Categories
Business

Asian stocks follow Wall Street down on rate climb, economy worries

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower Tuesday as fears expanded that U.S. rate climbs to battle expansion could slow down financial development.

Market benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney fell. Shanghai progressed. Oil costs fell more than $1 yet remained above $100 per barrel.

Money Street’s benchmark S&P 500 file tumbled 3.2% on Monday, hitting its absolute bottom in over a year.

The Federal Reserve is attempting to cool expansion that is running at a four-decade high, however financial backers stress that could set off a U.S. slump. That adds to tension from Russia’s conflict on Ukraine and a Chinese stoppage.

Merchants are estimating in the “approaching disintegration of monetary circumstances,” said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.9% to 26,074.53 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.6% to 19,478.31.

The Shanghai Composite Index acquired 0.4% to 3,017.21 after the Chinese government declared lease cuts and other guide for private ventures in another work to support iron deficient monetary development.

The Kospi in Seoul shed 1.2% to 2,580.95 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 declined 1.4% to 7,025.20. New Zealand and Southeast Asian business sectors likewise withdrew.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 sank to 3,991.24. That leaves Wall Street’s benchmark down 16.8% from its Jan. 3 record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2% to 32,245.70. The Nasdaq composite slid 4.3% to 11,623.25 as tech stocks to the brunt of the selling.

Energy stocks additionally fell. Long distance race Oil and APA Corp. each sank over 14%.

Stocks have declined as the Fed gets some distance from a procedure of siphoning cash into the monetary framework, which supported costs.

The U.S. national bank has raised its vital rate from near nothing, where it sat for a large part of the Covid pandemic. Last week, it demonstrated it will twofold the size of future builds from its standard edge.

China on Monday announced trade development fell in April because of feeble worldwide interest while imports became under 1% more than a year sooner.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. rough sank $2.02 to $101.07 per barrel in electronic exchanging on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The agreement plunged $6.68 to $103.09 on Monday. Brent unrefined, the cost reason for worldwide oil exchanging, lost $2.14 to $103.80 per barrel in London. It fell $6.45 the past meeting to $105.94.

The dollar declined to 130.22 yen from Monday’s 130.32 yen. The euro rose to $1.0577 from $1.0566.

Categories
Technology

Facebook is removing some location-tracking service because of ‘low usage’

According to report, Facebook is suspending numerous features that tracked your real-time location, including Nearby Friends, weather warnings, location history, and background location. Facebook says it will stop collecting data linked with these features on May 31st and will destroy all saved data on August 1st, according to a notification given to those who have previously used the service.

The Verge received confirmation from Facebook parent company Meta. “While we’re deprecating some location-based features on Facebook due to low usage, people can still use Location Services to manage how their location information is collected and used,” spokesperson Emil Vazquez said in an emailed statement.

However, this does not imply that Facebook will stop collecting location data entirely. According to Facebook’s statement to users, it will “continue collecting location information for other experiences” in order to offer relevant advertising and location check-ins in accordance with its data policy. Within the Settings and Privacy menu, you can see, download, or erase any location data the platform has saved. Otherwise, on August 1st, Facebook will immediately delete all data relating to its deceased services.

So think many of us will be disappointed to see these things disappear. (It doesn’t appear that many people rely on Facebook for weather updates these days.) Nearby Friends, introduced by Facebook in 2014, allows you to share your real-time location with your friends — and vice versa — with the goal of arranging in-person hangouts with folks in your immediate vicinity. Its popularity waned over time as rival applications such as Snapchat’s Snap Map and Apple’s Find My Friends gained traction.

Given Facebook’s track record when it comes to protecting users’ data, the removal of these location-based services is actually a relief. Following a report that revealed Facebook recorded users’ movements if they made a “credible” threat, Facebook began allowing Android users to turn off background location tracking in 2019. (Apple currently allows users to disable location tracking for certain apps.)

You can read Facebook’s full message to users here:

Because you’ve previously used Nearby Friends, Weather alerts, Location History or Background Location, we’re letting you know that these products and features will no longer be available after May 31, 2022. Information you shared that was used for these experiences, including Location History and Background Location, will stop being collected after May 31, 2022, even if you have previously enabled them. Facebook will otherwise continue collecting location information for other experiences as described in our Data Policy.

Update your settings

You can update your current Location History and Background Location settings in the Facebook App until May 31, 2022. After this date, the settings will be disabled.

