Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Facebook and Instagram pitch themselves as cross-platform
 Facebook and Instagram are pitching themselves to buyers as a cross-platform play, if their recent case studies are anything to go by. An increasing number of case studies on Instagram include numbers gleaned from Facebook campaigns.

For instance, a Woodford Reserve case study on Instagram showed the brand switching to mobile-optimized video ads during the Kentucky Derby and achieving a 12 percent increase in brand awareness. It’s the same as a case study for the product on Facebook — except the Instagram case study said it used both Facebook’s and Instagram’s best practices, while the Facebook one said it used Facebook’s best practices.

“The Woodford Reserve team partnered with Facebook’s Creative Shop and creative agency Kertis Creative to repurpose its TV commercial into two mobile-optimized video ads for both Facebook and Instagram,” reads the text under the result.

Another example is a case study for DiGiorno pizza on both Facebook’s and Instagram’s business pages that shows 21 million people reached and a six-point increase in purchase intent. The Instagram case study also includes how many people were reached on that platform’s Stories product.

Each case study mentions that both platforms were used, although where they disclose this differs.

Nate Elliott, principal at Nineteen Insights and a former Forrester analyst, said he studied 50 case studies from 2016 on social networks. In 2016, only one Instagram case study mirrored a Facebook case study. But this year, he said he found that a third of case studies supplied on Instagram had the same results as the same campaign on Facebook, noting examples from brands including Sonos, Pura Vida and Sour Patch Kids.

One buyer said it’s not about hiding where the results come from, but that Facebook and Instagram are “subtly selling how effective cross-platform campaigns can be through whichever entry points brands or agencies are comfortable with.” The buyer said the interesting thing is how Facebook is pitching both products. Facebook used to recommend running different creative campaigns on Instagram and Facebook, but it now says it’s best practice to use both platforms for the same.

Another buyer said for larger campaigns, Facebook has begun packaging the offerings together, with advertisers often messaging across the Facebook platform — in-stream, Instagram, Facebook and Facebook Audience Network. Then, that’s coupled with one-off tactics to do specific things on, say, Stories or Messenger. “Outside of the scale benefit, doing this allows advertisers to control frequency and automatically optimize cross-platform,” said this buyer.

Most buyers agree there’s no deception, but Facebook and Instagram need to break down platform-specific results. “If I paid for Instagram ads and received a bunch of impressions from Facebook, I might be upset because it impacts my Facebook strategy. They aren’t the same necessarily,” said Justin Johnson, a freelance creative strategist.

“The results for each case come across as a little deceiving. For example, one might think they accumulated 21 million impressions on just Instagram after quickly scanning the case study,” said a buyer. “If you actually read the case study, they are transparent and note that it was run across both platforms. However, they don’t disclose the breakdown across both platforms.”

That’s by design, as Facebook is positioning itself more as a “network” with Instagram than it has previously, said another buyer. “Grouping Facebook and Instagram together is a recent trend because they’re now able to deliver the best results if you’re using both,” said Brendan Gahan, evp at Epic Signal. Facebook, however, is likelier to deliver the majority of results compared to Instagram because it’s simply bigger, he added.

Platform-supplied case studies are a curious beast in general. They’re marketing material — essentially ads for the platform themselves. Most agencies develop their own case studies.

“We look at case studies like this often, but in aggregate. In addition, we would never consider a case study enough ‘evidence’ to run on a particular platform or with a specific tactic,” said one head of paid media at an agency. “They are merely directional guides that showcase common scenarios with specific verticals, client types.”

Ross Benes contributed reporting

Output: Facebook and Instagram are increasingly joining forces for cross-channel ad campaigns, according to a study by Nate Elliott, principal at Nineteen Insights. A third of case studies involved both platforms in 2017, compared to just one in 2016. Facebook has reversed its position on the issue, stating that it's "best practice" to use both platforms, offering similar bundles for larger campaigns. While most buyers are happy with the crossover, some have called on Facebook to reveal performance breakdowns between the two sites.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
JD.com launches luxury online e-commerce platform Toplife
 Chinese online retailer flexes its muscles in the luxury sector with the launch of its new site, Toplife, rivalling Alibaba’s Luxury Pavilion.

Output: JD.com has launched Toplife, its first luxury online platform, which will allow brands to sell directly to consumers via an e-commerce ecosystem that takes in online stores, premium customer service, delivery, marketing, warehousing and inventory. La Perla, Rimowa, B&O Play, Trussardi and Emporio Armani are among the brands that have joined the Toplife platform so far. Alibaba's Luxury Pavilion site on its e-commerce platform TMall went live in August.


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California's vineyards at risk as wildfires sweep across the area
 This story has been updated.

A state of emergency has been issued for California counties of Napa Valley, including Napa, Sonoma, and Yuba after multiple fires threatened thousands of homes and forced residents to evacuate, governor Jerry Brown said today (Oct. 9).

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The wildfires are hitting the valley at a critical time for the region, which is celebrated for its vineyards. Grapes are first picked in early August, and the harvest season continues through late October or early November, according to the local tourism board.

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Local marijuana crops may also be at risk. There are as many as 3,000 cannabis gardens in Sonoma, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing community surveys.

Napa Valley Vinters, a nonprofit trade association of wine producers, said it had no information as of yet on how the fires may affect the harvest season. “Our immediate priority is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and our neighbors,” a statement on its website said.

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Prior to this most recent bout of wildfires in California, the effects of climate change were already being felt in the wine industry. As Quartz reported, in vineyards from Tuscany to South Africa, temperatures are becoming too hot for grape growing, and extreme weather—like hailstorms or wildfires—are seen as a growing threat.

In Napa Valley, home to a relatively small but celebrated number of vineyards, the costs of repairing a damaged vineyard can be devastating. Replanting a single acre of vines can cost between $15,000 and $25,000.

The area is home to approximately 700 grape growers, and 95% of the valley’s wineries are family owned, according to Napa Valley Vinters.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Output: Wildfires have swept through California's wine country, resulting in a state of emergency being announced in Napa and Sonoma counties and in nearby areas. The rapidly moving wildfires are threatening vineyards, marijuana crops, houses and general infrastructure. The fires have come at a crucial time for the area, which is part-way through harvesting this year's grape crop.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Toshiba makes EV battery with 200 mile range, six-minute charge time
 TOKYO—Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), an industry leader in lithium-ion battery technology, today announced the development of its next-generation SCiBTM, which uses a new material to double the capacity of the battery anode. The new battery offers high- energy density and the ultra-rapid recharging required for automotive applications, and will give a compact electric vehicle (EV) with a drive range of 320km* after only six minutes of ultra-rapid recharging—three times the distance possible with current lithium-ion batteries.

Toshiba launched the SCiBTM as a safe, long-life, fast charging lithium-ion battery in 2008. Since then, the company has constantly refined the technology and improved real-world performance. For its next-generation SCiBTM, Toshiba has developed a titanium niobium oxide anode material that has double the lithium storage capacity by volume of the graphite-based anodes generally used in lithium-ion batteries.

The new battery also offers high energy density and ultra-rapid recharging characteristics, and its titanium niobium oxide anode is much less likely to experience lithium metal deposition during ultra-rapid recharging or recharging in cold conditions—a cause of battery degradation and internal short circuiting.

Toshiba’s current SCiBTM employs a lithium titanium oxide anode, and is known for excellent operating characteristics in respect of safety, long life and rapid charging. It has found wide use in vehicles and industrial and infrastructure applications, including automobiles, buses, railroad cars, elevators and power plants. The high energy density of the battery, and its rapid recharging, have made important contributions to enhancing the convenience and promoting the spread of EV.

Building on this heritage, Toshiba has developed a proprietary method for synthesizing and disarranging crystals of titanium niobium oxide and storing lithium ions more efficiently in the crystal structure. The anode of the next-generation SCiBTM realized through this approach has double times the capacity of the anode of current lithium-ion batteries.

“We are very excited by the potential of the new titanium niobium oxide anode and the next-generation SCiBTM,” said Dr. Osamu Hori, Director of Corporate Research & Development Center at Toshiba Corporation. “Rather than an incremental improvement, this is a game changing advance that will make a significant difference to the range and performance of EV. We will continue to improve the battery’s performance and aim to put the next-generation SCiBTM into practical application in fiscal year 2019.”

Rigorous testing of a 50Ah prototype of the new battery has confirmed that it retains the long life cycle, low-temperature operation, excellent safety and rapid recharging characteristics of the current SCiBTM. The energy density by volume of battery is twice that of the current SCiBTM. The next-generation SCiBTM maintains over 90% of its initial capacity after being put through 5,000 charge/discharge cycles, and ultra-rapid recharging can be done in cold conditions, with temperatures as low as minus 10°C, in only ten minutes.

