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Waymo removes safety driver from autonomous vehicles

Alphabet's Waymo has begun testing its autonomous vehicles without a human fail-safe backup. Announcing the move at Web Summit in Lisbon, CEO John Krafcik stated that “fully self-driving cars are here”. The company is testing the technology in minivans in Phoenix, Arizona, and plans to offer it in a ride-hailing service within the next few months.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/11/fully-driverless-cars-are-here/

2017-11-08 08:10:40.177000

Driverless cars are here. Waymo, the Alphabet self-driving car company, now has cars driving on public roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area with no one in the driver's seat. Waymo CEO John Krafcik plans to announce the news today in a speech at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. For the last year, Waymo has offered free taxi rides to ordinary people who live near the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. Until recently, the company's modified Chrysler Pacifica minivans had a Waymo employee in the driver's seat ready to take control if the car malfunctioned. Waymo is now confident enough in its technology to dispense with a safety driver. The company has released a video showing Waymo cars driving around the Phoenix area with no one in the driver's seat: At first, most of Waymo's driverless cars will have an employee in the back observing the vehicle's behavior. If something goes really wrong, they'll be able to push the "pull over" button to stop the car. In the coming months, participants in Waymo's early rider program will start getting the option to ride in fully driverless vehicles. Some time after that, Waymo will launch a commercial driverless taxi service that's open to members of the general public in the Phoenix metropolitan area and beyond. Waymo’s first product will be a taxi service Industry watchers have long assumed that a Phoenix taxi service would be Waymo's first product. But as recently as last week, Waymo was still playing coy about the question, suggesting that it might get into the trucking business instead. Now, Waymo is officially announcing that its first commercial product will be a driverless taxi service. There's a dichotomy in the industry when it comes to autonomous cars. On the one hand, you have companies like Tesla and Volvo that want to sell you a car that drives you around. Others, including Waymo, want to operate fleets of robotaxis themselves. Some car companies, including GM, BMW, and Volkswagen, are pursuing both strategies simultaneously. Companies selling cars to customers envision a future where today's driver-assistance systems—like lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control—gradually evolve into more sophisticated self-driving software, with human drivers intervening less and less frequently over time. Advertisement Google initially considered this same gradualist approach, which could have led to licensing partially self-driving technology to automakers. But early tests convinced the company that it was a bad idea. Google employees who got to test early prototypes started trusting the technology way too quickly. Google captured videos of test drivers looking at their smartphones, putting on makeup, and even napping in the driver's seat while cars zoomed down the freeway. So Google changed its strategy. The company decided that instead of selling cars, it would build a taxi service built around cars designed from the ground up for driverless operation. Customers would never be required—or even allowed—to take the wheel. This strategy allows Google—now Waymo—to pursue a different kind of gradualism. In the old model, cars could go anywhere, but at first the software would only drive some of the time. In the new model, the software drives all the time, but at first the cars can only go certain places. Specifically, Waymo's fully driverless cars will initially only navigate in a small portion of the Phoenix metropolitan area around the southeastern suburb of Chandler. Within this zone, the cars are able to go anywhere a conventional taxi can go. But the cars will refuse any trip that would take them outside of this carefully chosen area. To aid with navigation, Waymo has built high-resolution three-dimensional maps of its service area. Self-driving software in each car can compare the objects identified by sensors to objects on the map, allowing it to quickly distinguish stationary objects like trees and buildings from mobile objects like cars and pedestrians. As Waymo expands its map and acquires more vehicles, it will also expand its service area. Before too long, Waymo expects to offer service across the entire Phoenix metropolitan area. Eventually, Waymo will extend service to other metropolitan areas using the same incremental approach. Why Waymo is launching first in Phoenix A big advantage of starting in Phoenix is the region's excellent weather. It's warm and sunny there almost every day. Tricky situations like rain, snow, and ice are rare—though Waymo says its cars are able to drive safely in light rain. Waymo recently expanded its testing into Detroit to prepare for an eventual expansion of the service into colder parts of the United States. In addition to nice weather, the Phoenix area has wide, well-maintained streets and less traffic congestion than most major cities. "I'm not going to say Phoenix drivers are the best drivers, but the Phoenix metro area is an easy place to drive," Phoenix resident Eric de Gaston told Ars last month. Advertisement Perhaps the most important factor is the regulatory climate. Arizona's leaders have bent over backward to attract Waymo and other self-driving car makers to the Phoenix area. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a two-page executive order in 2015 designed to encourage self-driving car testing in the state. Besides that, Arizona doesn't have any special legislation or regulations related to self-driving cars. Last month, I asked Ryan Harding, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation, if there were any legal barriers to launching a fully driverless self-driving taxi service in the state. "I'm not aware of any current law that would prohibit" fully driverless taxis on public streets, Harding said. "We don't have a problem with that." In the last year, Waymo's minivans have become a common sight in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler. "I live in Chandler. You see Waymo units all over the damn place," a Redditor wrote last month. "When it first started, a lot of people I think were kind of afraid," said Scott Suaso, who lives near Chandler and sees Waymo cars on a daily basis. "That was a year ago. These days, no one really seems to care. Everybody has become so used to seeing them." Ars got a preview of Waymo’s fully driverless cars last week Last week we were invited to visit Waymo's secretive test facility in the California desert to see Waymo's fully driverless cars in action. In a conventional car, the main user interface is the steering wheel, pedals, and other controls on the dashboard. But no one will be allowed in the driver's seat in Waymo's cars. So the company has had to think about building a user interface for a car where everyone is a passenger. Customers hail cars with an Uber-style app, so the car itself barely needs a user interface at all. There's a pair of video screens mounted on the backs of the front seats, and a row of four buttons on the ceiling above the middle row of seats. The main function of the video screens is to increase passengers' confidence in the safety of the self-driving software. The screens show a stylized map of the area immediately around the car, with outlines of pedestrians, other cars, bicycles, and so forth marked. Passengers will be able to compare what they see on the screen to what they see out the window and confirm that the car really does understand the road situation. The leftmost button initiates a call to Waymo's customer service center. The second button locks and unlocks the doors. The third button causes the car to pull over—though Waymo says the car won't stop in an unsafe place, like in the middle of an intersection. The rightmost button tells the car to start the ride.

Trump arrives in China seeking progress on North Korea and trade

Donald Trump is arriving in China at a time that President Xi is in the ascendant after a successful party congress, while the US president's approval ratings are at a new low. Trump will be looking for wins in a number of areas including over America's huge trade deficit and how to rein in North Korea. He is also seeking deals in a number of sectors, such as energy, aviation and financial services, with $9bn worth of deals between the two countries already announced by commerce secretary Wilbur Ross. 

https://qz.com/1120975/trump-in-china-heres-how-xi-jinping-wins/?mc_cid=5eb1842723&mc_eid=a37072368a

2017-11-08 08:06:32.440000

When Donald Trump hosted Xi Jinping at his private club Mar-a-Lago in April, the American president informed his Chinese counterpart—over “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake,” as Trump told reporters later—that he had ordered a missile attack against Syria. Like that, the first Trump-Xi summit was overshadowed by the Syria strikes. Syria isn’t central to US-China relations, but by design or otherwise, the way Trump looped Xi in on such an important geopolitical development suggested he was the one in control. Advertisement When the two leaders meet again this week in Beijing, in the middle of Trump’s 11-day Asian tour, it will be difficult for the US president to come across as the more dominant one. Since their last encounter, Xi’s domestic position has grown stronger, while Trump’s has weakened. Xi consolidated his power at the recently concluded Communist Party congress, while Trump, amid investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, failed to push through promised changes on health care and now faces a fresh battle on tax reform. At the top of the agenda for the second Trump-Xi summit is, still, North Korea and trade—two items that, in Trump’s view, can be leveraged against each other. But the rogue regime of Kim Jong-un has become even more belligerent, conducting one nuclear and 12 missile tests since Trump and Xi met in April. Needing Beijing’s help to rein in Pyongyang, Trump, despite his threats, has yet to impose any major punitive measures against China over the alleged unfair trade practices he railed against while campaigning last year. It’s easier to see how Xi comes out a winner from the pair’s second meeting. “Xi would be fine having a symbolism-heavy, substance-light visit, largely because he does not want or need a lot from Trump, and is broadly comfortable with the relationship as it currently stands,” wrote Ryan Hass, a foreign-policy expert at the Brookings Institution, in late October. Below, some of the ways Xi can emerge from Trump’s visit victorious. Advertisement Keep Trump full, flattered, and fatigued China will welcome Trump with a lavish reception, including a military honor guard and a formal banquet, according to Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the US. Touting a “state visit-plus” experience, Cui said there will also be some “special arrangements” for Trump, without elaborating further. “Trump is a president who loves to be flattered—and the Chinese know how to flatter,” wrote David Lampton, director of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Lampton pointed to a visit to China in the 1940s by US president Franklin Roosevelt’s special envoy Wendell Willkie. According to an account by American general Joseph Stilwell, then Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek dragged Willkie around to see and hear only what his hosts wanted him to, including factories, girl scouts, and sewing circles. The idea, Stilwell wrote, was to “get him so exhausted and keep him so torpid with food and drink that his faculties will be dulled and he’ll be stuffed with the right doctrines.” Advertisement Lavish proceedings seemed to work out for Saudi Arabia when it hosted Trump in May on his first overseas trip as president. Trump was all smiles in the gulf kingdom while receiving gold jewelry and playing with swords. A packed schedule of extravagant yet tedious events would also test Trump’s stamina: At 71, he is past the Communist Party’s standard retirement age of 68. Dodge North Korea trouble This year North Korea has annoyed Xi repeatedly with the timing of its weapons tests. Xi doesn’t want the same thing happening this week. Pyongyang launched a missile just days before the first Trump-Xi summit, and it fired another in mid-May right as Xi was about to tout his pet project, the Belt and Road initiative, to dozens of world leaders gathered in Beijing. In September Pyongyang conducted its latest and most powerful nuclear test just as Xi was about to deliver the opening remarks for the BRICS summit in southeast China. And as Trump headed toward Asia for the current trip, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported brisk activity at missile research facilities in North Korea. Advertisement In this context, Xi will be delighted if North Korea simply refrains from conducting a weapons test during Trump’s visit. Pyongyang did forgo a chance to interrupt the Communist Party congress—the most important event on China’s political calendar—and Kim even sent a note congratulating Xi on his re-election as party chief. Xi in turn sent Kim a note calling for stable ties between the two nations. Trump has called on China to apply more economic pressure against North Korea, but he’s also offered praise when it’s done so. Xi will be hoping for more of the latter. China recently released data showing its trade with North Korea has fallen significantly, coming after Beijing followed through on UN sanctions. What Xi doesn’t want is Trump pressing him for sanctions that won’t serve China’s interests—for example, an outright oil embargo that could destabilize the Kim regime to the point of sparking a refugee crisis at China’s border. Advertisement Avoid trade issues but give Trump deals to tout Trump will want some business wins to brag about back home. According to Bloomberg, one of the biggest deals to be announced will be a multibillion-dollar energy investment from China’s state-owned oil giant Sinopec creating thousands of jobs in Texas and the US Virgin Islands. The project, expected to be in the form of a non-binding memorandum of understanding, would include a pipeline running about 700 miles (1,126 km) across Texas. As welcome as such one-off business deals are, Lampton noted, “they don’t move the overall economic relationship in a direction favourable to US interests or the goals Trump set for his own political base.” Trump remains unhappy about US-China trade in general and views China as being engaged in all sorts of unfair practices, among them dumping commodities like aluminum and stealing intellectual property. He’s ordered probes into China’s IP practices and exports of steel and aluminum to the US, but so far no investigation results have been announced. Advertisement US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters a few weeks ago that the two sides will probably announce some “decent deliverables” at the Trump-Xi summit, but it will take longer to fix complex issues such as IP and forced technology transfer. While Xi will deny Trump the big concessions he craves on trade and North Korea, he won’t let him go home “totally empty-handed,” wrote Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California, in a Nikkei column last week. The most likely outcome of the summit, Pei believes, is “a series of specific agreements between Chinese and American companies that will allow Trump to claim new job opportunities for his blue-collar voters.” Steer clear of the South China Sea Amid all the hand-wringing over North Korea, Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea has received less attention than merited. In his April meeting with Xi, Trump merely urged China to follow international norms in its maritime disputes with regional neighbors. At that time, he had yet to approve a freedom-of-navigation operation challenging China’s claims in the vital waterway, which carries a large chunk of world trade but, some fear, could essentially become a “Chinese lake.” In May, however, a US warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, a feature naturally submerged at high tide but now hosting a Chinese military base. The close passage, coupled with a “maneuvering drill,” signaled the US does not recognize Mischief as generating a territorial sea. More operations near other Chinese outposts have followed since—including in July, August, and October—all challenging what Washington views as China’s excessive maritime claims. Advertisement China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, even though an international tribunal ruled last year that the claim had neither legal nor historical basis. Beijing dismissed the ruling and routinely warns the US against the operations, saying in July, for instance, that it was “firmly opposed to such flaunting of force and promotion of militarization in the region by the US, which could easily trigger accidents at sea and in the air.” Beijing has warned the US to not bring up the South China Sea issue when Trump visits. It’ll be a win for Xi if Trump doesn’t, or if he at least keeps any reference to it generic, as he did in April. Use the visit for a PR win Much planning has no doubt gone into how Trump’s visit will be portrayed in China’s state-controlled media. While Beijing’s propaganda machine was relatively muted during Xi’s trip to Florida, presumably due to uncertainty over how the trip would unfold, it will be at full speed this week trying to portray Xi as the more sophisticated leader and emphasizing any show of respect from Trump toward Xi. Advertisement After Xi was re-elected Communist Party chief at the recent national congress, nearly every front page in China looked the same, all emphasizing Xi’s powerful position. Many front pages also included another crucial indication of Xi’s status: the news that US president Donald Trump called Xi to congratulate him on his re-election. Similarly, this week we can expect to see any compliments, deference, or friendliness from Trump toward Xi played up prominently in Chinese media. At the same time, Xi will want to appear stronger than Trump wherever possible. Comments he makes to subtly one-up his guest will likely be emphasized—for example, Xi championing global trade and warning against protectionism as the “America-first” president looks on.

Major UK care provider Four Seasons taken over by US hedge fund

Four Seasons, the UK’s second-largest care home provider, is to be taken over by privately-owned US hedge fund and property investor H/2 Capital. Four Seasons, which has debts of £525m ($689m) and is responsible for 17,000 elderly and vulnerable people, has struggled due to state funding cuts, increased costs resulting from the national living wage and the loss of European Union nurses in the wake of the Brexit vote. The company is owned by Terra Firma, the private equity group belonging to multi-millionaire Guy Hands. The Care Quality Commission, which regulates and inspects care homes, is monitoring the situation.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/08/us-hedge-fund-to-take-over-indebted-care-home-provider-four-seasons

2017-11-08 00:00:00

Struggling care home provider Four Seasons, which is responsible for 17,000 elderly and vulnerable people, is set to be taken over by a US hedge fund in a complex rescue deal being closely monitored by regulators. Four Seasons has buckled under the pressure of state funding cuts, a shortage of EU nurses since the Brexit vote, higher costs after the introduction of the national living wage and meeting repayments on a debt pile of £525m. The UK’s second-largest care home provider, owned by multi-millionaire Guy Hands’ private equity group Terra Firma, put forward its own survival plan last month ahead of a £26m debt repayment due in December that it would have been unable to honour. But H/2 Capital, a privately-owned hedge fund and property investor based in Stamford, Connecticut that has gradually bought up the majority of Four Seasons’ debt, countered with an alternative proposal that will see it take over ownership. The proposals will leave Terra Firma sitting on a huge loss from an investment that this week’s Paradise Papers leaks reveal was designed to generate a near-£900m windfall via a complex system of loans facilitating legal tax avoidance. Under H/2’s rescue plan, which has been welcomed by Terra Firma, the US firm will inject £135m of equity into the business, cancel £247m of debt and defer interest payments until March 2018. Terra Firma will also inject £45m of new equity and will be left with just an 11% stake in the business. H/2 also intends to spend £25m on refurbishing some of Four Seasons’ 335 care homes and its 25 hospitals and specialist care centres, and set up a £15m bonus scheme for its 25,000 staff. It is not clear what experience the company has in running care homes. The “Strategy” section of its website focuses on investments in rental housing in the US. But the company’s proposal offers a much-needed exit for Terra Firma from an investment that has been among the most disastrous in a portfolio that also included the collapse of EMI under its debts. It bought Four Seasons for £825m in 2012 and has failed to turn it around despite £450m of investment, eventually being forced to write down the value of the business to a nominal sum. Information revealed in the Paradise Papers reveals that Terra Firma hoped to extract £890m from the company by arranging costly loans from its own subsidiaries. The private equity firm eventually had to write off the debt but interest payments have still proved unaffordable, amid a perfect storm of increased costs and lower funding from government. The Brexit vote has added to Four Seasons’ woes as a 96% reduction in the number of nurses coming to Britain from the EU has forced it to turn to more expensive agency nurses. Responding to H/2’s proposal, Terra Firma said: “We stand ready to agree the transfer of our interest [...] to the creditors for a nominal sum as part of this restructuring.” Spencer B Haber, H/2 Capital’s chairman and chief executive, said: “We firmly believe that with the right stewardship, enterprises like Four Seasons best serve their investors when they best serve their residents. Responsible private capital understands the primacy of resident care and peace of mind for their families. He said Four Seasons staff were “more than capable of setting an example here, right across the social care community. While we share a mission with these talented individuals, it is their role – and not ours – that holds the consequence and the challenge. “We just need to do the easy part, which is to enable them by providing the bedrock of financial stability, aligned incentives, and a fair cost of capital that enables the Group to carry out the solemn responsibility of caring for 17,000 vulnerable people.” The real estate company, which has no significant investments in healthcare or in the UK, is proposing to install Baroness Ford as Four Seasons chairman. The cross-bench peer served as chairman of Grove Limited, the holding company of Barchester Healthcare, between 2012 and 2015. She has also been a director of energy regulator Ofgem, the Scottish prison service and chaired the Olympic Park Legacy Company. The Care Quality Commission, a division of the Department of Health that regulates and inspects health and social care services, said it was monitoring the situation closely. Speaking last month, after Four Season’s original rescue plan was proposed, the CQC said the firm’s effort to refinance itself “would provoke some anxiety but is an important step in securing the long-term financial future of this company”.

Department of Defense looks to shift medical authority from FDA

The US Department of Defense may gain the power to approve drugs and medical devices under a proposed bill. Critics have said that Section 732 of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act could "undermine" medical safety and potentially increase the risk for soldiers, but the bill's backers have said that the move is necessary and long overdue. The FDA said that introducing a new method of approving drugs could be "risky", since it empowers the Pentagon to authorise the use unapproved drugs and devices on military personnel.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/06/defense-department-health-committee-fda-drugs-military-244604

2017-11-07 19:10:24.023000

FDA officials counter that creating a new pathway to approve drugs is both risky and — in the specific case cited by Thornberry — not needed. “FDA has been working closely with DoD to bring freeze-dried plasma to our troops and anticipates that these products will be fully approved for safe and effective use for our armed forces as early as 2018,” an FDA official told POLITICO. Section 732 of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act creates a new regulatory structure that would allow the Pentagon to sign off on unapproved devices and drugs for emergency use on military personnel and others in harm’s way. The bill is in conference committee with final language expected as early as this week. FDA currently has sole authority to authorize drugs and devices for emergency use. “It’s unprecedented,” said one Democratic aide who works on medical safety issues. “We’ve never had a process for where an individual agency could [approve] drugs and devices ... for its own use” and outside of the FDA. “It’s a massive shift.” The language states that DoD would be able to approve “emergency uses for medical products to reduce deaths and severity of injuries caused by agents of war.” For instance, DoD could approve the use of freeze-dried plasma, which the department has repeatedly said can save the lives of military personnel who have suffered blood loss on the battlefield. While a small number of elite soldiers currently are deployed with access to freeze-dried plasma, the product is still awaiting full FDA approval, which hadn’t been expected until 2020. “Traditional pathways to [FDA] approval and licensure of critical medical products, like freeze dried plasma, for battlefield use are too slow to allow for rapid insertion and use of these products on the battlefield,” according to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s conference report, defending its recommendation of the provision. “The committee believes this provision could lead to even higher survival rates from severe battlefield wounds suffered by servicemembers.” But because the report language is so broad — for instance, “agents of war” isn’t a legal definition — staff say that it would open the door for the military to approve a wide range of products and treatments. For instance, DoD could plausibly approve a vaccine for soldiers who come down with the flu while deployed, one congressional aide said. The conference language would create two safeguards. First, a new DoD committee of health care experts, appointed by the Defense secretary, would need to recommend emergency use of an unapproved drug or device. Second, the assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs would need to authorize the drug’s or device’s use after consulting with FDA. But congressional aides and HHS staff say those standards don’t measure up to current safety practices. Rather than base a drug or device approval on years of safety and efficacy evaluations, it “leaves the decision up to a five-man committee,” said one individual with knowledge of how the DoD committee would be staffed. The Pentagon also could ignore FDA’s advice as necessary. Staff on congressional committees with health jurisdiction say they were blindsided by the language, backed by Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), and have fought to remove it. But the provision is expected to remain, one individual with knowledge of the deliberations said on Monday afternoon. A Senate aide noted that it has bipartisan support from defense lawmakers. Congressional staff involved in crafting the NDAA also defended the process of preparing the conference report. Three House Energy and Commerce Committee members — Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Texas Republican Joe Barton — were appointed to help negotiate Section 732, among other provisions in the bill that affect their jurisdictions. HHS has warned Congress that the provision would undermine decades of existing protections and processes. For instance, DoD wouldn’t have access to FDA’s data, which means a decision could be made based on limited information provided by a drug or device manufacturer. DoD also wouldn’t be collecting safety and efficacy data in the same way as FDA. FDA offered an alternative proposal, which would have expedited drug and device reviews and approval upon a DoD request, but the language wasn’t accepted. FDA would not comment on the agency’s reported concerns with the bill. “The FDA does not generally comment on pending or potential legislation,” spokesperson Jen Rodriguez said. Connor O’Brien contributed to this report.

CVS plans next-day prescription drug delivery service

CVS Health has announced plans deliver prescription drugs to customers from next year, in a bid to challenge Amazon's predicted expansion in the the sector. Deliveries will be next-day, with some larger locations even offering a same-day service. The company's retail sales decreased in Q3 2017, largely due to fallout from the three hurricanes the US endured. CVS is also entering discussions with health insurer Aetna regarding a potential acquisition deal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/health/cvs-delivery-prescriptions-amazon.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth

2017-11-07 18:49:21.767000

Anxiety over such a market upheaval is said to have partly driven CVS to enter into talks with Aetna, the large health insurer, over a potential acquisition. Larry Merlo, the president and chief executive of CVS Health, did not discuss the potential deal in a call with analysts on Monday. Free delivery will be available “within hours” for prescription drug orders, as well as a “curated selection of over-the-counter products” in Manhattan beginning Dec. 4, the company said. Same-day delivery would expand to Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco early next year. Next-day delivery, from local stores, would become available in the rest of the country. A CVS spokeswoman, Erin Pensa, said delivery fees outside of Manhattan will vary by location, and have not yet been made public. She also said the company’s delivery partner has not been announced, but “we’ve been able to use our scale to negotiate low-cost, affordable options for all CVS Pharmacy customers.” “Our goal is to meet the needs of all of our customers wherever, however and whenever they want,” Helena Foulkes, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Pharmacy, said in a statement Monday. CVS said Monday that retail sales, which include prescription sales, fell 2.7 percent in the third quarter, although that was offset by the performance of its pharmacy services business, which manages drug benefits for employers and insurers. That unit saw revenues increase by 8.1 percent. Overall, third-quarter revenues increased by 3.5 percent, or $1.6 billion, to $46.2 billion, compared to the third quarter of 2016.

PayPal said ready to launch Indian payment services

PayPal is reportedly ready to roll out domestic payment services in India through tie-ups with local banks. The company currently only facilitates cross-border payments for small operators in the country but sources said it has already partnered with several merchants to enable online checkouts. PayPal has not confirmed the move.

https://inc42.com/buzz/digital-payments-paypal-payment-services/

2017-11-07 17:51:25.593000

Currently PayPal Is Operational In India Only For Cross-border Digital Payments Global digital payments player PayPal is expected to offer domestic payment services in India from next week, as per sources close to the development. With its new service in India, PayPal is expected to act as a payment aggregator and work with banks to offer digital payment services to its customers. The source stated that PayPal has tied up with a dozen merchants to start off operations in India, wherein during the online checkout process customers will be shown the PayPal payment option. PayPal, with its set of expertise, could also drive digital payments at merchant locations, which are still predominantly card or cash. However, an email query sent to a PayPal spokesperson elicited the following response, “The story is speculative and PayPal does not comment on market speculations and rumors.” PayPal And The Exploding Digital Payments Space In India For now, PayPal is operational in India only for cross-border payments for small merchants, entrepreneurs and freelancers selling goods and services abroad. In August 2016, it announced the launch of PayPal.me – a new peer to peer payment feature which allows users to receive payment via the click of a link in a fast, convenient and personalised way. If the development proves to be true, it will see yet another global player entering the digital payments market in India which is getting overcrowded with domestic and global companies. If PayPal brings in its domestic payment services, then it would have to battle market leader Paytm, along with players like Google’s Tez, WhatsApp, Flipkart-owned Phonepe, Mobikwik, and Amazon Pay. Unlike India, in the US, the company has an expanded suite of offerings, including a payment gateway business, peer-to-peer payments, merchant payments, remittances, and retail offline transactions. The company also has a credit product there named PayPal Credit. In India, however, it might only introduce merchant payments, to begin with. While it has not applied for a prepaid payments instrument (PPI) licence from Reserve Bank of India to operate a digital wallet, but it could use the Unified Payments Interface infrastructure through banks to facilitate domestic payments. The global player has slowly been adding to its repertoire in India. Strengthening its leadership team in India, last year the company appointed its former technology head for Asia-Pacific, Anupam Pahuja, as its Managing Director for India. In July, it hired LendingClub’s former vice president of finance, Gunjan Shukla, as Chief Financial Officer for its India business. This was followed by the appointment of Siddharth Dhamija, previously Chief Growth Officer at Razorpay, as its head of growth and large merchant acquisition in India in September. The digital payments player also grabbed headlines when it was said to be in the race to acquire 25% stake in FreeCharge for $200 Mn in December 2016. In August this year, it has announced the launch of two Technology Innovation Labs at the Chennai and Bengaluru Tech centres. The lab is the first by PayPal in India and the third after US and Singapore. If PayPal does bring its entire range of payments services from North America to India, Indian audience will have yet another secure and safe way to make digital payments. And it will become yet another contender in the hotly contested digital payments turf in India, which as per the recent Google and Boston Consulting Group report, is projected to reach $500 Bn by 2020, contributing 15% to India’s GDP.

AI poses great danger to humanity: Stephen Hawking

The advent of artificial intelligence could be the "worst event in the history of our civilisation" unless precautions are taken, according to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. Despite the technology's many potential benefits, it could bring about humanity's destruction, said Hawking, citing autonomous weapons systems and "new ways for the few to oppress the many" as specific concerns. To avoid this outcome, best practice guidelines and "effective management" must be employed, said Hawking; he pointed to recent European legislation as a step not the right direction.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/06/stephen-hawking-ai-could-be-worst-event-in-civilization.html

2017-11-07 17:37:39.637000

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) could be the "worst event in the history of our civilization" unless society finds a way to control its development, high-profile physicist Stephen Hawking said Monday. He made the comments during a talk at the Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in which he said, "computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence, and exceed it." Hawking talked up the potential of AI to help undo damage done to the natural world, or eradicate poverty and disease, with every aspect of society being "transformed." But he admitted the future was uncertain. "Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. We just don't know. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped by AI, or ignored by it and side-lined, or conceivably destroyed by it," Hawking said during the speech. "Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid, the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. It brings dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many. It could bring great disruption to our economy."

China's AI ambitions far exceed those of regional rivals

Chinese universities are far outpacing their Asian rivals when it comes to AI research. In a recent list of the top 100 most-cited research papers on AI globally, the Chinese Academy of Sciences was the third most-cited institution on AI research, with Microsoft in first place. China's regional rivals came far behind, with Japan and South Korea's highest entries at 64th and 97th places respectively. China has recently lured back talent from the US, offering massive financial incentives to work in a thriving, competitive environment, and of the top 100 institutions, 15 are Chinese. 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Tech-Science/Tech/China-s-AI-ambitions-revealed-by-list-of-most-cited-research-papers

2017-11-07 16:56:07.907000

TOKYO -- In what might be regarded as testament to China's keen interest in artificial intelligence, two of the country's universities were among the leaders in a list showing sources of the most frequently cited research papers in the AI field. The list, compiled from an analysis of scholarly publications by The Nikkei and Elsevier -- the Amsterdam-based giant of academic publishing -- was created by counting the number of research papers that were cited between 2012 and 2016. A high citation count is generally considered to be an indicator of research quality.

The healthcare of tomorrow will move away from hospitals

The US News & World Report's Healthcare of Tomorrow conference discussed the future of healthcare, narrowing down the trends into four main areas: a move towards home-based care; a greater focus on value-based care; greater awareness of the social determinants of health; and the growing need for bipartisan input. The first trend, home care provision for patients, offers more comprehensive, cost-effective services in a more convenient location for patients using technology. Telemedicine can offer rural patients increased access, and is likely to be more common as a general health care channel once it is more widely used as a “regular” care path. Growing consumerism in healthcare has led to a greater focus on keeping health care at home for convenience. The change to a more value-based care system, however, has taken some time to implement. The CMS has finalized the Quality Payment Program regulation for next year, but this exempts a significant number of doctors. Private healthcare companies are partnering to offer technology and data-driven, value-based care options. Medical companies find it difficult to innovate, as the system presents as a value-based one, while still functioning as fee-for-service in terms of business income. However, the general opinion within health management organizations is that care delivery will be revolutionized within the next five to ten years through virtualized and technology-based services, offered through platforms, apps and services. Remote care delivery models could also disrupt the present system. Value-based insurance is also an area where patients can be incentivized, moving them away from lower-value care. Social determinants are an increasingly important area of focus, as evidence grows that issues such as food security, affordable housing and more affect the changes in good health outcomes. Payers should be considering how social determinants affect health as it could help to prevent issues before they arise, creating savings for ER departments and other emergency healthcare points. The final trend is the increasing call on forming bipartisan agreements for healthcare. The difficulties that recently arose with the “repeal and replace” agenda of the present administration, as well as the ongoing budget issues, create uncertainty that leads to an unstable healthcare environment. Major social programs require the support of all political groups to succeed, with healthcare advocates calling for Congress to abandon the idea of reforming the Affordable Care Act and to actively work across parties to improve it.

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/the-healthcare-of-tomorrow-will-move-away-from-hospitals/510131/

2017-11-07 16:36:36.217000

The question of what the healthcare of tomorrow will look like prompts a broad, compelling thought experiment. As healthcare professionals of all stripes gathered in downtown Washington, D.C., last week to discuss that very question, a few key ideas emerged. Here are the most interesting ideas Healthcare Dive found at U.S. News & World Report's Healthcare of Tomorrow conference. Care is moving back into the patient’s home Health systems that embrace the patient movement toward consumerism are on the right track, according to several speakers at the conference. Locating services in a patient’s home or somewhere close by and easily accessible is more convenient for patients, but also produces more comprehensive and effective care. Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini (who, despite some clever questioning from the moderator, declined to comment on “market speculation or rumor” that the payer could be acquired by CVS) said the home is the least expensive and most convenient setting for care. If it can’t be in the home, it should be at a retail clinic only a few miles away, he said. “If you have to go to the hospital, we have failed you. What if that were the way the system was designed?” he said. One key way the home can become a primary setting for healthcare is through telemedicine. This is particularly true in rural areas, where a patient may have to drive hours to get to their doctor’s office. And it will become more and more common as telemedicine becomes more widely adopted and stops being perceived as a separate category from “regular” care. “The novelty of telehealth has fallen by the wayside,” said Christopher Northam, vice president for telehealth at HCA. “There used to be a lot more focus on the technology. Now the focus is on clinical measurement.” Younger people are a big part of the drive toward consumerism in healthcare, and they want to receive care at their homes, Northam said. “That will shut down hospitals,” he added. Dr. David Tsay, associate CIO at the New York-Presbyterian Innovation Center, agreed and said a lot of changes will take place in the next 10 years. “I think hospitals will look very, very different,” he said. “Hospitals will primarily be ICUs and ORs, and the rest of care will be done in the convenience of the home.” Bertolini said ultimately it will come down to what patients demand as consumers, so creating a compelling and enjoyable experience will be key. “Us as customers — as consumers — disrupt the industry. Because we say we no longer want that, we want this.” Conversion to value-based care continues — but at a glacial pace HHS under President Donald Trump has walked back some of the previous administration’s payment reform efforts. Although CMS is vocal that it wants to continue the shift from volume to value, the recently finalized Quality Payment Program rule for 2018 indicates otherwise considering the large amount of physicians the administration is exempting from the regulation. Still, albeit slowly, the industry continues to embrace this shift toward value-based care. The openness to change has resulted in olive branches being extended across the industry as incumbents look to figure out business in the shifting environment. The result is a mix of strategic partnerships and alliances as the lines between traditional healthcare companies begin to blur. Biotech company Amgen partnered with Humana for an outcomes-based research project that will identify high-risk patients using technology and real-world data, Dr. Jason Spangler, executive director of value, quality and medical policy at Amgen, shared at a keynote panel. “We believe these types of partnerships are where we need to be moving to provide value to patients.” Providers may be slower to adapt to value-based care. Lori Evans Bernstein, co-founder and COO at HealthReveal, said potential customers are discussing value but also want the ability “to find the good stuff" like reimbursable procedures under a fee-for-service model. Tom X. Lee, executive chairman at One Medical, said innovating from within the system is challenging. “We operate as if we’re in a value-based world today though the vast majority of our income is still fee-for-service,” Lee said. One Medical, a group of primary care offices that offers 24/7 connectivity with patients through video and chat services, engages with the industry at the primary care layer. This allows it to operate a little outside the system somewhat. He said organizations operating further downstream have a harder time finding such opportunities. Julie Bietsch, VP of population health management at Dignity Health, told Healthcare Dive the industry is at a tipping point for value-based efforts. About 10% of Dignity’s revenue is accrued from population health or value-based arrangements. “I think that those not investing in population health are going to be the ones left behind,” she said, adding providers need to take the first step toward population health. “If you don’t, you won’t know what happens when it’s mandated.” Lee believes more changes are coming in the next five to 10 years in care delivery. While the market has spent a lot of time building platforms, apps and services, he sees more changes over improving the virtualized and service experiences coming into healthcare. In addition, he sees more remote care delivery models as an oncoming disruptive force. “Those are going to be care systems of the future … I don’t think anyone denies that vision,” Lee told Healthcare Dive. “The question is, who’s going to execute it best? Easier said than done.” Spangler said he believes the industry could benefit from more care delivery and payment innovations. “One area I think we need to move toward is value-based insurance design,” he said during a keynote panel. “We should pay and incentivize patients toward high value care and disincentivize them against low value care.” In healthcare, there are no shortage of opinions, and discussions around value-base care will continue. Expect them to get more vocal. Social determinants of health — a trend that needs direction “Everyone’s talking about social determinants but no one’s talking about how to do it,” Bietsch told Healthcare Dive. Social determinants have been a popular topic as evidence mounts that food security and affordable housing help create good health outcomes. However, there isn’t a centralized assessment of the issue, Bietsch said. For example, if an individual tells seven people that they need a home but no one helps, then the process is inefficient. Social determinants of health and "understanding about how they drive our health" are currently buzzword concepts in the industry, she said. “But the success of it is not there.” Bertolini is a proponent of thinking about social determinants at every level of healthcare. He noted that a person’s ZIP code is often a bigger indication of life expectancy than their genetic code, and ignoring that reality results in an incomplete approach. He said it makes sense for payers to be thinking about social determinants of health because that’s how diseases can be prevented and savings can be realized. “Paying for a ramp, an Uber ride, food, fuel assistance is cheaper than one ER visit,” he said. Progress requires bipartisanship Calling for bipartisan agreement in D.C. is nothing new and hardly controversial, but at Healthcare of Tomorrow, it was an urgent demand. Budget deals are far from clear, the Children’s Health Insurance Program has still not been reauthorized and rumblings of “repeal and replace” continue despite the unlikeliness that any such legislation could gain traction. This environment breeds more and more uncertainty, which is toxic to the healthcare environment. Bertolini said major social programs need broad support to be successful, and Congress should shift from the idea of abandoning the ACA and work together to improve upon it. “We can fix it. The list is short,” he said. “We just need a group of people with level heads in the room to fix it.” Legislation of the magnitude and scope of the ACA isn’t going to be perfect right out of the gate, and the problem even proponents recognize will only get worse with inattention, he said. “If you were to leave Medicare alone for six years, seven years, it would fall apart just like this is,” he said. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe had a similar message. “We’ve just got to shake up the system and we’ve got to do it together,” he said. McAuliffe said CHIP reauthorization is the most pressing issue today, and lamented that “moms and dads are going to bed tonight scared to death” their children won’t have healthcare coverage. He also criticized the White House’s decision to stop CSR payments, and said he personally talked to the Anthem CEO to convince the payer to cover nearly 60 counties in Virginia that would have otherwise not had any plan options. “The middle is gone,” he said, “and I come from a business background, and the middle is where you get stuff done.” Tom Daschle, former senator and the founder and CEO of The Daschle Group, said healthcare professionals need to make their voices heard in Congress by calling their legislators. “If you don’t know the name of ... their health legislation assistant, you’re not engaged,” he said. Blair Childs, senior vice president for public affairs at Premier, said providers in particular need to lead change and tell lawmakers what is happening now in the market and where it needs to go. “Anyone thinks the healthcare system is going to be fixed by the government or by payers is crazy,” he said. “It’s only the providers who will innovate the system.”

