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ScamNation Report Profiles Digital Ecosystem Targeting Readers of False, Hyperpartisan News with COVID-19 Subscription Traps – GlobeNewswire

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RiskIQ, the global leader in attack surface management, today released a new research report revealing a large-scale digital scam advertisement campaign spread through fraudulent news sites and affiliate ad networks that cater to highly partisan audiences.

Titled ScamNation, the report details how misleading, false, and inflammatory news stories about the COVID-19 pandemic are developed on a massive scale by "content farms," which monetize through ads served by ad networks targeting highly partisan readership such as the Newsmax Feed Network. Some of these ads are purpose-built to lure readers into misleading 'subscription traps' for products billed as remedies or cures for the virus. A subscription trap works by offering a free or deeply discounted trial of a product while hiding clauses in the terms of service that sign victims up for costly payments remitted on a repeated basis, usually monthly. These subscriptions are often difficult, if not impossible, to escape.

Co-authored by RiskIQ threat researcher Jordan Herman and independent researcher Ryan Foote, the report clearly defines an ecosystem between partisan content farms that monetize through ad revenue, ad networks that take a cut of the profit, and advertisers that use the generated traffic to ensnare victims in subscription traps. These traps fraudulent subscriptions are for products such as dietary supplements or beauty products, and more recently, supposed remedies to COVID-19 in the form of CBD oil.

"Scam ads leading to subscription traps seem to be endemic to content farm sites, but there's a particular network of companies and individuals using the COVID-19 pandemic for financial gain," said RiskIQ threat researcher Jordan Herman. "We wanted to do a deep dive into this ecosystem to expose how these shady practices are taking advantage of people on a massive scale and making the schemers a lot of money in the process."

These content farms generate traffic by creating politically charged articles leveraging the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty around COVID-19 and gearing them toward a specific audience. These articles, often misleading or patently false, target readers the creators have assessed will likely read, share, and engage with them. The content farm operators publish these articles on their websites, which use social media accounts and spam email campaigns to further their reach and generate more traffic they can monetize.

Download the report here for an in-depth look at the individuals and companies behind this scam ecosystem and the tactics its operators are using to defraud a massive contingent of internet users: https://www.riskiq.com/resources/research/scamnation/

About RiskIQ

RiskIQ is the leader in digital attack surface management, providing the most comprehensive discovery, intelligence, and mitigation of threats associated with an organization's digital presence. With more than 75 percent of attacks originating outside the firewall, RiskIQ allows enterprises to gain unified insight and control over web, social and mobile exposures. Trusted by thousands of security analysts, security teams, and CISO's, RiskIQ's platform combines advanced internet data reconnaissance and analytics to expedite investigations, understand digital attack surfaces, assess risk, and take action to protect the business, brand, and customers. Based in San Francisco, the company is backed by Summit Partners, Battery Ventures, Georgian Partners, and MassMutual Ventures.

Try RiskIQ Community Edition for free by visiting https://www.riskiq.com/get-started/. To learn more about RiskIQ, visit http://www.riskiq.com.

2020 RiskIQ, Inc. All rights reserved. RiskIQ is a registered trademark of RiskIQ, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

ContactHolly HitchcockFront Lines Media669-247-6521Holly@FrontLines.io

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ScamNation Report Profiles Digital Ecosystem Targeting Readers of False, Hyperpartisan News with COVID-19 Subscription Traps - GlobeNewswire

How an entrepreneur saved Kerala wetland ecosystem from real estate interest – Down To Earth Magazine

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

The Supreme Court ordered Taurus Investment Holdings to not undertake reclamation or filling up of Veli-Akkulam wetlands on June 4

Disclaimer: The Communist Party of India (Maoist) has been corrected to sayCommunist Party of India (Marxist)

The Kerala governments collaboration with the United States-based Taurus Investment Holdings LLC, signed about five years ago for the development of Thiruvananthapuram Technopark, was heralded as a new dawn.

The real-estate project, after all, was the largest of itskind in the entire country: The first two phases have employed over 40,000 people and ensured Kerala a prime position on the information technology map.

The Boston-headquartered company had promised to invest Rs 1,200 crore on the project, which was expected to provide direct employment to over 20,000 people. The then chief minister Oommen Chandy had called the project a feather in the cap of Keralas development journey.

The regime changed in 2016, within a year of the signing of the agreement, and the Left Democratic Front government with Pinarayi Vijayan as the CM came to power. The company, however, convinced the new government about the need to continue with the third phase of the project.

Despite opposition from a sizable section in the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leadership, the new government consented to the company reclaiming 20 acres of inland coastal wetlands that formed a part of the highly sensitive Veli-Akkulam wetland eco-system for the project.

The company planned to develop over 255,000 square meters of built-up area to house 11 multiplexes, a shopping mall, a five-star hotel and a mega plug and play office. It also involved plans to construct 315 posh apartments in the areas coming between the multiplexes and the mall.

The Veli-Akkulam wetlands. The real estate project posed a threat to the wetlands.

It was around this time when Thomas Lawrence, an IT entrepreneur based out of St Louis in Missouri in the US, returned to Thiruvananthapuram to focus on the environmental and livelihood concerns of the people in and around the city.

Lawrence chanced upon a news item in a vernacular daily explaining how the Taurus project would come up in a reclaimed portion of the Veli-Akkulam wetlands.

Lawrence toldDown to Earth:

I could not understand how a Rs 1,200-crore project with apartment complexes, mall, multiplexes and star hotel would boost Keralas IT prospects apart from creating job opportunities. I found it quite objectionable to see a wetland ecosystem getting reclaimed and that too, to boost the hospitality business. On closer introspection, I found the development project was nothing but a real-estate plot. There began my long and protracted fight against the project.

Lawrence formed a collective of Thiruvananthapuram-based green activists and social workers to study more about the wetland and the way the project would destroy it.

He also started handing out petitions to different government agencies, ranging from the village officer to district collector and state IT secretary to the chief minister. But nobody was ready to lend a patient hearing, and he soon approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The government and the company, meanwhile, decided to initiate construction without giving appropriate explanation to the tribunal. Lawrence and his friends then approached the SC.

Protecting wetlands

The Veli-Akkulam wetlands dont only act as a buffer protecting the surrounding densely populated villages from flooding during monsoon seasons, but also support a thriving biodiversity. I took its protection as my mission, said Lawrence.

The SC, which ordered an interim stay on June 4, 2020, studied the details of the case during the second week of July and validated concerns raised by the petitioner. It stayed any further construction activities related to the IT hub expansion project. The development has turned into a rude shocker for the state government, the Technopark authorities and the US-based company.

The wetlands support biodiversity

As the court order came into existence, the under-construction project, Embassy Taurus TechZone, comprising a special economic zone and a non-special economic zone was almost abandoned. The court intervention saved an old pond, a major stream and a vast wetland ecosystem from complete reclamation.

Lawrence said:

The 10-acre pond has an exceptional natural beauty and it was frequented by migratory and non-migratory birds including Red Darter and Amur Falcon. The wetland eco-system comprised mangroves and a number of aquatic species. The already initiated construction works have even altered the direction of Thettiyar stream which flows through the area to merge with Akkulam backwaters. The government had leased out the wetland to Taurus for 90 years, even when it is protected by Coastal Regulation Zone Act, Coastal Zone Management Plan and Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

He added that the area was mapped by the Space Application Centre under the Indian Space Research Organisation and included it in the national wetland atlas by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The SC also dismissed Taurus plea to lift the stay.

By initiating the land filling works at the proposed site, the company violated Keralas Conservation of Paddy and Wetland Act 2008. The court is convinced of that aspect. It was a clear court intervention against a dubious real-estate project prepared under the guise of IT development, said KJ Chacko, a city-based conservationist.

In the petition filed with the SC, Lawrence alleged that Taurus was a real estate brokerage firm with less than 25 employees. According to him, it had no experience in IT and related areas.

How the caseevolved

When Taurus sought permission from the Keralas revenue department to convert the wetland to a dry land, the village agriculture officer was assigned with to inspect the land and submitted a report citing whether the conversion would be harmful to the environment. The agriculture officer submitted a report to the revenue department citing the illegality involved in reclaiming a crucial wetland area.

The officer also recommended that land reclamation be immedietely stopped. The company then started pressuring the state government, and the chief secretary of Kerala sent a letter to the Thiruvananthapuram district collector asking that the possibility of converting the wetland using exemptions mentioned under Section 10 of the Kerala Paddy and Wetland Act be verified.

Under Section 10, the state government can give exemption to crucial projects from the provisions of this Act.

But the same law states that the conversion or reclamation can be permitted only in the case of public purpose projects with utmost public interest. It also makes it mandatory to constitute a local level monitoring committee to recommend the conversion or reclamation.

The SC on June 4, 2020 stayed further construction activities related to the IT hub expansion project

The government was duty bound to give the recommendation to a state-level committee, which had to certify that no alternate land was available and that such conversion or reclamation would not adversely affect the cultivation of paddy in the adjoining land areas.

There was opposition from the agriculture officer and a 12-member expert panel that studied the matter; the government, however, forced the district collector to move ahead with the project.

The district collector issued an order on January 19, 2018, to convert the land by terming it a public purpose. The collector conveniently forgot that it was a wetland and it must not be converted even for public purposes, said Lawrence.

Through an order issued in 2018, the state government exempted some survey numbers in the area from the purview of Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act 2008. The exemption was given for just 34 cents of land allotted to Winterfell Realty Pvt Ltd, an Indian subsidiary of Taurus. It was done by marking the nature of the land as paddy field in the land data registry. The actual status of wetland was covered up, said Sushil Thomas Abraham, president, Thiruvananthapuram-based, Save Wetlands International Movement.

He added: Now the order to convert around 20 acres was issued as a continuation of the order issued in the case of 34 cents of land.

In May 2018, the local sub-collector wrote to the district collector, saying that the land was watery and permitting constructions there would be illegal.

Kerala was hit by floods in the next three months. The agriculture officer then wrote again to the collector and revenue department saying that any more reclamation works on the marshy land would lead to a large-scale flooding in the nearby areas affecting adversely the lives, livelihoods and possessions of coastal fishing and agrarian communities.

During third phase of construction of the real estate project

Even during the 2019 floods, many local houses were inundated.

The minor irrigation department issued a stop work memo to the Technopark in December 2019, citing rerouting of a natural drain in the third face project area. It was the time when Lawrence approached the NGT, which directed the district collector to look into the complaints by the petitioner.

The agriculture officer was deputed to inspect the area again; the officer wrote to the revenue department about the prevailing situation. He briefed the district collector directly.

He, however, wrote to Lawrence claiming there were no violations and that the land reclamation work was undertaken as perfectly in order. This prompted Thomas to approach the NGT and the SC again.

According to SJ Sanjeev, president of Thiruvananthapuram-based Environmental Protection and Research Council, the SC order is a major victory for the safe protection of Veli-Akkulam wetland ecosystem, one of the largest protected inland wetlands in the entire country.

Even Keralas revenue minister E Chandrasekharan has openly responded to the order saying the Technopark authorities had wronged and a departmental investigation would be conducted. But our demand is a through probe into the circumstances in which the then district collector facilitated the illegal constructions. That would help reveal all illegalities behind this blatant land scam, he said.

Despite repeated attempts, local representatives of Taurus did not respond to the court order. DTE sent an email to the company headquarters seeking a response. The copy will be updated as when a reply is a received.

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How an entrepreneur saved Kerala wetland ecosystem from real estate interest - Down To Earth Magazine

VCIA: blockchain-based ecosystem will shape digital future of captive industry – Captive Insurance Times

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

A blockchain-based ecosystem made up of captive managers, reinsurers and captive domicile regulators will shape the digital future of the captive industry, according to a panel at the Vermont Captive Insurance Associations (VCIA) virtual conference.

Speaking at the Digital transformation and opportunities: what the captive market will look like in 2025 panel, Courtney Claflin, executive director of captive programmes at the University of California, identified the three key challenges currently facing the industry which a digital future will help to mitigate.

Claflin stated that current challenges include capacity, in terms of achieving the appropriate amount of limit from reinsurance markets to adequately support exposures; terms and conditions to support exposures; and reducing back-end costs in order to support new captive initiatives and provide rate stabilisation to the parent company.

Karen Hsi, manager of captive programmes at Fiat Lux Risk and Insurance Company, explained that blockchain technology can help with these challenges, for example, by generating capacity from traditional insurance markets to reduce the burden of administrative costs.

James Donald, cyber advisor at AXIS Capital, affirmed the three main challenges of capacity, terms and cost can be translated in a parametric insurance environment to knowledge, trust and price.

He explained: The reason why capacity is limited revolves around a lack of knowledge. People are reluctant to insure things where they do not have a decent historical data set.

However, there has since been what Donald described as a phenomenal growth in the amount of data that is created each day and made available on the internet through alternative data sources.

In 2016, there was on average 44 billion gigabytes of data produced per day, which has since increased exponentially and is projected to reach 463 billion gigabytes per day in 2025.

In the digital future, a combination of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) will provide new datasets that allow captive owners and managers to create indices that can be used on a blockchain platform to solve capacity issues in captive structures.

In addition, Donald noted that blockchain could help create a mechanism to balance real world damage with model indices to eliminate basis risk in captives, therefore increasing trust and forming a profit centre for the parent company.

Marcus Schmalbach, CEO of RYSKEX, added that AI can be used to link supply and demand to replace traditional underwriting in risk trading platforms. In the example of the Vermont captive domicile, it can regulate the business model as part of the blockchain-based network in a chain of compensation and premium between a captive insurance company, risk trading platform, and investors.

Schmalbach highlighted the Vermont catastrophe index has been developed with machine learning, which is updated daily by an independent institution and cannot be manipulated by market participants. The index is able to inform captive owners and managers on the dangers of a global disaster based on selected risks, such as terrorism, natural disasters and cyber attacks.

It was also discussed that the digital future will have a positive impact on the claims solution process, which is currently cost-intensive and somewhat inefficient, as the insured must assess the damage then submit and review the claim for the adjuster to validate. By implementing blockchain and similar technology, a third party can verify the intensity of a catastrophic event, then administer a fully digital claim settlement payout within a maximum time of 48 hours.

Claflin noted that the University of California has already introduced parametric coverage in a few of its programmes. He commented: We will continue to explore parametrics as that portion of our industry matures. It is a great advantage to us when certain setup circumstances present themselves, as it ensures that payment is immediate.

He continued that they are currently waiting for more opportunities in other areas, particularly concerning property holdings and potential earthquakes.

Hsi added: There are a lot of faculty staff and student alumni programmes that we are looking at to grow the third party through our captive cells. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been working on multiple campuses on the differences in conditions policies, since many study-abroad programmes have been cancelled.

The panel concluded by affirming that the next steps towards a digital future will be setting up a working group of captive managers and owners, service providers, reinsurers, capital market participants, and regulators of the captive domicile to work towards the goal of delivering a blueprint for the parametric risk trading of tomorrow.

5 VCs on the future of Michigans startup ecosystem – TechCrunch

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

The Michigan startup scene is growing and venture capitalists see several key areas of opportunities. What follows is a survey of some of the top VCs in the state and how they see COVID-19 affecting the growth of Detroit, Ann Arbor and all of Michigans startup ecosystem. According to the Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA), there are 144 venture-backed startup companies in Michigan, which is an increase of 12% over the last five years.

The amount of capital available in the state hit a four-year high in 2019 after shrinking from record levels in 2015. The MVCA says the total amount of VC funds under management in Michigan is $4.3 billion. Out of that, 71% of the capital has been invested into companies and the MVCA states its members estimate an additional $1.2 billion of venture capital is needed to adequately fund the growth of Michigans 144 startup companies in the next two years.

