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Best Buy pulls Kaspersky software amid Kremlin influence concerns | US retailer Best Buy has stopped selling security software made by Kaspersky Lab after several US government officials, including the heads of the six major intelligence agencies, expressed fears the "Moscow-based company might be vulnerable to Russian government influence", according to Reuters. A Best Buy spokesperson said customers who bought the software or have active subscriptions can exchange them for alternative products in the next 45 days. Kaspersky Lab denied the allegations and said it had "never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber espionage or offensive cyber efforts".
| https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/9/16280728/best-buy-pulls-kaspersky-lab-products-russia-cybersecurity | 2017-09-11 11:45:12.403000 | Electronics retailer Best Buy will no longer sell security software from Russian internet security company Kaspersky Lab after concerns that the company could be unduly influenced by the Russian government.
This summer, the Moscow-based cybersecurity company has faced a series of allegations that it could be influenced by the Kremlin. During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in May, the heads of the six major US intelligence agencies all said that they wouldn’t be comfortable with the software being used on their computers. In July, the US Senate Armed Services Committee specifically proposed prohibiting the Department of Defense from utilizing Kaspersky Lab products, “due to reports that the Moscow-based company might be vulnerable to Russian government influence,” while the Committee on Science, Space and Technology for the US House of Representatives requested that all 22 government agencies share their documentation and communications regarding the company, according to a report from Reuters.
This could be troubling news for consumers, because the product is widely used, according to an article on NPR. Because of those concerns, Best Buy decided to stop selling the product, a “decision prompted by media reports, congressional testimony, and industry discussion,” according to the Star Tribune, and that while the company didn’t conduct a formal investigation, it “felt there were too many unanswered questions” concerning it. A Best Buy spokesperson told The Verge in an email that the Tribune’s article is accurate, but wouldn’t comment further on specific vendors. The company will allow customers who have purchased the software or who have active subscriptions to exchange it for another product within the next 45 days. |
UN agency wants single database of all drones | The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the UN's aviation agency, is set to support the creation of a global database of drone users, a move likely to precede regulations on drone tracking and flying, which the ICAO has been asked to help draft. The US Federal Aviation Administration recently lost a legal battle against hobbyist fliers, after a court ruled non-commercial drones should be classified as model aircraft and not subject to registration.
| https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/08/the-un-wants-all-drones-registered-in-a-global-database/ | 2017-09-11 11:38:51.613000 | The United Nations' aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), plans to support a single worldwide drone registry. This singular ledger would be easier for law enforcement to sift through than each country's individual UAV ledger.
That might irk US hobbyists, who fought and defeated the FAA in court when it passed a law to force drone owners to sign up for an American registry. The contentious case ended in a decision that classified non-commercial drones as model aircraft, which don't need to be nationally registered. Whether the US drone community cooperates with ICAO's registry is another question.
Conceivably, the UN agency could run the database itself, though no department has been officially tasked to do it. But the registry is likely a precursor to the global regulations on drone flying and tracking that ICAO has been asked to help create, according to Reuters. They could pattern their rules after any of three likely examples: The US's regulations for commercial UAVs, China's registration rules or the anticipated set coming out of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
But the skies only keep getting busier. In the aftermath of hurricane Harvey and the impending Irma, a record number of drones operated by state and local agencies have been speedily greenlit to fly by the FAA, which is finding new ways to parse out legitimate UAV activity from illegal flights. |
Google plans new dashboard to help users control data privacy | Google is launching a mobile-friendly version of its dashboard to make it easier to control how the company uses private data, such as internet history and mobile users' physical locations in Google Maps. The redesigned service will be easier to use on touchscreens, making it more suitable for all devices, including mobiles and tablets. There will also be changes to Google's approach to data relating to personalised ads. The company has recently been researching what customers want from privacy, conducting over 4,000 interviews with people on the subject in 2016.
| https://www.cnet.com/news/google-tailors-its-privacy-control-tool-for-your-phone/ | 2017-09-11 11:24:55.630000 | If you want to understand and tweak how Google uses your private data, the internet giant hopes to make it a bit easier soon with a new dashboard that works better on mobile devices.
The dashboard already lets you see what data Google stores about you, like websites you've opened with the Chrome web browser and destinations that Google Maps thinks you've visited. And you can nudge Google's approach to personalized advertisements.
The mobile-friendly version of the site will arrive "in coming days," Google product manager Greg Fair said in a blog post Friday.
"We redesigned Dashboard from the ground up. The most important change was to improve usability on touchscreens, ensuring Dashboard works well on any device. We also worked to make it easier to see an overview of the Google products you use and your data in each of them. And we made the process for downloading data much easier," Fair said. "It should always be easy for you to make meaningful decisions about your data -- and we decided we could do better."
Online privacy is a big deal, especially with companies like Google, Facebook, Apple , Amazon and Microsoft offering ever more personal services and trying to target ads at just what you're interested in.
Google is trying to get a better handle on what we all want when it comes to privacy, though. It interviewed more than 4,000 people in 2016 to try to learn what's needed. |
Land Registry seeks IT specialists to lead move to digital | The Land Registry is recruiting 13 IT specialists to improve its digital data capabilities. The government had planned to privatise the public agency but dropped the idea after concerns were raised about potential conflicts of interest and a possible threat to public access to data. The registry is now focusing on becoming a "more digital data-driven registration business" with plans to digitise more than 95% of its daily transactions and move towards being a fully digital register. The registry has already launched several digital projects, such as a house price index and an online mapping tool.
| https://publictechnology.net/articles/news/land-registry-seeks-bolster-digital-talent-after-privatisation-plans-shelved | 2017-09-11 11:22:10.277000 | The Land Registry is on the hunt for a team of specialists as it seeks to bolster its digital, data and technology directorate.
The organisation - which keeps an up-to-date register of property transactions in England and Wales - was earmarked for privatisation until a government u-turn at the last Autumn Statement saw ministers instead vow to focus on turning the Land Registery into “a more digital data-driven registration business” in the public sector. MPs, unions and campaigners had warned that privatisation could create serious conflicts of interest in the property market and undermine public access to data.
With its future in the public hands now more certain, the agency is working on a new business strategy which it says will help it move “towards a fully digital register”, with plans to digitise “more than 95%” of its daily transactions.
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The Land Registry has already launched a range of large-scale digital projects in recent years, including the UK's first House Price Index - a joint project with the Office for National Statistics and Land Registry's Scottish and Nothern Irish counterparts - as well as MapSearch, a tool giving customers access to a free online mapping tool to check property and land registration.
As part of its ongoing transformation programme, the Land Registry is now seeking to recruit 13 new IT and digital specialists for its Plymouth headquarters, with chief executive Graham Farrant saying the new hires should be “dynamic, resourceful and ambitious individuals” who will help the organisation become “responsive, market-leading and exceptional”.
The senior executive officer-level roles up for grabs - all of which offer salaries ranging from £38,876 - £42,443 - include six technical delivery lead posts; an infrastructure delivery lead; three test managers; and five senior software engineers.
According to a job specification posted online, all recruits will be expected to “aid HMLR in its vision in becoming a more digital data-driven registration organisation”, with test managers in particular tasked with challenging and supporting the agency as it seeks to build in-house skills.
“You will be responsible for developing capability within the test discipline and increasing knowledge and understanding of the importance of building in quality across the wider development community,” the specification states.
All candidates are, it says, expected to have “experience in leading and developing team collaboration, setting direction and vision” and must hold either a formal IT qualification or have “significant experience in an IT field” to be eligible.
Those interested in applying have until October 2 to put their names forwards, with interviews set to kick off on October 23. |
TalkTalk Openreach set to reduce price of GEA Cablelink | UK network operator Openreach is to reduce the fees for its GEA Cablelink. The one gigabit version will drop from £2,000 to £790 and the 10 Gbps option will drop from £10,000 to £1,800. The company is aiming to reach GEA-FTTP and G.fast customers looking for capacity with the changes, according to one commentator.
| https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/7818-openreach-to-massively-reduce-gea-cablelink-fees?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=newsrss | 2017-09-11 10:54:11.803000 | Openreach to massively reduce GEA cablelink fees
The GEA cablelink is a small but critical part of the Openreach VDSL2 and FTTP puzzle that comprise the GEA product range and while a one off cost of £2,000 may seem small, once you add up the cost of needing to pay that in some 1,200 locations if you want to provide full national coverage via your own backhaul network (as oppossed to buying aggregated links from BT Wholesale) then the sums soon start adding up.
On 6th October 2017 the Openreach price list indicates that the old 1 Gigabit fibre GEA cablelink will drop in price from £2,000 down to £790 and more importantly the 10 Gbps version will drop even more from £10,000 down to £1,800. The 10 Gbps price point is the most important moving forward as it makes adding capacity to deal with GEA-FTTP customers and G.fast customers who may have 160 Mbps to 330 Mbps connections and FTTP should soon have a 1 Gbps option a lot cheaper.
It will be interesting to see if the LLU operators use this price change to start selling the GEA-FTTP products and with counties like Herefordshire, Powys and Gwynedd all having 10 to 11% coverage and increasing. The LLU providers if they don't start selling GEA-FTTP soon run the risk of losing ADSL2+ customers who are keen to upgrade to faster services. To date lots of the rural areas getting FTTP have been exchanges that were never unbundled but that is changing and places like Bristol are starting to see growth in the GEA-FTTP footprint.
The GEA connection (£49+VAT) and migration fees (£11+VAT) have been fairly static for a while, but what many don't realise is that the original 40/2 product has not changed its £6.90+VAT per month price since 2009. The GEA-FTTC 40/10 product is due to see a drop in pricing in 2018 so its current £7.40+VAT per month that has been in place since 2011 will soon change, and its this anticipated drop that has seen TalkTalk switch its customers to the better upload version, leaving Plusnet as the last of the large providers using the bargain basement service - which if prices change as expected will be more expensive than the 40/10 service in 2018.
All the figures in this article only cover the Openreach segments of the network, so BT Wholesale adds its costs for running its network and similar for TalkTalk and Sky, put simply even though providers core networks are cheap to run they are expensive to setup and scaling them to ensure a reliable and consistent service across this core fibre network does cost money.
Another welcome change in October is that Openreach is dropping the held to term charges, so the minimum contract term for a new GEA-FTTC connection will drop from 12 months to just one month. Its unlikely that we will see the biggest operators drop their 12/18 month terms as they use these periods to spread the cost of hardware and acquisition, but we might see more 1 month rolling contract options with higher setup fees to cover the hardware cost from the small to medium providers.
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Cordant recruitment firm becomes social enterprise | Cordant, one of the largest recruitment firms in the UK, is to become a “social enterprise” operating a pay cap and profit-sharing scheme. The company, which supplies 125,000 temporary staff each year to 5,000 clients including Amazon and Tesco, will restrict its pay ratio, meaning that the pay of top earners will not be allowed to exceed 20-times that of the lowest-paid employees. Dividends will also be capped. Social schemes will include offering staff and services to the NHS at cost and educational initiatives. | https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/11/recruitment-agency-cordant-morphs-into-social-enterprise | 2017-09-11 10:29:19.340000 | One of the UK’s largest recruitment firms is to tear up its 60-year-old structure and become a “social enterprise” with a pay cap and profit-sharing plan, in a move the family who own the company hope will inspire others businesses to follow suit.
Cordant, which sends 125,000 temporary staff every year to work for 5,000 clients such as Amazon and Tesco, will announce the radical overhaul this week.
Its largest shareholder, Phillip Ullmann, whose father founded the Cordant Group in 1957, said he hoped to convince clients to follow suit by improving workers’ conditions, predicting a Brexit-related shortage of workers that would give low-paid staff more bargaining power.
The new ethos, cemented by a change to the company’s articles of association, will include a fixed limit on its pay ratio, the gap between its highest- and lowest-paid employees.
Top earners will not be able to take home more than 20 times the salary of its lowest-paid staff, some of whom earn the minimum wage, effectively meaning a salary cap of £400,000.
There will also be a ceiling on dividends paid to its owners, several branches of the Ullmann family, who will not be able take more than £3m out of the business between them in any single year.
Profit, above what is paid to shareholders, will be shared with the company’s 1,500 permanent staff, while company money will be channelled into projects that “address the needs of society”, Cordant said.
It has yet to finalise its plans but this will include offering staff and IT systems to the NHS at cost rather than for profit, which it says will save the health service “millions of pounds”.
Cordant also plans to plough cash into education initiatives to help teachers and improve workplace skills.
As well as overhauling its own model, the company hopes in time to convince some of its clients to adopt similar measures, such as profit shares for the low-paid temporary staff they employ via Cordant.
Ullmann, who lists his favourite film as Mission Impossible, said: “With Brexit there will be a shortage of minimum wage workers so there should be more power to the workers.”
“Brexit will focus the mind,” he added.
He came up with the plan after a discussion with the accountancy firm Deloitte and sought approval from fellow family members, who between them control the company.
Ullmann, whose profile on the Cordant website describes him as “chief energiser”, said: “I was a traditional capitalist. I wanted to make more money and increase the size of the wealth.
“Now I’ve found gold dust, that’s how it feels to me. It will give more satisfaction than just doing more of the same.”
Ullmann said the company would share some its profits with its 1,500 permanent staff, a scheme reminiscent of John Lewis’s annual staff bonus scheme, and would encourage businesses that use its temporary staff to do the same.
But he admitted he could not force clients such as Tesco and Amazon, which use Cordant workers in their warehouses, to come up with similar plans.
“We’re not going to tell clients to put up wages or we won’t work for them,” he said. “If I decided what they pay, wages would be high. It’s a more subtle journey than that.”
He said workers would also benefit from plans to give them more choice in where they work, rate temporary employers and sign up for extra shifts when they want them.
But Cordant’s ambitions to cap its dividend and profits could be limited by its ability to produce them, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
The Uxbridge-based company made a pre-tax loss of £9m last year, although it posted a profit of £3.9m in 2015, and it has not paid a dividend in either of the past two years.
“I recognise the ladder we’re trying to climb but I’m not daunted by the challenges in the way,” said Ullmann.
“We are all in. We’re not going to reverse.”
Cordant also has some way to go to win the hearts and minds of its workers, according to posts on the jobs website Glassdoor, which carries reviews of hundreds of employers.
Some 55 reviewers gave it an average of 2.4 out of 5, a relatively low score compared to other companies. |
South Africa securing biometrics with 'bank' of imposter voices | The South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is targeting fraud at contact centres by developing an "imposter voice bank". SAFPS will work with voice biometric authentication firm OneVault for a six-month pilot, loading voices of known impostors onto a shared database while software using automatically cross-references each call, issuing an alert if a voice matches any on the watch list. The system can also detect the use of artificial voices or vocal manipulation. On average global financial institutions lose $42,546 per account through voice fraud, according to voice biometrics firm Nuance.
| http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164736:SAFPS-OneVault-to-unveil-imposter-voice-bank | 2017-09-11 10:24:25.970000 | More organisations are using voice biometrics as second or third factor authentication.
The South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is partnering with voice biometric authentication solutions provider OneVault to launch a shared imposter voice bank.
According to SAFPS, the initiative, which will be piloted with select participants before national roll-out, aims to reduce fraudulent transactions in local call centres.
Imposter voices will be loaded onto a single shared database created by OneVault. The database will then be distributed for use by multiple companies and automated to trigger alerts in real-time when suspects phone the contact centre.
Over the years, methods of authentication have evolved from an item owned (a driver's licence), to something known (mother's maiden name), to an individual's biometric reference point (voice or fingerprint) and is known as third factor authentication.
Paul Hutton, CEO of OneVault, explains: "Voice biometrics is an authentication solution that is similar to a fingerprint in that it represents an individual's biological construct and is therefore difficult to emulate. Thus, with a combination of two or all factors - commonly known as multi-factor authentication - it's more difficult to commit fraud."
Today, voice biometrics is used across various digital platforms to authenticate users within mobile apps, contact centres, connected cars and smart homes.
The SAFPS says the explosion of online and digital transactions has increased the demand for remote security and, more specifically, remote authentication. Hutton says voice authentication is as accurate as a fingerprint and eliminates the need for an individual to be physically present to conclude a secure transaction.
By using voice biometrics to automatically cross-reference each call with the shared imposter voice bank, the agent will be alerted if there is match against the 'watch list' and a defined process can be followed. The solution is sophisticated enough that it will trigger liveness detection functionality when artificial voice production or voice manipulation is detected, notes SAFPS.
The company encourages all its members to participate, in order to gain access to the recordings of known imposter calls.
"SAFPS has identified an innovative application to combat fraud through contact centres. Most fraud cases touch a contact centre at least once. The implementation of a shared imposter voice bank will have a substantial impact on combating this type of fraud," Hutton points out.
SAFPS says it will run a pilot for six months to enable it to apply necessary considerations to comply with South African regulations.
Manie van Schalkwyk of SAFPS says: "We decided to partner with OneVault to assist in the fight against fraud as they bring exciting new technology in voice biometrics. We want to see competitors taking hands in fighting fraud. Together we can eradicate fraud in SA."
According to international biometrics company VoiceVault, contact centre fraud is a major problem that enterprises globally are struggling to mitigate. Research shows 30% of cross-channel fraud is conducted through social engineering attacks in contact centres. This is a method of hacking that involves assuming someone else's identity in order to convince a live agent to surrender account information over the phone.
Voice biometrics firm Nuance says one out of every 2 500 calls into global financial institution's call centres is a fraudulent call and $42 546 is lost on average per account from phone fraud.
"Voice biometrics have an authentication success rate of 100%, while passwords have been proven to have a 90% success rate and fingerprints have an 80% success rate," adds Nuance. |
Blackboard begins push into Indian education market | US edtech company Blackboard has launched in India as part of a bid to provide its learning services to students across all Indian states by 2020, its president, Lee Blakemore, has said. The company will introduce a price model in line with Indian market conditions, he added. Currently, 110 million students from more than 19,000 educational institutions worldwide use Blackboard's edtech platform.
| http://www.uniindia.com/us-based-blackboard-inc-enters-indian-educational-market/states/news/985692.html | 2017-09-11 10:23:26.987000 | National Cybersecurity Reference Framework launched 12 Jun 2023 | 9:00 PM Pune, Jun 12 (UNI) The Government of India announced on Monday the launch of National Cybersecurity Reference Framework (NCRF) in order to provide a structured guidance on cyber security to the critical sectors of the nation, including telecom, power and energy, transportation, finance, strategic and government entities and health. see more..
SJTA to make wide publicity of Jagannath Mahima 12 Jun 2023 | 8:59 PM Puri, June 12 (UNI) Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will make wide publicity of Jagannath Mahima (glory of Jagannath dharma), and develop the temple website to reach devotees across the globe. see more..
Inhumane lathicharge on Warkaris in Alandi "unfortunate": NCP spokesperson 12 Jun 2023 | 8:54 PM Mumbai, Jun 12 (UNI) NCP state chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase on Monday expressed his deep displeasure over the inhumane lathicharge by police on the Warkaris at Alandi in Pune district saying that it was an "unfortunate" incident that tarnished the 300-year-old tradition of the Warkari Sampraday of Maharashtra. see more..
Air Vice Marshal Vohra calls on DGP J&K 12 Jun 2023 | 8:45 PM Srinagar, June 12 (UNI) Air Vice Marshal Praveen Keshav Vohra, commanding Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh called on the Director General of Police Jammu and Kashmir Dilbag Singh at Police Headquarters here on Monday. see more.. |
Loyyal and MyList partner to widen gift and e-card user base | San Francisco-based blockchain company Loyyal has partnered with Dubai firm MyList, enabling both firms to expand their customer bases. Loyyal's interoperable loyalty and rewards platform offers MyList greater sales volume and increased efficiency, enabled by blockchain technology. Programme operators joining Loyyal's platform will have access to offers with hundreds of retailers across the Middle East and North Africa that are part of gift card and merchandise fulfilment provider MyList's network.
| https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/17/09/a10039201/loyyal-partners-with-mylist-to-increase-e-gift-card-sales-through-bloc | 2017-09-11 10:19:03.183000 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Sept 11, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Loyyal, the leading blockchain network for the loyalty and rewards industry, today announced an accord with MyList, the premier gift card and merchandise fulfillment provider in the MENA region.Through this agreement, MyList's comprehensive network of e-Gift Cards will become available as a potential redemption option for any program operator who joins the Loyyal network."This is a relationship we are very excited about as it will provide extensive new options for program operators running nodes on the Loyyal network. Loyyal's program operators will now have access to e-Gift Card redemption options across 100's of retailers, merchants, and service providers in the MENA region. In addition to this, MyList benefits from increased sales volume - faster, cheaper and more securely than before because it is facilitated by Loyyal's blockchain technology," explained Greg Simon, Founder and CEO of Loyyal."We think the new partnership with Loyyal is an ideal way to expand our sales of e-Gift Cards whilst adding real value to Loyyal's customer experience as well. There are a lot of companies in the loyalty space in the region now, but Loyyal brings a professionalism and dynamic to the market that we can appreciate being a part of," says Julie Leblan, Founder and CEO of MyList Group.Using blockchain to build a global network platform, Loyyal provides existing and new program operators with capabilities that will reduce operating costs through revolutionary efficiencies and increase revenues through dynamic and personalized redemption options. Through this relationship, MyList will target increased revenue on e-Gift Card sales volumes and increased profit margins from the blockchain efficiency.About MyListMyList is the market leader in the MENA region offering comprehensive gift and reward fulfilment services, with both gift cards and merchandise from over 100 tier one retailers throughout the region. After initially pioneering the online gift registry business in the region, MyList has expanded into the employee reward, sales incentive and loyalty programme fulfillment markets. For more information, please visit mylist.ae.About LoyyalLoyyal is reinventing how loyalty is created and rewarded. Using blockchain and smart contract technology, Loyyal has built an interoperable loyalty and rewards platform to address a highly fragmented industry, and offer multiple industries an innovative way to incentivize customer behavior.For information about Loyyal, please visit www.loyyal.com or email to [email protected] Source: LoyyalCopyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. |
SM group offers insurance from shopping malls in the Philippines | Wedding cancellation, personal accident and other insurance will soon be available from the Philippines' largest chain of department stores. The SM group is teaming up with Pioneer Insurance to offer coverage from its mall network, beginning with simple policies for third-party liability and dengue fever. The programme is already being sold from the chain's handle utility bill payment counters. The company sees the move as an opportunity to fill the Philippines' yawning insurance gap by making products more accessible.
| http://business.inquirer.net/236375/sm-malls-start-selling-vehicle-travel-dengue-insurance | 2017-09-11 10:07:41.467000 | The SM group has opened up its vast shopping mall network nationwide to be a pioneering sales platform for insurance products, beginning with the simplest ones that required relatively small premium payments like compulsory third party liability (CTPL), travel and dengue insurance.
Eventually, the plan is to offer protection products even for pets, motorcycles and, further into the future, an insurance for weddings that fail to push through.
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The group has teamed up with 63-year-old Filipino-owned insurer Pioneer Insurance to offer these products to the mass market in a program called “InsureME@SM” or short for “insurance made easy at The SM Store.”
The idea of selling insurance through the SM group’s department store chain—in the same counter where people pay their utility bills—came from BDO Unibank chair and SM Investments Corp. vice chair Teresita Sy, who had seen similar arrangements work well in overseas markets, said BDO Insurance Brokers Inc. general manager and senior vice president Tracy Tan.
The challenge in this market, Tan said, was that awareness about insurance products was much lower compared to other markets. This is reflected in the very low insurance penetration rate in the country, which the SM group deemed as an opportunity.
“If we could make insurance more accessible, then it would create better awareness,” Tan said. “If we offered products that were simple enough to obtain over the counter, then it would increase people’s appreciation of what insurance is all about.”
Tan said Sy did not want to limit the initiative to one product, noting that retailing was all about giving choices to consumers.
“To cut a long story short, BDO Insurance Brokers and SM took on this challenge because we are the leaders in this industry and wanted to blaze the trail in terms of bringing insurance closer and more accessible to every Filipino,” Tan said.
Tan said SM group had tied up with Pioneer exclusively on the distribution of insurance products because this group was committed to invest in the system needed by the project.
“Insurance serves a noble purpose. The payment of a claim often makes a world of difference between an individual turning hopeless and the ability to get on with his life,” Pioneer Life president Lorenzo Chan said.
Once Filipinos have a better understanding of such product, he said this would cease to be a product that insurers would have to push and sell. Chan added that Pioneer was honored to be part of InsureME@SM.
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“Is there anyone who can deny that when it comes to serving millions no one has done it the way the SM has and it still does today?” Chan said.
On travel insurance, Pioneer’s Safe Trip Comprehensive Travel Insurance Worldwide 2.5M provides medical treatment cover of up to P2.5 million and satisfies the Schengen Visa requirement. It also offers personal accident insurance up to P1 million, personal liability up to P1.5 million and covers travel inconveniences such as trip cancellation, flight delay and loss of baggage. It also provides access to emergency and travel assistance hotlines. Safe Trip also comes in the P1 million (for worldwide travel) and P500,000 (for domestic travel) variants.
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Bleach use linked to lung disease | Frequent use of disinfectants, including alcohol, bleach and hydrogen peroxide, has been linked to fatal lung conditions, according to research by Harvard University and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. The study, which used data from 55,000 nurses in the US, found that using such products just once a week could lead to the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increasing by between 24% and 32%. COPD, which is a broad term for conditions including chronic bronchitis and asthma and emphysema, affects 1.2 million people in the UK and kills almost 30,000 each year.
| http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/bleach-use-increased-risk-fatal-lung-disease-health-a7939896.html | 2017-09-11 09:58:35.443000 | Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit 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 regular use of disinfectant cleaning products such as bleach has been linked to an increased risk of developing fatal lung conditions, researchers said.
A study by Harvard University and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) found that using the products just once a week could increase a person's chance of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by nearly a third.
The research involved data from more than 55,000 nurses in the US, and scientists looked at exposure to specific disinfectants, including bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol and chemicals known as quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), which are often used to disinfect surfaces such as floors and furniture.
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All of these were associated with an increased risk of COPD of between 24 per cent to 32 per cent in the study.
COPD is an umbrella term for a series of conditions affecting the lungs including emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthma.
The condition affects an estimated 1.2 million people in the UK, with nearly 30,000 people dying from the disease each year.
Previous studies have linked exposure to disinfectants with breathing problems such as asthma, but it is believed this is the first piece of research to identify a link between disinfectants and COPD.
Dr Orianne Dumas, a researcher at Inserm, said: “The potential adverse effects of exposure to disinfectants on COPD have received much less attention, although two recent studies in European populations showed that working as a cleaner was associated with a higher risk of COPD.
“To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report a link between disinfectants and COPD among healthcare workers, and to investigate specific chemicals that may underlie this association.”
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 / 50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 22 May 2023 Manoj Malde and Clive Gillmor kiss after getting married, the first wedding ever at the Chelsea Flower Show AP UK news in pictures 21 May 2023 People enjoy the warm weather as they take punt tours along the River Cam in Cambridge PA UK news in pictures 20 May 2023 Protesters emerge from the sea as Surfers Against Sewage hold a UK-wide paddle-out protest at Brighton West Pier in East Sussex PA UK news in pictures 19 May 2023 Good Karma ridden by Daniel Muscutt (right) wins the Earl & The Pharaoh Novice Stakes at Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire PA UK news in pictures 18 May 2023 Choristers from the Choir of St John’s College at the University of Cambridge look out from the top of the Chapel Tower before performing the Ascension Day carol - a custom dating back to 1902. PA UK news in pictures 17 May 2023 Oxfam activists wearing 'big heads' of G7 leaders during a demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, highlighting their lack of action to tackle the East Africa hunger crisis ahead of the start of the G7 summit in Japan PA UK news in pictures 16 May 2023 Part of a child’s jacket during a photo call for the China’s hidden century exhibition, which opens at the British Museum PA UK news in pictures 15 May 2023 Viewing assistant and History of Art student Emma Scarr Hall takes a closer look at @Pink Roses’ (1923) by Scottish Colourist artist Leslie Hunter which is estimated at £60,000-80,000 in the forthcoming Bonhams Scottish Art Sale in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 14 May 2023 Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, Sharon Horgan and Anne-Marie Duff, with the award for Drama Series, for Bad Sisters at the 2023 BAFTA TV Awards in London EPA UK news in pictures 13 May 2023 Singer Loreen performing on behalf of Sweden celebrates with the trophy after winning the final of the Eurovision Song contest 2023 AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 12 May 2023 Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer views a cancer tumour under a microscope during a visit to the Francis Crick Institute in north London where he met scientists working on research into lung cancer PA UK news in pictures 11 May 2023 Judging takes during the artisan cheese awards at St Mary’s Church, Melton Mowbray PA UK news in pictures 10 May 2023 A dog joins members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) on the picket line outside HMRC in East Kilbride during a strike in the long-running civil service dispute over pay, jobs and conditions PA UK news in pictures 9 May 2023 Two trains carrying 170 Eurovision song contest superfans arrive into Liverpool Lime Street train station PA UK news in pictures 8 May 2023 Britain’s Prince Louis eats toasted marshmallows as they take part in the Big Help Out, during a visit to the 3rd Upton Scouts Hut in Slough, England, AP UK news in pictures 6 May 2023 King Charles III and Queen Camilla can be seen on the Buckingham Palace balcony ahead of the flypast during the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla Getty UK news in pictures 5 May 2023 Britain's King Charles III leaves after speaking to well-wishers on The Mall near to Buckingham Palace in central London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 May 2023 A night time rehearsal in central London for the coronation of King Charles III PA UK news in pictures 2 May 2023 Teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) at a rally in Westminster, London, as they stage walkouts across England in an ongoing dispute over pay PA UK news in pictures 1 May 2023 Former US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the tarmac after disembarking "Trump Force One" at Aberdeen airport on the north-east coast of Scotland AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 April 2023 Handout photo issued by the Big Partnership of walkers at the start of The Kiltwalk 2023 from Glasgow Green. PA UK news in pictures 29 April 2023 England’s flanker Marlie Packer celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam at the end of the Six Nations international women’s rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in south-west London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 28 April 2023 Lucy Williams, from Aberfan, holds her son Daniel Williams, one, as he takes the handbag of the Princess of Wales, during her visit with her husband the Prince of Wales, to the Aberfan memorial garden, to pay their respects to those who lost their lives during the Aberfan disaster on October 21st 1966 PA UK news in pictures 27 April 2023 Teachers on the picket line outside Bristol Cathedral School, College Square, Bristol, as they take strike action in a dispute over pay PA UK news in pictures 26 April 2023 Protesters wait for the arrival of King Charles III and the Queen Consort for their visit to Liverpool Central Library PA UK news in pictures 25 April 2023 Wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph in central London, in commemoration for Anzac Day PA UK news in pictures 24 April 2023 Waves crash over Tynemouth pier on the North East coast of England PA UK news in pictures 23 April 2023 People cross the finish line at the 2023 London Marathon Getty UK news in pictures 22 April 2023 A Wrexham fan in a Deadpool costume ahead of the Vanarama National League match at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham PA UK news in pictures 21 April 2023 A demonstrator wears a costume as people protest during the Extinction Rebellion's 'The Big One' event, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 20 April 2023 The funeral cortege of Paul O’Grady travels through the village of Aldington, Kent ahead of his funeral at St Rumwold’s Church PA UK news in pictures 19 April 2023 Georgia Harrison, who was a victim of revenge porn, at a demonstration organised by Refuge outside the Houses of Parliament, calling for a violence against women and girls code of practice to be added to the ‘Online safety bill’ PA UK news in pictures 18 April 2023 People walk at the Taihaku Cherry Tree Orchard at Alnwick Gardens in Alnwick, Northumberland Reuters UK news in pictures 17 April 2023 A pelican sits in St James’s Park, London PA UK news in pictures 16 April 2023 People take part in the Nagar Kirtan procession through the city centre in Southampton, during Vaisakhi celebrations to mark the birth of the Khalsa and to celebrate the spring harvest and the solar new year PA UK news in pictures 15 April 2023 Former Chelsea players and fans show the Samaritans' 24-hour helpline number 116 123 on the back of their shirts during the launch of the TalkMoreThanFootball campaign from Three, during halftime of Chelsea v Brighton at Stamford Bridge, London PA UK news in pictures 14 April 2023 Protesters outside York Magistrates’ Court, where Patrick Thelwell is charged with threatening behaviour after eggs were thrown at King Charles III during his visit to York in November PA UK news in pictures 13 April 2023 British milliner Justin Smith, from J. Smith Esquire, with a crown he has created using 319 Scrabble tiles to mark Scrabble's 75th anniversary and King Charles III's coronation PA UK news in pictures 12 April 2023 US President Joe Biden delivers a speech on business development at Ulster University in Belfast AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 11 April 2023 People take part in a rally in Trafalgar Square in London, in support of striking NHS junior doctors, as the British Medical Association holds a 96-hour walkout in a dispute over pay PA UK news in pictures 10 April 2023 Masked people attack a police vehicle with petrol bombs in Derry’s Creggan area on on 25th anniversary of Good Friday Agreement Getty UK news in pictures 9 April 2023 People taking part in the annual procession in Glasgow as part of the Sikh Vaisakhi celebration to celebrate the Birth of the Sikh Nation PA UK news in pictures 8 April 2023 Visitors dressed in costumes during the Star Wars Celebration at the ExCel London in east London PA UK news in pictures 7 April 2023 Lorries queue to enter the Port of Dover in Dover, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 April 2023 Seating being erected on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, central London, ahead of King Charles III’s Coronation. PA UK news in pictures 5 April 2023 Police officers stand guard outside the home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon in Glasgow, Scotland Getty UK news in pictures 4 April 2023 Workers protest outside Google London HQ over the treatment of staff facing redundancies PA UK news in pictures 3 April 2023 Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union on the picket line outside the Passport Office in east London, as more than 1,000 members of the PCS working in passport offices in England, Scotland and Wales begin a five week strike as part of the civil service dispute PA UK news in pictures 2 April 2023 Coaches wait to enter the Port of Dover in Kent after extra sailings were run overnight to try and clear the backlog which has left passengers stuck in Easter traffic for hours PA UK news in pictures 1 April 2023 Waves crash against the lighthouse in Seaham Harbour, County Durham PA
Dr Dumas will present the findings at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan on Monday, where she will highlight that further research is needed to clarify the impact of disinfectant use in the home.
She added: “In particular, we need to investigate the impact on COPD of lifetime occupational exposure to chemicals and clarify the role of each specific disinfectant.
“Some of these disinfectants, such as bleach and quats, are frequently used in ordinary households, and the potential impact of domestic use of disinfectants on COPD development is unknown.
“Earlier studies have found a link between asthma and exposure to cleaning products and disinfectants at home, such as bleach and sprays, so it is important to investigate this further.”
As part of the research, scientists looked at 55,185 female registered nurses enrolled in the US Nurses' Health Study II, which began in 1989.
They looked at those nurses who were still in a nursing job and with no history of COPD in 2009, and then followed them for approximately eight years until May 2017.
During that time 663 nurses were diagnosed with COPD.
The nurses' exposure to disinfectants was evaluated via a questionnaire and other factors that could have distorted the results, such as the age, weight and ethnicity of the subjects, were taken into account.
Press Association |
Google plans appeal against €2.4bn EU fine over shopping service | Google has prepared an appeal in response to its €2.4bn ($2.9bn) fine from the European Commission for breaking EU monopoly laws. In June, the commission accused Google of exploiting its 90% domination of the search market to cut out rivals by pushing e-commerce sales to its shopping service. The fine is the biggest ever issued by the EU for anti-competitive behaviour. The commission is also investigating whether Google has an unfair advantage over rival online retailers because of its maps and image services. | http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/09/10/google-set-appeal-against-record-24bn-eu-competition-fine | 2017-09-11 09:49:26.947000 | Google has lined up an appeal in response to its record fine €2.4bn from the EU over allegedly breaking monopoly laws.
Google looks to appeal its record fine
The costly slap on the wrist will be appealed on Monday according to a report in the Telegraph. While the company has coughed up the fine, further down the line, it expects to face further charges on its online advertising and mobile operating system. |
AARP: Specialty drug retail pricing escalates | Retail prices for specialty drugs widely used by older Americans has surged, while pricing for generic drugs has dipped despite sharp hikes for some medications, according to a pair of new AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) reports.
| http://www.chaindrugreview.com/aarp-specialty-drug-retail-pricing-escalates/ | 2017-09-11 09:43:08.350000 | Generic drug retail prices decrease, despite some steep hikes
WASHINGTON — Retail prices for specialty drugs widely used by older Americans has surged, while pricing for generic drugs has dipped despite sharp hikes for some medications, according to a pair of new AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) reports.
For the specialty drugs examined in the study, retail prices jumped by an average of 9.6% between 2014 and 2015, the highest increase since at least 2006, AARP said. Meanwhile, results were somewhat mixed in the generis segment: Though retail prices declined overall in 2015, 11% of generic drugs experienced price gains, with some topping 100%.
In 2015, the average annual cost of therapy with one specialty drug was $52,486, over three times higher than the average Social Security retirement benefit ($16,101) and twice the median income ($25,150) for someone on Medicare, AARP noted.
Conversely, the average annual cost of therapy for one generic drug in 2015 was $523, down from $714 the year before.
Of the 11% of generic drugs which saw price hikes, all of the increases surpassed the rate of general inflation. Between 2010 and 2015, all but one of the 399 widely used generics in the AARP PPI study experienced at least one retail price increase. Some of the price rises were steep, exceeding 100%. AARP said two manufacturers upped the retail price of doxycycline hyclate, a commonly used generic antibiotic, by more than 1,000%, the highest price increase noted in the generic drug report.
“American families can’t afford to keep paying for prescription drugs that cost more money than their salaries,” AARP chief public policy officer Debra Whitman said in a statement. “These price increases are particularly hard on older adults, who take an average of 4.5 prescription drugs per month and often live on fixed incomes.”
For the two studies, AARP’s PPI and the PRIME Institute at the University of Minnesota developed market baskets to gauge retail price trends among specialty and generic drugs widely used by older Americans, including Medicare beneficiaries. The market baskets for the Rx Price Watch reports included 101 specialty drug products and 399 generic drug products. Using data from the Truven Health MarketScan Research Databases, the studies analyzed retail price changes between 2006 and 2015 for the products in each basket. Medications included products used to treat common and often chronic health conditions, including high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis and hypertension.
Used to treat complex, chronic health conditions, specialty drugs often require special care in how they are administered to patients, as well as in how they are handled and stored, AARP noted. Many specialty drugs treat conditions common among older people, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer.
Based on the retail prices of the 101 specialty drugs examined, the average annual increase in retail prices was 9.6% (2014–2015), compared with 8.9% the year before. In contrast, the general U.S. inflation rate was 0.1%.
The average annual cost of specialty drug therapy used on a chronic basis climbed by almost $35,000 between 2006 and 2015. And in 2015, the average annual price of therapy for specialty medications was nine times higher than the average annual price of therapy for branded drugs and 100 times higher than the average annual price of therapy for generic drugs.
One drug, HP Acthar Gel, was dropped from the specialty drug analyses because its sharp one-time retail price increase (over 1,300%) in 2007 distorted the overall trends, AARP reported.
According to the retail prices of the 399 generics studied, the average annual retail cost of generic drug therapy was about $2,350 in 2015, more than twice the figure in 2006, when the Medicare Part D program began. One widely used generic diabetes drug had a 450%-plus retail price increase in 2015. AARP said the average annual generic drug price fell 19.4% from 2014 to 2015.
“Generics drugs currently account for almost nine out of 10 prescriptions filled at the pharmacy but only a quarter of total drug costs,” stated generic report co-author Leigh Purvis, director of health services research for AARP’s PPI. “Given Americans’ long-standing reliance on these products for savings — as well as recent price trends for brand-name and specialty drugs — it is incredibly important that we identify and mitigate the factors behind recent generic drug price increases.” |
Fate of controversial California drug price bill up in air | A closely watched California bill could soon become the nation’s most comprehensive law aimed at shining a light on prescription drug prices. Senate Bill 17’s goal of moving toward “transparency” in drug prices would enable health insurers to negotiate lower prices for drugs or, in many cases, replace those drugs with cheaper alternatives, its supporters say.
| http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/08/fate-of-controversial-california-drug-price-bill-up-in-air/ | 2017-09-11 09:41:02.277000 | SACRAMENTO — A closely watched California bill could soon become the nation’s most comprehensive law aimed at shining a light on prescription drug prices.
Senate Bill 17’s goal of moving toward “transparency” in drug prices would enable health insurers to negotiate lower prices for drugs or, in many cases, replace those drugs with cheaper alternatives, its supporters say. They argue that the measure could make a huge difference because when California has required cost transparency in other areas of the health care industry, prices have stabilized or even decreased.
The bill is furiously opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which has deployed legions of lobbyists and paid for full-page newspaper ads as the Legislature gets ready to take final votes on the measure, partially out of fear that SB 17 could become a national model and the first major step toward price controls.
“It’s a big deal,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a consumer advocacy group. “We have never come so close to having prescription drug price reform in my 15 years of doing this.’’
SB 17 requires pharmaceutical companies to notify health insurers and government health plans like Medi-Cal at least 60 days before scheduled prescription drug price hikes that would exceed 16 percent over a two-year period. It would also force drug companies to explain the reasons behind those increases.
The bill, which passed the Senate 28-10 in May, is set for a vote on the Assembly floor as early as Monday. The Assembly vote is expected to be much closer than the Senate vote.
Transparent or misleading?
The uproar over stratospheric drug costs has been building in the past few years, spurred by headlines over things such as the $600-plus retail price for a two-pack of EpiPens, the lifesaving auto-injector.
Under SB 17, whose main author is Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, health insurers also would have to annually report the 25 most frequently prescribed drugs, the 25 most costly drugs, the 25 drugs with the highest year-over-year increase in total annual spending and the proportion of premiums spent on prescription drugs.
Getting those numbers, Hernandez said, should help health insurers and the public get a better sense of which drugs are driving up the cost of health care.
“There is a level of frustration with the black box of drug pricing and the uncertainty of price increases and the ability of states to balance their budgets,’’ said Trish Riley, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. “It’s the perfect confluence of circumstances that gives states the impetus to act.’’
But pharmaceutical companies call SB 17 misleading because the list prices set by drug makers — like those set by car manufacturers — aren’t what most health plans pay after negotiating discounts, or what consumers actually shell out after they use rebates and coupons.
“The bill, which claims to be about price transparency, is not going to do what it claims to do,’’ said Priscilla VanderVeer, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group that represents 37 drug companies.
“When you are not having a conversation about the actual facts on the ground in the marketplace, then what is your legislation going to help accomplish?’’ asked VanderVeer, who said her group has tried to work with Hernandez on solutions, “but he is not going to talk to us anymore.’’
Hernandez disputes that characterization.
“We have been trying to work with the opponents,’’ said Hernandez, an optometrist who is chairman of the Senate Health Committee and is a candidate for lieutenant governor. “It doesn’t matter what we do. They’re always opposed to this bill because they don’t like being told what to do. What they want is to do nothing.’’
More support
The impact of SB 17, health industry experts say, could very well lead to other states adopting California’s template if Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill into law.
At least three states — Vermont, Maryland, Nevada — have similar laws. But California’s is considered the most comprehensive, in part because it covers generic as well as brand drugs.
Hernandez introduced a similar bill last year, but he pulled the measure at the last minute after it was watered down with amendments.
He said he learned from the experience, went back and changed some parts of the bill.
The new bill has a lot more support than last year. Backers now include a handful of Republican legislators, the California Hospital Association, as well as more businesses and chambers of commerce. Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, of San Francisco, also has signed on as a financial backer, alongside labor unions and insurers.
But most importantly, Hernandez said, he has the public on his side.
A poll conducted in April by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that most Americans favor tough government actions to lower drug costs. Eighty-six percent said drug companies should be required to publicly release information on how prices are set.
“One thing economists agree on is that we provide monopoly power to the drug industry when we give them patents for their discoveries,’’ said David Chiu, a San Francisco assemblyman who co-authored the bill. “What we don’t know is whether the billions of dollars earned by those companies are a fair rate of return, or price gouging in return for that monopoly power.’’
Cost of drugs
A drug made by Foster City-based Gilead Sciences has become another flashpoint in the debate over drug prices. Sovaldi, which cures Hepatitis C, surfaced in 2014 with a list price of $84,000 for a 12-week course of treatment.
When Gilead introduced Sovaldi, the state had to budget $340 million more for its Medi-Cal recipients in fiscal year 2014, Hernandez said.
“If we would control costs, even just slightly, the money could be used to pay for things like increased (Medi-Cal) provider fees, dental care restored for the poor and a lot of social services,” he said.
But drug manufacturers say the cost to develop drugs — 90 percent of which never get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — means the profits from those medications that do succeed must subsidize the failures.
Moreover, they say, the way Americans pay for medications is much more complex than most consumers realize. Many of them don’t understand that drug manufacturers routinely offer significant price concessions to insurers and consumers, according to the California Life Sciences Association, which represents at least 300 biopharmaceutical companies in the Golden State.
In 2015, the group said, discounts, rebates and other price concessions offset the price increase of brand name drugs by roughly 80 percent.
“It’s discouraging that California is moving forward with something like SB 17 that really just looks at the drug maker’s list prices,’’ said Brett Johnson, the trade association’s senior director of policy and regulatory affairs. “I don’t think that will help consumers or insurers or the public — or really help anyone understand the actual costs.” |
Specialty Drug Prices Increase at Fastest Rate in Over a Decade | Retail prices for specialty prescription drugs widely used by older Americans ballooned by an average of 9.6 percent between 2014 and 2015, the highest increase since at least 2006, while retail prices for some generic drugs saw more mixed results, with 11 percent showing price increases according to two new AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) reports released Thursday.
| https://www.pharmpro.com/news/2017/09/specialty-drug-prices-increase-fastest-rate-over-decade | 2017-09-11 09:40:23.533000 | Retail prices for specialty prescription drugs widely used by older Americans ballooned by an average of 9.6 percent between 2014 and 2015, the highest increase since at least 2006, while retail prices for some generic drugs saw more mixed results, with 11 percent showing price increases according to two new AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) reports released Thursday. While generic drug prices decreased overall in 2015, 11 percent of generic drugs saw price increases, some exceeding 100 percent.
Specialty drugs generally include drugs used to treat complex, chronic health conditions. They often require special care in how they are administered to patients, as well as in how they are handled and stored. Many specialty drugs treat conditions that are common among older people, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer.
In 2015, the average annual cost of therapy with one specialty drug was $52,486, an amount more than three times higher than the average Social Security retirement benefit ($16,101) and twice the median income ($25,150) for someone on Medicare. By comparison, the average annual cost of therapy for one generic drug in 2015 was $523, down from $714 the year before.
Among the 11 percent of generic drugs which saw price increases, all of the increases exceeded the rate of general inflation. Between 2010 and 2015, all but 1 of the 399 widely-used generic drugs in this study experienced at least one retail price increase. Some of these price increases were extraordinary, exceeding 100 percent. Two manufacturers increased the retail price of doxycycline hyclate, a commonly-used generic antibiotic, by over 1,000 percent, the highest price increase noted in the generic drug report.
“American families can’t afford to keep paying for prescription drugs that cost more money than their salaries,” said AARP Chief Public Policy Officer Debra Whitman. “These price increases are particularly hard on older adults, who take an average of 4 ½ prescription drugs per month and often live on fixed incomes.”
