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GE Aviation begins testing alcohol-to-jet fuel from Gevo
 Jet engines provider GE Aviation, part of General Electric Co (NYSE:GE), has started jet engine combustor component testing with Gevo's renewable alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ), the US biofuels firm said today.

The jet fuel being tested is comprised 100% of Gevo's ATJ. The trial is part of a programme of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) programme, and is aimed at enabling greater displacement of petroleum-based jet fuel by bio-based alternative products.

"Efforts such as this one are expected to help accelerate the transition from petroleum-based fuels to more environmentally friendly ones," said Gurhan Andac, engineering leader, aviation fuels and additives at GE Aviation.

According to Gevo's chief executive Patrick Gruber the future is to replace the whole barrel of oil with bio-based hydrocarbons.

The biofuels firm says its ATJ has the potential to improve performance by providing greater energy density which translates into better mileage.

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Output: Jet engines vendor GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, has initiated trials of a jet engine combustor component with US biofuels business Gevo's renewable alcohol-to-jet fuel (ATJ). The trial is being carried out as part of the Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) programme from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), and is aimed at facilitating the replacement of petroleum-based jet fuel with environmentally friendly options.


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Facebook plans to promote videos more prominently in News Feed
 Facebook has announced plans to promote videos more prominently inside its News Feed, using the central feature of its main app to build more interest in the original video content it has created and compete more directly with YouTube. As part of the plans, it will also change the kind of advertisements that run in videos on its network.

Among the ad changes that the social network has announced is the introduction of pre-roll advertising, which is being tested in environments where users “intentionally go to watch videos”, such as its recently-added Watch tab. The introduction of pre-roll is part of the company’s plans to make its platforms more appealing to video creators, who have so far overwhelmingly used channels like Google’s YouTube and Twitter’s now-defunct Vine.

The changes to the News Feed will mean that users are more likely to see videos that Facebook thinks they want to watch, based on pages they have liked and behavioural data from the site, for example presenting new episodes of shows if users have watched earlier episodes.

“Today, the majority of video discovery and watch time happens in News Feed,” said Maria Angelidou-Smith, product management director at Facebook in a blog post announcing the changes. “News Feed provides a great opportunity for publishers and creators to reach their audience, drive discovery, and start to build deeper connections for their content.

“While News Feed will remain a powerful place for publishers and creators to grow and connect with their audience, over time we expect more repeat viewing and engagement to happen in places like Watch. The Discover tab in Watch will also prioritise shows that people come back to. As new shows build audiences, places like Watch are well suited for people to predictably catch up on the latest episodes and content from their favourite publishers and creators, and engage in a richer social viewing experience.”

Among the other changes announced in the post were that Facebook will no longer allow ads in the middle of videos unless they are at least three minutes long, which the company hopes will encourage companies and creators to produce longer content, and that only pages with more than 50,000 followers will be able to insert ads into Live Videos, to ensure that advertisers can be guaranteed a substantial audience and the videos meet Facebook’s Content Guidelines for Monetisation.

Output: Facebook will emphasise video content and optimise video ads within its News Feed feature as the social media giant looks to compete directly with YouTube. Users will see more video content tailored according to what other content they've engaged with. Other changes will see pre-roll advertising tested within Facebook's new Watch tab; the banning of ads in videos shorter than three minutes; and, the insertion of ads into the post popular Live Videos.


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Business Insider to launch Spanish-language site before new year
 While some publishers are slowing their global expansion pace, Business Insider remains bullish about its growth overseas. The publisher has moved aggressively into Europe in the last three years, launching seven local-language sites. Next up: Spain.

Business Insider will launch a Spanish-language site before the end of this month. The publisher has been able to extend its global footprint quickly by partnering with local publishers that understand BI’s specific style and tone. In Spain, BI’s partner will be its own parent company’s Axel Springer España.

BI Spain will have 13 editorial staffers, including Axel Springer España staffers and freelancers, and 14 sales employees — three of whom will be devoted to BI and the rest from Axel Springer España, which publishes magazines in the motor, technology and entertainment sectors, including Auto Bild, Top Gear and Computer Hoy. Upday, Axel Springer’s news aggregator app that comes installed on Samsung phones, is also included in the portfolio.

The editorial staff won’t be starting from scratch. BI attracts an average of 200,000 to 300,000 monthly visitors from Spain to the English-language version of the site, according to Roddy Salazar, BI’s vp of international. The publisher has learned from experience that once it adds locally sourced, original content in the local language into the mix, that traffic figure multiplies by 10, Salazar said. He hopes the launch of the Spanish site will open the door to a Latin American audience, which would make it likely that the publisher invests there. As it stands, South Africa is next in line for a site launch.

The plan is for a minimum of a third of all content to be original for the Spanish site, and then translate other stories created by its U.S. and U.K. sites that are relevant to the market. Axel Springer España has a well-established video production team, so that will also be a big focus for BI’s Spanish edition, according to Salazar.

Translating articles remains an arduously slow, manual task for many publishers, including BI. The publisher is exploring new ways to speed up translation efforts across its international titles.

BI has partnered with local publishers in each European market it expands to: Bonnier Media in the Nordics, Prisma Media in France, GEDI Gruppo Editoriale in Italy, Grupa Onet in Poland and Finanzen (also part of Axel Springer) in Germany. Salazar is meticulous about how he picks partners, choosing those who not only understand what BI is about as a brand but can prove agility in their own operations. “There is no cookie-cutter approach; each one is very different,” said Salazar.

Business Insider’s international audience is larger than its domestic one, meaning the publisher is still pursuing overseas growth. As many digital media publishers have learned the hard way, building an large audience isn’t always matched with big revenue. Added to that, for U.S. publishers in particular, launching in European markets is tougher than it may appear. Budgets are far smaller than in the U.S. and fragmented across different markets, which can be a barrier for publishers hoping to tap pan-Europe budgets. Salazar admitted that international revenue is not yet reflective of the size of its audience, but he believes it will be in time.

BI has addressed the thorny issue of tackling market-fragmented budgets by creating a European sales network, run by BI’s 12-person London sales team. This network allows clients to run the same campaign in the markets BI operates in, in local languages. Adding Spanish-language inventory to the mix helps complete the offering, according to Salazar. “This consolidates our European footprint into a really attractive package,” he said. “Spain was the last key market in Europe for us to be a part of this pan-regional product.”

Output: Business Insider looks set to continue its overseas expansion with the opening of a new Spanish-language site. The site will hold 13 editorial staffers and 14 sales employees. Business Insider plans for one-third of the site's features to be original Spanish-language content, while the remainder will be translated from the US and UK sites. VP of international at Business Insider, Roddy Salazar, said he hopes the move will open the door to a new Latin American audience.


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Microsoft enhances Bing search engine with AI
 The new features aim to add more nuance to answers given on search queries

MANILA, Philippines – Microsoft announced Wednesday, December 13 (December 14, Manila time) it was adding some new features to its Bing search engine. These include incorporation of its artificial intelligence (AI) research to provide smarter answers to search queries, as well as a partnership with Reddit.

The AI research aims to provide better nuance to search query answers. The features rolling out today, Microsoft said, include intelligent search, conversational search and intelligent image search.

In terms of adding nuance, one of the advancements they’re touting is a new capability to find multiple viewpoints on a search query.

For instance, asking Bing, “Is cholesterol bad?” brings up different perspectives – so you can apply the searched information depending on your particular situation – rather than a black and white answer.

“We want to be able to find the answers and the results that are the most comprehensive, the most relevant and the most trustworthy,” Microsoft corporate vice president for AI products Jordi Ribas said.

“Often people are seeking answers that go beyond something that is a mathematical equation. We want to be able to frame those opinions and articulate them in a way that’s also balanced and objective,” Ribas added.

Along with AI improvements comes a partnership with Reddit to integrate content from crowdsourced Ask Me Anything sessions (AMAs) and other posts from Reddit communities within Bing search results.

While Reddit can help Bing provide detailed answers to specialized questions, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian meanwhile said Microsoft complements Reddit with its ability to quantify and analyze the Reddit dataset to deliver useful information through search results on Bing.

Speaking of the power of Bing and Reddit, he said, “We can actually handle complicated, nuanced questions.” – Rappler.com

Output: Microsoft has made a number of enhancements to its search engine, Bing, by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide more nuanced answers to search queries. The new features include displaying multiple viewpoints on issues, rather than giving them simple answers. The company has also announced a new partnership with social media platform Reddit to make use of content generated by its Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions. The development is aimed at helping Bing handle more complicated questions from users.


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Curisium wins funding to develop blockchain for medical payments
 Curisium announced that it has raised $3.5 million in seed financing to advance its blockchain platform for healthcare.

With nearly one-third of the payments in the $2.7 trillion U.S. healthcare market already tied to some form of alternative payment model, the company said it will use the investment to advance its technology.

The Curisium platform deploys blockchain and secure computation technologies to allow payers, providers and life science companies to engage in patient-centric value-based contracts.

[Also: Blockchain beyond EHRs: Transforming value-based payment, precision medicine, patient-centric care]

Healthcare organizations and innovative upstarts initially saw big promise in blockchain’s interoperability, privacy and security, even the the possibility of transforming electronic health record software because the digital ledger technology can, in theory, grant patients more control over their own medical data. And more recently proponents have been saying it could also be used in the pharmacy supply chain to establish a chain-of-custody log that would make it harder for substandard and fraudulent drugs to make their way to market.