UK firm Keoghs launches AI lawyer to work with insurers

UK multi-office law firm Keoghs has claimed it has launched the first real AI lawyer, Lauri, which it believes could completely change how insurers work with their law firms. Lauri can respond to an email in seconds, providing help on avoidable litigation cases, which it can handle with "transformative speed, efficiency and cost reduction" in comparison with a human operator. The technology is highly adaptable as Lauri uses a natural language processor. "For AI to be embraced, replicating a human interaction with no extra systems, logins or processes is crucial," said Keoghs partner Dene Rowe.

https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/northwest/keoghs-launches-first-true-ai-insurance-lawyer

2017-11-07 15:58:27.697000

North West Business Richard Frost Keoghs has launched what it claims is the first true AI lawyer to hit the insurance market, which the Bolton-headquartered law firm believes will revolutionise the way in which insurers interact with their legal providers. Keoghs' AI lawyer Lauri will initially handle avoidable litigation cases, providing insurers with transformative speed and ease of service, and handing the power back to handlers while reducing cost, the firm said. Lauri can settle cases back to insurers within seconds of the instructing email being sent. As Lauri communicates directly via email using natural language processing, there is no need for handlers to log into old-fashioned legal portals, ensuring no change in communication other than the improved speed and efficiency with which an outcome is provided. Keoghs said that not only does this make Lauri the first truly automated AI insurance lawyer launched to the market, it also means that insurers do not need to grapple with new technologies or systems, avoiding duplication, re-keying and providing greater efficiency in the way that claims are managed. Rather than using separate systems and processes as a standalone AI package, moreover, Lauri interacts with Keoghs' case management system Tracker. This means that Lauri's abilities can be applied across a range of claim types and services in the future. Keoghs partner and director of product development Dene Rowe said: "There has been a lot of talk in the industry over the last year or two regarding AI, in particular solutions being discussed that almost hijack the true meaning of artificial intelligence. Our approach is to bring a true game-changer to market, a solution that is fully automated and robotic in nature but importantly delivers a quantum leap in speed, efficiency and cost reduction. "Additionally, we did not want to simply bring a DIY litigation portal-based system to market that would create duplication and inefficiencies in our clients' own businesses. For AI to be embraced, there has to be a benefit for our clients, and replicating a human interaction with no extra systems, logins or processes is crucial. With Lauri, the claims handler simply communicates through email as they generally would at present with human lawyers. "At Keoghs we say Lauri is the future, better handled; but this new member of our team shows that the future is already here." Keoghs is backed by mid-market private equity firm LDC.

Intel and AMD partnership takes on Nvidia's AI chip dominance

Intel is making another bid to take on chip manufacturer Nvidia by partnering with AMD to produce a new laptop chip. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "thin and lightweight but powerful" chip will be good enough for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, a sector where Nvidia has dominated. In September, Intel unveiled its neuromorphic chip, which has a possible launch date of next year, and over the past two years acquired Movidius, Nervana and Mobileye to expand its AI capabilities. Nvidia's sales in 2017 have tripled to $1bn.

https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/609349/intel-and-amd-team-up-to-take-on-nvidias-ai-chip-dominance/

2017-11-07 15:43:55.793000

Nvidia is the biggest name in graphic processing units, the fast, powerful computer chips originally created for video games that are increasingly behind many artificial-intelligence projects. Other chipmakers are scrambling to catch up, going so far as to partner with companies that had been their fierce rivals. The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported Monday that Intel and AMD are working together on a new laptop chip meant to challenge Nvidia’s dominance. The chip will use an Intel processor and an AMD graphics unit and is designed to be “thin and lightweight but powerful enough to run high-end video games.” And if it’s good enough for video games, it’s likely to be good enough for many AI applications. This is not Intel’s first effort to take on Nvidia. Intel bought Nervana, Movidius, and Mobileye in the last two years to expand its artificial-intelligence expertise. In September, the company revealed a neuromorphic chip, a new type of chip technology that is based on the human brain. It’s largely untested, but Intel is hoping to validate the neuromorphic approach by working with universities and research institutions on a product that could launch sometime next year. In October, it unveiled the Nervana Neural Network Processor family, a set of chips meant for data centers. Nvidia is still a small provider for data centers compared with Intel—but it has been creeping up, with sales tripling in 2017 to $1 billion. Companies that aren’t traditionally chip manufacturers are also getting into the game. Google has Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), IBM is working on a chip. and Apple rolled one out recently, too. Much as Intel made a fortune becoming the dominant chipmaker for computers in the 20th century, the prize of being the chief hardware provider for the artificial-intelligence revolution is the kind of thing corporate legacies are made of—oh, and there’s a ton of money to be made, too.

Grid Edge makes early-investor Sean Reel a non-executive director

Grid Edge, an AI-based company that reduces commercial building energy costs, has hired Sean Reel as a non-executive director. Reel invested in the early stages of the company and is actively invested in more than 50 companies, largely in their early stages. Tom Anderson, the CEO of Grid Edge, stated that Reel will be "invaluable as Grid Edge continues to play leading role in the UK's £55bn smart energy revolution". Grid Edge began as an Aston University project that uses predictive artificial intelligence and data analytics to cut energy expenses and lower emissions.

http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2017-11/42162494-grid-edge-appoints-sean-reel-as-non-executive-director-008.htm

2017-11-07 15:41:04.123000

LONDON, November 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Grid Edge Ltd, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the energy costs of commercial buildings, announces the appointment of Sean Reel as Non-Executive Director. Sean is an early stage investor in Grid Edge and brings a depth of previous boardroom experience with him including roles as Chairman, CEO and Non-Executive Director of public companies, as well as a judge and mentor for Richard Branson's Voom investments. He has also held a range of senior roles in Boots Plc., IPC Media and Haymarket. Sean is an active investor in over fifty companies with a particular interest in early stage companies. Sean Reel commented: "I am pleased to join the Board of this high growth business that help clients apply proven artificial Intelligence technologies to significantly reduce the energy and Co2 footprint of their buildings." Tom Anderson, CEO, Grid Edge said: "During this time of high growth, we are pleased to be able to benefit from Sean's experience of spearheading major strategic change and transformation in a range of business sectors. His experience is invaluable as Grid Edge continues to play leading role in the UK's £55 Billion smart energy revolution." About Grid Edge Grid Edge is a leading player in the Smart Energy sector using proven artificial intelligence technologies to reduce the energy costs of commercial buildings. Formed as a spinout company from Aston University, it is an early stage technology company that has developed artificial intelligence (AI) software that empowers commercial energy consumers to intelligently control and optimise their building energy loads. Their innovative AI software deploys predictive machine-learning algorithms and advanced data analytics to reduce energy costs, cut carbon emissions and unlock the revenue-generating potential of the customer's flexible energy assets. For further information please visit http://www.gridedge.co.uk/

Amazon tests separate API for brands in Amazon Marketing Services

Online retail giant Amazon is positioning itself to take on Google and Facebook's advertising duopoly as it beta tests an application programming interface (API) for Amazon Marketing Services (AMS). The move has been welcomed by marketers, who have said Amazon is "throttled" by the lack of an API. This comes following the release of Amazon Media Group's API in the summer. It is rumoured that AMS spend will be a factor in deciding which brands will have access to the API.

https://digiday.com/marketing/amazons-ad-business-will-get-another-boost-rollout-new-api-self-serve-ads/

2017-11-07 15:13:14.470000

Amazon is beta testing an application programming interface for Amazon Marketing Services, the part of its ad business that encompasses self-served Amazon ads, including its paid search platform. There has been an API for sponsored products reserved for sellers, but the company is now testing a separate API for brands, said an Amazon spokesperson, adding that the goal is to eventually have as much offered at a self-service and customizable level for advertisers as possible. This development is notable, according to multiple agency buyers interviewed by Digiday. The API, which has been expected since this summer, will provide a “systematic approach to adjusting and reporting campaigns and offer capabilities to automate the ways campaigns work,” according to one buyer. About 55 percent of online shoppers start product searches on Amazon, according to estimates by the oft-cited personalization company BloomReach. Paid search is a big part of the ad business — and adding an API that will connect it with the information and tools brands and agencies want would make it more powerful. “They have a super extensive paid search program, but tools for creating campaigns and reporting and monitoring campaigns are still basic. Any marketer wants capability or more data,” said one ad buyer. It’s unclear who has access to the API, but one agency said eligibility depends on a combination of factors, including AMS spend. “[Amazon] is throttled by the lack of an API,” said another buyer. “There’s so much less you can do without it.” The company also made an API for Amazon Media Group widely available in the summer, and at the time, agencies said they expected a similar development for AMS. The API offered in beta covers Amazon Sponsored Products as well as headline search ads that lets brands programmatically manage campaigns, ad groups, ads, keywords, bids and budgets. “In addition, detailed reporting allows you to pull performance data to analyze sales and investments,” reads Amazon’s page explaining the API for sponsored ads. At another holding company-owned media-buying agency, an executive said it’s had early access to an AMS API since early this year, but the agency was focused mostly on data aggregation and reporting, not optimizing. A week ago, API access was opened to headline search ads, and this executive said Amazon is moving product display ads to programmatic because it’s “less performance-driven.” “We have a wish list with Amazon,” said this executive. “We’re looking for more data, more sales-performance information; we want to be able to consolidate it when we run multiple campaigns. This is another sign of growth for Amazon’s programmatic ad business, which has slowly but surely made progress in its offerings all year. In late August, Amazon opened up and evolved self-service for AMG, the group internal to Amazon that is more like a traditional ad buy that can include video across Kindle, sponsorships, displays and even out of home on delivery trucks. In June, it launched Advertiser Audiences, a self-serve audience-matching platform that is like Google and Facebook and lets brands build audience segments based on Amazon data. APIs have proven to be critical to scale an ad platform. APIs let platforms compete against more mature platforms like Google and Facebook. Take Pinterest, which took a long time to put out an API, not doing so until 2015, a move that hurt it. And Snapchat, which launched an API in 2016 to let brands and agencies finally scale their ad buys. The Amazon API is not yet widely available; one buyer said Amazon will open it to everyone in the industry early next year. It’s a pretty significant step for Amazon’s ad business. As a behemoth, Amazon is poised to break up the Google and Facebook duopoly in advertising. Between AMG and AMS, Amazon offers what both Facebook and Google provide. The problem is that Amazon’s offerings still lack the sophistication from the back end. Agency execs have been known to compare Google to a Lamborghini and Amazon to an old, automatic car. Improvements are coming — the self-serve option on AMG and other moves like Advertiser Audiences, for example — but an API for paid search would position Amazon favorably with Google and in a good position to take market share away from it. AMS is strategically important for the company: Open to first-party vendors (not third-party sellers, who can use sponsored products and headline search ads and that too only if they’re in Amazon’s “brand registry program”), the program is now giving promotional credits to brands that sign up before Dec. 31 for a new AMS account that will expire at the end of January next year. Amazon reported two weeks ago that in the third quarter, “other” revenue, which is mostly composed of ad sales (and to a much smaller extent, its credit card business), grew 58 percent year over year to $1.12 billion.

Austin making the Lone Star state a test-bed for US solar storage

Austin in Texas is becoming a leading test-bed for developing solar storage systems. The city's public energy company Austin Energy has received the largest grant from the US federal government's dedicated fund for encouraging such technologies. The Department of Energy has established the Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar (SHINES) initiative, which is spending $18m on six new integrated solar and storage projects across the US. Austin Energy has received more than $4m for its projects, which include residential, commercial and grid-scale storage facilities.

https://www.power-technology.com/features/austin-energy-americas-solar-storage-test-bed/

2017-11-07 14:51:18.623000

A battery storage project is planned for the Mueller neighbourhood, which hosts more than 250 rooftop solar installations. Image courtesy of Austin Energy. Texas’s energy story may have been historically dominated by oil and gas, but that story is slowly beginning to change. The Lone Star State is inundated with renewable energy resources, with the largest wind and solar energy potential in the US. Indeed, Texas reached its 2025 Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of 10,000MW of new renewable energy capacity in 2010, 15 years early, and has consistently achieved green energy targets ahead of schedule ever since. The vast majority of the state’s renewable energy success has been driven by wind power, in which Texas leads the nation with more than 20,000MW of installed wind capacity. Last year, wind accounted for more than 12% of Texan electricity production, powering the equivalent of 5.3 million homes. Despite Texas’s size and the vastness of its solar resource (many cities in the state get a yearly average of 200 sunny days or more), solar power has lagged behind wind as a driver of its renewable energy growth. This can be partly explained by a less friendly business and legislative environment for solar in Texas, but also the discrepancy in end cost between solar and wind generation. To help solar energy production catch up with its wind-based counterpart, efforts are ongoing in Texas to reduce the cost and improve the integration of solar power at the grid, commercial and residential scales. The key for solar as an intermittent energy source (like wind) is smart energy storage. Austin SHINES The key conundrum at the heart of greater renewables integration is grid reliability. Intermittent renewables such as photovoltaic (PV) solar panels need to find a prominent place in energy mixes to meet decarbonisation goals, but as these technologies achieve greater penetration, there are risks that uneven power generation patterns could hamper grid function and market stability. The US is already investing in smarter grid technologies through its Grid Modernization Initiative, but other programmes are zeroing in on renewables and energy storage in particular. The Department of Energy’s (DoE) Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar PV (SHINES) initiative is the first US federal effort specifically aimed at connecting renewables to storage technologies. SHINES is funding the development and demonstration of integrated solar PV and energy storage systems that could better harmonise solar and reduce costs – the programme aims to move towards integrating solar plants with the grid at a system levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of less than 14¢ per KWh. In January 2016, the DoE announced $18m in federal funding for six new integrated PV and storage projects across the US. The largest slice of the grants went to Austin Energy – America’s eighth-largest public utility with nearly half a million customers in the city of Austin, Texas and the surrounding area – to help fund the Austin SHINES project. This initiative is in the process of developing and deploying integrated solar and storage projects in the utility’s jurisdiction, concentrating on three major themes – storage and PV projects at the utility scale, the commercial scale and the residential scale – as well as looking into new models and software systems to help reduce customer costs and balance supply and demand for distributed energy resources (DER). Ramping up solar storage concepts The Austin SHINES project is scheduled to run up to April 2019; the design phase has now been nearly completed, with the deployment phase just beginning and the demonstration phase set to kick off in April 2018. “We will begin to see the assets on the ground in various applications,” says Austin Energy utility strategist Cameron Freberg. “A lot of the design phase consisted of establishing partners, contracting, fine-tuning value streams and an immense amount of planning and collaboration.” The $4.3m award from the DoE, as well as $1m contributed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, has helped to accelerate Austin Energy’s plans for DER optimisation. A large number of partners have been sourced for the project, from state-wide grid operator ERCOT to energy storage integrator Doosan GridTech and renowned tech firm and storage innovator Tesla. “The funding for the Austin Energy SHINES system includes pairing energy storage on the residential, commercial and grid-scale levels,” Freberg says. “One will be connected to a community solar farm in East Austin. The second battery storage project is proposed for the Mueller neighbourhood, an equally important opportunity since the neighbourhood has over 250 existing residences and businesses with rooftop solar, more than 60 electric vehicle owners, smart loads and appliances throughout homes and energy efficient design for all buildings. Residential and commercial properties will also have battery storage systems connected to their solar arrays as part of the SHINES project.” At the utility scale, on-site grid energy storage at solar power plants can help stabilise power distribution networks when dealing with intermittent supply, storing electricity when it’s not needed and dispatching it at periods of peak demand or at times when solar is not producing. As for residential and commercial users, distributed solar on residential rooftops or on business properties can provide value to customers while adding more flexibility by making power supply less of a one-way street. “Commercial sites will partner with Austin Energy and install battery storage systems,” says Freberg. “SHINES incorporates two use-cases, aggregated and direct utility control, for direct comparison and added flexibility. Residential customers will have battery systems deployed and integrated with rooftop PV as part of the SHINES project.” Answering key questions So what exactly are the technical, environmental and economic benefits of distributed solar energy storage expected to be? These are the questions that Austin SHINES intends to answer. “Energy storage can provide a lot of value to the electric grid and to our customers whether it is through increased reliability, integrating renewables,” Freberg says. “Prioritising where value can be obtained and capturing this value are two of the major goals of the Austin SHINES project. Customer value and utility value are one, so whatever benefits we can provide to the utility are good for the customer, and vice versa.” In April, Austin Energy brought intelligent energy storage specialist Stem onboard the SHINES project to offer an aggregated fleet of customer-sited energy storage for commercial users in and around Austin. Initially Stem’s tech will be used to test how quickly storage systems can respond to an aggregator’s signal to dispatch and provide grid response services, but over time the fleet is intended to demonstrate the benefits of intelligent storage distributed over many businesses, both to the utility and for the energy bills of commercial customers. “Where a business has on-site solar PV systems, Stem’s software and analytics tools will automatically manage those customers’ use of grid-supplied electricity against their solar production,” Stem said in an April statement. “For all customers in the network, Stem’s proprietary software will rapidly respond to spikes in electricity use, drawing on stored power to automatically reduce demand charge costs without requiring operational changes or manual input from the host.” Obviously there are many challenges to overcome to realise the full potential of energy storage. Upfront capital costs are high while various storage technologies continue to move towards maturity, and the wide array of storage systems being developed throws up issues around interoperability with existing utility infrastructure and grid management architecture in this increasingly multi-faceted market. Austin Energy is hoping to answer many of these questions with its exploratory approach, and Freberg emphasises extensive collaboration, open standards and pairing storage closely with solar at the source to help ease these growing pains. It’s clear that energy storage is becoming a lynchpin technology to accelerate the deployment of renewable power generation while preserving grid equilibrium and security of supply. Austin is set to become a true test best for energy storage, and if it can act as a showcase for the benefits, it could set the solar storage template for other states to follow, especially in the sun-drenched south-west of the US. “Energy storage improves the way we generate, deliver, and consume electricity; it helps during emergencies like power outages from storms, equipment failures, accidents or other unforeseen circumstances,” says Freberg. “The game-changing nature of energy storage is its ability to balance power supply and demand instantaneously – within milliseconds – which makes power networks more resilient, efficient and cleaner than ever before.”

Pundi X to offer mobile cryptocurrency payments in Indonesia

Mobile payments firm Pundi-Pundi has raised $4m in a series A funding round for the launch of its Pundi X blockchain payment service in Indonesia. Pundi X will use the blockchain to facilitate cashless payments using cryptocurrencies across southeast Asia using QR codes. The funding will challenge local rival Alipay by bolstering its growth in Jakarta and the wider Indonesian market. Pundi X has also raised $4m from a pre-sale initial coin offering for 3,148 ether, 613 bitcoin and 250,040 XEM, which will be used to install Pundi X PoS devices in retail outlets.

http://www.luxuo.com/editors-picks/pundi-x-to-launch-seamless-cryptocurrency-payments-in-indonesia.html

2017-11-07 14:46:47.577000

Business / Finance Nov 04, 2017 | By Jonathan Ho You might not realise this, but on 23 August 2017, a little known start-up named Pundi-Pundi with a plan to bring Alipay-style QR code payments to Indonesia raised US$4 million in their first round of Series A fund raising. Digital payments and mobile banking are not new concepts (pioneered by China’s Alipay 10 years ago) but as a way of selling and buying, QR code-payments through your smartphone is only mainstream in China. That said, Pundi-Pundi will now one-up Alipay with a brave new venture: Pundi X, a blockchain startup that aims to make cryptocurrencies an enabler of ubiquitous cashless payment environments across South East Asia. Indonesia has Alipay QR-code Style Payments, Now Pundi X will offer seamless cryptocurrency payments in that market The fast growing and investor-attractive Pundi-Pundi is a mobile payments and micro-loan startup banking on the blue ocean market of cashless environments in Southeast Asia. The US$4 million warchest fueled the company’s growth in its native Jakarta as well as position it to be a market leader in Indonesia, one of the biggest economies in the region. By launching Pundi X, a blockchain startup, the company is also expected to be the market leader for cashless payments using cryptocurrencies in Southeast Asia. “Wallet” in Bahasa Pundi-Pundi had raised an angel round of capital investments in January 2017 to the tune of US$2 million followed by US$4 million in Series A fund raising. On 28 October 2017, cryptocurrency spin-off Pundi X raised fiat US$4 million through a pre-sale Initial Coin Offering garnering a total of 3,148 Ethereum (ETH), 613 Bitcoin (BTC) and 250,040 XEM . That said, considering less than 30% of the population in Indonesia owning a debit card, but with the country on track to have 53% of its population to own smartphones in 2017, Pundi-Pundi has a definite business opportunity offering the ability to pay by scanning a QR code via a smartphone app. However, with Pundi X and a relatively blockchain tech ignorant population, they would be facing a slightly tougher challenge. The conversion rate currently stands 1 ETH: 500 PXS. Renowned angel investors in the pre-sale ICO include David Lee Kuo Chuen, a Professor of Quantitative Finance and is an investor of ZCash, Qtum, TenX, InfoCorp and OmiseGo; and Lon Wong. the President of NEM.io Foundation (XEM coins are the 7th largest according the Coinmarketcap) and CEO of Dragonfly Fintech. Pundi X aims to solve the last mile challenge for cryptocurrency purchases and sales. The company’s business builds on the existing Pundi-Pundi business model of cashless payment systems, which enables smartphone users to scan QR codes and makes instant payments in retail and restaurant outlets. Pundi-Pundi has already signed up more than 100,000 registered users and over 500 merchant partners in Jakarta in less than a year of operation. Funds raised by the sale of PXS Tokens during the ICO period will be used to purchase Pundi X POS devices that will be installed in retail outlets enabling consumers to quickly and easily buy or sell cryptocurrency using fiat money (Dollars, Rupiah, Baht, etc.), bank card, mobile wallet or Pundi X Pass. Use of cryptocurrency to pay for utilities and other services will be subject to domestic regulations of each market. The full public Initial Coin Offering (ICO) will commence on November 20, 2017. The target for this ICO is to raise 280,000 ETH which will help fund up to 700,000 Pundi X POS devices (approximately US$ 300 each with about US$ 30 million spent rolling out the first 100,000 devices. The remaining 600,000 devices will also be funded by sales proceeds from tokens and revenue from participating B2B merchants) to be installed over a three-year period in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and other Asian markets. The pre-ICO cap for the Pundi X ICO is 5% or 14,000 ETH from a total ICO hard cap of 280,000 ETH.

Church of England faces clergy calls to divest from ExxonMobil

The Church of England should demonstrate “moral leadership” by divesting from ExxonMobil, according to a letter from a collection of bishops and other clergy published in The Guardian. The group argues accusations that ExxonMobil misled the public and funded climate change denial make its presence in the church’s £7.9bn ($10.4bn) investment fund inappropriate. A spokesman for the Church argued that it should remain a shareholder in order to exert influence on the company. On Monday, the church also launched new guidelines on investment in extractive industries, highlighting the potential harm such industries can cause to communities and the environment.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/07/church-of-england-should-lead-on-climate-change-by-divesting-from-exxonmobil

2017-11-07 14:45:17.237000

As Church of England clergy, we have a strong interest in the ethics of investments made by the Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board on our behalf. This week, governments from around the world will meet in Bonn for the next round of UN climate talks. The Paris climate change agreement, which was signed by 195 countries in December 2015, included a commitment to hold the increase in the global average temperature to “well below 2C … and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels”. A lot has happened since then. We have witnessed the shameful decision of the president of the United States to withdraw from the Paris agreement. Average global temperatures have risen to more than 1C above pre-industrial levels. Extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change, have had devastating impacts, leading to loss of life and severe destruction in the US and the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia and as close to home as Ireland. We believe that churches and other investors can and should support the shift from fossil fuels to clean alternatives through their investment policies. Although the Church of England divested from companies involved in the extraction of coal and tar sands in 2015, it continues to hold significant investments in major oil and gas companies. While many of us believe that the church should divest from all fossil fuel companies for ethical reasons, we are especially concerned about its continued investment in the US oil and gas company ExxonMobil. A recent Harvard academic study shows that Exxon knew about the risks of climate change in the 1970s, yet misled the public for decades. It says that the company sought to cast doubt on the climate science, taking out paid editorials in major US newspapers questioning whether global warming was real and caused by humans. Exxon’s board of directors has advised shareholders to vote against all resolutions on climate change since 1990. The financial risks of investing in fossil fuels are also increasing. A recent Carbon Tracker report, 2 Degrees of Separation, showed that five out of six major oil and gas companies are risking more than 30% of potential investments – with a value of $2.3 trillion – on projects that are not aligned with the Paris agreement targets. ExxonMobil risks wasting between 40% and 50% of its future spending. Time is running out to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. While some governments and companies pursue policies that are leading us in the wrong direction, the Church of England is uniquely placed to show moral leadership through its investment policies. Now is the time for decisive action. We call on Church of England investors to take the lead and immediately divest from ExxonMobil. Bishop David Atkinson Bishop Michael Doe Bishop Maurice Sinclair Bishop Graham Cray Bishop James Jones Richard Coles Peterborough Olivia Graham Oxford Sam Wells London Tom Ambrose Ely Christine Bainbridge Oxford Richard Bainbridge Oxford Michael Bayley Sheffield Chris Brice London Elizabeth Bussman Europe Francis Buxton Wales Ben Chase Winchester Alan Crawley Guildford Lesley Crawley Guildford Barbara Doubtfire Oxford Christopher Evans Oxford John Flitcroft Birmingham David Garner Birmingham Giles Goddard Southwark Chris Halliwell Blackburn Keith Hebden Leicester Margot Hodson Oxford John Hughes Manchester Francis Jakeman Oxford Ian James Carlisle Christine Latham Southwark Andrew Lenox-Conyngham Birmingham Jonathan Nicholas Birmingham John Nightingale Birmingham Bertrand Olivier London Mike Perry Salisbury Debby Plummer Leeds Alan Race Southwark Liz Radcliffe Oxford Gordon Randall Winchester Alex Randle-Bissell Winchester Matthew Rhodes Birmingham Ed Saville Blackburn Rosemary Shaw Southwark Tim Stead Oxford Anne Stevens London Val Thorne Gloucester Julian Williams Winchester Sonya Wratten St Albans Andrew Yates Truro Join the debate – email [email protected]

Church of England faces clergy calls to divest from ExxonMobil

The Church of England should demonstrate “moral leadership” by divesting from ExxonMobil, according to a letter from a collection of bishops and other clergy published in The Guardian. The group argues accusations that ExxonMobil misled the public and funded climate change denial make its presence in the church’s £7.9bn ($10.4bn) investment fund inappropriate. A spokesman for the Church argued that it should remain a shareholder in order to exert influence on the company. On Monday, the church also launched new guidelines on investment in extractive industries, highlighting the potential harm such industries can cause to communities and the environment.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/07/bishops-urge-church-of-england-to-divest-from-exxonmobil-over-climate-change

2017-11-07 14:45:17.237000

The Church of England should “show moral leadership” and immediately sell its investments in the oil giant ExxonMobil, according to a group of bishops and other clergy. ExxonMobil is accused of misleading the public for decades over the dangers of climate change – the oil company denies the allegations – and has funded climate change denial, making its presence in the church’s £7.9bn investment fund of particular concern, the group argues. Investment funds worth more than $5tn have already committed to divest from fossil fuels. Archbishop Justin Welby, the leader of the Church of England who worked for a decade in the oil industry before becoming a priest, described climate change as a “moral crisis” on Saturday. “Climate change is pushing us toward disaster,” he wrote in the New York Times. “It is not a distant danger – it is already with us. As we continue to burn fossil fuels, its effects will only grow.” The latest UN climate change negotiations began in Bonn on Monday and Welby also sent a personal message to Fijian prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, who is overseeing the talks. Welby said the 85 million people in the worldwide Anglican communion that he leads “support your work to ensure that issues of climate change are recognised as an urgent priority requiring immediate attention”. However, the Church of England argues it should remain an ExxonMobil shareholder so it can continue to engage with the company and influence it to change. In a letter to the Guardian, also sent to the church, a group of five bishops and dozens of clergy said: “While many of us believe that the Church of England should divest from all fossil fuel companies for ethical reasons, we are especially concerned about the Church’s continued investment in US oil and gas company ExxonMobil.” They cite a recent journal paper analysing ExxonMobil’s activities from 1977-2014 that concludes: “ExxonMobil contributed to advancing climate science – by way of its scientists’ academic publications – but promoted doubt about it in advertorials. Given this discrepancy, we conclude that ExxonMobil misled the public.” The company is facing legal action in the US over the issue. The company’s directors have also advised shareholders to vote against all resolutions on climate change since 1990, the letter’s authors said. “The Church of England is uniquely placed to show moral leadership through its investment policies,” says the letter. “Now is the time for decisive action. We call on Church of England investors to take the lead and immediately divest from ExxonMobil.” Bishop Michael Doe, one of the letter’s signatories, said: “By divesting from Exxon, the Church of England would send a hugely positive signal at a time when a rapid shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy is urgently required.” The Church of England divested in 2015 from companies involved in the extraction of coal and tar sands, the most polluting fossil fuels, but continues to hold significant oil and gas investments. “Clearly we share concerns about ExxonMobil,” said a spokesman for the Church of England. “We firmly believe however that active investors have a role to play and strategic corporate engagement is too powerful a tool to be rendered ineffective by divesting. We remain in private engagement with the company.” The spokesman said concerns raised by the church and others led to the successful passing of a resolution at ExxonMobil’s 2017 annual general meeting that requests disclosure of its analyses of how global warming will affect the company from 2018. The church also launched a new policy on investing in extractive industries on Monday. It acknowledges the industries can make a positive contribution to development but also highlights that “extractives companies are particularly vulnerable to poor governance and ethical controversy, and harmful, long-lasting impacts on communities and the environment”. The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, acting chair of the church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group said: “Strong returns to support our beneficiaries can go hand in hand with robust and transparent ethical investment policies.” The new policy says: “As a last resort, and on a case by case basis, the [church] may disinvest from companies where engagement is rebuffed or is clearly not leading to progress.”

Securities Commission Malaysia reviews rules on cryptocurrencies

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has said it is "reviewing relevant regulations and guidelines" relating to cryptocurrencies as it works on a framework alongside the Bank Negara Malaysia. SC chairman Tan Sri Ranjit Ajit Singh said the two organisations were studying the "functional and effective use cases of digital assets in the capital market, including the secondary market trading of established cryptocurrency and digital assets". He added the Alliance for FinTech programme had begun a pilot project to provide an industry blueprint for a blockchain-based network.

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/sc-expects-launch-cryptocurrency-framework-next-few-months

2017-11-07 14:39:43.037000

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said it is working closely with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in coming out with a framework on cryptocurrency, and expects to launch it in the next few months. SC chairman Tan Sri Ranjit Ajit Singh said the commission is also involved in discussions at the International Organisation of Securities Commissions with regards to this matter. Different positions have been taken by different regulators around the world, but SC wants to ensure recent developments in its global network are weighed properly, Ranjit told reporters at the sidelines of Synergistic Collaborations by SC (SCxSC) Digital Finance Conference 2017. “We note the growing interest of Malaysian investors in trading cryptocurrencies and digital assets. To facilitate such activities in our market and put in place investor safeguards, we are reviewing relevant regulations and guidelines to allow functional and effective use cases of digital assets in the capital market, including the seconding market trading of established cryptocurrency and digital assets,” he said. Ranjit said SC will have the appropriate cryptocurrency posture and framework that would allow some qualified cryptocurrency exchanges. “Together with BNM, we will look at the area carefully and as SC is in charge of the secondary market, we would craft regulations to ensure that the trading values have the right conditions in place for market integrity and investor projection purposes,” Ranjit said. There are several operating exchanges that have come to talk with SC, and once the framework is on, it would be in a position of seeing which exchanges are registered, he added. Meanwhile, Ranjit said through its Alliance for FinTech (aFINity) programme launched in 2015, SC has included innovation labs to test new digital innovations in the industry. The programme has started a pilot project to explore the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain technology in the unlisted and over-the-counter (OTC) market space, he added. “The findings from the pilot would be published as an industry blueprint that would elaborate the technology architecture, key software functions, and development standards in the capital market segment. “This would form the building blocks for interested parties to create a DLT-based network for unlisted and OTC markets,” Ranjit added. The aFINity programme, set up to build the local digital finance ecosystem, has over 100 industry participants.

Universities team up to promote blockchain in southern California 

Universities in southern California have formed the Los Angeles Blockchain Lab to promote distributed ledger technology in the region. The partnership of the UCLA Blockchain Lab, the USC Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and The Internet of Things aims to "increase awareness, advance progress and foster the development" of blockchains. As well as offering training initiatives, hackathons and seminars, the Lab also plans to launch an incubator next year.

https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2017/11/07/los-angeles-blockchain-lab-launches-boost-socal-lead-socially-conscious-development/

2017-11-07 14:35:22.870000

The Los Angeles Blockchain Lab, a partnership with the UCLA Blockchain Lab and the USC Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and The Internet of Things, is an unprecedented collaborative community on a mission to advance blockchain. The LA Blockchain Lab, a partnership with the UCLA Blockchain Lab, the USC Center for Cyber-Physical Systems and The Internet of Things, is creating a community of blockchain advocates on a mission to increase awareness, advance progress and foster the development of blockchain technology. Members agree to increase civic engagement among all citizens; advance technological progress; link classrooms to burgeoning careers; and foster economic opportunities across Southern California. The Lab’s strength comes itself from associated forms of vigorous difference or diversity: they are intellectual, cultural, and economic––to name but three. Each project allows for overlapping potentials and include: Non-profit initiatives for improved social welfare Training for cutting-edge developers, engineers, and designers for ethical innovation SoCal companies ready to employ blockchain technology for greater social impact Los Angeles universities and their students for superior career opportunities Local governments to reshape public policy Events hosted by the Lab are intended to educate the community in blockchain, elevate the blockchain ecosystem, and provide a place to innovate applications in blockchain. Lab events include: Certificate Program — the 1st university-accredited blockchain certificate programs in software development and management for matriculated and non-matriculated students — the 1st university-accredited blockchain certificate programs in software development and management for matriculated and non-matriculated students MeetUps — educating the community through case-specific discussions led by expert leaders from academia, businesses, startups, government, and nonprofits — educating the community through case-specific discussions led by expert leaders from academia, businesses, startups, government, and nonprofits Verticals — positioning LA as a blockchain hub and promoting partnerships, profit acceleration, job placement in four verticals: Entertainment, Real Estate, FinTech/Investments, and BioMedical Industry — positioning LA as a blockchain hub and promoting partnerships, profit acceleration, job placement in four verticals: Entertainment, Real Estate, FinTech/Investments, and BioMedical Industry Bootcamps, Conferences, and Seminars — providing hands-on education and training for CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, university deans, asset managers, high-ranking civic officials, VC investors, etc. taught by world-class thought leaders — providing hands-on education and training for CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, university deans, asset managers, high-ranking civic officials, VC investors, etc. taught by world-class thought leaders Hackathons — bringing attention to greater social impact issues and how blockchain could address issues including “Ocean Conservation,” “Real News,” and “Depression” — bringing attention to greater social impact issues and how blockchain could address issues including “Ocean Conservation,” “Real News,” and “Depression” Speaker Series — taking the education to companies, organizations, and investment firms through case specifically designed set of presentations In addition, the Lab promotes community and economic development through job placement and networking opportunities. In collaboration with member partners, it offers blockchain training for high school students with a specific focus on low-income neighborhoods. Through UCLA Extension, the Lab will provide blockchain certification programs for deprived women throughout the Developing World. The Board of Directors and Member Organizations include thought leaders from universities, local government, enterprise, nonprofits, startups, investors, and the community at large. A few institutions that have joined the Lab thus far include, but are not limited to UCLA, USC, World Economic Forum, DApperNetwork, BNY Mellon, Deloitte, E&Y, Bloq, Charles River Ventures, Chamber of Digital Commerce, Global Business Blockchain Consortium, World Bank, etc. A place to incubate the concepts innovated at the Lab and set to launch in early 2018, the LA Blockchain Accelerator in partnership with the UCLA and US Venture Funds and local Venture Capital firms provides hands-on mentorship, skills development, and partnership opportunities to propel startups from ideation to success.

Retailers shift focus to relevant placing for Christmas campaigns

Advertisers are giving priority to getting a more relevant audience for their Christmas YouTube campaigns, rather than just the most views. Large retailers including Aldi, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's and Tesco have reviewed their strategy to try to prevent their adverts appearing next to irrelevant videos, while all continue to prioritise brand safety after controversies about ads being placed next to inappropriate content on YouTube. Argos is using its own customer data along with that of YouTube to achieve better targeting and other brands are similarly looking for ways of getting the "right" views.

https://digiday.com/marketing/christmas-advertisers-put-safe-youtube-views-top-wish-lists/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171107

2017-11-07 14:21:34.833000

The right views on YouTube rather than the most views will be on the Christmas lists for many retail advertisers this year. All eyes will be on the U.K.’s biggest retailers over the next few days as many, including Sainsbury’s, Asda and John Lewis, reveal their seasonal ads. But the specter of the brand-safety crisis casts a long shadow over those campaigns, forcing some retailers to reassess whether cookie-based targeting is good enough to ensure the safety and effectiveness of these ads. Cookie-based targeting ignores the context of YouTube content, which can lead to irrelevant ad placement. Relevant ad placement has been discussed separately by marketers at Aldi, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco following their own audits on the risks associated with misplaced ads on YouTube. All four advertisers questioned how they would buy the most views for their own Christmas ads after discovering that some of the inventory they had bought previously had been placed next to a safe yet irrelevant video, according to three separate industry sources with knowledge of the plans. Each of the four advertisers either declined to discuss their YouTube plans for the holidays or did not respond before this article was published. However, the industry sources confirmed that while relevance is still second to brand safety, the focus on relevance is growing. “A lot of retailers desperately want to fully return to YouTube [after the brand-safety crisis],” said one of the sources, “but realize they have to be more cautious about how they will buy ads on it if they return.” That view was backed by the The7stars media agency, which is working with retailers such as Iceland and HMV in the U.K. Advertisers, particularly at Christmas, are increasingly using first- or third-party data to either build their own segments within a data-management platform or build customer match lists, said Chris Gilfoy, the strategy director at The7stars. “Christmas is such a competitive time that advertisers are leaning on their data more to reach the right audiences rather than broadcasting too far and wide,” he said. Retailer Argos, which pulled spend on YouTube when it discovered its own ads ran against inappropriate content, is paying closer attention to the type of views it buys over the holidays. The retailer unveiled its Christmas campaign last week. Rather than focus on the context of its ad placements, which could force it to pay more to run alongside more relevant videos, Argos is combining its own customer data with YouTube’s to identify the videos most likely to be watched by the audiences it wants to reach this Christmas. For the long tail of viewers, those who may be suitable for the ad, Argos is buying Google Preferred inventory across YouTube’s most popular channels, said Argos advertising controller Nicki Brown. Essentially, the retailer is using its data to reduce the number of irrelevant videos its Christmas ads appear against before bundling in Google Preferred ads to bulk up the buy with more relevant inventory. Buying ads this way won’t ensure Argos’ ads appear against the relevant content, but it will improve the chances that they are viewed by more of the right people. That Argos is putting more time and resources into finding quality inventory on YouTube reflects how its view of paid views at Christmastime is changing. A YouTube campaign’s success at Christmas is not as dependent on paid views as it is at other times because more people are searching for ads. Google searches for Christmas ads in the U.K. increased 40 percent year over year last November, with Sainsbury’s, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer at the top of rankings. Brown explained: “Christmas is a time of year where you hope people might come to your [YouTube] page and seek out your ad in an organic fashion, which is rare at other points in the year.” There is a perception that the success of a video is determined by the amount of views it receives, said Elijah Lawal, a YouTube spokesperson. But that perception has changed as more advertisers learn how to better balance reach and relevance on YouTube, particularly after many had boycotted it. Whereas before, media agencies felt that content had to be proven as bad before it was taken off advertising schedules, several media executives have noted in recent months that the video site now takes a “bad until proven innocent” approach. “There is absolutely nothing to say that if a brand creates an innovative, culturally relevant, audience-captivating campaign, it cannot get amazing watch time and a high number of views, too,” Lawal said.

