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Kanye West sues Lloyd's over cancelled event payout
 Rapper Kanye West has filed a $10m (£7.55m) lawsuit against insurance firm Lloyd’s of London, alleging that the company is withholding payments in the wake of a tour that West infamously cancelled in November 2016 – and that Lloyd’s are claiming West’s “use of marijuana” is a factor in the stalled payment.

West drew headlines during the Saint Pablo tour, particularly after he voiced support for Donald Trump on stage in San Jose. After another bizarre concert in Sacramento, where he made a rambling speech castigating Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Mark Zuckerberg and Hillary Clinton, he left the stage after three songs, and then cancelled the final 21 concerts of his tour, refunding ticketholders. He was hospitalised for “exhaustion”, spending eight days at a psychiatric centre in Los Angeles.

In the lawsuit, West’s touring company Very Good Touring writes that they haven’t been given “any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that West’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good.” His lawyer Howard King said that the marijuana accusation was an “unsupportable contention”.

The lawsuit also alleges that Lloyd’s fed confidential information about West to news outlets, and states that the insurers’ own selected doctor asserted that West’s mental condition was “disabling” enough to prevent him from continuing the tour.

A spokesperson for Lloyd’s of London said the company wouldn’t comment on active cases.

Output: Lawyers for US rapper Kanye West have filed a $10m lawsuit against Lloyd's of London, alleging the insurance company is withholding payment following West's cancelled tour in November 2016, and that Lloyd's has claimed the star's "marijuana use" was behind the non-payment. West's lawyer Howard King said the drug accusation was an “unsupportable contention”, while a spokesperson for Lloyd’s of London said the company does not comment on active cases.


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Home insurance start-up Kin raises $4m in funding round
 Kin Insurance, a Chicago, IL and Miami, FL-based home insurance startup, secured $4m in funding.

Investors included Commerce Ventures, Omidyar Network, 500 Startups, Chicago Ventures and Portag3 Ventures, as well as angels including founders and alumni from other top tech companies such as Avant, Square, Capital One, Linkedin and Facebook.

The company is using the funds to expand operations.

Founded in 2016 by fintech veterans Sean Harper, Lucas Ward and Sebastian Villarreal, Kin Insurance has built a data and technology platform for customers to get home insurance insurance products online. Kin is built on modern technology without paper and legacy IT systems, and does not rely on local brokers for distribution.

The company has launched Kin Insurance in its first state, Florida.

FinSMEs

01/08/2017

Output: US home insurance start-up Kin Insurance has raised $4m in a funding round that included participation from Commerce Ventures, Chicago Ventures, Omidyar Network and 500 Startups, among a host of angel investors. Kin Insurance has developed an online platform offering users an array of home insurance products. Kin Insurance has now launched in Florida.


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Esure Esure on track to deliver at the positive end of 2017 guidance
 Esure’s motor reinsurance bill went up 33% on a like-for-like basis when its programme renewed on 1 July, the company revealed in its first-half results.

The increase was caused by the cut to the Ogden discount rate.

The industry is expecting Ogden to drive a large motor excess-of-loss reinsurance rate increase when programmes come up for renewal, with talk of 100% rate rises. Most UK motor programmes renew on 1 January, but some renew on 1 July.

Esure said its 33% increase equates to £10 a vehicle. The company said: “The increase in reinsurance costs compares favourably to market estimates and reflects the group’s low risk approach to underwriting, low large loss propensity and strong, long term relationships with its reinsurer panel.”

It added: “The group has successfully implemented price increases across its motor portfolio in the first half of the year to help mitigate against the increased cost of reinsurance.”

The company said its home reinsurance programme also renewed on 1 July, but there were “no material changes” to that programme.

Esure chief executive Stuart Vann said: “I am really pleased with the outcome of our reinsurance renewal on 1 July which is testament to our focused underwriting approach and strong relationships with our reinsurance panel.

“As indicated earlier in the year, we have increased prices in the first half of the year which mitigate this increased cost to the business, whilst continuing to grow.”

Output: Raising prices and a 40% increase in trading profit from the motor segment (£41.8m ($55.4m)) helped to drive Esure's H1 2017 pretax profit from continuing operations up 44.6% YoY to £45.1m. The group's interim results showed year-on-year increases in gross written premiums (22.8% to £393.3m) and in-force policies (8.8% to 2.258 million). Its combined operating ratio rose 2.6 percentage points to 96.6% and its solvency II capital ratio was 153%. The interim dividend rose from 3p to 4.1p per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 70% of EPS, including a 20% special dividend. Esure's motor reinsurance bill rose 33% (like-for-like) - £10 per vehicle - when it renewed on 1 July, due to the reduced Ogden discount rate. No material changes were noted around the renewal of its home insurance programme.


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Insurers face order to pay settlement for trademark infringement
 Three insurers should have been ordered to defend a policyholder in a trademark infringement suit, and now may have to pay the case’s settlement, says a federal appeals court, in overturning a lower court ruling.

The insurers are New York-based Allied World Assurance Co. (U.S.), San Antonio, Texas-based Colony Insurance Co. and Phoenix-based Crum & Foster Specialty Insurance Co., according to Tuesday’s ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co. v. Wildwood USA L.L.C.; Brian Heinze v. Allied World Assurance Co. (U.S.); Colony Insurance Co.; Repar Corp.

Silver Spring, Maryland-based Repar began distributing agricultural pesticides containing the active ingredient tebuconazole in 2008 and obtained a trademark for it, Tebucon, according to court papers in the case.

Mr. Heinze, who founded Roseburg, Oregon-based Willowood, formed a joint venture with Repar’s primary stockholders in late 2007, according to court papers.

In 2011, Willowood stopped purchasing tebuconazole for Repar, but continued to use the Tebucon trademark. Repar then filed suit in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon, charging Willowood with trademark infringement and breach of contract.

In ensuing litigation, the District Court held Willowood’s insurers were not obligated to defend the company in the case.

After the case was settled for $453,625, the District Court said in a February 2016 ruling the insurers were also not obligated to indemnify the settlement. The case was then appealed to the 9th Circuit.

“The Insurers’ polices each cover injury arising from ‘use of another’s advertising idea in your “advertisement,”’ said a unanimous three-judge panel.

“Oregon courts broadly interpret the term ‘arising out of’ in this context … The District Court should therefore have granted summary judgment to Willowood with respect to the obligation to defend and we remand with instructions to do so,” the ruling said.

The panel furthermore said there is documentation from attorneys and Willowood’s chief executive officer “all indicating that the Repar settlement was at least in part based on covered breach of implied contract claims.

“This was sufficient to create a triable issue on whether the settlement was for a covered claim,” said the ruling, in remanding the case for a trial on that issue.

Output: A US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has overturned a decision from February 2016, which ruled insurers Allied World Assurance, Colony Insurance and Crum & Foster Specialty Insurance were not obliged to defend nor indemnify a policyholder in a trademark infringement case involving former joint venture partners Repar and Willowood. The original hearing centred on the continued use of of the name of a brand of pesticide and was settled for $453,625.


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Advisers fear the day Amazon begins to offer investment guidance
 News that Amazon is buying Whole Foods has some financial planners envisioning a transformed advice industry if the internet giant buys its way into the business of delivering personal financial services.

The prospect is not much of a stretch given the online retailing behemoth already does lending — to the tune of $1 billion to small businesses over the last year – as well as payments and credit cards.

“Amazon has the trust and rapport built with millions of Americans,” said Julia Carlson, chief executive of Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group. “They have the ultimate distribution system set up, so if they wanted to launch something, it’s pretty easy for them since they have the people and their trust.”

Forward-thinking advisers say the entrance of a firm like Amazon or Google in the financial advice space would likely appeal mostly to the masses, but it would probably cause advice prices to go down and demands for delivering financial services faster to go up for all.

(More: Whole Foods-Amazon deal — which funds have the biggest stakes in the merger?)

The biggest threat from Amazon would be if it partners with an established firm like a Fidelity Investments or The Vanguard Group, advisers said. Such a union would help Amazon with the compliance concerns that tend to keep firms out of highly regulated industries like financial services, and it would offer financial street cred.

Having the benefit of a respected financial name brand would likely erase hesitations that consumers might have in thinking about Amazon as an expert in handling their life savings.

“Amazon is certainly changing a lot of industries,” said Rose Price, a partner at VLP Financial Advisors. “Depending on what pieces of financial planning they deliver through technology and how they partner with or buy other firms, they could revolutionize how quickly advice is delivered.”

Investors, especially young ones, increasingly want answers to their financial questions supplied on demand.

What would be easier or quicker than asking Alexa, Amazon’s virtual personal assistant, “Is this mutual fund a good investment for me?”

“That’s instant, no waiting a month to fit into my schedule,” Ms. Carlson said. “I would be concerned about that disruption in the industry.”

In addition to speed of delivery, one of Amazon’s advantages in all its businesses is the internet retailer’s use of data to predict what the consumer wants and needs.

(More: In the future, advisers will be at customers’ beck and call)

Some experts believe Amazon — or another big internet master like Google — could dip its toes into the advice business by buying or creating a financial aggregator like Mint.com, which consumers use to organize all their financial assets in one place.

That would be valuable data for Amazon if it were to take the next step of selling advice.

“Aggregation is the window into one’s financial life,” Ms. Price said. “If you can access someone’s aggregated assets, you will already know what people hold and you can send them personalized information and offers and you might get them to act.”

Some advisers believe the entrance of Amazon could spark a new age of financial consciousness if the firm is able to teach the importance of basic financial management to the masses.

“They have an opportunity to change for the better the landscape of financial planning in America,” said Matthew Ramer, principal at MOR Wealth Management. “There is a huge sea of people who need basic budgeting help.”

Of course, if Amazon’s guidance steers investors in the wrong direction, the firm could harm a giant swath of people.

(More: Are regulators equipped to monitor robo-advisers as fiduciaries?)

“Amazon has a great opportunity to provide resources I couldn’t give,” Mr. Ramer said. “But the firm could also help people destroy their financial lives if they do it wrong.”