Those same characteristics enable similar opportunities for value-based care.

"Payers, providers, and life science companies are increasingly entering into various forms of innovative contracts," said Peter Kim, co-founder and CEO of Curisium. "However, effective implementation today is hampered by costly logistics, lack of trust, and difficulty verifying patient-level outcomes."

[Also: The next big thing in pharmacy supply chain: Blockchain]

Curisium investors in this round include Flare Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Shuttle Fund, Sanofi Ventures and Green Bay Ventures.

Flare Capital co-founder Bill Geary said that by enabling outcome verification at the individual level, the technology could be a foundation for more innovative contracting in the future.

Greg Papadopoulos, venture partner at NEA and former CTO of Sun Microsystems, said it breaks down silos in healthcare with “unique cryptographic guarantees” around its data access.

Papadopoulos and Sanofi chief data officer Milind Kamkolkar joined Curisium's inaugural Industry Advisory Board while Geary and Mohamad Makhzoumi of NEA joined the Curisium board of directors.

Twitter: @JELagasse

Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com

Output: Following a $3.5m seed fund investment, blockchain start-up Curisium has announced plans to develop its blockchain platform for healthcare payments. Curisium's platform uses blockchain technology to enable payers, providers and life science companies to engage in value-based contracts for patients. The investors from this round included Flare Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Green Bay Ventures. Curisium CEO Peter Kim said he hopes to further encourage healthcare stakeholders toward alternative payment methods by using blockchain to get around implementation obstacles caused by "costly logistics, lack of trust and difficulty verifying patient-level outcomes".


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Minimum price would raise cost of 70% of alcoholic drinks: IFS
 Following a recent judgment, the UK Supreme Court confirmed that Scottish Government legislation for a minimum unit price for alcohol is lawful. The Scottish Government plans to introduce the measure on 1 May 2018. Meanwhile, the Welsh National Assembly is considering introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol. In this briefing note, we provide evidence on the likely impact of this type of reform.

The aim of adopting a minimum unit price is to reduce the prevalence of harmful and hazardous drinking. Estimates of the precise magnitude of the social costs of drinking vary, but are invariably high. The Scottish Government cites a study by researchers at the University of York that suggests that the total annual costs of alcohol misuse in Scotland are equivalent to around £900 per adult and the Welsh National Assembly cites research by the University of Sheffield that estimates that the overall cost to society of alcohol misuse in Wales is £15.3 billion over 20 years.

A minimum unit price would make it unlawful to sell alcohol below a price that is based on the alcoholic content of the product. The Scottish Government’s favoured rate is 50 pence per unit of alcohol (a unit is 10ml of pure alcohol). In this briefing note, we show that this would have a substantial impact on off-trade alcohol prices. During the period October 2015 to September 2016, 68% of off-trade alcohol units sold in Britain were priced below the proposed floor, with the average price of these products over 20% below the floor, at around 39 pence per unit. These numbers are similar across Scotland, Wales and England.

The effectiveness of the policy will depend on whether it successfully targets heavy drinkers and how they change their behaviour in response. We provide evidence that heavy drinkers do tend to buy cheap alcohol. This suggests a minimum unit price may well be reasonably well targeted at this group. However, the impact of the policy will depend crucially on the price sensitivity of different types of drinkers, i.e. how much less alcohol they consume in response to a rise in price. We also show that heavier drinkers tend to buy stronger alcohol, suggesting that redesign of the current system of alcohol excise duties could also help target problem drinkers. Tax reform is likely to avoid the main drawback of minimum unit pricing, which is that it boosts the profits of the alcohol industry.

Output: Minimum pricing per unit of alcohol would raise costs of most alcoholic drinks, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). A cost of 50p per unit, which is currently being considered by the Scottish government ahead of its introduction of a minimum price in May, would increase the price of 70% of alcohol purchased in shops. Average price increases would be 35%, but the cost of cheap lagers ciders could rise by 44% and 90% respectively. The IFS stated that there was a “strong case” for revising alcohol duties rather than introducing a minimum price.


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Persimmon chairman resigns over £800m bonus scheme
 The chair of housebuilding firm Persimmon has resigned over his role in orchestrating a £100m-plus bonus for the company’s chief executive, as critics accused the firm of benefiting from the taxpayer-backed help-to-buy scheme.

The huge share award worth around £110m was attacked by politicians, charities and corporate governance experts, who described it as “obscene”, “corporate looting” and a reward based on “taxpayer subsidies”. Persimmon is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the government’s help-to-buy programme, which has lifted sales and boosted house prices across the UK.

Nicholas Wrigley, the company’s chair and a former banker, said he regretted not capping the company’s bonus scheme and was leaving “in recognition of this omission”. The scheme, believed to be Britain’s most generous ever bonus payout, will give more than £500m to 150 senior staff, including the award to the chief executive, Jeff Fairburn.

The Guardian understands Wrigley had put pressure on Fairburn to donate some of his bonus to charity, although Persimmon declined to comment.

The payouts, in company shares that can then be cashed in, are linked to the FTSE 100 company’s dividend payments and stock market performance, which has been significantly boosted by the help-to-buy scheme. Under help to buy, the Treasury provides a loan worth 20% of the value of a property, although the buyer must also provide a 5% deposit from their own funds. The programme has provided a significant boost to property developers’ sales since George Osborne introduced it in 2013.

Persimmon’s share price has more than doubled since help to buy launched in April 2013. About half of Persimmon homes sold last year were to help-to-buy recipients, meaning government money helped finance the sales.

Vince Cable, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, told the Guardian that the “scale of this bonus is obscene” and built on a “government subsidy”.

“It is reminiscent of the worst excesses of corporate greed that helped to create the financial crisis, when short-termism was heavily incentivised and long-term planning ignored,” he said.

Nicholas Wrigley. Photograph: Persimmon/PA

“This is also a perverse situation where a corporate fortune has been built on what is essentially a government subsidy in help to buy. This situation shows just why help to buy is so flawed: it fuels demand rather than supply, putting house prices even further out of reach of young people, while adding zeros to the bank balances of housebuilding executives.”

Fairburn is due to collect the first £50m worth of bonus shares on 31 December. The scheme, which is based on the level of dividend returned to shareholders, was meant to take 10 years to pay out, but the company has accelerated dividend payments.

This means Fairburn, other executives and more than 100 middle managers are likely to collect all of the bonus shares by July 2018, far ahead of the 2021 schedule. Fairburn’s tranche of shares was worth £128m based on Friday night’s closing share price, but he is likely to take home about £110m once he has paid the option prices on the shares.

John Hunter, the chair of the UK Shareholder Association, which represents small investors, said the bonus scheme was “completely ridiculous” and was based solely on the dividend payments.

“Any bloody fool can pay dividends – it’s just paying them their own money. The scheme is doing the opposite of what it is meant to do – incentivise performance and retention,” Hunter said.

“How does this incentivise people when they’re all sitting on fortunes? If you’re a manager and you’re getting millions you would retire on the spot.”

Hunter said Persimmon had defended the scheme, which was approved by 85% of investors in 2012, as a reflection of the company’s strong performance and the billions of pounds it had returned to investors through dividends.

“It has done brilliantly well – with our money,” he said. “Help to buy has been almost a licence to print money – our money. These bonuses are being subsided by us.”

He added: “I don’t blame directors for putting their hands in an open cookie jar – they are only human. The question here is how this scheme ever got approved.”

Jonathan Davie, Persimmon’s senior independent director and chair of the remuneration committee, which sets company pay, also resigned on Thursday.

“Nicholas and Jonathan recognise that the 2012 LTIP [long-term incentive plan] could have included a cap,” the company said in a statement. “In recognition of this omission, they have therefore tendered their resignations.”

Davie resigned with immediate effect. Wrigley will stay on until his successor has been appointed.

“Since 2012, when the capital return plan strategy was launched and the 2012 LTIP was approved by shareholders, the company has made substantial cash returns to shareholders at the same time as increasing the size of the business and delivering significant shareholder value,” Persimmon said in a statement to the stock market.

“Persimmon has delivered an increase in the number of new homes supplied of over 65%, invested £2.9bn in new land, returned 485p per share (£1.5bn) in cash and increased the proposed capital return by 49% to 925p per share, about £2.85bn.”

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), one of the company’s shareholders, said Fairburn should volunteer to forego some of the bonus or make a sizeable donation to charity.

“Whilst we hold the remaining senior management team in high regard, we would ask that the CEO and the remaining members of the pay committee acknowledge their errors and correct them,” Ashley Hamilton Claxton, RLAM’s head of responsible investment, said. “One of the options the CEO could consider would be taking a voluntary reduction, or donating some of the money.”

Garry White, the chief investment commentator at the stockbroker Charles Stanley, said: “The size of these bonuses means management could easily be accused of corporate looting, so shareholders have every right to be unimpressed.”

Output: The chairman of UK housebuilder Persimmon, Nicholas Wrigley, has resigned over his role in a bonus scheme believed to be the largest ever awarded in the UK. The scheme will begin paying over £800m ($1.1bn) to 150 senior staff on New Year’s Eve and will include a £128m bonus for company CEO Jeff Fairburn. Wrigley has expressed regret that he did not cap the widely criticised scheme. Persimmon’s share price more than doubled after the introduction of the government’s help to buy programme in 2013. Jonathan Davie, chairman of the company’s remuneration committee, has also resigned.