ClientEarth sues UK government over pollution for third time

Environmental lawyers ClientEarth are suing the UK government for a third time over illegal and dangerous air pollution, which causes for 40,000 premature deaths annually. The group has already inflicted two prior legal losses on the government, forcing the introduction of a new pollution plan in July. However, ClientEarth claims that these latest proposals do not meet the requirement of European Union law that toxic air be combated in the “shortest possible time”. The group has also criticised the fact that the proposals do not require action in 45 local authorities with illegal pollution levels.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/07/uk-government-sued-for-third-time-over-deadly-air-pollution

2017-11-07 14:16:29.173000

The UK government is being sued for a third time over the widespread illegal levels of air pollution, which cause 40,000 early deaths every year. Environmental lawyers ClientEarth have already defeated ministers twice in court, forcing a new pollution plan to be drawn up in July. But ClientEarth believes even the latest strategy does not meet the legal requirement of banishing toxic air in the “shortest possible time”, as EU law requires. “The UK government’s stubborn failure to tackle illegal and harmful levels of pollution in this country means that we have no choice but to take legal action,” said James Thornton, ClientEarth’s CEO. “We need clarity from the government and for that we’ve been forced to go back to court.” ClientEarth sent ministers a pre-action legal letter setting out their concerns in October but deemed the government’s response inadequate. They have now applied to the courts for a legal hearing. The government has already spent £370,000 of taxpayers’ money in failed attempts to fight air pollution court action. Nitrogen dioxide pollution, mostly produced by diesel vehicles, has been illegally high in most urban parts of Britain since 2010. The government’s latest plan was condemned as “woefully inadequate” by city leaders and “inexcusable” by doctors. Air pollution causes an estimated 23,500 early deaths every year from NO2, rising to 40,000 when other pollutants are considered. In September, the UN’s special rapporteur on pollution said the government was “flouting” its duty to protect the lives and health of its citizens and in October a major pollution report estimated the number of premature deaths in the UK at 50,000 per year. Oliver Hayes, at Friends of the Earth, said: “It’s shameful that the government has to keep being taken to court to try to force it to protect the health of its citizens.” ClientEarth believes there are several grounds for judicial review, including backtracking in the latest plan on “clear air zones” in Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton. These zones, which would use charges to deter polluting vehicles from city centres, were mandatory in previous plans but are now only “expected” to be implemented. ClientEarth also say it is unacceptable that the plan requires no action in 45 local authorities with illegal levels of air pollution. These include Leicester, Oxford, Liverpool, Cheltenham and Sunderland, with the government arguing toxic air will fall to legal levels without enforced action. However, Leicester and Oxford city councils have written to ministers saying that the government has seriously underestimated pollution levels and that by requiring no action, they are stopping the councils getting access to funding to cut pollution. Oxford is planning to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles in the future. Some motoring groups are campaigning against a crackdown on diesel cars, but the latest data shows car buyers are abandoning the technology, with sales down by 30% in October year-on-year. The government’s own analysis shows charging zones to deter dirty cars are by far the most effective policy but ministers have told councils they should only be the option of last resort. “It’s time ministers came clean about the size of the problem and the difficult decisions needed to solve it,” said Thornton. He said the forthcoming budget should use tax changes to make diesel cars less attractive and that the motor industry should be made to contribute funding. “The car industry helped get us into this mess so they should be helping get us out of it by contributing to a clean air fund, as they have done in Germany,” Thornton said. The German government recently secured €250m (£220m) from the car industry to help cities reduce pollution. A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We have put in place a £3bn plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions. We will also end the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, and next year we will publish a comprehensive Clean Air Strategy which will set out further steps to tackle air pollution.” The decision to take the government back to court came as four air pollution protesters were jailed for staging a series of direct action demonstrations against toxic air in the capital. The fouractivists are from the environmental group Stop Killing Londoners, which has been stepping up its campaign calling on the government and the mayor of London to do more to tackle air pollution. Camberwell magistrates court heard on Tuesday that the group had spray-painted “Cut Air Pollution” on City Hall on Monday night before sitting down and waiting to be arrested for criminal damage. Roger Hallam, 51, Stuart Basden, 34, Ian Bray, 50, and Genny Scherer, 71, were under strict bail conditions not to go within 50m of the building after they graffitied it earlier this week. The four all deny criminal damage. In a statement released after the hearing, the group said at least two of those imprisoned would go on hunger strike while being held on remand. It said Monday’s arrests were the fifth action in the past week by the campaign amid growing anger at the air pollution crisis. They have demanded a meeting with environmental secretary Michael Gove and London mayor Sadiq Khan. In a statement they added: “Today, the four of us are being sent to prison because we apparently care too much. We care about the 25 people who are killed every day in London by the illegal levels of air pollution. We care about the children who will endure a lifetime of suffering due to shrunken lungs. We care, because each breath we take is harming us, and puts even more strain on the NHS as it struggles to cope with unnecessary cuts.” The chairwoman of the bench, Finola Gowers, remanded the protesters in custody for seven days and said they faced a possible custodial sentence if convicted.

Adopting autonomous vehicle earlier could save thousands of lives

Autonomous vehicles should be allowed on the road once they are 10% better than human drivers, and waiting until they are 75% or 90% better would cause needless deaths during the interim, according to the RAND Corporation. About 90% of crashes are caused by driver error, it said.

https://phys.org/news/2017-11-autonomous-vehicles-sooner-hundreds-thousands.html?utm_source=menu&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=item-menu

2017-11-07 14:11:44.437000

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Autonomous vehicles should only have to be moderately better than human drivers before being widely used in the United States, an approach that could save thousands of lives annually even before the technology is perfected, according to a new RAND Corporation report. Allowing wide use of autonomous vehicles when they are just 10 percent better than current American drivers could prevent thousands of road fatalities over the next 15 years and possibly hundreds of thousands of fatalities over 30 years, researchers found, compared to waiting until they are 75 percent or 90 percent better. Given the many uncertainties about the future of autonomous vehicle performance and use, the calculations were made by estimating road fatalities over time under hundreds of different plausible futures and different safety requirements for autonomous vehicle introduction. "Our work suggests that it is sensible to allow autonomous vehicles on America's roads when they are judged to be just moderately safer than having a person behind the wheel," said Nidhi Kalra, co-author of the study and director of RAND's San Francisco office. "If we wait until these vehicles are nearly perfect, our research suggests the cost will be many thousands of needless vehicle crash deaths caused by human mistakes. It's the very definition of perfect being the enemy of good." Developers of autonomous vehicles are testing the cars in cities such as San Francisco and Pittsburgh, while federal lawmakers are considering a variety of new regulations and updates to existing regulations to govern their deployment and encourage their use. But what remains unknown is how good the vehicles have to be before they are made available for use to all consumers. The allure of driverless cars is based partly on convenience and partly on the potential to eliminate costly human errors, such as driving when drunk, tired or distracted. More than 90 percent of crashes involve such driver-related errors, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Researchers acknowledge that even if autonomous vehicles are proven safer than the average human driver, the vehicles would still cause crashes. They remain vulnerable to other hazards, such as inclement weather, complex traffic situations, and even cyber-attacks. "This may not be acceptable because society may be less tolerant of mistakes made by machines than of mistakes made by people," said David Groves, study co-author and co-director of RAND's Water and Climate Resilience Center. "But if we can accept that early self-driving cars will make some mistakes—but fewer than human drivers—developers can use early deployment to more rapidly improve self-driving technology, even as their vehicles save lives." Kalra hopes the study will enable policymakers and the public to better weigh potential risks and benefits of autonomous vehicles. Key considerations include how to measure the safety of the vehicles and what should constitute a passing grade. The report builds upon past research that found road testing under real traffic conditions is impractical for proving autonomous vehicle safety prior to deployment because it would take decades or longer to drive the requisite miles. There is no question that traffic accidents pose a public health crisis. Citing figures from the National Safety Council, the report notes that crashes caused more than 35,000 fatalities and 2.4 million injuries in 2015. The council projected 2016 would be deadlier, with 40,200 fatalities. More information: "The Enemy of the Good: Estimating the Cost of Waiting for Nearly Perfect Autonomous Vehicles," www.rand.org/

Facebook lets businesses directly target people via messenger

Facebook is opening up its sponsored messages feature to all advertisers, following positive results from early testers Qantas and Love Your Melon, according to a blog post by the social media giant. Qantas, an Australian airline, said a five-day campaign on sponsored messages resulted in a click-through rate that was 4.5 times better than its Facebook link ads. In addition, US brand Love Your Melon reported an increase of 14 times return on ad spend. Facebook said the feature would be expanded in the coming months.

http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/facebook-messenger-sponsored-messages

2017-11-07 14:04:04.077000

Facebook has said it will open sponsored messages on Messenger to all advertisers ‘in the coming months’, after giving more businesses the ability to send relevant promotions directly to people who they have already communicated with. Sponsored messages were first introduced to Messenger almost a year ago to the day as part of the launch of Messenger Platform v1.3. Initially, the ad format was only available to a small number of businesses, including Australian airline Qantas and charity-driven US apparel brand Love Your Melon. “Many businesses use click-to-Messenger ads every day to start conversations with customers; generating leads, driving transactions and offering customer support,” said Facebook in a blog post. “Now we’re making it easier for advertisers to reengage those conversations using sponsored messages.” Facebook reports that Qantas found Messenger to be its most efficient digital channel for driving traffic during its spring flight sale. Its five-day campaign saw its sponsored messages have a 4.5 times higher click-through rate than its Facebook link ads. Meanwhile, Love Your Melon use sponsored messages to promote a new line of hats with previous customers. It achieved 14 times return on ad spend from the campaign. Join us at the 2017 Effective Mobile Marketing Awards Ceremony, taking place in London on Thursday 16 November, to mix with the industry's best and brightest, and raise a glass to the year's best campaigns and solutions. To find out more, and to book your place, click here.

Cars Insider reaches 45 million monthly video views on Facebook

US news website Business Insider has revealed its Car Insider Facebook page reaches an audience of 45 million people per month, an assertion partially backed by analytics firm Tubular Labs, which said the site gained 38 million video views in September. The page, which launched on 31 July, has yet to generate revenue, and Ashley Lutz, deputy business editor for Business Insider, said the company was looking at monetisation opportunities from sponsored content and existing relationships with partners.

https://digiday.com/media/business-insider-is-building-its-cars-vertical-on-facebook/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171107

2017-11-07 14:01:10.883000

Cars and the auto industry is the latest vertical that Business Insider is looking to grow significantly off the back of Facebook. Launched on July 31, the Cars Insider Facebook page, which has 490,000 followers, received 38 million video views in September, according to Tubular Labs. Ashley Lutz, deputy business editor for Business Insider, said Cars Insider content reaches 45 million people per month on Facebook. (Tubular Labs does not have Facebook video viewership data for October yet.) “We had all these great videos of cars and so forth, and we thought our audience would enjoy having all of this in one place,” said Lutz. “So we created the page, and overnight we had 20,000 followers.” Today, Business Insider produces as much as a dozen pieces of daily content — mostly short videos designed for Facebook, though the number of videos Cars Insider puts out on a daily basis varies based on the news cycle, Lutz said. A dedicated 10-person team, which includes video producers, editors, photographers and social media experts, oversees the content. Business Insider’s 10-person transportation team, which includes editors and reporters with a long background in covering the auto and transportation industries, also supports Cars Insider’s output. Most of the videos for Car Insider are quick, Facebook-friendly profiles of different types of vehicles. Some of the videos are explanatory and designed for a potential car buyer — such as a breakdown of features on a new electric car from Nissan — while others are more aspirational, covering vehicle prototypes and other expensive cars that most people have no intention of buying. Basically, Cars Insider is designed to be all things auto, from the practical to the aspirational, Lutz said. “We’re not just showing the super cars that no one will get their hands on,” Lutz said. “We’re also showing cars that are also within your reach, even if some might take a few years and a promotion at work to afford.” Lutz said Business Insider’s content team produces a majority of Cars Insider videos in-house. The publisher invites automakers to bring their cars — such as the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso — to an area nearby its offices in New York City so Cars Insider content producers can make quick social video profiles or longer Facebook Live breakdowns. Cars Insider hasn’t monetized its growing Facebook reach yet; monetization is a “work in progress,” according to Lutz. The company has previously said it’s finding revenue opportunities through sponsored content, which Cars Insider will look to do by utilizing its existing relationships with different automakers and personalities. For the immediate future, the focus is on continuing to use Facebook to grow Cars Insider, a strategy that Business Insider’s distributed-media brand, Insider, has used for every niche topic from art to cheese. “Social is our front page,” Lutz said. “We’re very committed to [BusinessInsider.com], but we also want to get people to come to us on social, which is why we’ve created a lot of sub-verticals [on Facebook].” Image via Business Insider

Facebook enabling peer-to-peer transfers in coming weeks

Facebook is entering the world of peer-to-peer payments in the UK for the first time in the company's history, allowing users of its Messenger app to transfer up to £2,500 with zero fees. To prevent fraud, Facebook has set a limit of £10,000 of transfers every 30 days, though data from the US suggests most users transfer £38 or less.

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/11/07/facebook-banks-messenger-peer-peer-payments-success

2017-11-07 13:56:21.123000

Facebook is leveraging its scale to muscle in on the banking sector by enabling peer-to-peer payments in the UK for the first time. Facebook flexes financial muscles with new payments service Users of its Messenger app will be able to transfer cash directly from their phones or computers over the coming weeks after first linking their account to a debit card, enabling fee-free payments of £2,500 to be made.

YouTube struggles to stop troubling videos from reaching children

YouTube is failing to prevent inappropriate content appearing on its dedicated children's service, according to an investigation by the New York Times. The video platform launched its "YouTube Kids" service in 2015, with videos appearing on the service supposedly filtered for their content. However, a number of "troubling" videos, showing cartoon characters in violent or crude situations, have been found on the site. The company agreed that the videos were "unacceptable", saying that it relies on machine learning, algorithms and user reports to police the service's content.

https://www.cnet.com/news/disturbing-videos-reportedly-showed-up-on-youtube-kids/

2017-11-07 13:42:38.123000

YouTube is under fire for allowing troubling videos to get past its filters on an app designed specifically for younger viewers, according to a report this weekend by The New York Times. The Google -owned website is the largest video site in the world, with more than a billion people visiting a month. The affected service, YouTube Kids, was launched in 2015 to be a family-friendly version of the site. But the kids service reportedly has a dark side. One video showed Mickey Mouse in a pool of blood while Minnie looks on in horror. In another video, a claymation version of Spider-Man urinates on Elsa, the princess from "Frozen." The videos were knockoffs depicting the beloved Disney and Marvel characters. Representatives from The Walt Disney Company, which owns Marvel, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. YouTube called the content "unacceptable," but said it isn't rampant. In the last 30 days, less than .005 percent of videos viewed in the app were removed for being inappropriate, the company said. YouTube is trying to reduce that number. "The YouTube Kids team is made up of parents who care deeply about this, so it's extremely important for us to get this right, and we act quickly when videos are brought to our attention," a YouTube spokeswoman said in a statement. "We use a combination of machine learning, algorithms and community flagging to determine content in the app as well as which content runs ads. We agree this content is unacceptable and are committed to making the app better every day." The videos made it onto YouTube Kids by getting past safety filters, either by mistake or by trolls gaming the software. The controversy comes as tech giants find themselves under intense scrutiny from Congress over the power and influence they have over what billions of people see online. Google, Facebook and Twitter spent last week in marathon Senate and House hearings over the way Russian trolls abused their platforms to meddle in last year's US presidential election. Lawmakers grilled the tech companies over accountability for the algorithms they used. This isn't the first time YouTube has faced a backlash for unsavory content. Earlier this year, advertisers boycotted YouTube after their ads appeared next to extremist and hate content because of YouTube's automated advertising technology. Major brands including AT&T and Johnson & Johnson ditched advertising on the platform. As for the issues with YouTube Kids, the company said parents can use additional controls to limit what their kids see. The controls allow for blocking specific videos or channels and turning off search. YouTube said the app was never meant to be a curated experience, and that parents flagging inappropriate videos would make the app better over time. The Smartest Stuff: Innovators are thinking up new ways to make you, and the things around you, smarter. Special Reports: CNET's in-depth features in one place.

Netflix adds more debt as profitability remains distant prospect

Netflix has sold $1.4bn of debt, adding to its $3.37bn of outstanding obligations, as the company continues to invest in content across the globe. Netflix recently told investors that its debt-to-market capitalisation ratio of 10% is lower than most industry peers. However, it had $15.3bn of content obligations at the end of the first quarter, double a year earlier. About $8.4bn of that isn't reflected on Netflix's balance sheet. “You can’t spend like this on programming forever,” said Michael Nathanson, principal at MoffettNathanson. "When do they feel they’ve built the perfect scale and can slow it down?”

http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/netflix-more-debt-1202408166/

2017-11-07 13:38:06.177000

Netflix is again going deeper into hock. In the streaming service’s latest move to cover its massive global content costs, Netflix this week closed $1.4 billion in new debt financing, adding to its $3.37 billion in existing long-term obligations. It’s the third time in a little more than two years that Netflix has raised more than $1 billion in debt financing. But the company’s mounting debt and content-payment obligations have raised a new question on Wall Street: When will Netflix take its foot off the gas pedal? “You can’t spend like this on programming forever,” said Michael Nathanson, principal at MoffettNathanson, who expects Netflix to shell out $8 billion in cash for content in 2017. “When do they feel they’ve built the perfect scale and can slow it down?” The company has reassured investors that it isn’t excessively leveraged, noting in its first-quarter letter to shareholders that it has a debt-to-market-cap ratio of less than 10%, far smaller than that of industry peers. But that doesn’t account for Netflix’s content obligations — the billions in payments for programming over a period of several years. That figure stood at $15.3 billion at the end of the first quarter, more than double that of the same quarter three years earlier. A whopping $8.4 billion of that $15.3 billion isn’t reflected on Netflix’s balance sheet. Netflix is betting subscriber growth will keep pace with its growing debt load and content commitments. * Excludes $1.4 billion in new debt expected to close May 2 ** Bulk of payments due within three years Sources: Company reports, SEC filings To finance the latest debt offering, a Netflix representative said the company is targeting non-U.S. lenders because European interest rates are attractive. Moreover, the rep said, “Netflix is a global company, and we want to have access to global capital markets.” The company’s hypothesis: It needs to spend big now to keep the customer-growth engine humming before it can reach cruising speed and live within its means. So far, execs have sold that story to the investment community, and nobody on Wall Street is worried that Netflix is becoming over-leveraged. “The market is surprisingly comfortable with Netflix’s balance sheet,” Nathanson said. With access to cheap credit, and investors not expecting big profit margins, Netflix has an advantage over traditional media companies that need to worry about the bottom line. To Nathanson, Netflix’s current investment mode is akin to the U.S. cable sector’s heavy capex spending two decades ago when operators built out fiber-optic networks to set the stage for growth. Netflix shareholders are fans of the debt-fueled strategy for one key reason: “The correlation between content spending and subscriber growth is strong,” said CFRA Research senior analyst Tuna Amobi. To be sure, Netflix’s long-term debt has not been a huge drag on earnings, as it continues to grow the top line. The company reported $46.7 million in interest expense for the first quarter of 2017, on revenue of $2.67 billion (up 35% year over year). But in addition to the content itself, Netflix will have to promote it, which the company expects will gobble up more than $1 billion. It all makes sense if Netflix successfully signs up millions more users (and keeps them). If subscriber levels start to taper off, though, in a worst-case scenario Netflix would be forced to raise prices again. While that would obviously stifle subscriber growth, hiking rates by $1 per month would generate an incremental $1.2 billion in cash per year, giving the company enough money to cover content obligations and pay down debt over a few years, said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. The analyst (who has a “sell” rating on the stock) doesn’t see extreme risk in Netflix’s model per se. The danger, he said, is that the pricey content won’t resonate with customers. “I think they’re spending way too much,” he said, “and have way too little to show for it.”

Salesforce teams with Google to connect marketing, analytics data

Salesforce, the customer relationship management (CRM) software company, is partnering with Google to integrate the two firms' technological offerings. The deal includes the first-ever connection of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Sales Cloud to Google Analytics 360, while Salesforce will use Google’s cloud platform for core services as part of its international expansion, in addition to the firm's CRM platform being standardised by Google. A spokesperson confirmed the partnership does not affect Salesforce's existing agreement with cloud provider Amazon Web Services.

https://www.cmo.com.au/article/629639/salesforce-google-bring-marketing-analytics-360-data-together-under-new-strategic-partnership/

2017-11-07 13:34:05.617000

Technology vendors strike new alliance that will see integration between Salesforce Marketing Cloud and GSuite, Google Analytics 260 Salesforce and Google have teamed up under a new strategic partnership that will see the pair bring together marketing, sales and advertising data from the CRM vendor’s platforms with Google Analytics 360 for real-time interaction. The extended alliance, announced at the Dreamforce conference, focuses on four key areas, all designed to more deeply integrate and develop the two technology offerings. The first is expansion of the GSuite and Salesforce partnership to provide deeper integrations between the two product sets. These include the already available integration of Salesforce Lightning and Gmail to surface relevant CRM data in Gmail and vice versa; plus the ability to surface customer and account details, service case history and other CRM insights into the Hangouts meet interface during real-time interactions. Secondly, a fresh alliance with the Google Analytics team will see data from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Sales Cloud seamlessly connected to Google Analytics 360 for the first time. The intention is to give users more extensive consumer insights that can also then be leveraged through Google’s ad platforms. As an example, the companies said marketers will be able to create customised audiences in Analytics 360 then push them into Marketing Cloud to orchestrate activities across digital channels. Analytics 360 data will also be now available directly through the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. “We’re taking the number one marketing analytics platform and marrying it with number one marketing engagement platform,” Salesforce CEO of Marketing Cloud and chief analytics officer, Bob Stutz, said in a press conference. “That benefits both customers and consumers today.” The deal represents the first time Google has directly integrated with a marketing platform provider, Stutz said. “Today for customers to take a segment from analytics and put it into the Marketing Cloud is a little tough. This integration will make it seamless to bring those audiences into our platform,” he said. Google VP display, video and analytics, Paul Muret, said advertisers and marketers have different lenses to sales and other internal teams, but all want and need those insights to be based on a common data foundation. “Seamlessly flowing data across those systems is super important,” he said. “We‘re blending anonymous and known data together and data will flow back and forth.” In response to how the Krux data management platform (DMP) could fit in this scenario, Stutz noted a DMP is just one data set in multiple sources constantly now being used to engage customers. “There’s no one database, there are multiple databases that reside out in cloud infrastructure,” he explained. “It’s bringing data together in real-time way – whether it’s analytics, DMP, Marketing Cloud, or insights feeding into Google Analytics. It’s about all that data flowing in real time to give customers the right offers at the right time.” The third element of the partnership is to use Google Cloud a preferred public cloud provider for Salesforce. This decision will see the latter using Google’s cloud platform for core services as it further extends internationally. These new regions have not yet been named, but a spokesperson confirmed the relationship doesn’t change Salesforce’s current relationship with rival cloud provider, Amazon Web Services, who is also a preferred partner for regions such as Australia. The fourth pillar and final pillar is Google standardising on the Salesforce CRM platform. To mark the deal, Google will offer Salesforce customers not currently using its productivity tools a free licence for the first year. Speaking at the keynote opening, Google SVP of cloud, Diane Greene, said technology is such an amazing industry to be in and the game-changing opportunities just keep emerging. "We’re able to bring so much to the world through all our technologies," she said. "Cloud is such an incredible revolution, allowing companies to seamlessly partner together. The more we work together, the more easy, seamless and powerful things become for our customers." Salesforce chairman and CEO, Marc Benioff, said the partnership with Google represents the best of both worlds for respective customers. “There has never been an easier way for companies to run their entire business in the cloud – from productivity apps, email and analytics, to sales, service and marketing apps," he said. "This partnership will help make our customers smarter and more productive.”

AppNexus unveils 'programmable' demand-side platform

After three years of research, AppNexus has unveiled what it has called the world's first programmable demand-side platform. The AppNexus Programmable Platform (APP) features machine learning capability, with beta testers including Xasis, OMD and WPP-owned Greenhouse Group. The latter firm said APP, set to be ready for 2019 campaigns, demonstrated a 73% reduction in trade times alongside a 13% improvement in performance. Rocket Fuel and IBM have both also launched artificial intelligence-powered advertising platforms.

http://www.adweek.com/digital/ad-tech-company-appnexus-just-launched-a-machine-learning-enabled-ad-network/

2017-11-07 13:28:34.950000

AppNexus is adding machine learning to its ad-buying software, making the company the newest in a series of ad-tech firms to add artificial intelligence to its platform. Today, the company is debuting what it says is the first programmable demand side platform, which could help media buyers manage and customize their campaigns. The AppNexus Programmable Platform (APP)—which launches after three years of research involving more than 200 buy-side engineers, data scientists and developers—will be ready for 2018 campaigns. So

Education Department taps Benetech to build digital library

California-based non-profit Benetech has received its third grant from the US Department of Education. The $42.5m grant will be used to support Benetech's Bookshare initiative, which brings digital versions of texts to disabled readers and is free to students, teachers and school districts. Benetech said that more than 500,000 readers currently use the service, and aims to increase its reach by 200,000 with the funds.

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-11-06-benetech-awarded-42-5m-grant-from-ed-to-expand-library-of-accessible-books

2017-11-07 13:22:35.933000

BENETECH, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based nonprofit that “build[s] software for social good,” according to its website, has received a five-year, $42.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. That check will go to support Bookshare, an online library of digital books that are accessible to learners with print reading disabilities such as dyslexia and blindness. More than 500,000 students currently use Bookshare, claims the nonprofit, in districts including Los Angeles Unified School District. This is ED’s third grant to Bookshare, and the funding helps keep the digital library free for U.S. students, educators and school districts. (Others can pay $50 a year or $6 to $10 per digital book.) Benetech aims to use the funding to reach another 200,000 students. TechCrunch has an exhaustive look at Benetech founder Jim Fruchterman and the origins of Bookshare in a four-thousand word profile.

EU and California to partner on emissions trading and transport

The European Commission and the US state of California have announced that they will cooperate on emissions trading and zero-carbon transportation. European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete, and California Governor Jerry Brown, met in Brussels. The pair will open a high-level meeting on carbon markets and carbon pricing in China at COP 23 in Bonn next week. Representatives from the Commission and California will also hold regular meetings on the design of their own carbon markets and on cooperation with other markets, including that in China.

https://ec.europa.eu/clima/news/eu-and-california-joint-climate-push-boost-cooperation_en

2017-11-07 13:12:21.097000

Building on concrete efforts by both California and the EU to implement carbon markets and zero-carbon transportation policies, and in light of the global momentum generated by the Paris Agreement, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete and Governor of California Jerry Brown met today in Brussels and agreed to step up cooperation on emissions trading and zero-carbon transportation. On carbon markets, the EU and California will hold regular political and technical dialogues on the design and implementation of their carbon markets, including cooperation with other carbon markets such as China. Hosted by China's Special Representative on Climate Change Affairs, Commissioner Arias Cañete and Governor Brown will open a high-level event on carbon markets and the role of carbon pricing in China on 14 November at COP 23 in Bonn. The EU and California will also work together to scale zero-carbon transportation solutions globally, including by bringing new commitments and new partners to the Global Climate Action Summit which California will host 12-14 September 2018. The Global Climate Action Summit will bring together leaders from all around the world and in every walk of life – from government to business, from science to faith, and from students to investors to non-profit leaders – who believe that climate change is an existential threat and are committed to rolling back the forces of carbonisation. The Summit will emphasise how subnational actors have already contributed to emissions reductions, spur bold new commitments, and galvanise a global movement for everyone to do more. Following today's meeting, EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete said: "The EU and California are natural partners in the fight against climate change and have been pioneers in the early years of carbon markets and clean mobility. Today we agreed to strengthen our cooperation so that we remain leaders in these areas – both of which will be key for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement." "We are truly facing a challenge unprecedented in human history," said Governor Brown. "If we come together and we see the truth of our situation, we can overcome it. We've fought great battles before and I hope that the European Union and California will be able to inspire the rest of the world." The European Union is the largest carbon market in the world, with its emissions trading system a key part of the EU's policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while California also has a well-established carbon market, that is linked with markets in Quebec and Ontario. The EU's low-emission mobility strategy for the transport sector is also a key element of the bloc's climate policy, with a major new proposal on CO 2 emission standards for cars and vans to be considered by the Commission tomorrow. California introduced its first regulation to accelerate the uptake of zero-emissions vehicles in 1990 and its current standards have been adopted by nine other US States. The state also has a goal to put more than 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on its roads by 2025. California climate policies and programmes have cut carbon emissions, helped create clean technology jobs and spurred partnerships across the United States and around the world to fight climate change. The state has created more than 2.6 million new jobs since 2010, and the unemployment rate has declined by more than half. Climate leadership in both the public and private sectors has played a key role in the state’s economic growth, with the state now home to more than 500,000 advanced-energy jobs. In 2015, at the end of a ten-year period in which state per capita carbon emissions fell by 12 percent, the sector created jobs at six times the rate of the overall state economy, showing that economic growth and climate ambition go hand-in-hand.

World must end debt-fuelled growth model: BIS

The world needs to reduce its reliance on debt-driven growth if it is to end the boom and bust cycles that have characterised the global economy, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Debt levels are too high, productivity growth is too low, and the room for policy manoeuvre is too narrow, the BIS said. The most conspicuous sign of this predicament is interest rates that continue to be persistently and exceptionally low, it said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/22/bis-its-time-for-the-word-to-end-its-debt-fueled-growth-model.html

2017-11-07 12:55:07.867000

The organization commonly known as the central bank of central banks has called for an end of boom-and-bust cycles that have plagued the global economy, urging lawmakers quickly to adjust current policy. "The global economy cannot afford to rely any longer on the debt-fueled growth model that has brought it to the current juncture." the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warns in a new annual report published on Sunday. Debt levels are too high, productivity growth is too low, and the room for policy maneuver is too narrow, the BIS warned. Adding that the most "conspicuous" sign of this predicament is interest rates that continue to be persistently and exceptionally low. $8 trillion with negative yield Image Source | Getty Images Central banks around the world have leapt into action following the global financial crisis of 2008 and the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone. Several institutions have introduced bond-buying programs and cut benchmark rates in an effort to stimulate lending. Some have even pushed rates below zero with a negative rate effectively charging banks who park cash at a central bank. The European Central Bank (ECB), the Danish National Bank (DNB), the Swedish Riksbank, and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have all pushed key short-term policy rates into negative territory. This has suppressed bond yields in wider asset markets with BIS estimating that a record of close to $8 trillion in sovereign debt was trading at negative yields at the end of May. Nonetheless, the Basel-based BIS - which was one of the few organizations to foresee the 2008 crash - says that this monetary policy has been "overburdened for far too long." "Prudential, fiscal and, above all, structural policies must come to the fore," it said in the report Wednesday, adding that it's essential to avoid the temptation to succumb to "quick fixes or shortcuts." "The measures must retain a firm long-run orientation. We need policies that we will not once again regret when the future becomes today," it added. Upbeat on growth?

Pollution causes public health emergency in Delhi

Doctors in the Indian capital of Delhi have declared a public health emergency as air quality deteriorated to levels equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day. Cold temperatures and slow winds meant that airborne pollutants in the city, already the world’s most polluted capital, exceeded the measurement capacity of many recording instruments. On Tuesday, levels of fine pollutants known as PM2.5s, which can contain carcinogenic chemicals, reached more than 11 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation. Each year, 2.5 million Indians die from pollution.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/07/delhi-india-declares-pollution-emergency-as-smog-chokes-city

2017-11-07 12:50:07.747000

A public health emergency has been declared by doctors in Delhi as air quality in the world’s most polluted capital city plunged to levels likened to smoking at least 50 cigarettes in a single day. Slow winds and colder temperatures have been blamed for a surge in airborne pollutants beyond what instruments in the city could measure with some recording an Air Quality Index (AQI) maximum of 999. The Indian Medical Association said the country’s capital was suffering a health emergency and called for an upcoming half-marathon to be cancelled to avoid “disastrous health consequences”. Residents were warned to avoid leaving their homes as smog enveloped streets and landmarks on Tuesday, sparking road, rail and airport delays and renewed calls for Indian state and federal governments to act. The Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said the city was a “gas chamber” as his government met on Tuesday afternoon to consider a response to the crisis. Primary schools, already asked to keep students indoors, will be shut on Wednesday and possibly longer if the poor conditions persist. Belgium’s King Philippe inspects a military guard of honour at the Indian presidential palace in Delhi on Tuesday. Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP Most dangerous to health are concentrations of fine pollutants smaller than 2.5 micro-metres – tiny enough to evade the body’s natural filters and permeate the blood-brain barrier. Tests by Greenpeace have shown these fine pollutants – called PM2.5 – can include carcinogenic chemicals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Levels of PM2.5 in Delhi on Tuesday reached 710 micrograms per cubic metre, more than 11 times the World Health Organisation’s safe limit. “It has terrible effects on every part of your body,” said Dr Arvind Kumar, the chest surgery chairman at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, who compared the 999 AQI level recorded in the RK Puram area to smoking 50 cigarettes in a day. “ICUs are full of pneumonia patients. Lots of my patients are coming with coughs today. They are breathless. “It can precipitate an acute asthma attack and in the long run it will increase their risk of lung cancer,” he said. 00:31 Delhi smog declared public health emergency – video Those who work outside – such as the city’s fleet of rickshaw pullers – are hardest hit. Vikas Yadav, an immigrant from Bihar state, said he used to welcome the colder months when the threat from disease-carrying mosquitoes subsides. Now, “my eyes get a burning sensation”, he said. “I fell sick last year. I don’t know whether it was from the air but I felt breathless and my eyes were itching. Doctors told me not to work early morning during winters.” The smog was unsparing of Delhi’s wealthier set and its community of expatriate workers, many of whom gathered on Tuesday morning on the lawns of the Australian high commission for an annual champagne breakfast to celebrate the Melbourne Cup horse race. “It was like being in Europe in the middle of winter on a misty morning,” said one reveller, Elizabeth Pennell, a lawyer for an international fund. “It would have been romantic had the mist not been PM2.5.” The crowd paired their race-day dresses and suits with pollution masks but Pennell said the foul air failed to dampen the mood. “You tuck up your children inside where the air is purified and for these few hours you risk your health to let your hair down,” she said. “And then you can go back and lock yourself inside your apartment and breathe clean air – unlike most Indians.” Delhi’s air quality is extremely poor for most of the year due to road dust, open fires, vehicle exhaust fumes, industrial emissions and the burning of crop residues in neighbouring states. But conditions worsen in winter months when slow winds and cool temperatures trap pollutants closer to the ground. As awareness of the problem in Delhi has grown, various methods have been tried to clear the atmosphere including shutting down a local coal-fired power station, traffic rationing and banning firecrackers during Diwali, the annual Hindu festival. But any lasting solution would need to simultaneously tackle the myriad sources of pollution and involve dozens of state and municipal governments in a country where law enforcement is notoriously patchy. Though Delhi gets most attention, toxic air afflicts the entire north Indian plain, including parts of Pakistan. A study last year found the holy city of Varanasi had among the worst air in the country. Airtel, the leading sponsor of the upcoming Delhi half-marathon, urged the city government to ensure the safety of runners, indicating that it may pull out of the event next year. “Air pollution poses serious health risks and it is important that these concerns are addressed urgently and appropriately by the authorities for Airtel to continue associating with the event next year and beyond,” it said in a statement. Labourers work on a Delhi construction site. Photograph: Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images Research published in the Lancet last month found about 2.5 million Indians die each year from pollution, the highest number in the world. Unprecedented levels of pollution this time last year forced schools to shut as authorities scrambled to contain the crisis. The World Health Organisation in 2014 classed Delhi as the world’s most polluted capital, with air quality levels worse than Beijing. A 2015 study showed about half the Indian capital’s 4.4 million schoolchildren had compromised lung capacity and would never totally recover.

