Daily Archives: November 5, 2019

BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions and 3stepIT announce that their joint venture "BNP Paribas 3 Step IT" started trading in October.

This new entity offers a complete and more sustainable way to manage technology lifecycles. It delivers a service based on circular economy principles; a service that anticipates the needs of companies looking for more flexible and sustainable "product as a service"2 financing solutions.

BNP Paribas 3 Step IT combines the strengths, expertise and geographical cover of the European leasing leader, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, and the Finnish specialist in IT life cycle management (management, refurbishment in own logistics centres and re-marketing), 3stepIT, to take the latters successful approach out of its Nordic stronghold and deliver it across Europe.

BNP Paribas 3 Step IT provides a complete service to companies to help them manage technology investments (mainly smartphones, tablets, PCs and laptops). The service adds value at all points in the lifecycle. It helps: Analyse their needs to develop a lifecycle planProvide the funding to select and acquire the planned equipmentMonitor and manage equipment in use: where it is, who pays, how much it costs, when to replace it, as well as automating many routine IT administration tasksReturn equipment at the end of the contract, for secure data destruction followed by refurbishing for resale, when the value recovered helps reduce rental costs

In practice, this approach helps clients improve their IT service level, with up to date equipment; and provide IT devices at a lower overall cost. It also helps run IT in a more sustainable way, because the devices are refurbished, rather than dumped.

We refurbish 97% of returned devices for re-use, with less than 3% being recycled. Our focus on sustainability also confers sustainability on our clients own use of IT. Extending the life of equipment displaces the manufacture of new product and spreads the manufacturing carbon footprint across two users. Including manufacture, transport and power costs in the calculation, this reduces the carbon footprint by 36%. Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream on the planet, and the source of 70% of landfill toxic waste. Re-use reduces clients e-waste contribution by around 48%.

Sustainability is a growing factor in IT planning. While 15% of organisations say it is a consideration today, a further 67% say they intend to integrate sustainability into their IT plans within the next two years3. A circular economy lifecycle approach, that delivers product life extension for over 97% of returned devices, will interest these organisations.

"Since we announced this joint venture, many international companies have wanted to learn more. The lifecycle management service meets their business needs, and aligns with their values in terms of responsibility. Becoming more sustainable is increasingly a competitive differentiator, and a consideration for clients, partners and investors. As well as serving clients broader needs, this alliance is in perfect sync with the BNP Paribas Group strategy to support circular economy initiatives," said Charlotte Dennery, CEO of BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions.

"We are delighted to take our solution across Europe. BNP Paribas 3 Step IT will offer a more sustainable approach to using technology, on a large international scale - a breakthrough for a circular economy business model, and a response to our customers demands for a global service, said Carmen Ene, CEO of 3stepIT.

1. European countries covered by the alliance:Joint venture: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.Commercial partnership: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden.

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BNP Paribas and 3stepIT commence tech leasing joint venture - Finextra

The provinces economic forecast is looking promising for 2020, but outside the oil industry all is not rosy.

Thats according to APECs Economic Forecast for the Atlantic region, released yesterday.

Newfoundland and Labradors real GDP is expected to rebound by 2.7 per cent in 2019, led by stronger oil production and mining. For 2020, APEC is forecasting 2.4 per cent real GDP growth, as oil production is expected to increase by 9 per cent.

Capital investment meanwhile is expected to improve by 16 per cent in 2019. the first growth since 2015, with a further 4 per cent advance in 2020.

Despite growth in the oil industry, the rest of the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to struggle. Employment is up 1.4 per cent over the first nine months of the year, but has fallen by 8,000 since peaking.

Outmigration continues to be an issue, weakening the local labour force. The population fell by over 8,000 people since it peaked in late 2016.

Retail sales are down nearly 2 per cent in the first seven months of the year, while the housing market is also suffering from outmigration according to APEC. The sale price of existing homes is down by 4 per cent in the first nine months of 2019.

9 per cent growth in oil production will be somewhat muted as Terra Nova production is scheduled to be offline for six to seven months in 2020 as its drilling vessel undergoes an asset life extension. APEC is also expecting employment to drop slightly in 2020 as work on Muskrat Falls winds down.

Here is the original post:

Economic Forecast Up Thanks to Oil, But All Other Areas Struggling - VOCM

Dr. David Feinberg, the head of Google Health Reuters

Over the past year, Google has gotten deeper into healthcare, hiring Dr. David Feinberg to head up the Google Health division.