As the VCs say below, life sciences is a large part of the Michigan ecosystem, attracting 38% of all investments made in the state. Information technology comes in second, receiving 34% of the total capital invested, with 85% going to those focused on software. Mobility, often thought as Michigans mainstay, only received 7% of the capital in 2019. Heres who we spoke to:

Michigan has long been a hub for life science startups and the venture capitalists polled expect that to continue. Chris Stallman of Fontinalis Partners points to Michigans long-standing reputation in this field and expects this to continue.

Tim Streit of Grand Ventures agrees and sees the pandemic as accelerating the sectors growth. In recent weeks he says his firm has seen a number of promising digital therapeutics deals based in or near Michigan and the timing couldnt be more perfect for these kinds of companies to succeed.

Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital notes that drug development will continue to drive growth around the country and is a strength of the Michigan ecosystem. He also points to Jeff Williams, CEO of NeuMoDx, as a leader in the life science community and who has led a number of Michigans most successful startups.

The notable exception to this are startups directly serving hospitals, according to Patricia Glaza of ID Ventures. She sees this as a challenging market in the era of COVID-19, saying Hospitals are bleeding cash without elective surgeries and hard to prioritize nonessential technologies.

Duo Securitys impressive exit to Cisco in 2018 is still resonating in the scene. As such, many venture capitalists are seeing Ann Arbor becoming a home for security startups.

Stallman of Fontinalis states, I think the cybersecurity realm will be a bright spot as some of those spillover effects from the 2018 acquisition of Duo Security by Cisco take hold (this is still in its early days employees will reach the end of their employment agreements and will start new companies, etc.). Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital said something similar: The success of Duo Security highlighted Michigans growing reputation as a cybersecurity hub. The University of Michigan has always been strong in this area, and we now see a number of interesting startups in this field popping up around Ann Arbor.

When asked about leaders in the Michigan startup scene, nearly all of the VCs listed Duo Security founders Dug Song and Jon Oberheide as key players. Perhaps Rizik said it best: Dug Song is a great leader, who not only created a monster success for the region with Duo Security, but also has devoted much of his time to strategically working to help Michigan move forward as a responsible, startup-friendly community.

Of course Michigan-based venture capitalists would be bullish on their own state, but nearly all of the VCs share the same reasons on why Michigan is a good place. They list low cost of living, amazing STEM-focused schools and a community of founders, VCs and business leaders eager to help each other.

Surprisingly, few of the VCs in the survey mention mobility or automotive as a highlight of the Michigan startup scene, which runs counter to the national narrative. Stallman sums up the situation this way: The mobility space will see both headwinds and tailwinds. Companies vying for automotive customers may find that the industrys challenges have resulted in a shorter priority list for many automakers and suppliers; on the other side, companies helping to remove enterprise risk through innovation in supply chain, automation, workforce efficiency, etc. will have arguably more opportunity going forward.

How much is local investing a focus for you now? If you are investing remotely in general now, are you filtering for local founders?

We have always been a thematically focused investor rather than a geographically focused investor; prior to COVID-19, we had invested 99% of our capital outside of Michigan. With that said, wed love to invest more in Michigan and support more local founders.

What do you expect to happen to the startup climate in Detroit/Ann Arbor/Michigan longer term, with the shift to more remote work, possibly from more remote areas. Will it stay a tech hub?

Southeast Michigan has always been a story of two different startup worlds: health/life sciences and hardware/software tech. On the life sciences side, this region has a long-standing reputation of innovation and university research, and I expect that to remain largely the same going forward. It would seem to me that life sciences companies may not have as easy of a time adapting to new remote-work environments since much of the innovation work remains lab/clinic/facility-based.

For the world of other technology, I think there will certainly be more embracing of remote work and distributed teams this area has always had some degree of that since its not uncommon to see companies with another office elsewhere or a few remote employees that come from very specific backgrounds that are hard to recruit for locally. Since this area has always had some of that, I could see a case that this new paradigm will be an easier adjustment for this region. However, the flip side of that is that so much of tech innovation and developing an ecosystem is about density and serendipitous collisions for an area that was still on the come-up, losing what ground had been gained in recent years will no doubt make the spillover benefits of this aspect harder to come by. I worry a bit that angel and seed activity will slow locally (and hopefully that the growth in seed funds nationally will offset that).

Are there particular industry sectors that you expect to do uniquely well or poorly, locally?

I think a larger theme that is arising out of this COVID-19 situation is that people have a heightened sense of health, safety and security. Life sciences will remain resilient so long as theres funding for continued research, and I think the cybersecurity realm will be a bright spot as some of those spillover effects from the 2018 acquisition of Duo Security by Cisco take hold (this is still in its early days employees will reach the end of their employment agreements and will start new companies, etc.).

The mobility space will see both headwinds and tailwinds. Companies vying for automotive customers may find that the industrys challenges have resulted in a shorter priority list for many automakers and suppliers; on the other side, companies helping to remove enterprise risk through innovation in supply chain, automation, workforce efficiency, etc. will have arguably more opportunity going forward.

In the short term, what challenges are facing Michigans startup scene?

Detroit has not yet hit a full critical mass from a startup ecosystem standpoint, and that is most evident in the more limited amount of angel and seed capital available to companies here; and, to a lesser extent, a more shallow pool of mentors and advisors for founders than what you would find in SF, LA, NYC, Boston, etc.

Who are some founders (who youve invested in or otherwise) that are leaders in the community?

Here are some of the prominent ones (note that we have invested in any): Dug Song and Jon Oberheide (Duo Security), Mina Sooch (has founded and led several prominent biotech companies), Amanda Lewan (Bamboo Detroit), Kyle Hoff (Floyd), Josh Luber and Greg Schwartz (StockX).

A lot of Bay Area founders and developers are looking to relocate. Why Michigan?

Quality research institutions, access to talent locally and ability to pull from Toronto/Ohio/etc., significant industry (automotive, logistics, manufacturing and financial services) in its footprint, supportive state programs for startups, cost of living, international airport with easy access (when the world moves again, that is), etc.

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5 VCs on the future of Michigans startup ecosystem - TechCrunch

QDX HealthID Signs Distribution Agreement with Innova Medical Group Inc. Adding Antigen, Molecular and Antibody Tests to its COVID-19 Test Ecosystem -…

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

QDX HealthIDs ecosystem now includes 6 of 12 FDA Emergency Use Authorized rapid result COVID-19 tests

San Marcos, Texas, and Monrovia, Calif, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QDX HealthID Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quantum Materials Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: QTMM) today announced that, in conjunction with its parent, has signed a distribution agreement with Innova Medical Group Inc. (IMG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pasaca Capital, Inc., for the inclusion of IMGs rapid-result antigen and antibody tests, and PCR swab tests, in the QDX HealthID ecosystem of COVID-19 testing solutions.

QDX HealthID, currently in beta release, is a SaaS-based platform allowing companies and individuals to view and select a particular COVID-19 test kit, authenticate and record their test results in a secure way, and then share authenticated results with friends, familyor any other third party to share negative virus statuses.

With this agreement, the QDX HealthID test kit ecosystem now includes 6 out of 12 rapid-result antibody tests currently granted the Food & Drug Administrations (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). These test kits, and same-day antigen tests may be performed at point-of-care facilities and best support the most effective COVID-19 testing strategies that eliminate delays in receiving test results, which often render testing and tracking efforts completely ineffective.

The agreement between QDX HealthID and IMG allows users registered on the QDX HealthID platform to use an IMG-supplied test kit when a healthcare provider prescribes it. The agreement is non-exclusive and allows other registered test kits and diagnostic services to be used by QDX HealthID customers.

Innova Medical Group Inc. (IMG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pasaca Capital. It brings the most innovative medical technologies to the global market to benefit as many people as possible. Pasaca Capital Inc. and Innova Medical Group Inc. were founded by Dr. Charles Huang.

"We are excited to be working with Innova Medical Group and adding its test kit portfolio to our QDX HealthID ecosystem," says StephenB. Squires, CEO of QDX HealthID Incorporated. "This ecosystem now offers a comprehensive set of COVID-19 testing options allowing QDX HealthID to address the health safety needs of myriad industries and testing environments."

We are confident that adding QDX HealthID Incorporated to Innova Medical Groups rapid test kit distribution group will ensure that even more, superior testing solutions will continue being a key solution for effectively detecting and tracking the COVID-19 virus, worldwide, shares Dr. Charles Huang, Founder and Partner of Pasaca Capital Inc. As industry leaders specializing in research, development, and the production ofpoint-of-care testing,in-vitro diagnostic devices, and reagents, our test kit developers are all well-known as makers of superior technologies providing better healthcare solutions to benefit people everywhere.

QDX HealthID Incorporated and Quantum Materials Corp. contact: Michael Glavich,VP, Business Development at mglavich@qdxhealthid.com

Pasaca Capital, Innova Medical Group, and general media Inquiries contact: Head of Communications, Julie R. Manley, at jm@covidsignals.com and at (646) 981-3342.

For test kit distribution opportunities, contact IMGs global sales and distribution partner, COVIDSignals at enquiry@covidsignals.com, at (207) 271-9501, or by visiting http://www.covidsignals.com.

About QDX HealthID Incorporated

QDX HealthID Incorporated is a wholly owned subsidiary of Quantum Materials Corp (QMC) created to leverage, adapt and augment QMC technologies to address global health and wellness opportunities, emphasizing on authentication of people, products, and places while recognizing the individuals information privacy rights. More information is available at http://www.qdxhealthid.com.About Quantum Materials Corp

Quantum Materials Corp. develops and manufactures quantum dots and nanomaterials for display, solar energy, and lighting applications through its proprietary high-volume continuous-flow production process. Combined with its proprietary blockchain technology, QMCs unique quantum dots are also used in anti-counterfeit applications. QMC's volume manufacturing methods enable consistent quality and scalable cost reductions to provide the foundation for technologically superior, energy-efficient, and environmentally sound displays, the next generation of solid-state lighting and solar photovoltaic power applications. For more information, visit Quantum Materials Corp at http://www.quantummaterialscorp.com.

About Pasaca Capital Inc. and Innova Medical Group Inc.

Pasaca Capital Inc. is a private firm specializing in healthcare, manufacturing, high-tech, infrastructure, and entertainment. Pasaca leverages its global footprint, deep technology, and fundamental business analytical expertise, for both, public equities and private securities to seek out and execute high-value transactions with ROIs that outpace the markets and competition. Innova Medical Group Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pasaca Capital. It brings the most innovative medical technologies to the global market to benefit as many people as possible. Pasaca Capital Inc. and Innova Medical Group Inc. were founded by Dr. Charles Huang, a world-renowned, global business leader. For more information, visit http://www.pasacacapital.com or http://www.innovamedgroup.com.

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QDX HealthID Signs Distribution Agreement with Innova Medical Group Inc. Adding Antigen, Molecular and Antibody Tests to its COVID-19 Test Ecosystem -...

Microsoft and Samsung need each other now more than ever – The Verge

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Outside of its hardware announcements, one of the bigger takeaways from yesterdays Samsung event was its ever-closer relationship with Microsoft. The two companies are partnering together on everything from mobile gaming bundles, to optimizing their apps and integrating their software. They even announced that youll soon be able to use and control multiple apps from your Samsung phone directly on your Windows 10 PC, as well as use your Samsung tablet as a secondary display.

Its not a new partnership, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella even personally appeared at Samsungs Note 10 event last year. But its more important than ever before, as the industry hurtles toward the next big ecosystem battle between iOS and Android. Its no longer just about the phones themselves but about how these phones interact with the other computers in your life, whether theyre laptops, desktops, or even game consoles. And Samsungs deepening partnership with Microsoft is essential to its approach.

Samsung and Microsoft announced a lot of codeveloped projects yesterday, encompassing everything from gaming, to office apps and productivity software.

On the gaming side, the focus was Microsofts xCloud game streaming service. The features, which build on an existing xCloud partnership, include a special version of the Xbox Game Pass app on Samsungs Galaxy Store that will come with features not available in the Google Play Store version. Theres also a gaming bundle for the Note 20 coming that will include three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate alongside a third-party controller designed to play streamed games.

Their productivity and office software is also getting more deeply integrated. Notes from the Samsung Notes app will sync with Outlook and OneNote, and Samsung Reminders will sync across multiple Microsoft services including Microsoft To Do, Teams, and Outlook. Samsung also said that it was working with Microsoft to optimize apps like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel for the display of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and there were even minor tie-ups like being able to use the Galaxy Tab S7 as an external display for Windows 10 machines.

But the most important feature, and the one that gives the clearest example of the benefits of Samsung and Microsofts partnership, was the new Your Phone functionality. Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 testers would be able to run Android apps side by side with Windows programs and, at the moment, it works exclusively with Samsung phones. Samsung said during its event that the functionality would expand to let you run multiple apps side by side later this year.

I dont doubt that this feature has been in the works for some time, but its hard not to compare it to Apples demo from WWDC 2020 where it showed iOS and iPadOS apps running natively on macOS thanks to its upcoming transition to ARM-based processors. Apple and Samsung appear to be taking two different approaches here Apples machines are running mobile apps natively while Samsungs appear to be streaming from a connected phone but the end result is similar: using mobile apps on your computer.

And Google which makes Android hardly seems to be in the conversation. Literally: the company didnt get a mention until the final third of Samsungs keynote. Googles ecosystem solution is to allow Android apps to run on top of Chrome OS as well as some minor Android / Chrome OS integrations like tethering. But the feature has been historically buggy and Chrome OS in general hasnt managed to expand beyond its historical niches.

Look at all three, though, and you can clearly see a trend: the boundaries between what is a phone, a tablet, and a laptop are becoming blurrier than ever. My colleague Dieter Bohn has been asking Whats a computer? for years now, and its a question thats getting increasingly difficult to answer with every accessory that adds a keyboard or trackpad to a traditional tablet, or a touchscreen to a laptop.

Its a trend that may put Samsung at a disadvantage compared to Apple. Apple already controls enough about its mobile and computing ecosystems that it can offer cross form-factor features like Continuity, but with its switch to using ARM-based processors on the Mac, it will gain a unified app ecosystem that could eventually stretch from phones all the way up to professional desktop computers like the Mac Pro.

Apples control over every aspect of its devices means it alone can draw the boundaries between its phones, tablets, and computers. Apple can decide to make the iPad work as a secondary display for the Mac, without having to make whatever agreement Samsung and Microsoft did to get the same functionality for the Android-powered Tab S7 and Windows 10. Apple alone can add significant new features to iPadOS to make it work with external mice and trackpads; it alone is responsible for deciding that MacBooks shouldnt have touchscreens; and it alone has put macOS and iPadOS on a collision course with one another.

This power disparity means Samsung needs partners like Microsoft now more than ever if it wants its products to work together as seamlessly as Apples do. As the primary developer of Android, Google is another immensely important partner, but Androids open-source core gives Samsung more latitude to build its own features on top of it via its One UI software.

Against the monolith of Apple, Samsungs approach has its advantages. Rather than trying to do everything inside one walled garden, Samsung is able to defer to Microsofts biggest strengths. Take xCloud. The same day Xboxs Phil Spencer appeared during Samsungs demonstration that Xbox was working with Samsung to offer the best possible gaming experience, it ended its xCloud game streaming test on iOS devices. Apples App Store policies are thought to be the problem.

The split means that Samsung phone owners, along with the rest of the Android community, will get access to xClouds library of games, while Apple users are limited to playing games that run natively across their devices (Googles Stadia game streaming service is also not available on iOS). That still includes plenty of games made for the iPhone and iPad which will soon run natively on ARM-based Macs, and it also includes many great games from Apples own subscription service, but it wont include big AAA Xbox titles like those from the Forza and Gears of War series.

