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Musicians look to terrorism insurance following recent attacks
 There’s been a high demand for terrorism insurance in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre — with artists from all music genres reportedly looking to invest in policies for their concerts.

“Now more than ever they are targets,” explained Steves Rodriguez, business manager for the all-girl pop group, Fifth Harmony.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter this week, he and other managers described how musicians were taking out terrorism insurance policies now — more than ever before — following the deadly mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Oct. 1.

“Not everybody believes it’s necessary,” said business manager Bill Tannenbaum, who specializes in representing touring artists.

“I’m pretty vocal about taking it with my clients, and luckily we had it with Ariana Grande.”

The “Into You” singer was forced to cancel multiple stops on her world tour back in May after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Manchester Arena where she was performing. Twenty-two people were killed in the attack and hundreds more injured.

The incident, coupled with the Vegas massacre and similar terror strikes — such as the Bataclan nightclub in Paris during an Eagles of Death Metal concert — has ultimately prompted artists to buy the insurance policies, which up until now, have been viewed by many as being too expensive.

“It’s usually a battle with the artist to buy it,” said Dina LaPolt, lawyer for singers Britney Spears and Steven Tyler.

“If you get paid a million dollars, all of your tour costs come out of that million,” she said. “So every penny counts.”

While standard nonperformance insurance policies typically cost about 2 percent of the artist’s guarantee — and pay a claim of around 80 percent of appearance fees if a concert is canceled — a political violence and terrorism policy will usually run them an extra half-percent more, THR reports.

Once a musician purchases the PVT insurance, they will be able to obtain their claim in the event that an unexpected crisis arises, or if there’s even the threat of an attack.

“The way [policies had] been written previously is, the threat had to be related to the venue,” explained John Tomlinson, head of the world’s largest privately owned, independent insurance brokerage firm, Lockton Companies.

“We have expanded that language to include threats made to bandmembers.”

In addition, terrorism insurance policies may also cover a concert or show that is affected by an attack or threat that takes place around the same time or within a 50-mile radius of the venue.

“If it’s a big tour and you’re a high-profile artist and you gather tens of thousands of people per show, you have to have it,” LaPolt said.

“Orange Is the New Black” creator Jenji Kohan, who recently took out a terror policy on her office building, added: “You’re always going to do something that someone doesn’t like…And you don’t know how crazy that someone is going to be.”

Output: An increasing number of musicians and performers are looking to purchase terrorism insurance coverage following disruption of popular concerts by recent attacks. Such policies would cover artists in the event of terror-linked cancellations. Bloodshed at concerts in Las Vegas, Paris and Manchester have prompted more musicians to mull policies they may have considered too expensive in the past.


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Magic Leap seeks another $1bn, with no product yet released
 Magic leap has been touted as the future of augmented reality (AR). By superimposing advanced images into your "normal" field of vision, it has been adored and supported by many for it's promised "magic" quality.

It might become even more "magical" if it receives the $1-billion investment that the company is reportedly raising. Investors in this most recent development haven't been named, but previous investors like Google, Alibaba, and Qualcomm have helped to support the technology thus far.

This call for increased investment, which would put Magic Leap at $6.5 billion in valuation if this recent investment is solidified, is happening in advance of "Magic Leap One" — the company's highly-anticipated initial device. So far, no one really knows any specifics about the device, but many have made exciting claims of its ability to incorporate virtual imagery with vision. But it is possible, despite such hefty investments and impressive claims, that the hype will outweigh the final product. Hopefully, this is not the case. Consumers, and likely the high-level investors, anxiously anticipate the tech and hope that the billions of dollars used in support of its development will allow for the creation of a truly game-changing technology.

Output: Augmented reality start-up Magic Leap is reported to be raising $1bn in investment for its technology, which has yet to be released into the market. The company’s initial Magic Leap One device superimposes images into users’ field of vision. Investors thus far have included Google, Qualcomm and Alibaba, with the company likely to be valued at $6.5bn if the financing goes ahead. The specifics of the device have yet to be unveiled.


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Insurance consultant mulls data for coverage exchange
 On the way to visit a customer recently, I heard a feature on the radio that made me stop and think. The feature was about a fitness chain that was about to open the world's largest gym in Germany. The difference was the membership model. Instead of a monthly membership fee, users would pay with data.

As an employee of a data analysis software producer, this raised a lot of questions in my mind: How would it work? What about privacy? How does this change visits to the gym? What are my data worth and what will happen to the data? How does the chain refinance through my data?

The radio feature answered most of my questions. The chain was not planning to resell personal data. Training results and evaluations of health records can already be used commercially, for example through targeted personalized advertising in the gym or at advertising events. These data are of course also of interest to other companies, such as health insurers or employers, for example. They use it to see if a customer or employee is actively doing anything to improve their health.

Some insurance companies already use this kind of data, such as Assicurazioni Generali, the insurance company. It rewards healthy living with discounts on risk insurance or occupational disability insurance using a telematics tariff. This simply means that the customer has to pass data to the insurer through fitness trackers or smartphones.

I asked myself whether I personally would sign up to that kind of membership to be able to visit the gym. I found I was still skeptical, but I was not really sure why. After all, I already know that I give away a great deal of data without much thought to companies like Google, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Was I skeptical because this new contract would put a price on my data in the real world?

Transforming business

Tech companies have managed to gather a lot of knowledge about users through the collection of data, and this has enabled them to implement a variety of offers. Google, for example, has transformed itself from a pure search engine provider into a much-used platform provider. This, in turn, collects even more data and generates more knowledge about its users. Amazon is similar. Originally an online bookshop, we now use Amazon for much more. We regularly buy at the world‘s largest mail order company and, as a matter of course, we store data in the Amazon cloud or use the integrated music and video portal as Prime customers. Some of Amazon‘s own productions have already acquired cult status. Based on its market power, Amazon is even considering an entry into the insurance industry.

Insurance cover given in return for data? Would it work? Insurers are already offering customers more services and tariff options — some even in non-insurance segments — and want to differentiate themselves from the competition, offer customers value and improve their own position. This might be through an app to improve home safety, a discount for prudent driving, the option to manage all private contracts (including outsourcing) on my insurer's portal, or the option to purchase cloud storage via insurance.

In other words, paying for insurance in data may only be extending an existing trend. But would it really be conceivable? What would it be like?

Let's do a thought experiment

At the very least, payment in data rather than Euros would attract the attention of potential new customers. So as not to lose these immediately because of a complicated application process with a lot of questions to enable risk assessment, it would be good to keep the application process short and simple. This would probably mean a uniform price as much as possible. InsurTech start-ups have already shown us what this might look like.

Insurance companies have a long tradition in the use of analytical methods. Where does the insurance industry stand in terms of modern analytics and artificial intelligence? This is what our industry experts found out in personal talks with insurers from all over Europe. Read the survey results.

As the contract continues, we will have enough information about our customers through the data they provide. We would probably prefer to form a single large insured collective than a lot of small ones. As a positive side effect, criticism about discrimination would be reduced. To ensure that the data gives enough value to cover future claims and losses, we would need to reduce closing and administrative expenses as much as possible. The product should therefore be a pure online product, which the customer can complete and manage themselves without much support. If any help is necessary, we could use chatbots as a first level response, and employees where necessary.

We would also have to consider what data we would like from customers, and what we would do with the data. Obviously we would want information that would provide us with sustainable, risk-bearing and monetizable knowledge, increase customer loyalty, and perhaps even enable us to create a gamification factor. Possible data sources could be fitness bracelets or other wearables, connected cars, smartphones, smarthomes or any other sensor connected to the IoT, especially if it could supply real-time data. Real-time data streaming is particularly interesting when we want to generate value in real-time, such as offer an additional service or product.

How to monetize data?

Finally, the most important question: How do I make money from the data and the associated additional knowledge? There are no limits to the imagination, but with the appropriate opt-ins and good legal advice about data protection law, most things should be feasible. From additional paid service offerings, through advertising and cross-selling, to cooperation, many options are conceivable. Whether this is in the end actually enough to justify offering insurance cover just for data, I cannot judge.

What do you think? Would you take up that type of insurance? What would you do with the data as an insurer? I look forward to your comments.

Output: Insurance companies in the future may be able to offer coverage in exchange for policyholders' data rather than cash premiums, according insurance consultant Michael Rabin. The concept would depend on an insurer's ability to monetise the collection of data, as well as to streamline the administrative process of buying insurance. Wearables and other connected devices, such as home monitoring devices or smartphones, could be used as data sources.


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Niche tokens seen helping to define and identify consumers
 I am mining bitcoin and getting a bunch of it every day, so now what? That is the question some of the people probably asked themselves when they got acquainted with bitcoin in its infancy. We know exactly what happened with the finances of those who stuck with it a few years down the line. However, we tend to focus too much on that side of the cryptocurrency revolution while we gloss over a more fundamental change in the way economic ecosystems will emerge in the 21st century. It took years for the earliest bitcoin adopters to be able to spend their coins on a variety of products and services. Once bitcoin gained wider acceptance, the amount of goods and services that were available to bitcoin users, including those specially designed or engineered for bitcoin users, expanded tremendously. The same can happen now with niche coins such as eSports’ ERT.

The Kind of Tokens You Hold, Represent the Kind of Consumer You Are!