Accessing your Location History

If you want to view or delete your existing Location History, you can access your information and download your information before Aug 1, 2022. After this date, if you do nothing, your existing Location History information will be automatically deleted.

Categories
Entertainment

Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe portraits becomes most expensive 20th-century artwork

One of Andy Warhol’s renowned Marilyn Monroe pictures has set a record for the most expensive 20th-century artwork ever sold at auction.

At Christie’s in New York on Monday evening, the 40-square-inch “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” one of dozens of photographs the artist took of Monroe in the 1960s, sold for a record $195 million.

Christie’s described “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” as “one of the rarest and most transcendent images in existence” before the auction. It has previously been displayed in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Tate Modern in London.

The auction company had previously stated that bids “in the vicinity of” $200 million were expected.

Along with his famous paintings of Campbell’s soup cans, Warhol’s vivid copies of Monroe’s photo portrait — originally a publicity still from her 1953 film “Niagara” — are among his most recognized works.

He began making them in 1962, shortly after Monroe’s death, using a method called silkscreen printing, which duplicates images on paper or canvas using a layer of fine-mesh silk as a stencil. The Pop artist created multiple variations of Monroe’s portrait in various colours and configurations, as he did with other renowned individuals such as Elvis Presley and Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

“Marilyn Diptych,” owned by British gallery organisation Tate, is one of the most well-known, with Warhol printing a grid of 50 portraits across two canvases. Other works include “Gold Marilyn Monroe” at the Museum of Modern Art, which shows a single image printed against a gold background, and “Shot Marilyns,” which included the artist shooting photographs of the actress through the skull with bullets.

According to Christie’s, he created a “more refined and time-intensive” new procedure in 1964 that was “antithetical to the mass production he was best known for.” Before abandoning the technique, he employed it to make a small number of portraits that year — a rare collection of works to which “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” belongs.

While a handful of paintings are thought to have sold for more than $200 million in private sales (including works by Abstract Expressionist painters Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock), Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which sold for more than $450 million in 2017, is the only painting to have done so at auction. The previous auction record for a 20th-century artwork was set in 2015 when Pablo Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O)” sold for $179.4 million.

“Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster),” which depicts the damaged aftermath of a road crash and sold for more than $105 million almost a decade ago, holding the previous auction record for a Warhol work. Several other Marilyn portraits by the artist have sold for large sums at auction in recent years, with “White Marilyn” from 1962 selling for $41 million in New York in 2014.

Meanwhile, “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” passed through the hands of a number of prominent gallerists and collectors until being acquired by the late Swiss art dealer Thomas Ammann. According to a press statement, the image was auctioned off by the Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation Zurich, a charity organisation established in his (and his sister’s) names that will utilise the earnings to finance health and education projects for children around the world.

Christie’s chairman of 20th and 21st century art, Alex Rotter, characterised the work as “the absolute pinnacle of American Pop” and “the most significant 20th century painting to come to auction in a generation” in a press statement prior to the sale.

“Warhol’s ‘Marilyn,’ which stands with Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus,’ Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa,’ and Picasso’s ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,’ is definitely one of the greatest paintings of all time,” he continued.

The painting was one of four Warhols in the Ammanns’ collection that went up for auction on Monday evening. One of his iconic “Flowers” silkscreen prints sold for $15.8 million, while “GE/Skull,” which he created with the late Jean-Michel Basquiat, sold for more than $4.6 million. Meanwhile, Warhol’s artwork “Heinz Tomato Ketchup Box” sold for $478,000.

Works by Robert Ryman, Alberto Giacometti, and Lucian Freud were also auctioned off. Paintings by American artist Cy Twombly, “Untitled” and “Venere Sopra Gaeta,” which sold for $21 million and over $17 million respectively, were among the top sellers.

Categories
Business

According to reports, some new BMWs will not have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay

According to Automotive News Europe, BMW is temporarily shipping some new vehicles without compatibility for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay due to a change in chip suppliers. The new supplier’s processors are reportedly not yet compatible with Android Auto and CarPlay, and will require an update to make the software work.

“The chips built into these cars in the first four months of this year need updated software in order to be fully functional and offer Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Wi-Fi capability,” BMW said in an emailed statement to Automotive News Europe. 

However, drivers may not have to wait long for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality. According to Automotive News Europe, the carmaker expects to release an over-the-air (OTA) update to enable the capability “by the end of June at the latest.”

