
A Japanese brewer wants to make sake in space
NEW YORK , Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- To transform the landscape of algorithmic trading, global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR), today announced the launch of an innovative AI-powered algorithm insights service for NYFIX. Driven by real-time liquidity mapping, the service is designed to empower asset managers, hedge funds, and other buy-side firms to achieve unprecedented accuracy, seamless workflow integration, and proven cost-efficiency. "Algo traders will now have a quantitative, data-driven service to power critical trading decisions," said George Rosenberger, Head of NYFIX, Broadridge Trading and Connectivity Solutions. "By harnessing the power of AI and historical insights, we're giving our clients the tools they need to navigate complex markets with greater precision and confidence. This innovative solution not only optimizes trading strategies, but also reduces costs, making it an invaluable asset for the buy-side." This is the first and only solution of its kind, using advanced AI to leverage public and private data to understand the liquidity landscape, particularly potential dark fill location. This approach identifies the ideal algorithmic execution for any given order, reducing outliers to improve overall trading costs. Traders benefit from real-time alerts and in-trade analysis, allowing for in-flight adjustments to stay aligned with their objectives, ensuring optimal strategy selection throughout the trading process. The NYFIX service was developed based on decades of proven research from Jeff Alexander and Linda Giordano , whose pioneering work at Babelfish Analytics established the standard for understanding routing dynamics, analyzing venue liquidity, and optimizing algorithm selection. This collaboration brings together unique and proprietary trader-focused insights with the trusted and transformational technological capabilities and extensive distribution capacity of Broadridge, creating a powerful service to enhance the trader's ability to improve performance. Available to NYFIX Order Routing customers in the U.S. equities market, the solution's framework is built to expand rapidly across other asset classes and regions, with future plans to extend access to clients on other Order Routing Networks. About Broadridge Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), is a global technology leader with the trusted expertise and transformative technology to help clients and the financial services industry operate, innovate, and grow. We power investing, governance, and communications for our clients – driving operational resiliency, elevating business performance, and transforming investor experiences. Our technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of more than $10 trillion of equities, fixed income and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work®, Broadridge is part of the S&P 500® Index, employing over 14,000 associates in 21 countries. For more information about us, please visit www.broadridge.com . Broadridge Contacts: Investors: Edings Thibault Head of Investor Relations, Broadridge broadridgeir@broadridge.com Media: Gregg Rosenberg Global Head of Corporate Communications Gregg.Rosenberg@broadridge.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/broadridge-announces-first-of-its-kind-ai-powered-algorithm-insights-service-302326596.html SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military service academies dropped in 2024 for the second year in a row, according to new Pentagon data, marking a sharp turnaround from an alarming surge two years ago that triggered sweeping reviews and an overhaul in leadership . The decline in reports was mirrored by a similar decrease in the total number of students who said in an anonymous survey that they experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact during the school year that ended in the spring. Defense officials, however, warned on Thursday that the numbers are still high, and there is still a lot of work to be done. According to the survey, which is done every other year, about 13% of female students said they experienced unwanted sexual contact in the 2024 school year, compared with more than 21% in 2022. For men, the rate decreased from 4.4% to 3.6%. The reported assaults reflect familiar trends. Most of the alleged offenders are also academy students and are often known to the victim. They often happen after duty hours or on weekends and holidays. Drinking has long been a consistent factor. Beth Foster, executive director of the Pentagon’s force resiliency office, called the new numbers encouraging. But she added, “the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment is still far too high. What this data tells us is that this is a difficult problem for all, but it is not an impossible problem to solve.” A vast majority of students — 88% — responded to the survey. Defense officials said they are still concerned that, based on the survey, an estimated 783 students experienced unwanted sexual contact but just a small percentage reported it. The U.S. military and defense leaders have pushed improvements in programs, leadership training and staffing to encourage more victims to report so they can receive help and perpetrators can be punished. Defense officials released preliminary data much earlier than usual this year, and said the full report will go out in February. They said the early release was done to provide better information to school leaders who are implementing changes. However, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will