Blockchain interoperability identified as the next frontier

Blockchain interoperability is vital for mainstream adoption of distributed ledger technology, wrote Never Stop Marketing CEO Jeremy Epstein in an editorial for VentureBeat. There is likely to be an explosion in blockchains thanks to the speed of innovation, economic incentives to serve niche markets and the ability to fork open-source projects. But while having multiple blockchains has created a lot of value, moving between them can still be challenging. Epstein estimates that the first deployment of cross-chain protocols will happen within about 18 months, giving the establishment adequate warning that decentralised technologies are getting closer to mainstream usage.

https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/05/a-new-layer-of-blockchain-tech-is-emerging-inter-chain-mediators/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=VBDaily&utm_campaign=20171030&bt_ee=yTJ7w2LbwdubEHl/d696cb8Ju8s4l9X0uuZawQGzBKo=&bt_ts=1509981019674

2017-11-07 12:45:49.897000

Join top executives in San Francisco on July 11-12, to hear how leaders are integrating and optimizing AI investments for success. Learn More In the beginning was Bitcoin, the only blockchain we thought we’d need. Then Ethereum came along and launched us into a multi-blockchain world. Since then we’ve seen many new blockchains emerge with their various different protocols, financed by their various different tokens. One of the the key doctrines of this era was Joel Monegro’s seminal “fat protocols” post, in which he explained that value creation in a protocol world happens in a very different way than in the Internet world. Specifically, in the Internet world, the protocols (think TCP/IP and HTTP) were conduits and not holders of value; it was the applications built on top of them that held the value. In the blockchain world, he argued, it’s the protocols that hold the value. His post, in some ways, helped provide the fuel and justification for the protocol/ICO excitement we have witnessed over the past 6-8 months. But the explosion of protocol ICOs (as well as ICOs that claim to be protocols) and the “fat protocols doctrine” have accelerated the timetable for a new layer of innovation for the decentralized economy. This new layer has been on the minds of many in the industry for quite some time, but on the proverbial backburner in terms of broader awareness. That’s now beginning to change. The layer? Blockchain interoperability. Fat protocols, thin protocols, and interoperability Monegro’s core thesis is now coming under scrutiny. Teemu Paivinen argues in his recently posted essay on “Thin Protocols” that “[while] protocols in aggregate will continue to capture most of the value, individual protocols will in fact be quite thin and tend towards capturing minimal value, due to the combined effects of forking and competitive market forces.” Meanwhile, blockchain blogger Evan van Ness wrote that “there’s no such thing as ‘fat protocols’” — for a few reasons. First off, he writes, Monegro doesn’t clarify what is an app and what is a protocol. Second, he points to examples blockchain platforms like Gnosis and Steem and reasonably asks, are they apps? Protocols? Or both? Van Ness then refers us to a post by Stephan Tual, a leader within the Ethereum community who now is at Slock.it (and who has as more first-hand experience with decentralized innovation than most, since he was at ground zero of “DAO-gate”). Tual challenges conventional wisdom further by sharing his Web 3.0 Abstracted Stack. You do not have to be a seasoned blockchain architect to see that these are not, in fact, fat protocols. Rather, they are a series of thin component protocols that work in harmony to deliver decentralized applications. Paivinen, Tual, and van Ness are far more technical and knowledgeable than I am, but the basic gist as I read it is as follows: The combination of the speed of innovation within the decentralized world, the ability to fork open source projects at will, and the economic incentive to serve more niches as the overall market opportunity grows is going to lead to an explosion of blockchains. We are already seeing this occur. Given the strengths of each team and their vision, each blockchain-based protocol is going to do something really, really well, but no one blockchain can do EVERYTHING really well. Bitcoin has a strong trust layer. Storj, Sia, and FileCoin have created strong storage layers. Replicating those strengths would take a lot of time and become redundant, and there is the well known adage “don’t roll your own crypto,” when it comes to security. As a blockchain developer, you want to be able to take the best of everything and put it together so you can build the best application possible. That’s why interoperability is critical and why the market for it is starting to heat up. The multi-blockchain world has created a lot of value and excitement, but moving between them can be challenging. If you own Numeraire currency, for example, and you want to get Bitcoin for it, you have to use a tool like ShapeShift or sell it on an exchange. You can’t just send Numeraire to your Bitcoin address without, at the moment, going through someone else. (Well, you can, sort of through something called cross-chain atomic swaps, but it’s still immature. Still, Decred and Litecoin pulled it off recently). Another example is identity. Say you want to log into trading platform EtherDelta to trade your tokens. You’ll need a MetaMask extension to verify your identity. But what if you want to use the Civic verifier instead? You can’t. On the other hand, if you want to log into Prism, you need Civic and can’t use MetaMask. You need two “identity wallets.” Frustrating. In an interoperable world, EtherDelta and Prism would each set up an identity requirement layer that can accept either Civic or MetaMask … or UPort or PeerMountain, or any other that’s created. As an end user, you can use whatever identity provider you want, and the decentralized app doesn’t have to code for 10 different log-in possibilities. That’s value. The cross-chain protocols and their approach We’re seeing the first generation of interoperability players emerge to take on the task of intermediating between chains. Make no mistake about it, we are really early in this phase of development. While it will take time for this segment to see maturity, what should get you excited is the fact that there are numerous projects out there aggressively making their case for becoming an interoperability standard. All of the innovation happening now may be a bit murky, but the arrival of hardened technology is going to enable public blockchains to work with each other and for private-public blockchain bridges to work better, while affording each organization the flexibility to choose the set of blockchain protocols best suited to its needs. One of the key players in this cross-chain space, Polkadot, has a roadmap that puts its own genesis block in 2019. In the meantime, it has already raised $140 million to make it possible, so unless the team is out ordering caviar and Dom Perignon every day, they should have enough cash to deliver. ICON is another big name in this field. The Korea-based group closed a $42 million token sale in just six hours in September. Other players include Cosmos (which calls itself the “Internet of Blockchains”) and new entrants like Aion, Lamden, Metronome (focused on cross-blockchain currency), and a totally open protocol put forth originally by Ripple called the InterLedger Protocol. If you want to get really deep on the tech side of cross-chain protocols, check out Jackson Palmer’s great explanatory video. He does a really nice job. Using Polkadot as an example, here’s roughly how they work: Polkadot has three main components. A relay chain to coordinate consensus and transactions between separate chains Parachains — these are the constituents (let’s call them the chains that have “bought into” the interoperability solution offered) Bridges, which are links to blockchains, like Ethereum, that have their own consensus mechanism Such a system requires the same type of game theory and mechanism design that a regular blockchain would and needs to account for ways to: Cryptographically secure a new block to the chain Ensure members of the network are honest Uncover and remove dishonest actors It is not too difficult to foresee an academic or professional discipline that studies “blockchain interoperability protocol design” and certifies that such protocols function as they should. We are definitely going to need that. When will we see the first cross-chain protocols? My crystal ball is as unclear as anyone else’s in this industry, but the one thing that consistently surprises those of us in the middle of it all is the pace of innovation. If the Polkadot roadmap is any indication, we are about 18 months out from the first deployment. That gives all of us plenty of time to think critically about what the components are of a solid interoperability standard and which one is most likely to emerge victorious. We also have time to begin developing plans for even more robust, dynamic, and powerful decentralized applications that leverage the “best of the best.” The lag time until we see that first deployment also provides adequate warning to the establishment that decentralized technologies are maturing and, once bolstered by interoperability, are going to get closer and closer to mainstream use cases and adoption. Jeremy Epstein is CEO of Never Stop Marketing and author of The CMO Primer for the Blockchain World. He currently works with startups in the blockchain and decentralization space, including OpenBazaar, IOTA, and Zcash.

Regus Warsaw has 84,000 sq m of flexible work space in 95 locations

Flexible working space in the Polish capital, Warsaw, now totals around 84,000 square metres, according to property company Savills. The offices are spread across 95 locations and comprise 44,000 square metres of serviced offices and 40,000 square metres of co-working space. In recent years a number of co-working providers have opened in Poland, including Regus, Business Link and CitySpace. Despite this increase, Savills noted that other international office providers such as WeWork and the Office Group have not yet entered the market in the country.

http://english.eurobuildcee.com/?page=news&id=22789&link=more-flexible-work-space-in-warsaw

2017-11-07 11:58:52.097000

POLAND Warsaw has 84,000 sqm of flexible work space in 95 locations, including serviced offices (office space leased on a temporary basis) and co-working space, claims Savills. Of this, serviced offices space accounts for 44,000 sqm while co-working space accounts for 40,000 sqm. Kraków is the second biggest market (25 locations with almost 15,000 sqm of such space), followed by Poznań, with a stock of more than 8,200 sqm in 18 locations. “It is getting harder to tell the difference between co-working space and serviced offices. Both formats have more and more features in common and the flexible workplace sector is developing at a very rapid pace. What’s more, even traditional offices are increasingly resembling co-working areas with chill-out zones and activity based workplace solutions,” says Jarosław Pilch, the head of office tenant representation at Savills. The last two years have seen the largest increase in the number of new co-working providers entering the Polish market. Business Link, opened in Warsaw’s Zebra Tower in 2011 and was the first large co-working centre in Poland. In the mid-1990s, Regus opened its first serviced office at the Sheraton Hotel in Warsaw. At present, the largest developers operating on the Polish market are working with flexible workplace providers. In addition to Business Link, partnered by Skanska, Echo Investment has also entered this market with CitySpace, while Ghelamco is planning to develop co-working space in its new project The Warsaw Hub. There are a number of flexible office providers with at least 3,000 sqm in total in at least two locations including Brain Embassy, Business Link, CitySpace, Dago, InOffice, Office Hub, OmniOffice and Regus and their share in total office take-up rose from 0.4 pct in 2010 to 1.9 pct in 2016. Poland’s largest co-working centre is Business Link (5,000 sqm) at the PGE National Stadium in Warsaw, while the biggest serviced office is InOffice at Warsaw’s Lumen building (2,700 sqm). “Poland has a lot of potential and is an attractive destination for high-tech businesses. Moreover, large international providers such as WeWork, The Office Group and i2 Office have not entered the Polish market yet,” said Jarosław Pilch, head of office tenant representation at Savills.

Redrow Properties on affordable rent scheme in Liverpool reach completion

Thirty-four properties on an innovative affordable rent scheme in Liverpool are now available for tenants. The completion of the Leighton Dene development by Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH) brings the total number of affordable homes under the Liverpool Housing Partnership (LHP) scheme to 149. LHP aims to build 1,500 new homes over five years as part of a collaboration between the city council, Redrow Homes, LMH and contractor Willmott Dixon. The Leighton Dene site had lain vacant for several years and has now been developed after a £4.6m investment, delivered in partnership with Willmott Dixon.

http://www.liverpoolexpress.co.uk/landmark-34-home-partnership-scheme-completes-fazakerley/

2017-11-07 11:44:47.930000

Tenants have been welcomed into Liverpool Mutual Homes’ brand-new Leighton Dene development in Liverpool 9 – the largest new affordable rent scheme to be completed as part of the ground-breaking Liverpool Housing Partnership (LHP). It brings the total number of affordable rent homes created by LMH under the LHP umbrella to 149 and follows on from recent completions at Hewitson Road (Tuebrook), Everton Road (Everton) and Tetlow Street (Kirkdale). Set up to build 1,500 new homes over a five-year period, the innovative collaboration between Liverpool City Council, Redrow Homes, LMH and contractor Willmott Dixon sees receipts from land sales ring-fenced and reinvested into affordable housing schemes. Leighton Dene, which occupies the corner of Lower Lane and Long Lane, Fazakerley, was one of several challenging sites earmarked for affordable rented homes. This previously neglected site had lain vacant for a number of years. It now hosts 34 contemporary family houses and apartments, following a £4.6 million investment delivered in partnership with main contractor Willmott Dixon. All homes benefit from off-road parking and a range of energy efficient products, including new boilers, new central heating systems and double glazed windows and doors, while the high quality modern kitchens and bathrooms further add to the living experience. LMH Development Director Chris Bowen said, “Leighton Dene is a great example of our joint commitment to create high-quality affordable homes for people in housing need. “This striking scheme benefits from high-end finishes and a range of energy-efficient products designed to keep tenants’ fuel bills down. “LMH is already developing another 225 units on live, or committed, Liverpool Housing Partnership sites, including 145 properties on Edge Lane where works could start as early as January 2018.” Stuart Belfield, Operations Director at Willmott Dixon, said, “Willmott Dixon is pleased to work in partnership with Liverpool Mutual Homes to develop these much-needed new homes in Fazakerley. “This is the most recent project delivered through the Liverpool Housing Partnership. We’re delighted to play our part in ensuring local people can enjoy Christmas in their brand-new homes.” Councillor Frank Hont, Cabinet member for housing, said: “The Liverpool Housing Partnership is helping deliver high quality homes for sale and rent. “It is great to see this previously developed site being used to provide fantastic accommodation for tenants. “The partnership of LMH, Redrow, Willmott Dixon and the city council is helping us to invest in affordable social housing and is a win-win for all concerned.”

Regus WeWork announces opening of workspace in Dublin for 2018

New York-based flexible office provider WeWork has revealed its latest acquisition: Dublin’s Iveagh Court. The workspace provider is set to open the branch in 2018. The company was attracted by Dublin's "tech credentials and community of start-ups and established companies", said Eugen Miropolski, managing director for WeWork, Europe & Israel. It is the latest addition to WeWork's portfolio of 23 European locations, and follows the announcement of a project to create the world's largest collaborative workspace in London by 2019.

http://www.techcentral.ie/wework-opens-dublin-space/

2017-11-07 11:27:15.677000

WeWork opens Dublin space Trade Workspace provider WeWork has announced the opening of a new location for Dublin’s Iveagh Court, to open in 2018. The new space is the company’s latest in Europe, where the it already has 23 locations. WeWork has expanded rapidly across Europe in recent years, launching first in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, before moving into France and Spain earlier this year. The company recently announced that, in 2019, it will the world’s largest collaborative workspace in Waterloo, London. Eugen Miropolski, managing director, WeWork, Europe & Israel said: “Dublin’s tech credentials and community of start-ups and established companies make it an obvious choice for our next WeWork location, and we’re looking forward to growing our community here in Ireland. “Beyond best-in-class buildings, staffed by local teams providing support, networking opportunities and events, we know our members value access to wider networking and business opportunities, as well as excellent locations and transport connections.” WeWork operates 170 spaces across 18 countries. TechCentral Reporters

BOC Hong Kong to buy Vietnam, Philippines businesses from parent

A unit of Bank of China, BOC Hong Kong Holdings, is to buy its parent's Vietnamese and Philippine businesses for about $238m as the bank looks to reorganise its southeast Asia interests and expand its presence in the region. The announcement followed BOC Hong Kong's purchase in February of the Indonesian and Cambodian businesses from its parent for $377m.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/06/17/bank-of-china-hk-agrees-to-buy-vietnam-ph-businesses-from-parent

2017-11-07 10:16:43.610000

BEIJING - BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd, a unit of Bank of China Ltd, said on Monday it had agreed to acquire the Vietnamese and Philippine businesses from its parent for about $238 million, the latest step in the bank's restructuring in Southeast Asia. The proposed transfer is $152 million for the Vietnamese business and 4.40 billion pesos ($85.9 million) for the Philippine business, the bank said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The transactions are part of BOC's push to expand its presence in the ASEAN region and improve customer service, product innovation and marketing capability. In February, BOC Hong Kong bought the Indonesian and Cambodian operations from BOC for about $377 million. Goldman Sachs acted as financial adviser to BOC Hong Kong for the two acquisitions.

Insurance laws to be changed in response to self-driving cars

The UK government is intending to alter the law to acknowledge the arrival of autonomous vehicles on the roads. Its proposed changes would ensure all parties, including drivers, were covered in the event of an accident involving a self-driving car. Autonomous vehicles are anticipated to be on the UK's roads by 2021, at which point the new compulsory insurance requirements will be introduced. The current law is inadequate since it only covers drivers' use of vehicles and doesn't account for cars being operated autonomously. The measures are contained in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill.

http://www.claimsmag.co.uk/2017/11/government-set-press-ahead-changes-motor-insurance-changes-contained-automated-electric-vehicles-bill/9686

2017-11-07 09:41:34.707000

The Government is confident that it will press ahead to change the law surrounding motor insurance in order to ensure that all parties are covered in the event of an accident involving self-driving cars. Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary has said that he expects the first autonomous vehicles to arrive on the UK’s roads by 2021, which will require the creation of a new compulsory insurance framework that covers motorists when they are driving, and when the driver has legitimately handed control to the vehicle. “This will ensure that victims have quick and easy access to compensation and that insurers can recover costs from the liable party, which in the majority of cases is anticipated to be the manufacturer,” said Grayling, speaking to a group of insurers at an event in the City of London. “It will allow consumers to buy insurance in the same way they do today.” As things stand he said, policyholders may not be covered for collisions caused by autonomous vehicles, because only the driver’s use of the vehicle is insured. “Victims might have to take vehicle manufacturers to court, which would be time consuming and expensive, undermining the quick and easy access to compensation that is a cornerstone of our insurance system,” he said. “If we fail to address this beforehand, we risk jeopardising consumer protection, and undermining the competitiveness of our automotive industry.” Grayling added that premiums will be expected to go down in price as self-driving cars will make the UK’s roads a lot safer, so reducing the number of claims. He added that the new insurance measures, contained in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, would help provide certainty to the insurance industry – and clarity to the public – about the changes ahead. Paul Ridge, a banking and insurance specialist, at SAS UK & Ireland said that the Government’s decision to change motor insurance meant it was “pedal to the metal” time for insurers. Ridge suggested that the insurance sector could use the new driving technology to its advantage by using the data that autonomous cars could provide. “More insurers need to appreciate the value of data and real-time insight these connected cars can provide,” he said. “There is a torrent of potential data sources being streamed from technologies [that]help customers’ vehicles stay in lane and brake in an emergency, for example, and also collect information from installed cameras to continuously update maps that self-driving cars will use. Insurers must be willing to adapt to these changes through product innovation. Traditional risk pools could reduce, but new areas of demand emerge. If an autonomous car is involved in an accident with another vehicle while the car and not the driver is in control, then who is at fault? What new risk do autonomous vehicles present? These are the key questions that insurers need to explore.”

Catalonia is a problem for the whole of the EU, not just Spain

The rise of identity politics is now the biggest threat to the European Union and its free development, columnist Simon Jenkins has warned, meaning that Catalonia is not just Spain's problem but the EU's. Its struggle for independence is reverberating among nationalist Poles, Bohemians, Hungarians and Greeks, and across the whole of Europe, triggering long-felt grievances and igniting old feuds. The EU needs to rethink fast how it recognises autonomy in what Jenkins calls a European "vale of tiers", with the Council of Europe well placed to take on the job.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/03/catalonia-spain-basque-breton-bavaria-europe?mc_cid=3c146e3d4c&mc_eid=a37072368a

2017-11-07 07:59:41.027000

The EU countries may be right that Catalonia is legally a matter of Spanish constitutional law. But they should also be frightened. Catalonia is Europe’s problem. The imprisonment on remand of eight Catalan politicians, on blatantly political charges, and the Belgian asylum sought by its president, appears to be an engineered confrontation. Two days ago, the Madrid government reneged on an agreement that it would not suspend the Barcelona government if it did not declare independence and agreed to new local elections next month. Madrid then proceeded with suspension, and Catalonia duly proceeded with declaration – though with no mention of implementation. Madrid immediately arrested those Catalan politicians (and officials) it could find, on charges of rebellion and treason. So far, so absurd. No poll has yet delivered a clear majority of Catalans for independence. Barcelona has proceeded within accepted democratic norms and without recourse to violence – unlike Madrid in the government’s efforts to stop the recent referendum. Never in the long and far bloodier fight of the Basques for independence was the Basque leadership ever imprisoned. Catalonia now faces an election next month with the prospect of its entire independence leadership in prison. Catalonia is being watched, with varying degrees of intensity, by Basques, Bretons, Flemings, Scots, Bavarians, Silesians, Ukrainians, Transylvanians, Venetians, Corsicans and others. Its struggle resonates among increasingly nationalist Poles, Bohemians, Hungarians and Greeks, across Europe’s patchwork of regional sensitivities and long-harboured grievances. Old feuds are rekindled and jealousies revived. Hypocritical Britain cannot talk. It long opposed Irish separatism and denied devolution to Scotland and Wales, while it sent soldiers to aid the break-up of Yugoslavia. It is hopeless to seek recourse from these woes in statute books and legal niceties. Self-determination has been the essence of Europe’s stability since Woodrow Wilson’s 14-point programme for Europe’s future in 1917. How such determination is defined may be moot: what of the self-determination of Spaniards against that of Catalans? But it is in Europe’s interest to seek that definition, to formulate protocols whereby separatism can be resolved into grades of autonomy. European statehood has long been a “vale of tiers”. Since the EU itself is inherently centralist, it makes sense for the Council of Europe, the 47-nation organisation which deals with democracy and human rights across the European continent, to undertake such a task, urgently. The EU has worked itself into a political straitjacket, such that few of its member nations would dare hold a referendum on continued membership. This cannot be healthy for the EU or for Europe. The rising tide of identity politics is now the greatest threat to Europe’s free development. Catalonia is not a little local difficulty. It is an awful warning.

Paytm and WhatsApp poised for chat-and-payments rivalry in India

Paytm and WhatsApp are set to compete in India, with each poised to launch crossover chat and payment services. Electronic payments firm Paytm is to unveil mobile chat app Inbox, which will let users transfer money while engaging with other users and merchants. Meanwhile, messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly working on a peer-to-peer payments feature, set for launch next month.

https://qz.com/1047815/paytm-and-whatsapp-are-stepping-on-each-others-toes-in-indias-red-hot-digital-payments-market/

2017-11-06 17:25:20.180000

The Indian mobile apps space is in for some curious crossovers. On Nov. 03, the country’s largest e-payments firm, Paytm, announced the launch of a mobile chat app called Inbox that will let users transfer money alongside chatting with each other. The app will debut on Android phones, with an iOS version following soon. Advertisement “We have realised that besides making payments, our users and merchants also like to communicate with each other,” Deepak Abbot, a senior vice-president at Paytm, said in a statement. “There is a need for social messaging, commerce, and payments seamlessly blending into one another.” The announcement comes amidst speculation (paywall) that chat messenger WhatsApp was working on a person-to-person (P2P) payments feature, reportedly set for a December debut. Paytm, which is backed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, currently operates only in India (and in Canada just for bill payments), while Facebook-owned WhatsApp has users in over 109 countries. Locked in Smartphone users today depend on phone calls or separate messaging apps to confirm their e-transactions. A platform that combines the facility to transact and the ability to instantly confirm the transaction would, therefore, make life easier. Such convergence can have a tremendous synergistic effect, explained Anindya Ghose, the Heinz Riehl professor of business at New York University’s Stern school. “Users will increasingly message because of the presence of payments on the same platform, and they will increasingly use payments because of the presence of messaging on the same platform,” Ghose said. Advertisement While details of WhatsApp’s payments feature are not yet known, Inbox includes all the usual chat features. Like WhatsApp, the new Paytm platform is encrypted end-to-end, so conversations will remain tamper-proof and, importantly, off surveillance. Inbox also lets users initiate private conversations, create group chats, send photos and videos, share live locations, and play games. Inbox is part of Paytm’s attempt to lock customers into its ecosystem and spark more monetary activity, Ashutosh Sharma, research director at Forrester Research, told Quartz. But the Indian startup shouldn’t try to do it all, and, instead, focus on its strong suit. ”Paytm should attempt to limit WhatsApp to P2P payments only and build out its business around merchant transactions,” said Sharma. The company has on-boarded over 1.5 million merchants already and aims to raise this to five million by the end of 2017. Its strong offline presence through QR codes could steadily convert into e-transactions if customers and businesses are able to communicate remotely from within the app. “Paytm is in pole position in India to be able to do that,” Sharma added, “but it has been surprisingly slow at it.” On Paytm’s main app, customers can already purchase products, movie tickets, flight tickets, and more. The company also has an established e-commerce business through its arm, Paytm Mall. Its instant messenger, Inbox, is already integrated with these. Advertisement “I think Paytm’s direction is to become WeChat of India in the future,” Pavel Naiya, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told Quartz, referring to the Chinese app that lets users play games, make P2P transactions, make video calls, order food, read the news, book doctors’ appointments, and more. It is, according to FastCompany, China’s “app for everything.” If that is indeed Paytm’s ambition, it is making the right noises. In May this year, it launched the Paytm Payments Bank, which is part of the Indian central bank’s move to boost financial inclusion in the country. The bank cannot lend money, issue credit cards or give advances, and each account can only have up to Rs1 lakh ($1,540). It can, however, issue cheque books and debit cards—and once integrated with the entire Paytm ecosystem, can potentially turn into the world’s largest digital bank.

AI specialists being lured away from UK's top universities

The UK's universities are facing a "brain drain" of artificial intelligence (AI) specialists, who are being lured away by major technology companies. Research by the Guardian has found the trend is harming research and teaching in higher education, and leading to a concentration of expertise in a small number of companies. Top AI researchers at institutions including Imperial College and Cambridge University have been recruited by Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. Universities are struggling to compete with the very high salaries on offer, and the demand shows no sign of tapering off.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/01/cant-compete-universities-losing-best-ai-scientists

2017-11-06 17:18:44.923000

It was the case of the missing PhD student. As another academic year got under way at Imperial College London, a senior professor was bemused at the absence of one of her students. He had worked in her lab for three years and had one more left to complete his studies. But he had stopped coming in. Eventually, the professor called him. He had left for a six-figure salary at Apple. Allow Facebook content? This article includes content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Allow and continue “He was offered such a huge amount of money that he simply stopped everything and left,” said Maja Pantic, professor of affective and behavioural computing at Imperial. “It’s five times the salary I can offer. It’s unbelievable. We cannot compete.” It is not an isolated event. Across the country, talented computer scientists are being lured from academia by private sector offers that are hard to turn down. According to a Guardian survey of Britain’s top ranking research universities, tech firms are hiring AI experts at a prodigious rate, fuelling a brain drain that has already hit research and teaching. One university executive warned of a “missing generation” of academics who would normally teach students and be the creative force behind research projects. The impact of the brain drain may reach far beyond academia. Pantic said the majority of top AI researchers moved to a handful of companies, meaning their skills and experience were not shared through society. “That’s a problem because only a diffusion of innovation, rather than its concentration into just a few companies, can mitigate the dramatic disruptions and negative effects that AI may bring about.” Q&A What is AI? Show Artificial Intelligence has various definitions, but in general it means a program that uses data to build a model of some aspect of the world. This model is then used to make informed decisions and predictions about future events. The technology is used widely, to provide speech and face recognition, language translation, and personal recommendations on music, film and shopping sites. In the future, it could deliver driverless cars, smart personal assistants, and intelligent energy grids. AI has the potential to make organisations more effective and efficient, but the technology raises serious issues of ethics, governance, privacy and law. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. She is concerned that major tech firms are creating a huge pay gap between AI professionals and the rest of the workforce. Beyond getting the companies to pay their taxes, Pantic said the government might have to consider pay caps, a strategy that has reined in corporate salaries in Nordic countries. Many of the best researchers move to Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. “The creme de la creme of academia has been bought and that is worrying,” Pantic said. “If the companies don’t pay tax it’s a problem for the government. The government doesn’t get enough money to educate people, or to invest in academia. It’s a vicious circle.” When Murray Shanahan, another Imperial researcher, received a job offer from DeepMind, Google’s London-based artificial intelligence group, he thought hard about the decision. He saw plenty of positives to joining the company. It was a chance to pursue his work without the burden of other academic duties. He would have access to fabulous computing resources. And he would work alongside some of the best in the field. But despite the long list of pros, Shanahan paused. Professor Murray Shanahan, who is a senior scientist at DeepMind, but has retained his academic position at Imperial. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian “The potential impact on academia of the current tech hiring frenzy was one of the issues that bothered me,” he said. Shanahan decided to negotiate a joint position. It allowed him to have a foot in both camps, keeping his chair at Imperial while becoming a senior scientist at DeepMind. For those with the right skills, the hiring boom has obvious positives. Heavy investment from tech firms means there are many more jobs in artificial intelligence than there are qualified candidates. To recruit the best talent, companies offer high salaries, impressive computing facilities and technical challenges that have the potential to affect the lives of billions. In the past, brilliant mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists headed to the City for serious money. Now they are as likely to train in AI and move to tech firms. “There are fantastic opportunities in industry, the sorts of opportunities that make working in the City seem really dull and not particularly well paid,” said Zoubin Ghahramani, professor of information engineering at Cambridge University and chief scientist at Uber, the ride-hailing firm. “It’s both intellectually interesting and, from a lifestyle point of view, very difficult to turn down.” Ghahramani announced his move to Uber in March. For now, he commutes to the company’s San Francisco office one week every month. Next summer, he will move to the city full time. Beyond the difference in salaries, he lists a host of other reasons that academics are lured into industry. University roles come with administrative duties that some find onerous: teaching, marking, being on committees, and the endless chasing of grants. In industry, star recruits can focus purely on their research. But there is more to it than that. The explosion of interest in artificial intelligence is driven by the success of machine learning, a field that uses algorithms to find meaningful patterns in data. To work well, many of today’s algorithms must be trained on huge amounts of data, a task that takes a lot of computer power. Without collaborative projects, universities can rarely compete with the big tech firms on data or computing. Instead, they focus on new ideas: building algorithms that learn from less information, for instance. Zoubin Ghahramani, professor of information engineering at Cambridge University and chief scientist at Uber. Photograph: The Royal Society Ghahramani began working at Uber part time when the company bought Geometric Intelligence, his AI startup, last year. As chief scientist, he will oversee the use of machine learning algorithms to understand how cities work and how people move around them. The end goal is to match the supply of rides to demand. “The interesting thing about this is we’re doing machine learning in the real, physical world of cities. We’re trying to optimise the movement of people and things around the world,” he said. Ghahramani sees no sign that industry’s demand for talented AI researchers has peaked. “It’s very fierce right now and it’s yet to show signs of tapering off,” he said. “Universities will have to train enough people to meet the demand, and that’s a challenge if lecturers and postdocs are being lured into industry. It’s like killing the geese that lay the golden eggs. Companies are starting to realise that and some of the major tech companies are starting to give back to universities by sponsoring lectureships and donating funds.” Steven Turner joined Amazon Web Services in Cambridge last year. He helps companies to build their own Amazon-style “recommendation engines”, and use image recognition, computer speech and chatbots in customer service. One financial institution he has worked with now uses technology to answer simple questions, such as on customer mortgage rates, freeing up humans for more complex queries. In academia, he saw departments fighting for funds to continue their work and keep people from leaving. The main reason he left was to work on real problems rather than more theoretical concepts. But the culture at Amazon turned out to be more vibrant than in academia. At university, Turner found being a PhD student isolating at times, even though his supervisor was a brilliant mentor. “I personally think that having a greater focus on culture and social interaction to ensure researchers don’t feel as isolated as they can do would have a significant impact on retention,” Turner told the Guardian. He said universities should also focus on researchers’ career development, giving free access to external training and teaming up with business schools to broaden researchers’ knowledge. Ghahramani believes UK universities will have to become more flexible about researchers holding joint positions. “They need to be flexible about intellectual property arrangements. They need to be flexible about PhD students who might want to spend time in a world-leading industry AI lab. That’s what we need to get around the problems. The universities that have been flexible have benefited,” he said.

The end of fiat currency mooted by Deutsche Bank paper

The fiat currency system is "inherently unstable and prone to high inflation", Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid has said. In a paper on the end of fiat money, Reid said the system could be seriously tested over the next 10 years as the disinflationary tendencies that have kept it afloat for the past three decades slowly start reversing. He added that if inflation becomes more uncontrollable, people could lose faith in paper currencies, making cryptocurrencies more appealing and competitive.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/deutsche-bank-end-of-fiat-money-2017-11?r=US&IR=T

2017-11-06 17:03:06.870000

Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid contends that the fiat currency system "is inherently unstable and prone to high inflation." China's rapid economic emergence in the 1970s, and an explosion in the global working-age population, has allowed inflation to be controlled externally, but that period is coming to an end. What could replace fiat currency is yet to be determined. LONDON — Deutsche Bank isn't known for its gold bugs, but that hasn't stopped its strategist Jim Reid from writing a paper that discusses "the start of the end of fiat money." Reid's basic contention is this: The dominance of the fiat currency system since Richard Nixon decoupled gold from the dollar in 1971 "is inherently unstable and prone to high inflation," and an offsetting disinflationary shock that kept it afloat since 1980 is now slowly reversing. If that's the case, Reid says the fiat currency system — a term which describes any currency whose value is backed by the government that issued it, rather than by a commodity like gold or silver — could be "seriously tested" over the next decade. Disinflationary forces The basis of Reid's argument is that China's rapid economic emergence in the 1970s, and an explosion in the global working-age population, has allowed inflation to be controlled externally, because a boost in labour supply during a period of globalisation naturally supressed wages. Externally-controlled inflation means policy-makers and central banks can respond with familiar tools: More leverage, loose policy, and extensive money-printing. "It's not usually this easy as inflation would have normally increased with such stimulus and credit creation," says Reid. In fact, "it could be argued that this external disinflation shock has perhaps 'saved' fiat currencies." An end to the demographic super-cycle If this theory is correct, Reid says, then "any reversals in this demographic super cycle could spell problems for the fiat currency system." Under that scenario, inflation would pick up externally as the working-age population stopped rising and labour pricing power returned, as demand rose and supply shortened. Reid continues: "Central banks and governments which have ‘dined out’ on the 35 year secular, structural decline in inflation are not able to prevent it rising as raising interest rates to suitable levels would risk serious economic contraction given the huge debt burden economies face. As such they are forced to prioritise low interest rates and nominal growth over inflation control which could herald in the beginning of the end of the global fiat currency system that begun with the abandonment of Bretton Woods back in 1971." After fiat currency Eventually, Reid says, "it’s possible that inflation becomes more and more uncontrollable and the era of fiat currencies looks vulnerable as people lose faith in paper money." One such alternative is cryptocurrency, which uses blockchain, a much-hyped online ledger system whose primary benefit lies in the difficulty of tampering with data recorded within it. "Although the current speculative interest in cryptocurrencies is more to do with blockchain technology than a loss of faith in paper money, at some point there will likely be some median of exchange that becomes more universal and a competitor of paper money," Reid says.

P2P lending blockchain Lendoit adds two to advisory board

Israeli peer-to-peer (P2P) blockchain lender Lendoit has welcomed two high-profile advisers to its board. Eddy Travia, the CEO of Coinsilium in London and a SeedCoin co-founder, and Richard Titus, the managing partner at ARK ICO Advisors in Singapore, are joining the advisory board of the financial firm. Lendoit is a decentralised lending platform that uses smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to improve transparency and reduce risk.

https://blog.coinspectator.com/2017/11/06/renowned-blockchain-experts-join-lendoit-advisory-board/

2017-11-06 17:00:24.490000

Israeli Blockchain firm Lendoit welcomes two new experts on to its advisory board. High profile advisors Eddy Travia & Richard Titus have joined the advisory board of Lendoit, an Israeli-based financial firm that is using blockchain technology to revolutionise the peer-to-peer lending industry. Travia, a key figure in the blockchain space since 2013, co-founder of SeedCoin and blockchain Space, and current CEO of investment firm Coinsilium brings a wealth of experience to the project. With an impressive portfolio that already includes RSK, Factom, CoinDash and SatoshiPay. Travia was also nominated among the top 3 ‘Most Influential Investors of the Year’ at Blockchain Awards 2014 and has been a major influence in the space ever since. Titus is currently the managing partner at ARK ICO Advisors, a Singapore based firm advising ICO projects all over the world including AdEx, Pillar & Hive. he brings over 20 years of technology, scaling and development experience to the project. Having nurtured over 15 successful initial coin offerings the two new additions to the Lendoit advisory board will help pave the the firm’s success in the lucrative P2P industry. Utilizing the Ethereum blockchain, Lendoit is a decentralised peer-to-peer lending platform that brings lenders and borrowers together globally using Smart Contracts on the blockchain to ensure transparency, trust, reduced risk and circumvent intermediaries. Borrowers are able to download the Lendoit app and request a loan which is then auctioned to verified lenders on the platform, this provides borrowers with the ability to browse bids and accept the best loan rates to suit their circumstances. Despite it not launching until next year Lendoit has already created strong ties with governments and corporations one of Israel’s biggest investment firms Migdal Investment Banking. Established in 1965 and part of Migdal Capital Markets Group, it currently manages assets valued at $9 billion for thousands of clients in the Israeli private, business and public sectors. Compared to other P2P lending platforms on the market such as ETHlend and Salt, Lendoit offers a competitive advantage in various areas such as decentralised intermediate, interest auctions, and compensation funds. Lendoit so far have also partnered with YETAX, Smartech, WHISP R&D, The Hive Project and Wings. Whitepaper: https://lendoit.com/Lendoit-whitepaper.pdf Telegram: https://t.me/Lendoit

Canadian public pension giant invests $120m in rooftop solar

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the second biggest public pension fund, plans to invest $40m into Sunrun, a US-based rooftop solar provider, following an $83.4m investment in Canada-based Potentia Renewables in May. The investment, part of Sunrun's $234.5m senior credit facility, will give CDPQ exposure to North American residential solar. CDPQ plans to increase low carbon investments by 50% by 2020.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/02/ontario-based-pension-fund-la-caisse-keeps-investing-in-solar/

2017-11-06 16:43:08.113000

Canada’s second-largest public pension fund, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), which is also known in English-language media as La Caisse, announced it will invest $40 million in U.S. rooftop specialist Sunrun. CDPQ specified that the operation is part of the $234.5 million senior secured credit facility closed by Sunrun on October 20th, 2017. “CDPQ is already active in the commercial solar industry in North America and India, so this transaction represents a good opportunity for us to enter the residential sector, which is one of the fastest growing market segments in the U.S. energy industry today,” said CDPQ executive vice-president Marc Cormier. “While generating stable returns in the long term, this financing is also aligned with our strategy to increase our low carbon investments 50% by 2020.” Popular content CDPQ had agreed to provide Ontario-based rooftop solar power producer Potentia Renewables with 107 million CA$ ($78.0 million) in debt-funding in May. Prior to these two transactions, CDPQ had invested in wind power projects across North America and in Western Europe, and in renewable energy and solar projects in India. In March 2016, the company announced a $150 million commitment to target hydro, solar, wind and geothermal power assets. Later in January 2017, La Caisse announced it acquired a 20% stake in Indian solar company Azure Power for $75 million.

Virtual cocktail app alters drink's flavour through electronics

Scientists at the National University of Singapore have developed an app-connected glass that enhances the flavours and smells of drinks. The virtual cocktail, or Vocktail, combines an LED and other gadgetry to alter change the colour, taste and odour of a drink and alter the impressions and perceptions of drinkers. The Vocktail was unveiled at last month's Association for Computing Machinery Multimedia Conference.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2152409-virtual-cocktails-hijack-your-senses-to-turn-water-into-wine/?cmpid=SOC%7CNSNS%7C2017-Echobox&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1509961961

2017-11-06 16:42:22.377000

A matter of taste ACM Multimedia 2017 Drinks are so last century – but they’re getting an upgrade. A device called the Vocktail is shaking up the traditional cocktail by mixing in a dash of electronics designed to fool your senses. Made by Nimesha Ranasinghe and his team at the National University of Singapore, the Vocktail – short for virtual cocktail – is a glass that can be made to alter and augment flavours via a phone app. Once a liquid is poured into the glass, a drinker can change three aspects affecting its taste. First, they can change their perception of the drink by altering its colour via an LED in the glass. Next, they can make the drink seem more sweet, salty or bitter using tongue-stimulating electrodes placed around the rim. In previous experiments, the team showed that different electrical patterns can give the impression of various tastes. Finally, a tube in the side of the glass releases gases with different smells, such as lime, that change the perceived flavour even more. Advertisement Ranasinghe previously created a digital lemonade using colours and electrodes to trick people’s taste buds. By adding smell to the mix, the Vocktail opens up many more flavour combinations. Virtual drinks can make you think you are drinking something sugary when you are in fact just swigging water, letting people satisfy their taste buds without any of the calories. The app also lets you share your favourite virtual cocktail recipes with others. One day, devices like the Vocktail may become part of an ultimate virtual reality experience in which all sensations are simulated digitally. “A Vocktail could become a welcome addition to social experiences in virtual pubs or bars,” says Adalberto Simeone at the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in Belgium. The Vocktail was presented at the Association for Computing Machinery Multimedia Conference last month.