Output: Amazon could revolutionise the financial advice sector by partnering with an established firm such as Fidelity Investments or the Vanguard Group and offering its own financial advice services. That's the opinion of advisers, including Julia Carlson, CEO of Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group, in an interview with Investment News. Amazon's expertise in using data to predict customers' needs, combined with the speed of Alexa, its virtual personal assistant, in answering questions could make the retail giant a formidable competitor, driving down prices for advice and increasing demand.


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IKEA begins selling home-storage batteries in UK
 Ikea wants you to look on the sunny side.

The Swedish home furnishing retailer is entering the solar power storage market. It announced Tuesday that it is partnering with solar company Solarcentury to sell solar batteries to help UK homeowners save on electricity, an indication that power storage is becoming much more accessible.

The Ikea Solar Battery Storage starts at £3,000 (roughly US$3,970), or £5,000 (roughly $6,612) for homeowners who have solar panels already installed and want to add a battery. Solar panels and battery storage purchased together from Ikea starts at £6,925 (roughly $9,160), a sum homeowners can see saved in roughly 12 years, Ikea said.

"With energy bills already going up 15% this year, there's never been a better time for customers to take back control of their electricity bills and maximise their savings by switching to solar and solar storage," Ikea's Hege Saebjornsen said in a statement.

Output: Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA is partnering with solar panel manufacturer Solarcentury to sell solar batteries to UK homeowners. A solar panel and battery storage package is available for £6,925 ($9,160), with payback on the investment usually within 12 years. Standalone batteries start at £3,000.


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Insurtech disrupter Lemonade expands to New Jersey
 Lemonade, the insurance company powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics, is now available throughout New Jersey, marking the fourth state in its nationwide expansion strategy.

Residents of New Jersey can now buy homeowners and renters insurance at lemonade.com or through the Lemonade app, joining New York, California and Illinois. The insurance company has received a total of 13 state licenses and plans to continue to launch state-by-state in the coming months, according to a company press release.

“As Lemonade continues its nationwide rollout, we have a special place in our heart for New Jersey,” said Lemonade Cofounder Shai Wininger in the release. “We received endless requests to launch there after our New York launch from consumers who work in New York but live across the Hudson, and many of our own team are native Jersey residents. So [this] launch feels like a natural next step.”

Lemonade is a licensed insurance carrier, offering homeowners and renters insurance powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics. It works to digitize the insurance process and aims for zero paperwork. It is also a Certified B-Corp, where underwriting profits go to nonprofits.

The company takes a flat 20% fee, treating premiums as belonging to the insured, not the insurer. It then returns unclaimed money during its annual Giveback. Giveback is a feature of Lemonade in which leftover money each year is donated to a cause customers care about. The 2017 Giveback saw more than 10% of Lemonade’s revenue go to 14 different causes chosen by the Lemonade community.

Source: Lemonade Insurance Company

Related:

Topics New York New Jersey

Output: Insurance technology firm, Lemonade, has continued its US roll out expanding to its fourth state, New Jersey. The firm writes policies for renters and homeowners using a platform driven by artificial intelligence and behavioural economics. It charges a flat 20% fee and views premiums as belonging to the insured, rather than the insurer. Lemonade has licences to operate in 13 states and already launched in New York, California and Illinois.


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Cyber insurance chasm opens amid lack of risk pricing, education
 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Threat Sketch, a leading expert in cyber risk assessment, today announced a new white paper analyzing the cyber insurance market titled, "An Overview of the Cyber Insurance Market." This paper is the result of research into the field of cyber insurance and the role it plays in overall cyber security measures for small to medium businesses.

"At Threat Sketch, our priority is providing products and services to help small to medium businesses prevent and prepare for cyber attacks," said Rob Arnold, CEO of Threat Sketch. "Through our work we found serious gaps in awareness of the threat of cyber attack, but also in education on the types of services available to businesses. This white paper is the result of our ongoing research to help eliminate that gap and provide the education and services these businesses need."

In the paper, Threat Sketch reports first that regardless of how many cyber initiatives a company puts into place, the risk of cyber attack cannot be eliminated. In fact, cyber attacks continue to grow, with a 36 percent increase in ransomware attacks worldwide. In addition, many business insurance policies do not cover cyber attacks. While cyber insurance policies have been around for more than 20 years, fewer than 10 percent of U.S. businesses are thought to purchase these policies.

The white paper reports three primary reasons for the discrepancy between the need for cyber insurance policies and the businesses purchasing these policies. One is the lack of a reliable data model for insurance companies to appropriately price cyber insurance policies. The other two factors are a lack of education presented to insurance agents and consumers.

The white paper includes information on how to bridge this education gap, as well as a look at how cyber insurance is an integral part of a business's cyber security solutions. The Threat Sketch Risk Assessment, a high-level, strategic cyber risk assessment developed specifically for small to medium-sized businesses, can help close this gap. "During development of our risk assessment product, we ran into some of the same issues underwriters encounter, specifically the problem of sparse data sets that didn't fit traditional risk formulas," Arnold said. "Our experience in sourcing and interpreting this highly technical data can help insurance issuers better manage their underwriting activities."

Click here to download your free copy of the entire white paper.

About Threat Sketch -- Founded in February 2015, in Winston-Salem, NC, Threat Sketch provides tools that enable small business owners and executives to evaluate and manage cyber security at a strategic level. The executive team brings decades of IT, risk analysis, financial/economic and project management experience and expertise to provide tailored, strategic counsel to a wide variety of small business clients. To learn more call 844-487-4757, or visit www.threatsketch.com.

Media Contacts

Liz Ericksen, Customer Journey Manager

[email protected]

844-487-4757 ext 803

Rob Arnold, Threat Sketch CEO

[email protected]

SOURCE Threat Sketch LLC

Output: Fewer than 10% of US companies are thought to have purchased cyber insurance policies, according to a white paper by cyber risk assessors Threat Sketch. This demonstrates a failure of education and understanding, according the the report. Hacks are on the rise, with a 36% increase in ransomware incidents this year, the company said in "An Overview of the Cyber Insurance Market". It blames the shortfall on the absence of a reliable data model to price policies and a lack or education on the threat among insurance agents and consumers.


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Conde Nast branded content outperforms traditional video ads
 by Sara Guaglione , August 2, 2017

A new neuro-science study commissioned by Condé Nast found its branded content was more effective than traditional video advertising on YouTube and Facebook.

“We commissioned this study to find out how our branded content performs against both traditional video ads as well as editorial and [user-generated] content. What we’ve found is that Condé Nast’s custom content creates emotional connections that positively impact brand perception among next generation consumers,” stated Josh Stinchcomb, chief experiences officer at Condé Nast.

Condé Nast teamed up with market research firm Neuro-Insight to monitor 200 people who had either visited one of Condé Nast’s sites or followed one of its brands on social media in the past two weeks.

advertisement advertisement

They were shown fashion, finance, beauty and auto branded content as they watched YouTube videos or scrolled through their personal Facebook accounts.

A proprietary brain-mapping technology, called Steady-State Topography (SST), measured the speed of participants’ responses in various parts of the brain linked to feelings and decisioning while watching Condé Nast’s branded content, Stephanie Fried, who oversaw the study and is Condé Nast’s EVP of research, analytics and audience development, told Publishers Daily.

The technology measured memory encoding and emotional intensity effectiveness. Memory encoding measures activity in the brain responsible for storing memories and exercises for the long term (more than few minutes). Emotional intensity relates to the strength of an emotion experienced, “and helps us understand which elements trigger a strong emotional response,” Fried said.

She said these metrics have been “validated scientifically… as an indicator of purchase.”

The study found that on YouTube, Condé Nast's branded content is 60% more effective for memory encoding than traditional YouTube pre-roll.

On Facebook, Condé Nast custom content was 17% more engaging than Facebook content overall. It was also more effective than brand-promoted content, “creating extremely strong memory impressions for the brands,” according to a statement.

When delivered by Condé Nast brands, the branded content performs 72% higher above brand impact targets.

Going forward, Fried said the findings will help Condé Nast “develop the right content/storytelling for the right brands on the right platforms through the right distribution methods.”

Output: Condé Nast has learned that its own branded content is 60% more effective than traditional YouTube pre-roll, and 17% more engaging than Facebook content overall, according to a scientific study performed by market research firm Neuro-Insight. The study monitored the responses of 200 people using brain-mapping technology. The results revealed Condé Nast's custom content was creating extremely strong memory impressions for the brands.


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Amazon uses YouTube stars for e-commerce makeover show
 YouTube star Rosanna Pansino Tumblr Amazon is planning a home makeover show featuring YouTube stars

The show, 'Overhaul,' will feature furniture and other products people can buy on Amazon.com

If the model proves successful, it could trigger a trend of shows blending entertainment and commerce

Amazon is planning a home makeover show that will be designed to help the retailer sell products.

The e-commerce behemoth has partnered with Kin Community, a web video production/ad company, to produce "Overhaul," a six-episode show that will feature several YouTube stars having their home's made over.

"Overhaul" is being hosted and co-produced by Christiane Lemieux, founder of DwellStudio.

While the show is designed to be entertainment, it will also be loaded with products people can buy on Amazon, including furniture sold by Lemieux's companies. It will live on a special hub on Amazon.com where people can easily click to purchase items in the show, as well as more affordable alternatives.

"The goal with this show is to both inspire and entertain," said Kin Community CEO Michael Wayne. "It's unique in that it combines the power of Kin's creator community, the award-winning quality of our production studio and commerce."

"Overhaul" is scheduled to premiere in September. The first two episodes feature YouTube baking star Rosanna Pansino and beauty blogger Teni Panosian. In addition to the six episodes, each of the featured digital creators will produce videos showing their home after being made over, which will be distributed on their YouTube channels and other social platforms. These videos will also drive people to Amazon to shop for featured products.

Amazon, of course, has made a big splash in recent years producing and distributing prestige TV shows like "Transparent" and "The Man in the High Castle." But those series ostensibly exist to sell Amazon Prime subscriptions.

