant nickel and cobalt discoveries in 100 years."
Bo Mller Stensgaard, CEO of Bluejay Mining, commented: "I am excited to report that our first JV exploration campaign with KoBold at Disko-Nuussuaq has been completed successfully. The exploration work performed this summer forms the basis of what we hope will become a globally significant exploration find.
"We are particularly encouraged by the preliminary results we have received to date. At the Igdlukunguak target area on the north coast of Disko Island, the location of the notable historical discovery of the 28 tons Igdlukunguak massive-sulphide boulder (which assayed 6.9% Ni, 3.7% Cu, 0.6% Co and 2g/t PGM), the SAMSON ground programme showed a 600m encouragingly strong, continuous late time EM anomaly with slow decay. This new SAMSON identified anomaly is coincidental with historic geophysical anomalies and is proximal to known mineralisation. This exciting early result, which could potentially represent a target for future drilling for a mineralised body, is just one of the early results from the extensive work programme carried out this summer.
"Numerous other target areas at both Disko Island and Nuussuaq Peninsula were surveyed, and the output is currently being analysed. Once received, the full exploration results will be tied into 2023 exploration plans, and we look forward to updating the market on this.
"The Company is looking to identify a new Battery Metals district which is essential to supporting the global shift to green energy and net zero targets.
"Both Bluejay's own employees and contracted staff, together with KoBold Metals' employees participated in the field work. Our local expertise and experience together with KoBold's outstanding team of experts in the fields of mineralising systems, geophysical and data science, provides a collaborative and complementary match that should enable us to advance quickly into the next phase of work at Disko. We would like to thank the local communities around the project area for their hospitality, service and support throughout the field programme. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the important contributions from local contractors involved in the execution of the activities and the support from Greenland's authorities.
"In total, 2022 represents the most comprehensive exploration campaign ever carried out by Bluejay, a true testament to our operating capabilities in the region."
Further Information & Key Work Programme Details
The work programme which commenced in June 2022 focused on extensive data collection through more than 4,500 line km of aerial geophysical surveying, including 2,115 line km of a high-resolution drone magnetic survey performed by EarthEx Geophysical Solutions Inc., 200 line km of soil sampling and 3,030 line km of Falcon Airborne Gravity Gradiometer and Magnetics ('Falcon AGG'). Falcon AGG provides low noise, higher resolution, higher sensitivity, measured error and the highest possible production rate.
Bluejay acts as the Field Operation Manager for all activities carried out in the field under the Joint Venture. Nikkeli Greenland A/S (the Greenland registered JV company between Bluejay Mining and KoBold Metals) workforce included 12 Greenlandic workers, as well as number of local contractors, including, Royal Arctic, Air Greenland, Polar Oil, Polar Dive, Pisiffik and STARK. Several local construction companies, also contributed to the completion of a successful, safe programme.
KoBold's technical ability to rapidly adjust and parse incoming geophysical survey data unquestionably maximised the Company's productive window. As an example, a switch from a helicopter-based to ground-based EM acquisition dramatically improved our ability to "see" through conductive cover, to potential targets at depth.
The Dual Ground / Air EM programme, provided by Discovery International Geophysics, covered 699 SAMSON Ground EM Stations and 1,068 line km of HeliSAM airborne EM. HeliSAM is a Hybrid Transient Electromagnetic ('TEM') technique that uses an inductive ground-based transmitter loop in conjunction with a helicopter towed cesium vapour total field magnetic sensor. SAMSON uses a TM-7 receiver system to perform time-domain EM surveys using a total field cesium vapor sensor. This allows the system to operate at very low base frequencies needed for determining the true late-time decay constant of a highly conductive or deep target.
Additionally, and to optimise forward looking logistics, Nikkeli A/S undertook a 45 square km multibeam bathymetric survey, covering key marine access points of Disko Island and the Nuussuaq Peninsula. This will provide a safe approach for ocean-going vessels and barges to mobilise and demobilise equipment in future seasons. To potentially reduce the Company's dependency on helicopters and overall fuel consumption, a photogrammetric survey of a historical 25 km long gravel road located in the Aaffarsuaq Valley on the Nuussuaq was undertaken. Minor repairs to this road would allow vehicle access to potential exploration targets and improve exploration efficiency.
**ENDS**
For further information on the Company and the project please visit the website at: www.bluejaymining.com
Contacts:
Kevin Sheil Bluejay Mining plc enquiry@bluejaymining.com
Ewan Leggat /
Adam Cowl SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP
(Bluejay Mining Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Andrew Chubb Hannam & Partners
(Bluejay Mining Advisory) LLP +44 (0) 20 7907 8500
Tim Blythe /
Megan Ray BlytheRay
(Bluejay Mining Press Contact) +44 (0) 20 7138 3205
About Bluejay Mining Plc
Bluejay is listed on the London AIM market and Frankfurt Stock Exchange and its shares also trade on the OTCQB Market in the US. With multiple projects in Greenland and Finland, Bluejay has now secured four globally respected entities as partners, customer, and co-investor on three of its projects, giving the Company and its shareholders both portfolio and commodity diversification in high quality jurisdictions.
Bluejay has a Joint Venture with KoBold Metals to guide exploration for new deposits rich in the critical materials for electric vehicles (The Disko-Nuussuaq Project). Principal investors in KoBold include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate & technology fund, overseen by Bill Gates, and whose investors include Michael Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, and Ray Dalio. Other investors in KoBold include Andreessen Horowitz, the premier Silicon Valley venture capital fund and Equinor, the Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company.
Bluejay's most advanced project is the Dundas Ilmenite Project in Greenland, which is fully permitted and being developed towards production in the near term, with preparatory activities scheduled to commence in 2022. Dundas has a Mineral Resource reported in accordance with the JORC Code of 117Mt at 6.1% ilmenite and a maiden offshore Exploration Target of between 300Mt and 530Mt of ilmenite at an average expected grade range of 0.4 - 4.8% ilmenite in-situ. The Company has agreed a Master Distribution Agreement with a major Asian conglomerate for up-to 340ktpa of its anticipated 440ktpa annual output. The Company has signed on a major European bank to head the financing syndicate for Dundas. The Company's strategy is focused on securing financing ahead of commencing commercial production at Dundas in order to create a company capable of self-funding exploration on its current and future projects.
Bluejay holds two additional projects in Greenland - the 692sq km Kangerluarsuk zinc-lead- silver project ('Kangerluarsuk'), where historical work has recovered grades of 41% zinc, 9.3% lead and 596 g/t silver and identified four large-scale drill ready targets; and the 2,025 sq km Thunderstone project which has the potential to host large-scale base metal and gold deposits. Bluejay has agreed a joint-venture agreement with a mining major at its Enonkoski Project in Finland and has recently signed a binding agreement for a partial divestment in a fourth Finnish project.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
SOURCE: Bluejay Mining PLC
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/719587/Bluejay-Mining-PLC-Announces-2022-Disko-Nuussuaq-Field-Programme-Completed
https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/BLLYF/news/Bluejay-Mining-PLC-Announces-2022-Disko-Nuussuaq-Field-Programme-Completed?id=375424
MacBooks likely to be ‘Assembled in Thailand’ as Apple diversifies from China dependence
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 12:29 pm
As Apple continues to look to free itself from overwhelming dependence on China, the company is looking to diversify MacBook assembly by moving a significant portion of the work out of CCP-controlled China to Thailand.
Ming-Chi Kuo)via Twitter:
Apple’s global supply chain management strategy continues to change in response to the de-globalization trend, mainly to reduce the assembly business in China. Here are the latest major survey updates.
1. According to Apple’s plan, the Indian company Tata Group may cooperate with Pegatron or Wistron in the future to develop the iPhone assembly business. More than 80% of the iPhones made in India (by Foxconn) are currently to meet domestic demand. The potential cooperation of Tata Group and Pegatron or Wistron can accelerate the increase in the proportion of non-China iPhone production.
2. The main non-China production site for MacBook in the future may be Thailand. All MacBooks are currently assembled from production sites located in China.
3. In the medium term (within 3-5 years), at least the US market (~25-30%+ of global shipments) can be supplied by assembly sites located in non-China to reduce potential impacts from political risks (e.g., US-China tariffs).
4. In the long run:
(1) The non-Chinese markets will be supplied by assembly sites located in non-China, while the Chinese market will be supplied by assembly sites located in China.
(2) Assemblers can conduct NPI (new product introduction) in China and non-China.
MacDailyNews Take: Thanks to the CCP, for continuing to shoot itself in the foot with itsr quixotic “zero COVID” policies, Apple’s brass seems to have finally woken up to the dangers of putting all of their eggs in one basket.
• Diversification, especially away from China, reduces risk and benefits Apple. — <MacDailyNews, August 23, 2022
• Apple should have been diversifying production long ago to minimize risk, not to mention China’s human rights abuses, authoritarian censorship, and myriad other concerns. – MacDailyNews, May 23, 2022
• It’s smart for both Apple and Foxconn to diversify assembly outside of China. There’s no sense having all of your eggs in one basket. – MacDailyNews, April 2, 2019
• There’s no such thing as zero-COVID, but this year is the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th party congress, so the farce will continue until the politics no longer dictate tilting at windmills. Then COVID will be allowed to wash through China, as it already has around much of the world. – MacDailyNews, May 9, 2022
• In general, human-transmissible coronaviruses do not disappear. There is no such thing as zero-COVID. Duh.