Toshiba will continue to develop higher energy density batteries that extend the range of EVs and support ultra-rapid recharging, and aims to commercialize the next-generation SCiBTM in fiscal year 2019.

Part of the research work on the next-generation SCiBTM was subsidized by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

* A compact EV with a 32kWh next generation SCiB™ in JC08 test cycle

Output: Toshiba has developed a new battery utilising a titanium niobium oxide anode that is capable of giving a 200-mile charge to a compact electric vehicle in just six minutes. Current laboratory testing using a 50Ah prototype of the new battery found that it was able to maintain over 90% of its initial capacity after 5,000 charge and discharge cycles. Toshiba expects to release the product by the close of fiscal year 2019.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Visible Alpha to use email filter for Mifid II compliance
 Research platform provider Visible Alpha has added the ability to filter non-solicited research from inboxes, which could fall foul of incoming rules in MiFID II.

Visible Alpha said email could be an inducement risk if traders receive research they did not request from brokers. To tackle this, it has added the ability to flag and filter emails that could be considered inducements to its ONEaccess research platform.

The application can classify all email data, including content, links and attachments and can flag anything which could constitute research.

Its email solution has been created in conjunction with compliance technology specialist SPi Global.

Visible Alpha is also adding a budgeting tool to the ONEaccess platform which will enable firms to manage fixed and variable research costs. Firms can set budgets and allocate funds to specific groups, individuals and time periods.

Both tools are intended to help firms with their MiFID II compliance, which will force firms to unbundle research and execution costs and stop research being used by brokers as an inducement to gain execution business.

Output: Visible Alpha, a research platform provider, is planning to employ an email filter to block unsolicited research. The move is being made with the incoming Mifid II regulations in mind. The filter will assess the content of emails to stop traders receiving research they may not have requested from brokers. Visible Alpha is also implementing a budgeting tool on its research platform, which will allow clients to better manage and allocate costs to comply with the incoming regulations.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Microsoft, GE to study Europe's first battery-integrated wind turbines
 Microsoft buys 15 years worth of energy from GE’s Irish wind farm Both companies will measure all the power stored in the batteries and sent to the grid.

Microsoft announced that it has bought all the energy that will be produced for the next 15 years by GE's 37-megawatt Tullahennel wind farm in Ireland. But this isn't just a good marketing move: Both companies will take the opportunity to mine the powerplant's data to understand how each turbine's battery can better store energy and potentially redistribute it back into the grid. As Microsoft's statement notes, it's the first deployment of battery storage integrated with wind power in all of Europe.

We're expanding our #renewableenergy purchases to Europe with new 37 MW wind deal in Ireland: https://t.co/SEyoQxm1ew — Microsoft_Green (@Microsoft_Green) October 9, 2017

At least some of this energy will go to powering the data centers Microsoft has in Ireland, forming a sustainable loop. The purchase brings the company's total global direct procurement in renewable energy projects to almost 600 megawatts, Microsoft noted in a statement. But at the end of the day, sustainable -- and cheaper -- energy is entirely in the interest of the big tech corporations which are always looking for ways to make their power-sucking data centers more affordable. And, of course, obtaining cleaner energy sources might keep your company from getting slammed by Greenpeace.

Output: Microsoft will purchase all the power from GE's 37 MW wind farm in Ireland, which will be the first European implementation of wind turbines with integrated battery storage. Both companies will use the project data to understand how each battery could store excess energy better and possibly feed it back to the grid. Microsoft will use some of the output from the installation to power its Irish data centres. The purchase agreement is for 15 years.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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M&S launches suit made with 55% recycled wool
 PRATO – M&S has launched a range of suit made with 55 per cent recycled wool, including wool M&S customers have donated through the company’s Shwopped initiative with Oxfam. The company says the wool is recycled into suit fabric at Nova Fides mill in Prato, Italy. The suits are due to retail at £149.

Output: Marks and Spencer, the UK retailer, has launched a line of suits made with 55% recycled wool. The suits use fabric donated by customers to Oxfam, enouraged by the firm’s Shwopped initiative. The wool is recycled in Italy and then spun into £149 ($196) suits. The new range is part of Marks and Spencer’s Plan A 2025 sustainability initiative, through which the firm aims to achieve a target of 25% recycled material in its clothing products. The company currently sources 49% of its cotton and 27% of its leather from “sustainable sources”.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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US set to repeal Obama’s Clean Power Plan
 Story highlights CNN obtained the leaked proposal over the weekend The Clean Power Plan requires states to meet specific carbon emission reduction standards based on their individual energy consumption

Washington CNN —

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Monday his agency’s plans to withdraw the Clean Power Plan, the sweeping Obama-era rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

While speaking in Kentucky at an event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Pruitt said he will sign the proposed rule repealing Obama’s plan Tuesday.

“When you think about what that rule meant, it was about picking winners and losers. Regulatory power should not be used by any regulatory body to pick winners and losers,” he said at the event. “The past administration was using every bit of power and authority to use the EPA to pick winners and losers and how we generate electricity in this country. That’s wrong.”

CNN obtained a copy of the leaked proposal to repeal the milestone Clean Power Plan, the outcome of President Donald Trump’s executive orders calling for the review of the plan and questions the legality of the original rule.

“Under the interpretation proposed in this notice, the CPP exceeds the EPA’s statutory authority and would be repealed,” the proposal reads. “The EPA welcomes comment on the legal interpretation addressed in this proposed rulemaking.”

The proposal also says the EPA has yet to determine whether it will create an additional rule on the regulation of greenhouse gases.

Bloomberg News first reported on the repeal proposal.

The Clean Power Plan requires states to meet specific carbon emission reduction standards based on their individual energy consumption. The plan also includes an incentive program for states to get a head start on meeting standards on early deployment of renewable energy and low-income energy efficiency.

Under President Barack Obama, the EPA estimated the Clean Power Plan could prevent 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths and 140,000 to 150,000 asthma attacks in children.

When asked earlier this year on Fox News about the health consequences of doing away with the Clean Power Plan, Pruitt ducked the question and focused on how the plan would cost jobs. He argued the plan was bureaucratic overreach.

“As much as we want to see progress made with clean air and clean water, with an understanding that we can also grow jobs, we have to do so within the framework of what Congress has passed,” Pruitt said.

Former EPA employees have reacted harshly to the planned repeal of the rule. Obama’s EPA administrator, Gina McCarthy, called the proposal “just plain backwards.”

“A proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan without any time line or even a commitment to propose a rule to reduce carbon pollution, isn’t a step forward, it’s a wholesale retreat from EPA’s legal, scientific and moral obligation to address the threats of climate change,” McCarthy said in a statement Friday.

Environmental advocacy groups quickly blasted Pruitt’s decision, with many vowing to fight the measure in court.

“Now the public has an opportunity to weigh in, as EPA is required to accept public comment on the proposed repeal and a discussion paper on a replacement,” Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement Monday. “In addition, NRDC expects to take EPA to court when the Clean Power Plan repeal is made final.”

When reports of the EPA’s planned move began to be reported over the weekend, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said repealing the plan without replacing it with any protections from “climate-destabilizing pollution” would fail to protect Americans from harmful pollution designated under the Clean Air Act.

And Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said Trump and Pruitt are launching “one of the most egregious attacks” on public health and climate safety.

“No matter who is in the White House, the EPA is legally required to limit dangerous carbon pollution, and the Clean Power Plan is an achievable, affordable way to do that,” Brune said in a Monday news release. “It is a key element in continuing the progress moving toward clean energy and retiring coal.”

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose philanthropy said it would donate $15 million toward supporting operations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change after the Trump administration announced intentions to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, tweeted his criticism of the repeal proposal Monday.

“The EPA can repeal the Clean Power Plan but not the laws of economics,” Bloomberg tweeted. “This won’t revive coal or stop the US from reaching our Paris goal.”

Output: The US Clean Power Plan, introduced by President Obama in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is facing repeal. Scott Pruitt, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced plans to withdraw the plan on Monday. The EPA has yet to decide whether to replace the plan with alternative emissions regulations. Under the previous administration, the EPA claimed that the Clean Power Plan would reduce premature deaths by between 2,700 and 6,600, while reducing the number of childhood asthma attacks by 140,000 to 150,000.


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Proctor & Gamble to launch ocean plastic soap bottle
 8 Ways to Use Honey to Pamper Your Skin and Hair

Output: Proctor & Gamble, the US consumer goods company, is to launch a limited-run bottle of Fairy soap made from 10% recycled ocean plastics and 90% post-consumer use recycled plastic. The bottle has been created in collaboration with US recycling firm TerraCycle. The initiative, which will see 320,000 Fairy Ocean Plastic Bottles on sale in the UK in 2018, will be the largest production run of its kind. If successful, the scheme will be extended to other brands and regions.