While Amazon has featured commerce-related video content on its site for a while from companies like the female focused Stylehaul, this is the first time it's produced a show explicitly designed to facilitate shopping.

Amazon's new show Overhaul will feature YouTube stars getting home makeovers Amazon

Kristiana Helmick, director of home innovation at Amazon, said the idea for the series was born out of Amazon's ongoing retail partnership with Lemieux.

"Amazon Home is constantly looking to innovate and find ways to bring our customers inspiration when searching for products," said Helmick. "The 'Overhaul' series is a great opportunity to provide our customers with some curation and guidance when searching through our large selection of products and we continue to look for new and different ways to do that. ... This is the first time Amazon has had a co-branded storefront tied to a video series."

If successful, "Overhaul" could spark an potent trend, one that Amazon would be uniquely positioned to exploit. For years, people in the media world have talked about a future where you can watch your favorite show and buy a character's outfit (the talk has been around for so long, the example many have used was "you'll soon be able to buy Ross's shirt on "Friends.")

Kin Community was originally built as a web video company focused on women. In recent years, it's evolved into a boutique multi-channel network, working with YouTube talents like Pansino and Hannah Hart to produce and distribute original shows, and also help them connect with marketers. Last year, Kin raised $13.5 million in new funding.

Output: Amazon has partnered with web video production and ad firm Kin Community to create its first show specifically designed to encourage online shopping. Overhaul, a new six-part series in which the homes of YouTube stars are revamped, will be broadcast from September on a special Amazon.com hub, with each episode filled with items viewers can click to purchase on Amazon, alongside affordable alternatives.


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Pollution absorbing tunnels could be placed on UK roads
 Major roads could be turned into tunnels covered with pollution-absorbing material in an effort to cut emission fumes and improve air quality.

Highways Agency officials are studying a Dutch scheme in which cantilevered canopies are constructed over the most polluted sections of road to prevent local residents breathing in noxious car fumes.

Poor air quality is reported to kill as many as 40,000 people a year prematurely in the UK, and levels in many areas regularly breach European legal limits. The government has twice had its plans to tackle the issue ruled illegal by the courts.

The tunnel plans are outlined in an air improvement strategy plan to help reduce pollution. Officials say they are investing millions of pounds in new technology to improve air quality around roads in the next five years. The Department of Transport predicts traffic volumes are expected to increase by 55% between 2010 and 2040.

“The best solution to accommodating the extra traffic on our roads, without negatively impacting on air quality, is cleaner low-emission vehicles. In the meantime we are investing £100m to test new ideas including less-polluting fuels and road barriers which can absorb harmful emissions,” said an agency spokesman.

‘‘We have identified that a cantilever barrier or canopy, which is a tunnel-like structure designed to prevent vehicle emissions, might be a possible solution, though the air quality benefits of this are still to be fully understood. We are now working with the Dutch Roads Authority to measure air quality around an existing cantilever barrier on their network.’’

Highways officials said they have also trialled two different types of barriers. The first, featuring wood panels 4 metres and 6 metres high, were fitted to the M62 near junction 18 in Manchester.

A second trial, which is ongoing, features a 3 metre high fence coated in a mineral polymer material capable of absorbing nitrogen dioxide. “The results from the monitoring of this trial will help us understand if this has been a success with the potential to implement it on the rest of our network,” said a Highways Agency spokesman.

A Highways England spokesman said on Wednesday they were also carrying out emission testing from a range of diesel vehicles using a new type of fuel believed to help improve emissions on both motorways and urban driving.

To help boost electric car use they will aim to ensure that 95% of the roads network will have a vehicle charging point every 20 miles.

Output: Major roads in the UK could be covered with cantilevered canopies designed to absorb pollution. Officials from the Highways Agency are studying a scheme in the Netherlands which uses such canopies on the most polluted sections of roads to protect local residents from emission fumes. Two forms of canopy have been trialled in the UK. The first, made from wood panels, was sited in Manchester on the M62. The second, ongoing, trial features a fence coated with a mineral polymer which absorbs nitrogen dioxide. Each year, 40,000 people die prematurely in the UK due to air pollution.


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Standard Life sells entire holding in Sports Direct
 Sports Direct has lost its biggest independent investor as some fund managers fear the crisis-hit retailer is incapable of addressing its corporate governance issues.

The Guardian has learned Standard Life, the largest independent investor at last year’s annual meeting, has bailed out of the stock, selling its entire 5.8% holding, and Aviva said it had sold down its stake.

Both had been vocal critics of the firm, which on Thursday released its annual report before the annual meeting next month.

The future of chairman Keith Hellawell hangs in the balance after he promised to step down if most of the minority shareholders did not back his re-election.

In January, 54% of independent shareholders failed to reappoint the former West Yorkshire chief constable, the second time they had voted against him in four months. He was saved by the support of the Sports Direct founder and chief executive, Mike Ashley.

Investors have expressed concerns over the dominance of Ashley, the firm’s excessive pay rewards, and poor treatment of workers.

One fund management firm, which did not want to be named, said: “We are concerned about the direction of travel at the firm and what will happen next.”

A Sports Direct spokesman declined to comment on Standard Life selling its stake.

However, the annual report shows Sports Direct has taken a series of steps to address its problems.

Staff are now able to give feedback online and flag issues of concern. “All contributions received are read by senior management,” the annual report says. “Improvements as a result of this dialogue include changes to working arrangements, free wifi in canteens and the introduction of English lessons.”

Keith Hellawell, chairman of Sports Direct. Doubts remain about his future at the sportswear retailer. Photograph: Reuters

Sports Direct employs a large number of workers at its main Shirebrook warehouse who do not have English as their first language.

Its staff forum has been replaced by a “listening group” that consists of workers drawn from Shirebrook. Management attend monthly meetings during which there is an open forum including matters raised by agency employees.

It is also launching a health and wellbeing service for staff. This comes after 110 ambulances or paramedic cars were dispatched to the Shirebrook between January 2013 and April 2016, with 50 cases classified as life-threatening.

A Guardian investigation in 2015 prompted a parliamentary inquiry last year, in which MPs likened the depot to a Victorian workhouse.

The annual report says: “This will facilitate a health worker providing training for a team of our people who will become welfare guardians for their fellow staff. The past two years have been tough on our people and protecting our people remains a priority.”

The firm has also been working with Derbyshire police to provide advice over anti-drug policies and anti-hate crime initiatives.

Hellawell said: “We have made positive progress across the business as we continue to strive to ensure that all our people are treated with dignity and respect.

“FY17 has been a transitional year for the company and for our people. It is my firm belief that Sports Direct is a company of which Britain can rightly feel very proud.

“I hope that the progress we have made over the last 12 months will be taken into account by shareholders prior to the next shareholder vote at our AGM in 2017.”

It was enough to impress one investor, who said: “They have made great strides but there is only so much you can do in 12 months.”

The report also lists a range of risks that could harm the business. Ashley is defending the business from cyber-attacks with “external penetration testing” and on Brexit he has begun “negotiations with lenders” and is monitoring “movements in customer behaviour”.

Output: Standard Life, the largest independent investor in Sports Direct, has sold its entire 5.8% holding in the retailer due to fears the company is incapable of dealing with its corporate governance difficulties. Aviva has also reduced its stake in the firm. Both investors had strongly criticised Sports Direct, which has faced a series of scandals relating to poor treatment of workers and excessive pay awards. The position of chairman Keith Hellawell is now in doubt following his promise to step down if the majority of the minority shareholders did not support his re-election.


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Electronic tagging of cattle could boost productivity: NFU
 Blog: Could bovine EID drive efficiency in the supply chain?

As a member of the Defra Traceability Design Board we’ve been looking at how the industry could mandate the introduction of EID tagging alongside the introduction of a new replacement database to record animal movement history.

We believe that moving to digital reporting, recording and EID for cattle has the potential to drive the single biggest efficiency gain for both Defra and the supply chain. Existing paper-based systems, although functional, are now seen as a little clunky, time-consuming and can be prone to transcription errors. EID would allow almost real-time digital recording of data.

The benefits are significant: reduced handling to read tags improving health and safety on farms and at processing sites and markets reducing costs and errors.

However, the potential of linking real-time movement history to management information is where the big wins will come – this might include assurance status, lifetime medicine history, health status and feedback from processors on inspection and classification data to finishers and rearers that could really drive productivity gains.

How we introduce EID is of course the challenge. A phased approach will no doubt be necessary whereby calves registered from a point in time would be EID identified. This would remove the need for a cattle passport as the tag would ‘talk’ in real time to the database. This database would hold all the animals’ movement history alongside the date of birth, breed, sex, dam ID and holding of birth.

Further phases could see a date in time where animals that move off the holding would need to be EID identified and then so do those animals that remain on farm.

The aim would be to keep the transitional period relatively short so the benefits of EID is realised by all in the supply chain, as soon as possible.

Output: Electronic identification (EID) of cows would vastly increase the efficiency of cattle supply chains, writes John Royle, the NFU’s chief livestock adviser, in a blog for NFU Online. The Defra Traceability Design Board believes that the introduction of EID, in addition to digital reporting and recording, could provide “the single biggest efficiency gain for both Defra and the supply chain”. Current paper-based systems are slow and error-prone, whereas EID would enable almost real-time data recording. The most significant productivity gains would come from the linking of real-time movement history to information management.


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Input:
Researchers find former analyses of concrete corrosion fall short
 New Taminabrücke view from below. Credit: flickr/Kecko/CC BY 2.0

Will reinforced concrete bridges still be standing for years to come, or has corrosion already set in? ETH scientists have discovered that previous concrete samples were too small to allow a reliable statement on the condition of reinforced concrete.