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Mutual funds will become 'legacy products', predicts ETF provider
 Factor Investing Strategy Briefing - Thursday 29th June 2023 - The Connaught, Mayfair. Please join us for our annual smart beta and factor investing event, featuring Goldman Sachs Asset Management, FlexShares, First Trust, MSCI and WisdomTree. Please register now if you would like to attend.

Mutual funds will become legacy products within 15 years, with ETF assets in Europe set to treble within the next decade, according to Hector McNeil, chief executive of new white-label ETF provider HANetf.

While market share for passive assets in Europe has reached approximately 15%, the trend towards passive management continues with ETFs leading the charge. According to latest data from London-based ETF industry consultant ETFGI, Europe-listed ETFs have gathered $107 billion in net inflows this year (as of the end of November). Assets invested in Europe-listed ETFs now amount to $789bn, representing an increase of 37.9% from the end of 2016.

“While total assets in passive funds may be relatively low at the moment, we think that, with fees falling and a regulatory backdrop that is conducive to growth, ETFs’ market share could be north of 35% within 5-10 years,” said McNeil. “Crucially, if you look at the numbers now, in the US the majority of new money already goes into ETFs, and Europe is following suit. If this continues – and we think it will – mutual funds could well find themselves consigned to the ‘legacy’ bucket within 15 years.”

McNeil says that while mutual funds will continue to exist in the future, ETFs represent the “digitisation” of the mutual fund industry, with a new generation of investors embracing them as part of a wider technological shift.

“ETFs, far more than traditional mutual funds, are attractive to the next generation of savers and investors who will do everything via their mobile phone and are used to transacting immediately for every product,” he said. “Many new solutions such as robo-advice are also taking a ‘passives-only’ approach when building propositions and we believe active managers will either move to launch new ETFs, or they will merge mutual funds into ETFs, or at least have more characteristics of them.”

McNeil launched HANetf earlier this year alongside partner Nik Bienkowski. The firm provides a turnkey solution for the growing number of US and Asian ETF issuers and traditional asset managers seeking to enter the ETF market in Europe, through a platform which offers services including product development, compliance, operations, capital markets, sales, marketing and distribution.

Output: White-label exchange-traded fund provider HANetf has argued mutual funds are likely to be considered "legacy products" within 15 years, as ETFs rise in popularity. HANetf CEO Hector McNeil describes ETFs as representing the "digitisation" of the mutual fund industry and, in the near future, "active managers will either move to launch new ETFs, or they will merge mutual funds into ETFs, or at least have more characteristics of them". According to ETF industry consultancy ETFGI, assets invested in Europe-listed ETFs amounted to $789bn, an increase of 37.9% from the end of 2016.


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TIAA-owned robo-adviser launches middle-office automation tool
 MyVest, the business-to-business robo-adviser owned by TIAA, has a new technology suite to digitize common middle-office tasks.

The update brings automated daily reconciliation to MyVest’s enterprise wealth management platform, Strategic Portfolio System (SPS). This is integrated with the same database that powers SPS’s core functions like trading, performance measurement, reporting and billing.

“In an environment where margins are under constant strain, improving operational efficiency is imperative,” MyVest CEO Anton Honikman said in a statement. “Our goal is to help firms dramatically scale their middle-office operations, and the best way to do that is by enabling efficiency and risk reduction through digital tools.”

He added that automating daily trade reconciliation, corporate actions processing and cash management “allow us to accurately calculate daily performance, which in turn makes the production of reporting and billing easier compared to those who rely on a monthly or quarterly fire drill.”

GROWING TREND

The launch is part of a growing trend in wealth management to automate adviser workflows.

Kyle Tuskey, the chief operating officer of Deep Systems, a firm that provides operational and IT services, said there’s increasing demand from firms of all sizes for automation of middle-office tasks. Mr. Tuskey said advisers react to news headlines like regulatory changes and robo-advisers by bolting on technology vendors, creating a “hodgepodge solution that are not really fit for the problem they are solving” rather than something integrated.

“Custodians are going to solve their portion of the problem … in the back-office side, sure,” Mr. Tuskey said. “On a full operational level, I don’t think they’re there.”

Sam McIngvale, head of innovation at Apex Clearing, said MyVest’s offering continues an industry trend that firms like Apex already support by providing outsourcing services to advisers. However, Mr. McIngvale said, Apex does not offer middle-office outsourcing.

BUDDING PARTNERSHIP

TIAA partnered with MyVest in 2009 on investment and tax management services before acquiring the technology in 2016 to develop digital advice and financial planning products across TIAA’s products, including banking and retirement plans. In June, TIAA introduced a robo-adviser powered by MyVest to offer clients automated access to active, passive and socially responsible mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

The New York attorney general subpoenaed TIAA in November following a whistleblower complaint alleging the 100-year-old firm pressured employees to sell unsuitable products. A spokesperson for MyVest said the technology provider operates as an individual entity and is not involved in the case.

MyVest also works with large RIAs like Personal Capital, which uses MyVest technology to power a hybrid robo-adviser with $4.3 billion of assets under management as of May 2017. Personal Capital did not respond to questions asking if it would use the new automated middle-office features.

(More: 5 robo-advisers with the most client assets.)

Output: US business-to-business robo-adviser MyVest has introduced a service allowing clients to outsource middle-office functions, such as daily trade reconciliation, corporate actions processing and cash management. MyVest, which is owned by retirement-focused financial services provider TIAA, said the system will make reporting and billing easier for advisory clients and facilitate expansion of middle-office functions. The introduction of the service comes at a time when the investment management industry is focusing on ways of automating advisers' workflow.


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Oscar Health offers customers personalised concierge service
 Oscar Health, the $2.7 billion health insurance startup, wants to have all of its members using concierge medical care in 2018.

The plan to create 'Concierge for All' relies on teams of nurses and other healthcare professionals who work with Oscar to help you navigate everything from insurance benefits to questions about your health.

It's something people often spend tens of thousands of dollars on every year in addition to their traditional insurance.

Oscar Health, the health insurance startup, is giving all of its members access to a team of healthcare professionals they can turn to for help navigating their healthcare.

The service is what's known as concierge care, and it might seem like a foreign concept to most Americans who struggle navigating the often complex and frustrating healthcare market. But such personalized care often comes at a high cost. Some 'boutique' or high-end concierge services can cost as much as $40,000 a year per family, on top of the insurance premiums that family pays.

Oscar is trying to change that. The $2.7 billion health-insurance startup is making a big push to make concierge care the centerpiece of their members' healthcare experience, with all its members using it.

Here's how it works

Oscar members are assigned a personalized concierge team of one nurse and three clinicians with specialized knowledge of the patient's local healthcare networks. The idea is that teams with localized knowledge will be better informed when making recommendations and referrals.

Those healthcare professionals can answer any questions you have about your insurance benefits, or about that strange bump on your neck, help the member get a prescription or a referral to a specialist.

While Oscar members don't physically meet with their teams, they can contact them over the phone or through secure messaging on the company's mobile app.

Concierge nurses will also be able to initiate contact with their patients with the help of clinical dashboards , which collect claims records and other data about the patients' medical history to give nurses more context on a person's health than what they might otherwise learn from electronic health records.

What the inbox in the Oscar app looks like when members interact with their concierge teams. Oscar Health

"One of the things that we are able to do because we have a lot of data is to flag to care teams the suspected conditions that members may have in our clinical dashboard and say 'hey, you really should go in and see a doctor. We think you might have something and you should get some medication for it,'" Chelsea Cooper, Oscar's Senior Vice President of Member & Strategy Operations, told Business Insider. "And that’s something we’re able to do because we’re a tech company."

Since launching its concierge services in full earlier this year, Oscar says 70% of its roughly 90,000 members have interacted with a concierge team, although those who engaged had an average of only three interactions. The company says concierge care has even helped its members save money on out-of-network costs.

Now Oscar is trying to universalize the service with a "Concierge for All" campaign to encourage 100% of its members to start using it next year.

"We think healthcare is very personal and that these changes really matter," Cooper said. "You want to know the [concierge team] so that you can trust them and take their recommendations about which doctor to go to and whether you should go to the ER or an urgent care facility. We try to build that connection."

Surviving as the market shifts

Dr. Winslow Murdoch of West Chester, PA, examines a patient, Joseph Balinski, at his concierge practice in 2005. Bradley C. Bower/AP

The future of American healthcare has taken on new dimensions over the last year as President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress attempt to repeal Obamacare. But Oscar keeps pushing forward.

Earlier this year, Oscar announced it would start offering health insurance plans alongside the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio for the first time. In 2018, it plans to expand coverage from three states to six.

Despite its optimism, Oscar is not immune to the financial challenges of the turbulent healthcare market.

Last month, Oscar reported a $96 million third quarter loss across the three states where it currently sells coverage, according to Forbes. Although it was an improvement from the same quarter in 2016, it was in line with a continuing losses the company has experienced since its founding in 2012.