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Almost 80% of UK adults believe they'll need elderly care: Aegon
 That is according to research by Aegon, which reveals that of those that think they will need care, 67% don't believe it will be until they are 80 or older.

In addition, 80% of people believe the average time needing care is over three years, and 30% think it is more than five years.

However, it was also found that almost nine in ten believe there should be an absolute limit to the amount an individual pays, and most are unwilling to sacrifice their home.

"We need to face up to the growing crisis around how we pay for the increasing number of elderly who'll need some form of social care," Aegon pensions director, Steven Cameron, said.

"The state won't pick up the full tab and failing to plan ahead could have serious implications for inheritance aspirations."

The research shows that approximately a quarter of UK adults believe the government should pay for all the costs of social care, however, two-thirds think they should be shared.

Plans were set out in the last Conservative manifesto to include the value of a persons home when assessing their ability to pay for care, however, 61% of people object to this.

This was particularly true among older age groups, with 73% of people aged over 65 opposed to the proposals, falling to 53% for 18-34-year-olds.

When asked how they would make advance provision for social care costs, 43% said they would use their pension, while selling a home or equity release was picked by 31%.

Some 22% expressed an interest in a social care insurance policy, and the same amount said they would cash in other savings, while a new care ISA was the least popular option.

"As the debate about care costs evolves, getting professional financial advice may help to ensure people are well placed to meet any future costs," Cameron concluded.

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Output: Only one in five UK residents believe they won't require care during their later years, according to a survey from Aegon. Just 22% of those surveyed, however, said they would consider looking in to social care insurance. Of those surveyed, 43% said they would use their pension to pay the cost of social care, while 31% said they'd rely on selling their homes or relinquishing some form of equity position to meet the costs.


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L&G sees 380 claims via early warning system in 2017
 380 claims have been made thanks to Legal & General’s Early Warning System (EWS) since the beginning of 2017, resulting in a pay out of over £30m.

The EWS system is a free tool designed to alert advisers when policies are at risk. This helps brokers keep clients updated when there could be an issue and ensure that cover does not lapse.

The system picks up on issues such as bounced or cancelled direct debits, lapsed policies and times when the policy is void from the outset.

Legal & General has received 2,655 claims through the system since its inception in 2010 and has paid out over £200m as a result of it.

Legal & General internediary director Craig Brown said: “It is fantastic to see that since the launch of this system it has enabled a total of 2,665 claims to be paid, with over £200m being paid out to our customers since 2010 as a result.”

Output: An early warning system employed by Legal & General has helped it pay out 380 claims this year. The system alerts brokers when an issue may arise for a client, allowing intermediaries to make sure coverage is in place. Among the issues picked up by the early warning system are lapsed or voided policies, as well as incidents of bounced credit. The firm says it has paid out £30m ($40m) resulting from its early warning system during 2017.


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Homelyfe launches app for home-buyer insurance coverage
 The business, which is an AR of Vibe MGA, is planning multiple lines of insurance on its app platform.

App-based insurance provider Homelyfe has launched with cover to protect home buyers from gazumping.

According to Homelyfe, which is an AR of MGA Vibe, it is set to release multiple lines of insurance over the coming months.

The firm stated that its technology would allow users to manage all their insurance requirements within one “easy to use” app.

Homelyfe is available today (9 October) with Home Buyer’s Insurance for £35 online, or via the Google Play and Apple App Stores.

Complex

“The

Output: Homelyfe, an app-based insurer aimed at home buyers, has launched this week. The company is planning to introduce various lines of insurance to its app over the coming months. The firm aims to offer prospective home buyers protection from gazumping. Homelyfe says it can provide insurance from £35 ($46). Homelyfe is an appointed representative of Lloyd's of London managing agent Vibe MGA.


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Insurance software provider Guidewire acquires Cyence
 Guidewire Software Inc., a provider of core operations software to property/casualty insurers, has agreed to acquire Cyence, a data science and risk analytics software company.

Guidewire will pay approximately $275 million in cash and stock.

Cyence applies data science and risk analytics to enable P/C insurers to underwrite “21st century risks” including cyber, reputation and new forms of business interruption risk that have gone underinsured or uninsured. These risks are new and evolving rapidly and typically lack extensive claims history to inform underwriting and pricing. Also, according to Cyence, their complexity and non-obvious patterns of risk linkage and risk accumulation require more diverse and dynamic data sets to be modeled effectively.

San Mateo, Calif.-based Cyence launched in September, 2016, when it announced it had raised $40 million from investors that included Dowling Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and IVP.

Cyence offers a “data listening and risk analytics solution” combining Internet-scale collection and curation of external data with machine learning and risk modeling. Its services support product management, actuarial, underwriting,and enterprise risk management functions.

“Cyence is an exceptional technology company that, like Guidewire, focuses on serving the strategic needs of the P&C industry,” said Marcus Ryu, co-founder and CEO, Guidewire Software. “While Guidewire has focused on core operations, data management, and digital engagement, Cyence applies expertise in data science and machine learning to the modeling needs of insurance product design, pricing and underwriting for 21st century risks. As traditional actuarial approaches struggle to address the unique characteristics of emerging risks like cyber, Cyence’s next-generation approach will enable insurers to broaden the scope and value of the products their policyholders need.”

Cyence’s CEO Sees an Urgent Need to Model Cyber Risk

Arvind Parthasarathi, Cyence co-founder and CEO, said his firm started applying data science to cyber risk due to significant demand from the insurance industry on what is an existential threat for their insureds.

“We look forward to joining Guidewire and continuing our mission to enable insurers to enter new markets by insuring emerging risks like cyber,” said Parthasarathi.

The total consideration to be paid of approximately $275 million, or $265 million net of $10 million cash on hand, is subject to customary transaction adjustments. Consideration provided at closing will consist of net cash of approximately $140 million and approximately 1.6 million shares of newly issued Guidewire common stock. Of those shares, approximately 260,000 are in the form of deferred equity consideration, which are subject to the achievement of certain retention and operating milestones.

Guidewire has been expanding in part through acquisitions.

Guidewire announced plans to buy FirstBest last August, a move it said helped boost its capacity to serve property/casualty insurers focused on complex commercial risks. FirstBest produces an underwriting management system for P/C insurers. In February, Guidewire completed a $160 million acquisition of ISCS, a cloud computing technology outfit focused on areas including policy administration, underwriting, claims, billing, business intelligence, reinsurance and mobile products.

In 2016, Guidewire acquired EagleEye Analytics, a provider of SaaS-based predictive analytics products for property/casualty insurers.

Related:

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Carriers Tech Underwriting Data Driven Property Casualty

Output: Property and casualty insurance software provider Guidewire Software has acquired Cyence, a software firm focused on data analytics. By using the data analytics software provided by Cyence, insurers can underwrite risks which have little claims history. Such policies could consist of cyber security insurance or insurance covering modern business interruption risks. Guidewire paid $275m for Cyence in a deal structured between cash and equity.


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Trusted IoT Alliance debuts open-source code product
 The newly formed Trusted IoT Alliance has announced today “…in alignment with its mission of connecting and securing the next generation of smart IoT products with blockchain technology” the release of one of its first open source repositories, MQTTT or ‘MQTT-Trusted.’

Developed by Oaken Innovations CTO, Shuang ‘Lex’ Liang, MQTTT is a modification to the popular MQTT open source communication protocol widely used in IoT applications today.

This modification allows MQTTT to sign messages utilizing an Ethereum account thereby proving who its sender is. This sender could take the form of a standard Ethereum account or a hardware signer such as Oaken’s ACORN device.

The MQTTT library brings Ethereum identity, trust, and security to the machine to machine communication protocol.

Further developments are planned to add more schema and semantics to the protocol that will help machines to better understand the messages in order to improve interoperability as well as encourage wider adoption of the protocol within the ecosystem.

The MQTTT secure messaging protocol will join the already present Identity Registry as early evidence of the active member contributions within the Alliance, which was formed just last month.

John Gerryts, CEO of Oaken Innovations said:

“Oaken Innovations found a need for such a protocol while developing its Peer2Peer Carshare PoC in collaboration with Toyota Research Institute. The MQTTT protocol allows for near-instant cryptographically secure messaging which Oaken required to maintain a great user experience by both keeping latency low between a mobile app and the unlocking of a vehicle and ensuring that only a valid user would be able to unlock and start the ignition of the vehicle being shared. “We’re also excited to make one of the first member code contributions to the Trusted IoT Alliance. We hope that this is the first in a long list of member contributions in setting the standard for the next generation of the Internet of Things. The team here at Oaken is already working on more tools for the ecosystem.”