Although bitcoin is still the most dominant coin, a plethora of niche coins have emerged in the market, creating sub-economies within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. eSports’ ERT is a great example of how it is possible to develop such a niche coin that can become the pillar of an emerging industry. The advantage now is that after the advent of the bitcoin economy, it will take ERT a fraction of the time to develop an economy around it. This is due to the fact that it was designed with a specific set of goals in mind, and it plays a specific role within cryptocurrency markets. In a sense, any ERT holder, will automatically be identified with the gaming industry, pushing the notion that the tokens you hold say a lot about what kind of consumer you are. This will trigger the next stage of evolution within the cryptocurrency sphere.

The Relevance of Consumer Identity and Cryptocurrency

This evolution in consumer identity will generate economic efficiencies. Lower transaction times and costs were the kind of efficiencies that bitcoin brought to the market. With niche coins and custom tokens that can become one of the pillars of an industry such as eSports, it will be possible to achieve interesting economies of scale and an unprecedented level of integration between different actors within the industry. This will create a whole new set of efficiencies. If a token such as the ERT allows specific customers that are identified with the gaming industry, to get better deals and bespoke products and services, then the economy will enter a whole new era by going deeper down the cryptocurrency rabbit hole. Imagine the following:

Gamers start buying gaming related products with ERT tokens, such as gaming PCs, or perhaps special mice and keyboards.

The producer of these goods will have an incentive to market and retail within the eSports platform, which will allow them to spend less on marketing and distribution efforts through other platforms.

Buyers will become a consumer cluster, which will allow companies to sell at lower prices while keeping their margins higher.

This will jump start a small economy centered around the gaming industry, with the ERT and eSports playing a central role.

Precise Economies and eSports

This is not at all different from the economy that bitcoin created. New service providers, and innovative companies producing highly specialized goods and services for the bitcoin economy sprung eventually. Service providers such as cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, hardware wallets and even artists, owe their livelihood to the bitcoin economy. The ERT token and eSports can do the same for gamers and for the gaming industry, while it gives consumers advantages that they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Once gamers acquire ERT tokens and the gaming economy starts developing around this new niche coin, just as other economies develop around other niche coins, the cryptocurrency ecosystem will advance further into the realm of precise economies. Within these, a myriad of new services will develop, mounted on platforms such as eSports. The shift will be evident in consumer behavior, because cryptocurrency users will no longer ask themselves what they can do with this new coin. They will start asking which coin will be the best to have to acquire the products and services they are looking for.

You love crypto & eSports? We want to get to know you.

Please join us here: https://facebook.com/esportsdotcom/

Telegram: t.me/esportsERT

Output: Companies and organisations that issue their own digital currencies, or tokens, have the opportunity to personalise consumers like never before, giving a boost to the gaming and cryptocurrency industries, according to esports.com. The company said its ERT token, for instance, would allow it to offer specific deals and bespoke products to holders, incentivising demand for the currency and creating a new commercial ecosystem for marketers.


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Snapchat's Placed and Snap Map help deliver 73% rise in ad spend
 Colm is the editor of MarketingTech, with a mission to bring the most important developments in technology to both businesses and consumers.

A number of new offline features introduced by Snapchat have added value to advertisers, and led to the company having a mammoth Q3 2017.

According to data science and media technology firm 4C Insights, the social media company’s ad spend rocketed up by 73%. Instagram, which also implemented new features, saw its ad spend up 55% in the third quarter of the year.

4C analysed around $250 million in media spend from over 1,000 brands managed through its platform. Across the broad, there was a 31% increase in media spend on the major social media platforms.

So, what made Snapchat’s performance so extraordinary?

The company brought in a range of features that help advertisers better understand how consumers shop. Features like Snap Map, which allows users to share their location and see where their friends are, and geofilters, where people can add geographical information to their posts, are a hit with advertisers.

Of particular interest, though, is the ability to track users as they go into stores with ‘Placed’, which helps retailers understand how Snap Ads are actually affecting real-world business.

For Instagram, it is Stories that is driving ad spend growth. The feature has generated 220% year-on-year spend growth for the company.

"Vertical video provides brands with a full-scale canvas to test creative,” Emily Kramer, Senior Director, Media Services at Merkle said.

“Audience-driven optimisation becomes low-risk and high-reward, with lots of opportunity to scale learning across the media mix”,

The rise of integrated video

Facebook saw ad spend grow 27%. This was mainly driven by the platform’s detailed targeting and measurement capabilities, but also its growing video capability.

Video content is rising across many of the social media platforms, with Facebook watch, Snapchat’s Show and Twitter’s 24/7 all allowing users to watch video content on their chosen platform.

Louis Guerrero, Supervisor, Social Media, Havas Media Group, said:

“Twitter is pushing aggressively into the video space in efforts to keep themselves top of mind when promoting any video assets. Twitter’s Pre-roll placements and partnerships with television shows are emerging opportunities for brands.”

Twitter ad spend grew 26% driven in particular by the travel industry, whose spend soared by 250%.

It is likely that video will continue to be an area of technological and revenue growth for social media companies.

“Understanding visual content through Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will add a new level of consumer understanding and help brands be more relevant at the right time and place,” Aaron Goldman, CMO at 4C Insights said.

Output: The major social media platforms enjoyed an overall uptick in ad spend during Q3 2017 of almost one-third, but Snapchat was the clear winner in the quarter, with a rise of 73%, according to a survey from 4C Insights. It cited Snapchat's Placed and Snap Map features as big attractions for advertisers, and noted Instagram's Stories helped drive up its ad spend by 55%. Meanwhile, Twitter's Q3 results rose by more than a quarter, thanks to the travel industry, which upped its spend on the site by 250%, while ad spend on Facebook increased by 27%.


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Gibraltar leads way in regulation of distributed ledger practices
 Global cryptocurrency markets are in constant states of shock and change, as large superpowers like China, Russia and South Korea each seek to change the apparent stance they have.

At this tumultuous time, however, it is the small nation of Gibraltar that has stepped forward as the first to provide a complete regulatory framework in which DLT firms can operate. Digital Ledger Technology, upon which blockchain is based, lends itself to a whole host of new financial challenges when it comes to regulation. As the evolution of blockchain technology is very recent and constantly changing, it is hard for current financial institutions to adjust, and many nations are unsure of how to properly introduce legislation.

Instead, many larger powers are turning to banning the use of cryptocurrencies rather than find a way to incorporate them. Without proper regulation in place, it becomes difficult for firms to operate, either because they are ousted by firms operating illegally, or that they are simply unable to identify legal grey areas. BTC-e is a prime example of a company who was able to operate illegally for six years and become responsible for more than $4 billion in laundered money. As a part of the regulation, the government has introduced nine governing principles by which all DLT firms must operate.

Examples of these include the need to ensure effective protocol to prevent money laundering, have solvency plans to protect against customer losses, and an overall understanding that a need to protect customer assets is vital. As such steps are still very recent, all new firms will be reviewed and prepared on their protocol on a case-by-case basis. Gibraltar hopes that these steps will create a safe zone in which innovative firms can operate. In fact, to further encourage adoption of blockchain technology in startups, the government is set to introduce an “Innovate and Create Team”. This team will be responsible for discussing new business opportunities and offering support in establishing themselves in the marketplace.

Output: The tiny British Mediterranean outpost of Gibraltar has become the first territory to provide a regulatory framework covering distributed ledger technology (DLT). Its nine-point governing principles, applicable to all DLT companies, enshrine such practices as protecting against customer losses with mandatory solvency plans and implementation of measures to prevent money laundering. Gibraltar, which has embraced blockchain and digital currencies, is positioning itself as a hub for the technology.


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Precision medicine boosted by gene sequencing improvements
 Genomic sequencing has come a long way in a short time, and its potential to drive even faster innovations in precision medicine is enormous.

To capitalize on that opportunity, however, health systems need data – lots of it, from all sorts of people. Kaiser Permanente has been building a biobank with genomic data and other health information from hundreds of thousands of patients from across its eight regions, and Nazneen Aziz, says it's already helping clinicians unlock insights into complex genetic challenges.

Aziz, executive director of Kaiser Permanente Research Bank, spoke during a HIMSS Learning Center webinar this past week, explaining the ways biobanks, with their data linked to electronic health record systems, are helping drive research discoveries at Kaiser and providing an opportunity for other health systems to collaborate.

A key catalyst for this innovation, of course, is the arrival of next-generation sequencing, which Aziz calls "the enabler of genomic medicine as it is today."

The Human Genome Project paved the way, and it seems hard to imagine a time, 13 years ago, when it cost $3 billion "just to get one human genome fully sequenced," she said. "Now, with next-generation sequencing, we're able to sequence individual genomes for under $1,000, and it's now come into the clinical realm."

Next-gen sequencing is "enabling large-scale scale sequencing very rapidly," said Aziz. And even in a U.S. healthcare system notoriously slow to adapt to change, it's being adopted fairly quickly, generating large volumes of increasingly complexity, from gene panels to whole exomes to whole genomes.

A challenge, however, is that "there is a big knowledge gap in clinical genomics," she said. "We know there are about 20,000 protein coding genes, and for about 5,000 of these genes we know their function — but we don't know the function of another 15,000 or so."

That, said Aziz, is "where population biobanks are critical."

More data from more people with more genomic profiles is essential if clinical researchers are going to be able to solve the mysteries — of which there are still many — of how genetics contribute to disease.

For instance, "we know that there are only about 667 validated drug targets," said Aziz. "And we know there are about 4,000 monogenic diseases, caused by mutation in a single gene."

But "while interpretation of protein-coding parts of the genome is somewhat mature, we still don't know how to interpret the parts that are in-between genes," she said. "Interpreting other parts of the genome is still in its infancy."

And recent years, for example, have revealed the importance of the intergenic region, DNA sequences between genes, which had previously been discounted or overlooked.

Indeed, the workings of monogenic diseases, caused by modifications in a single gene, such as sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis, versus complex or multi-genetic diseases (diabetes, obesity), which often develop in tandem with environmental or lifestyle factors, can be "hard for even physicians to understand sometimes," she said.

But the bigger and more diverse the data trove researchers can work with, the easier it is for them to arrive at genomic insights and develop new treatment strategies.

There are many biobanks around, the world, from the VA's Million Veteran Program, currently the largest in the world, to other large troves in the UK, China, Taiwan and Japan. But many biobanks are located at hospitals and health systems – not just at Kaiser Permanente, but Mayo Clinic, Geisinger Health System and more.

"Many hospitals are starting to do their own collection," said Aziz. "Now that the technology to sequence large numbers of patients has become so affordable and high-throughput, you are now able to connect the genomic sequence to the electronic health record and make great advances in understanding many diseases – not just the common ones, but also the rare ones."

Currently, Kaiser Permanente Research Bank is the second largest biobank in the U.S. (and the largest non-governmental biobank).

"About 5 percent of people in any healthcare system will be diagnosed to carry one or more of what are called clinically actionable diseases, meaning something can be done about their genetic variant and disease condition," said Aziz.

Many people have a genetic disease that has not been diagnosed and is not being managed properly because even the doctors don't know it's there.

"Through our biobank participant sequencing," she said, "we are able to identify the ones who have these undiagnosed disease and return it to the patient and the clinical care delivery site so it can be managed right."

Aziz said the biobank program is open for collaboration with other healthcare institutions. You can learn more at the HIMSS Learning Center webinar: How Genomic Data Banks Are Enabling Progress in Precision Medicine.

Output: The latest generation of gene sequencers is driving innovation in precision medicine, according to Nazneen Aziz, executive director of Kaiser Permanente Research Bank. While the sector has come a long way, especially in the connecting of genomic data to electronic health records, Aziz believes that there is still much to be done, saying: "the interpretation of protein-coding parts of the genome is somewhat mature, but we still don't know how to interpret the parts that are in-between genes".


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Humans under threat as pollution said to kill 9 million annually
 Pollution kills at least nine million people and costs trillions of dollars every year, according to the most comprehensive global analysis to date, which warns the crisis “threatens the continuing survival of human societies”.

Toxic air, water, soils and workplaces are responsible for the diseases that kill one in every six people around the world, the landmark report found, and the true total could be millions higher because the impact of many pollutants are poorly understood. The deaths attributed to pollution are triple those from Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

The vast majority of the pollution deaths occur in poorer nations and in some, such as India, Chad and Madagascar, pollution causes a quarter of all deaths. The international researchers said this burden is a hugely expensive drag on developing economies.

Rich nations still have work to do to tackle pollution: the US and Japan are in the top 10 for deaths from “modern” forms of pollution, ie fossil fuel-related air pollution and chemical pollution. But the scientists said that the big improvements that have been made in developed nations in recent decades show that beating pollution is a winnable battle if there is the political will.

“Pollution is one of the great existential challenges of the [human-dominated] Anthropocene era,” concluded the authors of the Commission on Pollution and Health, published in the Lancet on Friday. “Pollution endangers the stability of the Earth’s support systems and threatens the continuing survival of human societies.”

Prof Philip Landrigan, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US, who co-led the commission, said: “We fear that with nine million deaths a year, we are pushing the envelope on the amount of pollution the Earth can carry.” For example, he said, air pollution deaths in south-east Asia are on track to double by 2050.

Landrigan said the scale of deaths from pollution had surprised the researchers and that two other “real shockers” stood out. First was how quickly modern pollution deaths were rising, while “traditional” pollution deaths – from contaminated water and wood cooking fires – were falling as development work bears fruit.

“Secondly, we hadn’t really got our minds around how much pollution is not counted in the present tally,” he said. “The current figure of nine million is almost certainly an underestimate, probably by several million.”

This is because scientists are still discovering links between pollution and ill health, such as the connection between air pollution and dementia, diabetes and kidney disease. Furthermore, lack of data on many toxic metals and chemicals could not be included in the new analysis.

The researchers estimated the welfare losses from pollution at $4.6tn a year, equivalent to more than 6% of global GDP. “Those costs are so massive they can drag down the economy of countries that are trying to get ahead,” said Landrigan. “We always hear ‘we can’t afford to clean up pollution’ – I say we can’t afford not to clean it up.”

Children with respiratory diseases receive treatment at a hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Photograph: China Daily/Reuters

The commission report combined data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and elsewhere and found air pollution was the biggest killer, leading to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other illnesses. Outdoor air pollution, largely from vehicles and industry, caused 4.5m deaths a year and indoor air pollution, from wood and dung stoves, caused 2.9m.

The next biggest killer was pollution of water, often with sewage, which is linked to 1.8m deaths as a result of gastrointestinal diseases and parasitic infections. Workplace pollution, including exposure to toxins, carcinogens and secondhand tobacco smoke, resulted in 800,000 deaths from diseases including pneumoconiosis in coal workers and bladder cancer in dye workers. Lead pollution, the one metal for which some data is available, was linked to 500,000 deaths a year.

Low-income and rapidly industrialising countries are worst affected, suffering 92% of pollution-related deaths, with Somalia suffering the highest rate of pollution deaths. India, where both traditional and modern pollution are severe, has by far the largest number of pollution deaths at 2.5m. China is second with 1.8m and Russia and the US are also in the top 10.

In terms of workplace-pollution related deaths, the UK, Japan and Germany all appear in the top 10. The report was produced by more than 40 researchers from governments and universities across the globe and was funded by the UN, the EU and the US.

“This is an immensely important piece of work highlighting the impact that environmental pollution has on death and disease,” said Dr Maria Neira, the WHO director of public health and the environment. “This is an unacceptable loss of lives and human development potential.”

A villager crosses a canal carrying highly toxic water contaminated with lead and other mining byproducts through the neighborhood of Chowa in Kabwe, Zambia. Photograph: Larry C Price/The Guardian

The editor-in-chief of the Lancet, Dr Richard Horton, and the executive editor, Dr Pamela Das, said: “No country is unaffected by pollution. Human activities, including industrialisation, urbanisation, and globalisation, are all drivers of pollution. We hope the commission findings will persuade leaders at the national, state, provincial and city levels to make pollution a priority. Current and future generations deserve a pollution-free world.”

Richard Fuller at Pure Earth, an international pollution clean-up charity and co-lead of the commission, said: “Pollution can be eliminated and pollution prevention can be highly cost-effective, helping to improve health and extend lifespan, while boosting the economy.” Since the US clean air act was introduced in 1970, levels of the six major pollutants have fallen by 70% while GDP has gone up by 250%, said Landrigan: “That puts the lie to the argument that pollution control kills jobs and stifles the economy.”

Gina McCarthy, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, criticised the rollback of pollution controls under the Trump administration: “Now is not the time to go backwards in the US,” she said. “Environmental protection and a strong economy go hand in hand. We also need to help other countries, not only for the benefit it will bring them, but because pollution knows no boundaries.”

Rolling out new regulations, ending subsidies for polluting industries and deploying technology like smokestack filters could tackle pollution, the researchers said. But more research on the impact of pollution is also urgently required, said Fuller: “Available data does not include lead’s impact from toxic sites like Flint, in Michigan, US, or Kabwe, Zambia. Yet these populations experience enormous health impacts.”

Landrigan said his biggest concern was the unknown impact of the hundreds of industrial chemicals and pesticides already widely dispersed around the world: “I worry we have created a situation where people are exposed to chemicals that are eroding intelligence or impairing reproduction or weakening their immune system, but we have not yet been smart enough to make the connection between the exposure and the outcome, because it is subtle.” On Wednesday, a horrific plunge in the abundance of vital insects was reported, with pesticides a possible cause.

“Pollution has not received nearly as much attention as climate change, or Aids or malaria – it is the most underrated health problem in the world,” he said.

Output: At least nine million people die each year as a result of pollution, threatening the "survival of human societies", according to the fullest global analysis of the problem so far. The study commissioned by The Lancet said that one in six people across the globe dies from diseases caused by toxic air, soil, water and workplaces -- triple the mortality rate of Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The true number of deaths could also be far higher, given that the effects of many pollutants remain poorly understood. Treatment of illnesses and other costs linked to pollution run into trillions of dollars each year, the study found.


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Bosch-led internet of things incubator joins IOTA to promote DLT
 Our goal is to increase the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology throughout the Midwest region as IoT solutions and business models continue to grow.

On October 17, 2017, the Chicago Connectory, an Internet of Things (IoT) innovation space founded by Bosch and 1871, launched their new partnership with the IOTA Foundation. The IOTA Foundation is a not-for profit organization that aims to catalyze the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) to provide more transparency, security and efficiency for IoT solutions.

Bosch is a leading global supplier of technology and services and brings extensive experience in all three levels of the Internet of Things (IoT) with sensor technology, software and services, and also its own IoT cloud. This makes the company a one-stop shop for IoT in areas that include mobility and transportation, connected energy and smart cities, connected homes and smart buildings as well as connected manufacturing.

“There is great potential through Distributed Ledger Technologies to make each IoT project more secure, efficient and provide increased transparency to consumers of IoT solutions,” says Dennis Boecker, Bosch IT global innovation lead and responsible for the Chicago Connectory. “Our goal is to increase the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology throughout the Midwest region as IoT solutions and business models continue to grow.”

“IOTA and Bosch have been in dialog about the convergence between the Internet-of-Things and IOTA's Distributed Ledger Technology since late 2015 and built up a strong relationship,” says David Sønstebø, founder of the IOTA Foundation. “Our official collaboration on this laboratory for exploring this overlap cements both entities' goal of enabling an open and secure IoT ecosystem.”

Bosch and IOTA have already been working successfully together as partners in the Trusted IoT Alliance (TIOTA) of which they are also founding members. The Chicago Connectory, being founded by Bosch, benefits from the existing partnership and allows for an extension of the existing activities.

The main product of the IOTA Foundation to date is the IOTA Tangle, an open source Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that goes beyond blockchain. The IOTA Tangle resolves the scalability challenges of existing blockchain technologies and makes it possible to transfer value without transaction fees. IOTA is uniquely suited for business model innovation in the emerging Machine-to-Machine (M2M) economy.

IOTA has a strong ecosystem, which is one of the largest in the DLT community. Corporations, startups and independent developers are utilizing the technology to create new applications in a diverse number of areas, ranging from Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Mobility, eHealth and even Web Payments.

“Chicago’s innovation ecosystem is thriving and our partnership with the Chicago Connectory will further drive the adoption of the IOTA Tangle”, says Dominik Schiener Co-Founder of the IOTA Foundation.

The Chicago Connectory features a mix of community, technology and educational resources to help facilitate IoT partnerships with organizations such as the IOTA Foundation. The partnership with the IOTA Foundation is adding further mentors as well as related events, a strong ecosystem and project collaboration including the IOTA Foundation’s Development Fund to the Chicago-based IoT innovation space.

“The Chicago Connectory is the place to nurture and grow the IOTA ecosystem and to build the next great ideas and companies in IoT,” Schiener says. “We look forward to helping more organizations connect, grow and co-create as the Chicago Connectory becomes a key catalyst for the IOTA ecosystem in Chicago and the greater Midwest.”

---

About the Chicago Connectory

Covering nearly 20,000 square feet in Chicago’s historic Merchandise Mart, the Chicago Connectory is a co-creation space and IoT incubator boasting cutting-edge technology and security, expert programming, and mentorship from leading experts in IoT. More than a co-working space, the Chicago Connectory offers partners a co-creation model that fosters collaboration, networking, problem solving, and a new way of doing work in the age of connectivity. The Chicago Connectory is a partnership between Bosch and 1871. Together, 1871 and Bosch are empowering an ecosystem to drive the future of IoT.

Find more information online at http://www.chicagoconnectory.com.

About the IOTA Foundation

IOTA Foundation is a non-profit foundation with the purpose of developing, maintaining and standardizing new open source protocols based on distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The IOTA Tangle provides a revolutionary open source DLT which is scalable, lightweight and makes it possible to transfer value or data without any fees.

Find more information online at http://www.iota.org.

Output: Internet of things (IoT) incubator The Chicago Connectory has launched a partnership with the non-profit IOTA Foundation to explore applications for the technology that underpins blockchains. The incubator, backed by manufacturer Bosch and Chicago's 1871 innovation centre, will join IOTA to promote the use of distributed ledger technology in bringing increased transparency, security and efficiency to the IoT. IOTA and Bosch are founding members of the Trusted IoT Alliance, and The Chicago Connectory is expected to expand on existing activities involving the German manufacturer.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Vanguard criticised over genocide proxy voting recommendation
 Vanguard, genocide, and the $18 million campaign to get you to vote

On Nov. 15, Vanguard will hold an enormous shareholder meeting and proxy vote for the first time in almost a decade. If you’re a customer of the world’s largest mutual fund company, you’re also a shareholder, which is why you’ve likely been hounded by calls, emails, and paper mail to try to get you to vote.

Tucked into the ballot after boilerplate proposals is an interesting item — Proposal 7 — put forth by activist investor group Investors Against Genocide. The proposal moves to have Vanguard not invest in companies that, “in management’s judgement, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.”

“A shareholder proposal to institute transparent procedures to avoid holding investments in companies that, in management’s judgement, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights. Such procedures may include time-limited engagement with problem companies if management believes that their behavior can be changed.”

An example cited in the proposal was PetroChina, which has a connection to the genocide in Darfur. Vanguard’s management advises investors vote against the proposal.

Vanguard investors are surprised and angry

To many Vanguard investors, not investing in companies that “substantially contribute to genocide” is about as low a moral bar as there is, and they are outright angry at what they see as the company’s callousness. As the vote nears, investors are airing their confusion on Twitter, Reddit, and Vanguard forums.

Victoria Santoro, a Boston-based trial lawyer and Vanguard investor, is one of them. “When I got to the genocide item, I assumed the board’s recommendation would be to approve it,” she told Yahoo Finance. “I was very disappointed to find the opposite.” Santoro said she picked Vanguard over others due to its reputation for ethics.

Vanguard’s proxy ballot may throw some investors. Its board asks investors to vote “against” restricting investing in companies that “substantially contribute” to genocide. (Yahoo Finance)

Dr. Beverly Tchang, a doctor from New York and a Vanguard investor, had a similar reaction. “I found the proposal to be timely and appropriate. Especially since there has been so much coverage on the Rohingya recently,” she said, referring to a group of refugees fleeing Myanmar.

Tchang said she didn’t know specifics about PetroChina and Sudan, but argued that transparency was a low standard. “I don’t think [transparency] is too much to ask for,” she said.

Why Vanguard needs your vote

Vanguard, unlike most public companies, doesn’t hold an annual vote and generally only holds them when really necessary.

“Last time we did this was in 2009,” Arianna Stefanoni Sherlock, Vanguard’s head of corporate public relations, told Yahoo Finance. “Every time we do this, it’s a lot of time and money so we try to do this as infrequently as possible.”

Desperate for a needed quorum of one-third of shareholders for each fund, Vanguard is spending $17.6 million on a campaign to get its 20 million shareholders to vote to install board members.

A paper ballot. Vanguard is encouraging online voting, since well over 90% of its investments come through the web. (Yahoo Finance)

When the last vote occurred, Vanguard had just a fraction of the assets it does now. The astronomic rise in passive investing has brought $3 trillion in new assets under the company’s management, bringing the total to $4.6 trillion. At that time, a similar measure appeared on the ballot but only earned between 7% and 17% of the vote, depending on the fund.

Those new assets mean a higher number of voters are required for a quorum. Should Vanguard fail to have a quorum, it would have to hold another vote until enough shareholders turn out — an expensive proposition and one that has happened before. Fidelity, a Vanguard competitor, had to postpone its meeting eight times from October to April. “We need investors to come out and vote,” Sherlock said.

Vanguard: ‘Divestment is an ineffective means to implement social change’

Vanguard’s detailed response in the proxy materials notes its concern for the issues but advises against Proposal 7 because it would, in the company’s view, handicap advisors’ fiduciary duty. Furthermore, the company maintains “divestment is an ineffective means to implement social change” and that the company is already “fully compliant with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations.”

“Constraints imposed by third-parties could impair the ability of portfolio managers to provide Fund shareholders investment returns that are competitive with similar funds,” the company’s statement reads.

Sherlock echoed these points to Yahoo Finance. “It is nuanced,” she said. “I’m hoping investors are really reading their materials. Our recommendation ‘against’ isn’t how we feel about the issue.”

Tchang and Santoro were both unimpressed with arguments set forth by Vanguard. “Vanguard’s position that [the measure] won’t change genocide is inarguable, and therefore useless, precisely because we don’t have that information,” said Tchang, pointing to the catch-22 of transparency.

“Hiding behind a justification that they are following U.S. law is the bare minimum,” Santoro said. “Everyone is supposed to follow U.S. law. I hope very much that the Vanguard board is extremely active in vetting their portfolio companies.”

Activism, symbolic policy, or the seeds for a lawsuit?

Within Vanguard’s rationale are some larger issues, perhaps artlessly hinted at — but not fully explained — by the company in the proxy documents.

“I don’t view it as, ‘oh Vanguard is insensitive to genocide’,” Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School and an expert in corporate governance and litigation, told Yahoo Finance.“As a general rule, a recommendation against this type of shareholder proposal doesn’t reflect a fundamental disagreement.”

According to Fisch, an adopted vote could have hidden consequences and the Vanguard board wishes to be conservative. If the Proposal 7 passes, it could have an unpredictable effect. For example, should Vanguard shareholders identify and allege non-compliance, they may sue Vanguard and that could result in a court-ordered divestiture or damages paid.

“You don’t want the company to subject itself to litigation,” Fisch said. This legal exposure is why adopting measures to comply with policies that are already in compliance may not be as easy as it seems.

Jack Bogle, founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group, is widely lauded for bringing low-cost, user-friendly investing to millions through passive investing. (Reuters)

Tensie Whelan, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business who studies business and ethical concerns, said the generality of the measure might concern Vanguard further, even though it’s hedged by statements like “in management’s judgement” and “substantially contribute” — as if a small contribution to genocide would be kosher.

Instead of being held by a shareholder initiative, companies prefer to comply on their own terms. Whelan said companies often respond to these concerns with assurances that they are already in compliance, as well as showing they hear investors’ concerns by meeting with them and appropriate non-government organizations (NGOs).

A program like that, Whelan said, could benefit Vanguard. They could say, “here’s what we’re doing now, what else should we be doing? What standards can we comply with, what auditing can we do?” Ideally for a company, these steps happen so it doesn’t have to go to a shareholder resolution.

As to that solution, Vanguard’s Sherlock didn’t share specifics of such plans with Yahoo Finance but noted that the company is in touch with Investors Against Genocide and takes these matters seriously.

“We have a robust investment stewardship function at Vanguard,” she said. “We are actively engaging with the companies we hold and addressing and voting on other proxies for other companies when we see issues of concern, when it might affect long-term value.”

The last clause, however, gets to the heart of the concern for Vanguard customers like Santoro. “I think they can do much better in terms of responsible investing,” she said. “It’s not all about returns anymore.”

What has been done in the past

These types of proposals aren’t totally rare, but are relatively uncommon, especially the language in Vanguard’s Proposal 7. According to Whelan, about 1,000 shareholder resolutions are put forth each year to public companies, and are important means for investors to signal an issue’s importance. Most are on proxy access and a growing number concern climate change, but around 26 involve human rights.

Generally, proxy advisory services side with the board, though there can be flexibility, according to Whelan. Any coziness toward crimes against humanity could amount to a money-losing PR nightmare, which would be of fiduciary concern to shareholders.

ISS, a large proxy firm, advises these types of votes on a case-by-case basis, and they pointed to perhaps the most similar case from 2015. BlackRock, another index fund provider, was faced with an almost identical proposal brought on by the same activist group, Investors Against Genocide:

“Shareholders request that the Board institute transparent procedures to avoid holding or recommending investments in companies that, in management’s judgment, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violation of human rights.”

BlackRock justified recommending a vote against the proposal, contending the company is already required to comply with relevant laws and that these decisions are best left to management.

Egan Jones, another proxy advisory company, echoed ISS in a report on the Vanguard proposal. “Expecting a firm to abstain or avoid a line of legal business that might potentially result in moral negatives is, in general, a hopelessly costly endeavor doomed to failure or worse.”

Investors Against Genocide has put forth successful measures in the past, however. TIAA-CREF divested $58 million from Sudan-friendly oil companies including PetroChina after a successful campaign from the group, which withdrew a measure similar to Vanguard’s from a proxy ballot when the group’s divestment demands were met. T. Rowe Price also voluntarily adopted the group’s divestment demands.

The group has even managed to win a proxy vote when ING declined to take a stance, paving the way for a 59.8% victory. However, Investors Against Genocide’s website notes that ING has taken no action and investors want the company to disregard the vote.

First-time investors may throw a wrench into the situation

Vanguard’s $17.6 million effort to get shareholders out to vote may end up accidentally drumming up support for Proposal 7, because most individual investors usually do not vote. (Just 29% of shares owned by individual investors generally vote, according a study by PwC, and for mutual funds specifically the number is likely even lower.)

“Just by nature of growth we’ve seen in client base since 2009, I would say you could deduce that for lots of people it’s their first time doing this,” Sherlock said.

Thousands or millions of these new voters like Tchang and Santoro, who were brought to the ballot by Vanguard’s own efforts, may not react well to the board’s arguments or nuance. At the very least, they may find it difficult to vote against not investing in companies that “substantially contribute” to genocide.

“With increase of voting, you’ll have more people vote for [the measure],” Whelan said. “Generally voting is more by the institutions and they generally vote with management. An individual is more likely to vote for that.”

The rising popularity of index funds and passive investing and more socially-conscious millennial investors may significantly affect future voting on issues like this, said Whelan. While not every company needs to resort to expensive paid campaigns to get out the vote, the lack of participation of individual shareholder votes is something that may be addressed in the future. Policy changes or other measures will likely encourage these individuals to speak up on the ballot — not just through their traditional mode of selling. It’s important to remember: You can vote with your wallet, but you may also have a ballot.

Disclosure: Some of the author’s retirement savings are in Vanguard index funds. Vanguard’s cooperative business structure makes the author therefore a shareholder.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: emann[at]oath[.com].

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Output: Vanguard Group is facing criticism from some of its investors after it recommended they vote against an item prohibiting the firm from investing in companies associated with genocide. Investors will vote on the proposal, made by activist investment group Investors Against Genocide, during a shareholders meeting on 15 November. Investors have taken to both social media and Vanguard's own company forums expressing distaste at the firm's management for recommending a vote against the proposal. Vanguard's management has stated such issues are better resolved through diplomatic and political resources, and reiterated it is fully compliant with all US law regarding its investments.


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Input:
Insurtech Lemonade caps maximum claims payments for gun owners
 Online home and rental insurer Lemonade has said it is limiting its coverage for gun owners as part of its commitment to “make insurance into a social good.”

Citing the recent Las Vegas mass shooting, Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber blogged: “Our company, like our community, includes gun owners as well as gun control advocates. Many are both. But while we respect gun ownership, we’re not into gun worship.”

The insurer said it will limit the amount it will pay out for the damage or theft of firearms to an “entirely adequate” $2,500.

“If you own more than $2,500-worth of firearms, we recommend trying one of our competitors. They seem to all offer additional coverage. We don’t,” Schreiber wrote.

Lemonade’s policy already excludes coverage for any illegal guns or gun use, but in its revised policy it plans to add more firearms provisions to exclude assault rifles and add requirements that firearms be “stored securely and used responsibly” or coverage could be voided.

“As an insurance company, it falls to us to shield our customers from damage to their guns, and by their guns. It stands to reason that we want members who take the responsibilities of gun ownership as seriously as we do,” Schreiber wrote.

He said the company recognizes that guns “can be a polarizing topic” but said Lemonade was founded to “make insurance into a social good.”

“We’re under no illusion that our industry, let alone our company, can solve gun violence. But being unable to change much doesn’t give us license to change nothing. Here’s to everyone doing their part,” he wrote.

The new gun policy comes just days after Lemonade made headlines by launching a public API (application programming interface), allowing anyone to offer Lemonade policies through their apps or websites.

Related:

Topics Carriers Gun Liability

Output: Insurtech Lemonade has said it is capping claims payments for loss of firearms at $2,500. The firm said it considers this amount "adequate" in covering the loss or theft of such property. The company said social reasons are behind the introduction of the maximum payout. As an insurance company some responsibility should lie with Lemonade to help protect its clients from damage caused by firearms, Daniel Schreiber, the firm's CEO said in a company blog. He added while it's unlikely the firm's policy will have a significant impact, he wanted Lemonade's customers to be responsible gun owners.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
SparkLabs creates $100m fund for early-stage blockchain projects
 Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.

Blockchain is one of the biggest tech buzzwords in recent times, with markets including music, travel, and car-sharing slowly succumbing to blockchain’s allure. Then there are cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum, which are now pretty much synonymous with blockchain technology.

Against this backdrop, a new $100 million fund has been set up to invest in early-stage companies operating across the blockchain and cryptocurrency spectrum. SparkChain Capital is a new venture courtesy of SparkLabs Group, a company that operates a network of accelerators across Asia, as well as a duo of VC funds.

Officially launching today, SparkChain Capital will be led by managing partner Joyce Kim, formerly a VC at Freestyle Capital and latterly cofounder of Stellar Development Foundation, an open source payment network protocol that just this week announced a tie-up with IBM to create a cross-border blockchain payments solution.

Kim will work alongside a number of other people at SparkChain Capital, including Net Jacobsson, who cofounded SparkLabs Global Ventures and also formerly served as director of international business development at Facebook.

“With the rapid pace of innovation moving in this space, it is crucial to have the most experienced advisors involved from the early outset,” explained Jacobsson. “At SparkChain Capital, we have prepared ourselves by carefully recruiting some of the best securities advisors and fund attorneys to make sure that we always will be SEC compliant no matter how the wind blows.”

The story so far

SparkLabs launched its first accelerator in Seoul back in 2012 with a general focus on South Korean startups, though around a fifth of all graduates hail from other countries. The company subsequently launched additional accelerators in Korea and China, while as of last month it also operates SparkLabs Cultiv8, an Australia-based global accelerator program focused on ag tech, food tech, and sustainability.

Additionally, SparkLabs also operates SparkLabs Ventures, which is a VC fund focused on Korean startups, and seed-stage SparkLabs Global Ventures, which — as its name suggests — seeks out companies around the world.

SparkChain Capital will be targeted at blockchain and cryptocurrency companies around the world, though SparkLabs’ existing network across Asia will be leveraged to its fullest in places such as China, South Korea, and Japan. Indeed, SparkLabs already has investments in blockchain startups through its Seoul accelerator, including enterprise-focused blockchain company Blocko and bitcoin remittance startup Sentbe. Elsewhere, SparkLabs Global Ventures has invested in Swedish bitcoin exchange Cryex.