But Oscar's chief technology officer Alan Warren told Business Insider in June that such challenges, including the political debate over healthcare in Washington, will ultimately do little to deter the company from carrying out its mission. When the Trump administration slashed Obamacare advertising funding by 90% earlier this year, for example, Oscar ratcheted up its own advertising campaign in New York just in time for the most recent open enrollment period, which ends on Friday.

Output: Health insurance start-up Oscar plans to give all its customers access to a "concierge" service advising them on their healthcare choices. Customers will be able to contact a team of one nurse and three clinicians that will have detailed knowledge of local healthcare networks, enabling them to offer advice and make referrals. Oscar says 70% of its customer base has interacted with a concierge team, adding the service can help save money in out-of-network costs.


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Canadian drivers are 'not fans' of telematics
 Opportunities for “broker-driven” usage-based auto insurance are likely to be down the road, but brokers are telling a large Canadian mutual that their insurance customers don’t want their insurers monitoring how they use their vehicles.

“Our brokers are advising us that our customers are not fans of telematics,” Wawanesa chief strategy officer Carol Jardine told Canadian Underwriter this week.

Insurers using telematics to determine auto rates include The Co-operators Group Ltd., Canadian Automobile Association (CAA)’s club in south central Ontario, Intact Financial Corp. and Desjardins General Insurance Group.

Some insurers monitor the times their customers drive, along with total distance driven and behaviour such as sudden acceleration and hard braking. Ontario’s regulator allows carriers to offer discounts for low-risk behaviours, but does not let carriers raise rates for risky behaviours.

“Our customers that buy from our brokers do not wish to have a telematics device installed in their car,” Jardine said. “Whether they are concerned about privacy, or monitoring of their driving behaviour, lots of people don’t like telematics and our brokers are telling us that the customers who like telematics are not the customers of our brokers.”

IBAO announced in 2013 that it was teaming up with Ingenie Canada to roll out telematics in Ontario, underwritten by Aviva. But in 2016, IBAO president Traci Boland said the association was no longer offering it.

“I just don’t think the marketplace was at the right position for that product at the time,” IBAO CEO Colin Simpson told Canadian Underwriter in a recent interview. “I think it was the right thing to do at the time because it brought a lot of attention to the use of data, the role of the broker, but as technology advances, then you really need to be a specialist in that field to be able to be effective at it.”

It is unlikely IBAO will launch a similar program, Simpson added.

“The IBAO is not skilled to implement something like that,” he said of telematics. “I am sure there are going to be opportunities for broker-driven solutions to be put in the marketplace. Whether IBAO drives that, I don’t know.”

Using telematics “could conceivably” reduce claims costs, A.M. Best Company Inc. associate director Raymond Thomson told Canadian Underwriter recently.

But the Financial Services Commission says there are “no studies or reviews that provide actuarial evidence to quantify” the effectiveness of telematics in Ontario.

Desjardins lets vehicle owners save up to 25% on their premium. CAA also offers discounts, advising drivers to they can get a higher discount if they avoid speeding, avoid driving between 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. and driver fewer than 12,000 km a year.

Output: Motor insurance brokers in Canada are telling underwriters that their customers don't like being monitored by telematics devices while driving, according to Carol Jardine, the chief strategy officer at Wawanesa Insurance, who said "our customers are not fans of telematics". She added that drivers were also concerned about data privacy. Telematics data can be used to offer safer drivers discounts on their insurance rates, with insurers like Desjardins General Insurance offering less risky customers reductions of up to 25% on their premiums. However, Ontario regulators do not allow more risky driving behaviour to attract higher premiums.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
China's CITIC to take over New Zealand skincare firm Trilogy
 Angela Buglass, chief executive of Trilogy International. Photo / Supplied

China's biggest conglomerate, CITIC, said it planned to buy all the shares in NZX-listed skincare company Trilogy, at $2.90 a share, valuing the company at $250 million.

CITIC Capital China Partners, a buyout fund managed by the private equity arm of CITIC Capital Holdings, said it had entered into a scheme implementation agreement with Trilogy.

The offer price represents a 27.8 per cent premium to Trilogy's last closing share price and a 28.1 per cent premium to the three-month volume weighted average share price.

Trilogy's directors intend to unanimously recommend to all shareholders that they vote in favour of the scheme, including its largest shareholder, The Business Bakery, which holds 31.2 per cent, CITIC said.

Hanxi Zhao, senior managing director of CITIC Capital, said CITIC Capital wanted to boost Trilogy's global growth.

"Trilogy owns very strong brands in its respective beauty and lifestyle sectors, including Trilogy, Goodness, Lanocreme and ECOYA," she said.

"Its flagship brand, Trilogy, is a leading premium brand in the natural skincare space and has been highly recognised by skincare experts, celebrities and consumers all over the world," Zhao said.

Angela Buglass, Trilogy's chief executive said:

"CITIC Capital will bring added capability necessary to build our brands on a truly global scale, better serve our customers and consumers, and provide new career opportunities for our people," said in a statement.

"To have inbound private investment from a private equity firm to take us to the next level is super exciting. We've told the team today, and effectively from a day-to-day operations point of view there is no change apart from our investors going from one large group of shareholders to one major shareholder."

Trilogy's chairman Grant Baker said:

"The board strongly encourages shareholders to exercise their right to vote either in person or by proxy, and to seek independent advice as necessary."

"As the owners of TIL, by voting, shareholders can have their say in determining the future of their investment in TIL. The vote of every single shareholder counts in order to reach the required thresholds," Baker said in a note posted to the NZX.

A shareholder meeting over the deal will be held in March.

Trilogy shares have been on a rollercoaster ride over the last two years, topping out at $4.92 in August last year. The stock jumped 21 per cent to $2.75 in trading this afternoon.

Output: Chinese conglomerate CITIC is to buy all shares in New Zealand skincare company Trilogy at NZD2.90 a share, valuing Trilogy at NZD250m ($175m). "CITIC Capital will bring added capability necessary to build our brands on a truly global scale, better serve our customers and consumers, and provide new career opportunities for our people," said Trilogy's CEO, Angela Buglass. Trinity's directors have said they will vote unanimously to recommend shareholders accept the deal.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
China subtly wooing next generation of African elites from home
 Juba, South Sudan

Anthony Kpandu took a delegation from his party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), to China last year to train with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Kpandu is in charge of special working groups at the general secretariat for the SPLM, the liberation movement turned government party that helped South Sudan gain independence from Sudan in 2011. Wearing a button that says, “I love SPLM,” a paisley tie, and a loose tan jacket, he reminisces about his trip to China in detail, down to every day’s itinerary.

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They visited the Central Party school in Beijing, toured industrial zones, drank various types of green tea, and walked part of the Great Wall. Kpandu’s favorite part was Shanghai, with its glittery commercial district, Pudong, high-speed Maglev train, and sprawling airport. “It was magnificent. You can’t believe it, but it’s there. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says from his office in Juba.

In the 1970s, China actively tried to export its communist revolution to Africa, one of Beijing’s few diplomatic engagements at the time. Now, Beijing is promoting a more subtle movement: support for China and and its model of development. Instead of relying on Chinese emissaries in African countries, Beijing is bringing thousands of African leaders, bureaucrats, students, and business people to China.

It’s a campaign that achieves several goals at once. The trips help solidify political and business ties between China and its partners on the continent. Like other development partners, China gets to help build capacity in African countries. Most importantly these exchanges cultivate partners on the continent who are more likely to be sympathetic to China and its way of doing things.

China has been hosting these trainings and exchanges in Africa since as far back as the 1950s when it first established diplomatic ties with Egypt. Over the past decade, the trainings have grown in both volume and profile. Kenya’s Jubilee party, created before the country’s contentious election this year, received trainings from the Chinese Communist Party in China. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front also takes inspiration from the the CCP while South Africa’s African National Congress regularly attends workshops in China and has modeled some of its party trainings on the CCP.

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China is particularly interested in the next generation of African elites. Last year, Beijing announced it would invite 1,000 young African politicians for trainings in China, after hosting more than 200 between 2011 and 2015. Thousands of African students are pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in China on scholarship programs funded by Beijing. As of this year, more Anglophone African students study in China than the United States or the United Kingdom, their traditional destinations of choice.

Chinese officials are quick to say these scholarships and trainings are not an attempt to remake Africa in its own image. In theme with China’s self-avowed policy of noninterference, Beijing likes to stress that it does not tell its partners what to do.

“We’re not saying the Chinese model should be copied but to share lessons. It’s to give them the concepts so that they can adapt and find their own solutions,” says Zhang Yi, China’s economic attache in Juba.

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“When you go to China they will not be talking about democracy.”

But South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, may be particularly impressionable. It is still developing its government institutions and political system, amid a four-year civil war that has split the former liberation party into several factions. China, which has major oil interests in the country, was one of the first countries to recognize South Sudan and remains engaged with the country, with 2,600 peacekeepers and more than 100 Chinese businesses and investors.

“The SPLM seems to believe that given shared experience in historical struggle against imperialism and colonialism, there are much similarity and common ground between SPLM and the [Chinese Communist Party’s] origins,” says Yun Sun, a fellow at Brookings Institution who has written about party to party exchanges between China and African countries.

“It does raise the question what kind of political future South Sudan faces as a result. If we do believe in the universality and desirability of the democratic system, the model represented by the Chinese experience and its popularity may not be the most encouraging,” she says.