Output: Trusted IoT Alliance has released one of its first open source repositories in its mission to secure the next generation of smart internet of things (IoT) products using blockchain. MQTT-Trusted, or MQTTT, is a modification to the popular MQTT communication protocol used in many IoT applications. It lets MQTTT sign messages using an ethereum account, proving the identity of the sender.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Lemonade's portfolio doubles every 10 weeks
 Lemonade is currently the most talked-about disruptor. That’s why we’re pleased that, for the first time in Europe, Lemonade will present at DIA Munich what the pioneering concept is all about in a keynote presentation. As a special DIA Munich appetizer, we spoke to Lemonade CEO and co-founder Daniel Schreiber recently, exactly one year after the company launched. DIA: Daniel, congratulations on Lemonade's first anniversary. It must have been a roller coaster ride. Thanks for being willing to share some of the experiences and learnings. Did the first year meet your expectations? Daniel: "Yes, it has been quite a ride. But it is great to see that we're striking the right chord. We already sold ten thousands of policies. Our portfolio doubles every 10 weeks." DIA: If you had to name just one thing, what would you say is the key success factor so far? Daniel: "Our renters insurance is 80% cheaper than what competitors offer and takes less than 90 seconds to purchase.” DIA: 80% cheaper is almost unbelievable … Daniel: “Many industry insiders think so, too. [They think that] at least 40% of what insurance carriers receive in premiums is paid out in claims. So if Lemonade is 80% cheaper it must lose money on every policy. That is not true. Renters insurance covers personal property, not real estate. The expected loss is therefore significantly lower and so should the corresponding premium be. Unfortunately, the enormous overheads incumbents have make low-premium products impossible. Their minimum premium reflects their high costs rather than your low claims.”DIA: We can imagine that such a price difference attracts a specific segment … Daniel: “Yes, indeed. We offer a good price, especially at entry levels. No less than 87% of our customers are first-time buyers. Lemonade is the preferred insurance brand among first-time insurance buyers. In the state of New York, where we first launched Lemonade, we now have a market share of 27% among first-time buyers.” DIA: Was this the target segment you planned to focus on initially? Daniel: "Not really, at least not to this extent. This was definitely not planned or expected. It appears our proposition is attracting people who did not think of such an insurance before; because it was too expensive, too much hassle, or because they had little trust in the added value. So it turns out we actually opened up an underserved, untapped market. This was really a surprise for us, as well. It just shows that with really new propositions there is only so much that you can plan." DIA: This suggests the Lemonade concept is about solving frictions that customers experience when dealing with a traditional insurance incumbent. Aren't you selling yourself short here? Daniel: "True. It is not just about solving frictions; being faster, better or cheaper. That wouldn't be sufficient in the long run. When we started conceiving Lemonade, we immediately realized there is no way you can beat insurers at their own game. We needed to think beyond that. We decided to foster trust, not suspicion. Our business model is built on two very distinctive pillars: behavioral economics and artificial intelligence.” DIA: The pillar that is often highlighted is behavioral economics, one of the reasons we like Lemonade so much. Insurers could benefit much more from psychology and social sciences. Daniel: "The vast knowledge and experience of our Chief Behavioral Officer Dan Ariely (professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University) is instrumental in this. We apply behavioral economics to neutralize the adversarial relationship, the conflict of interest, between customers and their insurance provider. We take 20%, and the rest (80%) goes to paying claims, and this includes our reinsurance. If less than the 80% is used to pay out claims, for instance 75%, the 5% unclaimed money is donated to charities chosen by customers. The maximum amount that can be given back is 40%. Lemonade gains nothing by refusing a claim. This way we are reinventing insurance from a necessary evil to a social good." DIA: Can you explain how behavioral economics reflects in Lemonade's daily customer experience? Daniel: "Not just our business model but also the whole product flow is informed by behavioral economics. For example, we ask people to sign on the top of the form, not at the bottom. Behavioral research shows that asking people to pledge honesty first results in forms that are actually more accurate." DIA: How does this affect the combined ratio? Daniel: "Multiple ways. For example, we also apply behavioral economics to reduce fraud. In the onboarding process, customers are asked which charity they want the money that is not used for claims to go to, let's say the Red Cross. Now, when at some point in time a customer files a claim, we first remind the customer of the charity he or she selected before diving into the claim. We do that on purpose. To many people, insurance fraud is considered a victimless crime; you're not really hurting someone, at least that is the perception. Research shows that 24% say it’s okay to pad an insurance claim. We're changing that by immediately creating the presence of a victim. Making it crystal clear that a claim harms a charity someone cares about inhibits misuse." DIA: Do you already have proof points that using behavioral economics this way works at a larger scale? Daniel: "Obviously we're a young company, so the amount of claims that we receive are still limited. But we already have early indications that this really works. In the last two months, we actually had six customers who claimed and got paid, but later on returned the money. Someone, for instance, thought his laptop was stolen, claimed and got paid. A few weeks later, it turned out he had left the laptop with his mother-in-law. He then decided to return the money, probably because he didn't want to harm the charity he selected. I would really love to know how many customers of traditional insurers are returning their money." DIA: Insurers need to manage the feelings side of financial services much better than they do today. Quite a few tend to forget that when they are going digital. Others are building hybrid solutions of, for instance, chatbots and human experts. How do you secure the human side in a pure play such as Lemonade? Daniel: “Behavioral economics is one pillar of our business model; artificial intelligence is the other. Thanks to AI, we don’t have to rely on brokers and paperwork. Underwriting and claims handling are taken care of by AI, as well. This makes it even more important to secure that we are recognized as living, breathing people who really care. My co-founder Shai Wininger has a rare talent to marry technology with customer understanding. Our bot has a name. It talks in an approachable manner. It doesn't say, ‘I don't understand.' We know its limits and anticipate the direction in which the conversation is going. Next-level questions are seamlessly moved to our, human, support staff.”DIA: We quite often see that traditional insurance carriers have a strong immune system when it comes to embracing insurtechs. Apparently, different cultures are difficult to match. Sometimes we even see organ rejection. We noticed that the Lemonade team not only incudes tech veterans like yourself but also former executives from AIG and ACE. How do you make that work? Daniel: “When we started thinking about a new concept in insurance, we just had a rudimental understanding of insurance. We had the advantage of being ignorant. We had no preconceived notion. This helped us to question the basic principles of the industry, such as the conflict of interest. "Coming from the outside helped us to rethink, reconceptualize in a fundamental way, from scratch, what Lemonade should be about. "Now, it is only so far you can take that. As soon as you move to execution, you really need to have deeply entrenched insurance knowledge on board. Think of the regulatory maze we have to go through. Then it comes to finding the right people, which was not that easy. We soon realized that we were looking for ‘insiders’ who were ‘outsiders’ at the same time. In our recruitment ad, we actually said it was a requirement to be in the throes of a midlife crisis; not feeling happy in the corner office anymore. They had to buy into our vision.” DIA: We noticed that your fast growth in an market segment that is so difficult to reach by incumbents has led companies such as GEICO and Liberty Mutual to use "lemonade" in their marketing and promotion activities … Daniel: “Ha ha, yes, we’ve noticed that as well, of course. GEICO even introduced a ‘lemonade’ TV commercial at the same time as we launched the company. Liberty Mutual, in fact, introduced a new brand, Lulo, and paraphrased everything, from logo to pricing. "We take it as a compliment that such renowned brands are looking at us, and try to learn and use our ideas. But the examples also show that it is not that easy. Lemonade is more than a logo. You really need to understand the two pillars of our model: behavioral economics and artificial intelligence and how that reflects in the way we operate. And you need to understand that we are really a different kind of company. Obviously, we have duties to our customers, employees and investors. But we’re also a B-Corp, which makes us legally committed to social impact. Our customer base is therefore more like a community of people around a cause – which in turn results in more trust and less fraud. It is about aligning customers and insurer, and giving up underwriting profits. We’re rebranding the insurance sector.”

Output: US-based insurtech Lemonade doubles its portfolio every 10 weeks, according to Daniel Schreiber, the firm's CEO and founder. Around 80% of Lemonade's customers are first-time buyers of a renter's insurance policy, Schreiber said. Among first time buyers in its home state of New York, the firm has a market share of 27%. Schreiber added that the firm often provides policies 80% cheaper than competing insurance products.


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CFC Underwriting uses phishing simulation to combat cyber attacks
 Lloyd’s MGA CFC Underwriting has developed a phishing simulation tool with cyber security and training specialist Cyber Risk Aware. The tool has been customised for CFC Underwriting’s insurance needs and it will be offered as an additional extra to its policies.

The simulation comprises of multiple email templates to make sure that the user being assessed does not become aware that they are tests.

By being exposed to forms of phishing in a simulated environment, staff can then apply the knowledge they have gained to the real world and will be less likely to open dangerous emails.

“The number of reported phishing cases has been increasing and we’re seeing many people being tricked into clicking on malicious links and transferring funds,” explained CFC Underwriting head of incident response Anthony Hess.

