Author: Randy Smith

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Finance Markets News Tech

Monday Briefing: Finance, Tech, GE Co and Brexit

Start your week with this morning bit of news to keep you updated on today’s highlights.

The US-China trade talks will continue to evolve, as last night, President Donald Trump stated that the US will delay the increase in tariffs for 1 March. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will update the Senate Banking Committee about the economy and monetary policy.

In the Tech news, Huawei’s 5G network took over the Mobile World Congress (MWC) at Barcelona. Meanwhile, the global industry leaders prepared for an emergency meeting to find a way and exclude the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker from the European markets.

Warren Buffett warns businessmen in his annual letter not to fear the doom preached by the government budget deficits, stating that we should not be afraid of investing, but heed the warnings from our history and remember that all calamities will again become history:

To ‘protect’ yourself, you might have eschewed stocks and opted instead to buy [3.25] ounces of gold with your $114.75.

[…] You would now have an asset worth about $4,200, less than 1% of what would have been realized from a simple unmanaged investment in American business. The magical metal was no match for the American mettle.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will lead the initial public offering of Peloton Interactive Inc., according to Bloomberg, who’s not yet familiar with the details since the details are not public at the moment. Nonetheless, this decision could value the startup at over $8 billion.

Theresa May’s decision of delaying the parliamentary vote for Brexit has made the pound volatile this morning. We should expect a deal this week, but the UK Prime Minister also added that she’s not sure they will reach a deal this fast.

Reuters reported that Danaher Corp has just bought the biopharma business from General Electric Co for $21.4 billion, which is a huge asset sale since the news of breaking up the conglomerate last summer. Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Culp stated the following:

A more focused portfolio is the right structure for GE, and we have many options for maximizing shareholder value along the way.

Check back here for the next Monday briefing.

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Games News

GTA VI News: Rockstar Games Insider Speaks About “Project Americas”

Grand Theft Auto VI has been heavily rumored, and everyone is anticipating locations, maps, storyline and praying for some official news or at least a tease from Rockstar Games. However, we haven’t heard anything official – only that there will be a new GTA sometime in the future, as the team has a ton of ideas about it. But that’s all. Well, until now…

The sequel has been rumored to take place in different locations, such as South America or even to return to Vice City. This popular map in the franchise was added in the first GTA game that soon became a standalone game. It even got a prequel four years later: “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” – 2002, “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories” – 2006.

GTA VI – Project Americas

An insider from Rockstar Games said to Inside Gaming (YouTube channel) that the sequel title is codenamed “Project Americas,” which could mean that this is the main location where the game will take place.

The term ‘Americas’ point towards the possibility that the game could take place in made-up locations from the US and South America. In other reports, we saw that the US part of the map in GTA 6 would be represented by Vice City, writes EconTimes.

While fans also considered London as a good setting for the GTA 6, Rockstar Games lead writer Dan Houser stated in an interview that a game set in the UK would be awesome, but not something that would be a GTA game:

“I think there are plenty of great stories we could tell about the UK, great environments to showcase, great gameplay mechanics that could have a UK bent to them – I just don’t think it would be a GTA necessarily.”

GTA VI: Release Date

As for when the GTA VI will be released, looking back at the distance between the previous installments, GTA V was launched five years after GTA IV, which means we might see the game being released in 2021 or even later – in 2022. Until then, fans of the franchise can play the online GTA, which keeps getting new content and events.

Last month, Game Spot noticed Rockstar’s job listings showing that they are looking for a team that will create “next-generation worlds for some exciting upcoming projects.” One of the jobs was for a vehicle artist, a MoCap tools developer, and a technical face developer to “help research and develop new technology for future titles.” All of these future titles could mean a GTA VI and probably a Red Dead Redemption 3, which will be just in time for the future PlayStation 5 and next-gen Xbox consoles that should be released in 2020.

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News Tech

How To Change Your WhatsApp Number?

WhatsApp is a well-known instant messaging app that is used by millions of people worldwide. Sometimes, it happens that a person gets their phone stolen, or they lose it, and they need to change their SIM card. In that case, they can change their number on WhatsApp.

How to change your WhatsApp number?

  1. Take that new SIM you purchased and insert it in your phone.
  2. From your Home Screen tap on WhatsApp to access your account.
  3. When the app opens, you need to tap on the menu button. At the top corner of your screen, you will see three stripes, that being the menu. The settings of your WhatsApp account will be accessed this way.
  4. Open “Account.”
  5. Tap on “Change Number” under the account section.
  6. You will now be able to see the “Change Number” window on your screen. Your account groups, info, and settings will be transferred to your new phone number when you change it.
  7. You will need to get your new phone number confirmed in order to add a new one. Tap on “Next.”
  8. You will need to enter your old phone number and country code in the first option. In the second one, you will update WhatsApp with the new ones. Tap on “Next.”
  9. In your new phone number, you will now receive an OTP/ Enter the right OTP in your WhatsApp account, and your phone number will be verified.