Native games are not the same thing as streamed games, but Samsung users get both, while Apples only get one.

I wrote last year that Samsung isnt going it alone in its fight against Apple and Google, and yesterdays Note 20 event couldnt have made that clearer. The futures of smartphones, laptops, and tablets are colliding, and Samsung doesnt have the control to be able to forge a path on its own. Thanks to its ever increasing number of partnerships with Microsoft, however, it has a partner that can help it get there.

Original post:

Microsoft and Samsung need each other now more than ever - The Verge

"ScamNation" Report Profiles Digital Ecosystem Targeting Readers of False, Hyperpartisan News with COVID-19 Subscription Traps – Benzinga

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

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Originally posted here:

"ScamNation" Report Profiles Digital Ecosystem Targeting Readers of False, Hyperpartisan News with COVID-19 Subscription Traps - Benzinga

"Transitioning to future with stronger APAC healthcare ecosystem" – BSA bureau

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic plaguing countries worldwide has created unprecedented change for the global economy, especially healthcare institutions at the forefront. Hospitals across the world are facing never before seen challenges that have accelerated the development of technological innovations. As we navigate the complexities of the virus and the amount of disruption it has brought about, one thing is certain COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future. Its time to focus on this new reality and how we can achieve a sense of normalcy.DrIanChuang, who is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Elsevier shared his insights on how the healthcare ecosystem can prepare for the new-normal in a post-COVID-19 world.

How can healthcare ecosystems establish a strategic and resilient pandemic preparedness model?

There are and continues to be many lessons to be learned from this pandemic. Some of the areas are broad and systemic, requiring larger-scale evaluation of the fundamentals of the health care system and model of care itself. Ideally, we proceed with any change in a human-centered design thinking approach.

With many uncertainties about the disease, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of accessible and trusted data for frontline clinicians providing care. The pandemic crisis has sped up the delivery and accentuated the weakness in the healthcare system. The healthcare system was not ready when the disease first broke, putting a strain on the entire health system. As healthcare workers were over-taxed and reacting to the evolving crisis, patients were left to figure things out on their own. There was no recipe to fall back. Doctors offices were closed, elective surgeries canceled, and patients did not know where to seek care, let alone whether the Emergency Department was safe. The healthcare system was barely keeping up with the demands of COVID-19 related care; definitely, there was a shortfall of how well other care needs were met.

As the healthcare system reacts, ultimately, preparing and equipping the frontline caregivers is where the impact is made for the patients and the population being served. What does the caregiver need in response to the evolving circumstances? Equally important is what do the patients and the broader community being served by the hospital or health care system need to know and do? Communication, access to care, and care coordination are broad needs that are important to build a pandemic preparedness model.

How do we mitigatethe adverse health impactfrom the future pandemic wave by strengthening and collaborating various divisions at healthcare?

The pandemic continues to rage on globally, affecting economies and healthcare systems beyond borders. This has heightened the need for real-time information to be shared and assimilated with the best care standards and experiences globally in order to mitigate any adverse health impact. COVID-19 is unlikely to go away quickly. And after COVID-19, we know there will be something else. This pattern is well established with many data points. Our preparedness should be for what looks like a COVID-19 marathon, but also better preparedness for the next unknown to come.

In times like these, research needs to be combined with real-world evidence and make their way to healthcare professionals so that the knowledge lag and the degree of knowledge variability is minimized. It is important that trusted evidence-based knowledge partners are available for healthcare professionals to seek information and corroborate clinical data with academic research, to enable better quality and safety of patient care.

It has never been a better time to leverage technology to make knowledge readily available and easily accessible to all. Institutions can consider integrating their electronic health record (EHR) system with clinical decision support tools so that healthcare professionals can have timely access to the latest clinical research and guidelines and provide better guidance to patients at the point-of-care. This improves the efficiency of clinicians in their work within the EHR, aligned to a knowledge-driven care process.

How do we protect healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, ward staff) during the course of infectious disease treatment and to set their immune system on alert even during their routine services?

As the first line of defense when combating infectious diseases, infection control measures are critical in helping to protect healthcare workers on the frontlines of care. Healthcare institutions need to have an integrated infection preparedness strategy to minimize nosocomial transmissions and enhance patient safety. The infection preparedness strategy should encompass infection control measures, risk assessment frameworks, stockpile management systems, quarantine requirements, and more. Such a strategy will help to organize and inform all involved personnel to ensure that everyone is clear of their roles in managing the epidemic.

To effectively contain any suspected cases and mitigate the risk of infection to other patients, healthcare institutions should designate isolation rooms or quarantine facilities within their premises to house any suspected cases when admitted. It is also essential for hospitals to have a ready supply of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. This needs to be constantly monitored to cope with any sudden surges in demand. In addition, institutions need to implement a standard set of safety measures according to the latest guidelines for healthcare workers to abide by. Resources such as an isolation precaution checklist and a personal protective equipment advisory leveraging evidence-based guidelines and clinical best practices enable healthcare workers to provide the best care for patients.

While these pre-defined processes and policies are essential for an organization to be prepared for the unexpected, adherence to these defined best practices is key to its effectiveness. The success of any well-defined process is often limited by its weakest link. Consistency and comprehensiveness of a risk mitigation plan are measured as an organization based on individual performance. But because of the inter-dependencies, a weakness in an individual or an area seeds and cascades across the organization. Hence, the importance of top-down organization and bottom-up individual performance metrics. Supporting clinicians with the latest knowledge and best practice of skills create the cognitive and muscle memory in them to respond to changing clinical scenarios.

Can you elaborate on the need for a strategic partnership betweenGovernments and public health sectorsfor better pandemic response measures?

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of breaking down the boundaries between different organizations and exploring opportunities to create a better pandemic response. Never before has there been a better time to leverage the potential of sharing information between the government and healthcare systems to ultimately shape governmental responses to the healthcare crisis and inform the development of potential treatments. This collaborative effort is facilitated by the presence of the right data shared to produce the relevant information and right knowledge to guide both broad public health decisions and actions in coordination with local patient care by health care systems.

An example would be the contact tracing process. The contact tracing process is a time-sensitive and manpower-intensive process, which is essential to quickly identify and isolate close contacts of affected patients. This process can be facilitated through close collaboration between the government and the healthcare system. Some countries have taken to linking the electronic health record system with the immigration systems. This helps to cross-check the date of the initial onset of symptoms with the immigration records. The reality is there is no single starting point or the endpoint of population risk vs individual patient care. We are now all inter-related in some manner, and sometimes in ways that impact our respective health and well-being.

COVID-19 pandemic became a catalyst to address many unattended issues. In your opinion how should such unattended interests at hospitals be addressed?

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about rapid advancements in healthcare innovation through digitalization and this wave of digitalization is the key to establishing our strategy for future outbreaks. During crisis situations, having access to reliable real-time information is a key enabler to determine our response. With the exponential amounts of discoveries happening daily, it is now the time to integrate digital capabilities with clinical knowledge so that clinicians can keep up with the evolving nature of patient care and disease management.

Knowledge is ultimately most useful if it can be translated within the care process and executed by the clinicians during patient care. Here are some key areas where information technology can integrate clinical knowledge and enable clinicians during a pandemic:

Underlying these is the need for clinical leadership support. Clinical leadership can equip the clinical teams with the necessary tools to ensure safety and quality care. Furthermore, the best practice for disaster or crisis preparedness is established policies and processes to respond quickly and effectively. Enabling this, with regard to the evolving pandemic types of crisis, is an information system infrastructure that supports the evolving care process and standards. Data ultimately inform the leadership and provides important practice-based knowledge for both clinical process improvement as well as research.

Anecdotally, we are hearing from customers and other healthcare organizations who have taken advantage of Elseviers COVID-19 Healthcare Hub to access, download, and incorporate our content into their care process, quickly adapting how their patients are cared for in reaction to changing recommendations. Similarly, ready-to-use skills and training programs have supported those clinicians who had to quickly step into high acuity patient care scenarios.

Asian Fintech companies and governments have always had a stringentbudget forhealthcare research activities. What are your visions and suggestions to authoritative bodies (including regulatory bodies) in order to accelerate the discoveries and innovations of life-saving agents?

From the onset of COVID-19 to date, research and discovery are evolving and refining at an exponential rate. What is important is the ability for research to be shared, translated, and transferred to impact any discoveries.

To facilitate the research process, researchers and scientists need to be supported with the right environment to capture clinical trial data securely. It can come in the form of an electronic data capture platform in which researchers can quickly input, monitor and run reports to collect accurate and reliable subject data for analysis. This allows research to be accelerated and ultimately improve outcomes for patients. Historically, information technology and data were viewed as competitive assets by both the healthcare organization and the vendors. This severely limits the kinds of important collaboration for knowledge discovery and running sophisticated research across organizations. Without this alignment of the digital infrastructure, then all other efforts to accelerate treatment innovation and discovery are more difficult than they need to be.

How do you visualize the APACPost-COVID-19perspective?

APAC, post-COVID 19, will see an explosion of innovation in digital health. One key factor is that the population in APAC is much more comfortable and reliant on mobile technology than the USA. Apps are used across services from financial transactions through to navigating a hospital visit. With COVID-19 and the need to be more virtual and transactions to be more digital, APAC is ahead of the curve in terms of familiarity and adaptability. As we push the boundaries with ideas for social tracing, proximity exposure logs, or digital COVID-19 health passport, we see that APAC will benefit the most with wider social acceptability and utility of such apps.

Telemedicine will be greatly adopted to overcome access constraints while mobile applications and big data will bring in a new era of personalized healthcare. Telemedicine is a viable option with limited medical resources, which can now serve a wider population at a relatively lower cost than a face-to-face consultation.

With all the innovation and potential extension of how a population can continue to receive medical care, there are potential quality and safety considerations that must be thought through. Expanding forms of access to care, or receiving care remotely just adds more variables to variation in care, especially care that is not supported by research or recommended best practice. This new reality following COVID-19 faces a risk where we might think our solution addresses the crux of the problem but in fact, it might introduce other problems elsewhere. Thus, the future of healthcare delivery should be driven by knowledge.

Effectively, it means that healthcare and what patients should expect is a level of care and consistency that aligns with the latest body of knowledge and best practice standards, delivered via an optimized consumer-centered experience that is efficient, and cost-effective. A digital system to enable this vision is the basis of this proposed knowledge-driven care framework. New ideas for innovation and transformation of healthcare delivery must align with a knowledge-driven care process. We need to optimize any design of virtual models of health care to be based on scientific knowledge and best practice that is not dependent on how you receive care (virtual or face-to-face), who provides the care (teaching hospital, community hospital, hospital, or an app), or when care is provided.

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"Transitioning to future with stronger APAC healthcare ecosystem" - BSA bureau

Purple urchin has overrun kelp forests, commercial divers and conservationists have have joined forces to restore the North Coasts marine ecosystem -…

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Publishers note: Lana Cohen is a Report For America fellow covering the environment and natural resources for The Mendocino Voice and KZYX. Her position is supported by the Community Foundation of Mendocino, the GroundTruth Projects Report for America initiative, and readers like you. If youd to support Lanas work you can contribute at this website or email us at publisher@mendovoice.com. Lana is available at LCohen@mendovoice.com. The Mendocino Voice maintains full editorial control of this work.

FORT BRAGG, 8/10/20 Fort Bragg resident Patrick Downie has been diving for red urchin for 40 years. When he started, the industry was a lucrative one, offering a job he felt lucky to have, where he could make enough money to live comfortably and have a little extra to save. Now, he is barely hanging on, making as much as he is spending to keep up with maintenance on his boat and dive gear. Hes considering heading south, where red urchins are more abundant, changing fisheries, or selling his boat. But he doesnt want to do any of these things. He loves North Coast urchin diving, which he considers more of a lifestyle than a job, and hopes to pass his boat down to his son, Grant Downie, who is also a red urchin diver.

The father-son duo are the last red urchin divers left in Fort Bragg. Theyre holding out hope that the industry, which used to support hundreds of divers, will bounce back. But while the red urchin fishery is still floundering, the Downies have a new mission helping conservation groups restore the North Coasts kelp forests, which have been decimated by climate change.

More than 90% of the North Coasts kelp, which provides shelter and food for thousands of species, has disappeared in the last decade, devastating marine life, fisheries, and the coastal economy. Now, marine conservation groups, state institutes, and recreational and commercial divers are coming together to save the decimated ecosystem. One of those conservation groups is Reef Check, an international nonprofit dedicated to restoring and preserving tropical coral reefs and temperate kelp forests. On the morning of Tuesday, August 4, with the help of the Downies, Reef Check kicked off their kelp restoration project.

The pair were hired by Reef Check to collect the red urchins problematic cousin, purple urchins, in Noyo Bay. Along with warming waters caused by climate change, a massive influx of purple urchins, which have no predators left in this region, have devastated the North Coast marine ecosystem by overgrazing bull kelp, a type of thick, brown algae that is foundational to the North Coasts temperature rocky reef environments.

When we think about kelp loss, thats like losing the three-dimensional structure of coral reefs, said Tristin McHugh, biologist and Reef Checks North Coast regional manager. Losing the structure which everything else needs to survive.

Kelp provides shelter, nutrients, and oxygen to all creaturesthat call temperate reef ecosystems home. In addition to the many marine creatures that rely on kelp, seals, whales, sea otters, great blue herons, shore birds, and a variety of other creatures rely on the algae.

A century ago, the purple urchin populations were kept in check by two predators sea otters and sea stars. But in the early 1900s the sea otter population (which is still on the federal endangered species list) was hunted almost to extinction. Then, starting in 2013, there was a mass die off of sea stars caused by a disease called sea star wasting syndrome. Purple urchins were left without predators. Purple urchins have an insatiable appetite for bull kelp which looks a bit like a balloon, with a floating gas-filled bulb on one end and a long tail that grows out of the sand and can often be seen floating on top of the water or washed up on shore.

In 2008, the kelp started slowly and incrementally disappearing. Then, in 2013, when the Northeast Pacific Ocean experienced a record-breaking marine heat wave, which increased ocean temperatures by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) for almost a full calendar year, the rate of die off drastically increased.

At the same time, the purple urchins, with nothing to stop their population from exploding, started chowing down on all the kelp and any other type of algae that was in their path.

What was left were urchin barrens, desolate areas void of almost everything except for spiny, eggplant purple, urchins which blanket the ocean floor eating everything in their path.

Divers like the Downies have experienced this change first hand. Its really getting scary, its nothing like Ive ever seen before, said Patrick. I think were going on four to five, pushing six years now where there is no kelp. We can drop down to where we used to work, theres no food, no kelp, in probably 80% of our coastline now. Theyve all been taken over by these little [Strongylocentrotus] purparatus [or purple urchin]. Theyre like a million ants just looking for food. As fast as the kelp is growing, these purpuratus, they just take over and theyll eat anything.

The underwater world, which used to be akin to a rainforest, filled with light, life and color, is now a bleak, gray landscape, with only rocks, sand, and, of course, purple urchin. During the Downies four hours under water last week, they barely saw any kelp, and only spotted one starfish and one abalone.

Theres not a lot of kelp present, and there was no growing bull kelp attached, said Grant. However theres purple urchins all over. Grant explained that the purple urchins have formed into patches, or groups of 10 to 50 urchins. As we work our way through the area, every five to 10 feet youll come upon a patch of 10 to 50 purples eating everything they can find, said Grant.

