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NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DarwinHealth, Inc., a New York-based biotechnology and cancer drug discovery company announces the July 19, 2022 online publication in Communications Biology (a Nature Portfolio peer-reviewed journal) of a foundational paper focused on new approaches to antiviral drug discovery, "A model for network-based identification and pharmacological targeting of aberrant, replication-permissive transcriptional programs induced by viral infection." ( https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03663-8)
With the Covid pandemic still a significant issue in many countries—a situation compounded by mounting concern about recurrent surges attributable to such highly transmissible Omicron variants as BA.5, BA.2.75 and others—there remains an unmet need for developing and deploying antiviral drug discovery models that can accurately and expeditiously predict, validate, and leverage the potential therapeutic effects of both established and investigational agents that inhibit viral replication. This is especially the case for identifying antiviral drugs that make infected host cells more resistant to viral infection—so-called "host-directed therapy" or HDT—and, thereby, have the potential to be effective as monotherapy or combination treatment to maximize the clinical effectiveness of FDA-approved drugs targeting the virus directly through alternate mechanisms.
Against this backdrop, DarwinHealth scientists and their international colleagues introduce and experimentally validate ViroTreat, a novel integrative, regulatory network-based experimental model that can be deployed for rapid identification of antiviral drugs targeting the host cell response to viral hijack within a cell system-wide context. Specifically, the model integrates both computational and experimental assays to: (a) identify regulatory network aberrations, at the transcriptional level (the Viral Checkpoint), induced by infecting viruses; and (b) predict drugs capable of inhibiting viral replication and infectivity by counteracting the hijacking of host cell regulatory mechanisms required for viral Infection.
In their report, the scientists noted that overall, 15 of the 18 drugs (83%) predicted to be effective by their methodology induced significant reduction of SARS-CoV-2 replication, without affecting cell viability. In contrast, none of the 12 drugs selected as potential negative controls showed significant antiviral effect. Drugs were prioritized for evaluation based on their experimentally elucidated, context-specific mechanism of action determined by drug perturbations in appropriately matched cell lines. This model for host-directed pharmacological therapy is fully generalizable and can be deployed to identify drugs targeting host cell-based master regulator signatures induced by virtually any pathogen.
The publication is the result of a multi-institutional effort in search of an efficient, precision-focused methodology for pursuing treatments for both SARS-CoV-2 and a wide range of other viruses, and represents the outcome of an international collaboration among scientists from the Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University and the University of Florida (U.S.), the Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Heidelberg University (Germany), The Center for Precision Medicine, University of Bern (Switzerland), and DarwinHealth, Inc. (U.S), which conceived and lead this global project.
"Against a challenging backdrop in which traditional drug screening approaches and/or designing specific antivirals to address global pandemics are hampered by either lack of precision or unacceptably long development periods, respectively, the ViroTreat model we have developed can be seen as a chimeric method in which we specifically target the host with small molecules that render cells less permissive to viral infection and replication," explained virologist Dr. Steeve Boulant, a lead author and Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of Florida College of Medicine. "Importantly, recent progress in organoid culture models, which are functional 'mini-organs in a dish,' made it possible to secure physiologically actionable data in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection, thereby permitting us to deploy ViroTreat to quickly and predictably identify agents that reduce infectivity. These advances make it possible to study both new and existing viral pathogens, including influenza, in relevant organoid models in a matter of only a couple of months, thereby expanding our toolkit with a critical, new technology that will be invaluable for emerging pathogens, as well as for existing viral diseases for which better and safer treatments represent an unmet need."
The application of single cell analysis to improve the precision of antiviral drug discovery was a key dimension of the model's experimental design. "Because molecular analyses performed at the tissue level can easily produce distorted/mixed signals generated by both infected and non-infected cells, applying single-cell technology has been crucial for this work, explained lead author, Dr. Pasquale Laise, Senior Director of Single Cells Systems Pharmacology at DarwinHealth. "In this model, single cell technology permitted us to clearly distinguish infected from non-infected cells, thereby uniquely amplifying the transcriptional effects of SARS-CoV-2 on infected host cells. This allowed our team to identify—in fact, quantify, using protein activity levels assessed by our proprietary VIPER algorithm—the specific Viral Checkpoint signature induced in the host by the virus; and, by extension, reliably predict drugs that would inhibit replication during the viral hijack phase of infection."
The results of this global effort identified a new approach for targeting vulnerabilities of infective viruses that depart from conventional strategies aimed at antiviral drug discovery. "This work demonstrates that replication-permissive, viral hijacking of host cells is not limited to exploiting the machinery required for ribonucleotide and protein synthesis—or interference with innate antiviral immune responses—but goes deeper into the mechanisms that regulate host cell transcriptional identity; in particular, those inducing a host cell phenotypic state compatible with virus replication," explains Dr. Mariano Alvarez, CSO DarwinHealth. "Importantly, we show the mechanisms regulating the hijacked cell transcriptional identity can be dissected with precision. Moreover, pharmacological interventions, which we predicted would block such transition, effectively locked cells into a viral infection-refractory state. This approach may constitute a new paradigm for efficiently identifying host-directed antivirals."
The group's success draws on technologies and models focused on cancer drug discovery developed in the Califano Lab at Columbia University. "What is most remarkable is that a methodology developed to study cancer cells and developmental programs would work so effectively in prioritizing drugs for a highly virulent infectious disease," emphasized Dr. Andrea Califano, Co-Founder of DarwinHealth and Professor/Chair, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University (https://news.columbia.edu/news/deciphering-cancer-messy-and-complex-were-here-it) "The generalizability of the approach suggests that this could lead to rapid prioritization of treatments against other viral infections and future pandemics."
"Until now, host cell-directed therapy (HDT) for viral infections has remained elusive. To our knowledge, this is the first time an integrated experimental and computational biological model of viral infection has been used to both dissect and successfully target and reprogram the regulatory logic imposed on a host cell by an infecting pathogen to facilitate viral hijacking," explained Dr. Gideon Bosker, CEO and Co-Founder of DarwinHealth. "As such, our proprietary R&D pipeline, based on VIPER technology, is ideally positioned to be leveraged by biopharma partners to screen, discover and validate novel and existing pharmacologic agents that, due to mechanisms conferring 'viral contraception' at the host cell transcriptional level, can potentially be therapeutically effective against a broad spectrum of viral infections. Moreover, HDT-based approaches, such as the one we report, by directly targeting multiple, validated host interactors, may mitigate vulnerability to viral mutation-mediated alterations that potentiate immune evasion during infection."
The DarwinHealth model reported in Communications Biology can be used as an expeditious way to identify and screen established pharmacologic therapies with low toxicity across a broad spectrum of mechanisms and viral pathogens—including coronaviruses and influenza—to identify host cell-directed therapies that may prove effective as either a direct, stand-alone intervention or as a complementary approach to direct antiviral treatments, including protease inhibitors and other agents.
"We believe the model we report—its methods, results, and applications—represents an exciting experimental approach for dissecting virus-host cell interactions that are amenable to pharmacologic targeting," added Dr. Bosker, "We anticipate broad interest among scientists working on critical topics in host-microbe interactions and drug discovery in the context of viral infections and emerging pandemics, for which accelerating the pace of discovery and reducing costs associated with traditional drug development processes are of paramount importance."
DarwinHealth: Precision Therapeutics for Cancer Medicine is a "frontiers of cancer," biotechnology-focused company, co-founded by CEO Gideon Bosker, MD, and Professor Andrea Califano, Clyde and Helen Wu Professor of Chemical Systems Biology and Chair, Department of Systems Biology at Columbia University. The company's technology was developed by the Califano lab over the past 15 years and is exclusively licensed from Columbia University.
DarwinHealth utilizes proprietary, systems biology algorithms to match virtually every cancer patient with the drugs and drug combinations that are most likely to produce a successful treatment outcome. "Conversely, these same algorithms also can prioritize investigational drugs and compound combinations of unknown potential against a full spectrum of human malignancies, as well as novel cancer targets," explained Dr. Bosker, "which make them invaluable for pharmaceutical companies seeking to both optimize their compound pipelines and discover mechanistically actionable, novel cancer targets and compound-tumor alignments."
DarwinHealth's mission statement is to deploy novel technologies rooted in systems biology to improve clinical outcomes of cancer treatment. Its core technology, the VIPER algorithm, can identify tightly knit modules of master regulator proteins that represent a new class of actionable therapeutic targets in cancer. The methodology is applied along two complementary axes: First, DarwinHealth's technologies support the systematic identification and validation of druggable targets at a more foundational, deep state of the cancer cell's regulatory logic so we and our scientific partners can exploit next generation actionability based on fundamental and more universal tumor dependencies and mechanisms. Second, from a drug development and discovery perspective, the same technologies are capable of identifying potentially druggable novel targets based on master regulators, and upstream modulators of those targets. This is where the DarwinHealth oncotectural approach, with its emphasis on elucidating and targeting tumor checkpoints, provides its most important solutions and repositioning roadmaps for advancing precision-focused cancer drug discovery and therapeutics.
The proprietary, precision medicine-based methods employed by DarwinHealth are supported by a deep body of scientific literature authored by its scientific leadership, including DarwinHealth CSO, Mariano Alvarez, PhD, who co-developed the company's critical computational infrastructure. These proprietary strategies leverage the ability to reverse-engineer and analyze the genome-wide regulatory and signaling logic of the cancer cell, by integrating data from in silico, in vitro, and in vivo assays. This provides a fully integrated drug characterization and discovery platform designed to elucidate, accelerate, and validate precise developmental trajectories for pharmaceutical assets, so their full clinical and commercial potential can be realized. For more information, please visit: www.DarwinHealth.com.
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SOURCE DarwinHealth | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/darwinhealth-publishes-results-novel-viral-checkpoint-based-technology-predicting-drugs-that-inhibit-sars-cov-2-replication-global-collaboration-highlights-generalizability-reported-virotreat-model-host-cell-directed-antiviral-drug-discovery-role-master-regulator-proteins-application-other-viral-pathogens-pandemic-response/ | 2022-07-19T10:27:37Z | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/darwinhealth-publishes-results-novel-viral-checkpoint-based-technology-predicting-drugs-that-inhibit-sars-cov-2-replication-global-collaboration-highlights-generalizability-reported-virotreat-model-host-cell-directed-antiviral-drug-discovery-role-master-regulator-proteins-application-other-viral-pathogens-pandemic-response/ | false |
FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] and 777 Partners today announced a new order and commitment for up to 66 737 MAX jets, including a firm order for 30 ultra-efficient, high-capacity 737-8-200s. This is the U.S. investment firm's fifth order for the industry's most fuel-efficient jet in its class, rapidly building its portfolio to as many as 134 737 MAXs since 2021. The two companies announced the order with a signing ceremony at the Farnborough International Airshow.
777 Partners has used the 737 MAX to launch a number of low-cost carriers around the world, with more to follow. Currently, its investments include Flair Airlines, Canada's only independent ultra-low-cost carrier, and Bonza Airline, an Australian start-up that will launch operations this year. The investment firm has earmarked the 737-8-200, which accommodates more than 200 passengers, to grow operations by increasing revenue potential while reducing carbon emissions, fuel consumption and operating costs.
"This new order marks another milestone in the robust growth of our aviation businesses and concurrently, our partnership with Boeing," said Josh Wander, managing partner of 777 Partners. "We are excited about the possibilities the MAX aircraft provide our growing group of carriers to facilitate and democratize low-cost travel around the globe while respecting our commitment to sustainable flying."
"777 Partners is leveraging the cost efficiencies of the 737-8 and 737-8-200 for its diverse network of airlines, while also providing an excellent passenger experience and meeting sustainability goals," said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "777 Partners has had tremendous success establishing new carriers worldwide with the 737-8, and the 737-8-200 will allow for continued growth as an even more efficient addition to its portfolio."
The 737 MAX delivers enhanced efficiency, improved environmental performance and increased passenger comfort to the single-aisle market. Powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines and incorporating advanced technology winglets, the 737 MAX offers excellent economics. The airplane family reduces fuel use and emissions by 20% compared to jets it replaces.
777 Partners is a Miami-based private investment firm that invests across a number of high growth attractive verticals. Founded in 2015, 777 Partners strategically invests across six broad industries: insurance; consumer and commercial finance; litigation finance; direct lending; sports, media and entertainment; and aviation. The firm seeks to acquire and build operating businesses that generate long-term, high quality predictable cash flows for its proprietary balance sheet, while consolidating operations across like businesses to create efficiencies and economies of scale. 777 Partners invests at all stages of the business cycle and targets companies accretive to its existing portfolio.
Bonza is Australia's new, and only independent low-cost airline takes off in 2022*, enabling Australians to explore more of their own backyard, and at low-cost prices. Bonza's initial route map includes 27 routes to 17 destinations. Ninety three per cent of Bonza routes are not currently served by any airline and ninety six percent not currently served by a low-cost carrier. The only place to book direct is on the FlyBonza App. *Subject to regulatory approval.
Flair Airlines is Canada's leading low-fare and greenest airline. Flair's mission is to democratize air travel for all Canadians providing affordable airfare that connects them to the people and experiences they love. With an expanding fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, Flair is growing to serve over 30 cities across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. For more information, please visit www.flyflair.com.
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing's diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company's core values of safety, quality and integrity. Join our team and find your purpose at boeing.com/careers.
Contact:
Dan Mosely
International Sales Communications
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
+1 425-336-9970 (Seattle)
daniel.mosely@boeing.com
Jessica Kowal
Boeing Media Relations
+1 206-660-6849 (Farnborough)
jessica.m.kowal@boeing.com
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SOURCE Boeing | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/777-partners-expands-737-max-fleet-ordering-up-66-more-fuel-efficient-jets/ | 2022-07-19T10:28:44Z | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/777-partners-expands-737-max-fleet-ordering-up-66-more-fuel-efficient-jets/ | true |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Missfresh Limited (NASDAQ: MF) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
This lawsuit is on behalf of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Missfresh securities pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus issued in connection with Missfresh's June 2021 initial public offering.
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 12, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in MF:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/missfresh-loss-submission-form?id=29937&from=4
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Missfresh Limited made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Missfresh provided false financial figures in its registration statement and related prospectus issued in connection with the Company's June 2021 initial public offering; (2) Missfresh would need to amend its financial figures; (3) Missfresh, among other things, had lesser net revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2021; and (4) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times and negligently prepared.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Missfresh you have until September 12, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Missfresh securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the MF lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/missfresh-loss-submission-form?id=29937&from=4.
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mf-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-12-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-missfresh-limited-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T10:31:37Z | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mf-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-12-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-missfresh-limited-shareholders/ | false |
(In US Dollars unless otherwise stated)
TORONTO, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV: SGI) (OTCMKTS: SUPGF) announces detailed production results for the second quarter of 2022 for the Company's 100%-owned Plutonic Gold operations, located in Western Australia.
Second Quarter Highlights
- Safety performance improved during the quarter with a 24% reduction in the total injury frequency rate achieved during the period. Our safety improvement program is progressing and on track.
- Production of 15,196 ounces, a 21% decrease over the comparable prior-year period, primarily as a result of unusually high rainfall for the month of May and the impact of the removal of COVID-19 restrictions in Western Australia in April.
- Sales of 16,726 ounces, a 6% increase over the previous quarter and a 12% decrease over the comparable period.
- Ore milled of 407kt, a 13% increase over the comparable prior-year period following successful shutdowns in Q1 and Q2, now running closer to its capacity.
- An updated Mineral Reserve and Resource statement which incorporated an increase in mineral reserves of 66% and an increase in inferred mineral resources of 29%. The 43-101 Technical Report was also updated and re-issued.
- Cash and cash equivalents totaling $18.2 million at the end of the quarter.
Chris Jordaan, President, and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "The second quarter provided some unexpected challenges on two fronts, unusually high rainfall and increases in COVID-19 cases.
Rainfall events in May were extremely unusual. We received 143 millimetres of rain for the month compared to a long-term average of 15 millimetres and an annual rainfall target of 264 millimetres. With over 50% of the annual expected rainfall falling during May, flooding around the airport runway and Main Pit benches resulted in significant flight disruption and delays in accessing the early entry to the Main Pit development.
Following the removal of a number of COVID-19 restrictions within Western Australia in April, we experienced a surge in COVID-related absenteeism and disruption with realized COVID-19 rates running on average between 3-5% with spikes as high as 13% in May. This had a direct impact on available operators in the underground, impacting our ability to access higher grades, as well as a shortage of specialized technical staff to maintain equipment causing extended downtimes. We continue to mitigate the COVID-19 issues by over manning in critical roles. We observed improvements in COVID-19 rates over the last month.
Both of these issues impacted planned production, particularly in accessing the Main Pit mill feed that was originally planned for Q2. The combined effects delayed flights to the mine site and caused an abnormal shortage of key employees in the mining operations and contractors on-site.
Despite these challenges, we realized significantly improved throughput primarily attributable to the successful 15-day planned mill shut down in Q1 and three additional days in Q2 for relining of all mills. However, the throughput benefit was offset by lower realized tonnes and grades from the underground than planned due to underground operator shortage and the delayed entry into the Main Pit, both of which resulted in the processing of lower grade stockpile material during the quarter.
Looking ahead, the plant is now running closer to its nameplate capacity of 5,000 TPD. This improved rate is also higher than our planned rate for the second half of 2022. As we look ahead to the second half of the year, we are also seeing progress on material deliverables which will help to increase head grades into the plant and continue our trajectory of higher throughput rates. The delivery of an additional jumbo, loader and truck for the underground mine will have a positive impact on development metres and tonnes delivered from the underground in Q4.
We are targeting production and cash flow increases in the second half of 2022, while carefully monitoring for any further disruptions from COVID-19 or other possible situations which could affect production levels."
The Company will be releasing its complete financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2022 in August 2022.
Preliminary production details are summarized in the table below.
Chris Jordaan, President and CEO of Superior Gold will present the highlights of the second quarter production results through a webcast hosted by 6ix. The webcast will take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at 10:00 AM EDT. To join the webcast please click on the attached link to register and listen and ask questions. Webcast Link: https://my.6ix.com/t3IA9ikk
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ettienne Du Plessis, who is a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Du Plessis is not independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101.
Superior Gold is a Canadian-based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic underground gold mine and central mill, numerous open-pit projects including the Plutonic Main Pit push-back project, the Hermes open pit projects, and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders.
Continue to Follow, Like and Watch our progress:
Web: www.superior-gold.com | Twitter: @SuperiorGoldInc | Facebook: SuperiorGoldInc | Instagram: SuperiorGoldInc | LinkedIn: Superior Gold Inc. | YouTube: Superior Gold
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information includes information with respect to guidance as to projections, outlook, guidance, forecasts, estimates, and other statements regarding future or estimated financial and operational performance, gold production and sales, revenues and cash flows, and capital costs (sustaining and non-sustaining), including projected cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs) as well as statements with respect to the mine plan, exploration, drilling, operating, and organizational matters and activities relating to the Plutonic Gold Operations and the Company generally, including its liquidity and capital requirements and financial results. By identifying such information in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Annual Information Form of the Company for a discussion of other risks including outbreaks or threats of outbreaks of viruses, other infectious diseases, or other similar health threats, such as the novel coronavirus outbreak, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company by causing operational and supply chain delays and disruptions, labour shortages, shutdowns, inflationary pressures on operating or capital costs, the inability to sell gold, capital markets volatility or other unknown but potentially significant impacts. The Company cannot accurately predict what effects these conditions will have on the Plutonic Gold Operations or the financial results of the Company, including uncertainties relating to travel restrictions to the Plutonic Gold Operations or otherwise and business closures that have been or may be imposed by governments. If an outbreak or threat of an outbreak of a virus or other infectious disease or other public health emergency occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information as no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, and if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE Superior Gold | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/superior-gold-announces-q2-2022-production-results-cash-position/ | 2022-07-19T10:33:29Z | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/superior-gold-announces-q2-2022-production-results-cash-position/ | false |
A new book by Jake Friedman documents a bitter strike in 1941 by Disney animators who wanted to unionize. The book is titled, The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age.
Copyright 2022 NPR
A new book by Jake Friedman documents a bitter strike in 1941 by Disney animators who wanted to unionize. The book is titled, The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wlrn.org/2022-07-19/the-disney-revolt-details-animators-1941-strike-against-disney | 2022-07-19T10:33:59Z | https://www.wlrn.org/2022-07-19/the-disney-revolt-details-animators-1941-strike-against-disney | true |
SINGAPORE, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi AppTec, a leading global provider of R&D and manufacturing services that enable the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, today announced a plan to build a new R&D and manufacturing site in Singapore. The company intends to invest up to S$2 billion (approximately US$1.43 billion) to construct and operationalize the site, which aims to further enable global partners to advance healthcare innovations. The investment is expected to be made in stages over the next 10 years, depending on the company's business needs.
The new site will further expand the capacity and enhance the capabilities of WuXi AppTec's integrated enabling platform and will yield state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities that provide a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services to customers worldwide.
When completed, the Singapore site will serve a critical role in WuXi AppTec's global network across Asia, Europe, and North America, meeting growing demand from multinational customers and strengthening collaborations with a wide range of partners. Together, and through their unique CRDMO (Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization) and CTDMO (Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization) business models, these facilities will provide a range of high-quality services with greater flexibility, allowing the company to better help partners worldwide advance drug discoveries and development and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients in need.
"We warmly welcome WuXi AppTec's plan," said Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). "The investment will establish Singapore as a significant node in the company's global research, development and manufacturing network. It is a testament to Singapore's position as a global biopharmaceutical hub, and will strengthen our attractiveness to biotech innovators and start-ups."
"We are excited to establish this important presence for WuXi AppTec in Singapore and continue to contribute to the region's dynamic life sciences ecosystem," said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec. "This investment will further enhance our capacity and capabilities so we can better support our collaborative partners globally and realize our shared vision that every drug can be made, and every disease can be treated."
About WuXi AppTec
As a global company with operations across Asia, Europe, and North America, WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients. Through its unique business models, WuXi AppTec's integrated, end-to-end services include chemistry drug CRDMO (Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization), biology discovery, preclinical testing and clinical research services, cell and gene therapies CTDMO (Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization), helping customers improve the productivity of advancing healthcare products through cost-effective and efficient solutions. WuXi AppTec received AA ESG rating from MSCI in 2021 and its open-access platform is enabling more than 5,800 collaborators from over 30 countries to improve the health of those in need – and to realize the vision that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit: http://www.wuxiapptec.com
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SOURCE WuXi AppTec | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/wuxi-apptec-plans-build-new-site-singapore-better-serving-global-partners-advancing-healthcare-innovation/ | 2022-07-19T10:35:16Z | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/wuxi-apptec-plans-build-new-site-singapore-better-serving-global-partners-advancing-healthcare-innovation/ | true |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
Class Period: March 30, 2021 to May 2, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 1, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in IONQ:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/ionq-inc-loss-submission-form?id=29921&from=4
IonQ, Inc. NEWS - IONQ NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that IonQ, Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) IonQ had not yet developed a 32-qubit quantum computer; (2) the Company's 11-qubit quantum computer suffered from significant error rates, rendering it useless; (3) IonQ's quantum the computer is not sufficiently reliable, so it is not accessible despite being available through major cloud providers; (4) a significant portion of IonQ's revenue was derived from improper roundtripping transactions with related parties; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were the materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in IonQ you have until August 1, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased IonQ securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the IONQ lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/ionq-inc-loss-submission-form?id=29921&from=4.
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/ionq-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-1-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-ionq-inc-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T10:35:21Z | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/ionq-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-1-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-ionq-inc-shareholders/ | true |
One Year Post Investment from Court Square Capital Partners, Connatix opens New SoHo London Office
LONDON, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Connatix, the leading video technology company for premium publishers and advertisers, today announced the opening of its new U.K. office. The expansion comes after securing significant investment from a private equity firm, Court Square Capital Partners, which poised the company for accelerated international growth and expansion.
"Our significant investment in video innovation and cookieless targeting has led to extensive, trusted relationships with premium publishers and advertisers in the U.K. and Europe," said Connatix President and CRO Jenn Chen. "We recognized the enormous opportunity our Deep Contextual technology offers the industry and have doubled down on London, since we started building our team over a year ago, as the next logical foothold for global expansion."
"We saw extremely strong performance from Connatix when we ran multiple American Express deals in Q1 utilizing their cutting edge Deep Contextual technology with VTR at 85%, way above benchmark and the highest performing of all video partners that we were running," said Alex Page of UM on behalf of American Express.
Since its inception, in 2014, Connatix continues to trailblaze the next generation of video experiences that delight consumers thereby maximizing advertiser and publisher returns. The rapidly expanding company offers the leading end-to-end platform featuring the foremost online video player, proprietary AI technology that analyzes both page and video content for deeper contextual targeting, turn-key engaging formats, and an integrated ad-server and exchange, all purpose-built for video.
Connatix offers a video player, ad server, and exchange all in one, providing the most direct path to the page for advertisers. As the appetite for videos that consumers like grows, and with brands turning to shorter form videos for their content, the importance of getting the message right continues to circle the market back to contextual video solutions to a cookieless world.
"At Connatix, we work with over 3,000 publishers and more than 1,000 advertisers worldwide," said Jenn Chen. "Expanding our U.K. presence is a natural step as the company continues to scale its global business to meet rapidly growing demand."
For more information on Connatix, visit www.connatix.com.
Connatix is a video technology company for publishers and advertisers. We believe in the power of engaging content and are on a mission to help publishers and advertisers deliver successful videos without compromise. With a cutting-edge video player, optimization engine, and suite of turn-key video monetization formats, publishers can amplify video revenue while delivering engaging experiences. With first-to-market video capabilities, Connatix sits at the forefront of content innovation and is building a new generation of video experiences that are optimized for publisher and advertiser success. Connatix works with over 500 publishers across 4,000 sites and 1,000+ advertisers worldwide and was named a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Company, a finalist in the Digiday Media Awards for Best Contextual Offering, one of the fastest growing companies on the Inc. 5000 list, and has been recognized as an AdExchanger Programmatic Player for two consecutive years. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in New York City with offices in London, Tel Aviv, Israel, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Miami, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois.
Media Contact: Lana McGilvray, Connatix@purposenorthamerica.com
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SOURCE Connatix | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/connatix-accelerates-international-expansion-with-opening-new-uk-office/ | 2022-07-19T10:36:40Z | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/connatix-accelerates-international-expansion-with-opening-new-uk-office/ | false |
Elton John has claimed that women are making the best music with the exception of a few names including Sam Fender.
- READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Elton John: “I’m not interested in the past – not even Elton John’s past”
The pop legend was speaking in a new interview when he praised the work of Nova Twins, Wet Leg, Let’s Eat Grandma, The Linda Lindas and Haim for producing “the best music” in the current climate.
He told Music Week: “It’s so great to see Nova Twins, Wet Leg, Let’s Eat Grandma, The Linda Lindas, Haim and all these girls rocking out and making the best music. Apart from Sam Fender, none of the boys are doing it, the girls are. It’s a breath of fresh air, because it comes from innocence and pure joy and that, for me, is what music is about.”
John also namechecked Harry Styles while commenting on the charts, saying that “there’s not many good records in the Top 20”, before noting that acts including Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen should chart higher than they do.
“It’s lovely to see Kate Bush at Number One, but there’s not many good records in the Top 20. And the albums chart is full of things like me, ABBA and Queen, he said.
“The odd thing comes through, like Sam Fender or Harry Styles, or you get a new artist coming in at Number Three and then disappearing to 80-something.
“It’s depressing – there are a lot of good albums that deserve to be in the albums chart, like Juanita Euka, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen. What I want to know is why aren’t they there? Because of people like me!”
Meanwhile, Yard Act singer James Smith has spoken about the “amazing” experience of collaborating with John for their new version of ‘100% Endurance’.
John, who is a fan of the Leeds-based band, contributed piano to the new studio recording. ‘100% Endurance’ is the latest single released from Yard Act’s debut album ‘The Overload’, which was released in January.
Speaking to Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1 as part of his UK City Spotlight on Leeds, Smith said: “We had a lovely afternoon together at Metropolis Studios in London. It was beautiful. We wanted to shine a light on ‘100% Endurance’ a bit more, now the album had been out a bit and we felt we’d established the one side of Yard Act.
“It felt like there’s ways we could accentuate and highlight the melody and the emotion of that track without over egging it, while still sling in a string section and loads of lush Elton John piano all over it. And then, obviously, because he’d been so kind about us and he’d been calling me a little bit, we thought why not ask him?”
Smith said that John’s response to the collaboration offer was “abso-fucking-lutely”, adding: “I think he’d been for a Chairman of the Board meeting at Watford or something [prior to the recording], and then he came to us. It was bananas.” | https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/music/elton-john-says-apart-from-sam-fender-women-are-making-the-best-music-3272380 | 2022-07-19T10:36:46Z | https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/music/elton-john-says-apart-from-sam-fender-women-are-making-the-best-music-3272380 | false |
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s prime minister and acting president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, will face two rivals in a parliamentary vote Wednesday on who will succeed the ousted leader who fled the country last week amid huge protests triggered by its economic collapse.
Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, is a seasoned politician with wide experience in diplomatic and international affairs and has been leading crucial talks on an economic bailout package with the International Monetary Fund.
He is backed by members of the fragmented ruling coalition, but is unpopular among voters who view him as a holdover from the previous government that led the country into economic catastrophe. The 73-year-old Wickremesinghe was appointed prime minister by deposed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in May to help restore Sri Lanka’s international credibility.
The leading challenger, former government minister Dullas Alahapperuma, was nominated Tuesday by a breakaway faction of the ruling coalition after opposition leader Sajith Premadasa withdrew and said he would support him.
“For the greater good of my country that I love and the people I cherish I hereby withdraw my candidacy for the position of president,” Premadasa said in a Twitter post.
Marxist party leader Anura Dissanayake, 53, was also expected to contest Wednesday’s parliamentary vote. He also ran for president in 2019.
Rajapaksa fled the country after protesters outraged by the crisis stormed his official residence and occupied other key public buildings. He later submitted his resignation via an email to the speaker of Parliament.
Opponents of Wickremesinghe’s candidacy fear he represents an extension of the Rajapaksa rule and a potential comeback for the beleaguered political family.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition against Wickremesinghe’s status as a lawmaker, clearing the path for him to run for president.
He succeeded Rajapaksa’s younger brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as prime minister after he stepped down in response to massive public pressure.
Wickremesinghe also took on the role of finance minister, becoming the public face of the country’s economic woes. He has delivered weekly addresses in Parliament, raised taxes and pledged to overhaul a government that increasingly has concentrated power under the presidency. Ultimately, observers say, he has lacked the political heft and public support to get the job done.
Alahapperuma, 63, is viewed as a populist, with good public relations and communications skills. Even though he is a former government spokesman and has served in various posts including minister of information and mass media, minister of sports and minister of power under previous governments he previously was not considered for top leadership posts.
A son of school administrators, he studied political science at the University of Iowa but did not earn a degree. He is married to a popular singer, Pradeepa Dharmadasa.
Students and political activists said they planned protests Tuesday. Some intimidating posts circulating on social media warned lawmakers against returning to their constituencies if they vote for Wickremesinghe.
After the protesters briefly took over public buildings last week in startlingly dramatic scenes, Parliament was heavily guarded Tuesday by hundreds of soldiers, its entry points barricaded. Staff at Parliament and reporters were thoroughly searched before they were allowed to enter while navy boats patrolled the lake surrounding the building.
Sri Lanka’s economy has collapsed, its foreign exchange reserves depleted, and it has suspended repayment of foreign loans. Its population is struggling with shortages of essentials including medicine, fuel and food while the government negotiates a bailout package with the IMF. It is preparing a loan restructuring plan as a prelude to talks.
Rajapaksa’s exit last week marked at least a temporary dismantling of the Rajapaksa dynasty that had ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades. Before the recent upheavals, six family members held high positions including president, prime minister and finance minister. All have lost their seats after public protests started in late March.
___
Associated Press writer Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report. | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/ap-international/sri-lankas-parliament-readies-to-accept-names-for-president/ | 2022-07-19T10:36:47Z | https://www.wane.com/news/national-world/ap-international/sri-lankas-parliament-readies-to-accept-names-for-president/ | false |
- This research collaboration marks Antengene's entry into the field of cellular medicines.
SHANGHAI and HONG KONGJuly 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Antengene Corporation Limited ("Antengene" SEHK: 6996.HK), a leading innovative, commercial-stage global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class and/or best-in-class therapeutics in hematology and oncology, today announced that it has entered into a pre-clinical research collaboration with Celularity Inc. (NASDAQ: CELU) (Celularity), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing placental-derived allogeneic cell therapies. Antengene and Celularity will evaluate the potential therapeutic synergy combining Antengene's bispecific antibody with Celularity's cryopreserved human placental hematopoietic stem cell-derived natural killer (NK) cell therapy platform.
Dr. Jay Mei, Antengene's Founder, Chairman and CEO said, "Evaluating new technologies that may have the potential to improve cancer care, either as monotherapy or in synergistic combination with programs, is essential to Antengene's mission. After a careful and comprehensive evaluation, Antengene is very pleased to initiate its first research collaboration in the important field of cellular medicine with Celularity."
Dr. Mei continued, "Celularity's proprietary, novel, allogenic, cryopreserved, off-the-shelf placental-derived cellular medicine platform is very exciting to Antengene. We look forward to collaborating with the company to explore the potential synergies from the combination of Antengene's bispecific antibody, and Celularity's investigational NK cell therapy programs, together or in combination with other agents such as antibodies that target tumor associated antigens (TAA). We are hopeful that this collaboration will yield potential new combination therapies that will improve the treatment of patients with hematological and solid tumor cancers."
Dr. Bo Shan, Antengene's Chief Scientific Officer said, "We are pleased to partner with Celularity's NK cell platform. The rationale for our collaboration is based on two hypotheses, formed from a foundation of preclinical and clinical research. First, that our bispecific antibody, potentially activating NK cells upon immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) crosslinking in the tumor microenvironment (TME), can synergize with TAA antibodies to enhance the anti-tumor response. Second, that our bispecific antibody may enhance the proliferation of NK cells and increase their persistence in TME."
Robert J. Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., founder, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Celularity, added, "We are excited to enter into this research collaboration with Antengene to forge new therapeutic strategies for both solid tumors and hematological malignancies using our placental-derived cell therapy platform. There is an immense potential for combining two novel approaches to enhance tumor targeting while also enhancing allogeneic NK cell activation and activity within the tumor microenvironment. This strategy may identify novel therapeutic options targeting a wide range of cancers."
About Antengene
Antengene Corporation Limited ("Antengene", SEHK: 6996.HK) is a leading commercial-stage R&D-driven global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative first-in-class/best-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, in realizing its vision of "Treating Patients Beyond Borders".
Since 2017, Antengene has a built broad and expanding pipeline of 15 clinical and preclinical assets, of which 10 are global rights assets, and 5 came with rights for Asia Pacific markets including the Greater China region. To date, Antengene has obtained 24 investigational new drug (IND) approvals in the U.S. and Asia, and submitted 6 new drug applications (NDAs) in multiple Asia Pacific markets, with the NDA for XPOVIO® (selinexor) already approved in mainland China, South Korea, Singapore and Australia.
About Celularity
Celularity Inc., headquartered in Florham Park, N.J., USA, is a clinical stage biotechnology company leading the next evolution in cellular medicine by developing allogeneic cryopreserved off-the-shelf placental-derived cell therapies, including therapeutic programs using unmodified NK cells, genetically-modified NK cells, T cells engineered with a CAR (CAR T-cells), and mesenchymal-like adherent stromal cells (ASCs) targeting indications in cancer, infectious and degenerative diseases. In addition, Celularity develops and manufactures innovative biomaterials also derived from the postpartum placenta. Celularity believes that by harnessing the placenta's unique biology and ready availability, it can develop therapeutic solutions that address significant unmet global needs for effective, accessible, and affordable therapies.
To learn more, visit celularity.com.
Forward-looking statements
The forward-looking statements made in this article relate only to the events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this article. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this article completely and with the understanding that our actual future results or performance may be materially different from what we expect. In this article, statements of, or references to, our intentions or those of any of our Directors or our Company are made as of the date of this article. Any of these intentions may alter in light of future development. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, see the section titled "Risk Factors" in our periodic reports filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Annual Report for year-end December 31, 2021, and subsequent filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Contacts:
Donald Lung
E-mail: Donald.Lung@antengene.com
Mobile: +86 18420672158
PR Contacts:
Peter Qian
E-mail: Peter.Qian@antengene.com
Mobile: +86 13062747000
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SOURCE Antengene Corporation Limited | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/antengene-announces-research-collaboration-with-celularity-evaluate-potential-therapeutic-synergy-combining-antengenes-best-in-class-bispecific-antibody-with-celularitys-natural-killer-cell-platform/ | 2022-07-19T10:36:56Z | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/antengene-announces-research-collaboration-with-celularity-evaluate-potential-therapeutic-synergy-combining-antengenes-best-in-class-bispecific-antibody-with-celularitys-natural-killer-cell-platform/ | false |
TOKYO, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Atonarp, a leader advancing clinical diagnostics, life science research, semiconductor and industrial process control through digital molecular profiling, announces that James Rothman, Ph.D., has agreed to serve on its board as an independent director. Dr. Rothman will add his expertise to inform and advance the Company's roadmap of next-generation molecular sensing and diagnostic products.
Dr. Rothman is currently the Sterling Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the faculty at Yale in 2008, he served as Chief Scientist of General Electric Healthcare and its predecessor, Amersham. Dr. Rothman also served as an advisor to top research management at Genentech, Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Eli Lilly. He previously has been a professor at Stanford, Princeton, and Columbia Universities and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as Vice-Chairman of the Sloan-Kettering Institute. Dr. Rothman is a recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the 2002 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for work showing how tiny sac-like structures (called vesicles) help transport substances within the body. This research provided the conceptual framework for understanding such diverse and important processes as the release of insulin into the blood, communication between nerve cells in the brain, and the entry of viruses to infect cells.
Dr. Rothman's current research concerns the biophysics of membrane fusion and its regulation in exocytosis; the dynamics of the Golgi apparatus at super-resolution; and the use of bio-inspired design in nanotechnology. He is a member of the US National Academies of Science and of Medicine.
"We are truly honored to have such a highly distinguished scientist join us," said Prakash Murthy, Atonarp Founder and CEO. "Dr. Rothman will be an invaluable resource as we work to achieve our mission of unlocking molecular insights to accelerate human progress."
"I am delighted to work with Atonarp because I am deeply impressed by their unique multi-laser optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry technology platforms. I envision broad applications in life sciences and look forward to working with the team to make our vision a reality," said Dr. Rothman.
Atonarp is advancing clinical diagnostics, life science research, semiconductor, and industrial process control through digital molecular profiling. Our ASTON and ATON platforms harness the power of innovative spectrometry technologies with advanced analytics to generate real-time, actionable results. Our platforms can be applied to a wide variety of applications across multiple industries. In-situ, highly sensitive and fast molecular metrology in advanced manufacturing processes means higher throughput, improved efficiency, and reduced waste. Our quantitative, multiplex chemistry-free diagnostic tests enable disease diagnosis and monitoring at the point-of-care, which can improve outcomes and patient satisfaction at lower cost.
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SOURCE Atonarp Inc. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/atonarp-welcomes-nobel-laureate-james-e-rothman-its-board-directors/ | 2022-07-19T10:37:17Z | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/atonarp-welcomes-nobel-laureate-james-e-rothman-its-board-directors/ | false |
Which kids’ electric toothbrushes are best?
Brushing teeth remains one of the most important daily acts of hygiene for people of all ages. Preventing cavities and killing bad breath germs is important, and there’s no better way to achieve all of this than with an electric toothbrush.
This is true for kids as well, though many electric toothbrushes are not designed with kids in mind. Finding the right kids’ electric toothbrush can be difficult because some of the best electric toothbrushes are not designed for kids, and others may be colorful and fun, but low-quality otherwise.
What to know before you buy a kids’ electric toothbrush
Sonic vs. oscillating toothbrush
The two basic types of electric toothbrushes are oscillating and sonic. Sonic toothbrushes work through intense vibrations that kill bacteria, loosen plaque and clean gumlines at an astonishing pace.
Oscillating toothbrushes do the same through a rotating brush head, though at a slightly slower pace and with slightly less effectiveness. Oscillating toothbrushes are also more affordable. Both types of electric toothbrushes are far more effective than regular toothbrushes.
Electric toothbrush battery life
Another major factor to think about is the toothbrush’s battery life. Some electric toothbrushes run using AA or AAA batteries, while others are rechargeable. Regardless of the type of battery, many electric toothbrushes have enough battery life to last for several weeks of regular use, while others can only maintain a few brushes before needing to be recharged.
Designs and colors
While not essential, having a toothbrush with fun designs and colors can help incentivize a kid to brush their teeth. Additionally, features such as extra grip handles or multiple brush head types can be beneficial. For kids, in particular, finding a braces-friendly toothbrush may also be a major bonus.
Electric toothbrush heads
Alongside the type of electric toothbrush, the compatibility with different brush heads can be one of the most important aspects of actually cleaning the teeth. Some electric toothbrushes can be equipped with specialty toothbrush heads designed for specific purposes like sensitive teeth, gum protection and extra plaque removal. The compatibility of the electric toothbrush to different heads gives a significant boost of versatility.
Additional features
Electric toothbrushes come with a variety of different features. Some toothbrushes have sensors to make sure the user isn’t brushing too hard, or 30-second quadrant timers to ensure each area of the mouth gets the same amount of brushing. Other smaller features include different brush modes and connectivity to an app that tracks your brushing.
What’s the best kids’ electric toothbrush to buy?
Top kids’ electric toothbrush
Oral-B Kids’ Electric Toothbrush
What you need to know: A well-rounded electric toothbrush with a wide, rubber-gripped handle for easy holding and great battery life.
