Monthly Archives: March 2020

BRADFORD'S Safestyle UK cut its pre-tax losses by almost 80 per cent in 2019 as the second phase of its turnaround plan took hold.

But the PVCu windows and doors firm has warned that despite a strong start for 2020, the coronavirus outbreak is creating uncertainty in the industry and analysts believe this could delay the company's final phase of accelerated growth.

A three-phase turnaround plan was implemented after the company made a 16.3m loss before tax in 2018, as revenue fell by more than 40m.

The latest full year results show a 3.8m loss before tax, a change of 12.5m, and an increase in revenue of 8.4 per cent, taking the Manningham headquartered company's revenue to 126.2m.

The firm said it had "restored to profitability in the middle of the year with strong progress made on phase two of the turnaround plan", resulting in improvements in revenues and gross margin alongside reduced overheads.

It added that the year end order book had increased by 24 per cent above 2018's position, down to an "accelerated order intake" in November and December.

In addition the volume of frames installed in 2019 increased by 3.3 per cent to 190,252 and the average unit sales price was up by 5.0 per cent.

Furthermore the company's market share increased to 8.5 per cent, up from 7.8 per cent in 2018.

CEO Mike Gallacher said: The results for 2019 announced today show good progress in our turnaround plan. The business has started strongly in 2020 but is now facing into the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are responding rapidly with the twin aims of protecting our people and customers, while providing the best service possible through the crisis. Our contingency planning was conducted early and our responses are being executed with huge support from our staff and agents.

"Our results show that during 2019 the business restored profitability and closed the year with a healthy order book and having laid strong foundations for continued performance improvement and sustainable growth. Our intent remains to build the business for the long-term benefit of shareholders with our trusted value brand whilst consolidating our position as the UKs No 1 choice for Windows and Doors.

In terms of outlook, the firm said while it has had a strong start to 2020, the coronavirus pandemic is "creating significant uncertainty" in the economy.

The businesses has responded to the situation rapidly, it said, and is able to deal with any short-term adverse impact. But in order to preserve cash, a 3m marketing investment has now been deferred.

"The Board is now focused on the wellbeing of staff, protecting the business and providing the best service possible in the current context," it added.

"Notwithstanding these concerns, the directors confirm that, after due consideration, they have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and have continued to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements."

Read the rest here:

Good progress on turnaround for Safestyle, as losses reduce by 12.5m - Bradford Telegraph and Argus

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) is planning to contest at least seven SMCs and eight GRCs in the next election after a party meeting was held last night (18 March)

An earlier report by the Straits Times quoted Mr Leong Mun Wai, PSPs assistant secretary-general, saying that the party has identified 44 candidates, with another 13 in reserve, and is seeking to make its presence felt on its first electoral outing.

We intend to field a sizeable contingent, but of course, the final outcome will depend on discussions with all the other parties. We are mindful that we are the newest party, so we seek the cooperation of all the other parties to come to an amicable arrangement, said Mr Leong.

PSPs planned 15 constituencies:

Mr Leong confirms with TOC on what was reported by Straits Times but noted that it is not 100% confirmed if Dr Tan Cheng Bock, the partys founding Secretary-General, will be contesting in the West Coast GRC in the upcoming election as Dr Tan will still have to make his decision based on the residents support and reaction.

Dr Tan, who was a former Peoples Action Party, Member of Parliament and Central Executive Committee (CEC) member, had won and defended the former Ayer Rajah SMC for 26 years before it was absorbed into West Coast GRC.

Back in GE2015, all wards were contested by political parties with no walkovers.

The only party that is not affected by PSPs plan is the Singapore Democratic Alliance headed by Mr Desmond Lim which contested Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

This means that PSP will have to convince the parties which had contested in the GE2015 to give way or risk a three-corner fight with the incumbent party and the other opposition party.

Mr Leong said to TOC that the party will try its best to avoid any three-corner fights with other opposition parties and will speak with the parties and work with them to achieve the common objective.

On 13 March, the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its report on the revised electoral map. This led to speculation on the ground that the next general election (GE) will be called very soon. At the latest, it has to be held by 15 April 2021.

Historically, the GE is usually held about two months after the EBRC report is released. Thats what happened in the last three elections in 2015, 2011, and 2006. In 2001, the report was released on 17 October 2001 and elections were held less than a month later on 2 November 2001.