With the bull kelp went the North Coasts abalone fishery, once worth $44 million per year before its collapse in 2018 and red urchin fishery, worth $3 million in its prime. Other fisheries shorebirds that rely on a healthy marine ecosystem were also adversely impacted.

The whole kelp forest disappearing has affected so many different fisheries even though you dont really see it, said Patrick. Weve lost a lot of our shops that would cater to different fishing businesses. We lost our dive shop, so now its even hard to get dive equipment. The dive shop was here for years and I could go to the dive shop to get my bail out bottle [a backup air tank] filled. Now I have to drive three hours to get it filled, but at least I do have a backup air supply when Im diving deep, he said.

Scientists believe that removing the purple urchins might give the bull kelp the space to reestablish, which could play a part in ultimately bringing back North Coasts many fisheries.

The North Coasts kelp forests, which grow in areas between two meters (around six feet) and 30 meters (almost 100 feet) deep, used to be filled with life. The algae grew in dense thickets, providing homes for abalone, red urchin, fish, and all sorts of invertebrates.

Scientists say the ultimate cause of the disappearing kelp is warming waters caused by global climate change, but locally, the drastic increase in purple urchin population make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the kelp to grow back without human intervention.

Thats why Reef Check is working with divers to remove purple urchin and assess the underwater ecosystem counting algae, invertebrates, fish, and other species in the bull kelp ecosystem. They hope that without so many purple urchins, the bull kelp will have the space to flourish and the once productive North Coast reefs can bounce back.

Reef Check is paying the divers $500 per day to pull purple urchins out of Noyo Harbor and Caspar Cove and deliver them back to Reef Checks local team to be counted and analyzed for among other things, reproductive potential and size.

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Most of the money to fund Reef Checks kelp restoration project comes from Ocean Protection Council, a State of California agency dedicated to protecting Californias ocean and coastal ecosystems. The project also received $75,000 from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This Tuesday, August 4, was the first day of Reef Checks kelp forest restoration project, a baseline study that the organization hopes will help scientists figure out what the most effective method of removing urchin is, if urchin removal will help the kelp reestablish, and in general, what is going on under water in the temperate kelp ecosystem.

McHugh, who is a biologist, believes bringing back kelp is crucial to restoring the marine ecosystem and the North Coasts fisheries.

Every other sector of the coast is tied into the kelp forest ecosystem. So when we think about how important the system is I almost ask you to ask yourself how important are the redwoods to you, and that is the same sort of regard that we should think about kelp forest ecosystems in, said McHugh.

It was in 1980 when Patrick Downie first slipped on his scuba diving gear and dropped down into the cold depths of Californias Pacific Ocean in search of red urchin.

Back in 1980 a friend of mine saw an ad in the newspaper that said divers needed and I just happened to have the ability to dive as a young kid and so it was really easy for me. And I went down there and around 20 people showed up and the guy took as many people as he could get on the boat safely and whoever brought in the most [red urchin] got to work, recounted Downie, who landed the job.

But early this week, after 40 years of red urchin diving, Patrick, along with his son, dropped down to retrieve as many purple urchins as possible from the depths of Noyo Harbor.

The Reef Check team set aside 10 total acres for restoration just outside of Noyo Harbor in Noyo Bay, which they hope to completely rid of purple urchin.

The Downies, who have been involved in volunteer purple urchin removal for years, are happy to have the opportunity to share their knowledge with Reef Check to try and restore the ecosystem to what it once was a thick forest of brown bull kelp, packed with abalone, red urchin, invertebrates, fish life, and more.

But the cash definitely doesnt hurt either. Times have been tough.

For most of Patricks years as a red urchin diver, he was diving around 40 feet deep and pulling in as much as 2600 pounds of red urchin a day, worth about $1000 at the time. Now, even though hes in his mid-60s, hes taking more risks in the ocean going out farther and dropping down deeper, sometimes up to 90 feet below. The deep dives hurt Patricks arthritis and make him feel like he just cut a cord wood. But he keeps at it, even though on a good day he only has around 300 pounds of red urchin to show for his dangerous work, worth less than $500.

The coronavirus pandemic didnt make things easier. Now we have the virus thing, so thats really affected the markets. Restaurants closing right and left, sushi bars closing right and left, and that was our main market, said Patrick.

COVID also affected Reef Checks kelp restoration project, which was supposed to kick off in the spring with divers from around the state.

After months of delay, the launch of the kelp restoration project went smoothly. At 8:30 a.m. in the morning on Tuesday, August 4, McHugh and her team met up with the Downies to give them some gear and make sure they were ready to go.

The winds, at 15 to 25 knots, were stronger than the ideal, but the swells, only NW 5 feet at 9 seconds, werent a concern. Its diveable for sure, said McHugh, standing under a clear sky and looking out at the ocean from the windy bluffs above Noyo Harbor. Still, she explained that morning is usually when the weather is best and the ocean calmest, so worsening weather throughout the day was expected. If the ocean became too rough for diving, the projects launch day would have to be cut short.

Reef Check is far from the only organization involved in kelp restoration. On Californias North Coast, almost 20 nonprofits (including Reef Check), businesses, government agencies, and commercial and recreational divers have come together over the past six years to try to help the bull kelp reestablish along the Mendocino and Sonoma coasts. Think of it like a study group, said McHugh, of the amalgamation of groups that call themselves KELPRR. Each institution has their own piece that theyre working on but KELPRR is that place they come together to learn from each other and expand their breadth of knowledge.

Sheila Semans, the executive director of the Noyo Center for Marine Science, a nonprofit focused on marine education and conservation and a partner of KELPRR, said creating KELPRR was important because there is still very little known about the rapidly disappearing temperate kelp ecosystem. We wanted to put together a collaborative program to address this incredible issue and get everyone working together to enhance each others work. Its what we could do, theres an amazing amount we dont know about bull kelp, said Semans.

Although there is still much to learn, knowledge of Californias North Coast temperate kelp ecosystem has been growing. Laura Rogers-Bennett, Ph.D and Cynthia A. Catton, Ph.D, in their 2019 study, Marine heat wave and multiple stressors tip bull kelp forest to sea urchin barrens, published in the peer reviewed journal, Nature that bull kelp forests have been reduced by more than 90% along more than 350 km (217 miles) of coastline from Marin to the Mendocino-Humboldt border.

The decline of cornerstone kelp species, which can grow up to almost two feet per day and provide valuable ecosystem services, is not unique to the North Coast. Rogers-Bennet, a senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Region and Catton, a scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlifes Bodega Marine Laboratory explained that kelp, which historically have occupied 25% of the worlds coastlines, providing habitat, food and carbon sequestration, started disappearing in 2013 when the Northeast Pacific Ocean experienced a record-breaking marine heat wave. The marine heat wave, which increased surface temperatures by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit), started in Alaskas Bering Sea and spread all the way down the California coast to Baja California, lasting for almost an entire calendar year. This was the longest marine heat wave ever recorded in the Pacific.

Although this is a global problem, Rogers-Bennett and Catton note that the bull kelp forests along the California coast, and especially in the northern third of the state, saw the impact of kelp loss first and most acutely.

Rogers-Bennett and Catton wrote in their study that the region north of San Francisco to the Oregon border historically supported extensive, nearly pristine, productive, and persistent bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, forests. Human population densities and development are low in the region, so no abrupt anthropogenic impacts to ocean conditions and ecosystem health were anticipated. A series of perturbations including a loss of sea star predators of urchins, prolonged warm-water conditions, and a population explosion of purple sea urchins occurred prior to and concurrently with an abrupt shift from bull kelp forest to persistent urchin barrens.

Purple urchin will eat anything, even rocks and sand when nothing else is around. When going through a random sample of the 487 pounds of purple urchin the Downies cleared off the bouldery ocean floor last Tuesday, Reef Checks restoration technicians, Morgan Murphy-Cannella and Ian Norton, found that in addition to algae, the purple urchins had consumed rocks and sand.

Murphy-Cannella and Norton, who were hired by Reef Check specifically for this project, were charged with cracking open the purple urchins to find out what they were feeding on as well as whether or not they havereproductive capabilities. They hope to analyze and record 150 urchins per day. Were just looking for an idea of what theyre munching on out there, said Norton as he used a scalpel-like tool to scrape out the gonad, the purple urchins reproductive organ, from its shell. We just want an idea of what theyre eating out there red algae, green algae, rocks, sand, and what theyre willing to eat.

This work is providing Reef Check with baseline information on what the state of the algae and the purple urchins are right now, so that as they continue kelp restoration they can monitor changes.

The presence of rocks and sand in the purple urchins tells a dark story about the current state of Noyo Bay that there is not much else out there to eat. The urchins, which generally grow to about four inches in diameter, prefer a diet of more algae, less rock and sand. But theyll take what they can get, and theyll take all of it.

Thats consistent with what the Downies saw during their four hours under water on Tuesday. Weve got some red algae and red lettuce growing, other than that theres not a lot of kelp present. There was no growing bull kelp attached and no palm kelp that I saw, said Grant.

Although the picture is stark, the Downies havent given up on the possibility that the red urchin fishery might bounce back. But still, they realize the fate of what they love, red urchin diving, is unsure. I am worried about the future of the industry, said Grant. Im buying a house on the coast which is expensive, I have two kids now and I really wanted to have them grow up in Fort Bragg. Its a small quaint little town but I loved it growing up.

Grant hopes that the work that Reef Check, KELPRR, and himself are doing might help get him back in the water diving for red urchins. Since the marine protected areas were enacted [in 2012], shortly after is when I noticed reef check, said Grant. I think its great. We see a lot of bottom time and a lot of spots that they dont see. I think sharing our knowledge can help everything. Since Ive been in contact with Tristin and Reef Check over the last year Ive really been forwarding knowledge from what I see out deep just because a lot of the scientific divers arent going deeper than 60 feet [Grant and his father often go to 80 or 90 feet, the only place left they can find red urchin] so everything weve seen in the last three years diving deep is really part of the unknown.

The Downies wont be the only divers involved in Reef Checks restoration efforts. Other commercial divers will head into Noyo Bay and the deeper waters of Caspar Cove to collect urchins, and volunteer recreational divers will crush the urchin in shallower areas in Caspar. By separating the cove into areas where the urchin will be crushed and left there versus plucked and removed, Reef Check can monitor the effectiveness of two different methods of urchin removal. Its like a cost benefit of each of those methods, said McHugh. Is one method more effective than the other? We simply dont know yet.

As Reef Check and other organizations are working hard to give the kelp a boost, the North Coast kelp population is showing some natural recovery as well. This year weve started to see kelp showing up in places that we havent seen it in for years, said McHugh. For example, in Portuguese Beach, another area Reef Check is monitoring in, theyve found that many of the purple urchin that were occupying the area last year are gone.

Scientists dont yet know all the factors that are helping the kelp, but McHugh says cold ocean temperatures are likely playing a role. From 2013 to about January 2019, the Blob, a large mass of warm water in the Pacific, was sitting right off the North Coast. But as the year turned, the blob dissipated in this area. My divers and I have been finding 46-degree water, which is a nice temperature that kelp likes to grow in, said McHugh.

Everyone involved in kelp restoration has their own reason for caring about the hardy, brown algae. McHugh believes kelp is foundational to our very existence on this planet. Kelp is part of the reason why we breathe. Carbon buffering, nutrient transport, water transport, larval dispersal of fish all over the place. There are such deep ties to why this resource is so foundational to our very existence. At the time that missions came and colonized this area, that regard for the ocean became completely lost and so Weve been living in this moment where we have shown relative disregard for what the kelp ecosystem actually is and what it means to us. We need to tune into why were here to begin with. Do you love seeing whales migrate? Do you love seeing your favorite birds on the beach? Do you love seeing the harbor seals play? That is all here because of the kelp.

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Purple urchin has overrun kelp forests, commercial divers and conservationists have have joined forces to restore the North Coasts marine ecosystem -...

BBT is the first and most competitive game ecosystem – GameDev.net

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Published August 12, 2020

Blockchain technology is truly transforming the entire financial industry, and many market watchers even believe it could completely replace existing payment, transaction and banking infrastructure. Blockchain and finance seem to be a perfect match, but the nascent force has an equally powerful impact in other areas -- gaming, for example. Blockchain does have the potential to change the rules of the game market. For investors, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that should not be missed or missed.

Over the past few years, the gaming industry has been the focal point of many innovations -- virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI). However, the contribution and development space of blockchain is unique, which is expected to bring higher transparency and trust to the game industry.

Investors, of course, don't want to be on the sidelines of this trend. They want to catch the blockchain game. For them, the technology has disruptive potential and real economic benefits. So they decided to put their money where their mouth is and make this new technology a real breakthrough for the gaming industry.

BBT is a dedicated to creating history's first ecological, the most competitive games through the block development and decentralized chain technology, BBT will use the hot e-sports industry nowadays, brand-new good for billions of game players in the world of gaming experience, and further promote the nourish the e-sports industry, form a healthy cycle of sustainable development.

In BBT, game players only need to play at the address on the chain, which ensures the privacy of each player to the greatest extent, which is a huge advantage that no other traditional game platform can compare with. At the same time, BBT promises "three at any time", players can exchange, trade and withdraw at any time, which will greatly guarantee the security of players' game assets.

Transparent operation mechanism and limited distribution system ensure the healthy operation of BBT to the greatest extent. In the face of the growing market demand, the platform will regularly destroy a certain number of BBT and make use of the untamable feature of blockchain technology to ensure that it will not depreciate due to the increase in the number of players. BBT will only have room for continuous appreciation, with no possibility of depreciation.

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BBT is the first and most competitive game ecosystem - GameDev.net

Four Altcoins Could Break Out As Ethereum-Based Ecosystem Goes Parabolic, According to Messari Researcher – The Daily Hodl

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Messari researcher Ryan Watkins is shining the spotlight on four small-cap crypto assets in the Ethereum ecosystem.

In a series of tweets, Watkins says the coins could be part of a new decentralized finance (DeFi) paradigm that breaks out alongside the second-largest blockchain.

As Ethereum faces challenges scaling and interest in DeFi goes parabolic, there hasnt been a better time for a parallel DeFi ecosystem to break out.

Watkins says Terra (LUNA) generates the highest transaction fees after Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Messari researcher highlights the fact that Terra is on track to print $3.8 billion in annualized transaction volume, allowing the coin to pocket $26 million in transaction fees. Watkins says from a fundamental standpoint, Luna is a potential big winner.

If LUNA were to be valued like its peers by year-end, it would imply as much as a $3.53 price 10x > current.

Watkins is also looking at decentralized lending platform Kava (KAVA). According to the researcher, Kava employs an interesting monetary policy as the platform burns Kava when interest on loans is paid, which combats the inflation that comes with rewarding Kava liquidity providers and stakers. In addition, Watkins points out that Kava has lofty goals including interoperability with the Cosmos ecosystem and the introduction of more synthetic assets.

The next coin on Watkinss list is decentralized oracle network Band Protocol (BAND), which integrates the world of blockchain to off-chain events and data. According to the researcher, oracle coins like Band Protocol and ChainLink (LINK) have been on a hot streak this year. Watkins says the large gap between BANDs current valuation and LINKs value may indicate that the token has more upside potential.

Lastly, Watkins says RUNE (THORChain) is worth mentioning due to its clever token economic design, which keeps a significant portion of the coin out of circulation.

The relationship between validators and [liquidity providers] means the value of RUNE staked and bonded on the network must be at least three times the value of external assets held in liquidity pools (since each pool is 50% RUNE).

He also explains that RUNE acts as the base pair for all the assets supported by the decentralized liquidity network. In addition, RUNE is used as collateral to control the movement of assets in the liquidity pools.