If you followed all these steps correctly, your account should be linked with the new phone number as soon as your new phone number is verified. All your contacts can also be notified that you have changed your number if you opt for this option.

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News Tech

Clash of Clans February 2019 Updates are on Their Way

Clash of clans may be almost seven years old, but millions of players from all over the world continue to enjoy the game every day.

Developer Supercell has announced that new updates will be released in the following days. The anticipated balance update will be released independently from another update that should contain a high number of quality-of-life improvements.

Balance changes

It is already known that the update will boost the DPS of Mortars and X-Bows, which are currently a bit weak at higher Town Hall levels.

On the other hand, Archer Towers and Canons will be nerfed to facilitate gameplay without the need to follow the meta strictly. Barbarians and Goblins will also receive a slight HP boost to make them better as farming troops.

A bug that affected Eagle Artillery and forced ranged troopers to come closer to the building to hit. Troops are now able to hit it from the same distance at which they hit other buildings.

The War League demotion rules were also changed, but the new rules will come into play when the March season starts.

Only one 1 Clan can be demoted to the Bronze League, and only one Clan can be promoted to a Master or Champion league. Three clans will be now demoted from the Champions I league.

A better life

Two months have passed since the last major update was released and the upcoming one could provide a breath of fresh air by adding new features. Supercell is also planning some interesting quality-of-life changes that should make a lot of players happy.

X-Bows, Inferno Towers and Eagle Artillery will now be reloaded for free when the players return to the game. Traps will also be automatically re-armed without the need to pay valuable resources.

The Magic Item UI menu has been relocated to the Town Hall menu.

While these are some minor improvements, it is expected that Supercell will once again refresh the experience when the major update becomes available.

Categories
Games News

Clash of Clans Powerful Tips To Dominate High Stats

The complete guide to Clash of Clans

Clash of Clans was released back in 2012, but the game has remained one of the most popular titles among Android and iOS players alike. The game offers a unique mixture of base-building, real-time strategy, and PvP that is easy-to-learn and hard-to-smarter.

The enjoyable gameplay will turn people into fans almost immediately. Players have to create smart strategies that allow them to raid enemies while also keeping an eye on the security of their base. Some people found great friends in a clan, which is quite a feat for a mobile title.

Here are some interesting facts about the game:

  • Clash of Clans continues to generate more than $5 million in revenue per day.
  • The game studio has been recently valued at $5.5 billion.
  • One of the most popular Clash of Clans players trained continuously for six months by playing on five devices at the same time. Some say that he took the devices in the shower with him.
  • Another top-ranking Clash of Clans player has declared that he spends up to $7,000 per month on his village. The sum seems to be high but its only about 10% of what he earns each month.
  • Almost 30 million people play the game each month, and new accounts are created daily.

The path to winning

The basic gameplay is not very complicated. You start with a small village that needs some help. The village will grow as you progress and more features are unlocked. To progress, you will have to upgrade your buildings and army.

Command and Conquer

Defeating other players in PvP will allow you to collect valuable resources. These resources can be spent on building upgrades. Each victory will also net trophies, which are used to determine your league level.

Participating in Clan Wars is a great way of earning valuable rewards and interacts with other players at the same time.

At the start, you won’t have enough resources to upgrade everything. The main priority is to upgrade your buildings to gain access to better troops. Upgrading is a lengthy process so that you will need lots of patience on the road.

Resources:

  • Gems are hard to get and expensive to buy. Keep them for a rainy day.
  • Gold is used for building upgrades.
  • Elixir can be spent on training and upgrading troops.
  • Dark Elixir is used to train and upgrade special DE troops that will be unlocked later in the game.

Keep those gems

Gems are a valuable resource that can be used to skip build times, troop training times and boost certain units. Spending those gems may seem tempting, but you save them to buy permanent items which are more valuable than skipping a timer.

Be patient

Some upgrades will take over ten days to complete. Waiting may seem a bit boring at first, but the upgrade will unlock new features that will improve your overall gameplay experience. Unlocking the five builders will reduce the downtime, but you will have to pay for them with gems.

Pick an efficient base layout

The strategies will change with each better patch and what worked today may not work tomorrow. Look on the internet for dedicated forums and videos that will showcase the best base layouts.

Gathering resources

Gold and elixir can be gathered from collector buildings, raiding other players or playing the goblin maps. Joining an active war clan will net some extra resources.

Don’t rush the upgrades

Upgrading the Town Hall as fast as you can seem to be like a great idea at first but it’s not true. With each upgrade, you will get a lower amount of resources from raiding low-level bases. Complete all the upgrades that are available, and then you can upgrade the Town Hall to the next level.

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