SAP launches biggest software product overhaul in two decades

FRANKFURT — SAP has launched the most high-stakes overhaul of its core software line in more than two decades, aiming to convince multinational corporate customers that its software can now run their most critical business applications much faster.

Europe’s biggest software company said on Tuesday its widely used suite of corporate planning applications and newer cloud-based Internet software would work together using a single, modern user interface. Forrester Research estimates that could lead to exponential improvements in SAP data-crunching times.

The unified database platform, called S4 HANA, promises to cut the time it takes to compile business accounts and forecasts to minutes, instead of hours and days, by analysing vast amounts of data in local memory. This provides instant-access retrieval instead of the slower call-and-response method of pulling data from hard disks, CDs and tapes.

Established software makers such as SAP are battling to boost Internet software sales and fend off pure cloud-based rivals Salesforce.com, Workday and Amazon.com’s Web unit.

According to some analysts, SAP has staked out a big, early lead in the market for real-time business planning software by signing up a chunk of its biggest customers to S4 HANA.

For most companies, accounting for sales performance, inventory levels and other key financial measures still requires an elaborate scheduling effort known as the quarterly closing process to synchronise relevant data, a snapshot in time that is often days or weeks old by the time it is ready.

SAP’s newer approach, in development for four years and used in parts already by thousands of customers, is to combine its super-fast “in-memory” database with business analysis functions. This lets company planners drill down into actual financial transactions and draw on a range of both internal and external data instead of relying on statistical assumptions.

“It’s about managing a business in detail rather than in the aggregate,” Forrester analyst George Lawrie said. “That means looking through the windshield rather than the rear-view mirror.”

At a product launch in New York, followed afterward by a capital markets day for financial analysts and investors, SAP executives will face questions over moves to deliver more of its software as cloud-based Internet services instead of packaged software running on customers’ in-house computers.

Most analysts accept the industry shift to cloud software delivery. But they want SAP to disclose more financial metrics that can allow investors to track how the cloud business is performing relative to its classic packaged software business.

SAP has acknowledged the move to the cloud will force it to backtrack on long-promised profit margin gains that have been a big investor draw, in favour of potentially faster revenue growth.

All major database vendors including Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, Pivotal and Teradata now offer “in-memory” versions and dozens of rivals supply predictive analytics software in the cloud.

With the introduction of S4 HANA, SAP is looking to eventually bring all of its customers under one roof, a process that will entail further software development by SAP and complex decisions by customers about when it makes financial sense to convert organisational information from existing data formats.

source: interaksyon.com

Toyota, Honda and Chrysler involved in new air bag recall

DETROIT/WASHINGTON - The auto industry's air bag troubles deepened on Saturday as U.S. federal safety regulators said three big automakers will recall about 2.1 million older vehicles to fix defects that could cause air bags to deploy when they are not supposed to.

The vehicles involved in the recall announced by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are made by Toyota Motor Corp, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Honda Motor Co.

There have been about 400 reported cases of inadvertent air bag deployments in the recalled vehicles, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. The incidents have caused some minor injuries, but no known deaths, he told reporters.

The recall concerned a defective chip in air bag systems and the fix involved replacing the entire air bag module, including circuits manufactured by parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings, Rosekind said.

The automakers involved had issued three earlier recalls to fix the chip problems. But the NHTSA said it had reports that 39 vehicles fixed under those actions had experienced inadvertent air bag deployments, hence the new recall.

It was not related to millions of vehicles recalled over Takata Corp air bags. U.S. safety regulators have said defective Takata air bag inflators in certain vehicles can rupture and spray metal fragments inside the vehicle.

Air bag failures were also central to the controversy last year over General Motors Co's delay in recalling millions of vehicles with defective ignition switches that could unexpectedly cut off power to the safety systems.

Honda said that approximately 374,000 Honda and Acura vehicles are affected in the United States.

"Honda has received a small number of complaints of inadvertent airbag deployment in these vehicles after the original recall repair was completed," Honda said in a statement. "No crashes have been reported to Honda related to this issue."

Noting potential consumer concerns about air bags, the NHTSA said the chances of being involved in a crash in which an air bag could prevent serious injury or death were far greater than the risk of serious injury from an inadvertent bag deployment.

NHTSA blamed the problems it reported on Saturday on "electrical noise" in the air bag system. It said a fully effective solution might not be available until late this year.