Specialty Rx Price Watch Report Highlights
Based on the retail prices of 101 specialty drugs:
The average annual increase in retail prices was 9.6 percent (2014–2015), compared with 8.9 percent the year before. In contrast, the general U.S. inflation rate was 0.1 percent.
The average annual cost of specialty drug therapy used on a chronic basis rose by nearly $35,000 between 2006 and 2015.
In 2015, the average annual price of therapy for specialty drugs was nine times higher than the average annual price of therapy for brand name drugs and 100 times higher than the average annual price of therapy for generic drugs.
One drug, HP Acthar Gel, was dropped from the specialty drug analyses because its enormous one-time retail price increase (1,300 percent+) in 2007 distorted the overall trends.
Generic Rx Price Watch Report Highlights
Based on the retail prices of 399 generic drugs:
The average annual retail cost of generic drug therapy was about $2,350 in 2015, more than twice what it was in 2006 when the Medicare Part D program began.
In 2015, one widely-used generic diabetes drug had a 450 percent+ retail price increase.
The average annual generic drug price decreased 19.4 percent (2014–2015).
“Generics drugs currently account for almost nine out of 10 prescriptions filled at the pharmacy but only a quarter of total drug costs,” said Leigh Purvis, Director of Health Services Research, AARP Public Policy Institute, and co-author of the report. “Given Americans’ long-standing reliance on these products for savings—as well as recent price trends for brand name and specialty drugs—it is incredibly important that we identify and mitigate the factors behind recent generic drug price increases.”
About Rx Price Watch Report Methodology
AARP’s Public Policy Institute, in collaboration with the PRIME Institute at the University of Minnesota, developed market baskets used to examine retail price trends among brand name, generic, and specialty drugs that are widely used by older Americans, including Medicare beneficiaries. The most recent Rx Price Watch reports focus on specialty and generic drug products.
The specialty market basket includes 101 specialty prescription drug products. The generic market basket includes 399 generic prescription drug products. Using data from the Truven Health MarketScan Research Databases, the reports analyzed retail price changes between 2006 and 2015 for the drug products in each market basket. The medications include products used to treat common and often chronic health conditions, including high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, and hypertension.
The full reports can be found at http://www.aarp.org/rxpricewatch.
Additional Resources
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment.
(Source: PR Newswire) |
When It Comes to the Drug Pricing Debate, Talk Is Cheap | In the last several months, individual companies have begun to take actions in an attempt to address pricing concerns and demonstrate their ability to “self-police” — especially in the face of bad actors that have fueled hatred of the pharmaceutical industry by taking significant price increases on single-source products.
| https://morningconsult.com/opinions/comes-drug-pricing-debate-talk-cheap/ | 2017-09-11 09:39:22.093000 | In the last several months, individual companies have begun to take actions in an attempt to address pricing concerns and demonstrate their ability to “self-police” — especially in the face of bad actors that have fueled hatred of the pharmaceutical industry by taking significant price increases on single-source products.
These actions have ranged from taking pledges to limit annual price increases to improving transparency of pricing — including disclosing price increases, entering into value-based pricing schemes and devising innovative partnerships to lower the cost of certain medicines for patients — to entering into new partnerships to provide discounts on the medicines they sell at the pharmacy.
But the question remains — to what extent have or will these actions actually make a difference in how these companies are perceived by the public and by legislators? What is the potential benefit of these various actions for reputation, for gaining a seat at the table in policy discussions or for fighting off damaging state and federal legislation — compared to the potential risk of maintaining the status quo? Is staying out of the news enough, or are proactive actions required?
APCO Worldwide recently conducted opinion research to try and answer these questions and to understand what actions may be most helpful in positively positioning pharmaceutical companies in the current debate on drug pricing. Specifically, we asked stakeholders — including the opinion-leading public, health care providers and policymakers — what actions most demonstrate companies are doing the “right thing” when it comes to access and affordability.
So what moves the needle the most? We found that stakeholders want to see companies demonstrate that they have patients’ best interests in mind, act as an advocate to improve access and affordability. What actions accomplish this?
1.) Advocate for policies aimed at improving access to medicines – Companies must have a point of view on how to improve access and affordability for patients, and publicly advocate for that position.
2.) Partner to improve access – Stakeholders like to see companies working with others in the system — health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers or others — to improve access to patients. This suggests innovative discount programs that have recently been implemented by companies to reduce prices to patients at the pharmacy are widely viewed as positive.
3.) Share details on how medicines are priced — Transparency, transparency, transparency. Even if it doesn’t change how prices are determined, stakeholders expect to see companies disclosing more information about how their medicines are priced. Transparency helps improve trust and demonstrates companies are not taking advantage of patients or the system.
On the flip side, our research also showed the actions that don’t break through, or that can make things worse.
Interestingly, we found that maintaining the status quo will not be enough to address stakeholder concerns. Specifically, companies have increasingly tried to communicate that they negotiate with payers to help improve access — something that has been done in the industry for a long time — but this activity is not viewed especially favorably. Nor are the access programs that provide free or discounted medicines to patients in need — programs which companies have long touted.
Bottom line: Communicating more while continuing to do the same things will not help quell the ongoing criticism.
And finally, the worst companies can do? Get called out as a bad actor. Whether for taking large price increases or launching a medicine with a high price, giving large bonuses or salaries to senior executives or making exceptionally high profits, media coverage of these actions is distinctly viewed by stakeholders as doing “the wrong thing.”
While concerns about pricing are unlikely to dissipate in the near future, these results clearly demonstrate that there are several “right things” companies can do to address concerns.
The catch? Companies must be past the point of relying on words alone, and be willing to take concrete action that either directly alleviates patients’ pocketbook pains or addresses the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the high cost of drugs everyone is hearing about.
Over the last year, we’ve seen several companies take steps aimed at doing just that — from efforts meant to clarify their approaches to pricing to those engaging unique partnerships to provide additional discounts at the pharmacy counter.
In the end, our research suggests it will be these same companies that are increasingly able to move the needle and meaningfully engage in the pricing debate moving forward.
Chrystine Zacherau is a senior director with APCO Insight, the opinion research group at APCO Worldwide, and manages APCO Insight’s global health care research. April Claassen is a director of health policy in APCO Worldwide’s Washington, D.C., office and works with APCO’s health care clients.
Morning Consult welcomes op-ed submissions on policy, politics and business strategy in our coverage areas. Updated submission guidelines can be found here. |
For Low-Income Drug Users, Medi-Cal Offers A Fresh Start | Breann Johnson stopped using heroin on Mother’s Day this year, determined to end her 13-year addiction. Days later, she began three months of residential treatment in Riverside, Calif. — all paid for by California’s Medicaid program.
| http://khn.org/news/for-low-income-drug-users-medi-cal-offers-a-fresh-start/ | 2017-09-11 09:38:44.610000 | Breann Johnson stopped using heroin on Mother’s Day this year, determined to end her 13-year addiction. Days later, she began three months of residential treatment in Riverside, Calif. — all paid for by California’s Medicaid program.
Johnson, who has two young sons, said other inpatient drug rehab programs had refused to accept Medicaid, and she knew outpatient care would not be enough to break her habit.
“I couldn’t stop,” said Johnson, 28. “With my drug, you are either sick all day or you have to do it to make yourself feel better.”
As the opioid epidemic burns a path of devastation through communities across the nation, California is leading the way in revamping treatment for low-income residents like Johnson. Before this year, the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, covered only limited and episodic care. Now, it pays for a much broader range of treatment including expanded access to medications, inpatient beds, individual therapy and case managers.
Use Our Content This KHN story can be republished for free ( details ).
The five-year pilot project, which gives the state flexibility in its use of federal money, was approved in 2015 by the agency that oversees Medicaid. The California project officially started earlier this year. Virginia, Massachusetts and Maryland also have federal permission to expand drug treatment for Medicaid members. Other states, including West Virginia and Michigan, are seeking it.
California’s drug rehab overhaul makes it easier for Medi-Cal members to get care and improves their chances of long-term recovery, state health officials said. It also aims to reduce costs by decreasing use of emergency rooms and hospitals and keeping drug-addicted enrollees out of jail and out of the child welfare system.
“It is such a dramatic change to our substance abuse field,” said Marlies Perez, chief of the substance use disorder compliance division at the state Department of Health Care Services. “We turned off one system one day and turned on a whole new system the next.”
Health officials and service providers say that with the federal waiver they are finally able to address addiction as a chronic disease. Instead of simply getting short-term outpatient care, Medi-Cal beneficiaries can receive ongoing treatment from detoxification through recovery, tailored to their specific needs.
“The old traditional way was a rather canned approach to recovery,” said Bruce Copley, director of the Department of Alcohol and Drug Services in Santa Clara County.
The state does not yet know how much the changes will cost, because the program is open-ended: Anyone eligible for the services in the participating counties can receive them. In previous years, the state has spent about $180 million annually on drug rehabilitation for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Perez said the state is only beginning to receive bills and is hoping to prove to the federal government that the changes will actually reduce overall costs related to substance abuse.
Drug rehab providers still fear for the future of Medicaid given the ongoing debate over health care in Washington, said Tom Eby, clinical director of Whiteside Manor, a nonprofit residential treatment center in Riverside. If his clients lost their Medicaid coverage — or the federal government ended California’s drug rehab program — it could imperil the progress being made, Eby said.
“It would go back to what it was, with these folks dying on the street,” he said.
Thirty-eight of the state’s 58 counties have joined California’s Medi-Cal pilot. Riverside and San Mateo started in February. Other counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have come on board since.
The big increase in the availability of residential care is a significant aspect of the program, since it could reduce the chance of relapse or overdose for those with severe addictions. Previously, Medicaid did not cover treatment in inpatient rehab facilities with more than 16 beds. That resulted in long waiting lists. Inpatient stays typically were paid for by the county, a private insurer or the person being treated.
In Riverside County, Medi-Cal recipients used to wait more than two months for a bed. Now, many of them get one in a day or two, according to Rhyan Miller, the county’s substance abuse services program administrator.
At MFI Recovery’s women’s center in Riverside, known as A Woman’s Place, residents now have access to a licensed vocational nurse, a driver to take them to appointments and a discharge planner. They can stay 90 days (with a possible 30-day extension) and longer if they are pregnant.
Johnson said she was grateful to get in without a long wait. If she hadn’t, the Riverside woman said, “I would either be on the streets or dead.”
Brittany Stearns, another resident, said her parents had paid $48,000 for an earlier stay at a private residential treatment center to treat opioid addiction. When she relapsed three years later, the 32-year-old Palm Springs resident knew her parents wouldn’t pay for it again.
“I needed help,” said Stearns, whose 2-year-old daughter, Molly, lives with her at the center. “If Medi-Cal didn’t pay for this, I am afraid to think about where I would be.”
Johnson and Stearns both completed their residential treatment and are now getting follow-up outpatient care.
Perez, of the health care department, said that although the project is scheduled to run five years, the state does not intend to return to the old way of doing business. It hopes to persuade the federal government to continue allowing spending flexibility. “This is already impacting not only Medi-Cal but other individuals who are receiving substance abuse disorder services,” she said.
That’s because clinics have made sweeping changes to meet the new Medi-Cal requirements for participation, including the recruitment and training of new employees. Counties are also now using guidelines set by the American Society of Addiction Medicine — another condition of participation.
When the new program started, thousands of people called in to a substance abuse line for screening and referral, said Miller of Riverside County. That was up from fewer than 200 calls the previous month.
“We didn’t expect this,” he said. “It has been absolutely crazy. The sheer numbers of calls completely overwhelmed and also excited us.”
At Whiteside Manor, director Ron Vervick said the additional reimbursement from Medi-Cal enabled him to hire more counselors, drivers, nurses and intake workers. Many of the residents at Whiteside are homeless and mentally ill. In the past, he said, they didn’t get the care they needed.
One resident of Whiteside Manor, Kendall Jenkins, sought treatment in early May after years of heavy drinking and drug use that included heroin, methamphetamines and pills — “anything I could get my hands on.” A former college golfer and hotel valet, Jenkins, 30, was homeless off and on, and spent stretches living in his car. He recently left the facility, found work at a hotel and is staying in a sober-living home nearby.
Jenkins said that when he learned Medi-Cal would cover his stay at Whiteside, he felt relieved. He was able to participate in individual counseling and group therapy and said the center “saved my life.”
Though he still thinks a lot about using heroin, he knows where he would end up if he did.
“It’s not worth it,” he said. “I know I can do this.”
KHN’s coverage in California is funded in part by Blue Shield of California Foundation. |
How Democrats learned to stop worrying and love 'Medicare for all' | First, consider this: It's the summer of 2019 and a dozen Democratic presidential candidates are gathered onstage for a debate somewhere in the Midwest. The network moderator concludes her introductions and tees up the opening question.
| http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/09/politics/bernie-sanders-single-payer-bill-support/index.html | 2017-09-11 09:37:16.207000 | Story highlights Sanders campaigned relentlessly against the Republican bills, mostly in the Midwest and Rust Belt. Public opinion polls have begun to show more support among Democrats for single-payer.
CNN —
First, consider this: It’s the summer of 2019 and a dozen Democratic presidential candidates are gathered onstage for a debate somewhere in the Midwest. The network moderator concludes her introductions and tees up the opening question.
“Who here tonight supports moving the United States toward a single-payer, or ‘Medicare for all,’ taxpayer-funded health care system?”
Pause it there and rewind to January 2016 in Iowa. The caucuses are days away, and Hillary Clinton is fending off an unexpected challenge from Sen. Bernie Sanders. The discussion turns to single-payer, and Clinton balks.
“People who have health emergencies can’t wait for us to have a theoretical debate about some better idea that will never, ever come to pass,” she tells voters in Des Moines, explaining her campaign’s focus on preserving and expanding Obamacare, while dismissing the progressive insurgent’s more ambitious pitch.
Go back even further now to the last contested Democratic primary before that, in 2008, and recall the lone and lonely voices in favor of single-payer care. They belonged to Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel. The pair combined for a delegate haul of precisely nil.
Back to the present – a decade on – and after a chaotic months-long push by Republicans to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the prospect of Sanders’ “Medicare-for-all” program has emerged as the hot-button centerpiece of the Democratic Party’s roiling public policy debate.
Ticket to ride
After a summer that has seen so many of the party’s most ambitious officials and brightest prospects line up in vocal support of what was so recently a fringe cause, consider again how the single-payer question will be received on a Democratic debate stage. Here’s a hint: Expect to see a lot of hands.
Still, for a party on its heels in Washington and around the country, the 2020 race is a distant star. If Democrats fail to claw back enough seats in next year’s midterm elections, the health care conversation will remain in its current state: purely hypothetical.
But as Sanders prepares to unveil his new legislation next week, the broader left is beginning to coalesce around a vision that holds up universal, government-backed health care as a core Democratic party principle. The Vermont independent’s forthcoming bill – its arrival delayed on at least three occasions by Washington’s unique rancor – has Senate cosponsors in Kamala Harris, Kirstin Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cory Booker, Jeff Merkley, and Tammy Baldwin. More Democrats could join before its unveiling on Wednesday. The House companion bill, from Michigan Rep. John Conyers, has 117 cosponsors, a little more than 60% of the entire caucus.
About half of those cosponsors signed on after House Republicans introduced their first hack at Obamacare repeal, the American Health Care Act. For the better part of five months, Democrats in both chambers, along with a coalition of liberal protesters, fought to wrest defections from the GOP line. Ultimately, it was a single vote in the Senate – delivered well after midnight on a Friday morning in late July – that signaled an improbable rearguard victory.
Thanks, President Trump
But even before Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain angled his thumb toward the floor, the effort to unwind Obama’s signature legislative feat was beginning to backfire on the GOP.
Sanders set the tone early on. About a week after House Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled the AHCA in March, he tweeted a warning.
“Never lose sight of the fact that our ultimate goal is not just playing defense,” Sanders wrote. “Our goal is a Medicare-for-all, single payer system.”
Never lose sight of the fact that our ultimate goal is not just playing defense. Our goal is a Medicare-for-all, single payer system. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 12, 2017
Sanders campaigned relentlessly against the Republican bills, mostly in the Midwest and Rust Belt. His criticism was lacerating. In June he told a Saturday night crowd in Pittsburgh that if the GOP plan’s implementation would be “a moral outrage that this nation will never live down.” After rolling into Ohio overnight, he rose in Columbus the next day as part of a joint barnstorming effort with organizers from MoveOn.org to brand the Republican proposal “the most anti-working-class legislation ever passed in the modern history of our country.”
Not 24 hours later, Sanders’ Democratic colleagues began amassing on the steps of the Capitol in Washington; their conversation, kicked off by Booker and Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who broadcast it a Facebook Live, went viral. Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, now considering a bill of his own that would allow anyone to buy-in to Medicaid, and Gillibrand joined in early on.
“Health care should be a right, it should never be a privilege,” Gillibrand said, almost in passing. “We should have Medicare-for-all in this country.” One viral moment had given way to another, and Gillibrand’s office confirmed to CNN the next day that, “Yes,” she supports single-payer.
A changing dynamic
A few weeks on, in mid-July, Sanders returned to Des Moines, Iowa, for the first time since the 2016 election to water the grassroots.
“Our immediate test,” he said, was to defeat the Republican plan. “But as soon as we accomplish that, I will be introducing legislation which has gained more and more support all across this country, legislation for a Medicare for All, single-payer system.”
Robert Becker, Sanders’ 2016 Iowa campaign director, was in the hall that day. (As was top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, as it happened, for an unrelated event just a few hundred feet away.) Between cigarettes, and before his old boss arrived on the scene, Becker sat back and diagnosed the bubbling dynamic.
“Every time Paul Ryan, or someone who is trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, steps to the podium and starts talking about insurance rates and premiums getting higher and higher and higher, they’re actually making an argument for a single-payer system,” he said. “You don’t hear people on Medicare and Medicaid complaining about their co-pays.”
There were other tailwinds kicking up. Public opinion polls had begun to show hardening support among Democrats for single-payer. One notable Pew survey released in mid-June found more than half of Democrats supported such a program. Among liberals, the number jumped to 64%. Looking across party lines, the poll found that a third of Americans backed the policy, up 12 points from 2014.
When it was reported Friday that Obamacare architect and former Montana Sen. Max Baucus, hardly a progressive firebrand, now supported single-payer, saying, “We’re getting there, it’s going to happen” – there were some chuckles on the left, but little surprise.
The new normal
When it became apparent on July 17 that Senate Republicans did not have the votes to advance their own bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, progressive political organizations pounced.
Working Families Party national director Dan Cantor, after warning presciently that “this may well not be the last version of Trumpcare we see,” all but thanked Republicans for joining the battle.
“In the end, the biggest impact of the Republicans’ attack on healthcare may be this: It has strengthened the resolve of many, many Americans to fight for healthcare for all,” he said.
Adam Green, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder, brushed off the prospect of “small-bore technocratic tweaks,” saying it was time to offer “every American access to Medicare.”
After a subsequent, last-ditch Republican push to secure enough votes for “skinny repeal” failed, Democrats on Capitol Hill began a swift public relations counteroffensive. Their weakened status in Congress has, on this front, turned out to be a sort of gift, offering freedom to test drive a variety of ideas and, should they crash, walk away relatively unharmed.
On August 3, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow launched the “Medicare at 55 Act,” a limited buy-in program. Seven Democratic colleagues attached themselves immediately, and by the end of the month, Harris, whose progressive bona fides have been called into question by activists, became the first senator to go further and formally back the Sanders plan.
“Here, I’ll break some news: I intend to co-sponsor the Medicare-for-all bill, because it’s just the right thing to do,” she said a town hall in Oakland, California, shortly after informing Sanders of her intentions. “This is about understanding, again, that health care should be a right, not a privilege. And it’s also about being smart.”
This past Thursday, Warren announced her decision in an email to supporters.
“I believe it’s time to take a step back and ask: what is the best way to deliver high quality, low cost health care to all Americans?,” she wrote. “Everything should be on the table – and that’s why I’m co-sponsoring Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill that will be introduced later this month.”
By the evening, another Senate Democrat, Connecticut’s Chris Murphy was making headlines of his own. According to a Politico report, Murphy is currently drafting a bill of his own that would put Medicare on the Obamacare exchanges and allow individuals and businesses an option to buy in.
The growing crop of bridge bills, though they might disappoint hardliners, is another leading indicator of where the party is headed. But if the Stabenow and Murphy plans would appeal to some Democrats in part for their abilities to shield less bullish colleagues from pressure on the left, they represent only a temporary solution given the enthusiasm of activists for a universal program.
As former Sanders campaign digital organizing director Claire Sandberg said in an email after the Harris announcement, activists are charged up – and the pressure will be unyielding.
“The grassroots movement for universal health care will have to push Democratic leaders to not just voice support for Medicare-for-all when the party is in the minority,” she said, “but also demand that Democrats commit to keep fighting and refuse to back down or water down the proposal when the party is back in power.” |
Labster to expand its education VR service following $10m round | Danish edtech start-up Labster has raised $10m in a series A funding round led by Balderton Capital and featuring participation from Northzone and Unity Technologies founder David Helgason. Labster creates educational simulations in STEM fields for mobiles and laptops, and is also expanding into virtual reality headsets, with Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology among its clients. The latest funding will be used to expand into the US and Europe, as well as develop new simulations.
| https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-09-09-stem-startup-labster-nabs-10m-funding-to-expand-3d-lab-simulations | 2017-09-11 09:36:29.157000 | LABSTER: 3D STEM simulations startup Labster has picked up $10M in a Series A financing round led by British venture capital firm Balderton Capital, reports VentureBeat.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Labster simulates a variety of physics, chemistry, and biology labs—from protein synthesis to the fundamentals of animal genetics—in a laptop or mobile setting, although the company is starting to support more VR headsets. The labs were created in partnerships with industry giants like Thermo Fisher Scientific and research institutions such as Auburn University.
Prices start at $9 per month for high school students and $19 for college students. Already, the simulations are being used by Harvard, MIT and other big domestic and international schools. Previously the company received about $10M in grant funding.
The recently raised money will help the company expand to more schools in the U.S. and Europe and develop new simulations. Northzone and Unity Technologies founder David Helgason also invested in this round. |
How much flexibility should states have to experiment with paying for and delivering healthcare? | One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on is that states should have some flexibility to experiment with different ways to pay for and deliver health care.
| http://medcitynews.com/2017/09/lawmakers-debate-how-much-states-can-experiment-with-aca/?rf=1 | 2017-09-11 09:36:15.513000 | One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on is that states should have some flexibility to experiment with different ways to pay for and deliver health care.
But they disagree — strongly — on how much. In fact, Republicans don’t agree with one another on this, and that dissent helped sink efforts this summer to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. Bridging these divides will help determine the success of a bipartisan effort in the Senate this month to help shore up the individual health insurance market.
“I’ve always said not all the wisdom is going to be in Washington,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), the ranking Democrat on the powerful Finance Committee. “Progressive and conservative folks are going to say ‘we can do better.’”
The federal health law includes a provision that allows states to alter some of its rules if they can think of a better way to provide health care to their residents. These are known as “Section 1332 waivers,” bookmarking where they are located in the health law.
But the law strictly limits how far states can go with their experiments. It includes what are known as “guardrails.” Those limits, said Nicholas Bagley, a health law professor at the University of Michigan, “are to prevent states from undermining the Affordable Care Act goal to provide people with comprehensive coverage.”
The waivers were designed “so blue states can experiment with blue state solutions, and red states can experiment with red state solutions,” said Bagley. “But to do so and stay within the guardrails is really difficult.” For example, he said, “you can reallocate the money, but you can’t reallocate it to create losers.”
At issue is whether to broaden authority for states by revising or eliminating the “guard rails” intended to protect patients and the federal government.
Wyden, who authored the 1332 language in the ACA, is skeptical. Under the current rules, he said, “states can make changes that make health care better. But they can’t go out and make health care worse.”
It is clear that Republicans in Congress want changes to the provision. The repeal-and-replace bill that passed the House and all those considered in the Senate included some expansion of state authority to waive protections included in the health law. Bagley said the bills “would have essentially given carte blanche to states to come up with ACA alternatives without any regard to the guardrails” other than the one prohibiting additions to the federal deficit.
And Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, who is working on a bipartisan bill, said Wednesday that “Democrats will have to agree to something — more flexibility for states — that some are reluctant to support.”
So is there a compromise between Democrats who want to maintain the protections and Republicans who want states to have a freer hand?
Maybe.
David Anderson of Duke University said one possible source of agreement would be to streamline the federal approval process, starting with the guidance issued by the Obama administration in 2015 that critics said was too restrictive.
Under the rules set by the ACA, states can use waivers to adjust things like the structure of premium assistance to those with low and moderate incomes or the individual and employer requirements to have and offer coverage. But those changes must meet four key standards: States continue to provide equally comprehensive coverage to at least the same number of people, with no higher out-of-pocket costs and without costing the federal government more than it would spend under the provisions of the ACA.
The rules around the waivers also make it hard to accomplish a truly comprehensive overhaul of a state’s health care system, as states can’t use them to reach the place where most of the money funding that system comes from: tax breaks for employer-provided insurance and the federal Medicare program. Workers don’t pay taxes on the value of employer-provided insurance, which is estimated to cost the federal Treasury some $260 billion in income and payroll taxes 2017.
“If you want to reshape your state health insurance market, you’ve got to be able to grab onto the employer market or Medicare, and you can’t” using the waiver procedure, Bagley said.
States also cannot use Section 1332 to change provisions of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, although they can submit simultaneous waivers to each program under separate Medicaid waiver authority in the law.
So far, only two states — Hawaii and Alaska — have won federal approval for 1332 waivers under the health law.
Hawaii has had its own system for providing health coverage based on an employer requirement for coverage since the 1970s. The state’s waiver allows it to use money allocated to help small businesses afford coverage in different ways.
Alaska’s waiver, which was approved this summer, involves a “reinsurance” plan that will help spread the costs of the state’s sickest patients more widely. “By removing high-cost conditions from the risk pool, the benefits of the [reinsurance program] are shared by the entire individual health insurance market,” Lori Wing-Heier, head of the state’s insurance department, told the HELP Committee on Wednesday. In its first year, the program dropped proposed premium increases from 40 percent to “just over 7 percent,” Wing-Heier said.
Minnesota has applied for a waiver similar to Alaska’s, and approval is expected. Earlier this spring, the Department of Health and Human Services specifically invited states to apply for waivers of that type.
Other states, though, are working on proposals that would make more comprehensive changes. Iowa, for example, wants to dramatically redistribute the money available, with bigger subsidies for the middle-class customers and smaller ones for those with lower incomes. The state says that would help draw more customers into the marketplace so that the risk pool is healthier and the premiums for everyone would decrease. It would also eliminate the help lower-income people get to pay their out-of-pocket medical costs, such as deductibles and copayments.
“The Iowa waiver on its face pretty brazenly ignores the guardrails,” said Bagley.
Oklahoma, which is seeking a waiver for its own reinsurance program, is also working on a plan that would make major changes, including encouraging people to purchase insurance with higher deductibles along with a health savings account.
Part of the difficulty with the waivers is the number of hoops states must jump through to win approval, including passing legislation, seeking public comment and holding hearings around the state.
And those are not even the biggest problems, state officials say. “The part that is stifling states right now is the six-month waiting period before they receive final approval,” Alaska’s Wing-Heier told the Senate panel.
Teresa Miller, former Pennsylvania insurance commissioner, agreed at the Senate hearing, saying, “The current process is very cumbersome.”
Anderson of Duke University said one key possibility to add flexibility would be to loosen the requirement that state changes not add to the federal deficit. “Maybe they could allow for deficit neutrality over the course of the waiver rather than year by year,” he said, in which case experiments that cost money to begin with but save over time would be allowed.
Wyden said he is willing to look at any ideas to make the waivers easier to use.
But he added that the popularity of state “reinsurance” waivers that are lowering premiums shows the waiver provision is working as intended. And, he said, if GOP members try again to roll back coverage using the waiver provision “they’re going to have to roll over me, then they’re going to have to persuade people” that it meets the 1332 requirements.
Photo: dkfielding, Getty Images |
Access to Mental Health Care Improved After ACA | Access to healthcare in the United States has improved for adults with moderate and severe mental illness, a new study confirms. Most importantly, researchers note that following pasage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), fewer patients with severe mental illness went without mental health care, although gaps in access persist.
| http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/885439 | 2017-09-11 09:35:33.050000 | Access to healthcare in the United States has improved for adults with moderate and severe mental illness, a new study confirms.
Most importantly, researchers note that following pasage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), fewer patients with severe mental illness went without mental health care, although gaps in access persist.
The ACA expanded health insurance to roughly 21 million Americans through insurance reforms, Medicaid expansions, and subsidies for coverage in the marketplace.
The ACA also expanded mental health coverage through mental health parity reforms and through the provision of essential health benefits, which included mental health services. Early ACA-related research found increases in mental health treatment and reductions in the number of uninsured adults with mental illness.
Building on this previous research, Elizabeth Sherrill and Gilbert Gonzales, PhD, from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, examined changes in access to care for adults by mental health status in 2012-2013, before the ACA, and in 2015, after the ACA, using data from the National Health Interview Survey.
The sample included 77,095 adults aged 18 to 64 years (51% women; mean age, 41 years). Using the Kessler 6 (K6) scale, the scores of which range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more severe psychological distress, the study team classified adults as having moderate mental illness (scores from 5 to 12 points), severe mental illness (scores of 13 points or higher) or no mental illness (scores from 0 to 4 points).
In both periods, adults with severe mental illness were more likely to be unemployed, have low income, and have poor or fair health, they report.
After passage of the ACA, and after controlling for sociodemographic factors, there was a decrease in uninsured adults with no mental illness (-6.2 percentage points) and moderate (-8.5 percentage points) and severe mental illness (-9.3 percentage points).
In addition, after the ACA, there was a significant drop in the percentage of adults with moderate mental illness with no usual source of care (-3.5 percentage points), delayed medical care (-4.5 percentage points), forgone medical care (-3.3 percentage points), and forgone prescription medications (-3.6 percentage points).
For adults with severe mental illness, the ACA led to a decrease in forgone prescription medications (-6.8 percentage points) and forgone mental health care (-8.0 percentage points).
The results were published online September 6 in JAMA Psychiatry.
"We did not find improvements in having a usual source of care, delayed medical care because of cost, or seeing a mental health professional for adults with SMI [severe mental illness], which may be attributable to factors not fully addressed by the ACA, such as high cost sharing and continued shortages in mental health," the authors write.
"Future reforms should consider expanding access to care for adults with SMI, with a focus on strengthening the mental health care system," they conclude.
The study had no funding. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
JAMA Psychiatry. Published online September 6, 2017. Full text |
Quality Affordable Health Care Is Within Our Reach | At the heart of almost every conversation about health care reform is one question: “How do we make health care affordable and accessible for everyone in America?” As representatives of America’s largest employers, we believe the most important strategy for transforming our nation’s health care system is to accelerate payment and delivery reforms that share support among both Republicans and Democrats — value-based health care.
| https://morningconsult.com/opinions/quality-affordable-health-care-within-reach/ | 2017-09-11 09:34:03.617000 | At the heart of almost every conversation about health care reform is one question: “How do we make health care affordable and accessible for everyone in America?” As representatives of America’s largest employers, we believe the most important strategy for transforming our nation’s health care system is to accelerate payment and delivery reforms that share support among both Republicans and Democrats — value-based health care. This approach focuses on innovations in provider payment, delivery system redesign, and consumer engagement. Importantly, value means both higher quality and lower cost.
Why is this important in the current environment? Just look at the numbers. The U.S. spends $3 trillion, 17 percent of our GDP, on health care – twice the average of other developed nations. In 2019, the amount the federal government spends on health care will overtake the entire federal discretionary budget. In other words, we will spend more on health care than the combined budgets of the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education, Energy, Justice, Commerce, State, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Transportation, Treasury and the Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, NASA, General Services Administration and all emergency spending. This shocking statistic should be an urgent call to action to pursue all strategies that can help decrease costs and improve care, including proven value-based care models.
Value-based care needs to be at the foundation of fixing our nation’s health care system, with the federal government leveraging proven private-sector, market-based strategies. While there are several value-based approaches government programs may adopt, bundled– or episode-based– payments have proven to be highly effective. However, the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that it is significantly reducing the use of mandatory bundled payments and will increase opportunities for voluntary participation in this model. We are optimistic that voluntary bundled payment programs will still have a positive impact on quality improvement, but such voluntary programs may only attract the highest quality providers, thus limiting system-wide cost savings.
Importantly, private-sector voluntary bundled payment programs have produced positive results in savings and outcomes. Employers such as JetBlue, Lowe’s, McKesson, and Wal-Mart have participated in the Employer Centers of Excellence Network, a bundled payment program that offers insights for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as their leaders pursue a voluntary – as opposed to a mandatory – approach.
Currently, the ECEN program includes hip and knee replacements, spine care, and bariatric surgery provided at health care systems carefully selected after a rigorous evaluation.
Under the program, negotiated prospective bundled rates cover all services rendered during the episode of care. When the payment rate is combined with the savings from fewer complications and better patient selection, the ECEN patient total cost is 10-15 percent lower than the traditional fee-for-service patient, and patient outcomes are better.
For Lowe’s, the ECEN patients had lower out-of-pocket costs, and 100 percent of the participants would recommend the program to their co-workers or family. Fewer than 1 percent of ECEN patients had to return to the hospital because of a surgery complication – compared to over 6 percent of patients who received care at their regular community hospital. Additionally, all of the ECEN patients were able to go directly home after surgery, while over 9 percent of the community patients needed care at a skilled nursing facility.
Finally, Lowe’s estimates there have been $1-2 million savings from the ECEN spine program per year. Half of patients recommended for surgery in the old model were found by ECEN providers not to be good candidates.
Employers are reorienting the health care system toward value using strategies like ECEN. However, to reach the tipping point of change where consistent high-quality care is delivered everywhere, federal programs must be equally aggressive. We need government leadership on the federal level and a commitment from the president to stand behind private-sector innovation. We need the government to leverage its influence as the largest single purchaser of health care and help break down policy barriers that hinder adoption. By incorporating the private sector innovation’s most beneficial features into Medicare and other government programs, the administration will not only save taxpayer dollars, but will also improve health outcomes for patients.
The combined impact of the private and public sectors working together to advance value-based care is exponentially greater than any one entity can accomplish themselves. We truly believe we will benefit more when we benefit together.
Annette Guarisco Fildes is the president and CEO of The ERISA Industry Committee and David Lansky is the president and CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health.
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Antidote Technologies to match patients to clinical trials | Healthtech firm Antidote Technologies aims to expand the reach of its platform, which uses structured eligibility criteria, proprietary algorithms and machine learning, to match eligible patients to clinical trials, to the whole of the US by next year. The Boston-based firm, which recently entered into an agreement for an $11m funding round led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, has so far made 14,000 clinical trials matchable, but estimates that around 80% are delayed or closed, due to a lack of participating patients. | http://www.mobihealthnews.com/content/antidote-technologies-raises-11m-speed-development-trial-matching-platform | 2017-09-11 09:33:48.437000 | Boston-based Antidote Technologies expects it will soon be able to accelerate the development of capabilities for its trial matching platform – including precision medicine and EHR matching. That’s because the company has just entered into an agreement for an $11 million funding round led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and joined by existing investors Smedvig Capital and Octopus Ventures. Regulatory clearances still need to come through, but that’s expected to happen later this year.
A lot of clinical trials are delayed or closed because of a lack of patients taking part; Antidote estimates the number at about 80 percent. The company wants to put a dent in those numbers by changing the way patients and researchers connect. With its clinical and AI prowess, Antidote has created Match, a clinical trial matching platform currently serving around 180 patient communities – JDRF, Lung Cancer Alliance, and Healthline among them – bringing new studies to millions of patients on a monthly basis.
Patients answer simple questions about their health, and the platform provides matching studies in their neighborhood.
“We are excited to back Antidote given the company’s focus on solving the critical issue of matching patients with the right clinical trials,” said Francesca Wuttke, managing director at Merck GHI. “We think the Antidote approach fits well with our focus on investing in companies that play a critical role in the new digital clinical trial management ecosystem.”
Antidote Match is based on generating structured eligibility criteria, proprietary algorithms, and machine learning. To date, the company has made 14,000 clinical trials matchable and plans to reach full coverage of US trials next year with enhanced capabilities, such as matching cancer patients to studies using mutation-level data. The company is already a participant in the Cancer Moonshot project.
This year, Antidote has made its clinical trial matching platform accessible to the pharmaceutical industry with Match API, a web and mobile app layer that allows any organization to match patients to their portfolio or program of trials and build insights. The company is also piloting the Beta of Antidote Base, a SaaS offering that enables research sites to invite local, engaged patients to participate in their studies.
“We couldn't wish for a better endorsement of Antidote’s high-scale ecosystem approach to patient engagement than this round led by Merck GHI, a fund that has a deep understanding of the problem we are solving,” said Antidote founder and CEO Pablo Graiver in a statement. “We are also grateful for the continued support from Octopus Ventures and Smedvig Capital. Antidote is excited to embark on the next stage of transforming medical research to deliver new treatments faster to the people who need them.”
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Nurse Staffing Levels Linked to Patient Satisfaction With Pain Management | Hospitals with more nurses on staff and better nurse-patient communication tend to receive higher scores on patients’ satisfaction with pain management, according to new research.
| http://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/nurse-staffing-levels-linked-to-patient-satisfaction-with-pain-management | 2017-09-11 09:30:56.843000 | Hospitals with more nurses on staff and better nurse-patient communication tend to receive higher scores on patients’ satisfaction with pain management, according to new research.
The study, published online in Pain Management Nursing, analyzed results from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers Systems survey from hospitals in California, Massachusetts, and New York. It examined the associations between patient perceptions of pain control and hospital staffing numbers of nurses, hospitalists, physicians, and residents. It also studied 21 other hospital-level factors that were correlated with patients’ pain management reports.
Patients’ perception of pain control improved significantly with increasing numbers of registered nurses, nursing staff, and hospitalists, but worsened with higher numbers of residents or interns. Additionally, both higher numbers of nursing staff and being treated in a nonprofit hospital decreased the likelihood of patients reporting their pain was poorly managed.
There were also several factors that made patients significantly more likely to report their pain was poorly controlled: they did not receive help as soon as they wanted, poor nurse communication, poor medication education, and being treated in a teaching hospital. Patients reported particularly low rates of pain control satisfaction if they were treated in teaching hospitals with rotating intern/resident assignments.
The researchers also determined that 79% of the variations in self-reports of pain control could be explained by just 6 predictors. Nurse staffing and nurse-patient communication were the strongest predictors of pain management perceptions among patients.
“The findings highlight the need for adequate numbers of nursing staff to achieve optimal patient satisfaction with pain management,” said lead author Judith Shindul-Rothschild, PhD, MSN, RN, in a news release from Boston College. “In addition, having a prescriber (physician or nurse practitioner) available 24/7 to offer continuity of care is essential.”
The results also point to the importance of strong communication among providers and patients in making sure that patients feel their pain needs are well managed.
“In addition to appropriate nurse staffing, our study highlights that an essential component to improve patients' satisfaction with pain management is to promote more effective collaboration among medical trainees, hospitalists, and nurses,” Shindul-Rothschild said. |
It’s Incredibly Hard to Get Dental Care in Rural America | Two and a half hours west of the Twin Cities, where the Minnesota and Chippewa rivers meet, is the prairie village of Montevideo, Minnesota. Downtown consists of a post office, railroad tracks, a few storefronts, and a dentist’s office called Main Street Dental Care. From the outside, the clinic doesn’t look like much. But on the bitter February day I visited, inside it was buzzing with activity.
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Two and a half hours west of the Twin Cities, where the Minnesota and Chippewa rivers meet, is the prairie village of Montevideo, Minnesota. Downtown consists of a post office, railroad tracks, a few storefronts, and a dentist’s office called Main Street Dental Care. From the outside, the clinic doesn’t look like much. But on the bitter February day I visited, inside it was buzzing with activity.
Down the hall from the full waiting room, bent over her dental chair, Brandi Tweeter had a full roster of patients. Some had traveled hundreds of miles to see her, she told me. That’s not unusual: In Minnesota, there’s about one dentist for every 1,500 people—but they’re concentrated in cities. Here in Chippewa County, the ratio is 1 in about 2,400. In a neighboring county, it’s 1 in more than 5,000.
Rural Minnesota isn’t alone—some 49 million Americans live in places where there are not enough dentists. In those areas, it’s often hard to get an appointment even if you have private insurance. But for people on Medicaid, it can be impossible: Fewer than half the nation’s dentists accept Medicaid patients. Those who don’t claim the paperwork is too complicated and the reimbursement rates are too low.
More than 1 in 3 low-income adults avoid smiling because they’re ashamed of their teeth.
The result is a public health crisis. While writing my book, Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America, I met people who slept in their cars and waited in long lines for extractions at free clinics. I met people who had pulled out their own teeth and others who had lost loved ones to dental abscesses. I met a boy dying from complications of untreated tooth decay.
I also observed how bad teeth can lock families into a cycle of poverty. “No more people behind the counter unless they have all their teeth,” Andrew Puzder, the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, told managers of Hardee’s burger shops in a memo that turned up when he was nominated to be President Donald Trump’s labor secretary. More than 1 in 3 low-income adults avoid smiling because they’re ashamed of their teeth, according to a Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of the American Dental Association in 2015.
And untreated dental problems tax our health care system. More than a million Americans a year show up at hospital emergency rooms with nontraumatic dental problems—costing more than $1 billion annually. In Minnesota, about 400,000 preschoolers were brought to hospital emergency rooms with severe oral conditions during a recent five-year period. The visits cost $80 million, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported last year.
Which is where Brandi Tweeter comes in. She’s a dental therapist— something like a nurse practitioner for teeth. Twice as fast to train as a dental surgeon and half as expensive to employ, dental therapists handle a range of common procedures: drilling and filling teeth, placing crowns, performing some extractions. Under an innovative program in Minnesota, about 60 dental therapists fill in where care is scarce.
More than a million Americans a year show up at hospital emergency rooms with nontraumatic dental problems—costing more than $1 billion annually.
Yet the therapists remain controversial in Minnesota and beyond. The American Dental Association, which spends more than $2 million a year on lobbying, has fought them tirelessly. The ADA says it’s worried about patient safety, but John Powers, the owner of Main Street Dental Care, suggests the real reason is fear of competition. “Dental organizations say, ‘We’re concerned about our patients and their care,'” he told me. “No. You are concerned about your pocketbook.”
The nation’s first dental therapists started working in Alaskan tribal areas in 2005—and the ADA and the Alaska Dental Society soon sued (unsuccessfully) to stop them. Three years later, Ann Lynch, a freshman Minnesota state senator, introduced a bill to allow dental therapists in her state. The Minnesota Dental Association launched what the Star Tribune called “an all-out media blitz targeting the legislation,” but lawmakers passed it anyway. Since then, Maine and Vermont have passed laws allowing dental therapists, and 11 other states are considering them, as are more tribal groups.
The ADA still maintains there’s no evidence that dental therapists are helping to fix Minnesota’s shortage of care. But a 2014 review by the state’s Department of Health and Board of Dentistry indicates that more Medicaid patients receive treatment in areas surrounding clinics that employ dental therapists. The state also documented dramatically reduced waiting times.
Here’s what hasn’t decreased: business at Main Street Dental Care. Quite the opposite, in fact. When Powers hired Tweeter five years ago, he was able to open his doors to Medicaid recipients. Since then, his practice has increased from 3,000 patients to 8,000. The office’s annual revenue has more than tripled, from $600,000 to $1.9 million, and the staff has grown from 7 employees to 23 (including three more dental therapists). The clinic had to move to a bigger office. Powers is excited about the booming business, but he’s most proud of how his team has helped people on the prairie, he told me: “The effect we’ve had on their oral health in this area—and in the state, for that matter—is kind of amazing.” |
Advertisers advised to use Nielsen to measure Facebook reach | The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia has urged marketers using Facebook to rely on Nielsen for accurate reach measurements, after it emerged Facebook appeared to have inflated its estimated reach of users in the 15-39 age group. Facebook suggested it had 1.7 million more such users than officially exist in Australia. IAB said Nielsen figures are "the cleanest digital currency to represent true reach". In an email circulated to media buyers, Facebook said estimated reach figures were "not meant to be an actual accounting of active users and are not designed to match population or census estimates".
| http://www.adnews.com.au/news/iab-tells-advertisers-use-nielsen-for-facebook-reach | 2017-09-11 09:27:43.487000 | IAB Australia has urged advertisers to use Nielsen for measuring Facebook's reach rather than the social media's own Ad Manager tool, AdNews can reveal.
For the past week, the social media platform has come under increasing pressure to explain how its estimated reach of 15-39s has 1.7 million more people in Australia than officially exists.
The reach inflation issue has spread to the US, where market analysts and the media have questioned the discrepancy, which has been found in nine out of 12 other markets in an AdNews study.
Facebook has stood by its inflated reach estimates in responses to the media and a carefully-worded email to media buyers in this country. Its position is that its reach estimates include variables like short-term visitors and has encouraged advertisers not compare its figures with official census data.
The IAB, a peak body for internet advertising in Australia, has told AdNews that it “strongly encourages” advertisers to use independent third-party data for assessing media reach across all digital players.
“The investment in both time and money that the industry puts into the IAB endorsed digital currency via Nielsen gives the market a robust and independent measuring stick to review all media players. Publishers and platforms will have additional deep data on their audiences which can be extremely valuable, however it is often difficult to compare this to other market metrics.”
The IAB says the Nielsen figures are the cleanest digital currency to represent true reach and accounts for factors such as duplicate accounts and fabricated user information.
Experts speaking to AdNews on the condition of anonymity have said Facebook's "estimated reach" does not describe individual people and was likely to contain duplicate accounts and users lying about their age.
“I wouldn't call their numbers reach, I would call them accounts,” a digital media expert told AdNews. “It's like when people used to use cookies as reach and it got ridiculous.
“Those self-serving tools from both Google and Facebook have been built for the SME market. Getting the nuance for what is a person and an account can be difficult and they probably take it to the easiest word, which can be quite misleading.”
A media buyer has told AdNews the concern about the tool is that it could mislead marketers in planning and budget allocation on the platform, particularly for smaller companies that do not have media agency partners to scrutinise the data.
"It doesn’t matter if they are only billing us on actuals," the media buyer said. "Because of higher estimations it is perceived as a better platform based at the planning stage."
Facebook clarifies
Facebook's response to the audience inflation findings has been to distance its reach estimates from census data rather than acknowledging it has a problem.
In a email circulated to media buyers, it sought to clarify its reach estimates by saying there are “several factors” that contribute to the discrepancy before naming one potential cause.
“We look at people in a particular region at a particular time, not necessarily who lives there like the Census does. Census data also does not include non-residents or visitors, which we factor into estimates,” the email said.
Facebook says its “estimated reach” tool provides an estimate of potential overall reach and the estimated daily reach of the ad campaign. It described it as a "campaign planning tool".
“These numbers are designed to provide an idea of your campaign's potential reach. They are not meant to be an actual accounting of Facebook's active users and are not designed to match population or census estimates,” the email said.
It urged media buyers to advise clients: “we don't recommend that advertisers compare the numbers as they are not expected to match”.
Ritson's reaction
In his weekly column in The Australian, Mark Ritson said he was shocked to learn that Facebook's figures had exceeded population data and alarmed that some digital marketers were unconcerned by the discrepancy.