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Hundreds of South Sudanese government officials, business people, and students, attend training or schooling in China, every year. Delegations from the SPLM in Juba travel to China several times a year to study with the communist party. Bureaucrats from the government’s ministries of culture, transport, health and more go every month for trainings. Even before South Sudan became an official state, officials were hosted in China to attend workshops on poverty alleviation, managing public opinion, and building a party.

China has given at least 4,100 scholarships and training programs to South Sudanese students and officials since 2011, when the young country was established. In August, China pledged to offer at least 240 more scholarships. The China-South Sudan Friendship Association, headed by a former foreign minister and partly sponsored by the Chinese embassy, embeds South Sudanese business people with Chinese companies.

South Sudanese and Chinese officials like to say they are learning from each other, sharing experiences from one former liberation movement to another. Both the Chinese Communist Party and the SPLA grew out of armed guerrilla movements. The SPLM fought for decades for independence from the north. The party also has its roots in socialism, identifying first with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the SPLM turned to the United States as an ally but even today, SPLM officials still use the title “comrade.”

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But that’s where the similarities end. The Chinese communist party transformed itself into a government that maintains one-party rule over a country that is mostly one ethnicity, Han Chinese. In contrast, the SPLM in Juba is locked in a civil war with splinter parties, divided by region and ethnicity in a country home to more than 60 ethnic groups.

Zhang, China’s economic attaché to Juba, believes some aspects of China’s model of government could help South Sudan, for instance, a stronger central government. “There’s no history of a centralized government in the past, which means there’s no process of nationalism. So the people, they still stay grouped by tribe.”

But not all lessons from China should be learned. Under Xi Jinping, China has tightened its stranglehold over civil society. South Sudan is already familiar with some of these tactics. Local journalists are intimidated into silence or killed.

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“When you go to China they will not be talking about democracy,” says Samson Wasara, vice chancellor at the University of Bahr el Ghazel in Wau state, where he says as many as 300 graduate students are pursuing degrees in China. “In 10 years time, one of [these students] will be the leader of South Sudan.”

Wasara fears the SPLM already sees the Chinese communist party as its role model, a trend that he sees replicated across the continent. ”Most Africans are switching from the West to China,” he says. He worries that China will become South Sudan’s main role model. The United States and other Western powers supported South Sudan’s bid for independence and are still involved in aid and mediation efforts in the country today. “It will be a disaster for us, especially for those who know the value of human rights, democracy, free speech,” Wasara says.

That may already be happening. The SPLM is at least taking inspiration from the CCP. Kpandu says he reads from his copy of Concise History of the Chinese Communist Party every day. He wants to establish a youth arm of the SPLM, modeled after the Communist Youth League of China. After reading about Mao Zedong’s famous declaration that women “hold up half the sky,” he has pledged to recruit more women into the party.

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“China has been an example to us. We will always look up to them,” he says from his office at the General Secretariat for the SPLM. The secretariat manages the day to day operations of the party, and he is preparing an SPLM training on code of conduct and party structure.

Kpandu says South Sudan won’t copy everything from China, claiming that South Sudan won’t be a one-party state. President Silva Kir, head of the SPLM in Juba, is pushing for an election in 2018 despite warnings from the United Nations that a legitimate election is near impossible and risks causing more violence. Others say that African elites and students select what lessons they choose to take from China’s example.

“The young Africans are not robots and tabula rasa such that the Chinese will just stuff them with whatever they want. The students will take the best of China and leave the bad there in China and go back to Africa,” says Adams Bodomo, director of the Global African Diaspora Studies Research Platform and professor of African studies at the University of Vienna.

The exchanges and scholarships may be more about inspiring admiration and sympathy than emulation. Others who have attended diplomatic trainings say the teaching is basic — how to shake hands or how to sit with a senior dignitary. (If you’re the host, the dignitary should be to your right.)

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A South Sudanese diplomat who spent a month in China for a training of diplomats said his trip was mostly focused on showing off China’s achievements. He was taken to visit villages built from scratch, well-run rural hospitals.

“When we went they told us a lot of stuff about China itself and China’s industrialization. It’s more about public relations,” he says, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to media.

This public relations campaign is at least partly working. The so-called China model is gaining traction across the African continent. According to an Afrobarometer survey last year of 56,000 people in 36 African countries, 30% of respondents said the United States was a better model for development, compared 24% who ranked China first. In Southern Africa, North Africa, and Central Africa, China was on par or ahead of the US.

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On his trip to China, Kpandu was also impressed with the surveillance. He visited a police control room in Nanjing and when his group was taken to a special economic zone outside the southern Chinese city, a drone filmed them the entire 72 mile journey.

Back in Juba, he wrote a report recommending his government buy some of these drones to deal with “unknown gunmen,” a moniker that often includes government soldiers themselves known for robbing and attacking civilians in the capital. “We have learned quite a lot from the CCP,” he says.

Output: In the past China sent emissaries to promote its brand of communism to Africa. In a change of tactics, it now invites thousands of political leaders, bureaucrats, students and businesspeople to China for training and exchanges. Beijing has hosted such events for decades but over the past 10 years has intensified the programme. It's seen as useful in cementing political and business ties, helps develop local African economies and fosters sympathetic sentiment towards China among the continent's next generation of elites.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
BP's upgraded supercomputer is world's fastest commercial machine
 BP has announced that it has more than doubled the total computing power of its Center for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) in Houston, making it the most powerful supercomputer in the world for commercial research.

Increased computing power, speed and storage reduce the time needed to analyse large amounts of seismic data to support exploration, appraisal and development plans as well as other research and technology developments throughout BP.

“Our investment in supercomputing is another example of BP leading the way in digital technologies that deliver improved safety, reliability and efficiency across our operations and give us a clear competitive advantage,” said Ahmed Hashmi, BP’s head of upstream technology.

The Center for High-Performance Computing provides critical support to BP's upstream business segment, where it serves as the worldwide hub for research computing. BP’s computer scientists and mathematicians at the CHPC have enabled industry breakthroughs in advanced seismic imaging and rock physics research to help with reservoir modelling.

BP’s downstream business also is using the supercomputer for fluid dynamic research to study hydrocarbon flows at refineries and pipelines to improve operational safety.

Working with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Intel using HPE’s Apollo System and Intel’s Knights Landing processors, the recent upgrade has boosted the processing speed of BP’s supercomputer from 4 petaflops to 9 petaflops. A petaflop of processing speed is one thousand trillion floating point operations, or 'flops,' per second.

The supercomputer has a total memory of 1140 terabytes (1.14 petabytes) and 30 petabytes of storage, the equivalent of over 500 000 iPhones.

“With the expansion and new systems in place, BP will be able to further bolster its capabilities to accurately process and manage vast amounts of seismic data to identify new business opportunities and improve operational efficiency,” said Alain Andreoli, senior vice president and general manager, Data Center Infrastructure Group, Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Since the CHPC opened in 2013, BP has quadrupled its computing power and doubled its storage capacity and plans to continue expanding its computing capability in 2018.

Output: BP has more than doubled the total computing power of its Center for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) in Houston, creating the most powerful supercomputer in the world for commercial research. The extra muscle will reduce the time needed to analyse large amounts of seismic data to support exploration, appraisal and development plans as well as other research and technology developments throughout the company. BP has used the machine to achieve breakthroughs in advanced seismic imaging and rock physics research that help with reservoir modelling. Its downstream business also uses the supercomputer for fluid dynamic research.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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UK cardboard recycling could see serious impact from China ban
 Imminent restrictions by the Chinese on importing cardboard from the rest of the world are likely to cause chaos in the UK in the coming weeks, according to a leading recycling expert.

From 1 January, China will impose much stricter quality restrictions on imported cardboard as well as banning the importation of all plastic waste and mixed paper rubbish from all over the world. The move is part of president Xi Jinping’s drive to create a “beautiful China” with a clean environment.

The new quality standards mean cardboard will only be accepted by the Chinese if the material is uncontaminated with other waste products. From January, contamination rates must be below 0.5%, rather than the 1.5% previously applied.

This means cardboard which still contains staples or is contaminated with grit from the warehouse, or contains stray waste products such as tin cans or traces of plastic, could be rejected and sent back on container ships to the UK and other countries of origin.

The UK exports around 3m tonnes of cardboard waste to China each year but some or all of this could be rejected under the new restrictions.

Simon Ellin, of the Recycling Association, says the tighter controls on contamination could mean some or all of the millions of tonnes of cardboard waste exported from the UK to China each year could be rejected and sent back. He appealed for the Chinese to delay implementation of the new standards until other countries were ready.

He spoke as the World Trade Organization ended talks with China over the impending ban with no change to the Chinese position. Ellin said, after discussion with recycling representatives in the US and Europe, it was clear no one was prepared for the new standards. Chinese officials were also unclear about what the new quality standards mean and what waste they could accept, he said.

“The ban and greater restrictions on imports is being implemented too quickly,” said Ellin.

“As much as we in the UK, US and elsewhere do not have enough time to adapt, this is also the case with the Chinese agencies at the other end. This suggests there could be chaos.”

The concern comes on top of huge worries over what will happen to the tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic and paper waste which will be banned from import.

For years China has been the world’s largest importer of recyclable materials, which it uses in its manufacturing industry. In 2016, China imported 7.3m tonnes of waste plastics from developed countries including the UK, the US and Japan.

