Not revealing BlackBerry 10 unit sales was a big mistake

BlackBerry Earnings Analysis Q1 2014

BlackBerry?s May-quarter handset shipments of 6.8 million units was probably at least 400,000 units short of what the company needed for the quarter. That is a painful miss for the period when both the Z10 and the Q10 were available. But the decision to avoid disclosing how many BlackBerry 10 units were sold into channels in BlackBerry?s earnings release is making the situation even worse for the company.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry back in the red after posting surprise Q1 loss]

Analysts thought BB10 shipments would fall between 2.5 million and 5 million units in the fiscal quarter.?The unit consensus had ticked up in the days before earnings as analysts raised their expectations. No matter what the real number is, everyone expected BlackBerry to reveal it in the earnings report. Leaving the investors in the dark about this key metric is worse than revealing even a weak figure; the uncertainty makes people speculate about all kinds of worst case scenarios.

[More from BGR: iOS 7 might be more innovative than we think]

It is possible BlackBerry will reveal the BB10 volume number later, but leaving it out of the initial report has already helped trigger a -20% decline in share price by 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning.?Investor confidence in the management has been shaken again.

The most likely reason for the low shipment figure in the May quarter is a combination of sub-3 million shipment volume of BB10 models and weak sales of legacy Curve phones in the emerging markets. This leaves BlackBerry entirely dependent on the success of the Q5 model currently debuting in Middle East and arriving to Europe and Asia within weeks.

The big worry now is that the Z10 and Q10 may have been priced out of the handset market where dirt cheap Android phones are already undermining? both Nokia and Apple. The new Q5 is 40% cheaper than the Q10, but its price still levitates more than 100% above cheaper Android smartphones with similar or better displays and better cameras.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/not-revealing-blackberry-10-unit-sales-big-mistake-123029615.html

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Distro Issue 97: Made in the USA edition

The first week of July for those of us here in the States brings a barrage of cookouts, cold beverages and patriotism. In fact, we've dedicated the entirety of this week's double issue to the good ol' US of A. Crammed into the pages of this e-magazine is a first-hand account of the struggle to construct America's most sustainable city, a survey of developments in stateside manufacturing and much more. Eyes-On packs into some US-made bags, Weekly State tallies STEM job growth and IRL returns with more of our everyday gadgets. We'll be taking next week off to recover from the feast of hot dogs and impending firework burns, so be sure to swipe this edition to tide you over until our return.

Distro Issue 97 PDF
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Distro in the Windows Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
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Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/distro-issue-97-made-in-the-usa-edition/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Pakistan extends refugee status for Afghans

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? The United Nations says Pakistan has extended refugee status for over a million Afghans living in the country. It was set to expire June 30.

The U.N.'s refugee agency said Friday Pakistan agreed to extend their status while it comes up with a new policy.

Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees dating back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan three decades ago. There are 1.6 million in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis have become frustrated with the length of time the Afghans have stayed and want them to leave.

Pakistan has said it will not forcibly evict Afghans. However, revoking their refugee status would encourage people to return to Afghanistan.

Refugee status allows Afghans to get a government ID card that they use for everyday activities like banking or registering for school.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-extends-refugee-status-afghans-060448915.html

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RBS to decide on branch sale plan in July - sources

By Matt Scuffham

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland will make a decision on how to offload hundreds of branches it has been ordered to sell by European regulators in the next month, industry sources told Reuters on Friday.

RBS is preparing the business, code named Rainbow, for a stock market flotation but is open to the idea of first selling substantial stakes to strategic investors prior to an initial public offering. The investor would then stay on as a dominant force in the floated company after the IPO.

The bank must sell 315 branches as a condition of receiving a 45.5 billion pound government rescue in 2008 which left it 82 percent state-owned.

Industry sources said RBS is considering proposals from 3 sets of investors who could serve as the strategic partner.

One consortium is led by private equity firms Centerbridge and Corsair and has backing from the Church of England's investment fund, while another comprises several of Britain's biggest investment firms and is led by former Tesco finance director, Andy Higginson.

A third proposal has been submitted by British private equity firm Anacap Financial Partners, in conjunction with U.S. private equity group, Blackstone . RBS could also pursue a stock market flotation of the branches on its own without having additional investors on board, the sources said.

RBS is not yet favouring a particular proposal.

