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Canada welcomes Square's contactless payments technology | Canadian consumers can now use contactless payments service Square. The US company's product allows customers to pay for goods and services using mobile devices, as well as debit and credit cards. The service is expected to be available soon in major retailers including Apple, London Drugs and Amazon. "Our purpose is to build tools to help people enter the economy”, said CEO Jack Dorsey.
| https://betakit.com/square-launches-contactless-payments-and-chip-reader-in-canada/ | 2017-10-04 10:03:21.123000 | US-based financial services company Square has launched a brand new contactless payment and chip reader in Canada.
The company announced the new product at a panel discussion led by Square CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. “One word to really describe Square…is the word access,” said Dorsey, during the panel. “Giving people access to the economy in ways that they previously had not. Our purpose is to build tools to help people enter the economy.”
The product is a white square that can be connected to the company’s Square Stand card reader. Customers will now be able to pay with their mobile devices, tap-enabled cards and chip-enabled cards.
Additionally, the company also announced that debit transactions — a much-requested feature — will be available in Canada. Customers will now be able to pay with their chip- and tap-enabled debit cards, as well as their credit cards.
In a roundtable discussion with media, Jesse Dorogusker — Square’s vice president of hardware — confirmed that the company’s credit card fee of 2.65 percent will not change. The company will also be waiving its $0.10 debit fee until the end of 2017. According to Dorsey, with the introduction of the new Square chip and contactless payment reader, the company is moving towards a “complete Square.”
Dorsey also briefly touched on the subject of bringing his company’s two other major products, the Cash app and the Square Cash Card, to Canada.
While Dorsey said that he would like to see the Cash app and Cash Card in Canada, “it’s a matter of doing the work.” “We would like to enable all of our products in every market,” said Dorsey. “It’s work, entering any market with a different product requires work on our side, it’s not just an okay from a partner. Connections that need to be made, code that needs to be written and hardware that needs to be tests — it’s work on both sides.”
The Square contactless payment and chip reader will be available through Square’s website for $59 CAD. The company said that the product will be available “in weeks” at retailers including Staples, Apple, London Drugs and Amazon.ca.
In April, Shopify released its own chip and POS reader as it sought to grab customers that may consider Square its first option.
This article was originally published on MobileSyrup |
Singapore bank's customers can use Siri for B2B payments | Singapore's OCBC Bank has integrated its business banking app with Apple's Siri for voice-controlled money transfers. From next week, 120,000 Singapore-registered business users will be able to make payments of up to SGD20,000 ($14,700) to recipients on their payee list. Payments will be validated with fingerprint authentication and a one-time password, sent via text message.
| https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31146/ocbc-business-customers-can-now-ask-siri-to-make-b2b-payments?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=finextrafeed | 2017-10-04 09:51:07.583000 | Singapore's OCBC Bank has integrated its business mobile banking app with Apple's Siri for use in voice-controlled funds transfers and account balance enquiries.
Available early next week to 120,000 Singapore-registered users of OCBC Bank’s internet business banking portal, the app will permit payments of up to S$20,000 to recipients on the SME payee list. Validation will be done via fingerprint authentication and One Time Passwords (OTP) sent via SMS.
OCBC in October last year rolled out Siri-based cash transfers to retail customers using its Pay Anyone P2P mobile app.
Praveen Raina, SVP, group operations & technology, OCBC Bank, says e-payments to other OCBC Bank business accounts and account balance enquiries are two of the more commonly-used business banking services.
“The e-payments push is not just about peer-to-peer payments, but encompasses business-to-business payments too," he says. "We have already made online and mobile banking easy for SMEs in order to encourage them to go cashless. Voice recognition technology is integral to this, and it is easy to envision the use of Siri to make e-payments, or to check account balances, becoming second nature to business owners."
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Snap Accelerate helps start-ups to use Snapchat for advertising | Snapchat is launching a partners programme to support start-up companies that want to use the platform for their advertising campaigns. The initiative, called Snap Accelerate, is a similar concept to Facebook's FbStart programme, which launched in 2014 and has continued to expand. Snapchat is inviting applications from start-ups that are formulating direct response strategies, such as mobile commerce, app and game developers. Selected partners will get access to a range of services and benefits, including advertising credits, priority support and advertising tools, as well as invitations to private networking events.
| http://www.adweek.com/digital/snap-accelerate/ | 2017-10-04 09:51:03.777000 | Snapchat launched an initiative Tuesday to help fledgling companies kick-start their advertising efforts on the messaging application.
Snap Accelerate is aimed at providing venture capital-backed startups, incubators and accelerator programs with access to benefits and services.
A Snap Inc. spokesperson said the company is open to startups at all stages of their development, adding that the initiative is best-suited for growth-stage mobile startups with digital expertise and performance-based, direct-response marketing strategies. Examples include mobile applications that are still in the process of acquiring users, mobile commerce startups and mobile game developers.
Snapchat is obviously a mobile-exclusive vehicle, and the company said 60 percent of its daily users create Snaps with their cameras on a daily basis, and the average user opens the Snapchat app 18 times per day and spends more than 30 minutes on it.
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Grassley Pressing to Include Drug Pricing Measures in CHIP Reauthorization | Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior member and former chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, is pressing GOP leaders to tackle high drug prices in a critical bill to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
| https://morningconsult.com/2017/10/03/grassley-pressing-include-drug-pricing-measures-chip-reauthorization/ | 2017-10-04 09:20:41.957000 | The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act targets deals between brand-name drugmakers and their generic counterparts to delay the market entry of competing drugs.
The CREATES Act would crack down on practices employed by some brand-name drugmakers to thwart generic competition.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior member and former chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, is pressing GOP leaders to tackle high drug prices in a critical bill to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Grassley (R-Iowa), who has tried for years to advance legislation targeting rising prescription drug costs to little avail, is pushing two bills as potential offsets for CHIP funding. Both measures have some bipartisan support, but neither has advanced in previous congressional sessions amid fierce pushback from the pharmaceutical industry. But with urgency on Capitol Hill to renew CHIP, which expired last week, Grassley is taking a shot at getting the bills — the CREATES Act and the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act — included in the reauthorization as partial offsets. The CREATES Act would crack down on practices employed by some brand-name drugmakers to thwart generic competition, while the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act targets deals between brand-name drugmakers and their generic counterparts to delay competing drugs from entering the market.
A similar affordable generics bill would reduce federal spending by roughly $2.4 billion over 10 years, according to an October 2015 estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. A previous version of the CREATES Act would reduce federal spending by roughly $3.3 billion over 10 years, according to Grassley‘s office in April. Experts on Grassley’s staff have talked with staff on the Senate Finance Committee and in leadership about the proposals ahead of a committee markup of the CHIP legislation on Wednesday, according to a senior GOP aide. Supporters from the health sector, which include health insurers, providers and patient organizations, say their chances have never been better, given public outrage at exorbitant drug prices, bipartisan desire to address the issue in Congress and interest in drug prices from within the Trump administration. The proposals have even united progressive advocacy group Public Citizen and the conservative FreedomWorks. Still, despite unprecedented momentum to tackle rising prescription costs, it is still far from certain whether Grassley will be successful. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has not endorsed either measure and has sometimes sided with brand-name drugmakers on divisive pricing issues. Hatch’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. “It is a delicate conversation between two chairmen who’ve been here for more than a cup of coffee,” Rodney Whitlock, Grassley’s former health policy expert, said in an interview Tuesday. Whitlock is now vice president of health policy at the consulting firm ML Strategies LLC. Political procedure also complicates Grassley’s effort. Both drug pricing measures have been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs, while the Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over CHIP. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) directed a request for comment to Grassley’s office. |
IBM, UC San Diego launch aging-based AI center | IBM and the University of California San Diego have launched an artificial intelligence project aimed at boosting the quality of life and independence for aging populations.
| http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/ibm-uc-san-diego-launch-aging-based-ai-center | 2017-10-04 09:20:05.127000 | IBM and the University of California San Diego have launched an artificial intelligence project aimed at boosting the quality of life and independence for aging populations.
The partners have opened an Artificial Intelligence for Healthy Living Center on the campus of UC San Diego to bring together the technology, AI and life sciences knowledge for research into healthy aging.
[Also: AI-powered Viome raises $15 million to take on the microbiome]
They plan to develop technologies to further achieve the potential of AI and to boost cognitive health, which, in turn, will enable people to live independently longer and have a higher quality of life.
The project also aims to better understand the health implications of the human microbiome – the microbes that live in the human body.
The team will develop and employ machine learning algorithms for sensing, understanding, modeling, personalizing and informing.
[Also: How AI is transforming healthcare and solving problems in 2017]
The initiative will bring together researchers in computer science, engineering and medicine, including psychiatry. Over five years, researchers will study the impact a combination of daily habits, the environment, genetics and the microbiome have on the cognition of older adults. The goal: enabling older adults to live independently longer and have a higher quality of life.
“We’re committed to collaborating with the best minds in academia to inspire the next generation of scientists by providing access to leading-edge AI tools and expertise to solve real problems that impact human lives,” John Kelly III, IBM senior vice president, Cognitive Solutions and IBM Research, said in a statement.
Co-directors of the Artificial Intelligence for Healthy Living Center will be Ruoyi Zhou and Ho-Cheol Kim from IBM; and Tajana Rosing, a faculty member in the Jacobs School of Engineering’s Computer Science and Engineering Department, and Rob Knight, a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and Computer Science and Engineering and director of the UC San Diego Center for Microbiome Innovation.
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: [email protected] |
Altibbi wins $6.5m to expand employee telehealth in Middle East | Dubai-based health platform Altibbi has raised $6.5m in a funding round led by Middle East Venture Partners and Dash Ventures, and featuring participation from Tamm and Rimco Investments, among others. Altibbi works with employers based in the Middle East and North Africa, offering 24-hour telehealth services to employees, including a free Q&A platform boasting 12,000 doctors. The company said it serves more than six million people every month and aims to expand further.
| http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/altibbi-gets-65m-middle-east-focused-telehealth-offering | 2017-10-04 09:19:53.847000 | Altibbi has raised $6.5 million to support its digital health platform for the Arab world. Middle East Venture Partners and Dash Ventures led the round, with additional participation from TAMM, RIMCO Investments, Endeavor’s Catalyst Fund, and other undisclosed investors.
“We are fortunate to work with some of the reputable and supportive venture capital firms and strategic corporate VCs in the region, and confident that this partnership will further accelerate our efforts towards a more prosperous future with universal access to healthcare,” CEO Jalil Allabadi said in a statement. “The rapid growth of our company over the past years has clearly illustrated the ever-growing demand for innovative health solutions in our region, and we are delighted to witness first-hand how our products are solving real problems. Altibbi is proud to provide cutting-edge, inclusive health services and looks forward to further strengthening these solutions by offering the best connected health solutions the region has seen to date.”
Altibbi is primarily a telehealth company for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It works with employers to offer their employee 24-7 access to local primary care doctors. The app serves users in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Omar, Jordan, Iraq, and Palestine.
The company also has a free doctor Q&A platform where 12,000 doctors answer a combined 1,000 questions per day. Both of these features are offered online and through the company’s popular mobile app.
“The funding is fully dedicated to further growing the company, which has established an exceptional track record as a premier provider of trusted health and wellness information in the region, serving over 6 million people every month,” Ayman Sharaiha, cofounder and COO at Altibbi, said in a statement. “We believe there is a true opportunity to further build Altibbi’s portfolio of telehealth solutions for the benefit of companies and consumers in the region.”
Altibbi has partnered with Uber in the past, both to offer Uber users a free trial of the company’s telehealth service and to make that service available as a perk for drivers. |
San Diego's hepatitis A outbreak continues to grow | Add 20 more cases and 22 more hospitalizations to San Diego County’s ever-growing Hepatitis A outbreak. Tuesday afternoon the county Health and Human Services Agency bumped the outbreak’s confirmed cases from 461 to 481 and hospitalizations from 315 to 337. The death count associated with the outbreak, which started in November 2016, remained at 17 for a second straight week.
| http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-me-hepatitis-update-20171003-story.html | 2017-10-04 09:19:01.407000 | Add 20 more cases and 22 more hospitalizations to San Diego County’s ever-growing hepatitis A outbreak.
Tuesday afternoon the county Health and Human Services Agency bumped the outbreak’s confirmed cases from 461 to 481 and hospitalizations from 315 to 337. The death count associated with the outbreak, which started in November 2016, remained at 17 for a second straight week.
For the last two weeks, the health department has reported having more than 40 cases under investigation awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they are of the same unique strains associated with other outbreak cases.
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No information on the number of cases under investigation was available Tuesday. All of those who have died during the outbreak have had underlying medical conditions such as liver disease. Most were also homeless and/or drug users.
Vaccination events continue throughout the city as public health officials focus on those at the highest risk of infection such as health and safety workers and those who work with homeless outreach organizations and food service workers.
Hepatitis A infection is seldom fatal unless other complications, such as liver disease or an autoimmune disorder, are already present.
The hepatitis A virus is shed in human feces and is transmitted when a person accidentally consumes a small amount of fecal matter left on food, drinks, drugs or other materials. Proper hand hygiene — washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom — is sufficient to kill the virus, though alcohol-based hand sanitizer may not be effective. Hepatitis A symptoms include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes), abdominal pain, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting and nausea.
For information on where to get a hepatitis a vaccination, dial 2-1-1.
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High-deductible health care plans curb both cost and usage, including preventive care | A team of researchers based at IUPUI has conducted the first systematic review of studies examining the relationship between high-deductible health care plans and the use of health care services. They found these plans reduce both the cost and the use of health care services, according to an article published in the October issue of the journal Health Affairs.
| https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/iu-hhc100317.php | 2017-10-04 09:18:22.397000 | INDIANAPOLIS -- A team of researchers based at IUPUI has conducted the first systematic review of studies examining the relationship between high-deductible health care plans and the use of health care services. They found these plans reduce both the cost and the use of health care services, according to an article published in the October issue of the journal Health Affairs.
Those reductions are the result of a decrease in patient use of many types of medical services, including desirable services like preventive care or cancer screenings, said Nir Menachemi, a professor of health policy and management and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI, who is one of the authors of the paper.
"For high-deductible health plans to work in the ideal, patients need to be educated on the fact that preventive care does not usually incur out-of-pocket costs in these types of plans," Menachemi said. "Traditional insurance plans shield patients from all of the financial decisions that are made. The fact that you are shielded financially from health care decisions makes you potentially more likely to over-consume services, which raises the average of care for everyone and increases premiums for everyone."
The review identified the most rigorous methodological studies previously published and ultimately summarized findings across 28 articles. The review found that high-deductible health plans were associated with a significant reduction in preventive care in seven of 12 studies and a significant reduction in office visits in six of 11 studies -- which in turn led to a reduction in both appropriate and inappropriate care.
High-deductible health plans have lower premiums but higher deductibles compared to traditional insurance plans. Many policymakers view high-deductible health plans as a way to curb health care costs by providing patients with incentives to make more cost-conscious health care decisions.
The review highlights the decline in use of preventive health care services under high-deductible plans, which another study has shown occurs when patients change their health care behavior and forgo needed care to save money.
However, few if any high-deductible health plans charge members for preventive screenings, suggesting patients didn't understand they could use these services at no cost, Menachemi said.
Given that nearly every health care reform proposal at the state and federal level involves some use of high-deductible health plans to manage costs and patients' demands for services, a synthesis of existing studies was needed to provide policymakers with the best available evidence as the U.S. moves toward a system increasingly centered on high-deductible health care plans, Menachemi said.
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The article, titled "High-Deductible Health Plans Reduce Health Care Cost and Utilization, Including Use of Needed Preventive Services," is co-authored by Rajender Agarwal, director of the Center for Health Reform in Dallas, Texas, and a student in the Business of Medicine MBA program at IU's Kelley School of Business at IUPUI, and Olena Mazurenko, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the Fairbanks School of Public Health. |
Interoperability shows progress, but it's slow progress at best | A new Health Affairs report on the state of interoperability in healthcare reveals scant progress in spite of what the authors of the report called “substantial efforts.”
| http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/interoperability-shows-progress-its-slow-progress-best | 2017-10-04 09:17:36.683000 | A new Health Affairs report on the state of interoperability in healthcare reveals scant progress in spite of what the authors of the report called “substantial efforts.”
The researchers looked at 2014 and 2015 data and found that 2014 national data suggested that hospital engagement with interoperability were at low levels.
They examined the 2015 data for national trends in engagement in four areas of interoperability: finding, sending, receiving and integrating electronic patient information from outside providers. They found small gains in 2015, with 29.7 percent of hospitals engaging in all four domains compared to 24.5 percent in 2014.
[Also: NQF says interoperability goes far beyond EHR-to-EHR data exchange]
Sending information showed an increase of 8.1 percent while receiving information showed an increase of 8.4 percent.
But there were no changes in integrating systems, however. Hospitals’ use of data for patient care from outside providers was low, with only 18.7 percent of hospitals reporting they “often” used these data.
“Our results reveal that hospitals’ progress toward interoperability is slow and that progress is focused on moving information between hospitals, not on ensuring usability of information in clinical decisions.”
The researchers concluded that in 2015, fewer than 30 percent of hospitals engaged in the four primary areas of interoperability, a slight increase over 2014. Engagement in one domain, integrating outside information, was stagnant.
“This is a concern because integration is critical to data usability, and lack of integration was found to be a top barrier to the use of outside data in clinical care,” the researchers wrote.
On a high note, researchers found that each of the four domains of interoperability was positively associated with the availability and use of outside clinical information and that nearly half of hospitals were “often” or “sometimes” using this information in the delivery of patient care, there is still much room for progress, they wrote.
However, they pointed to issues with integrating information into existing EHR systems. Clinical workflows were the most commonly cited barriers for hospitals that were not routinely using external information for patient care. It further underscores the need to shift the policy focus from transmitting information to information usability
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: [email protected] |
Medicare innovation can spur the next round of payment reform | The economic imperative for better health care at a lower cost has never been more urgent. Changing the way that health care providers are paid is at the core of solving the problem. Bipartisan support has formed around the idea of flexibility and innovation in how care is delivered in conjunction with more accountability for results.
| https://www.statnews.com/2017/10/03/medicare-innovation-payment-reform/ | 2017-10-04 09:16:58.357000 | The economic imperative for better health care at a lower cost has never been more urgent. Changing the way that health care providers are paid is at the core of solving the problem. Bipartisan support has formed around the idea of flexibility and innovation in how care is delivered in conjunction with more accountability for results. But the journey toward implementing these new models of care and payment is a difficult one.
Success in these reforms means moving away from relying only or primarily on fee-for-service payments. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and, by extension, private payers rely on a highly complex system of fee-for-service prices. More than 47,000 different prices are listed for covered health care services, while many services and interventions that could lower costs and improve care — such as team-based approaches to care, telemedicine, and digital health services, personalized services based on new diagnostics and big-data capabilities, or spending time with a patient to develop a care plan that reflects their preferences — aren’t covered much or at all. Medicare prices are determined by thousands of pages of regulation and legislation.
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Since its creation in the Affordable Care Act, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has led efforts at CMS to advance alternatives to fee-for-service. Working with CMS, and with states and employers, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid managed care plans, and commercial insurance plans are implementing new payment models that in many cases represent more fundamental reforms than Medicare has yet undertaken. But most payment reforms are still at relatively early stages, and private-sector innovators cannot make the shift without the government’s commitment to shift from volume- to value-based payments.
With so much at stake, the actions of the Department of Health and Human Services are closely watched. The recent revisions in a set of mandatory payment reform pilots caused some to worry about continued HHS commitment to payment reform. Recently, CMS provided more visibility into their intentions by publishing a request for information based on a set of principles and new areas of emphasis in payment reform.
The CMS information request makes two things clear. First, the current administration does intend to continue pursuing payment reform. Second, HHS leadership believes there is a way to go before we get it right.
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Both are welcome sentiments. Reform of a system that has existed for decades takes time and will require iterative improvement and learning. For example, some large consolidated hospital systems have only undertaken modest “shared savings” reforms, and continue to be paid largely on a volume basis while amassing considerable market power. Many providers have criticized extensive participation and reporting requirements that they believe divert effort from steps that could really improve outcomes that matter to patients. The CMS request signals new directions in payment reform that could address these and other challenges.
The announcement emphasizes greater patient and consumer involvement in reform efforts. Medicare Part D, in which consumers choose plans that enable them to save much more than in a traditional benefit structure, have resulted in large increases in the use of generic drugs and more price competition among similar brand-name drugs. Yet only a couple of the many provider-focused payment reform initiatives to date from Medicare’s innovation center let consumers pay significantly less by choosing providers and care models that are less expensive and meet their needs.
For competition on value to succeed, consumers will need help moving beyond the complex price system used by Medicare and private insurers. It is impossible for consumers to sort through thousands of specific prices, even if they were all publicly reported, to figure out the actual ballpark of their costs for a knee replacement procedure or cancer care. Payment reform is needed to drive transparency, consumer empowerment, and competition in all areas of health care.
Currently, shared savings in payment reforms are designed to go mainly to health care providers. What if future rounds of Medicare payment reform expanded opportunities to share savings with consumers and patients? They could use the quality and cost information that can go along with the payment reforms to choose high-quality and efficient provider groups for their overall care or for specialized care needs, say for cancer treatment, and can get savings that are not possible in Medicare today.
As with Medicare Part D, it is important to include steps like risk adjustment to encourage competition to improve care and lower cost for the sickest beneficiaries. Along with risk adjustment, Medicare support for broader reporting on a limited number of meaningful performance measures and regulatory flexibility to share savings with consumers could be powerful forces for driving change in health care.
The CMS request for information provides an opportunity to consider payment reforms that are administratively simpler. For example, performance measurement is not only essential for competition and consumer empowerment but is also a promising area in which CMS can reduce burdens on clinicians. Health care providers and patient advocates alike have criticized existing performance measures as not sufficiently meaningful or practically relevant to patient care. Private payers and employers are also interested in supporting more meaningful, comparable performance measures, such as important clinical outcomes, as well as patient-reported measures of how well they are functioning with a disease. Through public-private collaboration, CMS could lead efforts to make key, consistent measures widely available.
It is clear that we can expect emphasis on needed payment reforms in areas of specialized care that account for substantial disease burdens and costs, such as degenerative joint diseases, complex cardiovascular diseases, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer. Many specialty-care providers have limited options to participate in Medicare’s existing major payment reforms. Payment models that exist for some surgical procedures and cancer care could be expanded to more chronic disease management and additional types of specialized care.
The CMS announcement rightly emphasizes the inclusion of drugs and other innovative medical products in payment reform efforts. Current fee-for-service payments for drugs and devices are often not transparent to consumers or providers and do not align with provider efforts to shift from volume-based to value-based care. Some product manufacturers have begun implementing outcome-based payments and other value-based payment reforms with private insurers and health care organizations. HHS support for such efforts is very timely.
CMS could provide more support for state-led payment reform efforts that include public and private payers. Many states, such as Arkansas, Tennessee, and Ohio, are in the process of implementing such models. Building on some existing multi-payer reforms, CMS could take a big step toward helping these reforms succeed by providing more clarity about how Medicare can align its measures and payments with those used by a preponderance of the private- and state-based insurance plans. Such reforms could be particularly helpful in Medicaid, supporting care for complex patients and those with behavioral or social factors influencing their costs.
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Finally, CMS could accelerate progress by supporting clinicians and private payers in sharing insights about how health care providers can implement new approaches to delivering care. Public-private and multi-stakeholder collaborations can share the tools and best practices to help them succeed.
Continued momentum is important. While CMS gathers input on these potentially valuable next steps, payment reform needs to continue. The alternative to progress on payment reform is rising pressure to try to control costs through more complex and tightly regulated fee-for-service prices, which encourages providers and patients to focus on the volume of services rather than on developing innovative approaches to staying well, heading off disease complications, and incorporating new biomedical breakthroughs at a more sustainable overall cost.
CMS needs to lean forward by providing a clear and predictable path for expanding the most promising measures, including making reforms mandatory after a period of successful voluntary participation. By turning its recent request for information into clear steps for promoting competition to improve outcomes and lower costs — instead of further reliance on complex fee-for-service price regulation — CMS can use its unique influence to enable health care innovations needed to meet our nation’s health and economic challenges.
Mark McClellan, M.D., is director of the Robert J. Margolis, MD, Center for Health Policy at Duke University. He served as FDA commissioner from 2002 to 2004. Mike Leavitt is founder of Leavitt Partners. He served as the secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services from 2005 to 2009 and is a former three-term governor of Utah. |
Tom Price may be gone, but the Trump administration's sabotage of Obamacare is moving ahead at full speed | Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is gone, ushered out of office last week after being caught causing $1 million in unnecessary taxpayer expense by chartering private planes and taking military aircraft around the country and the world instead of flying commercial, like normal people.
| http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-obamacare-sabotage-20171002-story.html | 2017-10-04 09:15:24.093000 | Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price may be gone, but the scorched earth he left behind on Obamacare is still smoking.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is gone, ushered out of office last week after being caught causing $1 million in unnecessary taxpayer expense by chartering private planes and taking military aircraft around the country and the world instead of flying commercial, like normal people.
This looks like a case in which the right thing has happened for the wrong reason — or at least for an incomplete reason. The grounds for Price’s ouster should have been his atrocious management of the most important program under his jurisdiction, the Affordable Care Act. Instead of acting to make Obamacare work better for all Americans, Price took every step within his power to undermine the law in ways that will cost American families millions of dollars.
What’s worse, Price’s campaign will keep chugging along without him. Indeed, much of the damage from his tenure already has been done and can’t be reversed for this year or next.
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Minnesota’s experience with its 1332 waiver application has been ... nightmarish. — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price
Whether Price’s departure will change the administration’s approach to the Affordable Care Act isn’t clear, but the signs are not encouraging. Price’s stance dovetailed neatly with that of his boss, President Trump, whose disdain for the healthcare law and near-total lack of understanding for how it works have been clear since the presidential campaign.
Some commentators have expressed hope that Seema Verma, currently the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, might be the front-runner to replace Price and that she’d be less antagonistic toward the Affordable Care Act. It’s hard to know what makes them think so. Verma is a protege of Vice President Mike Pence, who hasn’t exactly been a defender of Obamacare.
As an Indiana bureaucrat when Pence was governor, Verma fashioned a program that expanded Medicaid for that state, but she has been silent on the attack on the ACA coming from within the Health and Human Services Agency. During her confirmation hearing in February, she seemed to rationalize cutting maternity care from the list of essential health benefits required of all health plans under the ACA, which suggests either that she has no idea how insurance works, no regard for the difficulties of finding maternity coverage in the pre-Obamacare era, or is willing to say just about anything to please her right-wing masters in the administration.
My colleague Noam Levey reported in May that Verma was complicit in an outrageous White House extortion attempt, when she told insurance executives that the administration would fund cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers — which Trump has been threatening to withhold — if the insurers would support repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This went over very badly with the executives, and Health and Human Services denied the story.
As head of the health agency, Price managed to tick off even Republican state administrations, which were doing their part to make the Affordable Care Act work better. Consider the experience of the bright-red state of Oklahoma. State officials worked closely with Price’s office for months to gain approval for a so-called 1332 waiver under the ACA. Their goal was to set up a reinsurance program with federal funding to help insurers manage the cost of high-risk enrollees so that premiums in the individual market could be lower.
In March, Price had sent a letter to governors specifically urging them to consider 1332 reinsurance waivers and providing a road map toward expedited federal approval. But then Price pulled the rug out. According to a blistering letter sent Friday to Price and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin by Oklahoma Health and Human Services Secretary Terry Cline, the state and the feds had reached an agreement on Oklahoma’s application by Sept. 22. Formal approval, Cline was told, would be coming the following Monday.
Instead, Cline learned that day that approval “would not be provided, with no reason for the delay or a time frame for approval.” The state had no choice but to withdraw its application. “The lack of timely waiver approval,” Cline told Price and Mnuchin, “will prevent thousands of Oklahomans from realizing the benefits of significantly lower insurance premiums in 2018.”
As it happens, Price’s inaction will cost the federal government dearly. Cline indicated that 100,000 of the 130,000 Oklahomans in the individual market are insulated from higher premiums by federal subsidies, which rise as premiums rise. But 30,000 middle-class households in the state will have to pay the higher rates themselves, if they can — “in a market many … were forced to leave because premiums are unaffordable,” Cline wrote.
Price also hogtied Minnesota’s effort to create a similar reinsurance program. State officials thought they had a deal in which the federal Health and Human Services Agency would provide more than $200 million over two years to fund the program — only to learn in mid-September that in return for the appropriation, Price’s agency would cut $369 million from its funding for MinnesotaCare, a low-income health plan the state used to cover residents who made too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford insurance on the individual market.
“In a complete turnaround and contrary to all previous direction from your agency,” Gov. Mark Dayton told Price in a Sept. 19 letter, “we have now been informed that Minnesota would lose more federal Basic Health Plan funding than we would receive in federal support for reinsurance.” He added: “Minnesota’s experience with its 1332 waiver application has been … nightmarish.”
These actions, especially the treatment of Oklahoma, have “magnified suspicions that the Department of Health and Human Services is more interested in undermining the Affordable Care Act than partnering with the states to stabilize the individual market for the nearly 20 million Americans,” former Pennsylvania and Oregon Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario observed over the weekend.
During his tenure, Price was responsible for issuing a string of dishonest and disingenuous statistics about the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and, tacitly or explicitly, endorsed the lies told about the system by Republicans such as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
Price didn’t stop there in his campaign to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Under his supervision, Health and Human Services has cut the open enrollment period for plans sold through the federal exchanges, HealthCare.gov, from three months to six weeks; instead of running from Nov. 1 through the end of January for plans effective in 2018, it will run only until Dec. 15. Last-minute enrollees — who are legion — will discover too late that their deadline has passed. The only means of avoiding that is to run a vigorous marketing and outreach program — but Price cut the budget for that by 90%, claiming through department flacks that previous experience suggested that outreach had “diminishing returns,” an assertion contradicted by hard evidence. Health and Human Services also says it will shut down HealthCare.gov for 12 hours every Sunday but one during open enrollment — making it inaccessible for a good portion of the weekends when applicants would normally be signing up.
Just before leaving office, Price ordered the health agency’s 10 regional directors not to participate in state-based open enrollment events, an unprecedented withdrawal of federal support.
Administration sabotage of the individual insurance market is tied to more than half of the average 36% premium increases sought by insurers in 20 states analyzed by Charles Gaba of ACASignups.net. Gaba reckons that nine percentage points of the increase are due to actual medical inflation and 2% from the reinstatement of an Obamacare tax on insurers that had been suspended for two years. But five percentage points are accounted for by the administration’s signals that it won’t aggressively enforce the individual mandate, which requires everyone to carry health coverage; and another 17 points from uncertainty over the cost-sharing reimbursement payments.
Most of this could not have been done by Price alone, at least not without the tacit connivance of President Trump. The campaign to kill the Affordable Care Act marketplaces by neglect and interference won’t end with the end of Price’s tenure as health secretary. There would be no improvement without a firm, proactive effort by his successor, and the chances of that happening look to be nil.
Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email [email protected].
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Turmoil in Washington adds uncertainty to health insurance enrollment | Usually, the autumn ritual of selecting the right health plan for the coming year is quite predictable. The options are there on the table, and there is usually little thought that things might change dramatically after you make a decision.
| http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-healthcare-insurance-enrollment-20171003-story.html | 2017-10-04 09:14:52.833000 | People sign up for Obamacare at AltMed Health Services in Los Angeles in 2015. This year’s signups are complicated by the uncertainty surrounding federal support for cost-sharing subsidies.
Usually, the autumn ritual of selecting the right health plan for the coming year is quite predictable. The options are there on the table, and there is usually little thought that things might change dramatically after you make a decision.
Not this year.
President Trump tweeted this summer that he might end cost-sharing subsidies to health insurance companies if Congress can’t get together on long-promised plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. So open enrollment in California this season — which begins Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31 — comes with an unprecedented edge of unease.
Dave Jones, California’s health insurance commissioner, does not attempt to sugarcoat the effect that so much heated rhetoric has had on the task of getting insurance companies to offer affordable rates to consumers, especially in the private health insurance market now dominated by the Covered California health insurance exchange.
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“This has been the most unstable and challenged health insurance market in my tenure as a public servant,” Jones said. “The degree of uncertainty and instability that the Trump administration has injected into the market this year cannot be understated.”
That turmoil has most directly affected the 1.4 million Californians who buy exchange plans and about 1 million more estimated to purchase individual coverage plans off-exchange.
It is this group, plus 3.8 million California adults enrolled in Medi-Cal since it was expanded in 2014, whose coverage has been the subject of political debate for several years.
While attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act have failed, there are still several steps the president could take to undermine the controversial program.
Already the new administration has said it would not enforce the penalties assessed for those who don’t buy health insurance. And Trump’s decision to target out-of-pocket cost-reducing payments to insurance companies also introduced a fair bit of volatility.
There has also been talk that the federal government will not support outreach efforts to some types of potential policyholders, especially those in Latino communities. Enrollment there is often seen as critical to bringing in enough healthy people to offset the costs incurred by older and sicker Americans who are much more likely to sign up for coverage.
On Aug. 1, Peter Lee, Covered California’s director, said the average increase for exchange plan premiums in 2018 will be 12.5%. He attributed about 3% of that bump to insurance company uncertainty about whether or not the new administration will undermine existing Affordable Care Act programs.
In some cases, Lee said, policyholders will be able to limit their premium hikes to less than 4% by moving into a different plan within their home market. In Los Angeles, seven carriers are offering plans. Premium increases in the region range from 10% in Orange County to 13% in Los Angeles.
Of course, the individual healthcare market is only a small fraction — about 9% in California — of the overall health insurance pie. The largest segment, representing 45% of all Californians in 2015, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, get their coverage from an employer. Those plans generally hold enrollment in the fall.
An additional 38% is enrolled in a government program such as Medicare and Medi-Cal.
It’s a little harder to peg just how much premiums for employer-sponsored plans will increase in 2018.
Every year the National Business Group on Health surveys large employers nationwide to get a sense of how much costs will increase in the coming year. This time around, the nonprofit announced that costs were up about 5%, a number that should roughly translate to the premium increase that employees of large companies will see in 2018, according to Brian Marcotte, the business group’s president and chief executive.
A separate survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust found that premiums for employer plans rose 3% this year, to an average $18,764. That cost is usually divided between employers and workers.
Marcotte said employers are continuing strategies that have gradually come to the fore over the last few years to contain healthcare costs as much as possible. Most companies, he said, are building in income-based premiums for employees. Gone are the days when the premium list was the same for everyone on the payroll.
“That means if you make more, you end up paying a higher monthly premium,” Marcotte said.
And there has also been a big increase in the number of employers offering “self-directed health plans” that combine high deductibles with special health savings accounts that the employer funds to help defray costs. The average contribution, Marcotte said, is $650 per year for an individual and $1,000 per family. Average deductibles for these plans, he added, are $1,500 per individual and $3,250 per year for family coverage.
“Today we have 90% of large employers offering self-directed plans with attached health savings accounts and 40% are offering these as their only option in 2018,” Marcotte said.
Sisson writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. |
With Affordable Care Act’s Future Cloudy, Costs for Many Seem Sure to Soar | Health insurers are aggressively increasing prices next year for individual policies sold under the federal health care law, with some raising premiums by more than 50 percent.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/03/health/aca-insurance-rate-increases.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&_r=0 | 2017-10-04 09:14:11.017000 | In Florida, the average rate increase will be about 45 percent, according to state regulators. And in New York, where officials said prices would still be below where they were before the law took effect, premiums were expected to increase by an average of about 14 percent. Many states have not made insurers’ rate increases public, and experts said the rise in costs for consumers could run from 10 percent to nearly 60 percent.
There are exceptions. Minnesota, which sought a federal waiver to address the high cost of premiums, said this week that prices for plans sold on the state exchange there would remain stable or drop significantly in 2018.
Those who qualify for federal subsidies, a group that accounts for about 85 percent of the roughly 10 million people who buy insurance through the marketplaces created under the health law, will largely be shielded from the higher prices.
Regulators in Florida and New York said that residents of those states who qualified for the most generous subsidies could see lower prices next year, depending on which plan they buy. In some places, the least expensive plans could become free after customers apply their subsidies. (Deficit hawks will probably complain about the higher federal outlays for subsidies.)