To cap off his long thread, Watkins cautions that upside potential is never a guarantee even though these coins are relatively inexpensive compared to their peers.

Its important to remember that lower relative valuations do not necessarily imply undervaluation, and there are many valid reasons why these projects are valued below their Ethereum counterparts.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong

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Four Altcoins Could Break Out As Ethereum-Based Ecosystem Goes Parabolic, According to Messari Researcher - The Daily Hodl

Seizing Independence in the Silver State: Top Producer Andy Ferguson Launches RIA Proquility Private Wealth Partners in Las Vegas – Business Wire

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading wealth advisor Andy Ferguson today announced that he and his team have partnered with Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions and Dynasty Financial Partners to form an independent wealth management firm called Proquility Private Wealth Partners. Based in Las Vegas, Proquility Private Wealth Partners advises families across the United States.

Prior to founding Proquility Private Wealth Partners, he served as Managing Director-Investments for Merrill Lynch in Las Vegas. Mr. Ferguson and his team previously managed $360 million in client assets.

Andy Ferguson, CFP ,ChFC, CIMA is the founder and CEO of Proquility Private Wealth Partners. Previously, he was a Managing Director, Senior Financial Advisor at Ferguson & Associates, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He worked for Merrill Lynch for 37 years, joining the firm in 1983.

Also joining Proquility Private Wealth Partners from Merrill Lynch is Patty Yeager, MBA, AWMA -- Wealth Management Advisor at Proquility. In addition, Proquility has hired Trevor Hooton as a Client Experience Director.

With Proquility Private Wealth Partners, we will continue to have a deep commitment to the families we work with and we look forward to offering a more flexible, client-focused solution, said Mr. Ferguson. I spent years researching and investigating the best options and firmly believe that we can best serve our clients as an independent advisory firm that is able to tap into the best capabilities in the industry.

Andy and his team are a well-established financial advisory team in Las Vegas with deep ties to the community and they are well-positioned for growth. We expect them to flourish in the independent space, said Shirl Penney, CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners. We are thrilled to welcome Proquility Private Wealth Partners to the Dynasty Network!

According to Mr. Ferguson, The name Proquility is derived from a combination of the words professional and tranquility weve always aspired to deliver our professional expertise with a relaxed, even-tempered approach to provide peace of mind to our clients, particularly during volatile financial markets.

Andy Ferguson Bio

Andy Ferguson is the founder of Proquility Private Wealth Partners, a fully independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based in Las Vegas, Nevada and serving clients throughout the United States.

He founded Proquility to provide individualized attention and customized planning and investment services for select clients in need of multigenerational financial advice, education, and guidance. The RIA serves 56 high net worth client families and their philanthropic foundations throughout the United States.

With more than 37 years of experience in financial and estate planning at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Ferguson is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) as well as a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). His Bachelor of Science in Finance is from the University of Arizona, and he received his Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Andy has served as Chairperson of the Merrill Lynch Advisory Council to Management (ACTM), advising the senior management of the company on issues affecting clients worldwide. He also served as an industry arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) between 1994 and 2006. Since 2015 he has been included on the Barrons Top 1,200 Financial Advisors list on an annual basis. In 2018, 2019, and 2020 he was named to the Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list.

Andy has been a Las Vegas resident for over 30 years and has maintained an active role in the community. He is past President of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas Foundation and has served on the advisory committee for the Marty Hennessy Junior Tennis Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the UNLV Planned Giving Advisors Council and the University of Arizona Presidents Club.

He balances his time between Las Vegas and Naples, Florida.

About Proquility Private Wealth Partners

Proquility Private Wealth Partners is a registered independent advisory firm dedicated to working with successful clients and their multigenerational families, who wish to better control their financial matters through smart and effective planning. Based in Las Vegas, the Proquility team serves a select group of clients throughout the country, with a particular emphasis on truly getting to know each client and their family.

The custodian for the firms clients assets is Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions. Proquility is part of the Dynasty Financial Partners network, one of the industrys pre-eminent advisor platforms. Proquility also actively collaborates with each clients other trusted advisors, such as attorneys, accountants and tax advisors, to ensure the delivery of a unified, time-efficient client experience.

For more information, please visit http://www.proquility.com.

About Dynasty Financial Partners

Dynasty Financial Partners is known for assisting advisors of integrity to better service their clients, run their businesses more profitably, grow faster, and enhance the enterprise value of their firms. Dynasty does this by providing wealth management and technology platforms for select independent financial advisory firms. Dynasty creates access to valuable resources and industry-leading capabilities through an open architecture platform, enabling advisors to address their clients needs and to protect and grow their wealth. Dynasty supports independent advisors and their teams in being independent, but not alone, by creating exclusive community events and experiences. Dynasty also offers access to flexible capital solutions to help advisors expand, scale, and grow their business. Dynastys core principle is objectivity without compromise, and the firm is committed to developing solutions that allow investment advisors to act as true fiduciaries to their clients.

For more information, please visit http://www.dynastyfinancialpartners.com.

Also visit Dynasty on social media:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynasty-financial-partners Twitter: @DynastyFP YouTube: http://bit.ly/1MKXhC8

*Source: Barron's "Top 1,200 Financial Advisors" list, March 11, 2019. For more information about the selection criteria, go to http://details-he.re/1u7KVH. Barron's is a trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. These rankings and ratings are not representative nor indicative of any one client's experience, future performance, or investment outcome and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor.*Source: Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Advisors" list, February 2018. For more information about the selection criteria, go to http://details-he.re/UbRCGT. Forbes is a trademark of Forbes Media LLC. All rights reserved. These rankings and ratings are not representative nor indicative of any one client's experience, future performance, or investment outcome.

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Seizing Independence in the Silver State: Top Producer Andy Ferguson Launches RIA Proquility Private Wealth Partners in Las Vegas - Business Wire

How some good feedback and an erroneous report helped Xavier Tillman pick the NBA over MSU – MLive.com

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Xavier Tillman spent much of the summer flip-flopping in his decision between keeping his name in the 2020 NBA Draft and withdrawing to returning to Michigan State for his senior year.

What ultimately helped cement his choice, of all things, was an erroneous report about his decision.

Two weeks before the deadline to withdraw from the draft, ESPNs Dick Vitale tweeted that word is Xavier Tillman will return to MSU basketball.

Tillmans phone rang later that day. An NBA executive on the other end of the line asking why Tillman was withdrawing without calling teams first to tell them, as they had requested.

In truth, Tillman hadnt decided to withdraw. And the conversation that day helped convince him not to.

That kind of gave me a lot of confidence, like This team is willing to stick their neck out for me if I put my name in the draft and keep it in the draft, Tillman said.

Eighteen days later, Tillman announced that he would remain in the 2020 NBA Draft and forgo his final year of eligibility at Michigan State.

Reflecting on the decision on a Wednesday call with reporters, Tillman said that while part of him wanted to return to school and make another run at a national championship, he also saw an uncertain season for college basketball amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a chance to get drafted and help provide financial independence for his young family. Tillman has a wife and two children under 4.

Its bittersweet for sure, Tillman said of leaving Michigan State. Thats a place that really helped me change and develop into a man, into really who I am today.

That phone call wasnt the only reason Tillman picked the NBA over Michigan State.

Tillman had hoped to spend the spring and summer raising his draft stock through workouts and the draft combine, by proving himself against higher-ranked players. But even without any workouts, Tillman said he saw his draft stock rise from the time he declared for the draft in March to when he made his final decision just days before the Aug. 3 deadline.

Back in April, Tillman received his initial feedback from the NBAs Undergraduate Advisory Committee. Seventeen percent of the executives polled thought hed be undrafted, Tillman said. The rest saw him in the second round, with the majority pegging him in the back half of the round.

After conducting interviews with around 20 teams throughout the summer, Tillman received some updated feedback. In the second round of feedback, only 10 percent of the league thought he would go undrafted. The rest of his grades skewed more toward the beginning of the second round than the end of it.

He combined that with feedback Tom Izzo received from his NBA contacts and came to a conclusion.

It was like OK, Ive got a really, really good chance of getting drafted, Tillman said.

The decision means that Michigan State will be losing the services of the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and its second-leading scorer from 2019-20 and will have to plug a young, inexperienced player into its center spot.

Its a development Tillman admitted may have looked unlikely when he first arrived on campus as a 276-pound freshman.

Physically, I came in as a chubby 18-year-old where people were like Yeah, hes going to have a great four-year career, hes going to be the definition of Spartan basketball, Tillman said. Then coach Izzo turned me into a monster.

Michigan State will be without that monster now, but Tillman said he thinks Michigan State can still stay on top of the Big Ten without him.

I cant wait, I think the whole dynamic of the team is going to be different, but I think if the whole group can engulf it, well see the same type of winning Michigan State organization, Tillman said.

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How some good feedback and an erroneous report helped Xavier Tillman pick the NBA over MSU - MLive.com

COVID-19 has revealed this trait in retired Americans – MarketWatch

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Driven by social, health and demographic shifts and accelerated by COVID-19, the future of retirement is now taking into account a more holistic approach to well-being that goes beyond financial independence.

Amid the painful truth that older individuals are more vulnerable to COVID-19s health impact, a new research study from Edward Jones and Age Wave that coincided with the pandemic unveiled older generations resilience during these uncertain times and how theyre redefining retirement. Simply put, retirement means far more than the end of work. A majority of U.S. retirees feel they have embarked on a whole new chapter in life, one filled with new choices, freedoms and challenges. Finances matter in retirement, but so does maintaining ones health, spending time with family and having a larger purpose.

Retirement today is a holistic process, which means it includes, but goes beyond the question of: Will there be enough money left to pay the bills?

Read: Are you ready for your second act? How would you feel if nothing changed for five years?

The ripple effect generated by the pandemic has brought many issues into sharp relief as people of all ages have had to wrestle with a series of challenges including mental health.

Despite COVID-19s grave health risk, older adults in the U.S. are coping far better than younger ones during the pandemic. According to the study, 37% of respondents from Gen Z and 27% of millennials, and 25% of members of Generation X have suffered mental declines during the pandemic compared with only 15% of baby boomers and 8% of the silent generation. Older Americans recognize the value of a long-term view, and their life experiences have fostered the strength and confidence to see that we can weather the current storm, rather than submit to the constant barrage of negative headlines.

Read: Health care will cost you this much in retirement and probably even more

Based on survey responses and Census Bureau population estimates, nearly 68 million Americans say the pandemic has altered their retirement timing, and 20 million stopped making retirement savings contributions. While this is understandable, as many people have lost their jobs and others may fear they could be laid off, the skipped payments remains a concern. If we know anything about retirement savings it is that making steady contributions is critical to reaching your goal regardless of amount.

Read: Yes, you may still be able to retire one day

Those already in retirement have felt the impact in other ways. According to calculations from survey findings and Census Bureau population estimates, about 24 million Americans have provided financial support to adult children during the pandemic. That generosity is admirable, but may also be worrisome. More than 70% of U.S. retirees said they are willing to offer financial support to family members even if it jeopardizes their own financial future.

The behavior demonstrates clearly that many of the elements of retirement in this case, family and finances often overlap. People want to help their families, but they also dont want to be a burden. If the pandemic has had a silver lining, it is this: families have drawn closer together, even though they have been forced apart physically. Some have used the time to have difficult, but important conversations around topics like planning and saving for unexpected disruptions. That said, almost half of Americans (45%) said they have yet to engage in an even more difficult conversation: the one about end of life preferences.

Read: Boomers are doing retirement their own way

Finances and health also blend together. Respondents said their top worry is not a recession but the cost of health care and long-term care. People approaching retirement share that concern. More than two-thirds of those who plan to stop working in the next 10 years said they did not know how they would pay for those two key expenses. Although Americans work hard to provide for their families and invest in their future, many do not have adequate protection if something unexpected occurs.

Lifes goals, dreams and aspirations can be put at risk without warning, so an important component of a financial strategy is preparing for the unexpected.

Read: How much more will you get if you delay Social Security until age 70?

Given all the stresses the pandemic has triggered, financial professionals can help ensure youre on track to achieve both your short- and long-term goals. Those conversations will be useful to those already retired as well as those saving for it. Some of the questions on the table might be: How can I make up ground for the retirement payments I missed during the pandemic? How can I help my children without straining my own finances? And is it too soon to start thinking and saving for long-term care?

But as the research makes clear, the discussions should go beyond just dollars and cents. Retirement is a multifaceted process. Having enough to enjoy retirement is paramount, but family, purpose and health matter as well. Separating them into distinct buckets doesnt make sense because they are all integral to getting you to that ideal retirement, where you have the security and freedom to live life the way you want. Retirement isnt a stopping point. It is the next step in the journey, however you define it.

Note: All data is from a new study by Edward Jones and Age Wave, a research firm specializing in understanding the effects of an aging population on the marketplace, the workplace and our lives, called The Four Pillars of the New Retirement, which was released in August of this year.

Ken Cella is a principal in the client strategies group at Edward Jones.

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COVID-19 has revealed this trait in retired Americans - MarketWatch

An additional $4 million announced today for more than 80 municipalities and Tribal governments across the state – WAGM

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

AUGUSTA The Mills Administration announced today that it has approved an additional $4 million in awards to more than 80 municipalities and Tribal governments across the state under a second round of Keep Maine Healthy funding to support local COVID-19 public health, education, and prevention efforts.

The announcement follows the award in late June of the first round of funding to municipalities under the Keep Maine Healthy Plan, with approximately $9 million awarded to nearly 100 municipalities. Today, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) approved COVID-19 Prevention and Protection Plans submitted by 82 municipalities and Tribal governments and began notifying municipalities of their awards. Approximately half of the awards will go to municipalities and Tribal governments that are new applicants, while the others will benefit returning municipalities.

In total, this Keep Maine Healthy funding will benefit 132 municipalities and two Tribal governments --representing about 1 million people, or 75 percent of the States year-round population, along with summer and fall visitors.

The awards are supported by Coronavirus Relief Funds from the CARES Act and are distributed on a reimbursement basis as communities implement these programs.

The progress our state has made thus far in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 is in part a testament to the hard work communities have done on the front lines to keep Maine healthy, said Governor Mills. While I am proud of that progress, we cannot let our guard down. With these additional grants, our Administration will continue to support municipalities as they work to educate the public on the dangers of COVID-19, implement and encourage compliance with public health and safety guidelines, and protect all Maine people and visitors.

We thank Maines cities, towns and Tribal governments for their partnership in protecting Maine people and visitors against the spread of COVID-19, said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. This funding has supported their innovative responses on the front lines of this pandemic and will continue to bolster this critical work into the fall.

This initiative incentivizes municipalities and Tribal governments to develop and implement their own COVID-19 prevention, education and protection plans by reimbursing municipal costs associated with public health education and prevention activities. These plans aim to help keep Maine people and visitors safe from COVID-19 by including one or more of the following:

The Mills Administration worked closely with the Maine Municipal Association and the Mayors Coalition on the creation of the municipal awards program.

The Maine Municipal Association is pleased again to learn that 82 cities and towns will receive $4 million in grants to protect their citizens and visitors health under Governor Mills second round of the Keep Maine Healthy program for COVID-19 expenses, said Stephen Gove, Executive Director, Maine Municipal Association. The program represents a welcomed partnership between the state and municipalities during our summer and fall tourism seasons. The grants recognize the important role municipalities play in public health protection and education during the current public health emergency. "

The municipal programs vary in size and scope. For example:

Sanford proposes to support a regional partnership among the City, York County Community Action Corporation, and the Sanford-Springvale YMCA to assist medically underserved populations in the area. The City plans to launch a public education campaign, hire two park safety ambassadors to provide education at the Holdsworth Public Park in Springvale, and open and fund 10 virtual learning sites to provide educational programming for elementary school children in aftercare settings.