But Xi’s drive for sustainable development and a cleaner China mean from January, in a campaign against yang laji or “foreign garbage”, plastic waste and mixed paper waste will no longer be accepted.

Ellin said the recycling industry would have to take urgent steps to keep the cardboard as clean as possible, take several pictures of the waste before sending it and be prepared for it all to be sent back.

“We support President Xi’s aim to create a beautiful China by 2035, we welcome it, but we we need more time. We will meet the new standards but we need more time.

“Until we get to the bottom of some of the areas of uncertainty, we are reminding … the recycling sector of the need to keep material exceptionally clean, take more photos than were required previously and be prepared that even this material can be rejected.”

Analysis of customs data by Greenpeace reveals British companies have shipped more than 2.7m tonnes of plastic waste alone to China and Hong Kong since 2012 – two-thirds of the UK’s total waste plastic exports.

Some experts predict the plastic ban will mean British recyclers have to find storage next year for 350,000 tonnes of plastic which needs to be recycled.

Output: Cardboard recycling in the UK could be severely affected by new restrictions on waste imports shortly due to take effect in China. China will ban the importation of plastic and mixed paper waste and introduce stricter controls on imported cardboard waste from 1 January 2018. The new controls mean that contamination levels for cardboard with other waste products must be below 0.5%, rather than the current 1.5%. According to the Recycling Association, much of the 3 million tonnes of cardboard exported by the UK to China annually could be rejected under the new regulations.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Energy drinks should be banned for under-16s: Action on Sugar
 Energy drinks should be banned from sale to young people under the age of 16, health experts have warned in light of a study showing they have unacceptably high levels of sugar and caffeine.

The study in the journal BMJ Open analyses the sugar, caffeine and carbohydrate content of energy drinks, which include brands such as Monster and Rockstar as well as supermarket own-brands. In both 2015 and 2017, the average sugar content of the energy drinks was more than the entire recommended daily maximum for an adult in the UK.

The campaigning group Action on Sugar, whose researchers carried out the study, is calling for a ban on sales to under-16s.

“This study illustrates the huge contribution of energy drinks to sugar intake, which is linked to the development of obesity and various types of cancer, as well as type 2 diabetes and rotting our children’s teeth. They are completely inappropriate for children to consume, form no part of a healthy balanced diet, and should be banned for under-16s,” said its chairman, Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London.

TV chef and food campaigner Jamie Oliver has also called for a ban on sales of energy drinks to children, as have teacher groups.

Energy drinks are marketed for general consumption, rather than for athletes, who are targeted with so-called “sports” drinks. Children and teenagers drink them more than older adults, even though energy drinks with high caffeine levels over 150mg per litre have to carry a warning that they are not recommended for children or pregnant women. The study found that the 43 products carrying such warnings contained the caffeine equivalent of nearly two cups of coffee.

“Since children and teenagers are the main consumers of energy drinks, manufacturers should consider reducing levels of caffeine,” says the study.

That would also help reduce the sugar levels. “The removal of caffeine also allows for the removal of 10.3% of sugar without affecting taste, which has the potential to reduce body weight of adults by 0.6 kg, without any change in sugar-sweetened drinks consumption,” says the paper.

Soft drinks are responsible for 30% of the sugar intake of children aged 4 to 10 and 40% of those aged 11 to 18. Energy drinks were typically sold in 500ml cans and bottles, which is larger than a standard soft drink. In 2015, 86% of products in 2015 exceeded the maximum daily recommendation for sugar intake for a child aged 7–10 years (24 g/day – equivalent to six teaspoons of sugar) and 78% in 2017.

The threat of the sugary soft drinks tax, which the government plans to introduce in April, has led to some reformulation of some of energy drinks to reduce their sugar levels – but only by 10% on drinks that are still very high in sugar. Almost all – 95% – would receive a red label for sugar content under nutritional traffic light warnings.

Output: Energy drinks should not be sold to young people under the age of 16, according to the UK campaign group Action on Sugar. The group conducted a study which found that the average sugar content of such drinks exceeded the entire recommended daily maximum for a UK adult. Chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver also called for a ban, along with various teacher organisations. The group also called for the level of caffeine in such products to be reduced, after the study found that 43 different energy drinks each contained as much caffeine as two cups of coffee in one serving.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Facebook launches new tools as it admits harming mental health
 Facebook has acknowledged that social media use can be bad for users’ mental health, a sign the company is feeling pressure from a growing chorus of critics raising alarms about the platform’s effect on society.

Researchers for the social network admitted in a blogpost Friday that studies have found that spending time on Facebook “passively consuming information” can leave people “feeling worse”, but also argued that part of the solution is to engage and interact more with people on the platform.

The company’s public recognition of some of its platform’s detrimental effects came days after a former Facebook executive made headlines with a speech slamming the corporation, saying: “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works. No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth.”

The blogpost, which also announced new tools meant to mitigate some of the negative experiences on Facebook, came at the end of a year of intense scrutiny and bad press for the company. Facebook has repeatedly been accused of spreading Russian propaganda and fake news, providing a platform and network for white supremacists, enabling hate speech and offensive ads and censoring critics of oppressive governments.

The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has asked for forgiveness and claimed his new mission was to “bring the world closer together”.

Studies have repeatedly found that Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites can damage the emotional wellbeing of heavy users, particularly younger people. The new post from Facebook’s director of research, David Ginsberg, and the research scientist Moira Burke painted the literature on the subject as mixed and inconclusive, arguing that Facebook use can also have positive mental health impacts.

Ginsberg and Burke claimed that “actively interacting with people – especially sharing messages, posts and comments with close friends and reminiscing about past interactions – is linked to improvements in well-being”. They cited one study suggesting that students who scrolled through their own Facebook profiles experienced “boosts in self-affirmation” compared with others who looked at strangers’ pages.

The authors, however, also pointed to a study finding that people who clicked on four times as many links as the average person on Facebook reported worse mental health. The blog further acknowledged that reading about others online might lead to “negative social comparison” and that some theorize that the internet takes people away from in-person social engagement.

The post also referenced a psychologist’s claims that mobile phones have redefined modern relationships, making people “alone together”, and another expert’s arguments that an increase in teen depression is linked to technology use.

On Friday, Facebook launched a new feature called Snooze, which allows users to hide a person, page or group for 30 days without having to unfollow or unfriend them: “This will give people more control over their feed and hopefully make their experience more positive.”

The company also unveiled a tool called Take a Break, meant to help users going through break-ups, recognizing that seeing an ex-partner’s social media activities can be emotionally painful. The new feature gives people control over what they can see of their exes on Facebook and what their exes can see on their pages.

“In sum, our research and other academic literature suggests that it’s about how you use social media that matters when it comes to your well-being,” the blog authors wrote, adding a quote from Zuckerberg, saying: “We want the time people spend on Facebook to encourage meaningful social interactions.”

Zuckerberg also claimed last month that he believed “protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profits”.

Facebook, however, has continually prioritized features designed to make the platform addictive and has allowed users to instantaneously purchase harmful ads without scrutiny. The company has also struggled to stop the spread of offensive live videos on the platform, some featuring graphic abuse and violence.

On Thursday, Chamath Palihapitiya, the former executive who criticized the company, walked back his comments, saying: “I genuinely believe that Facebook is a force for good in the world.”

Output: Facebook has admitted in a blog post that its social media platform can damage users’ mental health. Research for the social network suggested that “passively consuming information” can result in people “feeling worse”, but Facebook also suggested that more interaction on the platform could address this problem. The comments came days after former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya claimed that the company was “destroying how society works”. The blog also announced new tools to counter negative effects, including the "Snooze" and "Take A Break" features, supposedly giving users greater control over the material to which they are exposed.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
ING's bond desk to adopt AI tool for faster pricing
 ING is rolling out a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered bond trading tool which has already been used on the firm’s emerging markets desk.

Known as Katana, the tool aims to reduce decision-making time and provide traders with analytics to choose what price to quote when clients buy or sell bonds.

The first results of testing Katana with the emerging markets desk in London saw faster pricing for 90% of trades and a 25% reduction in trading cost.

Santiago Braje, global head of credit trading at ING Wholesale Bank, explained in most AI use cases, there is a narrow focus on automation which restricts the technology to liquid asset classes where the trader is often replaced by the machine.

“With Katana, AI is applied to enhance the traders’ decision-making abilities, allowing them to deploy their natural intuition and expertise in the most effective way. This is a powerful combination,” Braje said.

ING explained Katana will better equip traders for MiFID II by allowing them to manage high volumes of trading and as flow shifts from voice to electronic platforms.

“Our traders stay fully in control, but are now better equipped to give the best quote to our clients every time,” Braje added.

Katana was developed by ING’s financial markets global credit trading team in London alongside the wholesale banking advanced analytics team who will continue to update the tool.

Output: ING's bond desk will deploy Katana, a proprietary artificial intelligence tool that provides traders with market analytics, thereby enabling faster pricing when quoting to clients. First testing results of Katana on the emerging markets desk recorded faster pricing for 90% of trades and a 25% reduction in trading costs. The Dutch bank stressed Katana will not replace traders, instead said it will enhance traders’ decision-making abilities. ING said the use of Katana will better equip traders to deal with incoming Mifid II regulations, helping them to manage high trading volumes as the firm shifts to using electronic platforms.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
PayPal sees cash as greatest competition in India
 Digital transactions have seen a dramatic increase in India in the past year due to push from both government and the private sectors. This has encouraged PayPal to intensify its operations in India.