What you’ll love: This electric toothbrush is compatible with up to six different brush heads to specialize cleaning to the needs of kids. Equipped with a 2-minute timer in the handle to alert users to when it’s time to stop brushing.
What you should consider: The inside of the toothbrush can get moldy without proper cleaning. Can be too loud for some users.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top kids’ electric toothbrush for the money
Arm & Hammer Kids’ Spinbrush Soft Electric Toothbrush
What you need to know: A battery-powered electric toothbrush with several different kid-friendly designs available.
What you’ll love: This electric toothbrush is ergonomically designed to be easier for kids to hold. The device also has a strong battery life with an easy-to-replace design for AA batteries.
What you should consider: Multiple users report issues with the design not being waterproof enough and causing spots of mold on the inside of the brush.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Bed Bath & Beyond
Worth checking out
Philips Sonicare Kids’ Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush
What you need to know: A high-quality electric toothbrush with a built-in 2-minute timer to help kids keep track of how long they’re brushing.
What you’ll love: Equipped with a connected app that educates kids on brushing and gives rewards for brushing properly. Also has specific settings for sensitive teeth.
What you should consider: More expensive than other options on the list at $50. Also has shorter battery life.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Bed Bath & Beyond
Quip Kids’ Electric Toothbrush
What you need to know: A stylish and slender electric toothbrush with sonic vibrations for a powerful brush that cleans teeth better.
What you’ll love: Equipped with 3-month battery life for solid longevity and a non-slip rubber grip handle for easy holding by kids. Comes with a multi-use cover for travel and a stand.
What you should consider: Some users report issues with the power button, such as it getting stuck, making it difficult to turn off.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Oral-B Kids’ Sparkle & Shine Electric Toothbrush
What you need to know: A great kids’ toothbrush with two refill brush heads and a rechargeable handle.
What you’ll love: Comes with a pressure sensor so kids don’t push too hard on their teeth when brushing. Also connects to a Disney-powered app to encourage longer brushing time.
What you should consider: The toothbrush can be too powerful and vibrate too loudly for some kids.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Brusheez Kids’ Electric Toothbrush Set
What you need to know: A full toothbrush set with fun kid-friendly designs that comes with a rinse cup, extra brush, cover and a timer.
What you’ll love: Comes in nine different animal design covers. Also has a 5-year warranty so any damages can be replaced.
What you should consider: The glass in the timer is very thin and can break easily, which may be dangerous for young kids.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Dada-Tech Baby Electric Toothbrush
What you need to know: A waterproof electric toothbrush with sonic brush technology built specifically for younger children.
What you’ll love: Equipped with an LED light reminder for each 30-second interval. Has gentle brushes for sensitive teeth and gums on younger kids.
What you should consider: Some users complain that the brush heads are too small for kids as they grow larger.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wane.com/reviews/br/baby-kids-br/health-safety-br/best-kids-electric-toothbrush/ | 2022-07-19T10:37:21Z | https://www.wane.com/reviews/br/baby-kids-br/health-safety-br/best-kids-electric-toothbrush/ | true |
Robust loan growth, continuing strength in asset quality metrics, and significant increases in several key fee income categories highlight quarter
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) ("Mercantile") reported net income of $11.7 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022, compared with net income of $18.1 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, for the respective prior-year period. Net income during the first six months of 2022 totaled $23.2 million, or $1.47 per diluted share, compared to $32.3 million, or $2.00 per diluted share, during the first six months of 2021.
"We are pleased to report another quarter of solid operating performance," said Robert B. Kaminski, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercantile. "The substantial growth in core commercial loans and residential mortgage loans and sustained strength in asset quality metrics during the first six months of 2022 exhibit our ongoing focus on meeting the credit needs of our customers while employing sound underwriting practices. The increase in net interest income stemming from earning asset growth and a higher net interest margin, growth in several key fee income revenue streams, and overhead cost control have largely offset a substantially lower level of mortgage banking income primarily resulting from increased mortgage loan interest rates. The entire Mercantile team has adeptly pivoted from assisting clients with initial COVID-19 pandemic-related issues to helping them navigate through the latest economic challenges such as high inflation levels, rising interest rates, and staffing concerns, and we believe our commitment to serving as a trusted advisor will present us with additional opportunities to develop mutually beneficial relationships with new and existing customers."
Second quarter highlights include:
- Annualized net core commercial loan growth of approximately 10 percent
- Significant increase in residential mortgage loan portfolio
- Continued strength in commercial loan pipeline
- Net interest income expansion reflecting loan growth and improved net interest margin
- Substantial increases in several key fee income categories
- Sustained low levels of nonperforming assets and loan charge-offs
- Solid capital position
Operating Results
Total revenue, which consists of net interest income and noninterest income, was $42.1 million during the second quarter of 2022, compared to $45.4 million during the prior-year second quarter. Net interest income during the current-year second quarter was $34.3 million, up $3.4 million, or 11.2 percent, from $30.9 million during the respective 2021 period due to earning asset growth and an improved net interest margin. Noninterest income totaled $7.7 million during the second quarter of 2022, down from $14.6 million during the second quarter of 2021 mainly due to decreased mortgage banking income, which more than offset notable increases in several key fee income categories.
The net interest margin was 2.88 percent in the second quarter of 2022, up from 2.57 percent in the first quarter of 2022 and 2.76 percent in the prior-year second quarter. The yield on average earning assets was 3.32 percent during the current-year second quarter, up from 2.99 percent during the first quarter of 2022 and 3.20 percent during the second quarter of 2021. The increased yield on average earning assets primarily resulted from a higher yield on other interest-earning assets, reflecting the rising interest rate environment, and a change in earning asset mix, comprised of a decrease in lower-yielding interest-earning deposits and an increase in higher-yielding loans as a percentage of earning assets. An increase in the yield on loans from 3.87 percent during the first quarter of 2022 to 3.97 percent during the current-year second quarter, mainly reflecting higher rates on variable-rate commercial loans resulting from the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") significantly raising the targeted federal funds rate by a total of 150 basis points during the period of March 2022 through June 2022, also significantly contributed to the increased yield on average earning assets during the respective periods. The yield on average loans during the second quarter of 2022 was virtually unchanged from the yield during the second quarter of 2021 as the negative impact of a lower level of Paycheck Protection Program net loan fee accretion was substantially offset by the positive impact of the aforementioned higher rates on variable-rate commercial loans stemming from the FOMC rate hikes. As of June 30, 2022, approximately 63 percent of the commercial loan portfolio consisted of variable-rate loans, with substantially all of the loans subject to immediate repricing in response to likely further FOMC rate hikes.
The cost of funds equaled 0.44 percent in the second quarter of 2022, unchanged from the prior-year second quarter as an increased cost of borrowings, primarily reflecting the issuance of $90.0 million in subordinated notes in December of 2021 and January of 2022, was offset by a decreased cost of time deposits. Subordinated note issuance proceeds of $85.0 million were injected into Mercantile Bank as an increase to equity capital to support anticipated loan growth. The cost of funds during the current-year second quarter was also virtually unchanged from the first quarter of 2022.
A significant volume of excess on-balance sheet liquidity, which initially surfaced in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 environment and has persisted since that time, negatively impacted the yield on average earning assets by 28 basis points and 42 basis points during the second quarters of 2022 and 2021, respectively, and the net interest margin by 23 basis points and 37 basis points during the respective periods. The excess funds, consisting almost entirely of low-yielding deposits with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, are mainly a product of local deposit growth and Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness activities.
Mercantile recorded a provision for credit losses of $0.5 million during the second quarter of 2022, compared to a negative provision expense of $3.1 million during the second quarter of 2021. The provision expense recorded during the current-year second quarter mainly reflected allocations necessitated by net commercial and residential mortgage loan growth, increased specific reserves for certain problem commercial loan relationships, and a higher reserve for residential mortgage loans stemming from slower prepayment speeds and the associated extended average life of the portfolio. The required reserve allocations resulting from these factors were largely offset by the positive impact of a change in the COVID-19 environmental factor, the recording of net loan recoveries, and ongoing strong loan quality metrics during the period. The negative provision expense recorded during the prior-year second quarter was mainly comprised of a reduced allocation associated with the economic and business conditions environmental factor, reflecting improvement in both current and forecasted economic conditions. Mercantile's adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, on January 1, 2022, resulted in a $0.4 million one-time reduction to the allowance for credit losses.
Noninterest income during the second quarter of 2022 was $7.7 million, compared to $14.6 million during the respective 2021 period. Noninterest income during the current-year second quarter included a $0.5 million bank owned life insurance claim, while noninterest income during the second quarter of 2021 included a $1.1 million gain on the sale of a branch. Excluding the impacts of these transactions, noninterest income decreased $6.3 million during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the respective 2021 period. The lower level of noninterest income almost entirely reflected decreased mortgage banking income and interest rate swap income, which more than offset increases in several key fee income sources, including service charges on accounts, credit and debit card income, and payroll processing fees. Continued strength in purchase residential mortgage loan originations during the second quarter of 2022 partially mitigated the negative impacts of higher interest rates, reduced refinance activity, a lower sold percentage, and a decreased gain on sale rate on mortgage banking income during the period when compared to the prior-year second quarter. The residential mortgage loan sold percentage declined from approximately 59 percent during the second quarter of 2021 to approximately 27 percent during the current-year second quarter, in large part reflecting customers' preferences for adjustable-rate loans in the current interest rate environment and construction loans representing an increased percentage of overall loan production.
Noninterest expense totaled $26.9 million during the second quarter of 2022, compared to $26.2 million during the prior-year second quarter. Overhead costs during the current-year second quarter included a $0.4 million expense associated with the sale of a branch facility and a $0.5 million contribution to The Mercantile Bank Foundation. Excluding these transactions, noninterest expense decreased $0.2 million during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the respective 2021 period. The slightly lower level of expense primarily resulted from higher residential mortgage loan deferred salary costs as well as decreased health insurance costs and residential mortgage lender commissions and associated incentives, which more than offset increased regular salary expense largely stemming from annual employee merit pay increases and a larger bonus accrual.
Mr. Kaminski commented, "We are very pleased with the net interest income expansion during the second quarter and first six months of 2022, and we believe our balance sheet is structured to enhance our net interest margin if the FOMC continues to raise the targeted federal funds rate in an effort to curb inflation, which appears likely based on recent Federal Reserve communications and interest rate forecasts. The increase in net interest income, along with growth in several key fee income categories, have significantly offset a notable decline in mortgage banking income stemming from changed market conditions. We remain committed to controlling overhead costs and are constantly reviewing and monitoring our operating expenses, including our branch structure, to identify additional opportunities to improve efficiency."
Balance Sheet
As of June 30, 2022, total assets were $5.06 billion, down $199 million from December 31, 2021. Total loans increased $270 million during the first six months of 2022, reflecting net increases in core commercial loans of $159 million and residential mortgage loans of $152 million, which more than offset a reduction in Paycheck Protection Program loans of $37.2 million. Core commercial loans and residential mortgage loans grew $76.5 million and $101 million, respectively, during the second quarter of 2022. The increases in core commercial loans during the second quarter and first six months of 2022 equated to annualized growth rates of 10.2 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively. As of June 30, 2022, unfunded commitments on commercial construction and development loans, which are expected to be funded over the next 12 to 18 months, and residential construction loans, which are anticipated to be largely funded over the next 12 months, totaled $175 million and $85.2 million, respectively. Interest-earning deposits decreased $526 million during the first six months of 2022 as excess overnight funds were used to fund loan growth, purchase securities and payoff matured wholesale funds. In addition, a customer's withdrawal of a majority of funds that were deposited in late 2021, as well as other fund withdrawals by customers to make customary tax payments, contributed to the reduced level of interest-earning deposits.
Ray Reitsma, President of Mercantile Bank, noted, "We are very pleased with the robust levels of core commercial loan and residential mortgage loan growth during the second quarter and first six months of 2022. Core commercial and industrial loan growth accounted for more than one-half of the increase in core commercial loans during both periods, providing our lenders and treasury management personnel with further opportunities to augment commercial banking-related revenue streams. The increases in core commercial loans during the current-year second quarter and first half of 2022 were attained despite payoffs of certain larger relationships totaling approximately $78 million and $124 million during the respective periods. The payoffs were largely related to customers' sales of businesses and assets, with approximately one-fifth of the dollar volume of payoffs during the first six months of 2022 being connected with borrowers that were experiencing financial troubles. The significant increase in residential mortgage loans was also satisfying when considering the downturn in market conditions and associated headwinds that are restricting market opportunities. Based on the sustained strength of our commercial loan pipeline and strong levels of unfunded commitments on commercial construction and development loans and residential construction loans, we believe loan originations and draws on existing lines of credit will continue to be solid in future periods."
Commercial and industrial loans and owner-occupied commercial real estate loans together represented approximately 58 percent of total commercial loans as of June 30, 2022, a level that has remained relatively consistent with prior periods and in line with internal expectations.
Total deposits at June 30, 2022, were $3.87 billion, down $209 million, or 5.1 percent, from December 31, 2021. Local deposits and brokered deposits declined $185 million and $23.9 million, respectively, during the first six months of 2022. The decrease in local deposits primarily reflected the previously mentioned customer withdrawal of funds and customers' normal tax payment levels. Wholesale funds were $362 million, or approximately 8 percent of total funds, at June 30, 2022, compared to $398 million, or approximately 9 percent of total funds, at December 31, 2021.
Asset Quality
Nonperforming assets totaled $1.8 million, $2.5 million, and $3.2 million at June 30, 2022, December 31, 2021, and June 30, 2021, respectively, with each dollar amount representing less than 0.1 percent of total assets as of the respective dates. The level of past due loans remains nominal, and loan relationships on the internal watch list declined in both number and dollar volume during the first six months of 2022. During the second quarter of 2022, loan charge-offs were less than $0.1 million, while recoveries of prior period loan charge-offs equaled $0.3 million, providing for net loan recoveries of $0.3 million, or an annualized 0.04 percent of average total loans.
Mr. Reitsma commented, "Our sustained commitment to underwriting loans in an appropriate and cautious manner is reflected in our ongoing outstanding asset quality metrics. We continue to carefully monitor our loan portfolio for any signs of distress stemming from the current economic environment and associated challenges, including high levels of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and tight labor market conditions, and are prepared to take swift action to mitigate the impact of any noted credit issues on our portfolio's condition."
Capital Position
Shareholders' equity totaled $429 million as of June 30, 2022, down from $457 million at year-end 2021 mainly due to an increase in the after-tax net unrealized holding loss on securities available for sale resulting from higher market interest rates. Mercantile Bank's capital position remains "well-capitalized" with a total risk-based capital ratio of 13.4 percent as of June 30, 2022, compared to 13.6 percent at December 31, 2021. At June 30, 2022, Mercantile Bank had approximately $149 million in excess of the 10.0 percent minimum regulatory threshold required to be considered a "well-capitalized" institution. Mercantile reported 15,861,055 total shares outstanding at June 30, 2022.
Mr. Kaminski concluded, "As evidenced by our Board of Directors' declaration of an increased third quarter 2022 regular cash dividend, our ongoing financial strength has enabled us to reward shareholders with competitive dividend yields while supporting strong loan growth. We believe our robust overall financial condition, including solid capital levels, pristine asset quality metrics, strong operating performance, and significant loan funding opportunities, along with the potential to enhance net interest income from likely additional FOMC rate increases, will help mitigate the potential negative impacts from a downturn in economic conditions. Our solid financial performance during the first six months of 2022 and projected loan growth give us confidence that strong operating results can be achieved during the remainder of the year and beyond as we continue our efforts to be a consistent and profitable performer."
Investor Presentation
Mercantile has prepared presentation materials that management intends to use during its previously announced second quarter 2022 conference call on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and from time to time thereafter in presentations about the Company's operations and performance. These materials have been furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concurrently with this press release, and are also available on Mercantile's website at www.mercbank.com.
About Mercantile Bank Corporation
Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mercantile Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank. Mercantile provides banking services to businesses, individuals and governmental units, and differentiates itself on the basis of service quality and the expertise of its banking staff. Mercantile has assets of approximately $5.1 billion and operates 45 banking offices. Mercantile Bank Corporation's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "MBWM." For more information about Mercantile, visit www.mercbank.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MercBank and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/merc-bank.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements or information that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods. Any such statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships; increasing rates of inflation and slower growth rates; significant declines in the value of commercial real estate; market volatility; demand for products and services; the degree of competition by traditional and nontraditional financial services companies; changes in banking regulation or actions by bank regulators; changes in tax laws; changes in prices, levies, and assessments; the impact of technological advances; potential cyber-attacks, information security breaches and other criminal activities; litigation liabilities; governmental and regulatory policy changes; the outcomes of existing or future contingencies; trends in customer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; changes in local real estate values; damage to our reputation resulting from adverse publicity, regulatory actions, litigation, operational failures, and the failure to meet client expectations and other facts; changes in the method of determining Libor and the phase-out of Libor; changes in the national and local economies, including the ongoing disruption to financial markets and other economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and unstable political and economic environments; and other factors, including those expressed as risk factors, disclosed from time to time in filings made by Mercantile with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mercantile undertakes no obligation to update or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained herein.
MBWM-ER
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SOURCE Mercantile Bank Corporation | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mercantile-bank-corporation-announces-strong-second-quarter-2022-results/ | 2022-07-19T10:39:42Z | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mercantile-bank-corporation-announces-strong-second-quarter-2022-results/ | true |
Faith Kipyegon storms to gold in 1500m final July 19, 2022 05:27 4:55 min Kenya's Faith Kipyegon stormed to a gold medal in the women's 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships, while Australia's Jessica Hull and Georgia Griffth finish seventh and ninth respectively. WATCH the World Athletics Championships in Oregon LIVE on beIN SPORTS | via Foxtel, Kayo, Fetch & beIN SPORTS CONNECT News 2022 World Athletics Championships -Latest Videos 1:17 min Rising Aussie sprint star Calab Law breaks PB 3:18 min Nafi Thiam reclaims her world title 1:02 min Rojas shines in triple jump 2:27 min Qatar's high jump star Barshim cruises to gold 4:55 min Faith Kipyegon storms to gold in 1500m final 10:04 min Host nation Morocco through to first WAFCON final 6:32 min South Africa marches on after late VAR drama 1:29 min Ten Hag holds firm as United looks to keep Ronaldo 0:44 min Evergreen Ibrahimovic extends AC Milan deal 2:02 min Shot put star Crouser wins gold in Oregon
Faith Kipyegon storms to gold in 1500m final July 19, 2022 05:27 4:55 min Kenya's Faith Kipyegon stormed to a gold medal in the women's 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships, while Australia's Jessica Hull and Georgia Griffth finish seventh and ninth respectively. WATCH the World Athletics Championships in Oregon LIVE on beIN SPORTS | via Foxtel, Kayo, Fetch & beIN SPORTS CONNECT News 2022 World Athletics Championships | https://www.beinsports.com/au/2022-world-athletics-championships/video/faith-kipyegon-storms-to-gold-in-1500m-final/1918333 | 2022-07-19T10:39:59Z | https://www.beinsports.com/au/2022-world-athletics-championships/video/faith-kipyegon-storms-to-gold-in-1500m-final/1918333 | false |
VIENNA, Va., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Omega Integration Solutions today announced the general availability of A2O automation, a tool that automates and accelerates the Authorization to Operate mandate for Federal agencies and enterprises.
"Authorization to Operate (ATO) is a fundamental step to meeting security compliance before launching a software application—and to continuously monitor the application throughout the life of a system. On average, an ATO can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to achieve. This length of time can stifle change—making applications stale and limiting the pace of modernization," said Gautam Ijoor, CEO at Alpha Omega. "Our automation tool, A2O, is designed to accelerate the process."
The status quo ATO process—which covers 17 control families and over 400 controls for a high baseline system—is predominantly manual.
"With A2O™, chief information security officers at Federal agencies can automate the collection of data related to controls of the ATO process," said Navin Maganti, head of Automation at Alpha Omega. "A2O™ reuses collected data to create documents required for assessments and audits. Automation and reuse allow A2O™ to promote simplicity and transparency in your organization while providing a clear mechanism for traceability."
A2O™ features include:
- Configurable intelligent bots driving data collection, aggregation, and analysis to execute and manage ATO processes
- Automated discovery of ATO process execution and ISO tasks
- Frictionless integration with minimal change to systems, data, and team composition.
"Our A2O™ accelerates time to obtain and maintain ATOs, while maintaining continuous compliance and monitoring to increase compliance scores with automated evidence," continued Maganti. "By implementing A2O™, our clients have realized 90% reductions in time to collect security accreditation artifacts."
"At Alpha Omega, we constantly strive to bring modernization and automation to our federal clients, and A2O™ is yet another proof of innovation that combines our by combining our cybersecurity, intelligent automation, and Agile competencies," said Ijoor.
Alpha Omega Integration Solutions is a business-aligned technology consulting company that delivers innovation, modernization, and automation to help accelerate the Government digital transformation. As partners with leading cloud, automation, and security products, we deliver Agile software development, cloud migration, and infrastructure security to fulfill agency mission. Alpha Omega has been voted one of Virginia's Best Places to Work and Washington Post's Top Places to Work companies. We are also winners of the prestigious Maryland Tech Council Government Contracting Company of the Year in the $50M and above in annual revenue category.
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DUBAI – Iran's judiciary on Tuesday ordered one of the country's leading filmmakers to serve out a six-year prison sentence from a decade ago that had never been enforced. The order came as the government seeks to silence criticism amid growing economic turmoil and political pressure.
Masoud Setayeshi, spokesman for Iran's judiciary, announced that award-winning director, Jafar Panahi, perhaps Iran's best-known film director, would fulfill his six-year prison term handed down in 2011 on charges of producing antigovernment propaganda, a final verdict that he said should have been implemented at the time.
Although Panahi was banned from traveling over the past years, the sentence was never enforced and he continued to make underground films, which were released abroad to great acclaim. He has won multiple festival awards, including the 2015 Berlin Golden Bear for “Taxi." His defiant films about poverty, sexism, violence and censorship in the Islamic Republic long have angered the government.
Authorities detained Panahi last week when he visited the Tehran prosecutor’s office to inquire about the cases of fellow detained dissident filmmakers, Mohamad Rasoulof and Mostafa al-Ahmad. Rasoulof and al-Ahmad were swept up earlier this month on charges of undermining the nation’s security by voicing opposition on social media to the government’s violent crackdown on unrest in the country’s southwest.
Panahi's detention in Iran's Evin Prison has drawn widespread criticism from rights groups, shining light on a wave of repression hitting not only the country's celebrated cinema industry but also activists and protesters.
The government has escalated its crackdown on dissent as it seeks to prevent the Iranian currency, the rial, from crashing. Talks to revive Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers remain deadlocked and desperation over the economic crisis is deepening with no sanctions relief in sight. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2022/07/19/iran-says-acclaimed-filmmaker-to-serve-out-6-year-sentence/ | 2022-07-19T10:45:03Z | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2022/07/19/iran-says-acclaimed-filmmaker-to-serve-out-6-year-sentence/ | false |
ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), a non-profit research organization committed to advancing the science, practice, and use of value assessment in health care, today announced the appointment of Jason Spangler, MD, MPH, FACPM as the Innovation and Value Initiative's next Chief Executive Officer.
"It has been a tremendous honor to serve as IVI's CEO since 2018 and I am proud of everything our team, and our growing community of members and partners, has accomplished together," stated Jennifer Bright, IVI CEO. "In living our long-established principles of patient-centricity, transparency, and equity, we have contributed meaningful progress toward improving value assessment processes, testing modern methods, and demonstrating how open-source model development can improve trust and accelerate learning in this field. With Jason's leadership, I look forward to the next chapter of IVI's growth and impact," she concluded.
Gregory Daniel, IVI Board President stated, "The Board and I are confident that Jason is the right person to lead IVI in its next stage, building on tremendous momentum the organization has had so far. He is a seasoned leader with significant experience working in the health technology assessment environment, taking projects to scale, and delivering value to stakeholders. We are lucky to have him as our next CEO."
For nearly two decades Dr. Spangler has worked in the professional health policy and public health sector with pharmaceutical and nonprofit organizations. Dr. Spangler joins IVI from his most recent role as Executive Medical Director and Head of Global HTA Policy Strategy & Engagement for Amgen, Inc.
Dr. Spangler earned his MD at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in 1998 and his Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2002. His commitment to public health, preventive medicine, and health equity date back to his medical school residency, during which he served as a medical team leader for free clinics in Costa Rica, a resident coordinator for free clinics for homeless around UPMC, and a clinical educator in the International Medical Corps in Kosovo.
After serving one year as Chief Resident, Dr. Spangler joined Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals as a Public Health and Health Policy Consultant. He remained in this role for three year and then moved on to the Partnership for Prevention, where he started as a Managing Senior Fellow and was promoted to Chief Medical Officer until he was recruited to Amgen.
"I know that I speak for everyone at IVI in thanking Jennifer Bright for her leadership and tireless dedication. I am incredibly excited to start this new role and for the future of the organization," noted Dr. Spangler. "We have an exceptionally talented team at IVI that is focused on decisive action to transform health technology assessment – in practice and policy – through our sustained action, innovation, and collaboration. I believe we are taking the right steps to move IVI forward."
Jennifer Bright, IVI's current CEO, will work with Dr. Spangler to ensure a smooth transition before moving into her new role as Chief Engagement and Strategy Officer where she will continue to support and strengthen IVI's partnerships and convening activities.
Dr. Spangler will take office on July 25, 2022 and be based in the Washington DC area.
Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI) is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt non-profit research organization dedicated to advancing the science and improving the practice of value assessment through development of novel methods and the creation and application of enhanced value assessment models to support local decision-making needs in healthcare.
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Ms. Goebel brings more than 25 years of experience in the industrial gas and gas-processing industries
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. , July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Transform Materials, a sustainable chemical company that uses microwave plasma technology to convert natural gas into acetylene and hydrogen, has appointed Rachelle Goebel as chief executive officer.
"I am thrilled that Rachelle Goebel has joined Transform Materials as CEO," said David Soane Ph.D., chairman and founder of Transform Materials. "Rachelle's wealth of senior management experience in the industrial gas and gas-processing industries will be invaluable as we grow Transform into a leading provider of clean acetylene and hydrogen."
Ms. Goebel brings significant leadership and industry experience to Transform Materials, most recently serving as president of AG&P Americas. Previously, Ms. Goebel was vice president and general manager of gas processing and hydrogen at Honeywell UOP. Ms. Goebel spent more than 15 years at Air Liquide in various roles, including general manager for industrial and specialty gases. Ms. Goebel received her B.S. in chemical engineering and MBA from Texas A&M University.
"I am honored to join Transform Materials to lead the company's decarbonization vision and pioneer the future of clean acetylene and hydrogen production," said Rachelle Goebel. "The company has a proven and differentiated technology that will change the clean-energy conversation. I look forward to working with David Soane, the board of directors, our skilled management team, and our stakeholders to profitably scale our business to achieve our long-term strategic goals."
About Transform Materials
Transform Materials LLC was founded in 2014 by scientist and serial entrepreneur David Soane, Ph.D. During six years of sustained R&D, the company has developed a ground-breaking technology that uses microwave-generated plasma to energize natural gas to form acetylene and hydrogen without any CO2 emissions, offering a compelling substitute for the legacy processes in the chemical industry that generate impurities and form greenhouse gases. Complementing its contributions to chemical manufacturing, Transform's technology also produces hydrogen and acetylene in an energy-efficient way to address demand in the burgeoning fuel-cell and green-chemical industries. Transform's systems are compact and modular, and can be scaled to match customer needs while integrating with existing systems and architecture to minimize adoption costs. Transform's patented technology platform activates a green revolution in the utilization of natural gas by enabling the conversion of this abundant resource into acetylene and hydrogen without requiring combustion or energy-intensive electrolysis. To learn more, visit transformmaterials.com.
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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — For more than two hours, pesky Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia ran pretty much within elbow distance of her Kenyan rival. Judith Jeptum Korir kept glaring over her shoulder and gesturing to Gebreslase to take her turn in the lead.
When Gebreslase finally moved to the front, she never looked back.
Patient and lurking for all but six or so minutes, Gebreslase finally rocketed around Korir in Monday’s marathon at the world championships and turned what was shaping up to be a close finish into a nine-second victory.
Gebreslase captured gold in a championship-record time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, 11 seconds, with Korir taking silver.
“I felt strong,” Gebreslase said, “and decided to leave.”
Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, the Kenyan-born runner who represents Israel, earned the bronze medal. Sara Hall led a strong showing by the Americans with a fifth-place finish.
It’s now back-to-back wins for Ethiopia in the world marathon on the flat, fast streets of Eugene and Springfield. Tamirat Tola won the men’s race the day before in a championship-record time as well.
The two-runner women’s show was set up when Korir and Gebreslase pulled away from the field at around the 17-mile mark (27 kilometers). Soon after, they stretched their gap over the next pack to nearly a minute.
Out in front, Korir grew more and more agitated as she did most of the work in the lead while Gebreslase literally tucked herself in behind Korir’s elbow.
Korir kept looking back, motioning for Gebreslase to take her turn in setting the blistering pace.
It’s not uncommon at longer distances for opponents to alternate racing in front in the early stages, allowing everyone to take turns conserving energy. Then, late in the race, all bets are off.
In this race, though, Gebreslase was content running one step behind Korir.
“It bothered me a bit, the fact that she did not want to pace with me,” Korir said.
The tactic worked, as Gebreslase saw an opening, surged ahead and sped away.
“The Ethiopian runners are very fast,” said Korir, whose medal was the 11th overall in the women’s world marathon for Kenya. “It not easy to be run with them, but I tried my best.”
On a crisp morning with the temperature hovering around 50-degree Fahrenheit (10 Celsius), Gebreslase broke the championship record of 2:20:57 set by Paula Radcliffe of Britain in 2005 in Helsinki.
This reflected just how fast the race was: The time of Nazret Weldu of Eritrea was 2:20:29, which would’ve been a championship record. She wound up fourth.
The lead pack took off quickly and left behind many in the 40-runner field early on. The race changed complexion around the 12-mile mark (19 kilometers) when defending champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya dropped back and later dropped out.
The 39-year-old Hall got stronger throughout the race to finish in 2:22:10. Emma Bates took seventh, while American women’s marathon record holder and real-estate agent Keira D’Amato was eighth.
D’Amato was a late replacement for Molly Seidel, who captured a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Seidel recently posted on Instagram she was focusing on her mental health and healing her hip.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, the 1984 Olympic marathon winner, started the field on their way along along the three-loop course that proved to be extremely fast. The racers cruised through a scenic route that crossed over the Willamette River and by Pre’s Trail, a bark running trail that honors University of Oregon track and field icon Steve Prefontaine.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/sports/gebreslase-of-ethiopia-finishes-strong-wins-world-marathon/ | 2022-07-19T10:51:10Z | https://www.binghamtonhomepage.com/sports/gebreslase-of-ethiopia-finishes-strong-wins-world-marathon/ | false |
- Unveils updated Overture validated through wind tunnel tests
- Expands market opportunity with Northrop Grumman strategic collaboration to offer special mission Overture variant for US military and allies
- Signs agreements with Collins Aerospace, Safran, and Eaton
DENVER, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boom Supersonic, the company building the world's fastest airliner, optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability, today presented the refined design of Overture and also announced a new partnering agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop special mission variants of the aircraft. Carrying 65–80 passengers at twice the speed of today's airliners and running on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Overture will fly Mach 1.7 over water with a range of 4,250 nautical miles.
Today's Overture reveal at the Farnborough International Airshow is the culmination of 26 million core-hours of simulated software designs, five wind tunnel tests, and the careful evaluation of 51 full design iterations, resulting in an economically and environmentally sustainable supersonic airliner.
"Aviation has not seen a giant leap in decades. Overture is revolutionary in its design, and it will fundamentally change how we think about distance," said Boom Founder and CEO Blake Scholl. "With more than 600 routes across the globe, Overture will make the world dramatically more accessible for tens of millions of passengers."
With this updated configuration, Boom combines a number of engineering innovations in aerodynamics, noise reduction, and overall performance.
Four-engine design: Overture will be powered by four powerful, wing-mounted engines that enable the airliner to cruise at Mach 1.7 over water and just under Mach 1 over land. Additionally, the four-engine design reduces noise while also decreasing costs for airline operators. Engine placement was selected to conform to the strictest passenger safety requirements.
Quieter operation: On take-off, Overture will use the world's first automated noise reduction system. The airliner will fly without afterburners, meeting the same strict regulatory noise levels as the latest subsonic airplanes. These noise reduction efforts will deliver a quieter experience both for passengers and airport communities.
Contoured fuselage: According to the principle of area-ruling, Overture's fuselage has a larger diameter toward the front of the aircraft and a smaller diameter toward the rear. Boom has applied this design technique to minimize drag and maximize fuel efficiency at supersonic speeds.
Gull wings: The aircraft's wings are sculpted to enhance supersonic performance as well as improve subsonic and transonic handling. Importantly, the wing shaping also helps ensure safety and stability at any speed.
Carbon composite construction: Overture will incorporate carbon composite materials into the majority of the build that are lighter, stronger, and more thermally stable than traditional metal construction. Carbon composites can also be manufactured with highly complex curvature, contributing to the aircraft's aerodynamic efficiency.
Net zero carbon: Overture has been developed from the beginning to be net zero carbon, flying on 100% SAF. Sustainability is woven into all aspects of Overture, from design and production to flight and end-of-life recycling.
- Cruise speed: Mach 1.7 supersonic, Mach 0.94 subsonic
- Range: 4,250nm with full payload
- Passengers: 65–80
- Exterior Dimensions: Length: 201 feet, Wingspan: 106 feet, Height: 36 feet
- Interior Dimensions: 79 feet long, up to 6.5 feet height at aisle
- Airframe: composite fuselage, wing, vertical, and horizontal
- Wing: gull with digital leading and trailing edge flap control
- Flight controls: 4x redundant digital fly-by-wire on 2 LRUs
- Powerplant: 4x medium-bypass 100% SAF-compatible turbofan
- Airport Community noise: ICAO Chapter 14 / FAA Stage 5
Additionally, the company announced today that it will begin outfitting The Iron Bird, a new 70,000-square-foot hardware ground test facility in Centennial, Colorado to house its first full-scale Overture testing model and flight deck simulators. The test model, also called an iron bird, will be used for integrating Overture's flight hardware, software, and systems. Earlier this year, Boom announced its selection of the Piedmont Triad area for its first Overture Superfactory and remains on track to begin production in 2024.
Today at The Farnborough Airshow, Boom Supersonic also announced a landmark partnering agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop special mission variants for the U.S. Government and its allies.
"Time is a strategic advantage in high consequence scenarios, from emergency evacuations to disaster response," said Scholl. "This collaboration between Boom and Northrop Grumman unlocks the potential for Overture to provide the US and our allies with an unmatched high speed capability when and where it's most needed."
Together, the two companies will pursue new use cases for Overture to support government and military operations that require rapid response, including quick-reaction surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, as well as mobility and logistics missions such as emergency medical and troop transport.
"Pairing Northrop Grumman's airborne defense systems integration expertise with Boom's state-of-the-art Overture supersonic aircraft makes perfect sense," said Tom Jones, president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems. "Together we can ensure military variants of Overture are tailored for missions where advanced system capabilities and speed are critical."
As it continues to build the supply chain for Overture, Boom announced new and expanded relationships. Collins Aerospace, Eaton, and Safran Landing Systems are joining the Overture program, supplying key systems such as landing gear, fuel and inerting, avionics, and ice protection.
Boom Supersonic is transforming air travel with Overture, the fastest airliner, optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability. Carrying 65–80 passengers, Overture will fly at twice the speed of today's airliners and will run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Overture's commercial order book, including purchases and options from United Airlines and Japan Airlines, stands at 70 aircraft. Boom is also working with the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman for military and defense applications of Overture. Suppliers collaborating with Boom on the Overture program include Collins Aerospace, Eaton, Safran Landing Systems, and Rolls-Royce. For more information, visit https://boomsupersonic.com
Updated photos and video available at https://boomsupersonic.com/press
Connect with Boom Supersonic on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Boom Supersonic | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/boom-supersonic-reveals-refined-overture-announces-landmark-market-expanding-alliance-with-northrop-grumman-new-tier-one-suppliers/ | 2022-07-19T10:51:34Z | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/boom-supersonic-reveals-refined-overture-announces-landmark-market-expanding-alliance-with-northrop-grumman-new-tier-one-suppliers/ | false |
CA San Francisco Bay Area Zone Forecast for Monday, July 18, 2022
_____
412 FPUS56 KMTR 191001
ZFPMTR
San Francisco Bay Area/Central California Zone Forecast
National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
This is an automatically generated product that provides average
values for large geographic areas. For a more site specific
forecast...please visit weather.gov/sanfrancisco
(1) Select a location from the drop down menu above the map...
-- or --
(2) Click a location on the map.
You can refine your selection by clicking on the map displayed on
the resulting page.
CAZ505-200100-
Coastal North Bay...Including Point Reyes National Seashore-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...
.REST OF TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows around 50. West winds
around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 60s. West winds 5 to
15 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming
mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 60s to lower 70s. West
winds 5 to 15 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. West
winds 5 to 15 mph.
.THURSDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 60s to lower 70s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming
partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.
.FRIDAY...Sunny. Highs in the 60s to lower 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower
50s. Highs in the 60s to lower 70s.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.
.MONDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly
cloudy. Highs in the 60s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Point Reyes 50 65 50 65 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ503-200100-
Sonoma Coastal Range-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds
around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds 5 to
10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds
5 to 10 mph.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Clear. Lows in the lower 50s. Highs
in the lower 80s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.
Highs in the lower 80s.
$$
CAZ502-200100-
Marin Coastal Range-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 50s. West
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s. West winds
5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 50s. West winds
10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the 70s. West winds 5 to 10 mph
increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds
10 to 20 mph.
.THURSDAY...Sunny, breezy. Highs in the mid to upper 70s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows in
the mid 50s. Highs in the 70s.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
Highs in the lower to mid 70s.
$$
CAZ506-200100-
North Bay Interior Valleys-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 40s to upper 50s.
Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 90s. Southwest
winds 10 to 20 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear in the evening then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the 40s to upper 50s. Southwest winds 10 to
20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Breezy. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 90s. Southwest winds 10 to
20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows in the 40s to upper
50s. Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph decreasing to 10 to 20 mph
after midnight.
.THURSDAY...Sunny, breezy. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 90s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Clear, breezy. Lows in the 50s.
.FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the mid 70s
to lower 90s. Lows in the upper 40s to lower 60s.
.MONDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny. Highs
in the 70s to 80s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Santa Rosa 50 88 50 88 / 0 0 0 0
San Rafael 55 85 55 82 / 0 0 0 0
Napa 53 82 53 84 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ504-200100-
North Bay Interior Mountains-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s to mid 90s. West winds
5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s. West
winds 10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s to mid 90s. West winds
5 to 15 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s. West
winds 10 to 20 mph.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s to mid 90s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 50s
to mid 60s. Highs in the upper 70s to lower 90s.
.SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 70s to
lower 90s. Lows in the upper 50s to mid 60s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Lake Berryessa 66 94 65 95 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ006-200100-
San Francisco-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. West
winds 5 to 15 mph.
.TUESDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly
cloudy. Breezy. Highs in the mid 50s to upper 60s. West winds
10 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Lows in the lower 50s.
West winds 20 to 30 mph decreasing to 10 to 20 mph after
midnight.
.WEDNESDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly
cloudy. Breezy. Highs in the mid 50s to upper 60s. West winds
10 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming
mostly cloudy. Breezy. Lows in the lower 50s. West winds 20 to
30 mph decreasing to 10 to 20 mph after midnight.
.THURSDAY...Partly cloudy. Breezy. Highs in the upper 50s to
lower 70s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Partly cloudy. Breezy. Lows in the
mid 50s. Highs in the 50s to upper 60s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
.SATURDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly
cloudy. Highs in the upper 50s to lower 70s.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming
mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
.SUNDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly
cloudy. Highs in the upper 50s to lower 70s.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
Highs in the upper 50s to lower 70s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
San Francisco 53 64 53 66 / 0 0 0 0
Ocean Beach 52 61 52 62 / 0 0 10 0
$$
CAZ509-200100-
San Francisco Peninsula Coast-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. West
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 60s. Northwest winds 10 to
20 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. West winds
10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Mostly cloudy. Highs in the 60s. West winds 10 to
20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.
Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph.
.THURSDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming partly
cloudy. Highs in the 60s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid
50s. Highs in the mid 60s.
$$
CAZ508-200100-
San Francisco Bay Shoreline-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 70s to lower 80s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph...
becoming west 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 70s to lower 80s. West winds 10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming
partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. West winds 10 to 20 mph.
.THURSDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 70s to lower 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Clear in the evening then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
.FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 70s to
lower 80s. Lows in the mid 50s.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming
partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s.
.SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 70s to lower
80s. Lows in the upper 50s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
SFO Airport 56 71 55 70 / 0 0 0 0
Oakland 56 72 55 72 / 0 0 0 0
Fremont 58 78 57 77 / 0 0 0 0
Redwood City 56 81 56 80 / 0 0 0 0
Mountain View 59 76 57 75 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ510-200100-
East Bay Interior Valleys-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Clear. Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest winds
5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 90s. West winds 10 to 20 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Southwest winds
5 to 15 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s. West winds
10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Southwest
winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
.FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Highs in the mid 80s to
lower 90s. Lows in the upper 50s.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
.SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Highs in the upper 80s to
mid 90s. Lows in the upper 50s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Concord 59 92 57 89 / 0 0 0 0
Livermore 59 92 58 89 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ513-200100-
Santa Clara Valley...including San Jose-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows around 60. Northwest winds
around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s to lower 90s. Northwest
winds 5 to 15 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Northwest
winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s to lower 90s. Northwest
winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Northwest
winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the 80s to lower 90s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the 80s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
San Jose 60 86 59 84 / 0 0 0 0
Morgan Hill 59 92 59 93 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ512-200100-
Santa Cruz Mountains-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 50s to mid 60s. Northwest
winds around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the 70s to upper 80s. West winds 5 to
10 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to mid 60s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s to mid 80s. West winds
5 to 10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to lower 60s.
Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s to mid 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to
lower 60s. Highs in the upper 60s to lower 80s.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s to lower 60s.
.MONDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny. Highs
in the 70s to lower 80s.
$$
CAZ515-200100-
East Bay Hills-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest
winds 15 to 20 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. Southwest winds 15 to
20 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest
winds 15 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. Southwest winds 15 to
20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Southwest
winds around 20 mph.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the mid 80s.
$$
CAZ514-200100-
Eastern Santa Clara Hills-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 60s to mid 70s. Southwest
winds around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs around 90. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 60s to lower 70s. West winds
5 to 15 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. West winds around
5 mph increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 60s. West winds
10 to 20 mph...becoming 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Clear. Lows in the upper 50s to mid
60s. Highs in the lower 80s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to mid 60s.
.SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT...Clear. Highs in the mid 80s. Lows
in the 60s.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Highs in the mid 80s.
Lows in the 60s.
.MONDAY...Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.
$$
CAZ529-200100-
Northern Monterey Bay-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...
.REST OF TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Patchy fog. Lows in the mid
50s. South winds around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph in the
evening...becoming light.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming
partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph
in the evening...becoming light.
.THURSDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 50s.
Highs in the 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming mostly
cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.
.SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...Partly cloudy. Patchy fog. Highs in
the lower to mid 70s. Lows in the lower 50s.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly
cloudy. Patchy fog. Lows in the mid 50s.
.MONDAY...Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Patchy fog. Highs in the lower to mid 70s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Santa Cruz 53 78 53 80 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ530-200100-
Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING...
.REST OF TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s.
Northwest winds around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 70s. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 70s. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming
partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to
15 mph.
.THURSDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the 70s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.
Highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid
50s. Highs in the lower 70s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Monterey 56 71 55 70 / 0 0 0 0
Big Sur 58 77 59 80 / 0 0 0 0
$$
CAZ528-200100-
Northern Salinas Valley...Hollister Valley...and Carmel Valley-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s to lower
60s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s Salinas Valley and in
the upper 80s Hollister Valley. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph...
becoming west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming partly
cloudy. Lows in the 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming
5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s Salinas Valley and in
the mid 80s Hollister Valley. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph...
becoming west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear in the evening then becoming
partly cloudy. Lows in the 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph.
.THURSDAY...Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny.
Highs in the lower 70s to mid 80s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.
Highs in the upper 60s to lower 80s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid
50s. Highs in the upper 60s to lower 80s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Salinas 54 72 53 71 / 0 0 0 0
Carmel Valley 59 83 59 84 / 0 0 0 0
Hollister 56 88 56 86 / 10 0 0 0
$$
CAZ516-200100-
Southern Salinas Valley...Arroyo Seco...and Lake San Antonio-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Light
winds.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs 92 to 101. Northwest winds around 5 mph
increasing to west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s. Northwest
winds 10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny, breezy. Highs 94 to 103. North winds 5 to
10 mph increasing to northwest 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows in the upper 50s.
Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph decreasing to 5 to 15 mph after
midnight.
.THURSDAY...Sunny, breezy. Highs 93 to 103.
.THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows in
the mid 50s. Highs upper 80s to 101.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
King City 57 92 57 94 / 10 0 0 0
$$
CAZ517-200100-
Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 60s to lower 70s. Southeast
winds 5 to 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s to mid 90s. South winds
5 to 10 mph...becoming west 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 60s to lower 70s. Northwest
winds 10 to 20 mph.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs in the 80s to 90s. Southwest winds 5 to
10 mph...becoming west 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to upper 60s.
Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s to mid 90s.
.THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...Clear. Lows in the mid 50s to upper
60s. Highs in the upper 70s to lower 90s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower
50s to mid 60s. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 90s.
$$
CAZ518-200100-
Mountains of San Benito and Interior Monterey County including
Pinnacles National Park-
301 AM PDT Tue Jul 19 2022
.REST OF TONIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 60s to lower 70s. South
winds around 5 mph.
.TUESDAY...Sunny. Highs mid 80s to 101. Southwest winds 5 to
15 mph.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Clear. Lows in the 60s to lower 70s. Northwest
winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
.WEDNESDAY...Sunny. Highs mid 80s to 101. West winds 5 to 10 mph
increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s to lower
70s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming 5 to 10 mph after
midnight.
.THURSDAY...Sunny. Highs mid 80s to 101.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to upper 60s.
.FRIDAY...Sunny. Highs in the 80s to 90s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the 50s to mid 60s.
.SATURDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s to mid 90s.
.SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the
50s to upper 60s. Highs in the lower 80s to mid 90s.
.MONDAY...Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s to mid 90s.
TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
Pinnacles NP 63 101 64 99 / 10 0 0 0
$$
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Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/CA-San-Francisco-Bay-Area-Zone-Forecast-17313987.php | 2022-07-19T10:53:03Z | https://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/CA-San-Francisco-Bay-Area-Zone-Forecast-17313987.php | false |
Robust loan growth, continuing strength in asset quality metrics, and significant increases in several key fee income categories highlight quarter
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) ("Mercantile") reported net income of $11.7 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022, compared with net income of $18.1 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, for the respective prior-year period. Net income during the first six months of 2022 totaled $23.2 million, or $1.47 per diluted share, compared to $32.3 million, or $2.00 per diluted share, during the first six months of 2021.
"We are pleased to report another quarter of solid operating performance," said Robert B. Kaminski, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercantile. "The substantial growth in core commercial loans and residential mortgage loans and sustained strength in asset quality metrics during the first six months of 2022 exhibit our ongoing focus on meeting the credit needs of our customers while employing sound underwriting practices. The increase in net interest income stemming from earning asset growth and a higher net interest margin, growth in several key fee income revenue streams, and overhead cost control have largely offset a substantially lower level of mortgage banking income primarily resulting from increased mortgage loan interest rates. The entire Mercantile team has adeptly pivoted from assisting clients with initial COVID-19 pandemic-related issues to helping them navigate through the latest economic challenges such as high inflation levels, rising interest rates, and staffing concerns, and we believe our commitment to serving as a trusted advisor will present us with additional opportunities to develop mutually beneficial relationships with new and existing customers."
Second quarter highlights include:
- Annualized net core commercial loan growth of approximately 10 percent
- Significant increase in residential mortgage loan portfolio
- Continued strength in commercial loan pipeline
- Net interest income expansion reflecting loan growth and improved net interest margin
- Substantial increases in several key fee income categories
- Sustained low levels of nonperforming assets and loan charge-offs
- Solid capital position
Operating Results
Total revenue, which consists of net interest income and noninterest income, was $42.1 million during the second quarter of 2022, compared to $45.4 million during the prior-year second quarter. Net interest income during the current-year second quarter was $34.3 million, up $3.4 million, or 11.2 percent, from $30.9 million during the respective 2021 period due to earning asset growth and an improved net interest margin. Noninterest income totaled $7.7 million during the second quarter of 2022, down from $14.6 million during the second quarter of 2021 mainly due to decreased mortgage banking income, which more than offset notable increases in several key fee income categories.
The net interest margin was 2.88 percent in the second quarter of 2022, up from 2.57 percent in the first quarter of 2022 and 2.76 percent in the prior-year second quarter. The yield on average earning assets was 3.32 percent during the current-year second quarter, up from 2.99 percent during the first quarter of 2022 and 3.20 percent during the second quarter of 2021. The increased yield on average earning assets primarily resulted from a higher yield on other interest-earning assets, reflecting the rising interest rate environment, and a change in earning asset mix, comprised of a decrease in lower-yielding interest-earning deposits and an increase in higher-yielding loans as a percentage of earning assets. An increase in the yield on loans from 3.87 percent during the first quarter of 2022 to 3.97 percent during the current-year second quarter, mainly reflecting higher rates on variable-rate commercial loans resulting from the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") significantly raising the targeted federal funds rate by a total of 150 basis points during the period of March 2022 through June 2022, also significantly contributed to the increased yield on average earning assets during the respective periods. The yield on average loans during the second quarter of 2022 was virtually unchanged from the yield during the second quarter of 2021 as the negative impact of a lower level of Paycheck Protection Program net loan fee accretion was substantially offset by the positive impact of the aforementioned higher rates on variable-rate commercial loans stemming from the FOMC rate hikes. As of June 30, 2022, approximately 63 percent of the commercial loan portfolio consisted of variable-rate loans, with substantially all of the loans subject to immediate repricing in response to likely further FOMC rate hikes.
The cost of funds equaled 0.44 percent in the second quarter of 2022, unchanged from the prior-year second quarter as an increased cost of borrowings, primarily reflecting the issuance of $90.0 million in subordinated notes in December of 2021 and January of 2022, was offset by a decreased cost of time deposits. Subordinated note issuance proceeds of $85.0 million were injected into Mercantile Bank as an increase to equity capital to support anticipated loan growth. The cost of funds during the current-year second quarter was also virtually unchanged from the first quarter of 2022.
A significant volume of excess on-balance sheet liquidity, which initially surfaced in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 environment and has persisted since that time, negatively impacted the yield on average earning assets by 28 basis points and 42 basis points during the second quarters of 2022 and 2021, respectively, and the net interest margin by 23 basis points and 37 basis points during the respective periods. The excess funds, consisting almost entirely of low-yielding deposits with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, are mainly a product of local deposit growth and Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness activities.
Mercantile recorded a provision for credit losses of $0.5 million during the second quarter of 2022, compared to a negative provision expense of $3.1 million during the second quarter of 2021. The provision expense recorded during the current-year second quarter mainly reflected allocations necessitated by net commercial and residential mortgage loan growth, increased specific reserves for certain problem commercial loan relationships, and a higher reserve for residential mortgage loans stemming from slower prepayment speeds and the associated extended average life of the portfolio. The required reserve allocations resulting from these factors were largely offset by the positive impact of a change in the COVID-19 environmental factor, the recording of net loan recoveries, and ongoing strong loan quality metrics during the period. The negative provision expense recorded during the prior-year second quarter was mainly comprised of a reduced allocation associated with the economic and business conditions environmental factor, reflecting improvement in both current and forecasted economic conditions. Mercantile's adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, on January 1, 2022, resulted in a $0.4 million one-time reduction to the allowance for credit losses.
Noninterest income during the second quarter of 2022 was $7.7 million, compared to $14.6 million during the respective 2021 period. Noninterest income during the current-year second quarter included a $0.5 million bank owned life insurance claim, while noninterest income during the second quarter of 2021 included a $1.1 million gain on the sale of a branch. Excluding the impacts of these transactions, noninterest income decreased $6.3 million during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the respective 2021 period. The lower level of noninterest income almost entirely reflected decreased mortgage banking income and interest rate swap income, which more than offset increases in several key fee income sources, including service charges on accounts, credit and debit card income, and payroll processing fees. Continued strength in purchase residential mortgage loan originations during the second quarter of 2022 partially mitigated the negative impacts of higher interest rates, reduced refinance activity, a lower sold percentage, and a decreased gain on sale rate on mortgage banking income during the period when compared to the prior-year second quarter. The residential mortgage loan sold percentage declined from approximately 59 percent during the second quarter of 2021 to approximately 27 percent during the current-year second quarter, in large part reflecting customers' preferences for adjustable-rate loans in the current interest rate environment and construction loans representing an increased percentage of overall loan production.
Noninterest expense totaled $26.9 million during the second quarter of 2022, compared to $26.2 million during the prior-year second quarter. Overhead costs during the current-year second quarter included a $0.4 million expense associated with the sale of a branch facility and a $0.5 million contribution to The Mercantile Bank Foundation. Excluding these transactions, noninterest expense decreased $0.2 million during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the respective 2021 period. The slightly lower level of expense primarily resulted from higher residential mortgage loan deferred salary costs as well as decreased health insurance costs and residential mortgage lender commissions and associated incentives, which more than offset increased regular salary expense largely stemming from annual employee merit pay increases and a larger bonus accrual.
Mr. Kaminski commented, "We are very pleased with the net interest income expansion during the second quarter and first six months of 2022, and we believe our balance sheet is structured to enhance our net interest margin if the FOMC continues to raise the targeted federal funds rate in an effort to curb inflation, which appears likely based on recent Federal Reserve communications and interest rate forecasts. The increase in net interest income, along with growth in several key fee income categories, have significantly offset a notable decline in mortgage banking income stemming from changed market conditions. We remain committed to controlling overhead costs and are constantly reviewing and monitoring our operating expenses, including our branch structure, to identify additional opportunities to improve efficiency."
Balance Sheet
As of June 30, 2022, total assets were $5.06 billion, down $199 million from December 31, 2021. Total loans increased $270 million during the first six months of 2022, reflecting net increases in core commercial loans of $159 million and residential mortgage loans of $152 million, which more than offset a reduction in Paycheck Protection Program loans of $37.2 million. Core commercial loans and residential mortgage loans grew $76.5 million and $101 million, respectively, during the second quarter of 2022. The increases in core commercial loans during the second quarter and first six months of 2022 equated to annualized growth rates of 10.2 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively. As of June 30, 2022, unfunded commitments on commercial construction and development loans, which are expected to be funded over the next 12 to 18 months, and residential construction loans, which are anticipated to be largely funded over the next 12 months, totaled $175 million and $85.2 million, respectively. Interest-earning deposits decreased $526 million during the first six months of 2022 as excess overnight funds were used to fund loan growth, purchase securities and payoff matured wholesale funds. In addition, a customer's withdrawal of a majority of funds that were deposited in late 2021, as well as other fund withdrawals by customers to make customary tax payments, contributed to the reduced level of interest-earning deposits.
Ray Reitsma, President of Mercantile Bank, noted, "We are very pleased with the robust levels of core commercial loan and residential mortgage loan growth during the second quarter and first six months of 2022. Core commercial and industrial loan growth accounted for more than one-half of the increase in core commercial loans during both periods, providing our lenders and treasury management personnel with further opportunities to augment commercial banking-related revenue streams. The increases in core commercial loans during the current-year second quarter and first half of 2022 were attained despite payoffs of certain larger relationships totaling approximately $78 million and $124 million during the respective periods. The payoffs were largely related to customers' sales of businesses and assets, with approximately one-fifth of the dollar volume of payoffs during the first six months of 2022 being connected with borrowers that were experiencing financial troubles. The significant increase in residential mortgage loans was also satisfying when considering the downturn in market conditions and associated headwinds that are restricting market opportunities. Based on the sustained strength of our commercial loan pipeline and strong levels of unfunded commitments on commercial construction and development loans and residential construction loans, we believe loan originations and draws on existing lines of credit will continue to be solid in future periods."
Commercial and industrial loans and owner-occupied commercial real estate loans together represented approximately 58 percent of total commercial loans as of June 30, 2022, a level that has remained relatively consistent with prior periods and in line with internal expectations.
Total deposits at June 30, 2022, were $3.87 billion, down $209 million, or 5.1 percent, from December 31, 2021. Local deposits and brokered deposits declined $185 million and $23.9 million, respectively, during the first six months of 2022. The decrease in local deposits primarily reflected the previously mentioned customer withdrawal of funds and customers' normal tax payment levels. Wholesale funds were $362 million, or approximately 8 percent of total funds, at June 30, 2022, compared to $398 million, or approximately 9 percent of total funds, at December 31, 2021.
Asset Quality
Nonperforming assets totaled $1.8 million, $2.5 million, and $3.2 million at June 30, 2022, December 31, 2021, and June 30, 2021, respectively, with each dollar amount representing less than 0.1 percent of total assets as of the respective dates. The level of past due loans remains nominal, and loan relationships on the internal watch list declined in both number and dollar volume during the first six months of 2022. During the second quarter of 2022, loan charge-offs were less than $0.1 million, while recoveries of prior period loan charge-offs equaled $0.3 million, providing for net loan recoveries of $0.3 million, or an annualized 0.04 percent of average total loans.
Mr. Reitsma commented, "Our sustained commitment to underwriting loans in an appropriate and cautious manner is reflected in our ongoing outstanding asset quality metrics. We continue to carefully monitor our loan portfolio for any signs of distress stemming from the current economic environment and associated challenges, including high levels of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and tight labor market conditions, and are prepared to take swift action to mitigate the impact of any noted credit issues on our portfolio's condition."
Capital Position
Shareholders' equity totaled $429 million as of June 30, 2022, down from $457 million at year-end 2021 mainly due to an increase in the after-tax net unrealized holding loss on securities available for sale resulting from higher market interest rates. Mercantile Bank's capital position remains "well-capitalized" with a total risk-based capital ratio of 13.4 percent as of June 30, 2022, compared to 13.6 percent at December 31, 2021. At June 30, 2022, Mercantile Bank had approximately $149 million in excess of the 10.0 percent minimum regulatory threshold required to be considered a "well-capitalized" institution. Mercantile reported 15,861,055 total shares outstanding at June 30, 2022.
Mr. Kaminski concluded, "As evidenced by our Board of Directors' declaration of an increased third quarter 2022 regular cash dividend, our ongoing financial strength has enabled us to reward shareholders with competitive dividend yields while supporting strong loan growth. We believe our robust overall financial condition, including solid capital levels, pristine asset quality metrics, strong operating performance, and significant loan funding opportunities, along with the potential to enhance net interest income from likely additional FOMC rate increases, will help mitigate the potential negative impacts from a downturn in economic conditions. Our solid financial performance during the first six months of 2022 and projected loan growth give us confidence that strong operating results can be achieved during the remainder of the year and beyond as we continue our efforts to be a consistent and profitable performer."
Investor Presentation
Mercantile has prepared presentation materials that management intends to use during its previously announced second quarter 2022 conference call on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and from time to time thereafter in presentations about the Company's operations and performance. These materials have been furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concurrently with this press release, and are also available on Mercantile's website at www.mercbank.com.
About Mercantile Bank Corporation
Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mercantile Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank. Mercantile provides banking services to businesses, individuals and governmental units, and differentiates itself on the basis of service quality and the expertise of its banking staff. Mercantile has assets of approximately $5.1 billion and operates 45 banking offices. Mercantile Bank Corporation's common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "MBWM." For more information about Mercantile, visit www.mercbank.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @MercBank and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/merc-bank.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements or information that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods. Any such statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships; increasing rates of inflation and slower growth rates; significant declines in the value of commercial real estate; market volatility; demand for products and services; the degree of competition by traditional and nontraditional financial services companies; changes in banking regulation or actions by bank regulators; changes in tax laws; changes in prices, levies, and assessments; the impact of technological advances; potential cyber-attacks, information security breaches and other criminal activities; litigation liabilities; governmental and regulatory policy changes; the outcomes of existing or future contingencies; trends in customer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; changes in local real estate values; damage to our reputation resulting from adverse publicity, regulatory actions, litigation, operational failures, and the failure to meet client expectations and other facts; changes in the method of determining Libor and the phase-out of Libor; changes in the national and local economies, including the ongoing disruption to financial markets and other economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and unstable political and economic environments; and other factors, including those expressed as risk factors, disclosed from time to time in filings made by Mercantile with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mercantile undertakes no obligation to update or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained herein.
MBWM-ER
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SOURCE Mercantile Bank Corporation | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mercantile-bank-corporation-announces-strong-second-quarter-2022-results/ | 2022-07-19T10:53:20Z | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mercantile-bank-corporation-announces-strong-second-quarter-2022-results/ | true |
Mbalula saddened by the death of the Deputy Transport Minister’s family members in car crash 19 July 2022, 11:05 AM
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[WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT] Police probe death of an elderly woman following a grim discovery at an old age home 19 July 2022, 9:18 AM
Free State Agriculture and Land Reform Department promises to address safety issues following farm murders 19 July 2022, 7:09 AM | https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/live-update-on-enyobeni-tavern-tragedy/ | 2022-07-19T10:57:28Z | https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/live-update-on-enyobeni-tavern-tragedy/ | true |
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— Netflix places one of its biggest bets yet on “The Gray Man,” a globe-trotting action thriller starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. One of the streamer’s most expensive films, “The Gray Man” is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the brothers who presided over one of the biggest box-office smashes ever (“Avengers: Endgame”) before they started churning out blockbusters for Netflix. Their “Extraction,” with Chris Hemsworth, ranks as one of the service’s most-watched films, and “The Gray Man” — a spy vs. spy adventure with some comic flare and major franchise ambitions — is likely to follow suit. It debuts Friday.
— Before Billy Porter was a Broadway star and red-carpet doyen, he was a kid in Pittsburgh. In “Anything’s Possible, ” Porter returns to his hometown to make his directorial debut, a trans coming-of-age comedy. The film, which debuts Friday on Amazon Prime Video, stars Eva Reign as a Black transgender girl in a relationship with a boy (Abubakr Ali) that causes a high school-wide stir. Porter fashioned his film, written by Ximena García Lecuona, as a teen rom-com for Gen Z and a love letter to Pittsburgh.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
MUSIC
— Few details about Beyoncé‘s new album “Renaissance” out Friday are available but the lead single is performing well. Her “Break My Soul” became the first song to debut in the top 10 in 26 years on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Of the 16-track album itself Beyoncé calls it “a beautiful journey of exploration.” Creating it “allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world,” the superstar wrote on Instagram, next to an image of her on a see-through horse. Back in June, she teased on her social media accounts that “Renaissance” would be “act i,” but it’s unclear how many acts will follow or when they will be released.
— It’s July so that means a promised second 2022 album from the mad professor of rock, Jack White. He follows up the April release of “Fear of the Dawn” with the 11-track “Entering Heaven Alive.” The two albums share the same song — Taking Me Back” — but arranged differently, one heavy, one jazzy. Another song on the new set is titled “Queen of the Bees” and has the silly lyric “I want to hold you like a sloth hugs a tree.” He told EW: ”I was challenging myself to sort of see what I could get away with!”
— ZZ Top — now without Dusty Hill — have a new, 11-track live album, called “Raw,” with several of the band’s hits like “Gimmie All Your Lovin″” and “La Grange.” Recorded at Gruene Hall — “the oldest continually run dance hall in Texas” — in 2019, “Raw” features the band’s original lineup of electric guitar player Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and the late Hill on bass. Made in connection with the 2019 ZZ Top Netflix documentary, “That Little Ol’ Band From Texas,” the 11-track album was produced by Gibbons, and is dedicated “in righteous memory of Dusty Hill.”
— Ben Harper has never really minced words and that’s clearly the case on his new album, the 11-track “Bloodline Maintenance. “Slavery/We need to talk about it/Black Lives Matter/’Cause history says we don’t,” he sings over a funky guitar on the lead single, “We Need To Talk About It.” The new record sees Harper reflecting on the loss of his father and the personal nature of the subject matter led Ben to perform most of the album himself — playing guitar, bass, drums and percussion, including a plastic toy snare. ”I knew the sounds I was hearing in my head were so unorthodox that I had to do most of it myself,” he says.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
— Stephen Curry is the host of the ESPYS sports awards, and more. The NBA championship finals MVP is up for three honors including best male athlete at the ceremony airing Wednesday on ABC. Curry’s rivals for the top award include Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, with Olympic champs Sunisa Lee and Katie Ledecky among those competing for best female athlete. ESPN previously said the ceremony will honor Vitali Klitschko, former heavyweight boxing champion and mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Gretchen Evans will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
— Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were acclaimed actors and a long-married couple. They were also “The Last Movie Stars,” according to the six-part documentary of that title out on Thursday on HBO Max. The docuseries, directed by actor Ethan Hawke, promises a definitive account of their “dedication to their art, philanthropy and each other.” Transcriptions of interviews with Newman and intimates — conducted for his autobiography that went uncompleted — are voiced by actors including George Clooney and Laura Linney. Also heard from are several of their children and Martin Scorsese, an executive producer for the film. Woodward, who is 92, was married to Newman from 1958 until his death in 2008 at age 83.
— The summer thrill ride known as Shark Week is back on Discovery Channel for its 34th year, with stars including tiger sharks with a taste for pork and “monster” hammerheads. The Bahamas’ Exuma Islands and Papua New Guinea are among the new spots visited during the extravaganza airing from Sunday, July 24, to Saturday, July 30, with Dwayne Johnson as its first emcee. Marine biologists and institutions contribute insights about shark mating and migration, with findings about a new and undescribed species promised. Among the highlights: “Island of Walking Sharks,” on Wednesday, with a scientist’s investigation of shark evolution.
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
___
Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment. | https://www.wjhl.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/new-this-week-beyonce-shark-week-espys-and-the-gray-man/ | 2022-07-19T10:58:26Z | https://www.wjhl.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/new-this-week-beyonce-shark-week-espys-and-the-gray-man/ | false |
Yantai, CHINA, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the press conference for the launch of 2022 Yantai International Wine Festival was held at the Bajiaowan International Convention and Exhibition Center of Huanghai-Bohai New Area in Yantai. The grand conference has attracted the attention worldwide. When the ruby-red wine is poured into the glass, Yantai International Wine Festival gets underway in full glory.
As a major move to build a brand of "International City of Vine and Wine" for Yantai City, 2022 China·Yantai International Wine Festival spans from June to December, including more than ten serial activities such as the foundation stone laying ceremony for the China National Wine Pavilion, the 13th Yantai International Wine Expo and the 130th anniversary of CHANGYU. This festival will help to deepen the integration of the promotion of the wine industry and its brands and the development of cultural tourism in Yantai, and help to build the image of Yantai as the only "International City of Vine and Wine" in Asia.
Yantai is the cradle of the modern wine industry in China, and the grape wine is the unique appeal of Yantai with cultural connotations and its beautiful hallmark. In 1892, Zhang Bishi, a patriotic overseas Chinese, made investment to establish CHANGYU Winery Company in Yantai, opening a new era in the industrialization of wine-making in China. After the development over 130 years, Yantai has already become the largest grape wine producing area in China with the most mature grape wine industry chain in China. Statistics show that there are 204 wine-making enterprises altogether, 63 famous vineyards and more than 200 supporting enterprises in Yantai. The brand value of Yantai Wine is up to 85.2 billion yuan. Since 2007, Yantai has already succeeded in holding 12 international wine expos, making steady progress in the industry and its internationalization.
Yu Yongxin, chairman of the Municipal Committee of CPPCC of Yantai, points out in his speech that "We hope to build and enlarge the city IP of Yantai relying on the wine festival which is a unique platform, and we hope that it can trigger the unique glamour of the cultural tourism in Yantai, so the world will have interest in, remember and embrace Yantai." At the conference, other items were released including the solicitation of serial works about the urban culture for the wine festival, the planning for the concept of the International Wine Center in Yantai and the schedule of the 2022 International Grand Wine Challenge (IWGC).
This year, the wine industry is among the 16 industry chains which are on the top in the list of development in Yantai. Yantai has released the projections about its development and formulated support measures to further integrate the resources of the wine industry and culture and build the brand of "one city and one festival" with high standards. The future Yantai International Wine Center will become the permanent place for hosting the Yantai international wine festival. The "one city and one festival" will reinforce each other in manifesting Yantai as a model city in China's wine producing regions.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1816704/Yantai_Logo.jpg
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862042/Yantai_Wine_Festival.jpg
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1862043/CHANGYU_Chateau_Yantai.jpg
Contact:
Zhao XiangYang
Tel.: 0086535-6789710
E-mail: yt6789710@yt.shandong.cn
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SOURCE China Matters | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/wine-connects-yantai-with-world-2022-yantai-international-wine-festival-kicks-off-officially/ | 2022-07-19T11:00:17Z | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/wine-connects-yantai-with-world-2022-yantai-international-wine-festival-kicks-off-officially/ | true |
- This investment will establish a cutting-edge, fully integrated CRDMO center in Singapore, including a research and development service center and large-scale drug substance and drug product manufacturing facilities for biologics
- The investment strengthens WuXi Biologics' global research, development and manufacturing network with more robust nodes to meet the growing demand from clients worldwide for end-to-end services, and continues to enable its Global Dual Sourcing strategy
SINGAPORE, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a global leading Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO), today announced a 10-year USD$1.4 billion (S$2 billion) investment plan to expand the company's research, development, and large-scale drug substance and drug product (DS/DP) manufacturing capacity and capabilities in Singapore. This new site will add 120,000L biomanufacturing capacity to WuXi Biologics' global network by 2026 and is anticipated to employ 1,500 research, development and manufacturing staff when complete.
Following the momentum of continued investments in the U.S., Ireland, Germany and China, this new addition in Singapore will become a critical part of the robust global supply chain network WuXi Biologics has established to fully meet the needs of global clients. The center will also reinforce WuXi Biologics' Global Dual Sourcing strategy, which ensures that customer projects can be fulfilled at multiple facilities globally to mitigate potential risks.
WuXi Biologics' investment plan is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). "We warmly welcome WuXi Bio's plan," said Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of EDB. "The investments will establish Singapore as a significant node in the company's global research, development and manufacturing network. It is a testament to Singapore's position as a global biopharmaceutical hub, and will strengthen our attractiveness to biotech innovators and start-ups."
Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, commented, "Singapore has established itself as one of the most advanced pharmaceutical hubs in the world. As a trusted partner to global healthcare companies and a strong contributor to the local community, WuXi Biologics' investment in the new CRDMO center will enhance the sustainable growth and success of the Singapore biotech ecosystem and enable the global biologics industry with a more robust supply chain. With the support of EDB and our local partners in Singapore, WuXi Biologics looks forward to moving ahead with this important project to enable global partners and benefit patients worldwide."
About WuXi Biologics
WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK) is a global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) offering end-to-end solutions that enable partners to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercialization for the benefit of patients worldwide.
With over 10,000 skilled employees in China, the United States, Ireland, Germany and Singapore, WuXi Biologics leverages its technologies and expertise to provide customers with efficient and cost-effective biologics discovery, development and manufacturing solutions. As of April 30, 2022, WuXi Biologics is supporting 526 integrated client projects, including nine in commercial manufacturing.
WuXi Biologics views Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) responsibilities as an integral component of our ethos and business strategy, and we aim to become an ESG leader in the biologics CRDMO sector. Our facilities use next-generation biomanufacturing technologies and clean energy sources. We have also established an ESG committee led by our CEO to steer the comprehensive ESG strategy and its implementation, enhancing our commitment to sustainability. For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit: www.wuxibiologics.com.
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SOURCE WuXi Biologics | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/wuxi-biologics-plans-build-comprehensive-crdmo-center-singapore/ | 2022-07-19T11:00:43Z | https://www.kbtx.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/wuxi-biologics-plans-build-comprehensive-crdmo-center-singapore/ | true |
NEWPORT, R.I., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hinckley, the builder of America's finest yachts for nearly 95 years, was the first to bring the marine space the world's first fully electric luxury yacht in 2017 (Dasher), and now is back with a new hybrid upgrade for its iconic Picnic Boat which can run in full silence with its trademarked SilentJet technology.
"We know our clients want what's next, and they also want common sense solutions," says Geoff Berger, CEO of The Hinckley Company. "The electric Dasher turned heads as all our new models always do, but the practicality of going any distance on electric given the best current technology wasn't ideal for our clients. With SilentJet you can travel farther with the hybrid diesel system than with Dasher's electric platform. Furthermore, we learned that electric powered water jets are much quieter and produce less vibration than traditional propellers. To deliver a truly silent cruising experience that feels almost like sailing, we knew our water jet propulsion system was the best fit."
Hinckley started conceptualizing a hybrid solution shortly after the 2017 launch of electric Dasher. Ongoing conversations with Twin Disc led to collaborating on the project, and the team integrated the new hybrid technology into Hinckley's JetStick™ control system which featured automatic components that no one had brought to market before.
"By collaborating with Hinckley to implement a complete hybrid solution, we advanced our development with a proven builder who embraces electric and hybrid technology," said Mike Gee, Vice President - Hybrid Engineering. "Twin Disc focused on Hinckley's needs and tailored our technology and software to provide an automatic mode that seamlessly manages diesel/electric operation. The functionality perfectly complements Hinckley's already existing user-friendly control system."
The SilentJet technology maintains the standard of excellence found in all Hinckley products. Quiet propulsion and less time lost at the fueling dock make SilentJet the best way to spend time on the water with family and friends. With SilentJet engaged, the Picnic Boat 40 S's cruising speed is seven knots. Range is at least an hour (at seven knots, and up to 90 minutes at 5.5 knots), and the Picnic Boat 40 S cruises at 35 knots (depending on load) under diesel power.
"With SilentJet, you glide away from the dock and cruise through the harbor in total silence," says Scott Bryant, Hinckley's Vice President of Sales & Marketing. "When faster speeds are desired or the battery requires charging, the diesel engine comes on automatically, replenishing the battery in just 30-45 minutes. Since all the electrical loads on the Picnic Boat can be supported by the battery while at anchor, there's no need for a noisy generator. It's a complete paradigm shift in the onboard Hinckley Experience."
SilentJet is just the latest Hinckley innovation. Since 1928, Hinckley has pioneered beautiful, timeless, and highly innovative yachts. The company has a long tradition of innovation in pursuit of the perfect yachting experience. From the early use of fiberglass in the Bermuda 40 in the 1960's, to the development of the first recreational joystick control(JetStick) on the category-defining Picnic Boat in 1990's, they've always worked to combine the latest technology with cutting edge naval architecture to do what has not yet been done.
The world's most luxurious new hybrid yacht has arrived. To inquire and arrange a test ride, please visit hinckleyyachts.com.
Key Specifications for Picnic Boat 40 S with SilentJet Propulsion:
- 2 x 90 Kilowatt (kW) electric motors, 2x Cummins 550hp diesel engines.
- 1 x 80 kw/h battery which can be charged manually or while under diesel power.
- 7+ knot cruise under electric power for 60-90 minutes or more depending on speed and conditions.
- Batteries can support air conditioning and other systems at anchor overnight or longer depending on overall loading (without generator).
- 30-45 minute charge time while underway. 8-10 hours to charge on shorepower.
Hinckley has been building and caring for America's finest yachts since 1928. Founded to build and care for the boats of the local lobstermen in Southwest Harbor, Maine, Hinckley quickly developed a reputation for unsurpassed quality and innovation. The years that followed saw the company building true classics of American yachting from the Bermuda 40 to the Picnic Boat.
Today, Hinckley builds carbon/epoxy powerboats from 34 to 57 feet and supports its owners and other yachtsmen with its network of service yards from Maine to Florida. Two other distinguished boat builders, Hunt Yachts and Morris Yachts, were acquired in 2013 and 2016 respectively. For further information, please visit www.hinckleyyachts.com
Media Contacts:
Scott Bryant | 401- 683-7089 | sbryant@hinckleyyachts.com
Richard Matthews | 203-644-2328 | richard@mattmedia.com
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SOURCE Hinckley Yachts | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/hinckleys-iconic-picnic-boat-is-now-quietest-ride-water-industry-leader-partners-with-twin-disc-silentjet-experience/ | 2022-07-19T11:01:54Z | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/hinckleys-iconic-picnic-boat-is-now-quietest-ride-water-industry-leader-partners-with-twin-disc-silentjet-experience/ | false |
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STL bags optical fibre deal worth Re 250 crore with a leading Indian telco
STL said that with its combined capabilities in optical fibres, network design and deployment services and programmatic network management, is uniquely positioned to deliver significant value.
NEW DELHI: Sterlite Technologies Limited said that it has bagged to multi-year optical fibre deal worth Rs 250 crores with a leading Indian telco. The company will deploy an optical fibre network for the telco across 9 telecom circles.
India’s data demand is growing and dense fiberisation is the need of the hour, STL said.
STL said that with its combined capabilities in optical fibres, network design and deployment services and programmatic network management, is uniquely positioned to deliver significant value.
In this nationwide project, STL intends to provide a pre-integrated suite of optical fibre cables comprising Armored, Duct and Universal cables complying with varied deployment scenarios and integration services with its unique end-to-end deployment methodology.
Commenting on this collaboration, Praveen Cherian, CEO, of STL Global Services, said: “STL and the telecom service provider have been long-term partners in the optical connectivity space. In this project, STL will collaborate with the service provider to develop and build a competent network for India. Through our solution, we will provide a 5G-ready and high-capacity network which is expected to enable the service provider to provide faster delivery of new services with enhanced user experience in East, South and North regions.”
"It is important to note that on one hand about 30,000 BSNL executives are struggling with pay issues and denying all legitimate dues on the name of financial crunch and other side senior managers are enjoying all pay and perks of the 7th pay revision," the letter said, and added that the equal treatment to executives or engineers has not been extended by company's management.
Under India’s telecom regulations, the Adani entity would require a unified access service (UAS) permit from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to participate in the 5G airwaves sale. | https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/stl-bags-optical-fibre-deal-worth-re-250-cr-with-a-leading-indian-telco/92976480 | 2022-07-19T11:04:51Z | https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/stl-bags-optical-fibre-deal-worth-re-250-cr-with-a-leading-indian-telco/92976480 | true |
Given the meteorological conditions we are experiencing at the present time, we have a little quiz to test your knowledge to win four great CDs.
Question:
All you must do is link a classic 1977 summer song by the Electric Light Orchestra, with a brilliant Billy Wilder film starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemon and Tony Curtis, the comedy duo Morecambe & Wise and the 1958 British Open Championship won by Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band?
Answers:
Answers with your reasons to be sent to: quiz@4barsrest.com
Closing date for answers: 12.00pm (midnight) on Thursday 21st July
Connect 4:
Guido van Haalen from Nijmegen in The Netherlands won our last quiz.
He spotted that the link between overtures by Antonin Dvorak and Hector Berlioz, a children's suite written by Camille Saint-Saens and a British Open test piece by Helen Perkins, was 'Carnival'. | https://www.4barsrest.com/news/54126/4br-quiz-scorchio | 2022-07-19T11:04:58Z | https://www.4barsrest.com/news/54126/4br-quiz-scorchio | false |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the Home Run Derby (all times local):
___ 7:45 p.m.
Washington’s Juan Soto defeated Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez 19-18 in the final to capture the Home Run Derby title at Dodger Stadium.
Soto, who was competing in the Derby for the second time, had nine homers in the final minute of regulation in the two-minute final. He added four more in bonus time, his clinching blast coming with 19 seconds remaining. He threw his bat way in the air after the deciding shot cleared the fence.
Soto, the fourth seed, is the second Nationals player to win the Derby. Bryce Harper won it in 2018 in Washington.
Soto earns a $1 million prize and another highlight on his resume as his time with Washington possibly nears an end. The Athletic reported over the weekend that Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year contract to stay with the Nationals, and he could be traded by the end of the month.
___
7:30 p.m.
Washington’s Juan Soto advanced to the final with a 16-15 victory over St. Louis slugger and sentimental favorite Albert Pujols.
Soto, the fourth seed, hit a 405-foot shot with 31 seconds remaining in bonus time. He will face sixth seeded Julio Rodríguez of Seattle in the final.
The 42-year-old Pujols averaged 395 feet on his homers while 23-year-old Soto averaged 424 feet.
Soto is trying to become the second Nationals player to win the Derby. Bryce Harper won it in 2018 in Washington.
——
7:05 p.m.
Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez spoiled Pete Alonso’s bid to become the first player to win three straight Home Run Derbies by beating the Mets slugger 31-23 in the semifinals.
The 21-year-old Rodríguez hit 18 in the final minute of regulation and the 60 seconds of bonus time. His top blast was 450 feet and he averaged 410 feet.
Alonso had 18 during the three minutes of regulation time. Alonso had nine over 440 feet, including one that went 463, and averaged 427 feet.
Rodriguez will face either St. Louis’ Albert Pujols or Washington’s Juan Soto in the final.
___
6:45 p.m.
Eighth-seed Albert Pujols pulled off the biggest surprise of the first round, defeating No. 1 seed Kyle Schwarber in overtime.
Pujols had a total of 20 homers, including seven in the extra round. None of his drives went over 440 feet, but he did enough to advance with an average of 406 feet per homer.
Pujols, who played for the Dodgers part of last season, was the sentimental favorite among the players and fans. After the three-minute regulation session, Pujols was swarmed by cheering All-Stars along the third-base line.
“It is pretty awesome to see the young generation and all that talent. This is for you guys,” Pujols said after he was done. “It is pretty awesome to come back here one last time.”
Pujols, sure that Schwarber would top his regulation total of 13, told ESPN that he had already given away his batting gloves before having to retrieve them for OT.
It is the fifth straight time the top seed has been knocked off in the opening round.
Schwarber trailed by three going into the one-minute bonus time. He tied it with a 385-foot homer with 15 seconds remaining but couldn’t get another one over the fence to force a swing-off.
Schwarber had six in OT. The Phillies’ slugger had five go over 440 feet and averaged 419 feet.
___
6:20 p.m.
Washington’s Juan Soto did not need bonus time in his matchup against Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez. Soto’s final home run as time expired gave the fourth seed an 18-17 victory.
Soto, the Derby’s No. 4 seed, established a quick pace with seven in the first minute. His 482-foot shot as time expired was the longest of the first three matchups. Soto established the Derby record with a 520-foot blast last year at Colorado.
Ramirez struggled to gain any consistency throughout his three minutes. He averaged 387 feet with a top blast of 421 feet.
____
6 p.m.
Two-time defending Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso needed bonus time, but the New York Mets’ slugger was able to keep alive his hopes of being the first player to three-peat with a 20-19 victory over Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr.
Alonso — the Derby’s second seed — trailed by two going into bonus time, but he hit a 423-foot shot to center field with 31 seconds remaining to advance. He had seven go over 440 feet and averaged 429 feet per homer. He also had a 480-foot blast that bounced off the roof of the stands in left-center. Alonso had only five the first minute before warming up.
Acuña also only had five after the first minute. He averaged 408 feet per homer and only one that went over 440 feet — a 472-yard blast that also bounced off the roof in left field.
