title
stringlengths 4
205
| summary
stringlengths 102
4.94k
| url
stringlengths 41
634
| date
stringlengths 19
26
⌀ | article_content
stringlengths 10
100k
⌀ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spectro Scientific lands $9.6m US Navy contract
|
US tech firm Spectro Scientific has been awarded a $9.6m contract to supply fluid analysis equipment to the US Navy. Spectro will manufacture, test and deliver as many as 69 spectrometers as part of an upgrade of the Navy's oil analysis programmes, as well as providing technical data, logistics support and maintenance supplies. The company's device is the only oil elemental analyser approved by the US Department of Defense.
|
https://www.envirotech-online.com/news/business-news/44/spectro-scientific/us-navy-awards-spectro-scientific-96m-contract-for-fluid-analysis-equipment-and-names-company-as-finalist-in-research-concept-challenge-competition/43798
|
2017-09-05 18:00:00
|
Spectro Scientific, one of the world’s largest suppliers of oil, fuel, and processed-water analysis instrumentation and software, has won a $9.6 million contract from the U.S. Navy to provide fluid analysis equipment and support. In another recognition, the Office of Naval Research named Spectro personnel as finalists for proposing a portable fluid analysis system in a Concept Challenge competition aimed at developing innovative ideas to support the Navy and Marine Corps of the future.
Under the contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Spectro will manufacture, test and deliver up to 69 model M-N/W SpectrOil RDE spectrometers to replace and upgrade the Navy and Marine Corp’s oil analysis programs. Technical data, logistics support documents, initial consumables, and maintenance kits/parts will be included. The atomic emission rotrode M-N/W SpectrOil spectrometer is the only oil elemental analyser approved by the US Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Oil Analysis Program (JOAP). It is a compact, rugged, transportable and easy-to-use spectrometer designed to detect and measure metals, contaminants and additives in lubricants, hydraulic fluids and coolants. Accurate, on-site fluid analysis facilitates establishment of proactive maintenance programs and protects crucial mechanical assets from unanticipated failure.
Separately, in recognition of Spectro’s response to a call from Chief of Naval Research (CNR) Rear Admiral David J. Hahn for innovative ideas on how to keep naval ships, aircraft and personnel at peak readiness, Spectro Vice President of Government Programs Robert Yurko and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Patrick Henning were named finalists for their work in the “Enhancement of a Portable Comprehensive Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) Tool for Aviation Fluid Analysis.”
Mr. Yurko and Dr. Henning join representatives of eight other organisations as finalists in the CNR Concept Challenge. The variety of ideas generated will be applied to benefit the Navy and other branches of the armed services.
Spectro has collaborated closely with the armed services for more than 30 years, working initially with the DoD and JOAP on early versions of SpectrOil technology. Mr. Yurko said, “The contract from NAWCAD confirms that the US Navy places a high value on the quality, reliability and support provided by Spectro fluid analysis technology as it ensures the availability and flight safety of critical aviation assets.” Regarding his and Dr. Henning’s selection as CNR Concept Challenge finalists, Mr. Yurko added, “This recognition illustrates Spectro’s longstanding and continuing commitment to developing advanced technology solutions for maintainers of aviation platforms as well as equipment across the entire U.S. armed forces.”
Spectro Scientific specialises in analytical instrumentation and software for machine condition monitoring. It is one of the largest global suppliers of oil and fuel analysis instruments to industry and the military worldwide. Industry clients include petrochemical, mining and power generation companies as well as commercial testing laboratories. Spectro Scientific’s extensive product offerings include spectrometers for wear metal analysis, lubricant degradation and contamination analysers, particle analysis instruments and complete turnkey systems for oil or fuel analysis laboratories, all managed by its SpectroTrack or LubeTrak software platforms.
|
3D-printed part certified for oil and gas industry
|
Engineering services provider Lloyd’s Register (LR) has certified the first part manufactured using additive manufacturing (3D-printing) for the oil and gas sector. The titanium gateway manifold for oil and gas pipelines was constructed by the Safer Plug Company in the UK and was overseen by LR in an industry first for independent assurance for 3D printing production. The manifold was built using powder bed fusion and will be used as part of an assembly of pipeline isolation tools.
|
http://additivemanufacturing.com/2017/09/05/first-additively-manufactured-part-for-oil-and-gas-certified-by-lloyds-register/
|
2017-09-05 15:33:09.917000
|
Pipeline manifold component from the Safer Plug Company an industry milestone
5 September 2017 – Lloyd’s Register (LR) today announces the first certification of a part produced through additive manufacturing (AM) for the oil and gas industry.
The part, a titanium gateway manifold for pipelines, was designed by Surrey, England-based Safer Plug Company (SPC) and built by the AM production company 3T RPD using powder bed fusion. The entire process was overseen and certified by LR using its framework, an industry first that guides manufacturers on AM processes to certify components.
“In taking on this initiative, LR’s Additive Manufacturing group has truly opened a gateway to the future,” said Ciaran Early, SPC Technical Director. “LR’s pivotal role is to guide suppliers through the codes, standards, controls and best practices to manufacture AM parts, in order that end users will have full confidence that an AM part meets the required level of criticality for that part.”
SPC approached LR more than a year ago in order to provide independent assurance of the manifold’s manufacture, due to the innovative process it went through to design and produce it. The manifold is to be included in an assembly for a suite of pipeline isolation tools, which will include the world’s smallest tool suitable for six-inch diameter pipework.
“This project is a great example of how innovative companies are making great use of additive manufacturing’s benefits,” said Amelia Stead, LR AM Surveyor and the primary technical lead on the project. “This part would have been nearly impossible to produce using traditional manufacturing techniques due to its complex internal channels.”
LR’s framework, produced alongside The Welding Institute (TWI), takes into account more than material standards. The manufacturing facility was also assessed by the LR team.
“3T RPD are delighted that certification has been issued,” commented Luke Rogers, New Product Introduction Project Manager for 3T RPD. “We regularly work with clients in the aerospace, medical and motorsports industries to produce metal parts. Hopefully SPC will set the example and demonstrate how the oil and gas industry can realise the benefits of AM.”
Going forward, LR will certify the next batch of 10 manifolds produced by SPC and 3T RPD. SPC is now working with LR on a Type Approval certificate which would allow it and 3T RPD to produce the manifolds on demand, as well as the pipeline isolation tools.
“From an industry and customer perspective this certification provides added confidence in parts produced by this new technology,” said Dr. Claire Ruggeiro, Director Innovation, Technical and Quality for LR. “This will undoubtily accelerate the adoption of AM into the oil and gas mainstream. The work we have done with TWI and research undertaken by the LR Foundation-funded PhD students has provided the robust basis for this certification and we look forward to further building our expertise and experience together with the industry pioneers like SPC.”
“It’s crucial that new technologies are embraced by the oil and gas industry,” said Andrew Imrie, LR Global Product Launch Manager. “LR is at the forefront of supporting these new technologies, enabling the industry to bring certified products to market with the proper assurance and confidence.”
LR is involved in several AM projects within the nuclear, marine and construction industries as well. It currently operates three joint-industry projects with TWI which are open to companies who’d like to learn more about the AM process.
For more information, please visit www.lr.org/addtive-manufacturing.
About Lloyd’s Register
Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global engineering, technical and business services organisation wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and engineering. Founded in 1760 as a marine classification society, LR now operates across many energy industry sectors, with around 9,000 employees in the Group across 78 countries.
LR has a long-standing reputation for integrity, impartiality and technical excellence. Our compliance, risk and technical consultancy services give clients confidence that their assets and businesses are safe, sustainable and dependable. Through our global technology centres and research network, LR is at the forefront of understanding the application of new science and technology to future-proof our clients’ businesses.
Source: Lloyd’s Register
|
TalkTalk TalkTalk launches TV remote to keep kids safe
|
Telecoms company TalkTalk is offering a Kids remote for its television services to limit children’s access to channels. The feature can be added to its £5 a month Kids Boost package, which provides age-appropriate, on-demand shows when a PIN is entered. The service ensures that only appropriate channels will be shown when the remote is being used, removing access to other programming until the PIN is re-entered. Viewing periods can be set and there is also a countdown clock to remind children that the television will switch off before bedtime.
|
http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/consumer-advice/technology-made-easy/talktalk-kids-tv-remote-launched
|
2017-09-05 13:56:56.327000
|
Kids love watching their favourite shows on TV. But leaving them unattended while you get the dinner on can be risky, especially if they start playing with the remote.
Most of the time, the worst that will happen is they'll change the channel, but there is the risk that they’ve accidentally deleted your recordings or activated a setting you’ve never seen before.
With this in mind, TalkTalk has launched a Kids remote for its TV service that works with the £5 a month Kids Boost package. Those that subscribe can launch Kids Zone – an area of age appropriate on-demand TV shows including Paw Patrol and Fireman Sam – by using the main TalkTalk TV remote and entering a PIN.
MORE: NOT SURE WHICH TV SERVICE IS RIGHT FOR YOU? FIND OUT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PACKAGES
Once activated, your children can choose TV shows and play and pause them using the unique circular Kids Remote. Brightly coloured with a wheel that that let's children scroll and a centre button used to select the shows, the remote was designed with the help of 60 school children. Kids are unable to leave the Kids Zone and return to normal programming unless the PIN is entered on the main TV remote.
There are some great parental controls built-in as well. Using the main TV remote, parents can hide shows they want their children to watch and set viewing hours so the kids zone can’t be accessed out of set time periods.
There’s also a Bedtime function. When activiated a ‘sleepy head’ icon will appear on the left hand side of the screen - this starts a five minute countdown to prepare children that the TV is going to sleep.
The bedtime setting, which can be cancelled from the main remote at any point, takes into consideration the amount of time left on any current programme, so there are no tantrums over not getting to see the end of a show.
The TalkTalk Kids Remote is priced at £5 while the Kids TV boost costs £5 per month. For more information visit TalkTalk’s website.
LIKE THIS? THEN SIGN UP TO OUR HOMES NEWSLETTER FOR MORE!
|
Canadian Natural buys Pelican Lake assets for $787m
|
Canadian Natural Resources has agreed to buy Cenovus Energy's Pelican Lake heavy oil operations and other assets in northern Alberta for CAD975m ($787m). Canadian Natural plans to expand existing heavy oil and polymer operations at Pelican Lake to about 19,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Cenovus has embarked on a divestiture campaign after closing on a $13.3 billion deal with ConocoPhillips earlier this year to acquire full ownership of its oil-sands operations and a production platform in the Deep Basin in northwestern Alberta and British Columbia. The company said it wants to reach deals to sell between C$4 billion and C$5 billion of its conventional oil and natural-gas assets this year.
|
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/canadian-natural-acquires-pelican-lake-assets-from-cenovus-for-975-million/article36163340/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&
|
2017-09-05 13:36:34.097000
|
Oil storage tanks at Pelican Lake.Rene Michaud - Bliss Photographi Share
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is buying a major heavy-oil property and other assets from Cenovus Energy Inc. for $975-million in what is expected to be the start of a busy deal season in the oil patch.
Canadian Natural, fresh from acquiring Royal Dutch Shell PLC's oil sands business, is snapping up a field in Alberta called Pelican Lake, which is adjacent to one of its own operations. Cenovus is selling the business as part of a series of planned divestitures that it says could garner up to $5-billion.
Cenovus has earmarked the proceeds to pay down debt it incurred to buy Houston-based ConocoPhillips Co.'s interests in several oil sands and natural gas properties for $17.7-billion, a megadeal that's had a rocky reception in the stock market.
Since the company announced the deal in late March, its shares are down 41 per cent as investors bristle at the price and debt taken on by a company that had been financially conservative through the industry downturn. The stock gained 3.3 per cent on Tuesday.
Harsh reaction to the deal is said to have hastened the departure of chief executive officer Brian Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson is to step down in October but will remain an adviser while the company seeks a replacement.
Cenovus said it is close to a deal to sell its Suffield shallow-gas assets in southeastern Alberta. Analysts have pegged potential proceeds at up to $600-million. Another two packages of properties – Palliser in Alberta and Weyburn in Saskatchewan – are slated to be jettisoned by year end.
"The divestiture processes for the remainder of our legacy conventional assets are proceeding as expected, with strong interest from potential buyers," Mr. Ferguson said in a statement.
Private-equity and pension-fund-controlled companies are seen as potential buyers for the remainder of the assets.
Canadian Natural shares rose about 1.5 per cent. The company, the largest of several concerns that count financier Murray Edwards as a large investor, has had a more positive reaction to its last big deal, the $12.7-billion takeover of an oil sands mining operation that pumps out up to 255,000 barrels a day.
Toronto-Dominion Bank analyst Menno Hulshof said the transaction is far less significant to Canadian Natural than to Cenovus, as it represents just 1.4 per cent of the buyer's enterprise value.
Pelican Lake produces about 19,000 barrels of heavy oil a day. The deal also includes Cenovus's stake in a pipeline in the region as well as undeveloped land.
For Cenovus, the sale price is fair and represents "a step in the right direction in restoring market confidence," Mr. Hulshof wrote in a note to clients.
The deal follows an unusually quiet period for oil-patch mergers and acquisitions, as buyers and sellers stayed on the sidelines waiting for some shift in the outlook for oil prices – either up or down. U.S. crude has hung stubbornly at less than $50 (U.S.) a barrel for more than four months.
The lack of direction for commodity prices and the end of summer vacation should spell an uptick in deals over the next few months, said Michael Dunn, an analyst at GMP FirstEnergy. The upcoming Cenovus transactions, which involve both light oil and natural gas assets, will be a barometer for the rest of the sector, Mr. Dunn said.
Cenovus still faces skepticism that it can hit its target of $4-billion (Canadian) to $5-billion in sales.
Raymond James Ltd. analyst Chris Cox forecasts the company will generate proceeds of $3.8-billion, well short of its targeted range, meaning more operations will be auctioned off.
"Potentially corroborating this pessimistic outlook, management's indication that additional asset sales are likely to be pursued suggests that proceeds for the remaining packages are unlikely to surprise to the upside," he said in a note.
Further sales could include portions of the newly acquired properties and infrastructure in the Deep Basin exploration region of Alberta, as well as a possible royalty interest in the oil sands, Mr. Cox said.
With files from reporter Jeff Lewis in Calgary
|
Lemonade seen amassing more reinsurance capacity than it needs
|
Insurtech start-up Lemonade has extended its reinsurance programme to a capacity of $325m, greater than its underwriting activities suggest is necessary. The company has signed agreements with multiple global reinsurance firms, stating that it generated around $433,000 in earned premium in H1 2017 alone, indicating gross premiums underwritten standing at around $10m to $15m. It's thought the additional reinsurance capacity has been taken on to iron out claims volatility, to give the company a buffer for expansion and to help keep its balance sheet light.
|
https://www.reinsurancene.ws/insurtech-lemonade-expands-reinsurance-program-now-325m-cover/
|
2017-09-05 13:35:11.247000
|
Insurtech start-up insurer Lemonade, one of the most high-profile companies to come out of the insurance technology wave, has recently completed an expansion to its reinsurance program, which sees the firm with a huge $325 million of capacity backing it.
Lemonade is utilising reinsurance capital as one of its backers, it seems, with a much larger reinsurance program than its underwriting activities would suggest it actually needs.
“I’m happy to report that we signed a new reinsurance contract a month ago, and many of the leading insurance and reinsurance companies from across the globe joined in,” explained John Peters, Lemonade’s Chief Insurance Officer, in a blog post.
“This includes two of the top three global reinsurers; expert specialists that reinsure and even write homeowners themselves. From New York, Bermuda, and London, these partners are in the hubs of insurance knowledge and capital,” he continued.
“We now have up to $325M in reinsurance protection: A LOT for any company, let alone one our size,” he wrote, which we would agree, as based on the underwriting activity at Lemonade the reinsurance program capacity seems perhaps excessive.
The company said that it has generated $433,000 of earned premium in the first half of 2017, which would suggest gross premiums underwritten of somewhere around $10 million to $15 million, we would presume based on Lemonade also saying that they turned down $10 million of premium by not quoting nearly half of their customers.
So $10 million of premiums coming in and now $325 million of reinsurance protection, which is way more coverage (more than double) than a small insurer writing that amount of premium (or $2m of revenue as Lemonade claims to have) would typically need to buy.
But Lemonade is clearly buying reinsurance for numerous reasons, not just for when it faces really major loss events.
It’s using its reinsurance partners to take attritional claims volatility out of the business, helping it to keep its loss ratio lower and ultimately add efficiency to its operations as a result.
It’s also using the reinsurance as a buffer to allow it to grow more rapidly, having the program in place will give it the ability and confidence to expand more rapidly we’d imagine.
It also seems to be using the reinsurance as one of its capital levers, as a way to keep its own balance-sheet a little lighter than a traditional insurer which will be essential for it to compete against industry stalwarts as it grows.
Reinsurance is key for any start-up insurer, but perhaps more so for an InsurTech start-up like Lemonade which has a particularly high level of spend on marketing and acquisition, as well as its technology costs, from the start, but a smaller capital base and balance-sheet.
Peters said that the reinsurers participating in this expansion of the Lemonade program have signed on for multiple years and that the placement was oversubscribed
|
Redrow Redrow launches Mastermove scheme to help homeowners sell quickly
|
Home builder Redrow has launched its Mastermove scheme, designed to provide assistance for homeowners looking to sell their properties quickly, without losing market value. Redrow’s Church View properties in Stafford can be purchased through the scheme, which provides property valuations, agreed market values and agent appointments to help potential buyers sell their present property. Redrow may even take the property in a part-exchange transaction, if the property's value is 35% lower than that of the intended purchase. The four and five-bed properties in Church View start at £399,995 ($520,370).
|
http://www.yourshow-home.com/news-categories/master-home-move-stafford-redrows-assistance/
|
2017-09-05 13:28:04.593000
|
Sellers in Stafford could soon become buyers with help from Redrow to master a speedy move from old to new.
Church View offers a good choice of four and five-bedroom homes and, while visitors love both the location and the design of the properties, many are being held back from moving because they have a house to sell.
The good news is that Redrow’s Mastermove scheme could help homeowners sell up quickly, simply and at full market value, leaving them free to move to a brand new home.
Pauline Turnbull, sales director for Redrow Homes (Midlands), said: “The homes we’re building at Church View offer the best of both worlds in terms of the location and their design. They’re situated off a quiet country road, but are just a few minutes from Stafford town centre in an area well-served by schools.
“Factor in that the homes are as characterful as they are practical and it’s no surprise that people want to live here. However, we’re finding that many of those who want to live here still haven’t sold their current home – or in some cases haven’t even put it on the market yet. That’s where we can help.”
Mastermove is a great solution regardless of whether homeowners are moving to somewhere bigger, smaller or simply more appropriate for their needs.
“We’ll arrange the valuations, agree a market value for a quick sale, appoint an agent we know can deliver and monitor their progress,” Pauline explained.
“Mastermove is designed to make life easier for our customers, get them sold subject to contract and in a position to reserve the new home they really want – and we’ll even pay some of the estate agent fees at the end of the day.”
In some circumstances Redrow may even accept the customer’s existing property in part-exchange, providing its value is at least 35% lower than the brand new Redrow home they have chosen to purchase. If the various criteria can be met Redrow effectively acts as a cash buyer and the customer is free to proceed almost immediately.
Current prices at Church View start from £399,995 and among the properties now available are a four-bedroom Henley and a five-bedroom Marlborough, similar to the show homes.
The Henley features a combined kitchen, dining and family room, with adjoining utility, plus a separate lounge and a convenient cloakroom.
The five-bedroom Marlborough offers 1,906 sq ft of well-planned living space including open plan kitchen, dining and family room, utility and separate lounge, plus a study or snug.
In both styles there are two en-suites, helping to minimise the morning rush for the family bathroom.
Redrow’s neighbouring Priory Park development offers even more to choose from, with three, four and five-bedroom properties available with priced from £249,995.
Between Church View and Priory Park there are six professionally designed and decorated, fully furnished show homes to inspire buyers.
For more information about Church View call 01785 899231 or see www.redrow.co.uk/church. To discover more about Priory Park www.redrow.co.uk/priory or call 01785 899137.
|
Asylum seekers in Finland given an identity using blockchain
|
Finland is using blockchain to give asylum seekers an identity and access to money. For the past two years, the Finnish Immigration Service has been giving refugees prepaid Mastercards, developed by Helsinki-based start-up MONI, instead of traditional cash payments. The card is also linked to a digital identity on a blockchain, where it is easily accessible from anywhere and cannot be corrupted.
|
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608764/how-blockchain-is-kickstarting-the-financial-lives-of-refugees/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=ca4afa470f-The_Download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-ca4afa470f-154403529
|
2017-09-05 13:20:42.957000
|
Bitcoin has demonstrated how blockchain technology can be used to transmit value between individuals without the need for corporate middlemen. Core to the technology is a software protocol that creates a permanent record of every single Bitcoin transaction. Anyone can access this record, called the blockchain, by downloading the Bitcoin software. Computers running the software all over the world maintain the blockchain, and use it to verify new transactions (see “What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters”).
Blockchains are seen as a promising avenue for opening new financial opportunities to people who don’t have access to modern financial services. Besides eliminating the need for a traditional financial institution to mediate transactions, they provide a means for creating and securely storing a digital form of identification that can’t be corrupted and is easily accessible from anywhere. That’s why the United Nations is exploring using the technology in its effort to bring legal identification to the more than one billion people who don’t have official documents.
In Finland, a MONI card can help address several challenges facing asylum seekers, says Jouko Salonen, director of the Finnish Immigration Service. Most importantly, a MONI account functions like a bank account, removing a major barrier to gaining employment. People can use their accounts to buy things, pay bills, and even receive direct deposits from employers. Meanwhile, every transaction is recorded in a public, virtually incorruptible database maintained by a decentralized global network of computers. That enables the Immigration Service to keep track of the cardholders and their spending.
The technology helps unbanked asylum seekers advance because what is typically keeping them from getting bank accounts and jobs is that they are missing a form of strongly authenticated identity, says Salonen. “We have found a way to solve that.”
MONI’s technology uses one of a number of public blockchains as the means of transferring value—but in a way that to the users seems like using a debit card. A cardholder can pay for things at Mastercard terminals, or enter a number into a Web form to make payments online. MONI takes care of the cryptographic handshake necessary to execute the digital currency transaction as well as the conversion from digital currency back to fiat currency.
In addition to the refugee card program, MONI’s service is available to beta testers in Finland, and the company has plans to launch a consumer product soon throughout Europe. An account costs €2 per month, and the company takes a small fee each time the user makes a purchase, and for international transactions.
Antti Pennanen, MONI’s founder and CEO, likens blockchain technology today to the early Internet, which was only accessible to a select few with the means and technical wherewithal to use it. His says MONI’s technology is somewhat analogous to a modem, which made the Internet usable for more people.
Pennanen says word of MONI has spread to refugee camps throughout Europe, and he expects there to be substantial demand among those displaced communities once the service is available in other countries. Ultimately, the company wants to be able to help anyone who can’t access the modern financial system, he says. “Our purpose has always been financial inclusion, and especially to help people in developing countries.”
|
Marathon drops $1.05bn of assets into master limited partnership
|
Marathon Petroleum has dropped $1.05bn of assets into its master limited partnership MPLX, follow pressure from activist investor Paul Singer's Elliott Management. The assets in the deal include interests in Explorer Pipeline, Lincoln Pipeline, MPL Louisiana Holdings and Locap. The deal is expected to generate about $138 million in 2018 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
|
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/marathon-petroleum-mpc-vends-105-billion-assets-to-mplx-cm840756
|
2017-09-05 13:06:10.457000
|
Oil refining and marketing giant Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC recently divested some of its pipelines and storage assets to MPLX LP MPLX . The move helped Marathon Petroleum to garner proceeds of $1.05 billion from its master limited partnership, which it had spun off in 2012.
Marathon Petroleum has offloaded its entire stake in four jointly owned properties including Explorer Pipeline Co., Lincoln Pipeline LLC, MPL Louisiana Holdings LLC and LOCAP LLC. In each of these properties the company carries 24.51%, 35%, 40.7% and 58.52% interests, respectively. These assets are expected to generate $138 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2018.
The proceeds of the sale will consist of $630 million in stock and $420 million in cash. The equity portion of the deal will see Marathon Petroleum receive common units of MPLX and general partner units. This will enable Marathon Petroleum to maintain its 2% general partner interest in its master limited partnership. The cash portion of the payment will be drawn from MPLX's $2.25 billion revolving credit facility.
The divesture is in sync with Marathon Petroleum's strategic objectives. To accelerate value accretion for shareholders and boost growth, Marathon Petroleum is actively engaged in drop-down transactions lately. In March, the company divested of some of its terminal, pipeline and storage assets to MPLX for $2.02 billion. The company also plans to streamline portfolio and enhance core competencies. For the same, it is soon to a take a final call regarding the spinoff of its retail network unit - Speedway LLC. Marathon Petroleum intends to disintegrate into three standalone businesses - retailing, midstream and refining, thereby optimizing shareholder's value and improve focus in each individually unit. The acquisition of assets is also likely to enhance MPLX's scale and diversity and increase its distributable cash flow per unit.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Findlay, OH-based Marathon Petroleum is a leading independent refiner, transporter and marketer of petroleum products. Shares of Marathon Petroleum have gained 8% year to date, significantly outperforming the industry 's 5% decline. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the same industry are Galp Energia, SGPS, S.A. GLPEY and Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. PARR . Both the companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here .
Galp Energia expects year-over-year growth of 191.67% in earnings in 2017.
Par Pacific Holdings recorded positive earnings surprises in three of the last four quarters, with an average beat of 195.26%.
Zacks' 10-Minute Stock-Picking Secret
Since 1988, the Zacks system has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +25% per year. With compounding, rebalancing, and exclusive of fees, it can turn thousands into millions of dollars.
But here's something even more remarkable: You can master this proven system without going to a single class or seminar. And then you can apply it to your portfolio in as little as 10 minutes a month.
Learn the secret >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Galp Energia SGPS SA (GLPEY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (PARR): Free Stock Analysis Report
MPLX LP (MPLX): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
|
French school uses tech instead of instructors to teach coding
|
École 42 in Paris offers a free merit-based course where students teach themselves coding. Students are assigned 48-hour projects and are expected to manage their own time. Although 20,000 of the most recent batch of students passed the logic test required to enter École 42, the school only accepted the top 3,000. The school sets out to address a lack of coding talent in France and the country's inequality. However, the school is not accredited so can't help students with visas. It was founded by French billionaire Xavier Niel who spent $57m on the campus.
|
https://qz.com/1054412/a-french-billionaires-free-teacher-less-university-is-designing-thousands-of-future-proof-employees/
|
2017-09-05 12:58:02.637000
|
Paris
When you walk into École 42, a teacher-less coding school in Paris, a few things leap out at you: a killer collection of provocative street art, including an illustrated condom machine at the front desk; iMacs as far as the eye can see; and a palpable buzz from the roughly 1,000 students bustling around the building.
Advertisement
It is week two of la piscine (the “swimming pool”), a one-month, Hunger Games-like test students must endure to get a place at the school. No degrees or special skills are required to apply, and those who are accepted attend for free for three to five years. Around 80% of students get jobs before they finish the course; 100% are employed by the end.
The school is the brainchild of Xavier Niel, a French billionaire who has so far spent about €48 million ($57 million) on the Paris campus and an additional $46 million on a school in Silicon Valley. Niel founded Free, France’s second-largest internet service provider, among other ventures. He is a serial entrepreneur who is always looking for the best and brightest talent. In 2013, struggling to find it, he declared that France’s education system was broken and set out to fix one part of it.
The result is something unlike any other school in France, or elsewhere.
“We don’t teach anything,” says Nicolas Sadirac, head of École 42. “The students create what they need all the time.”
Advertisement
At 8:42 every morning, students get digital projects to complete. They have 48 hours to complete them, so they are always juggling various projects, sort of like in real life. (The name comes from the “answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything” in the comedic novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The answer is 42.)
Since there are no teachers, it is up to students to figure things out. Everything is graded by peers. Students “manage their time how they want,” says Sadirac. “It’s totally self organized.” In education-speak, École 42 is both project-based learning and peer-to-peer learning, on steroids.
The school is 100% merit based: In the most recent batch of students, 64,000 took a basic online logic test to qualify for entry. More than 20,000 passed, but the school only accepted the top 3,000 due to space constraints. Those 3,000 compete in pools of 1,000 for a month to see who best completes the digital projects; the top third of performers are then admitted. Of those, 5-15% drop out.
Advertisement
While the school used to require that students master a set of skills before leaving, it has now ditched that requirement. It used to have year-long groups: it tossed aside that idea too, because students work at different paces.
The curriculum is gamified: Sadirac describes it as World of Warcraft, but where dungeons have been replaced it with digital projects. There are modules (tech integration, algorithms, AI) and languages (Python, C, Java, Docker-tech). According to Wired:
…to get projects corrected, students must spend “correction points” – which they earn by correcting someone else’s project. If there’s a disciplinary breach, they have to spin a wheel to learn their punishment: “Take orders at the coffee machine”, or “Clean the windows with a toothbrush”. Good behaviour earns “wallet points” which can be spent.
And in a twist on the assumption that all great innovations start in Silicon Valley, École 42 launched in France before California—its campus in Fremont opened last year, three years after the Paris flagship.
Advertisement
A day in the life
On a recent Tuesday, the ground floor of École 42 on Boulevard Bessières in the north of Paris is bustling with students—alone, with headphones, in pairs and groups—hovering around iMacs. Many have colds; it is freezing inside and few have slept properly in the past week.
Downstairs, students are strewn about on air mattresses with sleeping bags, trying to catch a nap; dozens of towels hang on railings along the walls.
Nicolas, 22, has been working for up to 12 hours a day. “The first week I went fast and tried to do too much,” he says, sitting at his computer alongside Celeste, 25, who used to work in infographics. “The second week I slowed down and tried to think more about what I was doing,” he adds, coughing.
Advertisement
This self-directed approach is the point of the school. I ask Celeste if she wouldn’t prefer a teacher, or at least some guidance. “Sometimes I want a teacher so I can get to the solution faster,” she says. “But when I get the answer myself its more self-gratifying.”
There’s a food truck out back, where students gather and smoke cigarettes. Like everything else at the school, this was organized by the students themselves (orders are placed electronically), along with activities like Game of Thrones screenings and more mundane things, like sleeping arrangements. Even the elevator has not escaped the attention of the assembled hackers; it is like a very cramped nightclub, with hip-hop blaring from the speakers and blue and green lights piercing the darkness. “They hacked it last year so you couldn’t get to any floor,” Sadirac says. “We just fixed it.”
Visitors to the school have included everyone from former French president François Hollande (who walked amidst sleeping students) to PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Evan Spiegel of Snapchat.
Who cares about another coding school?
Advertisement
Schools around the world, from kindergarten up, are scrambling to figure out what skills kids need to thrive in the future. Disagreement abounds about which skills should be prioritized, and how they should be taught, but opinions coalesce around some mix of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and initiative (or agency). While many schools incorporate this into legacy teaching systems, few are built with them in mind from the start.
Niel wanted to address two problems: the lack of coding talent in France and the country’s entrenched inequality, which precludes poor kids who do not attend the country’s Grandes Écoles—elite universities—from the best job opportunities. In addressing those issues, he ended up creating a school built around collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and agency. In other words, a school for the future.
“Whether you have a criminal record, suck at math, say dumb shit, we don’t give a damn,” Niel told Venture Beat. “We don’t take that into account, we only care about two objective criteria.” Those criteria are logic and motivation.
This school is different
When Sadirac describes École 42, it is easy to forget it is a school he is talking about.
Advertisement
“I would mainly say it’s not about learning.”
“We think we are an art school.”
“Knowledge is un-useful, dangerous, and removes your freedom.”
All of this must be put in the context of programming, and how information technology has changed. École 42 is not about learning because learning has traditionally been about mastering a body of content, or set of skills.
Advertisement
“We should not try to learn and memorize stuff,” Sadirac says. “It’s dangerous, it makes you less agile.”
Getting information to stick in your brain is complicated and hard. Getting it out, to make way for new way things, can be even harder. Sadirac’s previous job, as it happens, involved retraining adults. The biggest impediment to them learning new things was often unlearning what they already knew. Case in point: around 30% of the students in the swimming pool come with coding experience. After one month, those with experience perform no better than those without it.
Around 30% of the students come with coding experience. After one month, they perform no better than those without it.
He considers École 42 an art school because programming is more art than science, he says. Two myths that persist about coding is that you have to be good at math and that it is a solitary endeavor. These myths, he argues, are part of what keeps women away from programming. Only 10% of students at École 42 are women; it has started a program to bring in female high-school students during holidays to teach them coding and dispel these ideas.
Advertisement
Knowledge is “dangerous,” Sadirac says, because of the way technology has changed. Companies first applied digital technology to transform existing processes, which required high levels of organization and knowledge, but not a lot of creativity. Today, as companies reinvent themselves around everything digital, it is programming that reinvents processes. That requires people to work together and think broadly about how to solve real-world problems.
How it all began
Before École 42, Sadirac founded Epitech, one of France’s leading programming schools. A foundation approached the school and asked if it would teach coding in some poor areas of Paris.
One of the students from the coding program ended up at Free, Niel’s internet service provider, which Sadirac says is known for being extremely intellectually demanding. The woman wowed everyone and Niel asked her where she went to school. “I was selling hamsters two years ago,” she said. He recognized that too many people were kept from programming because they weren’t born into the right families. Indeed, according to the OECD, French students report some of the lowest levels of belonging in the developed world, thanks to a highly stratified education system.
Advertisement
He teamed up with Sadirac to build École 42.
École 42 is one of many innovative institutions cropping up around the world. In the US, there’s Coursera, Udacity, and Udemy; China has 17zuoye; and the Minerva Project, a highly selective university, educates kids around the world.
One question, of course, is whether these new models can scale.
If Niel he can make the École 42 model work in the US—his goal is for the Silicon Valley campus to take in 10,000 students—he will consider opening a branch in China. He told Quartz it’s scalable because it’s a non-profit; he also said starting a school was less stressful than a business, because it is a non-profit.
Advertisement
Other outposts of 42 have cropped up around the world independently, in Romania, South Africa, Ukraine, and Bulgaria (with two more coming soon in Tunisia and the Netherlands). These schools have to ascribe to the philosophy of free tuition and no prior academic requirements, raising enough money to educate more than 150 kids. If they do that, they get access to the school’s curriculum.
Running costs for École 42 in Paris are about €7 million a year, and a bit less than that in the US. Niel says he’ll foot the bill in Paris for a decade; after that, he’s hoping a Mark Zuckerberg-type graduate from the school will take over and pay for things.
So the model is scalable, if someone very rich is behind it.
Kyle Peck, a professor of education and co-director of the Center for Online Innovation in Learning at Penn State, admires École 42, but questions its scope: “They want to compete at the top rather than offering something for everyone.” Peck also wonders whether the model would benefit from more coaching or expert input. “It is novices helping novices,” he says about the peer-to-peer system. “There’s wisdom from experts, and sharing that at appropriate moments” could help optimize learning.
Advertisement
“There is no issue at all for our students to find a job. We could have 10 times more students.”
That École 42 is free for those accepted is clearly a plus. But three years is a long time to forego a salary, even if students get internships along the way. In the US, there are around 95 coding boot camps, according to Course Report, where the curriculum is typically much shorter—about 14 weeks—but the cost much higher, at about $14,000. This more traditional model also has its flaws: the report notes that eight coding bootcamps closed this year, including Iron Yard and Dev Bootcamp, both of which had significant financial support. New York Code and Design Academy recently hiked its tuition, but graduates of two of its campuses who don’t get jobs after graduation don’t have to repay the school; those who get jobs pay 8% of their earnings until they settled the $15,000 tuition bill.
The ultimate gauge of success, of course, is jobs. Niel has been described as a cross between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg à la française. In Paris, he is a household name; École 42 is also well known. As a result, companies know to come looking for talent at the school. “There is no issue at all for our students to find a job,” Niel said. “We could have 10 times more students.” In fact, employers submit digital projects for the students to complete: the French culture ministry wants ideas about how to build a digital museum; the French government wants advanced thinking around cybersecurity; and PSA, the parent company of Peugeot, has asked students to imagine how self-driving cars will change our lives.
Coming to America
Last year, Niel opened School 42 in Fremont, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. A video on the school’s website features a who’s who of Silicon Valley saying it is just what’s needed, including Spiegel of Snapchat, Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Square, and Stuart Butterfield of Slack. “It takes away the walls,” raved Peter Fenton, a partner at Benchmark Capital. “It allows for mobility for people with aptitude and potential and motivation.”
Advertisement
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Decrypted, Niel said a major challenge in the US has been that people distrust anything that is free. “When it’s free they think there’s something behind it; there’s a trick,” he noted. When École 42 opened, 70,000 kids between the ages of 18 and 30 applied; in the US, it was just a few thousand, Brittany Bir, School 42’s COO, told Ars Technica. When I asked Niel how he planned to make deeper inroads, his response was “help us,” a plan which somewhat lacks detail.
There are a few factors, beyond a suspicion of free stuff, that is working against School 42 in the US. It is not accredited and can’t help students with visas. Students tend to be older and already have university degrees, so the lack of accreditation means they can’t put student loans on hold while they’re at School 42. (And American graduates carry staggering debt loads.)
The biggest challenge, though, will come when School 42’s first crop of graduates try to get jobs. Competition in Silicon Valley is fierce, and Niel does not have the clout he does in France, where he is singlehandedly putting Paris on the map as a global tech hub.
But for thousands of young people who have limited options, School 42 offers a wealth of opportunity: an education, a community, and real-life skills that are in high demand among employers.
Advertisement
Back in France, Sébastien Faucher, 25, dropped out of high school and worked in factories around Limoges, earning about €1,100 a month. “My life status was not that good,” he said, smoking a Camel, draped in an oversized parka in Paris in July. He came to the swimming pool in hopes of gaining a place at École 42 as a springboard to his dream career: video-game designer.
It has not been easy. “I wanted to surrender two days ago,” he said. “I cried and cried and cried.” He even went to the train station with a friend, and bought a ticket. But then he realized, “When will I have this chance again?” He went back, and got to work.
|
Adaptive learning firm Adaptemy unveils ambitious expansion plans
|
Dublin-based edtech start-up Adaptemy provides students with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software that offers immediate, personalised feedback on their homework. The software is used in five countries and the company plans to raise €1.5m ($1.79m) to develop sales in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Co-founders Conor Flynn and Conor O'Sullivan said they are talking to publishers in 60 countries, with the digital workbook currently being used by tens of thousands of students. In Ireland, Adaptemy has partnered with Folens Publishers to develop a maths-specific product called Build Up for students in 158 secondary schools in the Republic .
|
http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/irish-tech-teaches-world-a-lesson-458260.html
|
2017-09-05 12:46:33.387000
|
Secondary school students in Slovakia and Mexico will this month start using digital workbooks which have been created using technology developed by Dublin startup Adaptemy.