According to Google-Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study, Indian digital payments industry will grow to $500 billion by 2020, contributing to 15% of GDP.

The Drum spoke with PayPal's spokesperson to find out about its marketing strategy in India. Given that it's not the only one to take advantage of this opportunity, the business will need to stand out from the crowd.

The spokesperson says: "PayPal, with its presence across 200 markets, has a deep understanding of what the end consumer needs. In India, we have observed that both marketing and customer acquisition is driven through a holistic product offering."

"Our focus across the globe is that of becoming a customer champion. In India we are bringing to the consumer a single PayPal account for their domestic and international transactions and enabling digital transactions in a safe and secure manner. We have localized the product for India and will focus on educating consumers, understanding their needs and in the process, empowering them with our world class digital payment solutions. We are focused on building a sustainable model and offering value to our customers via innovative solutions beyond payments with a strong focus on risk and security."

PayPal recently entered into competition with Paytm, Google, Hike and WhatsApp as it added digital payments to its portfolio in India to leverage the government's 'Digital India' initiative.

According to the spokesperson, PayPal entered India with a strong domestic value proposition, and a clear road map to enable the Indian customer to benefit from its global experience and products.

PayPal adds: "We believe the opportunity here is still untapped, with almost 85% of transactions still being in cash. India is in its first phase of digitizing payments. We have been in India for close to a decade, facilitating cross-border transactions. Launching domestic operations in a market where the digital payments opportunity is on a growth trajectory seemed the logical next step."

As to how PayPal keeps up with the competition, the spokesperson replies: "For us, the real competition in India is cash. There has been significant policy impetus and a shift in consumer mind-set towards digital payments but the run way is long."

"Our global technological expertise and experience of managing more than about 218 million active users in over 200 markets is one of our key differentiator. Our strength lies in our platform- scalable two-sided platform and network with customer focused product experiences which is our unmatched USP. We are focussed on enabling digital payments in a safe and secure manner and offer unique value propositions like Buyer and Seller Protection."

PayPal also introduced two technology Innovation Labs in India to promote innovation and nurture fintech startups. The spokesperson says that PayPal considers India to be a hotbed for innovation given its enormous talent pool, evolving startup ecosystem and a diverse spectrum of merchant profiles. PayPal's Innovation Labs were set up as one of the ways to cater to their needs.

"From our Incubator program to Recharge, we are constantly looking for new ways to serve the ecosystem we operate in and we will continue to do this at every step of our journey in India.PayPal is in a unique position such that it is not just an agnostic payments platform. It is also a gateway, a merchant account, a payment method, a digital wallet and a payment processor to both consumers and merchants."

"It is every single one of these things, integrated end-to-end in a platform that delivers more seamless commerce in a hyper-connected world. Given this wide spectrum, we believe we have a lot of opportunities to positively impact the lives of our consumers and stakeholders at different facets of their lives."

PayPal has also partnered with Bookmyshow, Yatra, MakeMyTrip, PVR Cinemas, Firstcry, Vistarooms and Thomas Cook to strengthen its presence within the travel and tourism sector. Creating partnerships is another way the business can gain the attention fo consumers in a market where both cash and competitors are taking up customer mindshare.

Output: Paypal still views cash as its main rival in India, despite the influx of new digital payment companies, according to a spokesperson. With nearly 85% of transactions still being completed with cash, the company is increasing its efforts in the region to remain a strong contender in a digital payments industry that is predicted to grow to $500bn by 2020. Paypal, along with rivals Paytm, Google, Whatsapp and Hike, is leveraging the Indian government's "Digital India" programme to remain competitive. The firm recently launched two technology Innovation Labs in the country to support fintech startups and promote innovative solutions.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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ABB creates microgrid for offshore platform
 ABB Ability™ enabled microgrid to support Woodside’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and help optimise costs.

ABB will provide Woodside, Australia’s largest independent oil and gas company, with a PowerStore™ Battery storage system that is capable of remote management of operations and service. The system will be installed on the Goodwyn A platform. This innovative ABB solution will contribute to Woodside’s 2020 goal of reducing carbon emissions and will help lower cost of operations and maintenance.

The Goodwyn A offshore production platform is located about 135 km northwest of Karratha in Western Australia and has been operating since 1995. The 55 000 t production facility is more than 290 meters tall and stands in a water depth of 131 meters. The platform combines production, re-injection, utilities and accommodation facilities. Dry gas and condensate from surrounding reservoirs is transported via a network of pipelines to Goodwyn A and then sent on-shore to the Karratha Gas Plant for processing. Goodwyn A is designed for up to 30 production wells, including five re-injection wells, and has a daily production capacity of up to 36 000 t of gas and 11 000 t of condensate.

ABB’s containerized, plug-and-play ABB Ability PowerStore battery storage system will support Goodwyn A’s existing gas turbine generators. The battery will replace one of the six existing gas turbine generators and will also reduce the need for using the emergency diesel generator. Short term backup will be provided via the new battery energy storage system incorporated within the microgrid, to provide a ‘spinning reserve’. A dedicated ABB Ability Microgrid Plus control system will act as the brain of the solution and it will also be possible to remotely operate the microgrid if the need arises or the platform has to be de-manned for any reason.

“We are pleased to partner with Woodside on pioneering a PowerStore Battery energy solution for offshore oil and gas, which will reduce environmental impact and optimize costs” said Massimo Danieli, head of ABB’s Grid Automation business within the company’s Power Grids division. “Microgrids and energy storage are key focus areas of our Next Level strategy and this innovative solution reinforces ABB’s position as a partner of choice in enabling a stronger, smarter and greener grid.”

Output: ABB will install a battery storage system capable of remote management of operations and service on Woodside Petroleum's Goodwyn A platform located about 135 km northwest of Karratha in Western Australia. The 55,000 ton production facility sits in 131 metres of water and combines production, re-injection, utilities and accommodation facilities. ABB’s battery storage system will support Goodwyn A’s existing gas turbine generators, replacing one of the six existing gas turbine generators and will also reduce the need for using the emergency diesel generator.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Trusted Freshness launches Canadian vertical farming franchise
 Dec. 13, 2017, Leduc, Alta. – Western Canada’s grocery and food service industries are eagerly waiting for the final commissioning of Trusted Freshness™ Ltd. Canada’s newest vertical farming enterprise. The 37,000 sq. ft. growing facility in Leduc is going through the final steps before launching its commercial operation.

The Trusted Freshness facility provides a controlled indoor urban environment capable of growing a wide assortment of produce including micro greens, leafy greens and vine crops. Many of the crops can be grown and harvested within a seven to 30-day cycle, providing fresh produce year round.

The local availability of produce ensures that the nutritional benefits of the produce are not reduced by long transportation hauls, which is the case with the produce imported from southwestern U.S. and Mexico.

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“Our franchise approach to vertical farming provides our franchisees with tremendous flexibility in how they can operate their business,” says Jim Schroeder, Trusted Freshness CEO and chief marketing officer. “The franchisee may wish to simply invest in a Trusted Freshness vertical farming module and have the management of the unit out-sourced or operate their franchise themselves.”

The Trusted Freshness franchise business model enables investors to operate their individual growing enterprises in a co-located facility, while at the same time taking advantage of shared core services such as hands-on training, germination, packaging, distribution and marketing of their produce.

“The demand for Trusted Freshness produce is significant,” says Schroeder. “Since word got out about our vertical farming facility, we have been approached by numerous groups interested in purchasing our freshly-grown produce. Grocery retailers, the food service industry and even individual chefs are looking for that specific herb or micro-green that will give them an extra advantage in their culinary offering.”

“We are delighted with the continued interest our Trusted Freshness operation is receiving from the local business community, the rest of Canada and other parts of the world,” says Schroeder. “We are already investigating additional locations that would be a great fit for a Trusted Freshness operation.”

“With the world-wide market for vertical farming operations projected to be worth a minimum of $3.88 billion U.S. by 2020, this is certainly the time for entrepreneurs and investors to take a look at a Trusted Freshness franchise,” says Schroeder.

For more information on Trusted Freshness™ Ltd. visit www.trustedfreshness.com or contact Trusted Freshness CEO Jim Schroeder at 780.690.8985, email: jim@trustedfreshness.com

Output: A vertical farming facility is opening in Canada as part of the Trusted Freshness franchise. The 37,000 sq ft site in Leduc, western Canada will provide a controlled environment for growing a variety of crops all year round. Local food companies are expected to benefit from the increased availability of produce rather than having to rely on imports from further away. Trusted Freshness provides shared services to its franchisees, including training, distribution and marketing.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Brokers warned after Bluefin fined £4m over conflict of interest
 Brokers should check their conflicts of interest risks approach in the wake of the Bluefin fine, a top law firm said today.

Pinsent Masons regulatory expert Jonathan Cavill said the Bluefin fine shows conflicts of interest remains a ‘priority area for the FCA’.

He said it is not just brokers owned by a parent who should assess their conflicts.

The full details of the shocking culture that gripped Bluefin have emerged from the FCA’s final notice - and some brokers feel it is a gamechanger which should lead to fees being used instead of commissions.