“The reaction of most digital marketers was one of unconcerned equanimity. Some accepted that Facebook had erred but they pointed out that it was no better or worse than other traditional media vendors who also overstate their reach,” Ritson said.
“But in my long and torrid history of looking at media data this is the first time I have come across a claim that exceeds the physical population. There are lies, media statistics and then there are Facebook audience measures.”
One of Ritson's LinkedIn posts garnered a broad range of industry views on the issue, with many critical about credibility of Facebook figures.
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Caring for Your Parents? This Project Wants to Make You Feel Less Alone | For 12 years, Priya Soni watched as her father’s health deteriorated. Multiple doctors in the '00s were unable to diagnose his illness — which included losing motor control and the ability to speak, she said — and Soni, who was then in her 20s, found herself having to take care of him.
| https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/caring-your-parents-project-wants-make-you-feel-less-alone-n799561 | 2017-09-11 09:25:04.443000 | For 12 years, Priya Soni watched as her father’s health deteriorated.
Multiple doctors in the '00s were unable to diagnose his illness — which included losing motor control and the ability to speak, she said — and Soni, who was then in her 20s, found herself having to take care of him.
What made the process even more difficult was that Soni felt isolated because none of her friends were going through a similar experience.
“There was an alienating and isolating aspect to all of this, and I think as I was going through it, I didn’t always know I needed somebody,” Soni told NBC News. “It was very hard to stop and think about what [I] needed.”
Priya Soni, founder of The Caregiving Effect LLC. Courtesy of Priya Soni
Soni is now working to spread caregivers' stories and teach them how to share their experiences to ensure no one feels as alone as she did. Through "The Caregiving Effect LLC," a project she started in 2016, Soni has mentored those currently caring for loved ones and shared their stories on social media.
She also writes and speaks about caregiving and is scheduled to give a presentation at the second annual National Caregiving Conference in November.
A 2015 joint study by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP estimated that there are more than 40 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S.
“To have that many people in this country alone caregive and then for so many of us to feel alone in the experience, that says something,” Soni said.
“I had always envisioned a quilt of caregivers and their stories, but with a real intention focus to shift conversation."
Ruth Chung, associate professor of clinical education at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, said that — consistent with broader demographics — many women are getting married later, having children later, and learning that their parents are living longer, thus taking on caretaking roles.
This may cause many women to feel “sandwiched” between caregiving of their aging parents and still having young children they are responsible for, she explained, adding that sometimes women may suffer in silence without seeking help.
“Women as a whole, especially working women, then feel this kind of triple burden of their role of being parents, wives, and children, and then as their parents age, stepping into a caregiving role,” Chung told NBC News. “So it’s putting a lot of strain and burden on middle-aged women and that’s something that is becoming much more apparent and unclear, but that seems to be cutting across cultures.”
Growing up in Maryland as the eldest daughter of South Asian-American parents, Soni learned about her father’s experiences living in a village in the Punjab region where many generations of his family, particularly young women, would care for their elders.
Soni understood that education and respect for elders were of the utmost importance to her father and knew she had to honor that value system at home.
“Because of the Indian culture, one of the things we wanted to do was honor the fact that we grew up in a house and witnessed his family taking care of the elderly,” Soni said. “We knew that was important to him and we knew it was important to be able to contribute back to him.”
At one point during her father’s last years of life, Soni realized her dad needed 24-hour, seven-days-a-week care, so the family decided to hire two caregivers who spoke Hindi and understood his cultural background, a story she later recounted to Women's Day magazine.
“They spoke Hindi, they had a Tibetan background, they understood what my father needed,” Soni said.
Looking back, Soni wishes she sought more help from aging experts, social workers, and other advocates while taking care of her father.
“What I needed the most was a support group that focused on how to handle mystery illnesses when you don’t have a diagnosis or trajectory of knowing what’s going to happen around the corner,” Soni said.
Caregivers are unsung heroes, according to Dr. Zaldy Tan, medical director of the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program, but their dedication can lead to increased stress.
Tan noted that third-generation Asian and Hispanic caregivers spent the most time looking after their charges, referencing a 2016 study released by the California Health Interview Survey.
“Asian Americans, we feel in our culture that caregiving for older family members or even younger family members is part of our responsibility as a family and that institutionalism perhaps is less acceptable culturally than in other cultures,” he said.
"I think as I was going through it, I didn’t always know I needed somebody. It was very hard to stop and think about what [I] needed.”
“Asian Americans could conceivably spend longer durations of caregiving and therefore will be subjected to greater risk of stress and strain compared to other caregivers who may be more willing to seek respite care or hiring somebody,” he added.
After the death of her father in 2015, Soni spent a year reflecting and communicating with others who had gone through similar experiences. Soni said she created the platform for these stories to live on, a way to honor the memory of those who have died and also pay respect to caregivers.
“I started to open up and have conversations with adult caregivers, people who had been through loss, people who were currently caregiving to different family members, and I asked them questions about what they have gone through, what do they need, how could I help, and what services would have helped them,” Soni said.
Ultimately, the main goal of The Caregiving Effect is to support adult caregivers who have cared or are caring for their parents.
“I had always envisioned a quilt of caregivers and their stories, but with a real intention focus to shift conversation," Soni said. "I really wanted to shift conversations [from] sitting in pain and discomfort to one that is understanding of the sources of learning and knowledge we all walk from in this experience.”
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Amazon opens anti-counterfeiting programme to third-party sellers | Amazon is making its anti-counterfeiting transparency programme available for third-party retailers on its site. The transparency programme requires brands to buy unique codes which provide customers with product details. Without a code, vendors' products risk being taken down from the site. By launching unique product codes, Amazon is more able to attract luxury brands, which would otherwise worry about counterfeit sellers diluting their brand's value, said Michael Levine, VP of marketing at retail agency Photon.
| https://digiday.com/marketing/amazon-grows-transparency-program-fight-counterfeits/ | 2017-09-11 08:35:53.257000 | Amazon is extending its anti-counterfeiting Transparency program to third-party retailers on its platform, according to three sources that sell as third-party sellers on the site.
The program was launched in March as a test for Amazon’s own products and labels. It’s now open to everyone that sells products through Marketplace, Amazon’s third-party sales platform, and some speculate that it may end up being mandatory for retailers to sign on to.
Transparency provides customers with details about where a product comes from, including manufacturing date, location and other details like materials and ingredients. Every item that has a Transparency label, a stylized blue T, has a unique code that can be scanned with the Amazon app to reveal the product information.
The way it works is roughly like a serialization or UPC code. The brand buys the codes from Amazon and puts a unique code on every unit it creates for sale on Marketplace. All the codes are serialized; Amazon will not accept items without codes. Amazon is telling sellers that don’t have codes on products right now that they have to add the codes soon or risk their products being eliminated from Amazon.
Sources say that Amazon is focusing Transparency efforts on third-party sellers that sell through its enormous Marketplace offering. Amazon takes a cut out of any retail transactions that go through Marketplace. The program is optional now and there’s no cost to use it, but sources believe Amazon will eventually charge retailers a nominal price of a few cents for a million codes; Amazon wouldn’t say.
One of the brands signing on to Transparency is Corkcicle, a maker of high-end water bottles. Eric Miller, partner at the company, which sells as a third-party seller to Amazon, said that his company has had people making knock-offs of his product, so he likes the idea of the program.
“Amazon wants to get out of the concept that they’re just a mass retailer,” said Michael Levine, vp of marketing at retail agency Photon. “The problem they’ve had in the past is legitimacy. Essentially, coming out with their own UPC code means guaranteeing authenticity.” That, said Levine, can open the door to the coveted luxury segment — a segment Amazon has been struggling to woo as luxury brands worry not just about the low-end “storefronts” Amazon could provide but also about counterfeit sellers diluting brands’ value.
Even for a company like Corkcicle that isn’t on the level of a Louis Vuitton, Transparency is nice to have, even if it’s not game-changing, Miller said. “It’s a nice comfort level.”
Elaine Kwon, founder of e-commerce consultancy Kwontified and the former vendor manager of luxury division at Amazon Fashion, said that Transparency is in line with Amazon’s focus on customer experience and trust. The brands signing onto Transparency have to do much of the legwork themselves — even to the point of making sure its authorized retail partners also don’t apply for the program, lest Amazon sees authorized resellers as counterfeiters.
Kwon said Transparency fulfills two objectives: It weeds out “bad” products but keeps Marketplace competitive on price, which ultimately gives the customer the most choice and helps Amazon. This doesn’t help brands, though, because price competitiveness among multiple sellers on Marketplace still happens, she said, which drives down prices for the seller.
Sources say that buyers who work for Amazon themselves struggle with the scale of Marketplace to the point where finding counterfeit products and stamping them out becomes a game of whack-a-mole.
Amazon declined to comment on the specific program or confirm that it’s extending it, but a spokeswoman said, “As part of our investment in brand protection, we are building powerful tools tailored to the needs of rights owners. In order to detect bad actors and potentially counterfeit products, we employ dedicated teams of software engineers, research scientists, program managers, and investigators to operate and continually refine our anti-counterfeiting program. When a business registers to sell products through Amazon’s Marketplace, Amazon’s automated systems scan information for signals that the business might be a bad actor, and Amazon blocks those bad actors during registration before they can offer any products for sale.”
Transparency is separate from Amazon’s Brand Registry program where companies can register logos and IP with Amazon and let it take down counterfeit seller accounts. It’s one big reason brands decide to sell directly to Amazon — Nike’s recent move to sign on as a so-called vendor was driven in part by the large number of counterfeit sellers of Nike on Amazon, which joining the brand registry program would help solve.
“It’s a way of them saying, ‘We’ll take a step on our side and build a program and help you track every product sold on Amazon,’” said Levine. |
Over 50 business owners jailed for not paying new business rates | Some 54 business owners were sent to prison for up to 90 days for failing to pay business rates in the year to the end of March. While limited companies face liquidation if they cannot pay business rates, sole traders and self-employed businesses face a "disproportionate financial and legal burden" and also prison for failing to pay the new revalued business rates. Although the government has pledged £300m ($396m) to help businesses most affected by the rate changes, just two out of nearly 100 local councils have paid out so far.
| https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2017/09/1-small-business-owner-week-sent-prison-business-rates-debts/ | 2017-09-11 08:30:29.500000 | One small business owner a week has been sent to prison after failing to pay the newly adjusted business rates bills, as the government warns sole traders to pay up or face prison.
According to new data compiled by CVS for the Press Association, 54 business owners were sent to prison for up to 90 days for nonpayment of business rates in the year to the end of March.
Whereas limited companies face liquidation if they are unable to pay the controversial new rates, sole traders and self-employed businesses face a “disproportionate financial and legal burden” and prison for not keeping up with payments.
Businesses across the UK have been challenging the rates revaluations, which continue to cripple thousands.
The government pledged £300 million to a relief fund to help those businesses most affected, but just two out of nearly 100 local councils have paid out so far amid increasing delays and lack of direction from the government.
For the hundreds of companies challenging their revaluated business rates bill, bills must still be paid while a decision is made on their appeal.
“It is the only tax not related to the ability to pay, so it places both a disproportionate financial and legal burden on sole traders.” CVS chief executive Mark Rigby said.
The disproportionate challenges faced by limited companies and sole traders was thrown into the spotlight earlier this year with the collapse of fashion retailer Jaeger.
Roughly £2 million was owed in relation to business rates bills to 39 different councils and around 2p in the pound was returned to councils as the company fell into liquidation.
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ECB shoots down Estonia's national cryptocurrency plan | Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, has refused to allow European Union member Estonia to develop its own digital currency, saying: "No member state can introduce its own currency; the currency of the euro zone is the euro." Kaspar Korjus, managing director of Estonia's e-Residency programme, which offers a digital identity to foreign entrepreneurs, had proposed issuing "estcoin" as part of an initial coin offering, with funds raised put into a public-private partnership. | https://qz.com/1072740/mario-draghi-of-the-ecb-dashes-estonias-plan-for-an-estcoin-cryptocurrency-backed-by-the-government/ | 2017-09-11 08:26:57.477000 | Bitcoin, the original stateless cryptocurrency, has often been tolerated and sometimes embraced by governments, central banks, and other key institutions around the world. But there is a limit to some officials’ acceptance of cryptoassets.
The president of the European Central Bank yesterday rejected the idea that Estonia, which is part of the euro zone, could issue and manage its own state-backed cryptocurrency. The idea is still theoretical, but ECB president Mario Draghi shot it down anyway when asked about it at a press conference: “No member state can introduce its own currency; the currency of the euro zone is the euro.”
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An Estonian cryptocurrency has been mooted as part on the country’s e-Residency program that provides a digital identity to foreign entrepreneurs. Kaspar Korjus, managing director at e-Residency, floated the idea of issuing ”estcoins” that allow people to invest in the country. The cryptocurrency would be available through its its e-residency program via an initial coin offering, which takes some of the principles of bitcoin and blends them with crowdfunding. Proceeds could go into a type of public-private partnership.
Last week, China’s central bank said fundraising through digital tokens—that is, initial coin offerings—was illegal, a move that sent shockwaves through the burgeoning token markets.
Meanwhile the euro has been on a tear lately, rallying against fellow old-school fiat currencies of just about every major trading partner amid the region’s economic recovery. The common currency has gained nearly 15% against the dollar so far this year. Over that same period against the greenback, bitcoin is up nearly 400%. |
Russia develops legal frameworks for cryptocurrencies | Russia is aiming to introduce a legal framework that regulates the purchase of cryptocurrencies by the end of the year, the Russian finance minister, Anton Siluanov, has said. While the Russian government does not intend to outlaw cryptocurrencies, the legislation would require would-be buyers to register before trading virtual currencies. Additionally, the finance ministry plans to issue clear definitions of buying procedures and rules of circulation. Through the regulation, the ministry intends to make the purchase of cryptocurrencies similar to buying treasury bonds and other securities.
| https://www.rt.com/business/402594-cryptocurrency-russia-regulation-law/ | 2017-09-11 08:20:22.617000 | Russia is developing a legal framework that would regulate the purchase of cryptocurrencies, Russia’s finance minister says, adding that the government wants to legitimize cryptocurrencies and wind down the black market.
Speaking at the II Moscow Financial Forum, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov reassured Russian fans of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that the government has no intention of outlawing cryptocurrencies.
“The state understands indeed that crypto-currencies are real. There is no sense in banning them, there is a need to regulate them,” the minister said.
Instead, the Russian financial authorities are now working to bring operations with cryptocurrencies into compliance with Russian law. The legislation, to be ready by the end of the year, envisions registration of would-be buyers and a clear definition of buying procedures and rules of circulation.
Explaining the need for tighter regulation, Siluanov pointed out that those investing in virtual money are subject to greater risks due to the lack of external regulation.
“We must make an organized market out of the black market,” he said.
READ MORE: ‘US wanted him for his intellect’ – wife of Russian arrested for alleged Bitcoin fraud to RT
While not disclosing details of the proposed law, Siluanov said the ministry’s goal is to make the purchase of cryptocurrencies covered by law to the same degree as buying treasury bonds and other securities.
Earlier it was reported that Russia is mulling prohibiting the mining of cryptocurrencies in apartments. The procedure is deemed unsafe, as substantial increases in power consumption may result in fire.
‘Bitcoin plunges over news of looming exchanges shutdown in China’
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports emerging on Friday that China’s financial regulator plans to close major Bitcoin exchanges caused Bitcoin to fall. The reports were spread by Chinese financial publication Caixin, citing sources within the country’s cross regulators committee, but remain unconfirmed.
Speculation over a crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China is rife due to a recent decision by The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to outlaw the practice of raising funds through ‘initial coin offerings’ (ICOs).
ICO fundraising has experienced a surge in popularity in China, with 65 IOCs raising a total of 2.62 billion yuan ($394.6 million) from over 100,000 individuals since the beginning of the year.
Pursuant to the PBOC decision, individuals who have already completed fundraising should make arrangements to return the money. |
Commercial carrier insurtech start-up DataCubes raises $2.5m | Chicago-based start-up DataCubes has raised $2.5m in a series A funding round led by Seyen Capital and MK Capital. DataCubes has developed a platform aimed at the commercial insurance industry that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to accurately quote commercial insurance policies for customers, removing paperwork and automating underwriting. The new funds will be used to expand sales and marketing, and extend the platform to include additional lines of business.
| http://www.finsmes.com/2017/09/datacubes-raises-2-5m-in-funding.html | 2017-09-11 07:02:45.737000 | DataCubes, a Chicago, IL-based data science platform for the commercial insurance industry, completed a $2.5m Series A funding round.
The round was led by Seyen Capital and MK Capital.
The company intends to use the funds to extend platform capabilities to support additional lines of business and scale sales and marketing efforts.
Led by Kuldeep Malik, CEO and co-founder, and Harish Neelamana, Chief Product Officer, DataCubes provides a data science platform that leverages machine learning and AI to analyze sources for insights, like unstructured text and images, to enables carriers to accurately quote commercial insurance policies by asking customers a few questions. Specifically, the company’s D3 platform eliminates paperwork and automates underwriting with machine learning and AI, provides a holistic view of risks by analyzing a variety of internal and external data, and prioritizes commercial insurance applications by using external data to score risks.
FinSMEs
08/09/2017 |
Redrow Steve Morgan makes $1m donation to Hurricane Irma appeal | Steve Morgan, the founder and chairman of housebuilder Redrow Homes, has donated $1m to the Barbuda Relief Fund. The fund will help rebuild the island after category five hurricane Irma left around 60% of its population homeless. Morgan also called on the international community to contribute to help those affected by the hurricane.
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North Wales developer Steve Morgan has donated one million US Dollars to the Barbuda Relief Fund after the island was devastated by Hurricane Irma.
The deadly hurricane has tragically claimed a number of lives and left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean island of Barbuda.
Irma was a category five hurricane - the highest level possible - and it is understood that over 60% of Barbuda’s people are now homeless as a result.
Mr Morgan, who was raised in Rhyl and went to school in Colwyn Bay, has had a home on the island of Antigua for many years and today called on the international community, and those with the available means, to come to the island's assistance as a matter of urgency.
“My heart goes out to everyone affected by Hurricane Irma,” said the founder and Chairman of Deeside based Redrow plc.
“I've been visiting the island for many years and my family and I consider Antigua as a second home.
"We have all seen the truly horrendous pictures and footage of the damage caused by the hurricane and cannot begin to imagine what it is like for those involved.
“So many people have been affected and now face such a long and hard struggle to return to some kind of normality.
"The devastation on the ground cannot be overstated – we simply cannot stand by and watch the people of Barbuda suffer and I just felt like I had to do something to try to help.,
"I would also repeat the calls already made for the international community, and others with the available means, to come together and do whatever they can to help all those affected who are in such desperate need following the devastating hurricane.”
Steve Morgan has made the donation of one million US dollars via his charity - the Steve Morgan Foundation - which he formed in 2001.
Mr Morgan is worth £831m - the sixth richest man in Wales. He would be a billionaire but last year gifted more than 11% of his Redrow housebuilding company shares to his charitable foundation. |
First-time buyers on the rise in California, supply still waning | The number of people getting a foot on the Californian property ladder is slowly starting to rise, according to a survey by the California Association of Realtors. 31.7% of properties sold in the state during Q2 2017 were bought by first-time buyers, compared to 29.2% the previous year. Developers are racing to meet demand, with builders' permits for new homes up 58% in the first seven months of 2017 to 9,269, but heavy personal debt loads and high home prices are still preventing many US first-time buyers from finding a home.
| http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-first-home-buyers-20170908-story.html | 2017-09-11 06:04:38.170000 | Josh and Kayleigh Hyink, former San Clemente residents, pose in front of the new home they recently purchased in the Riverside County community of Murrieta.
Newly married and in their mid-20s, San Clemente residents Josh and Kayleigh Hyink were ready for the next step in their “master plan.”
So the couple ditched their $1,644 one-bedroom apartment in Orange County and this spring purchased a new $430,000 house in the Riverside County city of Murrieta, becoming homeowners for the first time.
For the record: For the record: This article incorrectly describes a development in Rancho Mission Viejo as the Norwalk Neighborhoods. In fact, the project is known as the NorthWalk Neighborhoods.
Even though the move meant that Josh’s commute to his Huntington Beach job ballooned to 75 miles, the couple said it was worth it to get a large house — something they couldn’t afford closer in. The median home price in Riverside County was $365,000 in July, compared with $690,000 in Orange County, according to CoreLogic.
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“We wanted to get out of renting,” Josh said. “We wanted to move toward starting a family.”
The rate of first-time home buyers remains low historically, but eight years into the economic recovery, it is finally picking up, as young Americans such as the Hyinks grow more comfortable in their careers and reach an age when people tend to put down roots.
Nationally, first-time home buyers purchased 35% of previously owned houses and condos sold in the 12 months that ended in June 2016 — the latest data available — up from a near-record low of 32% in the previous 12-month period.
Still, that rate is well below the historical average of 40% over the last several decades, reflecting continuing obstacles, such as heavy personal debt loads and high home prices, that are preventing more young people from buying homes.
In California, the uptick is slightly more muted, given an affordability crisis that prompted Bankrate.com to label the state the toughest for first-time buyers.
In this year’s second quarter, 31.7% of houses and condos in California were purchased by first-time buyers, according to a California Assn. of Realtors survey. That’s up from 29.2% a year earlier.
But even here, developers say they are ramping up construction to cater to millennials with good jobs, who are increasingly fleeing rising rents for a locked-down mortgage payment.
“They are finally ready to buy,” Skylar Olsen, a senior economist with real estate firm Zillow, said of millennials.
Josh and Kayleigh Hyink stand in the kitchen of their new home in Murrieta. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Given the high cost of housing in urban and coastal areas, many are choosing a single-family house inland.
The Hyinks said that near the coast they couldn’t afford the large house they wanted for their dog and future children. In Murrieta, they have a brand-new, three-bedroom house with a three-car garage. As an added plus, they are near Temecula, where they both grew up.
“It was cool out there for a while,” Kayleigh, a 26-year-old teacher, said of Orange County. “But we’d never have a yard.”
Developers are rushing to fill demand from such young adults.
In San Bernardino and Riverside counties, builders pulled permits for 9,269 new homes, most of which were houses, in the first seven months of this year, up 58% from a year earlier, according to data from the Census Bureau.
In more expensive Los Angeles and Orange counties, permits were down a combined 4%, a drop that came entirely from multifamily construction, which is typically built in expensive urban areas and faces more pushback from existing residents.
“They are all shifting their business a little more to first-time buyers, whether along the coast or inland,” John Burns, a well-known national real estate consultant, said of California builders. “That is where the demand is.”
KB Home, a national home builder based in Los Angeles, is selling homes in 27 developments in the Inland Empire, compared with 18 a year earlier.
Jeff Mezger, the company’s chief executive, said KB Home wants to build near the coast, but it’s increasingly difficult to acquire lots there as prices have risen in the largely built-out area. Constructing homes farther out is easier, and homes are selling fast to millennial buyers, as the housing market goes through a familiar cycle.
“Demand always moves inland as the economy gets better, because people want to be a homeowner and … they get priced out,” Mezger said.
In Lake Elsinore, Pardee Homes last year started offering single-family houses below the Riverside County median in its new Viewpoint neighborhood in the master-planned Canyon Hills, with three-bedroom homes in the low $300,000s. The price was possible because of low land costs there and a denser-than-typical layout that put homes in a semi-circle surrounding a community courtyard.
Linda Mamet, vice president of corporate marketing at Pardee’s parent company, TRI Pointe, said the majority of buyers at the small 75-home project were purchasing a house for the first time. And with prices low, only three homes remain.
“It was a very fast-selling community,” she said.
Construction is under way in the Murrieta neighborhood where Josh and Kayleigh Hyink live. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Even some coastal developers are trying to offer houses at a price millennials can afford, eager to cater to a demographic that now surpasses baby boomers in sheer size and number of home sales nationwide.
In south Orange County, new neighborhoods in the master-planned Rancho Mission Viejo community just east of San Juan Capistrano are being designed specifically with millennials in mind. Most homes in the Norwalk Neighborhoods there are starting from the low $300,000s to $700,000s.
The homes will have a contemporary feel and residents can watch their children scamper in a designated play area, hop on a zip line or get a drink at an outdoor lounge.
Most important are the prices, which are kept on the relatively affordable end by increasing density, even for the single-family homes.
“It really all begins with getting attainable pricing,” said Paul Johnson, senior vice president of community development with the Rancho Mission Viejo company, the developer of the 14,000-home master-planned community.
The developer decided to build neighborhoods designed for young home buyers about three years ago. It wanted to get ahead of what it predicted would be a wave of millennials looking for suburban homes.
The decision ran counter to the views of many pundits who predicted millennials, compared with previous generations, would forgo homeownership to rent in big cities, where developers are building apartment and condo towers in places such as downtown Los Angeles and Seattle.
Many millennials are indeed staying in their apartments, and the national homeownership rate for those under 35 is still nearly 7 percentage points less than it was a decade ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s partly because high student loan and rent payments make saving for a down payment difficult.
Dowell Myers, a demographic expert at USC, puts most of the blame on high home prices for turning what should be a flood of young home buyers into more of a trickle.
“There is an uptick,” he said. “[But] demand is being smothered by supply constraints.”
In the third quarter, 33.1% of California home buyers were born between 1980 and 1999, compared with 30.5% a year earlier, according to Ellie Mae, a company that processes mortgage applications for lenders.
Leslie Appleton-Young, the chief economist with the California Assn. of Realtors, agrees with Myers, though she said she thinks the share of first-time buyers in California will continue to rise modestly going forward as millennials age.
“I don’t think there can be a surge because affordability is so challenging,” Appleton-Young said.
Those who do buy near the coast often need to come from a wealthy family or have a high income themselves.
Rachel Dao, 30, is among those who were ready to settle down in Los Angeles and had the cash to do so after starting her own architecture firm last year. In May, she purchased a home in a gentrifying neighborhood northeast of downtown Los Angeles for more than $700,000.
“I had been on a big project and just got paid,” Dao said. “It went straight to the down payment.”
Others are getting help from parents or are cashing out stock options, particularly on the Westside of Los Angeles with its burgeoning tech community.
“I have a lot of tech clients that are getting IPO money,” said Cody Coffman, a Redfin real estate agent on the Westside, who said more and more of his clients are buying their first home.
For others, the search is tougher, even if they have good jobs.
Nate Hennagin and his wife, Rachel, moved to Los Angeles from Massachusetts this year and quickly set out to become homeowners.
The 29-year-olds even rented a temporary Airbnb, instead of leasing an apartment, because they believed that interest rates and home prices would only rise and they didn’t want to waste any time.
But their options to stay near work are limited, even though he is a labor attorney and she is a recruiter for a major television network.
They recently made a $610,000 offer on a $600,000 house in Cypress Park, but lost out. Someone else was willing to pay $150,000 over asking. They’ve since expanded their search to condos.
If they don’t find a place soon, Nate said, they’ll rent, because he and his wife don’t want to move somewhere that would mean a smaller down payment but require grueling commutes to their jobs in the Miracle Mile and Burbank.
“We are sort of hitting a wall,” he said. “We don’t have those savings set aside for the down payment. We don’t have parents who can give us a $20,000 loan.”
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Twitter: @khouriandrew |
San Leon Oisin Fanning's pay five times 2016 company turnover | The boss of beleaguered Irish energy firm San Leon, Oisin Fanning, earned €1.7m ($2m) last year in salary, bonus and share awards, five times the company's €342,000 turnover, according to its annual report. San Leon's shares were suspended after it published its 2016 accounts later than stock market rules permitted and its directors have acknowledged the company would need further funding, according to its auditors, KPMG. The oil and gas exploration company is also awaiting payments from its stake in a Nigerian oil field.
| http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/boss-fannings-pay-is-five-times-san-leons-revenue-36116712.html | 2017-09-11 05:55:08.583000 | San Leon energy boss Oisin Fanning's pay package was valued at five times the company's turnover last year, according to its newly released-annual report. The report also shows that San Leon's auditors have cast doubt on the oil and gas explorer's future.
Fanning's remuneration package for last year was valued at €1.7m, including salary, bonus and share awards, with the company posting revenue of €342,000.
Last year, his package outstripped that of Dalata chief Pat McCann and would have put him among the top 10 earners if the company were part of the ISEQ20.
The company's 2016 accounts were published later than stock market rules in London allowed, resulting in a suspension of trading.
In this year's annual report, auditors KPMG stated that San Leon's directors had acknowledged the company would need further funding in the next 12 months.
It is awaiting payments from its stake in a Nigerian oil field - a deal made last year, which was described by the company as transformational. The project operator has run into difficulties making the payments.
KPMG said there were "material uncertainties, which may cast doubt" over San Leon's ability to continue as a going concern. |
Textile separation breakthrough may bring full recycling closer | A new chemical process enabling the separation of blended polyester and cotton textiles for recycling into new fabrics and yarns has been described as groundbreaking by its developers at the H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. The process, which researchers claim doesn't reduce fabric quality, is being seen as a significant step towards “closed-loop” processing, in which only recycled materials are used. The process uses heat, water and a small amount of a “biodegradable green chemical” to separate fabric blends in a system that is cost-effective and causes no secondary pollution, researchers say.
| https://www.ecotextile.com/2017091122956/fashion-retail-news/breakthrough-claimed-in-textile-recycling.html | 2017-09-10 23:00:00 | HONG KONG – A significant breakthrough has been announced by the H&M Foundation and Hong Kong researchers in a four-year project to chemically recycle polyester and cotton blended textiles into new polyester fabrics and yarns without any quality loss.
The joint-partners say this new fibre-to-fibre recycling process – developed as part of a €30M funded project – is another major step towards closed-loop textile processing. |
Textile separation breakthrough may bring full recycling closer | A new chemical process enabling the separation of blended polyester and cotton textiles for recycling into new fabrics and yarns has been described as groundbreaking by its developers at the H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. The process, which researchers claim doesn't reduce fabric quality, is being seen as a significant step towards “closed-loop” processing, in which only recycled materials are used. The process uses heat, water and a small amount of a “biodegradable green chemical” to separate fabric blends in a system that is cost-effective and causes no secondary pollution, researchers say.
| http://hmfoundation.com/news/technological-breakthrough-successful-method-found-for-recycling-blend-textiles-into-new-fibres/ | 2017-09-10 23:00:00 | “For too long the fashion industry has not been able to properly recycle its products, since there’s no commercially viable separation, sorting, and recycling technology available for the most popular materials such as cotton and polyester blends,” says Erik Bang, Innovation Lead at H&M Foundation. “This very encouraging finding has the potential to change that. We are very excited to develop this technology and scale it beyond the laboratory, which will benefit the global environment, people and communities.”
The aim of the Recycling Revolution program is to find at least one ready technology to recycle clothes made from blend textiles, within the four-year project period.
One year into the partnership, HKRITA together with Ehime University and Shinshu University in Japan, successfully developed a hydrothermal process to fully separate and recycle cotton and polyester blends. The recovered polyester material can be reused directly, without any quality loss.
The hydrothermal process uses only:
heat
water
pressure
biodegradable green chemical
This fibre-to-fibre recycling method is cost effective, and there’s no secondary pollution to the environment, ensuring the life of the recycled material is prolonged in a sustainable way. The technology will be licensed widely to ensure broad market access and maximum impact.
“By being able to upcycle used textiles into new high value textiles, we no longer need to solely rely on virgin materials to dress a growing world population.” Edwin Keh, CEO HKRITA
The H&M Foundation initiated the partnership with HKRITA in September 2016. It is backed by an estimated 5.8 million euros of funding, with HKRITA conducting the research and work to commercialise the outcomes. The Innovation and Technology Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government also provides additional substantial funding and support. The total project investment is estimated to around 30 million euros during the four-year collaboration (2016-2020), which makes it one of the biggest and most comprehensive efforts ever for textile recycling.
The collaboration is part of H&M Foundation’s commitment within its focus area Planet, which initiatives all have the aim to safeguard not only the planet but also the living conditions for people and communities around the world.
H&M Foundation is a non-profit global foundation, privately funded by the Stefan Persson family, founders and main owners of H&M group. Its mission is to drive long lasting positive change and improve living conditions by investing in people, communities and innovative ideas. Through partnerships with organizations around the globe, the H&M Foundation drives change within four focus areas; Education, Water, Equality and Planet. In addition to this, the Foundation can also provide emergency relief. Since 2013, the Stefan Persson family has donated 1.3 billion Swedish krona ($177 million/€144 million) to the Foundation. Learn more at hmfoundation.com.
The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel was established in 2006 and is a publicly funded applied research center. It is one of five applied research centers sponsored by the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. HKRITA engages in applied mid- and down-stream research to support the textile and apparel industries, to drive sustainable improvements, and to drive improvements for society.
The Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), administered by the Innovation and Technology Commission, aims to increase the added value, productivity and competitiveness of our economic activities. The Government hopes that, through the ITF, Hong Kong companies could be encouraged and assisted to upgrade their technological level and introduce innovative ideas to their businesses. |
Wal-Mart pledges $30m in hurricane relief | Wal-Mart has announced that it will match customer donations of money and products for US hurricane relief two-to-one, up to $10m, bringing the company’s total efforts in this field in 2017 to $30m. Wal-Mart has also launched a campaign in association with the American Red Cross in order to use these funds. Target has pledged $1m in cash and in-kind donations to assist communities affected by Hurricane Irma. Home Depot has committed $2m to hurricane aid. | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/11/wal-mart-pledges-up-to-30-million-in-hurricane-relief-efforts.html | 2017-09-10 22:00:00 | Palm Bay officer Dustin Terkoski walks over debris from a two-story home at Palm Point Subdivision in Brevard County after a tornado touched down on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017.
Wal-Mart on Sunday promised another round of donations to help those people impacted by hurricanes in the U.S. so far this year.
The big-box retailer has said it will match customer donations, two-to-one, with cash and product donations of up to $10 million. The latest announcement brings the total committed by Wal-Mart toward hurricane relief efforts in 2017 to $30 million.
In finding a way to use these funds, Wal-Mart has launched a new campaign with the American Red Cross to assist with hurricane relief more broadly.
During the run of this campaign, customers can donate to the American Red Cross within Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs stores, or online. For every $1 given, Wal-Mart will contribute $2, or product of equal value, the company said. Donations will be accepted through Sept. 16.
In trying to service those communities that need food and water most, Wal-Mart has said it's working to "quickly" reopen affected stores in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Florida.
So far, the Arkansas-based retailer has shipped more than 1,700 truckloads of supplies to those in need.
Notably, Wal-Mart has 8 percent of its brick-and-mortar fleet in Florida, or 375 facilities. Costco has 23 stores in the state, while smaller rival Target operates 122 locations there, according to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On its website, Wal-Mart has an updated list of closed facilities in Florida and also those in Georgia and South Carolina. A map, last updated Sunday evening, showed one Wal-Mart store opened in Jacksonville, Florida, and five locations open in the utmost Northwest region of the state.
Target has a similar running list online of store closures, with a slew of Georgia and South Carolina locations impacted, as well.
Later Monday morning, Target announced its pledge of $1 million in cash and in-kind donations to support communities impacted by Hurricane Irma. Home Depot also raised its commitment to $2 million for hurricane aid this season.
It's been estimated that the potential economic impact from lost retail sales in the "consumer/retail" sector from Hurricane Irma is expected — in total — to be $1.45 billion, according to weather analytics firm Planalytics. |
Proximity to fast food outlets leads to weight gain in children | Children living near fast food outlets are more likely to gain weight, according to research by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). The study, which analysed the weight of over 1,500 primary school children aged between four and 11, found that those living closer to fast food outlets were more likely to gain substantial amounts of weight between the first and last years of primary school. The study, which claims to be the first to demonstrate a link between accessibility to such outlets and weight gain, also identified higher densities of fast food restaurants in poorer areas. | https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/11/children-living-near-fast-food-outlets-more-likely-gain-weight-study | 2017-09-10 22:00:00 | Children who live near fast food outlets are more likely to gain weight compared with those living farther away, new research suggests.
Researchers from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) tracked the weight of more than 1,500 state primary school pupils aged four to 11.
The study found children living closer to fast food outlets were more likely to gain a significant amount of weight between the first and last year of primary school.
The study, which will be published in the Journal of Public Health, claims it is the first to show a link between accessibility to fast food outlets and weight gain over time.
The study’s lead researcher, Matthew Pearce, said the findings raise important questions about the role of the local food environment and its influence on the diet of young children.
Pearce, a former UWE Bristol public health student now working for the NHS, said: “We know from national data that the number of children classified as obese doubles between the first and last year of primary school. Understanding the reasons for this is important to protect the future health of children.
“Obesity is driven by many complex factors. Our study adds to existing evidence that the neighbourhood environment plays an important role in the development of obesity.”
Researchers calculated a “fast food accessibility score” for each child in the study by looking at how many fast food outlets were within about half a mile of their home.
The study also found a higher density of fast food outlets within poorer neighbourhoods.
This echoes data recently released by Cambridge University’s Centre for Diet and Activity Research, which found that there are now 56,638 takeaways in England – more than a quarter of all the country’s food outlets – with some of the heaviest concentrations of fast food found in England’s poorest and most deprived neighbourhoods.
Caroline Cerny, of the Obesity Health Alliance, told the Guardian when the figures were released that the environment can affect levels of obesity. She said: “Despite the health impact of the obesity epidemic being well known, it is shocking that the number of fast food takeaways is increasing.
“Whether it’s the marketing of junk food on billboards and TV, or the proximity of junk food outlets to schools, we know our environment has a huge impact on levels of overweightness and obesity.”
Pearce agrees and is calling for more to be done to help people lead healthier lives.
He said: “While ultimately it is down to individuals on how they choose to live, it is widely accepted that we live in environments that make managing our weight increasingly difficult.
“We therefore need national and local policymakers to take decisions that support more favourable conditions that enable people to eat healthier and become more physically active.” |
UN recognises EcoBioClean technology for oil spill clean-ups | A company that has developed a technology to clean up oil spills that mimics the way micro-organisms break down organic waste has been invited to a United Nations Environment Programme conference. Janet Angel, the CEO of Jacor, developed EcoBioClean, a cost-effective green chemistry application, after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill, during which more than 200 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, costing more than $60bn to clean up. She will address the gathering about the scientific and ecological value of EcoBioClean technology. | https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/product-news/07092017/un-recognises-spill-technology/ | 2017-09-10 22:00:00 | Janet Angel, CEO of JACOR LLC, has been selected to present a best practices case study discussing the scientific and ecological value of EcoBioClean® technology before the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on 14 September in Berlin.
This patented technology could be a safer and less costly way to treat oil spills. The UNEP workshop is intended to advance entrepreneurship and start-up initiatives for sustainable chemistry. Participants will include Nobel laureates and other leaders from the environmental and scientific community.
Angel set about developing the EcoBioClean® technology shortly after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Her cost-effective, comprehensive green chemistry application reduces a crude oil slick in salt or fresh water to tiny particles. It continues to biodegrade and transform those substances into beneficial materials suitable for aquatic or ground life with total remediation occurring in as little as seven days. The process is analogous to the way micro-organisms break down organic waste into the chemical energy and nutrients needed for cellular maintenance and growth.
Spill cleanup is costly. In 2010, BP spilt over 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf and spent over US$60 billion in cleanup costs. Treatment of the BP spill via EcoBioClean® would have cost around US$1.02 billion, approximately one-sixtieth of the cost. |
Nicotine e-cigarettes linked to heart disease and stroke | E-cigarettes containing nicotine could raise the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study by Swedish scientists. The research, based on a sample of 15 healthy volunteers, discovered that use of the devices could cause arteries to stiffen as well blood pressure and heart rates to rise. Although such effects were temporary, the researchers believe that chronic exposure to the nicotine-containing devices could have permanent results. No such effects were identified in volunteers who smoked e-cigarettes without nicotine. | https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/11/e-cigarettes-containing-nicotine-linked-to-raised-heart-attack-risk | 2017-09-10 22:00:00 | E-cigarettes containing nicotine could increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, researchers have found.
A study discovered that vaping devices containing the stimulant could cause a stiffening of the arteries, as well as an increased heart rate and blood pressure.
Swedish scientists recruited 15 healthy volunteers to take part in the experiment, none of whom had used e-cigarettes before.
The tests found in the 30 minutes after smoking the e-cigarettes containing nicotine, there was a significant increase in blood pressure, heart rate and arterial stiffness.
There was no such effect in the volunteers who smoked the e-cigarettes without nicotine.
Dr Magnus Lundback of the Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Stockholm, said: “The number of e-cigarette users has increased dramatically in the last few years. E-cigarettes are regarded by the general public as almost harmless.
“The industry markets their product as a way to reduce harm and to help people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, the safety of e-cigarettes is debated, and a growing body of evidence is suggesting several adverse health effects.
“The results are preliminary, but in this study we found there was a significant increase in heart rate and blood pressure in the volunteers who were exposed to e-cigarettes containing nicotine. Arterial stiffness increased around three-fold in those who were exposed to nicotine-containing e-cigarettes compared with the nicotine-free group.”
While the effects seen in the tests were temporary, Lundback said that chronic exposure to e-cigarettes with nicotine could have permanent effects. |
BRIC workers for European textile industry earn half living wage | Workers in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries employed in the supply chain for the western European textile industry are earning under half the living wage, according to research by the University of Surrey. Using a Social Life Cycle Assessment model, which considers the entire lifecycle of a product, the researchers studied living costs in BRIC economies to calculate the cost of a “decent life”. The study which, unlike previous analyses included social security and income tax contributions, found that, on average, the workers would need a 35% wage increase to achieve a "decent standard of living".
| https://www.ecotextile.com/2017091122953/social-compliance-csr-news/bric-textile-workers-poorly-paid.html | 2017-09-10 22:00:00 | SURREY – Researchers at the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CES) claim that Western European textile supply chain workers in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are earning less than half of the ‘living wage’. CES says the study shows that while globalisation has made the Western European textile supply chain fairer, more transparent with higher levels of employment, income for workers in BRIC countries are still far below the ‘living wage’. |
Temperature sensors improve autonomous vehicle hazard alerts | Tech companies are developing thermal imaging sensors for autonomous vehicles to improve their ability to detect live obstacles in poor visibility conditions. American manufacturer FLIR and Israeli start-up Adasky are amongst those developing the temperature-detecting sensors, which they claim can help spot hazards such as humans and animals on or near the road. A number of high-end motor companies including Porsche, BMW and Audi have been fitting FLIR thermal imaging sensors to their vehicles for several years to alert drivers to potential threats. Adasky's new infra-red Viper sensor can also spot hazards such as black ice on the road. | https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/608838/thermal-imaging-aims-to-give-autonomous-cars-better-night-vision/ | 2017-09-10 21:00:00 | There are many striking differences between a fence post and a human being, but one may prove particularly useful to robotic vehicles: temperature.
At least that's what the established thermal imaging firm FLIR and the Israeli startup Adasky think. Both companies are building new thermal sensors for use in autonomous cars, and they believe that the extra data could be used to spot hazards in adverse conditions. Humans and animals on or near the road, in particular, create far more heat than their surroundings.
Some high-end automakers, including Porsche, BMW, and Audi, have been fitting vehicles with thermal imaging sensors from FLIR for several years. The vehicles use them to alert a driver to the presence of animals or people on the road at night, which may not show up within reach of the car's headlights. Those sensors offer an image 320 pixels wide by 240 high.
Now, both FLIR and Adasky hope to achieve a similar result in autonomous cars using new sensors that they're both building.
Adasky today announced a new far-infrared sensor, called Viper, that offers better resolution (640 pixels by 480) at refresh rates of 60 frames per second and can detect temperature differences as small as 0.05 °C. Adasky's Dror Meiri tells MIT Technology Review that such sensitivity allows the device not just to spot something like an elk on the road, but also to easily discern things like black ice on the surface of a highway. He says the device should be in mass production by 2020.
The video above shows Adasky's sensor in use on a country road. On the left is a visible-light camera, on the right its thermal sensor. Cyclists, pedestrians, and animals certainly show up far more sharply on the right. And the sharp contrast with surroundings would make it easier for a car to approach those living hazards with caution in a way that lidar, which provides only ranging information, may not.
FLIR is also developing a VGA device for use specifically in self-driving cars. Paul Clayton, director of automotive at FLIR, says that sample units of the sensors are being shipped to some manufacturers for testing this year and that mass-produced sensors could cost "a couple of hundred bucks."
If you're wondering why another sensor may be required in a driverless car, both companies point to an important, if uninspiring word: redundancy. "It's an augment, a somewhat redundant sensor that helps classify in bad lighting conditions or weather," explains Clayton. We've explained in the past that multiple sensors can allow autonomous cars to make better sense of their surroundings, and the sharp contrast of thermal imaging may enable, say, a glimpse of a human to provide extra context that helps avert a dangerous incident.
Even so, an extra sensor does provide another data stream to process, and because thermal imaging is less widely used on the roads than visible-light cameras and even lidar, the machine-learning systems that discern details from footage will have to catch up. Both firms seem to understand that: Adasky has built its own AI to process data for its customers, and FLIR is putting together a thermal image database that clients can use to train their own neural networks.
Adoption of thermal imaging in autonomous vehicles is likely to come down to budget. Some manufacturers may balk at the expense of yet another sensor, but until cheap lidar sensors offer the quality that automakers might like, the devices could add a useful layer of safety. |
China bans imports of nearly 50 types European soft cheese | China has banned the import of nearly 50 types of European soft cheese, including brie, camembert, gorgonzola and stilton. The ban began in several Chinese cities in July and was implemented nationwide in August after the country's health authorities found they contained bacteria that had not been officially approved. Regulations permit only a few types of bacteria in dairy products, and exemptions for traditional foods do not apply to imports. Tonnes of cheese are reportedly being wasted because it cannot be imported, and the EU is surveying member countries before lobbying China to amend its regulations.
| https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/10/whiff-of-discontent-as-china-bans-imports-of-soft-european-cheese | 2017-09-10 17:45:19.480000 | Soft European cheese has fallen on hard times in China. Customs officials have banned a host of soft, mould-ripened cheese for containing “too much bacteria”, with authorities reportedly alarmed the mould contained colonies of bacteria that had not been officially approved.
The ban mainly affects French and Italian cheese, including brie, camembert, gorgonzola and roquefort, as well as the English delicacy stilton.
Sinodis, a distributor of foreign-based cheeses in Shanghai, sent a letter to customers announcing “cheese products containing certain moulds cannot temporarily be imported in China”. The company has stopped importing a laundry list of nearly 50 kinds of cheese since 23 August. The ban started in July in some cities, but was expanded nationwide this week.
“There is no good reason for the ban, because China considers the same cheese safe if produced in China,” William Fingleton, a spokesman for the delegation of the European Union to China, said in an email. “This effectively means that China is banning famous and traditional European cheeses that have been safely imported and consumed in China for decades. The entire Chinese market for soft cheeses is now closed.”
China imported more than £300m of cheese last year, according to customs data, but the statistics do not specify which varieties made up the bulk of that. Most of the strong, pungent cheeses affected by the ban are unpopular with Chinese people and are mostly consumed by foreign residents.
The news sent expats scrambling to buy cheese from remaining stocks. Online cheese shop Cheese Republic said in statement confirming the ban: “In my opinion: no bacteria = fake cheese.”
Chinese health regulations permit only a few types of bacteria in dairy products, but there is an exemption for “cultures that are traditionally used for food production”. That exemption does not apply to imported goods, but it is not clear what made authorities crackdown on cheese now.