People who earn too much to qualify for financial assistance will feel the brunt of any increases. Because many insurers raised prices most sharply on plans that are attractive to people who receive the most generous subsidies, those unable to get subsidies may have to shop for plans that are not affected or look beyond their state marketplaces for lower-priced options. |
Researchers develop better way to break down lignin | US Department of Energy researchers are developing a way to convert lignin, the world's second largest renewable carbon source after cellulose, into biofuels. Decomposing the complex natural polymer into stable components useful for liquid fuel, pharmaceuticals and plastics in an energy-efficient manner has long challenged scientists. But Ames Laboratory researchers have now combined the decomposition and stabilisation processes into one multi-functional catalyst, which deconstructs lignin into more readily useful components. | https://phys.org/news/2017-10-potential-science-biomass.html | 2017-10-04 09:10:55.400000 | TEM image of Ce-P-Pd elemental map. Credit: Igor Slowing
In every plant—from trees to crops—there exists a substance that makes up its wood or stems, fiber, and cell walls. This substance is a complex natural polymer called lignin, and it is the second largest renewable carbon source on the planet after cellulose.
This natural abundance has drawn high interest from the research community to chemically convert lignin into biofuels. And if plant life really does hold the building blocks for renewable fuels, it would seem that we are literally surrounded by potential energy sources everywhere green grows.
But untangling the complex chains of these polymers into components, which can be useful for liquid fuel and other applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to plastics, has presented an ongoing challenge to science and industry.
There are currently two common ways of processing lignin. One requires an acid plus high heat, and the other is pyrolysis, or treating with high heat in the absence of oxygen. Besides being energy-consuming processing methods, the results are less than optimal.
"You end up with individual molecules that are unstable and reactive, and they easily re-polymerize. It's kind of a horrible mess, really," explains Igor Slowing, an expert in heterogeneous catalysis at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. "We need to be able to deconstruct lignin in a way that is economically feasible and into stable, readily useful components."
Slowing and other scientists at Ames Laboratory are working to reach that commercialization goal, experimenting with chemical reactions that decompose lignin models at low temperatures and pressures. There are already known ways of salvaging useful byproducts out of lignin through the addition of a stabilization process. But Slowing and his research team took both the decomposition and stabilization processes further, by combining the two into one multi-functional catalyst, using phosphate-modified ceria.
"Our process does the breaking of lignin-like material and the stabilization in a single step in very mild conditions," said Slowing. "The interesting thing is that though there are two different types of chemical processes happening in a single material, they appear to be working synergistically, and are able to do that at a lower temperature."
In another experiment, Slowing's research team was able to process a related material, phenol, into useful industrial precursors for nylon production. This work used a catalyst made of ceria and palladium doped with sodium, which increased the reactivity of the process significantly. They also eliminated the use of hydrogen, which is produced from steam-treatment of natural gas, and used an energy-conserving alcohol-based hydrogenation process instead.
Research continues. "Both of these results were very promising, and our next step is to combine the two experiments into one, and achieve lignin deconstruction using hydrogen from a renewable source," said Slowing.
More information: Nicholas C. Nelson et al, Phosphate modified ceria as a Brønsted acidic/redox multifunctional catalyst, J. Mater. Chem. A (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C6TA08703E Nicholas C. Nelson et al. Transfer hydrogenation over sodium-modified ceria: Enrichment of redox sites active for alcohol dehydrogenation, Journal of Catalysis (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2016.12.018 Journal information: Journal of Materials Chemistry A |
Staff training intervention doesn't impact fall prevention | An intervention targeting gaps in staff communication and coordination (complexity science-based staff training intervention [CONNECT]) does not improve the impact of an evidence-based falls quality improvement program (FALLS), according to a study published online Oct. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
| https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-10-staff-intervention-doesnt-impact-fall.html | 2017-10-04 09:09:38.757000 | (HealthDay)—An intervention targeting gaps in staff communication and coordination (complexity science-based staff training intervention [CONNECT]) does not improve the impact of an evidence-based falls quality improvement program (FALLS), according to a study published online Oct. 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Cathleen S. Colón-Emeric, M.D., from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues conducted a cluster-randomized trial in 24 nursing homes receiving CONNECT followed by FALLS (intervention) or FALLS alone (control). Nursing home staff completed surveys at baseline as well as three, six, and nine months; 1,545 staff members completed surveys (734 [37 percent] and 811 [44 percent] of eligible staff in intervention and control facilities, respectively). Medical records were abstracted for 1,794 residents with at least one fall in the six-month pre- and post-intervention windows.
The researchers found that after FALLS, neither the CONNECT nor the FALLS-only facilities improved the mean count of fall reduction activities (3.3 versus 3.2 of 10); there was no difference between the groups in the adjusted median recurrent fall rates (4.06 versus 4.06 falls/resident/year). Overall, staff communication measures (mean, 0.03 points on a five-point scale) and communication timeliness (mean, 0.8 points on a five-point scale) improved modestly. Wide variation was seen across facilities in intervention penetration.
"New approaches to implementing evidence-based care for complex conditions in the nursing home are urgently needed," the authors write.
Copyright © 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. |
More Than One-Third of Older Adults Use Sleep Medications | Most older adults don’t talk to their health care provider about sleep difficulties, even though more than one-third reported using some type of medication to help them sleep at night, according to results from the National Poll on Healthy Aging.
| http://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/more-than-onethird-of-older-adults-use-sleep-medications | 2017-10-04 09:09:09.603000 | Most older adults don’t talk to their health care provider about sleep difficulties, even though more than one-third reported using some type of medication to help them sleep at night, according to results from the National Poll on Healthy Aging.
The poll was conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine. The results are based on answers from a nationally-representative sample of 1065 older adults who answered questions online.
Of the respondents, who were aged 65-80 years old, with sleep problems, 36% reported using a type of sleep medication either regularly (31%) or occasionally (23%). This included prescription sleep medications, prescription pain medications, OTC medications, and herbal/natural sleep aids. Among occasional users who had trouble sleeping at least 3 nights a week, OTC sleep aids were the most common choice. Those who regularly used sleep medications relied on prescription drugs.
Despite the associated health risk, 23% of respondents who reported sleep troubles 3 or more nights a week and use a prescription sleep aid indicated long-term use of these drugs.
Almost half (46%) of the poll’s respondents said that they had trouble falling asleep 1 or more nights per week, and 15% reported having trouble 3 or more nights per week. Twenty-three percent who had trouble sleeping said that it was due to pain, and 40% responded that their overall health was fair or poor. Other reasons reported for sleep difficulties included having to get up to the use the bathroom at night and worry or stress.
More than half of older adults (54%) believe poor sleep is a normal part of aging. Poll results indicated that many individuals don’t view sleep issues as a health problem, which is the most common reason that the respondents said they hadn’t talked to their health care providers about sleep. For pharmacists, this highlights an opportunity to ask older patients about sleep habits and counsel on appropriate sleep aids while reducing prolonged use and potential risks.
Reference
National Poll on Healthy Aging. Healthy Aging Poll website. http://www.healthyagingpoll.org/report/october-2017-trouble-sleeping-dont-assume-its-normal-part-aging Published September 2017. Accessed October 3, 2017. |
Munich Re Africa and Wits are latest clients to drop KPMG | University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and Munich Re Africa are the latest clients to drop KPMG as their auditor due to its relationship with Gupta-associated companies along with its complicity in the SARS report. This follows South African firms Sasfin and Hulisani dropping KPMG last month, along with the South African parliament; Barclays Africa and Standard Bank are also said to be considering dropping the auditor. | https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-10-04-wits-drops-kpmg-as-their-internal-auditor/ | 2017-10-04 09:08:22.520000 | The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) has become the latest client to drop KPMG as their auditor.
Wits said in a statement on Wednesday the university council had decided on Friday not to renew its contract with KPMG for internal auditing and financial risk management services at the end of the current financial year.
The decision was taken after meetings with new KPMG CEO Nhlamu Dlomu‚ international KPMG representatives and members of the University Council’s Audit and Council Risk committees.
"The committees acknowledged that KPMG did take some actions‚ including releasing the CEO‚ COO and a number of senior partners to mitigate the reputational damage that it suffered as a result of its relationship with Gupta associated companies and its complicity in the SARS report but felt that KPMG had not gone far enough‚" Wits said.
"Further‚ it was agreed that KPMG had not been sufficiently transparent and that it is hard to reconcile KPMG’s conclusion that no one did anything illegal‚ when senior individuals have been dismissed and the SARS report has been retracted. In these circumstances‚ the Council believes that it would have been prudent to acknowledge the ethical and legal lapses of KPMG’s senior management team."
PWC will remain the university’s external auditors.
Wits joins the parliament‚ the Parmed board‚ the African branch of the Germany's Munich Re‚ Sygnia Asset Management‚ Sasfin and Hulisani as some of the companies that have dropped KPMG South Africa as other clients re-evaluate their relationship and pressure mounts on KPMG. |
Planning for Medicare in 2018 | This year, the government will spend $609 billion to cover 58 million Medicare beneficiaries. Those numbers lump everybody together into one monolithic group, but that’s not the case when Oct. 15 arrives. That date opens a 54-day window where each individual covered by the program gets to make changes to how they receive the Medicare benefit they paid for through regular payroll deductions during their working years.
| http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-me-enrollment-medicarescene-20170825-story.html | 2017-10-04 09:07:24.310000 | This year, the government will spend $609 billion to cover 58 million Medicare beneficiaries.
Those numbers lump everybody together into one monolithic group, but that’s not the case when Oct. 15 arrives. That date opens a 54-day window where each individual covered by the program gets to make changes to how they receive the Medicare benefit they paid for through regular payroll deductions during their working years.
And there are plenty of choices. In San Diego County alone, 24 different prescription drug plans are available with another 23 Medicare Advantage plans offered by third-party providers.
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Many who are already enrolled in a plan they like simply let Medicare’s open enrollment window close without taking any action. David Weil, director of San Diego’s Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program, said that is a mistake. Everyone should at least take a look at the options available to them every year, he said, especially if they are taking prescription drugs.
“For most people, this is the one time during the year when they can make changes. But you don’t want to make those changes without doing your homework first,” Weil said.
There are also a few changes that are coming your way whether or not you decide to take a look around during Medicare’s open enrollment window.
Today, most Medicare beneficiaries are paying a $109 monthly Part B premium, while those who enrolled in 2017 pay $134 per month. Medicare was able to charge more to new enrollees but was unable to spread overall cost increases to the already enrolled due to “hold harmless” provisions in the federal laws that underpin the government’s largest health care benefit. However, those same laws allow a broad-based premium adjustment anytime the government grants a cost-of-living increase to Social Security benefits, and Weil said it looks like it will happen in 2018.
“It’s likely that, across the board, people who are paying $109 per month now will see an increase, and those who are paying $134 will see a little bit of a drop. We won’t know for sure until November,” Weil said.
That’s when Medicare is expected to announce basic Part B premiums for 2018.
There is also a bit of intrigue around another significant change in how everyone will use Medicare next year. In April, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will mail new Medicare cards to every one of the nearly 60 million Americans receiving benefits. These new cards will feature 11 randomly selected numbers and letters called a Medicare “Beneficiary Identifier” that will replace your existing health insurance claim number.
Why are they doing this? Well, your old number is based on your Social Security number and because it appears on all Medicare-related paperwork, it was often used to defraud seniors. The new number, because it’s randomly selected, carries no such risk of inadvertently providing your Social Security number to thieves.
However, in an ironic twist, those same thieves are using this change for one last burst of malfeasance. In San Diego and across the nation, reports are surfacing of Medicare beneficiaries receiving calls from scammers who demand their personal information and, in some cases outright payment, to get their new card.
“In some cases we have reports of people calling up and telling them they can get their number embossed on a nice metal plate if they provide information over the phone,” Weil said.
There are other variations of these scams which have callers impersonating Social Security or insurance company employees. In all cases, experts advise hanging up and not providing any information even if the caller already has certain information about you such as your date of birth or Social Security number.
Medicare does not call and request this type of identifying information from its beneficiaries. Once the new ID number is in place, beneficiaries will have a 21-month grace period during which they can use either their old number or the new one.
The one site you must know
Visit www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan to enter your information and see what’s available in your specific ZIP code. There is even a place for you to enter up to 25 different prescription drugs and have the website show you only those plans which include everything you’re taking.
If you’re not an Internet person, that’s OK too. Anyone living in San Diego County can call the Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program at (858) 565-8772 for help. Imperial County residents have their own line at (760) 353-0223.
Health insurance brokers are also available to help, and because they are paid through commissions on the plans they sell, they offer assistance at no cost to you. You can find an agent at www.nahu.org.
Medicare’s makeup
Here is a refresher on Medicare’s four essential parts. It pays to remind yourself what these mean before starting your research:
Part A: Hospital insurance. Everyone gets it if they or their spouse has worked in the United States for at least a decade. There is no premium.
Hospital insurance. Everyone gets it if they or their spouse has worked in the United States for at least a decade. There is no premium. Part B: Health insurance. This covers doctor visits, medical equipment and a vast range of other outpatient services. The government charges a monthly fee, and they deduct it from your Social Security check if you receive one.
Health insurance. This covers doctor visits, medical equipment and a vast range of other outpatient services. The government charges a monthly fee, and they deduct it from your Social Security check if you receive one. Part C: This is not a separate benefit but rather a special section which allows private companies to administer a person’s Medicare benefit through Medicare Advantage plans. In San Diego County there are usually dozens of options, many offered by familiar names such as Sharp, Scripps, Kaiser and SecureHorizons.
This is not a separate benefit but rather a special section which allows private companies to administer a person’s Medicare benefit through Medicare Advantage plans. In San Diego County there are usually dozens of options, many offered by familiar names such as Sharp, Scripps, Kaiser and SecureHorizons. Part D: This part of Medicare pays for prescription drugs and has its own monthly premium on top of what you pay for Part B.
There is another key to understanding Medicare: There are two different flavors, Original and Advantage. Our “Turning 65” article describes the differences between the two.
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Governments relying on consumer debt risk a financial crisis: IMF | Governments relying on consumer debt to fuel economic growth run the risk of causing another financial crisis, warns the International Monetary Fund's annual report. "As the global financial crisis showed, rapid growth in household debt – especially mortgages – can be dangerous," says one of the authors Nico Valckx, adding that “higher debt is associated with significantly higher unemployment up to four years ahead. And a one percentage point increase in debt raises the odds of a future banking crisis by about one percentage point. That’s a significant increase, when you consider that the probability of a crisis is 3.5%, even without any increase in debt.” | https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/03/imf-household-debt-growth-bank-of-england-borrowing | 2017-10-04 08:56:50.090000 | The International Monetary Fund has issued a warning to governments that rely on debt-fuelled consumer spending to boost economic growth, telling them they run the risk of another major financial collapse.
In a report before the IMF’s annual meeting in Washington next week, it said analysis of consumer spending and levels of household debt showed that economies benefited in the first two to three years when households raised their levels of borrowing, but then risks began to mount.
Once growth becomes dependent on household debt, it can be a matter of two to three years before a financial crash, the IMF said in its annual report on the global financial system.
The study follows a series of warnings about rising levels of household debt in the UK from financial regulators and debt charities.
In a blogpost accompanying the report, one of the authors, Nico Valckx, warned: “Debt greases the wheels of the economy. It allows individuals to make big investments today – like buying a house or going to college – by pledging some of their future earnings. That’s all fine in theory. But as the global financial crisis showed, rapid growth in household debt – especially mortgages – can be dangerous.”
He added: “Higher debt is associated with significantly higher unemployment up to four years ahead. And a one percentage point increase in debt raises the odds of a future banking crisis by about one percentage point. That’s a significant increase, when you consider that the probability of a crisis is 3.5%, even without any increase in debt.”
Earlier this year the IMF cut its forecast for the UK’s GDP growth in 2017 by 0.3 percentage points to 1.7% and it is expected to reduce its prediction further next week when its global outlook is published. The uncertainty created by the Brexit vote and negotiations to leave are likely to be blamed, along with a reliance on consumer spending, which has slowed this year.
The Bank of England, which regulates the banking sector, said last month that the UK’s banks could incur £30bn of losses on their lending on credit cards, personal loans and for car finance if interest rates and unemployment rose sharply.
The debt charity Stepchange has warned that 6.5 million people have used credit to pay for basic items such as food after a change in their circumstances. And MPs have called for an independent commission to examine the effects of rising household debt levels in the UK.
Household debt levels fell in relation to the UK’s national income (GDP) immediately following the 2008 crash from a peak of almost 170% to below 140%. But in the last two years the figure has begun to creep upwards, fuelling concerns that the UK’s GDP growth is already dependent on consumer borrowing.
Valckx said countries with high levels of debt were able to reduce the risks by introducing strict limits on levels of borrowing and tight regulations on the banking sector.
“Countries can mitigate the risks by taking measures that moderate the growth of household debt, such as raising the down payment required to purchase a house or the fraction of a household income that can be devoted to debt repayments,” he said.
Most of the risk relates to the mortgage market, which is 10 times the size of the consumer debt market in the US and the UK. In the UK, the level of mortgage debt relative to GDP has remained stable since 2008.
However, the number of borrowers has become smaller as large numbers of older homeowners pay off their mortgages and high property prices limit the number of first-time buyers entering the market. |
Email marketers now able to add Spotify playlists into campaigns | Ohio-based marketing automation platform StoryPorts has added Spotify to its roster of online content feeds, enabling marketers to liven up email campaigns and attract potential customers with music. The drag-and-drop Spotify Email widget adds album artwork and play buttons to HTML email templates, while readers who click on them are directed to Spotify's mobile app or webpage. StoryPorts numbers Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music among its clients.
| https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/308202/ | 2017-10-04 08:24:28.723000 | by Jess Nelson , October 3, 2017
Would you have opened that deleted email this morning if it had contained a playlist of Tom Petty’s greatest hits?
Email marketers can now incorporate Spotify albums and playlists into their campaigns, with the recent release of Spotify Email Widget by StoryPorts.
StoryPorts is a marketing automation platform that can pull content from more than 30 online content feeds such as Facebook or Twitter to populate interactive email campaigns. The company can now pull Spotify content into HTML email templates, and the company is compatible with any ESP or automation platform including HubSpot, Pardot, and MailChimp.
StoryPorts’ Spotify widget is easy to use and developed with a drag-and-drop design. The company claims that the widget is responsive, so album artwork and play buttons display in every email client or device.
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The playlist does not yet play in the email client. Instead, listeners who click on a track are then taken to the Spotify mobile application or desktop client to listen to the song selected.
Although StoryPorts’ widget is not yet fully integrated, it’s apparent why the company’s musical clients requested such a feature. StoryPorts works with Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Universal Music Group -- all labels looking to promote the music talents of their roster.
But it’s not just record labels that could benefit from adding music to their email campaigns. Music has been shown to influence shopping behaviors and pace, tempo and genre can all influence consumers’ emotions.
It’s not just brick-and-mortar stores that can influence customers to shop with music -- email marketers would be smart to do the same. |
Redrow Redrow chosen as partner on former school site in Oldham | Oldham Council has chosen Redrow Homes as the developer for the former Counthill school site in the town. The company's winning bid for the project involves the construction of 50 detached and 10 semi-detached houses from early next year, which will be marketed at between £200,000 and £315,000. Redrow will also make highway improvements and add parking facilities near the site, and will also engage a number of apprentices from the area.
| https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/redrow-beats-three-to-oldhams-counthill-regeneration-site/ | 2017-10-04 06:39:00.147000 | Redrow Homes has been picked as construction partner to redevelop the former Counthill school site in Oldham, beating three rival bidders.
Oldham Council approved Redrow Homes as its developer for the site at a cabinet meeting on 18 September.
The housebuilder beat rival bidders Barratt, Countryside Properties, and Willmott Partnership Homes to the project, according to council minutes.
Barratt had proposed to build 94 homes at the site, with 27 detached homes, 36 semi-detached homes and 31 townhouses, with prices ranging from £183,000 to £280,000; while Countryside’s bid included 56 detached and 22 semi-detached homes, priced between £184,000 and £290,000.
Willmott Parternship Homes’ proposals included 45 detached houses, 32 semi-detached houses and six mews properties, with prices ranging between £130,000 and £285,000.
Redrow’s winning bid will see the company build 50 detached and 10 semi-detached homes on the site, with 38 four-bed homes and 22 three-bed homes. Sale prices will be between £200,000 and £315,000.
The housebuilder is due to start on site early next year, with Redrow also providing highway improvements to Haven Lane and Counthill Road, alongside parking for the nearby Waterhead Academy sports hall, as part of the project.
The site was earmarked for development in 2014.
Cllr Jean Stretton, leader of Oldham Council, said: “We are committed to making the borough a place where people want to live, work and do business in so we are delighted Redrow Homes share our vision and are on board as our development partner.
“The firm is one of the biggest housebuilders in the country and over the years it has produced high quality and sustainable homes at sites across the UK.
“These principles match our hopes of creating a flagship neighbourhood in a location where people will be attracted to live.
“As part of their bid Redrow Homes committed to creating apprenticeship positions and using local suppliers and subcontractors, so as our construction partner, they will be helping the local economy grow.”
Steve Greenhalgh, managing director for Redrow Homes (Lancashire), added:
“As well as providing much needed, high quality new homes in a fantastic location, the new development will also bring significant community and economic benefits.
“These include a raft of new apprenticeships as well as work for local subcontractors and suppliers. We’re keen to begin construction early next year.” |
Google faces trial in dispute over AdWords discount and targeting | A US federal judge has ruled Google must face trial in a lawsuit brought by Arkansas attorney Rick Woods. District Court Judge Edward Davila said Woods, who had used Google's AdWords to promote his business between 2009 and 2011, alleged the company had not given him a discount on certain ad clicks and, despite requesting his ads only be shown in Arkansas, was charged for clicks from other locations. Google said the discounts Woods asked for did not cover mobile ads and contended that location targeting was more often based on search queries than geolocation data.
| https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/308206/ | 2017-10-04 06:28:59.890000 | by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, October 3, 2017
In a blow to Google, a federal judge has ruled that the company must face trial for allegedly overcharging a search advertiser.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila ruled last week that Rick Woods, a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based attorney who used AdWords to market his legal practice, could proceed with claims that Google failed to give him a promised discount on at least three ad clicks, and that Google failed to geotarget the ads as promised.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by Woods in 2011. He alleged that he used AdWords from September of 2009 through early 2011 to market his legal practice. During that time, Google allegedly reneged on a promise to give Woods a “smart pricing” discount -- which was supposed to reduce his cost-per-click when ads were served on sites within Google's publisher network.
He also said he was charged for clicks originating in Pennsylvania, Texas and Japan -- despite Google's alleged representations that the ads would be targeted to users in Arkansas.
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Google unsuccessfully argued that it was entitled to summary judgment, or a ruling in its favor before trial. The company contended in papers submitted two years ago that Woods received the smart pricing discount for all ads other than mobile ads, which were excluded from smart pricing when Woods advertised.
Woods countered that he purchased "text" ads, not mobile ads.
Davila ruled that there was a factual dispute about the meaning of "mobile ads," and whether ads purchased by Woods that were displayed on mobile web browsers were excluded from the smart pricing discount.
Given the factual dispute, Woods was entitled to take his claim to trial, Davila ruled.
Google also argued that it disclosed to advertisers that location targeting was sometimes based on people's search queries, as opposed to geolocation data.
Davila ruled that even though Google disclosed its practice on a help page, Woods was entitled to have a jury decide whether he relied on Google's statements that ads would appear in certain locations.
"A reasonable jury could conclude that Woods saw and relied on Google’s statement that ads would be targeted to users in a specific geographic area; that Google in fact charged for clicks on Woods’s ads outside of the designated geographic areas; and that Woods was charged for these clicks," Davila wrote. |
'Ultra-precise' drone uses GPS and phone for 'anywhere' deliveries | Developers at Cambridge Consultants have created a drone delivery system that delivers to a person's physical location, rather than a traditionally assigned address. The DelivAir app uses GPS and a smartphone signal to periodically track its target, with a coded pattern from the phone's flash LED system used to verify the recipient. In addition to consumer deliveries, potential applications noted include delivering puncture kits to stranded cyclists, disaster relief, and life-saving medical deliveries.
| https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/04/delivair-uses-drones-to-deliver-to-people-not-physical-addresse/ | 2017-10-04 05:58:08.880000 | Drone deliveries -- the impatient consumer's Holy Grail -- have been in the pipeline for some time, and while Amazon is pioneering the cause, (although Rival 7-Eleven has completed nearly 100 aerial deliveries to date), its model is still somewhat encumbered by factors at odds with the advantages drone delivery technically offers. Recipients need to be present at an address, for example. Now, though, Cambridge Consultants -- the team that brought us intelligent bins and Renaissance doodling -- has developed a drone delivery system that'll get you your stuff anytime, anywhere, in a matter of minutes.
Let's imagine you're out having a nice walk in the middle of the countryside when you start feeling peckish. Using Cambridge Consultants' DelivAir app, you'd place an order for a snack, and the delivering drone would use GPS and your smartphone signal to navigate to your location, periodically asking for location updates during its flight, until it's within visual range. Once it arrives, you point your mobile phone flash LED to the sky, where it'll blink a coded pattern to let the drone know it's delivering to the right person. Then, while staying a safe height above the ground, the drone lowers the package into your very hands using a stabilising winch, which you then unhook. The drone then makes its merry way back to base, and you've got your snack, or whatever else it is you urgently need in the middle of countryside.
Of course, there are multiple applications for this type of service, fervent consumerism aside. It could be used to take a puncture repair kit to a stranded cyclist, or essential supplies to remote areas as part of disaster relief efforts. There's life-saving potential, too; DelivAir could swiftly get EpiPens or defibrillators to people in urgent need. "Drone delivery is fast and ideal for something that is needed immediately. In that case, a consumer wants a delivery directly to them as a person – not to a location," said Nathan Wrench, head of the industrial and energy business at Cambridge Consultants. "Our DelivAir concept has the potential to revolutionize the delivery process, by removing the address restriction that other drone technologies are limited by."
Indeed, DelivAir's ultra-precise delivery concept makes perfect sense for drone application, but as is the case with Amazon, 7-Eleven and other drone delivery champions, there are still question marks hanging over the mainstream roll out of this kind of service. Instant gratification is a shopper's dream, but a once-blue sky dominated by hundreds of buzzing delivery machines sounds decidedly dystopian. Still, unlike Amazon's plans to rain packages out of the sky, at least DelivAir's concept -- which places the package neatly in your hands -- retains some social decorum. |
Redrow Community objects to 160 home development in Allerton Priory | A three-week public inquiry has been opened to examine objections to UK housebuilder Redrow's plans for a 160-home development on the Grade II-listed Allerton Priory site in Liverpool. The company said it was an opportunity to construct a "much-needed form of accommodation" and called protesters "misguided". The city council’s planning committee initially rejected the proposal, prompting Redrow to appeal and request a final decision from an independent, government-assigned planning inspector.
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Developers Redrow have described community objections to a development of 160 new homes on the old Allerton Priory site as “misguided.”
A public inquiry started today into the controversial housing plan within a 33-acre field, dubbed by campaigners “possibly the most beautiful green space in Liverpool.”
It follows Liverpool council’s planning committee rejecting the proposals, sparking an appeal by Redrow , who have now asked for an independent Government-assigned planning inspector to make the final decision.
This morning, Paul Tucker QC, for Redrow, told the inquiry: “Perspective is everything.
“On the one hand the appeal site is being painted as a precious area of parkland linked to Allerton Priory whose survival is crucial to the fabric of the mosaic of open land in South Liverpool.
“Whereas, on the other hand, it is a rare opportunity to bring forward a much needed form of accommodation on one of those rare sites in the city which could be used for new family housing in order to help to diversify the city’s housing stock.
“It will be passionately submitted, no doubt, that the proposed housing is not needed and that the appeal site is a parcel of land whose loss will seriously impoverish the heritage of the city (and possibly its wildlife) and that what is proposed therefore comprises unsustainable development.
“With all due respect to those perspectives, viewed dispassionately they are misguided.
“To the contrary it is firmly submitted that the appeal proposals comprise sustainable development and that the planning balance decisively weighs in favour of the grant of permission.”
The Allerton Priory application does not form part of the council’s £205m deal with Redrow as their preferred housing partner to build 1,500 homes and bring up to 1,000 properties back into use over the next five years.
Liverpool council, with David Manley QC representing them, have made it clear the local authority does not want the blueprints to go ahead, and Mayor Joe Anderson has previously given his backing to the Save Allerton Priory campaign.
The public inquiry, sitting at Liverpool’s Cunard Building, is set to last at least three weeks, with a break in late October meaning it runs into November.
Mr Tucker, for Redrow, said: “{This} is undeveloped land adjacent to two roads within South Liverpool.
“The boundary wall and the extensive mature vegetation are highly visible features when viewed from Allerton Road or Woolton Road.
“Beyond those features, there are occasional glimpsed views of the fields beyond which comprise the appeal site.
“The fields themselves do not comprise an important part of the street scene from either the adjacent land or from the parkland which lies to the east of the appeal site.
“In landscape terms, as Mr Grimshaw {landscape expert for Redrow} demonstrates, the appeal site presently exhibits little visual influence beyond those well treed borders.
“It is, with respect, an affectation to suggest that the change within the appeal site will have a harmful effect to the amenity of public views beyond it.
“As ‘passive’ open space, therefore, the appeal site’s attributes are grossly overstated other than when viewed cartographically or from the air.
“The appeal site has in the past been used as private open space for the children of the school whose playing fields once extended across it, but there has never been any lawful unrestricted public access to the appeal site.
“Thus, any value that the site may have to those who have unlawfully accessed as “open space” should be afforded no weight...
“Rather, the appeal proposals will provide free public access to almost six hectares of open land and and offer a benefit in accordance with the open space policies of the plan.”
Adrian Thompson, representing Save Allerton Priory (SAP), told the inquiry that SAP would speak about “the harm the appeal scheme would cause to the visual amenity value of the Green Space and Green Wedge.”
The inquiry continues. |
World's first indoor, vertical solar farm unveiled | An agricultural company in Philadelphia is building an indoor farm in the city centre, powered by a solar array on the roof. Metropolis Farms has taken over 100,000 square feet on the fourth floor of an office block to cultivate crops including tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce. The vertical farm is designed to have the capacity to grow produce equivalent to that produced by 660 acres outdoors, with the lights and circulation pumps powered by 2,000 solar panels on the roof. The intention is to create a zero-carbon farm, with low energy consumption and fewer pesticides. | https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/03/worlds-first-solar-powered-indoor-vertical-farm-comes-philadelphia/ | 2017-10-04 04:54:23.950000 | It’s always sunny in Philadelphia, according to the title of a popular television show. If so, it’s the perfect place for the world’s first solar powered indoor vertical farm.
Metropolis Farms has constructed a 500 kilowatt solar array made up of 2003 solar panels on the roof of a building in The City of Brotherly Love. On the fourth floor, it is constructing a vertical farm that will be powered entirely by electricity coming from the roof. It plans to grow the equivalent of 660 outdoor acres worth of crops in less than 100,000 sq feet. “The panels are already installed and turned on, now we’re building out the farm. The first crops will be planted in November,” the company says.
Before Metropolis Farms took over the space, the only things growing on the fourth floor were pigeons. But soon, crops of fresh tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and broccoli will flourish there for the benefit of the citizens of Philadelphia and environs. “We feel this inherently demonstrates the wonder of this new industry we’re helping create, the industry of indoor farming.”
The company goes on to say,
“To this point, the city of Philadelphia has only ~8 acres of urban farming, mainly because there’s no available land for growing crops traditionally. By bringing the growing process indoors, in line with our mission of social responsibility, we are revitalizing abandoned spaces and are using them for local food production. We are empowering a new generation of farmers to grow food for cities, in cities.
“This technology democratizes the ability to grow local food in any community, regardless of location or climate. We’re doing this because local food is just better. Local food is more nutritious than food that’s packed in a truck and travels for weeks, it tastes better, and growing food in the communities where it’s eaten helps stimulate the local economy.”
Detractors of indoor farming point out the high cost of powering all the lights and circulation pumps needed, but Metropolis Farms thinks its rooftop solar array will answer the critics.
“The truth is, like any technology, indoor farming is constantly improving upon itself. We have gained efficiencies through innovative lighting (not LEDs), BTU management systems, and other means to dramatically reduce the amount of energy our farms are using.
“And we are on the cusp of a breakthrough in a technology that will reduce our energy usage even further. We hope to demonstrate this new technological advancement at this year’s Indoor Ag-Con, hosted for the first time in Philadelphia. We are pushing the envelope by attempting to build a zero-carbon farm. Through water recapture techniques, renewable energy production, advanced energy systems, and most importantly by farming locally, we are on the right track.”
Another benefit of vertical gardening is a dramatic decrease in the amount of pesticides needed to grow fresh food. Not only will the crops not be covered in chemicals, neither will the environment surrounding the vertical garden. That’s a huge benefit that should not be discounted. “We hope others will follow our lead and start building farms of the future, so communities everywhere can benefit from having a quality local food source that grows crops responsibly,” say the leaders of Metropolis Farms.
Source and photo credit: Metropolis Farms
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Study discovers technique to boost building-strength sensors | Sensors and lasers that monitor the structural health of buildings can be made 50 times more sensitive by using fibre-optic technology, according to research by a Spanish academic. Sergio Rota developed a refined version of a "random" laser and improved the elements in a sensor in a way that significantly improved their sensitivity and stability at the Public University of Navarre. His findings won him a distinction for his PhD and they could be applied to devices that monitor bridges, viaducts and other infrastructure.
| https://phys.org/news/2017-10-technology-sensitivity-infrastructural-sensors.html | 2017-10-04 04:36:14.817000 | Technology from the Public University of Navarre monitors the structural health of infrastructure (bridges, viaducts, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, etc.) and can be used in intensity-based optical sensors that modify the amount of light in the system in the presence of physical as well as chemical changes, as explained in Sergio Rota's Ph.D. thesis read at the Public University of Navarre (NUP/UPNA).
"Ever since fibre optics burst onto the scene in telecommunications, many developments based on its properties have emerged," said Sergio Rota. "So over the last few decades, the rapid evolution of fibre-optics-based systems and the appearance on the market of other devices has caused research in this field to advance considerably. Apart from the use of fibre optics in telecommunications, new applications have emerged, thus leading to new families of devices. Two of them of particular interest are fibre-optic lasers and fibre-optic sensors."
Both devices are based on fibre optics, a means of transmitting information via light. A laser is a device that emits light through optical amplification and by stimulating the emitting of electromagnetic radiation. Fibre-optic sensors are devices in which the parameter that is going to be measured (physical, chemical, biological or of another type) inserts modifications or modulations into one of the characteristics of the light in the optical system contained in it and allows it to be monitored.
Sergio Rota's research was based on the development of advanced fibre-optic structures for lasers and sensors. "The aim was to improve the properties of both, and their monitoring systems, besides tackling the problems that they pose," said the author of this Ph.D. thesis, which received a "cum laude" distinction with international mention.
He developed a Rayleigh scattering distributed cavity laser (known as random lasers), the narrowest to date. Lasers of this type are characterised by the absence of reflective elements used in conventional lasers, thus improving the properties of the electromagnetic spectrum for monitoring sensors.
Furthermore he has improved some of the sensor monitoring elements in such a way that he has improved parameters such as their range (up to measurements of 250 km), sensitivity and stability. |
World-first Internet of Drones platform released by Flytbase | California start-up FlytBase has launched the Internet of Drones, the world's first connected platform for a new generation of increasingly sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles. The cloud-based system has incorporated machine learning and artificial intelligence, enabling the fast and efficient automation of training sets for drone features, including object detection and counting, and change detection. | https://www.suasnews.com/2017/10/flytbase-releases-ai-platform-drones/ | 2017-10-04 04:14:48.233000 | FlytBase Inc. a startup building developer platforms for connected intelligent drones, today announced the release of its AI Platform for Drones. FlytBase has built the world’s first IoT platform for commercial drones, the “Internet of Drones” (IoD) platform. Continuing on its mission to bring intelligence and connectivity to commercial drones, FlytBase is now extending its cloud and edge compute platforms to incorporate AI and machine learning.
As drones continue to find use in wide range of commercial applications, the focus is shifting towards higher levels of automation and tighter integration of drones with business processes, for significantly improved efficiencies. Recent advances in AI have enabled computers to makes sense of the visual data around them, almost reaching human-level performance in some cases. Some of the tasks enabled by these algorithms, include:
● Object detection – identify and locate objects of interest in an image
● Object counting – identify and count objects of interest in an image
● Image segmentation – classify pixels in an image into multiple finite segments to
simplify representation
● Change detection – detect changes between two temporally spaced images
● Image classification – classify an image into one of the known categories of images
The technological potential of drones is being further enhanced by combining autonomous drone tech with AI. Computer vision systems, mounted on drones, enable them to gather rich visual data either in the form of photos or videos. Processing this data using AI unfolds unique perspectives and information, which otherwise would be either impossible or very expensive to derive using traditional techniques involving human effort.