This is the second time Acuña has been eliminated by Alonso. The first was in the 2019 semifinals.
___ 5:40 p.m.
Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez advanced to the second round of the All-Star Home Run Derby with a 32-23 win over Texas’ Corey Seager.
The Mariners’ rookie, who has not played at Dodger Stadium, was an underdog against Seager, who was with the Dodgers for seven seasons. He didn’t seem fazed. With Seattle great and three-time Derby champion Ken Griffey Jr. snapping photos on the field, Rodriguez had 10 drives over 440 feet and hit 19 during the final two minutes of regulation.
Rodriguez’s 32 homers averaged 420 feet, with his longest going for 463.
Seager had seven in the first minute but only six in the second to fall off the pace. His homers averaged 418 feet with the longest going for 451. He had three over 440 feet.
Seager has not advanced out of the opening round in either Derby appearance. He lost to Mark Trumbo while a rookie in 2016.
___
5:10 p.m.
Ronald Acuña Jr. and the rest of the All-Star Home Run Derby field got a fiery welcome to the competition Monday.
All-Star organizers arrayed a series of fire-blasting devices around the stage where the eight participants stood during introductions, and they set off the flames after the introduction of each matchup. The flames were big and bright, and their heat could be felt even in the press box on the third level of Dodger Stadium, more than 200 feet away.
The players were perhaps a few dozen feet away, and they were clearly taken aback by the intense heat. Acuña and Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez reacted with fright when a huge burst went off behind them during another pair’s introduction.
When all eight competitors reached the stage, the organizers set off another huge burst of flames that sent Acuña taking two steps toward the edge of the stage away from the flames.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wjhl.com/sports/us-world-sports/hr-derby-julio-rodriguez-tops-corey-seager-in-first-round/ | 2022-07-19T11:05:19Z | https://www.wjhl.com/sports/us-world-sports/hr-derby-julio-rodriguez-tops-corey-seager-in-first-round/ | true |
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For 20 years the stadium was called Heinz Field and giant Heinz Ketchup bottles framed the scoreboard. But naming rights expired, and those bottles loved by Steelers fans are being removed.
Copyright 2022 NPR
For 20 years the stadium was called Heinz Field and giant Heinz Ketchup bottles framed the scoreboard. But naming rights expired, and those bottles loved by Steelers fans are being removed.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wunc.org/2022-07-19/the-home-of-the-pittsburgh-steelers-is-being-renamed-and-redecorated | 2022-07-19T11:08:41Z | https://www.wunc.org/2022-07-19/the-home-of-the-pittsburgh-steelers-is-being-renamed-and-redecorated | true |
More cunning than the 'old fox': Sri Lanka's presumptive president
Issued on:
Colombo (AFP) – Acting Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is favourite to take the country's reins long term on Wednesday, as parliament votes to appoint a full successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister, has the backing of Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the largest bloc in the 225-member legislature.
Victory would be the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition for the veteran politician, who is currently head of state in an acting capacity after Rajapaksa resigned in disgrace, fleeing to Singapore and leaving his country in economic ruin.
The pro-Western Wickremesinghe has sought the position for decades.
A few families have long dominated politics in the Indian Ocean island nation, and Wickremesinghe is the nephew of one its longest-serving leaders, Junius Jayewardene, who was in power for 12 years until stepping down in 1989.
Dubbed the "old fox", Jayewardene was renowned for his cunning, but his nephew is regarded as an even shrewder navigator of the country's internecine power networks.
It was Jayewardene who brought him into politics by making him a deputy foreign affairs minister in 1977. Commentators joked the initials of their United National Party (UNP) actually stood for Uncle and Nephew.
Family members say that Jayewardene, who died in 1996, had wanted to ensure that Wickremesinghe becomes president "even for one day".
On Friday, Wickremesinghe became acting president, stepping up from his position as prime minister as dictated by Sri Lanka's constitution.
He had only been appointed to that role in mid-May, when Gotabaya's elder brother Mahinda resigned due to widespread protests against the Rajapaksas' rule, as the country faced its worst-ever economic crisis.
Wickremesinghe has run for the presidency twice before -- in 1999 and 2005 -- losing both elections, and the UNP was annihilated in a parliamentary election in 2020, leaving the silver-haired veteran as its only MP.
His political manoeuvring, however, has seen him outfox opponents and emerge as the frontrunner for the presidency.
But while he has the official backing of the largest party in parliament, the demonstrators who ousted Rajapaksa are also demanding his departure, accusing him of protecting the ex-president's family's interests.
Analysts say he will crack down hard if he is elected and protesters take to the streets against him.
Burning books
Wickremesinghe is married to Maithree, an English lecturer. They do not have children and have bequeathed their assets to his old school and their universities.
But their impressive library of more than 2,500 books -- which he called his "biggest treasure" -- was among the losses when their house was torched by demonstrators who also drove Rajapaksa from his official residence.
Born into a wealthy and politically connected family rooted in publishing and plantations, Wickremesinghe started work as a rookie reporter at one of the family newspapers.
He turned to a legal career after the family firm was nationalised in 1973 by Sirima Bandaranaike, the world's first woman prime minister.
"If Lake House had not been taken over, I would have become a journalist. So actually, Mrs Bandaranaike sent me to politics," Wickremesinghe once told AFP.
His first appointment as prime minister was as a result of the May 1993 assassination of president Ranasinghe Premadasa by a suicide bomber.
The then-premier Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was elevated to the presidency, and picked Wickremesinghe -- then Industry, Science and Technology minister -- to replace him.
A similar attack arguably denied him the presidency six years later: his main election rival Chandrika Kumaratunga was wounded by a suicide bomber just three days before the polls.
She brought the nation to tears in a television appearance with a patch over the right eye she had lost and received a significant sympathy vote, with Wickremesinghe losing an election many thought he would win.
Now the political wheel may turn once more: Premadasa's son Sajith is now the leader of the opposition and has backed Wickremesinghe's main rival for the presidency, Dullas Alahapperuma.
Banking scandal
Wickremesinghe long had a relatively clean image in Sri Lanka's often corrupt politics, but it was muddied during his last-but-one prime ministerial term in 2015-19, when his administration was rocked by an insider trading scam involving central bank bonds.
His schoolmate and choice as central bank chief was a key accused, raising allegations of cronyism.
Wickremesinghe was also accused of protecting members of the Rajapaksa clan who have been accused of graft, kickbacks, siphoning off public finances and even murder.
As acting president, he took charge of a bankrupt nation that has defaulted on its $51-billion foreign debt and lacks the money to import essential goods.
His status as a pro-Western, free-market reformist could smooth bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and foreign creditors, but he has already warned there will be no quick fix to the nation's unprecedented economic woes.
"The worst is yet to come. We have very high inflation now and hyperinflation is on its way," Wickremesinghe told parliament earlier this month. "We are bankrupt."
© 2022 AFP | https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20220719-more-cunning-than-the-old-fox-sri-lanka-s-presumptive-president | 2022-07-19T11:08:50Z | https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20220719-more-cunning-than-the-old-fox-sri-lanka-s-presumptive-president | true |
QINGDAO, China, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For many premium consumers or those who need to upgrade their living room, choosing a well-designed and technological TV is particularly important. For high-quality lifestyle consumers, a TV is not only a TV but also a work of art, and a choice for life enhancement.
So, to bring consumers an even more perfect lifestyle and TV experience, Hisense ULED TV series, by forging technology and excellent design, provides consumers with a premium and artistic TV beyond imagination.
Hisense ULED Large Screen TVs, Making Every Moment Impressive
Hisense ULED TVs features an ultra-thin and large screen design that combines a superb sense of artistic design and technological aesthetics, making it a masterpiece in the living room. The ULED series is equipped with Quantum Dot Colour technology, which helps deliver even better brightness color for the best image quality and viewing experience. For example, when playing a spectacular artwork on Hisense ULED TV, every acrylic color of the artwork can be vividly rendered, creating an ultra-immersive experience, and making the daily living space more artistic.
#IncredibleArtMoment, Capture Every Beauty Scene
For many years, Hisense has been committed to enhancing display technology for a premium viewing experience. As of today, Hisense ULED series has received substantial support from global consumers, particularly in Hisense's major and largest market - North America, with a total sales volume of Hisense ULED TVs series over 34% YOY growth in North America during the first half of 2022.
To allow more potential global consumers to experience the brilliant picture quality of ULED, Hisense launched a social media campaign - #IncredibleArtMoment and encouraged consumers to find and capture every beautiful and colorful moment of the world to win the latest series of ULED TVs.
Since the campaign's launch, Hisense has received over 4,000 consumer participations and reached 65K mentions worldwide, gaining love and support from many international consumers.
As the official sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Hisense devotes itself to bringing the perfect FIFA match viewing experience to global consumers. So, in August 2022, Hisense will showcase its latest innovative products, including the newest ULED series, at "Hisense FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Global Launch Event", to create an immersive match experience for consumers through Hisense technology.
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SOURCE Hisense | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/hisense-uled-well-designed-large-screen-tv-brings-viewers-all-incredible-moments/ | 2022-07-19T11:10:07Z | https://www.wbrc.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/hisense-uled-well-designed-large-screen-tv-brings-viewers-all-incredible-moments/ | true |
OSLO, Norway, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oslo based software startup Kosli will launch a free tier of its SaaS later this summer. Founded in 2019 as a compliance automation platform for regulated DevOps teams in sectors like fintech, Kosli will now offer a much broader set of use cases for developers in all industries. The company is backed by local investment fund, Skyfall Ventures.
Kosli provides an easy way for developers to understand how today's dynamic software systems change. The latest research from DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA) shows that elite performers continue to accelerate their pace of software delivery, increasing their lead time for changes from less than one day to less than one hour. Those elite performers deploy 973x more frequently than low performers.
But no one has fixed on an efficient way of navigating these higher volumes of change. And that's a problem for developers when things go wrong. Broken environments and incidents are much harder to fix in complex systems where lots of change takes place. Developers often git blame, git bisect and search through their CI servers and deployment logs for several hours before finding what they need. Getting to the root cause of an incident requires a lot of manual effort.
Kosli changes that by giving developers the power to quickly identify specific changes. With Kosli, users can capture the whole history of change in their systems and then query that history by using familiar commands. And this functionality is accessible from the command line as well as the browser.
Kosli will be especially useful for GitOps users who already deal with complex software infrastructure and understand the importance of tracking how those systems change. The Kosli platform will show developers how their systems have actually changed in comparison with the declared state described by GitOps.
Kosli founder and CEO, Mike Long, explained, "We've found a new and exciting way of capturing what's really going on in complex and dynamic systems. By using simple commands developers can quickly find out how their pipelines and environments are changing."
You can find out more about the upcoming release at www.kosli.com
Contact:
Bruce Johnston
Email: bruce@kosli.com
Phone: +447812241011
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
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SOURCE Kosli AS | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/devops-startup-kosli-announces-free-tier-developers/ | 2022-07-19T11:13:16Z | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/devops-startup-kosli-announces-free-tier-developers/ | true |
If you’ve been thinking about getting a new dog then you’re not alone – Kennel Club figures show that the number of people looking for puppies surged by around eight per cent since the start of the global pandemic.
But with 221 different breeds of pedigree dog to choose from, there’s plenty of thinking to do before you select your family’s latest four-legged addition – whether you want a large dog, family-friendly dog, or crossbreed.
There’s even academic guidance to seek out, with Psychologist Stanley Coren’s book ‘The Intelligence of Dogs’ ranking breeds by instincts, obedience, and the ability to adapt.
Different breeds of dog also tend to have very different physical attributes and strengths, including how strong their bite is – a measure that has been studied by scientists.
Of course, this dosn’t necessarily mean that these breeds will be more likely to bite – and individual dogs will vary greatly in strength – just that you need to be extra-careful to train these dogs properly as they have the potential to cause serious harm.
So, here are the breeds that research has shown to have the strongest bites, in pressure per square inch (psi). For reference the average human’s bite is around 162 psi.
For the purposes of this article we are only using breeds recognised by the UK Kennel Club, meaning such breeds as the Cane Corso (700 psi), Dogo Canario (540 psi) and Dogo Argentino (500 psi) are not included.
For all the latest dog news, pictures, advice and information, join our Scotsdog Facebook group here
Read more: | https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family-and-parenting/dogs-with-big-bites-here-are-the-11-breeds-of-adorable-dog-that-have-the-most-powerful-bites-including-the-mighty-rottweiler-3719270 | 2022-07-19T11:15:49Z | https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family-and-parenting/dogs-with-big-bites-here-are-the-11-breeds-of-adorable-dog-that-have-the-most-powerful-bites-including-the-mighty-rottweiler-3719270 | true |
Today will be a nice day with temperatures in the upper 80s and partly cloudy skies. It will be a bit humid this afternoon. Tomorrow we see a lot of sunshine in the early day, but by the evening we have a chance of strong storms with all modes of severe possible, but damaging winds and hail are the primary threat. Dry to end the work week, but hot and humid.
Today: A high of 87 degrees. Partly cloudy skies.
Tonight: A low of 70 degrees. Partly cloudy skies.
Tomorrow: A high of 92 degrees. Sunny then evening thunderstorms. | https://www.wdtn.com/weather/daily-forecast/humid-hot-today-storms-tomorrow/ | 2022-07-19T11:18:06Z | https://www.wdtn.com/weather/daily-forecast/humid-hot-today-storms-tomorrow/ | true |
Freemasons’ summer fair raises over £2k for charity
- Credit: Ely Freemasons
Ely Freemasons' summer fair held on July 16 raised over £2,000 for Cambridgeshire's Festival 2023 in aid of the Masonic Charitable Foundation.
Coming just before the heatwave, the weather at Watson’s Meadow was great and brought a ‘good’ number of families together to enjoy the fair’s attractions such as a tombola and a mini golf range.
Individuals were also able to cool off from the warm weather in style by taking part in wet sponge throwing.
Host of the event, David Watson, said: “We aimed to top £2,000 and we are really thrilled at the outcome of in excess of £2,300.
“We are really grateful for the support and everyone who attended.”
Tom Jackson, the winner of the Perkins wheelbarrow, immediately donated his prize for auction and was pleased to see his generosity rewarded as it is going to a home where it will be worked very hard.
The winner of mini golf was John Reed who won a prize round of golf courtesy of Ely’s ‘On Par’ Golf Course. | https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/ely-freemasons-summer-fair-raises-over-2k-9153630 | 2022-07-19T11:18:37Z | https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/ely-freemasons-summer-fair-raises-over-2k-9153630 | true |
For college grads who want to make money and live in New York City, landing a job at Goldman Sachs is a golden ticket. And it is still harder to get hired by Goldman than it is to get into Harvard University.
"This week, we have about 3,500 undergraduates who are starting their careers here," says CEO David Solomon, in an interview with NPR. "That's 3,500 out of over 300,000 people that applied for those jobs."
Something those new hires are sure to notice is that many of their colleagues are also young.
"Half our organization is in its 20s," says Solomon, who moonlights as DJ D-Sol. Next week, he will perform at Lollapalooza, alongside Dua Lipa, Doja Cat and Metallica. (Solomon notes he will donate his performance fee to charity, and he also plans to meet with clients in Chicago.)
Since he became Goldman's CEO in 2018, Solomon has implemented some changes to the bank's culture, including a relaxed dress code and more flexibility when it comes to taking vacation days.
But early in the pandemic, Solomon drew a line in the sand, and he hasn't budged: Solomon does not want his employees to work from home, in their pajamas, in perpetuity. He believes they need to be in the office.
"They come to work at Goldman Sachs so they can be trained, they can be mentored, they can learn, they can grow," says Solomon. "And that just doesn't happen at the same velocity if they're not present, sharing the experience with others."
Banking analysts who watch the bank's performance closely say that, as the business environment sours, Goldman's emphasis on in-person work is going to be an advantage, or at least a differentiator.
"The culture of Goldman is very important," says Gerard Cassidy, managing director of bank equity research at RBC Capital Markets. "It's an esprit de corps. It's eat what you kill. And it works very effectively. But it really has worked because of everybody being in the office."
It certainly ensures Goldman employees, especially the newer ones, get a deep understanding of business broadly. A wide range of clients from around the world, from governments and corporations, to institutions and individuals, seek the bank's advice.
As the bank's CEO, Solomon has a bird's eye view of the global economy, and right now, he sees a lot of uncertainty.
The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates aggressively to fight high inflation, and while Goldman's in-house economists are betting there is a 50% chance of a recession in the next two years, Solomon fears the odds are worse.
"It doesn't preoccupy me, but I think the chance of a recession some time in the next 24 months is high," he says.
Goldman Sachs is taking steps to prepare for a deeper economic downturn. When it reported earnings for the second quarter on Monday, it said it has set aside $667 million to cover potential losses, and the company's CFO announced the bank plans to "slow hiring."
Mike Mayo, a banking analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, says the current market environment is especially difficult for Wall Street banks. This year, he notes, "we are experiencing the biggest decline in stocks and bonds in over 50 years."
But according to Mayo, Goldman is able to move nimbly when circumstances change. "Goldman Sachs is the antithesis of the oil tanker analogy," he says.
This week, Solomon is headlining the 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington. In response to a recent survey conducted by Goldman Sachs, 93% of small business owners who responded said they are worried about a recession in the next year.
Solomon says that being nimble and flexible is going to be the key for all businesses in the coming months, including his own.
He says what he admires most about the small business owners he will address is their optimism in the face of economic uncertainty.
"They are optimistic. They work hard. They are ambitious," he says. "They are fiercely independent in what they do."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.nepm.org/2022-07-18/goldman-sachs-ceo-sees-recession-risk-as-more-likely-than-his-own-economists-do | 2022-07-19T11:18:48Z | https://www.nepm.org/2022-07-18/goldman-sachs-ceo-sees-recession-risk-as-more-likely-than-his-own-economists-do | true |
Oil giant Shell will soon open a chemical plant near Pittsburgh that will turn gas from fracking into plastic. The project is creating hundreds of jobs but some residents worry about the air quality
Copyright 2022 NPR
Oil giant Shell will soon open a chemical plant near Pittsburgh that will turn gas from fracking into plastic. The project is creating hundreds of jobs but some residents worry about the air quality
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.nepm.org/2022-07-19/a-shell-chemical-plant-brings-economic-hope-and-environmental-fears-to-western-pa | 2022-07-19T11:19:00Z | https://www.nepm.org/2022-07-19/a-shell-chemical-plant-brings-economic-hope-and-environmental-fears-to-western-pa | true |
I'm masked and buckled up, this time around in a middle seat. Surely, the only creature more miserable than me right now is a nearby support dog, a pit bull, who's dutifully wedged himself under his human's seat. At least this flight is taking off, unlike my earlier one that was abruptly canceled.
After two pandemic years of mostly staying in place, I'm flying a lot this summer, sometimes for work, sometimes to visit family and friends. The flights, all full, have been cross-country tests of endurance, bereft of space and food; but being vacuum-packed into an airborne, possible COVID-container doesn't do much for the appetite, anyway.
We all get through the ordeal in our own ways: I've noticed that my fellow passengers are usually glued to dystopian apocalyptic disaster movies where human beings battle against aliens or robots. Who am I to judge? By now, I've faced up to the fact that all I want to read when I'm buckled into a cramped space is a suspense story. What some people dismiss as "airplane books," I think of as oxygen masks for the spirit.
On my first cross-country flight in May, I carried a couple of literary novels. The flight took off, I started reading, and neither book lived up to its promise. Because I just don't like to read on screens, I was trapped and miserable for five plus hours. But something wonderful happened when I reached my destination in California. I walked into the local library to find a restroom and near the checkout desk was a wall of used books for sale.
I scooped up suspense novels by the holy trinity of Lisa Scottoline, Daniel Silva and Michael Connelly. Some I'd read but had semi-forgotten; others were new to me. I was transported, literally and figuratively, on the flight home. Recently, in Oregon I found similar deliverance in a strip-mall used bookstore that was filled with historical and domestic suspense by lesser-known writers like Lauren Belfer, Geoffrey Household and Celia Fremlin.
I lose myself in these kinds of novels for all the obvious reasons; but given the extra-tense, extra-claustrophobic current conditions of flying, maybe there's an added lure to reading suspense stories where the protagonists typically find themselves jammed into tight spots. Take Connelly's 1998 standalone thriller, Blood Work, where a retired FBI agent is marooned in a marina on his late father's broken down fishing boat. Set up by a serial killer, the agent must mostly sit still and brainstorm how to out-maneuver his opponent.
Or, there's Household's 1939 novel, Rogue Male, in which a failed Hitler assassin conceals himself from his pursuers in a burrow, some "two feet in diameter" that he's dug out of a hillside. Maybe, like my fellow passengers with their apocalyptic disaster movies, I find solace in adventure stories that mirror and intensify my own immobile misery in the air.
The view is different, however, from the cockpit — that's what Mark Vanhoenacker tells us in his new book called Imagine A City. Part memoir, part travelogue, part history, Imagine a City is all entrancing. Vanhoenacker is a commercial pilot and writer whose previous book, Skyfaring, was a best seller.
In Imagine A City, Vanhoenacker describes his temporary encounters with many of the world's cities — Brasilia, L.A., Delhi — interspersed with touch-downs in Pittsfield, Mass., where he grew up and came to terms with his identity as a gay man. Vanhoenacker's voice is so contemplative it holds the disparate parts of this odd book together. Here, for instance, he talks about the singular experience that long-haul pilots and crews have of cities:
After we land, we have the opportunity to repeat or deepen a set of urban experiences that are, again, like those of no one else. Our stays in cities — in so many cities! — are typically short but frequent; carefully arranged around our legal responsibility to rest, but also freedom-giving and time bending ...
I couldn't have read Imagine A City on any of my recent flights; I would have been too resentful. But on ground, Vanhoenacker's generous view is a reminder of just how extraordinary the whole mess of air travel still really is.
Copyright 2022 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air. | https://www.nepm.org/2022-07-19/air-travel-is-a-mess-settling-into-a-great-book-can-make-for-a-smoother-flight | 2022-07-19T11:19:06Z | https://www.nepm.org/2022-07-19/air-travel-is-a-mess-settling-into-a-great-book-can-make-for-a-smoother-flight | false |
House to vote on same-sex marriage, push back against court
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House is set to vote to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, a direct confrontation with the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority in overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access has sparked concerns that other rights enjoyed by countless Americans may be in jeopardy.
Tuesday’s vote in the House is part political strategy setting up an election-year roll call that will force all lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, to go on the record with their views on the high-profile social issue. It’s also part of the legislative branch asserting its authority, pushing back against an aggressive court that appears intent on revisiting many settled U.S. laws.
“As this Court may take aim at other fundamental rights, we cannot sit idly by,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.
While the Respect for Marriage Act is expected to pass the House, it is almost certain to stall in the Senate, where most Republicans would surely block it. It’s one of several bills, including those enshrining abortion access, that Democrats are pushing to confront the court’s conservative majority. Another bill, guaranteeing access to contraceptive services, is set for a vote later this week.
The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal a leftover law still on the books from the Clinton era that defines marriage as a heterogeneous relationship between man and woman. It would also provide legal protections for interracial marriages by prohibiting any state from denying out-of-state marriage licenses and benefits on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.
The 1996 law, the Defense of Marriage Act, had basically been sidelined by Obama-era court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the rights of same-sex couples to marry nationwide, a landmark case for gay rights.
But last month, in doing away with the Roe v. Wade constitutional right to an abortion, the conservative court majority put in place during the Trump era left critics concerned there may be more to come.
In writing for the majority overturning Roe, Justice Samuel Alito argued for a more narrow interpretation of the rights guaranteed to Americans, saying the right to an abortion is not spelled out in the Constitution.
“We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion,” Alito wrote.
In a concurring opinion, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas went further, saying other rulings similar to Roe, including those around same-sex marriage and the right for couples to use contraception, should be reconsidered.
While Alito insisted in the majority opinion that “this decision concerns the constitutional right to abortion and no other right,” others have taken notice.
Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark ruling legalizing same-sex marriage and now running as a Democrat for the Ohio House, said after the court’s ruling on abortion, “When we lose one right that we have relied on and enjoyed, other rights are at risk.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2022/07/19/house-vote-same-sex-marriage-push-back-against-court/ | 2022-07-19T11:19:23Z | https://www.wnem.com/2022/07/19/house-vote-same-sex-marriage-push-back-against-court/ | true |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Molecular Partners AG (NASDAQ: MOLN) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
This lawsuit is on behalf of a class consisting of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired: (a) Molecular Partners American Depositary Shares pursuant and/or traceable to certain documents issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering conducted on or about June 16, 2021; and/or (b) Molecular Partners securities between June 16, 2021, and April 26, 2022.
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 12, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in MOLN:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/class-action-molecular-partners-ag-loss-submission-form?id=29936&from=4
Molecular Partners AG NEWS - MOLN NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Molecular Partners AG made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company's product, ensovibep, was less effective at treating COVID-19 than defendants had led investors to believe; that (ii) accordingly, the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") was reasonably likely to require an additional Phase 3 study of ensovibep before granting the drug Emergency Use Authorization ("EUA"); (iii) waning global rates of COVID-19 significantly reduced the Company's chances of securing EUA for ensovibep; (iv) another of the Company's product candidates, MP0310, was less attractive to Molecular Partners' collaborator, Amgen, than defendants had led investors to believe; (v) accordingly, there was a significant likelihood that Amgen would return to global rights of MP0310 to Molecular Partners; (vi) as a result of all the foregoing, the clinical and commercial prospects of ensovibep and MP0310 were overstated; and (vii) as a result, documents issues in connection with the Company's initial public offer and defendants' public statements throughout the class period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Molecular Partners you have until September 12, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Molecular Partners securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the MOLN lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/class-action-molecular-partners-ag-loss-submission-form?id=29936&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
View original content:
SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/moln-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-12-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-molecular-partners-ag-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T11:21:25Z | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/moln-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-12-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-molecular-partners-ag-shareholders/ | false |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
Class Period: March 5, 2021 to May 10, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 6, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in U:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/unity-software-class-action-loss-form?id=29933&from=4
Unity Software Inc. NEWS - U NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Unity Software Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) deficiencies in Unity's product platform reduced the accuracy of the Company's machine learning technology; (ii) the foregoing was likely to have a material negative impact on the Company's revenues; (iii) accordingly, Unity had overstated the Company's commercial and/or financial prospects for 2022; (iv) as a result, the Company was likely to have to reduce its fiscal 2022 guidance; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Unity you have until September 6, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Unity securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the U lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/unity-software-class-action-loss-form?id=29933&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
View original content:
SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/u-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-6-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-unity-software-inc-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T11:25:21Z | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/u-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-6-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-unity-software-inc-shareholders/ | false |
Has Netflix found its Bond? Ryan Gosling stars in spy movie 'The Gray Man'
By Lisa Richwine and Rollo Ross
LOS ANGELES, July 19 (Reuters) - In the new Netflix movie "The Gray Man," Ryan Gosling's character jokes that he goes by the name Six because 007 was taken.
The film is a big-budget, effects-filled thriller in the spirit of a James Bond adventure. Netflix Inc and the movie's directors hope the film, which starts streaming on Friday, will launch the company's own long-running spy series.
Gosling stars as Sierra Six, a former inmate sprung from prison by the CIA in exchange for servitude in a secret program.
"I've always wanted to make an action movie," Gosling told Reuters. "Action was my first love. It made me fall in love with movies in the first place. It took a minute to get there and find the right one."
"The Gray Man" is based on a novel by Mark Greaney and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the brothers who helmed Marvel's mega-blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame."
The Russos said Netflix allowed them to bring their full vision to the screen. "Gray Man" was filmed at seven locations around the world from Azerbaijan to Croatia and France.
"We wanted to be very ambitious with this movie," Anthony Russo said. "It is hard to shoot action. It's expensive to shoot action, and Netflix was up for this level of ambition."
The movie packs in nine major action sequences, including a lengthy gun battle in a public square in Prague.
"It was real trial by fire for me having it be my first action film," Gosling said.
Chris Evans plays Gosling's nemesis, an assassin named Lloyd Hansen who was expelled from the CIA for excessive tactics.
"He's unapologetically himself," Evans said of the character. "I think most of us walk through the world measuring who we are based on who we think we're supposed to be, and Lloyd is unbound by those social norms."
"The Gray Man" is playing exclusively in cinemas this week before hitting Netflix.
The reaction from film critics has been mixed. As of Monday, "Gray Man" had a 52% positive rating among reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Audiences were more enthusiastic, with 89% of commenters on the site giving a thumbs-up.
The Russos hope the film will be popular enough to warrant future installments.
"Whether it's exploring the events after the original 'Gray Man' movie, or before, or where we choose to go, there's a lot of options in this universe," Anthony Russo said. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Rollo Ross; editing by Jonathan Oatis) | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-11027663/Has-Netflix-Bond-Ryan-Gosling-stars-spy-movie-The-Gray-Man.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 | 2022-07-19T11:25:34Z | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-11027663/Has-Netflix-Bond-Ryan-Gosling-stars-spy-movie-The-Gray-Man.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 | false |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outgoing director of the Bureau of Prisons has been subpoenaed to testify before a Senate committee examining abuse and corruption in the beleaguered federal agency.
Michael Carvajal was served a subpoena to appear at a hearing later this month. The subpoena was announced Monday by Sen. Jon Ossoff, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
The committee’s subpoena follows an investigation by The Associated Press exposing systemic issues in the agency, including widespread criminal activity by staff and rampant sexual assault at a women’s prison in California.
The Justice Department announced last week it was replacing Carvajal with Colette Peters, the director of Oregon’s prison system. That announcement came about seven months after Carvajal submitted his resignation amid mounting pressure from Congress after the AP’s investigation.
Though Carvajal is a holdover from the Trump administration, the issuance of the subpoena to compel him to appear before the Senate panel is rare, in part because Democrats have control of both the Senate and the White House. The decision to issue a subpoena exemplifies the lengths members of Congress and congressional investigators are going to bring additional oversight to the embattled agency that has long skirted intense public attention.
Ossoff and Sen. Ron Johnson, the committee’s top Republican, said the subpoena was issued after the Justice Department refused to make Carvajal available to testify voluntarily.
In a statement, the Justice Department said it was disappointed that Ossoff issued the subpoena and said officials had cooperated extensively with the subcommittee’s work and had offered to provide a lower-level official in Carvajal’s place.
The department said it was “committed to focusing” Carvajal’s last days on preparing for Peters to take over and said having him prepare for a congressional hearing days before Peters takes control of the agency would be distracting.
“As the Department has previously explained to the Subcommittee, we believe that preparation for testimony just five business days before this critical leadership transition may distract Director Carvajal’s time and attention away from this goal,” the Justice Department’s statement said. “Nevertheless, we continue to work with the Subcommittee to find an agreeable solution.”
Carvajal has been at the center of myriad crises within the federal prison system. His tumultuous tenure included the rampant spread of coronavirus inside federal prisons, a failed response to the pandemic, dozens of escapes, deaths and critically low staffing levels that have hampered responses to emergencies.
The committee’s investigation has included examination of abuse, misconduct and corruption both at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta — Osoff’s home state — and more broadly in the federal prison system.
“To date, the Subcommittee has been provided no legal basis that would prevent Director Carvajal’s testimony before the Subcommittee, and the Department of Justice continues to refuse to make him available to testify,” Ossoff and Johnson said in a joint statement.
The Biden administration had faced increasing pressure to remove Carvajal and do more to fix the federal prison system after President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to push criminal justice reforms. The Bureau of Prisons is one of the largest Justice Department agencies, budgeted for around 37,500 employees and over 150,000 federal prisoners. It has an annual budget of around $8 billion.
Peters is set to take over the agency in August.
___
On Twitter, follow Michael Balsamo at twitter.com/mikebalsamo1 and Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips. | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/senate-panel-subpoenas-federal-prisons-director-to-testify/ | 2022-07-19T11:25:52Z | https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/senate-panel-subpoenas-federal-prisons-director-to-testify/ | false |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Molecular Partners AG (NASDAQ: MOLN) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
This lawsuit is on behalf of a class consisting of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired: (a) Molecular Partners American Depositary Shares pursuant and/or traceable to certain documents issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering conducted on or about June 16, 2021; and/or (b) Molecular Partners securities between June 16, 2021, and April 26, 2022.
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 12, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in MOLN:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/class-action-molecular-partners-ag-loss-submission-form?id=29936&from=4
Molecular Partners AG NEWS - MOLN NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Molecular Partners AG made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company's product, ensovibep, was less effective at treating COVID-19 than defendants had led investors to believe; that (ii) accordingly, the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") was reasonably likely to require an additional Phase 3 study of ensovibep before granting the drug Emergency Use Authorization ("EUA"); (iii) waning global rates of COVID-19 significantly reduced the Company's chances of securing EUA for ensovibep; (iv) another of the Company's product candidates, MP0310, was less attractive to Molecular Partners' collaborator, Amgen, than defendants had led investors to believe; (v) accordingly, there was a significant likelihood that Amgen would return to global rights of MP0310 to Molecular Partners; (vi) as a result of all the foregoing, the clinical and commercial prospects of ensovibep and MP0310 were overstated; and (vii) as a result, documents issues in connection with the Company's initial public offer and defendants' public statements throughout the class period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Molecular Partners you have until September 12, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Molecular Partners securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the MOLN lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/class-action-molecular-partners-ag-loss-submission-form?id=29936&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/moln-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-12-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-molecular-partners-ag-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T11:26:01Z | https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/moln-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-12-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-molecular-partners-ag-shareholders/ | false |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Yext, Inc. (NYSE: YEXT) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
Class Period: March 4, 2021 to March 8, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 16, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in YEXT:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/yext-lawsuit?id=29930&from=4
Yext, Inc. NEWS - YEXT NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Yext, Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Yext's revenue and earnings were significantly deteriorating because of, among other things, poor sales execution and performance, as well as COVID-19 related disruptions; (ii) accordingly, Yext was unlikely to meet consensus estimates for its full year fiscal 2022 financial results and fiscal 2023 outlook; and (iii) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Yext you have until August 16, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Yext securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the YEXT lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/yext-lawsuit?id=29930&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
View original content:
SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/yext-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-16-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-yext-inc-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T11:26:54Z | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/yext-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-16-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-yext-inc-shareholders/ | true |
(In US Dollars unless otherwise stated)
TORONTO, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV: SGI) (OTCMKTS: SUPGF) announces detailed production results for the second quarter of 2022 for the Company's 100%-owned Plutonic Gold operations, located in Western Australia.
Second Quarter Highlights
- Safety performance improved during the quarter with a 24% reduction in the total injury frequency rate achieved during the period. Our safety improvement program is progressing and on track.
- Production of 15,196 ounces, a 21% decrease over the comparable prior-year period, primarily as a result of unusually high rainfall for the month of May and the impact of the removal of COVID-19 restrictions in Western Australia in April.
- Sales of 16,726 ounces, a 6% increase over the previous quarter and a 12% decrease over the comparable period.
- Ore milled of 407kt, a 13% increase over the comparable prior-year period following successful shutdowns in Q1 and Q2, now running closer to its capacity.
- An updated Mineral Reserve and Resource statement which incorporated an increase in mineral reserves of 66% and an increase in inferred mineral resources of 29%. The 43-101 Technical Report was also updated and re-issued.
- Cash and cash equivalents totaling $18.2 million at the end of the quarter.
Chris Jordaan, President, and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "The second quarter provided some unexpected challenges on two fronts, unusually high rainfall and increases in COVID-19 cases.
Rainfall events in May were extremely unusual. We received 143 millimetres of rain for the month compared to a long-term average of 15 millimetres and an annual rainfall target of 264 millimetres. With over 50% of the annual expected rainfall falling during May, flooding around the airport runway and Main Pit benches resulted in significant flight disruption and delays in accessing the early entry to the Main Pit development.
Following the removal of a number of COVID-19 restrictions within Western Australia in April, we experienced a surge in COVID-related absenteeism and disruption with realized COVID-19 rates running on average between 3-5% with spikes as high as 13% in May. This had a direct impact on available operators in the underground, impacting our ability to access higher grades, as well as a shortage of specialized technical staff to maintain equipment causing extended downtimes. We continue to mitigate the COVID-19 issues by over manning in critical roles. We observed improvements in COVID-19 rates over the last month.
Both of these issues impacted planned production, particularly in accessing the Main Pit mill feed that was originally planned for Q2. The combined effects delayed flights to the mine site and caused an abnormal shortage of key employees in the mining operations and contractors on-site.
Despite these challenges, we realized significantly improved throughput primarily attributable to the successful 15-day planned mill shut down in Q1 and three additional days in Q2 for relining of all mills. However, the throughput benefit was offset by lower realized tonnes and grades from the underground than planned due to underground operator shortage and the delayed entry into the Main Pit, both of which resulted in the processing of lower grade stockpile material during the quarter.
Looking ahead, the plant is now running closer to its nameplate capacity of 5,000 TPD. This improved rate is also higher than our planned rate for the second half of 2022. As we look ahead to the second half of the year, we are also seeing progress on material deliverables which will help to increase head grades into the plant and continue our trajectory of higher throughput rates. The delivery of an additional jumbo, loader and truck for the underground mine will have a positive impact on development metres and tonnes delivered from the underground in Q4.
We are targeting production and cash flow increases in the second half of 2022, while carefully monitoring for any further disruptions from COVID-19 or other possible situations which could affect production levels."
The Company will be releasing its complete financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2022 in August 2022.
Preliminary production details are summarized in the table below.
Chris Jordaan, President and CEO of Superior Gold will present the highlights of the second quarter production results through a webcast hosted by 6ix. The webcast will take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at 10:00 AM EDT. To join the webcast please click on the attached link to register and listen and ask questions. Webcast Link: https://my.6ix.com/t3IA9ikk
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ettienne Du Plessis, who is a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Du Plessis is not independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101.
Superior Gold is a Canadian-based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic underground gold mine and central mill, numerous open-pit projects including the Plutonic Main Pit push-back project, the Hermes open pit projects, and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders.
Continue to Follow, Like and Watch our progress:
Web: www.superior-gold.com | Twitter: @SuperiorGoldInc | Facebook: SuperiorGoldInc | Instagram: SuperiorGoldInc | LinkedIn: Superior Gold Inc. | YouTube: Superior Gold
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information includes information with respect to guidance as to projections, outlook, guidance, forecasts, estimates, and other statements regarding future or estimated financial and operational performance, gold production and sales, revenues and cash flows, and capital costs (sustaining and non-sustaining), including projected cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs) as well as statements with respect to the mine plan, exploration, drilling, operating, and organizational matters and activities relating to the Plutonic Gold Operations and the Company generally, including its liquidity and capital requirements and financial results. By identifying such information in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Annual Information Form of the Company for a discussion of other risks including outbreaks or threats of outbreaks of viruses, other infectious diseases, or other similar health threats, such as the novel coronavirus outbreak, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company by causing operational and supply chain delays and disruptions, labour shortages, shutdowns, inflationary pressures on operating or capital costs, the inability to sell gold, capital markets volatility or other unknown but potentially significant impacts. The Company cannot accurately predict what effects these conditions will have on the Plutonic Gold Operations or the financial results of the Company, including uncertainties relating to travel restrictions to the Plutonic Gold Operations or otherwise and business closures that have been or may be imposed by governments. If an outbreak or threat of an outbreak of a virus or other infectious disease or other public health emergency occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information as no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, and if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE Superior Gold | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/superior-gold-announces-q2-2022-production-results-cash-position/ | 2022-07-19T11:29:07Z | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/superior-gold-announces-q2-2022-production-results-cash-position/ | true |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
Class Period: November 3, 2021 to May 3, 2022
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 15, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in TUP:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/tupperware-brands-corporation-loss-submission-form-2?id=29928&from=4
Tupperware Brands Corporation NEWS - TUP NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Tupperware Brands Corporation made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Tupperware was facing significant challenges in maintaining its earnings and sales performance; (ii) accordingly, Tupperware's full-year 2022 guidance was unrealistic and/or unsustainable; (iii) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to have a material negative impact on Tupperware's financial condition; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Tupperware you have until August 15, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Tupperware securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the TUP lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/tupperware-brands-corporation-loss-submission-form-2?id=29928&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
View original content:
SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/tup-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-15-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-tupperware-brands-corporation-shareholders/ | 2022-07-19T11:29:47Z | https://www.wafb.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/tup-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-august-15-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-tupperware-brands-corporation-shareholders/ | false |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outgoing director of the Bureau of Prisons has been subpoenaed to testify before a Senate committee examining abuse and corruption in the beleaguered federal agency.
Michael Carvajal was served a subpoena to appear at a hearing later this month. The subpoena was announced Monday by Sen. Jon Ossoff, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
The committee’s subpoena follows an investigation by The Associated Press exposing systemic issues in the agency, including widespread criminal activity by staff and rampant sexual assault at a women’s prison in California.
The Justice Department announced last week it was replacing Carvajal with Colette Peters, the director of Oregon’s prison system. That announcement came about seven months after Carvajal submitted his resignation amid mounting pressure from Congress after the AP’s investigation.
Though Carvajal is a holdover from the Trump administration, the issuance of the subpoena to compel him to appear before the Senate panel is rare, in part because Democrats have control of both the Senate and the White House. The decision to issue a subpoena exemplifies the lengths members of Congress and congressional investigators are going to bring additional oversight to the embattled agency that has long skirted intense public attention.
Ossoff and Sen. Ron Johnson, the committee’s top Republican, said the subpoena was issued after the Justice Department refused to make Carvajal available to testify voluntarily.
In a statement, the Justice Department said it was disappointed that Ossoff issued the subpoena and said officials had cooperated extensively with the subcommittee’s work and had offered to provide a lower-level official in Carvajal’s place.
The department said it was “committed to focusing” Carvajal’s last days on preparing for Peters to take over and said having him prepare for a congressional hearing days before Peters takes control of the agency would be distracting.