Hard cheese such as cheddar, comté, gruyère and manchego are unaffected by the new rules, but the arbitrary nature of the ban on soft cheese has European officials worried.
“The European cheese industry is extremely concerned by this ban,” Fingleton said. “We are concerned that potentially many other types of cheeses may be affected in the future in the same way.”
There are currently tonnes of cheese being wasted because it cannot clear customs, Fingleton said. Cheese industry representatives have asked the government for clarification, but have not received any clear answer, he said.
The EU is currently surveying member states before it lobbies China to update regulations covering cheese.
China previously banned British cheese in 2014 when the food standards agency complained about hygiene standards at an unnamed dairy, but later lifted the prohibition. Italian mozzarella faced a similar ban in 2008 when the government ordered a recall, believing some products contained carcinogens.
China’s food safety watchdog, the general administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, and the county’s customs department did not respond to requests for comment. |
Amazon searches for second HQ as it outgrows Seattle | Amazon has outgrown its original headquarters in Seattle, where it's been based for over 20 years, and is looking elsewhere to set up a second base, expected to more than double the size of its footprint. Amazon currently houses around 40,000 employees in Seattle and has driven considerable growth in the area; a similar impact is expected wherever it chooses to sets up its second HQ.
| https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-hq2-cities-location-choices-new-second-headquarters/ | 2017-09-10 16:58:36.033000 | Amazon's (AMZN) surprise announcement Thursday that it plans to look for a second corporate headquarters in North America is likely to set off a bidding war among cities and municipalities, eager for a bite at the $38 billion in economic growth potential the company has promised with a second HQ.
The company gave some clues about what it wants for its cheekily named "HQ2" -- a location similar to its Seattle campus that is urban or suburban, well-connected to transit and in a metro area with at least 1 million people. But beyond that, the fact that it's going through a public process and accepting bids suggest it's open to looking far and wide -- and willing to be swayed by generous state and municipal tax breaks whipped up by local governments.
"It's unusual to go through a [request for proprosal] process, essentially shopping for a new location before any vetting is done on their own for a new location," said Dennis Donovan, president of WDG Consulting, a location search company.
The U.S. has 55 metro areas with a population over 1 million. Excluding Seattle itself and cities in Puerto Rico (an unlikely choice considering the U.S. territory's fiscal issues and legal status), that leaves 53.
Though Amazon specified a city larger than 1 million, most experts predict the behemoth will need a much larger metropolitan area.
"Amazon is so large that it itself is a place-maker and a place-changer," said Susan Wachter, co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania. "It cannot put itself down in the middle of nowhere because it would overwhelm whatever was there."
That leaves out college towns like State College, Pennsylvania, or Ann Arbor, Michigan, where more than half of the population is college-educated but which lack proximity to major metro centers, along with their infrastructure.
"Amazon is a prototypical innovation economy company. It relies on a lot of workers with a lot of technical training," said Joseph Parilla, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy program at the Brookings Institute. "We're looking at a combination of factors that might make an attractive labor market, like the quantity and quality of the college-educated force."
Among the many factors Amazon listed, that's the one that weighs above all others: talent. All the experts who spoke with CBS News for this story said the size and quality of the potential workforce would be a big factor for the project's location, which promises to hire 50,000 people at six-figure salaries.
That also means the places Amazon already has fulfillment centers won't necessarily have an advantage because those centers tend to employ hourly workers with lower-skilled people.
A third of U.S. adults have a bachelor's degree, so to find relatively high-educated cities, CBS News looked at metro areas where more than 33 percent of the population has a college degree or higher.
Twenty-six cities fit this criteria:
Metro area State Population Percent with bachelor's degree New York-Newark-Jersey City NY 20,153,634 38.40 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA 13,310,447 32.70 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL 9,512,999 36.00 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX 7,233,323 33.40 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC 6,131,977 49.30 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA 6,070,500 36.00 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA 5,789,700 37.00 Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA 4,794,447 46.00 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward CA 4,679,166 47.20 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN 3,551,036 40.30 San Diego-Carlsbad CA 3,317,749 37.20 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CO 2,853,077 41.80 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD 2,798,886 38.60 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia NC 2,474,314 33.50 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR 2,424,955 37.90 Pittsburgh PA 2,342,299 33.00 Kansas City MO 2,104,509 35.80 Austin-Round Rock TX 2,056,405 42.60 Columbus OH 2,041,520 35.10 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA 1,978,816 48.70 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN 1,865,298 33.60 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis WI 1,572,482 33.90 Raleigh NC 1,302,946 44.40 Richmond VA 1,281,708 35.20 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT 1,206,836 38.30 Rochester NY 1,078,879 37.30
Note: The Los Angeles metro, where 32.7 percent of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, fell below the educational cutoff, but it was included on this list due to its size and because its entertainment industry is potentially important to Amazon. Source: U.S. Census/American Community Survey, 2015 estimates
Beyond that, the particular qualities that Amazon wants aren't always easy to find in combination -- especially considering the facility's size.
"You need a place that has enough land to put a site in. That can be a challenge for some of the places with the most sophisticated transit systems," said Parilla. Conversely, places with more land, like Atlanta, Denver and Houston, tend to have relatively less transit.
One thing that likely won't have much of an impact? The subsidies that the state or city offers, experts said -- although tax breaks might make a difference if two top-tier cities competed that were otherwise very similar.
"I often tell my clients that all the incentives in the world won't make the wrong location right," said Bruce Maus, a logistical consultant.
CBS News' Jillian Harding contributed reporting. |
Uganda sets target of four million Chinese tourists by 2020 | Uganda is seeking to attract 4 million tourists from China by 2020, its tourism minister, Ephraim Kamuntu, has said. Kamuntu was leading a delegation to the China Guangdong International Tourism Expo to promote his country's efforts to attract at least 1 million Chinese visitors. "We are going to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign in this important market,” he said. | http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1461299/uganda-targets-million-tourists-china | 2017-09-10 16:52:51.253000 | A Ugandan dance group performing at the tourism expo in China
TOURISM|UGANDA-CHINA RELATIONS
Tourism minister, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, has said Uganda is targeting four million tourists by 2020.
Prof Kamuntu is heading a delegation of government and private sector players at the China Guangdong International Tourism Expo as part of promotional efforts to get at least one million tourists from the world's largest outbound tourist nation.
Speaking at the sidelines of the expo last weekend, Kamuntu said: "We are going to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign in this important market," he said
The minister was accompanied by Stephen Asiimwe, the chief executive officer of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), staff of the Guangzhou Consulate, led by Ambassador Solomon Rutega, Uganda's consul general in Guangzhou and official from the Uganda embassy in Beijing.
"In this year's budget, we have included an item for market representation and public relations. We hope that this will help bolster our presence in the Chinese market, increase visibility and awareness of the destination and grow visitor stay and spend in Uganda," Asiimwe said.
Tourism minister Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu Tourism minister Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu The expo and conference, was held at the Pazhou Exhibition Complex in Guangzhou, the capital Guangdong, China's richest province, with a GDP of $1.15 trillion and a population of over 110 million people.
The side event was organised as part of ongoing activities by the consulate to create further awareness of Uganda as a favourable tourist destination.
Ambsaador Rutega said since the establishment of the consulate, trade, investment and tourism had increased tremendously.
The minister is in Guangzhou, as part of his visit to China, during which he will attend the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
He will also preside over another consulate-organised conference on promoting Uganda's investment and tourism opportunities in Nanning City, Guangxi province next week. |
Hurricane Irma could cost $300bn and raise food prices | Hurricane Irma, which has caused widespread destruction in the Caribbean and Florida, could result in economic costs of £227bn ($300bn), according to analysts. Up to $2tn of property is potentially in the path of the storm, which could also affect US food prices. Florida is the second largest producer of crops, including grapefruits, sugar cane, tomatoes and watermelons, in the US, and the second-biggest producer of orange juice in the world. Up to 20% of the state’ citrus crop could be eradicated by the storm. | https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/10/economic-cost-of-hurricane-irma-could-reach-300bn | 2017-09-09 22:00:00 | The economic cost of Hurricane Irma could rise as high as $300bn (£227bn) as the storm lashes Florida, damaging homes, businesses and key crops including orange groves.
Analysts said about $2tn of property lay in the storm’s path, and also pointed to the potential impact on US food prices. Florida is the second-largest produce grower in the US and the world’s second-largest producer of orange juice.
Torsten Jeworrek, a member of the board of the German reinsurance giant Munich Re, said on Sunday that Irma was “a major event for Florida and also a major event for the insurance industry”.
The hurricane has already unsettled the financial markets, sending insurance stocks falling and orange juice futures surging last week. The price of contracts for November deliveries of frozen orange juice concentrate spiked as investors feared the worst after the destruction Irma wrought in the Caribbean.
Barrie Cornes, an analyst at the stockbroker Panmure Gordon, put the overall economic cost at $300bn, with insurance firms potentially on the hook for between $100bn and $150bn when the clean-up operation gets under way.
Florida also grows other important crops including tomatoes, grapefruits, watermelons and sugar cane. Irma could wipe out as much as 20% of the state’s citrus crop, a significant part of its economy, analysts have suggested.
01:48 Hurricane Irma's path of destruction - video report
Alan Konn of the Chicago-based commodity trading firm Price Asset Management said: “The damage to the orange crop is twofold, both short-term disruption but also to the extent crops are completely destroyed.”
Irma could also have a longer-term impact because it takes a few years to grow an orange tree to production, which would limit supply for an extended period, he said in an interview on the financial website MarketWatch.
The insurance industry is still assessing the cost of Hurricane Harvey, which caused severe flooding in parts of Texas last month. Initial estimates suggest the final bill could be as much as $100bn. That compares with economic damage of $176bn inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which included $82bn of insured losses, according to the Swiss Re Institute.
Risk modeller Chuck Watson of Enki Research said on Sunday afternoon that Irma looked ‘pretty grim’.
“Damage the roof of a million homes, which is possible in this storm, and the cost racks up pretty quick,” Watson said. He fears that Florida’s orange and grapefruit crop will probably be “severely damaged” if the winds over the centre of the state, between Lake Okeechobee and Orlando, are as high as expected.
The hurricane is “bad news for the Florida insurance market, which is now dominated by smaller firms since the big national companies pulled out after the rash of storms in the mid 2000s,” Watson added. |
UK “violated" duty to guard citizens from air pollution: UN | The UK government has “violated its obligations” to protect citizens from air pollution, according to a report by the United Nations. Baskut Tuncak, UN special rapporteur on human rights related to toxic waste, warned of potential risks to safe water posed by fracking and urged the UK government to reconsider plans to increase the use of nuclear energy. The UK also needs to match European Union green standards after Brexit in order to avoid “becoming a haven for ‘dirty’ industries”, said Tuncak. An estimated 40,000 premature deaths are caused in the UK each year by air pollution. | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/10/uk-flouting-duty-to-cut-air-pollution-deaths-says-un-human-rights-report?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other | 2017-09-09 21:00:00 | The UK government is “flouting” its duty to protect the lives and health of its citizens from illegal and dangerous levels of air pollution, according to the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights related to toxic waste.
Baskut Tuncak issued his warning after a fact-finding mission to the UK in January at the invitation of the government in a report that has been shared exclusively with the Guardian before it is presented to the UN human rights council this week.
“Air pollution continues to plague the UK,” he said. “I am alarmed that despite repeated judicial instruction, the UK government continues to flout its duty to ensure adequate air quality and protect the rights to life and health of its citizens. It has violated its obligations.”
Such harsh international criticism will be embarrassing for the government, whose air pollution plans have already been ruled illegally poor twice. The latest plan forced by the courts was released in July but condemned as “woefully inadequate” by city leaders and “inexcusable” by doctors.
Air pollution causes an estimated 40,000 early deaths every year in Britain and was declared a “public health emergency” by MPs in 2016. Air pollution is worst overall in London, but many other places have illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide emitted by diesel vehicles, such as Leeds, Birmingham, Bournemouth and Northampton. Ipswich has higher levels of particulate matter than London.
London breached its nominal annual air pollution limits five days into 2017 at Brixton Road in south London. Other known pollution hotspots in the capital include Putney High Street in west London, Oxford Street, Kings Road in Chelsea and the Strand.
In his report for the UN, Tuncak assessed how well the UK protects human rights that are infringed by pollution, such as the rights to life, health and safe housing.
Vulnerable groups were worst affected by air pollution, he said: “Children, older persons and people with pre-existing health conditions are at grave risk of mortality, morbidity and disability, with magnified risks among the poor and minorities.”
A government spokeswoman said Brexit represented an opportunity to improve the UK’s air quality standards. “EU policies, from the common agricultural policy to vehicle emissions tests, have damaged the environment. Our £3bn air quality plan will address the dirty air caused by the EU’s failed testing regime, and in ending the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, the UK is more ambitious than most EU member states including Germany.
“We now have an opportunity to deliver a green Brexit, ensuring the UK is a global leader in environmental protection,” she said.
Anna Heslop, at ClientEarth, the lawyers who have twice defeated the government on air quality standards, said: “This damning report with regard to air pollution is unsurprising but no less shocking for that. The UK has illegal levels of air pollution and successive governments have fought us in the courts rather than tackling it effectively.
“We are glad the report says the government must listen to the experts, including its own, and develop a national network of clean air zones to keep the worst polluting vehicles out of the most polluted areas of our towns and cities. This should happen as soon as possible.”
A new, wide-ranging ClientEarth report argues the government’s claim that all EU environmental laws will be retained after Brexit is misleading. Tuncak’s report criticises the government over other aspects of environmental policy “loopholes” in fracking regulation; the loss of environmental staff due to austerity which has resulted in “serious governance gaps”; and the risks to environmental safety posed by Brexit.
Tuncak also warned of the risk that fracking, soon to start in Lancashire, poses to safe water. “UK regulations on fracking are complex, split between several regulators and do not appear to be sufficiently stringent,” he said. “Fragmented policymaking allows for loopholes.”
All the UK’s environmental regulators have suffered due to budget cuts, he found: “The decreasing financial, technical and human resources due to austerity have created serious governance gaps.” The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has lost a third of its staff compared with 2007.
Another consequence of austerity was Defra’s ending in March of capital grants to local councils for cleaning up contaminated land sites, which the UN report said posed “potentially serious health risks”.
Tuncak warned that unless the UK’s future green standards equalled those of the European Union, “the UK could risk becoming a haven for ‘dirty’ industries and a dumping ground for products failing to meet EU regulations”.
Labour MP Mary Creagh, who chairs the environmental audit committee, said: “It is vital the government passes a new environmental protection act as soon as possible to protect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.” Tuncak backs that call in his report.
The committee warned in January that Brexit could result in key environmental protections being left as ineffective “zombie legislation”. Creagh said the UN report highlighted the “government’s lack of clarity about the future of environmental issues after Brexit and how they will stop the UK from becoming a dumping ground for dirty industries and a haven for bad practice”.
Tuncak’s report also asks the UK government to “reconsider national plans to increase reliance on nuclear energy, considering that long-term storage of nuclear waste is uncertain and poses significant risks to the population”. He criticised the UK’s cuts to legal aid and protection from legal costs which make it “extremely challenging” for victims of environmental harm to seek redress in the courts. |
Plans to set deadline for fossil fuel-powered vehicles in China | Chinese regulators plan to set a deadline for auto manufacturers to terminate sales of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. The government is looking to create a timetable with automakers to work out when production and sales should come to a close, said Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology. The ban is expected to accelerate efforts by EV manufacturers, both Chinese and foreign, to stake a claim in the world's second-biggest economy. | https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/10/16284866/china-ban-fossil-fuel-cars | 2017-09-09 19:00:00 | China is preparing to bring an end to the sale and production of fossil fuel vehicles, according to a report in Bloomberg. The country is aiming to use the ban as a way to encourage local automakers into developing electric cars.
Speaking at an auto forum on Saturday, Xin Guobin, the country’s vice minister of industry and information technology said that regulators are working to come up with a timeline for phasing out the sales and production of the vehicles. |
John Deere buys farming AI company Blue River for $305m | Farm equipment provider John Deere plans to purchase farming AI firm Blue River Technology for $305m. The 60-person start-up produces a range of farming tools, including an automatic precision weed sprayer, a lettuce trimmer and drone software for crop analysis. John Deere's tractors already incorporate limited autonomous capabilities; the purchase of Blue River will help the company build increasing amounts of intelligence into its vehicles.
| https://qz.com/1071303/john-deere-spent-300-million-on-blue-river-technology-a-company-that-murders-weeds-with-artificial-intelligence/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=a8ea6b5aab-The_Download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-a8ea6b5aab-154455665 | 2017-09-08 14:01:32.823000 | If you are a weed, we have some somber news.
John Deere, the farm equipment company that’s been chasing autonomous technology for more than 20 years, has agreed to buy Blue River Technology, a startup that uses AI to automatically identify and spray herbicide on weeds. The price of a 60-person farming AI startup? $305 million.
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Blue River Technology makes a number of farm tools: an automatic precision weed-sprayer, a device that trims lettuce at scale, and software for drones to analyze crops. The company once considered using a Tesla coil to zap weeds, according to Willy Pell, Blue River’s director of new technology, which is objectively a cool idea.
John Deere’s tractors have a level of autonomy today—some can steer themselves via help from GPS signals, while image sensors can determine the quality of grain during harvesting. But the company says Blue River’s AI will allow future tractors to understand each individual plant in crops like lettuce and cotton, two areas Blue River has already showcased.
The acquisition underscores the immense value placed on AI research and development companies in recent years. Twitter infamously paid $150 million for the 11-person Magic Pony Technology in 2016, and in a deal that’s looking more and more like a steal, Google bought the DeepMind research lab in 2014 for more than $500 million. |
RWE applies for permits for Scottish low-carbon heat network | Energy company RWE has submitted a planning application for its proposed £17.1m ($22.5m) energy network project in Scotland. The project at Glenrothes is being pursued with the backing of the Scottish Government, which has put £8.5m ($11.2m) towards it, with the remainder coming from RWE and Fife Council. It will use existing heat capacity from RWE's Markinch biomass plant to heat homes and businesses in Glenrothes via a network of underground pipes. Design and preparatory work is underway, and if planning permission is granted, installation is expected to take place from early 2018. | https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/504489/construction-of-glenrothes-energy-project-could-begin-next-year/ | 2017-09-08 12:54:46.440000 | Construction work on an ambitious project to bring cheap energy to central Glenrothes could begin next year.
A formal planning application has been submitted to Fife Council for the construction of the proposed Glenrothes Energy Network project.
The £17.1 million initiative, spearheaded by the local authority in conjunction with energy firm RWE and the Scottish Government, aims to supply low carbon heat to a range of businesses, public sector premises and homes through a vast network of underground pipes.
Ross Tulloch, programme manager for the Glenrothes Energy Network, said that getting to the planning permission stage was a huge step for the project.
“Submitting the full planning application brings us one step closer to offering clean, affordable energy to Glenrothes town centre,” he said.
“Design and preparatory work on the programme continues apace.
“By the end of the year we’ll know if this project’s progressing to the installation phase and work should begin early in 2018.”
Hundreds of homes and dozens of local businesses could benefit from the scheme, which would see a network of underground pipes installed to supply low-carbon heat to buildings in the town centre area.
It will take advantage of the current heat capacity from the RWE Markinch biomass plant and energy could be provided to the council’s buildings at Fife House and Rothesay House as early as January 2019.
A further 327 homes have also been identified as potential beneficiaries, as well as the Rothes Halls and local library, major retailers, a social and community club and a local church.
Preliminary work has already been carried out in the town, with eight trial pits and 10 bore holes dug throughout the town earlier this summer.
While the project will initially focus on the town centre, further phases could see the network expand to more homes and to the south of the town, as far as Pitteuchar West Primary School, Fife College and the Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre.
The Scottish Government has awarded a grant of £8.5 million from its Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme to the project, with Fife Council and RWE providing the rest of the funding. |
Two thirds of Swedish solar tradable under certificate program | Just above two thirds of Sweden's installed solar capacity can be traded on the Nord Pool under the certification program agreed with Norway. Approved solar capacity in Sweden has jumped from 49.1 MW at the end of 2015 to 94.3 MW a year later, compared with a total installed base of 140 MW. The barrier to greater use of the certification program is the cost of installing a meter to measure domestically consumed solar generation. Without one, only excess energy that is fed back into the grid is awarded certificates. | https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/08/swedens-electricity-certificate-system-sees-share-of-solar-increase/ | 2017-09-08 12:35:13.690000 | The amount of installed solar power operating in the Norwegian-Swedish electricity certificate system has increased considerably over the past three years, thanks to a surge in new installations especially in the Swedish renewable energy market.
According to provisional figures provided to pv magazine by Johan Lindahl, which is responsible for writing the IEA-PVPS report about the Swedish PV market, the installed capacity of the PV systems connected to the Swedish grid that have received approval to operate in this market has increased from 49.1 MW at the end of 2015 to 94.3 MW at the end of last year. At the end of 2014 and 2013, the PV capacity approved for the electricity certificate system was 24.1 MW and 10.9 MW, respectively.
The number of produced certificates from solar systems per year increased from 24,544 MWh in 2015 to 45,467 MWh in 2016, while the number of produced certificates eligible kWh per installed power and year grew year-on-year from 499.1 kWh/kW to 537.4 kWh/kW.
According to Lindahl, around 24% of the electricity produced from PV in Sweden currently receives certificates. The Swedish PV expert claims there are several reasons which have prevented PV from taking advantage of the electricity certificate system, and why PV system owners refrain from applying. One of the main reasons, Lindahl said, is that several PV system owners believe that the income provided by the certificate scheme is not worth the required extra administrative burden.
“Another reason for this,” Lindahl explains, “is that the meter that registers the electricity produced by a PV system is often placed at the interface between the building and the grid. This has the consequence that it is only excess production from a PV system that generates certificates and the solar electricity that is self-consumed internally in the building is not awarded any certificates.”
PV system owners, however, may get the certificates on both the excess electricity and on the self-consumed electricity. But to get them also on the self-consumed part an investment in an extra meter that registers self-consumption is needed, and this investment, especially for small-sized installations, in not negligible.
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The Norwegian-Swedish joint electricity certificate system for renewable energies received a new push in April, after the governments of Sweden and Norway agreed to extend it through 2030.
The two countries, which have had a common electricity certificate market for renewable energies since January 2012, reached a compromise that will allow Sweden to add a further 18 TWh of capacity and Norway to add new projects to the scheme only by 2021. Sweden and Norway started to disagree on the future of the program last year, with the first asking for an extension and the second seeking to leave the scheme.
Electricity Certificates, both Swedish and Norwegian, are traded on the Nord Pool exchange with the price agreed between purchasers and sellers. The two countries release tradable certificates to renewable energy producers for every MWh they generate for the first 15 years of a power generator’s lifetime. The scheme is managed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) and the Swedish Energy Agency.
According to the latest statistics available, Sweden had around 140 MW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2016, while Norway had only 11 MW of solar connected to its power network. |
Marketers will spend $1.2bn in 2019 on kids digital advertising | Spending on children's digital advertising will increase to $1.2bn in 2019, with digital advertising predicted to make up more than a quarter of all advertising directed at children, according to a report by PwC. It said the shift to smartphone, PC and tablet use among under-13s was behind the trend, while requirements for data privacy for children while online were creating a demand for compliant digital media technology that ensures children see only ads that are suitable. The report also noted that growth was expected in programmatic advertising for kids, as emerging platforms helped marketers conform to compliance requirements.
| https://venturebeat.com/2017/09/08/kids-digital-ad-market-expected-to-hit-1-2-billion-by-2019/ | 2017-09-08 11:44:14 | Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.
The kids digital advertising market is expected to hit $1.2 billion and represent 28 percent of all advertising directed at kids, according to a report by accounting firm PwC. Digital kids company Super Awesome commissioned the report.
In the past, kids were targeted almost exclusively through TV spending. But the PwC Kids Digital Advertising Report 2017 found that the under-13 audience has shifted its attention to digital media consumption on platforms such as smartphones, tablets, and PCs. The reported measured the ad markets in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
“The kids media market is going through the same transition which the mainstream space has been experiencing in recent years,” said Mark Maitland, media strategy partner at PwC, in a statement. “There are very strong (and structural) tailwinds driving the growth of the kids digital ad market, which we believe could reach 28 percent of total ad spend by 2019.”
Image Credit: PwC
This market is growing by 25 percent a year, and brands are rapidly shifting their spending on ads to digital. PwC said that increasing data privacy requirements for kids’ online activities (e.g. COPPA in the U.S. and GDPR in Europe) continue to drive demand for compliant digital media technology, where kids are only shown ads that are appropriate for them.
PwC expects some advertisers and brands to move away from publisher-centric relationships and adopt purpose-built media platforms to deliver scale and efficiency. The firm drew attention to the emergence of this “kidtech” space, specialist platforms, and technology combining data privacy with extremely large-scale audience reach.
Growth is also expected in programmatic advertising aimed at kids. It’s a complex proposition, given the compliance requirements, but one that emerging platforms are now solving. PwC estimates that 10 to 20 percent of digital ad spend for kids will be on compliant programmatic advertising by 2019.
In an email, SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins said, “After decades of dominance by TV, the entire sector is going through a structural shift which is clearly going to reshape the landscape over the next few years.” |
One in four UK families who rent need loans to pay moving costs | One in four families in rented homes are taking on significant debt to fund moving house, according to housing charity Shelter. The letting fees, cleaning costs, removal van hire and other expenses associated with moving have led families to take on credit card and overdraft debt, bank loans and even payday loans. During their last move, 255,944 privately renting families took on debt, with the cost of moving adding up to about £1,619 across England and £1,707 in London. Letting agent fees accounted for about 10% of moving costs and Shelter said government plans to ban such fees would not be enough to deal with the issue.
| http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/private-renting-families-quarter-debt-home-moves-frequent-report-a7934331.html | 2017-09-08 11:36:27.313000 | Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email 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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One in four families renting homes in England is falling into hundreds of pounds of “bad debt” due to the cost of moving house, new findings show.
Having to pay letting fees, removal van hires, cleaning costs and other requirements that come with moving properties has seen thousands of families taking out debt in the form of credit cards, overdraft, bank loans or payday loans, according to a report by housing charity Shelter.
A total of 255,944 private renting families took on such debt the last time they moved, with the cost of moving home amounting to an average of £1,619 across England – and reaching £1,707 in London.
The figures show that just 10 per cent of the cost accounted for letting fees, with the rest an accumulation of added costs such as removal van hire, paying double rent and payment for new accomodation in advance.
Shelter has warned that Government plans to ban fees to letting agents in England will not resolve the issue, and the charity is calling for the introduction of longer and more stable contracts for renting tenants.
The findings, based on a YouGov survey of 3,981 private renters in England, also shows that one in five private renting families – or 322,120 – have moved home three or more times in the past five years.
Around one in four private renters have children in their household, of which over half have moved between privately rented homes, according to Shelter.
One private renter, named only as Tracy, has had to move six times in the past seven years with her two children, aged five and seven, and said the cost of constantly having to move home has become a significant burden for her.
“When you add up things like removal vans and new furniture, the cost of having to move home all the time really starts to pile up. It seems that unless you have loads of savings, taking on debt from credit cards is pretty much the only way to cover it – you just don’t have a choice,” she said.
Recommended Number of private renters made homeless has trebled since 2010
“Having to move home every year or so makes it hard enough for me and my family, without also having to take on these debts which just get bigger and bigger and pile on even more pressure.
“If I could get a five-year tenancy it would make a massive difference – I could plan ahead, save money and get a grip on these debts. Not to mention the joy it’d give me and my family to actually have a home of our own for longer than a few months.”
Another private renter, named only as Emma, said having to keep moving home has driven her and her family further and further into credit card debt.
The teacher trainee, who rents in Folkestone with her husband and three children, said: “The first few times we moved we could borrow from family to cover the costs, but we have had to move so often that we now have to use credit cards and loans,” she said.
“Obviously, unlike with family and friends, these loans have fees and interest attached that can be really hard to pay back. Currently we have about £15,000 in debt because we’re having to move home every one or two years.
“About four years ago we took out one lower interest bank loan to try and pay all these debts off, but because we’ve had to carry on moving home, the costs have racked up and again we are back to square one.”
It comes after an analysis by The Independent revealed that the number of private renters being made homeless has more than trebled under the Conservative Government, with thousands of renters being deemed officially homeless by local councils each month after being evicted by private landlords and struggling to pay rents.
Official figures show a huge rise in people becoming homeless at the end of assured short hold tenancies (ASTs) – the most common agreement used by private landlords – since 2010, exposing the increasing unaffordability and instability of the private rental market.
Polly Neate, Shelter chief executive, said: “It’s heart-breaking that families are being forced into unaffordable debt just to cover all the costs of moving house so frequently, thanks to short unstable contracts.
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PA UK news in pictures 29 April 2023 England’s flanker Marlie Packer celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam at the end of the Six Nations international women’s rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in south-west London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 28 April 2023 Lucy Williams, from Aberfan, holds her son Daniel Williams, one, as he takes the handbag of the Princess of Wales, during her visit with her husband the Prince of Wales, to the Aberfan memorial garden, to pay their respects to those who lost their lives during the Aberfan disaster on October 21st 1966 PA UK news in pictures 27 April 2023 Teachers on the picket line outside Bristol Cathedral School, College Square, Bristol, as they take strike action in a dispute over pay PA UK news in pictures 26 April 2023 Protesters wait for the arrival of King Charles III and the Queen Consort for their visit to Liverpool Central Library PA UK news in pictures 25 April 2023 Wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph in central London, in commemoration for Anzac Day PA UK news in pictures 24 April 2023 Waves crash over Tynemouth pier on the North East coast of England PA UK news in pictures 23 April 2023 People cross the finish line at the 2023 London Marathon Getty UK news in pictures 22 April 2023 A Wrexham fan in a Deadpool costume ahead of the Vanarama National League match at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham PA UK news in pictures 21 April 2023 A demonstrator wears a costume as people protest during the Extinction Rebellion's 'The Big One' event, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 20 April 2023 The funeral cortege of Paul O’Grady travels through the village of Aldington, Kent ahead of his funeral at St Rumwold’s Church PA UK news in pictures 19 April 2023 Georgia Harrison, who was a victim of revenge porn, at a demonstration organised by Refuge outside the Houses of Parliament, calling for a violence against women and girls code of practice to be added to the ‘Online safety bill’ PA
“We speak to parents every day who want nothing more than to have control over their lives, and provide stability – both financially and in a settled home – for their children, but instead are constantly forced into packing up and moving on.
“The Government can change all this by updating laws to offer renters longer and more stable contracts, giving them and their children a secure place to call home and a brighter future.”
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman, said: “Everyone deserves a safe, secure place to live including those renting. That’s why we’re banning letting fees for tenants to reduce costs of moving and have produced a model tenancy agreement to support those who want a longer, more stable agreement.
“We’ve also been working with the National Housing Federation and British Property Federation to get their members to offer ‘family-friendly’ tenancies of three years or more for purpose built rental homes.
“We know that more needs to be done to boost home building, which is why we’ve doubled the housing budget to £8 billion and putting into action the largest affordable housing programme for 40 years.” |
Arizona to incentivise power use when the sun is shining | Arizona Public Service is set to roll out a slew of measures aimed at encouraging customers to save energy and control usage, while also helping integrate renewable resources into the grid. The programme includes incentives to buy smart thermostats, energy storage and water heater timers and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as well as electric school buses. The initiative also includes an educational component, enabling customers to optimise their use of the programme, and rewards for those who reduce peak-time energy use. | http://www.utilitydive.com/news/arizona-public-service-goes-beyond-leds-with-new-efficiency-proposals/504299/ | 2017-09-08 11:31:08.833000 | Dive Brief:
Arizona Public Service (APS) has proposed a slate of new energy programs and rates that will help customers conserve energy and control their usage, including energy storage, demand response and load management programs.
The proposals include incentives for smart thermostats, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, electric school buses and charging infrastructure, energy storage and water heater timers. The plan also calls for an increase in funding for APS' energy storage program, from $4 million to $6 million.
The utility is also proposing an educational component to ensure customers know best how to utilize the programs, including rate structures that encourage home pre-cooling, shifting the use of appliances to off-peak hours, and staggering the use of major appliances.
Dive Insight:
APS is rolling out a new generation of load management and efficiency ideas in its service territory, explaining that traditional measures like LED light bulbs and efficient appliances are now commonplace.
Stacy Derstine, APS vice president of customer service, said the utility is proposing an integrated set of programs, including education, to ensure that “the result is increased choice and control for customers when it comes to their energy usage.”
APS says its new offerings would reward customers for conserving power when it’s most expensive, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and would encourage using energy when the state's solar resources are abundantly producing energy.
"In addition to helping customers save by conserving during peak demand hours, this targeted energy efficiency approach can help better integrate renewable resources and delay the need for future infrastructure," the utility said in its announcement. "The programs work hand-in-hand with APS’s new rate plans to help customers achieve maximum savings."
In addition to the new programs, the utility will continue several current rebates, including programs for residential HVAC, business solutions, new home construction and home performance with Energy Star.
Last month, the Arizona Corporation Commission allowed APS to raise rates and approved a settlement with solar advocates that establishes a new compensation scheme and allows customers to lock in their rate for years.The decision means a typical residential customer will see bills rise 4.5%, or about $6/month. |
Real estate insurtech Rhino raises $1.94m in funding round | New York City-based insurtech start-up Rhino has raised $1.94m in a seed funding led by ff Venture Capital, and featuring participation from Lakehouse Ventures and Picus Capital, among others. Rhino has developed a security deposit solution for renters and landlords, initially focusing on New York City. It will use the new funds to expand its team, continue building its core technology, and roll out a targeted marketing strategy.
| http://www.finsmes.com/2017/09/rhino-raises-1-94m-in-seed-funding-round.html | 2017-09-08 11:01:36.123000 | Rhino, a New York City-based real estate tech and insurtech startup that provides a security deposit solution for renters and landlords, raised $1.94m in seed funding round.
The round was led by ff Venture Capital with participation from Lakehouse Ventures, Picus Capital, FJ Labs, Red Dog, angels and real estate owners.
The company will use the funds to hire new talent, continue building its core technology, and implement a targeted marketing strategy for the New York City market.
Led by Paraag Sarva, co-founder and CEO, Rhino provides a security deposit solution that allows renters to pay a small monthly fee instead of a large security deposit while landlords receive double the protection for the same items typically covered by security deposits. Pricing is personalized for each renter and starts as low as $19/month for a $2,500/month apartment. In turn, Rhino commits to insure the landlord and only seeks reimbursement from the renter after a review of the issue from both sides.
The company will initially focus on the New York City real estate market, where average rents have reached over $4,000/month in Manhattan.
Rhino is partnering with Canopius US Insurance who will underwrite its product.
FinSMEs
07/09/2017 |
Renewables hot spots burdened with regional interconnection costs | The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has rejected a proposal by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to allocate renewable interconnection costs regionally, rather than locally. The Valley Electric system, based in Nevada, has has an annual gross load of 545 GWh, compared to Pacific Gas & Electric, CAISO’s largest participating transmission owner, which has 91,500 GWh. "It is simply unfair to require the 0.27% of CAISO’s customer base in Nevada to bear the costs of these interconnections", said former chairman Cheryl LaFleur. | http://www.utilitydive.com/news/ferc-rejects-caiso-proposal-to-allocate-some-interconnection-costs-regional/504426/ | 2017-09-08 10:28:28.320000 | Dive Brief:
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week rejected tariff amendment proposals from California's grid operator that would have developed a new class of participating transmission owner for whom low-voltage, generator-interconnection-driven network upgrade costs would be allocated regionally, rather than locally.
Republicans on the commission, however, were unconvinced the change would allocate the costs of network upgrades to those that benefit.
At issue is Valley Electric Association, which is one of four participating transmission owners (PTOs) in the California ISO, though it supports only a small percentage of the grid's load.
Dive Insight:
The debate boils down to this: renewable generators see Valley Electric's system as a good place to locate renewable infrastructure — but it is small, and located in Nevada, and at least one commissioner said its ratepayers should not have to bear the costs of system improvements that will benefit others.
"The location of Valley Electric has led to a volume of interconnection requests to meet California’s renewable targets that is grossly disproportionate to its customer base," former Chairman Cheryl LaFleur wrote in her dissent. "It is simply unfair to require the 0.27 percent of CAISO’s customer base in Nevada to bear the costs of these interconnections."
For some comparison: Valley Electric has an annual gross load of 545 GWh, according to the commission's order—less than 1% of the system's annual gross load. Pacific Gas & Electric, however, is CAISO’s largest PTO and has an annual gross load of 91,500 GWh.
CAISO's proposal would have set a new "Certified Small PTO" for whom low-voltage, generator-interconnection-driven network upgrade costs would be allocated regionally, rather than locally. The interconnection costs for Vallery Electric's system, said LaFleur, "are not remotely commensurate with the benefits they receive."
The two new Republican members, Chairman Neil Chatterjee and Commissioner Robert Powelson, disagreed.
They noted that FERC has previously considered proposals regarding alternative cost allocation methodologies for network upgrades assigned to low-load zones. "However, CAISO has not demonstrated that its proposal allocates the costs of network upgrades to those that benefit from the network upgrades," they wrote in FERC's order. |
MIT Technology Review releases its 35 Innovators Under 35 list | MIT Review, the magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has unveiled its annual list of 35 Innovators below 35 years of age, covering inventors, pioneers, entrepreneurs, visionaries and humanitarians. Among those listed are Abdigani Diriye, who founded Somalia’s first incubator and start-up accelerator, Rachel Haurwitz, who is overseeing the commercialisation of gene-editing technology CRISPR, Lorenz Meier, who is developing an open-source autopilot for drones, and Fabian Menges, who is working on a method of measuring temperatures at the nanoscale.
| https://www.technologyreview.com/lists/innovators-under-35/2017/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=a8ea6b5aab-The_Download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-a8ea6b5aab-154455665 | 2017-09-08 10:18:38.233000 | MIT Technology Review, as a rule, focuses on the technology first—the breakthrough, the surprise, the accidental discovery with the potential to upend the way we live. Our annual look at 35 outstanding innovators under 35 is a reminder that behind all those innovations are people with dreams, fears, and ambitions. Sometimes they hack away at a problem for years before figuring out a way forward. Sometimes they stumble on a solution they didn’t know they were searching for. We hope these portraits offer a sense of the variety of work being done in technology, and a sense of what’s coming next. |
Thermal storage lacks a 'celebrity evangelist' | Thermal storage, in which energy is stored as either heat or cold, is losing out to battery storage because it doesn't have a high-profile backer of the likes of Elon Musk and doesn't charge sexy sports cars, said ICE Energy CEO Mike Hopkins. The technology has been proven in the field and should overtake batteries because it better suited to large loads over longer periods of time, he said. A housing development in Canada is testing a system to store thermal energy underground in the summer to be released during the freezing Alberta winters. Companies such as Ice Energy and Calmac use power to precool an insulated vat of liquid that reduces peak load. | https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-does-thermal-energy-storage-reach-scale | 2017-09-08 10:09:42.627000 | A vital technology for securing deep greenhouse gas reductions exists and works well, but still hasn't achieved widespread deployment.
Thermal energy storage has succeeded in the field for decades. Precooling an insulated vat of liquid can chop an electricity bill and reduce peak load, as companies like Calmac and Ice Energy have shown. An experimental housing development in Canada uses underground thermal energy storage, powered by solar energy in the summer, to cover its heating needs through the frigid Alberta winters.
Such products address a decarbonization challenge that cleaner grid power alone cannot touch. Buildings consume 70 percent of the electricity produced in the U.S., and emit 40 percent of the nation's carbon emissions. Any holistic attempt to tackle climate change must confront building-sector energy use.
Stanford professor Mark Jacobson, for instance, utilizes underground thermal storage as a pillar of his roadmap to decarbonize the whole U.S. energy system, because it reduces overall electrical demand and gas consumption for heating. When a bevy of academics critiqued that study this summer, they specifically called out the reliance on this rarely implemented tool. How can you save the world, the argument goes, with a technology whose real-world use is confined to an obscure housing pilot in Alberta?
Battery energy storage runs into obstacles related to its technological novelty. It's hard to get financiers to back a battery chemistry that hasn't seen much run time and is sold by a startup with a limited balance sheet. Despite that, the sector is booming -- GTM Research predicts a 22-fold increase in U.S. megawatt-hours deployed form 2016 to 2022.
Meanwhile, for thermal energy storage, questions of technological effectiveness are largely settled, but the segment hasn't scratched the surface of its potential impact. Indeed, that potential scarcely registers outside of a handful of companies that have staked their futures on it, and articulate the vision with a near-messianic zeal.
"I expect thermal will be bigger than batteries," said Ice Energy CEO Mike Hopkins, "because thermal loads are the large loads. They are the problematic loads; they are the loads that don't lend themselves to using electrical storage."
Much has been written about the rise of batteries. Less attention has gone to the thermal storage contingent, but they have their own strategies for growth. Their success could not only help utilities in their quest to subdue duck curves and steadily creeping peaks, but also play a central role in reducing carbon emissions from buildings worldwide.
The technology
The basic premise of thermal storage is to convert surplus electrical energy into heat or cold that can be used later.
That process takes on gridwide significance in light of the growth in peak demand, which utilities across the country attribute to their customers' simultaneous evening air conditioning usage.
Battery storage can serve that demand, but it suffers round-trip inefficiency losses; that's throwing away energy. The materials to store energy thermally cost less than lithium-ion chemistries do and theoretically last longer. The core technology is water in a plastic tank.
Plus, if you freeze that block of ice at night when both the ambient temperature and the cost of electricity fall, it takes less energy and money than doing so in the middle of a sunny, hot afternoon.
"The notion that you would store energy in the form of batteries for air conditioners is a really inherently bad idea," Hopkins said. "What you really want to do is get these thermal loads operating more efficiently. Make cooling when it's a good time to make cooling."
Ice Energy integrates its technology into air conditioning systems, to use unwanted noonday solar power or cheap nighttime electricity to precool a home before the evening peak. When electricity supply costs more or a utility is struggling to meet demand, the Ice Bear uses that block of ice to chill the building, instead of consuming electricity.
Whereas Ice Energy serves the commercial and residential markets, mostly in California, Calmac applies similar technology for massive skyscrapers and university campuses. Since the 1980s, the New Jersey company has racked up more than 4,000 customers in 60 countries.
Calmac's IceBank in action: It's a bunch of tanks storing cold liquid. (Image credit: Calmac)
Axiom Exergy applies the concept to grocery stores, reducing the utility bill for keeping food cool, and building in several hours' worth of backup cooling to carry through short outages.
Hot thermal storage functions much the same way as the cold stuff: Use excess power to heat up a liquid, then pipe it down to an insulated holding tank until it's needed to heat the building.
The Drake Landing Solar Community, in Alberta, Canada, uses underground district heating to store solar energy from the summertime. In the 2015-2016 winter season, the community supplied all of its heating needs from stored thermal energy; it supplied more than 90 percent of heating needs this way over each of the last five winters.
In a rarer variation, the technology allows the stored thermal energy to convert back into electricity. That's what Google's X lab is trying to do with a project dubbed Malta. It would use electricity to both heat up molten salts and cool tanks of liquid; when needed, the process reverses, using the unleashed hot and cold air to spin a turbine and regenerate electricity.
Crucially, thermal storage evades the toxicity and flammability concerns that come with high-powered lithium-ion batteries.
"Heating up water or making ice aren’t things that anyone’s going to be worried about," said Brett Simon, an energy storage analyst at GTM Research. "These systems aren’t using any reactive or potentially hazardous or flammable chemicals. That could lead people who are more cautious about battery storage to home thermal storage."
Obstacles to growth
Thermal storage has been around longer than advanced battery storage, but it has never broken out of a niche segment. Only a handful of companies install this in the U.S., compared to the dozens now chasing the battery storage market.
Cultural predilections play a role here, Ice Energy's Hopkins said. Battery storage only became popular in the last few years, in large part thanks to Elon Musk's knack for capturing the public imagination. That newfound awareness could be transferable.
"Because they know about lithium, when you talk about other forms of storage, it's not so foreign," he said.
Thermal storage, though, lacks a celebrity evangelist, and it can't charge a sexy sports car.
"The thing about thermal storage is it's invisible to the occupants," said Calmac CEO Mark MacCracken. "The people who go into these commercial buildings expect the building to be cool. They have zero understanding of how it's being cooled."
Companies seeking to displace conventional heating and cooling have to reach customers when they need that equipment, because it's not an everyday purchase.
New-build homes could be a promising market, but for existing homes, the time to buy a new AC unit typically comes as soon as the old one breaks. At that point, the customer has strong incentive to go with what's fastest and easiest, which probably isn't a wonky cooling technology they've never heard of.
Setting aside the consumer awareness challenge, there are technical limitations to be conquered.
One is getting into the design workflow for major building projects. Typically, MacCracken said, the architect designs a building and asks the engineers to cool it. They look at the peak cooling power needed to cover the hottest day of the year, add a margin for safety and call it a day.
Thermal storage requires a different kind of analysis and carries a perception of risk, even if it ultimately costs the same and delivers the same safety factor, MacCracken said. It takes time to break into that industrial workflow on a broader scale.
Even then, the proliferation of thermal storage depends on an economic tradeoff between business-as-usual and shifting demand away from peaks. That implicates rate design, which has proven itself to be an unreliable partner in pitching a product.
"The number-one problem is uncertainty with the tariffs, with the difference between the daytime and nighttime costs," said Mary Ann Piette, director of the Building Technology and Urban System Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. "The tariffs change a lot over time, and there’s not enough certainty on the economics."
Nationwide, time-differentiated electricity rates and demand response programs are gaining in numbers as utilities unpack the possibilities of distributed energy resources. Until those arrive, the benefits of thermal storage to consumers will remain largely theoretical, even if they're already tangible for the grid.
Geography matters
Climate helps determine the effectiveness of thermal storage, more so than it does for batteries.
The ideal market has a big diurnal swing, with a hot afternoon and a cooler night, Piette said. Desert environs like Arizona and inland California fit nicely.
In temperate Berkeley or the coastal Pacific Northwest, few homes have or need air conditioning. A residential Ice Cub would be of little use, whereas a battery would still be able to displace electrical load and provide backup power in an outage.
Similarly, underground thermal storage works brilliantly in frigid Alberta, but less so in a place that stays pretty warm through the winter. That technology also requires a high level of community buy-in: The systems work best when they serve a whole neighborhood or campus.
That sort of cooperation is hard to achieve short of greenfield housing developments; ripping up the streets to dig under existing developments is a harder sell. District heating has fared well in cold, northern communities with dense populations and a politics of social cooperation -- Scandinavia, basically. Having a master utility for gas, power and steam helps.
"Owning and operating models [for district heating] are not that common in our urban areas," Piette said. "It is possible to do these things, and I hope over time we can create new business models."
Density and diversity of loads make the proposition more attractive, she added, referencing an Amazon office in Seattle that buys waste heat expelled by a nearby data center.
Partner to move forward
The thermal storage startups I spoke with were clear on one thing: They need to partner with larger entities to scale.
Ice Energy found allies in utility Southern California Edison and independent power provider NRG. SCE awarded a contract for 26 megawatt-hours of distributed, customer-sited thermal storage. That provided the security of revenue needed to start ramping up production. It just left the problem of cashflow.