COVID-19 is here to stay. It will very likely become endemic, yet pose less danger over time. People will acquire immunity via vaccines (effectiveness TDB) and naturally as they contract and recover from variants like omicron since the partially-effective vaccines permit not only transmissibility, but also breakthrough infections. Influenza and the four human coronaviruses that cause common colds (OC43, 229E, NL63 and HKU1) are, of course, also endemic, but a combination of annual flu vaccines and acquired immunity means that sane societies tolerate the unavoidable seasonal deaths and illnesses they bring without requiring lockdowns, masks, social distancing, indefinite return-to-work delays, etc.
At which point, if ever, will some people decide that wasting away their short lives in abject fear of a bad flu, very likely engineered by China and partially funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is a hysterical self-defeating overreaction? – MacDailyNews, December 16, 2021
• The real virus is the panic. – MacDailyNews, March 9, 2020
See also: Apple looks to diversify manufacturing outside of China due to draconian COVID-19 restrictions — May 23, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/11/macbooks-likely-to-be-assembled-in-thailand-as-apple-diversifies-from-china-dependence/
Apple is well past its two-year goal to transition from Intel to Apple Silicon Macs
Monday, October 10, 2022 5:11 pm
By SteveJack
On June 22, 2020, Apple announced the Macintosh’s transition from hot, slow, inefficient Intel processors to vastly superior Apple Silicon that the company explicitly stated would be the “beginning a two-year transition.”
Well, two years elapsed on June 22, 2022. Apple is now 3 months and 18 days (and counting) late.
Specifically, Apple is still selling a Mac mini sporting an Intel Core i5 and, most glaringly, the routinely ignored Mac Pro still fully hamstrung with Intel processors. We also seem to have lost the option of a larger iMac along the way as well (the current 24-inch iMac attempts to straddle between the former 21.5- and 27-inch models). I’d much prefer for Apple to offer customers a choice between the current 24-inch iMac and a new 32-inch iMac option.
But I digress. The point is that we’re coming up on two and a half years since the beginning of Apple’s “two-year transition” to free the entire Mac lineup from Intel dreck by upgrading to superior Apple Silicon.
So, how much longer do we have to wait, Apple?
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer, and contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
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https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/10/apple-is-well-past-its-two-year-goal-to-transition-from-intel-to-apple-silicon-macs/
U.S. adds China’s memory chipmaker YMTC and 30 other firms to ‘unverified’ trade list
Friday, October 7, 2022 5:11 pm
The United States on Friday added China’s top memory chipmaker YMTC and 30 other Chinese entities to a list of companies that U.S. officials have been unable to inspect, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing.
Reuters:
The new listings were the first of a slew of new restrictions announced on Friday on exports of technology to China aimed at blocking its military advances.
As Reuters exclusively reported on Thursday, the United States is also set to curb access to chipmaking tools for Chinese firms including Yantze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), while still allowing South Korean memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS) to obtain the equipment for their operations in China.
U.S. senators from both parties have been calling for YMTC, China’s fast-growing chip manufacturer, to be placed on a trade blacklist known as the “entity list.” The company, founded in 2016, is seen as a “direct threat” to U.S. chip companies… YMTC is under investigation by the Commerce Department over whether it violated U.S. export controls by selling chips to blacklisted Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. Its chips also are being evaluated by Apple Inc for inclusion in some of its iPhones in China, a major concern for U.S. lawmakers…
MacDailyNews Note: Last month, Republican lawmakers warned Apple that it will face intense scrutiny from Congress if the California company procures memory chips from a controversial Chinese semiconductor manufacturer for the new iPhone 14.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/07/u-s-adds-chinas-memory-chipmaker-ymtc-and-30-other-firms-to-unverified-trade-list/
Apple prepares for 2nm chips as soon as 2025
Friday, October 7, 2022 10:57 am
With TSMC, Apple is preparing for world-beating Apple Silicon 2nm chips. TSMC’s new 2nm node is scheduled to enter volume production in 2025.
Chris Ciaccia for Seeking Alpha:
Apple is discussing volume production of 2 nm chips with Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) to be ready as soon as 2025, Digitimes reported.
The news outlet, citing industry sources, noted that Apple (AAPL) is keen to get the smaller chips into its products in the next few years.
Ed Hardy for Cult of Mac:
Progress doesn’t always come on schedule, though. Apple processors like the M1 and A15 were made with a 5nm process, and the company hoped to transition to a 3nm process this year. But TSMC couldn’t iron out problems until it was too late. So the new M2 and A16 still use the 5nm process. The M3 is expected to be Apple’s first with the 3nm process.
Much of TSMC’s research and development budget goes into shrinking the distance between processor components. Packing these into a smaller space is how they offer better performance and less waste heat.
This is primarily why the iPhone 14 Pro offers 67% better performance than the iPhone 11 Pro Max, and is 60% faster than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, while still providing a long battery life.
MacDailyNews Take: When it arrives, 2nm will usher in almost magical performance and battery life gains.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/07/apple-prepares-for-2nm-chips-as-soon-as-2025/
Apple supplier TSMC’s sales top estimates
Friday, October 7, 2022 8:00 am
Major Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, signaling the chip giant is benefiting from market share gains.
Debby Wu for Bloomberg News:
Revenue at the world’s largest contract chipmaker rose 48% to about NT$613 billion ($19.4 billion) in the third quarter, according to Bloomberg’s calculations. Analysts estimated NT$603 billion on average.
Rising revenue at Apple Inc.’s most important chipmaker signals that the largest players in the $550 billion semiconductor industry may avoid the severe downturn investors have feared, helped by resilient demand for some electronics products in the face of rising interest rates and soaring inflation. Morgan Stanley this week projected a return to growth for the chip industry by the second half of 2023.
TSMC, the world’s most advanced maker of silicon chips, has benefited from Apple launching new types of chips to boost the performance of its devices.
MacDailyNews Take: Bodes well for Apple.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/07/apple-supplier-tsmcs-sales-top-estimates/
Apple suppliers add American manufacturing sites, with focus on California
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 10:16 am
Apple suppliers added manufacturing operations close to the California-based tech company in fiscal 2021, a sign of how quixotic COVID-19 responses in various countries, especially China, and geopolitics are reshaping and diversifying supply chains.
Yang Jie for The Wall Street Journal:
Of Apple’s more than 180 suppliers, 48 had manufacturing sites in the U.S. as of September 2021, up from 25 a year earlier, according to a supplier list released by Apple. More than 30 sites were in California, compared with fewer than 10 a year earlier.
Many major suppliers such as chip makers Qualcomm Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., product assembler Foxconn Technology Group and image sensor provider Sony Group Corp., added production sites in the U.S. during the year, the list shows…
Travel between California and China has been difficult since early 2020 because of China’s Covid-19 restrictions. During the pandemic, Apple has relied more on local engineers in foreign countries and adopted technology such as live streaming to help staff at headquarters follow remotely what is happening on the factory floor. However, the supplier officials said there were still occasions when it was helpful to be near Apple’s headquarters, especially when tests of materials and parts for new products were involved.
The California moves by Apple’s suppliers are part of a broader transition in its supply chain. Apple has told some of its manufacturing partners it wants them to boost production outside China, with Vietnam and India among the countries getting a closer look.
MacDailyNews Take: The more than can be done to increase diversification and promote competition, the better.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/05/apple-suppliers-add-american-manufacturing-sites-with-focus-on-california/
Apple plans appeal to completely overturn already-slashed French antitrust fine
Thursday, October 6, 2022 1:23 pm
Apple on Thursday said it plans to appeal a French antitrust fine that was slashed to roughly a third of the original amount, saying the fine should be overturned in full.
A French court on Thursday reduced a fine against Apple for alleged anti-competitive behavior from 1.1 billion to 372 million euros. The original fine had been imposed by a French competition regulator in 2020.
Angela Palumbo for Barron’s:
At the time, France’s competition authority said it levied fines on Apple “for engaging in anticompetitive agreements within its distribution network and abuse of a situation of economic dependency with regard to its ‘premium’ independent distributors.”
Apple didn’t confirm to Barron’s how much the French court reduced the fine, but did say in a statement that “while the court correctly reversed part of the French Competition Authority’s decision, we believe it should be overturned in full and plan to appeal. The decision relates to practices from more than a decade ago that even the FCA recognized are no longer in use.”
MacDailyNews Take: Offense is the best defense.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/06/apple-plans-appeal-to-completely-overturn-already-slashed-french-antitrust-fine/
McDonald’s starts to accept Bitcoin and Tether in Swiss town
DAVID ATTLEE
10 HOURS AGO
The global fast food chain is among the first to participate in a crypto-friendly experiment in the town of Lugano.
Multinational fast food chain McDonald’s started to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method in the 63,000-populated city of Lugano in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, which is becoming a hotspot for crypto adoption in Western Europe.