Hess continued, “This prompted us to look at a risk management solution that would address the issue and Cyber Risk Aware’s phishing simulation platform emerged as a great tool for this.”

The pro-active approach is somewhat unusual for cyber insurance products, claims Cyber Risk Aware Cyber Risk Aware co-founder Stephen Burke, with most offering help after the event of a breach.

However, where SME’s do not have the resources to employ an IT team, this kind of training can be particularly valuable.

Burke said: “Historically, cyber insurance products have focused on post-breach activities, whereas this is something designed to help clients avoid the incident happening in the first place.

“CFC Underwriting should be applauded for the thoughtfulness and innovation it is bringing to its product, and we’re delighted to have worked with them to deliver it. Customised functionality and flexibility is a key tenet of our approach to market, allowing us to add that extra value to our customers.”

CFC Underwriting outperformed its peers in the Insurance Times Cyber Product report 2017. In September it released dark web cyber insurance tool CFC BreachAlert for its policyholders to monitor data breaches.

Output: CFC Underwriting is offering a phishing simulation tool as part of its insurance policies, allowing clients to train their employees on how to deal with cyber attacks. The service is intended appeal to small and medium-sized businesses without large IT departments monitoring the prospect of cyber threats. The tool exposes staff to simulations of potentially harmful emails, allowing them to recognise phishing schemes in the future. The tool was developed by cybersecurity firm Cyber Risk Aware.


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Cleveland Clinic launches insurance offering
 Secure and increase the performance of your investments with our team of experts at your side.

Securing my Investments

Output: Ohio-based healthcare provider the Cleveland Clinic has entered the insurance market, with the launch of a number of branded policies in partnership with New York-based insurer Oscar Health. Under the "narrow-network" system, policy-holders will only have access to services from the clinic's own doctors and hospitals. The provider will share the financial risk with Oscar Health. It has also partnered with the Kentucky-based insurer Humana to offer policies with no monthly premiums to patients on Medicare and Medicaid assistance programmes.


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HK-based Hanson partners with Etisalat on Middle East robot sales
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DUBAI, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Hanson Robotics, producer of the celebrity humanoid robot Sophia, is partnering with United Arab Emirates' (UAE's) biggest telecom firm Etisalat for future sales of its robots in the Middle East, the company said Monday.

With Etisalat's help, Hanson Robotics, based in Hong Kong, is showcasing Sophia at the ongoing IT fair Gitex Technology Week, which has gathered 4,100 exhibitors from over 70 countries including China.

Jeanne Lim, Hanson Robotics' chief marketing officer, hailed Etisalat for its interest in artificial intelligence, while adding that Hanson's partnership with Etisalat is "still in a test phase."

At Etisalat's stand at Gitex, visitors can talk to Sophia and ask her questions in order to test her humanoid capabilities.

Lim told Xinhua that the use of Sophia in the education and business fields converges with Etisalat's support for digital educational strategy implemented in the UAE.

"Sophia can be used as an educational toy," Lim said, stressing that Sophia fits into the UAE's digital educational strategy.

Sophia, designed by David Hanson, a former Walt Disney Imagineering employee and founder of Hanson Robotics, looks like Hollywood legendary actress Audrey Hepburn.

It is a lifelike social robot that can establish relationship with people through 60 programmed facial expressions.

"Sophia is a media personality, she was part of a movie and on a TV show," Lim said.

However, Lim said that more work needs to be done for the commercialization of Sophia, and a proper plan is needed to be designed by Etisalat to put the robot into commercial use at the shopping malls, schools and hospitals in the UAE.

So far, Hanson has only launched the consumer robot Professor Einstein for private homes in the United States, as it has not yet started large-scale manufacturing of the robots. Enditem

Output: Hong Kong-based tech company Hanson Robotics has announced a partnership with the UAE's biggest telecoms company to promote its robots in the Middle East. The deal with Etisalat was launched at the Gitex Technology Week event in Dubai, where Hanson's humanoid robot Sophia is being jointly exhibited by the companies. Sophia is a lifelike "social robot" designed by former Disney employee David Hanson to resemble the late Audrey Hepburn, and has 60 programmed facial expressions. Etisalat is now working on a business plan to realise the robot's commercial potential.


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A million UK hospitality staff face retirement poverty: TUC
 The TUC has today (Monday) revealed the UK’s pension blackspots.

The analysis shows that in some industries, like hospitality and agriculture, six in ten workers are not enrolled in a pension.

The TUC says many are missing out on a decent retirement because they earn less than £10,000 – the level of earnings at which employers must enrol someone into a workplace pension.

Despite the success of pension auto-enrolment, nearly 9 million UK workers are still unable to save into a pension scheme.

The five industries with the lowest level of pension cover are:

Agriculture, forestry and fishing – 65% of employees (93,000) do not have a pension.

65% of employees (93,000) do not have a pension. Hospitality – 60% of employees (908,000) do not have a pension.

60% of employees (908,000) do not have a pension. Other services (hairdressing and beauty) – 56% of employees (270,000) do not have a pension.

56% of employees (270,000) do not have a pension. Construction – 50% (493,000) of employees do not have a pension.

50% (493,000) of employees do not have a pension. Arts and entertainment – 48% of employees (253,000) do not have a pension.

The TUC also found evidence of a “pension lottery” among those saving into a workplace pension.

In low-paid sectors, like wholesale and retail, nine out of ten savers received contributions worth less than 8% of salary from their employer.

By contrast, in industries like financial services (where there are more high earners), the vast majority of savers received more than 8% in contributions from their bosses.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Auto-enrolment has been a great success. But it’s not a case of ‘job done’.

“Millions remain at risk of poverty in retirement because they are saving nothing, or very little, into a pension scheme.

“We urgently need the government to help more low-paid workers join schemes. And ministers must set out a plan for increasing contributions from employers.”

ENDS

Output: Nearly one million hospitality staff in the UK face poverty in retirement, according to an analysis of the government’s pensions auto-enrolment system by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The scheme, launched five years ago, was designed to boost retirement savings. However, the TUC claims that up to six in 10 workers in low-paid sectors, including agriculture and retail, are not enrolled in a pension scheme. Such workers earn less than £10,000, the minimum level at which employers are required to establish a savings plan. The TUC claims that almost nine million UK workers cannot afford to save for a pension.


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A million UK hospitality staff face retirement poverty: TUC
 Almost a million hospitality staff are among workers at risk of a retirement in poverty, a study of blackspots in the government’s flagship pensions policy has shown.

According to the TUC, as many as six in 10 workers in low-paid sectors such as retail and agriculture are not enrolled in a pension. They slip through the net of the government’s pensions auto-enrolment system as they earn less than the £10,000 minimum level at which employers are forced to set them up with a savings plan.

Launched five years ago in one of the biggest shakeups for pensions in recent memory, auto-enrolment was introduced by the government to boost levels of saving for retirement. More than 8m employees have signed up for a workplace pension since, according to official figures.

But workers in low-paid sectors appear not to be receiving the same level of contributions from their employers as those at the top. As many as nine out of 10 savers in the wholesale and retail industries received less than 8% of salary from their employer. In high-paid sectors such as financial services, the vast majority of savers received more than this amount.

The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “Millions remain at risk of poverty in retirement because they are saving nothing, or very little, in a pension scheme. We urgently need the government to help more low-paid workers join schemes. And ministers must set out a plan for increasing contributions from employers.”

The industries with the lowest level of pension cover are agriculture, forestry and fishing, hospitality, construction, arts and entertainment, and other services such as hairdressing and beauty. The TUC said nearly 9m workers in total were unable to save into a pension scheme due to low pay.

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “More than 8.5 million people are now enrolled into a workplace pension, thanks to the introduction of automatic enrolment.

“But we know there is more to do, which is why our review is looking at who is eligible and the evidence around future contribution increases, to ensure as many people as possible are saving towards their retirement.”

Output: Nearly one million hospitality staff in the UK face poverty in retirement, according to an analysis of the government’s pensions auto-enrolment system by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The scheme, launched five years ago, was designed to boost retirement savings. However, the TUC claims that up to six in 10 workers in low-paid sectors, including agriculture and retail, are not enrolled in a pension scheme. Such workers earn less than £10,000, the minimum level at which employers are required to establish a savings plan. The TUC claims that almost nine million UK workers cannot afford to save for a pension.


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MRI Software buys Qube to expand its commercial property platform
 Acquisition Extends MRI’s Global Reach; Expands Offerings for Property Investors, Agents, Occupiers, and Tenants; Provides Greater Scale for Innovation and Development

London – October 4, 2017 – MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, today announced the acquisition of Qube Global Software, a leading UK-based supplier of property and facilities management software. Qube both extends MRI’s global reach and brings further expertise and scale for continued innovation in property technology. Following MRI’s acquisitions of Qube and Real Asset Management, which was announced last month, the combined company now serves 5,500 clients with a global team of more than 1,000 employees. MRI’s 350 employees in the UK make it one of the largest property tech providers in the country, and in Europe as a whole.