One of only a small number of companies in the world to have developed personalised, adaptive learning technology for use in schools, its software is now being used in five countries and the company is in the process of raising €1.5m in order to develop global sales.
Since setting up in 2015, Adaptemy has signed contracts with four large educational publishers — including one in Germany and one in Spain — which add content to the Dublin company’s technology to create digital workbooks used to supplement textbooks.
“We estimate that our digital workbooks are now being used by tens of thousands of students in several hundred schools,” said chief executive and co-founder Conor O’Sullivan.
In Ireland, Adaptemy has partnered with Folens Publishers to create a specific maths product for Junior Certificate called Build Up, which is now being used by 158 secondary schools across the country.
Adaptemy is finalising contracts with two more educational publishers, one in Europe and one in Africa, and is also in advanced negotiations with a publisher in the US. “We are talking to publishers in 60 countries and have plans to develop sales in Latin America and Europe and also to move in to Asia,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
He said this type of product marks a significant advance in the use of technology in schools.
“We are bringing artificial intelligence to the classroom. Our digital workbook provides immediate and personalised feedback to students on their homework and makes suggestions about what to focus on next.”
Believing this is the way forward in education for the future, Mr O’Sullivan said it has been speculated that the global adaptive learning technology market could be worth €1.25bn in the next five to 10 years.
Mr O’Sullivan and fellow co-founder Conor Flynn originally began working on the technology for a digital workbook while working for Folens’ e-learning company Apierian. “At that time, nobody really spoke of artificial intelligence in education and the predominant use of technology in classrooms was for digital copies of textbooks,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
Some universities had begun using adaptive learning technology and the two men, one with experience in digital educational publishing and the other a teacher who had worked as a curriculum consultant, were tasked with developing a similar product for schools.
When Apierian closed in 2015, they decided the idea for the personalised digital workbook was worth pursuing.
Setting up Adaptemy in 2015 with a staff of five, they raised €3m. Recognised as a High Potential Start Up company by Enterprise Ireland, they raised an additional €250,000 and have now increased the staff size to 15.
“Our business model involves partnering with education publisher in each country and adding adaptive and personalised learning technology to their products,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
The first product was Build Up for Folens, and it was followed by a software product allowing publishers to customise the app for each country and curriculum. This year, Adaptemy launched a product which allows publishers integrate the technology into their existing products across multiple subjects.
Until now, the technology, which is licensed to publishers on a SaaS (software as a service) basis, has mostly been used for maths and science, but Mr O’Sullivan said he expects to see this broaden. “We are working on a projects with Dublin City University to create a virtual science lab for schools — we will be showing the prototype for this at a conference in Bucharest next month.”
R&D is continuing and Adaptemy has started work on developing an adaptive learning solution which can be used by students to learn English.
The €1.5m now being raised will be used both for R&D and also to expand sales in new markets.
By the end of 2018, the company aims to have sales in 12 countries and to have grown the staff size to 20.
|
Server, hosting file converter sites, hacked multiple times
|
A Parisian server, playing host to numerous free-to-use file conversion sites, was hacked several times over the past year. The server hosted sites including combinepdf.com and pdftoimage.com, and was attacked using a simple, popular exploit, a security researcher said. The server's owner claimed to have updated his servers properly, dismissing claims about flawed security.
|
http://www.zdnet.com/article/dozens-of-online-file-converter-sites-are-unsafe-to-use-warns-researcher/#ftag=RSSbaffb68
|
2017-09-05 12:31:54.943000
|
(Image: file photo; alternative: Twitter)
The server hosting dozens of free-to-use online file conversion websites has been hacked several times in the past year using a well-known, easy-to-use exploit.
The security researcher, who asked not to be named for fear of legal repercussions, told ZDNet that the attacker obtained "full root access" to the server and its contents.
The researcher said the level of access would allow an attacker to quietly exfiltrate any file uploaded to the sites, but said it was "impossible to tell" what the shells were for, or if they were in actively used.
The Paris-based server hosted sites -- including combinepdf.com, imagetopdf.com, jpg2pdf.com, pdftoimage.com, pdfcompressor.com, and wordtojpeg.com, among others -- that let users convert files and documents to other formats.
These are hardly the most popular sites in the world, but thousands of people use the sites each day, based on various traffic metrics and statistics sites. Key search terms like "pdf convert" and "image convert" bring up several of the affected sites in the first page of Google search results, giving them an edge over other conversion sites.
The server was vulnerable to a year-old set of bugs found in the ImageMagick library, a popular tool used to convert images. The bugs, known collectively as "ImageTragick," are extremely easy to exploit -- in one case, as simple as uploading an image file containing four lines of code to the server. The bug is so serious that Facebook paid a record bug bounty to a researcher who found that the social network was vulnerable, and Yahoo stopped using the software altogether. Countless servers and websites remain unpatched to this day.
As soon as the image is uploaded, the code runs, opening up a bind shell on the server, which listens for commands or code from an attacker's server.
According to the researcher, there were three other bind shells open on this vulnerable server.
"The impact of this incident is concerning to me," said the security researcher. "All data going in or out of the server was being tampered with for months on end without the server owner noticing it."
The list of affected domains includes:
booktitlegenerator.com
combinepdf.com
compressjpeg.com
compresspng.com
coollastnames.com
croppdf.com
cutecatnames.com
cutedognames.com
djvu2pdf.com
dragonnamegenerator.com
ebook2pdf.com
epub2kindle.com
exceltopdf.com
horsenamegenerator.com
html2pdf.com
htmlformatter.com imagetopdf.com
jpg2pdf.com
jpg2png.com
mobi2epub.com
odt2pdf.com
optimizilla.com
palettegenerator.com
pdf2kindle.com
pdf2mobi.com
pdf2png.com
pdfcompressor.com
pdfepub.com
pdfjoiner.com
pdfmobi.com
pdftoimage.com
pdftotext.com png2jpg.com
png2pdf.com
pngjpg.com
psd2pdf.com
pubtopdf.com
ringer.org
ringtonecutter.com
ringtonemaker.com
rtftopdf.com
shrinkpdf.com
summarygenerator.com
svgtopng.com
toepub.com
topdf.com
unminify.com
wordtojpeg.com
We tracked down and contacted the owner of the server, who did not provide his name, but he replied with an aggressive response when provided with details of his vulnerable server.
"That config file is half a year old. If you claim my server still has that problem with Image-f**king-Magick, please send me the new config file," said the server owner. "If you can't, well, you're too late."
The server owner later said he had updated his servers and rebuffed several claims about his server's security.
There's no easy way to determine if a server is vulnerable unless the server is actively exploited with a malicious image. The security researcher did not retest the server after ZDNet reached out to the server owner for fear of legal repercussions, so there is no way to verify that the sites have in fact been patched.
"The fact that he has control over sites that are so widely used for manipulating documents, even if they weren't compromised, is really worrying," the researcher said.
"This should be a lesson for all of us," the researcher said. "If you don't want something to be stolen, don't give it away, especially to sites that you don't trust."
|
ANZ and National Australia Bank launch mobile banking services
|
Australian financial institutions ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank (NAB) have launched mobile banking services features. ANZ Bank has created a vocal identity feature, while NAB now offers a chatbot for its digital business banking. ANZ’s voice ID service allows payments of more than AUD1,000 ($798) through mobile devices with the aid of biometrics tech from Nuance. NAB’s chatbot virtual assistant can answer over 13,000 variants of 200 common questions to help customers find the information they need more rapidly.
|
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31027/aussie-banks-unveil-new-fintech-features?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=finextrafeed
|
2017-09-05 12:29:48.600000
|
Two Australian banks unveiled updates to their banking services with ANZ Bank launching a voice-based identity service for mobile banking and National Australia Bank (NAB) debuting a chatbot for its business banking service.
The Voice ID service, developed in partnership with biometrics firm Nuance, enables ANZ customers to make payments of more than A$1000 (or BPAY payments of more than A$10,000) via their mobile using voice recognition.
“Customers increasingly want the convenience of banking on their digital devices and this solution delivers that with the added level of voice biometric security," said managing director, Custoemr Experience and Digital Channels, Peter Dalton. "This will be particularly good news for our small business customers who regularly need to make payments of more than $1000 on the go and will only need their voice to authorise those transactions.”
Meanwhile NAB is piloting a chatbot described as a “digital virtual banker” for its business customers.
According to the bank, the virutal assistant can provide answers to more than 13,000 variations on 200 questions based on informaiton taken from genuine customer enquiries. It is currently focused on queries related to business credit and debit cards.
“Our research shows that two thirds of Australian SMEs cite dealing with administrative tasks as taking a lot of effort, and our customers desperately want to spend more time on their business and less time on dealing with admin tasks,” said NAB chief operating officer Antony Cahill.
Cahill said that the bank plans to continue developing its chatbot over the coming months and to add to the knowledge bank used to drive its decision-making.
|
Ireland vulnerable to cyber crime post-Brexit: hacking expert
|
An Anglo-Irish taskforce on cybersecurity and data protection needs to be established post-Brexit, the president of the International Cyber Threat Task Force has warned. Paul Dwyer said the UK and Irish governments should set up a group to explore the data challenges arising from new EU cyber legislation and its consequences for the UK. He added that businesses faced an very high risk from cyber attacks after Brexit.
|
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/brexit-anglo-irish-cybersecurity-taskforce
|
2017-09-05 12:28:36.227000
|
When Brexit comes into effect, the island of Ireland could be left incredibly vulnerable from a cybersecurity and data protection perspective, warns the ICTTF president.
While Brexit has raised a lot of questions over a potential hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, infosec experts are warning that the discussions so far have been “light on detail regarding any implications or solutions for cybersecurity and data protection”.
Those are the words of Paul C Dwyer, president of the International Cyber Threat Task Force (ICTTF), who said to the The Irish Times that it is now crucial that both governments sit down, discuss and establish an Anglo-Irish taskforce on cybersecurity and data protection.
Dwyer said that the group would discuss the biggest data challenges that would arise from the new EU cyber legislation, and how it would then interact with the UK.
He also warned that businesses are quickly realising that when the deadline of April 2019 comes, the threat posed from a cybersecurity perspective is overwhelming.
“Many Irish and UK businesses don’t want to bet on the negotiations between the EU and the UK going well,” he said.
“The overwhelming array of sophisticated cyberattack techniques and the sheer amount of cyber-criminals, combined with a potential legal impotency post-Brexit, is a real concern for many businesses.”
A proposed model, he added, would look something like the ICTTF that he is a part of, which was formed seven years ago with 4,000 members to protect “children, individuals, small businesses, NGOs, enterprises and supporting the efforts of military and the global law-enforcement community”.
Elsewhere within the EU, a warning was issued last week (1 September) by Irish MEP Seán Kelly for a more rigorous EU cybersecurity strategy to prevent attacks on critical infrastructure, the commercial sector and governments.
|
'Locky' emerges as candidate for 2017's biggest malware campaign
|
Hackers sent more than 23 million messages infected with Locky malware to the US workforce in 24 hours on August 28, according to cybersecurity firm AppRiver. The emails showed subject lines such as "please print" and "documents", and contained a file which, when opened, downloads the ransomware, infecting all files on the user's computer. Hackers then send users a ransom note which demands $2,300 to restore their files. Locky malware became well-known in 2016, after a series of high-profile infections.
|
http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/locky-is-largest-malware-campaign-in-2017-4826643/
|
2017-09-05 12:25:59.917000
|
Locky rose to prominence in 2016 following a number of high-profile infections and at one point became one of the most common forms of malware in its own right. Locky rose to prominence in 2016 following a number of high-profile infections and at one point became one of the most common forms of malware in its own right.
Locky ransomware’s re-emergence with new email distribution campaign has been touted as one of the largest malware campaigns in the latter half of 2017, the media reported. The ransomware, once considered almost defunct, sent over 23 million emails with the malware to the US workforce in just 24 hours on August 28, zdnet.com reported. It was sent with subjects such as “please print”, “documents” and “scans”.
Researchers at US-based cybersecurity firm AppRiver, who discovered the new campaign say it represents “one of the largest malware campaigns seen in the latter half of 2017”. According to the report, the malware payload was hidden in a zip file containing a Visual Basic Script (VBS) file, which once clicked, will download the latest version of Locky ransomware — the recently spotted Lukitus variant — and encrypts all the files on the infected computer.
Victims are presented with a ransom note demanding 0.5 bitcoin ($2,300) in order to pay for “special software” in the form of a “Locky decryptor” in order to get their files back. Instructions on downloading and installing the Tor browser and how to buy Bitcoin are provided by the attackers in order to ensure victims can make the payment.
|
Protos plans ICO to raise capital for cryptocurrency fund
|
Protos Cryptocurrency Asset Management is planning an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to generate money for a hedge fund that will invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin. The founders of Protos claim the rise of cryptocurrencies and blockchain is the 'third major computing revolution', which will require investors to purchase tokens rather than traditional shares in companies. Presale of the Protos token is scheduled for 25 September, with the public ICO commencing on 17 October.
|
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170901005303/en/Protos-Cryptocurrency-Asset-Management-Raise-Hedge-Fund
|
2017-09-05 12:23:19.293000
|
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Protos Cryptocurrency Asset Management today announced its plan to hold an Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”) to raise capital for a data-driven crypto hedge fund that will invest solely in cryptocurrencies and tokens. Protos tokens will be a security issued under the exemption from registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation D.
The founders of Protos – Matthew Shaw, Philipp Kallerhoff, and Thomas Kineshanko – have significant experience in the funds and cryptocurrency space. They have over a decade of combined experience investing in cryptocurrencies, have managed funds of over $1 billion and Protos will be their third vehicle investing in cryptocurrencies. They have collectively managed funds/proprietary investments of over $1 billion, have founded and sold three tech startups for proceeds of $400 million and one investment bank at a valuation of more than $250 million. “We believe that Protos is taking a unique approach,” said Matthew Shaw, co-founder of Protos. “In addition to investing in new digital tokens as well as cryptocurrencies, we are among the first funds building a robust database of digital token and cryptocurrency market data and using advanced technical trading strategies.”
Protos intends to apply institutional asset management rigor to cryptocurrency and digital token investing and inform its strategy by capturing and analyzing the necessary market data. The firm intends to also invest in the digital assets of teams that solve difficult problems with highly technical solutions in defensible and scalable markets, building systems to evaluate the underlying data of these teams and their tokens.
The Protos [Cryptocurrency Asset Management] token will aim to accrue value based on the investment returns that Protos earns through its investments in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin, as well as existing and new blockchain-based digital tokens.
“We are unlocking the second major investing wave in cryptocurrency and once data on the market exists, we anticipate seeing an explosion in trading strategies similar to that experienced in stock trading,” said Philipp Kallerhoff, co-founder of Protos. “We are driving this second wave with the goal of benefiting our token holders through our crypto trading strategies.”
Protos will invest in the digital assets of the protocols it believes will be the foundational infrastructure and biggest applications in the third major computing revolution.
“The first revolution was the PC, the second was the Internet, and we feel the third is now distributed applications based on Bitcoin-like cryptographic technology,” said Thomas Kineshanko, co-founder of Protos. “To invest in the first two computing revolutions you’re required to buy shares in companies, but to invest in the blockchain revolution, you have to purchase tokens.”
The Protos token, unlike traditional hedge fund and venture capital limited partnership investments, has no lock-up (other than the 12-month holding period for Regulation D purchasers) and will provide liquidity once traded on exchanges. The token’s presale is scheduled for September 25, 2017 and the public ICO is expected to commence on October 17, 2017.
The offering is being managed by Argon Investment Management LLC, a unit of the Argon Group, a Los Angeles-based investment bank specializing in the field of cryptocurrencies and the ICO market, under the Regulation D Section 506(c) exemption from registration promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
More details of the offering will be disclosed in the Offering Memorandum, which is expected to be published on or before October 17, 2017 at https://protos.tokenhub.com.
About Protos
Protos Cryptocurrency Asset Management is one of the first data-driven hedge funds in the cryptocurrency and digital token space. The firm was founded by three partners, Matthew Shaw, Philipp Kallerhoff and Thomas Kineshanko, and is the third fund vehicle that the team has put together to invest in cryptocurrencies. The founders have extensive cryptocurreny market experience, in both investing and trading, and have been engrossed in the crypto market since inception. Protos will apply institutional asset management rigor to cryptocurrency and digital token investing and inform their strategy by capturing and analyzing the necessary market data.
About The Argon Group
The Argon Group (the "Group") is an investment bank with a focus on digital finance - the emerging cryptocurrency and token-based capital markets. The Group provides financial advisory, placement, and technology services to companies seeking to raise equity, debt, and non-dilutive capital. The Group develops technical placement solutions, including digital tokens powered by advanced smart contracts, which Argon operates through a digital asset placement platform TokenHub.com. For more information, please email [email protected], follow @theargongroup, visit www.argongroup.com.
About the Offering
The Protos tokens are being offered in the US on a limited basis to a maximum of 99 accredited investors under exemptions from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) pursuant to Regulation D, Section 506(c) under the Securities Act, and the rule promulgated thereunder. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase the Protos Tokens, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of the Protos Tokens in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Protos Tokens have not and will not be registered under the Securities Act, the Investment Company Act of 1940 or other applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the US absent registration or pursuant to an exemption from registration requirements of the Securities Act and under applicable state laws.
In any member state of the European Economic Area, the Protos Tokens are only being offered to qualified investors as defined under Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, including by Directive 2010/73/EU, and includes any relevant implementing measure in each member state).
This communication is directed only to persons who (i) are outside the United Kingdom; (ii) are persons falling within Article 19(5) (Investment professionals) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the “Order”), (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (High net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Order, or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This communication is directed only at relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.
|
Russia considers ban on cryptocurrency mining in apartments
|
Russian authorities could ban people from mining bitcoin in apartment blocks, citing fears over the impact on local electricity networks. A member of the Presidential Council on the Internet said the number of electronic devices used in the process puts too much pressure on power supplies in blocks of flats, and the heat generated could be a fire risk. However, internet Ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev has said the industry should be encouraged. Much of it takes place in the Irkutsk region, where electricity prices are low, and officials there say the associated computer systems are not a threat.
|
https://www.rt.com/business/401956-bitcoining-mining-russia-ban/
|
2017-09-05 12:20:54.883000
|
A law prohibiting the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in apartments could soon be introduced in Russia. Creating new digital tokens increases electricity consumption and temperature in the room, which can be unsafe for residents, according to experts.
“Bitcoins are mined with the use of a set of electronic devices, including video cards. Electric networks at blocks of flats are unlikely to stand such consumption; ventilation systems are not able to handle the generated heat, either. This could trigger a fire,” said Presidential Council on the Internet member Ilya Massukh in an interview with RT.
Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the blockchain. It is also the means through which new bitcoins are created.
Anyone with access to the internet and suitable hardware can participate in cryptocurrency mining. Graphics or video cards are more efficient at mining than CPUs.
"Virtually all computer capacities are not Russian, bitcoin itself is not allowed inside the country. Accordingly, the mined bitcoin tokens go to some external exchanges. All that remains inside the country is the waste of electricity. Quite a doubtful efficiency for the Russian economy," the expert said.
At the same time, some officials disagree, as Internet Ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev said cryptocurrency mining should be encouraged in Russia.
Such businesses would be better started away from Moscow, preferably in regions with a cold climate and excess electricity, he said.
The unofficial capital of Russian mining today is the Irkutsk region, where the price of electricity is much lower than in Moscow. Officials in the region told RT they are not afraid of bitcoin miners, as computer systems used to create digital tokens use far less energy than, for example, electric heaters.
|
YouTube-ripping site agrees to settlement after legal dispute
|
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has succeeded in a legal battle to shut down content-ripping website YouTube-mp3.org. Court documents indicate a settlement between the parties, which will see the operators of the website pay damages, hand over the domain to one of the record labels, and desist from running any similar service in future. YouTube-mp3.org, which allows users to rip music and video from YouTube, was facilitating hundreds of millions of illegal downloads per month, according to the RIAA.
|
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/04/youtube-ripping-site-settles-lawsuit-record-labels/
|
2017-09-05 12:08:39.307000
|
Last year, record labels took the popular YouTube-ripping site YouTube-mp3.org to court seeking the pirating website's permanent shutdown and $150,000 per violation. Well, the labels, helmed by the RIAA, have, as of today, won with recent court filings pointing towards a settlement between the two parties.
These sorts of websites let users download audio and video files from YouTube and in their suit, the RIAA claimed that YouTube-mp3.org had around 60 million visitors and tens to hundreds of millions of illegal downloads per month. When the lawsuit was brought forth, RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a statement, "It should not be so easy to engage in this activity in the first place, and no stream ripping site should appear at the top of any search result or app chart."
The website's owner has agreed to pay a settlement, though the details of that haven't been released, and a proposed injunction prohibits anyone associated with the website from having anything to do with a "streamripping" website in the future. The website domain name will also be given to one of the record labels.
The proposed judgement and injunction haven't been approved and ordered by the court yet and the website is still up as of writing, but similar sites and apps are already being taken down. As Mac Rumors reports, ProTube was removed from the App Store last week after multiple requests from Google for it to be taken down.
|
Habito raises £18.5 in funding for online mortgage brokerage
|
Proptech start-up Habito has raised £18.5m ($24.2) in Series B funding to develop its service for identifying mortgage products. The mortgage broker combines artificial intelligence with human experience to identify the best deals. Habito will use the funding to develop real-time mortgage approvals and applications capabilities in partnership with several major retail banks and high street lenders. It will also develop insurance products that suit the needs of mortgage applicants.
|
https://www.uktech.news/news/investment-news/proptech-firm-habito-raises-18-5m-series-b-20170904
|
2017-09-05 12:07:40.957000
|
PropTech startup Habito has secured an £18.5m Series B funding round led by Atomico.
This brings the total amount raised by the London-based digital mortgage broker to over £27.5m.
While Atomico led the round, other participants included existing investors Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures and Revolutionary (Ad)Ventures.
Habito, which raised a £5.5m Series A back in January of this year, uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human expertise to select mortgage deals for customers. It analyses over 20,000 mortgage products across 70 lenders in real time.
It claims to be working with several major retail banks and high street lenders to integrate its technology so it can facilitate real-time mortgage approvals, as well as applications.
The firm also plans to enter the home and life insurance spaces and is currently developing insurance products that are tailored to the needs of mortgage applicants.
Daniel Hegarty, founder and CEO of Habito, said: “We remain committed to rebuilding the mortgage industry with the customer at its centre. That means relentlessly improving our product and service, and providing the most convenient, straightforward, and elegant way to apply for a mortgage.”
He went on to say the new funding round has encouraged the team to accelerate its ambitions.
“We’ll continue to invest in an amazing team of engineers, mortgage experts and product designers, to deliver the best mortgage experience in the market,” he concluded.
|
Facebook maps hundred of millions of homes
|
Facebook is mapping hundreds of millions of homes using image-recognition technology and satellite data, along with government census numbers. The project is part of an effort to understand how populations are distributed, to work out how best to get them online. The company has identified every human-built structure in 23 countries, showing that just under 50% of people live in cities, but 99% of them live within 63km of one. Bridging this gap may require a mixture of terrestrial internet links and satellite connections, which the company is calling an 'internet of the sky'.
|
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-map-location-homes-internet-connectivity-technology-a7928576.html
|
2017-09-05 12:04:47.680000
|
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}
Facebook has managed to map hundreds of millions of people’s homes to within five metres.
The company has been using image-recognition technology, government census numbers and data gathered by space satellites to pinpoint every human-built structure in 23 countries.
It’s been trying to figure out how populations around the world are distributed.
How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Show all 9 1 / 9 How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Lock your profile down If you haven’t done this already, do it now. In Settings, hit the Privacy tab. From here, you can control who gets to see your future posts and friends list. Choose from Public, Friends, Only Me and Custom in the dropdown menu. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Limit old posts Annoyingly, changing this has no effect on who’s able to see your past Facebook posts. Instead, on the Privacy page, you have to click on Limit Past Posts, then select Limit Old Posts and finally hit Confirm on the pop-up. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Make yourself harder to find You can stop completely random people from adding you by selecting Friends of Friends from the dropdown menu in the Who can send you friend requests? section of the Privacy page. It’s also worth limiting who can find your Facebook profile with your number and email address. At the bottom of the page is the option to prevent search engines outside of Facebook from linking to your profile. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Control access to your Timeline You can limit who gets to post things on your Timeline and who gets to see posts on your Timeline too. In Settings, go to Timeline and Tagging and edit the sections you want to lock down. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Block people When you block someone, they won’t be able to see things you post on your Timeline, tag you, invite you to events or groups, start conversations with you or add you as a friend. To do it, go to Settings and Blocking. Annoyingly, you have to block people on Messenger separately. You can also add friends to your Restricted list here, which means they’ll still be friends with you but will only be able to see your public posts and things you share on a mutual friend's Timeline. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Review tags One of Facebook’s handiest privacy features is the ability to review posts you’re tagged in before they appear on your Timeline. They’ll still be visible on the News Feed while they’re fresh, but won’t be tied to your profile forever. In Timeline and Tagging, enable Timeline review controls. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Clean up your apps You can view a list of all of the apps you’ve connected to your Facebook account by going to Settings and Apps. The list might be longer than you expected it to be. It’s worth tidying this up to ensure things you no longer use lose access to your personal information. If you don’t want to log into websites and apps with your facebook account, scroll down and turn Platform off. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Change your ad preferences You can view a list of everything Facebook thinks you’re into and tinker with your ad preferences by going to Settings and Adverts. A lot more information is displayed on the desktop site than the app, so we’d recommend doing this on a computer. How to stop Facebook from revealing everything about you Download your data Facebook lets you download all of the data it has on you, including the posts you’ve shared, your messages and photos, ads you’ve clicked on and even the IP addresses that are logged when you log in or out of the site. It’s a hell of a lot of information, which you should download to ensure you never over-share on the social network again.
Facebook’s goal is to get as many people connected to the internet as possible, and finding out where so many people live is a major achievement.
In a blog post published last year, Facebook Connectivity Lab communications systems scientist Tobias Tiecke said the people and homes being mapped in the 23 countries cover “about one third of the world population”.
These countries include Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Haiti and South Africa.
“From this preliminary analysis, we've determined that slightly less than 50% of the population lives in cities,” he revealed at the time.
“However, 99% of the population lives within 63 km of the nearest city. Hence, if we are able to develop communication technologies that can bridge 63 km with sufficiently high data rates, we should be able to connect 99% of the population in these 23 countries.”
The company is trying to determine the best ways to get different people in different places online.
“Short-range access networks such as Wi-Fi hotspots are suitable for people living close together, while cellular technologies are better for regions where people live farther apart, in isolated houses,” Mr Tiecke and Andreas Gros have explained.
“Additionally, knowing how communities are located in relation to one another is important for planning backhaul networks — the links to the internet backbone. Villages lined up along a river or road could be connected by a string of terrestrial point-to-point links, while scattered settlements might require an aerial backhaul solution such as unmanned aerial vehicles or satellites.”
CNBC reports that Janna Lewis, Facebook's head of strategic innovation partnerships and sourcing, seems especially keen on satellites.
“Satellites are exciting for us. Our data showed the best way to connect cities is an internet in the sky,” she said. “We're trying to connect people from the stratosphere and from space.”
|
Maas Capital to give 100,000 UK homes free solar panels
|
Netherlands-based Maas Capital has announced plans to provide 100,000 British households with free solar panels over the next 18 months, with the aim of extending clean energy to as many as 800,000 low-income families in the next five years. The £1bn ($1.3bn) project is one of the biggest green energy schemes ever to be run in the UK, and is intended to help those in social housing save an average of £240 a year, with the energy generated offered at a discounted rate.
|
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/05/uk-low-income-households-solar/
|
2017-09-05 12:04:20.790000
|
800,000 low-income UK homes to benefit from free solar panels The majority of them will be installed in the north west of England, saving households up to £240 a year.
One of the biggest ever green energy schemes in the UK is set to provide clean energy for as many as 800,000 low-income homes over the next five years, renewable energy provider Solarplicity has revealed. As part of a £160 million investment from Netherlands-based Maas Capital (part of the ABN AMRO Bank), the company will provide 100,000 households with free solar panels over the next 18 months and hopes to reach its target within five years.
The aim of the £1 billion project is to help individuals and families living in social housing by saving them an average of £240 a year. The harvested energy won't be free, but offered at a significantly reduced rate. If it meets its potential, the scheme could save tenants up to £192 million in total.
Already, 40 "social landlords" -- including many local authorities -- are on board, with the majority of them located in the North West. Over 290,000 homes in towns like Oldham and Bradford will benefit from the project, followed by the North East and the Midlands.
The deal is set to create over 1,000 new jobs for people who will be tasked with installing and maintaining the panels. Solarplicity says that many of the positions will be offered to military veterans, who will be retrained for new maintenance careers.
The companies involved will profit from the scheme by way of the government's feed-in tariff, which pays households that generate their own electricity via renewable methods. Tenants will contribute towards the energy cost, but they'll also be given low-energy LED bulbs and smart meter in order to better manage their consumption.
|
Judge approves class-action settlement of Gmail privacy lawsuit
|
A US federal judge has provisionally approved a class-action settlement of a Google privacy lawsuit. The proposed settlement relates to Google's practice of scanning Gmail messages to tailor ads to the email's sender, and calls for a three-year injunction. The deal does award individual users monetary damages, but could allow them to pursue their own lawsuits against Google. In 2015 Google faced allegations that it violates California privacy law and federal wiretap law by intercepting messages without permission.
|
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/306859/judge-tentatively-approves-google-gmail-privacy-se.html
|
2017-09-05 11:22:05.737000
|
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, September 5, 2017
A federal judge has tentatively approved a class-action settlement of a privacy lawsuit against Google stemming from its prior practice of scanning email messages in order to surround them with ads.
The proposed settlement, which was submitted to U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh in July, calls for a three-year injunction that could affect Google's ability to send ads to people based on the content of their emails.
"The agreement appears to be the result of serious, informed, non-collusive negotiations conducted at arms’ length by the parties’ experienced counsel," Koh wrote. She added that the resolution resulted from two mediation sessions, and that the deal doesn't " improperly grant preferential treatment to any individual or segment of the class."
advertisement advertisement
Google said earlier this year that it will stop scanning emails for ad purposes. The resolution requires the company to "cease all processing of email content that it applies prior to the point when the Gmail user can retrieve the email in his or her mailbox ... and that is used for advertising purposes," but only for three years.
The deal doesn't call for individual users to receive monetary damages, but allows them to pursue their own lawsuits against Google. The class-action attorneys who brought the case could receive up to $2.2 million.
The settlement stems from a complaint filed in September 2015 by San Francisco resident Daniel Matera, who alleged that Google violates a California privacy law and the federal wiretap law by intercepting messages without people's consent.
Google's terms of service disclosed that it analyzed the contents of email messages for features including "tailored advertising." But Matera alleged that he didn't have a Gmail account, and therefore never agreed to those terms.
Koh rejected a previous settlement that would have required Google to make some technical changes to its scanning system. Koh said at the time that it wasn't clear how those prior terms would remedy the alleged violations of the federal wiretap law or California's privacy statute.
Although Google will no longer scan emails for ad purposes, the company still plans to send targeted ads to Gmail users based on data such as their search queries and YouTube viewing histories.
|
CodeClan delivers 150th graduate to employment
|
CodeClan, the digital skills academy, has announced that its 150th graduate has gone on to employment, securing a position at the Registers of Scotland. Launched in 2015 with the goal of creating more software developers, CodeClan teaches students to become professionals through its 16-week software development course. “Our courses in Edinburgh and Glasgow exist to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully begin careers in the technology industry", said CodeClan chief executive Adam Bannon.
|
http://www.insider.co.uk/news/codeclan-places-150-graduates-digital-11109147#ICID=nsm
|
2017-09-05 10:54:20.547000
|
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
Sign up to FREE email alerts from businessInsider - Business Newsletter sent Mon to Fri, twice each day with a full week's round up every Sat
Digital skills academy CodeClan has now placed its 150th graduate in an industry role within 18 months of placing its first.
CodeClan, launched in October 2015 with the aim of helping to create new software developers, said Euan Ramsay from Glasgow, now recruited by Registers of Scotland (RoS) as a junior software developer, is its 150th graduate to secure an industry job.
Ramsay, 37, who previously worked in freelance photography and video production, recently completed CodeClan’s 16-week software development course, which also saw him achieve a Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Level 8 pass in Software Development.
He said: “I have got exactly the job I was looking for.
“I’ll be working with RoS to maintain their computer systems.
“From CodeClan’s networking events, to guest lectures and visits to tech companies, the connection with industry has been fantastic.”
The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, Sheenagh Adams, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Euan to RoS.
“The skills and experience he has gained during his time with Code Clan will be invaluable as we work towards our goal of becoming a fully digital business by 2020.
“We are proud to support and nurture our staff, and it’s a pleasure to be welcoming Euan to his first position following his graduation.”
CodeClan launched the 16-week software development course in January 2017, which is being delivered in the Tontine business accelerator building in Merchant City, Glasgow.
Last year CodeClan also secured accreditation from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) for the Professional Development Award (PDA) in software development at three levels on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF levels 7, 8 and 9).
Adam Bannon, acting chief executive at CodeClan, said: “Our courses in Edinburgh and Glasgow exist to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully begin careers in the technology industry.
“We work with employers to ensure everything that is taught is relevant and fits in with what they are looking for in new starts.
“The fact Euan is the fifth graduate to be placed with Registers of Scotland shows how highly the courses are regarded in the industry and the benefits that each student is bringing to their respective employer.”
|
Cornell Tech, Microsoft join up for cryptocurrency initiative IC3
|
Microsoft will partner with the Cornell Tech-based Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3) to develop blockchain technology for financial services. The organisations will develop methods to scale, simplify and prepare the technology for enterprise adoption, said Yorke Rhodes, a global blockchain business strategist at Microsoft. The software company recently announced it is developing Coco, a blockchain framework designed to make it easier for enterprises to build networks.
|
http://cornellsun.com/2017/09/04/microsoft-and-cornell-tech-announce-new-partnership/
|
2017-09-05 10:27:52.797000
|
As Cornell Tech officially moves into its new location on Roosevelt Island, software giant Microsoft announced that it will be partnering with the Cornell Tech-based Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts, otherwise known as IC3.
IC3 involves faculty members from Cornell, Cornell Tech, and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, as well as faculty from UC Berkeley and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
According to its website, IC3 “uniquely meets the blockchain community’s urgent need for world-class expertise in computer science that spans cryptography, distributed systems, programming languages, game theory, and system security techniques.”
A blockchain is a digital collection where transactions made via cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, are publicly recorded.
IC3 collaborates with experts from areas such as finance, banking and entrepreneurship to carry out blockchain research and develop faster and more secure developments.
“IC3 was founded to advance blockchain science, technology and applications,” Co-Director of IC3 Prof. Ari Juels, told NewsWise. “We’re delighted to work more closely with Microsoft’s blockchain experts, who share our vision of blockchain-based solutions for next generation financial services.”
Microsoft has already done extensive work with blockchain technologies, working to “create enterprise tooling around existing open source blockchain solutions, making them more accessible to enterprise development.”
The news of the IC3 and Microsoft partnership came shortly after Microsoft announced its new blockchain endeavour, the Coco platform. According to Microsoft’s website, the platform is a “new blockchain framework designed to make it easier to build enterprise networks.”
“As we continue our journey in blockchain, we have watched and read the work of the IC3 team and are impressed with their thinking and the perspective they bring to the community,” said Yorke Rhodes III, global blockchain business strategist at Microsoft. “We are very aligned with the approaches IC3 blockchain experts are taking to address scale, simplification and other topics of interest for enterprise adoption.”
“The synergies in their research fit well with our visions for enterprise scale blockchain solutions,” Rhodes added. “We are excited to work more closely with IC3 through this membership.”
|
Don't expect stamp duty reform in autumn budget: Savills
|
While some property buyers may be holding out with the anticipation that stamp duty in the UK will be reduced in the autumn budget, Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, said that it's unlikely unless it's part of wider property taxation reform. HMRC figures reveal that overall receipts from stamp duty are still increasing, with the Treasury earning £2.35bn from it in Q2 of 2017. Sales of homes over £1 million remain robust with HMRC receiving a large portion of revenue from these sales.
|
http://www.savills.co.uk/blog/article/219830/residential-property/a-cut-in-stamp-duty-this-autumn-is-highly-unlikely.aspx
|
2017-09-05 10:12:35.537000
|
Speculation that the Chancellor will take a fresh look at stamp duty charges in November’s Autumn Budget is again circulating the housing market, with some buyers reportedly putting decisions on hold in the hope rates will be cut. Savills view is that this is highly unlikely unless it is part of a much wider reform of property taxation.
While the stamp duty burden on buyers at the top end of the housing market has increased significantly since the first reforms in December 2014, triggering falls in the value of high-value homes and slowing decision-making in the prime markets, the tax is proving a nice little earner for the Chancellor.
Figures published by HMRC show that overall receipts from stamp duty continue to rise. In the second quarter of 2017 the Treasury earned £2.35 billion from stamp duty. 12 months ago that figure stood at £1.98 billion, meaning earnings are up by about 19 per cent year on year (see chart below). Three years ago, receipts stood at £1.82 billion.
At the same time, sales of homes worth over £1 million have remained remarkably robust, totalling 17,700 in the past year. Sales in the £1-2 million price bracket are actually 4 per cent higher than before the major changes of December 2014, though they have softened by 8 oer cent in the past year. Above the £2million mark, sales fell by -14 per cent in the past year but have definitely not collapsed as some suggest. In the immediate aftermath of the December 2014 reform there was surprisingly little change.
Finally, a high proportion of these top-end sales are paying the extra 3 per cent levied on ‘additional homes’, further boosting tax receipts from this end of the market. Between £1-2 million a third of sales incurred the 3 per cent surcharge and above £2 million that rises to 44 per cent.
We don’t believe that autumn will bring a change to stamp duty. Rather, we think that buyers will have to continue to factor the higher rates into their budgets and sellers will have to continue to price realistically to achieve a sale as we go into the autumn market.