“As the Department has previously explained to the Subcommittee, we believe that preparation for testimony just five business days before this critical leadership transition may distract Director Carvajal’s time and attention away from this goal,” the Justice Department’s statement said. “Nevertheless, we continue to work with the Subcommittee to find an agreeable solution.”
Carvajal has been at the center of myriad crises within the federal prison system. His tumultuous tenure included the rampant spread of coronavirus inside federal prisons, a failed response to the pandemic, dozens of escapes, deaths and critically low staffing levels that have hampered responses to emergencies.
The committee’s investigation has included examination of abuse, misconduct and corruption both at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta — Osoff’s home state — and more broadly in the federal prison system.
“To date, the Subcommittee has been provided no legal basis that would prevent Director Carvajal’s testimony before the Subcommittee, and the Department of Justice continues to refuse to make him available to testify,” Ossoff and Johnson said in a joint statement.
The Biden administration had faced increasing pressure to remove Carvajal and do more to fix the federal prison system after President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to push criminal justice reforms. The Bureau of Prisons is one of the largest Justice Department agencies, budgeted for around 37,500 employees and over 150,000 federal prisoners. It has an annual budget of around $8 billion.
Peters is set to take over the agency in August.
___
On Twitter, follow Michael Balsamo at twitter.com/mikebalsamo1 and Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips. | https://phl17.com/national-news/senate-panel-subpoenas-federal-prisons-director-to-testify/ | 2022-07-19T11:30:40Z | https://phl17.com/national-news/senate-panel-subpoenas-federal-prisons-director-to-testify/ | false |
HOUSTON, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: WTTR) today announced that it will release second quarter 2022 financial results on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 after the market closes. In conjunction with the release, the Company has scheduled a conference call, which will also be broadcast live over the Internet, on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time).
For those who cannot listen to the live call, a replay will be available through August 17, 2022 and may be accessed by dialing 201-612-7415 and using pass code 13731255#. Also, an archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call at https://investors.selectenergy.com/events-presentations/current for 90 days.
Select Energy Services, Inc. (collectively, with its consolidated subsidiaries, referred to as "Select" or the "Company") is a leading provider of sustainable water and chemical solutions to the energy industry. Select develops, manufactures and delivers a full suite of chemical products for use in oil and gas well completion and production operations as well as integration into the full water life-cycle. These solutions are supported by the Company's critical water infrastructure assets and water treatment and recycling capabilities. As a leader in sustainable water and chemical solutions, Select places the utmost importance on safe, environmentally responsible management of oilfield water throughout the lifecycle of a well. Additionally, Select believes that responsibly managing water resources throughout its operations to help conserve and protect the environment is paramount to the continued success of the Company. For more information, please visit Select's website, http://www.selectenergy.com.
WTTR-PR
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SOURCE Select Energy Services, Inc. | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/select-energy-services-announces-2022-second-quarter-earnings-release-conference-call-schedule/ | 2022-07-19T11:36:00Z | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/select-energy-services-announces-2022-second-quarter-earnings-release-conference-call-schedule/ | false |
NEW YORK, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingswood U.S., a network of wealth management firms that oversees more than $3 billion in client assets, today announced the successful recruitment of eight financial advisors who collectively oversee close to $355 million in total client assets. The new affiliates in the Kingswood U.S. network bring decades of experience in holistic financial planning and represent diverse geographies as well as client bases.
Headquartered in New York, Kingswood U.S. supports more than 200 financial advisors under the Kingswood Wealth Advisors (KWA) brand. In March, Kingswood U.S. announced it will consolidate its two SEC-registered RIAs, Benchmark Advisory Services, LLC, and Kingswood Wealth Advisors, LLC, under a single brand.
Michael Nessim, CEO, President and Managing Partner of Kingswood U.S., said, "Kingswood continues to build out a robust network of financial advisors across the country, at a time when the best professionals are looking to deliver an improved experience for their clients. Kingswood's ability to draw exceptional advisors who seek the variety of affiliation models that we provide, is evidence of our ongoing success in providing a nimble, adaptable platform that enables our advisors to extend their market reach while empowering them to do more. I warmly welcome these outstanding professionals to our network."
Kingswood U.S. welcomes eight financial advisors or firms to its network:
- Conrad Branson, of Birchwood Wealth Advisors in Kentfield, California, with $150 million in total client assets. Mr. Branson will provide financial planning, asset management, wealth management and qualified retirement plan support as a Kingswood Wealth Advisors affiliate.
- Jason Nickels, of Simi Valley, California, with $70 million in total client assets. Mr. Nickels brings 18 years of wealth management experience at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley and will provide financial planning, asset management and risk analysis as a Kingswood Wealth Advisors affiliate.
- Daniel F. Spagnolo, of Dynamic Financial Services, Ltd., in Huntington Station, New York, with $60 million in total client assets. Mr. Spagnolo has more than two decades of experience in financial planning, asset management, and retirement planning. As a Kingswood Wealth Advisors affiliate, he will also provide services in alternative investments and insurance.
- Debinder Deshmukh, Kalyan Kavili, and Krishna Grandi in Miami, Florida, with $25 million in total client assets. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning, asset management and wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, pre-retirees and professionals and business owners of South Asian descent.
- William Bianchi, of Bianchi Financial Services in Rochester and Buffalo, New York, with $25 million in total client assets. Mr. Bianchi offers financial planning, investment advice and insurance planning services to small businesses and will provide comprehensive advice for clients as a Kingswood Wealth Advisors affiliate.
- Regina Faison, of Faison Wealth Strategy in Foothill Ranch, California, with more than $25 million in total client assets. Ms. Faison brings 25 years of wealth management experience and provides financial and retirement planning services. As an affiliate of Kingswood Wealth Advisors, Ms. Faison help clients reach their financial goals using advanced, customized strategies, enabling them to live with purpose and achieve their dreams.
Mr. Nessim concluded, "Kingswood U.S. has built its reputation among independent financial advisors as a wealth management network with the resources and flexibility to accommodate a wide range of successful practices. Our boutique service culture continues to attract entrepreneurial advisors who seek to deliver more results for their diverse, loyal client base, and we are thrilled to support their businesses for years to come."
Kingswood U.S. is a network of wealth management firms that includes two SEC-registered RIAs and two FINRA-licensed broker-dealers collectively overseeing more than $3 billion in assets, offering comprehensive wealth management and business-building services, designed specifically for the independent financial advisor. Together with our parent company, Kingswood Group, we combine the resources and capital of a very large financial services firm with the personalized touch and feel of a boutique company. With over 200 advisors across the United States, Kingswood has earned a reputation as a firm built for advisors by advisors.
Media Contacts:
Joseph Kuo / Donald C. Cutler
Haven Tower Group
424.317.4851 or 424.317.4864
jkuo@haventower.com or dcutler@haventower.com
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SOURCE Kingswood U.S. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/kingswood-us-recruits-more-than-355-million-total-client-assets-with-addition-eight-independent-financial-advisors-practices/ | 2022-07-19T11:36:55Z | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/kingswood-us-recruits-more-than-355-million-total-client-assets-with-addition-eight-independent-financial-advisors-practices/ | false |
HONOLULU (AP) — Towering waves on Hawaii’s south shores crashed into homes and businesses, spilled across highways and upended weddings over the weekend.
The large waves — some more than 20 feet (6 meters) high — came from a combination of a strong south swell that peaked Saturday evening, particularly high tides and rising sea levels associated with climate change, the National Weather Service said Monday.
A wedding Saturday evening in Kailua-Kona was interrupted when a set of large waves swamped the event, sending tables and chairs crashing toward guests.
Sara Ackerman, an author who grew up in Hawaii and attended the wedding, filmed the waves as they barreled ashore.
“It just was huge,” she said. ”I was filming it and then it just came over the wall and just completely annihilated all the tables and chairs.”
She said it happened about five minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin.
“It wasn’t like a life-threatening situation by any means whatsoever,” she said. “It was just like, ‘Oh my gosh … what are we going to do? Where are we going to put the tables?’”
She said they went ahead with the ceremony and cleaned up the mess after the newlyweds exchanged vows.
“We had the ceremony and it was beautiful, having all the (sea) spray,” she said. “The ocean was really wild. So it was great for the photos.”
Chris Brenchley, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Honolulu, said several factors came together to create such huge waves.
“Waves over 12 or 15 feet (3.66 or 4.57 meters), those become extremely big and really rare to have,” he said. “It’s the largest it’s been in several decades.”
Brenchley said the swell was produced in the South Pacific, where it’s currently the winter season.
“They had a particularly strong winter storm where the winds were focused directly towards places like Samoa and then further on to the north into Hawaii,” he said.
Remnants of Hurricane Darby passed south of Hawaii but had no major impact on the surf, he said.
While singular events like this hard to pin directly to climate change, Brenchley said the warming planet is playing a role.
“The most direct type of impact that we can use with climate change is the sea level rise. Any time you add just even small amounts of water, you raise that sea level just a little bit,” he said. “And now those impacts will be exacerbated whenever we have a large storm event or a … high, high tide.”
Most large summer swells that come from the south are no bigger than about 10 feet (3 meters), which would trigger a high surf advisory.
“We had some waves that were reaching 20 feet (6 meters), 20 feet-plus even,” Brenchley said. “That’s getting on the level of historic.”
Hawaii’s north shores, where professional surfers often compete, usually get much larger waves than other parts of the islands. The predominant swell hits the north shores in the winter and the south shores in the summer.
Lifeguards and rescue crews across the state had a busy weekend.
They conducted at least 1,960 rescues on the island of Oahu alone on Saturday and Sunday.
Honolulu officials reported one serious injury when a surfer suffered a laceration to the back of his head. | https://phl17.com/us-news/ap-us-news/hawaii-waves-crash-into-homes-weddings-during-south-swell/ | 2022-07-19T11:37:35Z | https://phl17.com/us-news/ap-us-news/hawaii-waves-crash-into-homes-weddings-during-south-swell/ | false |
Citation
Espinosa J, Lucerna A, Bassett R. Am. J. Emerg. Med. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.
Copyright
(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)
DOI
10.1016/j.ajem.2022.07.011
PMID
35821084
Abstract
Here we present the case of a 4-year-old child who presented to the emergency department (ED) with bloody diarrhea. The causative agent was confirmed to be Citrullus colocynthis (bitter apple), which had been given to the patient by his grandmother for constipation. Hemorrhagic colitis can be induced by Citrullus colocynthis. Treatment is essentially support. Hypoglycemia and transaminitis have been associated with Citrullus colocynthis ingestion. The case highlights that pediatric patients can be inadvertently exposed to herbal medications that can cause harm. It also highlights that certain herbal medications with toxic potential, such as Citrullus, can be seen in emergency departments that are geographically quite distant from the most common origins of the plant. To our knowledge, this is the first American pediatric case report of bitter apple induced hemorrhagic colitis.
Language: en
Keywords
Bitter apple poisoning; Hemorrhagic colitis due to Citrullus colocynthis (bitter apple) ingestion | https://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_723536_10 | 2022-07-19T11:38:54Z | https://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_723536_10 | true |
Citation
Aydın O, Hanalıoğlu D, Ünal B, Güngör E, Kaynak MO, Yiğit H, Mercan UB, Kuzu A, Teksam. Turk. Arch. Pediatr. 2022; 57(4): 453-458.
Copyright
(Copyright © 2022, AVES)
DOI
10.5152/TurkArchPediatr.2022.22032
PMID
35822479
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic affected the healthcare systems worldwide. In this study, we aimed to examine the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on injury-related visits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 7648 injury-related pediatric emergency department visits between March 11 and June 30, 2018, 2019, and 2020, and com- pared the total number of visits, triage levels, distributions of injury mechanisms, and admission rates during the pandemic in 2020 to the same period in 2018 and 2019. RESULTS: In the first 4 months of the pandemic, there was a 69.5% drop in all pediatric emergency department visits compared to the previous 2 years. Despite this decrease, the proportion of injury-related pediatric emergency department visits increased from 14% to 20.9% in 2020 (P <.001). There was a 3.8% increase in the frequencies of patients with high triage acuity levels (T1, T2, and T3) and a 3.8% decrease in patients with low triage acuity levels (P <.001). The domestic injury rate increased from 40% to 60% during the pandemic period (P <.001). Hospitalization rates increased from 6% to 11.5% and admission to intensive care units increased from 0.9% to 3.3%. The differences were statistically significant (P <.001). Visits due to burn increased from 2.7% to 5.2% (P <.001), poisoning from 3.4% to 5.5% (P <.001), bicycle accidents from 3.3% to 6.8% (P <.001), while injuries due to motor vehicle accidents decreased from 2.6% to 1.3% (P =.004) and sports injuries decreased from 8% to 2.1% (P <.001). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that despite the significant decrease in total pediatric emer- gency department visits, percentages of injury-related visits increased during the pandemic. Keywords: CoViD-19-Road-Traffic
Language: en | https://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_723646_10 | 2022-07-19T11:39:45Z | https://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_723646_10 | true |
VIENNA, Va., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Omega Integration Solutions today announced the general availability of A2O automation, a tool that automates and accelerates the Authorization to Operate mandate for Federal agencies and enterprises.
"Authorization to Operate (ATO) is a fundamental step to meeting security compliance before launching a software application—and to continuously monitor the application throughout the life of a system. On average, an ATO can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to achieve. This length of time can stifle change—making applications stale and limiting the pace of modernization," said Gautam Ijoor, CEO at Alpha Omega. "Our automation tool, A2O, is designed to accelerate the process."
The status quo ATO process—which covers 17 control families and over 400 controls for a high baseline system—is predominantly manual.
"With A2O™, chief information security officers at Federal agencies can automate the collection of data related to controls of the ATO process," said Navin Maganti, head of Automation at Alpha Omega. "A2O™ reuses collected data to create documents required for assessments and audits. Automation and reuse allow A2O™ to promote simplicity and transparency in your organization while providing a clear mechanism for traceability."
A2O™ features include:
- Configurable intelligent bots driving data collection, aggregation, and analysis to execute and manage ATO processes
- Automated discovery of ATO process execution and ISO tasks
- Frictionless integration with minimal change to systems, data, and team composition.
"Our A2O™ accelerates time to obtain and maintain ATOs, while maintaining continuous compliance and monitoring to increase compliance scores with automated evidence," continued Maganti. "By implementing A2O™, our clients have realized 90% reductions in time to collect security accreditation artifacts."
"At Alpha Omega, we constantly strive to bring modernization and automation to our federal clients, and A2O™ is yet another proof of innovation that combines our by combining our cybersecurity, intelligent automation, and Agile competencies," said Ijoor.
Alpha Omega Integration Solutions is a business-aligned technology consulting company that delivers innovation, modernization, and automation to help accelerate the Government digital transformation. As partners with leading cloud, automation, and security products, we deliver Agile software development, cloud migration, and infrastructure security to fulfill agency mission. Alpha Omega has been voted one of Virginia's Best Places to Work and Washington Post's Top Places to Work companies. We are also winners of the prestigious Maryland Tech Council Government Contracting Company of the Year in the $50M and above in annual revenue category.
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SOURCE Alpha Omega Integration | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/alpha-omega-announces-general-availability-a2o-accelerating-authorization-operate-mandate-federal-agencies-enterprises/ | 2022-07-19T11:42:27Z | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/alpha-omega-announces-general-availability-a2o-accelerating-authorization-operate-mandate-federal-agencies-enterprises/ | true |
LOS ANGELES, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of very rapid growth of the company, Internet Brands has completed a recapitalization with its long-term investors KKR and Temasek, and a group of new investors led by Warburg Pincus, at a valuation of more than $12 billion. KKR will remain the majority investor in the company.
"While Internet Brands has grown 8X since KKR's initial investment in 2014, we know the greatest opportunities for us are still ahead," said Bob Brisco, CEO of Internet Brands. "We have established clear leadership in many of our vertical markets, including Consumer Health, Consumer Legal, and Healthcare Professionals – and we have never been more excited about our strategic roadmap."
"I'm thrilled to welcome this accomplished group of new investors, most especially Warburg Pincus, whose co-head of U.S. Private Equity, Mark Colodny, has joined the Internet Brands board. I must also say that I couldn't be more grateful to continue deepening our relationships with KKR and Temasek, as our strategic partnership remains a genuine privilege," Brisco added.
"Internet Brands is an exciting growth company that has built best-in-class online media properties and software platforms across numerous vertical markets while capitalizing on the ongoing transition to digital advertising," said Mark Colodny, Co-Head of U.S. Private Equity and Head of Technology, Warburg Pincus.
"Bob and his talented team have built a leading internet company focused on serving the needs of its customers with innovative solutions. We have known and admired Bob and his team for many years, and look forward to partnering with Internet Brands, KKR and Temasek on this next stage of growth," added Justin Sadrian, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus.
"We are proud of the tremendous progress that the Internet Brands leadership team has spearheaded over the past eight years," said John Park, Partner at KKR. "We see the company entering a new stage of meaningful growth and look forward to supporting this talented team further as they continue to innovate and scale."
Internet Brands®, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif, is a fully integrated online media and software services company focused on four high-value vertical categories: Health, Automotive, Legal, and Home/Travel. The company's properties and platforms include the WebMD, Medscape, and Henry Schein ONE networks, which are the global leaders in their markets; Nolo, Avvo, and Martindale, which form the largest consumer information provider in the legal market; and CarsDirect, Fodor's Travel, and many others which are leaders in their key verticals such as auto, travel, and home.
Internet Brands' award-winning consumer websites lead their categories and serve more than 250 million monthly visitors, while a full range of web presence offerings has established deep, long-term relationships with SMB and enterprise clients. Internet Brands' powerful, proprietary operating platform provides the flexibility and scalability to fuel the company's continued growth. For more information, please visit www.internetbrands.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $85 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $106 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life, and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
Temasek is an investment company with a net portfolio value of S$403 billion (US$297b) as at 31 March 2022. Our Purpose "So Every Generation Prospers" guides us to make a difference for today's and future generations. Our Temasek Charter defines our three roles as an Investor, Institution and Steward, and shapes our ethos to do well, do right and do good. Sustainability is at the core of all that we do. We are committed to catalysing solutions to global challenges and activating capital – financial, human, social and natural – to bring about a better and more inclusive world for all. Headquartered in Singapore, we have 13 offices in 9 countries around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Singapore in Asia; and London, Brussels, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo outside Asia. For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg
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SOURCE Internet Brands | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/internet-brands-completes-multibillion-dollar-recapitalization-with-kkr-temasek-warburg-pincus-drive-further-growth/ | 2022-07-19T11:45:26Z | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/internet-brands-completes-multibillion-dollar-recapitalization-with-kkr-temasek-warburg-pincus-drive-further-growth/ | false |
Charleston, S.C.- Tucked away on the edge of a city park, miles from historic homes and carriage tours, a bronze statue of Denmark Vesey stands tall among lush palms and live oaks. A flier for a celebration pokes out from a potted peace lily placed at Vesey's feet.
The man who planned the most sophisticated rebellion by enslaved people in our nation's history was remembered this weekend in Charleston on the 200th anniversary of his failed uprising and public hanging.
"I heard whispers about Denmark Vesey when I was probably 11- or 12 years-old," says Lee Bennett Jr., the historian for Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston. The church was once ministered by Vesey, and is where nine Black congregants were murdered by a white supremacist seven years ago.
Bennett, who grew up in Charleston, recalls Vesey being vilified as a Black man intent on killing and raping white people. As a child, he never heard Vesey was a freedom fighter, and he certainly could not have imagined hosting a celebration in his honor.
Bennett joined fellow historians, artists and community members at the Gaillard Performing Arts Center in downtown Charleston for a three day event. It featured a panel discussion entitled "Truth be Told" and performances by musician Anthony Hamilton and comedian D.L. Hughley. It was organized by the Gaillard, Mother Emanuel, and the city's new International African American Museum, which is set to open in January.
Denmark Vesey's story was long left out of schoolbooks in South Carolina by those who argued the Civil War was over state's rights, not slavery. And today, Vesey's name is still not commonly heard unless it's part of Mother Emanuel history or his statue is vandalized, as it was last year.
"The truth of the matter is that what a failed uprising really meant is that those who stopped the uprising would get to tell the story," says the museum's CEO and President Dr. Tonya Matthews.
Vesey's narrative was initially controlled by slaveholders fearful of another planned revolt.
So who was Denmark Vesey, now being celebrated in a nation that continues to fight over civil rights and education?
Born in St. Thomas, Vesey was enslaved before being brought to Charleston. He was allowed to keep money from various jobs and won a lottery, purchasing his freedom for $600. Vesey worked as a carpenter but could not free his wife and children owned by another slaveholder.
He began plotting a revolt at an African church now known as Mother Emanuel. It would go down on the anniversary of the French Revolution, July 14, 1822, and involve thousands killing slaveholders, freeing people and fleeing to Haiti. But Vesey's plan was leaked, and he and dozens of others were paraded atop their coffins before being executed.
"I think there is just a way in which if you are a Black person advocating for liberation that you will often be called a villain even if we decide later that you're a hero," says television host W. Kamau Bell, who took part in the panel talk.
Bell points to civil rights leaders like Malcolm X whose harsh rhetoric was often criticized, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who may be known for his "I have a dream" speech, but described a riot as "the language of the unheard." Like Vesey, both men lost their lives fighting for freedom.
But Dr. Tamara Bell, the executive director of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, says looking at Vesey and the stories of others through the lens of love, not fear, provides understanding. Vesey, she believes, loved his family and friends still enslaved and cared about the freedom of all people. It's a perspective Tamara Bell says is needed today.
"It's to improve our relationship to one another and really function out of love," says Tamara Bell. "I don't think we're there yet with all the legislation going on."
Dozens of states have introduced legislation or passed laws that prohibit schools from teaching about race or racism. Many have restricted the rights of LGBTQ people. And, last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Rove v. Wade has prompted some state bans on abortions.
The story of a free Black man who risked everything for the liberty of others also raises questions for those who are privileged who see others living with less and facing discrimination.
"I think all of us have a responsibility whatever station we are in, in life, to bear witness," says comedian D.L. Hughley. "You have to say what you see."
Dr. Bernard Powers, the lead historian for the International African American Museum, suggests Vesey's story offers a dire warning.
"He shows you what will happen if peaceful change is not an option for people because the spirit of freedom and the spirit of liberty is unquenchable," he says.
For 20 years, Powers and others fought for the statue of Vesey now standing outside the tourist district. They'd wanted it closer, but they were pleased eventually when it did go up in 2014.
He remembers when even a painting of Vesey was on display in a public place was so controversial that it was stolen from the Gaillard. That same painting, returned unscathed after a reward was offered, was displayed again at the performing arts center for the weekend's celebration.
Copyright 2022 South Carolina Public Radio | https://www.iowapublicradio.org/2022-07-19/denmark-vesey-is-honored-his-slave-revolt-was-thwarted-and-he-was-executed | 2022-07-19T11:46:09Z | https://www.iowapublicradio.org/2022-07-19/denmark-vesey-is-honored-his-slave-revolt-was-thwarted-and-he-was-executed | true |
QINGDAO, China, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For many premium consumers or those who need to upgrade their living room, choosing a well-designed and technological TV is particularly important. For high-quality lifestyle consumers, a TV is not only a TV but also a work of art, and a choice for life enhancement.
So, to bring consumers an even more perfect lifestyle and TV experience, Hisense ULED TV series, by forging technology and excellent design, provides consumers with a premium and artistic TV beyond imagination.
Hisense ULED Large Screen TVs, Making Every Moment Impressive
Hisense ULED TVs features an ultra-thin and large screen design that combines a superb sense of artistic design and technological aesthetics, making it a masterpiece in the living room. The ULED series is equipped with Quantum Dot Colour technology, which helps deliver even better brightness color for the best image quality and viewing experience. For example, when playing a spectacular artwork on Hisense ULED TV, every acrylic color of the artwork can be vividly rendered, creating an ultra-immersive experience, and making the daily living space more artistic.
#IncredibleArtMoment, Capture Every Beauty Scene
For many years, Hisense has been committed to enhancing display technology for a premium viewing experience. As of today, Hisense ULED series has received substantial support from global consumers, particularly in Hisense's major and largest market - North America, with a total sales volume of Hisense ULED TVs series over 34% YOY growth in North America during the first half of 2022.
To allow more potential global consumers to experience the brilliant picture quality of ULED, Hisense launched a social media campaign - #IncredibleArtMoment and encouraged consumers to find and capture every beautiful and colorful moment of the world to win the latest series of ULED TVs.
Since the campaign's launch, Hisense has received over 4,000 consumer participations and reached 65K mentions worldwide, gaining love and support from many international consumers.
As the official sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Hisense devotes itself to bringing the perfect FIFA match viewing experience to global consumers. So, in August 2022, Hisense will showcase its latest innovative products, including the newest ULED series, at "Hisense FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Global Launch Event", to create an immersive match experience for consumers through Hisense technology.
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SOURCE Hisense | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/hisense-uled-well-designed-large-screen-tv-brings-viewers-all-incredible-moments/ | 2022-07-19T11:48:29Z | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/hisense-uled-well-designed-large-screen-tv-brings-viewers-all-incredible-moments/ | true |
Norton Study: Nearly three-quarters report children accessing mature and inappropriate content and giving away personal information while unsupervised
TEMPE, Ariz., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey by Norton, a consumer Cyber Safety1 brand of NortonLifeLock (NASDAQ: NLOK), reveals that parents of children under 18 are overly trusting of children using their devices. A vast majority (66%) say they trust their children to browse the internet unmonitored, despite nearly three-quarters (72%) reporting their kids have participated in risky online activities, like accessing mature content and giving away personal information, while using a parent's device without their permission.
"As the father of a young daughter, concerns around her online safety keep me up at night," said Darren Shou, Head of Technology, NortonLifeLock. "While there's no foolproof solution, having frequent conversations as a family about Cyber Safety and being inherently skeptical about anything you come across online are some of the things families can do to live their digital lives more safely."
The study found 72% of parents with children under the ages of 18 say their children have used a parent's device without their permission. While on the parent's device, children frequently engaged in risky online activities, including clicking on a suspicious link (27%), accessing mature or age-inappropriate content (25%), or giving away personal information (24%). Whether these actions are intentional or not, they create significant risk to the child and family's online safety.
Cybercriminals and bad actors are becoming more sophisticated in their tricks and tactics every day. It's no surprise then that 78% of Americans believe it's difficult for parents to keep children safe when they are online, and 92% agree that it's more important now than ever before for parents to talk to their children about Cyber Safety.
To help combat these issues, Norton helps families stay safe online with products like Norton Family, which enables parents to manage and monitor their children's online activities. Norton also provides education, tools and resources in concert with National PTA including the recently updated family-focused online safety tool, The Smart Talk.
To view the study's full results and accompanying visual assets, please visit the 2022 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report: Special Release – Home & Family press kit at: https://www.nortonlifelock.com/us/en/newsroom/press-kits/2022-norton-cyber-safety-insights-report-special-release-home-and-family/
About the 2022 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report: Special Release – Home & Family
The research was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of NortonLifeLock among 1,003 adults aged 18+, of which 373 are parents of children under 18. The survey was conducted May 16 – June 2, 2022. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, and household income to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.
About NortonLifeLock Inc.
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) is a global leader in consumer Cyber Safety, protecting and empowering people to live their digital lives safely. We are the consumer's trusted ally in an increasingly complex and connected world. Learn more about how we're transforming Cyber Safety at NortonLifeLock.com.
1 No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft.
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SOURCE NortonLifeLock Inc. | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/too-trusting-over-half-american-parents-let-their-kids-go-online-without-supervision/ | 2022-07-19T11:49:12Z | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/too-trusting-over-half-american-parents-let-their-kids-go-online-without-supervision/ | true |
Lauren Goodger is reportedly determined to celebrate her daughter's 1st birthday, one week after she tragically announced her second child, Lorena, had died two days after giving birth.
The heartbroken former TOWIE star, 35, is said to be seeing her daughter Larose as a "ray of light" among the waves of grief she is feeling following Lorena's death.
Sources say Lauren and her boyfriend Charles Drury are "completely devastated" and are being supported by those closest to them ahead of Larose 1st birthday this week.
"She's going through the biggest trauma of her life and she's completely devastated, grief is a very up and down process - one day she'll be fine, and the next she'll be beside herself," a source close to the couple told Closer magazine.
"Her friends and family are rallying around her and she's lucky to have close inner circle regularly checking in on her. Sometimes she wants to speak, sometimes she doesn't.
"They're managing between the two of them and lavishing love on Larose, she really is the ray of light getting Lauren through all of this. She's pulling her through and staying strong for her."
The pal added Lorena's death was complete shock for Lauren, who never expected "something this horrible would happen to her".
They said the television personality is bowled over by the support she has received and hopes to help those who have gone through similar experiences in future.
Mirror Online has contacted Lauren's representatives for comment.
Lauren shared the heartbreaking news of her daughter's death in a statement on Instagram.
She shared a black and white photo of her newborn's hand holding hers and wrote: "Lorena R.I.P 08.07.22 she was the most beautiful healthy baby I’ve ever seen just like her sister @babylarose.x
"… words can’t describe as a mother losing your baby that I carried for all these months perfectly and gave birth too for my angel to be taken from me".
Lauren explained: "There was no pregnancy or labour complications and she was fine & healthy but I am not going into detail right now just know that there was nothing wrong with her or myself she was perfect I can’t understand it she is so so beautiful Larose twin so similar.. I am broken".
She added: "I am back home from hospital Me & Charlie spent as much time with our baby girl Lorena and I haven’t said my goodbye yet.
"I will never ever get over this but I will learn how to live everyday with Lorena in my heart she will be with me always and I will be with her again one day … My Lorena I love you so much".
Read More
Read More | https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/lauren-goodger-staying-strong-daughter-27518980 | 2022-07-19T11:49:55Z | https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/lauren-goodger-staying-strong-daughter-27518980 | true |
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton tests positive for Covid before Spain showdown
By PA Staff published
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has tested positive for coronavirus ahead of Wednesday’s Euro 2022 quarter-final against Spain.
The Football Association said the 21-year-old Aston Villa player would be “monitored regularly with a view to returning to the squad as soon as possible”.
Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman did not attend last Friday’s 5-0 group-stage win over Northern Ireland at St Mary’s following a positive Covid test, and she may well be absent again for Wednesday’s contest at the Amex Stadium.
Get well soon, @hannahhampton_ 💪— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 19, 2022
On Monday the Dutchwoman watched training from a distance with a mask on.
Twice-capped Hampton, who has been on the bench for England’s three Euros games so far, is the second player in the squad to test positive for the virus during the campaign, with defender Lotte Wubben-Moy having also done so before missing the second match, against Norway.
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The Met Office has predicted the exact time Britain's 'extreme heatwave' will end but issues a brand new warning.
Hours after confirming last night (Monday, July 18) into Tuesday was the 'warmest on record' in the UK, the national weather service says bearable temperatures will return tomorrow (Wednesday, July 20).
To be precise, 1pm on Wednesday is when swathes of the country will not only cool down but get its first soaking in weeks.
READ MORE: Met Office warns of scorching 43C temperatures on 'hottest day in UK history'
In true UK weather fashion, caution over the sweltering heat will be replaced by a Yellow thunderstorm warning for the south east of England.
According to the Met Office, the extreme heatwave — which is predicted to rocket all the way up to 43C in some parts today — will swiftly turn into flash floods and power cuts.
It comes after the record temperature in the UK since records began with 39.1C recorded in in Charlwood, Surrey today (Tuesday, July 19).
The Yellow warning in place from 1pm to 9pm on Wednesday, outlines the likelihood of flooding and lightning which could result in yet more travel chaos.
Commuters already cut off from work by scorching temperatures impacting rail and bus services, are expected to suffer further transport cancellations due to storms.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged Brits to "apply common sense" when making travel plans explaining train tracks will feel like 70C.
"Where those tracks are 40 degrees in the air, on the ground that could be 50, 60, 70 and more," Mr Shapps said. "So you get a severe danger of tracks buckling, what we can't have is trains running over those and a terrible derailing."
Network Rail tweeted: “Our hottest rail recorded yesterday was 62C, in Suffolk! Rail temperature can be about 20C higher than air temperature, causing it to expand, bend and break.”
Luton Airport was even forced to shut down for two hours after extreme heat "melted the runway" yesterday (Monday, July 18).
The airport, a hub for low-cost flights, was closed temporarily when temperatures hit high of 35C in most areas in the UK.
A Met Office graphic shows thunderstorms will batter all counties between Somerset and Norfolk, including London and the East Midlands.
For more incredible stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here
Some good news is that as of yet there are no weather warnings issued for the rest of the week as temperatures hover around a hot yet more bearable 25C.
More immediately though, is a warning to say indoors on Tuesday to avoid the excruciating and dangerous heat, which could reach as high as 43C.
Anyone with ideas of cooling off in rivers and the sea however, might want to reconsider as a 70-year-old man has tragically brought the heatwave death toll up to 12 — largely drowning fatalities.
READ NEXT:
- Met Office issues first ever red heat warning as UK to be swallowed by 40C temps
- Heatwave meltdown brings Britain to a halt as UK's hottest day predicted to be 41C
- Met Office issues grim warning to anyone working from home during Brit heatwave
'I went out to tan for an hour – now I've got blisters on my red, swollen face'
Parent fumes as school send kids home on hottest day of the year over uniform code | https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/met-office-forecasts-exact-hour-27517890 | 2022-07-19T11:53:29Z | https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/met-office-forecasts-exact-hour-27517890 | false |
(The Hill) – Economists and lawmakers are warning that high inflation is providing companies with an excuse to telegraph price increases during earnings calls, reducing market competition and compounding the pain for consumers.
“They’re profiteering, and they are using this moment and their monopoly power in many industries to raise prices on consumers,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said in an interview, ahead of dozens of companies reporting second-quarter earnings this week.
The Department of Labor reported last week that consumer inflation is now at 9.1 percent annually — the highest level in 40 years. Food prices are up more than 10 percent, energy prices are up more than 40 percent and “core inflation” — everything besides food and energy — is up almost 6 percent.
The worldwide trend of high inflation, which has led to unrest and labor protests in numerous countries, is caused by larger disruptions in the global economy resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, it is being exacerbated by companies in concentrated sectors essentially acting in cahoots to further price increases, economists argue.
“A bout of inflation creates an opportunity that didn’t previously exist for firms in concentrated industries to coordinate better their pricing decisions,” Hal Singer, managing director of Econ One Research and an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, said in an interview.
“No price-fixing conspiracy in the modern world involves a written agreement where they sit down in a smoke-filled room and they say, ‘OK, we all go up by 10 percent.’ That’s not how it works. They’re not that dumb. What they’re doing is trying to coordinate in a way that defies scrutiny from the antitrust laws.”
Singer said one common coordinating tactic is earning calls.
“At the end of 2021 — I was livid — you’d hear these executives saying, ‘We plan on raising our prices by 17.24 percent next quarter.’ I thought to myself, I can’t believe the agencies are letting them get away with this. This is clearly an invitation to collude. If I’m a firm in a three-firm industry, and I commit via the airwaves to telling everyone I’m going up by 17.24 percent, that is a signal to my rivals that if they go up by anything less, they will not lose market share.”
During fast food chain Chipotle’s first-quarter earnings call, finance chief Jack Hartung said that his customers had shown “very little resistance” to price increases.
“Our transactions actually are up, even though we had pricing that was in that about 10 percent range,” Hartung told investors in April, according to market research firm Seeking Alpha. “The price increase is sticking just as expected. We don’t see any resistance.”
Industrial conglomerate 3M’s finance chief, Monish Patolawala, said on the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call in January that his “team has done a marvelous job in driving price. Price has gone up from 0.1 percent to 1.4 percent to 2.6 percent,” characterizing the trend as a “tailwind” to investors.
This sort of language about where prices are heading in the future comes close to the kind of price signaling identified as a no-no by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
According to the Justice Department and FTC’s guidelines for “collaborations” among competitors, “the potential for future competition between participants in a collaboration requires antitrust scrutiny.”
“Other things being equal, the sharing of information relating to price, output, costs, or strategic planning is more likely to raise competitive concern than the sharing of information relating to less competitively sensitive variables,” the agencies’ joint guidance says.
Yet it’s not easy for lawyers and regulators to go after disclosures made on public earnings calls, Georgetown’s Singer said.
“The problem is that it’s very difficult for a private plaintiff or an AG [attorney general] to go after a firm that has been careful enough to only attempt to collude via public announcements in the airwaves,” he said.
One court case that helped to establish that norm involved airlines Delta and AirTran, who were accused in a class-action lawsuit of violating the antitrust Sherman Act by using earnings calls to coordinate their pricing, making sure that neither company lost market share by undercutting the other.
According to a write-up on the case from the American Bar Association, the court “rejected the plaintiff’s contention that statements made by an AirTran executive during an earnings call constituted an ‘invitation to collude,’ ” deciding instead that corporate communications to shareholders usually can’t be considered as an opportunity for collusion.
Despite the ruling, the power and profitability of big companies during a period of high inflation is drawing the anger of many Democratic lawmakers.
“Look at Big Oil,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Transportation Committee and a co-founder of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in an interview. “On their earnings calls, they talked about their excess profits — excess profits — so they’re going to buy back $22 billion worth of stock that enriches the executives, enriches the stockholders. And people at the pump are paying.”
“You can start breaking up these monopolies, duopolies, cartels, whatever you want to call them. The last I heard, the Biden administration was trying to revive the antitrust division, but I haven’t heard much out of them. I don’t know what they’re up to,” he added.
While new antitrust laws pertaining to the tech sector have been introduced in the Senate, broader legislative efforts on the issue are few and far between. As a more immediate goal, Democrats are looking to tax windfall profits to recoup some of the excess profits, but these initiatives are hitting legislative snags, as well.
“I have a bill to have a windfall profits tax on the oil companies that’s very reasonably written,” DeFazio said. “They’d still be profitable, they’d still be making money. It would send a rebate check of $160 to every American over the age of 18. Unfortunately, my leadership has not seen fit to take it up.”
Republicans are generally less concerned about high profits for companies during high inflation, though some have joined Democrats in calling out the profit bonanza in the tightly concentrated meat packing and shipping industries, which has hurt some businesses in GOP constituencies.
And there’s growing consensus among academic economists that the market power of companies is getting bigger, allowing them to take more money from consumers.
Markups — the difference between the price of a good and what it costs to make — have risen from about 21 percent in 1980 to 61 percent today, according to an influential paper written by Jan de Loecker, Jan Eeckhout and Gabriel Unger.
The authors also found that the average profit rate has increased from 1 percent to 8 percent over the same period, showing that the economic power of companies over their customers is growing.
“What people don’t understand is the power of deterrence,” Singer said of potential collusion through earnings calls. “If the first CEO was hit with a lawsuit, like the announcement of an investigation, by the FTC, it would immediately chill and temper the enthusiasm of other CEOs to copy her. This should have been done a year ago.” | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/inflation-is-providing-cover-for-price-fixing-economists/ | 2022-07-19T11:55:09Z | https://www.cbs42.com/news/national/inflation-is-providing-cover-for-price-fixing-economists/ | true |
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $309 million.
On a per-share basis, the Bethesda, Maryland-based company said it had net income of $1.16. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.99 per share.
The aerospace and defense company posted revenue of $15.45 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $16.16 billion.
Lockheed expects full-year earnings to be $21.55 per share, with revenue expected to be $65.25 billion.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LMT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LMT | https://www.mrt.com/business/article/Lockheed-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17314082.php | 2022-07-19T11:56:32Z | https://www.mrt.com/business/article/Lockheed-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17314082.php | true |
Swindon collective effort to brighten up 'tagged' street
- Published
A group of artists are making a collective effort to brighten up a street by painting murals over years of "unsightly" graffiti tagging.
An idea led by Swindon resident Helen Salter, the Redcliffe Collective has been transforming a building on Redcliffe Street, Rodbourne.
Inspired by the area's history, the project aims to encourage people to have more pride in where they live.
They hope to spread the initiative across the town.
Ms Salter said she first had the idea of painting the former tailors on her local street back in 2016, after wanting to "clear up the area" that was "bland" and "predominantly full of tags".
"We get so many visitors from the Outlet Village. When they drive out of the town, this will be their lasting impression," she added.
Mimicking the old rail-works building opposite, now the Designer Outlet Village, the team have painted 10 arches, each one designed by different artists, with the history of Rodbourne in mind.
Taking two weeks to complete, Ms Salter said: "It's just full of life, full of colour which has really brightened up the area."
"It will hit you on the spot and probably make you quite emotional," she added.
Artist Steve Light, known as Slart, decided to paint a tribute to his late Swindon college tutor, Mossy.
"He was just such an amazing support to me. His family are over the moon with it. It's a great memorial for him," he said.
Mr Light hopes the mural stays "for many years" and said he's "proud" of the work.
The team hopes to spread the positivity across the town, with plans to decorate at the Transfer Bridge roundabout near the Outlet Village and the side of a house, donated by a local resident.
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Exclusive Brands Group is a beverage distribution company servicing Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach
WESTON, Fla., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Grail Technology (OTC: GOGY) www.GoldenGrailBeverages.com is a fast-growing company with a strategic mission to innovate, build and streamline the growth of its beverage portfolio through fiscally responsible investing is pleased to announce it is partnering with Exclusive Brands Group (EBG) of Southeast Florida to distribute the Company's brands – Cause Water, Tickle Water's Sketch Can and Spider Energy Drinks. EBG services the very popular and affluent areas of Southeast Florida's coastlines. The number of people moving to Florida – Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach - during the first few months of 2022 is even higher than it was during the same period in 2021, New York Post reports. This is a vibrant and growing market that demands healthy, new and trendy beverage options.
EBG will be distributing the brands to upscale resorts, hotels, supermarkets, natural grocers, yacht clubs, beach community stores, popular retail chains and more.