BMW did not indicate how many cars are affected or which models are affected, however vehicles with the manufacturing code “6P1” will not have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. It’s unclear whether the problem is limited to certain locations; according to Automotive News Europe, drivers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France have reported receiving new vehicles that lack either functionality.

This isn’t the first time BMW has made a concession owing to a chip scarcity. BMW announced in November that it had stopped shipping some of its new vehicles without touchscreens and backup assistant features, and that impacted customers would receive a $500 credit.

The scarcity hit other automobile manufactures as well, such as General Motors. Wireless charging was removed from a number of vehicles, a fuel management module was removed from several trucks, and the automated Super Cruise feature was removed from the Cadillac Escalade in 2022. Ford has began shipping and selling Explorer SUVs without rear heating and air conditioning controls on a trial basis.

According to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, the chip scarcity, which affects a number of businesses in various ways, might endure until 2024.

Categories
Technology

Tidy Up Your Life With Up to 57% Off SwitchBot Smart Devices

Savvy gadgets have progressed significantly, and there’s an entire environment out there that you can use to add a genuine accommodation to your day to day daily schedule. From lights to indoor regulators, there are lots of Wi-Fi empowered savvy gadgets and machines that you have some control over from anyplace, or just by utilizing your voice. Assuming you’re hoping to begin assembling your organization of shrewd gadgets, or add some to your current assortment, today just, through 11:55 p.m. PT (2:55 a.m. ET), Amazon is offering large limits on an assortment of SwitchBot savvy gadgets, with some discounted for as much as 57% off.

With the expansion of the $22 SwitchBot Hub, all SwitchBot shrewd gadgets are viable with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, so they’re intended to consistently coordinate into your home, regardless sort of brilliant speaker or savvy show you have. There’s an assortment of convenient gadgets that you can get up at a deal at the present time. A savvy light is one of the least difficult and most flexible shrewd gadgets to add to your home, and you can get this SwitchBot brilliant LED light for just $12 at the present time. You have some control over the variety and splendor of this 60-watt comparable bulb from anyplace utilizing your telephone, or set it on a clock to match your customary daily schedule.

Or on the other hand for just $11, $14 off from the typical value, you can get this SwitchBot shrewd indoor regulator. It’s outfitted with both a temperature and a moistness sensor, and stores the information from the beyond 68 days so you can follow your home’s warming examples and energy use. Also it gives you continuous cautions when a room’s temperature radically spikes or drops, making it an extraordinary expansion to any room where exact temperature control is basic, like a wine basement.

There’s even a gadget to add brilliant capacities to any nonsmart gadgets you have. The SwitchBot Button Pusher is by and large the thing it seems like. It’s a small box that you can mount with cement that has an arm that reaches out to genuinely press a power button or flip a rocker switch. You can utilize it on light switches, your espresso producer, your PC or actually any gadget that has an assigned power button that is generally simple to reach. It probably won’t be the most rich arrangement, yet it is a compelling and spending plan agreeable option in contrast to supplanting any apparatuses you have with a pricier shrewd form. You can snatch it for just $20, which is $19 off the standard cost.

Categories
Entertainment

‘Doctor Strange’ provides a glimpse into Marvel’s next major creative challenge and opportunity

The strongest scene in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” takes place in an alternate reality, but it foreshadows the biggest chances and problems that Marvel will face in this one.

In the film’s most popular scene, the main character encounters a ruling council from another universe, which includes Reed Richards (John Krasinski), the Fantastic Four’s leader, and Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart, reprising his role from the “X-Men” movie).

The inclusion of those two properties, both of which were under the stewardship of 20th Century Fox before Marvel’s parent Disney acquired its entertainment assets, points to what is likely to be a big part of the studio’s next chapter: capitalising on two mistreated comic-book properties with deep, deep roots in lore.

The Fantastic Four has been adapted twice previously, once in 2005 (followed by a sequel) and again a decade later with a mediocre reboot attempt. But now Marvel Studios has announced plans for a reboot of the series that launched Marvel’s renaissance in the 1960s, with writer Stan Lee and artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko at the lead.

Indeed, Lee frequently referred to Fantastic Four as the “granddaddy” of Marvel’s silver-age resurgence, the comic he created for himself when he was on the verge of abandoning the medium. Lee’s idea came from his wife Joan encouraging him, “Why not write a book the way you want to do it?” in his latter years.

Lee’s epic creative output with Kirby — which encompassed Thor, the Hulk, X-Men, the Avengers, Ant-Man, and restoring Captain America — and Ditko, his colleague on Spider-Man and Doctor Strange — was paved by the success of the cosmic-ray-altered quartet.