Feinberg's team is now responsible for coordinating health initiatives across Google, ranging from the company's search engine and map products, to its Android smartphone operating system, to more futuristic offerings in areas like artificial intelligence.

In his speech at a conferencein October, Feinberg said that one of his first main goals for the team will be to oversee how health-related searches come up, and work to improve that with the Google Search team.

Read more: We just got our first look at what Google's grand plans are for healthcare after it brought in a top doctor to lead its health team

Google Health is just one aspect of parent company Alphabet's healthcare strategy. Within Google, Google Cloud is working to ink cloud contracts with healthcare systems.Mayo Clinic in September signed Google as its cloud and AI partner.

There's also Verily, the life sciences arm of Alphabet, as well as Calico, its life-extension spinoff. Verily has its hands in projects spanning robotics to blood-sugar-tracking devices to work on addiction treatment. The company has also made investments in healthcare through its venture funds GV and Capital G as well as through Alphabet itself.

On Friday, Google reached a $2.1 billion deal to acquire Fitbit. The brand, best known for its fitness watches, also has a big business selling a health platform that combines coaching and fitness tracking to employers and health plans.

Beyond working with existing products, Feinberg's oversight includes the health team at Google AI, hardware components, and DeepMind Health. Both Google AI and DeepMind have pursued projects that analyze medical images like eye scans and scans of breast cancer cells, with the hope of aiding medical professionals in diagnosing and treating patients.

See the article here:

Health strategies of Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft - Business Insider

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the world leader incryonics,cryonicsresearch, andcryonics technology.Cryonicsis the practice of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve a human body with the intent of restoring good health when thetechnologybecomes available to do.

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Greatest Demand of Cryonics Technology Market 2019 Predictable to Witness Sustainable Evolution Over 2024 Including Leading Vendors- Praxair,...

AN APPLICATION has been lodged with Lismore City Council to enable a quarry to continue to operate for another 25 years.

The Riverbank Rd basalt rock quarry is owned and operated by Michael Santin of Santin Quarry Products.

The quarry -- which produces crushed road base, gravel and aggregate -- operates on a permanent basis, Monday to Saturday.

Town planner Malcolm Scott, who lodged the DA modification with the council on behalf of Mr Santin, explained in the documents that his client wanted to continue the operation of the approved quarry for another 25 years.

If approved, the quarry could continue to operate until May 2045.

A development application has been lodged with Lismore City Council to expand the life of Santin Quarry on Riverbank Rd, Lismore. Contributed

The DA modification does not seek to change the approved annual extraction rate, but Mr Scott's report explains the resource "is not exhausted and "Mr Santin intends (to) make a DA in due course to laterally expand the quarry beyond its current approved limits.

"The rock extracted and processed is solid columnar basalt, Mr Scott's report to the council explains.

"There is one other columnar basalt quarry in the Northern Rivers region and none in the Lismore City Council local government area.

The rock material is extracted by blasting, then collected by an excavator or front end loader before being crushed, screened and stockpiled into different and requested products.

It is then loaded onto trucks for transport.

A development application has been lodged with Lismore City Council to expand the life of Santin Quarry on Riverbank Rd, Lismore. Contributed

"The continued operation of the quarry is justifiable as it will produce extractive materials from a proven resource that is not available in the Lismore local government area and Northern Rivers region and which is very important for the building and construction industries and local, regional, state and national infrastructure projects, the report states.

"The quarry is close to Lismore and centrally located in the Northern Rivers region, minimising transport costs, emission of greenhouse gases and also financially contribute to LCC's road maintenance program.

A development application has been lodged with Lismore City Council to expand the life of Santin Quarry on Riverbank Rd, Lismore. Contributed

"The continued operation of the quarry makes a substantial contribution to local employment opportunities and contributes directly and indirectly to the local economy.

The application to extend the life of the quarry is on public exhibition until November 13.

For more information, visit http://www.lismore.nsw.gov.au.

Read the rest here:

25-year extension sought for operation of Lismore quarry - Northern Star

Ready or not, another automotive brand will hit the already crowded market in February 2020. That brand is Polestara joint venture between Volvo and its parent company, Chinese automaker Geelyand its first product is, naturally enough, the 2021 Polestar 1. Unlike the way that Mercedes-AMG models generally are hotted-up Mercedes-Benzes, Polestar models will not be modified Volvos. They will be unique vehicles, though they will share parts, platforms, and architectures with their corporate siblings. (Polestar has its own headquarters located in Volvo City in Gothenburg, Sweden.)