Exclusive Brands Group (EBG) is a distribution company specializing in launching the latest trends in new product lines in Miami. Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach. They are a leading beverage distributor in Florida that has recently expanded its footprint to the Tampa market.
Their vast portfolio includes a wide variety of healthy, better-for-you beverages and snacks.
EBG works closely with their suppliers to constantly gain a firm understanding on how they want their brand to speak to its consumers and how they want it presented to the market place. EBG has a combined 25 years of experience in the food and beverage world, which allows them to bring a unique and cost-effective approach to sales and service to suit all of their suppliers and customer's needs.
"Our team has been seeking strategic distribution partners that will stand behind our brands and focus on growth in their respective markets. Exclusive Brands Group is exactly that type of distribution partner and we look forward to building a successful relationship with them. The Southeast Florida Coastline is our backyard and we have full intentions of making this market our first big success story."
Hoffman continued, "EBG will be receiving their first order this Summer and our team will be scheduling a kickoff with their team in the very near future."
"Golden Grail presented forward facing brands that will do very well in our territory and with our account base. We service an area where trends are started and created. There is definitely a demand for canned premium water, especially being so close to the ocean. Our trucks are literally up and down the coast line on a daily basis stopping at hundreds of accounts that are seeking out healthier products packaged in environmentally friendly materials. Cause Water, Tickle Water Sketch Can and Spider Energy all possess those qualities, and more. We are very excited to introduce the market to the Golden Grail portfolio of brands," Kevin Arn, Exclusive Brands Group, Owner and Operator.
Golden Grail Technology (OTC: GOGY) www.GoldenGrailBeverages.com is a fast-growing company with a strategic mission to innovate, build and streamline the growth of its beverage portfolio through fiscally responsible investing. The company targets brands that have a proven sales history, loyal consumer following, retail presence and strong value proposition who need assistance to get to the next few levels. Golden Grail has been actively acquiring brands within emerging and growing beverage categories. Our robust product offerings include Spider Energy Drink, Trevi Fruit Essence Water, Tickle Water for kids, Sketch Can for Tweens, Cause Water & KOZ Water helping reduce global plastic pollution and Scorpion Energy Hemp/CBD.
After an acquisition, the company utilizes a series of operational technologies to apply its business expertise, fiscal techniques and various manufacturing processes know-how to improve the economics and performance of each brand while advancing marketing and distribution for its beverage brands. The company's focus on sophisticated management and development of beverage brands, coupled with its rapidly growing and recognizable portfolio of healthy, functional beverages sets Golden Grail apart as a leader in acquiring and advancing existing beverage brands.
For more information on Golden Grail Technology Beverages (OTC: GOGY) visit
www.GoldenGrailBeverages.com
https://www.facebook.com/GoldenGrailTechBeverages
https://www.instagram.com/goldengrailtechbeverages/
https://twitter.com/golden_grail
Podcast: https://epodcastnetwork.com/disruption-in-the-marketplace-with-erin-heit-of-golden-grail-technology-corp
KOZ Water is a premium purified and pH balanced water packaged in completely plastic-free 12oz and 16oz cans. KOZ Water has had much success on Amazon and on the West Coast.
For more information visit: https://kozwater.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozwater
https://www.instagram.com/kozwater/
https://twitter.com/KozWater
Cause Water is Pristine Mountain Spring Water with a Cause
Cause Water has three key initiatives be a vessel for change, do your part and encouraging consumers to join the cause, by drinking Cause Water. A fully recyclable aluminum bottle and cap supports its core mission of plastic reduction and ocean preservation. Cause Water can be found in high-end, influential natural food stores along the West Coast.
For more information visit:
https://causewater.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CauseWaterBeverage
https://www.instagram.com/cause_water/
https://twitter.com/_CauseWater
Tickle Water is a premium sparkling water company dedicated to providing honest and clean hydration. Tickle Water is the first sparkling water in the market created specifically for children, yet enjoyed by all ages, complete with delicious flavors and a recyclable can, making it the perfect beverage for any occasion. Every can of Tickle Water is simply made with premium sparkling water and natural flavors without artificial ingredients, sugar, sodium, or preservatives.
For more information visit http://www.drinkticklewater.com
https://www.facebook.com/drinkticklewater
https://www.instagram.com/drinktickle/
'Sketch Can' - The first and only 'sketch can' features a personalization space and a social media hash tag to invite Tickle fans to interact with the brand by drawing on the can and then sharing their custom can on Tik Tok. 'Sketch Can' provides kids with a brand they can call their own. It is a healthy premium sparkling water and natural flavors without artificial ingredients, sugar, sodium, or preservatives. 'Sketch Can' comes in a fully recyclable package, in two delicious flavors Watermelon and Sour Green Apple. Kids won't be able to resist the urge to sip and sketch.
Trevi Essence Water is a true clean-label beverage with a superior flavor that stays true to the fruit. Trevi has zero sugar, zero calories, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, gluten free, vegan, kosher and diet friendly. Trevi comes in four delicious flavors Mango Orange, Coconut Lime, Peach and Grapefruit.
For more information visit www.DrinkTrevi.com
https://www.facebook.com/DrinkTrevi
https://www.instagram.com/drinktreviwater/
https://twitter.com/drinktreviwater
Spider Energy Drink is packed with serious energy. This formula is the perfect balance of energy boosting B-vitamins, Taurine, Guarana, Ginseng, Key Levels of Amino Acids and herbal extracts. Made with 100% real sugar, Spider Energy is known as one of the best tasting with a fresh-citrus, smooth and refreshing flavor, without the medicinal aftertaste associated with most energy drinks.
For more information visit https://spiderenergydrink.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SpiderEnergyDrink
https://www.instagram.com/spiderenergydrink/
https://twitter.com/SpiderEnergy
This press release includes forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of our business, its operations and its financial performance and condition, and also includes selected operating results presented without the context of accompanying financial results. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to our objectives and strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates or intentions. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations. We caution that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from the assumptions, estimates or expectations reflected or contained in the forward-looking information, and that actual future performance will be affected by a number of factors, including economic conditions, technological change, regulatory change and competitive factors, many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, future events and results may vary significantly from what we currently foresee. We are under no obligation (and we expressly disclaim any such obligation) to update or alter the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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- Completed ESG materiality and carbon footprint assessments to identify the most significant priorities with input from key global stakeholders.
- Established targets to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 37.8% by 2030 while working to reduce the environmental impact of our products and packaging.
- Advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to increase the diversity of leadership and set goals to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in U.S. management.
- Amplified community impact through the IDEXX Foundation, corporate donations, and employee volunteering.
- Committed to maintaining gender balance in global management, where women represented 48% of global management roles in 2021.
WESTBROOK, Maine, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDXX), a global leader in pet healthcare innovation, today published its 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report. This report details the company's progress and announces new goals for environmental sustainability; people and community; and governance, ethics, and compliance. The 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report is IDEXX's third report and includes disclosures aligned with leading reporting standards and frameworks.
"Driven by our Purpose to enhance the health and well-being of pets, people, and livestock, we have a responsibility and an opportunity to create a better future for animals, people, and our planet," said Jay Mazelsky, IDEXX President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we work together on key initiatives in our ESG focus areas, IDEXX will support the advancement of the standard of animal care globally, create long-term value for our stakeholders, and make a meaningful difference in the world."
The 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report describes how IDEXX is accelerating its scientifically directed approach to environmental sustainability through innovation, climate action, and a focus on environmental impact reduction. Key highlights include the following:
- Set a new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations by 37.8% by 2030. The target focuses on Scope 1 and 2 emissions and is aligned with the United Nations Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- Set a new goal to source 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
- Transitioned to sustainable insulated packaging for cold consumable shipments in 2021 in the U.S., which will avoid the use of approximately 330,000 pounds of polystyrene foam waste each year.
IDEXX's 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report outlines the company's progress and commitments to build a culture that brings out the best in its people. IDEXX does this by cultivating a collaborative workplace that promotes greater diversity, equity, inclusion, well-being, and respect of people and communities across our value chain. Key highlights include the following:
- Committed to maintaining gender balance in global management, where women represented 48% of global management and 59% of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) roles in 2021.
- Committed to increasing the representation of underrepresented groups in U.S. management to 33% by 2030.
- Pledged to expand access to care for more than 500,000 animals in underserved communities and amplify access to mental health and well-being support for veterinary students and veterinary professionals around the world by 2025.
- Disclosed the latest consolidated EEO-1 data on its website and increased transparency in the composition of the global and U.S. workforce.
Aligned with IDEXX's Purpose and Guiding Principles, the company aims to lead responsibly and ethically, ensuring transparency, integrity, and accountability are at the center of everything we do. The 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report provides updates on key advancements and commitments, such as these:
- Completed ESG materiality and carbon footprint assessments with the assistance of industry-leading external sustainability firms.
- Updated Board committee charters and the Corporate Governance Guidelines to clarify ESG oversight accountabilities.
- Adopted a Policy on Political Contributions and Public Policy Engagement to formalize IDEXX's long-standing practice of not making political contributions.
IDEXX's 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report is aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and demonstrates how IDEXX is contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). For more detailed information on IDEXX's ESG programs, practices, and policies and to read the 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report, please visit idexx.com/en/about-idexx/corporate-responsibility.
IDEXX is a global leader in pet healthcare innovation. Our diagnostic and software products and services create clarity in the complex, constantly evolving world of veterinary medicine. We support longer, fuller lives for pets by delivering insights and solutions that help the veterinary community around the world make confident decisions—to advance medical care, improve efficiency, and build thriving practices. Our innovations also help ensure the safety of milk and water across the world and maintain the health and well-being of people and livestock. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a member of the S&P 500® Index. Headquartered in Maine, IDEXX employs more than 10,000 people and offers solutions and products to customers in more than 175 countries. For more information about IDEXX, visit idexx.com. For media inquiries, please get in touch at media@idexx.com.
This news release contains or may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "may," "anticipates," "intends," "would," "will," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "should," "project," and similar words and expressions. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide our current expectation or forecasts of future events; are based on current estimates, projections, beliefs, and assumptions; and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements because actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied. The reports filed by IDEXX pursuant to United States securities laws contain discussions of some of these risks and uncertainties. IDEXX assumes no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are advised to review IDEXX's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (which are available from the SEC's EDGAR database at sec.gov and via IDEXX's website at idexx.com).
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Unified platform blends construction applications and data to help owners and contractors continuously improve performance
AUSTIN, Texas, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Engineering and construction organizations struggle to unlock data across applications to effectively diagnose problems, predict risks, and inform future actions. To address this challenge, Oracle today announced Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics. The new solution combines data from Oracle Smart Construction Platform applications to give owners and contractors a comprehensive understanding of performance throughout their operations. With this insight, organizations can quickly spot and correct issues and target ways to drive continuous improvement across project planning, construction, and asset operation.
"You can't manage what you can't measure," said Roz Buick, senior vice president of product, strategy, and marketing for Oracle Construction and Engineering. "The new Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics offering combined with the Smart Construction Platform's predictive intelligence engine and common data environment, gives our customers a deeper, holistic understanding of their performance. Now they can build unique data strategies that drive competitive differentiation. This is how the construction industry will get to six sigma precision like its industrial and manufacturing counterparts."
The Smart Construction Platform unites capabilities from Oracle engineering and construction applications and third-party solutions with a common data environment and user experience. With the platform, owners and contractors can more easily work together to improve decision-making at every level of their organizations. The new analytics solution and other platform enhancements were unveiled today at the Oracle Industry Lab in Deerfield, Illinois.
"We are increasingly focused on finding new and better ways to leverage our data to gain further insights into project performance and risk," said Brian Neal, project manager, Rudolph Libbe Inc. "Connecting and blending data for analysis will provide the broadest and deepest view into our operations, helping us to understand trends across our business and identify ways to keep improving how we deliver projects for our customers."
Smart Construction Platform: Unifying people, processes, and data
The Smart Construction Platform brings together the core applications, processes, and data that owners and contractors need to work together across project and asset lifecycles. These include portfolio planning, bid/tender processes, contracts, schedules, project documents and building information model (BIM) collaboration, field tasks, costs, and payments. With the new unified experience, common data environment, and cross-application interoperability, users can easily move between applications and data sets while working within a single project. By synchronizing activities, resources, and data as each project and asset progresses, the platform helps ensure teams across disciplines are always working toward the same goal, with the same information.
For instance, the platform's scheduling and project management capabilities synchronize planning and worksite teams around a master plan, giving both visibility into a unified schedule and the task data needed to do the right work in the right place at the right time. So, if an HVAC installation should change because of a supply chain issue, the project manager will automatically receive the updated schedule information and can coordinate any needed adjustments across all impacted teams.
Likewise, the platform gives capital planners accurate, timely data on project forecasts so they can align with managers on budget requirements and adjust as strategic priorities change. For example, inflation doubles the costs of a required set of materials on a project. The project manager can push those new actuals and forecast up to the planner who can perform just-in-time changes to the portfolio, possibly pulling funds from a less important project, or putting a project on hold.
And as the platform continually learns and gets smarter using machine learning technologies, it will take these past actions into consideration to flag potential risks and guide more informed decision making in the future. These are just a few of the many connected experiences the platform can deliver by:
- Providing up-to-date schedule data to project managers so they can keep teams aligned to planned delivery dates and other schedule requirements
- Uniting planning (CPM schedule) with worksite teams (task schedule) to minimize wasted time and resources
- Letting capital planning and project execution teams exchange budget and actual cost data, enabling both teams to confidently adjust as work progresses
- Automatically storing completed bid/tender packages as well as approved invoices and other payment materials in organizations' document registers
- Giving all stakeholders visibility to collectively track progress, identify and mitigate risks, and efficiently manage change across the entire supply chain
"Oracle has helped us improve coordination, visibility, and control during project development," said Weronika Nowak, document control and IT manager for Mayflower Wind. "The ability to further connect our teams, processes, and data across applications and all project phases will increase efficiency while providing our people with the information needed to readily manage change as we work to deliver critical energy assets."
Learn more about Oracle Smart Construction Platform and Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics.
About Oracle Construction and Engineering
Asset owners and project delivery teams rely on Oracle Construction and Engineering solutions for the visibility and control, connected supply chain, and data security needed to drive performance and mitigate risk across their processes, projects, and organization. Our scalable cloud construction management software solutions enable digital transformation for teams that plan, build, and operate critical assets, improving efficiency, collaboration, and change control across the project lifecycle. www.oracle.com/construction-and-engineering.
About Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation.
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Dean Curtis, Group Managing Director at LexisNexis Risk Solutions and President & CEO, ICIS, part of the data and analytics company, RELX.
As a business leader, my role carries both the privilege and responsibility to provide a platform and look for opportunities to make a difference not only for our company and people but also for society. Diversity is the outcome of inclusion—embracing all our differences, experiences and beliefs in an environment that enables people to be the very best version of their true authentic selves.
As a company with customers and employees all over the world, we at my company truly understand the value and benefit a team receives from diversity. We believe that an inclusive environment is essential for high performance, nurturing big ideas and developing industry-changing innovation.
How To Measure A Diverse Workplace
It is hard to manage what you can’t measure, but the answer is not simply to hire people to meet a metric and quota. If we only look at data or outcomes, we discover that we will never get the best from our people. The company culture must ultimately be conducive to a sense of belonging, which lends itself to performance.
In order to be sustainable, inclusion must come before diversity. This is not about just coaching or “fixing” diverse or once-marginalized talent. We must dramatically re-envision the environment in which we perform, as well.
Traditional education systems often do not help so much as to encourage conformity in the interest of passing the same tests, wearing the same clothes and speaking the same language. But true innovation—and the best decisions—come from different ways of thinking and behaving. As Dr. Amy Edmondson once said: “Anyone’s voice can be mission critical.”
As leaders, how do we create a culture where everyone’s voice is heard and valued?
Attracting A Diverse Workforce
We live in an era of industrial change, and new skills are critical to supporting an aging workforce that has historically been dominated in many areas by white males. As we move further from the industrial revolution, people no longer need to stand by machines. Data literacy and being digitally native are crucial skills as the blend of humans and technology now generate significant value.
We must also support, address and change cultural bias in the workplace as we introduce the new skills needed for the future, both in existing and new talent. We at ICIS have a very diverse workforce in terms of age, with employees who have been with us for decades, as well as younger millennial and Gen-Z cohorts with different digital skills and ways of consuming information.
We should encourage young, diverse talent to go into STEM subjects within education systems, as these teach the skills needed to solve some of the largest problems of the coming decades and will be in high demand. There are also emerging areas where different talents will be sorely needed and in short supply, such as in digitalization and sustainability.
One of the fundamental changes needed to deliver diversity is in the traditional recruitment processes. When looking to fill a vacancy, we should focus on what the role requires over historic prerequisites such as academic qualifications. Certain technical acumen will be required for some roles, and we will need to make sure people have the specific capabilities required for a role, but we should also give some thought to what qualities and behaviors are needed for success.
Hiring Isn’t The Biggest Challenge: It’s Getting The Best Out Of Talent
When we have hired the best talent to evolve our culture, how do we ensure they do not change in order to fit in? When individuals can bring their best selves to the table, they are able to put forth the very insights for which we hired them in the first place. This allows the business to truly embrace the experiences and diversity they bring. Encompassing a wide range of perspectives and providing role models not only for different identities as well as generations will be critical. This is just one reason representation is so important at the executive level.
We at ICIS and RELX strive to future-proof our talent pipeline through diversity targets and strategies designed to hire from diverse talent pools. Internal programs are in place to accelerate both gender and ethnic diversity, and every leader has a relating KPO, but we have so much more to do. We are not going to just hire to meet numbers but must develop an ethnically and gender-diverse talent across our organization to create an inclusive culture where the best talent can thrive.
In Summary
There is so much more we can and need to do to improve diversity and inclusion. Measurement is a key first step, but we must ensure it is followed by a wider and executive-level commitment to reach certain milestones.
I am fortunate enough to be a trustee of the McKenzie Delis Foundation, which publishes a unique report of leading U.S. and U.K. organizations that seek to uncover best practices as well as areas for progress and improvement. Ultimately, culture will define us, and talent attraction and acquisition are key. We must be careful in what we ask for in terms of education and experience when we hire people for who they are in the interview process. We must also be creative in where we search for this talent.
Most importantly, the best thing we can all do to develop talent is commit to all playing our part in building a truly inclusive environment where people belong and can be the very best version of themselves. This takes constant hard work from everyone.
In our fast-paced world, taking the time to understand others’ views is no longer a luxury but a necessity. We must have the courage and the curiosity to look at the world through the lens of others. Only when people can do this will they be able to truly speak up without fear of judgment. This is essential to getting the best outcomes, ideas, performances and decisions out of our teams, enabling our organizations and society to thrive.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify? | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/07/19/how-to-overcome-challenges-to-diversity-and-inclusivity-in-industry/ | 2022-07-19T12:00:30Z | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/07/19/how-to-overcome-challenges-to-diversity-and-inclusivity-in-industry/ | true |
LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization said Tuesday that coronavirus cases have tripled across Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for nearly half of all infections globally. Hospitalization rates have also doubled, although intensive care admissions have remained low.
In a statement on Tuesday, WHO's Europe director, Dr. Hans Kluge, described COVID-19 as “a nasty and potentially deadly illness” that people should not underestimate. He said super-infectious relatives of the omicron variant were driving new waves of disease across the continent and that repeat infections could potentially lead to long COVID.
WHO said the 53 countries in its European region, which stretches to central Asia, reported nearly 3 million new coronavirus infections last week and that the virus was killing about 3,000 people every week. Globally, COVID-19 cases have increased for the past five weeks, even as countries have scaled back on testing.
“With rising cases, we’re also seeing a rise in hospitalizations, which are only set to increase further in the autumn and winter months,” Kluge said. “This forecast presents a huge challenge to the health workforce in country after country, already under enormous pressure dealing with unrelenting crises since 2020.”
Earlier this week, editors of two British medical journals said the country's National Health Service has never before had so many parts of the system so close to collapsing.
Kamran Abbasi, of the BMJ and Alastair McLellan of the Health Service Journal wrote in a joint editorial that the U.K. government was failing to address persistent problems worsened by COVID, including ambulances lining up outside hospitals too overloaded to accept new patients.
They slammed the government's insistence that vaccines have broken the link between infections and hospitalizations. Although vaccines dramatically reduce the chances of severe disease and death, they have not made a significant dent on transmission.
“The government must stop gaslighting the public and be honest about the threat the pandemic still poses to them and the National Health Service,” the editors wrote.
WHO released its fall strategy for COVID-19 on Tuesday. The U.N. health agency called for a second vaccine booster dose for anyone age 5 and up with weak immune systems, promoting mask-wearing indoors and on public transportation, and better ventilation in schools, offices and other places.
Kluge said Southern Hemisphere countries were currently experiencing a very active flu season that, combined with COVID, was straining health systems.
“We are likely to see a similar scenario in the Northern Hemisphere,” Kluge said, warning that increased pressure could lead to business, travel and school chaos.
He urged people to make their own decisions, even in countries where authorities have largely abandoned coronavirus restrictions.
“We’re all aware of the tools we have to keep ourselves safe, assess our level of risk and take the necessary steps to protect others if we get infected,” Kluge said. “Just because a mask isn’t mandated doesn’t mean it’s prohibited.”
___
Follow AP's coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/pandemics | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/who-covid-triples-across-europe-hospitalizations-double/VOEJG6DAUFAXXEQDAR774DPAXM/ | 2022-07-19T12:01:33Z | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/who-covid-triples-across-europe-hospitalizations-double/VOEJG6DAUFAXXEQDAR774DPAXM/ | false |
FORT WAYNE, Ind., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ/GS: STLD) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to construct and operate a 650,000-tonne low-carbon, recycled aluminum flat rolled mill, with two supporting satellite recycled aluminum slab centers. The capital investment is estimated to be $2.2 billion for the three facilities, and commercial production is planned to begin in the first quarter 2025. Steel Dynamics' steel customers are significant consumers and processors of aluminum flat rolled products, and also seek the company's high-quality, sustainable, customer-centric approach within the aluminum flat rolled market. The state-of-the-art aluminum flat rolled mill will utilize a significant amount of aluminum scrap, and as such is also a complementary extension of the company's metals recycling platform, which is the largest nonferrous metals recycler in North America. The company estimates the project will generate between $650 million and $700 million of annual EBITDA on a through-cycle basis. The project will be funded with available cash and cash flow from operations, and the company plans to maintain its policy of strong shareholder distributions and investment grade credit ratings.
The North American flat rolled aluminum industry has a substantial and growing supply deficit estimated at over 2.0 million tonnes, based largely on increasing demand from the automotive and sustainable beverage can industries. The lack of aluminum flat rolled availability has impacted automotive producers' ability to secure supply. The supply deficit is currently being addressed through imports of higher-cost aluminum flat rolled products, which exceeded 25 percent of North American consumption in 2021.
"We are incredibly excited to announce this meaningful growth opportunity, which is aligned with our existing business and operational expertise," said Mark. D. Millett, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "We have intentionally grown with our customers' needs, providing efficient sustainable supply-chain solutions for the highest quality products. Thus far, this has primarily been achieved within the carbon steel industry — however, a significant number of our carbon flat rolled steel customers are also consumers and processors of aluminum flat rolled products. Today we are announcing our plans to broaden our ability to serve our existing and new customers by adding high-quality, low-carbon flat rolled aluminum to our product portfolio. We are also excited to further diversify our end markets with plans to supply the sustainable beverage can industry. We believe our unique performance-based operating culture, coupled with our considerable experience in successfully constructing and operating cost-effective, highly profitable carbon flat rolled steel mills, positions us exceptionally well to execute this strategic opportunity in an adjacent metal space, and to deliver strong long-term value creation."
The Project
The planned $1.9 billion aluminum flat rolled mill will be located in the Southeastern United States, with an annual production capacity of 650,000 tonnes of finished products, serving the sustainable beverage packaging, automotive, and common alloy industrial sectors. The product offering will be supported by various value-added finishing lines, including CASH (continuous annealing solutions heat treating) lines, continuous coating, and various slitting and packaging operations. The rolling mill is currently expected to begin operations in the first quarter 2025. The company's focus on decarbonization will also be applied to this aluminum operation, including plans to use a significant amount of pre- and post-consumer aluminum scrap in its production process, supported by the company's metals recycling platform, which is the largest nonferrous metals recycler in North America. The company will own over 94 percent of the rolling mill facility through a joint venture arrangement with Unity Aluminum, Inc., whose employees provide significant aluminum industry operating expertise to the project, complementing the company's own proven extensive construction and operating talent.
At full capacity, the aluminum rolling mill will require approximately 900,000 tonnes of annual aluminum slab supply. The rolling mill is expected to have the capacity to supply approximately 50 percent of its recycled aluminum slab requirements onsite, with the remaining amount to be provided by the construction and operation of two additional satellite recycled aluminum slab centers, one to be located in the Southwestern United States and the other in Northcentral Mexico. The satellite slab centers will benefit from abundant regional aluminum scrap supply and cost-effective operations. The two facilities are expected to cost approximately $350 million in aggregate, with the Mexico facility expected to begin operations in 2024 and the U.S. facility by the end of 2025. The company will own 100 percent of the satellite facilities.
Steel Dynamics Competitive Advantage
The company believes this strategic growth investment is differentiated and supported by the following key advantages:
- Culture
- A Market in Need of Alternatives
- Successful Organic Growth Track Record
- Customer Supply-Chain Solutions
- Sustainability Focus
- Financial Strength
Suppliers and Advisors
The equipment contract for the flat rolled aluminum mill has been awarded to SMS Group. J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor and Barrett McNagny, LLP is serving as legal counsel to Steel Dynamics. Headwall Partners, XMS Capital Partners, EA Markets, and Odinbrook Global Advisors are serving as financial advisors to Unity Aluminum.
Investor Conference Call and Webcast
On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 8.30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), Steel Dynamics will host a conference call with investors and analysts to discuss its planned aluminum flat rolled growth investment. We encourage you to listen to the live audiocast of the conference call which is accessible from our website (http://www.steeldynamics.com), or via telephone at (1-973-528-0011). An investor presentation will also be posted on our website for reference during our conference call. A replay of the call will be made available on our website at approximately 1:00pm EDT the day of the call and will remain available until 11:59 pm EDT July 26, 2022. A podcast/MP3file of the event will also be available and can be downloaded from our website during that time.
About Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Steel Dynamics is one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States based on estimated annual steelmaking and metals recycling capability, with facilities located throughout the United States, and in Mexico. Steel Dynamics produces steel products, including hot roll, cold roll, and coated sheet steel, structural steel beams and shapes, rail, engineered special-bar-quality steel, cold finished steel, merchant bar products, specialty steel sections and steel joists and deck. In addition, the company produces liquid pig iron and processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap.
Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The company reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and adjusted free cash flow, non-GAAP financial measures, provide additional meaningful information regarding the company's current and anticipated performance and financial strength. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the company's reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because not all companies use identical calculations of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and adjusted free cash flow included in this release may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
Projections
This press release contains projections, which reflect estimates about future events. These projections are based on an analysis of publicly available information, information provided by industry advisors and consultants, and the company's experience in the steel industry, and contain many assumptions about the aluminum industry and the company's anticipated operations. Some assumptions may not materialize and unanticipated events and circumstances may cause actual results to turn out differently than anticipated. Projections are subject to various and substantial uncertainties and risks, and the underlying assumptions may be inaccurate in a material respect. Furthermore, certain projections are non-GAAP measures.
Given the risks and uncertainties inherent in projections, investors are reminded not to rely on projections in connection with making an investment decision. Please see "Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Forward-Looking Statements" regarding additional risks and uncertainties in connection with the projections.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in domestic or global economies, conditions in steel, aluminum, and recycled metals marketplaces, Steel Dynamics' revenues, costs of purchased materials, future profitability and earnings, and the operation of new, existing or planned facilities. These statements, which we generally precede or accompany by such typical conditional words as "anticipate", "intend", "believe", "estimate", "plan", "seek", "project", or "expect", or by the words "may", "will", or "should", are intended to be made as "forward-looking," subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements speak only as of this date and are based upon information and assumptions, which we consider reasonable as of this date, concerning our businesses and the environments in which they operate. Such predictive statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and we undertake no duty to update or revise any such statements. Some factors that could cause such forward-looking statements to turn out differently than anticipated include: (1) domestic and global economic factors; (2) global steelmaking overcapacity and imports of steel and North American aluminum flat rolled supply deficit, together with increased scrap prices; (3) pandemics, epidemics, widespread illness or other health issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; (4) the cyclical nature of the steel industry and the industries we serve; (5) volatility and major fluctuations in prices and availability of scrap metal, scrap substitutes, and our potential inability to pass higher costs on to our customers; (6) cost and availability of electricity, natural gas, oil, or other energy resources are subject to volatile market conditions; (7) increased environmental, greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability considerations or regulations; (8) compliance with and changes in environmental and remediation requirements; (9) significant price and other forms of competition from other steel and aluminum producers, scrap processors and alternative materials; (10) availability of an adequate source of supply of scrap for our metals recycling operations; (11) cybersecurity threats and risks to the security of our sensitive data and information technology; (12) the implementation of our growth strategy; (13) litigation and legal compliance, (14) unexpected equipment downtime or shutdowns; (15) governmental agencies may refuse to grant or renew some of our licenses and permits required to operate our businesses; (16) our senior unsecured credit facility contains, and any future financing agreements may contain, restrictive covenants that may limit our flexibility; (17) the impact of impairment charges; (18) the use of estimates and assumptions in connection with anticipated project returns; (19) unanticipated difficulties in integrating or starting up new assets; and (20) risks and uncertainties involving product and/or technology development.
More specifically, refer to Steel Dynamics' more detailed explanation of these and other factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K under the headings Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors, in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or in other reports which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These are available publicly on the Securities and Exchange Commission website, www.sec.gov, and on the Steel Dynamics website, www.steeldynamics.com under "Investors — SEC Filings".
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SOURCE Steel Dynamics, Inc. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/steel-dynamics-announces-investment-new-state-of-the-art-low-carbon-aluminum-flat-rolled-mill-aligned-with-its-core-steelmaking-recycling-platforms/ | 2022-07-19T12:02:35Z | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/steel-dynamics-announces-investment-new-state-of-the-art-low-carbon-aluminum-flat-rolled-mill-aligned-with-its-core-steelmaking-recycling-platforms/ | true |
- Completed ESG materiality and carbon footprint assessments to identify the most significant priorities with input from key global stakeholders.
- Established targets to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 37.8% by 2030 while working to reduce the environmental impact of our products and packaging.
- Advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to increase the diversity of leadership and set goals to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in U.S. management.
- Amplified community impact through the IDEXX Foundation, corporate donations, and employee volunteering.
- Committed to maintaining gender balance in global management, where women represented 48% of global management roles in 2021.
WESTBROOK, Maine, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDXX), a global leader in pet healthcare innovation, today published its 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report. This report details the company's progress and announces new goals for environmental sustainability; people and community; and governance, ethics, and compliance. The 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report is IDEXX's third report and includes disclosures aligned with leading reporting standards and frameworks.
"Driven by our Purpose to enhance the health and well-being of pets, people, and livestock, we have a responsibility and an opportunity to create a better future for animals, people, and our planet," said Jay Mazelsky, IDEXX President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we work together on key initiatives in our ESG focus areas, IDEXX will support the advancement of the standard of animal care globally, create long-term value for our stakeholders, and make a meaningful difference in the world."
The 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report describes how IDEXX is accelerating its scientifically directed approach to environmental sustainability through innovation, climate action, and a focus on environmental impact reduction. Key highlights include the following:
- Set a new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations by 37.8% by 2030. The target focuses on Scope 1 and 2 emissions and is aligned with the United Nations Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- Set a new goal to source 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
- Transitioned to sustainable insulated packaging for cold consumable shipments in 2021 in the U.S., which will avoid the use of approximately 330,000 pounds of polystyrene foam waste each year.
IDEXX's 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report outlines the company's progress and commitments to build a culture that brings out the best in its people. IDEXX does this by cultivating a collaborative workplace that promotes greater diversity, equity, inclusion, well-being, and respect of people and communities across our value chain. Key highlights include the following:
- Committed to maintaining gender balance in global management, where women represented 48% of global management and 59% of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) roles in 2021.
- Committed to increasing the representation of underrepresented groups in U.S. management to 33% by 2030.
- Pledged to expand access to care for more than 500,000 animals in underserved communities and amplify access to mental health and well-being support for veterinary students and veterinary professionals around the world by 2025.
- Disclosed the latest consolidated EEO-1 data on its website and increased transparency in the composition of the global and U.S. workforce.
Aligned with IDEXX's Purpose and Guiding Principles, the company aims to lead responsibly and ethically, ensuring transparency, integrity, and accountability are at the center of everything we do. The 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report provides updates on key advancements and commitments, such as these:
- Completed ESG materiality and carbon footprint assessments with the assistance of industry-leading external sustainability firms.
- Updated Board committee charters and the Corporate Governance Guidelines to clarify ESG oversight accountabilities.
- Adopted a Policy on Political Contributions and Public Policy Engagement to formalize IDEXX's long-standing practice of not making political contributions.
IDEXX's 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report is aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and demonstrates how IDEXX is contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). For more detailed information on IDEXX's ESG programs, practices, and policies and to read the 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report, please visit idexx.com/en/about-idexx/corporate-responsibility.
IDEXX is a global leader in pet healthcare innovation. Our diagnostic and software products and services create clarity in the complex, constantly evolving world of veterinary medicine. We support longer, fuller lives for pets by delivering insights and solutions that help the veterinary community around the world make confident decisions—to advance medical care, improve efficiency, and build thriving practices. Our innovations also help ensure the safety of milk and water across the world and maintain the health and well-being of people and livestock. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a member of the S&P 500® Index. Headquartered in Maine, IDEXX employs more than 10,000 people and offers solutions and products to customers in more than 175 countries. For more information about IDEXX, visit idexx.com. For media inquiries, please get in touch at media@idexx.com.
This news release contains or may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "may," "anticipates," "intends," "would," "will," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "should," "project," and similar words and expressions. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide our current expectation or forecasts of future events; are based on current estimates, projections, beliefs, and assumptions; and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements because actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied. The reports filed by IDEXX pursuant to United States securities laws contain discussions of some of these risks and uncertainties. IDEXX assumes no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are advised to review IDEXX's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (which are available from the SEC's EDGAR database at sec.gov and via IDEXX's website at idexx.com).
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SOURCE IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/idexx-announces-new-goals-its-2021-corporate-responsibility-report-advances-progress-environmental-social-governance-initiatives/ | 2022-07-19T12:03:25Z | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/idexx-announces-new-goals-its-2021-corporate-responsibility-report-advances-progress-environmental-social-governance-initiatives/ | false |
NASHUA, N.H., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinpoint Global is excited to announce the launch of ComplianceConnect™ online compliance modules specifically tailored to the compliance needs of RIA firms. ComplianceConnect is a SaaS subscription for RIAs to simplify the never-ending data collecting, reporting, and storage necessary to satisfy SEC requirements.
" We've been providing online compliance services for the largest financial services companies for over 20 years. RIAs are the fastest-growing segment in the industry and have their own specific compliance and business risks," said Jay Stainsby, Vice President of Pinpoint Global. "It's only natural to take what we've done and scale it for RIAs to better comply and manage risk."
ComplianceConnect includes over 20 modules that satisfy SEC requirements. Built and branded specifically for firms' hierarchies, they're intuitive and easy to use for advisors and staff. Workflow is seamless from advisor through supervisory review and compliance oversight. Advisors and compliance staff are able to collaborate more efficiently and productively, creating more collegial relationships.
Each module provides multi-level review options, real-time reporting, and detailed auditing tools keeping RIAs compliant with the regulatory landscape. Pinpoint Global's Gold Record storage means data is encrypted, fully redundant, and accessible anytime should a firm be audited.
Pinpoint Global has bundled the three most popular modules into The Core for efficiency and savings. The Core includes Annual Account Review, Gifts and Entertainment, and Checks and Securities Blotters. RIA firms can add additional modules when needed.
Craig LeFeber, CCO of Bright Futures Wealth Management, LLC said, "Automating these compliance requirements will save our firm, and RIA firms like us, months of laborious work while providing us SEC 17(a)-4 gold record storage." Added Craig, "The Pinpoint solution fills a void in today's market."
For more information about Pinpoint Global's ComplianceConnect solution, contact Jay Stainsby at 716-465-6983 or email jstainsby@pinpointglobal.com.
Pinpoint Global is the recognized leader in on-demand, online training, and compliance solutions for financial service and health insurance companies.
Pinpoint Global's learning management system (LMS) is customized for companies to easily deliver required training and education to get salespeople, agents, and advisors ready to sell quickly with real-time tracking and reporting for administrators and users. Pinpoint Global's ComplianceConnect™ SaaS provides companies the security of knowing they can provide decision-ready data to deliver, monitor, and report to support SEC requirements. www.pinpointglobal.com
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SOURCE Pinpoint Global Communications | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/pinpoint-global-launches-complianceconnect-solution-rias/ | 2022-07-19T12:04:48Z | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/pinpoint-global-launches-complianceconnect-solution-rias/ | true |
New 450,000 Square Foot Facility Increases Capacity 500% to Meet Growing Demand for Award-Winning Timberline Solar™ Roof Featuring the World's First Nailable Solar Shingle
GEORGETOWN, Texas and SAN JOSE, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GAF Energy, a Standard Industries company and a leading provider of solar roofing in North America, has announced it will build a new 450,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Texas, to meet growing demand for the award-winning Timberline Solar™ roof. The new facility, the company's second, will increase its capacity by 500% and bring total production of its solar shingle to 300 megawatts annually, making GAF Energy the largest producer of solar roofing in the world. Introduced earlier this year, Timberline Solar™ features the world's first nailable solar shingle and is the only roof system to directly integrate solar technology into traditional roofing processes and materials.
"The response from both consumers and roofers to our Timberline Solar roof has been tremendous and we're thrilled to be expanding capacity to meet that growing demand. Georgetown has a long track record as a clean energy leader, so it is the perfect home for us to build the future of solar," said Martin DeBono, President of GAF Energy. "We launched Timberline Solar because we believed that more consumers would choose solar if they had a more reliable, durable, and attractive option. The market has confirmed our belief—now we're turning that belief into reality and building the future of clean energy here in the U.S."
"We are pleased GAF Energy selected Georgetown as their destination for their facility," Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said. "Their innovative product is one that will change the market as we know it, and we are excited that it will be developed here in our backyard."
Once complete, the Georgetown manufacturing facility will result in hundreds of new U.S.-based, clean energy manufacturing jobs and build on GAF Energy's track record of delivering a best-in-class solar roof product that is assembled in America. GAF Energy's first manufacturing facility, in San Jose, California, was completed and began production last year. As a Standard Industries company and sister company to GAF, the largest roofing and waterproofing company in North America, GAF Energy can draw on extensive manufacturing and R&D expertise, with access to the largest network of roofing partners in the industry. One out of every four new roofs in the U.S. comes from GAF, uniquely positioning GAF Energy to bring residential solar to the mass market.
The company's solar roof, Timberline Solar™, is in a class of its own: reliable, durable, cost-effective, easy to install, and aesthetically superior. Timberline Solar ES™ boasts an industry-defying depth of less than a quarter inch and integrates with traditional shingles to create a sleek and attractive look. Since its launch earlier this year, Timberline Solar™ has received multiple awards and honors, including the Best of Innovation award from CES, Green Builder Sustainable Home Award, Good Housekeeping Editor's Choice for CES 2022, a Fast Company World Changing Ideas award, and an NAHB Best of IBS Award, Most Innovative Construction Tool.
Homeowners interested in solar roofing options and roofers interested in installing GAF Energy products can find out more at: www.gaf.energy.
GAF Energy is transforming the solar and roofing industries to generate energy from every roof. A Standard Industries company, GAF Energy works with North America's largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer, GAF, to offer homeowners elegant, roof-integrated solar options through a national network of roofer partners. The company's leading product, the Timberline Solar™ roof system, incorporates the world's first nailable solar shingle to create an attractive, durable, and reliable solar roof. GAF Energy's products have received numerous awards and honors, including the Fast Company 2022 World Changing Ideas Award, the CES Best of Innovation Award, and an NAHB Best of IBS Award. GAF Energy develops and assembles its products at its R&D and manufacturing facility in San Jose, California.
Standard Industries is a privately-held global industrial company operating in over 80 countries with over 20,000 employees. The Standard ecosystem spans a broad array of holdings, technologies and investments—including both public and private companies from early to late-stage—as well as world-class building solutions, performance materials, real estate and next-generation solar technology. Throughout its history, Standard has leveraged its deep industry expertise and vision to create outsize value across its businesses, which today include operating companies GAF, BMI, Grace, GAF Energy, Siplast, SGI, and Schiedel, as well as Standard Investments and Winter Properties. For more information, visit https://www.standardindustries.com/.
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SOURCE GAF Energy | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/gaf-energy-announces-second-timberline-solar-manufacturing-facility-georgetown-texas/ | 2022-07-19T12:05:39Z | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/gaf-energy-announces-second-timberline-solar-manufacturing-facility-georgetown-texas/ | false |
70 cows loose on Florida highway after trailer fire
Published: Jul. 19, 2022 at 7:39 AM EDT|Updated: 27 minutes ago
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) - A group of cows forced part of the Florida Turnpike to shut down Monday.
Florida Highway Patrol says a cattle hauler with dozens of cows caught fire in Osceola County.
The driver pulled off to the side of the road and opened the trailer so the animals could escape the smoke and flames.
The fire was quickly extinguished.
No one was injured, but crews had to wrangle about 70 cows.
Copyright 2022 WESH via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/07/19/70-cows-loose-florida-highway-after-trailer-fire/ | 2022-07-19T12:06:04Z | https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/07/19/70-cows-loose-florida-highway-after-trailer-fire/ | false |
Lightstorm and Pixelworks Partner in Multi-title License Agreement
BURBANK, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pixelworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW), the developer of the award-winning TrueCut Motion™ platform, today announced that it is working with James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment on multiple motion picture titles.