On screen, however, the Fantastic Four has been a source of frustration, with a misguided low-budget Roger Corman-produced film that was never formally released in the 1990s, and an animated series that replaced the Human Torch, whose TV rights had been optioned away, with a wisecracking robot for contractual reasons.

X-Men, on the other hand, has had considerable success since the 2000 film directed by Bryan Singer, but the franchise has recently suffered from a pair of commercial and critical flops: “Dark Phoenix,” which mishandled a storied comic-book saga and underperformed at the box office; and “The New Mutants,” a horror-tinged offshoot hampered by Covid-related release delays, not that the film would have thrived under perfect situations.

The 2019 Disney-Fox deal sparked immediate speculation about a grand reunion incorporating the Fantastic Four and X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, much like Marvel has aided Sony in assuming creative control of Spider-Man through its partnership with Sony, the longtime holder of those rights.

Still, movie production takes time, which is why seeing Mr. Fantastic and Professor X in “Doctor Strange” seems like a substantial appetiser for the meal to come.

Marvel has already confirmed a Fantastic Four film, but the project has recently been hampered by the departure of Jon Watts, the director of the most recent “Spider-Man” trilogy.

Looking ahead, Marvel faces high expectations from fans who want to see the X-Men resurrected and the Fantastic Four upgraded to a cinematic status worthy of its legendary status in comic books. However, the benefits might be enormous.

Marvel has demonstrated a penchant for creating intricate puzzles, having created its formula of interconnected movies and now TV shows. While “Doctor Strange’s” tease brilliantly depicts the universe as a realm of unlimited possibilities, the excitement over introducing the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the mix may easily turn into disappointment if they get those pieces incorrect.

Categories
Technology

Spotify’s radio-style listening app Stations will be shutdown on May 16th

Apart from podcasts, car accessories, and annual listening reviews, Spotify has been experimenting with Stations, a “lightweight” app available to both free and paid subscribers, since 2018.

After making its international debut with an Android version, Spotify launched an iOS version in 2019 and made it available to US consumers. The test is now over, and Spotify has begun telling customers that the service will be shut down on May 16th, according to 9to5Google.

If you utilised Stations, you can go to the website to transfer your favourite curated playlists to the regular Spotify app, which now displays the message:

Stations is shutting down on May 16th. The stations you created will go away, but you can still enjoy Spotify by logging in with your Stations account. Discover playlists made for you, plus millions of songs and podcasts.

The Stations gimmick was that it began playing as soon as you opened the app, and while users could switch between their favourite stations / playlists, there was no ability to select specific music or artists, and returning to a station resumed where it left off. The accessible stations contained a variety of presets as well as ones that you could build yourself by selecting your favourite music from a list, and it attempted to personalise the experience for you over time.

Spotify said of its different experiments in a statement: “Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. Our Spotify Stations Beta was one of those tests. We will be sunsetting the current feature, but users will be able to easily transfer their favourite stations and enjoy a similar radio experience directly within the Spotify app .”

Categories
Technology

Microsoft’s new ‘One Outlook’ email client for Windows is beginning to leak out

Microsoft’s new Outlook email client for Windows, known as “One Outlook,” appears to be nearly finished. As initially reported by Windows Central, some users have been able to download the new software, albeit it appears to be limited to work and school accounts for the time being. Those who have gained access are discovering… well, pretty much what you’d expect.

They have long suspected that the Outlook online app will represent the future of Microsoft’s mail clients, and the new app appears to be exactly that. It’s a lot lighter and easier to use than earlier versions of Outlook for Windows, and it’s a lot more powerful than the built-in Mail software it’ll eventually replace. Microsoft is continuing to transfer its services to the web rather than running them exclusively as native apps, therefore the app is fully hosted online.

In a statement to The Verge, Scott Stiles, vice president of product management for Outlook, said, “We appreciate the excitement for our next update and will have more to share in the coming weeks.” “The version available for download is an early unsupported test version of Outlook for Windows and is missing some of the features and enhancements that will be available for our beta testers. We encourage our customers to wait for the beta version to be released.”

The app was expected to go into beta testing in 2021, with plans to replace the existing clients later that year. Microsoft is expected to officially debut the new software at its Build developer conference at the end of this month, and it will gradually replace Mail, Calendar, and other versions of Outlook. How does it perform? We’ll have to wait till we get our hands on the new software to find out, but desktop apps that serve as shells for web apps have a shaky track record. However, given Microsoft’s long-standing support for Progressive Web Apps, it appears that the future is on its way.

It won’t be easy to make the switch because many Outlook users are accustomed to the way the app has operated, and an experience centred on the sparser, cleaner online version will feel like a significant change. As a result, Microsoft is likely to continue to offer different versions of Outlook to consumers, at least for the time being. However, it has a clear way forward: there will be only One Outlook in the future. It all starts with the internet.

Categories
news

This weekend, how to see the Eta Aquarids meteor shower

The Eta Aquarids, one of spring’s busiest meteor showers, will peak this weekend. Simply step outside and look to the southern night sky to see the “shooting stars.”

The Eta Aquarids reached their peak on Friday morning (May 6), and they will continue to shine brightly in the coming days, with up to 30 meteors per hour possible. These meteors are also notable for their high speed, reaching 148,000 mph (just over 238,000 km/h) as they enter our atmosphere, according to NASA.

Halley’s Comet (1P/Halley), a short-period comet that passes through the inner solar system every 75 to 76 years and will pass by again in about 2061, is the source of the shooting stars. The comet leaves behind its own calling card during these visits: a debris trail of dust grains that Earth passes through every May. The debris that collides with our atmosphere will burn up harmlessly before reaching the ground.

This meteor shower is best seen from the Southern Hemisphere or around the equator, but meteors can still be seen in the Northern Hemisphere, according to Bill Cooke, NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office director at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

“It will be interesting to see if the rates are low this year, or if we will get a spike in numbers before next year’s forecast outburst,” Cooke said in a NASA blog post on Wednesday (May 3).

After the moon has set, head outside around 3 a.m. local time for the finest meteor viewing. While the meteors begin around the celestial equator in the constellation Aquarius, it’s best to look at the sky’s zenith (straight up) to view as many as possible.

To avoid neck strain, choose a safe place and bring a lawn chair. According to NASA, move away from as many lights as possible and attempt to get outside at least 20 minutes before you plan to start meteor-hunting to allow your eyes to acclimate to the dark. Apply a red filter or red tape to your phone or flashlight to prevent your night vision from being ruined.

Astrophotographers who want to catch meteors can check out our sister site, Space.com, for a beginner’s guide. If possible, practise snapping images at night before the event starts so you can double-check your settings and ensure the shots are coming out as you want. Have fun searching!

Categories
Health

According to a study, a vegan diet can help overweight persons lose weight

Veggie lover diets can assist with peopling who are overweight or have type 2 diabetes get thinner and lower their glucose levels, research proposes.

A meta investigation showed that sticking to a veggie lover diet north of 90 days decreased body weight by around 4.1kg (9lb) on normal contrasted and control diets, and cut glucose levels. There was almost no impact on pulse or levels of cholesterol or fatty substances, a kind of fat.

The information was drawn from 11 randomized preliminaries including 796 individuals who were overweight with a weight record (BMI) of somewhere around 25 or who had type 2 diabetes. The outcomes were introduced at the European Congress on Obesity.

Research, said: “This thorough evaluation of the best accessible proof to date shows with sensible assurance that sticking to a veggie lover diet for somewhere around 12 weeks might bring about clinically significant weight reduction and further develop glucose levels, and thusly can be utilized in the administration of overweight and type 2 diabetes.

“Veggie lover slims down probable lead to weight reduction since they are related with a decreased calorie admission because of a lower content of fat and higher substance of dietary fiber.”

A second piece of examination introduced at the gathering in Maastricht observed ladies were almost certain than men to put on weight during the principal year of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the two genders, individuals younger than 45 were bound to heap on additional pounds than more established age gatherings.

The exploration covering right around 1 million grown-ups in the UK utilized information from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) of in excess of 200,000 UK GP rehearses, which remembers data for BMI not long before lockdown in March 2020, and in the year or so a short time later.

Research said: “The implications of even modest weight gain at a population level in younger adults and women could translate into more diabetes, heart disease, cancers and other serious obesity-related health problems over the coming decades in these populations unless action is taken to reverse the effects of lockdown.”

A third report observed that babies eat more vegetables assuming they are compensated for attempting them. A three-month research program on youngsters on matured one to four at nurseries in Limburg, in the Netherlands, observed that giving kids rewards, for example, stickers or little toy crowns might assist them with fostering a preference for good food.

Researcher, who did the review, said the kind of remuneration was vital.”It should be fun but not food,” she said.