Google releases internal tool that lets users co-operate on AI

Google is open sourcing its Colaboratory development tool, offering it both as a research and an educational solution. It allows developers to run code and show its output in documents, while users who apply for connection to Google's backend can create editable notebooks that can be shared on Google Drive. However, Colaboratory must be used on Google Chrome and the number of notebooks will, initially, be limited. Google previously open sourced its TensorFlow artificial intelligence software.

https://qz.com/1113999/nerds-rejoice-google-just-released-its-internal-tool-to-collaborate-on-ai/

2017-11-06 16:33:18.667000

As if giving the world its AI framework wasn’t enough, Google is now letting others work with a once-internal development tool, Colaboratory. The software works a lot like Google Docs, its document collaboration tool, but with the ability to run code and show that code’s output within the document. Colaboratory is free and built on top of the open-source Jupyter project, software often used in data science. Advertisement It’s easy to take a skeptical view of anything free—Google stands to benefit if its software becomes a standard for teaching students to work in machine learning and data science. A similar strategy can be seen with TensorFlow, the AI framework Google open-sourced, which made it so easy to get started running AI software that a cucumber farmer built his own sorting system with it. Of course, that also means another customer for its Google Cloud APIs, per-use AI software sold by the company. Google is also working to teach other companies to use its AI services; Colaboratory is pitched as an education tool as well as collaboration for research. With Colaboratory, users create notebooks, or documents, that can be simultaneously edited like Google Docs. It supports Python 2.7 and has to be used on Google Chrome. The software is also integrated with Google Drive, so users can easily share projects or copy others’ shared projects onto their own accounts. Advertisement You can tinker with Colaboratory now, but Google is initially limiting the number of notebooks that can be created, and users must apply to be connected to Google’s backend to run code within a notebook.

Singer Bjork will accept bitcoin for her new album

Musician Björk is teaming up with blockchain start-up Blockpool to allow customers to buy her new album using cryptocurrency. Fans of the Icelandic singer will be able to pay with bitcoin, Litecoin and Dashcoin as well as a new token, AudioCoin, along with traditional card payments and PayPal. Those who pre-order the album will also receive 100 AudioCoins, a cryptocurrency created by Blockpool. The company's CEO said Björk and her team will devise further ways to reward her fans with the tokens over the next two years, and predicted "enormous adoption" of cryptocurrencies.

http://musically.com/2017/11/02/bjork-blockchain-cryptocurrency-rewards/

2017-11-06 16:22:37.133000

Fans will be able to buy Björk’s new album ‘Utopia’ using cryptocurrencies, while pre-ordering it directly from the star or her label will earn them crypto rewards too. The musician has teamed up with British blockchain startup Blockpool, which is working with label One Little Indian on a ‘crypto-checkout plugin’ for the online store. It will process ‘Utopia’ pre-orders using credit/debit cards and PayPal, but also the Bitcoin, AudioCoin, Litecoin and Dashcoin cryptocurrencies. However they choose to pay, each fan will receive 100 AudioCoins – together worth just under $0.19 at the time of writing – as a reward for pre-ordering the album, deposited into an e-wallet created for them by Blockpool. Fans will be able to exchange the coins for other cryptocurrencies, keep them as an investment, or convert them back into ‘fiat’ currency like pounds or dollars. Over the next two years, they will also be able to earn more AudioCoins by interacting with Björk’s music, live events and digital activities. It’s one of the most ambitious steps by a musician into the world of cryptocurrency since Imogen Heap’s ‘Tiny Human’ single in 2015, which fans could pay for using the Ether cryptocurrency. The blockchain startup that worked with Heap on that project, Ujo Music, also helped dance artist RAC take payments for his ‘EGO’ album in Ether earlier this year. Blockpool CEO Kevin Bacon – a well-known musician and producer in his own right, as well as the founder of music-tech companies AWAL and BuzzDeck – has explained the bigger picture behind Björk’s entrance into the crypto/blockchain world, which joins her previous exploration of technologies including apps and virtual reality. “People have done things with crypto and artists before, but this is the first time a global artist has done anything like this. While it will be interesting to see how the crypto community responds to this, Utopia is also a gateway for people to go into crypto for the first time. Björk is the best artist in the world we could imagine doing this,” said Bacon. “This isn’t about jumping on a bandwagon or trying to get rich quick. It’s about doing things where you use blockchain and the crypto benefits in ways that people haven’t thought of yet. And in this case, very much led by Björk and her team’s creative vision for what this technology can do.” Bacon said that Blockpool has worked hard to make the signup and wallet-claiming process as accessible as possible for Björk’s fans, particularly those who don’t already own cryptocurrency. “We’ll be providing information for people who don’t know anything about crypto or who want to find out more. But they can keep those coins in that wallet, they can also take them out and put them into any third-party wallet or exchange that they want to,” he said. “They could take them out and trade them back into Bitcoin or any other currency, or take them back into cash if they want. To cash it back out would be a wasted opportunity, I think. Some people will just keep it as Audiocoin for a while, and some people will add it to their portfolio of currencies.” Bacon added that Björk and her team will be deciding how to reward fans with more Audiocoin over the course of the next two years, rather than Blockpool deciding how the campaign should be run. “We’re not going to give her a list of 20 things she should do. We’ll show her the kind of thing that could be done, and then she’ll take that and run with it,” he said. Examples of the kind of thing that can be done include rewarding fans for sharing links to Utopia’s music, its tour, to merchandise and other content on social networks. Blockpool also has the technology to deliver rewards to fans in a specific location at a certain time – gig venues for example. “You could create blockchain-enabled digital treasure hunts, although what we don’t want to do is turn this into Pokémon Go! But why not reward your fans for engaging with what you do, and reward them in a meaningful way?” said Bacon. “For an artist like Björk who’s embraced VR more than any other artist, I can see fantastic opportunities: you could embed this in the VR world as well, with rewards for people who interact with her virtual world.” 2017 has been a year of excitable talk about blockchain technology – not just in music but in other industries too – and the emergence of the initial coin offering (ICO) as a way to raise often-huge sums of money for often-unproven business plans. Bacon is famously a sceptic about some of the blockchain hype as it relates to music, but his overall feelings about the future of this technology are optimistic. “There’s a lot of talk about whether crypto and blockchain is a bubble. I don’t see it as a bubble: I see it as a burst of energy. I think you’ll see a lot of activity, a lot of things will disappear or get left to rot, but the important things will stay and grow,” he said. “I think blockchain and crypto will be like the dotcom boom and bust in the late 1990s. We’ll see enormous adoption over the next couple of years, then some kind of bubble burst, but then a long-term change.” “In the short term, we may see people overcooking it: there’s a danger we’ll see a lot of artists doing coins, a lot of bad marketing ideas and a lot of people using it as a mechanism to make money,” admitted Bacon. “But some people will do good stuff, and it’s those people, who use the technology to its best, who’ll come out the other side. I think Björk’s a leader, and I think she’ll be the person that defines how other people go.” You can read the full Q&A with Kevin Bacon here, or bone up on blockchain music with our recent themed issue on the topic.

GuestReady acquires Easy Rental Service

UK-based property management start-up GuestReady has acquired Easy Rental Services, a competitor that operates in London and Paris. GuestReady began last year as an online platform to give Airbnb users access to guest services such as cleaning, check-in and laundry. It now focuses on fully-managed properties and operates a portfolio of 600 properties. It has recently raised around $3m in seed funding and aims to expand into five more cities by next summer.

https://www.property-magazine.eu/guestready-acquires-easy-rental-services-44943.html

2017-11-06 15:03:50.780000

GuestReady has closed €2.6 million in seed funding in order to expand its business to new markets. Currently operating in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, the startup says it plans to utilize the funds to reach 5 more cities by Summer 2018. They also announced the acquisition… […]

Fetchr joins partnership for drone home delivery service in UAE

US-based delivery company Fetchr has joined a partnership that is developing the first aerial drone home delivery service in the United Arab Emirates. The partnership between UAE-based technology firm Eniverse and US company Skycart had earlier announced that was planning to bring Space Autonomous Drones to specific areas of Dubai. California-based Skycart already offers a similar service to its users, which delivers packages to their doorstep. Fetchr's founder, Idriss Al Rifai, said his company's involvement in the drone project will help take it "the last mile".

http://www.tahawultech.com/cnme/news/uaes-first-autonomous-drone-delivery-project-signs-us-based-fetchr/

2017-11-06 14:53:28.287000

Fetchr, a US-based on-demand delivery startup has announced a partnership with California’s Skycart and the UAE’s Eniverse to develop the first autonomous drone delivery service in the region. Skycart already offers a similar service to its users in the US. The startup delivers packages at customers’ doorstep within 30 minutes or less using their UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) network. Skycart and Eniverse had announced their partnership earlier this year to create Space Autonomous Drones, a company formed to offer drone-based delivery services in UAE through different collaborations. It was said at the time that they will start with a soft launch to operate in some specific areas of Dubai including Emirates Hills, The Meadows, The Springs, The Greens, and Jumeirah. The addition of Fetchr will help take the project “the last mile”, acording to the company’s founder and CEO Idriss Al Rifai. “At its core Fetchr is a technology company, and this partnership represents a significant milestone for us as we work towards achieving Fetchr’s vision of enabling all deliveries through technology and disrupting the last mile delivery industry,” said Al Rifai. “We are committed to collaborating with the concerned authorities in the UAE and become part of the country’s endeavours to be at the forefront of global innovation and implementation of such advanced technologies,” he added. Mohammed Johmani, Founder and CEO of Eniverse Technologies, said, “Today we mark the launch of a long-term relationship with Fetchr. We are delighted to be the first company to implement this new modern technology in the UAE, especially with a like-minded firm such as Fetchr in which we see great future growth potentials.”

Montessorium wins $2m to develop Primary app for parents

A US education technology company has raised $1m of funding in a new investment round. Montessorium, which is based in South Dakota, creates apps for parents of primary-school children based on the Montessori style of teaching. The company's Primary app was launched last year and offers tips for undertaking activities with children. It has been downloaded 30,000 times and Montessorium wants to use the new money to develop it further. The latest round of funding comes from investors in the company's home state and brings the total raised to over $2m.

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/education/2017/11/03/sioux-falls-tech-company-montessorium-raises-1-million-early-stage-investments/829156001/

2017-11-06 14:52:00.107000

A Sioux Falls education technology startup nearly doubled its funding. Montessorium, which creates educational apps for parents and children, raised $1 million in investments after a Series A financing round, the company announced Friday. The investment, led by Bluestem Investment Fund 2016 LLC, brings Montessorium's total funding to $2.045 million. "We're overjoyed by this show of support from investors in our home state," CEO Bobby George said. The additional $1 million will help Montessorium take its apps to the "next level," said George, who co-founded the company and the Sioux Falls Baan Dek Montessori school with his wife, June George. Last year, the company launched Primary, an app for parents. Primary has a wide range of activities, including tips for family activities such as camping ideas or ways to involve children in back-to-school shopping. "In Primary ... we provide positive, timely resources that will improve the lives of the entire family," June George said. "We're helping parents help children." Since launching last fall, Primary has been downloaded more than 30,000 times and featured on the App Store homepage. The new round of funding also comes from South Dakota investors, including Falls Angel Fund, Two Bridges Capital, Kampeska Capital and SDSU/Brookings Angel Fund II. "We're very excited about Montessorium's efforts," said Matthew Paulson of Falls Angel Fund. "For the first time, children, parents and classrooms have access to high-quality educational apps and also benefit from the Montessori teaching style approach at the same time." Bobby George said one of the remarkable things about the latest financing round is having the ability to be a tech startup in Sioux Falls. "You don't have to go to Silicon Valley to make something special," he said.

Oil spills double risk of infant deaths in Nigeria

Babies in Nigeria born to mothers who lived within 10km of an oil spill up to five years before becoming pregnant are twice as likely to die in their first month, according to new research. The study also revealed that such spills damage the health of surviving children. The research was unable to explain why spills that occurred during pregnancy had no effect on child or neonatal mortality rates. It is estimated that the Niger Delta sees spills equivalent to 240,000 barrels of crude oil each year, resulting in polluted water, crops and air.

https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_6653.html

2017-11-06 14:48:37.247000

Oil spills can lead to irreversible environmental degradation and pose hazards to human health. We are the first to study the causal effects of onshore oil spills on neonatal and infant mortality rates. We use spatial data from the Nigerian Oil Spill Monitor and the Demographic and Health Surveys, and rely on the comparison of siblings conceived before and after nearby oil spills. We find that nearby oil spills double the neonatal mortality rate. These effects are fairly uniform across locations and socio-economic backgrounds. We also provide some evidence for negative health effects of nearby oil spills on surviving children. Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project , subscribe to its RSS feed for this item. These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one. This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports Corrections All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6653. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc. For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html . If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about. If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form . If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation. For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html . Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

Oil spills double risk of infant deaths in Nigeria

Babies in Nigeria born to mothers who lived within 10km of an oil spill up to five years before becoming pregnant are twice as likely to die in their first month, according to new research. The study also revealed that such spills damage the health of surviving children. The research was unable to explain why spills that occurred during pregnancy had no effect on child or neonatal mortality rates. It is estimated that the Niger Delta sees spills equivalent to 240,000 barrels of crude oil each year, resulting in polluted water, crops and air.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/nov/06/niger-delta-oil-spills-linked-infant-deaths

2017-11-06 14:48:37.247000

Babies in Nigeria are twice as likely to die in the first month of life if their mothers were living near an oil spill before falling pregnant, researchers have found. A new study, the first to link environmental pollution with newborn and child mortality rates in the Niger Delta, shows that oil spills occurring within 10km of a mother’s place of residence doubled neonatal mortality rates and impaired the health of her surviving children. Crucially, oil spills that occurred while the mother was still pregnant had no effect on child or neonatal mortality. But even spills that happened five years before conception doubled the neonatal mortality rate from 38 deaths to 76 deaths for every 1,000 births, the data found. “The results from the study are absolutely shocking,” said Roland Hodler, an economics professor from the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, who led the study. “I didn’t expect to see this effect on pre-conception. Why we don’t find a stronger effect [on the foetus] during the pregnancy is not entirely clear – maybe it is due to the cumulative contamination of crude oil in the water and soil, which increases over time. But that doesn’t explain the entire effect. “This is a tragedy. Even four to five years prior to conception, an oil spill still matters. I think this should be seen as a first-world problem for something to be done.” Regular, uncontrolled spills have been a prominent feature of Nigeria’s oil industry – the nation’s primary source of GDP – since crude was discovered there more than 60 years ago. An estimated 240,000 barrels of crude oil are spilled in the Niger Delta every year, polluting waterways, contaminating crops, and releasing toxic chemicals into the air. A 2011 report by the UN Environment Programme estimated that, after decades of repeated oil spills in Ogoniland, it would take 30 years to reverse damage to public health and the regional ecosystem. Unborn and newborn infants are most vulnerable to oil-related pollution because they have not yet developed basic defences such as the blood-brain barrier, which helps protect against toxic chemicals, the study found. Even small doses of pollution are likely to be large in comparison to an infant’s body weight, while mothers who ingest poisoned food or contaminated water are also at greater risk of maternal malnutrition and sickness, potentially increasing infant mortality risks, said the researchers. By pairing georeferenced data from the Nigerian Oil Spill Monitor – which recorded the location of more than 6,600 spills between 2005 and 2015 – with the 2013 national demographic and health survey, Hodler and his colleague Anna Bruederle were able to map oil spill locations in relation to neonatal and child mortality rates among the surrounding populations. The result was an analysis of roughly 5,040 children born to 2,700 mothers in 130 clusters, all within 10km of the closest oil spill. The researchers then compared siblings’ health histories, contrasting the mortality rates of infants conceived or born before the first nearby oil spill with those conceived or born subsequently. The data proved that neonatal mortality was higher the closer the oil spill was to the mother’s location, and that any oil spills prior to conception increased the incidence of low weight-for-height, notably in the first year of life. The Nigerian government did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Activists have called the findings “disturbing and disheartening”. “It is shocking to consider how many children may have died in the past 50 years – since oil exploration started in Nigeria’s Niger Delta – as a direct result of regular and uncontrolled oil spills,” said Debbie Ariyo of Africans Unite Against Child Abuse, a charity that supports the rights and welfare of African children. “The ongoing environmental damage means that more children are exposed to harmful chemicals in polluted drinking water, air and food produce. Simply put, as long as the oil spills continue unabated and clean up of the region is delayed, then unfortunately more children will be harmfully impacted.” Additional reporting by Emmanuel Akinwotu

US health agency to expand payments for telehealth services

The US federal health agency is increasing the amount of telehealth services it pays for. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which provides access to healthcare for elderly and low-income Americans, has included the expanded services in its updated schedule of fees payable to medical staff. The change will provide better access to care for people in rural areas, according to the CMS. The news has been welcomed by representatives of the connected health technology industry, who said previous rules provided disincentives for doctors to use such new technologies.

https://medcitynews.com/2017/11/cms-telemedicine/?rf=1

2017-11-06 14:47:35.703000

On Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a final rule for the 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The lengthy (as in 1,653-page) document outlines numerous changes. For one, it increases physician payment rates by 0.41 percent for 2018 compared to this year. But a less frequently highlighted part of the rule is what it does for telemedicine. CMS will be paying for more telehealth services. The agency created multiple new codes, which cover instances around lung cancer, health risk assessments, psychotherapy, chronic care management and interactive complexity. As a press release notes: To strengthen access to care, especially for those living in rural areas, CMS is transforming access to Medicare telehealth services by paying for more services and making it easier for providers to bill for these services. Improving access to telehealth services reflects CMS’ work to modernize Medicare payments to promote patient-centered innovations. Additionally, CMS said it is finalizing separate 2018 payment for CPT code 99091, which details certain remote patient monitoring. Some, including Connected Health Initiative Executive Director Morgan Reed, were pleased with the changes. He praised CMS’ efforts regarding enabling doctors to utilize remote patient monitoring tools. In a statement, Reed noted: These new rules are an important step forward for America’s connected health innovators, doctors, and most importantly patients. Until now, connected health technologies have been effectively locked out of the most important part of America’s healthcare system, Medicare and Medicaid. Previous CMS rules created serious disincentives for doctors to consider new technologies. Together with our advisory board, CHI pushed for newly enacted rules that finally level the playing field for innovators, giving doctors and patients the chance to take advantage of the best technologies available. Others, such as American Hospital Association Executive Vice President Tom Nickels, weren’t quite as excited. He stated: We are also supportive of the agency’s policies to make payment for new telehealth services, although we urge a more expansive approach toward telehealth coverage. Photo: IAN HOOTON, Getty Images

Chinese gene-sequencing start-up Annoroad raises $105m

Annoroad, a Chinese gene-sequencing firm, has raised $105m in a series C funding round led by Ping An Ventures and Shenzhen GTJA Investment Group. SoftBank China Venture Capital also invested in the round. Beijing-based Annoroad is recognised for its fertility and tumour test products, and is one of the largest genomics companies in China. The funds will be used to develop the company's overseas business connections, improve its R&D efforts and hire further staff. Some funding will be used for its SolarGenomics subsidiary, which offers a cloud-based platform for the storage of bioinformatics and research.

http://www.hcanews.com/news/annoroad-raises-105m-in-funding-round

2017-11-06 14:39:51.627000

The Chinese next-generation sequencing company Annoroad this week announced it had netted $105 million in a Series C funding round. Ping An Ventures and the Shenzhen GTJA Investment Group led the round, with additional money coming from SoftBank China Venture Capital. The company, known widely for its fertility and tumor tests, is among the largest genomics firms in China. In 2015, Annoroad announced plans to co-develop a prenatal DNA diagnostic with Illumina, combining the American company’s sequencing technology with its own nucleic acid extraction and data analysis. That resulted in NextSeq550AR, a sequencing platform In a statement, the company said the windfall will partly go toward developing its overseas business efforts, though it didn’t elaborate. It will also use the investment to improve research and development, hire talent, and increase efficiency and sustainability. Some of the money will be diverted to SolarGenomics, a cloud-based platform the company launched 3 months ago for bioinformatics and research storage. Annoroad CEO Chongjian Chen called the funding “fresh impetus” for the company to implement more sustainable practices. “With the mission of enhancing life value, based on gene technology, Annoroad is aiming at bringing more further social benefits, serving human health and accelerating the discoveries in life science,” Chen said. The Chinese consumer genomics giant is not the first in its field to receive a 9-figure investment this year. 23andMe famously received $250 million earlier this year, reflecting global confidence in a genomics market that is expected to grow to $340 million worldwide in the next 5 years.

Medici expands telehealth messaging service to South Africa

Telehealth messaging service Medici is expanding to South Africa early next year after raising new funding of $24m in an investment round last year. The Texas-based company offers a messaging platform inspired by WhatsApp, on which patients can access doctors, who can then phone back or use video conferencing to give advice. Medici is seeking to sign up 3,000 to 5,000 doctors in South Africa, and the move is the first stage of a planned expansion into other African countries. Founder Clinton Phillips has also expressed interest in Latin America and Europe.

https://medcitynews.com/2017/11/startup-seeking-offer-whatsapp-healthcare-plans-expansion-south-africa-next-year/?rf=1

2017-11-06 14:37:45.163000

Serial healthcare entrepreneur Clinton Phillips is expanding his telehealth business Medici to South Africa at the start of 2018 in a move intended to improve access to healthcare. It also follows a $24.2 million fundraise by the company last year. Phillips, who lived in Johannesburg before settling in Austin, Texas, talked about his plans for the company in a phone interview. Unlike Phillips’ previous healthcare business 2ndMD, a second opinion service for complex medical conditions, Medici is modeled after WhatsApp but for healthcare. Although patients can initiate contact with doctors by text, physicians can choose to connect with patients through a video conference component or phone call. “A billion people a day use WhatsApp and many of them are doctors. It is not built for healthcare, it is not compliant for healthcare but it is the best way they know to manage their patients.” Medici plans to onboard 3,000 to 5,000 doctors to support the expansion to South Africa. Phillips said the company is collaborating with medical associations and insurance companies in the African nation, including the insurer MMI. Surprisingly, Phillips observed that the market is very similar to the U.S. in terms of public and private insurance. He noted that most South Africans with insurance have high deductible plans. South Africa will also anchor Medici’s expansion plans on the continent — it already has partnerships in Kenya and Nigeria. It also has designs for Europe and currently has an office in Paris staffed by five people. “We’d love to get to 20 countries in the next 12-18 month. US, Africa & Latin America are showing a lot of potential.” The company’s business model allows physicians to use its app for free in exchange for a portion of their revenues or they can pay $149 per month. In what seems like an unusual but practical move, Medici also provides free malpractice insurance covering up to $1 million. Asked how physicians use Medici, Phillips offered a few different examples for its “power users.” A Miami doctor uses it to care for children on Medicaid who have limited mobility because she said it provides useful insight into what is going on in a patient’s home. It also has specialists among its users such as an orthopedic surgeon so he can touch base with patients before their procedure and as they recover. Also on Medici’s to do list are updates to its platform, such as using AI to help triage consults for the doctors using Medici and transcription to minimize doctors having to take notes. Photo: ronniechua, Getty Images

Bahrain looks to boost fintech development with dedicated hub

Bahrain's government and central bank are backing a fintech-focused hub overseen in the Gulf state by Singapore's FinTech Consortium. The centre will sit in a 10,000 sq m area next to Bahrain Bay and offer shared office facilities to corporate innovation labs and fintech start-ups by February. It follows the launch in June of the central bank's regulatory sandbox for fintech innovation.

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31292/bahrain-to-open-dedicated-fintech-hub?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=finextrafeed

2017-11-06 14:37:14.297000

The Bahraini Government and the region's Central Bank are backing the creation of a new fintech hub in a 10,000 square metre space overlooking the waters of Bahrain Bay and the Arabian Gulf. Scheduled to open in February 2018, the hub will comprise co-working spaces, communal areas, workstations, hot desks, and a variety of other shared infrastructure designed to attract international corporate innovation labs and fintech start-ups. FinTech Consortium, which runs similar facilities in New York and Singapore, has been appointed as the operator and ecosystem builder for the new location. The Central Bank of Bahrain in June opened a regulatory sandbox for fintech firms worldwide to test their technology ahead of live deployment in the Kingdom. The initiative followed the creation of a partnership between the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Singapore Fintech Consortium and asset management and advisory firm Trucial Investment Partners to develop a startup-friendly regulatory framework for the Kingdom. H.E. Khalid Al Rumaihi, EDB chief executive says: “We are very excited about the opportunities that fintech presents in the region and in Bahrain’s ability to serve as a hub for innovation in this sector. We know that in order to realise these opportunities, it is vital to get the right ecosystem, including ensuring a supportive regulatory environment and infrastructure is in place.” Bahrain provided greater opportunities for fintech businesses in 2014, when the CBB initiated two new license types - payment services and card processing services - marking the entry of non-banking companies into banking services. To date Bahrain has issued 14 licenses for these two activities.

Secdo launches behavioural analysis cybersecurity platform

New York start-up Sedco aims to help companies facing growing incident response challenges and skilled staffing shortages with the launch of version 5.0 of its incident response platform. Additions include Behavioral Based Indicators of Compromise, a capability enabling firms to block potentially damaging processes or behaviours, and the Sedco Response Center, offering containment as well as forensic and remediation solutions. A survey by Hexadite and the Enterprise Strategy Group revealed that 71% of US IT professionals said incident response had become more difficult in the past two years.

https://www.esecurityplanet.com/endpoint/secdo-5.0-makes-behavioral-based-bet-on-automated-incident-response.html

2017-11-06 14:36:57.877000

eSecurity Planet may receive a commission from vendor links. Our recommendations are independent of any commissions, and we only recommend solutions we have personally used or researched and meet our standards for inclusion. With major cybersecurity incidents an almost daily occurrence, organizations need an incident response plan for the likelihood that they will someday be breached. And more than ever, they also need an incident response service that can step in to help clean up those messes. Despite all the cybersecurity defenses in enterprises, the human element matters the most, as phishing attacks remain the top avenue of incursion, accounting for more than 85% of all breaches, according to the annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. With 13% of human-related breaches containing ransomware and 10% of ransomware attacks costing organizations an average of $1 million, IT security teams need to be prepared for the worst. That’s where incident response software and services come in. Incident response is focused on how best to deal with an incident once it occurs. The whole idea is to have a systematic approach to incidents rather than acting haphazardly. Incident response tools can help implement incident response plans and elevate response plans from a manual to an automated basis, sandboxing threats and shutting down ports and access and the like. But even then, manual actions remain important, and that’s where incident response plans and services come in. The functions contained within incident response tools and services vary widely from vendor to vendor. But these core functions are present in most products: Ability to instantly deploy and gain visibility across the environment, including Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems Remediation capabilities across environmental components to implement corrective actions as quickly as possible rather than waiting for time-consuming manual actions, perhaps over hundreds or thousands of devices and components Log review is useful as well, but real-time visibility is key Post-breach investigations Ransomware, virus, and malware removal Recovery of systems and reestablishment of services and websites See our picks for best ransomware recovery services and removal tools Top Incident Response Tools Check Point Incident Response Check Point’s Incident Response (IR) service can be broken down into several components. It offers incident response retainers for reactive incident engagements as well as proactive engagements via consulting. Those consulting services include: tabletop exercises; IR planning (including policy and playbook review and creation around threats); maturity & readiness assessments; and more advanced services such as internal compromise and threat assessments that look at the network, logs, endpoints, Active Directory, and email (on premises or in the cloud), threat hunting engagements, and external attack surface mapping analysis for a company’s digital assets. Key Differentiators The Check Point Incident Response Team (CPIRT) Service helps prepare for and respond to any security breach with 24/7 dedicated experts to help speed recovery and return to business as usual. This includes real-time remediation assistance, rule-based and protection activation recommendations, traffic and attack analysis, forensic analytics lab access, scheduled log analysis of identified critical systems, and configuration change recommendations for third-party systems and service providers. Complete Incident Handling: Check Point can handle the entire incident lifecycle from triage containment and remediation, with detailed documentation and reports. Check Point has intelligence sharing arrangements with many global intelligence and infrastructure providers, local and national law enforcement, and others. The service is vendor agnostic, with global 24x7x365 incident response analysts around the world. Direct access to Check Point Research & Development, aiding in Zero Day threat identification. Handles upwards of 3,000 or more cases per year. More than 250 professionals, including advanced security experts, reverse engineers, and malware analysts. Utilizes standardized frameworks for incident response such as NIST and ISO. Cynet The Cynet Incident Response service includes deployment of the Cynet 360 agent to gain visibility across the environment, including hosts, files, networks, and users. It is managed by a team of incident responders to resolve the problem and get the business restored back to normal. Key Differentiators It combines deep security analysis experience together with Cynet 360 investigative and security technology. A 24/7 security team acts as an extended team for the organization, leading any required analysis, ensuring that nothing is overlooked, and generating the results needed. Cynet 360 can be used post-resolution to protect systems against future attacks. The Cynet 360 agent can be deployed to over 5,000 endpoints within an hour. Cynet 360 provides visibility beyond the endpoint to networks and users to gain the necessary visibility for automated incident response. Executive summaries and reports that can be exported for consumption by other systems or to manually update systems across the environment. The full Cynet Prevention & Detection platform leverages Cynet Sensor Fusion to provide integrated antivirus, endpoint detection and response, network analytics, deception and user behavioral analytics. Mandiant The Mandiant Automated Defense module – soon to become part of Google – combines data from the security stack with data science and machine learning capabilities to triage alerts, automatically eliminating events that don’t matter, and revealing the ones that do. Its extended detection and response (XDR) engine uses decision automation to recall events that occurred in the past, correlating with threat intelligence to enrich incidents for escalation and remediation. Key Differentiators Mandiant Automated Defense increases scalability, consistency, and accuracy to augment SOC teams, improving detection and reducing attacker dwell times. Mandiant investigator expertise and threat intelligence are delivered through the Mandiant Intel Grid. Deliver detection and response capabilities at scale with a software-as-a-service approach that does not require the writing of rules or playbooks. Weave together alerts and data from a variety of security control categories, data repositories and threat intelligence vendors to determine the likelihood of malicious and actionable threats. Helps security analysts reduce monotonous tasks by automating alert analysis, reducing the number of false positives, and highlighting alerts that matter. SOC teams can weave together data silos and integrate with SIEM/SOAR tools. The overall Mandiant platform – Mandiant Advantage – encompasses extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities with breach intelligence, threat intelligence, and security validation. Works with existing security controls. Secureworks Secureworks Taegis XDR is available as software or as a managed service. It is built on the Taegis security analytics platform, using data science techniques to expose adversaries that would otherwise go undetected. A combination of machine and deep learning that are trained using threat intelligence and user data powers the behavioral threat analytics. Key Differentiators The software includes built-in detection. Automated containment actions across endpoint, network, and cloud environments. Fuses human and machine intelligence to improve security. ManagedXDR enables the team to deal with an increasing workload and threat volume. Collaborate on hunts, chat with analysts, and periodically assess the security posture. Cloud-native solution that complements existing infrastructure by correlating events from multiple security tools. Identify previously unknown threats, eliminate noise, and speed up investigations with analytics-based detectors that are enriched with curated threat intelligence by the Secureworks Counter Threat Unit. Sygnia Sygnia can investigate, contain, and defeat attacks within the network, while minimizing impact and enabling effective recovery. Its forensics and incident response capabilities are designed to counter the spectrum of attacks, resolve incidents, and support risk management and business recovery. Key Differentiators Support for forensic diagnostics, reverse engineering, and evidence preservation, including host, network, mobile, cloud or any other form of digital data. Manage uncertainty by determining if security alerts constitute a critical risk. Obtain recommendations to address vulnerabilities and mitigate threats. Crisis management support. Retainer contracts offer standby support, from forensic triage to handling a full-scale cyber event. Assess and enhance the ability to respond to and sustain cyberattacks. Close gaps and improve preparation to manage the complex undertaking and intense pressure of a cyber breach. Proactively hunt attacks within the network, and identify and neutralize dormant and active threats at an early stage. Sygnia’s Advanced Compromise Assessment process establishes a base of security. Herjavec Group Managed Detection & Response (MDR) services from Herjavec Group (HG) analyze packets and system processes in real time, augmenting an existing managed security service. The benefits include threat detection, threat hunting, and technology-specific experts’ hands-on involvement in the environment to expand beyond preventative security strategies. Key Differentiators The HG MDR practice combines behavioral and anomaly detection with added intelligence from endpoint detection and response platforms. The HG SOC operations monitor network, systems, and data, 24/7/365. High-fidelity alerting, improved threat detection, and expert-level response. Around the clock security event monitoring, triage & escalation. Threat disruption across platforms. Network security monitoring coupled with management of best of breed EDR or XDR solutions, cloud environments, and containers. Digital forensics and incident response emergency services. Managed phishing service. BAE Systems BAE Systems is a supplier of cyber, intelligence, and security capabilities to government agencies, as well as cyber and network security capabilities to the enterprise. It protects air, maritime, land, and cyber domains. Key Differentiators Has a workforce of about 90,000 people in more than 40 countries. Emergency Cyber Incident Response services combine technical skills with strategic guidance to ensure the organization makes the right decisions at the right times to limit the impact of the attack. In-house developed tools are used to discover the critical facts. Visibility into malicious behavior. If a breach of security has already made the headlines or attracted regulator attention, the BAE team can help manage internal and external stakeholders, as well as the press. Centers of excellence exist in the UK, U.S., and Australia. Can rapidly deploy expert personnel onsite. Founding and certified member of the NCSC Certified Incident Response Scheme and CREST certified to provide cyber incident response services to government, critical national infrastructure and, other operators of nationally significant networks. Cybriant CybriantXDR combines machine learning and artificial intelligence with experienced oversight to identify and terminate malicious software before it can execute. It also alerts the organization only when a credible threat is detected. Key Differentiators

EDF partners with Elsewedy Electric on solar projects in Egypt

EDF Energies Nouevelles will partner with Egyptian manufacturing company Elsewedy Electric to deliver a 100 MW solar park in Egypt. The project will be located at the 1.8 GW Benban solar complex and, pending approval from the Egyptian authorities, will sell power to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under a 25-year contract. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/02/edf-partners-with-elsewedy-electric-on-100-mw-of-solar-in-egypt/

2017-11-06 14:14:16.733000

EDF Energies Nouevelles, the renewable energy subsidiary of France-based energy giant EDF, and the Egyptian manufacturing company Elsewedy Electric will construct a 100 MW solar park in Benban, southern Egypt. Financial close for the project was reached on Oct. 25, EDF said in a press release. The installation was selected in Round 2 of Egypt’s FIT scheme and will sell power to local utility Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) under a 25-year contract. The solar park will be located at the 1.8 GW Benban solar complex, where they are also building another 50 MW solar plant. Both projects, according to EDF, are being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Proparco. Popular content The project must still be approved by the Egyptian authorities. Construction of the plant is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year. “By expanding into Egypt, alongside the ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC Group, a high regional profile, EDF Energies Nouvelles strengthens its position in the North African renewable energy market. The Benban solar project ties in with the EDF Group’s goal of doubling its renewable capacity in France and worldwide, by 2030 under its CAP 2030 strategic plan”, said EDF Energies Nouvelles’ CEO Antoine Cahuzac. The 1.8 GW Benban solar complex represents the larger portion of the 2 GW of PV capacity allocated by the Egyptian government through its FIT scheme for solar.

AI 'seven-year-old' bot given residency in Tokyo

A "seven-year-old" artificial intelligence (AI) bot has been granted residency in Tokyo's central Shibuya district. The boy, named Shibuya Mirai, does not physically exist but has text conversations with users of the popular Line messaging app. The character has now been given a special residence certificate, making him Japan's – and possibly the world's – first AI bot to take a place on a real life local registry.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2017/11/05/2003681714

2017-11-06 14:08:24.800000

AI ‘child’ granted residency in Tokyo AFP, TOKYO An artificial intelligence (AI) character was made an official resident of a busy central Tokyo district yesterday, with the virtual newcomer resembling a chatty seven-year-old. The boy named “Shibuya Mirai” does not exist physically, but he can have text conversations with humans on the widely used Line messaging app. Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, an area popular with fashion-conscious young people, has given the character his own special residence certificate. A special residence certificate for “Shibuya Mirai” is pictured yesterday. Photo: AFP / Shibuya Ward This makes him Japan’s first — and maybe the world’s first — AI bot to be granted a place on a real-life local registry. Mirai, whose name means “future” in Japanese, is supposed to be a first grader at an elementary school. He can reply to messages and make light-hearted alterations to selfies he is sent. Shibuya said the project aims to make the district’s local government more familiar to residents and allow officials to hear their opinions. “His hobbies are taking pictures and observing people, and he loves talking with people... Please talk to him about anything,” the ward said in a statement with Microsoft, the joint developer of the character.