"We're bringing AVATAR and TITANIC back to the big screen, looking better in every way," said James Cameron. "We will be presenting both films in 4K with high dynamic range visuals and have been working with Pixelworks' TrueCut Motion platform to remaster the films in high frame rate, while keeping the cinematic look of the original."
TrueCut Motion technology provides filmmakers with a visual palette of cinematic motion looks that goes beyond anything previously possible. While motion pictures have seen tremendous improvements in picture performance, with higher resolution, higher dynamic range and more colors, the motion look has remained unchanged for close to a hundred years. TrueCut Motion technology allows filmmakers to dial in the motion, with any source frame rate, shot by shot, in post-production. The TrueCut Motion platform then ensures that these creative choices are delivered consistently across every screen, whether in the theater or the home.
"Lightstorm is once again extending the boundaries of the cinematic experience, and we are ecstatic to be a part of that," said Richard Miller, GM of TrueCut at Pixelworks. "After experiencing these remastered versions of AVATAR and TITANIC, we believe more and more filmmakers will be excited to take advantage of motion grading with TrueCut Motion technology."
For more information, please visit www.pixelworks.com/truecut or www.TrueCutMotion.com
About Pixelworks, Inc.
Pixelworks provides industry-leading content creation, video delivery and display processing solutions and technology that enable highly authentic viewing experiences with superior visual quality, across all screens – from cinema to smartphone and beyond. The Company has more than 20-year history of delivering image processing innovation to leading providers of consumer electronics, professional displays and video streaming services. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.pixelworks.com.
Note: Pixelworks, the Pixelworks logo, and TrueCut Motion are trademarks of Pixelworks, Inc.
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New York's Petri Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Drain Cleaning says the heat of summer should remind Americans how the invention of air conditioning has contributed to human comfort
BROOKLYN, N.Y., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the heat of July's sun soaking most of the country, the HVAC experts at Petri Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Drain Cleaning, a family-owned home service company serving Brooklyn and Manhattan for more than a century, are using the National Air Conditioning Days campaign to remind New York homeowners of tips to keep their AC systems operating smoothly this summer.
"When William Carrier set out to design a system in 1902 to lower the humidity in a large printing plant right here in our very own Brooklyn, he stumbled across an invention that the world now celebrates when summer comes," said Michael Petri, owner of Petri Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Drain Cleaning. "This is why it's known as an air conditioner and not an air cooler. It was originally designed to condition – or dehumidify – the air."
National Air Conditioning Days are celebrated between July 3-August 15 yearly, during what is the hottest time of the year for most of the country.
Petri said that homeowners can avoid untimely breakdowns by:
- Changing the filter. This simple act is also one of the most effective ways to both keep the AC unit running at its most efficient while keeping a home at its coolest. The filter should be changed monthly during the cooling season in most cases.
- Scheduling maintenance service. Ideally, this should be done in the spring, but if a homeowner has not yet had the AC unit serviced for yearly maintenance, now is better than never. Regular maintenance keeps the HVAC system running smoothy and can warn homeowners of potential issues. It also may be required to keep the manufacturer's warranty in place.
- Washing the condenser. This is the part of the air conditioning system that is located outside of the home. It can get dirty or filled with debris as a result. Washing it down with a hose on the fine spray setting can give it a quick clean.
- Cleaning the ductwork. The ducts that carry cool air throughout the home are often forgotten in any discussion about the efficiency of an air conditioning system; however, in order to ensure the AC runs smoothly, the ductworks needs to be cleaned once every three to five years. This is also ideal if someone in the home suffers from allergies.
"Few inventions have changed the way Americans handle hotter temperatures and were able to eventually migrate to the warmer parts of this nation than the discovery of passing air over cooled coils," Petri said. "We already saw a heat wave in New York this June and will certainly see more as this summer wears on. The summer of 2022 is expected to be hotter than average across the board. It's fantastic that Mr. Carrier's brainchild helps us make summer more bearable."
About Petri Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Drain Cleaning
Petri Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Drain Cleaning is a family owned and operated business serving Brooklyn and the New York City area. Founded in 1906, the company offers a 100 percent guarantee on all services, upfront pricing, and friendly and knowledgeable Service Experts for all kinds of home and business plumbing and heating needs. Services offered include water and gas pipe leak repair and installation, fixture installations, inspections, boiler repair, water heater installation, complete bathroom, kitchen, laundry & utility room remodeling and more. Petri is also licensed and certified by Green Plumbers USA, the first in New York City to receive this designation. For more information, please visit www.petriplumbing.com or call (718) 717-1089.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973
hripley@ripleypr.com
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CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights Crime Solvers program is asking the public for help with locating two fugitives facing drug-related charges.
Joshua Clayton is wanted for possession of controlled substances. Clayton is described by police as a 34-year-old white male, 6’1″, and weighs 250 pounds with green eyes and black hair.
Jeremy Anthony Walker is wanted for failure to appear on a felony charge of distribution of drugs. Walker is described by police as a 46-year-old black male, 6’1″ and weighs 192 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.
If you have seen one of these most wanted fugitives, call Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660, or use the p3Tips mobile app | https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/chesterfield-county/chesterfield-most-wanted-two-men-on-the-run-facing-drug-related-charges/ | 2022-07-19T12:08:45Z | https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/chesterfield-county/chesterfield-most-wanted-two-men-on-the-run-facing-drug-related-charges/ | true |
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When Stephanie caught COVID-19 just before Thanksgiving of last year, her daughter Laurie suggested that she get help.
"She was really not feeling well, and I was like, 'Just go to the doctor,'" Laurie recalls.
But Stephanie, who was 75 at the time, didn't go. A few years before, she had been sucked into a world of online conspiracy theories — far-fetched ideas like one claiming John F. Kennedy Jr. is still alive. With the pandemic, it got worse. She became deeply distrustful of the medical system.
Laurie remembers what her mother used to tell her about the COVID vaccines: "Everybody who got vaccinated is going to die." (NPR is only using family members' first names to protect them from online harassment.)
COVID cases and hospitalizations are once again on the rise, thanks to a new omicron subvariant. Vaccines and certain proven treatments can help prevent the worst outcomes. But for Americans like Stephanie who don't trust the medical establishment, there's a network of fringe medical doctors, natural healers and internet personalities ready to push unproven cures for COVID. And a shady black market where you can buy them. Stephanie was plugged into that alternative medical network, and doctors say it ultimately cost her life.
Ivermectin hasn't panned out
The array of alternative COVID treatments is vast. Some offer kosher multivitamins, others suggest more radical interventions, such as drinking your own urine.
But one drug in particular has become the center of many alternative therapies: ivermectin. Originally used to treat parasitic worms, ivermectin has developed an enormous following over the course of the pandemic — especially in politically conservative circles. That's, in part, because of a small cadre of licensed doctors who promote it as an alternative to vaccination against COVID. Among the most prominent is Dr. Pierre Kory, whose group, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, has become a major force promoting ivermectin.
"Ivermectin is effectively a 'miracle drug' against COVID-19," Kory told a Senate committee in December of 2020.
But rigorous studies show ivermectin is far from miraculous. Ivermectin was studied early in the pandemic as a potential treatment for COVID, but it hasn't panned out. Large clinical studies show that ivermectin does not lower rates of hospitalization. Meanwhile, some of the early, promising results have been retracted, including one study led by Kory himself. Today, everyone from the American Medical Association to the Food and Drug Administration tells doctors not to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID.
"The non-fraudulent non-messed up clinical trials are all pretty uniformly negative," says David Gorski, a cancer surgeon and researcher at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan.
For years before COVID, Gorski tracked doctors who offered alternative cures for cancers. And he sees plenty of parallels between those physicians and doctors like Pierre Kory.
"A lot of these doctors fit the mold of what I used to call back in the day 'the brave maverick doctor,'" he says.
Gorski says that they play up their persecution by the system, offer scant evidence for their treatments, and deride effective therapies while promoting their own cures. In Kory's case, he offers personal consultations to sick COVID patients — for $400.
"COVID is no different than quackery going back centuries," Gorski says.
Kory did not answer NPR's emailed questions in time for our deadline, but he's been everywhere on right-wing media promoting ivermectin — and his bravery for prescribing it: "People who've used ivermectin, their license have been threatened," he said on a recent conservative podcast. "I have eight complaints to my medical board; I don't know what's going to happen to my license."
No pharmacies, no questions
Among those influenced by Kory's message was Stephanie. In text messages, Stephanie's friends were passing around an ivermectin-based treatment protocol that he helped develop.
Timothy Mackey is a professor at the University of California, San Diego who studies online pharmacies. He says ivermectin promoters have spent months hyping the drug.
"They're creating demand and this demand is being circulated in all these different online groups," he says.
Mackey says there's a whole range of entities trying to make a buck off the underground demand for ivermectin. It's difficult to track how many people are seeking it out on the black market, but Mackey believes many Americans are affected.
"There's probably thousands of people, tens of thousands of people that have looked for drugs, tried to buy something...maybe been defrauded and at worst maybe even harmed from these products," he says.
After she fell ill with COVID, Stephanie went looking for ivermectin. A friend gave her the name of a woman in Jacksonville, Fla., who was willing to sell it to her along with some other unproven COVID drugs. Stephanie's order totaled $390.
"She was just waiting for the pills and really did not want to do anything else," Laurie remembers.
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Her mom was getting sicker and sicker and refusing to go to the hospital. Laurie was worried that she had invested so much in the mail-order pills.
"I was like, 'Who'd you buy it from?' because I had read a lot of stuff about people getting it illegally, and she was like, 'I got it from a doctor,' and I said, 'Are you sure it's a doctor?' and she was like, 'Yeah it's definitely a doctor.'"
Except it wasn't a doctor. The woman's name was Elizabeth Starr Miller. According to her LinkedIn profile, she's a "quantum healer" who also works as a loan officer. In text messages shared with NPR by Stephanie's family, Miller repeatedly told Stephanie to be wary of the hospital.
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Meanwhile, the drugs weren't arriving. After a few days, Stephanie worried she might be getting conned.
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Stephanie became so ill she had to be rushed to the local hospital. That same day the drugs arrived, stuffed inside a plain brown envelope with Miller's home address on the return label.
Not licensed for use in the U.S. and possibly counterfeit
When her daughter, Laurie, looked at them, she found ivermectin pills that aren't licensed for use in the U.S. They appeared to be made by Indian pharmaceutical companies. Except, when NPR shared the photos of the packets with Mackey, the pharmaceutical researcher, he wasn't even sure that the Indian company had made them.
"It looks highly suspect the way this pill pack is set up to begin with," Mackey says. Mackey points to one stamp on the pack that reads "WHO GMP Certified." It's a real certification in one Indian state, but he's also seen it before, on fake pills from overseas.
"Once you see this mark here, you're pretty much going to throw out this sample," he says.
When reached by phone, Elizabeth Starr Miller, the woman who sold Stephanie the suspicious drugs, initially told NPR she had nothing to do with the drugs.
"I don't prescribe the medicine, someone else does," she said. When pressed about text messages she sent Stephanie that, among other things, included a tracking number for the ivermectin, Miller says she and Stephanie had consulted a licensed doctor. An NPR review of the entire text thread between Stephanie and Miller did not show any evidence of such a meeting, and her family says they are unaware of any appointment taking place. Miller says the doctor has since died of cancer and she has no notes from the consultation.
Miller says she was one of well over a hundred doctors, homeopathic healers and online pharmacists offering ivermectin. She says she believed the drugs would help and that she can't be blamed for Stephanie's death.
"This was a grown woman who had made her choice," she says. "I was just trying to help her, I wasn't trying to hurt her. I would never hurt anybody."
Stephanie's faith in the drugs cost her valuable time. Doctors who treated her at the hospital told NPR they believe she wasted critical days waiting for them. Stephanie grew weaker and eventually succumbed to COVID just a few days after Christmas.
Stephanie's best chance would have been to be vaccinated before she got sick, says Jai Ballani, a physician with Northwell Health who treated Stephanie at the hospital last year. But even without vaccination, had she quickly sought scientifically tested therapies, she would have fared better. "There might have been a chance that this story might have had a different outcome," Ballani says.
Laurie and the rest of Stephanie's family have begun to heal in the months following her death. But Laurie remains angry that both misinformers and profiteers continue to operate, promoting their treatments to the public. "It's so abusive," she says. "It's so bad."
This story was edited by Brett Neely, Meredith Rizzo and Carmel Wroth of NPR. Design and development by Connie Hanzhang Jin of NPR.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kcbx.org/npr-top-news/2022-07-19/doubting-mainstream-medicine-covid-patients-find-dangerous-advice-and-pills-online | 2022-07-19T12:12:24Z | https://www.kcbx.org/npr-top-news/2022-07-19/doubting-mainstream-medicine-covid-patients-find-dangerous-advice-and-pills-online | true |
Study Enrollment and Dosing to Resume
SAN DIEGO, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (Viking) (NASDAQ: VKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, today announced that the FDA has lifted the clinical hold placed on the clinical trial of VK0214 in patients with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). As a result, the company expects to resume study enrollment in the coming weeks.
The FDA lifted the clinical hold following its review of results from an in vivo genotoxicity study that it had requested due to the study being conducted with multiple doses in patients. Viking had planned to conduct this study prior to Phase 2 but accelerated its execution based on FDA's request. The study was completed and the results submitted to the Agency in the second quarter. The results showed no evidence of genotoxicity following exposure to VK0214. The company does not believe that the long-term development timeline for VK0214 has been significantly impacted by the temporary clinical hold.
"We look forward to resuming study activities and working to complete patient enrollment as quickly as possible," said Brian Lian, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Viking Therapeutics. "We are confident in the overall safety and potential efficacy profile of VK0214 to date, and are eager to continue its advancement as a potential disease modifying treatment for patients with X-ALD."
The Phase 1b study of VK0214 is designed to enroll patients with the adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) form of X-ALD. AMN is the most common form of X-ALD, affecting approximately 50% of patients. The trial is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in adult male patients with AMN. The primary objectives of the study are to evaluate the safety and tolerability of VK0214 administered once-daily over a 28-day dosing period. The study also includes an exploratory assessment of the impact of VK0214 on plasma levels of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs), as well as an evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of VK0214 in these patients.
VK0214 is a novel, orally available small molecule thyroid hormone beta receptor (TRβ) agonist that has been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of X-ALD. Results from a successful Phase 1 single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) study in healthy subjects showed that VK0214 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability, as well as predictable pharmacokinetics. In addition, subjects who received VK0214 experienced reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B following 14 days of treatment.
X-ALD is a rare and often fatal metabolic disorder characterized by a breakdown in the protective barriers surrounding brain and nerve cells; a process known as demyelination. The disease, for which there is no approved treatment, is caused by mutations in the gene for a peroxisomal transporter of VLCFAs, known as ABCD1. These mutations lead to dysfunction of the adrenoleukodystrophy protein (ALDP), an important peroxisomal transporter, which prevents patients from efficiently metabolizing VLCFAs. The resulting accumulation of VLCFAs, which is believed to contribute to the onset and progression of the disease, can trigger demyelination of nerve cells, resulting in cognitive impairment, motor skill deterioration, and even death. X-ALD is estimated to occur in approximately 1 in 17,000 births.
The thyroid beta receptor is known to regulate expression of a related gene called ABCD2, which encodes a compensatory transporter called the adrenoleukodystrophy related protein (ADLRP). Research in various preclinical disease models has shown that increasing ABCD2 expression can result in normalization of VLCFA levels.
Viking Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel first-in-class or best-in-class therapies for the treatment of metabolic and endocrine disorders. Viking's research and development activities leverage its expertise in metabolism to develop innovative therapeutics designed to improve patients' lives. The company's clinical programs include VK2809, a novel, orally available, small molecule selective thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist for the treatment of lipid and metabolic disorders, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b study for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis. In a Phase 2a trial for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and elevated LDL-C, patients who received VK2809 demonstrated statistically significant reductions in LDL-C and liver fat content compared with patients who received placebo. The company is also developing VK2735, a novel dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors for the potential treatment of various metabolic disorders. VK2735 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The company's third clinical compound is VK0214, a novel, orally available, small molecule selective thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist for the potential treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). VK0214 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with the adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) form of X-ALD. The company holds exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of five therapeutic programs, including VK2809 and VK0214, which are based on small molecules licensed from Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.
For more information about Viking Therapeutics, please visit www.vikingtherapeutics.com. Follow Viking on Twitter @Viking_VKTX.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Viking Therapeutics, Inc., under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Viking's expectations regarding its clinical and preclinical development programs. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the success, cost and timing of Viking's product candidate development activities and clinical trials, including those for VK2809, VK2735, VK0214, and the company's other incretin receptor agonists; risks that prior clinical and preclinical results may not be replicated; risks regarding regulatory requirements; and other risks that are described in Viking's most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Viking's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including the risk factors set forth in those filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Viking disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
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Unified platform blends construction applications and data to help owners and contractors continuously improve performance
AUSTIN, Texas, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Engineering and construction organizations struggle to unlock data across applications to effectively diagnose problems, predict risks, and inform future actions. To address this challenge, Oracle today announced Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics. The new solution combines data from Oracle Smart Construction Platform applications to give owners and contractors a comprehensive understanding of performance throughout their operations. With this insight, organizations can quickly spot and correct issues and target ways to drive continuous improvement across project planning, construction, and asset operation.
"You can't manage what you can't measure," said Roz Buick, senior vice president of product, strategy, and marketing for Oracle Construction and Engineering. "The new Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics offering combined with the Smart Construction Platform's predictive intelligence engine and common data environment, gives our customers a deeper, holistic understanding of their performance. Now they can build unique data strategies that drive competitive differentiation. This is how the construction industry will get to six sigma precision like its industrial and manufacturing counterparts."
The Smart Construction Platform unites capabilities from Oracle engineering and construction applications and third-party solutions with a common data environment and user experience. With the platform, owners and contractors can more easily work together to improve decision-making at every level of their organizations. The new analytics solution and other platform enhancements were unveiled today at the Oracle Industry Lab in Deerfield, Illinois.
"We are increasingly focused on finding new and better ways to leverage our data to gain further insights into project performance and risk," said Brian Neal, project manager, Rudolph Libbe Inc. "Connecting and blending data for analysis will provide the broadest and deepest view into our operations, helping us to understand trends across our business and identify ways to keep improving how we deliver projects for our customers."
Smart Construction Platform: Unifying people, processes, and data
The Smart Construction Platform brings together the core applications, processes, and data that owners and contractors need to work together across project and asset lifecycles. These include portfolio planning, bid/tender processes, contracts, schedules, project documents and building information model (BIM) collaboration, field tasks, costs, and payments. With the new unified experience, common data environment, and cross-application interoperability, users can easily move between applications and data sets while working within a single project. By synchronizing activities, resources, and data as each project and asset progresses, the platform helps ensure teams across disciplines are always working toward the same goal, with the same information.
For instance, the platform's scheduling and project management capabilities synchronize planning and worksite teams around a master plan, giving both visibility into a unified schedule and the task data needed to do the right work in the right place at the right time. So, if an HVAC installation should change because of a supply chain issue, the project manager will automatically receive the updated schedule information and can coordinate any needed adjustments across all impacted teams.
Likewise, the platform gives capital planners accurate, timely data on project forecasts so they can align with managers on budget requirements and adjust as strategic priorities change. For example, inflation doubles the costs of a required set of materials on a project. The project manager can push those new actuals and forecast up to the planner who can perform just-in-time changes to the portfolio, possibly pulling funds from a less important project, or putting a project on hold.
And as the platform continually learns and gets smarter using machine learning technologies, it will take these past actions into consideration to flag potential risks and guide more informed decision making in the future. These are just a few of the many connected experiences the platform can deliver by:
- Providing up-to-date schedule data to project managers so they can keep teams aligned to planned delivery dates and other schedule requirements
- Uniting planning (CPM schedule) with worksite teams (task schedule) to minimize wasted time and resources
- Letting capital planning and project execution teams exchange budget and actual cost data, enabling both teams to confidently adjust as work progresses
- Automatically storing completed bid/tender packages as well as approved invoices and other payment materials in organizations' document registers
- Giving all stakeholders visibility to collectively track progress, identify and mitigate risks, and efficiently manage change across the entire supply chain
"Oracle has helped us improve coordination, visibility, and control during project development," said Weronika Nowak, document control and IT manager for Mayflower Wind. "The ability to further connect our teams, processes, and data across applications and all project phases will increase efficiency while providing our people with the information needed to readily manage change as we work to deliver critical energy assets."
Learn more about Oracle Smart Construction Platform and Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics.
About Oracle Construction and Engineering
Asset owners and project delivery teams rely on Oracle Construction and Engineering solutions for the visibility and control, connected supply chain, and data security needed to drive performance and mitigate risk across their processes, projects, and organization. Our scalable cloud construction management software solutions enable digital transformation for teams that plan, build, and operate critical assets, improving efficiency, collaboration, and change control across the project lifecycle. www.oracle.com/construction-and-engineering.
About Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle, Java, and MySQL are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation.
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SOURCE Oracle | https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/oracle-enhances-smart-construction-platform-with-new-analytics-capabilities/ | 2022-07-19T12:13:35Z | https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/oracle-enhances-smart-construction-platform-with-new-analytics-capabilities/ | false |
Lightstorm and Pixelworks Partner in Multi-title License Agreement
BURBANK, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pixelworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW), the developer of the award-winning TrueCut Motion™ platform, today announced that it is working with James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment on multiple motion picture titles.
"We're bringing AVATAR and TITANIC back to the big screen, looking better in every way," said James Cameron. "We will be presenting both films in 4K with high dynamic range visuals and have been working with Pixelworks' TrueCut Motion platform to remaster the films in high frame rate, while keeping the cinematic look of the original."
TrueCut Motion technology provides filmmakers with a visual palette of cinematic motion looks that goes beyond anything previously possible. While motion pictures have seen tremendous improvements in picture performance, with higher resolution, higher dynamic range and more colors, the motion look has remained unchanged for close to a hundred years. TrueCut Motion technology allows filmmakers to dial in the motion, with any source frame rate, shot by shot, in post-production. The TrueCut Motion platform then ensures that these creative choices are delivered consistently across every screen, whether in the theater or the home.
"Lightstorm is once again extending the boundaries of the cinematic experience, and we are ecstatic to be a part of that," said Richard Miller, GM of TrueCut at Pixelworks. "After experiencing these remastered versions of AVATAR and TITANIC, we believe more and more filmmakers will be excited to take advantage of motion grading with TrueCut Motion technology."
For more information, please visit www.pixelworks.com/truecut or www.TrueCutMotion.com
About Pixelworks, Inc.
Pixelworks provides industry-leading content creation, video delivery and display processing solutions and technology that enable highly authentic viewing experiences with superior visual quality, across all screens – from cinema to smartphone and beyond. The Company has more than 20-year history of delivering image processing innovation to leading providers of consumer electronics, professional displays and video streaming services. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.pixelworks.com.
Note: Pixelworks, the Pixelworks logo, and TrueCut Motion are trademarks of Pixelworks, Inc.
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SOURCE Pixelworks, Inc. | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/avatar-titanic-be-remastered-with-truecut-motion/ | 2022-07-19T12:14:49Z | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/avatar-titanic-be-remastered-with-truecut-motion/ | false |
Revolutionary healthcare tech company transforms its executive suite
BALTIMORE, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Insightin Health, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for the healthcare payer market, today announced the selection of Mary Jo Barthmaier as company president, a new position created to drive and support the company's accelerated growth and expansion.
Barthmaier has been a consultant with Insightin Health since late 2021 working closely with CEO and founder Enam Noor to refine the company's go-to-market strategy.
"Our growth plans require continued focus on solid governance and operational excellence as we expand our capabilities to better serve our customers and further transform the landscape of healthcare," said Noor. "We knew it was crucial to find the right leader to serve as president, and after a competitive search, we're confident we found that in Mary Jo. As a trusted advisor, she's displayed the expertise, perspective, agile problem-solving, and authentic leadership we need to guide the company to the next level. Working side-by-side with her this past year showed me what a perfect fit she is for our team."
As president and in partnership with Noor, Barthmaier will collaborate with the board of directors and other company leaders to ensure the company delivers on their commitment to help Medicare Advantage plans and other healthcare payers deliver a better member experience, improve satisfaction, and increase lifetime member value. Barthmaier will provide executive leadership for the sales, operations, finance, marketing, and customer experience teams. Noor will continue to be responsible for the product, technology, and data science teams.
Barthmaier is coming off a 20-year run at RIVERSPAN, the boutique strategy and operational management consulting firm she founded after her tenure at Ernst & Young LLC. In recent years, she has consulted extensively in healthcare, working with commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid insurers, and healthcare tech companies. In addition to her work with Insightin Health, previous healthcare clients include Highmark Inc., a leading Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer, and Aunt Bertha, one of the largest social care network providers.
"It takes a special set of circumstances for me to walk away from my consulting practice," said Barthmaier. "Enam has built a dynamic analytics and engagement platform that increases member satisfaction, assembled an inspired and dedicated team, and he's invited me to partner with him to improve the care experience for the most vulnerable populations. How do you say no?"
Looking ahead, Barthmaier is excited to build on the strengths of the organization and their proprietary inGAGE™ platform to ensure that the company achieves its full potential.
Insightin Health helps healthcare payers eliminate data silos and deliver highly satisfying consumer-centric experiences. inGAGE™ – our software as a service (SaaS) platform – is the industry leading solution for quickly creating a connected data ecosystem. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, inGAGE™ leverages the totality of the connected data, in real-time, to produce insights that drive Next Best Action (NBA) recommendations to solve pressing healthcare challenges. inGAGE™ allows healthcare payers to deliver lifetime member value, driving growth and increasing overall plan profitability. For more information, visit www.insightinhealth.com.
Media Contact:
Yancey Casey
Amendola Communications on behalf of Insightin Health
(678) 895-9401
ycasey@acmarketingpr.com
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SOURCE Insightin | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/insightin-health-announces-mary-jo-barthmaier-president/ | 2022-07-19T12:17:32Z | https://www.kold.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/insightin-health-announces-mary-jo-barthmaier-president/ | false |
LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) — A Pennsylvania man has been charged in the 1975 cold case killing of a 19-year-old woman after DNA on a discarded coffee cup appeared to match DNA left on the victim’s clothing.
Criminal homicide charges were filed against 68-year-old David Sinopoli, of Lancaster, in the murder of Lindy Sue Biechler, of Manor Township, Pennsylvania. Lancaster County Det. Christopher Erb and Manor Township Police Department Det. Sgt. Tricia Mazur filed the charges.
Sinopoli was arrested without incident at his home around 7 a.m. Sunday. He was arraigned and remanded to Lancaster County Prison without bail on charges of first-degree felony criminal homicide.
“Lindy Sue Biechler was 19 when her life was brutally taken away from her 46 years ago in the sanctity of her own home,” Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said. “This arrest marks the beginning of the criminal process in Lancaster County’s oldest cold case homicide and we hope that it brings some sense of relief to the victim’s loved ones and to community members who for the last 46 years had no answers.”
Biechler’s body was discovered around 8:46 p.m. on the evening of Dec. 5, 1975, by her aunt and uncle.
Investigators observed blood on the outside of the front door as well as on the wall on the entranceway and several patches of blood on the carpet of Beichler’s home. Biechler had returned home from the grocery store between 6:45 p.m. and 7:05 p.m., and grocery bags from John Herr’s market sat on the dining room table.
Investigators found Biechler lying on her back with a knife sticking out of her neck. The knife, which had a tea towel wrapped around the wooden handle, matched the knives stored in Biechler’s knife block in her kitchen. Investigators also noted signs of a struggle inside the apartment.
Biechler had 19 stab wounds to her neck, chest, upper abdomen and back. The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office ruled the cause of death as massive bleeding due to multiple stab wounds and the manner of death as a homicide.
Detectives from Manor Township Police Department, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police, conducted an in-depth investigation into the homicide and followed multiple leads over the years clearing dozens of people. The investigation spanned decades with evidence being sent to multiple laboratories as well as interviews of multiple subjects.
“I want to thank members of the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office and Sgt. Mazur for their hard work and persistence in pursuing justice in this case,” said Chief Todd Graeff, of the Manor Township Police Department. “Additionally, I thank all the Officers, Detectives, Troopers, and forensics personnel that have worked on this case over the past 46 years. Their hard work through the years has paid off and hopefully, this arrest brings some relief to Lindy Sue Biechler’s family and the public.”
In 1997, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office submitted evidence from the crime scene for DNA analysis. As a result, a male DNA profile was obtained from the right-side area of Biechler’s underwear and was determined to contain semen. In 2000, this DNA profile was submitted to CODIS, a nationwide database that contains DNA profiles of individuals convicted of certain crimes.
In January 2019, with the agreement of the Manor Township Police Department, the case was taken on by Lancaster County District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit. In June 2019, the unit enlisted the help of Parabon NanoLabs to analyze DNA in the case. In September 2019, investigators released composites, also called phenotypes, provided by Parabon based on DNA evidence left at the crime scene. These composites revealed characteristics of the suspect, including skin tone, eye color, and hair color.
Parabon’s genetic genealogy research ultimately identified Sinopoli through his Italian ancestry as a possible person of interest.
On Feb. 11, 2022, investigators surreptitiously obtained DNA from Sinopoli from a coffee cup he had used and thrown into a trash can at the Philadelphia International Airport. The coffee cup was submitted to DNA Labs International for testing and in April 2022, it was determined that the DNA on the coffee cup contained a mixture of DNA with one male contributor.
The electronic data files from DNA Labs International were then forwarded to Cybergenetics, a Pittsburgh laboratory that specializes in separating DNA mixtures. Cybergenetics’ computer analysis concluded that the DNA on Sinopoli’s coffee cup and DNA identified in the semen on Biechler’s underwear were a possible match.
Detectives then consulted with a blood spatter expert to determine if any blood left behind on Biechler’s clothing would be consistent with having been left behind by the suspect. The expert identified two blood spots on the exposed part of the victim’s pantyhose, which were also sent to DNA Labs. In June 2022, the blood drops were determined to be consistent with the DNA profile obtained from Biechler’s underwear.
“There has been a never-ending pursuit of justice in this case that has led us to identifying and arresting Sinopoli,” Adams said. “Lindy Sue Biechler was on the minds of many throughout the years. Certainly, law enforcement never forgot about Lindy Sue, and this arrest marks the first step to obtaining justice for her and holding her killer responsible.”
Anyone with information on this case or who had familiarity with David Sinopoli during the December 1975 timeframe is asked to contact Lancaster County Det. Christopher Erb at 717-299-8100. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/state-news/pa-man-charged-in-teens-1975-cold-case-killing-after-coffee-cup-dna-match/ | 2022-07-19T12:18:00Z | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/state-news/pa-man-charged-in-teens-1975-cold-case-killing-after-coffee-cup-dna-match/ | false |
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The leader of Tunisia’s main opposition party is due to be questioned by the country’s anti-terrorism unit on Tuesday on suspicion of money laundering and terrorist financing through an association charity.
The accused, Rached Ghannouchi, was among a dozen top Ennahdha party officials whose bank accounts the north African country’s central bank froze earlier this month. Ennahdha vehemently disputes the accusations of money laundering and terrorism financing.
President Kais Saied suspended parliament last year and seized broad powers in a move that he said was necessary to “save the country” from a political and economic crisis. This prompted criticism from the opposition, which accuses him of a slide toward totalitarianism.
Ennahdha has said that these accusations are aimed at distracting attention from a July 25 referendum planned by Saied to change the constitution to augment presidential powers and reduce the role of the parliament and prime minister. The president’s critics say he is trying to legitimize a “coup.”
Opposition figure Nejib Chebbi said he feared for Ghannouchi’s arrest after the hearing, denouncing what he called a “harassment campaign” unleashed by the government against “leading political figures.”
Saied and some others blamed Ennahdha in part for Tunisia’s political crisis last year. Ennahdha, which dominated parliament before it was suspended, is among the president’s fiercest critics. | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ap-international/tunisia-opposition-leader-investigated-on-terrorism-charges/ | 2022-07-19T12:18:48Z | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ap-international/tunisia-opposition-leader-investigated-on-terrorism-charges/ | false |
Further milestone for company as it fulfills its mission to detect cardiac disease earlier in patients
BRISBANE, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Caption Health, the leader in using AI and services to improve heart ultrasound access, today announced that it has received a CE Mark for its Caption AI™ technology platform. This certification represents the first step in making Caption Health's industry-leading technology platform available outside the US, and highlights the company's strong clinical and regulatory track record as it uses AI and ultrasound to deliver better cardiac care.
"Our technology harnesses the power of ultrasound and allows diagnostic images to be acquired wherever the patient may be. Earlier detection of cardiac issues allows us to impact the course of disease and improve outcomes," said Randolph P. Martin, FACC, FASE, FESC, Chief Medical Officer of Caption Health. "This is a big step forward in improving access and addressing the significant unmet need stemming from the increasing global burden of cardiovascular diseases like heart failure and valvular heart disease."
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Identifying those at highest risk and ensuring they receive appropriate treatment can prevent premature deaths. But access to ultrasound is limited; for example, a 2021 report by NHS England showed U.K. patients in need of a non-obstetric ultrasound waited longer than for any other diagnostic test, and nearly 20% waited six weeks or more1. NHS also estimates that although cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes a quarter of all deaths, it's the biggest area to mitigate morbidity and mortality over the coming decade, starting with early detection.
Caption Health is making earlier cardiac care accessible wherever patients are, utilizing the Caption AI platform to provide a convenient, cost-effective solution for cardiac ultrasound, the primary tool for assessing heart failure. But before the platform became widely available, patients could only be diagnosed after trained sonographers performed an ultrasound in a hospital or specialized setting – typically after the onset of symptoms. Today, it can be used at scale to detect signs of heart failure in at-risk patients in doctors' offices and even at home, helping to prevent avoidable hospitalizations and support improved clinical outcomes.
Caption AI enables medical staff to obtain quick, easy, and accurate assessments of cardiac function and ejection fraction wherever patients are, and has been widely available in the U.S. since it received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2020. Left ventricular ejection fraction is one of the most widely used cardiac measurements and is a key indicator in the assessment of cardiac function across a spectrum of cardiovascular conditions.
Medical devices and software require the CE Mark for clinical applications in several key regions including the UK and EU. "Our platform is one of the first AI-based ultrasound products to obtain a CE Mark through the robust and comprehensive European Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) process. Our strong clinical foundation facilitated a seamless pathway towards certification through the EU MDR clinical evaluation requirements," commented Tahir Rizvi, Head of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Caption Health. "This milestone will help us address the increasing global burden of disease from conditions such as heart failure, valvular heart disease, and coronary artery disease."
Caption Health has developed the AI platform that enables heart ultrasound access for early disease detection – when there is the highest potential for impact. The company's Caption Care services offer health providers, payers, and value-based care organizations convenient and cost-effective echos for their members, leveraging its Caption AI technology platform. In 2021, Caption Health was recognized as one of TIME's 100 Best Inventions and a winner of Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech for health. Caption Health's platform is used at leading hospitals, clinics, and physician organizations, and is cited in several peer-reviewed journals including JAMA Cardiology and Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. For more information, visit captionhealth.com.
Caption Health
press@captionhealth.com
1 "NHS Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity Data" (2021)
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SOURCE Caption Health | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/caption-health-receives-ce-mark-caption-ai-technology-platform/ | 2022-07-19T12:18:49Z | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/caption-health-receives-ce-mark-caption-ai-technology-platform/ | false |
Amazon sues admins of more than 10,000 global Facebook groups for allegedly PAYING people to post fake product reviews
- Amazon kicks off lawsuit against Facebook group admins in Washington today
- It is suing admins of global Facebook groups who work with third-party sellers
- The groups persuade people to post five-star Amazon reviews for money or gifts
Amazon is suing administrators of more than 10,000 global Facebook groups for allegedly paying people to post fake product reviews.
The retail giant has begun legal action at Washington King County, near its Seattle headquarters, against owners of the 'nefarious' Facebook groups.
Members are reportedly persuaded to post positive reviews on Amazon stores in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan, in exchange for money or free gifts.
Amazon told MailOnline that the Facebook groups are run by 'brokers' who are providing their services to third-party sellers on Amazon.
Using their Facebook groups, the brokers are orchestrating glowing reviews for the third-party sellers' products, which makes the sellers appear more prominently on Amazon's website and search engines, and in turn boosts their sales.
One of the groups identified in the lawsuit is 'Amazon Product Review', which had more than 43,000 members until Meta took down the group earlier this year
Amazon said it wants to ensure every review that appears in its stores is 'trustworthy and reflects an actual customer experience'.
'Our teams stop millions of suspicious reviews before they're ever seen by customers, and this lawsuit goes a step further to uncover perpetrators operating on social media,' said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon's vice president of selling partner services.
'Proactive legal action targeting bad actors is one of many ways we protect customers by holding bad actors accountable.'
Meta, the company previously known as Facebook, stressed that it's working to detect and remove groups that promote fake user reviews.
'Groups that solicit or encourage fake reviews violate our policies and are removed,' a Meta spokesperson said.
'We are working with Amazon on this matter and will continue to partner across the industry to address spam and fake reviews.'
The fraudsters behind such groups are said to solicit fake reviews for hundreds of products available for sale on Amazon, including car stereos and camera tripods.
One of the groups identified in the lawsuit is 'Amazon Product Review', which had more than 43,000 members until Meta took down the group earlier this year.
Amazon's investigations revealed that the group's administrators attempted to hide their activity and evade Facebook's automated detection tools.
An example is giving users the option 'R*fnd Aftr R*vew' (refund after review), using asterisks to obscure the admin's intentions.
The fraudsters behind such groups solicit fake reviews for hundreds of products available for sale on Amazon, including car stereos and camera tripods
Consumer champion Which? has already uncovered the issue of fake review groups on Facebook following a recent investigation.
Which? employees were able to find offending groups 'with relative ease' by searching for key terms on Facebook, such as ‘Amazon five-star review’ and ‘free AMZ'.
'We were sometimes met with a message warning us that the term was associated with fraudulent activity,' Which? said in its findings.
'But we simply clicked continue to carry on our search, raising questions about how effective such warning messages are.'
Which? said the owners of the groups are often based in China, India and Pakistan and post photos of products that they said they needed reviews for.
Amazon said it strictly prohibits fake reviews and has more than 12,000 employees globally dedicated to protecting its stores from fraud and abuse, including fake reviews.
These positive reviews make sellers appear more prominently on Amazon's website, which can boost their sales
A dedicated team investigates fake review schemes on social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and regularly reports the abusive groups to those companies.
Since 2020, Amazon has reported more than 10,000 fake review groups to Meta, and of these, Meta has taken down more than half of the groups for policy violations and continues to investigate others.
In the past year, legal action from Amazon has shut down multiple major review brokers targeting customers in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
'However, the nefarious business of brokering fake reviews remains an industry-wide problem, and civil litigation is only one step,' Amazon said in a statement.
'Permanently ridding fake reviews across retail, travel, and other sectors will require greater public-private partnership, including collaboration between the affected companies, social media sites, and law enforcement, all focused on a goal of greater consumer protection.
'Amazon remains eager to continue to partner with all the relevant stakeholders to achieve that mutual goal.' | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11027311/Amazon-sues-admins-10-000-Facebook-groups.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 | 2022-07-19T12:19:21Z | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11027311/Amazon-sues-admins-10-000-Facebook-groups.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 | false |
Company is constructing a new commercial manufacturing facility and anticipates expanding its workforce to support the launch of its comprehensive patient management platform for heart failure
LISLE, Ill., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Endotronix, Inc., a digital health and medical technology company dedicated to advancing the treatment of heart failure (HF), today announced plans to relocate and expand their headquarters in Naperville, Illinois to support the full U.S. commercial launch of its Cordella™ Heart Failure System and Pulmonary Artery (PA) Sensor, pending pre-market approval (PMA) of the sensor by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The new building will significantly increase Endotronix's manufacturing and operating capacity, allowing for a 30% workforce expansion as well as continued growth opportunities in the years to come. In addition to the U.S. office, Endotronix will maintain their European office in Ireland.
"This is an exciting time for Endotronix. As we approach full enrollment in our PROACTIVE-HF clinical trial, we are looking ahead toward scaling our manufacturing and operations in anticipation of commercialization of our proactive digital heart failure system," stated Harry Rowland, CEO of Endotronix. "Naperville offers an ideal location to plant our roots, offering a skilled workforce, affordable quality of life for our employees, desirable proximity to Chicago, and strong sense of community."
Headquartered in the Chicago-land area since 2013, Endotronix recently signed a lease for an 80,000+ square feet facility that will more than double their current footprint. The new facility is located in the HUB 1415 building (1415 Diehl Road, Naperville, IL) and is currently undergoing custom enhancements to include a state-of-the-art cleanroom, manufacturing, quality, and administrative space. The first phase of construction is scheduled to be completed in early 2023 with hybrid workspace specifically designed to accommodate a flexible workforce. The company is represented by Newmark.
"It's a pleasure to welcome Endotronix to Naperville," said Steve Chirico, Mayor of Naperville. "As a fiscally-sound, business-friendly community that provides an unparalleled quality of life to its residents, we are a premier destination for growing companies like Endotronix. We look forward to being the home of their expanded commercial manufacturing and operations."
The safety and efficacy of the company's novel Cordella PA Sensor is currently being studied in a global investigational device exemption (IDE) clinical trial called PROACTIVE-HF that is on track to complete enrollment in the coming months. In addition, the company recently announced positive clinical data for the Cordella Sensor from the European SIRONA 2 clinical trial that was presented at the European Society of Cardiology's Heart Failure Association (HFA) in May.