Another indication that the GE might be held in May is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongs Facebook post on Saturday (14 March) in which he said that the GE can only be called after the electoral registers have been updated, which can take up to a month. Only after that can parliament be dissolved followed by the issuance of the writ of election.

PM Lee also wrote:

We have two choices. Either hope and pray that things will stabilise before the end of the term so that we can hold elections under more normal circumstances but we have no certainty of that.

Or else call elections early, knowing that we are going into a hurricane, to elect a new government with a fresh mandate and a full term ahead of it, which can work with Singaporeans on the critical tasks at hand

Given the COVID-19 situation, concerns have been raised about holding elections at this time given that the campaign period usually involved large rallies and group activities.

When asked about this, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said at a Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) press conference on Sunday (15 March) that in terms of organising events, such as election rallies, organisers must take guidance from the advisories we have put out, or adjust their event formats in line with the advisories, in order to ensure that they are safe.

If the prime minister decides (to hold an election), given the prevailing guidance on events, advisories and social distancing, then Im sure (Event) organisers will have to make adjustments accordingly, he explained.

Mr Wong also said that some flexibility will be given to the crowd limit for events. For example, if the event is held at large venues where people are given enough space to keep a distance with each other, then that event can have a bigger audience.

Later on Wednesday (18 March), Mr Wong said in an interview with CNBCs Squawk Box Asia that the elections will very likely happen while in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. He explained that a number of medical experts have revealed that the virus may not go away any time soon, meaning that the worlds fight against the deadly novel coronavirus could drag on for a year and beyond a year.

So, whatever the timing of the election, because it has to be held by April 2021, it is very likely that it will have to be held when COVID-19 is still circulating in our midstthats the reality, said the Minister, who is also Singapores second finance minister and co-chairs a multi-ministry task force to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in Singapore.

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Progress Singapore Party sets its eyes on 15 constituency wards in upcoming General Election - The Online Citizen

The GSA is the agency that is setting the pace for other federal agencies and departments when it comes to application rationalization, and IT leaders there have some advice for their peers to follow.

One of the main things I get people to concentrate on is not doing low-hanging fruit, Stephen Naumann, senior adviser and data center practitioner with the GSAs Office of Government-Wide Policy, said during a panel in December hosted by ACT-IAC and the IBM Center for the Business of Government, according to Nextgov. Thats too easy. Youre just moving something from one place to another. And really annoying the technicians when you do that if youre not getting the bang for the buck.

When agency IT teams are deploying new technologies, they are often advised to go for quick wins to demonstrate to agency leaders the value of the transition. However, Naumann advised against agencies doing so when it comes to application rationalization. Instead, as Nextgov notes, he said that IT teams should focus on pain points and the apps that everyone has a problem with.

MORE FROM FEDTECH: Follow the 5 Rs of rationalization for an effective cloud migration.

Every organization has something in their enterprise thats a problem child. Every Monday morning after a change weekend, somethings gone wrong or youve had a major outage, he said. Look at a problem child and then concentrate on that. If you go through the application rationalization process and you make their lives significantly better whoever the users are for whatever that problem is youve changed the culture, youve gotten buy-in on that.

GSA is rationalizing its apps at a 9:1 ratio, CIO David Shive said in January at Clouderas 2020 Data Cloud Summit, and the agency will continue to invest in IT. For example, Shive said, GSA consolidated its customer relationship management system apps from about 1,800 down to 200, according to FedScoop.

GSA can use the money it saves to focus on other higher-value digitization efforts, Shive said. The agency cut costs by 17.8 percent in 2019, with 53 percent of workloads and spend in the cloud managed by just 30 percent of its infrastructure stack, FedScoop reports.

Meanwhile, the other 70 percent of agency infrastructure has been repurposed for work like cybersecurity and enterprise planning, Shive said, according to FedScoop.

Read the original:

Are Agencies Making Progress on Application Rationalization? - FedTech Magazine

I write about the Cubs. Thats what I left the lawyer life to do, its what I always wanted to do, and I routinely feel like the luckiest guy in the world that I get to do what I want to do.

Right now, like so many other people, I cant quite do what I want to do in precisely the way I want to. On the one hand, its like, give me a break, Brett. Theres a lot more at stake right now than you not quite doing precisely what you want to do. Mostly I do still feel that. Im not a psychopath. But on the other hand, it does sting a little when Ive settled in to do the Bullets over the past week, and its almost entirely been a medical/national news set of stories grafted onto baseball. Its not quite precisely what Im here for, and I know its not quite what youre here for either.

