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Commodity Finance Trade Insights from TFG - Page 5 of 8 | The latest news, updates and insights in the world of hard and soft commodity finance, including the role of insurance and structured finance in commodities, the latest from banks, traders and producers, as well as economic updates on commodity trade flows and structured trade and commodity finance.
SMEs need to re-think their innovation strategy including digitalisation as the pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital technology in trade.
TFG heard from BACB’ s Jeff Fallon, arguing that deeper Africa-Europe integration will be challenging in the new environment – here’ s why.
The pandemic can be an opportunity for TFTA Member States to weaponise cooperation not only for fighting against COVID-19, but also to achieve deeper integration which in the long run will boost intra-Tripartite trade.
TFG heard from Tanya and Stephen of Czarnikow discussing the impact of Covid19 on sugar supply chains considering different perspectives.
Heavy burden is left upon UK government and private sectors as they comply with WTO rules in anti-dumping cases to impose duties on foreign exporters that are undercutting UK manufacturers.
Hin Leong Trading’ s, founded by Singaporean oil tycoon Oon Kuin, collapse sends shockwaves through industry leading businesses to significantly embrace digital transformation.
TFG caught up with Private insurance and risk mitigation experts Simon and Carol from The Texel Group, speaking on policies, types of insurance product, where the CPRI market might be headed in a post-pandemic world and appetite in 2020.
TFG heard from EXX Africa’ s Keri Leicher, on the economic, political and health crisis in Africa caused by Covid-19 pandemic. Keri spoke of Africa’ s high level of debt and silent attacks affecting the continent’ s security.
Now is the time for trade finance institutions to take the lead in efforts to strengthen SME resilience and leave them in a position to be able to bounce back in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Tokenization is a concept with the potential to solve many trade financing problems that exist for business. TFG heard from Crowdz CEO Payson Johnston.
Macro uncertainty continues to be a key factor impacting growth as we continue to see a slowdown in trade flows. TFG spoke to BofA’ s APAC team
We spoke to Anabel Gonzalez during the World Trade Symposium in New York. We discussed whether the current US-China trade war had a positive impact on Latin American trade flows. Geopolitical uncertainty continues to threaten foreign investment and economic growth, particularly in emerging markets. Policymakers around the world are fretting about trade uncertainty and its impact on access to business finance, meanwhile, innovation and competition remain critical for economic growth.
What is the impact of the new Basel IV regulation for banks and corporates? TFG heard from Swiss Re’ s Global Head of Trade and Infrastructure Finance on the current state of Basel regulation as well as the latest updates following on from the latest EBA Consultation Paper. The interview was held at ExCred Commodities London. | general |
As pandemic fades, Spain Easter traditions resurrected | Hi, what are you looking for?
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With Easter processions cancelled for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, Spain’ s colourful Holy Week marches made their eagerly awaited return to the streets on Sunday.
The holiday, which runs until Easter Day on April 17, is a time when huge crowds traditionally gather to watch the elaborate processions in this deeply Catholic country.
Organised by brotherhoods, the parades feature dozens of people dressed in religious tunics and distinctive pointy hoods and elaborate floats topped with statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
Some of the processions date back hundreds of years.
“ We’ re very excited after two years ” of being unable to celebrate Holy Week, said Rafael Perez of the Work and Light Brotherhood that stages one of the processions in the southern city of Granada.
In Seville — whose 680,000-strong population doubles during Holy Week — people played traditional procession music over loudspeakers or sang mournful saetas from balconies, a capella ballads about the death of Jesus and the grief of his mother.
Everything was thrown up in the air in mid-March 2020 when the country went into lockdown as the virus took hold a month before Easter, hitting Spain badly as it spread like wildfire.
In one of the world’ s strictest lockdowns, Spain cancelled all religious celebrations, prompting some to improvise festivities at home on their balconies, mostly in the south where Easter processions have been held for centuries.
The situation improved slightly last year, although with memories still fresh of the explosion of virus cases after Christmas the authorities imposed curfews and a ban on travel between regions that clouded the festivities.
The southern city of Seville’ s impressive Holy Week parades, which had never been cancelled since 1933, were called off for a second year running in a move mirrored across Spain.
– Return of the tourists –
This year, Spaniards want to make up for lost time and enjoy an Easter week as in times before the pandemic, when they made an average of seven million trips across the country to visit family or hit the beach, Statistica figures show.
“ Tourism and business prospects for Holy Week 2022, the first after two years of not being able to celebrate due to the pandemic, are close to 90 percent of the sales levels registered in 2019, ” the Exceltur tourism association said on Thursday.
In April 2019, a total of seven million foreign tourists visited Spain. Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said she hoped to see 80 percent of that figure, which would bring much-needed relief to the country’ s badly hit tourism sector.
Before the pandemic, Spain was the world’ s second most popular tourist destination after France.
With more than 92 percent of its 47 million residents fully vaccinated, Spain last month embarked on a new strategy to treat the virus as an endemic illness like flu, dropping a requirement for people with mild cases of Covid-19 to self-isolate.
In February it ended a rule requiring people to wear masks outdoors and on April 20, just after Easter, it will also drop an indoor mask mandate, except in hospitals and on public transport.
Seville’ s City Hall says it is expecting “ a large turnout after two years without celebrations ” with more than 70 brotherhoods ready to conduct their traditional marches through the city.
With hundreds of thousands of visitors expected, Andalusia’ s regional government has recommended all participants wear masks and that testing be carried out on the many teams carrying the huge religious floats bearing statues of the Virgin Mary and Christ.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
In the small town of Borodyanka, diggers sort through the rubble of houses destroyed by Russian bombardments, looking for the missing.
The Security Council failed to prevent the brutal invasion of Ukraine, President Zelensky said in a separate address to Japanese lawmakers.
The demonstration was largely peaceful, though one woman was arrested for displaying the letter `` Z '', a symbol of support for the Russian army.
Long considered the “ most peaceful country in the world ”, Iceland’ s tranquillity has been shattered by a spate of shootings and stabbings.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Commodity Finance Trade Insights from TFG - Page 4 of 8 | The latest news, updates and insights in the world of hard and soft commodity finance, including the role of insurance and structured finance in commodities, the latest from banks, traders and producers, as well as economic updates on commodity trade flows and structured trade and commodity finance.
As the resurgence of Covid-19 threatens public health, virtual shopping poses a lower health risk which is likely to appeal to customers.
TFG heard from the CFTC’ s Heath P. Tarbert, on CFTC’ s tremendous accomplishments in achieving integrity through sound derivatives regulation.
With electronic document rules in place, it is now the role of key players and regulators to go ahead and enable trade finance to take advantage of digital innovation.
ITFA and TFG, today, launched their international trade finance guide, aimed at clarifying and defining standard definitions for trade finance products, as well as the risks, challenges and opportunities within trade finance.
Barings Bank collapse. Noble Group’ s demise. The 2020 commodities scandals of Agritrade, Hin Leong, Zenrock, Sugih Energy and Hontop Energy. Will these recent commodity financial scandals shatter Singapore’ s reputational armour?
TFG announced a media partnership with City & Financial Global Ltd for 10th edition of City Week 2020 – its annual International Financial Services Forum.
TFG heard from Dr. Özge TOSUN, legal counsel at Export Credit Bank of TURKEY ( Turk Eximbank) on the various surety bond dilemmas in Turkish insurance including the impracticality of expecting Turkish law to govern all overseas contracts.
Trade Finance Global ( TFG), today announced a media partnership with Reuters Events flagship Commodity Trading Summit, a virtual series of events featuring commodity producers, traders, buyers and investors.
TFG heard from Kevin Shakespeare, Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the Institute of Export & International Trade ( IOE & IT), on the significant changes in how exporters and importers trade with the EU come 1st January of 2021 – the end of the transition period.
Skuchain, Inc. announced today the launch of the ECO system for precious metals trading, a joint project with Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd., the minerals trading subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation.
The Buyer’ s Request for Quotation ( RFQ) and the responding Seller’ s Quotation ( QTO) need not be a kabuki dance event that only creates the appearance of engaging in a transaction.
TFG heard from WOA’ s founder, Erik Timmermans, on the latest in receivables and open account trade in 2020, the impact of the COVID pandemic on the RF community, and what we could expect for the remainder of the year.
The Local Currency System – SML – resurfaces as an alternative to recover trade flows not only in the Mercosur but also in other regions of the world which can implement it.
DeFi has unleashed a wave of innovation, offering exciting opportunities and the potential to create a truly open, transparent, and immutable financial infrastructure. | general |
Michal Kwiatkowski on Amstel Gold Race win: 'It was a rollercoaster, it was very emotional ' | Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.
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A bike-throw decided Amstel Gold Race on Sunday. Photo: ERIC LALMAND/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
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Michał Kwiatkowski went through the emotional ringer before, during, and after Amstel Gold Race on Sunday.
The Ineos Grenadiers star suffered through a case of COVID-19 this winter, and after battling through a tactical puzzle to get in the pole position to win, he thought he had lost in a bike-throw to the line against Benoît Cosnefroy.
And then the replay confirmed the result, and Kwiatkowski could fully celebrate a second Amstel Gold Race some seven years later.
“ It was a rollercoaster, it was very emotional, ” he said. “ He thought he won. What can I say? It teaches me you have to be patient. It was a similar situation in San Remo, and it was sad for me when I heard I was second, and then the happiness came. It was great, it was euphoria. ”
Kwiatkowski, 31, delivered a tactical masterpiece from Ineos Grenadiers to isolate pre-race favorite Mathieu van der Poel, and play a numbers game with Tom Pidcock against a select group of favorites.
“ It was all about winning today. When I found myself alone and when Cosnefroy joined me, it was all about winning at that moment, ” he told FloBikes. “ The team rode amazing today and we executed the race to perfection. We took the responsibility at every moment. Then we really put the hammer down. ”
The presence of Pidcock helped set up for Kwiatkowski for his winning surge. Cosnefroy bridged across, but with Pidcock marking the wheels in the chase group, the pressure was on the French rider.
“ We are discussing with Tom what to do. We put the hammer down and we made that group smaller, and we found ourselves in a good position with two guys in that front group, and we knew we could use that at the right moment, ” he said.
Just that small one, promise 🍺😅 @ Amstelgoldrace @ INEOSGrenadiers pic.twitter.com/bKcVDJxu5s
The Polish star won a similarly dramatic finish in the 2017 Milan-San Remo.
“ I was only there to win. I knew that it’ s all about winning, having Tom there, and how we raced today. When Cosnefroy joined me, it was up to him to do most of the work to maintain the gap. We had this plan to have the number in the front. For sure I wasn’ t there to be second.
“ I was trying to do the right thing. Cosnefroy did most of the job, because I heard that Tom was in the group behind, and he was aware of that as well. ”
Kwiatkowski was emotional with the victory, his first since winning a stage at the 2020 Tour de France.
The victory comes on the heels of Ineos Grenadiers winning the overall at Itzulia Basque Country with Dani Martínez.
For Kwiatkowski, one of the more successful members of the “ Class of 1990, ” the win is a salve for a rough few weeks.
“ The last few weeks and months have been a very difficult period for me, ” he said. “ It’ s just pure happiness what I feel right now.
“ It was a very difficult start of the season for me. I was going through COVID in February, I had postpone my race program and I got the flu at the Volta a Catalunya, ” he told FloBikes. “ My family was sick, and I had the feeling that everything was going in the wrong direction.
“ But here I am, the winner of the Amstel Gold Race. So just imagine the feelings when I hear my name as the winner of the race. ”
Get the latest race news, results, commentary, and tech, delivered to your inbox. | general |
Veru Soars as Oral COVID-19 Antiviral Reduces Deaths by 55% | Shares of Veru, Inc. soared nearly 200% after the Florida-based company announced its Phase III COVID-19 antiviral treatment was halted early based on positive efficacy following an Independent Data Monitoring Committee’ s recommendation.
On Monday morning, Veru posted positive interim Phase III data from its late-stage study assessing the oral antiviral sabizabulin in hospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome ( ARDS). Interim data showed that the oral antiviral demonstrated a 55% reduction in deaths compared to placebo in moderate-to-severe hospitalized patients. The results were considered statistically significant and statistically meaningful, the company said.
The Phase III study assessed 210 hospitalized patients who were diagnosed with moderate to severe COVID-19 considered at high risk for ARDS and possibly death. Patients were randomized to receive either a 9 mg dose of sabizabulin or placebo. The trial also allowed patients in both treatment groups to receive standard-of-care treatments, which included Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, dexamethasone, anti-IL6 receptor antibodies and JAK inhibitors. The interim analysis was conducted following the randomization of the first 150 patients. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients that died by Day 60.
Veru noted that treatment with sabizabulin demonstrated a 55% relative reduction in deaths in the intent to treat population. The sabizabulin-treated group had a 20% mortality rate compared to a 45% mortality rate in the placebo group. The secondary efficacy endpoints from the Phase III study are still being analyzed, the company said.
Veru also noted that sabizabulin was well-tolerated in patients.
Based on the results, the company plans to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss next steps to seeking emergency use authorization for sabizabulin, which previously received Fast Track designation from the regulatory agency.
Veru Chief Scientific Officer Gary Barnette said the thing that makes the findings highly relevant is that the pharmacological activity of sabizabulin is independent of COVID-19 variant type. The country has seen multiple variants of COVID-19, including most recently the highly infectious Omicron variant, as well as the Delta variant that was not as contagious but led to worsening symptoms of the virus.
“ Pending upcoming discussion with FDA, this treatment option may be made available soon so we can be ready for when the next clinically important wave of COVID infections comes, ” Barnette said in a statement.
Should it be approved or authorized under EUA, sabizabulin would join other antiviral drugs such as remdesivir, marketed as Veklury, along with Merck’ s molnupiravir and Pfizer’ s Paxlovid. Both the Merck and Pfizer drug were authorized to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. The Gilead drug is not an oral treatment, but rather delivered via infusion.
Mitchell Steiner, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Veru, sad the Phase III data represents a milestone in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, particularly in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe illness.
“ We strongly believe that sabizabulin, with its dual anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties which demonstrated positive efficacy and safety results in the Phase 3 COVID-19 study, can be that greatly needed oral therapy for hospitalized moderate to severe COVID-19 patients, ” Steiner said in a statement. | general |
Boston Athletic Association Relies on Everbridge for the 126th Running of the Boston Marathon | The Everbridge platform will again deliver critical event updates and safety information at this year’ s event, supporting more than 10,000 Boston Marathon staff and volunteers
Boston Athletic Association Relies on Everbridge for the 126th Running of the Boston Marathon ( Graphic: Business Wire)
Boston Athletic Association Relies on Everbridge for the 126th Running of the Boston Marathon ( Graphic: Business Wire)
BURLINGTON, Mass. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Everbridge, Inc. ( NASDAQ: EVBG), the global leader in critical event management ( CEM), today announced that the Boston Athletic Association ( B.A.A.) will once again deploy the company’ s platform to communicate critical event updates and safety information to thousands of staff and volunteers during the 126th running of the Boston Marathon. A sign of continued resilience and recovery as the sporting world adapts to a post-pandemic landscape, the prestigious race is scheduled to take place next week on Monday, April 18th with a field size of 30,000 participants.
“ The Everbridge mission of keeping people safe aligns with our overall commitment to the safety and success of the Boston Marathon, ” said Chris Troyanos, ATC – Medical Coordinator for the Boston Athletic Association. “ The B.A.A. is always looking for ways to enhance our participants’ race experience, especially in the area of health and safety, and Everbridge provides us with an important solution in the event of a situation that requires immediate and effective communications across our team of volunteers. ”
More than 10,000 volunteers will be stationed at medical tents along the 26.2-mile marathon route that starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and ends in downtown Boston. Volunteers will receive notifications via the Everbridge app and SMS in the event of an incident or disruption, as well as important race day information including start/finish times of the athletes; updates on the number of runners on the course throughout the day; road reopening and cleanup efforts; and coordinating the pick-up and transportation of any participants who may drop out. Everbridge staffers will be present in the B.A.A.’ s Operations Center on race day to assist in sending the communications.
With the exception of 2020, when the Boston Marathon went all-virtual at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this marks the fourth time in five years that Everbridge and the Boston Athletic Association have teamed up to support the race since the partnership began in 2018.
“ As a Boston-based company, the Marathon has always been a particularly meaningful event for our organization and employees, ” said Tracy Reinhold, Everbridge Chief Security Officer, and former head of the FBI’ s Intelligence Division. “ We are proud to serve the Boston Athletic Association as it returns the Boston Marathon to the traditional Patriot’ s Day date for the first time since 2019 and help do so in a safe and vigilant way for every runner, volunteer, and staff member. ”
The Everbridge network of customers in Boston also includes the Boston Police Department, Boston Public Health Commission, and the Boston Fire Department, as well as the State of Massachusetts.
In addition to the Boston and Philadelphia Marathons, Everbridge’ s technology is used to keep people safe during some of the world’ s largest gatherings and events, such as the International Summer Games in Tokyo and the annual famed championship football game in the United States. Public safety agencies across the U.S. and around the globe have adopted the CEM platform to manage large crowds, including the City of New York’ s Macy’ s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’ s Eve in Times Square, the City of Pasadena’ s Rose Parade, and the Pride Parade in San Francisco.
About Everbridge
Everbridge, Inc. ( NASDAQ: EVBG) is a global software company that provides enterprise software applications that automate and accelerate organizations’ operational response to critical events in order to Keep People Safe and Organizations Running™. During public safety threats such as active shooter situations, terrorist attacks or severe weather conditions, as well as critical business events including IT outages, cyber-attacks, product recalls or supply-chain interruptions, over 6,100 customers in 76 countries rely on the Company’ s Critical Event Management Platform to quickly and reliably aggregate and assess threat data, locate people at risk and responders able to assist, automate the execution of pre-defined communications processes through the secure delivery to over 100 different communication modalities, and track progress on executing response plans. For more information, visit www.everbridge.com, read the company blog, and follow on Twitter and Facebook.
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements | general |
SatixFy Announces the Passing of Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO Yoel Gat | NEW YORK & REHOVOT, Israel -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- SatixFy Communications Ltd. ( “ SatixFy ”), a leader in next-generation satellite communication systems based on in-house developed chipsets, announced that the company’ s Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO Yoel Gat passed away on April 8, 2022.
Yoav Leibovitch, Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, issued the following statement on behalf of himself and SatixFy’ s Board: “ We are deeply saddened by the passing of Yoel. He was a tremendous visionary and the driving force behind growing SatixFy to where it is today. I personally have partnered with Yoel for over 30 years and will miss both his personal friendship and business partnership. He was a true entrepreneur, a creator of new companies, technologies and markets. We will continue to follow his vision as we take SatixFy to its next stage of growth. We also extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife Simona, and his two children. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time. ”
Mr. Leibovitch has been named Interim CEO and will assume Mr. Gat’ s leadership duties for the time being as well as continuing his duties as CFO. SatixFy had previously announced that its new CEO has been hired to begin on June 26, 2022, the culmination of a transition plan that began in the Fall of 2021. SatixFy expects to announce the name of the new CEO in the coming weeks, as soon as he is free to do so in his current position.
On March 8, 2022, SatixFy announced that it had entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Endurance Acquisition Corp. ( NASDAQ: EDNC), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company formed by an affiliate of Antarctica Capital, an international private equity firm.
About SatixFy
SatixFy is developing satellite communications systems, including satellite payloads, user terminals and modems, all of which are powered by its proprietary chips. Its modems, with Software Defined Radio ( SDR) and Electronically Steered Multi Beam Antennas ( ESMA), are designed to support the most advanced communications standards, such as DVB-S2X. SatixFy’ s ASICs and RFICs are designed to improve significantly on current generation satellite communications system performance and reduce the weight and power requirements of terminals, payloads and save real estate for gateway equipment. The company delivers advanced VSATs and multi-beam electronically steered antenna arrays for a variety of mobile applications and services such as LEO, MEO and GEO satellite communications systems, Aero/in-flight connectivity systems, communications-on-the-move applications, satellite-enabled Internet-of-Things and machine-to-machine devices. SatixFy was founded in 2012, and is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom and Bulgaria. ( www.SatixFy.com).
About Endurance Acquisition Corp.
Endurance Acquisition Corp. ( “ Endurance ”) is a special purpose acquisition company formed by an affiliate of Antarctica Capital, an international private equity firm, for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Endurance was founded on April 23, 2021 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
Important Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It
The proposed business combination will be submitted to shareholders of Endurance for their consideration. SatixFy intends to file a registration statement on Form F-4 ( the “ Registration Statement ”) with the SEC which will include preliminary and definitive proxy statements to be distributed to Endurance’ s shareholders in connection with Endurance’ s solicitation for proxies for the vote by Endurance’ s shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination and other matters as described in the Registration Statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer of the securities to be issued to SatixFy’ s shareholders in connection with the completion of the proposed business combination. After the Registration Statement has been filed and declared effective, Endurance will mail a definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents to its shareholders as of the record date established for voting on the proposed business combination. Endurance’ s shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, once available, the preliminary proxy statement / prospectus and any amendments thereto and, once available, the definitive proxy statement / prospectus, in connection with Endurance’ s solicitation of proxies for its extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to be held to approve, among other things, the proposed business combination, because these documents will contain important information about Endurance, SatixFy and the proposed business combination. Shareholders may also obtain a copy of the preliminary or definitive proxy statement, once available, as well as other documents filed with the SEC regarding the proposed business combination and other documents filed with the SEC by Endurance, without charge, at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to Endurance Acquisition Corp., 630 Fifth Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10111.
INVESTMENT IN ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SEC OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY NOR HAS ANY AUTHORITY PASSED UPON OR ENDORSED THE MERITS OF THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION PURSUANT TO WHICH ANY SECURITIES ARE TO BE OFFERED OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “ forward-looking statements ” within the meaning of the “ safe harbor ” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “ estimate, ” “ plan, ” “ project, ” “ forecast, ” “ intend, ” “ will, ” “ expect, ” “ anticipate, ” “ believe, ” “ seek, ” “ target ” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of SatixFy’ s and Endurance’ s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of SatixFy and Endurance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the proposed business combination; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against SatixFy or Endurance, the combined company or others following the announcement of the proposed business combination; the inability to complete the proposed business combination due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of SatixFy or Endurance or to satisfy other conditions to closing; changes to the proposed structure of the proposed business combination that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory approval of the proposed business combination; the ability to meet stock exchange listing standards following the consummation of the proposed business combination; the risk that the proposed business combination disrupts current plans and operations of SatixFy as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and retain its management and key employees and the execution of the CEO transition plan; costs related to the proposed business combination; changes in applicable laws or regulations; SatixFy’ s estimates of expenses and profitability and underlying assumptions with respect to shareholder redemptions and purchase price and other adjustments; any downturn or volatility in economic conditions; the effects of COVID-19 or other epidemics; changes in the competitive environment affecting SatixFy or its customers, including SatixFy’ s inability to introduce new products or technologies; the impact of pricing pressure and erosion; supply chain risks; risks to SatixFy’ s ability to protect its intellectual property and avoid infringement by others, or claims of infringement against SatixFy; the possibility that SatixFy or Endurance may be adversely affected by other economic, business and/or competitive factors; SatixFy's estimates of its financial performance; risks related to the fact that SatixFy is incorporated in Israel and governed by Israeli law; and those factors discussed in Endurance’ s final prospectus dated September 14, 2021 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, in each case, under the heading “ Risk Factors, ” and other documents of Endurance filed, or to be filed, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that neither SatixFy nor Endurance presently know or that SatixFy and Endurance currently believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect SatixFy’ s and Endurance’ s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. SatixFy and Endurance anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause SatixFy’ s and Endurance’ s assessments to change. However, while SatixFy and Endurance may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, SatixFy and Endurance specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing SatixFy’ s and Endurance’ s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. | general |
Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Global Market Report 2022 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Global Market Report 2022: By Sample, By Product, By Type, By Test, By End- User '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global pharmaceutical sterility testing market is expected to grow from $ 1.09 billion in 2021 to $ 1.19 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR) of 8.8%.
The growth is mainly due to the companies resuming their operations and adapting to the new normal while recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $ 1.68 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 8.9%.
The pharmaceutical sterility testing market consists of sales of pharmaceutical sterility testing products and related services which are used to confirm that pharmaceutical products are free from the presence of viable microorganisms. Pharmaceutical sterility tests are procedures for checking the presence of microorganism in biological parenteral which are intended for human use. Pharmaceutical sterility testing is an important process in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and drugs manufacturing to assess the effectiveness of a sterilization process and is carried out at all levels of manufacturing to reduce the risk of product contamination.
The main types of pharmaceutical sterility testing are in- house and outsourcing. The various types of tests include sterility testing, bioburden testing, bacterial endotoxin testing that are used to test sterile drugs, medical devices, biologics and therapeutics. An in vitro assay for detecting bacterial endotoxins is known as a bacterial endotoxin test. The bacterial endotoxin test detects bacterial endotoxins by lysing blood cells from horseshoe crabs. The different product used are instruments, kits and reagents, services.
North America was the largest region in the pharmaceutical sterility testing market in 2021. Middle East is expected to be the largest growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.
An Increase in the number of drug launches and rising investment in research and development ( R & D) contributed to the growth of the pharmaceutical sterility testing market. Sterility is an important step in the manufacture of drugs to avoid product contamination and make the drugs free from any viable microorganism. According to a report published by Fierce Biotech shows that the top ten pharmaceutical companies invested over $ 82 billion in R & D in 2019.
Additionally, according to Pharma and Annual Review 2019 report, 1,273 new drugs were launched in the global market in 2019, a 6.2% increase from the previous year. Increased emphasis on quality and sterility coupled with increasing R & D activities in the pharmaceutical sector and rising production and launch of drug and medical devices is driving the market.
Companies in the pharmaceutical testing market are rising new pharmaceutical sterility testing products and services to enhance its product portfolio and increase its presence in the market. The companies are launching technologically superior outcomes and well-equipped services to utilize the growth potential of the rising pharmaceutical sterility market.
Key Topics Covered:
1. Executive Summary
2. Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market Characteristics
3. Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market Trends And Strategies
4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing
5. Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market Size And Growth
5.1. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion
5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market
5.1.2. Restraints On The Market
5.2. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market
5.2.2. Restraints On the Market
6. Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market Segmentation
6.1. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market, Segmentation By Sample, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
6.2. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market, Segmentation By Product Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
6.3. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
6.4. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market, Segmentation By Test Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
6.5. Global Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market, Segmentation By End- User, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
7. Pharmaceutical Sterility Testing Market Regional And Country Analysis | general |
Revive Therapeutics Provides Update on Phase 3 Clinical | April 11, 2022 17:54 ET | Source: Revive Therapeutics Ltd. Revive Therapeutics Ltd.
TORONTO, April 11, 2022 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Revive Therapeutics Ltd. ( “ Revive ” or the “ Company ”) ( OTCQB: RVVTF) ( CSE: RVV) ( FRANKFURT:31R), a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for medical needs and rare disorders, is pleased to provide an update on the Company’ s U.S. Food & Drug Administration ( “ FDA ”) Phase 3 clinical trial ( the “ Study ”) ( NCT04504734) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Bucillamine, an oral drug with anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.
The Data Safety and Monitoring Board ( “ DSMB ”) are scheduled to meet this quarter to evaluate the current clinical and safety data to either make recommendations on the Study or advise on potentially halting the Study early due to positive efficacy based on other clinical outcomes evaluated such as the rate of sustained clinical resolution of symptoms of COVID-19. The Company believes that with the Omicron variant, including the BA.2 variant, being the dominant strain over the Delta variant and COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. in decline, there is an urgent unmet need to treat symptom resolutions in addition to preventing hospitalizations. The Company has made efforts in determining the appropriate revised primary and secondary clinical endpoints for FDA consideration for potential Emergency Use Authorization. In parallel, the Company will continue enrollment activities in the U.S. and Turkey and is still targeting Q2-2022 to meet the enrollment goals.
“ With COVID-19 cases on the rise and the need for alternative oral treatments that is relevant to the current state of the disease, we believe that Bucillamine’ s anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties offers an alternative potential solution that is urgently needed globally to fight COVID-19 and allow for people to improve their quality of life, ” said Michael Frank, CEO of Revive.
The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate or cure COVID-19 ( SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time.
Revive is a life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for infectious diseases and rare disorders, and it is prioritizing drug development efforts to take advantage of several regulatory incentives awarded by the FDA such as Orphan Drug, Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy and Rare Pediatric Disease designations. Currently, the Company is exploring the use of Bucillamine for the potential treatment of infectious diseases, with an initial focus on severe influenza and COVID-19. With its acquisition of Psilocin Pharma Corp., Revive is advancing the development of Psilocybin-based therapeutics in various diseases and disorders. Revive’ s cannabinoid pharmaceutical portfolio focuses on rare inflammatory diseases and the company was granted FDA orphan drug status designation for the use of Cannabidiol ( CBD) to treat autoimmune hepatitis ( liver disease) and to treat ischemia and reperfusion injury from organ transplantation. For more information, visit www.ReviveThera.com.
Michael FrankChief Executive OfficerRevive Therapeutics Ltd.Tel: 1 888 901 0036Email: mfrank @ revivethera.comWebsite: www.revivethera.com
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release contains ‘ forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words “ could ”, “ intend ”, “ expect ”, “ believe ”, “ will ”, “ projected ”, “ estimated ” and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Revive’ s current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Forward looking information in this press release includes information with respect to the the Company’ s cannabinoids, psychedelics and infectious diseases programs. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by Revive at the date of the information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and Revive is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Reference is made to the risk factors disclosed under the heading “ Risk Factors ” in the Company’ s annual MD & A for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, which has been filed on SEDAR and is available under the Company’ s profile at www.sedar.com. | general |
TSR, Inc. Reports Record Revenue for the Third Quarter Ended February 28, 2022 | Revenue increase 42.1% Over Prior Year’ s Third Quarter
Balance Sheet Remains Strong with over $ 6.4 million in Net Cash
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- TSR, Inc. ( Nasdaq: TSRI) ( “ TSR or “ The Company ”), a provider of information technology consulting and recruiting services, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended February 28, 2022.
For the quarter ended February 28, 2022, revenue increased 42.1% to $ 24.4 million as compared to revenue of $ 17.2 million in the prior year third quarter. Net loss attributable to TSR for the current quarter was $ 47,000, or $ 0.02 per diluted share, as compared to net loss of $ 305,000, or $ 0.16 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. The Company ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet with $ 6.5 million in cash and less than $ 60,000 in debt, resulting in net cash in excess of $ 6.4 million, or approximately $ 3 per share.
Thomas Salerno, our CEO, stated “ The demand for staffing services remained robust in the quarter. Our revenue increased 42.1% for the third quarter due to organic growth from new and existing customers. Operating loss for the current quarter was $ 37,000 as compared to an operating loss of $ 339,000 in the prior year quarter. Traditionally, our third quarter is the lowest in terms of profitability, as the combination of reduced billable workdays for our consultants due to the holiday season and the restarting of payroll taxes based on the calendar year reduces revenue and increases costs. If our current trends continue, we expect annual operating income to continue to grow as we leverage selling, general and administrative expenses. ”
Both the third quarter of fiscal 2022 and the third quarter of fiscal 2021 contained results from the acquisition of Geneva Consulting Group, Inc. ( “ Geneva ”) which closed on September 1, 2020.
During the current quarter the Company issued 142,500 shares via its ATM offering at an average price of $ 13.79 per share, netting the Company $ 1,821,090 after deducting commissions and other transaction costs. Book value per share increased from $ 6.32 at the beginning of the third quarter to $ 6.62 per share at February 28, 2022.
“ TSR’ s operational team as well as the hundreds of high-quality consultants working with our clients are all doing a fantastic job. We spent the 2021 calendar year building the team and modernizing several of our back-office systems and we are now seeing some of the benefits of those investments with both sequential growth in revenues and solid operating performance. We believe our strong balance sheet and largely untapped credit facility provide us the ability to further accelerate revenue and earnings growth through organic initiatives and business development activities. ”
The Company will file its Form 10-Q for the quarter year ended February 28, 2022, today with further details at www.sec.gov.
About TSR, Inc.
Founded in 1969, TSR, Inc. is a leading staffing company focused on recruiting Information Technology professionals for short- and long-term assignments, permanent placements, and project work. For over 50 years, TSR has successfully served clients in banking, asset management, pharmaceuticals, insurance, health care, public utility, publishing and other industries. We provide candidate screening, timely placement and a real understanding of the right skill sets required by our clients. To learn more, please visit our website at www.tsrconsulting.com.
Certain statements contained herein, including statements as to the Company’ s plans, future prospects and future cash flow requirements are forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the following: the statements concerning the success of the Company’ s plan for growth, both internally and through the previously announced pursuit of suitable acquisition candidates; the successful integration of announced and completed acquisitions and any related benefits therefrom; the impact of adverse economic conditions on client spending which have a negative impact on the Company’ s business, which include, but are not limited to, the current adverse economic conditions associated with the COVID-19 global health pandemic and the associated financial crisis, stay-at-home and other orders which may significantly reduce client spending, and which may have a negative impact on the Company’ s business; risks relating to the competitive nature of the markets for contract computer programming services; the extent to which market conditions for the Company’ s contract computer programming services will continue to adversely affect the Company’ s business; the concentration of the Company’ s business with certain customers; uncertainty as to the Company’ s ability to maintain its relations with existing customers and expand its business; the impact of changes in the industry such as the use of vendor management companies in connection with the consultant procurement process; the increase in customers moving IT operations offshore; the Company’ s ability to adapt to changing market conditions; the risks, uncertainties and expense of the legal proceedings to which the Company is a party; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’ s filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company is under no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements.
Three Months Ended
February 28,
Nine Months Ended
February 28,
2022
Unaudited
2021
Unaudited
2022
Unaudited
2021
Unaudited
Revenue, net
$
24,383,000
$
17,160,000
$
71,113,000
$
47,743,000
Cost of sales
20,590,000
14,415,000
59,462,000
39,831,000
Selling, general and administrative expenses
3,830,000
3,084,000
11,628,000
8,414,000
24,420,000
17,499,000
71,090,000
48,245,000
Income ( loss) from operations
( 37,000
)
( 339,000
)
23,000
( 502,000
)
Other income ( expense), net
( 21,000
)
( 41,000
)
6,646,000
( 157,000
)
Pre-tax income ( loss)
( 58,000
)
( 380,000
)
6,669,000
( 659,000
)
Income tax provision ( benefit)
( 14,000
)
( 79,000
)
( 1,000
)
( 114,000
)
Consolidated net income ( loss)
( 44,000
)
( 301,000
)
6,670,000
( 545,000
)
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
3,000
4,000
72,000
10,000
Net income ( loss) attributable to TSR, Inc.
$
( 47,000
)
$
( 305,000
)
$
6,598,000
$
( 535,000
)
Basic net income ( loss) per TSR, Inc. common share
$
( 0.02
)
$
( 0.16
)
$
3.33
$
( 0.28
)
Diluted net income ( loss) per TSR, Inc. common share
$
( 0.02
)
$
( 0.16
)
$
3.19
$
( 0.28
)
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding
2,027,494
1,962,062
1,983,146
1,962,062
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding
2,027,494
1,962,062
2,066,976
| general |
Great Place to Work® Names Vizient One of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2022, Ranking # 56 |
IRVING, Texas -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Great Place to Work® and Fortune magazine have honored Vizient as one of the this year's 100 Best Companies to Work For. This is Vizient’ s first time being named to this prestigious list, coming in at 56th place. Earning a spot means that Vizient is one of the best companies to work for in the country.
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® award is based on analysis of survey responses from more than 4.5 million current U.S. employees. In that survey, 93% of Vizient’ s employees said Vizient is a great place to work. This number is 36% higher than the average U.S. company.
`` We are so grateful to our dedicated employees who have helped us achieve this recognition by embracing and living our values, '' said Byron Jobe, president and CEO of Vizient. `` Their passion and commitment for creating a culture of inclusiveness at Vizient and supporting our member providers comes through in their interactions and the work they do every day. This is a great recognition for all they have accomplished over the last year. ''
The Fortune 100 Best list is highly competitive. Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture, selected the list using rigorous analytics and confidential employee feedback. Companies were only considered if they are a Great Place to Work-Certified™ organization.
Great Place to Work is the only company culture award in America that selects winners based on how fairly employees are treated. Companies are assessed on how well they are creating a great employee experience that cuts across race, gender, age, disability status, or any aspect of who employees are or what their role is.
“ Best Companies’ leadership has never been more necessary, ” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work®. “ As workers struggle with the Great Resignation, burnout and covid disruptions, these exceptional companies offer workplace experiences as strong as prior to the pandemic. These companies get that 'place ' is wherever their employees are sitting or standing, and they are committed to make that place equitable, safe and productive. Their commitment to genuinely care for their people through trust, inclusion, purpose and meaningful flexibility for life circumstances goes beyond surface-level perks and is a model for the market to follow. ”
In 2021, Vizient also ranked as a Best Workplace for Women™, Consulting & Professional Services™ and a Best Workplace in Chicago™.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the nation’ s largest health care performance improvement company, serves more than 50% of the nation’ s acute care providers, which includes 97% of the nation’ s academic medical centers, and more than 20% of ambulatory care providers. Vizient provides expertise, analytics and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $ 130 billion in annual purchasing volume. Vizient’ s solutions and services improve the delivery of high-value care by aligning cost, quality and market performance. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.
About the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®
Great Place to Work® selected the Fortune 100 Best by gathering and analyzing confidential survey responses from more than 4.5 million U.S. employees at Great Place to Work-Certified™ organizations that have at least 1,000 U.S. employees. Company rankings are derived from 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place to Work Trust Index™ survey. Read the full methodology.
To get on this list next year, start here. | general |
How to Create a BYOD Policy in Your Organization | The bring your own device ( BYOD) trend has been gaining traction across the global workforce for around a decade now. More recently, the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic further cemented this trend into workers’ day-to-day lives.
With the prevalence of remote work, it’ s more convenient than ever for employees to use their personal devices for various work purposes. This makes their lives easier, and it can save your organization money when implemented and managed correctly.
If you choose to allow BYOD and you want to empower your employees to use their personal devices for work as securely and efficiently as possible, you need to create a BYOD policy for your organization. The BYOD policy can be a sub-policy that fits into your overarching remote work policy, or it can exist as its own entity.
Once you have identified your business goals, analyzed existing policies, and taken some time to understand potential BYOD use cases, you’ re ready to create the BYOD policy itself.
Begin creating your BYOD policy by laying out the exact scope of what it covers. The scope needs to include the types of devices and operating systems allowed, as well as who owns the phone number associated with a mobile device used for work calls, how and when any necessary training will take place, and a list of permitted apps and software ( or a list of any blacklisted tools).
These are just some of the items that need to be checked off in a BYOD policy — tailor your policy to your organization’ s specific needs in whatever way makes sense to you.
When listing out the devices and operating systems that are allowed to be used in your BYOD program, consider your current technology and tools — can you only manage Windows devices with your current setup? If this ( Read more...)
* * * This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog - JumpCloud authored by Brenna Lee. Read the original post at: https: //jumpcloud.com/blog/how-to-create-a-byod-policy | general |
Electreon anuncia la prolongación de la primera carretera eléctrica inalámbrica del mundo para camiones y autobuses | Desde la implementación inicial del proyecto de carga inalámbrica Smartroad Gotland en noviembre de 2019, Electreon ha demostrado con éxito el funcionamiento de Electric Road Systems, los sistemas eléctricos de carretera a escala, utilizando un camión eléctrico de 40 toneladas y un autobús eléctrico comercial de pasajeros.
Electreon has successfully demonstrated the operation of Electric Road Systems at scale utilizing a 40-ton e-truck and a commercial passenger e-bus. ( Photo: Business Wire)
Electreon has successfully demonstrated the operation of Electric Road Systems at scale utilizing a 40-ton e-truck and a commercial passenger e-bus. ( Photo: Business Wire)
BEIT YANAI, Israel -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electreon ( TASE: ELWS.TA), proveedor líder de tecnología de carga inalámbrica de vehículos eléctricos ( VE) en carretera, ha anunciado hoy la ampliación por un año más del proyecto piloto Smartroad Gotland en Suecia. El presupuesto de 2 millones de euros ( 2,17 millones de dólares) para esta ampliación está financiado por la Administración de Transporte sueca ( Trafikverket) e incluye la mejora de 400 m de la instalación existente. Electreon también prolongará el recorrido del autobús eléctrico del aeropuerto: el autobús lanzadera seguirá en fase de pruebas y, al mismo tiempo, estará disponible para viajes comerciales; se abrirá al público en el verano de 2022. Las partes interesadas del gobierno, los operadores de flotas comerciales y las empresas interesadas en la tecnología pueden visitar el sitio web del proyecto y obtener más información sobre el mismo.
`` El equipo de Smartroad Gotland está entusiasmado con la ampliación de este proyecto un año más y con la oportunidad de demostrar la resistencia continua de nuestra tecnología de carga inalámbrica en el clima sueco '', ha declarado Håkan Sundelin, director de la Región Nórdica de Electreon y director del proyecto de Smartroad Gotland. `` El proyecto piloto de carreteras eléctricas a gran escala previsto en Suecia, además de la decisión del gobierno francés de financiar proyectos piloto de carreteras con carga inalámbrica, demuestra la gran demanda de la tecnología de Electreon en Europa ''.
Jan Pettersson, director del programa de electrificación de la Administración de Transporte sueca, ha declarado: `` Estamos muy satisfechos con la oportunidad de probar un mayor rendimiento de la carga inalámbrica, así como la durabilidad de la carretera. Ahora que las restricciones del coronavirus se han suavizado, también estamos deseando difundir mucho más todo lo que se sabe a raíz del proyecto ''.
Como parte de la ampliación del proyecto, Electreon aumentará la capacidad de sus receptores para transferir energía a unos 30 kW y examinará una nueva generación de su tecnología. Esto demostrará cómo la infraestructura de carga inalámbrica puede actualizarse para satisfacer las necesidades cambiantes a lo largo del tiempo. Electreon también implementará sus capacidades de software, como su función de facturación, la cual permite a la empresa facturar a los abonados de vehículos que utilizan el sistema eléctrico de carretera.