leave in January when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and new leadership will take over the Pentagon. Trump and his pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth , have vowed to eliminate “woke” policies fostering diversity and equity, and it’s not clear how any of that may impact sexual assault prevention efforts. Hegseth himself has been accused of sexual assault , which he denies, although he acknowledges making a settlement payment to the woman. Foster and others said Austin’s pressure on academy leaders to confront the problem led to a number of changes in how the schools foster better leaders and focus more stridently on sexual assault prevention. Related Articles National News | Companies tighten security after a health care CEO’s killing leads to a surge of threats National News | Unidentified drones spotted flying at locations across NYC, including LaGuardia Airport National News | About 2.6 million Stanley cups recalled after malfunctions caused burns. Is your mug included? National News | Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits she lied National News | Musk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases The total number of reported sexual assaults at the academies is divided in an often complex and confusing way. Academy and defense officials focus on the number of assaults reported by cadets and midshipmen during their school year. But students sometimes file reports after they leave the academies, describing incidents that happened when they were in school. The total is 106 for the 2024 school year, a sharp drop from 137 last year and 170 in 2022. The totals also decreased at each individual academy. Students at the U.S. Naval Academy reported 47 assaults, a slight dip from 49 the previous year. The other two saw significant decreases: Students at the Air Force Academy in Colorado reported 34, compared with 45 last year, and those at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York reported 25, compared with 43. In addition, eight students reported assaults last year that happened to them before they became students. The military services and the academies have struggled for years to combat sexual assault and harassment, with myriad prevention, education and treatment programs. But despite reams of research, and expanded programs, the numbers have grown. A renewed emphasis on it in the past several years has led to improvements and staff increases, although service members still complain that the videos and other programs are often outdated and don’t resonate as well with young troops.By GEOFF MULVIHILL, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — McKinsey & Company consulting firm has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work to help opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost the sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin, according to court papers filed in Virginia on Friday. As part of the deal with the U.S. Justice Department, McKinsey will avoid prosecution on criminal charges if it pays the sum and follows certain conditions for five years, including ceasing any work on the sale, marketing or promotion of controlled substances. A former McKinsey senior partner, Martin Elling, has also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for deleting documents from his laptop after he became aware of investigations into Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin that was then a client, according to the filings. A lawyer for Elling declined to comment Friday. McKinsey said in a statement on Friday that it’s “deeply sorry” for its work for Purdue Pharma. “We should have appreciated the harm opioids were causing in our society and we should not have undertaken sales and marketing work for Purdue Pharma,” the company said. “This terrible public health crisis and our past work for opioid manufacturers will always be a source of profound regret for our firm.” It’s the latest effort by federal prosecutors to hold accountable companies officials say helped fuel the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis, with opioids linked to more than 80,000 annual deaths in some recent years. For the past decade, most of them have been attributed to illicit fentanyl, which is laced into many illegal drugs. Earlier in the epidemic, prescription pills were the primary cause of death. Over the past eight years, drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies have agreed to about $50 billion worth of settlements with governments — with most of the money required to be used to fight the crisis. Purdue paid McKinsey more than $93 million over 15 years for several products, including how to improve revenue from OxyContin. Prosecutors say McKinsey “knew the risk and dangers” of OxyContin and knew that Purdue Pharma executives had previously pleaded guilty to crimes related to the promotion of the drug, but decided to work with the opioid manufacturer anyway. One of the jobs for McKinsey, the papers said, was to identify which prescribers would generate the most additional prescriptions if Purdue salespeople focused on that. That resulted in prescriptions that “were not for a medically accepted indication, were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary, and that were often diverted for uses that lacked a legitimate medical purpose,” the filing said. “This was not hypothetical,” Christopher Kavanaugh, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh said in a news conference in Boston on Friday. “This was not just marketing. It was a strategy. It was executed and