The 22-person startup couldn't front the cost of all those Ice Bears and wait 20 years to get paid back. Instead, Ice Energy sold the special-purpose vehicle for the project to NRG, which has a massive balance sheet. NRG technically owns the future returns of the fleet, and pays Ice Energy upfront to install the equipment.
If all goes according to plan, NRG pockets an easy return on investment with minimal risk: the revenue is contracted through a major utility with a sterling credit rating. It's up to Ice Energy to find businesses willing to host a total of 1,800 Ice Bears for free, enjoying $1,000 to $1,500 in electricity bill savings per year per unit (Ice Energy has deployed a total of 1,200 units since its inception).
The company also has contracts with two utilities in Massachusetts, and another 400 megawatts in various stages of negotiation, Hopkins said.
The residential Ice Cub, which replaces a conventional air conditioning unit while adding thermal storage capabilities, started shipping this summer. Hopkins hopes to scale that product through a distribution deal with a major solar installer.
"Right now, for us, 1,800 seems like a big number," he said. "With the home market, you might see tens of thousands in the U.S. getting deployed."
That home-cooling market should not be underestimated, particularly if thermal storage competes on price but adds more services, said GTM's Simon.
"If they get 1 percent of the home AC market, that's already going to be much larger than annual home battery sales," he noted.
Axiom Exergy is also looking to bigger entities to move its product. In this case: national grocery store chains. The company is developing multi-store rollouts with Whole Foods and Walmart to follow on initial demo installations.
"I don't see any roadblocks in the foreseeable future because there are so many grocery stores and cold storage facilities out there," said Sales Director John Lerch. "There's always going to be...this need to keep food chilled in order to distribute it everywhere."
Calmac, which graduated out of the startup phase a few decades ago, is discussing utility partnerships but doesn't have any yet. The company is also reaching out to a different kind of partner: battery storage companies.
The pitch is to offer a hybrid product for commercial customers, with thermal storage sized to thermal load and batteries to handle the leftover peak demand. That could achieve savings at a lower per-kilowatt-hour rate than if batteries had to shoulder the heating and cooling load.
Thermal storage complements a smarter grid than the one we have today. It will be hard to sell as long as a customer pays the same for a kilowatt-hour at grid-wide peak as at 3 a.m. But as customers become more grid-literate, and utilities start to send more sophisticated price signals to a range of distributed energy assets, demand for thermal storage technology could finally start to warm up. |
Governors Rally Around Health Law Fixes as White House Pushes Repeal | Governors from both political parties told Congress on Thursday that they supported immediate action on modest, bipartisan steps to repair the Affordable Care Act without repealing it, even as the Trump administration continued to encourage efforts to dismantle the law.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/governors-obamacare-fixes-trump-repeal.html | 2017-09-08 10:01:29.190000 | WASHINGTON — Governors from both political parties told Congress on Thursday that they supported immediate action on modest, bipartisan steps to repair the Affordable Care Act without repealing it, even as the Trump administration continued to encourage efforts to dismantle the law.
Testifying at a hearing of the Senate health committee, governors from Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Tennessee and Utah endorsed proposals to stabilize health insurance markets by providing federal money for continued payment of subsidies to insurance companies to offset the cost of discounts provided to low-income people.
They also urged Congress to give states more latitude to modify some insurance requirements in the Affordable Care Act and to devise their own coverage programs. The subsidy money and the flexibility for states are the two main components of a bipartisan consensus emerging in the Senate.
“Congress should take steps now to prevent the total collapse of the health insurance market” by providing money for the “cost-sharing” subsidies, said Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, a Republican. |
Advancing Connected Health for Seniors | John Mattison of Kaiser Permanente and Tim Lash, Successful Aging, West Health share their insights and challenges to connect with seniors, address their complex needs and to ultimately achieve better outcomes through more connected health. Hear from a provider leader and a foundation executive who pioneer connected health solutions assess emerging innovation opportunities for the senior market.
| https://www.healthevolution.com/interviews/connected-health-for-seniors | 2017-09-08 09:59:25.813000 | CARE DELIVERY REDESIGN
What is the future of how and where we engage consumers in their health and care? |
What Older Americans Stand to Lose if ‘Dreamers’ Are Deported | When the Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would end an Obama-era program that shielded young undocumented immigrants from deportation, Sherwin Sheik quickly sized up the potential toll on his business.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/business/economy/daca-dreamers-home-health-care.html | 2017-09-08 09:58:40.630000 | Those executives may have empathy for the beneficiaries of the program, known as Dreamers, as well as a broader interest in more liberal immigration policies to satisfy their labor needs. But the practical effect on their businesses will typically be minimal. The number of workers who benefit from the program is tiny alongside a national labor force of more than 150 million, and the DACA workers are spread out relatively evenly across most industries.
In health care, on the other hand, the economic impact could be significant, depriving patients of help they depend on and driving up costs for families and taxpayers.
Surveys of DACA beneficiaries reveal that roughly one-fifth of them work in the health care and educational sector, suggesting a potential loss of tens of thousands of workers from in-demand job categories like home health aide and nursing assistant.
At the same time, projections by the government and advocacy groups show that the economy will need to add hundreds of thousands of workers in these fields over the next five to 10 years simply to keep up with escalating demand, caused primarily by a rapidly aging population.
“It’s going to have a real impact on consumers,” Paul Osterman, a professor at the Sloan School at MIT and author of a new book on long-term care workers, said of the DACA move. |
Shedding New Light On Hospice Care: No Need To Wait For The ‘Brink Of Death’ | A few weeks ago, Kathy Brandt’s 86-year-old mother was hospitalized in Florida after a fall. After rushing to her side, Brandt asked for a consult with a palliative care nurse.
| http://khn.org/news/shedding-new-light-on-hospice-care-no-need-to-wait-for-the-brink-of-death/ | 2017-09-08 09:57:27.247000 | A few weeks ago, Kathy Brandt’s 86-year-old mother was hospitalized in Florida after a fall. After rushing to her side, Brandt asked for a consult with a palliative care nurse.
“I wanted someone to make sure my mother was on the right medications,” Brandt said.
For all her expertise — Brandt advises end-of-life organizations across the country — she was taken aback when the nurse suggested hospice care for her mother, who has advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease and a rapid, irregular heartbeat.
“I was like — really?” Brandt remembered saying, struggling with shock.
It’s a common reaction. Although hospices now serve more than 1.4 million people a year, this specialized type of care, meant for people with six months or less to live, continues to evoke resistance, fear and misunderstanding.
“The biggest misperception about hospice is that it’s ‘brink-of-death care,’” said Patricia Mehnert, a longtime hospice nurse and interim chief executive officer of TRU Community Care, the first hospice in Colorado.
NAVIGATING AGING Navigating Aging focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America’s 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system. To contact Judith with a question or comment, click here. For more KHN coverage of aging, click here.
In fact, hospice care often makes a considerable difference for those with months to live. “When someone is further out from death, we can really focus on enhancing their quality of life,” said Rachel Behrendt, senior vice president of Hospice of the Valley, which serves the Phoenix metropolitan area.
New research confirms that hospice patients report better pain control, more satisfaction with their care and fewer deaths in the hospital or intensive care units than other people with similarly short life expectancies.
What should seniors and their families, the largest users of hospice care, expect? It’s fairly well understood that patients forgo curative therapies in favor of comfort care when they enter hospice. Here are additional features:
Four Levels Of Care
Hospice providers are required to offer routine care in patients’ homes (this includes seniors who reside in assisted living or nursing homes); continuous care at home for people with out-of-control symptoms such as pain or breathing problems; inpatient respite for families that need a break from caring for a loved one; and general inpatient care for medical crises that can’t be handled in any other setting.
With continuous care, a nurse must be on-site in the home for at least eight hours a day, helping to bring symptoms under control. Usually, this will happen in one to three days. Respite care has a maximum limit of five days.
Some hospices have their own general inpatient facilities and “it’s a common misconception that patients are sent to inpatient hospice to die,” said Jean Cohn, clinical manager at Montgomery Hospice’s inpatient facility, Casey House. “In fact, we’re frequently fine-tuning patients’ regimens in inpatient hospice and sending them back home.”
Intermittent Care At Home
Routine care at home is by far the most common service, accounting for about 94 percent of hospice care, according to the latest report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
While services vary depending on a patient’s needs, home care typically involves at least one weekly visit from a nurse and a couple of visits from aides for up to 90 minutes. Also, a volunteer may visit, if a patient and family so choose, and social workers and chaplains are available to address practical and spiritual concerns.
Hospices will provide all medications needed to address the underlying illness that is expected to cause the patient’s death, as well as medical equipment such as hospital beds, commodes, wheelchairs, walkers and oxygen. Typically, there is no charge for such gear, although a copay of up to $5 per prescription is allowed.
What families and patients often don’t realize: Hospice staff will not be in the home every day, around the clock. “Many people think that hospice will be there all the time, but it doesn’t work that way,” Brandt said. “The family is still the front line for providing day-to-day care.”
In assisted living, patients or their families may have to hire nursing assistants or companions to provide supplemental care, since hands-on help is limited. In nursing homes, aides may visit less often, since more hands-on help is available on-site.
Self-Referrals Are Allowed
Anyone can ask for a consultation with a hospice. “We get many self-referrals, as well as referrals from family and friends,” said Behrendt of Hospice of the Valley. Usually, a nurse will go out and do a preliminary assessment to determine if a person would qualify for hospice services.
To be admitted, two physicians — the patient’s primary care physician and the hospice physician — need to certify that the person’s life expectancy is six months or less, based on the anticipated trajectory of the patient’s underlying illness. And recertification will be required at regular intervals.
You Choose Your Physician
You have a right to keep your primary care physician or you can choose to have a hospice physician be in charge of your medical care.
At JourneyCare, the largest hospice in Illinois, “we prefer that the patient keeps their primary care physician because that physician knows them best,” said Dr. Mark Grzeskowiak, vice president of medical services.
These arrangements require close collaboration. For instance, if a nurse observes that a patient with heart failure is experiencing increased shortness of breath, JourneyCare staff will get in touch with that patient’s primary care physician. The physician is responsible for altering the treatment plan; the hospice is responsible for implementing that plan and giving clear instructions to the patient and family.
Concerns About Medications
“There’s a misconception that you’re going to be medicated to a highly sedated state in hospice,” said Dr. Christopher Kerr, chief executive officer and chief medical officer for Hospice Buffalo Inc. in upstate New York. “The reality is our primary goal is to increase quality wakefulness. Managing these medications is an art and we’re good at it.”
Use Our Content This KHN story can be republished for free ( details ).
Family caregivers are on the front line since they’re responsible for administering pain medications such as morphine. “Absolutely, there’s a great deal of fear and anxiety around all the issues associated with giving medications,” said Cohn of Montgomery Hospice. “We try to reassure caregivers that the doses we start with are very small and we’ll see how the patient reacts and go slowly and deliberately from there.”
Because most hospice stays are short — the median length is only 17 days — and because the diversion of painkillers from people’s homes is a risk, doctors have begun writing prescriptions for a week or two at a time, said Judi Lund Person, vice president of regulatory and compliance for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. If concerns exist, hospices can have a lockbox for medications sent to the home.
Discharges Are Possible
Estimating when someone is going to die is an art, not a science, and each year hundreds of thousands of hospice patients end up living longer than doctors anticipated.
If physicians can document continued decline in these patients — for instance, worsening pain or a noticeable advance in their underlying illness — they might be able to recertify them for ongoing hospice care. But if the patient is considered stable, they’ll be discharged, various experts said.
In 2015, nearly 17 percent of hospice patients were so-called live discharges, according to a report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Two days before a discharge, hospices are required to give the patient or family members a Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage. Expedited appeals of discharge decisions can be lodged with a Medicare quality improvement organization.
There are no regulatory requirements governing what hospices should do to facilitate live discharges. Some hospices will spend weeks helping patients make arrangements to receive medications, medical equipment and ongoing care from other sources. Others offer minimal help.
At The Very End
Almost 1 in 8 hospice patients don’t get visits from professional staff during their last two days of life, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine last year. And this can leave families without needed support.
Some hospices have responded by creating programs specifically for people who have a very short time left to live. “We’ve put together a special team for people who are expected to live 10 days or less because that requires a different kind of management,” said Ann Mitchell, chief executive officer of Montgomery Hospice. “Instead of a nurse for every 15 patients, a nurse on this team will have five to six patients and a social worker is available seven days a week.”
“One-third of our patients are here for less than seven days and often we get them in a crisis,” said Kerr of Hospice Buffalo. “We’ve had to repurpose our services to address the urgency and complexity of these patients’ needs and that means we have to be ever more present.” Across the board, Hospice Buffalo requires that patients be seen within 24 hours of an expected death.
We’re eager to hear from readers about questions you’d like answered, problems you’ve been having with your care and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit kffhealthnews.org/columnists to submit your requests or tips.
KHN’s coverage related to aging & improving care of older adults is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and coverage of end-of-life and serious illness issues is supported by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
KFF Health News' coverage of aging and long-term care issues is supported in part by The SCAN Foundation. |
Researchers release design for stable, scalable quantum processor | American and Australian researchers have published a paper in Nature outlining a design for a scalable, silicon quantum processor using electrical interactions to couple and integrate two-qubits logic gates into expandable arrays. The "flip-flop qubits" are made up of two phosphorus qubits coupled using donor electron interactions that have been extended over longer than normal distances (>150 nm) by microwave resonators. The team claims that the arrangement is much more fault- and noise-tolerant than previous designs and can be fabricated using existing silicon chip technology.
| https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00378-x | 2017-09-08 09:56:32.667000 | Coupling Si:P spin qubits to electric fields
The phosphorus donor in silicon comprises an electron spin S = 1/2 with gyromagnetic ratio γ e = 27.97 GHz T−1 and basis states \(\left| \downarrow \right\rangle \), \(\left| \uparrow \right\rangle \), and a nuclear spin I = 1/2 with gyromagnetic ratio γ n = 17.23 MHz T−1 and basis states \(\left| \Downarrow \right\rangle ,\left| \Uparrow \right\rangle \). The electron interacts with the nucleus through the hyperfine coupling A ≈ 117 MHz. When placed in a large magnetic field B 0 (\({\gamma _ + }{B_0} \gg A\), with γ + = γ e + γ n ), the eigenstates of the system are the separable tensor products of the basis states, i.e., \(\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \), \(\left| { \downarrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle \), \(\left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle \), \(\left| { \uparrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \) (Fig. 1c). The electron and the nucleus can be operated as single qubits by applying oscillating magnetic fields resonant with any of the transitions frequencies between eigenstates that differ by the flipping of one of the spins, e.g., \(\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \) ↔ \(\left| { \uparrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \) for the electron qubit, etc. (Fig. 1c).
Fig. 1 Coupling donor spin qubits to electric fields via hyperfine modulation. a Qubit unit cell, in which the electron interface state, |i〉, is coupled to the donor-bound state, |d〉, by a tunnel rate V t . The solid black line represents the conduction band profile along z. b Bloch sphere of a flip-flop spin qubit coupled to a vertical electric field E z via the hyperfine interaction A. Electron-nuclear singlet and triplet states are denoted by \(S = \left( {\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle - \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \) and \({T_0} = \left( {\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle + \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \). c Si:P electron-nuclear spin levels, showing standard electron spin resonance (ESR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) transitions, together with hyperfine-enabled EDSR. d Atomistic tight-binding simulations72 (dots) of the electron-nucleus hyperfine interaction, for a z d = 15.2 nm deep donor, as a function of vertical electric field. The solid line is a fit using the simplified two-level Hamiltonian \({{\cal H}_{{\rm{orb}}}} + {\cal H}_A^{{\rm{orb}}}\), which yields V t = 9.3 GHz (see Supplementary Note 1). The insets show the electron ground-state wavefunction, \(\left| g \right\rangle \), in the region within dashed lines in a, for three different vertical electric fields. Scale bar is 10 nm Full size image
We envisage a device where a shallow 31P donor is embedded in an isotopically enriched 28Si crystal at a depth z d from the interface with a thin SiO 2 layer (Fig. 1a). The orbital wavefunction ψ of the donor-bound electron can be controlled by a vertical electric field E z applied by a metal gate on top. It changes from a bulk-like donor state at low electric fields to an interface-like state at high fields33, 34 (insets in Fig. 1d). The hyperfine interaction A(E z ), proportional to the square amplitude of the electron wavefunction at the donor site |ψ(0, 0, z d )|2, changes accordingly from the bulk value A ≈ 117 MHz to A ≈ 0 when the electron is fully displaced to the interface (Fig. 1d). Shifting the electron wavefunction also results in the creation of an electric dipole μ e = ed, where e is the electron charge and d is the separation between the mean positions of the donor-bound and interface-bound wavefunctions (d ≲ z d , see Supplementary Note 1). The induced electric dipole μ e has been largely overlooked in the past, but plays a crucial role in this proposal.
The key idea is to define a new qubit, called henceforth the flip-flop qubit, described in the subspace spanned by the states \(\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \), \(\left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle \). Transitions between these basis states cannot be induced by magnetic resonance, because there is no change in the z-component of the total angular momentum. However, the hyperfine interaction, A S ⋅ I, is a transverse term in the flip-flop basis, since its eigenstates are \(S = \left( {\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle - \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \) and \({T_0} = \left( {\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle + \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \) (Fig. 1b). Therefore, electrically modulating A(E z ) at the frequency
$${\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}(A) = \sqrt {{{\left( {{\gamma _ + }{B_0}} \right)}^2} + {{\left[ {A\left( {{E_{\rm{z}}}} \right)} \right]}^2}} ,$$ (1)
corresponding to the flip-flop qubit energy splitting, causes an electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) transition between the \(\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \), \(\left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle \) basis states35, 36 (Fig. 1c). This transition is faster at the “ionization point”, where the electron is shared halfway between donor and interface, since A(E z ) can vary strongly upon the application of a small voltage on the top gate.
Electrical noise and relaxation
Since the qubit operation is based upon the use of electric fields, a natural concern is the fragility of the qubit states in the presence of electric noise. Below we show that there are special bias points that render the flip-flop qubit operation highly robust against noise.
A quantum-mechanical description of the system is obtained by treating also the electron position as a two-level system (effectively a charge qubit; see Supplementary Note 1 for a justification of this two-level approximation), where the vertical position of the electron is represented by a Pauli σ z operator, with eigenvectors |d 〉, for the electron at the donor, and |i 〉 at the interface (Fig. 1a, d). The simplified orbital Hamiltonian reads (in units of Hz):
$${{\cal H}_{{\rm{orb}}}} = \frac{{{V_{\rm{t}}}{\sigma _{\rm{x}}} - \left[ {e\left( {{E_{\rm{z}}} - E_{\rm{z}}^0} \right)d{\rm{/}}h} \right]{\sigma _{\rm{z}}}}}{2},$$ (2)
where V t is the tunnel coupling between the donor and the interface potential wells, \(E_{z}^0\) is the vertical electric field at the ionization point, and h is the Planck constant. The electron ground |g 〉 and excited |e 〉 orbital eigenstates depend on E z (Fig. 1d) and have an energy difference given by:
$${\epsilon _{\rm{o}}} = \sqrt {{{\left( {{V_{\rm{t}}}} \right)}^2} + {{\left[ {e\left( {{E_{z}} - E_{z}^0} \right)d{\rm{/}}h} \right]}^2}}$$ (3)
At the ionization point, the energy difference between eigenstates \(\left| e \right\rangle = \left( {\left| d \right\rangle + \left| i \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \) and \(\left| g \right\rangle = \left( {\left| d \right\rangle - \left| i \right\rangle } \right)/\sqrt 2 \) is minimum and equal to V t (Fig. 2a), and therefore first-order insensitive to electric noise, ∂\({\epsilon _o}\)/∂E z = 0. This bias point is referred to as the “charge qubit sweet spot”37 (CQSS—Fig. 2a).
Fig. 2 Robustness to electric noise. a Charge, \({\epsilon _o}\), and flip-flop, \({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\), qubit transition frequencies as a function of vertical electric field E z , for B 0 = 0.4 T, A = 117 MHz, d = 15 nm, Δ γ = −0.2% and V t = 11.44 GHz. The inset shows the level diagram of flip-flop states coupled to charge states. CT stands for “clock transition” and CQSS for “charge qubit sweet spot”. b Estimated flip-flop qubit dephasing rate, assuming electric field noise \(E_{z{\rm{,rms}}}^{{\rm{noise}}} = 100\) V m−1. c E z -dependence of flip-flop precession frequency for the three indicated tunnel coupling values. d Flip-flop qubit relaxation rate, with arrows indicating the adiabatic path used for z-gates. e Flip-flop qubit dephasing rate due to E z noise and relaxation, at second-order CTs for each B 0 . f Device structure to tune the tunnel coupling V t of the charge qubit. Scale bar is 30 nm. g V t as a function of right gate voltage, calculated using a finite element Poisson solver (Synopsis TCAD) and atomistic tight biding (NEMO-3D)72. The insets illustrate the NEMO-3D wavefunctions inside dashed region in f, for three right gate voltages V r = −1, −0.35 and −0.27 V. The left gate voltage is V l = −0.5 V for all the simulations, and the top gate is biased such that the position of the electron is in between the donor and interface. Scale bar is 20 nm. The donor is assumed to be z d = 9.2 nm below the Si/SiO 2 interface Full size image
Conversely, the bare flip-flop qubit energy is expected to depend strongly on E z , through the combined effect of the hyperfine interaction A (Eq. 1) and the orbital dependence of the electron gyromagnetic ratio, γ e . Indeed, the gyromagnetic ratio of an electron confined at a Si/SiO 2 interface can differ from that of a donor-bound electron by a relative amount Δ γ up to 0.7%38. Therefore, the Zeeman terms in the Hamiltonian must include a dependence of the electron Zeeman splitting on its orbital position, i.e., the charge qubit σ z operator:
$${\cal H}_{{B_0}}^{{\rm{orb}}} = {\gamma _{\rm{e}}}{B_0}\left[ {1 + \left( {\frac{{1 + {\sigma _{z}}}}{2}} \right){\Delta_\gamma }} \right]{S_{\rm{z}}} - {\gamma _{\rm{n}}}{B_0}{I_{z}}.$$ (4)
We can also write the hyperfine coupling as an operator that depends on the charge qubit state:
$${\cal H}_A^{{\rm{orb}}} = A\left( {\frac{{1 - {\sigma _{\rm{z}}}}}{2}} \right){\bf{S}} \cdot {\bf{I}}$$ (5)
Indeed, this simple two-level approximation, shown as a black line in Fig. 1d, reproduces the full tight-biding simulations (yellow dots).
The overall flip-flop qubit transition frequency as a function of E z becomes:
$${\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\left( {A,{\gamma _{\rm{e}}}} \right) = \sqrt {{{\left[ {{\gamma _{\rm{e}}}\left( {{E_{\rm{z}}}} \right) + {\gamma _{\rm{n}}}} \right]}^2}{B_0}^2 + {{\left[ {A\left( {{E_{\rm{z}}}} \right)} \right]}^2}} ,$$ (6)
shown in Fig. 2a (dashed line), where we assumed Δ γ = −0.2%38. \({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\)(A, γ e ) shows a steep slope around the ionization point, mostly caused by the E z -dependence of γ e (the dependence on A is less significant because \({\gamma _ + }{B_0} \gg A\)). Therefore, while \({E_{z}} \approx E_{z}^0\) is the fastest operation point for the flip-flop qubit driven by a resonant modulation of A, one might expect it to be the most prone to qubit dephasing from charge and gate noise, through the influence of E z on γ e .
However, computing instead the full flip-flop qubit Hamiltonian,
$${{\cal H}_{{\rm{ff}}}} = {\cal H}_{{B_0}}^{{\rm{orb}}} + {\cal H}_A^{{\rm{orb}}} + {{\cal H}_{{\rm{orb}}}},$$ (7)
reveals that the qubit transition frequency has an extra bend around the ionization point (Fig. 2a, thick yellow line). This comes from Eq. (5), which provides a transverse coupling g so between the flip-flop and charge qubits (inset in Fig. 2a):
$${g_{{\rm{so}}}} = \frac{A}{4}\frac{{{V_{\rm{t}}}}}{{{\epsilon _{\rm{o}}}}}$$ (8)
As a result, the electron orbit dispersively shifts the flip-flop qubit by, to second order:
$${D_{{\rm{orb}}}}\left( {{E_{z}}} \right) = \frac{{{{\left[ {{g_{{\rm{so}}}}\left( {{E_{z}}} \right)} \right]}^2}}}{{{\delta _{{\rm{so}}}}\left( {{E_{z}}} \right)}},$$ (9)
where δ so = \({\epsilon _o}\) − \({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\), reducing the flip-flop qubit frequency to:
$${\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\left( {A,{\gamma _{\rm{e}}},{D_{{\rm{orb}}}}} \right) = {\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\left( {A,{\gamma _{\rm{e}}}} \right) - {D_{{\rm{orb}}}}\left( {{E_{z}}} \right),$$ (10)
D orb (E z ) is largest around \({E_{z}} \approx E_{z}^0\), since δ so is lowest (i.e., the charge qubit frequency comes closest to the flip-flop qubit, Fig. 2a) and g so is highest. Equation (10) (thin black line in Fig. 2a) agrees with full numerical simulations of the Hamiltonian in Eq. (7).
Such a dispersive shift stabilizes the flip-flop precession frequency against noise. To quantify that, we assume a quasi-static electric field noise with 100 V m−1 r.m.s. amplitude along the donor-dot direction (z-axis in Fig. 1a). This noise is equivalent to a 1.5 μeV charge detuning noise for d = 15 nm, consistent with experimentally observed values in similar silicon devices39,40,41—see Supplementary Note 3. The estimated—see Methods section—dephasing rates can be as low as \(1{\rm{/}}T_2^ * \approx 3\) kHz (Fig. 2b), comparable to the ones due to magnetic noise (\(1/T_2^ * \approx 1\) kHz in 28Si nanostructures7). This can be understood from Fig. 2c, which shows the qubit precession frequency dependence on E z , for three different values of V t . For small detunings δ so , i.e., V t close to \({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\), the dispersive shift around the ionization point is strong, yielding two first-order “clock transitions” (CT), where ∂\({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\)/∂E z = 0 where the dephasing rate is reduced. By increasing V t , the two first-order points merge into a single one in which both the first and second derivatives vanish, yielding the slowest qubit dephasing.
Another source of errors could come from relaxation via coupling to phonons. This is not an issue for bulk donors, where electron spin relaxation time is \({T_{1,{\rm{s}}}} \gg 1\) s18. However, due to the particular valley composition of the flip-flop qubit near the ionization point, its relaxation rate 1/T 1,ff due to charge-phonon coupling is enhanced42. We estimate it by noting that, if \({\delta _{{\rm{so}}}} \gg {g_{{\rm{so}}}}\), 1/T 1,ff is equal to the amount of charge excited state in the flip-flop eigenstates43 times the charge relaxation rate42:
$$1{\rm{/}}{T_{1,{\rm{ff}}}} = {\left( {{g_{{\rm{so}}}}{\rm{/}}{\delta _{{\rm{so}}}}} \right)^2}{\rm{/}}{T_{1,{\rm{o}}}},$$ (11)
$$1{\rm{/}}{T_{1,{\rm{o}}}} = \Theta {\epsilon _{\rm{o}}}{V_{\rm{t}}}^2,$$ (12)
where T 1,o is the charge qubit lifetime and Θ ≈ 2.37 × 10−24 s2 is determined by the silicon crystal properties42. Therefore, as can be seen from Fig. 2d, the higher the detuning δ so , the slower the relaxation. In particular, at the second-order CT, the qubit dephasing can be limited by relaxation, \(1{\rm{/}}T_2^* = 1{\rm{/}}2{T_1} \approx {10^4}\) Hz. This limitation can be overcome by reducing B 0 (Fig. 2e).
Tuning a flip-flop qubit into a clock transition requires the ability to tune the tunnel coupling V t . The latter is difficult to control at the fabrication stage, given its exponential dependence on donor depth, together with oscillations at the atomic scale44 arising from a similar valley interference effect as the one afflicting the exchange interaction16. Indeed, ion-implanting a donor at z d ≈ 15 nm below the interface happens with a vertical uncertainty of order ±10nm45, resulting in more than two orders of magnitude uncertainty in V t 44. Therefore, it is crucial to implement a method to tune V t in situ. A possible solution is to displace the location of the interface wavefunction laterally, which in turn modifies the overlap between the donor and interface wavefunctions and therefore V t . This can be done by adding two gates on either side of the top gate, which pulls the donor electron to the interface (Fig. 2f), in such a way that a relative voltage between the gates can modify the interface lateral potential landscape. This gate stack is identical to the well-established scheme for the confinement of single electrons in Si quantum dots10. This technique allows V t to be tuned by at least wo orders of magnitude (Fig. 2g), therefore circumventing the uncertainty in donor depth and V t arising from ion-implantation.
Adiabatic phase control
The presence of slow dephasing regions is important to control the qubit phase with high fidelity. In our quantum processor, idle qubits are decoupled from electric fields by fully displacing the electron either to the interface or to the donor. Performing quantum operations on the qubit requires displacing the electrons close to the ionization point, which in turn changes its precession frequency (Fig. 2a). As a result, the accumulated phase must be corrected after quantum operations. This is optimally done by moving the electron to the second-order clock transition, therefore minimizing dephasing errors. At this point, the flip-flop qubit phase precesses \({\rm{\∼}}{\Delta _\gamma }{\gamma _{\rm{e}}}{B_0}{\rm{/}}2 - {D_{{\rm{orb}}}}\) faster than its idle point, and therefore any phase correction in a 2π period can be applied within tens of ns. The dephasing rate at the CT, on the order of a few kHz, would cause very small errors (<10−4). However, while moving the electron from the interface toward the donor, the flip-flop qubit goes through regions of fast dephasing (Fig. 2b), and therefore this operation has to be performed as quickly as possible. It also has to be slow enough as to avoid erros due to non-adiabaticity, which include, e.g., leakage to unwanted high-energy states. These errors depend on the adiabatic factor K, which quantifies the fractional rate of change of the system’s eigenstates (the higher the value of K, the more adiabatic and slower is the process—see Methods section).
In Fig. 3a, we plot the time dynamics of an initial state \(\left| g \right\rangle \otimes \left( {\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle + \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \) while sweeping E z adiabatically (K = 50) to move the electron from the interface to the second-order CT and back, in order to realize a π z-gate. The initial adiabatic set-up part consists of a fast sweep (0.8 ns), allowed by the large charge qubit splitting when \({E_{\rm{z}}} \gg E_{\rm{z}}^0\), followed by a slower sweep (3.5 ns), limited by the proximity of excited charge states to the flip-flop qubit when \({E_{\rm{z}}} \approx E_{\rm{z}}^0\). The electron then remains at the CT for 60 ns, before adiabatically moving back to the interface. During the total 69 ns, the flip-flop qubit phase is shifted by π, with adiabatic errors, averaged over a set of initial flip-flop states—see Methods section—around 10−4. These errors can be controlled with the factor K, which determines the set-up time (see Fig. 3b).
Fig. 3 High-fidelity adiabatic z-gates. a Time-evolution of an adiabatic (K = 50) π z-gate on state \(\left| g \right\rangle \otimes \left( {\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle + \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \), showing applied electric field and flip-flop/charge states. Outer brackets denote the expectation value of an operator. \(\sigma _{z}^{{\rm{ff}}} = \left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle \left\langle { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right| - \left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle \left\langle { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right|\) and \(\sigma _x^{{\rm{ff}}} = \left| { + _x^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right\rangle \left\langle { + _x^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right| - \left| { - _x^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right\rangle \left\langle { - _x^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right|\), where \(\left| { + _x^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right\rangle = \left( {\left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle + {\rm{exp}}\left( { - i2\pi \epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}^{t = 0}} \right)\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \) and \(\left| { - _x^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right\rangle = \left( {\left| { \uparrow \Downarrow } \right\rangle + {\rm{exp}}\left( { - i2\pi \epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}^{t = 0} - i\pi } \right)\left| { \downarrow \Uparrow } \right\rangle } \right){\rm{/}}\sqrt 2 \). Fast oscillations between the charge and flip-flop states are due to small deviations from perfect adiabaticity. b π z-gate leakage error for different adiabatic set-up times, which are set by the factor K. c π z-gate error due to quasi-static E z noise, at the second-order CT at B 0 = 0.4 T, for different noise amplitudes and adiabatic set-up times Full size image
Quasi-static E z noise can increase errors, due to dephasing (Fig. 3c). At realistic noise levels (100 V m−1), the gate error rate is found to be <10−4. Similar error levels arise due to relaxation, which remains below 3 × 104 Hz (Fig. 2d).
Note that the presence of clock transitions does not affect the ability to use E ac to resonantly drive the qubit, since the transverse term A(E z ) still responds fully to the electric field (this is similar to the case of magnetic clock transitions, e.g,. in Si:Bi46).
Electric drive of the flip-flop qubit
We now explain how high-fidelity one-qubit x(y)-gates can be achieved via electric drive of the flip-flop qubit. The fastest one-qubit gates are obtained when the electron is around the ionization point, where ∂A/∂E z is maximum (Fig. 1d). A vertical oscillating electric field of amplitude E ac is applied (Fig. 4a) in resonance with the flip-flop qubit, i.e., ν E = \({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\). A large detuning \({\delta _{{\rm{so}}}} \gg {g_{{\rm{so}}}}\) (Fig. 4b) ensures the least amount of the charge excited state \(\left| e \right\rangle \) in the qubit eigenstates, minimizing qubit relaxation via charge-phonon coupling. The flip-flop qubit is still driven, via a second-order process, at a rate (half-Rabi frequency):
$$g_{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}} = \frac{{{g_{{\rm{so}}}}{g_{\rm{E}}}}}{2}\left( {\frac{1}{{{\delta _{{\rm{so}}}}}} + \frac{1}{{{\delta _{\rm{E}}}}}} \right),$$ (13)
where δ E = ν E − \({\epsilon _o}\) and g E is the driven electric coupling rate between the two charge eigenstates:
$${g_{\rm{E}}} = \frac{{e{E_{{\rm{ac}}}}d}}{{4h}}\frac{{{V_{\rm{t}}}}}{{{\epsilon _{\rm{o}}}}},$$ (14)
where E ac is the amplitude of a sinusoidal drive. Equation (13) provides another explanation of why the fastest one-qubit gates are obtained when the electron is at the ionization point: δ so and δ E are minimum (\({\epsilon _o}\) is minimum), and g so and g E are maximum (Eqs. (8) and (14)).
Fig. 4 High-fidelity electrically driven adiabatic x(y)-gates. a Spatial representation and b level diagram, for electrical drive of a flip-flop qubit, showing partially ionized electron wavefunction and spin arrows. c Time-dependent adiabatic drive amplitude and qubit dynamics of a π/2 x-gate, for K = 30, B 0 = 0.4 T, \({E_{\rm{z}}} = E_{\rm{z}}^0,\) and V t = 11.5 GHz. Bottom plot shows flip-flop z state, \(\left\langle {\sigma _{z}^{{ff}}} \right\rangle \), electron position, 〈σ z 〉, and charge qubit state, \(\left\langle {\left| e \right\rangle \left\langle e \right| - \left| g \right\rangle \left\langle g \right|} \right\rangle \). For the same parameters, d shows the averaged drive power and gate time, and e the error rates for different V t . To estimate the drive power, we assumed a 50 Ω line in which a 1 μV AC voltage produces a 10 V m−1 AC vertical electric field. f Estimated flip-flop qubit π/2 x-gate error due to quasi-static noise with amplitude \(E_{z{\rm{,rms}}}^{{\rm{noise}}} = 100\) V m−1. g Dependence of gate error rate on the electric noise r.m.s. amplitude and adiabatic factor K (which sets the gate time) Full size image
The electrical drive can cause some excitation of the charge qubit. It is therefore convenient to turn E ac on/off adiabatically to make sure the charge is de-excited at the end of the gate. Figure 4c shows the E ac time evolution needed for a π/2 x-gate, where we have assumed an adiabatic factor K = 30, sufficient for leakage errors <10−3. E ac increases steadily until a π/4 rotation is completed, after which E ac is gradually switched off to achieve an adiabatic π/2 x-gate. An average 4% excitation of the charge qubit causes a ~4 × 104 Hz relaxation rate of the encoded quantum state (Eq. 12), or error levels close to 10−3.
We then investigate how the total π/2 x-gate errors depend on the biasing of the electron wavefunction. At the ionization point, \(E_{z} = E_{z}^0\), error levels close to 10−3 are found over a wide range of V t (Fig. 4e). The K = 30 choice ensures adiabatic errors <10−3 with an oscillatory character typical of adiabatic processes47. At small V t (and therefore small detuning δ so ), the qubit eigenstates contain a substantial amount of charge, causing more errors due to charge-phonon relaxation. Increasing the detuning δ E with larger V t allows for a faster adiabatic sweep and higher powers (Fig. 4d), yielding shorter gate times and therefore less errors due to quasi-static noise. Still, the incident power is at least three orders of magnitude lower than the one needed to drive donor electron spin qubits, at the same Rabi frequency, with oscillating magnetic fields7, 19.
As Fig. 4f shows, low error rates are still available away from the ionization point, even though best values are found at \({E_{z}} = E_{z}^0\). This is because our gate times are so fast that dephasing, and therefore CTs, do not play a crucial role. Instead, quasi-static E z noise cause errors mainly by modulating the driving strength \(g_{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}}\), causing “gate time jitter”. Indeed, the gate time is sensitive to the orbital transition frequency \({\epsilon _o}\) (Eq. 13), and therefore gate errors are minimized close to the charge qubit sweet spot (CQSS), where ∂\({\epsilon _o}\)/∂E z = 0 (Fig. 2a).
Finally, as Fig. 4g shows, lower quasi-static E z noise can cause less errors, provided that the adiabatic factor K is increased, to reduce leakage errors, up to an optimum value where gate times are still fast as to keep noise errors low. Relaxation errors could also be reduced by reducing B 0 (recall Fig. 2e).
A number of other noise sources, including high frequency charge noise, Johnson-Nyquist, and evanescent-wave Johnson noise48 (EWJN) also affect qubits that are sensitive to electric fields. However, as we discuss in Supplementary Note 3, the corresponding error rates are much lower than the ones already previously mentioned—see all estimated error levels in Table 1.
Table 1 Error rates of x(y)-gates from different noise sources as discussed in Supplementary Note 3 Full size table
Two-qubit coupling via electric dipole interaction
We now present the method to couple donor spins that lies at the heart of our scalable quantum processor. It exploits the electric dipole that naturally arises when a donor-electron wavefunction is biased to the ionization point (Fig. 5a), due to the fact that a negative charge has been partly displaced away from the positive 31P nucleus. The electric field produced by this induced dipole in turn, modifies the energy of a nearby donor which is also biased at the ionization point, resulting in a long-range coupling between the two.
Fig. 5 Robust electric dipole-dipole interactions between two distant flip-flop qubits. a Device scheme for coupling qubits, showing dipole field lines, E dip , produced by the dipole on the left. b Level diagram for two-qubit coupling via electric dipole-dipole interaction. c Lowest molecular eigenstates for the two charge qubits inside dashed rectangle in b. The eigenenergy shift equals D dd = (δ so,2 − δ so,1 )\((\sqrt {1+[2g_{dd}/({\delta _{{\rm{so}},2}}-{\delta _{{\rm{so}},1}})]^2}-1)/2 \). The eigenstate coefficients are \(\beta = \theta {\rm{/}}\sqrt {{\theta ^2} + 1} \) and \(\alpha = \phi {\rm{/}}\sqrt {{\phi ^{\rm{2}}}{\rm{ + 1}}} \), with \(\theta ,\phi = \left[ {\left( {{\delta _{{\rm{so}},2}} - {\delta _{{\rm{so}},1}}} \right) \pm \sqrt {{{\left( {{\delta _{{\rm{so}},2}} - {\delta _{{\rm{so}},1}}} \right)}^2} + {{\left( {2{g_{{\rm{dd}}}}} \right)}^2}} } \right]{\rm{/}}\left( {2{g_{{\rm{dd}}}}} \right)\). Effective coupling between two flip-flop qubits as a function of V t,1 = V t,2 = V t , interdistance r (d) and electric field E z,1 = E z,2 = E z (e). The arrows in e represent the adiabatic path followed for two-qubit gates. \(E_{z}^{{\rm{0}},2{\rm{q}}}\) is the ionization point in the presence of a second qubit, \(E_{z}^{{\rm{0,2q}}} = E_{z}^0 - 2{g_{{\rm{dd}}}}h{\rm{/}}\left( {2e{d_{\rm{i}}}} \right)\) Full size image
The interaction energy between two distant dipoles, μ 1 and μ 2 , oriented perpendicularly to their separation, r, is49 \({V_{{\rm{dip}}}} = {\mu _1}{\mu _2}{\rm{/}}\left( {4\pi {\varepsilon _{\rm{r}}}{\varepsilon _0}{r^3}} \right)\), where ε 0 is the vacuum permittivity and \(\epsilon \) r the material’s dielectric constant (ε r = 11.7 in silicon). The electric dipole of each donor-interface state is μ i = ed i (1 + σ z,i )/2, implying that the dipole-dipole interaction Hamiltonian is:
$${{\cal H}_{{\rm{dip}}}} = {V_{{\rm{dd}}}}\left( {{\sigma _{{\rm{z}},1}}{\sigma _{{\rm{z}},2}} + {\sigma _{{\rm{z}},1}} + {\sigma _{{\rm{z}},2}}} \right)$$ (15)
$${V_{{\rm{dd}}}} = \frac{1}{{16\pi {\varepsilon _0}{\varepsilon _{\rm{r}}}h}}\frac{{{e^2}{d_1}{d_2}}}{{{r^3}}}$$ (16)
This electric dipole-dipole interaction is therefore equivalent to a small shift in the equilibrium orbital position of both electrons plus a coupling term between the charge qubits (blue dashed rectangle in Fig. 5b) equal to:
$${g_{{\rm{dd}}}} = {V_{{\rm{dd}}}}\frac{{{V_{{\rm{t}},1}}{V_{{\rm{t}},2}}}}{{{\epsilon _{{\rm{o}},1}}{\epsilon _{{\rm{o}},2}}}}$$ (17)
Note that this interaction can be stronger due to the presence of a metallic interface on top of the qubits, which enhances vertical dipoles—see Supplementary Note 2. Most importantly, since each flip-flop qubit is coupled to their electron position (Eq. 5), the electric dipole-dipole interaction provides a natural way to couple two distant flip-flop qubits.
Indeed, the effective coupling rate between two flip-flop qubits at the ionization point, Fig. 5d, exceeds 10 MHz around two narrow regions. These bands can be understood from the energy-level diagram shown in Fig. 5c. The two charge qubits in Fig. 5b form hybridized molecular states, which are coupled to each flip-flop qubit. The two-qubit coupling rate is maximum when in resonance with a molecular state. However, this regime induces too many relaxation errors due to resonant charge excitation. Therefore, it is best to detune the flip-flop qubits from the molecular states, while still keeping a substantial inter-qubit coupling rate, via a second-order process, equal to:
$$g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}} = {g_{{\rm{so,1}}}}{g_{{\rm{so,2}}}}\alpha \beta \left( {\frac{1}{{{D_{{\rm{dd}}}} - {\delta _{{\rm{so}},1}}}} + \frac{1}{{{D_{{\rm{dd}}}} + {\delta _{{\rm{so,2}}}}}}} \right),$$ (18)
where D dd is the charge eigenenergies shift and α, β the eigenstates coefficients—see Fig. 5c caption.
Two-qubit gates start with both electrons at the interface, where qubits are decoupled since the electric dipoles and the hyperfine interactions are first-order insensitive to vertical electric fields. Indeed, from Eq. (18), \(g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}}\) is negligible since g so vanishes and δ so diverges. The electrons are then simultaneously and adiabatically displaced to the ionization point for a time necessary for an \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gate, before returning to the interface. In Fig. 6a, we show the dynamics of a two-qubit gate performed with an adiabatic factor K = 30, following the trajectory shown in Fig. 5e. Similarly to one-qubit z-gates, the electron is first displaced in a fast time scale (~0.3 ns) set by the charge qubit parameters (\({\epsilon _0}\) and V t ), followed by a slower sweep (~19 ns) set by the spin-charge coupling parameters (δ so and g so ), until it reaches the ionization point. The electron remains still for a short time before the whole process is then reversed. In the end, a \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gate is performed. While some amount of charge is excited during the process, it goes back to its ground state, \(\left| {gg} \right\rangle \), with an adiabatic error around 10−3.
Fig. 6 High-fidelity adiabatic \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gates between two distant flip-flop qubits. a Time evolution of an adiabatic \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gate, for K = 30, r = 180 nm, B 0 = 0.4 T, and V t = 11.58 GHz. b Optimized \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gate error, gate time, and adiabatic factor K. c Optimized error rate arising from quasi-static E z -noise, for different noise amplitudes and adiabatic factor K (which sets the gate time) Full size image
We quantify the two-qubit gate fidelity in presence of the most deleterious noise types for our qubits, namely quasi-static E z noise and charge-phonon relaxation. For this, we observe that the optimal gate fidelities are achieved when \({E_{z}}\left( {{\tau _{\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} }}{\rm{/}}2} \right) \approx E_{z}^0\). Similarly to one-qubit x-gates, this happens because \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gates are sensitive to gate time jitter, and therefore errors are minimized at the CQSS, where \(g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}}\) is robust against E z noise to first order—recall Fig. 5e and Eq. (18). An optimization algorithm finds the best adiabatic factor K that minimizes errors due to E z noise for each value of V t,1 = V t,2 = V t . The result is shown in Fig. 6b. Smaller detunings δ so (small V t ) result in shorter gate times, which in turn reduces errors from quasi-static noise. However, this also implies a larger admixture of charge in the qubit eigenstates, which slightly increases relaxation errors. The lowest error rates, ~3 × 10−3 are found at small detunings, V t − \({\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\) − g dd ≈ 100 MHz (V t ≈ 11.59 GHz). At even smaller detunings, the two-qubit coupling rate becomes too fast, requiring faster adiabatic sweeps to avoid over-rotation (lower K, Fig. 6b) and generating more leakage errors. The gate errors remain within 10−3 − 10−2 for a wide range of V t . Finally, we estimate in Fig. 6c how noise errors depend on the noise amplitude and adiabatic factor K, which sets the gate time.
Our proposed two-qubit gates are not only well protected against noise, but also robust against donor misplacement. Variations in r, d 1 , and d 2 mainly cause variations in the charge qubits coupling g dd , therefore simply changing the energy separation between molecular charge states (Fig. 5c). However, the coupling \(g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}}\) between the flip-flop qubits can be kept essentially constant by simply readjusting V t , using, e.g., the method described in Fig. 2f, g. Figure 5d shows that one can keep a constant value of, e.g., \(g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}} = 1\) MHz for any inter-donor spacing between 180 and 500 nm, by adjusting V t between 11.3 and 11.8 GHz. In other words, since the flip-flop qubit coupling is mediated by a tunable interaction with their respective charge qubits, the inter-qubit interaction does not need to decay with r 3, as one would otherwise get when the dipole interaction couples the qubits directly26, 31. Therefore, two-qubit operations can be turned on between pairs of qubits separated by many sites in a two-dimensional array. This tunable long-range connectivity can be exploited to great advantage in large-scale quantum processors50. The large tolerance in g dd also accommodates very well the donor depth uncertainties inherent to ion implantation45, given the linear dependence of \(g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}}\) on d i (Eqs. (16) and (17)).