The agency said the models affected were: 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty and 2002-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees (about 750,000 vehicles); 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey; and 2003 Acura MDX (about 370,000 vehicles) and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe; Dodge Viper; and Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, and Toyota Avalon (about 1 million vehicles, not all of which were sold in the United States.)

The agency said the affected models had a part called an electronic control unit that controls deployment of its air bags. TRW supplied control units containing the same control circuit to all three automakers.

Although the recalls were not related to the Takata cases, the NHTSA said there was an overlap, in that about 1 million of the vehicles affected were also covered in separate recalls of Takata air bag inflator systems.

The recall highlights the difficulty automakers and regulators have with increasingly complex electronic systems. The agency said in a statement it could take several months for the companies to obtain enough parts to fix all the vehicles involved.

In the Takata cases, Honda on Friday said it has confirmed that a Takata air bag inflator ruptured in a Jan. 18 crash in Texas that killed the driver. Prior to that incident, air bags made by the Japanese company had been linked to at least five deaths.

source: interaksyon.com

Whitney Houston’s daughter found unconscious in bathtub, revived in hospital

Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only daughter of late pop star Whitney Houston and singer Bobby Brown, was found unresponsive in a bathtub at her Georgia home on Saturday, but she was revived after being rushed to a hospital, police said.

The incident comes nearly three years after Houston, a superstar who battled substance abuse, drowned in a bathtub in Beverly Hills, California, in February 2012. Authorities have said cocaine use and heart disease contributed to her death.

Brown, 21, was found at about 10:20 a.m. (1520 GMT) in the bathtub at her suburban Atlanta home by her husband and a friend, said Lisa Holland, public information officer for the Roswell Police Department.

Brown’s husband, Nick Gordon, started CPR and police continued life-saving measures until an ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital.

“She’s alive at the hospital,” Holland said. She gave no other details.

Brown was admitted to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, a suburb north of Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Hospital officials were not available for comment.

Brown married Gordon in January 2014. Gordon was also raised by Houston, one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, but she never formally adopted him. On Houston’s birthday last year, Gordon had his arm tattooed with a portrait of the late singer.

Houston, whose dozens of hit songs include “How Will I Know” and “I Will Always Love You,” was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and a cousin of pop singer Dionne Warwick.

Bobbi Kristina Brown’s father, Bobby Brown, is a Grammy Award winner who started his career as frontman for the R&B group New Edition.

Both of Bobbi Kristina’s parents struggled with substance abuse, and Houston described their 15-year marriage, which ended in 2007, as drug- and alcohol-fueled. Bobby Brown was sentenced to 55 days in jail in 2013 after admitting to driving drunk in 2012.

Bobbi Kristina Brown was hospitalized twice with anxiety after her mother’s death.

She and her grandmother, Cissy Houston, and other relatives starred in a 14-episode reality show for cable channel Lifetime, “The Houstons: On Our Own,” about their struggle to cope after Houston’s death.

Brown’s Twitter feed over the past year included motivations to work out, quotes from celebrities on being true to oneself, loving messages for her husband and remembrances of her mother.

source: interaksyon.com

Tom Petty calls similarities to Sam Smith’s ‘Stay with Me’ accidental

LOS ANGELES | U.S. rocker Tom Petty on Thursday said it was a “musical accident” that British singer Sam Smith’s breakout soul hit “Stay with Me” mirrored Petty’s 1989 hit song “I Won’t Back Down.”

Petty, 64, played down a recent credit given to him and co-writer Jeff Lynne on Smith’s Grammy-nominated hit song, saying in a statement posted on his website that he had no hard feelings toward Smith and that “these things happen.”

Britain’s The Sun newspaper reported over the weekend that Smith had settled a copyright dispute with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer over the similarity between the two songs.

“Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement,” Petty said in the statement. “The word ‘lawsuit’ was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it.”

“A musical accident no more, no less,” Petty added.

Representatives for Smith have called the agreement amicable and the similarities coincidental.

Smith leads Grammy nominees along with singers Beyonce and Pharrell with six nods. “Stay with Me” earned three nominations for the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards, including song of the year, one of the top prizes.

Petty and Lynne, however, will not be eligible to share in any Grammy wins as their writing was not considered new work, magazine Rolling Stone reported, quoting a Grammy official.

-reuters

'Falling angels' could hit $260 billion of emerging market debt

LONDON - After a golden decade of improvement, credit ratings for a swathe of developing economies risk falling back to "junk", with huge potential costs for up to a tenth of outstanding emerging market bonds.