With the vision to leverage AI for drone applications, FlytBase platform is being further extended to incorporate AI capabilities to process aerial image data.
Workflow
FlytBase AI platform is based in the cloud, wherein the entire workflow of preparing datasets, training models and deploying trained-models for inferencing has been automated. This enables quicker turnaround time and faster iterations when a use case is being worked upon. Being in the cloud also helps in scaling the system up at runtime when demand (either for training, or for real-time inferencing) increases.
Examples of use cases that can be automated with FlytBase AI platform, are:
a. Object counting – e.g. counting the number of Arabian Oryx from an orthomap image. These are an endangered specie and keeping a tab on their count goes towards their conservation.
b. Object detection – e.g. locating cracks and rust areas from an image of industrial structures.
c. Change detection – e.g. detecting changes between two photos of a parking lot taking from almost the same vantage point at different times.
To harness FlytBase AI platform capabilities, customers bring in their use-case to FlytBase, along with sufficient training images dataset.
The customer provided data is carefully cropped, labelled and packaged for training purposes, and added to an Image Dataset Library.
The FlytBase AI model-training workflow consists of:
● Model Library: Hosts object detection models to choose from during training
● Pre-trained weights library: Hosts weights from previously trained models to borrow
representation from
● Image dataset library: Hosts packaged datasets provided by customers. The raw data is pre-processed for image augmentation and labelling before putting into this library
Via the above workflow, user can select various pieces of the training pipeline and initiate training on one of our GPU enabled cloud compute nodes. This results in a trained model ready for inferencing.
Once our model is trained, it is deployed on the platform for direct use by our users. Users can do live inferencing either via our web console or by using REST API’s exposed by the platform. REST APIs have the added advantage of integrating this platform with customer’s system for further automation.
FlytBase AI platform is designed to support multi-tenancy, which enables utilisation usage of resources, and hence cost savings for our customers.
Deep Learning Algorithm
At the heart of the image-processing pipeline are state-of-the-art CNN models employing recent advancements in computer-vision and deep-learning.
Over the last few years, several object detection models have been published, which have significantly improved upon the previous generation, in terms of accuracy and speed of inferencing. Notable are, SSD, DetectNet, Fast R-CNN, Faster R-CNN, Yolo and Yolo V2.
Similarly, for image classification, ResNet50, VGG16/19 and Inception models are some of the most preferred models. Some models have better accuracy, while others might be faster at inferencing than others. Selection of a model takes into account these criteria, tailored to customer’s use case.
The pipeline allows several model implementations (same model with different hyperparameters or different models altogether) to be trained on the same dataset, simultaneously, so that the best can be chosen. Since different model implementations might need datasets to be arranged in different formats (e.g. from PASCAL VOC to TFRecord format), we have built adapters to transform the data on the fly to suit the model.
We have used transfer learning to tune the off-the-shelf pre-trained models for getting higher accuracy for detecting our object(s) of interest. This involves removing layers of the off-the-shelf pre-trained models to keep the correct level of representation from the previous dataset, before training them on new dataset.
The FlytBase AI platform is agnostic to the particular framework in which the models are implemented (Tensorflow, Caffe, Theano etc. ), by virtue of an abstraction layer. This allows the platform to assimilate the best implementation of cutting-edge models coming out of research labs, with ease.
Challenges and Solutions
Using high resolution aerial images to train computer vision models poses unique challenges:
a. Lack of sufficient training data: There are plenty of open training datasets out there, but almost all of them have images taken from human eye level. What makes aerial images unique is their top-down view of the objects. Moreover, for custom object detection, customers don’t often have enough images to train the model on, wherein we have to make do with limited set of images.
b. Very high resolution of the images: Computer vision models can process images of limited resolution at a time. For high-resolution images, we need to crop the images into sizable chunks and run inference on them one at a time. This can lead to double counting or misses.
c. Shallow features of objects: When looked down from the top, objects can have very generic shapes which a) can be hard to detect and b) can appear to be similar to other objects.
FlytBase AI platform uses various approaches to address these challenges, including data augmentation, cropping with different offsets for hi-res images, and training models on similar looking objects for better differentiation. Improving algorithms to address these challenges is a continuous process, further enriching the platform.
A Case Study: Arabian Oryx Detection and Counting
The Arabian oryx or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. It was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private preserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980. Keeping an upto date record of their population, with geotags, is an essential part of their conservation. The practice has been to count them manually by looking at a high resolution
orthoimage of the sanctuary. This is error prone and time consuming. Moreover, our customer had a backlog of such images taken over time, where the counting had to be done on all of them.
At FlytBase, we developed an image processing pipeline to automate the task of detecting oryxes in an ingested image and count them.
We started with 400 images which constituted an orthoimage, and extracted 1000×600 sized images, which had either oryx in them, or oryx like objects. These were then labeled and packaged into training and testing datasets in the Pascal VOC format.
A Faster R-CNN based object detection pipeline was set up in the cloud using the tensorflow object detection library. In the pipeline, the images were augmented by horizontally flipping and random resizing. Once everything was in place, the model was trained for 10k iterations.
The model so prepared could scan a 1000×600 sized image for Oryx. But it had to run on a high-resolution orthoimage (29200×24160 pixels). To meet that requirement, the orthoimage was split into sections sized 1000×600. Detection was executed on them, individually, and the results were stitched back. To avoid double counting or misses, the
split-detect-stitch procedure was repeated with different offsets for the splits, and the median count of all the runs was obtained.
The results from this model were quite accurate and impressive. The FlytBase AI platform is able to process aerial image-data, gathered over several months, in order of minutes. This was the world’s first application of machine learning on drone image-data for Oryx detection in the desert.
The Road Ahead
There is a vast potential to be unlocked for our customers, from the images they collect via drones. With its scalable architecture, automated pipeline, and with our vast experience in dealing with drones, their data and automation, FlytBase AI platform will result in significant improvement in efficiencies for our customers.
FlytBase AI platform is optimised for interpretation of drone data, and it seamlessly integrates with the rest of FlytBase platform to offer connectivity with your business applications. If you are looking to leverage machine-learning technology for automation of
If you are looking to leverage machine-learning technology for automation of your drone data-processing, please reach out to our experts at [email protected] or
signup at flytbase.com/ai |
Australian banks create platform to support new payments tech | Thirteen Australian banks and financial institutions are working together to create the AUD1bn ($770m) New Payments Platform Australia (NPP Australia) to support new payment technologies. In addition to real-time transfers, the platform aims to use simpler identifiers, like mobile numbers, and offer more space for messages in transfers. Despite high levels of security on the platform, banks must remain vigilant and employ systems to identify unusual transactions, warned NPP Australia CEO, Adrian Lovney. The platform is being tested by staff before being rolled out to the public. | https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/oct/03/banks-to-switch-to-real-time-payments-from-australia-day | 2017-10-04 03:23:19.810000 | That annoying wait for a payment to transfer to or from your account will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to most banks moving to real-time payments from 26 January.
A group of 13 banks and financial institutions are collaborating on a new $1bn platform, run by a company called the New Payments Platform Australia (NPP Australia), which will enable much simpler, real-time transfers between accounts.
The full introduction of the new system is scheduled to start when people return from their summer holidays but in the meantime it will be road-tested by bank staff, who will be able to make real-time payments between each other and their bank.
The main advantage for consumers will be that they will not need to wait for their money as they do now – sometimes for 24 hours. But it will also allow transfers using much simpler identifiers than a BSB and account number, such as a mobile phone number or email address.
Customers will be able to set their own more memorable identifier that is attached to their bank account, thus avoiding the problem of payments going astray due to a mistyped account number. There will also be more scope to include longer messages with transfers, which are currently limited to 18 characters.
It is anticipated most Australian bank accounts will have access to the new system as soon as the platform launches. The project was triggered by the Reserve Bank’s 2012 review of Australia’s payment infrastructure, which noted that similar innovations were being introduced overseas.
“The industry recognised the need for a plan that would support the future of payments. Already the Australian public has embraced electronic payment methods – chip cards (particularly contactless or “wave and pay” technology), BPAY, and new technologies such as smartphones,” NPPA chief executive, Adrian Lovney said.
“But for this evolution to continue, our basic payments infrastructure needed an upgrade to enable a shift from batch or overnight account-based payments to immediate payments, and this could only be done with a whole of industry approach.”
However, the introduction of real-time payments overseas has also led to an increase in fraud, prompting experts to warn that financial institutions would need to exercise increased vigilance.
Lovney said the banks would need to put in place systems to track unusual transactions.
“With any new system that is introduced, you will see a spike in activity as people think about how they can take advantage of the change but banks will continue to put in place systems behind the scenes to try to protect customers from being tricked,” he said.
“While consumers and businesses can be reassured by the platform’s high levels of security, they will need to remain alert to the possibility of cons and scams that will continue to happen outside the platform’s control – like the recent spate of scams involving people impersonating the ATO, for instance ,” he said.
Tom Godfrey, head of media at Choice said the consumer organisation supported real-time payments.
“Anecdotally, we’ve fielded plenty of complaints from consumers about direct deposits taking too long to process, as if the bank was waiting for a cheque to clear, Godfrey, said.
He said Choice had been reassured these transactions would be safe and secure and that banks would implement safeguards.
“Transactions will be settled through the “Fast Settlement Service” provided by the Reserve Bank, and we’re told the system has built-in security features that we have no reason to doubt at this early stage,” he added.
“ While financial institutions that connect to the NPP will be able to offer real time payments, we’ve been informed that there will also be ways to slow or stop these payments if fraud is detected.”
Banks will soon begin promoting the new system to customers.
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App-controlled drying, ironing laundry robot eyes spring delivery | Two engineers have invented an app-controlled robot that they say dries and irons clothes in a matter of minutes. Dubbed Effie, the £699 ($920) device takes up the same amount of space as a person with an ironing board and, according to designers Rohan Kamdar and Trevor Kerth, uses the same amount of electricity per cycle as a hair dryer. Effie can be used on a range of fabrics and garment sizes, from children's clothes to XXL. Kamdar and Kerth aim to bring Effie to market next spring. | https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/meet-the-laundry-robot-that-dries-and-irons-your-clothes-for-you-a3649281.html | 2017-10-04 01:54:11.790000 | T he drudgery of the weekly ironing session could be ended by a wifi-connected laundry robot built in a garage in north London.
“Effie”, designed by engineers Rohan Kamdar and Trevor Kerth, can dry and press everything from workshirts to underwear in just a few minutes.
The £699 device was constructed at Mr Kamdar’s family home in Pinner and the finishing touches are being made to a prototype, with the product due to go on sale in the spring.
Clothes are hung on adjustable hangers inside the app-controlled machine. They are then dried, steamed and smoothed to remove creases.
The 27-year-old inventors, who have masters degrees in mechanical engineering, say Effie can slash chore times as each garment — even if wet from the wash — is popped out ready to wear in under three minutes. Effie — named after “Fe”, the chemical symbol for iron — has been designed to uncrease cotton, polyester, silk, viscose and denim.
Underwear can be hung in a bag inside to be dried and a scented ball can be added to the steam tank. Mr Kamdar, 27, said Effie differs from other automated laundry devices as it “contacts” the clothes and puts tension through them to press out the wrinkles, rather than just steaming them.
It can handle clothes from children’s up to XXL adult sizes, and has been designed to take up the same amount of space as an ironing board and a person — it is 128cm high, 80cm wide and 40cm deep, weighing 35kg.
Mr Kamdar said the device, designed to be serviced every two years, would use no more electricity during a cycle than a domestic hairdryer.
He added: “Laundry is ubiquitous, time-consuming and people universally hate it. This all started out of my garage, it’s a classic hardware start-up.” Referring to the Sixties American sci-fi cartoon show, he said: “I really like the idea of robots doing all the chores in my home, and so Effie has a real Jetsons vibe.
“You don’t need to split the load, you hang everything up at once, click, go and do something else.”
Their next invention will be an all-in-one machine that washes, dries and irons. |
Ocean Conservancy launches $150m scheme to combat marine plastic | Ocean Conservancy, a US environmental non-profit agency, is to launch an initiative that will raise over $150m for a funding mechanism that aims to combat plastic pollution in the ocean. Partners include social impact fund, Closed Loop Partners, which will operate the funding mechanism, as well as 3M, the American Chemistry Council, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, the Trash Free Seas Alliance® and the World Plastics Council. The initiative will finance waste management and recycling projects in Southeast Asia. This region is responsible for nearly half of the eight million metric tonnes of plastic that enters the ocean each year. | https://oceanconservancy.org/news/new-initiative-launches-ocean-finance-solutions-ocean-plastic/ | 2017-10-03 22:00:00 | Ocean Conservancy, the Trash Free Seas Alliance® and Closed Loop Partners to raise $150 million for a new funding mechanism to address waste management in Southeast Asia
MALTA, October 5, 2017 (Ocean Conservancy) – At the Our Ocean 2017 conference, a global gathering of world leaders to address some of the world’s most pressing ocean challenges, Ocean Conservancy and its partners, including the Trash Free Seas Alliance®, Closed Loop Partners, PepsiCo, 3M, Procter & Gamble, the American Chemistry Council, and the World Plastics Council announced an initiative to raise over $150 million for a new funding mechanism to prevent plastic waste from leaking in to our ocean.
The initiative is designed to fund waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia, with a focus on investments to improve collection, sorting and recycling markets. Nearly half of the plastic that flows into the ocean every year – an estimated 8 million metric tons – escapes from waste streams in just five rapidly developing economies in Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and China).
“This is a major breakthrough in the fight for trash free seas,” said Susan Ruffo, managing director of international initiatives at Ocean Conservancy. “Our research has found that by improving waste management in Southeast Asian countries, we can cut the flow of plastic going in the ocean by half by 2025. A funding mechanism will take this goal from dream to reality, and support efforts by governments and local groups on the ground to improve their livelihoods and well-being while also improving ocean health.”
Scientists estimate that over 150 million metric tons of plastics are currently in the ocean today, entangling wildlife, polluting beaches, and costing coastal communities hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. That number could grow to 250 million metric tons in less than a decade if immediate action isn’t taken.
The new funding mechanism will be operated by Closed Loop Partners, an investment firm that invests in companies, technology and recycling facilities to turn waste into value and advance the circular economy. This new mechanism will catalyze new investments from the private sector, governments, and development finance institutions; demonstrate eco-system solutions; and build a pipeline of bankable waste management projects to demonstrate investment viability and maximize recycling profitability.
“Through this initiative, we will invest in and support the municipalities, entrepreneurs, investors and NGOs working to reduce ocean plastics and improve waste management in Southeast Asia,” said Rob Kaplan of Closed Loop Partners. “Our investments across North America — from recycling collection in Tennessee to developing new end markets for waste plastics in Louisiana — have resulted in tangible improvements to waste collection and recycling. Our model is to take the best practices in waste management investment, leverage the world’s largest consumer goods supply chains, and marry them with on-the-ground partner expertise and work.”
Effective waste management reduces plastics waste leakage, leads to healthier citizens, creates jobs, and reduces emissions of toxins and carbon. It is also a critical component to making a circular economy function, ensuring that materials can be recovered for reuse and recycling. This initiative aims to solve the root causes of plastics in the ocean by investing in the systems and emerging technologies needed to capture and transform waste into valuable commodities before it reaches marine environments, while also providing tangible benefits to communities.
Consumer goods companies and plastics manufacturers support the project. Early commitments from PepsiCo, 3M, Procter & Gamble, the American Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council have fully funded the design phase of the fund.
“P&G is proud to be a part of this initiative,” said Jack McAneny, Director of Sustainability, Procter & Gamble. “Plastics play an important role in commerce, but they clearly don’t belong in our waterways and oceans. Thanks to the vision of Ocean Conservancy, we now have a multi-stakeholder collaborative effort that can drive the kind of innovation and scale that we need to stop the flow of plastics to the environment and ideally give these materials a second life.”
The initiative aims to share the results of its initial phase of work within the next year to help build the field of investors looking to deploy capital into this market.
The Trash Free Seas Alliance is comprised of:
Ocean Conservancy, Algalita Marine Research and Education, The Coca-Cola Company, Covanta Energy, The Dow Chemical Company, ITW, Keep America Beautiful, The Marine Mammal Center, The Ocean Recovery Alliance, Project AWARE Foundation, Amcor, American Chemistry Council, Bank of America, Cox Enterprises, DANONE, Dart Container Corporation, Georgia Aquarium, Nature Works, Nestlé Waters NA, Procter & Gamble, REDISA, Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, The Consumer Goods Forum, Vancouver Aquarium, Walmart, World Animal Protection, The World Plastics Council, World Wildlife Fund www.trashfreeseas.org
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Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.
www.oceanconservancy.org
Closed Loop Partners
Closed Loop Partners invests in sustainable consumer goods, advanced recycling technologies and the development of the circular economy.
www.closedlooppartners.com |
Ocean Conservancy launches $150m scheme to combat marine plastic | Ocean Conservancy, a US environmental non-profit agency, is to launch an initiative that will raise over $150m for a funding mechanism that aims to combat plastic pollution in the ocean. Partners include social impact fund, Closed Loop Partners, which will operate the funding mechanism, as well as 3M, the American Chemistry Council, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, the Trash Free Seas Alliance® and the World Plastics Council. The initiative will finance waste management and recycling projects in Southeast Asia. This region is responsible for nearly half of the eight million metric tonnes of plastic that enters the ocean each year. | http://www.wastedive.com/news/ocean-conservancy-announces-150m-marine-plastic-initiative-run-by-closed-l/506499/ | 2017-10-03 22:00:00 | Dive Brief:
At the Our Ocean conference in Malta, the Ocean Conservancy, joined by the Trash Free Seas Alliance, Closed Loop Partners, PepsiCo, 3M, Procter & Gamble, the American Chemistry Council, and the World Plastics Council announced a $150 million funding plan to help prevent the flow of plastic waste into the ocean.
The funding initiative will focus on waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia. According to Susan Ruffo, managing director of international initiatives for the Ocean Conservancy, improving waste management practices in the region could "cut the flow of plastic going in the ocean by half by 2025."
Closed Loop Partners, which has so far invested in domestic projects, will operate the new funding mechanism. During a recent interview with Waste Dive, the organization's chief investment and financial officer said marine debris is a main focus and the goal is to be "i nstrumental in stemming that tide."
Dive Insight:
There is enough plastic on the globe for every person alive to have more than 1 metric ton to themselves — and most of that material comes from virgin sources. Due to a myriad of reasons, including high contamination rates, poor waste management practices and the sheer demand for plastic goods, plastic can get lost from the waste stream and become pollution that often finds its way into the ocean. Since nearly half of all marine plastic is believed to enter the ocean from a small number of Southeast Asian countries, it makes strategic and practical sense that this partnership is targeting the region.
Marine debris is a hot topic in the waste industry, especially outside of the U.S. One of the International Solid Waste Association's (ISWA) focuses at the World Congress/WASTECON 2017 in Baltimore was reducing marine litter and closing the loop on waste. ISWA just put out a report on marine litter, saying that the global community is now "at a critical moment in history" when it comes to dealing with marine litter and other environmental issues. This has spurred a wave of policies on plastic packaging and even led some countries to establish harsh punishments for violations.
The issue is also seen as a top priority by environmental advocates and some industry groups in the U.S. due to many domestic signs of marine pollution. For example, tens of millions of pounds of plastic debris enter the Great Lakes each year. A growing number of cleanup efforts, corporate sponsorships and local ordinances have all been created in an effort mitigate the problem. However, none may be as useful as finding ways to make it more profitable to recycle and extract value from plastic rather than toss it in favor of virgin material. |
BBC pay gap of 9.3% revealed in salary review | The BBC is paying men on average 9.3% more than women, with almost 500 employees potentially earning less than colleagues in similar roles due to their gender, according to a salary review. The survey was launched in the wake of revelations in July that just a third of the broadcaster’s highest paid on-air stars were women. The review found “no systemic discrimination against women,” but called for the BBC to maintain better records and provide clearer pay guidance to managers. Lack of women in senior roles was blamed for the pay disparity. The UK’s average gender pay gap is 18.1%. | https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/04/bbc-gender-pay-gap-male-staff-earn-9-more-than-female-colleagues | 2017-10-03 22:00:00 | Men are being paid 9.3% more than women at the BBC on average and nearly 500 employees may be getting paid less than colleagues in a similar role simply because of their gender, according to a review of salaries at the broadcaster.
The BBC ordered the review into pay after a furore over the salaries of its best-paid stars this summer. The corporation’s pay list revealed that just a third of its highest paid on-air stars were women and the top seven were all men, leading more than 40 of its highest-profile female presenters, including Clare Balding, Fiona Bruce and Emily Maitlis, to publicly call for change.
The pay review claims there is “no systemic discrimination against women” at the BBC but it did not include the vast majority of on-air presenters, editors and senior managers, and trade unions said the broadcaster needed to do better on equal pay.
Jane Garvey, the presenter of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, who organised a public letter from female stars, tweeted an apparently bemused response to the review:
“Nothing (much) to see here” . Ummm https://t.co/ZDVGsTZb4B — Jane Garvey (@janegarvey1) October 4, 2017
The average gender pay gap in the UK is 18.1%, which the BBC is well below. The government has said that all companies with more than 250 employees must publish their gender pay gap by next April, but the BBC has revealed its figure early.
Tony Hall, the director- general of the BBC, drafted in the law firm Eversheds Sutherland and the accountants PwC to audit the corporation’s pay and commissioned the former court of appeal judge Sir Patrick Elias to review it.
Eversheds and PwC analysed in detail a sample of situations at the BBC where men and women could have expected to be paid the same but the difference in salary was more than 5%. This found that on 8.6% of occasions there was not enough evidence to establish a reason for the disparity other than gender. Across all the BBC staff in the review, this means that 229 men and 248 women could be getting paid less than they should just because of their gender.
Nonetheless, Elias said the pay report found “no evidence from which discrimination could reasonably be inferred” and that where men and women were paid differently for doing the same job it was “far more likely to be an issue of fairness than one of sex discrimination”. Elias called for the BBC to keep better records, do more staff appraisals and set clearer guidance to managers deciding pay.
He said the overall gender pay gap, which measures the median salary of all women against all men, was driven by an “under-representation of women in the more senior jobs”.
Hall welcomed the findings, saying: “Fairness in pay is vital. We have pledged to close the gender pay gap by 2020 and have targets for equality and diversity on our airwaves. We have done a lot already, but we have more to do.
“While today’s reports show that we are in a better place than many organisations, I want a BBC that is an exemplar not just in the media but in the country – when it comes to pay, fairness, gender and representation and what can be achieved. This is an essential part of modernising the BBC. And, if the BBC is to truly reflect the public it serves, then the makeup of our staff must reflect them.”
Q&A What were the top 10 BBC salaries for 2017? Show 1. Chris Evans £2.2m - £2.25m
2. Gary Lineker £1.75m - £1.8m 3. Graham Norton £850,0000 - £899,999 4. Jeremy Vine £700,000 - £749,999 5. John Humphrys £600,000 - £649,999 6. Huw Edwards £550,000 - £599,999 7. Steve Wright £500,000 - £549,999 = 8. Claudia Winkleman £450,000 - £499,999 = 8. Matt Baker £450,000 - £499,999 = 9. Nicky Campbell £400,000 - £449,999 = 9. Andrew Marr £400,000 - £449,999 = 9. Stephen Nolan £400,000 - £449,999 = 9. Alan Shearer £400,000 - £449,999 =9. Alex Jones £400,000 - £449,000 10. Fiona Bruce £350,000 - £399,999 Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback.
Hall has a signed off a collection of measures designed to improve diversity at the BBC. They include a ban on all-male or all-female interview panels and the introduction of “fair pay reviews” every six months that will involve managers at the BBC analysing the pay of their team with the human resources department. A report on the pay of on-air presenters will be published later this year.
Bectu, the media and entertainment trade union, said the BBC should lead the way on eradicating bias against women. Gerry Morrissey, the head of the union, said: “The BBC must not rest on its laurels in respect of the overall gender pay gap. The report finds that the gap is much less than the national average but that should not obscure the fact that inequality is a factor for some staff day in and day out.
“We want the BBC to lead the way to eliminate the bias against women in certain areas of employment and in senior management.” |
Robo-adviser Nutmeg mulls fundraising as losses increase | Robo-adviser Nutmeg said it may need to raise more capital after the firm saw its pre-tax losses increase over the past year. While the firm reported significant growth and a rise in revenues last year, losses widened from £8.9m ($11.8m) to £9.3m. Higher operating costs are believed to be behind the increase. The robo-adviser had around 25,000 customers and £600m in assets under management on its platform at the end of 2016. | http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4940896/Online-investment-management-platform-Nutmeg-losses-widen.html | 2017-10-03 18:12:05.840000 | Online investment management service Nutmeg saw losses widen last year as it continued to invest heavily, and said it may need to raise more cash to continue its expansion.
Its accounts with Companies House revealed that pre-tax losses went up from £8.9million to £9.3million in 2016 as operating expenses increased by nearly £1.2million to £11.9million.
However, revenues rose from £1.7million to £2.5million and chief executive Martin Stead, who took the helm in May last year and appointed a new executive team, said the firm has grown ‘significantly’.
Expanding: Nutmeg managed £600m of assets for 25,000 customers at the end of last year
Nutmeg, one of the best known of the many so-called 'robo-adviser' services now available, increased its customer base to 25,000 by the end of last year, according to the accounts, with approximately £600million of assets under its watch.
The website, which offers investors an automated way to invest online at a selected level of risk versus reward, said that it may need more cash on top of the funding it received last year to continue its development.
‘The directors have […] determined that the company may require further cash injections to continue to develop and market its product offering and to build its customer base and its assets under management,’ Nutmeg said in a statement.
‘Under such a scenario, the directors have a reasonable expectation of securing additional funding from the existing shareholders and new investors.’
Online investment management companies like Nutmeg have grown in popularity recently.
Customers can start with as little as £500, plus a £100 per month contribution for portfolios less than £5,000, and pay Nutmeg an annual management fee of between 0.35 per cent and 0.75 per cent, depending on the size of their investment. Additional investment costs which average 0.19 per cent also apply.
Last year the company received large funding from investors, including £12million from Taiwan-based Taipei Fubon Bank and £24million from Hong Kong financial advice firm Convoy.
Stead said that it was using the last round of funding it received in December last year to expand its product offering and ‘rapidly scale’ the business in the UK.
‘Specific focus will be on innovation including new investing options, new tax wrappers and further developing the advice offering,’ he added. |
Shareholders push back on Starbucks' family leave policies | Zevin Asset Management, a shareholder in coffee-giant Starbucks, is leading a group of shareholders requesting the company refine its family leave policy. A resolution filed by the group called out the firm for not offering the same family leave policies for both its corporate and in-store staff. Starbucks was also criticised for not offering the same family leave periods for adopting parents. It was suggested that the firm's policies disproportionately affected lower income workers, while its stance towards adopting parents disproportionately harmed LGBT employees. | http://uk.businessinsider.com/starbucks-shareholders-slam-family-leave-policy-2017-10?r=US&IR=T | 2017-10-03 18:09:43.163000 | Dan R. Krauss/Getty Images
Shareholders are calling for Starbucks to change its family leave policy.
On Monday, a group of shareholders led by Zevin Asset Management filed a resolution to express concern with the company's "unequal paid parental leave policy."
While Starbucks' corporate offices have extensive maternity and paternity leave policies, these policies do not include in-store workers. Corporate employees can receive up to 18 weeks of paid maternal leave, and fathers or adoptive parents receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave.
However, in-store workers receive just six weeks of paid maternal leave. Adoptive parents can request up to six weeks of paid leave.
"This runs counter to Starbucks's widely recognized commitment to social responsibility, nondiscrimination, and inclusion," the resolution reads. "Our Company's unequal stance may disproportionately harm low income workers and workers of color. LGBTQ workers face particular challenges, as they are four times more likely to parent adopted children and six times more likely to raise foster children."
The resolution requests that Starbucks' board prepare a report on the coffee giant's family leave policy that evaluates the risk of employment discrimination at the company.
Starbucks spokesperson Reggie Borges told Business Insider that the company is one of the few to provide hourly employees full benefit eligibility at only 20 hours a week.
"We offer a more robust benefits package than any other retail company," Borges said in an email.
He continued: "With respect to our new parental leave benefit, this will be exceptional within the retail industry not only because of paid time off component, but also because its offered to anyone who works just 20+ hours or more a week, and there is no tenure requirement attached to it."
Zevin Asset Management, which classifies itself as a socially responsible impact investing firm, says it began conversations regarding weak family leave policies with more than 10 companies in client portfolios this summer.
"Paid family leave is a matter of gender justice in America. And it's quickly becoming a business risk," Pat Miguel Tomaino, associate director of socially responsible investing at Zevin, said in a statement.
Tomaino continued: "The huge gap between HQ and in-store workers at Starbucks can hurt morale at a firm that prides itself on equal treatment and social responsibility. Reserving paternal and adoptive parent leave for a chosen few in the company also opens Starbucks to potential discrimination claims. That's why investors are getting involved." |
The John A. Hartford Foundation and West Health Partner to Support the National PACE Association’s Goal of Adapting PACE to Serve Many High-Need Populations | The National PACE Association (NPA) has garnered the support of the John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) and the West Health Policy Center for extending the access to its Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE®) for Americans. The consortium has approved funding of $795,585 over a two-year period, designed to develop the PACE model further to aid further seniors and those with high-care needs. PACE 2.0 will use the PACE Innovation Act, legislation designed to develop innovative treatments, to increase access to underserved populations such as physical or mental challenges. The project will create strategies for scaling PACE operations and extend the model to more communities, with the aim of increased five-fold the number of those served. PACE utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to provide care for those who qualify for nursing home assistance, and is provided through Medicare and Medicaid across 31 states. PACE is designed to keep older adults out of nursing homes and providing a higher quality of life in local communities.
| http://www.npaonline.org/about-npa/press-releases/john-hartford-foundation-and-west-health-partner-support-national-pace | 2017-10-03 17:00:49.880000 | PACE 2.0 seeks to build on success of Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly to expand the benefits of the model to more people
(Oct. 2, 2017) ALEXANDRIA, VA – The National PACE Association (NPA) expresses gratitude to The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) and the West Health Policy Center for their support in expanding access to Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE®) for many complex high-need, high-cost populations across the country. The organizations recently approved $795,585 in funding over two years, with the goal of innovating the PACE model to serve more seniors and other individuals with high-care needs.
“NPA is deeply grateful to The John A. Hartford Foundation for its longstanding support of PACE and is thrilled to be working with West Health as a new partner in our ongoing efforts to expand access to PACE’s provider-based, fully integrated health care delivery model,” said Shawn Bloom, president and CEO of NPA.
The PACE 2.0 initiative will build upon the PACE Innovation Act, legislation passed by Congress allowing for PACE pilots to develop innovations supporting the ability of PACE to serve a larger number and wider range of adults with high health care needs. The project will identify underserved subpopulations currently eligible to enroll in PACE, as well as new unserved populations, such as younger adults with physical or mental challenges, that could benefit from the PACE model. To meet the needs of these individuals, the project will support the development of strategies to scale PACE operations and spread the model to more communities. The goal is to achieve a five-fold increase in those served by PACE and promote implementation of the strategies developed.
“This project charts a course for bringing the transformative care model of PACE to many more communities and people who will benefit from its integrated, person-centered approach,” said Peter Fitzgerald, executive vice president for Policy and Strategy at NPA and the principal investigator for the project. “Through scale and spread strategies developed by the project, we look forward to achieving exponential growth in access to PACE for older Americans and those with complex health care needs.”
NPA is the national association for PACE organizations. PACE uses an interdisciplinary team approach to provide care to older individuals who qualify for nursing home care. PACE is a Medicare benefit nationally and a Medicaid benefit in 31 states. PACE is the most successful model for keeping individuals out of nursing homes and in the community, where they enjoy a higher quality of life, remain connected to the community, and receive care in the most cost-effective way. PACE has proven its ability to reduce costs associated with emergency room visits, unnecessary hospital admissions and long-term nursing home placements. PACE data show that more than 95 percent of PACE enrollees live in the community.
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The National PACE Association works to advance the efforts of PACE programs, which coordinate and provide preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so older individuals can continue living in the community. The PACE model of care is centered on the belief that it is better for the well-being of seniors with chronic care needs and their families to be served in the community whenever possible. For more information, visit www.NPAonline.org and follow @TweetNPA.
The John A. Hartford Foundation, based in New York City, is a private, nonpartisan philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults. Established in 1929, the foundation has three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregiving, and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. For more information, visit www.johnahartford.org and follow @johnahartford.
Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health includes the nonprofit and nonpartisan Gary and Mary West Health Institute and Gary and Mary West Foundation in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, DC. These organizations are working together toward a shared mission dedicated to enabling seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life, and independence. For more information, visit westhealth.org and follow @westhealth. |
Program reduces high ED use, increases primary care visits for most vulnerable patients | A team of researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have discovered that the impact on hospital emergency departments and admission numbers was reduced by a community-based program named Bridges to Care (B2C). The program was one of four funded by a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations grant, and was led by the Rutgers University Center for State Health Policy. It involved the input of an urban teaching hospital, 13 federally qualified health facilities, a community advocacy organization and a mental health clinic. The study compared the program’s participants, Medicaid-eligible patients that were high-frequency ED users (two or more ED visits within 180 days), and patients who received standard care. Those enrolled in B2C had 29.7 percent fewer ED visits and 30 percent fewer hospitalizations in the first six months after joining. They also had 123 percent more primary care visits than the comparative group. ED care represents 5 percent to 6 percent of all healthcare expenses, with previous studies into emergency departments finding that care-coordination services and increased access to primary care decreases healthcare spending waste. The B2C intervention offers community-based services across several disciplines, addressing medical, behavioral and social issues through coordinated care. Care plans include medical treatment, housing resources, transport assistance, help for insurance and disability benefits, filling prescriptions and more. The study found that services need to be very intensive to reduce reliance on EDs, due to patients’ chronic issues, but with behavioral health services included, care can be coordinated effectively.
| https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-10-high-ed-primary-vulnerable-patients.html | 2017-10-03 16:58:29.670000 | Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that a community-based program aimed at high users of hospital emergency departments (EDs), reduced ED visits and hospital admissions, while increasing use of primary care providers.
"Many programs have tried to tackle the problem of high utilizers of hospital emergency departments. These are usually people who are on Medicaid," said the study's first author Roberta Capp, MD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "But this is the first program to show that care coordination actually works."
The study was published October 2, 2017 in the journal Health Affairs.
Capp and her fellow researchers implemented and evaluated Bridges to Care (B2C), an ED-initiated, community-based program. It was one of four sites funded by a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations grant.
The program was led by Rutgers University Center for State Health Policy and developed in collaboration with four Colorado stakeholders including an urban academic hospital, a network of 13 local federally qualified health centers, a mental health clinic and a community advocacy organization.
Researchers compared participants in the B2C program, which focused on Medicaid eligible high ED users, with patients who had received standard care with respect to ED utilization, hospital admission and primary care use.
High ED users were identified as adults who had two or more ED visits or hospital admissions within the last 180 days.
During the six months after B2C enrollment, the participants had 29.7 percent fewer ED visits and 30 percent less hospitalizations. At the same time, they had 123 percent more primary care visits than the control subjects.
"There is a perspective from multiple stakeholders that high users of the ED are difficult patients," Capp said. "But this study shows that patients use the ED because of there are serious barriers to care.
ED care makes up 5 - 6 percent of all healthcare expenses.Previous studies have shown that providing care-coordination services and better access to primary care can reduce waste in healthcare spending. A number of programs addressing low-income, high users of EDs have been implemented with mixed results. Most were hospital-based with little community involvement.
But Capp said the B2C intervention is the first aimed at high users of EDs to combine active outreach in the ED with multidisciplinary, community-based services.It offers intensive medical, behavioral health and social care coordination services. That includes providing a care coordinator, a health coach, a behavioral health specialist, a community health worker and frequent home visits.
Each patient was given a personally tailored, 60-day care plan that included, but was not limited to assistance with getting housing resources, refugee services, access to transportation, help with applying for insurance and disability benefits, setting up primary and specialty care and filling prescriptions.