Una vez finalizada la actualización, el camión eléctrico de larga distancia y el autobús eléctrico comercial de pasajeros, que llevan un año utilizando la infraestructura de carga inalámbrica como parte de este proyecto, se someterán a pruebas continuas. El Instituto Nacional de Investigación de Carreteras y Transportes de Suecia ( VTI) realizará pruebas de resistencia y estrés por parte de terceros para verificar que la tecnología y las bobinas de carga de Electreon no se ven afectadas por la construcción de carreteras y el uso de camiones pesados. La tecnología de carga inalámbrica de Electreon está diseñada para estar preparada para el futuro, y este proyecto seguirá demostrando que Electreon ofrece un rendimiento a largo plazo con un mantenimiento mínimo. Actualmente se están realizando otras pruebas de resistencia de la tecnología de carga inalámbrica de Electreon por parte de terceros en el marco del proyecto BASt en Alemania y del proyecto Arena of the Future en Italia. | general |
The Worldwide Travel Vaccines Industry is Expected to Reach $ 10.7 Billion by 2027 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Travel Vaccines Market Research Report by Type ( Attenuated Vaccines, Conjugate Vaccines, and DNA Vaccines), Composite, Disease, Region ( Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19 '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Global Travel Vaccines Market size was estimated at USD 6,097.58 million in 2021, USD 6,694.43 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR) of 9.96% to reach USD 10,781.82 million by 2027.
Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict:
We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States.
This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.
This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Travel Vaccines market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response.
Competitive Strategic Window:
The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.
FPNV Positioning Matrix:
The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Travel Vaccines Market based on Business Strategy ( Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction ( Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.
Market Share Analysis:
The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.
The report answers questions such as:
1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Travel Vaccines Market?
2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Travel Vaccines Market during the forecast period?
3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Travel Vaccines Market?
4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Travel Vaccines Market?
5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Travel Vaccines Market?
6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Travel Vaccines Market?
7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Travel Vaccines Market?
Market Dynamics
Drivers
Restraints
Opportunities
Challenges | general |
K-12 School Districts and the Cybersecurity Challenge | After a longer-than-expected pandemic period, K-12 school districts are back in the classroom. Administrators and teachers are working to keep students healthy and learning, while IT teams are working to create a safe and operating online environment for students. Though the education industry is not the most targeted industry as it was back in 2020, K-12 schools are still a prime target for cybercriminals. After all, K-12 public schools are a $ 760 billion sector that serves more than 50 million students, and those students attend 130,930 schools within 13,598 different schools districts in states across the country.
At most school districts, IT teams handle all the technology functions at the schools and administrative buildings, including working on printers, laptops, security cameras, hardware, software, apps, multifactor authentication, insurance policy requirements, and the list goes on. And even though most IT teams do not include a dedicated cybersecurity expert, they are tasked with handling all cybersecurity issues.
As the cyber landscape evolves, IT teams like yours continue to face cybersecurity challenges including an expanded attack surface, significant cyber threats, and budget constraints.
Students from kindergarten to high school use numerous internet-connected devices for remote and in-classroom learning. Though these devices are beneficial to education, each device also can be a vulnerable point of entry for a cybercriminal. These potential entry points create an expanded attack surface, giving cybercriminals added opportunities to exploit data. IT teams need a means to monitor these entry points to protect the information of students, teachers, and administrators.
Over the past few years, K-12 schools have experienced frequent cyber threats from bad actors looking for money and personal information such as Social Security numbers. The identities of minor children are desirable because the theft can go undetected for years as most minors don’ t own bank accounts or credit cards.
Specifically, IT teams have been defending against ransomware, phishing, and distributed denial of service ( DDoS) attacks.
Ransomware attacks were launched on Broward County Public Schools in Florida, Athens Independent School District in Texas, and Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland, to name a few. In Broward County, attackers demanded a $ 40 million ransom and shut down the district’ s computer system. When the district was unable to pay the ransom, the attackers published nearly 26,000 stolen files, including mostly financial records and a few incidents of personal information. Following the attack, the school district’ s chief information officer requested $ 20 million for cybersecurity improvements.
IT teams have a hard time balancing educational resources with cybersecurity. In particular, low-income school districts with smaller budgets have fewer dollars to invest in cyber. For IT teams, this lack of funds affects everything from purchasing technology tools to hiring staff to providing cybersecurity awareness training for teachers and administrators.
Fortunately, the K-12 Cybersecurity Act was signed into law on Oct. 8, 2021. The legislation directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to conduct a review of vulnerabilities in schools across the country and provide resources to school districts for cybersecurity, helping IT teams protect students and teachers from cyberattacks. In addition, as part of the coronavirus rescue package, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund allocated $ 190.5 billion to K-12 schools, which can be used for cybersecurity investments.
Your IT team will continue to face challenges as you work to handle technology issues for the K-12 students, teachers, and administrators in your school district. But when it comes to cybersecurity, you don’ t have to go it alone. Learn how Pondurance can provide 360-degree visibility for your expanded attack surface, defend against frequent and costly cyberattacks, and help you stretch your budget. Learn more in our Education Services section.
Also — check out K12 Tech Talk, a podcast about IT issues and trends—including cybersecurity—in K12 schools.
The post K-12 School Districts and the Cybersecurity Challenge appeared first on Pondurance.
* * * This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog | Pondurance authored by Pondurance. Read the original post at: https: //www.pondurance.com/blog/k12-cybersecurity-challenges/ | general |
NANOBOTIX: New Preclinical Immunotherapy Data Show Boosted Anti-Tumor Immune Activation via Triple Blockade of PD-1, LAG-3, and TIGIT When Combined With Radiotherapy-Activated NBTXR3 | Data presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research
PARIS & CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Regulatory News:
NANOBOTIX ( Euronext: NANO –– NASDAQ: NBTX – the ‘ ‘ Company’’), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering physics-based approaches to expand treatment possibilities for patients with cancer, today announced new data from an open-label preclinical study evaluating the combination of first-in-class radioenhancer, NBTXR3, with the triple blockade of PD-1, LAG-3, and TIGIT ( “ Combination therapy ”). The data were published via E-Poster presentation at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research ( AACR), held April 8-13, 2022, by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ( MD Anderson).
“ We believe that the potential immune priming effect of radiotherapy-activated NBTXR3 could prove to be a game-changer for cancer immunotherapy, ” said Laurent Levy, co-founder and chairman of the executive board at Nanobiotix. “ Our view is that while new immunotherapy treatment modalities with the potential to improve outcomes for patients continue to emerge, they remain reliant upon an underlying immune response. This new preclinical gene expression data showing that the addition of NBTXR3 enhanced activity in key immune pathways associated with innate and adaptive immunity, and outperformed all other combinations in efficacy, survival, and induction of long-term anti-cancer memory, adds to a growing body of support for NBTXR3 as a product candidate that could potentially help expand the benefits of immunotherapy to larger share of the patients we serve. ”
PRECLINICAL DATA ON IMMUNOTHERAPY BLOCKADE PLUS RADIOTHERAPY-ACTIVATED NBTXR3
Previously reported preclinical and clinical data evaluating NBTXR3 in combination with diverse immune checkpoint inhibitors ( ICIs) including anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA-4, anti-LAG-3, and anti-TIGIT suggest that, after activation by radiotherapy, the radioenhancer may induce an “ immune priming ” effect that could help improve and expand the benefits of ICIs to more patients.
This new analysis, presented at AACR, assessed immune gene expression associated with multiple combinations of NBTXR3, anti-PD-1, anti-LAG-3, and anti-TIGIT.
Key Findings Include:
* * *
About NBTXR3 NBTXR3 is a novel, potentially first-in-class oncology product, composed of functionalized hafnium oxide nanoparticles that is administered via one-time intratumoral injection and activated by radiotherapy. The product candidate’ s physics-based mechanism of action ( MoA) is designed to induce significant tumor cell death in the injected tumor when activated by radiotherapy, subsequently triggering adaptive immune response and long-term anti-cancer memory. Given the MoA, Nanobiotix believes that NBTXR3 could be scalable across any solid tumor that can be treated with radiotherapy and across any therapeutic combination, particularly, with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
NBTXR3 is being evaluated in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ( HNSCC) as the primary development pathway. The company-sponsored phase I dose escalation and dose expansion study has produced favorable safety data and early signs of efficacy. In February 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted regulatory Fast Track designation for the investigation of NBTXR3 activated by radiation therapy, with or without cetuximab, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced HNSCC who are not eligible for platinum-based chemotherapy.
Nanobiotix has also prioritized an Immuno-Oncology development program—beginning with a Company sponsored phase I clinical study, evaluating NBTXR3 activated by radiotherapy in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors for patients with locoregional recurrent or recurrent/metastatic HNSCC and for patients with lung or liver metastases from any primary cancer eligible for anti-PD-1 therapy, either naïve or resistant to prior PD-1 ( either primary or secondary as per SITC criteria).
Given the Company’ s focus areas, and balanced against the scalable potential of NBTXR3, Nanobiotix has engaged in strategic collaborations to expand development of the product candidate in parallel with its priority development pathways. Pursuant to this strategy, in 2019 Nanobiotix entered into a broad, comprehensive clinical research collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to sponsor several phase I and phase II studies to evaluate NBTXR3 across tumor types and therapeutic combinations. In 2021, the Company entered into an additional strategic collaboration agreement with LianBio to support its global phase III study in Asia along with four future registrational studies.
About NANOBIOTIX Nanobiotix is a late-stage clinical biotechnology company pioneering disruptive, physics-based therapeutic approaches to revolutionize treatment outcomes for millions of patients; supported by people committed to making a difference for humanity. The company’ s philosophy is rooted in the concept of pushing past the boundaries of what is known to expand possibilities for human life.
Incorporated in 2003, Nanobiotix is headquartered in Paris, France. The company also has subsidiaries in Cambridge, Massachusetts ( United States), France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.
Nanobiotix has been listed on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris since 2012 and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in New York City since December 2020.
Nanobiotix is the owner of more than 30 umbrella patents associated with three ( 3) nanotechnology platforms with applications in 1) oncology; 2) bioavailability and biodistribution; and 3) disorders of the central nervous system. The company's resources are primarily devoted to the development of its lead product candidate– NBTXR3 —which is the product of its proprietary oncology platform and has already achieved market authorization in Europe for the treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcoma under the brand name Hensify®.
For more information about Nanobiotix, visit us at www.nanobiotix.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Disclaimer This press release contains certain “ forward-looking ” statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “ at this time, ” “ anticipate, ” “ believe, ” “ expect, ” “ intend, ” “ on track, ” “ plan, ” “ scheduled, ” and “ will, ” or the negative of these and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements, which are based on our management’ s current expectations and assumptions and on information currently available to management, include statements about the timing and progress of clinical trials, the timing of our presentation of data, the results of our preclinical and clinical studies and their potential implications. Such forward-looking statements are made in light of information currently available to us and based on assumptions that Nanobiotix considers to be reasonable. However, these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the risk that subsequent studies and ongoing or future clinical trials may not generate favorable data notwithstanding positive early clinical results and the risks associated with the evolving nature of the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental and regulatory measures implemented in response to it. Furthermore, many other important factors, including those described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( the SEC) on April 8, 2022 under “ Item 3.D. Risk Factors ” and those set forth in the universal registration document of Nanobiotix filed with the French Financial Markets Authority ( Autorité des Marchés Financiers – the AMF) on April 8, 2022, each as updated in our Half-Year Financial Report filed with the AMF and the SEC on September 8, 2021 ( a copy of which is available on www.nanobiotix.com), as well as other known and unknown risks and uncertainties may adversely affect such forward-looking statements and cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
Nanobiotix Communications Department Brandon Owens VP, Communications +1 ( 617) 852-4835 contact @ nanobiotix.com
Investor Relations Department Kate McNeil SVP, Investor Relations +1 ( 609) 678-7388 investors @ nanobiotix.com | general |
Global Polyamide Resin Market to 2026 - Trends, Opportunities and Competitive Analysis - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Polyamide Resin Market: Trends, Opportunities and Competitive Analysis '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The future of the global polyamide resin market looks promising with opportunities in transportation, consumer goods, and electrical & electronics applications.
The global polyamide resin market is expected to decline in 2020 due to global economic recession led by COVID-19 However, the market will witness recovery in the year 2021, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2021 to 2026. The major drivers for this market are increasing use of lightweight, high temperature thermoplastics in under-hood applications and the replacement of metals with polyamide resin based composites in various end use applications.
Emerging trends, which have a direct impact on the dynamics of the polyamide resin industry, includes increasing use of post-consumer recycled polyamide resins, increasing importance of bio based resins for various applications, and increasing inter-material competition.
A total of 104 figures/charts and 78 tables are provided in this 157-page report to help in your business decisions. To learn the scope of benefits, companies researched, and other details of the global polyamide resin market report, then you should read this report.
The study includes trends and forecast for the global polyamide resin market by end use application, resin type, product type, and region.
This report answers the following 11 key questions
Q.1 What are some of the most promising potential, high-growth opportunities for the global polyamide resin market as end use application ( transportation, consumer goods, electrical & electronics, and others), resin type ( polyamide6, polyamide66, polyamide46, and others), product type ( short fiber reinforced thermoplastic ( SFT), long fiber reinforced thermoplastic ( LFT), and continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic ( CFT)), and region ( North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World)?
Q.2 Which segments will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.3 Which regions will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.4 What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the drivers and challenges of the global polyamide resin market?
Q.5 What are the business risks and threats to the global polyamide resin market?
Q.6 What are emerging trends in this global polyamide resin market and the reasons behind them?
Q.7 What are some changing demands of customers in the global polyamide resin market?
Q.8 What are the new developments in the global polyamide resin market? Which companies are leading these developments?
Q.9 Who are the major players in the global polyamide resin market? What strategic initiatives are being implemented by key players for business growth?
Q.10 What are some of the competitive products and processes in the global polyamide resin market, and how big of a threat do they pose for loss of market share via material or product substitution?
Q.11 What M & A activities did take place in the last five years in the global polyamide resin market?
Key Topics Covered:
1. Executive Summary
2. Market Background and Classifications
3. Market Trends and Forecast Analysis from 2015 to 2026
3.1: Macroeconomic Trends and Forecasts
3.1.1: Macroeconomic Trends
3.1.2: Macroeconomic Forecast
3.2: Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry Trends and Forecast
3.3: Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by End Use Application
3.3.1: Transportation
3.3.2: Consumer Goods
3.3.3: E & E
3.3.4: Others
3.4: Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by Resin Type
3.5: Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by Product Type
4. Market Trends and Forecast Analysis from 2015 to 2026
4.1: Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by Region
4.2: Polyamide Resin in the North America Composites Industry Trends and Forecast
4.3: Polyamide Resin in the European Composites Industry Trends and Forecast
4.4: Polyamide Resin in the APAC & ROW Composites Industry Trends and Forecast
5. Competitor Analysis
5.1: Product Portfolio Analysis
5.2: Geographical Reach
5.3: Operational Integration
5.4: Porter's Five Forces Analysis
6. Growth Opportunities and Strategic Analysis
6.1: Growth Opportunity Analysis
6.1.1: Growth Opportunities for Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by Product Form
6.1.2: Growth Opportunities for Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by Product Form
6.1.3: Growth Opportunities for Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry by Region
6.2: Emerging Trend in the Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry
6.3: Strategic Analysis
6.3.1: New Product Development
6.3.2: Capacity Expansion of the Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry
6.3.3: Mergers, Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures in the Polyamide Resin in the Global Composites Industry
6.3.4: Certification and Licensing
7. Competitor Analysis
7.1: BASF SE
7.2: DSM ( Covestro) | general |
Fortune Names Splunk to the 100 Best Companies to Work For List for the Second Consecutive Year | Data Platform Leader Recognized for its Culture, Transparency and Diversity
SAN FRANCISCO -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Splunk Inc. ( NASDAQ: SPLK), the data platform leader for security and observability, today announced it has been named one of Fortune’ s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022. This marks the second consecutive year Splunk has been recognized for fostering a culture that promotes growth, transparency and diversity – creating a great workplace for all.
“ It’ s an honor to be recognized by Fortune’ s Best Companies to Work For, especially as our world continues to experience some of the most significant business and societal shifts of our lifetime, ” said Kristen Robinson, Chief People Officer, Splunk. “ We are dedicated to providing our Splunkers and community with the support they need to thrive personally and professionally. This includes fostering a culture where our Splunkers feel appreciated, empowered, and are able to bring their best selves to work every day. By doing so, we can empower not only our people, but our customers for success. ”
Splunk earned its spot for driving initiatives that promote wellbeing and support a healthy, connected and flexible work environment. Splunk recently introduced Spark, a holistic wellbeing program designed to help Splunkers live a physically energized, emotionally resilient, mentally focused and purpose-driven life. Included in Spark is a global reimbursement program that gives employees the opportunity to choose various services and activities to improve their overall health and wellbeing.
“ Best Companies’ leadership has never been more necessary, ” said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work®. “ As workers struggle with the Great Resignation, burnout and covid disruptions, these exceptional companies offer workplace experiences as strong as prior to the pandemic. These companies get that 'place ' is wherever their employees are sitting or standing, and they are committed to make that place equitable, safe and productive. Their commitment to genuinely care for their people through trust, inclusion, purpose and meaningful flexibility for life circumstances goes beyond surface-level perks and is a model for the market to follow. ”
To determine this highly prestigious award, Fortune partnered with Great Place to Work® to analyze and rank the employee experience at companies across the U.S. For this year’ s list, over 4.5 million current U.S. employees shared their feedback on topics spanning company values, leaders’ effectiveness, diversity and overall respect with which people are treated.
To learn more about how Fortune’ s 100 Best Companies to Work For are selected, please visit: https: //fortune.com/franchise-list-page/best-companies-2022-methodology. For more information on Splunk’ s career opportunities and culture, please visit https: //www.splunk.com/en us/careers/working-at-splunk.html.
About Splunk Inc. | general |
Ventas Mails Letter to Shareholders Highlighting Highly Qualified Board Overseeing Superior Long-Term Shareholder Returns | Urges Shareholders to Vote “ FOR ALL ” of Ventas’ s Experienced Directors on the WHITE Proxy Card
( Graphic: Business Wire)
( Graphic: Business Wire)
( Graphic: Business Wire)
( Graphic: Business Wire)
CHICAGO -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ventas, Inc. ( NYSE: VTR) ( “ Ventas ” or the “ Company ”) today announced that it has mailed a letter to shareholders in connection with its 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is scheduled to be held virtually on April 27, 2022. The letter urges shareholders to vote the WHITE proxy card “ FOR ALL ” of Ventas’ s highly qualified directors. Shareholders of record as of March 21, 2022, are entitled to vote.
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear Fellow Shareholder,
As Ventas’ s 2022 Annual Meeting approaches, you have an important decision to make regarding the composition of your Board of Directors. We ask you to support Ventas’ s highly qualified Board by voting today “ FOR ALL ” on the enclosed WHITE proxy card.
The Ventas Board has a long track record of acting in the best interest of all shareholders and driving sustainable value and has:
As a result, we have excellent positive momentum at Ventas and the right Board to oversee our continued progress. The Ventas Board has overseen exceptional long-term annualized TSR of over 20% since December 31, 1999, significantly outperforming the FTSE Nareit Equity Health Care Index’ s 14%, MSCI US REIT Index’ s 11% and S & P 500’ s 7%. Year-to-date through March 25, Ventas has delivered TSR of 23%, the highest of the 16 constituents in the FTSE Nareit Equity Health Care Index and well in excess of other key benchmarks.
However, Land & Buildings, a shareholder that owns approximately 0.2% of the Company’ s outstanding shares, recently launched a proxy contest by nominating its founder and Chief Investment Officer, Jonathan Litt, to replace a Ventas director on your Board. Our Board evaluated Mr. Litt’ s candidacy as part of our ongoing refreshment process and determined that he is not qualified to serve as a director on the Ventas Board. Land & Buildings’ solicitation materials contain many errors and disingenuous statements; the Company’ s publicly available materials have addressed many of these.
THE VENTAS BOARD IS DIVERSE, REFRESHED, INDEPENDENT AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED
At Ventas, we work diligently to ensure your Board is strong, diverse and thoughtfully refreshed and has skill sets uniquely suited to oversee the Company’ s business. The fresh perspectives we gain by adding highly qualified new Board members are complemented by the continuity of institutional knowledge provided by Ventas’ s longer-tenured directors. We believe our thoughtful and balanced approach to Board refreshment has been instrumental in helping the Company navigate industry and business cycles, make thoughtful, forward-thinking capital allocation decisions and manage through risks and challenges.
Over the last three years, the Board has appointed four new independent directors, further increasing its diversity based on race, gender and experience.
Your Board has nominated 11 directors for election at the 2022 Annual Meeting that collectively bring the right backgrounds and skills to drive Ventas forward with significant leadership, institutional investment, financial and operating experience. Land & Buildings is attempting to remove your Independent Presiding Director, James D. Shelton, from the Board. Mr. Shelton has extensive experience as a public company CEO and business leader with a track record of value creation in the healthcare industry:
Relevant Healthcare Experience and Track Record of Value Creation
Omnicare – served as Non-executive Chairman of the Board from 2010-2015
Triad Hospitals – served as Chairman and CEO from 1999 until its sale in 2007
Significant Contributions to Ventas
Ventas continues to benefit from Mr. Shelton’ s leadership, institutional knowledge of the Company and healthcare expertise, which are essential to our continued success and are all skills or experiences that Mr. Litt lacks.
THE VENTAS BOARD AND MANAGEMENT HAVE A STRONG TRACK RECORD OF SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND INCORPORATING FEEDBACK
Robust, Multi-Year Board-Led Shareholder Engagement Program:
Recent Enhancements Implemented Following Shareholder Feedback:
THE VENTAS BOARD CONTINUED ITS CONSISTENT SKILL-BASED REFRESHMENT PROCESS WITH THE RECENT APPOINTMENT OF MICHAEL EMBLER
Our most recent Board refreshment process, driven by a clear set of criteria based on Ventas’ s current and future needs and conducted with the assistance of Korn Ferry, featured consideration of more than 20 candidates, with six candidates reaching the Board-managed interview stage. Land & Buildings’ candidate, Mr. Litt, was interviewed by the Board as part of this process. Ultimately, the Ventas Board appointed Mr. Embler to the Board. Mr. Embler is the former Chief Investment Officer of Franklin Mutual Advisers, current director of American Airlines, and former director of Kindred Healthcare ( one of Ventas’ s largest tenants that specializes in long term acute care hospitals and other healthcare facilities, now known as Scion Health).
Land & Buildings has not proposed any substantive ideas for Ventas, and all of its criticisms are being addressed by Ventas’ s proactive and engaged Board and management team. Land & Buildings has also contradicted itself in its materials and criticism of Ventas’ s capital allocation, commending the Company’ s “ superior, better positioned portfolio ”, which can only be the result of Ventas’ s long track record of successfully deploying capital. Indeed, Land & Buildings’ self-interested proxy contest is singularly focused on Mr. Litt’ s personal agenda.
Your Board’ s nominees are best qualified with the expertise and leadership to execute the Company’ s strategy, capture meaningful upside in the senior housing recovery and drive growth and sustainable value creation.
We look forward to continuing to engage with you and appreciate your support.
Sincerely,
The Ventas Board of Directors
Advisors
Centerview Partners LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal counsel, to the Company.
About Ventas
Ventas Inc., an S & P 500 company, operates at the intersection of two large and dynamic industries – healthcare and real estate. Fueled by powerful demographic demand from growth in the aging population, Ventas owns a diversified portfolio of over 1,200 properties in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Ventas uses the power of its capital to unlock the value of senior living communities; life science, research & innovation properties; medical office & outpatient facilities, hospitals and other healthcare real estate. A globally-recognized real estate investment trust, Ventas follows a successful long-term strategy, proven over more than 20 years, built on diversification of property types, capital sources and industry leading partners, financial strength and flexibility, consistent and reliable growth and industry leading ESG achievements, managed by a collaborative and experienced team dedicated to its stakeholders.
Cautionary Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies, anticipated results from operations and developments and other matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our and our officers’ intent, belief or expectation as identified by the use of words such as “ may, ” “ will, ” “ project, ” “ expect, ” “ believe, ” “ intend, ” “ anticipate, ” “ seek, ” “ target, ” “ forecast, ” “ plan, ” “ potential, ” “ opportunity, ” “ estimate, ” “ could, ” “ would, ” “ should ” and other comparable and derivative terms or the negatives thereof.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’ s beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events. You should not put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake a duty to update these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. You are urged to carefully review the disclosures we make concerning risks and uncertainties that may affect our business and future financial performance in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( “ SEC ”), including those made in the “ Summary Risk Factors ” section, “ Risk Factors ” section and “ Management’ s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ” section of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Certain factors that could affect our future results and our ability to achieve our stated goals include, but are not limited to: ( a) the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its extended consequences, including of the Delta, Omicron or any other variant, on our revenue, level of profitability, liquidity and overall risk exposure and the implementation and impact of regulations related to the CARES Act and other stimulus legislation and any future COVID-19 relief measures; ( b) our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits and synergies from, and effectively integrate, our acquisitions and investments, including our acquisition of New Senior Investment Group Inc.; ( c) our exposure and the exposure of our tenants, managers and borrowers to complex healthcare and other regulation and the challenges and expense associated with complying with such regulation; ( d) the potential for significant general and commercial claims, legal actions, regulatory proceedings or enforcement actions that could subject us or our tenants, managers or borrowers to increased operating costs and uninsured liabilities; ( e) the impact of market and general economic conditions, including economic and financial market events, inflation, change in interest rates, supply chain pressures, events that affect consumer confidence, our occupancy rates and resident fee revenues, and the actual and perceived state of the real estate markets, labor markets and public capital markets; ( f) our ability, and the ability of our tenants, managers and borrowers, to navigate the trends impacting our or their businesses and the industries in which we or they operate; ( g) the risk of bankruptcy, insolvency or financial deterioration of our tenants, managers borrowers, and other obligors and our ability to foreclose successfully on the collateral securing our loans and other investments in the event of a borrower default; ( h) our ability to identify and consummate future investments in or dispositions of healthcare assets and effectively manage our portfolio opportunities and our investments in co-investment vehicles, joint ventures and minority interests; ( i) risks related to development, redevelopment and construction projects; ( j) our ability to attract and retain talented employees; ( k) the limitations and significant requirements imposed upon our business as a result of our status as a REIT and the adverse consequences ( including the possible loss of our status as a REIT) that would result if we are not able to comply; ( l) the risk of changes in healthcare law or regulation or in tax laws, guidance and interpretations, particularly as applied to REITs, that could adversely affect us or our tenants, managers or borrowers; ( m) increases in our borrowing costs as a result of becoming more leveraged or as a result of changes in interest rates and phasing out of LIBOR rates; ( n) our reliance on third parties to operate a majority of our assets and our limited control and influence over such operations and results; ( o) our dependency on a limited number of tenants and managers for a significant portion of our revenues and operating income; ( p) the adequacy of insurance coverage provided by our policies and policies maintained by our tenants, managers or other counterparties; ( q) the occurrence of cyber incidents that could disrupt our operations, result in the loss of confidential information or damage our business relationships and reputation; ( r) the impact of merger, acquisition and investment activity in the healthcare industry or otherwise affecting our tenants, managers or borrowers; and ( s) the risk of catastrophic or extreme weather and other natural events and the physical effects of climate change. | general |
European Wax Center, Inc. Announces Special Cash Dividend | April 11, 2022 17:51 ET | Source: European Wax Center, Inc. European Wax Center, Inc.
PLANO, Texas, April 11, 2022 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- European Wax Center, Inc. ( NASDAQ: EWCZ), the largest and fastest-growing franchisor and operator of out-of-home waxing services in the United States, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a special cash dividend of $ 3.30 per share to holders of Class A common stock and equivalent payments to unit holders of EWC Ventures, LLC funded in part by its completed whole business securitization, which included $ 400 million of senior fixed-rate term notes.
David Berg, Chief Executive Officer of European Wax Center Inc., stated: “ Today’ s transaction underscores the strength of our business, including the recurring nature of our service model that generates strong free cash flow with an asset-light balance sheet. We are in a unique position to continue to fuel our growth while also identifying opportunities to return capital to all European Wax Center shareholders. Going forward, we will continue to optimize our balance sheet to unlock value embedded within the business. ”
The special cash dividend will be paid on May 6, 2022 to shareholders of record as of April 22, 2022. The ex-dividend date will be April 21, 2022. Shareholders who sell their shares prior to the April 21, 2022 ex-dividend date will also be selling their right to receive the special dividend.
Additional details can be found in the Company’ s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 11, 2022.
European Wax Center, Inc. ( NASDAQ: EWCZ) is the largest and fastest-growing franchisor and operator of out-of-home waxing services in the United States providing guests with an unparalleled, professional personal care experience administered by highly trained wax specialists within the privacy of clean, individual waxing suites. European Wax Center, Inc. continues to revolutionize the waxing industry with its innovative Comfort Wax formulated with the highest quality ingredients to make waxing a more efficient and relatively painless experience. Delivering a 360-degree guest experience, it also offers a collection of proprietary products to help enhance and extend waxing results. Founded in 2004, European Wax Center, Inc. is headquartered in Plano, Texas. Its network includes 853 centers in 44 states as of December 25, 2021. For more information, including how to receive your first wax free, please visit: https: //waxcenter.com.
Investor Contacts: Amir Yeganehjoo Amir.Yeganehjoo @ myewc.com 469-217-7486
Bethany JohnsBethany.Johns @ myewc.com 469-270-6888
Media Contact: Creative Media Marketing Meredith Needle Ewc @ cmmpr.com 212-979-8884
This press release includes “ forward-looking statements ” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements regarding the planned one-time special dividend to stockholders. Words including “ anticipate, ” “ believe, ” “ continue, ” “ could ” “ estimate, ” “ expect, ” “ intend, ” “ may, ” “ might, ” “ plan, ” “ potential, ” “ predict, ” “ project, ” “ seek, ” “ should, ” “ will, ” or “ would, ” or, in each case, the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking.
These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause the Company’ s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: potential future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including from variants thereof; the operational and financial results of its franchisees; the ability of its franchisees to enter new markets, select appropriate sites for new centers or open new centers; the effectiveness of the Company’ s marketing and advertising programs and the active participation of franchisees in enhancing the value of its brand; the failure of its franchisees to participate in and comply with its agreements, business model and policies; the Company’ s and its franchisees’ ability to attract and retain guests; the effect of social media on the Company’ s reputation; the Company’ s ability to compete with other industry participants and respond to market trends and changes in consumer preferences; the effect of the Company’ s planned growth on its managements, employees, information systems and internal controls; a significant failure, interruptions or security breach of the Company’ s computer systems or information technology; the Company and its franchisees’ ability to attract, train, and retain talented wax specialists and managers; changes in the availability or cost of labor; the Company’ s ability to retain its franchisees and to maintain the quality of existing franchisees; failure of the Company’ s franchisees to implement business development plans; the ability of the Company’ s limited key suppliers, including international suppliers, and distribution centers to deliver its products; changes in supply costs and decreases in the Company’ s product sourcing revenue; the Company’ s ability to adequately protect its intellectual property; the impact of paying some of the Company’ s pre-IPO owners for certain tax benefits it may claim; changes in general economic and business conditions; the Company’ s and its franchisees’ ability to comply with existing and future health, employment and other governmental regulations; complaints or litigation that may adversely affect the Company’ s business and reputation; the seasonality of the Company’ s business resulting in fluctuations in its results of operations; the impact of global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company’ s operations and financial performance; the impact of rising interest rates on the Company’ s business; the Company’ s access to sources of liquidity and capital to finance its continued operations and growth strategy and the planned one-time special dividend to stockholders and the other important factors discussed under the caption “ Risk Factors ” in the Company’ s Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( the “ SEC ”), as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC accessible on the SEC’ s website at www.sec.gov and Investors Relations section of the Company’ s website at www.waxcenter.com, including the Company’ s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 25, 2021.
These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any forward-looking statement that the Company makes in this press release speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as required by law, the Company does not have any obligation to update or revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. | general |
Global Medical Laser System Market Research Report to 2027 - Featuring Alcon Laboratories, Biolase and Lumenis Among Others - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Medical Laser System Market Research Report by Product ( Diode Lasers Systems, Dye Lasers Systems, and Gas Lasers), Application, Region ( Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19 '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Global Medical Laser System Market size was estimated at USD 4,436.10 million in 2021, USD 5,010.81 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR) of 13.13% to reach USD 9,300.88 million by 2027.
Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict:
We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States.
This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.
This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Medical Laser System market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response.
Competitive Strategic Window:
The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.
FPNV Positioning Matrix:
The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Medical Laser System Market based on Business Strategy ( Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction ( Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.
Market Share Analysis:
The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.
The report answers questions such as:
1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Medical Laser System Market?
2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Medical Laser System Market during the forecast period?
3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Medical Laser System Market?
4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Medical Laser System Market?
5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Medical Laser System Market?
6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Medical Laser System Market?
7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Medical Laser System Market?
Market Dynamics
Drivers
Restraints
Opportunities
Challenges | general |
Is the Future of Food Plant-Based? Beyond Meat Versus Tyson Foods | Beyond Meat faces ESG risk, but shares look attractive.
As the world wrestles with rising temperatures and ongoing climate change, part of the solution may lie with our diets. Substituting plant-based alternatives for beef, chicken, and other meats could accelerate the world’ s decarbonization journey.
We can debate the taste and texture of a Beyond Burger versus a juicy steak, but plant-based proteins generate nearly 90% fewer greenhouse emissions, use 90% -plus less land, and consume anywhere from 87% to 99% less water than their meat-based counterparts. These reductions are meaningful. Meat production generates up to 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions, uses 26% of all ice-free land ( with industry growth causing further deforestation), and uses 23% of the world's freshwater footprint.
Yet plant-based food companies may come with greater risks for investors, at least if you consider the case of Tyson Foods ( TSN) and Beyond Meat ( BYND). Tyson is one of the world’ s largest meat processors, selling $ 10 billion of beef, pork, and chicken products in 2021, not including $ 2 billion-plus of processed foods under such brands as Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, and Ball Park. Beyond Meat is the popular purveyor of meat substitutes such as burgers and vegan chicken; last year, it sold $ 465 million of vegan meat substitute. But Beyond Meat nets a Severe ESG Risk Rating score from Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company that provides sustainability research. This is one notch greater than Tyson’ s High designation. What gives?
In addition to environmental concerns, the meat-processing industry has been beset by price-fixing litigation, tariff wars, and consumer health concerns. The coronavirus pandemic intensified this pressure, with headlines of significant worker illness, and production disruptions that led to product shortages and steep inflation.
Against this challenging backdrop, Tyson hasn’ t covered itself in glory. On top of the industrywide issues, the company has faced allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment, and improper employee compensation, while the US Department of Labor’ s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined the company repeatedly for failing to maintain and enforce safety requirements. Given these headlines, it’ s no wonder that Sustainalytics rates Tyson as having High ESG ( environmental, social and governance) Risk, and is cited by our equity research team as facing several specific ESG risks related to business ethics and human capital, which weigh on our valuation, moat rating, and uncertainty rating.
On the other hand, Sustainalytics assigns Beyond Meat an even worse rating of Severe ESG Risk. At first blush, this may seem counter-intuitive given Beyond Meat’ s positive environmental image. But it serves as a good reminder of what ESG Risk Ratings are designed to do. Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Rating measures only risk, using publicly available information, and not potential positive attributes from societal impact.
This risk assessment measures both a company’ s exposure to material ESG issues, and how it manages them. The primary difference between the ratings for Beyond Meat and Tyson stems from how the two companies manage their ESG risks. Sustainalytics reckons that Tyson actually faces greater ESG risk exposure than Beyond Meat. But Sustainalytics also rewards Tyson’ s management for its strong whistleblower program and efforts to revisit its compliance systems, alongside average or even strong management across several other material ESG issues, including product governance, resource use, and land use. And in terms of human capital, Tyson has made an effort to address concerns. It has invested in higher wages; flexible schedules; on-site healthcare; affinity groups; initiatives to recruit, retain, and promote minorities; and is piloting childcare. These initiatives have already led to improved employee retention, and we expect them to also help Tyson attract employees in the current market, which has severe labor shortages.
Conversely, Sustainalytics is less impressed by Beyond Meat’ s management of its key ESG risks. In particular, a lack of disclosure related to product quality and safety -- deemed to be its most critical ESG issue -- calls into question Beyond Meat’ s commitment to managing this risk. Per Sustainalytics, the company lacks a suitable product and service safety program, including policy commitments, public reporting, and disclosures around regular employee training. Beyond Meat also lacks disclosure around a number of policies and programs for its suppliers, including deforestation, human rights, and sustainable agriculture programs such as the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which risk damaging soil health and endangering biodiversity.
Not so fast. ESG concerns need to be considered alongside all risks and opportunities a company faces. In addition, a prospective investor should contemplate the likelihood that these risks may occur, and how much that might affect a stock’ s valuation. To this end, while our equity research analyst Rebecca Scheuneman acknowledges the lack of disclosure at Beyond Meat as a risk, she separately estimates that Tyson’ s high degree of ESG risks need to be counted heavily against its valuation. Meanwhile, we expect Beyond Meat to enjoy solid growth -- with revenue climbing 24% annually, on average, over the next decade -- as consumers adjust their own behavior to align with greater sustainability. In this way, Beyond Meat should be a growth story built on positive ESG opportunities.
Moreover, the prevailing market price at any time must also be a critical input into determining whether a stock is worthy of long-term investment. In this case, our equity analyst's 3-star rating for Tyson, which recently traded at $ 88.35, suggests that the market is pricing Tyson’ s high ESG risk appropriately. On the other hand, despite Beyond Meat’ s disclosure issues, a lower degree of valuation-related ESG concerns and offsetting growth opportunities for Beyond Meat are being overlooked by investors. At $ 50.58, Beyond Meat has garnered a 5-star rating.
ESG Risk Ratings are dynamic, and should be expected to change as new information comes to light. For instance, Beyond Meat recently created an ESG committee, and conducted carbon emissions and water quality assessments. We could see additional data disclosed that may give us more comfort on the firm’ s management of its relevant risks.
In all, while ESG considerations are important for a wide range of companies, context is critical. We view ESG risk analysis as essential to the investment process, but it should be integrated alongside the assessment of any other risks and opportunities. As such, the combined use of Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Rating with Morningstar’ s economic moat rating, uncertainty rating, and fair value estimate can be a solid screening tool when identifying potential long-term investments. Lists such as our Wide-Moat & Undervalued Stocks provide additional starting points for further analysis.
Adam Fleck does not own ( actual or beneficial) shares in any of the securities mentioned above. Find out about Morningstar’ s editorial policies.
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Pandemic Two Years On: The Security Challenge of Hybrid Working | Two years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic forced millions of workers across the globe into remote working and turned the way we work on its head. Prior to the pandemic, flexible or remote working arrangements had been the exception in most organisations – yet overnight it became the norm.
Since then, you couldn’ t move for endless ( and varied) commentary about the ‘ future of work’ – with predictions ranging from the complete abolition of offices, collapse of co-working spaces through to the return of full time office presence. Two years on and we’ ve settled on a more middle ground – hybrid work.
As lockdown restrictions ease across the globe, we’ ve witnessed many different approaches to hybrid working – whether a formal company policy, or a ‘ choose how you work’ model. However, no matter the approach, one thing remains clear – flexibility is here to stay.
There have been many studies that reinforce this – and all of them put the onus on the employer. Global research from The Adecco Group found that 40% of workers are considering moving to jobs with more flexible options, 80% of employees said they’ d be more loyal to their employer if they provided flexible working options according to Flexjobs, and the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey found that 43% said that flexible working hours helped them be more productive.
The benefits of a more hybrid model of working is therefore clear and resound – yet, as with any new trend, it brings with it a fresh and unique set of challenges from a security perspective.
IoT devices continue to grow in popularity – whether it’ s smart assistants, fridges, doorbells, or thermostats. While they seem unconnected to working life, these devices create more entry points for cyber criminals. If a cybercriminal can hack a smart device ( which aren’ t always designed with safety in mind), they gain entry to any other device on the same network – including corporate devices. Luckily, many manufacturers are now taking IoT security a lot more seriously and adopting a security by design approach. For consumers, device security starts and ends with the router, and recent research which revealed that one in 16 home Wi-Fi routers still supports the manufacturer’ s default admin password should be a cause for concern.
To mitigate against insecure home networks and devices pre-pandemic, many organizations would have systems in place to secure corporate devices outside of the office. However, many of these legacy on-premises solutions were not designed to accommodate for large numbers of personnel working remotely – nor were Enterprise VPN services. While this presented an initial scalability challenge when lockdowns were first enforced, this continues to be of vital importance. Whether at home or in the office, employees need secure access to company files and applications, and most organisations are turning to cloud access management and authentication solutions. This has increased the speed at which operations and security technologies are being moved to the cloud, and the need for trusted cloud environments.
Remote working doesn’ t just mean home working. The rise of ‘ third spaces’ is a trend to be aware of – whereby workers are flocking to cafes, libraries and even pubs. Those that flock to these locations, often when offices aren’ t open or available to them, claim they get a buzz and sense of community that they just can’ t get when working from home. However, despite the productivity gains – it could be opening up company data to a whole host of risks.
A lot of these environments have open and public Wi-Fi networks. These networks are easy and convenient for those looking to log on, however they carry risks. Any device connected to public Wi-Fi is visible to anyone else on the network. Organisations might not be a position to dictate where an employee works when they are remote, but provision of VPNs, multi-factor authentication, access management solutions and education on the risks of public Wi-Fi is encouraged in this new hybrid working era.
The pandemic forced us all to change how we collaborate. You could no longer walk over to a teammate to discuss feedback on a piece of work, or head into a meeting room to talk about company confidential updates; everything had to take place virtually. Tools like Zoom, Slack and Asana are just a handful of the tools businesses turned to day to day collaboration, and we’ ve previously discussed the growth of consumer platforms being used for messaging and collaborating. The danger with some of these tools – many are not secure and are prime targets for cyber-attacks. This informative article from TechTarget provides an in-depth overview on collaboration tool security.
As the lines between home and working environments started to blur – so did attitudes to corporate device security. There are many studies on this, but one that caught our attention was this one from Avast which found that, a third of SMBs in the UK are connecting to corporate networks using personal devices that do not have any security controls in place. Over a quarter of employees admitted that they had connected a personal computer to a company network, and 15% had connected a personal smartphone. Of those who did this, many didn’ t get permission to do so.
People don’ t do this because they don’ t care about security but rather they’ re just looking to do their jobs with the tools at their disposal. Home working has made logistics for getting corporate IT and mobile devices to employees more complicated. It’ s of paramount importance that employees’ connection is
reliable and easy to set up even in a complex logistics context. This way they can connect their devices easily and securely when they first turn them on.
Our recent Data Threat Report revealed that navigating these various challenges continues to plague businesses. After two full years since the pandemic started, 79% are still concerned about the security risks and threats that posed by remote working.
Flexible working will continue to dominate, as will the security risks that come with it.