Endotronix, Inc., a medical technology company, delivers an integrated platform that provides comprehensive, reimbursable health management innovations for patients suffering from advanced heart failure. Their solution, the Cordella™ Heart Failure System, includes a cloud-based disease management data system and at home hemodynamic management with a breakthrough implantable wireless pulmonary artery pressure sensor for early detection of worsening heart failure. Learn more at www.endotronix.com.
The Cordella System, without the sensor, is available for commercial use in the U.S. and E.U. and is currently in cardiology centers across the U.S. The Cordella PA Sensor is currently under clinical investigation and is not currently available for commercial use in any geography.
This press release may contain predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Carla Benigni
SPRIG Conulting, LLC
+1 (847) 951-7430
carla@sprigconsulting.com
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SOURCE Endotronix, Inc. | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/endotronix-announces-development-agreement-new-expanded-us-headquarters-naperville-illinois/ | 2022-07-19T12:20:25Z | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/endotronix-announces-development-agreement-new-expanded-us-headquarters-naperville-illinois/ | true |
Which keto pizza crust is best?
There seem to be as many diets as there are health goals these days, but one of the most popular is the keto diet.
When you’re ready to dive in but don’t want to give up your favorite foods, there are some good swaps out there. Cali’flour Foods Pizza Crust is the best keto pizza crust. It has high protein and low carbs while still giving you a taste of the foods you love.
What to know before you buy a keto pizza crust
What the keto diet is
“Keto” is short for “ketogenic.” The National Institutes of Health has found that this low-carb, high-fat diet can help with certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease, but the long-term effects are unclear. Talk to your doctor before making any major dietary changes.
Pre-made crust vs. pizza crust mix
As with traditional pizza crusts, keto pizza crust is available in two forms: pre-made crust and a pizza crust mix.
- Pre-made crust: These require strict adherence to the directions for the crust that you purchased. Some of them are made of cauliflower, while others use a mix of different ingredients. You can also generally keep these fresh in the freezer for longer, and they are a convenient option for busy people.
- Pizza crust mix: A mix gives you the experience of creating the crust in your own kitchen. It’s generally more shelf stable than pre-made crusts, and most of them require only water and oil. These are less convenient than a pre-made crust, and there is a rising time that may make them best for the weekends.
Other dietary considerations
Some people who adopt a keto diet also need to restrict other allergens or types of foods. Read the ingredients list carefully to see if your keto pizza crust is free from any other problematic ingredients.
What to look for in a quality keto pizza crust
Crispness
A major complaint of many keto-friendly pizza crusts is that they are soggy when cooked. The best ones achieve a crisp crust, but you’ll need to follow the package instructions precisely.
Allergen friendly
Some might find the keto diet to be restrictive, but others need to follow additional dietary guidelines. If you are avoiding gluten or other common allergens such as eggs and dairy, make sure the ingredient list of the one you choose is compliant.
Low sugar
Part of a keto diet is low sugar, including low amounts of artificial sweeteners. The best keto pizza crusts use minimal amounts of sweeteners from sources that are approved for this type of diet.
How much you can expect to spend on keto pizza crust
Keto pizza crusts cost $10-$15 per crust. The price difference is based on the number of crusts per pack, the ingredients used and the size of the crust.
Keto pizza crust FAQ
What are some keto-friendly pizza toppings?
A. The crust is just the beginning of a keto-compliant pizza. You’ll need to pay attention to toppings. Some of the most common allowed include:
- Fish and seafood
- Low-carb vegetables (e.g., spinach, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower and asparagus)
- Cheese
- Avocado
- Chicken, beef and pork
- Eggs
- Nuts, seeds and beneficial oils (think coconut and olive oils)
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Cottage cheese
Good pizza combo toppings might be smoked salmon and spinach or chicken and roasted peppers with a garlic cream sauce.
Don’t forget dessert pizzas. These can include:
- Berries
- Unsweetened coffee and tea
- Dark chocolate
- Cocoa powder
- Cacao nibs
Make a sweet cocoa “sauce” with pureed ricotta and a dash of cocoa powder. Top with berries and dark chocolate shavings.
Doesn’t a processed keto pizza crust go against the keto diet?
A. While it is important to focus on whole foods in the ketogenic diet, there are times when processed food is OK. If you struggle to stay on the diet because cooking dinner has become hard, or if you miss some of the foods you need to eliminate, substituting a keto-friendly swap on occasion won’t hurt.
What’s the best keto pizza crust to buy?
Top keto pizza crust
What you need to know: This is a three-pack of crusts that are easy to use straight from the freezer whenever a pizza craving hits.
What you’ll love: Made from cauliflower, mozzarella, egg whites, basil, garlic and Italian spices, this crust has eight grams of protein per serving, plus just 1 gram of net carbs and 90 calories. It’s gluten, grain, wheat, nut and soy-free. These are available in four flavors: original Italian, plain, spicy jalapeno and sweet red pepper.
What you should consider: Follow cooking directions exactly for a less soggy crust.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top keto pizza crust for the money
Scotty’s Everyday Store Keto Pizza Crust Zero Carb Mix
What you need to know: Just add olive oil and water to this grain-free mix and you’ll have pizza crust in fewer than five minutes.
What you’ll love: With zero net carbs per pizza and no nut flours or gluten, this is a keto pizza mix that’s also safe for those with nut and wheat allergies. The mix can be used for other things like pancakes and biscuits, too. It’s also kosher, vegan, sugar-free and made from non-GMO ingredients.
What you should consider: Some people wanted more flavor in their pizza crust.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
BFree Foods Stone Baked Keto Pizza Crust
What you need to know: This is a two-pack of ready-to-top pizza crusts that work with a variety of dietary restrictions.
What you’ll love: It’s a sourdough crust made with bamboo fiber and other plant-based rice flours and starches. It’s sugar-free and also free from dairy, wheat, eggs, nuts and soy. It freezes well.
What you should consider: This is a higher carb option that some on the keto diet may want to limit, but if you’re looking for a crust that works for a variety of diets at once, this is a good choice.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://fox59.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/food-br/best-keto-pizza-crust/ | 2022-07-19T12:22:31Z | https://fox59.com/reviews/br/kitchen-br/food-br/best-keto-pizza-crust/ | false |
MENLO PARK, Calif., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainspring Energy announced today that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with leading U.S utility American Electric Power (AEP) to pilot Mainspring's linear generator technology in Oklahoma. The pilot project will provide important real-world system experience as AEP evaluates a variety of potential grid-side use cases for the flexible linear generator technology, including:
- placement of scalable generation in load pockets to delay or avoid transmission/distribution upgrades
- right-sized, just-in-time capacity that can dynamically switch between multiple fuels including hydrogen and ammonia as an alternative to new peaker generation
- accelerated electrification of infrastructure including EV charging deployments, and utility-supplied clean resiliency to AEP's customers
"Modular resources that can scale with the utility and its customers, while easily transitioning from the available low-carbon fuels of today to cleaner fuel sources of tomorrow, are critical to enabling the transition to net zero carbon," said Mainspring Chief Commercial Officer Jim Dawe. "We have designed the linear generator to have future-proofed fuel flexibility to enable this transition, both at small installations to enable EV charging, grid edge projects at distribution substations, and larger grid-scale projects that can be an alternative to new fossil fuel peaker or combined cycle power plants. We are proud to be working with AEP, a recognized leader in finding ways to use clean technology solutions to benefit its customers."
"AEP is committed to exploring innovative technologies that accelerate the transition to cleaner power in a way that remains affordable for our customers," said Carlos J Casablanca, Managing Director, Distribution Planning and Analysis for AEP. "We are very interested in the scalability of Mainspring's flexible platform and its potential use in a variety of applications from customer-resiliency projects to grid-scale power plants."
The mandate for a reliable, affordable, and low-carbon electric grid is driving demand for new power generation technologies that can enable greatly increased use of renewable energy while providing firming capacity and resilience that can power the grid for days and weeks on end. The Mainspring Linear Generator is designed to meet these demands with an unprecedented level of flexibility for several grid requirements for the transition ahead.
Driven by its vision of the affordable, reliable, zero carbon grid of the future, Mainspring is delivering a breakthrough new category of power generation — the linear generator — to leading commercial, industrial, and utility customers to increase their energy resilience, generate cost savings, and meet their sustainability and climate goals. Customers include Fortune 500 companies like Kroger and Lineage Logistics, as well as utilities like PG&E, Florida Power and Light, and others. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Mainspring is backed by top-tier investors. For more information on the company, technology, and products, please visit www.mainspringenergy.com
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SOURCE Mainspring Energy, Inc. | https://www.weau.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mainspring-announces-linear-generator-pilot-project-with-leading-utility-aep/ | 2022-07-19T12:22:51Z | https://www.weau.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/mainspring-announces-linear-generator-pilot-project-with-leading-utility-aep/ | false |
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Mueller Industries Inc. (MLI) on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $206.6 million.
On a per-share basis, the Collierville, Tennessee-based company said it had profit of $3.65.
The copper, brass, aluminum and plastic products company posted revenue of $1.15 billion in the period.
_____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MLI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MLI | https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Mueller-Industries-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17314048.php | 2022-07-19T12:22:51Z | https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Mueller-Industries-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17314048.php | false |
Subject's accredited courses deliver educational solutions to SoCal schools.
LOS ANGELES, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Accredited online learning platform, Subject, announces partnerships with California high schools in Calexico Unified School District (CUSD) and Brawley Union High School District (BUHSD) serving Imperial County communities with digital curriculum expansion and credit recovery solutions.
Subject's course library exceeds 50 core, AP, and elective courses including World Languages, STEM courses, and the first accredited Financial Literacy suite in the country. Subject is accredited by WASC and offers standards-aligned curriculum approved by the College Board, NCAA and UC-AG.
When asked about the difference between Subject's learning platform and other platforms, Brawley Union High School District Superintendent Simon Canalez stated "...it's just the ability for [Subject] to take the interests and the needs of our community and build a platform that's going to serve our students. And working with [Subject's] team and [Brawley's] team and putting together a plan that would be conducive to the needs of our students…we've been hooked from that moment on."
Brawley Union High School District's English Learner Summer Program students are utilizing Subject's Pre-Algebra and Integrated Math I and II courses. Many ELS Program students have been in the U.S. for less than four years and are currently attending in-person summer school for math credit recovery. A teacher and instructional aide accompany the students and Subject has provided translation options.
Twelve CUSD K-12 schools serve 8,721 students, 98% of which identify as Hispanic or Latino. CUSD currently offers Subject's Spanish I, English I and II, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, and Algebra I and II courses, at Calexico High School, Aurora High School, Community Day School, Calexico Migrant Program and ASSET Program.
"We're excited to expand our reach in California through this partnership with Calexico and Brawley. As a LAUSD alum, I know first-hand the challenges faced by districts in our state; by extending Calexico's course selection, we'll be providing students with additional opportunities for credit recovery and the advanced coursework necessary to meet graduation requirements and succeed beyond high school." said Subject CEO Felix Ruano.
Latino-led Subject, focuses on representation in education and features instructors from diverse backgrounds. Subject is committed to helping high schoolers succeed by expanding access to accredited courses, videos and an engaging curriculum.
Subject President, Michael Vilardo stated, "While enrolled in UCLA's MBA program, my rigorous in-person experience became virtual due to the pandemic. That challenge motivated me to develop a product with a rigorous curriculum that could resonate with GenZ learners and educators. We support teachers, administrators, and superintendents by engaging learners with relatable educational resources."
Learn more at: https://app.subject.com/signup
About Subject:
Founded in October 2020, Subject (formerly known as Emile Learning), conducted a Spring 2022 $29.4 million Series A raise led by Owl Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, among others. Subject is a digital learning platform delivering core, AP and elective courses, currently available in 100+ schools nationwide.
http://www.Subject.com
Contact: subject@sunshinesachs.com
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SEATTLE (AP) — Dominique Davis was inside a Seattle-area church one day in March 2021 when a man with a handgun opened fire during a meeting of Community Passageways, a group he founded that works to curb gun violence.
The gunman shot 19-year-old Omari Wallace several times before fleeing. Wallace, who was attending an orientation for a program to steer young people away from violence and keep them out of prison, died from his wounds.
Two more Seattle shootings followed that week. “It was back to back to back," Davis recalled.
In 2021, Seattle recorded more shootings involving injuries and fatalities than in the previous five years. Davis heard that a leader of one of two rival groups whose confrontations had intensified said the only way the bloodshed would stop would be if the groups could put some distance between each other.
So he seized the opportunity. Davis arranged for 16 young men from the two groups to leave the city — one to Phoenix, the other to Los Angeles — and paid them to stay away for 30 days and work with therapists and mentors. Davis said that since returning to Seattle, all but three of the young men, several of whom had previously been involved in gun violence, have faced no charges.
The unusual plan is an example of how community groups across the country that have long sought to prevent violence are adopting new ways to stem the surge in shootings over the past two years as well as a spike in gun purchases. Known as community violence intervention, the approach deploys people with personal connections — and credibility — with those most likely to be involved in gun violence. Though the approach isn't new, interest in it is growing.
The Biden administration has made community violence intervention a key priority. It has designated $5 billion in support over eight years, though that funding has stalled in Congress, along with the rest of the administration’s Build Back Better legislation.
And under the just-passed bipartisan gun violence law, which seeks to keep guns away from dangerous people after the Uvalde killings fanned momentum for reforms, Congress provided $250 million for community violence prevention. The administration has also told municipalities and states that they could spend federal stimulus money, allocated last year, for violence intervention.
Support for these local organizations marks a departure from a long-standing reliance on policing to curb gun violence. Alia Harvey Quinn, executive director of FORCE Detroit, one such group, likens the approach to “how we prevent drunk driving with our friends: just intervening and snatching the keys aggressively and using our relationships to do so.”
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In the same church in south Seattle in June, Davis invited members of local groups who try to defuse conflicts to the front of the room. The leaders — predominantly people of color, mainly Black — said their work is part of a long struggle for safety and justice and against systemic racism.
Beneath the words “Love,” “Joy” and “Peace” on the wall, Davis tallied the years in prison they’d served. Some shared journeys of redemption, how they eventually achieved freedom and now devote themselves to healing their communities.
They shared strategies with representatives from similar groups in Newark and Baltimore, part of an 18-month initiative sponsored by the Biden administration and paid for by a dozen philanthropic foundations. The Community Violence Intervention Collaborative launched in June 2021 to train and expand local organizations in 16 cities.
The training is funded by $7.4 million from the philanthropies, including the Ford Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hyphen, a nonprofit specializing in public-philanthropic partnerships, manages the initiative. Its founder, Archana Sahgal, called the effort a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
“You’re able to turbocharge a social movement that reimagines public safety in this country,” Sahgal said.
So far, few large cities or states have responded to Biden’s call to invest in these programs. But municipalities have until 2024 to allocate their funding from the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which was enacted in 2021 to address the pandemic and the economic damage it caused.
Researchers Amanda Kass of the University of Illinois Chicago and Philip Rocco of Marquette University analyzed how the money was spent between March and November 2021. They found that $79 million had been allocated by nine states and 79 localities for violence intervention.
That's much less than the $5 billion Biden hoped to direct toward this work, although budgets adopted by those same entities propose spending $470 million on the projects over time.
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Many leaders and participants in Seattle’s network of gun violence intervention have survived gunshots or have relatives who have been injured or killed by guns. They feel a growing urgency about their work. Some liken their fight for funding — from the city and King County or for small grants allocated through intermediary organizations — to “The Hunger Games.”
“We’re saying, give us the $30 million,” Davis said. “We know who is doing the work.”
Another Seattle-area organization, the SE Network, arranges community gatherings on Friday evenings — in the parking lot of a grocery store where a fatal shooting occurred in 2020 — to try to prevent further violence. The group's executive director, Marty Jackson, said they use data about where shootings have occurred to determine where to deploy their teams.
“We totally know the rest of the city needs this kind of attention,” Jackson said. “We need resources to replicate what we know for sure is working in these concentrated places.”
Every year, she seeks renewed funding for her work, which includes sending trained workers to spend time around schools.
“You have to create performance measures for your work,” Jackson said, "and then market it yourself. It’s a daunting task.”
Jeffrey A. Butts, director of research at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and one of the authors of a recent review of community intervention programs, cautioned against drawing easy conclusions about the effectiveness of such intervention.
“They say, ‘We started doing program X here two years ago and our shootings have gone down by 30%.’ And the audience applauds and everyone congratulates themselves,” Butts said. ”But that’s not evidence that the program resulted in that change.”
Some evidence does support such intervention, but Butts noted that many projects called community violence intervention actually target younger children or housing or economic programs. Without rigorous evaluation, he said, it's difficult to assess the effectiveness of community violence intervention or determine which strategies work best.
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Tim Daly, program director for gun violence at The Joyce Foundation, said government investment is critical.
“We need public dollars to be able to scale those strategies to the extent that is necessary,” Daly said.
Until then, organizations that intervene in gun violence are competing for a limited number of grants. Several groups that underwent training sponsored by the White House and philanthropies said they could use many more times their funding.
Alia Harvey Quinn of Detroit said her group could easily spend $15 million annually to provide a broad ecosystem of services, including therapy and entrepreneurship training. That would be in addition to the street outreach at the heart of community intervention — engaging with people who are likely to be involved with shootings. Her group's annual budget is just $1.2 million.
A recently passed Michigan state budget included $500,000 for Harvey Quinn's group and $3 million for a group in Flint, as well as $11 million in competitive grants that could go to community intervention. Detroit has allocated $12 million of its pandemic relief funding for the programs that hasn’t been spent yet.
In last year's budget, Seattle granted $1.5 million to the violence intervention collaborative that includes Community Passageways and the SE Network. But the city has exhausted its pandemic relief funding. King County said it's allocated around $1 million from pandemic relief funds to community violence intervention.
The Biden administration says it hopes its new program can generate further funding.
“By bringing philanthropy, the federal government and (community intervention) leaders together in this first-of-its-kind partnership, it puts our country on a path to redefining public safety in this country and reducing gun violence,” said Julie Rodriguez, a senior advisor to Biden.
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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2022/07/19/gun-violence-leads-community-groups-to-take-bolder-action | 2022-07-19T12:25:02Z | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2022/07/19/gun-violence-leads-community-groups-to-take-bolder-action | true |
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) _ Cambridge Bancorp (CATC) on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $13.7 million.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based bank said it had earnings of $1.94 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.90 per share.
The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of $1.90 per share.
The bank posted revenue of $47.4 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $45.3 million, surpassing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $44.8 million.
Cambridge shares have fallen 12% since the beginning of the year. The stock has decreased nearly 2% in the last 12 months.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CATC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CATC | https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Cambridge-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17314049.php | 2022-07-19T12:25:35Z | https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Cambridge-Q2-Earnings-Snapshot-17314049.php | false |
The only historically black university system in the United States partners with Instructure to offer students a reliable, open and inclusive learning environment
SALT LAKE CITY, July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, the maker of Canvas, today announced that the Southern University and A&M College System (SU System) has selected the Canvas LMS as its new learning management system to empower student success and create global leadership opportunities for a diverse student population. The Canvas implementation will support the university system's four campuses and more than 11,000 students with a fully mobile and accessible solution through reliable, open and inclusive educational technology. Canvas, part of the Instructure Learning Platform, is the market share leader in higher education.
The Southern University Law Center, part of the Southern University and A&M College System, was already a Canvas customer. Due to the success of that partnership, the other SU System campuses adopted Canvas as their LMS. Over the next two months, Instructure and the SU System will work to ensure a smooth transition for students and teachers as they migrate away from a previous LMS provider.
The Southern University and A&M College System consists of various campuses in Louisiana, including Southern University, Baton Rouge, the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Southern University Law Center, Southern University, New Orleans and Southern University Shreveport.
"Our mission is to provide access and opportunity to students and prepare our graduates to excel in a 21st century, knowledge-based, global economy," said Dennis J. Shields, president-chancellor, Southern University System. "Our investment in Canvas demonstrates our commitment to elevating student success, improving accessibility and meeting the unique needs of our educators and students."
The SU System is investing in various elements of the Instructure Learning Platform. The university system selected Canvas as its LMS and added Canvas Studio, which turns passive viewing into active discussions between professors and students, whether they're in class, remote or in blended learning environments. In order to improve adoption and evaluate the impact of new education technology data, the SU System chose Impact by Instructure. These solutions work together to enhance the impact of teaching and learning and are designed to increase the likelihood of student success.
"The Southern University and A&M College System plays such an important role throughout Louisiana and the southern United States in developing future leaders," said Melissa Loble, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Instructure. "Instructure is honored to support their distinguished community of educators and students with a flexible, consistent student experience delivered through the Canvas LMS."
Canvas is a fully SaaS learning environment that streamlines interaction and builds strong relationships between teachers and students, whether in the physical, blended or fully online classroom. Traditionally, technology designed to support blended and online learning was inflexible and failed to drive a more engaging online experience. Canvas was created to simplify teaching so faculty can spend more time engaging students in ways that elevate learning.
The Instructure Learning Platform is an open, reliable, and extensible learning ecosystem enabling a digital learning environment for educators, students and institutions. The platform is made up of several key pillars—such as assessment, professional development and analytics —that work together to enrich, support, and connect every aspect of teaching and learning. The Canvas family of tools makes up the learning management pillar of the Instructure Learning Platform.
Instructure (NYSE: INST) is an education technology company dedicated to elevating student success, amplifying the power of teaching and inspiring everyone to learn together. Today the Instructure Learning Platform supports tens of millions of educators and learners around the world. Learn more at www.instructure.com.
CONTACT:
Brian Watkins
Corporate Communications
Instructure
801-610-9722
brian.watkins@instructure.com
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JOHNSTOWN, Pa., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AmeriServ Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASRV) reported second quarter 2022 net income of $1,981,000, or $0.12 per diluted common share. This earnings performance was a $273,000, or 16.0%, increase from the second quarter of 2021 when net income totaled $1,708,000, or $0.10 per diluted common share. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2022, the Company reported net income of $4,399,000, or $0.26 per diluted common share. This represents an 18.2% increase in earnings per share from the six-month period of 2021 when net income totaled $3,789,000, or $0.22 per diluted common share. The following table highlights the Company's financial performance for both the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022 and 2021:
Jeffrey A. Stopko, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the 2022 financial results: "AmeriServ Financial continued its positive earnings momentum in the second quarter of 2022 as we again posted increased earnings when compared to the 2021 results. The improved earnings performance in 2022 reflects the full benefit of several important strategic actions that our company executed in 2021 along with the successful management of our asset quality throughout the pandemic. Specifically, I was pleased that we have been able to increase net interest income in 2022 despite a $1.3 million reduction in PPP loan related fee income in the first half of this year. Overall, AmeriServ Financial continues to benefit from our diversified revenue streams due to strong levels of loans, deposits, and fee income from our wealth management business."
The Company's net interest income in the second quarter of 2022 increased by $257,000, or 2.6%, from the prior year's second quarter and, for the first six months of 2022, increased by $332,000, or 1.7%, when compared to the first six months of 2021. The Company's net interest margin of 3.23% for the second quarter of 2022 and 3.19% for the six-month timeframe represents a 10 basis point improvement for the quarter and a 1 basis point improvement for the six-month period. While the size of the Company's balance sheet remains high by historical standards, both total loans and total deposits have demonstrated stabilization since the second half of last year which corresponds with the conclusion of the government stimulus programs. The Company's 2022 financial performance has been favorably impacted by the strategic actions taken by management in 2021 to lower funding costs. The Company has also benefitted from the higher U.S. Treasury yield curve as interest rates have increased due to the Federal Reserve's action to tighten monetary policy in their effort to tame decades high inflation. The higher national interest rates have favorably impacted the Company's financial performance, particularly net interest income in the second quarter of 2022 when compared to the first quarter of 2022. Specifically, the higher interest rates caused total interest income to increase to a higher level than the corresponding increase in total interest expense. In comparison to 2021, the termination of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) caused a reduced level of loan fee income and was the primary factor causing total interest income to decrease for both the second quarter and first six months of 2022 when compared to the same time periods from last year. However, deposit and borrowing interest expense declined by more than the decrease in total interest income, resulting in net interest income improving in both time periods of 2022 compared to 2021. Financial results also reflect the impact of continued strengthening of our asset quality, which enabled the Company to recognize a loan loss provision recovery during the second quarter of 2022 and for the six-month time frame. Overall, the increase to net interest income, along with the loan loss provision recovery, more than offset a lower level of non-interest income and higher non-interest expense resulting in an improved earnings performance for the second quarter and first six months of 2022.
Total average loans in the second quarter of 2022 are lower than the 2021 second quarter average by $14.5 million, or 1.5%, while total average loans for the first six months of 2022 were $8.4 million, or 0.9%, lower than the 2021 six-month level. Improved loan pipelines have resulted in increased production during the second quarter of 2022, but a higher than typical level of payoff activity more than offset the new production causing total loan amounts to decrease since the end of the first quarter of 2022. However, given the core loan growth experienced during 2021 and excluding PPP loans, total average loans in the second quarter of 2022 exceed the 2021 second quarter average by $41.3 million, or 4.4%, as growth of commercial real estate (CRE), residential mortgage and home equity loans more than offset a decrease in the level of commercial & industrial loans. Total PPP loans averaged $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2022, representing a decrease of $55.8 million, or 92.2%, from the second quarter of last year. Additionally, on an end of period basis, the total amount of PPP loans is only $2.2 million as we continue to work with our customers through the SBA forgiveness process. Overall, despite the higher average volumes of CRE, residential mortgage and home equity loans, total loan interest income declined by $1.4 million, or 6.7%, for the first six months of 2022 when compared to the first six months of last year. This decrease is primarily due to the Company recording a total of $376,000 of processing fees and interest income from PPP loans in the first half of 2022, which is $1.3 million, or 77.4%, lower than PPP income in the first half of 2021. Finally, on an end of period basis at June 30, 2022, excluding total PPP loans, the total loan portfolio is approximately $18.6 million, or 2.0%, higher from the June 30, 2021 level.
Total investment securities averaged $231.0 million for the first half of 2022 which is $29.6 million, or 14.7%, higher than the $201.4 million average for the first half of last year. The increase in the U.S. Treasury yield curve has resulted in a more favorable market for securities purchasing activity so far in 2022. The 2-year to 10-year portion of the yield curve increased by approximately 135 to 230 basis points since the beginning of the year, with shorter yields in that range increasing to a higher degree than the longer yields. Overall, the higher rates resulted in yields for new federal agency mortgage-backed securities and federal agency bonds improving and exceeding the overall average yield of the existing securities portfolio. Management purchased more of these investments and was able to redeploy the cash flow from the excess payoff activity from the loan portfolio and also more profitably utilize a portion of the increased liquidity on our balance sheet into the securities portfolio. This redeployment of funds contributed to total securities growing between years. Management also continued to purchase taxable municipals and corporate securities to maintain a well-diversified portfolio. Overall, through the first six months of 2022, the average balance of total interest earning assets was $18.2 million, or 1.5%, higher than the first six-month average of 2021 while total interest income decreased by $1.1 million, or 4.5%, between years despite the increased average volume.
Although reduced from its high levels when government stimulus initially impacted the economy, our liquidity position continues to be strong as total short-term investments averaged $37.6 million in the first half of 2022, which is $3.0 million, or 7.4%, lower than the 2021 six-month average. Short-term investments averaged $28.7 million in the second quarter of 2022, which is lower than it has been trending over the past several quarters due to the additional investment in the securities portfolio. In addition, uncertainty remains regarding the duration that the increased funds from government stimulus will remain on the balance sheet. Diligent monitoring and management of our short-term investment position remains a priority. Continued loan growth and prudent investment in securities are critical to achieve the best return on the Company's liquid funds with management expecting to continue to be active with new security purchases during the remainder of 2022 given the increase in interest rates.
On the liability side of the balance sheet, through six months, total average deposits are $26.8 million, or 2.4%, higher compared to the first six months of 2021. Total deposits have demonstrated stability over the past year as indicated by the second quarter 2022 average balance being only $2.0 million, or 0.2%, lower than the second quarter 2021 average balance. Deposit volumes continue to reflect the favorable impact of government stimulus which provided support to many Americans and financial assistance to municipalities and school districts during the pandemic. Deposit volumes were also favorably impacted by the Company's successful business development efforts and the Somerset County branch acquisition, which was completed in late May 2021. Overall, the loan to deposit ratio averaged 84.0% in the second quarter of 2022, which indicates that the Company has ample capacity to continue to grow its loan portfolio and is strongly positioned to support our customers and our community during times of economic volatility.
Total interest expense for the first six months of 2022 decreased by $1.4 million, or 34.2%, when compared to the first six months of 2021, due to lower levels of both deposit and borrowing interest expense. Deposit interest expense was lower by $956,000, or 35.3%, despite the higher year to date average volume of total deposits reflecting new deposit inflows as well as the loyalty of the bank's core deposit base. Also, the late third quarter 2021 maturity of a large, high-cost institutional deposit, which was replaced by lower cost funds from the branch acquisition, resulted in significant interest expense savings. The higher national interest rates this year did result in total deposit interest expense increasing between the first and second quarters of 2022 as certain deposit products tied to a market index repriced upward with the move in interest rates. Specifically, our total deposit cost averaged 0.33% in the second quarter of 2022, which is 5 basis points higher than the first quarter of 2022; but still compares favorably to total deposit cost of 0.45% in the second quarter of 2021. Overall, management believes that total deposit cost will continue to rise given the expectation of additional short-term interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve throughout 2022. However, given the Company's strong liquidity position, along with that of the banking industry, we expect that future deposit rate increases will occur in a controlled manner.
Total borrowings interest expense decreased by $218,000 between the second quarter of 2022 and the same quarter of 2021 and by $428,000, or 31.9%, when comparing the first six months of 2022 to the first six months of 2021. The decrease between years results from the favorable impact of the August 2021 subordinated debt offering which was used to replace higher cost debt. This transaction effectively lowered debt cost on these long-term funds by nearly 4.0%. This savings is recognized even though the size of the new subordinated debt is $7.0 million higher than the debt instruments it replaced. The remaining portion of the favorable variance in borrowings interest expense between the first six months of 2022 and the first six months of 2021 is due to reduced interest expense from Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) borrowings. The average balance of total short-term and FHLB borrowings is lower in the first half of 2022 by $15.9 million, or 28.7%, as strength of the Company's liquidity position allows management to let higher cost FHLB term advances mature and not be replaced.
The Company recorded a $325,000 loan loss provision recovery in the second quarter of 2022 as compared to a $100,000 provision expense recorded in the second quarter of 2021. For the first six months of 2022, the Company recorded a $725,000 provision recovery compared to a $500,000 provision expense recorded in the first six months of 2021 resulting in a net favorable change of $1.2 million. The 2022 provision recovery reflects improved credit quality for the overall portfolio due to several loan upgrades, a reduced loan portfolio size due to increased payoff activity including one substandard credit, and lower levels of criticized assets. As demonstrated historically, the Company continues its strategic conviction that a strong allowance for loan losses is needed, which has proven to be essential given the support provided to certain borrowers as they fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, we believe that non-performing assets remain well controlled totaling $3.2 million, or 0.34% of total loans, on June 30, 2022. The Company continues to experience low net loan charge-offs, which were $105,000, or 0.02% of total average loans, in the first six months of 2022 and is relatively consistent with net loan charge-offs of $93,000, or 0.02% of total average loans, for the first six months of 2021. Even though the Company recognized a loan loss provision recovery during the first half of the year, the balance in the allowance for loan losses at June 30, 2022 is only slightly lower than the balance of the allowance at June 30, 2021 by $184,000, or 1.6%. The Company remains committed to prudently working with our borrowers that have been hardest hit by the pandemic by granting them loan payment modifications. On June 30, 2022, loans totaling approximately $5.2 million, or only 0.5% of total loans, were on a payment modification plan. These loans include three commercial borrowers in the hospitality and personal care industries. Management continues to carefully monitor asset quality with a particular focus on these customers that have requested payment deferrals. In summary, the allowance for loan losses provided 357% coverage of non-performing assets, and 1.20% of total loans, on June 30, 2022, compared to 373% coverage of non-performing assets, and 1.26% of total loans, on December 31, 2021.
Total non-interest income in the second quarter of 2022 decreased by $261,000, or 5.9%, from the prior year's second quarter and for the first six months of 2022 decreased by $540,000, or 6.0%, from the first six months of 2021. Net realized gains on loans held for sale decreased by $87,000, or 71.3%, for the quarter and decreased by $487,000, or 78.9%, for the six months, due to the lower level of residential mortgage loan production which reflects a reduced level of mortgage loan refinance activity due to the quick escalation of interest rates since the beginning of 2022. Residential mortgage loan production totaled $15.3 million in the first six months of 2022 and was 73.4% lower than the production level of $57.7 million achieved in the first half of 2021. The reduced level of mortgage loan production also caused mortgage related fees to decline by $67,000, or 67.7%, for the quarter and by $164,000, or 71.6%, for the six months. Revenue from bank owned life insurance (BOLI) dropped by $110,000, or 20.0%, in the first half of 2022, after the Company received a death claim in 2021. Wealth management fees increased by $247,000, or 4.2%, for the six-month time period of 2022 but declined by $46,000, or 1.5%, comparing the second quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2021. The decrease in quarterly performance between years reflects the unfavorable impact of the declining equity markets on wealth management fee income which was partially offset by new customer business growth. The fair market value of wealth management assets declined since the fourth quarter of 2021 by $339.9 million, or 12.5%, and totaled $2.4 billion at June 30, 2022. Finally, service charges on deposit accounts increased by $110,000, or 25.9%, in the first six months of 2022 compared to the first six months of 2021, as consumers are more active this year, increasing their spending habits.
The Company has demonstrated good expense control as total non-interest expense in the second quarter of 2022 increased by $72,000, or 0.6%, when compared to the second quarter of 2021 and increased in the first half of 2022 by $246,000, or 1.1%, when compared to 2021. Salaries & employee benefits increased by $96,000, or 1.4%, for the quarter and are $560,000, or 4.1%, higher for the six-month time period in 2022. Within total salaries & benefits expense, salaries costs are higher by $727,000, or 8.2%, through six months due to merit increases and a higher level of full-time equivalent employees. Also, there were additional increases to health care costs and other employee benefits. Partially offsetting these higher costs within salaries & benefits through six months was lower incentive compensation by $215,000, or 21.7%, due to the reduced level of loan production. Similar to what occurred in 2021, the Company was required to recognize a settlement charge in connection with its defined benefit pension plan in the second quarter of 2022. The amount of the 2022 charge was $1,014,000 which is $163,000 higher than the $851,000 settlement charge recognized in the second quarter of 2021. A settlement charge must be recognized when the total dollar amount of lump sum distributions paid from the pension plan to retired employees exceeds a threshold of expected annual service and interest costs in the current year. So far in 2022, all but one employee that retired have elected to take a lump sum distribution as opposed to collecting future monthly annuity payments since the value of the lump sums continued to be elevated this year due to the low level where interest rates were late in 2021 when these lump sums were calculated. It is anticipated that the Company will be required to recognize additional settlement charges through year end as more people retire. However, it is important to note that since the retired employees have chosen to take the lump sum payments, these individuals are no longer included in the pension plan. Therefore, we expect that the Company's normal annual pension expense should be lower in the future, which has been evident so far in 2022 as the normal amount of pension expense required to be recognized is lower than the 2021 level. Professional fees were $124,000, or 4.6%, higher for the first six months of 2022 due primarily to higher legal costs within our wealth management group. Net occupancy expenses are $109,000, or 8.2%, higher through six months of 2022 due to increased utilities cost along with maintenance & repair expense which was primarily related to the new branch office. Partially offsetting these higher costs were other expenses decreasing by $531,000, or 12.1%, for the first six months of 2022 when compared to the same time period from last year. Contributing to the lower level of other expense was no additional costs related to a branch acquisition in 2022 after $303,000 of expense was recognized for this purpose in 2021. Other expenses were also favorably impacted by a $149,000 credit for the unfunded commitment reserve after $56,000 of expense was recognized in the first half of last year, resulting in a $205,000 favorable shift.
The Company recorded an income tax expense of $496,000, or an effective tax rate of 20.0%, in the second quarter of 2022. This compares to an income tax expense of $420,000, or an effective tax rate of 19.7%, for the second quarter of 2021. Similarly, for the first six months of 2022, the Company recorded income tax expense of $1.1 million, or an effective tax rate of 20.0%, compared to income tax expense of $940,000 in 2021, or an effective tax rate of 19.9%.
The Company had total assets of $1.3 billion, shareholders' equity of $106.4 million, a book value of $6.22 per common share and a tangible book value(1) of $5.41 per common share on June 30, 2022. The decline in the Company's book value and tangible book value per share in 2022 reflects a decrease in the value of the Company's available for sale investment securities due to higher interest rates and the negative impact of a revaluation of the net pension liability resulting from a drop in the value of the pension plan assets. The Company continued to maintain strong capital ratios that exceed the regulatory defined well capitalized status.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbors created therein. Such statements are not historical facts and include expressions about management's confidence and strategies and management's current views and expectations about new and existing programs and products, relationships, opportunities, technology, market conditions, dividend program, and future payment obligations. These statements may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as "continuing," "expect," "look," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "will," "should," "projects," "strategy," or similar statements. Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements, and no reliance should be placed on any forward-looking statement. Factors that may cause results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, unanticipated changes in the financial markets, the level of inflation, and the direction of interest rates; volatility in earnings due to certain financial assets and liabilities held at fair value; competition levels; loan and investment prepayments differing from our assumptions; insufficient allowance for credit losses; a higher level of loan charge-offs and delinquencies than anticipated; material adverse changes in our operations or earnings; a decline in the economy in our market areas; changes in relationships with major customers; changes in effective income tax rates; higher or lower cash flow levels than anticipated; inability to hire or retain qualified employees; a decline in the levels of deposits or loss of alternate funding sources; a decrease in loan origination volume or an inability to close loans currently in the pipeline; changes in laws and regulations; adoption, interpretation and implementation of accounting pronouncements; operational risks, including the risk of fraud by employees, customers or outsiders; unanticipated effects of our banking platform; risks and uncertainties relating to the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the pandemic or to treat its impact; and the inability to successfully implement or expand new lines of business or new products and services. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause AmeriServ's results to differ materially from management's current expectations. Such risks and uncertainties are detailed in AmeriServ's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of AmeriServ's management and on currently available information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by AmeriServ on its website or otherwise. AmeriServ undertakes no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.
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SOURCE AmeriServ Financial, Inc. | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/ameriserv-financial-reports-increased-earnings-second-quarter-first-six-months-2022/ | 2022-07-19T12:26:15Z | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/19/ameriserv-financial-reports-increased-earnings-second-quarter-first-six-months-2022/ | false |
Leading industry innovators partner to offer powerful solutions for service contractors of all sizes
NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- XOi Technologies, a leading provider of technician-focused technology solutions, announces a new collaboration with FieldConnect, a best-of-breed leader in B2B SaaS for mobile field service providers.
The powerful new integration connects two of the field service industry's most innovative software providers and offers business owners a unique AI- and data-powered solution to increase productivity and profitability.
"XOi's deep data cataloging capabilities, advanced AI-driven analytics and intuitive remote support options enhance the value FieldConnect delivers to its customers," said Robert Hughes, CEO of FieldConnect. "Working together, we're able to provide a uniquely powerful tool to help field service businesses of all sizes elevate customer satisfaction, drive efficiency and accelerate growth."
XOi's advanced cloud-based solution allows field service technicians to utilize, aggregate and analyze critical job data and maximize customer value through industry-leading efficiency, accuracy and accountability. With a full suite of standardized workflows, job documentation capabilities, and technician training and enablement solutions, teams can build deep and easily accessible institutional knowledge bases that support real-time decision-making and data-based continuity. Service teams can apply these extensive data-science capabilities to analyze those foundational elements and strategically respond to evolving data trends and forecasts.
FieldConnect is an award-winning software company specializing in field service management solutions. They focus on mobile workforce solutions for commercial service contractors, construction organizations, and other field service businesses. FieldConnect's best-in-class mobile field service solution extends the default functionality of most ERP solutions. Their suite of workforce management applications improves resource scheduling/dispatching, work order management, real-time sales quoting, end-customer self-service, project time management, and more.
FieldConnect has a second-to-none customer service team that allows support issues to be heard immediately (instead of weeks or months). Their agile development process allows for continuous product improvement with customer feedback front and center with product enhancements. FieldConnect extends many ERP systems including (but not limited to): Microsoft Dynamics, Quickbooks, Vista by Viewpoint, Spectrum by Viewpoint (formerly Dexter+Chaney), Sage, and more.
"Service contractors are facing urgent challenges, from labor shortages and supply disruptions to rising costs and an uncertain economic outlook," said Aaron Salow, founder and CEO of XOi. "By partnering with FieldConnect, we're in position to deliver our technician-focused platform to the leading providers so they can effectively manage workflows and maximize service. When the industry collaborates like this, it creates solutions and opportunities that can transform the service business."
For more information about XOi, visit https://xoi.io.
About XOi Technologies
XOi Technologies, the leading provider of technician-first smart technology for commercial and residential field service companies, delivers innovative artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower field service teams to drive productivity, elevate customer experience and help close the skilled labor gap. Developed to meet the unique challenges of an industry traditionally underserved by technology, XOi equips field service professionals with groundbreaking technician-enablement tools, including remote support, visual documentation, immediate on-the-job insights and training resources, asset and team management functions, and a comprehensive knowledge base leveraging data from current and historical projects. With a proven record of innovation and demonstrated commitment to the hard-working men and women in the field service industries, XOi has distinguished itself as a pioneer in technician-focused solutions that bring efficiency, transparency, and expertise to every jobsite. For more information about XOi, visit https://xoi.io.
About FieldConnect
Since 2002, FieldConnect has provided mobile solutions designed around the needs of field service organizations. Learn more and request a demo at: https://www.fieldconnect.com/
MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
(865) 977-1973
hripley@ripleypr.com
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