The City of Sanford is Keeping Maine Healthy and helping protect the area economy and its people in partnership with the York County Community Action Corporation and the surrounding towns of Acton, Alfred, North Berwick, Lebanon, Shapleigh, and Waterboro and their community libraries, said Ian Houseal, Director of Community Development, City of Sanford. The Health Educator Surge Teams goal is to flexibly support and nudge the public and businesses carrying on with business, enjoying recreational activities, going back to work, returning to school and keeping on with daily life and supporting those experiencing social isolation, and helping maintain health and financial independence during the pandemic during this summer and fall.

Bethel proposes a Keep Healthy, Keep Open campaign featuring illustrations of a Masked Moose character on signage and other educational material and a live costumed character who will visit schools and businesses and engage locals and visitors to convey the importance of COVID-19 prevention. The Masked Moose will distribute kits to approximately 100 businesses containing branded, reusable masks for employees, disposable masks to distribute to customers, signage, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies.

In developing our Keep Healthy, Keep Open Masked Moose Campaign, our team recognized that those living in and visiting Bethel are here for a wide variety of reasons and are grateful we remain largely open due to the existing efforts of our community, said Loretta Powers, Bethel Town Manager. We are appreciative to be awarded the funds to deliver a serious message in a fun way. Team members Brent Bachelder, Amy Halsted, Sara Hemeon, Jessie Perkins and I believe the distribution of targeted messaging through an illustrated and live moose brand will be memorable. There is always a lot of buzz about seeing a moose.

Auburn will focus public education efforts on New Mainers through door-to-door visits to distribute educational materials that will include testing site locations and other information to help address health concerns. The City will also distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) materials including face coverings and supplies during visits with New Mainers.

Im both pleased and reassured to hear that our community will receive this vital funding, said Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque. Thank you to the Mills Administration for taking action to support and empower the resiliency and recovery efforts of Maine municipalities and for recognizing the innovative measures Auburn municipal staff is taking, led by City Manager Phil Crowell, to serve this community. Their forward-thinking efforts will keep our local businesses open, and our residents healthy and safe.

The Penobscot Nation plans to prepare COVID-19 educational materials for distribution at their annual Health Fair, which will be modified this year to a drive-through style configuration to promote physical distancing. Community Care Kits including masks, sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, and other respiratory illness supportive supplies will be handed out to community members. A health screening station will be set up for residents and guests at the entrance to the Penobscot Reservation.

The Penobscot Nation appreciates this opportunity to receive Keep Maine Healthy funding from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said Candy Henderly, Director of the Penobscot Nation Health Department. The health and wellbeing of our Tribal members are paramount, and this funding provides a pathway to increase health literacy surrounding COVID-19. We look forward to the health promotion and disease prevention activities that this funding makes possible for both our Public Safety and Public Health departments.

These local actions will be an extension of the Maine CDCs work to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As part of Keep Maine Healthy, the Maine CDC is overseeing this initiative. Costs associated with approved public health education and prevention activities from August 1 through October 31, 2020 will be reimbursed.

These awards from the Mills Administration build on its support for municipal governments. In June, the Mills Administration also announced that it is dedicating $35 million in Coronavirus Relief Funding to help local and Tribal governments and other qualified entities cover costs incurred as a result of COVID-19.

The awards come at a time when Maine, adjusted for population, ranks 3rd lowest in the nation in terms of positive cases; 8th lowest in the nation in terms of deaths; 3rd lowest in terms of patients ever-hospitalized out of the 36 states reporting; and 4th highest in the percentage of people who have recovered out of the 45 states reporting.

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An additional $4 million announced today for more than 80 municipalities and Tribal governments across the state - WAGM

Navigating Financial Help When Leaving an Abusive Relationship – Legal Reader

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

It may be hard to leave a violent relationship if youre financially dependent on the other person. Heres our guide on how you can do it.

Domestic violence is a prevalent problem. While not all domestic violence happens to women, they are disproportionately affected by it.

One in four women aged 18 and older in the U.S. has been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner. Nearly half of all women nationwide have experienced psychological aggression by their spouse or significant other. Yet due to victim stigmatization and social tendency to avoid the topic, this problem doesnt get talked about enough and neither do the solutions.

A woman living in a cycle of violence may feel invisible and trapped. Leaving an abusive relationship might not seem like an option. She might be scared of what will happen if she leaves or worried about taking her kids with her. Or, she might still have feelings for her abuser.

Additionally, she might think its impossible to leave because shes financially dependent on him.

We want every woman in an abusive relationship to know theres help and getting out is possible.

These fears are valid, but it doesnt mean theres no hope. We want every woman in an abusive relationship to know theres help, and that getting out is possible. Read on to learn about tools you can use to get to financial freedom.

How financial abuse traps women in violent relationships

According to the Center for Financial Security, financial abuse is common among domestic violence survivors. One study cited found that 99% of domestic violence survivors reported experiencing economic abuse. Its not a surprising number: financial control is a major lever for an abuser that gives them all the more power over the victim.

Financial abuse is controlling a victims ability to earn, use or maintain money. While many kinds of abuse go unnoticed by those around a battered person, financial abuse may be even harder to recognize even for the victim herself. Its such a covert control tactic, many women who find themselves in these situations might not realize whats happening.

To exert financial control, an abuser may limit their partners ability to earn income. But there are more silent weapons in the batterers arsenal.

For instance, they might insist they handle all money matters and exclude their partner from any financial decisions. Further, the abused partner can be denied access to bank accounts or have to account for every penny spent. While withholding money, the abuser may give their partner an allowance, which is often barely enough to cover their basic needs.

Its such a covert control tactic, many women who find themselves in these situations might not realize whats happening.

On the other side of the economic abuse spectrum is a different kind of financial abuser.This type can refuse to work, feeling entitled to their partners money, run large amounts of debt ruining the victims credit or even steal their identity.

Stripped of financial independence, a woman in a violent relationship can feel as if she cant escape it. She may be facing a lot of uncertainty, including realistic fears of homelessness. Fortunately, there are resources available to help domestic violence survivors get away and stay safe while gaining financial stability.

Domestic violence in times of crisis

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, domestic violence has escalated all over the world.

According to UN Women, as the pandemic deepens economic and social stress coupled with social distancing measures, gender-based violence is increasing exponentially. There have been surges in reported cases of upwards of 25% in countries with reporting systems in place, and its likely that this number only reflects the worst cases.

Women are forced to lockdown at home with their abusers while many services to support survivors are disrupted or made inaccessible. The pandemic is also making violence against women more complex: Abusers use exposure to COVID-19 to threaten their partners, exploit their inability to call for help or escape and can even go as far as to throw them out on the street with nowhere to go if the virus symptoms emerge.

COVID-19 has created a petri dish for already abusive relationships to grow worse, and for dysfunctional ones to mutate to dangerous, says Maura Mitchell, former president of the Board of Domestic Violence Solutions of Santa Barbara, California. The pandemic also makes it more difficult for victims to escape.

But, there is a way out. Despite the isolation brought on by COVID-19, there is hope and help, even during these difficult times.

This article has been re-published, in part, with permission from the author. We ask that you please finish reading it here, particularly if you or someone you know is experiencing such abuse. Dont give up. Dont lose hope.

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Navigating Financial Help When Leaving an Abusive Relationship - Legal Reader

BankMobile to transition from bank to tech company after Customers spinoff – Banking Dive

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

BankMobile's planned $140 million acquisition by investment firm Megalith Financial Acquisition Corp. (MFAC) will transition the digital startup into a full-fledged technology company and better position it to pursue new bank partnerships, BankMobile CEO Luvleen Sidhu said.

"We can really operate as an independent entity with our own management, our own board, and really as a full service technology company with various different bank partners,"Sidhu said on the spinoff of BankMobile from Customers Bancorp. "It really sets us up to be a technology company first, rather than a bank."

Merger talks with MFAC, which will become BM Technologies upon completion of the deal, began at the end of last year, MFAC CEO A.J. Dunklau said.

"We were able to meet face-to-face for many of those meetings, before COVID impacted the world, so that was really helpful,"Dunklau said. "All investors are having to navigate the new challenges of raising capital when you're not able to introduce management face-to-face to the market."

Raymond James participated as the adviser to Customers and BankMobile in the selection process. About 150 investment firms were contacted before narrowing the selection down to MFAC, Sidhu said.

"Out of those last three to four [firms] that we had very intense discussions with in the final rounds, they came out the strongest in terms of strategic angle, as well as the price and the certainty,"Sidhu said. "Being able to partner with someone that helps accelerate our ability to be a public company with access to public currency, gives the opportunity for us to think strategically about growth opportunities that we wouldn't have otherwise."

The plan to divest from Customers Bancorp, which has incubated the fintech since 2015, has been a shared goal between the two entities for some time.

Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based Customers tried to spin off BankMobile in 2018, but that planned transaction with Flagship Community Bank in Clearwater, Florida, fell through because of regulatory complications, S&P Global reported.

With the MFAC deal, the two entities won't entirely part ways. Customers Bank will become BM Technologies' largest investor with a 46.7% stake, according to American Banker. Customers Bank will also continue to hold BM Technologies'customer deposits going forward, the companies said.

Sidhu said Customers will continue to partner with BM Technologies "on a balance sheet front"offering support wherever needed, even as BankMobile looks to diversify its partner base.

"It gives us the runway, while we still have the stability of Customers partnership, especially on the deposit side, to look for other bank partners, and that is definitely an important part of our strategy,"she said.

MobileBank's banking-as-a-service platform is already prolific among colleges and universities, serving more than 2 million account-holders at 722 campuses, the bank said.

BankMobile's additional verticals include white-label banking, where it works with nonbanks to provide financial services to their customers, as well as workplace banking, where businesses use its white-label banking model to provide financial services as a human-resources benefit.

"Financial wellness has become very important to HR departments, and to be able to provide benefits around that for their employees,"Sidhusaid of the companys workplace banking vertical. "It also helps with attracting, engaging, retaining them and helping with productivity, etc."

In addition to last week's merger news, BankMobile was announced as one of six additional financial services companies to partner with Google in the launch of co-branded bank accounts through Google Pay.

BankMobile, along with BBVA USA, BMO Harris, Coastal Community Bank, First Independence Bank, SEFCU, Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union (SFCU) are expected to launch the accounts sometime next year.

BankMobile is also the technology backbone for T-Mobiles banking app, a product that launched in 2019.

"We think that the tailwind behind growth and digital banking platforms are really substantial,"Dunklau said. "And given the existing partnerships and collaborations in place with this business, Megalith is very excited about the future of BankMobile and excited about this transaction."

The deal, which is subject to stockholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

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BankMobile to transition from bank to tech company after Customers spinoff - Banking Dive

This Tech Firm Is On A Mission To Save Independent Medical Practices – Forbes

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

It truly is the Wild West out there for independent physician practices today. Forty percent of primary care providers said they werent sure their practices would be open through August, according to The Primary Care Collaboratives survey fielded in late June. Decreasing patient volume, declining revenue, increasing technology needs, and an ever-changing policy and payment landscape are crippling them.

Pediatrician listening to child lung and heart sound

At a glance, the options for physicians seem grim. Many independent practices are scrambling to find ways to provide what their patients need with the limited resources they have, while managing the mounting challenges that Covid-19 has brought to bear. Others are considering selling to survive, as they struggle with the trade off between what is best for their patients and what is feasible from a financial and operational standpoint.

But some practices, like Piedmont Adult & Pediatric Medicine Associates in Gastonia, North Carolina, are stable even well-prepared as the pandemic ranges on.

Practice co-owner John L. Scheitler, MD, an internist and pediatrician, and his partners at Piedmont Adult & Pediatric have spent the last year intentionally and ultimately, quite serendipitously putting the right frameworks in place to be able to quickly adapt in a shifting environment. An essential element of their plan was entering into a shared savings program by joining a physician-led Accountable Care Organization (ACO); another was finding a strategic partner to help guide them through the process and provide a playbook for success.

We realized the need to be nimble and change with the times, said Scheitler, referring to the impetus of beginning work with Aledade last year. Founded in 2014 by Farzad Mostashari, MD, Aledade is a health IT company building a network of ACOs to help practices transition to value-based care and remain independent. More than 550 independent physician practices participate in Aledade ACOs.

Shared savings, competition and choice

Under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), providers in ACOs are paid in part according to how well they are able to control costs and improve patient outcomes, as opposed to a straight fee-for-service payment structure. This kind of risk-based arrangement encourages participating physician practices to work together as a network to deliver better coordinated, higher-quality care; its also designed to improve overall population health, and decrease cost of care for the industry.

Maintaining physician practice independence through value-based arrangements like ACOs is also critical from a market perspective. A recent Health Affairs study supports the finding that financial integration and consolidation has proven to have anticompetitive effects that drive up healthcare prices in the U.S.

He continued, When there is a single monopolistic provider, they can turn to whoever else theyre negotiating with and say, Pay me because Im big. Not because Im good, because I provide access to high quality care, or because I provide a good customer experience or prioritize patient safety. You will pay me more just because Im big and you have no choice.

When physicians offices are owned by a hospital group, for example, they are much more likely to refer patients to hospitals that employ those referring doctors, even when those hospitals deliver lower quality care at a higher cost. When this consolidation happens on a grand scale, competition decreases, market power shifts, and prices increase for patients and payers alike; meaning, when hospitals or health systems own the majority of physician practices in a community, private insurers are essentially held hostage from a financial standpoint, having to pay whatever prices they demand.

To help combat unnecessary spending and financially-charged referral practices to hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established the site-neutral payment policy in 2019. The policy mandates that hospitals be paid the same, lower rate as physician practices for the same services to help control unnecessary increases in the volume of hospital outpatient services, while also saving Medicare an estimated $610 million in spending.

Though the rule has been challenged, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia recently sided with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ruling that the agency had the authority to reduce payments to off-campus facilities to the same level as those received by physician practices.

Keeping the patient at the center of value-based care

For physician groups striving to remain independent, Its all about being able to decide what's best for the patient, said Mostashari. If practices are beholden to another set of agendas from an ownership perspective, the duty they owe their employer might be different from the duty they owe patients, he said, adding that this conflict often leads to burnout and moral injury for doctors.

For Scheitler, being able to prioritize whats best for the patient while also maintaining the integrity of the doctor/patient relationship were some of the driving forces behind partnering with Aledade and joining an ACO.

When his practice first started working with Aledade, Scheitler was simply hoping for it to be a good partnership. He could never have predicted that the partnership would help their practice weather the Covid-19 storm. He credits both Aledade and Blue Cross of North Carolina for his practice being stable today.

Though 56 percent of ACOs cited Covid-19 related financial strain as an obstacle that might ultimately cause them to exit the MSSP, Blue Cross of NC is leaning into its value-based arrangements, offering financial support to participating practices to help them stay open and operational for the long haul.

Blue Cross of North Carolina really stepped up as a leader and a payer, said Scheitler, reflecting on the last six to 12 months working with the organization. This is the first time that a payer or insurance company was really a partner in trying to provide support and enabling me to care for my patients.

Overcoming technology and administrative hurdles

Managing technology and making sense of the deluge of disparate data available is also an important factor in sustained practice independence, said Mostashari.

One of the biggest challenges is the wealth of information and data available, which can be difficult for an independent practice to reconcile. Managing this process is a huge lift and a huge risk for independent physician practice, he said, but a very necessary one for practices to get right.