A one-minute video of ordering food on McDonald’s digital kiosk and then paying for it at the regular register with the help of a mobile app was uploaded on Twitter by Bitcoin Magazine on Oct. 3. The Tether (USDT) logo could be spotted next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit cash machine, which is not surprising, as in March 2022 the city of Lugano announced it would accept Bitcoin, Tether and the LVGA token as a legal tender.
On March 3, 2022, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Tether Operations Limited, launching the so-called “Plan B.” According to this plan, Tether has created two funds — the first one is a $106 million, or 100 million Swiss francs, investment pool for crypto startups, and the second is around $3 million, or 3 million Swiss francs, attempt to encourage the adoption of crypto for shops and businesses across the city.
In addition to allowing Lugano residents to pay their taxes using crypto, the project will extend payments to parking tickets, public services and tuition fees for students. More than 200 shops and businesses in the area are also expected to accept crypto payments for goods and services.
Related: Swiss Post's banking arm developing in-house crypto custody platform
Speaking to Cointelegraph in June, Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether and Bitfinex, claimed that Plan B “is going great,” announcing a two-week educational activity on blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the city.
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to allow using Bitcoin as a legal tender. Since that time, McDonald’s has been accepting Bitcoin at all its 19 outlets in the country.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mcdonald-s-starts-to-accept-bitcoin-and-tether-in-swiss-town
IIOT-OXYS, Inc. Signs a Co-Marketing and Co-Selling Agreement with Aretas Sensor Networks, Inc. for Indoor Air Quality Sensors and Systems
CAMBRIDGE, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2022 / IIOT-OXYS, Inc. (OTC PINK:ITOX) ("Oxys" or the "Company") announces the signing of a Co-Marketing and Co-Selling Agreement for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensors and Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) software platform from Aretas Sensor Networks Inc., a Canadian company.
"We're pleased with the continued rapid progression of this strategic partnership between Oxys and Aretas. This Co-Marketing and Co-Selling Agreement is the fifth collaborative step we've taken with Aretas since March of this year, and quickly follows the completion of a Proof of Concept (POC) announced just last month. Under this new agreement, Oxys will increase Aretas's marketing effort by subsidizing a portion of their overall monthly advertising budget. Oxys will also supplement Aretas' sales efforts to close leads on their popular Sentinel Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensors. In exchange for Oxys's co-marketing and co-selling support, we will receive a healthy commission for the sales leads we close. We expect these commissions to immediately contribute to our fourth quarter revenue in 2022 and continue into 2023," stated Cliff Emmons, CEO of Oxys.
The global market for Indoor Air Quality Monitors was estimated at US$3.7 Billion in the year 2020, and is projected to reach a revised size of US$6.4 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 8.2% over the period 2020-2027.[1] "This agreement is proof we're delivering on our promises to our customers, partners, and shareholders. We're confident of our earlier guidance that revenue for the second half of 2022 will exceed that generated in the first half of 2022. In total, we are optimistic of our projections for total revenue in 2022 to return to 2019 levels. This new agreement has also laid the groundwork with our partner, Aretas, to explore future co-development projects on new sensors and systems," concluded Mr. Emmons.
About IIOT-OXYS, Inc.
IIOT-OXYS, Inc. (OTC PINK:ITOX) is a technology company at the intersection of IIoT, AI & Machine Learning, Edge Computing and Manufacturing Operations. We provide actionable mission-critical insights for the Medical/Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Defense, and Structural Health, and other industries. IIOT-OXYS's edge computing open-source hardware and proprietary ML algorithms employ our Minimally Invasive Load Monitoring (MILM) technology to simply gather data and gain insights to monitor, scope, move from preventive to predictive maintenance, and even optimize development and manufacturing processes. For additional information visit www.oxyscorp.com.
About Aretas Sensor Networks Inc.
Aretas Sensor Networks, Inc. combines IoT sensor technology, cloud-based platform, and machine learning/ AI for an end-to-end solution to ingest, collect, display, and analyze IoT data to allow companies to make better decisions.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Management's current views about future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements often contain words such as ''expects,'' ''anticipates,'' ''intends,'' or ''believes.'' Our forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and events to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect us include, without limitation, the loss of major customers, our failure to obtain new contracts, our inability to patent products or processes, our infringement of patents held by others, our inability to finance our business and the other risks and uncertainties that are discussed in our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information:
IIOT-OXYS, Inc.
Clifford L. Emmons
CEO
contact@oxyscorp.com
www.oxyscorp.com
[1] https://www.reportlinker.com/p05957040/Global-Indoor-Air-Quality-Monitors-Industry.html
SOURCE: IIoT-OXYS, Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/718607/IIOT-OXYS-Inc-Signs-a-Co-Marketing-and-Co-Selling-Agreement-with-Aretas-Sensor-Networks-Inc-for-Indoor-Air-Quality-Sensors-and-Systems
© Copyright 2022 ACCESSWIRE. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/ITOX/news/story?e&id=2340994
EU votes to force Apple to use USB-C port on iPhones
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9:37 am
Members of the European Parliament voted 602-13 (8 abstaining) to force companies such as Apple to adopt USB-C ports in products such as iPhone that don’t already have such ports.
Jillian Deutsch for Bloomberg News:
The deal, provisionally agreed in June between the commission and the European Union’s 27 countries, still needs to get the final sign-off from the EU member states. The rules are likely to be written into law at the beginning of 2023.
The proposal originally angered Apple, which said it would reduce innovation. But the company is currently testing future iPhone models that replace its proprietary Lightning charging port with standard USB-C connector, Bloomberg reported in May. Current Apple laptops and iPad Pro models already use them…
Under the proposed rules, all phones and tablets sold in Europe will have to comply by the fall of 2024. Laptops will have longer to make the switch. The commission will also be able to set standards for wireless charging in the future.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, any government — or, in this case, an extra-national quasi-government-ish body — that mandates technology will stifle innovation. It is a mistake. Luckily, in this case, it won’t matter much. Apple’s iPhones are moving to port-less and, if there is some overlap with USB-C iPhones for a few years, the e-waste created will be minimized.
This isn’t a matter of Lightning vs. USB-C. The problem is the mandating of a certain standard and the innovation it squelches. Idiot bureaucrats never seem to consider unintended consequences, regardless of how obvious they are. This is, as usual, a “sounds great, oh, wait” mistake. (They never seem to be able to even imagine much less consider and weight the “oh, wait” part.)
If you believe the EU will move quickly all of a sudden (it took them over a decade to (almost, not even quite done yet) codify this mistake), as quickly as a tech company like Apple to keep on top of innovation, you’re either a rube or under the age of eight.
USB-C is the wired port now, at least in the EU (and therefore everywhere; nobody is going to make specific devices for the EU which comprises a whopping 5.8% of the world population), pretty much forever.
Big government, quasi or not, is slow and wedded to its own red tape. If something markedly better were to come along, the EU will not magically change their mandate. In fact, what’s the incentive to create a better port than USB-C now? Not only do you have to coax adoption from tech companies as usual, but you’re now also tasked with nightmare and expense of lobbying and convincing a raft of EU bureaucrats to expeditiously agree to change their USB-C mandate.
Forget innovation in wired connectivity. It’s now dead.
Don’t believe? Watch and see. “iCal” us.
This is just needless, slow-as-molasses, bureaucratic meddling in the market; a stick in the spokes that, in the end, will be like mandating a buggy whip with every cart sold, twenty years after the advent of the automobile.
If the EU had passed such a law when this innovation-stifling foolishness was initially proposed, we’d all still be stuck with MicroUSB today!
Regardless, soon Apple’s iPhones won’t have any ports at all. As it stands even today, the Lightning port on our iPhones is a largely superfluous liquid and dust ingress point. If anything, this misguided, shortsighted EU move only hastens Apple’s move to port-free iPhones featuring even better water and dust resistance. – MacDailyNews, June 3, 2022
Years ago, in January 2018, Apple provided feedback on this issue to the European Commission:
Apple stands for innovation. Regulations that would drive conformity across the type of connector built into all smartphones freeze innovation rather than encourage it. Such proposals are bad for the environment and unnecessarily disruptive for customers.
More than 1 billion Apple devices have shipped using a Lightning connector in addition to an entire ecosystem of accessory and device manufacturers who use Lightning to serve our collective customers. We want to ensure that any new legislation will not result in the shipment of any unnecessary cables or external adaptors with every device, or render obsolete the devices and accessories used by many millions of Europeans and hundreds of millions of Apple customers worldwide. This would result in an unprecedented volume of electronic waste and greatly inconvenience users. To be forced to disrupt this huge market of customers will have consequences far beyond the stated aims of the Commission.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/04/eu-votes-to-force-apple-to-use-usb-c-port-on-iphones/
Apple assembler Foxconn sets revenue record on ‘storming demand’ for iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 12:10 pm
Major Apple iPhone assembler Foxconn said September revenue totaled 822.3 billion new Taiwan dollars ($25.9 billion), up 40.4% year-on-year and 83.2% higher than August, a monthly sales record for the company. One analyst said Foxconn’s record revenue came on the back of “storming demand” for the higher priced iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models.