Quarterly Stamp Duty Receipts for Residential Property
|
Property management software firm Arthur raises $1.48m
|
UK property management software company Arthur has raised £1.14m ($1.48m) in seed funding through an oversubscribed round with 21 backers. Founded in 2014, the company manages more than 50,000 properties for about 4,500 property managers in 27 countries. The business is predicted to grow in the UK and further afield over the next three years despite a low-key approach to marketing and PR. The software is available as a free trial and is integrated with app task automation software Zapier, which itself integrates with Facebook and Dropbox.
|
http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/property-software-firm-raises-over-1m-even-though-you-may-not-have-heard-of-it-until-now/
|
2017-09-05 10:10:52.640000
|
Post navigation
A little known property management software firm, Arthur, has just raised £1,136,000 in its first round of funding, which was oversubscribed.
The fundraising was managed by chairman Mark Jones who brought in five individual investors. London Business School investor group introduced 11 and the Deloitte Investor group brought in another five, resulting in a total of 21 external backers.
Arthur was established in 2014 and has users both in the UK and overseas. It is currently used to manage over 50,000 units by some 4,500 property managers across 27 different countries.
However, relatively few agents may have heard of it, as there has so far been almost no marketing spend, no advertising and no PR.
Jones said the software was “well ahead of the competition”.
He said: “I have watched Arthur’s development since its inception and have been deeply impressed with the firm’s use of innovative technology to build a ground-breaking software platform for property managers.
“Over the last 12 years I have worked in the digital sector, heading up blue chip companies such as Ladbrokes and Lastminute.com, and more recently I have become an investor in Fintech and recruitment businesses. But I have not been this passionate or excited about an investment for a long time.
“I look forward to seeing the highly talented development and management team achieve their ambitions to dominate the property software sector.”
Rochelle Trup, one of the founders, said: “The property software market is changing rapidly, and unlike many of our competitors, Arthur was designed with the 21st century in mind.
“Arthur is specifically designed from the ground up to work on as many digital platforms as possible and we are able to do this by not being what is often described as ‘legacy software’. This also gives us flexibility when improving our system.
“Arthur provides a suite of apps that allows property professionals to manage their portfolio from anywhere in the world, where they can connect to the internet. Automated actions can be set for almost everything, from sending a tenant a late rent notice, to a reminder that a gas safety certificate is about to run out.
“The forecast growth and expansion of Arthur in the UK and internationally will create great returns for our shareholders over the next two to three years.”
Arthur was quietly launched in 2014 by David Cummin, and husband and wife team Rochelle and Marc Trup. Currently offering agents a free trial, it integrates with Zapier, which in turn allows integration with many other apps including Facebook and Dropbox.
|
UK TV property presenter seeks £50m for 600 sustainable homes
|
TV presenter and property developer Kevin McCloud's company, Happiness, Architecture, Beauty (HAB) will issue a bond for private investors, to raise £50m ($65m) to construct around 600 “beautiful and sustainable"homes in Bristol, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire, over five years. The bond, which features warnings that it will not be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and will be quoted on the Gibraltar stock exchange, among others, is expected to return 4.8% per year. McCloud said the HAB developments would include social housing and shared amenities, but would not come with a 'McCloud premium' on the price.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/sep/04/grand-designs-presenter-kevin-mccloud-seeks-to-raise-50m-to-build-600-homes-a-year
|
2017-09-05 09:45:57.927000
|
Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud is seeking to raise up to £50m to build about 600 “beautiful and sustainable” houses a year in a challenge to the soulless, identikit estates built by conventional developers.
McCloud’s firm, HAB (Happiness, Architecture, Beauty) is hoping to raise the money through a bond for private investors, promising a return of 4.8% a year over a five-year period.
The money will be used to buy land and start construction on houses, mostly in the south-west of England, that McCloud promises will be “a pleasure to live in”.
The bond issue marks a big step-up in housing development by McCloud, now filming his 18th series of the homebuilding and renovation television programme.
Until now, McCloud has been behind several small projects, with 42 homes built in Swindon, 78 in Stroud and 50 in Winchester. The £50m will help to finance a tenfold increase in development, with sites for 675 homes identified around Bristol, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire with a gross value of about £170m.
McCloud’s investment scheme comes with a lengthy list of wealth warnings. The bond is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so investors could lose all their money. The money is locked away for five years, and investors will not find it easy to transfer or sell their holdings during that period. The HAB Bond will be quoted on the Gibraltar stock exchange, which, although governed by EU regulations, means it can be sold only to sophisticated investors, with the minimum investment set at £10,000.
McCloud said he had spent a decade evolving the concepts his TV viewers are familiar with – green and sustainable homes, individually designed, from the grand to the sometimes eccentric – and translating them into homes for a much broader market.
“I sincerely believe grand designs are not the preserve of the one-off or that you have to use straw bales in their construction. The challenge of the next 30 years is for us to build new, and retro-fit old, homes in a socially and environmentally responsible way. We can only do that with critical mass.”
The challenge of the next 30 years is for us to build new homes in a socially and environmentally responsible way Kevin McCloud
He said all his schemes would include social housing and designed to have shared public amenities and social spaces. Homes would have “high thermal mass” so they do not lose heat easily, and estates would include electricity micro-generators, he said.
McCloud added that he had learned from the small-scale developments built by HAB so far.
“I’ve learned that as much as you can be ambitious and wave the flag for sharing and sustainability, the reality is that most people lead very busy lives. It’s important to put in place professional management and keep it modest.”
He said there would be no “McCloud premium” on the price of the planned homes, although every scheme so far had been a sellout and “unlike other developers we have never had to discount our homes”.
The first £10m of the cash raised by McCloud will finance the construction of Elderberry Walk in Southmead, Bristol, which is scheduled to begin later this year.
It will consist of a range of homes from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses designed around a central, 20-metre-wide “green street” linking the surrounding housing to the neighbouring park. HAB aims to turn a derelict city site into a sought-after residential location, with more than 30% of the homes earmarked as affordable to those on lower incomes.
This is not McCloud’s first fundraising exercise. In 2013, HAB raised £1.9m of equity crowdfunding from 649 investors, and in January this year picked up another £2.4m with a ”mini-bond” offering a much higher rate of interest, at 8%.
Investors may wonder why HAB is returning to investors so soon after the earlier bond. “Whilst the HAB Land mini-bond was a great success and raised around £2.4m, the potential new sites require a significant increase in funding,” he said.
|
CBRE to advise University of Manchester development strategy
|
CBRE has been chosen to advise on the development strategy for the University of Manchester's North Campus. The university, one of the UK's largest, has launched a £1bn ($1.3bn) 10-year programme to transform the campus. CBRE will consult with stakeholders over the site, which offers significant professional, residential and retail opportunities. The University of Manchester aims to be one of the world's top 25 by 2020.
|
http://www.commercialnewsmedia.com/archives/65215
|
2017-09-05 09:39:00.037000
|
CBRE’s UK Development team in Manchester has been appointed to advise The University of Manchester on the development strategy for its North Campus. The team will build on the existing Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) and advise on the transformation of the strategically important 11.8 hectare site.
The University of Manchester is one of the UK’s largest academic institutions, with 39,700 students. It is also one of the largest employers in Greater Manchester with more than 12,000 staff. Since 2004 the University’s commercialisation activities have contributed £500 million to the UK economy. More than £300 million of this has come from investment in intellectual property and ventures, and nearly £200 million from economic benefits generated by its 38 spin-out companies and more than 300 licences.
The University has embarked on one of the largest capital programmes in UK higher education. This £1 billion, ten-year plan will transform the campus and create world-class facilities for staff, students and visitors in support of its global ambitions.
CBRE has been instructed to advise the University on how to maximise the development value of its assets at the North Campus. The regeneration of the site heralds significant opportunities for office, residential, retail, leisure, hotel, research and development, and improved green infrastructure, whilst integrating key heritage assets to create high quality public realm.
CBRE will consult with key stakeholders to develop a vision for the site, using its market-leading team to provide advice on appropriate uses to create a world-class scheme. They will also undertake soft market testing with developers, investors and occupiers to inform the delivery strategy, as well as provide short and long-term strategic advice to appraise the future development.
CBRE has a 100-strong UK Development team combining its market-leading transactional land and advisory specialists across the country. For the first time in the UK, there is a single integrated team capable of providing the full range of advisory and transactional services for developers and investors at every single point of the property life-cycle across all asset classes.
The University of Manchester’s vision is to be one of the world’s top 25 universities by 2020.
Alistair Chapman, CBRE’s Director of National Land and Development, commented:
“To be involved in the delivery of the North Campus strategy is an enormous personal and professional privilege. With a major presence in Manchester, we see ourselves as stakeholders in the city and this piece of work provides the building blocks for a truly exciting scheme.
“The North Campus development represents a once in a life time opportunity for The University of Manchester to further enhance its global reputation, whilst revitalising a major part of the city totalling 11.8 hectares. We are absolutely delighted to be involved with a project of this magnitude and look forward to using our global network to help the University formulate its long term development strategy,” continued Alistair Chapman.
Diana Hampson, Director of Estates and Facilities at The University of Manchester said: “We are pleased to be working with CBRE on this strategically important initiative as part of our Campus Masterplan.”
|
Donors shower UC San Diego with record $261 million in gifts
|
UC San Diego raised $261 million in private donations over the past year, breaking the previous mark by nearly $49 million as the school begins one of the largest expansions in campus history.
|
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/science/sd-me-ucsd-donations-20170831-story.html
|
2017-09-05 09:38:11.170000
|
UC San Diego raised $261 million in private donations over the past year, breaking the previous mark by nearly $49 million as the school begins one of the largest expansions in campus history.
The university has generated about $950 million through the midway point of a $2 billion, 10-year capital campaign.
The campaign is helping to fuel historic growth. The campus has added about 6,700 students since 2012, and will add another 4,000 within the next few years, pushing enrollment past 40,000.
Advertisement
The campus will begin the fall quarter on Sept. 25 with an estimated 36,400 students, which would be a record.
“We’ve gotten better at raising money because we’re telling our story better,” said Pradeep K. Khosla, the university’s chancellor. “My goal is to raise $350 million in a single year by the time the campaign ends.”
The campus works on a fiscal year that ends on June 30.
Khosla said he is particularly proud of a $10.5 million gift that the university received from the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation of Switzerland. The money will be used to study the composition of human breast milk, which isn’t fully understood even though its known to be a great source of nutrition for newborns, infants and premature babies.
UC San Diego also received $70 million last year from the Tata Trusts of Mumbai to help explore ways to use gene editing to fight insect-borne diseases and make crops more resistant to drought. About half of that money will be spent in La Jolla. The other $35 million will be devoted to a similar program in India that UC San Diego will help shape.
The campus will have to continue raising large sums to underwrite an expansion that includes major new classroom and laboratory buildings, and thousands of units of student housing.
Science Playlist × On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds
Twitter: @grobbins
[email protected]
|
County declares health emergency for hepatitis outbreak
|
San Diego County declared a local health emergency early Friday night, adding a new level of urgency to a hepatitis A outbreak that has hit the homeless population hardest, killing 15 people and hospitalizing hundreds.
|
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-me-hepatitis-emergency-20170901-story.html
|
2017-09-05 09:34:29.787000
|
San Diego County declared a local health emergency early Friday night, adding a new level of urgency to a hepatitis A outbreak that has hit the homeless population hardest, killing 15 people and hospitalizing hundreds.
Dr. Wilma Wooten, the region’s public health officer, signed the declaration shortly after lawyers finished writing it, bolstering the county Health and Human Services Agency’s ability to request assistance from the state and providing legal protections for a slate of actions that began unfolding across the city earlier in the day.
Working on a county contract, a private company began delivering portable hand-washing stations Friday morning in locations where homeless residents tend to congregate. Twenty stations were in place by the end of the day and 20 more, a county spokesman said, were scheduled for installation Saturday.
Advertisement
That effort is to be followed by street-cleaning crews shooting high-pressure water spiked with bleach to remove “all feces, blood, bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces,” according to a sanitation plan included in a letter delivered to city government Thursday.
The cleansing plans, Wooten said, are modeled on similar efforts used to control hepatitis A infections in Los Angeles.
“We know that L.A. has had no local cases of hepatitis A related to the strain that we’re seeing here in San Diego,” she said. “It makes sense that, if they’re doing it there and they haven’t had any cases, it could be beneficial here as well.”
It has been clear for some time that the local outbreak is far beyond ordinary. With 378 cases confirmed to date, it’s the largest surge seen in at least 20 years.
The first cases linked to the outbreak occurred in November 2016, but there weren’t enough of them until about March for local epidemiologists to know for sure that infections were spreading more quickly than usual. Most hepatitis A outbreaks are associated with specific foods picked or processed under unsanitary conditions. The virus that causes the condition lives in human feces and is spread when people don’t wash their hands thoroughly enough after using the bathroom.
From the outset, the public health response to the outbreak has been vaccination and education. Though thousands of doses of vaccine have been distributed to date, that effort has not appreciably slowed infection rates while the number of deaths reported in recent weeks has accelerated.
Because infections are most common among the homeless who often have no access to sanitary facilities, the county’s efforts began to turn toward hand washing and street cleaning in early summer.
But that transition has been painfully slow.
An article earlier this week published by Voice of San Diego pointed out bureaucratic hurdles which have delayed sanitation improvements even as public health nurses pursued a countywide vaccination campaign which targeted the homeless at shelters, while mobile teams explored the more remote locations where those without homes tend to go.
Thursday’s letter was the first time the health department gave pointed and unequivocal direction to the city, stating that the municipality should take “immediate action” to “address the unsanitary living conditions of the at-risk population.”
The city responded early Friday morning with a press release that indicated it would work with the county to follow its guidelines, however, it may take 10 days to comply with the street-washing request due to a lawsuit that requires 72-hours notice before the spraying begins.
The sudden action begs a simple question: Why didn’t all of this start back in late June or early July when the county first talked about hand-washing stations?
San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez fired off a memo to Mayor Kevin Faulconer Thursday demanding a crisis declaration, expressing his dissatisfaction that the outbreak has continued to claim lives while the city continues to wait for resolution to provide temporary housing which would presumably bring with it better access to the bathrooms and showers necessary to alleviate the current mess on city streets.
“I just assumed the county was doing everything that they could do and that the city was facilitating what the county needed, but that has not been the case,” Alvarez said. “It just infuriated me that the bureaucracy was getting in the way of doing the right thing.”
Criticism has also come from state Sen. Ben Hueso and the Service Employees Union International which have both said they do not believe the county employs enough public health nurses to meet the demands of the hepatitis A investigation while also handling large children’s health and foster care programs. On Wednesday the state legislature’s Joint Committee On Legislative Audit approved Hueso’s request to determine whether or not the amount of health resources available are adequate. Committee members approved the audit request 10-3, and it is expected to take between four and five months to complete.
There was a lot of finger pointing between City Hall and the County Administration Center Thursday and Friday. Both sides insisted they were doing what they could in a situation that is unique.
“There is no precedent for this,” Wooten said. “We will definitely have a playbook for if we have something like this in the future, but this is the first time we have had something of this nature happen.”
She added that, in the coming days and weeks, the hand-washing and street-sanitizing efforts underway in San Diego will spread to other cities.
“We were talking to El Cajon already, and we will be talking to Escondido, Oceanside, National City and Chula Vista soon,” Wooten said.
Correction
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported one additional victim and the month the outbreak was determined. The story has been updated.
[email protected]
(619) 293-1850
Twitter: @paulsisson
|
Nurses threaten strike against Tri-City
|
Nurses at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside are threatening to strike over what they describe as policies that have caused the hospital to hemorrhage more than 300 experienced nurses over the last two years.
|
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-me-0901-health-20170831-story.html
|
2017-09-05 09:33:46.500000
|
Nurses at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside are threatening to strike over what they describe as policies that have caused the hospital to hemorrhage more than 300 experienced nurses over the last two years.
The California Nurses Association, a union which represents about 700 registered nurses at the facility, held a rally in front of the hospital Thursday to speak out against hiring practices described as favoring temporary nurses and new nursing school graduates over those who live in the area and who have longer track records of patient care.
“It’s like a revolving door. Some people come, stay for a little bit, and then they leave. The Tri-City board has passed an enormous budget for travel and registry nurses when so many veteran nurses have left,” said Sara Gurling, the union’s chief negotiator for the Tri-City bargaining group.
Advertisement
Tri-City did not respond to a request for comment on the union’s statements Thursday.
Though some nurses connected with the rally made statements that made it seem as if a strike is imminent, that’s not the case. Federal law requires health care workers to give 10 days of notice before walking off their jobs so that hospitals have ample opportunity to bring in temporary replacements and make sure that hospitalized patients are not harmed by a work stoppage.
Gurling said that the union’s membership has not yet voted to strike, and no 10-day strike notice has been provided to hospital management or to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
San Diego County has been no stranger to strike talk among health care workers. On Nov. 28, 2016, Sharp HealthCare’s 4,800 nurses nearly hit the picket line decrying what they said were below-market wages but called the whole thing off with just hours to go when a satisfactory pay deal materialized.
Earlier that month, Teamsters Local 2010, which represented 218 support employees such as electricians, carpenters and painters at UC San Diego Health, staged a strike over wage disagreements.
Gurling declined to say how much of a pay increase Tri-City nurses are seeking during ongoing contract negotiations.
Health Playlist × On Now Video: Leaders urge public to help extinguish hepatitis outbreak On Now San Diego starts cleansing sidewalks, streets to combat hepatitis A On Now Video: Scripps to shutter its hospice service On Now Video: Scripps La Jolla hospitals nab top local spot in annual hospital rankings On Now Video: Does a parent's Alzheimer's doom their children? On Now EpiPen recall expands On Now Kids can add years to your life
[email protected]
(619) 293-1850
Twitter: @paulsisson
|
Medi-Cal programs to the state: Can we stop printing and mailing directories the size of phone books?
|
The 2017 directory for L.A. Care, a local Medi-Cal health plan, is 2,546 pages of doctors’ names listed by city, by specialty — anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists. It includes hours, addresses, phone numbers and languages spoken for each of the thousands of physicians.
|
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-provider-directories-20170904-story.html
|
2017-09-05 09:32:49.953000
|
John Baackes, chief executive of L.A. Care Health Plan, is shown with two volumes of its 2017 provider directory, totaling 2,546 pages.
In Los Angeles County, signing up for Medi-Cal is often followed by a phone book-sized directory landing on your doorstep.
The 2017 directory for L.A. Care, a local Medi-Cal health plan, is 2,546 pages of doctors’ names listed by city, by specialty — anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists. It includes hours, addresses, phone numbers and languages spoken for each of the thousands of physicians.
The directory weighs more than 7 pounds. It wouldn’t fit in most mailboxes. And it can quickly become obsolete.
Advertisement
“It’s out of date the minute it comes off the press,” said John Baackes, chief executive of L.A. Care Health Plan.
Doctors frequently change their information or drop in and out of the network, so the health plan updates an online version daily. But for years, health plans across the state have been required to mail these printed directories to people who sign up for Medi-Cal.
Five million people have joined Medi-Cal since it was expanded under the Affordable Care Act in 2014, which means at least as many directories have been mailed out — at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.
Now L.A. Care and other Medi-Cal managed care plans are asking the state for permission to stop automatically mailing a directory to every enrollee. State officials say they’re reviewing the proposals.
The push for online directories is an example of how Medicaid programs that ballooned under the law known as Obamacare are refining operations and looking for ways to save money while insuring so many people. It also reveals the sometimes slow pace of change in such a big program — and the way costs add up quickly when every policy affects millions.
In 2014, the Affordable Care Act gave states money to expand their Medicaid programs, which insure low-income Americans and are jointly paid for by the state and federal government.
From the end of 2013 to the spring of this year, total enrollment in Medi-Cal jumped from 8.6 million to 13.5 million, or more than a third of all California residents, according to state data.
With that growth also came an increase in the number of doctors willing to take Medi-Cal patients and the size of the directories through which patients can learn who those doctors are.
L.A. Care’s directory was so big this year that it had to be split into two books, each the size of a phone book. Other counties’ have grown as well, but Los Angeles has the most Medi-Cal members — 4 million — and participating doctors.
“It’s more ridiculous with us because of our size,” Baackes said.
Printing and mailing cost $9 to $13 for each set of books, according to L.A. Care spokesman Hector Andrade. That puts the tab for the directories sent to the 90,000 people who joined L.A. Care over the last 12 months at roughly $1 million.
Until this year, L.A. Care was also sending them annually to all Medi-Cal enrollees in the health plan, which totals 2 million. Baackes said they mailed directories for the 5,000 homeless members to the L.A. County social services office, where they’re likely thrown out.
Baackes submitted a proposal in June to the California Department of Health Care Services, which runs Medi-Cal, requesting that the plan be allowed to instead mail a postcard to enrollees with a link to the online directories and an option to be mailed a printed copy.
Medi-Cal health plans across the state, including Health Net and Molina Healthcare, said they were also trying to work with the state to be allowed to provide virtual directories.
State officials said they were reviewing the proposals. A recent change in federal rules should allow them to go through, they said. Medicare, which insures Americans 65 and older, has allowed its managed care plans to email a directory or provide a link on their websites since 2011, said Jack Cheevers, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Critics of Medicaid, which covers 75 million Americans, say that the program is bloated and unsustainable. Proposals by GOP leaders to repeal Obamacare earlier this year included capping funding for Medicaid, saying the approach would force states to trim costs and find inefficiencies.
But Baackes said he didn’t think state officials were dragging their feet and that the problem was merely “symptomatic of trying to keep technology up with the rules and regulations.”
Chris Perrone with the California Health Care Foundation said state health administrators are regularly looking for ways to reduce expenses. He said they’re probably trying to ensure that patients having to request directories instead of automatically getting them in the mail doesn’t slow down how long it takes to make an appointment with a doctor.
“I don’t think it’s for lack of incentive that sometimes these things don’t happen,” Perrone said. “States already have skin in the game.”
Medi-Cal is expected to cost about $107 billion this fiscal year, and the state is on the hook for $38 billion of that, according to state budget.
Perrone said he’s collaborating with Medi-Cal and Covered California, the state’s insurance marketplace, that’s working to reduce big areas of spending: cesarean sections, opioid abuse and low-back pain. Medi-Cal officials have also said they’re working to identify patients who rack up large bills by overusing emergency rooms or because they’re addicted to drugs, so they can direct them to recovery programs or connect them with behavioral health treatment.
L.A. Care has invested in offering free exercise classes and nutrition advice to keep people healthy and prevent costs down the road. It is also trying to cut layers of bureaucracy by contracting with doctors directly, Baackes said.
He said he thinks the people who work with Medi-Cal patients and doctors daily should tell regulators where money is being wasted and propose ways to increase efficiency.
“I think that’s our obligation to do this,” he said.
[email protected]
Twitter: @skarlamangla
ALSO
One child, a $21-million medical bill: How a tiny number of patients poses a huge challenge for Medi-Cal
She watched her ex-husband end his life under California’s new right-to-die law. ‘I felt proud’
Knocking on doors, climbing through fences: How L.A. County’s health investigators are out trying to stop syphilis
|
Operators of even low-rated Texas nursing homes get federal cash thanks to deals with public hospitals
|
From their headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., Teddy Lichtschein and Eliezer Scheiner operate some of the most poorly rated nursing homes in Texas. Their small empire has amassed more than $800,000 in federal fines over the past three years.
|
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2015/05/30/operators-of-even-low-rated-texas-nursing-homes-get-federal-cash-thanks-to-deals-with-public-hospitals
|
2017-09-05 09:32:01.477000
|
“The money’s not going to take care of the people they’re supposed to be taking care of,” said Hazel Meaux, a Stowell resident and political activist who has opposed the nursing home transactions. (Ashley Landis - Staff Photographer)
From their headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., Teddy Lichtschein and Eliezer Scheiner operate some of the most poorly rated nursing homes in Texas. Their small empire has amassed more than $800,000 in federal fines over the past three years.
Regulators reported numerous problems. One patient who fractured his leg waited four days to have his broken bone treated. Another resident, given food he could not chew, choked to death in his wheelchair. An 80-year-old woman with rectal cancer screamed in agony for two weeks before attendants phoned her doctor.
Despite this record, Lichtschein and Scheiner have new partners in the nursing home trade: seven public agencies, which could position the Brooklyn duo for a taxpayer-funded windfall.
Breaking News Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. Email Address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy SUBMIT
A special state program to attract additional federal Medicaid money will bring an extra $69 million to Texas nursing homes this year, with more to come next year. It was supposed to be for government-owned homes.
Much of it, however, will go to a multitude of private operators — such as Lichtschein and Scheiner — who were savvy enough to craft unusual licensing arrangements with governmental bodies.
In a development wholly unforeseen by state officials, the licenses of more than 300 privately owned nursing homes have changed hands within the past year. They are now held by public hospital districts and hospital authorities.
Some of these homes are hundreds of miles from the districts themselves. Many of them have been repeatedly cited for serious deficiencies.
nurse.home.grafic
These arrangements were made for the sole purpose of attracting the Medicaid supplements. This additional federal money was intended to improve patient care. But no mechanism has been put in place to enforce that.
The state failed to require that the money be spent on patients or improvements, no matter how poor a nursing home’s record. Therefore, large portions of it will flow to the original private operators to spend as they please.
“The rules are flawed in that part,” said Chris Traylor, chief deputy commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. “We’re going to be looking to change this program.”
Overhaul, however, will not occur until late next year. Until then, Lichtschein, Scheiner and dozens of other private operators — many of whom were already turning a profit — can watch as millions of government dollars come rolling in.
A study released this month determined Texas to have the worst nursing home record in the country.
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s analysis of federal nursing home rankings found that 51 percent of Texas homes received overall ratings of one or two stars out of a possible five. The rankings are done by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
No state had a higher percentage of low-rated nursing homes, the Kaiser study said. The national average is 35 percent.
One of those one-star homes is the Palo Pinto Nursing Center in Mineral Wells, about 80 miles west of Dallas. It is a Lichtschein-Scheiner property.
In 2012, state inspectors found that Palo Pinto nursing home staff did little to control a 65-year-old male resident who roamed throughout the home, sexually abusing female patients. Home operators agreed in 2013 to pay a federal fine of $120,000.
Since then, regulators have cited the home for failing to attend properly to patients’ hygiene. An inspector found one resident sitting in the lobby with flies on her. “A strong urine and fecal odor was emanating from her,” the inspector wrote, and her face and hands were dirty.
An attorney for Lichtschein and Scheiner said the state inspection process is inconsistent and gives an inaccurate picture of their properties. In a written statement, their Texas operating company said it is “constantly looking for partnerships and relationships that add value to those facilities and their ability to deliver a higher quality experience to their residents.”
As of late last year, their Palo Pinto home has a new name on its state license: the Palo Pinto County Hospital District, which operates a 74-bed community hospital in Mineral Wells. The arrangement grew out of the state program to bring extra Medicaid money to nursing homes.
Regular Medicaid payments to nursing homes are determined in part by state reimbursement rates. “Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes in Texas is the worst of all 50 states,” said Harris Brooks, CEO of the Palo Pinto district. “They’re pretty much eking by.”
For this supplemental program, the state human services commission restricted participation to “non-state government-owned” nursing homes. That generally meant those owned by counties and local hospital districts or authorities, which are public bodies supported by local tax revenue to provide health care.
But owners of for-profit homes — aided by trade associations and legal counsel — found a way around the restriction. They simply needed to partner with the hospital districts, even if their homes were not within district boundaries.
Statewide, 94 counties and hospital districts or authorities have signed up for the new payment program. They now hold the licenses to 357 nursing homes. All but 30 of those were formerly private, according to figures from the state Health and Human Services Commission.
Most of the participating hospital districts are relatively small, though not all. The Dallas County Hospital District, which operates Parkland Memorial Hospital, is acquiring the licenses of 12 nursing homes.
The sheer number of these arrangements caught state officials by surprise. “We did not anticipate that level of interest and participation,” said Linda Edwards Gockel, a spokeswoman for the commission.
Representatives for Lichtschein and Scheiner approached the Palo Pinto County Hospital District with a proposal to participate in the program. Without paying Lichtschein and Scheiner anything, the district became the license holder for seven of their homes.
Only one of the homes for which it now holds the license is within its boundaries. Most are two counties away.
Though its name is on the licenses, the Palo Pinto district doesn’t own any of the nursing homes’ real estate or any other assets. Nor does it operate the homes. That is retained by Lichtschein and Scheiner, who signed lease agreements with Palo Pinto.
The biggest change is the enhanced funding. “It allows us to bring in federal dollars,” Brooks said. Exactly how much money is still unclear, Brooks said, but initial estimates were about $1 million a year per home.
When the additional money arrives — perhaps not until next year — some of it goes to the hospital district. “We do get a cut of it,” Brooks said.
Much of the rest will go to several companies owned by Lichtschein and Scheiner, with no requirement to spend it on better patient care.
State regulators acknowledge this hole in their plan. The next program, to begin by September 2016, will base payments on improvements.
Another of the Lichtschein-Scheiner homes now controlled by Palo Pinto is the Santa Fe Health and Rehabilitation Center in Weatherford. That's where the patient fell and broke his leg.
His left leg was “swollen twice the size of the right leg,” records said, but a technician X-rayed the wrong patient, the man’s roommate. The man with the fracture was given only Tylenol for four days until a nurse persuaded a physician to order another X-ray.
Brooks said he is aware of the problems at the homes for which his agency now holds the license. “We are very concerned over quality issues,” he said. But, he added, “These are not going to change overnight, and we have only been involved a few months at this point.”
A contractor hired by the Palo Pinto district will employ administrators and monitor the quality of the homes, Brooks said.
The Palo Pinto district also holds the license for the Benbrook Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, a Lichtschein and Scheiner property in Tarrant County.
In 2013, a 54-year-old Benbrook resident with cerebral palsy was served lunch in his room. He had “a history of incidents of aspiration and choking,” his records said, so he required a “mechanical soft” diet.
However, the attendant gave him hamburger meat. Left unattended, the man choked on the meat, and died of asphyxiation.
CMS, in its most recent assessment, gave Benbrook a one-star — “much below average” — overall rating. It staffing levels also received a one-star rating.
One measure of staffing used by CMS is “registered nurse hours per resident per day.” Benbrook’s score was about half the Texas average and only 36 percent of the national average.
However, Brooks said there are no immediate plans to hire more staff. “The cash flow is not yet available to fund much more increases.”
In state filings, Lichtschein and Scheiner list their office as a small building on the outer reaches of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. Neither of them responded to multiple requests for comment by The Dallas Morning News.
State and federal records show that companies controlled by Lichtschein and Scheiner operate 44 nursing homes in Texas, including nine in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
More than three-fourths of their Texas homes have been rated “below average” or “much below average” by CMS.
Lichtschein’s and Scheiner’s Texas homes operate from Advanced Healthcare Solutions, a company they own in Arlington. Nancy Shellhorse, a lawyer for Advanced, said the company disputes the fairness of CMS’s rankings, which are based in large part on information from state regulatory agencies.
"The current survey and enforcement process is inconsistent and standards are not clearly defined and consistently enforced, which results in an inaccurate portrayal of the quality of care provided in nursing facilities," Shellhorse said in a written statement to The News. "Advanced does not believe that the findings from surveys and investigations that are used for public reporting accurately reflect the quality of care provided by the facilities it operated."
The attorney said Advanced agreed to pay fines to CMS to avoid the expense of litigation, and the settlements were “not an admission of liability.”
Shellhorse also said that the additional Medicaid money will be used for enhancements and improvements at nursing homes. “Advanced and the nursing facilities that they provide support for continually look for opportunities to improve both the physical plants of the building as well as invest in care programs and health technology,” she wrote.
In addition to Palo Pinto, Lichtschein and Scheiner also reached similar licensing deals with six other small-town hospital districts. Among them was the Jack County Hospital District, which now holds the license for the Park View Care Center in Fort Worth.
Jack County has a population of about 9,000, and the hospital district headquarters is 60 miles from Fort Worth.
At Park View in 2012, a 54-year-old patient escaped from the home, according to a suit filed in Tarrant County. Unobserved by staff, the suit claims, she left by climbing over a fence around the smoking patio.
Eight hours later, Veranda Jimerson — who had been wearing a heavy black coat on a 98-degree day — was found dead in some nearby woods. The cause of death was multi-organ failure due to hyperthermia.
The suit was settled this month.
Park View agreed in 2013 to pay a $134,400 to CMS. In its most recent rankings, CMS gave Park View an overall one-star rating. Park View also received low marks for staffing levels that are well under state and national averages.
Frank Beaman, CEO of the Jack County district, said he had no knowledge of problems at Park View. “Actually, I am not aware of the cited deficiencies, as they did not occur on my watch,” Beaman said in an email.
Lichtschein and Scheiner’s companies will continue to operate the home while Jack County’s name is on the license. “We will monitor the quality of the home as part of our overall quality improvement plan,” Beaman said.
The Coryell County Memorial Hospital Authority in Central Texas has assumed the licenses of 20 nursing homes, including two owned by Lichtschein and Scheiner.
“It benefits everybody,” David Byrom, CEO of the Coryell authority, said of the state supplemental program.
One of Coryell’s new properties is Lichtschein’s and Scheiner’s Colonial Manor Nursing Center in Cleburne. CMS fined Colonial Manor $235,000 in September. It was there that the woman with cancer screamed in “uncontrolled, severe pain,” as state records described it, for 14 days before her doctor was called.
Byrom said Coryell will spend money to improve quality even if the state does not require it. “We’re all responsible folks,” he said.
Among the other homes now licensed to Coryell County is Brentwood Place Three in Dallas, previously owned by a Longview company. The seat of Coryell County, Gatesville, is 135 miles from Dallas.
Byrom acknowledged the unlikelihood that Coryell County would send patients to Dallas. He would not say what improvements might soon be made at Brentwood, which has a one-star rating and was fined $146,120 by CMS in 2012.
“I don’t think we have all the answers to all those questions,” he said.
Some of the homes that are to receive extra money were already showing a profit.
A consultant for the lawyers who sued Park View said Lichtschein’s and Scheiner’s companies “had plenty of resources to rectify these problems and increase staffing if they wanted to.”
Sid Gerber, the consultant, wrote in court filings that state reports for 2012 show that the Brooklyn pair’s companies at Park View “paid themselves $2,441,403 in home office, management and related party costs and fees in addition to a straight line profit of $489,367.”
At Benbrook, the 2013 cost report—the most recent available—said the home recorded $5,382,947 in expenses against $5,919,839 in total revenue.
Lichtschein’s and Scheiner’s companies provided multiple services at Benbrook. For example, the nursing home leased its building for $715,942 a year from BP Tenant LLC, a Lichtschein-Scheiner company. The two also own a company that provides therapy and rehabilitation to nursing home residents, state reports show.
“They all bill each other,” said Jason Young, the Houston lawyer who filed the Park View suit. “They’re doing quite well.”
Byrom of Coryell County said homes making a profit should not be excluded from the state program to provide additional funds. “I’m not going to be the judge of what’s a fair profit,” he said. “I don’t think that’s your role or the government’s role.”
Although federal money is being used for the state program, it’s unclear if Washington sees the need for increased scrutiny. CMS’s national public affairs office declined to comment on the Texas plan. Nor would CMS comment on whether it is allowable for money intended for patients to be spent elsewhere.
In 2013, the Winnie-Stowell Hospital District in southeast Texas commissioned a legal opinion on the nursing home program. Austin lawyer Mark D. Chouteau concluded that the hospital district could participate without incurring problems with regulators. That’s because federal involvement on such arrangements has been “sporadic and ambiguous,” Chouteau wrote, as well as “isolated and weak.”
Hubert Oxford IV, attorney for Winnie-Stowell, said a subsequent outside legal opinion warned that the district could face "some degree of risk" by participating in the program. Oxford refused to release the text of that opinion to The News, citing attorney-client privilege.
Winnie-Stowell, with a population of less than 6,000, ultimately assumed the licenses of 13 nursing homes. One of them is in Atlanta, Texas, 260 miles north of district lines.
Hazel Meaux, a Stowell resident and political activist who has opposed the nursing home transactions, said much of the new money will go toward attorney’s fees and management contracts.
“They’re just scratching everybody’s back and the money’s not going to take care of the people they’re supposed to be taking care of,” she said. “It might be legal but it isn’t right.”
Attorney Oxford said the district has implemented a quality assurance program, and necessary funds will be spent on better nursing home care. “We really think we’re doing it right,” Oxford said.
A sizable portion of the money, he acknowledged, will flow to the district for hospital renovations and equipment unrelated to nursing homes.
“It’s a great way for the hospital districts to bring in money,” Oxford said. “We wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t a substantial return.”
|
Shared Savings Program ACOs Reduced Medicare Spending by $1 Billion
|
ACOs under CMS’ largest alternative payment model outperformed fee-for-service providers in quality and cost savings within the first three years of the program.
|
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/quality/shared-savings-program-acos-reduced-medicare-spending-1-billion
|
2017-09-05 09:30:41.073000
|
ACOs under CMS’ largest alternative payment model outperformed fee-for-service providers in quality and cost savings within the first three years of program.
According to findings reported by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG), accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in the Shared Savings Program are learning how to achieve greater cost savings over time. The Medicare Shared Savings Program is one of the largest alternative payment models implemented by CMS to reward providers for the quality and value of their services in order to keep patients healthy and lower costs.
The OIG’s report suggests many positive outcomes of the program, including that one-third of the ACOs that reduced their spending lowered costs enough to receive a portion of the savings. CMS data on quality measures also shows that ACOs generally improved the quality of care they provided, with a rate of 82% performance improvement on the individual quality measures within the first three years of the program. ACOs also outperformed fee-for-service providers on 81% of the quality measures.
A small portion of ACOs are reported to have gone above expectations, reducing Medicare spending by an average of $673 per beneficiary, including spending reductions for high-cost services such as inpatient hospital care and skilled nursing facility care. The OIG reports that these high-performing ACOs’ frequent use of primary care services, which can lower utilization and costs for other care, and cost reductions for services such as emergency department visits, was a factor in their cost savings. These strategies are compared to other Shared Savings Program ACOs and the national average for fee‐for‐service providers, who showed an increase in per beneficiary spending for key Medicare services.
The OIG concluded that ACOs show promise in reducing Medicare spending while also improving quality. These improvements come at a critical time, as Medicare spending is predicted to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2027. A large portion of Medicare spending has been attributed to overbilling, with the Medicare program losing more money to this error than any other program government-wide.
|
The Same Agency That Runs Obamacare Is Using Taxpayer Money to Undermine It
|
The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would slash spending on advertising and promotion for the Affordable Care Act, but it has already been waging a multipronged campaign against it.
|
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/04/us/hhs-anti-obamacare-campaign.html
|
2017-09-05 09:27:06.537000
|
The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would slash spending on advertising and promotion for the Affordable Care Act, but it has already been waging a multipronged campaign against it.
