Princess Diana's eldest son pitched in and helped the British homeless several times during the coronavirus pandemic. The fashion house Prada, which reports a very successful second half of last year, handled the epidemic well. And have you heard about the new tweak Apple has recently had patented?
Alibaba sells dollar bonds for billions
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Platby přes internet jsou stále populárnějšíSource: Unsplash.com/rupixen
Chinese leader in e-commerce Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans to raise up to US $ 8 billion (roughly CZK 170 billion) by selling bonds. The news came from Reuters, citing four sources from the company. Alibaba should use the proceeds from the sale of US dollar-denominated bonds for general corporate expenses. In October last year, the company's co-founder, Jack Ma, criticized state regulations, which suppressed innovation. The Chinese billionaire opposed the leadership of the state, which resulted in the suspension of the initial offer of the associated company Ant Group, amounting to 37 billion dollars. In addition, Chinese regulators have since kept the internet giant Alibaba under scrutiny.
The news of the sale of bonds comes just a few days after the media crackdown caused by the company's co-founder Jack Ma himself. He hasn't appeared in public for two months and has even been withdrawn from his own business television show. No competent person has comment on this matter yet.
The Grammy Awards have been postponed
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Zpěvačka Taylor Swift s cenami GrammySource: Profimedia.cz
Because of the deteriorating coronavirus situation, the prestigious Grammy Music Awards won't be handed out on the usual date this year. Due to the unfavorable epidemiological situation in Los Angeles, the award ceremony won't take place on January 31, but at the earliest in March this year. The number of infected and hospitalized people has been increasing steadily in the area in recent weeks. In addition, restaurants and some services are closing. Furthermore, the unions are calling on Hollywood to put all filming on hold.
Despite the fact that the organizers wanted to change the form of the whole show, cancel the red carpet and give the performances a more intimate form, they eventually decided to postpone the broadcast date for the time being. Last year, almost 20 million music fans made sure to turn on their TVs. American singer Beyoncé collected the most nominations for this year's Grammy Awards. Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša also has a chance to win one of the awards. And Czech organist Ondřej Pivec is a band member of American singer Gregory Porter, who was nominated for the best R&B album of the year.
Luxusní vila 5+kk na pronájem, Praha západ, Okolí Prahy
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Prince William has been helping the homeless
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Princ William, princezna Kate a jejich dětiSource: Profimedia.cz
British Prince William has once again proven that he has a good heart. Before Christmas, he secretly visited a charity for the homeless in London. The Prince is a longtime fan and supporter of the charity; a role he inherited from his mother, Princess Diana. The Passage Homeless Shelter reported about William's help during the Christmas season yesterday. And it wasn't a one-time thing! Prince William visited the shelter three times. In the published photo, William is sorting food supplies into paper bags, wearing a face mask.
The prince is also a patron of the organization and often personally speaks to the homeless. He has no special privileges when helping in the shelter and works with other volunteers on preparing hot meals for the homeless. So far, the charity has provided more than 70,000 meals during the coronavirus pandemic.
"If we've learned anything from previous lockdowns, it's the tremendous willingness and determination of a lot of people to help and do what they can. We'd like to thank our staff and volunteers for their work during this difficult time,"
the organization said on Twitter.
Apple got a patent for wireless charging of devices via MacBook
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Produkty firmy Apple, iPhone a MacBookSource: Pixabay.com/Free-photos
Apple has some interesting new patents that hint the company may choose to take the path of charging its devices wirelessly via its laptops. The American company will celebrate the 45th anniversary of its existence on April 1 this year, and a huge number of fans would surely love to see a novelty like that this year. The company's two new patents point to the addition of two-way wireless charging to their devices. The technology isn't completely new, but Apple could take it to a higher level. Users could be able to charge other Apple products, such as the iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch. According to the published patent images, it will be possible to use a lid, an armrest, or even a MacBook trackpad to charge devices that enable wireless charging.
Prada on the rise in the second half of the year
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Kabelka od firmy PradaSource: Unsplash.com/laurachouette
Despite the weaker first half of the year, the fashion giant Prada is doing considerably well this year. Sales of the luxury fashion house managed to make up for the big drop from the first half of the year and get back to pre-corona numbers. The company holds mainly the Asia-Pacific region. In the last months of the year, Prada saw a massive increase in sales in China by more than 50 percent. The situation has also returned to normal in America and the Middle East. Europe is still lagging behind pre-pandemic numbers.
"I am very satisfied with how we have faced the serious difficulties of the year just ended and how, despite the persistent uncertainty which will likely continue for the next months, we have managed to deliver positive results. Thanks to the generous commitment of all Group staff, we were able to respond rapidly and consistently to market changes, which has been appreciated by all of our customers, "
said Prada's CEO Patrizio Bertelli.
And that's all we have for you this morning. Enjoy this day to the fullest and try to stop at least for a while and set aside some time for yourself and your feelings. Alreeady in the last century, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav already knew that:
