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Oil company Shell still finds Facebook and Google best place for ads
 Not every advertiser sees YouTube’s brand-safety woes and Facebook’s metric mishaps as chances to openly berate the duopoly. Oil giant Shell is doing the opposite, taking a pragmatic — and sometimes sympathetic — view of both companies’ quandaries.

Between developing a clear strategy for YouTube and running more ads on Facebook, Shell has pinned its colors to the duopoly flag for the foreseeable future. Americo Campos Silva, head of digital and social media for Shell, justified the moves, insisting that Google isn’t entirely to blame for ads appearing next to terrorist videos and criticizing the videos’ creators for avoiding detection using specific tags. Campos Silva also downplayed reports that Facebook falsified the size of its audience and insisted that Shell doesn’t use reach as the main proxy for the success of its ads.

Although Campos Silva’s arguments contrast from the industry’s animosity toward Google and Facebook, Shell was never going to burn bridges to either platform, not when both are key to reaching the millennials who think the oil industry is only about profiting from irreversible damage to the planet. After all, a marketer can only go to so many places to reach those who aren’t watching TV.

YouTube is that place, according to Campos Silva, who is leading a review of how his 40-strong team of marketers build its channel’s subscribers. He declined to share how the team will consistently create content that people will willingly watch, but he revealed Shell is still figuring out the platform’s myriad uses.

“We need to understand exactly what we want to get from YouTube, instead of looking at it as just a warehouse of multiple videos that we upload videos to or as a place to put some ad budget into it in order to generate views,” Campos Silva said. “We have some very good benchmarks on other brands that have produced content for YouTube alongside some influencers that have produced great work.”

From positioning YouTube as the heartbeat of Shell’s content strategy to making content with professional vloggers, Shell will need to consider the risks and rewards these moves pose to its brand before starting to rebuild its strategy. Interestingly, advertising on YouTube is conspicuously absent from YouTube’s renewed focus on the platform, particularly given Campos Silva’s insistence that it has the largest audience for online video.

“I think YouTube’s importance [to Shell] is growing significantly because there is a growing trend of people watching YouTube on the TV in the living room,” he said.

Campos Silva said Shell won’t stop spending on Facebook despite its data conflicting with U.S. census statistics. Earlier this month, Pivotal Research Group senior analyst Brian Wieser highlighted discrepancies between U.S. census data and the potential reach the social network promises advertisers. But having previously headed up Shell’s media buying, Campos Silva deems it OK that Facebook’s reach may not be accurate as long as the same measurement is used each time — reach becomes a barometer, rather than an exact science.

While the majority of Shell’s Facebook ads try to build its brand, they are harder to measure, and direct-response campaigns “are more objective on the way they are measured,” he said.

Campos Silva said what ultimately matters to him is the impact of campaigns rather than their reach. For instance, if Shell pays to reach 10 million people but reaches 9.9 million without sacrificing impact, it’s “not a big problem,” he said. “The issues over Facebook’s reach and whether or not it is as big as they say will not stop us investing in the channel.”

No brand view on the duopoly is irrelevant, but the loudest ones appear to be from legacy industries that are being disrupted the most. Whether it’s Shell (energy), Procter & Gamble (consumer packaged goods) or Restoration Hardware (retail), brands’ comments about the state of the media supply chain seem to be as much about showing shareholders they are innovative businesses as they are about advertising.

Output: Oil giant Shell is bucking the trend in advertisers frowning upon Facebook and Google's advertising duopoly, and shrugging off recent bad headlines surrounding content placement and inaccurate metrics. Americo Campos Silva, head of digital and social media for Shell, has spotlighted Google-owned YouTube as the place to engage millennial viewers, citing the growing trend of people watching the channel on their living room TVs. Silva also said Google was not entirely to blame for the scandal surrounding ad content placed near extremist content on YouTube, and issues over Facebook's reach won't prevent the company investing in the channel.


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NHS agrees results-based payment for hepatitis C drug
 The cash-strapped NHS has struck up a 'pay as you cure' deal for a hepatitis C drug as it desperately attempts to save money.

Under the new deal, which is the first of its kind, the National Health Service will only pay for the medication if a patient is successfully cured.

For those who aren't cured by taking the medication, its manufacturer, who hasn't been identified, will cough up and pay the fee.

If it proves successful, the move by NHS England could be adopted for other costly treatments to reduce the nation's drug bill.

Currently, the health service spends more than £15 billion on the range of drugs it provides every year, according to official figures.

It comes amid repeated cuts to the NHS, which has seen various services scrapped in recent months, creating a 'postcode lottery' for many.

Under the new deal, which is the first of its kind, the health service will only pay for the medication if a patient is successfully cured (stock)

The cost-saving move was announced at the NHS Expo conference in Manchester by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens.

He said cutting back was important for the NHS to reach its 'full potential' by making sure it can afford drugs for future generations.

How common is hepatitis C?

Around 215,000 people in the UK are thought to have hepatitis C, figures suggest. The virus can infect the liver.

TREATMENTS AT RISK Hundreds of people with rare diseases could miss out on vital treatments after the NHS was ordered to consider bankrolling a controversial HIV pill, it was announced last November. Toddlers with cystic fibrosis, deaf children and amputees may now be denied a range of new medical devices and breakthrough drugs. NHS England has a budget of £25million a year for specialised new treatments and equipment for rare diseases. But the Court of Appeal ruling meant up to £20million may be diverted to provide pills for those at risk of HIV infection due to their high-risk sex lives, including up to 5,000 gay men. Critics fear it will encourage 'sexual risk-taking'. The decision put patients at the centre of a price war between a US drugs giant and the NHS, which warned that 'excessively high pricing' of the £4,000-a-year pill could put funding for 13 other treatments in doubt. NHS England had argued it should not have to even consider funding the PrEP treatment, because HIV prevention is not in its remit – insisting local councils should bear responsibility. Advertisement !- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/ru/health/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->

Left untreated, the condition can lead to potentially life-threatening complications, including cirrhosis or liver cancer.

People contract the virus by coming into contact with the blood of an infected person which can occur by sharing needles, razors or toothbrushes.

NICE advises that patients are given direct-acting antiviral medicines, which can produce results in as little as eight weeks.

The drug in the new deal, which is given to around 10,000 patients a year, and its manufacturer cannot be named due to commercial confidentiality.

Other innovative ways to save money

Delegates at the conference were told of various innovative ways the NHS has come up with to fund the latest treatments and keep the nation's drugs bill down.

Mr Stevens also announced how he hopes to save £300 million a year by 2021 by accelerating the uptake of 'biosimilar' medicines.

Such drugs are cheaper but as equally effective as 'biological' treatments - which mimic substances that humans produce naturally.

NHS figures show that six of the top 10 most expensive medicines prescribed in NHS hospitals are biological products.

At the conference, Mr Stevens also announced a £700,000 investment for auditory brainstem implants - which help to restore hearing in some deaf children.

Output: The NHS in England has struck a payment-by-results deal with a pharmaceutical company for the supply of a drug used to treat hepatitis C. It means the manufacturer will only be paid if a patient is successfully cured. The company and the drug have not been named due to commercial confidentiality, but the arrangement was confirmed by NHS England's chief executive, Simon Stevens. If the innovative deal works well, it may be introduced for other costly treatments as the NHS seeks to reduce its £15bn ($20.3bn) annual bill for drugs.


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Oil and gas companies in South China Sea at risk
 That was the case for Spanish energy firm Repsol . In July, its subsidiary Talisman-Vietnam was ordered by Hanoi to stop gas drilling in a China-claimed area after Beijing warned the Southeast Asian country that it would attack bases if operations continued.

As the world's second-largest economy threatens military action in the South China Sea, oil and gas players with interests in the disputed zone are put in a bad place.

Map courtesy of Stratfor.

President Xi Jinping's administration's use of military retaliation is "a worrying escalation" and could result in further , said Hugo Brennan, Asia analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, in a Wednesday note.

Companies that have interests or operations in blocks licensed by Southeast Asian governments but located within China-claimed waters are likely to face pressure from Beijing, according to Brennan.

There are many overlapping claims in the region. China relies on a concept known as the nine-dash line to mark its territorial claims — a massive area that extends roughly 1,000 miles from its southern shores — in the South China Sea. But Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also assert sovereign rights over parts of the international waterway, which is rich in resources and boasts key maritime routes.

Against that backdrop, firms licensed by other countries to operate in disputed ares will face Chinese protestations. Any company ignoring those would likely face consequences such as on-site harassment, de facto exclusion from the Chinese market and even implicit threats to company staff and assets, Brennan said. experienced the latter option in 2007, he added.

"Operators also have to analyse the resolve of Southeast Asian governments to stand up to China. Otherwise, companies with rights to develop blocks or fields in contested waters may find that they are prevented from exercising them as host government become wary of rocking the boat."

The next potential flash-point could be Vietnam's Red Emperor oil and gas field, also called Ca Rong Do. Repsol is active in the project, which is located within China's nine-dash line, and drilling is slated for 2019. But in light of Chinese threats, it remains to be seen how much progress the Madrid-based firm will make, Brennan said.

Output: The increased willingness by China to use military threats in the South China Sea, as shown with the incident in July over Spain's Repsol, reveals how oil and gas companies with interests in the disputed zone are increasingly at risk. These companies, if they ignore demands by China, may face harassment, exclusion from the Chinese market as well as threats to staff, according to Verisk Maplecroft. The Beijing government's use of military retaliation is "a worrying escalation" which could further pressurise future business dealings, warns Verisk Maplecroft's Hugo Brennan.


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Powerhouse Ventures to sell quarter of its Invert Robotics stake
 Christchurch-based technology incubator Powerhouse Ventures plans to sell about one-quarter of its holding of Invert Robotics for $1.3 million, a premium to its book value.

In a release to the ASX, the company said it had been approached during Invert's current financing round. At present, it owns 34.6 percent of the company and the sale would reduce that to between 23.6 percent and 28.2 percent of the shares.

The deal is conditional to completing a pre-emptive shareholder process and co-sale rights under the shareholder agreement it has with Invert, which will determine its holding after the sale, it said. It will take at least one month to complete.

Powerhouse said the sale would result in a profit above its current book valuation of Invert. Chair Russell Yardley said the sale would introduce "new institutional and sophisticated investors" to Invert ahead of further capital raising to fund the robotics firm's expansion into European dairy and aviation.

"Generally, Powerhouse Ventures aims to own between 20 to 40 percent of its investee companies prior to their expansion rounds when they grow to become 'post-seed stage' companies," the company said. "Invert has now reached this point and has in place the necessary governance and funding arrangements to succeed."

Powerhouse shares recently traded at 30 Australian cents on the ASX, down 62.5 percent this year. It listed last year with an initial public offering price of A$1.07.

Last month the company said it was adjusting its investment portfolio after a review found a number of companies didn't follow Powerhouse's investment strategy.

(BusinessDesk)

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Output: New Zealand technology incubator Powerhouse Ventures aims to sell a quarter of its stake in Invert Robotics for NZD1.3m ($1m), in a deal subject to the completion of a pre-emptive shareholder process and co-sale rights. The move is in line with Powerhouse's policy of reducing its holdings in firms that grow beyond their seed stage. Chairman Russell Yardley said the sale would result in a profit above Invert's current book valuation and introduce "new institutional and sophisticated investors" to the firm.


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Chinese firm reveals drones equipped with anti-tank missiles
 The TB001 is 33 feet long and has a wingspan of twice that. It can fly for 35 hours and travel over 3,700 miles in that time. It is optimized for satellite control as well as an electro-optical targeting sensor. It can also be equipped with armaments, such as small missile launchers, for a total of 220 pounds of ordnance. A mock-up at the UAV show depicted the TB001 equipped with eight anti-tank Norinco Blue Arrow missiles, each weighing 100 pounds.

Also showcased was the TA001, a single pusher-engine UAV meant to carry lighter ordnance. It was about half the size of the TB001.

Output: Chinese drone-maker Tengoen has unveiled a new generation of armed reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with anti-tank missiles at the 14th China-Asean Expo in Nanning, Guangxi province. The UAVs include the TB001 Twin-Tailed Scorpion, which Tengoen has described as the only Chinese-made twin-engine, twin-boom unmanned aerial system in production. The TB001 is 33 ft long and can fly for 35 hours over a distance of 3,700 miles. At present China lags behind other major military powers in drone warfare and has been exploring its options for catching up.


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Tencent to invest $366m in Chinese investment bank CICC

Tencent Holdings Ltd. has agreed to invest HK$2.86 billion (US$367 million) in China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC) for a 4.95% stake in the company. At the same time, the two parties said they have agreed to establish a strategic partnership in a range of services and products leveraging Tencent’s financial technology and CICC’s wealth management capabilities, according to a joint announcement.

The move is another major bet on China’s financial services industry by social networking and gaming giant Tencent. Tencent’s current financial services offerings include loan and wealth management via its WeBank and Qian.qq.com units, while its third-party payment platform Tenpay is currently the second largest digital payment service in China, following market leader Alibaba-controlled Alipay. The company is also a backer of China’s first Internet only insurer ZhongAn Online and online peer-to-peer lender Renrendai, and has invested in brokerage firms Futu Securities and Huatai Securities.

"Tencent looks forward to cooperating with CICC, a leading investment bank in China, in a range of services and products, including providing CICC with our advanced FinTech, and leveraging CICC’s wealth management capabilities to better serve our users," said Martin Lau, president of Tencent.

The deal sees Tencent Mobility Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent Holdings, acquire 207.5 million newly issued H shares of CICC for HK$13.8 per share, which represents a discount of about 10.97% to CICC’s closing price of HK$15.5 yesterday. The Tencent unit will own 12.01% and 4.95% of the total issued H shares and the total issued shares of CICC respectively on a fully diluted basis after the completion of the deal, which is pending regulatory approval.

Founded in 1995, CICC’s main businesses include investment banking, equities, wealth management and investment management. The Beijing-based company operates over 200 securities branches in 19 cities with overseas presence in New York, Singapore and London, in addition to Hong Kong. The company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2015.

Output: China International Capital Corp's (CICC) shares surged on news that Tencent will invest HKD2.86bn ($366.6m) in the investment bank for a 4.95% stake. The two will also work together in a strategic partnership. Tencent is no newcomer to financial services, it offers customers loans and banking services via subsidiaries WeBank and Qian.qq.com, owns China's second largest digital payments service and backs the country's first online-only insurer ZhongAn. Another Chinese internet firm eyeing financial services is JD.com, said to be in talks last week to buy a 24% stake in brokerage First Capital Securities worth roughly $1.5bn.


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Redrow Redrow approaches 'end of an era' at Buckshaw Village development
 Two landmark Chorley developments coming to an end

With only a dozen properties left to sell at West Point, Redrow Homes is approaching the ‘end of an era’ at Buckshaw Village, near Chorley, while only three new homes remain a few miles away in Whittle-le-Woods.

Interestingly, these two developments are linked by wartime history as well as by location and by Redrow.

Buckshaw Village has totally transformed the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF Chorley), while the public open space area of Lucas Green contains a Grade II listed pillbox and light anti-aircraft gun emplacement that’s been restored and preserved by Redrow. It was originally built to defend ROF Chorley against enemy attack during World War Two, both from the ground and from the air.

Today these two locations are sought-after residential areas, with buyers vying to secure the final homes.

Redrow was one of two lead developers whose vision helped shaped Buckshaw Village almost two decades ago.

Redrow launched its first homes for sale here in 2003 and since then has been responsible for 1,270 of the circa 3,000 homes that make up this thriving community today.

West Point, a development of just 21 properties, is the final piece of the puzzle and, with nearly half of them sold, would-be customers have just 12 more chances to own a Redrow home at Buckshaw Village.

There are a mix of two, three and four-bedroom properties with current prices from only £154,995 to £224,995. They’re conveniently close to some of Buckshaw Village’s key amenities including the Tesco superstore and new railway station.

It’s features like these, as well as schools, bars, restaurants, shops, a doctors’ surgery, community centre and a business park supporting 10,000 jobs, that have made redevelopment of the former Royal Ordnance Factory such a resounding success.

And it’s a success that prompted Chorley MP and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, to say recently: “It proves what you can do with a big piece of land, the right vision and the right investment, to deliver a long-term future.

“Everything was brought together on this one site. This is a real village where people can live and work.”

During its lifespan, Buckshaw Village has featured a wide variety of homes from Redrow’s portfolio to suit every kind of buyer, including Arts & Crafts inspired family homes, bespoke apartments and contemporary first time buyer properties.

These final homes at West Point are based on Redrow’s Regent Collection, with Georgian influenced exteriors and contemporary interiors. The remaining properties can all be ready to move into before Christmas.

Meanwhile, those seeking a larger home and the Arts & Crafts inspired architecture of Redrow’s popular Heritage Collection, may find the answer at Lucas Green in nearby Whittle-le-Woods.

There too, only a small number of properties remain for sale due to the development’s outstanding success. In fact, there’s just a trio of detached homes to bring Lucas Green to a close; a decidedly spacious three-bedroom Worcester at £319,995 and four-bedroom Oxford and Sunningdale styles, at £324,995 and £409,995 respectively. Those who reserve now can move into their new home next spring.

To find out more about Lucas Green, visit redrow.co.uk/lucas; for information on the final West Point homes, visit redrow.co.uk/westpoint. Sales offices at both locations are open Thursday to Monday inclusive from 10am to 5.30pm, with a fully furnished Finsbury show home available to view at West Point.

Output: Redrow Homes now has only 12 properties left at its Buckshaw Village development, near Chorley in Lancashire, while at nearby Whittle-le-Woods there are only three homes still for sale. Redrow was one of two lead developers that transformed the site of a former Royal Ordnance factory into Buckshaw Village. Redrow launched its first homes for sale in the village in 2003 and has since been responsible for 1,270 of the 3,000 homes that now make up the site. The final development on the site is West Point, which has 21 properties, nearly half of which are sold


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US government buys 75 FirstLook robots from Endeavor Robotics
 Endeavor Robotics secured a contract with the U.S government for 75 of its FirstLook robots, its third major contract with the government in six weeks.

“FirstLook is the most preferred lightweight reconnaissance robot in its class because of how easily and quickly it can be deployed while withstanding the abuse of ground operations,” president Tom Frost said in a press release. “It gives me great pride to know that we are doing our part each and every day to reduce human exposure to potentially lethal situations.”

The five-pound robot, which moves on treads, serves the military, law enforcement and energy industries and performs reconnaissance missions, clears buildings and detects IEDs using day/night cameras and two-way audio. Operators control the robot with a remote, and the machine can be thrown or dropped from 15 feet onto concrete without being damaged.

In August, the company received a $15 million order from the government for upgrades and accessories to support robotic systems already in use. Earlier in the month, the government purchased 32 small unmanned ground vehicles with the Endeavor Robotics uPoint Multi-Robot Control System, which decreases on-robot training time using technology and tablet-based user-interfaces.

“We are proud to respond to the needs of our customers,” CEO Sean Bielat said in a statement. “We are a highly responsive, customer-focused, agile company that stands positioned to rapidly provide upgrades, accessories, and new platforms whenever called upon by our customers. We remain ready 24/7 to meet the needs of our valued customers, helping them place distance between themselves and the incredible hazards that they bravely face each day.”

Output: Endeavor Robotics has won a contract with the US government for 75 of its FirstLook robots, the third major contract it has secured with the government in six weeks. FirstLook robots serve the military, law enforcement and energy industries by reducing human exposure to potentially lethal situations. The robots, which move on treads, perform reconnaissance missions, clear buildings and detect explosive devices using day and night vision cameras and two-way audio. Operators control the robots remotely, and the lightweight yet robust machines can be thrown or dropped from up to 15 feet without becoming damaged.


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Robots displace 400 Spanish workers at farm produce supplier
 Spanish farm produce supplier El Dulze has reduced its human workforce from 500 down to just 100 with the use of robots, according to a report on FruitNet.com.

The company is said to be using Fanuc robots – LR Mate 200iB models – which use vision systems to even out the production line so the vegetables are not bunched up too close together for packing.

The robots also appear to be picking heads of lettuce and placing them in containers, or plastic packaging.

A total of 68 robots have been installed at the El Dulze facility in Murcia, and they process approximately 550,000 heads of lettuce every day.

The robotic system is also said to have reduced rejects from 20 per cent to 5 per cent, mostly due to improvements in hygiene and handling.

Managing director José Sánchez is quoted by FruitNet.com as saying: “This business has traditionally been labour intensive but today labour is increasingly unavailable.

“This region has a major shortage of labour – many workers in the industry are immigrants but this hasn’t solved our problem.

“As minimal skill is needed we have a real problem with labour and turnover of these workers is high – they just seem to come and go.

“Reducing the amount of people has made everything more hygienic and damage to the lettuces caused by handling is now minimal.”

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Output: The introduction of robots at Spanish farm produce supplier El Dulze has reduced its human workforce from 500 to just 100. “This business has traditionally been labour intensive but today labour is increasingly unavailable", said managing director José Sánchez. "Reducing the amount of people has made everything more hygienic and damage to the lettuces caused by handling is now minimal”, he said. The 68 robots are able to sort around 550,000 lettuces per day, and have reduced the number of rejected lettuces by approximately 15%.


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German insurtech ONE inks partnership with Munich Re
 Munich Re and insurance startup ONE announce strategic partnership

http://www.one-insurance.eu

BERLIN, 20th September 2017 – ONE, the fully digital and shortly to be launched insurance provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Munich Re, world‘s largest re-insurance company.“Munich RE is screening the insurtech horizon systematically and we’ve picked ONE as a partner, in which ambitions and potential we sustainably believe. Our partnership is the start of an exciting collaboration in new methodologies and technologies of the digital world”, says Tobias Sonndorfer, Client Executive at Munich Re and board member of ONE.„We are very glad to be supported by Munich Re, this is strong evidence for our business case going the right way. Another fundamental milestone after having received the regulatory permission recently”, Stephan Ommerborn, CEO of ONE, states.Details of the strategic partnership have not been disclosed.About Munich ReMunich Re stands for exceptional solution-based expertise, consistent risk management, financial stability and client proximity. In the financial year 2016, Munich Re (Group) achieved a profit of €2.6bn on premium income of €48.9bn. It operates in all lines of insurance, with more than 43,000 employees throughout the world. With premium income of €27.8bn from reinsurance alone, Munich Re is one of the world´s leading reinsurers. Especially when clients require solutions for complex risks, Munich Re is a much sought-after business partner. Roughly 12,000 staff in reinsurance possess unique global and local knowledge. Munich Re attaches great importance to its client service, which regularly receives top ratings.About ONEONE is Europe´s first fully digital and licensed all-round insurance carrier. Users can complete insurance policies within a few minutes, starting with household and liability insurance. ONE has been founded by Julian Teicke, CEO of wefox-Group and founder of wefox, a leading insurance platform, and by Stephan Ommerborn, formerly an Executive at Zurich Insurance Group. The digital insurance carrier will officially launch in autumn 2017 - starting with Germany, Austria and Switzerland.PresscontactAlexander Huberpress@one-insurance.comFinanceFox Services GmbHUrbanstr. 71, 10967 Berlin

Output: German insurtech ONE has entered into a partnership with Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance company. Terms of the nature of the partnership were not announced, though Munich Re says it came after surveying the insurtech landscape and represents the firm moving into new digital channels. ONE is an online on-demand insurer that aims to provide customers with fast access to coverage and the flexibility to retain coverage only when needed. It also seeks to reward customers for giving back to their communities. It plans to launch this autumn in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.


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UK scientists create molecule-building microscopic robots
 Artist's impression of the molecular robot manipulating a molecule. Credit: Stuart Jantzen, biocinematics.com

Scientists at The University of Manchester have created the world's first 'molecular robot' that is capable of performing basic tasks including building other molecules.

The tiny robots, which are a millionth of a millimetre in size, can be programmed to move and build molecular cargo, using a tiny robotic arm.

Each individual robot is capable of manipulating a single molecule and is made up of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms. To put that size into context, a billion billion of these robots piled on top of each other would still only be the same size as a single grain of salt.

The robots operate by carrying out chemical reactions in special solutions which can then be controlled and programmed by scientists to perform the basic tasks.

In the future such robots could be used for medical purposes, advanced manufacturing processes and even building molecular factories and assembly lines. The research will be published in Nature on Thursday 21st September.

Professor David Leigh, who led the research at University's School of Chemistry, explains: 'All matter is made up of atoms and these are the basic building blocks that form molecules. Our robot is literally a molecular robot constructed of atoms just like you can build a very simple robot out of Lego bricks. The robot then responds to a series of simple commands that are programmed with chemical inputs by a scientist.

'It is similar to the way robots are used on a car assembly line. Those robots pick up a panel and position it so that it can be riveted in the correct way to build the bodywork of a car. So, just like the robot in the factory, our molecular version can be programmed to position and rivet components in different ways to build different products, just on a much smaller scale at a molecular level.'

The benefit of having machinery that is so small is it massively reduces demand for materials, can accelerate and improve drug discovery, dramatically reduce power requirements and rapidly increase the miniaturisation of other products. Therefore, the potential applications for molecular robots are extremely varied and exciting.

Prof Leigh says: 'Molecular robotics represents the ultimate in the miniaturisation of machinery. Our aim is to design and make the smallest machines possible. This is just the start but we anticipate that within 10 to 20 years molecular robots will begin to be used to build molecules and materials on assembly lines in molecular factories.'

Whilst building and operating such tiny machine is extremely complex, the techniques used by the team are based on simple chemical processes.

Prof Leigh added: 'The robots are assembled and operated using chemistry. This is the science of how atoms and molecules react with each other and how larger molecules are constructed from smaller ones.

'It is the same sort of process scientists use to make medicines and plastics from simple chemical building blocks. Then, once the nano-robots have been constructed, they are operated by scientists by adding chemical inputs which tell the robots what to do and when, just like a computer program.'

More information: Salma Kassem et al, Stereodivergent synthesis with a programmable molecular machine, Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature23677 Journal information: Nature

Output: University of Manchester scientists have created molecular robots that can build other molecules in a process hailed as a world first. The microscopic robots are a millionth of a millimetre in size and composed of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms. They can be programmed to move and build molecular cargo using a tiny robotic arm. The robots operate by performing chemical reactions in special solutions, which are controlled and programmed by scientists. Molecular robots could be used for medical purposes and advanced manufacturing processes as well as building molecular factories and assembly lines.


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Moneymailme to hold ICO for its social payments app
 Groundbreaking blockchain platform launch is imminent

Social payment app Moneymailme announces development of a new blockchain platform called Modex Marketplace, a platform designed to bring the benefits of blockchain technology into everyday life.

Connecting developers with applications and companies to deploy smart contracts into the real world.

Modex ICO, to commence in October with the Modex platform launch to follow in Q1 2018.

Early indications of participants enthusiasm robust on Modex despite calls for caution on ICO offerings.

The award-winning fintech social payment app company Moneymailme announces today that Modex — its smart contract marketplace — will open to a wider investment base with its much-anticipated ICO scheduled for early October.

Modex aims to bridge the gap between businesses and developers, in order to vastly accelerate global adoption of blockchain technology. Given the emerging norm for ‘borderless’ transactions, distributed ledger technology (aka the Blockchain) has opened the door for a new world of “data exchange”, facilitated through Smart Contracts.

Mihai Ivascu, Moneymailme CEO and founder, stated in London: “Moneymailme’s next chapter centres on Modex Smart Contract Marketplace, the infrastructure needed to integrate blockchain capabilities with apps like ours. The fact that we’ll be packaging and delivering the platform with our financial partners who’ve developed practical uses for the tool in the UK and rest of Europe is really exciting. Modex is a game-changer. Frankly, the Modex team has even surprised itself.”

Designed to serve as a central hub for multiple 3rd party applications and web platforms to plugin with and deploy smart contracts, Modex Marketplace will incorporate significant advantages for consumer adoption, enterprise cost savings, developer tools, community trust & engagement, IP protection, and revenue opportunities for developers, all centered around our smart contract ecosystem.

The infrastructure will initially be built on top of the Ethereum blockchain protocol and will eventually incorporate emergent protocols that also support smart contracts. Ethereum is by far the most trusted, and widely used smart contract platform making it an obvious place to start.

The Modex team brings together some of the most experienced individuals from across Europe, North America, and Asia with specialized talent in financial, security and blockchain development, and senior experience at Fortune 100 companies such as Oracle, and IBM. The team is tasked with building a one-stop solution for value- based transactions within the Modex ecosystem. This includes an all-in-one stop for developers and buyers of blockchain-based smart contracts, and an infrastructure to facilitate widespread deployment.

Strategically timed for an October opening, the Modex ICO will last for 30 days or until its cap is reached, which may be as short as three days according to some experts in initial coin offerings. Precise dates will be announced shortly. Modex implementation is programmed to begin in late December 2017 with the official launch in Q1 of 2018.

Modex ICO funding will enable and advance development of its blockchain-based ecosystem of solutions, addressing key use-cases to help individuals, corporations, and organisations evolve and broaden their scope of services.

Modex infrastructure is moving toward providing easy and user-friendly access to cryptocurrency adoption and smart contract deployment. Based on the Ethereum blockchain, and over time other blockchain protocols, Modex is preparing to offer application program interfaces (APIs) and user-friendly apps that act as the technical bridge to achieve numerous implementations across a wide spectrum of companies and projects.

What is a smart contract?

A smart contract is a computer protocol intended to facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract. Smart contracts were first proposed by Nick Szabo in 1996. Proponents of smart contracts claim that many kinds of contractual clauses may be made partially or fully self-executing, self-enforcing, or both. Smart contracts have been used primarily in association with cryptocurrencies. The most prominent smart contract implementation is the Ethereal blockchain platform, where they are known as a decentralised application.[1]

A Word on Blockchain

Blockchain technology is rapidly emerging as the singularly most promising next-generation norm for enabling industries and companies to instantaneously conduct and verify financial transactions on a network without a central authority. Traditionally, banking and payment transactions have relied on a central authority or “middleman” for making or enabling payments. This will soon be nostalgia!

Organisations and companies worldwide are deepening on a daily basis their understanding of blockchain and are migrating progressively to blockchain solutions that implement the advantages that the technology is offering.

On a global scale, more countries are introducing cryptocurrency rules heeding calls for regulatory environments which facilitate responsible adoption. The importance of cryptocurrencies and their role in the new economic paradigm is pushing this adoption, while the social and economic benefits of cryptocurrencies and blockchain applications are fast becoming clear and accessible.

The Ethereum infrastructure provides the technological foundation to create decentralised applications. Social and economic inclusion will be one of the most widely felt benefits of such decentalisation, and access to the framework of easy-to-use tools such as the Modex platform will drive adoption and implementation.

Given the major changes in a complex landscape such as payments, the adoption of blockchain technology comes with several natural challenges, notably integration concerns and costs. There are a variety of use-cases for companies and organisations to apply blockchain technology. Each well-implemented scenario should result in faster, cheaper transactions, with greater transparency and unprecedented security.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_contract

Output: London-based social payment app company Moneymailme will launch an initial coin offering (ICO) in October to fund its blockchain-based platform, the Modex Marketplace. Constructed on the Ethereum blockchain, the platform will offer application programme interfaces and user-friendly apps as a technical bridge to a variety of businesses and sectors, and is set to launch in Q1 2018. The ICO will run for 30 days or until its cap is reached.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Nest Labs creates facial recognition-enabled doorbells
 Michelle Turner, general manager of security products for Nest Labs, talks about the Hello doorbell during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses.

The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago.

Although Nest has been among the early leaders in the effort to make home appliances as intelligent as people's smartphones, it hasn't been able to make money to the frustration of its corporate parent, Alphabet. In an attempt to shake things up, Alphabet brought in cable industry veteran Marwan Fawaz to replace Nest founder Tony Fadell as CEO after Fadell stepped down 15 months ago.

Nest had been supplementing its existing product line with slightly different choices until Wednesday's move into entirely new categories.

The Hello doorbell comes with a built-in video camera and speakers that will make it seem like it can recognize and talk to people.

The doorbell will draw upon Google's facial recognition technology so it can warn a home's occupants when a stranger approaches. Google bought Nest for $3.2 billion in 2014 and then spun it off after it hatched Alphabet as its parent company.

Michelle Turner, general manager of security products for Nest Labs, talks about the facial recognition features of the Hello doorbell during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Nest is now lumped into a group of risky companies venturing into new areas of technology that have collectively lost $10.6 billion during the past three-and-half years alone. Alphabet hasn't disclosed how much Nest has contributed to it the losses in its "Other Bets" segment

Nest isn't announcing a price for its new doorbell until it hits the market sometime during the first three months of next year.

Google's facial recognition technology is coming to the doorbell a few months after Nest introduced a more sophisticated indoor security camera featuring the same tool. Nest also announced Wednesday that the same facial recognition tools will be deployed on an outdoor security camera that will cost $349.

Michelle Turner, general manager of security products for Nest Labs, talks about the Hello doorbell during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Apple is implanting a different form of facial recognition into its $1,000 iPhone X to unlock the device, telegraphing a future where cameras increasingly are going to be able to identify people within its lens' range. The new phone will be released in November.

Nest's usage of facial recognition hasn't yet sparked privacy concerns because it doesn't tap into Google's vast database of photos to automatically recognize people. Instead, a user of the Nest camera or doorbell must manually tag and name people before the device recognizes someone.

The Nest home security system is being billed as a simpler and more convenient way to protect a home than the alarms and other kinds of sensors that have long been sold by other vendors. Nest's "Secure" system will sell for $499 for its basic toolkit of devices.

The Nest Labs Hello doorbell is displayed during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The features of the Nest Labs Hello doorbell are demonstrated during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Michelle Turner, general manager of security products for Nest Labs, demonstrates the facial recognition features of the Hello doorbell during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Michelle Turner, general manager of security products for Nest Labs, talks about the camera features of the Hello doorbell during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Matt Rogers, founder and chief product officer of Nest Labs, summarizes their newest products during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Maxime Veron, head of product marketing for Nest Labs, talks about the features of the Nest Secure alarm system during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Nest Labs CEO Marwan Fawaz talks about the security their products provide during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The Nest Secure alarm system is seen on display during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Photographers take pictures of the Nest Secure alarm system and Hello doorbell during an event Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google's facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses. The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Output: Alphabet-owned Nest Labs is hoping the launch of its new doorbell, which uses Google's facial recognition technology, will help it finally turn a profit. The Hello doorbell, part of Nest's Secure system, has a camera and speakers to alert homeowners of visitors, while the technology quickly identifies people whose details have been manually tagged by the user. Apple's recently launched $1,000 iPhone X uses similar facial recognition technology as an unlocking method.


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German container ship cuts emissions with dual-fuel retrofit
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The Wes Amelie (photo: Wessels Reederei)

At a recent event at the Hamburg offices of MAN Diesel & Turbo, Dr Uwe Lauber – CEO of MAN Diesel & Turbo – presented Gerd Wessels, Managing Owner of Wessels Reederei with a take-over certificate marking the formal conclusion of the Wes Amelie LNG conversion project.

Gerd Wessels says, “This pioneering project marks a milestone in the European container feeder market, and MAN has impressively proven that existing engines can be converted to LNG operation with a tremendous effect on exhaust emissions and the environment.”

The project involved the retrofitting of the 1,036-teu feeder container ship’s MAN 8L48/60B main engine to a multi-fuel, four-stroke MAN 51/60DF unit that enables dual-fuel operation – the first such conversion of its type the world has ever seen.

Christian Hoepfner, General Manager of Wessels Reederei, says, “The Wes Amelie operates in the highly regulated Nordic and Baltic Seas. Since they are both within Emission Control Areas, the ship needs to meet the highest environmental standards and strictest limits for emissions. By converting to a low emission fuel, we are safeguarding the future of this container ship as well as our own competitiveness in the market.”

Stefan Eefting – Head of MAN PrimeServ in Augsburg – also attended the ceremony and says, “We are very happy to have successfully completed this project with the great cooperation of our partner, Wessels Reederei. In doing so, we trust that the dramatic reduction in emissions will mark the beginning of a trend towards the adoption of LNG as an environmentally friendly fuel within the maritime sector.”

“By providing customers with the technology to retrofit their existing fleet, we are driving what we call the maritime energy transition”, adds Dr Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Diesel & Turbo. “There are roughly 40,000 cargo vessels in operation worldwide. If we are serious about decarbonisation and want the shipping industry to be climate neutral by 2050, we need to take action today.”

The dual-fuel conversion has enabled the Wes Amelie to significantly reduce its SOx emissions by >99%, NOx by approximately 90%, and CO 2 by up to

20%. The vessel now meets both the Tier II and Tier III emission requirements set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Works were carried out at German Dry Docks in Bremerhaven in cooperation with gas-specialist, TGE Marine Engineering, who provided tank and LNG components. Bureau Veritas, the international classification society based in France, classed the conversion.

Wessels and MAN Diesel & Turbo originally signed the retrofit contract with MAN Diesel & Turbo at the Europort exhibition for maritime technology in November 2015. The ‘Wes Amelie’ was constructed in 2011 and has already re-entered service on its usual route between the North and Baltic Seas.

When selecting a suitable vessel for conversion, special attention was paid to the scalability of the engineering services as well as the development costs, reducing significantly the costs for follow-up projects. In this respect, the Wes Amelie has 23 sister ships, 16 of them structurally identical, which would allow follow-up projects to be easily implemented. This ship therefore facilitates a multiplier effect, with multiple, other, ‘conversion-capable’ vessels also found around the European continent.

Output: German manufacturer MAN Diesel & Turbo has converted a container ship to use liquified natural gas (LNG) as well as diesel. The conversion means the Wes Amelie, owned by Germany's Wessels Reederei, has reduced SOx emissions by 99%, NOx by 90% and CO2 by 20%, enabling it to meet the high environmental standards and strict emissions limits of the Baltic and Nordic seas in which it operates. "We trust this will mark the beginning of a trend towards the adoption of LNG as an environmentally friendly fuel within the maritime sector," said Stefan Eefting, head of MAN PrimeServ in Augsburg.


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UK banks to search accounts for illegal immigrants
 Banks and building societies are to carry out immigration checks on 70m current accounts from January in the biggest extension of Theresa May’s plans to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants in Britain, the Guardian has learned.

The Home Office expects to identify 6,000 visa overstayers, failed asylum seekers and foreign national offenders facing deportation in the first year of the checks, which are to be carried out quarterly.

The accounts of those identified will be closed down or frozen “to make it harder for them to establish or maintain a settled life in the UK”. Officials say freezing accounts that hold significant sums “will create a powerful incentive [for those involved] to agree to voluntary departure” so they can secure their money once they have left the country.

Immigration welfare campaigners warned that the Home Office’s recent record meant it could not be trusted to implement this new system without errors and that migrants with every right to be in Britain were likely to be hit by mistakes in the imposition of the checks.

Satbir Singh, the chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, criticised the move: “The government’s own record shows it cannot be trusted even to implement this system properly. Immigration status is very complex, and the Home Office consistently gives out incorrect information and guidance.

“Migrants and ethnic minorities with every right to be here will be affected by the imposition of these new checks.”.

Banks have been told to adopt a default position of telling customers to take up the matter with the Home Office if a mistake has been made, even if they provide a passport or biometric residence permit showing they are lawfully present in Britain.

The Guardian confirmed with the Home Office the January implementation date for the bank checks after being alerted by a reader who is a European national resident in Britain. Her husband spotted a reference to “changes to how we check your eligibility to bank with us based on your immigration status” in an email from Barclays detailing their latest changes in their banking terms of conditions.

Dominique Welbank said: “As a French national having lived here since 1991, and having been denied permanent residence because I do not have comprehensive sickness insurance, I have no confidence the Home Office will not extend this scheme to EU citizens like myself because of Brexit.”

Status checks are required by anyone opening a new bank or building society account under the Immigration Act 2014, but no measure has previously required checks on the scale of every current account in Britain.

The new legislation requires the banks to check the identity of every current account holder against a Home Office supplied database held by an anti-fraud organisation, Cifas. It includes details of those whom the Home Office regard as liable for removal or deportation because they are overstayers, failed asylum seekers or those who have absconded from immigration detention.

Safeguards are included to prevent the closure of a bank account which would leave the account holder without the subsistence means to live. Account closure can also be delayed to recover debts or deal with complex joint accounts.

An official Home Office impact assessment acknowledged “the proposed measures may have the potential to impact on the appetite of firms to offer banking services to legal migrants who do not have permanent leave to remain in the UK” and promises to monitor the situation. Officials add that the banking laws ban discrimination against legally resident customers.

The January implementation of the quarterly checks on the current accounts operated by every bank and building society in Britain are part of Immigration Act 2016 measures to create a hostile environment for illegal migrants. Other measures include “right to rent” checks with heavy fines for landlords who let homes to illegal migrants, checks on driving licences and tougher measures against illegal working.

An official Home Office impact assessment acknowledges that rather than encouraging illegal migrants to go home it could simply drive them even further into the “hidden economy”, but says this will not be a significant issue because they are already breaking the law.

“This policy is not expected to exacerbate the situation but to contribute to the hostile environment, encouraging illegal immigrants to leave the UK on a voluntary basis,” it says.

Banks have also been told there is no requirement on them to contact account holders or require additional documentary evidence as part of the check.

A Home Office spokesperson defended the introduction of the checks saying: “We are developing an immigration system which is fair to people who are here legally, but firm with those who break the rules. Everyone in society can play their part in tackling illegal migration.

“As approved by parliament in December 2016, from January banks and building societies will be required to carry out regular checks on the immigration status of all current account holders against the details of known illegal migrants to establish whether their customers are known to be in the UK unlawfully. This is part of our ongoing work to tackle illegal migration. People who are here legally will be unaffected.”

A Barclays spokesperson said the bank was simply complying with the Immigration Act 2016 and the checks impacted on all customers regardless of nationality.

Output: UK banks and building societies will conduct immigration checks on 70 million current accounts from January 2018, as part of Prime Minister Theresa May’s efforts to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants in the country. The Home Office anticipates that it will identify 6,000 individuals within the first year who have overstayed their visas, failed in their asylum applications, or who face deportation. Checks, which will be conducted quarterly, will enable accounts to be closed or frozen. Banks are not required to contact account holders during the check.


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Broker RHSB promotes personal risk expert Buchanan to VP
 Keleigh Buchanan was recently promoted to vice president at Dallas-based independent insurance broker, RHSB.

She has been with RHSB for five years and has 16 years of experience in the insurance industry. Buchanan is a licensed insurance professional working with families and individuals to manage their personal risk by finding the best insurance solutions while maximizing value.

She is part of RHSB’s Private Client Group — a concierge type service that specializes in the distinctive needs of high net worth clients with unique assets like aircraft, yachts, wine collections, vintage cars, fine art and jewelry. These clients often have extraordinary needs including coverage for domestic help, kidnap and ransom, worldwide travel and medical coverage. Buchanan’s consultative approach helps these clients find coverage to protect their assets and lifestyle.

Buchanan holds the Certified Personal Risk Manager designation.

RHSB, a member of the privately held risk management and insurance brokerage group Assurex Global, has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

Source: RHSB

Output: Personal risk insurance specialist Keleigh Buchanan has been promoted to vice president at RHSB, an independent broker. The 16-year professional will work in the company's Private Client Group, which concentrates on the needs of high net-worth clients, offering services such as kidnap and ransom insurance and aircraft, yacht and jewellery coverage. RHSB is part of the risk management and insurance brokerage group Assurex Global and is based in Dallas.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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NY insurer has negligence charges against US Navy reinstated
 A federal appeals court has reinstated negligence charges filed by Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co. against the U.S. government in connection with a Navy ship’s oil spill.

New York-based Ironshore Specialty filed suit against Wollaston, Massachusetts-based American Overseas Marine Company L.L.C. and the United States under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, general admiralty and maritime law in connection with a 2010 oil spill that occurred at a Boston dock owned by its policyholder, Boston-based Northeast Ship Repair Inc., according to Friday’s ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston in Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co. et al. v. United States of America; American Overseas Marine Corp.

American Overseas had a contract with the Navy under which it had agreed to crew, maintain and make routine repairs to the Fisher, a transport vessel and vehicle cargo ship, according to the ruling.

Northeast unit Boston Ship Repair incurred nearly $3 million in costs associated with cleaning up the more than 11,000 gallons of fuel that were spilled, according to the ruling.

Ironshore filed suit against the United States and American Marine as Boston Ship Repair’s subrogee. The U.S. District Court in Boston dismissed all charges against the defendants.

On appeal, a three-judge appeals court panel unanimously reinstated the negligence charges against the United States. The panel agreed with the District Court that the ship was a public vessel and therefore exempt from liability under the Oil Pollution Act.

However, it says a subsection of the law states that it does not affect admiralty and maritime law. “Hence, because public vessels lie outside the sweep of OPA liability, any pre-existing admiralty and maritime law that applied to public vessels before the OPA’s passage survives its enactment.

“The District Court erroneously dismissed Ironshore’s negligence claims against the United States,” said the ruling, in reinstating the negligence charges.

The case was remanded for further proceedings.

Output: New York-based insurer Ironshore Specialty has had negligence charges it filed against the US government reinstated by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The insurer had previously filed the charges against American Overseas Marine Company and the US following a 2010 oil spill. The spill cost Boston Ship Repair $3m. The original charges were filed under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.


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Scottish farmers call for weaker pesticide rules after Brexit
 The UK should use Brexit as an opportunity to streamline regulation and ease curbs on issues such as pesticide use, a farming union has urged.

NFU Scotland has mapped out the priorities for legislative change that would "significantly ease" what some farmers call the "regulatory burden" on Scottish agricultural industry.

Launching its document ‘Post-Brexit Priorities for Legislative Change’, the union identified elements of legislation that could be removed or improved during the period between the UK exiting the EU, and before the implementation of any new UK and Scottish agricultural policies.

The union is calling for changes that would help protect supply chain integrity and agriculture’s profitability, introduce proportionality in penalties, mapping and record-keeping requirements and see decisions on legislation based on risk rather than perceived ‘hazard’.

It has also called for curbs on pesticides to be eased after Brexit.

On profitability, one example includes tackling ‘greening’ and removing Europe’s ‘three-crop rule’ which requires Scottish farmers to grow three different crops if they want to secure the greening element of support.

The union said in a statement: "That would end a blunt EU requirement that does little for the environment, impacts on farm businesses, restricts the ability to grow for real markets and can be replaced with smarter environmental alternatives."

'Yellow card'

NFU Scotland has also called some EU laws as "draconian and disproportionate" for its penalty systems.

It said these should be replaced with a ‘yellow card’ warning system for minor breaches allowing time for unintentional errors to be rectified.

Scottish farmers are eager to re-write the rulebook to introduce what they see as more common sense approaches in how farmers secure environmental and animal welfare standards and traceability.

NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick said: “Brexit must allow us to replace elements of EU agricultural regulation that are bureaucratic, ineffective or ill-tailored to farming conditions in the UK and Scotland. I firmly believe that elements can be redesigned or implemented in a better way.

“Regulation should always be appropriate, proportionate, evidence-based and as light-touch as possible. A successful approach to delivering regulation would involve more carrot and less stick, a yellow card warning system for unintentional breaches and encouragement farmers to do what they do best – provide a safe and affordable supply of food.”

'Power grab'

The way in which powers repatriated from Brussels will be shared out is still a matter of fierce dispute.

Agriculture is among areas devolved to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, but both countries have said the UK government is trying a 'naked power grab' by repatriating powers to Westminster.

Scott Walker, NFUS chief executive, said the Scottish government is best placed to understand local farmers’ needs and that all of the UK’s devolved nations should have equal say in future policy.

“If the UK agricultural policy is basically set by Defra, then you don’t have a UK agricultural policy, what you have is an English policy being imposed on Scotland, Wales and Ulster,” Mr Walker explained.

Output: The UK should ease regulations including those on pesticide use after Brexit, according to the Scottish National Farmers’ Union. The union’s proposals would “significantly ease” what some farmers view as the “regulatory burden” on their sector. Proposals also include removing the European Union’s “three-crop rule” which requires Scottish farmers to grow three different crops in an attempt to benefit the environment in exchange for subsidies.


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Biofuels pushing up global food prices: NGOs
 Demand for biofuels made from food crops, such as palm and rapeseed oil, has led to an increase in global food prices and needs to be curbed, according to a new analysis.

There has been a surge in the production of biofuels in Europe and the US since the early 2000s, backed by policies designed to cut use of fossil fuels, such as the first EU biofuel directive in 2003.

In the face of criticism about biofuels’ link to rising food prices and deforestation, the EU agreed to cap the use of food-based biofuels at 7% in 2015.

The EU is now debating whether to keep this at 7% after 2021 or cut it further, as a number of NGOs are calling for. Last week, the UK agreed to cap its use of food-based biofuels at 4% of UK road fuel next year, dropping to 2% by 2032.

The new analysis – commissioned by the NGOs BirdLife and Transport & Environment – backed those calling for an end to the use of food-based biofuels. If the EU cut use of them to zero, it concludes, then global vegetable oils, including palm oil, would be 8% cheaper and global cereal prices 0.6% cheaper by 2030.

While concluding that “only a fraction of the feedstock used for biofuel production would find its way to poor food consumers if biofuel mandates were cancelled tomorrow”, report author Dr Chris Malins from the consultancy Cerulogy said: “Reducing demand in Europe for food-based biofuels would take pressure off food commodity markets, resulting, in the short to medium term, in modest reductions in food prices and global poverty rates, and in net global welfare improvements.”

Vegetable oil is currently the main feedstock used to produce biofuels within the EU, with palm oil accounting for an estimated 12% of that total. Use of palm oil for biodiesel is also on the rise with 46% of the crop imported into the EU used for biodiesel in 2015.

The environmental benefit of using vegetable oils, such as palm and rapeseed oil to produce biodiesel, is also being questioned. A report published in July by The Royal Academy of Engineering said some biofuels, such as diesel made from food crops, have led to more emissions than those produced by the fossil fuels they were meant to replace.

Responding to the new analysis, WWF said it only supported biofuels that avoid these types of impacts such as those made from wastes or residues instead of crops. “But we would advocate for their use in hard-to-treat sectors, such as aviation, rather than road transport, which can be and is increasingly rapidly becoming electrified,” a spokesperson said.

The EU Commission declined to comment, but continues to dispute the impact of its biofuels policies on global food prices. In its most recent update report on its renewable energy policy it said: ‘Concerning food prices, it should be noted that between 2012 and 2015, prices of agricultural commodities decreased. In 2015, the price of vegetable oils reached its lowest level since 2005… Lower biofuel demand for vegetable oils was among the factors contributing to the fall in oils/fats prices.’

However, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, said biofuels were “having a huge impact on accessibility of food because of price increase, especially in developing countries. Moreover, in developing countries biofuel production is connected with the land grabbing and heavy pesticides use”.

Output: Global food prices are rising due to the demand for biofuels made from food crops, including palm and rapeseed oil, according to an analysis by NGOs BirdLife and Transport & Environment. Since the early 2000s, biofuels production in Europe and the US has increased dramatically due to attempts to reduce fossil fuel use. In 2015, the European Union capped the use of food-based biofuels at 7% to counter deforestation, and it is now considering reducing this further after 2021. Last week, the UK capped its use of such biofuels at 4%, falling to 2% by 2032.


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NRT Technology to merge with Sightline Payments
 Following the closing of the transaction and subject to regulatory approvals, Sightline's CEO and Founder, Kirk Sanford, will assume the role of President and CEO of NRT Sightline. NRT's current Founder, President and CEO, John Dominelli, will become Chairman of NRT Sightline and will remain active in leading the overall company strategy with a keen focus on driving the technology roadmap.

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NRT Technology Corp. ("NRT") a leading provider of integrated ticket redemption and payment services to global casino operators, and Sightline Payments ("Sightline"), developers of the disruptive Play+ platform that's powering the next generation of cashless and mobile gaming payment solutions, announced today an agreement to merge. The company on closing will be named NRT Sightline and will form one of the largest pure play gaming payment technology companies in the world with an equity value of over $300 million.

Combination Will Accelerate Innovation in Mobile, Data, Cashless Payments, and Provisional Credit Solutions to the Worldwide Integrated Resort Casino Industry

"Sightline is a perfect fit with NRT," said NRT President and Founder John Dominelli. "Kirk Sanford and his team add complementary talent and technology that we believe will help accelerate NRT's global leadership in casino payments. Together, we expect that NRT and Sightline also will accelerate our leadership in delivering innovative solutions for next generation commerce, mobile, and big data."

Sightline's cloud-based Play+ payment platform powers industry innovators such as Caesars, MGM Resorts International, Mohegan Sun, Station Casinos, Golden Nugget, William Hill, PokerStars and BetFair, which are creating compelling new consumer experiences and disrupting traditional cash-based ecosystem models.

Sightline's Founder and CEO Kirk Sanford said: "Sightline's growth has skyrocketed over the past several years and the alignment with NRT will continue to push the boundaries of innovation while expanding its customer base with increased speed and support from the extensive resources of the NRT infrastructure. John and I have a shared vision for the global gaming industry, which we intend to rapidly transform with many technological advancements that we already have in the works."

Play+, Sightline's award winning technology gives patrons a convenient and cost effective alternative to obtaining cash from current methods by allowing them to pay for their gaming experience using only their mobile devices or directly at gaming devices and POS using only their casino loyalty card. NRT already has a strong presence in gaming with payment volumes of more than $15 billion a year.

About NRT Sightline

On closing, NRT Sightline(TM) is a global leader in the design and development of enterprise platforms for the casino industry. Every year we enable more than 1 billion physical and digital commerce experiences at over 600 casino properties worldwide. By seamlessly combining technological innovation with strategic partnerships, we create the most convenient, reliable, and secure omni-channel payment ecosystem for casino operators and their guests. NRT Sightline has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including the coveted "Most Innovative Gaming Technology Product of the Year" for our Play+(TM) cloud-based cashless funding platform. Our solutions are used by casinos, lotteries, race and sports, banking & retailers around the world. We operate across 7 countries and have corporate offices in Las Vegas, Toronto, Macau, and Singapore.

For further information please contact Michael Dominelli, NRT Sightline's Chief Marketing Officer mdominelli@nrttech.com 1(866) 646-5232 x4248

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: NRT Sightline via Globenewswire

Output: Canadian integrated ticket redemption and payment services provider NRT Technology is set to merge with Sightline Payments, the firm behind the disruptive Play+ platform, to create one of the world's biggest casino payment technology companies. Subject to closure, the new firm will be named NRT Sightline, have an equity value of more than $300m and will see Kirk Sanford appointed as CEO.


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The Body Shop introduces digital wallet
 The Body Shop is tapping into mobile wallet as more than just a way to pay.

The cosmetics and skin care retailer will use mobile wallet to raise awareness and generate engagement for a campaign launched Wednesday as part of an effort to lobby the United Nations against product testing on animals.

The brand hopes to leverage the mobile wallet tool beyond the campaign for more personalized one-to-one communications.

For the UN campaign, the goal is to collect around 8 million signatures for the petition calling on the global organization to end product testing on animals. The petition is a joint effort between The Body Shop and animal advocacy group Cruelty Free International.

The Body Shop is hoping for a network effect. Consumers who sign the petition are brought to a landing page where they can download the “Forever Against Animal Testing” pass to their mobile wallet and easily share it with other potential supporters. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Through a partnership with mobile tech company Urban Airship, the brand will regularly update the mobile wallet pass with signature counts for the petition and news related to the fight against animal testing.

But The Body Shop’s ultimate plan is for the mobile wallet pass to endure beyond the campaign as a gateway to future and ongoing engagement. Down the line, The Body Shop will create mobile wallet passes for its loyalty program and gift cards.

Beyond eliminating the need to carry around branded plastic cards, which fits into The Body Shop’s corporate social responsibility mandate to be environmentally friendly, the passes are a sticky built-in marketing tool. Mobile wallet comes baked into a user’s device by default through Apple Pay or Android Pay.

“If we have permission, we’re able to use these passes to serve more content relevant to the campaign and also connect consumers with our other initiatives,” said Russell Longley, The Body Shop’s senior manager of CRM and digital development.

“Everyone is constantly being bombarded with so much information,” Longley said. “What mobile wallet gives us is an opportunity to deliver interesting, concise snippets of content to an audience we know is already engaged.”

Users only rarely delete a pass once they’ve downloaded it to their mobile wallet. The retention rate for passes stands between 85% and 95%, according to Urban Airship.

“Overall globally, we have more than half, about 52%, of our visits coming via mobile,” said Leona De-Graft, global head of ecommerce marketing at The Body Shop. “That obviously presents a massive opportunity for our communications when customers take the step to download our pass to their wallet.”

Consumers are also more likely to engage with content surfaced through a notification from their mobile wallet than with an ad.

“Display ads and programmatic ads are about broad reach and anonymous users,” said Judy Chan, director of product marketing for mobile at Urban Airship. “But mobile wallet is a more intimate format, and when a pass is downloaded onto a consumer’s device, a brand can start thinking about a nurture program and going from an anonymized place to a more personalized place.”

That’s The Body Shop’s intention going forward.

“We see mobile wallet as an opportunity for us to open up our communication channels with consumers and have more of a one-to-one interaction,” Longley said. “Everything we do is about deep engagement, and this is another way for us to put the customer at the center of what we do.”

Output: Ethical cosmetics and skin care retailer The Body Shop has partnered with mobile tech company Urban Airship to develop a mobile wallet. The wallet will raise awareness as part of a wider campaign against animal testing, but the company hopes it will also become a personalised means of one-to-one interaction with consumers. "A mobile wallet gives us an opportunity to deliver interesting, concise snippets of content to an audience we know is already engaged", said Russell Longley, senior manager of customer relationship management and digital development.


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Fino Payments targets India's underbanked with mobile banking app
 In a bid to help develop the fintech ecosystem in India, Fino Payments Bank has launched its mobile banking app called BPay.

Fino, which started its banking operations in July with 410 branches and 25,000 access points, aims to make banking easy for millions of under banked people in India.

BPay is also an extension of its already existing wallet in the same name that was launched in December last year. The upgraded BPay app, available on Android at present, is now much more than just a wallet. The mobile banking app enables simple, paperless and convenient banking that allows customers to make bill payments, recharges, fund transfers and buy insurance either through wallet or bank account.

An interesting feature of the mobile app is that it allows customers to seamlessly access wallet as well as savings account, with a single login and interface, Fino said in a statement.

Rishi Gupta, MD & CEO, Fino Payments Bank, said, “Over a decade ago we pioneered digital banking in rural India through biometric solutions. Going forward we believe rural India or Bharat, where mobile internet usage is growing at 26 per cent year-on-year, will drive mobile banking adoption. BPay app will play a critical role in our endeavour to bring banking closer to 50 million customers in 5 years, largely driven by tech savvy rural youth.”

“BPay is an extension of our phygital strategy, wherein customers have the options to choose the medium of engagement with us. They can come to our branches, banking points, get doorstep banking or simply do mobile banking by downloading BPay app,” he Gupta.

In addition to single login access that allows anytime, anywhere payments and banking, people can even open Fino bank account from BPay mobile app without the need to step inside a branch or calling a representative. Going forward, Fino Payments Bank plans to add more customer-centric offerings and services to the mobile banking app, it added.

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Output: Mumbai-based Fino Payments Bank has launched mobile banking app BPay, an extension of its existing mobile wallet rolled out last December. The app enables customers to make bill payments, recharges, fund transfers and buy insurance, with a single login and interface offering access to both the wallet or the bank account. The mobile banking app is aimed squarely at India's underbanked, rural population, among whom Fino said mobile internet usage is growing at 26% year-on-year.


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Touch-sensitive robots can detect gender and personality
 Engineering news

Researchers in Paris are developing touch-sensitive robots that can infer someone’s gender and personality by shaking hands with them.

Adriana Tapus and colleagues at Université Paris-Saclay are developing humanoid robots that are sensitive to tactile stimulation, and hope their technology can benefit the elderly and those with autism.

“Giving robots a personality is the only way our relationship with artificial intelligence will survive,” said Tapus. “If we can simulate a human-like emotional response from a robot we can ensure a two-way relationship, benefiting the most vulnerable and isolated members of our society. Our research will help the next generation of social robots to be polite, empathetic, and maybe have their own sense of humour.”

The team has also developed robots that can display different emotions depending on the situation and context – adapting their arm stiffness depending on who they’re shaking hands with, for example.

Another strand of research hopes to help people with autism become more social, by investigating how they interpret emotions displayed by robots as compared to humans.

“It’s a tool to aid the human worker,” said Gilbert Tang, a robotics researcher at Cranfield University, who was not involved in the research. “It’s something that’s available all the time,” he told Professional Engineering.

Tang said that this kind of technology could transfer into the industrial space to make collaborative robots on the factory floor more human. “There’s more room for error,” he said. “If you look at industrial robots, they’re designed to make things quickly and as fast as possible, whereas in a domestic environment robots tend to be closer to people. In the factory, although a cobot is within reach, it’s not as huggable.”

Output: French scientists are developing humanoid robots that are sensitive to touch, allowing them to detect a person's gender and personality by shaking hands with them. The researchers, from the University of Paris-Saclay, have designed the robots to display different emotions depending on situation and context, which they claim could lead to the next generation of robots being more "empathetic", and even developing a sense of humour. The research is also being used to help people with autism become more sociable.


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FedEx profits suffer in aftermath of cyber attack
 Dallas - FedEx cut its annual profit forecast, citing the $300m cost of a June cyberattack on its TNT Express unit.

The courier now expects to earn no more than $12.80 a share in the fiscal year ending in May after excluding certain items, FedEx said in a statement on Tuesday. That’s down from an original projection of as much as $14 and less than the $13.10 average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The global cyberattack in late June struck as the company was stepping up spending to handle more packages from the expansion of online shopping. FedEx also said results at its ground-shipment unit weighed on results, as did Hurricane Harvey, which caused flooding along the US Gulf Coast.

“The first quarter posed significant operational challenges due to the TNT Express cyberattack and Hurricane Harvey,” CEO Fred Smith said in the statement.

FedEx had no insurance to cover the attack, which forced TNT to manually process some transactions.

Shares drop

FedEx fell 2% to $211.61 after the close of regular trading in New York.

Global operations outside the TNT unit weren’t affected by the virus, which entered the unit’s systems through tax software used in the Ukraine. FedEx said it found no evidence of a data breach or information lost to third parties.

The shipper also was among companies hit by the WannaCry ransomware in May, although it said that attack didn’t cause a material disruption to its systems or raise operating costs. Companies around the world struggled to retake control of their networks after the intrusions, which cost them hundreds of millions in potential revenue.

FedEx acquired Dutch shipping company TNT Express for $4.8bn last year to gain an extensive parcel delivery system in Europe to compete with United Parcel Service and Deutsche Post’s DHL. The just-completed quarter was the first in which FedEx reported TNT results as part of its Express division. TNT primarily serves industrial, automotive, high-tech and health-care industries.

FedEx already had planned a 16% expansion in capital spending this year to $5.9bn, after delaying some projects at FedEx Ground to help it process more of the growing number of e-commerce shipments and to boost margins. Deliveries to homes generally have lower yields than to businesses because fewer items are delivered at each stop.

The shipper also said its first quarter profit fell to $2.51 a share, compared with analysts’ average expectation of $3. Sales in the period ended August 31 rose 4% to $15.3bn, compared with the average estimate of $15.35bn.

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Output: American courier FexEx has reported a cut in profits, blaming the effects of a cyber attack on its subsidiary TNT Express, along with disruption caused by Hurricane Harvey. The company acquired Dutch shipping company TNT Express last year, providing them with a delivery network in Europe. The cyber attack in June was caused by a virus in tax software used in the Ukraine, forcing TNT to process some transactions manually. FedEx had no insurance to cover the attack, which they say has caused "significant operational challenges".


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Virgin Trains auctions first-class seats through app
 Rail passengers unhappy at the prospect of a journey in standard class can now bid for an upgrade.

Empty first-class seats on selected Virgin Trains East Coast services are being auctioned through a smartphone app shortly before departure.

Prices start from £5 for a seat in first-class carriages featuring complimentary food and drink, free Wi-Fi, reclining leather seats and extra legroom.

Upgrades are initially available on some weekday services from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh, Leeds, Newcastle and York, with more routes expected to be added soon.

Regular walk-up first-class fares for London to Edinburgh journeys can cost almost £90 more than standard class tickets.

Each auction opens approximately two and a half hours in advance and closes about half an hour before the train departs.

Suzanne Donnelly, commercial director at Virgin Trains East Coast, said: “We are really excited to be partnering with Seatfrog to offer customers more opportunities to experience first class.

“Passengers can get upgrades from as little as £5 and there are real deals to be had. The live bidding element means you can decide at the last minute if you fancy treating yourself.”

The Seatfrog chief executive, Iain Griffin, said people wanting to guarantee first-class travel should buy a regular ticket, as auctions would not be held for all trains.

“For passengers who travel standard class and maybe want to experience first class now and again, or be a little spontaneous on the day, then Seatfrog is the perfect platform,” he said. “We give them the chance to get a really good deal.”

Griffin said he was in discussions about rolling out the service with a number of other travel firms. “I’d be really interested in working with any train service in the UK,” he added.

“I see this working perfectly for a business like Eurostar. We’re already talking to rail operators in mainland Europe. Outside of rail, we’ve also got a big airline capability.”

Passengers who want to use the system for a first-class upgrade enter their booking reference into the app and start bidding. Successful participants are instantly sent a new ticket direct to their smartphone or tablet.

Output: Virgin Trains is auctioning empty first-class seats on its East Coast services through a smartphone app. There will be a two-hour window to bid on the seats, which closes half an hour prior to departure, with prices starting from £5. First-class travel includes free refreshments, Wi-Fi and reclining seats. The service will launch on certain weekday trains from London King’s Cross, with more to come in future. First-class tickets for travel between London and Edinburgh can cost as much as £90 more than standard fares.


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Google, Bertelsmann offer 75,000 online tech study scholarships
 These scholarships mark the next step in an existing partnership which the companies describe as aiming to “prepare new European talent for the digital future”.

Google will fund 60,000 scholarships to Udacity’s Android and web development courses, which last three months. The top 6,000 students from that program will then be offered the chance to earn a scholarship for one of Udacity’s ‘nanodegree’ programs.

“Experienced developers and passionate beginners can take their skills to the next level”

Bertelsmann will fund a further 15,000 scholarships for Udacity’s data science programs.

The scholarships will be open to students around the EU, and in nations on the borders of Europe and the Mediterranean, such as Egypt, Israel, Russia and Turkey.

It follows on from a successful similar program in 2016, for which 70,000 people applied for just 10,000 scholarships.

Google is clearly no stranger to technology, but also has experience of providing education and funding in the digital realm. It has trained over three million people across the EU in the past few years, through its Growth Engine program.

Matt Brittin, president of business and operations in EMEA for Google, said the firm took the step to increase its funding, in order to benefit both beginners and those who want to develop their existing skills.

“We’re announcing the 60,000 Scholarships Challenge for Udacity Android & web dev courses… so that experienced developers and passionate beginners can take their skills to the next level and create new opportunities of their own,” he said.

Bertelsmann also has experience in the education sector, having given their worldwide employees free access to more than 10,000 online learning courses. It also run the Bertelsmann University, which offers corporate progression course, on strategy and leadership, as well as technology.

Output: Google and German media company Bertelsmann are partnering with online education provider Udacity to provide 75,000 online scholarships in web development and data science. The scholarship programme is an expansion of a similar scheme run last year that was seven-times oversubscribed. Applications will be invited from Europe and neighbouring countries. The top 6,000 students from the Google-funded Android and web-development courses will be offered the chance to earn a scholarship for further study with Udacity.