“The global real estate sector is growing at unprecedented rates, with investors and capital seamlessly crossing borders and spanning continents,” said Patrick Ghilani, Chief Executive Officer of MRI Software. “The union of MRI Software and Qube Global Software establishes a technology powerhouse to support investors, agents, and occupiers globally and locally. By uniting MRI’s strength and history in North America with Qube’s European market expertise, along with both companies’ long-standing Asia-Pacific footprint, we are uniquely positioned to address the varying needs of the global real estate market with a comprehensive and flexible portfolio.”

Qube’s extensive property and financial management capabilities, as well as facilities management, integrated workplace management systems (IWMS), and space management solutions, complement MRI’s existing offerings and provide greater choice and flexibility for the combined company’s worldwide client base. Qube’s property management offerings serve both the commercial and residential real estate sectors, including lettings, which is experiencing increased demand in the UK. The acquisition also provides Qube clients access to MRI’s world-class financials and investment suite, including solutions for asset management, scenario modelling, and investor relations.

“It’s rare to find two organisations so closely aligned strategically as MRI and Qube, with a long history in the real estate space and a shared vision of providing an open platform that maximises flexibility and choice for clients,” said John Cuppello, Chief Executive Officer of Qube Global Software. “It’s a tremendous time to become a part of MRI, and our capabilities and expertise will play a meaningful role in helping the combined company continue to grow and thrive.”

Through the addition of Qube’s offices in the UK, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, MRI is well-positioned to continue exceeding the demands of its growing global client base with increased in-country resources. Both Qube and MRI clients will continue to be served without interruption while near-term integration activities focus on providing expanded offerings to all clients.

About MRI Software

MRI Software is a leading provider of innovative real estate software applications and hosted solutions. MRI’s comprehensive and flexible technology platform coupled with an open and connected ecosystem meets the unique needs of real estate businesses—from property-level management and accounting to investment modelling and analytics for the global commercial and residential markets. A pioneer of the real estate software industry, MRI develops lasting client relationships based on nearly five decades of expertise and insight. Through leading solutions and a rich partner ecosystem, MRI liberates real estate companies to elevate their business and gain a competitive edge. For more information, please visit mrisoftware.com.

About Qube Global Software

Qube Global Software is a leading supplier of property and facilities management software throughout the world. Over the last 40 years it has helped thousands of clients, ranging from small investors through to global corporations, manage every aspect of their property portfolios. Its products can bring increased revenue and efficiency, reduced costs and full access to vital information for every sector of the property industry. For more information, please visit www.qubeglobal.com.

Contact Information:

Jeff Miller

LEWIS

mrisoftware@teamlewis.com

541-207-3461

Output: Proptech company MRI Software has acquired Qube Global Software in order to add to its real estate applications and solutions. The acquisition means the US-based multinational can expand its services to property investors, agents and tenants around the world, and improve innovation and development. The combined firm now has a worldwide team of over 1,000 employees, serving about 5,500 clients, making it one of the largest proptech providers in Europe. Qube specialises in property, facilities and financial management.


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Generali introduces Italian-based insurtech accelerator
 Generali Italia and Roncade, Italy-based Milan-listed venture incubator H-Farm have launched a new insurtech accelerator.

The Generali Health & Welfare Accelerator program aims to identify and collaborate with innovative domestic and international startups in their early/middle stages that are developing solutions for the market and who are exploiting emerging technologies and exploring new business models linked to the areas of prevention, accessibility, treatment and innovation.

All applications to the program must be submitted here by October 31. The 5 best startup candidates will take part in a 4-month acceleration course on the H-Farm campus.

During this period, they will develop their project, receiving mentoring and tutoring, a work space, food and lodging, as well as €10k in seed founding.

Generali Italia will guarantee startups a range of services designed to consolidate their business models and that will simplify their entrance into the market of their specific field through individual workshops and meetings.

FinSMEs

08/10/2017

Output: Generali Italia has backed an Italian-based accelerator for insurtech firms. Dubbed the Generali Health & Welfare Accelerator programme, it will provide eligible applicants with a grant of €10,000 ($11,780) and a four-month incubation course. The accelerator will also provide counselling and services to companies to help them refine business models, allowing them to enter the market with greater ease.


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Redrow Redrow highly commended at National Apprenticeship Awards
 Redrow has been highly commended at the Midlands regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2017. This is the fifth consecutive year the housebuilder has been recognised at the awards for the training it offers to its apprentices.

Training and development sits at the heart of Redrow’s business and it is working hard to nurture the next generation of construction industry talent. As part of this the housebuilder joined the 5% Club which means it is committed to ensuring at least 5% of its workforce comprises trainees, graduates and apprentices. Currently, nearly triple this number, 14%, are working at the business.

Redrow’s apprentices benefit from working alongside and learning from some of the industry’s most experienced professionals and can take on a diverse array of roles at the business, whether as a tradesperson on one of the housebuilder’s developments or supporting the business’ growth at headquarters. The housebuilder offers apprenticeships from entry-level all the way up to Level 7 which is the equivalent of a Masters Degree.

Redrow also supplements all the formal training apprentices receive with opportunities for them to develop their soft skills, including leadership, teamwork and communication. Recently Redrow apprentices have done so by participating in the annual Brathay Apprentice Challenge and working as a team to put their skills to the test and design and build a sensory garden for dementia patients at Deeside Community Hospital.

Commenting, Clare Hindley New Entrants Programmes Manager at Redrow, said: “Recognition at the National Apprenticeship Awards for the fifth year in a row is no mean feat. We are delighted to have our industry-leading apprenticeship programme feature alongside those of iconic companies like the BBC and Volvo. At Redrow we are passionate about nurturing the next generation of construction industry talent and giving them the practical and soft skills needed to succeed in an industry that is a cornerstone of the UK economy.”

Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: “The National Apprenticeship Awards allow talented apprentices and committed employers from across our regions to receive well-deserved recognition for their apprenticeship achievements.

“The highly commended finalists at these awards show the range of sectors and variety of job roles apprenticeships are available in, and how they can deliver the skills employers need. I congratulate all highly commended finalists on their success in this competition.”

The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their fourteenth year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas: businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.

Output: Redrow was recognised and celebrated at the Midlands final of this year's National Apprenticeship Awards. The housebuilder is committed to ensuring at least 5% of its workforce is made up of apprentices, trainees and graduates, and 2017 is the fifth consecutive year that Redrow has been recognised at the awards. Clare Hindley, new entrants programme manager at Redrow, said the company was "passionate" about nurturing new talent in an industry that is a "cornerstone of the UK economy".


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Database may help cut greenhouse gases from cement production
 Concrete is the most-used construction material in the world – its manufacturing contributes as much as 8 percent of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Credit: eugenesergeev, iStock

An international team of scientists has created a new database of molecular dynamics models that simulate the properties of cement in all its varieties. It's intended to help fine-tune this component of concrete and curtail emissions in its manufacturing process.

Cement is used to bind concrete, the most-used construction material in the world and a significant source of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Its manufacturing contributes as much as 8 percent of the greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

Investigate atomic interactions

A new database, called cemff, for cement force fields. In this case, the force field isn't an invisible barrier from a science-fiction story. It's the collection of parameters scientists use to build computer models of atomic interactions. These parameters include the intrinsic energy of the atoms in a simulation system. They are used to calculate how atoms interacts individually and collectively with their neighbors to give the material its properties.

Application of accurate atomistic force field models allows to do computer simulation of various types of inorganic minerals present in cement. Very importantly, it helps academic and industrial researchers to draw upon many types of force fields to make reliable simulations and predictions of purpose-built cement formulations. Cemff could help industry design stronger, more durable construction materials that also curtail carbon dioxide emissions from the manufacture of more than 3 billion tons of cement and concrete a year.

Transmission electron microscopy image of cement and atomic structure of model cement. Credit: ETH Zurich/EPFL/Rice University

Develop of eco-friendly cements

"The publication of this common database represents a milestone for the field that will greatly increase the impact for molecular modeling in the development of new and eco-friendly cements", says Robert Flatt, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at ETH Zurich and one of the scientific adviser of cemff database project.

Fifteen scientists at 11 institutions worked on the project led by Ratan Mishra of ETH Zurich, Rouzbeh Shahsavari of Rice University and Paul Bowen of EPFL Lausanne. In their research, the simulation of force field models show how the component molecules in cement interact with each other. These microscopic interactions determine how well concrete performs in real-world applications and allow for fine-tuning the material to perform at its best for decades and in the most environmentally conscious way.