"We believe that our success stems from bringing together different healthcare systems, breaking down silos between disciplines and focusing on continuity of care in the outpatient setting," Capp said.
The study shows just how intense the services offered to this population must be to reduce their reliance on EDs. One reason is that they often have chronic diseases, including mental illness.
"We learned that active outreach in the ED is key to ensuring successful high utilizer and enrollment and engagement," the study said.
For example, early in the study, the team used call back lists and enrolled only 80 patients in seven to eight months, but when a community health worker was embedded in the ED, enrollment over the same period of time tripled.
"For a program like B2C to be effective, behavioral health services must be provided to high utilizers to ensure comprehensive, multidisciplinary care," Capp said.
She hopes federal lawmakers examining the Affordable Care Act will evaluate the program as a more cost efficient way of providing high quality care to the most vulnerable.
More information: Coordination Program Reduced Acute Care Use And Increased Primary Care Visits Among Frequent Emergency Care Users, DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0612 ,
Health Aff October 2017 vol. 36 no. 10 1705-1711. content.healthaffairs.org/cont … /36/10/1705.abstract Journal information: Health Affairs |
Mifid II set to reduce payments for research by 55% | With asset managers' profitability already being squeezed, the implementation of Mifid II regulations next year could lead to a significant reduction in the amount laid out for research. External research payments could drop by 55%, according to Capital Access Group, which also predicted that the number of analysts providing external research to asset managers could drop by approximately two-thirds over the next three years. | https://www.thetradenews.com/Regulation/MiFID-II-to-see-payments-for-research-plummet-by-two-thirds/?l=tl | 2017-10-03 15:08:20.560000 | MiFID II’s unbundling rules could see overall payments for investment research in the UK plummet by two-thirds over the next few years, according to research.
A report authored by Capital Access Group (CAG) revealed the buy-side has paid brokers around £200 million for research products in the last 12 months.
However once MiFID II’s unbundling rules come into effect on 3 January next year, this figure is expected to plummet as firms scrutinise their research spend more intensely.
“Discussions with investment managers suggest that they will pay for research from internal resources. Their profitability is already under pressure from regulatory concerns over fees. Therefore, it is likely that research budgets will be lower than the figure implied from traded commission,” the report said.
CAG has predicted payments for research could fall to just £90 million in 2018, a 55% decrease from the year before and the implementation of MiFID II.
The number of analysts providing research to fund managers in the UK could also halve in the next 12 months and fall by two-thirds over the next three years.
The prediction is based on the view less than 650 of the total 1,200 analysts in the UK are currently ‘paid’ by allocations from trading commissions, although this doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a swathe of job cuts in the City.
“Analysts can be re-tasked within brokers; providing analysis for primary issues and M&A deals for example. There may also be a significant market for research which are paid for on-demand by fund managers,” the report explained.
Scott Fulton, director at CAG, suggested companies use independent research providers as the ‘most compliant route’ and to avoid falling between regulatory cracks. |
Quartz creates bot to give wider context to Hewlett-Packard ads | Digital media company Quartz has built a chatbot linked to Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) ads that offers more context and content on the products. The Hugo bot was integrated with ads surrounding the online publisher's Machines with Brains series of articles, which focused on the interaction between humans, technology and artificial intelligence (AI). Mobile readers who clicked through to the bot could learn more about HPE technology and topics such as AI and the internet of things. Over a six week period, 117,155 messages were served and users spent an average of two minutes with the chatbot, according to Quartz.
| https://digiday.com/media/quartz-made-chatbot-hewlett-packard/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171003 | 2017-10-03 14:21:23.593000 | Publishers increasingly offer agency services, and Quartz has gone beyond making ads to constructing a chatbot for Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Named Hugo, the chatbot was incorporated into ads that were served around Quartz’s editorial series “Machines with Brains,” which focused on how humans, technology and artificial intelligence intersect. Those who clicked through to the bot on their phones could learn more about the stories’ topics covered in the series and how HPE creates technology related to the series.
As seen in the video below, users can select topics like “artificial intelligence,” “cloud computing” and “Internet of Things.” Over a period of six weeks, 117,155 messages were served (after users selected topics) and users spent an average of two minutes with the bot, according to the publisher. Now the bot’s distribution has been widened to include Facebook Messenger, where it will roll out in the next few weeks. Quartz will also run retargeting to encourage return users.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB-eZ8gQfWI&feature=em-upload_owner
The bot has also evolved to mine relevant articles across the web, not just Quartz and HPE content. The topics have widened to include energy, health care and communications. Users can now also type specific questions, a function that wasn’t on the first version. The bot’s new features are already accessible via Quartz’s U.S. app and will be available in Europe at the start of November. Quartz worked with HPE agency DigitasLBi on the effort.
“There is a lot of wasted time and effort in the current [marketing funnel] structure,” said Sean Mahoney, vp group director at DigitasLBi. “The challenge we gave to Quartz was how do you target the right people, not in a shotgun-blast way but in a way that’s conversational and useful.”
Quartz Creative had 12 people working on the bot, including developers, designers, user-experience specialists and analytics staff. “The process of creating value used to be to create the shiniest objects possible. The new model is to create something that might generate real value,” said Brian Dell, director of Quartz Creative.
For Quartz, bots are another way to differentiate from run-of-the-mill ads, said Jay Lauf, publisher and president of Quartz.
“Advertisers benefit because people spend more time with their messaging,” he said, “and from that, advertisers can learn more about their audiences because they’re explicitly expressing what they’re interested in, so that helps marketers deliver smarter, more relevant experiences.” |
Panasonic agrees lithium deal with Galaxy Resources | Galaxy Resources CEO Anthony Tse, Chairman Martin Rowley and other directors were in Japan for the signing of a lithium supply agreement with Panasonic two weeks ago, according to unidentified people. Galaxy shares rose as much as 6.2% to highest since 13 February. | http://www.afr.com/street-talk/galaxy-resources-strikes-deal-with-japans-panasonic-sources-20171002-gyt44m | 2017-10-03 13:48:58.287000 | Hot on the heels of Pilbara Minerals' deal with Chinese automaker Great Wall, Galaxy Resources has inked an agreement with Tesla battery supplier Panasonic, as first reported by Street Talk.
Battery makers like Japan's Panasonic have been looking to lock in supplies of high quality lithium to ensure they have enough material to meet demand for their lithium-ion batteries, used to power electric vehicles.
Sources told this column managing director Anthony Tse, chairman Martin Rowley and other directors were in Japan for a signing ceremony two weeks ago. Shipping data also shows product from Mt Cattlin being shipped to Japan.
A Panasonic lithium-ion flexible battery. Koji Ueda
Galaxy, capitalised at $1.1 billion, is one of the few producers that hasn't locked all of its slated production into agreements with long-term customers.
Galaxy currently supplies spodumene concentrate produced from its Mt Cattlin mine in Western Australia to lithium converters in China, which then make the lithium chemical used by battery manufacturers. |
Flow-battery start-up looks to compete with fossil fuels | Flow battery start-up Baseload Renewables aims to compete with fossil fuels by producing fuel cells cheaper than lithium-ion batteries. The company aims to make batteries capable of producing reliable power from renewable sources 24/7, and at a cost some five times less than where lithium-ion cells are expected to plateau. This means that seasonal storage of power throughout the summer, to meet demand through the winter, could be economically viable, according to its founder, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Yet-Ming Chiang. | https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608962/serial-battery-entrepreneurs-new-venture-tackles-clean-energys-biggest-problem/ | 2017-10-03 13:46:49.013000 | That’s approaching the price point where the idea of “seasonal storage” becomes economically feasible—meaning arrays of these batteries could store enough solar power during times of excess generation through the summer to continue meeting regional demand through the long, cloudy winter, Chiang says.
Baseload is housed at the Engine, MIT's new accelerator, which recently provided the company nearly $2 million in funding (see “Developing a Tough, Time-Consuming Technology? This Investor Is Interested”).
Baseload isn't providing many technical details at this stage, but the key to its low cost is relying on sulfur. That's because the material is very abundant and energy-dense, Chiang says. Indeed, it's a waste product of oil and gas production that costs as little as 10 cents per kilogram.
"Based on the charge stored per dollar, sulfur was more than a factor of 10 better than the next best thing," says Chiang, a materials science professor who previously cofounded lithium-ion battery startups A123 Systems, 24M, and three other startups.
Baseload's other cofounders include Ted Wiley, previously a vice president at Aquion Energy, as well as Marco Ferrara and Billy Woodford, both of whom previously worked with Chiang at 24M (see “Why Bad Things Happen to Clean-Energy Startups”).
Better, cheaper, longer-lasting storage technologies are crucial for enabling renewable sources to meet a greater portion of energy demand, and significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
For all the hopeful commentary and coverage of wind and solar prices nearing parity with fossil fuels, the truth is it's an apples-to-oranges comparison. Because the sun doesn't always shine and wind doesn't always blow, those sources can't be used as reliably and flexibly as coal or natural gas unless they're backed up by fossil fuel plants, balanced out through demand-response programs or long-distance transmission lines, or paired with some form of abundant storage. The options for the latter are generally limited to cheap pumped hydroelectric storage—which is tightly geographically restricted since it requires a pair of water reservoirs—or batteries and similar technologies that are still too expensive, short-lived, or both.
The lithium-ion batteries that run our smartphones and electric vehicles are increasingly being used in limited ways to balance renewable generation. But many battery experts believe that their high cost and limited life cycles place hard limits on how big a role they can play on the grid. |
German insurtech Simplesurance plans to enter US market | German insurtech start-up Simplesurance has said it plans to expand into the US next year. The firm already operates in 30 European countries, including the UK. The Simplesurance platform provides easy access to insurance for gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets and digital cameras. The firm's services allow online retailers to offer policies at the point of purchase, greatly simplifying the process for consumers and broadening distribution options for insurers. | https://www.carriermanagement.com/news/2017/10/03/171740.htm | 2017-10-03 13:44:27.247000 | Based on the edge of Berlin’s trendy Mitte district in bright, open offices, Simplesurance is yet another InsurTech startup seeking to transform insurance. It is also eyeing the U.S. for future expansion, possibly in 2018.
Simplesurance began in 2012, employs more than 150 people, and its cross-selling software operates across Europe. E-commerce partners can sell insurance products by adding the option to purchase insurance for a device with just one click on the platform’s shopping basket. As well, Simplesurance now offers an insurance broker app in Germany.
The firm has drawn the attention of venture investors and insurers alike. Allianz SE is a major backer.
Simplesurance will cover mostly mobile electronic devices, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops and digital cameras, as well as stationary electronic devices like televisions, stereos and computers. In some countries, the company also offers bicycle, tool and pet insurance, and even warranty extensions for household appliances. When buying from a Simplesurance e-commerce partner, customers can buy insurance right at the time they purchase the device. When working through Simplesurance’s own websites, customers can buy insurance at a later time.
Beyond technology innovation, founder and CEO Robin von Hein, a tall, elegant 34-year-old dressed in office casual, with designer stubble and short beard, is also trying to innovate how he handles his employees.
One program,”Robin4You,” is an initiative the company launched to bring the CEO closer to the daily work of each company department. This involves him meeting with two employees per month, each for a two-hour sit-down to help them with their work and gain better understanding of the challenges they are facing. The company touts the program as something that gives the CEO insights for strategic decisions and, in turn, shows employees how valuable they are for the success of the company.
Earlier in the summer, Carrier Management Editor Mark Hollmer submitted a series of questions to von Hein about Simplesurance. These are his edited responses.
Q. What is Simplesurance, and what part of property insurance do you focus on?
Simplesurance is your platform for simple access to insurance. We developed a cross-selling software solution that enables our partners in e-commerce to offer their customers [coverage plans and suites] directly at the digital point of sale with just one click. In this way, we create additional distribution channels for insurance companies.
We cooperate with traditional insurers such as Allianz, Munich Re, Assurant and others who are the risk takers of the policies, while we work along the entire supply chain, from selling insurance via our e-commerce partners to generating insurance-relevant data and handling claim processes and repair management for the customer. All these services are fully automated and digital. We have used our data to extend the customer’s lifetime value and offer our customers a digital insurance manager in an app.
Q. How is your business now, and in what countries do you operate?
Simplesurance has been growing steadily since its founding in 2012. The cross-selling software of Simplesurance is integrated into more than 2,000 e-commerce platforms in 30 European countries. Partners are renowned national e-commerce shops as well as global players, like two of the biggest smartphone manufacturers, Huawei and OnePlus, as well as Microsoft.
Moreover, Simplesurance operates its own flagship online stores in nine European countries. Just recently, in April 2017, despite the Brexit movement, Simplesurance entered the British market.
In November 2016, we also extended our core business and service to customers by launching our broker business in Germany. We cooperate with more than 250 insurance companies to provide our customers with a digital insurance manager, which allows them to upload and digitize all existing insurance policies in the app as well as compare and purchase new policies. Via in-app messaging, call or email, customers can reach their personal insurance broker.
We’re based in Berlin, the melting pot of young business and technological expertise. More than 150 employees from 30 nations work together to change the way customers see and buy insurance products in the digital age.
A recent funding in March 2017 showed the emerging relevance of Simplesurance. With more than 30 million euro ($25.5 million), Simplesurance belongs to the 15 best-funded InsurTech companies in the world. Allianz SE, Route 66, Rheingau Founders and Rakuten Fintech Fund have invested in Simplesurance. The international investors also reflect our globally strong position.
Q. Who are your competitors?
Offline cross-selling has been a standard business strategy for many years, but developing a technology that works with every electronic/digital shop system has been challenging for us and completely new to the market. Since the launch of our broker business, our competitors are other digital insurance applications.
But we have a significant benefit compared to other brokers. We offer our application to our existing customer base from our cross-selling. By targeting the customer in the e-commerce, we have no customer acquisition cost as we don’t need to use advertising channels, such as Google Adwords, for example. Thus, we can reach our customers at no additional costs.
Q. Do you have plans to expand to the United States? If so, when?
We are continuously working on our internationalization. Expanding to the U.S. is one of our goals for the next year. Since 2015, we [have been] operating in the United States through a SaaS (Software as a Service) contract with Assurant, [which] uses our technology to sell product insurance.
Q. Where do you hope to be in five years in terms of size, growth and mission?
Simplesurance is steadily growing and looking into new markets. The United States with Assurant as well as Asia with Rakuten are interesting markets for us to enter and to launch our products. We also develop new products with our insurance partners and are always looking for new niches. In five years, we will hopefully be able to cover the majority of the e-commerce with our cross-selling solution. Our mission is to become the world’s leading provider for product insurances. |
US wind turbine prices plummet below $1m per MW | The price for US wind turbines delivered in H2 2017 has reached a low of $830,000 per MW. The price is significantly below the global average for wind energy of $990,000 per MW. The fall is on the back of fierce competition as developers rushed to qualify projects for the final round of a federal subsidy programme, which led to an 11 GW increase in orders in late 2016.
| https://about.bnef.com/blog/wind-turbine-prices-u-s-plummet-faster-globally/ | 2017-10-03 13:38:31 | This article first appeared on the BNEF mobile app and the Bloomberg Terminal.
Price falls well below $1 million per megawatt
Looming end of tax credit beckons turbine-maker competition
United States and global wind turbine prices by delivery date
Note: Price of contract is calculated on day of signing and quoted by date of delivery. Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
The price for U.S. wind turbines delivered in 2H 2017 dropped to $0.83 million per megawatt, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Wind Turbine Pricing Index – well below the global average price of $0.99 million per megawatt. Fierce price competition between turbine manufacturers to secure as much of a surge in 2016 orders drove the rapid U.S. pricing plunge. The 11 gigawatt surge in 2016 turbine and equipment orders – delivered at most 3.5 months after 2016 – was a direct result of developers rushing to qualify as many projects possible for the final round of 100 percent of U.S. wind’s main federal subsidy.
Clients can access the full report here.
BNEF Shorts are research excerpts available only on the BNEF mobile app and the Bloomberg Terminal, highlighting key findings from our reports. If you would like to learn more about our services, please contact us. |
Catholic church to launch record fossil fuel divestment action | Over 40 Catholic institutions are to launch the largest ever faith-based fossil fuel divestment on the anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death. Although exact sums have not been revealed, the volume of groups involved is four times greater than the previous church record. Institutions involved in the action include the Archdiocese of Cape Town, the Episcopal Conference of Belgium and the diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino. The move will boost a global divestment movement headed by investors worth $5.5tn. The €4.5bn German Church bank and Catholic relief organisation Caritas also pledged to divest from coal, tar sands and shale oil. | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/03/catholic-church-to-make-record-divestment-from-fossil-fuels | 2017-10-03 13:23:45.037000 | More than 40 Catholic institutions are to announce the largest ever faith-based divestment from fossil fuels, on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi.
The sum involved has not been disclosed but the volume of divesting groups is four times higher than a previous church record, and adds to a global divestment movement, led by investors worth $5.5tn.
Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief who helped negotiate the Paris climate agreement, hailed Tuesday’s move as “a further sign we are on the way to achieving our collective mission”.
She said: “I hope we will see more leaders like these 40 Catholic institutions commit, because while this decision makes smart financial sense, acting collectively to deliver a better future for everybody is also our moral imperative.”
Church institutions joining the action include the Archdiocese of Cape Town, the Episcopal Conference of Belgium and the diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, the spiritual home of the world’s Franciscan brothers.
A spokesman for the €4.5bn German Church bank and Catholic relief organisation Caritas said that it was committing to divest from coal, tar sands and shale oil.
In a symbolically charged move, the Italian town of Assisi will also shed all oil, coal and gas holdings the day before a visit by the Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, to mark St Francis’s feast day.
Assisi’s mayor, Stefania Proietti – a former climate mitigation professor – told the Guardian: “When we pay attention to the environment, we pay attention to poor people, who are the first victims of climate change.
“When we invest in fossil fuels, we stray very far from social justice. But when we disinvest and invest in renewable and energy efficiency instead, we can mitigate climate change, create a sustainable new economic deal and, most importantly, help the poor.”
The origins of the latest church action lie in last year’s climate encyclical by Pope Francis – himself named after St Francis of Assisi – although the project was advanced by the Global Catholic Climate Movement. |
Mobile payments to trump debit cards in e-commerce by 2019: UN | Digital payments are set to overtake the use of credit and debit cards as people's preferred method of making e-commerce transactions, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The body cited figures from payment company Worldpay showing credit and debit cards falling in online use from 51% of all transactions three years ago to 46% by 2019, with mobile, online and digital currency payments becoming the majority for the first time. UNCTAD's figures back up other reports that have found increasing numbers of customers are using electronic payments for transactions.
| http://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2113858/mobile-payments-overtake-credit-cards-preferred-ways-pay-online | 2017-10-03 11:55:44.020000 | Electronic payment options on offer at a seafood market in Beijing. A report by the UN’s trade and development body sees e-payment overtaking credit cards as the most popular way to pay in e-commerce by 2019. Photo: EPA |
US community health centres at risk from lack of funding | The US Congress has missed the deadline for reauthorising funding to community healthcare centres across the country, leaving the fate of such establishments hanging in the balance, according to reports. While the deadline was missed, a bill prolonging the funding of such centres is due to be considered in the House of Representatives later this week. “These public health programs play a critical role in communities across the country. It’s imperative we finish our work quickly so these vital services continue to be available for those who rely on them”, said Oregon Representative Greg Walden.
| http://www.recorder.com/missed-funding-deadline-12877057 | 2017-10-03 11:20:45.007000 | BOSTON — Massachusetts officials are sounding the alarm over a possible loss of federal money for certain health care programs, and advocates said its impact has already hit community health centers.
While public attention has been focused on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, Congress last week quietly missed a funding reauthorization deadline leaving $3.6 billion hanging in the balance across the country, including $196 million for community health centers in Massachusetts.
“If in fact it is not ever reauthorized, it is catastrophic,” Eliza Lake, CEO of Hilltown Community Health Center in Worthington, told the Health Policy Commission Monday at a hearing exploring trends in state health care spending. “It is, for my health center, about one-sixth of our budget, maybe a little more, and so we rely upon that as part of our federal mandate to serve everyone who comes in our doors.”
Health center officials locally spent last week pressing Congress to act by the Saturday, Sept. 30 deadline. No action was taken, but the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon), announced plans to consider a bill this week that would extend federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), community health centers, diabetes programs, the National Health Service Corps, and Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education.
“CHIP, now in its 20th year, has always been bipartisan and we hope this extension will be no different,” Walden said. “These public health programs play a critical role in communities across the country. It’s imperative we finish our work quickly so these vital services continue to be available for those who rely on them.”
Health centers in Massachusetts and across the country are already feeling impacts from the uncertainty around future funding, according to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, which cited reports of community health centers instituting hiring freezes, struggling to recruit or retain providers, and beig unable to secure loans to expand capacity.
“Even the uncertainty of a fix is creating business disruptions for Massachusetts health centers, including hiring freezes and unplanned delays in expansion projects to add needed services and new sites,” James Hunt, the league’s president and CEO, said in a statement last week. “In one case, a health center has delayed plans to hire more care management staff, effectively preventing its Accountable Care Organization from fully implementing its goals to improve care outcomes and lower costs.”
Lake, whose health center has locations in Worthington and Huntington, said there is a history of bipartisan support for community health centers. She said she hopes Congress “will rally through the distractions at the moment” to reauthorize the funds.
Hilltown’s federal grant runs through May, Lake said, leaving the health center “sort of holding tight in this storm of uncertainty that surrounds all of us right now.”
According to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, federal funds represent an average 11 percent of a health center’s budget and allow them to expand capacity through new personnel, services and physical space.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker said community health centers and the Children’s Health Insurance Program are programs that people “really depend on.”
“The CHIP program, which has been really important to Massachusetts - and we were one of the first states to adopt it and chase it hard — has not been reauthorized. ...That worries me,” Baker said after speaking at the health costs hearing. “And they also did not reauthorize the community health center program. So while a lack of action on some of the issues around ACA reform may have been good news, there’s a whole bunch of other things where a lack of action creates real issues for everybody and in a very immediate term.” |
Ryanair pilots investigated by HMRC over employment arrangements | Ryanair pilots are facing investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in relation to employment structures imposed on them by the airline. Those applying to join the airline are instructed to set up an Irish limited company. That company then supplies pilots to agencies, which subsequently supply them to Ryanair. The arrangement enables Ryanair to limit its obligations to pilots, for instance in relation to sick pay, but has caused some pilots to experience difficulties with fraud investigators. Ryanair is currently facing criticism for cancelling tens of thousands of flights due to errors in rostering pilot shifts. | https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/03/ryanair-pilots-hmrc-investigation-airlines-uk | 2017-10-03 10:58:53.403000 | Ryanair pilots are being investigated by HM Revenue & Customs over complex employment structures imposed on them by the no-frills airline.
Several experienced pilots told the Guardian that they have faced tax investigations relating to the way in which they are employed by Ryanair. Europe’s busiest airline is already grappling with a PR disaster caused by errors in how pilots are rostered for work – leading to the cancellation of tens of thousands of flights through to March next year, which has disrupted the travel plans of 700,000 passengers.
Ryanair has also clashed with its pilots over their working conditions, with many complaining about the same contract arrangements that have piqued HMRC’s interest.
The tax authority’s focus on individual pilots emerged two years after it launched an investigation into Ryanair’s use of agencies such as Brookfield Aviation to provide about half of its 4,200 pilots.
Those who apply to join Ryanair are told to set up an Irish limited company and are made directors of it, under the guidance of accountants recommended by the airline. That company then supplies pilots to one of several agencies, including Brookfield Aviation and McGinley Aviation, who in turn supply them to Ryanair.
The system limits Ryanair’s obligations to the pilots, such as sick pay – among the factors that allows the Dublin-based carrier to keep its costs low. But the use of Irish limited companies to employ pilots based in the UK has led to pilots with limited experience of the tax obligations of a limited company falling foul of its fraud investigators.
One UK-based pilot said he has been under investigation since February 2015, and is being questioned by HMRC about an employment structure he had no choice but to use.
“When I started employment, I had to set up a limited company in Ireland with two other pilots who I knew from training and were employed by Ryanair at the same time. We had to go to Ireland, meet their accountant and set up a company.”
He said his lack of experience of acting as a company director meant he left tax affairs to the accountant recommended by Ryanair, but has still been hit with a two-year investigation.
“You’re sitting there waiting for the brown envelope to hit the doormat,” he said.
“I’m no tax expert and I thought I was doing everything correctly. Now I’ve had to send my logbook off, which is priceless to me.”
A former colleague, who used to train pilots for Ryanair, said: “The public should be aware that some of the pilots flying the planes are stressed because of the way they operate.
“You have HMRC hounding people who have been pulled into this system that is run by Ryanair.”
A third pilot, who is under investigation for non-payment of taxes over five years, said HMRC told him tax on his earnings should have been paid in the UK, even though he was employed by an Irish limited company.
He said he had been given “no control over the governance of the way [tax] was being paid”.
According to one letter sent to him by HMRC and seen by the Guardian, the tax authority conceded that he had not “engineered” the complex structure and was simply trying to gain employment.
“You speak to some of the people affected by this and they’re broken men,” he added.
Another pilot showed the Guardian a document in which the agency he worked for told him sign a disclaimer to say he was not an employee of the company but of his own Irish limited company.
He said this structure ultimately led HMRC to look into his tax affairs, causing him undue anxiety.
“It was one of my main reasons for leaving. I was sick of always being worried if I was paying tax correctly,” he said.
And he warned that pilots from other countries are also facing investigations by their domestic authorities.
“I flew with one guy who had to sell his house and car because he’d been landed with a tax bill of €40,000,” he said. “He hadn’t been fiddling it on purpose but he’d just got it wrong.”
A fifth pilot said British pilots were now worried about their homes being raided, pointing to action taken by Germany tax authorities last year over pilots employed by Brookfield Aviation.
“Imagine doing this job when you are constantly worrying about whether what you are doing tax-wise is legal, simply because you are not given any other option by your own employer,” he said.
All of the pilots interviewed also warned that the use of self-employed contracts, which do not entitle them to sick pay, meant some were turning up to work even if they were ill.
HMRC said: “We don’t comment on identifiable individuals or organisations.”
Ryanair said: “We do not comment on rumour or speculation.” |
Kahoot! signals monitisation shift with premium corporate service | Norwegian start-up Kahoot! has launched a premium version of its learning platform for corporate training, signalling a shift towards monetisation. Kahoot! allows teachers to build custom quizzes for their students. Its latest offering, Kahoot! Plus, is targeted at business training schemes, and lets users brand games with the company's logo, as well as giving them more control over where the games are shared. Trainers can also access data on games results, allowing for greater analysis of results. | https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/03/educational-quiz-platform-kahoot-launches-premium-subscription-service-to-make-corporate-training-fun/ | 2017-10-03 10:52:47.397000 | Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.
Kahoot, an online learning platform that lets teachers create and tailor quizzes for their classes, has announced its first shift into monetization with the launch of a new premium version of the service.
With Kahoot Plus, the Norwegian startup is targeting companies with a product geared toward corporate training initiatives. Kahoot Plus subscribers will be given more flexibility over where the games are shared, as they can be confined to an organization’s own private area and can also be branded with a company’s own logo. Trainers can access advanced reports and data on game results down to the employee level, revealing who’s up to speed and what areas may need improvement.
The story so far
Founded out of Oslo in 2011, Kahoot encourages teachers to play quizmaster with their classes by creating and projecting quizzes onto a whiteboard. Students can then answer multiple-choice questions on whatever topic the teacher has chosen directly from their own device. There is also a public library of more than 20 million existing quizzes that anyone can access.
Kahoot has struck a chord in classrooms around the world, and it now claims more than 50 million monthly active users and is taking the U.S. by storm. Today’s premium launch comes just a few months after Kahoot closed a $20 million funding round, with Microsoft Ventures participating in the round.
So far, Kahoot has offered its platform and resources to educators gratis, but it goes without saying that the company had to consider how to make money at some point. This is where Kahoot Plus comes into play.
Corporate training is reportedly a $130 billion market globally, and Kahoot is going after its piece of the pie by offering to inject a little “fun and engagement” into training programs.
It’s worth noting here that Kahoot already claims corporate customers — the company said more than one million employees use Kahoot for training purposes each month, “including at 25 percent of the Fortune 500 companies,” according to a statement issued by the startup. But now it’s looking to cater specifically to corporate educators, marketers, and sales teams with a more “private, organized, collaborative, and company-branded experience,” it said.
“Billions of dollars and millions of hours are wasted on ineffective corporate training every year,” noted Kahoot CEO Erik Harrell. “All of us have suffered through dull presentation decks and boring training sessions. We believe training should not only be useful, but also fun, memorable, inspiring and even magical. A half million corporate trainers are already using the Kahoot platform and have continually asked us to provide premium features.”
In terms of cost, Kahoot Plus weighs in at an introductory price of $10 per user per month, with an unlimited number of participants on an annual subscription. Those wishing to sign a month-to-month subscription will pay $15 per user per month. The company hasn’t revealed what its full pricing will be after the introductory offer has expired, but we’ll update here if or when we hear back.
“This is Kahoot’s first move to commercialize the company in a scalable way,” added Harrell. “We have 12 paying pilot customers for this product, which has helped us validate pricing and reception to Kahoot Plus’ premium features.”
Importantly, charging businesses for a premium plan means that Kahoot intends to keep the standard version free for schools. |
Facebook favours advertisers' flexibility over one-size-fits-all | Facebook has argued that flexibility in video viewability metrics is more important to advertisers than a one-size-fits-all standard. Speaking at its IAB Upfronts event in London this week, its head of communication planning, Ian Edwards, said Facebook "totally agrees" with certain industry-backed standards, such the MRC viewability measure of two seconds with 50% of pixels in view. But he argued that some brands buy as cheaply as possible on an impression basis and care about business outcome rather than view duration. It is vital to give brands flexibility to buy video in a way that "delivers value to their business", he added.
| http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/10/03/facebook-imposing-single-video-viewability-standard-not-what-brands-need | 2017-10-03 10:44:26.203000 | Facebook has said it is committed to offering advertisers flexibility when it comes to video viewability metrics, arguing this is more valuable to brands than a one-size-fits-all currency.
Speaking at Facebook’s IAB Upfronts event on Monday (2 October) the social network’s head of communications planning, Ian Edwards also reiterated to advertisers that video on Facebook should be seen as something that works in "synergy" with TV campaigns, not as a direct competitor.
Video is the single biggest consumer trend Facebook is seeing on its platform since the shift to mobile, said Edwards. Who added that Facebook is currently seeing over 100m hours of video being watched every day on its platform, and predicting that 75% of all mobile data traffic will be video by 2020.
“Our philosophy with video is the fact that there are 2 billion plus smartphones in the world means that there are 2 billion creators."
It’s why Facebook recently rolled out a TV-like platform, Watch, which solidified its efforts to move into the original content production space, and why it’s been striking deals with sports rights holders and broadcasters to keep eyeballs on its platform and take advantage of the lucrative advertising opportunities afforded by video.
The social network also unveiled an open source camera platform similar to that of Snapchat's at its F8 conference this year to advance its skills in augmented reality, and has seen a three-times increase in the amount of video that is captured and shared on that platform, Edwards said.
There's no such thing as a common currency
The rise of video also brings with it a debate around viewability standards, which Facebook has found itself in the centre of after admitting last year it had been inflating video views, forcing the social platform to bolster its third-party measurement partnerships - which now includes 24 partners.
Edwards said there are elements of viewability that Facebook “totally agrees” with the industry on, including the need for video to be fully viewable on screen and viewed by humans rather than bots - claiming that over 99.3% of ads served on Facebook adhere to these standards.
Where it believes the industry needs to have a debate is around what counts as a view. Earlier in the year, P&G’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard said the FMCG giant only wanted to trade on the MRC standard for video that is two-seconds with 50% of the pixels in view.
However, Edwards believes that while that standard might drive value to their business, it wouldn’t necessarily be the right currency for a luxury brand like Chanel, for example, where the premium to get someone to watch for 10-seconds may be worth paying. On the flipside, direct response advertisers “buy as cheap as they possibly can” on an impression basis, and don’t care about view duration but about business outcome, the executive added.
Instead, he believes it is “crucial” to give advertisers the flexibility to trade and buy video on the platform “in the way that delivers value to their business”, rather than create one trading currency.
“As you put constraints into viewability and view duration your price will rise. The longer someone views the more expensive that view will be. We are committed to giving advertisers the flexibility to buy durations that matter to them,” he said.
What’s more, Facebook data shows that there is an almost perfect correlation between age and scroll speed - as its users get older, their scroll speed slows down. This means view duration will bias your audiences towards older audiences, Edwards said.
He also gave an example of a campaign that used an ad pinned to the right-hand side of the desktop app that was in full view as users scrolled through, and the same campaign that was inserted in the mobile news feed that was in view for 2-3 seconds. The mobile ad in news feed delivered 200X more clicks than the ad that was pinned to the right hand side.
“What we need to do is start to recognise view duration as a metric, not an objective,” Edwards said. “When an objective becomes a measurement is stops being a good objective. View duration in isolation is not necessarily a great predictor of business outcomes.”
Better together
While the use of video has been increasing, so has the knowledge gap for marketers when it comes to planning video campaigns on different platforms.
“We also know that as an industry it creates a lot of confusion,” Edwards said, addressing a room of advertisers and agencies at Facebook’s IAB Digital Upfronts session yesterday (2 October).
“The term video and the way it is used is actually quite misleading,” he said. “Video is used as a catch-all term - we talk about video on Facebook, Instagram, TV, cinema, digital panels. They represent incredibly different things.”
As marketers prepare for the holiday season - and the opportunities to drive spend at key retail dates like Black Friday - Edwards wanted to set the record straight on where Facebook sits in the video ecosystem.
“I want to put [to rest] this idea that video on Facebook is anything like video on TV - it is not. Facebook is not 'Channel 6', it is a different media channel entirely, and we have to think about how we use video on Facebook to fit within the context of that platform. It is not enough just to put your videos on Facebook for them to work and be effective,” he said.
Since it first started contemplating a standalone video product for its platform last year, Facebook has been looking to prove to broadcasters it wants to share rather than steal media budgets, with Nicola Mendelsohn likening the two to “really happy bedfellows”.
It stepped up this pitch yesterday by highlighting to advertisers how adding Facebook to a TV campaign can boost incremental reach by 16.1%, according to data from Nielsen Total Ad Ratings.
Kantar Worldpanel also showed that TV and Facebook produced a greater likelihood to purchase when delivered together; on their own TV’s derived likelihood to purchase is 8%, while Facebook’s is 13%. Together they represent a 29% likelihood in driving purchase.
Edwards called this a “synergistical multiplier effect”. |
Texo unveils world's first ultrasonic thickness integrated UAV system | Texo DSI has revealed the world's first ultrasonic thickness (UT) integrated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system. The system can produce a range of thickness measurements, on both flat and curved surfaces, and has been used in a range of sectors, including offshore and onshore wind turbines and maritime assets. Measurements are overseen by Texo's accredited technicians, ensuring accurate data sets are captured. | https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/hse/29092017/texo-drone-survey-and-inspection-deploys-worlds-first-ut-integrated-uav-system/ | 2017-10-03 10:21:26.947000 | Texo Drone Survey and Inspection (UKCS), the dedicated Oil & Gas services division of Texo DSI - owner-operator of the world’s most comprehensive and dynamic fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles is pleased to announce the deployment of the world’s first UT (Ultrasonic Thickness Testing) integrated UAV system.
The system has been designed to undertake a wide range of thickness measurement applications and is able to ascertain precise measurements on both flat and curved surfaces.
This UAV integrated UT payload has been deployed across a wide range of sectors, including both offshore and onshore wind turbine structures, telecoms and maritime assets.
With the ability to indicate, via a unique spot identification system, all UT missions are precise in acquisition and instantaneous in capture and delivery.
All UT UAV operations are overseen by Texo’s accredited and certificated NDT payload technicians, ensuring accurate data set capture and validation of acquired measurements.
Inspection data is combined with a precise photogrammetric visual overlay of the completed survey, pinpointing exact measurement locations on the structure/surface to an accuracy of sub 10 mm - therefore providing clients with verified inspection data.
John Wood, Chief Operations Officer, Texo Drone Survey and Inspection Ltd said: “This is a major development in the field of inspection engineering. Client feedback has been indicating that this is an area of huge demand and we have worked tirelessly to bring this to the market.”