We conclude that our scheme provides a dramatic reduction in the fabrication complexity, especially compared to schemes that require placing a gate between a pair of tightly spaced donors, such as the Kane’s proposal15, which requires r ≈ 15 nm separation between two 31P nuclear spins. Note that, by relocating the problem of valley oscillations from the exchange interaction15 to the tunnel coupling, we have effectively provided a way in which the delicate parameter can now be tuned using a much simpler gate geometry.
Scaling up using circuit quantum electrodynamics
In order to reach the long-term goal of a large-scale quantum processor, wiring up the control and read-out lines for each individual qubit is not trivial, given the high density in typical spin qubit architectures51. Recent solutions include cross-wiring using multilayer lithography26 or floating gate electrodes inspired by dynamic random access memory systems52. In both cases, using flip-flop qubits with long-distance interactions would result in widely spaced donors and loose fabrication tolerances. In addition, since flip-flop qubits are coupled via electric fields, they could be spaced further apart by using electrical mediators. These include floating metal gates53 or even microwave resonators. Indeed, the use of electric dipole transitions allows a natural integration of donor-based spin qubits into a circuit-quantum electrodynamics architecture43, 54,55,56 (see Fig. 7c for a possible device layout).
Fig. 7 Silicon hybrid quantum processor. a Figures of merit summarizing the speed and error rates of different gate schemes presented in this paper, assuming realistic noise sources. b Level diagram for distant flip-flop qubit coupling via a microwave resonator showing photon number states and off-resonant charge states. c Device scheme for coupling qubits via a photonic link. Distant donors, placed next to the resonator center line and biased to their ionization point, are subject to the vacuum electric field E vac of a shared microwave resonator. d Schematic view of a large-scale quantum processor based upon 31P donors in Si, operated and coupled through the use of an induced electric dipole. Idle qubits have electrons at the interface, leaving the 31P nucleus in the ultra-coherent ionized state. Electrons are partially shifted toward the donor for quantum operations. The sketch shows a possible architecture where a cluster of qubits is locally coupled via the electric dipole, and a subgroup thereof is further coupled to another cluster through interaction with a shared microwave cavity (aqua). The drawing is not to scale; control lines and readout devices are not shown Full size image
A full quantum mechanical treatment yields a charge-photon coupling rate given by Eq. (14), with ν E now representing the resonator fundamental mode frequency and E ac the resonator vacuum field, E vac . Again, it is best to have the charge-excited state detuned from the flip-flop transition and resonator photon (see Fig. 7b), therefore minimizing charge excitation while retaining a second-order flip-flop photon coupling given by Eq. (13). Assuming δ so ≈ δ E ≈ 10g so ≈ 10g E , a d = 15 nm deep 31P flip-flop qubit would be coupled to photons at a \(g_{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}} \approx 3\) MHz rate. This is three orders of magnitude faster than the electron-spin coupling rate to a resonator via its magnetic vacuum field57, 58, and comparable to the coupling strength obtained by using strong magnetic field gradients59, 60, but without the need to integrate magnetic materials within a superconducting circuit. This assumes a vacuum field amplitude E vac ≈ 30 V m−1, which can be obtained by using tapered coplanar waveguide or high-inductance resonators61.
The possibility of coupling the qubits to microwave photons provides a path for dispersive qubit readout, as well as for photonic interconnects. Near-quantum limited amplifiers have recently become available to obtain excellent read-out speed and fidelities62. The resonator can also be used as a quantum bus to couple two spin qubits separated by as far as 1 cm (Fig. 7c), a distance given by the mode wavelength. Figure 7b shows the detailed energy-level diagram. To avoid losses from photon decay, the qubits should be detuned from the resonator by an amount much greater than the qubit-photon coupling rates. Assuming \(\delta _{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}} = 10g_{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}}\), where \(\delta _{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}} = {
u _{\rm{E}}} - {\epsilon _{{\rm{ff}}}}\), the effective two-qubit coupling \(g_{{\rm{2q}}}^{{\rm{ff}}} \approx {\left( {g_{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}}} \right)^2}{\rm{/}}\delta _{\rm{E}}^{{\rm{ff}}} \approx 0.3\) MHz yields a \(\sqrt {i{\rm{SWAP}}} \) gate that takes only 0.4 μs. |
This care center is combining child and senior care — and the results are beautiful! | The center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is home to day care and senior care facilities, and when these two age groups get together there are benefits to both groups — not to mention heart-warming interactions.
| https://www.today.com/health/intergenerational-care-center-combines-senior-child-care-t116046?cid=public-rss_20170907 | 2017-09-08 09:51:47.510000 | The Bethlehem Intergenerational Center has a unique approach to senior and child care: combine them!
The center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is home to day care and senior care facilities, and when these two age groups get together there are benefits to both groups — not to mention heart-warming interactions.
“We live in a mobile society, so kids do not have access to their grandparents like they used to,” Sue Davidson, director of the center, told TODAY. “So having those seniors around that they can build those relationships with is not only heartwarming, but beneficial.”
With the hope of allowing the old and young to benefit from one another, Davidson and her staff set out to find similar care facilities, as well as research that supported their goals. They quickly found Dr. Shannon Jarrott’s research, and went to visit her program at the University of Virginia, where she had started a program with similar initiatives.
"We built a hallway that connects the two wings," said Davidson. "The kids call it the pathway because it goes both ways." Courtesy Bethlehem Intergenerational Center
“We know that children benefit from having that consistent, caring adult in their lives,” Jarrott told TODAY. “And when seniors are invited to contribute in an age appropriate and ability appropriate manner it gives a role back to them as well.”
Davidson's group took what they saw and traveled the country in search of other programs as well. They took everything that they learned, and developed a care center they felt would benefit their specific community's needs.
“The caregivers have a safe place where they can enhance their family member’s quality of life,” said Davidson. “It can give the caregivers a break that they desperately need for themselves.”
"The older adults tell us that they love to watch the children," said Jarrott. Courtesy Bethlehem Intergenerational Center
The Bethlehem Center launched this program in June, but the children’s program has been around for 46 years. The center operates as a day center for both age groups, and schedules one intergenerational group activity per day with children ranging in age from infancy to kindergarten. The older kids have plenty of time to interact with the elders as well as before and after school.
“There’s lots of activities for them to do, but they can also choose — one of our little ones taught a senior how to crab walk last week,” said Davidson. “The sweet thing is they now know each other’s names and they ask for each other. That’s the part that melts my heart.”
Jarrott confirmed that her research has consistently shown that elders are still “interested in being active and contributing members of society.” These programs fulfill that sense of purpose.
Jarrott emphasized that elders and children aren’t the only groups that can benefit from intergenerational relationships — they're great for all ages.
“There’s just something that you can achieve by bringing generations together,” said Jarrott. “I encourage people to take an intergenerational lens to everything that they do.”
As for the Bethlehem Center, the Grand Rapids community seems to agree. The program has been growing and Davidson is hopeful that it can provide a constant light for the community.
“The interactions are so real,” said Davidson. “It is so beautiful.” |
'Ahead of the game': Florida seniors, nursing homes prep for Hurricane Irma | Cypress Village, a senior living facility in Jacksonville, Florida, is Herbert Dreisbach's home -- and when Hurricane Irma hits, he doesn't plan to leave his home.
| http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/07/health/hurricane-irma-florida-seniors-nursing-homes-profile/index.html | 2017-09-08 09:50:29.817000 | Story highlights NEW: At least 24 nursing homes and 108 assisted-living facilities across South Florida are evacuating "They keep very close tabs on us, because this is our life," one senior says
CNN —
Cypress Village, a senior living facility in Jacksonville, Florida, is Herbert Dreisbach’s home – and when Hurricane Irma hits, he doesn’t plan to leave his home.
This will be the first hurricane that he and his wife, Joanne, will experience while living on the third floor at Cypress Village, with a view of a lake and surrounding pine and cypress trees, Dreisbach said.
Joanne and Herbert Dreisbach plan to stay at their senior living community in Jacksonville, Florida, when Hurricane Irma hits. Lisa Brown
“We are perfectly safe here. This is a very nice, sturdy concrete building, and we feel very secure here, and they are taking very good care of us, so we’re satisfied to stay here,” the 94-year-old said.
The power might go out, “and I know some of these things might happen to us, but it’s still better than being at a facility that would not be properly prepared to take care of us,” he said just a few hours before a 3 p.m. meeting to inform residents of how to prepare for the hurricane.
“We’re all meeting downstairs for another series of instructions if need be,” he said. “They keep very close tabs on us, because this is our life.”
Lisa Brown says her father's facility is the safest place for him. Lisa Brown
As Hurricane Irma barrels toward South Florida, Dreisbach’s daughter Lisa Brown knows that staying in his assisted-living community is the safest option for her father, she said.
Yet all the way across the country in Palo Alto, California, she still worries.
“Florida is, in my opinion, a gold standard state in that the Florida Health Care Association, state disaster planners and nursing home staff have been extremely proactive in making sure that facilities are ready for a hurricane,” said Brown, a professor of psychology and director of the Trauma Program at Palo Alto University.
One benefit is that the association has been “reaching out prior to a hurricane to emergency operation center leadership so they’re aware of … the needs that residents have and there’s no surprises that are taking place when the threat is imminent,” she said.
Brown, who is not involved with the health care association, has conducted research on how hurricane threats and evacuations affect nursing home residents.
“Not all residents, our research clearly showed, should be evacuated. Those who can safely shelter in place may fare much better than those who are physically evacuated,” she said. “There’s not a one-size-fits-all, is the main point.”
‘We are right now sheltering in place’
Nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across South Florida are preparing for Hurricane Irma to strike, and they have emergency and evacuation plans in place to help keep seniors safe.
The Florida Health Care Association, a federation representing 81% of the state’s nursing centers, has been hosting daily disaster calls with nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to help them prepare for the storm, association spokeswoman Kristen Knapp said.
As of Friday morning, at least 24 nursing homes and 108 assisted-living facilities have been evacuated, Knapp said. The association has been monitoring bed availabilities for evacuees across the state, she said, as well as availabilities in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia.
The Florida Department of Health has coordinated the evacuation of 17 hospitals and 196 non-hospital health care facilities, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management website.
On Friday, the Division of Emergency Management issued an executive order giving districts and out-of-state licensed nurses 30-day permission to provide health care services and treatment to Florida nursing home residents who are evacuating, Knapp said.
Additionally, “if, post-impact, we need more nurses to come in and assist, then out-of-state nurses can come and provide care,” Knapp said of the executive order.
In Florida, mandatory evacuations orders included parts of Miami-Dade County, Broward County east of US 1, Palm Beach County, low-lying parts of Brevard County and Monroe County, home to the Keys.
In the case of mandatory evacuations, many facilities are prepared with residents’ medications and other needs.
“Each facility has been instructed to prepare in advance seven to 10 days of medication, oxygen and other medical necessities for each resident. The facility packages the medications, along with the current orders, and sends (them) with the resident in the case of an evacuation,” Knapp wrote in an email.
“Pharmacies are refilling medications to ensure that facilities can send an ample supply with the residents,” she said. In other words, “if evacuation is instructed by local or state authorities, residents needing medication will be authorized for refills on any and all medications, regardless of last refill date.”
Holiday Retirement, which owns 30 assisted- and senior living communities across Florida, housing 3,900 seniors, has been working closely with the Florida Health Care Association in preparation, said Lori Colwell, the company’s district vice president of operations for Florida.
As of Friday afternoon, the only Holiday retirement community under mandatory evacuation orders wasn’t in Florida but rather in Savannah, Georgia, spokeswoman Hannah Rimar said.
The Hilton Head, South Carolina, facility may be evacuating shortly as well, she said.
Holiday Retirement communities in Florida have buses on standby in case of evacuation, more than 400 cots and linens, three days’ worth of nonperishable foods in addition to twice their normal supply of food, 300 gallons of spring water and generator backups in case the communities lose power, Colwell said.
As for residents’ medications, the communities have been supplied with a one-week emergency medication supply on top of the 30-day supply they have for residents, Colwell said.
“If we indeed need to evacuate, we do ask the residents to pack three to five days of clothing,” she said. “We are right now sheltering in place until we get the evacuation order.”
Shell Point Retirement Community, which houses 2,400 senior residents in the heart of Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, has two on-site hurricane shelters, spokeswoman Lynn Schneider said.
On Friday, Schneider said, the community started to move residents into those shelters, and evacuations into the shelters will continue Saturday morning.
Both shelters are above anticipated storm-surge levels and have emergency generators and emergency food and water supplies, she said.
“Shell Point has a detailed, organized hurricane plan that serves as a guideline in the event of a weather-related emergency. Active tracking begins the moment any tropical storm is named,” Schneider said.
Shell Point residents also are advised to pack personal evacuation kits that include a two-week supply of medications, a three-day supply of special dietary items and ample portable oxygen supplies, among other necessities, she said.
How the past helps prepare for the future
“While Hurricane Charley directly hit Southwest Florida in 2004, Shell Point evacuated 1,750 residents into its hurricane shelter. Medical supplies, food supplies, water and equipment were set up and a special room was dedicated to keeping residents and employee’s pets safe,” Schneider said.
Often, emergencies of the past help to inform preparation for the future, Knapp said.
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“Hurricane Andrew in 1992 brought much attention to how we prepare for these massive storms, both as individuals and as communities. And then, in 2004 and 2005, eight named storms were the catalyst for new preparedness tools and resources for long term care centers,” she wrote. “In 2016, Hurricanes Hermine in late September and Matthew in early October caused major power disruptions, evacuations and $1.59 billion in damages between the two storms, and lessons from these storms have been learned and applied.”
For extreme weather events, Brown said, “I think that everybody benefits – staff, administration, residents, and family members – by having a discussion before this type of weather threat occurs, because once it starts to unfold, it’s difficult to have that discussion then. … Even if you just kind of step through what you would do and how things would unfold, I think you’re ahead of the game.” |
Largest Assisted Living Chain In U.S. Sued For Poor Care Of Elderly | Twenty residents of an assisted living complex in Palm Springs, Calif., missed their medications in a single day because no medical technician was on duty. A woman in a Paso Robles home for seniors pushed her emergency call button after falling in her room and waited 22 hours on the floor with broken bones until staff members responded.
| http://californiahealthline.org/news/largest-assisted-living-chain-in-u-s-sued-for-poor-care-of-elderly/ | 2017-09-08 09:49:51.877000 | About Capitol Desk Capitol Desk delivers the latest in health care policy and politics from Sacramento and around the state. Have an idea? Let us know.
Twenty residents of an assisted living complex in Palm Springs, Calif., missed their medications in a single day because no medical technician was on duty. A woman in a Paso Robles home for seniors pushed her emergency call button after falling in her room and waited 22 hours on the floor with broken bones until staff members responded.
A class-action lawsuit filed last month in a federal district court in Northern California details those incidents and other similar ones, which allegedly occurred in facilities owned by Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest assisted living provider.
The complaint alleges that inadequate staffing, poor worker training and rising fees are part of a “callous and profit-driven approach” that has had “devastating” consequences for Californians living in Brookdale assisted living homes. Residents, it claims, “are left without assistance for hours after falling, they are given the wrong medications, they are denied clean clothing, showers, and nutritious food, and they are left in their own waste for long periods of time.”
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Relatives of the seniors involved in the lawsuit declined to comment. The California Assisted Living Association, an industry group, also declined to comment.
Brookdale spokeswoman Heather Hunter said in an email that the lawsuit is “without merit” and the company will defend itself “vigorously.”
Tennessee-based Brookdale, which operates 1,121 facilities serving about 100,000 patients in 47 states, has encountered similar complaints elsewhere in the country. A class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., alleges that the company does not adequately staff its assisted living facilities and is not providing the care it promises residents.
The plaintiff in that lawsuit, Gloria Runton, claimed the Brookdale home where she lives had assured her she would get personal care services based on an assessment of her individual needs, but that as those needs grew over time, the level of her care did not increase. At the same time, Brookdale nearly tripled her fees, she alleges.
The California lawsuit, believed to be the first class-action claim against an assisted living company under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), was filed on behalf of four people currently residing in assisted living homes that Brookdale operates in the state. If the judge certifies the case as a class-action suit, the outcome could affect all residents of Brookdale assisted living facilities in California.
The lawsuit cites not only the federal disabilities law but also several California statutes, including ones that protect against unfair business practices and financial abuse of elders.
Because the goal is to win the case, good lawyers often file a number of claims, said Stephen Rosenbaum, a lecturer at the University of California-Berkeley’s law school and a directing attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, which is not involved in the lawsuit. “Whether the ADA is the strongest claim is unclear from a strategic standpoint,” he said.
Rosenbaum said case law has not established exactly how the federal disability law applies to assisted living facilities. It is “ironic” that the attorneys in this case are using the disability law to sue Brookdale, given that the company by definition serves people with some kind of disability, he said.
The California lawsuit alleges that some of Brookdale’s facilities don’t meet federal and state accessibility standards. Some of their bathrooms can’t accommodate wheelchairs, and the company doesn’t have an evacuation or emergency plan for disabled residents, the suit claims. Of the four plaintiffs named in the complaint, three require wheelchairs.
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If the case is certified as a class-action lawsuit under the ADA, that would be “big news,” said William Goren, a Decatur, Ga.-based attorney and consultant who helps clients comply with the law. That’s because of the nature of the law itself, he said.
The ADA is designed to address the disabled as individuals whose disabilities can be accommodated in different ways, Goren said. But a class-action lawsuit requires the “class” of plaintiffs to show that they’ve been injured in the same way.
“It’s very, very unusual that you could go in and get a class-action certified under the ADA,” Goren said. “It can happen, but not often.”
In California, Brookdale Senior Living runs 89 homes and serves up to 5,000 patients, offering various combinations of independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing.
In 2014, the company acquired another large assisted living provider, Emeritus, which expanded its presence in California. But the $2.8 billion deal left publicly traded Brookdale with significant staff turnover, declining occupancy and a shaky stock price. A Chinese real estate conglomerate’s recent bid to buy the company reportedly has stalled, creating more uncertainty for Brookdale and the people living in its senior homes.
Residents of Brookdale’s assisted living facilities don’t require the kind of specialized medical care provided in skilled nursing facilities, but they may need help bathing, using the toilet, taking medications, eating or walking. Some residents need walkers or wheelchairs, while others have mild cognitive impairments or dementia. Seniors who require less care and can cook their own meals often choose independent living homes, which Brookdale also operates.
Like many assisted living companies, Brookdale typically charges monthly room and board fees, plus separate charges for additional care, such as help with medications. Its average monthly rate for assisted living, including rent, food and some personal care services, is about $4,000, according to the company’s website.
Both the California and Florida lawsuits claim that to keep its occupancy levels up, Brookdale accepted assisted living residents who might have required higher levels of care, then failed to provide enough staff to meet their needs.
The consequences of leaving residents unsupervised can be severe. In one case, a wheelchair-bound resident of the Brookdale assisted living facility in Elk Grove, Calif., rolled herself out an open door and fell off a curb, breaking her neck, according to an investigation by the California Department of Social Services, which regulates assisted living facilities. The April 2 incident merited a civil penalty, still to be determined, according to the agency’s investigator. That episode was not mentioned in the lawsuit.
Tony Chicotel, a staff attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, which is not involved in the suit, said inadequate staffing is a problem at many assisted living facilities.
Assisted living salespeople tell seniors they can meet all their current and future needs, Chicotel said. “But … the facility will only staff based on revenue they’re getting … at least at the big facilities.” The bottom line, he said, is that residents “don’t get the care they need.” |
UK MPs to quiz FCA over listing proposal amid Aramco suspicion | MPs on two powerful committees will probe the UK's financial regulator on whether political influence was brought to bear on a proposal to loosen listing rules that could have attracted the $2tn flotation of Saudi Arabian oil corporation Aramco. The head of the Financial Conduct Authority, Andrew Bailey, will face the Treasury select committee and the business, energy and industry committee on whether the watchdog met ministers before considering the proposal. The FCA didn't mention the company, Aramco, when announcing its intention to explore the plan.
| https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/08/mps-to-question-city-watchdog-over-saudi-aramco-float | 2017-09-08 07:27:00.903000 |
The Financial Conduct Authority is facing questions from MPs about whether political influence was behind proposed City rule changes that could lure the $2tn (£1.5tn) float of Saudi Aramco to London.
Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the FCA, is being asked by the chairs of two powerful Commons committees whether there were any discussions between the City watchdog and ministers ahead of the consultation on the planned changes.
The FCA did not mention Aramco when it began consulting on its proposal to create a new category for firms controlled by a shareholder that is a sovereign country. But the plan was immediately seen as an attempt to lower any barriers to the $2tn Saudi oil company picking London for its stock market listing, which could boost the UK in the wake of Brexit.
Major City investors warned the plans could damage London’s reputation and the matter is now being raised by Nicky Morgan, the Conservative MP who chairs the Treasury select committee, and Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP who chairs the business, energy and industry committee.
In a joint letter, the two chairs tell Bailey: “We are interested to explore the rationale for this consultation, particularly given the concerns expressed by shareholders that these proposals would weaken protection for private investors against interference from foreign sovereign company owners.”
They pose seven questions for Bailey, including “to what extent was the FCA aware of any interest shown by Saudi Aramco in obtaining a UK listing, and if known, how far that interest influenced the consultation?”
They also ask: “What discussions did the FCA (whether at board or working level) have with ministers or officials from government departments in advance of and during the consultation, and in particular on the balance between attracting foreign investment and maintaining the integrity of the UK markets?”
The committees are being reformed after the July general election and are likely to be formally constituted next week. Both Morgan and Reeves said they would discuss Bailey’s response with their members, signalling further scrutiny from the MPs.
Saudi Arabia is planning to sell off a wide range of assets in the face of a weak oil price. The sale of a 5% stake in Aramco - probably next year – is key to the plan and could value the entire company at $2tn. The Financial Times reported on Thursday that some changes were made to parts of the economic transformation plan but that these would not affect Aramco’s sell-off.
London and New Year are regarded as vying for the listing and in April Theresa May and Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, visited Riyadh to meet Aramco’s chief executive, Khalid al-Falih, who is also the kingdom’s energy minister.
The FCA proposals would enable state-owned companies to qualify for a premium listing – which has more onerous corporate governance rules and is valued by investors – but escape two key hurdles. One relates to how the company and the controlling shareholder conduct deals with each other; the second allows investors a vote on independent directors.
Morgan said: “The UK has a world-class reputation for upholding strong corporate governance. The FCA must protect this reputation, especially as the City looks to remain competitive and thrive post-Brexit. Any changes mustn’t dilute the protection afforded by the ‘premium listing’ brand.”
She said the FCA’s consultation would be examined by the Treasury select committee, which she was elected to chair after the general election in July.
Reeves said that while it is important for the UK to thrive after Brexit it should not be at the expense of a weaker corporate governance regime. “Getting this balance right will be vital to the UK’s long-term future as a key financial centre and an attractive market-place place for investors. The FCA’s consultation relating to its premium listing regime raises questions about the UK’s reputation for sound corporate governance.”
The FCA confirmed it had received the letter and that it would reply in due course. At the time of the consultation, Bailey said sovereign owners had different motivations from private sector individuals or companies. The consultation ends on 13 October. |
NFL launches subscription streaming service to conquer Europe | The NFL has launched its subscription-based streaming service Game Pass in Europe as it seeks to expand its footprint beyond the US. For £139.99 ($183) per year, users have access to over 300 games of american football per season, as well as exclusive content. Record numbers of people had taken up the free trial and subscribed, said Sam Jones, CEO of the joint venture for Game Pass. NFL UK has also signed a deal with Amazon Prime to stream 11 games, which could be critical in 2022, when the NFL's five-year plan for streaming in Europe is slated to end.
| https://digiday.com/marketing/nfl-takes-netflix-style-approach-fuel-growth-europe/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=170908 | 2017-09-08 07:07:05.203000 | The NFL is betting on a new subscription streaming service as it tries to push further into Europe.
American football has gone from hosting one live game in London to four over the last decade. But now, the NFL is trying to grow its streaming service that charges people £139.99 ($183) a year for access to more than 300 games on demand a season.
The Netflix-style Game Pass service has been overhauled for the 61 European markets the NFL operates in ahead of the new season, which started Sept. 7. Subscribers get access to award-winning shows and behind-the-scenes content as well as the option to watch every game. The NFL owns Game Pass, but a joint venture of Bruin Sports Capital, its sports media entity Deltatre and WPP runs the service.
To survive, sports organizations must own the relationship with their fans, said Alistair Kirkwood, the managing director of NFL UK. “Streaming hasn’t been at the forefront of our business, but increasingly over the next five years, Game Pass will be seen as a major part of our business strategy,” he said.
It’s a lofty goal for a sport that’s competing outside of its home base and at a time when illegal streaming is rife. Kirkwood believes there’s big value in having a fan database, though. Early results from the content tested on the service during the preseason have been encouraging; the NFL doesn’t disclose numbers but said Game Pass has posted record numbers of people signing up for free seven-day trials and then later purchasing the product, and people have streamed up to 12 live preseason games on some days, said Sam Jones, CEO of the joint venture for Game Pass. Kirkwood is also encouraged by meetings he’s had with Amazon Prime after the two organizations struck a deal earlier this year to stream 11 games to Prime subscribers.
But James Kirkham, head of sports publisher Copa90, said that to really scale, the NFL will have to create exclusive content that’s tied to the games: “stunning, iconic [film] content, which people will queue up to watch.”
The NFL has limited popularity beyond the U.S. But Game Pass and Amazon are also exercises in how data has quickly become a currency in sport. Amazon gets data on NFL fans to whom it could potentially sell products and attract sponsors, while the NFL gets the reach of a platform that has at least 66 million subscribers and potential interest from advertisers who want to target sports fans.
Yet for all of Amazon’s potential, Kirkwood stressed that the streaming partnership is still just an experiment and downplayed concerns that Amazon’s or Facebook’s moves into sports broadcasting are a threat to the NFL’s own efforts to own a larger slice of the league’s viewership. He believes the NFL will be able to deliver tailored content, targeted to those who want it most, when and how they want it.
“Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t think about what I’m not getting [from deals with the technology players],” he said. “I focus on what I will get, which will be complementary to other platforms we’re on. Facebook Live, for example, will give me something else that maybe our own channels like Game Pass or the BBC won’t get or vice versa.”
In 2022, the NFL will be at the end of its five-year game plan for streaming in Europe, the same year its lucrative TV rights are up for grabs in the U.S. By then, the league’s executives in each of those 61 markets will have shared so much information with the NFL’s main team in New York that it could be set to capitalize on any interest from the likes of Amazon or Facebook, should it manifest.
Photo courtesy of NFL UK |
Chinese solar firms excluded from EU's minimum price undertaking
| Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers AE Solar and Wuxi Saijing have been excluded from the European Commission's minimum price undertaking and have been slapped with anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties, according to the European Union Official Gazette. Both firms had invoices that were declared invalid, while AE Solar had provided incomplete quarterly sales reports. In addition, Wuxi Saijing had entered into an agreement with an independent importer before the minimum price undertaking came into effect, allowing it to sell solar modules under minimum import prices in Europe. It also broke the rules by conducting compensation transactions.
| https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/08/eu-excludes-two-more-chinese-module-maker-from-minimum-price-undertaking/ | 2017-09-08 07:05:32.417000 | The European Commission (EC) has decided to exclude Chinese PV manufacturers AE Solar and Wuxi Saijing from the minimum price undertaking for the import of solar modules from China, according to a document published in the EU Official Gazette on Wednesday.
The EC said that AE Solar has provided incomplete quarterly reports on its sales, while Wuxi Saijing has set up a trading system with an independent importer, which has allowed the company to sell the solar modules under minimum import prices in Europe after the entry into force of the undertaking. Furthermore, Wuxi Saijing has conducted compensation transactions with the customer, thus circumventing the rules. This would have been confirmed by customs investigations.
The two Chinese solar manufacturers were not able to provide evidence against the allegations, the EC said. Some invoices of AE Solar and even more of Wuxi Saijing were declared invalid by Brussels authorities. The custom authorities were instructed to impose antidumping and anti-subsidy duties on the companies.
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Currently, the EC is conducting a mid-term review of the undertaking, which is expected to investigate the gradual mitigation of the antidumping and anti-subsidy measures over the next 18 months. In July, the Commission had proposed a new mechanism for establishing the minimum import price for solar cells and solar modules manufactured in China. It proposed a timetable on how prices should fall by September 2018. A final settlement is currently being discussed. This should be announced in the autumn. |
Large firms say they're still unprepared for MiFID II | More than a third of large companies are unsure if they'll meet the deadline for MiFID II's wide-ranging regulatory reforms in January, according to a survey by communications technology firm TeleWare. Findings of the poll of 100 senior decision makers suggests smaller firms are more likely to be fully compliant with the European directive. A separate survey of asset managers by Liquidnet found just 6% of buy-side firms said they were ready to meet MiFID II’s best execution rules.
| https://www.thetradenews.com/Regulation/Big-businesses-struggle-to-meet-MiFID-II-deadline/ | 2017-09-08 06:44:11.033000 | With less than four months until MiFID II is implemented in Europe, more than a third of large businesses remain unsure if they will meet the deadline.
A survey carried out by communications technology firm TeleWare suggests smaller firms are more likely to be fully compliant with MiFID II come January 2018 than larger firms.
The poll of 100 senior decision makers across financial services found 28% of firms overall are unsure if they’ll be ready in time, but 38% of firms considered large stated they may not meet the deadline.
On the other hand, all firms considered small - with less than 10 employees overall - said they are fully confident about being MiFID II compliant by January next year.
Steve Haworth, CEO of TeleWare, explained MiFID II is a complex directive which affects a variety of functions within each business.
“Firms need to look outside of their immediate business to find the compliance answer… With technology underpinning operations, it’s highly encouraging that firms are investing in this area ahead of January 2018,” he added.
The research also found 71% of firms questioned investment in IT systems ahead of January 2018, following the European Commission’s decision to delay the regulation.
A separate survey of asset managers carried out by Liquidnet also suggests a lack of confidence about meeting the deadline, particularly around best execution requirements.
Just 6% of buy-side firms surveyed by Liquidnet said they are currently ready to meet MiFID II’s best execution rules. |
Deutsche Börse, Illuminate lead $5m funding for RegTek.Solutions | German shares and securities marketplace operator Deutsche Börse has joined with venture capital firm Illuminate Financial Management in a $5m funding round for RegTek.Solutions, which provides regulator compliance software designed to improve the quality, transparency and control of regulatory reporting obligations in a number of jurisdictions. RegTek.Solutions anticipates a growing need for its services in light of new Mifid II regulations that are due to come into force next year.
| https://www.thetradenews.com/Technology/Deutsche-Boerse-leads-$5m-investment-in-RegTech-firm/ | 2017-09-08 06:37:27.103000 | Deutsche Boerse and venture capital firm Illuminate Financial Management have co-led a $5 million funding round for RegTek.Solutions.
Launched earlier this year and based in New York, RegTek.Solutions is a specialist provider of regulatory compliance software.
It provides trade reporting tools and software in a bid to improve the quality, transparency and control of regulatory reporting obligations across various jurisdictions.
Deutsche Boerse’s head of market data and services, Holger Wohlenberg, and managing partner at Illuminate Financial Management, Mark Beeston, will become non-executive board members at RegTek.Solutions.
Brian Lynch, CEO at RegTek.Solutions, explained the investment from both parties is “real validation of our offering and prospects of growth”.
He added: “As the next bottleneck of regulatory deadlines nears and both sell-side and buy-side firms grapple with adhering to the new rules, we are seeing strong demand across the market for outsourced trade reporting tools.”
Ankur Kamalia, head of venture portfolio management at DB1 Ventures - Deutsche Boerse’s corporate venture capital arm - explained RegTek.Solutions established itself as a reliable service provider with knowledge within the post-trade space.
The investment made in exchange for a minority stake will be used to scale RegTek.Solutions’ operations ahead of MiFID II. |
143 million Americans' private records stolen from Equifax | Hackers have stolen masses of sensitive data from Credit reporting agency Equifax. The company revealed that data on 143 million US citizens - nearly half of the country's population - was illicitly accessed; the firm's stock plummeted following the news. The data included social security numbers, birthdays, addresses and credit card numbers. UK and Canadian citizens have also been affected by the breach.
| https://qz.com/1072476/equifax-efx-stock-is-plummeting-after-the-company-announced-a-hack-affecting-143-million-us-consumers/?mc_cid=70cdeb683b&mc_eid=a37072368a | 2017-09-08 05:33:03.350000 | Credit reporting agency Equifax announced today (Sept. 7) that hackers stole records containing personal information on 143 million of its customers in the United States.
“On July 29, 2017, Equifax discovered that criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files,” the company said in a statement. “Most of the consumer information accessed includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some instances, driver’s license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 consumers.”
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The company added that 182,000 credit-dispute documents, which contain personal information, were also stolen.
Shortly after the announcement, Bloomberg News reported that three executives at Equifax sold nearly $1.8 million worth of company shares after the data breach had been discovered in late July. The company’s stock dropped more than 12% in after-hours trading following the announcement at about 4:30pm ET.
Equifax has created a website to help its customers find out whether their data has been stolen. |
IBM Watson for Oncology 'underdeveloped', claims Stat report | IBM's Watson for Oncology, an artificial intelligence programme that was intended to revolutionise the treatment of cancer, is not living up to its marketing hype and needs further development, an investigation by US health news site Stat has claimed. Stat found that Oncology for Watson did not have enough patient data to make independent decisions, while a preference for US medical methods and a claimed lack of diversity among patients, as well as the system's high cost, prompted criticism from medical experts outside the country. However, Oncology for Watson was deemed more useful in China, where there are fewer oncologists. | https://www.statnews.com/2017/09/05/watson-ibm-cancer/ | 2017-09-08 05:20:21.520000 | It was an audacious undertaking, even for one of the most storied American companies: With a single machine, IBM would tackle humanity’s most vexing diseases and revolutionize medicine.
Breathlessly promoting its signature brand — Watson — IBM sought to capture the world’s imagination, and it quickly zeroed in on a high-profile target: cancer.
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But three years after IBM began selling Watson to recommend the best cancer treatments to doctors around the world, a STAT investigation has found that the supercomputer isn’t living up to the lofty expectations IBM created for it. It is still struggling with the basic step of learning about different forms of cancer. Only a few dozen hospitals have adopted the system, which is a long way from IBM’s goal of establishing dominance in a multibillion-dollar market. And at foreign hospitals, physicians complained its advice is biased toward American patients and methods of care.
STAT examined Watson for Oncology’s use, marketing, and performance in hospitals across the world, from South Korea to Slovakia to South Florida. Reporters interviewed dozens of doctors, IBM executives, artificial intelligence experts, and others familiar with the system’s underlying technology and rollout.
The interviews suggest that IBM, in its rush to bolster flagging revenue, unleashed a product without fully assessing the challenges of deploying it in hospitals globally. While it has emphatically marketed Watson for cancer care, IBM hasn’t published any scientific papers demonstrating how the technology affects physicians and patients. As a result, its flaws are getting exposed on the front lines of care by doctors and researchers who say that the system, while promising in some respects, remains undeveloped.
“Watson for Oncology is in their toddler stage, and we have to wait and actively engage, hopefully to help them grow healthy,” said Dr. Taewoo Kang, a South Korean cancer specialist who has used the product.
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At its heart, Watson for Oncology uses the cloud-based supercomputer to digest massive amounts of data — from doctor’s notes to medical studies to clinical guidelines. But its treatment recommendations are not based on its own insights from these data. Instead, they are based exclusively on training by human overseers, who laboriously feed Watson information about how patients with specific characteristics should be treated.
IBM executives acknowledged Watson for Oncology, which has been in development for nearly six years, is in its infancy. But they said it is improving rapidly, noting that by year’s end, the system will offer guidance about treatment for 12 cancers that account for 80 percent of the world’s cases. They said it’s saving doctors time and ensuring that patients get top-quality care.
“We’re seeing stories come in where patients are saying, ‘It gave me peace of mind,’” Watson Health general manager Deborah DiSanzo said. “That makes us feel extraordinarily good that what we’re doing is going to make a difference for patients and their physicians.”
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But contrary to IBM’s depiction of Watson as a digital prodigy, the supercomputer’s abilities are limited.
Perhaps the most stunning overreach is in the company’s claim that Watson for Oncology, through artificial intelligence, can sift through reams of data to generate new insights and identify, as an IBM sales rep put it, “even new approaches” to cancer care. STAT found that the system doesn’t create new knowledge and is artificially intelligent only in the most rudimentary sense of the term.
While Watson became a household name by winning the TV game show “Jeopardy!”, its programming is akin to a different game-playing machine: the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing robot of the 1700s, which dazzled audiences but hid a secret — a human operator shielded inside.
“Jeopardy!” champions Ken Jennings (left) and Brad Rutter watch Watson beat them to the buzzer to answer a question during a practice round in 2011. Seth Wenig/AP
In the case of Watson for Oncology, those human operators are a couple dozen physicians at a single, though highly respected, U.S. hospital: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Doctors there are empowered to input their own recommendations into Watson, even when the evidence supporting those recommendations is thin.
The actual capabilities of Watson for Oncology are not well-understood by the public, and even by some of the hospitals that use it. It’s taken nearly six years of painstaking work by data engineers and doctors to train Watson in just seven types of cancer, and keep the system updated with the latest knowledge.
“It’s been a struggle to update, I’ll be honest,” said Dr. Mark Kris, Memorial Sloan Kettering’s lead Watson trainer. He noted that treatment guidelines for every metastatic lung cancer patient worldwide recently changed in the course of one week after a research presentation at a cancer conference. “Changing the system of cognitive computing doesn’t turn around on a dime like that,” he said. “You have to put in the literature, you have to put in cases.”
Watson grew out of an effort to transform IBM from an old-guard hardware company to one that operates in the cloud and along the cutting edge of artificial intelligence. Despite its use in an array of industries — from banking to manufacturing — it has failed to end a streak of 21 consecutive quarters of declining revenue at IBM. In the most recent quarter, revenue even slid from the same period last year in IBM’s cognitive solutions division — which is built around Watson and is supposed to be the future of its business.
In response to STAT’s questions, IBM said Watson, in health care and otherwise, remains on an upward trajectory and “is already an important part” of its $20 billion analytics business. Health care is a crucial part of the Watson enterprise. IBM employs 7,000 people in its Watson health division and sees the industry as a $200 billion market over the next several years. Only financial services, at $300 billion, is considered a bigger opportunity by the company.
At stake in the supercomputer’s performance is not just the fortunes of a famed global company. In the world of medicine, Watson is also something of a digital canary — the most visible attempt to use artificial intelligence to identify the best ways to prevent and treat disease. The system’s larger goal, IBM executives say, is to democratize medical knowledge so that every patient, no matter the person’s geography or income level, will be able to access the best care.
But in cancer treatment, the pursuit of that utopian ideal has faltered.
STAT’s investigation focused on Watson for Oncology because that product is the furthest along in clinical care, though Watson sells separate packages to analyze genomic information and match patients to clinical trials. It’s also applying Watson to other tasks, including honing preventive medicine practices and reading medical images.
Doctors’ reliance on Watson for Oncology varies among hospitals. While institutions with fewer specialists lean more heavily on its recommendations, others relegate the system to a background role, like a paralegal whose main skill is researching existing knowledge.
Hospitals pay a per-patient fee for Watson for Oncology and other products enabled by the supercomputer. The amount depends on the number of products a hospital buys, and ranges between $200 and $1,000 per patient, according to DiSanzo. The system sometimes comes with consulting costs and is expensive to link with electronic medical records. At hospitals that don’t link it with their medical records, more time must be spent typing in patient information.
At Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, that task falls to nurse Jean Thompson, who spends about 90 minutes a week feeding data into the machine. Once she has completed that work, she clicks the “Ask Watson” button to get the supercomputer’s advice for treating patients.
On a recent morning, the results for a 73-year-old lung cancer patient were underwhelming: Watson recommended a chemotherapy regimen the oncologists had already flagged.
“It’s fine,” Dr. Sujal Shah, a medical oncologist, said of Watson’s treatment suggestion while discussing the case with colleagues.
He said later that the background information Watson provided, including medical journal articles, was helpful, giving him more confidence that using a specific chemotherapy was a sound idea. But the system did not directly help him make that decision, nor did it tell him anything he didn’t already know.
Jupiter is one of two U.S. hospitals that have adopted Watson for Oncology. The system has generated more business in India and Southeast Asia. Many doctors in those countries said Watson is saving time and helping more patients get quality care. But they also said its accuracy and overall value is limited by differing medical practices and economic circumstances.
Despite IBM’s marketing blitz, with years of high-profile Watson commercials featuring celebrities from Serena Williams to Bob Dylan to Jon Hamm, the company’s executives are not always gushing. In interviews with STAT, they acknowledged the system faces challenges and needs better integration with electronic medical records and more data on real patients to find patterns and suggest cutting-edge treatments.
“The goal as Watson gets smarter is for it to make some of those recommendations in a more automated way, to sort of suggest now may be the time and let us flip the switch” when a promising treatment option emerges, said Dr. Andrew Norden, a former IBM deputy health chief who left the company in early August. “As I describe it, you’re probably getting a sense it’s really hard and nuanced.”
Such nuance is absent from the careful narrative IBM has constructed to sell Watson.
Alex Hogan, Ike Swetlitz/STAT
It is by design that there is not one independent, third-party study that examines whether Watson for Oncology can deliver. IBM has not exposed the product to critical review by outside scientists or conducted clinical trials to assess its effectiveness.
While it’s not unheard of for companies to avoid external vetting early on, IBM’s circumstances are unusual because Watson for Oncology is not in development — it has already been deployed around the world.
Yoon Sup Choi, a South Korean venture capitalist and researcher who wrote a book about artificial intelligence in health care, said IBM isn’t required by regulatory agencies to do a clinical trial in South Korea or America before selling the system to hospitals. And given that hospitals are already using the system, a clinical trial would be unlikely to improve business prospects.
“It’s too risky, right?” Choi said. “If the result of the clinical trial is not very good — [if] there’s a marginal clinical benefit from Watson — it’s really bad news to the whole IBM.”
Pilar Ossorio, a professor of law and bioethics at University of Wisconsin Law School, said Watson should be subject to tighter regulation because of its role in treating patients. “As an ethical matter, and as a scientific matter, you should have to prove that there’s safety and efficacy before you can just go do this,” she said.
Norden dismissed the suggestion IBM should have been required to conduct a clinical trial before commercializing Watson, noting that many practices in medicine are widely accepted even though they aren’t supported by a randomized controlled trial.
“Has there ever been a randomized trial of parachutes for paratroopers?” Norden asked. “And the answer is, of course not, because there is a very strong intuitive value proposition. … So I believe that bringing the best information to bear on medical decision making is a no-brainer.”
IBM said in its statement that it has collaborated with the research community and presented data on Watson at industry gatherings and in peer-reviewed journals. Some doctors said they didn’t need to see more research to know that the system is valuable. “Artificial intelligence will be adopted in all medical fields in the future,” said Dr. Uhn Lee, who runs the Watson program at Gachon University Gil Medical Center in South Korea. “If that trend, that change is inevitable, then why don’t we just start early?”
So far, the only studies about Watson for Oncology are conference abstracts. The full results haven’t been published in peer-reviewed journals — and every study, save one, was either conducted by a paying customer or included IBM staff on the author list, or both. Most trumpet positive results, showing that Watson saves doctors time and has a high concordance rate with their treatment recommendations.
The “concordance” studies comprise the vast majority of the public research on Watson for Oncology. Doctors will ask Watson for its advice for treating a slew of patients, and then compare its recommendations to those of oncologists. In an unpublished study from Denmark, the rate of agreement was about 33 percent — so the hospital decided not to buy the system. In other countries, the rate can be as high as 96 percent for some cancers. But showing that Watson agrees with the doctors proves only that it is competent in applying existing methods of care, not that it can improve them.
IBM executives said they are pursuing studies to examine the impact on doctors and patients, although none has been completed to date.
Questions about Watson have begun spilling into public view, including in a recent Gizmodo story headlined “Why Everyone is Hating on IBM Watson — Including the People Who Helped Make It.” The most prominent failure occurred last February when MD Anderson Cancer Center, part of the University of Texas, cancelled its partnership with Watson.
The MD Anderson alliance was essentially the early face of Watson in health care. The Houston hospital was among IBM’s first partners, and it was using the system to create its own expert oncology adviser, similar to the one IBM was developing with Memorial Sloan Kettering. But the project disintegrated amid internal allegations of overspending, delays, and mismanagement. In all, MD Anderson spent more than three years and $60 million — much of it on outside consultants — before shelving the effort.
The hospital declined to answer questions. But the project leader, Dr. Lynda Chin, in her first media interview on the subject, told STAT about the challenges she faced. Chin left MD Anderson before the project collapsed; a subsequent audit flagged several violations of procurement rules under her leadership.
Chin said that Watson is a powerful technology, but that it is exceedingly difficult to make functional in health care. She and her team encountered numerous roadblocks, some of which still have not been fully addressed by IBM — at MD Anderson or elsewhere.
The cancer hospital’s first major challenge involved getting the machine to deal with the idiosyncrasies of medical records: the acronyms, human errors, shorthand phrases, and different styles of writing. “Teaching a machine to read a record is a lot harder than anyone thought,” she said. Her team spent countless hours on that problem, trying to get Watson to extract valuable information from medical records so that it could apply them to its recommendations.
Chin said her team also wrestled with deploying the system in clinical practice. Watson, even if guided by doctors, is as close as medicine has ever gotten to allowing a machine to help decide the treatments delivered to human beings. That carries with it thorny questions, such as how to test the safety of a digital treatment adviser, how to ensure its compliance with regulations, and how to incorporate it into the daily work of doctors and nurses.
“Importantly,” Chin said. “How do we create an environment that can ensure the most important tenet in medicine: Do no harm?”
Finally, the project ran into a bigger obstacle: Even if you can get Watson to understand patient variables and make competent treatment recommendations, how do you get it access to enough patient data, from enough different sources, to derive insights that could significantly advance the standard of care?
Chin said that was a showstopper. Watson did not have a connected network of institutions feeding data about specific cohorts of patients. “You may have 10,000 patients for lung cancer. That is still not a very big number when you think about it,” she said.
With data from many more patients, Chin said, you could see patterns — “subsets [of patients] that respond a certain way, subsets that don’t, subsets that have a certain toxicity. That pattern would help with better personalized and precision medicine. But we can’t get there without the ability to actually have a way of aggregating them.”
IBM told STAT that Chin’s work was separate from the effort to create Watson for Oncology, which was validated by cancer specialists at Memorial Sloan Kettering prior to its deployment. The company said that Watson for Oncology can extract and summarize substantial text from patient records, though the information must be verified by a clinician, and that it has made significant progress in obtaining more data to improve Watson’s performance. It pointed to partnerships with the health care publisher Elsevier and the analytics firm Doctor Evidence.
To date, more than 50 hospitals on five continents have agreements with IBM, or intermediary technology companies, to use Watson for Oncology to treat patients, and others are using the genomics and clinical trials products.
But the partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the product that grew out of it, resulted in complications that IBM has papered over with carefully parsed statements and misleading marketing.
Tae-hyun Cho (right), the first Korean to be treated with assistance from Watson for Oncology, reviews his medical information with oncologists at Gachon University Gil Medical Center. Gachon University Gil Medical Center
In its press releases, IBM celebrates Memorial Sloan Kettering’s role as the only trainer of Watson. After all, who better to educate the system than doctors at one of the world’s most renowned cancer hospitals?