"Molecular modeling still requires multiple trade-offs," said Mishra, lead author of the paper and a materials scientist in the group of professor Flatt. "The typical example is time versus accuracy, but more importantly, it is essential to recognize what specific models are good at and what they may be challenged with." Cemff will allow researchers to have a more comprehensive view on this question and to select the best approach for the problem they are tackling.

A simulated construct of cement produced by a model in the cemff database. The model contains hydrogen (white), oxygen (red), silicate (yellow) and calcium (green). Credit: ETH Zurich

Reduce the carbon footprint

Cement consists primarily of calcium silicates that react with water to produce the hardened material that confers mechanical properties and durability to concrete. Nearly 60 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from cement production come from the decomposition of limestone, the source of calcium in cement. To reduce the carbon footprint, manufacturers often supplement the mix with clays, waste materials like fly ash and recycled materials.

These all influence the mechanical characteristics and resilience of the product; that is why there is a need for simulations at nanoscale that let manufacturers test mixes for strength and durability even before making real cement.

"I hope the open format and international base of the cemff database will encourage both the modeling and experimental community to create solid benchmarks to help understand and predict more accurately the properties of the most-used material on Earth and help us build a more sustainable future," says Paul Bowen, professor at the Powder Technology Laboratory of EPFL, and initiator of the project.

Output: Scientists from around the world have built a database that's aimed at helping cut pollution in the production of cement, a major contributor of greenhouse gases. The so-called Cemff database lists molecular dynamics models that simulate the properties of the building material. Created by a team from 11 institutions, the models will allow scientists to create computer simulations of cement mixes, enabling the development of more efficient, eco-friendly manufacturing processes. Cement production is the source of up to 8% of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.


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Hepstar integrates insurance offering into travel-booking platform
 Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi

A Cape Town-based global insurance aggregator, Hepstar, has integrated Cornerstone Travel Insurance into Amadeus channels.

This, Cornerstone Insurance Plc said, would enable travel agents booking through Amadeus channels to have a variety of travel insurance products they could offer their travellers from the comfort of a single booking page.

According to the insurance firm, travel agents can now add an insurance policy to a flight booking without leaving the booking flow.

“Trip and traveller details are automatically pre-populated so no data needs to be entered twice. This saves time and effort for the agent. Insurance bookings are fully integrated into the Passenger Name Record and back office systems, allowing for easy reporting and after-sales servicing,” the firm said in a statement.

The Cornerstone’s Head of E-Business and Alternative Markets, Kolawole Ladejobi, was quoted to have said that the aim was to revolutionise penetration and distribution of insurance through cutting-edge technology.

“With our partnerships, we have made travel insurance more accessible for Nigerians and seamless for travel agents,” he said.

The Hepstar’s Chief Operating Officer, Claudia Snyman, was also quoted to have said that the firm was making it easier for travel agents in Nigeria to book insurance products smoothly through the GDS, adding that it would be hugely beneficial for travel agents and travellers alike.

The Amadeus Nigeria’s General Manager, Yann Gilbert, said the channel would continue to add value to the travel ecosystem by ensuring that customers had everything they needed to offer their travellers the best service.

Copyright PUNCH.

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Output: South African global insurance aggregator Hepstar has added Cornerstone Travel Insurance to Amadeus channels, allowing travel agents to access a range of products through one booking page. Without needing to leave the booking process, agents will be able to add insurance policies on the fully integrated system. The move should "revolutionise penetration and distribution of insurance", according to Cornerstone's Head of E-Business and Alternative Markets, Kolawole Ladejobi.


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Shaw Academy crowdsources $1.5m for live online learning platform
 Irish start-up is targeting £2.1m in ambitious crowdfunding campaign.

Shaw Academy, the online education company led by James Egan, has raised more than £1.1m in just six days on Crowdcube.

The company was set up in 2013 and now employs more than 180 staff between Dublin and India. It is understood to be signing up more than 250,000 users per month.

The crowdfunding campaign is aimed at raising £2.1m in total, but could exceed that target.

Crowdcube, a UK-based crowdfunding platform, has emerged as a go-to marketplace for fundraising by Irish-led start-ups. In 2015, Sugru – the start-up founded by Kilkenny native Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh – raised £3.5m on the platform.

In recent weeks, HouseMyDog, an Irish-based Airbnb for dogs, broke records raising more than €200,000 in the first 36 hours on Crowdcube, before settling at £535,220.

Educating the world

According to its Crowdcube campaign, Shaw Academy has so far taught over 4m students, grossing over €25m in sales to date. It teaches students a variety of subjects live through its own bespoke software platform.

The company has partnered with brands like GoDaddy, Adobe, Vodafone and Flipkart and awards students with internationally accredited professional diplomas.

Shaw Academy has raised £1.114m from 595 investors so far, and it plans to use the funding from the crowd-sourced campaign to scale globally.

It began trading six days ago with an £83m pre-money valuation and offered investors 2.5pc equity.

Output: Shaw Academy has raised £1.1m ($1.5m) in six days on UK crowdfunding site Crowdcube to expand its live online education platform. The Irish company states in its Crowdcube campaign that it has grossed more than €25m ($29m) in sales since starting up in 2013, employs more than 180 staff in Dublin and India and has taught four million students. It's said to be signing more than 250,000 users to its service each month. The fundraising campaign is targeting £2.1m, with the company valued at £83m.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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UK CRM giant Reapit confirms Accel-KKR-backed management buyout
 The cloud software business has a customer base of over 200 estate agencies and over 20,000 users in the UK and Australia. The firm employs 130 people across its five offices in the two countries.

After some months of speculation within the industry, high-profile supplier Reapit has confirmed today that it is the subject of a management buy out with the help of a California-based investment firm, Accel-KKR.

It says the additional investment will enable it to “accelerate its growth and innovation, enhance products and services, and expand its technology offering.”

The Reapit senior management team will continue to be led by Gary Barker as chief executive, Simon Whale as sales director and Matthew Goddard as client services director.

“This investment will allow us to significantly scale our development capabilities and deliver new and exciting solutions. We plan to create new technological and digital innovations that will enable our clients to more effectively grow revenues, save costs and address a continually evolving legislative landscape” says Barker.

Accel-KKR specialises on investing in software and IT-enabled businesses. It says it focuses on “middle-market companies”. In addition to California, it has offices in London and Atlanta.

“Accel-KKR has sought to work with management teams who are both clear leaders in their industry and passionate about providing great service and technology. We look forward to working with the Reapit team to grow and extend its product leadership with the leading estate and letting agencies across the UK and Australia” says Park Durrett, managing director at Accel-KKR.

Output: Reapit, a leading UK supplier of customer relationship management software to the property industry, has confirmed it was taken over in a management buyout backed by Californian investment firm Accel-KKR. CEO Gary Barker, who remains at the company with sales director Simon Whale and client services director Matthew Goddard, said his team plans "to create new technological and digital innovations that will enable our clients to grow revenues, save costs and address a continually evolving legislative landscape”. Countrywide, Knight Frank and Savills are among Reapit's customers.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
US researchers develop medication-releasing smart bandages
 These Bandages Release Medication On a Predetermined Schedule

A group of researchers working out of Harvard Medical School, MIT and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have developed a high-tech smart bandage that is capable of releasing medication over a period of time based on a pre-programmed schedule.

This smart bandage is constructed out of conductive fibers that heat up when the embedded microcontroller sends a voltage signal. When the fibers heat up, they heat up a gel that they are coated with, releasing them into the wearer's wound.

What's great about this smart bandage is that it can be controlled by a smartphone, making it possible for medication schedules to be entered into a phone so that manual oversight isn't necessary to ensure timely medication release.

Output: A smart bandage has been developed that automatically releases doses of medication at pre-determined intervals. Operated by a smartphone, the bandage is made up of conductive fibres coated with a medicated gel that is released into a patient's wound when programmed. It has been developed by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Harvard Medical School.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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FreeMilk malware used e-mail conversations to infect networks
 Victims of the highly-targeted FreeMilkphishing campaign include a bank, a services firm and an international sporting group. Image: iStock

Hackers are intercepting legitimate email conversations between individuals and hijacking them to spread malware to corporate networks by using highly-customised phishing messages designed to look as if the victim is still communicating with the person they were originally messaging.

The target still believes they're in contact with the person they were originally messaging, but in fact they have fallen victim to a highly targeted cyber attack and may have infected their network via a malicious attachment.

Attacks using this technique and have already infiltrated several networks, including those of a Middle Eastern bank, European intellectual services firms, an international sporting organisation and 'individuals with indirect ties to a country in North East Asia'

Dubbed FreeMilk - after words found in the malware's code - by the Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 researchers who uncovered the campaign, these attacks have been active since at least May 2017.