* * * This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Enterprise Security Archives - Thales blog authored by Danna Bethlehem. Read the original post at: https: //dis-blog.thalesgroup.com/security/2022/04/11/pandemic-two-years-on-the-security-challenge-of-hybrid-working/ | general |
Antiemetics and Antinauseants Global Market Report 2022 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | DUBLIN -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- The `` Antiemetics And Antinauseants Global Market Report 2022, Drug, Application, End Users '' report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global antiemetics and antinauseants market is expected to grow from $ 7.23 billion in 2021 to $ 7.71 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR) of 6.5%. The market is expected to reach $ 9.29 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 4.8%.
Major players in the antiemetics and antinauseants market are Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck, Eisai, Bristol-Myers Squibb and SRS Pharmaceuticals.
The antiemetics and antinauseants market consists of sale of antiemetic and antinauseant drugs and related services. Antiemetic and antinauseant drugs prevent, control or treat, nausea and vomiting caused in general or by other medications, frequent motion sickness, infections, stomach flu or chemotherapy. These drugs block signal messages to the part of the brain that controls nausea and vomiting thus reducing the symptoms of nausea or vomiting.
The main types of drugs in antiemetics and antinauseants are dopamine antagonists, nk1 receptor antagonist, antihistamines ( h1 histamine receptor antagonists), cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, anticholinergics, steroids, 5-ht3 receptor antagonists and others. A dopamine antagonist, also referred as an anti-dopaminergic or a dopamine receptor antagonist, is a medication that works by blocking dopamine receptors. It is used in chemotherapy, motion sickness, gastroenteritis, general anaesthetics, opioid analgesics, dizziness, pregnancy, food poisoning, emotional stress, others and implemented in various sectors such as hospital, medical center, clinic, research institutes.
North America was the largest region in the drugs for antiemetics and antinauseants market in 2021. Middle East is expected to be the fastest growing region. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.
The antiemetics and antinauseants market is driven by the increase in the prevalence rate of cancer. Chemotherapy is one of the most recommended treatment to cure cancer, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting ( CINV) are some of the side effects of the treatment. Antiemetics can help prevent CINV in about 60% -70% of patients. According to the WHO reports, the incidence of cancer globally has risen to 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths.
According to another report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 650,000 cancer patients in the USA receive chemotherapy in an outpatient oncology clinic each year. The CINV caused by chemotherapy treatments is cured by using antiemetic and antinauseant drugs like Dolasetron ( Anzemet), Ranitidine ( Zantac) and other serotonin 5-HT3 receptor types of antagonists. Increase in the incidence of cancer will increase demand for antiemetics and antinauseants, thereby driving revenue for market.
Lack of awareness about the variety of antiemetic and antinauseant drugs that are available in the market among the practitioners restrains the market. Despite the presence of a range of drugs, the practitioners prescribe the similar drugs to treat patients with different conditions of nausea.
Popularity of only a few drugs leads to lower the demand of other drugs and thus restricts the overall growth of this market. For example, the American Society of Clinical Oncology released its first guideline in the 'Choosing Wisely ' ( CW) campaign to prevent and discourage the overuse of expensive and similar kind of antiemetic drugs for all ailments.
Manufacturers are exploiting nanotechnology in the antiemetics and antinauseants market to deliver therapeutic agents to specific targeted sites in a controlled manner through Nano medicine and Nano delivery systems. Nano medicine is the medical application of nanotechnology which uses nanoparticles to enhance the action of the drug in treatment and nanotechnology is the design, characterization, production, and application of devices, structures and systems by controlled manipulation of size and shape at the nanometer scale. The antiemetic and antinauseant drugs manufacturers are inclining more towards the use of Nano medicine or Nano drug to make the drug effective and increase their revenues.
The antiemetics and antinauseants market is regulated by government agencies such as US Food and Drug Administration. In the USA, title 21 of Food and Drug Administration department of health and human services, U.S., part 336, contains conditions that all the Antiemetic and Antinauseant drugs are required to fulfill in order to remain in the market such as definition, regulations, and regulations related to labeling of the antiemetic drug products.
Key Topics Covered:
1. Executive Summary
2. Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market Characteristics
3. Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market Trends And Strategies
4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Antiemetics And Antinauseants
5. Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market Size And Growth
5.1. Global Antiemetics And Antinauseants Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion
5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market
5.1.2. Restraints On The Market
5.2. Global Antiemetics And Antinauseants Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market
5.2.2. Restraints On the Market
6. Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market Segmentation
6.1. Global Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market, Segmentation By Drug, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
6.2. Global Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market, Segmentation By Application, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
6.3. Global Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market, Segmentation By End Users, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion
7. Antiemetics And Antinauseants Market Regional And Country Analysis | general |
Bio rational Fungicides Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking - Global Review 2021 to 2031 | Find market research and analysis that is reliable and actionable. A comprehensive business intelligence repository that covers established as well as evolving market trends.
Fact.MR’ s industry-wide market research solutions are comprehensive. We go beyond one sector, and analyze the market from various perspectives.
According to latest research by Fact.MR, Bio rational Fungicides market is set witness remarkable growth with CAGR between 10 to 13% during the forecast period. Looking at current scenario, growing health and environment awareness among people is projected to create robust opportunities and propel the demand in near future. Overall recovery in Agrochemical sector will also help propel growth during the forecast period.According to latest research by Fact.MR, Bio rational Fungicides market is set witness remarkable growth with CAGR between 10 to 13% during the forecast period.
Looking at current scenario, growing health and environment awareness among people is projected to create robust opportunities and propel the demand in near future. Overall recovery in Agrochemical sector will also help propel growth during the forecast period.
Fungicides which have no or negligible harmful effects on human body as well as environment are called bio rational fungicides. Due to negligible harmful effects they qualify for use in organic greenhouses and indoor cultivation facilities. Growing trend of adoption of organic fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides etc., instead of chemicals is projected to prove beneficial for the market. Growing awareness concerning the use of organic farm products across the globe pushing the demand for such agricultural ingredients, which will eventually drive demand for organic pesticides including bio rational fungicides.
Additionally, the methods of fungus control are same for bio rational fungicides and chemical fungicide, which provides an additional plus point for marketing.
Increase in per capita income of people and faster economic growth in developing and developed economies combined with growing population will drive the growth of this market. Rising awareness about the harmful effects of chemical fungicides on environment and human health provides additional advantage for adoption of organic farming.
To satisfy the growing demand of agro products, farmers across the globe are adopting cutting edge farming techniques to increase productivity per hectare.
However, the presence of cost effective alternatives remains as a key challenge to overcome for the manufacturers.
India and China accounts for one of the biggest market for agrochemicals owing to the significant domestic agriculture and horticulture industry. China and India are top two countries in the world in terms of population, the countries has enormous demand for food, and to satisfy farm industry demand a large number of agrochemical product manufacturers are present in these two countries. Leniency in governmental regulations and cheap labour cost provides additional advantage to the manufacturers.
Demand for bio rational fungicides in India and China will be driven by increasing uptake of organically produced agro products. Due to growing awareness about organic products in the countries demand will experience significant rise during the assessment period 2021-2031.
In addition, India also has a vast population to cater, declining fertile land area and dependency on Agriculture creates ample opportunities for the products helps in increasing per hectare production capacity including bio rational fungicides.
Market has experienced a gradual drop in 2020 owing to worldwide lockdowns and lack of transportation facilities due to COVID-19 whereas demand is set to make a V- shape recovery in the next few quarters.
In china, the ministry of Agriculture has announced a “ Zero Growth Policy of Pesticide and Fertilizers by 2020 ”. This policy will benefit the market of Bio pesticides including bio fungicides
North America has one of the matured markets for agrochemicals across the globe. The agrochemical industry in the region has experienced robust growth and is expected to continue on this growth pattern during the forecast period. The countries in region are focused on increasing the production capacity per hectare owing to declination of in the total fertile land.
Some of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of bio rational fungicides include Syngenta AG, Bayer Crop Science, BASF SE, Corteva Agriscience, FMC Corporation, ADAMA, UPL Limited, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., Nufarm Ltd., Nutrichem Company ltd., Mitsui & Co. Ltd., kumiai chemical industry ltd., Nissan chemical corporation ltd., Nihon Nohyaku Co. Ltd., Mosanto Bio AG, and Rainbow Chemicals.
Many manufacturers are shifting their product portfolio towards bio based product to compensate the shifting demand from consumer. Research and development investments from manufacturer side is increasing in order to cater the shifting demand and attract market by new and innovative products, this will be key strategy for the manufacturers to elevate their revenues and establish footprints.
The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.
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by Fact.MR, a division of Eminent Research and Advisory Services | general |
NANOBIOTIX: DE NOUVELLES DONNÉES PRÉCLINIQUES EN IMMUNOTHÉRAPIE MONTRENT UNE ACTIVATION IMMUNE ANTI-TUMORALE DU TRIPLE BLOCAGE PD-1, LAG-3 ET TIGIT RENFORCÉE LORSQU'IL EST ASSOCIÉ À NBTXR3 ACTIVÉ PAR RADIOTHÉRAPIE | Données présentées lors de la réunion annuelle 2022 de l'American Association of Cancer Research ( AACR).
PARIS & CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- Regulatory News:
NANOBIOTIX ( Euronext: NANO - NASDAQ: NBTX - la « Société ») est une société française de biotechnologie en phase de développement clinique avancé, pionnière des approches fondées sur la physique pour élargir les possibilités de traitement des patients atteints de cancer, annonce aujourd'hui de nouvelles données provenant d'une étude préclinique ouverte évaluant la combinaison du premier radioenhancer de sa catégorie, NBTXR3, associé au triple blocage par PD-1, LAG-3 et TIGIT ( « Thérapie Combinée »). Les données ont été publiées via une présentation E-Poster lors de la réunion annuelle 2022 de l'American Association of Cancer Research ( AACR), qui s'est tenue du 8 au 13 avril 2022, par des chercheurs de The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ( MD Anderson).
« Nous pensons que l'effet potentiel d'amorçage immunitaire par NBTXR3 activé par radiothérapie pourrait changer la donne en matière d'immunothérapie du cancer », a déclaré Laurent Levy, cofondateur et président du directoire de Nanobiotix. « Nous pensons que, si de nouvelles modalités de traitement par immunothérapie continuent d'émerger, elles restent tributaires d'une réponse immunitaire sous-jacente. Ces nouvelles données précliniques d'expression génique montrant que l'ajout de NBTXR3 a renforcé l'activité dans les voies immunitaires clés associées à l'immunité innée et adaptative, et a surpassé toutes les autres combinaisons en termes d'efficacité, de survie et d'induction d'une mémoire anticancéreuse à long terme, s'ajoutent à un ensemble croissant de soutien de NBTXR3 en tant que produit candidat qui pourrait potentiellement aider à étendre les avantages de l'immunothérapie à une plus grande partie des patients. »
DONNÉES PRÉCLINIQUES SUR LE BLOCAGE PAR IMMUNOTHERAPIE ASSOCIEE À NBTXR3 ACTIVÉ PAR RADIOTHÉRAPIE
Des données précliniques et cliniques précédemment présentées, évaluant NBTXR3 en combinaison avec divers inhibiteurs de checkpoints ( ICIs) incluant anti-PD-1, anti-CTLA-4, anti-LAG-3, et anti-TIGIT, suggèrent que, après activation par radiothérapie, le radioenhancer pourrait induire un effet « d'amorçage immunitaire » qui pourrait aider à améliorer et étendre les bénéfices des ICIs à plus de patients.
Cette nouvelle analyse, présentée à l'AACR, a évalué l'expression génétique immunitaire associée à de multiples combinaisons de NBTXR3, anti-PD-1, anti-LAG-3 et anti-TIGIT.
Les principales conclusions sont les suivantes:
* * *
A propos de NBTXR3 NBTXR3 est un nouveau produit en oncologie, potentiellement le premier de sa catégorie, composé de nanoparticules d'oxyde d’ hafnium cristallisées et stériles en suspension aqueuse. NBTXR3 est administré par injection intra tumorale unique et activé par radiothérapie. Le mécanisme d'action physique du produit candidat est conçu pour induire la mort des cellules tumorales dans la tumeur injectée lorsqu'il est activé par radiothérapie, déclenchant ensuite une réponse immunitaire adaptative et une mémoire anticancéreuse à long terme. Compte tenu du mécanisme d'action physique, Nanobiotix pense que NBTXR3 pourrait être adapté à toutes les tumeurs solides pouvant être traitées par radiothérapie et à toutes les combinaisons thérapeutiques, en particulier les inhibiteurs de checkpoints.
NBTXR3 est en cours d'évaluation dans le carcinome épidermoïde de la tête et du cou ( HNSCC) localement avancé comme principale voie de développement. L'étude de phase I d'escalade et d'expansion de dose parrainée par la société a produit des données de sécurité favorables et des signes précoces d'efficacité; et une étude mondiale d'enregistrement de phase III a commencé à recruter en 2022. En février 2020, la Food and Drug Administration des États-Unis a accordé la désignation réglementaire Fast Track pour l'étude du NBTXR3 activé par la radiothérapie, avec ou sans cetuximab, pour le traitement des patients atteints de HNSCC localement avancé qui ne sont pas éligibles à la chimiothérapie à base de platine - la même population évaluée dans l'étude de phase III prévue.
Nanobiotix a également donné la priorité à un programme de développement en immuno-oncologie, en commençant par une étude clinique de phase I parrainée par la société, évaluant NBTXR3 activé par la radiothérapie en combinaison avec des inhibiteurs de points de contrôle anti-PD-1 pour les patients atteints de HNSCC locorégionaux récurrents ou récurrents/métastatiques et de métastases pulmonaires ou hépatiques de tout cancer primaire éligible à un traitement anti-PD-1.
Compte tenu des domaines d'intérêt de la société et du potentiel évolutif de NBTXR3, Nanobiotix s'est engagée dans une stratégie de collaboration stratégique avec des partenaires de classe mondiale pour étendre le développement du produit candidat parallèlement à ses voies de développement prioritaires. Conformément à cette stratégie, en 2019, Nanobiotix a conclu une collaboration de recherche clinique large et complète avec le MD Anderson Cancer Center de l'Université du Texas pour parrainer plusieurs études de phase I et de phase II visant à évaluer NBTXR3 à travers des types de tumeurs et des combinaisons thérapeutiques.
A propos de NANOBIOTIX Nanobiotix est une société de biotechnologie clinique en phase avancée, qui développe des approches thérapeutiques novatrices basées sur la physique afin de révolutionner les résultats des traitements pour des millions de patients; elle est soutenue par des personnes qui s'engagent à faire une différence pour l'humanité. La philosophie de l'entreprise est ancrée dans le concept de repousser les limites de ce qui est connu pour élargir les possibilités de la vie humaine.
Constituée en 2003, Nanobiotix a son siège social à Paris, en France. La société possède également des filiales à Cambridge, Massachusetts ( États-Unis), en France, en Espagne et en Allemagne. Nanobiotix est cotée sur le marché réglementé d’ Euronext à Paris depuis 2012 et sur le Nasdaq Global Select Market à New York depuis décembre 2020.
Nanobiotix est propriétaire de plus de 30 brevets parapluie associés à trois ( 3) plateformes nanotechnologiques ayant des applications dans 1) l'oncologie; 2) la biodisponibilité et la biodistribution; et 3) les troubles du système nerveux central. Les ressources de la société sont principalement consacrées au développement de son principal produit candidat - NBTXR3 - qui est le produit de sa plateforme oncologique propriétaire et qui a déjà obtenu l'autorisation de mise sur le marché en Europe pour le traitement des patients atteints de sarcomes des tissus mous sous la marque Hensify®.
Pour plus d'informations sur Nanobiotix, consultez le site www.nanobiotix.com ou suivez-nous sur LinkedIn et Twitter.
Avertissement Le présent communiqué de presse contient certaines déclarations `` prospectives '' au sens des lois sur les valeurs mobilières applicables, notamment le Private Securities Litigation Reform Act de 1995. Les énoncés prospectifs peuvent être identifiés par des mots tels que `` à l'heure actuelle '', `` anticiper '', `` croire '', `` s'attendre '', `` avoir l'intention '', `` sur la bonne voie '', `` planifier '', `` prévu '' et `` sera '', ou la négative de ces expressions et d'autres expressions similaires. Ces énoncés prospectifs, qui sont fondés sur les attentes et les hypothèses actuelles de notre direction et sur les informations dont elle dispose actuellement, comprennent des énoncés sur le calendrier et la progression des essais cliniques, le calendrier de notre présentation des données, les résultats de nos études précliniques et cliniques et leurs implications potentielles, le développement et la commercialisation du NBTXR3, la visibilité financière attendue de la Société et l'exécution de la stratégie de développement et de commercialisation de la société. Ces déclarations prospectives sont faites à la lumière des informations dont nous disposons actuellement et sur la base d'hypothèses que Nanobiotix considère comme raisonnables. Cependant, ces déclarations prospectives sont soumises à de nombreux risques et incertitudes, notamment en ce qui concerne le risque que des études ultérieures et des essais cliniques en cours ou futurs ne génèrent pas de données favorables malgré des résultats précliniques ou cliniques précoces positifs et les risques associés à la nature évolutive de la durée et de la gravité de la pandémie de COVID-19 et des mesures gouvernementales et réglementaires mises en œuvre en réponse à celle-ci. Une prudence particulière doit être exercée lors de l’ interprétation des résultats relatifs à un petit nombre de patients ou à des cas cliniques individuels, qui peuvent ne pas être reproduits dans des cohortes de plus grande envergure. En outre, de nombreux autres facteurs importants, y compris ceux décrits dans le rapport annuel sur formulaire 20-F déposé auprès de la U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission le 8 avril 2022 sous la rubrique `` Item 3D. Risk Factors `` et ceux énoncés dans le document de référence universel de Nanobiotix déposé auprès de l'Autorité des marchés financiers le 8 avril 2022 ( dont une copie est disponible sur www.nanobiotix.com), ainsi que d'autres risques et incertitudes connus et inconnus, peuvent avoir un effet négatif sur ces déclarations prospectives et faire en sorte que nos résultats, performances ou réalisations réels soient sensiblement différents de ceux exprimés ou sous-entendus par les déclarations prospectives. Sauf si la loi l'exige, nousn'assumons aucune obligation de mettre à jour publiquement ces déclarations prospectives, ou de mettre à jour les raisons pour lesquelles les résultats réels pourraient différer sensiblement de ceux prévus dans les déclarations prospectives, même si de nouvelles informations deviennent disponibles à l'avenir.
Nanobiotix Communications Department Brandon Owens VP, Communications +1 ( 617) 852-4835 contact @ nanobiotix.com
Investor Relations Department Kate McNeil SVP, Investor Relations +1 ( 609) 678-7388 investors @ nanobiotix.com | general |
White House Plans to Blunt Medical Debts for Veterans and Home Borrowers | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
A Covid-19 patient on the Intensive Care Unit ( ICU) floor at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Connecticut's test positivity rate dropped this week and has remained below 10% and hospitalizations are below 1,100 for the first time since late December., Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris will announce new steps designed to reduce the cost of federal home loans for Americans saddled with medical debt and make it easier for veterans to have loans forgiven, as part of a White House push to help the millions facing unpaid health-care bills.
The efforts will include a push within the federal government to stop considering medical debt when determining eligibility for loans -- including in programs like the Department of Agriculture’ s $ 20 billion rural housing program. Because the government won’ t consider how much applicants owe in medical expenses, those in debt should receive more favorable terms on loans to buy or build new homes.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is also planning to cease reporting of debt that veterans owe the VA for their health coverage to credit reporting agencies, and will modernize programs designed to help former service members have some of their medical debts forgiven. The department will launch an online portal to process forgiveness requests, and simplify eligibility criteria in a bid to expand the number of veterans who take advantage of existing programs to discharge their debts.
One-third of U.S. adults currently have medical debt, with Black and Hispanic households more likely to hold medical debt than White households, according to the White House.
Harris will make the announcement Monday during an event with White House economic adviser Brian Deese, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, and budget director Shalanda Young, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to discuss the changes before they were publicly announced.
The moves come as the White House has sought ways to reduce costs for Americans facing inflation that has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to some of the highest price increases in four decades. The inflation spike prompted the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates, resulting in higher costs for mortgages and consumer credit.
The Biden Administration estimates that around one in three American adults has medical debt, which accounts for more debt collections than credit cards, utilities and auto loans combined.
The administration’ s actions follow previous efforts by leading consumer credit agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to remove medical debt that was either under $ 500 or that had been repaid from credit reports.
But more than 11 million Americans are estimated to have medical debts above $ 2000. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a March 1 report that around $ 88 billion in uncollected medical debt was reported to credit bureaus, making up some 58% of all uncollected debt on U.S. consumers’ credit reports.
The CFPB is expected to release a report on consumer complaints related to medical billing on Monday, and announced that it is making preventing unlawful medical debt collection a new enforcement initiative. The agency has previously said it is reviewing whether medical debt should be removed from consumer credit reports altogether.
The Department of Health and Human Services is also announcing that it is requesting data from more than 2,000 medical providers on bill collection practices, financial product offerings, and debt-buying practices. The government says it will begin using that information as it determines federal grants, in a bid to dissuade hospitals and health care facilities from abusive billing practices.
Canada joins U.S., U.K. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing games
Trudeau weighs auto-content rules as next U.S. trade flashpoint | general |
World Markets Are Falling Again With Echoes of the 2018 Rout | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- The feel-good days of March are firmly over in global markets.
Everything from stocks and bonds is falling again -- even oil has pulled back from near records -- in a concerted cross-asset selloff with echoes of the rate-spurred rout of October 2018.
Blame it on a Federal Reserve intent on restricting policy to tamp down the worst inflation in four decades, even if that threatens economic growth. Unlike four years ago, when Chair Jerome Powell faced market upheaval that would eventually force him to reverse policy, investors in recent weeks have been subject to one Fed official after another pledging higher and higher rates.
With monetary support rapidly receding and recession risks rising, investors are hunkering down. Companies resilient to an economic slowdown such as health care are in back in favor. Ditto cash and dividend-paying stocks. Meanwhile, demand for hedging is creeping up in the options market.
“ The common denominator in each case is the fear of recession, which has superseded the textbook effect of rising interest rates, ” said Robert DeLucia, senior economic adviser at Empower, a retirement services company. “ We are seeing a stampede into defensive stocks and an aversion to economically sensitive stocks. ”
More than a week into April, soap manufacturers, drugmakers and utilities are dominating the list of winners among S & P 500 industries. At the bottom are chip producers and shipping companies -- firms whose profit outlook is closely tied to the economy. All told, the world’ s most watched benchmark index is down 2.6% this month, including a 1.7% drop Monday.
Emerging markets are nursing losses too, with indexes tracking stocks and bonds in the asset class falling 2.6% and 1.4%, respectively.
With the Fed mired in what’ s expected to be the most aggressive tightening cycle since 1994, the drumbeat of recession warnings is getting louder. In a report earlier this month, Deutsche Bank AG strategists Binky Chadha and Parag Thatte said they anticipate the S & P 500 to drop 20% from peak to trough in late 2023, coinciding with an economic retrenchment.
All the same, evidence of a growth contraction is scant right now. The labor market is booming, consumer finance looks healthy and corporate plans on capital spending remains robust. So whether the latest flight to safety stocks reflects a growth scare or a valuation scare is up for debate. But what’ s certain is the fact that the Fed’ s hawkishness still has the capacity to shock markets.
Underpinning the recent rout were the disclosures from the Fed that balance-sheet shrinkage would begin sooner and unfold more quickly than some market participants expected. The message, first sent by Fed Governor Lael Brainard last Tuesday, got reinforced in the minutes of the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting the following day.
Treasuries sold off, with the 10-year yield climbing through 2.75% and inflation-adjusted rates edging ever higher. A Bloomberg index tracking government bonds is down almost 2% in April, on course for its fifth straight monthly decline, the longest since 2016.
Indexes tracking investment-grade bonds and high-yield credit have also fallen. Should stocks, bonds and oil end April lower, that would be the first time since 2018 that all major assets suffer losses.
“ Just two weeks ago Mr. Market was pricing a cyclical overheating story that the Fed would address while the longer-term growth and inflation expectations stayed the same, ” said Dennis DeBusschere, the founder of 22V Research. “ Brainard blew up the argument that Fed is unwilling to accept the risk of slowing inflation quickly, and markets reacted appropriately. ”
With sovereign bonds falling out of favor, a cohort of investors is seeking shelter in cash. In Bank of America Corp.’ s March survey of money managers, cash holdings rose to the highest since April 2020.
Traders are also reloading protections in the options market after cutting their hedges during the March rebound. The Cboe Volatility Index, a gauge of prices on S & P 500 options, has risen 3.62 points this month to 24.18, closing a rare discount over the 30-day realized volatility in the underlying benchmark. Meanwhile, the 20-day average of Cboe’ s put-call volume ratio for single stocks rose from a four-month low.
“ Don’ t fight the Fed when the Fed is fighting inflation, ” said Ed Yardeni, the president of Yardeni Research Inc. “ The war in Ukraine has heightened the odds of higher-for-longer inflation, tighter-for-longer monetary policy, and recession in the U.S. and Europe. ”
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
OPEC tells EU it's not possible to replace potential Russian oil supply loss | European Union officials held talks in Vienna with representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries amid calls for the group to increase output and as the EU considers potential sanctions on Russian oil.
`` We could potentially see the loss of more than 7 million barrels per day ( bpd) of Russian oil and other liquids exports, resulting from current and future sanctions or other voluntary actions, '' OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said, according to a copy of his speech seen by Reuters.
`` Considering the current demand outlook, it would be nearly impossible to replace a loss in volumes of this magnitude. ''
The European Union reiterated its call in the meeting for oil-producing countries to look at whether they can increase deliveries to help cool soaring oil prices, a European Commission official told Reuters.
EU representatives also pointed out that OPEC has a responsibility to ensure balanced oil markets, the official said.
OPEC has resisted calls by the United States and the International Energy Agency to pump more crude to cool prices, which reached a 14-year peak last month after Washington and Brussels imposed sanctions on Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In the meeting with OPEC, the EU said OPEC could provide more production from its spare capacity, according to an OPEC document seen by Reuters.
Still, Barkindo said the current highly volatile market was a result of `` non-fundamental factors '' outside OPEC's control, in a signal the group would not pump more.
OPEC+, which consists of OPEC and other producers including Russia, will raise output by about 432,000 barrels per day in May, as part of a gradual unwinding of output cuts made during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU-OPEC meeting on Monday afternoon was the latest in a dialogue launched between the two sides in 2005.
Russian oil has been excluded from EU sanctions so far. But after the 27-country bloc agreed last week to sanction Russian coal - its first to target energy supplies - some senior EU officials said oil could be next.
The European Commission is drafting proposals for an oil embargo on Russia, the foreign ministers of Ireland, Lithuania and the Netherlands said on Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, although there was no agreement to ban Russian crude.
Australia, Canada and the United States, who are less reliant on Russian supply than Europe, have already banned Russian oil purchases.
EU countries are split over whether to follow suit, given their higher dependency and the potential for the move to push up already high energy prices in Europe.
The EU expects its oil use to decrease 30% by 2030, from 2015 levels, under its planned policies to fight climate change - though in the short term, an embargo would trigger a dash to replace Russian oil with alternative supplies.
( Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Mike Harrison and Susan Fenton)
By Kate Abnett and Alex Lawler | business |
OMNIVISION Launches ‘ Ready-to-Go’ Reference Designs for High Definition Video Single-Use Laryngoscopes | Announced prior to MD & M West, reference designs help to speed time-to-market for development of video laryngoscopes and improve patient care with crisp, clear images and a wider field of view
( Graphic: Business Wire)
( Graphic: Business Wire)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- ( BUSINESS WIRE) -- OMNIVISION, a leading global developer of semiconductor solutions, including advanced digital imaging, analog and touch & display technology, today launched new laryngoscope reference designs that include a range of OMNIVISION products that help improve patient care by providing crisp, clear images for single-use video laryngoscopes. Visualization makes insertion of the endotracheal tube easier and faster and avoids failures in difficult airways, significantly reducing the chances of complications and even death.
OMNIVISION’ s “ ready-to-go ” reference designs help medical device OEMs speed time-to-market in the development of laryngoscopes. They feature high quality images and a wider field of view ( FoV), and include CameraCubeChip® CMOS image sensors, low power mechanical designs, optics, batteries, as well as capabilities for recording and playback.
“ The video laryngoscope, a device used in the visualization of the airway, is quickly displacing traditional direct laryngoscopy, ” said Ehsan Ayar, product marketing manager at OMNIVISION. “ Producing the best images of the larynx requires smaller z-height and superb optics, which is enabled by our OmniBSI™ and OmniBSI +™ technologies. We have designed all of our premier imaging technologies into a ‘ ready-to-go’ reference kit to help shorten development time for these important, high demand devices. ”
Ayar adds, “ Enhanced visualization helps to avoid endotracheal intubation failures in difficult airways that can lead to dental damage, laryngeal, dysrhythmia and cardiac spasm. Further, single-use devices eliminate cross-contamination that can result with reusable endoscopes. ”
The global video laryngoscope market approached $ 219.7 million in 2019 and is set to hit $ 795.0 million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 17.4%.1 Driving the fast adoption rate is the fact that video laryngoscopy results in more successful intubations in a shorter period of time than traditional direct laryngoscopy.
In addition, single-use blades with OMNIVISION cameras have been in high demand globally for treating COVID-19 patients. A high percentage of patients need to be intubated to go on a ventilator, and video laryngoscopy is used over direct laryngoscopy since it improves intubation success and maximizes operator distance.
The complete reference design for video single-use laryngoscopes includes:
The reference designs are available now. For more information, visit OMNIVISION at MD & M West, booth # 1275, taking place April 12-14, 2022 at the Anaheim Convention Center, or contact your OMNIVISION sales representative: www.ovt.com/contact-sales.
1 Fortune Business Insights Report FBI104559
About OMNIVISION | general |
Fosterville South Exploration: December 31, 2021 - Management Discussion and Analysis | ( `` Fosterville South '' or `` the Company '')
FORM 51-102F1
MANAGEMENT 'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021
Introduction
This Management's Discussion and Analysis ( `` MD & A '') of Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. including its subsidiaries, Currawong Resources Pty Ltd. ( `` Currawong '') ( Australia), and Bendigo Gold Corp. ( `` Bendigo '') ( Canada) is the responsibility of management and covers the year ended December 31, 2021. The MD & A takes into account information available up to and including April 7, 2022, and should be read together with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021.
The Company was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act ( British Columbia) on July 22, 2019. The Company's registered and records office is located at Suite 704 - 595 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 2T5. The Company's head office is located at Suite 488-1190 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 3V7.
The Company's shares commended trading on the TSX Venture Exchange ( `` TSX-V '') on April 14, 2020, under the symbol FSX. The Company's shares are also quoted on the U.S. OTC Markets Platform under the symbol `` FSXLF ''.
Throughout this document the terms we, us, our, the Company and Fosterville South refer to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. All financial information in this document is prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ( `` IFRS '') and is presented in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
This document contains forward-looking statements. Please refer to `` Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. ''
Description of Business
The Company is in the business of acquiring and exploring mineral resource properties in the State of Victoria, Australia. The Company's principal properties are the 100% owned Lauriston Gold Project, Golden Mountain Project, Moormbool Project and Providence Project.
In addition, the Company continues to investigate, acquire and/or stake additional tenements in Victoria, including the Walhalla Gold Belt Project and the Beechworth Project, as described in the exploration projects and performance summary below.
During the year, the Company completed the spin-out of the Timor and Avoca projects, as described in the Leviathan Spin-Out summary below.
Please refer to the `` Exploration Projects '' section below for the acquisition and project details on all the projects.
Performance Summary and Subsequent Events
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company:
• On March 10, 2021, the Company announced new gold assay results from the continuing drill program at its Energetic Reefs prospect located within the Lauriston Gold Project in Victoria, Australia, and final assays from 2020 drilling at Golden Mountain.
At Lauriston, multiple shallow holes being reported intersected lengthy zones of gold mineralization, such as EN007, which returned 13 metres at 1.02 g/t Au, including one metre at 9.50 g/t Au from 44 to 57 metres. The drilling provided key information into the complexity of the mineralization of the breached saddle reef structure and its associated strong halo of mineralization that forms the Energetic Reefs prospect.
• On March 17, 2021, the Company announced new gold assay results from rock-chip samples collected as part of the continuing exploration program at Enoch's Point ( which forms part of the Walhalla Gold Belt Project), being conducted in preparation for drilling.
Highlight sample assays include CR12969, which graded 179 grams per tonne gold; CR13069, which graded 155 g/t gold; and CR13017 ( obtained from a dike outcrop), which graded 16.8 g/t gold ( see table under 'Exploration Projects ' for details).
• On April 19, 2021, the Company announced the grant of incentive stock options for the purchase of a total of 3.6 million common shares to employees, technical staff, directors, and consultants of the Company, pursuant to the terms of the Company's stock option plan. The options are exercisable at a price of $ 1.57 per share for a period of five years.
• On May 20, 2021, the Company reported the results of a soil sampling program at Enoch's Point goldfield ( Walhalla Gold Belt Project) and Reedy Creek goldfield ( Providence Project) that detected five significant As-Sb epizonal anomalies. Soil sampling and assaying in the areas are ongoing.
Epizonal gold mineralized systems have arsenic-antimony mineralisation haloes that are used as trace element pathfinders, such that the larger the halo then the larger the potential gold mineralization.
• On May 20, 2021, the Company announced that it had been strategically expanding the footprint of the land package and through its wholly owned subsidiary, Currawong, has increased the size of its Walhalla Gold Belt Project by filing two additional tenement applications totaling 218 km2. These new tenement applications border the Enoch's Point, Harbinger and Pinnacles tenements. The Company now holds contiguous tenements and tenement applications covering approximately 72km of strike in the western and central parts of the Walhalla Gold Belt.
• On June 18, 2021, the Company announced that it had mobilized a drill rig to commence drilling at its Beechworth gold project, located within the Tabberabbera zone in the state of Victoria, Australia. The Company's drill program will be at depth beneath historic high-grade gold mines.
• On July 2, 2021, the Company announced that it had received positive results, including multiple high-grade gold assays, from recent sampling at Beechworth. This program was conducted in preparation for drilling additional targets to the current Taff and Bon Accord prospect drill program underway within the large Beechworth project area. Highlights included:
o Rock chip assays for 173 samples from 45 gold prospects yield gold grades including 54 grams per tonne ( g/t) gold ( Au);
o Grid-based soil sampling of 2,515 samples covering 10.5 square kilometres ( km) completed;
o 68 drill hole program designed based on these fieldwork results designed to test multiple high-priority targets.
• On July 14, 2021, the Company announced that it began trading on the OTCQX Best Market. The OTCQX Best Market provides value and convenience to United States investors, brokers and institutions seeking to trade Fosterville South shares under the ticker symbol FSXLF. The OTCQX Best Market is OTC Markets Group's premier market for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To be eligible, companies must: meet high financial standards; follow best practice corporate governance; demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws; be current in their disclosure; and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction.
• On July 29, 2021, the Company announced a new discovery at Golden Mountain and drilling results at Lauriston and Beechworth projects. Highlights include:
o Golden Mountain - Two reverse circulation holes confirmed significant mineralization associated with the Cross fault, located 100 metres west of the Golden Mountain deposit. Gold intervals included 21GMRC006 that returned 20 metres ( m) at 1.53 grams per tonne ( g/t) gold ( Au) and 21GMRC001 that returned 2 m at 7.05 g/t Au.
o Lauriston Project - Drilling at the Comet, Energetic and Keath's Reward targets resulted in multiple good gold intercepts at shallow depths and will serve to guide further drilling, including deeper holes in the next phase. Reverse circulation drilling at the Energetic target encountered a wide zone of supergene gold mineralization up to approximately 10 m thick which remains open to the east and along strike to the north and south. Gold intervals included EN007 that returned 13 m at 1.02 g/t Au and EN0014 that returned 9 m at 1.44 g/t Au. Multiple intervals at the Comet target encountered strong gold grades, including CRC01 that returned 10 m at 2.09 g/t Au and CRC04 that returned 14 m at 1.19 g/t Au.
o Beechworth - Initial drilling at the Bon Accord prospect covered 200 m of strike length in four sections of two drill holes each. The eight drill holes amounted to 492 m. The most significant result is the deeper drill hole BA08 which intersected 11 m at 0.52 g/t Au immediately prior to entering an old stope. A follow-up drill program is planned to drill beneath the old stopes and along strike to holes BA07 and BA08, in search of extensions to the former high-grade mineralization
o Moormbool project - Fosterville South drilled a total of 29 holes totalling 1,452 m at the Gleeson prospect located within the Moormbool project. The purpose of the drill program was to investigate the source of secondary gold mineralization by drilling angle holes through to the bedrock. The results resulted in minor gold mineralization associated with the basement of an alluvial flood plain deposit. The source of this widespread shallow alluvial gold and arsenic mineralization has not yet been established.
• On August 9, 2021, the Company announced that its initial drilling at the Reedy Creek goldfield within the Providence project in Victoria, Australia, had returned high-grade gold assays during reconnaissance reverse circulation drilling of a previously undrilled geochemical anomaly located within one of two ridge targets recently identified by the Company.
The Company is conducting the first modern exploration of the Reedy Creek Goldfield, which has included various geochemical sampling programs in preparation of drilling that has now commenced. These assays reported today in drill hole RWR13 ( 11 m at 31.34 grams per tonne gold including four m at 80.05 g/t gold) are from an area of the goldfield that has been the subject of no historic drilling. The gold mineralization intersected in the drilling is present as a zone of significant quartz veining with fine grained disseminated stibnite and pyrite. The strike and dip of the mineralized intercept is not yet known, and further drilling is planned in the coming weeks.
• On September 27, 2021, the Company provided an update on the initial drilling at Reedy Creek goldfield within the Providence project in Victoria, Australia. The Company announced that they had signed a drill contract with the operator of a diamond drill rig to commence core drilling in the vicinity of the RWR13 discovery hole as mentioned above.
• On October 14, 2021, the Company reported that initial diamond drilling at the Reedy Creek goldfield within the Providence Project in Victoria, Australia has returned high-grade gold assays. The Company was carrying out a diamond drill program to test the zones of gold mineralization discovered at Reedy Creek in August 2021. The initial diamond drill hole has been drilled at a different azimuth to obliquely target the same region as the discovery hole, RWD01, and intersected 0.7 m at 238.1 g/t Gold from 68.70 m and 0.80 m at 22.5 g/t Gold from 40.80 m. The mineralization is of similar character to that found in discovery hole RWR13 ( 11 m at 31.34 g/t Gold including 4 m at 80.05 g/t Gold), albeit with a narrower width. The gold mineralisation intersected in the drilling is present as a zone of significant quartz veining with fine grained disseminated gold, stibnite and pyrite. The strike and dip of the mineralized intercept is not yet known and drilling and structural data analysis is ongoing. The lower quartz vein present in the drill hole is quite oblique to the core axis and the initial structural interpretation is that it has a subvertical dip with a true width of approximately 0.5m.
• On October 15, 2021, the Company reported initial diamond drilling at the Homeward Bound prospect within the Beechworth Gold Project in Victoria, Australia which returned strong grade gold assays. The Company's initial diamond drill hole, HBDH001, intersected 8.6 m at 5.22 g/t Gold from 194.6 m, including 3.6 m at 10.72 g/t Gold from 196.8 m at the Homeward Bound prospect located at Hillsborough within the Beechworth Gold Project.
Drill hole HBDH001 did not proceed below 203 m as it intersected old workings. As the Company anticipated mineralization below this point, a second diamond drill hole, HBDH002, commenced approximately 40 m below HBDH001. HBDH002 appears to have intersected two separate zones of intense silicification with significant arsenopyrite, similar to the gold mineralisation present in HBDH001.
The Homeward Bound prospect is in the Hillsborough goldfield, which forms part of the Beechworth Gold Project, occurring in the Tabberabbera Zone on the eastern margin with the Omeo Zones of the Lachlan Fold Belt in Victoria. Several key gold prospects and associated fault structures have been identified within the Beechworth Gold Project based upon extensive geochemical sampling, geological & LIDAR mapping and limited previous drilling. These include various historical producing mines located within the Hurdle Flat goldfield ( 21,715 ounces of production at 15.32 g/t Au) and Hillsborough goldfield ( 47,492 ounces of production at 17.48 g/t Au). Mineralisation is typical of mesozonal orogenic gold deposits.
• On November 5, 2021, the Company reported that a second drill rig has commenced drilling the Homeward Bound prospect on the Beechworth Gold Project in Victoria, Australia. This second rig at Homeward Bound, is a multipurpose rig capable of both reverse circulation percussion and diamond drilling.
Subsequent to December 31, 2021:
• On January 18, 2022, the Company reported initial 2022 assays from drilling at the Homeward Bound and Bon Accord projects within the Beechworth Gold Project in Victoria, Australia. The results show that drilling has returned strong gold grades, with additional assays pending from drilling at high-priority gold target at Reedy Creek. Highlights included HBDH002, which intersected two separate zones with strong gold mineralization of 3.15 m of 3.38 g/t gold from 269.5 m and 4.4 m of 2.51 g/t gold from 256.6 m along with another three supporting gold mineralized zones totaling 29.7 m within an overall envelope of 56.6 m down-hole length. Please refer to the news release for complete results.
The Company also announced that drilling will commence at two key gold projects, Golden Mountain and Lauriston Gold, in the first quarter of 2022.
For the complete news releases and for additional information please refer to the Company's website or to SEDAR ( www.sedar.com).
Outlook
Since incorporation on July 22, 2019, the Company has acquired various projects in Victoria, Australia and has secured financing to advance the various projects.
After acquiring the projects, the Company has conducted geochemical sampling, obtained various drill permits, signed drilled contracts and prepared logistics for drilling multiple projects concurrently and to use the initial drill testing results to decide onfurther allocations of capital and time. Based on the initial positive results received to date, the Company intends to continue drilling programs at the Golden Mountain, Moormbool Providence projects ( Reedy Creek goldfield), Beechworth Project and at the Lauriston Project. While drilling is occurring at existing drill-ready targets, the Company also intends to continue fieldwork including geological mapping and geochemical sampling to continue generating new targets for future work.
The goal of drilling is to better understand the scope and size of the mineralization and to ultimately define potential resources and reserves.
While the Company is active on the ground via the drill campaigns and target generation work, the Company will also continually assess how to best maximize shareholder value from other projects within its portfolio via corporate activities such as the spin out transaction of the Avoca Project and Timor Project, which completed during the year. The Company believes that the large strategic land position of compelling projects it has acquired in Victoria will present multiple corporate opportunities to identify and assess transactions that can potentially benefit shareholders going forward.