But several doctors said Memorial Sloan Kettering’s training injects bias into the system, because the treatment recommendations it puts into Watson don’t always comport with the practices of doctors elsewhere in the world.
Given the same clinical scenario, doctors can — and often do — disagree about the best course of action, whether to recommend surgery or chemotherapy, or another treatment. Those discrepancies are especially wide for second- and third-line treatments given after an initial therapy fails, where evidence of benefits is slimmer and consensus more elusive.
Rather than acknowledge this dilemma, IBM executives, in marketing materials and interviews, have sought to downplay it. In an interview with STAT, DiSanzo, the head of Watson Health, rejected the idea that Memorial Sloan Kettering’s involvement creates any bias at all.
“The bias is taken out by the sheer amount of data we have,” she said, referring to patient cases and millions of articles and studies fed into Watson.
But that mischaracterizes how Watson for Oncology works. (IBM later claimed that DiSanzo was referring to Watson in general.)
The system is essentially Memorial Sloan Kettering in a portable box. Its treatment recommendations are based entirely on the training provided by doctors, who determine what information Watson needs to devise its guidance as well as what those recommendations should be.
When users ask Watson for advice, the system also searches published literature — some of which is curated by Memorial Sloan Kettering — to provide relevant studies and background information to support its recommendation. But the recommendation itself is derived from the training provided by the hospital’s doctors, not the outside literature.
Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering acknowledged their influence on Watson. “We are not at all hesitant about inserting our bias, because I think our bias is based on the next best thing to prospective randomized trials, which is having a vast amount of experience,” said Dr. Andrew Seidman, one of the hospital’s lead trainers of Watson. “So it’s a very unapologetic bias.”
Seidman said the hospital is careful to keep its training grounded in clinical evidence when the evidence exists, but it is not shy about giving its recommendations when it doesn’t. “We want cancer care to be democratized,” he said. “We don’t want doctors who don’t have the thousands and thousands of patients’ experience on a more rare cancer to be handicapped. We want to share that knowledge base.”
At a recent training session of Watson on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the tensions involved in programming the system were on full display. STAT sat in as Memorial Sloan Kettering doctors, led by Seidman, gathered with IBM engineers to train Watson to treat bladder cancer. Five IBM engineers sat on one side of the table. Across from them were three oncologists — one specializing in surgery, another in radiation, and a third in chemotherapy and targeted medicines.
Several minutes into the discussion, the question arose of which treatment to recommend for patients whose cancers persisted through six rounds of chemotherapy. The options in such cases tend to be as slim as the evidence supporting them. Should Watson recommend a radical surgery to remove the bladder? Dr. Tim Donahue, the surgical oncologist, noted that such surgery seldom cures patients and is not associated with improved survival in his experience.
Then what about another course of chemotherapy combined with radiation?
When Watson gives its recommendations, it puts the top recommendation in green, alternative options in orange, and not recommended options in red.
But in some clinical scenarios, it’s difficult to tell the colors apart.
“This is the hard part of this whole game,” Dr. Marisa Kollmeier, the radiation oncologist, said during the training. “There’s a lack of evidence. And you don’t know if something should be in green without evidence. We don’t have a randomized trial to support every decision.”
But the task in front of them required the doctors to press ahead. And they did, rifling through an array of clinical scenarios. In some cases, a large body of evidence backed up their answers. But many others fell into a gray area or were clouded by the inevitable uncertainty of patient preferences.
The meeting was one of many in a months-long process to bring Watson up to speed in bladder cancer. Subsequent sessions would involve feeding it data on real patient cases at Memorial Sloan Kettering, so doctors could reinforce Watson’s training with repetition.
That training does not teach Watson to base its recommendations on the outcomes of these patients, whether they lived, or died or survived longer than similar patients. Rather, Watson makes its recommendations based on the treatment preferences of Memorial Sloan Kettering physicians.
At some institutions using Watson, IBM’s lack of clarity on the cancer center’s role causes confusion. Some seem to think they are getting advice from doctors around the world.
“As we tell the patients, it’s like another consultation, but it’s a worldwide consultation,” said Dr. K. Adam Lee, medical director of thoracic oncology at Jupiter Medical Center, when STAT visited in June.
“Really worldwide,” added Kerri Ward, an oncology nurse at the hospital. “It pulls from 300 journals, just for oncology, the clinical database, so the national clinical database, journals, textbooks, and then Sloan Kettering is the one that’s feeding in the clinical [information] currently.”
Robert Garrett, the CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, a group in New Jersey that is using a version of Watson for Oncology, said the information in Watson is “global.”
“If you’re a patient that has colon cancer, they have in their database, as I understand it, how colon cancer is treated around the world, by different clinicians, what’s been the most effective treatment for different phases of colon cancer,” Garrett said. “That’s what IBM Watson brings to the table.”
None of that accurately depicts how Watson for Oncology works.
Several doctors who have examined Watson in other countries told STAT that Memorial Sloan Kettering’s role has given them pause. Researchers in Denmark and the Netherlands said hospitals in their countries have not signed on with Watson because it is too focused on the preferences of a few American doctors.
Martijn van Oijen, an epidemiologist and associate professor at Academic Medical Center in the Netherlands, said Memorial Sloan Kettering is packed with top specialists but doesn’t have a monopoly on cancer expertise. “The bad thing is, it’s a U.S.-based hospital with a different approach than some other hospitals in the world,” said van Oijen, who’s involved in a national initiative to evaluate technologies like Watson and is a strong believer in using artificial intelligence to help cancer doctors.
In Denmark, oncologists at one hospital said they have dropped the project altogether after finding that local doctors agreed with Watson in only about 33 percent of cases.
“We had a discussion with [IBM] that they had a very limited view on the international literature, basically, putting too much stress on American studies, and too little stress on big, international, European, and other-part-of-the-world studies,” said Dr. Leif Jensen, who directs the center at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen that contains the oncology department.
In countries where doctors were trained in the United States, or they use similar treatment guidelines as the Memorial Sloan Kettering doctors, Watson for Oncology can be helpful. Taiwan uses the same guidelines as Americans, so Watson’s advice will be useful there, said Dr. Jeng-Fong Chiou, vice superintendent of the Taipei Cancer Center at Taipei Medical University, which started using Watson for Oncology with patients in July.
But he also said there are differences between American and Taiwanese patients — his patients often receive lower doses of drugs to minimize side effects — and that his oncologists will have to make adjustments from Watson’s recommendations.
The generally affluent population treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering doesn’t reflect the diversity of people around the world. The cases used to train Watson therefore don’t take into account the economic and social issues faced by patients in poorer countries, noted Ossorio, the University of Wisconsin law professor.
“What it’s going to be learning is race, gender, and class bias,” she said. “We’re baking those social stratifications in, and we’re making the biases even less apparent and even less easy for people to recognize.”
Sometimes, the recommendations Watson gives diverge sharply from what doctors would say for reasons that have nothing to do with science, such as medical insurance. In a poster presented at the Global Breast Cancer Conference 2017 in South Korea, researchers reported that the treatment Watson most often recommended for breast cancer patients simply wasn’t covered by the national insurance system.
IBM said it has convened an international group of advisers to gather input on Watson’s performance. It also said that the system can be customized to reflect variations in treatment practices, differences in drug availability and financial considerations, and that the company recently introduced tools reduce the time and cost of adapting Watson.
In a response to STAT’s questions, Memorial Sloan Kettering said international journals are part of the literature it provides to Watson, including the Lancet, the European Journal of Cancer, Annals of Oncology, and the BMJ. “As we do in all areas of cancer research, we will continue to observe and study how Watson for Oncology impacts care internationally, follow the evidence, and work with IBM to optimize the system,” the hospital said.
Some hospitals abroad are customizing the system for their patients, adding information about local treatments. Nan Chen, who manages the Watson for Oncology program at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand, said his oncologists use Japanese guidelines, not American guidelines, for treating gastric cancer.
But he said doctors can find this localization redundant or unnecessary: They are not that interested in being told the same guidance they just taught Watson.
“Our doctors say, this treatment is our own treatment, we know that,” Chen said. “You don’t need to turn around and put those treatments in Watson, and let Watson tell us what kind of treatment that we are using here in the hospital.”
Chen said this modified system is incredibly beneficial, however — to a hospital in the capital of Mongolia that employs zero oncology specialists.
At UB Songdo Hospital, of which Chen’s company is a majority owner, doctors are following Watson’s suggestions nearly 100 percent of the time. Patients who otherwise would have been treated by generalists with little, if any, cancer training are now benefiting from top-level expertise.
“That is the kind of thing that IBM is dreaming about,” Chen said.
In South Korea, Dr. Taewoo Kang, a surgical oncologist at Pusan National University Hospital who specializes in breast cancer, pointed to another important problem that Watson needs to solve. Right now, it provides supporting evidence for the recommendations it makes, but doesn’t actually explain how it came to recommend that particular treatment for that particular patient.
Kang said that, sometimes, he will ask Watson for advice on a patient whose cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes, and Watson will recommend a type of chemotherapy drug called a taxane. But, he said, that therapy is normally used only if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. And, to support the recommendation, Watson will show a study demonstrating the effectiveness of the taxane for patients whose cancer did spread to their lymph nodes.
Kang is left confused as to why Watson recommended a drug that he does not normally use for patients like the one in front of him. And Watson can’t tell him why.
Louisa Roberts (left) of IBM Watson Health speaks with Merck executive Oliver Maschinsky in the Watson booth at the 2017 ASCO cancer conference in Chicago. Heather Stone for STAT
For all the concerns, some doctors around the world who use Watson insist that artificial intelligence will one day revolutionize health care. They say that clinicians are realizing concrete benefits — saving doctors valuable time searching for studies, better educating patients, and undercutting hierarchies in the clinic that might interfere with evidence-based treatment.
In Taiwan, Chiou said Watson immediately provides the “best data” from the literature about a treatment — survival rates, for example — relieving doctors of the task of searching the literature to compare each possible treatment.
Watson’s information also empowers patients, said Lee, the doctor who runs the Watson program at Gil Medical Center in South Korea. Previously, doctors verbally explained different treatment options to patients. Now, physicians can give patients a comprehensive packet prepared by Watson, which includes potential treatment plans along with relevant scientific articles. Patients can do their own research about these treatments, and maybe even disagree with the doctor about the right course of action.
“This is one of the most important and significant changes,” Lee said.
Watson also holds senior doctors accountable to the data. At Gil Medical Center, patients sit in a room with five doctors and Watson itself, the interface displayed on a flat-screen television in the so-called “Watson center.” Lee said that Watson’s presence has a huge influence on the doctors’ decision-making process, leveling the hierarchy that traditionally prioritized the opinion of the senior doctor over junior colleagues.
Watson gives the junior physicians quick and easy access to data that might prove their elders wrong, displaying on the screen information such as the survival rate right alongside a recommended treatment. It would be humiliating for senior doctors to continue to push for a different treatment in light of this evidence, Lee said.
At Manipal Hospitals in India, Dr. S.P. Somashekhar said that while there are some regional disparities in Watson’s recommendations for patients with rectal and breast cancer, those cases are outliers: For the vast majority of patients, the program matched the recommendations given to patients by the hospital’s tumor board — a group of 20 physicians that typically study their cases for a week and spend an hour discussing them.
That means that in a handful of seconds, Watson did what it takes 20 doctors over a week to accomplish. “That is so precious and very highly valuable,” Somashekhar said. “Our physicians cannot discuss every case. For every case we discuss in the tumor board, there are five cases which we cannot discuss.”
While those benefits are significant, they fall short of breakthrough discoveries that could predict or eradicate disease.
IBM executives said that doesn’t mean Watson can’t accomplish those feats. Norden, the former deputy health officer for Watson for Oncology and Genomics, said the goal is to ultimately bring together streams of clinical trial data and real-world patient data, so that Watson could begin to pinpoint the best treatments on its own.
“My own belief is that over time we will be better at measuring and reporting outcomes, and that data will be increasingly influential,” he said. “Where cancer care is today, I don’t think that any computing system is ready to be let out into the world without a measure of expert human oversight.”
IMMERSION in 360 DEGREES: Click and drag to look around the Watson “Immersion Room” in Cambridge, Mass. Dom Smith/STAT
The bigger question for IBM is not whether health care will see a revolution in artificial intelligence but who will drive it.
One former IBM employee says the company could become a victim of its own marketing success — the unrealistic expectations it set are obscuring real accomplishments.
“IBM ought to quit trying to cure cancer,” said Peter Greulich, a former IBM brand manager who has written several books about IBM’s history and modern challenges. “They turned the marketing engine loose without controlling how to build and construct a product.”
Greulich said IBM needs to invest more money in Watson and hire more people to make it successful. In the 1960s, he said, IBM spent about 11.5 times its annual earnings to develop its mainframe computer, a line of business that still accounts for much of its profitability today.
If it were to make an equivalent investment in Watson, it would need to spend $137 billion. “The only thing it’s spent that much money on is stock buybacks,” Greulich said.
IBM said it created the market for artificial intelligence and is pleased with the pace of Watson’s growth, noting that it and other new business units grew by more than $20 billion in the past three years. “It took Facebook and Amazon more than 13 years to grow $20 billion,” the company said in a statement.
Since Watson’s “Jeopardy!” demonstration in 2011, hundreds of companies have begun developing health care products using artificial intelligence. These include countless startups, but IBM also faces stiff competition from industry titans such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and the Optum division of UnitedHealth Group.
Google’s DeepMind, for example, recently displayed its own game-playing prowess, using its AlphaGo program to defeat a world champion in Go, a 3,000-year-old Chinese board game.
DeepMind is working with hospitals in London, where it is learning to detect eye disease and speed up the process of targeting treatments for head and neck cancers, although it has run into privacy concerns.
Meanwhile, Amazon has launched a health care lab, where it is exploring opportunities to mine data from electronic health records and potentially build a virtual doctor’s assistant.
A recent report by the financial firm Jefferies said IBM is quickly losing ground to competitors. “IBM appears outgunned in the war for AI talent and will likely see increasing competition,” the firm concluded.
While not specific to Watson’s health care products, the report said potential clients are backing away from the system because of significant consulting costs associated with its implementation. It also noted that Amazon has 10 times the job listings of IBM, which recently didn’t renew a small number of contractors that worked for the company following its acquisition of Truven, a company it bought for $2.6 billion last year to gain access to 100 million patient records.
In its statement, IBM said that the workers’ contracts ended and that it is continuing to hire aggressively in the Cambridge, Mass.-based Watson Health and other units, with more than 5,000 positions open in the U.S.
But the outlook for Watson for Oncology is challenging, say those who have worked closest with it. Kris, the lead trainer at Memorial Sloan Kettering, said the system has the potential to improve care and ensure more patients get expert treatment. But like a medical student, Watson is just learning to perform in the real world.
“Nobody wants to hear this,” Kris said. “All they want to hear is that Watson is the answer. And it always has the right answer, and you get it right away, and it will be cheaper. But like anything else, it’s kind of human.” |
RWE's renewable unit Innogy targeted by Iberdrola | Spanish utility Iberdrola could acquire renewable energy firm Innogy, owned by Germany utility RWE, according to anonymous sources, cited by Spanish newspaper Expansión. Iberdrola said it does not comment on "market rumours". Earlier this year, it emerged French energy giant Engie was in talks to purchase Innogy, with an anonymous French government source confirming the discussions, as RWE said at the time it was "considering every option for its renewable energy unit".
| https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/08/iberdrola-interested-in-acquiring-rwes-renewable-energy-unit-innogy/ | 2017-09-08 05:04:15.667000 | Spain-based power provider Iberdrola could be interested in acquiring German renewable energy company Innogy, a subsidiary of Germany-based power utility RWE, according to Spanish financial newspaper Expansión.
The article, which cites unidentified sources within the financial sector, says that Iberdrola has not confirmed its interest in the operation, as it “usually does not comment market rumors.”
RWE said in March it was considering every option for its renewable energy unit, and that it is in talks with market players. At that time, Bloomberg revealed that French energy giant Engie was planning to acquire Innogy. Furthermore, Reuters revealed that an unidentified source from the French government had confirmed that talks were being held, but the banks had not been given mandate to proceed with the operation.
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RWE, however, is obliged by a 2015 board resolution to maintain a 51% stake in the unit. This means the company could eventually sell only the remainder of the 77% stake it currently holds.
In May, Reuters estimated the value of Innogy at at €18.6 billion. Innogy completed the acquisition of German PV power and storage specialist Belectric in January 2017. Through this acquisition, Innogy added much-needed large-scale solar PV and storage capabilities to its portfolio. Belectric’s global portfolio consists of 280 utility-scale solar plants and rooftop arrays, amounting to more than 1.5 GW of installed solar capacity. |
Lawmakers Debate How Much Wiggle Room To Give States In Health Care | One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on is that states should have some flexibility to experiment with different ways to pay for and deliver health care. | http://khn.org/news/lawmakers-debate-how-much-wiggle-room-to-give-states-in-health-care/ | 2017-09-08 05:03:05.873000 | One of the few things that Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on is that states should have some flexibility to experiment with different ways to pay for and deliver health care.
But they disagree — strongly — on how much. In fact, Republicans don’t agree with one another on this, and that dissent helped sink efforts this summer to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. Bridging these divides will help determine the success of a bipartisan effort in the Senate this month to help shore up the individual health insurance market.
“I’ve always said not all the wisdom is going to be in Washington,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking Democrat on the powerful Finance Committee. “Progressive and conservative folks are going to say ‘we can do better.’”
The federal health law includes a provision that allows states to alter some of its rules if they can think of a better way to provide health care to their residents. These are known as “Section 1332 waivers,” bookmarking where they are located in the health law.
This KHN story also ran in Stat . It can be republished for free ( details ).
But the law strictly limits how far states can go with their experiments. It includes what are known as “guardrails.” Those limits, said Nicholas Bagley, a health law professor at the University of Michigan, “are to prevent states from undermining the Affordable Care Act goal to provide people with comprehensive coverage.”
The waivers were designed “so blue states can experiment with blue state solutions, and red states can experiment with red state solutions,” said Bagley. “But to do so and stay within the guardrails is really difficult.” For example, he said, “you can reallocate the money, but you can’t reallocate it to create losers.”
At issue is whether to broaden authority for states by revising or eliminating the “guardrails” intended to protect patients and the federal government.
Wyden, who authored the 1332 language in the ACA, is skeptical. Under the current rules, he said, “states can make changes that make health care better. But they can’t go out and make health care worse.”
It is clear that Republicans in Congress want changes to the provision. The repeal-and-replace bill that passed the House and all those considered in the Senate included some expansion of state authority to waive protections included in the health law. Bagley said the bills “would have essentially given carte blanche to states to come up with ACA alternatives without any regard to the guardrails” other than the one prohibiting additions to the federal deficit.
And Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, who is working on a bipartisan bill, said Wednesday that “Democrats will have to agree to something — more flexibility for states — that some are reluctant to support.”
So is there a compromise between Democrats who want to maintain the protections and Republicans who want states to have a freer hand?
Maybe.
David Anderson of Duke University said one possible source of agreement would be to streamline the federal approval process, starting with the guidance issued by the Obama administration in 2015 that critics said was too restrictive.
Under the rules set by the ACA, states can use waivers to adjust things like the structure of premium assistance to those with low and moderate incomes or the individual and employer requirements to have and offer coverage. But those changes must meet four key standards: States continue to provide equally comprehensive coverage to at least the same number of people, with no higher out-of-pocket costs and without costing the federal government more than it would spend under the provisions of the ACA.
The rules around the waivers also make it hard to accomplish a truly comprehensive overhaul of a state’s health care system, as states can’t use them to reach the place where most of the money funding that system comes from: tax breaks for employer-provided insurance and the federal Medicare program. Workers don’t pay taxes on the value of employer-provided insurance, which is estimated to cost the federal Treasury some $260 billion in income and payroll taxes 2017.
“If you want to reshape your state health insurance market, you’ve got to be able to grab onto the employer market or Medicare, and you can’t” using the waiver procedure, Bagley said.
States also cannot use Section 1332 to change provisions of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, although they can submit simultaneous waivers to each program under separate Medicaid waiver authority in the law.
So far, only two states — Hawaii and Alaska — have won federal approval for 1332 waivers under the health law.
Hawaii has had its own system for providing health coverage based on an employer requirement for coverage since the 1970s. The state’s waiver allows it to use money allocated to help small businesses afford coverage in different ways.
Alaska’s waiver, which was approved this summer, involves a “reinsurance” plan that will help spread the costs of the state’s sickest patients more widely. “By removing high-cost conditions from the risk pool, the benefits of the [reinsurance program] are shared by the entire individual health insurance market,” Lori Wing-Heier, head of the state’s insurance department, told the HELP Committee on Wednesday. In its first year, the program dropped proposed premium increases from 40 percent to “just over 7 percent,” Wing-Heier said.
Minnesota has applied for a waiver similar to Alaska’s, and approval is expected. Earlier this spring, the Department of Health and Human Services specifically invited states to apply for waivers of that type.
Other states, though, are working on proposals that would make more comprehensive changes. Iowa, for example, wants to dramatically redistribute the money available, with bigger subsidies for the middle-class customers and smaller ones for those with lower incomes. The state says that would help draw more customers into the marketplace so that the risk pool is healthier and the premiums for everyone would decrease. It would also eliminate the help lower-income people get to pay their out-of-pocket medical costs, such as deductibles and copayments.
“The Iowa waiver on its face pretty brazenly ignores the guardrails,” said Bagley.
Oklahoma, which is seeking a waiver for its own reinsurance program, is also working on a plan that would make major changes, including encouraging people to purchase insurance with higher deductibles along with a health savings account.
Part of the difficulty with the waivers is the number of hoops states must jump through to win approval, including passing legislation, seeking public comment and holding hearings around the state.
And those are not even the biggest problems, state officials say. “The part that is stifling states right now is the six-month waiting period before they receive final approval,” Alaska’s Wing-Heier told the Senate panel.
Teresa Miller, former Pennsylvania insurance commissioner, agreed at the Senate hearing, saying, “The current process is very cumbersome.”
Anderson of Duke University said one key possibility to add flexibility would be to loosen the requirement that state changes not add to the federal deficit. “Maybe they could allow for deficit neutrality over the course of the waiver rather than year by year,” he said, in which case experiments that cost money to begin with but save over time would be allowed.
Wyden said he is willing to look at any ideas to make the waivers easier to use.
But he added that the popularity of state “reinsurance” waivers that are lowering premiums shows the waiver provision is working as intended. And, he said, if GOP members try again to roll back coverage using the waiver provision “they’re going to have to roll over me, then they’re going to have to persuade people” that it meets the 1332 requirements. |
KBS Realty Advisors set for IPO of US REIT in Singapore | California-based KBS Realty Advisors is set to launch an initial public offering in Singapore, where it aims to raise around $500m. KBS said it would list US properties in cities including Seattle and Houston as a real estate investment trust (REIT) via a joint venture with local asset manager Keppel. Last year, Canadian insurer Manulife Financial listed a REIT in the country, raising $470m. Singapore’s stock market features 40 REITs that have a combined market value of $60bn. | https://therealdeal.com/2017/09/07/us-real-estate-investment-firm-plans-ipo-in-singapore/ | 2017-09-08 04:20:47.253000 | It’s not unusual for U.S. real estate firms to go public. It’s unusual to do it all the way across the Pacific. California-based KBS Realty Advisors wants to raise around $500 million on Singapore’s stock market by listing some of its U.S. properties as a real estate investment trust through a joint venture with local asset manager Keppel.
The new public company would include close to a dozen U.S. buildings in cities such as Seattle and Houston, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Canadian insurer Manulife Financial listed a REIT in Singapore last year that raised $470 million and included U.S. properties. Singapore’s stock market includes 40 REITs with a combined market value of $60 billion.
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Last year a KBS-managed REIT became the first U.S. trust to raise bonds in Israel.
KBS’ New York City holdings include a Williamsburg rental building at 424 Bedford Avenue and a Financial District office building at 110 William Street. [WSJ] — Konrad Putzier |
AI has better ‘gaydar’ than humans: Stanford University | Artificial intelligence can tell from photographs whether a person is straight or gay, according to research from Stanford University. The study, based on 35,000 images posted on a US dating website, found that an algorithm could correctly identify gay men 81% of the time and gay women 74% of the time. By contrast, human viewers correctly identified orientation in 61% of cases for men and 54% of cases for women. The research has highlighted concerns about the ethical implications of facial recognition software and its potential implications in relation to privacy and discrimination.
| https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21728614-machines-read-faces-are-coming-advances-ai-are-used-spot-signs?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/advancesinaiareusedtospotsignsofsexuality | 2017-09-07 22:00:00 | MODERN artificial intelligence is much feted. But its talents boil down to a superhuman ability to spot patterns in large volumes of data. Facebook has used this ability to produce maps of poor regions in unprecedented detail, with an AI system that has learned what human settlements look like from satellite pictures. Medical researchers have trained AI in smartphones to detect cancerous lesions; a Google system can make precise guesses about the year a photograph was taken, simply because it has seen more photos than a human could ever inspect, and has spotted patterns that no human could.
AI’s power to pick out patterns is now turning to more intimate matters. Research at Stanford University by Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang has shown that machine vision can infer sexual orientation by analysing people’s faces. The researchers suggest the software does this by picking up on subtle differences in facial structure. With the right data sets, Dr Kosinski says, similar AI systems might be trained to spot other intimate traits, such as IQ or political views. Just because humans are unable to see the signs in faces does not mean that machines cannot do so.
The researchers’ program, details of which are soon to be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, relied on 130,741 images of 36,630 men and 170,360 images of 38,593 women downloaded from a popular American dating website, which makes its profiles public. Basic facial-detection technology was used to select all images which showed a single face of sufficient size and clarity to subject to analysis. This left 35,326 pictures of 14,776 people, with gay and straight, male and female, all represented evenly.
Out of the numbers
The images were then fed into a different piece of software called VGG-Face, which spits out a long string of numbers to represent each person; their “faceprint”. The next step was to use a simple predictive model, known as logistic regression, to find correlations between the features of those faceprints and their owners’ sexuality (as declared on the dating website). When the resulting model was run on data which it had not seen before, it far outperformed humans at distinguishing between gay and straight faces.
When shown one photo each of a gay and straight man, both chosen at random, the model distinguished between them correctly 81% of the time. When shown five photos of each man, it attributed sexuality correctly 91% of the time. The model performed worse with women, telling gay and straight apart with 71% accuracy after looking at one photo, and 83% accuracy after five. In both cases the level of performance far outstrips human ability to make this distinction. Using the same images, people could tell gay from straight 61% of the time for men, and 54% of the time for women. This aligns with research which suggests humans can determine sexuality from faces at only just better than chance.
Dr Kosinski and Mr Wang offer a possible explanation for their model’s performance. As fetuses develop in the womb, they are exposed to various levels of hormones, in particular testosterone. These are known to play a role in developing facial structures, and may similarly be involved in determining sexuality. The researchers suggest their system can pick up subtle signals of the latter from the former. Using other techniques, the program was found to pay most attention to the nose, eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, hairline and chin for determining male sexuality; the nose, mouth corners, hair and neckline were more important for women.
The study has limitations. Firstly, images from a dating site are likely to be particularly revealing of sexual orientation. The 91% accuracy rate only applies when one of the two men whose images are shown is known to be gay. Outside the lab the accuracy rate would be much lower. To demonstrate this weakness, the researchers selected 1,000 men at random with at least five photographs, but in a ratio of gay to straight that more accurately reflects the real world; approximately seven in every 100. When asked to select the 100 males most likely to be gay, only 47 of those chosen by the system actually were, meaning that the system ranked some straight men as more likely to be gay than men who actually are.
However, when asked to pick out the ten faces it was most confident about, nine of the chosen were in fact gay. If the goal is to pick a small number of people who are very likely to be gay out of a large group, the system appears able to do so. The point is not that Dr Kosinski and Mr Wang have created software which can reliably determine gay from straight. That was not their goal. Rather, they have demonstrated that such software is possible.
To calculate the selves of others
Dr Kosinski is no stranger to controversial research. He invented psychometric profiling using Facebook data, which relies upon information in a person’s profile to model their personality. The Trump campaign used similar models during last year’s presidential campaign to target voters, an approach which has generated criticism.
Dr Kosinski says he conducted the research as a demonstration, and to warn policymakers of the power of machine vision. It makes further erosion of privacy “inevitable”; the dangers must be understood, he adds. Spouses might seek to know what sexuality-inferring software says about their partner (the word “gay” is 10% more likely to complete searches that begin “Is my husband…” than the word “cheating”). In parts of the world where being gay is socially unacceptable, or illegal, such software could pose a serious threat to safety. Dr Kosinski is at pains to make clear that he has invented no new technology, merely bolted together software and data that are readily available to anyone with an internet connection. He has asked The Economist not to reveal the identity of the dating website he used, in order to discourage copycats.
It is true that anyone wishing to replicate Dr Kosinski’s work to determine intimate traits from faces will face significant challenges in applying laboratory science to the outside world. But they will be helped by ever-growing volumes of data and improving algorithms. “The latter, over time, inevitably win,” says Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon University, who has shown that an individual’s social security number can be discovered using face recognition and online information. For those with secrets to keep, all this is bad news.
Dig deeper
Leader:
What machines can tell from your face
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Ever better and cheaper, face-recognition technology is spreading |
AI has better ‘gaydar’ than humans: Stanford University | Artificial intelligence can tell from photographs whether a person is straight or gay, according to research from Stanford University. The study, based on 35,000 images posted on a US dating website, found that an algorithm could correctly identify gay men 81% of the time and gay women 74% of the time. By contrast, human viewers correctly identified orientation in 61% of cases for men and 54% of cases for women. The research has highlighted concerns about the ethical implications of facial recognition software and its potential implications in relation to privacy and discrimination.
| https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/07/new-artificial-intelligence-can-tell-whether-youre-gay-or-straight-from-a-photograph | 2017-09-07 22:00:00 | Artificial intelligence can accurately guess whether people are gay or straight based on photos of their faces, according to new research that suggests machines can have significantly better “gaydar” than humans.
The study from Stanford University – which found that a computer algorithm could correctly distinguish between gay and straight men 81% of the time, and 74% for women – has raised questions about the biological origins of sexual orientation, the ethics of facial-detection technology, and the potential for this kind of software to violate people’s privacy or be abused for anti-LGBT purposes.
The machine intelligence tested in the research, which was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and first reported in the Economist, was based on a sample of more than 35,000 facial images that men and women publicly posted on a US dating website. The researchers, Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang, extracted features from the images using “deep neural networks”, meaning a sophisticated mathematical system that learns to analyze visuals based on a large dataset.
The research found that gay men and women tended to have “gender-atypical” features, expressions and “grooming styles”, essentially meaning gay men appeared more feminine and vice versa. The data also identified certain trends, including that gay men had narrower jaws, longer noses and larger foreheads than straight men, and that gay women had larger jaws and smaller foreheads compared to straight women.
Human judges performed much worse than the algorithm, accurately identifying orientation only 61% of the time for men and 54% for women. When the software reviewed five images per person, it was even more successful – 91% of the time with men and 83% with women. Broadly, that means “faces contain much more information about sexual orientation than can be perceived and interpreted by the human brain”, the authors wrote.
The paper suggested that the findings provide “strong support” for the theory that sexual orientation stems from exposure to certain hormones before birth, meaning people are born gay and being queer is not a choice. The machine’s lower success rate for women also could support the notion that female sexual orientation is more fluid.
While the findings have clear limits when it comes to gender and sexuality – people of color were not included in the study, and there was no consideration of transgender or bisexual people – the implications for artificial intelligence (AI) are vast and alarming. With billions of facial images of people stored on social media sites and in government databases, the researchers suggested that public data could be used to detect people’s sexual orientation without their consent.
It’s easy to imagine spouses using the technology on partners they suspect are closeted, or teenagers using the algorithm on themselves or their peers. More frighteningly, governments that continue to prosecute LGBT people could hypothetically use the technology to out and target populations. That means building this kind of software and publicizing it is itself controversial given concerns that it could encourage harmful applications.
But the authors argued that the technology already exists, and its capabilities are important to expose so that governments and companies can proactively consider privacy risks and the need for safeguards and regulations.
“It’s certainly unsettling. Like any new tool, if it gets into the wrong hands, it can be used for ill purposes,” said Nick Rule, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, who has published research on the science of gaydar. “If you can start profiling people based on their appearance, then identifying them and doing horrible things to them, that’s really bad.”
Rule argued it was still important to develop and test this technology: “What the authors have done here is to make a very bold statement about how powerful this can be. Now we know that we need protections.”
Kosinski was not immediately available for comment, but after publication of this article on Friday, he spoke to the Guardian about the ethics of the study and implications for LGBT rights. The professor is known for his work with Cambridge University on psychometric profiling, including using Facebook data to make conclusions about personality. Donald Trump’s campaign and Brexit supporters deployed similar tools to target voters, raising concerns about the expanding use of personal data in elections.
In the Stanford study, the authors also noted that artificial intelligence could be used to explore links between facial features and a range of other phenomena, such as political views, psychological conditions or personality.
This type of research further raises concerns about the potential for scenarios like the science-fiction movie Minority Report, in which people can be arrested based solely on the prediction that they will commit a crime.
“AI can tell you anything about anyone with enough data,” said Brian Brackeen, CEO of Kairos, a face recognition company. “The question is as a society, do we want to know?”
Brackeen, who said the Stanford data on sexual orientation was “startlingly correct”, said there needs to be an increased focus on privacy and tools to prevent the misuse of machine learning as it becomes more widespread and advanced.
Rule speculated about AI being used to actively discriminate against people based on a machine’s interpretation of their faces: “We should all be collectively concerned.”
Contact the author: [email protected] |
Solutions proposed to make housing in Australia more affordable | The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has said that unless the government introduces new policies, housing affordability will continue to be a problem for 40 years. CEDA said that owning a home will be unattainable for many Australians. The committee has suggested that the government make several changes: prioritise shelter for disadvantaged citizens, relax planning restrictions to favour flats over houses; fund and plan transport more effectively; protect renters’ legal rights, incentivise downsizing, replace stamp duty with an annual land tax, review the current retiree asset tests and increase capital gains tax.
| http://thenewdaily.com.au/money/property/2017/08/29/housing-affordability-sydney-melbourne-property-market/ | 2017-09-07 14:56:22.353000 | The housing affordability crisis will drag on for at least 40 years unless governments introduce bold new policy, a major report says.
The damning outlook from the Committee for Economic Development of Australia said government policy at all levels needed to reflect that the Australian dream of owning a home is now over for many people.
“CEDA’s research shows that barring any major economic jolts, demand pressures are likely to continue over the next 40 years and supply constraints will continue,” said Rodney Maddock, CEDA Research and Policy Committee Chairman.
“This is particularly the case in capital cities with a growing population and where an increasing proportion of Australia’s population are expected to reside.”
While the report predicted bad news, CEDA made eight recommendations on how governments could contain the crisis.
Professor Maddock said he was hopeful the solutions could be adequately implemented in time.
“It’s such an important political issue at the moment, I think that we’re starting to get the more urgent responses that you might want,” he told The New Daily.
“It’s not something you can put off forever, because voters are going to get angrier and angrier.”
1. Prioritise shelter for the disadvantaged
The first solution was for Australia to provide 20,000 new affordable homes for low-income people each year, under the recommendation of Sydney University expert Judith Yates.
“Prolonged housing affordability issues will result in more people entering retirement without owning their home and low socioeconomic households pushed to outer or regional areas where transport infrastructure is poor and job prospects are lower,” Prof Maddock said.
“In the long term this could have budget implications for governments as more people become reliant on government assistance.”
2. Relax planning restrictions to increase housing affordability
The report recommended relaxing planning restrictions, particularly those imposed by local councils, to make them more consistent and allow for increased density.
One of the biggest takeaways of the report was that Sydney and Melbourne needed to forego white picket fences for apartments.
“The point is, if we don’t adjust supply then it’s going to get harder and harder to buy the very limited number of houses that are available in good locations,” Prof Maddock said.
“If we allow a lot more apartment buildings and a lot more density, then it’ll be like living in London or New York.
“People are becoming a lot more accustomed to the idea that we’re going to have a lot more apartment dwelling … There’s an emotional adjustment going on.”
3. Develop consistent planning and funding for transport
The report said faster and more convenient transport networks would increase the amenity of outer suburbs and ease congestion.
Prof Maddock said we needed to change the structure of our cities to have a range of employment hubs. For example, Parramatta in Sydney’s west has become a secondary business district and decreased the commute time for residents in the outer suburbs.
4. Better legal protection and certainty for renters
The report said more protections for renters were required as the likelihood Australians rent their whole lives increases.
“It seems quite likely that many people are going to end up living in rental accommodation for all their lives,” Prof Maddock said.
He recommended renters be given long-term rental options.
5. Offer incentives to downsize
The report recommended the government relax rules for means testing income from downsizing, if it freed up more land.
Prof Maddock said this change was slowly occurring naturally over time as house prices and land prices continue to rise.
“It’ll become more sensible for investors to put more houses on a piece of land,” he said.
6. Phase out stamp duty in favour of annual land tax
The government should begin charging an annual land tax instead of stamp duty, the report said.
7. Review asset tests for retirees
The report advised the government to review the way pensions, superannuation and housing interacted for retirees.
8. Increase capital gains taxes
Taxing a larger component of capital gains would also make investments less attractive, the report said.
“Easing some of the tax incentives to invest in or retain residential property may also assist,” Prof Maddock said. |
Growing demand in central US prompts two hirings for XL Catlin | Insurer XL Catlin's global excess casualty business has appointed underwriting managers for the north central and south central US regions to cope with stronger demand for excess casualty and umbrella insurance products. Kevin Nieft will become vice-president, underwriting manager, excess casualty for north central and Mona Carpenter will be vice-president, underwriting manager, excess casualty for south central. XL Catlin's global excess casualty products cover umbrella, excess, claims made, occurrence, occurrence reported and primary rail.
| http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/XL-Catlin-s-Global-Excess-Casualty-Insurance-Business-Promotes-New-Regional-Underwriting-Leaders-1002299010 | 2017-09-07 14:54:55.960000 | NEW YORK, Aug. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- XL Catlin's Global Excess Casualty insurance business has realigned its US Central region and appointed new regional underwriting managers to meet continued increased demand for quality excess casualty and umbrella insurance products.
According to Barbara Luck, President of XL Catlin's Global Excess Casualty business, "We've had tremendous success developing and growing client and broker relationships and business throughout the US. Our continued successes are prompting us to make these regional changes. Given the size of the US market and continued increased demand for our excess coverages, we decided to create a North Central and South Central region to better enable our team to deliver more attentive service and delivery of our excess and umbrella liability coverages to brokers and clients. This new regional structure better prepares our team for continued business growth."
Kevin Nieft has been promoted to Vice President, Underwriting Manager Excess Casualty and will lead the North Central Region. Kevin joined XL Catlin in April 2003 and has held various underwriting positions and most recently was an underwriting director. Prior to joining XL Catlin, Kevin held underwriting positions in Kemper Insurance Company and Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.
Mona Carpenter has been promoted to Vice President, Underwriting Manager Excess Casualty and will lead the South Central Region. Mona joined XL Catlin in October 2016 from Swiss Re where she held the position of Vice President Senior Underwriter. Prior to that position, Mona held various underwriting and management positions at AIG and The Hartford.
Ms. Luck added: "We're fortunate to have a deep bench of strong talent to build out our regional leadership. Both Kevin and Mona bring their underwriting expertise of the Excess Casualty product and strong marketplace knowledge and relationships to their new roles. Under their leadership, our North Central and South Central regions are well positioned to take a more geographic focused approach in addressing our broker and client's excess and umbrella liability needs.
Helping a wide range of businesses -- from Upper Middle Market (UMM) to Fortune 1000 companies -- XL Catlin's Global Excess Casualty insurance team provides Lead Umbrella, Excess, Occurrence, Claims Made, Occurrence Reported and Primary Rail and Excess insurance coverages from global access points with underwriting centers in Bermuda, Dublin, Ireland, London, UK and 13 cities in North America. Liability limits up to $100 million are available.
About XL Catlin Insurance Operations
XL Catlin insurance companies offer property, casualty, professional, financial lines and specialty insurance products globally. Businesses that are moving the world forward choose XL Catlin as their partner. To learn more, visit xlcatlin.com.
About XL Catlin
XL Catlin is the global brand used by XL Group Ltd's (NYSE:XL) insurance and reinsurance companies which provide property, casualty, professional and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world. Clients look to XL Catlin for answers to their most complex risks and to help move their world forward. To learn more, visit xlcatlin.com .
View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xl-catlins-global-excess-casualty-insurance-business-promotes-new-regional-underwriting-leaders-300512210.html
SOURCE XL Catlin |
Redrow Redrow nears completion on £70m Devonport Estate | Housing developer Redrow will shortly complete construction at the 464 unit Vision regeneration project in Plymouth. The £70m ($93m) project is based at the old site of the Royal Navy South Yard Enclave, and can house over 1,100 residents. The project was initiated in 2007, and involved the provision of £700,000 by Redrow to transform the former Devonport Market Hall into a digital industry meeting place.
| http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/business/peek-inside-house-brand-new-434874 | 2017-09-07 14:23:51.453000 | Something went wrong, please try again later.
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The biggest city regeneration scheme in the South West will be complete when the last few families move into a £70million Devonport estate next month.
Developer Redrow has virtually finished construction at the vast 464-property Vision project in what was once the Royal Navy South Yard Enclave.
The final building, Zone G, on what was the sales office’s car park on the corner of Phelps Road and Chapel Street, is nearly ready.
And by October 2017 all homes will be filled on the immense estate and it will be home to more than 1,100 people.
(Image: Penny Cross)
That will complete the ambitious scheme which Redrow started in 2007, in what was once a dockyard stores area.
But the firm is keen to point out its legacy will continue, as it has invested in an array of community projects and has provided £700,000 towards the transformation of the former Devonport Market Hall into a digital industry hub.
And it has had a major impact on the economy of he city, with up to 80 construction workers, including apprentices, on the site each day during the decade-long build.
(Image: Penny Cross)
Nigel Palmer, managing director for Redrow Homes’ South West division, said: “We have employed 70 to 80 people here on a daily basis,” he said. “Then there is the spin-offs, money going to the local stores.
“Then there is the legacy, we have invested £700,000 into the Market Hall, to reinstate the bells and clock tower, and for security and upkeep of the building.”
He said £3.7million had been paid over in Section 106 payments, contributions made to the local authority.
(Image: Penny Cross)
“That went to education, transport, highways, and for public areas, such as Granby Green, which benefited from £250,000.”
The Devonport Views 42-flat extra-care housing block for older people was paid for by Redrow but managed by Devon and Cornwall Housing.
But Mr Palmer stressed Redrow had gone beyond it’s statutory obligations, and pumped cash and support into community organisations and events, including St Aubyn’s Church, Devonport Linc, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Devonport Boxing Club, three primary schools, police cadets, carol festivals, family fun days and poetry events, including sponsorship of the PlymLit literary festival in 2016 and 2017.
(Image: Penny Cross)
“I’m really proud at what the guys have achieved,” Mr Palmer said. “They’ve done a fantastic job here and left a legacy.”
Vision, alongside other neighbouring housing schemes and social enterprise-led business initiatives, has transformed what was once one of Plymouth’s most crime and deprivation-troubled quarters into a pleasant, modern, and prosperous area.
Other projects surrounding Vision include the redevelopment of the former naval base at Mount Wise, and replacement of housing in between it and Vision, and at Granby Green.
(Image: Penny Cross)
Some of this new housing was created by Linden Homes – where Mr Palmer worked before joining Redrow.
And as a “Plymouth boy”, who was educated at nearby Devonport High School for Boys, he’s well qualified to give a view on the area’s improvement.
“It’s transformed the whole area,” he said. “The West side of Plymouth has changed for the better.” |
BNP Paribas buys majority stake in Belgian robo-adviser Gambit | Paris-based banking group BNP Paribas has bought a majority stake in the Belgian robo-advisory specialist firm Gambit Financial Solutions. The company was launched in 2007 as a spin-off from the HEC - University of Liege, and its technology has been used by private and retail banks in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Switzerland. Under the deal, Gambit will maintain its independence, but will become the preferred partner for robo-advisory solutions for BNP Paribas's retail and wealth management networks. | https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31041/bnp-paribas-buys-majority-stake-in-robo-advisor-gambit/retail | 2017-09-07 13:12:38.520000 | BNP Paribas has made a move into the robo-advisory sector, buying a majority stake in Belgian specialist Gambit Financial Solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
While Gambit will maintain its independence, it will become the preferred partner for robo-advisory solutions for BNP Paribas Group’s retail and wealth management networks.
Launched in 2007 as a spin-off from HEC - University of Liege, Gambit has seen its robo-advisory technology rolled out by private and retail banks in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Switzerland.
The firm, which has a 50-strong team, has also recently launched a proprietary business-to-consumer robo-advisor called Birdee.
Frédéric Janbon, CEO, BNP Paribas Asset Management, says: "The partnership with one of the most advanced robo-advisory solutions available in the market is a key milestone in our digital transformation and marks our commitment to delivering quality investment solutions to our clients." |
Social trading platform eToro lets users trade cryptocurrencies | eToro, the social trading brokerage firm, has given a boost to the digital currency sector by enabling customers to trade bitcoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, litecoin and ripple cryptocurrencies on its platform. The move allows clients to benefit from active exchange rates, and is further evidence of the growing demand for alternative asset classes. Ayondo, XTB, JFD Brokers and Instaforex, among others, have also also launched cryptocurrency trading pairs, with market expectations that more retail platforms will follow. | http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/etoro-platform-adds-support-trading-five-cryptocurrencies/?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07.09.17 | 2017-09-07 12:20:27.090000 | Social trading brokerage and platform provider eToro today announced in a corporate statement that it is offering clients the opportunity to trade in the five most popular Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term directly on its own Trading Platform Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real Read this Term.
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Effective immediately, eToro customers can trade the actual underlying assets of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and Ripple. The company is already offering access to the five cryptocurrencies, plus exposure to Dash, through its recently launched investment instrument Crypto CopyFund.
By taking away part of the risk usually associated with trading such exotic assets, eToro allows its clients profit directly from the active exchange rates. Joining over 1,200 assets, trading of the new instruments will be done from the same accounts clients use for other trades, adding a layer of security to the exciting but volatile cryptocurrency market.
The step confirms that there is significant demand amongst traders for such alternative asset classes, with the launch just one more example of a brokerage jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon.
The list of brokers that have launched cryptocurrency trading pairs in recent months includes Ayondo, Plus500, Avatrade, FXOpen, XTB, JFD Brokers, Instaforex, and many others. As such, it is likely that more retail platforms will follow suit to avoid falling behind their competitors.
Commenting on the launch, Yoni Assia, co-founder and CEO of eToro, said: "Cryptocurrencies have come of age over the last year, but buying and owning the underlying crypto asset is still very difficult. At eToro, we've already simplified the worlds of trading and investing, and now we have an opportunity to use our experience and expertise to simplify cryptocurrencies. By using our platform, investors benefit from the peace of mind that comes with our long-track record in the cryptocurrency market."
Founder of Litecoin Charlie Lee said: "By making Litecoin available on a safe, simple, and secure platform, eToro will help increase the adoption of Litecoin among a wider audience."
Founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG) Barry Silbert said: "By showing their support for Ethereum Classic, among others, eToro supports our position that digital currency as an asset class has not only arrived, but is here to stay." |
Blockchain wallet partners with Indian exchange UnoCoin | Bitcoin wallet Blockchain has partnered with Indian's largest bitcoin exchange Unocoin, enabling customers to transfer funds quickly. The move was an "important step forward in eliminating the friction that many have experienced in buying bitcoin" and gave users "greater purchasing power without compromising security or control", according to Blockchain. The functionality is available only to web users, with mobile integration set to follow.
| http://www.econotimes.com/Blockchain-partners-with-Indian-bitcoin-exchange-Unocoin-886839 | 2017-09-07 11:56:43.293000 | Leading bitcoin wallet Blockchain has announced that it has teamed up with Indian bitcoin exchange Unocoin to enable Blockchain users across the country to quickly and easily fund their wallets.
We’ve teamed up with Unocoin to bring users in India an easy and safe way to fund their Blockchain wallets! https://t.co/rsiyxeEiG6 pic.twitter.com/JT6tHQafds — Blockchain (@blockchain) September 7, 2017
“Millions of Indians have embraced digital assets as a reliable way to save and transfer money. Together with Unocoin we are committed to making digital currency simple and more accessible throughout India. Whether it’s high fees, untrustworthy service providers, or confusing identity verification procedures, it’s often been a slow and challenging process to get started with bitcoin. Today’s integration is an important step forward in eliminating the friction that many have experienced in buying bitcoin.”
According to the official announcement, Blockchain has integrated Unocoin’s exchange directly within its wallet to give users greater purchasing power without compromising security or control. The integration is currently available to web users. Blockchain said:
“For the first time ever, your Blockchain wallet can be funded in just a few clicks by linking your bank account, which is subject to bank transfer speed.
Blockchain said that it plans to expand the integration to Android and iOS wallet users in the near future.
FxWirePro launches Absolute Return Managed Program. For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/invest |
ILS likely to contribute to reinsurance pricing drop: Fitch | The growth of insurance-linked securities (ILS) – capital market investment vehicles backed by insurance policies – will contribute to a further decline in reinsurance pricing during 2018, according to Fitch Ratings. ILS and other sources of reinsurance capacity have already dented pricing in the sector. The decline may lead to rating downgrades for some reinsurance companies, Fitch said. Conversely, the ratings firm predicts the market for catastrophe bonds will remain favourable as investors look to diversify risk.
| https://www.reinsurancene.ws/reinsurance-pricing-deteriorate-throughout-2018-warns-fitch/ | 2017-09-07 11:54:07.037000 | Pricing in the global reinsurance sector will continue declining throughout 2018 as competition from alternative sources of reinsurance capacity intensifies and margins across the sector deteriorate further, according to analysis by Fitch Ratings.
The current low-interest rate environment is expected to remain, dampening returns on the investment side of the balance sheet as underwriting profits come under increasing pressure from falling rates and intense competition.
Fitch expects pricing in the reinsurance industry to deteriorate in 2018 as alternative capital, or insurance-linked securities (ILS) intensifies the competition for reinsurance business.
“This will mainly be driven by the collateralised reinsurance segment, where funds are likely to expand their reinsurance capacity at lower pricing margins,” explains Fitch.
Furthermore, Fitch expects that market conditions will likely remain favourable for catastrophe bond issuance in 2018 as investors look to diversify risks, on the back of what’s set to be a record year for cat bond issuance after an impressive Q2 for the expanding sub-sector of the broader ILS arena.
Fitch warns of “shrinking headroom” for global reinsurance companies, exacerbated by the impacts of hurricane Harvey and further deterioration of pricing metrics. However, the ratings agency doesn’t expect any substantial impact on ratings over the next 12 to 18 months, but warns that the deterioration of the pricing environment beyond its expectations, could lead to some negative actions.
Discussing hurricane Harvey, Fitch notes that a relatively light opening six months for catastrophe losses across the industry should assist companies’ as they absorb losses from the event, which brought record-levels of flooding to Houston, Texas.
Fitch doesn’t expect the losses to be enough to turn the market from its soft state and have any impact on pricing outside of the directly affected regions, and overall, expects much of the loss to be retained by primary insurers and be more of an earnings event for the reinsurance sector.
However, Harvey does leave some companies with perhaps a smaller catastrophe budget for the remainder of the year than desirable, which suggests that above-average catastrophe losses for the remainder of the year could push some firms into a very challenging position, to say the least.
“Combined with low investment yields, which are likely to persist in 2018, the significant decline in premium rates over the last few years has made it harder for reinsurers to write business at a profit margin that exceeds their cost of capital. Their ability to use prior-year reserves to mitigate the pressure on operating profit is also dwindling, and we do not expect firms to be able to maintain reserve releases at their current levels in the medium term,” warns Fitch.
For the reinsurance companies that Fitch monitors, it expects the group to report a combined ratio of 96.9% in 2018, and an operating ratio of 89.9%. However, should these ratios rise to above 100% and 90%, respectively, in the mid-term, Fitch could revise its rating outlook for the sector to negative. |
Renaissance integrates digital resources from Education.com | US learning analytics company Renaissance has added Education.com to its list of partners, allowing integration of materials from the online education provider to its existing services. The company launched its Renaissance Flow 360 platform earlier this year, to support personalised learning in schools by providing teachers with a means of coordinating assessments with lesson plans to track students' progress. Digital materials from Education.com are currently used by an estimated 6.8 million teachers, and these will now be mapped onto Renaissance's system.
| https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/09/06/renaissance-flow-360-integrates-teacher-approved-resources.aspx | 2017-09-07 11:47:50.043000 | Personalized Learning
Renaissance Flow 360 Integrates Teacher-Approved Resources
Renaissance has partnered with Education.com in order to bring teacher-approved digital resources, tools and materials from the online education hub to the Renaissance Flow 360 platform.
Teachers can use Renaissance Flow 360 to track students' level of mastery at the domain, standard, skill and subskill level. Image: Renaissance.
The pre-K–12 learning analytics company launched Renaissance Flow 360 earlier this year to support personalized learning at schools by “connecting assessment, planning, instruction and practice in one place,” according to a prepared statement.
To date, an estimated 6.8 million teachers have signed up to use Education.com's digital learning materials, which will now be mapped to Renaissance’s learning progressions. The integration also enables teachers to use Renaissance Flow 360 "to track a complete view of student’s mastery of state standards and skill level at group or individual levels."
There are more than 30,000 teacher-approved educational resources on Education.com.
Through the partnership, Education.com joins Achieve 3000, Classworks, Edgenuity, Edmentum and the MIND Research Institute as part of the Renaissance Growth Alliance Partners program. |
EY and Microsoft partner to provide marine insurance blockchain | EY has collaborated with Microsoft, shipping firm Moller-Maersk and other companies to develop the world's first blockchain platform for marine insurance, aiming to streamline a sector bogged down by "complete inefficiency". Shaun Crawford, global insurance leader at EY, said the project aimed to bring transparency to the industry and reduce the high administrative burdens, while capturing information about shipments, risk and liability in a secure manner. The platform will be built by blockchain firm Guardtime using Microsoft's Azure cloud, and is set to be launched in 2018. | https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/05/ey-microsoft-maersk-blockchain-for-marine-insurance.html | 2017-09-07 11:46:58.283000 | Accounting giant EY said Wednesday that it plans to launch the first blockchain platform for marine insurance, alongside Microsoft , A.P Moller-Maersk and others.
The distributed ledger will be used to capture information about shipments, risk and liability, and to help firms comply with insurance regulations.
It will also ensure transparency across an interconnected network of clients, brokers, insurers and other third parties.
EY explained that its decision to secure marine insurance data with blockchain was due to a "complete inefficiency" in the sector.
"The reason we chose marine (insurance) as the starting point for this sort of market is mainly because of its complete inefficiency," Shaun Crawford, global insurance leader at EY, told CNBC via phone earlier this week ahead of the announcement.
Crawford said the industry was "over capacity" and that there was "a lot of cost to it."
He added: "It's facing high administrative burdens of managing and writing claims with a lot of paperwork. All contracts are signed multiple times. They go from ship to ship, port to port, through quite a journey."
Distributed ledgers are groupings of data shared across multiple locations without the need for central administrators and other middle men.
The original blockchain was built to serve as the distributed ledger for bitcoin transactions. But various blockchain experts believe the technology can provide transparency for a multitude of different industries, not just the financial services.
"We're not talking about a new currency here, we're not talking about money. We're talking about data aggregation," EY's Crawford added.
Maersk said the blockchain platform would enable the shipping giant to maintain a smoother relationship with the insurance market. |
Growing demand in China for online US English tutors | Growing demand amongst Chinese parents for online tutors from the US is contributing to a growing market, which could double in value to $165bn in the next five years, according to banking group UBS. Online start-ups include Beijing-based VIPKid, which recruits American teachers to teach online classes to Chinese students. The company has grown to 200,000 students and has revenue projected to reach $765m this year. The company has set up a research institute to process the huge amounts of data gathered from the two million classes taught each month, to help improve their effectiveness.
| http://www.scmp.com/news/article/2110115/boom-foreigners-teaching-chinas-children-online | 2017-09-07 11:40:34.097000 | Firms providing overseas internet tutors could share US$165-billion market in five years, says one research report, as parents look to give their children a head start |
House of Representatives passes the Self Drive Act | The United States's House of Representatives passed the Self Drive Act on 6 September, laying out the basic federal framework for regulating autonomous vehicles. The legislation gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rather than states the right to regulate the design, construction and performance of autonomous vehicles. The bill also places limits on self-driving vehicle manufacturers' use of customers' data, requiring the companies to accept "privacy plans". Autonomous vehicles must also have anti-hacking software to prevent them being used in terrorist attacks. The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the framework can become law.
| https://www.wired.com/story/congress-self-driving-car-law-bill/ | 2017-09-07 11:39:18.710000 | On Wednesday, the House of Representatives did something that’s woefully uncommon these days: It passed a bill with bipartisan support. The bill, called the SELF DRIVE Act, lays out a basic federal framework for autonomous vehicle regulation, signaling that federal lawmakers are finally ready to think seriously about self-driving cars and what they mean for the future of the country.
“With this legislation, innovation can flourish without the heavy hand of government,” said Representative Bob Latta, the Ohio Republican who heads up the Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, in a floor speech just before the SELF DRIVE Act passed by a two-thirds majority. (And no, I’m not shouting at you—it’s an acronym, for Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution.) The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the legislative framework can become law.
This seems like a good time for Congress to step in, and the famously regulation-averse tech industry has actually welcomed the legislative clarification. Self-driving vehicles have been testing on public roads since 2010, when Google hit the streets near Mountain View, California. And in the absence of congressional oversight, states have stepped in to regulate them, creating a patchwork of at least 21 different state laws and guidelines with different purposes, definitions, and priorities. This is a serious pain for the growing self-driving industry, which aspires to build cars permitted on all public roads.
The industry wants the flexibility to experiment, and it says there’s a lot at stake. This came up in every congressional floor speech on Wednesday: Nearly 40,000 people died on American roads in 2016, and the National Highway Traffic Administration says 94 percent of fatal crashes can be attributed to human error. Let’s get rid of the human, and quick, goes the logic.
But the robocar industry also argues that it’s way too early for Congress to demand strict, particular rules for the vehicles. Companies certainly aren’t selling these vehicles to the public yet, and even the largest AV player, Google’s self-driving spinoff Waymo, only has about 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans on the road (though that number is growing). In other words: There aren’t that many of these vehicles to regulate, and companies are still figuring out how they should work.
Lawmakers, for their part, hope the legislation strikes a balance between allowing tech and car companies to test whatever, wherever, and giving them enough leeway to try stuff out, collect some data, and determine the best way to operate vehicles without a driver.
“We need to give Congress credit for being both strategic and specific,” says Mark Rosekind, who headed up the National Traffic Safety Administration during the Obama administration and now oversees safety at the self-driving startup Zoox.
So what’s in the bill? And what’s next? Strap on your seatbelt, and say hello to the robot at the wheel:
One Reg to Rule Them All
First, the legislation works out a way for the federal government’s rules to trump state laws and rules. It officially gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration power to regulate vehicle design, construction, and performance—the way it does with, well, normal cars. States still have authority over vehicle registration and licensing, but they’ll have a harder time making demands about what goes on inside the car.
Now that NHTSA officially has the power to regulate these things, the legislation gives it a set of deadlines. It has 24 months to come up with rules about what automakers need to submit to the agency to certify they're serious about safety. And it has a year to figure out what features of a self-driving car will need performance standards. How will you know that a car’s sensor configuration—the combination of lasers and cameras that help it “see”—is safe? What about its cybersecurity fail-safes? Or the way it ensures there’s a passenger in the car before taking off? Quoth NHTSA: TBD.
Privacy
Second, the legislation requires autonomous vehicle manufacturers be deliberate about the way they share their passengers’ data. Think about how much a self-driving car company could know about you: where you work, where you live, where you drop your kid off each morning, that you used to go to the gym a lot but stopped about five months ago. Some companies would like to customize these self-driving things to your driving style or preferred nondriving activity. Maybe you like a cautious approach, or to watch a certain kind of show while rocketing toward work. Consumers will probably want that info protected.
Under this bill, these companies must have “privacy plans” describing how they'll collect, use, and store data. They’ll also have to lay out how customers will be informed about what’s happening to their data and what they can do if they don’t want it shared with anyone.
Exemptions
Finally, the legislation makes it a lot easier for self-driving cars to hit the road. Today, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS, for those who are hip with it) govern how vehicles are designed. And because humans drive the vast majority of cars today, the standards are created with humans in mind. Steering wheels are necessary, as are brake pedals. But a car driven by a computer wouldn’t have those features—in fact, allowing humans to intervene by grabbing the wheel could be dangerous.
Today NHTSA has the power to grant 2,500 FMVSS exemptions each year. This legislation will gradually up that number—by a lot. In year one, the federal agency could grant up to 25,000 exemptions; by year two, 50,000; and by years three and four, 100,000. Meaning: More self-driving cars testing on public roads. It’s about to get much more robot-y up in here.
What’s Next?
Well, this is just the first half of this process. Now the Senate has to pass its own bill. Then both houses will work together to come up with compromise legislation that the president can sign. Perhaps easier said than done: A top Senate Democrat told Politico that “there are a number of differences” between the Senate’s draft and what the House just passed.
And then the biggest job of all: NHTSA will need to implement the thing. If the bill passes in its current state, the Department of Transportation and the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, will have to hit a bunch of deadlines: They have two years to come up with exactly what companies must do to get certified. They’ll have 18 months to kick off the rule-making process for privacy. They have to issue those FMVSS exemptions. And they’ll have to withstand pressure from a bunch of bickering car and tech companies to do it. It’s a big job for a department that doesn’t yet have a nominee for NHTSA administrator—but the future's coming at it, fast.
1UPDATE 6:46 PM ET 9/6/2017: This story has been updated to clarify the legislative process. |
House of Representatives passes the Self Drive Act | The United States's House of Representatives passed the Self Drive Act on 6 September, laying out the basic federal framework for regulating autonomous vehicles. The legislation gives the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rather than states the right to regulate the design, construction and performance of autonomous vehicles. The bill also places limits on self-driving vehicle manufacturers' use of customers' data, requiring the companies to accept "privacy plans". Autonomous vehicles must also have anti-hacking software to prevent them being used in terrorist attacks. The Senate will need to pass its own bill before the framework can become law.
| https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/06/self-driving-cars-terrorism-cybersecurity-technology | 2017-09-07 11:39:18.710000 | Self-driving vehicles will need to be equipped with cybersecurity technology to prevent them from being used in terrorist attacks, according to legislation passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.
With substantial bipartisan support in a voice vote, the House approved the so-called Self Drive Act, which seeks to speed the introduction of self-driving vehicles on US roads by streamlining the regulatory process.
A new law does not appear to be imminent, however, as corresponding legislation is yet to be introduced in the Senate.
Recent terror attacks in Charlottesville,, London, Nice and elsewhere have involved vehicles being driven into crowds.
Under the House bill, self-driving or autonomous vehicles would need to be equipped with defenses against hacking, “unauthorized intrusions and false and spurious messages or vehicle control commands”.
“I am pleased that proper cybersecurity protections are in place in this bill … to prevent and tackle potential hacks and/or terrorism,” said Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from New York, in a floor speech.
Proponents of autonomous vehicles say they will reduce highway deaths, provide greater mobility for seniors and disabled people and cut fuel consumption.
Critics point out that truck driving is one of the most common occupations in the US. According to a May report from Goldman Sachs Economics Research, an estimated 300,000 driving jobs could be lost each year to self-driving technology.
The House bill asserts federal regulatory authority over “highly automated vehicles” and limits state-by-state oversight. Preventing a patchwork of state regulations from cropping up before mass production of self-driving vehicles gets under way will help the market for the vehicles take hold, industry observers say.
Consumer advocates have expressed concern about constraining the states.
“The main concern is that it does away with the states’ ability to have any safety standards in place,” John Simpson, spokesman for the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, told the Mercury News. “All we’ve gotten is some loose guidance.”
Safety on US highways under current rules is poor and deteriorating. Deaths in motor vehicle accidents in 2016 rose by 6% to 40,200, according to National Safety Council estimates.
The legislation also requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to “identify elements that may require performance standards” including “human-machine interface, sensors, and actuators”.
The conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute has criticized the bill, saying that the NHTSA is not equipped to write and enforce cybersecurity standards. |
Licensed-via-acquisition? Taxify's ride hail under scrutiny in UK | Taxify, which has recently launched its app-based minicab service in London, is facing investigation from the city's transport authority. Transport for London (TfL) has not approved a licence for the company, which is competing with Uber across European cities. Instead, Taxify has acquired an existing licensed minicab company, which now trades under the Taxify brand. Union leaders have complained about the arrangement, which they say is in breach of the law. TfL recently renewed licences for Uber and Addison Lee to operate in the city, but reduced their terms from five years to just six months. | https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/07/taxify-tfl-london-urgent-investigation/ | 2017-09-07 11:37:24.073000 | Uber rival Taxify is being investigated by Transport for London TfL says Taxify doesn't have a licence. Taxify agrees, but says it bought a company that does.
Unlike other world cities, London is a pretty supportive place when it comes to transport innovation. Transport for London (TfL) has attempted to keep the peace as traditional taxi companies battle it out with private hire challengers like Uber, imposing new rules that ensure service levels remain high no matter what vehicle members of the public choose to ride in.
Earlier this week, Uber's London division found itself in new company thanks to Taxify, a private hire firm that has already made waves across Europe. It promised lower fares and higher payments for drivers, but its arrival has been marred by controversy. City A.M reports that TfL is now "urgently investigating" Taxify because it isn't a "licensed private hire operator" and could be operating in London without the necessary clearance.
As it stands, Taxify doesn't have direct approval from TfL. However, it has navigated around the issue by purchasing City Drive Services, a private hire service that already operates in London and has its own licence until 2019. Taxify says it provides its "app-based booking service" to City Drive Services, which "legally" owns the contracts with drivers, according to Taxify CEO Markus Villig.
Taxify's driver terms clearly state that City Drive Services trades under the Taxify name. They also state that the Taxify platform "enables users to compare, select from and/or reserve vehicular transportation directly from and with a variety of participating suppliers."
Wired reports that union representatives aren't happy about the arrangement, either. In a letter to Transport for London and London's deputy mayor for transport, GMB secretary Steve Garelick said that Taxify's decision to acquire its way into London and not advise TfL of a change to licencing conditions appeared "incompatible with the law" and questioned whether the startup was "fit and proper" to hold a licence in the capital.
TfL's investigation comes shortly after it reissued licences for Uber and Addison Lee to continue their operations. In the past, the authority has issued five year extensions but this time cut them to six months as it mulls over whether to increase licencing costs in order to cover the increasing amount of resources it needs to regulate private hire companies. That won't be good news for Daimler and US ride-hailing company Via, which are set to launch a city-wide shuttle service later this year. |
Tunisian solar project aims to power millions of European homes | A huge new solar energy park in the Sahara Desert could provide electricity to mainland Europe by 2022 if it is given approval by the Tunisian government. The project is being proposed by TuNur, a company owned jointly by UK-based solar power developer Nur Energie and investors in Tunisia and Malta. It would generate 4.5 GW of electricity from a solar thermal plant three times the size of Manhattan and channel the electricity via undersea cables to Malta, Italy and France. TuNur expects construction work to begin on the €5bn ($6bn) project in 2019, which will create around 20,000 jobs. | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/huge-tunisian-solar-park-hopes-to-provide-saharan-power-to-europe | 2017-09-07 11:22:35.267000 | An enormous solar park in the Sahara could soon be exporting electricity to Europe if Tunisia’s government approves an energy company’s request to build it.
The 4.5GW mega-project planned by TuNur would pipe electricity to Malta, Italy and France using submarine cables in the grandest energy export project since the abandoned Desertec initiative.
Kevin Sara, TuNur’s chief executive said: “If European governments take the Paris accord seriously and want to meet the less than two degrees target for global warming, we need to start importing renewables.”
“60% of Europe’s primary energy is currently imported from Russia or the Middle East. Does the EU really want to be investing in infrastructure that lasts 50 years but which just enables more fossil fuel use?”
The EU is already considering awarding priority status to an underwater cable linking Tunisia with Italy, and TuNur expects construction work on a €5bn plant to begin by 2019 in southwest Tunisia.
“We would target delivering power to the European grid via Malta by 2021,” Sara said. The following year, the first of two cables to Italy could be laid, with a French connection up and running by 2024, he added.
The resulting solar complex would sprawl over an area three times the size of Manhattan, harnessing the power of the Saharan sun with several towers up to 200m tall.
Hundreds of thousands of parabolic mirrors would reflect sunlight onto these towers, heating molten salts within them that would in turn broil water, generating enough steam to power turbines that could electrify 2m European homes.
Map of the planned TuNur solar project. Photograph: Handout TuNur
Up to 20,000 jobs could be created by the private sector initiative, which unites the London-based solar developer Nur Energie with Tunisian and Maltese developers.
But Chafik Ben Rouine, a spokesman for the Tunisian Economic Observatory, questioned whether the mega-project’s gold would match its glitter.
“Our biggest concern is with TuNur’s credibility as their website says they only have experience with two small solar projects,” he said. “We have big concerns about their capacity to deliver this project and their financial ability to leverage it.”
Four years ago, the €400bn Desertec initiative imploded, leaving dreams of a Saharan power battery for Europe in the dust – and a lasting regional wariness.
“It seems that a familiar ‘colonial’ scheme is being rolled out in front of our eyes,” said Hamza Hamouchene, War on Want’s North Africa and West Asia officer.
“Projects like TuNur deny local people control and access to their land, rob them of resources and concentrate the value created in the hands of domestic and foreign predatory elites and private companies.”
TuNur says that it agreed to lease the project’s land from a local tribe which remains “extremely positive” about the project.
Water usage will be restricted to wastewater from a local date tree plantation that would not otherwise be recycled, Sara said. The company also remains willing to supply electricity within Tunisia, which is itself facing power shortages. |
My physician isn’t in my Medicare Advantage network. What can I do? | I recently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, partly because a physician that is part of a university-affiliated practice was listed in the network directory. I was a patient of a doctor in the university practice who is not in the network, but I wished to stay in the university practice for continuity of care.
| http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/physician-isnt-medicare-advantage-network-can/ | 2017-09-07 11:17:31.407000 | Editor’s Note: Journalist Philip Moeller is here to provide the answers you need on aging and retirement. His weekly column, “Ask Phil,” aims to help older Americans and their families by answering their health care and financial questions. Phil is the author of the new book, “Get What’s Yours for Medicare,” and co-author of “Get What’s Yours: The Revised Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.” Send your questions to Phil.
Karen: I recently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, partly because a physician that is part of a university-affiliated practice was listed in the network directory. I was a patient of a doctor in the university practice who is not in the network, but I wished to stay in the university practice for continuity of care. The day my coverage began, I attempted to make an appointment with the physician, but was told by the insurance billing office that none of the physicians in their office is in the network! I spoke with a customer service representative from the MA plan and explained the inaccurate, discrepant information in its online directory. When I inquired about disenrolling, I was told I would have to write a letter with my reasons and, further, that if I switched coverage to another plan, I would have to pay a penalty for a lapse in my Part D drug coverage.
I do not trust the information I am receiving. Is this information accurate? How do I avoid penalties? How do I avoid a lapse in coverage? I don’t want to pay out-of-network charges to continue seeing a physician in the university practice. Is this grounds for changing to another MA plan? It seems unfair that when you enroll in an MA plan you can face a penalty or even lack of any insurance due to the plan’s mistakes.
READ MORE: How do I get the Medicare coverage I want with the lowest out-of-pocket cost?
Phil Moeller: Karen’s letter describes the kind of problem that has given MA plans a bad public image. The plans are increasingly popular, and now serve a third of all Medicare enrollees. They often provide more complete coverage than basic Medicare and usually cost less than having basic Medicare, a stand-alone Part D drug plan, and a Medigap supplemental plan.
The accuracy of provider directories has been a problem for some Medicare Advantage plans. They have been criticized for this problem and are taking steps to improve the directories.
A goodly amount of their cost savings stems from their requirement that plan members use doctors and hospitals in their provider networks. Here, the accuracy of provider directories has been a problem for some Medicare Advantage plans. They have been criticized for this problem and are taking steps to improve the completeness and accuracy of the directories. Unfortunately, it’s very hard if not impossible for consumers to know ahead of time which plan networks are likely to be inaccurate. For that reason, I urge people to call their preferred health care providers ahead of time, and ask them if they are in a plan’s network.
As to your exposure to late-enrollment penalties, I don’t have enough information from you about the timing of your application for the MA plan to be able to comment with certainty on whether the MA plan was justified in what it told you.
If your enrollment in Medicare was the result of you turning 65, your initial enrollment period should have been seven months, including the three months before your birthday, your birthday month, and three months after your birthday. If your enrollment was the result of leaving a job after you had turned 65, you should qualify for a special enrollment period lasting eight months after the end date of your employer health coverage.
I mention this because your window for getting a Part D drug plan might still not have closed, meaning you would not face late-enrollment penalties if you could get a new Part D plan before your enrollment period ended. Part D penalties begin kicking in once your enrollment windows are closed and you’ve gone 63 days without Part D coverage. So, even if your enrollment window has closed, disenrolling from your current Part D plan might not trigger a late-enrollment penalty if you can obtain new coverage within 63 days of disenrolling. Of course, I don’t know if any of this is relevant to your situation.
This still leaves you with the broader issue of how to hold the plan accountable for misrepresenting the information in its provider directory. In the pro-consumer world I wished we all lived in, this would be a snap. In the real world, it is anything but that. Plans have a lot of leeway in avoiding accountability for these kinds of decisions. I’ll get to possible remedies in a moment.
If seems to me that your first order of business is to find a better package of Medicare coverage. This would include finding a stand-alone Part D drug plan that will take effect quickly and thus allow you to avoid the late-enrollment penalty. The penalty, by the way, is only 1 percent a month tacked on to your Part D premium. So, it’s not a lot of money. But it lasts the rest of your life and would be nice to avoid.
I would also call Medicare (1-800-MEDICARE) and find out how quickly your basic Medicare coverage would kick in, and thus how soon you could see your preferred doctors and be covered. Get ready for some frustration here, as it can take a while for this coverage to take effect.
In the interim, you may face the unpleasant choice of either paying out-of-network rates or going without care.
Once you’ve attended to these needs, you can explore remedies for your plan’s mistakes. I work with several nonprofits that provide consumer Medicare advice, and might be able to work with you to redress the problems you’ve encountered. The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is often the first place to go, although it is more focused on explaining how Medicare works than dealing with private insurance companies. The other two are the Medicare Rights Center and the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
Please let me know how things go. If you discover an effective way to deal with the errors in your plan’s provider directory, I’d like to share that knowledge with other readers.
Deborah: I know that parents can get Social Security benefits for their children in certain situations. But what about grandparents? My husband and I are raising our grandson because his mother and father have abandoned him. He is 8 years old and has only seen his father maybe three times, and I think that was around 2012. He doesn’t call or write him. His mother lives in the same town as us, a tiny town of about 300 people. But everyone else comes before her own son. Ultimately, we would like to adopt him but we don’t have the money to do so right now.
Phil Moeller: I am so sorry you and your grandson are having to go through this. If you can demonstrate that your grandson is living with you and that you are his primary caretaker and pay for his needs, he should qualify to file for benefits based on one of your earnings records, presumably that of the higher earner. In order for him to file, the person on whose earnings record he is claiming must already have filed for their own retirement benefit. I suggest you call Social Security and find out specific requirements to establish your eligibility for benefits for your grandson. You and your husband also should determine the best Social Security filing strategy – one that reflects your longer-term needs as well as those of your grandson. If you run into any obstacles, please let me know.
Bob – Ga.: I’m unclear on the dental work that Medicare covers. We are retired and have traditional Medicare and a letter F Medigap policy. We have believed that we could easily pay out of pocket for what we consider routine dental work such as regular cleanings and fillings, so we did not get dental insurance when we retired. Recently my dentist became concerned about a precancerous spot on my tongue. Suppose I need surgery to remove a benign growth on my tongue or for oral cancer? Would that be covered by Medicare? I know the work must be done by someone who accepts Medicare. But does it matter whether a dentist or physician performs the surgery? Or where the surgery is done? In general, what diseases of or injuries to the mouth/teeth/jaw area would not be covered?
Phil Moeller: You are correct that Medicare does not cover routine dental care. Further, while Medicare generally does cover medically necessary care, this is not always the case with dental work. So, I would urge you to work carefully with your health care providers to get prior approval for any indicated procedures before proceeding.
I wish I could give you a nice and neat list of what “dental” diseases or injuries Medicare does not cover, but its explanation of what is covered is hardly a model of clarity.
I wish I could give you a nice and neat list of what “dental” diseases or injuries Medicare does not cover, but its explanation of what is covered is hardly a model of clarity. The agency does have an online form to ask if a procedure is covered. I did not find it useful but perhaps you will have better luck.
It should not make a difference whether a procedure is done by a DDS or MD, but, as you note, you need to make sure the surgeon accepts Medicare rates for his or her work. You also should make sure the facility where the procedure is performed accepts Medicare, and that any doctors assisting your own do as well.
If Medicare does cover a procedure, your Medigap plan should operate normally, paying for covered expenses that weren’t fully paid by your basic Medicare.
Michael – Calif.: I’m retired military and married. We currently have Tricare Prime, and will not turn 65 until 2019. When we do, will we need to apply for Medicare and pay for both Tricare Prime and Medicare? Also, will my wife qualify for free Part A benefits under my Social Security number? The last thing, do we both have to pay for Medicare Part B, or is it a family thing? We are just starting to plan ahead, and don’t understand Medicare.
Phil Moeller: When you turn 65, your Tricare Prime will convert to Tricare for Life, which requires you to get Part B of Medicare. The good news for you is that Tricare does a better job than Medicare of explaining how it works! The bad news is that Part B premiums are $134 a month, and there is no Medicare family plan, so each of you will have to pay. If your wife does not qualify on her own work record for premium-free Part A, she does qualify on yours.
READ MORE: Social Security says I owe money for Medicare coverage I didn’t get. How do I appeal?
Lastly, even if your wife does not qualify for her own Social Security benefits, she can file for a spousal benefit on your record. She can collect up to half of the benefit you would have been entitled to at your full retirement age, even though you filed for retirement earlier than this and received what’s called a reduced benefit. She will get her maximum spousal benefit if she waits until 66 to file for it, which will be her full retirement age. |
Private payments for hospital care in Indiana are high relative to Medicare, study finds | The prices that large employers pay for hospital care in Indiana are high relative to national norms and are increasing over time relative to the prices that Medicare pays for the same services, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
| https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-09-private-payments-hospital-indiana-high.html | 2017-09-07 11:16:55.673000 | The prices that large employers pay for hospital care in Indiana are high relative to national norms and are increasing over time relative to the prices that Medicare pays for the same services, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
The price of hospital care varied widely among groups of hospitals and hospital systems, ranging from less than two times the rate Medicare pays for the same services to more than 3.5 times what Medicare pays, according to the analysis. The state's largest hospital systems generally command the highest prices.
The study found the prices paid for hospital outpatient care in Indiana averaged 3.5 times what Medicare would have paid for the same services. Although there are no studies that benchmark the cost of such care nationally, other research has suggested that Indiana has high outpatient hospital costs.
"The prices that employer-sponsored health plans pay for hospital services in Indiana are unreasonably high, especially for outpatient services," said Chapin White, the study's author and a senior policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "With this information, employers can develop strategies over the next several years to gradually rein in the high prices they pay for hospital services."
While previous studies have examined the relative cost of hospital care, the RAND study is the first to include details about the prices paid to individual hospitals and health systems rather than reporting results in an aggregated or blinded fashion.
RAND was asked by the Employers' Forum of Indiana to analyze insurance claims data to provide insight into the prices employers pay to hospitals. The goal was to provide information to help employers become better-informed purchasers of health care and stronger advocates on behalf of their employees.
Despite spending more than half a billion dollars on hospital care over a three-year period, the employers that participated in the study previously had only limited information about the prices they pay hospitals for their workers' health care, limiting their ability to negotiate lower prices.
The RAND study calculated the average prices paid for hospital services in Indiana by analyzing insurance claims data provided by a group of employers that chose to participate in the study. Participating employers provide coverage to 225,000 people, representing about 7 percent of the Indiana population with employer-sponsored health coverage. The study is based on claims for services provided from July 2013 through June 2016.
The study includes details about the payments to hospitals and hospital systems relative to the payments made by Medicare for the same services. Parkview Health system had the highest prices at 3.7 times the rate paid by Medicare, with Deaconess Health System at the low end with prices at 1.2 times the Medicare rate.
The overall average price for inpatient hospital care in Indiana was 2.17 times the Medicare rate. A recent study using national data on payments for inpatient hospital care found the average price paid by private plans was 1.75 times the Medicare rate.
The RAND study found that the relative price of hospital care in Indiana rose over the three-year study period, with particularly steep increases for two hospital systems—Parkview Health and Community Health Network.
"By itself, increased price transparency will not bring down prices, but it can enable employers and other purchasers to change their health benefit design in ways that reduce costs," White said.
The report suggests two approaches that employers in Indiana can take to reduce the amount they pay for services at the state's hospitals.
One would be to move away from agreements where employers pay a discount of the charges billed by hospitals. Paying hospitals discounted charges encourages hospitals to aggressively inflate charges, according to the report. A better approach is to contract with hospitals to pay a prospectively determined amount for each procedure, which could be accomplished by paying a fixed multiple of the prices set by Medicare.
A second approach might be to use benefit design to move patients away from high-priced hospitals and health systems to lower-priced providers.
"Employers play a key role in the U.S. health care system, but to be smart shoppers they need solid information on the care they are buying and the prices they are paying," White said. "Alternative payment models, like shared savings or bundling, get a lot of attention. But this study shows that we also need to focus on the basics, and do more to rationalize prices in existing fee-for-service payment systems." |
Vital Health Officials You’ve Never Heard Of: Insurance Commissioners In The Hot Seat | With insurance premiums rising and national efforts at health reform in turmoil, a group of 50 state bureaucrats whom many voters probably can’t name have considerable power over consumers’ health plans: state insurance commissioners.
| http://khn.org/news/state-insurance-commissioners-in-hot-seat-in-national-health-care-drama/ | 2017-09-07 11:12:37.400000 | With insurance premiums rising and national efforts at health reform in turmoil, a group of 50 state bureaucrats whom many voters probably can’t name have considerable power over consumers’ health plans: state insurance commissioners.
As insurers threaten to exit state markets and voters at town halls complain about unaffordable prices, the state commissioners are central characters in the unfolding drama that is America’s health coverage.
“What’s the worst job to have right now? Insurance commissioner,” said Christopher Koller, a former commissioner from Rhode Island who is president of the Milbank Memorial Fund, a foundation that works to improve health. “They’re trying to keep the market stable.”
Most are wrestling with how to take on this task amid ongoing political rancor over the fate of the Affordable Care Act. Several commissioners are slated to testify Wednesday before the Senate health committee to talk about market stability and how to ensure patients have affordable health care.
The political debate highlights the role of this crew of wonk-ish administrators who sometimes preside over underfunded, understaffed offices and whose range of duties usually spans well beyond health care and its myriad complexities.
In all but one state, the commissioner regulates all types of insurance, and in several he or she might hold other jobs — such as lieutenant governor (Ohio), state auditor (Montana) and fire marshal (Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia).
Most commissioners have the authority to reject premiums or modify rates they deem excessive. They also have the power of their bully pulpit. Though California Commissioner Dave Jones, for example, lacks the statutory muscle to override insurers’ rate increases, he often uses his position to publicly call out insurers’ premium hikes.
But critics worry that in some states the position is a revolving door with industry, moving them to do less than they could.
“It a double-edged sword,” said Sabrina Corlette, research professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “Knowledge of industry … is very important in the job. [But] … if someone is coming from and going back to industry, it does raise some red flags about where their interests really lie.”
Sometimes a past résumé draws increased public scrutiny of a regulator’s actions on issues under the department’s purview.
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade, who was a Cigna executive before being named commissioner, was fined $500 in June after the state’s Freedom of Information Commission ruled that she improperly withheld documents related to a proposed merger between Aetna and Humana. She is appealing the ruling, her office said, seeking clarity on what they see as a conflict between insurance laws, which require confidentiality for some information, and the freedom of information statutes. The proposed merger was called off in February after a federal court blocked the deal, but not before a state review of Connecticut-based Aetna’s plan drew criticism because of Wade’s past employment.
Eleven commissioners are elected and the remainder are appointed and — as such — face new political pressures in a highly partisan health care debate.
When Julie Mix McPeak, commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Commerce and Insurance, persuaded Blue Shield to return to areas of the state that it had pulled out of last year, she recalled: “Some critics said I was going out of my way to prop up Obamacare. Others said I wasn’t doing enough because I’m from a red state and that must mean we want Obamacare to fail. But I just want access to coverage.”
Historically, insurance commissioners have stayed out of political battles, said Tim Jost, emeritus professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law who also serves as a consumer advocate with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). They see “themselves as civil servants more than politicians,” he said.
But, he added, “at least for the moment, it’s more politicized than it has been in the past.”
The individual insurance market, where about 17 million people purchase their own plans because they don’t get it through their jobs, is the focus for much of this drama.
GOP repeal-and-replace talking points have hammered a message that the individual market — including these government exchanges — are imploding. But Democrats counter that though they face difficulties, this is not the case. The insurance commissioners are caught in the middle and have the power to make either narrative come true.
Many had to scramble this summer — negotiating, offering incentives or just downright pleading — to get insurers to stay in their markets.
At one point, there were more than 40 counties nationwide with zero insurers for next year. As of Aug. 24, when insurer CareSource agreed to provide coverage in Ohio’s Paulding County, no more of these so-called “bare counties” remained.
McPeak and other commissioners also say that cost issues need to be tackled, but there’s no bandwidth to take on these thorny issues because they have to deal with the more immediate problems.
“We can’t get to affordability if I don’t have a policy for people to buy,” said McPeak. For next year, “I’m telling consumers there will be problems and they will see rate increases. But at least they have an option.”
These efforts are made more complicated by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to eliminate subsidies used to lower deductibles for some ACA policyholders, which would raise premiums. Payments are currently being made on a month-to-month basis. It will likely be a topic during the upcoming Senate hearing.
“We would all like to know what the rules are. When there is uncertainty, it’s difficult to make short- or long-term decisions, said Al Redmer, who was appointed Maryland’s insurance commissioner in 2015 by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
And the subsidies aren’t the only point of contention, with the partisan divide also reflected among some commissioners.
Trump and Congress are causing uncertainty that is “sabotaging the progress we’ve made,” Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler wrote in June. His state strongly embraced the ACA.
Kreidler, a Democrat who formerly was a member of Congress, was first elected commissioner in 2000.
In contrast, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak, whose state opposed the ACA from the start, has made it no secret that he supports repeal of the law, calling it “this disastrous experiment.” Doak, a Republican who was elected to the position in 2010 after working for various insurance companies, blamed ACA regulations for “so many insurers dropping out of exchanges or resorting to double digit premium increases.”
Commissioners’ regulatory powers vary by state, depending on the rules state legislators have put in place for them to enforce.
“Some states have comprehensive protections for consumers … while others have limited protection,” said Claire McAndrew, director of campaign strategy at Families USA.
But if they are so motivated, consumers can always find means to take an activist role.
Past commissioners, for instance, talk of using the regulatory process itself — pushing the boundaries in drafting the rules or using a “slow walk” toward their implementation — to work around these boundaries.
Even so, they face other limits. For instance, staffing levels for their departments are down nearly 6 percent since 2008, according to the most recent NAIC statistics.
That’s a big disadvantage when contrasted with the “strength of insurance industry lobby,” said J. Robert Hunter, a former Texas commissioner and now director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America.
And some fail to counter industry influence in legislatures and even inside their own offices, he added.
He recalls that when he took up his post in Texas, he met with lawmakers in the Statehouse, some of whom were “unabashed” in their support of the insurance industry, warning “we’ll hurt your budget” if he went too hard on industry.
He didn’t play ball.
“If insurers are always happy, something is wrong,” said Hunter. “Insurance commissioners’ jobs are to hold them to account.”
Correction: This story was updated on Sept. 6 to correct the spelling of Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade. It also adds a description from her office of the dispute she is appealing. The interactive map was updated Sept. 6 to reflect the appointment of a new insurance commissioner in Pennsylvania. |
Work Toward Bipartisan Fix for Health Markets Begins in Senate | The chairman of the Senate health committee said Wednesday that he hoped the panel would reach a consensus by the end of next week on a small, bipartisan bill to stabilize health insurance markets and prevent prices from skyrocketing next year under the Affordable Care Act.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/us/politics/senate-health-committee-obamacare-bipartisan-fix.html | 2017-09-07 11:09:18.357000 | WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate health committee said Wednesday that he hoped the panel would reach a consensus by the end of next week on a small, bipartisan bill to stabilize health insurance markets and prevent prices from skyrocketing next year under the Affordable Care Act.
“The blame will be on every one of us, and deservedly so,” if senators fail to reach agreement, said the chairman, Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee.
Mr. Alexander laid out elements of a possible compromise at a hearing on Wednesday: Republicans would agree to continued payment of subsidies to insurance companies to compensate them for reducing deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income people. Democrats would agree to give states freedom to relax some insurance requirements in the Affordable Care Act.
“To get a result,” Mr. Alexander said, “Democrats will have to agree to something — more flexibility for states — that some may be reluctant to support. And Republicans will have to agree to something, additional funding through the Affordable Care Act, that some may be reluctant to support. That is called a compromise.” |
A decade later, older Americans are still going hungry | Hunger does not respect age. A recent report comparing data from 2007 to 2015 finds 5.4 million people age 60 or older in the U.S., or 8.1 percent, are food insecure. Although this percentage went down from 2014 to 2015, it's still unacceptable, according to a University of Illinois economist.
| https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-09-decade-older-americans-hungry.html | 2017-09-07 11:02:57.073000 | Hunger does not respect age. A recent report comparing data from 2007 to 2015 finds 5.4 million people age 60 or older in the U.S., or 8.1 percent, are food insecure. Although this percentage went down from 2014 to 2015, it's still unacceptable, according to a University of Illinois economist.
"After six consecutive years of increased hunger in seniors since the Great Recession began, the slight drop in 2014 is good news, but not good enough," says Craig Gundersen, who coauthored the report. "And it's important to remember that the decrease is in hunger on the national scale. Some individual states saw an increase."
The report identifies the top 10 states in terms of senior food insecurity rates. "Seven of those 10 states are in the South, plus New Mexico, New York, and Indiana," Gundersen says. The report states that when seniors who experience marginal food security are included, the rates vary from 6.1 percent in North Dakota to 24.3 percent in Mississippi.
Gundersen says seniors who reported a disability were disproportionately affected, with 25 percent reporting food insecurity and an additional 13 percent reporting marginal food security.
"Food insecurity is known to adversely affect a person's health, and the implications can be particularly problematic for seniors," Gundersen says. "Compared to food-secure seniors, food-insecure seniors consume fewer calories, vitamins, and other key nutrients. They are also more likely to experience negative health conditions, including depression, asthma, and chest pain."
Gundersen says the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) has been demonstrated to reduce food insecurity. He recommends that policymakers and program administrators pursue efforts to increase participation in SNAP, with a particular emphasis on older adults. |
How robots could help bridge the elder-care gap | Despite innovations that make it easier for seniors to keep living on their own rather than moving into special facilities, most elderly people eventually need a hand with chores and other everyday activities.
| https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/06/how-robots-could-help-bridge-the-elder-care-gap-commentary.html | 2017-09-07 11:02:06.470000 | Everett Rosenfeld | CNBC
Personal robots
Round-the-clock care
While some tasks remain out of reach of today's robots, such as inserting IVs or trimming toenails, mechanical caregivers can offer clear advantages over their human counterparts. The most obvious one is their capacity to work around the clock. Machines, unlike people, are available 24/7. When used in the home, they can support aging in place. Another plus: Relying on technology to meet day-to-day needs like mopping the floor can improve the quality of time elders spend with family and friends. Delegating mundane chores to robots also leaves more time for seniors to socialize with the people who care about them, and not just for them. And since using devices isn't the same as asking someone for help, relying on caregiving robots may lead seniors to perceive less lost autonomy than when they depend on human helpers.
Interacting with robots
This brave new world of robot caregivers won't take shape unless we make them user-friendly and intuitive, and that means interaction styles matter. In my lab, we work on how robots can interact with people by talking with them. Fortunately, recent research by the Pew Research Center shows that older adults are embracing technology more and more, just like everyone else. Now that we are beginning to see robots that can competently perform some tasks, researchers like Jenay Beer, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Carolina, are trying to figure out which activities seniors need the most help with and what kinds of robots they might be most willing to use in the near term. To that end, researchers are asking questions like: Do robots need to understand and convey emotion to be accepted?
How can robots provide social support?
Is it best when machines simulate eye contact with us?
Does it help if they can converse? But the fact is we don't need all the answers before robots begin to help elders age in place.
Looking ahead |
Egyptian green energy projects boosted by $210m financing | Eleven solar power plants with a capacity of 490 MW are to be built in Egypt, following $210m debt financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing.
| https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/05/egypt-renewable-energy-projects-get-210-million-boost.html | 2017-09-07 10:58:22.480000 | The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced as much as $210 million in debt financing in order to "tap" the renewable energy potential of Egypt.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Beijing headquartered AIIB said the project would comprise 11 solar power plants with an "aggregate" capacity of 490 megawatts and would help the country to meet its pledges under the Paris Climate Agreement.
"Investing in clean, renewable energy is a big part of our strategy to promote a sustainable and low-carbon future for Asia," D.J. Pandian, the AIIB's vice president and chief investment officer, said.
"We are supporting this project because it contributes to Egypt's renewable energy capacity, and it will help position the country as a regional energy hub, which will have economic benefits for the entire region," Pandian added.
In terms of its environmental benefits, the AIIB said the solar plants would help avoid over half a million tons of CO2 annually.
Worldwide, the potential of solar is significant. The World Energy Council has said that solar energy has a "big part to play" in cutting future carbon emissions and "ensuring a sustainable energy future." |
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