Taminabrücke opened in June this year following four years of construction. At 475 metres, the reinforced concrete bridge is the longest arch bridge in Switzerland. This is a construction created to last numerous generations, one that will carry vehicles safely across the deep gorge between Pfäfers and Valens for decades to come. But as with any infrastructure project made from reinforced concrete, here too the ravages of time are ready to do their worst. Reinforced concrete may enable architecturally impressive structures, but as both experience and numerous worldwide studies confirm, the material is prone to harmful environmental influences, such as CO2 in the atmosphere and de-icing salt in particular. Over the years, chloride from the salt penetrates the concrete until it eventually reaches the steel reinforcement and the armouring iron begins to rust.

Reinforced steel structures are checked regularly to detect damage early and prevent corrosion – the destruction of steel by penetrating chlorides. This is a big and increasingly important job when all the bridges, tunnels and buildings made from reinforced concrete between the 1950s and the 1970s in Switzerland are taken into account.

And the older the structure, the higher the risk that the reinforcing steel in the concrete will corrode. De-icing salt is used to keep bridges, streets and tunnels free of ice in winter, but over the years leads to a greater chloride content in concrete; the mix of cement, water and rock pieces is naturally alkaline with a high pH value that actually protects the steel inside from rust and corrosion.

An expensive problem

"Corrosion is responsible for up to 90 percent of damage to reinforced steel structures," explains Ueli Angst, professor at the Institute for Building Materials. "And with more and more structures reaching a critical age, the annual cost of repairs in Switzerland could amount to between CHF 5 billion and CHF 20 billion." Switzerland is not the only country with this expensive problem. Most of the industrialised world is faced with similar challenges. After all, concrete is the most-used manufactured material worldwide. Some years ago in the US, it was calculated that the cost of corrosion could represent 3 to 5 percent of the country's GDP – not including indirect costs, such as congestion or loss of production.

Considering these high costs and the large number of structures in question, accurate assessment of the condition of reinforced concrete structures – including if and when repairs are required – is hugely important. Along with visual appraisal and non-destructive examination methods, extraction of concrete samples is another key process, as ETH professor Bernhard Elsener – who focusses on the corrosion and durability of building materials – explains: "The chloride concentration in the samples is calculated in the laboratory. If the sample exceeds the critical threshold of 0.4 percent relative to cement weight, not just near the surface but in the deeper levels, the assumption to date has been that corrosion could soon set in and that repairs were required."

These small samples are typically about 5 to 20 centimetres, a practical size for handling in the laboratory. However, a current study by the two ETH professors shows that the conclusions drawn from examinations are incorrect in many cases. "In our research project, we examined reinforced concrete specimens of various sizes and discovered that corrosive chloride concentration was far more apparent in smaller samples and subject to larger fluctuations than in larger specimens," explains Angst.

New critical threshold

"Concrete is not a homogeneous material. The size effect of corrosion can be directly accounted for by these differences," explains Angst. "Only the analysis of a larger specimen, say a metre long, will allow a realistic assessment of the condition." This is difficult for practical reasons, so the two ETH materials experts have developed a mathematical formula that allows conversion of the critical threshold in a certain specimen to any other size – thus replacing the fixed critical threshold of 0.4 percent used until now.

But the results of the ETH study do not just apply to laboratory examination of concrete samples. The findings are also relevant for the use of sensors that can be built into reinforced concrete structures to monitor corrosion. These sensors are usually small and have tended to provide overly optimistic data. For more precise forecasts, sensors of a greater size or number are in order.

The scientists believe that the only way to prevent corrosion damage entirely is to switch to expensive high-alloy steel. "This costs about ten times more than normal reinforcing steel," says Elsener, "yet when you look at the subsequent costs of regular inspections and repairs it could work out cheaper in the long run." This is particularly true when you consider the increased use of blended cements – with as-yet unknown durability properties – as a measure of reducing CO2 emissions.

More information: Ueli M. Angst et al. The size effect in corrosion greatly influences the predicted life span of concrete infrastructures, Science Advances (2017). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700751 Journal information: Science Advances

Output: Swiss researchers have found that some previous analyses of concrete corrosion were inadequate. Writing in Science Advances, scientists from the science and engineering university ETH Zürich said that previous concrete samples were too small to obtain a reliable assessment on the condition of reinforced concrete. The material is vulnerable to environmental damage from CO2 in the air and de-icing salt. Ueli Angst, a professor at the Institute for Building Materials, said corrosion is behind up to 90% of damage to reinforced steel structures, meaning that the yearly cost of repairs in Switzerland alone could be up to CHF20bn ($20.5bn).


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Severe Amazon droughts linked to human action
 If you are like me, you picture the Amazon region as an ever lush, wet, tropical region filled with numerous plant and animal species. Who would imagine the Amazon experiencing drought? I mean sure, if we think of drought as “less water than usual,” then any place could have a drought. But what I tend to envision with respect to drought is truly dry.

People who work in this field have a more advanced understanding than I do about drought, how and why it occurs, its frequency and severity, and the impact on natural and human worlds. This recognition brings us to a very interesting paper recently published in Scientific Reports, entitled Unprecedented drought over tropical South America in 2016: significantly under-predicted by tropical SST [sea surface temperature]. So, what did this paper show?

Well, the Amazon region does encounter periodic droughts. There was one in 2005, another in 2010, both of which were 100-year events, and the most recent one in 2015-2016. The authors of this study, Amir Erfanian, Guiling Wang, and Lori Fomenko, all from the University of Connecticut, measured drought in three ways. They quantified the precipitation deficits and water storage on the ground. They also used two different vegetation measures of drought. The results showed that the most recent drought was unprecedented in severity. The video below shows a brief visual overview of the findings of this paper:

Extreme drought in tropical South America.

But the authors really wanted to know why the drought occurred in the first place and why it was so severe. Droughts in the Amazon region are mainly driven by surface water temperatures in the neighboring oceans, particularly in the El Niño/La Niña region. So, the authors looked at the relationship between changes in precipitation and sea surface temperatures in tropical oceans. They found that warmer than usual water in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans was the main driver for the reduced rainfall during the three extreme droughts in the past decade.

The authors also found that the water temperatures alone could not adequately explain the size and severity of the 2015-2016 drought. This suggests that there are other factors involved as well. To be clear, the authors found that the relationship between water temperatures and drought worked well for prior droughts (the 2005 and 2010 droughts as well as 1983 and 1998 droughts, also El Niño years) but fell apart in 2015-2016. That is, using the relationship, the predicted 2015-2016 drought should not have been nearly as severe or as large as it was. The paper also reports that the 2015-2016 drought clearly exceeded that of the 100-year events in 2005 and 2010. So, in approximately one decade, this zone has had three 100-year events. Quite astonishing.

So why was SST unable to explain the 2015-2016 drought, like it had for past events? Part of it has to do with land-use changes. That is, human changes to the land surface such as deforestation. Another part is related to warming from greenhouse gases. It is clear that land-use changes can affect drought. As farmers deforest, for instance, they convert woodlands and forests into agricultural land. This changes not only the darkness (reflectivity) of the land, but it also impacts the transfer of water to and from the atmosphere (evapotranspiration).

One might ask how warming affects droughts. As air temperatures increase, air is able to evaporate water more rapidly and dry out surfaces. At the same time, air can contain more water vapor so that when rain does occur, it is more often in heavy downpours. These two changes underlie what is referred to as an accelerated hydrological cycle. Simply put, man-made warming is accelerating the movement of water through the ecosystem, which can cause drought even if precipitation does not decrease. Warming also causes changes in the large-scale patterns of air motion (atmospheric circulation) that reduces rainfall in this region.

Dr. Guiling Wang Photograph: Christopher Larosa

I communicated with the senior author, Dr. Wang, who told me:

Since oceanic forcing could not fully explain the severity of the latest drought, one will have to account for the roles of greenhouse gas warming, land use land cover changes, and/or dynamic ecosystem feedback in order to advance the understanding, attribution and prediction of extreme droughts in this region. The frequent recurrence of severe droughts in the recent decade may be a precursor of what the future might have in store for this regional climate and ecosystem.

So why do we care? Well, for a number of reasons. First of all, droughts in this part of the world create an increased risk for desertification and fire occurrence and hurt the region’s ecosystem, harm trees, and accelerate the release of carbon dioxide. We know that the 2005 drought, which was a 100-year event, led to a record number of wildfires and increased emissions. We also know that similar consequences occurred five years later during the 2010 drought. Similarly, smaller droughts in Brazil in 2007 and 2012 caused widespread water supply problems, particularly in densely populated locations.

To make a long story short, investigating these additional factors may help better explain the most recent Amazon drought. Simply using the past relationship between SST and drought was not a sufficient explanation. This finding, and the recognition that droughts present real consequences for both human societies and natural ecological systems, should motivate us to take actions to reduce harm in the future.

Output: The Amazon has experienced three 100-year droughts, or events that have a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, in the past decade, according to research from the University of Connecticut. The last drought, which began in 2015, was of unprecedented severity. Droughts in the region are primarily driven by surface water temperatures in nearby oceans, particularly in the El Niño/La Niña area. However, while this factor was the main cause of the latest droughts, it does not explain the intensity of the third event. Researchers believe such intensity resulted from factors including deforestation and warming from greenhouse gases.


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Input:
Foxconn division to make batteries for California's Primus Power
 One among a small handful of redox flow-based energy storage system providers crossing the line from pilot phase into commercial deployment that includes the likes of VIZn, Redflow and RedT, Primus Power released its latest range of storage systems, EnergyPod 2, in February this year. The devices use zinc bromide battery chemistry generally targeting energy storage duration of around five hours.

The company received a US$32 million funding boost in March when it garnered investment from groups including Matador Capital from Saudi Arabia. That cash injection made Primus the chief recipient of venture capital funding in energy storage in the first quarter of this year, according to VC funding and M&A reports from Mercom Capital.

In a recent interview with Energy-Storage.News, Nancy Pfund of social impact investing firm DBL Partners also pointed out that one of Primus Power’s energy storage systems has been installed on a pilot basis at Microsoft’s HQ. Pfund said it demonstrated the commercial potential of the technology.

Pfund, who was one of the earliest VC investors in Tesla before it floated on the stock exchange called that project “very significant in terms of signalling that part of the toolkit for corporations to reduce costs by going renewable and achieve their sustainability goals – a big part of that toolkit – is the battery or the storage architecture”.