The Company will also continually assess new projects available in Victoria through the exploration tenement application process and also projects owned by other corporate entities. The Company's experience in Victoria and strong cash position puts it in a good position to expand its land holdings if the opportunity arises and therefore ongoing project identification and assessment work is occurring.
As the Company has no source of revenue at this time, it will continue to deplete capital to operate its drilling programs, fieldwork, office and administrative expenses and continual investigations of new projects and opportunities.
Leviathan Spin-Out
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company announced its board of directors had approved a spinout transaction, which completed during the quarter ended March 31, 2021.
On October 1, 2020, the Company entered into an Arrangement Agreement ( the `` Arrangement Agreement '') with its formerly wholly owned subsidiary Leviathan Gold Ltd ( `` Leviathan '') and an unrelated company incorporated under the laws of British Columbia, Leviathan Finance Ltd ( `` FinCo ''). Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, the Company spun-out Leviathan and Leviathan's wholly owned subsidiary, Leviathan Gold ( Australia) PTY Ltd ( `` Leviathan Australia ''), ( the `` Transaction '') on November 23, 2020, by way of a distribution of 67,907,831 shares of Leviathan to the Company's shareholders. The result of this distribution was that each Fosterville shareholder received shares in Leviathan proportionate to their share ownership in the Company. At the time of the spin-out of Leviathan shares, Leviathan did not hold any assets or liabilities and the Transaction was accounted for as a distribution to shareholders of nominal value that did not have an impact on the consolidated accounts of the Company.
Following the completion of the Transaction, FinCo completed a brokered financing of subscription receipts at $ 0.50 per subscription receipt for total gross proceeds of $ 12,914,000.
As part of the Arrangement Agreement, Currawong entered into an agreement to dispose of the Avoca and Timor Projects and certain other tenements ( the `` Avoca and Timor Projects '') to Leviathan Australia for cash, at their fair value of $ 745,443 ( AUD $ 764,081). Under the terms of the agreement, Leviathan Australia also assumed the underlying obligations of the Company and Currawong under the original purchase agreements.
Subsequent to the completion of the Transaction and prior to the completion of the acquisition of the Avoca and Timor Projects from Currawong, Leviathan caused 1274996 B.C Ltd., a newly-incorporated wholly owned subsidiary of Leviathan, to amalgamate with FinCo ( the `` Amalgamation ''). Following the Amalgamation, Leviathan applied and received approval to list on the TSXV and commenced trading on February 10, 2021.
COVID-19
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus COVID-19 a global pandemic. This contagious disease outbreak, which has continued to spread, and any related adverse public health developments, has adversely affected workforces, economies, and financial markets globally. The Company anticipates that travel bans and self-imposed quarantine periods will continue to inhibit some measure of operational efficiency for some time. Although the impact of the pandemic to the Company has not been significant, it is not possible to reliably estimate the length and severity of these conditions and the impact on the condition of the Company in future periods.
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Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. published this content on 11 April 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 April 2022 21:20:06 UTC. | business |
Loyalty Ventures Inc. Announces Leadership Changes at its AIR MILES® Reward Program | DALLAS, April 11, 2022 /CNW/ - Loyalty Ventures Inc. ( Nasdaq: LYLT), a leading provider of tech-enabled, data-driven consumer loyalty solutions today announced leadership changes at its AIR MILES Reward Program segment ( `` AIR MILES '').
Shawn Stewart has been named President of AIR MILES, replacing Blair Cameron, who is leaving the company.
`` We appreciate the contributions that Blair Cameron has made during his more than 15-year tenure at AIR MILES, and I want to personally thank him for his dedication and service to our Sponsors, Collectors and employees, '' said Charles Horn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Loyalty Ventures.
Shawn Stewart, who will join us on May 2, 2022, brings deep expertise in consumer insights, customer loyalty, digital marketing, and analytics across multiple verticals to his new position at AIR MILES. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, Customer at Canadian Tire, where he led the team responsible for enterprise loyalty, digital marketing, customer analytics and personalization, including the team that built and grew the Triangle Rewards loyalty program. In his prior tenure at McKinsey & Company and Accenture, Shawn developed customer acquisition and retention strategies, data-driven applications, and customer experience programs to accelerate business growth for clients. In addition, from 2010 to 2013 Shawn was a member of the AIR MILES leadership team where his role included accountability for data and analytics for AIR MILES ' Sponsors.
`` We are thrilled that Shawn has agreed to re-join us given his passion for building new capabilities and transforming organizations and brands, which aligns with our strategic objectives. He brings excellent credentials to AIR MILES as well as a deep understanding of Sponsor needs, Collector behaviors, and our business development opportunities. Shawn is the clear choice to direct our investments to drive greater consumer engagement in our programs by enhancing our value proposition and upgrading the redemption experience for our AIR MILES Collectors, while building additional data analytics and marketing capabilities for our Sponsors, '' Mr. Horn noted.
`` It is a great honor for me to lead the talented group of people at AIR MILES. I am excited to leverage the insights I have gained from working with Canada's largest companies and pair that knowledge with the digitally-oriented strategic transformation that is underway at AIR MILES, '' Mr. Stewart said.
Further, we are pleased to announce Rick Neuman has joined AIR MILES as Chief Technology Officer. Most recently at Flipp, a retail technology firm, Rick was formerly Executive Vice President eCommerce & Chief Technology Officer at Walmart International, where he was responsible for Walmart Canada's digital transformation. During his six-year tenure, he created product and technology strategies for global merchant processes, transitioned international tech to improve delivery transparency and velocity, and built new technology leadership teams. At AIR MILES, Rick will be responsible for development, implementation and oversight of the program's technology strategy and roadmap.
`` With Shawn and Rick joining the AIR MILES leadership team, we are well positioned to build upon our 30-year history as Canada's premier loyalty program, with the full support of Loyalty Ventures ' management and Board of Directors. We look forward to reporting on their progress, '' noted Mr. Horn.
Loyalty Ventures Inc. ( Nasdaq: LYLT), an S & P SmallCap 600 company, is a leading provider of tech-enabled, data-driven consumer loyalty solutions. We help partners achieve their strategic and financial objectives including increased consumer basket size, shopper traffic, frequency, digital reach and enhanced program reporting and analytics.
We help financial services providers, retailers and other consumer-facing businesses create and increase customer loyalty across multiple touch points from traditional to digital to mobile and emerging technologies. We own and operate the AIR MILES® Reward Program, Canada's most recognized loyalty program, and Netherlands-based BrandLoyalty, a global provider of purpose-driven, tailor-made, campaign-based loyalty solutions for grocers and other high-frequency retailers.
At our AIR MILES Reward Program, AIR MILES collectors earn AIR MILES at more than 300 leading Canadian, global and online brands and at thousands of retail and service locations across the country. This activity powers an unmatched data asset which along with world-class analytics and marketing capabilities, enables clients to accelerate their marketing activities and ROI. AIR MILES provides collectors the flexibility and choice to use AIR MILES on aspirational rewards such as merchandise, travel, events or attractions or, instantly, in-store or online, through AIR MILES Cash at participating Partner locations. For more information, visit: airmiles.ca. Having celebrated the issuance of its 100 Billionth Mile in 2021, AIR MILES invites Canadians to visit the Program on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
BrandLoyalty provides winning loyalty campaigns by connecting high-frequency retailers, brand partners, and shoppers. BrandLoyalty changes shoppers ' behavior in high-frequency retail worldwide - both on a transactional and emotional level. Find out more via brandloyalty.com or on LinkedIn and YouTube.
More information about Loyalty Ventures can be found at loyaltyventures.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events and can generally be identified by the use of words such as `` believe, '' `` expect, '' `` anticipate, '' `` estimate, '' `` intend, '' `` project, '' `` plan, '' `` likely, '' `` may, '' `` should '' or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make regarding, and the guidance we give with respect to, our anticipated operating or financial results and future economic conditions, including, but not limited to, changes in geopolitical conditions, fluctuation in currency exchange rates, market conditions and COVID-19 impacts related to reduction in demand from clients, supply chain disruption with respect to our rewards, disruptions in the airline or travel industries and labor shortages due to quarantine.
We believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking statements, however, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release, and no assurances can be given that our expectations will prove to have been correct. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, factors set forth in the Risk Factors section of both ( 1) our Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year and ( 2) any updates in Item 1A, or elsewhere, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed for periods subsequent to such Form 10-K or any updates thereto. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events, anticipated or unanticipated circumstances or otherwise.
SOURCE AIR MILES Reward Program
© Canada Newswire, source Canada Newswire English | business |
Quantum Reports Preliminary Revenue Results for Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2022 and Provides Update on Debt Arrangements | SAN JOSE, Calif., April 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Corporation ( NASDAQ: QMCO) announced today preliminary revenue results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022. Revenue is expected to be $ 93 million, plus or minus $ 1 million, which is a tighter range with a higher midpoint from its original guidance of $ 92 million, plus or minus $ 5 million. As it is early in the financial closing process, the Company is not providing additional financial metrics or results for the fourth quarter.
As announced on March 29, 2022, Quantum commenced a Rights Offering to raise gross proceeds of up to approximately $ 67.5 million ( the `` Rights Offering ''). As previously reported, the Company has entered into an Investment Commitment Agreement with certain large security holders that have agreed to exercise basic and over-subscription rights for up to an aggregate of approximately $ 55.0 million in the Rights Offering. All of the Company's directors and certain executive officers who are eligible to participate have indicated that they plan to participate in the Rights Offering. As part of the announcement of the Rights Offering, the Company also entered into an amendment to its Term Loan Credit and Security Agreement and an amendment to the Amended and Restated Revolving Credit and Security Agreement to among other things, waive applicable covenants for the fourth fiscal quarter.
In connection with the closing of the Rights Offering, which is currently anticipated to occur the week of April 18, 2022, the Company intends to reduce its outstanding term debt by $ 20 million, with the remaining proceeds used to bolster its cash position. Also, upon the closing of the Rights Offering, Quantum intends to further amend its credit agreements to increase the borrowing capacity on its revolving line of credit from $ 30 million to $ 40 million and to reset the financial covenants in a manner that will be supportive of the Company beyond the current period.
`` I am pleased to report stronger preliminary revenue results for the fourth quarter, '' said Jamie Lerner, Chairman and CEO of Quantum. `` We believe closing the Rights Offering in the coming weeks can significantly strengthen our balance sheet and liquidity, with the potential to significantly reduce our net term loan debt to less than $ 40 million with a fully subscribed offering. In addition to reducing the related interest expense on our term loan debt, we plan to ensure further financial flexibility by increasing the borrowing capacity of our revolver by $ 10 million. Collectively, we believe these actions should provide greater financial stability in a challenging environment, allowing us to focus on supporting our customers and operational execution. ''
Quantum has not completed preparation of its financial statements for its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022. The preliminary, unaudited results presented in this press release for the three-months ended March 31, 2022 are based on current expectations and remain subject to adjustment. Quantum will report its complete financial results and other metrics during its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 conference call in early June.
Quantum has filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( the `` SEC ''), and related prospectus, dated December 9, 2020, as supplemented by the prospectus supplement dated March 29, 2022, for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and the Rights Offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Quantum has engaged Alliance Advisors, LLC to act as information agent with respect to the Rights Offering. To obtain copies of the Rights Offering prospectus supplement and any related materials, please contact the information agent, Alliance Advisors, LLC, toll free at ( 833) 786-6484, by email at QMCO @ allianceadvisors.com, or by mail at Alliance Advisors, LLC, 200 Broadacres Dr., 3rd Floor, Bloomfield, NJ 07003.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy Quantum's common stock in its Rights Offering, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. Any offer will be made only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement forming part of the registration statement.
Quantum technology, software, and services provide the solutions that today's organizations need to make video and other unstructured data smarter – so their data works for them and not the other way around. With over 40 years of innovation, Quantum's end-to-end platform is uniquely equipped to orchestrate, protect, and enrich data across its lifecycle, providing enhanced intelligence and actionable insights. Leading organizations in cloud services, entertainment, government, research, education, transportation, and enterprise IT trust Quantum to bring their data to life, because data makes life better, safer, and smarter. Quantum is listed on Nasdaq ( QMCO) and the Russell 2000® Index. For more information visit www.quantum.com.
Quantum and the Quantum logo are registered trademarks of Quantum Corporation and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The information provided in this press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( `` Exchange Act ''). These forward-looking statements are largely based on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting our business. Such forward-looking statements include, in particular, statements related to our preliminary financial results; expectations regarding increasing the borrowing capacity on our revolving line of credit and resetting the financial covenants in a manner that will be supportive of the Company beyond the current period, and the effects of such changes on the Company; anticipated use of proceeds from the Rights Offering; and timing of the closing of the Rights Offering.
These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terms and phrases such as `` anticipates '', `` believes '', `` can '', `` could '', `` estimates '', `` expects '', `` forecasts '', `` intends '', `` may '', `` plans '', `` projects '', `` targets '', `` will '', and similar expressions or variations of these terms and similar phrases. Additionally, statements concerning future matters and other statements regarding matters that are not historical are forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance and are subject to business, economic, and other risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including without limitation, the following: risks related to the need to address the many challenges facing our business; the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, including potential disruptions to our supply chain, employees, operations, sales and overall market conditions; the competitive pressures we face; risks associated with executing our strategy; the distribution of our products and the delivery of our services effectively; the development and transition of new products and services and the enhancement of existing products and services to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; estimates and assumptions related to the cost ( including any possible disruption of our business) and the anticipated benefits of the Rights Offering; termination of the investment commitment agreement with committed purchasers in the Rights Offering; our stock price performance and general stock market volatility; the impact of political and economic instability and geopolitical tensions, including outbreak or escalation of hostilities, wars, or other acts of aggression, such as the current conflict in Ukraine, terrorism and political unrest, boycotts, curtailment of trade, government sanctions and other business restrictions; the risk that we will not be able to come to an agreement at all or on terms acceptable to us with our lenders to amend our credit agreements to increase the borrowing capacity on our revolving line of credit and to reset the financial covenants currently applicable to us; the outcome of any claims and disputes; and other risks that are described herein, including but not limited to the items discussed in `` Risk Factors '' in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Committee on May 26, 2021 and our Form 10-Q filed on February 9, 2022. We do not intend to update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
Investor Relations Contacts: Shelton GroupLeanne Sievers | Brett PerryP: 949-224-3874 | 214-272-0070E: sheltonir @ sheltongroup.com
SOURCE Quantum Corp. | business |
Wiluna Mining: Ore Reserves Update and Feasibility Progress Report | ASX Announcement
12 April 2022
ASX: WMC
ORE RESERVES UPDATE AND FEASIBILITY PROGRESS REPORT
HIGHLIGHTS
ORE RESERVES
• Updated Ore Reserve now 36.8Mt @ 1.20g/t for 1.42Moz contained gold
• Underground Ore Reserve at Wiluna increased by 51% ( tonnes) and 31% ( ounces) to 6.52Mt @ 4.11g/t for 861.9koz of contained gold
• Increased underground Ore Reserve supports medium to long-term plans to grow gold production with a focus on high-grade underground mining areas
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
• Feasibility Studies ongoing
• Stage 1 metrics are positive with targeted production of 110kozpa-125kozpa, AISC of A $ 1,796/oz ( after payable charge of ~A $ 400/oz), NPV $ 343 Million, IRR 305%
• Based on rapidly escalating input costs, tight labour conditions and incomplete feasibility outcomes, the Board has decided to pause further expansion and focus on optimising Stage 1 and project cashflows until conditions improve
• This allows time to drill out of the Wiluna Mining Centre which contains high-grade mineral inventory of 3.11Moz @ 5.81g/t ( above 3.5g/t cut-off) to support further development
• With further minor, lower-cost modifications, Stage 1 could increase incrementally to produce circa 150kozpa
Wiluna Mining Corporation Limited ( ASX: WMC) ( `` Wiluna Mining, WMC or the Company '') is pleased to report an Ore Reserve update for the Wiluna Mining Centre, as well as an update on the Feasibility Studies being conducted by the Company.
The Company has made the prudent decision to continue to work on these studies and delay the Stage 2 expansion at this time. We believe more is required for the Stage 2 studies to be considered definitive, especially with additional Resource and Reserve development drilling required, particularly at the southern end of the Wiluna Mining Centre.
Current economic and social circumstances of rising inflation, COVID disruptions, significant shortages of skilled labour in the state of Western Australia, shipping and equipment supply constraints, as well as the uncertainty over the war in Ukraine have played a major role in convincing management and Board that launching into a two year, multi-million-dollar expansion is not prudent at this time and not in the best interest of our shareholders.
Page 1
Given the potential of the multi-million-ounce scale of the Wiluna ore body, we believe that further drilling to define the Resources and Reserves of the Wiluna Mining Centre and gain a greater understanding of the true size of the opportunity in front of us, along with the associated studies, is a far more prudent and sensible to fully optimise the potential of Wiluna. The Company will concentrate on bringing Stage 1 up to commercial production and to optimise Stage 1, which will be fully ramped up by the end of CY2022 with steady-state production estimated initially between 110,000-125,000 ounces per annum that with further minor, low-cost modifications could increase incrementally to produce circa 150,000 ounces per annum.
APRIL 2022 ORE RESERVE UPDATE - SUMMARY
Summary
• Ore Reserves based on completed internal JORC compliant studies
• 10% total Ore Reserve increase after depletion from 1.29Moz to 1.42Moz
• Wiltails Ore Reserve decreased slightly by 43.3koz due to tailing dam construction impacting on a portion of tailings Ore Reserve
• Importantly, the underground Ore Reserve at the Wiluna Mining Centre increased by 31% ( 202koz) to 861.9koz @ 4.11 g/t
Wiluna Mining Corporation 2021 Ore Reserve Summary
Mining Centre
Mt
Proved g/t Au
Koz Au
Mt
Probable g/t Au
Koz Au
MtTotal g/t AuKoz Au
Wiluna 3
0.20
1.80
11.8
6.58
4.09
865.2
6.78
4.02
876.9
Stockpiles
0.37
0.98
11.8
-
-
-
0.37
0.98
11.8
Wiltails 4
-
-
-
29.61
0.56
535.6
29.61
0.56
535.6
TOTAL
0.58
1.27
23.6
36.19
1.20
1400.7
36.76
1.20
1424.3
1 The reported Mineral Resources are inclusive of the Ore Reserves.
2 Tonnes are reported as million tonnes ( Mt) and rounded to the nearest 10,000; grade reported in grams per tonne ( g/t) to the nearest hundredth gold ( Au) ounces are reported as thousands rounded to the nearest 100.
3 Wiluna Reserves includes mining from open pit and underground deposits.
4 Wiltails Ore Reserve includes reclaimed tailings material in Dam C, Dam H, TSF West and backfilled pits at Adelaide,
Golden Age, Moonlight, and Squib.
The updated Ore Reserve reaffirms the Company's strategy of underground mining and production of gold in concentrate from the newly commissioned processing flotation plant. This strategy will be supported by the operation of the Wiltails retreatment plant which remains on track for commissioning in mid-2022.
The Ore Reserve estimate ( as at 31 March 2022) is based on the Mineral Resources announced on 17 November 2021 and has been updated in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 edition.
This Ore Reserve update has included an assessment of
• Underground mining at the Wiluna Mining Centre.
• Surface stockpiles.
• Retreatment of historical tailings.
• Open-pit mining of Golden Age deposit.
• Processing of free milling ore through the existing CIL circuit on a campaign basis.
• Processing of sulphide ore primarily from underground mining initially through the 750ktpa Stage 1 Sulphide flotation plant and ramping up to processing through a 1.5Mtpa Stage 2 Sulphide flotation plant.
• A gold price of A $ 2,450/oz has been used for all underground Ore Reserve design and evaluation assessments, and a gold price of $ 2,500/oz was used for the stockpiled, Golden Age open pit and Wiltails design and evaluation. An updated gold price of A $ 2,650/oz was used for the financial evaluation of the Ore Reserve estimate.
The increase in underground Ore Reserves continues to endorse the Company's strategy to expand underground Ore Reserves through methodical infill and extensional drilling around the Mineral Resource, supporting near-term production requirements for Stage 1 processing, whilst also ramping up to the planned expanded production rate.
Full details in relation to this estimate have been provided in the Appendix to this announcement titled JORC ( 2012) Table 1 ( see Page 12 of this report). This new Ore Reserve estimate is an update from the Ore Reserve statement released on 16 March 2021 and the 2021 Company Annual Report.
Resource and Reserve drilling is ongoing at Wiluna with currently four rigs drilling at Wiluna. Further updates on our Ore Reserves will be released in the annual Ore Reserve update due in October 2022.
FEASIBILITY STUDY UPDATE - APRIL 2022
The Company has been conducting studies for the past 12 months on Stage 2 and 3 planned expansions of the Wiluna Mining Operations. Stage 1 of the overall expansion has largely been completed with:
• Underground mine development in the northern end of the Wiluna Mining Centre,
• The successful commissioning of the concentrator ( see Figure 1) in December 2021; and
• The Wiltails tailings retreatment operation currently under construction and shortly to be commissioned; production expected to be ramped up from July 2022
Once fully ramped up by the end of CY2022, Stage 1 steady-state production is estimated to produce initially between 110,000-125,000 ounces per annum ( see variables Table 1).
Figure 1. Stage 1 sulphide flotation plant.
Targeted Stage 1 LOM Metrics ( Once in Commercial Production)
Estimated Stage 1 LOM
+10 years
Estimate LOM gold price
A $ 2,550/oz
Target Underground Tonnes Mined
+750ktpa
Target Throughput: Concentrator
+750ktpa
Target Recovery: Concentrator
83-87%
Target Head Grade: Concentrator
5.0 g/t
Target Production: Concentrator
~100-105kozpa
Target Throughput: Wiltails & Float Tails
2.2Mtpa
Target Head grade: Wiltails & Float Tails
0.45-0.68 g/t
Target Recovery: Wiltails & Float Tails
37-44%
Target Production: Wiltails & Float Tails
~10-20kozpa
Target Gold Production
~110-125kozpa
Target Cash costs ( C1)
A $ 1,120/oz
Target AISC
A $ 1,396/oz
Target AISC with payability charge included *
A $ 1,796/oz
* AISC includes a payability charge of ~A $ 400/oz
Stage 1 Targeted Key Project Outcomes
LOM Value
Gold Recovered
1.5Moz
Gold Sales Revenue at $ 2,650/oz
A $ 3.2B
Pre-Tax Project IRR
305%
Pre-Tax Project NPV ( 10%)
A $ 343 million
Table 1. Stage 1 metrics.
Notes:
• Assumes mine grade at 5 g/t from1 July 2022 onwards in line with expectations from drilling
• Stage 1 metrics based on completed internal JORC compliant studies
• Underground mining costs at benchmark levels of ~A $ 114/t ore
• Tailings retreatment throughput of 2.2Mtpa
ASX: WMC | wilunamining.com.au
Page 4
Table 2. Targeted Stage 1 production profile.
FEASIBILITY STUDY SCOPE AND PROGRESS
WMC's 2022 Feasibility Study ( FS) of Stage 2 expansion has considered the following key components:
• Expanding Stage 1 to include underground mining of an estimated mining inventory of 9.9 Mt at an average grade of 4.1 g/t Au at a rate of 1.5 Mtpa with mining services provided through an alliance agreement with the Byrnecut group of companies.
• Provision of a paste backfill production facility and reticulation to the underground mine.
• Construction and operation of a new two-stage crushing and milling circuit and expansion of the Stage 1 concentrator.
• Ongoing wall lifts of tailings dams TSF J and K.
• Provision of 290 new accommodation rooms in an expanded and renovated Village.
• Provision of a wastewater treatment facility.
• Provision of a temporary construction camp to cover the expanded workforce for approximately two years.
• Provision of an expanded power generation facility and associated reticulation infrastructure additional to the Stage 2 expansion which included a 4MW solar array. The Stage 3 expansion may also include further addition of renewable power generation equipment including wind as well as solar.
• A modest volume of open-pit mining at the end of the schedule encompassing the currently defined Reserves in the West Mine Area. Free milling ore is assumed to be campaigned through the free-milling circuit while sulphides are campaigned through the expanded Stage 2 flotation circuit.
• Tailings retreatment `` Wiltails ''. The CIL plant is assumed as being utilised for the continuous processing of tailings from the concentrator and excavation from historical tailings storage facilities.
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Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd. published this content on 11 April 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 April 2022 23:10:03 UTC. | business |
CYTODYN INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ( form 10-Q) | Refer to information previously reported under Part I, Item 1 of the 2021 Form 10-K.
Overview
Third Quarter Overview
COVID-19 Clinical Developments
For business updates related to previous periods refer to Part I, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
HIV BLA & Clinical Developments
For business updates related to previous periods refer to Part I, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
Cancer Clinical Developments
For business updates related to previous periods refer to Part I, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
NASH Clinical Developments
For business updates related to previous periods refer to Part I, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
Corporate Developments
For business updates related to previous periods refer to Part I, Item 2 of the Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
( 1) See Note 2, Correction of Immaterial Misstatements in Prior Period Financial Statements in Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
Cost of goods sold ( `` COGS '') and Gross margin
For additional information about the inventories policies, refer to Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Inventories, of the 2021 Form 10-K and this Form 10-Q.
General and administrative ( `` G & A '') expenses
G & A expenses consisted of the following:
Research and development ( `` R & D '') expenses
R & D expenses consisted of the following:
For the nine months ended February 28, 2022, R & D expenditures were primarily devoted to: ( 1) COVID-19 clinical trials, ( 2) HIV extension studies which continue to provide leronlimab to patients who have previously successfully completed a trial, ( 3) NASH clinical trial, ( 4) HIV BLA resubmission, ( 5) clinical trials for oncology and other immunology indications, and ( 6) CMC activities related to clinical and commercialization inventories, including expenses associated with inventory related charges.
Amortization and depreciation expenses, and intangible asset impairment charge
Table of Contents
non-cash impairment charge related to the ProstaGene asset recorded in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, in addition to some intangible assets becoming fully amortized.
Interest and other expense
Interest and other expense consisted of the following:
( 1) See Note 2, Correction of Immaterial Misstatements in Prior Period Financial Statements in Form 10-Q for the period ended November 30, 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash
Table of Contents
( 44,737)
Cash used in operating activities
Cash used in investing activities
Net cash used in investing activities was insignificant in the nine months ended February 28, 2022, compared to the same period in the prior year.
Cash provided by financing activities
Inventories
A summary of our convertible debt arrangements is included in Note 6, Convertible Instruments and Accrued Interest, of the Notes to the consolidated financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q.
April 2, 2021 Note
April 23, 2021 Note
Common stock
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of February 28, 2022, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a material effect on our current or future financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.
Regulatory Matters
FDA Refusal to File Letter re HIV BLA Submission
FDA Warning Letter re COVID-19 Misbranding of Investigational Drug
Table of Contents
been approved or authorized by the FDA. The Company is working closely with the FDA to resolve this matter and take the proper corrective actions.
Going Concern
Table of Contents
New Accounting Pronouncements
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
© Edgar Online, source Glimpses | business |
Wall Street slides as jumping Treasury yields pummel growth stocks | ( For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* U.S. yields hit 3-year highs
* Rate-sensitive growth stocks lead decline
* Nvidia falls on ratings downgrade
* Indexes down: Dow 0.65%, S & P 1.22%, Nasdaq 1.63%
NEW YORK, April 11 ( Reuters) - Wall Street slid on Monday as investors began the holiday-shortened week with a flight to safety, as rising bond yields weighed on market-leading growth stocks ahead of crucial inflation data.
All three major U.S. stock indexes were red, with tech and tech-adjacent stocks pulling the Nasdaq down the most.
`` Growth stocks are the most impacted by yield moves, '' said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York, who added that they tend to `` do very well in an economic slowdown. ''
`` Value is clearly winning right now but that doesnt it mean it will for the rest of the year, '' Pursche said.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered near a three-year high ahead of key inflation data expected on Tuesday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has vowed to aggressively tackle scorching inflation, and market participants largely expect a series of 50-basis-point interest rate hikes from the central bank in the coming months.
`` The concern is that the Fed is going to induce a recession, '' Pursche said.
The Labor Department's CPI report expected on Tuesday for any sign the inflation wave has crested. Analysts expect the report will show an 8.5% year-on-year growth in consumer prices, the hottest reading since 1981.
Ongoing geopolitical strife also helped dampen investor risk appetite.
Ukraine said it expected Russia to launch a huge new offensive soon as the most serious conflict in Europe since the Balkan wars of the 1990s wore on, despite ongoing peace negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 225.11 points, or 0.65%, to 34,496.01, the S & P 500 lost 54.57 points, or 1.22%, to 4,433.71 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 222.84 points, or 1.63%, to 13,488.15.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S & P 500, all but industrials were in the red, with energy shares suffering the biggest percentage loss.
First-quarter earnings season bursts through the starting gate later this week, with big banks leading the way.
Analysts have curbed their first-quarter optimism. On aggregate, annual S & P 500 earnings growth is estimated to be 6.1%, down from 7.5% at the beginning of the year.
Twitter Inc advanced 2.4% after its biggest shareholder, Tesla Inc Chairman Elon Musk rejected the social media company's offer to join its board of directors.
As for Tesla, data showed sales of its electric vehicles plunged in China last month due to that country's efforts to curb COVID-19 outbreaks, sending its shares down 3.7%.
Media and streaming firm Warner Bros Discovery Inc, formed from the $ 43 billion merger of Discovery Inc and assets of AT & T Inc, oscillated in its first day of trading, and was last down 2.6%.
Nvidia Corp plunged 5.5% after Baird downgraded the chipmaker's stock to `` neutral '' from `` outperform, '' citing order cancellations and potential demand slowdown.
Falling crude prices helped keep commercial air carriers aloft. The S & P 1500 Airline index rose 2.9%.
Chinese regulators approved its first gaming license since July of last year, boosting U.S.-listed shares of DouYu International Holdings, Huya, NetEase Inc and Bilibili by between 3% and 10%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.11-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.01-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S & P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and nine new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 284 new lows.
( Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) | business |
EUROPEAN MIDDAY BRIEFING - Stocks Drop, Miners -2- | `` This is quite evident by simply looking at EUR/USD, which is still trading below 1.09 despite the result of the first round of the French presidential election. ''
-- -
Uncertainty over the French presidential election could put modest pressure on the euro ahead of the second round of votes on April 24, MUFG Bank said.
The first round of the election and opinion polls suggest a close result in the second round, which could weigh on the euro slightly in coming weeks, MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman said in a note.
`` There is a risk that the euro could weaken further in the near-term if the opinion polls were to continue to narrow ahead of the second round. ''
However, President Emmanuel Macron should ultimately prevail, albeit less comfortably than the last election, meaning the euro's weakness on nervousness over the election outcome won't last, Hardman said.
-- -
Cryptocurrencies were lower, in line with stocks. Bitcoin prices lost more than 1% over the past 24 hours and were holding above $ 42,000; the leading digital asset was trading above $ 45,000 less than a week ago. Smaller peer ether lost almost 3% to around $ 3,150.
-- -
The Riksbank is likely to take a less expansionary policy approach at its April 28 meeting, but this is widely anticipated so any gains in the Swedish krona will be limited, Commerzbank said.
The market has brought forward its interest rate rise expectations in recent weeks following remarks from Riksbank policymakers suggesting the central bank could start lifting rates sooner, Commerzbank currency analyst Antje Praefcke said in a research note.
`` That is why EUR/SEK is trading at 10.30 levels, '' she said. `` At the same time SEK does not have much further appreciation potential at this stage, `` she said.
Bonds:
U.S. government bonds extended their selloff. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose to 2.758% from 2.713% Friday. Yields have climbed for four of the past five weeks.
-- -
The yield on 10-year benchmark U.K. government bonds jumped after official data showed the country's output almost flattened in February.
The 10-year gilt yield rose as high as 1.795% after the announcement, from Friday's close of 1.760%, according to Tradeweb. U.K. gross domestic product expanded 0.1% in February compared to the previous month, missing expectations by economist polled by the WSJ of a 0.2% rise.
`` It's little wonder the economy overall is showing signs of stalling from its remarkable pandemic recovery, given the sense of foreboding which arose from mid-February as troops amassed on the Ukraine border and then the commodity shock unleashed by the invasion hit sentiment, '' said Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown.
-- -
The outcome of the first round of French presidential elections seems slightly positive, DZ Bank analyst Christian Lenk said, though he sees scope for limited outperformance of French government bonds, or OATs.
Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron secured a lead over Marine Le Pen in the first round of elections on Sunday, but the runoff is expected to be a tight race.
In case of a surprise win by Le Pen in the runoff, a rise in the 10-year OAT-Bund spread to around 80 basis points -- from around 51 bps currently, according to Tradeweb -- would be quite conceivable, Lenk said. Early Monday, 10-year OATs slightly outperformed 10-year Bunds.
-- -
Euro credit investors are set to pay special attention to second-quarter company financial reports, as the earnings season kicks off this week, said UniCredit's research team.
`` We expect generally improved credit metrics to be confirmed, though amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine investors will be focusing on the outlook, and notably on how issuers plan to cope with rising commodity and energy prices, '' analysts at the Italian bank said.
Amid slower economic growth in 1Q, they expect the credit metrics of cyclical companies are likely to have deteriorated slightly more than those of non-cyclical firms.
-- -
Euro credit investors are likely to remain vigilant as the week starts, UniCredit's research team said, as the investment environment remains vulnerable.
`` European corporate credit faces a mix of input that will probably leave investors cautious at the start of the new week, '' analysts at the Italian bank said.
Beside the weakness in major equity indexes and in Bund futures this morning, `` nervousness is likely to dominate '' ahead of U.S. inflation data Tuesday and a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, they said. Also, the French presidential election will be decided in two weeks in a second round, adding to current uncertainty.
Commodities:
Oil prices slipped as fears of waning demand in China from surging Covid-19 cases weigh. Cases of Covid-19 in Shanghai have surged to 130,000 raising fears that the lockdown of the city of 25 million people could continue.
`` The lockdowns that are slowing oil demand in the world's second-largest consumer country threaten to persist for even longer, '' said Commerzbank.
The setback to oil demand from canceled flights and movement restrictions could stand at 1.2 to 1.3 million barrels per day, Commerzbank said, citing data from consultancy FGE.
-- -
Second-quarter earnings results bode well for oil and gas and basic resources issuers, said UniCredit's research team. `` Oil & Gas and Basic Resources issuers are likely to have benefited further from commodity prices, which were already high in 1Q, '' they said.
On the flipside, sectors particularly exposed to discretionary spending, such as retail and travel & leisure, are likely to have witnessed further deterioration of their credit metrics due to the decline in real household income, they said.
-- -
Base-metal prices sunk as worries over Chinese consumption mount, particularly in key industrial regions such as Shanghai, which last week pushed the city's 26 million residents into a coronavirus lockdown.
Three-month nickel on the London Metals Exchange was down 3.3% to $ 32,855 a metric ton, while copper and aluminum futures were down 1.1% and 2.3%, respectively.
Investors ' worries over Asian appetite for metals have so far outweighed the supply issues coming from Russia. Last week, miner Rio Tinto relinquished Russian giant Rusal's share of the Gladstone refinery in Queensland -- something which was seen as a key source of raw material for Rusal and again could strain supply from the region.
-- -
Precious-metal prices rise as investors look to haven assets, on mounting fears of inflation globally. Gold futures were up 0.1% in New York, with investors seeing the metal as a strong hedge, especially given the effects of the war in Ukraine on consumer prices already.
Elsewhere, platinum group metal prices are also rising, particularly for palladium which is 2.8% higher at $ 2,487 an ounce, having risen more than 8% on Friday after the London Platinum and Palladium Market removed two Russian-government tied refiners from its permitted list of goods delivery list.
Platinum too was 0.9% higher at $ 984 an ounce.
EMEA HEADLINES
Société Générale Sells Russian Bank to Oligarch Vladimir Potanin
French banking giant Société Générale SA said it would exit Russia, sell its operations to one of Russia's richest people, and take a more than $ 3 billion hit to its income.
The French bank said Monday that it was selling its entire stake in Rosbank and its Russian insurance units to Interros, a conglomerate controlled by metals billionaire Vladimir Potanin. Interros previously controlled Rosbank.
UK Economy Grew Marginally in February
The U.K. economy almost flatlined in February, and economists see tougher times ahead as effects from the Ukraine war feed into a multi-decade high inflation rate.
The U.K. economy expanded 0.1% in February compared with the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said Monday, slightly below the 0.2% rise expected by economists in a poll carried out by The Wall Street Journal.
Miners Choose Dividends Over Investments Despite Production Strain
High commodity prices are boosting mining profits, and companies are opting to give the money back to shareholders rather than invest in new projects-which could slow global production growth.
Last year was spectacular for mining groups as they benefited from a postpandemic recovery in demand which boosted the prices of commodities such as coal, iron ore, aluminum and copper. Earnings soared as a result, and much of it went into shareholders ' pockets.
Ericsson Suspends Russia Business Indefinitely, Books $ 95 Mln Provision
STOCKHOLM-Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson AB said Monday that it is suspending its business in Russia indefinitely and will record a provision of 900 million Swedish kronor ( $ 95.2 million) in the first quarter of 2022.
In late February, Ericsson suspended all deliveries to customers in Russia to give it time to analyze the potential impact of sanctions against the country.
Russia's Rusal Disagrees With Rio Tinto Alumina Refinery Step-In
United Co. Rusal said that it disagrees with Rio Tinto PLC taking full control of Queensland Alumina Ltd., one of Australia's largest alumina refineries in which the Russian company has a 20% stake, and that talks with its partner about management of the operation are continuing.
Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest miner by market value, last week said it had taken on `` 100% of the capacity and governance '' of the QAL refinery after sanctions from the Australian government aimed at gumming up Russia's mammoth aluminum industry.
Ukraine, Russia Gear Up for War's Biggest Battles
Ukraine and Russia poured reinforcements into eastern Ukraine this weekend, preparing for what are likely to become the war's biggest battles as refugees continued to flee the looming Russian assault.
( MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
04-11-22 0626ET | business |
U.S. banks set for better-than-expected trading revenues | But quarterly results from banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co will show a sharp decline in investment banking revenues and in first-quarter earnings overall. That is due to companies pausing deals until choppy equity markets stabilize.
Coming into the year, banks had expected trading volumes to decline to levels similar to 2019, following exceptional activity in 2020 and 2021. Traders had benefited from the Federal Reserve pumping liquidity into markets to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the conflict in Ukraine, which Russia calls a `` special military operation, '' and the prospect of multiple interest rate hikes as the Fed attempts to bring inflation under control, has led to traders enjoying another bumper period.
`` There's definitely been more volatility than we expected coming into the year and that volatility benefited trading businesses, particularly on the fixed income side, '' said one senior New York-based banker.
Uncertainty over the pace of interest rate hikes by central banks has stimulated rates trading, the source said.
Another senior executive at a European bank with large U.S. operations said his firm's trading businesses had enjoyed a `` pretty phenomenal quarter. ''
`` It was a very similar trend to what we saw in the same quarter last year in terms of volumes, '' he said.
Banks face exceptionally tough comparatives. The first quarter last year saw major equity indexes hit record highs, driving volumes. Having initially forecast sharp year-on-year declines, analysts now expect a similar performance this year.
Analysts at Moody's anticipate a boost in banks ' trading revenues `` that could roughly mirror the exceptional results of first-quarter 2021, '' they said in a research note.
Still, some see more headwinds. Christopher McGratty of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods estimates an 18% decline in trading revenues.
'GOOD VOLATILITY '
Traders are hoping they continue to see `` good volatility, '' where clients are encouraged to buy and sell securities to reshape portfolios, rather than `` bad volatility, '' where liquidity dries up due to bid/ask spreads being too high.
Equity trading surged in the first quarter as the VIX - a measure of expected 30-day volatility for U.S. stocks that some call Wall Street's fear gauge - spiked. Fixed-income trading ramped up as clients hedged their positions, bankers say.
Rapid shifts in asset prices can mean banks benefit from increased trading volumes as clients adjust their exposures. But they present dangers too, from counterparty risk.
The London Metal Exchange ( LME) was forced to halt nickel trading earlier this month after prices doubled to more than $ 100,000 per tonne, a rise which sources blamed on short covering by one of the world's top producers.
The New York-based bank executive said his firm had been `` carefully monitoring '' its commodities exposures and testing the liquidity of clients on a regular basis.
Another downside for banks has been a sharp drop in investment banking fees as companies hold off on deals. M & A advisory fees are expected to drop by 30-40%, analysts say.
Equity capital markets ( ECM) issuance dropped 70-80%, according to analysts. The decline in major equity indexes led to initial public offerings virtually drying up.
Despite that, pipelines remain healthy and activity could pick up quickly when markets stabilize, bankers say. Companies could be encouraged to make acquisitions because valuations have declined from last year's highs. That could, in turn, lead to a pick-up in equity capital markets.
`` The first quarter marked a significant shift in the operating environment, but we continue to see opportunity in the year ahead, '' said JMP Securities analyst Devin Ryan.
( Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Megan Davies and Nick Zieminski)
By Matt Scuffham | business |
Thoma Bravo to buy SailPoint for $ 6.1 billion in cybersecurity push | In buying Austin, Texas-based SailPoint, Thoma Bravo will bolster its strength in the security-focused space, where it already has key investments in firms including Proofpoint Inc, Barracuda Networks and Sophos.
Shares of SailPoint, founded in 2005, closed at $ 64.05 on Monday, a 29% jump from Friday.
Cybersecurity has been a hot sector for buyouts thanks to a COVID-19 pandemic-led shift to remote working as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has led to a spike in cyberattacks. Datto, a security solutions provider, has also been taken private in a $ 6.2 billion deal by investors led by Insight Partners on Monday.
Thoma Bravo, which manages more than $ 103 billion in assets, was the majority stakeholder in SailPoint prior to its initial public offering in 2017. It exited from its position by the end of 2018.
SailPoint shareholders will receive $ 65.25 per share in cash, the company said on Monday, representing a premium of 31.6% as of Friday close. Including debt, the deal is valued at about $ 6.9 billion.
Sources said the deal could help SailPoint accelerate its transition to a software as a service ( SaaS) model without the scrutiny of being a public company, and fund potential transformative acquisitions with the dry powder from Thoma Broavo.
SailPoint's Chief Executive Officer Mark McClain said the go-private deal, expected to close in the second half of this year, would allow the company to pursue long-term growth with greater flexibility and expand their markets on the back of additional capital from the private equity firm.
`` We're about 10% penetrated in our target market. We have a lot of room to grow in terms of what we add to our portfolio, '' McClain said.