Arjun Kharpal for CNBC:
That massive revenue growth was driven by a “new product launch and smooth mass production” as well as strong performance of its smart consumer electronics products division, which includes its key smartphone business. Foxconn does not name its customers, including Apple, in its earnings releases.
Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research, said Foxconn’s record revenue came on the back of “storming demand” for the higher priced iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models, which were launched last month.
While Foxconn maintained its full-year outlook, the company said Tuesday it is “cautiously positive” on the outlook for the fourth quarter.
Foxconn’s comments come amid a debate over the strength of Apple’s business against this difficult economic backdrop.
Last week, Bank of America analysts delivered a rare downgrade to Apple’s stock and cut its price target on “weaker consumer demand” for the iPhone 14. Apple shares fell sharply soon after.
MacDailyNews Take: There is no “debate,” as least by those in the know. A fake news story from/planted in Bloomberg “News” last week was the basis for Bank of America’s subsequent downgrade (which tells you all you need to know about the quality of BofA analysts who obviously couldn’t analyze the difference between their asses and their elbows if their lives depended on it.
A few days before expiry date, of course. While the SEC makes Rip Van Winkle look like a power napper.
Of course, we predicted this weeks before it happened:
Apple iPhone mix is easily going to be the strongest ever. Do not be surprised with the reports that Apple has “cut iPhone 14 orders,” meaning iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The company will likely be increasing iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max orders to reflect the strong mix which bodes very well, of course for Apple’s iPhone average selling price (ASP). – MacDailyNews, September 14, 2022
See:
• Apple shares swoon on Bank of America downgrade – September 29, 2022
• As we predicted, here comes the ‘Apple has cut iPhone 14 orders’ FUD – September 28, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2022/10/04/apple-assembler-foxconn-sets-revenue-record-on-storming-demand-for-iphone-14-pro-and-pro-max/
Self-harm content led to death of 14-year-old girl; Meta and Pinterest admit failings
Ben Lovejoy
- Sep. 30th 2022 5:35 am PT
@benlovejoy
Exposure to a massive amount of self-harm content on both Instagram and Pinterest played a key role in the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, concluded an inquest.
Executives from both social media companies have admitted that the teenager was exposed to material she should not have been able to see, and apologized for the failings …
Self-harm content on social media
Concerns about the impact of social networks on the mental health of teenagers were crystalized last year, when an internal report carried out by Instagram concluded that it was harmful to as many as 20% of teenage girls using the app. Most worryingly of all, it was shown to increase the risk of suicide.
Instagram owner Meta said that the report only highlighted the worst-case scenarios, but the company subsequently “paused” its Instagram for Kids project and pledged to make the app healthier for teens.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is among those who have expressed concern about the potential harm technology can do to mental health.
Molly Russell
The 14-year-old died after viewing extreme amounts of self-harm content on both Instagram and Pinterest. In the six months prior to her death, she liked more than 11,000 Instagram posts, and accessed Pinterest to view similar material more than 15,000 times in the same period.
An earlier report said that Russell committed suicide, but her inquest said that it was not safe to conclude that her intention was to kill herself, only that she intended to self-harm.
The Guardian reports.
Molly Russell, 14, died as a result of self-harm when she had depression and was suffering from the “negative effects of online content”, a coroner has ruled […]
Concluding it would not be safe to rule Molly’s cause of death as suicide, senior coroner Andrew Walker said some of the sites viewed by her were “not safe” because they allowed access to adult content that should not have been available to a 14-year-old.
“It is likely that the above material viewed by Molly, already suffering with a depressive illness and vulnerable due to her age, affected her in a negative way and contributed to her death in a more than minimal way,” said Walker, delivering his findings of fact at the inquest.
In his conclusion, he said Molly “died from an act of self-harm whilst suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content”.
Executives from both Pinterest and Instagram parent company Meta were required to attend the inquest and give evidence. Both admitted that Russell was exposed to content which should not have been available to her, and offered their apologies.
Elizabeth Lagone, the head of health and wellbeing policy at Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, admitted Molly had viewed posts that violated its content policies and Lagone apologised.
A senior Pinterest executive also apologised for the platform showing inappropriate content and acknowledged that the platform was not safe at the time Molly was on it.
Help is availableIf you are considering self-harm, or would simply like someone to talk to, there are people ready to help. You do not need to be considering suicide to call.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can either phone or text from anywhere in the US. You can also find mental health resources on the organization’s website.
In the UK, the Samaritans are also available 24/7. Call 116-123, or text SHOUT to 85258.
In other countries, Google “Suicide helpline” to find local help.
Photo: Family photo released to the media to highlight the problem
https://9to5mac.com/2022/09/30/self-harm-content/
Beleaguered Facebook scrambles to escape stock’s death spiral as users flee, sales plummet
Friday, September 30, 2022 9:55 am
Beleaguered Facebook-parent Meta Platforms is trading at its lowest since early 2019, and the stock is one of the worst performers this year in the S&P 500. The company’s problems are mounting, notably including the multi-billion-dollar ad privacy hit from Apple’s App Tracking Transparency and the growing threat posed by TikTok.
Jonathan Vanian for CNBC:
A year ago, before Facebook had turned Meta, the social media company was sporting a market cap of $1 trillion, putting it in rarefied territory with a handful of U.S. technology giants.
Today the view looks much different. Meta has lost about two-thirds of its value since peaking in September 2021. The stock is trading at its lowest since January 2019 and is about to close out its third straight quarter of double-digit percentage losses.
Users are jumping ship and advertisers are reducing their spending, leaving Meta poised to report its second straight drop in quarterly revenue. Businesses are removing Facebook’s once-ubiquitous social login button from their websites. Recruiting is an emerging challenge… “I’m not sure there’s a core business that works anymore at Facebook,” said Laura Martin of Needham…
Zuckerberg has at least one major reason for concern beyond just stalled user growth and a slowing economy: Apple.
The 2021 iOS privacy update, called App Tracking Transparency, undermined Facebook’s ability to target users with ads, costing the company an estimated $10 billion in revenue this year…
Chris Curtis, an online marketing expert and consultant, has seen social networks rise and fall as trends change and users move along… “I’m old enough and I was there when MySpace was a thing,” said Curtis, who previously worked at Anheuser-Busch and McKinsey… When you look at Meta’s user numbers, Curtis said, they suggest the company is “not in a good position.”
MacDailyNews Take: Good.
We love it when people seem to be getting a clue.
Facebook is to privacy as Chernobyl is to nuclear power. — MacDailyNews, February 3, 2021
If you trust Mark Zuckerberg to be the keeper of your photos, contacts, political views, religious beliefs, etc., you’re batshit insane. — MacDailyNews, May 23, 2018
Zuckerberg: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard
Zuckerberg: Just ask
Zuckerberg: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SSNs
Zuckerberg: People just submitted it.
Zuckerberg: I don’t know why.
Zuckerberg: They “trust me”
Zuckerberg: Dumb fucks
(Instant messages sent by Mark Zuckerberg during Facebook’s early days, reported by Business Insider in May 2010.)
We use FaceBook as an RSS feed. Our CMS automatically reposts our article headlines and links them back to our website. That is our only interaction with Facebook and has been our only interaction with Facebook for years. We deleted our personal accounts [which we opened only so we could understand the Facebook phenomenon] many years ago.
If you want to share photos and videos with friends, text them using Apple’s end-to-end encrypted iMessage service. You need to control your social networking, not cede it to a gatekeeper like Facebook. – MacDailyNews, March 19, 2018
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/30/beleaguered-facebook-scrambles-to-escape-stocks-death-spiral-as-users-flee-sales-plummet/
Fed’s preferred gauge shows rampant U.S. inflation hotter than expected in August
Friday, September 30, 2022 8:56 am
According to new data released on Friday, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge accelerated again in August, keeping prices elevated near a four-decade high.
Megan Henney for FOX Business:
The personal consumption expenditures index showed that core prices, which strip out the more volatile measurements of food and energy, climbed 0.6% from the previous month and rose 4.9% on an annual basis, according to the Commerce Department. Those figures are both higher than the 0.5% monthly increase and 4.7% annual increase forecast by Refinitiv economists.
The more encompassing headline figure rose 6.2% on an annual basis after prices rose 0.3% from the previous month.
Jeff Cox for CNBC:
Inflation in August was stronger than expected despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring down prices, according to data Friday that the central bank follows closely.
The Fed generally favors core PCE as the broadest indicator of where prices are heading as it adjusts for consumer behavior. In the case of either core or headline, the data Friday from the Commerce Department shows inflation running well above the central bank’s 2% long-run target.
MacDailyNews Take: In January, Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy said, “1% or 2% [in interest rate hikes] doesn’t mean anything. If they really wanted to stop inflation, they would have to raise rates to 4%, 5%, 6%.”
The Fed’s current target interest rate range is 3.00% to 3.25%.
‘Tis best to get a handle on inflation, if you know how, while you still can. – MacDailyNews, May 11, 2021
Stop the misguided crusade against domestic energy production and profligate federal spending and inflation will be stopped dead in its tracks. It’s not difficult. – MacDailyNews, May 11, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/30/feds-preferred-gauge-shows-rampant-u-s-inflation-hotter-than-expected-in-august/
Why this tiny country is adopting the Bitcoin Lightning Network
ANA PAULA PEREIRA
21 MINUTES AGO
Gibraltar is becoming well known for its pioneering crypto regulations, support for blockchain development and bitcoin adoption.
Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall visited the country of Gibraltar to explore Bitcoin adoption on The Rock, as the peninsula is known locally, and how the adoption of bitcoin for shopping in the territory is impacting business.
The visit was also an opportunity to visit Xapo Bank, the world's first private financial institution to combine traditional banking with Bitcoin. Coinbase acquired its custody business in 2019, making the American exchange the largest crypto custodian in the world.
The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar is known for its pioneering crypto regulations, support for blockchain development and bitcoin adoption, with many retail businesses using the Lightning Network — a layer two network that enables off-chain transactions — to accept bitcoin as payment around the peninsula.
"When you talk about adoption of the use of Bitcoin, is it going to come? Yes, it is as more and more jurisdictions begin to regulate. And what is for me, the ideal is when there are enough countries doing it."
April this year, Gibraltar introduced a new regulatory package for distributed ledger technology (DLT) service providers, providing clarity for crypto businesses in regard to threats of market manipulation and insider trading.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-this-tiny-country-is-adopting-the-bitcoin-lightning-network
Bitcoin Sees Massive Decline In On-Chain Activity
by Best Owie 4 hours ago in Bitcoin Reading Time: 3 mins read
Bitcoin on-chain activity had been lit up like a Christmas tree over the weeks leading up to the Ethereum Merge. Even though the upgrade was not taking place on the bitcoin network, it was still significant for the crypto space, which led to increased activity across various networks. However, now that the Merge has been done and dusted, the network activity has begun to retrace to ‘normal’ levels, leading to a decline in on-chain activity.
Bitcoin Mining Hashrate Drops
For the first time in two months, the bitcoin mining difficulty had adjusted downward. Due to this downward difficulty adjustment of 2.1%, the block production rate remained low at 5.94 blocks produced per hour. It coincided with the bitcoin hash rate hitting a new all-time high before a reversal was recorded.
Nevertheless, the difficultly adjustment has come as good news to bitcoin miners who have been watching their revenues plummet in the last week. The average transaction per block was down 1.55% in a 7-day period from 1,786 to 1,759.
Bitcoin’s mining hash rate has now returned to early September levels, showing a retracement back to pre-Merge levels. But this hash rate remains on the high side even through this, showing increased conviction from bitcoin miners during this time.
Revenues Take A Hit
Bitcoin miners are still feeling the heat since the bear market has refused to hit up. Daily miner revenues have now hit one of their lowest points in the last year, with a little above $17 million in daily revenues. This accounted for a 4.04% decline over a 7-day period.
Fees realized per day followed the same downward trend and dropped 19.49% to $254,199. This brought down the percentage of revenues made up by fees by another 0.28%, to come in at 1.48% of all revenues made up by fees.
However, the largest declines for last week were recorded in the average transaction values and the daily transaction volumes. The former had ended up with a 37.61% decline in the last week, bringing the average transaction value to $12,304. At the same time, daily transaction volumes dropped 38.57%, from $5.023 billion to $3.085 billion. This was the largest drop that was recorded for the last week. Transactions per day were also down from $254,696 to $250,755, a 1.55% decline.
Bitcoin’s price has also followed this trend and has been struggling in the market. It had been unable to reclaim $20,000, now trading firmly at the previous cycle peak. Understandably, this has turned into a major support level for the bulls.
https://www.newsbtc.com/news/bitcoin/bitcoin-sees-massive-decline-in-on-chain-activity/
Apple’s VP of procurement, Tony Blevins, loses job over TikTok joke
Thursday, September 29, 2022 4:10 pm
A top Apple Inc. senior executive is leaving after he turned up in a TikTok video making an off-color joke that he fondles “big-breasted women” for a living.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
In the video, published on Sept. 5, Apple’s Tony Blevins was approached by TikTok and Instagram creator Daniel Mac as part of a series where he asks owners of expensive cars their occupations. The executive was stopped by Mac while parking a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, an out-of-production sports car that fetches hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When asked what he does for a living, Blevins said, “I have rich cars, play golf and fondle big-breasted women, but I take weekends and major holidays off.” He also touted that he has a “hell of a dental plan.”
In reality, Blevins is Apple’s vice president of procurement and is in charge of striking deals with suppliers and partners. He recently worked on the company’s satellite agreement with Globalstar Inc., led negotiations over cellular modems with Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp., and has been in charge of driving down the costs of many critical parts that go into Apple’s mobile devices.
Blevins, a 22-year veteran of Apple, confirmed the incident to Bloomberg, saying the encounter took place on Aug. 18. “I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my mistaken attempt at humor,” he said.
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, that’s worth Apple losing 22 years of high-level dealmaking experience (dripping sarcasm).
Someday, someway, the pendulum will swing back to sanity.
We’re betting Blevins could live several lifetimes on what he’s already made from, and been granted by, Apple. So, enjoy your retirement, Tony! (We bet he will!)
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/29/apples-vp-of-procurement-tony-blevins-loses-job-over-tiktok-joke/
Apple shares swoon on Bank of America downgrade
Thursday, September 29, 2022 3:11 pm
Shares of Apple were down more than 5% on Thursday after Bank of America analysts delivered the stock a rare downgrade.
The downgrade came on the heels of a Bloomberg “News” report Wednesday that said Apple had told some suppliers to abandon plans to ramp up production for its new iPhone 14 after failing to see as high demand as anticipated.
Lauren Feiner for CNBC:
Shares of Apple were down 4.5% on Thursday after Bank of America analysts delivered the stock a rare downgrade.
The analysts lowered their rating from buy to neutral, also cutting its price target from $185 to $160 per share. They said they anticipated “weaker consumer demand” over the next year and pointed to macroeconomic challenges.
A second firm disagreed with the BofA rating, however. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded its rating on Apple from neutral to buy and raised its price target to $189 from $160, implying a 25% rally from current levels. It made the call after its survey of over 1,000 U.S. adults showed strong demand for even the pricier new Apple products.
Rosenblatt cast doubt on the production report, writing that there’s “a recent history of comparable reports proving to be misleading when actuals come out.”
MacDailyNews Take: This BofA downgrade is based on fake news; good news buried under old news disguised as bad news via a misleading headline.
If you use Bank of America for investment advice, reconsider. You might want to take a look at Rosenblatt Securities as they seem to get it.
But, listen, the scam is on in some quarters, so use it to your advantage.
Apple iPhone mix is easily going to be the strongest ever. Do not be surprised with the reports that Apple has “cut iPhone 14 orders,” meaning iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The company will likely be increasing iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max orders to reflect the strong mix which bodes very well, of course for Apple’s iPhone average selling price (ASP). – MacDailyNews, September 14, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/29/apple-shares-swoon-on-bank-of-america-downgrade/
U.S. stock futures fall on growing worries of economic downturn
Thursday, September 29, 2022 9:01 am
U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday on worries of rampant U.S. inflation, recession, a global economic downturn from aggressive interest-rate hikes by central banks, and risks of a potential contagion from a turmoil in UK markets.
Reuters:
The Dow and S&P 500 e-minis fell for the seventh time in eight sessions, while megacap growth names such as Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, and Tesla Inc lost between 0.9% and 2.1% in premarket trading.
The calm brought about by the Bank of England’s decision on Wednesday to buy long-dated government securities to stabilize the turmoil in the markets caused by the government’s new economic plan was short-lived.
Sterling fell and bond prices slid, with the selloff in British assets spilling over to even safe-haven U.S. Treasuries and top-rated German bonds. read more
Even though U.S. stocks ended sharply higher in previous session due to easing Treasury yields, they have been battered for a large part of the year as surging yields dented the appeal for stocks.
“The world is transitioning from a low interest rate environment to a high interest rate environment,” said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard.
MacDailyNews Take: The era of free money is over.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/29/u-s-stock-futures-fall-on-growing-worries-of-economic-downturn/
The Ethereum Merge: What Is Trading Headed Towards?
by NewsBTC 1 hour ago in Company News Reading Time: 6 mins read
If Bitcoin is the digital gold of the crypto sphere, then Ethereum is the digital silver. The blockchain powerhouse headed by Vitalik Buterin has taken the world by storm since its foundation in 2015, and its price journey has outperformed BTC on several occasions.
From its starting value of just under $1, the price of Ethereum surged to more than $4,800 last year. This was some of the biggest Ethereum news, but 2022 has marked a major landmark in this cryptocurrency’s journey: The merge!
The merge is seriously exciting, from overhauling price predictions and revolutionising trading to taking Ethereum into the future. Today, we’ll look at how it will change things and cover everything you need to know. But first, what exactly is The Merge?
What Is The Ethereum Merge?
The Ethereum Merge has been a long-awaited upgrade of the digital framework of the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency that an inefficient energy-sapping system has long been plagued by.
By swapping proof-of-work (PoW) for proof-of-stake (PoS), a seriously difficult and time-consuming task like a digital version of switching the engine of a car, Ethereum has now achieved energy efficiency and can class itself as one of the few environmentally-friendly cryptocurrencies that now consumes around 99.9% less energy.