We will adjust and evolve, but I realize now that, realistically, this is our new world for a while so there probably arent going to be so many sets of Bullets that provide an entirely Coronavirus-free experience. Im just going to accept that in the short-term, and include it where appropriate or necessary. Fortunately, a lot of other posts are still going to be humming along that are just baseball. Well, and also some that are wholly baseball-connected Coronavirus items. Dang this is such a weird time

See the rest here:

The Challenge of Working Out, Weber's Fantastic Throw and Progress, Minor League Needs, and Other Cubs Bullets - bleachernation.com

We will try to keep an up-to-date list of current closings, cancellations and operations hour changes for Paulding County business and organizations.We will try to update the list as frequent as possible, but please keep in mind that we are human and open to errors. If you have something you would like to submit, please e-mail progress@progressnewspaper.org or call our office at 419-399-4015. Thank you.

EVENTS

Antwerp Local Schools: Newsies has been postponed until April 24, 25, and 26. The Good News Club, Hoops for Heart and Spring Book Fair have been cancelled. Kindergarten screening has been postponed; the date is to be determined.Ball Associations for Antwerp, Grover Hill, Oakwood and Payne have delayed all practices and all events until April 6.The Chocolate Extravaganza hosted by the Oakwood library scheduled for March 25 has been cancelled.Defiance and Paulding County Consolidated Job and Family Services cancelled that Foster Parent Pre-Service Training Sessions for March 27, 28 and 29.Haviland Village cancelled the Easter Egg Hunt.The Health, Business and Industry Fair scheduled for March 25 has been rescheduled for May 8.The Kenny Eagleson Benefit scheduled for March 21 has been postponed to July 11.Lifewise Academys Information Night at Wayne Trace High School on March 16 has been cancelled.Paulding Chamber of Commerces Success in the 60s series scheduled for March 24 is postponing the event; the date is to be determined.Paulding Church of the Nazarene has cancelled the Apron Show.Paulding Presbyterian Church has cancelled all Lenten Lunches.Paulding Exempted Village Schools have postponed the Second Annual Relay for Life Bingo Night. The date is to be determined. Paulding Village Easter Egg Hunt has been postponed until further notice.

Payne Village Easter Egg Hunt has been canceled.

FOOD SERVICEPAULDINGSusies Bakery - Carryout only. Call and place you order and they will have it ready. 6 a.m. - noon Past Time Cafe - Carryout only. Menu is available on Facebook.Five Span Inn - Closed until further notice.Pancake House - Delivery from 11-2, 4-6:30. Carryout available. Monday 7-3, Tuesday-Saturday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sunday, 7 - 3K of C - All fish fries are cancelled for the rest of the year.Fiesta Habaneros - Take out and delivery only. Open at 11 a.m. but hours may vary.McDonalds - drive-thru only.Subway - Carryout only.Dairy Queen - drive-thru only.Red Angel Use drive-thru window to pick up all orders.

PAYNEGood Times Saloon - Carryout only. Orders will be brought to your car. Open only in the evenings.Blueberry Pancake House 2 - carryout available.Puckerbrush Limited menu, no hour changes.

ANTWERPPapa Oleys Pizzaria - Carryout only and some deliveries.Oasis Bar and Grill - Carryout from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Delivery within five miles of Antwerp.Antwerp Alleys - Carryout still available from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Call to order.Genesis House- Open for take-out only.

OAKWOODOakleaf - Carryout available and some local delivery.

BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS

The Paulding County Courthouse will be closed to the general public. Court cases will still be conducted but with only plaintiff, defendant, counsel and witnesses will be permitted to enter. Sheriff's sales will continue as planned for right now. Please call or e-mail the department needed for more information.Paulding Putnam Electric: Office and drive-thru closed indefinitely. Disconnects are suspended.

Defiance/Paulding Consolidated Job and Family Services will be closing each of their agencys buildings to the public. All Dollar General Stores will close at 9 p.m. The first hour of business (8-9 a.m.) is reserved for elderly shoppers only.

WMEA has canceled the recycling pick up in Payne scheduled for 3/21/2020. The next pick up is scheduled for 04/18/2020.

Williamson Insurance will only be doing business via phone or electronically. The staff will be in the office, but the doors will remained locked.