SailPoint specializes in software related to identity and access management that helps businesses mitigate unwanted user access and reduce the risk of sensitive data leakage. SailPoint shares had lost about 9.2% in 2021.
( Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Will Dunham)
By Eva Mathews and Krystal Hu | business |
U.S. yields jump to 3-year highs, stocks slide on CPI outlook | The euro rose against the dollar to snap a seven-day losing streak as the single currency rallied after French leader Emmanuel Macron beat far-right challenger Marine Le Pen in France's first round of presidential voting on Sunday.
The dollar held just below almost two-year highs against a basket of currencies and strengthened against the Japanese yen, up 0.88%, and versus the commodity currencies - the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries rose more than 7 basis points to 2.793%, the highest level since January 2019.
Yields have surged in anticipation of Fed rate hikes, which Dec Mullarkey, managing director of investment strategy and asset allocation at SLC Management, expects to be by 50 basis points at each of the Fed's next three policy meetings.
`` The Fed is going to move aggressively. The market has appropriately priced it in, '' Mullarkey said.
`` They don't want to be an issue in the midterms, '' Mullarkey added, referring to elections in November that will determine whether Republicans can wrest control from President Joe Biden's Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. `` They also do not want to be in the position where they don't have inflation under control. ''
Economists polled by Reuters forecast the U.S. consumer price index ( CPI) on Tuesday would post an 8.4% year-over-year increase in March. Separately, they also saw the probability of a recession next year at 40%.
Technology shares, which have been underpinned by record low interest rates, fell 2% in Europe and 2.6% on Wall Street.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe closed down 1.33% and the pan-European STOXX 600 index slid 0.59% as regional bourses fell with the exception of France's CAC 40.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.19%, the S & P 500 lost 1.69% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.18%. All 11 S & P 500 sectors fell.
Volatility gripped French blue chips on the outlook for a tight Macron-Le Pen race in the final round of voting. French assets have underperformed as markets are uneasy about Le Pen's agenda of protectionism, tax cuts and nationalization.
The CAC 40 index, which is off 1.5% so far in April as the STOXX 600 gains about 0.4%, closed up 0.12%.
`` I don't expect the French equity markets to rally until we have the second round - we expect a lot of volatility and range-bound trading, '' said Mathieu Racheter, head of equity strategy at Julius Baer. `` It is really a close call in the runoff. ''
Overnight in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.6% and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo slid 0.61%.
Oil prices dropped by $ 4 a barrel, with Brent tumbling below $ 100 on plans to release record volumes of crude from strategic reserves and on continuing COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
U.S. crude futures fell $ 3.97 to settle at $ 94.29 a barrel while Brent settled down $ 4.30 at $ 98.48.
Palladium steadied after jumping as much as 5% on supply concerns following a recent suspension on trading of the metal sourced from Russia in the London metals hub, while gold was buoyed by inflation fears.
U.S. gold futures settled up 0.1% at $ 1,948.20 an ounce.
Bitcoin fell 5.66% to $ 39,748.60.
China's inflation figures surprised on the high side on Monday although they were still relatively modest at 1.5% year-on-year in March.
But that still saw yields on China's 10-year government bonds fall below U.S. Treasury yields for the first time in 12 years on Monday.
GRAPHIC: US-China https: //fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/myvmnqlakpr/us-china.JPG
( Reporting by Herbert Lash, additional reporting by Samuel Indyk and Elizabeth Howcroft in London, Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan, Will Dunham and David Gregorio)
By Herbert Lash | business |
TSX slips on weakness in energy stocks | Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index edged lower on Monday as losses in the energy sector countered a rise in financial stocks in the run-up to a central bank meeting this week.
At 10:20 a.m. ET ( 14:20 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S & P/TSX composite index was down 38.06 points, or 0.17%, at 21,836.29.
The energy sector dropped 2%, tracking a 4% slump in crude oil prices on plans to release strategic reserves and concerns about China's COVID-19 lockdowns.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.1% as gold futures rose 0.6% to $ 1,954 an ounce.
The financials sector firmed 0.5%, tracking gains in government bond yields ahead of the Bank of Canada's policy meeting on April 13.
After a strong employment report last week, the central bank is widely expected to raise its policy rate by a rare half point to 1% to fight inflation.
The consumer discretionary sector rose 0.5%. Shares of e-commerce giant Shopify Inc gained 1.3% after it announced a 10-for-1 split of its class A and class B stock.
Meanwhile, Canada said it was imposing sanctions on companies in the Russian defense sector and that it was studying options for additional measures in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
HIGHLIGHTS
On the TSX, 89 issues were higher, while 149 issues declined for a 1.67-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 50.44 million shares traded.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Oceanagold Corp, which jumped 2.9%, and auto tech provider Magna International, which rose 2.5%.
Ero Copper Corp fell 5.5%, the most on the TSX, tracking lower copper prices. The second-biggest decliner was MTY Food Group, down 5.2%.
The most heavily traded shares by volume were Athabasca Oil Corp, down 5.1%, Suncor Energy, down 0.7% and Cenovus Energy, down 3.3%.
The TSX posted 13 new 52-week highs and one new low.
Across all Canadian issues there were 37 new 52-week highs and 79 new lows, with total volume of 88.00 million shares. ( Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) | business |
Nighthawk Gold Announces C $ 25 Million Bought Deal Financing |
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TSX: NHKOTCQX: MIMZF
TORONTO, April 11, 2022 /CNW/ - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ( `` Nighthawk '' or the `` Company '') ( TSX: NHK) ( OTCQX: MIMZF) announces that it has entered into an agreement, with a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Sprott Capital Partners and Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. ( collectively, the `` Underwriters ''), pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, or arrange for substitute purchasers to purchase, ( i) 10,000,000 units of the Company ( `` Units '') at a price of C $ 0.70 per Unit, ( ii) 3,705,000 units of the Company issued on a flow-through basis ( the `` FT Units '') at a price of C $ 0.81 per FT Unit, and ( iii) 15,310,000 units of the Company issued on a premium flow-through basis ( the `` Premium FT Units '' and together with the Units and FT Units, the `` Offered Securities '') at a price of C $ 0.98 per Premium FT Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of C $ 25,004,850, on a `` bought deal '' basis ( the `` Offering '').
Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company ( a `` Common Share '') and one-half of one common share purchase warrant ( each whole warrant, a `` Warrant ''). Each FT Unit and Premium FT Unit will consist of one Common Share to be issued as a `` flow-through share '' under the Income Tax Act ( Canada) and one-half of one Warrant to be issued on a non flow-through basis. Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share ( a `` Warrant Share '') on a non flow-through basis at an exercise price of C $ 1.05 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance thereof.
In addition, the Company shall grant the Underwriters an over-allotment option ( the `` Over-Allotment Option ''), exercisable in whole or in part at any time and from time to time, up to and including the date which is 30 days after the closing of the Offering, in the sole discretion of the Underwriters, to purchase from the treasury of the Company up to an additional number of Offered Securities as is equal to 15% of the number of the Offered Securities issued pursuant to the Offering, on the same terms as set forth above, to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes.
The net proceeds from the sale of the Units will be used for general and administrative expenses and the gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Units and Premium FT Units will be used for exploration expenditures on Nighthawk's district-scale gold property located in Canada's Northwest Territories, with the focus on mineral resource expansion opportunities and testing greenfield targets.
The Offering is expected to close on or about May 3, 2022, or such other date as agreed between the Company and the Underwriters, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Offered Securities will be offered by way of a short form prospectus in provinces of Canada, other than the Province of Quebec, and the Units may also be offered by way of private placement in the United States or other jurisdictions outside of Canada.
The Underwriters will be paid a cash commission in connection with the Offering. The Underwriters will also be issued broker warrants exercisable for a period of 24 months following the closing date, to acquire in aggregate that number of common shares which is equal to 3.0% of the number of Offered Securities sold under the Offering at an exercise price of C $ 0.70 per common share.
It is anticipated that insiders of the Company may participate in the Offering. By virtue of their participation, the Offering would constitute a `` related party transaction '' under applicable securities laws. The Company expects to release a material change report including details with respect to the related party transaction less than 21 days prior to the closing of the Offering, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances so as to be able to avail itself of potential financing opportunities and complete the Offering in an expeditious manner. As the related party transaction will not exceed specified limits and will constitute a distribution of securities for cash, it is expected that neither a formal valuation nor minority shareholder approval will be required in connection with the Offering.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ( the `` U.S. Securities Act '') or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of more than 930 km2 of district-scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt, located approximately 200 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The Company is advancing several highly prospective exploration targets. Nighthawk's experienced management team, with a track record of successfully advancing projects and operating mines, is working towards demonstrating the economic viability of its assets and rapidly advancing its projects towards a development decision.
Keyvan Salehi
President & CEO
Michael Leskovec
CFO
Allan Candelario
VP, Investor Relations
This news release contains `` forward-looking information '' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to, information with respect to the Company's exploration initiatives; the closing of the Offering; the use of proceeds; and the Toronto Stock Exchange approval. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as `` advancing '', `` working towards '', `` plans '', `` expects '', or `` does not expect '', `` is expected '', `` budget '', `` scheduled '', `` estimates '', `` forecasts '', `` intends '', `` anticipates '', or `` does not anticipate '', or `` believes '' or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results `` may '', `` could '', `` would '', `` might '', or `` will be taken '', `` occur '', or `` be achieved ''.
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nighthawk to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, the war in Ukraine and its effect on supply chains, environmental risks, COVID-19 and other pandemic risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Nighthawk's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2021, available on www.sedar.com. Although Nighthawk has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Nighthawk does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Nighthawk Gold Corp.
© Canada Newswire, source Canada Newswire English | business |
Oil falls to February levels on worsening China demand outlook | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Oil fell as China’ s largest COVID-19 outbreak in two years heightens concerns about demand from the world’ s biggest crude importer.
West Texas Intermediate dropped 4 per cent to settle just over US $ 94 a barrel, the lowest level since late February. Virus cases are rising in Shanghai, with millions under lockdown and no clarity on when restrictions will be lifted. The uptick in cases has disrupted port operations and prompted some refiners to trim crude-processing rates.
Oil has given up most of the gains earned since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February following a tumultuous period of trading. A weakening structure in the futures curve in recent days has pointed to diminishing concerns about a lack of sufficient supply and, so far, there’ s no sign that Russian crude exports are diminishing.
The lockdowns are “ truly changing the calculus of the market that was so worried about the sufficiency of supply out of Russia, ” said John Kilduff, co-founder at Again Capital LLC. Combined with the historic release of strategic reserves, “ it’ s really taken a lot of the supply fears out of the market. ”
The war aggravated already rampant inflation and prompted the U.S. and its allies to release strategic crude reserves to cool prices. On Monday, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said that it would be impossible to fully replace Russian barrels, and that oil markets could experience a loss of as much as 7 million barrels a day.
Prices surged above US $ 100 in the immediate aftermath of Russia’ s invasion but with the return of lockdowns in China, oil analysts are reducing demand forecasts. Shanghai reported a record 26,000-plus new coronavirus cases Sunday and the southern metropolis of Guangzhou is implementing a series of restrictions as China struggles to halt the spread.
Factory-gate prices in China rose more than expected last month as oil climbed, putting pressure on manufacturers already struggling to operate amid repeated virus outbreaks.
Russian crude oil shipments in the seven days to April 8 continued a rebound that began the previous week after consistently falling since the nation’ s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Weekly shipments hit almost 4 million barrels a day in the first full week of April, the highest level seen so far this year.
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U.S. democratic senators to unveil draft cannabis reform bill on Wednesday: Report | general |
Thai politician indicted for royal insult over vaccine speech | Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the 43-year-old leader of the disbanded Future Forward Party, is accused of lese majeste and breaking cyber laws in a January, 2021 Facebook Live stream, during which he said the government had mishandled its vaccine campaign and unfairly favoured Siam Bioscience, a firm owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Thailand has one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws and a conviction carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, while breaches of its computer crimes act are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Thanathorn, who was granted bail on Monday, denies insulting the monarchy and said his criticism was directed at the government, not the royal family.
`` What I did was intended for public benefit and to protect the royal institution, '' he told reporters.
`` I want to stress that the usage of this law is not a good thing, and certainly not good for the monarchy, '' he added, referring to the lese majeste law.
Siam Bioscience, which had not produced vaccines prior to last year, was chosen to manufacture the COVID vaccine of Britain's AstraZeneca for distribution in Southeast Asia. It also received $ 20 million in government subsidies to develop its capacity.
Thanathorn had also complained the government should have diversified its sources of vaccines.
Thailand subsequently used three different types of COVID vaccines, which Thanathorn said was proof his remarks were in the public interest.
The complaint against him was lodged by an official in the prime minister's office. The government, AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience have stood by the vaccine production agreement.
The office of the attorney general did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thanathorn was banned from politics for 10 years in 2020 by the Constitutional Court over a loan he gave his former opposition party. His indictment comes as scores of members of a student pro-democracy movement affiliated with his party await trial on similar charges, which they deny.
( Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor) | business |
Asia octane: Key market indicators for April 11-15 | In this week's highlights: Oil markets to focus on monthly reports from OPEC and the International...
The NYMEX Henry Hub prompt-month contract burst through what has been an impassable resistance point...
Pacific Gas and Electric is telling customers to be prepared for potential power outages as strong...
Demand for Asian gasoline and its blending components is expected to soften over April 11-15, as China maintains a lockdown in Shanghai and COVID-19 measures are enforced in Guangzhou.
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Interest in gasoline blending was heard decreasing in China, with blending components such as MTBE expected to be exported out of the country due to oversupply, market sources said.
While demand for gasoline remains firm in Sri Lanka, financial issues have prevented them from acting on that demand and purchasing gasoline, market sources said.
At 0242 GMT April 11, June ICE Brent crude oil futures were down by 1.15% from the previous Asian close April 8 at $ 100.42/b, S & P Global Commodities Insight data showed.
* * Poor derivative downstream margins weighed on demand for naphtha as a steam cracker feedstock, however its demand as a gasoline blendstock was supported as the reforming spread has remained over $ 20/b in April.
* * The reforming spread -- the difference between FOB Singapore 92 RON gasoline swap versus FOB Singapore naphtha swap -- held firm at $ 20.25/b at the Asian close April 8, up $ 3.44/b on the month and $ 3.09/b from the March average of $ 17.16/b, S & P Global data showed. The widened spread makes it economically viable for gasoline producers to use naphtha as a blendstock, sources said.
* * However bearish sentiment was seen for petrochemicals: the key CFR Northeast Asia ethylene and C+F Japan naphtha remained above the typical breakeven levels of $ 300- $ 350/mt at $ 482.00/mt as of April 8, the spread had fallen $ 29.50/mt on the week and $ 26.75/mt on the day, S & P Global data showed.
* * Furthermore, poor derivative downstream margins made production planning difficult, sources said. The polyethylene-naphtha margin remains below the typical breakeven of $ 450/mt, with the high density polyethylene film CFR Far East Asia to CFR Japan naphtha physical spread at $ 362.00/mt at the Asian close April 8, S & P Global data showed.
* * Naphtha-fed steam crackers in South Korea and China are expected to keep run rates low at around 80% in April, amid weak ethylene demand and high naphtha costs, according to steam cracker operators and market sources surveyed by S & P Global.
* * Asian MTBE FOB Singapore marker is expected to be on an upward trajectory on the back of returning buying interest amid the Ramadan peak demand in Southeast Asia and spring-summer driving season in Northeast Asia.
* * Singapore's MTBE exports rose 23.9% month on month and 323.9% year on year to 21,154 mt in February, Enterprise Singapore data showed on March 21.
* * Against the backdrop, MTBE trade volumes in the S & P Global Market on Close process in March were recorded at 13,000 mt, a 30% jump from the previous month, and a 117% spike from the same month a year ago, S & P Global data showed. The hikes in the trade volume came amid rallies in the energy complex amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
* * Asian toluene prices have steadily improved against naphtha in the last two weeks and will continue to see strength amid tight availability from Southeast Asian and Korean producers as operating rates have been reduced since March, trading sources said. The Toluene-naphtha spread jumped above the $ 100/mt mark on March 25, 2022 at $ 114/mt, according to S & P Global data. The spread was last higher Aug. 28, 2021 at $ 123.88/mt, S & P Global data showed.
* * Vietnam was believed to have bought 5,000 mt of toluene for gasoline blending while India's inventory has been depleting, sources added.
* * Thailand's SCG Chemicals ' aromatics units at both Rayong and Map Ta Phut were operating at a lower run rate of 80% in April, a source familiar with the matter said April 8. The run rates will improve slightly to 90% in May.
* * Isomer-grade mixed xylene supplies are tighter than usual due to production issues and coming turnarounds in Japan, however, demand has also been described as weak, especially in China.
* * The CFR China Iso-MX price was assessed at $ 1,057/mt April 8, on par with FOB Korea, S & P Global data showed.
* * Supply tightness is also coming from producers prioritizing gasoline production over MX at the moment, as gasoline has seen an upswing in margins. In the week ending April 16 a major end-user in Taiwan will also begin turnaround at one of its plants, further reducing demand for MX.
* * Buyers in the Philippines are expected to stay on the sidelines as ethanol values advanced. According to a source, US ethanol levels are too elevated for purchases at the end of the week, ended April 8, with buying idea sitting at below $ 700/cu m CFR Philippines.
* * Ethanol purchases were done earlier at the start of the week ended April 8 for Q2 delivery at levels below $ 740/cu m CFR Philippines, probably the last major buying as Q2 before buyers search for Q3 cargoes.
* * The Asian fuel marker climbed to $ 744.33/cu m on April 4 versus $ 732/cu m on April 1 against according to S & P Global data.
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Prospect of far-right Le Pen presidency threatens outlook for French banks | French banks face a nervous wait ahead of the final round of the country's presidential election in two weeks when far-right euroskeptic Marine Le Pen will challenge incumbent Emmanuel Macron.
Le Pen, leader of National Rally, came second in the first round of the election, on April 10, with 23.2% of the vote, behind President Macron in first place with 27.8%. Support for Le Pen surged in the week ahead of the first round, with one poll suggesting Le Pen could beat Macron in a runoff.
The emerging prospect of a Le Pen presidency is spooking investors in French banks, with the share prices of the country's three largest listed lenders — BNP Paribas SA, Crédit Agricole SA and Société Générale SA — falling by an average of more than 9% since April 1, compared to a dip of less than 2% for the S & P Europe BMI Banks Index, Market Intelligence data shows. Le Pen's lack of enthusiasm for the European Union and the euro are seen as a potential threat to the growth prospects of the French economy and the stability of its financial system.
`` A Le Pen presidency would bring a degree of uncertainty and uneasiness related to France, which could affect French banks ' European activities, '' Sam Theodore, senior consultant at credit rating agency Scope Group, said in an emailed statement. 'Europe of nations '
Le Pen wants France to have greater autonomy from the EU, which she says should be replaced eventually by a `` Europe of nations. '' Her policies include a cut in France's contributions to the EU's budget, the primacy of French law over EU rules, and a return of custom checks on goods entering France from other EU countries, which would undermine the bloc's single market. The power of both candidates to implement their policies will depend on the results of French National Assembly elections in June.
`` She is really going to be working against Europe and at best that means gridlock, at worst it means a move away from more integration, '' said Jessica Hinds, senior Europe economist at independent research consultancy Capital Economics. `` Overall, her approach would probably reduce France's potential GDP growth in the long run, so it wouldn't be a good thing for the French economy. ''
France accounted for around half of Crédit Agricole SA and SocGen's revenues in 2021 and around one third of BNP Paribas ', according to Market Intelligence data and company filings. France's three largest listed banks are among the biggest and most widely dispersed lenders in Europe. They have benefited from France's influential position in the EU and would be reluctant to see any rolling back of its economic and financial integration, said Theodore.
`` President Macron has managed to strengthen France's international reputation and favorability and solidify its leadership role in Europe, '' Theodore said. `` Such an increase in France's soft power serves well French banks ' European and international presence [ as ] France has probably one of the most geographically diversified banking landscapes worldwide. ''
BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole SA declined to comment for this article. SocGen did not reply to a request for comment.Anti-EU sentiment
Le Pen's surge in popularity comes as the EU encounters similar opposition in other member states. Hungary reelected euroskeptic Viktor Orban on April 3 while the Polish government is engaged in an ongoing row with the EU about adherence to European law. The U.K. voted in a referendum to leave the EU in 2016.
Le Pen's opposition to the EU appears to have mellowed since her previous campaigns for the presidency in 2011 and 2017. She had previously supported France leaving both the EU and the euro.
Her current campaign plays down her opposition to the EU, as well as her party's longstanding focus on immigration issues. She has instead prioritized policies that provide support for voters, such as scrapping income tax for the under-30s, amid a cost of living crisis caused by surging inflation.
The size of the fiscal stimulus on offer from Le Pen could boost French GDP growth and bank lending in some areas in the short term, said Hinds. `` If there's going to be the massive support toward household income that she is planning, then you could actually see quite a boost to consumer spending, '' Hinds said.
Still, other areas are likely to suffer if Le Pen is elected.
`` We might see private investment struggle, '' said Hinds. `` The uncertainty and concerns about what the future holds might dampen business and private sector investment a little. ''
Since Macron came to power in 2017, foreign direct investment in France has grown to levels similar to those seen in the U.K. and Germany, according to a report by consultancy EY. France attracted 985 foreign direct investment projects in 2020, while the U.K. got 975 and Germany 930.
Former Rothschild & Cie banker Macron has overseen a `` very pro-business '' presidency since 2017, said Hinds, which has involved significant labor reforms and reductions in corporation tax and other employer contributions.
`` The French financial system will be better served by a second Macron mandate than by a Le Pen presidency, '' Theodore said. Macron's reforms enabled France to absorb the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as producing a decline in structural unemployment and a relative improvement in business confidence prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said Theodore.
BNP Paribas, SocGen and Crédit Agricole SA enjoyed their best-ever year for profits in 2021, Market Intelligence data shows. The global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic drove the strong performance, helping the lenders to revenues that were among the highest they have ever recorded.
A second term for Macron would provide the `` ideal environment '' for French banks, said Arnaud Journois, vice president, financial institutions at credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar. In the event of a Le Pen victory, the negative impacts on French banks will begin to be felt immediately, Journois added.
`` If she is elected, we will probably see a bit of turmoil in the market, higher volatility, '' said Journois. `` That might have an impact on the results from banks ' financial operations. '' | business |
Japan cancels a third of contracted Astrazeneca vaccine purchase | The contract allowed the government to cancel a portion of the supply if it was unneeded, the official said in response to lawmakers ' questioning. Japan had originally agreed to buy 120 million of the shots, with the bulk made domestically by Daiichi Sankyo Co. and other local partners.
About Astrazeneca 200,000 doses have been supplied to local governments in Japan, while 63 million doses have donated overseas, the official added.
Japan has predominantly relied on the mRNA-type vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc for its COVID inoculations and boosters so far.
( Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Toby Chopra) | business |
Gasoline seen boosting U.S. consumer prices in March | The Labor Department's consumer price report on Tuesday would seal the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by a hefty 50 basis points next month. It would follow on the heels of data last month showing the unemployment rate dropping to a fresh two-year low of 3.6% in March.
The U.S. central bank in March raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points, the first hike in more than three years. Minutes of the policy meeting published last Wednesday appeared to set the stage for big rate increases down the road.
`` Inflation is reaching a crescendo because of not only what's happening in Ukraine, but also what happened in the past, such as massive government stimulus and the Federal Reserve printing money, '' said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. `` We should expect a half a point rate increase next month. ''
The consumer price index likely surged 1.2% in March, according to a Reuters survey of economists. This would be the largest monthly gain since September 2005 and would follow a 0.8% advance in February. Gasoline prices on average soared to an all-time high of $ 4.33 per gallon in March, according to AAA.
Though gasoline was likely the main driver of inflation last month, strong contributions were expected from food and services such as rental housing. Russia is the world's second-largest crude oil exporter. The United States has banned imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal as part of a range of sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of commodities like wheat and sunflower oil. In addition to pushing up gasoline prices, the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its second month, has led to a global surge in food prices.
High inflation readings and the Fed's hawkish posture have left the bond market fearing a U.S. recession, though most economists expect the expansion will continue.
In the 12 months through March, the CPI is forecast shooting up 8.4%. That would be the largest year-on-year gain since January 1982 and would follow a 7.9% jump in February. It would be the sixth straight month of annual CPI readings north of 6%.
INFLATION PEAKING?
Economists believe March would mark the peak in the annual CPI rate, but caution that inflation would remain well above the Fed's 2% target at least through 2023. Gasoline prices have retreated from record highs, though still remain above $ 4 per gallon.
Last year's high inflation readings will also start falling from the CPI calculation.
`` However, inflation's descent will remain painfully slow for consumers, businesses and policymakers alike, '' said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. `` Services inflation, which includes housing, shows no signs of abating anytime soon. ''
A moderation in prices of used cars and trucks likely resulted in a tame monthly underlying inflation reading.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI is forecast rising 0.5% after a similar advance in February. That would result in the so-called core CPI increasing by 6.6% in the 12 months through March, the largest advance since August 1982, after rising 6.4% in February.
`` Factors like used cars and unfavorable base effects could even cause an apparent slowing in core inflation for a few months this spring, '' said Veronica Clark, an economist at Citigroup in New York. `` This would likely be short lived, with further upside risks from higher commodity prices and supply disruptions materializing over the summer that could cause markets to reprice more hawkish expectations for the Fed. ''
Lockdowns in China to contain a resurgence in COVID-19 infections are seen putting more strain on global supply chains, which could keep goods prices elevated. Separately, rising rents for housing are also expected to keep core inflation hot.
A key measure of rents, owners ' equivalent rent of primary residence, accelerated 4.3% on a year-on-year basis in February, the fastest since January 2007.
Economists say this gauge tends to lag private sector measures of rents. While these measures have been showing signs of slowing, economists do not expect this to show in the CPI data for a while. Landlords slashed rents early in the pandemic as people deserted cities, but the reopening of the economy has boosted demand for accommodation.
`` The robust recovery in labor markets, rising labor incomes and healthy household balance sheets should prove supportive of rental demand even amid elevated prices, at least in the near term, '' said Michael Pond, head of inflation research at Barclays in New York. `` The peak in the CPI rents may still be at least a quarter away, but given the recent moderation in private measures of rents, we would caution against extending the trend of well above pre-pandemic levels into 2023. ''
( Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) | business |
Wall Street stumbles as surging Treasury yields slam growth stocks | All three major U.S. stock indexes ended deep in negative territory, with tech and tech-adjacent stocks pulling the Nasdaq down 2.2%.
`` There's been two kinds of sell-offs in the past month or two, '' said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. `` There's the rising yields which primarily affects tech and other growth stocks, and then there's the recession/economic slowdown sell-off that affects energy and various materials ' names.
`` Today you're seeing both. ''
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered near a three-year high ahead of key inflation data expected on Tuesday. [ US/ ]
The U.S. Federal Reserve has vowed to aggressively tackle scorching inflation, and market participants largely expect a series of 50-basis-point interest rate hikes from the central bank in the coming months.
`` All eyes on an inflation number that's probably going to be the highest in 40 years, which could prompt higher and more frequent ( interest) rate hikes from the Fed, '' Tuz added.
The Labor Department's CPI report expected on Tuesday for any sign the inflation wave has crested. Analysts expect the report will show an 8.5% year-on-year growth in consumer prices, the hottest reading since 1981.
Ongoing geopolitical strife also helped prompt the flight to safety.
Ukraine said it expected Russia to launch a huge new offensive soon as the most serious conflict in Europe since the Balkan wars of the 1990s wore on, despite ongoing peace negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 413.04 points, or 1.19%, to 34,308.08, the S & P 500 lost 75.75 points, or 1.69%, to 4,412.53 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 299.04 points, or 2.18%, to 13,411.96.
All 11 major sectors in the S & P 500 ended the session in the red, with energy shares suffering the biggest percentage losses.
First-quarter earnings season bursts through the starting gate later this week, with big banks leading the way.
Analysts have curbed their first-quarter optimism. On aggregate, annual S & P 500 earnings growth is estimated to be 6.1%, down from 7.5% at the beginning of the year.
Twitter Inc advanced 1.7% after its biggest shareholder, Tesla Inc Chairman Elon Musk rejected the social media company's offer to join its board of directors.
As for Tesla, data showed sales of its electric vehicles plunged in China last month due to that country's efforts to curb COVID-19 outbreaks, sending its shares down 4.8%.
Media and streaming firm Warner Bros Discovery Inc, formed from the $ 43 billion merger of Discovery Inc and assets of AT & T Inc, whipsawed in its first day of trading, ending up 1.4%.
Nvidia Corp slid 5.2% after Baird downgraded the chipmaker's stock to `` neutral '' from `` outperform, '' citing order cancellations and potential demand slowdown.
Falling crude prices helped keep commercial air carriers aloft. The S & P 1500 Airline index rose 2.7%. [ O/R ]
Chinese regulators approved its first gaming license since July of last year, boosting U.S.-listed shares of DouYu International Holdings, Huya, NetEase Inc and Bilibili by between 2.1% and 7.2%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.64-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.08-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S & P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 306 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.03 billion shares, compared with the 12.71 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
( Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
By Stephen Culp | business |
Chinese Exile Offers ‘ Lady May’ Yacht to Creditors in Bankruptcy | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui is offering to repay the more than $ 100 million he owes creditors in part by offering up the yacht that drove him to bankruptcy, court papers show.
The businessman’ s debt stems from a $ 30 million loan he got from a fund in 2008, which according to the lender Guo failed to repay. Guo arranged for the yacht to leave U.S. waters sometime after October 2020, putting it out of the reach of debt collectors. That prompted a New York judge to hold the Chinese exile in contempt and levy a fine of $ 134 million, leading Guo to file for bankruptcy in February just before that payment was due.
Now Guo is proposing to give the yacht to a trust that would at least partly repay his creditors, including the fund that has been suing him for years over unpaid debts. But the move is unlikely to fully satisfy to these debtholders, as the watercraft, known as the Lady May, was originally purchased in 2015 for 28 million British pounds, which at current exchange rates is about $ 36.5 million.
The Lady May made headlines in 2020 when Steve Bannon, a former Trump political strategist and associate of Guo, was arrested aboard the vessel on unrelated federal charges. Guo said the boat belongs to his daughter, not himself, but Judge Barry Ostrager of New York state court in February said the exiled businessman controlled it.
An entity linked to Guo originally bought the Lady May. The boat is currently docked off the southern coast of France, where it is undergoing maintenance, according to court papers.
Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund, Guo’ s biggest creditor, has been suing the businessman for years over a $ 30 million loan from 2008 that has ballooned to more than $ 100 million with accrued interest. Guo’ s proposed plan would let Pacific Alliance either collect 10 cents on the dollar in cash for its claims or accept a proportional share of the assets contributed to the creditor trust.
Pacific Alliance has asked Guo’ s bankruptcy judge to dismiss the case, calling it a “ strident gambit ” to “ delay, deceive, and defraud his creditors. ” Guo’ s insolvency filing at least temporarily halted the civil contempt ordered earlier entered by a New York judge.
Guo doesn’ t have the money to pay the $ 134 million fine, he said in a sworn declaration dated March 20. Without the protection of bankruptcy court, he might be imprisoned in New York for violating the contempt order, according to the declaration. Guo filed for political asylum in the U.S. in 2017, fearing retribution from the Chinese Communist Party over his criticism of the regime, he said.
Bankruptcy attorneys for Guo didn’ t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon. In his declaration, Guo said the loan from Pacific Alliance was repaid years ago and that he believes the contempt order against him is wrongful.
The case is Ho Wan Kwok, 22-50073, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut ( Bridgeport).
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
GM develops continuity plan amid China's COVID-19 outbreak | The Detroit-based automaker said it was on track to launch more than 20 new and refreshed models in the world's biggest auto market despite the pandemic's impact.
The COVID-19 curbs introduced in China to fight the worst outbreak in two years caused auto sales in the country to plunge in March, with automakers like Tesla Inc feeling the pain of limits on production.
GM's sales fell 21.4% to 613,000 vehicles in China in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. Sales of its top-selling Chevrolet brand declined nearly 20% in the same period.
The lockdown, one of the biggest tests for China's `` zero-COVID '' strategy, has forced automakers and suppliers to either try to adapt with extreme measures to keep factories running or to shut down and risk delayed shipments at a time when demand for vehicles is strong.
China's financial center of Shanghai started easing its lockdown measures in some areas on Monday despite reporting more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections.
GM had said in March its manufacturing facilities were operating normally in Shanghai and were not affected by the city's lockdown measures.
( Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri) | business |
Funds sell oil as economic weakness trumps sanctions: Kemp | Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 11 million barrels in the six most important petroleum-related futures and options contracts in the week to April 5.
Funds have been sellers in four of the last five weeks reducing their overall net long position by the equivalent of 188 million barrels since the start of March, according to exchange and regulatory records.
The most recent week saw light sales of Brent ( -4 million barrels), NYMEX and ICE WTI ( -3 million), U.S. gasoline ( -2 million) and European gas oil ( -4 million) with small buying in U.S. diesel ( +1 million).
Bullish long positions were reduced by 8 million barrels whilethe number of bearish short positions was increased by 4 million barrels https: //tmsnrt.rs/3xjwVae
Fund managers have maintained an overall bullish bias, with long positions outnumbering shorts by a ratio of 4.64:1, in the 59th percentile for all weeks since the start of 2013.
But positioning overall has become more cautious with a combined net long position of 542 million barrels ( 36th percentile) down from 761 million ( 80th percentile) in mid-January.
The total number of option futures positions held by hedge funds and other traders has fallen for seven consecutive weeks by a total of 1,142 million barrels ( 18%).
Increased uncertainty, heightened volatility and sharply raised margin requirements have made it much more expensive and risky to hold existing positions or initiate new ones.
On the supply side, the risk of a disruption to Russian crude and products exports has been offset for now by the promise of a massive release of 240 million barrels from strategic stocks held by the United States and its allies.
On the demand side, there are increasing downside risks from the worsening coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai and other parts of China and evidence of a business cycle slowdown in North America and Europe.
As a result, the hedge fund community has become mildly bearish about the outlook for crude while there is still slightly more bullishness about middle distillates such as diesel, jet fuel and European gas oil.
Even in middle distillates, funds have been sellers in eight of the last nine weeks, reducing their net position by a total of 72 million barrels ( 50%).
For most money managers, the projected petroleum production-consumption balance has become less tight as the economy struggles, while shortages of diesel and jet fuel are expected to hold crack spreads a little firmer.
Related columns:
- Hedge funds struggle with triple uncertainties on oil ( Reuters, April 4)
- White House uses oil reserve to place a giant spread trade ( Reuters, April 1)
- China's cooling economy takes some heat out of commodity prices ( Reuters, March 31)
- Hedge fund oil positions caught between risks from sanctions and recession ( Reuters, March 29)
John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own
( Editing by David Evans)
By John Kemp | business |
Moderna names Jorge Gomez as new CFO | Gomez, who has been serving as the finance chief of Dentsply since August 2019, will succeed David Meline, who has decided to retire, Moderna said. ( https: //bit.ly/3xfDPwX)
Before joining Dentsply, Gomez was with drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc for over a decade in several roles, including CFO.
Moderna's current finance chief Meline joined the company in June 2020, as it was preparing to advance its COVID-19 vaccine into late-stage development.
The company's mRNA-based vaccine, branded Spikevax, along with a rival shot from Pfizer, has been at the forefront of global vaccination efforts and is cleared for use in over 70 countries, including the United States.
Meline will remain with Moderna as a consultant as Gomez transitions to the role of CFO, according to the company.
Gomez will get an initial annual base salary of $ 700,000, Moderna said in a filing.
( Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shounak Dasgupta) | business |
Pair of Drugmakers Soar in Meme-Like Session on Study Results | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- Two biopharmaceutical companies enjoyed a meme-like day on Monday, surging at least twofold on promising results.
Veru Inc. more than tripled intraday in its biggest jump ever with more than 293 million shares changing hands, by far a daily record. The gains come after a late-stage study of the drug developer’ s experimental medicine for some of the sickest Covid-19 patients ended early because of signs of “ overwhelming efficacy, ” according to a company statement.
Separately, penny stock Hoth Therapeutics Inc., which was named after a Star Wars ice planet, more than doubled after study results from North Carolina State University showed its experimental treatment helped clear tumor cells in mice. Its trading volume was more than 200 times its three-month average.
Monday’ s action shows there’ s still interest in speculative assets with investors once again dashing in and out of meme stocks. A group of such shares tracked by Bloomberg surged last month from a bottom. The volatile biotechnology sector has in particular drawn retail interest as elevated risks can also lead to big gains.
Veru’ s results look like the kind of breakthrough a trader dreams of, which is all the more unusual because the Miami, Florida-based company makes the bulk of its revenue from female condoms.
The stock jump is a boon for its top two shareholders, Mitchell Steiner, the company’ s chief executive and chairman, as well as Harry Fisch, chief corporate officer and vice chairman. Steiner’ s most recently reported stake is worth about $ 96 million while Fisch’ s is worth roughly $ 104 million, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
Hoth declined to comment on its stock price while Veru didn’ t immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment. Veru traded as high as $ 14.57 per share on Monday and Hoth touched $ 1.63, the highest since Jan. 4.
Veru still has to get an emergency use authorization for Covid treatment at a time when regulators are pulling back on some previously authorized treatments, and Hoth will likely take years before it can show a real effect in cancer patients. Analysts, however, are universally positive on the pair.
Veru has five buy ratings and Hoth has two. Neither have received hold or sell recommendations.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
Shopify proposes governance changes, announces 10-for-one share split | Shopify Inc. is proposing changes to its governance structure to preserve founder and CEO Tobi Lütke's voting power, while also proposing a 10-for-one split of its class A and class B shares.
Under the new plan announced Monday, the Ottawa-based e-commerce company will issue Lütke a non-transferable founder share that will have a variable number of votes that, when combined with his other holdings, will represent 40 per cent of the total voting power attached to all of the company's outstanding shares.
However, the founder share will sunset if Lütke no longer serves as an executive officer, board member or consultant whose primary job is with the company or if Lütke, his immediate family and his affiliates no longer hold a number of class A and class B shares equal to at least 30 per cent of the class B shares they currently hold.
In the event of a sunset of the founder share, Lütke will also convert his remaining class B shares into class A shares.
The shakeup comes as Shopify's stock has experienced a significant slump in recent months, after surging following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Lütke, who started Shopify with an investment from father-in-law Bruce McKean in 2004, when he was unable to find e-commerce software for a snowboard business he was building, remains at the helm.
If Monday's `` unprecedented '' proposal is approved, more control over the company could eventually be wrested away from Lütke and handed to common shareholders, said Richard Leblanc, a professor of governance, law and ethics at York University.
Shopify estimates that if the conversion were completed Monday the total voting power held by class A shareholders would increase to roughly 59 per cent from about 49 per cent.
`` This is so unique... because most of the time the founder thinks they're going to live forever and they don't want to relinquish control, '' Leblanc said.
`` There's many companies in Canada that end up in the hands of children and other family members and there are studies that suggest that... the more you bequeath to a family member, the less effective that family member becomes because they don't have the same experience and drive that the founder had. ''
The arrangement would also prevent a power struggle from unfolding within the founder's family like telecommunications giant Rogers Communications Inc. saw last year, Leblanc said.
Edward Rogers, the son of founder Ted Rogers, was able to replace five board members over objections from other directors, including his mother and sisters, in October because he controlled 97.5 per cent of the firm’ s class A shares.
Leblanc believes more companies will follow Shopify's lead, especially after the public Rogers battle, because `` there's an increasing intolerance by investors for absolute control by family members. ''
Shopify's proposal is the result of a board process it said was conducted under the supervision of a special committee of independent directors.
It framed the move as a way to `` modernize '' Shopify's governance structure, align it more closely with long-term market opportunities and follow the company vision Lütke outlined in a 2015 public letter, where he prioritized long-term value over short-term revenue opportunities.
That ethos has extended to the stock price. Lütke is known for requiring anyone at the office caught checking the company's stock price during the day to purchase Timbits for their team.
Those that took a peek likely noticed Shopify's stock has been more than halved over the last year. It sat at $ 780.02 by the end of trading on Monday, down from a closing high of $ 2,139.82 in November.
As of July, the company will begin giving staff a `` total rewards wallet '' that allows them to choose between cash and stock options for their compensation, Shopify spokesperson Rebecca Feigelsohn said in an email.
The share split requires approval by a two-thirds majority of shareholders and at least a majority of the votes cast by shareholders excluding Lütke and his associates and affiliates. The matter will face a vote on June 7.
If approved, Shopify director John Phillips will convert all class B shares held by Klister Credit Corp., a company the early investor owns with psychologist-wife Catherine Phillips into class A shares.
Shopify also announced Monday that it purchased Dovetail, a software company behind a creator management system, for an undisclosed total.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2022.
Companies in this story: ( TSX: SHOP)
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect November stock price high.
© 2022 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source Canadian Press DataFile | business |
Philadelphia to reimpose indoor mask mandate in public spaces | The new rule, which is set to take effect on April 18, will make Philadelphia the first major city in the United States to reimpose such a mandate.
New infections in Philadelphia are rising quickly, up 50% from the start of April, prompting the city to step up prevention measures, city Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said at a news briefing. COVID hospitalizations, a lagging metric, remain stable, she said.
`` This looks like we may be at the start of a new COVID wave, like Europe just saw, '' Bettigole said.
U.S. infection trends have tended to follow Europe by a few weeks throughout the pandemic.
`` At this level of transmission, we do not believe there's any reason to panic or to avoid activities we enjoy, '' she said. `` Our city remains open. ''
The reversal comes more than a month after the city of 1.5 million residents relaxed its indoor mask mandate on public spaces amid a decline in cases in March following the record Omicron surge in January.
Philadelphia is averaging more than 140 new daily cases, while fewer than 50 patients were hospitalized with the disease as of last count, Bettigole said.
Cases in Pennsylvania rose nearly 70% in the span of a week as of Sunday, placing it among the top 10 states where infections are spreading fastest, according to a Reuters tally.
New infections are up 10% in the United States as a whole over the past week, driven by the even more contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron. The Omicron cousin is now the dominant version of the virus in the United States and elsewhere.
U.S. hospitalizations for the week were down about 6%, according to Reuters.
Most U.S. states and localities have eased masking and vaccination requirements. Under new Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines issued in late February, nearly all of the U.S. population currently live in counties where they do not need to wear masks indoors.
More than 986,000 lives have been lost in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, according to a Reuters tally.