Scheitler agrees, noting that having actionable data, as close to real time as possible, at the ready when hes with patients, has been very insightful and helpful. Theres data Ive never been able to see before [Aledades] application, that Im now seeing, adding that the technologys ability to integrate the various interfaces and data feeds into a standardized, centralized format is different than what Ive seen other technology solutions do.

From a technology standpoint, part of what makes Aledade so powerful is its platform, which makes it possible for all physicians in its network to access the tools, data and services they need to deliver connected, high-quality care. For example, through its population health management platform, which is integrated with more than 90 electronic health records (EHR) providers, physicians can identify high-risk patients and more easily coordinate care.

In terms of technology priorities, virtual care services have become a practice lifeline during Covid-19, especially as people continue to avoid or delay in-person primary care visits. Through Aledade, practices have access to a common telehealth platform, which Mostashari and his team contracted within eight days and rolled out to 150 practices over a weekend.

From a market perspective, by bringing many independent physician practices onto a single, connected platform, Aledade is also aggregating their market power and helping to bring parity in terms of how physicians can work both with health plans and their local health systems. And data shows that with this strategy, physician-led ACOs are getting results.

According to a 2019 analysis from the consulting firm Avalere, physician-led ACOs generated nearly seven times more savings for Medicare in 2018 compared to those that are led by hospitals and typically associated with higher-revenue. The analysis found that physician-led ACOs generated $180 in Medicare savings per beneficiary in 2018, where hospital and health system-led organizations generated $26 per beneficiary.

Keeping up with administrative challenges is also an ongoing challenge for independent practice leaders. Every year, the administrative burdens have gotten worse and worse, said Scheitler. The outcome is that its another layer of administrative burden that, while well-intentioned, is putting a greater and greater wedge between the patient/doctor relationship.

Accelerating value-based care during Covid-19

At the end of the day, whats most important to both Schitler and Mostashari are the patients. ACOs provide the right framework to deliver quality care and allow independent practitioners to swim with the changing tides.

We felt this framework meant we could adapt to whatever changes are coming in healthcare, in a way that we can still advocate for our patients, said Scheitler.

Will Covid-19 slow down the shift to value-based care? Mostashari says no. I think [Covid-19] will accelerate it. I think payers, employers, consumer groups, and doctors are all looking at this fee-for-service debacle right now and saying, theres a better way, and weve got to move towards it.

Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

OPINION: Seattle Independent Journalists Stand Together to Oppose SPDs Subpoena – southseattleemerald.com

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

We are independent news organizations, editors, reporters, photojournalists, and freelancers working in Seattle, and we are coming together to oppose the Seattle Police Departments subpoena seeking unpublished photographs and video taken by journalists at the Seattle Times, KIRO 7, KING 5, KOMO 4, and KCPQ 13.

This is not the Trump Administration pursuing these subpoenas. It is the Seattle Police Department, charged with serving and protecting our city. Those duties should include protecting our free press rights.

We believe that a democratic society requires a truly free press, and that the Constitution protects the rights of journalists to work independently from the power of the state. That obviously includes independence from the Seattle Police Department. Journalists cannot safely and effectively do our work if authorities can seek our unpublished notes and images as evidence. We cannot gain the trust of sources, including protest participants, if we are seen as collaborators with the police. Some of us already have been targeted with that allegation as a result of the subpoena. We cannot hold government agencies accountable if our unpublished notes and images can be scooped up and used as evidence in criminal cases.

As the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild wrote in a statement, Journalists and their work product are not the agents and tools of the police.

We disagree in the strongest possible terms, the Guild continued, referring to a June court decision largely in SPDs favor. This move by SPD and decision by Judge Nelson Lee undermines the credibility of local journalists and puts us at risk for danger.

We stand with the Guild, the news organizations fighting the subpoenas in court, and the individual journalists who may end up in an impossible position to either betray their values of journalistic integrity or face potentially serious charges.

The ongoing court case is frightening for our counterparts at these major news organizations. But it is terrifying for us, independent journalists without the financial and legal backing of a major media corporation. If SPD is successful in this case, there is no reason to think that independent journalists wont be targeted next.

As newsrooms across our city have shuttered or shrunken, independent outlets and freelancers have become more and more vital, watchdogging government and telling a wide variety of stories about life in Seattle. Unless some business model comes along to revitalize or build large local news organizations, independent journalists will only become more important in the future.

SPDs future police chief is the person who can most easily stop this case, and we urge her to do so. There is no piece of evidence that the police might discover in journalists unpublished videos, photographs, notes, or audio recordings that justifies this violation of fundamental press freedoms.

We also urge the police chief, Mayor Jenny Durkan, and the City Council to create clear policies to prevent another similar case in the future. Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda has introduced Resolution 31961, which calls on police to stop arresting and harming journalists during protests and urges the city attorney to stop supporting SPDs subpoena. Thats a good start.

But the City should also develop legally binding policies to prevent or severely restrict police subpoenas of journalists unpublished work in the future. At its most basic level, journalism is a two-part process: Gather information, then choose what to publish. Both of these steps are vital, and both have faced SPD attacks in recent months.

When the state starts threatening journalists, democracy itself is threatened, too.

Signed,

Erica C. Barnett, The C Is for Crank

Carolyn Bick, Freelancer, South Seattle Emerald

David Calder, Photojournalist

Justin Carder, Capitolhillseattle.com

Martin Duke, Seattle Transit Blog

Susan Fried, Freelance Photojournalist

Tom Fucoloro, Seattle Bike Blog

Alex Garland, Freelance Photojournalist and Reporter

Nate Gowdy, Photojournalist

Brett Hamil, Political Commentator and Cartoonist, South Seattle Emerald

Marcus Harrison Green, South Seattle Emerald

Dae Shik Kim Hawkins, Jr., Freelance Journalist

Sarah Anne Lloyd, Freelance Journalist

Ari Robin McKenna, Freelancer, South Seattle Emerald

Jessie McKenna, Freelance Writer & Content Manager, South Seattle Emerald

Renee Raketty, Writer/Photojournalist

Tracy Record & Patrick Sand, Co-Publishers of West Seattle Blog

Kevin Schofield, SCC Insight

MK Scott, Unite Seattle Magazine

Gregory Scruggs, Freelance Journalist

Joshua Trujillo, Freelance Photojournalist

Doug Trumm, The Urbanist

Elizabeth Turnbull, Freelance Reporter

Jill Hyesun Wasberg, International Examiner

Katie Wilson, Columnist at Crosscut

Marti McKenna, Freelance Author/Editor, South Seattle Emerald

Featured image by Steve Jurvetson.

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OPINION: Seattle Independent Journalists Stand Together to Oppose SPDs Subpoena - southseattleemerald.com

European Restructuring and Bankruptcy Landscape – The National Law Review

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Danzig

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

The European restructuring landscape continues to evolve with the recent introduction of a new restructuring procedure (UK Restructuring Plan) into the United Kingdoms restructuring tool kit. The UK Restructuring Plan was enacted as part of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIG Act) which became effective on 26 June 2020; it is closely based on the UK scheme of arrangement procedure (UK Scheme) which debtors in the UK and abroad have utilised to restructure their financial indebtedness for decades.

On the same day, the Dutch Senate prepared its preliminary report on the Act on the Confirmation of Private Plans (Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord) which is intended to introduce a new pre-insolvency procedure in the Netherlands for the confirmation of restructuring plans (Dutch Scheme). The Dutch Parliament approved the Dutch Scheme on 26 May 2020, so the Dutch Senates report is one of the final steps before the Dutch Scheme potentially becomes law in the Netherlands later in 2020 or in early 2021.

The Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan are the latest of a series of significant developments in European restructuring law which may provide corporate debtors and their stakeholders with an improved restructuring tool kit to address financial distress and, ultimately, to preserve value by avoiding formal insolvency procedures.

This GT Alert compares the Dutch Scheme with the UK Restructuring Plan. The two have similarities but also significant differences which will be important to consider for stakeholders of debtors that propose European financial restructurings. This is due to the broad application of both procedures in a cross-border restructuring context and the fact that neither the Dutch Scheme nor the UK Restructuring Plan is a purely domestic process confined to use by locally incorporated companies. Both procedures should be available for use by foreign companies provided that they have a sufficient connection to the Netherlands or to the UK (as applicable). In some situations, this may mean that a debtor has the option to choose between either of the two procedures to implement its financial restructuring.

The Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan reflect the current drive by lawmakers in some jurisdictions to modernise their laws to encourage the rescue of viable businesses which are financially distressed, outside of a formal insolvency procedure.1Whilst the UK had well-developed restructuring tools prior to the recent changes, these were often perceived to have limitations compared to the significant flexibility available to debtors under the Chapter 11 reorganisation procedure in the United States. In the case of the Netherlands, the Dutch Scheme is intended to fill a big gap in its restructuring tool kit, given that existing laws are rarely utilised successfully to restructure financially distressed companies. Historically, other than in fully consensual scenarios, Dutch financial restructurings have had to be undertaken in formal and public insolvency proceedings and could only be used to compromise ordinary unsecured creditors.

Both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan2have adopted certain key features of Chapter 11, with the result being that the divergence between restructuring tools available to debtors in Europe and the United States has been greatly reduced. Similarly, elements of the UK Scheme have been adopted in both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan. In particular, the implementation steps for a UK Restructuring Plan closely resemble the steps that apply to a UK Scheme; UK courts may draw heavily on existing case law on UK Schemes when considering questions in relation to the UK Restructuring Plan.

One of the most interesting developments introduced by the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan is the ability for cross-class cram-downs3, which is a key feature of Chapter 11 proceedings, but which had previously been unavailable in the UK and the Netherlands outside of formal insolvency proceedings (or, at the least, simultaneous security enforcement).4

Whilst these new developments in relation to the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan have taken place during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis and the accompanying financial downturn, both procedures were being considered long before the pandemic began. The COVID-19 crisis has, however, accelerated the enactment of the UK Restructuring Plan. Although an acceleration of the enactment of the Dutch Scheme was strongly advocated in the Netherlands due to COVID-19, several substantive amendments were submitted in the Dutch Parliament which has resulted in delays to its implementation into Dutch law.

In both the UK and the Netherlands, the COVID-19 crisis has led to other temporary emergency regulations which in the UK also includes changes to company and insolvency laws to help businesses survive in the face of a global slump in demand for goods and services.

In the Netherlands, new emergency regulations permit virtual annual general meetings and grant companies additional time to prepare annual accounts. They also temporarily limit the presumption of proof for board member liability in the event of bankruptcy when the filing of the annual accounts is delayed as a result of COVID-19. Dutch courts have also indicated that in bankruptcy cases they will take all relevant circumstances into account, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic situation.

Similarly, the UK has also introduced a temporary relaxation of company meeting and filing requirements, as well as temporary changes to 'wrongful trading' laws (thereby reducing the scope for director liability in the event of formal insolvency) and a suspension of the ability to petition for the winding-up of a company except in circumstances where the business would have been insolvent regardless of any deterioration resulting from COVID-19.

The Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan are collective decision-making procedures that can be used where contractual mechanics for majority decisions of groups of creditors or shareholders are not available to a distressed debtor or are inadequate to meet its needs. Under a Dutch Scheme or a UK Restructuring Plan, provided that the necessary majorities are obtained in the voting process and procedural formalities are complied with, the decision can be binding on all the creditors and/or shareholders who are subject to the relevant procedure. These procedures may be useful in dealing with hold-out stakeholders whose consent would otherwise be required in order to implement a fully consensual restructuring transaction.

A Dutch Scheme or a UK Restructuring Plan can be used to implement a wide variety of restructuring transactions. These range from relatively simple amend and extend transactions of bank debt or bonds (involving both secured and unsecured debt), through to more complex debt-for-equity conversions and other liability management exercises. Like a UK Scheme, both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan have a certain level of court supervision, but the management and control of the debtor remains with the directors throughout the process (unless, in the case of a UK Restructuring Plan, the debtor is already or becomes subject to formal insolvency proceedings).

This ability to restructure the financial indebtedness of a company outside of an insolvency process is useful in terms of stakeholder management. For example, customers and suppliers may be less likely to stop dealing with the company in one of these pre-insolvency procedures compared to where the debtor was in bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands or administration in the UK (subject to the operation of a ban onipso factoclauses, as discussed below).

Both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan are aimed at debtors who are in, or are approaching, a financially distressed situation.

To be eligible for the Dutch Scheme, it must reasonably be expected that the debtor will not be able to continue paying its debts as they fall due: i.e. the debtor is either insolvent or reasonably expected to become insolvent within a certain period of time, which may be as long as 12 months.

Similarly, a UK Restructuring Plan requires the debtor to have encountered, or be likely to encounter, financial difficulties that are affecting, or will or may affect, its ability to carry on business as a going concern (there is no fixed time horizon for determining that, however). The purpose of the UK Restructuring Plan must be to eliminate, reduce or prevent, or mitigate the effect of, any of those financial difficulties.

The above criteria can be contrasted with the UK Scheme, which does not require the debtor to be insolvent or otherwise in financial difficulties. A UK Scheme can therefore be used for entirely solvent as well as insolvent restructuring transactions.

Like a UK Scheme, a UK Restructuring Plan does not require the relevant debtor to have its centre of main interests located in the UK; therefore, debtors incorporated in other jurisdictions can be eligible. All that would be required is for the foreign debtor to demonstrate a sufficient connection to England. Like a UK Scheme, it is expected that this may in many cases be achieved by having English law as the governing law of the relevant debt documents (including where parties have amended the governing law of their debt documents for this purpose).

There are two versions of a Dutch Scheme available to debtors.5The first is a public Dutch Scheme, meaning that the debtor must request the clerk of the competent court (immediately after the court has taken its first decision under the Dutch Scheme) to publish certain technical information as set forth in article 24 of the Recast Insolvency Regulation. This version of the Dutch Scheme will be included in Annex A of the Recast Insolvency Regulation; this means that it is only available to debtors who have their centre of main interests in the Netherlands and provides for automatic recognition in all EU member states other than Denmark.6

The second version of the Dutch Scheme is a private Dutch Scheme, which remains confidential between the parties and court decisions are not published or registered. Whilst this version will not be included in Annex A of the Recast Insolvency Regulation (and therefore will not benefit from automatic recognition), there is no requirement that the debtors centre of main interests be located in the Netherlands and, like the UK Restructuring Plan, the debtor simply needs to demonstrate a sufficient connection to the Netherlands.7That said, a sufficient connection may not be so readily found in the case of non-Dutch companies, given that there are fewer financing arrangements governed by Dutch law. However, debtors wishing to avail themselves of the Dutch Scheme may potentially propose to change the governing law of their finance documents to Dutch law in order to generate a sufficient connection to the extent that one does not already exist.

A UK Restructuring Plan is a compromise or arrangement proposed between its creditors, or any class of them, or its members, or any class of them. Whilst it would be technically possible for a stakeholder other than the debtor itself to initiate a UK Restructuring Plan, in the case of a UK Scheme this is not typically seen in practice; as such, the same outcome may follow for the UK Restructuring Plan, not least because a UK Scheme and a UK Restructuring Plan require significant disclosure, and only the directors of the debtor will be a position to prepare the necessary explanatory statement. Furthermore, the UK courts may not sanction a UK Scheme or (it is expected) a Restructuring Plan if it has not been approved by the debtor.

However, a Dutch Scheme is set up to allow other stakeholders (in addition to the debtor) to initiate the procedure, applying the same eligibility criteria. Any creditor, shareholder or employee works council or other employee representative may request the court to appoint a restructuring expert who is then entitled to propose a plan to the exclusion of the debtor. There are exemptions for debtors which are small or medium sized enterprises, whose consent will be required before the restructuring expert may present a plan to the creditors and shareholders entitled to vote. The debtor also may request the appointment of a restructuring expert to propose the plan, should it be unable to do so. Furthermore, if a restructuring expert is appointed, the debtor may submit a plan to the restructuring expert, requesting that he/she proposes the debtors plan to the creditors and shareholders entitled to vote.