Despite several failed efforts by Republican lawmakers to repeal it, the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land. But the Department of Health and Human Services — an agency with a legal responsibility to administer the law — has used taxpayer dollars to oppose it.
Legal experts say that while it is common for a new administration to reinterpret an existing law, it is unusual to take steps to undermine it. Here are three ways the health department has campaigned against Obamacare.
1. Redirecting promotional funding
Instead of using its outreach budget to promote the Affordable Care Act, the department made videos critical of the law.
In June, the health department posted 23 video testimonials on YouTube from people who said they had been “burdened by Obamacare,” including families, health care professionals and small business owners.
Scenes from the 23 anti-Obamacare videos on the health department’s YouTube page
While it’s not certain where the money for the videos came from, several former health officials who worked in the Obama administration said that they suspect it came from the budget meant to promote the Affordable Care Act.
“There’s no other budget that makes sense,” said Lori Lodes, who oversaw outreach efforts under Mr. Obama.
The Trump administration defended the videos, saying that they were produced to inform Americans about the need for change so that people would have access to affordable health care.
“As evidenced by these important and educational testimonials, the status quo has made that impossible for millions of Americans,” a department spokeswoman, Alleigh Marré, said in July. “The administration is committed to reforming the current health care system to bring down the cost of coverage, expand health care choices, and strengthen the safety net for generations to come.”
The Daily Beast reported in July that one of the participants in the videos said he felt he was being pushed “for a harder line against Obamacare.”
While the health department refers to these testimonials as “educational videos” produced to inform Americans on the need to overhaul health care, some experts question whether they fit that definition.
“The lines between what is partisan, what is propaganda, and what is educational are nightmarish and subjective,” said Michael Eric Herz, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law in New York who has written about social media and the government.
2. Attacking the law
The department targeted the Affordable Care Act with a marketing campaign as Republicans in Congress tried to repeal the legislation.
In addition to the YouTube videos, the department has used Twitter and news releases to try to discredit the health law. Since being sworn in as health secretary on February 10, Tom Price has posted on Twitter 48 infographics advocating against Obamacare, all of which bear the health department’s logo.
“Here, it’s an agency trying to destroy its own program because it opposes it,” said Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University who is an expert on government ethics. “It is inconsistent with the constitutional duty to take care that the law is faithfully executed.”
The bulk of Mr. Price’s Twitter posts were from late June to mid-July, when Senate Republicans were trying to pass a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Once, Mr. Price tweeted five infographics in a single day.
When Mr. Price posted anti-Obamacare infographics on Twitter Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. 4 May 22 May 29 June 5 1 June 12 1 June 19 2 1 1 1 June 26 July 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 July 10 1 1 1 July 17 2 5 2 3 Senate repeal vote fails July 24 4 4 1 July 31 1 1 2 Aug. 7 Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. 4 May 22 May 29 June 5 June 12 1 June 19 1 June 26 2 1 1 1 July 3 1 1 1 1 July 10 2 2 1 1 1 July 17 2 5 2 3 July 24 Senate repeal vote fails 4 4 1 July 31 1 1 Aug. 7 2
Around the same time, the Trump administration ended $23 million worth of contracts with companies that help people sign up for coverage.
Anti-Obamacare infographics tweeted by Mr. Price
The language in Mr. Price’s Twitter posts is often even more critical of the health law than what is used in the infographics.
Though the health department’s Twitter account has refrained from criticism, the agency itself has used its news releases to disseminate negative information about the law. Below are excerpts from recent releases.
“Year after year, insurers are finding Obamacare unworkable and are abandoning it in droves.” Health department news release
“Obamacare is flawed, failing, and harming the American people with higher costs and fewer healthcare choices.” Health department news release
In August, five congressional Democrats wrote a letter to Mr. Price demanding detailed information about his plans for marketing and outreach. “Rather than encouraging enrollment in the marketplaces, the administration appears intent on depressing it,” the letter said.
3. Deleting information online
The department removed useful guidance for consumers about the Affordable Care Act from its website.
Under the Obama administration, the health department’s website contained information to help consumers learn about the Affordable Care Act and how to obtain coverage through the health insurance marketplaces. Much of that information is now gone. Some was removed within hours of President Trump’s inauguration.
A link to a page about the Affordable Care Act disappeared from the health department’s home page the evening of the inauguration, according to a comparison of the sites, shown below.
Jan. 19 11:03 p.m. Jan. 19 11:03 p.m. Jan. 19 11:03 p.m. Jan. 20 9:59 p.m. Jan. 20 9:59 p.m. Jan. 20 9:59 p.m.
The department also changed other areas of the website, removing overviews of the law and links to information on summaries of benefits, emergency services and doctor choice, making it more difficult for consumers to learn about the law.
It also appears to have erased positive references to the Affordable Care Act, including personal stories about individuals who benefited from the law.
For example, a video about a Florida man with diabetes who said he was able to enroll in coverage without worrying about his health status was removed from a page about pre-existing conditions. A link to a page about the number of young adults who gained coverage after the law took effect is also gone.
Even before President Trump took office, health insurance markets had serious problems in some states. But Sarah Lueck, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank, said the law would not be dying on its own.
|
After Harvey, telemedicine connects doctors to displaced patients
|
Getting thousands of Houston-area families to shelters has been a massive humanitarian effort. But the aid doesn’t end there: Many of the displaced have chronic medical conditions like asthma or injuries from recent days that need medical attention.
|
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/harvey-telemedicine-connects-doctors-displaced-patients/
|
2017-09-05 09:26:15.433000
|
Getting thousands of Houston-area families to shelters has been a massive humanitarian effort. But the aid doesn’t end there: Many of the displaced have chronic medical conditions like asthma or injuries from recent days that need medical attention.
Providers of telemedicine are hoping technology can help step into the breach. At Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, which has begun to take residents displaced by flooding in Houston, emergency-room doctors at Children’s Health, a pediatric hospital based in Dallas, are seeing young patients remotely.
“For every adult that comes in, there will be about three children,” explained Scott Summerall, spokesperson for Children’s Health. “We have doctors for adults available at the shelter 24 hours a day, but we don’t have as many pediatric specialists, especially at night.”
It’s thanks to a recently passed law that it’s even possible: In May, Texas became the last U.S. state to allow physicians to see patients by telemedicine without an initial in-person visit.
And it’s thanks to a recently passed law that it’s even possible: In May, Texas became the last U.S. state to allow physicians to see patients by telemedicine without an initial in-person visit.
At the Dallas convention center, patients are slowly trickling in, many of them delayed by still-flooded roads. Plans for the “mega-shelter,” however, indicate that could house up to 5,000 people in coming days and weeks.
In preparation for that, Children’s Health has set up a telemedicine station from which ER physicians at the hospital can remotely see children at the shelter, via a computer monitor and specially designed equipment for measuring vital signs. The telemedicine station has been in use since Monday.
“We expect to see a lot of rashes and infections,” said Dr. Stormee Williams, who oversees telemedicine at Children’s Health, and who is working on-site at the shelter.
READ MORE: Pioneering cancer drug, just approved, to cost $475,000 — and analysts say it’s a bargain
She added that flood conditions, like mold in flooded homes, can exacerbate conditions such as asthma. In addition, floodwater may carry viruses and bacteria from dead animals, chemicals, and other contaminants that could cause serious health problems in children if they swallowed it.
“We have doctors around the country calling in and saying, ‘I use telemedicine. How can I help?’ But because they are laws and rules about who can practice where, unless they have a license in Texas, they can’t do it.”
“There’s also behavioral health issues,” Williams added. “Children are susceptible to anxiety and depression, especially in a time like this. ”
And the Dallas shelter will eventually house a pharmacy, which should enable parents to fill their kids prescriptions on-site.
Dr. Maeve Sheehan, a pediatrician at Children’s Health, is another of the physicians on-site at the convention center. Telemedicine has helped both the medical and nonmedical workers at the site, Sheehan said.
“We have a lot of volunteers here, and people, especially kids, get sick at night. This way they can be in touch with emergency room doctors whenever they need help.”
That, Sheehan said, is a notable improvement over disaster response teams she’s worked on in the past. “We didn’t have telemedicine for Katrina,” she said. “I was on [call] all night. This time, I don’t have to be. Telemedicine makes a big difference.”
READ MORE: Houston hospitals may not be back to normal for a month
Williams said she’s seen an outpouring of support from fellow physicians in the days since the storm hit.
“We have doctors around the country calling in and saying, ‘I use telemedicine. How can I help?’ But because they are laws and rules about who can practice where, unless they have a license in Texas, they can’t do it,” she said.
Still Williams hopes that the Harvey response efforts will be the beginning of telemedicine as a regular part of disaster recovery.
“I’m really excited that we’re doing this,” said Williams. “This is an example of how telemedicine can be used in the most extreme situations, when health care is most needed.”
This article is reproduced with permission from STAT. It was first published on August 31, 2017. Find the original story here.
|
UK's first bio-substitute natural gas plant to open next year
|
Work has begun on the UK's first commercial plant to convert household waste into bio-substitute natural gas (BioSNG). Located in Swindon and operated by Saxlund International, the £25m ($32m) facility is set to open in 2018 and will process an estimated 10,000 tonnes of household waste annually, producing 22 GWh of BioSNG. Saxlund secured £11m of funding for the scheme through the Department for Transport’s Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Competition.
|
http://www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk/news/uks-first-commercial-bio-substitute-natural-gas-plant-construction/160281/
|
2017-09-05 09:17:20.477000
|
OUR BRANDS
Supporting professionals working across more than a dozen industries and sectors, our leading brands are trusted providers of news, information and research, as well as sources of creative inspiration. They represent the diversity and inclusivity we champion as a business.
The communities we have built around our brands mean we can offer in-depth commercial insights and data analysis and connect our business partners to new audiences.
|
Florida’s new faces of old age
|
According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 20 percent of Florida’s population is 65 and older. That’s a sizable chunk of the state’s economy – and political impact. But not all retirees come to Florida, as the saying goes, “to die.” Lately, a lot of them move here to start living, and their days are full of more than shuffleboard and early bird specials.
|
http://www.salon.com/2017/09/04/floridas-new-faces-of-old-age/
|
2017-09-05 09:17:20.003000
|
This feature is part of Salon's Young Americans initiative , showcasing emerging journalists reporting from America's red states. Read more Young Americans stories .
As far back as the late 1800s – when industrialist and developer Henry Flagler and others made the state a viable destination – people have moved to Florida in their later years. Back then, it was for doctor’s orders – warm weather was said to possess healing powers. Now, it’s almost a rite-of-passage: retire, then move to the Sunshine State.
According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 20 percent of Florida’s population is 65 and older. That’s a sizable chunk of the state’s economy – and political impact.
But not all retirees come to Florida, as the saying goes, “to die.” Lately, a lot of them move here to start living, and their days are full of more than shuffleboard and early bird specials. Carolyn and Pat are two of the many seniors who weren't born in Florida but now call the state home.
Carolyn, 62
Carolyn grew up in a “pretty, little town with pretty, little shops and boardwalks” in New Jersey and retired nearly twenty years ago to Largo, about 30 minutes south of Tampa on the west coast.
Carolyn and her husband had inherited a one-bedroom house in one of Florida’s many 55-plus mobile home parks. They were soon kicked out. At 45 and 50, they were considered too young to live there.
“It’s not like we’re hooligans who had wild parties every night,” she said. “We didn’t throw furniture through the windows.”
In high school, Carolyn had a creative and “eccentric” personality, but it wasn’t until retirement, she said, that the former preschool teacher was able to tap back into her artistic side as an adult.
“When people are retired, they don’t have time constraints,” she said, “and they get a chance to do what they want to do.”
The newfound time has also allowed her to take singing lessons, jewelry making classes and sign up for pottery studio. For an upcoming talent show, she planned to dress as a nun and sing “I Will Follow Him” from "Sister Act."
This routine is especially funny to her, because she’s an ordained minister.
“I’m trying to be a better person and not take anyone’s inventory like ‘Well, you did this,'” she said. “Who cares? That’s their business.”
Pat, 74
Pat moved to Florida when she was near the age of 50 because of an abusive relationship. Her parents lived in the same Largo mobile home park that she lives in now, and she wanted to be closer to them for safety.
“I didn’t realize how strong I was until I walked away from that man,” she said. “I thought if I could do that then, I could do anything.”
Framed swimming ribbons cover her mobile home. Forest-green carpet runs throughout the house. She keeps a dish of chocolate chip cookies wrapped in plastic on her living room table.
“I don’t think of aging as aging,” she said. “I think of it as experiences.”
Pat grew up a tomboy in New Hampshire and still has the accent – she pronounces party as “pah-ty” and says “idea-rs.” As a teenager, she competed on the swim team and loved it so much she later coached the sport.
Earlier this summer, she took home five first places ribbons in a swim meet. She now hopes to go to the national championships to compete in the 70-to-74-year-old division. All ages, she says, can compete – there’s even a “90 and up” category. Pat trains about three times a week and said she bikes every day if it’s not too hot.
“I have arthritis, but it’s not going to beat me, I’ll be danged,” she said. “I have a bike, and there’s always the pool.”
Along with swim practice, Pat spends a good deal of her time in the production of scripted shows with themes such as “Country Bumpkin’” and “Broadway.” To promote her shows, she invites people from other mobile home parks.
“My shows are geared to seniors and done by seniors,” she said, adding, “I fill the hall.”
|
For Vulnerable Older Adults, a Harrowing Sense of Being Trapped
|
Harvey was terrifying for millions of people along the Gulf Coast. But it was particularly difficult for the region’s seniors and disabled, many of whom struggled to escape as the water rose.
|
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/storm-elderly-harvey.html
|
2017-09-05 09:15:45.463000
|
HOUSTON — A Holocaust survivor waded waist-deep in flood water. Dozens of people were trapped in a 14-story residence for seniors. A disabled man sat alone at home, without the aide who usually helps him, watching the water rise and unsure if anyone would come.
Harvey was terrifying for millions of people along the Gulf Coast. But it was particularly difficult for the region’s seniors and disabled, many of whom struggled to escape as the water rose. Now, some wait in shelters for chemotherapy, dialysis, pain medication, a pillow. Rescue teams are still evacuating people from their homes.
Inside her apartment in a Houston Housing Authority senior residence on Friday, Ida Szydlik insisted that she hadn’t been scared as the water rushed into her building over the weekend, filling the first floor. “We were just frightened for the other people,” said Ms. Szydlik, 97, as she began to cry. “I was in prayer, but I wasn’t scared, I was too busy praying that this would all go away.”
It is impossible to be sure how many older people have been affected by the storm, and many experts say it is too early to know how nursing homes are dealing with the impact.
|
New leader ready to prepare HIMSS for the approaching silver tsunami
|
When Hal Wolf looks at the future of HIMSS, he sees “tremendous opportunities” but he is also keenly focused on the “silver tsunami” that is coming.
|
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/new-leader-ready-prepare-himss-approaching-silver-tsunami
|
2017-09-05 09:14:17.653000
|
When Hal Wolf looks at the future of HIMSS, he sees “tremendous opportunities” but he is also keenly focused on the “silver tsunami” that is coming.
“We must recognize that healthcare systems are going to be financially strapped,” he said in his first interview with Healthcare IT News. “We have a lot of people living longer and there are going to be fewer people producing GDP.”
Wolf, who takes over as President and CEO of HIMSS today, succeeds Steve Lieber, who is stepping down after more than 17 years.
He’s already given serious thought to how HIMSS needs to change in order to help its membership meet these challenges, some of it based on his experience in healthcare IT leadership roles. He was director of information and digital health strategy at The Chartis Group; chief operating officer of Kaiser Permanente's Federation; and regional CIO at Kaiser Permanente IT in Denver.
“We have an amazing membership,” he said. “And HIMSS has an astounding opportunity to continue to expand its relevancy and its value in healthcare.”
But the crunch that an aging population will present across healthcare is a challenge he believes will require new approaches.
“I am a huge believer in patient at home,” Wolf said. “People will need information not just in the home but globally as well.”
Connecting medical devices, supporting reimbursement systems, and delivering medical records where they’re needed are all at the center of the transformation to home-based care.
He also believes the membership will have increasing needs to learn about predictive modeling using genomic data. And he sees a need to improve automation of the supply chain.
“When we look at how goods are purchased in this space, the process has not been digitized within the provider community,” he said adding that the change can provide tremendous value to the quality of care and help control cost.
Wolf believes HIMSS must continue to provide educational value and networking opportunities to its members.
“The strength of HIMSS membership has always been to facilitate getting members together to share information and best practices,” he said. He places high value on the connections made at events that lead to relationships forming after the event is over. “The educational piece is critical. That’s what drives our eco-system and that’s why so many of our members are active.”
He is also firmly behind HIMSS involvement in public policy.
“This is extremely important. I cannot stress this is enough,” he said. “We are a trusted source in the United States for public policy.” He is already involved in work to educate the FDA on certification of digital devices and is focused on emerging technologies like blockchain.
“We have a very important role to play because as a non-profit we have a neutral and judicious view on care and the enablement of technology that is a cornerstone public policy,” he said, adding that he hopes to extend the work internationally, collaborating with HIMSS members who already involved.
He served as an advisor to WHO (World Health Organization) and has been involved in discussions with the ministers of health in a number of European countries. Most are facing the same challenge of an aging population and a declining economic base.
One of the traits Wolf shares with outgoing HIMSS President and CEO Steve Lieber: face-to-face meetings have been an important factor in his success. And he intends to continue a heavy travel schedule.
He is not planning to change his permanent address from Colorado to Chicago, where HIMSS’ headquarters is located. But his lifestyle will remain the same. He said he’ll “continue to be living out of United Airlines seat 6B.”
Healthcare IT year in review This was one of our most popular stories of the year.
Twitter: @GusVenditto
Email the writer: [email protected]
|
New class of drugs targets aging to help keep you healthy
|
Researchers have turned the spotlight on a new class of drugs that they say could "transform" the field of medicine -- and the drugs work by targeting aging.
|
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/04/health/anti-aging-senolytic-drugs-clinical-trials-study/index.html
|
2017-09-05 09:13:18.717000
|
Story highlights Have researchers found a fountain of youth in senolytic drugs? A new paper calls for clinical trials to test the age-modifying drugs in humans
CNN —
Researchers have turned the spotlight on a new class of drugs that they say could “transform” the field of medicine – and the drugs work by targeting aging.
The researchers, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, are calling for senolytic drugs to make the leap from animal research to human clinical trials. They outlined potential clinical trial scenarios in a paper published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society on Monday.
“This is one of the most exciting fields in all of medicine or science at the moment,” said Dr. James Kirkland, director of the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the new paper.
As we age, we accumulate senescent cells, which are damaged cells that resist dying off but stay in our bodies. They can affect other cells in our various organs and tissues. Senolytic drugs are agents capable of killing problem-causing senescent cells in your body without harming your normal, healthy cells.
Senescent cells play a role in many age-related chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, most cancers, dementia, arthritis, osteoporosis and blindness, Kirkland said. Therefore, senolytic drugs are a possible treatment approach for such diseases.
As a practicing physician, Kirkland said that he has grown increasingly concerned for his patients who are sick with many of these age-related conditions.
“The same processes that cause aging seem to be the root causes of age-related diseases,” he said. “Why not target the root cause of all of these things? That would have been a pipe dream until a few years back.”
In 2015, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic, including Kirkland, identified this new class of drugs. In a study published in the journal Aging Cell, they described how senolytic drugs can alleviate symptoms of frailty in mice and extend the length of time the mice are healthy as they grow old.
Then, last year, the researchers demonstrated in a study in Aging Cell that clearing senescent cells in mice can improve their vascular health.
Fourteen senolytic drugs have been discovered and are being actively studied, 11 of which Kirkland’s colleagues and their collaborators found, he said.
Are these age-modifying drugs ready for human trials?
Scientists have long known that certain processes influence your body’s aging on the cellular level, according to the paper. Those processes include inflammation, changes in your DNA, cell damage or dysfunction and the accumulation of senescent cells.
It turns out that those processes are linked. For instance, DNA damage causes increased senescent cell accumulation, Kirkland said.
So an intervention that targets senescent cells could attenuate other aging processes as well, according to the new paper. That is, once such an intervention is tested for efficacy and safety.
“I think senolytic drugs have a great future. If it is proven that it can reduce senescent cells and rejuvenate tissues or organs, it may be one of our potential best treatments for age-related diseases,” said Dr. Kang Zhang, founding director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the new paper.
Yet taking senolytic drugs from mouse studies to human ones is a “big leap,” Zhang said.
“So we will have to wait for clinical trials to see whether this would work in humans,” he said. “One possible clinical trial strategy is to test this class of drugs in an age-related disease, such as neurodegeneration, like Parkinson’s disease, to see if it can reduce clinical severity of the disease and improve tissue functions.”
In the new paper, the researchers wrote that potential clinical trial scenarios include testing whether senolytic drugs could alleviate multiple chronic diseases in a single patient or whether such drugs could treat conditions that involve senescent cell accumulation in one location in the body, such as osteoarthritis.
They also suggest testing whether the drugs could treat diseases for which there are no medicines proven to slow the progression of that disease, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a cell senescence-associated disease that affects the lungs.
Other potential clinical trial scenarios include testing whether the drugs could alleviate frailty in older adults or could treat conditions associated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, since radiation can produce cellular senescence, Kirkland said.
For instance, “in mice, if you treat one leg with enough radiation, after three months, the mouse has trouble walking. If you give a single dose of these drugs, they’re able to walk quite well, and that persists for two years,” he said. “These drugs could mitigate the effects of therapeutic radiation.”
Certain experimental cancer drugs already undergoing clinical trials, such as navitoclax and obatoclax, have been shown to have some senolytic properties, Kirkland said. If senolytic drugs prove to be efficient in treating humans and end up available for use, he said, they could cost about the same as some cancer drugs.
“Some of the drugs at the moment are moderately expensive,” he said.
Cancer drugs can range in cost from about $20 a month to thousands a month. Venclexta or venetoclax, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and has been studied in combination with navitoclax, has a monthly price tag of about $8,000, according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“If we’re able to reduce hospitalizations … the savings on the medical care and hospital side might more than offset the cost of these drugs by a longshot,” Kirkland said, though it remains unclear what the dosage options would be for senolytic drugs for short- or long-term use.
What the future holds for senolytic drugs
As for how soon he thinks human clinical trials might commence, Kirkland said doctors could have an idea of how well senolytic drugs work for serious health conditions in about a year and a half or two years.
Once the drugs are tested in humans, researchers expect many companies to be lining up to develop or manufacture senolytic drugs. Some have already expressed interest.
One company, Unity Biotechnology, aims to be the first to demonstrate that removing senescent cells can cure human diseases, said its president, Nathaniel David.
“In the coming decades, I believe that health care will be transformed by this class of medicine and a whole set of diseases that your parents and grandparents have will be things you only see in movies or read in books, things like age-associated arthritis,” said David, whose company was not involved in the new paper.
Yet he cautioned that, while many more studies may be on the horizon for senolytic drugs, some might not be successful.
Follow CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.
“One thing that people tend to do is, they tend to overestimate things in the short run but then underestimate things in the long run, and I think that, like many fields, this suffers from that as well,” David said.
“It will take a while,” he said. “I think it’s important to recognize that a drug discovery is among the most important of all human activities … but it takes time, and there must be a recognition of that, and it takes patience.”
|
Efficient method for cellulosic conversion to glucose discovered
|
A team of researchers have made they are calling a "game-changing" breakthrough with an enzymatic mechanism that could revolutionise biorefining and biofuel production. The team examined how lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) work at a molecular level and discovered that, to convert cellulose into fermentable sugar (glucose) – a crucial step in the biofuel process, LPMOs require hydrogen peroxide and not oxygen, which is more expensive. Using hydrogen peroxide, the team also achieved much higher conversion rates and glucose yields. Collaborative work with industrial partners has already begun. The research was undertaken at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
|
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/12843/Breakthrough_study_could_revolutionise_enzymatic_cellulose_conversion_processes/
|
2017-09-05 09:09:50.227000
|
French and Norwegian scientists have discovered a ground-breaking enzymatic mechanism that could revolutionise biorefining and biofuel production.
The research focuses on enzymes known as Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (LPMOs), which in recent years have drastically improved the conversion of cellulose into fermentable sugar (glucose), a pivotal step in the creation of second generation biofuels.
Despite their common use in the commercial production of bioethanol, much ambiguity remains over how LPMOs work at a molecular level. There are also persistent challenges connected to their industrial application, the enzymes unstable under process conditions and their use requiring the costly addition of oxygen.
Bastien Bissaro, a guest researcher at NMBU (The Norwegian University of Life Sciences) from INRA, France, and an NMBU team led by Vincent Eijsink have now discovered that the mechanism by which LPMOs break down cellulose is different to previously thought. Most notably, they’ve determined that LPMOs don’t actually need oxygen to function, but hydrogen peroxide, a relatively cheap liquid chemical.
Huge significance
Bissaro and Eijsink’s discovery is a game-changer in more ways than one. Scientifically, it contradicts many of the prevailing ideas of biochemistry. From an industry point of view, it shows that the way LPMOs are harnessed in biorefining needs to be reconsidered.
Applying their findings, Bissaro and colleagues show that by controlling the supply of hydrogen peroxide, it’s possible to achieve stable enzymatic cellulose conversion processes, much higher conversion rates than previously thought possible and higher glucose yields.
A statement from NMBU makes the case that the findings, published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, are of great commercial interest. Collaborative work with industrial partners is now underway.
Bissaro and colleagues’ findings could have ramifications beyond biomass conversion. LPMOs are abundant in nature, and are known, like hydrogen peroxide, to play a role in bacterial infections.
|
Citigroup prepares to expand wealth management in Australia
|
US bank Citigroup has revealed plans to expand further into Australia's high-net-worth market, which has grown to 230,000 individuals. The repositioning includes hiring 100 additional relationship managers, new products, such as a digital currency account for clients working in a range of currencies, the introduction of video banking and other innovations. Australia has the third largest pool of high-net-worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific area and Citi's move followed a successful similar initiative elsewhere in the region.
|
https://www.finews.asia/finance/25429-citi-australia-to-triple-size-of-wealth-management-business-by-2020
|
2017-09-05 08:58:16.707000
|
Citi Australia is repositioning its wealth management business to focus on meeting the needs of Australia’s affluent High Net Worth investors.
In what is a rapidly growing segment of its client base, the U.S. bank has ambitious plans for the country.
Australia has the third largest pool of high net worth individuals (HNW) in Asia-Pacific (APAC) with more than 230,000 people with $1 million or more in investible assets.
Australian Ambitions
Having recently expanded Citi Australia’s wealth management business with new specialist hires the bank has rolled out ambitious plans for the coming years.
These include the hiring of 100 new relationship managers over the next three years to meet expected client growth and ensure clients have access to a dedicated relationship manager.
Development of new products and solutions including a digital currency account tailored for clients investing and transacting in a range of currencies.
Digital Initiatives
There will also be continued innovation and investment in digital service platforms and the introduction of more tools including the roll out of video banking, enabling clients to see and speak with their relationship manager and product experts securely via chat, audio and video calls within the Citi mobile app.
The focus on wealth management in Australia follows similar expansion in APAC, with Citi seeking mid teen growth of its affluent client base in the region in 2017.
Citi currently manages $218 billion across the region and has over 400,000 investment clients.
|
Huawei's new phone chipset comes with built-in AI processor
|
The Kirin 970, the processor for Huawei's soon-to-be released Mate 10 smartphone, comes with a neural processing unit (NPU) which provides the computing power required for artificial intelligence. The NPU performs 25 times better a quad-core Cortex-A73 CPU cluster, according to Huawei. The Kirin is the first in a series of AI-focused technologies that Huawei plans to release, said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group.
|
http://www.hardwarezone.com.my/tech-news-ifa-2017-huawei-s-new-kirin-970-chipset-equipped-ai-co-processor
|
2017-09-05 08:39:36.397000
|
Now that we’ve gotten all the talk about the notebook’s looks and design out of the …
Mohon Sekarang
|
Yell to drop Yellow Pages phone directory and go digital only
|
Yell is finally giving up on its printed telephone directory, the Yellow Pages. The move will mark the company's full transition to being online only after 51 years in print. The first of the 104 final editions will be sent out in Kingston in January, with the last-ever edition being distributed in January 2019 in Brighton, where it first launched. More than 130,000 firms advertise with Yell, with Yell.com used by millions of consumers each month.
|
http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/yell-pulls-the-plug-on-yellow-pages-as-it-goes-digital-only
|
2017-09-05 08:26:33.043000
|
Yell has announced the final print cycle of Yellow Pages, marking the company’s full transition to a purely digital business after 51 years in print, to date. The first of the 104 final editions is being distributed in Kingston in January 2018, with the final ever edition distributed in January 2019 in Brighton, back where it all began. Alongside the shuttering of the print edition, Yell said it is committing to help a million businesses be “found, chosen and trusted by more customers online by 2020”.
“We’re proud of the transformation we’ve made from print to digital,” said Yell CEO, Richard Hanscott. “Like many businesses, Yell has found that succeeding in digital demands constant change and innovation. We’re well placed to continue to help local businesses and consumers be successful online, both now and in the future.’'
Yell is the largest reseller of Google AdWords in the UK and provides a full range of digital media and managed services for businesses, including pay-per-clock advertising, display advertising, websites, social media and directory listings. Over 130,000 businesses currently advertise with Yell, while and Yell.com is used by millions of consumers every month.
|
RhythmOne RhythmOne confirms $185m YuMe purchase
|
UK adtech firm RhythmOne is buying video adtech firm YuMe for $185m as part of its merger and acquisition strategy. RhythmOne said the deal will mean the combined firm can provide a consolidated adtech solution, bringing together both demand and supply-side strengths in mobile, video, TV and programmatic trading. The acquisition followed RhythmOne's purchase of RadiumOne assets earlier this year. The deal for the New York Stock Exchange-listed company will consist of one-third cash and two-thirds shares and is expected to complete early next year.
|
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/09/05/rhythmone-confirms-185m-yume-takeover-part-wider-ma-strategy
|
2017-09-05 08:10:08.710000
|
Following earlier speculation they were in negotiations, RhythmOne has confirmed it will purchase video adtech outfit YuMe, in a $185m deal building on its RadiumOne purchase earlier this year.
The company's leadership has now publicly declared that its 2017 acqusitions form part of a strategy to assemble a consolidated adtech offering to take on established players such as Facebook and Google.
UK-based RhythmOne, which is listed on the AIM, today (September 5) confirmed the deal for YuMe, itself listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with the acquisition consisting of one-third in cash, and two-thirds in shares, and expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.
RhythmOne claims that post the closure of the proposed deal, the combined entity will be “a complete end-to-end platform” – the goal of many of the recent adtech mergers and acquisition (M&A) this year.
A RhythmOne release states: “The combination of RhythmOne and YuMe will bring together demand-side and supply-side strengths in the fast growing segments of mobile, video, connected TV and programmatic trading."
The note goes on to state that the company’s board of directors have “identified a window of opportunity” in the adtech sector to build a credible, scaled offering that can pose as a “sustainable alternative to entrenched players in the industry.”
A note from its board of directors also goes on to reference to “a contraction in market valuations of public and private companies” in recent years – something that is likely fueling the number of M&A deals in the sector.
The note goes on to read: “The directors believe that, as a result of the acquisition, the company will be a more attractive alternative to the largest networks and exchanges, represented by companies such as Google and Facebook.”
The release also features a statement from RhythmOne, chief executive, Ted Hastings, it read: “Through YuMe, RhythmOne gains access to premium video supply including emerging, high-value connected TV inventory, unique customer insights, cross-screen targeting technology and established demand relationships. We believe this combination will give RhythmOne the resources, relationships and talent to drive value for its shareholders, and a true return on investment.”
Earlier in the year, RhythmOne announced it has acquired certain assets of RadiumOne for an undisclosed amount – although speculation since, has pegged the figure at circa $22m.
Speaking at the time of the purchase, Richard Nunn, RhythmOne’s chief revenue officer, said the acquisition would provide advertisers with insights, prediction, campaign targeting, execution and measurement.
The number of M&A deals in the wider digital media sector numbered 115, according to a Results International study. Although the second quarter was not as busy, 102 deals were still scored during the period, it was an increase of 24 on the same period in 2016.
More recent activity has seen consolidation among adtech players – as opposed to buys from strategic players, or strategic players – most notably the proposed takeover of Rocket Fuel by Sizmek, Rubicon Project's purchase of nToggle, and Outbrain's acquisition of Zemanta.
Another notable trend in this year's adtech M&A has been the growing popularity of companies possessing video capabilities with publicly-listed Tremor Video agreeing to sell its demand-side platform (DSP) to TapTica for $50m. Meanwhile, Europe's largest broadcaster RTL Group announced it was to complete its purchase of SpotX last week, plus earlier in the year Teads sold to US-based telco Altice.
|
Joe Media UK invests in podcasts with three new series
|
Men's lifestyle publisher Joe Media is expanding into podcasting, and is set to launch three series with a view to each show carrying a brand sponsor. One of the podcasts, Unfiltered, featuring James O’Brien interviewing people in the news, is expected to pull in 50,000 in the first four months, according to Niall McGarry, owner of parent company Maximum Media. He said advertising would be locally led, adding: "We’re creating podcasts for a British market, we’re not going global, that’s not necessarily what a podcast strategy should be." The other two podcasts are understood to be about football and business start-ups.
|
https://digiday.com/media/joe-media-uk-kicks-off-podcasting-three-series-month/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=170905
|
2017-09-05 07:54:06.527000
|
Joe Media U.K. is jumping into podcasting with three podcast series this month.
The most fully-formed is a weekly hour-long interview series called “Unfiltered,” where presenter and journalist James O’Brien interviews figures from sport, politics, music and entertainment. In the works is also a weekly football podcast series and a weekly entrepreneurial podcast series, both around the one hour mark and distributed across platforms including Soundcloud, Stitcher and iTunes.
Joe Media’s monetization model is to create a product, like a weekly Facebook Live show, and get one brand on board as a sponsor. As yet there are no brands signed up to sponsor these podcasts, said Niall McGarry, owner of Joe Media parent company Maximum Media.
“You make better money long term off the back of a good product, we’re not answering to private investors so there’s not the pressure to be overly profitable,” he said. “We’re happy to wash our own face and give people the product they want.”
While McGarry said it’s unlikely that “Unfiltered” will sign up a sponsor, he’s expecting it to pull in weekly listeners of up to 50,000 in the first four months, with weekly listener numbers reaching a quarter of a million in the longer term. “The podcast market is still embryonic in the U.K.,” he said.
“Unfiltered” presenter James O’Brien has been credited with making radio go viral after short video clips of his radio shows have notched up millions of views on Facebook. Joe Media will also distribute the full podcast episodes on its YouTube channel, where it has 38,000 subscribers, and chop up the best moments to market the podcast on Facebook, where it has 4 million followers, and Twitter. Sponsored brands will also have exposure here.
This is part of Joe Media’s growth as a distributed media company. A frivolous one-minute long compilation video of TV presenter Richard Madeley can sit happily alongside a four-thousand-word article on gender equality or an hour-long podcast interview on politics. “Humans are more rounded individuals, it’s not just banter central,” said McGarry. This also offers more breadth for advertisers.
Joe Media is currently building its fourth studio to cater for more audio programming. The U.K. operation has 50 employees, currently on LinkedIn it’s advertising for an audio editor and a creative director plus three other roles, McGarry estimates the headcount will reach 80 in the next six months.
This year McGarry estimates the company will turnover about £3 million ($3.9 million), roughly four times what it brought in the previous year, and it has been “modestly profitable.” Programmatic is a growing part of its revenue, 70 percent comes from branded content. Of next year’s turnover, which McGarry is estimating at roughly £12 million ($15.5 million), audio will be 15 percent.
While in Ireland this year’s turnover is predicted to be €8.5 million ($10.1 million). Growth has been quick: In May Maximum Media was number 250 in the Financial Times’ list of Europe’s 1,000 fastest growing companies by revenue.
Joe Media has two podcast series in Ireland, with several more planned for launch. “The GAA Hour,” featuring interviews about the Gaelic Athletic Association has been sponsored by Allied Irish Bank for the last two years. It’s hoping to repeat this success in the U.K.
“Advertising is bought locally,” points out McGarry. “We’re creating podcasts for a British market, we’re not going global, that’s not necessarily what a podcast strategy should be. We want to be as big as possible in Britain, brand budgets will come from ad agencies in Britain, they won’t pay for listens around the world.”
Image: courtesy of Joe Media.
|
Pernod Ricard saves $70m by taking a quarter of ad spend in-house
|
French spirits company Pernod Ricard's media team saved the company €60m ($71.5m) during H1 2017 by purchasing directly 25% of its digital media, instead of relying on agencies. The savings will be reinvested in the firm's advertising budgets, while the company gains a better understanding of its media investments. Thibaut Portal, head of the global media hub, likens working with agencies to a partnership that works to a common set of goals. "Our objective is not to buy media at the cheapest cost – it doesn’t mean anything," said Portal.
|
https://digiday.com/marketing/pernod-ricard-takes-ad-buying-house-sees-benefits/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=170905
|
2017-09-05 07:45:28.250000
|
Pernod Ricard is part of a wave of marketers taking more media buying in-house.
The spirits maker has a small team of media buyers buying inventory directly from demand-side platforms such as Adobe Advertising Cloud (formerly TubeMogul) and Google’s DoubleClick Bid Manager. For instance, the business now asks that media agencies use client-preferred DSPs that allows its marketers to log in and manage buys in real time. This way Pernod Ricard controls the contract with the DSP, if not the operation, utilizing the software’s managed service tools to run it.
Today, a quarter of Pernod Ricard’s digital media is bought by its own media buyers rather than its agencies. The company saved €60 million ($71.5 million) in the the first half of the year, half of it being reinvested back into its advertising. It’s a decision Pernod Ricard told investors last week it wouldn’t have made without the assurances of its own internal expertise.
“We [Pernod Ricard] had to readjust ourselves to make sure that we speak the same language as our partners and understand what’s going on [with our investments] so that we can then play that back within our marketing,” said Thibaut Portal, who heads up the global media hub. “Our objective is not to buy media at the cheapest cost — it doesn’t mean anything.”
Media budget cuts across the package-goods sector may have agencies worried but at Pernod Ricard there are no plans to make any major changes to its own spending. As Gilles Bogaert, the company’s managing director for finance and operations recently told financial analysts, the business is reinvesting a sizeable proportion of corporate-wide savings back into its media budgets. Bogaert explained: “In total, we estimate that the advertising and promotion efficiencies represent, more or less, half of the €200 million ($238.3 million) [savings we plan to make between 2016 and 2020]. And as you know, we decided to invest half of the €200 million ($238.3 million) into advertising and promotion. So net-net impact on the advertising and promotion ratio would be more or less neutral. But with, in reality, more efficiency behind our brands.”