Subscribers read more Briefing: Bluefin scandal is the tip of the iceberg - Brokers should be worried

“Brokers are often faced with a potentially risky conflict of interest situation; some of these involve the parent who owns it, and some do not,” Cavill said, contentious regulatory expert at international law firm Pinsent Masons.

”The relevance of this fine is not isolated simply to where brokers are owned by an insurer or provide misleading information.

”Coupled with the upcoming rules in the Insurance Distribution Directive on disclosure of broker shareholdings to clients, the fine reinforces the need for brokers to properly assess their conflict of interest risks and ensure that they are on the right side of the line with the regulator.”

According to the FCA final notice reported on by Insurance Times, the regulator highlighted issues Bluefin brokers had placing business with AXA and, importantly, other preferred insurers offering higher commissions.

The FCA found that one broker placed business with a preferred insurer (one that was not AXA) and ’did not consider the transfer was ideal but carried an opportunity for significantly higher commission’.

The Bluefin compliance officer noted that the staff felt ‘under pressure’ and ‘not comfortable’ with the placement.

In the wake of these issues found by the FCA and the Bluefin fine, Cavill pointed to the regulatory documenation brokers must examine in assessing their conflicts.

“The FCA’s rules in SYSC10 and the PRIN Handbook make it clear how firms should be handling conflict of interests,” he said.

”We have seen some fairly substantial conflict of interest fines from the regulator in the last few years - one almost as high as £20,000,000 - but this fine is unique in that the FCA not only found that Bluefin did not manage its conflicts of interest properly, but also, crucially, that it misled customers in the documentation provided to them; Bluefin held itself out as being ‘truly independent’, despite, as the FCA found, knowing the conflict of interest risk.”

The FCA is ramping up pressure on brokers over conflicts issues as it aims to root out rogue brokers such as Bluefin and uncover what is happening in the London market.

Output: Insurance brokers have been warned to check how they are managing potential conflicts of interest, following the £4m ($5.34m) fine issued to Bluefin. The Financial Conduct Authority issued the fine after it found Bluefin had misled customers by recommending policies from its parent company, AXA, without disclosing a financial interest. Brokers at the company were also found to have placed business with preferred companies offering them higher commission. Regulatory expert Jonathan Cavill from law firm Pinsent Masons has warned the case shows other brokers should review how they guard against similar risks and check their procedures are compliant.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Halliburton introduces drillbit optimised for shale formations
 Halliburton has announced the release of Geometrix™ 4D Shaped Cutters, a line of four distinct geometric profiles to help improve cutting efficiency and increase control to reduce drilling costs.

GeoMetrix cutters expand the capabilities of traditional polycrystalline diamond materials (PDC) by shaping the cutting structure to optimsze drilling performance for specific applications. Traditional flat cutters generate heat and wear, which slows drilling progress as operators must frequently check or replace damaged bits.

The new line includes Chisel™ Plowed Scribe Cutter for brittle formations such as carbonates; Chopper™ Plowed Cylinder Cutter for increased heat dissipation in high energy drilling operations such as shale formations; Dagger™ Multi-Plowed Cutter with fluid channels to improve cleaning and prevent plugging around the cutter face; and Machete™ Optimised Tip Geometry Cutter for use in formations that require high point loading.

"The launch of Geometrix cutters demonstrates our ability to collaborate with customers and translate knowledge into solutions that can help lower drilling costs," said Scott Regimbald, vice president of the Halliburton Drill Bits and Services business. "Each cutter is tailored for specific applications so operators now have the most complete portfolio to meet their drilling challenges."

In a recent offshore job in Mexico where an operator was drilling a limestone-shale formation, the Geometrix bit doubled the rate of penetration over a 700 m section saving the operator three days of drilling time compared to offset wells.

Output: Halliburton released four new drillbits to improve cutting efficiency, including one designed for shale formations. The Geometrix 4D Shaped Cutters include the Chisel Plowed Scribe Cutter for brittle formations such as carbonates; the Chopper Plowed Cylinder Cutter for increased heat dissipation in high energy drilling operations such as shale formations; the Dagger Multi-Plowed Cutter with fluid channels to improve cleaning and prevent plugging around the cutter face; and the Machete Optimised Tip Geometry Cutter for use in formations that require high point loading.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Conversational AI company Kasisto secures $17m for expansion
 Source: Kasisto

Kasisto, creators of KAI, the leading conversational AI platform for finance, today announced a $17 million Series B funding round led by Oak HC/FT with participation from existing investors Propel Venture Partners, Two Sigma Ventures, Commerce Ventures, Mastercard and Partnership Fund for New York City.

KAI enables financial institutions to acquire new customers as well as engage, support, and generate additional revenue from existing customers via human-like, intelligent conversations with smart-bots and virtual assistants, anytime, anywhere.

The new capital will be used to scale the business to meet the increasing demand for Kasisto’s products in existing and new markets as well as deepen partnerships with existing customers. This new funding will also be invested in expanding the KAI platform to include new AI-powered features and incorporate innovations that continue to deliver both business results and customer engagement and delight.

“This past year has been one of explosive growth across the board – the number of signed deals and deployed customers, our team’s strength and size, and KAI’s feature robustness and readiness for large-scale enterprise deployments,” says Zor Gorelov, CEO and Co-Founder of Kasisto. “There is great momentum going into this investment, especially following the recent signing of major customers including TD Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. We are very excited to partner with Oak HC/FT on this next phase and consider their track record and expertise in the finance sector a significant asset.”

“AI’s adoption in financial services has continued at a rapid pace. This technology serves as a catalyst of change to enhance the sector’s technology and operations entirely,” adds Patricia Kemp, Co-founder & General Partner at Oak HC/FT. “Kasisto has an amazing track record of not only having one of the most proven and comprehensive AI platforms in the industry, but also with their customers – some of the world’s most innovative financial institutions -- that sets them apart. We are excited to partner with Kasisto to continue to drive scale and growth.”

KAI is an enterprise-ready platform that powers bots and virtual assistant with financial expertise, steeped with domain knowledge, so financial institutions can:

Offer entirely new and differentiated experiences to their consumers, designed with the most intuitive user interface: natural human language

Decrease customer care costs by deflecting call center calls and triaging inquiries

Increase lifetime value of customers with contextual and relevant offers for financial products and services

Engage customers and promote brand loyalty with proactive financial well-being features

Meet customers in their preferred channel – mobile, web, messaging or home devices

Oak HC/FT is the premier venture growth-equity fund investing in Healthcare Information & Services (“HC”) and Financial Services Technology (“FT”). Kasisto is the 18th investment by Oak HC/FT since launching in June 2014. The fund and its investors contain deep domain experience and are uniquely positioned to provide entrepreneurs and companies with strategic counsel, board-level participation, and access to an extensive network of industry leaders. Ms. Kemp will join the board of Kasisto and Michael Heller will join as a Board Observer.

Output: Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) provider Kasisto has raised $17m and entered into a partnership with venture growth-equity fund Oak HC/FT. Kasisto's AI, called KAI, powers bots with financial expertise that allow banks to engage with customers across multiple platforms and promote offers. The company plans to expand the platform and incorporate new features with the proceeds.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Google looks to improve community health with Cityblock start-up
 If you think startups are just for young entrepreneurs, then think again. Google’s Sidewalk, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is also getting a piece of the action in startups for urban health. Sidewalk is getting into community health with the launch of Cityblock, a startup focused on reinventing urban health. Cityblock wants to address the health disparity in lower socio-economic urban communities by providing preventive medicine and access to resources. CityBlock is one of Google’s Sidewalk experimental “projects.” Back in October, in its announcement on Medium, the company is also looking into new technologies in “real-world conditions,” that will potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to two-thirds, shorten commutes by an hour, and slash the cost of living for local residents by as much as 14 percent.

CityBlock believes the current healthcare system is failing many of families in urban communities. Their aim is to build a scalable solution to address the root causes of health for underserved urban populations. In article post on Medium, Iyah Romm, Co-Founder and CEO, Cityblock Health, “There’s a problem in our cities: whole neighborhoods are sick. Zip codes are better predictors of health outcomes than biology. And despite the efforts of many, we have failed to build sustainable, scalable systems that provide high-quality, cost-effective care for populations with complex health needs.” CityBlock wants to improve the health of the underserved populations living in our biggest cities who have continued to have disproportionately poor health outcomes.

According to their website, three trends motivated the idea behind CityBlock:

First, underserved populations living in our biggest cities have continued to have disproportionately poor health outcomes, with interventions coming much later and at a significantly higher cost than for other populations. Second, nearly all innovation efforts have been focused on people with means, despite urgent need in underserved lower-income communities. And finally, the business of healthcare has become increasingly transactional, leaving little room for meaningful relationships between patients and clinicians, driving increased dissatisfaction among both. We set out to challenge this status quo.

You can read more about CityBlock on their website

Output: Urban design venture Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet subsidiary, has launched Cityblock, an urban community health start-up. Cityblock aims to improve health outcomes in poorer urban communities. Co-founder and CEO of Cityblock Health, Iyah Romm, said: "There’s a problem in our cities: whole neighbourhoods are sick. Zip codes are better predictors of health outcomes than biology." Cityblock will focus on providing preventative medicine and keeping healthcare costs down.