The recent uptick in cases has also disrupted schedules for several high-ranking public officials across the country.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, one of nearly 70 people who contracted the disease after attending the April 2, Gridiron Club dinner in Washington.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Joaquin Castor, who also attended the event, a highlight of the Washington social calendar, also tested positive.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said she tested negative for COVID-19 for the first time since her spokesman revealed on Thursday that she had been infected.
( Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
By Tyler Clifford | business |
Nickel Drama Spurs Chicago Exchange Bid to Grab Trading From LME | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, trying to capitalize on the London Metal Exchange’ s nickel-trading crisis, is offering incentives to traders to boost its less-popular aluminum futures contract, according to people familiar with the matter.
Representatives of the Chicago exchange have approached major physical and financial players in the aluminum market in recent weeks, offering them credits, said the people, who weren’ t authorized to speak publicly. The CME is expanding the reach of an existing program, which is mostly limited to brokers, to other market participants like traders and banks, according to one of the people.
The Chicago exchange’ s push comes about a month after an unprecedented squeeze in the nickel market sent the metal soaring by 250% in just two days, prompting the LME to halt trading and ultimately cancel trades. While the chaos was limited to the nickel market, it prompted base metals traders to question the LME’ s ability to handle potential crisis situations in the higher volume markets of aluminum and copper.
“ The crisis that surrounds the LME right now represents a golden opportunity for the CME, ” said Jorge Vazquez, managing director at Harbor Intelligence, in a phone interview.
A spokeswoman for the LME declined to comment.
The CME’ s existing incentive program began Feb. 1 and is scheduled to expire July 31.
Under that program, the CME offers a $ 125 credit per side to members and nonmembers on each side of an aluminum trade cleared through its Clearport system, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. It offers $ 125 credit to members and a $ 75 credit to nonmembers via its Globex system. Credits are capped at $ 30,000 per month per participant.
It’ s not the first time CME has tried to gain a foothold in the LME’ s territory.
In 2014, buyers had to pay a significant premium to ship aluminum to the U.S. Midwest when banks and trading houses joined in so-called “ merry-go-round deals ” at LME warehouses to collect higher rents. Burned by bottlenecks, traders in 2016 turned to aluminum premium hedging contracts that the CME launched to help purchasers of the physical metal hedge against fluctuations in the cost to deliver it.
But even if the CME is able to make inroads after the nickel crisis, its much smaller aluminum contract is still unlikely to challenge the LME as the global exchange of choice for the metal any time soon. The CME’ s intention is to build open interest in the May and June futures above 1,000 contracts to entice other players like funds that need a certain minimum liquidity to participate, according to one of the people.
The CME’ s aluminum futures contract has been around for years and seen little pickup by physical players like trading houses, producers and end-users like beverage and packaging companies.
Aggregate open interest for London was at nearly 600,000 contracts, or 15 million tons, as of last week’ s close. That compares with about 300 contracts, or 7,500 tons, of open interest on the CME. However, the market traded more than 9,000 contracts on the CME during the week that ended April 8, the most since August.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
F1 Australian GP 2022 race report: 6 things we learnt in Melbourne | ► Third race of the year in the books► Ferrari wins two out of three► Another Red Bull DNF
F1’ s return to Australia was the perfect antidote to the 2020 non-event on the brink of the Coronavirus pandemic. This year’ s Melbourne GP was another action-packed but intriguing race, and it also began to surface the key narratives of 2022. It was another Ferrari win – again from Charles Leclerc – but this time he was followed by Sergio Perez’ s Red Bull and finally George Russell’ s Mercedes. So where were Sainz, Verstappen and Hamilton – and what clues did Australia give us for the rest of the reason? Keep reading for six things we learnt from the 2022 Melbourne GP.
Charles Leclerc has always had the speed and the talent, but he’ s becoming a winning machine. His season so far consists of two wins and a second place, but it’ s the way in which he’ s gone about them – with almost no mistakes at all – that is surely leaving other teams and drivers worried. The Monegasque was faultless in Melbourne and hasn’ t shown any cracks under pressure either – unlike the rest of the field.
If Leclerc’ s form is worrying for the other teams, it’ s dreadful news for the other side of the Ferrari garage. Carlos Sainz hasn’ t been able to get the most out of the Ferrari so far this year, and it’ s left the Spaniard consistently trailing his teammate.
In Melbourne it went really wrong; after qualifying ninth, Sainz couldn’ t make the hard tyres work on the opening laps, ultimately beaching the car and scoring no points. Leclerc now leads the championship with 71 points, while Sainz trails behind with just 33. That’ s a gap for almost two race wins.
With Charles getting stronger every race, it’ s very possible Sainz will soon be playing the role of Barrichello if things continue as they are. This is Maranello after all.
Rumours suggested Mercedes would bring updates to its ailing W13 in Melbourne, but it soon became clear the Brackley team had abandoned them. The reason? Paddock whispers say the team couldn’ t afford to introduce updates that may not work – a direct consequence of the new cost-cap rules. With that in mind, the Silver Arrows haul of P3 and P4 was a great result for the team; and could be crucial at the end of the season.
Stranger still is the position of the Silver Arrows in the WDC and WCC; the Brackley team sits second in the constructors ( albeit with 65 points to Ferrari’ s commanding 104) and George Russell also sits in a distance second place behind Leclerc. Hamilton, meanwhile, finds himself three points ahead of Verstappen.
It’ s clear the Mercedes isn’ t competitive and will need serious development to get a sniff of the title race; but the team has managed to hoover up the points available. Red Bull on the other hand now trail both Mercedes and Ferrari with 55 points.
Another race, another failure for Red Bull’ s Max Verstappen. In a carbon copy of Bahrain, Max found himself outpaced by a Ferrari before a late technical failure left him leaving with 0 points instead of a certain 18. The problem? A possible issue with the fuel systems, though Red Bull says it’ s not the same one as in Bahrain.
After the race team principal Horner said he’ d rather fix a fast fragile car than a slow reliable one – though with Verstappen finishing ( albeit winning) just one race out of three, it’ s hard to follow the logic. The Milton Keynes team’ s DNF means Ferrari is building a solid lead, and it’ s possible Mercedes will soon be in the fight.
Interestingly, Sergio Perez’ s Red Bull wasn’ t affected this time, it was in Bahrain; his engineer said the issue was not relevant to his car...
New rules mean a volatile pecking order, and in Melbourne Alpine found itself even closer to the sharp end. Still, it’ s once again a case of what might’ ve been for Alonso: during a lap that will almost certainly have landed him in the first four positions, his hydraulic system failed and caused him to go off. It wasn’ t a one-off thing, the double-world champion’ s pace was mostly strong in the race too.
McLaren had a strong weekend, somehow replacing Haas as one of the leading midfield teams. Lando Norris continued to get the upperhand over his teammate, even pipping both Mercedes to a P4 grid slot. Still, home favourite Ricciardo’ s P7 wasn’ t bad either. Able to initially stick to the Mercedes cars, both McLarens lost contact during the race finishing 5th and 6th – but it was the strongest weekend by far for the orange team.
The Saturday saw both Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi collide, in an accident that was ultimately deemed to be mainly the Aston Martin driver's fault. Despite that, the whole event was pretty awkward, and I’ d argue both drivers had to make it happen.
It was also yet another crash for Nicholas Latifi, who must surely be eating through his team’ s R & D budget in repairs alone. Latifi’ s trend of incidents – as well as Mazepin’ s 2020 season – are slowly but surely reopening the debate on pay drivers: if fellow series such as Formula E, or even eSC don’ t have them – should the pinnacle of motorsport? | general |
Oil opens higher as OPEC warns of tight supply and Russian sanctions loom | Brent crude futures were up 85 cents, 0.9%, to $ 99.33 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate contracts were up $ 1.04, or 1.1%, to $ 95.33 a barrel at 0019 GMT.
Both contracts had settled down around 4% on Monday amid concerns that coronavirus lockdowns in China would dampen demand for fuel and ahead of a massive oil reserve release by International Energy Agency ( IEA) members.
The European Union is drafting proposals for an EU oil embargo on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, some foreign ministers said on Monday. However, there is currently no agreement among members on crude from Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a `` special operation ''.
`` The oil market is still vulnerable to a major shock if Russian energy is sanctioned, and that risk remains on the table, '' wrote Edward Moya, a senior market analyst with OANDA.
`` Oil prices will play tug-of-war here as crude inventories remain low, but energy traders will struggle to shake-off these steady announcements of new COVID restrictions in China, '' he added.
Tuesday's rise in oil markets also followed a warning from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) that some 7 million barrels per day of Russian oil and other liquids exports could be lost due to sanctions or voluntary actions, and that it would be impossible to replace those volumes.
IEA member nations are planning to release some 240 million barrels over the next six months in a bid to calm volatile oil markets, of which 180 million will be released from U.S. stockpiles at a rate of 1 million bpd starting in May.
( Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) | business |
Nasdaq slides 1% as surging yields hit growth stocks | ( For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* U.S. yields consolidate at 3-year highs
* Rate-sensitive growth stocks lead decline
* Indexes down: Dow 0.15%, S & P 0.75%, Nasdaq 1.07%
April 11 ( Reuters) - The Nasdaq fell more than 1% on Monday, leading Wall Street's main indexes lower, as rising bond yields weighed on megacap stocks such as Microsoft and Apple with investors on edge ahead of Tuesday's inflation data.
Shares of Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp fell between 1.9% and 4.1% as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 2.75% after touching a fresh three-year high earlier in the day.
The S & P 500 technology index slid 1.9%, the most among the 11 major S & P sectors, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 1%.
Market-leading growth and technology stocks, that were underpinned by record low interest rates, have come under pressure since late March on signals from the Federal Reserve that it will hike rates aggressively to control soaring inflation.
Data on Tuesday is expected to show U.S. consumer prices leapt to a fresh four-decade high of 8.5% in March, on a year-on-year basis, after hitting 7.9% in February, as the Ukraine conflict drives up energy costs.
`` The problem for stocks to gain momentum right now is that it is really unclear where the peak in inflation is, '' Eric Merlis, managing director of global markets at Citizens Financial Group, said.
`` If we thought the Fed had a handle on inflation and the war wasn't going to spill over anymore into Europe, you would see growth stocks rally pretty convincingly. But we're not there. ''
Electric-car maker Tesla Inc fell 2.1% after data showed China auto sales plunged in March, hurt by the country's curbs to rein in COVID-19 outbreaks.
Nvidia fell 4.0% after Baird downgraded the chipmaker. Chip stocks have been among the worst casualties of the tech sell-off, down 22% so far this year compared to the 13.5% decline in Nasdaq.
Investors will also be focusing on the big U.S. banks, which kick off the first-quarter earnings season on Wednesday. They are expected to show a sharp decline in quarterly earnings from a year earlier.
However, the prospect of higher rates boosted financials, with the S & P 500 banks index rising 1.7%.
The S & P 500 value index, which includes banking and energy stocks, has outperformed its growth counterpart so far this year, with the former nearly flat, while the growth index is down 13%.
At 10:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 52.55 points, or 0.15%, at 34,668.57, the S & P 500 was down 33.61 points, or 0.75%, at 4,454.67, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 146.94 points, or 1.07%, at 13,564.06.
Twitter Inc rose 2.8%, reversing all of its premarket losses after the social media company said Tesla boss Elon Musk rejected its offer to join the company's board.
Media and streaming firm Warner Bros Discovery Inc, formed from the $ 43 billion merger of Discovery Inc and assets of AT & T Inc, rose 3.6% on the first day of trading. AT & T shares gained 5.0%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.26-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S & P index recorded 31 new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 205 new lows. ( Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) | business |
U.K. Retailers Warn Inflation Is Curbing Demand as Sales Slow | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Shoppers and pedestrians on Oxford Street in central London, U.K., on Thursday, March 24, 2022. The Office for National Statistics are due to release the latest U.K. retail sales figures on Friday. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- U.K. retailers warned of “ clouds on the horizon ” after recording a sharp slowdown in sales last month as higher prices cut into consumer spending power.
Sales were just 3.1% higher than in March 2021, when the country was still under coronavirus restrictions, the British Retail Consortium and consultancy KPMG said in report Tuesday. The gain reflected higher prices rather than consumers buying more goods, and food stores saw an outright decline.
The figures suggest the cost of living crisis is already being felt on the high street, with the fastest inflation in three decades, higher payroll taxes and the war in Ukraine set to deliver an unprecedented blow to living standards this year.
“ There is concern on what this could mean for consumer confidence and the impact on discretionary spend, ” said Don Williams, retail partner at KPMG. He said retailers are “ walking a tightrope between absorbing rising costs themselves or passing these on to consumers. ”
The increase in sales was less than half the average of the previous two months, and like-for-like sales declined. Food sales in March last year were boosted by an early Easter, an effect that may show up in data for April this year. However, the BRC saw few reasons for optimism overall, with consumer confidence “ shaken ” and much of in-store retail yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
“ Households are yet to feel the full impact of the recent rise in energy prices and national insurance changes, ” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. “ There is also potential for further supply chain disruption, with China putting key manufacturing and port cities into lockdown. Ultimately, consumers face an enormous challenge this year, and this is likely to be reflected in retail spend in the future. ”
In a separate survey, Barclaycard said nine out of 10 consumers were concerned about the negative impact of rising household bills on their finances, leading many to change their travel and shopping habits to save money.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
Hawaiian Electric Industries: 2022 ESG REPORT | SUSTAINABLE
HAWAI ' I
2022 Environmental | Social | Governance Report
Contents
ESG Leadership 4
Alignment with a Net Zero Ambition 6
HEI
Our Companies at a Glance 10
Highlights 11
Our Mission 12
Operating with Integrity 18
Consolidated HEI ESG Priority Assessment 20
Consolidated Climate Strategy 30
TCFD Disclosures 36
HEI Charitable Foundation 53
Political Activities 55
Hawaiian Electric
Partnering to Decarbonize Hawai ' i's Economy 58
Our Environment 70
Reliability & Resilience 75
Our Customers 79
Our Community 84
Our Employees 88
American Savings Bank
Our Community 96
Our Environment 101
Our Customers 103
Our Teammates 105
Ethical Banking Practices 110
Pacific Current
Introduction 113
Strategies 114
Appendix 118
Quantitative
SASB Index - Hawaiian Electric 122
SASB Index - American Savings Bank 139
EEI ESG Metrics - Hawaiian Electric 151
Note: Photographs in this report include some taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. | business |
ZA Tech becomes the latest investor of Aladin Bank | The Covid-19 pandemic and government policies supporting the digital economy have changed the landscape of various industries, including the insurance industry in Indonesia. These changes have led to more online solutions that transcend geographical restrictions, heightening the potential of InsurTech in providing an alternative distribution channel for insurance products and allowing them to be increasingly accepted by Indonesian consumers.Seeing this momentum, ZA Tech and Aladin Bank are collaborating to seize the opportunity, combining their goals to provide financial education and planning with accessible and affordable insurance products in Indonesia into one unified vision. With the scope of their partnership not limited to just products and technology, ZA Tech and Aladin Bank will work closely together in the long term. This long-term view is proven by ZA Tech’ s commitment to being Aladin Bank’ s investor through the latter’ s ongoing Rights Issue process.Young Yang, General Manager of ZA Tech Southeast Asia, warmly welcomed the collaboration with Aladin Bank. “ The partnership between ZA Tech and Aladin Bank represents one of our commitments to promoting financial inclusion in Indonesia. The collaboration of Sharia digital banking services with InsurTech such as Aladin Bank and ZA Tech will provide options for the public to carry out digital and modern insurance transactions, ” said Young. “ Being an investor in Aladin Bank will support ZA Tech’ s aspirations to do business in Indonesia. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and our experience in empowering the digital insurance ecosystem, we believe that this investment will facilitate Aladin Bank to democratize financial literacy, especially for the underbanked segment, as well as to expand its footprint as a digital bank that puts forward Sharia principles, '' added Young.This breakthrough will create a solid base for collaboration between the two parties, as well as provide innovative solutions to customers and the insurance market in Indonesia.Dyota Marsudi, President Director of Aladin Bank, said “ Aladin Bank’ s collaboration with ZA Tech is a true realization of its commitment to supporting the digital transformation of insurance companies, accelerating the adoption of InsurTech in Indonesia. ” “ Aladin Bank as the Future Sharia Bank is very pleased to be collaborating with ZA Tech. This signals that more big players are looking at Aladin Bank’ s value proposition in expanding the reach of Islamic finance in Indonesia. Through this collaboration, we want to increase synergies, especially in the insurance sector of Indonesia. We hope through this initiative digital insurance products will be more affordable for the wider community, considering that ZA Tech is a very innovative InsurTech player globally and has an excellent track record of empowering the digital transformation of insurance business, '' added Dyota. “ We are also proud that ZA Tech is coming in as one of Aladin Bank's investors. This will certainly strengthen Aladin Bank as a digital bank, both in terms of capital and various strategic business plans going forward. ” continued Dyota.ZA Tech has established strategic partnerships with various leading insurers and Internet platforms around the world. It has a regional digital technology partnership with AIA, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, in AIA’ s markets in Asia excluding Mainland China. In Southeast Asia, ZA Tech has collaborated with Grab, the decacorn mobile technology company, while in Indonesia, it has collaborated with OVO, a leading digital wallet company. | tech |
Air Travel Forecast: When Will Airlines Recover from Covid-19? |
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The Russia-Ukraine war, rising inflation, and ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns in China have pushed projections for a return to 2019 air traffic levels back by a full year.
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Here are the latest developments as of March 2022.
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WHO tracking two new sub-variants of Omicron as UK's NHS calls for return of COVID rules | Hi, what are you looking for?
The WHO is investigating two new Omicron sub-variants to assess whether they are more infectious.
By
Published
The World Health Organisation ( WHO) said on Monday it is tracking dozens of cases of two new sub-variants of the highly transmissible Omicron strain to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous.
WHO has added BA.4 and BA.5, sister variants of the original BA.1 Omicron variant, to its list for monitoring. It is already tracking BA.1 and BA.2 – now globally dominant – as well as BA.1.1 and BA.3, reports Reuters.
The WHO said it had begun tracking them because of their “ additional mutations that need to be further studied to understand their impact on immune escape potential ”.
The Independent is reporting that the BA.4 sub-variant has already been reported in Scotland and England, with the two countries reporting one case each as of March 30, 2022, according to the UK Health Security Agency ( UKHSA)
In a report published by the UKHSA last week, health officials said there were “ potentially biologically significant mutations ” in the two variants. Globally, only a few dozen cases of BA.4 and BA.5 have been reported to GISAID, a worldwide database that monitors the spread of variants
South Africa and Botswana have both reported cases of BA.4 and BA.5, while Denmark has also detected the former. The earliest BA.4 sample reported to GISAID was from South Africa, with a sample collection date of January 10, 2022.
On Monday, Botswana’ s health ministry said it had identified four cases of BA.4 and BA.5, all among people aged 30 to 50 who were fully vaccinated and experiencing mild symptoms.
UK’ s NHS calls for return of COVID rules
In related news, over the weekend, NHS chiefs called for Covid restrictions to be brought back as hospital patient numbers rise, according to the UK’ s Express.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show one in 13 people in England are infected with Covid. However, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this was to be expected after the lifting of restrictions, and the Government not being concerned due to the fact that Omicron causes a milder illness.
The NHS Confederation has warned Easter could be as bad as any winter for the NHS if the Government does not step in, urging ministers to reinvigorate a public information campaign on COVID-19.
But according to Bloomberg, Boris Johnson has rejected calls from NHS officials for new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, saying hospital data does not justify shifting from the U.K. plan for “ living with Covid. ”
“ The NHS is clearly under pressure as it cares for patients, ” government spokeswoman Camilla Marshall told reporters on Monday. The government is monitoring hospital admissions but doesn’ t see any need in the current data to change course, she said.
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
Activists in New York stage an anti-war protest as Russia's invasion of Ukraine reaches the one-month mark - Copyright AFP Ed JONESA Reuters message...
In an Albanian city once named for Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, dozens of Soviet- and Chinese-made planes rust in the open air.
Ethical hackers can attack any new artificial intelligence, or to strategize on how to use it for malicious purposes.
As Europe aims to wean itself off Russian fossil fuel because of the Ukraine invasion, Israel hopes to help fill the gap with gas.
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Hospital at home: 140+ companies bringing care directly to patient homes | As care delivery shifts out of the hospital and into the home, these startups are driving home health innovation.
Historically, home care services have been associated with senior populations looking to age in place. However, the widespread shift to patient-centric care has pushed payers and providers to consider a similar model for all individuals, in order to enhance care accessibility, convenience, and cost.
Free Download: the State of digital health The US digital health market continues to dominate, reaching a record $ 37.9B in 2021. Get our full report to find out all the trends.
The US digital health market continues to dominate, reaching a record $ 37.9B in 2021. Get our full report to find out all the trends.
This shift was accelerated by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as hospitals faced increased pressure to prevent the spread of the virus and lower the burden placed on healthcare workers by scaling back in-hospital care.
With healthcare stakeholders looking to continue to move care services into the home setting, startups are building digital tools and platforms to facilitate the migration.
We used CB Insights data to identify private companies across 12 categories in the home health space, including remote patient monitoring, at-home diagnostics, care management platforms, and more.
Want the full post? Become a CB Insights customer.
If you’ re already a customer, log in here. | tech |
The TL; DR Live: The State Of Venture | Even if you can't attend, register anyway and you 'll receive the slides and recording after the webinar.
Even if you can't attend, register anyway and you 'll receive the slides and recording after the webinar.
The only way to get more from a report is to watch it being broken down by the experts who wrote it.
And voila. That’ s precisely what’ s going to happen here. To miss this would be silly. Because:
While total funding has dropped 19% compared to a record-obliterating Q4 ( the largest percentage fall in nearly a decade) – valuations have skyrocketed.
There’ s also been a big plummet in public exits. But what does it mean?
And hold on, a significant funding bump in … Philly? Yep.
Elif Yayla is a Senior Intelligence Analyst at CB Insights, where she covers emerging fintech trends in real estate and wealth management, with a focus on personal finance, retail investing, robo-advisory and B2B financial services. Prior to joining CB Insights, Elif worked at Gartner as a Senior Research Analyst and at CREtech, a proptech startup, as their Market Research Manager. She is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania with majors in Economics and Cognitive Science.
Elif Yayla is a Senior Intelligence Analyst at CB Insights, where she covers emerging fintech trends in real estate and wealth management, with a focus on personal finance, retail investing, robo-advisory and B2B financial services. Prior to joining CB Insights, Elif worked at Gartner as a Senior Research Analyst and at CREtech, a proptech startup, as their Market Research Manager. She is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania with majors in Economics and Cognitive Science.
This webinar is beyond insightful - @ CBinsights are breaking down FAMGA approaches to health and there is so much going on behind the scenes. Fascinating.
Very interesting slides + video recording about the # future of # transportation made by @ CBinsights Available here for free: https: //t.co/tT2BrMAbS1 # innovation # SmartCities pic.twitter.com/dLrapDE5wL
COVID-19 changed the way we shop... and the way we talk. retail leaders are mentioning `` e-commerce '' and `` acceleration '' on earnings calls more than ever before, per @ CBinsights pic.twitter.com/1tAhOONIpj | tech |
What’ s behind the UK’ s R & D spending boost? | Hi, what are you looking for?
Signs are that the Government is investing more in innovation.
By
Published
According to the U.K. Office of National Statistics ( ONS), there has been a shift in terms of U.K. government spending in relation to research and development ( R & D).
Given the U.K. Chancellor’ s ( Rishi Sunak) recent reforms to the tax credit scheme in his Spring Statement, the numbers provide some useful context to the Johnson government’ s plans for innovation and R & D.
Looking into the latest trends for Digital Journal is Benjamin Craig, Senior Manager R & D Tax Incentives at international innovation consultancy, Ayming. Craig thinks the new statistics show about the government’ s intentions and what they suggest about the direction of travel for this government when it comes to UK-led innovation.
As Craig observes, based on the newly released data: “ Government R & D spending in 2020 shot up. These figures represent a 17 percent increase on 2019. ” R & D spending set to increase by £5 billion to £20 billion per annum by 2024-2025.
He then poses the question: “ So what’ s behind this? ” In answering his own question, Craig says: “ The rise is likely to have been influenced by COVID-19 research funding, which was a big priority as soon as the pandemic hit. ”
Yet there are other factors beyond the pandemic that have led to the investment increase: “ However, this is part of a trend whereby the Government is investing more in innovation. Next year, we can expect another big jump. We know that the Johnson Government has placed a lot of emphasis on innovation, epitomised in its pet project ARIA, a blue-sky innovation agency modelled on the US’ s DARPA. ”
ARIA is the Advanced Research & Invention Agency. The ARIA is modelled on America’ s long-running Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA), which aims to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security.
While Johnson has championed ARIA, several years have gone past and there is little sign of activity in this space. It may be that the R & D drive is coming from other quarters within the government.
Other areas of government have also made declarations about R & D, including the embattled Sunak who has also “ expressed intention to raise public investment in R & D to their highest levels ever. ”
However, more needs to be done to give the British economy a kick-start, Craig argues: “ While it’ s great to see the Government investing heavily in R & D, what we really need to boost is new ways to incentivise business investment. ”
Craig makes a key recommendation: “ Further down the line, spending is likely to continue rising because today’ s figures will not yet have been influenced by Brexit. The negotiations about the UK’ s involvement is the EU’ s Horizon research funding programme are still ongoing but the UK will probably have to supplement UK research in replacement of that at some stage. ”
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
The huge lockdown, which has required 26 million people to stay home has become unworkable.
A Ukrainian mother fell to her knees, clawing the earth behind a razed petrol station.
Wearing a hat and carrying a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, the 43-year-old is the first face that many Ukrainians see as they cross...
Nearly 50 wounded and elderly patients were transported from the east in a hospital train by medical charity Doctors Without Borders ( MSF) - Copyright...
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Fortune Names Splunk to the 100 Best Companies to Work For List for the Second Consecutive Year | Data Platform Leader Recognized for its Culture, Transparency and Diversity
Splunk Inc. ( NASDAQ: SPLK), the data platform leader for security and observability, today announced it has been named one of Fortune’ s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022. This marks the second consecutive year Splunk has been recognized for fostering a culture that promotes growth, transparency and diversity – creating a great workplace for all.
“ It’ s an honor to be recognized by Fortune’ s Best Companies to Work For, especially as our world continues to experience some of the most significant business and societal shifts of our lifetime, ” said Kristen Robinson, Chief People Officer, Splunk. “ We are dedicated to providing our Splunkers and community with the support they need to thrive personally and professionally. This includes fostering a culture where our Splunkers feel appreciated, empowered, and are able to bring their best selves to work every day. By doing so, we can empower not only our people, but our customers for success. ”
Splunk earned its spot for driving initiatives that promote wellbeing and support a healthy, connected and flexible work environment. Splunk recently introduced Spark, a holistic wellbeing program designed to help Splunkers live a physically energized, emotionally resilient, mentally focused and purpose-driven life. Included in Spark is a global reimbursement program that gives employees the opportunity to choose various services and activities to improve their overall health and wellbeing.
“ Best Companies’ leadership has never been more necessary, ” said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work®. “ As workers struggle with the Great Resignation, burnout and covid disruptions, these exceptional companies offer workplace experiences as strong as prior to the pandemic. These companies get that 'place ' is wherever their employees are sitting or standing, and they are committed to make that place equitable, safe and productive. Their commitment to genuinely care for their people through trust, inclusion, purpose and meaningful flexibility for life circumstances goes beyond surface-level perks and is a model for the market to follow. ”
To determine this highly prestigious award, Fortune partnered with Great Place to Work® to analyze and rank the employee experience at companies across the U.S. For this year’ s list, over 4.5 million current U.S. employees shared their feedback on topics spanning company values, leaders’ effectiveness, diversity and overall respect with which people are treated.
To learn more about how Fortune’ s 100 Best Companies to Work For are selected, please visit: https: //fortune.com/franchise-list-page/best-companies-2022-methodology. For more information on Splunk’ s career opportunities and culture, please visit https: //www.splunk.com/en us/careers/working-at-splunk.html. | business |
Veru's stock nearly triples after oral COVID-19 treatment leads to'statistically meaningful ' reduction in deaths | Shares of Veru Inc. ( VERU) rocketed 175% toward a 13-month high in afternoon trading Monday, after biopharmaceutical company announced positive results from its Phase 3 trial of its oral COVID-19 treatment. Trading volume spiked up to 264.2 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 629,400 shares, and enough to make the stock the most actively traded on major U.S. exchanges. Veru said patients hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19, who were at high risk for adult respiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS) and death, its oral sabizabulin led to a `` clinically and statistically meaningful '' 55% reduction in deaths. The Independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee `` unanimously '' recommended the Phase 3 trial be halted early because of efficacy, with no safety concerns identified. Veru's stock, which had closed at a 16-month low on Friday, has now run up 103.4% year to date, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB) has dropped 14.1% and the S & P 500 has lost 7.0%.
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To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.
Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process. | business |
Accor: 2022 Notice of meeting | NOTICE OF MEETING
Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders ' Meeting
Friday, May 20, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. At the Company's headquarters 82 rue Henri Farman, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
Contents
How to participate in the Shareholders ' Meeting? 4
2021 business review 10
Agenda of the Combined Shareholders ' Meeting of May 20, 2022 29
Presentation of draft resolutions to be submitted to the Combined
Shareholders ' Meeting of May 20, 2022 30
Draft resolutions submitted to the Combined Shareholders ' Meeting
of May 20, 2022 47
Composition of the Board of Directors at the close of the Combined
Shareholders ' Meeting of May 20, 2022 54
Statutory Auditors ' report on the financial statements 56
Statutory Auditors ' report on the consolidated financial statements 60
Statutory Auditors ' special report on related-party agreements 64
Statutory Auditors ' report on the authorization to grant existing
or to be issued performance shares 67
Statutory Auditors ' report on the issue of shares or securities reserved
for the members of a corporate savings plan 68
Statutory Auditors ' report on the proposed free issue of share warrants
in the event of a public offer concerning the Company 69
Request for documents 71
Accor is a world leading hospitality Group consisting of more than 5,300 properties and 10,000 food and beverage venues throughout 110 countries. The Group has one of the industry's most diverse and fully-integrated hospitality ecosystems encompassing more than 40 luxury and upscale, midscale and economy hotel brands, unique lifestyle concepts, entertainment and nightlife venues, restaurants and bars, branded private residences, shared accommodation properties, concierge services, co-working spaces and more.
Accor's clear leadership in lifestyle, one of the fastest-growing categories in the sector, is driven by Ennismore, a joint-venture in whichAccor has a majority stake. Ennismore is a creative hospitality Group boasting a portfolio of international brands that are all created by visionary, purposeful and passionate entrepreneurs. Accor therefore boasts an unrivaled portfolio of brands, animated by 230,000 team members worldwide. Members benefit from the company's comprehensive loyalty program, ALL - Accor Live Limitless, a daily lifestyle companion that provides access to a wide variety of rewards, services and experiences.
Through its Planet 21 - Acting Here, Accor Solidarity, RiiSE, and ALL Heartist Fund Initiatives, the Group is focused on driving positive action through business ethics, responsible tourism, environmental sustainability, community engagement, diversity and inclusivity. Founded in 1967, Accor SA is headquartered in France and publicly listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange ( ISIN code: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market ( Ticker: ACCYY) in the United States.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SHAREHOLDERS ' MEETING?
How to participate
in the Shareholders '
Meeting?
Shareholders are convened to a Combined Shareholders ' Meeting on Friday, May 20, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. on first notice, to be held at the Company's headquarters, 82, rue Henri Farman - 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux.
Shareholders are invited to arrive from 8 a.m. Access to the auditorium will be open from 8:30 a.m.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Company may have to modify the procedures for holding and participating in the Shareholders ' Meeting in light of changes in the health and/or regulatory situation subsequent to the publication of this notice of meeting.
Consequently, shareholders are invited to regularly consult the section dedicated to the Shareholders ' Meeting on the Company's website https: //group.accor.com, which may be updated to provide, if necessary, the final terms of participation in this Meeting.
Shareholders who wish to attend the Shareholders ' Meeting in person must comply with the applicable sanitary measures. Shareholders are reminded that they may also exercise their right to vote by post, using the single participation form, or by internet on the secure VOTACCESS voting platform. They may also give their proxy to the Chairman of the Meeting or to a person of their choice in the same conditions.
The Shareholders ' Meeting will be broadcast live on the Company's website and the video will also be available within the timeframe provided by regulations.
How to get to the Shareholders ' Meeting?
Our address: 82 rue Henri Farman - 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
By public transportation
• Tramway 2 ( T2), Henri Farman station
( Pont de Bezons/Porte de Versailles line): direct access
• RER C, Issy Val de Seine station
( Versailles/Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines line): 8 minutes on foot
• Metro line 8, Balard station ( Balard/Créteil-Pointe du Lac): 10 minutes on foot
• Metro line 12, Porte de Versailles station ( connection T2)
• Tramway 3 ( T3), Pont du Garigliano or Porte de Versailles stations ( connection T2)
• Bus: numbers 39, 126, 189, 290, 394, Issy Val-de-Seine stop; line PC 1, Pont du Garigliano stop
• Bus number 260, rue Henri Farman stop in front of the building
• Using the Vélib ' self-service bike system: 19 rue Bara and 61 rue Henri Farman, in front of the building
04
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SHAREHOLDERS ' MEETING?
Conditions to be fulfilled to participate in the Shareholders ' Meeting
Any shareholder, regardless of the number of shares owned, may participate in this Shareholders ' Meeting in accordance with the legal and regulatory conditions in force, this right being subject to the registration of the shares in the name of the shareholder or of the financial intermediary registered on his/her behalf, either in the Company's register ( for `` registered '' shares) or with the financial intermediary who keeps his/her securities account
( for `` bearer '' shares), on the second business day preceding the Shareholders ' Meeting: this is the `` record date ''.
For Accor Combined Shareholders ' Meeting to be held on May 20, 2022, this record date will therefore be Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at midnight ( 12.00 a.m.) ( Paris time).
Specific terms and conditions governing participation in the Shareholders ' Meeting
To participate in the Shareholders ' Meeting, shareholder may choose one of the following options: the
1. attend the Meeting in person with the admittance card;
2. by post ( by mail thanks to the single participation form): vote personally or give proxy to the Chairman of the Meeting or any other representative ( any physical or legal person of their choice);
3. online ( by using the secure VOTACCESS platform): vote personally or give proxy to the Chairman of the Meeting or any other representative ( any physical or legal person of their choice).
In the event of a proxy granted to the Chairman, a favorable vote will be cast in the name of the shareholder for resolutions presented or approved by the Board of Directors, and an unfavorable vote cast for resolutions not approved by the Board of Directors.
In order to facilitate their participation in the Meeting, the Company offers its shareholders the possibility of voting, requesting an admittance card, and appointing or revoking a proxy via the secure VOTACCESS platform, which will be open from May 2, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. to May 19, 2022 at 3 p.m. ( Paris time).
In general, it is recommended that shareholders:
• use electronic notifications or favor the use of electronic means for their requests, according to the terms and conditions set out below; and
• do not wait until the last days to give their instructions in order to avoid any possible saturation of the VOTACCESS platform.
In accordance with the provisions of Article R. 22-10-28 of the French Commercial Code, any shareholder who has already voted, sent a proxy form, requested an admittance card or a certificate of share ownership ( attestation de participation):
• can not subsequently choose to participate in a different way;
• may sell all or part of their shares:
• If all or part of the shares are sold ( or title to the shares is transferred) before the second business day preceding the Meeting date, i.e., before midnight ( 12.00 a.m.) ( Paris time) on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, the Company will cancel or modify the postal or online vote, the proxy, the admittance card or the certificate of share ownership ( attestation de participation). To this end, the shareholder's intermediary account holder should notify Société Générale Securities Services of the sale ( or transfer of title) and provide all the necessary information.
• If all or part of the shares are sold ( or title to the shares is transferred) after the second business day preceding the Meeting date, i.e., after midnight ( 12.00 a.m.) ( Paris time) on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, it is not required to notify the Company of the sale ( or transfer of title), notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary.
1) You plan to attend the Shareholders ' Meeting in person
Any shareholder wishing to attend the Shareholders ' Meeting in person must be in possession of an admittance card, which can be obtained as follows:
For holders of registered shares: the shareholder will receive the meeting documents by post, or by e-mail if requested, and then can obtain his/her admittance card:
• by logging onto www.sharinbox.societegenerale.com using the login details received; or
• by returning the single participation form received with the notice of meeting, which includes the request for an admittance card, to Société Générale Securities Services - Service des Assemblées - CS 30812 Nantes Cedex 3, France, using the prepaid envelope provided, afterhaving ticked the relevant box of the form, entered full name and address ( or if already printed, checked that they are correct), dated and signed the form.
Holders of registered shares having requested their admittance cards and who have not received it two business days prior to the Shareholders ' Meeting are invited to contact Société Générale Securities Services call center for admittance cards, from Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ( Paris time) at +33 ( 0) 2.51.85.59.82 ( calls from a landline in France cost €0.15 per minute).
05
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Accor SA published this content on 11 April 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 April 2022 10:30:02 UTC. | business |
MERION, INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation ( form 10-K) | The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes, and other financial information included in this Form 10-K.
Our Management's Discussion and Analysis contains not only statements that are historical facts, but also statements that are forward-looking. Words such as '' anticipates, '' `` expects, '' `` intends, '' `` plans, '' `` predicts, '' `` potential, '' '' believes, '' `` seeks, '' `` hopes, '' `` estimates, '' `` should, '' `` may, '' `` will, '' `` with a view to '' and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are, by their very nature, uncertain and risky. These risks and uncertainties include international, national, and local general economic and market conditions; our ability to sustain, manage, or forecast growth; our ability to successfully make and integrate acquisitions; new product development and introduction; existing government regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; adverse publicity; competition; the loss of significant customers or suppliers; fluctuations and difficulty in forecasting operating results; change in business strategy or development plans; business disruptions; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the ability to protect technology; the risk of foreign currency exchange rates; and other risks that might be detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Although the forward-looking statements in this Report reflect the good faith judgment of our management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by them. Consequently, and because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, the actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements. You are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in this report as we attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and prospects.
Our Company is a provider of health and nutritional supplements and personal care products. Currently, we are mainly selling our products over the internet directly to end-user customers through our website, at www.merionus.com, and to wholesale distributors through phone and electronic communication. Our major customers of our nutritional and beauty products are located in the Asian market, predominantly in the People's Republic of China. Our major customers of our OEM and packaging products are located in the United States.
Since June 2014, we have been selling our products primarily over the internet directly to end-user customers and by phone/email orders directly to our wholesale distributors. Certain miscellaneous sales are made directly to customers who walk into the Company offices and customers who call the Company directly for products. We are now focusing on selling health and nutritional supplements and personal care products directly on the internet through our website at www.merionus.com and to our OEM and packaging customers. As of the date of this report, we market eight individual nutritional supplement products, three and five of which were introduced in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and one beauty product, which was also introduced in 2018, on our website. We are no longer selling similar products of third parties on our website.
In January 2018, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement ( the `` Purchase Agreement '') with SUSS Technology Corporation, a Nevada corporation ( the '' Seller ''), pursuant to which the Seller agreed to sell to the Company substantially all of the assets associated with the Seller's manufacture of dietary supplements ( the `` Nevada Factory '') for an aggregate purchase price ( the '' Purchase Price '') of $ 1,000,000 and 333,334 shares of the Company's common stock ( the `` Purchase Shares '') valued at $ 320,000. The Seller was one of our major suppliers during the year ended December 31, 2017. Upon purchasing these assets from the Seller, we started to manufacture some of the nutritional supplements that we sold until May 2021. In May 2021, we determined that it would be more beneficial to outsource to third-party manufacturers the production of our branded and OEM products rather than manufacturing through our Nevada Factory. As a result, we disposed of our factory machinery and terminated our Nevada Factory lease in May 2021. As we have significant continuing involvement in the sale of our branded and OEM products through our third-party manufacturers, this restructuring did not constitute a strategic shift that will have a major effect on our operations and financial results. Therefore, the results of operations for our Nevada Factory were not reported as discontinued operations under the guidance of FASB ASC 205.
In January 2018, we introduced a new beauty product, Noir Naturel, a gentle formula for grey coverage from the first application into hair care.
In September 2018, we introduced three different types of natural aphrodisiac supplements, Viwooba ( 1-3) for men that may support kidney health, improve immunity, enhance physical fitness, eliminate fatigue, improve sexual desire and enhance body energy, strength and sexual ability.
In March 2019, we introduced 1) Lady-S, a female dietary supplement that may assist with weight loss, 2) Gold King, a nutritional supplement that may provide antioxidant support and liver health, 3) New Power, a nutritional supplement that may support heart health, and 4) Taibao, a nutritional supplement that may enhance physical performance and energy metabolism.
In December 2019, we introduced ReMage Power, a nutritional supplement that may provide anti-aging Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ( NAD) + support and promote energy & cell metabolism.
On June 11, 2021, our Board of Directors approved a 1-for-3 reverse stock split of our common stock. On July 27, 2021, we filed a Certificate of Change with the State of Nevada ( the `` Certificate '') to effect a 1-for-3 reverse stock split of our authorized shares of common stock, par value $ 0.001 ( the `` Common Stock ''), accompanied by a corresponding decrease in our issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock ( the `` Reverse Stock Split ''), effective upon filing. Following the Reverse Stock Split, the number of authorized shares of Common Stock was reduced from 1,000,000,000 to 333,333,333. All shares and per share amounts ( except for par value amount) used herein and in the accompanying financial statements have been retroactively restated to reflect the 1-for-3 Reverse Stock Split.
Principal Factors Affecting Our Financial Performance
We believe consumers have become more confident in ordering products like ours over the internet. However, the nutritional supplement and skin care products e-commerce markets have been, and continue to be, increasingly competitive and are rapidly evolving due to the reasons discussed below.
Barriers to entry are minimal in the nutritional supplement and skin care businesses, and current and new competitors can launch new websites at a relatively low cost. Many competitors in this area have greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. Continued advancement in e-commerce, and increased access to online shopping, is paving the way for growth in direct marketing. We also face competition for consumers from retailers, duty-free retailers, specialty stores, department stores and specialty and general merchandise catalogs, many of which have greater financial and marketing resources than we have. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we believe that we are well-positioned within the Asian consumer market with our current plan of supplying American merchandise to consumers in Asia. There can be no assurance that we will maintain or increase our competitive position or that we will continue to provide only American-made merchandise.
As COVID-19 has limited the global travels, transportation, and import and export of goods, we focused more on our local OEM and packaging business and it has become our major revenue source in fiscal year 2021. We manufactured these products through our Nevada Factory prior to May 2021 and subsequently we purchase the raw material for the products and outsource to the third-party manufacturers and packaging companies to produce and pack these products for our customers after we closed our Nevada Factory in May 2021. The loss of one or more of our U.S. OEM and packaging customers would result in a significant loss of sales and have a negative effect on our operations.