But the pursuit of those efficiencies will not push media agencies away from Pernod Ricard like some advertisers are alleged to have done, assured Portal. A recent study from the World Federation of Advertisers that revealed some big brands are taking more digital expertise in-house was interpreted by some observers as the latest signal of the gradual disintermediation of the media agency.
However, Pernod Ricard’s own burgeoning media expertise is meant to give it a better understanding of its investments, while simultaneously easing the eroding margins of its agencies. Like it has done with its in-house content-production team, Pernod Ricard takes on more of the day-to-day costs of managing its media investments such as adapting content for different channels and localizing assets, while it’s agencies are tasked with the strategy and creative responsibilities.
Portal added, “What’s changed is our philosophy of remunerating the added value that the agencies are bringing; we’re remunerating the results and the performance of our investments [as they move down the supply chain]. … I believe because we have a common set of KPis and dashboards that we share with our agencies it means we’re sharing the same objectives in real time. It resembles a partnership rather than the advertiser being on one side and the supplier on another.”
Looking forward, Portal believes there are still points he and his team must address around viewability and the relevancy of metrics they receive from different partners. It will follow in the footsteps of P&G, Unilever and L’Oreal by coming up with its own viewability standards in the coming months, believing it is “a critical topic to improving our effectiveness.”
Pernod Ricard marketers no longer see video views as its key KPI. Instead, they are adjusting to completion rates and targeting to ensure ads are served as completely as possible to the right users. Portal added, “We’re going more in depth on assessing the real impact of media on sales. We need to close that loop.”
It’s why the company has placed a greater emphasis on collecting its own data over the last two years. The company’s run brand, for instance, has reportedly tested lead-generation ads on Facebook in recent weeks that collect email addresses, according to Adweek. After 10 days, the campaign collected 1,300 new leads and open rates between 43 and 77 percent, per Salesforce.
Portal concluded, “As a wine and spirits producer with a commitment toward responsible drinking and advertising to people over the legal drinking age, we already have strong mandates around brand safety, fraud and transparency. I’m not saying [this year’s events] are minor issues, but we were well prepared because we’ve been doing it [taking more responsibility of our media strategy] for years.”
|
Indian trading body pushes measures to promote digital payments
|
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has suggested introducing tax rebates to help promote digital payments across the country. The trading body urged the government to set up a regulator for digital payments to help achieve the goal of becoming a cashless economy. It also suggested setting up a reward scheme for sellers and consumers, and pushing for quicker adoption of QR code-based payment systems.
|
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/tax-rebates-to-consumerstraders-to-promote-digital-payments/articleshow/60375529.cms
|
2017-09-05 07:07:27.887000
|
NEW DELHI: Traders body CAIT today suggested several measures such as tax benefits to both consumer and merchant to promote digital payments in the country.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said to achieve goals like cashless economy and reaching 2,500 crore digital transactions, the government needs to set up a regulatory authority for digital payment systems.
"Tax rebates for consumers for certain types of digital payments will be an important step. Also similar benefits should be extended to merchants either in the form of sales tax," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal told reporters here.
The confederation has prepared a report on universal access to infrastructure and open payment systems. In this, it has also recommended formulation of a digital payments policy.
The other suggestions include implementation of reward scheme for merchants and consumers; faster adoption of mobile QR code based card acceptance solutions, formation of digital payments board and an authority to monitor Rupay.
Khandelwal said to better encourage universal adoption and socialisation of digital payments, the government should remove requirement for banks to report electronic transactions and make consumers fearless to go for cashless economy.
"There should be no card refusal and no surcharge should be levied on digital payments as it would act as a deterrent to promote such payments. There is a need to increase POS terminals besides allowing non-bank finance companies to issue digital payments," he added.
He urged the government to implement the recommendations of Watal Committee report on digital payments.
"Today 96 per cent of transactions are done in cash and our country has only about 25 lakh POS terminals. This needs to increase rapidly," Khandelwal said.
The government had demonetised high value currency (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes) last November and has been promoting a less cash economy through greater push on digital payments.
The CAIT will forward these suggestions to the ministries of finance and commerce, and state governments. RR MR
|
Co-living developer to let tenants pay rent in bitcoin
|
London co-living property developer The Collective has become the first UK firm to allow tenants to pay their deposits in bitcoin. The company, which pioneers collective living arrangements for young professionals similar to university halls of residents, will also accept rent payments in the cryptocurrency from later this year. The price of bitcoin hit a record high of £3,627 ($4,700) last week, a rise of 350% since the start of the year, but critics have warned it remains a risky investment. The Association of Residential Letting Agents also expressed doubts about electronic currencies becoming mainstream for rental income.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/04/london-rental-tenants-deposits-bitcoin-collective-rent
|
2017-09-05 06:47:46.333000
|
A London property developer is to allow its tenants to pay their deposits in bitcoin – the first time the virtual currency has been used in the UK residential homes market.
Co-living pioneer The Collective has announced that prospective tenants can pay deposits from Monday in bitcoin. By the end of this year it will also accept rent payments in the cryptocurrency. This is the first time in the UK a major property developer has enabled bitcoin payments. The Collective said it was in response to demand predominantly from international customers.
The price of bitcoin hit a record high of $4,700 (£3,627) last week, having risen by 350% since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin is the world’s first decentralised currency and is not controlled by any government or bank. While increased global recognition is leading to mainstream adoption, critics warn that – as a vehicle popular with speculators looking to make a quick buck – it is volatile, risky and potentially dangerous.
However, from Monday The Collective’s online booking form for its Old Oak co-living scheme – the world’s largest co-living development,with 550 rooms, which launched last May and where rent starts from £178 a week for a 10 sq m space – will accept bitcoin deposits. The standard deposit is £500 – for all unit types and sizes – and The Collective has pledged “spot conversion”, which means it will bear any financial risk while holding the deposit, returning it at the original value when the tenancy finishes.
Tenants will have the ability to pay their rent using bitcoin from this autumn.
The Collective is like a student halls of residence but for people starting their career in London
“The rise and adoption of cryptocurrency globally, particularly bitcoin, is a fascinating development in how people store value and transact for goods and services worldwide,” said The Collective’s chief executive and founder, Reza Merchant. “With many savers and investors now choosing and becoming more comfortable with cryptocurrency, people will expect to be able to use it to pay for life’s essentials, including housing deposits and rent.”
However, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) expressed reservations. “There may be niche parts of the market that would be willing to accept bitcoin in exchange for traditional rental income,” said David Cox, chief executive of Arla Propertymark, but I think the bitcoin and electronic currency market is still in its infancy and the market will need to develop more before it becomes a mainstream payment method for rent.”
The Collective’s head of technology, Jon Taylor, said: “One of the biggest barriers to the popularity of bitcoin is making it more consumer-friendly, and we believe this will become established as an easy and convenient way to pay deposits.”
The Collective’s model is to give tenants a hassle-free life similar to that in a student hall of residence, but for people starting out on their career. Its expanding facilities offer a 21st-century alternative to flat-sharing, the traditional rite of passage for twentysomethings arriving in the capital. Tenancy levels are typically 97.7% and the first Collective baby was born in August, although the family has since had to move out as children and pets are not allowed to live in the building.
The company recently announced that the London Legacy Development Corporation was set to grant the world’s first “co-living” planning permission for its latest building, a 250-room, 19-storey development in Stratford, east London, which will open in late 2018 or early 2019. It has also acquired a third major site in London’s Canary Wharf.
|
Insurtech could save Asian insurers $300bn a year by 2025: UBS
|
The Asian insurance market could make savings of $300bn annually by 2025, thanks to improvements brought about by insurtech – benefits that would eventually be passed on to the consumer, according to UBS. It said mobile apps and online aggregators would help make shopping for insurance easier, while streamlining and increased automation would speed up the claims process, making it more attractive to the underserved Asian market, where only 13% of the population holds insurance policies.
|
https://www.hubbis.com/news/ubs-tips-insurtech-to-create-cost-savings-for-asian-insurers
|
2017-09-05 06:44:17.043000
|
Privacy Policy
Hubbis is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our users while providing a personalised and valuable service. This Privacy Policy statement explains the data processing practices of Hubbis. If you have any requests concerning your personal information or any queries with regard to these practices please contact our Privacy Officer by e-mail at [email protected]
Our site contain links to third party sites which are not subject to this privacy policy. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of any such sites that you visit.
Information Collected
We collect personally identifiable information about you (your “Data”) through:
the use of enquiry and registration forms
your purchase of any our products or services
the provision of your details to us either online or offline
The elements of your data that we collect may include:
Name
Job title
Company name
Company address, phone and fax number
Mobile telephone number
E-mail address
Educational history, work experience and other information from your CV if you provide this to us
We may also collect information that we request from you regarding your use of our service or that we collect automatically about your visit to our sites. Please see our Cookie Policy for more details.
Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
We use your Data for purposes which may include:
providing our users with a personalised service
processing orders, registrations and enquiries
conducting market research surveys
allowing users to participate in interactive features of our service, where they choose to do so
We may also disclose your information to business partners and to third party suppliers we engage to provide services which involve processing data on our behalf, successors in title to our business or in accordance with a properly executed court order or as otherwise required to do so by law. We reserve the right to fully co-operate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requiring or requesting us to disclose the identity or other usage details of any user of our sites.
We also use information in aggregate form (so that no individual user is identified by name):
to build up marketing profiles
to aid strategic development
to manage our relationship with advertisers
to audit usage of the site
We use technology on some of the pages of our websites, which may record user movements, including page scrolling, mouse clicks and text entered. It will not record financial information such as credit or debit card details. The data we collect in this way helps us to identify usability issues, to improve the assistance and technical support we can provide to users and is also used for aggregated and statistical reporting purposes.
Security Policy
Hubbis has appropriate measures in place to ensure that our users’ Data is protected against unauthorised access or use, alteration, unlawful or accidental destruction and accidental loss. User Data may be transferred outside Hubbis to data processors such as fulfilment houses but they will act only on our instructions to provide the services required.
Transfer of Data
The Internet is a global environment. Using the Internet to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis. Therefore, by browsing Hubbis sites and communicating electronically with us you acknowledge and agree to our processing of personal data in this way. By agreeing to our transfer of your Data to third party organisations for them to send you details of products and services offered (as detailed above) you are deemed to provide your consent to any transfer of your Data to or within any organisation.
User Access and Control of Data
If you wish to amend any of the Data which we hold about you, or update your marketing preferences, please contact admin or visit the “Contact Us” section of our website.
|
Grab rolls out P2P payments
|
Malaysia-based ride-hailing company Grab has launched GrabPay Credits, a peer-to-peer instant fund transfer feature for its mobile wallet in Singapore. Initially enabling payments between users, before being extended to merchants, Grab aims to tempt more than 1,000 firms to the app. The move is part of Grab's ambition to become Southeastern Asia's universal mobile payments solution, and follows the introduction of a GrabPay authentication PIN to add an extra layer of security to its mobile wallet.
|
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31016/ride-hailing-app-grab-introduces-p2p-payments-feature
|
2017-09-05 06:38:12.953000
|
Southeast Asian ride-hailing service Grab is venturing further into the payments market, adding a P2P instant fund transfer feature to its app in Singapore.
Users will be able to transfer 'GrabPay Credits' to one another and, from later in the year, to merchants. Grab says that it aims to team up with more than 1000 firms that are cash-reliant, enabling them to accept digital payments through its GrabPay mobile wallet.
Jason Thompson, head, GrabPay, says: "Every day, over 75% of Grab users in Singapore go cashless and use GrabPay to pay for rides. Grab users are familiar with using mobile payments for daily transactions, via the Grab app.
"Fund transfer is the first step to expand the use of GrabPay as a mobile wallet. Today, users can transfer money to one another; in the coming months, they can look forward to use GrabPay to buy food or other goods and services from physical shops."
Grab has made no secret of its efforts to become "the #1 universal mobile payments solution in Southeast Asia". In April, the firm agreed to buy Indonesian digital payments outfit Kudo to boost the GrabPay business.
Meanwhile, as it asks customers to put faith in its ability to protect their money, the firm has introduced a new six-digit GrabPay PIN as a second factor authentication to make the mobile wallet more secure. Customers with more than $150 worth of credits in their account are required to activate the PIN.
|
Vanguard casts its first vote against Exxon on climate report
|
Vanguard has voted against Exxon Mobil for the first time to make the oil and gas giant report on climate change. The Exxon shareholder measure passed at the company's AGM earlier this year, according to proxy voting records published by Vanguard. The fund company had previously refused to disclose its specific company votes. Vanguard also voted against management at Occidental Petroleum over a similar measure, but did vote with oil and gas managements in a majority of 2017 proxy measures.
|
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/31/investing-power-vanguard-votes-against-exxon-mobil-on-climate-change.html
|
2017-09-05 06:26:17.810000
|
The four hottest years on record were 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, according to government institutions including NOAA and NASA.
It's official: index fund giant Vanguard Group voted against Exxon Mobil management for the first time to require the oil and gas giant to report on climate change, according to proxy voting records published by Vanguard on Thursday.
The Exxon Mobil shareholder measure passed at the company's annual meeting earlier this year, a victory shareholder advocates said could not have happened without the vote of Vanguard, though the fund company had refused to reveal its specific company votes before Thursday's official disclosure.
Vanguard also voted against management at Occidental Petroleum over a similar climate measure — also expected based on the results from the Occidental Petroleum shareholder meeting earlier this year. But Vanguard did vote with oil and gas management and against shareholder climate proposals in a majority of 2017 proxy measures.
The two votes against Exxon and Occidental management contrast with Vanguard's votes against shareholders putting forward climate proposals at Noble Energy , Marathon Petroleum , Devon Energy , Chevon and Kinder Morgan .
Vanguard also voted against requiring Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to report on climate and divest from fossil fuel holdings.
A Vanguard spokeswoman said its decisions have more to do with how the shareholder proposals are worded and not the fund company's commitment to climate policy among its holdings. "While we believe the issue is real, we may not believe the proposal meets our threshold for support."
Vanguard, the world's largest index mutual fund manager with $4 trillion under management, has not been known for its shareholder activism, but its influence as an investor is large and growing. The fund giant took in more than $300 billion in 2016, while the rest of the mutual fund industry combined had investor redemptions. "With Exxon and to a lesser extent Occidental, these votes can also be seen as bellwethers for the entire industry that major investors are expecting action on climate risk disclosure," said Jon Hale, the director of sustainability research at Morningstar.
BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors, two other investing giants with large exchange-traded fund businesses, have received higher marks in past years from shareholder advocates for commitment to social and environmental issues. Both voted the same way as Vanguard on Exxon and Occidental.
Hale noted that State Street was the strongest voice among the investing giants, voting in favor of six of the seven shareholder climate change measures among S&P 500 energy companies, with the exception of Noble Energy. He said most seemed to be similar in scope.
"What seems to be going on with Vanguard is that they are giving companies time to make progress towards improving their climate disclosures, but in the cases of Exxon and Occidental, they felt they had already done so and not seen the progress they were expecting. That leads me to believe that these other companies will either have to show improvement this year or we should expect Vanguard to vote for the resolution next year."
He also noted that State Street has been active on this issue for a lot longer than Vanguard.
"Funds are not immune from the attraction of taking action at a few high-profile companies to put down a marker that companies need to be more transparent about climate risks, in general," said Heidi Welsh, founding executive director of the Sustainable Investments Institute.
|
Schroders unveils carbon footprint investment guide
|
UK asset manager Schroders has launched the Carbon VAR model, a new addition to its broader investment toolkit. The model helps businesses understand how higher carbon prices could affect their profitability in the future, demonstrating that in high-risk sectors such as construction, steel and commodity chemicals, profits could fall by 80%. "The results don’t bear much resemblance to carbon footprints, underlining the dangers of assuming funds or portfolios with low footprints will be insulated if policies toughen", said Andy Howard, Head of Sustainable Research at Schroders.
|
http://www.managersofwealth.com/article/53776/schroders-unveils-climate-change-investment-model
|
2017-09-05 06:22:18.037000
|
In order to read this article you will need to subscribe, please click here
If you already have an account, Click here to login.
---
|
London forecast to be fastest growing market for Chinese tourism
|
Chinese tourist visits to London are predicted to double to 330,000 between 2016 and 2025, making London the fastest growing market for China, according to London & Partners. The London promotional agency that works on behalf of the mayor's office also predicted Chinese visits to India will rise by 90% and to the US and the UAE by 43% over the same period. Spending by Chinese visitors in London is expected to rise by 129% from £218.5m ($283m) in 2016 to £500.7m ($647m) in 2025. A Chinese tourist spends an average of £1,800 on a visit to the capital.
|
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-09/05/content_31583949.htm
|
2017-09-05 06:21:42.247000
|
The number of visitors London attracts from China is expected to double to 330,000 by 2025, according to forecast issued by the office of the UK capital's mayor.
London hosted 160,000 tourists from China in 2016, according to London & Partners, the Mayor of London's official promotional agency.
The predicted 103-percent rise means China is set to become London's fastest-growing major tourism market, followed by India which is expected to rise by 90 percent and the US and the United Arab Emirates which are both projected to grow by 43 percent.
Chinese visitors' spending in London is also set to rise 129 percent from 218.5 million pounds ($283 million) last year to an estimated 500.7 million pounds in 2025. Each Chinese visitor spends an average of about 1,800 pounds during their stay in London, twice the 900-pound-per-week gross weekly household income in London.
Speaking at a launch event for London's Autumn tourism season, the city's Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "Chinese visitors－tourists, students, entrepreneurs, and business people -are so important to London being the great city that we are." "I welcome the contribution that Chinese men and women make to our great city," he added.
Goldman Sachs Research predicts that the number of Chinese passport holders will increase by 100 million over the next decade.
World Bank Departures data also shows rapid growth in China's outbound travelers, from 2.4 annual departures per 100 people in 2005 to 8.5 per 100 in 2015.
Khan was promoting a series of events being held across London over the coming months as part of its Autumn calendar.
These include the West End opening of hit musical Hamilton; the Museums at Night Festival; the MTV European Music Awards; and the return of the NFL at the Wembley and Twickenham stadiums.
A fifth of all Chinese visitors to London in 2016 arrived between October and December. Over half arrived in the Summer quarter, and around 14 percent arrived in both the Winter and Spring quarters.
Khan also announced the launch of A Tourism Vision for London, a new long-term campaign to promote the capital.
London & Partners will collaborate with 100 industry leaders, including Gatwick Airport and Hilton Hotels, to attract more first-time visitors, boost visitor numbers in off-peak periods and harness technology to engage tourists.
Promotional efforts targeting Chinese tourists last year saw record growth in visitor numbers at some of London's attractions.
The Royal Museums Greenwich－which include the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House, the Royal Observatory, and 19th Century tea vessel the Cutty Sark -saw a 78 percent year-on-year increase of Chinese visitors in June 2017, following a campaign promoting the museums in China in 2016.
|
Manage Damage unveils plan to help cut worker insurance costs
|
Queensland-based company Manage Damage has unveiled what it has dubbed a "world first" solution to reducing the cost of worker insurance for global businesses. Speaking at the World Congress on Safety & Health at Work in Singapore, Jillian Hamilton, MD of Manage Damage, said the company's innovative "risk dollarisation" distilled all company non-financial information and translated it into financial terms, so "management can see where issues lie and where true associated costs are located".
|
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Australian-Company-reveals-new-solution-for-Global-Worker-Risk-1002305133
|
2017-09-05 06:15:42.813000
|
Risk Dollarisation - breakthrough financial approach for worker health and safety management
SINGAPORE, Sept. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian risk advisory firm, Manage Damage presented their innovative approach to reducing costs of worker insurance to global business today in Singapore at the 2017 World Congress on Safety & Health at Work. The Congress is jointly organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Social Security Association (ISSA), bodies of the United Nations.
Jillian Hamilton, Managing Director of Manage Damage, introduced their unique approach within the symposium 'Prevention pays! The role of accident insurance and the return on work reintegration'. The Manage Damage methodology of analysis is of interest globally as countries seek to strengthen the global workforce.
"Business, international labour organisations and governments have struggled to find ways to define the true cost of non-financial risk as they seek to build a stronger global workforce, our methodology is a world first to prove in fiscal terms that prevention pays," said Hamilton.
Non-financial risk targets those areas not measured in financial terms - the support and shared services in an organisation. The full financial position of these services is not usually known as associated costs are either not identified or hidden across operational or financial structures.
The Manage Damage process analyses the costs such as safety, health, environment, quality and human resources across the whole of business and converts this information into financial terms to be easily addressed by boards and senior leadership.
"Manage Damage is about reducing risk across the whole of a business. We call our philosophy 'Risk Dollarisation'. Our methodology converts non-financial risk into dollar terms to enable management to more easily address the complex interplay of these factors within a business and reduce associated costs. Management can see where issues lie and where true associated costs are located," said Hamilton.
Companies obtain complete visibility of true damage costs and opportunities to manage the damage are highlighted. This unique approach to 'dollarising' risk reduces the cost of damage and the negative impact on a company's bottom-line.
"We are seeing great interest from both large business and government globally in our approach. This is an area which has been pushed into the too hard basket by management as it has been difficult to address in clear fiscal terms. Our methodology solves this problem."
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/australian-company-reveals-new-solution-for-global-worker-risk-300513333.html
SOURCE Manage Damage
|
China's shipbuilders tap into surge in cruise ship tourism
|
A surge in Chinese tourists' love of cruise ships has led to an increase in Chinese shipbuilders targeting the sector, which accounted for nearly half of global orders last year. The Beijing government is encouraging cruise ship building as part of its "Made in China 2025" initiative. "In addition to China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), quite a few other Chinese shipbuilders, such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and China Merchants Heavy Industry, are proactive in cruise liner building", said Fu Chunhong of Marintec China.
|
http://maritime-executive.com/article/chinese-yards-look-to-cruise-boom
|
2017-09-05 06:10:59.607000
|
Chinese Yards Look to Cruise Boom
Chinese shipbuilders are increasingly interested in cruise ship building, a segment that accounted for nearly half of global orders last year.
China’s government has made cruise ship building a major objective in its “Made in China 2025” program, aiming to tap into the $117 billion industry with upgrades to its domestic capacity.
China Daily reports Fu Chunhong, vice-chairman of the Chinese organizing committee of Marintec China, saying: "In addition to China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), quite a few other Chinese shipbuilders, such as China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and China Merchants Heavy Industry, are proactive in cruise liner building."
China's first locally-built cruise ship will be delivered from Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, part of CSSC, in 2023. CSSC is working with Fincantieri and Lloyd’s Register on the project and has also attracted foreign suppliers such as Wärtsilä to set up joint ventures. The order is for two 5,000-passenger cruise ships and is part of a $1.5 billion deal signed in February which includes an option for four more ships.
Other Chinese yards are rumored to be offering discounts of up to 30 percent to win orders. In March, China Merchants won an order for up to 10 vessels for Miami-based SunStone Ships, and Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry won an order from Finland’s Viking Line in April for a cruise ferry. Reuters reports Viking Line’s CEO Jan Hanses, saying he received interest from six Chinese yards, including Guangzhou International Shipyard, Yantai CIMC Raffles and AVIC Weihai Shipyard.
Some European shipbuilders fear China could come to dominate the cruise ship market, much as it has done in cargo ships over recent decades. “This is a state objective that threatens to cause tremendous distortion in competition,” Reinhard Luken, chief executive of the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association, told Reuters last month. The Association represents German maritime firms such as shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries stopped building cruise ships last year after its losses on two vessels for Carnival Corporation topped $2 billion.
|
Aramco uses advanced seismic imaging to re-explore Empty Quarter
|
Saudi Aramco is using advanced seismic technology to look again at assets in the country's Empty Quarter after previously failing to find recoverable amounts of natural gas. The technique analyses the effects of artificially induced shockwaves to build up a three-dimensional picture of the structure of rock to a depth of several kilometres, to help identify locations likely to have oil and gas deposits. Technology has advanced to the degree that “data that would have previously taken 15 to 20 years to collate can now be consolidated in two to three years", Aramco said on its website.
|
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Aramco-Is-Using-Advanced-Tech-To-Search-For-New-Oil-Reserves.html
|
2017-09-05 06:07:00.677000
|
Saudi Aramco is deploying advanced seismic testing technology to explore again areas of the desert known as the Empty Quarter, a move that could help it to raise its proved oil and gas reserves ahead of the planned listing of 5 percent in the company next year, expected to be the world’s biggest IPO ever.
Aramco’s crew is exploring an area spanning 15,400 square kilometers (5,946 square miles) around Turayqa—an onshore conventional gas field discovered in 2013, which contains no oil. Part of that desert area has been explored before by Aramco joint ventures with foreign firms, but previous exploration efforts did not find recoverable volumes of oil or gas.
“Data processing is ongoing. The area partially covers areas relinquished by some of the joint ventures,” Aramco told Reuters.
According to the feature on Aramco’s website, technology has made giant leaps in recent years and “Data that would have previously taken 15 to 20 years to collate can now be consolidated in two to three years.”
According to industry and technology experts briefed by Reuters, the advanced seismic technology may boost the chances of successful exploration missions, but in order to prove reserves, drilling still will be necessary.
It is yet unclear if those state-of-the-art technologies will change Aramco’s crude oil and condensate reserves, which Saudi Arabia has been reporting at around 260 billion barrels for decades.
In Saudi Aramco’s 2016 annual review published last month, crude oil and condensate reserves are placed at 260.8 billion barrels, slightly down from 261.1 billion barrels in 2015.
Related: Texas Shale Hit Hard By Hurricane Harvey
Now Saudi Aramco must open its books for auditing ahead of the initial public offering, and any significant change in oil reserves will greatly impact the company’s valuation for the IPO. Saudi officials claim the company is worth around US$2 trillion.
Earlier this year, most fund managers were evaluating Aramco at below US$1.5 trillion. That was just before Saudi Arabia cut the tax rate on Aramco to 50 percent from 85 percent, which caused some analysts, including Rystad Energy, to raise their valuation of the Saudi company’s upstream portfolio.
ADVERTISEMENT
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
|
Redrow Redrow calls for change at Construction Industry Training Board
|
John Tutte, Redrow's chief executive, has criticised the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) ahead of a crucial vote on the body's future. Many of the UK's housebuilders are reported to be preparing to vote to scrap the CITB levy, effectively ending the 43-year old training board. Tutte said it is no longer achieving what it was set up to achieve and needed reform, though he stopped short of saying it should be scrapped. His comments came as Redrow announced record results, with pre-tax profit rising 26% to £315m ($408m).
|
https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/markets/sectors/housing/redrow-chief-citb-not-delivering-for-housebuilders/10023120.article
|
2017-09-05 05:50:49.267000
|
Redrow chief executive John Tutte has called for change at the CITB after accusing the training body of not “delivering what it was set up to do”.
Speaking to Construction News, Mr Tutte said his firm wanted to see reform at the CITB, although he stopped short of calling for the training body to be scrapped.
“There is a lot of doubt about the CITB at the moment and there’s no doubt that it’s not been delivering what it was set up to do,” he said.
“But that’s not a great surprise; the CITB was established 60 years ago when the construction sector looked a hell of a lot different from what it does today.
“There is certainly some concern about the direction the CITB has gone in; it’s not really adapted to the housebuilding market.”
Construction News revealed last month that the majority of the country’s housebuilders look set to vote against the continuation of the CITB when they have their say on its future this month.
It is understood that many of the UK’s housebuilders, including HBF members, are lining up to vote to scrap the CITB levy, and thereby opting against continuing with the 43-year-old training board.
While he did not reveal which way his firm would vote, Mr Tutte said Redrow’s view was that “there needs to be change” at the CITB.
“That doesn’t mean you have to scrap it, but I think it needs some reform.”
Mr Tutte was speaking after the housebuilder revealed record results for the year to 30 June 2017, with revenue rising 20 per cent year on year to hit £1.66bn.
Profit before tax rose 26 per cent to £315m, up from £250m, giving a pre-tax margin of 19.4 per cent.
Legal completions hit an all-time high of 5,416, up 15 per cent on its previous year.
The housebuilder’s order book increased 14 per cent to reach £1.1bn, up from £967m, while employee numbers were up 12 per cent to 2,200.
The results have led Redrow to update its medium-term guidance, with the company now expecting turnover of £2.2bn by 2020, along with pre-tax profit of around £430m. Its dividend is also due to increase to 32p per share by 2020.
Mr Tutte said the 2020 forecast was “clearly ahead” of its previous guidance, which went as far as 2019, and added that he did not expect “a huge impact” from the UK’s upcoming exit from the EU because of strong demand for housing.
He added although the housebuilder was concerned about labour supply, he had not seen EU workers “deserting [Redrow] sites at all”.
“We’re maintaining our level of EU labour, and I’m sure in the end sense will prevail and everybody will realise [EU workers] make a huge and important contribution to the UK housing and construction sectors.”
Redrow also revealed that chairman Steve Morgan would step back into a non-executive chairman role, and will begin the transition from his executive role during the current financial year.
“Eight years after returning to Redrow, I have decided to ease back from a full-time executive role towards a non-executive role,” Mr Morgan said.
“The transition is to take place during the current financial year. It is my intention to continue to focus with the board on the strategic development of the business and I will retain my keen involvement with the product and key important projects.”
City analysts welcomed the housebuilder’s results, with Liberum upgrading its estimates for the company by 5-6 per cent for its 2018 and 2019 financial years.
|
Employee fingerprint tech used to mask discontent: Unite
|
Sports Direct is using fingerprint technology to identify staff who express dissatisfaction with their working conditions and call them in to see management, according to the Unite union. The sportswear manufacturer, which has been criticised for exploiting staff, has introduced a survey in which workers can press a sad face emoticon on a touchpad to raise concern about their conditions. This then uses fingerprint recognition software to identify the employee, who can then be contacted by management to discuss their concerns. The company says it has multiple ways for staff to provide feedback, and challenged the union's claims.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/01/sports-direct-warehouse-staff-sad-happy-emoji-fingerprint-survey-workplace
|
2017-09-05 05:47:19.007000
|
Sports Direct warehouse staff who say they are unhappy with their working conditions are being identified by their fingerprints and asked to explain their grievances to management, according to the trade union Unite.
The leisurewear company has introduced a staff survey system at its Shirebrook warehouse, Derbyshire, which was at the centre of allegations of “gulag” conditions last year after a Guardian investigation.
When the warehouse’s 3,500 workers clock in, they are asked to press a touchpad featuring a happy or sad face emoji to indicate whether they are satisfied with working conditions.
If they press sad, they are asked whether they are sure about their decision and, if they press it again, they can be called in by managers to discuss why they did so.
Staff can be identified because the touchpad uses fingerprint recognition technology to identify those who express discontent.
The Shirebrook warehouse was at the centre of allegations of ‘gulag’ conditions after a Guardian investigation. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Unite said the staff survey system was “bogus” because workers were unlikely to be candid about their feelings if they could then be singled out for questioning.
“Put yourself in their shoes,” said the union’s assistant general secretary, Steve Turner.
“Would you risk having hours withheld, possibly losing your job and being called in by management because you indicated dissatisfaction with your work environment?”
Turner described the survey as “a bogus exercise to gloss over past failures and some of the problems” which he said still persisted at the warehouse.
Frank Field, the Labour MP who chairs of the work and pensions select committee, said an anonymous feedback system would be better.
“All it will reveal is how brave some staff are,” he said. “We ought to extend it to MPs and see how they feel about Sports Direct.”
Shirebrook became the focus of a parliamentary inquiry last year after a Guardian investigation revealed dismal working conditions, including body searches, pay below the minimum wage and constant fear of sacking for minor transgressions.
Unite said conditions were still poor and that the “vast majority” of workers were on contracts that guaranteed no more than 336 hours a year.
“With reports from agency workers of crowded aisles, defective warehouse equipment and products stacked dangerously high, we know that health and safety is still a major cause for concern,” said Turner.
“Gimmicks like using emojis do not escape the fact that Sports Direct’s reliance on thousands of insecure agency workers still poses a reputational risk or that many are still owed money for non-payment of the minimum wage.
“Sports Direct still has a long way to go to clean its act up and risks the charge of ‘business as usual’ until it makes temporary agency workers direct permanent employees.”
Sports Direct said it had put in place multiple ways to protect staff and allow them to provide feedback.
“We believe these comments by Unite do not accurately reflect the position at Sports Direct,” said a spokesperson. “We have a range of different measures in place to protect staff. These include a comprehensive system for staff to provide detailed feedback via an initiative called your company, your voice, plus a workers representative who attends meetings of the board.”
Sports Direct also had a “staff listening group, a staff health and safety committee and a staff wellbeing service”, said the spokesperson.
“Whilst we are disappointed with Unite’s stance we will continue to engage with the union, and we recently contacted Unite on this basis.”
|
Category 4 Hurricane Irma approaches Florida and Puerto Rico
|
Florida and Puerto Rico have both declared states of emergency as Hurricane Irma, recently upgraded to category 4, approaches. The storm's exact path remains unclear. "It definitely looks like we will be impacted by a major hurricane that is a Category 3, 4 or 5", says CNN meteorologist Tom Sater. Orange juice and cotton futures have soared in response to the hurricane threat to the southern states. A number of Caribbean islands have also issued hurricane warnings.
|
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/04/us/hurricane-irma-puerto-rico-florida/index.html?mc_cid=f132fc1c42&mc_eid=a37072368a
|
2017-09-05 05:09:57.883000
|
Story highlights New: Puerto Rico under hurricane warning "If there was a US landfall, we're talking a week from today," CNN meteorologist says
CNN —
Hurricane Irma strengthened to a Category 4 storm Monday, churning west in the Atlantic Ocean and prompting emergency declarations in Florida and Puerto Rico.
Although Irma’s path remains uncertain, the possibility it could threaten the United States led Florida Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency in all 67 counties in his state.
“In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared,” Scott said in a statement released late Monday afternoon. “This state of emergency allows our emergency management officials to act swiftly in the best interest of Floridians without the burden of bureaucracy or red tape.”
Scott said on Twitter he spoke to President Donald Trump Monday night. He said Trump “offered the full resources of the federal government as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Irma.”
The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, declared a state of emergency Monday and activated the National Guard. Hours later, the National Hurricane Center issued an hurricane warning for Puerto Rico.
Classes will not be held on Tuesday in the public education system nor in the University of Puerto Rico, according to a release from the governor’s office. Rosselló warned the public on Sunday that the island could feel Irma’s wrath around noon Wednesday.
As of 11 p.m. ET, Monday, Irma was about 410 miles (660 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands, the National Hurricane Center said. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) as it heads west at 13 mph (20 kph). Landfall is expected early Wednesday on the island of Anguilla.
Computer models show the system moving through the Caribbean, and by the end of week, it will turn right toward the north, said CNN meteorologist and weather anchor Tom Sater.
“There is a small window. If it turns sooner rather than later, we could maybe see the system slide by the East Coast into the ocean, but that window is shutting quickly,” Sater said. “It definitely looks like we will be impacted by a major hurricane that is a Category 3, 4 or 5.”
TRACK THE STORM HERE
Hurricane watches are in effect for the Nrn Leeward Islands. TS force winds are most likely to begin late Tuesday. https://t.co/bMPsoVzZbE pic.twitter.com/62ODI79Pmu — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 4, 2017
The hurricane center said swells generated by Irma would begin impacting the northern Leeward Islands on Monday.
“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the hurricane center said.
In addition to Puerto Rico, a string of Caribbean islands are now under hurricane warnings, including Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin/Sint Maarten and St. Barts, the hurricane center said.
“A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area,” the hurricane center said. “A warning is typically issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
And Irma will only strengthen this week, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar said. “Over the coming days, it’s going to get into that warmer water. That’s going to help the storm intensify.”
Puerto Ricans warned
Irma is expected to remain a “dangerous major hurricane” through the week and could directly affect the British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas, the agency said.
Puerto Rico’s disaster management agency, AEMEAD, is monitoring Irma and has opened an information hotline.
Florida governor says be prepared
It’s too soon to know the impact Irma could have on the continental United States, where no warnings or watches are in effect.
“Regardless, everyone in hurricane-prone areas should ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place, as we are now near the peak of the season,” the hurricane center said.
Chinchar said Irma could affect not just the eastern coast of Florida, but also farther up the East Coast.
“If there was a US landfall, we’re talking a week from today,” Chinchar said Monday.
Gov. Scott urged the state’s residents to ensure their disaster supply kits were ready. “Disaster preparedness should be a priority for every Florida family,” he tweeted Sunday
Read: Hurricane Irma could be next weather disaster
Why Irma could be especially intense
Irma is a classic “Cape Verde hurricane,” meaning it formed in the far eastern Atlantic, near the Cape Verde Islands (now known as the Cabo Verde Islands), before tracking all the way across the Atlantic, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.
And Cape Verde storms frequently become some of the largest and most intense hurricanes. Examples include Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Floyd, and Hurricane Ivan.
|
Texo carries out first drone-based LIDAR scan of offshore assets
|
Oil and gas asset inspection company Texo DSI said it has performed the first survey-grade light detection and ranging (LIDAR) scan of an offshore asset with a drone. Texo's drone used LIDAR and simultaneous location and mapping to scan Paragon Offshore's rig off the coast of Denmark. The analysis provides precision data on trends such as corrosion rates and enables more efficient management of assets over their life cycle. Additionally, using LIDAR scans reduces the risk to personnel who would be required to work at height or in confined spaces, said Pim Peters, drilling superintendent at Paragon Offshore.
|
http://www.scandoil.com/moxie-bm2/news/technology_news/texo-drone-survey-and-inspection-ukcs-complete-wor.shtml
|
2017-09-05 04:31:41.617000
|
Edit page New page Hide edit links
Texo Drone Survey and Inspection, has carried out the first ever Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) survey-grade LiDAR scan of an offshore asset, combined with ground-based Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) (photo: Texo DSI)
Texo DSI (UKCS) Ltd, the offshore division of Texo Drone Survey and Inspection, has carried out the first ever Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) survey-grade LiDAR scan of an offshore asset, combined with ground-based Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM).
A team from Texo DSI (UKCS) travelled to the Port of Esbjerg in Denmark, from where they went on to scan Paragon Offshore’s HZ1 jack up.
Texo DSI (UKCS) is the only company in the world to have built survey-grade LiDAR scanning technology, with the ability to capture data to a level of below 2mm, onto a bespoke UAV and integrated this with ground-based SLAM.