it worked.” During work to “turbocharge” Purdue sales in 2013 after a drop in business, McKinsey consultants accompanied Purdue sales representatives on visits to prescribers and pharmacies to gather information. In a note about one ride-along, a McKinsey consultant said one pharmacist had a gun “and was shaking; abuse is definitely a huge issue.” The company continued looking for ways to increase OxyContin sales, according to court papers. In 2014, McKinsey identified some small clinics that were writing more opioid prescriptions than entire hospital systems — and suggested they be targeted for more sales, the court filing said. The company also tried to help Purdue get a say in shaping federal rules intended to ensure the benefits of addictive prescription drugs outweighed the risks. The government said in its new filings that that resulted in making high-dose OxyContin subject to the same oversight as lower-dose opioids and made training for prescribers voluntary rather than mandatory. Since 2021, McKinsey has agreed to pay state and local governments about $765 million in settlements for its role in advising businesses on how to sell more of the powerful prescription painkillers amid a national opioid crisis. The firm also agreed last year to pay health care funds and insurance companies $78 million. Federal authorities say the deal represents the first time a management consulting firm is being held accountable like this for advising a client to break the law. “If a consulting first conspires with a client to engage in criminal conduct, the fact that you’re an outside consultant will not protect you,” said Joshua Levy, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. Some advocates say the opioid crisis was touched off when Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin hit the market in 1996. Three Purdue executives pleaded guilty to misbranding charges in 2007 and the company agreed to pay a fine. The company pleaded guilty to criminal charges in 2020 and agreed to $8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures — most of which will be waived as long as it executes a settlement through bankruptcy court that is still in the works. Durkin Richer reported from Washington and Mulvihill from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Extra News Alerts Get breaking updates as they happen. Be civil. Be kind.
Cowboys set to host Bengals under open roof after falling debris thwarted that plan against TexansSingapore, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Since its launch, the UPCX wallet has quickly attracted over 100,000 registered users, showcasing its unique appeal and practicality in modern payment solutions. The UPCX wallet was designed to simplify the digital currency user experience, making its operation as intuitive and convenient as traditional mobile payment services. Notably, the "named account" feature stands out, allowing users to easily set up their accounts in the same way they create email addresses. This significantly lowers the barrier to entry and enhances the user experience. In terms of payment options, the UPCX wallet supports a variety of convenient methods, including QR code scanning, displaying QR codes, and NFC (Near Field Communication) payment technology. This ensures that users can complete transactions quickly and securely in various settings. Whether in retail stores, dining establishments, or public transportation, the UPCX wallet provides a seamless payment experience. Additionally, for areas with unstable electricity or poor network signals, the UPCX wallet's offline payment feature ensures that users can make payments smoothly in any environment, guaranteeing the continuity and security of transactions. Beyond its payment functions, the UPCX wallet leverages blockchain technology to provide secure information transmission services. All information is encrypted and recorded on the blockchain as a special type of transaction, ensuring the privacy and security of communications. To enhance system security, the UPCX wallet limits the frequency of free information transmissions and implements a charging mechanism for excess usage. This effectively prevents DDoS attacks and maintains the stable operation of the system. UPCX Chief Marketing Officer Koki Sato stated, "Our wallet has officially reached 100,000 users, marking an important milestone for the UPCX community! We are very grateful for the trust our growing community has placed in us and believe that with our secure, user-friendly, and innovative solutions, we can redefine blockchain payments.” As the digital payment market continues to grow, the UPCX wallet is set to further expand its influence globally, thanks to its advanced technology and user-friendly design. More about UPCX: UPCX is a blockchain-based open-source payment platform that aims to provide secure, transparent, and compliant financial services to global users. It supports fast payments, smart contracts, cross-asset transactions, user-issued assets (UIA), non-fungible tokens (NFA), and stablecoins. Moreover, it offers a decentralized exchange (DEX), APIs, and SDKs, allows customized payment solutions, and integrates POS applications and hardware wallets for enhanced security, building a one-stop financial ecosystem. Official website: https://upcx.io/ X: https://x.com/Upcxofficial X(upcxcmo): https://x.com/kokisato_upcx Telegram: https://t.me/UPCXofficial Discord: https://discord.gg/YmtgK7NURF Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. CONTACT: Media Contact Company Name: UPCX team Contact: Jiso Liu Email: info(at)upcx.io Website: www.upcx.io