Virtual language learning offered by PandaTree

California-based edtech PandaTree has raised $1.5m in a seed funding round led by Michael Dearing of Harrison Metals. The company offers online personalised learning using virtual reality as part of a standardised curriculum, enabling children to learn Spanish and Mandarin in an interactive, engaging environment. Students can also receive live one-to-one sessions with a tutor. PandaTree aims to add more languages to its curriculum in the future.

http://www.finsmes.com/2017/11/pandatree-raises-1-5m-in-seed-funding.html

2017-11-06 13:56:27.490000

PandaTree, a Palo Alto, CA-based language learning company, secured $1.5m in seed funding. The round was led by Michael Dearing of Harrison Metals with Randy Ching of UP2398. The company has reached a total of $2m invested with the earlier funding coming from Precursor Ventures and Nanjing Sunflower. Led by Rich Matsuura, co-founder and product lead, and Kristina Klausen, founder and CEO, PandaTree provides a foreign language learning platform which allows students to talk via live video with their tutor, while interacting with a proprietary, standards-based language curriculum. The WebRTC-based platform supports an interactive and fully integrated curriculum. During lessons students can be doing a virtual 3D tour of a Mayan ruin or the Great Wall of China with their tutor, working on a project, or playing a game. With PandaTree, parents can schedule 25 or 50-minute online lessons with the tutor they choose, at the times that are convenient for them. Tutors go through a rigorous hiring process that includes test sessions with real kids, and background checks. They use PandaTree’s curriculum, but tailor the topics and pace to each child for optimized individual learning. Mandarin and Spanish are currently offered, with additional languages planned for the future. FinSMEs 02/11/2017

UK living wage increases to £8.75 per hour, £10.20 in London

The UK living wage, based on independently-calculated costs of living, will rise by 3.6% on Monday to £8.75 ($11.5) per hour across the UK, and by 4.6% to £10.20 in London. The wage is currently paid voluntarily by over 3,600 UK employers, including Google and IKEA, to around 150,000 workers. Heathrow Airport also announced on Monday that it would pay the living wage, raising the weekly wages of over 3,200 of the airport’s lowest-paid workers by up to £100 per week. Of FTSE 100 companies, two-thirds, including BP, BT, Shell and Vodafone, did not adopt the voluntary measure.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/06/uk-living-wage-rises-to-875-per-hour

2017-11-06 13:55:57.007000

More than 150,000 workers will get an inflation-beating pay rise on Monday as the UK living wage, which is paid voluntarily by more than 3,600 employers, is increased against a backdrop of rising transport, food and housing costs. The pay rate will rise 3.6% to £8.75 per hour around the UK and 4.6% to £10.20 in London, giving a wages boost to workers at companies which have adopted the measure, including Google and IKEA. Katherine Chapman, the director of the Living Wage Foundation, said the increase in the living wage was driven by inflation, currently running at 3%, and the increased cost of household goods, rents and transport. The living wage is independently calculated and designed to reflect the “real cost of living in the UK and London”. “The new living wage rates will bring relief for thousands of UK workers being squeezed by stagnant wages and rising inflation,” Chapman said. “It’s thanks to the leadership of over 3,600 employers across the UK who are committed to paying all their staff, including cleaners and security staff, a real living wage.” Two-thirds of FTSE 100 companies, including BP, BT, Vodafone, Shell have failed to join the voluntary pledge. Dr Wanda Wyporska, the executive director of The Equality Trust, said: “It’s incredible to see so many of the UK’s largest businesses refuse to pay their staff a living wage. It’s even more appalling when you consider the average pay for a FTSE 100 boss is now over 300 times that of a minimum wage worker.” The increase takes the voluntary UK living wage to £3.15 more than the mandatory minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds. The national living wage, which is simply the name given to the statutory national minimum wage rate for over 25s, is set at £7.50 an hour. Chapman said the national living wage was not enough to cover the true cost of living, particularly in London. “In-work poverty is today’s story,” she said. “New figures show that 5.5m people are still paid less than the real living wage.” Heathrow Airport announced on Monday it had signed up to the living wage, meaning more than 3,200 of its lowest-paid workers, including cleaners and security staff, will have their weekly wages raised by up to £100 a week. More than 150 employers have become accredited to the living wage in recent weeks including the National Gallery, the Southbank Centre and Somerset House. They join around 3,600 employers already signed up, including Nationwide and Diageo. Many high-profile employers including luxury hotel chains and most Premier League football clubs have failed to sign up to the pledge. Two cleaners at a Ferrari showroom were sacked last week after walking out on strike in protest at not being paid the living wage. Fredy Lopez, 51, and Angelica Valencia Bolanos, 49, who cleaned the Ferrari and Maserati showrooms of car dealer HR Owen were told they could only go back to work if they accepted the £7.50-an-hour offered by an outsourcing company. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he was delighted that the London living wage had risen above £10, but low pay and inequality remained problems in the capital. “London is one of the most dynamic and prosperous economies in the world, but unfortunately this prosperity isn’t shared by all Londoners. In the capital today, more than 2 million people are struggling to make ends meet and the ethnic pay gap is shockingly and unacceptably large. “I want to make sure that no one who goes to work every day should have to endure the indignity of poverty. Paying the London living wage is not only the action of a responsible organisation, but a successful one too. Many of the accredited employers I speak to tell me of the increased productivity and reduced staff turnover that they’ve experienced since signing up.”

P&G's reduced ad spend does not negatively impact growth

Consumer goods company Procter & Gamble has revealed its growth rate was not adversely affected by its $100m reduction in ad spend. In a Q2 earnings call, the company added it had also trimmed overheads and agency fees. Between March and April this year, P&G cut the number of sites running its ads by 69%, according to research by MediaRadar. Overall, between January and August, the company used 1,251 sites for ads, 20% fewer than the same period the previous year.

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/309715/

2017-11-06 13:54:38.220000

by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, November 3, 2017 Procter & Gamble cut down the number of sites its ads ran on earlier this year about a month after brands discovered they were funding terrorist videos on YouTube. The maker of Tide, Bounty and other popular brands wanted to steer clear of questionable content and ads. Research now suggests that overall, P&G cut the number of sites it ran ads on this year by 69% at the highest point, after Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard called out the industry for a lack of transparency and poisoning the supply chain. MediaRadar, which tracks ad campaigns across online, TV, mobile, print and other channels, ran data to determine how calls for transparency impacted digital ad strategies for P&G, the biggest advertiser in the U.S. Using its ad-tracking software, the company compared year-over-year (YoY) 2017 numbers with January to August 2016. During the months between January and August 2017, P&G has run its ads on 20% fewer sites overall — about 1,251 sites — compared with the year-ago timeframe. advertisement advertisement In January the YoY change fell to 64%, followed by February at 56% and then March at 55%. Following the greatest drop in the year in April 2017 at 69%, the number of sites running P&G ads fell 38% in May and then 7% in June. In July, the number began to increase at 14%, and went up in August to 21%. P&G reported during its second-quarter earnings call that reducing its media spend by more than $100 million in ineffective ads had no negative impact on its growth rate. The company also said it reduced overhead and agency fees. Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar, believes P&G has gained more transparency over its campaigns, which has resulted in a bounce-back. After freezing YouTube campaigns, P&G eventually returned to advertising on YouTube’s preferred channels.

EDF to develop 54 MW wind project in Scotland

A 54 MW joint venture between EDF Energy Renewables, a UK unit of French utility EDF, and Wind Prospect Group, has been given the green light by the Scottish government. The Braemore wind project was originally launched in 2012 with 27 turbines, before Wind Prospect reduced the number to 16. The scheme was rejected in 2015, but given the go-ahead on appeal. Scottish ministers said the project, set to generate 126 MWh annually when completed, would contribute to the country's aim of providing the equivalent of half of its electricity needs using renewables by 2030.

https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/wind-prospect-edf-win-govt-nod-for-54-mw-scottish-wind-farm-589448/

2017-11-06 13:21:20.537000

The Scottish government last week announced it has granted planning permission to a 54-MW wind project in the Scottish Highlands proposed by local firm Wind Prospect Developments. The developer is a joint venture of renewables consultancy Wind Prospect Group and EDF Energy Renewables (EDF ER), a UK subsidiary of French utility EDF (EPA:EDF). Under the so-called Braemore project, it plans to install 18 turbines of 3 MW each at a site near the village of Lairg, Sutherland county. The Section 36 scheme was given the green light after a rejection by Scotland’s Highland Council in 2015 that was followed by an appeal case. The developer's initial proposal was launched back in 2012 and has been in the permitting stages since then. Originally, Wind Prospect filed the project with a 27-turbine layout but amended it twice by removing three turbines in 2012 and an additional six machines a year later. In their decision, Scottish Ministers have ruled out that the 54-MW plan will have no significant effects on the landscape and will contribute to the government's target for renewables to provide the equivalent of 50% of Scotland's heat, transport and electricity needs by 2030. According to the government's renewable electricity output calculator, the Braemore plant is expected to generate 126,089 MWh of electricity annually. Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!

2017 on track to be one of three all-time hottest years: WMO

This year is set to become one of the three hottest ever recorded, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Though temperatures in 2017's first nine months were unlikely to have exceeded those in 2016, since the latter year featured an El Niño weather phenomenon, the WMO warns they will probably be higher than anything recorded prior to 2015. WMO's Petteri Taalas says the trend towards warming appeared to be indicative of climate change resulting from human activities, including burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The Met Office's Richard Betts adds that developing countries to be hit the hardest with flooding being a significant threat in south Asia.

https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/2017-set-be-top-three-hottest-years-record-breaking-extreme-weather

2017-11-06 13:20:06.407000

WMO report highlights impacts on human safety, well-being and environment 6 November 2017 (WMO) - It is very likely that 2017 will be one of the three hottest years on record, with many high-impact events including catastrophic hurricanes and floods, debilitating heatwaves and drought. Long-term indicators of climate change such as increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, sea level rise and ocean acidification continue unabated. Arctic sea ice coverage remains below average and previously stable Antarctic sea ice extent was at or near a record low. The World Meteorological Organization’s provisional Statement on the State of the Climate says the average global temperature from January to September 2017 was approximately 1.1°C above the pre-industrial era. As a result of a powerful El Niño, 2016 is likely to remain the warmest year on record, with 2017 and 2015 being second and/or third. 2013-2017 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record. The WMO statement – which covers January to September - was released on the opening day of the United Nations climate change conference in Bonn. It includes information submitted by a wide range of UN agencies on human, socio-economic and environmental impacts as part of a drive to provide a more comprehensive, UN-wide policy brief for decision makers on the interplay between weather, climate and water and the UN global goals. “The past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records. This is part of a long term warming trend,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “We have witnessed extraordinary weather, including temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic reaching as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa. “Many of these events – and detailed scientific studies will determine exactly how many – bear the tell-tale sign of climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities,” he said. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change which is hosting the Bonn conference, said: “These findings underline the rising risks to people, economies and the very fabric of life on Earth if we fail to get on track with the aims and ambitions of the Paris Agreement”. “There is unprecedented and very welcome momentum among governments, but also cities, states, territories, regions, business and civil society. Bonn 2017 needs to be the launch pad towards the next, higher level of ambition by all nations and all sectors of society as we look to de-risk the future and maximize the opportunities from a fresh, forward-looking and sustainable development path, “she added. Extreme events affect the food security of millions of people, especially the most vulnerable. A review of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) found that, in developing countries, agriculture (crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry) accounted for 26% of all the damage and loss associated with medium to large-scale storms, floods and drought. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the global health impacts of heatwaves depend not only on the overall warming trend, but on how heatwaves are distributed across where people live. Recent research shows that the overall risk of heat-related illness or death has climbed steadily since 1980, with around 30% of the world’s population now living in climatic conditions that deliver prolonged extreme heatwaves. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of vulnerable people exposed to heatwave events has increased by approximately 125 million. In 2016, 23.5 million people were displaced during weather-related disasters. Consistent with previous years, the majority of these internal displacements were associated with floods or storms and occurred in the Asia-Pacific region. In Somalia, more than 760 000 internal displacements have been reported, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook indicates that adverse consequences are concentrated in countries with relatively hot climates and which are home to close to 60% of current global population. Selected Highlights Global temperatures in 2017 Global mean temperature for the period January to September 2017 was 0.47°±0.08°C warmer than the 1981-2010 average (estimated at 14.31°C). This represents an approximately 1.1°C increase in temperature since the pre-industrial period. Parts of southern Europe, including Italy, North Africa, parts of east and southern Africa and the Asian part of the Russian Federation were record warm and China was the equal warmest. The northwestern USA and western Canada were cooler than the 1981-2010 average. Temperatures in 2016 and, to an extent, 2015, were boosted by an exceptionally strong El Niño. 2017 is set to be the warmest year on record without an El Niño influence. The five-year average 2013-2017 is provisionally 0.40°C warmer than the 1981-2010 average and approximately 1.03°C above the pre-industrial period and is likely to be the hottest on record. The WMO statement is based on five independently maintained global temperature data sets. WMO now uses 1981-2010 instead of the previous 1961-1990 baseline as it is more representative of current climatic conditions and allows for more consistent reporting of information from satellite and reanalysis systems (some of which do not extend back to 1960) alongside more traditional data sets based on surface-observations. The change in the baselines has no influence on trend analysis. Precipitation: Southern South America (particularly in Argentina), western China, and parts of southeast Asia were wetter than average. January to September was the wettest on record for the contiguous United States. Rainfall was generally close to average in Brazil, and near to above average in northwest South America and Central America, easing droughts associated with the 2015-16 El Niño. The 2017 rainy season saw above-average rainfall over many parts of the Sahel, with flooding in some regions (especially in Niger). All-India rainfall for the 2017 monsoon season (June to September) was 5% below average. However, above-average rainfall in the northeast, and adjacent countries led to significant flooding. The Canadian Prairies, the Mediterranean region, Somalia, Mongolia, Gabon and southwestern South Africa all received lower rainfall than average. Italy had its driest January to September on record. Ice and snow: Arctic sea-ice extent was well below average throughout 2017 and was at record-low levels for the first four months of the year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The Arctic annual maximum extent in early March was among the five lowest in the 1979-2017 satellite record, and according to the NSIDC’s data was record low. The five lowest maximum extents have occurred since 2006. A strong and persistent low pressure system over the central Arctic helped to inhibit ice loss during the summer months. The Arctic sea ice extent minimum in mid-September was 25- 31% below the 1981-2010 average, and among the eight smallest minimum extents on record. The ten smallest minimum extents have all occurred since 2007. Antarctic sea ice extent was also well below average. The annual minimum extent in early March was record low, and the annual maximum extent in mid-October was at or near record low levels. Sea ice conditions in the Antarctic have been highly variable over the past several years with the record large sea ice extents occurring as recently as 2015. Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent was 10.54 million square km, near the median value in the 1967-2017 satellite record. The Greenland ice sheet saw an increase of more than 40 billion tons of ice due to above-average snowfall and a short melt season. Despite the gain in overall ice mass this year, it is only a small departure from the declining trend, with the Greenland ice sheet having lost approximately 3,600 billion tons of ice mass since 2002. Sea level: The global mean sea level (GMSL) is one of the best climate change indicators. Global mean sea level has been relatively stable in 2017 to date, similar to levels first reached in late 2015. This is because the temporary influence of the 2015-16 El Niño (during which GMSL peaked in early 2016 at around 10 millimeters above the 2004-2015 trend) continues to unwind and GMSL is reverting to values closer to the long-term trend. Preliminary data indicate that a rise in GMSL may have started to resume from July-August 2017 onwards. Ocean Heat: Global sea surface temperatures are on track to be among the three highest on record. Global ocean heat content in 2017 to date has been at or near record high levels. Elevated tropical sea surface temperatures which contribute to coral bleaching were not as widespread as during the 2015-16 El Niño. But some significant coral bleaching did still occur, including the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. UNESCO reported in June that all but three of the 29 coral reefs with World Heritage listing had experienced temperatures consistent with bleaching at some point in the 2014-2017 period. Ocean Acidification: According to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO the ocean absorbs up to 30% of the annual emissions of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere, helping to alleviate the impacts of climate change on the planet. However, this comes at a steep ecological cost, as the absorbed CO2 changes acidity levels in the ocean. Since records at Aloha station (north of Hawaii) began in the late 1980s, seawater pH has progressively fallen, from values above 8.10 in the early 1980s to between 8.04 and 8.09 in the last five years. Ocean acidification is directly influencing the health of coral reefs and the survival and calcification of several key organisms. These have cascading effects within the food web and impact aquaculture and coastal economies. Greenhouse gases: The rate of increase in CO 2 from 2015 to 2016 was the highest on record, 3.3 parts per million/year, reaching 403.3 parts per million. Global average figures for 2017 will not be available until late 2018. Real-time data from a number of specific locations indicate that levels of CO 2 , methane and nitrous oxide continued to increase in 2017. Extreme Events and Impacts Tropical cyclones The North Atlantic had a very active season. The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index, a measure of the aggregate intensity and duration of cyclones, had its highest monthly value on record in September. Three major and high-impact hurricanes occurred in the North Atlantic in rapid succession, with Harvey in August followed by Irma and Maria in September. Harvey made landfall in Texas as a category 4 system and remained near the coast for several days, producing extreme rainfall and flooding. Provisional seven-day rainfall totals reached as high as 1539 mm at a gauge near Nederland, Texas, the largest ever recorded for a single event in the mainland United States. It was the first time two Category 4 hurricanes (Harvey and Irma) made landfall in the same year in the USA. Irma had winds of 300 km/h for 37 hours – the longest on the satellite record at that intensity and spent three consecutive days as a Category 5 hurricane, also the longest on record. Like Irma, Maria also reached category 5 intensity and caused major destruction on a number of Caribbean islands. In mid-October, Ophelia reached major hurricane (category 3) status more than 1 000 kilometers further northeast than any previous North Atlantic hurricane. It caused substantial damage in Ireland, whilst winds associated with its circulation contributed to severe wildfires in Portugal and northwest Spain. The WMO Expert Team on Climate Impacts on Tropical Cyclones found that, whilst there is no clear evidence that climate change is making the occurrence of slow-moving, land-falling hurricanes such as Harvey more or less frequent, it is likely that human-induced climate change makes rainfall rates more intense, and that ongoing sea-level rise exacerbates storm surge impacts. Flooding Exceptionally heavy rain triggered a landslide in Freetown, Sierra Leone in August, killing more than 500 people. Freetown received 1459.2 mm of rain in two weeks, about four times higher than average. Heavy rainfall contributed to a landslide in Mocoa, southern Colombia, in April, with at least 273 deaths reported. Many parts of the Indian subcontinent were affected by monsoonal flooding, despite overall seasonal rainfall being near average. The most serious flooding occurred in mid-August in eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh and nearby northern India. Mawsynram (India) received more than 1 400 mm from 9 to 12 August. Rangpur (Bangladesh) received a month’s worth of rain (360 mm) on 11-12 August. More than 1 200 deaths were reported in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, whilst more than 40 million people were displaced or otherwise affected. The World Health Organization indicated that in Bangladesh alone, more than 13 000 cases of waterborne diseases and respiratory infections were reported during three weeks in August, whilst extensive damage was reported to public health facilities in Nepal. Flooding affected many parts of Peru in March, killing 75 people and making 70,000 homeless. The Food and Agriculture Organization reported that there were significant crop production losses, particularly maize. Flooding of this type typically affects Peru during the late phase of El Niño events. Whilst there was no Pacific-wide El Niño during 2017, sea surface temperatures near the Peruvian coast in March were 2°C or more above average and similar to El Niño values. Major flooding occurred mid-year in parts of southern China, especially within the Yangtze River basin. Peak totals from 29 June to 2 July topped 250 mm. Fifty-six deaths were reported and economic losses were estimated at more than US$ 5 billion. Heavy rain affected the western United States in January and February caused substantial flooding, numerous landslides and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. It was the wettest winter on record for Nevada, and the second-wettest for California. Drought Parts of east Africa continued to be seriously affected by drought. Following well-below-average rainfall in 2016, the 2017 “long rains” season (March to May) was also dry in many parts of Somalia, the northern half of Kenya, and southeastern Ethiopia. FAO reported that in Somalia, as of June 2017, more than half of the cropland was affected by drought, with herds reduced by 40-60% since December 2016. WFP estimates that the number of people on the brink of famine in Somalia has doubled to 800 000 since February 2017, with half the country needing assistance. WFP has confirmed that more than 11 million people are experiencing severe food insecurity in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. From November 2016 to mid-June 2017, more than 760 000 drought-related internal displacements in Somalia were recorded by the Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN), a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) led project. Kenya declared the 2017 drought a national disaster. Nairobi faced water shortages that compelled city authorities to ration water, whilst cereal prices rose and GDP figures were hit. An above-average wet summer season eased drought conditions in southern Africa. But localized drought intensified in the Cape Province. Heavy winter rains in early 2017 eased long-term drought conditions in California, but resulted in some flooding, and contributed to vegetation growth which may have influenced the severity of wildfires later in the year. Many parts of the Mediterranean experienced dry conditions. The most severe drought was in Italy, hitting agricultural production and causing a 62% drop in olive oil production compared to 2016. Rainfall averaged over Italy for January-August 2017 was 36% below average. It was also Italy’s hottest January-August on record, with temperatures 1.31°C above the 1981-2010 average. Other dry areas included many parts of Spain and Portugal. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was affected by below‑average rains, impacting key staple crops such as paddy and maize. In the Republic of Korea, rainfall from January to June was 51% below average, the lowest since national records began in 1973. Major heatwaves An extreme heatwave affected parts of South America in January. In Chile, numerous locations had their highest temperature on record, including Santiago (37.4°C). In Argentina, the temperature reached 43.5°C on 27 January at Puerto Madryn, the highest ever recorded so far south (43°S) anywhere in the world. Much of eastern Australia experienced extreme heat in January and February, peaking on 11-12 February when temperatures reached 47°C. Exceptional heat affected parts of southwest Asia in late May. On 28 May, temperatures reached 54.0°C in Turbat, in the far west of Pakistan near the Iranian border, and also exceeded 50°C in Iran and Oman. A temperature of 53.7°C was recorded at Ahwaz, Iran on 29 June, and Bahrain experienced its hottest August on record. The Chinese city of Shanghai and the Hong Kong Observatory reported new records of 40.9°C and 36.6 °C during summer. In the Mediterranean, Cordoba in southern Spain experienced 46.9°C on 12 July and Granada 45.7°C on 13 July. An extensive heatwave in early August led to temperature records in northern and central Italy, Croatia and southern France. California had its hottest summer on record and extreme heat affected other western states. This culminated in a major heatwave at the end of August and early September, which included a record high temperature (41.1°C) at San Francisco. Wildfires Extreme heat and drought contributed to many destructive wildfires. Chile had the most significant forest fires in its history during the 2016-2017 summer, after exceptionally dry conditions during 2016 followed by extreme heat in December and January. 11 deaths were reported, and a total of 614 000 hectares of forest were burnt, easily the highest seasonal total on record and eight times the long-term average. There were also significant fires during the 2016-2017 Southern Hemisphere summer in various parts of eastern Australia and in the Christchurch region of New Zealand, whilst the southern South African town of Knysna was badly affected by fire in June. It was a very active fire season in the Mediterranean. The worst single incident occurred in central Portugal in June, with 64 deaths. There were further major fire outbreaks in Portugal and northwestern Spain in mid-October, exacerbated by strong winds associated with Hurricane Ophelia.. Other significant fires affected countries including Croatia, Italy and France. The area burned in the contiguous United States from January to 19 October was 46% above the 2007-2016 average. The area burned in Canada was about 51% above the seasonal average and contributed to heavy smoke pollution. A wet winter, which allowed the heavy growth of ground vegetation, followed by a dry and hot summer, provided ideal conditions for high-intensity fires in northern California in early October. At least 41 deaths were reported, the worst loss of life in a wildfire in the United States since 1918. Other noteworthy events Severe cold and snow affected parts of Argentina in July. After heavy snow had fallen the previous day, the temperature reached −25.4°C in Bariloche on 16 July, 4.3°C below the previous lowest temperature on record there. Other regions where record low temperatures occurred in 2017 included some locations in inland southeastern Australia in early July, where Canberra had its lowest temperature (−8.7°C) since 1971, and the Gulf region in the Middle East in early February. The United States had its most active tornado season since 2011, with a preliminary total of 1 321 tornadoes in the January to August period, including the second-most active January on record. The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations System’s authoritative voice on Weather, Climate and Water Media contacts: Media Officer, Clare Nullis (from 6 November in Bonn): Tel: +41 22 730 84 78; Mobile: +41 79 709 13 97 email: [email protected] Chief of Communications and Public Affairs, Michael Williams (in Geneva): Tel: +41 22 730 83 15; Mobile: +41 79 406 47 30, email: [email protected] Notes for Editors: WMO uses three conventional surface temperature data sets – NOAA’s NOAAGlobalTemp data set, Met Office Hadley Centre and Climatic Research Unit HadCRUT.4.6.0.0 data set and NASA GISS’s GISTEMP data set. They use measurements of air temperature over land and sea-water temperature measurements over oceans to estimate temperatures around the globe. WMO also uses two reanalyses with a much wider range of input data, including measurements from satellites. The input data are combined using a weather forecasting system, which provides a globally complete, physically consistent estimate of surface temperatures for each day. They provide better coverage of regions, such as polar regions, where observations are historically sparse. The two reanalyses used in the statement are the ERA-Interim of the European Centre for Medium Weather Forecast and the JRA-55 of the Japan Meteorological Agency. Despite the very different approach, the estimates of global average temperature produced by these reanalyses are in good agreement with the conventional surface temperature datasets The provisional statement now uses 1981-2010 as a baseline. This takes the place of the 1961-1990 baseline used in previous reports. The 1981-2010 period is recommended by WMO to compute the climatological standard normal for climate monitoring purposes as it is more representative of current climatic conditions. It allows a consistent reporting of information from satellite and reanalysis systems, some of which do not extend back to 1960, alongside with traditional data sets based on surface-observations. For global average temperatures, the 1981-2010 period is approximately 0.31±0.02°C warmer than that of 1961-1990. The change in the baselines has no influence on trend analysis. In this WMO statement, the period 1880-1900 has been used as a reference period for pre-industrial conditions allowing early instrumental observations to be used for estimating pre-industrial temperature conditions. Information used in this report is sourced from a large number of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and associated institutions, as well as the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW). Information has also been supplied by a number of other UN agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO).

2017 on track to be one of three all-time hottest years: WMO

This year is set to become one of the three hottest ever recorded, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Though temperatures in 2017's first nine months were unlikely to have exceeded those in 2016, since the latter year featured an El Niño weather phenomenon, the WMO warns they will probably be higher than anything recorded prior to 2015. WMO's Petteri Taalas says the trend towards warming appeared to be indicative of climate change resulting from human activities, including burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The Met Office's Richard Betts adds that developing countries to be hit the hardest with flooding being a significant threat in south Asia.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/06/2017-set-to-be-one-of-top-three-hottest-years-on-record

2017-11-06 13:20:06.407000

2017 is set to be one of the hottest three years on record, provisional data suggests, confirming yet again a warming trend that scientists say bears the fingerprints of human actions. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said temperatures in the first nine months of this year were unlikely to have been higher than 2016, when there was a strong El Niño weather system, but higher than anything before 2015. Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the WMO, said: “The past three years have all been in the top three years in terms of temperature records. This is part of a long term warming trend. We have witnessed extraordinary weather, including temperatures topping 50C in Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in rapid succession in the Caribbean and Atlantic reaching as far as Ireland, devastating monsoon flooding affecting many millions of people and a relentless drought in East Africa.” He said further detailed scientific studies would be carried out, but that it was already possible to say many “bear the tell-tale sign of climate change” caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities, such as burning fossil fuel and deforestation. This recent increase in average global temperatures confirms a renewed warming trend in recent years, which had slowed its pace slightly in the previous decade, leading some climate sceptics to claim global warming had “paused”. The results were revealed to delegates at the UN’s global climate talks being held in Bonn, Germany, this week and next. The COP23 talks, a follow-up to the landmark Paris agreement of 2015, will focus on a new process by which countries’ pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions can be toughened, in line with scientific advice. Current pledges would, according to estimates, leave the world 3C warmer than in pre-industrial times. At that level, sea levels would rise, heatwaves and droughts would become more common in large swathes of the globe, and fiercer storms and floods would become more likely. Patricia Espinosa, the UN’s climate chief, said the talks showed “unprecedented momentum”, but warned of the consequences of failure. Recent research also found that the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are now higher than they have been for 800,000 years. Scientists reacted with concern to the WMO’s findings, which are still provisional and only cover January to September. Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College, London, said: “The state of our climate is being reset by humans. What were once one-in-a-hundred-year events are now turning into regular events. We see this in terms of extreme weather impacts, with examples from the south of the US this year. For the future we can expect more of the same.” Richard Betts, professor of climate impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said: “We expect developing countries to be hit the hardest in terms of human impact. Flooding will be a particular threat in south Asia, particularly due to increased rainfall and rising sea levels, and partly because of the large and growing numbers of people who have little choice about being in harm’s way.” Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of WMO, said at the Bonn conference that he saw little likelihood of the warming trend being reversed in the short term. “This trend can be expected to continue for the coming 50 years. In this system, once you reach a certain level it does not drop soon.”

WeWork's housing bet struggles as tenants dub homes crash-pads

WeWork's flagship WeLive housing communities are not thriving as well as the flexible office space provider had hoped, with just two operating out of a predicted 36. While Jim Woods, head of WeLive, said a new space would be opening in Seattle in 2020, tenants in New York and Washington DC aren't all thrilled. Some have complained the $3,000-month rents don't square with hot water shortages and inconsistent mail deliveries. However, others have raved about the quality of life offered in a WeLive building.

https://therealdeal.com/2017/11/04/wework-welive-wemoveon/

2017-11-06 12:45:06.197000

WeWork’s expansion plans for its housing communities, known as WeLive buildings, haven’t met the company’s expectations, perhaps due to the fact that some tenants view it as a temporary crash pad, not a long term home. Known for renting co-working space around the world, WeWork has been striking big deals, buying Blackstone Group’s London offices for $785 million and buying Lord & Taylor’s Manhattan flagship for $850 million, amid questions about the company’s profits and valuation, as The Real Deal reported. Its expansion into offering housing and hotel rooms started several years ago with WeWork’s projections in 2014 forecasting that the company would operate 36 WeLive housing communities by the end of 2017. Fast forward to the present, and the company only has two such buildings: in New York and Washington, D.C., and the experience leaves something to be desired, according to Bloomberg who interviewed some former residents. “It’s a great place to be if you’re just moving to the city, and you want to meet people, or you need a place for a couple months before you find your real apartment,” a former tenant told Bloomberg. Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter SIGN UP By signing up, you agree to TheRealDeal Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. The main issue seems to be rents aren’t competitive enough considering the services, or lack thereof. A New York WeLive studio goes for about $3,000 and some disgruntled previous tenants say hot water shortages and inconsistent mail deliveries caused them to move out. Yet, other residents love their life in the buildings, which have been compared to scaled up college dorms: “I get this amazing quality of life. The only thing I lack is a door and a wall,” said New York WeLive tenant Raviv Nadav to Bloomberg. Jim Woods, head of WeLive, told Bloomberg WeWork is still pursuing the housing developments; there are plans for a new WeLive building to open in Seattle in 2020. [Bloomberg] — E.K. Hudson

The Guardian makes more money from readers than from advertising

The Guardian newspaper has revealed it is making more money from its readers than from advertisers. Although it opted not to introduce a paywall for its online content, the UK title has introduced a system of paid memberships and subscriptions, along with requests for readers to make individual donations. This has proved successful, with paying members rising from 200,000 to 500,000 since February and donations totalling £7m ($9m) over the same period. Half of those contributions were from the United States, and web traffic appears to have been boosted by coverage of Donald Trump.

https://digiday.com/media/inside-guardians-consumer-revenue-operation/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171106

2017-11-06 12:30:00.647000

The Guardian is now making more money from reader revenue including paid memberships and subscriptions, than advertising revenue. Since February, it has grown paying members from 200,000 to 500,000, while one-off contributions have gone from 100,000 to 300,000 equating to £7 million ($9 million) during the same time period. Half of those 300,000 contributions come from the U.S., according to the publisher. Building consumer revenue has been a cross-departmental effort involving around 50 people across editorial, marketing, commercial, product, engineering and user experience. Now, with a year’s worth of data under its belt, it’s easier to spot patterns of behavior and preferences across different markets — information it will use to help with attracting more paying members, retaining existing ones and preventing churn, according to Natalie Hanman, executive editor of Guardian Membership. Like many other publishers, the Guardian has seen a traffic windfall (and subscriber uplift) from its coverage of Trump, Brexit and other divisive political news. Sustaining that momentum will likely get harder. To offset that, the Guardian plans to create its own editorial, investigative series called “moments,” around which it will market membership sign-ups. A mix of editorial gut instinct and reader data will inform the topics and themes for these editorial series. Data showing what topics people were reading about directly before signing up to either donate or become a member is aggregated to help pinpoint where to increase editorial efforts. The Guardian believes its coverage of the environment and climate change has driven paid sign-ups. Seeking to draw in new subscribers and retain existing ones, its editorial team will pursue stories it believes are underreported within those areas. In June, it ran a Kickstarter-style campaign called “This Land is Your Land,” an editorial series on the U.S. government’s giveaway of America’s public lands. The campaign generated $100,000 (£77,000) over two months. Some of the proceeds went to beefing up its environment reporters, according to Hanman. In the U.S., people have leaned more toward the one-off donations than in the U.K. The publisher has recently launched a monthly contributor sign-up option. The Guardian has also introduced products that give readers added access. One of these is a monthly podcast called “We Need to Talk About,” featuring readers’ and members’ email-submitted questions on topical political, cultural and environmental news issues. Guardian journalists and external experts weigh in on big news issues, as well as topics members or readers have asked for more coverage on. They will sometimes call the reader or member who has submitted questions and involve them in the discussion. “Initially, a lot of people across the organization, especially on the commercial side, would just say, ‘Why don’t we put up a paywall? Everyone else is,’” said Hanman. “They didn’t quite understand the scope of this, but having journalists involved was important, and it’s nice to see that people have gone from being skeptical [about this approach] to seeing that it makes sense.”

Fake ad agency Thrive+ sought to inveigle its way onto whitelists 

Fake ad agency Thrive+ has reportedly tried to con publishers into adding it to their lists of trusted resellers. Publishers have so-called whitelists determining which advertisers they will let on their sites and which will be blocked. Thrive+ made an unsolicited approach to Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald publisher McClatchy, asking both publications to add its name to their whitelists so it can buy the newspapers' inventory for its clients. But McClatchy said the approach was a "red flag", adding it only deals with reputable supply-side platforms.

http://www.adnews.com.au/news/dodgy-agency-tries-to-con-publisher-in-ads-txt-fraud-saga

2017-11-06 12:22:20.020000

In a bold attempt to circumvent the IAB's latest crackdown on ad fraud, a phony 'cowboy' agency called Thrive+ has begun approaching publishers to get onto whitelists - which are designed to weed out fraudsters. Publishers have whitelists designating which advertisers they will accept on their site and which they will block. When used correctly, white and blacklists can yield positive outcomes, but if the wrong advertisers are on the wrong list it can result in major brand and publisher backlash. Thrive+, which describes itself as “a revolutionary video media agency” and has skiing videos on is homepage, made an unsolicited approach to publisher McClatchy, which owns newspapers Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. On Tuesday it asked both Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald to add Thrive's ads.txt ID to its list of "trusted" resellers. The email, shared with AdNews, said it would no longer be able to purchase the newspapers' inventory on behalf of its clients and if the newspapers did not add Thrive's ads.txt ID 'you will be adversely impacted' before later suggesting 'we are generously rewarding those sites who we work directly with'. Charles Stafford, who works in McClatchy's ad tech and martech division, told AdNews the national newspaper group only deals solely with reputable supply-side platforms (SSPs) for its programmatic inventory and negotiates service agreements with each partner. “Getting an unsolicited request from an agency with whom we've never had dealings is definitely a red flag for us, especially given the ads.txt info they sent,” Stafford said. “The key indicators here (see below) are those that indicate we have 'DIRECT' control over each account listed. Obviously we do not. If this were legitimate, we might have direct control over the first account with Thrive+ and everything else would be listed as 'RESELLER'.” Stafford said the springserve and lkqd and aol and spotx domains (above) provide clues to the type or reselling operation this 'agency' runs (see Thrive's email below). “Most of the exchanges listed handle video,” he says. “The way this works is that they'll buy display inventory on our site, load a player and then make requests of the video exchanges for video ads instead.” “Whenever we spot an ad like that, we have to do some research to figure out how it's getting on to our site, via which partner, etc. We always see springserve and lkqd and aol and spotx domains.' AdNews approached Thrive+ for clarification through a form on its website that doesn't include a contact name or phone number, which is unusual for small operators in the media and advertising industry. AdNews also couldn't find any LinkedIn listings of the 'Fiona Walsh' that emailed the McClatchy's newspapers. Thrive+ is staffed by questionable footwear choices. A timely reminder The approach is a warning shot to publishers that dodgy resellers and fraudsters aren't going to take changes that cut them out of the ecosystem lightly. In Australia, about 300 publishers have either implemented or committed to the IAB's ads.txt programme, which helps media buyers and DSPs identify legitimate resellers and inventory. Major publishers, including The Guardian Australia, News Corp Australia, Fairfax Media and Mamamia, are now all on board after a slow adoption rate. The IAB's aim is to reach 1,000 to ensure there is a critical mass of inventory. The initiative is designed to identify and remove shady resellers as well as eradicate the practice of domain spoofing, where fraudsters use a hoax websites that appear like reputable newsbrands to trick programmatic buyers on the open exchange. It has received support from media buyers and DSPs, with Google's DoubleClick Ad Exchange and Ad Sense filtering unauthorised inventory from auction at the end of the year. IAB Australia's ad tech expert Jonas Jaanimagi says mass adoption of ads.txt will benefit the entire digital advertising eco system. “Sellers will be protected from spoofing and buyers can buy programmatically with greater confidence from domains with this simple solution in place. The wide-scale adoption of ads.txt will give major brands peace of mind that their marketing messages will only appear on verified domains, significantly improving brand safety and eliminating any risk of ad fraud related to domain spoofing.” The Guardian Australia is an earlier adopter of ads.txt in this market. National sales director Tony Bell tells AdNews the initiative will help the publisher regain control of its supply chain. “About 18 months ago there was a realisation that we had really lost control of our supply chain. Other vendors were making decisions on our pricing and where the inventory was going.” Bell says The Guardian has a list of about 10 SSPs it works with who are bound by strict conditions. Unlicensed vendors that buy cheap inventory, insert video units and charge advertisers for more expensive video formats do a lot of damage to the broader ecosystem by robbing and tarnishing publishers and conning advertisers. “The other problem is that the buyer might not have any idea if it is legitimate and if it underperforms that affects the reputation of the Guardian," Bell adds. IAB Australia has urged all Australian publishers to adopt ads.txt. Visit their website for more details. AdNews would like to hear from any publishers that have received unsolicited approaches or have information about unscrupulous operators. Please contact: [email protected]. Thrive's email in full Hi, Thrive+ has been purchasing a substantial amount of your ad inventory through various ad exchanges over the past year on behalf of our advertising clients and needs your assistance to continue. On Thursday 11/2, we will no longer be able to purchase inventory on your domain without a Thrive.Plus Ads.txt file in place. We will only be allocating budget to sites we can work directly with that have our seller ID located in your 'ads.txt' server file. This change and requirement is due to advertisers' concerns of growing fraud and transparency issues on ad exchanges. Our advertisers have collectively agreed to require the ads.txt IDs to insure continued purchasing on your site. If you do not add the IDs you will be adversely impacted. To resolve this issue, simply add our Ads.txt IDs below to your Ads.txt file on your site so that we can stay an active buyer. In addition, please respond promptly to me so I can answer any questions you may have and we can work with you directly to increase your rates and earnings beyond the current level. We are generously rewarding those sites who we work with directly. Simply paste the following ID list as is into your 'ads.txt' file to resolve this: thrive.plus, 190, DIRECT, thrive.plus, 190, DIRECT google.com, pub-6373315980741255, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 spotxchange.com, 156078, DIRECT, 7842df1d2fe2db34 spotx.tv, 156078, DIRECT, 7842df1d2fe2db34 contextweb.com, 560800, DIRECT, 89ff185a4c4e857c springserve.com, 190, DIRECT lkqd.net, 295, DIRECT, 59c49fa9598a0117 lkqd.com, 295, DIRECT, 59c49fa9598a0117 aol.com, 6202, DIRECT aol.com, 17744, DIRECT advertising.com, 6202, DIRECT advertising.com, 17744, DIRECT Thank you for your time and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at [email protected] Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.