This allows the company, which owns and operates the world’s most comprehensive and dynamic fleet of UAVs, to deliver a fully integrated solution to the offshore oil and gas industry. The collaboration between the tailored, state-of-the-art equipment and precision data technology is proving a game changer, with applications in both engineering and asset lifecycle management.
Pim Peters, drilling superintendent at Paragon Offshore, says, “This was an exciting project to be a part of. The big gain for us is improving the quality of our inspections by having more accurate data, rather than relying on eyewitness feedback, and moving to comparative analysis on trends, specifically around corrosion rates.
“In addition, we can reduce the risk to personnel, with fewer working at height or in confined spaces, as well as having a more efficient set up which has significant economic advantages.”
John Wood, chief operating officer, Texo DSI (UKCS), adds, “This project heralds a new era for precision data collection for oil and gas assets. Our world-leading technology delivers real benefits to the oil and gas industry, driving much needed efficiencies and taking asset information modelling for asset integrity to a new level. Paragon Offshore is already seeing the advantages that faster, accurate, precision data can give them.”
|
Disease concerns rise as Houston deals with toxic water
|
Authorities and residents in Houston, Texas are facing a "suite of threats" as the waters dumped by Hurricane Harvey bring fears of fast-spreading disease and contamination. While the Environmental Protection Agency has said it will examine two as-yet-unidentified sites in Corpus Christi, where toxic waste could pose a threat to residents, hundreds of thousands of people affected by the natural disaster rely on contaminated private wells for their water, which are not covered by the city's authorities.
|
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/us/houston-contaminated-floodwaters.html
|
2017-09-05 04:14:09.767000
|
Officials in Houston are just beginning to grapple with the health and environmental risks that lurk in the waters dumped by Hurricane Harvey, a stew of toxic chemicals, sewage, debris and waste that still floods much of the city.
Flooded sewers are stoking fears of cholera, typhoid and other infectious diseases. Runoff from the city’s sprawling petroleum and chemicals complex contains any number of hazardous compounds. Lead, arsenic and other toxic and carcinogenic elements may be leaching from some two dozen Superfund sites in the Houston area.
Porfirio Villarreal, a spokesman for the Houston Health Department, said the hazards of the water enveloping the city were self-evident.
“There’s no need to test it,” he said. “It’s contaminated. There’s millions of contaminants.”
He said health officials were urging people to stay out of the water if they could, although it is already too late for tens of thousands.
“We’re telling people to avoid the floodwater as much as possible. Don’t let your children play in it. And if you do touch it, wash it off,” Mr. Villarreal said. “Remember, this is going to go on for weeks.”
Flooding always brings the danger of contamination and disease, though epidemics from floods in the United States have been rare. This inundation, which put nearly 30 percent of the nation’s fourth-largest city underwater, will pose enormous problems, both immediately and when the waters finally recede.
|
Gas to become world's primary energy source by 2035: DNV GL
|
Gas will become the world's primary source of energy by 2035, according to DNV GL's Energy Transition Outlook. Oil and gas will still make up 44% of the world's energy in 2050, down from 53% at present, according to the forecast. The global demand for energy is expected to level out in 2030, thanks to drastic increases in efficiency. Renewable energy will claim a larger slice of the market, with fossil fuels falling from 81% at present to 52% in 2050.
|
https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/05092017/gas-to-become-worlds-primary-energy-source-by-2035/
|
2017-09-05 04:04:31.267000
|
Oil and gas will be crucial components of the world’s energy future, according to DNV GL’s forecast of the energy transition. While renewable energy will grow its share of the energy mix, oil and gas will account for 44% of world energy supply in 2050, compared to 53% today. Gas will become the largest single source of energy from 2034.
DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook (ETO), a forecast that spans the global energy mix to 2050, predicts that global demand for energy will flatten in 2030, then steadily decline over the next two decades, thanks to step-changes in energy efficiency. The fossil fuel share of the world’s primary energy mix will reduce from 81% currently to 52% in 2050.
Demand for oil will peak in 2022, driven by expectations for a surge in prominence of light electric vehicles, accounting for 50% of new car sales globally by 2035. However, the stage is set for gas to become the largest single source of energy towards 2050, and the last of the fossil fuels to experience peak demand, which DNV GL expects will occur in 2035.
Gas will continue to play a key role alongside renewables in helping to meet future, lower-carbon, energy requirements. Major oil companies intend to increase the share of gas in their reserves, and DNV GL expect an accelerated shift by 2022 as they decarbonise business portfolios.
While demand for hydrocarbons will peak over the next two decades, significant investment will be needed to add new oil and gas production capacity and operate existing assets safely and sustainably. However, the results of DNV GL’s model reinforce the need to maintain strict cost efficiency in order to achieve the margins necessary for future capital and operational expenditure.
“We have seen impressive and important innovative efforts across the energy industry, resulting in cost saving and efficiency gains. The oil and gas industry must continue on a path of strict cost control to stay relevant. Coming from a tradition of technological achievements, and having the advantage of existing infrastructure and value chains, this industry has the potential to continue to contribute to energy security and shape our energy future,” said Elisabeth Tørstad, CEO, DNV GL – Oil & Gas.
“Increased digitalisation, standardisation and remote or autonomous operations will play a central role in achieving long-term cost savings and improving the oil and gas industry’s carbon footprint. We also expect the industry to turn to innovations in facility design, operating models and contracting strategies,” Tørstad added.
DNV GL has published a suite of reports on the Energy Transition Outlook, which are available to download free of charge. The main ETO report covers the transition of the entire energy mix to 2050. Three sector-specific supplements will accompany this: an oil and gas supplement and a renewable, power and energy supplement are both available this week. A maritime supplement will be available later this year. DNV GL’s oil and gas supplement considers some of the key trends identified by the company’s model across the sector’s value chain, and explores their implications.
|
UK retailers linked to child labour and slavery in Indian granite
|
A number of top UK retailers have withdrawn granite products from sale after they were found to be linked to child labour and abusive practices in Indian quarries. An investigation of 22 quarries and six processing plants found wages tied to extortionate loans, unsafe conditions and instances of children under 14 working on the sites. The joint report by the India Committee of the Netherlands and the Stop Child Labour campaign has prompted John Lewis and Habitat to suspend sales of star galaxy granite, and other suppliers are now examining their supply chains.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/sep/03/john-lewis-habitat-withdraw-granite-worktops-slavery-concerns
|
2017-09-05 03:31:36.957000
|
John Lewis and Habitat have pulled a range of granite worktops from sale over concerns their supply chains may be tainted with slavery and child labour.
Many other high-street businesses selling granite products such as kitchen worktops, tiles and tombstones are also likely to scrutinise their supply chains after investigators discovered that debt bondage, underage workers and unsafe, unhealthy working conditions are part and parcel of daily working life in Indian quarries.
India is the largest global producer of granite, accounting for 49% of the world’s raw stone export in 2015. Three-quarters of the country’s granite is mined in just three states – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. An investigation of 22 quarries and six waste stone processing sites in these states, recently published by the Dutch organisations India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) and Stop Child Labour, revealed major human rights and labour rights violations.
The violations included children under 14 working in waste stone processing, wages tied to extortionate loans, and safety equipment offered only when mining inspections were taking place.
The quarries’ performance was graded on six criteria: child labour, bonded labour, wages and social benefits, health, safety, and freedom of association.
More than 30 natural stone companies from the UK, EU, US, Australia and Canada are named in the report as sourcing products from the 22 quarries. None of the quarries has a prevention system for child labour.
One particularly problematic product is star galaxy granite, which is famed for its shimmer and often retails for £300 a square metre. It hails from only one area in the world: Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh.
Diewertje Heyl, ICN’s corporate social responsibility officer, told the Observer that the granite belt is located in a specific area in Prakasam, and that quarries are consequently located “side by side” to extract the stone. “There are a few quarries where conditions are better than others, but by and large the poor conditions we described in the report are representative of the sector as a whole.”
Given the complexity of global supply chains, and the scale of abuses outlined in the report, it would be “almost impossible” to ensure that any star galaxy granite is free of labour or human rights irregularities, Heyl added.
John Lewis told the Observer that “in light of this report and pending further investigation, we have made the decision to remove from sale black/star galaxy granite and are currently investigating all granite sources worldwide”.
The statement continued: “As a socially responsible retailer, we require our suppliers not only to obey the law but also to respect the rights, interests and well being of their employees, their communities and the environment. We do not source granite directly. We work with one UK importer who has signed up to the John Lewis code of practice on responsible sourcing, which sets out in detail the standards that we expect our suppliers to meet on labour standards and the environment.”
A star galaxy granite kitchen worktop, taken from the mistermarble website. Photograph: mistermarble.co.uk/products/granite-products/star-galaxy/
Habitat kitchens are sold by the in-store concession Kütchenhaus, which is the UK subsidiary of German company Nobilia. Nobilia is the world’s biggest kitchen manufacturer.
In a statement, Nobilia confirmed that, although it doesn’t supply the granite worktops sold by its UK subsidiary, “star galaxy granite samples have been removed from the Habitat stores and Habitat have now stopped selling star galaxy [worktops].”
The statement continued: “All products that are sold in a store next to or in combination with Nobilia products (and could therefore be associated with Nobilia) should meet the same high welfare, environmental and quality standards as the products supplied by us and we do not hesitate to take appropriate action if any supplier is found to be in violation of these standards.”The durability and versatility of granite, which is available in 200 shades, make it the most sought after stone in the world. It is used for everything from government buildings and pavements to kitchen worktops and gravestones, with prices often soaring to £350 a square metre for premium varieties.
Granite mining can be deadly: constant exposure to dust can cause the incurable lung disease silicosis, which is associated with tuberculosis and lung cancer. Mining accidents are common but often go unreported, and 62% of the workers told researchers they do not receive safety equipment unless there are labour inspections.
Yet granite suppliers, many of whom openly claim on their websites that they source from India, often describe their finished products in the most luxurious terms. Cosentino, a Spanish exporter named in the report which operates in 70 countries, boasts of its granite as “works of art that have required millennia to finish”.
The ICN report linked half a dozen UK companies – mistermarble, Grantech, Nile Trading, Blyth Marble, KSG UK and Beltrami – to the Indian quarries. All six also import star galaxy granite and have showrooms dotted around the country, from which they sell their stone products to individuals, tradesmen and businesses.
Grantech, based in north Wales and a “direct importer of granite from around the world”, has been linked in the report to one of the worst performing quarries, where workers are allegedly denied clean drinking water and child labour and debt bondage are rampant. Grantech’s director, Gregg Timothy Ashfield, is also the director of Buckley Memorials, a 250-year-old family business that counts expensive star galaxy granite tombstones among its products.
None of the six UK companies named in the report responded to requests for comment on their supply chains. The Observer also contacted a number of businesses around the UK selling granite worktops, tombstones and tiles, none of whom responded to requests for comment.
Gerard Oonk, director of ICN and senior adviser of the Stop Child Labour coalition, said: “Modern slavery is endemic in the granite industry and the UK market is an important destination for its products. We strongly urge both British stone companies and the UK government to take concerted action in tackling this issue, as real change is needed to save lives. The present Modern Slavery Act is not enough to make this happen alone, because more is needed than just reporting – and many smaller granite importers are not even obliged to report under this act.”
Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International, said the report posed “profound questions” regarding India’s attempts to tackle slavery and child labour.
“Indian quarrying has long been a byword for abuse and exploitation,” said McQuade. “Yet the companies that still source from India’s quarries are notably silent, including in their modern slavery statements, on how they are engaging with the Indian government to obtain the necessary fundamental reform of this sector to ensure that the enslavement of adults and children in quarrying is brought to an end.”
|
School fruit in England contains multiple pesticide residues
|
Free fruit and vegetables given to school children in England under a government scheme contain residues from multiple pesticides, according to a report by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN). Residues from 123 pesticides were identified over the past decade, while apples and bananas distributed in schools contained a greater number of residues than those available in supermarkets. While the government claims the residues are unlikely to be harmful, campaigners argue that the combined effect of different pesticides remains unknown. PAN said that using organic produce in the scheme would cost approximately 1 pence per child per day.
|
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/05/free-school-fruit-contains-multiple-pesticides-report-shows?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning+briefing&utm_term=242331&subid=18211254&CMP=ema-2793
|
2017-09-04 22:00:00
|
The free fruit and vegetables provided by the government to millions of young schoolchildren usually contain the residues of multiple pesticides, according to official tests collated in a new report.
In the last decade, residues of of 123 pesticides were found, while apples and bananas given out recently in schools contained more residues than those sold in supermarkets.
Government experts say “none of the residues are likely to result in any adverse health effects”. But campaigners argue there is great uncertainty about the combined effect of cocktails of pesticides and the increased susceptibility of children.
Pesticide Action Network (PAN), which released its new report as children return to school, said a precautionary approach should be taken and that switching the school scheme to organic produce would cost about 1p per child per day.
Since 2004, the Department of Health (DoH) has sought to promote healthy eating by providing one piece of fruit or vegetable every school day to children aged four to six years in England. The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) reaches about 2.3 million children in 16,300 schools and costs about £40m a year.
The DoH commissions testing of pesticide residues each term and PAN collated the results from 2005 to 2016. It found that 84% of the 2,238 items tested contained at least one pesticide and 66% contained multiple residues, with as many as 13 different chemicals in extreme cases.
Pesticides need to be toxic to kill the pests that destroy food crops and many of those found as residues are known to be harmful to humans. But their effect on health will depend on the dose to which people are exposed and any cocktail effect, The vast majority of the fruit and vegetables tested in the UK contain residues below the maximum level allowed.
PAN also found that the apples, bananas and raisins provided to schools in 2015 contained significantly more pesticide residues than those in tests of produce sold to the public. The reason for this is not known. However, the most commonly found residue, the fungicide imazalil, is discouraged by the Fairtrade scheme now common in supermarkets, while the SFVS bananas are not Fairtrade. Imazalil can cause developmental problems and may be carcinogenic.
“Our aim is not to alarm parents but they do have a right to know what chemicals are in the food being given to their children,” said Nick Mole at PAN. “While we applaud the DoH’s efforts to get children eating more fruit and vegetables, our research shows that the produce they are being given is generally worse than on the supermarket shelves. Given how little it would cost to switch the scheme to organic, the government shouldn’t be putting our children’s health at risk.”
Valentina Gallo, an epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, whose own daughter received fruit and vegetables through the scheme, said: “I think one should be reasonably concerned.”
“The report found a lot of pesticides, though we don’t know the doses,” she said. “It is true the cocktail effect may worsen the effect of pesticides and it is very true that children are much more vulnerable to pesticides. However, there is the balancing effect of eating more fruit and vegetables, because this protects against a lot of diseases.”
“Basically we don’t know enough,” Gallo said. “But there is a gap in research funding because there is a lot of lobbying, with big powers not wanting the research on pesticides to be carried out.”
A D0H spokeswoman said that just because a residue is present, it does not mean that it is harmful to health: “Fruit and vegetables supplied through the SFVS follow the same safety and quality legislation as all other fruit and vegetables in the UK. Maximum residue levels are set significantly below a level that could represent a risk to health, with the most sensitive individuals in the population taken into consideration.”
A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said: “The FSA is confident that pesticide maximum residue levels provide a good level of protection to consumers. On rare occasions when an MRL is exceeded, the FSA will assess if action is necessary to protect consumers.”
The FSA states that fruit and vegetables that have residues below the maximum legal level should not require washing and that in any case some residues are contained within the produce and therefore cannot be rinsed off.
Studying the impact of pesticides on human health is difficult because deliberately exposing people would be unethical. But a study published last week of more than 500,000 births to women living in a farming region of California found that those who were the most exposed to pesticides experienced a 5-9% increase in problems such as premature births and abnormalities.
Another recent study, in Canada, estimated that fruit and vegetable consumption prevented many more cancers than the associated pesticide residues caused, but said cutting pesticide exposure was still desirable.
|
How best to predict how much money solar-plus-storage will save
|
Companies seeking to invest in solar energy solutions supported by energy storage find it difficult to project the savings storage will bring. Energy storage vendors are increasingly producing analysis tools to help provide the necessary calculations, but these are of varying reliability. Amongst the variables that can cause difficulties are hard-to-predict factors such as weather patterns and changing load patterns. Modelling weather is difficult, and load variability is also subject to constant fluctuations. Faced with these challenges, investors can ask for performance guarantees that provide compensation if the system doesn't meet the expected performance levels.
|
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/the-elusive-art-of-predicting-energy-storage-savings-in-the-real-world/504098/
|
2017-09-04 21:00:00
|
Increasingly, companies shopping for solar energy solutions now consider supporting these installations with energy storage. But it remains a challenge to run the numbers and prove how much money a solar-plus-storage project will actually save.
To meet the need for quick and credible calculations, several energy storage vendors, integrators, and software providers have introduced energy storage analysis tools. All these tools claim—in various terms—to deliver accurate projections of the financial value of solar-plus-storage projects. But here’s the rub: What does accuracy mean in each case? Can companies rely on the results of these analyses as a reliable projection of future returns, or do they serve as an indication of possible value?
Often, it’s the latter, because some tools ignore important but hard-to-predict factors, such as future weather and changing load profiles. Their projections are based on best-case scenarios under ideal conditions or with predictable patterns. Yet if a company is going to decide whether to accept or reject a solar-plus-storage proposal based on the analysis provided by one of these tools, the software needs to be able to model the complexity of the real world. And due to that complexity, these tools require the guiding hand of an experienced energy storage professional.
Let’s unpack these two issues:
Accounting for hard-to-predict factors
Weather variability. The challenge of solar PV intermittency is not a problem of the changing position of the sun over a solar array. That impact is rather easy to calculate. It’s the cloud cover over the array that defies easy prediction, and that wreaks havoc on energy bills when facilities incur heavy demand charges because they need to draw power from the grid.
Appropriately sized energy storage can offset such intermittency, but it is impossible to size a system accurately without taking weather into account. A storage system that is too small won’t always meet the need, and demand charges will occur. A system that is too large will be financially infeasible.
Modeling weather variability is possible, but it requires analysis of stochastic (random probability), rather than deterministic (fixed probability) processes. Historical weather data is not enough, especially in an era of climate change. Deriving the appropriate stochastic model requires the collection of years of performance data from actual energy storage installations. This is why many of the newer software providers, as well as integrators that don’t own their storage equipment, agree not to talk about the weather.
Load variability. Most commercial and industrial facilities experience seasonal, daily and even minute by minute fluctuations in their loads. One can make competent assumptions about seasonal changes. Like the weather factor, unpredictable load variability is a reality that is very convenient to ignore.
Load variability is also a stochastic process, with many factors that can be accurately modeled only with advanced algorithms, derived from copious empirical data and industry experience.
The human component
Mathematical models are never perfect. Neither are people. But together, first-rate analysts and sophisticated algorithms can deliver the best attainable predictive accuracy. While algorithms excel in rapid, multifactor analysis, it takes an experienced human to decide which factors to analyze. Self-service online software tools—some of which are now tantalizingly free—can’t adequately accommodate the idiosyncrasies of a commercial solar-plus-storage project.
Experienced energy storage engineers are uniquely qualified, both to employ advanced energy storage analysis tools and to interpret the results. Ideally, these engineers will also be the ones operating the system, using the same software to refine the charge and discharge parameters and identify opportunities for additional savings when unforeseen circumstances arise.
Performance guarantees: the litmus test of storage models
The typical solar-plus-storage buyer would be hard-pressed to formally compare energy storage analysis capabilities based on proprietary algorithms and claims of engineering competence. There’s no easy apples-to-apples comparison in this wide-ranging field. But there is a simple way to assess the legitimacy of an energy storage provider’s claims: Ask for a performance guarantee. Providers that are confident in their projections can stand behind them with a guarantee of compensation if the energy storage system does not meet specified performance projections under actual loads. When providers do offer performance guarantees, their compensation claims should be corroborated with an evaluation of their financial stability.
As solar-plus-storage installations proliferate, at both the distributed and the utility scales, we will all have much more real-world data about energy storage performance and cost savings. It will be interesting to see how companies leverage that data to make more profitable energy investment decisions.
Sean Kiernan is Green Charge’s Vice President and General Manager for Solar and Commercial Energy Storage.
|
Europe could triple offshore wind growth
|
Europe is fully capable of tripling its offshore wind growth and meeting its Paris Agreement goals by 2045, according to experts. Ecofys recently warned that Western Europe will need to install around 230 GW of offshore wind power to meet the goals set in Paris. It added that offshore installation would need to triple by 2030 to achieve the targets. Ecofys Managing Director Michiel Müller said he was optimistic this could happen.
|
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/tripling-european-offshore-wind-growth-is-vital-and-possible
|
2017-09-04 20:00:00
|
A tripling of European offshore wind growth needed to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals is realistic between now and 2045, say experts.
“The political will to support offshore wind goes hand in hand with cost reductions,” said Michael Guldbrandtsen, managing consultant for offshore and manager of the Europe, Middle East and Africa research team at MAKE Consulting.
“If we continue to see costs dropping, and developers show that they are capable of constructing wind farms at very low subsidy levels, then I think we could see more capacity coming on-line toward 2030.”
The comments followed a recent warning by Navigant-owned Ecofys that Western Europe will need to install some 230 gigawatts of offshore wind across the Atlantic and North, Baltic and Irish Seas in order to meet the Paris targets on decarbonization of the energy system.
“With 13 gigawatts installed currently,” said Ecofys, “the region is far from the required total. To realize this growth, the offshore wind installation rate would have to triple from the current 3 gigawatts a year to approximately 10 gigawatts a year in 2030.”
Michiel Müller, managing director at Ecofys, also said he believed this was an achievable target. “Currently, I’m pretty optimistic that this can happen,” he told GTM.
“What I’ve seen over the last couple of years is a very strongly increased political commitment to pursue this direction. This is supported by an industry that demonstrates it can decrease its costs significantly in a short period of time, making it very realistic.”
The Ecofys research was originally published in March and aimed to see how Europe could achieve zero carbon emissions before 2050.
This would require a 50 percent reduction in total energy demand, compared to 2010, and a full decarbonization of the electricity supply by around 2045.
Ecofys restricted its study to countries in north Western Europe, and specifically the British Isles, Benelux, France, Germany and the Nordics.
The study accounted for the technically and economically feasible growth that might occur in onshore carbon-free generation sources such as biomass, hydro, solar and onshore wind.
It also assumed no new nuclear plants would be built beyond the already-troubled Flamanville 3 and Hinkley Point C projects, located in France and the U.K., respectively.
With practically all of Europe’s nuclear fleet due for retirement in the run-up to 2050, this would leave nuclear catering to a miniscule portion of the study area’s grid mix by 2045, compared to a roughly one-third share of electricity generation in 2010.
These onshore sources would only be able to supply 55 percent of the energy needed by countries in the region, Ecofys calculations showed. The research concluded offshore wind would be “pivotal” in decarbonizing the electricity supply.
Of the 230 gigawatts of offshore capacity required, 180 gigawatts could be installed in the North Sea, Ecofys said. This presents challenges because the North Sea is an important nature area that is used intensively by a wide variety of economic sectors.
Even assuming an average offshore wind turbine size of 8 megawatts, which represents close to the top end of the machines currently on order, around 22,500 turbines would need to be installed in the North Sea to deliver the capacity needed for decarbonization.
The space is there, said Müller, but what remains unclear is how so many turbines might affect marine ecosystems and wind resource.
Another problem is that all this wind power will increasingly need to be shunted back and forth to balance out local peaks and troughs in production.
Ecofys calculates between 50 and 80 gigawatts of interconnection capacity might be needed between the British Isles, mainland Europe and the Nordics.
“The onshore grid is an essential part of the North Sea grid, too, and it needs to cope with new flow patterns,” the consultancy observed.
A final point, not addressed by Ecofys, is how the offshore wind industry might cope with a growing requirement to use floating turbine technologies in water depths that are beyond the scope of traditional foundations.
"Floating offshore wind remains in its infancy, and this means that it brings with it a number of risks,” said Robert Bates, an assistant underwriter at the renewable energy insurer GCube.
“In the first instance, the wind turbines and supporting infrastructure need to prove they can perform in what are often challenging marine conditions.”
|
Ohio may offer $10m in rebates to EV charging hosts
|
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is expected to approve a plan to offer $10m in rebates for new public charging stations for electric vehicles. Under the agreement worked out between American Electric Power and the Electric Vehicle Charging Association, 300 level two charging stations and 75 direct current fast chargers would be installed, with rebates provided to site hosts to purchase, own and maintain them. The development would more than double the 280 public charging stations in Ohio, and is based on rebate programmes implemented in other parts of the US.
|
http://www.utilitydive.com/news/aep-ohio-proposes-10m-electric-vehicle-program/504170/
|
2017-09-04 19:00:00
|
Dive Brief:
American Electric Power has reached an agreement with the Electric Vehicle Charging Association and several other parties, setting forth a plan to spend almost $10 million on rebates for charging infrastructure in the utility's Ohio service territory.
The plan calls for 300 level 2 charging stations and 75 direct current fast chargers — more than doubling the 280 public charging stations in Ohio today, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Rebates will be provided to site hosts to purchase, own and maintain charging equipment, with emphasis on locating chargers in workplaces, at businesses and on government properties.
Dive Insight:
NRDC, a party to the collaborative agreement, said it expects the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to approve the EV infrastructure plan based on its broad support.
If approved, it would be "the first public charging station program to be authorized by regulators in the Midwest, paving the way for greater power sector engagement to accelerate the EV market to the benefit of all utility customers," the group said.
The pilot program aims to develop detailed information on the effectiveness of various electric vehicle program design elements, and will help to better develop proposals in the future. PUCO is also sponsoring PowerForward, a proceeding that explores how the state’s utility customers can benefit from distributed resources. And last summer, the city of Columbus won the U.S. Department of Transportation $40 million Smart City Challenge with a proposal that included EV charging infrastructure.
In addition to AEP, NRDC and EVCA, commission staff, Sierra Club, and the Environmental Law and Policy Center were also involved in the proposal.
As part of the proposal, AEP will also gather data and publish regular, public reports on several station metrics, including the prices charged, use and their reliability.
“The stipulation agreement is the result of trust and hard work put in by all parties to reach a scalable, sustainable program to support electric vehicle drivers in Ohio,” EVCA President Terry O’Day said in a statement.
O'Day said the rebate program model has been successfully utilized in other areas of the country, and "will quickly support drivers with valuable charging programs and low administrative costs."
|
WaveLIFT gains funding to advance artificial lift pump technology
|
WaveLIFT has gained over £1m ($1.3m) in funding for its product for the oil and gas market. The funding round was led by Archangels, a syndicate of businesses, with additional investment from Scottish Enterprise and a private party. The Scottish firm was established in 2016 to manufacture down-hole pump machines for the Artificial Lift sector, with 90% of wells needing an Artificial Lift to function.
|
http://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/2017/09/04/255612/wavelift-secures-gbp1m-funding
|
2017-09-04 15:51:43.433000
|
WaveLIFT has secured funding of over GBP1 million to further develop its Artificial Lift pump technology for the oil and gas sector. The funding is led by Scottish business angel investment syndicate, Archangels, with co-investment from Scottish Enterprise and a private investor.
Based in Stirling, Scotland, WaveLIFT was launched in 2016 to develop conceptual down-hole pump designs for the Artificial Lift arena of the oil and gas industry. This technology is in high demand with 90% of wells requiring a form of Artificial Lift – which is the use of an artificial means to increase the flow of crude oil, water or gas from a production well.
WaveLIFT, is headed up by industry veteran, Steve Bruce, formerly Chief Executive of Darcy and Schlumberger, and Simon Munro, formerly of Business Growth Fund (BGF) and equity firm Lime Rock Partners, where he was Chairman. The funding will seek to further develop the technology to address the significant demand from both the conventional and unconventional oil and gas markets which are looking for highly efficient Artificial Lift technology.
Commenting on the funding round, Steve Bruce, Chief Executive of WaveLIFT, says: “The need for exploiting the world’s remaining oil reserves has never been greater. With increased exploration costs and reduced profit margins forcing operators to maximise returns from existing portfolios, we are well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity through our innovative Artificial Lift products.
“This is an exciting time for WaveLIFT and we are thrilled that our investors are supporting the next stage of our business. Having the funding support of Archangels, the Scottish Investment Bank and private investment will allow us to continue to grow and commercialise our business.”
Niki McKenzie, Investment Director at Archangels, adds: “Archangels’ investors were keen to lead this funding for WaveLIFT who now require support to meet the growing demand for artificial lift products in the oil & gas sector. Their product is innovative and unique and it has gained positive feedback from some major players in sector. We have been providing growth capital and investing in start-up companies in Scotland for a quarter of a century and we are proud to have WaveLIFT in our portfolio of exciting businesses.”
|
Over-the-phone motor policies cost more than those bought online
|
Watchdogs and consumers have criticised insurance companies that charge customers for buying or renewing their policies over the phone rather than online. Both 1st Central Car Insurance and Autonet Insurance charge £15 ($19), while Hastings Direct demands a £12.50 call centre arrangement fee. Organisation resolver.co.uk said it dealt with about 250 complaints in the past six months relating to insurance company administration costs. Hastings Direct said it only charged customers who completed the purchasing process via the phone, while 1st Central and Autonet said they made customers aware of the fees.
|
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/insurance-firms-charging-extra-15-11102164
|
2017-09-04 10:53:25.927000
|
Watchdogs and customers blasted the fees, which come on top of spiralling premiums that have soared by a fifth
Exclusive: Insurance firms charging an extra £15 to buy or renew policies over the phone instead of online
Insurance giants are charging customers up to an extra £15 to buy or renew policies over the phone rather than online.
1st Central Car Insurance and Autonet Insurance both charge £15 for the privilege of doing business through a call centre.
Hastings Direct has a £12.50 call centre arrangement fee, which is in addition to other levies, including £5 for sending documents by post.
Watchdogs and customers blasted the fees, which come on top of spiralling car insurance bills that have soared by a fifth in the past year – from an average £577.22 to £690.35.
Image: Getty) Getty)
The extra charges have come to light since an industry requirement for greater transparency was introduced.
Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK , said: “This is undoubtedly rough on the millions of older people who are not internet users, many of whom can ill afford to pay a surcharge.”
Complaint handling group resolver.co.uk said it had received around 1,000 complaints about insurance in the past six months – with around a quarter relating to admin fees.
Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)
Spokesman Martyn James said: “It’s absolutely astounding that a business would charge people for speaking to a customer service adviser.”
Hastings Direct said: “We never charge anyone making a general inquiry or existing customers to phone us. Hastings Direct is largely an online insurance broker. A very small number of new customers want to complete the full buying process on the phone.”
1st Central said: “Most insurers charge adjustment fees. We maintain clear communication with our customers to ensure they are aware of this.”
An Autonet spokesman added: “All our fees are fully disclosed.”
|
London is insurtech capital as UK attracts record investment
|
London remains the "undisputed centre" for insurtech investment, despite the uncertainty wrought by the Brexit vote, according to data from CB Insights. It found H1 2017 investment in the sector was £218m ($283m), compared with £7.3m the previous year, and 30% of all European insurtech deals were done in the English capital. The report also revealed investors flocked to cloud computing, the internet of things and big data technologies, while the number of deals rose 75% during the first six months of this year.
|
https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/technology/3129431/insurtech-futures-investment-in-uk-insurtech-soars-to-record-levels?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IA.Daily_RL.EU.A.U&utm_source=IA.DCM.Editors_Updates
|
2017-09-04 10:30:54.897000
|
London remains European centre for InsurTech investment, says Accenture as £218m is ploughed into the sector.
Investment in InsurTech in the UK has surged to record levels, according to Accenture analysis of CB Insights data.
Accenture noted that this is a “sign of confidence in the UK as a global hub for insurance technology”.
The figures showed that investment in UK InsurTech has increased to £218m in the first half of 2017, compared to £7.3m the year before.
According to Accenture, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has not impacted the amount of investment coming into the InsurTech
|
Netherlands allocates 2.3 GW of solar capacity to winning bidders
|
The Dutch ministry of economy has selected 4,386 solar projects with a combined capacity of 2,353 MW in the first round of this year's plan to stimulate sustainable energy production, known as SDE+. Of the 3,212 MW of renewable power generation capacity allocated through the bidding round, 73% will be made up of photovoltaic projects, requiring 49% of the funding. Wind energy will make up 20% of the contracted capacity, but will require 38% of the financing.
|
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/04/netherlands-allocates-2-3-gw-of-solar-in-spring-round-of-sde-program-for-large-scale-renewables/
|
2017-09-04 10:01:28.323000
|
The Dutch Ministry of Economy has announced it has selected 4,386 PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,353 MW in the first round of the 2017 SDE+ (Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie).
The government-run agency Rijkdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), which is managing the SDE+ program, had previously pre-selected PV projects totaling 2,647 MW.
Overall, the RVO has allocated 3,212 MW of renewable energy power generation capacity through the bidding round, the remainder of which is represented by large-scale wind projects totaling 643 MW, biomass projects with a combined capacity of 110 MW, and geothermal projects equaling 50 MW. The remaining 52 MW are represented by other minor renewable energy technologies.
Despite solar boasting a share of 73% of the assigned projects, it will require only 49% of the funds allocated for the incentives, while wind power, which had a share of only 20% of the contracted capacity, will be entitled to receive 38% of the financial resources. PV projects will account for €2.86 billion, while wind power projects will require funds of €2.20 billion. Although the RVO had set a budget of €6 billion for this bidding round, the agency will grant incentives in the amount of €5.83 billion for all the selected projects.
In a letter sent to Parliament, in which details of the first round of the program were provided, the Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp stressed that the positive performance of solar, both in terms of allocated capacity and funds, was made possible by the cost reduction achieved by the PV technology over the past few years.
Popular content
The first round of the 2017 SDE program had three separate windows for submitting project proposals, which were opened on March 7, 13 and 20, and had a maximum tariff for solar of €0.090/kWh, €0.110/kWh and €0.125/kWh, respectively. Subsidies are granted for periods of eight, 12 or 15 years depending on the maximum number of full load hours for each technology.
The SDE+ compensates for the difference between the cost price of renewable energy and the market value of the energy supplied. Only PV projects with a power greater than 15 kW and a large-scale energy connection are eligible for SDE+ subsidies.
The “autumn round” for 2017, which will be the second and last round for this year, will be open from October 3 to October 27. The available budget for this round will be €6 billion.
According to figures provided to pv magazine by Peter Segaar, owner of solar website www.polderpv.nl and analyst of Dutch solar market trends, operational ground-mounted PV installations exceeding 50 kW reached just 58 MW at the end of February. Most of the PV projects approved under the SDE+ program, however, have recently been completed. According to Segaar, the large 2016 budget allocations for the SDE+ program are partly realized, and another 600 MW in new PV power stations could be connected to the grid this year.
|
Around 87,000 refugees arrive in Bangladesh amid Myanmar crisis
|
De facto Myanmar leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is coming under increasing international pressure after 87,000 refugees arrived in Bangladesh to escape fighting and persecution in Myanmar, according to the United Nations. The refugees, mostly women and children, are joining already overcrowded camps, with another 20,000 people waiting at the Bangladesh border, according to a UK report. Myanmar's western state of Rakhine has seen escalating violence since 2012, with no public comment on the latest round of fighting from Suu Kyi.
|
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4850840/UN-says-87-000-refugees-arrive-Bangladesh-Myanmar.html
|
2017-09-04 09:57:12.350000
|
Rohingya refugees carry an elderly woman from Rakhine state in Myanmar along a path near Teknaf in Bangladesh
A total of 87,000 mostly Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since violence erupted in neighbouring Myanmar on August 25, the United Nations said Monday, amid growing international criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Thousands of the stateless Muslim minority have fled mainly Buddhist Myanmar and poured over the border since the latest round of fighting broke out.
Their arrival has piled yet more pressure on already overcrowded camps in Bangladesh and raised fears of a humanitarian crisis as aid agencies struggle to cope with the influx of mainly women and children.
Around 20,000 more were massed on the border waiting to enter, the UN said in a report.
Dhaka stepped up border controls after the latest round of violence, but one Bangladeshi border guard told AFP the sheer number of people desperate to enter the country from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine had made it impossible to keep them out.
"It is bigger than the last time," said the guard, who asked not to be named, referring to the influx of refugees that followed an outbreak of violence last October.
"If it continues then we will face serious problems. But it's impossible to stop the flow: these people are everywhere."
Many of the new arrivals lacked shelter from the heavy monsoon rains, and an AFP reporter said hundreds of new makeshift shelters had sprung up on the outskirts of the existing camps in recent days.
"It has been raining frequently since last week. We have to keep our children safe from being sick," said Amena Begum, a newly arrived mother of five.
Rakhine has been a crucible of religious violence since 2012, when riots erupted. Scores of Rohingya were killed and tens of thousands of people -- most of them from the Muslim minority -- were forced into displacement camps.
But the current round of fighting, which broke out when Rohingya militants ambushed security installations, is the worst yet.
Myanmar's army has said nearly 400 people have died in the fighting that ensued, including 370 Rohingya militants.
- 'Shameful treatment' -
On Monday the office of Myanmar's de facto leader Suu Kyi said the military had fought 90 separate clashes with Rohingya militants since the ambushes.
In a statement it said more than 2,600 homes had been destroyed in Rohingya villages and 138 houses had been destroyed in non-Muslim villages -- blaming the fires and other damage entirely on the militants.
Suu Kyi is under increasing fire over her perceived unwillingness to speak out against the treatment of the Rohingya, who are viewed as interlopers in Myanmar.
The Nobel peace laureate, a former political prisoner of Myanmar's junta, has made no public comment since the latest fighting broke out.
"Over the last several years I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment," Pakistani activist and fellow Nobel peace prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said in a statement about the Rohingya crisis on Twitter.
"I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same."
The crisis threatens Myanmar's diplomatic relations, particularly with Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia where there is profound public anger at the treatment of the Rohingya.
Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi met Suu Kyi as well as Myanmar's army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Monday to press for greater efforts to alleviate the crisis.
Bangladesh, already home to an estimated 400,000 Rohingya before the latest influx, has also come in for international criticism for pushing people back to Myanmar.
Rights groups say this is a contravention of its international obligations.
On Monday officials on the small island of St Martin's nine kilometres (around six miles) off Bangladesh's coast said authorities had forced 2,011 Rohingya seeking refuge there to leave.
Elected official Farid Ahmed said children were among the refugees who were rounded up on Sunday evening before being taken back to Myanmar by boat.
"Rohingya children were crying. But it is the government order. What can we do?" Ahmed told AFP.
"They (Rohingya) said, where should we go? They (Myanmar forces) were killing us there. Our houses were burnt. They were firing at us."