HIGHS: Elegant styling, solid performance, best electric range of any PHEV.

As a high-end 2+2 grand tourer with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, think of the Polestar 1 as a Swedish take on a BMW 8-series coupe. You'll be able to buy one through Polestar dealers, which will be primarily sales showrooms located in affluent city centers or shopping malls. Each Polestar store will be owned by an existing Volvo dealer, though only a minority of Volvo outlets will get one. Maintenance and service will be handled at these associated Volvo shops, though Polestar owners won't see this, as the cars will be picked up and returned to them at their convenience.

The 1 is built on a shortened version of Volvo's highly flexible SPA platform, which undergirds its XC90, S90, and V90 models. To produce a more closely coupled coupe, 7.9 inches were cut between the wheels of the short-wheelbase S90 and about seven inches were chopped off the rear overhang. The result is only 180.5 inches long, though it is 3.1 inches wider than an S90 and a significant 3.9 inches shorter, thanks to the sloping roofline, which has the perfect profile of a teardrop sliced in half.

The 1 exhibits a lovely, understated elegance that avoids the more pronounced flamboyance that has infected the German Luxury brands.

The bodywork is all carbon fiber, except for the bumpers in order to reduce weight and achieve sharper character lines than what can be drawn in steel. Those carbon-fiber body panels are said to be 500 pounds lighter than steel ones would have been. They're also likely cheaper, as too few 1s will be built to justify the expense of metal stamping dies. Only 500 examples will be built per year and only for three years. A mere 150 of them will make it to the United States per annum.

Though Polestar describes itself as the "technology spearhead" for the Geely/Volvo group, it also could be the styling icon, as the 1 exhibits a lovely, understated elegance that avoids the more pronounced flamboyance that has infected the German luxury brands. Inside, you'll find switchgear and the tablet-like Sensus infotainment system that is familiar from current Volvos. You'll have to wait for Polestar's second model, the four-door 2, to get its trick Android-based infotainment system. However, the upholstery, carbon-fiber accents, and metallic trim that completely encircle the cockpit delivers a richness to the experience.

LOWS: Compact interior packaging, synthetic driving feel, lofty price tag.

Unfortunately, while the front seating area is comfortable and generous, rear occupants are not so lucky. Between the lack of legroom and the plunging roofline, the second row is about as roomy as the back seat of a Porsche 911. That lack of volume extends to the trunk, which at four cubic feet, also is roughly 911-sized. Part of the blame for this tightness devolves onto the Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, who is a designer and thus programmed to sacrifice practicality for style. Fellow designer Henrik Fisker's Karma model suffered similar problems, with BMW 3-series levels of interior space in a car with a 7-series footprint. But the Polestar 1's 180.5-inch length doesn't helpit's five inches shorter than a current 3-series sedan. The 1's plug-in powertrain bears the rest of the blame.

Though a PHEV configuration provides the best of both electric and internal-combustion powerplants, the two powertrains take up more space than a single one. Up front sits a supercharged and turbocharged version of Volvo's 2.0-liter inline-four coupled to a 71-hp integrated starter-generator and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Under the trunk floor is a pair of 114-hp electric motors, one for each rear wheel.

What's more, Polestar wanted the 1 to have more range than any other PHEV, so the engineers crammed 34 kWh of the latest LG Chem lithium-ion pouch cells into the car. That's almost twice the energy capacity of a Chevrolet Volt, and it should be enough for at least 60 miles of pure electric range. (EPA figures have yet to be certified.) But since this platform was not designed for underfloor battery storage, those cells fill the broad central tunnel in the cabin and also take up space behind the rear seat, hence the truncated trunk.

This layout makes for an interesting powertrain that provides pure front-wheel drive when only the gas engine is running, pure rear-wheel drive on electric power alone, and all-wheel drive with various degrees of front-to-rear torque split in hybrid and max-power modes. The separate rear motors, however, do provide torque vectoring flexibility.