Chinese market proximity

Output: California flow battery maker Primus Power has entered into a manufacturing services agreement with Foxsemicon, a subsidiary of Chinese company Foxconn, to assemble and test its EnergyPod batteries in China. The aim is to accelerate customer shipments into the country, where the energy market is set to take off, while Primus Power said Foxsemicon's "engineering capability, global purchasing power and in-house fabrication, assembly and testing" would help reduce manufacturing costs.


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Input:
Statoil builds first floating wind turbines off Scottish coast
 One of the enormous turbines being towed out to sea. Roar Lindefjeld / Woldcam via Statoil

This summer five wind turbines are being towed out into the North Sea, where they will be the first ever floating offshore wind farm.

The turbines, built in Norway this year, have been dragged across the ocean to Scotland, where they will start working just off the coast.

The project — known as Hywind Scotland — cost a total of NOK 2 billion (£193 million, or $253 million).

It is expected to generate enough power for 20,000 households when it starts producing energy later this year, according to Statoil, the Norwegian state energy company behind the project.

Take a look at the slides below to see how the turbines work, and why an idea once dismissed as "crazy" is coming to life.

Output: Norwegian state energy company Statoil has constructed the world's first floating offshore wind farm, for use about 30 km off the Scottish coast. The NOK2bn ($253m) Hywind Scotland project, set to be operational this year, comprises five wind turbines, designed to sit on the surface of the water and capable of generating 6 MW each – with enough combined electricity output to power 20,000 UK homes. "Some people thought we were crazy when we put a giant wind turbine on top of a floating spar structure and towed it out to sea," the company said in a statement.


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Input:
FMC Lithium raises outlook second time this year
 PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Second Quarter 2017 Highlights

Consolidated revenue of $657 million , up 7 percent versus Q2 '16

, up 7 percent versus Q2 '16 Consolidated GAAP earnings of $0.56 per diluted share, up 14 percent versus Q2 '16

per diluted share, up 14 percent versus Q2 '16 Consolidated adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.48 , up 4 percent versus Q2 '16

, up 4 percent versus Q2 '16 Agricultural Solutions segment earnings of $96 million , down 5 percent versus Q2 '16

, down 5 percent versus Q2 '16 Lithium segment earnings of $24 million , up 47 percent versus Q2 '16

, up 47 percent versus Q2 '16 Narrowing guidance range for 2017 adjusted earnings per diluted share to $2.30 to $2.50 1,2

FMC's previously announced transactions with DuPont on track to close on November 1, 2017

FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) today reported second quarter revenue of $657 million, which is an increase of 7 percent year-over-year. On a GAAP basis, the company reported earnings of $0.56 per diluted share in the second quarter, or $75 million, which is 14 percent higher than the GAAP earnings of $0.49 per diluted share, or $65 million, in the second quarter of 2016. Second quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.48, which excludes approximately 24 cents attributable to the reporting of Health and Nutrition in discontinued operations.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111101/NE97440LOGO

Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, CEO and chairman said: "FMC delivered another solid quarter. In Ag Solutions, we saw strong volumes in Latin America and successful new product launches into Asia. Lithium earnings increased by over 45 percent, on higher pricing. Our lithium hydroxide expansion began selling product to customers in the second quarter and will be at full run rate by the fourth quarter."

FMC Agricultural Solutions

FMC Agricultural Solutions reported second quarter revenue of $583 million and segment earnings of $96 million. Second quarter segment revenue increased 6 percent year-over-year, with volume increasing 10 percent, partially offset by a 4 percent decline in price. Segment earnings decreased 5 percent compared to the second quarter of 2016, with price and geographic mix shift having the largest negative impact.

Agricultural Solutions full-year segment revenue is forecasted to be in the range of $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion, an increase of 3 percent at the mid-point compared to 2016, and full-year segment earnings are expected to be in the range of $415 million to $445 million, an increase of 8 percent at the mid-point. 2 Segment earnings margin is expected to be approximately 20 percent in the second half of 2017. Third quarter segment earnings are forecasted to be in the range of $100 million to $120 million, an increase of 22 percent at the mid-point compared to the prior year quarter.

FMC Lithium

FMC Lithium reported second quarter segment revenue of $74 million, an increase of 17 percent from the prior-year quarter. Segment earnings increased 47 percent to $24 million in the quarter versus $17 million in the prior-year quarter. Significantly higher prices and improved mix were partially offset by increased costs.

The outlook for Lithium for the full year has been increased. Segment revenue for the full year of 2017 is forecasted to be in the range of $340 million to $360 million, an increase of 33 percent at the mid-point compared to 2016, while full-year segment earnings are expected to be between $115 million and $125 million. This revised forecast for full-year segment earnings represents an increase of $10 million versus prior guidance and an increase of over 70 percent at the mid-point compared to the prior year. Third quarter segment earnings are expected to be in the range of $30 million to $35 million, an increase of approximately 85 percent at the mid-point compared to the prior year quarter.

2017 Outlook

FMC expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.30 to $2.50 for the full year 2017, excluding any benefit from the pending DuPont (NYSE:DD) Crop Protection transaction.1,2

Update on Transactions with DuPont

FMC continues to expect both the Crop Protection and Health and Nutrition transactions with DuPont will close on November 1, 2017.

Webcast and Supplemental Information

The company will post supplemental information on the web at www.FMC.com, including its 2017 Outlook Statement, definitions of non-GAAP terms and reconciliations of non-GAAP figures to the nearest available GAAP term.

About FMC

For more than a century, FMC Corporation has served the global agricultural, industrial and consumer markets with innovative solutions, applications and quality products. Revenue totaled approximately $3.3 billion in 2016. FMC employs approximately 6,000 people throughout the world and operates its businesses in three segments: FMC Agricultural Solutions, FMC Health and Nutrition and FMC Lithium. On March 31, 2017, FMC announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a significant portion of DuPont's Crop Protection business and to sell FMC Health and Nutrition to DuPont. Closing is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2017. For more information, visit www.FMC.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Act of 1995: Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning specific factors described in FMC Corporation's 2016 Form 10-K and other SEC filings. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. FMC Corporation does not intend to update this information and disclaims any legal obligation to the contrary. Historical information is not necessarily indicative of future performance.

This press release contains certain "non-GAAP financial terms" which are defined on our website www.fmc.com. In addition, we have also provided on our website at www.fmc.com reconciliations of non-GAAP terms to the most directly comparable GAAP term.

Although we provide forecasts for adjusted earnings per share and adjusted cash from operations (both of which are non-GAAP financial measures), we are not able to forecast the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Certain elements of the composition of the GAAP amounts are not predictable, making it impractical for us to forecast. Such elements include, but are not limited to, restructuring, acquisition charges, and discontinued operations and related cash activity. As a result, no GAAP outlook is provided.

Outlook excludes any earnings from the pending acquisition of a significant portion of DuPont's Crop Protection business, as well as Health and Nutrition which is reported in discontinued operations.

FMC CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (LOSS) (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 Revenue $ 656.8 $ 615.3 $ 1,252.8 $ 1,221.7 Costs of sales and services 422.4 379.9 802.2 770.3 Gross margin 234.4 235.4 450.6 451.4 Selling, general and administrative expenses 126.4 110.6 236.1 220.7 Research and development expenses 32.0 33.2 60.2 67.4 Restructuring and other charges (income) 6.9 9.1 15.2 18.6 Total costs and expenses 587.7 532.8 1,113.7 1,077.0 Income (loss) from operations 69.1 82.5 139.1 144.7 Equity in (earnings) loss of affiliates (0.1) — (0.2) — Interest expense, net 17.2 15.2 32.9 31.0 Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes 52.0 67.3 106.4 113.7 Provision (benefit) for income taxes 3.3 20.5 12.7 40.9 Income (loss) from continuing operations 48.7 46.8 93.7 72.8 Discontinued operations, net of income taxes 26.6 20.2 (142.2) 42.9 Net income (loss) $ 75.3 $ 67.0 $ (48.5) $ 115.7 Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.6 1.8 1.0 2.2 Net income (loss) attributable to FMC stockholders $ 74.7 $ 65.2 $ (49.5) $ 113.5 Amounts attributable to FMC stockholders: Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax $ 48.2 $ 45.0 $ 92.7 $ 70.6 Discontinued operations, net of tax 26.5 20.2 (142.2) 42.9 Net income (loss) $ 74.7 $ 65.2 $ (49.5) $ 113.5 Basic earnings (loss) per common share attributable to FMC

stockholders: Continuing operations $ 0.36 $ 0.34 $ 0.69 $ 0.52 Discontinued operations 0.20 0.15 (1.06) 0.32 Basic earnings per common share $ 0.56 $ 0.49 $ (0.37) $ 0.84 Average number of shares outstanding used in basic earnings per share computations 134.2 133.9 134.1 133.9 Diluted earnings (loss) per common share attributable to FMC

stockholders: Continuing operations $ 0.36 $ 0.34 $ 0.69 $ 0.52 Discontinued operations 0.20 0.15 (1.06) 0.32 Diluted earnings per common share $ 0.56 $ 0.49 $ (0.37) $ 0.84 Average number of shares outstanding used in diluted earnings per share 135.6 134.6 135.3 134.4 Other Data: Capital additions $ 15.2 $ 22.4 $ 26.7 $ 45.3 Depreciation and amortization expense $ 22.5 $ 24.7 $ 46.1 $ 49.6

FMC CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO FMC STOCKHOLDERS (GAAP) TO