Many mainstream investment and pension funds have rules preventing them from holding debt unless it is classified as investment grade by at least two of the big ratings agencies, and a number of countries are at risk due to problems ranging from tumbling commodity export prices to political instability.

Russia this week became the first of the major economies to lose its investment grade status from Standard & Poor's, falling out off the top ratings category for credits deemed to have a low risk of default for the first time in a decade.

If Moody's and Fitch follow, conservative investors barred from owning junk securities must sell their holdings. JPMorgan estimates this means they may ditch $6 billion in Russian government rouble and dollar debt.

Russia may have company. Almost $260 billion worth of sovereign and corporate bonds - nearly a tenth of outstanding emerging market (EM) debt - is in danger of being relegated to junk, according to David Spegel, head of emerging debt at BNP Paribas, who calls such credits "falling angels".

What's more, almost $1 trillion of debt is rated BBB or BBB minus - the two lowest investment grade ranks after which junk or "high yield" status awaits.

"After a year of political upheaval and collapsing commodity prices, the sky is alight with EM falling angels," Spegel said.

TABLE of emerging markets ratings.

In 2010, for the first time, a majority of bonds in the EMBI Global index of emerging market debt became investment grade 11EML. But now a fifth of emerging market governments rated by S&P carry negative outlooks; the agency calls emerging markets the "weak link" in the global ratings picture.

If there is a series of downgrades, the entire index could shift lower again, Spegel warned, adding: "The EM benchmark index is at risk of becoming a falling angel."

Ratings models compiled by analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch show downgrade risks in Brazil, Russia, Turkey, South Africa and Indonesia.

Some of these, such as energy importers which benefit from falling oil prices and countries making economic reforms, may avoid relegation.

However, ratings tend to move up and down in tandem, BofA noted. It cited negative credit revisions in the 1980s, upgrades in the early 1990s, downgrades in the late 1990s and another round of upgrades this century. Two-thirds of emerging economies are investment grade, up from 42 percent a decade ago, it added.

"Investors may well view initial downgrades not as isolated events but as the beginning of a new trend," BofA said.

INDEX EJECTION RISK

Russian, Turkish, Brazilian and South African local bonds - among the handful of emerging market names included in the Barclays Global Aggregate index - risk ejection from the $2 trillion benchmark if they are downgraded.

Falling angels which lapse into junk status will also drop out of the investment grade portion of the EMBIG index which has up to $7 billion benchmarked, JPMorgan says.

"The big worry is for countries in the low investment grade range, such as Russia and Brazil. Falling into the junk bond range cuts you off from the largest segment of bond buyers," said Peter Marber, head of emerging debt at Loomis Sayles.

That's especially so in the case of big insurers and banks which are extremely sensitive to ratings due to tighter regulations on capital reserves and asset quality, he noted.

Also, company ratings tend to be constrained by the sovereign, Marber said, adding: "So if we see countries downgraded into high-yield status, it may trigger automatic corporate downgrades which would dramatically restrict access to international capital."

All this will raise capital costs for borrowers, adding to pressures caused by the possibility of higher U.S. interest rates and Treasury yields which will suck funds out of emerging markets.

Exactly how much emerging bond yields will rise is impossible to calculate. But BofA/Merrill reckons a one-notch downgrade to junk tends to produce a 40-60 basis point increase in yield and credit default swap spreads.

BNP's Spegel calculates that for every 10 falling angels, spreads over U.S. treasury bond yields on the CEMBI EM corporate debt index will widen by 125 basis points and sovereign spreads will blow out 241 bps.

On the plus side, though, some risk is already priced in. Russian and Kazakh bonds for instance trade as though they were several notches into junk.

Also ratings don't much matter to dedicated emerging market funds and increasingly to some institutional investors who may base allocations on asset managers' analysis, rather than solely on ratings.

Wayne Bowers, EMEA and Asia chief investment officer at Northern Trust, says many big investors have built in the flexibility to hold different kinds of emerging assets in recent years. Also, he notes, while some countries' outlook has darkened, others will benefit from reforms and cheaper oil.

"People usually understand EM is not a low-risk asset class." Bowers said. "You will find the return profile of the broader indexes can offset the negatives... It's not just focused on countries that are fragile but also those that benefit from falling oil prices."

source: interaksyon.com

Trouble falling asleep may signal high blood pressure

Trouble sleeping, especially trouble falling asleep, may be associated with high blood pressure, according to a new study from China.

This is the first study to show that certain people with insomnia are at risk for high blood pressure, said co-authors Dr. Xiangdong Tang of Sichuan University in China and Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas of Penn State University College of Medicine, in a statement to Reuters Health.