The restructuring experts role in a Dutch Scheme is to develop the restructuring plan so that it can be voted on by the debtors creditors and shareholders and submit the plan to the court for confirmation, although the directors of the debtor will continue to remain in control of the debtors business throughout the procedure. The restructuring expert can require a debtor to provide all relevant information necessary to develop the plan. If the debtor is unwilling to cooperate, the restructuring expert may request the court to force the debtor to cooperate. The restructuring expert does not have to be a licenced insolvency practitioner. He/she must be independent and may be any person with ample knowledge of (corporate) finance and insolvency law. Further he/she must have ample experience in debt restructuring. In cross-border cases this may also be an insolvency practitioner appointed in a foreign insolvency procedure.

Whilst a Dutch Scheme and a UK Restructuring Plan can be proposed in relation to all levels of a debtors capital structure in a multi-class plan, they can also be targeted at specific classes of creditors and shareholders. As with a UK Scheme, class formation for both procedures is an important first step.

In a UK Restructuring Plan, creditors are divided into classes depending on their existing contractual rights (for example, whether they are secured or unsecured) and the rights obtained as a result of the UK Restructuring Plan (for example, whether they receive debt or equity upon completion of the restructuring).

Similarly, creditors are divided into classes in a Dutch Scheme based on their existing rights in a liquidation and new rights obtained under the plan. In a Dutch Scheme, small trade creditors and tort claimants are to be placed in one or more separate classes for them to be subject to the terms of the Dutch Scheme.

Class members are then required to vote on the relevant Dutch Scheme or UK Restructuring Plan. In a UK Restructuring Plan, class meetings are convened by the UK court and are typically held as physical meetings, although during the COVID-19 crisis these meetings have been permitted to be held remotely. Voting for a Dutch Scheme can be undertaken via a physical meeting, electronic voting or postal voting, without the need for a court hearing to obtain a determination in relation to composition of classes or convening a class meeting.

The voting threshold for a successful UK Restructuring Plan is the approval of at least 75% in value of claims of members of each class which are present and vote in the relevant class meeting. There is a lower voting threshold for a Dutch Scheme, which is two-thirds in value of claims of members of each class which are present and vote at the relevant class meeting. Unlike a UK Scheme, there is no numerosity or headcount requirement for voting in either a Dutch Scheme or a UK Restructuring Plan.

In addition to the convening hearing mentioned above in relation to the UK Restructuring Plan, after a successful class meeting (or meetings), the debtor will return to the court to obtain a sanction order at a second court hearing, being the sanction hearing. Amongst other matters, the court will consider if all procedural formalities have been complied with and, notwithstanding that the various classes voted in favour of the scheme, whether the terms of the scheme are otherwise fair. The court ultimately has discretion as to whether to sanction the UK Restructuring Plan. In the case of UK Schemes, the court has avoided second-guessing the commercial decision of the voting classes in most situations. In the case of UK Restructuring Plans, though, there may be more challenges as, for the first time, cross-class cram-down8is possible, so a UK Restructuring Plan could affect the rights of an entire crammed-down class in the absence of approval from that class.

Similarly, following a successful class vote (or votes) in a Dutch Scheme, the debtor (or the restructuring expert, if appointed9) will seek a confirmation decision from the court. The court will look at whether various criteria have been satisfied in relation to the Dutch Scheme, which include procedural requirements and more substantive requirements in relation to the effect of the plan. If all classes have approved the plan by a two-thirds majority, the court will confirm the plan, provided that no dissenting creditor may receive substantially less in value, whether in cash or in non-cash consideration, than it would expect to receive in a liquidation of the debtor.

Dutch Scheme cases will be heard by a small team of specialised judges specifically trained for this purpose. Once the court makes its decision (which is expected within two weeks of the hearing), the legislation provides that there is no possibility of an appeal. Whilst harsh relative to other jurisdictions, this does at least provide some certainty of outcome to stakeholders involved in the restructuring. It is of course possible that an unhappy creditor could seek to challenge the absence of an appeal process itself as a breach of applicable human rights.10

The majority voting described above binds class memberswithinclasses and reflects what has previously been achievable in a UK Scheme. As mentioned above, one of the benefits of both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan is the ability of one approving class of stakeholders to bindotherclasses. This is known as a cram-down in the event a senior ranking class binds a junior ranking class to the terms of the relevant plan.Given the significance of this change in law, there are key protections for dissenting classes which are crammed-down in both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan as follows:

The relevant alternative in the UK Restructuring Plan is whatever the court considers would be most likely to occur in relation to the debtor if the plan was not sanctioned (for example, this could be a liquidation of the debtor or a sale of the debtors business as a going concern in an administration, amongst other possible scenarios). Similarly, for the court to be able to provide its confirmation of a Dutch Scheme, it will need to be demonstrated that dissenting creditors will not receive substantially less in value, whether in cash or in non-cash consideration, than they would expect to receive in a liquidation of the debtor.

Therefore, analysis will be required in relation to a cram-down under:

Such analysis will also be required to determine whether the approving creditors are truly in-the-money (in the case of the Dutch Scheme) or have a genuine economic interest in the relevant alternative (in the case of the UK Restructuring Plan).

Whilst a debtor may consider that this assessment is obvious in particular cases, if experience of debtors launching UK Schemes is used as guidance, valuation evidence provided by professional advisers (and, potentially, market testing of value by way of a sale process) will be useful from an evidentiary perspective in both procedures. Valuation disputes may arise if a dissenting creditor or class of creditors disputes the valuation methodology adopted by the debtor for this purpose, potentially causing delays and additional costs for the debtor proposing the plan.

Cross-Class Cram-Up?

Under the Dutch Scheme, it not possible for lower ranking creditors to cram-down higher ranking creditors without their consent (i.e., a cram-up), where the distribution of value under the plan deviates from the ranking that would have applied in a bankruptcy, unless there are reasonable grounds for such deviation, and the interests of such higher ranking creditors are not prejudiced by it. However, the court can only deny a request for confirmation on this basis if the request is from a creditor in a class that rejected the plan, and the creditor itself also voted against the plan.

A cram-up procedure is technically possible under a UK Restructuring Plan, provided that the protections for dissenting classes referred to above in the section on cross-class cram-down are maintained.

There are various practical difficulties in achieving a cram-up of senior creditors, including for example that they often control the security enforcement process and could simply enforce security if they did not agree to the terms of the plan. Similarly, senior creditors may object to being forced to re-invest their exposure in a new capital structure given that in the relevant alternative (in the case of a UK Restructuring Plan) they may have received a cash payment for the full or a substantial amount of their debt. These and similar issues may be raised in the future in the event a junior class seeks to use a UK Restructuring Plan or a Dutch Scheme to cram up a senior class.

Debtors launching a Dutch Scheme or a UK Restructuring Plan (or, following the CIG Act, a UK Scheme) will have the option of supporting the implementation of the relevant procedure via the use of a moratorium against the commencement of insolvency proceedings, security enforcement and commencement of other legal proceedings.

The UK moratorium under the CIG Act (UK Moratorium) will be helpful for debtors seeking a stable platform to restructure their obligations using a UK Restructuring Plan (or a UK Scheme). The UK Moratorium also provides for payment holidays of certain pre-moratorium debts during the moratorium period, but there are significant exceptions to the types of creditors which will be subject to the payment holiday, including certain financial creditors such as lenders of bank debt.

Whilst the Dutch Scheme has a more comprehensive moratorium protection available, there are protections for creditors rights. Creditors may submit a request to the court to grant them permission to enforce their rights against assets belonging to the debtors estate or require the repossession of assets from the debtor during the moratorium, but the debtor and (if appointed) the restructuring expert will have the opportunity to challenge such request.

The CIG Act also introduces a ban on the use ofipso factoclauses in supplier contracts which prevent suppliers from terminating contracts solely because the counterparty becomes subject to an insolvency procedure or a restructuring procedure (including the UK Restructuring Plan). Again, whilst there are a number of significant carve-outs to this ban, it is useful in creating some stability for a debtor seeking to use a UK Restructuring Plan to restructure its debts.

A Dutch Scheme will also prevent the operation ofipso factoclauses. Under the Dutch Scheme, the preparation and proposal of a plan, the appointment of a restructuring expert, and events and acts that are directly related and reasonably required for the implementation of the plan do not constitute grounds for amending commitments or obligations to the debtor, for suspending performance of an obligation to the debtor, or for terminating an agreement concluded with the debtor. In the event a moratorium has been granted, a default by the debtor prior to the moratorium will not constitute a ground during the moratorium for amending commitments or obligations to the debtor, for suspending performance of an obligation to the debtor or for terminating an agreement concluded with the debtor. In the case of performance of new obligations that arise during the moratorium, the debtor may need to provide security to the counterparty to obtain the benefit of the ban onipso factoclauses.

Rescue financing

Whilst the reforms in the UK and the Netherlands did not include a mechanic for super-senior rescue financing similar to that available to debtors under a Chapter 11 procedure, the Dutch Scheme does provide additional protection against fraudulent conveyance challenges (i.e., claw-back) for new secured financing arrangements entered into connection with the implementation of the plan (including loans and delivery of goods against credit).

Such arrangements will first need to be approved by the Dutch Court, which is required to grant approval if (i) the arrangement is necessary for the continuation of the debtors business during the preparation of a plan and (ii) it could reasonably be assumed at the time approval is granted that the arrangement would be in the interests of the general body of creditors and would not materially prejudice the interests of any individual creditors.

The Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan are significant additions to the restructuring tool kits of the Netherlands and the UK. The new procedures provide debtors and their stakeholders with more options to address financial distress and encourage rescue of viable companies. They can be used for companies needing temporary breathing space to allow more time to repay indebtedness, as well as for wholesale changes to a companys capital structure. Importantly, the ability of hold-out creditors to disrupt a company's restructuring exercise has been greatly reduced by the cram-down features in both the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan.

Whilst both procedures require a certain level of court involvement which typically adds cost and delays to the implementation process, it also demonstrates a level of oversight in the process which will give comfort to stakeholders that their rights are being respected. Hopefully this will lead to more certainty in terms of outcome given that challenges should be minimised (and indeed the Dutch Scheme does not permit appeals in any event).

Whilst there may be situations whereby a debtor has an option to choose between either the Dutch Scheme or a UK Restructuring Plan, only one of the procedures may be appropriate. In particular, where the relevant indebtedness being restructured is governed by English law and the debtor requires its restructuring to be enforceable in the UK, as a matter of English law the debtor will potentially be unable to compromise or restructure that debt other than by using an English procedure like a UK Scheme or a UK Restructuring Plan (unless the creditors have submitted to the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts).13

Whilst both procedures are new and involve significant complexities which may provide grounds for disputes between creditors (for example, in relation to valuation), there is no reason to suggest that the courts and practitioners in both jurisdictions will not quickly address these complexities and embrace the new restructuring tools provided to them in order to provide even more certainty of outcome to debtors and their stakeholders in European restructuring transactions.

1In particular, the European Restructuring Directive (EU 2019/1023) on preventative restructuring frameworks seeks to harmonise certain (but not all) aspects of member states insolvency laws with a key focus on measures which prevent formal insolvency.

2The UK Restructuring Plan is complemented by other reforms introduced by the CIG Act, including a moratorium preventing certain creditor actions and a ban onipso factoclauses.

3A cross-class cram-down is the ability of the vote of one approving class of stakeholders to bind other classes please see the section below entitled 'Cross-class cram-down'.

4It is possible to cram-down dissenting classes of creditors and shareholders using a pre-pack administration sale or, subject to some limitations in terms of international recognition, other security enforcement in the UK. Whilst pre-pack bankruptcy sales have been undertaken in the past in the Netherlands, their use has been suspended pending clarification from the Dutch Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice.

5The Dutch Scheme is not available to banks and insurance companies, or any companies which have proposed a previous Dutch Scheme which was rejected in the prior three years.

6As is the case with the UK Scheme, international recognition of the private version of the Dutch Scheme and the UK Restructuring Plan is less straightforward, but applicants may point to recognition on other grounds, for example on the basis of private international law and/or the UNICITRAL Model Law in relation to those countries that have adopted it.

7A sufficient connection to the Netherlands will be demonstrated if the debtor has substantial assets or business activities in the Netherlands, or if a substantial part of the debtors group companies are domiciled in the Netherlands, or if a substantial part of the debtors obligations to be amended under the Dutch Scheme are governed by Dutch law or include a submission to the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts. Another ground for jurisdiction is if the applicant or one of the interested parties specified in the originating document for the Dutch Scheme has its domicile or habitual residence in the Netherlands. The question is whether a creditor or shareholder entitled to vote would qualify as an interested party within the meaning of this provision, but if so, the Dutch court could claim jurisdiction if one or more creditors or shareholders entitled to vote have their domicile or habitual residence in the Netherlands.

8Please see the section below entitled Cross-class cram-down.

9There are exemptions for SME debtors, whose consent will be required before the restructuring expert may submit a restructuring plan to the court for confirmation. The court can, however, overrule the debtor if it withholds such consent without good reason.

10The explanatory report on the Dutch Scheme provides the rationale behind the no-appeal provision, i.e., that it is justified because the restructuring plan is proposed in a distress situation that may lead to bankruptcy. To be able to prevent the debtor from being declared bankrupt, the plan must be implemented quickly after confirmation. This not only requires quick decision-making by the court but also that this decision is final. This does not mean, however, that in the public version of the Dutch Scheme stakeholders cannot appeal the decision by the court that it has international jurisdiction on the basis of the Insolvency Regulation. Furthermore, the court may, of its own accord or upon request of the debtor or any other interested party, request the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) to rule on preliminary questions regarding the correct application of the provisions of the Dutch Scheme.

11Secured creditors include those creditors with a right of pledge or a right of mortgage. It does not include trade creditors with retention of title claims.

12There is a cash-out option for unsecured creditors and trade creditors who have retained title to goods or who have financed through a sale and lease back construction, for example. The no cash-out option is solely limited to creditors who have been granted a right of pledge or mortgage.

13Notwithstanding the U.K.s departure from the EU pursuant to Brexit, the UK remains subject to the Recast Insolvency Regulation until 31 December 2020, pursuant to the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement entered into between the UK and the EU. If the UK is still required to automatically recognise European insolvency proceedings under reciprocal arrangements reflecting the Recast Insolvency Regulation (which may possibly be put in place following the UKs exit from the EU on 31 December 2020), the public version of the Dutch Scheme should be able to be used to compromise English law governed debt. Whilst any continued application of the Recast Insolvency Regulation may require reciprocity such that UK insolvency procedures will be recognised throughout the EU, UK Schemes are not considered under the Recast Insolvency Regulation to qualify as a relevant procedure such that the effects of UK Schemes have never been recognised under that regulation. However, the rationale for the exclusion of UK Schemes from that Regulation should, arguably, not apply so readily in the case of the UK Restructuring Plan, given the entry requirement of actual or likely financial difficulties. In this regard, the UK Restructuring Plan would more closely conform to the types of procedures already covered by the Recast Insolvency Regulation; therefore, there is potential scope for it to obtain recognition automatically throughout the EU in the case of companies with their COMI in the UK. However, there is no certainty as to what (if any) reciprocal arrangements will be put in place in respect of the Recast Insolvency Regulation following 31 December 2020.

See the original post here:

European Restructuring and Bankruptcy Landscape - The National Law Review

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