ADJUSTED AFTER-TAX EARNINGS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS, ATTRIBUTABLE TO FMC

STOCKHOLDERS (NON-GAAP) (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 Net income (loss) attributable to FMC stockholders (GAAP) $ 74.7 $ 65.2 $ (49.5) $ 113.5 Corporate special charges (income): Restructuring and other charges (income) 6.9 9.1 15.2 18.6 Non-operating pension and postretirement charges (income) (4.1) 1.2 (8.7) 2.3 Acquisition-related charges 20.7 5.0 29.9 12.4 Income tax expense (benefit) on Corporate special charges (income) (8.1) (4.5) (12.5) (9.7) Discontinued operations attributable to FMC stockholders, net of income taxes (26.5) (20.2) 142.2 (42.9) Tax adjustment 1.2 6.5 6.6 16.1 Adjusted after-tax earnings from continuing operations

attributable to FMC stockholders (Non-GAAP) $ 64.8 $ 62.3 $ 123.2 $ 110.3 Diluted earnings per common share (GAAP) $ 0.56 $ 0.49 $ (0.37) $ 0.84 Corporate special charges (income) per diluted share, before tax: Restructuring and other charges (income) 0.05 0.06 0.11 0.14 Non-operating pension and postretirement charges (0.03) 0.01 (0.06) 0.02 Acquisition-related charges 0.15 0.04 0.22 0.09 Income tax expense (benefit) on Corporate special charges (income), per diluted share (0.06) (0.03) (0.09) (0.07) Discontinued operations per diluted share (0.20) (0.15) 1.05 (0.32) Tax adjustments per diluted share 0.01 0.04 0.05 0.12 Diluted adjusted after-tax earnings from continuing

operations per share, attributable to FMC stockholders (Non-

GAAP) $ 0.48 $ 0.46 $ 0.91 $ 0.82 Average number of shares outstanding used in diluted adjusted 135.6 134.6 135.3 134.4

____________________ (1) The Company believes that the Non-GAAP financial measure "Adjusted after-tax earnings from continuing operations attributable to FMC stockholders", and its presentation on a per share basis, provides useful information about the Company's operating results to investors and securities analysts. Adjusted earnings excludes the effects of corporate special charges, tax-related adjustments and the results of our discontinued operations. The Company also believes that excluding the effects of these items from operating results allows management and investors to compare more easily the financial performance of its underlying businesses from period to period. (a) Three Months Ended June 30, 2017: Restructuring and other charges (income) represents $0.2 million associated with our FMC Agricultural Solutions segment. Additionally, restructuring and other charges (income) includes charges of continuing environmental sites treated as a Corporate charge of $3.3 million and other Corporate charges of $3.4 million. Three Months Ended June 30, 2016: Restructuring and other charges (income) includes charges of $5.9 million representing adjustments to severance and asset write-offs primarily associated with the integration of Cheminova with FMC Agricultural Solutions. Additionally, restructuring and other charges (income) includes charges of continuing environmental sites treated as a Corporate charge of $2.5 million. Remaining restructuring and other charges includes net miscellaneous charges of $0.7 million. Six Months Ended June 30, 2017: Restructuring and other charges (income) represents $4.7 million of exit costs related to the termination of our interest in a variable interest entity that was previously consolidated and part of our FMC Agricultural Solutions segment. Additionally, restructuring and other charges (income) includes charges of continuing environmental sites treated as a Corporate charge of $5.6 million and other Corporate charges of $4.9 million. Six Months Ended June 30, 2016: Restructuring and other charges (income) includes charges of $8.9 million representing adjustments to severance and asset write-offs primarily associated with the integration of Cheminova with FMC Agricultural Solutions. Amounts also include $4.2 million associated as a result of the Argentina government's action to devalue its currency. Additionally, restructuring and other charges includes charges of continuing environmental sites treated as a Corporate charge of $9.1 million. Remaining restructuring and other charges includes net miscellaneous charges (income) of $(3.6) million. (b) Our non-operating pension and postretirement costs are defined as those costs related to interest, expected return on plan assets, amortized actuarial gains and losses and the impacts of any plan curtailments or settlements. These costs are primarily related to changes in pension plan assets and liabilities which are tied to financial market performance and we consider these costs to be outside our operational performance. We exclude these non-operating pension and postretirement costs from our segments as we believe that removing them provides a better understanding of the underlying profitability of our businesses, provides increased transparency and clarity in the performance of our retirement plans and enhances period-over-period comparability. We continue to include the service cost and amortization of prior service cost in our Adjusted Earnings results noted above. We believe these elements reflect the current year operating costs to our businesses for the employment benefits provided to active employees. (c) Charges related to the legal and professional fees associated with the planned or completed acquisitions. Amounts represent the following:

Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 (in Millions) 2017 2016 2017 2016 Acquisition-related charges Legal and professional fees $ 20.7 $ 5.0 $ 29.9 $ 12.4 Total Acquisition-related charges (2) $ 20.7 $ 5.0 $ 29.9 $ 12.4

____________________ (1) Represents transaction costs, costs for transitional employees, other acquired employees related costs and integration-related legal and professional third-party fees. These charges are recorded as a component of "Selling, general and administrative expense" on the condensed consolidated statements of income (loss). (2) Acquisition-related charges for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 relate to the previously announced definitive agreement to acquire a significant portion of DuPont's crop protection business, while charges for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 relate to the integration of Cheminova with FMC Agricultural Solutions, which were completed at the end of 2016.

(d) The income tax expense (benefit) on Corporate special charges (income) is determined using the applicable rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which the corporate special charge or income occurred and includes both current and deferred income tax expense (benefit) based on the nature of the non-GAAP performance measure. (e) Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 Discontinued operations include the results of FMC Health and Nutrition as well as provisions, net of recoveries, for environmental liabilities and legal reserves and expenses related to previously discontinued operations. Assets held for sale under U.S. GAAP are required to be reported at the lower of carrying value or fair value, less costs to sell. We expect a significant gain on the FMC Health and Nutrition assets to be sold to DuPont and therefore these assets held for sale are reported at carrying value. However, the fair value of the Omega-3 business, which was previously part of the broader FMC Health and Nutrition reporting unit, is significantly less than its carrying value, which includes accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments that would be reclassified to earnings upon completion of sale. As a result, we recorded an impairment charge of approximately $185 million ($165 million, net of tax) during the three months ended March 31, 2017. On June 22, 2017, we announced that we signed a definitive agreement to sell the Omega-3 business. As a result, the fair value of the Omega-3 business was revised in the three months ended June 30, 2017 to reflect the sales price. The impairment charge for the six months ended June 30, 2017 was approximately $171 million ($151 million, net of tax). (f) We exclude the GAAP tax provision, including discrete items, from the Non-GAAP measure of income, and instead include a Non-GAAP tax provision based upon the projected annual Non-GAAP effective tax rate. The GAAP tax provision includes certain discrete tax items including, but are not limited to: income tax expenses or benefits that are not related to ongoing business operations in the current year; tax adjustments associated with fluctuations in foreign currency remeasurement of certain foreign operations; certain changes in estimates of tax matters related to prior fiscal years; certain changes in the realizability of deferred tax assets and related interim accounting impacts; and changes in tax law. Management believes excluding these discrete tax items assists investors and securities analysts in understanding the tax provision and the effective tax rate related to ongoing operations thereby providing investors with useful supplemental information about FMC's operational performance.

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 (in Millions) 2017 2016 2017 2016 Non-GAAP tax adjustments: Revisions to our tax liabilities due to finalization of prior year tax returns $ (0.8) $ 0.1 $ (0.8) $ 1.6 Revisions to valuation allowances of historical deferred tax assets (3.5) — (0.1) — Foreign currency remeasurement and other discrete items 5.5 6.4 7.5 14.5 Total Non-GAAP tax adjustments $ 1.2 $ 6.5 $ 6.6 $ 16.1

RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME (LOSS) (GAAP) TO ADJUSTED EARNINGS FROM CONTINUING

OPERATIONS, BEFORE INTEREST AND INCOME TAXES (NON-GAAP) (Unaudited, in millions) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 Net income (loss) (GAAP) $ 75.3 $ 67.0 $ (48.5) $ 115.7 Restructuring and other charges (income) 6.9 9.1 15.2 18.6 Non-operating pension and postretirement charges (4.1) 1.2 (8.7) 2.3 Acquisition-related charges 20.7 5.0 29.9 12.4 Discontinued operations, net of income taxes (26.6) (20.2) 142.2 (42.9) Interest expense, net 17.2 15.2 32.9 31.0 Provision (benefit) for income taxes 3.3 20.5 12.7 40.9 Adjusted earnings from continuing operations,

before interest, income taxes and noncontrolling interests

(Non-GAAP) (1) $ 92.7 $ 97.8 $ 175.7 $ 178.0

___________________ (1) Referred to as Adjusted Operating Profit.

RECONCILIATION OF CASH PROVIDED (REQUIRED) BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES (GAAP) TO

ADJUSTED CASH FROM OPERATIONS (NON-GAAP) (Unaudited, in millions) Six Months Ended June 30 2017 2016 Cash provided (required) by operating activities (GAAP) $ 205.0 $ 160.1 Transaction and integration costs related to acquisitions (9.0) (12.4) Adjusted cash from operations (Non-GAAP) (1) $ 196.0 $ 147.7

___________________ (1) The Company believes that the Non-GAAP financial measure "Adjusted cash from operations" provides useful information about the Company's cash flows to investors and securities analysts. Adjusted cash from operations excludes the effects of acquisition-related cash flows. The Company also believes that excluding the effects of these items from cash provided (required) by operating activities allows management and investors to compare more easily the cash flows from period to period.