Scores of people have drowned while attempting to flee the violence, which also killed or displaced ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and other tribal groups allegedly targeted by Rohingya militants.
Rohingya refugees rest under a tent in a meadow in Ukhiya, Bangladesh
The refugees say that many young Rohingya men have stayed behind to fight.
burs-cc/sm
|
Jackson Lee adds gadgets to its leisure product
|
London-based Jackson Lee Underwriting has added gadgets to its leisure insurance scheme, offering policies that cover breakdown, accidental damage and theft for up to three devices. "Leisure pursuits are ubiquitous… so it makes complete sense to be able to offer gadget alongside other specialist leisure policies like caravan and cycle. We expect this latest addition to our leisure scheme to prove very popular", said Nick Mohan, joint managing director for Jackson Lee Underwriting. Jackson Lee's specialist leisure policies are available on its online portal Abel.
|
https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/products/3132421/jackson-lee-launches-gadget-cover?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IA.Daily_RL.EU.A.U&utm_source=IA.DCM.Editors_Updates
|
2017-09-04 09:29:32.090000
|
Gadgets have been added to the portfolio of products on its leisure insurance scheme.
Jackson Lee Underwriting has expanded its leisure insurance scheme to include gadget insurance.
Gadget insurance will be offered to brokers alongside its specialist leisure policies including caravan, cycle, camera and fishing.
The policy provides cover for up to three gadgets for breakdown, accidental damage and theft.
Sense
Nick Mohan, joint managing director for Jackson Lee Underwriting, commented: “Gadgets are increasingly excluded from many home insurance policies as a symptom of the
|
Researchers discover algae that convert fats into hydrocarbons
|
Researchers in France have stumbled across a mystery enzyme in algae which, when subjected to blue light, was able to convert fats to hydrocarbons. The team found protein solutions made up from the algae containing flavin adenine dinucleotide enabled the creation of hydrocarbons and opened up the possibility of a simple and cost-effective method of producing biofuels using algae and light. The team behind the research believe the enzyme can be modified to produce very different chemical reactions.
|
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2017/09/02/sunlight-converts-algae-fats-directly-into-hydrocarbons-for-speedy-biofuel-production/
|
2017-09-04 09:19:22.953000
|
In France, researchers discovered that certain species of algae can convert fats directly to hydrocarbons that can come in handy for biofuel production. Using sunlight as an input and filtering the contents of algae to leave them with protein solutions with some cell contents, they tested them for how well they converted to fats. They found a set of 10 proteins that existed in all three fractions that were able to convert fats, but one of them was a mystery protein. Once they identified that mystery protein’s gene, they tweaked it and transferred it to bacteria where it converted fats to hydrocarbons. Interestingly, the reaction needed blue light to work and when they switched it to red light, the conversion process stopped. The discovery can lead to many applications that rely on algae fat conversion to hydrocarbons, like biofuel production.
|
Researchers discover algae that convert fats into hydrocarbons
|
Researchers in France have stumbled across a mystery enzyme in algae which, when subjected to blue light, was able to convert fats to hydrocarbons. The team found protein solutions made up from the algae containing flavin adenine dinucleotide enabled the creation of hydrocarbons and opened up the possibility of a simple and cost-effective method of producing biofuels using algae and light. The team behind the research believe the enzyme can be modified to produce very different chemical reactions.
|
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/newly-discovered-enzyme-uses-light-to-turn-fat-into-fuel/
|
2017-09-04 09:19:22.953000
|
It's pretty easy to grow vast quantities of microbes. It's a lot harder to convert those microbes into something useful. For example, we've engineered algae that, when starved for nitrogen, will put most of their stored energy into fats. Fats are chemically similar to hydrocarbons, so this is potentially useful for making biofuel. But "similar" isn't really good enough; you still need to process the fats before they can be used as a fuel.
But some researchers may have figured out a way to get biology to convert fats directly to hydrocarbons using nothing more than sunlight. They've identified an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of fats to long hydrocarbons, which could be used as fuel with no further modification.
Fat vs. fuel
Gasoline is a mixture of different hydrocarbons, which are molecules that contain only hydrogen and carbon. The simplest hydrocarbons are linear chains, with a backbone of carbon atoms where each carbon is linked to, at most, two others (with two or three hydrogen atoms also linked to each carbon). The chemical processing done in refineries ensures that gasoline mostly contains branched hydrocarbons, wherein some carbon atoms are linked to three or four other carbons.
Fats (technically fatty acids) are almost-but-not-quite hydrocarbons. They have long linear chains of carbon atoms, but one of the end carbons is linked to two oxygen atoms. While this may seem like a relatively minor change to a carbon chain that can be 20 or more atoms long, the presence of the oxygen radically changes the chemistry of the molecule. It makes fats more likely to form solids, allows them to mix with water, and turns them into weak acids. All of these properties make fats a terrible option for use in internal combustion engines.
The obvious solution is to simply lop off the terminal carbon that's linked to those oxygens. Unfortunately, from a chemistry standpoint, the link to that carbon is more robust than the other links further down the chain. In other words, most chemical reactions will simply break the chain somewhere at random in the middle, which is not especially useful. Alternatives for getting rid of the oxygens tend to involve multiple steps, each requiring an input of energy and an efficiency less than 100 percent.
Advertisement
Note that the last sentence says "tend to" and not "always." Last year, French researchers discovered that certain species of algae are able to convert fats directly to hydrocarbons. Their new paper describes how they figured out why these algae are able to do so.
Let there be light
The conversion process was potentially interesting from a biology perspective as well. That's because it seemed to involve light as an input. Even though almost all life on Earth depends directly or indirectly on sunlight, remarkably few chemical reactions used by life require light as an input. A search of the literature showed a grand total of three reactions, two of which are used for photosynthesis (the third repairs damaged DNA). If the fat-converting process used light to provide energy, then it would be big news for biology.
To find out, the researchers in France did some old fashioned biochemistry. They took the algae, ground them up, and then ran their contents over a variety of different materials that filter those contents based on different chemical properties, like molecular weight, charge, etc. This left them with a variety of protein solutions, each containing a fraction of the cells' contents, ranging from dozens to hundreds of proteins.
The researchers tested each of these fractions for the fat-converting activity. In the end, they found three fractions that contained the activity: one with 42 proteins, one with 93 proteins, and one with 709 proteins. Each of these proteins was identified, and the researchers discovered that a set of 10 proteins were present in all three fractions. Nine of these proteins were well known, and we knew what they did. The 10th was a mystery, so the researchers focused on it.
They identified its gene and tweaked it so that it worked in bacteria. Once it was transferred to the bacteria, they were also able to convert fats to hydrocarbons. And the researchers could switch the conversion on and off by switching from red to blue light—the reaction required blue light to work. They also purified the protein and fed it fat which had had its carbon labelled with a specific isotope. This isotope showed up in carbon dioxide released by the reaction, confirming that the enzyme was simply lopping off the carbon bonded to the oxygen.
Advertisement
How does the protein manage this trick, and why does it need light to do it? The blue light it uses turns out to be the wavelengths typically absorbed by a chemical called "flavin adenine dinucleotide" (FAD), which is commonly used as a co-factor in many biochemical reactions. And, when the researchers looked at the structure of the enzyme, they found that FAD is present and held in close proximity to the oxygens of the fat molecule.
The authors think that, in this enzyme, light causes FAD to steal an electron from the fat molecule, leaving it in an unstable state. The fat responds by kicking out a carbon and two oxygens, forming carbon dioxide, a process that's very energetically favorable. After that happens, the remaining hydrocarbon steals the electron back from the FAD, resetting the enzyme for use on another fat molecule.
So, because it uses light for energy, the system doesn't need to be supplied with a constant source of chemical energy. That makes it much more convenient for use in processing chemicals than other enzymes, where you typically have to keep refreshing a supply of a chemical energy source (like ATP). It also makes the newly discovered enzyme interesting, since there are so few other examples of light-driven enzymes out there to study.
Finally, the whole system works by light-driven electron transfers. And shifting electrons around is a central feature of a huge range of chemical reactions. This leads the authors to suggest that modifications to the enzyme could get it to catalyze very different chemical reactions. So biohackers could potentially have a field day generating new applications for this system.
Science, 2017. DOI: 10.1126/science.aan6349 (About DOIs).
|
Barclays' new DIY investment service hit by IT problems
|
Customers have been locked out of Barclays Bank's new online DIY investment site, which was introduced last week to replace a 30-year-old stockbroking service. The glitch came as the bank moved 200,000 customers to the Smart Investor site, with many unable to log in and others being unable to perform transactions, according to a Financial Times report. When affected customers sought to contact Barclays, many were left waiting for up to an hour on hold as staff sought to handle the surge of complaints.
|
http://invezz.com/news/equities/27079-Barclays-share-price-Groups-new-investment-site-suffers-glitch-
|
2017-09-04 09:04:40.153000
|
Barclays (LON:BARC) has been hit with a series of problems at its new DIY investment site, leaving many customers unable to log into their accounts, the Financial Times has disclosed. The website recently replaced the lender’s 30-year-old stockbroking service.
Barclays’ share price has fallen deep into the red this morning, having shed 0.91 percent to 190.40p as of 09:45 BST, underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.15 percent lower at 7,427.20 points. The group’s shares have added just under 10 percent to their value over the past year, but have given up some 14 percent in the year-to-date.
The FT reported on Friday that Barclays had been hit with a series of problems at its new Smart Investor site, leaving many customers unable to log into their accounts and missing transactions. The FTSE 100 group shifted more than 200,000 customers with £14 billion of assets over the bank holiday weekend, from its traditional Barclays Stockbrokers unit, to the new website, designed to appeal to a broader range of customers.
The newspaper noted, however, that a number of customers had said that they had not received log-in details and were even missing transactions in their account. Customers suffered waiting times of up to an hour to reach Barclays’ customer services, and the bank was forced to turn off its live chat service to free up more staff to deal with the flood of calls.
Barclays explained that customers complaining of missing transactions were likely being affected by changes to limit orders — orders to buy and sell stocks at specific prices. The bank had told customers before the switch that any limit orders would not be carried over to the new system and would need to be re-entered.
The news comes as FTSE 100 peer RBS (LON:RBS) signalled that it will invest heavily in IT in an effort to improve reliability for customers, as well as stiffen its defences against hackers.
As of 10:01 BST, Monday, 04 September, Barclays share price is 190.75p.
|
Tinder becomes top grossing iOS app with Gold launch
|
The launch of its premium subscription service has earned mobile dating app Tinder the number one spot on the App Store's chart. Data from insights firm App Annie also revealed that Tinder has consistently been in the top 15 earners for the entire year. Tinder's Gold service, which costs £7.49 ($9.71) per month, offers extras including the ability to immediately match and message. The service recently launched on desktop.
|
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/09/04/tinder-s-effort-monetise-dating-takes-gold-it-becomes-top-grossing-ios-app
|
2017-09-04 08:48:09.723000
|
Mobile dating app Tinder has had a solid affirmation of its monetisation efforts by becoming the top grossing App Store app following the global launch of its premium subscription service Gold.
Tinder Gold
The chart measures the top earning apps each day and weighs them accordingly. On top of this, App Annie has shared data showing that the app has been in the top 15 earners for the whole of the year on account of its 2015 service, Tinder Plus providing a solid revenue stream.
|
Half of output from Nigeria's largest power station is wasted
|
Nigeria's largest power plant, Egbin, is owed NGN125bn ($352m) by the Nigerian government, while an ineffective transmission infrastructure means half the plant's output is wasted, according to CEO Dallas Peavey. Out of the 1.3 GW of energy produced by the facility's units, 700 MW is lost due to the overwhelmed grid. According to Peavey, the company is facing financial difficulties as a result of the government's debt, resulting in banks being reluctant to make loans to the company. The Nigerian government has said the NGN125bn debt figure is incorrect.
|
https://www.bnef.com/core/news/534579?e=sharing:android:mail
|
2017-09-04 08:00:39.687000
|
Biggest Nigeria Power Plant Owed $352 Million by Government (1)
You must login to view this content.
|
UK news publisher offers advertisers real-time readership data
|
The publisher of the Independent and the Evening Standard, ESI Media, is offering advertising agencies access to measurement data on popular articles to help build deeper relationships with brands. Participating marketers can view a dashboard offering real-time metrics, enabling brands to create engaging content tailored to what readers are looking at. Beer brand Kronenbourg and its agency Publicis are among the first clients to use the service, with early results described as "encouraging". ESI Media's stable of publications receives 23.5 million monthly unique visitors, according to comScore.
|
https://digiday.com/media/independent-evening-standard-giving-marketers-real-time-editorial-data/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=170904
|
2017-09-04 07:57:56.087000
|
ESI Media, publisher of The Independent and the Evening Standard, is giving agencies access to data on its most popular articles in a bid to give advertisers more control over the ads they buy and to build deeper, longer-term relationships with them.
Once ESI Media grants access, the agencies can view a dashboard, ESI RealTime, of the publisher’s most popular articles across its portfolio, which also includes indy100 and Homes & Property. The dashboard pulls in Chartbeat data on the number of visitors to articles and dwell times, metrics that ESI Media, and other publishers, have used in their newsrooms for years. This can be sorted by publication, device, section (like travel, sport and business), location and referral. This way, a luxury advertiser can book ads against the most popular fashion articles that people in London are reading from social media.
An agency can make an inquiry about popular articles that meet an advertiser’s needs. A member of the ESI Media ad ops team then follows up on that request. Ads are booked across media and can be served direct or programmatically, so long as the advertiser’s request doesn’t clash with priority campaigns, like homepage or channel takeover.
“I would expect this to win us more business; I’m really bullish on that,” said Jo Holdaway, chief data officer at ESI Media, although she knows not everyone will use the dashboard to book. “It’s a point of difference to other media owners when it comes to long-term partners.”
Over the next few months, it’s running its first campaign with beer brand Kronenbourg and the brand’s agency Publicis, which requires a little more heavy lifting from the media owner. ESI Media analysts send the articles to ad buyers that are most likely to be read most and fall within the advertiser’s guidelines. Within two hours, the agency returns ad creative relevant to the article. Kronenbourg ads with relevant copy have run on articles about the eclipse and France’s president Emmanuel Macron. Currently, the brand is targeting the most popular articles around the football player transfer window.
A recent popular story about why Liverpool football club didn’t sell player Philippe Coutinho had 3,000 concurrent visitors who spent an average of 80 seconds with the article.
“The scale is not always huge, but the tightness of targeting is there,” said Holdaway. “If you book 2 million impressions across the top trending stories, I’d be surprised if you didn’t get that.” ESI Media’s properties have a total 23.5 million monthly unique visitors, out of a U.K. internet population of 50.5 million monthly unique visitors, according to comScore.
Articles about Brexit, Trump and sports events routinely do well, with Brexit content fetching average dwell times of about three minutes. Advertisers that don’t want ads to appear next to stories about terrorist attacks or other news stories can automatically de-list them. Because the ad buy is based on what people are reading, which isn’t necessarily predictable, it’s difficult for the publishers to give benchmarks or guarantees.
Holdaway couldn’t share figures on how well the ads were performing, as the campaign is still running. But she said early signs are encouraging, particularly the click-through rate on formats like its billboard and double MPU.
For now, only display ads are included in the available inventory, but in the next two months, the publisher hopes to include video pre-roll, too.
ESI Media’s tool should bring more flexibility to media buying. Campaigns like the one it’s running with Kronenbourg have a bespoke data element, which can help lead to longer-term relationships. “There’s been a halo effect beyond how the core product was designed,” said Holdaway.
|
eBay rethinks digital marketing approach in the UK
|
eBay is implementing a new digital marketing strategy for the UK roll-out of its latest global campaign. The online marketplace is targeting social media sites and apps with dynamic adverts which incorporate current products from its inventory in real time. The strategy includes bespoke footage filmed specifically for online use, rather than edited versions of TV ads, and seeks to position eBay as a hub for unique items. Meanwhile, tracking surveys show that the company retains a strong position as a trusted brand.
|
https://digiday.com/marketing/ebay-using-social-platforms-uk-launch/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=170904
|
2017-09-04 07:52:43.007000
|
EBay has a perception problem: People think of it as a storefront for used goods, when in fact, over 80 percent of what it sells on the site is new. To help it rebrand and shift people’s thinking, the online retailer launched a global campaign in June. As it rolls out to the U.K. over the coming weeks, social media — particularly Instagram, Snapchat and influencers — is set to play a key role.
On Instagram, for instance, eBay is running dynamic videos, which automatically pull product inventory in real time from its Deals program that is then rendered into the ad format. The ads play between Stories, which are 15 seconds or less, and take up a user’s full mobile screen. It’s too early to share the results of this “incubation test,” eBay said, though the aim is to combine the high engagement in Stories with Facebook’s robust targeting.
On Snapchat, the brand found the app’s audience much older than it initially expected and the “scale significant,” said Gareth Jones, eBay’s senior director of marketing in the U.K. He recently ran a campaign positioning eBay as a destination for people who need products to help them move, which included cardboard boxes, tape, new sofas, kitchen equipment, paint and furniture. The Home Move Snapchat campaign reached 3.5 million people who were 18 and over, said Jones. Earlier in the year, eBay ran a Mother’s Day lens, which generated 16 million views on the platform “in a few days,” said Jones. More than half (57 percent) of all Snapchat’s users in the U.K. engaged with the content, he added.
Unlike other retailers, eBay’s social efforts must build loyalty around a brand using products that are usually sold within a matter of days. However, the business is turning the ephemerality of its products into an opportunity, tapping into millions of unique stories every month from its sellers’ products. How this plays on each of eBay’s 16 social media platforms varies; on Facebook, for example, eBay mainly pushes time-sensitive promotions and retargeted items that people have previously viewed on the site. On Pinterest, the brand has created over 50,000 pins promoting lifestyle-based products related to relationships, home and garden as well as fashion.
“TV has a big role, but people consume audiovisual content in a myriad of different ways now,” Jones said. “So we have developed content for linear TV, but also filmed bespoke content for Facebook, Snap, YouTube, etc. For eBay, the days of slicing and dicing the TV ad to squeeze it into shorter formats across social are over.”
The company’s CEO Devin Wenig envisions eBay becoming a destination for unique goods, while Amazon is the place for everyday products and commodities. For that to happen, the latest campaign, which attempts to position the business as a colorful contrast to Amazon, will need to be mindful of making major changes to what is still the second-most popular e-commerce site in terms of unique monthly visitors, which now top 170 million.
YouGov brand-tracking data from the U.K. underlines eBay’s strong position. In terms of Impression score, which is compiled by asking consumers if they have a positive or negative sentiment about the brand, the business ranks sixth in the sector rankings, only trailing BBC iPlayer and global giants such as Google, YouTube and Amazon. Furthermore, eBay’s Recommend rating (whether you would recommend the brand to someone else) remains comfortably near the top of the sector, suggesting it continues to appeal to both sellers and buyers alike.
EBay’s recent campaigns show it had a successful Christmas period. During this time, its Ad Awareness score (whether a person has seen an ad for a brand in the last two weeks) grew by eight points — from 9 percent to 17 percent. Since then, the brand has maintained about a 15 percent average Ad Awareness score for the last six months, meaning it is in a strong position for its new campaign.
|
Workplace injury link needed for claims for suicide attempts
|
Suicide is included in US worker compensation insurance when it can be tied to an uncontrollable impulse that results from a workplace injury, several US courts have ruled. However, to prove the right to workers' compensation benefits in suicide cases, there needs to be a causal connection between the stressor and the suicide, said Robert Buch, a partner and attorney at Seyfarth Shaw. Dr Teresa Bartlett, senior VP of medical quality at Sedgwick Claims Management, said that by offering an injured worker quality care, employers can prevent a tragedy.
|
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20170830/NEWS08/912315494/Limited-comp-coverage-available-for-suicide-risks
|
2017-09-04 07:38:41.807000
|
Suicide is not always covered under workers compensation, but experts say in certain cases it can be.
“Whether an employer is liable for suicide or attempted suicide depends upon a causal connection between the emotional state that resulted in those activities and the employer,” said said Robert Buch, Los Angeles-based partner and attorney at Seyfarth Shaw L.L.P. “In the case of physical injuries which require long care, cause significant pain, and maybe require multiple surgeries, an injured worker can develop something called a functional overlay, which is an emotional reaction to the long recovery process that could cause an emotional state resulting in suicide. In other instances, the question is whether the person has a pre-existing condition that he exhibits at the worksite ... where the employer plays no role but it just happens to be an active stage upon which this suicide occurs. These are medical questions that doctors have to advise us.”
A 2012 study conducted by Abay Asfaw, senior research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Kerry Souza, epidemiologist in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, that examined if injured workers were more likely than non-injured workers to be treated for depression after an occupational injury determined that within 3 months of an injury the odds of injured workers being treated for depression were 44% higher than for non-injured workers.
This month, a federal appeals court ruled in Leeward Marine Inc.; Hawai’i Employers’ Mutual Insurance Co. v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Program; William B. Kealoha that William Kealoha was entitled to workers comp for injuries from a suicide attempt.
In 2001, Mr. Kealoha worked for Ewa Beach, Hawaii-based Leeward Marine Inc. During his time as an employee of the company, he fell from a barge to a dry dock and landed on a steel floor, suffering blunt trauma to the head along with many other injuries. In 2003, Mr. Kealoha shot himself in a suicide attempt that he said was a result of his fall and stress stemming from litigation over a workers comp claim related to his injuries. A psychiatrist testified that due to the related trauma, chronic pain and stress, Mr. Kealoha suffered from major depressive disorder. He sought workers comp benefits and would eventually be awarded benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, according to court documents.
Suicide is compensable when it can be tied to an uncontrollable impulse resulting from the workplace injury, experts say.
In 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in Sharon Vredenburg vs. Sedgwick CMS and Flamingo Hilton-Laughlin that Sharon Vredenburg, the surviving spouse of Danny Vredenburg, who committed suicide after a fall caused disc derangement in several locations along his spine, would be awarded workers comp benefits.
“We conclude that suicides may be non-willful deaths under Nevada's workers compensation law if they are sufficiently causally connected to an industrial injury. In reaching this conclusion, we adopt the chain-of-causation test to determine whether a sufficient causal connection exists,” the court said.
While it is possible to receive workers comp benefits in cases involving suicide, experts say these cases can be challenging to prove. There needs be “causal connection between the stressor and the causation of the suicide,” said Mr. Buch.
“It’s challenging because when you think about it often you don’t know what a person’s history is,” said Dr. Teresa Bartlett, Detroit-based senior vice president, Medical Quality at Sedgwick Claims Management Inc. “You don’t know if they have a history of severe depression or mood disorders or a prior injury that may have impacted this.”
“Aggressive medical management early in a claim is the prevention to a tragedy, there is nothing better than quality care, and keeping an injured worker on a treatment regime is the most beneficial,” she said.
|
California development to offer zero-net-energy housing
|
California house builder De Young Properties is to start work on the state's largest zero-net-energy housing development, with completion targeted for Q2 2018. Under the 36-unit scheme, which is backed by Utility Pacific Gas & Electric and the Electric Power Research Institute, homes will be constructed with an extended thermal boundary, as well as specially designed solar capacity. Additionally, when not consuming power the buildings can not only plough excess electricity back into the grid, but, with the use of appliances and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems working at noon, prevent solar dumps on to the grid as well.
|
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/net-zero-energy-community-coming-to-californias-central-valley
|
2017-09-04 07:38:15.617000
|
California’s largest net-zero-energy housing development is coming next year to the Central Valley.
Third-generation homebuilder De Young Properties unveiled the 36-unit project Tuesday in Clovis, northeast of Fresno. The company has spent years redesigning its signature floor plans to include cost-effective energy efficiency improvements. The goal is to minimize the building’s electrical load and install enough rooftop solar to cover what remains, matching consumption and production over the year.
In practice, that boils down to improvements in the building envelope, which keeps air conditioning in and summer heat out. That’s not so hard in temperate coastal zones, but it’s a whole different story in the sun-baked Central Valley, which was forecast to hit 108 degrees Tuesday.
California is driving new home construction to net-zero energy by 2020 through the building code, as part of a broader climate goal to cut greenhouse gases from its economy. The first homes in De Young's EnVision community will be completed in Q2 2018.
"We know that at some point the state will require everyone to do this. Why not learn it ahead of time, get used to it and figure out how to bring costs down earlier?" said Executive Vice President Brandon De Young. "You're spending less on your energy bill, and the home's going to be more comfortable as well."
That quest has attracted some notable allies: Utility Pacific Gas & Electric and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) partnered in the endeavor to gather data on the energy improvements and the broader impact on the grid from this type of development.
All about the envelope
Achieving this level of load reduction requires a lot more than buying fancier appliances.
Reducing the energy load needed for climate control starts with higher density insulation, better insulated windows, an electric heat pump and high-efficiency air conditioning.
On top of that, De Young added a thicker frame by switching out 2x4 wall studs for 2x6 lumber. That simple change demanded redesign, re-engineering and re-permitting for all the plans.
The homes sit on concrete slabs, so the duct work for heating and cooling goes in the attic. Historically, attics haven’t been insulated, and can get up to well above the outside temperature in extreme heat. That means the HVAC system uses extra energy to counteract the heat that’s fighting its way into the ducts from the attic.
All that energy usage, by the way, makes it possible for homes in this area to pay $800 to $1,000 a month for the utility bill, De Young said.
His way out of the steamy attic scenario: Insulate the roof, rather than the ceiling. This extends the “thermal boundary” and buffers the existing ductwork against the outside heat; the attic stays pretty close to the temperature inside the living quarters.
Once all that is done, the designers size the solar capacity to match the total annual demand of the house. Homeowners will lease from SolarCity (now Tesla) or buy the system outright as an additional feature on the home.
Yes, but is it cost-effective?
De Young Properties has been iterating models of energy-efficient home packages since around 2009. Since then, De Young said, prices have come down for efficient components.
"The cost for upgraded windows in 2009 was a pretty significant premium," he said. "If we included it, we had to market the heck out of it to make sure people knew they were buying a better product. Now the windows that were expensive then are pretty commonplace."
The company built its first zero-net-energy pilot home in 2013 and has been optimizing design components to bring costs down since. The upfront premium for one of the new net-zero homes versus a comparable equivalent is down to single digits, De Young said.
Whether that investment succeeds in zeroing out energy bills will depend on a family's consumption patterns, he cautioned (and there are fees that prevent anyone from truly getting to zero). If the monthly bill to beat is $1,000, though, it's hard to see these homes not making a massive improvement for a resident's energy budget.
EPRI's role is to analyze the performance of the homes to verify the cost-effectiveness of the improvements.
"The ultimate goal is to achieve market transformation that leads to our decarbonization goals," said EPRI principal program manager Ram Narayanamurthy. "Anytime we are trying to push the envelope as we are doing, we have to figure out what works and what doesn't."
That group's work with an earlier net-zero home project built by Meritage in Fontana had a felicitous outcome. The extra cost to achieve net zero was less than $20,000, or about $8 per square foot, Narayanamurthy said. When you break that out into additional monthly mortgage payments versus energy bill savings, the customers save more than they spend.
De Young's use of basic insulation materials in the attic to drive significant efficiency savings sets it up well for cost-effective performance, he added.
"It's about how you rethink your standard practice," Narayanamurthy said. "Once you move to the new normal, it's really not that much more expensive."
A duck curve in every kitchen
PG&E's involvement may come as more of a surprise, given that an aim of net-zero homes is to minimize the net flow of money from customers to their electric utility.
Under current regulatory policy, though, PG&E doesn't make a profit on kilowatt-hours sold, said Peter Turnbull, the zero net energy program manager there. Regulators have tasked the utility with increasing both renewable generation and energy conservation, and the De Young project is a test case for both.
Plus, the utility also has a stake in understanding what an influx of net-zero houses means for grid integration.
"Until you actually do it, there are some unknowns," Turnbull said.
Each house will generate its own family-sized duck curve: demand in the morning before work, then an abundance of solar production for the middle of the day and an evening peak as the sun tapers off and residents arrive home after work.
Since these homes aren't configured with battery storage, they could push a lot of kilowatts onto the grid at the same time as all the other solar generation rushes onto the grid. Then again, if the smart appliances and HVAC systems can crank at midday to take advantage of the surplus power, they could prevent irksome solar dumps on the wires.
The total load of these homes will be considerably smaller than equivalent-sized homes without the net-zero makeover, so that should minimize the broader impact as well.
There are enough variables here to demand a proper study before drawing conclusions. There's a little over two years left to learn before this becomes standard practice across the world's sixth-largest economy.
|
Universal in talks to sell stake in China's Oriental DreamWorks
|
Universal has been holding talks about disposing its 45% stake in Chinese joint venture Oriental DreamWorks. The move follows disagreements with majority stakeholder China Media Capital (CMC), with CMC boss Li Ruigang telling the paper "I am more focused on just China and less globally, while they want to make films in China for the world." Last year, the Chinese government launched an antitrust investigation into Comcast-NBCUniversal’s acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, which included Oriental DreamWorks as part of the deal.
|
http://variety.com/2017/biz/asia/oriental-dreamworks-warner-in-talks-to-buy-universal-stake-reports-1202546527/
|
2017-09-04 06:40:27.477000
|
Universal is in talks to sell its stake in Oriental DreamWorks, the China-based joint venture animation company, according to reports.
The Financial Times reported Monday that Universal has held discussions to dispose of the 45% stake in the venture that it inherited when Comcast acquired DreamWorks Animation last year. The majority 55% holding is owned by Chinese investment and media group China Media Capital.
The report says that Universal and CMC have disagreed over strategy at the animation company and that it could be scaled down. Universal has its own access to animation production and may have greater priorities in China than a minority interest in an animation studio that has produced only one feature movie, “Kung Fu Panda 3.”
The Financial Times report quoted CMC boss Li Ruigang pointing to strategic differences between the two firms. “I am more focused on just China and less globally, while they want to make films in China for the world. Today the priority of Universal is a theme park in Beijing,” he said.
Last October, the Chinese government announced a surprise antitrust investigation into Comcast-NBCUniversal’s acquisition of DWA. China’s anti-monopoly laws empower the government to investigate foreign deals even if no Chinese companies are involved. It was not clear whether the probe focused on a possible concentration of animation production capacity in foreign hands through Comcast’s ownership of Oriental DreamWorks, or whether the government was more focused on foreign ownership of theme parks in China. Comcast is building a Universal park near Beijing and has a smaller interest in a project in Shanghai. Disney has enjoyed a successful first year with its Shanghai Disneyland, while Fox and Six Flags are also building major parks.
In March, Variety reported that CMC and Universal were both looking at their options concerning Oriental DreamWorks. These included CMC taking control of Universal’s stake for a face-saving nominal price, and then a possible integration of the business with other firms backed by CMC.
Oriental DreamWorks laid off some 40 animators in March. It is understood that other personnel have departed since that time.
“It is very unlikely that Warner Bros. will step into the mix. They may just be being polite to CMC,” one well-placed source told Variety. Time Warner and Warner Bros. have been long-term investors in CMC’s multiple funds. Warner Bros. also has another joint venture with CMC, the Beijing- and Hong Kong-based Flagship Entertainment, whose mission is to produce films for China and global audiences.
Glendale-based DWA has been re-evaluating the projects in its own pipeline. It canceled “The Croods 2” and “Larrikins,” which was to have starred the voices of Hugh Jackman and Naomi Watts. “Kung Fu Panda 3” failed to perform as well as expected at the box office.
DWA’s own productions with release dates include: “How To Train Your Dragon 3,” with a March 1, 2019 date; “Trolls 2” on Oct. 10, 2020; and “The Boss Baby 2″ due for March 26, 2021.”
Himalayan tale “Everest,” due out in September 2019, is the only ODW-backed picture on DWA’s slate currently with a release date. That film is to be co-produced with Oriental DreamWorks, but funding for the film has not been finalized.
“Everest” tells the story of a girl who tries to bring a yeti from the Himalayas back to Shanghai. The film was announced as being directed by Tim Johnson (“Home,” “Over The Hedge”) and Todd Wilderman (“Open Season 2”) and produced by Suzanne Buirgy (“Home,” “Kung Fu Panda 2”). The script was written by William Davies (“How to Train Your Dragon”).
|
Google creates new metric to show frequency of shopping ads
|
Google has created a metric called absolute top impression share (ATIS), enabling marketers to determine which of their products are achieving the most impressions. According to the search giant, products that appear on the left of a carousel perform the best on mobile and desktop. ATIS offers campaigns a percentage score based on the number of times they appeared in that far-left slot, compared to the number of times they could have.
|
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/306794/
|
2017-09-04 06:22:36.867000
|
by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, September 1, 2017
Google has introduced a report to show aggregate product status and a new metric — absolute top impression share — showing the frequency of Shopping ads and Local Inventory ads that appear in the first spot on desktop and on mobile.
The product status report and absolute top impression share aim to identify the gaps in products ahead of the holiday season, but also help marketers to measure a brand's competitiveness in Shopping campaigns.
The new diagnostics report in AdWords for the products page helps identify the aggregate product status, which shows the current status of an individual product in a campaign, such as products in the "ready to serve" or the "disapproved" category.
When Google disapproves a product in the Merchant Center for any reason, the campaign will not serve up in Shopping. Marketers can see the reason for the disapproval in the product status column. A detailed explanation and information on how to fix it will appear in the speech bubble.
advertisement advertisement
When products serve up in Shopping, internal data from Google conducted in fourth-quarter 2016 found that the left-most ad on mobile Shopping results earns up to three times higher engagement from shoppers. Impressions in this position are called "absolute top," per Google.
The company defines this as the total number of times the ad has appeared in the No. 1 position in Shopping during the times it would not otherwise have been in this position. For example, if the ad served up in the top spot in the results of eight queries, but was eligible for 20, then the "absolute top impression share" would be 40%.
"Absolute top” impressions include ads from the Shopping carousel on Google search results and are available for both Shopping ads and Local Inventory ads.
If disapproved, products not eligible to serve up in Shopping campaigns, it can influence the number of shopping results that consumers see when searching on google.com and ultimately reduce the brand's total score.
|
China's Legend buys 90% of Luxembourg bank for $1.76bn
|
Chinese investment holding giant Legend Holdings is buying 90% of Banque Internationale a Luxembourg for $1.76bn. The acquisition represents the most sizeable takeover by any Chinese company of a European deposit-taking bank. The move is also the largest overseas deal Legend has ever closed. The remaining 10% of the bank is owned by the Luxembourg government.
|
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-09/04/content_31540697.htm
|
2017-09-04 06:02:15.423000
|
Legend Holdings chairman Liu Chuanzhi attends a news conference on the company's annual results in Hong Kong, China, March 30, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]
Legend Holdings Corp, parent company of the world's biggest PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd, reached an agreement on Friday to buy 90 percent of Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL) for 1.48 billion euros ($1.76 billion), Reuters reported.
It marks the biggest takeover of a European deposit-taking bank by a Chinese firm so far, as well as Legend's biggest overseas acquisition.
Legend said the acquisition is being made through its Hong Kong subsidiary Beyond Leap Limited.
Reuters reported in July that Legend was in talks with Precision Capital to buy a 90 percent stake in BIL. The remaining 10 percent is owned by the Luxembourg government.
Founded in 1856, BIL is the oldest private bank in Luxembourg. It employs more than 2,000 people globally and, as of the end of 2016, managed a total of 37.7 billion euro in assets.
The deal is an important strategic investment for Legend. Financial services is one of the key target industries for the company, Legend Chairman Liu Chunzhi said.
Liu said that Legend planned to support BIL and its current management, and build BIL into a Luxembourg-based international bank.
The deal, which has to obtain approvals from regulators including the European Central Bank and Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
Legend said the company hoped to expand its financial sector layout in Europe through the deal, and provide services to enterprises participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.
According to BIL's annual report, its net profit fell to 110 million euros in 2016 from 134 million euros in 2015, partly due to write-downs and restructuring expenses.
Agencies contributed to this story.
|
Redrow Redrow part of consortium which plans to build 1,000 homes
|
UK house builder Redrow is among a consortium of companies planning to build up to 1,000 homes near Nantwich in Cheshire. Redrow will work alongside Taylor Wimpey and David Wilson Homes to develop the recently-purchased site in Reaseheath, which will include housing, play areas, a district centre and a new school. The development will also contribute to off-site improvements.
|
http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/news/crewe-south-cheshire-news/1000-homes-plan-moves-forward-13567806
|
2017-09-04 05:35:00.513000
|
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
PLANS for 1,000 new homes near Nantwich are moving forward now that a sale of land in Reaseheath has been completed.
A consortium of builders Taylor Wimpey, David Wilson Homes and Redrow Homes has completed the purchase of a site in Reaseheath, which has planning permission for more than 1,000 properties.
The plans for the development include affordable housing, land reserved for a district centre and new school as well as large areas of Public Open Spaces including equipped play areas, and open spaces.
The development will also make financial contributions towards off site highway improvements, primary and secondary schools, and public realm.
Ian Harrison, land and planning director at Taylor Wimpey North West, said: “This development is a long time in the making and we’re delighted to partner with both David Wilson and Redrow to buy this site and bring much-needed housing to the area.
“The Reaseheath development promises to be much more than just houses – we’re building a community we want new and existing residents in and around the area to be a part of and proud to live in.”
Jason Corner, development director at David Wilson Homes, said: “This development will provide a positive addition to Nantwich and we are delighted to be working alongside Taylor Wimpey and Redrow.
“The scheme will provide new homes and community benefits along with highway improvements for the wider area.”
Alex Wood, land director for Redrow Homes (NW), added: “Redrow is proud to be part of the consortium which will create a sustainable new community, complete with homes, school, employment and sports and recreational opportunities in the town, and will deliver significant improvements to the local area in addition.”
The step forward for the development was welcomed by Nantwich town councillor and Mayor of Cheshire East, Arthur Moran, who said the news of a new school and improvements to the highways are particularly exciting.
Cllr Moran said: “When we (Nantwich Town Council) were asked to comment on the local plan, it was on of the areas supported by the town council, unlike some of the sites that have since been developed.
“It is a big development for Nantwich and it will provide a lot of facilities.”
Work on the site will start this summer.
|
Researchers devise algorithm to improve PV microgrid performance
|
The inertia of PV systems connected to microgrids can be controlled by altering the charging of the direct current, according to scientists from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Chinese Association of Automation. An algorithm is able to copy the microgrid's inertia, which can be changed as required by means of the direct current. According to the researchers, the algorithm can make the microgrid work like a large power grid with large inertia.
|
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/01/international-research-team-uses-algorithm-to-reduce-negative-impact-of-inertia-emulation-of-pv-in-micro-grids/
|
2017-09-04 04:56:19.850000
|
A group of scientists from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Chinese Association of Automation is proposing to increase the inertia of PV systems connected to micro-grids through inertia emulation, in order to improve the reliability and stability of the micro-grids.