So far, SparkLabs Global Ventures has invested around 50 percent of its resources in the U.S. (mostly in Silicon Valley), while the remaining 50 percent has been split between Europe and Asia. And SparkChain Capital will likely follow a similar investment model — it will basically look to invest in the next big thing, irrespective of where they are.

Output: SparkLabs Group is set to double down on its investment in blockchain start-ups with the launch of a new $100m fund called SparkChain Capital. It will seek out early-stage companies working on blockchain and cryptocurrency projects around the world, though it will optimise its existing Asian network to find companies in China, Japan and South Korea. The company has several accelerator programmes and has previously invested in blockchain firms Blocko, Cryex and Sentbe.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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SBI Holdings partners with Wirex to provide crypto payment cards
 Wirex, a provider of bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments apps today announced that the company has signed a deal with Japan financial holdings company, SBI Holdings, to establish a new Asia focussed joint venture, SBI Wirex Asia. The collaboration means that Wirex benefits from SBI Holdings’ support, scale and Asian market relationships. SBI Holdings will benefit from the collaboration by gaining access to the popular cryptocurrency payments card provider and expert in the world of crypto-based finance.

SBI Wirex Asia will deliver a Japanese cryptocurrency payment card and joint businesses, which benefit from Wirex’s global expertise within the world of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), payments and cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, SBI invested $3 million into Wirex to support the expansion. Wirex and SBI Wirex Asia will work closely together to ensure Japanese customers benefit from Wirex’s global community and expertise with the support of SBI Wirex Asia.

Pavel Matveev, CEO, Wirex said:

“Our new relationship with SBI Holdings enables us to deepen our already market leading position in the country to offer new Japan and Asia focussed products and services. I look forward to working with the team at SBI.” “Japanese customers are our most enthusiastic supporters and use our VISA-backed cryptocurrency debit card more regularly than anywhere else in the world. They deserve a Yen denominated card soon and we will deliver it to them.”

Wataru Kojima, Wirex Japan CEO, said:

“I am pleased to see SBI Holdings enter into a relationship with Wirex, which will offer Japanese customers much improved choice and flexibility when it comes to cryptocurrency payments. “Japan leads the world in bitcoin regulation and our accountants are armed with the tools to accept bitcoin on balance sheets. I will ensure Japan maintains our preeminent position in this space though providing the most innovative and cost-effective technologies globally.”

Output: Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment app provider Wirex has closed a deal with Japan's SBI Holdings to establish an Asia-centric joint venture named SBI Wirex Asia. The partnership will allow Wirex to gain support from SBI in terms of its presence in the Asian market, while SBI will gain access to the cryptocurrency payments card provider's expertise. SBI Wirex Asia will offer a Japanese cryptocurrency payment card and related services. SBI has invested $3m into Wirex to fund the expansion.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Health at Hand to launch Middle East telehealth service
 Health at Hand, a telehealth startup targeting Middle East markets, announced that it has received $3.1 million in seed funding and will be launching its platform this Sunday in the United Arab Emirates. An unnamed regional family office anchored the funding round, which brings the company to approximately $4.1 million in total funding.

Founded in 2016, Health at Hand is a Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC)-licensed provider of patient-to-doctor video consultations that it says will be the first of its kind launched within the GCC. The company has relationships with Astrolabs, DMCC’s Google-partnered hub, and boasts Dr. Pat Basu, the former chief medical officer of leading US telemedicine platform Doctor on Demand, as a member of its board.

“We have a huge desire to help democratize primary health care in the Middle East, and unlike the US market where you see a prevalence of telehealth companies, this market is pretty immature, particularly in the regulator environment,” Health at Hand Founder and CEO Charlie Barlow told MobiHealthNews. “This funding is going to allow Health at Hand to become one of the first movers within these markets. It allows us to build out our proprietary technology as we look to move from on-demand telehealth, which is what we will launch on Sunday morning, into a more diverse range of options for patients.”

More specifically, Barlow said that the company will be using the funding to shift their platform toward a subscription model in the near future, which would then allow them to push into the Middle East’s corporate and insurance markets. During this time, the Health at Hand will also be building new features into their service, including geolocation, medication prescription, and drug delivery.

Barlow went on to explain that, unlike the US or other international markets, the Middle East’s telehealth landscape is relatively immature in terms of both regulation and competition. Even beyond telehealth, he said that on-demand technologies have only recently began to take hold in the region.

“It’s fair to say that in the Middle East over the past three to five years, there has been a huge increase in on-demand companies offering services in the Middle East [such as Uber],” he said. “What happened is that has led to an interest from the consumer and on-demand economy, but also a huge interest in family offices and venture capital businesses, private equity firms.”

The result, according to Barlow, is a market that is ripe for telehealth. The prevalence of so-called “diseases of affluence” such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes are all growing in the Middle East, and often can be addressed through video consultations. Further, data collected by Health at Hand indicates that digital healthcare delivery could reduce overall costs within the market by reducing high rates of unnecessary emergency and in-patient care. As such, Barlow said that his startup and its investors see a clear opportunity for the first telehealth provider able to offer a wealth of well-implemented features to establish itself in the region’s health care landscape.

“When we get to that point of being able to offer very high quality telehealth consultation with a wait time of no more than two minutes … we really do disrupt and change the whole face of primary health care in this region,” he said.

Output: Telehealth start-up Health at Hand is set to launch its on-demand platform in the United Arab Emirates. Health at Hand recently raised $3.1m in seed funding, which will be used to expand the platform's services to include medication prescription, drug delivery and geolocation. The company also envisages a move toward a subscription-based model, as it seeks to capitalise on the Middle East's nascent telehealth sector.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Ulster Bank uses AI tech to improve service
 Ulster Bank has started using an artificial intelligence platform to personalise future interactions with customers. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Ulster Bank, a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland, has decided to use artificial intelligence (AI) to get closer to its customers.

The bank said on Thursday it has used French IT services company Atos to deploy US software giant Salesforce's Einstein consumer relationship management (CRM) platform for the bank. It is the first full-scale implementation of this system in the financial services industry worldwide, according to Atos.

The development means that Ulster Bank can now analyse past customer behaviour to be better able to understand and personalise future engagements with them.

It should enable the bank to more effectively predict and recommend the right product, including types of loans, savings accounts, and foreign exchange solutions to customers.

READ MORE

"With the new platform, we have changed the system, the culture and the way our people interact with customers," said Damien Judge, head of business commercial excellence at Ulster Bank.

Customer choices

The new system also includes a “next-best product recommendation engine”, similar to a tool used by companies such as Amazon and Netflix to predict what customers may want based on other similar customer choices.

While banks globally have lagged behind other sectors in the use of artificial intelligence, the industry is turning increasingly to AI solutions to cut costs and improve systems as they face rising regulatory compliance demands and costs.

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers said that almost a third of large financial institutions internationally are investing in AI.

“Tomorrow, your bankers or wealth manager will coach you throughout your day to tackle appropriate financial decisions based on a combination of artificial intelligence and transaction and contextual data,” PwC’s global fintech report 2017 said.

Output: Ulster Bank has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand its customers and predict their future requirements. Partnering with French IT firm Atos, the Royal Bank of Scotland unit has employed Salesforce’s Einstein consumer relationship management platform. As well as offering insights into customers' previous actions, the platform also includes a next-best product recommendation engine, akin to those used by retail giants Amazon and Netflix. Damien Judge, head of business commercial excellence at Ulster Bank, said the AI platform was changing "the system, the culture and the way our people interact with customers”.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
US retail sector will see $7bn of defaults in 2018: Fitch
 The stress in the retail sector that has triggered a string of bankruptcies this year is unlikely to get much better in 2018.

The sector is expected to again produce the most defaults at up to $7 billion, resulting in a 10% default rate, Fitch Ratings said Thursday.

The September trailing 12-month retail default rate stood at 7.3% after Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.’s bankruptcy filing, up from just above 5% in July and August. The retail sector accounts for 30% of the defaults that have taken place in 2017 to date, with six issuers defaulting on debt totaling $5 billion.

The retail sector has been hit by a combination of factors, including competition from Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +1.46% , and a greater shift toward online shopping that has forced many to invest in technology at a time when sales are soft.

Consumer behavior has changed as the millennial generation comes of age, and retailers are now competing for dollars with smartphones, apps and electronics, as well as experiences such as travel and entertainment. Mall traffic has dwindled in many places, pressuring the anchor tenants that relied on them for sales.

The overall institutional leveraged loan default rate is expected to end 2018 at 2.5%, said Fitch, equal to about $27 billion of debt.

“Default volume will continue to be concentrated in retail and a couple of energy companies in 2018,” analysts led by Eric Rosenthal wrote in a note. “Excluding these two sectors, the 2018 default rate forecast is 1.5%. “

In case you missed it: J.C. Penney, Gymboree and J. Crew at risk -- and it’s not all Amazon’s fault

The average rate during a non-recessionary period is 1.7%.

Read also:Amazon isn’t the only reason Toys ‘R’ Us filed for bankruptcy

Fitch is now keeping a list of secondary loans of concern, identifying likely default candidates. The list includes Neiman Marcus Group Inc., J Crew Group Inc., Talbots Inc., Lands’ End Inc. and Cole Haan.