FMC CORPORATION INDUSTRY SEGMENT DATA (Unaudited, in millions) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 Revenue FMC Agricultural Solutions $ 582.8 $ 552.0 $ 1,113.2 $ 1,098.1 FMC Lithium 74.0 63.3 139.6 123.6 Total $ 656.8 $ 615.3 $ 1,252.8 $ 1,221.7 Income from continuing operations before income taxes FMC Agricultural Solutions 95.7 100.7 178.7 182.7 FMC Lithium 24.2 16.5 45.8 31.4 Segment operating profit (a) 119.9 117.2 224.5 214.1 Corporate and other (27.2) (19.4) (48.8) (36.1) Adjusted earnings from continuing operations, before interest,

income taxes and noncontrolling interests (Non-GAAP) $ 92.7 $ 97.8 $ 175.7 $ 178.0 Interest expense, net (17.2) (15.2) (32.9) (31.0) Corporate special (charges) income: Restructuring and other (charges) income (6.9) (9.1) (15.2) (18.6) Non-operating pension and postretirement (charges) income 4.1 (1.2) 8.7 (2.3) Acquisition-related charges (20.7) (5.0) (29.9) (12.4) (Provision) benefit for income taxes (3.3) (20.5) (12.7) (40.9) Discontinued operations, net of income taxes 26.6 20.2 (142.2) 42.9 Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (0.6) (1.8) (1.0) (2.2) Net income (loss) attributable to FMC stockholders $ 74.7 $ 65.2 $ (49.5) $ 113.5

____________________ (a) Referred to as Segment Earnings. (b) Below provides the details of restructuring and other (charges) income by segment.

Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2017 2016 2017 2016 FMC Agricultural Solutions $ (0.2) $ (5.9) $ (4.7) $ (12.5) FMC Lithium — — — (0.6) Corporate (6.7) (3.2) (10.5) (5.5) Restructuring and other (charges) income $ (6.9) $ (9.1) $ (15.2) $ (18.6)

(c) See Note (b) to the schedule "Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Attributable to FMC Stockholders (GAAP) to Adjusted After-Tax Earnings from Continuing Operations, Attributable to FMC Stockholders (Non-GAAP)" for further details on the components that make up this line item. (d) See Note (c) to the schedule "Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Attributable to FMC Stockholders (GAAP) to Adjusted After-Tax Earnings from Continuing Operations, Attributable to FMC Stockholders (Non-GAAP)" for further details on the components that make up this line item. (e) See Note (e) to the schedule "Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) Attributable to FMC Stockholders (GAAP) to Adjusted After-Tax Earnings from Continuing Operations, Attributable to FMC Stockholders (Non-GAAP)" for further details on the components that make up this line item.

FMC CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited, in millions) June 30, 2017 December 31, 2016 Cash and cash equivalents $ 113.2 $ 64.2 Trade receivables, net of allowance of $28.5 in 2017 and $17.6 in 2016 1,442.3 1,692.5 Inventories 546.3 478.9 Prepaid and other current assets 261.4 232.1 Current assets of discontinued operations held for sale 1,122.6 381.5 Total current assets $ 3,485.8 $ 2,849.2 Property, plant and equipment, net 538.3 538.1 Goodwill 501.0 498.7 Deferred income taxes 237.2 242.1 Other long-term assets 1,222.0 1,175.6 Noncurrent assets of discontinued operations held for sale — 835.6 Total assets $ 5,984.3 $ 6,139.3 Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt $ 192.5 $ 94.2 Accounts payable, trade and other 433.5 317.4 Accrued customer rebates 347.8 246.7 Guarantees of vendor financing 65.2 104.5 Accrued pensions and other postretirement benefits, current 7.1 7.1 Other current liabilities 356.2 609.3 Current liabilities of discontinued operations held for sale 139.6 59.0 Total current liabilities $ 1,541.9 $ 1,438.2 Long-term debt, less current portion 1,592.3 1,798.8 Long-term liabilities 823.4 841.6 Long-term liabilities of discontinued operations held for sale — 67.7 Equity 2,026.7 1,993.0 Total liabilities and equity $ 5,984.3 $ 6,139.3

FMC CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited, in millions) Six Months Ended June 30 2017 2016 Cash provided (required) by operating activities of continuing operations $ 205.0 $ 160.1 Cash provided (required) by operating activities of discontinued operations 55.1 64.4 Cash provided (required) by investing activities of continuing operations (51.2) (45.0) Cash provided (required) by investing activities of discontinued operations (12.8) (14.7) Cash provided (required) by financing activities of continuing operations: Net borrowings (repayments) under committed credit facilities — — Increase (decrease) in short-term debt (4.0) (59.4) Financing Fees (11.0) (0.7) Proceeds from borrowings of long-term debt 97.9 2.8 Repayments of long-term debt (200.7) (50.8) Issuances of common stock, net 14.3 2.1 Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation — 0.4 Transactions with noncontrolling interests (0.5) — Dividends paid (44.3) (44.3) Other repurchases of common stock (1.5) (1.2) Cash provided (required) by financing activities (149.8) (151.1) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 2.7 1.3 Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 49.0 15.0 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year 64.2 78.6 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 113.2 $ 93.6

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fmc-corporation-announces-second-quarter-2017-results-300497812.html

SOURCE FMC Corporation

Output: FMC Corp. has raised its outlook for its lithium unit for the year again, after increasing it on 2 May. It now sees unit revenue for 2017 at $340m-$360m, up from $325m-$365m and $115m-$125m from $100m-$120m. FMC Lithium reported second quarter segment revenue of $74m, a 17% YoY increase. Profit rose 47% YoY to $24m. Significantly higher prices were partially offset by increased costs.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Tighter Medicaid budgets threaten home care
 Susan Jaffe

Kaiser Health News

Ten years ago, a driver ran a stop sign as Jim McIlroy rode into an intersection on his motorcycle. Serious injuries left McIlroy paralyzed from the chest down. After spending some time in a nursing home, he returned to his home near Bethel, Maine.

McIlroy does most of his own cooking since Maine's Medicaid program paid for a stovetop that he can roll his wheelchair underneath to reach the food-prep area. His new kitchen sink has the same feature. Wheelchair-friendly wood flooring has replaced McIlroy’s wall-to-wall carpeting.

The alterations plus a personal care aide — all paid for by Medicaid — enable McIlroy to stay in his house that he and his wife, who has since died, "worked really hard to own," he said. The arrangement saves Medicaid roughly two-thirds of what it would cost if he lived in a nursing home.

McIlroy depends on the federal-state program’s growing support of home-based care services — along with 2 million elderly or disabled Americans who rely on them to live at home for as long as possible. That crucial help could face severe cuts if congressional Republicans succeed in their push to sharply reduce federal Medicaid funds to states.

States can choose whether to offer Medicaid services at home, but nursing home coverage, which is more expensive, is a required benefit. Optional benefits lsuch as home services would probably be first to go if states face budget troubles, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) warned in an analysis in May.

Children with special health needs, older adults and people with disabilities greatly value home- and community-based assistance, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Aging.

"That’s why I am deeply concerned with proposals that would significantly cut Medicaid, forcing governors and state legislators to confront difficult budget choices, including how to maintain these critical, but optional, services,” said Collins, one of three Republicans whose votes early Friday helped defeat the Senate’s “skinny repeal” measure that would have scuttled the Affordable Care Act.

Though home services are not a required part of Medicaid, they represent a large share of Medicaid spending. Medicaid expenses for long-term care consumed a third of the Medicaid budget nationwide in 2015, and more than half of that amount went to optional home-based care, according to a government report. Nursing homes got the rest.

"Staying at home is so incredibly important," said McIlroy, 73, who grows cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes on the deck of his house. "You can do what you want to do when you want to do it, and you don't have to share a room with somebody else and have your meals brought to you."

Demand for home-based services is outpacing supply. In Maryland, more than 20,000 people were on a registry awaiting openings for Medicaid home-based services last month. About 160,000 older or disabled people across the country waited for home services in 2015, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report last year. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

Esther Ellis, who lives outside Los Angeles, received a new mattress this year from Partners in Care, a non-profit group that runs four of the 38 sites in California's Multipurpose Senior Service Program and provides Medicaid-funded home services.

The mattress helps relieve her back problems after surgery. Partners also provided a couch, a microwave and an emergency call button to summon help that she wears as a pendant around her neck.

"If it wasn't for them, I don't know what I would do,” said Ellis, 79.

Advocates argue that home-based services can make a big difference for health. "It's all well and good to discharge people from the hospital with a list of medications to take," said Camille Dobson, deputy executive director of the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities, which represents state departments of aging. "But if they go home to a refrigerator that doesn't work so that they can't store their medications or have no way to get to their appointments, all of that great medical intervention goes for naught."

Medicaid home services usually include a visiting nurse or nurse practitioner, a home health aide or someone to help with dressing, eating and other daily activities, light housekeeping and transportation to doctor's appointments. That's just the beginning.

The programs also pay for home modifications, which include minor renovations such as grab bars in the bathroom to prevent falls and wider door frames to accommodate wheelchairs. To overcome potentially treacherous stairs, states may provide wheelchair ramps and some — including California and Ohio — will install a stair glider or chairlift.

Carolyn Gilliland, 81, has lived in her home in central Ohio's farm country since she was 4. She receives home-based services to help with chronic health problems through a Medicaid managed-care plan called MyCare Ohio. It provides two weekly visits from a nurse, a personal care aide and a chairlift to reach her second-floor bedroom. Until it was installed in April, she couldn't go upstairs.

"It relieves the stress on my knees," she said.

Home health services, plus any appliances, electronics and other items, must be medically necessary and part of an individual care plan. Recipients must receive Medicaid and in most cases must be sick enough to qualify for nursing home care.

Among them is Cynthia Dutil, 60, who lives near Waterville, Maine. Because she has cerebral palsy, she depends on a personal care aide for help with dressing and other daily activities. Maine's home-based services program provided a small food processor to puree her foods, a large-print keyboard for her computer and a two-sided toothbrush.

Dutil said she lives life on her terms. She began to explain why she prefers that to living in a nursing home but stopped mid-sentence. "How much time do you have?"

Kaiser Health News, a non-profit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

***

For more information about Medicaid home-based services, go to www.eldercare.gov or call 1-800-677-1116.