The OSU Extension office in Paulding is closing the offices effective today. The staff is dedicated to serving the county and will continue to work remotely and will be available via email and phone. The decision is in accordance with the decision of The Ohio State University's decision to close all campuses. All Extension-planned activities from now through April 20 are now postponed, scheduled to be held virtually, or canceled. Please contact your local extension contact for information if you have not already been contacted. The Extension office staff appreciates your cooperation and collaboration related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). They sincerely appreciate your flexibility and support during these unprecedented times. For questions please call 419-399-8225 or please visit extension.su.edu/lao for office phone numbers and a direct link to each office's website and staff directory. If you reach a voicemail please leave a message with your name and contact information and you will be contacted as soon as possible.

Read more here:

Current changes to local businesses and organizations - The Paulding County Progress

AMHERST Next week, Walt Bell was supposed to get back in front of his players again and continue his methodical plan to building UMass football.

Next Tuesday was going to be the first spring practice for the Minutemen, the first of 15 opportunities to grow and mature as a program after a tumultuous first year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the school to cancel those practices among the hundreds of other sporting events affected by the outbreak. While the games will return and most of the UMass programs should be able to recover from the missed time, the football programs progression was stunted.

This was going to be the first spring practice where the coaches and players were familiar with each other. It was supposed to be the launching pad to a brighter future, but instead it has caused athletics director Ryan Bamford to be concerned about how this virus will impact the football program for years to come.

Its going to effect us profoundly, Im really worried about it, Bamford said last week. If I were to look at a five-year window of a head coach coming on board for their five-year contract, the second spring (is very important). Youve already been through a full season, so second spring is arguably one of the most important time periods because everything is starting to set in.

Bell was not made available to comment by the school, but Bamford hinted that there were changes coming to the Minutemen schematically. Some of that made sense with the reshuffling of the defensive staff after co-defensive coordinator Aaazaar Abdul-Rahim left this offseason to take a job at Boston College. Other shifts were likely dictated by an inefficient offense that didnt eclipse 24 points in the final month of the season and ranked 126th out of 130 teams in yards per game.

While those changes might have to be altered with a shorter time frame for implementation, the bigger concern is how the team will be able to maintain the progress made in the weight room with strength coach Matt Shadeed. Throughout the winter, Shadeed helped make the Minutemen bigger, faster and stronger while continuing to set the culture within the program. Now the younger players are faced with a month or more without supervision from Shadeed or the same resources that UMass is able to provide in terms of meals and facilities.

We were going to do a lot of from a strategic football standpoint we were going to change a lot of things, Bamford said. Now, not having the opportunity to do that and not having our guys potentially with Matt Shadeed for a month or two, weve been doing a great job of keeping body weights up and keeping our kids healthy and strong. Now, you go home and yeah, do I think kids will work out? Sure, but I dont know what gyms are going to be open and theyre not going to be fed like we feed them here. I worry about that. Walt worries about that.

UMass is not alone in having spring practice cut short by the pandemic. Bamford said he believes and hopes the NCAA will adjust the rules to allow coaches to work with the players over the summer to account for the lost practice time. If that ends up being the case, he said those sessions will be vital to helping the program continue to build toward the future and realizing the goals Bell has set out for the Minutemen.

Whenever we get the opportunity to get them back on campus and get them supported from a fueling standpoint and a strength and conditioning standpoint ... If were able to have practice opportunities some point in the summer and I dont know if we will or wont have those opportunities those are going to be really, really crucial to our development, Bamford said. Unfortunately within the life span of this program right now and Walt being here just over a year, this was such an important period of time. Well do the best with what weve got.

HOCKEY AWARD SEASON UMass junior forward John Leonard won the Hockey East Three Stars Award, given to the player who earned the most points over the course of the season by being named among a games three stars. The Amherst native is the first Minuteman to win the award since it was first presented after the 2000-01 season.

Leonard led the nation with 27 goals and tied for the lead with six game-winners, and he was one of three players nationally with multiple hat tricks this season. The winger was at his best in the third period as well, leading the country in goals (16), points (21) and game-winning goals (4) in the final 20 minutes.

Freshman defenseman Zac Jones was named to the Hockey East all-rookie team after leading freshman defensemen within the conference in scoring. He registered 23 points on three goals and 20 assists and was a plus-12 over 32 games played for the Minutemen.

Link:

Spring practice cancellation hinders progress of UMass football program - GazetteNET

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How The Daily Progress is working to keep you safe - The Daily Progress

BEIJING: China has completed the clinical research of Favipiravir, an antiviral drug that has shown good clinical efficacy against the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, according to an official on Tuesday (March 17).