French solar company Coruscant bought by Obton

Renewables focused asset manager Obton has acquired the French solar developer Coruscant. Obton will take control of 50 MW of solar power, 30 MW of which is currently operating, with the remaining 20 MW under construction.

https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/obton-buys-french-solar-power-developer-589200/

2017-11-06 12:13:34.347000

Denmark-based renewables investor and asset manager Obton has signed an agreement to fully acquire French solar power developer and producer Coruscant SA. Obton will take over a portfolio of 30 MWp of solar power plants under operation and another 20 MWp under construction, along with promising pipeline of project rights, as part of its strategy to "build its position in the highly competitive market for solar energy in France." The Danish firm entered the French market nearly four years ago and following this acquisition, it now manages more than 110 MWp of solar projects in France with a combined value of more than EUR 350 million. Earlier this month, Obon said it had agreed to acquire a stake of an undisclosed size in a 50-MWp solar portfolio in Italy. Obton is an investment and management company which represents retail investors and manages a PV-portfolio of more than 300 MW with an enterprise value of EUR 720 million, the company says. The plants are primarily located in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!

Vinci buys two power grid companies to extend European reach

Vinci, Europe's largest construction group, has acquired Infratek, the Oslo-based supplier of grid, rail and electric charging stations, and Horlemann, a Berlin-based company with specialities in grid engineering, construction and maintenance. Infratek generated revenue of $300m in 2016, while Horlemann saw an annual turnover of $100m last year.

http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/vinci-snaps-two-power-grid-companies-extend-europe/

2017-11-06 11:49:52.053000

Vinci, Europe’s largest construction group, has made two purchases to bolster its presence in the northern European power grid and electric vehicle charging market and extend its coverage to the Nordic countries. One of the deals was for Oslo-based Infratek, a supplier of grid, rail and electric charging stations. Vinci bought all the shares in the company from Triton Funds, a German-Swedish private equity group that acquired them in 2013. It employs about 1,350 people and generated revenue of more than €300m in 2016. Â Lars Bangen, the chief executive of Infratek, commented: "Vinci Energies wants to expand its business to the Nordic region and it has chosen Infratek to achieve its goals. The acquisition shows that it trusts us and our people, our expertise and what we have achieved, especially in recent years under Triton." The other takeover was of Horlemann, a family-owned company based in the Ruhr and Berlin. It had an annual turnover €100m in 2016 and employs 570 people. It specialises in the engineering, construction and maintenance of grids. Its clients are mostly German local authorities and local operators. Yves Meignié, Vinci Energies’ chief executive, said: "With this acquisition, we continue to expand and consolidate our operations in northern Europe, especially in Norway and Finland where we have previously had no business. We continue to develop expertise in new markets for renewable energy." Image: Vinci Energies will help to keep Scandinavia warm (Swedish Blonde Design) Further Reading:

Canadian Solar acquires 13 Japanese solar projects for $267m

Following its recent trading debut in Tokyo, Canadian Solar's photovoltaic investment vehicle has successfully acquired 13 Japanese solar projects for $267 million, representing 72.7 MW of solar capacity. The projects are spread across Japan, with plants located in Kyushu, Kumamoto, Nagasaki and others. The Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund (CSIF) was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at JPY100,000 ($879) per unit. Canadian Solar bought about 14% of the 177,800 issued units and now looks set to use the fund to finance long-term investments in solar projects.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/01/csif-acquires-initial-japan-pv-portfolio-for-267-million/

2017-11-06 11:23:27.530000

Canadian Solar has successfully connected to the grid 52.5 MWp of solar PV plants across Japan, including the 47.7 MWp Mashiki plant, the 2.4 MWp Yamagata Asahimachi plant, the 1.3 MWp Shizuoka Tashiro plant and the 1.1 MWp Saitama Shiroishi plant. Canadian Solar listed the Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund (CSIF) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) infrastructure investment fund securities market earlier this week. CSIF priced its initial public offering of 177,800 investment units at JPY 100,000 per unit. Canadian Solar bought 25,395 units. The fund will act as a vehicle through the group that can make long-term investments in solar projects. The 72.7 MW of solar capacity that CSIF picked up across 13 locations this week has been assembled to serve as its initial portfolio. The projects that CSIF has purchased are scattered throughout the country, including installations in Ibaraki and Shizuoka prefectures on the eastern side of the island of Honshu, according to a statement to the TSE. However, many of the plants are located on the southwestern island of Kyushu, in Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Oita and Kagoshima prefectures. Although most of the acquired assets are below 2 MW in size, the portfolio includes a 34 MW solar plant in Kumamoto. Popular content Canadian Solar Projects K.K., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar, is the sole sponsor of CSIF. Canadian Solar Asset Management K.K., a wholly owned unit of Canadian Solar Projects, will manage all of the purchased assets on behalf of CSIF.

Derby University stops advertising on Mail Online after criticism

The University of Derby has withdrawn its ads from the Mail Online after one appeared next to a column by Sarah Vine, headlined: "If this hysterical Westminster witch hunt is what a world run by women looks like, count me out". Following complaints on Twitter, a university statement said "programmatic advertising" was to blame and added: "We’re unable to satisfactorily exclude out ads from all web pages containing content which contradicts our values. To ensure that one possible conflict is eliminated, we will be stopping our ads from appearing on Mail Online." 

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/11/05/university-derby-pulls-ads-mail-online-following-twitter-complaints

2017-11-06 11:14:43.590000

The University of Derby has pulled its advertising from Mail Online. The University of Derby has pulled ads from Mail Online Adverts for the university appeared beside a column from Sarah Vine headlined “If this hysterical Westminster witch hunt is what a world run by women looks like, count me out”, prompting Twitter users to complain. @DerbyUni Your ads are next to this awful column in the Daily Mail. Please don't fund their hate by placing ads with them. @StopFundingHate pic.twitter.com/d3j8vAoAZA — Rufus Westwood (@BiggusDiggus) November 2, 2017 Pointing at “programmatic advertising” as the cause, the University of Derby responded to complaints tweeting: “While we pay careful attention to the publishers used, occasionally our ads get displayed alongside articles that we would not have chosen. “Having spoken with our supplier, we’re unable to satisfactorily exclude out ads from all webpages containing content which contradicts our values. “To ensure that one possible conflict is eliminated, we will be stopping our ads from appearing on Mail Online.” Campaign group Stop Funding Hate has welcomed the university’s move, tweeting a congratulatory message. *Confirmed*: Congratulations to @DerbyUni, who are now blocking Mail Online from their advertising programme https://t.co/AvkHzVLCez — Stop Funding Hate (@StopFundingHate) November 2, 2017 The Mail Online boasts 27.2 million monthly unique visitors making it the world’s most visited English-language newspaper website. Over the years, Stop Funding Hate has made moves to encourage brands such as Waitrose, Iceland, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis to pull their advertising from the site. In November 2016, Lego publicly “finished its agreement with the Daily Mail”.

Centrica buys demand response start-up REstore for €70m

UK utility Centrica has acquired demand response start-up REstore, which has a portfolio of more than 1.7 GW of peak load across the UK, France and Belgium. The €70m ($81.4m) acquisition aligns with Centrica's focus on commercial customers and "is expected to represent a significant growth opportunity for Centrica as global electricity markets evolve”, it said. REstore's software solution, FlexPond, is used by clients that include Praxair, Sappi and Barclays.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/european-grid-edge-ma-alert-centrica-buys-restore-for-81m#gs.KJXxB08

2017-11-06 11:08:06.170000

REstore, the Belgian startup that’s taken a leading role in Europe’s emerging demand response markets, has been acquired by U.K.-based utility and energy provider Centrica for €70 million ($81.4 million) in cash. It’s the latest acquisition in a year busy with European utilities shopping for startups to help them compete in a distributed energy future. Friday’s deal will give Centrica control of REstore’s portfolio of 1.7 gigawatts and counting of peak load across the U.K., France, Belgium and Germany. Since its 2010 founding, REstore has grown from a few megawatts of industrial load to more than 150 industrial and commercial customers including ArcelorMittal, Praxair, Sappi and Barclays. Centrica will integrate REstore into the Distributed Energy & Power unit of its Centrica Business Solutions business, one of many utility-owned energy services companies competing for commercial and industrial market share in deregulated energy markets in Europe and around the globe. Centrica has centered its acquisition strategy around these opportunities, ranging from its purchase of building sensor startup Panoramic Power for $60 million in 2015, to buying Danish energy trading platform Neas Energy for $249 million and combined heat and power provider ENER-G Cogen for $212 million last year. With the REstore acquisition, “demand response aggregation will become a core part of the offer to customers and is expected to represent a significant growth opportunity for Centrica as global electricity markets evolve,” the company wrote. The deal would appear to provide a comfortable return to REstore investors, which include LRM, Axe Investments and Ark-Angels Fund and “prominent industrial families and entrepreneurs,” according to the company’s website. The company, founded in 2010, has raised about €11 million ($12.5 million) in three rounds of venture capital investment, most recently with a €7 million ($7.5 million) Series C round in 2015. REstore’s growth from megawatt- to gigawatt-scale somewhat matches the rate of growth for European demand response, a term that means something quite different from what it has traditionally meant in the United States. Here, demand response has meant turning down large energy-using loads and industrial processes to help reduce demand during summer days when air conditioner energy use is peaking, or perhaps, doing the same thing in winter to deal with heating energy use. But in Europe, the bigger drivers for demand-side peak load management are the systemwide effects of the continent’s growing share of intermittent wind and solar power, combined with the closure of large coal and nuclear power plants, as REstore co-founder Pieter-Jan Mermans explained back in 2015. This makes for a demand-supply balancing equation that’s a lot more complex than shaving a single, predictable peak, and requires careful balancing of multiple economic drivers to ensure a return for both customers and aggregators, he said. These needs have pushed the continent’s grid operators to create ways for demand-side control technologies to participate alongside generators, both in capacity markets and in real-time ancillary services markets, or as they’re known in Europe, primary and secondary reserves markets. We’ve been tracking the developments in these markets, as has the Smart Energy Demand Coalition industry group, which tracks regulatory progress from country to country. REstore’s solution is a software suite, called FlexPond, for both big industrial and commercial customers, and the utilities that are controlling them for their grid needs. In simple terms, it’s a combination of on-site sensors and controls and a cloud-based software stack to manage their capabilities to serve both market and customer-side needs, all in real time. GTM Research grid edge analyst Elta Kolo noted that REstore’s technology differs slightly from the majority of demand-side management vendors. “REstore has a hybrid patented approach to demand response, putting its intelligence centrally and locally, whereas most vendors just choose one,” she said. This allows it to participate not only in capacity markets, but in high-value reserve markets requiring fast response: “REstore has the capability to provide sub-second response,” she noted. The startup is also one of the few demand response aggregators participating in the markets of multiple European transmission system operators, including Amprion in Germany, Elia in Belgium, National Grid in the U.K. and RTE in France. While the startup has been exclusively focused on commercial and industrial customers for most of its life, it’s starting to make headway in the residential sector as well, Kolo noted. That has been helped along by a partnership with a European heat-pump and boiler manufacturer that’s installing REstore’s control chip in their products, she said. Other companies with this kind of approach to demand response include Enbala Power Networks, a Vancouver, Canada-based startup with customers serving flexible load into frequency regulation and ancillary services markets, as well as utility and energy services partners putting its software to use. AutoGrid, a Silicon Valley startup, also has demand response optimization software being used by utilities in North America, and in Europe, by Dutch energy company Eneco to create a virtual power plant from aggregations of customer-sited energy generation and flexible loads. Many others are out there. Buildings represent a huge untapped opportunity not just for saving wasted energy, but for shaping and shifting energy use to help manage an increasingly unpredictable grid. Controlling energy use in offices, factories, warehouses and other buildings is a complicated task, with each site and each customer requiring a tailored approach. But technology advances are driving down the cost and complexity of networking and controlling HVAC systems, lighting, pumps, freezers, and other key energy loads, giving energy companies more inroads into controlling them. Centrica’s push to create a distributed energy services arm matches the efforts underway by other European utilities to diversify outside the challenging power generation and transmission sectors. German utilities RWE and E.ON have both spun out their distributed energy and retail energy businesses from their struggling core businesses. RWE has bought solar developer Belectric, rolled out home energy services from Silicon Valley startup Bidgely, and created a $144 million venture capital fund. Italy’s Enel acquired New York-based distributed energy systems aggregator Demand Energy in January, U.S. demand response giant EnerNOC in June, and Silicon Valley electric-vehicle charging management startup eMotorWerks last month. Engie, the services arm of GDF Suez, has bought an 80 percent stake in U.S. behind-the-meter battery startup Green Charge Networks, and has acquired Dutch startup EV-Box and the European solar business of bankrupt Sungevity. French mega-utility EDF bought Groom Energy Solutions through a subsidiary last year, and launched a C&I distributed energy business in January.

Duke Energy to spend $1.3bn burying South Carolina power lines

US utility Duke Energy plans to spend $1.3bn to bury 20% of South Carolina's electricity lines following the destruction caused by hurricanes Irma and Matthew. The decade-long project is part of a $3bn initiative to upgrade the state's grid that includes retrofitting transformers, installing smart meters and self-optimising 80% of the grid. The move follows a $13bn plan for North Carolina, which carries an estimated rate increase of $530m a year to 2026 to offset costs.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/2017/11/03/duke-energy-invest-3-billion-south-carolina-power-grid-rate-hikes-possible/829824001/

2017-11-06 11:06:35.603000

Ice storms and hurricanes have been duly noted by the power giant serving most of South Carolina, and it could mean rate hikes in the near future. As a part of a wide-ranging plan to defend the state's power grid from falling limbs and other storm damage, Duke Energy announced Friday that it plans to bury a fifth of its lines over the next 10 years — at a cost of $1.3 billion. "I would never use the words 'hurricane' and 'help' in the same sentence, but we have certainly learned with recent experience from Irma and Matthew," said Ryan Mosier, a Greenville-based Duke Energy spokesman. "They helped add more information to what we were already planning — areas where we need to look at things differently." The line-burial announcement came Friday as part of a larger $3 billion Power/Forward Carolina initiative to make the state's grid "smarter, more reliable and more secure," the company said. Along with a broad outline of its plans for the state, Duke released an independent economic impact analysis Friday that suggests Power/Forward Carolina would require rate increases of an additional $530 million a year by 2026 to offset costs. That same analysis, conducted by University of South Carolina Moore School of Business research economist Joey Von Nessen, shows the state's businesses and households would realize a potential return on investment at least equal to rate increases, if not more, as Duke Energy's plan to invest billions of dollars — and hire thousands of people for the decade-long project — goes forward. Von Nessen likened the Duke investment to that of multiple major auto announcements packed into one, pointing out that auto manufacturing investments in South Carolina have ranged recently from $500 million to $1.5 billion "This is one of the largest capital investments we've seen in South Carolina in recent years," the research economist said. "This is a major stepping stone for new economic activity in the state, particularly when you look at its impact in rural areas." Duke invests hundreds of millions of dollars in its grid infrastructure annually, but that maintains it, Mosier said. "It doesn't advance it," he said. "We have a 20th Century grid that has served us well but is not equipped to deal with the challenges and customer demand going into the 21st Century." Duke Energy has not yet sought approval for a rate increase in South Carolina, Mosier said, and would have to appear before the South Carolina Public Service Commission and hear input from customers before anything happens. The South Carolina plan comes on the heels of a $13 billion plan for North Carolina, announced in April also under the umbrella of Power/Forward Carolina. In August, Duke Energy requested a rate increase from the North Carolina Utilities Commission of 16.7 percent for residential customers and 10.9 percent for commercial and industrial customers. Rate increases in South Carolina would "partially offset" the plan's costs and could start with an additional $84 million to be collected starting in 2018, according to Van Nessen's analysis. Rates would need to gradually increase until leveling off at the end of 10 years and remain "relatively constant moving forward," meaning they would not be scaled back once the work is done. Although when and how much rates might in fact rise remains uncertain — especially as state regulators grapple with rate increases attached to S.C. Electric and Gas Co.'s failed V.C. Summer nuclear plant expansion — hiring for the power-grid improvements has already begun, Mosier said. "We are in extensive planning stages," Mosier said. "We are beginning initial hires in some categories of work. Not just Duke Energy jobs but associated support jobs, companies helping us with the work." The goal is to "underground" 20 percent of the "least reliable vegetated overhead lines" on the grid, according to a statement from the company. Mosier said line burials would happen "all over" and explained that Duke is running analyses to find spots around the state where outages have been frequent and longest in duration. "We are planning to have an interactive tool that will be out on the website that customers can see what kind of work is going on in their backyard," Mosier said. "That will be out pretty soon." Over the course of the project, Duke will employ an average of 3,300 additional people annually, with salaries and wages amounting to $315 million in peak years of the project. Additional line workers and engineers will be among the jobs critical to carrying out the plan, according to Von Nessen's 31-page study. The biggest beneficiaries will be Oconee and York counties, where Duke operates nuclear power plants and already has the state's largest numbers of Duke workers. More than 3,200 Duke employees work in Oconee County today, and the company plans to add 1,352 workers there by 2025. Similarly about 3,000 Duke employees work in York, and Duke plans to add nearly 1,200 jobs there. Greenville also stands to benefit: its current Duke workforce of 1,766 stands to grow by 585. In Anderson, where Duke has 469 workers, 163 jobs will be added. Because the Oconee County population cannot support such an increase in highly skilled technical positions, Nessen said, the company plans to focus on energy career awareness, strategic partnerships and education pathways for careers in energy. In addition to burying lines, the Power/Forward plan includes: $704 million to retrofit 49,000 transformers, replace 2,300 miles of deteriorating cable and to enhance physical and cyber security throughout the system. $533 million to improve substations and transmission lines, mitigate flooding and add system intelligence $385 million to "self-optimize" 80 percent of the state's the grid for efficient energy delivery and reliability; this would include the ability to isolate problem areas automatically and reroute power around them $107 million to install smart meters $74 million to upgrade the company's communications network to 4G LTE Duke Energy serves 740,000 customers in 30 of South Carolina's 46 counties through its companies Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress and has employees in 42 counties. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. Anna B. Mitchell covers business across the Upstate. Follow her on Facebook or on Twitter @AnnaBard2U.

UK to invest $97m in world's largest solar park in Egypt

UK government-owned development finance institution, CDC, has pledged $97m to the Nubian Suns solar projects in southern Egypt as part of a $653m syndicate led by International Finance Corporation. The 13 Nubian Suns solar projects near Aswan will have a capacity of almost 400 MW, and will form part of the 1.8 GW Benban Solar Park, set to be the world's biggest solar installation in the world.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/press-releases/new-cdc-investment-to-support-egyptian-solar-power/

2017-11-06 11:01:18.733000

CDC is part of an IFC-led syndicate providing the Nubian Suns project with a $653 million debt package that will fund the construction of 13 solar power plants near the Southern Egyptian city of Aswan. The plants are part of the larger Benban Solar Park, which, when complete, will be the largest solar power installation in the world with up to 1.8GW capacity and 32 solar plants. The 800MW Nubian Suns project is backed by a syndicate of nine international lenders and is expected to provide clean, cost-effective power to over 350,000 residential customers and generate up to 6,000 jobs during construction. The lenders are IFC, CDC, Africa Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Arab Bank (Bahrain), Europe Arab Bank, Finance in Motion, FinnFund, ICBC, and OeEB of Austria. Their financing will support six groups of private power companies, which together will build and operate the 13 plants. Nubian Suns plays a central part of round 2 of the Egypt Feed-In Tariff solar power programme which is introducing a large number of international investors and banks to Egypt at a crucial time for the country. The initiative is aimed at lowering Egypt’s cost of electricity generation, reducing the dependence on imported fossil fuels, and providing essential energy harnessed from an abundant clean and renewable resource. The solar photo-voltaic plants are being developed as part of Egypt’s national program to attract private sector capital and expertise to support the country’s target to generate 20 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2022. The Benban Solar Park, which will include 32 power plants in all, will be an important part of the initiative. Specifically, CDC’s $97 million investment spans across 9 of the 13 Nubian Suns projects for a total capacity close to 400 MW. CDC’s capital is supporting four of the six project teams. CDC’s Managing Director for Debt, Holger Rothenbusch said: “Egypt has abundant sun all year round but often struggles with power shortages that limit the country’s economic potential. Developing solar energy makes economic and social sense and our investment demonstrates our strong commitment to Egypt’s economic growth and a cleaner environment.” CDC’s Head of Project Finance, Iain Macaulay said: “This is an important investment for CDC and the largest project finance deal in Africa this year. We’ve worked closely with our partners, led by the IFC, to provide the right type of long-term finance to support the Nubian Suns project and bring power and jobs to the country.” Estimates suggest that 18 per cent of Egypt’s power capacity is inaccessible due to poor maintenance and during the summer months, the country faces electricity shortages due to increased demand and shortage of fuel and generating capacity. In 2015 and 2016, the state diverted nearly all fuel to electricity generation to meet peak summer power demand supplying to household consumers at the expense of heavy industry.

Regus Regus expands to three more cities in South Africa

Flexible office space supplier Regus has expanded its South African portfolio to more than 55 locations with the addition of sites in Bloemfontein, Paarl and Pietermaritzburg, which are due to open in December. Joanne Bushell, the country manager of Regus South Africa, said the locations were specifically chosen to "support areas in our country integral to agricultural, manufacturing and services growth", but which also sometimes missed out on other technological infrastructure and services investment. Regus plans to open more centres in South Africa in 2018 and already has more than 55.

http://mypr.co.za/regus-supports-business-growth-in-3-new-locations-in-south-africa/

2017-11-06 10:58:49.377000

Regus, the global specialist in serviced office space, are expanding their flexible offering to three more South African cities in December 2017, growing to 3000 plus locations worldwide with over 55 centres in South Africa. The opening of the new centres in Bloemfontein, Paarl and Pietermaritzburg, are part of a strategic focus to provide world-class workspaces and infrastructure, that will accelerate growth in small businesses and corporates in oft-forgotten, but booming areas. Since its expansion into South Africa, Regus has provided over 55 locations with co-working and meeting spaces to accommodate the increasing demand for flexible, technologically advanced, professional work areas. The centres support corporates, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students, freelancers, business tourists and creatives with an all-inclusive package at an affordable rate. The new centres will provide cutting-edge business solutions for cities with lucrative business interests and tourism, the size of which, place a strain on local infrastructure. The timing of the opening provides start-ups and businesses the opportunity to commence 2018 with a fully equipped, professional working environment. Bloemfontein, Free State Hailed as legislative capital of the country, three major national highways converge in Bloemfontein, with economic hub Gauteng being the closest destination for travel by car or plane. The city’s relaxed atmosphere, bustling economy, busy university culture and lack of major corporates, place a strain on the local infrastructure. The new centre provides meeting spaces, catering, fast internet, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities of global standards. Served by two airports, this centre is also an ideal location for business travellers. Paarl, Western Cape This culture-rich, picturesque area in the Winelands, through no inclement of its own, has been identified as an area requiring support as a result of the local and international business travel born from the wine export industry. The new Regus centre will provide local businesses and international travellers with state of the art, professional, co-working spaces and impressive offices for corporates wishing to relocate from the busy mid-city or those implementing a flexible work policy. Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal The unsung capital of Kwazulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg is a hub to the aluminium, agricultural, manufacturing and tourism sectors. Its proximity to Durban, one of the busiest ports in Africa, results in promising local business growth while maintaining some of its sleepy charm. This made it an obvious choice for Regus, who identified the need for professional, world-class working spaces that will support business growth in the area. According to Joanne Bushell, Country Manager Regus South Africa, “The three new Regus locations were strategically chosen to support areas in our country integral to the agricultural, manufacturing and services growth, but which often don’t have commensurate support of much-needed technological infrastructure and services. We have seen our business centres boost economic growth in all the locations where we put down our footprint. ” With more centres set to open in South Africa in 2018, this footprint is steadily growing to include centres nationwide, after establishing their current business centres in the main economic hubs such as Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg. For further information on Regus business centres, to find a global working environment near you: CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.

Redrow West Country division celebrates completion of £70m development

UK housebuilder Redrow has marked the completion of its £70m ($92m) city centre Vision development in Plymouth. Overseen by the company's West Country division, the scheme was built on land formerly owned by the Ministry of Defence, and boasts 464 homes and 42 flats for older people. The development also contributed £3.7m to local infrastructure.

https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/southwest/redrow-marks-topping-out-at-70m-plymouth-scheme

2017-11-06 10:57:10.830000

South West Property Stephen Farrell The West Country division of housebuilder Redrow has celebrated the topping out of Vision, its £70m development in Plymouth. Construction started in 2007 on a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments alongside two-, three- and four-bedroom houses to Devonport. Shops, offices and a market hall have also been created. The site was the formerly Ministry of Defence land and has now been transformed into a new city centre community. Vision is home to 1,000 residents with 464 homes and a 42-flat extra care housing block for older people. Vision has also contributed to the South West economy with 50 contractors employed at any one time and, on average, 80 jobs were sustained and supported on a daily basis by Redrow. Section 106 contributions provided more than £3.7m towards education, transport and roads. The housebuilder also invested £700,000 to support the restoration of the Market Hall and Clock Tower which is now a digital hub. Redrow West Country managing director Nigel Palmer said: "Redrow is delighted to be celebrating the topping out of Vision and to have played a part a part in the regeneration of the city. Redrow has an ambitious growth strategy to strengthen our presence in the region. We're keen to find a follow-on scheme and there are opportunities we're actively looking at currently."

Shenhua Group buys 75% share in Greek wind farms

State-owned Shenhua Group has become the first Chinese firm to invest in Greece's wind power sector, after it acquired a 75% stake in four wind parks. The projects are owned by Greek investment firm Copelouzos Group, owner of Elica Group, the country's third biggest wind power firm. No financial details were given. The Chinese firm also plans to acquire shares in PPC Solar Solutions.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-11-04/101165921.html

2017-11-06 10:55:38.200000

China’s state-owned coal and power giant Shenhua Group is entering the Greek green-energy market, investing in several wind farms developed by a major local player. Shenhua bought 75% of the shares of four wind parks developed by Greek investment firm Copelouzos Group. The parks are either in operation or under construction, Copelouzos said in a statement. Shenhua, which signed the agreement through its renewable-energy resources subsidiary Shenhua Renewable Co. Ltd., is the first Chinese company to invest in wind power in Greece. The amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed. But the two sides vowed to collaborate on a number of investments in green energy and on upgrades to power plants, at a total estimated value of 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion). Shenhua also plans to acquire some shares in solar firm PPC Solar Solutions, co-founded by Copelouzos and Greece’s Public Power Corp. The investment in the wind-power parks marks the Chinese company’s first solid project in Greece since it inked partnership with Copelouzos in May. The Greek company owns the country’s third-largest wind-power firm, Elica Group. Since 2016, Chinese companies have made several acquisitions in Greece. China COSCO Shipping Corp. Ltd. purchased 67% shares in Piraeus port for 700 million euros and State Grid Corp. of China acquired a 24% stake in Greece's power-grid operator, ADMIE, for 330 million euros. Contact reporter Coco Feng ([email protected])

Dutch pension fund ABP invests €330m in US solar projects

Dutch public-sector pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP) has invested €330m ($384m) across three solar PV projects owned by Swiss asset manager Capital Dynamics in California and Nevada. The projects have a combined capacity of 858 MW.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/02/dutch-pension-fund-abp-invests-e330-million-in-three-u-s-projects/

2017-11-06 10:48:40.733000

Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (ABP), a pension fund for government and education employees in the Netherlands, has agreed to invest approximately €330 million ($383.8 million) in three utility-scale PV projects in the United States. All of the projects are owned by the Swiss-based asset management company Capital Dynamics. One of the three project is the 250 MW (AC) Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project in Nevada, which Capital Dynamics acquired from U.S. solar manufacturer First Solar for an unspecified sum in March. GE Energy Financial Services is also sharing minority tax equity interests in the project. First Solar commissioned the facility in March. The solar plant is the first utility-scale solar project completed on tribal land in the United States. The project can power 11,000 homes and will provide electricity to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Another of the three project is the 280 MW (AC) California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County, California that Capital Dynamics also bought from First Solar in August. The first 130 MW section of the project is expected to be connected to the grid in the fourth quarter of this year, while the second 150 MW phase, currently under construction, is planned to come online by the end of 2018. Both sections are contracted under a long-term PPA with an unidentified offtaker. Popular content The third project is the 328 MW (DC) Mount Signal 3 project, which Capital Dynamics acquired from 8minutenergy in July. At the time, the Swiss asset manager said it was arranging tax equity and debt financing for the project, with financial close expected in late July 2017. The project is located in the city of Calexico in California’s Imperial Valley, and is the third phase of the 800 MW Mount Signal Solar Farm. First Solar was selected as the panel supplier, providing 2.8 million Series 4 thin film panels. 8minutenergy secured a long-term PPA for the project with local utility Southern California Edison (SCE) in 2014. “This investment is in line with our ambition to increase the number of investments in solar and renewables by 2020. All three solar parks have concluded long-term contracts with energy companies. This gives them a long-term and stable return for our members”, said ABP president Corien Wortmann–Kool.

India's PolicyBazaar to sell plans without commissions

India's insurance comparison website PolicyBazaar is planning to sell low-cost unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) on a commission-free basis. The policies are being developed in partnership with insurer Edelweiss Tokio Marine Life Insurance. The insurer reportedly won't make any money from the policies for the first year of coverage, but will if consumers renew after 12 months. PolicyBazaar says the goal of offering commission-free products is to increase engagement with its client base. 

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/insure/policybazaar-plans-to-sell-ulips-sans-commission/articleshow/61503695.cms

2017-11-06 10:33:54.177000

(This story originally appeared in on Nov 04, 2017) MUMBAI: PolicyBazaar , which recently raised Rs 500 crore from international investors, plans to disrupt the insurance market by selling low-cost unit-linked insurance plans, or ULIPs, without any commissions. These ULIPs are being tailor-made for direct sales by Edelweiss Tokio Marine Life Insurance.PolicyBazaar has also brought the concept of cash-back type incentives by offering additional allocation of units of 1% for the first five years, which increases every five years to 3%, 5% and 7% respectively.Speaking to TOI, PolicyBazaar founder and CEO Yashish Dahiya said that the objective of the online aggregator was to increase engagement with insurance buyers. "The charges on the Wealth Plus policy are lower than what investors would pay on a direct purchase of a mutual fund," said Dahiya.For a 30-year old policyholder investing Rs 10,000 every month, the absence of charges could make a difference of Rs 2 lakh on the returns over a 20-year term. Assuming an 8% return, the fund value would be Rs 49.69 lakh in Wealth Plus in 20 years as against 47.74 lakh on apolicy with charges.According to Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance MD & CEO Deepak Mittal, the insurer will not make any money in the initial year. It will make money only after the customer continues to renew the policy for several years.

Driving with pets can lead to loss of auto insurance

UK drivers who don't appropriately restrain their pets in their cars could face a loss of insurance coverage if the animal causes distractions and subsequent accidents. More than three-quarters of UK pet owners reportedly travel with their pets in the car. If an animal is not properly restrained it can carry a fine of up to £5,000.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/875223/driving-with-pet-law-fine-rules-car-insurance-UK

2017-11-06 10:32:47.830000

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Insurtech accelerator launches in Australia

An insurtech accelerator has been launched in Australia. Insurtech Australia will work with incumbent insurers to help identify developments in areas such as wearables, machine learning, internet of things and telematic technology. The accelerator was established in partnership with QBE, MunichRe, Ernst & Young, RAC Insurance and Oliver Wyman.  

https://www.dig-in.com/news/new-insurtech-accelerator-opens-in-australia?tag=00000151-16d0-def7-a1db-97f036a00000

2017-11-06 10:32:04.383000

A new insurtech accelerator has launched in Australia, intended to grow the country’s footprint in a booming sector of the insurance industry. The startup hub, Insurtech Australia, will operate as a standalone division of Fintech Australia, a local incubator founded in 2015. The new venture will reportedly aid insurers, reinsurers and brokers by tapping into emerging technologies startups are developing. These disciplines include wearables, machine learning, IoT and telematics, according to the company. "We want to make Australia one of the world’s leading markets for insurance innovation,” said Brenton Charnley, lead & co-founder of Insurtech Australia, in a statement. “Insurtech is a rapidly growing sector worldwide, and Australia has the ideas and skills to compete.” Members work on laptop computers in a common room at the Embarcadero WeWork Cos Inc. offices in San Francisco, California on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Mike Short/Bloomberg Founding insurance industry members include the likes of QBE, MunichRe, Ernst & Young, RAC Insurance and Oliver Wyman. Insurtech startup partners of parent company Fintech Australia will also be granted immediate membership into the incubator. Established corporate partners can join at their discretion. “Insurance is a multi-billion dollar industry, with massive potential for new ideas and technologies,” said Danielle Szetho, CEO of Fintech Australia. “By creating a clear focus point for insurtech policy and bringing together people from the startup and corporate sectors to collaborate, Insurtech Australia will play a vital role in creating the insurance industry of tomorrow.”

China's financial system is increasingly vulnerable: PBoC chief

People's Bank of China's governor Zhou Xiaochuan has said that China's financial system is becoming more and more vulnerable on account of high leverage, calling for reforms and tighter regulations as a countermeasure. Despite the current overall strength of China's financial system, Xiaochuan said that latent risks are rising, including those that are "hidden, complex, sudden, contagions and hazardous".

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/chinas-central-bank-chief-renews-financial-risk-warnings/articleshow/61525799.cms

2017-11-06 10:31:00.080000

China's financial system is getting significantly more vulnerable due to high leverage, according to central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan , who also flagged the need for deeper reforms in the world's second-biggest economy Latent risks are accumulating, including some that are “hidden, complex, sudden, contagious and hazardous,“ even as the overall health of the financial system remains good, Zhou wrote in a lengthy article published on the People's Bank of China 's website late Saturday . The nation should toughen regulation and let markets serve the real economy better, according to Zhou.The government should also open up financial markets by relaxing capital controls and reducing restrictions on nonChinese financial institutions that want to operate on the mainland, he wrote.“High leverage is the ultimate origin of macro financial vulnerability,“ wrote Zhou, 69, who is widely expected to retire soon after a record 15-year tenure. “In sectors of the real economy, this is reflected as excessive debt, and in the financial system, this is reflected as credit that has been expanding too quickly .“Zhou's comments are the latest in a series of blunt warnings, and signal that policy makers remain committed to a campaign to reduce borrowing levels across the economy.Concern that regulators may intensify the deleveraging drive after the twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress has helped push yields on 10year government bonds to a three-year high.Still, measures of credit continue to show expansion, with aggregate financing surging to a six-month high of 1.82 trillion yuan ($274 billion) in September. China's corporate debt surged to 159% of the economy in 2016, compared with 104% 10 years ago, while overall borrowing climbed to 260%.

UAE 'low-income' insurtech Democrance raises $800,000

Democrance, a UAE-based start-up which provides microinsurance to low-income consumers in the Middle East and North Africa, has raised $800,000 in funding from both domestic and international investors. Democrance allows people without a bank account to purchase coverage on mobile devices. The firm is planning to provide 15 million consumers with policies by 2020. Less than 20% of people in the Middle East and North Africa region currently have a bank account.

http://www.meinsurancereview.com/News/View-NewsLetter-Article/id/40755/type/MiddleEast/UAE-InsurTech-startup-raises-funds-of-US-800k

2017-11-06 10:28:42.257000

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Amazon domain-name purchases deepen bitcoin payment speculation

Amazon has bought three cryptocurrency-related domain names, adding to rumours it may soon start accepting payment in digital currencies. The e-commerce giant registered amazonethereum.com, amazoncryptocurrencies.com and amazoncryptocurrency.com on 31 October. The move follows news based on Silicon Valley sources that Amazon may soon integrate bitcoin as a payment option. Amazon Pay VP Patrick Gauthier denied the rumours, saying there was little demand for cryptocurrency.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/amazon-sparks-speculation-by-buying-three-cryptocurrency-themed-domain-names

2017-11-06 10:21:16.977000

On October 31, Amazon registered three domains related to cryptocurrency, sparking speculation that Amazon may soon begin accepting cryptocurrency. The domains are amazonethereum.com, amazoncryptocurrency.com, and amazoncryptocurrencies.com. Amazon already owns the “amazonbitcoin.com” domain name. This is not the first time a rumor has circulated that Amazon will accept digital currency. A few weeks ago, there was news based on sources in Silicon Valley reporting that Amazon could soon integrate Bitcoin as a payment option. Any move to do so by Amazon, one of the most innovative and influential tech companies in the world, would have enormous consequences. No plans to accept cryptocurrency However, during an interview, Amazon Pay’s VP Patrick Gauthier stated that Amazon does not plan to accept cryptocurrency since there is little demand. Considering that the majority of online payments are done via debit and credit cards, Gauthier’s statement sounds reasonable and convincing. It’s possible that Amazon bought the domain names simply for defensive purposes and has no plans to accept digital currency. Amazon’s attitude matters Amazon may have no plan to accept cryptocurrency now, but Amazon’s attitude matters greatly. It’s reasonable to assume that if Amazon eventually accepts cryptocurrency, the entire market could be lifted.