Other issuers that Fitch is monitoring for now include PetSmart Inc., Belk Inc., Ann Taylor parent Ascena Retail Group Inc. US:ASNA , Tailored Brands Inc. US:TLRD and J.Jill Group Inc. JILL, -0.80%

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Fitch’s primary loans of concern list is led by iHeartCommunications Inc. IHRT, which is battling creditors as it struggles to restructure a $15.5 billion debt load taken on as part of the 2006 leveraged buyout by Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital.

Read: iHeartRadio parent may be shaping up for a bruising fight with its lenders

That list includes troubled department-store chain Sears Holdings Corp. US:SHLD, Nine West Holdings Inc., 99 Cents Only Stores LLC, NYDJ Apparel LLC and Vince LLC. VNCE, +3.36%

Output: US retailers that fought through a stressful 2017 will face a gloomy 2018 after the sector was given a 10% default forecast -- which equates to $7bn -- by Fitch Ratings. The downbeat outlook has been blamed on the rise of online shopping and the dominance of Amazon. Fitch has compiled lists of primary and secondary loans of concern, including those of iHeartCommunications and J Crew Group. In September, the trailing 12-month retail default rate rose to 7.3% following the bankruptcy of Toys 'R' Us, compared with about 5% in the preceding two months.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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HFI urges green belt use, fewer controls to solve housing crisis
 L ondon's housing crisis can only be solved by a radical overhaul of the “deeply flawed” planning system to rein in selfish middle class “Nimbys,” a provocative new report argues today.

In comments that will anger conservation and resident bodies, former City of London Corporation supremo Sir Mark Boleat said current rules “give far too much weight to articulate groups who make a lot of noise” and not enough weight to young “have-nots” who are priced off the housing ladder.

Sir Mark, who chairs The Housing & Finance Institute, founded to boost house building, said knee-jerk opposition to development, rather than wealthy foreign investors, was the real reason for London’s chronic shortage of homes.

In a radical set of proposals, Sir Mark said that residents must have their influence hugely scaled back by excluding councillors representing residents affected by a planning application from the decision on whether it should go ahead.

Sir Mark Boleat who chairs The Housing & Finance Institute (NIGEL HOWARD) / NIGEL HOWARD ©

Sir Mark said: “On the face of it this might seem to strike against the concept of democracy and decisions being taken at the local level.

But in reality many councillors would welcome such an approach, as all too often they feel they need to be supporting the local prevailing view even if they know that a development is desirable.”

Radical change in policy is needed Commentary: Sir Mark Boleat In 1975 I wrote a paper which opened by saying the fundamental cause of Britain’s housing problems were policy makers — 42 years later, I hold to this conclusion. Between 1998 and 2015 the population of London increased by 21 per cent while the supply of housing rose by 12 per cent. It is commonly argued that developers are the problem, building too slowly, deliberately holding on to land so as to sell it as a profit. More recently the finger has been pointed at overseas buyers, the implication being that more homes sold to foreign buyers mean less housing and higher prices for Londoners. Both of these are myths. The really big problem is the planning system. Planning committees are made up of locally elected representatives, and elected members need to be responsive to the views of their constituents. Planning applications invariably meet strong resistance from neighbouring residents who put pressure on their elected representatives. There is accordingly a presumption against development. So what is the answer? More land must be made available for house building and then built on at higher densities. There should be a review of the green belt so that land not needed to prevent urban sprawl can be used for housing. Tougher penalties should be imposed on public sector bodies that hold on to land they do not need. We must change the planning system so the bias against development is reduced. This requires changes in how conflicts are managed between local government, planning departments and developers. At present the planning system makes it too easy for politicians who wish to restrict housing development and too difficult for those who want to increase it. A radical step-change is required.

The streamlined planning “panels” modelled on the Australian system should receive proper training to help them come to decisions, he added.

Sir Mark, who this year stepped down as chairman of the City’s key Policy and Resources Committee after five years in the role, said pressure from well-organised voters often put councillors “in a near-impossible position”.

He added: “They have been elected and need to be re-elected and therefore are responsive to their electorates, who invariably are opposed to developments. But their responsibility is not just to current electors but to future generations.” The recommendations will be welcomed by developers who increasingly complain that the planning regime has become hopelessly loaded against them, leading to years of delay.

Other proposals include:

A major review of rules on the Green Belt to make it easier for low-grade land to be built on in exchange for other more valuable open space being given more protection.

A system of penalties for public sector bodies that hoard land that could be made available for development.

An assumption that planning conditions have been met within seven days of a developer providing evidence that they have been fulfilled.

Allowing far higher density of housing in the form of five- or six-storey development similar to Paris.

A radical overhaul of the “expensive and time consuming” system for negotiating developers’ contributions to local infrastructure.

A rethink of the targets for affordable housing which “cannot be expressed as a percentage of housing built but needs to be an absolute number and with a clear strategy for achieving it”.

Sir Mark said: “Housing is the No 1 domestic policy challenge of our age. We must be radical.”

Output: The Housing & Finance Institute has listed measures it says will help resolve London's housing crisis. Among them, it urges recognition that brownfield construction will not work alone and that raising house-building taxes will discourage construction. The report suggests using green belt land and allowing higher-density housing. Failure to release excess land for public use should be punished and planning conditions should be reduced, it also said, while recommending greater involvement of political leaders in local authorities.


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Senators fail to protect Alaskan wildlife refuge from drilling
 This story was updated Oct. 26 with the U.S. House voting.

Republicans in Congress have spent decades trying—and failing—to bring oil and gas development to one of the United States’ last truly untouched areas. Now, they appear to have the votes to make it happen.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge represents the final frontier of American wilderness. Its 19.3 million acres in Alaska are home to polar bears, caribou and thousands of bird species, and it is sacred to the Gwich’in people. Along its northern edge is a controversial swath of land called the coastal plain, and this is where the GOP has long fought to bring drilling.

This latest attempt to open the wildlife refuge to drilling began as the House and Senate rolled out their 2018 budget plans. In late September, the Senate Budget Committee released a proposal that includes instructions to senators who oversee energy and natural resources to find $1 billion in new revenue. It was a thinly veiled suggestion to allow drilling leases in the wildlife refuge, as Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, confirmed on Thursday.

“It is not the only option, but I will tell you that it is the best option, and it is on the table,” Murkowski said on the Senate floor.

Three Senate Democrats—Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)—tried on Thursday to remove the refuge drilling plan from the budget bill, but their amendment failed, 48 to 52. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to join the ranks of Democrats who supported the amendment; Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted against the measure.

“Republicans are trying to use the budget process to ram through drilling in the crown jewel of America’s Wildlife Refuge System because they know they don’t have the votes to do so through regular order,” Markey said in a statement after the vote. “Republicans are moving forward with a budget that includes this poison pill to hand over the wildest place left in America to Big Oil. This is nothing more than fossil fuel folly.”

Drilling in the refuge is not yet a done deal. The Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, which Murkowski chairs, will have to come up with a recommendation to meet the budget instruction. (When Murkowski joined the Senate in 2002, she picked up the mantle of fighting for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from her father, former Sen. Frank Murkowski, who had been fighting for it since 1980.) Because that recommendation will be voted on through the budget process, it will need only a simple majority to pass.

On the House side, a similar instruction attached to a budget bill asks the House Natural Resources Committee to find $5 billion in federal revenue. The budget bill passed on Oct. 26, and the two chambers will now have to negotiate a final number.

“This is and always has been largely a political issue, and not an economic one,” said David Hayes, who was the Interior Department’s deputy secretary and chief operating officer at points in the Clinton and Obama administrations.

“It’s being framed as a budget amendment that could potentially yield a billion dollars in revenue for the federal government. That’s fantasy. There’s no basis for that at all,” Hayes said. “But folks who don’t appreciate the economics are potentially drawn to that.”

Not the First Attempt to Open ANWR

The coastal plain—an area roughly the size of Delaware—lacks the federal “wilderness area” designation and could, with Congressional approval, be opened for drilling.

Congressional Republicans came close in 1995, when a provision recommending opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) made it through Congress before being vetoed by President Bill Clinton. Ten years later, a similar effort gained support in the Senate but ultimately failed.

Now, with a Republican Congress, a president who supports increased fossil fuel development in the Arctic and a potential route to passage that requires just a simple majority vote, ANWR may be more vulnerable than ever before.

“It’s gotten close before, but to date, the strong public recognition that this is not a place for oil drilling has prevailed,” said Hayes, who is now the director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law. “But one can’t count on anything these days.”

Turning the ‘Crown Jewels’ Over to Polluters

In 2005, the effort to keep drilling out of the refuge was also led by Sen. Cantwell. In a press conference earlier this week, Cantwell pointed out that previous efforts have also relied on legislative processes that tie ANWR to other bills. “It tells you something that this idea does not stand on its own,” she said.

“I hope that we’ll all fight very hard to make sure that, on our watch, we do not give up one of the crown jewels of the United States of America,” Cantwell said. “We will resist their unbelievable attempts to turn public lands over to polluters.”

Earlier on Thursday, more than 300 businesses and organizations from across the country sent a letter to Congress asking them to protect ANWR from drilling.

“We represent a broad and diverse constituency voice that proves that folks across this country deeply appreciate our nation’s wild spaces,” the letter says. “We urge you to continue to do all you can to enact the strongest possible protections for the Arctic landscape, its wildlife and its people.”