Favipiravir, the influenza drug which was approved for clinical use in Japan in 2014, has shown no obvious adverse reactions in the clinical trial, said Zhang Xinmin, director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development under the Ministry of Science and Technology, at a press conference.

More than 80 patients have participated in the clinical trial in The Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, including 35 patients taking Favipiravir and 45 patients on a control group.

Results showed that patients receiving Favipiravir treatment turned negative for the virus in a shorter time compared with patients in the control group.

A multi-centred randomised clinical study led by the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University also suggested that the therapeutic effect of Favipiravir is much better than that of the control group.

Favipiravir has been recommended to medical treatment teams and should be included in the diagnosis and treatment plan for Covid-19 as soon as possible, Zhang said.

A Chinese pharmaceutical company has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration to mass-produce the drug and ensure stable supply, Zhang added.

China is also pushing forward the utilization of some advanced technologies such as stem cell and artificial liver and blood purification in the treatment of severe cases.

Zhang said stem cell therapy proves effective in reducing severe inflammatory reactions caused by Covid-19, as well as reducing lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis in patients.

China has initiated several clinical research programs on stem cell therapy against Covid-19, including a stem cell drug that has been approved for clinical trial and a mesenchymal stem cell therapy.

Stem cell therapy has been used to treat 64 patients in severe and critical condition. Those patients' breathing difficulties were gradually relieved and they were generally cured in eight to 10 days.

The therapy also showed advantages in preventing pulmonary fibrosis and improving the long-term prognosis for patients.

The Chinese Society for Cell Biology and the Chinese Medical Association have jointly issued a guideline to standardize the clinical research and application of stem cell therapy against Covid-19.

Zhang said China is trying to use artificial liver and blood purification technology to treat critically ill patients. Patients receiving this treatment have seen reduced levels of inflammatory factors and improvement in chest imaging.

Their time on ventilator support has been decreased by an average of 7.7 days and the required ICU monitoring time has been shortened. - Xinhua/Asian News Network

Follow this link:

China reports new progress in drug, therapies against Covid-19 - The Star Online

Myanmar will still be far away from peace and progress as long as those who do not want reform exist in parliament, said Upper House MP Dr Myat Nyana Soe from the National League for Democracy.

The MP made the remark after the media questioned him about any comparison between the first and second parliamentary terms regarding the charter change move on March 18.

He said the current constitutional change move had carried details such as sections and sub-sections so as to elicit true wish but the result in the second term was not very different from that in the second term, he commented.

As there is no difference, I think its because they have no desire to change. In the first parliamentary term, there were those who didnt want to see change. In the second term also, there are such people. We will try our continued effort in the third and fourth terms. Our country will still be far away from peace and progress so long as the parliament still has those who do not want reform, said MP Dr Myat Nyana Soe.

He, however, urged the people not to be discouraged stressing the need for unity and burning desire to overcome the deadlock.

See the rest here:

With those unwilling to change, peace and progress will be a long way away: NLD MP - Eleven Myanmar

COVID-19 is changing the way we live our lives, but for people like basketball coach Chris Daleo, it's costing more than a few seconds at the sink.

"My hope is that the phone rings," said Daleo.

Unfortunately, like many others Daleo is without a job and just waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to pass.

The former Rockford Lightning head coach was unaware of the true gravity of the situation until a recent post-game press conference in South Korea.

"The first question that was posed to me was "What's your travel arrangements? Because we're shutting down our borders and shutting down flights." I'm like 'Wait a second. I've got to get the heck out of here.'"

Daleo's season was canceled and he escaped just before being trapped by any travel restrictions. He says life changed dramatically before his departure.

"A lot of face-masks, a lot of hand washing and a lot of temperature checking and then a lot of disappointment and a lot of broken dreams."

The dream has definitely been real over the last few years where Daleo has pushed Thailand hoops forward.

He won five straight league titles with Hi-Tech Bangkok City and reached 99th in the FIBA world rankings with the men's national team.

"I have a good body of work, productive, championships so you're always looking for opportunities and that's kind of where I'm at."

Daleo was well on his way to a sixth championship in a row, but that season is done and his status with the national team is up in the air.

He says the pandemic puts an end to all of that progress.

"I was hoping to keep that momentum going and keep that train going onto other things or bigger things, but this kind of derails it a little bit."

See the original post:

Daleo's progress in Thailand 'derailed' by COVID-19 - WIFR