John added: “We offer an enhanced UT thickness measurement service to our clients, combined with increased safety to personnel and efficiency of data delivery. Like all our class-leading payloads, they are safer than traditional rope access and scaffolding methods and data acquisition can be twenty times faster than by traditional methods – representing significant efficiencies for clients.” |
Gene therapy may offer cure for end-stage retinal degeneration | Scientists have used gene therapy to restore sight in mice affected by retinitis pigmentosa, a treatment that offers hope of a cure for the most common cause of blindness in young people. An article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes how researchers used the technique to produce a natural photosensitive protein that helped in the restoration of visual function, concluding it could be "efficacious in the treatment of patients with end-stage retinal degenerations". A separate experiment used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique to halt the progress of glaucoma in mice.
| http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/blindness-cure-scientists-mice-genetic-procedure-work-on-humans-a7978476.html | 2017-10-03 09:54:16.430000 | Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
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The most common form of blindness in young people could be at least partially cured using gene therapy, a new study in mice suggests.
Researchers managed to restore sight to mice affected by retinitis pigmentosa after reprogramming their remaining retinal nerve cells.
These were not light-sensitive but were altered by the technique to give the mice a degree of vision.
A separate study, also in mice, found gene editing could be used to stop the progress of glaucoma and the scientists said the same technique might work in humans.
One of the researchers in the retinitis pigmentosa study, Dr Samantha de Silva, of Oxford University, expressed optimism about the implications of their work.
“There are many blind patients in our clinics and the ability to give them some sight back with a relatively simple genetic procedure is very exciting,” she said.
“Our next step will be to start a clinical trial to assess this in patients.”
A paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) said the results of the mice trials “suggest that this approach may be clinically useful in vision restoration in patients with end-stage” retinitis pigmentosa.
“We demonstrate ... restoration of visual function, indicating that this therapy could be stable and efficacious in the treatment of patients with end-stage retinal degenerations,” it added.
Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 / 40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought “off the street” Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been “sitting on a shelf unused”, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised “ideological” reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a “zero suicide ambition” being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. 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Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide ‘new class of treatment’ for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Branson’s company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an £82m contract to provide children’s health services across Surrey, citing concerns over “serious flaws” in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. 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A number of tests were used to work out how much vision had been restored to the mice, including “light avoidance”.
“Wild-type animals with functional rods and cones [eyes] show aversion to bright light,” the paper said.
“Treated mice spent less time in the bright chamber compared with control mice, which showed an apparent preference for the bright chamber.
“This may be due to an inability of control mice to detect the difference in brightness between the two chambers resulting in exploration being guided primarily by nonvisual cues, for example, subtle differences in temperature, auditory, or olfactory cues.”
Professor Alan Boyd, president of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in the UK, said the use of gene therapy to treat blindness had seen “significant success in recent years”.
He said a US company, Spark Therapeutics, had already applied for its gene therapy technique to be approved to treat children’s eye diseases in the US and European Union.
However, such methods did not work on people with advanced blindness.
“In contrast, in this new work ... they [the scientists] have identified a possible approach to treating end-stage retinal degeneration using a gene therapy that produces a natural photosensitive protein in the eye, called melanopsin, which does not rely on the presence of rods or cones to be active and could help restore the lost sight in a patient with end-stage retinal degeneration,” Professor Boyd said.
“The work performed to date with melanopsin has only involved mice and it will probably take another two to three years at a minimum before a clinical study in humans could be undertaken.
“These results are very encouraging and could lead to a potential treatment for end-stage blindness in humans.”
In the glaucoma study, researchers used the Crispr-Cas9 gene editing technique to stop glaucoma from getting worse in mice.
Genetic mutations can lead to a build-up of toxic proteins in the eye, increasing the pressure inside and leading to glaucoma, they wrote in the PNAS journal.
“Primary open-angle glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide, with elevated intraocular pressure a major risk factor,” they wrote.
They said they had used Crispr-Cas9 in mice and also in cultured human cells to “knock down” the expression of the mutant genes.
This reduced the pressure in the eye and “prevents further glaucomatous damage”. |
Personal lines to gain most from back office automation: report | Insurers providing personal lines of coverage could stand to benefit the most from adopting robotic process automation (RPA), according to a report from RBC Capital Markets. As the cost of using RPA comes down, businesses that have begun to digitise their operations should be in a good position to benefit from it and could make big savings as well. In a scenario in which a provider of personal lines cover adopts RPA, the cost of backroom staff could fall by up to 20%, according to RBC's report. RPA is suited to routine-based tasks, such as accounting reconciliations and data entry.
| https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/personal-lines-insurers-have-most-to-gain-from-robot-use/1425136.article | 2017-10-03 09:37:46.940000 | Insurers Direct Line, RSA, Allianz, AXA, Legal & General and Aviva could have the most to gain from robotic process automation (RPA), a report by investment bank RBC Capital Markets says.
RPA is software that can be used to perform rules-based tasks such as reconciliation processes and data entry. The technology is already readily available and some insurers are already using it. For example, US insurer Lemonade uses software in its claims process and has paid out a claim within three seconds.
The report suggests that due to decreasing costs of RPA and increased digitisation within the insurance sector, now would be a good time for insurers to take advantage of it. Personal lines insurers could stand to benefit the most from RPA, with those with new systems and more efficient digital platforms likely to find it easiest to begin using the software.
The use of RPA could eliminate the need for employees to perform repetitive tasks and cut costs. Other potential benefits include increased process speed, better accuracy and improved operational efficiency.
The areas of business most susceptible to automation, according to EY estimates quoted by RBC, are HR (50-60% of tasks could potentially be automated), supply chain (30-40%) and sales and marketing (25-35%).
Cost of robots vs human employees
Source: Capgemini Robotic process automation – the next revolution of corporate functions
In one scenario, RBC calculated the savings that could be made by a hypothetical non-life insurer operating with a combined ratio of 95%. The number of staff working in back office functions fell 20%, while earnings improved by 36.9%.
EY estimates that the cost of one ‘bot’ is around 30% of that of an offshore worker, with the running costs decreasing to around 10-15% of this per annum. It generally takes around 6-8 weeks to fully implement a bot.
However, the use of RPA could also lead to job losses, reduced staff morale and increased stress levels. RBC suggests that the use of this technology will lead to companies and organisations boosting the skills of some workers, but if a business’s main aim is to cut costs then it unlikely that all employees will reap the benefits of this. |
Chubb loses out in NY Sandy case | Chubb has been ruled against by a New York federal judge in a case relating to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The insurer was disputing a claim made by CNA Financial, which said that a shopping centre it owned was damaged by wind and rainfall during the storm. Chubb argued that the policy it provided to CNA excluded flood damage. While the judge agreed, it was decided that damage caused by rainfall was not excluded from the policy.
| http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20171002/NEWS06/912316246/Judge-rules-for-CNA-against-Chubb-in-Superstorm-Sandy-coverage-disputes | 2017-10-03 09:32:58.280000 | A federal judge in New York on Friday ruled in favor of a CNA Financial Corp. subsidiary in a case of a Brooklyn, New York, shopping center that had electrical equipment damaged during Superstorm Sandy but refused to dismiss a separate case against a Chubb Ltd. subsidiary involving damage to the same plaintiff’s building.
The disputes arose in the aftermath of the massive storm that made landfall in New York and New Jersey on Oct. 29, 2012 and involves damage sustained by a shopping center located at 7001 E. 71st St. in Brooklyn.
The shopping center was insured by various policies, court documents said, including a $3 million commercial policy issued by Chubb subsidiary Chubb Custom Insurance Co. that insured the building, and a $5 million policy issued by a CNA subsidiary Continental Casualty Co. that covered equipment in the building, including electrical equipment in the walls and basement.
After the storm, the owner of the shopping center, 7001 E.71st Street L.L.C., filed claims for lost profits and property damage, maintaining the damage was caused by rainwater entering the building through the openings in the roof caused by the storm.
Both insurers denied coverage, and the owner sued for breach of contract in 2013. The two insurers moved for a summary judgment, citing their respective policies’ exclusions for flooding, and Continental also cites its exclusions in its policy for wind, corrosion, and fire.
Chubb also argued that the plaintiff could not prove the rainwater caused the damage and could not show the cost to repair the shopping center or the cost of its business interruption loss.
In his ruling in 7001 East 71st Street L.L.C. v. Continental Casualty Co., U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie wrote: “The Court concludes that because Continental’s policy excluded coverage for damage caused by wind and flooding, and that the damage to electrical equipment insured by Continental was at least partially attributable to these hazards, Continental’s policy excludes coverage. As such Continental’s motion for summary judgment is granted.”
Judge Dearie wrote that “because an excluded event, wind, contributed sequentially to the event that caused the covered equipment to break down, the damage is not covered by the Continental Policy.”
However, in his ruling in 7001 East 71st Street L.L.C. v. Chubb Custom Insurance Co., the judge found that the Chubb’s policy excluded coverage for flooding but does not exclude coverage for wind or rainwater.
“Because a fact finder could reasonably attribute some damage solely to a covered hazard,” Judge Dearie wrote, “there are lingering issues that make summary judgment inappropriate. Chubb’s motion for summary judgment is therefore denied.”
A spokesperson for Chubb declined to comment. |
Catastrophe losses could lead to 20% hike in reinsurance rates | This year's glut of catastrophes is likely to lead to reinsurance rate increases when the renewal period comes up in January. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, earthquakes in Mexico and storms in Australia and the US in 2017 may well necessitate the raising of premiums, particularly for policies concerning North American property, although the effects of Irma were not as bad as feared. Reinsurers are pushing for rate hikes of 10% to 20% for North American risks, according to Steve Hearn, the CEO of Ed Broking Group in London. It is not yet clear if non-American rates will be affected.
| http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20171002/NEWS06/912316211/Reinsurance-premium-rates-may-rise-hurricane-earthquake-natural-catastrophes | 2017-10-03 09:31:17.570000 | Reinsurance rates are likely headed higher at year-end renewals as the market digests a string of catastrophe losses.
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria will all hit reinsurers, in addition to two separate earthquakes in Mexico and storms earlier this year, observers say.
While loss estimates are still being calculated, the most recent catastrophe losses will be substantial and likely will top $50 billion in total — and could be significantly higher, according to modeling firm estimates.
While reinsurers have had relatively low catastrophe losses since Superstorm Sandy hit New York and New Jersey in 2012 and while there is plentiful capacity in the market, the 2017 losses will hit traditional and nontraditional reinsurance programs and will likely drive up prices for some accounts, observers say. However, renewal discussions have just started, and it’s unclear how widespread any increases will be if reinsurers succeed in pushing them through, they say.
Hurricane Irma, which is likely to be the largest loss so far this year, hit while reinsurance executives were gathered in Monte Carlo, Monaco, at the RendezVous de Septembre reinsurance meeting. The event traditionally marks the beginning of year-end renewal discussions as executives from reinsurers and reinsurance brokers hold numerous small meetings around the cafes and hotel lobbies of Monte Carlo to get a feel for market trends.
This year, the meeting started on a Saturday, Sept. 9, when Hurricane Irma was still threatening Miami and reinsurers were potentially looking at a $100 billion loss. By the following Tuesday, the storm had made landfall along Florida’s west coast, and it was clear that the loss would not be as devastating as feared.
At the time, it was unclear whether Harvey, Irma and other losses would affect reinsurance renewal rates. However, in the days and weeks that followed the Rendez-Vous, and after Hurricane Maria carved through parts of the Caribbean and a powerful earthquake struck central Mexico, reinsurers and reinsurance brokers became more convinced that rates would increase.
In addition, several insurers and reinsurers warned that their quarterly earnings would be hit by the catastrophes.
The combination of catastrophe losses will likely lead to increased reinsurance rates for North American property risks at year-end renewals, said Albert A. Benchimol, president and CEO of Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. in New York.
“Whatever the losses turn out to be, it will be a meaningful amount. And given the many years of intensive price competition on property and catastrophe rates, at least on a regional basis, we would expect to see some increases,” he said.
Even though there is plentiful capacity in the market, rates should still increase, Mr. Benchimol said.
“There’s capital in the market, but the capital needs to be appropriately compensated … pricing needs to reflect loss costs,” he said.
It remains unclear whether increases will extend to non-U.S. accounts and other lines of coverage, but insurers that experience reinsurance rate hikes likely will try to pass the costs on to policyholders, Mr. Benchimol said.
The storms, including Cyclone Debbie in Australia and tornadoes in the United States earlier this year, already have triggered market activity, with some insurers and reinsurers with single-event and aggregate coverage looking for backup coverage, said Mike Krefta, Hamilton, Bermuda-based CEO of Hiscox Re, a unit of Hiscox Ltd.
At year-end, “from a reinsurance point of view, I would be shocked if we don’t see material increases in pricing,” he said.
Even though Hurricane Irma was not as calamitous as feared before landfall, the cumulative losses during the year will likely push rates higher, Mr. Krefta said.
“When you tot up the end-of-year bill, the focus will be on aggregate losses,” he said.
It’s still unclear how much prices will increase, but reinsurers are pressing for rate increases at year-end, with some underwriters saying 10% to 20% increases will be needed for North American risks, said Steve Hearn, CEO of Ed Broking Group Ltd. in London.
“We are starting to see some rate coming through on the aggregation of Harvey, Irma and the Mexican earthquake,” he said.
Paddy Jago, global chairman of Willis Re in London, said it’s still too early to predict the level of losses, particularly as Hurricane Maria followed a similar path to Irma in the Caribbean.
“That will make claims from an insurance and reinsurance viewpoint challenging,” he said. |
Premium-financing insurtech PremFina raises $33m to expand | UK-based insurtech PremFina is planning global expansion having raised $33m in a recent financing round. The financing consists of both debt and equity investments with UK-based Draper Esprit leading the round. PremFina aids insured parties by paying their premium upfront to insurers. The insurtech then charges policyholders a monthly rate for the paid-for policy. It also provides incumbent insurers software enabling them to participate in this arrangement with greater ease.
| https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/2017/10/03/256722/insurtech-start-premfina-raises-usd33m-equity-and-debt | 2017-10-03 09:28:31.727000 | UK insurance premium financing and software company PremFina has raised USD33 million in equity and debt. The funds will be used to help PremFina expand into new global markets and meet high demand in the UK. PremFina is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Talis Capital participated in the oversubscribed round, which included Japan’s Rakuten Capital and the UK’s Draper Esprit led, alongside global investors Thomvest Ventures, Emery Capital and Rubicon Venture Capital.
PremFina promotes financial inclusion within the insurance industry by eliminating the financial strain of an upfront lump-sum payment. PremFina funds the upfront payment of an insurance premium to an insurer, on behalf on an insured party. The insured party then repays PremFina via monthly instalments, including a finance fee. To better enable insurers to offer this option, PremFina provides insurers with a standalone, white-labelled software solution.
PremFina is the first premium finance company in the UK to receive venture funding. PremFina’s white label premium finance solution greatly improves brokers’ efficiency and profitability, through greater control of their premium finance offerings and customer relationships.
“The participation of a suite of investors in our oversubscribed round highlights the vast opportunity ahead for PremFina,” says Bundeep Singh Rangar, CEO of PremFina. “Premium financing is an industry that has been crying out for innovation. The incumbents have remained largely unchallenged due to age-old barriers to entry, such as the funding required to finance insurance premiums, and the regulatory compliance and technological capability needed to meaningfully enter the market. Consequently, insurtech has lagged behind other areas of fintech in terms of innovation. We are delighted that PremFina has overcome these barriers, and we look forward to working with our new investors.”
“Bundeep and the team have built a compelling proposition for the premium finance market, which is a significant market dominated by a handful of incumbents. We look forward to supporting their growth both in the UK and internationally,” says Vasile Foca, Managing Partner at Talis Capital. |
Actually, a Health Care Deal Is Possible | The Republican leadership seems to have thrown in the towel on repealing the Affordable Care Act, at least for now. That’s one piece of good news. Here’s another: Two senators of different parties have resumed negotiations that offer a more productive path, one that could preserve the best of Obamacare while offering adjustments that both parties can accept.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/opinion/obamacare-bipartisan-healthcare-deal-.html?partner=rss&emc=rss | 2017-10-03 09:16:34.353000 | The Republican leadership seems to have thrown in the towel on repealing the Affordable Care Act, at least for now. That’s one piece of good news. Here’s another: Two senators of different parties have resumed negotiations that offer a more productive path, one that could preserve the best of Obamacare while offering adjustments that both parties can accept.
The talks between Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, and Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, might not succeed, of course. Republican leaders scuttled a previous attempt by the two senators because they wanted another shot at repeal, an effort that failed ignominiously last week. Mr. Alexander and Ms. Murray hope to offer Congress a way out of the morass with a modest bill that could help strengthen the A.C.A.’s individual insurance markets, which are used by about 10 million people, without overhauling the whole system in ways that could deprive millions of people of subsidized care.
Mr. Alexander is a Senate veteran and former governor, and Ms. Murray an accomplished legislator. They have worked well together in the past. They could soon reach a deal that would guarantee appropriations for subsidy payments to insurers that President Trump has threatened to stop. The payments compensate insurers for selling policies with lower deductibles to low-income people. If Mr. Trump got rid of them, the government would actually end up spending more money to subsidize premiums, which companies would jack up to make up for the lost revenue.
The senators’ compromise would also offer states more freedom than the A.C.A. now allows to attract insurers; some rural states are down to just one insurer in their marketplaces, and premiums have jumped. Democrats have resisted such changes before, fearing that any waiver from federal rules would be exploited by states to reduce mandated services like those for maternity care, cancer and pre-existing conditions. Ms. Murray is said to be insisting, as she must, that any new flexibility for states does not become a back door for watering down protections. |
States rush to preserve children's health coverage | States are scrambling to shore up the government health insurance program that covers 9 million low-income kids after Congress failed to meet the deadline to renew its funding over the weekend.
| http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/02/children-health-coverage-states-243387 | 2017-10-03 09:16:08.850000 | While states won’t run out of money immediately, at least 10 will deplete funds by the end of the year, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. If Congress doesn’t approve funding by then, some state officials say they expect to terminate enrollment in the beginning of next year or shift eligible kids to other government insurance programs with potentially less federal support.
“This is a terrible situation for everyone who relies on CHIP to be a functioning program,” said Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper.
Without getting new funding from Congress soon, Minnesota is considering tapping into its unspent federal allotment for 2017, which would fund the program for about nine months. Doing so, however, would come with a federal penalty of $10 million to the state.
“It would carry us forward, but it would be a financial strain to the state’s budget,” Piper said.
CHIP, now in its 20th year, is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Historically, the federal government has provided an average of 71 percent of the funding, but a provision in the Affordable Care Act boosted federal funding to the states by 23 percentage points over the past two years.
Lawmakers say they are still planning to fund CHIP this year, though they haven’t acted with urgency so far. The Senate last month unveiled a bipartisan measure, S. 1827 (115), that funded the program for five years and preserves Obamacare’s funding raise for two years before it’s gradually phased out. The bill was overshadowed by the GOP’s last-ditch failed effort to dismantle Obamacare, but lawmakers are expected to mark it up in committee this week.
The House, meanwhile, is also expected to hold a markup on a CHIP measure this week but has not yet released a bill, which is expected to be drastically different than the Senate’s. Sources say the House is unlikely to keep the enhanced Obamacare funding for more than one year. Its bill is also expected to include funding for community health centers and other health programs, which could make it hard to pay for.
State officials say the funding uncertainty is already causing logistical headaches.
“Even if Congress comes back and gives them all the money in the world, it’s very distracting and destabilizing,” said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
Like Minnesota, Utah is considering moving eligible children to Medicaid if the money runs out, said Utah Medicaid Director Nate Checketts. The state is also considering moving some kids to the Obamacare insurance marketplaces, where they can get subsidized coverage. However, officials are still working through the logistics.
Colorado is also looking at Obamacare’s marketplaces as a fallback option. The state’s CHIP program, which is expected to run out of money by the end of January without action from Congress, plans to notify families in mid-December that coverage may be terminated, triggering a qualifying event that allows them to purchase Obamacare coverage through the state’s exchange. More than 75,000 children and nearly 800 pregnant women are currently enrolled in Colorado’s program.
“Families want to know as soon as their coverage is potentially threatened,” said Colorado Medicaid Director Gretchen Hammer. “Families know that they have coverage through January, and they want to know what their options are.”
California’s Department of Health Care Services said it’s still business as usual for the state’s CHIP program, which receives more than $2 billion a year and covers about 1.3 million children and pregnant women. The program is expected to run out of funding in December.
“Right now, it is a tough balance between the reality of a true urgency facing state CHIP programs and not wanting to create panic for families whose children depend on CHIP coverage,” said Kristen Golden Testa, director of the California health program at The Children’s Partnership.
In Texas, funding is expecting to dry up in January or February for a program covering nearly 400,000 children and 36,000 pregnant women in the state. Texas budget writers estimated Texas would receive $3.2 billion in federal funding for CHIP over 2018 and 2019.
“With so many families across the coast impacted by Hurricane Harvey, CHIP and Medicaid help families maintain coverage,” said Lou Fragoso, president of Texas Children’s Health Plan, which covers 430,000 people in Texas, about 15 percent of whom receive CHIP. “This is critical, especially for those in communities devastated by the recent storm and flooding.”
The Texas health department has warned that it would begin winding down the CHIP program after funding runs out early next year. But close observers say the state hasn’t made serious preparations because Congress is widely expected to continue funding the program.
Victoria Colliver, Rachana Pradhan, Renuka Rayasam and Joanne Kenen contributed to this report.
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American College of Physicians Says Medicare Advantage Should Increase Transparency, Align, and Reduce Burden | Increased transparency in and greater alignment across Medicare Advantage plans would help the program to reduce administrative burdens on physicians, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said in a new policy paper, Promoting Transparency and Alignment in Medicare Advantage.
| https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/american-college-of-physicians-says-medicare-advantage-should-increase-transparency-align-and-reduce | 2017-10-03 09:14:48.223000 | Washington (October 2, 2017)—Increased transparency in and greater alignment across Medicare Advantage plans would help the program to reduce administrative burdens on physicians, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said in a new policy paper, Promoting Transparency and Alignment in Medicare Advantage. The paper explores the quality of care, utilization, and cost of services in the Medicare Advantage program in comparison to traditional Medicare.
The Medicare Advantage (MA) program is an option where Medicare beneficiaries can receive their benefits through a private insurance plan, rather than the typical fee-for-service Medicare program. MA plans are designed to enhance care coordination and quality of care as well as provide supplementary benefits, including dental coverage, vision coverage, and wellness plans. The MA program has long been a subject of debate among policymakers and the health insurance industry over the balance between promoting beneficiary choice, maintaining quality of care, providing access to MA plans, and setting the cost of these private plans.
“As enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans increases there is a growing interest in understanding the differences in care delivery, quality, resource utilization, and cost between MA and traditional Medicare,” said Jack Ende, MD, MACP, president, ACP. “If MA plans were to increase transparency that would give the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the opportunity to examine them more closely and promote alignment, thus lessening the administrative burden associated with clinician participation in these plans.”
The paper outlines three recommendations for how to address concerns about the current Medicare Advantage program:
ACP supports current policies to ensure that MA plans are funded at the level of the traditional Medicare program and that at least 85% of that funding goes to actual beneficiary care.
ACP urges Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) to be transparent in their processes, policies, and procedures for how they develop and administer their MA plans and portfolios for all key stakeholders to ensure program integrity. Moreover, MAOs administering MA plans must collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to streamline and align varying policies, procedures, and contracting arrangements with physicians to further promote transparency and reduce excessive and burdensome administrative tasks.
ACP calls for more research on how federal payments to the MA Program are utilized by MAOs. Specifically, ACP calls for further research on the types of payment models used and prices paid by MAOs to contracted physicians, hospitals, and other clinicians compared with the models used and prices paid by traditional Medicare and commercial health insurance plans.
Reducing administrative burdens on physicians is a goal of ACP’s Patients Before Paperwork initiative. ACP has long identified reducing administrative burdens as a priority and the initiative seeks to reinvigorate the patient-physician relationship by challenging unnecessary practice burdens. Requiring transparency in and alignment across the MA program is essential to reducing unnecessary burdens and also confusion for patients.
“As Medicare moves away from its traditional fee-for-service and toward the Quality Payment Program linking physician payment to high-value care, it is a critical time for the MA program to make improvements,” concluded Dr. Ende. “The relief from administrative burdens that our recommendations would provide to clinicians is an important component of promoting high-value care for all Medicare beneficiaries.”
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 152,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.
Contact: Jackie Blaser, (202) 261-4572, [email protected] |
Laser treatment keeps perovskite in conductive state for longer | Researchers from the Roeffaers Lab and the Hofkens Group have used lasers to turn useless "delta-phase" perovskite into conductive "alpha-state" material that maintains its formation at room temperature for a number of weeks. Previously, researchers have tried to sustain the high-temperature alpha state by heating the material and stabilising it at room temperature using surface and chemical treatments. The experiments were carried out on a type of perovskite called formamidinium lead iodide, which holds the world record performance for a perovskite-based solar cell, approaching silicone-based ones. | https://phys.org/news/2017-10-blocks-solar-technology-lasers.html | 2017-10-03 09:13:28.930000 | Artist impression of laser writing technique. The laser beam locally heats the perovskite surface, making it change from the yellow delta to the black alpha state. Credit: Julian Steele
Most of today's technology in solar energy, telecommunications and microchips is constructed using silicon-based materials. However, in recent years, a new family of semiconducting materials, perovskites, has burst onto the scene, offering promise for new and better technologies. The properties of these materials rival many of the well-established commercial options, while remaining far cheaper and easier to make.
Perovskite is the general name for a material consisting of three chemical components A, B and X, arranged in a specific molecular crystal structure ABX 3 . One of these perovskites currently being investigated by researchers is formamidinium lead iodide [HC(NH 2 ) 2 PbI 3 or FAPbI 3 ], which holds the world record performance for a perovskite-based solar cell, rivaling silicone-based ones.
Important challenges, however, remain to be resolved regarding the stability of perovskite crystals under real-world conditions. At room temperature, for example, FAPbI 3 arranges itself in the yellow coloured delta phase, with little practical value for technological applications. But when heated above 150° C, the material rearranges itself into a different black structure, called the alpha state, before reverting to the delta phase after a few days under ambient conditions. It is this dark alpha state of FAPbI 3 that is most interesting for researchers and technology. Until recently, researchers have tried to access the high-temperature alpha state by heating the material and stabilising it at room temperature using surface and chemical treatments.
KU Leuven researchers from the Roeffaers Lab and the Hofkens Group have now discovered a new, easier way to create the sought-after dark alpha-phase perovskite. They used direct laser writing (tuned intense laser light) to locally heat the perovskite surface, making it change from the useless delta state to the highly desirable alpha state. Furthermore, they also found that the material now remained in this state for many weeks, even at room temperature, without further need of a stabilising treatment. The KU Leuven scientists further managed to use the laser beam to rapidly micro-fabricate complex patterns of the dark FAPbI 3 state.
The researchers recently published their discovery in the high-impact nanotechnology journal ACS Nano (Steele et al. 2017).
"These findings are a big step forward in locally tailoring the structural, electrical, and optical properties of an important new class of materials and provides an avenue for making customised optical devices, all on demand."
More information: Direct Laser Writing of δ- to α-Phase Transformation in Formamidinium Lead Iodide"; Julian A. Steele, Haifeng Yuan, Collin Y. X. Tan, Masoumeh Keshavarz, Christian Steuwe, Maarten B. J. Roeffaers, and Johan Hofkens, ACS Nano, 2017, 11 (8), pp 8072–8083, pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.7b02777 Journal information: ACS Nano |
77 percent of Medicare members have used digital health tools | According to a new survey of 500 Medicare plan members, 77 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have used digital health tools. Yet just nine percent of respondents indicated that their health plan integrated data from those tools.
| http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/survey-77-percent-medicare-members-have-used-digital-health-tools | 2017-10-03 09:11:39.937000 | According to a new survey of 500 Medicare plan members, 77 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have used digital health tools. Yet just nine percent of respondents indicated that their health plan integrated data from those tools.
Looking specifically at the 70 percent of beneficiaries with one or more chronic conditions, just eight percent said digital health tool data was used by their health plan.
But according to Healthmine CEO Bryce Williams, the data is more reflective of poor communication to members than it is of slow digital adoption.
"Actual health plan data shows that more Medicare members have connected digital health tools than this data indicates," he said in a statement. "This survey data are the perceptions of plan members. It indicates that plans can improve communication with members, so members know that their plan is connected to digital tools."
Healthmine also asked those surveyed what sorts of tools in particular they had used. The most-used device by a wide margin was the connected blood pressure monitor, which 49 percent of respondents said they had used. Eighteen percent had used a glucometer and 17 percent had used an activity tracker.
The other tools asked about were electronic medical records, medication adherence tracking tools, heart rate monitors, food and nutrition trackers, and sleep monitors. All of those were reportedly used by less than 10 percent of those surveyed.
Outside of Medicare, HealthMine asked the same questions in a separate 750-person survey of private plan users. They found that 83 percent had used digital health tools and 22 percent thought their health plan was integrating or utilizing that data.
Last month, HealthMine released additional data from the 500-person Medicare survey around telemedicine adoption; they found that 57 percent of seniors told HealthMine they didn’t know whether their plan offered telemedicine, 31 percent said they were sure their plan didn’t, and just 12 percent offered an unqualified affirmative. |
How the Elderly Lose Their Rights | For years, Rudy North woke up at 9 a.m. and read the Las Vegas Review-Journal while eating a piece of toast. Then he read a novel—he liked James Patterson and Clive Cussler—or, if he was feeling more ambitious, Freud. On scraps of paper and legal notepads, he jotted down thoughts sparked by his reading.
| https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/09/how-the-elderly-lose-their-rights | 2017-10-03 09:11:08.777000 | For years, Rudy North woke up at 9 A.M. and read the Las Vegas Review-Journal while eating a piece of toast. Then he read a novel—he liked James Patterson and Clive Cussler—or, if he was feeling more ambitious, Freud. On scraps of paper and legal notepads, he jotted down thoughts sparked by his reading. “Deep below the rational part of our brain is an underground ocean where strange things swim,” he wrote on one notepad. On another, “Life: the longer it cooks, the better it tastes.”
Rennie, his wife of fifty-seven years, was slower to rise. She was recovering from lymphoma and suffered from neuropathy so severe that her legs felt like sausages. Each morning, she spent nearly an hour in the bathroom applying makeup and lotions, the same brands she’d used for forty years. She always emerged wearing pale-pink lipstick. Rudy, who was prone to grandiosity, liked to refer to her as “my amour.”
On the Friday before Labor Day, 2013, the Norths had just finished their toast when a nurse, who visited five times a week to help Rennie bathe and dress, came to their house, in Sun City Aliante, an “active adult” community in Las Vegas. They had moved there in 2005, when Rudy, a retired consultant for broadcasters, was sixty-eight and Rennie was sixty-six. They took pride in their view of the golf course, though neither of them played golf.
Rudy chatted with the nurse in the kitchen for twenty minutes, joking about marriage and laundry, until there was a knock at the door. A stocky woman with shiny black hair introduced herself as April Parks, the owner of the company A Private Professional Guardian. She was accompanied by three colleagues, who didn’t give their names. Parks told the Norths that she had an order from the Clark County Family Court to “remove” them from their home. She would be taking them to an assisted-living facility. “Go and gather your things,” she said.
Rennie began crying. “This is my home,” she said.
One of Parks’s colleagues said that if the Norths didn’t comply he would call the police. Rudy remembers thinking, You’re going to put my wife and me in jail for this? But he felt too confused to argue.
Parks drove a Pontiac G-6 convertible with a license plate that read “CRTGRDN,” for “court guardian.” In the past twelve years, she had been a guardian for some four hundred wards of the court. Owing to age or disability, they had been deemed incompetent, a legal term that describes those who are unable to make reasoned choices about their lives or their property. As their guardian, Parks had the authority to manage their assets, and to choose where they lived, whom they associated with, and what medical treatment they received. They lost nearly all their civil rights.
Without realizing it, the Norths had become temporary wards of the court. Parks had filed an emergency ex-parte petition, which provides an exception to the rule that both parties must be notified of any argument before a judge. She had alleged that the Norths posed a “substantial risk for mismanagement of medications, financial loss and physical harm.” She submitted a brief letter from a physician’s assistant, whom Rennie had seen once, stating that “the patient’s husband can no longer effectively take care of the patient at home as his dementia is progressing.” She also submitted a letter from one of Rudy’s doctors, who described him as “confused and agitated.”
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Rudy and Rennie had not undergone any cognitive assessments. They had never received a diagnosis of dementia. In addition to Freud, Rudy was working his way through Nietzsche and Plato. Rennie read romance novels.
Parks told the Norths that if they didn’t come willingly an ambulance would take them to the facility, a place she described as a “respite.” Still crying, Rennie put cosmetics and some clothes into a suitcase. She packed so quickly that she forgot her cell phone and Rudy’s hearing aid. After thirty-five minutes, Parks’s assistant led the Norths to her car. When a neighbor asked what was happening, Rudy told him, “We’ll just be gone for a little bit.” He was too proud to draw attention to their predicament. “Just think of it as a mini-vacation,” he told Rennie.
After the Norths left, Parks walked through the house with Cindy Breck, the owner of Caring Transitions, a company that relocates seniors and sells their belongings at estate sales. Breck and Parks had a routine. “We open drawers,” Parks said at a deposition. “We look in closets. We pull out boxes, anything that would store—that would keep paperwork, would keep valuables.” She took a pocket watch, birth certificates, insurance policies, and several collectible coins.
The Norths’ daughter, Julie Belshe, came to visit later that afternoon. A fifty-three-year-old mother of three sons, she and her husband run a small business designing and constructing pools. She lived ten miles away and visited her parents nearly every day, often taking them to her youngest son’s football games. She was her parents’ only living child; her brother and sister had died.
She knocked on the front door several times and then tried to push the door open, but it was locked. She was surprised to see the kitchen window closed; her parents always left it slightly open. She drove to the Sun City Aliante clubhouse, where her parents sometimes drank coffee. When she couldn’t find them there, she thought that perhaps they had gone on an errand together—the farthest they usually drove was to Costco. But, when she returned to the house, it was still empty.
That weekend, she called her parents several times. She also called two hospitals to see if they had been in an accident. She called their landlord, too, and he agreed to visit the house. He reported that there were no signs of them. She told her husband, “I think someone kidnapped my parents.”
On the Tuesday after Labor Day, she drove to the house again and found a note taped to the door: “In case of emergency, contact guardian April Parks.” Belshe dialled the number. Parks, who had a brisk, girlish way of speaking, told Belshe that her parents had been taken to Lakeview Terrace, an assisted-living facility in Boulder City, nine miles from the Arizona border. She assured Belshe that the staff there would take care of all their needs.
“You can’t just walk into somebody’s home and take them!” Belshe told her.
Parks responded calmly, “It’s legal. It’s legal.”
Guardianship derives from the state’s parens patriae power, its duty to act as a parent for those considered too vulnerable to care for themselves. “The King shall have the custody of the lands of natural fools, taking the profits of them without waste or destruction, and shall find them their necessaries,” reads the English statute De Prerogative Regis, from 1324. The law was imported to the colonies—guardianship is still controlled by state, not federal, law—and has remained largely intact for the past eight hundred years. It establishes a relationship between ward and guardian that is rooted in trust.
In the United States, a million and a half adults are under the care of guardians, either family members or professionals, who control some two hundred and seventy-three billion dollars in assets, according to an auditor for the guardianship fraud program in Palm Beach County. Little is known about the outcome of these arrangements, because states do not keep complete figures on guardianship cases—statutes vary widely—and, in most jurisdictions, the court records are sealed. A Government Accountability report from 2010 said, “We could not locate a single Web site, federal agency, state or local entity, or any other organization that compiles comprehensive information on this issue.” A study published this year by the American Bar Association found that “an unknown number of adults languish under guardianship” when they no longer need it, or never did. The authors wrote that “guardianship is generally “permanent, leaving no way out—‘until death do us part.’ ”
When the Norths were removed from their home, they joined nearly nine thousand adult wards in the Las Vegas Valley. In the past twenty years, the city has promoted itself as a retirement paradise. Attracted by the state’s low taxes and a dry, sunny climate, elderly people leave their families behind to resettle in newly constructed senior communities. “The whole town sparkled, pulling older people in with the prospect of the American Dream at a reasonable price,” a former real-estate agent named Terry Williams told me. Roughly thirty per cent of the people who move to Las Vegas are senior citizens, and the number of Nevadans older than eighty-five has risen by nearly eighty per cent in the past decade.