For the wholesale and retail customers who are looking for private label products, we provide our own formulas, purchase raw material and contract third party manufacturers to produce products. For the customers who have their own formulas, we purchase raw materials and outsource to the third-party manufacturers and packing companies for their products.
Our products are sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending levels, and demand tends to decline or grow more slowly during economic downturns, including downturns in any of our major markets. The global economy is currently undergoing a period of downturn due to COVID-19, and the future economic environment continues to remain uncertain. This has led, and could further lead, to reduced consumer spending, which may include spending on nutritional and beauty products and other discretionary items. The increase of trade tensions between US and China and the COVID-19 pandemic have and might continue to have negative impacts on our business. The reduced consumer spending may force us and our competitors to lower prices. These conditions may adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.
At the end of 2019, there was an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus ( COVID-19) which has spread rapidly to many parts of China and other parts of the world, including the U.S. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings and facilities in China and in the U.S. The economic impact of the coronavirus or COVID-19 in both China and the U.S have significantly impacted our business and results of operations.
Our headquarters are located in California and were closed from March 19, 2020 to June 9, 2020. Due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in California, our offices were closed again from July 16, 2020 to September 16, 2020 and our employees worked remotely from home during these periods. Our offices have been reopened since September 16, 2020. Substantially all of our product sales revenues are generated in China and all of our OEM and packaging revenues are generated in the U.S. Consequently, our results of operations have been and will continue to be materially adversely affected, to the extent that the pandemic harms the Chinese and U.S. economies. Any potential impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the pandemic and new variants, efficacy and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities in China and U.S. to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control.
Although we expect that our health supplement products and our OEM/packaging services will still be in demand due to awareness of the importance of health growing along with the realities of COVID-19, the global economy has been and may continue to be negatively affected by COVID-19 and there is continued uncertainty about the duration and intensity of the impact of COVID-19. Many of our customers are individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs), which may not have strong cash flows or be well capitalized, and may be vulnerable to a pandemic outbreak and slowing macroeconomic conditions. If the SMEs can not weather the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic impact, or can not resume business as usual after a prolonged outbreak, our revenues and business operations may be materially and adversely impacted.
While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing the Company's ability to access capital, which could negatively affect the Company's liquidity.
Substantially all of our revenues are concentrated in the United States. Consequently, the COVID-19 outbreak has and may continue to materially adversely affect our business operations, financial condition and operating results, including but not limited to the material negative impact to the sourcing of raw materials and delivery of our products, revenues and collection of accounts receivable and any additional bad debt expense. The situation remains highly uncertain for any further outbreak or resurgence of the COVID-19, new variants and the efficacy and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It is therefore difficult for the Company to estimate the impact on our business or operating results that might be adversely affected by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19 for 2022.
In addition, due to COVID-19 spreading around the world and some of the raw materials to produce our products are sourced from outside of the United States, the suppliers have been and might continue to be negatively impacted due to supply chain disruption, increased shipping costs and shortage of raw materials. Consequently, the COVID-19 outbreak has and may continue to materially adversely affect the Company's business operations, financial condition and operating results for 2022, including but not limited to the shortage of raw materials, delay of shipment, and increased prices for the Company's products manufactured by our suppliers.
The Company started to recover as total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021 were higher as compared to the same period of 2020. Because of the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the financial impact for 2022 can not be reasonably estimated at this time.
Looking ahead, we understand that these unprecedented times will have a financial impact on some of our customers, and might potentially cause us loss of certain existing customers. Our plan has been to promote the awareness of the importance of health and our health supplement products, which in turn might build sales with new customers to offset the loss of any of our existing customers.
As COVID-19 continues to impact global business, the U.S. government established relief programs for small business such as the Paycheck Protection Program ( `` PPP '') and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program ( `` EIDL ''). In 2020, we received a PPP loan of $ 131,100 and EIDL loan of $ 150,000 to help fund our operation in 2020. The PPP loan was fully forgiven by the SBA administration in January 2021.
On February 2, 2021, the Company received loan proceeds of $ 137,792 under the U.S. Small Business Administration ( `` SBA '') second round of Paycheck Protection Program ( `` PPP '') to help fund our operations in 2021. The PPP loan was fully forgiven by the SBA administration in October 2021.
Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Total sales increased by approximately $ 1,042,000 or 237.3%, from approximately $ 439,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 1,481,000 in the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase of sales was mainly due to the OEM contracts that the Company signed in 2020 and we fulfilled approximately $ 1.3 million of the orders during the year ended December 31, 2021 with approximately $ 0.9 million unfilled as of December 31, 2021
The cost of sales increased by approximately $ 581,000, or 127.8%, from approximately $ 454,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 1,035,000 in the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase of cost of sales was in line with the increase of revenue as we fulfilled our OEM orders during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Our overall gross margin ( loss) percentage increased from a gross loss of approximately ( 3.5)% in the year ended December 31, 2020 to a gross margin of approximately 30.1% in the year ended December 31, 2021, mainly due to the increase of sales in the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020. We had more sales to absorb our fixed production costs during the year ended December 31, 2021 as our products normally have high gross margins. In May 2021, we determined that it is more beneficial to outsource to third-party manufacturers the production of our branded and OEM products rather than manufacturing through our Nevada Factory. As a result, we closed our Nevada Factory, disposed its assets and terminated its lease in May 2021, which also contributed to a higher gross margin in 2021 because we had more idle manufacturing capacity cost for our Nevada factory during the same period in 2020 which had driven down our gross margin.
Our product sales decreased by approximately $ 27,000, or 38.0% from $ 69,735 for the year ended December 31, 2020 to $ 43,217 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The gross margin percentage decreased from approximately 48.8% in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately 30.7% in the year ended December 31, 2021. The reason for the decrease of gross margin percentage was due to providing more discounts to our customers during the year ended December 31, 2021 on some of our products that were closer to the expiration date as compared to the same period in 2020.
Our OEM and packaging sales increased by approximately $ 1,069,000, or 289.3% from approximately $ 369,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 1,438,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The gross margin percentage increased from approximately 29.2% in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately 31.2% in the year ended December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we fulfilled our OEM orders with normal gross margin because we are no longer required to absorb our fixed production costs after the closing of our factory in Nevada in May 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we had manufacturing overhead costs for our OEM and packaging sales including labor hours being allocated to such production, which we didn't have during the majority of the year ended December 31, 2021. As a result, our OEM and packaging sales gross margin percentage increased by 2.0% during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020.
Selling expenses increased from approximately $ 48,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 83,000 in the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase of approximately $ 35,000, or 72.2%, was mainly due to the increase of approximately $ 10,000 of sales department salaries as we transferred our factory employees to be our sales representatives after closing our Nevada factory in May 2021, the increase of approximately $ 46,000 of shipping and packing expenses as we had more OEM orders that required packing and shipping services, offset by the decrease of approximately $ 21,000 of advertising and marketing expenses and other selling expenses.
General and administrative ( `` G & A '') expenses decreased by approximately $ 74,000 from approximately $ 1,345,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 1,272,000 in the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease was mainly attributable to the decrease of approximately $ 29,000 of bad debt expense, a decrease of approximately $ 54,000 contractor expense and the decrease of approximately $ 21,000 salary and employee benefit expenses as we closed our Nevada factory in May 2021. The decrease was offset by the increase of approximately $ 29,000 in professional fees, such as attorney fees, auditor fees and consulting fees.
Stock compensation expenses decreased by approximately $ 241,000 during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Approximately $ 180,000 and $ 296,000, related to the amortization of the value of 766,668 shares of restricted common stock issued to three employees for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, which all had a vesting period of three years and were fully vested as of July 2021.
The loss on disposal of equipment increased by approximately $ 285,000 from a gain of $ 16,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020 to a loss of $ 268,800 in the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease was mainly due to the Company disposing of its machinery in the Nevada factory for $ 7,700 which resulted $ 268,800 of loss on disposal of equipment in May 2021.
Other income ( expense) increased by approximately $ 166,000 from an expense of approximately $ ( 4,000) in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 162,000 in the year ended December 31, 2021, mainly due to the decrease of interest expenses of approximately $ 143,000 incurred from a third party and related parties interest bearing loans that were transferred to DW Food California Food Distribution LLC, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020 and subsequently paid with shares of the Company's common stock in December 2020. The increase of other income was also due to a $ 25,000 California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant that we received in May 2021.
Net loss decreased by approximately $ 622,000 from approximately $ 1.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $ 1.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, mainly due to the reasons discussed above.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had a cash balance of approximately $ 900, compared to a cash balance of approximately $ 10,000 at December 31, 2020.
In assessing our liquidity, we monitor and analyze our cash on-hand and our operating and capital expenditure commitments. Our liquidity needs are to meet our working capital requirements, operating expenses and capital expenditure obligations. Other than operating expenses and current liabilities of approximately $ 1.4 million, the Company does not have significant cash commitments. Cash requirements include cash needed for purchase of inventory, payroll, payroll taxes, rent, and other operating expenses. However, in response to the liquidity factors described above, the Company has continued to find ways to reduce its operating expenses. In addition, should our Company need funds, our principal shareholder and Chief Executive and Financial Officer Mr. Dinghua Wang may lend additional money to the Company from time to time to the extent he is in a position and willing to do so. No assurance can be provided that he will continue to lend funds to the Company in the future.
Management has concluded under U.S. GAAP that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern as a result of our lack of significant revenue and sufficient working capital. If we are unable to generate significant revenue or secure financing, we may be required to cease or limit our operations. Our financial statements do not include adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities amounted to approximately $ 216,000 as compared to approximately $ 990,000 used in operating activities in the same period in 2020. Cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily the result of our approximately $ 1.2 million net loss, the non-cash adjustment of approximately $ 138,000 for the gain on forgiveness of loan payable, and the payment of lease liabilities of approximately $ 162,000. This amount was partially offset by the non-cash expense of approximately $ 180,000 in stock based compensation, approximately $ 38,000 of depreciation expenses, approximately $ 214,000 in amortization of operating leases right-of-use assets and approximately $ 269,000 of loss on disposal of equipment, the decrease of accounts receivable of approximately $ 50,000, the decrease of inventories of approximately $ 52,000, the decrease of prepaid expenses approximately $ 113,000 as we realized our prepaid inventory purchases to fulfill our OEM orders and the increase of accounts payable and accrued expenses of approximately $ 111,000 and the increase of deferred revenue of approximately $ 246,000 as we still have some OEM backlog orders to be fulfilled.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, investing activities provided $ 7,700 in cash received from the sale of machinery in our Nevada factory.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, financing activities provided approximately $ 200,000 as compared to approximately $ 990,000 during the year ended December 31, 2020. Net cash received in the year ended December 31, 2021 includes approximately $ 138,000 from the second round of the SBA PPP loan that was forgiven in October 2021, and approximately $ 103,000 from a loan from our principal shareholder and Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang partially offset by our repayment of approximately $ 24,000 to Mr. Dinghua Wang and approximately $ 17,000 of principal payments for long-term debt.
The material terms of the loans from Mr. Dinghua Wang, certain related parties and certain unaffiliated third parties are set forth in Note 6 and Note 7 of the accompanying notes to financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to our stockholders.
© Edgar Online, source Glimpses | business |
Extreme Fire Risks Rise Across Texas Tuesday From Massive Storm | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Beef cattle stand at the Texana Feeders feedlot in this aerial photograph taken above Floresville, Texas, U.S., on Monday, May 7, 2018. During a summit with President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, China offered minor concessions welcomed by the Americans by allowing more U.S. beef imports and opening its financial sector to greater U.S. investment. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Key shale-oil fields, slaughterhouses and cattle ranches are facing an extreme wildfire threat from a historic spring storm set to lash Texas with bone-dry gusts and the northern Great Plains with heavy snow.
The storm that’ s forecast to strengthen across the central U.S. on Tuesday will sweep hot, dry air over drought-stricken regions of Texas and Oklahoma. The fire risk is “ extreme ” for a swath that includes Lubbock, Texas, and Dodge City, Kansas, the U.S. Storm Prediction Center said. An even broader area reaching from the Permian Basin oilfield in West Texas to Interstate 80 in Nebraska is under a “ critical ” fire warning.
“ It is a pretty significant event and a sizable one too, ” said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.
The storm system already has set snowfall records in Oregon, where Portland had its first recorded accumulating snow in April, Hurley said. It will go on to drop 2 to 3 feet ( 0.6 to 0.9 meters) of snow across parts of Montana and North Dakota on its cold side as it drift across the Plains.
While frigid temperatures and blizzard warnings mark its northern flank, temperatures could rise into the 80s and 90s Fahrenheit ( 27 to 32 Celsius) from Nebraska to Texas.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
Oil Edges Higher After Slump as Investors Assess China Outlook | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
The PCK Schwedt oil refinery operated by PCK Raffinerie GmbH, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Co., in Schwedt, Germany, on Thursday, April 7, 2022. The PCK refinery, which handles Russian oil delivered via the Druzhba pipeline, supplies 95% of the gasoline, diesel, heating oil and kerosene to Berlin and Brandenburg. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg, Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- Oil gained -- after sliding 4% on Monday -- as investors assessed the outlook for Chinese demand following the easing of some virus restrictions in Shanghai.
West Texas Intermediate futures rose around 1% to trade above $ 95 a barrel. Shanghai has eased lockdowns for some housing complexes, though authorities indicated they would reimpose restrictions if cases climb. The southern city of Guangzhou is also taking measures to prevent a flare-up. Oil has now almost given up all its gains since Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine.
The oil market has seen a tumultuous period of trading since late February, whipsawed by Russia’ s invasion of its neighbor, rising tensions in the Middle East, the virus flare-up in China and tightening monetary policy. The war in Ukraine has entered its second month despite efforts to agree a cease-fire.
The invasion has fanned inflation and prompted the U.S. and its allies to release strategic reserves to tame rising energy prices. OPEC’ s top diplomat, meanwhile, told European Union officials that the current crisis in global oil markets caused by Russia’ s war is beyond the group’ s control.
Brent remains in a bullish backwardation structure -- where near-dated contracts are more expensive than later-dated ones -- but it’ s eased over the past week. The prompt timespread for the global benchmark was 21 cents a barrel in backwardation on Monday, compared with $ 1.53 a week ago.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
Google sues scammer for ‘ puppy fraud’ | On Monday, Google sued a scammer for allegedly running an online “ puppy fraud scheme, ” defrauding vulnerable people, including the elderly, out of thousands of dollars with false promises of purebred puppies.
The complaint, filed Monday, accuses Nche Noel of Cameroon of using a network of fake websites, Google Voice phone numbers, and Gmail accounts to pretend to sell purebred basset hound puppies to people online. In one instance, a victim paid Noel $ 700 in “ electronic gift cards ” to purchase a puppy. After sending the gift cards, Noel continued to string along the victim, telling them that the delivery company needed an additional $ 1,500. According to the complaint, the puppy never arrived.
“ The actor used a network of fraudulent websites that claimed to sell basset hound puppies — with alluring photos and fake customer testimonials — in order to take advantage of people during the pandemic, ” Mike Trinh, Google’ s senior counsel, wrote in a Monday blog post. “ Sadly, this scam disproportionately targeted older Americans, who can be more vulnerable to cyberattacks. ”
Beyond using Google’ s services to communicate with victims, Google accused Noel of running a Google Ads campaign to promote the fraudulent websites.
In the complaint, Google says that the AARP, an elderly issues group, alerted the company about the scam last September. Later, in November, the AARP published a report detailing the puppy fraud scams, writing that criminals were exploiting isolated consumers who were looking for companionship during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online scams skyrocketed during the pandemic as people spent more time on social media. Last April, the Federal Trade Commission reported that it had issued over 100 alerts and called for more than 350 companies to remove deceptive claims from the internet.
Google’ s lawsuit claims that Noel violated the company’ s terms of service in conducting the alleged scam. Google is seeking statutory relief for damages. | tech |
Market Movers Asia, April 11-15: China's COVID-19 lockdowns pose threat to oil demand recovery | Ira Joseph, directora de gas y electricidad de Platts Analytics, y Ryan Ouwerkerk, director de...
Brazil's Buzios crude is set to make further inroads into China in the coming months, as production...
OPEC is more bullish on the global economic recovery for next year, projecting world oil demand to...
This week: The war in Ukraine continues to impact sentiment in the voluntary carbon market, steel data from Japan and China is in focus, and Australian wheat is in demand after Indonesia suspended imports from India.
But first, gasoline and diesel marketers across Asia expect to see improved consumer sentiment and demand over the coming days as many governments in the region have cut taxes on oil products amid rising inflation.
Last week, South Korea decided to cut taxes on automotive fuels. Also, Thailand has cut the excise tax on diesel while the Vietnamese government has lowered environmental protection taxes on oil products.
In a further boost to demand, crude and condensate traders at major Asian refiners said they may revise their monthly crude price forecasts a tad lower. This comes after the International Energy Agency said that member countries have agreed to release 120 million barrels of oil from storage, the largest ever release in its history.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 continues to hit oil demand in China, Asia's largest consumer. The lockdown in Shanghai, China's financial center and transportation hub, is likely to continue for the next two weeks with the number of confirmed cases surging. With economic activity hit, most of the refineries across the country are cutting crude throughput to offset product inventory pressure.
In metals, markets will eye important data from China and Japan.
China will release March steel export data on April 13. Exports of both finished and semi-finished steel are expected to increase from the average of the previous two months. With strong export order bookings in March due to the Ukraine war, this trend is likely to continue in April.
Japan's projections for the local steel industry for the April-June period will be closely watched by the markets. Market participants expect the data to point to a demand slowdown as demand from domestic automakers has weakened due to the shortage of automotive parts, especially semiconductors.
In the voluntary carbon market, the macro-economic turmoil continues to weigh on markets. Concerns over fresh sanctions on Russia and indications from the US Federal Reserve on potential interest rate hikes to control inflation hit sentiment. Demand was expected to pick up in the new financial year but tepid activity on the carbon exchanges continues, mirroring the weakness seen in the financial and commodity markets.
And finally, in agriculture, grain markets will be tracking Australian wheat trade after Indonesia suspended agricultural imports from India. Indonesia has been looking for cheap wheat after supplies from Black Sea came to a halt amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
Indonesia, which has been a key buyer of Ukrainian wheat, was expected to source its wheat from India. However, it banned purchases from India after the latter failed to issue quality certificates.
Indonesia may turn to Australia to source its wheat purchases.
Meanwhile, Malaysia – the world's second largest palm oil exporter – will release data on its March-end inventories today. An S & P Global Commodity Insights survey showed that inventories are expected to see an uptick. Market participants will be watching for a rise in supply as the country enters a higher output seasonal phase.
However, palm oil prices will have limited downside as the ongoing war in Ukraine is choking around half of the world's sunflower oil exports, leaving vegetable oil buyers with little choice.
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China's biggest banks face slower earnings growth in 2022 amid macro headwinds | Major Chinese lenders will likely report slower net profit growth in 2022 as an uncertain economic outlook weighs on loan growth and net interest margins.
The aggregate net profit of China's commercial banks will likely grow by around 10% in 2022, compared with 12.6% in 2021, according to estimates by Bank of China Research Institute.
Despite lower rates and lackluster capital markets dragging down net interest margins and fee growth, respectively, and rising credit risk for the real estate sector, J.P. Morgan said the outlook for Chinese banks is `` net positive, as management are guiding for stable profit growth and asset quality trend in 2022. ''
The key drivers of profits will be the optimization of deposit mix, decline of long-dated deposit rate, lower operating expense growth and declining credit costs as banks may release provisions, J.P. Morgan said in an April 6 research note.
The four largest Chinese lenders by assets, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd., reported their strongest year-over-year earnings growth in at least four years in 2021, up by between 10.3% and 12.3%, in part due to a low base of comparison in the previous year.
The outlook of China’ s banking sector in 2022 is clouded by macro headwinds, as the world’ s second largest economy slowed in the second half of 2021 following the debt problems of major property developers. A recent flare-up of COVID-19 infections, contraction of onshore manufacturing activity and softening export demand while major economies are hit by high inflation are set to weigh on China’ s onshore economic activity this year.
Beijing is expected to announce more easing measures to support its economy, which will renew pressure on banks ' interest margins. Lenders are trying to keep up the growth in loans to mitigate margin compression.
Nomura's economists see a `` reasonably high likelihood '' that the country's loan prime rate, both 1-year and 5-year, will be cut by 10 basis points on April 20, followed by a 50-basis-point cut in reserve requirement ratio over the next couple of months.
Both Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China have set their loan growth targets at above 10% for 2022, while China Construction Bank's management said it expects to be `` reasonable '' about its loan growth expectations. All four banks achieved low-double-digit growth last year.
The aggregate outstanding loan balance of China's banking system rose 11.1% in February from a year earlier, the weakest growth in more than 15 years, according to data from the People's Bank of China.
Loan demand in the first quarter recovered from the previous quarter, but was still weaker than a year ago, according to a survey of about 3,200 Chinese lenders by the central bank released March 30. The recovery of credit demand mainly came from infrastructure investment and manufacturing, while demand from the wholesale and retail sectors was largely flat. Loans for property development also recovered but remain weak, as the sector is still reeling from debt problems and falling home prices.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China reported marginally lower net fee and commission income in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with the previous quarter. Bank of China posted a modest increase during the same period.
Stable fee income from intermediate business, together with gains in investment book, contributed to banks ' earnings growth in 2021, said Beijing-based Huaxi Securities Co. Ltd., but the contribution will likely decline in the coming quarters due to high base effect and volatility in the equity market.
Despite rounds of interest rate cuts and Beijing’ s call for banks to step up lending, sector-wide loan growth will likely be around 8.5% during the first half of 2022, largely unchanged from a year ago, the research firm predicted.
As of April 8, US $ 1 was equivalent to 6.36 Chinese yuan. | business |
UPDATE1: Tokyo shares end lower as tech stocks drag ahead of U.S. price data | Tokyo stocks ended lower Monday, dragged down by weak tech shares as investors cautiously awaited the release of U.S. consumer price index data, due out later in the week.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 164.28 points, or 0.61 percent, from Friday at 26,821.52. The broader Topix index finished 7.15 points, or 0.38 percent, lower at 1,889.64.
The U.S. dollar accelerated its upswing against the yen in the afternoon, rising to the lower 125 yen, a level unseen since June 2015.
The dollar advanced from the lower 124 yen zone where it had been in the early morning on expectations that a rise late last week in U.S. Treasury yields would widen the interest rate gap between the United States and Japan, dealers said.
Stocks were in negative territory for most of the day, tracking declines on the technology-heavy Nasdaq index late last week. Market participants also remained wary ahead of the U.S. consumer price index for March, to be released Tuesday, on speculation the data will show accelerating inflation.
On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by precision instrument, electric appliance, and information and communication issues.
`` Investors were concerned that the U.S. Federal Reserve may potentially become more aggressive in its monetary tightening amid growing fears about long-term inflation and the pace of interest rate hikes, '' said Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.
The Nikkei briefly inched into positive territory to retake the 27,000 mark in the morning, supported by the yen momentarily falling into the upper 124 yen range against the dollar which lifted some export-oriented issues.
Meanwhile, the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in China's financial hub of Shanghai, which on Sunday logged a record number of infections, has been weighing on sentiment on fears that the country's pursuit of zero-COVID policy may constrict supply chains further, analysts said.
Fast Retailing, which operates the Uniqlo clothing chain, fell 1,640 yen, or 2.7 percent, to 58,530 yen, on concerns over the impact of the Shanghai lockdown on sales.
Among tech shares tracking their U.S. counterparts, Tokyo Electron lost 350 yen, or 0.6 percent, to 55,070 yen, while Advantest declined 160 yen, or 1.8 percent, to 8,590 yen.
Bucking the downward trend, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings jumped 62 yen, or 16.2 percent, to 444 yen, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed Friday his intention to turn to renewable energy and nuclear power to combat possible power shortages as Japan attempts to phase out Russian coal imports.
Renewable energy company Renova climbed 53 yen, or 3.1 percent, to 1,789 yen following Kishida's news conference.
Among Prime Market issues, decliners outnumbered advancers 1,189 to 600, while 50 ended unchanged.
Trading volume on the Prime Market fell to 1,148.89 million shares from Friday's 1,270.96 million.
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire | business |
Businesses at risk: Gaps in crisis readiness among UK firms revealed | Around half of UK business leaders surveyed in recent research said their organisations didn’ t have crisis response plans in place. That’ s a startling statistic when you consider that more than three quarters of respondents ( 78%) said their organisations had experienced a crisis in the past 18 months that had impacted customers, with the most frequent crises experienced including data breach of consumer information ( 78%), product recall ( 76%), cyber-attack ( 74%) and ransomware attack ( 73%). These are among the findings of independent research carried out on behalf of Experian into crisis preparedness, response and recovery. 500 senior business leaders and more than 2,000 members of the public were surveyed about their experiences of crises over the preceding 18 months. That was a period in which Covid-19 transformed the way many organisations operate, and accelerated the switch to remote working and a digitally led economy. It exposed businesses to new risks, and propelled risk management to the top of the boardroom agenda. Insights into crisis readiness In our research, we wanted to find out how organisations had adapted in this environment to improve their resilience, how they were organising their resources to better respond to future crises, and how they were mitigating impacts on consumers. In this blog post I’ d like to outline some of the key insights from the resarch, which highlight the issues facing organisations preparing for any crisis, the vulnerabilities they need to address, and the responses required to meet public expectations. Facing up to the risks and costs Firstly, our findings confirm that the risks to organisations are very real, and are well recognised by business leaders. All organisations surveyed ( 100%) felt they were at risk of crisis within the next 18 months. Among the greatest concerns were cyber-attacks, health emergencies, ransomware attacks and IT system failures. If a crisis did occur, leaders identified some of the things they were most worried about. These included the financial impact and high cost to the business ( 39% of respondents), complaints or legal action due to a poor response ( 36%) and the negative impact on customers if the crisis was handled badly ( 29%). The financial costs of failing to prepare for or respond well to a crisis are significant. Survey respondents in businesses with a turnover of £1m - £9.99m thought it would cost 36% of turnover. That equates, on average, to a cost of £1.97m. In businesses with a turnover of £50m-£99.99m, leaders thought it would cost 43% of turnover, which equates to an average cost of £32.24m. Misplaced confidence However, there were high levels of confidence among leaders in their organisations’ ability to deal effectively with a crisis. More than 70% said they were confident. But our survey findings suggest this confidence may be misplaced. Only around half of respondents had a crisis response plan ( 50%) in place, a budget allocated to crisis response ( 49%) or carried out regular risk audits ( 45%). Until a crisis strikes, it’ s difficult for leaders to comprehend the level of costs and resources required to respond effectively, and the extent of communication and resource management needed to minimise impacts. A swift and targeted response is key to minimising the financial, reputational and emotional damage caused. That’ s why it is so important to recognise any gaps in advance and plan in advance to minimise damage. Who is responsible? There is also uncertainty about who within the business is responsible for crisis response planning. Almost half of respondents ( 41%) felt it was the responsibility of the IT department. But when you consider the wide-ranging impacts of a crisis on every part of the business, and the resources required to respond effectively, it’ s clear that an effective response will demand expertise beyond the IT team, including legal, C-suite, communications, customer service and other departments. Positive outcomes The survey also looked at the benefits to businesses of an efficient crisis response. The leaders surveyed acknowledged the potential positive outcomes of an effective response. Almost half ( 46%) felt that a positive response would lead to increased customers and business, while 43% identified avoiding reputational damage as a key benefit. The findings of our consumer survey backed up these assertions. When asked how they would react if an organisation they dealt with handled a crisis positively, consumers surveyed said it would encourage them to continue being a customer ( 46% of respondents), to think favourably of the organisation ( 43%), to recommend it to others ( 23%), and to post about their experience on social media ( 16%). Planning makes the difference It’ s clear that planning a consumer crisis response properly in advance brings many benefits to a business and its customers, and could ultimately be the difference between survival and failure.
605 | tech |
Veru Shares Higher; Covid-19 Drug Candidate Reduces Deaths by 55% in Hospitalized Patients | By Michael Dabaie
Veru Inc. shares were 34% higher at $ 5.81 premarket Monday after the oncology biopharmaceutical company said its Covid-19 drug candidate reduces deaths by 55% in hospitalized patients in an interim analysis of a Phase 3 study.
The Independent Data Safety Monitoring Committee unanimously recommended that the Phase 3 study be halted early due to efficacy and said no safety concerns were identified, Veru said.
Sabizabulin treatment showed a 55% reduction in deaths compared with a placebo in moderate to severe hospitalized patients, the company said.
Veru said it plans to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss next steps, including submission of an emergency use authorization application. The FDA granted fast track designation to the sabizabulin Covid-19 clinical program in January.
Write to Michael Dabaie at michael.dabaie @ wsj.com
( END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-11-22 0704ET | business |
Founders need to batten down the hatches as interest rates rise | Most founders won’ t have missed the fact that interest rates, on both sides of the Atlantic, are rising. The Fed has said that it will move decisively to increase rates this year, and analysts are anticipating a half-point increase in the next May meeting. But what does this mean for your startup business?
Few startups will have significant short-term debt that would be affected by rising interest rates. But the changing macroeconomic environment is still something they should understand and prepare for.
If central banks can quell inflation with relatively low interest rates then startup valuations shouldn’ t drop too far. If inflation proves tougher to control, central banks will be forced to crank rates up even higher. In effect, this will put the brakes on broader macroeconomic growth and some economies could tip into recession. That’ s bad news for startup valuations, but there are things that founders can do.
One of the reasons that so much capital has come into VC in recent years has been that, with historically low interest rates, the likes of pension funds and investors needed to find higher returns and therefore took more risk.
As interest rates rise, it will be easier for investors to find returns that beat inflation in “ safer ” asset classes. If funds find it harder to raise capital, they’ re likely to be slower to invest it too. Startup founders should prepare for an environment where fundraises are harder to come by.
Also as inflation rises, there will be pressure on business and consumer spending. That could result in slower revenue growth for startups. Many companies prepared for such a shock at the start of the Covid pandemic, but almost the opposite happened. There was sudden and rapid spending on tech and software, with a subsequent leap in public market valuations — just think of all those Pelotons and Zoom accounts.
This time around founders may not be so lucky. The startups that survive this new environment need to think carefully about how to navigate yet another new normal.
Founders will need to raise longer runways. While there is lots of committed capital for VCs still to deploy, and funds are incentivised to deploy that capital, in such a difficult economic climate most founders would be well advised to do what they can to extend the runway. Now more than ever, you need plenty of cushion when assessing your cash. We have already seen, for example at Stripe-backed fintech Fast, what happens when you run out of cash and are trying to raise in a difficult and fast-changing environment. The last thing you want is to be forced into raising and risk a down round.
Founders may also need to take more dilution. While the past few years have seen founders at Series A to C able to hold a fairly hard line on dilution in financing discussions, we expect that this will become a growing point of negotiation, especially given the growing fund return hurdles that most GPs face. There is already good thinking out there on what this means from the seed perspective.
Sadly, we anticipate that investor behaviour might not always be the best. This will truly be a time to test the often-repeated mantra of “ founder friendly ”. Now more than ever, founders need an active and engaged board, rather than passive investors who are no longer particularly invested in the success of the business.
Finally, dry powder is still in abundance — but crossover funds like Tiger Global, whose dealmaking sent European investment to record levels in 2021, will be behaving differently. Crossover funds are disproportionately exposed to private investments and given the scale of their public market markdowns, they are likely to be far more price sensitive. There are already market rumours around the changing behaviours being seen at later stages.
As a startup founder, you can’ t control these macroeconomic forces, which are global and down to the huge fiscal and monetary stimuli that the global economy has been enjoying for the last decade or so.
But founders can take some steps to protect their business from some of the impacts of the changing monetary regime. For some companies, their primary focus will need to shift from growth or unit economics to cash preservation. When things are better they can return to growth again.
To do this some startups will need to eliminate all discretionary spending — such as experimental marketing or projects with too long a payback period. Difficult decisions may need to be taken about new hires — although for others this will become a hiring opportunity.
Learning to live through a new fundraising environment is an essential part of an entrepreneurs’ skill set. Founders need to be open with their board members, who are likely to have experience with cycles like this.
Lily Shaw is investor at OMERS Ventures. She tweets from @ lilymshaw. | tech |
Oil’ s War-Driven Rally Is on the Cusp of Evaporating: Chart | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- The rally in oil since Russia’ s invasion of Ukraine in late February is about to evaporate. Futures of West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent are both on the cusp of giving back all of their war-driven gains, which saw prices rise to the highest level since 2008. The retreat comes as the U.S. and its allies have announced plans to unleash a wave of oil from strategic reserves and a debilitating surge of Covid-19 cases in China raises questions about demand from the world’ s largest crude importer.
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Twitter’ s shares slid after Elon Musk decided not to join its board.
Stocks and bonds retreated Monday as investors focused on inflation and the impact of policy tightening by central banks. | general |
Azerbaijan confirms 16 more COVID-19 cases, 19 recoveries | Azerbaijan has detected 16 new COVID-19 cases, 19 patients have recovered, Trend reports citing the Operational Headquarters under Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers.
Up until now, 792,253 people have been infected with coronavirus in the country, 782,351 of them have recovered, and 9,703 people have died. Currently, 199 people are under treatment in special hospitals.
To reveal the COVID-19 cases, 2,624 tests have been carried out in Azerbaijan over the past day, and a total of 6,746,085 tests have been conducted so far.
One person was vaccinated against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan on April 11.
The third dose and the next doses were injected to one citizen.
Totally, up until now, 13,549,308 vaccine doses were administered, 5,330,997 citizens received the first dose of the vaccine, 4,832,867 people - the second dose, 3,151,708 people - the third dose and the next doses.
Some 233,736 citizens were vaccinated with a booster dose after a positive test result for COVID-19. | general |
McKinsey urges constrained shippers to 'get creative ' | Container freight rates will remain high throughout 2022 because of ongoing low capacity, warns McKinsey, who also offers shippers advice on how to navigate the disruption to emerge stronger.
Global supply chains have seen unprecedented disruption, and container freight rates are at record highs. Shippers continue to face acute shortages of vessel space, container boxes, warehouse space, intermodal capacity, and labour.
Shippers who have managed to secure access to the constrained capacity are experiencing delays that, in the past year, have doubled globally.
COVID-19 caused substantial fluctuations in containerized goods demand that upset the global containerized logistics supply. Restrictions and shutdowns imposed by most countries early in the pandemic decreased container trade and demand. Demand recovered in Q3 2020 across the globe, particularly in North America that saw import volumes jump an average of approximately 20 percent throughout 2021 when compared to 2019. By comparison, global import volumes have grown around 3 percent when compared to 2019
McKinsey says it is “ almost impossible ” to predict when supply chains will normalise, and with this in mind it has developed four possible rate-outcome scenarios, using established drivers of container demand and capacity that create the market’ s dynamics.
McKinsey the fashions two shipping market scenarios - one in which there is a rapid recovery to 2019 levels, and another in which recovery is far slower.
In the rapid recovery scenario, McKinsey projects logistics capacity having already begun in Q1 2022, with full recovery possible by Q3 2022.
In reality, it says, for this to happen, demand must ease, to allow logistics operators to clear container inventories, and there can be no further external disruptions, suhc as major lockdowns or labour challenges).
In the slower recovery scenario, it projects a containerised logistics capacity recovery by Q1 2024.
McKinsey says that regardless of which scenario occurs, shippers can take immediate steps to improve supply-chain resilience right now.
Its first piece of advice is for shippers to avoid high spot-prices being demanded by forwarders and ocean carriers by deferring or cancelling shipments, especially for lower-value goods.
It also says there are opportunities to be creative with supply routes, and points to the fact that some shippers have found Canadian ports less congested than those in Southern California. These ports still provide rail services into the US Midwest.
Other shippers, it says, are using all-water services to East Coast ports, where congestion is less severe. As another alternative, some shippers have shifted away from inland point intermodal container movements, towards transloads in the immediate port vicinity.
The report adds: “ Some larger shippers have made the move to chartering their own vessels. Shippers looking to charter their own vessels need to find other ship types which, while not designed specifically for container carriage, can carry between 500 and 1,000 containers. ”
In further advice, McKinsey says shippers can, in the medium-term, should look to cultivate alternative suppliers. It says successful strategies might include near-shoring options, or using suppliers in India and South America that reduce exposure to the main Transpacific trade lane.
The report continues: “ Manufacturers can also rethink product design, particularly to limit highly customisable components that are complex to source.
“ Assessing products and redesigning packaging is often a quick win and can help to improve efficiency in container space utilisation.
“ Shippers can also re-evaluate their overall supply-chain design and strategy. The past 12 months have reminded shippers that relying on just-in-time supply from container shipping can be risky.
“ Companies may need to increase inventories and safety buffers, both at departure and at arrival ports. This adds costs to the supply chain, which may lead to broader redesigns in product sourcing and manufacturing. ”
Supply Chain Digital is the digital community for the global supply chain & logistics industry that connects the world's largest supply chain & logistics brands. Supply Chain Digital focuses on procurement and supply chain news, key interviews, supply chain videos, along with an ever-expanding range of focused procurement and supply chain white papers and webinars. | general |
Extending Transit Mask Mandate Beyond April 18 Being Debated by White House | Get exclusive stories and unlimited access to Skift.com news
Access exclusive travel research, data insights, and surveys
David Shepardson, Reuters
April 11th, 2022 at 3:30 PM EDT
The increase in Covid cases — including an outbreak among prominent U.S. politicians — comes at an inopportune time for those calling for the transit mask mandate to be lifted. It also makes it difficult for the Biden Administration to justify ending the mandate so soon when the country is facing another surge.
Rashaad Jorden
The Biden administration faces an April 18 deadline on whether to extend or end a mandate requiring travelers to wear masks on airplanes, trains and in transit hubs.
Industry groups and Republican lawmakers want the White House to end the 14-month-old mask mandate. But it comes amid a spike in Covid-19 cases – including numerous U.S. officials who attended a recent white-tie dinner in Washington.
New White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha told NBC News on Monday that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky will decide whether the mandate should be extended.
“ I know the CDC is working on developing a scientific framework for how to answer that. We’ re going to see that framework come out in the next few days, ” Jha said, adding extending the mandate “ is absolutely on the table. ”
The CDC, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, in February eased its guidance for face covering and now says nearly all of the U.S. population live in counties where they do not need to wear masks indoors.
Airlines, travel groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a letter to Jha released on Monday reiterated a call to end the mask mandate.
“ The science clearly supports lifting the mask mandate, particularly in the context of recent CDC guidance, which found that the overwhelming majority of the U.S. population no longer needs to wear masks indoors, ” the letter said.
Last month, the U.S. Senate voted 57 to 40 to overturn the public health order requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of public transportation, drawing a veto threat from President Joe Biden.
The mask requirements have resulted in significant friction on U.S. airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration said that since January 2021, there have been a record 7,060 unruly passenger incidents reported – and 70% involved masking rules.
The administration is also considering lifting requirements that international visitors get a negative Covid-19 test within a day of travel, as many countries have dropped testing requirements. The administration requires foreign air travelers to be vaccinated. | general |
In Europe, it’ s planes vs. trains. For many travelers, rail is the way to go. | Train travel in Europe is on the upswing, thanks to growing interest from travelers, a renaissance in sleeper trains, and new investments in high-speed rail lines across the continent. But to see major growth in passenger traffic — which is one of the goals of the European Green Deal — the continent’ s railways will have to overcome a number of challenges, including booking difficulties and competition with short-haul flights, which remain the cheaper option on many multicountry routes.
In France and Austria, the pandemic brought the planes-vs.-trains question to the forefront. The French government’ s COVID-19 bailout package of Air France required the airline to eliminate domestic flights when there was a rail option that took under 2½ hours to complete; the measure was later written into law.
The Austrian government placed a similar condition on its support to Austrian Airlines, demanding that the company end its 50-minute flight between Vienna and Salzburg, a journey that passengers can make by train in about three hours.
The European Commission also designated 2021 as the “ Year of European Rail, ” seizing the opportunity to spread the word about train travel, particularly to a younger audience. While passenger traffic was growing steadily through 2019, it was starting from a low base: Before the pandemic, only 8% of all passenger travel in the European Union was by train.
But in addition to the public relations campaign, European leaders are also working to reduce practical barriers to cross-border train travel by introducing new data-sharing systems; replacing outdated infrastructure; and building new high-speed routes, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
“ The idea is that for train trips of less than four hours, no businesspeople will choose to fly, and for trips below six hours, normal people — tourists — will take the train, ” said Alberto Mazzola, executive director of the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies, which is based in Brussels. Mazzola added that government leaders are throwing their weight behind railway infrastructure, particularly high-speed lines. “ We heard this 20 years ago, ” he added. “ The difference today is that we are seeing the investments. ”
Europe’ s night trains are a big part of the rising tide of rail on the continent. On the decline since the 1990s, overnight services suffered alongside the growth of low-cost air carriers and a rise in government investment in high-speed trains, whose faster daytime services often displaced their slower nighttime counterparts. But that trend was already starting to shift before the pandemic, and now the momentum behind night trains appears to be building fast, with new sleeper connections cropping up across the continent.
“ It’ s true that we have a real revival of night trains in France and in Europe, ” said Alain Krakovitch, director of travel at SNCF, France’ s state-owned railway company. “ It is a very strong demand, both from customers but also from elected officials, mayors and the government. ”
Last year, SNCF relaunched overnight services between Paris and Nice, with tickets starting as low as €19, about $ 21, for a midweek low-season ticket. That compares with €31, not including baggage fees or the cost of airport transfers, for a short flight on EasyJet leaving on a similar day. SNCF also offers overnight services between Paris and Toulouse, and between Paris and Lourdes in southwestern France. A night train to Hendaye, a French coastal town near the Spanish border, will run in July and August. And change-free overnight service between Paris and Berlin — a journey that currently takes eight hours and requires at least one change — is scheduled to begin in December 2023 as a cooperative effort between four European operators.
