Huawei and HEC launch ICT skills competition

KARACHI: Huawei and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) have launched the second Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills competition 2017.

Final chosen contestants will participate at the international level at Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen, China. The registration is open from Aug 16, said a press release.

Snap stock hits lowest level since IPO

NEW YORK: Shares of Snap Inc are down sharply after the parent company of Snapchat reported paltry earnings .

The stock hit its lowest level on Friday since the company went public in March. Adding to the uncertainty, employees will be able to sell their stock on Monday, when a lockup period that follows the company’s initial public offering expires. An earlier lockup expired in July, but on Monday, more shares will be eligible for sale.

Snap’s shares fell $1.61, or nearly 12 per cent, to $12.16 on Friday morning. That’s well below the company’s $17 IPO price. And it’s less than half of the $24.48 that the stock closed at on its first trading day.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said on Thursday that neither he nor co-founder Bobby Murphy plan to sell any stock.—AP

P&G takes calculated risk with ‘The Talk’ ad

NEW YORK: Experts say Procter & Gamble is taking a calculated risk with its ad that features black mothers speaking to children about racism across several decades.

“The Talk,” which makes no mention of any P&G product, has been the talk of social media. Procter & Gamble says it knew there might be a backlash.

And critics have called it anti-police. But the Cincinnati-based company says it felt the ad would be worth it. It said it believed now was the time after hearing feedback from customers.

Consumers may see more such ads. Ohio University professor Benjamin Bates says the rewards outweigh the risk since the ad appealed to African-Americans, and millennials who are more comfortable with diversity.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2017