Insomnia with increased alertness during the day, or hyperarousal, is associated with increased chronic secretion of stress hormones like cortisol, which may lead to hypertension, they wrote.

The authors studied about 300 adults, including more than 200 chronic insomniacs who’d had trouble sleeping for at least six months. They all spent one night in the Sleep Medicine Center of West China Hospital and took a sleepiness/alertness test the following day.

At night, they were allowed to sleep as they normally would, in sound, light and temperature-controlled rooms. The next day, they were given four 20-minute nap opportunities throughout the day. Researchers measured their “sleep latency,” that is, the amount of time it took for the nappers to actually fall asleep, if they were able.

Researchers also took their blood pressure readings in the evening and in the morning.

Normal sleepers were no more likely to have high blood pressure even if they took longer to fall asleep for a nap.

For chronic insomniacs, the longer it took to fall asleep when they tried to nap during the day, the more likely they were to have high blood pressure, even after accounting for age, gender, weight and height, diabetes, and use of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine.

Compared to normal sleepers who fell asleep quickly, people with insomnia who took more than 14 minutes to fall asleep during the day were three times as likely to have high blood pressure readings or a doctor’s diagnosis of hypertension, the authors report in the journal Hypertension.

People who fell asleep in less than 14 minutes, regardless of whether or not they had insomnia, had no increased risk of high blood pressure.

About half of insomniacs and a third of the normal sleepers took more than 14 minutes to fall asleep during the day, Tang and Vgontzas wrote in the statement.

People who have trouble sleeping should ask their doctors about their blood pressure readings, they wrote.

“Insomniacs who have either short sleep at night or show signs of hyperalertness during the day are at risk for hypertension,” they wrote. “This is similar to someone who has other risk factors such as obesity, high lipids, smoking, etc.”

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for high blood pressure for all adults over the age of 18 every year or so, regardless of sleep patterns, USPSTF chair Dr. Michael LeFevre noted in an email to Reuters Health.

Blood pressure screening causes few major harms, LeFevre said.

“However, many people who have high blood pressure in (a doctor’s) office setting do not have sustained high blood pressure outside of a medical setting,” he said. “Making the diagnosis of hypertension based only on office readings may lead to unnecessary treatment.”

Blood pressure measurements should be repeated outside the doctor’s office during the course of the day to confirm high blood pressure before diagnosing hypertension, he said.

Most people will need help from a doctor or sleep expert to start falling asleep more quickly, Tang and Vgontzas wrote.

source: interaksyon.com

Pacquiao’s friend disputes Floyd-Manny confrontation during NBA meetup: ‘Sobrang bait ni Mayweather’

A close friend of Manny Pacquiao denied reports that the Filipino ring icon was confronted by pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather during their much talked-about meeting in an NBA game.

“‘Yung mga gumagawa dyan ng storya, that’s not true na inaway daw. That’s not true walang ganun,” Bernard Cloma, who was part of Pacquiao’s entourage when he visited Miami to judge Miss Universe this week, said in a radio interview.

Citing anonymous sources, Ben Thompson of fightyhpe.com earlier wrote that Mayweather told Pacquiao to “stop lying” as they met for the very first time at halftime of the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat last Wednesday.

Mayweather was reportedly referring to Pacquiao’s claims about having already signed contracts about their much-anticipated megafight and just waiting for the American’s signature to finalize the bout.

Cloma was with Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee watching the game and posted on Instagram the encounter of the two boxing rivals.




Cloma also said that after the game Mayweather even went to Pacquiao’s hotel where they had a long conversation.

“Pumunta si Mayweather dito sa hotel ni Manny. Nagkuwentuhan sila nang matagal,” Cloma said, adding that Mayweather was courteous all throughout his meeting with Pacquiao.

“Sobrang bait niya. Hanga ako kay Mayweather, ang bait niya,” Cloma said. “Bakit siya pupunta sa hotel diba after ng kaninang game?”

Pacquiao and Mayweather are expected to announce this week if their megafight projected to set record-setting revenues will push through.

source: interaksyon.com

Google super-fast US Internet service spreads

SAN FRANCISCO — Google’s super-fast Internet service — up to 100 times quicker than basic broadband — is heading for four more US metropolitan areas as the technology titan ramps up pressure on cable service giants.

A Google Fiber program launched nearly five years ago will expand to 18 cities in the Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham areas.