In Nevada, as in many states, anyone can become a guardian by taking a course, as long as he or she has not been convicted of a felony or recently declared bankruptcy. Elizabeth Brickfield, a Las Vegas lawyer who has worked in guardianship law for twenty years, said that about fifteen years ago, as the state’s elderly population swelled, “all these private guardians started arriving, and the docket exploded. The court became a factory.”
Pamela Teaster, the director of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech and one of the few scholars in the country who study guardianship, told me that, though most guardians assume their duties for good reasons, the guardianship system is “a morass, a total mess.” She said, “It is unconscionable that we don’t have any data, when you think about the vast power given to a guardian. It is one of society’s most drastic interventions.”
After talking to Parks, Belshe drove forty miles to Lakeview Terrace, a complex of stucco buildings designed to look like a hacienda. She found her parents in a small room with a kitchenette and a window overlooking the parking lot. Rennie was in a wheelchair beside the bed, and Rudy was curled up on a love seat in the fetal position. There was no phone in the room. Medical-alert buttons were strung around their necks. “They were like two lost children,” Belshe said.
“If we can’t find all the ingredients, we’ll just make something horrible.” Copy link to cartoon Copy link to cartoon Shop Shop
She asked her parents who Parks was and where she could find the court order, but, she said, “they were overwhelmed and humiliated, and they didn’t know what was going on.” They had no idea how or why Parks had targeted them as wards. Belshe was struck by their passive acceptance. “It was like they had Stockholm syndrome or something,” she told me.
Belshe acknowledged that her parents needed a few hours of help each day, but she had never questioned their ability to live alone. “They always kept their house really nice and clean, like a museum,” she said. Although Rudy’s medical records showed that he occasionally had “staring spells,” all his medical-progress notes from 2013 described him as alert and oriented. He did most of the couple’s cooking and shopping, because Rennie, though lucid, was in so much pain that she rarely left the house. Belshe sometimes worried that her father inadvertently encouraged her mother to be docile: “She’s a very smart woman, though she sometimes acts like she’s not. I have to tell her, ‘That’s not cute, Mom.’ ”
When Belshe called Parks to ask for the court order, Parks told her that she was part of the “sandwich generation,” and that it would be too overwhelming for her to continue to care for her children and her parents at the same time. Parks billed her wards’ estates for each hour that she spent on their case; the court placed no limits on guardians’ fees, as long as they appeared “reasonable.” Later, when Belshe called again to express her anger, Parks charged the Norths twenty-four dollars for the eight-minute conversation. “I could not understand what the purpose of the call was other than she wanted me to know they had rights,” Parks wrote in a detailed invoice. “I terminated the phone call as she was very hostile and angry.”
A month after removing the Norths from their house, Parks petitioned to make the guardianship permanent. She was represented by an attorney who was paid four hundred dollars an hour by the Norths’ estate. A hearing was held at Clark County Family Court.
The Clark County guardianship commissioner, a lawyer named Jon Norheim, has presided over nearly all the guardianship cases in the county since 2005. He works under the supervision of a judge, but his orders have the weight of a formal ruling. Norheim awarded a guardianship to Parks, on average, nearly once a week. She had up to a hundred wards at a time. “I love April Parks,” he said at one hearing, describing her and two other professional guardians, who frequently appeared in his courtroom, as “wonderful, good-hearted, social-worker types.” |
Ways to prepare your home for aging in place | Most adults want to grow old in the home they live in now and not in a nursing home or assisted living facility. A 2016 HomeAdvisor study found 61 percent of people over the age of 55 plan to stay in their homes indefinitely. Older adults, or their child
| http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/real-estate/sd-me-successful-retrofit-20170908-story.html | 2017-10-03 09:09:51.813000 | Most adults want to grow old in the home they live in now and not in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
A 2016 HomeAdvisor study found 61 percent of people over the age of 55 plan to stay in their homes indefinitely.
Older adults, or their children, looking to modify a home for aging in place can expect the process to get expensive — but there are lower-cost options to get started.
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While doing most things listed in this article would cost a minimum of $75,000, research by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said making modifications to stay in one’s home could be significantly cheaper than moving into assisted living.
Experts say the first place to start is the bathroom, followed by the front door.
Here are a few things you can do to prepare to age in place.
Bathroom grab bars
One of the most basic additions to an aging adult’s house is usually the first thing to put in. Grab bars near a toilet or shower can assist in getting from a wheelchair to the toilet or can prevent a slip. All Home Medical Supply, based in San Diego, sells simple wall grab bars for $15 to $24. Security poles, which connect to the floor and attach to the ceiling, range from $169 to $209.
Nonslip flooring
More than one-third of older adults injure themselves in the bathroom, says AARP, making nonslip flooring a priority for many aging-in-place remodelers. Slip-resistant rugs can run $10 to $15 a piece, and rubber flooring options are typically less than $3 per square foot, said AARP.
Shower design
In addition to nonslip flooring, showers can be modified to include a seat (or shower stool), grab bar and handheld shower head. Ideally, the shower should have a low threshold for easy access. There are hundreds of shower seats on the market, but the most basic stool with suction cups and adjustable legs is around $40.
Walk-in bathtubs
Walk-in tubs are designed to prevent slips and to help people who have difficulty getting in and out of normal tubs or showers. Costs range from $15,000 to $35,000, said Safe Step San Diego sales representative Brady Kosen. Why is it so pricey? Sometimes plumbing needs to be redone or an entire section of the bathroom needs to be rebuilt to accommodate the tub.
Toilet riser
Common additions are toilet safety frames, which allow the user to lower themselves onto the seat, and toilet seat risers that reduce the distance the user needs to bend down. Seat risers can cost as little as $24 at Walgreens and there are toilet safety rails for $20 on Amazon.
Widened doorways
Wider doorways make it easier for occupants in a wheelchair to move around the house, but wider doorways are also popular with home remodelers because they make homes look bigger. Much of the cost will likely come from labor, although there are many do-it-yourself guides on the Internet. The online Remodel Cost Guide estimates $75 to $500 for materials. In general, remodelers recommend 36-inch-wide doorways.
Outside ramp
An outside ramp helps occupants in a wheelchair, or those with other walking challenges, get into their home. Materials for the project can cost from $500 to $2,000, said the Remodel Cost Guide. A simple steel ramp is also an option for homes that only have a small porch. Susan Mack of Homes for Easy Living in Murrieta suggests a subtle design that will not alert potential criminals that there is someone in the house who may be vulnerable to easy theft.
Stair lift
Ensuring a house with several floors doesn’t become a trap, several companies offer mechanical chairs that attach to stairwells and securely transport someone up a floor. Carlsbad’s Access to Freedom sells Stannah brand chairs that go straight up the stairs ($2,500 to $4,100), a version for curved stairs ($11,200 to $16,500) and for outdoor stairs ($5,500 to $6,000). It also has a rental program that, for $1,895, will put in a straight-line chair and remove it after three months.
Kitchen remodel
Aging-in-place experts say the most important room to remodel is the bathroom, but after that, the kitchen is a good place to start. Anne Kellett, owner of San Diego-based A Kinder Space, said a low-end kitchen remodel could cost $45,000 but would be much more for a total makeover. Some changes include: Adjusting counter heights to make them easier to reach; adding more drawers than cabinets; arranging space so appliances are easier to reach; and using different colors throughout the house — using a different color on flooring, walls and cabinets — to help those with depth-perception issues. Kellett said some changes are simple, such as putting dishes right next to the dishwasher.
Wheelchair accessible sink
When washing dishes or using a bathroom sink, it helps to have one that people in wheelchairs can roll under. It can be a simple job to install, compared to other aging-in-place projects, but can get expensive if an individual is looking for a top-of-the line product. Kohler sells enameled cast iron sinks for around $1,129. Swedish company Granberg sells an electronically raised and lowered wash basin so different members of a household can use it. (No price provided. You have to call the company for a quote.)
Lighting
Older adults may need stronger lighting, or dim lighting, depending on their eyes and vision. Additionally, it can be helpful to install motion-sensor lights for those with limited movement, says the AARP HomeFit Guide. It suggests increasing lighting on stairs and pathways, which can be done cheaply with nightlights. Other suggestions include light switches that glow in the dark, lighting over work areas in the kitchen, lights in places that might not already have them (like closets) and halogen bulbs to reduce glare.
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Australian student accommodation yields to fall as class matures | Yields on Australian purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) are predicted fall into line with core property markets as the class matures. In the past year, only one transaction of more than AUD400m ($311m) has been completed due to the lack of available assets. But Noral Wild, head of social infrastructure at JLL, predicted that transactions will increase over the next three years as PBSA assets complete building, start operations and stabilise occupancy. Wild said PBSA yields would fall towards those in the office sector, estimated to be about 5.5% in 2020.
| http://www.afr.com/real-estate/student-digs-yields-to-tighten-as-sector-matures-jll-20171002-gyslvf | 2017-10-03 09:07:34.483000 | "It is at this stage that the assets offer the greatest attraction to investors who seek stabilised assets with lower occupancy risk and a proven operational platform.
"As such, we expect to see PBSA yields continue to sharpen over the next three years of the development and operational cycle to levels equivalent to office sector yields, anticipated to be around 5.5 per cent in 2020."
Sydney and Melbourne will have the sharpest yields on student dorms, ranging between 5.5 per cent and 6.25 per cent, according to JLL.
Yields in Adelaide and Brisbane are forecast to fall between 6.75 per cent and 7.25 per cent.
Performance
Among the factors the JLL analysis considered is the performance of the PBSA sector in other countries – including Europe, Britain and the United States – where it is regarded as a sustainable investment-grade asset class.
"Initially, PBSA yields offered a premium of around 25 to 100 basis points," Ms Wild said.
"But a trend is emerging showing PBSA yields coming more into line with core property markets."
A wave of development is under way in Australia, with players including Scape Student Living, Blue Sky Private Real Estate and its joint-venture partner Goldman Sachs, Dubai-based student accommodation provider GSA and South Africa's Redefine Properties all pursuing major projects.
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Era of ultra-low UK mortgages rates predicted to be nearly over | The Bank of England has hinted that the cheapest ever mortgage rates of 1.55% or lower may soon be about to go up. However, lenders are continuing to offer competitive low-rate deals. Recently released minutes from September’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting at the Bank prompted analysts to suggest that a rise in interest rates may not be far off, and some lenders have already raised their rates. Research firm Capital Economics has predicted that the average mortgage rate will be above 3% by the close of 2019. The firm's Ed Stansfield said: "By the end of 2019 we expect Bank rate to sit at 1.75%." | http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-4926380/Fix-mortgage-1-55-FIVE-years.html | 2017-10-03 09:02:09.213000 | Mortgage rates have never been lower but repeated warnings of an imminent interest rate rise from the Bank of England are likely to push them up - and soon.
Experts are warning homeowners to lock in to rock-bottom rates sooner rather than later, with research firm Capital Economics forecasting the average rate will be back above 3 per cent by the end of 2019.
At the moment, it's still possible to fix below 1 per cent for two years if you have a sizeable deposit; five-year fixed rates come as cheap as 1.55 per cent.
Lenders are continuing to offer fiercely competitive mortgage deals but it may not last
For now, lenders are continuing to offer fiercely competitive deals with Yorkshire Building Society launching a new best buy rate of 1.55 per cent last week, with a £1,495 fee for both remortgage customers and home buyers who have a 35 per cent deposit or equity stake.
The society has also launched a best buy 0.99 per cent two-year fixed-rate mortgage for borrowers with up to a 25 per cent deposit with a £1,495 fee and free standard valuation.
However, it's pulling the 0.99 per cent two-year fix for those with just a 20 per cent deposit that was first offered through the lender's broker arm, Accord Mortgages, just 10 days ago.
Santander has launched a new two-year fixed-rate mortgage, priced at 1.74 per cent for those borrowing up to £550,000 at 85 per cent loan-to-value with no product fee.
And Leeds Building Society has also reviewed its range and now offers a two-year fixed rate at 1.55 per cent for those borrowing up to £500,000 at 65 per cent loan-to-value with a £999 fee.
But rock-bottom rates may not be around much longer. Minutes from September’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting struck an increasingly hawkish note, prompting some economists to forecast a rise in Bank rate at November’s meeting.
Repeated hints to this effect from Bank of England governor Mark Carney have already started to push up funding costs for mortgage lenders.
Two and five-year swap rates, an important determinant of mortgage pricing, have jumped by roughly 30 basis points since the minutes were released.
It has already prompted some lenders to raise rates.
Nationwide hiked its two-year fixed rates by 0.25 percentage points across 60 per cent and 75 per cent loan-to-values and 0.1 percentage points at 80 and 85 per cent LTVs this week, while Skipton Building Society confirmed its rates are set to rise soon.
Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, said: 'By the end of 2019 we expect Bank rate to sit at 1.75 per cent. Accordingly, it seems almost certain that mortgage interest rates are now approaching a turning point.' |
Trriple mobile wallet to cash in on $19bn UAE remittance market | United Arab Emirates (UAE) start-up Trriple will launch its mobile wallet service during this year's GITEX Technology Week event in Dubai. The company is targeting the large number of expats in the UAE who spend an estimated average of AED6,000 ($1,633) per year to transfer $19bn overseas, aiming to make the process faster and more secure. The mobile wallet can connect with any point of sale, bank or other Trriple user and supports peer-to-peer transfers, payment for goods and services as well as cross-border transactions. | https://arabianmarketer.ae/tripple-to-launch-mobile-wallet-service-for-remittance/ | 2017-10-03 09:00:23.523000 | With a booming economy and an expat population of about 90 per cent, the UAE is one of the world’s largest remittance-sending countries in the world, topping USD 19 billion per year, according to a recent report by Nimmök Consulting. The World Bank has ranked the UAE among the top 10 countries for outward remittance to emerging markets.
However, the process of remitting funds outside the UAE can be incredibly inconvenient for the average UAE resident, according to the UAE-based financial technology start-up Trriple. Recently, Guardian Wealth Management, on online currency trading firm estimated that the average expatriate in the UAE spends an average of Dh6,000 per year on money transfers, besides enduring long queues resulting in loss of several man-hours per year.
Addressing this issue, a new mobile wallet service is set to launch during Gitex, which has been developed by digital payments enabler Trriple.
As an open platform, Trriple’s mobile wallet can connect to any bank, Trriple user, or Point of Sale (POS), which essentially means that Tripple’s mobile wallet can receive funds directly from bank account, from other Trriple users, or from the merchants where user can provide the cash to the merchant to get funds in his/her wallet. As a result, Trriple users can make peer-to-peer transfers, top up their mobile credit on du or Etisalat networks, pay for goods at merchants and send cross-border remittances using Trriple mobile wallet.
“UAE residents sending remittances no longer want to stand in long queues holding cash, pay high fees, or wait days for transfers to clear. A mobile wallet and digital payments can cut through the delays, and enable people to send money instantly, securely, and from the convenience of their mobile devices,” said Paolo Gagliardi, Chief Executive Officer, Trriple.
“GITEX Technology Week is an ideal global platform for Trriple to demonstrate how digital payments platform can enable the UAE’s and the region’s cashless economy, helping the government, merchants, and consumers save time and money. At GITEX, Trriple aims to expand our investor and channel partner ecosystem to fuel our growth,” added Mr Gagliardi. |
Robot learns martial arts nunchuck skill as if it was human | Researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology have taught a robot how to use a pair of nunchucks in just a few hours via a more human, intuitive approach. Researchers built a bionic hand and motion-capture glove. They then used an approach whereby the teacher first explained the nunchucks trick step by step, using an intuitive symbolic flow chart. The teacher then demonstrated the trick, evaluating his own performance after each attempt. This created data the robot could learn from as well as use for criteria for self-evaluation as it practised. | http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/watch-robot-use-nunchucks-after-learning-human-student-would | 2017-10-03 08:51:25.617000 | In an era of heightened fears about killer robots, teaching them martial arts may seem unwise. But researchers have now shown a robot how to flip nunchucks to demonstrate an intuitive approach for teaching complex manual tasks. The group built a bionic hand and a motion-capture glove that can be used to teach the robot by demonstration, a popular method for skills requiring dexterity. But that's like learning from a silent teacher, the engineers say in research uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, so they devised an approach closer to how humans are taught. First, the teacher explains each step of the trick using an intuitive symbolic flow chart called a Petri net. Then, they demonstrate the trick and evaluate their own performance after every attempt, creating data the robot uses to learn the movements required at each step and develop criteria for self-evaluation as it practices. It took the robot a matter of hours to learn how to spin the nunchuck around the back of its hand and catch it again. But the approach is not task-specific, so the researchers say it could help teach all kinds of complex, dynamic motor skills now beyond robots, particularly those dealing with partly soft, partly rigid objects. That could include assembling car interiors or fruit picking. Or more advanced nunchuck tricks, of course. |
Tesla is overvalued, says Danish environmental investment fund | Copenhagen-based Nordea Global Climate and Environmental Fund has taken a negative view of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla's prospects, saying that the firm is overvalued and it saw no upside. "What's needed in cash flow generation to get to the current valuation. We don't see that happening," said fund manager Thomas Sorensen. Instead, he said the fund, which has outperformed 97% of its peers over the past five years, was focusing on "mid-cap companies with a unique solution, unique product that can be taken global. That's our sweet spot." Tesla's share price has risen by 60% this year.
| http://www.afr.com/technology/tesla-is-overvalued-says-nordea-global-climate-fund-20171003-gytrtk | 2017-10-03 08:45:18.053000 | Tesla is overvalued, according to a climate fund that has beaten 97 percent of its peers.
"We don't see upside," Thomas Sorensen, who manages the Nordea Global Climate and Environmental Fund, said by phone on Thursday. "What's needed in cash flow generation to get to the current valuation -- we don't see that happening."
With more and more climate-friendly products and services coming to market, investors are having a hard time valuing new technology. Tesla's 60 percent share rise so far this year is testament to investor enthusiasm even as it reported losses in both the first and second quarter.
"We don't see upside," Thomas Sorensen, who manages the Nordea Global Climate and Environmental Fund. AP
But the turmoil created by the electric car's rise that roiled traditional carmakers now means greater risk for all manufacturers.
"It's going to be a race to the bottom for the whole industry," he said. "In this big transition period, it's very tough to point out the winners and the overall profitability of the sector. The risks are too high." |
China closes gap on US creation of billion-dollar unicorns | China is fast catching up with the US as a global provider of billion-dollar unicorns, Scenic Advisement said. A dozen of the 33 that emerged this year were created in China as a flood of private capital increased start-up valuations globally and as China's economy matures. The trend is being hastened by greater numbers of Chinese overseas students returning home after their studies. China's tally passed Europe's in 2015. Although Silicon Valley remains the primary area for global top tech talent and where people are most willing to fund risky ideas, rising house prices and salaries are encouraging serial entrepreneurs to create start-ups further afield.
| https://qz.com/1088945/one-in-three-unicorns-is-now-being-born-in-china/ | 2017-10-03 08:33:36.170000 | In 2010, almost every new billion dollar company that entered the market called US or Europe home. Times are changing.
China is now closing the gap with the US (and rocketed past Europe in 2015) when it comes to minting new $1 billion startups, reports the investment advisory firm Scenic Advisement which analyzed financing data from CB Insights.
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So far this year, 12 of the 33 such companies created around the world are in China. That’s the latest milestone in a long-term trend. More than a quarter of new unicorns have been created in China since 2010. The rise comes as a flood of private capital has lifted startup valuations around the world, and China’s economy begins to mature (paywall) into a more advanced service economy.
It’s too soon to know the “true” value of many of these companies. While flush with venture capital, only a few have faced the scrutiny of public investors.
But the trend is clear. The number of new billion-dollar startups in China is now tracking their counterparts in the US quite closely: 34 unicorns have arrived in China since mid- 2015 compared to 39 in the US. Although the US still holds an advantage in the total number of such companies (it’s home to 100 unicorns created in the US since 2010, compared to 56 in China), the advantage may fade.
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That bi-polar world has already arrived, says Duncan Logan, CEO of the global technology accelerator RocketSpace, citing Tencent (versus Google), Didi (versus Uber) and WeChat (versus Facebook). China has shown a willingness to shut out foreign competitors, and its economy has roared along with 7% GDP growth in recent years, compared to 1% to 2.5% growth in the US. The country is on track to become the world’s largest economy by 2030 or sooner. It also has an unrivaled set of local markets for startups: The US has 11 cities with more than a million people, while China has more than 100.
Silicon Valley remains the center of the world’s top technical talent, capital, and people willing to fund risky ideas, but soaring housing prices and salaries in the Bay Area are leading companies to leave for less expensive cities. Chinese nationals studying abroad are now returning to China in greater numbers, reports The San Francisco Chronicle, citing the hostile environment in the US and opportunities back home. Last year, 432,500 of this returning cohort, known in Chinese as haigui or sea turtles, made the trek back home, an increase of 58% over 2012.
“You’re starting to see serial entrepreneurs move out of the Valley and go to other cities and try to hire people and start up something elsewhere,” says Veronica Wu, managing director of Hone Capital who has helped set up operations for Motorola, Tesla, and Apple in China. “I definitely think it’s a threat, but right now [Silicon Valley] is still hard to replicate anywhere else.”
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Correction: A previous version of this post referred to Hone Ventures. It is Hone Capital. |
Wison launches floating tower for medium-depth platforms | Chinese engineering firm Wison Offshore and Marine has developed a new way to recover oil and gas in shallow and medium-depth waters. The Buoyant Tower is scalable for topsides up to 10,000 tonnes, includes up to 10,000-30,000 tonnes of dry storage at a water depth of 300 metres and can be used for most exploration and production operations. | http://www.scandoil.com/moxie-bm2/news/technology_news/wison-launches-new-buoyant-tower-solutions-with-st.shtml | 2017-10-03 08:16:11.353000 | Edit page New page Hide edit links
The overall effect diagram of New Buoyant Tower solution with storage (illustration: Wison)
Wison Offshore & Marine has announced that the company has developed a new Buoyant Tower solution with condensate or oil storage, adopting Wison’s proprietary Buoyant Tower technology. This innovative floating concept provides a new economic and reliable option for the oil and gas development in the shallow to medium-depth waters.
Originally invented by Ed Horton and Lyle Finn, the Buoyant Tower technology was first applied to BPZ CX-15 project offshore Peru when both Ed and Lyle worked for Horton Wison Deepwater Inc. (HWD), now renamed as Wison Offshore Technology Inc. with 130+ patents originated by Ed Horton and his fellows transferred from HWD. Since its delivery from Wison’s Nantong Yard in August 2012, the CX-15 platform has been in stable operation.
The Buoyant Tower is a self-installed floater. The concept eliminates the costly T&I process needed for conventional jackets. In addition, with some greater water depth, more savings could be expected as its weight (hence the cost) is insensitive to the water depth. For example, at a water depth of 150 metres, EPC of a buoyant tower might cost as much as 50% less of that for a jacket. Now with the add-on storage capability, a buoyant tower solution presents more economic advantages compared to a traditional “Jacket + FSO” or “Jacket + Export Oil Line” solution due to the cost elimination of an FSO or an export oil line.
The new Buoyant Tower solution is flexible and scalable for topsides up to 10,000 tonnes, with ~10,000-30,000 tonnes of dry storage for condensate or oil, at a water depth up to 300 metres.
The configuration of the hull has been designed to accommodate the storage tank (hard tank) in the center while the surrounding ballast tanks remain balanced with hydrostatic pressure. The buoyant tanks near the water surface coupled with the solid ballast at the bottom provide the Buoyant Tower with permanent stability. The anti-rotation design of the SCF (suction can foundation) can provide further in-place stability. The analysis has shown that the tower demonstrates excellent motion performance at greater water depth.
“The buoyant tower is a compliant structure with very long eigen period. Within its application limits, the tower works better in deeper water. This prevents the platform from resonant motions in severe wave conditions. Therefore, a Buoyant Tower can support most E&P operations such as drilling, production (dry tree), gas compression or treatment, crude stabilisation, water treatment or injection, power generation and other utility purposes” says Dr Weimin CHEN, Senior Solutions Director of Wison Offshore and Marine.
Ying CUI, Chief Executive Officer of Wison Offshore & Marine says, “While further building up our position as a leading floating LNG and power solutions provider, Wison is also dedicated to developing more innovative solutions for the offshore upstream industry with our proprietary technologies. The launch of new Buoyant Tower solution would demonstrate our commitment to help oil & gas operators adapt to the low oil price environment by offering economical alternatives.” |
Boxed to sell best ad space through real-time auctions | Retail platform Boxed will pit advertiser against advertiser in real time auctions for the best ad space on the wholesaler's website. It's seeking to boost revenue from its list of advertisers, who are attracted to the site by the longer times shoppers spend browsing its pages compared with rivals. As a "virtual warehouse", shoppers remain on the site for 15 to 20 minutes, giving Boxed more opportunity to target them with ads. It's one way the start-up hopes to challenge Amazon and other e-commerce giants such as Walmart's Jet.com. | http://www.adweek.com/digital/boxed-is-looking-to-challenge-amazon-and-cash-in-on-the-ecommerce-ad-exchange-boom/ | 2017-10-03 08:04:24.747000 | This month, shoppers looking to stock up on Halloween candy can buy 160 mini chocolate bars for a mere $16 on ecommerce site Boxed. And starting this week, the confectionery marketers looking to target them with ads can virtually jostle for position like trick-or-treaters searching for the last Snickers in a plastic cauldron. |
Nissan to recall 1.2 million cars in Japan over safety faults | Japanese automaker Nissan will recall 1.2 million new cars it sold in Japan over the last three years, following the discovery that final vehicle inspections were not performed by authorised technicians, failing to meet domestic requirements. The recall is expected to cost roughly $220m. Shares in Nissan fell by 5% following the announcement. "We must take the registration framework and procedures seriously, regardless of how busy we may be or how short-staffed we may be", said Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa. | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/nissan-recall-cars-japan-1-million-safety-inspection-manufacturer-a7978176.html | 2017-10-03 08:00:02.640000 | For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
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Nissan has announced that it is recalling just over 1.2 million vehicles in Japan that do not meet domestic requirements for final inspection.
Earlier in the day, shares in the Japanese car giant fell dramatically, after it announced at the end of last week that it had released thousands of vehicles onto the Japanese market that had not been subjected to comprehensive safety checks.
It later said that approximately 1.21 million units produced between October 2014 and September 2017 would be subject to re-inspection.
“Nissan regrets any inconvenience and concern this has caused to its valued customers in Japan," the carmaker said, adding that it was "taking proactive action to resolve this matter". |
Lancaster University team develops gesture controller for TVs | Researchers from Lancaster University have developed software, called "Matchpoint", which allows gesture control of TVs and computers. The technique removes the need to train the controller to identify a specific body part, or to teach the user specific gesture commands for specific functions. The software uses a standard web cam to detect any movement in the visual field, looking specifically for patterns that match the movement of on-screen targets, which are attached to specific functions like adjusting the volume or changing the channel. The camera will pick up any movement, including the rotation of a coffee cup or the waving of a pencil.
| https://techxplore.com/news/2017-10-gesture-tech-tv-remote.html | 2017-10-03 07:41:35.397000 | Targets in the corner of a TV screen. Each target rotates around its corresponding function. The user matches the rotational movement with any object, or part of their body, to create a coupling and active the control. Credit: Lancaster University
Imagine changing the channel of your TV simply by moving your cup of tea, adjusting the volume on a music player by rolling a toy car, or rotating a spatula to pause a cookery video on your tablet.
New gesture control technology that can turn everyday objects into remote controls could revolutionise how we interact with televisions, and other screens - ending frustrating searches for remotes that have slipped down the side of sofa cushions.
In a paper - 'Matchpoint: Spontaneous spatial coupling of body movement for touchless pointing' - which will be presented at the UIST2017 conference in Quebec City this October, researchers from Lancaster University show a novel technique that allows body movement, or movement of objects, to be used to interact with screens.
The 'Matchpoint' technology, which only requires a simple webcam, works by displaying moving targets that orbit a small circular widget in the corner of the screen. These targets correspond to different functions - such as volume, changing channel or viewing a menu. The user synchronises the direction of movement of the target, with their hand, head or an object, to achieve what researchers call 'spontaneous spatial coupling', which activates the desired function.
Unlike existing gesture control technology, the software does not look for a specific body part it has been trained to identify - such as a hand. Lancaster's technology looks for rotating movement so it doesn't require calibration, or the software to have prior knowledge of objects. This provides much more flexibility and ease for the user as it works even while hands are full, and while stood or slouching on the sofa.
Users also do not need to learn specific commands to activate different functions, as is the case with some gesture controlled televisions on the market, and the user is able to decouple at will.
When selecting volume adjustment or channel selection, sliders appear. The user moves their hand, head, or object, in the required direction indicated by the slider to change the volume or to find the desired channel.
Lancaster University researcher Christopher Clarke selects a channel to watch by using his mug as a remote control. He moves his drink left or right until finding the station he wants to watch. Credit: Lancaster University
As well as televisions, the technology can also be used with other screens. For example, YouTube tutorials, such as mending bikes or baking cakes, could be easily paused and rewound on tablet computers without users having to put down tools or mixing bowls.
Multiple pointers can be created to allow more than one user to point at drawings or pictures on interactive whiteboards simultaneously. Matchpoint also allows users to manipulate images on whiteboards by using two hands to zoom in and out, and rotate images.
In addition to short-term couplings, users can also link stationary objects to controls, which even when left for prolonged periods will retain their control function. For example, a mug sat on a table could change a track on a music player when moved left or right, and a rolling toy car could be used to adjust volume. Objects can lose their coupling with controls simply by removing them from the camera's field of view.
Christopher Clarke, PhD student at Lancaster University's School of Computing and Communications, and developer of the technology, said: "Spontaneous spatial coupling is a new approach to gesture control that works by matching movement instead of asking the computer to recognise a specific object.
"Our method allows for a much more user-friendly experience where you can change channels without having to put down your drink, or change your position, whether that is relaxing on the sofa or standing in the kitchen following a recipe.
"Everyday objects in the house can now easily become remote controls so there are no more frantic searches for remote controls when your favourite programme is about to start on another channel, and now everyone in the room has the 'remote'. You could even change the channel with your pet cat."
Researchers believe Matchpoint is also suitable to be used as an accessibility tool for people who are unable to use traditional pointers, such as remote controls and a mouse and keyboard.
More information: UIST 2017: 30th ACM User Interface Software and Technology Symposium, DOI: 10.1145/3126594.3126626 |
Facebook to hire 4,000 more people to review ads, remove material | Facebook is to hire 1,000 more ad reviewers to tackle future attempts to interfere in global elections, in response to alleged interference by Russian agents during the US presidential campaign. Facebook submitted data to Congress that it believed showed Russian operative bought 3,000 Facebook ads around the time of the elections, displaying a range of disruptive issues aimed at distorting US opinion. The firm will also invest in software to identify abuse and hire an addition 3,000 people to hasten the removal of inappropriate content. Plans to increase transparency, authenticity requirements, and establish industry standards are also noted. | https://www.siliconrepublic.com/companies/facebook-ad-targeting-russia-us-elections | 2017-10-03 07:22:44.043000 | Russians appeared to be following a timeworn but effective divide-and-conquer strategy.
Social network Facebook said it will hire 1,000 additional ad reviewers to crack down on future attempts to interfere with elections across the world.
The selection of divisive issues, ranging from racism to LGBTQ rights, by Russian operatives was perceived as a way to skew US sentiment in the lead-up to last November’s elections, Facebook has revealed.
‘Currency alone isn’t a good way of identifying suspicious activity because the overwhelming majority of advertisers who pay in Russian currency, like the overwhelming majority of people who access Facebook from Russia, aren’t doing anything wrong’
– ELLIOT SCHRAGE
The whole saga kicks a hornet’s nest of speculation about alleged collusion between the Trump camp and Russian interests.
Facebook said in recent weeks that it believed Russian agents bought 3,000 ads last year around the time of the US presidential elections. The company has submitted its data to Congress in a move that US president Donald Trump described as “anti-Trump”.
Facebook’s platform has more than 5m paying advertisers, making it difficult to enforce policies.
It intends to invest in software to flag abuse of its ad targeting platform, and will also hire 3,000 more people to speed up the removal of videos that show shocking material such as murders and suicide.
“Reviewing ads means assessing not just the content of an ad, but the context in which it was bought and the intended audience – so we’re changing our ads review system to pay more attention to these signals,” it said.
We can’t go on forever, with suspicious minds
Facebook’s vice-president of policy and communications, Elliot Schrage, said that an estimated 10m people in the US saw the ads and around 44pc of ad impressions were before the US election in November.
For 50pc of the ads, less than $3 was spent. No more than $1,000 was spent for 99pc of the ads.
Schrage said that despite a rigorous process that sees millions of ads reviewed each week and around 8m people reporting ads daily, the ad targeting system devised by Facebook can still be abused.
To this end, the company plans to strengthen enforcement, make its system more transparent, increase requirements for authenticity, and establish industry standards and best practices.
“Some of the ads were paid for in Russian currency,” Schrage said. “Currency alone isn’t a good way of identifying suspicious activity because the overwhelming majority of advertisers who pay in Russian currency, like the overwhelming majority of people who access Facebook from Russia, aren’t doing anything wrong. We did use this as a signal to help identify these ads but it wasn’t the only signal. We are continuing to refine our techniques for identifying the kinds of ads in question. We’re not going to disclose more details because we don’t want to give bad actors a roadmap for avoiding future detection.”
He said that the right to speak out on global issues that cross borders is an important principle, and that organisations such as UNICEF and Oxfam depend on the ability to communicate.
However, he said steps must be taken to prevent any possible abuse of the system or attempts to sow division.
“The threats we’re confronting are bigger than any one company, or even any one industry. The kind of malicious interference we’re seeing requires everyone working together, across business, government and civil society, to share information and arrive at the best responses.
“We have been working with many others in the technology industry, including with Google and Twitter, on a range of elements related to this investigation. We also have a long history of working together to fight online threats and develop best practices on other issues, such as child safety and counterterrorism. And we will continue all of this work,” Schrage said.
He added that Facebook cannot be used to undermine free speech, public debate or free and fair elections.
“The 2016 US election was the first where evidence has been widely reported that foreign actors sought to exploit the internet to influence voter behaviour.
“We understand more about how our service was abused and we will continue to investigate to learn all we can. We know that our experience is only a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Congress and the special counsel are best placed to put these pieces together because they have much broader investigative power to obtain information from other sources.” |
Allianz inks partnership with cyber risk specialist | Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has partnered with cyber risk expert Cyence to better understand cyber risks affecting its clients. The two firms will be working together in developing predictive modelling tools assessing business interruption caused by cyber breaches. Allianz also plans on leveraging the partnership to establish a digital distribution platform potentially providing automated cyber coverage for medium-sized businesses. | http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2017/09/27/465584.htm | 2017-10-03 07:17:39.717000 | Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS), Allianz Group’s specialist carrier for corporate insurance business, has teamed up with San Mateo, Calif.-based cyber risk analytics and modeling firm Cyence to boost its global cyber risk analysis capabilities.
Cyence’s cyber analytics platform will help AGCS boost its global cyber risk analysis capabilities, said AGCS in a statement. The partnership also will help AGCS better analyze cyber exposures for large business customers by creating a detailed understanding of their individual cyber risk profiles, quickly allowing the insurer to tailor coverage to fit specific customer profiles.
In a second initiative, AGCS plans to integrate Cyence’s cyber risk analytics into new digital distribution platforms that enable low-touch, automated underwriting of cyber policies for medium-size companies.
Both companies are also joining forces to develop a new predictive modeling tool for cyber-driven business interruption risks, AGCS added.
“We are moving our underwriting approach from hindsight to foresight,” explained AGCS Board Member Hartmut Mai as the rationale behind the cooperation with Cyence.
“The future of underwriting and practical risk management will be based on the intelligent use of technology and data,” said Mai.
Going forward, AGCS must complement its technical knowhow and experience “with extensive data-driven insight and predictive modeling if we want to keep ahead of new risks such as cyber, supply chain, or emerging liability exposures, Mai added.
Cyence reaches beyond the technical analysis of the IT security of a company into analyzing the human behavioral indicators and an organization’s processes to calibrate cyber risk, explained AGCS, noting that the Cyence platform spans from risk selection and assessment of individual companies to risk accumulation and catastrophic cyber risk scenarios and their potential impact.
AGCS previously announced a similar partnership with liability modeling specialist Praedicat, which focuses on analyzing big data to identify risk trends in liability.
Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Cyber |
VisualDx unveils dermatological diagnosis app for non-specialists | VisualDx's dermatology app VisualDx + Derm Expert has been made available on Apple's App Store. Aimed primarily at clinicians, the app uses deep learning to identify and offer additional information about a wide range of skin conditions, using a vast databank of images the company has spent 20 years collecting. Thanks to Apple's Core ML feature, the data is processed locally and doesn't violate the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The state of New York health tech firm is also working on a general app to help the public identify rashes and other skin conditions. | https://www.medgadget.com/2017/09/visualdx-derm-expert-deep-learning-app-help-diagnose-skin-conditions.html?utm_source=The+Medical+Futurist+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ee0698f62b-Newsletter_2014_07_177_17_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_efd6a3cd08-ee0698f62b-420576665 | 2017-10-03 07:13:05.500000 | When a person develops an unsightly skin condition, the first person to assess it is typically not a dermatologist. A lack of expertise in dermatology too often leads to misdiagnoses. General practice physicians, for example, get very little training on skin conditions. Now, thanks to a new feature inside the latest Apple iOS for iPhones and iPads, any physician can have access to an impressive image recognition platform that identifies skin conditions and recommends further actions. We spoke with Dr. Art Papier, CEO of VisualDx, about the VisualDx + Derm Expert app that the company is making available.
The new app is certainly not a dermatologist, but it relies on pretty impressive deep learning and vision algorithms to guide the physician closer to a diagnosis or a referral. Using the VisualDx + Derm Expert app, a clinician can simply take a photo of the area of the skin exhibiting something unusual, add additional related info about the patient including drugs taken and places recently traveled, and receive suggestions pointing to what the issue may be. The resulting differential diagnoses are also linked to more information about the diseases that may be causing the given condition.
The app works because it was taught what it knows using thousands of dermatology images that VisualDx, the company, collected for more than 20 years. Of note, this may be the world’s largest dermatology image archive. This new capability the company has been quietly holding onto, though, because of a legal issue that was just resolved thanks to a bit of technology inside the new iOS. Specifically, because the image has to be run against a pretty intensive and power hungry algorithm, it had to be sent over the internet to the cloud for processing. This effectively broke HIPAA rules, since patient data would have to be passed to a third party outside the clinical practice. Now, thanks to a feature called Core ML that’s rolling out in iOS 11, patient data stays local and is processed on the iPhone or iPad itself. Core ML is a way for app designers to integrate machine learning models into their products, forcing the processing to take place inside the device itself and not passing sensitive information to the outside world.
VisualDx + Derm Expert has just been made available on the Apple App Store, but to really work you’ll have to pay for a subscription. While it’s mostly intended for specialists outside of dermatology, it may still help dermatologists with unusual and rare cases. For example, it’s known that allopurinol, used to prevent gout, kidney stones, and other conditions, can lead to a rather large number of other conditions, each of which is nearly impossible to memorize. The VisualDx + Derm Expert app can help a dermatologist to remember such associations, potentially leading to a quicker and more assured diagnosis. To be clear, the app itself is a clinical reference and not a diagnostic tool, and so does not require FDA regulatory approval.
While the app is made for professionals, VisualDx is currently working on an app designed specifically for consumers. In our conversation with Dr. Papier, he said that the new consumer facing app will help lay folks to make more informed triage decisions about what to do about a rash, welt, or other skin problem.
Product page: VisualDx + DermExpert… |
AppNexus' former Australia MD joins Facebook in Singapore | The former managing director of AppNexus in Australia has departed for a role at Facebook. Kaylie Smith, who left AppNexus in July, has taken up a role based in Singapore as head of SMB at Facebook Australia and New Zealand. Smith will work with small and medium-sized businesses across the regions to help them maximise their advertising on Facebook’s platform and improve their understanding of how best to use Facebook to expand. AppNexus is looking for someone to fill the vacant executive leadership role. | http://www.adnews.com.au/news/appnexus-australia-md-exits-for-facebook | 2017-10-03 07:11:22.507000 | Kaylie Smith
Ad tech business AppNexus is again on the hunt for a local lead as its MD, Kaylie Smith, has exited for a gig at Facebook.
Smith, who had been in the Sydney-based role for eight months, joined the independent technology company after well-known ad tech veteran and VP sales APAC at AppNexus, Dave Osborn, returned to the states in February. Smith's role covered JAPAC.
While Osborn wasn't MD, he was deemed the local market leader at the business.
Smith, who actually left in July, is now head of SMB at Facebook Australia and New Zealand and is based in Singapore.
"By mutual agreement, Kaylie Smith departed her position at AppNexus at the end of July 2017,” an AppNexus spokesperson tells AdNews.
Smith is is tasked with working with small and medium businesses across Australia and New Zealand to help them maximise their advertising on the Facebook family of products. Her role is to work with businesses to help them understand how to best use Facebook to grow their business.
Facebook says she's charged with empowering businesses ranging from local cafes, to online only retailers, helping them build community and customer relationships on its platform.
AppNexus, which WPP invested US $25 million in for a significant stake in 2014, is still hunting for someone to fill the executive leadership role for the JAPAC region.
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'Electrobiorefinery' uses renewables to make fuel from biomass | A team of US and German scientists have demonstrated how intermittent renewable energy can be used efficiently to produce a drop-in biofuel. They subjected corn silage to anaerobic fermentation, creating carboxylic acids which were then electrochemically converted into energy-dense alkanes or biofuel. Excess renewable energy was used in the final electrochemical phase, and insiders say that because the first stage is much slower than the final stage, where the renewable energy is used, it accommodates the intermittent nature of the electricity supply and it could be the first step towards an electrobiorefinery integrated with renewable energy. | http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2017/EE/c7ee01303e#!divAbstract | 2017-10-03 07:07:37.357000 | Production of drop-in fuels from biomass at high selectivity by combined microbial and electrochemical conversion
C. Urban, J. Xu, H. Sträuber, T. R. dos Santos Dantas, J. Mühlenberg, C. Härtig, L. T. Angenent and F. Harnisch, Energy Environ. Sci., 2017, 10, 2231 DOI: 10.1039/C7EE01303E
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'Electrobiorefinery' uses renewables to make fuel from biomass | A team of US and German scientists have demonstrated how intermittent renewable energy can be used efficiently to produce a drop-in biofuel. They subjected corn silage to anaerobic fermentation, creating carboxylic acids which were then electrochemically converted into energy-dense alkanes or biofuel. Excess renewable energy was used in the final electrochemical phase, and insiders say that because the first stage is much slower than the final stage, where the renewable energy is used, it accommodates the intermittent nature of the electricity supply and it could be the first step towards an electrobiorefinery integrated with renewable energy. | https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/corn-fed-bioelectrorefinery-harnesses-excess-electricity/3008039.article | 2017-10-03 07:07:37.357000 | Scientists in Germany and the US have developed a way to make fuel from biomass that uses excess renewable energy. Their bioelectrorefinery combines known techniques in a unique way to produce a biofuel very similar to diesel.
In the first stage of the process, microbes transform corn silage into carboxylic acids in a bioreactor. Next, a method called pertraction uses membranes to separate out carboxylic acids with carbon chains six to 12 carbon-atoms long, from the reactor medium. These medium-chain carboxylic acids are the ideal feedstock for the final stage of the process and the pertraction process means smaller carboxlic acids remain in the reaction broth so the microbes can elongate them further. The final stage electrochemically converts the carboxylic acids into energy dense alkanes, which can be used as a drop-in fuel.
Excess electricity from renewable sources such as wind farms or solar panels powers the final stage and means that energy generated on very sunny or windy days does not go to waste. And because the first stage produces carboxylic acids much slower than the last stage converts them into fuel, the whole concept accommodates the intermittent availability of this excess electricity.
Producing a drop-in fuel is particularly significant, as it can be directly substituted for petrol or diesel without major changes to existing engines, infrastructure or distribution networks. ‘We showed this on a scale that was not demonstrated before,’ says Falk Harnisch from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research who led the work. ‘You could really see it and even smell it – it smells like diesel!’
‘This is the first report that demonstrates at lab-scale, a combination of two approaches in a sequential manner to present an integrated electrobiorefinery set up,’ says Deepak Pant, a bioelectrochemistry researcher at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research. ‘It should pave way for efforts towards developing an electrobiorefinery that is truly integrated with renewable electricity supply.’ |
China-Austria satellite video call shows potential of quantum net | The Chinese satellite Micius has carried out successful encryption and transmission of a video call between Vienna and Beijing using quantum entanglement. Prior to the call, quantum states of entangled photons generated onboard Micius were sent down to both ground stations separately, where they were used to generate unique cryptographic keys. The keys were then sent back up to Micius and combined into a new, shared key that could be used to encrypt and decrypt the video. The achievement is being hailed as the first step towards a global quantum internet, which would theoretically be completely secure. | https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xwg53k/china-is-another-step-closer-to-building-a-quantum-internet?utm_campaign=5e937b6947-The_Download&utm_medium=email&utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-5e937b6947-154402861 | 2017-10-03 07:04:50.700000 | Earlier today, China's pioneering quantum satellite Micius facilitated the first-ever intercontinental video conference using a quantum communications network. The video call connected Chunli Bai, the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, with Anton Zeilinger, president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, a distance of over 4,600 miles. It was the first real-world demonstration that showed that a global quantum internet is not only possible, but within reach. A little over a year ago, Bai and his colleagues launched Micius, the first quantum satellite that was meant to serve as a testbed for technologies that would pave the way for a global, space-based quantum communications network. Unlike the normal internet, this quantum internet would be perfectly secure, an issue of paramount importance as we stand on the threshold of the age of quantum computing.
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Today, satellites are the backbone of many internet technologies that we use on a day-to-day basis, such as the GPS systems that power Google Maps, satellite televisions, ATMs, and many of the consumer products that make up the Internet of Things. These satellites help route data between internetworked objects all around the globe and when the data is sensitive, such as with banking applications, it is generally encrypted as it is passed between ground stations and satellites. The encryption algorithms used to protect this data are generally based on difficult math problems, such as factoring astronomically large prime numbers.
"This is a very important step towards a world-wide and secure quantum internet."
While contemporary encryption standards are robust enough that an attacker would be unable to crack them even if they had access to all the computing power on Earth, these same encryption standards will be rendered obsolete with the advent of large-scale quantum computers. Unlike a traditional computer, which traffics in binary bits, where data is stored as either a 1 or 0, quantum computers make use of qubits, which is data that is either a 1, 0, or a combination of these states at the same time. In practice, this means that a quantum computer will be able to crack today's encryption without much difficulty. This impending crypto-apocalypse has resulted in a race to create quantum-resistant cryptography, and one of the leading candidates in this area is known as quantum key distribution (QKD). This is a method of manipulating the quantum states of individual photons to encode an encryption key. This key is then used to secure another key, which would work with a non-quantum encryption algorithm that is used to actually encode the data being sent. In other words, QKD is using particles of light to create a quantum encryption key that secures a traditional encryption key. One way of implementing QKD is by entangling photons. Entanglement is a way of linking two different particles, in this case photons, at a distance, so that each share the same quantum state. Entanglement is kind of like having one particle exist in multiple locations at once. As far as the quantum internet is concerned, entanglement could be used to transfer quantum keys between two distant locations.
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For example, in June of this year, Chinese researchers demonstrated that they were able to transmit entangled photons from the Micius satellite to two ground stations in China that are 750 miles apart while maintaining entanglement between the particles. The entangled particles were generated on board the satellite and then delivered to two different ground systems using a split laser beam. Each beam sent one of the entangled photons to a ground station, where the quantum state of the photon could be measured, thus distributing the same quantum key to two remote locations.
The quantum states of entangled photons are also a more secure cryptographic basis than difficult math problems because as soon as an attacker tries to measure the state of the photon, it alters the photon's state and renders decryption impossible. Today, these researchers took these same principles a step further by using the Micius satellite to facilitate the first intercontinental communication secured using QKD. According to a press release from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, using QKD to secure the video call made it "at least a million times safer" than securing it using conventional methods of encryption.
In the case of today's video conference, QKD was used to encrypt the video signal being routed between ground stations near Vienna and Beijing. Prior to the video call, the quantum state of photons generated on board Micius were generated and sent to a ground station near Vienna where these states were measured. These same quantum states were then translated into binary code (1s and 0s) on the satellite and sent to the ground station near Vienna. There, researchers compared their measurement of the quantum state of the photon with the binary translation of this quantum state. If these values didn't match exactly, it would alert the researchers that an attacker was trying to eavesdrop on the transmission.
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This same process was then repeated between the Micius satellite and the ground station near Beijing. At this point, the researchers in Austria and China both had unique quantum keys that were stored on board the satellite. These keys were then combined to generate a new quantum key that was transmitted to both China and Austria. Each station was then able to use its unique quantum key in combination with the shared quantum key to securely encrypt the video call that was routed between them, effectively establishing the first intercontinental communication secured using quantum encryption.
"The exchange of quantum encrypted information over inter-continental distances confirms the potential of quantum communication technologies as opened up by fundamental research," Zeilinger said in a statement after the video call. "This is a very important step towards a world-wide and secure quantum internet."
Read More: Researchers Made the First Quantum Enigma Machine
Prior to the launch of Micius, the world-record for QKD using entanglement was 64 miles. Although both open-air and fiber-optic cable can be used to transmit photons, both of these mediums degrade the entanglement and over a long enough distance the effect is lost entirely. Space, however, provides a nearly lossless medium for the transmission of entangled particles, making it an optimal way to route quantum information between two distance points and lasers help the quantum state of photons survive their turbulent journey through Earth's atmosphere.
These ground stations were connected to the research institutions via terrestrial quantum communication networks built with optical fiber. Such networks have been used by government institutions for a few years, but these networks are limited in the distance that they can sent quantum information (around 60 miles). |
Dash tie-up with Wirex moves cryptocurrency closer to mainstream | Cryptocurrency Dash has announced it will integrate with digital currency banking platform Wirex, enabling Dash payments to be made at the 40 million online and in-store outlets worldwide that accept Visa. The deal also allows Wirex users to withdraw cash from ATMs in more than 200 countries using their Dash wallet. Pavel Matveev, the CEO of Wirex said the company's payment card was the "gateway to cryptocurrency mass adoption".
| https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2017/10/122620-dash-now-offering-payment-option-40-million-merchants-accepting-visa-thanks-wirex-integration/ | 2017-10-03 06:57:31.333000 | Dash, the top digital currency for payments, announced on Monday it will soon be integrated into crypto-banking platform, Wirex, allowing customers to pay with Dash online and in-store at over 40 million merchants accepting VISA worldwide.
According to Dash, the integration means Wirex plastic and virtual cardholders can fund their accounts with Dash, link their Dash wallet, and use the payment card just like a standard VISA debit card. Upon any purchase, Wirex customers will have the payment amount automatically converted from the national denomination to Dash, and then withdrawn from their digital currency holdings. The business partnership also enables Wirex customers the ability to withdraw cash at any ATM, using their Dash, in 210 countries
The business partnership also enables Wirex customers the ability to withdraw cash at any ATM, using their Dash, in 210 countries across the world. CEO of Dash Core, Ryan Taylor, stated:
“Wirex is a premier brand for digital currency services, and supports the world’s largest base of digital currency funded pre-paid cards. We’re excited to bring the benefits of Dash’s low cost instant transactions to these users. Consumers simply don’t like waiting for transactions to top up debit card balances, and I know that once Wirex consumers try Dash they will recognize the time-saving user experience our network provides at a fraction of the fees to which they are accustomed. It really is a win for consumers, Wirex, and Dash.”
Wirex is notably backed by Japan’s biggest FinTech fund, SBI Holdings, which is headed by industry star, Yoshitaka Kitao. Serving over 800,000 customers in 130 countries, Wirex has notched up $1 billion USD in customer transaction and is seeking an e-money license in the UK. Pavel Matveev, CEO of Wirex, shared:
“Wirex is thrilled to be the largest provider of Dash payments cards in the world. Our integration with Dash signals an important milestone in the history of cryptocurrency mass adoption. Wirex customers will be the first to spend Dash up and down the high street, or online, as simply as spending any national currency. Dash’s low transaction costs and fast transfer times means customers now have significantly greater flexibility and opportunity to spend cryptocurrencies around the world.”
Despite the historic surge in the total value of the digital currency industry this year, accessibility has remained a recurring issue. Matveev also noted:
“Wirex bolsters accessibility to digital currency on a global scale, and we now want to spread Dash adoption and further introduce Dash to the mass market. The Wirex payment card is the gateway to cryptocurrency mass adoption and we are providing a simple method to incorporate Dash into the everyday life of communities around the world. Buying everyday groceries, a glass of beer or even a brand new car is now possible with the Wirex-Dash partnership.”
Taylor then added: |
Japan to encourage data sharing by tech companies to help exports | Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry has announced plans to facilitate cooperation and sharing of industrial data among Japanese businesses working in robotics, biotechnology and autonomous driving. The scheme, known as Connected Industries Tokyo Initiative, will include developing frameworks for sharing information between companies and creating large-scale data banks for the use and sharing of industrial data. Hiroshige Seko, the minister of economy, trade and industry, argued that Japanese businesses need to cooperate more to expand into global markets rather just competing at home. | https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-plans-policy-push-for-robotics-autonomous-driving | 2017-10-03 06:02:29.850000 | TOKYO -- Japanese businesses dealing in such fields as robotics, biotechnology and autonomous driving will find it easier to cooperate and share industrial data under a new policy initiative announced Monday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Through its tentatively named Connected Industries Tokyo Initiative, the ministry aims to forge or revise frameworks for sharing information across company boundaries in order to spur tie-ups as well as the development of big-data-driven goods and services. |
DOE-backed start-up Skysun aims to cut solar heliostat costs by 33% | Skysun, an Ohio-based start-up backed by the US Department of Energy (DOE), said it has found a way to reduce the costs of producing electricity from concentrated solar power (CSP). Currently, a significant proportion of CSP costs are associated with heliostats, each of which require their own motor and support to move mirrors so they direct the sun towards the tower or parabolic trough that collects the heat. Skysun is looking to develop a single motor and support structure, and with funding from the DOE, hopes that this "ganged heliostats" design could cut costs by up to 33%. | https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/new-solar-collector-design-csp-costs-recored-lows#gs.DGx1AJ4 | 2017-10-03 04:33:04.090000 | Just when it looked like concentrated solar power (CSP) couldn’t get cheaper, a U.S.-based startup says it's found a way of cutting heliostat costs by a third.
Skysun, of Bay Village, Ohio, is aiming to achieve the cost reduction by tying multiple heliostats -- the mirrors that reflect sunlight onto CSP power tower receivers -- onto a single motor and support structure.
Currently, each heliostat on a power tower solar field has its own motor and support, significantly adding to the cost of what is essentially just a mirror.
Sandia National Laboratories, which is collaborating with Skysun through a $275,000 Small Business Voucher provided by the Department of Energy, believes this ‘ganged heliostats’ design could cut average heliostat costs by 33 percent.
“Sandia reported that Skysun’s ganged heliostats can achieve an average price point around $80 per square meter,” according to the DOE.
That compares to an industry average of $120 per square meter and is close to the DOE’s SunShot Initiative goal of lowering the cost of solar collectors to $75 per square meter.
It is far from the first time ganged heliostats have been proposed, though; one of the first mentions of the technology is in a 1978 patent.
A 1999 paper by academics at the University of Sydney and the Technical University of Munich described “a new concept of solar tower, the multi-tower solar array with ganged heliostats,” which “allows a potential reduction to the crucial reflector cost of two-axis tracking arrays.”
And in 2010, a team from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates studied the efficiency of ganged heliostats in a 100-kilowatt pilot plant.
However, said the DOE: “While other ganged heliostat concepts have previously been proposed, none of them have shown to be cost-competitive or viable -- until now.”
Skysun’s breakthrough, detailed in a study by founder Jim Clair, appears to be the use of tensile support structures that work with single-axis instead of dual-axis actuators. The system is said to maintain industry-standard accuracy in winds of up to 20 miles per hour.
Slashing heliostat costs could be a big deal for CSP developers. In its 2016 Power to Change report, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimated that the solar field accounted for 38 percent of the total installed cost of a power tower CSP plant.
Cutting that cost by a third would reduce overall installed costs by around 13 percent. That said, it is unclear how easy it will be for Skysun’s ganged heliostats to achieve commercialization.
After years of attrition from low-cost PV competitors, the CSP market today is populated by just a handful of names, most of which have hard-earned project development credentials.
The number of projects on offer in the sector is miniscule compared to what is going on in PV or wind.
In short, the CSP market is not one that favors wild experimentation right now, even though players are said to have an appetite for risk. It also needs to achieve cost reductions as great, or greater, than other renewable sectors in order to be competitive.
That is why one senior industry figure told GTM “all these inventions will surely work, but my personal impression is that I don’t think they have a chance of competing with current heliostats.”
Another relevant factor is that CSP of late appears to have been achieving substantial cost reductions without having to resort to radical design changes.
In September, for example, developer ACWA Power bagged a 700-megawatt CSP project in Dubai for an eyebrow-raising $73 per megawatt-hour. SolarReserve managed to get down to $63 per megawatt-hour in March with a 450-megawatt project in Chile.
And in August, the U.S. developer went even lower with a project in Australia, bidding $60 per megawatt-hour on a 150-megawatt plant.
That's cheaper than the offshore wind projects that have put the gas and nuclear industries on guard in the U.K., without even accounting for the fact that the CSP plants come with several hours of storage.
These cost reductions have led some observers to predict an upswing in fortunes for an industry that has thus far lagged in adoption behind PV and wind. “This is an industry that is booming,” said economic consultant Jonathan Walters.
“For me the bottom line is that CSP is becoming competitive with gas-fired power, which will make it far more game-changing than any other renewable energy technology is likely to be," he said. |
BMW to use Alexa voice control in all models from 2018 | Amazon is partnering with German carmaker BMW to make its voice-activated assistant Alexa available in all its 2018 models across the US, the UK and Germany. The technology will enable the car driver and passengers to activate smart home controls or ask for directions, and could give retail giant Amazon a foothold in a market where rivals Apple and Google have already established a firm presence. | https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/27/bmw-cars-will-offer-alexa-voice-control-in-2018/ | 2017-10-03 03:22:32.167000 | Amazon isn't content with Alexa pervading every corner of your home -- now, it's bringing that technology to your car. BMW has announced that it's making Alexa available in all its 2018 model year cars (including the Mini brand) starting in mid-2018 for the US, UK and Germany. You can use the voice assistant for typical Alexa tasks like the news or smart home control, as well as driving-oriented features like navigation or finding businesses. In many instances, voice responses will include relevant "visual cards" on your car's control display.
The move isn't at all shocking: this is Amazon's attempt to claim a foothold in the automotive space before it's too late. Apple and Google already have a strong presence thanks to CarPlay and Android Auto, and Amazon risked sitting on the sidelines if it didn't announce some major deals. Regional availability could be a problem, however. Alexa isn't an advantage if you can't buy products that use it, so Apple and Google will still have free rein unless Amazon expands access. |
General Motors plans to offer 20 EV and fuel cell models by 2023 | General Motors (GM) will add 20 battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to its worldwide offering by 2023. The US's largest car maker will add two EV cars to its line-up within the next 18 months, with the other 18 electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles planned within six years. The models will be financed by profits from sales of SUVs and trucks in the US and China. "GM believes in an all-electric future," said the Detroit-based company's global product development chief, Mark Reuss. However, it is unclear when GM will make all its new models zero-emission vehicles. | https://www.wired.com/story/general-motors-electric-cars-plan-gm/ | 2017-10-03 01:01:38.917000 | After more than a century peddling vehicles that pollute the atmosphere, General Motors is ending its relationship with gasoline and diesel. This morning, the American automotive giant announced that it is working toward an all-electric, zero-emissions future. That starts with two new, fully electric models next year—then at least 18 more by 2023.
That product onslaught puts the company at the forefront of an increasingly large crowd of automakers proclaiming the age of electricity and promising to move away from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. In recent months, Volvo, Aston Martin, and Jaguar Land Rover have announced similar moves. GM’s declaration, though, is particularly noteworthy because it’s among the very largest automakers on the planet. It sold 10 million cars last year, ranging from pickups to SUVs to urban runabouts.
“General Motors believes the future is all-electric,” says Mark Reuss, the company’s head of product. “We are far along in our plan to lead the way to that future world.”
Reuss did not give a date for the death knell of the GM gas- or diesel-powered car, saying the transition will happen at different speeds in different markets and regions. The new all-electric models will be a mix of battery electric cars and fuel cell-powered vehicles.
To be sure, GM’s sudden jolt of electricity is planned with its shareholders in mind. The Trump Administration may be moving to roll back fuel efficiency requirements in the US, but the rest of the world is insisting on an electric age. France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Norway have all said they plan to ban the sale of gas and diesel cars in the coming decades. More importantly, China—the world’s largest car market—and India, a rising star, plan to join them. No automaker can compete globally without a compelling stable of electric cars.
GM intends to grab as large a slice of the Chinese market as possible. It has previously announced plans to launch 10 electric or hybrid electric cars in the country by 2020. This summer, it started selling a two-seat EV there, for just $5,300. Last year, it sold more cars in China (3.6 million) than it did in the US (3 million).
The crucial question for the American automaker will be how, exactly, to make money from all these cars. By one report, GM loses $9,000 on each Chevy Bolt it sells. Reuss’ strategy hinges on bringing costs down thanks to steadily dropping battery prices, more efficient motors, and lighter cars. Massive scale and global supply chains helps, too. “This next generation will be profitable,” he says. “End of story.”
It's not impossible. “If they’ve really been laying this groundwork, they could be closer to not just having this tech but having a profitable and high volume way of supplying it," says Karl Brauer, an auto industry analyst with Kelley Blue Book.
General Motors’ history hasn’t been especially kind to electric mobility. Its invention of the automatic starter helped kill the first wave of electric cars at the start of the 20th century. This is the company that experimented with battery power in the EV-1, only to recall the two-seater from its owners, crush them all, and pile the carcasses up in a junkyard. In the first years of the 21st century, while Toyota was making hybrids popular with the Prius, GM was hawking the Hummer.
Over the past decade, the Detroit giant has positioned itself for a different sort of future. First came the hybrid electric Chevy Volt. Then came GM’s great coup, the Chevy Bolt, the 200-mile, $30,000 electric car that hit market long before Tesla’s Model 3. GM is seriously pursuing semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars. It offers the first car on US roads with vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability. Now, it talks about its plans to eliminate vehicle pollution, congestion, and traffic deaths.
“GM has the ability to get all of us to that future so much faster,” Reuss says. Now it just has to deliver—and make enough money doing it to stick around for that future.
More electrifying news from the world of cars |
China accused of dumping e-bikes on Europe at rock-bottom prices | The European Bicycle Manufacturers Association (EBMA) has filed a complaint with the European Commission accusing China of flooding Europe with hundreds of thousands of electric bikes at rock-bottom prices. The EBMA said government subsidies enabled Chinese manufacturers to sell e-bikes in Europe below cost. The rise of bike-sharing schemes and bans in some cities have slowed e-bike sales in China. The EBMA claims excess production is being shipped to Europe and European production will be wiped out unless action is taken. A Chinese e-bike costs about $450 in Europe, while locally-produced models are over $1,500. | http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/02/technology/china-e-bikes-europe/index.html | 2017-10-03 00:22:19.757000 | China has been accused of flooding Europe with hundreds of thousands of cheap electric bicycles.
Imports of Chinese e-bikes to Europe have increased from almost zero in 2010 to an estimated 800,000 in 2017, according to the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association.
The industry group has had enough: It filed a complaint with the European Commission on Monday that accuses Chinese manufacturers of dumping e-bikes into the European market at rock bottom prices.
The complaint argues that subsidies offered by the Chinese government allow its manufacturers to sell the e-bikes in Europe for less than they cost to produce.
Chinese e-bikes sell for as little as $450 in Europe, while local products typically cost $1,500 to $2,000.
E-bikes, which are powered by batteries, remain something of a novelty in Europe. But they're big business in China, where sales have skyrocketed from roughly 1 million a year in the early 2000s to more than 30 million in 2016.
Analysts estimate that there are now between 150 million and 200 million e-bikes on Chinese roads.
But sales growth in China has slowed in recent months because of a boom in bike-sharing schemes and a crackdown on electric bikes in some cities.
Excess production is now being shipped to Europe, according to the European Bicycle Manufacturers Association. It said the imports would "annihilate European production within only a few years" if action is not taken.
The association cited an economic planning document produced by the Chinese government that "sets a clear 2020 goal that the 'export of electric bicycles will be dramatically increased.' "
Related: This electric bicycle can go up to 40 mph
CNNMoney contacted several major Chinese e-bike manufacturers, but none responded to requests for comment.
Global e-bike sales are expected to increase from $15.7 billion in 2016 to $24.3 billion by 2025, according to Navigant Research.
Conventional Chinese bicycles have been subject to EU anti-dumping tariffs since the early 1990s. |
SSGA sees success with gender diversity ETF | State Street Global Advisors' SPDR Gender Diversity Index ETF has garnered more than $340m in assets over an 18 month span since its launch. The ETF gives investors an attractive, and reasonably cheap, way to invest in companies valuing gender diversity, according to Morningstar. The fund analysis firm also lauds the fact a portion of the expense ratio for the smart-beta fund is donated to a charity forwarding the cause of gender diversity and equality. | https://www.etftrends.com/smart-beta-channel/state-street-gender-diversity-etf-delivers/ | 2017-10-02 14:33:10.180000 | Just over 18 months old, the SPDR Gender Diversity Index ETF (NYSEArca: SHE) is proving to be a success story among exchange traded funds emphasizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
SHE seeks to track the performance of the SSGA Gender Diversity Index, which comprises listed U.S. large capitalization companies with the highest levels within their sectors of gender diversity on their boards of directors and in their senior leadership.
According to a 2015 MSCI study that explored global trends in gender diversity on corporate boards between December 2009 and August 2015, companies with at least three female board members outperformed others in overall return on equity by more than 36 percent.
SHE “offers an effective way to invest in firms that have a greater number of women represented in the upper echelons of their organizations relative to their sector peers,” according to Morningstar. “This exchange-traded fund’s index ranks large- and mid-cap U.S. stocks on a few ratios that measure the number of women to men in executive and board roles and targets those with the highest scores representing 10% of the collective market capitalization in each sector. While this approach could, in theory, lead to a lack of gender diversity by favoring firms with leadership teams principally composed of women, in practice, we’re a long way from this becoming an issue.”
SHE holds 170 stocks. The ETF’s largest sector weight is just over 20% to technology. Healthcare and consumer staples combine for over 31% of SHE’s roster. Consumer discretionary and financial stocks combine for 23% of the fund’s weight. SHE is up 11.2% year-to-date. |
Ensurem gains $12.5m from A-CAP to simplify insurance buying | New York-based financial platform A-CAP has poured $12.5m into insurance start-up Ensurem. Florida-based Ensurem aims to provide consumers with an easier way of purchasing life and health insurance policies. The recent funding follows an initial investment from San Francisco-based investor AngelRush, which also specialises in using a digital engagement platform to boost start-ups' viability to consumers. | http://www.prweb.com/releases/ensurem_llc/investment_acap/prweb14754428.htm | 2017-10-02 14:01:08.067000 | Ensurem, LLC, secures $12.25 million investment from A-CAP
Ensurem, LLC, an innovative technology and digital marketing platform dedicated to simplifying the process of buying insurance, announced today a $12.25 million capital commitment from and partnership with an affiliate of A-CAP, a New York City-based insurance holding company specializing in life and health insurance and related services.
This funding follows a successful angel investment round of $1.7 million led by AngelRush, a San Francisco-based investment firm that uses its proprietary direct-to-consumer digital engagement platform to empower partner companies.
A-CAP is an industry-leading financial platform that owns multiple insurance and financial businesses. A-CAP’s significant capital commitment will help Ensurem expand its capabilities in four main areas:
Digital storefront where consumers can easily research, shop and purchase life insurance policies, supplemental health coverage, ‘living insurance’, and other insurance-related products.
Digital customer acquisition technology and expertise.
Proprietary product platform used in the development of new insurance products for direct-to-consumer sales.
Third-party administrative services specializing in straight-through processing, providing insurance companies full back-office support in collaboration with Secure Administrative Solutions (SAS), A-CAP’s third-party administrator affiliate.
A-CAP’s insurance capabilities, combined with the digital marketing expertise of AngelRush and Ensurem’s own team of insurance and technology experts, will advance the company’s robust direct-to-consumer insurance platform.
“Our strategic partnership with A-CAP grants us access to third-party administration (TPA) services, reinsurance capabilities, and a wealth of knowledge in the insurance carrier space, all of which will help us meet our mission of providing consumers with a consolidated resource to learn about and secure life insurance and supplemental health-related protection online,” said David Rich, CEO and founder of Ensurem.
“Daily advancements in technology are changing consumer expectations of the insurance-buying process,” said Kenneth King, CEO of A-CAP. “The Insurtech space needs innovation and disruption to meet these growing consumer demands and we are confident that Ensurem can deliver an exceptional insurance-buying experience.”
For more information visit http://www.ensurem.com, http://www.a-capholdings.com and http://www.angelrush.com.
About Ensurem, LLC
Ensurem, LLC was launched in January 2016 with a two-fold mission of Awaring America™ about the value of life insurance and supplemental health products and providing a simplified buying process. Based in Tampa Bay, Florida, the company provides insurance-related products to consumers nationwide through its online platform. Ensurem offers several features to help customers live Life Optimized™, including direct-to-consumer products, a library of product guides and resources, and the Life Optimized Risk Assessment (LORA) tool.
About A-CAP
A-CAP is a holding company owning multiple insurance and financial businesses on its unique and synergistic platform. These businesses include primary insurance carriers, an investment adviser, an administrative services provider, reinsurance vehicles, and a marketing organization. With broad knowledge across the insurance and investment sectors, A-CAP’s management team has diverse experience and provides comprehensive services to policyholders, insurance company clients and capital partners. Launched in 2013, A-CAP is a privately held company with offices in New York, Charleston, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Omaha.
About AngelRush Ventures, LLC
AngelRush partners with passionate entrepreneurs and innovators to accelerate businesses to their fullest potential. Led by a team of successful entrepreneurs with decades of combined experience building companies and brands, AngelRush provides seed-stage funding, strategic advice and domain expertise to support its partnerships.
About Secure Administrative Solutions (SAS)
Established by Sentinel Security Life Insurance Company, an A-CAP portfolio company, in 2014, SAS is a licensed third-party administrator (TPA) providing efficient and effective administration for insurance companies of all sizes and across multiple product lines. SAS operates in over forty states.
###
Ensurem Contact:
Danielle Hutchins
dhutchins(at)ensurem(dot)com
727-451-5126
A-CAP Contact:
Kristen King
kristenking(at)a-capholdings(dot)com
929-383-7501
AngelRush Contact:
David Lukrich
dlukrich(at)angelrush(dot)com
415-779-2003
SAS Contact:
Mike Maughan
mmaughan(at)sslco(dot)com
801-478-4022 |
Enel launches 158 MW solar facility in Brazil | Italian utility Enel's Brazilian subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes has launched a 158 MW solar complex in Bom Jesus da Lapa. The facility encompasses the 80 MW Bom Jesus da Lapa farm and the 78 MW Lapa farm. The Bom Jesus farm can generate approximately 340 GWh of electricity annually, and would be able to supply 166,000 homes and offset 198,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually. It is the first of three solar projects in the region to begin commercial operation by Enel at the cost of $685m. | https://renewablesnow.com/news/enel-opens-158-mw-solar-complex-in-brazils-bahia-585165/ | 2017-10-02 13:46:38.313000 | Italian utility Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) inaugurated on Thursday the 158-MW Bom Jesus da Lapa solar complex in Brazil's Bahia state.
The particular complex was developted by Enel's Brazilian subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes (EGPB). It is comprised of the 80-MW Bom Jesus da Lapa and 78-MW Lapa solar farms, the company said.
Bom Jesus, awarded back in August 2015 in a reserve energy acution, has the capacity to generate some 340 GWh of electricity per year, enough to meet the annual demand of 166,000 local homes and offset 198,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year.
According to the local subsidiary's country manager, Carlo Zorzoli, this complex is the first one to enter commercial operation out of three planned by Enel for the state this year. Enel is investing a total of USD 685 million (EUR 580.9m) in the three projects, including Bom Jesus and the 254-MW Ituverava solar park, recently commissioned, as well as the 103-MW Horizonte facility, under construction.
Overall, the company has a renewables portfolio of 2,276 MW, of which 716 MW are from operational solar plants.