"All bids have their merits and it is too early to say which bidder is most likely to succeed," said one source close to the sale process.

RBS is aiming to tell potential investors what its plans are in the next month, the sources said, although that timetable is not set in stone.

An IPO could happen any time in the next two years, the sources said, but the bank would like to go earlier to avoid competing against a glut of impending bank share sales.

The government is planning to start selling its shares in Lloyds Banking Group soon while Lloyds is looking to spin off 630 branches via a stock market flotation.

The deal adds to an increasingly busy block of UK bank assets seeking investment or new capital over the next year, raising questions of whether the market will be swallow everything.

Spain's Santander and Virgin Money, the financial group that is part of Richard Branson's empire, are both planning to float their UK businesses.

The sale of the RBS branches was halted in October when Santander pulled out of a deal to buy the whole portfolio for 1.65 billion pounds. RBS has said a sale this year is now unlikely, meaning it will have to ask European regulators to extend a December 2013 deadline.

(Additional reporting by Laura Noonan; editing by Patrick Graham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rbs-decide-branch-sale-plan-july-sources-145011672.html

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Making hydrogenation greener: Using iron as catalyst for widely used chemical process, replacing heavy metals

June 27, 2013 ? Researchers from McGill University, RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Wako, Japan) and the Institute for Molecular Science (Okazaki, Japan) have discovered a way to make the widely used chemical process of hydrogenation more environmentally friendly -- and less expensive.

Hydrogenation is a chemical process used in a wide range of industrial applications, from food products, such as margarine, to petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. The process typically involves the use of heavy metals, such as palladium or platinum, to catalyze the chemical reaction. While these metals are very efficient catalysts, they are also non-renewable, costly, and subject to sharp price fluctuations on international markets.

Because these metals are also toxic, even in small quantities, they also raise environmental and safety concerns. Pharmaceutical companies, for example, must use expensive purification methods to limit residual levels of these elements in pharmaceutical products. Iron, by contrast, is both naturally abundant and far less toxic than heavy metals.

Previous work by other researchers has shown that iron nanoparticles -- tiny pieces of metallic iron -- can be used to activate the hydrogenation reaction. Iron, however, has a well-known drawback: it rusts in the presence of oxygen or water. When rusted, iron nanoparticles stop acting as hydrogenation catalysts. This problem, which occurs with so much as trace quantities of water, has prevented iron nanoparticles from being used in industry.

In research published today in the journal Green Chemistry, scientists from McGill, RIKEN, and the Institute for Molecular Science report that they have found a way to overcome this limitation, making iron an active catalyst in water-ethanol mixtures containing up to 90% water.

The key to this new method is to produce the particles directly inside a polymer matrix, composed of amphiphilic polymers based on polystyrene and polyethylene glycol. The polymer acts as a wrapping film that protects the iron surface from rusting in the presence of water, while allowing the reactants to reach the water and react.

This innovation enabled the researchers to use iron nanoparticles as catalyst in a flow system, raising the possibility that iron could be used to replace platinum-series metals for hydrogenation under industrial conditions.

"Our research is now focused on achieving a better understanding of how the polymers are protecting the surface of the iron from water, while at the same time allowing the iron to interact with the substrate," says Audrey Moores, an assistant professor of chemistry at McGill and co-corresponding author of the paper.

The results stem from an ongoing collaboration between McGill and RIKEN, one of Japan's largest scientific research organizations, in the fields of nanotechnology and green chemistry. Lead author Reuben Hudson, a doctoral student at McGill, worked on the project at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science and at the Institute for Molecular Science in Japan. Co-authors of the paper are Prof. Chao-Jun Li of McGill, Dr. Go Hamasaka and Dr. Takao Osako of the Institute for Molecular Science, Dr. Yoichi M.A. Yamada of Riken and Prof. Yasuhiro Uozumi of Riken and the Institute for Molecular Science.

"The approach we have developed through this collaboration could lead to more sustainable industrial processes," says Prof. Uozumi. "This technique provides a system in which the reaction can happen over and over with the same small amount of a catalytic material, and it enables it to take place in almost pure water -- the green solvent par excellence."