Output: Three US Democratic Senators have failed to prevent the granting of drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a 19.3 million acre Alaskan wilderness which is home to numerous endangered species, and is sacred to the Gwich'in people. Last September, the Senate Budget Committee released a proposal that would obliquely have permitted such drilling. On Thursday, the senators attempted to remove the drilling plan from the proposal, but failed to achieve sufficient support. Despite this setback, committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives must consider the budget before drilling is permitted.


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BBC looks towards AI to help improve commissioned programming
 The BBC wants to leverage machine learning to improve its online services and the programmes it commissions every year. Today, the broadcaster announced a five-year research partnership with eight universities from across the UK. Data scientists will help the best and brightest at the BBC set up the "Data Science Research Partnership," tasked with being "at the forefront of the machine learning in the media industry." It will tackle a range of projects not just with the BBC, but media and technology organisations from across Europe. The larger aim is to take the results, or learnings, and apply them directly to the BBC's operations in Britain.

The broadcaster, for instance, wants to use data to "better understand what audiences want from the BBC." The organisation could, of course, simply poll licence fee payers, but the idea presumably is to burrow down into TV and iPlayer viewing habits. With a wealth of hard data, it's possible that an algorithm could pick out larger trends and deduce whether the BBC is using its resources most effectively. To that end, the BBC hopes machine learning can help it build "a more personal BBC" with tools that could allow employees to make informed editorial and commissioning decisions.

The broadcaster is also interested in a concept called object-based broadcasting. At the moment, TV shows and news bulletins are broadcast as single pieces of linear media. But for years now, the BBC has envisioned media "objects," or blocks, that could be assembled in different ways depending on the user or end-hardware. Take the news, for instance: If every story or segment was cut-up, it could be personalised based on your tastes. Maybe you want the sport first, with more time dedicated to women's football. Or a shorter, snappier version of the local news. Machine learning could, in theory, help the BBC realise this abstract dream.

Machine learning is a buzzword at the moment, but with good reason. Engineers are teaching computers to learn, adapt and analyse based on relevant examples. It's led to improvements in voice recognition, translation, and if you're Google's DeepMind division, world champion 'Go' players. It's no surprise that the BBC wants to leverage this new area of AI development in its own business. Media companies like Netflix have embraced user data to shape every part of its services, from commissioning to thumbnail designs. The BBC needs to do the same, especially as it pivots to a model increasingly dependent on original, British programming.

Output: The BBC plans to use machine learning to optimise its online services and its commissioned programme selection through a five-year research partnership with eight UK universities. The Data Science Research Partnership will develop projects across Europe for media and technology companies, applying its discoveries to BBC products. The broadcaster hopes that machine learning can help it personalise its service through data analysis so it can make better commissioning and editorial choices. The company is also exploring “object-based broadcasting”, or breaking programmes into shorter segments that can be assembled into tailored broadcasting for viewers.


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Bayern Munich finds augmented reality key to fan growth and sales
 It may be early days for augmented reality, but that hasn’t stopped German football team Bayern Munich from building it into its mobile app.

Fans who download the latest version of the team’s iOS app can use the AR feature to bring either team captain Manuel Neuer or forward Arjen Robben into their selfies. There’s an option to pick which of the club’s three jerseys this season (home, away and UEFA Champions League) Robben wears in the photos as well as a feature to personalize and then screenshot the number and name on the back of one of the jerseys. Fans can buy the personalized jersey directly from the club’s store.

While it’s not a full-blown sales drive, the app’s AR feature is the first step to discovering the technology’s commercial potential, according to Stefan Mennerich, Bayern Munich’s director of media, digital and communications. E-commerce accounts for 50 percent of the club’s annual merchandising turnover, which amounts to €50 million ($58.9 million), he added.

Beyond jersey sales, the club believes sponsorships could also be sold around its app’s AR feature. “We believe that AR could be key for us in the near future,” said Mennerich. “We’re already thinking about the merchandising experience via AR and how that could potentially work with sponsors when it comes to exporting the logos of our partners [to the feature].”

The club’s decision to jump on the AR trend now was triggered by Apple’s iOS 11 update that lets brands add the feature to their apps, which some believe will help push the technology to the masses. Prior to the Apple update, Bayern Munich’s AR efforts were limited, with one early trial allowing fans in its stadium to see exclusive content when they looked at certain parts of the stadium through their smartphone camera.

Fan engagement on mobile, in the stadium and on social media is where Mennerich believes the club will make early strides in AR. Like its approach to social media, Bayern Munich will take its time monetizing AR, instead focusing on how it can help grow the club’s following worldwide. Bayern Munich may be one of the most successful teams in football on the pitch, but off it, the club is noticeably behind its biggest rivals Real Madrid and Manchester United in commercializing its value.

The German club is fifth in the latest Deloitte Football Money League, an annual ranking of the richest teams in the world, while Real Madrid ranks third and Manchester United is first. Unlike those clubs, Bayern Munich doesn’t yet have the fan base to try to quickly turn its digital operations into a revenue generator.

Around 40 percent of the “reach” — Bayern Munich’s label for number of impressions — the club sells to sponsors comes from its online media. Most of that reach to date comes from its social media profiles, though the team is wary of that growing in the future at the expense of traffic to its own platforms.

“The main goal for us is to try to reach as many people as possible,” said Mennerich. “For example, on our Facebook page, 93 percent of our followers are not from Germany. They are from abroad. If those fans don’t like us, then there won’t be any successful commercial activity. The first step is reach and relevance for the club, which is what we’re trying with the app.”

Image courtesy of FC Bayern Munich

Output: German football team Bayern Munich has integrated augmented reality into its iOS app, enabling users to add team captain Manuel Neuer or forward Arjen Robben into selfies. The app is the team’s first move into commercial uses for the technology. E-commerce represents 50% of the club’s merchandising intake per year, worth around $58.9m. The feature was launched in response to the iOS 11 update that allows brands to add AR to their apps. Bayern Munich plans to monetise the AR after testing it as a growth tool for its following.


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Gene-altering cancer drug approved as immunotherapy surges
 The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the second in a radically new class of treatments that genetically reboot a patient’s own immune cells to kill cancer.

The new therapy, Yescarta, made by Kite Pharma, was approved for adults with aggressive forms of a blood cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, who have undergone two regimens of chemotherapy that failed.

The treatment, considered a form of gene therapy, transforms the patient’s cells into what researchers call a “living drug” that attacks cancer cells. It is part of the rapidly growing field of immunotherapy, which uses drugs or genetic tinkering to turbocharge the immune system to fight disease. In some cases the treatments have led to long remissions.

“The results are pretty remarkable,” said Dr. Frederick L. Locke, a specialist in blood cancers at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, and a leader of a study of the new treatment. “We’re excited. We think there are many patients who may need this therapy.”

Output: The US Food and Drug Administration has given its approval for the Yescarta gene therapy from Kite Pharma to be used on aggressive forms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The treatment genetically alters a patient's immune cells, turning them into a “living drug”, to destroy the cancer. The immunotherapy, the second such treatment to get FDA backing, has led to long remissions in some cases, leading to the approval for patients who have already had two failed courses of chemotherapy. The cost of the treatment is $373,000 for the single infusion required. Side effects include fever, blood pressure drops, neurological problems and lung congestion.


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Facebook will roll out Explore Feed in the next few weeks
 Will Explore Feed help burst our respective Facebook bubbles?

Facebook yesterday (18 October) confirmed to TechCrunch that users should see the new Explore Feed on both desktop and mobile in the coming weeks.

The feature had been tested on a small number of mobile users, but now everyone can try it out for themselves.

As is the norm with Facebook, the Explore Feed is algorithmically arranged based on your own previous likes, but the posts are from pages you may not have come across in your scrolling before. Posts may also be added to the feed based on their popularity among the people you’re connected to on the site.

Facebook's Explore Feed is now on desktop, huh? pic.twitter.com/mgXs6tpapH — 🟣 Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) October 17, 2017

Discovering new pages

Facebook said that the Explore Feed is a direct response to user requests to make it easier to discover pages that they aren’t already following.

“We are beginning to roll out a complementary feed of popular articles, videos and photos, automatically customised for each person based on content that might be interesting to them.

“We’ve heard from people that they want an easy way to explore relevant content from pages they haven’t connected with yet.”

The Explore Feed is accessible on the left sidebar of Facebook on desktop; on mobile, you can take a look via the More menu.

A secondary News Feed?

This feature could be viewed as a secondary News Feed for Facebook to monetise via advertising, though there are no ads after extended scrolling at present.

An increase in time spent on-site or in-app is partially the Explore Feed’s aim, as well as serving users posts they are likely to enjoy. The content won’t do that much to help burst your carefully curated feed, as adding pages that won’t interest users to Explore will mean they’ll leave the app or webpage sooner.

Facebook wants to connect users with a broad range of their interests through recommended content, and make it easier to follow news and trending topics (as many do via Twitter).

It’s not clear how users will adopt the new feature, though, particularly as the rocket icon is buried within both the app and website.

Facebook is making a change on both mobile and desktop. Image: weedezign/Shutterstock

Output: Facebook's new Explore Feed feature is set to launch on desktop and mobile within a few weeks, following extensive testing by mobile users. The algorithm-based feature presents customised posts based on the user's previous likes, as well as those that are popular with users’ friends. There are presently no ads after extended scrolling available, but the feature could be used as a secondary news feed for monetisation purposes.