To put this into perspective, this transformation is equal to the country of Finland closing down its national power grid, according to Digiconomist.
And it’s not just energy efficiency that The Merge will bring. According to the team behind the Ethereum network, the transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake will lead to more security and scalability for the Ethereum platform, which is home to more than $60 billion worth of crypto exchanges, lending companies, and non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces.
“If you’re investing in Ethereum or any kind of blockchain technology, you’re investing in something in its early days. You’re going to need a long-term time horizon to see how things evolve. I really don’t think there’s a lot that folks who own Ethereum should be doing at this point.” – Doug Boneparth, financial advisor.
But amongst the ever-sceptical crypto community, many people are eagerly eyeing up The Merge and are keen to see how it will perform in the next few months. Is this the key to a bright future for Ethereum, or is it all just hype? Most importantly, how will it impact the price of Ethereum in future?
To answer this demand for answers, let’s delve into five ways that the Ethereum merge can affect trading and the wider world of cryptocurrency.
Can The Merge Secure Ethereum Against Hackers?
There is a lot of money involved in crypto, and the blockchain is a prime target for online hackers. In 2022, losses stemming from crypto hacks have skyrocketed by 60% to a staggering combined value of $1.9 billion. Naturally, many people are keen to know if The Merge can make the Ethereum network more secure against hackers.
The blockchain will always have weak spots for hackers to take advantage of; The Merge has arguably made advances to secure the Ethereum network. For example, the cost to validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain is 33 ETH, or around $55,000.
This initial investment is a significant barrier for hackers to gain access to the network, with no guarantee that their attack will be successful. However, what can be a step towards higher trustworthiness is to always look for purchasing Ethereum from reliable trading platforms such as Kucoin, Gemini, Immediate Edge or Coinbase just to limit the exposure to scams as much as possible.
Can More People Use The Ethereum Network Now?
One of the most popular aspects of the Ethereum network is that those who use it can earn rewards through their participation in the network, thereby securing it in the process. Following The Merge, the rewards opportunities are now open to more people as there is much more room for new users to use the network now.
Following the transition to proof of stake (PoS), miners no longer validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Instead, validations are carried out through the staking process. This means that users who hold Ethereum tokens can now stake some of them to validate transactions and secure the Ethereum network. In return, users are rewarded with a fraction of the transaction fees.
Mining, an intense and expensive to run operation, required advanced computer equipment and knowledge to be done effectively. This presented a barrier for many people. Staking, however, is not only beginner-friendly, it’s cheaper to start with and much more straightforward to get involved and reap the benefits.
As well as the Ethereum blockchain itself, various widely used platforms like Coinbase, Lido Finance, and some platforms available through services like Immediate Edge offer the chance to stake Ethereum simply via an automated process. APY rates are currently between 3% and 3.8% on most major platforms.
If you wish to stake your Ethereum, fully understanding how the staking process works beforehand is important. Once you stake, you’ll be unable to trade your staked amount for a pre-agreed period of time. However, if you’re a long-term investor, this is no issue.
Compared to traditional dividend stocks, the interest rates awarded for staking Ethereum after The Merge are vastly superior. It provides the chance for Ethereum holders to earn a passive stream of income automatically. Thus, it presents another good reason to own Ethereum that will likely drive more people to invest in it.
How Will Energy-Efficiency Affect Ethereum?
The environmental drain of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum has long hindered their scalability. However, The Merge will now see Ethereum use around 99.9% less energy, a huge boost to its sustainability and the key to more widespread adoption.
Through its transition to proof of stake, Ethereum is sending a message to those seeking to regulate the crypto market that it can adapt to the future and place the preservation of the planet at the forefront of its foals.
Recently, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) conducted an in-depth report on the Climate and Energy Implications of Crypto-Assets in the United States, showing that mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies is becoming increasingly considered by the highest levels of government.
Many are hoping that the Ethereum Merge will only lead to more research and collaboration between the crypto industry and global governments, which will hopefully have a massively positive effect on the value of crypto overall.
Will Ethereum Gas Fees Lower After The Merge?
One of the biggest drawbacks of the Ethereum network is the Gas fees. This is the obligatory fee that comes with any form of transaction carried out on the Ethereum blockchain. They are paid using Ethereum’s native token of ETH and often rise dramatically if there is an increased demand for processing transactions.
At some of the highest traffic periods on the Ethereum blockchain, gas fees can surge to hundreds of dollars. As a result, it can be completely inefficient for many. So many people are questioning if The Merge will lower these Gas fees.
The answer? Yes, and no. Gas fees are predicted to lower in future, but not straight away. The transition to proof-of-stake won’t expand Ethereum’s network capacity, which is needed to lower gas fees.
However, the Ethereum network is implemented a Layer 2 technology called roll-ups; This effectively “rolls up” a wide range of transactions off of the Ethereum blockchain, processes them, and then subsequently records a smaller, compressed version on the main Ethereum blockchain. To realise the introduction of this technology, The Merger is vital.
How Will The Merge Affect The ETH Price For Investors?
Now, we reach the most important question: How will The Merge affect investors like you? Many of you may have been initially disappointed to see the price of ETH plummet after The Merge, as many people expected the complete opposite.
However, it’s important to remember that the effects of The Merge will not be immediately made apparent. The Ethereum network will not become high-speed with low transaction fees straight away; it will take place over the next few months and years.
All these positive upgrades to Ethereum can attract more investors, bringing the supply of ETH down and positively affecting the price of Ethereum’s native token.
In Conclusion: The Future Is Bright, The Future Is Merged!
And so, to sum up: The best way to explain The Merge is as a foundation for the future of Ethereum. From high speeds to lower fees and overall environmental efficiency, The Merge results have the potential for an Ethereum bull run sometime soon.
Ethereum may now be primed for new institutional investors who prioritise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices but have been dissuaded in the past due to Ethereum’s high energy consumption. Following The Merge, Ethereum is now an energy-efficient and more environmentally friendly asset to own.
It’s clear that some majorly positive changes are coming to the Ethereum network. But a lot will stay the same in the early days of The Merge. At least, for now. Over the last five years, Ethereum has provided a return on investment of 600%. Will that number be surpassed in the coming months? Only time will tell.
The future of Ethereum looks bright following the benefits that The Merge can bring. But as with any cryptocurrency, nothing is guaranteed. Always invest responsibly and seek out the advice of a licensed financial advisor if you’re investing in cryptocurrency for the first time. Trading digital currencies can be highly volatile and are not recommended for everybody.
https://www.newsbtc.com/news/company/the-ethereum-merge-what-is-trading-headed-towards/
As we predicted, here comes the ‘Apple has cut iPhone 14 orders’ FUD
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 9:20 am
According to Bloomberg News, under the misleading, fomenting headline “Apple Ditches iPhone Production Increase After Demand Falters,” Apple had supposedly “upgraded its sales projections in the weeks leading up to the iPhone 14 release and some of its suppliers had started making preparations for a 7% boost in orders.”
Proof of that? A citation? Bloomberg News offers none. Who’s the source (and just how short were they)?
So today’s big “news” — which is old and, laughably, just the same as Bloomberg “News” already reported in May — is that Apple will reportedly build some 90 million units for the second half of this year, which is in line with iPhone 13 production over the same period last year.
As has been widely-reported, the company is adjusting the production mix more toward higher-priced iPhone 14 Pro models which are seeing stronger demand due to significantly increased differentiation from lower-priced, non-Pro iPhone 14 models.
Debby Wu and Takashi Mochizuki for Bloomberg News:
Apple Inc. is backing off plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Cupertino, California-based electronics maker has told suppliers to pull back from efforts to increase assembly of the iPhone 14 product family by as many as 6 million units in the second half of this year, said the people, asking not to be named as the plans are not public. Instead, the company will aim to produce 90 million handsets for the period, roughly the same level as the prior year and in line with Apple’s original forecast this summer, the people said.
Demand for higher-priced iPhone 14 Pro models is stronger than for the entry-level versions, according to some of the people. In at least one case, an Apple supplier is shifting production capacity from lower-priced iPhones to premium models, they added.
Apple shares fell about 3% in pre-market trading in New York on Wednesday. US stock-index futures were also lower.
MacDailyNews Take: This is a non-story out of Bloomberg “News” (so, of course, know-nothing investors panic). Use it and the dip it drives to make money.
Citing “people familiar with its projections,” the very same fomenting Bloomberg News bovine excrement artisans reported in May of this year — via the same Debby Wu, no less — that Apple is planning to keep iPhone production roughly flat in 2022, asking suppliers to assemble roughly 220 million iPhones, about the same as last year.
In other words, the “news” today is exactly what the same “news” outfit reported in May with the added topping that has been widely reported for weeks (see multiple articles below), that demand for Apple’s premium iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is so strong as to cause Apple to shift production from lower-priced to high-priced iPhones. QUELLE HORREUR!
The Bloomberg “News” article is FUD*. As will be all other articles that use it as the basis for their anti-Apple reports. Use it to your advantage.