“We can’t wait to see what people and businesses across the southeast US do with gigabit speeds,” Google Fiber vice president Dennis Kish said in a blog post announcing the expansion Tuesday.

Google Fiber is live in Kansas City, Provo and Austin.

Google is meanwhile working on a new generation of applications designed to capitalize on Internet speeds available using Fiber, but did not disclose details.

“Today, we aren’t the only ones talking about gigabit broadband,” Kish said.

“From the White House to main street, a chorus of new voices is standing up for speed.”

Some US telecommunications firms stepped up with higher-speed Internet plans of their own after Google started weaving Fiber into cities.

Expansion of the Fiber program comes amid media reports that Google is getting ready to sell wireless telephone services directly to US consumers after reaching deals with carriers T-Mobile and Sprint.

The move would have a big impact on the US wireless industry, potentially resulting in price cuts and improved speeds.

Google is already in a powerful position in the wireless world, with its Android operating system running on more than 80 percent of the world’s mobile phones.

US cellphone service is currently dominated by Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

source: interaksyon.com

Microsoft profit falls on sluggish Windows, currency pressure

SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp on Monday reported a fall in its quarterly profit that was in line with Wall Street forecasts, as sluggish personal computer sales dampened demand for Windows software and the company struggled with the impact of the strong U.S. dollar.

Shares of the world’s largest software company, which have surged to 14 year highs in the past few months, fell 3 percent in after-hours trading, to $45.63.

“While currency is a headwind for Microsoft and other large international companies, we would characterize the headline numbers as good enough, although some bulls may have been hoping for a bigger beat,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.

Microsoft’s flagship Windows business has been under pressure for three years as PC sales have declined, although the market appears to be stabilizing in recent months.

Currency shifts against the strong U.S. dollar also crimped profit in the fiscal second quarter, ended Dec. 31, although Microsoft did not specify by how much. Microsoft gets almost three-quarters of its revenue from overseas, but a significant amount of that is still in U.S. dollars.

“Overall, the only surprise I think was in commercial licensing, where we had a little bit of a headwind from foreign exchange as well as macro conditions in China and Japan,” the company’s chief financial officer, Amy Hood, said in a phone interview with Reuters.

Commercial licensing is chiefly sales of Windows and Office to business customers, which is Microsoft’s biggest revenue generator.

Microsoft reported profit of $5.86 billion, or 71 cents per share for the latest quarter, compared with $6.56 billion, or 78 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Sales rose 8 percent to $26.47 billion, largely due to the acquisition of Nokia’s phone handset business last year.

Analysts had expected revenue of $26.3 billion and earnings of 71 cents per share, on average, including some restructuring costs.

source: interaksyon.com

Marian Rivera’s secret to younger-looking skin

MANILA, Philippines - Having a sexy body is essential to superstar Marian Rivera, now Mrs. Dingdong Dantes, but maintaining fantastic skin is an entirely different story. “Having beautiful skin is very important to me, especially now that I am fond of posting in social media and Instagram.  And of course, I want Dong to fall in love with me every day,” Marian shares.

So, what’s her secret? It’s Belo Nutraceuticals Collagen Powder Drink that she takes twice a day — one in the morning, usually mixed with her coffee, and the other for dinner with her soup or juice.

”Dr. Belo keeps telling me to drink collagen,” says Marian. ”I followed her advice and after only two weeks of drinking her collagen powder drink, I already noticed that my skin felt smoother and more moisturized.”

Because of this product, she now feels and looks younger, her skin more supple and firm.

As Dr. Vicki Belo described to Marian,  youthful skin is like a brand-new sofa – firm such that when you sit on it, you are pushed back up, unlike with an old sofa, where you simply sink down.  Collagen is like springs that enhance the structure and firmness of the skin.

”I feel very honored to endorse such a breakthrough product that changes how we look at skin care,” Marian gushes.

Belo Nutraceuticals Collagen Powder Drink provides remarkable anti-aging benefits that start from within and further give the skin an abundance of strength, elasticity, and resilience.  What makes it different from other collagen drinks is that it contains hyaluronic acid, a moisture magnet that improves skin hydration, absorbing 1,000 times its weight in water molecules.

The collagen powder has a neutral taste. One sachet a day, dissolved in your favorite hot and cold beverage, be it coffee or tea, milk or yogurt, is all you need to keep your skin hydrated and firm.

Belo Nutraceuticals Collagen Powder Drink is available at Belo Medical Group clinics, Watsons, Mercury Drugstores, and other leading online stores nationwide.

source: philstar.com