Funding for the research was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Canada Research Chairs, the Fonds de recherche du Qu?bec -- Nature et technologies, the Riken-McGill Fund, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/ZCnAZiIN5jA/130627124554.htm

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The World's Fastest Ship Is Basically an Aquatic Concorde Jet

This is no lumbering Staten Island Ferry. This is the Francisco, a wave-piercing catamaran loaded with modified jet engines set to blast commuters across the River Plate at 58 knots, faster than any other ship in the world.

Australia?s Incat shipyard built the 1516 ton-displacement Francisco, named after Pope Francis, on behalf of the Buquebus company, which plans to operate it crossing the 140 miles Rio de la Plata estuary between Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay.

The ship's hull is crafted from "Two slender, aluminum hulls connected by a bridging section with centre bow structure at the forward end." The Incat website states, "Each hull is divided into nine vented, watertight compartments divided by transverse bulkheads. Two compartments in each hull are prepared as fuel tanks with an additional compartment prepared as a long range tank." It is powered by a pair of 59,000 HP GE LM2500 gas turbines, derived from those used aboard 747s to run on liquid natural gas (it uses either marine distillate to get the engines started and as an emergency fuel). These power plants run through a 7:1 gearbox that drives two Wartsila LJX 1720 SR waterjets, propelling the ship up to 67 MPH.

?This is certainly the fastest ship in the world,? said Incat managing director Kim Clifford. ?Of course there?s a few speed boats that could surpass 58 knots, but nothing that could carry 1,000 passengers and 150 cars, and with an enormous duty-free shop on board.?

The Francisco beat out another Incat design to take the record, 1996's 53.8 knot Juan Patricio. It too is part of the Buquebus fleet and is still in service. Water taxis everywhere, take note!

[Incat - GE - Top Image: Kim Clifford / Incat, Interior Image: Eric Graudins]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-fastest-boat-is-basically-an-aquatic-concor-572876759

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Ha-Neul Kim leads US Women's Open after 1 round

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) ? South Korea's Ha-Neul Kim upstaged friend Inbee Park to take the first-round lead at her first U.S. Women's Open.

Kim shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Thursday at Sebonack to lead Park by a stroke. The top-ranked Park is trying to make history by winning the first three majors of the year.

"I'm enjoying myself," Kim said through a translator. "I'm just happy to be here and to be playing in this big event. I'm not really thinking about winning or results but enjoying the moment."

Currently a member of the KLPGA Tour, Kim is a seven-time winner in South Korea. She kept giving herself short birdie putts Thursday and making them.

Kim birdied her second-to-last hole with daylight waning to claim the lead after Park held it for most of the day with her 67 in the morning session.

No player has won the first three majors in a season with at least four majors. The 2008 U.S. Women's Open champion, Park has already won five times this year, including her last two tournaments.

American Lizette Salas, Swedes Caroline Hedwall and Anna Nordqvist and South Korea's I.K. Kim shot 68.

Concerned about bad weather, tournament officials moved up the tees, and with the rain holding off, Park was able to play aggressively.

"I never had practiced from those tees, so I was a little bit shocked when I went to the tees," Park said.

Not that she was complaining.

She repeatedly set up short putts, and the way she has excelled in her short game lately, Park was headed to a low score.

"So instead of hitting like 5-irons, we were hitting 9-irons, and that was making the course much easier," she said. "I was actually able to go for some pins and give myself a lot of opportunities today. I made a lot of putts and didn't leave much out there."

Starting on No. 10, Park birdied her first hole, then started racking up pars. She made the turn at 2 under before birdies on three of her next four holes.

At 5 under, Park briefly struggled with her tee shots, needing to save par on Nos. 5 and 7. On No. 6, her 15th hole of the day, she had to lay up out of the tall grass and settled for her lone bogey.

Park got back to 5 under on the par-5 eighth with a chip shot to about 5 feet that set up a birdie putt.

Nordqvist birdied her last two holes to pull into a tie for third. Hedwall and Kim were each at 5 under with a hole left, but closed with bogeys.

Salas, a 23-year-old former Southern California star, played with Park in the last group of the final round of this year's Kraft Nabisco Championship. Three strokes back starting the day, she opened with a double bogey and tumbled to 25th after shooting a 79.

She bounced back to reach a playoff at the LPGA Lotte Championship in April, losing to Suzann Pettersen for her best finish on tour.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/neul-kim-leads-us-womens-open-1-round-003932677.html

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