Apple is going to make and sell roughly the same amount of iPhones as last year, but more of those will be higher-priced “Pro” models. Last year, Apple set an all-time revenue record of $123.9 billion for the holiday quarter. With a stronger mix creating a higher iPhone ASP and iPhones making up some 50% of Apple’s total revenue, the company is quite likely to set a new all-time revenue record this holiday quarter, as well.
See also: Daniel Ives dismisses Bloomberg ‘News’ FUD, reiterates $220 Apple price target
The Bloomberg “News” piece, and we do mean piece, above is classic: good news buried under old news disguised as bad news via a misleading headline.
Of course, our ever-flawless crystal ball predicted this quite clearly:
Apple iPhone mix is easily going to be the strongest ever. Do not be surprised with the reports that Apple has “cut iPhone 14 orders,” meaning iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The company will likely be increasing iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max orders to reflect the strong mix which bodes very well, of course for Apple’s iPhone average selling price (ASP). – MacDailyNews, September 14, 2022
Read the all “news” with a critical eye. Watch how widely this non-news piece of FUD is regurgitated throughout the media (already here’s Reuters with their “Apple falls on fears of slowing iPhone 14 demand” trash recap) and used to drive Apple stock price lower. Extrapolate to all types of “news.”
See also:
• Apple’s focus on elevating, differentiating iPhone Pro models is paying off – September 27, 2022
• Apple’s iPhone 14 ASP trending ‘ahead of iPhone 13’ – analyst – September 27, 2022
• Apple needs to significantly increase iPhone 14 Pro production to have enough for Christmas – analyst – September 20, 2022
• Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple is upping production of iPhone 14 Pro models due to strong demand – September 19, 2022
• iPhone 14 pre-order demand is ‘robust,’ tracking ahead of expectations – Wedbush – September 12, 2022
*FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/28/as-we-predicted-here-comes-the-apple-has-cut-iphone-14-orders-fud/
Daniel Ives dismisses Bloomberg ‘News’ FUD, reiterates $220 Apple price target
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 10:27 am
Apple 3.0’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Wednesday reports on a Wedbush note to clients from managing director Daniel Ives regarding Bloomberg “News” latest FUD hit on Apple (see: As we predicted, here comes the ‘Apple has cut iPhone 14 orders’ FUD) in which Ives reiterates that iPhone 14 Pro demand remains robust making for a significantly stronger mix for iPhone 14 than for iPhone 13 which “means much higher ASPs and a clear tailwind for Apple into FY23 at this pace.”
In his note to clients, Ives maintained his “Outperform” rating and $220 price target on Apple.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt for Apple 3.0:
From a note to Wedbush clients that landed on my desktop Wednesday:
Last night Bloomberg reported that Apple has decided to maintain production for iPhone 14 and “not increase as expected” given softer consumer demand… Our view is the headline of “not increasing production” (~6 million units) overshadows the underlying story for iPhone 14 Pro demand that is currently playing out in the field.
iPhone Pro demand remains robust based on all data points we see across the US and China and is tilting towards a 85%-90% mix for iPhone 14 vs. ~65% with iPhone 13. This means much higher ASPs and a clear tailwind for Apple into FY23 at this pace…
As we have discussed initial iPhone 14 units was roughly 90 million and is in line with iPhone 13 and that remains firm/unchanged. However the mix is heavily shifted towards Pro while the base model iPhone sales have clearly been underwhelming and softer than Apple expected.
Our positive thesis on Apple remains unchanged and we are not wavering in our view the iPhone 14 Pro demand is robust and this will enable Apple to power through near-term macro headwinds much better than feared by the Street.
Read more of Ives’ note at Apple 3.0 here.
MacDailyNews Take: Same. More on our take here.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/28/daniel-ives-dismisses-bloomberg-news-fud-reiterates-220-apple-price-target/
Apple’s focus on elevating, differentiating iPhone Pro models is paying off
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 11:02 am
This year, the iPhone 14 Pro and flasghsip iPhone 14 Pro Max offer an Always-On display, the Dynamic Island, 48MP main camera, telephoto lens, 6x optical zoom, Macro photography, Macro video recording, Apple ProRAW, A16 Bionic, longer battery life, surgical-grade stainless steel, ProMotion, 2000 nits peak brightness, and more that the base iPhone 14 phones do not. Apple’s focus this year on elevating and differentiating the iPhone Pro models is paying off with a higher ASP – meaning more revenue for the company.
Dan Gallagher for The Wall Street Journal:
The iPhone 14 Pro models in particular seem to be experiencing strong demand, with customers now having to wait a month or longer for their deliveries. UBS analyst David Vogt also estimates that wait time in the U.S. for the large-screen iPhone 14 Pro Max is about 9 days longer than for the comparable model in last year’s iPhone 13 family at the same point in its cycle.
Especially this year, not all iPhones are equal. JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee estimates that the average global wait time for the iPhone 14 Pro is nearly a month longer than for the baseline 14 model.
Apple created the Pro lineup three years ago, offering enhancements such as a more powerful camera and a premium steel casing, but the company took a new step this year by putting its latest mobile processor only into the Pro models—leaving the iPhone 14 with the same chip that powered last year’s iPhone 13 lineup.
Analysts expect combined iPhone unit sales for the September and December quarters this year to be flat with the same period last year, but they also expect a 4% rise in iPhone revenues over the same period, according to consensus estimates from Visible Alpha. That will require a higher contribution from the Pro models than in past years.
MacDailyNews Take: As predicted:
Apple should have been doing this prior, but it’s good to see some additional differentiation between entry-level and “Pro” iPhone which will, of course, tilt more buyers to iPhone Pro models, increasing Apple’s iPhone ASP. The expected removal of the inelegant kludge (notch) in favor of a more refined pill and hole punch design exclusively in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will also help differentiate the Pro models from the non-Pro iPhones later this year, moving the mix toward higher-end iPhones. – MacDailyNews, July 6, 2022
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/27/apples-focus-on-elevating-differentiating-iphone-pro-models-is-paying-off/
Bill Gates: ‘We’re going to have a hung election and a civil war’
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 10:46 am
Bill Gates, who got rich by poorly copying the look and feel of Steve Jobs’ Macintosh, selling it to peddlers of cheap, junky PCs, and using the resulting monopoly to push other office suites off the Windows platform in favor of his, is worried about domestic polarization in America, causing him to seemingly predict a “hung election” and “civil war” at some point in the future.
Picture at link below shows: At Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2011, from left: James E. Staley, at the time a senior JPMorgan executive; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers; Mr. Epstein; Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder; and Boris Nikolic, who was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s science adviser.
Giacomo Tognini for Forbes:
Bill Gates is putting a timeline on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he co-chairs with his ex-wife, fellow billionaire Melinda French Gates. Speaking at the 2022 Forbes 400 Philanthropy Summit, the Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist announced the foundation plans to wrap up in 25 years.
“The goal for the foundation is to run for another 25 years,” Gates said in the keynote conversation with Forbes’ Chief Content Officer Randall Lane…
Gates, who predicted a pandemic back in 2015… is still worried about domestic polarization in the U.S., which he sees little hope for in the short-term.
“I admit that political polarization may bring it all to an end, we’re going to have a hung election and a civil war,” he said. “I have no expertise in that, I’m not going to divert my money to that because I wouldn’t know how to spend it.”
MacDailyNews Take: Well, especially during such strife, food would become an even more valuable commodity – people always need to eat – so how about spending it on becoming the largest farmland owner in America?
Oh, right, silly us, Gates already is
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/27/bill-gates-were-going-to-have-a-hung-election-and-a-civil-war/.
Apple’s London HQ in Battersea Power Station finally set to open early next year
Monday, September 26, 2022 1:09 pm
Apple will finally open its London office space in Battersea Power Station early next year, Apple CEO Tim Cook today announced upon a visit to the all-new campus.
In 2016, when announcing the project, Apple said it was looking forward to opening in 2021 as its London-area staff relocate to “this magnificent new development at one of the city’s best-known landmarks.”
Jonathan Prynn for the Evening Standard:
Apple boss Tim Cook has flown in to visit the iPhone giant’s new London headquarters at Battersea Power station for the first time.
Mr Cook, who is due to stay in London for several days, said: “Apple has been part of the London community for more than 40 years, and we’re thrilled to soon bring some of our teams together in the historic Battersea Power Station. Once a source of energy for much of London, the transformation this building has undergone honours London’s past and celebrates its future. We’re so glad to be a part of it.”
The Standard revealed in 2016 that Apple would be the main office occupier at Battersea, taking more than 500,000 sq ft of space designed by Foster + Partners over six floors.
Mr Cook’s visit comes ahead of the official opening to the public of the grade II*-listed former coal fired power station on 14th October 2022 almost 40 years after it stopped producing power for London.
It will have more than 100 shops, bars, restaurants, and a 24,000 sq ft food hall in the former Boiler House opening next year.
About 2,000 residents have already moved in to the power station itself and other new buildings in the £9 billion development.
MacDailyNews Take: Congrats to the UK in general and to London in particular!