Output: Approximately two million senior or disabled US citizens depend on federal programs such as Medicaid to provide home-based care services that allow them to avoid care home living for as long as possible. However, should congressional Republicans succeed in their bid to significantly decrease federal Medicaid funding to states, this could be put in serious jeopardy. States presently choose if they will offer Medicaid services at home, but Medicaid mandates the pricier nursing home coverage as a required benefit. Home-based services are likely to be the first to be halted if states' budgets are under pressure, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Home and community-based assistance significantly help children with special health needs, elderly adults and those with disabilities, leading to concerns that there will be a serious shortage of assistance available. Despite home services not being part of the required Medicaid offering, they still represent a large proportion of Medicaid expenses. Long-term care represented a third of the national Medicaid budget for 2015, and over half of that amount was spent on optional home-based care. Demand for these services is fast outstripping supply, with waiting lists growing increasingly over time. Those in support of home-based services believe it can make a huge difference in terms of patient health. Medicaid home services generally offer patients a visiting nurse or nurse practitioner and a home health aide to help with daily tasks such as dressing and eating, light housekeeping and medical transportation. The programs also provide funding for home modifications designed to make daily living more feasible, such as installing ramps or chair lifts.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Regus Serendipity Labs teams with Dallas billionaire on co-working space
 WeWork is a real estate business that acts like a technology company. It's backed by powerful Silicon Valley venture capitalists, hires data scientists and DevOps engineers and sports a valuation that's about 20 times annual revenue.

John Arenas is taking a very different approach with his co-working business Serendipity Labs. Founded in 2011, a year after the launch of WeWork, Serendipity is sticking with investors who live, sleep and breathe real estate.

Serendipity, based in Rye, New York — 30 miles north of WeWork's Manhattan headquarters — has just raised $11.3 million from investors, including billionaire Craig Hall, one of the top real estate developers in Dallas. The company disclosed the financing in a filing on Monday.

"All of our investment to date has been from strategic capital and not venture capital," Arenas said in an interview with CNBC. The business is focused on the "shift from long-term conventional leases to flexible, variable real estate. To do that you need to find your way a bit," he said.

Arenas has been in the market for decades. He was an executive at Regus from 2001 to 2004, joining through the sale of Stratis Business Centers, where he had been CEO for five years. In 2005, he started on-demand workplace start-up Worktopia and sold it in 2011.

His company is currently running far behind WeWork in terms of size. WeWork has 203 locations in 50 cities, while Serendipity has six locations. But WeWork's $20 billion valuation has brought with it multiple stories of missed revenue targets and reeled in profit forecasts.

Output: Dallas real estate developer, billionaire Craig Hall, has joined the board and participated in an $11.3m financing round in co-working operator Serendipity Labs, according to a filing made by the company on Monday. Serendipity is also teaming up with Hall to open a 29,000 sq ft space at KPMG Plaza at HALL Arts, which will be its first office in the Dallas area, where Hall's firm owns over 3 million sq ft of office space. Serendipity reportedly has 100 locations in its development pipeline, and CEO John Arenas likened the firm's model to the hotel industry, looking to combine company-owned buildings in major cities and franchises in smaller markets.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
CFC saw 44% jump in cyber insurance demand after WannaCry
 Newly released data from cyber insurance provider, CFC Underwriting, has revealed that the WannaCry cyber attack in May was the biggest source of cyber insurance enquiries for the first half of the year. In the four weeks following the attack, weekly enquiries dramatically increased by nearly 50%.

Beyond the initial media coverage of WannaCry, headlines continued to report the ongoing impact of the ransomware attack. It was reported that the attack had links to China, and highlighted that it was the biggest ransomware attack the world had seen to date. It is highly likely that sensationalist headlines such as these were behind the sharp and sustained increase in enquiry rates.

>See also: Cyber insurance in the spotlight – what WannaCry taught us

Very recently, the possible financial impact of cyber events has also been widely reported, which is no doubt contributing to businesses considering purchasing cyber cover. Lloyd’s of London issued a report last week which warned that a serious cyber attack could cost the global economy $120bn, as much as catastrophic natural disasters.

At CFC’s annual Cyber Symposium at the end of last year (November 2016), almost a quarter of cyber insurance professionals in attendance (23%) said that the “fear factor” of an impending and costly attack played a significant part in the growth of their cyber book in 2016.

But this “fear” is now being realised by actual significant losses. For example, British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser lost an estimated £100 million in the recent NotPetya ransomware attack, and even the smallest firms can face costs in the hundreds of thousands after an attack.

Independent research conducted for CFC earlier this year highlighted the top three elements of cyber crime that concern small businesses – theft of funds, inability to operate due to system outage, and damage to reputation. Yet 48% still do not have an incident response plan in place.

>See also: Cyber insurance – a growing requirement?

Graeme Newman, chief innovation officer at CFC Underwriting commented: “We’d expect to see an uptick, but this really was an unprecedented jump and then sustained interest, compared to previous high profile attacks. Much like a physical flood, businesses could see water running down the street and past their front door, prompting them to take action to guard against a similar threat.”

“While headline-grabbing attacks such as these spur businesses into action, we’re no longer living in a world where cyber insurance can be a reactive afterthought. Security can only go so far in protecting against a cyber event – companies must have the right policy and response team in place should they fall victim to an attack. The value of intangible assets now generally outstrips the value of tangible assets on corporate balance sheets and businesses must be ready for this new wave of crime.”

The UK’s largest conference for tech leadership, Tech Leaders Summit, returns on 14 September with 40+ top execs signed up to speak about the challenges and opportunities surrounding the most disruptive innovations facing the enterprise today. Secure your place at this prestigious summit by registering here

Output: CFC Underwriting said that enquiries for cyber insurance jumped 44% in the four weeks after the WannaCry ransomware attack wreaked havoc for companies across the globe. Fear of an impending cyber attack is being realised by the likes of British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser, which said it lost an estimated £100 million in the recent Petya ransomware attack. However, 48% of firms still do not have an incident response plan in place.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
South Korean lawmaker proposes regulation of bitcoin trading
 < 저작권자 ⓒ 서울경제, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지 >

시장 규모가 급격하게 커지고 있지만 ‘규제 사각지대’에 놓여 있던 비트코인 등 가상화폐를 규제의 틀 안으로 끌어들이는 법안이 발의됐다. 법안이 통과되면 앞으로 비트코인, 이더리움과 같은 가상화폐를 거래하는 등 영업활동을 할 때 금융당국의 인가를 받아야 한다.국회 정무위원회 소속 박용진 더불어민주당 의원은 가상화폐거래에 대한 규정과 이용자 보호 제도를 마련하는 ‘전자금융거래법’ 개정안을 발의했다고 1일 밝혔다. 가상화폐는 지폐나 동전처럼 물리적 형태를 갖지 않는 디지털 통화다. 투자 대상으로 떠오르면서 올해 초 대비 가격이 100~200% 이상 뛰어오르고 있지만 투자사기를 예방하는 법·제도적 장치는 전무한 상황이다.개정안은 가상화폐와 가상화폐취급업(매매·거래·중개·발행·관리업)의 정의를 규정하고 있다. 또 가상통화취급업자가 각각의 업을 운영하기 위해선 최소 5억원 이상의 자본금을 갖춰 금융위 인가를 받도록 했다.가상화폐거래소 격인 가상통화거래업자는 이용자보호를 위해 가상통화예치금을 별도 예치기관이 예치하거나 보험, 지급보증계약을 이용해 피해보상계약을 의무적으로 맺도록 했다.박 의원은 “가상통화이용자 보호를 위한 법, 제도적 장치 필요성이 제기되고 있다”며 “가상통화의 정의규정을 마련하고 취급업의 인가에 대한 규정을 신설해 이용자를 두텁게 보호하려는 것”이라고 밝혔다. /권경원기자 nahere@sedaily.com

Output: A lawmaker from South Korea's Democratic Party has proposed an amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act that would make virtual currencies subject to the country's regulatory framework, according to a member of the National Assembly's political affairs committee. The amendment would require cryptocurrency traders to seek permission from authorities for their activities. To protect users, the amendment would also require virtual currency traders to have a cryptocurrency deposit reserve of at least KRW500m ($445,000).


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Foxtons cites Brexit vote as factor in 64% fall in H1 profits
 Profits at London-focused estate agent Foxtons have plunged by 64%, hurt by slowing demand and increased economic uncertainty.

Foxtons said pre-tax profits in the first half of this year dropped to £3.8m from £10.5m in the same period of 2016. Group revenue fell 15% to £58.5m in the period.

Once known for its pioneering coffee shop-style outlets and fleet of Mini cars, Foxtons floated in 2013 ahead of a market peak and has since failed more than once to meet market expectations.

The company has been warning since 2014 that double-digit price rises and strong demand in London were cooling, hitting its profits.

Foxtons chief executive Nic Budden blamed “unprecedented economic and political uncertainty” for the fall in profits.

Sales revenue crashed 29% to £22.2m in the period, with Foxtons saying the performance was set against a surge in the first quarter last year, when transactions were brought forward ahead of the stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let investments and second homes.

The estate agent again also pointed to “inflationary pressures on household incomes”.

Budden said in March that the London market was “severely impacted” by the Brexit vote, which he claimed had led to a “substantial reduction in property sales transactions”.

The numbers come after official figures showed annual house price growth cooled down further in May.

Britain’s housing market has slowed sharply since last June’s vote to leave the EU, when prices were growing by almost 10% a year.

The UK’s third-largest housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey, said earlier that it believed the risk of material impact on the market from the EU referendum in the short term has significantly reduced.

Revenue from lettings, a strong area for the firm that could be hit as the government introduces a ban on one-off tenant fees, fell by 2% to £32.1m.

The letting fees, which are to cover the cost of conducting viewings, verifying references and drawing up contracts, have become an increasingly important money-earner for the industry, averaging £337.

Lettings now represent 55% of Foxtons’ revenue.

“As the lettings market grows, it is becoming more complex too, with significant new regulation, legislation and tax changes introduced in recent years,” the company said in a statement.

In the longer term, while recent political events have produced uncertainty for buyers and sellers, Foxtons said it expected London to remain a highly attractive property market for both sales and lettings.

Output: London-focused estate agent Foxtons said H1 pre-tax profit fell 64% YoY to £3.8m, citing the "unprecedented economic and political" turmoil of the past two years. The Brexit vote "severely impacted" the London housing market, with property sales dropping significantly, it said.