Fall in Tesla solar installations offset by higher battery storage sales

Tesla has recorded its lowest number of solar PV installations for "many years", with just 109 MW of new distributed solar systems in the latest quarter. The company says it is reducing the number of low-margin commercial and industrial deals it is involved in, but residential solar installation is also thought to have fallen. Meanwhile, Tesla's energy storage business has increased, with 110 MWh of batteries installed during the same quarter, along with 80% of the 100 MW plant in South Australia, which will be the world's largest battery storage system.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/02/tesla-solar-deployments-plummet-while-energy-storage-rises/

2017-11-06 10:21:03.503000

Elon Musk has a lot going on these days. The start of mass production of Tesla’s low-cost Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) has experienced major hiccups, resulting only 222 rolling off the production lines during Q3. Additionally, Tesla is busy supplying hospitals in Puerto Rico with power, building what is perhaps the world’s largest battery system in Australia, and preparing to roll out an electric semi later this month. What appears to not be a priority for Tesla is growing or even maintaining its market share in the distributed solar space. The company deployed only 109 MW of PV systems during Q3 2017, its lowest level in many years. In its quarterly letter to investors Tesla excused this decline by noting that it was pulling away from lower-margin commercial and industrial solar deals. However such a low level indicates a fall in residential solar deployment as well and can also be seen in light of the contraction of the national residential solar market beginning in late 2016. Both Tesla/SolarCity and Vivint pulled back from ambitious growth paths last year, which was followed by a decline in the overall residential solar market, with more business going to the “long tail” of local installers. Of the big three residential solar companies only Sunrun continues to grow, and while the company has not released quarterly results for Q3, it is now in competition with Tesla to be the largest residential solar provider. Tesla’s approach to sales may be a major factor, and the company has moved away from the door-to-door model previously popular with SolarCity and other large installers. And while Tesla says that increasing numbers of its EV customers buying PV and battery storage systems in its stores “validates its strategy”, this must be seen in the context of dramatically reduced sales volumes. Tesla is also continuing the shift from third-party solar to direct sales, in line with national trends. The company estimates that direct purchases represented 46% of its sales during the quarter, and forecasts that this will represent more than 50% of its solar business next quarter. Tesla gave scant information on the progress of its Solar Roof, which Elon Musk characterizes as going through the validation process. To date the Solar Roof has only been deployed on a pilot basis, mainly on the homes of Tesla executives. And while it has more to do with the company’s automotive business, Tesla’s financial metrics were likewise not promising. The company reported a -26% operating margin and a net loss of $671 million against just under $3 billion in revenues. And while Tesla remains well funded, the company burned through $301 million in cash during the quarter. Popular content Energy storage on the rise But as Tesla’s solar business flounders, its energy storage business is on the rise. During the quarter the company deployed 110 megawatt-hours (MWh) of batteries and has installed the first 80% of the world’s largest battery system, a 100 MW plant in South Australia. Tesla says that it is “on track” to meet a 100-day deadline for hte project. Tesla also states that it has deployed “hundreds” of battery systems to Puerto Rico, and announced restoration of power at a hospital through rapid deployment of a PV and battery storage system. In terms of manufacturing, Tesla reports that battery cell production at its Gigafactory 1 in Reno is continuing to ramp, and that the solar Gigafactory 2 is on track to begin production of the Solar Roof “at the end of this year”. Hopefully there will not be the sorts of manufacturing delays that have plagued the Tesla Model 3. However, in the company’s results call Elon Musk stressed how far his company has come, recently producing its 250,000th EV as opposed to only 2,500 five years ago. “So consider your assumptions for the future and whether they’re valid or perhaps pessimistic,” quipped Musk.

FCA warns robo-advice poses 'systemic mis-selling' risk

Bob Ferguson, head of strategy and competition at the FCA, has warned that robo-advice may lead to "systemtic mis-selling" if portfolio models are badly designed, reported Damian Fantato in the Financial Times.

https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2017/11/03/fca-warns-robo-advice-poses-systemic-mis-selling-risk/

2017-11-06 10:04:55.243000

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French robo-adviser Birdee partners with Germany's Sutor

French robo-adviser Birdee has partnered with Germany's Sutor Bank. The robo-adviser's platform will be integrated with the bank's portfolio and management system, while Sutor will take over the administration of Birdee's clients' portfolios and take responsibility for trading Birdee's ETFs. Birdee offers clients 17 model portfolios based on their risk tolerance, financial goals and profile. The firm also offers thematic investments, allowing clients to focus on areas such as biotechnology or sustainability. 

https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/71474/robo-advisory-startup-birdee-lands-on-sutor-banking-as-a-service-platform

2017-11-06 10:04:04.737000

Source: Birdee Birdee has become the Sutor banking platform’s first international robo-advisor. Birdee has a Luxembourg asset management license and offers clients in Belgium and Luxembourg investment opportunities in ETF portfolios. Clients can define their financial goals and go through a risk profile evaluation, after which Birdee will propose an investment strategy from one or several of its 17 model portfolios which include thematic investment in areas such as biotechnology, property or sustainable businesses. Sutor Bank is taking on the administration of Birdee’s customer portfolios as well as the trading of the ETFs. The communication between Birdee’s fully digitalised investment platform and the bank’s portfolio and management system is fully automated and carried out using an interface (API). The onboarding of the clients, as well as the ordering of funds and transmission of the up-to-date portfolio data, is done via the API. The decision to work with Sutor Bank rather than a domestic bank Birdee was developed using technology and algorithms from financial software house Gambit. Recently the major French bank BNP Paribas acquired a majority share in the Gambit company (Gambit Financial Solutions), which therefore created new potential for the recently launched robo-advisor. The market for robo-advisors in the Benelux countries and France is less developed and is spread more thinly than the German or British markets. “We underwent an intensive search in 9 European countries for a bank that was able to offer us what we needed for the implementation of our business model: the digital interfaces on the one hand, and the necessary investment technology on the other. We didn’t find what we were looking for and we therefore decided to choose Sutor Bank as our banking partner,” explains Geoffroy Linard, general manager of Birdee. “We are already cooperating with numerous foreign banks through our collaboration with our partner Zinspilot, and our API accounts are used by businesses in Austria and the Netherlands. We are pleased to have carefully taken the next step towards internationalisation through our cooperation with Birdee. We see a significant potential in cooperating with partners within the European Union,” says Robert Freitag, general manager of Sutor Bank.

Chinese robo-adviser Polaris plans Asian expansion

China's Polaris is planning to expand its robo-advice platform, both domestically and into other Asian markets. The robo-adviser recently launched a venture in Singapore, dubbed Pivot Fintech, and is planning to offer its white-label robo-advice solutions to a number of banks with interest in the technology. The firm is seeing particular demand from provincial banks as they come under increasing pressure from the entry of tech companies like Alibaba and Tencent Holdings into the finance sector.

http://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2118482/china-developed-robo-advisers-poised-transform-asias-wealth

2017-11-06 10:00:34.127000

Mainland Chinese start-up Polaris to roll out robo-advisory systems with more banks and other traditional financial institutions

India must consider off-grid options to expand energy access: IEA

Decentralising power generation using renewables is the most effective way to increase access to electricity in India, according to the International Energy Agency. A report by the intergovernmental organisation found that while extension of the country's national power grid would provide the most cost-effective solution for increasing access in urban areas, decentralised technology such as solar PV provides the most efficient solution for rural areas. The agency found India has hugely increased access to electricity to 82% of the population from 43% in 2000, and that maintaining this pace will result in universal coverage by the early 2020s.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/decentralization-is-the-cheapest-way-to-expand-energy-access-in-india#gs.16fqmDc

2017-11-06 09:47:05.713000

India stands out as “one of the largest electrification success stories in history,” accounting for two or every five people newly electrified since 2000, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. However, the report painted a future quite different from the centralized grid focus of the current Indian government, saying that decentralized systems, led by solar PV in off-grid and mini-grid systems, “will be the least-cost solution for three-quarters of the additional connections needed” to achieve full energy access before 2030. “Over the period to 2030, new connections to the grid bring electricity to over half of those that gain access, and offer the most cost-effective means of access in urban areas, but decentralized systems are the most cost-effective solutions for over 70% of those who gain access in rural areas," read the report. "By 2030, renewable energy sources power over 60% of new access, and off-grid and mini-grid systems provide the means for almost half of new access, underpinned by new business models using digital and mobile technologies,” according to IEA. Without doubt, India has made enormous strides. The report said India has reached 82 percent of the population, up from 43 percent in 2000. The pace of has quickened as well, with the number of people gaining access rising from 28 million per year between 2000 and 2012 to 41 million people per year in 2016. “If this pace is maintained, India will achieve universal access in the early 2020s,” the report said, “with renewables accounting for about 60% of those who gain access." Over 99 percent of people who have gained access in India since 2000 have done so as a result of grid extension, it added. Coal fueled about 75 percent of the new electricity access since 2000, with renewable sources accounting for around 20 percent. Globally, the number of people without access to electricity fell to below 1.1 billion people for the first time in 2016, with nearly 1.2 billion people having gained access since 2000, 500 million of which were in India, the report said. This piece was originally published at Powering Rural India on Medium and was reprinted with permission from Power For All.

Stanford professor sues journal over 100% renewables claim

Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson is suing a US scientific journal for libel after it published a paper heavily critical of one he had previously written for them. Jacobson claimed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that there was a viable plan for the US to reach 100% renewable energy, but this was challenged in a subsequent paper signed by 21 clean energy scholars led by Dr Chris Clack, who advocate a target of 80%. Jacobson has begun legal proceedings against Clack and the National Academy of Sciences, alleging they have caused him "significant undue damage."

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/mark-jacobson-files-lawsuit-over-critique-of-100-percent-renewables#gs._QImlyE

2017-11-06 09:34:47.030000

The battle over the viability of 100 percent renewable energy will soon spill into a court of law. Among clean energy advocates, there is disagreement about what kind of renewable energy target to shoot for -- 80 percent or 100 percent -- and what's the most expeditious way to get there. Stanford professor Mark Jacobson has long led the charge for a 100 percent plan, publishing road maps he says will reliably power the grid without any fossil fuel or nuclear energy. This summer, 21 notable clean energy scholars led by grid researcher Chris Clack published a critique of Jacobson's work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the same prestigious journal that released Jacobson's study. Now Jacobson is suing the publisher and the lead author for libel. His lawsuit, filed September 29 in D.C. Superior Court, asserts that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) inflicted "significant undue damage" by publishing statements in the critique that Jacobson said were false or misleading. Clack declined to comment on specific questions due to the pending litigation, but said via email that he was disappointed that the suit had been filed. "Our paper underwent very rigorous peer review, and two further extraordinary editorial reviews by the nation’s most prestigious academic journal, which considered Dr. Jacobson’s criticisms and found them to be without merit," Clack wrote. "It is unfortunate that Dr. Jacobson has now chosen to reargue his points in a court of law, rather than in the academic literature, where they belong." Jacobson declined to comment other than to say that "the complaint has nothing to do with stifling scientific inquiry or opinions," and pointed to a paragraph that describes what he sees as "egregious false statements" published by NAS and Clack. Error or assumption? The conflict revolves around the accuracy of the critique. Clack and his co-authors pointed out what they saw as grave errors in Jacobson's work, which has become a model that policymakers and celebrities cite and emulate. When the journal alerted Jacobson that the critique was moving through the editorial process, he responded with a critique of the critique. Jacobson sent multiple messages to the journal on this topic, first with a list of "thirty false and five misleading statements in the Clack Article," and later with a line-by-line counter-rebuttal. The journal saw those comments and went ahead with the publication. Having failed to achieve satisfaction via the internal editorial process, Jacobson is turning to the courts to resolve the dispute. Many of the factual disagreements hinge on highly technical points, but one stands out in a big way. The Clack paper called out Jacobson's work for its use of hydropower, which backs up the proposed grid system by dispatching power when wind and solar can't cover demand. Jacobson's supplementary details list an installed hydropower capacity of 87.5 gigawatts for 2050, essentially the same as it is today. But elsewhere, he includes a chart showing 1,300 gigawatts of hydropower dispatched, which is roughly 15 times the stated installed capacity. Clack and company describe this discrepancy as a modeling error that undermines the whole system Jacobson proposes: If the key backup resource needs to deliver 15 times more power than it actually can, the grid balancing falls apart. In his response, though, Jacobson describes this as an "intentional assumption." His idea is that the annual flow of water through U.S. hydropower facilities has to be held constant, but it is possible to increase the discharge rate by upgrading turbines at existing dams. This explanation, and associated costs, do not appear in the original article or its supplement. But Jacobson says he explained his thinking to Clack, and Clack went ahead and published a critique of the hydro modeling anyway. Jacobson says that amounts to a false claim. Let the legal battles begin For practical observers, the salient point here is that the 100 percent renewables plan hinges on a massive upgrade project at hydropower facilities around the country, which raises serious logistical and ecological concerns. There's a big difference between operating current hydro capacity and the "intentional assumption" scenario that involves storing up the water and releasing it in massive deluges at times of peak grid demand. Downstream communities, aquatic ecosystems and river navigation would all be impacted. It's unclear just how feasible this would be, and such discussion is not included in the original study. The lawsuit isn't really concerned with this, though. It seeks to penalize the critical publication for not listening to Jacobson's responses to the critique. As a result, Jacobson is asking the court to order a retraction of the article, plus damages from NAS and Clack on the order of $10 million each. The initial conference is set for December 29. It's unclear how the courts will evaluate these claims, but the case clearly ups the stakes on the academic debate over the best path to decarbonization. The fight over 100 percent renewables, versus some other target, already elicits heated debate on Energy Twitter and other forums. Now the stakes are no longer just academic or intellectual -- there's big money on the table.

Indian rooftop solar installations fall 83% short of target

The Indian government has pledged more money for rooftop solar after revealing that just 810 MW of capacity had been installed by 31 October, 83% short of its 5 GW target for 2017/18. The Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy announced a budget increase from INR6bn ($93m) to INR50bn, to install 4,200 MW of rooftop solar by 2019-20, as well as a 30% subsidy for the institutional and residential sectors. In July, a standing committee on energy offered recommendations, including rethinking the government's 40 GW target of rooftop solar by 2022.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/02/india-has-installed-810-mw-rooftop-solar-to-date/

2017-11-06 09:03:11.207000

The government has targeted to install 5 GW of grid-connected solar rooftops by 2017-18. However, the current installations stand approximately 83% behind the target. The committee shared the rooftop status and initiatives at the meeting of Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy, chaired by MNRE minister RK Singh held in Guwahati on October 31. About 810 MW of solar rooftop systems had been installed as of October 31, and 2,363 MW aggregate capacity have been sanctioned in the country so far. The installations came in residential, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. The government has targeted to install 5 GW of grid-connected solar rooftops by 2017-18. However, the current installations stand approximately 83% behind the target. The committee has proposed a new rooftop scheme considering the poor performance in this sector, which aims at removing the existing operational difficulties. The Government of India had pledged to install 40 GW grid-connected solar rooftops by 2022, and in revision, it has scaled-up the budget from INR 6 billion ($93 million) during the 12th Five Year Plan to INR 50 billion ($773 million) to be installed up to 2019-20. This will provide financial assistance for the installation of about 4200 MW solar rooftops in the country (2100 MW with subsidy and 2100 MW without subsidy)”. Popular content The government also provided a 30% subsidy for the residential and institutional (hospitals, educational institutions etc.) rooftop sectors. However, still it is seriously behind the target values, and it asked to revise the rooftop targets. Therefore, earlier in July, the standing committee on Energy gave a serious viewpoint on the Ministry’s 40 GW of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects. The group concluded to reconsider the target, conduct public awareness programs, simplify the process of subsidy distribution, mandate compulsory roof-top solar on new buildings, and adopt a single window clearance system for approvals like connectivity, net-metering, electricity inspection, limitation in sanctioned load, etc. They also singled out the net-metering policy as the key driver for solar roof-top systems, as it reduces aggregated technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and needs for large tracts of land. It even helps DISCOMs to avoid buying expensive peak power. Therefore, the concept of cross-subsidy should be reconsidered so that net-metering for all users will make more financial sense, clear installation guidelines, and proper implementation training of DISCOM's staff should be devised. However, it is still in discussion, and there is no decision on target revision yet. It seems government is ambitious about the target, and would implement new schemes to raise the rooftop sector in India.

WElink to build Europe's largest unsubsidized solar facility

A solar energy facility being built in southern Portugal will be the largest unsubsidised solar PV plant in Europe when it is completed in 2019. The 221 MW Solara4 project will generate enough electricity to power 150,000 homes, and will consist of up to 850,000 solar modules. It is being built by international renewable firm WElink, with its industrial partner China Triumph International Engineering.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/10/30/europes-largest-unsubsidized-solar-project-to-be-constructed-by-welink/

2017-11-06 09:02:10.397000

WElink Energy is to construct a 221 MW solar project in Vagueiros, Southern Portugal. When it becomes operational, the project named Solara4 will be the largest unsubsidised solar PV plant in Europe, generating enough power to provide 150,000 homes with electricity. It will comprise 850,000 solar modules and is expected to employ around 300 people during its construction. The plant is scheduled for completion in mid-2019. The signing of an EPC contract between WElink, and its longstanding industrial and strategic partner China Triumph International Engineering Co., Ltd (CTIEC) earlier this year meant that construction of the plant could get underway. The increasing price-competitiveness of solar projects is what has made WElink’s transition to unsubsidized projects possible, alongside it and CTIEC’s ability to optimize the cost of delivery across the chain value. Popular content Furthermore, the favorable location in southern Portugal means that the plant will soak up one of the highest solar irradiation levels in Europe, making solar PV without a subsidy ideal. WElink Group’s Chief Executive, Barry O’Neill said of the project, “WElink Energy is leading the way in European solar generation. We are delighted to be in a position to commence construction on our flagship Solara4 project, demonstrating that industrial scale clean-energy can be profitable without government subsidies and is a mature technology.” WElink Energy’s Head of Development for Iberia, Eduardo Aguilar added, “The construction of Solara4 is the result of many months of great team work to deliver this internationally significant unsubsidized project in Portugal. Solara4 is a beacon of WElink Energy’s portfolio and is part of a long-term strategy of development in Iberia. We are excited about both the delivery of this project as well as the additional opportunities Iberia represents.”

Chilean renewable energy prices drop by 50% in a year

Chile has reduced renewable-energy prices by half in the past year and by 75% in three years, with its most recent auction reaching an average bid price of $32.5/MWh. The submitted bids of 20,700 GWh were nine times the 2,200 GWh contracted, and roughly equivalent to 600 MW of installed capacity. The winners will invest almost $1bn in the projects, according to the National Energy Commission.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/03/chiles-auction-concludes-with-average-price-of-32-5mwh/

2017-11-06 08:58:13.870000

Chile's Energy Ministry has confirmed that the lowest bid in its 2017 power auction was $21.48/MWh, with an average price of $32.5 MWh. As previously reported by Reuters, Enel submitted the lowest bid of $21.48 MWh for one of the blocks in dispute. The second-lowest bid was from GPG Solar Chile, a unit of Spanish power and gas utility Gas Natural Fenosa, which offered $24.80/MWh for the same block. Although 2,200 GWh of capacity was contracted in the auction, the submitted bids reached a volume that was nine times higher, for a total of 20,700 GWh. “100% of the energy we allocate today is renewable, clean energy, which is equivalent to approximately 600 MW of installed capacity in new renewable projects, through which we hope to attract close to $1 billion dollars in investment in new infrastructure for the country,” said Andrés Romero, executive secretary of the National Energy Commission (CNE). The average price in the 2016 auction was $47.6/MWh, with 12,430 GWh contracted per year. In the 2015 tender, which was the first of its kind in Chile, the average price was $79.3/MWh, with 1,200 GWh contracted per year. Popular content “The goal set by President Bachelet was to lower energy prices by 25%. Today we can say with great calm, transparency and joy, we have managed to lower the price of energy by 75% in the last three years,” said Minister of Energy Andrés Rebolledo. Under the last two auctions, time blocks were allocated to allow for more solar plants. Projects that were selected in the auction will start delivering power on January 1, 2024, with power to be supplied until December 31, 2043. The power will be sold to customers of the Central and Northern Large Interconnected Systems (SIC and SING).

'Disordered' materials in cathodes improve battery storage

A team at the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has conducted pioneering research into the use of "disordered" materials in cathodes. Such materials have higher potential for energy storage than current lithium batteries, and greater understanding of how to create them opens the way to using more easily available ingredients in battery production. The researchers also demonstrated that the new materials can be fluorinated, a process that further increases their capacity.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/10/30/berkeley-scientists-boost-battery-capacities/

2017-11-06 08:51:02.320000

Several years ago, the team at Berkeley had discovered that certain types of disordered material could store more lithium when used as a cathode than current ‘ordered’ materials which layer the lithium and transition metal particles more nearly. Up to now, research into these materials has proceeded haphazardly, through testing based on trial and error. Research published this week in the journal Physical Review Letters, however, outlines a set of criteria for the production of useful disordered structures for cathode materials. “Discovering new disordered materials has been mostly driven by trial-and-error, and by relying on human intuition,” explains Alexander Urban, lead author of the paper ‘The electronic structure origin of cation disorder in transition metal-oxides. “Now we have for the first time identified a simple design criterion to predict novel disordered compositions. The new understanding establishes a relationship between the chemical species, local distortions of the crystal structure, and the tendency to form disordered phases.” As well as having the potential for higher capacities than current lithium battery technologies, the cathodes could also allow scientists to work with a wider range of materials and, crucially, to avoid the use of cobalt – a relatively rare substance with a highly problematic supply chain. According to the Berkeley lab, disordered materials have already been producing using chromium, titanium and molybdenum. “We want the ability to have more compositional freedom, so we can tune other parameters,” said Gerbrand Ceder, Senior Faculty Scientist at the Berkeley Lab. “There are so many properties to optimize, there’s so much that goes into taking a battery material to a commercial stage. Now we have a recipe for how to make these materials.” Popular content Fluorination Ceder’s research group also published a further advance in lithium battery technology, demonstrating that disordered materials can also be fluorinated, a process which further increases capacity, improves stability and reduces fire risk. This research was outlined in the paper ‘Mitigating oxygen loss to improve the cycling performance of high capacity cation disordered cathode materials’, published in the journal Nature Communications. “New cathode materials is the hottest direction in Li-ion batteries, explained Ceder. “To get more improvements in energy storage there are only a few directions to go. One is solid state batteries, and the other is to keep improving the energy density of electrode materials. The two are not mutually exclusive, this research line is definitely not exhausted yet.”

China sparks a boom in Ireland's aviation finance market

Dublin is becoming a major hub for China's aircraft leasing market as Beijing uses its strategic location to tap further into a $261bn global market, which has grown by 51% by capital deployed over the past decade. However, there are fears it is expanding too fast, with some Chinese operators seen as not pricing in risk accurately. This expansion into Dublin comes despite China's crackdown on overseas dealmaking, leading to speculation that Beijing has adopted a long-term strategy of gaining leasing expertise overseas before moving the industry home. Eighteen groups from China and Hong Kong now operate in Dublin.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/chinese-fire-up-irish-aviation-finance-market-1.3281454

2017-11-06 08:24:46.950000

As China’s aviation sector expands rapidly to meet surging domestic demand for air travel, Dublin is emerging as a major hub for Beijing’s growing ambitions in the aircraft leasing market. One of Ireland’s most established markets is experiencing a renewed burst of growth. As China’s aviation sector expands rapidly to meet surging domestic demand for air travel, Dublin is emerging as a major hub for Beijing’s growing ambitions in the aircraft leasing market. Eighteen groups from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong are using the Irish capital as a strategic bridgehead in their push for a bigger share of the $261bn global market. With about half the world’s leased aircraft managed from Dublin and most leading lessors long present in the city, Ireland is a global aviation finance centre. READ MORE But China's build-up marks a new turn in a booming market whose guiding light was Tony Ryan, the Irish tycoon who made his first fortune leasing aircraft in the 1970s and then went on to co-found Ryanair. Ireland offers international lessors big tax advantages, although it is facing fresh competition from Hong Kong and Singapore as these cities look to woo business with new tax incentives. The flood of Chinese capital into Dublin also comes despite Beijing’s crackdown on overseas dealmaking, which has prompted speculation that China is playing a long game to harness leasing expertise abroad before moving the industry home. Chinese companies rely heavily on local managers and professional services firms in Ireland. Globally, the market is also enjoying a big boost from Chinese capital, but this has sparked some concern that a growing pool of money may be chasing too few leasing assets, putting the sector at risk of a bubble bursting. Industry analyst FlightGlobal estimates the capital deployed by aircraft lessors has grown by 51 per cent to $261bn over the past 10 years — of which $71bn has come from Chinese sources. Significantly, close industry observers note a rise in prices and compression of yields on second-hand aircraft, saying some Chinese operators may not be properly pricing risk. Adam Pilarski, senior vice-president at consultants Avitas near Washington DC, warns that an “unreasonably good situation” in global leasing could be upended by recession, disruption to trade under Donald Trump’s “America first” policy and other risk factors such as rising interest rates. Although Mr Pilarski acknowledges his outlook is “contrarian”, he says: “There’s a lot of new money that is coming in. These people have never lived through a downturn. “We know why we had this over-ordering and this proliferation of people coming in: because we had this cheap money that can’t make good returns and aircraft are sexy and promise to make good returns. “You also had new players who want to enter it, the Chinese for example but also the Middle Easterners...You have a bubble and you are waiting for the prick.” But China, driven by its own ever-increasing market for air travel, continues to push to the fore. The International Air Transport Association believes China is on track to displace the US as the world’s biggest aviation market by 2022, earlier than foreseen and fuelling rising demand for leased aircraft. In Ireland, the biggest Chinese move by far in leasing came in 2015 when HNA Group, the Hainan conglomerate, acquired Dublin-based Avolon, only nine months after its New York Stock Exchange flotation. The next year Avolon bought the leasing arm of US-based CIT Group, doubling Avolon’s size and catapulting its €19bn portfolio to number three in the global industry. This marks rapid progression for Avolon since its origins in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, yet Dómhnal Slattery, chief executive and founder, wants to go further still. “Our aspiration is to be the number one player in world markets, which in simple terms would mean that we probably would need to double the size of the business again over the next five years,” he says. “Given our scale now we’re more likely to pursue one other large acquisition, rather than a series of small ones...and my sense is that the next acquisition will happen probably when the industry is in a bit more distress or stress.” Other Chinese mainland and Hong Kong lessors are also making inroads in Dublin. Groups such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Development Bank, Bank of China Aviation, Bank of Communications, Goshawk and Accipiter are expanding in the city. FlightGlobal data show that more than 1,100 Chinese-owned aircraft are managed from Dublin, about a quarter of the 4,300-strong global leasing fleet in Ireland. Pat Hannigan, chief commercial officer in Dublin for CDB Aviation, an arm of China Development Bank, says the company has 200 aircraft, another 200 on order and a mandate to grow. “There is no doubt about it that the Chinese are interested in this sector, have taken to this sector and they now want to go to the next level basically, which is what they’re doing. They also want to expand our portfolio internationally and build our team,” he says. Although Ireland’s low 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate is a keystone of an economic strategy that has drawn legions of multinationals to the country, the linchpin for lessors is Dublin’s network of double-taxation treaties with more than 70 countries. Global airlines that lease from Ireland pay less withholding tax upfront thanks to these treaties, boosting the business case to trade from Dublin in a sector that makes low profit margins on very large assets. This provides greater flexibility to Chinese lessors, whose growing involvement in the international market also increases access to dollar revenues. All of that comes on top of a 40-year record that dates back to Ryan’s pioneering days in the industry, meaning that a large network of finance, debt issuance and accounting expertise is well-established in the city. “Tax advisers, legal advisers, they’re all in Dublin and have been for many years,” says Ruth Kelly, chief executive of Goshawk, a lessor owned by Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and NWS Holdings, which has a $5.8bn portfolio of 114 aircraft under management or on order. “The quality and quantity of [double taxation] treaties would be better than anything in Hong Kong or mainland China.” Aircraft leasing sustains about 1,200 Irish jobs and the wider aviation sector contributes about €4bn to the national economy. But Paul Sheridan, chief of Accipiter, another Hong Kong lessor in Dublin, says a key challenge now is for Ireland to ensure it stays competitive. “Ireland is in a really strong position. It has done really well but it does mean other people will inevitably try and repeat the trick.” There is no shortage of bullish growth forecasts for Chinese aviation. Whether the market can sustain its rapid growth will determine the fate of the country’s lessors in Ireland.- Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017

Researchers use algae to make organic PV more efficient

Researchers from Yale University Laboratory, NASA, Princeton University and Lincoln University have discovered the most common type of phytoplankton can optimise photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. In a report in the journal Organic Electronics, the team revealed how fossilised diatoms, which have evolved over billions of years to optimise light absorption, reduced the amount of rare and costly materials required to make the active layer of a PV cell more efficient.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/01/yale-researchers-use-fossilized-diatoms-to-make-organic-pv-more-cost-efficient/

2017-11-06 07:45:17.703000

These small creatures could prove to be important in advancing the design of solar technologies known as organic PV, potentially a lower cost option to the conventional PV technologies. Researchers in a Yale University Laboratory led by Associate Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering applied these diatoms to organic solar cells, their results are published in the journal Organic Electronics. “It's really amazing that these things exist in nature,” said Lyndsey McMillon-Brown, a Ph.D. student in Taylor's lab, and lead author of the study. “They help trap and scatter light for the algae to photosynthesize, so we're able to use something directly from nature and put it in a solar cell.” One challenge of designing these devices, though, is that they require very thin active layers, 100 to 300 nanometers, which limits their efficiency in converting light to electricity. The diatoms help because they have been optimized for light absorption through billions of years of adaptive evolution. They are the most common type of phytoplankton found in nature, are cheap and abundant in nature. Collaborators from NASA, Princeton University and Lincoln University who led the project dispersed diatoms throughout the active layer of a solar cell, which ended up reducing the amount of material needed for the active layer to be efficient. Popular content “We were able to see what the right concentration was and how much of this material we needed to put into our solar cells to get enhancement,” McMillon-Brown said. “It's really beneficial because the active layer materials we use are both expensive and very rare.” McMillon-Brown and Taylor said even more can be achieved with a few more minor adjustments. “We can use different species of diatoms and tailor it to the right size, and we can also use some of the better donor-acceptor polymers for a higher performance,” Taylor said. McMillon-Brown said the diatoms seemed like a natural fit for her research as soon as she learned about them. “My work is on biomimicry, so I'm always looking at existing patterns and structures in nature,” she said. “We're always on the hunt for new patterns in nature because we believe that nature solves all our engineering problems – we just have to find the solutions.”

Sonnen and Tennet prepare smart-storage systems using blockchain

German energy storage company Sonnen and Dutch transmission system operator Tennet have begun a six-month pilot grid-stabilisation project using blockchain technology from IBM. Sonnen will link its decentralised residential storage systems to Tennet’s distribution system. The two firms are set to collaborate on another blockchain pilot in the Netherlands, building recharge stations for electric vehicles, at the end of this month.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/11/03/tennet-sonnen-start-blockchain-project-for-grid-stabilization/

2017-11-06 07:41:17.867000

After several months of preparation, Sonnen and Tennet have started their first grid-stabilization pilot project, using interconnected storage systems based on IBM's blockchain technology. The companies will run the pilot project over a six-month period. Initially, Sonnen will connect its decentralized residential storage systems to Tennet’s distribution system via blockchain. The blockchain project is part of a wider program at Tennet as it prepares to transition to clean energy. However, power distributors will also seek news ways to reduce dispatch costs through such pilot projects. Dispatch costs reached around €800 million in Germany last year. Popular content Sonnen and Tennet will also start implementing another pilot project using blockchain technology in the Netherlands by the end of this month. The project, which is backed by local power provider Vandebron, involves building recharge stations for electric vehicles.

Blockchain energy-trading platform LO3 starts German projects

Brooklyn-based blockchain peer-to-peer energy firm LO3 Energy, which last week completed a series A funding round, has started two German projects in association with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and energy provider Allgauer Uberlandwerk as it looks to expand internationally. LO3's energy trading platform is being tested on a 60-person Brooklyn-based microgrid. It also has a presence in Australia and an as-yet-unnamed project in the UK. The Siemens-backed company last month raised money from Braemar Energy Ventures and Centrica Innovations. Later this year, LO3 will release a peer-reviewed white paper and is set to launch a token event, a form of initial coin offering.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/can-lo3-cut-through-the-hype-on-blockchain#gs.moOmWNI

2017-11-06 07:38:11.047000

LO3, a startup that brands itself as a "transactive energy company," is preparing to expand internationally after building the world's first blockchain microgrid. The company pulled in new investments last week from Braemar Energy Ventures and Centrica Innovations. The capital raise completed a Series A round for the Siemens-backed firm based in Brooklyn, New York. For the past couple of years, blockchain has been lauded as a potential game-changer in the energy industry, attracting millions of dollars in investment. “There’s a lot of interest, a lot of hype in the blockchain industry right now,” said Scott Kessler, LO3’s director of business development, during a recent visit to the startup’s new Brooklyn office. “Ninety-nine percent hype in blockchain,” CEO Lawrence Orsini chimed in. Much of that attention has fallen on LO3 in the three years since it started using the technology. LO3’s core platform revolves around peer-to-peer energy trading on community microgrids where blockchain verifies the transactions. For all of the publicity that blockchain is getting, Kessler said the real innovation is around how companies are using it. “We very much think of ourselves as an energy company that happens to use blockchain," said Kessler. "If another, more efficient way to communicate this data came out, we would use that.” In addition to its latest funding round, LO3 recently announced two new projects underway in Germany. One, the Landau Microgrid Project, is a research project at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a partnership with local utility EnergieSüdwest AG that includes 20 customers. It’s the first test of a local energy market in Germany. The other, in conjunction with energy provider Allgauer Uberlandwerk, will test a "virtual microgrid" based on disparate sources of distributed generation. LO3 now has projects in Europe (including an as-yet-unannounced project in the U.K.), Australia and the U.S. The crown jewel is LO3's Brooklyn microgrid project, which demonstrates the use of blockchain-enabled energy trading among a small group of residents. The segment of Brooklyn where the project is located -- at the nexus of Gowanus, Park Slope and Boerum Hill -- was meant to be representative of a wide-reaching community and a diverse swath of buildings. Testing transactions there offers a model for how it could function on a larger scale. LO3 started the project small, with just five energy-producing participants. It now has 60 of those prosumers and another 500 energy buyers participating. “What we’re trying to do here is partially a business-model test,” said Kessler. “We don’t want this to be something that functions only for a certain type of person or a certain type of building. We have to make sure it works for the entire electric grid.” Orsini describes the energy system of the future, interestingly enough, as being akin to specialty bottled water. In the past, he said, people relied on cheap tap water that cost pennies per gallon. And though access to plentiful, cheap tap water still exists, many people spend dollars a day on the fancy stuff. The LO3 team suspects consumers may feel the same about bespoke energy as distributed energy resources become more commonplace. And what better place to test boutique energy purchases than in a fast-gentrifying portion of New York City? A small monitor in the corner of the LO3 office details the core of the company's platform: the transactions moving through its Brooklyn project on any given day. On the day we visit, transactions are turning over with a 140-millisecond latency, the delay it takes for meters to communicate with each other. Right now, LO3 is both a software and a hardware company. Because using a blockchain to verify energy transactions is still new, and the data used to run a blockchain and balance a grid requires near-instantaneous monitoring and reaction, LO3 had to build its own meters for customers in Brooklyn, Sacramento, Australia, and soon, Germany. The meters, which communicate with each other to move energy between consumers, form the hardware backbone of the platform. But LO3 also built an application that makes smart contracts (an automated contract for electricity verified on the blockchain) and allows customers to control their energy usage. Users on the Brooklyn microgrid can choose how much they want to spend on energy per day. Different resources can be priced at varying levels. In a demonstration LO3 gave on a microgrid installed in the lower level of its exposed-brick office, renewable generation cost a consumer more each day than the conventional power available to them. Users can click through to see exactly where their energy is coming from. They can also vote on sites where they think more solar should be installed in their neighborhood. With the initial roll-out of its platform underway, LO3 is now looking to expand its consumer and prosumer network. Later this year, the company is scheduled to release a peer-reviewed white paper on its technology and the usefulness in energy applications. LO3 will also begin a “token event” to release parts of the platform so that others can build on top of it with permission to access its application programming interface. How Brooklyn energy users take to the platform could help set the standard for blockchain in the energy industry. Beyond New York, LO3 has grand visions for the possibilities of transactive energy. “What we’ve described so far ends up being a pretty small piece of it, because people buying and selling energy to one another should definitely be a function of this platform,” said Kessler. He and Orsini want to go further. They describe near-limitless potential for how blockchain applications could smooth the production and distribution of energy. Possible next steps include paying consumers to turn devices on and off to meet demand. Or charging different amounts for the transmission infrastructure used to exchange electrons, thus increasing private investment in infrastructure instead of pushing those costs off on ratepayers. Scott Kessler, LO3's director of business development, shows off the company's metering system. Image credit: Emma Foehringer Merchant. It’s still early days for the model. LO3's Brooklyn project has about 500 participants, and it's now rolling out the platform’s beta application there. LO3's blockchain works for transactive energy because it can respond within seconds to verify a transaction, rather than the minutes-long response time for Bitcoin. Speeding up the verification process is especially important when balancing energy. “There is no command-and-control system that can manage a billion devices at the grid edge efficiently,” said Orsini. “So there’s a different way you have to manage the level of DERs that we’re going to have in the next few years. Blockchain, it turns out, is a really efficient communication platform for value.” Orsini argues that energy actually has the biggest potential among blockchain applications. Last year, NRG dispatcher Chris Taylor declared that “we are on the ground floor of one of the most significant transitions in human history.” Blockchain energy companies have been “cropping up like mushrooms after the rain,” wrote GTM's Jason Deign recently. “It’s very easy to describe a future in which the utility disappears, the grid is literally just a network of wires and endpoints, and there’s generating assets and users and management of it," said GTM CEO Scott Clavenna on a recent episode of The Interchange. "It’s very easy to hype that that’s where blockchain is taking us overnight, while the reality is there are a ton of obstacles to getting us there.” LO3 executives have a sense of humor about the attention the technology is getting. “I like to say that we basically started with the three most-hyped terms we could find, and it was blockchain, microgrid and Brooklyn,” said Kessler. But that hype exists for a reason. LO3's experimentation with business models on the Brooklyn Microgrid could provide great value for utilities trying to understand how these platforms fit into the larger energy transition. “It causes issues for existing utility business models, existing retailer business models, and the physical grid itself,” said Kessler. “We position ourselves as the company that’s showing you what the market of the future looks like." Ultimately, what that market looks like will come down to experimentation. Orsini said he can’t envision a future with no central grid -- but it could look drastically different than the one that delivers energy today. “Anybody who tells you they know the business model for the electric grid of the future is confused, because nobody knows what it is,” said Orsini. “We have to test these models. We have to see how people respond to new technology and new choices.” *** GTM will host an entire panel session on Blockchain at the first annual U.S. Power & Renewables Conference in November. You'll get an in-depth look at how the renewable energy market will interact with the U.S. power market, and how those interactions can impact overall industry development and market growth. Curated by GTM Research, MAKE and Wood Mackenzie energy analysts, we’ll take an expansive view of key issues and timely topics, bringing together a diverse group of energy experts and stakeholders to discuss demand dynamics, economics and business model shifts, and policy and regulatory implications.