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/26/apples-london-hq-in-battersea-power-station-finally-set-to-open-early-next-year/
Facebook-parent Meta sued for bypassing Apple privacy rules to track users
Thursday, September 22, 2022 9:25 am
Facebook-parent Meta Platform was sued on Wednesday for allegedly building a secret work-around to “App Tracking Transparency” privacy safeguards that Apple launched last year to protect users from having their internet activity tracked.
Robert Burnson for Bloomberg News:
In a proposed class-action complaint filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court, two Facebook users accused the company of skirting Apple’s 2021 privacy rules and violating state and federal laws limiting the unauthorized collection of personal data. A similar complaint was filed in the same court last week.
The suits are based on a report by data privacy researcher Felix Krause, who said that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram apps for Apple’s iOS inject JavaScript code onto websites visited by users. Krause said the code allowed the apps to track “anything you do on any website,” including typing passwords.
The Facebook app gets around Apple privacy rules by opening web links in an in-app browser, rather than the user’s default browser, according to Wednesday’s complaint.
“This allows Meta to intercept, monitor and record its users’ interactions and communications with third parties, providing data to Meta that it aggregates, analyzes, and uses to boost its advertising revenue,” according to the suit.
MacDailyNews Take: >Meta’s privacy-trampling business model depended on keeping users ignorant in order to succeed.
Apple’s App Tracking Transparency simply gives users the control they should have always had. Clearly, users do not want Meta tracking them on Facebook, Instagram, etc.
The fact that Apple providing users the choice to be tracked or not via App Tracking Transparency hurts Facebook et al. not only highlights the inherent flaw in the business model of these societal cancers, it makes us laugh. ?? — MacDailyNews, March 9, 2022
Apple’s privacy tool allows users to understand what’s being taken from them in exchange for a “free” services and gives users the tools they need to protect their privacy and security.
Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain English, and repeatedly. I’m an optimist; I believe people are smart, and some people want to share more data than other people do. Ask them. Ask them every time. Make them tell you to stop asking them if they get tired of your asking them. Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with your data. — Steve Jobs, June 2010
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/22/facebook-parent-meta-sued-for-bypassing-apple-privacy-rules-to-track-users/
Where will Apple stock be 5 years from now?
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 3:38 pm
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Apple stock can perform well over the next five years. Just ask Warren Buffett.
BJ Cook for The Motley Fool:
Warren Buffett, one of Apple’s largest shareholders and most prominent cheerleaders, believes Apple is the best business he knows in the world. Throughout the iPhone’s upgrade cycles, Apple has consistently improved its design and functionality to meet ever-changing consumer tastes. Perhaps most importantly, the iPhone’s camera gets better with every new version. iPhone users can quickly snap the highest-quality selfies and videos of their kid’s soccer games and post them to social media in a heartbeat.
Buffett has referred to the iPhone as a “sticky” product, meaning customers repeatedly return to Apple’s smartphones. Aside from the iPhone’s design appeal, users like the brand because of its add-on services. iPhone users can purchase additional iCloud storage, download music from the Apple Music app, and conduct touchless payments with Apple Pay…
Another reason Buffett likes Apple is its share repurchases. The company has religiously retired shares over the last 10 years, which increases the percentage of the company existing shareholders own. Similarly, repurchasing shares en masse also increases its earnings per share, all else being equal.
When you combine Apple’s business advantages over other companies with its ability to retire shares at a prodigious clip, you have a stock that has a high probability of outperforming the market over the next five years.
MacDailyNews Note: In 2021, Apple bought back $85.5 billion in Apple stock, while issuing $14.5 billion in dividends. In April of this year, Apple’s board of directors authorized an increase of $90 billion to the existing share repurchase program while declaring a cash dividend of $0.23 per share of the company’s common stock, a year-over-year increase of 5 percent.
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/21/where-will-apple-stock-be-5-years-from-now/
Anti-ESG activist investor urges Apple and Disney to refrain from politics
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 12:46 pm
Activist investor Vivek Ramaswamy, who via Strive Asset Management has been a sharp critic of so-called environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is urging Apple and Disney to abstain from engaging in political discussions and stop making employment decisions while taking an individual’s race, sex, and/or political opinions into account.
Strive Asset Management’s STRV is a passively managed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that seeks broad market exposure to 500 of the largest US publicly traded stocks. Apple (AAPL) is the fund’s current top holding.
Allison Prang for The Wall Street Journal:
Ramaswamy, who recently launched Strive Asset Management, said Disney should no longer take public positions on political issues that aren’t related to the company’s core business. The letter cited how Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek took a stance on Florida’s parental rights in education bill.
“Disney must act now,” Mr. Ramaswamy wrote in his letter, dated Monday. “If Disney continues speaking out on political issues that do not affect its business, it will face even greater pressure to act when they do. And the sides Disney will be expected to take won’t be the ones that are favorable to its business.”
In a separate letter to Apple, Mr. Ramaswamy pushed back on the company’s plans to conduct a racial-equity audit and asked the tech giant to make all hiring decisions without taking into account political beliefs, race, or sex.
Mr. Ramaswamy is the author of “Woke Inc.,” a book that argues companies shouldn’t be swayed by politics. Strive Management’s main fund, focused on energy, has $320 million in assets.
MacDailyNews Take: Amen.
Getting the absolute best people should remain Apple’s ultimate goal. Forced diversity carries its own set of problems. Would the group be comprised of the best-qualifed people possible or would it be designed to hit pre-defined quotas? Would some employees, consciously or unconsciously, consider certain employees, or even themselves, to be tokens meant to fill a quota? That would be a suboptimal result for Apple and everyone involved.
The best and desired outcome is for the quest for diversity to work in Apple’s favor. Truly looking at qualified people from a larger pool would likely result in delivering different viewpoints and new ways of looking at things and tackling problems than a more homogenized workforce would likely be capable of delivering.
Regardless and of course, someday it sure would be nice for everyone to just be able to evaluate a person’s potential, not measuring and tabulating superficial, meaningless things like skin color and gender.
How do we ever get to the point where people “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” when we insist on judging people by the color of their skin? — MacDailyNews, December 31, 2015
Some people have said that I shouldn’t get involved politically because probably half our customers are Republicans… so I’m going to just stay away from all that political stuff. —[/i] Apple CEO Steve Jobs, August 25, 2004
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/21/anti-esg-activist-investor-urges-apple-and-disney-to-refrain-from-politics/
I agree with you. It reminds me of this article:
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=168324944
Apple may move a quarter of product production to India by 2025 – J.P. Morgan
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 9:10 am
Amid mounting geopolitical tensions and ongoing quixotic lockdowns in search of the unattainable myth of “zero-COVID” in China, Apple suppliers may assemble one out of every four iPhones in India by 2025, J.P.Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, as Apple looks to diversify production, especially out of CCP-controlled China.
The brokerage expects Apple to move about 5% of iPhone 14 production from late 2022 to India, which is the world’s second-biggest smartphone market after China.
It is also estimating about 25% of all Apple products, including Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, to be manufactured outside China by 2025 from 5% currently.
“Taiwanese vendors such as Hon Hai and Pegatron play a key role in the relocation to India. In the medium to long term, we also expect Apple to qualify local India manufacturing suppliers,” according to J.P.Morgan analysts led by Gokul Hariharan, who is rated 4 out of 5 for estimates accuracy.
MacDailyNews Take: Better (at least a decade) late than never, we always say.
• Better late than never on Apple’s diversification of production/assembly points in order to mitigate risk and, potentially, increase competition which would lower manufacturing costs. – MacDailyNews, July 17, 2019
• Apple should have been diversifying production long ago to minimize risk, not to mention China’s human rights abuses, authoritarian censorship, and myriad other concerns. – MacDailyNews, May 23, 2022
• The company will emerge stronger than ever, especially as they continue to diversify production instead of being almost entirely dependent on China. — MacDailyNews, April 16, 2020
As for the Chinese Communist Party’s quixotic approach to COVID-19:
• There’s no such thing as zero-COVID, but this year is the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th party congress, so the farce will continue until the politics no longer dictate tilting at windmills. Then COVID will be allowed to wash through China, as it already has around much of the world. – MacDailyNews, May 9, 2022
• In general, human-transmissible coronaviruses do not disappear. There is no such thing as zero-COVID. Duh.
COVID-19 is here to stay. It will very likely become endemic, yet pose less danger over time. People will acquire immunity via vaccines (effectiveness TDB) and naturally as they contract and recover from variants like omicron since the partially-effective vaccines permit not only transmissibility, but also breakthrough infections. Influenza and the four human coronaviruses that cause common colds (OC43, 229E, NL63 and HKU1) are, of course, also endemic, but a combination of annual flu vaccines and acquired immunity means that sane societies tolerate the unavoidable seasonal deaths and illnesses they bring without requiring lockdowns, masks, social distancing, indefinite return-to-work delays, etc.
At which point, if ever, will some people decide that wasting away their short lives in abject fear of a bad flu, very likely engineered by China and partially funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is a hysterical self-defeating overreaction? – MacDailyNews, December 16, 2021
• The real virus is the panic. – MacDailyNews, March 9, 2020
https://macdailynews.com/2022/09/21/apple-may-move-a-quarter-of-product-production-to-india-by-2025-j-p-morgan/