That arrangement pays off in the tight corners of our drive route on the undulating hillside roads between Silicon Valley and the Pacific Ocean, where the Polestar 1 demonstrates an agility and lack of understeer completely unexpected in a heavy and substantially sized vehicle. In fact, the 1 does quite well when pushed on fast, twisty roads. The constantly varying torque split is unnoticeable, the 21-inch Pirelli P Zero summer tires provide plenty of grip, the big Akebono-sourced brakes deftly dissipate speed, and the car is easy to precisely position, even on narrow two-lanes.

With a combined peak output of 619 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, you'd expect the 1 to be quick, but the car does weigh roughly 5200 pounds, so Polestar only is claiming a modest zero-to-60-time of 4.2 seconds. That's hardly slow, but far from the sub three-second times posted by quicker electric cars, such as the Tesla Model S and the Porsche Taycan (although we have yet to confirm the Taycan's acceleration for ourselves). We predict the 1's sprint to 60 mph will take 3.9 seconds; it feels every bit that quick and it does provide the instant throttle response we've come to expect from electrified powertrains.

Electric power can take you all the way to 100 mph before the motors are disengaged to prevent overheating.

We could do with a more natural feel from the Polestar's steering, which has a strong sense of self-centering that comes off as synthetic. And while its brake pedal is admirably firm, it can be touchy, especially when the B position is selected on the shifter to maximize regenerative braking. It will take more than a few hours in the driver's seat to thoroughly explore all of the driving modesHybrid, Pure Electric, AWD, Performance, and Individualbut Performance works best for serious motoring because the eight-speed transmission connected to the gas engine selects gears to keep the engine on boil and to minimize downshifts.

In Hybrid mode, on the other hand, the gas engine frequently turns on and off, and when you depress the accelerator the car tries to meet your need for more thrust by adding power to the electric motors, which is fine until they're maxed out and the gas engine fires to life with a noticeable bump. Running in pure electric mode cuts the available power roughly in half, but that's still plenty to keep up with normal traffic. Electric power can take you all the way to 100 mph before the motors are disengaged to prevent overheating.

While the Pirelli tires deliver good grip, their low, 30-series sidewalls make for a firm ride that not even the hlins dampers can dispel. There's also a fair bit of road noise that is likely tire related and perhaps not entirely appropriate for a GT car intended for long-distance travel. By the way, those hlins dampers are adjustable but only via knobs attached to their housings, so you'll need to pop the hood and jack up the rear end to fine-tune the suspension to your liking. Somehow, we don't see many owners bothering with it.

There are a few other odd touches to the Polestar 1, such as the lack of power adjustment for both the steering column position and the seat cushion's thigh extension. The glass top allows a huge amount of light to come through, but there is no meansmechanical or electricto shade it. The sun visors sit in recesses in the headliner and can't fold forward to lie flat on the windshield, nor can they swivel to cover the side windows.

These are perhaps the hallmarks of a concept car brought to life and only intended for a brief production run. And these cars will cost dearly, with a sticker price of $156,500 fully loaded. Your only options will be the selection of interior trim, wheel finish, and one of five exterior colors, each available in glossy or matte finishes, with the latter costing an additional $5000.

It's hard to say that the Polestar 1 is a great car at a great price. There are plenty of excellent luxury coupes on the market at the Polestar's entry point, plus or minus $50K. What this car offers are its high-tech PHEV powertrain, genuine elegance, and the certainty that you won't see them dotting city streets, not even in New York or Los Angeles. And if you hold onto your 1 long enough, we imagine you'll surely be invited to display it at Pebble Beach one day.

VEHICLE TYPEfront-engine, all-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger 2-door coupe

BASE PRICE$156,500

POWERTRAINTurbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 326 hp, 321 lb-ft; 3 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors, front: 71 hp, 119 lb-ft; rear (combined): 232 hp, 354 lb-ft; combined output, 619 hp, 738 lb-ft; 34.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack

TRANSMISSION8-speed automatic

DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 107.9 in Length: 180.5 in Width: 77.1 inHeight: 53.2 in Passenger volume: 72 cu ftTrunk volume: 4 cu ftCurb weight (C/D est): 5200 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)60 mph: 3.9 sec100 mph: 11.7 secStanding -mile: 12.7 sec Top speed: 155 mph

EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/DEST)Combined gasoline+electricity: 105 MPGeEV range: 60 miles

Read more here:

2021 Polestar 1 Is a Plug-In Hybrid Concept Car Brought to Life - Car and Driver