The attack leverages CVE-2017-0199, a remote code execution vulnerability in the way Microsoft Office and Wordpad parse specially crafted files - which was subsequently patched in April this year.

The exploit allows attackers to take full control of an infected system - likely through credential theft - then intercept in-progress conversations with specific targets using carefully crafted content designed to fool them into installing malware from what the victim believes to be trusted source.

Upon successful execution of a FreeMilk phishing attack, two payloads will be installed on the target system - named PoohMilk and Freenki by researchers.

See also: What is phishing? How to protect yourself from scam emails and more

PoohMilk's primary objective is to run the Freenki downloader. The purposes of Freenki malware are two-fold - the first is to collect information from the host and the second is to act as a second-stage downloader.

Information collected by the malware include username, computer name, ethernet MAC addresses, and running processes. Freenki can also take screenshots of the infected system, with all the information sent to a command server for the attackers to store and use.

Freenki is also capable of downloading further malware to the infected machine, although researchers have so far been unable to identify any additional payloads being dropped.

While the threat actors behind FreeMilk have yet to be formally identified, Unit 42 notes that the PoohMilk loader tool has previously been used to carry out attacks. One campaign saw it distributed in a phishing campaign which saw emails disguised as a security patch in January 2016.

Attackers also attempted to distribute Freeniki in an August 2016 watering-hole attack on an anti-North Korean government website by defectors in the United Kingdom

While researchers describe the FreeMilk spear phishing campaign as limited in the number of attacks carried out, they note that it has a wide range of targets in different regions across the globe.

But by hijacking legitimate conversations, and specially crafting content, the attackers have a high-chance of successfully infecting the individual within the organisation they're targeting.

READ MORE ON CYBER CRIME

Output: Several corporate networks around the world have been infected by malware dubbed FreeMilk, which has intercepted e-mail conversations to deploy malicious payloads without the victims knowing. According to researchers at Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42, the highly targeted phishing attacks have been taking place since May, and victims have included an international sporting organisation and a Middle Eastern bank. The malware downloads two payloads, one of which collects data including username and ethernet MAC addresses. The hackers behind the malware have yet to be identified.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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iMedTech to 3D-print breast implants for poor cancer survivors
 Oct 6, 2017 | By Julia

Just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, South African prosthetics company iMedTech has launched a new initiative for low-income breast cancer survivors. Spearheaded by iMedTech founder and acclaimed mechanical engineer Nneile Nkholise, the new project aims to 3D print 1000 prosthetic breasts for 1000 mastectomy patients in need.

While 3D printed prosthetics are nothing new, Nkholise’s initiative focuses squarely on the underrepresented issue of artificial breast forms. It’s a type of prosthetic that’s often overlooked by the mainstream media, yet just as important as 3D printed limbs such as arms and legs when considering the trauma of breast cancer survivors. Take into account the target group of low-income South African women, who lack the resources and funds necessary to acquire a prosthetic, and the iMedTech plan pretty much tops the list of the best news we’ve heard all week.

As an award-winning technologist, Nkholise is no stranger to groundbreaking innovation. At only 28-years-young, the South African engineer is the founder of iMedTech Group, a Thaba Nchu-based organization that fabricates prostheses using additive manufacturing technology. The idea was born out of Nkholise’s graduate research at the Central University of Technology, where she discovered that the same methods for treating burn victims and patients with facial deformations can be used to benefit women who have undergone a mastectomy.

Since graduating several years ago, Nkholise has applied her research extensively in the fields of education and technology. Beyond her work with iMedTech, the up-and-coming social entrepreneur is also renowned for project Minute Words, a fun, educational game that uses 3D printed components to engage primary school students in building their vocabulary.

With iMedTech, Nkholise is keen to see those educational opportunities extended to young African women as well. The progressive organization boasts a primary commitment to employ African women under the age of 30 with research experience in mechanical engineering, thus providing a professional platform for innovation and industry development for those often excluded from the field. We all know being a black woman in tech isn’t easy (to say the least), but with iMedTech, Nkholise is carving a new space for others like her to grow, learn, and thrive.

So far, her hard work has already started to pay off. Nkholise recently represented South Africa at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in San Francisco, and was named one of Africa’s top female innovators at the World Economic Forum last year. The iMedTech founder has also been featured in Forbes Africa Woman magazine, and has participated in the Discovery MedTech Silicon Valley program and Tony Elumelu Foundation. By showing just how much rural African women are capable of achieving in the tech world when given the opportunity, Nkholise is quickly changing the perception that technological advancement can only emerge from first-world nations.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Output: South African prosthetics firm iMedTech plans to 3D-print prosthetic breast implants for 1,000 low-income breast cancer survivors. Company founder Nneile Nkholise used her prior experience in mechanical engineering to launch the initiative, using additive manufacturing technology to create the artificial breasts.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Fundstrat creates five cryptocurrency-tracking indexes
 Investors can then analyze the relative performance of different digital currencies within the indexes, similar to how the advance-decline line of the number of S&P 500 stocks rising versus falling on a given day can indicate the health of the market.

Fundstrat's indexes track a total of 630 digital currencies, divided into five groups by market capitalization and trading volume.

In July, Lee, former chief equity strategist at JPMorgan Chase, boldly predicted bitcoin could be worth more than $20,000 by 2022. On Friday, it hit a high for the day of $4,417.45. He was the first major Wall Street strategist to formally present his views on bitcoin, and remains the only one.

Fundstrat Global Advisors' Thomas Lee said in a report Friday that the FS Crypto FX indexes are for institutional investors "to better understand the evolution and behavior of crypto-currencies."

A prominent Wall Street strategist who predicted bitcoin could more than quadruple in value in five years has created five indexes to track digital currencies.

The advance-decline line for digital currencies peaked in June, Fundstrat technical strategist Rob Sluymer, said. "It gives us a sense that something's happening in the cryptocurrency move, that you don't have the same speculative move as you had in the first quarter, second quarter," Sluymer told CNBC in a phone interview.

The five indexes Fundstrat has created are:

FS Crypto 10 — tracks the 10 largest and most liquid digital currencies including bitcoin, ethereum

FS Crypto 40 — tracks the top 11 to 50 digital currencies by market value and liquidity including NEM, bitconnect and Lisk.

FS Crypto 250 — tracks the top 51 to 300 cryptocurrencies by market value and liquidity including BitcoinDark, Singular DTV and FirstCoin.

FS Crypto 300 — tracks the 300 largest digital currencies by market value and liquidity.

FS Crypto Aggregate — tracks the performance of 630 digital currencies.

Fundstrat said it uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the weighting of each coin in an index, which is reconstituted every quarter. The indexes are intended for research right now, rather than supporting any investment products, Sluymer told CNBC

Some digital currency enthusiasts have already created their own indexes. In July, tech entrepreneur Roger Bryan launched the Digital Currency Index, which tracks 30 significant digital currencies. William Mougayar, a venture capitalist who organized the Token Summit in New York this May, announced Thursday he is launching the William Mougayar High Growth Cryptoassets Index, tracking a basket of 15 digital currencies.

The development of the digital currency indexes also reflects the growth of the market to a size that may be increasingly attractive to institutional investors, Fundstrat's Lee said in the report. He pointed out daily trading volume in the 10 largest digital currencies is a "surprisingly high" $3.5 billion.

In his Friday analysis, Lee also noted that even a 2 percent allocation to digital currencies would have added about 2.29 percent to total return for a traditional portfolio with 60 percent allocation to stocks and 40 percent to bonds.

Digital currencies like bitcoin have soared to record highs this year amid increased interest, particularly from institutional investors.

Bitcoin is up more than four times in value for the year, according to CoinDesk. Ethereum traded mildly higher on Friday near $302, up more than 3,000 percent for the year.

To be sure, digital currencies tend to be highly volatile and the majority have tiny market capitalizations.

Only 11 cryptocurrencies have a market capitalization above $1 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. About 345 digital currencies have a market value between $1 million and $100 million. The largest digital currency by market cap, bitcoin, has a market value of $72 billion, slightly less than that of Adobe .

The Fundstrat report also included technical analysis of some of the largest digital currencies by market cap.

For bitcoin, Sluymer doesn't expect its price to break above $4,800 to $5,000 before the end of this year. Ethereum also appears to be struggling for further gains, but the price should not fall below $206 or $195, Sluymer said.

Disclaimer

Output: Fundstrat Global Advisors has launched five FS Crypto FX indexes to give institutional investors insight into 630 cryptocurrencies. The indexes include FS Crypto 10, which tracks the 10 largest cryptocurrencies; FS Crypto 40, tracking the next 40, and; the FS Crypto Aggregate, covering all 630. Co-founder Thomas Lee has predicted bitcoin's value will top $20,000 by 2022 from its present value of around $4,417.