“ It’ s true that this is a huge draw for passengers. The idea of being able to fall asleep in Paris and wake up in Nice saves a night in a hotel, ” Krakovitch said. “ It allows you to arrive very early in Nice without being tired. It’ s a product that has many benefits, but we had to invest heavily to relaunch it. We hope to keep this momentum going. ”
SNCF, France’ s state-owned railway company, has relaunched overnight services between Paris and Nice. | SNCF / VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES
It’ s a similar story elsewhere in Europe. Last year, the Swiss Federal Railways launched a new overnight connection from Zurich to Amsterdam ( with stops in Basel, Switzerland, and Cologne, Germany), adding to overnight services connecting Switzerland’ s largest city to Berlin; Budapest, Hungary; Prague; and Zagreb, Croatia; among other destinations. European Sleeper, a Dutch Belgian company founded by two entrepreneurs, is planning an overnight connection between Brussels and Prague, with stops in Amsterdam and Berlin, among other cities; they hope to launch the service this summer, but the start date is not yet confirmed.
Meanwhile, Austrian operator OBB’ s Nightjet service has recently begun offering an overnight link between Vienna and Paris, with tickets ranging from about €30 for a normal train seat to €200 or higher, depending on the date of travel, for a first-class private cabin. ( A midweek, low-season flight on the same route costs €44, not including baggage fees, on low-cost carrier Transavia.)
Nightjet, which also runs overnight services to cities like Rome, Milan, Brussels and Amsterdam, is offering passengers more options to book private compartments, a Nightjet spokesperson said, adding that some cabins have a private shower and toilet. The prices scale with the amenities provided: A couple traveling overnight from Vienna to Amsterdam on a weeknight in July, for instance, can book two seats in a private compartment for a total of €129. Alternatively, they could opt for a two-bed sleeper cabin for €378 for both travelers, including breakfast. Add a private shower and toilet, and the price rises to €418. At the moment, all of the Nightjet “ rolling stock ” is in use, but new services should be coming online in the years ahead, the spokesperson said. More than 30 new sleeper trains should be delivered beginning in 2023.
But while night trains are offering new connections for travelers, they serve only specific routes. People who are looking to make connections between cities that aren’ t linked on those networks continue to face challenges, both in booking their tickets and in the prices they are charged. Some long-distance journeys with multiple stops are still much cheaper by plane than by train.
The fact remains that, despite the European Union’ s support for rail, the bloc’ s governments continue to grant enormous subsidies to airlines — in the form of bailout packages as well as low taxes on jet fuel — although that could change soon. And while the French and Austrian bans on short-haul flight bans attracted attention in Europe, in effect, the measures ended flights on just one route — Vienna to Salzburg — in Austria, and three in France: Paris to Bordeaux, Paris to Lyons, and Paris to Nantes. In the French case, passengers are still allowed to fly those routes if they make up part of a longer plane journey.
Herwig Schuster, a transport campaigner for Greenpeace’ s EU Mobility for All campaign, called the French and Austrian measures “ a starting point ” and said the European Union should prohibit flights for which there is a train alternative that takes under six hours, instead of just two or three. Such a measure would eliminate about one-third of Europe’ s most popular short-haul routes, but Schuster maintained that consumers are ready for such a shift: A recent climate survey found that 62% of Europeans support a ban on short-haul flights. The biggest obstacle, he added, would be making sure that rail options are at least as affordable as flights.
On several European routes — especially longer-distance trips that cross multiple national borders — flying remains the cheaper option: A one-way, midweek flight from Zurich to Barcelona, Spain, in July costs as little as €45 on low-cost carrier Vueling, compared with €140 ( and many more hours) to cover the same distance by rail. Flying is also usually the more affordable option for trips from London to Madrid, Copenhagen to Rome, and Paris to Budapest.
The fact that Europe’ s vast rail network lacks a single ticketing system presents another challenge, said Mark Smith, who runs The Man in Seat 61, a website with resources for train travel in Britain, Europe and around the world. But he said that in many cases, trains are a good value compared with planes, especially when you account for baggage fees and the cost of getting to and from the airport. Booking in advance, just as you would for a flight, can also save travelers a lot of money, Smith said, adding that he advises people to reserve their long-distance train travel one to three months ahead to avoid last-minute price hikes. He also recommends sites like Trainline and Rail Europe for booking multicountry trips in Europe.
He added that many travelers still opt for the train, even if, in some cases, it does mean paying more for their ticket. When he started his site 20 years ago, Smith said, most people he spoke to who were interested in long-distance train travel were either scared of flying or unable to fly for medical reasons. These days, he hears a different rationale.
“ People are fed up with the airport and airline experience; they want something less stressful and more interesting, ” he said. “ And they want to cut their carbon footprint. ”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2022 The New York Times Company | tech |
Queen Elizabeth shares tribute poem on first anniversary of Prince Philip's death | We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
Queen Elizabeth turned to poetry to mark the first anniversary of her late husband Prince Philip's death.
Over the weekend, the monarch shared a tribute poem written by the U.K.'s Poet Laureate Simon Armitage in honour of Prince Philip, who died of old age on 9 April, 2021, at the age of 99. The poem, titled `` The Patriarchs – An Elegy, '' was paired with a video montage with images of Philip's childhood photos and special moments in the couple's life, including their royal wedding and the arrival of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
`` Remembering His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on the first anniversary of his death, '' reads the video's caption. Other members of the royal family also shared the clip, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate, as well as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
The tribute comes weeks after the queen attended a memorial service for the late Duke of Edinburgh, held at Westminster Abbey, where dozens of royals from around the world, 700 charities and organisations, and many close family members and friends celebrated the royal's life and legacy. The remembrance was a chance for the monarch to honour her late husband surrounded by friends and well-wishers after Covid-19 restrictions limited attendance at Philip's funeral last year.
The 45-minute ceremony included praise of the late royal's `` gifts of character, for his humour and resilience, his fortitude and devotion to duty, '' as well as his `` service as a consort, liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship to Her Majesty. '' | general |
North Korea celebrates 10 years of Kim Jong Un as top party leader | SEOUL – North Korea praised Kim Jong Un’ s leadership in developing nuclear weapons, touted his political achievements, and unveiled new portraits and exhibitions to celebrate his 10 years in charge of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea ( WPK).
Kim is considered to have assumed power when he was named supreme commander of the military after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in December 2011.
Monday marks ten years since the younger Kim was elected as the top party and state leader. The Kim family has ruled the one-party state for its entire history.
In a speech at a national meeting on Sunday, Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and one of the most senior officials under Kim, praised the North Korean leader as “ a gifted thinker and theoretician, outstanding statesman and peerlessly great commander. ”
The events started a week of commemorations that will also include the 110-year anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’ s founder and Kim Jong Un’ s grandfather, on Friday.
Commercial satellite imagery has shown North Korean troops practicing for a military parade that could be held this week. Analysts also say there are signs that North Korea could display its intercontinental ballistic missiles at the event. Last month North Korea set alarm bells ringing in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington by conducting a full ICBM test for the first time since 2017, ending a self-imposed moratorium on such tests.
Footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen on a TV at the main railway station in Seoul. | AFP-JIJI
New construction has been spotted at North Korea’ s nuclear test site, raising concerns that it could soon explode a weapon for the first time since 2017. Last week North Korea said it opposes war but will not hesitate to use its nuclear weapons if it is attacked by South Korea.
Choe called Kim “ a peerless patriot and a great defender of peace ” for making North Korea “ a full-fledged military power equipped with all powerful physical means of self-defense. ”
Under Kim North Korea conducted four of its six nuclear tests, and developed massive ICBMs that analysts believe may be capable of striking anywhere in the United States.
Despite facing unprecedented difficulties, Kim had opened up a new era for North Korea as a powerful socialist nation prospering and developing with self-sustenance and self-reliance, Choe said.
Kim has vowed to improve residents’ lives and tried to boost North Korea’ s economy, but it suffered major contractions in recent years as it was battered by international sanctions, COVID-19 lockdown measures and bad weather. U.N. agencies have warned of possible humanitarian crises.
State media unveiled a rare new official portrait of Kim on Sunday, and reported that a Pyongyang museum had opened a new exhibition to showcase the achievements of his “ immortal leadership. ”
“ Ten years is a fine time for Kim to try and boost his cult of personality even higher, ” Colin Zwirko, an analytical correspondent with NK News, which monitors North Korea, said on Twitter. | tech |
Vote of confidence: Ilham Aliyev's four-year victory | Four years ago, on April 11, 2018, Azerbaijan held presidential elections, in which acting President Ilham Aliyev won with 86.03 percent of the votes. The president was re-elected for the next seven years, demonstrating his high popularity and credibility among the country's people.
President Ilham Aliyev, who has been elected as head of state four times since 2003, winning in 2003, 2008, and 2013, took the unprecedented step in 2018 of calling an early election in order to regain the trust of the Azerbaijani people, who fully support his foreign and domestic policies.
It was a vote of confidence in the politician, who has focused all of his efforts on completing a historic task: the de-occupation of all Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia.
President Aliyev's most notable achievement is victory in the 44-day Second Karabakh War, which resulted in Armenia's defeat, the liberation of the occupied territories, and the end of the long-running conflict.
Throughout the war, Ilham Aliyev demonstrated that he was not only a successful diplomat but also an exceptional expert in military strategy and tactics, personally leading many military operations. During numerous meetings and interviews with leading foreign mass media, the president was able to convey to the international community the truth about the Azerbaijani people's just struggle for the liberation of the occupied territories. In the name of victory, he was able to accomplish the most important goal: he was able to unite all Azerbaijanis who stood united in defense of the country.
Ilham Aliyev gained indisputable authority among Azerbaijanis all over the world after fulfilling his main pre-election promise of restoring Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
Furthermore, under the leadership of Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has emerged as a regional leader and a significant player in the international arena.
Today, Azerbaijan's economic potential can be compared to that of some developed countries around the world, based on population and territory size.
All of the global transport and energy projects that he oversaw proved to be in high demand in these new difficult conditions. After the entire world was placed under global quarantine in March 2020, it was discovered that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the new Caspian Sea port of Alat, and new international airports built have become important transit transshipment points for the transportation of transit cargo, including medicines and medical equipment required to combat the pandemic.
The completed Southern Gas Corridor has become an important alternative source of energy security in Europe, and its importance has recently increased in light of events in Ukraine.
Simultaneously, agricultural reforms implemented under Ilham Aliyev's leadership ensured the country's food security, resulting in Azerbaijan becoming one of the leading exporters of agricultural products to neighboring countries.
Another focus of Ilham Aliyev's economic policy is the reorientation of the economy away from oil and gas toward non-oil sectors, as well as increased production and import substitution of manufacturing and consumer goods. This policy has already proven to be a huge success, and it undoubtedly contributes to the independence of the country.
Ilham Aliyev also played an important role in the unification of the Turkic states. The unification of all independent states with a Turkic-speaking population into a new organization [ Organization of Turkic States ] was achieved in 2021 under his leadership as chairman of the Turkic Council.
By leading the Non-Aligned Movement in 2019, Aliyev restored its influence. He is the author of a number of international initiatives that actively promote the NAM. Furthermore, on his initiative, the UN General Assembly held a special session on combating the coronavirus pandemic and providing assistance to poor and developing countries, including the equitable distribution of vaccines.
Thus, the time has proven how correct the choice of the Azerbaijani people, who elected Ilham Aliyev as President, was in favor of the country's future progressive development aimed at creating a modern, strong Azerbaijan.
Four years after the country's last presidential elections, Azerbaijan, led by President Ilham Aliyev, can claim to have completed the most important and historic tasks. | general |
Azerbaijani airports served about 350 thousand passengers in March | In March 2022, about 350,000 people used the services of Azerbaijan's international airports. This is almost twice as much as in the same period a year earlier.
In general, since the beginning of the year, passenger traffic at all airports amounted to 886 thousand people. Most of them are passengers arriving and departing through the Heydar Aliyev International Airport – their share is 79%.
Since the beginning of the year, the base air carriers of the Baku air harbor - AZAL and Buta Airways - transported 279,000 and 86,000 people, which is 40% and 12% of the share of passenger traffic, respectively.
In March 2022, 25 foreign airlines operated regular flights to the Baku airport.
The top-10 most popular destinations from Baku in March included Istanbul, Dubai, Moscow, Tbilisi, Ankara, Izmir, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt, Kuwait and Doha.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport ( IATA: GYD) is the largest airport in Azerbaijan and the region in terms of passenger and cargo traffic, take-off and landing operations, the area of the terminal complex and the capacity of the cargo complex.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport received the highest 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating, by international air transport rating agency Skytrax.
This is a top recognition of the effectiveness of COVID-19 measures introduced at Heydar Aliyev International Airport to protect their customers and staff against the spread of coronavirus. | general |
Beyond Meat to settle investor lawsuit about co-manufacturer dispute | A side chapter of Beyond Meat's battle with Don Lee Farms appears like it is about to end with a relatively small financial impact on the company. In documents posted to its investor relations website after business hours on Friday, Beyond Meat stressed this is not a class-action style settlement, so individual shareholders will not be able to get money from it. ( Named plaintiffs, however, may apply for $ 2,000 awards.) Paying for plaintiffs ' attorneys ' fees and making some board changes is a relatively easy way to end this litigation. All parties agreed to the settlement — which ends the litigation and is not an admission of wrongdoing — in January. The court gave it preliminary approval last month, and a hearing for final approval is scheduled for July.
Adding risk management committees to corporate boards has become a popular strategy to help companies realize and mitigate the challenges before them. In light of the tumultuous business climate of the past two years, punctuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for specialized risk committees has become apparent, business strategy consultants have said.
Although a Beyond Meat risk committee likely would not have prevented this lawsuit from taking place — it was filed two years before the company went public in 2019 and involved a contract dispute from its early years as a business — having it in place could prove invaluable. Plant-based food is an inherently risky space. While it's getting to be more accepted in the mainstream with wide availability and a variety of brands at grocery stores and foodservice, its former meteoric growth is slowing. Companies, including Beyond Meat, are facing the new challenge of expanding market share and converting new consumers. For Beyond Meat's part, Founder and CEO Ethan Brown has said that slowing sales are the result of several supply chain and pandemic consumer behavior factors, but it could be comforting to investors to have a more independent panel of board members also weigh in on the company's strategy.
It's unclear if the requirement of independent board members would make much of a change in the current operating structure of Beyond Meat. Currently, Brown — who is also the board chairman — is the only member who has a direct role in the company's operations. However, the requirement can ensure investors that the company will be governed more independently in the future.
But this settlement is just a small step. There still may be a lot of bitter — and potentially expensive — fighting to come between Beyond Meat and Don Lee Farms. A hearing is scheduled this week on a motion dealing with the claim that Beyond Meat stole Don Lee's trade secrets, and the trial is set to begin next month. In its annual report filed in March, Beyond Meat said it would `` vigorously defend '' the company and its current and former employees implicated in the dispute. However, in the case that Beyond Meat is not victorious, the company could be required to pay steep damages. Beyond Meat couldn't estimate how much that might be in its annual report, but it could be significant — making right now a very good time to settle the investor litigation.
– Megan Poinski @ meganpoinski
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Earnings reports last week for Beyond Meat and Maple Leaf Foods showed flat or negative growth — and no clear way to jumpstart sales.
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Decoy particles trick coronavirus as it evolves: Emerging therapeutics could overcome drug-resistant variants -- ScienceDaily | As the ever-evolving SARS-CoV-2 virus begins to evade once promising treatments, such as monoclonal antibody therapies, researchers have become more interested in these `` decoy '' nanoparticles. Mimicking regular cells, decoy nanoparticles soak up viruses like a sponge, inhibiting them from infecting the rest of the body.
In a new study, Northwestern University synthetic biologists set out to elucidate the design rules needed make decoy nanoparticles effective and resistant to viral escape. After designing and testing various iterations, the researchers identified a broad set of decoys -- all manufacturable using different methods -- that were incredibly effective against the original virus as well as mutant variants.
In fact, decoy nanoparticles were up to 50 times more effective at inhibiting naturally occurring viral mutants, compared to traditional, protein-based inhibitor drugs. When tested against a viral mutant designed to resist such treatments, decoy nanoparticles were up to 1,500 times more effective at inhibiting infection.
Although much more research and clinical evaluations are needed, the researchers believe decoy nanoparticle infusions someday could potentially be used to treat patients with severe or prolonged viral infections.
The study was published late last week ( April 7) in the journal Small. In the paper, the team tested decoy nanoparticles against the parent SARS-CoV-2 virus and five variants ( including beta, delta, delta-plus and lambda) in a cellular culture.
`` We showed that decoy nanoparticles are effective inhibitors of all these different viral variants, '' said Northwestern's Joshua Leonard, co-senior author of the study. `` Even variants that escape other drugs did not escape our decoy nanoparticles. ''
`` As we were conducting the study, different variants kept popping up around the world, '' added Northwestern's Neha Kamat, co-senior author of the study. `` We kept testing our decoys against the new variants, and they just kept working. It's very effective. ''
Leonard is an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. Kamat is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in McCormick. Both are key members of Northwestern's Center for Synthetic Biology.
'Evolutionary rock and a hard place '
As the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated to create new variants, some treatments have become less effective in fighting the ever-evolving virus. Just last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) paused several monoclonal antibody treatments, for example, due to their failure against the BA.2 omicron subvariant.
But even where treatments fail, the decoy nanoparticles in the new study never lost effectiveness. Leonard said this is because the decoys put SARS-CoV-2 `` between an evolutionary rock and a hard place. ''
SARS-CoV-2 infects human cells by binding its infamous spike protein to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 ( ACE2) receptor. A protein on the surface of cells, ACE2 provides an entry point for the virus.
To design decoy nanoparticles, the Northwestern team used nanosized particles ( extracellular vesicles) naturally released from all cell types. They engineered cells producing these particles to overexpress the gene for ACE2, leading to many ACE2 receptors on the particles ' surfaces. When the virus came into contact with the decoy, it bonded tightly to these receptors rather than to real cells, rendering the virus unable to infect cells.
`` For the virus to get into a cell, it has to bind to the ACE2 receptor, '' Leonard said. `` Decoy nanoparticles present an evolutionary challenge for SARS-CoV-2. The virus would have to come up with an entirely different way to enter cells in order to avoid the need to use ACE2 receptors. There is no obvious evolutionary escape route. ''
Future benefits
In addition to being effective against drug-resistant viruses, decoy nanoparticles come with several other benefits. Because they are biological ( rather than synthetic) materials, the nanoparticles are less likely to elicit an immune response, which causes inflammation and can interfere with the drug's efficacy. They also exhibit low toxicity, making them particularly well-suited for use in sustained or repeated administration for treating severely ill patients.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, researchers and clinicians experienced an unnerving gap between discovering the virus and developing new drugs to treat it. For the next pandemic, decoy nanoparticles could provide a quick, effective treatment before vaccines are developed.
`` The decoy strategy is one of the most immediate things you can try, '' Leonard said. `` As soon as you know the receptor that the virus uses, you can start building decoy particles with those receptors. We could potentially fast-track an approach like this to reduce severe illness and death in the crucial early stages of future viral pandemics. ''
The study, `` Elucidating design principles for engineering cell-derived vesicles to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, '' was supported by the National Science Foundation ( grant numbers 1844219 and 1844336) and a gift from Kairos Ventures. | science |
Navigators adds former Everest wholesale property exec | BI’ s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.
To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “ workers compensation ”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.
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Patrick Mulready has joined Navigators as head of Navigators Wholesale Property, from Everest Insurance, where he was vice president of wholesale property.
He will be responsible for leading underwriting, growth and strategic development for the Wholesale Property business, Navigators said in a statement Monday.
Mr. Mulready will be based in Boston and report to Michael Garrison, head of Navigators Wholesale.
1. Lockton recruits cyber leader from AIG
2. Munich Re tightens up cyber insurance policies to exclude war
3. Lakers can proceed with COVID property case against Chubb unit
4. Commercial prices continue to increase in Q1: MarketScout
5. Navigators adds former Everest wholesale property exec
6. Burger King accused of whopper of a lie | general |
Munich Re tightens up cyber insurance policies to exclude war | BI’ s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.
To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “ workers compensation ”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.
To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “ hurricane ” & “ loss ”.
( Reuters) — Munich Re is planning new wordings in cyber insurance policies to exclude war, to avoid disputes over what is covered, the reinsurer's top cyber underwriter told Reuters.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised fears of cyberattacks, with the risk that Western businesses or government institutions could be targeted.
Most cyber policies cover companies against business interruption losses and the repair of hacked networks following a cyberattack but exclude war. However, grey areas in the wordings leave insurers open to claims as a result of cyberwar.
S & P Global said last week that insurance losses from the Ukraine conflict could total $ 35 billion, with cyber one of the classes of insurance most exposed.
Munich Re is seeking clearer war exclusion clauses in cyber policies, based on wording developed last year in the Lloyd's of London market.
The invasion of Ukraine is not a “ classic cyberwar, ” said Jurgen Reinhart, chief underwriter, cyber, at Munich Re, but he said it was best to be prepared.
“ Let's not wait... but act now, ” he said.
Munich Re said last month it was winding down business in Russia.
Munich Re is looking to bring in new wordings on its direct cyber insurance products, Mr. Reinhart said. The reinsurer is also suggesting to its cyber insurer clients that they introduce similar clauses.
Ambiguous business interruption policy wordings have led to a slew of court cases across the world in the past two years over whether the COVID-19 pandemic was covered by insurance.
“ We have learnt this lesson as an industry in respect of the pandemic — how painful it is if you have unclear wordings, ” Mr. Reinhart said.
“ Our intention is to have very, very clear wordings... and avoid surprises. ”
Julia Graham, CEO of U.K. insurance buyers’ association Airmic, said clarity was needed.
“ There has been a lot of uncertainty among Airmic members around war exclusions, especially for their cyber policies, ” she said. “ The lack of standardized policy wordings on cyber in the market has certainly not helped things. ”
( Reuters) — German reinsurance group Munich Re on Wednesday forecast a 14% jump in profit this year as it reported a bounce back in 2021 from the coronavirus pandemic despite big claims from natural disasters.
1. FM Global, Allianz receive poor grades for Russia response
2. Lockton recruits cyber leader from AIG
3. Alliant names Arkley president of retail property/casualty
4. Lakers can proceed with COVID property case against Chubb unit
5. Munich Re tightens up cyber insurance policies to exclude war
6. Commercial prices continue to increase in Q1: MarketScout | general |
NetEase, Bilibili Jump in U.S. as China Ends Video Game Freeze | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
( Bloomberg) -- Shares of Chinese video-game makers and live-streaming platforms rallied in U.S. premarket trading after Bloomberg News reported China has approved the first batch of new video game licenses since July.
Mobile game giant NetEase Inc. jumped nearly 8%. Video platform operators Bilibili Inc. and DouYu International Holdings Ltd. gained 8.5% and 6.3%, respectively. Large-cap Chinese internet stocks including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. also trimmed losses after the report. It wasn’ t clear if the approved titles included any games from industry leaders Tencent Holdings Ltd. and NetEase Inc.
Chinese live-streaming stocks have taken a hit in the past week as Beijing vowed to crack down on any tax-related crimes such as tax evasion in the sector. The closure of Tencent Holdings Ltd.’ s game streaming site Penguin Esports and a campaign to rein in potential abuse of algorithms at internet companies also weighed on investor sentiment.
While volatility in U.S.-listed Chinese stocks has eased after Beijing pledged support to overseas listings in mid-March, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index lost 4.8% last week amid surging bond yields. The lingering risks of potential delistings also hurt the cohort, although Beijing modified a rule that removed a key hurdle for U.S. regulators to gain full access to audit reports for Chinese firms listed in New York.
The Chinese government “ is very modestly easing back its tech regulatory scrutiny, ” Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli wrote in a note this morning. The main overhang facing Chinese equities, however, are concerns over rising Covid cases and Beijing’ s zero-tolerance approach toward the virus, he said. | general |
Clinical AI Gets the Headlines, but Administrative AI May Be a Better Bet | This issue’ s special report explores new ways that leaders can identify which key performance indicators will advance their teams toward their ever-shifting objectives.
This issue’ s special report explores new ways that leaders can identify which key performance indicators will advance their teams toward their ever-shifting objectives.
AI for health care is all the rage. Who wouldn’ t be excited about applications that could help detect cancer, diagnose COVID-19 or even dementia well before they are otherwise noticeable, or predict diabetes before its onset? Machine and deep learning have already been shown to make these outcomes possible.
Possible, that is, in the research lab. In health care, there is often a long lag between research findings and implementation at the bedside. In order for AI-driven advancements to become a clinical reality, they have to be submitted to and approved by the Food and Drug Administration ( or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States) as “ AI/machine learning-based software as a medical device. ” Several hundred such applications have already been approved. But those tools then have to be accepted by clinicians, merged into their clinical workflows, integrated into electronic health records and other systems, and reimbursed by health insurers.
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Few clinical AI systems have successfully run this entire gantlet. And until clinical AI systems result in significant productivity advances, the economic value from them is in doubt. Thus far, for example, we’ re confident that they haven’ t replaced a single human clinician.
Contrast that situation with the current potential for administrative AI systems in health care. These use cases don’ t have to be approved by the FDA, or even by insurance companies ( indeed, they are used in many cases to reduce friction with payers). They don’ t have to be accepted by physicians, for the most part. And while they do have to be integrated with administrative workflows and systems, cloud- and API-based AI systems make the process much easier.
In terms of economic value, the case for administrative AI is also much clearer. Administrative costs in the U.S. averaged $ 2,497 per capita in 2017 — 34% of total health care costs. Health care economists in the U.S. often argue that reducing administrative costs is one of the most feasible ways to cut overall costs for health care. For example, David Cutler, a Harvard economist who was one of the architects of the U.S. Affordable Care Act ( “ Obamacare ”) system, has proposed a series of changes to administrative processes that he argues could save $ 50 billion in costs and “ result in greater satisfaction for both patients and providers. ” Some of these proposals involve automation and AI, such as an automated claims clearinghouse and automated prior-authorization processes. The potential here is significant.
Foremost among the opportunities for administrative AI is the revenue cycle area — authorization, billing, and payments. This is a contentious and labor-intensive area for many health care providers and payers. Several insurance companies, including Anthem, United Healthcare’ s Optum, and Florida Blue, are automating the prior-authorization process using AI. One study estimated that manual prior authorizations can take up to 16 hours per week for physicians.
Coding medical treatments for reimbursement and record-keeping is a challenging task for humans, with over 55,000 different codes in the latest version of the International Classification of Diseases. Several companies have already implemented coding assistance AI systems that translate clinical notes into codes, but for now they still require review by human coders.
Another challenge for humans in the revenue cycle is the estimation of medical bills before treatment. Complex billing and payment arrangements make estimation difficult, but patients are more likely to pay medical bills when they have accurate estimates, and the U.S. government now requires them — although many providers are not compliant. Baylor Scott & White Health’ s system, however, has used a machine learning-based system to create accurate estimates based on past billing data. About 70% of its estimates are created without human intervention, and the estimates have led to a 60% to 100% improvement in point-of-service collections.
Providers and payers also engage in a lot of back-and-forth about payments and when they will be made. This is another great area for the application of automation and AI. Waystar, the provider of Baylor Scott & White’ s estimate tool, automates the process of checking claims statuses with insurance companies’ accounts payable departments to see whether reimbursements have been made — a process previously done via phone. It seems likely that “ Have your AI call my AI ” will become a common refrain.
While nobody likes to talk about it much, there is also a lot of FWA — fraud, waste, and abuse — in health care payments. This area is well suited to the use of machine learning ( and, in some cases, rule-based expert systems, a previous generation of AI) for claims analysis. Insurers have told us that the ROI for such systems is among the highest of all AI investments: One large health insurer we spoke with saves a billion dollars annually through AI-prevented FWA.
Health care providers have a variety of scarce resources — including clinicians, operating rooms, beds, and expensive equipment — that are challenging to schedule effectively. All of these resources are increasingly managed with the help of AI. For example, the Mayo Clinic has over 300 surgeons and 139 operating rooms and has used AI to more efficiently organize both staff and space. In a project using AI to test better ways for spinal surgical scheduling, it was able to reduce doctor overtime by 10% and increase utilization of its space by 19%. ( It is also pursuing many clinical AI projects.) A Norwegian scheduling software company for medical staff, Globus.AI, claims that the increased scheduling precision from its software allows hospitals to fill 40% more shifts.
Radiology imaging equipment is notoriously expensive ( and often profitable to providers), and efficient utilization is critical. Massachusetts General Hospital has developed an algorithm that predicts whether a particular patient is likely to show up for an appointment. If the patient has a high likelihood of not showing up, they might receive more reminders or other interventions. Mass General researchers also developed an automated language translation system that translates radiology instructions for non-English-speaking patients; it resulted in a statistically significant reduction in variability of radiology procedure times for those patients.
Hospital supplies are also an expensive resource that AI can help to manage. Some supplies, such as a pacemaker or drug-eluting stent, can cost thousands of dollars. It can cost over $ 10,000 for a month’ s supply of drugs for a U.S. patient. The consulting firm Navigant estimates that U.S. hospitals spend over $ 25 billion per year in unnecessary supply chain costs. Minimizing excess inventory while providing the appropriate supplies for patients’ needs may be too complex to be done well without AI.
There are various ways that AI can improve health care supply chains, including matching demand and supply. Machine learning models can predict how many patients of what type and with what health care needs will arrive at a hospital or doctor’ s office, and the predictions can be matched against supply inventories. As care increasingly moves from acute-care hospitals to a variety of other settings — including drugstores, rehabilitation facilities, clinics, and patients’ homes — AI can help supply chain managers optimize the transportation methods, frequency, and routing of supplies. Robotic process automation and machine learning technologies can both help with ordering supplies: They can automatically check availability for back-ordered products, look up clinical equivalent drugs or devices, send out purchase orders and invoices, and match deliveries to invoices. AI is also extracting key terms from contracts and embedding them in supply chain transaction systems and auditing processes. One AI startup, Kalderos, keeps track of all relevant drug discounts and assesses whether discounts are compliant with federal and local regulations in the U.S.
No one will win the Nobel Prize in medicine for applying AI to health care administration. Accolades and much of the media and public attention will go toward clinical applications of the technology. We’ re not saying that health care providers and payers should give up on clinical applications of AI, but the challenges and cycle times for developing and implementing those advances mean that many organizations will want to strongly consider administrative AI as well. If that type of AI can substantially reduce the cost of care, it could be as useful to the health care system overall — and many patients individually — as any clinical breakthrough.
Thomas H. Davenport ( @ tdav) is the President’ s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, a visiting professor at Oxford’ s Saïd Business School, and a fellow of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. Randy Bean ( @ randybeannvp) is an industry thought leader, author, and CEO of NewVantage Partners, a strategic advisory and management consulting firm he founded in 2001. He is the author of the book Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Lessons in Data-Driven Leadership in an Age of Disruption, Big Data, and AI ( Wiley, 2021). | business |
Maritime must ditch analogue for digital if it is to keep casualties in check | Dor Raviv, co-founder and chief technical officer at Orca AI, says shipping is too reliant on analogue systems and the time for change is now
The shipping industry is losing ships, cargo, and even lives — and this is in part due to an over-reliance on analogue methods of navigation. Responsible for 90% of the world’ s trade, the safety of these ships is crucial — so something must change.
In fact, safety has improved significantly over the past decade. In 2011, there were 98 reported shipping losses exceeding 100 gigatonnes. In 2019, there were just 48. But in 2020, for the first time in five years, reports of massive shipping losses rose.
The growing size of cargo vessels, increasing volume of international trade, and ageing fleets all contribute to this. Current risk-reduction methods may have reached maximum efficacy.
To further advance maritime safety, we must evaluate the current risks and respond with appropriate solutions.
The three most common causes of accidents at sea between 2002 and 2016 resulted from human error, according to research from Cardiff University. Of all aspects of human error in shipping, inadequate maintenance of a “ lookout ” is the most problematic.
The study found it was the primary contributing factor for collisions, close-quarters situations, contacts and groundings, which together accounted for more than half of all accidents reviewed.
In March, for example, the massive container ship Ever Forward — sistership to the Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal last year — ran aground off the US coastline. Although authorities are yet to deduce the cause, possible factors include inadequate lookouts, bad judgement and crewmen fatigue.
Again, in December last year, a British ship collided with a Danish barge, killing one and hurling another overboard. Two of the British ship’ s crewmen were later subject to investigations into gross negligence and drunkenness at sea.
A report by insurer Allianz refers to a “ crew-change crisis ”. A combination of travel restrictions and supply-chain issues have disrupted the status quo for workers, as well as companies, with the review stating that 200,000 seafarers were unable to disembark in March 2020 as a result of the first Covid quarantines.
These long periods at sea contribute to a range of short-term problems such as fatigue and more severe, long-term ones, such as a huge workforce shortage.
Seafaring jobs were once an attractive prospect. Workers found them rewarding for their good salaries, low educational requirements and the opportunity to travel around the world.
But the Covid-19 pandemic has changed that and shipping companies are now facing a situation where it has become harder to find skilled seafarers, and less trained and experienced crews are operating their ships.
If we are to address the issue of maritime safety, eliminating the possibility of human errors by less experienced and skilled crews would be the best place to start.
Navigating a big commercial ship is a tedious task. The operator is constantly on lookout, understanding the context of developing scenarios and acquiring information from multiple sources, often in a repetitive manner. These scenarios can quickly become stressful, especially when manoeuvring through congested waters or in low-visibility conditions such as heavy fog or rain.
With recent advancements in artificial intelligence ( AI) technology, specifically computer vision and deep learning, intelligent machines can overcome these challenges.
AI does not sleep; it processes multiple sources of information in a fraction of time and learns from experience. Leveraging this collective intelligence throughout many ships and scenarios, AI can achieve superhuman capabilities. We see these intelligence machines already reducing workload in many industries. The biggest challenge is how to combine AI carefully with maritime experience.
Through careful tailor-made AI, and years of collected data, Orca AI has developed an advanced co-pilot that is fully automatic and gets smarter each day.
It starts with computer vision, driven by deep-learning algorithms that detect, track and classify navigation applicable targets that may pose a risk to the vessel. Then, synchronising all relevant ship sensor data alongside radar and AIS, the system prioritises the risk and presents that in a clean user interface— day and night.
The system knows to change its own configuration according to context — the type of voyage, congestion levels and more — and highlights only the things that matter most at a proper time. This kind of system is required to be highly accurate, and this is where unique evaluation and simulation methods are taken into account.
With a broader adoption of smart navigation systems, accidents caused by human error should decrease by a significant number. Such systems not only enhance navigation safety but will also improve operational efficiency and sustainability.
The old adage “ Worse things have happened at sea ” remains relevant today, as it did at the creation of commercial shipping. To tackle the problem, the shipping industry must adopt innovation. Existing technologies are ready for use and regulation should encourage the transition.
Dor Raviv is co-founder and chief technical officer at Orca AI
Do you have an opinion to share? Email: news @ tradewindsnews.com | general |
Smoking increased in those trying to quit during COVID-19, study shows -- ScienceDaily | Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.PH., senior author, first Sir Richard Doll Professor of Medicine and senior academic adviser to the dean at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators from Baylor College of Medicine, examined changes to smoking habits and correlates of increases and decreases during the COVID-19 pandemic among participants enrolled in a tobacco cessation and lung cancer screening program.
Between June and October 2020, they conducted a cross-sectional survey of a program participant sample. The survey consisted of three parts: changes in tobacco use; impact and coping strategies; and COVID-19 exposure and use of protective measures. Demographic variables included age, sex, race/ethnicity and marital status.
Results, published in the Ochsner Journal, showed statistically significant and potentially clinically important differences between those who increased and decreased tobacco use during the pandemic. Among current smokers, 28.2 percent reported increased tobacco use, 17.3 percent reported decreased tobacco use and 54.5 percent reported no change. In addition, there were no reports of relapse among former smokers.
Researchers found correlates of increased tobacco use related to coping strategies and mental health such as high uncertainty about the future, loneliness as a result of social distancing, anger or frustration with how the pandemic has disrupted daily life, boredom because of being unable to work or engage in regular daily activities/ routines, desire to cope using alcohol or drugs, sadness or feelings of hopelessness and worry or fear about challenges to securing basic needs such as groceries or medication.
In contrast, those who smoked less were more likely to practice social distancing and other preventive strategies of proven benefit.
`` These data may aid healthcare providers to identify and provide counsel to cigarette smokers at greater risk for increasing tobacco consumption during current and future stresses such as the COVID-19 pandemic, '' said Hennekens. `` All of these efforts have the potential to reduce many premature deaths from cigarette smoking, which remain alarmingly and unnecessarily high in the U.S. and are increasing worldwide. ''
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that tobacco-related causes account for more than 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, which was recently exceeded by the deaths from COVID-19.
Smoking cigarettes causes premature deaths due mainly to a two-fold risk of cardiovascular disease and a 20-fold risk of lung cancer. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease beginning with a matter of months, reaching that of a lifelong non-smoker within a few years, even among older adults. In contrast, reductions in mortality risk from lung cancer only begin to appear several years after quitting, and even by 10 years, the risk is reduced to only approximately mid-way between continuing smokers and lifelong smokers. This is because the risks of cardiovascular disease relate to the numbers of cigarettes currently smoked and the risks of cancer to the duration of the habit.
Each year in the U.S., approximately 30 million hospitalizations occur in individuals 18 and older. Of these, more than 7 million are current cigarette smokers whose average hospital stay is several days.
`` Smoking cessation therapy also should include long-term counseling and at least 90 days of a prescription drug, in particular, varenicline, whose mechanisms include blocking the pleasurable sensations of nicotine on the brain, '' said Hennekens.
Collaborators are first author Maria Mejia, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor; Roger Zoorob, M.D., M.P.H., professor and chair; Xiofan Huang, M.S., biostatistician; and Robert S. Levine, M.D., professor, all within the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Levine also is an affiliate professor at the FAU Schmidt College of Medicine.
The authors dedicated the manuscript to the memory of the late Edward D. Frohlich, M.D., Ph.D., who was the Alton Ochsner Distinguished Scientist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation and a staff member of the Ochsner Clinic.
Hennekens was the 29th recipient of the prestigious `` Alton Ochsner Award, '' in recognition of his seminal discovery research on the hazards of cigarette smoking. Ochsner, a thoracic surgeon, and Michael DeBakey, M.D., a future world-renowned cardiovascular surgeon, were early recipients of the award for their uncontrolled case series on cigarette smoking upon lung cancer victims at autopsy in the 1930s. Sir Richard Doll, a British physician, became the foremost epidemiologist of the 20th Century for pioneering epidemiologic studies, first with Sir Austin Bradford Hill and later with Sir Richard Peto -- all who received the Alton Ochsner Award for their seminal contributions to the mortality hazards of cigarette smoking.
From 1995 to 2005, Science Watch ranked Hennekens as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world and five of the top 20 were his former trainees and/or fellows. In 2012, Science Heroes ranked Hennekens No. 81 in the history of the world for having saved more than 1.1 million lives. In 2016, he was ranked the No. 14 `` Top Living Medical Scientist in the World. ''
Based in part on the pivotal work of Hennekens documenting the large clinical and public health hazards of smoking cigarettes, FAU President John Kelly adopted a university-wide tobacco free policy. | science |
COVID-19: Kazakhstan remains in ‘ green’ zone | All regions of Kazakhstan stay in the ‘ green’ zone, Kazinform has learnt from the Interdepartmental commission fighting to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Kazakhstan, Trend reports citing Kazinform.
All regions are still outside the ‘ red’ and ‘ yellow’ zones, the highest and the second highest in the three-tier system used in Kazakhstan in terms of spread of the coronavirus infection.
Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent cities, as well as Akmola, Almaty, Aktobe, Atyrau, East Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Kostanay, Kyzylorda, Mangistau, North Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, Turkestan, West Kazakhstan, and Zhambyl regions remain in the safe ‘ green zone’.
Earlier it was reported that in the past day Kazakhstan had recorded 12 new cases of the coronavirus infection. The COVID-19 caseload totals 1,305,304 in Kazakhstan. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic 1,290,528 people fully recovered from the novel coronavirus in Kazakhstan. | general |
New Zealand to Deliver Fourth Rate Hike With Half-Point Move In Play | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
Pedestrians cross a street in front of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in Wellington, New Zealand, on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. New Zealand’ s treasury yield curve has flattened markedly, signaling that the central bank’ s tightening cycle is expected to significantly slow economic growth., Bloomberg
( Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’ s central bank will raise interest rates for a fourth straight meeting, seeking to rein in the fastest inflation in more than 30 years even as risks of an economic downturn mount.
The Reserve Bank will lift the official cash rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.25% Wednesday in Wellington, according to 15 of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Five tip a half-point increase, and investors see a 65% chance of a hike to 1.5%.
Policy makers must weigh the need to act aggressively to contain inflation, which is expected to climb above 7%, against the risk of stalling the economy. Rising borrowing costs, the rapid spread of New Zealand’ s omicron outbreak and global uncertainty are hurting business and consumer confidence, while house prices are falling.
“ Interest rates are already doing much of the heavy lifting for the RBNZ and we don’ t believe they need to supercharge rate hikes, ” said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank in Auckland. “ The pinch is already being felt by consumers and businesses. ”
The RBNZ will publish tomorrow’ s decision at 2 p.m. local time. It is a rate review, rather than a quarterly Monetary Policy Statement, meaning the bank will not publish new forecasts or hold a press conference.
When the RBNZ hiked by a quarter-point in February, it said it was a “ finely balanced decision ” and that it had considered a half-point move -- opening the door to an aggressive tightening this month. However, there hasn’ t been a half-point increase since mid-2000, and the bank may prefer to take such action in the context of a full Monetary Policy Statement.
For Stephen Toplis, head of research at Bank of New Zealand in Wellington, that means a quarter-point increase tomorrow followed by a half-point move in May.
“ While we understand the argument for a more aggressive tightening than previously postulated by the bank, we can also see a strong counter argument for a more cautious approach, ” he said.
“ When the RBNZ wrote its February statement it would not have counted on the Russian invasion of Ukraine evolving in the manner that it has. Nor, we believe, would it have foreseen the complete collapse in consumer confidence that has occurred. ”
Consumer confidence has slumped to its weakest since 2004, while business sentiment is the lowest since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. House prices fell 2.3% in the three months through February, according to Real Estate Institute data.
At the same time, inflation is running at 5.9%, the fastest since 1990, and unemployment has fallen to 3.2%, a record low.
The RBNZ’ s most recent projections show the OCR rising to about 3.25% by the end of 2023, and inflation falling back into its 1-3% target range next year.
However, there’ s a risk that rapid price increases will entrench faster inflation by driving up inflation expectations, which would require even more monetary tightening. There is also upward pressure on wages amid a labor shortage.
“ The growth risks of hiking aggressively are clear, but so are the risks of letting inflation spiral, ” said Sharon Zollner, chief New Zealand economist at ANZ Bank in Auckland, who sees half-point increases this week and in May. “ While there are no low-risk options anymore, acting aggressively now gives the best odds of avoiding even larger economic costs later. ”
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve. | general |
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