The research team claims it has developed a computer-based algorithm that can be integrated with distributed generation setting algorithms to improve dynamic performance and lower implementation requirements.
According to the scientists, the algorithm is able to mirror the microgrid's inertia as needed by alternating the system's direct current over specific ranges.
Popular content
“The inertia emulation is realized by controlling the charging/discharging of the direct current (DC)-link capacitor over a certain range and adjusting the PV generation when it is feasible and/or necessary,” the researches said in their paper, which was published in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (JAS).
The algorithm, the researchers said, can make the microgrid work like a large power grid with large inertia. Simulations performed by the scientists seem to confirm that the solution does work as intended.
|
China to produce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for 2022 Olympics
|
Hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles are being produced to serve the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. The vehicles will be manufactured in Zhangjiakou City, which is jointly hosting the Games with Beijing. A new production plant is being created with an investment of CNY1bn ($152m) from Beijing-based vehicle tech firm SinoHytec and is expected to produce 10,000 vehicles a year when it is completed next year. The hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are well suited to the local cold climate as they can be started at temperatures as low as -30C.
|
http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0902/c90000-9263490.html
|
2017-09-04 04:55:32.457000
|
Hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars will be produced in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei province, to serve the 2022 Winter Olympics to be jointly hosted by the city with Beijing, as an automatic production line of hydrogen fuel cell engines recently went operation, Beijing Daily reported on Sept. 1.
The production base established with an investment of 1 billion RMB ($152 million) by Beijing SinoHytec Co., Ltd is projected to manufacture 10,000 vehicles a year after construction of all production lines is completed in 2018.
The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, with a maximum range of 500 kilometers, can be started at even 30 degrees Celsius below zero, and can be stored at even lower temperatures, which means the vehicles are suitable for the winter weather in Zhangjiakou.
Li Jianqiu, a professor at Tsinghua University, noted that, compared with traditional vehicles that consumes 6 to 8 liters of gasoline every 100 kilometers at a cost of 40 to 50 RMB, the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle consumes only 1 kilogram of hydrogen at a cost of 30 RMB.
About 2.04 million diesel trucks in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are believed to discharge some 6.48 million tons of pollutants each year, while the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce zero emissions and are thus environmentally friendly.
In addition, the hydrogen used as fuel for the vehicles can be discharged in a timely fashion, which ensures safety of the vehicles.
Zhangjiakou is advantageous for developing hydrogen energy as it has a demonstration zone of renewable energy and the world’s largest wind power hydrogen production. Producing hydrogen with wind power not only lowers costs, but makes efficient use of the surplus wind power of more than 10 billion kilowatts of the city on a yearly basis.
|
Jaguar Land Rover reinvents the steering wheel
|
Jaguar Land Rover has developed Sayer, an artificial intelligence (AI) steering wheel concept, which the company said could ensure the component's survival in an age of self-driving cars. Sayer, which comes with its own AI system, would follow drivers, who would not need to own their own vehicle, from car to car, linking to an on-demand service club or organising transport for users.
|
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/03/jaguar-sayer-ai-steering-wheel/
|
2017-09-04 04:21:49.320000
|
The steering wheel as we know it doesn't have a bright future -- in fact, it might disappear altogether as self-driving cars hit the road. Jaguar Land Rover, however, has an idea as to how it might survive. The British automaker has unveiled a concept steering wheel, Sayer, that's designed for an era where cars normally drive themselves and personal ownership is a thing of the past. The wheel would have its own AI system, and would follow you from car to car -- you'd just hook it in to bring your experience with you.
The AI would largely serve as a concierge. It would link you to an on-demand service club, whether or not you own your car, and would help you get a ride when and where you need it. If there's a must-attend meeting, for example, you could tell the wheel while it's still in your living room and it would figure out when a car needs to arrive and tell you when you might want to take control.
Sayer (named after influential designer Malcolm Sayer) will be a core feature on an upcoming concept car, the Future-Type.
Will something like this wheel ever reach production? Probably not. Jaguar Land Rover is making a few assumptions about self-driving cars, such as the likelihood that you'll have a steering wheel and the need to integrate AI into a dedicated device. Your phone and a cloud service might be all you need. Instead, we'd treat this as a thought exercise. It might never come to pass, but it could give engineers something to consider when they design the first wave of autonomous vehicles.
|
Redrow Redrow offers homes for 75% of value through scheme
|
UK housebuilder Redrow is offering aspiring homeowners in Prestwich 25% off the market price on one of 24 houses on its Woodland View development, thanks to the company's Advantage scheme. The properties are available to anyone fulfilling the criteria laid down by Bury Council, which include a minimum residency of six months in the area and a minimum joint income of around £60,000 ($77,680). The Advantage scheme does not require customers to pay back the 25% reduction, but rather pass it on when they come to sell.
|
http://www.easier.com/137194-home-advantage-for-families-in-prestwich.html
|
2017-09-04 03:22:59.963000
|
Home advantage for families in Prestwich
Families who fear being forced out of Prestwich by rising house prices are being given a helping hand by Redrow.
The homebuilder has got a number of properties at its Woodland View development for sale under its unique Advantage scheme, which means they can be bought for just 75% of the market value providing people fulfil a strict criteria.
“We are very much aware of how hard it can be to get on to the property ladder, so it’s important that our developments offer different ways to help people achieve home ownership,” explains Claire Jarvis, sales director for Redrow Homes (Lancashire).
“And it’s why our developments like Woodland View include a range of affordable homes designed to help local people stay in the area, thereby strengthening the community. Communities can be created anywhere, but they are considerably enhanced by people who have lived in the area for many years and whose families have lived here too. They are invested in a place and interested in making it a better place – for everyone.”
Redrow is offering a range of 24 homes for sale under the Advantage umbrella at Woodland View, off Pinfold Drive. Ten of them will be four-bedroom Kenilworth family-sized homes, of which four are available now.
“It is important that we don’t just make our Advantage homes available for younger first-time buyers,” adds Claire, “It’s vital to provide for the family market too, whether that’s to accommodate growing numbers of children or, simply, children who are growing up and need that private space and independence.
“In an area like Prestwich, which is very much on the up following a massive town centre regeneration scheme, it becomes even more difficult as demand forces prices up even further and people can be left with no alternative but to move away to be able to afford a home of their own.”
The four Kenilworth homes currently available are offered at the discounted price of £213,750 – a massive saving of £71,250 – for those who fit the specified criteria set by Bury Council within whose authority the homes are being built: that means families who need the extra space with a joint income of circa £60,000 (in order to confirm eligibility, the council will multiply gross annual income by four for single applicants or by 3.5 for joint applications).
Further qualifying factors include it being the family’s main residence and being able to show a need for the size of home being applied for (ie. a single person or couple will only be able to apply for a two-bedroom property). Certain considerations can be waived if a property has been completed and there is no interest from other qualifying families, but buyers do have to be on the council's affordable housing waiting list to access the homes and they must have lived in the area for at least six months.
“Unlike other incentives like Help to Buy, the 25% discount does not have to be paid back at a later day. All we ask if that people who use Advantage pass the discount on to similar qualifying people when they come to sell,” Claire says.
Woodland View features a range of two, three and four-bedroom homes from Redrow’s Arts & Crafts-inspired Heritage Collection, which combines traditional craftsmanship exteriors based on the popular era with bright, spacious interiors.
The three-storey Kenilworth townhouse is an integral part of that collection with plenty of period-style features outside and a modern, well-appointed interior within. Its accommodation includes an open plan kitchen and dining area, lounge, cloakroom and laundry room on the ground floor; three bedrooms and a family bathroom on the first floor; and a sumptuous master bedroom with en-suite spanning the entire top floor.
Other properties due to be offered under the Advantage umbrella at a later date include a pair of four-bedroom detached Stratfords, four Broadway three-bedroom terraces and eight two-bedroom apartments, ensuring plenty of variety for local buyers.
Other three and four-bedroom detached open market properties are coming soon.
Woodland View is close to a Tesco superstore and residents can take advantage of the independent shops, bars and restaurants of Prestwich village centre
Less than four miles from Manchester, the development is situated just off junction 17 of the M60, so close to the extensive motorway network. It is also on the doorstep of Phillips Park, with its extensive woodland and open spaces, which makes it ideal for families and professionals who want to commute to work but get that work/life balance for a better quality of life.
Prestwich is part of the Manchester Metrolink Tram system, with regular trams every few minutes during the rush hour, connecting to Manchester in around 17 minutes and Bury in 19.
To find out more about the Advantage Scheme and qualification, and about Woodland View itself, visit the show home and sales centre, open Thursday to Monday between 10am and 5.30pm; or go to redrow.co.uk/woodlandview.
|
ReNew Power Ventures is India's largest renewable energy company
|
ReNew Power ventures has become India's largest renewable energy company and is preparing to go public with an IPO within the next year. Founded in 2011, the company has attracted $880m in equity funding to date, with investors including Goldman Sachs, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Asian Development Bank, and Global Environment Fund. The backing has enabled it to double its capacity from 1 GW to 2 GW in the past year, and the company is reportedly valued at $2bn. Its future plans are based on targeting 10% of the new renewable capacity added in India each year.
|
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/powering-on-goldman-sachs-backed-renew-power-ventures-is-indias-largest-clean-energy-company/articleshow/60358238.cms
|
2017-09-03 21:00:00
|
January 2011Gurgaon$200 million$880 millionNAIn a span of six years ReNew Power Ventures has become India’s largest clean energy producer and what has been remarkable is the its ability to raise large rounds of funding.Operating in the infrastructure sector is not easy given the high capex involved, but ReNew and its founder, Sumant Sinha, has done it with remarkable ease. The company is one of the well-funded in not only the renewable energy space, but also across industries in the year 2017.“To consistently be able to maintain a leadership position in the renewable energy space in India as the leading wind and solar IPP in the country is something that we pride ourselves on. We have a clean capital structure and have established a high degree of credibility which allows us to raise funds faster from marquee investors,” said a spokesperson from ReNew Power Ventures.The company boasts of investors such as Goldman Sachs , the largest shareholder in the company, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Asian Development Bank and Global Environment Fund.The company raised $200 million from JERA – an equal joint venture between Japan’s largest utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric Power Co earlier this year. Overall, it has raised $880 million in equity funding till now.The ability to raise equity as well as debt funding successively has helped it become one of the leading renewable energy players in the Indian industry. On the back of this capital, ReNew Power Ventures has quickly scaled up its capacity to 2 GW from 1 GW in the last one year.“We look forward to maintaining our leadership role in the sector and have at the start of the year been able to commission the largest solar project amounting to 143 MW in the state of Telangana. ReNew Power has added 1GW in the last financial year and we hope to maintain a similar pace of growth in the future as well. However, it will depend upon the upcoming auctions in the wind and solar energy sector. Our commissioned and under construction capacity today is over 3000 MW,” shared the spokesperson.Sinha, whose father is the former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and brother is the current Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, was the COO of wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy before starting up in 2011.The first company in the renewable space to have over 1000 MW in wind and solar capacity, Sinha recently told ET that the company was preparing for an IPO. "The IPO could be launched within the next 12 months and could be amongst the largest listings of shares in recent times," said Sinha to ET. According to estimates, the company is valued at $2billion.However, there are significant challenges for the company. Some of the factors keeping the renewable energy sector in a stranglehold like high tariffs and prohibitory capital costs have been resolved to a great extent, yet payment delays by discoms is affecting the entire chain.Discoms have always been the weak link of the energy chain and have almost brought the sector to its knees many times in the past. And, ReNew wants government to step in and secure the chain.“For several states, payment cycles have been erratic, there have been delays in payments. In such cases, the risk premium attributed to a state gets increased and is reflected in the levellized cost of energy in subsequent bids. The government must therefore work towards developing a payment security mechanism which ensures payments are made on time,” shared the spokesperson.The PPAs (power purchase agreements), a contract signed between power producers and the distribution companies, have been a most abused agreements in the industry. With discoms running in losses, most of them have shown their inability to honour the agreements which they have made with power producers.“At the state level, there should be policy consistency which will aid in the prompt signing of PPAs. Discoms should also maintain the sanctity of the signed PPAs and not try to renegotiate or cancel the commitment that has already been made. The government should continue to work on enhancing the process of grid integration of renewables and the must run status of renewables should be protected,” shares the spokesperson.Rating agency ICRA had also recently warned against the renegotiation or cancellation of signed PPAs which are bound to affect the rating of independent power producers like ReNew. State discoms in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have attempted to walk this road.With technology moving fast, renewable companies are looking at an exciting time ahead. Technological advances like smart grids and storage are two of the things which ReNew management feels will play a big part in disrupting the sector.“Storage, both behind the meter as well as grid scale will emerge as a disruptive force in the Indian market. When the costs eventually come down, we will be able to deploy Giga-Factories for manufacturing of storage technologies in India. This will be a compliment deployment of renewable capacities across the country. A key innovation that is required to provide a fillip to the renewable energy industry is the setting up of a smart grid with an ability to accommodate a large share of renewable energy capacity,” said the spokesperson.Working in an extremely complex segment, the Sinha has insisted on fostering an entrepreneurial culture instead of a bureaucratic way of functioning and this is what, the spokesperson says, has kept the company keep abreast of the competition.With the government planning to generate 175 GW of its electricity through renewable energy, ReNew plans to consistently target 10% of the new capacity added every year in the country.
|
3D printing could significantly reduce downtime in offshore O&G
|
Using 3D printing technology to manufacture spares could drastically reduce offshore downtime in the oil and gas industry. The use of powder bed fusion additive processes is likely to rise, helping reduce costs by extending the lifespan of individual components, and reacting more efficiently to faulty ones. The ability to produce bespoke components like spare parts instantaneously on-site, and a reduced supply chain, will also prove a boon to the flagging industry.
|
http://www.eurekamagazine.co.uk/design-engineering-features/technology/is-the-oil-and-gas-industry-ready-for-additive-manufacturing-1/160267/
|
2017-09-03 19:00:00
|
Additive layer manufacturing technology has gained prominence in the aerospace sector and is being used for the rapid production of prototype parts. Its credibility has quite literally ‘taken off’ and is now used to build in-flight production components for aircraft.
Its applications are being adopted in other sectors such as medical and automotive as a potentially faster and more economical alternative to traditional manufacturing methods for certain applications. Though it offers huge potential to the oil and gas arena, its uptake so far has been limited. The industry’s risk-averse culture, lack of infrastructure and stringent standards have been cited by leaders as barriers to adoption.
Yet, as experienced in other industries, the technical and economic benefits far outweigh the obstacles. The oil and gas industry’s growing focus on operational efficiency in today’s low price climate is slowly driving change and a realisation that the challenges are not insurmountable.
Two main groups of technologies can be of benefit to the oil and gas industry: powder bed fusion and direct energy deposition. Both use a diverse range of metals in wire and powder form, which can be fused together using lasers, electron beams and electric arcs.
Asset life extension
For ageing oil and gas assets, replacement components may be difficult to source, require a long lead-time to manufacture and incur significant expense to produce.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, senior manufacturing engineer with the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) believes the direct energy deposition additive technique called laser metal deposition could be the answer to re-manufacture difficult to weld oil and gas components, such as those made of corrosion resistant steels and heat resistant super alloys.
He says: “Currently, no re-manufacturing procedures exist for some high value components, but by applying additive material to a specific area that’s worn; you can extend the life of a component, and increase its functional performance. This could play a key role in enabling oil and gas operators to reinstate their existing old equipment, reduce lead-time, allow options to extend maintenance schedule cycles, and increase functional performance.”
Laser metal deposition is a powder additive manufacturing process where powders are conveyed through a nozzle and a laser is used to melt the layer of powder into a desired shape. According to Fitzpatrick, this process offers many benefits for the oil and gas sector and in particular, for re-manufacturing applications.
“It has very fast cooling rates, which creates a very fine microstructure,” he says. “There is also very low dilution and heat-affected zone into the substrate material, meaning that thinnerclad layers can be applied whilst still ensuring that the clad composition is achieved.
“A secondary benefit to lower dilution and a small heat-affected zone is that there will be shallower residual stress profiles, meaning very little distortion of components. This process can be applied very accurately meaning fine features can be achieved with minimal post-process machining. Alloy powders can also be mixed together to create new alloys that can be functionally graded to obtain tailored properties.”
Though this technology has been around for several years, its adoption has been slow, which may be due to a lack of control and insight into the process.
“With growing research, advanced optics and the availability of high powered lasers achieving the correct parameter windows, the additive process is realising its potential,” Fitzpatrick explains: “This is particularly relevant for remanufacturing applications where old assets can be reinstated into service to last beyond original design life. In some instances, there is an opportunity to avoid unnecessary scrapping and increase performance to that greater than the original component. Overall, this will have a significant economic impact for oil and gas businesses.”
The AFRC is currently investigating deploying laser metal deposition for remanufacturing of aging assets, such as shafts, valves and pumps and as an alternative to traditional cladding of valves. A development process is initially undertaken so that porosity is mitigated and the correct parameter windows are identified to provide a quality output. This can then be tested and validated.
Building complete parts
There are other direct energy deposition technologies that could also have a big impact on the industry.
“A lot of oil and gas companies are also looking at wire arc additive manufacturing to start building complete parts,” says Fitzpatrick. “This method allows you to build a component from nothing to a near net shape state. Again, this isn’t a new process. It makes use of traditional gas metal arc welding techniques to build large structures, and offers the potential of improved material utilisation, extremely short lead times and overall cost reduction.”
The potential of offshore 3D printing
Additive layer manufacturing, a form of 3D printing, also offers significant opportunities. The use of powder bed fusion additive processes to manufacture spares for instance, is likely to increase, helping to save costs from not having to carry inventory. Other benefits include being able to rapidly produce complex prototype geometries and the consolidation of various parts into a single manufactured component bespoke to requirements, that may be difficult, if not impossible, to make using standard manufacturing techniques.
As manufacturing needs not be constrained to a complex fabrication facility, further reaching benefits for the oil and gas industry also include reduced supply chain as well as the future potential to produce parts quickly, when required, on an offshore asset, which could reduce the risk and costs of downtime.
Additive manufacturing and composite material systems will undoubtedly continue to replace many of the traditional uses of formed metallic parts and materials in the oil and gas industry. However, there are still an important set of conditions when forged and formed components are unquestionably the right answer – both economically and technically – to a particular design or manufacture challenge.
Research carried out by the AFRC has shown that additive manufacturing can offer opportunities to improve existing routes of material production or even to replace some of them. However, further research is needed to fully understand the influence of different process parameters on microstructure and properties of the final product.
|
Blockchain solar-energy marketplace Power Ledger raises AUD17m
|
Australian peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace Power Ledger has raised more than AUD17m ($13.6m) in presales, ahead of the country's first initial coin offering (ICO). Power Ledger's blockchain technology allows companies and organisations to buy and sell solar power directly over the network. The company said both distribution events had contribution caps, but that the ICO demand "significantly exceeded" their expectations. Power Ledger plans to use the funds to expand into India and other emerging markets.
|
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/solar-startup-power-ledger-ico-presale-nets-17-million-aud/
|
2017-09-03 19:00:00
|
Power Ledger, a blockchain-based peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace, has netted more than $17 million AUD through two POWR token presales. Once it opens to the ...
Power Ledger, a blockchain-based peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace, has netted more than $17 million AUD through two POWR token presales. Once it opens to the public, the Power Ledger ICO is expected to raise more than $30 million.
The Power Ledger ICO is Australia’s first initial coin offering, and the Perth-based company has attracted notable investors, including Blockchain Capital and venture capitalist Bill Tai.
The Power Ledger P2P marketplace, which has already been rolled out to some parts of Australia, allows property owners and organizations to buy and sell solar power over a blockchain-secured network. POWRs, which are ERC20 tokens and thus tradeable on the Ethereum blockchain, can be converted to SPARKZ, the marketplace’s native currency. Users can then trade SPARKZ for units of electricity on the company’s private blockchain.
According to a media release, Power Ledger held both a discounted private presale and a public presale. Both of these distribution events had contribution caps, and they raised a total of $17 million AUD, which includes $8.8 million in direct USD investment. On September 8, Power Ledger will begin an uncapped sale, after which they expect to have raised $30 million.
https://twitter.com/PowerLedger_io/status/903177331698798592
“Demand has significantly exceeded our expectations,” remarked co-founder and Managing Director Dave Martin. “As the first Australian ICO, we’ve been breaking new ground, and have been unable to rely on precedent to help us set targets. We initially hoped to raise a conservative AUD$5-$10 million, but the strength of the market response has been phenomenal.”
The company plans to use the funds to open its marketplace to new platforms, including India and other emerging markets.
“We want to spread the tokens far and wide, allowing as many potential future users access to them from inception and creating a diverse and powerful network,” Martin added. “We believe that literally giving power back to the people will catalyze the movement towards peer-to-peer renewable energy trading, which lies at the core of Power Ledger.”
|
Vestas partners with Tesla on wind farms that can store energy
|
Tesla has joined forces with Vestas Wind Systems to determine how wind turbines and batteries can be combined to store energy that can be used during non-windy periods. Vestas is looking to add energy storage to its present wind farm facilities, working on 10 projects to find a solution with battery manufacturers. Vestas currently has the largest market share among wind turbine makers in the US, ahead of General Electric. Tesla is seeking new opportunities for its batteries beyond electric cars and battery units.
|
https://about.bnef.com/blog/vestas-joins-with-tesla-to-combine-wind-turbines-with-batteries/
|
2017-09-01 16:21:29.427000
|
By Anna Hirtenstein
Tesla Inc. has partnered with Vestas Wind Systems A/S to figure out how to combine wind turbines and batteries, socking away power during breezy times to use when the air is still.
This partnership is part of a wider global program run by Vestas, the world’s biggest wind-turbine maker. It’s seeking to add energy storage to its wind farms and is working with a number of other battery makers on about 10 projects in total.
Vestas announced its new focus on storage at its latest annual general meeting in April, and the partnership with Tesla was first reported by Denmark’s Borsen newspaper. Chairman Bert Nordberg has said Vestas is seeking a new competitive edge amid consolidation in the industry and after it surpassed General Electric Co. last year to take the biggest market share in the U.S.
“Across a number of projects, Vestas is working with different energy storage technologies with specialised companies, including Tesla, to explore and test how wind turbines and energy storage can work together in sustainable energy solutions that can lower the cost of energy,” Vestas said in a statement on Friday.
The broader program started in 2012 with a project in Lem-Kaer, Denmark, with atest project to combine wind turbines and batteries. Vestas said it plans to commission additional projects worldwide.
Tesla has recently begun to seek new applications for its batteries beyond its electric cars and Powerwall battery units. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk signed a deal with the South Australian government in July to built a giant energy storage facility to help balance the grid.
|
Sembcorp buys private-equity stake in Indian renewables venture
|
Sembcorp Industries' subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities will acquire IDFC Private Equity Fund III's stake in Sembcorp Green Infra (SGI) for INR14.1bn ($220m) to take complete control of the company. In August, Sembcorp raised its stake in SGI to 72% for INR1bn. As the full owner of SGI, Sembcorp Industries will develop renewable power generation and deliver more sustainable electricity to its customers, said Sembcorp group president and CEO Neil McGregor. SGI's combined wind and solar power capacity in operation and under development comes to almost 1,200 MW.
|
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sembcorp-raises-stake-in-indian-green-energy-unit
|
2017-09-01 12:38:46.553000
|
Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) will invest $301 million to increase its stake in a renewable energy business in India.
Sembcorp's wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Utilities has agreed to acquire IDFC Private Equity Fund III's remaining stake in Sembcorp Green Infra (SGI) for 14.1 billion rupees (approximately S$301 million).
This comes after Sembcorp Utilities had raised its stake in SGI to 72 per cent for one billion rupees in August this year.
Sembcorp said SGI is one of the largest renewable energy providers in India, operating in seven states there.
It was awarded 250MW in India's first national wind power tender earlier this year, reflecting the strength of its capabilities, said Sembcorp.
"Buying IDFC's stake in SGI reaffirms Sembcorp's commitment to a long-term presence in India.
"The deal will allow us to drive SGI's growth as the 100 per cent owner, and increase our investment in a wind and solar generation portfolio that strongly complements our thermal power assets in the country," said Sembcorp group president and chief executive Neil McGregor.
|
World Bank to lend $150m to Indian solar project
|
The World Bank's private sector investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is to lend $150m to independent power producer Acme Jaipur Solar Power to build a 250 MW solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh. Acme solar projects in India already have an operating capacity of more than 809 MW. Acme secured $50m of debt finance from the IFC in 2015 for a project in Rajasthan, which was subsequently handed to France’s EDF Energies Nouvelles.
|
https://www.vccircle.com/ifc-likely-to-lend-150-mn-to-acme-jaipur-solar-power/
|
2017-09-01 11:43:38.230000
|
IFC likely to lend $150 mn to ACME Jaipur Solar Power
International Finance Corporation, the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank, is likely to provide debt financing worth $150 million (around Rs 960 crore) to ACME Jaipur Solar Power Pvt. Ltd to construct a 250 MW solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh.
IFC will provide $50 million by subscribing to non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and mobilise a loan worth $100 million from other lenders, it said in a disclosure. The project is estimated to cost around $200 million.
In February 2017, ACME Solar Holdings Ltd had won a bid to set up the 250 MW plant at the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh.
Advertisement
ACME Solar is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACME Cleantech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. ACME Jaipur Solar Power, a subsidiary of ACME Solar, will undertake the project development, construction, financing, operations and maintenance of the plant.
The plant is likely to be commissioned by November 2018 and the power generated will be sold to Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
The Madhya Pradesh government has appointed IFC as the lead transaction adviser to facilitate private investment for the Rewa solar project.
Advertisement
Earlier this week, IFC proposed to provide debt finance of $150 million (Rs 960 crore) to Actis-owned Solenergi for constructing a 250 MW solar power plant in the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park. The park is set to house three units of 250 MW each.
In 2015, IFC had provided $50 million debt finance to one of ACME Solar’s power plants in Rajasthan. But ACME Solar is no longer associated with the project as it has been handed over to France’s EDF Energies Nouvelles as part of an asset swap, according to the disclosure.
In November 2016, ACME Cleantech Solutions raised Rs 500 crore ($73 million) from billionaire Ajay Piramal-controlled Piramal Enterprises Ltd and Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management NV to buy out French firm EDF Energies Nouvelle and Luxembourg-based EREN Renewable Energy, which held a 25% stake each in group company ACME Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd.
Advertisement
ACME Solar is an independent power producer, which builds, owns and operates solar power plants in India. It has an operating capacity of over 809 MW solar projects in India.
ACME Group was founded by Manoj Upadhyay in 2003. The group is into energy, environmental and telecommunications infrastructure solutions.
IFC has both direct and indirect exposure to Indian companies. It often acts as a limited partner to local private equity and venture capital funds.
Advertisement
IFC joined hands with Tata Group to create the first private sector ‘green investment bank’ in India, called Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd. In May, IFC said it had planned to invest $40 million in Tata Cleantech.
IFC has emerged as a large investor in the renewable energy space.
Last year, it had invested $125 million in Hero Future Energies.
Advertisement
IFC had also invested in Azure Power and provided debt funding to Actis-backed Ostro Energy.
Share article on Leave Your Comments
|
AI helps in the fight to spot sex traffickers
|
The University of Berkeley, California has developed a method of finding human traffickers using machine learning. The technique utilises AI to spot common patterns in ads for sex workers on sites such as Backpage, and tracks the people behind the ads from publicly available data on the payment method, Bitcoin. The only way to pay for an ad on Backpage is through Bitcoin, making the payment traceable through the blockchain to a particular wallet. The technology was tested on 10,000 ads with 90% accuracy, and tracked a wallet that was responsible for $150,000 worth of ads, likely indicating an exploitation racket.
|
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23531414-800-ai-uses-bitcoin-trail-to-find-and-help-sextrafficking-victims/
|
2017-09-01 11:07:08.757000
|
Follow the money APA-PictureDesk GmbH/REX/Shutterstock
After Kubiiki Pride’s 13-year-old daughter disappeared, it took 270 days for her mother to find her. When she did, it was as an escort available to be rented out on an online classified web site. Her daughter had been drugged and beaten into compliance by a sex trafficker.
To find her, Pride had to trawl through hundreds of advertisements on Backpage.com, a site that in 2012, the last date for which stats are available, was hosting more than 70 per cent of the US market for online sex ads. When it comes to identifying signs of human trafficking in online sex adverts, the task for police is often no easier. Thousands of sex-related classifieds are posted every week. Some are legal posts. Other people, like Pride’s daughter, are forced to do it. Working out which ads involve foul play is a laborious task.
However, the task is being automated using a strange alliance of artificial intelligence and bitcoin.
Advertisement
Learn about the future of AI: Join DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis at New Scientist Live
“The internet has facilitated a lot of methods that traffickers can take advantage of. They can easily reach big audiences and generate a lot of content without having to reveal themselves,” says Rebecca Portnoff at the University of California, Berkeley.
But a new tool developed by Portnoff and her colleagues can ferret traffickers out. It uses machine learning to spot common patterns in suspicious ads, and then uses publicly available information from the payment method used to pay for them – bitcoin – to help identify who placed them.
The digital trail
The tool will help not only the investigation and intervention of potential traffickers, “but also to support prosecution efforts in an arena where money moves with rapidity across financial instruments and disappears from the evidence trail”, says Carrie Pemberton Ford at the Cambridge Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking.
There are about 4.5 million people who have been forced into sexual exploitation. In the US, many of them end up advertised on Backpage, the second biggest classified ad listing site. People list everything from events to furniture there, but it has also become associated with sex ads and sex trafficking – so much so that the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has said that the majority of child sex trafficking cases referred to them involve ads on Backpage.
Normally, the tell-tale sign that an advert involves trafficking is that the person behind it is responsible for many other adverts across the site. However, this is difficult to spot, as adverts mention the people being trafficked, not the traffickers.
To identify the authors of online sex ads, Portnoff’s tool looks at the style in which ads are written. Artificial intelligence trained on thousands of different adverts highlights when similar styles have been used, and clusters together likely candidates for further investigation.
The second step comes via the payment method. Credit card companies stopped the use of their services on Backpage in 2015, leaving bitcoin as the only way to paying for adverts.
Every transaction made using bitcoin is logged on a publicly available ledger called the blockchain. It doesn’t store identities, but every user has an associated wallet that is recorded alongside the transaction. The AI tool searches the blockchain to identify the wallet that corresponds to each advert.
Evidence for the prosecution
It is also easy to see when each ad was posted. “We look at cost of the ad and the timestamp, then connect the ad to a specific person or group. This means the police then have a pretty good candidate for further investigation,” says Portnoff.
Once the police know which ads are of dubious origin, they can call the numbers on them in the knowledge that they might well be linked to crime. “Narrowing down from the hundreds of thousands of ads online will be very useful for law enforcement officers who have to read through so many ads during an investigation,” says Portnoff.
During a four-week period, the research team tried out their tool on 10,000 adverts. It correctly identified about 90 per cent of adverts that had the same author, with a false positive rate of only 1 per cent. One of the bitcoin wallets they tracked down was responsible for $150,000 worth of sex adverts, possible evidence of an exploitation ring.
Backpage has not yet responded to New Scientist’s requests for comment.
The team is working with a number of different police forces and NGOs with the hope of using the tool in real investigations soon. The work was presented at the Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining in Canada this month.
The trafficker who kidnapped Kubiiki Pride’s daughter was eventually caught and sentenced to five years in prison. Successfully prosecutions like that are rare, but with Portnoff’s new tool that could soon change.
|
Shell to build world’s largest hydrogen electrolysis plant
|
Shell is heading a consortium that includes ITM Power and SINTEF, which aims to open a 10 MW hydrogen electrolysis plant at its Wesseling refinery site in Germany. The project, the biggest of its kind in the country, and the world's largest polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis facility, aims to test the technology on an industrial scale, as well as identify cost savings and develop new business models. "Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the integration of energy storage and grid balancing," said refinery director Dr Thomas Zengerly.
|
https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/149304/shell-build-worlds-largest-hydrogen-plant-kind-germany/
|
2017-09-01 10:55:51.163000
|
Shell is planning to build the world’s largest hydrogen electrolysis plant in Germany
The project, with ITM Power, will take shape at the Wesseling site of the Rhineland refinery.
With a capacity of ten megawatts, it would be the largest plant of its kind in Germany and the largest PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) electrolysis in the world.
In addition to the production of hydrogen, the technology could also contribute to the stabilization of the electricity grid with an increasing share of irregularly available renewable energies in the energy mix.
Shell represented by Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH and Shell Energy Europe Ltd, together with the European consortium partners ITM Power plc, SINTEF, thinkstep and Element Energy, have been invited by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU) to prepare a contract to promote the project.
The Rheinland refinery already uses around 180,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year for its production processes. This is produced by steam reforming from natural gas and water vapor. In the case of electrolysis, on the other hand, water is split into hydrogen and oxygen by means of current.
The project would enable the construction and operation of an electrolysis with a capacity of ten megawatts. The aim is to test the technology on an industrial scale, to achieve cost synergies and to develop new business models. The electrolysis operated with inexpensive electricity from renewable energies could be a key technology for a potential CO 2 free hydrogen generation in the Rhineland refinery.
“The planned hydrogen electrolysis would be a step that opens up many possibilities for the future,” says Raffineriedirektor Dr. Thomas Zengerly.
“The hydrogen produced can be fully integrated into the refinery processes. The site also allows the facility to be expanded at a later stage to deliver hydrogen to potential customers outside the refinery.”
“Hydrogen is a promising technology also beyond the direct use as a clean fuel in the transport sector . In the future hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the integration of energy storage and grid balancing. In this way, hydrogen can contribute to the reliability of the energy system with a growing share of irregularly available renewable energies in the energy mix,” said Brian Davis, VP, Integrated Energy Solutions at Shell.
|
Three San Diego hospitals fined for patient harm incidents
|
Three San Diego hospitals are among 10 across the state penalized Thursday for mistakes that severely injured, or killed, patients.
|
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-me-hospital-penalties-20170831-story.html
|
2017-09-01 10:25:45.380000
|
Three San Diego hospitals are among 10 across the state penalized Thursday for mistakes that severely injured, or killed, patients.
The California Department of Public Health levied a total of $618,002 in penalties against the facilities, including $233,650 in financial pain for Sharp Coronado Hospital, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns and Vibra Hospital of San Diego, for errors which included an attempted suicide, a sponge left inside a patient and a fall-related death.
It’s the first such penalty for Sharp Coronado, the fifth for Sharp Memorial and the second for Vibra.
Advertisement
All of the incidents are described in investigative reports which were also released by the state Thursday as part of an ongoing “immediate jeopardy” program created in 2007 by the state legislature in an attempt to curtail preventable harm in hospitals which are estimated to kill between 210,000 and 400,000 Americans each year.
The health department periodically penalizes hospitals after investigations are complete and notifies the public of the infractions. The latest batch of penalties involve incidents which occurred across a four-year span from 2012 to 2016.
Sharp Coronado received a $47,025 penalty for the most recent incident on the list. According to the state’s investigative report, a man arrived in the hospital’s emergency room on Sept. 24, 2015, and, when asked why he was there, reportedly told a security guard “that he would only talk to a doctor.”
Nearly one hour later, the man was found with a belt around his neck hanging from a hook in the emergency department’s bathroom. A medical team, according to the report, later found that the patient had gone so long without oxygen that he suffered severe brain damage and remained on a breathing machine, a feeding tube in his stomach, when he was discharged 21 days later.
The situation was made worse when a responding nurse was not able to open the restroom door because it was locked from the inside and the normal tools used to open the lock, usually a “pair of scissors or a dime” according to the report, were not immediately available.
In a statement, Sharp said it regrets the incident and has made changes.
“The plan of correction included steps to ensure that all emergency department patients are immediately seen by a nurse and that ED nurses are proficient at emergency access to restroom doors,” Sharp said in a statement.
Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns in Serra Mesa was fined $86,625 for failing to follow surgical procedures when a woman who underwent a C-section operation on Oct. 8, 2014, was later found to have an 18-inch-square sponge in her abdomen which was not removed before her surgical site was closed. The sponge was not discovered until 11 weeks later, and, by then had caused enough internal damage to require “removal of scar tissue, (her) right fallopian tube and part of (her) colon,” according to the state’s report.
Investigators were unable to determine whether the hospital’s policy of counting all sponges before each surgery, and again before closing surgical sites, was followed to the letter. Though interviews with nurses and other technicians involved in the procedure indicated that the employees thought they had followed the procedures, there was no way to prove that was the case because the white board used to track sponge counts is not part of each patient’s medical record.
The physician who performed the C-section, according to the state, “no longer works at the facility and was unavailable for interview.” It was unclear Thursday what exact circumstances made the doctor unavailable to investigators.
In a written statement, Sharp said it regrets the sponge slip up and has made changes at Mary Birch from mandatory education to enhancement of “sponge audits.” Those audits, the statement said, include “using clear plastic bags (instead of red biohazard bags) to collect removed sponges for easier visualization and counting” and “implementation of radio frequency technology which aids in identifying the location of surgical sponges.”
Vibra Hospital of San Diego, a long-term care facility in Hillcrest, was fined $100,000 after a patient, who was admitted on Sept 16, 2015, with multiple skin infections, a brain disorder and other serious medical issues, fell in his room on Sept 29. Investigators state in their report that the patient suffered a brain bruise called a subdural hematoma when his head struck the ground. He died on Oct. 2 and investigators later found that nurses assigned to the patient had not conducted a proper fall assessment.
Yameeka Jones, the facility’s chief executive, said in an email “Vibra Hospital of San Diego places the highest value on patient safety and has worked closely with the California Department of Public Health to remedy the deficiencies.”
Facilities fined by the state Wednesday, in addition to those in San Diego County, include:
Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Los Angeles: $75,000
Kindred Hospital South Bay, Gardena: $71,250
Loma Linda University Medical Center, Murietta: $42,750
Mission Community Hospital, Panorama City, $50,000
St. Joseph Hospital, Eureka: $40,000
Valley Children’s Hospital, Madera: $71,962
Health Playlist × On Now Video: Leaders urge public to help extinguish hepatitis outbreak On Now San Diego starts cleansing sidewalks, streets to combat hepatitis A On Now Video: Scripps to shutter its hospice service On Now Video: Scripps La Jolla hospitals nab top local spot in annual hospital rankings On Now Video: Does a parent's Alzheimer's doom their children? On Now EpiPen recall expands On Now Kids can add years to your life
[email protected]
(619) 293-1850
Twitter: @paulsisson
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.