(USD 1 = EUR 0.848)
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Wind could provide 30% of Europe's energy needs by 2030 | By 2030, around 30% of the electricity used in Europe could be generated from wind, according to the WindEurope association. The organisation’s latest reports have found that increased use of wind in the continent could cut CO2 emissions by 382 million tonnes. The focus on wind could create 716,000 jobs, said Bloomberg, on the strength of €351bn ($413bn) of investment by 2030. Europe could potentially see 12.6 GW of generating capacity added each year, with the resulting 204 GW of wind power meeting 16.5% of Europe’s energy demand. By 2030, it is hoped that capacity will reach 323 GW.
| https://futurism.com/30-europes-electricity-wind-powered-2020/ | 2017-10-02 13:44:08.577000 | A pair of reports released by WindEurope asserts that by 2030, 30% of the electricity consumed in Europe could be generated from the wind. The continent is on track to overhaul its energy infrastructure. According to the reports (Wind Energy in Europe: Outlook to 2020 and Wind Energy in Europe: Scenarios for 2030), the progress could potentially avoid the release of 382 tonnes (421 US tons) of CO2 emissions.
Bloomberg points out that 716,000 jobs could be created with these efforts. The wind power industry could see 351 billion euros ($417 billion) of investment by 2030.
For the next three years, Europe may see an average installation rate of an additional 12.6 GW per year. This would allow wind power alone to meet 16.5 percent of the continent's energy demand, with a total of 204 GW of wind-generated power. The goal for 2030 would see that capacity to reach 323 GW.
Individual European countries are taking big steps to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by investing in and building renewable energy generating installations. The topographical diversity of the continent allows for a great deal of diversity in the ways energy can be generated. Scotland is leading in wind and tidal power generation, and the whole of the UK is taking advantage of the low cost of solar power to boost its renewable energy capabilities. All of this will amount to the continued decline of global reliance on fossil fuels and will help turn the tide in the fight against climate change. |
Enel awarded 30-year concession for 380 MW hydro plant in Brazil | Energy firm Enel Brasil has been granted a 30-year concession for the management of a 380 MW hydro power plant in Volta Grande, Brazil, following a public auction. Enel will invest $445m in the plant, which will extend its hydro capacity across Brazil to 1.27 GW. The firm will take over the plant in January 2018 and will manage it through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações. The plant produces 2.02 TWh of electricity annually and has been in operation since 1974. | http://renews.biz/108637/enel-bags-brazil-hydro-boost/ | 2017-10-02 13:29:56.013000 | Enel Brasil has been awarded a 30-year concession for the operational 380MW Volta Grande hydro power plant in the south-east of Brazil.
The concession follows the “Leilão de Concessões não prorrogadas” public auction organised by the Brazilian government through the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency.
Enel said it is investing $445m in the hydro concession, which will bring its total hydro capacity in Brazil to 1.27GW.The company is expected to take over the facility in January, after which it will be operated by Enel’s renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações.The plant has been operational since 1974 and produces 2.02 terawatt hours of electricity a year, Enel said.Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “This award further strengthens Enel Green Power’s consolidated foothold in Brazil, a country blessed with abundant natural resources, where we are already the leading player in the solar power market.” |
Airbnb taps into China's baby boom and growing middle class | The increasing number of children being born in China is contributing to a rise in demand for accommodation-sharing sites like Airbnb. The country's government relaxed its one-child policy at the start of 2016, leading to the largest number of births recorded for 17 years. Travel agents in the growing domestic tourism market report that families are increasingly looking for family-friendly accommodation with kitchens and other facilities that allow parents and their children to stay together more comfortably. The Chinese branch of Airbnb also cites rising incomes as a factor of the higher demand.
| http://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2113615/how-chinas-second-child-policy-giving-airbnb-and-its-rivals-boost | 2017-10-02 13:07:07.450000 | Thanks to the surge of newborns, brought about by China’s second-child policy, home-sharing sites such as Airbnb are becoming increasingly popular. Photo: AFP |
Deloitte finds tenant apps cuts 50% of time taken to process | Housing companies or landlords using a tenant app could cut their damage claim processing times by up to half, according to a study by consultancy Deloitte and German firm Allthings. The study also revealed 80% of damage reports could be sent via a tenant app, while landlords could notify all tenants affected with a single push notification. The report concluded that the introduction of an app could pave the way for increased digitalisation of other services. | https://www2.deloitte.com/de/de/pages/real-estate/articles/mieter-app-meets-wohnungswirtschaft.html | 2017-10-02 12:46:33.933000 | Die Frage nach den quantifizierbaren Effekten einer Mieter-App lautet damit präzisiert: Wieviele MAK’s in welchen Geschäftsbereichen und -prozessen werden durch den Einsatz einer Mieter-App entlastet?
Hierzu inhärent ist das Verständnis, wie Mieter ihre Mieter-App im Kontakt mit dem Vermieter nutzen und welche Themen im Vordergrund stehen. Auskunft geben kann eine Auswertung von Allthings zu den in der Mieter-App Funktion „Service Center“ kommunizierten Themen.
Zum Auswertungszeitpunkt waren insgesamt 5.000 Nutzer registriert. In die Auswertung floss nur die Nutzung der Funktion „Service Center“ ein, nicht die der übrigen Funktionen wie Buchungsfunktion, Wohnungsdokumentation o.ä.. An dieser Stelle sei angemerkt, dass auch wenn Mieter-App Funktionen wie Pinnwand und Co. zunächst keinen direkten Effekt auf die Prozesseffizient des Vermieters haben, sie von besonderer Bedeutung für die Akzeptanz und Nutzung einer Mieter-App sind. Je mehr Mieter sich registrieren und vor allem je häufiger sie ihre Mieter-App nutzen, desto leichter können angestrebte Effizienzgewinne realisiert werden.
Die Analysen der „Services Center“-Funktion zeigen, dass – bis auf Fragen zur Handhabe der Mieter-App – ausschließlich klassische Mieter-Vermieter Themen tangiert werden. Vor allem für Schadensmeldungen nutzen die Mieter ihr digitales Service-Center.
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ESG-focused investors scrutinise cyber policies | Institutions focusing on environmental, social and governance factors when picking investments are scrutinising company's cyber polices. Such investors want to see firms take a proactive stance when it comes to cyber security issues, recognising cyber risk is an important factor of corporates to pay attention to. Institutional investors are also recognising the damage a major cyber breach can have on a company's stock performance. | http://www.pionline.com/article/20171002/PRINT/171009985/cybersecurity-becoming-big-esg-concern&utm_campaign=saxo_rss&utm_source=rss02_rss&utm_medium=rss?utm_content=PImag&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social | 2017-10-02 12:44:23.407000 | Cybersecurity is moving up the agenda for institutional investors and their money managers as a responsible investment consideration, as several high-profile attacks and breaches bring the issue to the front of investors' minds.
Sources at retirement plans and money management firms said the issue is being considered in particular when thinking through environmental, social and governance factors within investment portfolios.
Some investors already are weaving cybersecurity into their expectations when it comes to money management. "Cybersecurity is increasingly important for investors, companies and regulators," said Diandra Soobiah, London-based head of responsible investment at the £1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) National Employment Savings Trust, London. "Cyberattacks are part of a new reality for companies. The significant economic costs of such attacks make this a clear risk issue for NEST, and we expect companies to report on how they manage it."
Executives at the multiemployer defined contribution plan also want to see company boards taking a proactive stance on cybersecurity. "This will be a future area of engagement for us and we plan to work collaboratively with other organizations on our engagement activities," added Ms. Soobiah.
Others are only at the start of their work. "Many institutional investors are just beginning to look at the governance issues around cybersecurity," said Fiona Reynolds, managing director at the Principles for Responsible Investment in London. "We have seen all too clearly in recent months the enormous reputational and financial consequences when adequate safeguards are not put in place to secure sensitive information."
A number of recent breaches, such as of the U.K.'s National Health Service and U.S. credit bureau Equifax Inc., demonstrate the potential impact on portfolios, said sources. David Averre, head of credit analysis at Insight Investment in London, said from a fixed-income perspective, cybersecurity so far has not been a material financial issue. "However, there have been a few instances of late which should raise some red flags for investors."
He cited the Equifax incident, which saw its stock price drop 27%, market capitalization decrease by $4.6 billion and company bonds lose 6% of their value.
While questions are not yet coming from investors, "following Equifax, I would be surprised if we did not start receiving questions from clients and how we are trying to gauge where the risks are in the companies in which we invest," he said.
To enhance investor understanding, the PRI is coordinating a group of institutional investors, representing more than $10 trillion in assets, to engage in dialogue with listed large-capitalization companies, added Olivia Mooney, London-based senior manager, corporate governance, at the PRI.
"It will build investors' understanding about how their portfolio companies are positioned to be resilient to cyberthreats and will seek to improve companies' disclosure about their cyberrisks, policies and governance. Investors don't need to have highly technical expertise. At this stage, they need to start the conversation to be assured companies are considering and managing their risk effectively." |
Cryptocurrencies have potential to replace cash: IMF's Lagarde | Future technological development may render cryptocurrencies more stable and safer than physical money, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has said. The lack of settlement risk, clearing delays, central registration and intermediaries means citizens may one day ask central banks to provide a digital version of legal tender for use in small-value transactions, Lagarde told a Bank of England conference. She encouraged central bankers to be open to new monetary policies as economies evolve, citing the potential for cryptocurrencies to be used as a transparent option for countries with developing currencies or unstable institutions.
| https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2017/09/28/sp092917-central-banking-and-fintech-a-brave-new-world | 2017-10-02 12:38:36.570000 | Central Banking and Fintech—A Brave New World?
Governor, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen—Good morning!
Thank you, Mark [Carney], for that kind introduction, and thank you to the Bank of England for inviting me to this wonderful event.
This is a moment to celebrate 20 years of independence during which the Bank of England has been a stabilizing force for the U.K. economy, inspiring others in the world of central banking—not least because of your guidance, Mark.
This is also a moment to learn from our experiences, build on the progress made so far, and look into the future—to the next 20 years—as our journey continues.
This morning, I came up Fleet Street, which always feels like a journey through history. In the Middle Ages, that street was an important center of commerce, much of which has now moved online. By the 19th century, the street was home to ticker machines and reporters racing each other to make the evening papers. That world, too, has largely moved online.
And much has changed for the bankers and policymakers here in the City of London. But that is only the beginning. Let us spin the hands ofBig Ben forward to 2040 to catch a glimpse of their world. We might see that:
· Cars have disappeared, because people are moving about in hovering drones, or “pods,” which elegantly avoid each other in the morning rush hour.
· One of those pods carries the central bank governor, who recently started her second term. As part of her morning routine, she swipes through a hologram of news videos curated by a digital assistant, before arriving at Threadneedle Street.
· The governor disembarks, walks up to the columned façade, opens the door and…
Who will she encounter inside the building? Are there economists sitting at desks, debating policy choices around a table? Or is there an intelligent machine making decisions, setting rates, and issuing money?
In other words, how will fintech change central banking over the next generation? That is the focus of my remarks today.
I would like to consider the possible impact of three innovations—virtual currencies,new models of financial intermediation, and artificial intelligence.
Some of these innovations have already found their way into our wallets, smartphones, and financial systems. But that is only the beginning.
Are you ready to jump on my pod and explore the future together? As one of your fellow Londoners—Mary Poppins—might have said: bring along a pinch of imagination!
1. Virtual currencies
Let us start with virtual currencies. To be clear, this is not about digital payments in existing currencies—through Paypal and other “e-money” providers such as Alipay in China, or M-Pesa in Kenya.
Virtual currencies are in a different category, because they provide their own unit of account and payment systems. These systems allow for peer-to-peer transactions without central clearinghouses, without central banks.
For now, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin pose little or no challenge to the existing order of fiat currencies and central banks. Why? Because they are too volatile, too risky, too energy intensive, and because the underlying technologies are not yet scalable. Many are too opaque for regulators; and some have been hacked.
But many of these are technological challenges that could be addressed over time. Not so long ago, some experts argued that personal computers would never be adopted, and that tablets would only be used as expensive coffee trays. So I think it may not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies.
Better value for money?
For instance, think of countries with weak institutions and unstable national currencies. Instead of adopting the currency of another country—such as the U.S. dollar—some of these economies might see a growing use of virtual currencies. Call it dollarization 2.0.
IMF experience shows that there is a tipping point beyond which coordination around a new currency is exponential. In the Seychelles, for example, dollarization jumped from 20 percent in 2006 to 60 percent in 2008.
And yet, why might citizens hold virtual currencies rather than physical dollars, euros, or sterling? Because it may one day be easier and safer than obtaining paper bills, especially in remote regions. And because virtual currencies could actually become more stable.
For instance, they could be issued one-for-one for dollars, or a stable basket of currencies. Issuance could be fully transparent, governed by a credible, pre-defined rule, an algorithm that can be monitored…or even a “smart rule” that might reflect changing macroeconomic circumstances.
So in many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money. The best response by central bankers is to continue running effective monetary policy, while being open to fresh ideas and new demands, as economies evolve.
Better payment services?
For example, consider the growing demand for new payment services in countries where the shared, decentralized service economy is taking off.
This is an economy rooted in peer-to-peer transactions, in frequent, small-value payments, often across borders.
Four dollars for gardening tips from a lady in New Zealand, three euros for an expert translation of a Japanese poem, and 80 pence for a virtual rendering of historic Fleet Street: these payments can be made with credit cards and other forms of e-money. But the charges are relatively high for small-value transactions, especially across borders.
Instead, citizens may one day prefer virtual currencies, since they potentially offer the same cost and convenience as cash—no settlement risks, no clearing delays, no central registration, no intermediary to check accounts and identities. If privately issued virtual currencies remain risky and unstable, citizens may even call on central banks to provide digital forms of legal tender.
So, when the new service economy comes knocking on the Bank of England’s door, will you welcome it inside? Offer it tea—and financial liquidity?
2. New models of financial intermediation
This brings us to the second leg of our pod journey—new models of financial intermediation.
One possibility is the break-up, or unbundling, of banking services. In the future, we might keep minimal balances for payment services on electronic wallets.
The remaining balances may be kept in mutual funds, or invested in peer-to-peer lending platforms with an edge in big data and artificial intelligence for automatic credit scoring.
This is a world of six-month product development cycles and constant updates, primarily of software, with a huge premium on simple user-interfaces and trusted security. A world where data is king. A world of many new players without imposing branch offices.
Some would argue that this puts a question mark on the fractional banking model we know today, if there are fewer bank deposits and money flows into the economy through new channels.
How would monetary policy be set in this context?
Today’s central banks typically affect asset prices through primary dealers, or big banks, to which they provide liquidity at fixed prices—so-called open-market operations. But if these banks were to become less relevant in the new financial world, and demand for central bank balances were to diminish, could monetary policy transmission remain as effective?
If anything, central banks may well have to increase the number of counterparties to their operations. The Bank of England is already leading the way by including large broker-dealers and central counterparty clearing houses.
All this, of course, has regulatory implications. More counterparties imply more firms falling under the central bank’s regulatory umbrella—which is the price to pay for liquidity on a rainy day. Whether the future holds more or less rain is an open question. Still, better regulating shadow banks looks all the more pressing. The FSB has already made progress in this area under your leadership, Mark.
The remit of central banks will grow, and with it, perhaps, public scrutiny and political pressures. Independence—at least to set monetary policy—will need further defenses and require even clearer communication.
We may also see a shift in regulatory practices. Traditionally, regulators have focused on overseeing well-defined entities. But as new service providers come on stream in new shapes and forms, fitting these into buckets may not be so easy. Think of a social media company that is offering payments services without managing an active balance sheet. What label should we stick on that?
All this is good for lawyers, but not so good for regulators. The regulators will likely have to further expand their focus, from financial entities to financial activities—while possibly also becoming experts in assessing the soundness and security of algorithms. Easier said than done.
Cooperation is key
To make things smoother—at least a bit—we need dialogue. Between experienced regulators and those regulators that are just beginning to tackle fintech. Between policymakers, investors, and financial services firms. And between countries.
Reaching across borders will be critical as the focus of regulation widens—from national entities to borderless activities, from your local bank branch to quantum-encrypted global transactions.
Because of our global membership of 189 countries, the IMF is an ideal platform for these discussions. Technology knows no borders: what is home, what is host? How can we avoid regulatory arbitrage and a race to the bottom? This is about the IMF’s mandate for economic and financial stability, and the safety of our global payments and financial infrastructure.
The stakes—and gains—from cooperation are high. We want no holes in the global financial safety net, however much it gets stretched and reshaped.
I am convinced that the IMF has a strong role to play in this respect. But the Fund will also have to be open to change, from bringing new parties to the table, to considering a role for a digital version of the SDR.
In other words, the IMF is in for the pod-ride.
3. Artificial intelligence
Which brings us to the third and final leg—the transformative effect of artificial intelligence.
Will our governor in 2040 walk into the Bank to polish a monetary policy-setting machine? Will your prediction, Andy [Haldane], of 15 million jobs being automated in the U.K., affect the Bank and its world-class staff?
One thing is clear: we always have more data. Some estimates suggest that 90 percent of the data available today was generated in the past two years. [1] This is not just information on output, unemployment and prices, but also behavioral data on the quirks and irrationalities of the homo economicus.
Thanks to smartphones and the internet, this data is now abundant, ubiquitous, and increasingly valuable as we pair it with artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence is taking immense strides. Over the past year, some of the world’s best players of Go, the ancient board game, have lost to a self-learning computer. For many, that day of reckoning was supposed to be decades away. The machine learned tactics, recognized patterns, and optimized its game—better than we could.
Clearly, the economy is vastly more complex than a game of Go. But over the next generation, machines will almost certainly play a larger role—in assisting policy-makers, offering real-time forecasts, spotting bubbles, and uncovering complex macro-financial links.
But let me reassure you, humans will still be needed.
For one, there is immense uncertainty about the economy. Changes in basic economic relationships need to be spotted, and risks evaluated. Judgment and constant questioning by peers, diversity of opinions, and even a few maverick spirits, will remain essential to good policy. But what if the machine could do that too?
Next is the question of communication. Good monetary policy, as we know, is about story telling. Policy is effective if it can be explained clearly so the public can form expectations about future policy. Could machines really explain their decisions in plain English?
Even if that hurdle could be overcome, a last one remains. Even with the best algorithms and machines, targets will be missed, crises will occur, mistakes will be made. But can machines really be held accountable—to the young couple unable to buy a house, to the working mother finding herself unemployed?
Accountability is key. Without it, we cannot have independence; how else to bestow so much power in a technocratic organization? And without independence, policy is bound to go astray, as this conference reminds us loud and clear.
So no, I do not see machines taking over monetary policy. In 2040, the governor walking into the Bank will be of flesh and bones, and behind the front door she will find people, at least a few.
So there will always be an Old Lady living in Threadneedle Street. [2] And I hope you agree that it is often enlightening to speak to a lady of a certain age!
Conclusion
As our pod journey comes to an end, some of you may wonder about my upbeat tone. For many, this new world of central banking is less Mary Poppins, and more Aldous Huxley: a “brave new world,” much like the one described in Huxley’s famous novel.
I believe that we—as individuals and communities—have the capacity to shape a technological and economic future that works for all. We have a responsibility to make this work.
That is why I prefer Shakespeare’s evocation of the brave new world in The Tempest: “ O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world .”
Thank you.
[1] IMB (2017), “Ten Key Marketing Trends for 2017,” available at https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?htmlfid=WRL12345USEN [2] Allusion to “the Old Lady of Threadneedle street,” namely the Bank of England. |
Scientists create biofuel from waste water used to make olive oil | Researchers at Mulhouse Institute of Materials Science in France have developed a way to transform the polluting waste water that derives from olive oil production into fertiliser and biofuel. Olive mills in Mediterranean countries produce about eight billion gallons of waste water, much of which is disposed of irresponsibly. The scientists embedded the waste water into another waste product, cypress sawdust, then exposed the material to high temperatures without oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis. The material then decomposes into combustible gases and charcoal, the former of which can be condensed into biofuel and the latter used as a fertiliser.
| http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2017/09/30/olive-oil-wastewater-could-be-newest-biofuel-feedstock/ | 2017-10-02 12:26:51.403000 | In France, scientists at Mulhouse Institute of Materials Science are finding ways to use olive oil wastewater, a harmful pollutant, for useful products, like biofuel and fertilizer. They mixed wastewater created from olive oil production with cypress sawdust, another waste product that is common in the Mediterranean, where 97 percent of the world’s olive oil is produced. The mixture was dried and water collected as it evaporated. The water was clean and used for crop irrigation and the dried material was exposed to high temperatures without oxygen (pyrolysis) which caused it to decompose into combustible gas and charcoal pellets. The gas was then collected and condensed into a biobased oil that could be used as a heat source and the charcoal used as crop fertilizer. In field tests, they found that vegetation grown with the charcoal biofertilizer had improved plant growth than those without the biofertilizer. |
Scientists create biofuel from waste water used to make olive oil | Researchers at Mulhouse Institute of Materials Science in France have developed a way to transform the polluting waste water that derives from olive oil production into fertiliser and biofuel. Olive mills in Mediterranean countries produce about eight billion gallons of waste water, much of which is disposed of irresponsibly. The scientists embedded the waste water into another waste product, cypress sawdust, then exposed the material to high temperatures without oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis. The material then decomposes into combustible gases and charcoal, the former of which can be condensed into biofuel and the latter used as a fertiliser.
| http://canadafreepress.com/article/olive-mill-wastewater-transformed-from-pollutant-to-bio-fertilizer-biofuel | 2017-10-02 12:26:51.403000 | During processing, olives are crushed and mixed with water in mills. The oil is separated out of this mixture, and the dirty water and solid residue are discarded. In Mediterranean countries, where 97 percent of the world's olive oil is produced, olive mills generate almost 8 billion gallons of this wastewater annually. Disposing of it has become problematic. Dumping it into rivers and streams can potentially contaminate drinking water and harm aquatic life. Pumping it onto farm land damages the soil and reduces crop yields. Some researchers have tried burning the wastewater with mixtures of solid waste from the mills or waste wood. But these approaches have either been too costly or have produced excessive air pollution. Mejdi Jeguirim and colleagues took a different approach. They wanted to see if they could convert olive mill wastewater (OMW) from a pollutant into sustainable products for practical use. The researchers first embedded OMW into cypress sawdust – another common Mediterranean waste product. Then they rapidly dried this mixture and collected the evaporated water, which they say could be safely used to irrigate crops. Next, the researchers subjected the OMW-sawdust mixture to pyrolysis, a process in which organic material is exposed to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. Without oxygen, the material doesn't combust, but it does thermally decompose into combustible gases and charcoal. The researchers collected and condensed the gas into bio-oil, which could eventually be used as a heat source for OMW-sawdust drying and the pyrolysis process. Finally, they collected the charcoal pellets, which were loaded with potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and other nutrients extracted from the breakdown of OMW-sawdust mixture during pyrolysis. Used as biofertilizers, the researchers found that after five weeks these pellets significantly improved plant growth, including larger leaves, compared to vegetation grown without them. The authors acknowledge funding from the PHC Utique program of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Higher Education and Research; the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the GEDURE project; and the MICA Carnot Institute. " Olive Mill Wastewater: From a Pollutant to Green Fuels, Agricultural Water Source and Biofertilizer |
UK said to face a million-home shortfall by 2022 | The UK must build a million new homes by 2022 to meet growing demand and there is enough brownfield land to accommodate them, according to a study by conveyancing search provider Search Acumen using Office of National Statistics data. "We need to embark on the greatest housing boom this country has seen in a century," said Andrew Lloyd, managing director of Search Acumen. Demand first began to outstrip supply in the mid-2000s, but neither the Conservatives' nor Labour's 2017 election pledges to build more homes would have made up the 530,000 shortfall.
| https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/new-analysis-reveals-shortage-homes-england-set-reach-million-2022/ | 2017-10-02 12:20:18.547000 | The shortfall of new homes in England is set to reach more than a million by 2022 as the gulf between building houses and demand from a growing populations widens, new research shows.
Since 2005 England has seen a cumulative shortfall of more than 530,000 new homes and the projection for the next five years suggests that the situation is not going to get any better.
The analysis from conveyancing search provider Search Acumen using official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that there is enough brownfield land to provide the space to meet housing demand.
Search Acumen compared the volume of new homes completed in England each year since 1976 with new dwellings needed to accommodate the growing number of households over the same period.
It estimated household growth by assessing annual ONS birth, death and migration data, and used the ONS’ average annual number of people deemed a household to determine how many new homes would meet the extra demand.
According to the data, in the mid-noughties the creation of new households outstripped supply for the first time in three decades, a trend which has accelerated as the population in England has increased. This drop has been exacerbated by the average UK household size reducing by 16%, from 2.78 persons in 1976 to 2.34 in 2016, meaning more but smaller households putting increasing demand on property supply.
On the eve of the 2017 general election, both the Conservatives and Labour pledged to increase new home builds between 2017 and 2022. Search Acumen has compared those pledges of 300,000 and 200,000 completed new homes each year over a five year period respectively, to its findings.
According to projections, the Tories’ immediate jump to 300,000 homes per year, double 2016’s completions, would only address the current shortfall in the short term.
Taking a closer look at the gap that developed after 2005, the data can estimate the shortfall in supply created by the slowdown in new house builds. Between 2005 and 2016, more than 530,000 too few homes were built to meet the growing demand.
Search Acumen’s research also projected how many homes would be completed each year and how many more households would be created. If trends do continue, England will need an additional 510,000 homes to meet demand. This, on top of the current shortfall means England could have more one million too few homes by 2022.
More than one million homes additional homes may sound like a daunting proposal in a relatively small country and to illustrate the amount of space needed Search Acumen theoretically speculated as to the amount of potential available land for housing development in England by assessing only available brownfield and green belt land.
According to Government figures, there are currently more than 31,000 hectares of brownfield land in England that is suitable to build homes on. In 2015, house builders were able to build 37 domiciles per hectare on brownfield land. Therefore, Search Acumen’s analysis suggests that there is enough brownfield land in England to meet cumulative demand for housing for the next five years if trends continue.
Finally, Search Acumen estimated how much green belt land could be theoretically affected. The research found that if housebuilders continued to build 14 domiciles per hectare on the more than 1.1 million hectares of green belt land in England, only 14% of all green belt would have to be turned over to developers to meet cumulative demand into 2047.
‘The housing market in all corners of England has ground to a halt as people struggle to find a home that fits their needs and their budgets. Our research suggests that, even with housing supposedly higher up the political agenda, the pledges made at the last election won’t do the job of keeping up with demand in the long-term after years of under-investment into new housing,’ said Andrew Lloyd, managing director of Search Acumen.
‘As supply has weakened, demand continues unabated with more dispersed households, an increasing number of births, and net migration unlikely to be affected by Brexit and proposed changes to border controls,’ he explained.
‘We face a future where first time buyers are further squeezed by rising prices, and where those already on the ladder looking for an affordable home simply cannot. To make up for years of under supply, we need to embark on the greatest housing boom this country has seen in a century,’ he pointed out.
‘But it is possible. We have the space, we have the desire and we have tens of thousands of housing professionals in the private and public sector ready to go. We just need our leaders to share our industry’s sense of urgency and begin laying foundations for economic success right away,’ he added. |
First submarine drone squadron launched by US Navy | The US Navy has launched its first submarine drone squadron, the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron One. The squadron should be fully operational by 2020 for independent undersea missions, replacing part of the Submarine Development Squadron Five. The drones, like their manned counterparts, will be used to search for enemy mines, conduct oceanographic mapping and carry out reconnaissance in areas that are difficult to reach with conventional manned subsea vehicles. | http://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-navy-launches-first-ever-submarine-drone-squadron/ | 2017-10-02 12:12:23.377000 | The U.S. Navy launched its first-ever underwater drone squadron on Wednesday, demonstrating the growing role of unmanned craft as a vital component of the military.
The service expects the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Squadron One, or UUVRON 1, will reach its full operational capability for unmanned undersea missions by 2020, the Drive reported.
The new squadron replaces a smaller unit that was part of Submarine Development Squadron Five, or DEVRON 5, which still contains the USS Jimmy Carter spy submarine, a nuclear-powered behemoth tasked with secret Naval operations.
"Today we are transitioning our UUV detachment into the first UUV squadron," U.S. Navy Captain Robert Gaucher, the outgoing head of DEVRON 5, said at a formal activating ceremony at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Washington. "Why is this historical? It's because in standing up UUVRON 1, it shows our Navy's commitment to the future of unmanned systems and undersea combat."
Currently, most of the Navy's underwater drones are used to search for enemy mines or to conduct oceanographic mapping and research. These drones can often conduct research and reconnaissance faster, cheaper, and for longer periods of time than manned ships. They can also reach areas that are too shallow or narrow for larger ships to pass. |
Pension funds fear paperwork burden from proposed ECB rule change | European pension funds are concerned that a European Central Bank directive will require additional paperwork burdens and eventually lead to new capital requirements being imposed. Proposed regulations require funds to report their investments on a security-by-security basis, beginning with investments for 2018. Fund managers are also concerned that new regulations requiring quarterly, rather than annual, reporting of investments will mean they incur additional costs.
| http://www.pionline.com/article/20171002/PRINT/171009981/ecb-proposal-could-put-added-burden-on-funds | 2017-10-02 12:06:31.207000 | Although the ECB has issued assurances the regulation is to benefit the stability of the eurozone's monetary system, a number of European pension fund associations raised concerns about the costs.
"In consequence of the new reporting requirements, internal operative expenses for German pension funds will rise and new IT modules or programs will become necessary (and will incur) additional costs," said Klaus Stiefermann, CEO at Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur betriebliche Altersversorgung, the German occupational pension funds association in Berlin. AbA represents 174 pension funds with €174 billion ($207.7 billion) in assets.
Gerard Riemen, managing director at Pensioenfederatie, the Dutch pension association based in The Hague, which represents 220 retirement funds with €1.1 trillion in assets, added: "It is not desirable that pension funds must hire a provider to harvest the data. The funds then have no other option but to pass these additional costs on to their participants."
The key sticking points associated with the incoming regulation are the formula by which pension funds will be calculating and reporting liabilities to the ECB, and the frequency of the reporting, pension fund executives said during a public hearing on the regulation held by the ECB on Sept 21.
While most pension funds in the eurozone now report data annually to domestic regulators, the draft regulation on the ECB's website stipulates, that starting in 2019, pension funds will be expected to provide the data quarterly.
Consultants present at the hearing voiced concerns that adhering to new pan-European rules will incur unwanted costs associated with producing the data more regularly. And because domestic reporting rules vary across the eurozone, pension funds fear that they will be expected to aggregate data in unfamiliar ways. Asset owners highlighted at the hearing that some jurisdictions might feature more advanced practices, such as in the Netherlands, where market-based valuations of liabilities are conducted.
But ECB officials said during the hearing that asset owners will be expected to report liabilities according to established models in their respective member states to national central banks and supervisory authorities, which then will provide the required quarterly updates to the ECB.
To collate and streamline the data of occupational pension funds, the ECB teamed up with the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, which supervises occupational pension funds in the eurozone. But sources said the reporting templates expected by the two institutions vary, too, and could be a source of additional work.
"Even though the intention was to coordinate the reporting requirements between the ECB and EIOPA, we doubt that the objective of consistent reporting requirements which avoid double reporting and limit the related costs will be achieved," the AbA's Mr. Stiefermann said. For example, pension funds in Germany will have to report three different sets of data: to the national regulator, the EIOPA and the ECB, he said.
"A different breakdown and a different format for each reporting requirement mean that extra work will be needed," he added. |
FBI keeps secret hacking tools used to access terrorist's phone | The FBI has won its legal battle to protect the identity of the company who provided the hacking tool it used to break into a terrorist's iPhone. The US law-enforcement agency bought the hacking software after Apple refused to help them break the encryption on the iPhone of Syed Farook, who murdered 14 people in a mass shooting in 2015. News organisations filed Freedom of Information requests to obtain details of the cost and nature of the tool, but a court decided that the FBI should not have to disclose such information.
| http://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-allowed-to-keep-secret-details-of-iphone-hacking-tool-court-rules/ | 2017-10-02 12:02:14.287000 | Video: FBI doesn't have to reveal details of iPhone hacking tool
The FBI will not be forced to reveal details of a hacking tool used to break into a terrorist's iPhone, a case that sparked months of legal hostilities between Apple and the US government.
Vice News, USA Today, and the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit to reveal the name of the hacking tool's vendor and its price.
The Justice Dept. launched legal action against Apple, which had refused to help unlock the phone, arguing the device's encryption could not be defeated -- even by the company.
The FBI later obtained a hacking tool -- details of which the agency wants to keep secret.
The tool allowed federal agents to access the phone's contents of Syed Farook, who with his wife Tashfeen Malik murdered 14 people in San Bernardino, California in December 2015 in a mass shooting, later deemed a terrorist attack.
A court gave its final ruling in favor of the FBI late on Saturday.
In her ruling, federal judge Tanya Chutkan said that naming the vendor and its cost would amount to putting a target on its back, and could lead to the loss of theft of the hacking tool.
The FBI said that the vendor's networks are "not as sophisticated" as its own, which could invite cyberattacks against the company.
"It is logical and plausible that the vendor may be less capable than the FBI of protecting its proprietary information in the face of a cyber-attack," said the court. "The FBI's conclusion that releasing the name of the vendor to the general public could put the vendor's systems, and thereby crucial information about the technology, at risk of incursion is a reasonable one."
The tool is said to have only been able to access a "narrow slice" of devices, thought to be iPhone 5C devices running the older iOS 9 operating system.
But the FBI told the court that it may later find "a way to enhance the tool's capabilities."
The news agencies were also fighting for access to the price of the tool. The organizations argued that revealing the price fair game as details had already been publicly made, including one by former FBI director James Comey and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who both put the price of the tool at around the $1 million mark.
The court disagreed.
"Releasing the purchase price would designate a finite value for the technology and help adversaries determine whether the FBI can broadly utilize the technology to access their encrypted devices," said the court.
The court also dismissed the notion that Comey's statements on the price of the hacking tool amounts to an "official disclosure" that compels the release of information.
The news organizations will not be allowed to appeal the case. |
Snapchat uses augmented reality for branded World Lenses | Snapchat has unveiled the first set of its sponsored World Lenses, which allows brands to insert their own mascots, products or objects into Snapchat’s augmented reality (AR) options. The new sponsored AR series is part of a drive to encourage more advertising on Snapchat’s platform. Big brands such as Warner Bros and Bud Lite have already taken up the opportunity to develop advertisements for World Lenses, while Snapchat has suggested that brands could also use the platform to add virtual products to real-life scenes, similar to Ikea’s AR app that allows users to place furniture in their own homes.
| https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/snapchat-world-lenses-sponsored/ | 2017-10-02 11:19:51.197000 | A number of characteristic brand icons could be coming to Snapchat’s augmented reality options. During Advertising Week New York, Snap Inc. debuted the first set of brand sponsored Snapchat World Lenses.
World Lenses put virtual objects in the real world through the Snapchat app and the smartphone camera, allowing users to explore the animated virtual objects from all sides. Now, brands can create sponsored World Lenses, putting their own characters into Snapchat’s AR options.
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The first two sponsored World Filters explore a few of the platform’s opportunities. Warner Bros. is putting the Spinner car from Blade Runner 2049, putting the futuristic car flying through the real world. Bud Light also has a new 3D World Lens in the form of a baseball-game-style beer guy, complete with a little dance.
The idea is to bring a brand’s mascot, product or other easily recognizable items into Snapchat’s mix of augmented reality. While the first two showcase the character side, Snapchat also suggests that brands could use the option to add virtual products to a real-life scene, which isn’t too far from Ikea’s platform that allows users to try out furniture in their own home.
Sponsored World Lenses can be run nationally like the Bud Lite and Blade Runner characters, or can be used in conjunction with Snapchat’s targeted advertising tools, which allows businesses to reach out to specific audiences by age, gender or interests.
Snapchat’s advertising strategy changed earlier this year when the company made an agreement with Oracle Data Cloud for creating targeted ads using third-party data. These types of ads, instead of using information from a Snapchat profile, user data such as online purchases on other sites or spending habits from using a store loyalty card. The tool can be disabled by swiping off the Snap Audience Match, which means Snapchat will only track information shared in the app for advertising.
The new branded World Lenses is part of a series of several updates designed to encourage more advertising on the platform, now that Snap Inc. is on the New York Stock Exchange. Last year, the company also applied for a patent for tech that would recommend ads based on the items inside Snaps.
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